The Richardson Plate Final. The Bridge Inn. The Big Room (with the new carpet). All the ingredients were there for a fabulous giant-killing in our battle against Darnall & Handsworth tonight, but sadly it wasn't to be.
As expected, our opponents fielded a pretty strong side. There was no lack of fighting spirit, with many of the games going down to the last few minutes on the clock, but in the final reckoning we could only manage 1½ points through Ed's win and Oli's draw on the bottom two boards.
Thanks to all the Rotherham players who got us this far—you all fought like lions throughout. Congratulations to D&H on a deserved win—they played some good chess and were extremely gracious in victory. We'll be back next season! 💪