Wednesday 2nd March

1-0 up before we started gave us a chance. We just had to see how we could do on the other boards. Mithun's opponent kept on finding jammy ways out of sticky positions till he gave in to the pressure and hung a rook. Mursal's position looked a bit dodgy as his King ventured out to f6 to make a capture with Queens still on the board but it eventually found its way to safety. A draw was a good result from that position. Ian's game was really really boring which was just fine as it got us another half point. Azmiddin was totally and completely lost all night till his opponent blundered a piece in a sequence of exchanges. Peter was on top throughout as his knight danced around the closed position kicking away rooks and picking off pawns on the way. 5-1. Excellent. The return leg is the last match of the season which could be very interesting.

Paul B