MALVERN Chess Club drew with St Johns/Droitwich 3-3, in an away match in Division One of the County League.

Malvern had white on the odds board. Individual results are as follows, Malvern names first. 1) B Turner - S James 2) G Herbert 0-1 G Dyett 3) I Clarke - N Harris 4) J Knee - A Kirkland 5) E Nesbit - S Foster 6) S Tombs 1-0 W Watson.

On board one Brian Turner grabbed a risky pawn against black's Sicilian Defence and then had to return it to stabilise his centre and get his queen and king back into safety. This left him with a queen's side edge but it was not enough and a draw was agreed.

White played the Bird's opening on board two, which left Geoffrey Herbert with a cramped position. He was unable to find a secure place for his king and white broke through in the centre leaving the black king defenceless.

Black obtained a good French defence against Ian Clarke's queen's pawn opening on board three. Exchanges left black with the bishop pair and he maintained pressure in the centre. Further simplification led to a major piece endgame with black having the edge. However both players were short of time and agreed a draw.

On board four John Knee played his favourite Caro-Kann Defence, which Arnold Kirkland countered with a steady variation. Pieces were exchanged and Kirkland maintained some pressure. Knee managed to escape his endgame problems by exchanging numerous pawns leading to a drawn position.

On board five Edward Nesbit played the Samisch against Steve Foster's Kings Indian, developing pressure on the kings side. He sacrificed a pawn to increase the pressure, but Foster developed counterplay on the queen's side forcing a drawn ending.

Sam Tombs, was now Malvern's last hope to save the match and again rose to the occasion on board six. He played the King's Indian and gained an unopposed king's bishop. He then developed pressure on the queen's side against Bill Watson's castled king, breaking through to achieve a win.