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09 Jan 2025: Selkirk A v NHS; BICC; Selkirk Championship
The first match of 2025 was played in the Town Arms on 07 January, with Selkirk A being at home to NHS Borders. Leading the NHS team for the first time was WFM Suzie Cooke, who has recently taken up a position at the BGH. On board 1, Suzie duly outplayed Dave Bogle in 38 moves; the rest of the games were closely fought, with NHS coming through in the end with two wins and two draws. Board 2 saw the most entertaining finish: Bill Miller initiated a sacrificial attack against Steve Litster which seemed sure to end in mate; but Steve spotted the chance of a perpetual check, and secured the draw.
On board 3 Selkirk's Geoff Hope made a great draw against Keith Robinson from an inferior position; and on board 4 Logan Symons sacrificed a bishop for two pawns, with the extra pawns eventually overwhelming Sam Cornwell's position. An excellent match, and one closer than the 3-1 final score might suggest.
Full results, and the Cooke v Bogle and Cornwell v Symons games...
Draw for Borders Individual Minor
The draw for the third round of BICC Minor is now ready, and can be found on the BICC Matches page. Unfortunately Ali Gray has had to withdraw from all chess for quite a while, following a nasty back injury. Best wishes to Ali, and we hope to see him back as soon as his recovery is complete.
BICC page, with tables and results...
Selkirk Championship
One game was played last night, where Henry Cornwell (White) played Kevin Poulton (Black) in a two hour plus game, with 56 moves each. It was a tight affair where the balance of power kept swinging between the two players. As it looked like Kevin gained the upper hand in the end game, he missed a preventable checkmate with a queen and pawn and Harry won his second match of the competition. (Report by Kevin Poulton)
