A Monday Night of Mixed Fortunes

Monday evening saw Macclesfield's chess players in action on two fronts, with the B team travelling to Altrincham whilst Club Championship action continued at the Queens Hotel.

Stockport League Division 3: Altrincham B 3½ - 1½ Macclesfield B

The B team faced a challenging evening away at Altrincham, ultimately falling to a 3½-1½ defeat. On board one, Jason Rice (1696) opted for chaos against the higher-rated Simon Calvert (1768), sacrificing a pawn in the Catalan to build a big centre and launch an attack. Unfortunately, the complications didn't quite deliver the knockout blow he was hoping for. Marcus Fothergill (1602) on board two attempted a back rank queen and rook shimmy against Anthony Lane (1692), but his opponent had sufficient escape squares and a dangerous passed pawn to defuse the threat. Board five saw Jenny Gartside (1337) lose to Tom Tomkins (1641).

The evening's bright spots came from the middle boards. Jake Darlington (1590) held James Lawrence (1619) to a draw on board three, whilst Denzil Lobo (1569) secured the team's sole victory with a win over Daniel Clucas (1600) on board four.

Club Championship Drama at the Queens

Back at the Queens Hotel, two Club Championship encounters provided plenty of entertainment. John-Paul Taylor (1802) locked horns with Joachim Trier (1737) in the sharp Marshall Attack of the Ruy Lopez. After weathering the initial tactical storm – JP confessed afterwards he hates the Marshall Attack – the A team captain emerged with two powerful central passed pawns. However, chess has a habit of punishing haste, and under time pressure JP pushed his d-pawn prematurely, allowing Joachim to force a peaceful draw. With that result, John-Paul joins Chris at the top of the leaderboard.

The second game saw Carl Gartside (1771) facing Anthony Brough (1761) in what quickly simplified to a rook and pawns endgame. Carl's two connected pawns gave him a slight edge, and he demonstrated excellent technique in pressing home the advantage. Despite Ant's attempts to create counterplay with an outside passed pawn, Carl's pawns proved the more dangerous, and he was able to convert the position into a full point.

The season continues with more fixtures to come. The full schedule can be found on the fixtures page, with the next game on Thursday, an away fixture for the North Staffordshire team at Holmes Chapel.