Surrey League division 4 match played at the Haywain Brewers Fayre, Epsom on 3 April 2023

I realise that, with our seventh defeat in seven matches in Surrey Div 4, we must be starting to sound like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but this latest loss really is only a flesh wound; a moral victory really. We are after all building for the future! Just wait till next season, when all these seeds will bloom

An away match against resurgent Epsom is never easy, and a 4-2 loss was by no means a disaster. Captain Stephen Daines enjoyed a quick win against a player rated well above him, though Stephen’s true rating (as someone who has returned to chess after a 40-year break and is now remembering everything he learned as a junior back in the Victorian period) is surely a good deal higher than his provisional one.

Charlie Cooke and Mark Sheridan performed admirably on the top boards, getting draws against seasoned players, but the other three games were lost, though everyone put up a fighting performance and Sean, in particular, battled hard despite being the exchange down for a long period. The upside: there is no relegation from Div 4, so we will be back next year and our players have learned a huge amount from the rigours of playing in a division that is surprisingly strong.

Stephen Moss