Both Carl and J-P had a chance to deny Ant a solo victory in the Club Championship, but on the 22nd of January, both fell at the first hurdle, with Carl unable to best underdog Tom in a crazy back and forth game, and J-P falling to Geoff. With no more games left to play for Ant, the results mean that the Club Champship victory is now confirmed! Joachim settled the remainder of the fixtures with a win and a loss, putting a close to this season's Club Championship.
In the Pomeroy Cup, Denzil played Marcus to decide the overall winner. Marcus was able to convert with the black pieces, meaning he finishes the competition unbeaten, and will take the Cup victory!
The Secretary's Quickplay has now started, with 10 entries across two groups. It is a 20 minute time control with 10 seconds increment, and entrants play each other twice each with the black and white pieces. Registration remains open - if any club member would like to enter, please email Geoff with your intent.
League results
NSDCA - 29th January
Macclesfield | 1½ - 2½ | Holmes Chapel A |
|---|---|---|
Gartside, Carl | ½ - ½ | Bennett, Patrick |
Trier, Joachim | 0 - 1 | Turner, John M |
Cattermole, Philip J | 0 - 1 | Ewens, John P |
Laurence, Geoff | 1 - 0 | Roberts, Malcolm A |
NSDCA - 13th February
Fenton A | 3½ - ½ | Macclesfield A |
|---|---|---|
Acey, Gerald | 1 - 0 | Trier, Joachim |
Floresc, Petru | 1 - 0 | Cattermole, Philip J |
Hill, Steve R | ½ - ½ | Brough, Anthony RW |
Capatina, Kasian | 1 - 0 | Fothergill, Marcus |
SDCL Div 1 - 6th February
Stockport A | 5 - 1 | Macclesfield A |
|---|---|---|
Beardsworth, Allan | 1 - 0 | Smith, Gary P |
Longson, Sarah N | 1 - 0 | Taylor, John Paul J |
Pink, Joshua | ½ - ½ | Trier, Joachim |
Stoker, Andrew J | 1 - 0 | Brough, Anthony RW |
Crowther, Michael P | ½ - ½ | Laurence, Geoff |
Coe, Andy Laurence | 1 - 0 | Lobo, Denzil P |
SDCL Div 2 - 31st January
Ashton | 4 - 1 | Macclesfield B |
|---|---|---|
Elgar, Tim | 1 - 0 | Brough, Anthony RW |
McBeath, Joel | 1 - 0 | Moitié, Tom |
De Silva, Sithun | 0 - 1 | Fothergill, Marcus |
Keech, Paul | 1 - 0 | Barnes, Daniel |
Vaddhireddy, Sai | 1 - 0 | Gartside, Jenny |
On Monday after a postponement of the Eccles fixture, Ant took on Tom and Carl took on J-P in the Club Championship. Ant leapt on a couple of early mistakes in the opening by Tom which left Tom with a sad pawn structure and eventually down an exchange by move 20. With the nice advantage, Ant did not let up and prosecuted white's weaknesses and took home a relatively easy win.
Ant has now finished all his games, with 4 wins and 1 loss. After J-P took home a win against Carl on the other board, that means both Carl and J-P have 2 wins and 1 loss each. Either would need to win out to secure joint first place and a playoff with Ant.
Club Championship as it stands
Rank | Name | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A. Brough | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
2 | C. Gartside | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
2 | J-P. Taylor | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
4 | G. Laurence | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
5 | J. Trier | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
6 | T. Moitié | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Carl is yet to play Tom and Joachim, whilst J-P is yet to play Geoff and Joachim.
Pomeroy Cup
Denzil played and won against Jenny, setting up a final match against Marcus that will decide the 2023-24 Pomeroy Cup.
Rank | Name | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | D. Lobo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
1 | M. Fothergill | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
3 | D. Barnes | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
3 | J. Gartside | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
5 | B. Woodhall | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
League results
Macclesfield have now got a point in each of the competitions, with draws in the NSDCA and SDCL Division 1.
SDCL Div 1 - 4th January
Urmston A | 3 - 3 | Macclesfield A |
J. Hill | ½ - ½ | G. Smith |
D. Owen | ½ - ½ | J-P. Taylor |
D. Newell | 0 - 1 | J. Trier |
A. Robinson | 1 - 0 | A. Brough |
L. O | 0 - 1 | G. Laurence |
T. Wilson | 1 - 0 | D. Lobo |
NSDCA - 8th January
Macclesfield | 2 - 2 | Alsager A |
G. Smith | 0 - 1 | S. Hood |
J. Trier | 1 - 0 | J. Booth |
P. Cattermole | ½ - ½ | S. Blackburn |
G. Laurence | ½ - ½ | J. Blackburn |
The Pollard Cup Quickplay competition is back this week, on Monday 18th December at 7:30pm. The entrance fee is £2 and the fees will be returned to the top scoring participants in the form of prizes. Dan Barnes took a spectacular 4.5 points last time around and leads the competition, with Joachim one point behind, and a whole host of players sat on three points. Will Dan be able to maintain his lead?
More information is available on the Quickplay Championship page, along with details of how the time odds handicap is operated. All are welcome, if necessary Denzil will assign you an estimated grade before the start of the competition.
This will be the final club night of the year, with the club re-opening on Monday 8th January 2024.
Leagues
The Macclesfield B team scored an unlikely tie this week to put their first points on the table in the SDCL second division. Unfortunately Denzil's opponent in time trouble forgot to press his clock after offering a draw which gifted Macclesfield a well needed point. It serves as a timely reminder of the draw offer procedure - make your move, ask your opponent if they would like a draw, then hit the clock. After which they can spend as long as they like (on their time) to consider your benevolent offer!
Meanwhile in the NSDCA we were kindly joined by Gary Smith for the first time, who quickly and deftly dispatched his opponent on Friday night.
This result and others are listed below.
NSDCA Division 1 - 4th December 2023
Macclesfield | 1 - 3 | Crewe A |
Carl Gartside | 0 - 1 | Martin Burns |
Joachim Trier | ½ - ½ | Harry Gardiner |
Anthony Brough | 0 - 1 | Andrew Raeburn |
Geoff Laurence | ½ - ½ | Karl Lockett |
SDCL Division 2 - 11th December 2023
Macclesfield B | 2.5 - 2.5 | Altrincham |
Tom Moitié | 0 - 1 | Anthony Lane |
Denzil Lobo | 1 - 0 | Richard White |
Jake Darlington | 1 - 0 | Thomas Hague |
Marcus Fothergill | 0 - 1 | William McCartney |
Brian Woodhall | ½ - ½ | Alan Tyson |
NSDCA Division 1 - 15th December 2023
Cheddleton A | 3 - 1 | Macclesfield |
Simon Edwards | 0 - 1 | Gary Smith |
Philip Birks | 1 - 0 | Anthony Brough |
Karol Grzybowski | 1 - 0 | Geoff Laurence |
Roger Edwards | 1 - 0 | Tom Moitié |
Club Competitions
Ant has now climbed to the top of the Club Championship leaderboard, with a win against Joachim with the black pieces, and one game to go. With three games yet to play, Carl remains the most likely to overhaul that lead as he is yet to lose a game.
Marcus holds the lead of the Pomeroy Cup and is also yet to lose. Could his match against Denzil be a crucial decider?