Author: David Hulme

With the league season completed at the start of this month, recent attention has focused on the four divisions of the Club Championship competitions.

Harry Gardiner (aka the GM crusher) has wrapped up the title of Club Champion by winning division 1 for the 3rd time in 4 years. A brilliant score out of 10/11 to date means Harry remains unbeaten for two years in the top flight, and with one game left cannot be caught. Richard Lee has finished in 2nd place unbeaten with 9.5/12, while Andy Raeburn has finished 3rd with 8.5 pts.

Division 2 remains firecely contested with a 3 way fight to win the division and promotion to the top flight. Jamie Roberts has completed the schedule scoring 6.5/9, with Oskar Jarzynski currently in second place with 6/7 and two games to play, so has it in his control. George Bulbeck is third with 5.5/7 and has the same two games to play (vs Julian Bulbeck and Lukasz Michalek). As Lukasz has only played 3 games so far, he needs to play the two contenders otherwise will have his results cancelled which would mean Jamie faces the deduction of one point through no fault of his own.

Division 3 saw the title decided recently as Nathan Fourie clinched the trophy after wins against closest rival Keith Dudeney and Mike Keenan over the last two club nights. Mal Green is currently second with 6/9, but can still be caught. Just two games remain in this event as nearly everyone has already completed their fixtures.

Division 4 has seen Tommy Cooke win it like a runaway train scoring 11/12 so far with just one game to play. Gerald Parton and David Taylor sit joint second with 8 pts each, but David has one game to play while Gerald has played all 13 games.

This week (Tuesday 27th May) should be a very busy night at the club with 54 entries so far for the annual Swiss Rapidplay. If you have not yet entered please contact David Hulme before Tuesday as the Round 1 pairings are prepared in advance. Entry lists can be seen on the LMS – Open = 18 players, U1600 = 15; U1300 = 21.

Congratulations to Harry, Nathan and Tommy who are all now included on the Club’s Honours List (separate tab on Website) who will be awarded their trophies at the forthcoming AGM.

Harry Gardiner has recorded a win against GM Keith Arkell in Round 1 of the Rhyl Congress earlier this evening. Hopefully more details to follow shortly….

See the full transcript posted under the Games Database on our “Useful Links” tab.

See Martin Burns’s report on the Rhyl Congress above.

Rumour has it that GM Keith Arkell may be playing in our Annual “Les Hall Memorial Handicap” in September thanks to the exploits of Harry and chairman Price over the weekend at Rhyl.

The 2024/25 Club Championship is nearing completion with the cut-off date approaching. This was set for 31st May, but as some key games still need to be played this has been extended two weeks to Tuesday 10th June.

Division 1 has seen Harry Gardiner lead the pack from the outset, and he is on the verge of winning his 3rd club title in 4 years since the Covid pandemic. With a phenomenal unbeaten record of 9/10 he needs one point from his two remaining games to clinch the trophy. Harry won last year too without losing a single game and it is now over two years since anyone beat Harry in the club championship. Richard Lee is also unbeaten this year but has drawn 5 of his 11 games, so trails by half a point with just one game left to play. Andy Raeburn has put in a stellar performance to complete the campaign with 8.5/12 for a tourney rating of 2000. At the foot of the table Pawel Stanny has just scored one draw so far but with numerous games to play will be hoping to avoid the dreaded drop to Div 2.

Division 2 is headed by our younger members. 13 year old Jamie Roberts sits top of the table with 6.5 pts having played all 9 games, and is just ahead of 12 year old Oskar Jarzynski who is on 6/7 with two games to play. In 3rd place is George Bulbeck with 5.5/7 and has the same two opponents to play as Oskar, so it’s all to play for. The winner will be promoted to division 1. There is a real dog fight to avoid relegation with Doug Barnett and Kumar Saravanan just above the drop zone for now with 2 pts each, while we have 3 members on just one point each and all of these have games to play, while Doug has played all his games.

Division 3 is too close to call at top and bottom ! Mal Green is currently in the lead on 6pts but has completed all his games, with Mario Scarpa also completed on 5.5pts. The battle is between 17 year old Nathan Fourie and newcomer Keith Dudeney to potentially win the division and secure promotion with both players on 5/7 who have to play each other and Mike Keenan to complete the section. Mike is involved in a 3-way scrap at the foot of the table sitting on 2.5 pts with the two title chasers to play, while George Jelliss and Peter Kanalos both share the same score of 2.5 pts and have to play each other in their final game. So with just 4 games remaining everything is still up for grabs in div 3.

In division 4, 13 year old Tommy Cooke has blazed away to score 10/11 and is 3 points clear of the field and so cannot be caught. Tommy will be promoted and may even jump to division 2 if his rating justifies this choice at the start of next season. Gerald Parton and David Taylor have both performed well and are currently joint 2nd on 7pts each but only have a game or two left so cannot catch Tommy.

Overall the club championship divisions have proved a resounding success this season and while some members are no longer able to participate, there was a total of 50 members involved.

Looking ahead the annual Swiss Rapidplay is to start on 27th May with Rounds 1 and 2, followed by two more rounds each on June 17th and 24th. Please let David Hulme know if you wish to play in this event which has increased to 3 sections from 2 last year due to the increased membership.

The Summer knockouts will start in July.

Last night saw our E team travel to Stafford to play our final league match of the 2024/25 season. This is in division 2 which happens to be the only division where the club failed to win the league ! Facing a much higher rated Stafford squad, the team put up a gallant fight to lose narrowly 1.5-2.5 as Dave Price gained a valuable draw on board 1, and newcomer Kumar Saravanan was our sole winner. The E team have finished 4th in the table, just behind our D team, with Macclesfield and Stafford taking the top two places with the strongest teams.

Tuesday (29th) saw the last of the NSDCA Cup Finals as the Perry Cup (U1375) decider between our own two teams was played out. This was too close to call with ratings evenly matched, with the B team fractionally higher on current ratings and the “A” team similarly slightly higher on the earlier season eligibility ratings. First blood went to the Bees on board 2 as Tim Weston continued his fine season picking up an early major piece on his way to the win. Steve Knott levelled the scores with success on board 4 for the A team. Board 1 saw the much anticipated clash between two of our vastly improving juniors whose current ratings have flown well above the 1375 barrier and in a skilful encounter saw Nathan Fourie emerge with the win for the “A” team. Steve Ballantyne as the “A” team captain held all the aces in the board 3 clash gaining a piece out of the opening. With the match undecided at 2-1 Steve used his experience and offered Mike Keenan a draw in the knowledge this would secure his team the trophy and faced with practically no chance of winning Mike sensibly agreed giving Steve’s team the match.

Well done to Steve and the Perry “A” team who have notched up the club’s 7th trophy out of a possible 9 this season.

In contrast our Major Cup team (U1825) fell in the final against a very strong Stafford outfit on Friday 25th April. The match started badly with an early loss on board 3, but the optimist in me still thought we had a fair chance of victory. In an end game of opposite colour bishops I was forced to take the draw on board 4, and then a sudden mate was delivered against us on board 2 and with that the cup was lost. Meanwhile Julian Hawthorne notched up our only win on board 5, as Andy Raeburn played to the end and succumbed to a draw when he was left with a piece advantage but no pawn to assist. Final score 3-2 to Stafford who deserved to win. And a special mention to Ken McNulty and the hosting team from Stafford for providing such friendly and hospitable playing conditions. Congratulations to them on their Major Cup success, which prevented Crewe from a clean sweep of NSDCA Cups.

To conclude the season with 4 league titles and 3 Cups is quite an achievement for the club and underlines the strength in depth we have with 59 members having played their part and without defaulting a single board !

Another week, another trophy or two to make space for in the yet to be purchased Trophy Cabinet !

While both of these teams have had their feet up on the sofa this week, other results have gone their way to leave them with uncatchable leads at the top of their respective divisions.

On Monday (14th) our V team went to the Gables in the U1300 division to take on Gables U who were 4 pts behind the leaders – Crewe U – with two matches to play. The V team did the business and came home with a 3-1 win thanks to Matthew Dean (bd 1), junior Jack Patullo (bd3) and Lee Bebbington (bd 4). This result secures a 1-2 finish for our teams in the U1300 division. In addition to the four board match, there were three other friendly rated games played as we continue to provide match opportunities for as many as possible.

On Tuesday our two 2nd division teams were in action where the title has already been won by Macclesfield. The D team finished their campaign with a good result beating a strong Alsager B team narrowly (2.5-1.5) as George Bulbeck provided the decisive blow with a win on bd 4, while the other three games ended in hard fought draws. Meanwhile our E team played at home against Holmes Chapel B and came off second best with a surprising defeat 1.5-2.5. Our only winner on the night was new member Kumar Saravanan (bd4), with Doug Barnett (bd 3) getting a draw.

On Wednesday a shock result came in from Newcastle where visitors Alsager D pulled off an unexpected win against Newcastle A to leave our F team as NSDCA 3rd division champions with a game to spare.

The club continues to be in rude health after another packed night at St Mary’s on Tuesday where there were 15 internal competition games played on top of the two league matches. Meanwhile chairman Dave Price was overwhelmed in the social room where many potential new members were learning the basics.

Congratulations to captains Nigel Gardner (F team) and Malcolm Green (U team) along with both team squads on winning the NSDCA league divisions.

On Thursday 3rd April Nigel Gardner led the infamous Gang of Five on a trip to Kidsgrove to stage a heist.

The final of the NSDCA (U1600) Intermediate Cup was hosted by Kidsgrove in the luxurious dining room at The Red Bull, where the cast of two teams was surrounded by supporters from both clubs.

At the start of the match the visitors from Crewe would have been slight favourites, and this was vindicated as we took an early lead when George Bulbeck won on board 5 around 9pm. However there was a long wait, as the suspense mounted and the tension became palpable as Kidsgrove took a strangle hold on the match. Within a few minutes of the News at Ten gongs sounding, James Wolstenholme produced the first shock of the night with a superb win on board one against Crewe’s rapidly improving 13 year old junior currently rated 1697. As the second gong struck, so did Dave Johnson on board 2 for the hosts to put them in the driving seat 2-1. On board 3, Kidsgrove just needed a draw and looked well in control after an unsound piece sacrifice from Finn Charbonneau left him on the backfoot. At one stage the draw was offered by Kidsgrove, but was turned down maturely, in the knowledge that would give the Cup to the hosts. Meanwhile on board 4, Pawel Stanny was edging towards success for Crewe, in a game that swung too and fro but was being pushed by the host’s captain.

As the clock approached 10.25, the tension in the room rose to another level as supporters and spectators gathered round the two remaining games. And then it all suddenly concluded within seconds as both games finished and the reporter now hands over to the Crewe captain Nigel …..

“As the evening reached a tense climax with Crewe 2 – 1 down, our final pair of Pawel & Finlay were on the boards. What they were attempting had a high degree of difficulty but with perfect synchronisation they pulled off simultaneous victories on either side of the onlooking crowds. 

Many thanks to Kidsgrove for being great hosts at a very enjoyable and chess-friendly location. They were 5 very hard fought games. Also thanks and congratulations to my team who have overcome 3 difficult draws and opponents to seize the prize.”

In the words of a Kidsgrove board 1 namesake 

“The crowd are on the pitch……………………they think its all over………………..

IT IS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!”   

Below is a picture of the gang of five taken before the match, when all was calm

Last night the H team played their final league match of the season, and were beaten by Kidsgrove, suffering just the 2nd defeat of a 16-match program. The season finished as it started – with rare defeat – and in between had a superb 14 match unbeaten run with 12 wins and 2 draws to secure the NSDCA 4th division title.

The key match was played just last week when we faced 2nd placed Fenton B, who started the season with a 12-match unbeaten run before falling to successive defeats – firstly against our I team and then the H team, to leave our Humble H team in an unassailable lead.

The H team started the season with the main goal of providing league chess to as many as possible and by the end of the campaign had used 15 players. The main members of the team (who played at least half the matches) all performed superbly scoring in excess of 70%. Tim Weston had an outstanding season making a major contribution to the success of the team scoring 12.5/15. Adam Fields and Nathan Fourie scored 6.5 pts each from just 9 & 8 games respectively. Before xmas Kobus Nienaber was the board one player, scoring 4/6 and gave the team a solid base before Adam took over the mantle, together with cameos from several one-off turns. Phil Grocott was a regular player with 6 appearances, and Matthew Dean scored a creditable 4/5. The other 9 players ensured we did not default a single board, and thanks go to Tim for being the main team driver for away matches.

Well done to all the squad, who can expect the team to be promoted to Division 3 next season.

Friday night is not normally a good night for us to play matches, but we exceeded our wildest dreams last night by taking two cup teams and an army of supporters down to Leek.

In the Intermediate Cup (U1600) our team proved too strong for Cheddleton as we ran out comfortable winners 3.5-1.5 to progress to the final. George Bulbeck got us on the score sheet with an unusually early finish on board 5 (by 9.15) to give us a 1-0 lead before Pawel secured a hard fought draw on bd 4. Cheddleton’s rapidly improving junior Charlie Swinson then swung the match in the host’s favour by winning on bd 3. The significance of this result on board 3, meant we had to score more than one point from the two remaining games. Captain Nigel performed dilligently to overpower his opponent on board 2 to put us back in the lead. On board 1, 13 y/o Jamie Roberts gained the ascendancy with a pawn advantage but Nigel was sweating profusely and praying for Jamie to take the draw that would secure victory. However Jamie’s position had improved so much that he did not want to let go of a “near certain” win and duly put the contest to bed with a strong win to conclude the match 3.5-1.5, which would have been a fair expectation of the result given our rating advanatge over the 5 boards. We will face the winners of the Alsager vs Kidsgrove semi, having to play away again in the final for the 3rd time in this competition.

In the other semi for the Perry Cup (U1375) our Perry B team had another big rating advantage especially on boards 3 and 4 of the four board match. Mal Green swept to an early victory on board 4, before Cheddleton’s youth produced another fine victory on board 2 as Rowan Webb won for the hosts. Again this meant we needed at least 1.5 pts from the last 2 games to go through to the final (due to the tie break procedure that would give Cheddleton the win if the score finished 2-2). Everything appeared to be under control with Mike Keenan heading towards victory after two and a half hours at the board (No 3), but in the midst of time pressure failed to block a check; so the game was stopped for a few moments to give his opponent an extra two minutes which put a lot of pressure on Mike with his time down to just under one minute ! Mike managed eventually to force a queen exchange which led to immediate resignation from his opponent. This left another of our 13 y/o players – Tommy Cooke to conclude the match against an experienced opponent. Tommy played a very mature middle game to block an opposition pawn that had got to the 7th rank for the price of a pawn advantage to Tommy. Slowly but assuredly Tommy forced exchanges of all pieces to remove the remaining support for the pawn on the 7th, and mop up a further pawn advantage and go on to deliver the telling blow and give us a 3-1 victory. Our B team will face the winners of the Crewe A vs Meir in the final.

In addition to these two cup matches, 11 year old Jack Patullo played a long play rated game and then a further three rated Rapid play games emerging successfully from all 4 games. We had a further two members (Dave Roberts and Gerald Parton) playing Rated rapid-play games against a couple of newcomers to Cheddleton Chess Club, meaning we had 12 players from each club in competitive action. On top of this we had five more members/parents who travelled and supported our teams which incredibly meant we outnumbered the hosts at their venue !

The power of our club to bring so many of our members together was yet again evident on another superb night for both Crewe and Cheddleton Chess Clubs.

Today I was delighted to receive a glowing report about our club from Colin Abell the LMS Administrator, on behalf of Cheddleton and particularly Bill after the league match between Crewe G and Chedd B on Tuesday, as follows:

Hello David,

I want to thank you for the provision you put in place for Bill on Tuesday.

I spoke to Bill on the phone yesterday and he was effusive in his praise for the way you accommodated his needs and also for Neville’s gentlemanly behaviour during the game.

For various reasons it is likely to be his last Stoke League game and he was very pleased to have finished on such a positive note.

David Shiers has also told me how much he enjoyed seeing two senior gentlemen displaying not only a high level of skill but also such a friendly and sporting approach to the game.

Reporters comment: I was in awe to witness the match on Tuesday, where Neville Layhe and Bill played on board 2. Due to Bill’s fading eyesight he contacted us in advance to request so he could play on a separate Brail board to be used alongside the normal matchplay board. It was great to see two senior citizens with a combined age of just over 170 !, engage in a tough and skilful game of chess and both play in a brilliant spirit that was a credit to both of them, our clubs and the NSDCA.

This just shows how powerful our great game can be in bringing together players and clubs. When there was a discrepancy in the positions on the two boards, chairman Dave Price intervened and using his newly acquired Arbiter knowledge was able to reconcile the two boards with great assistance and co-operation from both players who were so keen to play in the proper spirit.

Thank you to Neville and Bill and it was fitting that after some two and a half hours of competitive play, they sportingly agreed a draw !

The club continues to go from strength to strength as witnessed by the ever growing number of members. This last month has seen an average of 45 club members attending each week with additional visitors from many opposition club teams, with as many as 20 visitors on one occasion.

Today has seen the latest publication of ECF Ratings, with the number of Crewe players moving up to 113, a staggering increase of 8 newly rated players in a single month.

The club championship remains a hive of activity with 4 divisions. Several new members have recently joined the competition but with only 3 months remaining to complete all games any new members will now play anyone free in a rated friendly game if they wish.

The 4 divisions have a total of 48 members involved, with promotion and relegation keeping everyone on their toes.

In division 1 we have 13 players and Harry Gardiner (5/6) is favourite to retain the title of Club champion, but currently trails leader Andy Raeburn by 1/2 point with two games in hand. Top rated Richard Lee (3/5) is also unbeaten like Harry and is now in joint 4th with Martin Burns (3/5), as this pair sit just behind Gintare (aka Gee) Cross on 3.5/5. Everyone has 12 games to play in total so anything can happen yet.

In division 2, we only have 9 players, but getting games played has proved very tricky so far due to the commitments in representing league teams. Only 11 games have been played to date with Oskar Jarzynski in the lead on 3.5/4. Ebube Christian is in 2nd place on 2.5/3, and we should see a sharp increase in activity over the next few weeks as the NSDCA league season runs down.

Division 3 (10 players) has seen 20 games played to date and is approx 45% complete. All 10 players have notched up points on the scoreboard and also dropped points in a wide open tournament. Currently Mario Scarpa (3.5/6) leads the way jointly with Nathan Fourie (3.5/5). Tim Weston sits 3rd with 3/5.

Division 4 has 16 players, with several members lying dormant, with a larger number actively competing. Tommy Cooke has been the busiest and tops the table with 6/7. David Roberts is in second place with 4/6, just ahead of William Hogben (3.5/4) and David Taylor (3.5/5).

All sections have a cut-off of 31st May, so we have 13 weeks to go in all competitions and everything to play for.