It forsook the elemental terror of its predecessor for a more contemplative sequel that balanced poignant themes against spine-tingling chills.
It's not until the end of March that we have to travel again to the Dons' venue - and by then it will be a different one. This is fortunate, since our latest visit to the (possibly haunted - who knows?) Norfolk Hotel yielded no more reward than the measly half point of our first match of the season there against the Buccaneers. This time, there was no lucky charm in the presence of The Cap'n, who saved our blushes last time out against my chess-nemesis. Facing even more fearsome competition, Avenge that team defeat we could not. First to bow out was Parker, S., who failed to live up to his name in the pre-match scrap for vehicular spots out back - the place was rammed! There will be few tougher board 3 opponents than Moore, G(eo). this season. Walker, M. dispatched Zappa, F. next, who strode straight into what was clearly quite extensive preparation. By the time I'd got my head round it, all that was left in my Watermelon was Cosmic Debris. This time, the Torture Did Stop (sic.) with a needless blunder in a position that surely would have been lost an hour later anyway. The penultimate game to finish was that of Abbott, N., who let us all know how his game was progressing with intermittent commentaries. The look on Hall, D.'s face when Nathan announced that their game was very complicated was a picture! Broken Hearts Are For Assholes, however, and our Shining star was Dr Mark Lim, who gets full credits for frustrating Bonafont, P.. His position looked awful, but, as ever, Mark stuck in there and played the best moves he could in what he surely must have felt was an utterly lost position. A clever but rather forced queen for rook-and-bishop sacrifice left a pseudo-fortress that proved so difficult to penetrate that his opponent eventually gave it all up for an all-but-dead drawn opposite colour bishops ending. Four draw offers later - and now with an official scribe (I've had my share of controversies at the hands of the Dons) - Bonafont relented. Wild applause did not ensue, but would only marginally have been out of place. Dons Avengers 3.5 - 0.5 St John's Crusaders Doctor Sleep is an adequate sequel to The Shining, for the undecided.
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October 2022
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