Considering the relative placings of the two teams, we didn’t have high hopes for this match but we did know that there is a scenario where our B team and Clifton C could be relying on Game Points to clinch promotion to the first division, so we were determined to score as many GP as possible.

It didn’t start too promisingly. Grant, who was up against Adam, one of Clifton’s "J2" juniors who are heading for promotion from division four, missed an important central pawn thrust and went on to lose a pawn or two before possibly also missing a drawing chance.

Meanwhile Dave was having much the better of it against Naveen. He tried a new opening as White which led to a rook and same coloured bishop ending where Dave’s King was able to march through the undefended squares and gobble up enough pawns to force resignation. Very nicely finished off!

I think El was next to finish. Anay, another of their junior brigade, didn’t play the middle game well and El was a bit surprised, but delighted, to find herself able, as Black, to put great pressure on her opponent. This led to a crushing victory in only 31 moves - another very smoothly played game!

Don’t ask how it was that I was still alive against a 2100 player but it must have been because I had played this opening enough times over the last 50 or 60 years to avoid a quick defeat. When I googled Philip, I found that he won the Ghana Championship last year, at the age of 15!! One just has to feel sorry for him that he will only get a bare minimum of rating points for this win at least but I can try to learn from where I went wrong.

James was also under pressure from Rayyan, another junior. He was level on material for many moves but always with difficult pawn weaknesses to protect against a battery of heavy pieces. Eventually the pressure was too much, leaving us 3-2 down with just Alan fighting on.

Alan had been playing a complicated and unbalanced game with opposite side castling and very unclear prospects. While the engine suggests that he was slightly worse, he had a significant time advantage which could always tip the scales in our favour. Both players were advancing pawns on opposite sides with just a bishop and knight to repel boarders and Alan’s approached Queening before Zack’s, so the latter gave up his knight. With only seconds remaining, Zack’s remaining pawns created enough threats for both of them to accept the inevitable and repeat moves.

So Clifton C got the win that they needed but at the cost of conceding 2½ game points, which may still prove to be significant when the final reckonings for the season are done for division two.