I’m delighted to report that last night, Hendon 2 became the champions-elect of Middlesex League Division 2! This happened without the team even playing, as our rivals for the title, Ealing 1, lost away against Hammersmith 2, meaning they could no longer catch us. Congratulations to everyone who played for the team this season!
Two of our other teams were in action at home last night: Hendon 1 drew 3–3 against Albany in Division 1, and Hendon Barnet Knights Juniors beat Potters Bar 5–1 in Division 3.
For both teams this was their final match of the season. Hendon 1 faced a strong visiting team from Albany: Ethan and Jonathan scored excellent wins, and Eric and Saniru drew, to achieve a very creditable tie despite being out-rated on every board. Congratulations!
Captain Eric Eedle writes that Saniru managed to save an ending a piece down by reaching the following fortress:
Well done – it pays to know your endgame theory!
Rob Willmoth also tells me that Jonathan Rubeck managed to turn a lost rook ending into a win, so well done to him too!
At the time of writing, Hendon 1 are in joint third in the table, but this is unlikely to last, as several teams behind have matches in hand. Still, the team has had an excellent end to the season, getting themselves out of what looked like considerable danger of relegation just a few weeks ago.
| Hendon 1 | Hendon 1 | Albany | Albany | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willmoth, Robert | 2218 | 0 - 1 | Rendle, Thomas (IM) | 2433 | ||
| 2 | Sanitt, Ethan | 2162 | 1 - 0 | Foord, Dominic | 2272 | ||
| 3 | Eedle, Eric F | 2128 | ½ - ½ | Mata, Adilson | 2137 | ||
| 4 | Amior, David | 1984 | 0 - 1 | Osborne, Marcus E | 2110 | ||
| 5 | Atulugamage, Saniru Lohan | 1949 | ½ - ½ | Stern, Robert C | 2013 | ||
| 6 | Rubeck, Jonathan | 1926 | 1 - 0 | Wilson, David | 1986 | ||
| 3 - 3 | |||||||
Our junior team had a strong finish to the season as well, demolishing a visiting side from Potters Bar, which should ensure a comfortable mid-table finish in Division 3. Congratulations to captain Rob Willmoth and the team, and well done to Peter, Yishai, Djad, Rohan and Stanley for their wins last night!
| Hendon Barnet Knights Juniors | Hendon Barnet Knights Juniors | Potters Bar | Potters Bar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hazell, Peter | 1864 | 1 - 0 | Cheetham, Mark M | 1678 | ||
| 2 | Epstein-Lightman, Yishai | 1720 | 1 - 0 | Abramovich, Joel | 1899 | ||
| 3 | Ben-Eshak, Djad | 1703 | 1 - 0 | Williams, Steve | |||
| 4 | Barbier-Ramaiah, Rohan Theo | 1591 | 1 - 0 | Graff, Howard | 1588 | ||
| 5 | Jacobs, Stanley G | 1458 | 1 - 0 | Fernandez, Pedro | 1066 | ||
| 6 | Tan, Austin | 1017 | 0 - 1 | Holman, Alan RC | 1366 | ||
| 5 - 1 | |||||||
A more comprehensive overview of the Middlesex League season will follow once all the results are in. Hendon 2 still has one more match to play, the rescheduled fixture against Kings Head 2 next week.
Many thanks to everyone who played and organised this week!