| Nomads 1 | 4 – 2 | Chesterfield 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Nelson | 1/2 – 1/2 | Peter Ackley |
| Chris Shephard | 1 – 0 | Mike Alcock |
| Kieran O'Driscoll | 1/2 -1/2 | Mike Johnson |
| Jeremy Hamm | 1/2 -1/2 | Martin Howard |
| Geoff Frost | 1/2 – 1/2 | David Ashcroft |
| Ian Barwick | 1 – 0 | Andy Mort |
After the disaster in the league last week, this was a chance to redeem ourselves. We were from last weeks team missing boards 4 & 5. Chesterfield were missing Dave Latham on 1 but had Mike Alcock on 2. Otherwise it was their first 6.
We won the toss but Jon felt that himself, Kieran and Geoff did not deserve white again after only 3 draws last week. So black on odd.
A slow and cagey start with no obvious advantage for anyone. after only about 30-40 minutes, Andy offered a draw to Ian. It was very flat and level and was going to be a queenless middle game. Ian declined. I did wonder if that would come back to haunt us. not long afterwards Jon and Peter agreed a draw. They seemed to have played quite quickly and was already in a late middle game. Emboldened by this friendliness, Geoff offered a draw in a very early middlegame. Dave accepted. The spectre of 6 draws seemed likely.
I should say that my pre match e-mail predicted 5 draws and a win for Kieran. It seems that Kieran had also offered a draw which Mike had turned down.
There was nothing really happening but I felt that we could get something from 2 & 3 which at this stage looked like our powerhouse. Soon afterwards Jeremy and Martin drew. Ian had been pressing on, exchanging pieces and had reached B+5 v N+5 all very even. The Bishop should be better on an open board but I always fear sneaky N forks in time trouble!
Then Chris won. He obviously claimed that he had been losing…..
This put a different dynamic on the match. unless we lost BOTH outstanding games we would win. Kieran said he understood the arithmetic, so expected another draw offer at an appropriate stage. Ian had not stood up to look at the score and was playing the ending like a superstar. He won and it was all over. Kieran and Mike settled for the draw so 4-2.
Well done everyone and thanks to Chesterfield for a good and friendly evening.