Hargreaves Shield v Bridge (a)

                                                 Broadstairs   2½      Bridge  1½                       

Paul Johnson writes:

To have your strongest side out for your first match as captain is very encouraging indeed and as such we set out to take on Bridge. The match result was in our favour by the barest minimum and how this occurred I will explain. On board 4 was Paul Carfrae and he reminded me that he had beaten a player I lost to in our last match vs Folkestone. He then, very kindly, returned the favour by losing to a player I had beaten last time out at Bridge! Paul knows that if I adhere to the John Couzens school of team selection, then he will be in danger of being dropped from the return leg! Board 3 had Bob Page in a closed position looking for a breakthrough and by patient manoeuvring creating an opportunity to place rooks on open lines and with a cross cutting bishop, he forced his opponent to blunder and resign. I was on board 2 against former Broadstairs member Gary Hilleard and I had most of the pressure but no clear way I could see to win so we agreed a draw. Manoj Natarajan’s game was so strange I hardly know where to begin! By the end however, he had a bishop cleaning up pawns and won clearly. Afterwards he suggested I could have won my game but since I’m captain I’m unlikely to be dropped! Well done to my team and thanks to Bridge against whom we have some excellent matches!