Author: David Hulme

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.

A quiet week for the club has just seen two matches played. The “A” team were hosting Cheddleton D in division 2, while our “Perry A” team were trying to defend the Under 11o Cup, in the first semi-final against Newcastle.

The Perry team suffered a knock-out blow, going down 4-0 against a strong Newcastle team. Outgraded by 130 pts, Newcastle were just too strong with an average grade of 99 compared to our 65 average, it was no disgrace the team came home empty handed. Our “Perry B” team face an equally tough semi-final away to Cheddleton in due course. Congratulations to Newcastle on reaching the final.

The other match saw our “A” team scrape a 3-2 win. Two early (grand-master ?) draws were taken by David Hulme and Neville Layhe, before Rick Renegade converted his one pawn advantage into a clear win on bd 4, and Cheddleton’s junior star Jacob Boswell outgunned us on bd 1 to level the score at 2-2. Both captains were happily encouraging their player to take a draw, but despite offers being made by Crewe’s junior Amy Lovatt the draw was declined. No doubt the Cheddleton player was regretting their choice to play on as Amy broke through decisively on the King-side to set up a match winning attack and carry the team over the line. Amy’s record is a most impressive 19 wins from 21 games, and no draws, since (the South Cheshire Shield started on) 12th July. This win took the “A” team one place up the table to 3rd, just ahead of Macclesfield on board points, but still well adrift of the leading teams (Fenton A and Chedd B). The “A” team are back in action on Wednesday against Newcastle B.

 

 

On monday this week the D team traveled to Fenton for a division 4 match before the big freeze took hold. However we came off 2nd best as a spirited Fenton C gained their first victory of the season. A win from Neville Layhe on top board and a draw from young Harry Gardiner on board 4 were not quite enough to salvage any points from the match as the team lost narrowly (score 2.5 – 1.5 to Fenton).

By Wednesday with the freezing weather gripping the country all but one match in the NSDCA was postponed, with the only surviving fixture being our B team at home to Alsager A in division 3. Due to horrific conditions on the road one of the Alsager team got stranded in Congleton and another player arrived too late and lost by default. The two players that beat the elements were left to carry the flag for the visitors. It must have seemed as cold inside the AMAL as it was outside as the Bees froze out their opponents with Ola Titiloye playing superbly on Bd 1 and Amy Lovatt on board 4 to complete a 4-0 win, that does not reflect the great efforts made by Steve and James from Alsager to try and save their team. This result gives the B team a 5 point lead at the summit of division 3 ahead of Newcastle C who have two matches in hand as well as the head to head with our Bees.

Our Wirral team had to postpone the long journey to Buckley/Mold and have re-arranged the fixture for Wed 2nd May.

Three matches to report on over the last seven days, where the “A” team played at Maccelsfield in Div 2 on Monday, the “B” team hosted Alsager B in Div 3,  and the “F” team played against Cheddleton I in Div 5 on Wednesday at the AMALS.

The “Abysmal A” team are forced to drop one of our top 5 players for every match now that our total grades exceed 725 by just 3 points, so we went to Macclesfield without top graded Olawale Titiloye. The match started badly as we lost on bd 5 quickly before Karl Lockett secured a draw on top board. Rick Renegade playing with white for the first time this season in the “A” team played aggressively as normal to equalise matters with a win on bd 3. Steady eddy – Neville Layhe gained a solid draw with black pieces on bd 2 to leave David Hulme in play on bd 4. David was a pawn down with a bishop and 3 pawns vs a knight and 4 pawns and running out of time. As his opponent had all the play and a massive advantage on the clock draw offers were declined as David eventually lost on time, to leave Macclesfield as 3-2 victors. The team currently sit joint 3rd in the table but trail the leaders by a long way.

The “Brilliant B” team had a 50 pts grading advantage over the visitors so were slight favourites on paper. An early grand-master draw on bd 1 for Neville with black was a sold start, and peace was agreed on bd 2 when Andy Barker of Alsager forced the draw with repetitive threats of “mate in one” could only be stopped by repeating the position. Luckily for Rick his opponent did not see a forced win, but this is not surprising when he had been on the attack for the entire game. The match swung decisively in our favour when Chris Rhodes converted a big time pressure advantage into a major material gain to give us a 2-1 lead. Junior Amy Lovatt with black on bd 3 seemed to have the upper hand after active play gained a central pawn. After a steady build up of positional play Amy converted the position into an unstoppable win to ensure the match was won 3-1. The Bees stay top of div 3 with 15 pts from 9 matches, with nearest challengers Newcastle C just 3 pts behind with a game in hand and two encounters yet to come with our Bees. Rick Renegade and Chris Rhodes continue to be the outstanding players for the team with records of 6.5/7 and 7/9 respectively.

The “F for Fun” team were able to give a rare game to Martin Frisher on top board playing his first league match of the season to add to his one off appearance for the Open Cup team. Cheddleton’s team comprised two experienced players on top boards and two juniors on lower boards. Their juniors held equality as they were first to strike with a win by young Robert Cooper on bd 4, before our own improving junior Harry Gardiner played superbly to notch up a leveling win  on bd 3. Harry is the team’s leading scorer with 5.5 pts. On bd 2 Simon Layhe enjoying the opportunity to play regularly since Xmas picked up a draw to leave the match 1.5 each. Unfortunately for us Martin’s rustiness left him short of time on bd 1 and ultimately lost to Colin Abell who is in an unbeaten run stretching 8 games.

The “F” team have now managed to use 13 players so far this season and remain the bedrock of the club to introduce new players to league chess thanks to the generous captaincy of Dave Price. Funny enough Dave P has captained seven teams out of our last 8 club matches over the last three weeks due to an odd combination of other captains being absent. Thanks go from all club members for Dave’s unstinting work on behalf of the club.

 

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.

There were 3 matches to report on for last week, with the B team travelling to play Fenton B on Monday, the “A” team hosting Holmes Chapel Rooks and a division 4 derby between our C & D teams.

Martin Gill’s B team was missing his top two regulars at Fenton, so was pleased to come away from Fenton with a share of the match. Doug Barnett and Martin picked up draws on boards 2 & 3 as Chris Rhodes superb run continued with another win to extend his record to 14 unbeaten matches in the NSDCA this season. The B team lead division 3 by the slender margin of 1 pt and face Kidsgrove this coming week.

The “A” team had quite a big grading advantage over the Rooks and were favourites to win. Wins came for David Hulme and Karl Lockett with a draw for Olawale Titiloye. The highlight for the team was giving an A-team debut to promising youngster Amy Lovatt. Although Amy was slightly outgraded she played with great maturity to win her game when lesser players might have grabbed the material on offer she managed to deliver a mating attack. This win leaves the team 3rd in the table but some way behind the top two.

The D team managed to overturn the C team thanks to wins from Neville Layhe and Dylan Sayers with a draw for Martin Gill. The C team’s only winner was junior Harry Gardiner again beating an opponent graded over 50 pts higher. Dylan’s win keeps up his 100% record for the season so far, despite his limited opportunity to play matches. The D team face Cheddleton F in their next match, where a win would put the team in the title mix.

 

Wednesday night saw another two matches at the AMAL, with the “A” team taking on Cheddleton C in division 2, and top of division 5 “E” team hosting Meir B.

The “E” team were hot favourites to keep up their 100% record and duly did the business. Junior Amy Lovatt continued her perfect record for the team and set the wheels in motion with a win on bd 2 before Steve Ballantyne made it 2-0 to retain his unbeaten record. Chris Rhodes then followed in Steve’s shoes to make it 3-0 before skipper Nigel Gardner earned a draw. All four players are currently unbeaten for the “E” team this season who have a healthy 5 point lead at the top of the table. They have a crucial run of three matches in 8 days starting on 31st January against their title contenders.

The “A” team returned to winning ways as Rick Renegade, David Hulme and Karl Lockett all gained victories as Ola Titiloye did all the hard work on top board holding out for a draw against his 178 grade opponent. The team is fighting to stay in the top half of the division 2 table with a record of 8pts from 7 matches.

Friday night saw our C team travel to take on Cheddleton F in a division 4 match with the opposition holding a 100% record. Amy Lovatt completed another win to give us hope of toppling the league leaders, but the team narrowly failed by 2.5-1.5 as only Dave Price could add to our score with a draw.

Next week should see another full house at the AMAL with the “A” team hosting Holmes Chapel Rooks and the C team playing the D in a division 4 derby where hopefully there will be some extra games played for grading purposes.

The new year started with two matches at the AMAL last night. In division 2 the “A” team hosted league leaders Cheddleton “B”, while the “E” and “F” teams fought out a division 5 derby.

The top of the table “E” team were out-graded on paper due to the vagaries of estimated grades and F-grades employed under league rules and were set for a tough challenge. The first game to finish was the junior battle on board 4 where Harry Gardiner comfortably defeated his opponent to put the “E” team in the lead. Next to finish was the E’s other junior as Amy Lovatt won the bd 2 game against Les Hall. Amy kept up her 100% record for the team and has now scored 10/12 in all games since the South Cheshire Shield started. Both Harry and Amy are improving rapidly and it is expected both players grades should jump when the new grades are released around the end of January. The remaining games were close affairs before Chris Rhodes capitalised on errors in the bd 1 game to make it 3-0. The final game to finish saw Phil Wright hold Nigel Gardner to a draw. This result leaves the E team four points clear at the top of the table (with a maximum 12 pts from 6 matches), although lower down Meir C are the closest challengers (with 5 pts from just 4 matches). The “E” team are at home to Meir B next week.

The “A” team put up a good fight against runaway leaders Cheddleton B, with David Hulme (bd 4) and Rick Renegade (bd 5) winning, while there were losses incurred on boards 1 and 3 to leave the match delicately poised at 2-2 with Karl Lockett playing Bill Armstrong on bd 2. These two have met a number of times in the last couple of seasons and usually their games “go the distance” and last night was no exception. This was a hum-dinger of a game as advantage went too and fro with both players deep into increment time. One  moment it looked like Karl had the upper hand with approx 5 minutes left against Bill’s 2 minutes around the 40 move mark. As the players thrashed out a further 30 moves or so Bill’s experience allowed him to gain a secure winning advantage to leave Karl forced into resignation. So for the second consecutive match, Cheddleton B beat Crewe A to effectively eliminate the “A” team from the title race. The “A” team are at home to Cheddleton C next week.

 

With only one match this week for Crewe, the “B” team had a chance to extend their lead at the top of the division 3 table when they went to face Meir’s “A” team. The team found themselves at a disadvantage as our leading scorer failed to turn up causing a default on bd 2. We managed to score 50% from the three players there with Neville Layhe picking up a win on top board covering for regular player Karl Lockett, while Chris Rhodes gained a draw on bd 4 extending his unbeaten run in the NSDCA this season to 11 games, which is something our writer can only dream about !

This win for Meir has really opened up the door at the top of division 3 with several teams all within 2 pts of our B team.

It was a shame for the B team to lose their 100% record this way, but who knows if it would have made any difference in any case.

 

The weather was the main winner this week as our two home matches were postponed and our brave soldiers from the “A” team took on the challenge of getting to Cheddleton on a freezing Friday night.

The opposition (Cheddleton B) were riding high at the top of division 2 before the match, with our “A” team sitting in 3rd place but with games in hand to catch the leaders. The late arrival of our top two players unsettled our captain as the match began. First blood went to the hosts as junior Sam Parry found a way to break through against previously unbeaten Neville Layhe on bd 5 after Sam had offered the draw. Matters got worse when our big-hitter Rick Renegade was battered into submission by the experienced Jon Blackburn on bd 3. A superb performance on bd 1 from Ola Titiloye gained a draw against the highest graded player (194) in the division despite starting down approx 15 minutes on the clock, to leave Karl Lockett on bd 2 and David Hulme on bd 4 looking for wins. David was in a dominant position and exchange ahead before blundering back the exchange in another moment of chess blindness as he attempted an illegal move when in check. Allowing himself into a time trap he was put to the sword by Sandra Blackburn who must have been delighted with her best of season result which confirmed Chedd B would win the match. Karl Lockett on bd 2 went on to win a fine game and continue his good run of recent form.

This was the “A” team’s first defeat of 2017 and should have been avoided had our captain not blundered or we had accepted the draw offers given to us on bottom two boards. At least we get chance for revenge as the return match is scheduled first week in the New year.

Next week is a quiet week for matches with only the B team playing at Meir before the Christmas break.