Friday 17th December

Nomads A

5½-2½ Rotherham Juniors A
Jonathan Nelson (W) ½-½ P.Shaw
Paul Cumbers ½-½ P.Blackman
Chris Shephard 1-0 D.Jackson
Stuart Crosthwaite 0-1 Y.Guo
Mohammad Said 1-0 S.Haystead
Masrura Khakimova ½-½ M.Coupe
Ken Dewhurst 1-0 T.Whitaker
Mursal Mohammad 1-0 N.Senaratne

Captain's Corner

We expected a tough match, but were pleasantly surprised. With Mursal polishing off his opponent swiftly, and Ken turning the tables with a sneaky back rank mate trick, we were soon two points up. Paul Blackman nearly knocked me out with his speed chess, then proceeded to give me an easy ride in a rook and pawn ending. I didn't see much of the middle boards, although Stuart had a very interesting game in the French Winawer (with that Qxg7 stuff), finally succumbing to his fearless young opponent. The team cruised to a fairly comfortable victory. Jon's was the only game to go the full distance - his opponent had blundered a pawn in time pressure around the time control, but held on stubbornly for half a point. Thanks to all those who played - I know Friday night isn't everybody's favourite night for playing chess!

Paul Cumbers.