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?
With a few fewer strong players in the club this year it was always going to be difficult for Macclesfield in both leagues. Despite a good showing in the first round of the Charnley Cup, Macclesfield have yet to score a victory in either of the leagues. On the 6th of November, Macclesfield managed half a point against a wily Fenton side.
Macclesfield | 0.5 - 3.5 | Fenton |
C. Gartside (1885) | 0 - 1 | G. Acey (2054) |
J. Trier (1816) | 0 - 1 | A. Richardson (2019) |
P. Cattermole (1807) | 0 - 1 | S. Hill (1821) |
A. Brough (1753) | 0.5 - 0.5 | S. Emmerton (1564) |
In the Stockport Division 2 on the 13th of November, Macclesfield B team had a much stronger showing than in round 1, but sadly weren't able to get over the line.
Macclesfield B | 2 - 3 | East Cheshire B |
G. Laurence (1753) | 0.5 - 0.5 | J. McKie (1744) |
T. Moitié (1674) | 0.5 - 0.5 | D. Taylor (1609) |
D. Lobo (1641) | 0 - 1 | S. McCall (1590) |
M. Fothergill (1500) | 0 - 1 | E. Cooke (1476) |
D. Barnes (1500) | 1 - 0 | K. Hodgson (1322) |
And back in the NSDCA on Tuesday the team travelled to Crewe, where Joachim recorded an excellent win against a strong opponent, but it was unfortunately not enough to record a victory for the team.
Crewe B | 1 - 3 | Macclesfield |
L. Farringdon (2049) | 0 - 1 | J. Trier (1816) |
C. Barwick (1854) | 1 - 0 | P. Cattermole (1807) |
S. Layhe (1912) | 1 - 0 | Geoff Laurence (1708) |
C. Pereira (1825) | 1 - 0 | A. Brough (1753) |
The Club Championship and Pomeroy Cup has picked up pace. Carl started his campaign with a win against Ant, whilst Ant has taken a win from Geoff. Tom has put his first points up on the board with a draw against Joachim.
With wins against Brian, Dan and Jenny, Marcus has made his way to the top of the leaderboard in the Pomeroy Cup. Denzil is also yet to lose, so will Marcus be able to maintain the lead?