Wimbledon 2 v Kingston 2, Surrey League division 2 match played at St Winefride’s Church Hall, Wimbledon on 5 March 2026

Wimbledon 2 have been depleted by the requirement for several hitherto regular players to be nominated for their first team, which has been stricken by long-term illness and players moving on. So even though we were able to share some match opportunities around the second team squad, the teamsheets showed that we had a huge rating advantage. Winning the toss loaded the dice further in our favour.

For once I had the shortest game, freeing me to consume more coffee than was optimal for sleep on a chess night and allowing me to keep the wider club informed of later developments by WhatsApp. My opponent, playing White, went downhill in an unusual line, and resigned after just 15 moves in the horrid position shown below.

Next to finish was Jon Eckert on board 6, on home ground in the French Defence. White tied himself in knots trying to hold on to an extra pawn and Jon progressively undermined the fragile structure.

On board 5, Alex Chmelev also got an advantage early on and cashed in.

Homayoon Froogh’s game on board 4, where he had Black against Omar Selim, looked tight for longer. But as the board opened up, Homayoon’s two rooks and two bishops were much stronger than White’s two rooks and two knights, and he won large amounts of material with a combination of pins. At 4-0 we were over the line in the match within two hours of the start.

Board 1 was a tense battle between David Rowson and Gordon Rennie, a familiar opponent. David won a pawn, but in the rook and bishop v rook and knight ending both sides had a queenside passed pawn with some activity.  David sacrificed the exchange for Black’s passed pawn, leaving him with a bishop and two pawns for a rook. Objectively this was enough to win, but under some time pressure David did not quite trust his calculation and agreed a draw.

Board 7 looked like the game with the most mutual jeopardy, but Kingston newcomer Constantin Liesch, who had White against Nathan Hoong, seems to like it that way, and after a middle game in which both sides had chances he finished with a fine sacrificial attack.

Board 3 was, as had always seemed likely, last to finish. In a c3 Sicilian, Alan Scrimgour built up pressure against various weak points in the black position while pre-empting any possible counterplay, so it was difficult for Black to find sensible moves (and the machine has not much better advice in hindsight).

So the final score was 6.5-0.5. Not too surprising given the rating difference between the teams, but convincingly delivered.  With only two matches to go, one of them the return against a weakened Wimbledon 2, we are now odds on to win division 2, which would be a tremendous achievement only four years after the first team did so, and all the more so given that we have been outrated in several close matches.

It poses a dilemma – should we take promotion to division 1, which would be a very tough challenge, not least on the organisational front, with two eight-board teams in Surrey and possibly two six-board teams in Thames Valley division 1, or should we seek to decline it, or should the answer depend on whether the TVL B team stays in that first division? These issues lie ahead, but for now we can enjoy some hard-earned success, and look to drive it home in the last two matches.   

Peter Andrews is captain of Kingston 1 and Kingston 2 in the Surrey League

Kingston C v Surbiton D, Thames Valley League division X match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 2 March 2026

It has been an up-and-down season for Kingston C, and this was one of the downs, losing 3-1 to a well-organised Surbiton D team. Surbiton skipper Phil Goodings got the better of Sean Tay in a tight encounter on board 1; Kim Cross beat Anqi Yang on board 3; and Harry Roberts edged out Robert Chmiest on board 4. That left Nette Robinson, as so often this season, to save Kingston’s blushes with a win with White against the tricky Nikolai Mantaev on board 2. Congrats to Nette on her excellent recent run.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

Guildford 3 v Kingston 4, Surrey League division 5 match played at the Guildford Institute on 2 March 2026

This was a very good win by Kingston 4 against a Guildford 3 team with plenty of experience on the top boards. Thivan Gunawardana, Constantin Liesch and Genc Tasbasi all won with White ; two games with Black were lost (it really was a night for the white pieces); but Tom Mayers got Kingston 4 over the line with a draw with Black against a strong player on board 1. Well done to Tom, new to Kingston but already making an impression, and the team.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

Kingston 3 v Epsom 5, Surrey League division 4 match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 23 February 2026

Kingston 3 were badly hampered in this match by a default on board 3 when the Kingston player forgot his engagement at the Richard Mayo Centre. But his team-mates rallied to the cause superbly, and wins for Martyn Jones, Adam Nakar and David Shalom, plus a draw for Jon Eckert (pictured) with Black on board 2 against a dangerous opponent, saw Kingston 3 home and kept them in the promotion hunt in Surrey division 4.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

Ealing A v Kingston B, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at Actonians Sports Club, London W5 on 16 February 2026

On arrival at Ealing’s venue, we were pleasantly surprised to find that their team was not as strong as feared. Andrew Harley, their captain, was absent, and overall we actually slightly outrated them.

The early result on board 3, where Peter Andrews (pictured above) had White against Alejandro Lopez-Martinez, increased my hopes that we would get something from the match. From an English Opening, a close positional contest was looking likely when Peter’s opponent made a serious oversight.

The next result, a win for Martyn Jones on board 5, put us two up. Jack Sheard played the Lion variation of the Philidor Defence, but took a risk in opening up the centre early and was efficiently punished by Martyn. In the following position Black has just played 8…d5.

The board 2 game, in which Kingston’s Will Taylor had Black against Duncan Grassie, begun with an unusual opening – the Levitsky Attack). It is worth looking at the game from the beginning:

The board 4 game, with Kingston’s John Foley playing Black against Xavier Cowan, began with a deceptively quiet line of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, only to explode into tactics in the position below.

The most significant rating difference was on board 1, where I faced FM Rick McMichael. I have played him twice before, some years ago. This game was similar to the others in that I had White and chose the King’s Indian Attack against his French Defence. However, it was different in terms of the line played and, eventually, the result (I hadn’t previously lost to Rick).

Rick played imaginatively, assessing that having a backward pawn on e6 was not important in comparison to the attacking chances he obtained against my kingside. We reached this position after my 30th move:

On board 6 Seth Warren succeeded in equalising out of the opening, an Italian Game. His opponent’s attempts to attack on the kingside led to his pieces getting rather tangled up, and Seth managed to capitalise on this to win a pawn. Unfortunately, he made just one error in the ensuing ending and lost the exchange; a pity, after he had done well to reach a good position.

Thus the match ended 4-2 to Ealing. This was another disappointing result for Kingston B, given that for some time it appeared a close-fought match from which we could have anticipated at least a draw. We still have six matches left this season, so we just have to do our best to get points from them.

David Rowson is Kingston B captain in Thames Valley League division 1

Richmond C v Kingston C, Thames Valley League division X match played at the Adelaide pub Teddington on 10 February 2026

This is not a match on which we wish to dwell. What on paper was a well-balanced encounter produced a very one-sided result, Richmond C trouncing Kingston C by 3.5-0.5. Well done to Nette Robinson (pictured above in singing mode), who secured a draw to avoid a whitewash. And congratulations to Karl Stand’s Richmond C team on playing so well to secure an emphatic victory.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

Kingston 2 v Guildford 2, Surrey League division 2 match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 9 February 2026

Kingston 2 had a somewhat reshaped team for this match. My main concern was that Guildford 2 would turn up with the strength of which they are capable and our new and newish players might then have a discouraging experience.

My worries were half mitigated before and at the start. Guildford’s captain Clive Frostick, himself a Kingston player in the 4NCL, was unable to make the journey. And although we would be heavily outgunned on the top 3 boards, the match-ups looked close on the other four, and given that our new players tend to be improvers, I thought they might sneak a few results. The toss didn’t help – we lost for the sixth time in 7 matches, which in seven- board matches counts for a bit.

On board 2, Alan Scrimgour made a quick draw with Guildford’s stand-in captain Adrian Wallace in a Spanish. The computer evaluation of the final position, a queenless middle game, was indeed level. There was plenty of material and play left for both sides, but Alan was happy to take a draw on one of the “uphill” boards, especially as the situation was starting to look encouraging elsewhere.

Jon Eckert drew first blood with White on board 6 against Alvin Petersen. The game hung on a mistake in the position below.

Next, with White on board 4, Martyn Jones (pictured above in a previous match) terminated Alistair Jennis’s threatening attack by spotting mate the other way.

Guildford hit back in a fluctuating and spectacular battle on board 3 between our Stephen Lovell, who had Black, and Tim Foster.

Around the same time, I succumbed with Black on board 1 to Matthew Dishman, in a game that showed the danger of allowing emotion to override calculation. Early over-optimism was succeeded by premature pessimism.

That meant scores were level with two games still in progress, in both of which the Kingston player was making his second-team debut. So they were both getting a full evening’s entertainment. Could they also get the points to get us over the line in the match?

Constantin Liesch, with Black on board 7 against Anthony Garrood, certainly had a memorable introduction to second-team chess, with a crowd around the board in the later stages of this exciting battle.

That left another second-team debutant, Alex Chmelev, needing to win with Black on board 5 against Guildford veteran Trevor Jones to save the match. Fortunately he had won a pawn around move 20, and by the time spectator attention turned to his board he had reached what looked to be a winning rook and pawn ending, with his king able to get in front of his passed pawn and to the queening square, the textbook condition to win.

It was a long slog – the game went some 80 moves – and there may have been a few detours off the textbook path, but all was well that ended well. So we added a matchpoint to our tally and deprived Guildford of one. Despite being outrated in at least half our matches to date, we stand top of division 2. As the old hands at the club remind us, it is not so long since Kingston 1 were pleased to reach such heights.

Peter Andrews is captain of the Kingston first and second teams in the Surrey League

Coulsdon v Kingston, Alexander Cup semi-final played at Coulsdon Chess Club, Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon on 9 February 2026

The build-up to the Alexander Cup semi-final away to Coulsdon was not propitious for Kingston. Two players reported sick, though one managed to suppress his ailments for an evening and play. Young Zain Patel was also sick, but his illness worked to our advantage. He was too ill to fulfil a singing engagement, so was able to replace the player who really was too ill to make it to Coulsdon. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

A further complication was that we were playing Guildford 2 at home in Surrey division 2 on the same night. We needed strong players for that match as well. Fighting on two fronts is not easy. But the final blow came at 7.33pm, just as the match at Coulsdon was getting under way. The news was relayed via the club WhatsApp group that our 2200-plus board 4 was having a desperate journey south to Coulsdon and would not make it before the half-hour default time. There was only one reserve – a rather feeble player rated 1750. Yes, me. I would do my best, but outrated by 300 points we were almost certainly 1-0 down before we even started.

On board 7, Julian Way and Ian Calvert agreed a quick draw – a reasonable start as Julian had Black against the supersolid Calvert. David Rowson drew on board 8, as did Peter Lalić against the dangerous Ian Snape on board 2. I then went down to my expected defeat – thoroughly deserved as I played a singularly dull game and was out-techniqued by Coulsdon captain Mark Smith. That put Coulsdon 2-5-1.5 up and Kingston’s nerves were jangling.

Peter Hasson calmed those nerves to some degree with a smooth win on board 6 against Amit Kulkarni, whom he had beaten in the corresponding league match at Coulsdon the previous Monday – a useful dress rehearsal. “I had played the same opponent with the same colours in the league match a week earlier, when he suffered a positional opening disaster,” explained Peter afterwards. “This time he opted for something solid, but conceded White a big space advantage and was also burning time as he was not so familiar with the position.”

Peter’s win tied the score at 2.5-2.5 and it quickly became 3-3 when Zain Patel, who had been substantially worse in the opening, secured an important draw against fast-rising junior Rupert Marsden with Black on board 5. If we had lost that game, as had once seemed likely, it really would have been squeaky-bum time. Well played Zain! Did this match really hang on the dodgy state of your vocal cords?

The feeling was that Will Taylor, with Black on board 9, had winning chances against Vedant Papneja. But time was starting to press and Will, in his own words, “blundered into a perpetual on the increment”. That made it 3.5-3.5, and the match was still in the balance. I could barely bring myself to watch, but Peter Lalić, who was spectating and could actually work out what was going on, was looking confident. He was right to be so – the rest of the match proved to be one-way traffic.

Peter Large (pictured above, right), had Black against Evaldas Baltrunas on board 3 and the game turned into a fascinating tussle, with much middle-game manoeuvring for an advantage. The endgame was tricky and, though Peter had a serviceable advantage, time was running short. Peter then played a knight check with such elan that his opponent assumed his hemmed-in king had been mated, missing the fact there was a flight square. Peter declared it “the strangest game I have played in my 58-year chess career”. Hallucinations, it seems, are part of chess, even at this elevated level.

On board 10, Kingston’s president and Alexander Cup captain John Foley played a masterful rook and pawn endgame to defeat the doughty Nick Edwards – a tremendous battle between two admirable players who have each been on the chess scene for more than half a century. After the game, John looked sheepishly pleased with his win, and he has instructively annotated it for the website’s Games section.

The marquee game was the board 1 match-up between Supratit Banerjee and David Maycock. David had beaten Supratit in the league match the previous week, but this time Supratit had the white pieces. Would that make a difference? David played a tricky sideline of the Philidor Defence – do we detect the influence of team-mate and sparring partner Peter Lalić? – and it worked out very well, allowing him easily to equalise in the opening. There followed some cagey positional chess, proving that David – who we usually think of as a purveyor of chess fireworks – can also play in a more pragmatic, wait-and-see style.

Now, after a series of games against each other in IM norm tournaments and the Surrey League, David and Supratit can revert to being team-mates in the 4NCL and the Thames Valley League. Kingston are very fortunate to have two such talents.

The wins by Peter Large, John Foley and David Maycock came in rapid succession and made the final score 6.5-3.5 to Kingston. The earlier travails were forgotten and we could at last rest easy. Until the final at least, where a very strong Guildford team awaits us. This eagerly anticipated match will take place at the neutral venue of Ashtead Chess Club on Tuesday 26 May. We thumped Guildford 8-2 in the final last year, but expect it to be much closer on this occasion as Guildford have added to their resources and are building a very powerful team.

The incentive for Kingston to retain the trophy is that it would complete a run of five successive Alexander Cup titles – something no team has ever done in the 100-year history of the competition. We feel the weight of history on our shoulders, but will that burden prove too great? Book your tickets for the final now; it is going to be intense … and we hope historic.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

All three CSC/Kingston teams made good progress in the third round of 4NCL matches, played in Coventry and Daventry on the weekend of 7/8 February

We have reached the halfway stage of the 4NCL season, and all three CSC/Kingston teams are feeling pretty chipper. The first team had a tremendous weekend, winning both their matches – against Blackthorne and Celtic Tigers 1 – by 6.5-1.5. IM Harry Grieve, FMs Supratit Benerjee (pictured above) and Roland Bezuidenhout, and WIM Liwia Jarocka all scored 2/2 across the weekend. The results leave CSC/Kingston 1 joint third in division 1 and looking to improve on last season’s seventh place.

Current Div 1 table

The second team, playing in division 3 (knights) and chasing promotion to division 2, suffered a reverse on Saturday, going down narrowly to promotion rivals Golden Cockerels. But an emphatic 5-1 win against Celtic Tigers 2 the following day means they still lead the division going into weekend 4 on 21/22 March. With Golden Cockerels and Sussex Martlets 2 just a point behind, the battle for the two promotion spots is sure to be intense. Silverio Abasolo had a memorable weekend, winning both his board 2 games against strong opponents.

Current Div 3 (Knights) table

Determined not to be left out, CSC Kingston 3 – playing in division 4 in Daventry – also had an excellent weekend, hammering She Plays To Win Lionesses B 5.5-0.5 on Saturday and edging out Ashfield 2 3.5-2.5 on Sunday. Daniel Sparkes and Giampiero Amato both scored 2/2, but everyone contributed in two very solid team performances. That leaves CSC/KIngston 3 in third place in division 4 and suddenly starting to dream of promotion. Four go up to the two division 3 pools from this division.

Current top 11 teams (from 30) in division 4

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

Coulsdon 1 v Kingston 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at Coulsdon Chess Club, Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon on 2 February 2026

A trip to Coulsdon is never easy and this was no different. Kingston captain Peter Andrews breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Coulsdon teamsheet as they were missing a few strong players, but they still gave us plenty to think about on the night, and we were relieved to run out 6.5-1.5 winners.

Peter Hasson’s game – he had White on board 5 – was first to finish. Indeed it was over in less than an hour and a half, way ahead of any of the other seven games. Peter played a beautifully thematic game in a Symmetrical English and won in 27 moves. This was the denouement, though the game was really won thanks to a series of small positional pluses earlier in the game.

Inevitably when FMs David Maycock and Supratit Banerjee clash, their game always generates a good deal of interest. Supratit plays for Kingston in 4NCL and the Thames Valley League, but tonight he was on the opposing team. David had the advantage of White – it was a good toss for Peter Andrews to win – but he had the worst of the opening exchanges, and, as they entered the middle game, Supratit was pressing. Black has an advantage in the position below because of the pin on the knight on c4 and White’s doubled e-pawns. I was convinced Supratit would win, but David is a master complicator, time started to take its toll, and the game began to turn around.

Jasper Tambini, with White, and veteran Nick Edwards had a hard-fought draw on board 7. Jasper gave up a pawn for the initiative in the opening, but Nick found an imaginative way of returning it to neutralise White’s attack, forcing a draw. On board 4, John Hawksworth felt he was better out of the opening but, in his words, “spent too much time looking for something immediately decisive (which didn’t exist according to the engine).” He then blundered a pawn, but still felt he was better with the two bishops, forgoing a nailed-on draw in pursuit of a victory which eventually turned into a defeat in a time scramble.

There was better news on board 6, where David Rowson steadily outplayed his opponent with a pair of knights against a pair of bishops to secure a win. When the position below was reached, David has given up both his bishops for knights, judging correctly that White’s fractured pawn structure and the bishops’ restricted movement will favour him. Now he decides to press.

David summed up the game with characteristic modesty: “Nothing dramatic, and my opponent didn’t play very strongly, but I was pleased that I made some of the right choices (such as swapping bishop for knight and playing g5 – not a move I usually play lightly) and that I was able to show that my knights were better than his bishops.” Captain Andrews appreciated it too: “A nice example of a caged bishop, with nowhere to go from g3, and a game where there wasn’t a single moment of decision, rather incremental outplaying.”

Peter himself also won with Black on board 8. White has a small plus in the position below, but Black has an immediate threat which must be countered. Unfortunately for Peter’s opponent, he fails to see it and the small plus becomes a hefty minus.

On board 3, Peter Large had White against Ian Calvert, who is something of a draw specialist. A lengthy technical battle ensued in which Peter gradually established the upper hand.

Another intense technical battle was raging on board 2, where Peter Lalić was playing Coulsdon captain Mark Smith. Peter went for one of his speciality queenless middle games and thereafter shuffled with purpose, though White did have a fleeting chance in the position below.

That made it four wins for Peters and two for Davids in a very satisfying 6.5-1.5 victory which takes Kingston back to the top of Surrey League division 1. We now face another tough trip to Coulsdon this coming Monday (9 February) for the semi-final of the 10-board Alexander Cup. We will be hoping for a similar result as we target a historic five-timer in this hallowed competition. No other club has managed more than four successive wins in the Alexander Cup. To win five in a row really would be something to shout about.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain