Author: dih1962

On Monday night our Wirral team made a long trek to Wallasey in a game moved from our home ground at Chester, due to venue unavailability. We went into this match with 100% at the top of the division 2 table to play bottom of the league and pointless Wallasey 4. However our captain warned all of our team that a tough match should be expected and this materialized from an early stage. The first game to finish was on bd 1 where Bart Fajfer (our top player with 8/8 and 100%) to date was held to a draw by an opponent graded 40 points lower. The score line improved when junior Harry Gardiner forced a win on board 5 after gaining an exchange, and slowly turned the screw with further gains of one pawn and then a second. With a big King-side attack on its way the game concluded swiftly to put us in the ascendancy. Then came a fightback from the bottom team as the board 4 game switched violently from a pawn advantage and strong position for us, to a crushing attack for Wallasey as our player failed to cope with the time controls (no increments in this league) to put the scores level. Just as the scores were levelled our captain David Hulme maintained his 100% score in the league as powerful rooks combined on an open file and invaded the 7th rank to lead to an inevitable winning position and forced resignation on bd 2 to guarantee at least a match draw. The board 3 game was a titanic struggle which swung too and fro. At one stage our player offered a draw, whereby the opposition consulted their captain to be told bluntly not to accept even though we had a material advantage. The game went on and on and the material was recovered to level the position with both players into the last 5 minutes with no increments to save them. In an effort to win our player sacrificed a minor piece to create a passed pawn but this turned out to be unsound when the passed pawn was captured. However this had eaten massively into both players times and unfortunately for us the game was lost as the “flag fell” with just 43 seconds remaining of the 3 hours !

Match drawn while nearest contenders Wallasey 2 won comfortably to close the gap at the top of the table. So we head back to Wallasey next Monday (8th April) to play Wallasey 2 in a title and promotion “shoot-out”. We have the lead by 1/2 point in the table, so have the advantage of knowing a drawn match gives us  the trophy. This is little comfort as Wallasey 2 boast a team with over 25 years first division experience (having been relegated last term) and having a team grade in the region of 762 against ours of 681. Also at stake is “player of the year” award which will be won by one of the Crewe team as David Hulme leads with 7/7 and Bart Fajfer 6.5/7, while nearest contender cannot score more than 6.5 as only one match remains. (Note Bart’s previous 8/8 included two cup matches not counting in the league)

 

Only two matches to report on for this latest week. With both at home it was another packed out Mals Club where the B team hosted Cheddleton C in division 3 and the F team hosted joint league leaders Chedd H.

The B team knew that any result scoring 1.5 board points or more would ensure retaining the title, with only our own C team able to equal them if they can get an unlikely 4-0 win in their final match. Doug Barnett started the ball rolling with a solid draw on board 3 before losses on top two boards left the Bees short of their target. However Simon Layhe underlined his top-scorer status with a well deserved win to give the Bees the 1.5 pts required to guarantee the title, taking his personal tally for the team to 9/11 for the season.

The F team had a fabulous result in beating Cheddleton H, who had not lost a match all season, which allowed the E team to take top spot in division 5 by the slender margin of 1 extra board point. Division 5 has become a 2-horsed race for the title with 3 matches left each for our Es and Chedd H.  In a closely contested match Nigel Gardner (bd 4), Harry Gardiner (bd 2) and Martin Frisher (bd 1) all won their games to give us a 3-1 scoreline.

Three matches to report on this week as the D team played Cheddleton E in division 4 in a re-arranged match on Tuesday, while the “A” team hosted Fenton B in division 2 and the U110 B team faced Newcastle in the Perry Trophy sem-final on Wednesday. A further match was scheduled but Cheddleton could not raise a team for the other Perry Trophy semi-final.

The D team did the business against Chedd E with a 3-1 win. Doug Barnett and Neville Layhe got draws on top two boards as Harry Gardiner won the battle of the juniors on board 3 and Les Hall won the skippers battle on board 4. This was our first attempt to use the club on a Tuesday night and apologies are due to our visitors as the game was played to a difficult background of noise due to other activities within the club.

Wednesday night was a fantastic night for all chess players at the Mals Club. When I arrived at 7.15pm there were already some 20-odd members playing friendly chess before the two visiting teams arrived (from Newcastle and Fenton). I counted 34 people playing chess plus several other parents and spectators which filled the room with a great vibrancy.

The Perry Cup match report can be seen below thanks to captain Nigel Gardner who must be in line for “Chess Newsreporter of the Year” award.

The “A” team had to wait until 8pm before the full Fenton team arrived due to severe delays on the A500/D-road. The home team romped to a surprising 5-0 win as Ola Titiloye gained  the first point as he breached the bare King-side defences of his opponent’s Sicilian defence. Shortly afterwards Bart Fajfer extended a pawn advantage from an opening gambit to end up with two rampaging Bishops and 6 pawns against a poorly placed Rook, Bishop and 4 pawns to extend our lead to 2-0. David Hulme won the captains clash on board 3 after being squashed in the early middle game to unleash an attack with assistance from his opponent’s poor choice of exchange. So 3-0 and the match points secured for our division 2 top of the table team. Chris Rhodes outplayed his opponent on board 4 with a rare chance to have white for the “A” team, before Doug Barnett continued his 100% record for the As in his own style of squash-buckling play proved too much for his player despite being very close to running out of time.

Captain David Hulme was delighted with As team first ever 5-0 win having taken nearly 5 years to achieve in division 2. With just one match remaining against bottom of the table Holmes Chapel Rooks the dream of our first division 2 title is still on, but we need title rivals and favourites Cheddleton B to drop at least 2 points from their last 3 matches in their tricky run in against contenders Macclesfield and Newcastle B.

Report by Nigel Gardner:

Crewe’s (U110) B team were at home in the Perry trophy this Wednesday hosting Newcastle. The same four who upset the odds in the first round at Alsager, way back at the start of October, took to the boards in a semi final that they knew would mean meeting the Crewe A team in the final. However, it was another mountain to climb with Crewe’s team graded at 303 against Newcastle’s 405.

As we trudged through the foothills of the openings all games appeared evenly balanced and once the other match of the evening got underway a contemplative and studious hush descended over the games. It felt like serious chess was going on!!! …… It was.

On board 1 as black I presented my opponent with a challenging defence whose walls he tried to scale, but found himself repeatedly rebuffed. Suddenly, I had some counterplay on the queenside and my offer of a draw was welcomed and off we scuttled downstairs to the bar and a chat. All square after one.

Boards 2 & 3 involved Reinhard and Phil playing against higher graded opponents and both being well and truly in their games with opportunities. Reinhard was down a knight for two pawns and although he tried to battle it out the extra minor piece in the end game was enough to snaffle up his extra pawns and defeat followed shortly after. Within minutes Phil’s game to a similar ending where he had challenged throughout but had to gradually succumb to his more experienced opponent. At this stage the match was over at 2.5 – 0.5 but Lukasz battled on, on board 4……..and on, and on, and on.

Almost from the first move, Lukasz was pushing for a win. He had gained an advantage by the mid-game only to have had it wrested back from him. However, his opponent had taken time to work things out and this was now beginning to work against him. The clock was ticking and getting louder. Eventually, in the endgame the pressure became too much, and Lukasz drove home his advantage for a well-deserved win against an opponent graded 30 points above him. This made the overall score a respectable 1.5 – 2.5. Newcastle march on to the final against Crewe’s A team. Our team came close to the edge of another Cup shock but in the end it was too Perrylous for us and we will have to return to base camp and lick our wounds.

In football terms, we now have more time to concentrate on the league!!!

There have been 3 matches this week, with the F team’s match at Newcastle already reported, leaving the D team’s match at Kidsgrove in division 4 and the C team match at Cheddleton C.

The Dees kept up their excellent away record with a narrow win over mid-table rivals Kidsgrove. Thanks to wins on boards 3 and 4 by junior Harry Gardiner and skipper Les Hall, victory was confirmed when the experienced Doug Barnett added the necessary draw for a 2.5-1.5 result which leaves the D team in 4th place with 10 pts from 11 matches, some way behind the leaders Newcastle D on 16pts from 9.

Friday night as always means another match at Cheddleton as our C team went to play the host’s C team to fight for an unlikely chance to win the division.  A win for Chedd C would have handed the title to our Bees. It was a night for the black pieces to have the dominance, as Amy Lovatt controlled from the opening for a win on board 2, before white’s only contribution came from Crewe captain Dave Price with an important draw on board 3 having given up the ascendancy. Julian Bulbeck gained his best result of the season to date with a board 4 win to ensure match victory as the board 1 game went to Chedd. This result guarantees a Crewe 1,2 at the top of the table with the Bees odds-on favourites to retain their title now.

Next week is an “all-ticket sell out” at the Mals, when Crewe “A” play Fenton B, and our Perry Cup teams have semi-finals against Cheddleton and Newcastle.

Thanks again to Nigel Gardner for the following division 5 match report.

Crewe’s F team travelled, again, optimistically, to play Newcastle F on Wednesday. The evening ended with a narrow 2.5-1.5 defeat which the hosts fully deserved.

The evening seemed to be one for blunders (or being kind, forced oversights).

The highlight of the evening for Crewe was probably the result of the game on board 4 where Ben, playing his first league game away and his first one as black, overcame a much more experienced opponent. From what I could see Ben had a series of attacks, constantly probing, until eventually his opponent let out an anguished groan. He had overlooked something in one of Ben’s attacks and the end quickly came for a very pleasing result putting Crewe 1-0 up.

On board 2 I was in a very interesting game which had massively opened up after a cautious opening. I had gained my opponent’s queen for the loss of a couple of pawns and a minor piece with a tempting sacrifice. However, he had 2 passed pawns and my queen and rook were side-lined, so not as rosy as it may have looked, but still a certain win for me so long as I didn’t blunder. Guess what; his 2 knights and 2 rooks complicated the position and he gleefully accepted the gift of my queen when I overlooked what in hindsight what was an obvious fork with his rook! A few moves later I offered a draw and was delighted that it was accepted as he had the slight upper hand.

Whilst this had been going on, Kobus on board 1 had been playing a great game against a much higher graded opponent and all seemed equal. However, he then decided not to be left out in the blunder stakes and overlooked his opponent’s fork on his two rooks with a knight. Despite the writing being on the wall he followed an unusual path to try and save the game using attack as the best form of defence and at one point it seemed as though it might work. Experience eventually told and eventually Kobus had to concede leaving the match score all square.

Board 3 saw Mike playing a very tight game in which he gradually gained the upper hand and whilst not a bolt on win well into the end game if anyone looked like a winner it was him. Unfortunately, Mike’s old enemy, the clock, was on the side of his opponent and in a complicated pawn position he had around 7 minutes left. At this point, whilst still very much with the upper hand he touched a pawn then realised it was the one protecting his remaining rook and he was forced to move it losing the rook and shortly after losing a game that was at worst a draw.

In every game Crewe played well but oversights cost us. To move forward in chess, as in life, we should aim to learn from our mistakes; so there were plenty of learning opportunities at Newcastle!

Nil desperandum. Ut severis seges.

Thanks to captain Nigel Gardner for the following division 5 Match report: 

Crewe’s F team travelled, optimistically, to play Stafford on Monday expecting a hard match. Little did they know that finding the venue would be an unexpectedly challenging task. Firstly, an extended, guided tour of Stafford by car, followed by an equally “de-stressing” (not) walking tour of the back streets of Stafford, ably guided over the phone by Stafford captain’s wife (many thanks to Mrs Evans)!!   

Anyway, it had taken our mind off the games ahead. They were soon, sharply refocussed when we arrived to find Stafford had gone for broke with their team selection, being 1 point short of the maximum 400 for the team total. It was suggested that we may as well just concede on all four boards and go home considering our paltry team’s total grade of 325; down over 18 points a board on average.

However, I don’t think the rest of the team could cope, immediately, with another hour of my driving so we decided we may as well play the match and see what would transpire!  

In a very conducive venue and a cordial atmosphere battle commenced and all four games soon advanced with the opening series of moves happening more quickly than is often the case. There were no obvious advantages gained although Adam on board 2, from a fairly turgid position, suddenly entered a piece exchange that saw 8 of the major and minor pieces disappear in the space of a couple of minutes, greatly advancing the game, opening up the board and significantly helping Adam with his time management!

Debuting on board 1 Reinhard had played very solidly against an unfamiliar opening and the game was becoming enmeshed in a web from which neither side could see an escape. Stafford offered a draw and Reinhard gladly accepting. This recorded a half point against an opponent graded 21 points higher; off to the bar for Reinhard then, with a job well done!

Meanwhile on board 3 I had tried to force the game, always taking the more aggressive option which had pinned my opponent back and advanced two passed pawns down the queenside. Now an impasse was reached as I had 2 rooks, a knight and a queen behind the pawns and my opponent had the same forces defending them. Although there were possible ways forward any positive move by either side now had an air of high risk attached and again, we agreed a draw and the match remained all square.

By this time things were looking less than rosy on boards 2 and 4 for Crewe. Both Adam and Lukasz were a minor piece down although Adam did have two passed pawns in the centre. Not long after this Lukasz found me to confirm that he was certain all was lost, and we were doomed!!  I advised him that it was a long walk home and to go back and battle to the death, never knowing what may transpire. 20 minutes later he found me again to inform me that he had just won; is it Lukasz or Lazarus? However, Lukasz did put a caveat on the good news saying that Adam was a dead man walking……but at this stage we were up 2-1. Lukasz and I went in to watch what we assumed to be the death throes of Adam’s match and the match score would then be tied.

In the meantime, Adam’s two passed pawns had managed to cause the material to be equalised and with 5 pawns and a rook apiece left an honourable, yet surprising, draw was agreed.

This gave Crewe a victory in the match 2.5-1.5 against all the odds and against the flow of the match throughout the evening. The good news was nobody had to walk home, and it goes to show grades don’t necessarily mean that much when the real games start; its just two players facing each other with 16 pieces each on the board and the best player/team on the night gets the decision. A great set of results both for all four individuals and for the team.

Quod erat demonstandum, carpe diem.

Last week’s match reports are a bit later than usual due to our Newscaster been away at the Blackpool Congress with a number of our members. Three matches to report on include the “A” team away at Macclesfield last Monday, with the “B” team at home to Meir A on Wednesday and the F team away at Stafford.

The “A” team suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of Macclesfield. The captain shoulders the responsibility for this after shuffling the board order to try and be clever which backfired spectacularly as the opposition noted. The first result saw a win for Macc on board 4 going with grade advantage, before Doug Barnett romped to a storming win on bd 5 to level matters. David Hulme (the guilty captain) was outplayed on bd 2 by Geoff Laurence as David battled in vain to survive the incoming tide, playing over 50% of the game with under 5 minutes left on his clock before duly falling. The shock news then came when Macc won on bd 3, where David had given white to our higher grade player only to fall for a back-rank mate and condemn the As to defeat. Bart Fajfer battled to the very end to pick up a consolation win on top board to finish the match 3-2 to the hosts. The A team remain top of division 2, but have played 3 more games than Cheddleton B who are 4 points behind, and Macc have a game in hand just 2 pts behind with a similar board count.

On Wednesday the brilliant Bees took themselves to the brink of retaining the division 3 title, with a superb team effort. As with the “A” team the first result went to the opposition on board 1, before Neville Layhe got us on the scoreboard with a solid draw on bd 2. It was left to the engine room of the team on boards 3 and 4 where Chris Rhodes and Simon Layhe underlined the strength in depth of the Bees as they swarmed to success on both boards to complete a match win by the narrow margin of 2.5-1.5, to ensure this division will be won by one of the two Crewe teams (B or C). The Bees just need a draw from their final match to be certain of retaining the title, while the C team would need to win both of their remaining matches by big scores (and the Bees to lose) to overtake the Bees on board scores.

The F team match is covered by a separate report from captain Nigel Gardner.

Three matches to report on this week effecting Div 3 and 4 title chases. Wednesday night it was  the turn of our C team to challenge at the top of division 3 in 2nd place, with a home match against 4th placed Meir “A”. Skipper Dave Price set the ball rolling with a comfortable win on bd 4, before Karl Lockett added a crucial win on top board. Julian Bulbeck (fully aware of the match position) then offered a draw which was gladly accepted before the opponent realised it would determine the match result to give the C team a narrow 2.5-1.5 win, to take them level on match points with leaders Crewe B.

The other match on Wednesday was our D team taking on division 4 leaders Newcastle D at The Bridge Club. The D team went into this match with a superb record away from home with two wins and three draws but could not stop the hosts from extending their lead at the top of the table. Both teams were close to the 460 grade limit but Newcastle proved too strong, as they ran out 3-1 winners, with Crewe’s Doug Barnett and Harry Gardiner both claiming draws.

Friday no longer means “it’s time for Cracker-jack” but “chess at Cheddleton” as one of our teams travelled to Leek for the 10th time this season. This time it was the turn of B team (the Bees) to play a crucial top of the table clash, with Cheddleton C in 3rd place taking on the league leaders and defending champions. The Bees are in no mood to relinquish their hold on the title as they swarmed to a win 2.5-1.5. Skipper Rick Renegade on board 1 and Chris Rhodes on bd 3 took advantage of the white pieces to win their games, while Neville Layhe salvaged the only contribution with black for the all important draw. The Bees are at home next Wednesday against Meir “A” and avoiding defeat will ensure the division 3 trophy stays in Crewe.

Thanks to Nigel again for the following report:

The E team’s somewhat wishful title hopes continue to have their flames fanned by Dave the dragon’s fiery performances and Simon the scorcher’s sparky successes.

At one point this match against a very strong Cheddleton G appeared all over; we were in trouble on 3 of the boards, yet this was a match we had to win to have any chance of maintaining any title aspiration.

All games were into the end game when suddenly on board 2, Dave who had fought against some considerable pressure, cast a magic spell on his opponent causing him to hallucinate and think his rook was a queen and could move diagonally!! Guess what, it couldn’t; but as he had touched the piece he had to move it which gave Dave the opportunity to launch a thrusting counter attack giving him victory within 3 moves. Alongside him on board 1 Simon had compiled a couple of very clever sequences to unlock his opponent’s very sound defence and in the second and most telling of these the inclusion of a discovered check proved crucial to powering him to success. Within 15 minutes we had gone from staring into the abyss to being 2-0 up. However that was only half the job. Lukasz had been in trouble on board 4 almost from the first few moves and at one point had been 3 pawns down with his opponent’s queen all over him.

However he showed a great degree of maturity to work through the problems and gradually find a way back. First, getting one pawn, then fending off the queen, then getting another pawn and breaking out with his own attack. It looked at this stage like the force was with the young Jedi master. However from here on in his opponent hardly put a foot wrong and gradually forced a win promoting a passed pawn to bring the match back to 2-1.

This left Julian a pawn down to an opponent who he had fought a very hard draw with a few weeks ago and under a lot of pressure. Eventually all other matches had finished and these two slugged it out until neither had anything left. Neither could break through, neither looked like making a mistake and despite the opposing bishop and knight dancing around the few remaining pawns a draw was destined to be the result.

And so it finished, Julian the Just came home with the half point the team needed for the win that momentarily takes them back to the top of the table. They have though, played 2 more games than Cheddleton H, and still look destined to finish runners up. However a spark neglected can make a mighty fire!

Nil desperandum.