We had known for some time that Nigel was unavailable for the trip to Bath but were very pleased that Andrew Cooper was able to join us for the first time. Fairly late on Javier unfortunately also became unavailable so I stepped in.

I was unable to break out as Black in a game that I would characterise as relentless stodge but at least this draw meant we had one small step towards the point we needed to guarantee Division One status for another year.

Although I was sitting next to Andrew M, I didn't really understand much of his game. Despite the queens coming off quite early he seemed to have some decent play in the middle game but nothing came of it, so that was the second draw.

Martin meanwhile had all the play and any winning chances were definitely on his side. The only problem was the-pawns were mostly interlocked and even trebling his heavy pieces could not lead to a breakthrough. Ah well, three draws on the bottom boards meant we were half way there.

But what of the top three? Lewis (White) had a pawn on d6 that was a real thorn in Black's side and he had good piece play in the kind of position he likes. Andrew C reached a R&P ending with each player having three pawns on either wing. Superficially it looked a bit dodgy for Andrew as his kingside pawns were split (two on the f file and one on the h file) but his King was in close attendance to them. Mike was playing true to the form we know well, pushing up the board and probing for weaknesses. So overall it looked promising for the final points we needed.

First to finish was Mike, who resisted a speculative exchange sacrifice and coolly converted his advantage - a fine win after a lean period.

Andrew reached an exciting endgame where both sides had obtained passed-pawns (Andrew the forward f pawn and White the a pawn). Both rooks were preparing to sacrifice themselves if need be. After these exchanges Andrew's King was near enough to guide his remaining f pawn home once he took White's last pawn, the h pawn. The trouble was he only had seconds remaining and his flag fell just as he was about to take White's last man standing. A split second away from a very well earned draw, or in fact a won game with more time available..

Lewis was also short on time by now, and to give credit to David, he had resisted stubbornly. In the scramble it went against Lewis, which was a huge shame after holding what seemed like a good advantage throughout.

So our hopes were dashed in the end. But we have played well enough in many of the matches to know that we can still pull off the draw we now need against Horfield B next week.