Just a point required to be crowned champions of Division 3. Macclesfield `C` entertain Altrincham `B` in the basement of a community hall – with Zamba classes being held upstairs!! For those not familiar, the beat and more pertinently the loudness is somewhere between the Notting Hill Carnival and that other one in Rio. Mercifully, it ended at 9pm. Tom was first to finish with a win. Having struggled with his form in recent weeks, this was a gutsy performance to win when it mattered most. Next was Marc looking to avenge a defeat he suffered at the beginning of last month. Having engineered a passed pawn advantage, he was on top in a Queen & Double Rook ending when his opponent under pressure blundered and allowed Marc to fork his rooks. On hearing the 2-0 scoreline, Dave M exchanged a solid and promising position for an agreed championship winning draw. Objective secured in an almost anti-climatic way. David S, having fended off a vicious Kingside attack then went on to win his game meaning that the match had now been won. The only blip was Man with the Hat who played poorly throughout but full credit and congratulations to my opponent who did play well and thoroughly deserved his win. There was still time for the championship winning captain to be carried shoulder high down to the Queens Hotel where a guard of honour had been formed to throw Man with Hat into a bath full of champagne after he nodded off, contented and with a glass of scotch in his hand.
A special thanks to Jenny Soames for booking the venue at short notice and to the Altrincham team for being good sports when confronted with the cacophony that greeted them.