Crewe have faced Cheddleton in four matches this week, and thanks to our division 5 teams we have managed two wins each. Wednesday night saw our D team play high-flying Cheddleton F in division 4 and our “F” team playing Chedd H. Chedd F proved too strong for our D team where skipper Les Hall was our lone victor and Neville Layhe gained a top board draw. The F team gained both points thanks to big grading advantages on bottom two boards with Steve Ballantyne and Phil Wright picking up wins and backed up by captain Dave Price’s draw on top board.
Friday night saw Crewe “A” take on Chedd’s C team and our division 5 table topping “E” team take on Chedd G. The “A” team came away disappointed after a loss by 3.5-1.5 as only skipper David Hulme could muster a win and Neville gained his second draw of the week. The “E” team had a near 100 point grade advantage and did just enough to keep up their 100% record. Draws from Doug Barnett, unbeaten pair Steve Ballantyne and captain Nigel Gardner left the match in the hands of junior Amy Lovatt on bd 2. Amy played maturely to win a battle of very promising junior players which took her tally to an impressive 6/6 for the “E”s who extended their lead at the top of the table to 5 points. Harry Gardiner played an extra graded game on bd 5 and managed to win another game between two more promising youngsters.