Category: News

Wed 17th May – another busy and exciting night at The Mals, with two big matches and a packed playing room, with the best part of 50 people in attendance covering visiting players, club members and parents.

The Main Event of the Evening was the Open Knockout Final played over 6 boards between ourselves and Alsager. It was evident before the start that Alsager were determined to go “all-in” (in poker terms) as their team was significantly strengthened by the presence of old boy Simon Hood making his first appearance since 2015 (last rating 183 = 2070) slotting in on board 2 to move all their regular players down the batting order. The early skirmishes went in our favour as captain Martin Burns got us off to a winning start on board 4, before Karl Lockett won comfortably on board 6 and Simon Layhe was happy with a draw on board 2 to get us near the winning line. Next to finish was board 5, where Alsager’s underdog (Tim Twentyman) produced the first shock of the night to chalk one unexpectedly back with a good finish under time pressure. Then there was a further twist on board 3, as Alsager’s John Booth stunned our player with an immediate mate in a game that seemed to be there for the taking, but was much more evenly balanced than we had calculated. This all left the match in the hands of Jonathan Blackburn, Alsager and the league’s leading player, as he played a common theme of giving up a pawn for plenty of attacking opportunity and slowly turning the screw. Even in the knowledge that a draw would win the cup for Alsager, Jonathan calmly pushed home his activity advantage to finish with a flourish as the visitors turned out to be worthy winners of the Open knockout with congratulations to Alsager !

Meanwhile the C team were hoping to keep slim hopes of the division 2 title alive, only to be outplayed by title chasing (and now hot favourites) Newcastle. It was a rare occurrence for Carmel Barwick to come off second best as Dylan Cooper proved too strong on board 2, after the visitors had already chalked up two wins on the lower boards in this 4 board match. With a 3-0 deficit captain David Lambton declined a draw offer on board 1, and was duly rewarded with the scalp of a player rated approx 1900, to finish the C team’s campaign with a guarantee of 3rd place in the table behind Newcastle and Stafford.

There was only one internal Club Championship game this week that saw a Division 1 relegation battle between bottom placed chairman Dave Price, and 3rd bottom Events Officer David Hulme. Chairman Dave played a far superior opening as black to produce pressure. In an attempt to escape the building pressure, David H miscalculated badly and dropped a piece for a pawn. From there the chairman spared no mercy and put David to the sword with a well controlled execution. This leaves David H on 2.5/9, while Dave P and Richard F have 2/8 in the battle to avoid relegation.

Friday 12th May was the date Crewe became champions of the NSDCA for the first time since the club was resurrected by Dave Price and 4 colleagues in June 2014 !!

Martin Burns has captained the “A” team with distinction this season and has been able to field the most consistent team in the league, with himself as ever-present alongside Harry Gardiner and Karl Lockett, while top board Bart Fajfer has played 9 of the 11 matches to date. With one match remaining the league title was secured as Cheddleton A beat Fenton A on Friday to make it impossible for Fenton to catch our own “A” team.

With an outstanding set of performances, Harry has led the player charts scoring 9.5 from 11 so far, with Karl just behind on 7.5 pts. Special praise must go to Bart who has faced the strongest players in the league and still managed to achieve a success rate of over 60% on board 1. Skipper Mart may have only scored 4/11 to date, but has taken on the board 1 mantle whenever necessary and allowed Harry & Karl to bat lower down the order to achieve the big scores.

Congratulations to Martin and the team – photo to be added

Friday 5th May – The D team went to Stafford last Friday, and came accross a very strong Stafford team chasing the division 2 title, with Newcastle and our own C team. Nigel has provided the usual entertaining report as the Dees came 2nd in the match – see Nigel’s Reports

Wed 10th May – The E team hosted Meir in a division 3 match, aiming to haul in leaders Alsager B, and put out a very strong team including new recruit Richard Lee (rated over 2100 !!) on board 1. With a huge rating advantage – the biggest seen in the NSDCA this season – 1167 points over 5 boards – the E team were overwhelming favourites. As is often the case, the ratings were irrelevant when it came down to battle. Phil Grocott on board 5, was held to a draw and when Adam Fields added the expected win on board 4 all was going to plan. Unfortunately we failed to get any points from our engine room on boards 2 & 3, as the Meir underdogs performed incredibly well, and even on board 1 we were made to work hard for our other success to draw the match. This ended the E team’s chance of catching Alsager who are 3 pts clear and therefore division 3 champions. Congratulations to them.

Fri 12th May – The F team travelled to Cheddleton to face an improving pair of youngsters in the hosts D team. Our team was constructed mainly from regular E team players due to mass unavailability of 15 players previously used by the F team this season. So thanks to Dave Price, Matthew Dean and Mike Keenan we were able to fulfill the fixture without defaulting a board. Dave Price was faced with a tough game on board 1 and duly came unstuck, while Cheddleton’s two teenagers showed their improvements with good performances to win on boards 2 and 3, and give Chedd an unassailable lead. With the match fate already decided Matthew drew on his vast thirst for a challenge, and won after a long end game to make sure we avoided a whitewash. It was a fitting way to end the F team’s campaign showing our fighting spirit as the team finished the season with a guarantee of 3rd position in the table and having used a total of 19 players – more than most clubs in the NSDCA can boast in total.

ITS LESS THAN 8 WEEKS TO OUR ANNUAL CONGRESS AT THE ALEX

Wed 3rd May: With no league matches taking place at The Mals this week, it was time to get some games played in the Club Championships as we near the deadline of 31st May.

In division 1, Martin Burns has layed down the gauntlet after shunting the chairman deeper into the relegation quagmire. Martin was too hot to handle for Dave Price, as he completed the campaign with a win to finish on 7.5 pts from 1o games, and move to the top of the pack, deposing the current club champion Harry Gardiner (6.5pts). This result leaves Dave in the relegation spot with 1pt from 6, although he may escape like Houdini if he can get enough of his remaining games played. David Lambton won a relegation “6-pointer” to ease his position to move onto 3/9. The Events Officer – David Hulme (2.5/7) makes a trio of David’s in the bottom 5, and needs some points from his remaining three games if he is to avoid the drop – with all games against others in the drop zone. The other big game played last night in this section saw Carmel Barwick ruin Julian Hawthorne’s chances of the title, with a win that takes her tally to 6/8, as she becomes the hot favourite to become club champion, with two more games to play against the bottom two players. Two wins will see Carmel crowned as champion, while 1.5pts would lead to a shared title with Martin.

In division 2, there were a couple of big matches. Firstly Pawel Stanny put a dent in James Marshall’s title aspirations, with a well controlled win as James found himself in a familiar position of fighting the clock. Pawel’s win takes his score to 4/6 and retains a slim chance of winning division 2, if he can play and win all 4 remaining games, which is a very tall order. The other big game, saw Mike Keenan battle with George Bulbeck, and after a very promising attack from Mike, found his position overstetched as George countered strongly before emerging succesfully. George (7/9) has now overtaken long time leader Andrew Crosby (6.5/10) and is odds-on favourite to take the title with one remaining game against his dad Julian. If Pawel can apply the necessary pressure, then George may have to beat his dad to secure the div 2 crown !

Again there were many other members attending, with plenty of experienced players on hand to play friendly games against the ever expanding batch of newcomers.

Tomorrow (Friday 5th) sees the D team travel to Stafford, with the aim of putting a spanner in the works if possible, to assist the C team’s outside chance of winning NSDCA division 2.

On Saturday, there is an online international match, as Andrew Crosby has worked tirelessly to arrange a “Crewe and North Staffs Junior team vs Chess in Slums Africa Junior Team” being played on lichess and with commentary on Twitch !!

Wed 26th April – It’s been a quieter week than many, with just two matches taking place for the club, with our two division 3 teams both at home as the E team hosted Cheddleton D and the F team hosted league leaders Alsager B.

The E team had a straight forward task as Cheddleton arrived with two players missing, and after an early win from James Marshall on board 1 the match was secured before 9pm. This allowed Adam Fields to except an offer an early draw on board 4, so the two Cheddleton players could head home early, as the E team bagged the two points to stay in the title chase.

The F team faced the league leaders and were confronted by a team rated at 6600, massively outrating our ” Fabulous Fighting F team”, as they played their strongest team of the season, which would have outrated most teams in division 2, let alone div 3. Undeterred our team were not prepared to lie down despite an early set back, when Alsager won quickly on board 3. Aware of the chance to help our E team, the F team were bolstered on board 1 where Jarek Czyz was available to play just his 3rd game of the season. This was the only board where we closely matched the opposition, as Jarek provided an unexpected win on board 1 to level the scores. Board 4 saw us as underdogs again and Alsager’s player here won an exchange early on before converting to an easily won end game. This left George Bulbeck on board 2 (also outrated by some 150 pts) to try and salvage the result, and boy did he do it in style, typically using every available second on his clock as he played a superb Knight and pawn ending to force victory in a manner suited to division 1 standards. So the final result was a 2-2 draw, as the F team held the title favourites for the second time this season.

All of which means, Alsager lead the table with 19pts and one match remaining, while our E team are in pursuit with 17pts and a game in hand. If Alsager win their last game as expected, our E team can share the title if they win both remaining matches. The F team are 3rd in the table and cannot be overtaken, sitting on 16pts which is a brilliant return for a team whose main purpose is to allow as many as possible to play – and has done this with pride as 17 of our members have now played for them.

Alongside the two matches it was another hectic night, with the Mals packed to the rafters again with another batch of new faces. There was a big match in the Club Championship Div 1 where No 1 seed Martin Burns was held to a draw by possible favourite Carmel Barwick. Martin is now in the joint lead with 6.5 pts with Harry Gardiner, but has one more game to play while Harry has completed his schedule. Carmel now has 5/7 with 3 games to play. Julian Hawthorne is on 5.5/8 and will have a big say in the competition as his two remaining games are against Carmel and Lukasz Michalek (5/8). There is a 5-way dogfight to avoid relegation with Davids Hulme, Lambton and Price in the mire with Richard Fish and Neville Layhe.

In division 3 of the Club Championship Mark Randell continued his fine recent form with another win to move into 2nd place on 3.5pts, but with no realistic chance of catching the runaway leader Phil Grocott who has a majestic 7pts from 8 games.

Wed 19th April – On a night when the A&B teams were going hammer and tongs in the fight for the NSDCA League Title, the Mals again was packed with a hive of activity.

There was another hand full of Club Championship games. In division 1, 3 of the contenders were in action while the leaders were involved in the A vs B derby. Julian Hawthorne nudged himself to within a point of the leader (Harry Gardiner 6.5/10) to move onto 5.5/8. Meanwhile there was an exciting draw between Carmel Barwick and Lukasz Michalek as they both went full throttle for a win that neither could produce. Both players now have 4.5 pts with Carmel having played 6 games and Lukasz 7. With 10 games in total, and all players having dropped at least 1.5 pts, predicting the winner is a fool’s paradise.

In division 2, Doug Barnett’s hopes of claiming the trophy were cut short as Pawel Stanny produced a fine win. Andrew Crosby’s score of 7pts is proving a tough target to beat but should be in the sights of George Bulbeck and James Marshall if they can arrange enough of their remaining games.

For division 3, it appears Phil Grocott cannot be caught as he added another point to take his tally to 7/8, with Vicky Kelsall in a creditable 2nd place on 3.5 pts.

What made it such a fantastic night was the number of newcomers visiting the club for a first or second time, as we counted approx 10 potential new members in the pipeline as chairman Dave Price was inundated with new faces, with many being in the under 21 age category. We reckon it was a record attendance at the club with 38 in total. It is hoped we can arrange a new tournament to allow these players to get some serious practice, as we approach the end of the main season around 31st May.

Mon 17th April – The D team went to play Fenton B in division 2, with faint hopes of pursuing the divisional trophy. A successful evening led to a narrow win to keep the dream alive. For another excellent report from the D team captain – Nigel Gardner – please see Nigel’s Reports section of our website

Wed 19th April – saw the David and Goliath Battle at the top of division 1 between our “A team All stars” and the “B team of Brave Bees”. It is hard to believe that our two teams could be heading the charge for the NSDCA League title but this was the case as the “A” team led the table with 13 pts from 10 games, while the Bees had 13 pts from 11 games heading into the match.

The A team would be overwhleming favorites with a 700 pts rating advantage over 4 boards, but this is nothing new to the B team who have been underdogs all season and heavily outrated in nearly every match. The B team also have “devious Dave” as their captain according to Martin Burns (A team captain) and sprung a change of board order to try and upet the odds by playing himself on board 1, in order to give Simon Layhe the best chance of success.

The Bees seemed to be holding their own, particularly when Rick Renegade seemed to have caused discomfort for the A’s on board 3, and George Bulbeck had a pawn advantage on board 4. However the A’s superiority started to come through as Harry Gardiner turned the tables on board 3, with a passed pawn created from a missed “en-passant” that led to a quick and sudden resignation. Not long afterwards the Bees captain made a blunder in the excitement of an attacking opportunity only to leave himself open to a long distance Queen check that led to the loss of a rook – bringing immediate resignation and 2-0 to the As. There was a shock result on board 4, as George Bulbeck completed a win against an opponent rated 350 pts higher on the scorecard, and brought the battling Bees back into contention. The board 2 game had seen Simon Layhe hold a pawn gained at the expense of a far inferior and cramped position against Martin, who ultimately turned the screws by picking up two pawns and with a fierce attack. Now Martin recalled how he allowed the Bees captain to fluke a win earlier in the season, did not want a repeat and so offered a draw which Simon could not decline due to imminent material and clock pressure. The curtain fell on the match with the As victorious, and much closer to the title.

The “A” team now have 15pts and are 5 pts clear of Fenton “A” who are the only team still in contention. The “A” team play Fenton in the last match of the season and need a draw at most to become league champions, while Fenton still have two other tough games to play which they need to win to keep their chances alive.

Following Bart’s win in this match, he has now reached a rating of 2000 and his score of 5.5/9 on board 1 is a big part of the “A” team’s success this season, as he plays all the strongest players in the NSDCA.

Tue 11th Apr – The E team went to Alsager for the proverbial “6-pointer” at the top of the NSDCA Div 3 table, and were greeted by Alsager’s strongest team of the season. As always in a 4-board match, the balance swings to and fro with fine margins often deciding the outcome. On this occasion it favoured the league leaders – Alsager – as they came out winners by the narrowest score possible 2.5-1.5, as predicted by their rating advantage. It was tough going for our top two boards who came home empty handed despite putting up valliant efforts. Our best result came from Adam Fields playing on board 3 playing just his 3rd match of the season, as he inflicted the first defeat of the season on his opponent who came into this match with 7/8 and a provisional rating of 1742, some 300 pts more than Adam. On board 4 Kobus Nienaber earned a draw, which turned out to be not quite enough to save the team as we could not muster anything from the top two. This result leaves Alsager as clear favourites for the div 3 title with 18 pts from 12 games, while the Es have 15 from 11 in 2nd place.

Fri 14th Apr – our F team made the longer trek to Cheddleton, where their club hosted 3 matches so had their resources fully stretched. The night started precariously as our board 1 Andrew Crosby got delayed by public transport on his way to the match, but was rescued by team-mate Pawel in the depths of Stoke to get him to the church on time ! (Chedd’s venue being a church hall). Our F team is there to provide opportunities for as many as possible and has so far employed 16 members in the team, with line ups often matched with the opposition as best as we can. On this occasion we were rated about 180 pts below Cheddleton’s C team, which at an average of 45 pts per board is very small. On board 3, Steve Ballantyne put us in the lead thanks to converting a pawn advantage into a queen. On board 4 Mark Randell had his maiden voyage to success, with his first win for the club much to the delight of himself and all of his team-mates. With the 2-0 advantage, Andrew wisely used his experience to offer a draw, which was accepted with both players running short on the clock. Pawel seemed to have the upper hand in the last game and refused a draw offer in the knowledge the team result was safe, but succumbed to a loss after running out of time. Captain David Hulme wanted to put his thanks on record with Pav coming to the team’s rescue to get Andrew to the match. The final score of 2.5-1.5 in our favour again shows the fine margins that decide matches, and puts the F team on 15pts alongside our E team, having played 12 matches.

Wednesday’s club night had a number of Internal Championship games taking place. In division 1, the top 3 seeds all won, with Harry Gardiner completing his campaign with 6.5pts from the 10 games, Martin Burns staying in 2nd place with 6/8 and Karl Lockett moving 3rd with 5.5/10. Julian Hawthorne 4.5/7, Carmel Barwick 4/5 and Lukasz Michalek 4/6 are all in contention to win the trophy, while the other five players are all in relegation scrap that mirror images the current Premier League dogfight.

In division 2, George Bulbeck and Doug Barnett added wins to their tally to get them closer to leader Andrew Crosby. Andrew leads the way with 7/12, while George has 6/8 and Doug has 6/9. James Marshall has the leaders in his sights with 4.5/7 but did not have a game, while the other winner this week was George Jelliss.

In division 3 runaway leader Phil Grocott who has 6/7 now, was held to a draw by Mark Randell who retains his 50% score with 2.5 pts.

Next week (19th) sees the potential league decider between Crewe A and B, as the club looks to win its first ever NSDCA 1st division title, but with two other teams from Fenton and Holmes Chapel in contention nothing can be certain.

With there being no League matches on Wednesday night players took advantage of the break and played internal games in the club’s Championship Tournament before it ends on 31st May, pairings had been suggested by the Events Officer.

In Division 1 Harry Gardiner and Martin Burns both won to stay in first and second place respectively. Harry finished his game with a nice queen sac which if taken led to a forced checkmate. Martin had exchanged his queen for a rook, knight and bishop and managed to get enough play to conjurer up a passed pawn which in the end proved decisive. Although Harry leads the table by half a point he has completed all his games whilst Martin still has two games to play. However Carmel Barwick still remains in contention with five games to play, if she can complete these by the end of May.

Three games took place in Division 2 where there were wins fron George Bulbeck, George Jellis and Doug Barnett. Andrew Crosby still leads the current table having played all his games but George and Doug are only one point behind with two games to play. Division 3 saw a hard fought draw between Phil Grocott and Mark Randell which went down to a King and several pawns endgame. This result sees Phil two and a half points in the lead in the table and seemingly unable to be caught. The last game to finish was a rated friendly game where those remaining watched as James Marshall played a very interesting Queen and pawn endgame where he eventually, despite being very low on time, managed to convert his passed pawn and so win the game.

In addition to the above games there were as usual a number of players there who were happy to play friendly games between themselves, including players who were either new or hadn’t been to the club many times before, whatever their chess ability the club welcomes them all.

Next week sees the local League Division 1 derby between Crewe A and Crewe B. The difference this season is both teams have a chance of wining the league meaning this match has much significance. Consequently both teams are keeping the proposed line ups close to their chests, it promises to be a very interesting night.