The waters lack a chart. The path is unfamiliar. And it is all thoroughly un-Liberal.
The Editorial Committee has over the years published for its readers many hundreds of accounts of the Liberal Club Chess Team vainly battling away across Clubland in a semi-comical manner. But has never had to publish such a story as this.
Because, reader, the Liberal Club chess team, in a competitive Hamilton Russell match no less, drew with the mighty RAC.
You read that correctly. The Liberals, who play chess with a smile on their face and an intense interest in dinner, seem to have pulled off a chess result that demonstrates hitherto unseen levels of chess skill. It is both incredibly impressive and utterly baffling.
Indeed, it is difficult for the Editorial Committee to judge quite what the right tone and approach should be to breaking such news.
After much debate the Editorial Committee has decided to follow the advice of Club Member Mister Niemann, who has so often been heard at the bar to remark that one should ‘let the chess speak for itself’. So here are the games from this fateful evening.
Board 1
Board 1 in the Hamilton Russell is a tough assignment for any Lib. Years can go by between a swindled half-point being scored. Mister Khan has had to step into this unenviable spot most recently, and on this evening faced Richard Farleigh, and incredibly strong player. Mister Khan, we’re sure, will not be offended if we say that pre-match betting in the bar was all on Mister Farleigh. It didn’t turn out that way.
Board 2
With Mister Khan in the vanguard the Liberals could deploy the NLC Champion Mister Barton in the second slot. This being the RAC he still had to face a WIM. In a sentence the Editorial Committee can scarcely believe it is writing, the Liberal swept the chess master aside to gain the full point. We are clearly breaking virgin ground.
With less than a minute on both clocks, Mister Barton closed Natasha Regan down with two pawn promotions – in cool, calm and collected fashion.
Board 3
It is a sign of the current rude health of NLC chess that Mister Burgoyne could only command the third birth. He played Alex Burgansky, but could not bring home the points and went down to a loss.
Board 4
The remarkable results kept coming in. Mister Jacobs faced the RAC stalwart and very strong player Henry McWatters, with Mister Jacobs overpowering the veteran and securing the full point. You can’t ever count on getting the better of Henry, so this was a strong result for the Libs.
Board 5
Miss Widger, who was eligible for selection by both sides, chose the right one, turning out on Board 5. She faced Colm O’Shea, a very decent player indeed. He proved too strong for the 2023 NLC Champ, with the full point going to the RAC.
Board 6
Leaving Captain Saldanha to bring home the last game. As can be seen, the Doctor dices with death and looks out for the count by move 29. Rob Matthews, however, failed to go for the jugular and with 31. …f5! Doctor Saldanha equalizes.
The Doctor said: “I was limited on time and stopped scoring but went ahead from here (we won’t mention the mate-in-one that I missed). In the end, White offered a draw, which I gladly accepted given my time trouble.”
So a 3 – 3 draw in a competitive match against the RAC. Unheard of. And leaves the MCC and O&C licking their lips to see their rivals drop a critical half point. Will it turn out that the NLC had a hand in the eventual destination of the HR cup this year?
Friendly games
The remarkable growth of Liberal chess means that the Libs are now routinely trying to add friendly boards to our HR matches to satisfy our members thirst for games. There were two this night.
First, the very promising Mister Kaya showed yet again what he can do:
And in the second friendly game Sean James got the better of Miss Birrane.
The car
The Editorial Committee is singularly unqualified to provide any informative or lively commentary on automobiles, so will not try. But this being the RAC there is of course the now traditional picture of a car.
We feel able to go so far as to inform our readers that this is apparently an older model, and clearly very ill equipped for inclement weather. Beyond that, readers will have to read the associated information notice, provided below.
