On Wednesday, Hendon 2 and Hendon Barnet Knights played teams from Hammersmith in the Middlesex League. I’m pleased to report that we won both matches!
Hendon 2 defeated Hammersmith 2 by 3½–2½, and Hendon Barnet Knights defeated Division 3 leaders Hammersmith 4 by a 6–0 clean sweep!
This was a rare occasion where we had to have a club night on a day other than Thursday; our venue was not available on the normal day this week.
| Hendon 2 | Hendon 2 | Hammersmith 2 | Hammersmith 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hutchinson, Mark | 1802 | 0 - 1 | Franco, Gaston | 2108 | ||
| 2 | Gelin, Philippe | ~1800 | 0 - 1 | Bryant, Harry | 1798 | ||
| 3 | Bolchover, Anthony | 1794 | 1 - 0 | Cuff, Andrew M | 1704 | ||
| 4 | Medworth, Andrew | 1786 | ½ - ½ | Steyn, David | 1669 | ||
| 5 | Page, Thomas | 1764 | 1 - 0 | Chandrasekaran, Rahulan | 1615 | ||
| 6 | Rogal, Chris | 1745 | 1 - 0 | Mazzaracchio, Gianmaria | 1589 | ||
| 3½ - 2½ | |||||||
Hammersmith 2 fielded a somewhat lopsided lineup, with a 2100 player on Board 1 but everyone else 1800 or below. We duly lost on top board, but Thomas and Chris both won on the bottom two. Since Anthony’s position looked good, I gambled and took a draw from a position of strength, and it paid off when Anthony’s opponent fell for a knight fork in the ending, enabling us to squeak home!
| Hendon Barnet Knights | Hendon Barnet Knights | Hammersmith 4 | Hammersmith 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hung, Jake | 1838 | 1 - 0 | Croasdale, Mark | 1662 | ||
| 2 | Pang, Ethan | 1704 | 1 - 0 | Lotfi, Bijan | 1551 | ||
| 3 | Sarkar, Rian | 1646 | 1 - 0 | Perchard, Matthew | 1496 | ||
| 4 | Priampolsky, Yitzchok | 1589 | 1 - 0 | Koncar, Ljubomir | 1439 | ||
| 5 | Sezer, Steve | 1598 | 1 - 0 | Selden, David | 1323 | ||
| 6 | Wen, Liana | 1078 | 1 - 0 | Rogers, Jordan | 1467 | ||
| 6 - 0 | |||||||
Meanwhile, the Knights outrated their opponents on all but one board, but that’s never a guarantee of anything; no Hendon team had been on either end of a 6–0 whitewash so far this season! Everyone did terrifically well to bring the full point home; special congratulations to Liana, who defeated a much higher-rated opponent on Board 6!
Many thanks to everyone who played! Special thanks also to everyone who helped set up the match beforehand and clear away afterwards.