MALVERN Chess Club played Kidderminster in Division One of the County League at home and had a good win 4-2 against a strong team.

Kidderminster had white on the odd boards. Individual results are given below, Malvern names first.

1 B Turner - J Friar. 2 G Herbert 0-1 F Pickett. 3 I Clarke 1-0 P Yates. 4 J Knee 1-0 M Riley. 5 D Spencer - D Close. 6 M Ginger 1-0 P Thomas.

On board one Jim Friar played a quiet variation against Brian Turner's Queen's Indian defence. Brian advanced in the centre but his pawns came under pressure. Careful damage limitation led to a quiet draw.

On board two Geoffrey Herbert did not make the most of having the white pieces as he lost a pawn in the opening. However he managed to generate some compensation though had no clear threats but just before the time control he blundered the exchange and had to resign when his position deteriorated.

Ian Clarke's position on board three was very cramped after a kings pawn opening but with exchanges managed to ease the pressure and gained control over the dark squares. Advancing his pawns freed his position and a tactical combination won the exchange. White's position became critical and he lost on time.

On board four John Knee played his usual English opening and emerged with a bind in the centre. Mark tried to relieve the pressure by exchanges but overlooked a pawn move that cost him a rook leaving him in a hopeless position.

Denis Spencer played the Scandinavian Defence on board five and castled long. Dave exerted pressure on the queen's side and forced the black king to run to the king's side where it should have succumbed to a powerful attack. After the adjournment Denis obtained sufficient counter play to force a draw.

On board six black played a Pirc defence against Maurice Ginger and gave up a pawn for an attack. This was inconclusive and resulted in the loss of a second pawn. Maurice allowed some counter play with his last move before the time control but it was insufficient and the two pawn advantage led to black's resignation.