Game from the Match between the D and E Teams

Graham has provided the game from board 1 of the D v E match on Monday - the deciding game as the score was poised at 2-2. Both players were down to under 5 minutes at the end. Graham has added in some engine analysis of the closing stages. Great game, and part of a fantastic win for the E team.

[Event "Stirling D v Stirling E"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.10.12"] [Round "?"] [White "Macrury, I.."] [Black "Carmichael, S.."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Anderson"] [ECO "B19"] [BlackElo "1358"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "117"] [GameId "2365094807392359"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bc4 e6 9. Qe2 Ngf6 10. Bd2 Bxc2 11. O-O Bd6 12. Bxh6 Rxh6 13. Qxc2 Qc7 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 O-O-O 16. Rac1 Rdh8 17. d5 f5 18. Qd3 Rxh4 19. Nxh4 Rxh4 20. g3 Ne5 21. Qe2 Re4 22. Qh5 Rxc4 23. Qe8+ Qd8 24. Qxe6+ Qd7 25. Qg8+ Kc7 26. dxc6 Qxc6 27. Qxg7+ Kb6 28. Rxc4 Nf3+ 29. Kh1 Qxc4 30. Rd1 Qc6 31. Qc3 Qxc3 32. bxc3 Kc5 33. Kg2 Ng5 34. c4 a6 35. Rd5+ Kc6 36. Rxf5 Ne6 37. f4 b5 38. cxb5+ axb5 39. Rf6 Nc5 40. g4 Kd5 41. Kf3 Ne6 42. g5 Be7 43. Rf5+ Kd6 44. Kg4 Nd4 45. Re5 b4 46. Kh5 Ne6 47. Kg4 Nd4 48. Re4 Nc6 49. f5 Ne5+ 50. Kh5 Kd5 51. Re2 Bf8 52. g6 Bg7 53. Rd2+ Ke4 54. Rf2 Bf6 55. Rf1 Nf3 ({Stockfish has the game as drawn after 55 Rf1 recommending Black continue with} 55... Nd3 {In order to keep the f-pawn, the White King has to retreat back to g4. If it advances to h6 instead, Black has to give up his bishop after g7, but the resulting R+P against N+P should be drawn, for example after these moves:} 56. Kh6 Nf4 57. Kh7 Kxf5 58. g7 Bxg7 59. Kxg7) 56. Kh6 Bg5+ 57. Kh7 Bf6 58. g7 Ng5+ 59. Kg6 {Black resigns} 1-0

2026-04-20 Three Home Matches

Stirling Chess Club has won both Divisions of the Central League, but there remain a few matches left to play before the League season is wrapped up.

We start with two matches from the second tier.

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling E          2-3  Clackmannanshire

1. Rudra Pardhi  930   1-0  Glen Wilson       1047
2. Josh Heesom   u/g   1-0  Joseph Lambert    u/g
3. Samay Banakar u/g   0-1  Aiden Cameron     u/g
4. Jamie Scanlon u/g   0-1  Roman Quinn       u/g
5. Aarika Pawar  u/g   0-1  Catherine Lambert u/g

Stirling had White on boards 3 and 4

Graham reports:

A first win of the season for Clackmannanshire - congratulations to them! It was great to see so many juniors - 8 - involved in this match.

Samay resigned early on, then Josh set a mating trap, with the lure of a Queen, for Joseph which he fell into.

Jamie missed a mate in two combination for five moves in a row before Roman swapped Queens, and the extra pawns made the difference.

Aarika got slowly strangled by Catherine before a back rank mate. Rudra - Glen will hopefully be on the club website soon.

[Event "Stirling E v Clackmannanshire"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Wilson, G."] [Black "Pardhi, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B70"] [WhiteElo "1047"] [BlackElo "930"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2302004149751925"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 e5 9. Nde2 Nc6 10. f4 Ng4 11. Bf2 exf4 12. Nxf4 Be5 (12... Nxf2 13. Rxf2 Bd4) 13. Bg3 Ne3 14. Qf3 Nxc4 15. Rad1 Nxb2 16. Rd2 Nc4 17. Rdd1 Nd4 18. Qd3 Nb2 19. Qd2 Nxd1 20. Nxd1 Qg5 21. Nb2 Ne6 22. Nbd3 b6 23. Qb4 Ba6 24. c4 Rac8 25. Nxe5 dxe5 26. Nd5 Bxc4 27. Ne7+ Kh8 28. Nxc8 Rxc8 29. Rxf7 Qd8 30. Bxe5+ Kg8 31. Rxa7 Qd3 (31... Qd1+ 32. Kf2 Qe2+ 33. Kg3 Qe3+ 34. Kh4 Qg5+ 35. Kh3 Nf4+ 36. Bxf4 Be6+ 37. g4 Qxg4#) 32. h3 Qxe4 33. Bg3 Nd4 34. Qxb6 Bd5 35. Qb2 Ne2+ 36. Kf1 Rc1+ (36... Rf8+ 37. Rf7 Rxf7+ 38. Ke1 Nxg3+ 39. Kd2 Rf2+ 40. Kd1 Rxb2 41. a3 Qb1#) 37. Kf2 Qxg2+ 38. Ke3 Qxg3+ 39. Kd2 Qe1+ 40. Ke3 Rc3+ {White resigns.} 0-1

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling D        2½-2½ Badgers Brook B

1. Tom Wallace  1313  ½-½  Antonio La Gamma 1269
2. David Fowler 1300  ½-½  David Lawrence   1180
3. Mick Bloor   1084  0-1  Connor George    977
4. Victor Lui   928   ½-½  Douglas Scott    973
5. Elsa Lui     u/g   1-0  Peter Woollven   907
 
Stirling had White on boards 4 and 5

Tom reports:

Elsa secured an early point with a good win against Peter.

Mick blew a winning position and lost a rook and eventually the game.

Victor and Douglas drew a Knight and pawn ending.

I had managed to draw with Antonio in a Knight and Bishop ending with lots of blocking pawns to force the draw.

The last game was an agreed draw with Stirling's David’s clock dropping but Badgers David only had a knight left. David F should have claimed a draw with under 2 minutes left and Kenny pointed out the King and Knight could theoretically mated with David’s rook and pawn in the corner. The 2 David’s had agreed a draw so all square in the end.

In Division 1, Stirling B's last match of the season against Badgers Brook A resulted in a 3.5 -1.5 win for the visitors:

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling B            1½-3½ Badgers Brook A

1. Richard Warcup   1637  0-1  Kenny McGeoch   2014
2. Brad Duthie      1552  0-1  Suzy Cooke      1902
3. Bill Cook        1544  ½-½  Jonathan Rowney 1543
4. Steve Smith      1549  0-1  Graham Kerr     1482
5. Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Colin Matthews  1394

Stirling had White on Boards 2 and 4

Bill reports:

Kenny MacP was a piece up fairly early on and converted to bring the first point. Suzy also won a piece and was the second game to finish.

I didn't see the end of the Board one game but apparently Richard had four pawns for two pieces but with only a couple of minutes left Kenny McG still managed to win.

I won a pawn and had possibly a winning advantage but spent some time trying a failing to see a way through and with both of us having about one minute left we agreed a draw.

In the last game to finish Steve won a pawn but Graham conjured up a mating attack.

Thanks to Badgers for a good match - slightly closer than the final score indicated.

To illustrate Bill's final point, here is the Board one game - a complicated and fluctuating encounter, which eventually ended up in the notorious KBN -v- K endgame. At this point, Kenny McG's endgame technique was up to a challenge which has proved too much for many club players and even much stronger ones.

[Event "Central League Division 1"] [Site "Stirling"] [Date "2026.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "McGeoch, Kenny"] [Black "Warcup, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A39"] [WhiteElo "2014"] [BlackElo "1637"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "189"] [GameId "2302003417079875"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 a6 9. Bg5 Qa5 10. Nxc6 dxc6 11. Qc1 Be6 12. b3 Rfe8 13. Bd2 Qh5 14. e4 Ng4 15. h3 Nf6 16. g4 Bxg4 17. hxg4 Nxg4 18. Bf4 Bd4 19. Ne2 Bxa1 20. Qxa1 e5 21. Bg3 Rad8 22. Qc3 f6 23. f3 Nh6 24. Kf2 g5 25. Rh1 Qg6 26. Qe3 Rd6 27. c5 Rdd8 28. b4 Kg7 29. Bh2 Qf7 30. Bh3 Qxa2 31. Rg1 Nf7 32. Bf5 h6 33. f4 Rd2 34. fxe5 Red8 35. exf6+ Kxf6 36. Qc3+ Ke7 37. Re1 R8d3 38. Bd6+ Ke8 39. Qg7 Rxd6 40. cxd6 Rxd6 41. e5 Rd5 42. Be6 Nxe5 43. Qxe5 Rxe5 44. Bxa2 Kd7 45. Nc3 Rxe1 46. Kxe1 Kc7 47. Na4 b6 48. Kf2 a5 49. bxa5 bxa5 50. Kf3 Kd6 51. Kg4 Ke5 52. Bf7 Kd4 53. Kh5 Ke5 54. Be8 Kf4 55. Bd7 Ke4 56. Bxc6+ Kd4 57. Kxh6 g4 58. Kh5 g3 59. Kh4 g2 60. Bxg2 Kc4 61. Bc6 Kd4 62. Kg4 Kc4 63. Kf4 Kd4 64. Bd7 Kc4 65. Ke4 Kb4 66. Kd4 Ka3 67. Kc3 Ka2 68. Kc4 Ka1 69. Kb5 Ka2 70. Kxa5 Ka1 71. Kb4 Ka2 72. Kc3 Ka1 73. Nc5 Ka2 74. Bf5 Ka1 75. Nb3+ Ka2 76. Be4 Ka3 77. Bb1 Ka4 78. Nd4 Ka5 79. Kc4 Kb6 80. Nb5 Kc6 81. Bf5 Kb6 82. Bd7 Ka5 83. Kc5 Ka4 84. Be6 Ka5 85. Bb3 Ka6 86. Nd6 Ka7 87. Kc6 Ka6 88. Nb7 Ka7 89. Bc4 Kb8 90. Kb6 Kc8 91. Be6+ Kb8 92. Nc5 Ka8 93. Bf5 Kb8 94. Na6+ Ka8 95. Be4# 1-0

2026-03-30 Stirling C -v- Stirling E

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling C            4-1  Stirling E

1. Nathanael Loch  1515  1-0  Michael Murphy  1087
2. David McAlister 1445  1-0  Stewart Cairns  719
3. Toby Geyer      1302  0-1  Rudra Pardhi    930
4. Kai Austin      946   1-0  Chris Woodhouse u/g
5. Josh Heesom     u/g*  1-0  Jamie Scanlon   u/g

Stirling C had white on boards 2 and 4
* Live rating: Josh Heesom 879 

Nathanael, captain of the C's provided this report on the match:

Stirling C didn't have Kenny or Kelechi for this match, so many thanks to David, Kai and Josh for standing in.

We still have one more to play against Grangemouth C, but I believe this win cements Stirling C as winners of Division 2.

Board 1: My game against Mick was a tricky one. He played a stonewall against me, which I don't really understand how to play against, and so my opening position was truly awful. However, despite Isaac and I thinking after the game that I was probably close to losing from the opening alone, Stockfish actually only has it as +0.6 in the resulting structure. Mick pushed the pawns too early, which allowed me to win immediately with a skewer on the Rook and Queen sat on the main light-diagonal. But if not for a winning tactic, he was the favourite to win from an objective evaluation!

Board 2: I didn't see much of this game, but I believe David told me this was his first serious game for a long time, so many thanks to him for coming out of hibernation last minute.

Board 3: I believe Toby was doing well out of the opening here, but something must have gone wrong later. This was the last game to finish on the night, but I didn't see how it ended. At a few moments, I saw that Toby had chances to win the exchange, but his king was unsafe, so there was possibly some sort of danger that I wasn't aware of. Rudra did well to win this pairing.

Board 4: I didn't see any of this game, but this was the second to last to finish.

Board 5: A bit of a wild back and forth in this game. Queens were en prise from both sides throughout, and I spotted wins for both players. Ultimately, Jamie would lose his pieces allowing Josh to make two queens, and ladder mate to finish.

Thanks to Graham for providing the game-score of the E's win on Board 3.

[Event "Stirling C v Stirling E"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.03.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Pardhi, Rudra"] [Black "Geyer, Toby"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C70"] [WhiteElo "930"] [BlackElo "1302"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2294029309730888"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bc5 7. d3 h6 8. O-O d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bd2 Nxb3 11. axb3 Bb7 12. Re1 O-O 13. Ne2 Re8 14. b4 Bb6 15. Bc3 Rc8 16. Ng3 c6 17. Nf5 Bc7 18. Bd2 d5 19. Qc1 Nh7 20. N3h4 Qf6 21. Re3 Ng5 22. Nf3 Nxe4 23. dxe4 dxe4 24. N3h4 Bd8 25. f3 g5 26. Rxe4 gxh4 27. Nxh6+ Kh8 28. Ng4 Qd6 29. Nh6 Rc7 30. f4 Qxh6 31. fxe5 Qh5 32. Be1 Rxe5 33. Bc3 f6 34. Bxe5 fxe5 35. Qd2 Bf6 36. Rf1 Bg7 37. Qd8+ Kh7 38. Rxh4 {Black resigns.} 1-0

2026-03-23 Stirling host Badgers Brook and Clackmannanshire

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling E            1-4  Badgers Brook B

1. Mick Murphy     1087  0-1  Derek Raffan   1384
2. Rudra Pardhi    930   0-1  David Lawrence 1180
3. William Feather 875   0-1  Connor George  977
4. Stewart Cairns  719   0-1  Peter Woollven 907
5. Elsa Liu              1-0  default

Stirling had white on boards 2 and 3

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling C             5-0  Clackmannanshire

1. Nathanael Loch   1515  1-0  Glen Wilson      1047
2. Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Luke Evans       u/g
3. Harry Feather    1461  1-0  Joseph Lambert   u/g*
4. Tom Wallace      1313  1-0  Vytautas Jakstys u/g
5. Mick Bloor       1084  1-0  Roman Quinn      u/g

Stirling C had white on boards 2 and 4
* Live rating: Joseph Lambert 1007

2026-02-17 Stirling E win at Dunfermline

   Central League Division 2  
   Dunfermline B         2-3  Stirling E

1. Calum Newton    1508  0-1  Sandy Carmichael 1357
2. Douglas Rew     1369  1-0  Mick Murphy      1087
3. George Webb     1316  0-1  Mick Bloor       1084
4. Gordon Handy    u/g   0-1  Stewart Cairns   719
5. Michael Spriggs u/g   1-0  Elsa Liu         u/g

Stirling had White on boards 1,2 and 3

Graham has provided the commentary and games from this tremendous win.

Thanks to Dunfermline for hosting, and a very entertaining match.

I feared the worst when Stirling E went 2-0 quite quickly. Elsa lost after missing a Queen and Rook skewer, and then missing the opportunity to get it back a couple of moves later.

Mick M resigned after a 'remove the defender' tactic gave Douglas three connected passed pawns in the endgame.

Mick B pulled a point back with an unstoppable mating attack (which, in a first for him, did not involve any wild sacrifice).

[Event "Dunfermline B v Stirling E"] [Site "Dunfermline CC"] [Date "2026.02.17"] [Round "?"] [White "Bloor, M.."] [Black "Webb, G.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "1084"] [BlackElo "1316"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2279692142084218"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 d5 2. e5 Bf5 3. d4 e6 4. Bd3 Bg6 5. Nf3 Nd7 6. Nc3 a6 7. a3 Ne7 8. Be3 c6 9. Bxg6 hxg6 10. Qd2 Nb6 11. O-O-O Nc4 12. Qe2 Qb6 13. Na4 Qa5 14. b3 Nxa3 15. Bd2 Qc7 16. Kb2 Nb5 17. Bb4 a5 18. Bc5 Nc8 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 20. c4 Nba7 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Rc1 Qd7 23. Rc3 Nb5 24. Rc2 Nca7 25. Rhc1 Qe7 26. Rc5 Qd7 27. Nb6 Qd8 28. Nxa8 Qxa8 29. Rxb5 Nc6 30. Qc2 Kd7 31. Qc5 Rd8 32. Ng5 Ke8 33. Nh7 Ne7 34. Qc7 Nc6 35. Rxb7 {Black resigns.} 1-0

Stewart was two backward pawns up when a catastrophic error from Gordon gave away a rook and the game.

[Event "Dunfermline B v Stirling E"] [Site "Dunfermline CC"] [Date "2026.02.17"] [Round "?"] [White "Handy, G.."] [Black "Cairns, S.."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [BlackElo "719"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2279692600692872"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. O-O Bd6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. c4 b6 8. a3 Bd7 9. Re1 Re8 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 Rb8 13. Qc2 g6 14. Bg5 Be7 15. h4 Bxg5 16. hxg5 e5 17. d5 Nd4 18. Qd3 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Qxg5 20. d6 cxd6 21. Bd5 Be6 22. Bxe6 Rxe6 23. Qd5 a5 24. Re2 Rc8 25. b3 Rc5 26. Qa8+ Kg7 27. Rb1 Qf5 28. Rd1 h5 29. Qa6 Rc6 30. b4 axb4 31. axb4 e4 32. f3 exf3 33. Rxe6 Qxe6 34. gxf3 h4 35. Rd4 Qe3+ 36. Kg2 Qxd4 37. Kh3 g5 38. Qa2 Rxc4 39. Qg2 Qf4 40. b5 Rc3 41. Qb2 {White resigns. 41 ... Qg3#} 0-1

This left the game on board 1, the longest game of the match. Calum elected to prevent Sandy from castling at the expense of Queen side development, and with the match score at 2-1 for Dunfermline, Sandy passed up an opportunity to take a draw by perpetual to go for the win. This eventually came with a checkmate.

[Event "Dunfermline B vs. Stirling E"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.02.17"] [Round "?"] [White "Carmichael, S.."] [Black "Newton, C.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "1357"] [BlackElo "1508"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2279688274182234"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. d5 c6 5. Bxc4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 cxd5 8. Bxd5 Qc7 9. c4 Nf6 10. Nf3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Qc4 12. Nd2 Qd4 13. Rb1 f5 14. Bb2 Qd3 15. Bxe5 O-O 16. Rb3 Qa6 17. Rg3 g6 18. Qh5 Nd7 19. Bc3 Nf6 20. Qh6 Rf7 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. O-O fxe4 23. Nxe4 Qe5 24. Re3 Bf5 25. Ng5 Qxd5 26. Nxf7 Qxf7 27. a3 Rc8 28. h3 Rc6 29. Rd1 Rc8 30. Qg5 Qf8 31. Re7 h6 32. Qe3 Bc2 33. Qe6+ Kh8 34. Rdd7 g5 35. Qe5+ Kg8 36. Rg7+ Qxg7 37. Qxg7# 1-0

2025-01-26 Match between the Stirling D and E teams

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling D       3-2  Stirling E

1. Harry Feather  1461  1-0  Mick Murphy     1087
2. David Fowler   1300  0-1  Mick Bloor      1084
3. Tom Wallace    1313  1-0  Rudra Pardhi    930
4. Kai Austin     946   1-0  William Feather 875
5. Andreas Hoelin u/g   0-1  Chris Woodhouse u/g  

Tom Wallace's comments on course of the match:

Kai finished 1st quite quickly and I managed to get the better of Rudra after his Kingside attack.

Chris beat Andreas on board 5 and Harry beat Mick M in a tight game on board 1.

Mick B sacked a knight on g5 to set up a Kingside onslaught which eventually paid off.

[Event "Stirling D v Stirling E"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.01.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Bloor, M."] [Black "Fowler, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "1084"] [BlackElo "1300"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2271377084424222"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 Nd7 5. Bc4 e6 6. Be3 Ne7 7. Qd2 h6 8. h4 b6 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. Ng5 hxg5 11. hxg5 Nc6 12. Rxh8+ Bxh8 13. Rh1 Bg7 14. Rh7 Kf8 15. f4 Kg8 16. Rh3 Na5 17. Bd3 c5 18. d5 e5 19. f5 Bc8 20. Qf2 c4 21. Be2 Nc5 22. Qh4 gxf5 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. exf5 f6 25. Rg3 b5 26. gxf6 Qxf6 27. Rg6 Qf7 28. Bh6 Bxh6+ 29. Qxh6+ Ke8 30. Qh8+ Qf8 31. Rg8 Nd7 32. Bh5+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

2026-01-19 Three Teams, Two Matches

The third Monday of the New Year brought forward a double-header. The Stirling A and B Teams faced each other, while the E team hosted Grangemouth C.

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling B            1-4  Stirling A 

1. Richard Warcup  1637  0-1  Isaac Browning  2054
2. Brad Duthie     1552  1-0  John Iwuozor    2020 (Default)
3. Bill Cook       1544  0-1  Leo Gardner     1896
4. Douglas Heatlie 1563  0-1  Sean Flanagan   1698
5. Kelechi Nwosu    u/g  0-1  Nathanael Loch  1515

Stirling B were the 'home' team.
The Bs had White on Boards 1 and 2.

Bill provided this report:

Both teams were missing 2 players and the Bs were heavily out-graded but there were no quick games.

Sean won a pawn fairly early on and he converted smoothly in an endgame with rook and bishop each.

Kelechi lost the exchange and wasn't able to recover.

Leo had a strong attack but after I had sacrificed a pawn managed to get a bit of counterplay and then blundered with just a few minutes left.

Board 1 was very close for a long time and Isaac only won when Richard had to sacrifice a bishop to prevent a pawn queening but couldn't prevent a second pawn.

An enjoyable match.

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling E           1-4  Grangemouth C

1. Mick Bloor     1084  ½-½  Bill Gray      1486
2. Mick Murphy    1087  ½-½  Jim Stallard   1330
3. Rudra Pardhi   930   0-1  Crawford Welsh 1243
4. Stewart Cairns 719   0-1  Joe Johnstone  u/g
5. Josh Heesom    u/g   0-1  Sean Gray      u/g

Grangemouth had White on 1,3 and 5.

Graham provided this report

On board 3, both sides started a pawn push that saw Crawford win a rook. While Rudra had some play left, analysis showed that it would have been very difficult to get his a2 pawn promoted.

On board 5, Josh also dropped during Queen exchanges.

I only saw the very end of board 4 when Stewart, already a piece had a defender of g2 distracted then resigned.

I didn't see any of boards 1 and 2, although I'm told Mick M did well to get a draw, and with the match well and truly decided Mick B and Bill agreed a draw rather than grind out a long end-game.

2025-12-08 Stirling E -v- Dunfermline B

Alongside the match on Monday night between the Stirling D -v- C teams already reported upon, the E Team had a good win over Dunfermline B.

   Central League Division 2

   Stirling E             3-2  Dunfermline B

1. Sandy Carmichael  1357 1-0  Calum Newton     1508
2. Mick Murphy       1087 0-1  Douglas Rew      1369 
3. Mick Bloor        1084 0-1  Daniel Lynch     1239
4. William Feather   875  1-0  Ali Shuttleworth 1207
5. Stewart Cairns    719  1-0  Brian Easton     999

Here is Stewart's victory on board 5.

[Event "Stirling E v Dunfermline B"] [Site "Stirling"] [Date "2025.12.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Easton, B."] [Black "Cairns, S."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "999"] [BlackElo "719"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2253634069524498"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Bf5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Be2 Nc6 6. a3 Bd6 7. Ne5 Nd7 8. g4 Ndxe5 9. gxf5 Nc4 10. fxe6 fxe6 11. Bxc4 Bxf4 12. exf4 dxc4 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qg5 Nxd4 15. Qxd8+ Rxd8 16. O-O Nxc2 17. Ra2 O-O 18. Nc3 Rxf4 19. Rc1 Nd4 20. Kf1 Rdf8 21. b3 Nxb3 22. Re1 Nc5 23. Nb5 Nd3 24. Ree2 Nc1 25. Nxc7 Nxa2 26. Rxa2 Rc8 27. Nxe6 Rh4 28. Kg2 c3 29. Rc2 Ra4 30. Ng5 Rxa3 31. Ne4 b5 32. Nd6 Rd8 33. Nxb5 Rb3 34. Nxa7 Rd2 35. Rc1 c2 36. Nc6 Rb1 37. Ne7+ Kf7 38. Nd5 Rxc1 39. Ne3 Rb1 40. Nxc2 Rxc2 41. Kg3 Rbb2 42. f3 Rxh2 43. f4 Kf6 44. Kg4 Rb3 45. f5 h5+ 46. Kf4 Rh4# 0-1

2025-12-03 Division 2 Match at Grangemouth

Stirling E travelled to Grangemouth to face their Cs, with both teams having non-playing captains - Bill Gray for the hosts and Graham Anderson for the visitors - watching on.

Grangemouth C          3½-1½ Stirling E 

1. Crawford Welsh 1486  1-0  Mick Murphy     1087 
2. Joe Johnstone  u/g   1-0  Mick Bloor      1084 
3. Harry Leishman 847   1-0  Rudra Pardhi    930 
4. Arran Short    u/g   0-1  William Feather 875 
5. Tyler Doney    u/g   ½-½  Stewart Cairns  719 

The home team had White on boards 3 and 4

Graham provides this report on the match:

Some wild games...Stewart was N+5P against N+2P in the endgame. I blinked, and it was then N+2P v N+2P. Not entirely sure how he managed to lose those pawns, but he held out for a draw. Mick M's game is below...he missed several mates. Mick B's King found its way to g3 by about move 15, but survived a ferocious attack to be 2 pawns up in the endgame, then contrived to lose. William had a lovely mate at the end (game also below).

[Event "Grangemouth C V Stirling E"] [Site "Grangemouth"] [Date "2025.12.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Murphy, M.."] [Black "Welsh, C.."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A40"] [WhiteElo "1087"] [BlackElo "1243"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] 1. d4 g6 2. e3 Bg7 3. Bd3 d6 4. Nd2 e6 5. f4 b6 6. Ngf3 Bb7 7. Qe2 a6 8. O-O Ne7 9. c3 Nd7 10. e4 O-O 11. e5 d5 12. g4 c5 13. h4 b5 14. g5 Nc6 15. Rf2 Qb6 16. Qe3 cxd4 17. cxd4 Rac8 18. Nf1 Rc7 19. Bd2 Rfc8 20. a3 Bf8 21. N1h2 b4 22. Ng4 Na5 23. Nf6+ Nxf6 24. gxf6 Nb3 25. Rd1 Nxd2 26. Qxd2 bxa3 27. bxa3 Bxa3 28. Rg2 Bb4 29. Qe2 a5 30. h5 Bc3 31. hxg6 fxg6 32. Bxg6 Bxd4+ 33. Nxd4 Rc1 34. Rxc1 (34. Be8+ Kf8 35. Rg8+ Kxg8 36. Qg2+ Kf8 37. Qg7+ Kxe8 38. Qe7#) 34... Qxd4+ 35. Kh2 Qxf4+ 36. Kh3 Rxc1 37. Bxh7+ (37. Bf7+ Kxf7 38. Qh5+ Kf8 39. Rg8+ Kxg8 40. Qe8#) 37... Kh8 38. Rg8+ Kxh7 39. Qh5+ Kxg8 40. Qe8+ (40. Qg6+ Kf8 41. Qg7+ Ke8 42. Qe7#) 40... Kh7 41. Qh5+ Qh6 42. Qxh6+ Kxh6 0-1

[Event "Grangemouth C v Stirling E"] [Site "Grangemouth"] [Date "2025.12.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Short, A."] [Black "Feather, W."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C62"] [BlackElo "875"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d3 Bd7 5. Bd2 a6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. O-O Bg4 8. Nc3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd4 10. Qd1 c6 11. Be3 d5 12. Bb3 Nxb3 13. axb3 d4 14. Bg5 dxc3 15. bxc3 Be7 16. Ra5 Qxa5 17. b4 Qa3 18. Qd2 a5 19. bxa5 Rxa5 20. g3 O-O 21. Rb1 b5 22. Qe1 b4 23. cxb4 Bxb4 24. Rxb4 Qa1 25. Rb1 Qa4 26. c4 h6 27. Bd2 Ra6 28. f4 Ng4 29. fxe5 Nxe5 30. Qf1 Qc2 31. Rd1 Qxd3 32. Bf4 Qxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Nxc4 34. Ke2 Ra2+ 35. Kf3 g5 36. Bc1 f5 37. Rd4 Ne5+ 38. Ke3 f4+ 39. gxf4 gxf4# 0-1

2025-11-26 Central League Division 2 Match

Clackmannanshire      2-3  Stirling E 

Vytautas Jakstys u/g  0-1  Mick Murphy     1087
Dale Carberry    u/g  1-0  Mick Bloor      1084
Joseph Lambert   u/g  1-0  Rudra Pardhi    930
Roman Quinn      u/g  0-1  William Feather 875
Lewis Wyper      u/g  0-1  Josh Heesom     u/g

E Team captain Graham Anderson reports on a close match at Alloa:

Boards 3,4 and 5 were all juniors, although the two Micks managed to keep the average age of the Stirling team at around 40.

Game of the night was Joseph-Rudra on board 3, where from quite a closed position Joseph managed to sneak a defended knight onto e6 and wreak havoc with Rudra's backline, then showed impressive end-game technique to claim the win. It's worth keeping an eye on both these players.

Graham also forwarded the game-score of a very nice win by Mick M on board 1, by first winning the exchange and then keeping the pressure on, which produced a fatal error from his opponent.

[Event "Clackmannanshire v Stirling E"] [Site "Alloa"] [Date "2025.11.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Murphy, M."] [Black "Jakstys, V."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "1087"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. e3 g6 3. Bd3 Bg7 4. Nd2 O-O 5. f4 d6 6. Ngf3 Nd5 7. Qe2 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Nxf3 Nd7 10. Bd2 Re8 11. e4 N5f6 12. O-O c5 13. c3 b6 14. g4 Nf8 15. e5 dxe5 16. fxe5 Nd5 17. Bb5 Nd7 18. Bc6 Nc7 19. Bxa8 Qxa8 20. Ng5 f6 21. Nf3 cxd4 22. cxd4 Kh8 23. Rac1 Nd5 24. Qb5 Nb8 25. Qxe8+ {Black resigns. 25 ... Bf8 26 Qxf8#} 1-0

2025-11-17 Two League Matches at Home

Central League Division 1

Stirling B           2-3  Grangemouth A 

Leo Gardner    1896  ½-½  John McLay       2016 
Richard Warcup 1636  0-1  Graham Hamilton  1905
Brad Duthie    1552  1-0  Pranav Hariharan 1747
Bill Cook      1544  0-1  Duncan Glassey   1722 
Steve Smith    1530  ½-½  Alan Petrie      1685 

Central League Division 2

Stirling E            ½-4½ Stirling C 

Mick Murphy     1087  0-1  Kenny MacPherson  1506
Mick Bloor      1084  0-1  Harry Feather     1461
Stewart Cairns  719   0-1  Toby Geyer        1302
Rudra Pardhi    930   0-1  Kelechi Nwosu     u/g
William Feather 875   ½-½  Tom Wallace       1313

15-09-25 Stirling E -v- Stirling D

Stirling E           2½-2½         Stirling D

Gordon Allcock  1230  0-1  Harry Feather 1461
Mick Bloor      1084  1-0  Tom Wallace   1313
Mick Murphy     1087  0-1  David Fowler  1300
Charles Thomson  u/g  ½-½  Kai Austin     946
Stewart Cairns   719  1-0  Josh Heesom    u/g

10-02-25 Stirling E v Stirling D

Stirling E		v		Stirling D
Kai Austin Mick Murphy Rudra Pardhi Stewart Cairns Grishma Bannakar	900 1101   738	0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1 0 - 1	1472 1406 1264 1102 851	Dave Hewitt Toby Geyer David Fowler Mick Bloor Cameron Anderson
		½ - 4½

27-01-25 Stirling E v Dunfermline B

Stirling E		v		Dunfermline B
Kai Austin Rudra Pardhi Mick Murphy Neander Didla Victor Liu	893   1125	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1	1518   1021 1004	Calum Newton Daniel Lynch Melinda Kindeur Brian Easton Ali Shuttleworth
		0 - 5

11-11-24 Stirling E v Badgers Brook C

Stirling E		v		Badgers Brook C
Tom Nimmo Mick Murphy Stewart Cairns Rudra Pardhi Advait Harikumer	1084 1125 738	1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1	1425 1256   1164 999	Mark Brown Gordon Walker William Mundie David Lawrence Peter Woollven
		2½ - 2½

Thanks to Rudra for the game below - a fantastic result on his league debut.

[Event "Stirling E v Badgers Brook C"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2024.11.11"] [Round ""] [White "Lawrence, D"] [Black "Pardhi, R"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A48"] [Opening "Neo-King's Indian"] [Variation "East Indian Defence, 2..g6 3.e3 Bg7"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. a3 a5 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Bb2 Re8 9. O-O Bg4 10. Be2 Bxf3 11. Nxf3 e6 12. c4 Ne7 13. Ne5 Nd7 14. f4 Nxe5 15. fxe5 dxc4 16. bxc4 a4 17. Bf3 h6 18. Qc2 Rf8 19. e4 f6 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Rad1 c6 22. Rd3 Kh7 23. Bg4 Qd7 24. Qd2 Bg5 25. Qe2 Rxf1+ 26. Qxf1 h5 27. Qf7+ Kh6 28. d5 Rg8 29. Bxe6 Qd8 30. Qf2 Rf8 31. Qd4 Bf6 32. Qe3+ Bg5 33. Qd4 Bf6 34. Qe3+ Bg5 { Draw by repetition. Stockfish recommends 34 Qc5 instead, and when the black bishop is on f6, e5 seems to keep White going. } 1/2-1/2

21-10-24 Stirling C v Stirling E

Stirling C		v		Stirling E
Richard Warcup Kenny MacPherson Douglas Heatlie Tom Wallace Ross Warcup	1555 1481 1481 1352 742	1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	1096 738	Harley Lang Stewart Cairns Felix Borzik Neander Didla Advait Harikumer
		5 - 0

Thanks to Ross for the game below, where Ross had Black against debutante Advait.

[Event "Stirling C v Stirling E"] [Site "Striling CC"] [Date "2024.10.21"] [Round "-"] [White "Harikumer, A"] [Black "Warcup, Ross"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 c5 2. e5 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. Ng5 e6 6. Nf3 Nxe5 7. Nxe5 Bxe5 8. Na3 a6 9. d3 d5 10. f4 Bg7 11. Bb3 b5 12. c4 bxc4 13. dxc4 d4 14. Qf3 Bd7 15. O-O Ne7 16. Bc2 O-O 17. Be4 Rb8 18. Bd2 Rxb2 19. Qf2 Qc8 20. Nb1 Bc6 21. Re1 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Nf5 23. g4 Ne3 24. Bxe3 Rxf2 25. Bxf2 d3 26. Nd2 Bxa1 27. f5 exf5 28. gxf5 Qxf5 29. Re3 Qg5+ 30. Rg3 Qxd2 31. Re3 Qd1+ 32. Re1 Qf3 { I can't make out the last move, but White resigned after it. } 0-1

30-09-24 Stirling E v Badgers Brook B

I don't have all of the players names, but I do have the two games below which scored Stirling's points in 3½-1½ win for Badgers Brook B. The first game is from board 1, where Tom had white against David James.

[Event "Stirling E v Badgers Brook B"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2024.09.30"] [Round ""] [White "Nimmo, T"] [Black "James, D"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 e6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Be3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nf6 8. Be2 Nxd4 9. Bxd4 Qxg2 10. Bf3 Qg6 11. Qb3 Be7 12. Bxb7 Bxb7 13. Qxb7 O-O 14. Nd2 Rfe8 15. O-O-O a5 16. Rhg1 Qf5 17. Rg2 Rab8 18. Qc7 Qd5 19. Rdg1 g6 20. Qc4 Qb7 21. Qb3 Qd7 22. Qc2 Rec8 23. Nf3 Qd5 24. Qd3 Qxa2 25. Qb1 Qb3 26. Qc2 a4 27. Qxb3 Rxb3 28. Nd2 Rb7 29. Kc2 Nd5 30. Ra1 Ra8 31. Rgg1 Bf6 32. Bxf6 Nxf6 33. Ra2 Rba7 34. Nc4 Ra6 35. f3 Nd7 36. Rga1 Nc5 37. Nd2 Nb3 38. Nxb3 axb3+ 39. Kxb3 Rb6+ 40. Kc2 Rab8 41. Rb1 Kg7 42. b4 Kf6 43. Kb3 Kf5 44. Ra7 R8b7 45. Rxb7 Rxb7 46. Rf1 Kf4 47. c4 Ke5 48. Rd1 Kf6 49. c5 Ke7 50. Kc4 f5 51. b5 e5 52. c6 Rc7 53. Kc5 e4 55. fxe4 fxe4 56. b6 { Black resigns } 1-0

This second game is board 5, where Calum, making his league debut, earned a draw with Black against D Scott.

[Event "Stirling E v Badgers Brook B"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2024.09.30"] [Round "-"] [White "Scott, D"] [Black "Tortolano, C"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bc5 5. d4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 Nc6 8. O-O O-O 9. c5 b6 10. Nb3 Ne4 11. Nfd2 Qf6 12. Bxe4 { 12 Nxe4 seems preferable, with the follow up threats after 12 ... dxe4 13 Bxe4 } 12... dxe4 13. Nxe4 Qf5 14. Nc3 Ba6 15. Re1 Rad8 16. Kg2 Bc4 17. e3 e5 18. cxb6 cxb6 19. e4 Qd7 20. d5 Bxb3 21. Qxb3 Nd4 22. Qd1 Rfe8 23. Ne2 Qg4 24. f3 Qxf3+ 25. Kg1 Qe3+ 26. Kf1 Qf3+ 27. Kg1 Qe3+ 28. Kf1 { Repetition draw agreed. However, Black seems to have better options with 28 ... Nf3 29 Nc3 Qg1+ 30 Ke2 Qg2+ 31 Ke3 Nxe1 32 Qxe1 Qxb2 } 1/2-1/2

Update with names.

Stirling E		v		Badgers Brook C
Tom Nimmo Mick Murphy Kai Austin Stewart Cairns Calum Tortolano	1084 1135 893 738	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	1500 1164   1003 981	David James David Lawrence William Mundie Peter Woollven Douglas Scott
		3 - 2

23-09-24 Stirling D v Stirling E

Stirling D		v		Stirling E
Dave Hewitt David Fowler Mick Bloor Toby Geyer Cameron Anderson	1422 1198 1133   847	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0 ½ - ½	1135 1084 893 877 734	Mick Murphy Tom Nimmo Kai Austin William Feather Stewart Cairns
		2½ - 2½

29-05-24 Stirling E v Grangemouth C

Stirling E		v		Grangemouth C
David Fowler Ross Warcup Stewart Cairns Cameron Anderson Nicholas Stevenson	1133 647	0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0	1526 1199 1161 1037 750	Bill Gray Crawford Welsh Roman Kuznetsov Nicholas Kitaev Harry Leishman
		1½ - 3½

08-04-24 Badgers Brook B v Stirling E

Badgers Brook B		v		Stirling E
Angus Dayle James David Ho Jay George Connor Aryaman Dandu		1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0 ½ - ½	1133 1096 647	David Fowler Harley Lang Ross Warcup Stewart Cairns Cameron Anderson
		3½ - 1½