We're halfway through a two-week hiatus at the moment, this week having originally been set aside for the Cup which finished one round early this season. By contrast, February was a whirlwind—a lot of chess packed into a short month, with three fixtures since our Plate defeat to Darnall & Handsworth as well as a local congress over in Doncaster.
On the 19th, the B team seized their opportunity to take instant revenge against D&H B at the Bridge. Nat notched a nice win against Szilard Tamas on top board, while Oli eventually grabbed a full point on board 2, helping us to a 3½–2½ win—later deemed a 6-0 forfeit after Szilard was ruled ineligible.
That weekend saw Chris, Oli, Nat, Colin and Mick S attend the 2020 edition of the Doncaster Chess Congress. The Open section was eventually won by Oskar Hackner—formerly of this parish—with a perfect 5/5 score. No champagne for the Rotherham representatives though—Colin scored a steady 3/5 in the Minor, while Oli's 3½ in the Intermediate section was enough to win a £25 grading prize.
Hot on the heels of Doncaster Congress came a pair of back-to-back matches on Tuesday and Wednesday night. First, the B team suffered a 4–2 defeat away at Barnsley B, but the next day brought happier scenes as Rotherham A squeaked past an Aughton A side featuring Barry Williams fresh from his Minor triumph at Doncaster. A week later and Barnsley B were at the Bridge for the return match, but history repeated itself as Rotherham B were defeated 2–4.
Looking forward, we've got a spate of home matches coming up, starting with an A team match against Sheffield University when the season resumes next week.