Kingston 1 v Epsom 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 11 March 2024

There was a great deal riding on this match. Epsom, newly promoted but with three IMs on their top boards and masses of ambition under president-for-life Marcus Gosling, are top of division 1 and needed only a draw to secure their first ever Surrey Trophy. They beat us with ease back in November, when we put out a stronger team than the one we fielded here, but on this occasion we turned the tables and won a famous victory by 5-3.

Epsom are still favourites to win the title – relegation-threatened Wimbledon would need to get at least a draw in their match with Epsom on 18 April for us to have any chance of overhauling them at the top. But at least we have made it difficult for them, and given the energetic Epsom president a few sleepless nights.

This was officially an away match for us, but it was switched to the Willoughby Arms when Epsom discovered they could not use their venue on the designated day (they have since announced that they are moving to a new venue). Epsom fielded exactly the same team that had beaten us in November, but this time we were ready and oddly always felt confident about doing well in the match.

It is the solidity of the team’s performance that is striking: no losses across the eight boards; Epsom’s mighty IM spearhead nullified by our own super-trio of Peter Lalić, Vladimir Li and David Maycock; a brilliant win by Luca Buanne against the dangerous Robin Haldane on board 4; and, fittingly, a match-winning victory by Kingston captain David Rowson against the very promising junior Zain Patel on board 5 (the climax of their nail-biting clash, hemmed in by team-mates and supporters, is shown in the photograph above). The perfect team performance, and very welcome after a season in which we have occasionally spluttered following last season’s “Quadruple”-winning heroics.

The first game to finish was on board 6, where Julian Way had Black against the 1965 British champion Peter Lee, who has made a welcome return to chess at the tender age of 80. Peter played a Ruy Lopez, but Julian had no difficulty equalising and may even at one point have had a slight edge, but after 25 moves peace was declared in the position below.

On board 2 Peters Lalić, with White, and Large (how many Peters were playing in this match?) had an even shorter game – just 14 moves – but those moves seemed to take an eternity as the two prizefighters, who know each other’s games so well, circled the ring looking for an opportunity to land a punch. Objectively, the Epsom Peter has a small plus in the position in which a draw was agreed (see below), but the open g-file bearing down on the king may have given him pause for thought. Epsom IM No 1 neutralised.

Epsom IM No 2, Graeme Buckley, had White against Kingston FM Vladimir Li on board 2, and this game was always likely to be one of the key determinants of the match. Vladimir defended superbly, but was a little worried when this position was reached after move 25. The comments and variants which follow are Vladimir’s, supplied more or less off the cuff on the night of the match.

Vladimir’s draw on board 2 meant the second of Epsom’s trio of IMs had been neutralised. On board 3 David Maycock did not have neutralisation on his mind against Susan Lalić and had (as usual) sac’d the exchange in the interests of a creative attack. But it was petering (geddit?) out, and we started to fear the worst. John Foley was also up against it in the Battle of the Presidents on board 8, though President Gosling was starting to come under time pressure, so all was not quite lost despite some dangerous-looking passed pawns.

Meanwhile on board 4, Luca Buanne was playing skilfully with Black in a Sicilian against the attack-minded Robin Haldane. The position was level until Robin allowed his knight one adventure too many in the position below. After that the roof caved in, and Luca finished in style – such style indeed that Robert Waller, one of our great supporters, raised his arms in the air in triumph as he made the move. I tried to restrain him in a somewhat po-faced, let’s-respect-chess-decorum kind of way, but Rob was having none of it. This was insurgent Epsom after all, the would-be chess empire that had to be held in check by the gatekeepers of the Galactic Republic.

Luca’s win put us in front and, in a match this tight, was always going to be crucial. At one point it looked likely to be the only decisive result of the evening. Peter Andrews and Chris Wright played out a draw on board 7, though not without alarms on both sides. Peter was very critical of his own play, and at one point missed a chance to win the exchange, but he is captain of the Kingston first team in the Surrey League and captaincy can do that to players. You are trying to follow all eight games and can sometimes neglect your own, with the result that captains often play a little below their true strength.

So 3-2 to Kingston with three games still in progress: two of them were unfavourable to us – President Foley was in a spot if bother against President Gosling and David Maycock was down against Susan Lalić, though as ever creating complications – and only David Rowson looked to have a small plus. This was by no means done and dusted yet.

Key to our victory in the match was that Epsom did not win the two games in which they were manifestly up. On board 8, John Foley feared the game was slipping away, but Marcus Gosling was short of time and John is an astute defender. We pick up the game on White’s 36th move. The notes are supplied by John, who at this point felt his position was “dire” and that “the only hope was to get opposite-coloured bishops or to aim for a tricky knight and queen ending”.

Now attention shifted to David Maycock’s struggle with the third of Epsom’s IMs, Susan Lalić, who is also a woman grandmaster (WGM) and five-times British women’s chess champion. As in the clash of presidents on board 8, the Epsom player was objectively winning but had very little time, with David causing problems and angling for a perpetual check, which he did indeed eventually achieve. The crunch came in the position below. One move wins; the other draws. Susan chose the wrong one.

Susan, under great time pressure remember, went for Kf8 and repeated moves – zeitnot scrambles even experts’ brains. But Ke8 is winning because within a few moves Black will be able to block the queen checks by playing Bd7 and that will more or less be that. A great – and in terms of securing the match vital – escape for Kingston’s Mexican-born wizard.

Now Captain Rowson had only to draw on board 5 to win the match, but he was looking for more than that against Zain Patel after setting a neat trap in the position below.

David’s victory made it 5-3 to Kingston on the night. Epsom took defeat very sportingly and their chance will come again when they play Wimbledon away on 18 April. We have to beat Wimbledon at home on 8 April and then hope Wimbledon get some sort of miracle result against Epsom, who are sure to put out a very strong team. But whatever the destination of the Surrey Trophy title, this was a night we will savour for a long time to come.

Stephen Moss