Chess

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Come friendly pawns and drop on Slough,

It's fit for top grandmasters now.

Yes, Slough have won the 4 Nations Chess League, after overwhelming and overtaking last year's champions, Midland Monarchs, with the strongest club side ever seen in Britain. What connection grandmasters Miles, Adams, Speelman, Hebden, Hodgson and Lalic have with the town of Slough is not very clear, but somehow they have united under its banner and won the league with 11 victories and two draws in their 13 matches. For the first time, Britain now has a team that can compete in the European Club Championship with some hope of success.

The most striking game from the final round of the 4NCL was Jonathan Speelman's victory over Graeme Buckley. When Speelman plays weird opening lines, it is often good advice not to try to refute it. Boldly meeting his weirdness head on only gives room for his imagination to work, as this game shows.

White: G Buckley

Black: J Speelman

1 d4 e6 16 Kg1 cxb5

2 c4 b6 17 Qxe6+ Rd7

3 e4 Bb7 18 cxb5 Rhd8

4 f3 Bb4+ 19 Nf4 Qd2

5 Bd2 Qe7 20 Nd3 Kb8

6 Nh3 f5! 21 Rb2 Qc3

7 exf5 Nc6! 22 Rf2 Rxd3

8 Bxb4 Qxb4+ 23 Qxe7 Rd1

9 Nc3 Qxb2 24 h4 Qd4

10 Nb5 Qb4+ 25 Qe2 Bd5

11 Kf2 0-0-0 26 Kh2 Qxh4+

12 Rb1 Qa5 27 Kg1 Qd4

13 d5 Nge7! 28 Rh4 Rxf1+

14 dxc6 dxc6 White resigns

15 Qe1 Rd2+