Macclesfield begun their campaign in the Stockport District Chess League Division 2 with an almost certain victory, as Macclesfield A faced off against Macclesfield B.
After a few early results putting the stronger team up 2 - 0, it should have been an easy victory for the A team, but whilst Tom was pressing a huge advantage on board 4, Geoff was in time trouble against Dan; and Anthony and Gary were duking out a complicated position with dwindling time.
Things were starting to look scary for the A team, but, using all his skill and experience, Geoff clung on to best Dan, and seal the fixture. JP soon after threw in the towel rewarding the B team with their sole point for the evening.
Gary finished the night off with a blitzed finish on board 1 which saw the pendulum swing both ways. Ultimately Ant made the final mistake and Gary capped off a stellar 4 - 1 win to start off the campaign right.
Macclesfield B | 1 - 4 | Macclesfield A |
Ant Brough (1776) | 0 - 1 | Gary Smith (1856) |
Denzil Lobo (1605) | 0 - 1 | Chris Riley (1856e) |
Marcus Fothergill (1595) | 0 - 1 | Carl Gartside (1846) |
Tom Moitié (1567) | 1 - 0 | JP Taylor (1815) |
Dan Barnes (1354) | 0 - 1 | Geoff Laurence (1786) |
Festivities for the season kicked off with the first of three handicapped Rapidplay events, and Macclesfield welcomed several new members to the fold. Whilst some players were brushing off the off-season rust, others took the initative and strong performances were put in by Club Champion Anthony Brough, who went undefeated on the night. Coming in second were Chris Riley and last season's Pomeroy Cup champion Marcus Fothergill.
We also took the opportunity to crown our new champions. Congratulations to Ant and Marcus on fantastic seasons last year.
As always, many thanks to Denzil, our tournament director for the evening. Members, please monitor your inboxes for further news of this year's club competitions.
The chess club opened on Monday with it's annual AGM where matters involving the club organisation were discussed and agreed. This was followed by a nice hour of casual chess. Amongst the topics of discussion were the dates for this season's handicapped rapidplay tournaments.
The first will be held on Monday 9th of September. All players are welcome to join. The entry fee is £2 and all entry fees are returned to the players as prizes. Players will be alotted a rating which can be estimated if necessary, and matches will be played using time odds to settle the differences.
More information can be found over at the Pollard Cup page.
The Club looks forward to welcoming members, new and old to join us for a fun evening of chess!