Harrow D V Uxbridge C

Press / Admin Comment

Uxbridge C convincingly won 3-1 against Harrow D on last night Thursday 02nd December. In reality all four boards were closely fought with no quarter given and all four boards lasted well over two hours each with Board 1 last to finish. The time control was Quickplay on all boards with 28 moves in 60 minutes and then 15 minutes for all the remaining moves. Harrow D drew first blood on Board 2 ,with a powerful rook and pawn endgame play by Harrow D Captain Manoharan Dilukshan to clinch victory. Hopes were raised could a surprise be on the cards tonight. Despite heroic and last Gasp defences by both Richard Schneider (Board 3) and Gerry Stonehouse(Board 4) their opponents scored the full point on each board. All down to Board One now between Richard O'Neill(Black) and Brian Foster(White) with each opponent very evenly matched in rating. Board One exploded after two moves when Richard lashed out with the Tactical Budapest Defence to Brian's Strategical Queens Gambit. Quick development and rapid kingside square pressure by Black in the Budapest defence forced White onto the defence for much of the game. However White eventually weathered the storm and fought back. White forced two passed pawns on the kingside and Black got one on the queenside. White won the race. This Board 1 game lasted well over 60 moves with not much time left on the clocks for either player. Game Over overall match victory to Uxbridge C with final score of 3-1. Harrow D are now looking forward to the return match at the Ivy Leaf in Uxbridge on Tuesday 15th Feb 2022 to rectify this loss and restore pride. Harrow Chess Club hosted three Hillingdon league matches that night with Harrow Junior B v Hatch End A, Harrow C v Uxbridge Junior A and finally Harrow D v Uxbridge C. Danny Knight ,acting as a mother hen, arrived with the Uxbridge C and Uxbridge Junior A in tow well in advance of the start time at 19:30, Surjit Dhemrait in his usual practical efficient manner set up all the boards and clocks ably assisted by eager and efficient juniors .Steven Coles acting as venue timekeeper was ensuring all matches would start at 19:30 sharp and kept a sharp eye on proceedings and who was arriving for the match . A number of Parents were watching out to see how their juniors performed. All Captains cooperated in getting the games off on time in a good and jovial spirit and a good night was had by all with no problems whatsoever. Roll on the rematch at the Ivy Leaf in Uxbridge on Tuesday 15th Feb 2022.

Richard O'Neill