On Wednesday 10th February the Harvey Cup team played Chislehurst. It was a close match, which we lost 2.5 - 3.5.. After an early loss on board 6, down to a blunder, it looked bad when Rob Pezet lost a rook, but Rob attacked and won the ending. Gary Sharp felt that his position was level for a long time, but that then he threw it away in three moves. Dave Helps just made the first time control and precise defence beat off his opponent’s attack and won the game. The turning point in the match came when Ian McAllan, whose position had been very good for a long time, blundered away a piece. This meant Chris Cheeseman needed to win and his game went to the wire. With both players having less than a minute left to make all their remaining moves in a complicated position, with Chris slightly better on time and position, Chris’s opponent stopped his clock and asked what the match score was. When he restarted the clock he started Chris’s clock instead of his own and, when this was pointed out, offered a draw, which Chris accepted.

Ian McAllan