Author: Mario Scarpa

Yesterday, Crewe G had a triumphant night, beating Crewe H 4-0! In fairness, as a team we were rated some 400 points higher, which is very unusual considering we are normally rated at least 200 points lower than our opponents…

I was concentrating on my game on board 4 and glanced every now and then at board 3. The game seemed even, with the queens chasing each other around an island of pawns, but next time I watched , I saw that both queens were still on the board… but they were both white! Board 1 had already secured a victory before anyone could realise it and my game was also a success (of course, it was: I have the unbeatable pen!).

Only board 2 remained in play… it was the last game to finish, not only in this match but in the whole club, which would not have been unusual had it not been for the most curious way of playing it. Both players had around 5 minutes left on the clock and all the pieces were still on the chessboard, save for two knights. A quick look at the notation revealed that they had only made 18 moves! I am renowned for running out of time, but board 2 took it to the next level.

Midnight was approaching and, all of a sudden, both players started to move the pieces quickly, as if the knights were about to be turned into mice and the chessboard into a pumpkin… nearly all pieces were exchanged and the game ended when White realised that Black’s pawn promotion was inevitable. The curious thing about this game is that it took hours to get to move 18 and only 5 minutes from move 19 to the final move 63!

What a night!

Yesterday we confronted the strongest team of the league. So far Holmes Chapel B never lost a game and yesterday was no exception. Rating 600 higher than us, it was nearly inevitable. I was running out of time and managed to force a draw instead of losing, which seemed good at the time, but analysing the game the next morning revealed that I missed a mate in 4 moves, trading a crushing victory for a mere draw. What a shame! Have a look at the game here.

Worthy of note was Tommy’s excellent victory on board 1! He delivered a masterful performance against a stronger opponent, showcasing composure and skill. In a fixture against the league’s pre-eminent unbeaten side, Tommy’s triumph stood out as a real inspiration for the team.

Well played, Tommy—what a performance!

Playing against Alsager should never be taken lightly, as it is not wise to lower your guard when confronting a strong opponent.
Last Tuesday we lived up to this principle and secured three draws and one win, which resulted in a team victory. At first sight, this might sound just average, but once you realise that the opponent team’s rating was 400 points higher than ours, a draw counts as a victory and, in this case, it did so literally.
As for myself, I seem to be regaining some wisdom in managing time… or, to say it in a different way, this season, when time is running out, it happens when I am in a stronger negotiating position than my opponent, which is an encouraging improvement from last season… this is the ultimate proof that Martin was right to suggest a purple ink on my lucky pen.

This was the last game of the season for Crewe I. We secured a 3-0 victory which puts us in the 4^th position of the league table, although we might soon become 5^th

This is because at the moment Newcastle B is only am inch behind us and still have 3 games to play. With the prospect of a likely victory on at least two of those matches, they will likely climb ahead, leaving us just an inch behind them. Time will tell.

The end of the season also marks the completion of my very first experience as team captain, which has been very rewarding. Several of our matches have been against players who were each rating 150 and even 200 higher than us. With that in mind, getting where we are now is quite an achievement.

Well done everyone!

Yesterday, Crewe I played its last away game of the league season. This match was originally scheduled some time ago but was postponed due to the refurbishment of the Kidsgrove Chess Club… and what a good job we did! The renovation has transformed the club into a place of beauty and comfort never seen before.

This is no trivial detail because, when you have to endure defeat, doing so while sitting on a massive pinewood chair at a grand wooden table next to a lit fireplace makes it far less unpleasant. I mean, we lost 3½ – ½, but boy, what an absolutely stunning setting!

Well, what else can I say? Each of us once again faced an opponent rated about 200 points higher… it was always going to be an uphill battle.

As for me, I managed to make my opponent sweat—really sweat—but, unfortunately, not quite enough to secure a victory. As usual, I published the game on our website. The time pressure got the better of me in the end, I blundered, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Italian term obliterato normally refers to a bus ticket that has been validated. You know how it works: you get on the bus or train, show your ticket, and the controller stamps it with the punch machine…

Last night, I learnt the English meaning of the term when Crewe I was obliterated by Newcastle B. Man, and what a punch machine they were! Peter was the only one to secure a draw, while the rest of us… well, let’s just say the scorecard looked like the three of us just played a long castling: 0-0-0

What can we say? This was the third time in a row in which our opponent were rating not 100, not 200 but some 250 points more than us!!!
At least I can say that I gave my opponent a very hard time. I didn’t just go down quietly without a fight.

As usual, my game is published on the database page of our website.

Our database now includes all the games played during the 2024 WC Cup. It took quite a while to add them all because they were only available in handwritten paper form, which made it very difficult (and sometimes impossible) to decipher… Nonetheless I managed to reconstruct nearly all of them. You’ll find them under the menu Useful Links > Game Database

Quite a busy night at the club yesterday… so busy that late arrivals struggled to find a parking spot. Among the many matches, Crewe I lost against Cheddleton D.

That said, Gerald keeps defeating his opponents with incredible speed. Despite the game consisting of 60 moves, they were all done so quickly that I sometimes wonder if board 4 is in Blitz-mode.

I found myself once again facing an opponent rated about 100 points higher than me and, in keeping with the ongoing trend, I made him sweat as much as I could… this time, even managing to secure a draw. Initially, I refused the offer, but shortly after I accepted it, fully aware that time pressure would have caused me to lose (and a draw is always better than a loss).

Last night we had our first game of the year. Unfortunately, we lost 2^1/2 – 1^1/2 and that would be all there is to say… or would it?

Malcolm managed to secure a draw, thus granting us the extra half point that prevents the match from being classified as a crushing defeat—it sounds much better than 3-0, doesn’t it? Gerald won straight away before I even finished my first pint of Coke. Nowadays, he seems to dispose of his opponents very rapidly, unlike myself, who linger in the struggle until the very (and in this case, bitter) end. I played on board 1 against someone rated some 200 points higher than me. Considering that, I’m quite satisfied that, despite my loss, I made him sweat to exhaustion and gave him some good headaches… time pressure did, however, get the best of me in the end, as one blunder leads to another…

Last night, Crewe I played an away match at the Fenton Chess Club, which, for those who haven’t yet seen it, makes quite a first impression. The chess club shares its premises with a snooker club, which you have to walk through to reach the chess room. I was already intrigued by the atmosphere, wondering whether I was heading to a chess match or stepping into the setting of an exciting crime movie (a genre I rather like). Before even reaching the chessboard, I found myself pondering whether to use the Loan Sharking Gambit or the Money Laundering Defence… but given the nature of the situation, I decided to stick with the Italian Opening – it fits both narratives quite well.

…Little did I know my opponent would respond with the French Defence (Franco-Benoni variation). You can see the entire game below.

As a team, we lost by the narrowest of margins: three boards ended in draws, while one was lost, resulting in a final score of 2^½ – 1^½. Yet, achieving such a result against opponents rated around 100 points higher than us feels like a triumph. In total, their team had a combined rating 348 points higher than ours! Here is the breakdown of the ratings:

Board 1: 1469 – 1329 = 140
Board 2: 1401 – 1326 = 75
Board 3: 1340 – 1250 = 90
Board 4: 1236 – 1193 = 43

Not bad at all!