Hounslow C v Kingston C, Thames Valley League division X match played at the Royal British Legion, Hounslow on 28 October 2024

I intend to pass very quickly over this match. We lost 4-0 to a much higher-rated Hounslow team, and you may think anything I say constitutes sour grapes, but in fact the match was played in what we considered unsatisfactory conditions – a noisy bar area which was certainly not an appropriate environment for rated chess.

Kingston captain Jon Eckert decided to proceed with the match – in conditions really only suitable for friendly, beer-fuelled blitz – on the grounds that his players had made the long journey over to Hounslow and were there to play chess. But the Kingston club has made representations to the league about the conditions in which the match was played, and will be seeking assurances that they will not be repeated against a visiting Kingston team.

Stephen Moss, Kingston club captain