Perhaps this was a match too far for Kingston 2 in the Surrey League. We were safe from relegation in division 2, had little but pride to play for and were up against a strong team still vying with Wimbledon 1 for promotion to the top flight. We were outrated but, in truth, we should have done better than losing 5-2. We did well to draw on boards 1 to 3, and on 7, but were outgunned in the middle order.

Kingston fielded an all-junior team in the final TVX match of the season and were rewarded with a 2-2 draw against a more experienced Surbiton team.

The Thorp Trophy – a four-board team rapidplay played on a single afternoon – hasn’t been held for 20 years, but this season the Surrey Association enterprisingly revived it, and last weekend 16 teams from across Surrey gathered at the Parochial Hall in Cheam to do battle for the trophy.

Those of us who fancy ourselves as arithmeticians had worked out, prior to this match, that a win or even a draw would be enough to give us the Thames Valley Division 1 title. However, we were missing several of our leading players, so we anticipated a close match.

Epsom are always challenging opponents, and so it proved in this Thames Valley Knockout semi-final match. Kingston had a sizeable rating advantage and the victory, by 4-2, looks reasonably comfortable on paper, but it never felt straightforward and we were especially wary of the talented young Kumar brothers on boards 4 and 5.