I know that you are all desperate for next few days to skip by, as this weekend does, of course, bring us that Crewe Chess Congress.
But before then, our club members got a brief distraction from staring at the clock, or fretting over how to get the better of that Alapin line you hate, or watching lectures on Youtube that show you how to beat anyone easily just by using 3 simple rules, or praying that your nemesis gets germs and can’t play (nothing too serious): Tuesday night saw the last round of this year’s Crewe CC Swiss Rapidplay.
In round 5 of the Open, favourite Carmel was doing fine against Lukasz, until she blundered in time trouble. Ebube, who was having a fine tournament, lost his game against Gee. This meant that in the last round only 2 people could win it: Lukasz, who seemed surprised to be in such a lofty postion, was on 4 points; and Gee, who surprised nobody by being in such a lofty postion, was on 4.5 points. Lukasz had the adavantage for much of the game, but as they say, it ain’t easy to win a winning position. Gee defended well, and at one point even looked like she might have got the advantage, but she had her eyes on the prize and knew a half point was enough. In the end Lukasz had to agree to the draw and Gee was the new Crewe CC Rapidplay Champion.
In the U1600 section, top board in round 5 was a clash between the father and son Bulbeck. George tells me he was doing well, but as happens so often in these events, time pressure caused a blunder and Julian managed to win. Was there any pressure on George to lose, or face a walk home? We will never know. Anyway, this win gave Julian 5 points out of 5 and a guarantee of winning the section. Julian’s last round loss against the section’s only unbeaten player, Tommy Cooke, may not have hurt too much.
In the U1300, I was delighted to see the ever amiable Phil Grocott win the section with 5 points out of 6. He just about won the title on tiebreak from Ian Wright. Well played Ian.
Thanks to Secretary Hulme for running the tournament so smoothly, and I hope that the members who played, there were over 50 of them, enjoyed the event as much as I did.
Pictured below, in the social room; Lukasz and Gee having a look at their game. Richard looks amused by the standard of their play.
