Four matches this week has seen 18 different members representing the club in league and cup matches. First up the “E” team traveled down the road to Alsager on Tuesday night to take on the host’s new C team in a division 5 match. Captain Nigel Gardner reported that all four boards were closely contested and was delighted as his team won by a big margin of 3.5-0.5 that did not really reflect the play. Wins came for Amy Lovatt (making it 6 in a row), Steve Ballantyne and Nigel, with Doug Barnett taking the heat on top board with a draw.
On the same night our Wirral team had a 7-man cup match against favourites and cup holders, Chester. Captain David Hulme noted that the Chester team was the strongest seen in over 25 years of the Wirral Knock-out with a board 7 graded 175, and Crewe conceding over 350 grading points. With a deficit of over 40 grade pts on every board, the handicap award of 2.5 game pts was never likely to be enough to give Crewe a realistic chance. The over the board score of 7-0 for Chester was unsurprising but did not give a true account of the battles undertaken.
Wednesday night saw our “D” team travel to Stafford in a Div 4 match, while the AMAL witnessed the “F” team playing Meir B in div 5. The “D” team came home satisfied with a 2-2 draw as Mike Williams and Dylan Sayers both won, with all four players outgraded.
At home the “F” team was pleased to have Simon Layhe available who managed a win on board 1, with junior Harry Gardiner achieving another superb result with a win against an opponent 50 grade pts higher and Richard Hind continuing his fine summer form with the third win to ensure the team were victorious 3-1.
This weekend we look forward to the 2nd (modern) Crewe Congress which has attracted approx 110 players so far and looks certain to beat the number of 100 from last year’s maiden Congress. I am pleased to report that the club has 13 of its own members (almost 50% of the club’s players) playing in this congress with several making their debuts in a Congress Event.