Radley College v Cowley 4 friendly match 29 October 2012

Post date: 30-Oct-2012 10:06:30

Flush with keen players, Cowley's fourth-division team sent ten people to Radley College. Four of the Cowley players are new to league chess this season, and found this a handy opportunity to rack up some experience.

Our hosts are used to playing fast chess and the Cowley players responded by speeding up also, so the 45 minute time control proved more than generous. Just one of the 20 players had less than 15 minutes showing on his clock when his game ended!

Pairing unknown and ungraded players was a hit and miss affair. The result was a lopsided 8-2 Cowley victory, with some people closely matched against their opponents and others less so. Both teams are eager for a rematch in the new year. With a better feel for the players' relative strengths it should be possible to iron out some of the inequalities from the first match and try to engineer a larger proportion of hard-fought battles next time.

(Posted on behalf of Sara Sengenberger)