Author: Steve Ballantyne

Another great result from Dads Army + Mario against our nearest rivals 2.5 – 1.5

Cheddleton took first blood with a quick win on Board 1 0-1. I was pleased to hear the confidence in Keith’s voice when his young opponent offered him a draw, it was a resounding Nooo. Keith went on to win 1-1. on Board 3 at 9pm there were no pieces taken, 5 minutes later and Phil accepted a draw after looking at my game 1.5 – 1.5. I was a minor piece up but 30 minutes down on time. It was a huge relief when i eventually won 2-5 – 1.5

Mario once again stepped in for Alan and took the brunt on Board 1, if i’m correct his opponent has won all of his games so far. Thanks Mario it enables the rest of the team to have a fighting chance. Great team play from Phil to accept the draw offer.

We had a great win last night against Alsager 0-4

First to finish was myself on Board 1 just after 8.30. Just before 9 pm Mario won on board 2 with a good solid display to make it 0-2. Phil had a shaky start but a mistake by Jess enabled Phil to capture a \rook. He took full advantage and played well to win quite comfortably 0-3. Keith on board 4 had all eyes on him for about 45 minutes, i can’t imagine the pressure he was under being watched by both teams. He played a very solid game to wear his opponent down 0-4 Well played Keith. Thanks to Mario for filling in for Alan and being our driver on the night.

The Incredibles are temporarily top of the league but Cheddleton have 2 games in hand. We have to play them twice in our remaining 3 games. They are the strongest team by far in Div 4, they out grade us by 600+ points. The question is do i enrol the help of the big guns from Crewe to win the league ie Harry, Gee or Jamie, or do i stick with the fab four. My team and Dave Hulme know what i will do.

Mario deserves a special mention. He has now gone more than 3 months without losing, 11 games in total. It coincides with the ink change in his pen. When you play me in the internal division 3 Mario don’t be surprised if your pen goes missing.

My team had a hard fought win against Kidsgrove on Tuesday. They were all long games. First to finish was our Board 1. Alan said it was one of the toughest games he has played  0 – 1.  I offered to play on board 1 but my offer was declined. Alan is a big part of my team and has played on board 1 whenever he is available. Thank you Alan. My game was next to finish and i beat Julian Cook for the first time  1 – 1. Boards 3/4 were very late finishes. Keith played very well in a tight game and his opponent lost on time. Well done Keith you’re getting your confidence back. 2 – 1. Phil was in big time trouble, less than 20 seconds on his clock. The 10 minute games he plays on Lichess comes in handy when he’s short on time. Eventually a draw was agreed. Well done Phil. I for one would not be able to move that quick under pressure. 2.5 -1.5. Well pleased with my teams efforts.

Cheers, Steve