On 22nd February the Harvey Cup team hosted Beckenham and won 4.5-1.5 The team got off to a good start when Gary Sharpe picked up an exchange advantage in an English opening and quickly turned it into a win. Rob Pezet’s game turned into a French Exchange variation and he found a neat rook and knight combination to mate his opponent. Chris Cheeseman had a comfortable win on Board 5 emerging from the opening with a 2 pawn advantage and soon completed the win leaving Sidcup 3-0 up. Ian McAllan on Board 1 played white against a Caro-Kann Defence and although the end game arrived with equal material, Ian’s pawns had a superior formation and he forced home the advantage. Don Chapman played against a much stronger-rated opponent and never recovered from losing a piece early in a Sicilian Dragon Defence. Lee Brockwell tried a Reti opening and the game ended up drawn leaving Sidcup with a 4.5-1.5 win. With the end of the season now in sight, a draw in our last game against unbeaten Petts Wood would guarantee qualification to the knock out stages.

David Helps