Champions edge out below strength Lichfield

Birmingham Division 1

A second board one victory by newcomer Turan Asgarova took Lichfield’s first team within a whisker of snatching an away draw against reigning champions Central Birmingham A. Turan is the first female to play for Lichfield’s top team this century. In fact it is a stretch too far for the editor’s memory to recall any league appearance by a Lichfield female. Turan is rated at 2070, 20pts or so higher than her opponent Nikoli Tisme-Walker

Lichfield’s bottom three boards, Bowie Carter, Adam Routledge and John Staniforth each achieved very creditable draws against players graded 200 points higher. David Hulme lost his game and Maurice Staples lost at the death, making Central winners by 3.5 to 2.5.