In our last LOCL match of 2020, Hendon B lost to the Battersea Dogs in the U1825 division. (There was no A-team match, because the Open division was taking a rest week.)
The match was unfortunately settled on the bottom two boards, where we were heavily out-graded.
| Hendon B | Hendon B | Battersea Dogs | Battersea Dogs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Kent | 1750 | ½ - ½ | Alan Palmer | 1795 | ||
| 2 | Nick Murphy | 1750 | 1 - 0 | Tim Valentine | 1743 | ||
| 3 | Tony Artman | 1400 | 0 - 1 | Arnold Hunt | 1570 | ||
| 4 | Dev Ranka | 1270 | 0 - 1 | David Blackwell | 1330 | ||
| 1½ - 2½ | |||||||
Board 4 was the first to finish; the game was very sadly settled by a mouse-slip, in a position where Dev was a pawn down but with very good drawing chances in a queen ending. Next was Board 1, where Anthony had an excellent position but could only draw.
Meanwhile, Tony Artman was engaged in a dispute over who could make the best use of the open queenside in a symmetrical pawn structure; unfortunately the answer turned out to be his opponent, and he found himself a piece down, meaning the match was very likely to be decided in Battersea’s favour.
Thankfully, Nick Murphy was able to put a smile on our faces with the following very nice finish.
I’d like to thank everyone who has played for Hendon in the LOCL so far this season! The competition has gone better than I’d dared to hope, and it’s just great to see club chess continue despite the pandemic.
I’d also like to thank the LOCL organisers, especially John Sargent and Hendon’s very own Adam Raoof, who have done amazing work putting this League together. Adam’s events are always great, as most of us are already well aware, and having a professional commentator casting the event live on Twitch adds an extra dimension of light-heartedness and fun!
I wish all our members, and the chess community in London and worldwide, a peaceful and happy winter holiday period! I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I’m very much in need of the warmth and light of Christmas at the end of this very difficult year. I wish all readers a healthy, peaceful and happy 2021.
The LOCL now takes a break and will resume on 6th January 2021. Full schedule here.
You can find a list of all stories about the London Online Chess League here.