Crowborough v Uckfield 1
A mixed night for our First Team, ending in a draw overall.
Chaski seemed to have some advantage from the opening, his opponent having doubled e-pawns. However it was hard to actually make inroads and after a long period of manoeuvring the game was agreed drawn
Arran on Board 2 looked to have an equal position but it quickly resolved into a pawn endgame while I was busy elsewhere, which couldn't be held because his opponent had a passed pawn that kept Arran's king busy while his king penetrated. I'm sure there was more to it than that.
Mark on Board 3 was basically lost but sacrificed a knight in order to create a bit of uncertainty, in the hope that something would come of it. My opponent reacted in the wrong way and needed to bail out into a (lost) R+B v Q ending, but didn't realise the alternative was a forced checkmate. So finally a win, hardly deserved but gratefully received.
Benedict on Board 5 played a wild and aggressive game, an Evans Gambit with h4. This ended up being a liability, not because it lost but because it allowed his opponent to open the h-file, requiring a lot of time to counter the mating threats. When the dust settled his opponent used that time to create a passed a-pawn which decided the game.
Michael on Board 4 continued his excellent form, playing our old friend Chris Dunn. Michael took charge of the open d-file, allowing him to win a bishop and setting all sorts of problems. Chris was down to a few seconds on the clock, made a move and Michael calmly played the winning moves in a forced checkmate. Another excellent game.
So a mixed evening ending in a tie, which was probably fair overall.