The 2025 Khyber Cup was held on Sunday (20th July) in Harriet’s parents’ beautiful home and garden, filled with exotic plants. Despite the torrential downpour the previous day and the threat of more rain in the morning, the weather gods smiled on us. We had just a few light showers, but the games were unaffected, being played across the conservatory, covered garden table, and summer house. As the day progressed, we were treated to a positively sunny afternoon.

The early morning chess produced some upsets (congratulations Nick!), but after the full five rounds, the field was spread more or less as expected.

The winner, once again, was Paul Cooksey on 5/5, though not without a closely fought battle with Ewan Wilson, a strong Reading player and friend of Harriet’s parents. This puts Paul’s name on the trophy for a second consecutive year.

Runner-up was Colin on 4/5, with Harvey not far behind on 3.5.

Lunch was something different – a barbecue of Berkshire beef burgers, sausages, and skewers, with all the usual burger bun fillings, excellently cooked by Harriet’s father acting as grill-meister. For dessert, homemade cakes were provided by Harriet’s grandmother (and for the most part eaten by Ashton). Special mention also goes to Harriet’s mother, who organized the kitchen and made lunch run so smoothly.

After the friendly rivalry of chess came the serious rivalry of water volleyball in the swimming pool, with Dave Herring cajoling his team to mixed success. After which, Harriet demonstrated true home advantage by taking on a team of three single-handedly – and winning comfortably. All in all, a classic and memorable Khyber Cup. Many thanks to Harriet and her parents for being such excellent hosts.