Wimbledon 1 v Kingston 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at St Winefride’s Church Hall, Wimbledon SW19 on 23 April 2026

Kingston had secured the Surrey League division 1 (Surrey Trophy) title the previous week by beating Guildford, and Wimbledon were already assured of relegation,  but although the Kingston team was somewhat depleted by a mixture of work commitments, medical factors and the clash with the World Seniors in Albania, there was no end-of-term feel to the fighting chess in this match.

We started 1 up when David Rowson’s board 6 opponent failed to appear. Then on board 3 John Hawksworth, with Black, drew quickly with Neil Cannon after some missed opportunities arising out of the Smith-Morra Gambit.  

Martyn Jones has played some powerful chess recently, and his board 7 game with Black against Stephen Carpenter was another example.

Ash Stewart’s appearances this season have been limited by other commitments, but we were very grateful to have him for a match for which several of our strongest players were missing, and he showed his class on board 2 with White against Marcus Baker. His notes, on which those below are based, reveal his care to minimise opportunities for an opponent known to be a dangerous attacking player with several strong scalps over the past two seasons. After some opening nuances, White already had a decent edge when the tactics began.

Hereabouts two promising games went wrong. On board 8, Xavier Cowan built a strong attack with White on his first-team debut, but he was already almost on the increment by move 18, and somewhere in the scramble (which meant that the key part of the game is lost to history) things went downhill and he lost to Georgi Velikov.

My own defeat with Black on board 5 against the indefatigable Gordon Rennie was the result of too much confidence rather than too little time. I had won a critical game for the Bank of England in the City Chess Association League the previous evening, and when a pseudo-sacrifice could not be accepted and gave me an advantage in space and co-ordination, I lost my sense of danger with fatal results.

A 3.5-2.5 lead was not totally safe with board 1 looking level and board 4 a bit dicey. On board 1, Peter Lalić is of course confident in his ability to win queenless middle games with fewer tactical risks, but this time with Black against Dan Rosen he did not gain an advantage until all the pieces had gone. We joked (OK, not quite Michael McIntyre class) that next time he might try to exclude all danger by playing to win on a completely empty board.  Humour aside, there were some instructive points both in the pawn endgame and the subsequent queen endgame.

On board 4, Jasper Tambini was mindful that a win might be needed, and, with White against Sean Ingle’s redoubtable French Defence, was eventually rewarded for a gutsy choice to decline a draw when objectively worse, although ahead on the clock.

So the match finished 5.5-2.5, a reasonable outcome for both teams given that Kingston were missing some big hitters and Wimbledon were up against it in rating terms. Overall that meant Kingston repeated their achievement of 2024/25 by winning division 1 of the Surrey League with seven match points out of eight, although we won half a game point less this time round.

Fourteen different players represented Kingston 1 this season, a smaller number than played for Kingston 2 despite first-team matches involving an extra board, and strong availability at the head of the team was the primary reason for its overall success. David Maycock scored 6.5/7, a remarkable effort given the strength of the opposition – the only half-point he dropped was to the prodigious Supratit Banerjee, whom he beat in the return. Peters Lalić and Large scored 6.5/8 and 5/6 respectively. Those performances on the top three boards meant that scores either side of 50% by other regulars were sufficient to see us home. A special mention goes to Jasper Tambini, after Peter Lalić the only other ever-present.

Peter Andrews is Kingston 1 captain in Surrey League division 1

Final Surrey Trophy (Div 1) table

Surbiton A v Kingston B, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at Fircroft, Surbiton on 22 April 2026

I approached this match with some apprehension, partly because of my own recent poor form but also because Kingston B were not at full strength and I feared that for such a key encounter in the contest to remain in Thames Valley division 1, and as they were at home, Surbiton might put out their strongest possible team. However, they also lacked some of their top players, and it turned out that on average we slightly outrated them.

My own game was the first to finish. I played my usual King’s Indian Attack and Nick Faulks advanced his g- and h-pawns to threaten my castled king. This season both Peter Large and Rick McMichael have shown how this can work well against me, but, as Nick agreed after the game, it would have been better for him to develop his kingside pieces first. In order to prevent the advance of my pawn to e5 he felt it necessary to play his pawn to f6, but this seriously weakened his e6 square. In the position below I had just played 14. Bd2, intending Qb3 next. Here I suddenly realised that castling queenside was still a possibility for him, but was reassured that it was hardly an inviting option.

The next game to finish was Graham Alcock versus Martyn Jones. This began as a French Defence, in which Martyn was able to get his pieces into action more quickly. In the following position he stood better:

Kingston’s two-point lead was consolidated when Joshua Pirgon and Julian Way agreed a draw on board 1.  Julian played an English Opening to which Joshua responded with a queenside fianchetto.  This was a game of careful manoeuvring, the key issue being whose central pawn structure was superior. In the position below Julian felt that Black’s more mobile pawns might give him a slight advantage, but Joshua clearly did not think this was significant as he agreed the draw.

Kingston’s match win was confirmed when Constantin Liesch won with Black on board 6. He played the Dutch Defence and the players castled on opposite sides.

The board 2 game between David Scott, with White, and John Foley was an English Opening, Anglo-Slav Defence which appeared focused drily on whether White could win Black’s isolated queen pawn, but there were interesting possibilities below the surface, as John noted.

The final game to finish was that on board 5. Stephen Moss’s Exchange Variation against his opponent’s Caro-Kann had not given him much play, and in the middle game Black won two pawns. Thereafter it was difficult for Stephen to find counterplay, and he resigned in a lost rook ending.

The 4-2 match result in our favour was very welcome, as it keeps our hopes of avoiding relegation alive, while leaving Surbiton A trailing three points below us at the bottom of the table (see current standings at foot of report). We have two matches left, at home to Hammersmith and Ealing.

David Rowson is Kingston B captain in Thames Valley division 1

Kingston A v Ealing A, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 20 April 2026

The visit of Ealing was significant for both Kingston A, looking to maintain their lead in Thames Valley League Division 1, and Kingston B, for whom Ealing are relegation rivals. It was therefore not ideal that the match coincided with the World Senior Team Championship in Albania, so Kingston were without their usual captain, IM Peter Large, although we welcomed John Foley back from a recent medical absence. Notwithstanding our rating advantage, it was a very well-contested match, with all six games going the distance in terms of time, moves or both, and for much of the evening the outcome was in doubt. The consensus at the end was that the score flattered Kingston on the run of play.

John Foley’s game on board 6 was the first to come to the boil. His play was full of energy, a brilliancy in the offing, and then went wrong, requiring a courageous rescue.

The game I was most confident of from an early stage was John Hawksworth’s on board 3. He has kindly provided notes on the whole game on which the following draw heavily.

Julian Way’s game on board 4 also only seemed likely to have one of two results, although it was some time before he had more than the edge White starts with.

When the teamsheets were exchanged, the smart money was on board 5 to produce an entertaining clash, since both Xavier Cowan, in the Surrey League a Kingston player but in the TVL representing his original club, and our own Jasper Tambini enjoy a battle. FM Vladimir Li kindly provided some expert evaluations in real time on most of the games for the benefit of those following on WhatsApp, but admitted he would have needed an engine for this one. Even more mind-blowing, neither player realised when White resigned that the final position was a draw – that only emerged when the engines dissected the drama several hours later.

And so, as in so many Kingston matches, the last two games in progress were those of David Maycock and Peter Lalić, although this time we had already scored enough to win the match. That was just as well, for neither were having things all their own way. On board 1, FM Andrew Harley had played very well against David. David has a great talent for continually creating activity and hence pressure, the more so as time runs short, but on this occasion he was definitely running a risk.

On board 2, Peter Lalić had defied stereotype by starting with 1. e4, but found himself on unfamiliar ground in the Petrov. He gained an advantage which gradually slipped away, and found himself in the unusual position of having to defend a difficult ending – more characteristically with very little time on the clock.

So there it was, a 5-1 win which could easily have been 3-3, and six games which all had some meat in, hence the length of this report. The A team now have a four-point lead over Hammersmith with only six more on the table, so confidence is justified, but, as these games showed, concentration and tenacity are still required. 

Peter Andrews was acting captain of Kingston A in this match

Surbiton D v Kingston C, Thames Valley League division X match played at Fircroft, Surbiton on 15 April 2026

Kingston C completed their Thames Valley division X season in style with a 4-0 victory over Surbiton D. Club newcomer Aytek Koyun won well on board 1 against the very capable Nikolai Mantaev; Sean Tay, with Black on board 2, was too strong for Kim Cross; Mark Sheridan on 3 shaded a tough encounter with Harry Roberts; and Rob Taylor completed the whitewash by defeating Charlie Feigen on board 4.

A very encouraging result for Jon Eckert’s team to end a season in which they have competed well throughout, but suffered several narrow defeats in close matches that kept them in the bottom half of the table (see final standings at foot of report). Div X is primarily about getting game time, and Jon selected teams that prioritised giving as many club players as possible experience under matchplay conditions. Many thanks to Jon and his players. We do it all again in Div X next season.

Stephen Moss is Kingston club captain

Final Thames Valley Div X table for 2025/26

Kingston 1 v Guildford 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 13 April 2026

Kingston v Guildford is a very friendly but very keen rivalry, and this clash had plenty riding on it. If either team won the match, they would win the division 1 title. A 4-4 draw would favour Kingston without being decisive – it would mean that a 4-4 draw or better against Wimbledon when we travel there on 23 April would suffice for the title.

Two strong teams lined up, with Kingston having the rating advantage on the top two boards while the lower boards looked well matched. We had the further advantage of a non-playing captain to ease the nerves when our board 1 was slightly late. Clive Frostick won the toss for Guildford, worthwhile given the colour preferences of our top two, without being of the same materiality as in division 2 where the matches are of an odd number of boards.

The early returns maintained the suspense. On board 7, Julian Way took a quick draw – he was outrated and had Black, while Clive Frostick was fatigued after taking part in the Guildford Congress over the weekend. Board 4, John Hawksworth v Matthew Dishman, was almost as short – John was suffering from an energy-sapping foot injury. Board 6, Peter Hasson v Timothy Foster, took longer but had the same result – in an accurately played game by both sides, Peter maintained roughly his initial edge as White, but never more. The a-file opened early, creating an avenue for the major pieces to exchange themselves off, and there was no obvious lever for either side to make something of the minor-piece ending.

On board 5, Zain Patel, with Black facing Adrian Wallace, had seemed to me to be in some early danger, with the “Greek Gift” (for new readers, a situation in which say White is able to sacrifice Bxh7+ and after Kxh7 to play Ng5+ and Qh5, mating on h7) in the air because of the shortage of black minor pieces defending the king. However, a subsequent tour of the hall showed that he had stabilised the situation, and I mentally chalked up another valuable half-point.

Relaxing over a coffee in the foyer, I was soon alarmed to see Zain emerge from the playing area with a wry look suggesting that he had done some schoolboy mischief and was hoping to escape unnoticed. I rushed over to relieve him of his scoresheet for this report, ready to offer some consoling words, and was amazed to see the glorious digits 0-1 at the bottom. With his usual endearing modesty, he explained that his win had resulted from a simple blunder. In such a close and critical match, most of us would have enjoyed the win whatever its artistic shortcomings, but he had indeed dodged a bullet in the middle game as well as being the recipient of a gift at the end as we see below.

With that hurdle overcome, I was confident of the match result, with all the remaining boards looking at least safe. On board 8 Jasper Tambini, facing the rising junior Alistair Jennis, had played the sort of gambit he enjoys against solid black systems like the French and Caro-Kann. Initially the compensation looked modest, but he was clearly the more comfortable in the kind of game which had resulted.

On board 3, Peter Large, playing an old adversary and team-mate in Nigel Povah, had a long and tense struggle, but as on boards 4, 6 and 7 there were no big swings in the advantage, though there was an interesting phase in the queenless middle game in which Peter correctly refused an offered pawn.

So we had a 4-2 lead with the top two boards outstanding. And outstanding is the best description of the scores racked up by Messrs Lalić and Maycock this season in their contrasting styles. Peter Lalić played one of his idiosyncratic openings with White against FM Jon Ady to reach the kind of queenless middle game in which he is far more experienced than even strong and titled opponents, and then came up with an interesting idea.

Peter may have been a little disappointed only to draw a game in which he had been well on top for several hours. But it was the half-point that got us over the line in the match and for the title, and so warmly appreciated by his team-mates and other club members gathered round the board.

David Maycock produced a classy effort with Black to grind down the formidable Gwilym Price on board 1. A characteristically principled opening gave him an advantage in activity which, although small, is the kind of edge which can be turned into a win at this level. The conversion process was more Lalićian, with long periods in which White was left to chafe against his fetters, than Maycockian, with fireworks, but none the less instructive for that, so with David’s kind agreement the whole game is given here.

Peter Andrews is Kingston 1 captain in the Surrey League

Ashtead 1 v Kingston 2, Surrey League division 2 match played at the Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead on 7 April 2026

The Surrey League Division 2 (Beaumont Cup) table showed in advance of this match that if Kingston 2 were defeated, Guildford 2, with two outstanding matches, could still catch us on match points. We had 12.5 more game points, so a defeat by no worse than 2-5 would ensure that even two 7-0 wins for Guildford would be insufficient to overhaul us.

I was confident that was within our scope, but with several regulars away for holiday or work reasons, David Rowson falling ill the day before the match, and Ashtead having several strong players who occasionally turn out for them, it was by no means a done deal. Those concerns were reinforced before the start. The familiar figure of Peter Lalić was hovering in the background, and he certainly wasn’t eligible to play for us. And of course, this being Division 2, I lost the toss, giving us four Blacks out of seven.

Quick draws for Jasper Tambini on board 2 against Phil Brooks and John Foley on board 3 against Dan Rosen, in both cases outrated by over 100 points, soon settled the nerves. Tom Mayers on board 6 took only slightly longer to draw with Bertie Barlow. Tom had had an edge from the opening, but the position soon became blocked and roughly equal, and he wisely took no risks.

My game with Peter Lalić was also fairly short but rather more exciting, in a bad way. In a similar line to our clash in the Thames Valley match between Kingston A and B early in the season, Peter had thrown his kingside pawns up the board, sacrificing one of them. The sacrifice was not strictly sound, but tempted me to try to hold the material rather than get castled, and in a difficult but in principle equal position I missed a game-ending shot.

At about the same time, Alan Scrimgour won on board 4 against Ian McLeod. This was one of those rare games where one player is able to build a winning advantage by positional means without an obvious major error on the other side.

Stephen Moss, who had kindly stepped up to play board 7 when David Rowson fell ill, had a much longer and more dramatic game with Adrian Waldock. An aggressive line against the English had given him a space advantage. White had countered on the kingside which had opened up, potentially embarrassing both kings, but by the time we join the action (and this was about the time spectators were moving over from the other games) it was clear that it was White’s king which was in trouble.

That left us 3.5-2.5 ahead, and, with at least one match point in the bag, fine calculations around game points became academic. As it turned out, Martyn Jones on board 5 was able to seal the win in an entertaining though unrecorded finish against Tom Barton.

Martyn, playing Black, had won a pawn and also had the better bishop by the early stages of the endgame, and seemed at one point to have a winning chance in hand-to-hand fighting between the central pawns. But the position became blocked, and White penetrated with a rook. Towards the end there seemed to be a risk that Martyn’s king would get mated mid-board, hemmed in by pawns.  With both players down to a minute or less, Martyn played Be8, defending all the threats but leaving the bishop en prise to a rook on e6. As he did so, he offered a draw. His opponent was equally unaware that he had just been presented with a game that he had been fighting to save for most of the evening, and accepted the draw, giving us a 4-3 win.

So we won the match and with it the Surrey League division 2 championship, only four seasons after Kingston 1 had won the same division. Whereas that was a logical stepping stone en route to contesting the summit of Surrey chess, this has been much more of a surprise (until this season we have regarded staying in the division as our objective) and therefore arguably a greater achievement by the players involved.

We were outrated in five of our 10 matches, according to the one-month-lagged ratings used by Surrey, and we lost the toss in eight of those 10 matches – significant when that means 4 Blacks and 3 Whites. In all the close finishes, of which there were many (two drawn matches, a 4-3 win, three 4.5-2.5 wins), someone seemed to pull out a result when it was needed.

Eighteen different people played during the season. Of the regulars, Alan Scrimgour (6/8) and David Rowson (5/7) had the best results. But the strength of this team was in depth, with for example Homayoon Froogh (4.5/5) and Martyn Jones (3.5/5) scoring heavily on the lower boards, increasing their ratings and moving up the order as the season went on, and Stephen Moss scoring 3 out of 4 in addition to his tireless driving.

Over the next few weeks I intend to consult the player pool as to whether we wish to have a crack at division 1 or whether, if we have the choice, we might be able to remain in what is already a highly challenging division. But for the moment Kingston 2 should enjoy their unexpected success in winning one of the few trophies which eluded the club in 2024-25.  

Peter Andrews is Kingston 2 captain in Surrey League division 2

Hammersmith A v Kingston B, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at the London Mindsports Centre, 21 Dalling Rd, London W6 on 2 April 2026

Unexpectedly, for our players at least, the Candidates broadcasts had a rival last Thursday, as Hammersmith transmitted live on chess.com the games between their A team and our B team. While that may have exposed in real time our many inaccuracies to a global audience, it also allowed our fellow Kingstonians to follow every twist and turn of what proved to be some entertaining and possibly nerve-shredding games.

Several Kingston players had dropped out of the team originally selected due to illness or Easter holiday engagements, so as captain I was very grateful to Constantin Liesch and Genç Taşbaşı for making themselves available at short notice. Hammersmith were also without some of their usual A team players, but they still significantly outrated us.

It was the board 5 game which might have finished first, as Tom Townsend offered Constantin a draw, which the Kingston player had the spirit to refuse, even though at that point he only had a slight advantage. In fact, the first result came on board 3, where Jasper Tambini (pictured above) had played the Advance Variation against Maria-Alexandra Ciocan’s French Defence. In the following position the two players had equal chances:

This win was a fillip for the team and for those watching on Chess.com, and as the other games were still too close to call there was a flicker of hope that we could yet achieve a result against expectations.

On board 2, where I had Black against Luke Lau, I felt that I had equalised in the opening (an Italian Game), but both players were continually faced with difficult choices which had impacts on both sides of the board. After Luke’s 32. h4 this was the position:

The board 6 game began as a Sicilian Defence Alapin Variation, with a fairly level position up to this position:

On board 1 Peter Andrews had opened with his usual English. Stereotypes of this opening as one which generally steers clear of tactics were exposed as totally wide of the mark by the way the game went. Peter gained an extra pawn (on c5), but also exchanged his g2 bishop for Black’s c6 knight, commenting afterwards that “giving up the two bishops is a high price to pay”. Unusually, Ali Hill positioned his bishops on h4 and h5, and his control of the e-file gave him the advantage:

John Foley succinctly summed up both his journey to the venue and the way his game started as follows: “I was stuck in traffic, so bailed out and Limed it to Hammersmith 20 minutes late. I rattled off the trusty Caro-Kann and times were level after 19 moves.” There were many twists and turns in this game too, until the position simplified, if that is the appropriate word, into a queen and bishop ending where John had an extra pawn:

With five of the six games concluded, Kingston B had now lost the match, trailing 3.5-1.5, but on board 5 Constantin Liesch was still fighting to try to win a rook ending against his much higher-rated opponent. This nearly backfired when, in time trouble, he allowed his opponent the chance to advance his passed pawn to e2 at a moment when Constantin’s rook was not in a position to stop it queening. Fortunately for him, Tom Townsend overlooked this and the game was drawn, a very good result for Constantin. This gave a final match score of 4-2 to Hammersmith.

Not a bad result given the rating discrepancy, and I imagine we gave plenty of entertainment to the chess.com viewers. However, it’s been quite frustrating this season that we have put up good fights against Hammersmith, Ealing and Maidenhead (away – we beat them at home), but have fallen short in the end. We still have three matches in which to gain the points to stay in division 1.

David Rowson is Kingston B captain in Thames Valley division 1

Ashtead 2 v Kingston 3, Surrey League division 4 match played at the Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead on 31 March 2026

As the season marches inexorably towards its conclusion, so too did six of Kingston’s finest march a step further towards the Centenary Trophy. Although the 4.5-1.5 scoreline left little room for doubt, the match at Ashtead was a nail-biter, with four games still unclear at 10.15pm. Many thanks to Ashtead for hosting us and congratulations to all the players on a robust and competitive performance.

Kingston third-and fourth-team captain Ed Mospan had one eye on the league standings when selecting the team; with just one further match against co-leaders Epsom 4 remaining, there was no room for error. We had a moderate rating advantage on the top 4 boards, widening out into a significant edge on boards 5 and 6, which is where our analysis begins – Ashtead’s Hugh Wylie v Kingston’s Seth Warren on board 5.

Fairly soon afterwards, Kingston’s Ye Kwaw also won with White on board 6 against Christopher Perks, leaving us 2-0 up. Surveying the remaining four boards, however, gave a very uncertain picture. As late as 10.15pm all four were still in play, with most players having less than 10 minutes on the clock, and three games still very double-edged.

Xavier Cowan (pictured above, right) had arrived late after an unexpectedly adventurous cycle journey. He had conceded a lot of time to his opponent, Patrick O’Mara, and had the black pieces, but his play proved to be as free-wheeling as his cycling, and he built up a kingside attack which eventually proved to be irresistible. Dormie 3, as golfers say. The match could not now be lost.

Indeed, it was there to be won. Thivan Gunawardana was in trouble against Ashley Wilson on board 4, but Alex Chmelev looked to have a nailed-on draw against Ashtead stalwart Bertie Barlow on board 2 and Tom Mayers, with Black on board 3, was starting to make progress against the experienced Adrian Waldock.

The three games finished in rapid succession, with time playing its part in two of them. Alex duly secured the match-winning draw on board 2; Thivan, in desperate time trouble and also under severe pressure on the board, succumbed to give Ashtead a consolation win; and Tom won on time – an excellent scalp for the young man – to make the final score 4.5-1.5. Kingston 3 now face a tough away match against Epsom 4 which will decide who wins the Surrey League division 4 (Centenary Trophy) title.

Seth Warren is Kingston fixtures secretary and was acting captain in the match at Ashtead

Epsom 1 v Kingston 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at Epsom Christian Fellowship, 22 West Hill, Epsom on 30 March 2026

Matches against Epsom always have an extra edge – in a good way – and this had more than most. If we had lost here, Guildford 1 would have maintained a 1.5 point lead in Surrey League division 1. We could still have caught them, but it would have been much tougher. As it was, a 6-2 victory over Epsom allowed us to close to within half a point and the decider will now be Kingston 1’s home match with Guildford on 13 April. Those two clubs will also contest the final of the Alexander Cup at Ashtead on 26 May, confirming that they have been the dominant teams in Surrey this season.

We had a strong team out at Epsom and slightly shaded it on ratings. But Peter Lalić was in trouble from an early stage with White on board 1 against IM Graeme Buckley, so nothing could be taken for granted. Epsom’s Chris Russell was playing aggressively against David Maycock on board 2; Peter Andrews and Robin Haldane were having a (metaphorical) punch-up on board 6; Jasper Tambini was facing former British champion Peter Lee (pictured above) on board 7; and on board 8 Kingston president John Foley was up against Sachin Kumar, the junior who had beaten him in a Kingston 2 match in January. Anything could happen.

David Maycock (pictured above, left) opened the scoring for Kingston with a win with Black over Christopher Russell, though David was mad at himself for one error which could have cost him the game. Russell played an aggressive opening and when I looked at the position below, I thought he had given himself a good chance of breaking through with the early g4. Full marks for ambition anyway.

On board 4 John Hawksworth secured an important draw with Black against James Allison, who has been a thorn in Kingston’s side this season. The game, which started as a Nimzo-Indian, was nip and tuck throughout. “I spent much too long on the opening and, although I got an acceptable position, I was behind on the clock throughout the game,” John said afterwards. He thought his opponent had a sniff of a chance in the position below.

Peter Hasson, as so often this season, calmed nerves further with an assured win with White over Arnav Kumar, elder brother of Sachin, on board 5. “Arnav was confused by my speculative pawn sac.” Peter said after the game. “The final position has some pretty mates if he plays on.” We join the game on White’s 12th move, when Peter decides to try to exploit Black’s cramped set-up.

Kingston were 2.5-0.5 up, but Epsom quickly hit back, IM Graeme Buckley beating Peter Lalić with Black on board 1 – a very good result for Graeme which ended Peter’s sequence of 41 undefeated classical games. Peter played a bold version of the Smith-Morra, but only succeeded in giving up two pawns for not very much. Graeme had no difficulty defusing any hopes of counterplay, and Peter resigned in the position below.

John Foley’s game against Sachin Kumar was very similar to their earlier encounter. John built up a hefty time advantage and they entered an endgame – with rooks on this occasion rather than bishops as previously. John was pressing, but Sachin defended well on the increment and peace was eventually declared. That made it 3-2 to KIngston.

IMs Peter Large and Susan Lalić played a vigorous game on board 3, with both sides looking to grab the initiative and attack. Peter had White, but was well into the middlegame before he could establish any sort of advantage. In the position below, Stockfish gives White a small plus, but Black’s command of the c-file looks promising.

Jasper Tambini’s win over Peter Lee was a thriller, with tactics galore. A French Advance led to this position in which White is already much better thanks to Black’s kingside weaknesses.

The wins by Peter Large and Jasper Tambini gave Kingston an unassailable 5-2 lead. Now could the Kingston captain, Peter Andrews, put the icing on the cake? We join the game with Peter about to play his tenth move. The commentary is by Peter, who sums up the game by saying: “We both attacked, mainly out of desperation when we felt we were getting into trouble.”

“Robin was kind enough to say that he had enjoyed the game very much despite the result, hence playing on to mate, said Peter afterwards. “And of course unlike Gordon Rennie the previous week, Robin was safe from any flying pieces because my mating attack comprised backwards moves.”

Thus Kingston enjoyed a very satisfying – and perhaps slightly flattering – 6-2 victory. Now the deciding match against league leaders on 13 April Guildford awaits. It promises to be an epic encounter.

Stephen Moss is Kingston Chess Club captain

Surbiton A v Kingston A, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at Fircroft, Surbiton on 25 March 2026

After our close, tense and controversial match against Hammersmith, I was hoping and expecting a simple and stress-free evening out on our trip away to Surbiton, especially as they put out a team missing Mark Josse, their best player. But things did not turn out quite as I planned.

The first game to finish was the board 1 clash between David Maycock and Altaf Chaudhry. This was another crushing win by David, essentially decided by an opening error by Black:

Another crisp game by Maycock. His handling of the white pieces in the Sicilian Defence is both an object lesson and a standing reproach to all those club players who wheel out their tired Alapins, their pusillanimous Bb5s and their lame Morras “to avoid the theory”. Play the main lines for God’s sake.

The next game to finish was on board 4, where John Hawksworth had the black pieces against David Scott. Readers who have been following John’s progress as he returns to the fray will not be surprised to learn that the game ended in a draw – he is difficult to beat. He played (my favourite) Hedgehog Defence, and it seemed to me he went wrong at one point in the opening. But he recovered to reach equality, and the game ended in an almost-forced threefold repetition on move 28.

On board 6 Peter Andrews had very kindly stepped in at late notice to replace an unwell Julian Way. His reward was to get Black against Nick Faulks, a frequent opponent. On Peter’s own account he was surprised in the opening, when Faulks played:

That made it 1.5-1.5 – not the score I had been hoping for. And it got worse. On board 2, Peter Lalić was Black against Joseph Morrison. Peter’s latest opening nonsense involves advancing all the pawns in front of his own king, so as to create weaknesses. The flaw in this strategy is that the weaknesses are in his own position. Morrison reacted to the provocation quite sensibly, and in fact missed a chance to obtain an advantage in the early middlegame. The game was agreed a draw on move 32 in a blocked position in which neither side could make much progress. 2-2.

On board 3 I was playing the up-and-coming Joshua Pirgon. I obtained no advantage with White against his unusual line in the French, and after 19 moves we reached the following equal position:

That made the score 3-2, but with one game remaining we still hadn’t won the match. Fortunately the one game remaining was Peter Hasson v Liam Bayly on board 5. Peter is extremely strong with White, and this was a beautiful positional game.

So we scraped a 4-2 win. It means we have put some clear blue water between ourselves and our rivals in Thames Valley division 1, but the narrow margin of victory against the team currently sitting at the bottom of the league table shows that there is still no room for smug complacency.

Peter Large is Kingston captain in Thames Valley division 1