The top three teams were all in action this week gone. On Tuesday Nidum journeyed to Llanelli where they played White Knights C and went home the victors 3½-1½. The following evening White Knights A visited the University to play their A team and they also went home the victors 3½-1½. On the Thursday it was the turn of White Knights B to host second placed Morriston A. With just 3 points after 5 matches the Knights must have thought it was time to step up a gear and see if they could give their A team some extra breathing space. Fielding their strongest team to date they did just that and with 3 draws and 2 wins the Knights gave Morriston A their second defeat of the season; 3½-1½ to the home team. These results mean that White Knights A are now 6 points clear of Morriston A who, however, have a match in hand. It will be interesting to see how Morriston fare against the Knights’ C team when they meet next week !

First up in Division 2 was the top of the table encounter between Morriston B and the Emperors at Morriston’s new home in Morriston Community Centre. A less than full strength Morriston team came up against a full strength Emperors’ team with the inevitable result. A top board draw and an outstanding win for Eleanor Collins on bottom board saved the Morriston team’s blushes somewhat but they still went down 1½-3½. In spite of this they still head the division although if Emperors win their match in hand they will only be separated by game point totals.

The second match in the division was between fourth placed Giants and bottom placed Morriston C. Three wins with the black pieces and a draw were more than enough to give the Giants the two match points (3½-1½) and keep Morriston C firmly rooted at the bottom.

Division 3 saw three matches being played. St Michael’s School made the trip to Upper Killay to play the Hawks with both teams looking for their second win of the season. This time it was the Hawks’ turn and they did it in style with a comprehensive 4-1 victory. Up next was the fixture between De la Beche B and Tribunes. Having seen their C team demolished by the Tribunes the previous week the De la Beche team were probably wondering what they would be facing but in the end they need not have worried. Their 4-1 victory boosted them to the top of the table level with Brunel on match points but with a higher game point score thanks to having played an extra match. The final match of the week was between Morriston F and De la Beche C. With experience on their side De la Beche managed to win 3½-1½ and climb above Morriston F to sixth in the table. All in all not a good week for the Morriston club.

11/11/2017