The last Club night of the season on MON 20th MAY 2019 hosts the Spring Handicap rapid-play tournament. This is a fun event and a great way to finish off the season. It also a great chance for everybody to get together to reflect on the season.
STOCKPORT LEAGUE
Macclesfield A finished THIRD in Division 1 with 11 points
Macclesfield B finished FIFTH in Division 1 with 5 points but more importantly survived regelation again.
Macclesfield C finished SECOND in division 3 with 15 points but missed out on promotion
Macclesfield D (limit league) finished THIRD in the LIMIT LEAGUE with 13 points
STOKE LEAGUE
Macclesfield finished SECOND in division 2 with 14 points
This is open to all club members and prospective members. The Pollard Cup is awarded to the club member who achieves the best total from any two of these events.
There is a £2 entry fee for each event, all of which is returned to the participants in the form of three prizes.
Players have 15 minutes in which to make all their moves. For each ten grading points
difference (rounded up) two minutes are added to the weaker player's time and two minutes
removed from the stronger player. No player will have less than 3 minutes for all their
moves.
The arbiter will, when present, stop the game when one clock falls. Players are expected
to act in a sportsmanlike manner and resign when they see their clock has fallen.
Also players should "move a piece and press the clock" with the same hand which is an important rule at the death of a game.
Macclesfield C finished where they began with yet another draw making 7 out of 12 for the season.
With a North Staffs Open Final to squeeze in next to Macc C’s last match of the season its a massive thank you from Man with Hat to all of those who turned up early to get this vital double-header up and running and on time. Macclesfield C had drawn their previous 3 matches and this had effectively ruled out any chance of lifting the division 3 trophy. MWH had in recent years come used to giving it pride of place on the window sill much to the exasperation of Mrs Hat. The match against Worsley was always going to be more of a coronation than a bloodthirsty fight to the finish…...
First to return was top board with the Worsley captain Adam defeating Francis for a second time in a month. Posting 2 pawns where it hurts Adam restricted Francis but just as Francis was unfurling his trapped troops a mistake was made and the resignation followed. A quick equaliser followed on my other side where Paul for Worsley was about to splice and dice Tony with a bishop pair plus Queen commanding the majority of an open board. Despite craning my neck I have no idea whether Paul overstretched or miscalculated but I do know that you can’t give our Tony a second chance. Marc on board 5 sometimes mercurial always enigmatic returns a ½ point against Matthew P. It looked like a Knight plus 3 against a Rook plus 1 so probably a fair result. Then there was our John previously unbeaten in the Stockport League with 11/12 but recently overtaken in the race for the Vic Knox Trophy. Obviously too emotional to focus after such devastating news it’s a loss against Damien and its now 1½ : 2½. I don’t know what happened in my game (no change there then). Young George + the Worsley team probably not experienced in the Fischer + incremental time controls (I’m guessing). I’ve won on time before but nothing like this. With the clock speeding down to zero like a scene from Pointless, George, several pawns up, failed by a split second to avoid the dreaded black flag. Its another match draw but more importantly a Well Done and CONGRATULATIONS TO WORSLEY!!
Is that it? enquires Mrs Hat. Yes, replies Man with Hat. The seasons come, the seasons go. Our race (Macc C) has been run but we still look for the outstanding Division 3 results that could see us finish in the top 2. Heartfelt thanks to all who played.
Your Servant,
Man with Hat
Swashbuckling debutant James Johnson produced an astonishing display of chess under pressure to save a point and keep the Division 3 title race alive. AAARgh, a horrible start as Tom commits a school boy error. 1-0 down with seconds gone. Well played Steve for spotting the error. It got worse as Man with Hat played his worst game for eons starting poorly getting worse then worser. Well played Mike for a comprehensive win and apologies as well for not giving you the game that you deserved. Its so early its yesterday and I’m already surveying the wreckage of a match that we desperately needed to win. No obvious signs of a win until Francis skilfully refutes his opponents attack. 1-2 and it’s the turn of the young pretender James of Macclesfield who politely asks MWH if a draw is OK. MWH replies that 2 wins would be nice (chuckles all round). James plays like an assured veteran in his first competitive match but then he over eggs it and loses a piece. Not to worry he has a big time advantage over VJ and just needs to play accurately under pressure and under the auspices of the baying mob. And I miss it, I’ve turned away and returned to find James has indeed unpicked VJ’s defences and was that a mate left hanging? No problem James still took a Queen for a Rook giving him a Queen V Rook and Bishop. I saw the bishop drop before I was called to the other game where the players had played out a couple of illegal moves. A big thank you to the Secretary for his guidance but by the time Geoff had altered the clocks Gentleman Bill and our Tony had shook hands. A horrible performance from MWH, wrong board, wrong colour, wrong opening, wrong opponent and too much Brexit – a perfect whine. All of which was balanced by a brilliant performance by James. Tony Lane met Tony Lane (in case you were wondering) and a point was rescued and the season is still alive (Mrs Hat has her hands on her hips and is definitely not amused)! Well played Altrincham and barring major upsets we hope to see you again next year.