A trip to Fulham is always a treat. The Hurlingham is a spectacular place and it’s hard to believe you are in zone 2 when you stroll through the croquet lawns and duck ponds of the Club.
So the lucky six Liberals headed down to south west London hoping for the best from this HR friendly fixture. Much fun was had reliving the last time the Libs were at the Hurlingham, when, in the last game of the season, the difference between joint fourth and second last came down to Mister Widdicombe’s time scrambled ending. You know it’s desperate when it all hangs on Mister Widdicombe. (Poor Doctor Kirby, captain then, is still on the resultant heart medication. We wish him a speedy recovery.)
The venue itself is a delight, with the Garden Room being a delightful room in which to play chess. Light and spacious, with excellent views over the gardens outside.
Board 1
This season’s captain led us off on Board 1. A ding dong affair against the dangerous Mark Woloshyn saw a sharp attack building from White, only to allow a fork of queen and knight, followed by a collapse of the White position. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
Said King’s Counsel after the game: “I feel slightly better about it after playing it through because I was clearly lost after 20 . . . Be6, even if my meltdown did rather short circuit the process. And it was such a good attack too . . . I only has to put my other knight on f7 on move 20 and I think it was all over, but I completely missed the bishop move.”.
Board 2
Board 2 saw a fascinating match up between Michael Yeoh and Mister Ioannou. Both very good players, it was fascinating to see who would come out on top. In the end the game finished quickly (as Mister Ioannou’s often do) with a swapping off of all pieces except opposite coloured bishops but with White’s pawns about to fall. White didn’t fancy going through the pain of a very bad endgame and offered his hand.
Board 3
Mister Widdicombe was on Board 3. Opening into a Ruy Lopez Black gave up a pawn in the opening, and allowed Mister Widdicombe to build a solid position in the centre, and swap off into an ending in which the white knight dominated the black bishop. A few more pawns fell and eventually Mister Widdicombe converted one to a passer, which had to be swapped for a piece. The endgame had to be played carefully to avoid traps, but Mister Widdicombe was up to the task and saw it home.
Board 4
Doctor Saldanha played a nice game with Black. A Sicilian, it was a cagey affair to begin with, but once the centre opened up Doctor Saldanha's pieces had such activity compared to White's that there was only ever going to be one result. Nice chess.
Board 5
A Hamilton Russell debut for Mister Rhatigan on Board 5. He faced Phillip Fleury and the game came down to the win of a pinned pawn by Mister Rhatigan who made sure that was enough to seal the victory. Solid stuff from the Lib, and we look forward to plenty more HR action from him.
Board 6
Board 6 saw a welcome return for Mademoiselle Pasquet, turning out for her second HR friendly match. She played against Michael Wright and despite going a rook down in the middle game fought on and it took her opponent nearly all his allotted time to find the breakthrough. Dogged defence from the Liberal.
So Libs bettered the Hurlingham by 4 games to 2.
But who cares about the chess? It's all about the dinner, so...
Dinner
The Hurlingham dinner is a treat. Not only is it excellently cooked and incredibly tasty, there is just loads of it. Last time we were there the fish pie was so voluminous that only half of the diners made it through. This time the bangers and mash servings were the size of a small cottage. They don't hold back down south.
