Barrow, who we usually play at The Oddfellows Arms, Kendal, travelled to our home venue 3 weeks later than we had originally arranged the match. Unfortunately, their train was cancelled at the last minute so, having no driver on the team, the match was postponed but we couldn’t play it at The Oddfellows because the landlady was away on holiday. The deadline for the match was October 29th so, rather than default, Barrow came to us.
The 3 board match began at 2 O’clock and in less than an hour, we were 1 point up; Holden rattled out a quick win against Alan Llewellyn’s Pirc Defence on board 2.
Sometime later, Dave Siddall gained a point after grinding down Jon Duffield.
Board 1 was last to finish when Jacob accepted Matthew Mackenzie’s draw offer. Jacob was a little disappointed because he was clearly ahead throughout the game but couldn’t quite find a way to finish the game. Nevertheless, Penrith A kept a clean sheet and move to the top of the table.
Meanwhile, our B team were playing host to Carlisle B, who had a stronger team than expected but, on paper, should not have been a match for our B team.
However, ratings aren’t everything. The match was very close and could have gone either way. Lewis, on board 1, eventually succumbed to George Glover’s vast knowledge and experience, followed by a draw for Eggert against, a very resilient, Ian Mackay on board 2.
Dave McMath kept up his unbeaten run with a win against Bill Burgess on board 3.
This left the match dead even with one board to finish. Steve was up against, Carlisle captain, James Ovens and found himself in a difficult position with very little time left to play it. Sadly, for Steve, James exploited his predicament and went on to win the game and the match for Carlisle B.
Despite their loss, Penrith B remain above Carlisle B in the table.
The current League Table looks like this:
