A losing start to the season
Guildford teams came off second best in their encounters with Epsom last Monday.
In the Surrey League Division 1 (Surrey Trophy), Guildford 1 lost 3.5–4.5 to Epsom 1. The teams were evenly-matched in rating terms. We had to default bottom board following a late withdrawal and that made the difference. Our best result was Gwilym Price's win over Graeme Buckley on the black side of a Sicilian on top board.
If we had been playing home rather than away, we could easily have found an 8th player to complete the team. Away matches are always harder to select for. We were unable to fill the gap despite trying 15 players in the 24 hours before the match.
Home advantage did not help Guildford 4, who lost 1.5–3.5 to Epsom 4 in the Surrey League Division 4 (Epsom Trophy). Surprisingly, we did better on the lower boards despite being clearly out-rated.
In the Surrey League Division 1 (Surrey Trophy), Guildford 1 lost 3.5–4.5 to Epsom 1. The teams were evenly-matched in rating terms. We had to default bottom board following a late withdrawal and that made the difference. Our best result was Gwilym Price's win over Graeme Buckley on the black side of a Sicilian on top board.
If we had been playing home rather than away, we could easily have found an 8th player to complete the team. Away matches are always harder to select for. We were unable to fill the gap despite trying 15 players in the 24 hours before the match.
Home advantage did not help Guildford 4, who lost 1.5–3.5 to Epsom 4 in the Surrey League Division 4 (Epsom Trophy). Surprisingly, we did better on the lower boards despite being clearly out-rated.