Kingston B v Hounslow B, Thames Valley League division 2 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 17 March 2025

Kingston B have been going surprisingly well in Thames Valley division 2, winning seven and drawing one of their eight matches before this encounter. Helped by a Hounslow default on bottom board, they kept their unbeaten record with a 5-1 victory and now have a very good chance of being promoted, which would give Kingston two teams in Thames Valley division 1.

Seth Warren was making his second-team debut for Kingston and won a hard-fought game with Black against Steve Hall. This was the sequence which paved the way for Seth’s win:

Alicia Mason kept up her great season with a win with White on board 4 against Ritesh Tendulkar. It was a Sicilian Dragon in which Black decided on an imaginative – but ultimately fruitless – piece-for-two-pawns sac in the position below:

Black plays Bxg4 here, reckoning that after fxg4 and recapture by one of the knights, the pair of knights will make merry. It’s not the worst idea in the world, but just too optimistic. Black did almost get back into the game when White’s e-pawn fell, but a further piece-winning tactic quickly quashed the revival and that was that, though Black played on and on hoping for a miracle.

John Bussmann on board 1 and Jon Eckert on 3 both had draws, while Zubair Froogh, who is also having an immensely promising debut season for Kingston, won in good style with White against the very capable JJ Padam on board 2. Zubair’s win completed an emphatic victory which keeps Kingston B on top of Thames Valley division 2, though with five matches still to play in a protracted season which will last into June.

Stephen Moss, Kingston club captain