Match Report by John Philpott

With its third successive appearance as a curtain raiser to the season, the traditional challenge match between the reigning Essex League Champions and the Essex President's team now seems firmly re-established in the calendar. The intention is to have a friendly but competitive encounter, and after the mis-match that had occurred against an under-strength Wanstead & Woodford team 12 months earlier, the respective captains, Ivor Smith and John Philpott, tried hard to achieve a series of balanced pairings. With hindsight, perhaps they tried too hard, because the large number of draws between closely matched opponents could have been predicted. However, this did not prevent a generally enjoyable time being had by all concerned.

Curiously, it was on the board with the largest grading disparity that the first decisive result was secured by the lower graded player. Graham Moore as White somehow contrived to lose a piece to Jeff Goldberg's Caro-Kann defence in 11 moves. The only other victory was also scored by the President's team on board 9, where Black wasted time with his Queen in the opening, and Aidan Corish took full advantage to gain control of the centre and score with a kingside attack, making the final score 6-4.