Bronze in Batumi

The hammering downpour before the last round in Batumi was, in retrospect, a precious omen. After all, England’s medal drought in international team competitions has lasted nearly 20 years. This year our rain dances finally took effect, as we brought home the bronze medals from the European Team Championship last week. It’s our second major success of the year, following silver medals in an elite team event in Kazakhstan, in March. England last won gold in Pula, 1997 and the women’s team got the bronze in Leon, 2001.
 
I’ve played in the Black Sea resort of Batumi three times, and I like it. The Georgians have khachapuri (cheesy bread) to celebrate and the city’s boulevard is glorious in the sunshine. During lengthy walks, we cleared our heads and plotted surprises for our opponents, often with an escort of itinerant local dogs.
 
At the end of our final match with Germany, we had our hopes pinned on David Howell to clinch the win. As we watched nervously, I whispered to Gawain Jones that we at least had the right man on the job. David evidently enjoys the challenge of nursing an advantage against stubborn resistance, and he once again saw it through. My games had more ups than downs, including an opportune punch in our match with the Netherlands: see this week’s puzzle. Nick Pert was a steady reserve who scored well in the early rounds. Malcolm Pein was our energetic captain who made problems disappear before we could notice them.
 
The Russian team took the gold medals. Our penultimate round match with them was unpromising, as my game ended in tears, and Gawain also looked doomed. It was jangling to watch. One could sense the scraping of fingernails as he clung on for the draw in the game that follows. In addition to the team bronze, Gawain’s tournament performance merited an individual silver medal.