Michael Schreenan met Rob Bailey and not surprisingly, a Sicilian was played. Rob won the exchange early in the game and soon had a crushing position which he quickly won.

James Eldridge also faced a Sicilian from the championship debutant Rob Loveband. Neither player was able to gain a decisive edge and the game was eventually drawn.

Darren Young versus Kevin Perrin was yet another Sicilian and like the previously mentioned game was a very even, tough encounter. Darren fought valiantly to maintain the balance, but Kevin’s vast experience enabled him to grind out a win. One curious aspect of the game was that Darren ran out of time, but Kevin declined to claim the win, preferring to win on the board.

Tim Commons versus Peter Miitel was the fourth of five Sicilians on the night. The game was an unbalanced affair with Peter “gaining” 2 pieces for rook and pawn early in the middle game. Tim had just enough play to create some doubt in Peter’s mind and the players agreed to a draw.

In the first of two heavyweight tournament encounters for the night, Jamie Brotheridge took on defending champion Patrick Cook. Jamie had been declaring for months that he was going to win the game and proceeded to outplay Patrick in the opening (a Queen’s Indian) and the middle game, with subtle positional play. Having reached a winning endgame, a hasty response to Patrick’s desperate attempt at counter play left Jamie staring forlornly at yet another draw.

John Frangakis played Jamie’s brother Jason and played the subtly dangerous Trompovsky opening. John won a pawn and gained the 2 Bishops early on then outplayed his opponent before finishing him off with a neat checkmate.

The other heavyweight clash saw Joel Beggs take on Scott Stewart in the fifth Sicilian of the round. Unfortunately, the game had to be adjourned after 18 moves, due to unforseen external circumstances and will be continued at a later date.

Club newcomer Simon Feros played a Queen’s Gambit against John Abson and snared a pawn from the opening stage. He then outplayed John in the middle game to win a piece and finished his opponent off with an unusual checkmate.