Tuesday 21st December

Nomads A

6½-1½ Clay Cross A (A)
Jonathan Nelson 1-0 A.Natt (W)
Paul Cumbers ½-½ D.Hartley
Jeremy Hamm ½-½ A.Heelin
Stuart Crosthwaite 1-0 P.Kelman
Mohammad Said ½-½ P.Williams
Masrura Khakimova 1-0 S.Kirby
Mursal Mohammad 1-0 K.Myhill
Kevin Marshall 1-0 C.Redhead

Captain's Corner

Despite the absence of a few regulars, we were still favourites to win this match. Clay Cross stemmed the tide for a while, but eventually the points started racking up, beginning with a crushing win for Kevin in his debut for the A-team this season. Stuart had a dream game on the White side of the Milner-Barry Gambit - his opponent grabbed that second pawn with 10...Qxe5 (instead of the safer 10...a6), and lived to regret it. Before long we were 4-0 up, and a draw from Jeremy (who had to face 1.b4!?) secured the victory. Mursal displayed great confidence and technique to mop up in a King and Pawn ending. Mohammad was the last to finish, agreeing a draw in a complex position before mutual time trouble could spoil a good game. Special thanks to Kevin who stepped in as a driver at short notice (Jon's car wasn't going anywhere!), and to Mursal for taking Ken's place at the last minute (due to illness).

Paul Cumbers