Kingston 1 v Ashtead 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 10 March 2025
Going into this match, Kingston knew that a win here and a draw at Guildford at the end of the month would win the Surrey Trophy. But a loss at Guildford, who have turned out some very strong sides at home, where they are unbeaten, would mean that they could catch us on match points. So it was important to achieve a big win against Ashtead, in case the season’s honours are decided on game points.
That incentivised us to field a stronger team than would normally be necessary against the bottom club, while it was clear when team sheets were exchanged that Ashtead had struggled to raise a team. There were rating differences of over 500 points on some of the boards, suggesting that a big win should be achievable. Nevertheless, several of the games went the distance, with the visitors showing their fighting spirit.
First to finish was Mike Healey (pictured above right, sitting beside Peter Lalić). Mike had Black on board 4 against Ashtead captain Bertie Barlow, and the game crystallised with White objectively holding but in practice under some pressure.
Board 7, where Jasper Tambini had White against young (and probably significantly underrated) Tom Vinall, was less straightforward. Jasper tried a gambit against the Caro-Kann, and at one stage I relayed to the crowds in the bar anxiously waiting for news that it looked dodgy. A few minutes later I returned to the arena to find that Jasper had won!
Board 8 was more relaxing for the captain, although no doubt less exciting for other viewers. Julian Way, with Black against Peter Grabaskey, accumulated material and won risklessly.
John Hawksworth’s win with Black against Chris Perks on board 6 was similar: advantages accumulated, and then some classy play to force the decision.
On board 5 Ash Stewart, with White, had to decide what to do with a big advantage in space against Daniel Richmond.
So we had a clean sweep of boards 4 to 8. But boards 1 to 3 were still in progress with time running short. On board 3, playing Black against Tom Barton, David Maycock was in the uncharacteristic role of sacrifice acceptor.
Then came our first frustration. On board 1 Peter Large, with White, and Phil Brooks played an accurate – 98% on each side, according to Stockfish – but uneventful game in which the evaluation never reached 0.5 in either direction. We give the concluding position.
A draw was agreed here. It is not clear why now rather than on move 39, when the last chance for a pawn break or king penetration disappeared. Perhaps it was influenced by the decision to limit the new Kingston Chess Club scoresheets to 50 moves; neither side wanted to consume a second sheet unnecessarily.
On board 3 Peter Lalić, with White, had a winning kingside attack for a long time, but his opponent was difficult to nail down.
The game continued, with Peter steadily developing his advantage. He was, though, very short of time by now, so built time with a little shuffling in order to visualise the winning idea.
Thus the match finished 7.5-0.5. A 4-4 draw at Guildford would seal the Surrey title for us, and a narrow defeat would set them a very demanding target when they play at Coulsdon before Easter. Not that we can afford to go to Guildford envisaging a narrow defeat. We go there hoping to overturn their proud home record this season.
Peter Andrews, Kingston captain in Surrey League division 1
