A grand night in
Three matches took place in the main room. In the Surrey Border League Division 1, Guildford A beat Farnham A by 4–1. This reflected the rating difference of +270 in favour of Guildford A, who turned out their strongest team of the season with an average of 2239. In the Surrey Border League Rapidplay Division 2, Guildford RB lost 2.5–5.5 to Crowthorne RB, again reflecting the rating difference which was over +300 in favour of Crowthorne. And in the Surrey League Division 4 (Centenary Trophy), Guildford 3 beat Kingston 3 by 5.5–0.5, with a rating advantage of +200 a board. All this must say something about the rating system – it proved a good predictor of the match results tonight.
Upstairs, the juggernaut known as the internal rated rapidplay saw three further rounds with nine players taking part. James Toon continues to lead the event, now with 18 out of 18. The sequence of 18 consecutive wins sees the player known as "The Organiser" closing in on Bobby Fischer (20 consecutive wins in 1971) and the world-record holder, Wilhelm Steinitz (25 consecutive wins between 1873 and 1882).
Next door, the Beginners' Group took part in a lively session with a set of Find the Continuation positions provided by Mike Gunn, ending in a series of blitz and other casual games.
Well done everyone and here's to a successful and enjoyable second half of the season.