Hounslow B v Kingston B, Thames Valley League division 2 match played at the Royal British Legion, Hounslow on 28 April 2025

This was not a match I expected Kingston B to win. We were away, outrated, and perhaps distracted by the fact we had two big finals the following evening. But in reality the team stepped up brilliantly and won 4-2 to keep us on top of the Thames Valley division 2 table.

I had a dull draw on board 4 against capable junior Vibhush Pusapadi; Homayoon Froogh had a rather more exciting and higher-class draw with Sesh Vaddadi on board 2; Peter Andrews had what he described as a “stress-free” win in a rook and pawn endgame against the very solid Mateusz Dydak on board 1; David Shalom outmanoeuvred Hounslow veteran Leon Fincham to register an important win on board 5; and Genc Tasbasi lost on time (in a lost position) against the wily Frank Zurstiege on board 6.

Game of the night was Jon Eckert (White) against Hounslow captain David White (Black) on board 3. John played the Grand Prix Attack against David’s Sicilian, leading to this position after 13 moves:

Stephen Moss, Kingston club captain