Longbridge Chess Club faced Worcester Knights in a two-round team match, with four players representing each side.
The opening round got off to a very strong start for Longbridge, who came away with a 3-1 victory. Gavin Cartwright, Phil Maddocks and Carmelo Tirado Simarro all recorded wins, while Stephen Woodhouse was the only Longbridge player to miss out on a point.
Strong Start from Longbridge
Gavin Cartwright led the team on Board 1 and got Longbridge off to the perfect start with a win over Ray Collett.
On Board 5, Phil Maddocks also picked up a full point against Chris Lee, while Carmelo Tirado Simarro completed the first-round victories with a win over Sean Conway.
That left Longbridge with a 3-1 advantage heading into the second round.
Even Stronger in Round Two
Longbridge then raised the bar even further in the second round.
Stephen Woodhouse bounced back from his first-round defeat with a win against Rob Sutton, while Phil Maddocks and Carmelo Tirado Simarro both repeated their earlier successes to give Longbridge another two wins.
Gavin Cartwright completed the second round with a draw against Ray Collett, meaning Longbridge finished the round with an impressive 3½–½ scoreline.
6½–1½ Victory
Adding the two rounds together gave Longbridge a commanding 6½–1½ overall victory.
All four Longbridge players contributed to the result, with Phil Maddocks and Carmelo Tirado Simarro both scoring two wins from two games, while Gavin Cartwright scored 1½ out of 2 and Stephen Woodhouse contributed 1 out of 2.
It was a particularly strong team performance, with Longbridge winning both rounds and finishing the match with just one defeat across the eight individual games.
Final overall score: Worcester Knights 1½ – 6½ Longbridge
A great result for Longbridge and another strong team performance to add to the club’s growing list of successes this season.