South Norwood 1 v Kingston 2, Surrey League division 2 match played at West Thornton Community Centre, Thornton Heath on 4 April 2024

My wins against players rated higher than me have been few and far between this season, so please indulge me by allowing this win against Oliver Weiss (ECF 1915) to be included in our annotated games list. My play on this evening when we had two teams playing at distant South Norwood was far from perfect – insipid opening, wrong-headed guess in a key middlegame position – and my opponent greatly helped me at the sudden denouement, but generally I thought I played OK and at least I had a few modestly creative ideas (albeit at times misguided ones). And I do need all the encouragement I can get after recent over-the-board setbacks.

The photograph above shows Kingston 4 player Leon Mellor-Sewell watching intently as he waits for his opponent to arrive. Kingston 4 beat South Norwood 3 by 4.5-1.5 in a Surrey division 5 match. Kingston 2, for whom I was on board 5, lost 5-2 to a highly motivated South Norwood 1 team. The threat of relegation from Surrey division 2 had encouraged them to get their strongest side out. We are also in the division 2 relegation mix and every game point counts, which was another reason I felt pleased by my much-needed win.