Broadstairs 5½ Margate 1½
| 1 | David Faldon (178) | ½-½ | Mick Micklethwaite (145) |
| 2 | Arnaud Wisman (168) | 1-0 | Peter McGill (145) |
| 3 | Trefor Owens (164) | 1-0 | Colin Gregory (127) |
| 4 | Richard Clement (145) | 0-1 | Keith Findley (e125) |
| 5 | Chris Stampe (141) | 1-0 | Clive Le Baigue (121) |
| 6 | Manoj Natarajan (e140) | 1-0 | Leon Garfield (104) |
| 7 | Paul Johnson (138) | 1-0 | John Clarke (92) |
Robert Page writes:
Broadstairs continued their excellent start to the Millar Cup campaign with this seemingly comfortable but hard-fought win against Margate. Outgrading their opponents by over 30 points, Broadstairs fielded one of their strongest-ever teams, including both the Kent Individual Challengers and Intermediate Champions (but not the Major Champion – Ed). However, anyone expecting a comfortable ride was in for a shock despite early wins for Paul Johnson and Chris Stampe which promised an extended celebration in the pub. Paul quickly gained a piece or two and overwhelmed John Clarke within an hour while Chris cleverly exchanged rooks to enable his queen to charge down the board, threatening mate and causing irreparable damage to Clive’s uncastled kingside.
At this point, things began to slow down. David was unable to make much headway on Board 1 and agreed a draw with ex-Herne Bay stalwart and Thanet Congress original, Mick Micklethwaite, while Richard lost a tricky rook and pawn endgame with Keith Findley, formerly of the now defunct Birchington Chess Club, who resurfaced after a break of a few years to play at this year’s congress. Suddenly, 2½-1½ didn’t look quite so comfortable. Trefor and Manoj were in promising positions but Arnaud was involved in a tough battle with Peter McGill, both players behind on time. Having laid siege to Colin’s king for an age, Trefor eventually managed to break through and win his queen and victory soon followed: 3½-1½. The match was won when Manoj, on his Millar Cup debut, outmanoeuvred Leon in the neatest ending of the night: 4½-1½. Meanwhile, on Board 2, things were speeding up as the time control loomed and many moves still to play. With both players having pieces en prise, Arnaud cleverly outwitted Peter to win a piece and the game ended just as Peter’s flag was about to fall.
Congratulations to all the Broadstairs players on another fine win and many thanks to Margate for making it an excellent match. There were some impressive performances from the home players such as this one from Manoj against Leon on Board 6.
White: Manoj Natarajan (e140) Black: Leon Garfield (104)
Millar Cup v Margate (h)
1-0