MW 10/14, Monday 23rd February 2026
| Maidenhead B | Ealing B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (b) | Nigel Smith | 1858 | 1-0 | Xavier Cowan | 1924 |
| 2 (w) | Anthony Milnes | 1862 | 0-1 | Simon Healeas | 1852 |
| 3 (b) | John Snead | 1763 | 0-1 | Raj Jhooti | 1752 |
| 4 (w) | Anirudh Muppidi | 1761 | 1-0 | Joe Ramundo | 1581 |
| 5 (b) | George Birch | 1727 | 1-0 | Martin Loat | 1533 |
| 6 (w) | Nigel Dennis | 1732 | 1-0 | Neville Rowden | 1354 |
| 4-2 |
Our magnificent away record took a bit of a dent in a well contested match; this was the venue we got an important victory at last season, but alas it could not be repeated a second time.
Neville: “I am afraid my game was a bit one-sided which, I suppose, is hardly a surprise as Nigel’s rating is 400 higher than mine. It was a short game and I was on the back foot for most of it. I couldn’t seem to develop my pieces to mount any sort of attack as I had to defend all the time. Still, I always enjoy a night out in Maidenhead.”
Simon: “Consistent with his Bird’s opening (1.f4), my opponent generated kingside attacking chances. However at move 33, in a level position, he blundered with Bf6. Suddenly my pieces became active which generated my own kingside attacking pressure which quickly proved decisive.”
Raj added another to his win catalogue this season with the game below:
With the score at 3-2 to Maidenhead, the pressure was on me to get a win. Sadly, I struggled again against Nigel. My choice to play into an early endgame and turn the screw slowly from there may have been ill-advised considering he outplayed me in a Q vs 2xR scuffle in the return fixture. The position this time was more stable, but every avenue of attack I looked down felt bleak and uninspiring. It was Mr Smith in the end who came up with the creative play to suddenly raise his bishops from the dead, cut me to pieces and consign the team to defeat.