Standards are slipping at the journal of record. There were four (or possibly five) matches that took place at the end of 2023 and until now no mention has been made of them in these august pages.
Do not fear – the Editorial Committee will be taking severe measures with the reporting staff improve in order to improve their productivity over the coming year.
For now, here is a patchy round up of the last few NLC matches.
NLC v Reform (friendly)
This fixture took place on Wednesday 22 November, was a discreet little three-board affair, and saw the Liberals beat the Reform by two games to one. The match is noteworthy as being Mister Barton’s full-match debut for the NLC, following his excellent performance in the summer Blitz.
Here’s his victory from the match:
MCC v NLC
Not much is known about this one. Not the score, date, players or overall result.
But we do have some nice pictures of the match, the dinner, and – inexplicably – a chair, so we know it happened. Enjoy.
NLC v RAC
Mid-November saw the mighty RAC come to the NLC. We did our best, but went down 1.5-4.5 to the RAC in the end.
One game from the match – this little gem of a Muzio Gambit (a violent sub-variation of the King’s Gambit). Rarely seen outside blitz, but played entirely in the spirit of Clubland chess.
And there was this little corker of a Spanish from Doctor Saldanha:
Dinner followed, and, as ever, there was excellent food, good conversation, and all round good fun.
NLC v O&C
Late December, and Christmas was upon us. The O&C visited 1 Whitehall Place for a HR match. The Libs put up a good fight, but went down 1.5 – 4.5 to the visitors.
Four games from that evening:
Athenaeum vs NLC
This match happened, apparently. Though no independent verification has come to light, and no one admits being there or playing in it. It may be mythical. There is not even a picture of a chair.
If readers can help with this one then please correspond with the Editorial Committee by, in the first instance, sending a telegram via the ‘comments box’.
The Editorial Committee was pleased to receive the following telegram from Mister Rosenbaum:
“There are scores and match cards for the missing details at https://hamiltonrussell.wordpress.com – that website can’t compete for style, wit and panache with the NLC site but it can at least mop up the odd loose end!”
Marvellous work, Mister Rosenbaum – you have our thanks. And keep up the good work on the HR website!