Played Tuesday, 23 September 2025, at Wanstead
| Bd | Wanstead A | R1 | R2 | Basildon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hodgson, John H 2087 (W, B) | ½-½ | ½-½ | Somogyi, Tamas 2063 (B, W) |
| 2 | Spearman, David 2058 | ½-½ | 0-1 | Kraszewski, David 1938 |
| 3 | Cawdery, John 2007 | ½-½ | 1-0 | Bara, V Radu 1901 |
| 4 | Freeman, Ashley 1986 | 0-1 | 1-0 | Gedvilas, Arunas 1910 |
| 5 | Hunnable, Ian D 1906 | 0-1 | 1-0 | Laundy, Peter R 1902 |
| Average: 2009 | 1½-3½ | 3½-1½ | Average: 1943 | |
| 5-5* | ||||
The proverbial match of two halves. While Wanstead out-rated Basildon on all boards, we are reminded once more of a saying of Harry Woolverton: if you could tell the outcome of a chess match by looking at the two teams on paper, chess would be a dull game indeed. And this match makes a mockery of the received wisdom that holding the majority of whites over an odd number of boards is an advantage.
Basildon had a shock in store for the home team in Round 1 and had one hand on the Cup after taking a two point lead, courtesy of Arunas and Peter, while holding Wanstead to draws over the top three.
The Wanstead tail remembered how to wag in R2 and reversed the result of both games. A complete replication of results on the top three boards would have required a replay, but, after the top board was again drawn, the sharing of points on boards 2 and 3 occurred by outright results with Basildon scoring on 2 and Wanstead on 3, giving Basildon the verdict on Board Count.
Many congratulations to Basildon on their first Knockout Championship after finishing second to Barking last year.
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