Knights, Diversity and Cheap Beer

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Monday evening in June, browsing the latest updates on Facebook. I spotted a request on the Hendon Chess page from Mo looking for a player for the next night in a Summer Chess League. I responded in the affirmative (suffering from moderate withdrawal symptoms) , and found myself on Tuesday evening at Clapham Junction Station, before walking a couple of minutes to nearby Battersea Labour club.
It turned out that this summer chess league comprised of 6 teams.
http://www.summerchessleague.org.uk/about/  2 from Battersea (Volts and Amps), 2 from Hammersmith (Totally Hammered and Completely Hammered) and Streatham (Streetwise). All well established clubs. I would be playing for East London Kinights, the new kids on the block representing the British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA). http://britishbanglachess.com/  All very well organised. Digital clocks, cheap beer, warm summer evening. Perfect. I even won my game, contributing to a 4-2 win over Streetwise. Great stuff. Haven't pushed wood south of the river for years. 

The following Sunday there was an inter-faith walk in Borehamwood. I thought about attending, but a trip to a weekly Sunday meeting of the BBCA off Brick Lane seemed an even better way to tick the diversity box. Public transport to Aldgate East, and there I was traversing Old Montague Street (where my Great Grandparents lived in the 1890's). Up a bit further, then, along Heneage Lane (note name checking of 2 defunct synagogues) into Spelman Street. This is Jack the Ripper territory, and local pubs and tours do a steady trade. It is also Glatt Banglatown, with street art and curry emporia. The guys at the BBCA were friendliness personified, so I joined and played endless 5 minute blitz games. No plans to learn Bengali, yet.


Round 2 of the summer tournament was the following week. The team won again, including yours truly. OK, I am a self-confessed flat track bully showing no mercy to an 8 year-old, but it is a team game  - and we lost narrowly to the Amps in the end. Every week, the Grandmaster, Simon Williams, selected the best game for analysis on his popular GingerGM Youtube channel. As it happened, our captain Mo's game was chosen. Mo is short for Mohammed, and his game attracted some nasty trolling just for that reason. It caused a lot of hurt to the BBCA guys whose whole reason d'etre is to promote racial harmony, and the Ginger GM was not happy either. Some chess players are clearly pond life.
We mullered Totally Hammered in Week 3, winning 5.5 to 0.5. The others all won - I drew. We won in week 4 and faced Completely Hammered in Week 5, knowing a good win would guarantee us the coveted inaugural title. No pressure then. I got a Smirnoff Ice to calm my nerves, particularly as I was playing a confident 10-year old who was bashing out my favourite Grand Prix Attack with White against the Sicilian. I drew (missed a couple of strong moves), and  a default plus a win put us on 2.5 points with 3 boards left. The other games were by no means in our favour at that point, but a great win on board one against Hammersmith's top player and 2 battling draws secured the title. I missed the winners presentation and team photo, mostly because I didn't know there was going to be one. Also, the 22.55 from West Hamstead Thameslink was too tempting a prospect to miss. Here is a picture of the other team members who played that evening. Great bunch of guys. 




      


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