Kingston A beat Ealing A to extend TVL Div 1 lead
The visit of Ealing was significant for both Kingston A, looking to maintain their lead in Thames Valley League Division 1, and Kingston B, for whom Ealing are relegation rivals. It was a very well-contested match, with all six games going the distance in terms of time, moves or both, and for much of the evening the outcome was in doubt.
Kingston C whitewash Surbiton D to end season on a high
Kingston C completed their Thames Valley division X season in style with a 4-0 victory over Surbiton D. A very encouraging result for Jon Eckert’s team to end a season in which they have competed well throughout.
Kingston 1 beat Guildford 1 to secure Surrey title
Kingston v Guildford is a very friendly but very keen rivalry, and this clash had plenty riding on it. If either team won the match, they would win the division 1 title. A 4-4 draw would favour Kingston without being decisive – it would mean that a 4-4 draw or better against Wimbledon when we travel there on 23 April would suffice for the title.
Stalemates by Kingston players
Stalemates should be listed on the 100 things for a chessplayer to do before they die. They are very rare – around 0.1% of all games – so they need to be savoured. They come in two flavours – sweet and bitter. They are sweet when conjured up by the player who is in a lost position and seeking a last resort. They are bitter when they arise as an unexpected shock to the player who has a dominant position and cruising towards victory.
Kingston 2 beat Ashtead 1 to seal Surrey Div 2 title
The Surrey League Division 2 (Beaumont Cup) table showed in advance of this match that if Kingston 2 were defeated, Guildford 2, with two outstanding matches, could still catch us on match points. We had 12.5 more game points, so a defeat by no worse than 2-5 would ensure that even two 7-0 wins for Guildford would be insufficient to overhaul us.
Tambini leads valiant struggle at Hammersmith
Unexpectedly, for our players at least, the Candidates broadcasts had a rival last Thursday, as Hammersmith transmitted live on chess.com the games between their A team and our B team. While that may have exposed in real time our many inaccuracies to a global audience, it also allowed our fellow Kingstonians to follow every twist and turn of what proved to be some entertaining and possibly nerve-shredding games.