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.
Man with the Hat