And the faithful came.
A reduced band of chess players met on Monday 20 December for the second Beginners, Improvers and Returners social chess evening at the NLC.
Many were out of town in advance of Christmas and many others – quite understandably – were playing it safe given the rise in Covid cases. That left four hardy souls to bang out the moves, quaff the red and down the mince pies.
There was a welcome return for sharp Mister Sultan who gave Mister Widdicombe a couple of scares from which he was lucky to escape from with his pride intact. And an NLC chess debut for Mister Aoki, who played a single, steady but very well played game against Doctor Kirby and came away with a draw after reaching a dead drawn rook and pawn ending. Strong showings from both.
Next stop is Monday 17 January 2022. See you then!