Macc C's unbeaten run continued last night. Despite being heavily outgraded on every board by a mindboggling 198 aggregate and 33 mean average the Macc lads returned with what could be a critical point come the end of the season.
So many trips to the Hyperbole Hypermarket last season that I practically emptied the shelves but this performance was out of this Universe. Man with Hat is not one to go on and on and on but we were heavily outgraded on every board with their lowest graded player 12 points higher than our highest graded etc etc. Having picked Altys pocket back at the ranch, was it too much to hope that we could leave enemy territory with some reward?
The pre-match talk in the Altrincham camp was whether or not we could expect the eagerly awaited clash of Tony Lane v Tony Lane. Alas, not this time as our Tony Lane was unavailable. First to declare on the night was young Tom who was unable to overcome a 50 points grading difference going down to the wily Bill Mac. Most brilliant performance of the night came from Marc who obliterated his opponent`s king-side defences. Marc left the room and came back to see the Alty veteran’s king had been laid down to signal that he knew the inevitability of the next few moves. 1-1 and our Pete offered a draw to Tony Lane (their Tony Lane not ours – keep up Ed). Tony then had a long look at the other boards (wow Alty were taking this seriously for real- some people eh). A draw was agreed. Then the performance of the night from Joachim who overcame a 41 points difference to put us ahead. More games like that and his 95 rating will soon disappear. I had tried to take a peek at the finish of Joachim’s game but ESP dragged me back to my own board where I had a solid position against Reg. Ant had drawn the short straw of the night playing a solid opponent who had already this season accounted for both Man with Hat and the Kool Kat. As Ant’s position slowly worsened I made a draw offer at an appropriate moment that was accepted by the Altrincham skipper.
3-3 and an unexpected point. The dream lives on.
Thanks to Altrincham for 6 great games played in a friendly spirit.
The Macc Lads started their tour of the Stockport & District League on Tuesday 21st Feb. 6 gigs with just the one date back at the ranch on the 10th April. Chorlton were first up, more Glastonbury than the Apollo, but on the road again we were with special thanks to Pete C for driving the tour bus. A big thanks also to Denzil and Ant for playing at short notice especially as they were playing the night before. The Macclesfield club had fielded 4 full teams with 21 boards and 19 different players in a little over 24 hours!
A strong Chorlton cup side had thrashed what was effectively a Macc B side on the Monday and all of their players from that match were eligible for this match against Macc C the following evening. How many though would be watching Champions League football? A cursory glance at the opposition and I was musing that we would probably need to take 2 ½ points from the bottom 3 boards and, having demoted myself several boards, I was counting myself in this equation (see below if you must)!
First to declare was Ant who was struggling for most of the match having dropped a piece early on. The King of Swindles was unable to come back against the experienced Graham P although an audible gasp of relief from the Chorlton player was enough to suggest that he had stumbled rather than sprinted over the line. Denzil then secured a half point against Peter H, the significance of which was not apparent at the time. Man with Hat was happy with his opening but his `plan` and I use that word loosely was not nearly as simple, effective and well executed as his opponents plan so well played Gary J and we’ll move (very) swiftly on. I was still surveying the wreckage of my game when I overheard the Chorlton skipper exclaim `that’s it we’ve lost`! The other 3 games, all close when I last looked, had finished almost simultaneously and all 3 in our favour. No time to feverishly pace up and down, we were done and we’d won again 3 on the spin. PhilCo had a large spatial advantage in the opening and his counter attacking opponent, Phil B’ had done well to come out of it only a pawn down but in a Knight and Bishop endgame PhilCo pressured the Chorlton captain into blundering the game after allowing PhilCo’s knight to fork King and Bishop. PhilCo continues to tap into a rich seam of good form, well played! I didn’t see Marc’s opening, d4 possibly? However I did recognise the board as being in a position that Marc would revel in and I wasn’t too surprised to learn of his victory over Andrew S. 2 ½ points from 3 for Marc since he vacated the top boards so a well played to him. Finally congratulations to Pete C who had too much guile for his youthful opponent, Andrew B, whose rapid grade rise has been noted by this eagle eyed blogger.
The Hat has now gone a long time without a win, seasons have come and gone, grandchildren have grown up and children have not and alas still no win for the Man with Hat. Only Mrs Hat had gone longer without a win but when I returned home I didn’t need to ask how her match that night had concluded as her cheek to cheek smile said it all. If you really know what love is, then it’s all worth living for!
In atrocious driving conditions our opponents travelled across the county for this Cheshire derby with Macclesfield C aiming to build on last week’s success with the visit of Altrincham A. Super Philco, fresh from his looting of the prize money at Stockport and Frodsham was the first to declare having got the better of an opponent 28 grading points higher. I’ve tended to stay sat down much more in recent weeks putting my journalistic ambitions to one-side and trying instead to win an occasional game. I did however sneak a peek at Board 5 where Dave M had opened up his opponents defences and sure enough a second win was recorded for the Macc Lads. Marc was next to finish agreeing a draw with his old adversary Bill. Next to me Tony and Reg seemed to be pushing the wood to little effect when an attack by the former led to a forced mate. This was game over in record breaking time. Even when Tom confessed to losing to Stephen on Board 6, Man with Hat was still giddy at the result that it clearly affected his play. Truth was I played a poor game but well played to my opponent Mark who outplayed me when watched by his team mates who presumably were by now looking forward to an early night.
So the Macc C bandwagon rolls on and we move albeit temporarily to the dizzy heights of third. We have now played everyone bar Chorlton and with the exception of Macc B competed well. However, most of the results in this division have been close and we do have 5 away games to negotiate. Watch this space!