The C team becomes the B team

Since the club is running three instead of four teams this year members of the C team will be pleased to note that they have been promoted to membership of the B team ! Winning the Stockport  Division 3 proved not to be possible so we adopted this easier route to promotion instead.

ECB - League Champions!

We had our last match of the season last night against Chorlton B and we knew that we just needed to pick up one game point on the night (one win or 2 draws) to clinch the League 2 title.  Obviously, nothing could go wrong, could it? ..... well, as it happened Chorlton gave us a real run for our money.

Steve Tr  0  Dave Kierman (150)  1
This game ignited into life and became a really crazy affair and unfortunately Dave's runaway h pawn ended up winning the day.

Geoff B  1  Paul Harnett (138)  0
Geoff was up against the Englund Gambit and it seemed a fairly level game until his opponent kindly dropped a piece and Geoff was able to finish it off.

Paul  1/2  Daniel Otto (137)  1/2
I managed to get an attack in (a rarity this season) but my opponent defended well and I couldn't finish it off and had to settle for a draw.

David T  1/2  Phil Bennett (122)  1/2
David maintained his unbeaten record this season, although he was happy to take a draw in this one in what turned out to be an inferior position.

Tudor  1  Howard Hughes (120)  0
Tudor seemed to have the best of the opening but then went a pawn down and was offered a draw.  The game continued and Tudor then went on to find a swindle to claim the full point.  He's been our trump card this season on the lower boards winning an amazing 8.5 out of 9! 

Roy T  0  Joel Prittie (100)  1
Roy looked solid in this until late on when unfortunately he inadvertently lost a piece.

So we managed to draw the match 3 - 3 on the night and that's enough for us to win the title by a clear point.  A big thank you for everyone who turned out for us this season.  We're normally fighting against relegation so this season has been a pleasant change.  This is only the start of it of course and we just need to find a rich Arab benefactor and we'll take Division 1 by storm... !

ECB 5 - 1 Marple B

On a sweltering evening we managed to keep our cool last night and came up with some good finishing in a tense match.  The scoreline flattered us a bit and at one stage it looked like we were going to be lucky to draw the match at best.

John Reed  0  Andy Jenkins (140)  1
It can happen to the best of us.  An oversight by John let his opponent in for an unstoppable attack.

Geoff B  1  Terry Cowling (131)  0
Geoff got off to a flier and was 2 pawns up but then it became awkward and he had to give a pawn back before finishing it off.

Paul  1  David Preen (129)  0
In a tight game it looked like it was an even endgame but I managed to fix a weakness on his b pawn then come up with a tactic to force my a pawn through.

Keven  1  Chris Baker (126)  0
As usual Kev varied his opening and this Sicilian led to a very exciting game.  Kev was a pawn down but had more activity, particularly with his R's, and was eventually able able to sac a R on the h file to set up an unstoppable mate.

Jim  1  Tony Kay (124)  0
Jim also was a pawn down but had a strong "dragon" B.  He was later able to create an advanced passed pawn which caused his opponent to panic and Jim won easily at the end in a time scramble.

Tudor  1  Jeff Barlow (101)
Our secret weapon on board 6 gives us a 1 - 0 head start every match (no pressure on the next game Tudor!)  This time he created pressure and then struck with a N fork winning a Q.

So, we're sitting pretty at the top of the table and just need a draw from our last match to clinch the title - and if Altrincham drop any points in the meantime in their last 2 matches we've won anyway.

ECB 4.5 - 1.5 Macc C

We hosted bottom of the table Macclesfield C last night and this was a match we expected to win.  Having said that, they have picked up a few points from their last few matches and they didn't make it easy for us either.  Brief details:

John  1  Francis Moan (144)  0
This was the last to finish and Francis hung in there well until the pressure finally told and John picked up material late on.

Geoff B  1  Anthony Brough (140)  0
Geoff won a piece fairly early on and it counted in the end.

Paul  1/2  Joachim Trier (123)
I was a pawn up in a R + P ending but it got complicated (for me) and I had to settle for a draw.

Keven  1/2  Phil Caulkett (118)
Kev unleashed his pet opening and had some play before it fizzled out in to a middle game draw.

David T  1/2  Mick Renshaw (117)
Dependable David maintained his unbeaten record for the B's this season with another solid performance.

Tudor  1  Marc Jouannet (119)
Two attacking players slugged it out before Tudor found a winning attack against his tricky opponent for another good win.

This win sends us back to the top of the table and with just two games left it's all to play for.

Chrolton B 1.5 - 4.5 ECB

Report from Tudor: .....

Pleased to report great result. John Reed suffered unexpected defeat. Default on board six helped but not decisive. (Non playing Chorlton 'gentleman John' Horner stayed to give William a game).

I managed to convert a pawn up into pressure before a blunder gave immediate resignation.

Geoff survived a complex game by mix of strategy and accurate defense 

One Steve broke though with monster attack on QS 

The other drifted into K and B versus K, Kt, and Pawn ending with distinct losing changes but survived.

Playing conditions up to normal standards ...

Heroes one and all.

Now for Stockport aces.

1 - 0  Hooman Escandari (123) v John

0 - 1  Howard Hughes (120) v Geoff B

0 - 1  James Crawford (100) v Tudor

1/2    Joel Prittie (100) v Steve Tatlock

0 - 1  Anthony Fagan (93) v Steve McCall

0 - 1  DEFAULT v Will

1.5 - 4.5

Altrincam A recently lost to Wilmslow which means that the chance (or do I mean danger) of promotion is now in our own hands.  We have 3 league matches left, all at home.

Altrincham A 1 - 5 ECB

On another cold night (inside and out) we made the trip last night to Altrincham who are possibly our main competition for the title this year.  As usual there were some hard fought games but we came through well in the end.

Mark Hann (169)  1/2  John  1/2
John had a slight edge with good central control and 20 minutes up on the clock but with no pawn levers to open up the position he settled for a draw.

Mark Whalley (142)  0  Steve T  1
Steve was facing an in form opponent who has won 6 out of 6 so far this season (including a win against me, so he's obviously top notch).  Mark was determined not to play a normal Dutch position and came up with a novelty where he had 4 pieces on the 1st rank and his king on the 3rd.  Steve eventually found a way through to win a pawn and then simplify to win the endgame.

Sheraz Khalil (132)  0  Geoff B  1
Geoff unleashed his pet opening and his greater knowledge lured his opponent in to a trap to get a commanding position for a quick win.

Anthony Lane (138)  1/2  Paul  1/2
I was able to mess up his kingside with double isolated pawns which looked pretty good.  But when the queens came off quickly followed by the rooks I suddenly realised that, with play on both sides, his B was looking better than my N and when he offered a draw I accepted.

Michael Davies (110)  0  David T  1
This was looking a very tight game for a long time before David managed to open it up and win a pawn and then force his opponent into a mistake.

Bill McCartney (122)  0  Tudor  1
Tudor got a great position with a good B and an imposing N on a good outpost and won 2 pawns.  He then won a further pawn and showed his good technique to finish it off.

So this win actually puts us top of the table.  We won't be getting carried away just yet though and the champagne will remain on ice until the fat lady sings....

Wilmslow 1.5 - 4.5 ECB

On a cold night we made the trip to surprise league leaders Wilmslow.  At the pre-match huddle the instructions were simple - we needed to win board 1, lose board 2 and win the lower boards.  The game plan was executed to perfection!

As we settled into the match we were serenaded by the Wilmslow Ladies choir singers on a practice night in the room next to us.  In the bar room on the other side we could hear the exploits of Deulofeu and co who were giving Chelsea a good thrashing.  This wasn't going to put us off though, and we had the compensation on playing on the finest wooden boards in the league.

Tudor got us off to a great start.  He was the exchange up and then started causing havoc with R and N forcing resignation. In my game I got outfoxed by my opponent and wasn't sure what his opening was going to transpose into and I got my set up wrong and didn't really get much play.  Meanwhile Keven secured an extremely valuable half.  He had offered a draw some time earlier but Colin was hoping to find something special until Kev found a strong threat which had to dealt with and a draw was agreed.

Jim was playing against a debutant who had won his class in the Christmas Buzzer event at the Ladybrook and is clearly going to develop into a useful player.  The experienced Jim though was too canny on the night and built up a big material advantage and had a menacing pawn on the 7th rank and achieved a winning attack.  David T is proving very consistent this season and in a tight battle he came up with a tactic which won the game.

So we had the points in the bag by this stage but John's game was going down to the wire and he was unaware of the match position.  This had been a very complex affair from soon after the start and I can't really explain what was going on towards the end.  It seemed like it was one of those games when pawn numbers didn't matter but quality did.  John had an advantage on time and appeared to be slowly gaining control of more squares around Kevin's king.  Kevin eventually cracked under time pressure (Wilmslow don't use Fischer!) and John was able to mop up and win an extremely exciting and tense game.

It was a much needed win for us against a team who on paper we should beat, but as always nothing is guaranteed and it was a good overall performance.  Next up is a crunch match against Altrincham who are probably our main contenders for the title.......

0 - 1  Kevin Moran (164) v John 
1 - 0  Richard Evans (159) v Paul
1/2    Colin Mills (150) v Keven
0 - 1  David Mowat (115) v David T
0 - 1  Robin Warhurst (102) v Tudor
0 - 1  Mike Craven (100) v Jim
1.5 - 4.5
 

Marple B 3 - 3 ECB

Last night's match featured two B teams for clubs who don't have A teams!  Over the last few years playing against the Marple first team was a formidable task with all their titled players but this year their stars have moved on to pastures new.  They still put out a decent team last night - although grading wise we were favorites.

John had an entertaining well fought game game in his contest but had to be content with a draw.  In my game I thought I had the edge but in the end was happy with a draw and then the ever reliable David T also weighed in with a draw.

At this point it was looking good with Geoff B and Jim both looking in good shape.  Unfortunately though Geoff was tempted to take an extra pawn which turned out to be poisonous as a few moves later he was left with the choice of either losing his Q or being mated.  It's a tough game!

Meanwhile Steve Mc had gone a pawn up but his position was awkward and with time trouble issues was happy to settle for a draw.  The match therefore rested on Jim who needed to win for us to draw on the night - no pressure then.  He was a pawn up in an endgame and after some patient maneuvering was able to make it count and claim the full point.

Next up is the trip to Chorlton on December 19th and then a Charnley Cup semi to be arranged probably in January.

1/2    Paul Kirby (154) v John
1 - 0  Alan Hall (151) v Geoff B
1/2    Andy Jenkins (142) v Paul
1/2    Chris Baker (126) v David T
0 - 1  Tony Doust (105) v Jim
1/2    Martin Cutts (108) v Steve Mc
3 - 3

Macc c 1 - 5 ECB

Keven's report below (with a postcript from Tudor) on a great much needed win by the B team...

Under the inspirational leadership of former ‘Captain Kev’, with such useful orders as “ don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes”, we comprehensively defeated a relatively weak but decidedly pleasant Macc C.

# Mike Renshaw 0    John Reed 1   -- comfortable win against a rather improvised hybrid Benoni defence.

# Tony Lane 0         Geoff Brindle 1 ---- Geoff’s employed his beloved b6 system and beat off a rather overly ambitious Kings-side attack and quickly tuned the tables forcing resignation.

# Marc Jouannet 0   KRH 1 – A tricky customer Marc, who also used the b6 English Defence and threw everything at me but positionally I had a strong hold on the game and took my own tactical chances to force an easy win.

# John Astley 0    David Taylor 1 ---  David tried to deploy his favourite Nimzo but his opponent didn’t oblige and a a rather slow QP game ensued. Latterly  White rushed his end game and crumpled into defeat.

# Tom Robson 0   Tudor Rickards 1   -- didn’t see the game but Tudor with the white pieces played his standard QP stuff and clearly won convincingly.

# Alan Cope 1  Jim McKie 0 --  strange game, a sort of passive unorthodox Sicilian where Jim won a quick pawn. He then lost the exchange and elected  to defensively hunker down and allow the pawn structure to get locked. But he got ground down by Mr Cope’s ‘mogadon’ strategy and ultimately his opponent found a way to break though and force a win.

Captain Kev ---  retired . (again) 

Quiz – name a Chess Club in the Stockport & District league that Francis Moan has not been a member of ?? !!!!

First prize a ticket to see Stockport County’s U21  team. Second prize = two tickets !!!


Tudor's comments !....

"Still stands the clock?"

"Er, yes, unfortunately"

Age shall not weary them, the East Cheshire pensioners. Conscripted again, Cap'n Kev retains his awesome leadership characteristics.

One further story of our glorious victory. The swanky new clocks at Macc Served to defeat the efforts of some the home side to crack the code permitting the required Fischer time limits of the match.

Increasingly frenzied efforts went unrewarded.  After four moves, the clocks at my board showed we had both added  half an hour each of time, and gaining by the move.

The efforts to correct this were rather like resetting the clock in the car to from Summer Time recently, more trial and error than accomplished know-how.

Unlike in the poem, the clocks eventually tired of toying with their operators, and the games began. 

By then, Cap'n Kev was well into walloping his opponent, and the seeds of our glorious victory had been sowed.

ECB 1 - 5 Wilmslow

It was as though Halloween had come a week early as we experienced a horror show against the surprise runaway league leaders.  It was just one of those nights.  I was chatting to their captain after the match and he admitted that at 9.30 he thought that we were going to win by at least 4 - 2.  Sadly that didn't happen and by soon after 10.00 it had all turned pear shaped - or should that be pumpkin shaped.

We gave a warm welcome back to David Broadbent who was making his first return to the Institute in Wilmslow colours.  He started well and was in a good position but David T again showed his Houdini qualities and earned a good draw.

In my game I got a strong attack in and sacrificed a bishop which meant Colin had to offer me a rook in return to stay in the game.  I would be an exchange and a pawn up in a completely winning position.  However, I saw a "clever" move which would win a further pawn before I took his rook.  Unfortunately this wasted tempi gave him a defensive resource and it just meant I was a piece down for a couple of pawns.  Lesson to myself:  just play in a practical way when in a winning position instead of looking for smart arse moves, especially when behind on the clock!

Jim had flown home from the other side (of the world) earlier in the day but showed no sign of jet lag.  He had good pressure against his opponent's king but unfortunately his flag fell trying to find the killer move.  Keven also lost on time.  He too was piling on the pressure and trying to make a breakthrough but his opponent defended well and ran down the clock well.

Tudor was in a tight match that evolved into a rook and pawn endgame.  He had a good time advantage and was hoping to convert the full point but, at about the fifth draw offer, reluctantly settled for the half point -  which probably was the right thing to do in the position.

The match was already lost but John was a pawn up in his minor piece endgame.  The pawn advantage then disappeared but he was still in a winning position.  His bishop was en prise and John was calculating several moves ahead as to how best to win when.... inadvertently....he touched the king, with his bishop of course hanging.  Nobody actually noticed that he had touched his king but in a moment of sportsmanship not seen since Jimmy White against Stephen Hendry, he felt compelled to move his king and therefore resigned.

So all in all a very frustrating evening.  Despite all our early tricks we ended up treating them to a scoreline which really flattered them.  Never mind, I have the feeling that a long winning run is just around the corner (as Ronald Koeman was saying just before the sack...)

0 - 1  John v Kevin Moran (164)
0 - 1  Keven v Richard Evans (155)
0 - 1  Paul v Colin Mills (150)
1/2    David T v Dave Broadbent (140)
1/2    Tudor v Mike Palmer (118)
0 - 1  Jim v Robin Warhurst (102)
1 - 5

ECB 3.5 - 2.5 Altincham A

Our last match of the season saw us take on Altrincham A, which was effectively a play off for the runners up spot.

First to finish was the draw specialist, David T.  After touching the wrong piece (and having to move it) on move 5 he did particularly well this time to recover and earn a draw.  Tudor played a very active opening as black and in his usual swashbuckling style soon had a central pawn up to the 6th rank trapping a bishop.  My opponent allowed me control of the dark squares around his king which set me up for good attacking chances.

Meanwhile, man of  the night  Myles was putting up a strong show to clinch the important win that secured a win for us on the night.

We got edged out very late on on the top 2 boards.  Kev had set up a strong attack in his match  but just couldn't put his stubborn opponent away - fair play to Reg who always shows his bouncebackability.  Dave dave finished his match last of course and with seconds left on each clock he was in a losing pawn endgame.  Frustrating for Dave as he had a chance to settle for a perpetual earlier in the match.

Anyway it was an important win for us and virtually guarantees us the runner up spot in the league - a big improvement on recent years.  Many thanks to everyone who has turned out for us this season!

0 - 1  Dave dave N v Mark Hann (159)
0 - 1  Kev v Reg Clucas (146)
1/2    David T v Mark Whalley (136)
1 - 0  Myles v Nick Lowe (137)
1 - 0  Tudor v Vijay Kakarparthi (90)
1 - 0  Paul v Steve Ward (84)
3.5 - 2.5

Denton 2.5 - 3.5 ECB

On Wednesday night we made the trip to a cold Denton and managed to record our 4th win on the run.  Brief highlights below........

Dave N finished first.  I didn't see anything of his game but he appeared comfortable and got us off to a good start.  Tudor finished next and felt as though he had been high jacked by a player who performed well above his grade on the night.  I was a pawn up in my game but things were still tight until my opponent went for a tactic which went wrong for him and gained a rook for me.

Keven's version of his game:

"An unusual Trompowsky with Black volunteering for a broken pawn structure, in return for play along the open g-file. In a tricky game I managed to neutralise his king-side threats and break through in the centre to deliver mate."

So, we were 3 - 1 up on the night and looking good on the 2 remaining boards.  Jim was a pawn up and cruising and looked like nothing could go wrong.  Unfortunately it did.  He walked into a knight fork which lost his queen.  A pity for Jim who's been in great form recently.

Everything now was hanging on David T's game.  He had 5 minutes left and his opponent was down to a minute in an exciting double edged game.  Ever the team player, David asked what the match score was.  I told him that he just needed a draw.  He immediately offered a draw which was quickly accepted and meant we collected the points on the night.

0 - 1  David Campbell (139) v Dave N
1/2    David Boulden (144) v David T
0 - 1  Phil Boyd (130) v Keven
1 - 0  Vasileiros Pasialis (125) v Tudor
1 - 0  Ivan Urwin (122) v Jim
0 - 1  Julio Calcina (114) v Paul
2.5 - 3.5

ECB 5.5 - 0.5 Denton A

Denton are lacking their stars this year in the Stockport League and fielded a team on Wednesday night that we were hopeful of beating.  As it happened they battled well but, with no blunders or slip ups from us, we managed to record our biggest win in the post Brexit Britain era - in fact probably post Thatcher.

Dave Dave's game finished quite quickly.  All pieces were off apart from double rooks each and in a Stonewall type formation a draw was agreed. I finished a couple of minutes later after my opponent had kindly allowed me to pin his Q with a B.

Kev employed a slow Catalan which Holty tried to spice up with a dubious combination.  Kev played it well and ended up a piece up with runaway pawns for a convincing win.

Jim played a patient game and after the Q's came off early allowed his opponent to gain space with pawn moves before picking him off and winning the exchange.  Jim's better placed K then led to a straight forward win.

So, a win was guaranteed for us on the night with the remaining 2 evenly matched games to play out.  Tudor had been slightly up against it in an open game but his opponent was entering time troubles.  This allowed Tudor to eventually find a very active defensive move which set up a fantastic tactical win.  David T then finished the night off having finally driven his opponent into the ground and his extra material won the day.

This win puts us up to the dizzying heights of second in the league with a (possible) promotion push for the remainder of the season.  Surely we won't end up replacing the A team in Division One...........

1/2    Dave N v David Campbell (148)
1 - 0  Kev v David Holt (142)
1 - 0  David T v Stan Bradley (119)
1 - 0  Tudor v Ivan Urwin (122)
1 - 0  Jim v John Tonkin (108)
1 - 0  Paul v Peter Shaw (50)
5.5 - 0.5