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Last update: Monday September 17, 2007 10:54
It’s
our first day of play and the team wait in eager anticipation of the pairings
at 1pm. Craig (U12) immediately pays the penalty for having a surname beginning
with a “W” as he has a bye. Meanwhile the others go off to prepare
for their games.
3pm and everyone arrives at the playing area; 2 large rooms in the same hotel
that we staying at. There is an air of excitement as the games get underway.
First out after 2.5 hours is Roy (U10); following a tight encounter he has achieved a draw and immediately rushes off for the post game analysis with his coach, Thomas Rendle. Amisha (U16) follows soon after having beaten her Croatian opponent. Post game analysis with her coach Glenn Flear confirms that Amisha had dominated the game through out.
Players then arrive in fairly close succession. Katie (U18) played a highly rated Turkish WIM. It was a close game until Katie got into the trouble, at which point her opponent pressed the home advantage and won. Anjali (U14) had a good opening which was followed up by some good ideas but unfortunately lost to her French opponent. Subin (U14), who had kept an edge through the whole, could not find a break through and eventually settled for a draw with a Finnish player. Peter (U12) was surprised by an unusual opening from his strong Armenian opponent and was given no chances to secure a win or draw. He is followed out some time later by Peter (U18), who has lost to a very highly rated Spanish FM. A difficult opening was followed by a performance lacking in any obvious mistakes by Peter, despite the loss.
Callum (U16) is last out, following a nail biting game against a Croatian FM. Callum followed a nice opening with solid play but eventually couldn’t find the right way to break through. He almost held a difficult ending but ultimately had to concede the game.
The day ends with a slightly disappointing score of 3 out of 9 for the England Team but everyone remains optimistic. There is always tomorrow …….
