After a hearty breakfast, a quick peek into the playing room revealed our two controllers awaiting the day’s action:

I had to photograph one of the chandeliers, in the hope that this would prevent my being distracted by them in play :

Our opponents today, the Manchester Manticores, had yet to gain any match points, but, as we all know, that did not mean that there was any room for complacency. After all, Mick Norris, their board one, told me that they chose the name because it was a mythical beast – and I must admit my ignorance here, as I had never heard of a manticore before. Obviously a learned lot.

In the event, everything went our way, and we ran out 5.5 – 0.5 winners, John Gorman conceding the only draw, nice man that he is.

With 9 points, we now lie third in the 4NCL Northern League, behind leaders Bradford A and Atticus. We meet the latter next round, which will give us the opportunity to improve our standing once again. An extremely important result of this weekend is that we have overtaken Cheddleton, who are now a full point behind us!

A very pleasant weekend, for which we should thank the Majestic Hotel, our controllers, Alex and Lara, and Caissa’s good fortune for providing us with the desired results.

We arrived at the large and aptly named Barcelo Majestic Hotel, Harrogate, on a cold and miserable day, through rain, sleet and snow flurries.

Exploration of the venue revealed impressive internal decor in all directions, and an equally impressive playing area and adjacent analysis room, suitable bedecked with an abundance of impressive (3rd occurence) chandeliers.

Our opposition, Jorvik, were just below us in the points table, so it was essential to get a result here. After defeats for myself and Chris and wins by Dave and John Gorman, the result came down to Bob’s game. He was a pawn up in a R & P endgame which fluctuated from a win for Bob to a draw and then back again, while a hungry team looked in at intervals.

Here’s the game:

And so to a quick exit to a local Indian restaurant, and a relieved celebration of the day’s events.

The next weekend is that of February 19th/20th, at the Barcelo Majestic Hotel, Harrogate. Round 5 on the Saturday is against Jorvik, immediately below us in the league table with two wins and two losses so far. We have black on odd boards, and play begins at 14.00 hrs.

Round 6 on Sunday is against Manchester Manticores, who have yet to avoid defeat. We have white on odds, and play begins at 11.00 hrs.

We shall be travelling to Harrogate on Saturday morning (apart from Bob who is going up on Friday), aiming to arrive in good time to check in at the hotel and get settled for start of play at 14.00 hrs. Sunday morning we check out, deposit luggage in vehicles, and get ready to start play at 11.00 hrs.

Good luck to us all!