Are we Cursed? or do we need a Magic Wand.? Come in Harry Potter!! The Club continues to be distracted by off the board matters, and for Mark, the on-board matters are no better.
Yet again, players are unavailable, or pulling out at the last moment…….the recurring theme of a difficult season. Sadly, there is no immediate sign of a let up, and with important matches appearing on the horizon,……continuity would be more than welcome. Andrew Cahill on board 5 found an aggressive opponent, and gained a quick zero. Phyllis Bourached making her competitive debut struggled to find her normal fluency with her opponent in a less than charitable mood, the score became 0-2. Piotr could not break down Seamus Halpenny, and the other family duel saw a see-saw battle with the Dinosaur and John, a draw being a fair result, but we were hoping for more than draws. 1-3 to Gorey.
Our own Vermeer, produced an artistic Master-Class to hold the highly rated Manuel Gardenes, in a Sicilian/Reverse Budapest game with a high complexity factor. Manuel has been winning nearly all his games in the league, so a really great result for Randolf, ……….fully deserved! Mark succumbed to time trouble, jetlag and a stronger opponent in the longest game of the day…but still zero points and a winless match for us. Gorey’s 4.5-1.5 win will certainly help to keep them up. For the first time this season, we didn’t really look like winning a game, and the only consolation is that we have not lost ground on our closest rivals in the relegation battle. Our next game sees us in a real dogfight at Inchicore later this week, so no time to feel sorry for ourselves. Let’s go to it team!!
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