Braunstone 1 v Harborough 1
November 9th
Score 2 ½ v 1½

By Romilly Ilersic

John Thomson was the first to finish in the match at Braunstone. He was never in trouble and his opponent seemed happy to force the draw. Braunstone’s high graded top board then produced a startling blunder and Ian Clarke took full advantage to win. Romilly (me) was in a cramped position after the opening and one careless move left an impossible position. Dave Curran started well against a higher graded opponent and seemed to have a slight edge. However, in the last 15 minutes both players were affected by time pressure and in a tricky ending, Dave’s Rook was trapped. Without 2 of their 3 top graded players Harborough were out graded on all boards so the narrow loss was respectable, but nevertheless disappointing.