Crewe 1 Newcastle 1

Sorry for the boring headline as your writer was absent from the club this week. There were just two matches played with the “A” team hosting Newcastle B in division 2 and the “D” team travelling to Newcastle D in division 4.

The “A” team were missing regulars Neville Layhe and David Hulme, but still managed a narrow win 3-2. Ola Titiloye earned a draw with black on top board against his 184 grade opponent, while Rick Renegade continued his strong run to win on bd 3. Doug Barnett picked up a draw on bd 5 and all eyes were left to watch Amy Lovatt finishing last on bd 4. With both players running short of time Amy kept her composure to build up enough pressure to convert the game into a full point and ensure the “A” team went back to 3rd in the table.

Meanwhile down at The Bridge Club the “D” team came home empty handed following a narrow loss 2.5-1.5. Draws from Neville, Dylan Sayers and Harry Gardiner were not quite enough as the team made it a hat-trick of successive narrow reverses.