The new season is upon us, its dark at 8 so let the hibernating begin. Time to hunker down for the winter months with a mug of cocoa and some crumpled up scoresheets from previous seasons.
Stoke league fixtures have been posted, the Annual Fixtures Meeting of the Stockport league has been scheduled and consultation on the internal club championship seems to be meandering towards the successful conclusion few would have predicted at its outset. An outpouring of collective responsibility is all that is now required to deliver an outstanding club championship.
Man with Hat continues to captain the C team and steadfastly refuses to blame his alarming loss of form on any of the multitude of idiots (officialdom) that have plagued him over the last 12 months (a rolling of the eyes from Mrs Hat)!
A big welcome to Francis and Carl, two tough players both tempered in the furnace of tournament chess. Man with Hat has played alongside both when playing for Denton and Buxton respectively and both will prove to be enormous assets to the club. Carl scored 4/5 and a share of 2nd prize in the British Championships (U160) this year. An equally warm welcome to any other new members, I’m sure that Man with Hat will meet you soon enough.
Almost there, just waiting for the outcome of the Stockport Fixtures meeting (what could possibly go wrong)!
Let the good times roll!
Man with Hat having definitely NOT spent all week waiting for these is pleased to publicise that the new grades are now out.
http://www.ecfgrading.org.uk/new/menu.php#
put in browser or just google ECF gradings
Have fun
MWH
New Grades are now on Our Members page on this website
Webmaster
Mr Hat knows how to spoil a woman and so it was on a scorching hot summer’s day that Mr + Mrs Hat decide to travel to the Eastside or Ashton by IKEA to be precise. Not one for being late, Mrs H insisted that we set off in the middle of the night which was just as well as we needed to circumnavigate road closures in Disley and Bredbury before a couple of laps of Ashton town centre and an unguided tour of a housing estate before arriving in good time to secure one of the remaining car parking spaces.
Round 1 and I am drawn against Rachel H, a dangerous opponent with an excellent chess pedigree. I showed too much of my kingside but escaped to counter Phew! Round 2 and I play the Grob against the eventual winner – I get battered!! At this juncture I spot a familiar face – PhilCo has arrived as I suspected that he might but more about him later. The story now is of Mrs H leading the way in her section with 2/2. Too much pressure and 2/2 becomes 2/3. I play an opponent who made the same mistake that he made 2 years ago. Unfortunately for me, I forget the winning continuation and get into a right old pickle before limping over the line with a checkmate and 2 seconds left on the clock!
Round 4 and I am pushing the wood around in a Ruy Lopez (having ditched the Grob)! when suddenly I remember a trrraaaapp! Too late! Somehow I manage to turn this around and redeem myself and it’s 3 out of 4 and back in the running. Round 5 and I’m absolutely battered by one of the section favourites having castled right into the eye of the storm. Having lost only to the two leaders a final round win wouldn’t have seemed too bad but it was a tired performance from Man with Hat. Well played to Phil from Urmston though for outplaying me in a Rook and Pawn endgame.
Macclesfield represented in all 3 sections and the plaudits go to PhilCo in the top section with 4/6. Man with Hat scored 3/6 with Mrs Hat a very creditable 3/6. An aggregate plus score for the Macc contingent and a reminder to MWH that PhilCo needs to play on a higher board next season!
A big up to Dave and Glen for organising this event. 3 sections all under 150, no landscaped gardens, no posh hotels, nothing for the 4NCL Taliban. Just Tameside grit and I loved it!