St Albans hosts Match vs Humbeekse Chess Club
Over the weekend of 22nd - 24th May 2015, the Humbeekse Chess Club from Mechelen, Belgium, came to St Albans for a series of friendly chess matches following an Amsters visit to Belgium in 2013.
Humbeekse's team of 8 players managed to fit in two matches, the first on Friday evening and the second on Saturday afternoon. St Albans fielded a total of 14 players, including Ian Gooding who had travelled all the way from darkest Suffolk in order to play.
The matches took place at our Summer venue, The Goat Inn, where our visitors were staying. St Albans had a small advantage in grading and managed to win both matches. The second, however, was only decided by Jeremy's game on board 1, which was the last to finish.
Incidentally, Humbeekse's board 1 in these matches is Belgium's reigning under 16 Champion, Arno Sterck.
On Saturday evening the two teams enjoyed a meal together at the Koh-i-noor Restaurant on George Steet.
Match 1
Friday, 22 May 2015, 7:30pm
The Goat Inn, Sopwell Lane.
All moves in 80 minutes
| St Albans | Humbeekse Club, Mechelen | ||||
| 1 | Geoff Hollis | 2088 | 0.5 - 0.5 | Arno Sterck | 1992 |
| 2 | Ian Gooding | 2073 | 0.5 - 0.5 | Bert Van Ael | 1912 |
| 3 | Aidan Ellis | 1938 | 0.5 - 0.5 | Thomas Schurins | 1773 |
| 4 | James Palmer | 1810 | 0.5 - 0.5 | Hugo Van Steenwinckel | 1615 |
| 5 | Craig Fothergill | 1705 | 0 - 1 | William Portier | 1536 |
| 6 | Terry Douse | 1668 | 1 - 0 | Daniel De Grauwe | 1371 |
| 7 | Peter Baker | 1413 | 1 - 0 | Dirk Verschueren | 1150 |
| 8 | Bob Goodall | - | 1 - 0 | Marleen Sutens | - |
| Total | 5 - 3 |
Match 2
Saturday, 23rd May 2015, 2:30pm
The Goat Inn, Sopwell Lane.
35 moves in 1hr 30mins + 15 mins QP
| St Albans | Humbeekse Club, Mechelen | ||||
| 1 | Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell | 1983 | 1 - 0 | Arno Sterck | 1992 |
| 2 | Chris Major | 1983 | 0 - 1 | Bert Van Ael | 1912 |
| 3 | David Bower | 1945 | 0 - 1 | Thomas Schurins | 1773 |
| 4 | Michael Flatt | 1750 | 0 - 1 | Hugo Van Steenwinckel | 1615 |
| 5 | Terry Douse | 1688 | 0.5 - 0.5 | William Portier | 1536 |
| 6 | Edward Magee | 1638 | 1 - 0 | Daniel De Grauwe | 1371 |
| 7 | Ray Claret | 1525 | 1 - 0 | Dirk Verschueren | 1150 |
| 8 | Peter Baker | 1314 | 1 - 0 | Marleen Sutens | - |
| Total | 4.5 - 3.5 |