Hargreaves Shield v Ramsgate (h)

A buoyant Ramsgate team arrived at Broadstairs top of the league and already runaway winners of the Hargreaves Shield.  Could they beat Broadstairs, the potential runners-up but outgraded on all four boards, or would they lose their 100% record?  As in most of the games this season, first to secure points was Paul on board 1 with a good draw against Steve Guy, a strong opponent – Paul’s fifth draw on board 1 in seven games. Things were looking good for Ramsgate as Brian Westover ignored some of John Couzens’ traps to secure a win and the best individual points score in the league (6½ out of 8). The games concluded in order: the board three game was marginally in Broadstairs’ favour before a draw was agreed due to time pressure. This left Reg fighting to secure an individual win and a match draw in the final game.  Things were not looking good: Reg went a pawn down and his king came under a sustained attack as Chris lined up his queen and rook to come in for the kill. Somehow Reg withstood the onslaught, regained the pawn and then declined a draw offered by his opponent as he sought to secure a win and a draw for the team. Alas, as the endgame continued it become clear that it would be a draw, which was agreed and we went off to the pub to plan how Broadstairs would secure the runner-up spot in our final game of the season. So congratulations to Ramsgate on their victory and an excellent season.