For many years we have been drawn against Clifton in the KO and lost, so we are delighted to have at last turned the tables in a close, up and down match.

Things started to look dodgy after an hour or so as Andrew and Nigel, both black, were being set problems. In fact Andrew had missed a key move in the Scandinavian and was suffering badly, but Nigel seemed to come close to holding on without quite making it. He had been brave in choosing the Benko against a strong opponent, but after being taken out of his preparation his pieces got on poor squares or as he said, his knights were treading on each other's hooves. Eventually James broke through and by then Andrew had also succumbed and we were 2-0 down.

In Martin's game the advantage swung between the players but eventually Alan dropped a piece and Martin finished efficiently. In Michael M's game the queens came off in what had promised to be an exciting Winawer. Michael advanced-pawns on the kingside but Manuel was able to hold and there was a draw by repetition. Chris had won a-pawn quite early in a queenless middle game and gradually increased his hold on the position. It took a number of moves but the outcome didn't seem in doubt and the match was now level.

The result therefore depended on the last three games to finish. Humphrey lost a-pawn in the opening but was able to complicate things and eventually simplify to a drawn ending, though John did miss a winning move near the end. Gareth and I played a theoretical line to move 17, when in a blocked position with major pieces and opposite coloured bishops he declined my draw offer. Both sides tried to manoeuvre for a win and with time short there were inaccuracies but eventually Gareth, in time-trouble, missed my counter-play and blundered. Jerry had an unbalanced position where he had a big advantage on the queen's side but the disadvantage of his king stuck in the centre. Jody made an ingenious temporary piece sacrifice, which rebounded and lost him the exchange. With a crowd watching, Jerry coolly converted the win confirming the team's victory by 5-3.