Sale 1 - 4 Macclesfield `C`
Unable to find a Basil Fawlty branch to beat my non-starting car meant a dash to the bus stop in the cold, wet and windy. A bus ride to Macclesfield and there I met the team and a special thank you to Tom for agreeing to drive at short notice and to Dave M for driving me home. First to finish on Board 3 was Dave M who just gets more aggressive and better with every game. David S followed shortly after having made his pawn advantage pay in what could have been a tricky rook and pawn endgame - 2 nil to Macc. On Board 4 Tom had seized the initiative and then traded down to what should have been a winning king and pawn endgame. However, with the winning post in sight, a lapse of concentration and our beautiful game can be so unforgiving 2-1. Marc on top board has been inconsistent this season but he played an absolutely beautiful game against his erstwhile teammate Vijay bringing home the full point shortly after 9.20pm. That left the best part of an hour for Man with the Hat and his opponent to entertain the crowd in a surreal atmosphere. The Hat prevailed but only after several scares. This team is growing in confidence and stature with every game that we play and if we can maintain this sort of form then who knows where we will be come the end of April.
It seems a shame to expect Man With The Hat (aka The Crab) to fill all these pages – especially as his prowess at blog production seems to be deterring others, so here goes. The presence of Macclesfield A at the top of the div. 1 table on January 14 meant 100 days at the top – was I the only one having a drink to celebrate?!
Meanwhile the B team skipper has skilfully managed his forces to exceed this stat – it was Jan 7 when they reached 100 days at the top. I wondered why my personal form has collapsed in January – now you know – I've been finding too many excuses for a drink or several. J-P broke a record recently when he contacted me from Malaysia to report we had a late drop out from one of his teams and asked me to get a replacement. What dedication!!
The most recent outing saw me personally making my 3rd visit to Denton in just over 3 months. Believe me this trip is not really that attractive. You wouldn't want to take your holiday there anyway. (Only joking, Denton fans). Ant sadly went down early but then Dave avenged an earlier defeat by overwhelming Denton Skip Tim H. The secretary secured a boring draw, Phil Colville a more vital one. That left 2 of our more in form men, Tony S and The Cat himself, to battle for the win. Tony got his opponent sweating and it resulted in the latter running out of time. And what's this – can The Cat really win a rook ending from level material? Not a problem at all…..
Man with the Hat returns from his Tour of Duty (President’s Cup, Charnley Cup and Stoke League) hoping to lead his team to a 3rd consecutive win in Division 3 of the Stockport League. Apologies for the abridged version of events but with the `A` team playing in the same room it wasn’t easy to move about. Picture, if you dare, a middle-aged, slightly rotund gentleman breathing in and performing a crab-like manoeuvre in order to squeeze past his team mate. I did venture out on one occasion only to be drawn back by noticing that my opponent had played the move that I had hoped he might. For a welcome change, I finished first. My opponent either misjudged or missed completely the discovered threat from my fianchettoed bishop 1:0. Marc then signalled that he had lost on top board to the experienced John Kelly 1:1. The ever improving David S, still unbeaten in this season’s Stockport League, was next to declare. I heard others commenting that 3 pieces had been traded for a queen and when I glanced over it looked absolute carnage but David S prevailed. So, 2:1 to Macc and with 2 games to finish and 2 draws required we had 2 safe pairs of hands on the tiller. David M, who is becoming hard to beat, moved his hand faster than Billy the Kid when his opponent offered the draw. That left Pete on Board 2, a pawn to the good but aware of the match score, to agree his draw. 3:2 to Macc.