The Macclesfield B team scored an unlikely victory last Monday against an in-form Wilmslow team. Whilst captain Tom finished early with a mistake found within the complexities of the Dragon Sicilian Yugoslav Attack, the rest of the team continued on, but soon things were looking tricky on Denzil's board, and almost lost on Marcus's.
With about 15 minutes left on each clock, Marcus's oppponent left a door open during a powerful attack, and Marcus dove in for the unlikely back-rank mate, winning the swindle of the night. Almost simulationiously, Denzil's opponent found himself in the vagaries of a tactical onslaught, and offered the hand of resignation. With Brian bringing home a peaceful result on board five, it was left to Geoff on board one to convert the 2½ - 1½ advantage, against his very strong opponent Michael Lamb and a very interesting position.
Ultimately Geoff was able to maintain composure and keep the tension on the board, pushing for a well won draw and a team win, leaving Macclesfield B with a solid finish in 6th place in SDCL Division 2.
Venue
It was discovered last week that our club venue The Silk Trader was unexpectedly closed. Apologies for any members or prospective members who attended and found the club to not be there. The club has been assured by the brewery that there will be a relief landlord starting this week and the club will be able to host the final fixtures of the season as well as the final club nights.
Macc A entertained East Cheshire on Monday 4th of March. The visitors had three strong players on the top boards and were able to take all 3 points there despite resistance from Gary, Carl, and especially J-P, who played the strangest game of the season so far. At one point he had 2 minor pieces and a rook for a queen, but also 3 pieces completely stuck.
At 10pm the secretary usually has a doze. For once however he entered an ending with six pawns each and also bishops of the same colour and forced his opponent into a zugzwang which cost the game. Ant had been a pawn down for a long spell when he pulled off a great combination to take down the hard-to-beat Jim M. Phil, on board 4, had to beat James and yet was in what looked to some of those spectating to be a very dodgy situation. With seemingly full control of his defensive resources and despite being very short of time he was able to get a pawn onto the 5th rank which his opponent had to acknowledge was unstoppable. Superb!
The previous week saw Macc B visiting Stockport B. Illness forced a very late change to the Macc team with the secretary standing in at the last moment. Stockport fought hard and took an early lead but Jake and Geoff gave the visitors an advantage. Dan on board 5 had the advantage for most of his game but resourceful defense from his opponent earned a draw. The stage was set for skipper Tom to find some excellent moves which stunned his opponent into late inaccuracies and earned a 3.5-1.5 win taking Macc to a mid-table position.
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 |