On Thursday, Hendon 1 scored a huge result in the Middlesex League, defeating last year’s Division 1 runners-up Muswell Hill by a narrow 3½–2½ margin!
Our chances were boosted by a last-minute default by our opponents, but the visitors still posed a serious threat, especially with FM John Richardson unavailable for us. Thankfully we were able to call on IM Lorin D’Costa who made his first appearance of the season.
The early running was fairly even, with Eric achieving an excellent position on Board 5, but Jonathan and Gary both suffering on the middle two boards. Eric won and Gary lost, but as Jonathan’s game seemed to be going Muswell Hill’s way, this would leave the scores level. Rob made a draw on Board 2, so while Jonathan was still playing, realistically the match was coming down to the Board 1 clash between Lorin and talented youngster Frankie Badacsonyi.
Thankfully, Lorin was able to pull through with a win, scoring us the full match point, even though Jonathan went on to lose. This match victory could prove vital at the end of the season – at either end of the table or both!
| Hendon 1 | Hendon 1 | Muswell Hill 1 | Muswell Hill 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D'Costa, Lorin | 2443 | 1 - 0 | Badacsonyi, Frankie | 2203 | ||
| 2 | Willmoth, Rob | 2206 | ½ - ½ | Wilks, Simon | 2184 | ||
| 3 | Senior, Gary | 2133 | 0 - 1 | Makepeace, Philip J | 2172 | ||
| 4 | Rubeck, Jonathan | 1971 | 0 - 1 | Ethelontis, Alexandros N | 2060 | ||
| 5 | Eedle, Eric | 1947 | 1 - 0 | Ceder, Fredrik | 1994 | ||
| 6 | WALKOVER | 1 - 0 | DEFAULT | ||||
| 3½ - 2½ | |||||||
Many thanks to all who played, and to Rob for arriving early to set up the equipment!