Round 2:

Atticus A 1-3 Gonzaga

w John Redmond  2327 e 0 - 1  IM Sam Collins  2457
b Charlie Kennaugh 2249 0 - 1  FM T Kanyamarala 2384
w Steve Kee 2155 e ½ - ½  FM Killian Delaney  2303
b Dave James 2147 e ½ - ½  Stephen Moran 2195
1 - 3  

In the First Division we had another tough match, this time against the second-seeded team. Gonzaga are an Irish side (loosely based around past-pupils of a famous Dublin school) and they have made big inroads into the 4NCL proper. I foolishly tried to improvise in the opening against Sam Collins (who has several GM-norms) and got a bad position quickly. Charlie had chances in his game but unfortunately lost. Steve Kee (who had seemed to be a goner) managed a resilient save in a Rook ending. Dave James continued his good record, drawing with a higher-rated player.

Attius B 1½ - 2½ Catford Cosmonauts

w James Rothwell  1892 e ½ - ½ Stakhey Sedykh 1772 e
b Sanjoy Banerjee 1720 e 0 - 1 Cem Oyvat 1667 c
w Steve Burge  1675 c 1 - 0 Anthony Foreman 1532 c
b Mark Wadsworth 1660 c 0 - 1 Cristiano Marchettini 1382 c
1½ - 2½  

This was a match where - on paper - we might have expected to do better. Steve Burge showed his prowess in attack as White. Sanjoy went into a Rook-ending from a Qc2 Nimzo which he might have held, but went wrong on the 40th move. James played a Ruy Lopez where he was always a bit better but without getting the full point, Playing sharply in the Sveshnikov Sicilian, Mark got cut down by his opponent's vigorous attack.  

Round 3:

Surbiton 1 3-1 Atticus A

w FM Koby Kalavannan 2324 ½ - ½ John Redmond 2327 e
b Ranesh Ratnesan 2258 1 - 0 Charlie Kennaugh 2249
w Mark Josse 2235 1 - 0 Steve Kee 2155 e
b Tim Seymour 2119 ½ - ½ David James 2147 e
3 - 1  

Not such a good result for us. I was a bit better from the opening against my opponent (who had beaten GM Maze in Round 1.) Charlie had a tough loss. Steve Kee got a bad Marcozy ending as Black and always seemed to be on the back foot. Dave James earned another solid draw.

Manchester Juniors A 2½ - 1½ Atticus B

w Ben Clissold, 2135 1 - 0 Luke Boumphrey 2020 e
b Sam Parry 1812 1 - 0 James Rothwell 1892 e
w Julian Clissold 1795 c 0 - 1 Martin Blasczyk 1690 c
b Ethan Gardiner 1795 e ½ - ½ Steve Burge 1675 c
2½ - 1½  

This was always going to be difficult. I didn't see Luke's game but he did report that he "played like a lemon." James got edged out in a theoretical and complicated Sicilian Dragon. Martin recorded our best reult of the evening with an excellent win. Steve Burge continued his solid start to the competition with a useful draw.

So we remain in pursuit of match-points. Hopefully, we can open our account(s) in Round 4.

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