India called.
Or, at least, the East India Clubhouse.
But, whatever. There was a chess match to play, and the Libs marched off to battle. This one was a friendly, although availability of others meant that the Libs fielded a remarkably strong side for a friendly.
The match ended a very amicable 2.5-2.5 draw, which is perfect for a friendly match, and just goes to show how strong the EIC/Oriental are, even in friendlies.
Board 1
Board 1 saw Mister Burgoyne turn out for his second appearance in the yellow, green and blue of the Libs. He put in a sterling effort, fighting the very dangerous Edward Ko to a standstill. Mister Ko is a tough customer, as anyone who witnessed the recent Lightning Chess tournament would know.
Board 2
An astonishing game on Board 2, which saw Captain Giffin KC MA (Oxon) – ever the innovator – uncork a beauty of a game in which his g8 Knight charged from Ng8-f6-g4-h6-f5-e7-d5-c3-d1-e3-c2-e1-f3-d4 – fully 14 moves in a 54 move match (more than 1 in every 4 moves was by this knight). And this magnificent piece of cavalry was in at the end to help deliver the killer blow by seeing the f pawn through (just watch it dance from move 43 on). A magnificent equine contribution.
But just what was our Captain thinking? It breaks all sound chess principle to move a single piece so many times. Was the pressure to register a win getting to him? Was the burden of captaincy finally about to break him?
Not at all. After the game Captain Giffin KC MA (Oxon) revealed that he had drawn inspiration from a classic game of Iain Nepomniatchi. Reproduced below for our subscribers, just watch that b1 Knight – a hero piece, and in at the kill – just like the Captain’s game in the match.
So Captain Giffin KC MA (Oxon) was in fact merely falling back upon his in-depth knowledge of Russian Team chess championships to hit the winning strategy. Against such deep and sophisticated preparation it is no surprise he clinched the game.
(And to aid any of our readers who might struggle to tell Captain Giffin KC MA (Oxon) apart from the current world number 3, the Editorial Committee is pleased to provide the following handy means of identification, below.)
Board 3
Doctor Widdicombe faced the tough Adam Snelling on Board 3. The young man knew his openings, and fearlessly went into the Ruy Lopez as Black – which augured poorly for Doctor Widdicombe, who usually has the better of his favourite white opening. And indeed, black managed to weaken white’s b4 square and occupy it with a tasty looking knight. But Doctor Widdicombe was able to mount a quick, standard Lopez-style attack with Nf5, Re3 and in with the Queen. Under the pressure of finding the right defense black fell.
Board 4
Mister Barnett took the fourth board slot. Playing black we were not going to get any of The Violent Barnett Fried Liver or The Even More Violent Barnett Fried Liver that we’ve become accustomed to. Rather, white played a London set up (the antithesis of the Fried Liver) and Mister Barnett – perhaps unable to find a useful sacrifice or two to get things going – eventually succumbed to Arul Umapathy, who played white.
Board 5
A fairly rapid finish on Board 5 saw Dan Kaszeta getting the better of Mister Sharland. But they both took it in true friendly match spirit, reversed colours and played again for fun.
Dinner
Not a curry, but a sort of chicken supreme if memory serves. Very good, indeed, though.
