I will confess that I did something rather horrible to the opposition by unleashing the most terrifying sight any adult chess player can face: small juniors. Kavin Sudegar, Adamjeet and Amandeep Singh all featured, drawing some understandably nervous looks from the Suffolk players.
The boys played magnificently too, scoring 2.5 out of 3 and making a huge contribution to the win. Adamjeet and Kavin took on the top boards and look destined for the U2050s next season, while I would not bet against Amandeep going top for us from September.
Yorkshire were back in Peterborough. It felt much like last year, only with a few more traditional shops closed and a few more chicken shops in their place. A few of us enjoyed another comfortable stay at the Park Inn, followed by a magnificent meal at Momoz Indian and Nepalese.
The venue was once again the Bridge Club, which now feels like a second chess home. I had arrived the day before to collect the key after the Lincolnshire and Norfolk Minor Counties match had concluded, and enjoyed a couple of nice beers at a café, a good chat with the Norfolk captain, and the chance to watch the remaining games finish.
With plenty of demand for places, we rotated again, with Dave Booth, Rupert Jones and myself stepping out. Yorkshire still looked very strong, fielding 1800s all the way down to board 10, with the bottom board rated 1749.
Suffolk joined us for a one minutes silence to pay respects to David Robinson, who sadly passed away in a biking accident. David was a lovely and very well respected man, as well as a regular player for Yorkshire over the last two years. He will be missed.
Once again, we proved very hard to beat, suffering only two losses while recording five wins. Shout-outs go to Kavin, Ben, Jacob, David and Amandeep. The standout game for me was Adamjeet’s: he went two pawns down in an Evans Gambit, but the resulting chaos was absolutely wild and drew plenty of attention.
The opposition were lovely again, and the players got on terrifically. Geoff Brown’s draw with Laurie Potts had both players smiling and exchanging jokes throughout.
It finished 9.5–6.5, and the Yorkshire juggernaut continues to roll on. Merseyside await in the final — and this time, I am playing!
