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Wednesday saw the club’s resources fully stretched with two matches at the Mals Club, Crewe D vs Newcastle D in division 4, Crewe F vs Newcastle E in division 5, while our Wirral team took their passports to Mold in North Wales.

At the Mals, both our teams came up just short against Newcastle, with the match scores going in favour of the visitors by the narrow margins of 2.5-1.5. For the D team, our points came from Rick Renegade with a draw on bd 1, while Dylan Sayers continued his fine recent form with a win against a higher grade opponent on bd 2. For the “F” team Simon Layhe earned a draw on top board while recent newcomer Kobus Nienaber picked up a win on bd 4.

Over at Mold, the Wirral team suffered a heavy defeat 4-1, with draws coming from David Hulme on bd 2 and Chris Rhodes on bd 5. The team will finish 3rd in the Wirral League’s 2nd division and therefore miss out on promotion. They have their final game on Tuesday in a re-arranged match at Hoylake/Great Meols.

Tuesday night saw the B team climb over the line to secure the NSDCA div 3 title in a close fought match with neighbours Alsager. Early in the evening it looked like the Bees would come up short of the match win required as Alsager’s captain Alan Thomason put the first point on the score card with a win on bd 1. Rick Renegade employed his usual all guns blazing form of attack to level the match shortly after 9m with a superb win on bd2. Chris (unbeaten for the B team) Rhodes seemed to be heading towards parity when his opponent allowed their queen to be pinned by a rook and leaves Crewe in the lead 2-1. This left last minute substitute Les Hall in play against James Marshall in the remaining game. James appeared to have  engineered an advantage, but Les’s quick play and stubborn defence left James perilously short on time. With a minimal amount of time remaining in increment time and a potentially tricky position developing James opted for security and agreed a draw which meant Crewe  gained the necessary win by narrow margin of 2.5-1.5, to ensure the B team won the Div 3 title for the second time in three years.

Congratulations to the team which mainly consisted of Chris Rhodes (9.5/12), Rick Renegade (8.5/11), Karl Lockett (4/9) and resting skipper Martin Gill (2.5/8) and a supporting cast of 7 others.

A quieter week on the fixture schedule has seen just three matches played. Tuesday night saw the Wirral team host Wallasey 3 in Chester, and on Wednesday the E team hosted Alsager C and the F team were sent to Newcastle.

Our Wirral team was the strongest team we’ve been able to table this season with captain David Hulme on bd 5 being higher graded than Wallasey’s top board, as our opponents were faced with having to field 4 teams on a non-club night. It was no surprise therefore that we raced into a 2-0 lead as David Hulme and Rick Renegade (bd 4) won. A fighting effort on bd 3 held Neville Layhe to a draw, before Rich Wiltshir outgunned their bd 2. Karl Lockett could not force the win on bd 1 to finish the match with a draw and a convincing 4-1 win to keep our team in the title chase. We need to win both our remaining games while hoping league leaders Atticus slip up in their last match.

The F team went to Newcastle hoping to help our E team against title rivals Newcastle E. According to skipper Dave Price we had an “off-night” with only Simon Layhe producing the goods with a fine win on bd 1. The F team wrap up their division 5 campaign with a home match against same opposition this Wednesday at the Mals club.

Also in action on Wednesday, but at home in the Mals club, was our division 5 leaders the “E” team. A superb team performance started with Chris Rhodes earning a hard-fought draw on top board, before Dylan Sayers outplayed the opposition to win on bd 4. Dylan is on a great run of form with 5 wins a row and currently heading towards a grade increase of approx 36 pts. Next to finish was the team’s “Big-hitter” junior Amy Lovatt completing her 10th successive victory (100% record) for the Es, playing maturely and using all of the time permitted to convert a pawn advantage into an overwhelming position. Last to finish (on bd 3) saw Steve Ballantyne accept a draw with the team result safely secured for 3-1 win. The E team require one point from their last two matches to win the division 5 title.

Next week sees 3 title chases coming to a climax as the Bees (B team) play their final match at Alsager on Tuesday, the Wirral team go to Mold in North Wales on Wednesday and the Es hike to Cheddleton on Friday.

It’s been a tough week for the club with five matches all played away from home, as the fixture lists have given us a run of 9 consecutive away games, to leave the MALS club with no matches for the 2nd week in a row.

The week started well for the Fabulous “F” team who went to play Meir C in a 5th division game. The scorecard showed a flattering 4-0 win for us which did not reflect the true nature of the match as wins for Simon Layhe, Dave Price, Harry Gardiner and Phil Wright brought home the match points.

Wednesday night saw the “A” team facing Newcastle B and division 5 leaders, the “E” team facing Newcastle E at the Bridge Club. The “A” team fielded two juniors for the first time ever with Amy Lovatt on bd 4 and Harry Gardiner on bd 5. Another first saw all five boards drawn to take a share of the points which took the “A” team up to 2nd in the table having completed all our fixtures. Both juniors played superbly as Harry was outgraded by nearly 40 pts and Amy was last to finish trying valiantly to go for the win  where the pawn advantage was nullified by opposite colour bishops. There were tame draws for Karl Lockett on bd 1 and David Hulme on bd 3, while Neville Layhe’s powers of concentration were tested to the full in a game lasting some 85 moves.

The other match at the Bridge Club was far more important with the division 5 title up for stakes, as our “E” team played against 2nd placed Newcastle E, the only team capable of overhauling our leaders. This match started promisingly for us as Dylan Sayers had a very good win on bd 3 against a higher graded and much more experienced opponent. Steve Ballantyne on bd 4 pushed for the win but could not break through against stubborn defences to take a draw, leaving the top two boards in play. The next game to finish saw Newcastle’s youngest player, Joe Hirst overrun one of our recent recruits, Julian Bulbeck on bd 2 to level the scores. On bd 1 Chris Rhodes lost his first match of the season (on game no. 26 !) to the host’s captain Alberto Gissi as the “E” team suffered likewise with their first defeat of the season to leave the door ajar at the top of the table. The “E” team need 3 pts out of their last 3 matches to secure the division 5 title, while Newcastle have two matches remaining both of which are against our own “F” team.

Friday night saw our B & F teams take on Cheddleton E & H respectively. The Bees went into this division 3 match two pts ahead of Newcastle C but having played one more match and with level board point difference, so a win was the order of the day. However for the 2nd time this season one of our players failed to arrive to leave us with an uphill battle. The remaining trio salvaged what could be a crucial point for the Bees, with Simon Layhe (bd 4) and Karl Lockett (bd 1) gaining the necessary wins despite being under the cosh at one stage. The Bees can only hope Newcastle C drop a point or two in their final 3 matches.

The F team gained a well earned draw thanks to draws from Dave Price on bd 1 and Adam Fields on bd 3 (his first point for the club). Kobus Nienaber went one better and picked up his first win for the club while junior Harry Gardiner suffered a rare defeat on bd 2, though this may have been expected against an opponent graded 44 pts higher. In addition to the match counting boards a further graded game was played to give youngster Charlie Dodd a competitive game on a very busy night with Cheddleton hosting five matches and showing their strength in depth by avoiding defeat in all five.

Next week we have just 3 fixtures scheduled as our Wirral team chase the division 2 title, our “E” team go in pursuit of the NSDCA Division 5 title and our “F” team also in action.

A long-winded headline to cover this week’s three matches. Starting with the 2nd match of the week which saw our Intermediate (U130) team successfully retain the Cup trophy after a tough battle with friendly rivals Newcastle at The Bridge Club. Early draws were achieved by newcomer Julian Bulbeck  on bd 4 and the ubiquitous Dave Price on bd 5. The match was tilted in our favour as Amy Lovatt used the early piece gained to trap the opponents King after utilising all but a few seconds of her time allowed, as she asked our roving reporter to record moves once she was below 5 minutes remaining. Just as Amy was about to win, success was guaranteed for the team as Doug Barnett’s draw offer was accepted on bd 1. Shortly thereafter Chris Rhodes added another win with a flourish to complete the match score at 3.5 – 1.5.  This takes Chris’s unbeaten run in all NSDCA games to 25.

The Perry B team (U110) traveled to Cheddleton on Friday night as massive under-dogs. The Fabulous Four played heroically according to captain Dave Price, who acted as team chauffeur as well as non playing captain. Harry Gardiner was first to finish with a well earned draw on bd 2, having held an exchange advantage in the early middle game before coming under pressure from advancing King-side pawns and taking the draw offer. Next to finish on bd3 with another draw was our latest debutant, youngster Lukasz Michalek playing his first ever competitive match – congratulations to him on holding his own against a very experienced opponent. Steve Ballantyne battled manfully on bd 1 before losing to one of Cheddleton’s rising stars – junior Sam Parry, whose grade is currently 117 and likely to be much higher in the next grading list. Last to finish was Kobus Nienaber losing to another up and coming junior, Joe Alcock already graded 108.  The final result was a loss 3-1, but the Fabulous Four were a great credit to our club playing against a team whose current grades were over 100 pts greater than ours.

The journey home was an enlightening tale as junior Harry Gardiner impressed the group with his recollection of all world champions from the late 1800s to modern times.

The other match played earlier in the week was a Wirral League encounter between our promotion chasing team and Division 2 established Chester E, played at Hoole Community Centre in Chester. This score-card showed David Hulme playing on bd 4 for Crewe and also on bd 5 for Chester !! Luckily for us our captain (Hulme) put the first point on the board with a swift win in a wild game where fortune was on our side. Neville Layhe picked up a good draw on bd 3 against a rapidly improving Chester junior already graded 142. Our bd 5 Dave Price fell victim to an attack from the other Dave Hulme to give the strange looking balance of two wins by Dave Hulme. Some while later we lost the bd 1 game, leaving the Walsall Warrior, Rich Wiltshir striving to level the match for us which he duly did in calm fashion. The result takes us to 3rd in the table and still with an outside chance of taking the division 2 title if we can win all 3 remaining matches, but the odds are against us as we have tougher matches than 2nd placed Atticus and also have to face table topping Buckley/Mold 1 in our penultimate match.

It’s been a busy week for the club with four matches played including trips to Chester, Newcastle and Cheddleton.

The first match saw our Wirral team take on a below strength Chester F team in a division 2 encounter. Early wins for Neville Layhe, David Hulme and Dave Price confirmed the points were safe before Simon Layhe and Karl Lockett agreed draws to wrap up a convincing 4-1 win, which took the team up to joint 3rd in the table with two matches in hand on the leaders. The team is very much in contention for promotion with matches to play against the top two.

Wednesday night saw our B team host Meir A in the NSDCA division 3. The Bees were in 2nd place in the table trailing leaders Newcastle C just on board points, and were soon in trouble as board 1 was won swiftly by the visitors. However the Bees are made of fighting-stock and despite appearing to be behind in two of the three remaining games, the points started to come in as Rick Renegade, Chris Rhodes and late replacement Dylan Sayers all overturned their opponents to swing the result in our favour and emerge as 3-1 victors. With this win the Bees returned to top of the table but have to wait and see if Newcastle C overtake them with their game in hand. The title looks like going to the wire with two matches left for us and three for Newcastle.

Also on Wednesday night our basement battling “C” team went to play Newcastle D in a division 4 game. Junior Harry Gardiner continued his good form with another impressive win a against a higher graded opponent on bd 4, before Doug Barnett eased a draw on bd 2. On board 3 we had our latest debutant with Adam Fields playing experienced Pete Shaw. A fine effort from Adam saw him gain an exchange before Pete’s experience proved too much and took the point for our opponents. The final game saw David Hulme taking on their captain Paul Clapham and despite David’s significant grade advantage was held to a draw by Paul’s solid play, to conclude the match with a 2-2 draw. The result took the C team off the foot of the table on board points, where our own D team have fallen to as we contest the wooden spoon.

Friday night saw our division 5 table-topping “E” team travel to Cheddleton and take on their full strength “I” team. Without regular stars Amy Lovatt and Steve Ballantyne, it was always going to be a tough match against a team that can near the maximum grade points allowed. Captain Nigel Gardner reported on the LMS as follows:

Another very enjoyable and competitive Friday evening at a busy Cheddleton club. With a couple of enforced changes to our usual line up both incomers performed admirably to force wins in tight matches. A great result from Chris again on top board and a very assured performance from our youthful debutante Julian on board 2 in a match that finished when most had left and were already at home. An excellent result for Dylan against a much higher graded opponent taking an early pawn advantage and slowly tightening the screw to reap his just rewards. Ali and I played out another draw although both enjoyed what was a challenging game. Well done to my team and many thanks to our excellent hosts.

This result takes the “E” team 4 pts clear at the top of the table. With 4 matches left to play our Es need one win and a draw to guarantee the title.

A great week for the club and special mention to our two new players Adam Fields and Julian Bulbeck.

With the shortened week due to Good Friday, this week’s report is produced a little earlier than normal. There are three matches to report on as the “A” team played at Fenton on Monday, with the “D” and “E” teams at home to Stafford B and Newcastle D respectively.

The week started extremely well as the “A” team managed to overcome Fenton “A”, who are destined to be Division 2 champions. The match was unexpectedly tipped in Crewe’s favour when Karl Lockett won the battle on board 1 early in the evening as he out-manouevered Fenton’s star player (graded 183 and previously unbeaten 9.5/11), to put us in the lead 1-0. Better news arrived swiftly as Doug Barnett took advantage of his opponents passive opening to force the second win before Fenton fought back with a win for Glyn Valentine on bd 2. Amy Lovatt on bd 4 ensured the team were guaranteed at least a draw when she picked up a draw with a forced repitition. She was rather disappointed not to have won after being a piece up and then sacrificing it back for what looked like a forced mating attack, but her opponent escaped the net. A strange game finished on bd 3 with a draw as David Hulme clawed back material against Kas Capatina, after blundering a rook for nothing. Fortunately Kas was so short on time, David managed to steal a draw for the team to win 3-2 and put the expected champions champagne on ice for another week or two.

Wednesday night saw another packed clubhouse with two matches and another 12-15 members playing friendly chess. The division 4 encounter between our “D” team and Stafford “B” was a close run match. Our roving reporter did not arrive early enough to see the outcome of the games on boards 2-4 but found we were trailing 2-1, with our win coming from Dylan Sayers with a good result on bd 2, with losses for captain Les Hall and newcomer Kobus Nienabar who only lost to Pete Evans (the league treasurer) after a spirited fight in only his second league match. The match was decided by the outcome of the top board game which looked to be heading for a draw until Neville Layhe found a way to snare his opponent into a pawn mating net as the King went to attack Neville before getting stranded and cut-off. The match drawn at 2-2 saw the “D” team rise one place up to 4th in the league table.

The “E” team were playing a top of the table division 5 clash with Newcastle “E”. Going into this match our Es were leading the table by 2 pts and with 2 matches in hand, although it is likely Newcastle will extract maximum points from their remaining games to keep the pressure on our “E” team. With two of our regular players missing including captain Nigel Gardner it meant the team needed reinforcing and was likely to be heavily outgraded on the bottom board. This match unfolded with a draw on bd 3 with Chris Rhodes being held by Brian Wagstaff before the Es “big-hitter” Amy Lovatt forced a material gain to take the full point on bd 2. Newcastle hit back with an equally devasting win on bd 4 to leave the match level and the bd 1 game in progress. Although Doug Barnett had a pawn advantage, it was not enough to beat the battling chairman of Newcastle, Alberto Gissi and after Alberto forced a repetitive threat peace was agreed and the match points shared to leave the status quo at the top of the division 5 table with one match less each to play. For our E team Amy continues to be the lead performer with a perfect 9/9, while chief support act Chris Rhodes moved on to 6.5/9 and extends his unbeaten run in the NSDCA this season.

It’s been a busy week for the club with four matches all played away from home. The club was packed on Wednesday night with some more new faces amongst the 18 or so there, while another 4 members were at Newcastle.

The week started promisingly as the “E” team continued their assault on the division 5 title. They went to face Meir C with just a hand-full of grading points separating the two teams. Skipper Nigel Gardner seemed content as the first three games all shared the points. Chris Rhodes playing on bd 1 took his unbeaten run to 20 matches in all NSDCA competitions this season, with his draw. The other draws came from Steve Ballantyne and Nigel (taking his score to an unbeaten 7/9 for the Es).  The match was to be settled by the outcome of the board 2 game featuring our star junior Amy Lovatt. As usual Amy played coolly to build up a decisive advantage and ultimately win the game and the match (2.5-1.5) to give the “Es” a  further cushion at the top of the table. Amy’s record for the E team is a superb 8/8.

Tuesday night saw the “F” team take on Alsager C in a division 5 match. Although the team were soundly beaten 3-1, skipper Dave Price was very proud as the team introduced another new member to competitive league chess as Kobus Nienaber made his debut and became the 13th player to represent our new F team this season. Our single point was won by former Alsager-player Les Hall.

Wednesday night saw our high-flying Bees travel to Newcastle to play a top of the table clash with the host’s C team. Unfortunately the team lost for only the second time this season by the narrowest of margins 1.5-2.5. There were draws for Karl Lockett on bd 1, Chris Rhodes on bd 3 (extending his run to 21 unbeaten) and Simon Layhe.

A really entertaining battle on bd 2 decided the match in Newcastle’s favour as their captain Alan Paling reported on the LMS site ” This top of the table clash was extremely tight with three draws leaving the result of the match in the hands of Hambel and Rick on Board 2. Hambel had an advantage but was short of time and played the majority of her moves towards the end with less than a minute (and often seconds) left. Despite Rick complicating things Hambel held her nerve and eventually took the full point. This means Newcastle C can catch Crewe B at the top of the table if they win their match in hand.”

The final match of the week for us saw our Wirral team facing Atticus (of Liverpool) at a neutral Wallasey venue to reduce our travelling commitment. This division 2 battle started with our team on 100% with 3/3 wins and our opponents with 3/4 wins. However there was an ominous start to the night when team lists were exchanged to show Steve Kee graded 196 was on top board for Atticus and two of the other four boards were graded much in their favour. Our main hope would be for Rick Renegade to attack with gusto on bd 3 with the white pieces, to try and compensate for the anticipated negative result on bd 1 with the remaining players hoping for at least a share of the points. Alas it was not be as our 100% record was firmly extinguished as we lost on bds 1 and 3 early on. The other three games all ended in draws with Dave Price and Simon Layhe performing extremely well, while David Hulme escaped with a very fortunate draw. The final result of 1.5-3.5 might prove to be useful in the final reckoning if we can pick up positive results in our next two or three matches.

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.