Alexander Cup semi-final played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 25 January 2024
This was the board 1 match-up in the Alexander Cup semi-final played at Kingston on 25 January, which the home side won 6-4. For a long period, onlookers assumed Mark Gray was winning this game as he had a big material plus, but, as John Saunders’ brilliant annotation shows, converting such an advantage when your pieces are uncoordinated is far from easy. Engines keep telling us a player has a “won” position, but chess is played by humans and the numbers don’t mean much. John enjoyed watching this game in real time, standing close to the players. Retired from competitive play for a decade or so, it brought back to him the full wonder – and anxiety – of playing chess, as well as the vast gulf between faltering human play and silicon certainties.
