A five board friendly in early December saw the Chelsea Arts Club don their ties and head to Whitehall Place. They put out a good side, with Izzie Thomas on one, who is very definitely no slouch. The NLC ended 3-2 winners, continuing a rich vein of results.
But the shock of the evening was the return to chess action of the NLC’s resident disc jockey, Mister Edwards (who goes by the nomme de guerre of ‘DJ Cornbeef’). He was last seen in the Members’ bar of the MCC schooling them on five move combinations. Welcome back Mister Cornbeef.
Board 1
Mister Whiteley headed up the order as Doctor Kirby and Mister Chamberlain took a break. He had to face Izzie Thomas, which is a stiff test for anyone. He drew a solid half point after resisting some intense pressure from black.
Board 2
Board 2 saw Mister Widdicombe against Mike Radcliffe. After a series of results that suggested Mister Widdicombe may be overcoming his run of abject form, he…err…returned to abject form. So upset with his game was Mister Widdicombe he threw his scoresheet in the Smoking Room fire (Lloyd George end). He can’t remember the precise moves, but assures us that the game below is an accurate representation of events.
Board 3
Mister Cornbeef may have been the major surprise turn up, but the minor surprise was the competitive return of Herr Schady. He’s been dutifully putting in the shifts keeping the social chess going (a very great service to the Circle) but has as a result had less time for matches. Good to see him back. All that social chess hadn’t dulled his senses as he tucked away a tidy win against Stephen Taylor.
Board 4
Captain Hamme slipped himself on to board 4, taking black against Will Timber. He weathered a brave kingside pawn advance from his opponent, then took advantage of a speculative bishop sacrifice on the queenside. A piece up Mister Hamme was able to secure the win.
Board 5
And so to Mister Cornbeef. Taking white against John Leighton he secured a solid half point, bucking his trend for either fabulous wins or equally fabulous losses. Alas, no record of the game exists, but said Mister Cornbeef “it’s a shame, as there was some flashy stuff I was allowed to get away with…”
