Another bad day at the office for Macc C sees their Division 2 status hanging by a thread. However 3 draws and no wins doesn’t really tell the whole story. PhilCo was inconsolable after failing to execute a planned mate against Dave K and spent most of the night on the phone to the Samaritans having reversed the charges. Tony sliced and diced his opponent Daniel netting a piece before blundering it back only to regain the advantage but allowing a perpetual. Marc also burst through his opponent Paul’s defences grabbing the Queen but at a cost of a Rook and a Knight. With pawns on the board this should have been a win but when the pawns dropped so did any chance of the full point. John played an assured game keeping ice cool in a sub 5 minute finish to secure a draw against Andrew (joint winner of the Stockport Rapidplay minor). David S appeared to be struggling from early on against a tough opponent in Howard H and as for Man with Hat well I’ll be brief. I played the Pirc for a good many years so why do I struggle playing against it? I spectacularly failed to hold the middle of the board, I miscalculated a combination and then was outplayed in the endgame. I thought my endgame was getting better, obviously not. Well played to my opponent Richard who played much better than I and well played to Chorlton who won well despite encountering traffic problems on the way to the Queens Hotel stadium. Onwards and downwards we go and MWH can look forward to some self-flagellation. Now that has brought a smile to Mrs Hat’s face!
Man with Hat