Tim Commons versus Jamie Brotheridge, from Round 5, was a Caro-Kann. After a tactical skirmish in the opening, Black emerged a pawn to the good and an interesting queens and rooks' middlegame ensued. Black kept the initiative but then traded 2 rooks for queen and pawn to reach a tricky endgame. He was fortunate that White missed a probable draw by perpetual check when he dropped a rook and resigned immediately.

Swytzar Swytzer met Michael Schreenan, from Round 6, in a Petroff that quickly became a 4 Knights Opening. A wild and woolly game with ultra-sharp tactics was the result. Black dropped a piece but White neglected to castle and his King was caught in murderous crossfire and was mated on move 20.

Patrick Cook faced the strong newcomer Sharjeel Ansari and tested his knowledge in his favourite Larsen’s Opening. Neither player gained much from the opening, but in the middlegame White carelessly dropped a pawn. Good endgame technique enabled White to steer the game to a rook and pawn ending and a draw was the result.