Squad members celebrated in The Chantry pub after both of our teams won in the first round of the Richardson Cup, setting up a 2nd round showdown between the two of them which is scheduled for Monday, 14th November 2022.
Our first team beat Worksop 4-2 with wins for Geoff B on board 3, and Edward on 4. All of the other games were drawn, with team captain Marek creditably holding on a rook down, on top board, against Jonathan Tait.
The second team won by the same margin against a Barnsley team crippled by the late withdrawal of one of their players. Tom, outrated by 200 points, was our club's only loser on the night. A near 200-point rating difference, however, didn't matter to either Dave G or Ian who both drew, on boards 2 and 4 respectively. Nor did a 200-point gap matter to Andy N whose opponent resigned as soon as Andy won their queen. Paul was our other winner, on board 5.
The win for the second team was truly unexpected and everyone was buzzing after the match. The fact that our teams now play each other in the next round just added to the excitement and Ian later challenged Marek, "Bring your strongest team, my friend, we're ready and waiting." Ian was clearly in his cups.