Chess is back! NLC lose! Normality returns! – National Liberal Club Chess Circle

That’s right. Chess is back. Proper chess. With boards, pieces and clocks.

As long-time readers of this august journal know, the Libs have been adapting to the new circumstances. We’ve been playing chess using those newfangled computational devices. We’ve even been playing in full hazmat clothing. But nothing beats facing your opponent over the board, pressing the clock to start hostilities and finally – this being the NLC – feeling the weight of the King in your hand as you knock him over in resignation.

And what a way to kick off the new season. The annual Inter-Club Blitz tournament was back, courtesy of the RAC. Prior Blitz competitions have seen the Libs soaring into the dizzying heights of the mid-table, but hopes were tempered by a slightly weakened NLC team that was lacking a few of the top board warriors. We knew a tough night lay ahead…

Gulp. But look who wasn’t there…At least the Libs managed to get a team together.

Round 1

And so it began. NLC vs the Athenaeum.

No two ways about it. A marvelous post-pandemic sight.

A tough fixture on any night, and whilst unsurprisingly the Athenaeum managed to scrape the win, two Libs stood out: Mister Ioannou and Young Master Jacobs both taking scalps. Excellent start, gents!

Round 2

With a couple of wins under our belt from Round 1 the Libs felt they were just beginning to get into their stride. Only the RAC 2nd team stood in the way of NLC getting some match points on the board. Young Master Jacobs brooked no nonsense and quickly secured the victory, but whereas his heroic charge toward the enemy guns led to glory for him, it left the rest of us being summarily gunned down. Still, not a whitewash…

Our Good Friend Mister Taylor once again steps in to help out the Libs

Round 3

Round 3 saw us face the Artist of Chelsea. Another strong performance, with Young Master Jacobs and Mister Ioannou powering through. A couple of the other games were close and if only one of those had turned our way we could have notched a mark on the scoreboard. Alas, it was too big an ask. We went down 2-4.

Miss ‘Vera’ Widger at her first Clubland blitz event

Round 4

The round we were dreading. The mighty RAC 1 team. To give a sense of the mismatch, picture this: Mister Widdicombe, hiding on Board 5 for his own safety, was confronted by a rather confident looking Stephen Meyler grinning back at him. Perturbed, he looked up the line to Mister Ioannou on Board 4, who was unaware that his inoffensive looking opponent was, in fact, the Women’s International Master, Natasha Regan. Unsurprisingly, we lost 0-6.

The ever-solid Mister Giffin QC MA (Oxon)

Round 5

A bye for the NLC. Drinks were taken. Wounds liked. Spirits lifted. And a quick reordering of the board order saw Young Master Jacobs step into the top spot, with Mister Widdicombe duly relegated to bottom spot.

Round 6

The MCC. Another big beast. And another 0-6. But as the cricketing saying goes: ‘There are Gentlemen and there are Players’. No one wants to be a Player, and the NLC certainly weren’t.

Round 7

The Hurlingham. Our last chance to get some points on the Board. Could we push on through and finally get over the line? Or would it be an ignominious string of losses across every match?

The Libs are best with our backs to the wall. We rose as one, fired by the spirit of Gladstone, to make one final push toward yellow, green and blue glory.

Up stepped Young Master Jacobs, Mister Giffin QC MA (Oxon), Miss ‘Vera’ Widger and Mister Ioannou, all four brutally dispatching their Hurlingham opponents to deliver a final 4-2 victory for the Libs. Marvellous work, and our honour saved.

Man of the evening. He feared no one. And he had excellent taste in neckwear.

So at the end of the evening the NLC were left in the not unfamiliar position of propping up the bottom of the table. But, it was not a whitewash. We were only half a point away from not being bottom, and two of our matches were 2-4 so could have gone our way but for one other game turning. The Libs are always closer than the final scores suggest.

But the article cannot end without a special mention for Young Master Jacobs. He finished on four wins from seven, with three of those taken on Board 2 and one at the top board. That is an exemplary performance. He’ll be gunning for the Kennedy Cup this year without doubt, and surely is going to settle into a top order board placing for the cup matches. Excellent stuff Jacobs.