Going into the match Inverclyde were favourites in terms of grading, with the advantage on six of the eight boards. The visitors performed according to their grading initially, making a strong start by winning two and drawing one of the first three games to finish. East Kilbride struck back: a win on board five narrowed the scoreline, and the positions on the remaining boards appeared to favour them. However, Jim Montgomery held on to draw on board one, preserving Inverclyde's lead, and Stephen Doherty guaranteed Inverclyde at least a draw overall by overcoming his opponent's rook versus bishop advantage to win a difficult endgame. East Kilbride kept the match alive with a win on board 3, bringing the score to 4-3 with one match to finish. Inverclyde got the half point they needed though, as Bob Simpson drew on board eight, securing a 4.5-3.5 win for the visitors.
The win puts Inverclyde on six points from five games (two points for a win), and in mid-table. At the start of the season Inverclyde would have expected to contest the a relegation battle with East Kilbride, Giffnock and Phones, with the bottom two teams to be relegated. With this win, Inverclyde cannot now be overtaken by East Kilbride, and though they still have Giffnock and Phones to play, they have a substantial lead over both teams, and a draw in one of those games would almost certainly be enough to avoid relegation.
Full result:
| Bd | Grade | East Kilbride A | (3) | vs | (7) | Inverclyde | Grade | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1943 | Jelfs, Alan | ½ | - | ½ | Montgomery, Jim | 2144 | Draw |
| 2 | 1797 | Dobbie, Graham M | 0 | - | 1 | McDonald, Kevin | 2026 | Away Win |
| 3 | 1770 | Dunlop, Anthony | 1 | - | 0 | Hilton, Steve H | 1832 | Home Win |
| 4 | 1617 | Murray, Frankie | 0 | - | 1 | Bolln, Carsten | 1707 | Away Win |
| 5 | 1612 | McDonald, Duncan | 1 | - | 0 | Logue, David | 1629 | Home Win |
| 6 | 1537 | Robertson, Jim | 0 | - | 1 | Doherty, Stephen | 1642 | Away Win |
| 7 | 1505 | Brisbane, Tom | ½ | - | ½ | Smith, Andy | 1375 | Draw |
| 8 | 1448 | MacKenzie, Ian | ½ | - | ½ | Simpson, Robert | 1396 | Draw |
| 3½ | - | 4½ | ||||||
