The CLL is a new departure for the Club. It was set up several years ago as an alternative to the London Chess League for those who didn’t like the default format being multi-session with adjournment, notwithstanding that one-session could be had by agreement (and is now the default format).
We were already considering alternatives to the London League, which had become very expensive to play in, when the Covid pandemic brought matters to an abrupt halt. Now it turns out that the CLL is the first of “our” leagues to resume.
The Club’s team is playing in Division 2 and teams are of five boards. Matches are played at a venue in Pimlico, described in pictures by Peter Nickals: CLL venue
The jubilant squad. (Not in picture: Laurence Duffy – presume behind the camera)
Played 7 October 2021
Pimlico 3
v
Wanstead
1
Kabir Pandit u
½-½
Matthias Lataille 1698
2
Robert Stern 1948
1-0
Jay Sharman 1607
3
Matthew JD Baker 1912
1-0
Krishna Raikundalia 1585
4
Colm O’Shea 1885
0-1
Tu Senan 1523
5
Hugh Fenwick 1866
1-0
Laurence Duffy 1639
Average rating 1610
3½-1½
Average rating 1903
Played 28 October 2021
Battersea 3
v
Wanstead
1
Nguyen, Tung –
0-1
McCarron, Peter DJ 1751
2
Hunt, Arnold 1570
0-1
Lataille, Matthias 1698
3
Hutchence, Greg 1548
0-1
Sharman, Jay 1607
4
Farahmandpour, Ehsan 1793
1-0
Senan, Tu 1523
5
Flaccavento, Marco 1023
0-1
Raikundalia, Krishna 1585
Average: 1484
1-4
Average: 1633
Played 11 November 2021
HMC 2
v
Wanstead
1
Martin Benjamin 2067
1-0
Istvan Karacsony 1800
2
John Bennett 2065
1-0
Peter McCarron 1754
3
Jules Morrison 2019
1-0
Jay Sharman 1615
4
Bertie Barlow 2006
½-½
Jay Sharman 1615
5
Disu Kayode 1915
1-0
Krishna Raikundalia 1590
Average: 2014
4½-½
Average: 1671
Outgunned by an average of 341 points a board (equal to 175 v 130).
HMC stands for Honorary Member’s Club, which was a team in the Commercial League. To find the opposition replete with four of the five players over 2000 (2000=173 in old figures and 2050=180) is tough, so well done Jay in saving the whitewash.
