The first round of the Minor Knockout for the Knights, and it was always going to be a tough ask as Grendel was sure to put out a strong team. We were outgunned on most boards.

Vivaan and Charles did a great job fighting hard, trying to cause their opponents a few headaches. But in the end, their rivals had just a bit more experience and took the points.

Haroon kindly stepped in at the last moment to play on board 1, and did Downend proud in his first game for the club, saving us from a whitewash with a win.

I (Grant) had a good start against Liam, in a slightly unconventional Queens Gambit Accepted. However, I failed to utilise the good chances it gave me, and eventually allowed myself to get into a losing end game.

There were lots of tactical fireworks in Mark’s game. Unfortunately, after they were over Mark was heavily down in material, and Conor was winning the pawn race to the queening square.

Alan’s was the most balanced looking game, and finished last. Unfortunately, he was an exchange and a couple pawns down. Patrick took full advantage of that.

Final score 5 -1 to Grendel