On paper we were fairly well matched so you would have expected a much closer result. Alas, the omens were against us, and it started with a severe shortage of parking spaces in the vicinity of the venue. It ended with a miserly half point, which does not bode well for the rest of this competition.
 Simon had a tough time against Tom Gordon, but seemed to be holding up quite well for most of the time. Jim had given up his queen for a rook and a knight hoping it would activate his own pieces and give him an edge. John was under a lot of pressure haven given away two tempi in the opening, but just after he'd soaked it all up he blundered a piece in the ending. Graeme was last to finish and saved us a whitewash. It was one of his usual complicated attacks that eventually boiled down to a pawn race in a rook and bishop ending where all remaining pieces were surrendered to win that race. Graeme won it and was able to exchange the queens and be in possession of a solitary pawn. Had it not been a rook pawn he would have won, but it was, so he didn't.