This was our first top division match at the Cross Hands and it had to be played without our skipper, as Mike was having problems with, for those who remember "The Navy Lark", what I seem to remember was known as the "twingeing screws". So for two weeks in a row your scribe was acting captain and the first problem was to set the borrowed League clocks to the correct time. We wouldn't have managed this without Geoff's help after he kindly turned up just before the start to show us. Thanks again, Geoff!

The next problem was how to cope with Bath, who we expected to be anxious to reverse their recent string of setbacks in their title chase. In fact they were not quite at full strength so our mixture of youthful talent and older stalwarts at least had a chance of not being steamrollered as they were when they went to Bath last December. Things were progressing quietly when I glanced at Chirag's game to see Roy holding out his hand. Quick draw, I thought but, no, he had blundered a whole knight on move 12. I don't know if he felt rushed by the faster time control but, whatever, it was another fine scalp for Chirag and, even before the blunder, he "stood better", according to the engine.

The next to finish was Martin who banked a solid draw with Clive. But, as I looked around for an indicative view of the match, the outlook was not good. I didn't at all like the look of Steve's and Oli's games. They were both a pawn down. In Steve's case you kind of knew that Buckers would find a way to make it tell, while Oli had no compensation and the prospect of being unable to stop a passed pawn being established. I had decided to take the early part of the game off and only started to play catch up around move 20 and, while Andrew was emerging a pawn up, there were opposite coloured bishops. A narrow defeat was definitely on the cards.

Then somebody grabbed the result sheet and marked Oli down with a win! It turned out that Adam, who had been plus two for several moves as he developed his passer and was now plus ten, had decided to Queen it, thereby overlooking a mate in two. Fortune definitely favours the young, it seems! By now Steve had finally succumbed but Andrew had found a tactic to eliminate both bishops and win two more pawns in the process. It was one of those nights when I wondered if I should have to resign now that victory was in sight. Patrick tried to pose a few tricks but his King was more exposed than Andrew's, who now clinched the point. Christian tried to use his time advantage against me for a consolation goal but I just managed to keep enough counter threats so that, once a drawish rook ending was on the cards, with both of us low on time, we shook hands.

Bath must be getting a bit fed up with us as, leaving aside that debacle at their place, we have now beaten them four times out of five in all competitions. We can't deny we had some significant chunks of luck to win by 4-2 but, yet again, excellent results from the two juniors brought home the bacon.