There were 3 matches to report on for last week, with the B team travelling to play Fenton B on Monday, the “A” team hosting Holmes Chapel Rooks and a division 4 derby between our C & D teams.
Martin Gill’s B team was missing his top two regulars at Fenton, so was pleased to come away from Fenton with a share of the match. Doug Barnett and Martin picked up draws on boards 2 & 3 as Chris Rhodes superb run continued with another win to extend his record to 14 unbeaten matches in the NSDCA this season. The B team lead division 3 by the slender margin of 1 pt and face Kidsgrove this coming week.
The “A” team had quite a big grading advantage over the Rooks and were favourites to win. Wins came for David Hulme and Karl Lockett with a draw for Olawale Titiloye. The highlight for the team was giving an A-team debut to promising youngster Amy Lovatt. Although Amy was slightly outgraded she played with great maturity to win her game when lesser players might have grabbed the material on offer she managed to deliver a mating attack. This win leaves the team 3rd in the table but some way behind the top two.
The D team managed to overturn the C team thanks to wins from Neville Layhe and Dylan Sayers with a draw for Martin Gill. The C team’s only winner was junior Harry Gardiner again beating an opponent graded over 50 pts higher. Dylan’s win keeps up his 100% record for the season so far, despite his limited opportunity to play matches. The D team face Cheddleton F in their next match, where a win would put the team in the title mix.