Manningtree C got off to a good start with David playing on board one and finishing first. His opponent was on the attack first, playing down the Queen's side, which David defended well with several pieces being exchanged. This was followed with more pressure as his opponent pushed forward with more pieces being exchanged until White was left with two Bishops and Black with two Knights and an even number of pawns. At which point a draw was agreed.
  Harrison played a Caro Kann with some early trades that left him with a Bishop and a Knight versus two Bishops. After a lot of manoeuvring a drawn position was reached and neither player could find a clear advantage. This was until an inaccurate Queen move by Harrison allowed his opponent access to the 7th rank, ultimately leading to an unstoppable attack on his king.
  Jamie opened with d4 followed by Nf3 to which his opponent responded with a Pirc defence. Jamie quickly gained a territorial advantage and was winding up the pressure. Unfortunately, confidence from dominating so early led to complacency and an enemy passive bishop swiped down taking a rook for free on move 19. The game went on for another 19 moves and although Jamie's king was never under any pressure throughout the game, the ending soon came with a swift exchange of Queens and the collapse of any defensive chances giving another win to the home side.
  John's opponent played with flair. It was a solid Queen's pawn opening, kingside castling and steady development forcing white to double pawns on the f-file from a Bishop exchange. Unfortunately, the job got much tougher after John unfortunately threw a knight away on his tenth move. The game shifted to a matched contest along the B file, with sight of a sneaky back rank mate that remained out of reach. John finally resigned in the face of a lost pawn race and irrecoverable material loss.
  A disappointing result for the team, especially as we started so well before falling foul to the ubiquitous single move blunder.