- Tom Moitié
- Sep 5, 2024
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!
- Geoff Laurence
- Jun 5, 2024
Macclesfield travelled to Crewe for the U1825 cup final following a very unsuccessful league campaign which culminated in last place. Skipper Phil however has captained this team for ages in the hope of someday winning a cup and he was seeing the positives. "We haven't even lost a single board in reaching the final," he noted.
Joachim took top board. Sadly his beloved car is confined to a garage and the resulting upset affected him, first blood to Crewe. On board 3, Ant learn't that news of his becoming Macclesfield champion has spread far and wide and he was steered to a safe draw by his opponent. On board 2, J-P was out to redeem his season. In depth analysis ahead of the game made him realise he'd forgotten all his openings. The remedy he decided was that he has to think from move 1. When he took the notable scalp of Karl that made it 1.5 each.
Phil on board 5, played an attacking game and was rewarded when accurate play won a piece and put Macc 2.5-1.5 up. This left the secretary, and when the clock reached 10pm teammates began to show concern that he'd get dozy again. This time he'd wisely ordered a strong coffee however and he ground down David to secure the 3.5-1.5 win.
Rumour has it that celebrations continued in the Cattermole household long into the night. Let's hope he got into work OK next day!
- Tom Moitié
- May 6, 2024
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.