Essex Division 3. 5th October 2026. 80 minutes plus 10 seconds a move
| Board | Rating | Ilford | V | Thurrock II | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000 (2000) | Ghose, RahulB | 1 – 0 | G Sharma, Mridul | 1581 (1563) |
| 2 | 1834 (1834) | Twitchell, Neville HB | 1 – 0 | B Sandu, Silviu | 1553 (1566) |
| 3 | 1775 (1775) | Choudhury, ShakeelG | 1 – 0 | G Crane, Malcolm K | 1503 (1520) |
| 4 | 1751 (1751) | Kent, Anthony RB | 1 – 0 | B Rougier, Nick | 1355 (1355) |
| 5 | 1645 (1645) | Page, JeffreyB | 1 – 0 | G Grabowski, Oliver | 1301 (1297) |
| Average | 1801 | 5 – 0 | 1459 |
(From Jef Page’s notes) . Our opening league match in division 3 and Jef was down as reserve.But, when 1 player pulled out he got a game- a lot better than last week’s drubbing at Barking- for everyone. A much easier win than even I expected against Thurrock 2nds as it’s rare to win to nil. Jef led off the proceedings by winning Oliver’s Queen on move 8 and the game didn’t last much longer. Tony Kent played a King’s Gambit and sent his pawns up the board creating a long, unbreakable, K-side pawn chain backed up by 2 Rooks which paid dividends as Rougier couldn’t break out or get much development. The other wins took longer to conclude. Sharma got into the endgame with level material but Rahul’ strong 2 B’s were the real plus points as with his Q he mated Sharma with Q&B. Neville had won a pawn in the middle game but it was when he trapped Sandu’s B that his win was assured as Nev raced a pawn up the f-file supported by his K,R&N. The last game to finish went the distance as Thurrock captain Malcolm Crane held on in a level, opposite colour B ending. But just when a draw looked assured Malcolm blundered near close of play.
Action below on board 1
Final Position on board 4 below as White threatens check mate..
