Broadstairs 2 Bridge 2
| 1. | Paul Carfrae (132) | ½-½ | Patrick Burns (e137) |
| 2. | John Couzens (131) | ½-½ | Stuart Honey (e110) |
| 3. | Tom Lovegrove (117) | ½-½ | Shahid Sahi (107) |
| 4. | Andy Flood (113) | ½-½ | Graeme Boxall (98) |
Andy Flood writes:
This was a Bridge too far, a game of two halves or, more accurately, a game of four halves.
First to draw was Paul on Board 1, which was looking good for Broadstairs, given that we were at this point clearly winning on the remaining three boards with all Bridge opponents out-graded. Tom was well up on Board 3 and had advanced his pawn to the seventh rank but somehow after a flurry of activity found himself all square and, following a number of missed opportunities, he agreed a draw.
At this point John on Board 2 was in a good/won position and a couple of pawns up although he almost lost seeking to secure his won position through passive play, resulting in his opponent perpetually checking him and almost mating. From Broadstairs dominating and controlling the match, on Board 4 overstretching resulted in the loss of a passed pawn and an agreed draw from a clearly drawn position with opposite coloured bishops on the board protecting the pawns.
So was the cup half empty or half full? Whilst on the journey back there were no losers in the car, we generally considered that this was a case of a lost opportunity and a match that should have been won.