Newark’s first team started the season with a tough away match against a very strong Gambit which resulted in a 4.5-0.5 defeat.
Third team captain Ben Poulteney had good winning chances on board 5 but his opponent’s passed pawn proved to be adequate compensation for the loss of a minor piece.
Another interesting tussle was Alex Combie’s game against Florian Biermann. Alex sacrificed a rook for a bishop that gave him some good attacking play. As Alex got into time trouble his opponent gained strong counterplay to secure victory for the Gambit team.