ECA 3.5 Altrincham A 2.5

ECA won their final home match of the season last night to cement their position in 3rd place. Smooth wins by John, Keven and Paul saw us to victory.

1. P Ramsey 0 - 1 Y Kolodiy (178)

Playing another King's Indian I had a cramped position and in time trouble missed a move to free my position and ended up with a losing endgame.

2. J Reed 1 - 0 K Lockett (169)

Karl played the opening badly and gave John a strong Kingside attack. John missed the quickest win but kept Karl under pressure and he eventually collapsed.

3. K Holton 1 - 0 W McCartney (136)

Keven had a perfect Sicilian, easily refuting McCartney's attack and then taking control of the board with his extra centre pawns.

4. P Bamford 1 - 0 R Clucas (127)

Paul's slow system against the Sicilian was exactly that but eventually yielded Paul a mating attack.

5. T Rickards 0 - 1 D Hughes (134)

Tudor had an equal position out of the opening but drifted into a defeat (the game ended in my time trouble so I didn't see what happened.)

6. A Stokes 0.5 - 0.5 C McNulty (120)

All the heavy pieces were swapped off on the open C file and a sharp endgame was eventually drawn due to insufficient material.

Chorlton 3.5 East Cheshire A 2.5

Last night we put up a great fight against a strong Chorlton side and came close to a famous victory.

Paul lost early on and after three draws and a win from me it was all down to Dave's game. It looked like his opponent was going to run out of time but Dave made an illegal move and the extra two minutes awarded was enough for Philip to finish off the game and win the match.

1. Hope Mkhumba (184) 0.5 - 0.5 John Reed

John played a drawish version of the Four Pawns Attack against Hope's King's Indian and swapped off all the heavy pieces to share the points.

2. Chris Vassiliou (166) 0 - 1 Phil Ramsey

In another Four Pawns Attack against my King's Indian I played the same obscure sideline that I played against Toole recently and this time got a decent position. With us both in time trouble I played some speculative moves that were probably bad but put Chris under pressure and he eventually lost on time in a lost position.

3. John Horner (172) 0.5 - 0.5 David Taylor

David played a very solid Reti and snapped John's hand off when he offered a draw!

4. Philip Olbison (162) 1 - 0 Dave Broadbent

Dave once again won the opening and was several pawns up at the time control. Unfortunately Philip had a combination to win two pieces for a Rook and his bishops started to control the game. It looked like it would all end in a mad time scramble but the Dave played an illegal move and Philip had enough time to clean up.

From Dave:

Opening - French advance.

Terrific game v strong opponent (162) but wrong result. Phil Olbison was clearly uncomfortable with my opening. I won a pawn and there were lots of tactics in a complicated game. We were both in time trouble. I castled and immediately noticed he could then win my knight. I then turned the game around and 6 moves later was 3 pawns up and had him on the ropes! My move 36 seemed good just before the time control. However, he found a great reply with R*B to exchange his rook for 2 minor pieces. His minor pieces then took over but he was in serious

danger of losing on time. Unfortunately, I played an illegal move which gave him 2 extra minutes and rescued him. I was then in more time trouble and lost on time but by then he was in the better position.

I stayed until past 11pm with all the |Chorlton team looking at the game.

5. Richard Nurse (164) 0.5 - 0.5 Keven Holton

Keven played his "Bore Opponent" system as White and again got a good position with some positional pressure. However Richard did enough to hold the game.

From Keven:

I had the best of it and in analysis later he conceded I had all the chances but we played it out to a drawn N&P's ending in all scenarios.

6. Alan Beresford (150) 1 - 0 Paul Bamford

Paul's Modern Defence got squashed. Paul lost a couple of Queenside pawns early on and then could not stop Alan's Kingside attack.

We have a slightly easier match next week at home to Altrincham.

C Team draws against Altrincham B

East Cheshire C Team remains ‘The Mean Team’ (in the sense of average, actually, but ‘mean team’ sounds better) with a draw against Altrincham B on 27 March 2012. We now have one more match this season, and will be net winners or losers depending on that result (or we might remain… ‘The Mean Team’)

The score card reads:

Paul Bamford 0.5, Callum McNulty 0.5
Andy Buckley 0, Pete Arland 1,
Ian Vaughan 1, Steve Ward 0,
Edwin Cooke 1, Wayne Kranz 0,
Roy Burrows 0, Steve Douglas 1.

East Cheshire C 2.5, Altrincham B 2.5

Edwin writes:
“This was a great game (aren’t they all when you win!) which I thoroughly enjoyed.
“A fascinating strategic opening against a pensive opponent led to two pawn sacrifices followed by my loss of a knight (move 15) and he still had all his pieces! … However I was confident that my position was strong. He had his king side pinned down by my developed pieces which also were holding his advanced queenside pieces.
“Then I saw it (move 19), the match winner or so I thought, he must move his D8 rook onto the G file to tidy up my lone advanced pawn and then I could pin his knight to his king with my G2 bishop on E6 whilst also forking his rook, whatever he did to defend this would leave a gap for further exploitation. Ambitious and a tall order I know, but that was the target and I was certain it could be done!!! My next move I figured would be a rook sacrifice which at worst would gain two pawns and at best leave me two bishops and a knight up.
“I think he could see a threat and chose to swipe my advanced pawn with his queen instead, thus he returned my earlier favour leaving his bishop unprotected (move 20). I had been carving out a position but this mistake let me take stock, “Advantage Edwin, be careful, don’t blow it, just win”
“Then I controlled an inevitable pawn exchange, which left both bishops exposed but me in a commanding position for further pawn attack, this was gold dust as if we continued I could win his king knight and leave his defence in shreds, furthermore his queen tied up in knots defending a knight, but at the same time pinned by my queen (move 23).
“From there he unrolled like a yoyo and each time he bounced back it was weaker and weaker.”

Ian writes:
“This asymmetrical king’s pawn game contained opportunities for both sides and was an exciting contest. An early exchange obliged me to capture with the f-pawn but the open file became a strength after I was able to castle queenside and to launch an attack on the queen. This won material, and I was a knight up.
“Later I blundered away a rook, and was one move away from a draw by repetition with my opponent’s rook and queen likely to force mate. Fortunately, my pawns and knight stopped the momentum of the attack, and the knight remained useful to the end by enabling a mate on g1.”

ECA 5 Denton B 1

ECA made sure of their status as Division B also-rans with a convincing win over Denton B on Wednesday night.

Denton were rather distracted as they all got stuck in traffic on their way to our venue and one of their players did not turn up at all. Nevertheless we were missing our board 1 so we did well to produce such a good score.

Here is how it went.

1. Phil 1-0 D Toole (171)

I have to face David's Four Pawns Attack against my King's Indian and tried a risky sideline where Black does not move his e pawn. I allowed David to play e5 and it looked like I was getting crushed. However in time trouble he didn't spot the killer move and I was able to get at his King with my Queen and pick up a few pieces with check.

2. Dave N 1-0 Default

Dave N played 1. d4 with great panache and that was the end of that one.

3. Dave B 0-1 K Ahmadi (155)

Dave B was doing fine (as normal) after the opening but then had a hallucination and lost a piece. There was no way back after that.

4. Keven 1-0 P Boyd (123)

Adopting a solid "bore my opponent into a strategic blunder" strategy Keven gradually ground his opponent down with a smooth win. Karpov would have been proud.

5. David T 1-0 D Cook (107)

David T seemed to be without counterplay in a stodgy French defence but his opponent lost on time while looking for the winning move.

6. Paul 1-0 I Urwin (119)

Paul did his best to play a gambit but his opponent insisted that Paul won a pawn instead. Paul gradually consolidated his advantage and won more material.

Next A team match is away to Chorlton on Tue April the 3rd.

ECA 3.5 Stockport C 2.5

East Cheshire A team finally managed something that they haven't done for years - beat a Stockport team!

The night started off well with a very convincing win by Keven. After a defeat and three draws it all came down to my game. Fortunately my opponent played rather passively and I was able to bring home the bacon.

1. John Reed 0.5 - 0.5 Mark McNulty (145)

John had a dubious opening and had to struggle for a few hours to finally achieve a draw.

2. Phil Ramsey 1 - 0 Peter Taylor (141)

Playing against an Old Indian system I build up a strong pawn centre. However Peter managed to exploit some of the holes in front of my King and complicate things. Fortunately for me he played very unambitiously and I emerged from time trouble with a winning passed pawn.

3. Dave Broadbent 0.5 - 0.5 Peter King (137)

Dave again had a very strong opening and won a pawn in the middlegame. However he let his opponent win the pawn back and eventually a draw was agreed.

4. Keven Holton 1 - 0 Vic Rushworth (137)

Playing against the King's Indian Keven obtained a couple of advanced passed pawns in the centre of the board and then finished things off in fine style, checkmating his opponent.

5. David Taylor 0.5 - 0.5 Marc Jackson (130)

David seemed to be on the rocks after the opening as his opponent had a fearsome attack but David defended carefully and in the end had the better of a draw.

6. Paul Bamford 0 - 1 John Kelly (126)

Paul had a typical swashbuckling opening and ended up two pawns up but his opponent managed to win the exchange and then the endgame.

Next match in two weeks: at home to Denton B.

C Team vs Macclesfield C, Home and Away (Feb 2012)

The C Team has stayed mean by first losing at home to Macc C and then winning away six days later. Following the scoresheets and a few words from me are two accounts of epic games sent by Edwin and Andy W (thank you, Microsoft, for 'cut and paste'). Grades are ECF half-way where available; U/G = ungraded (Macc website).

East Cheshire C (Home) vs Macclesfield C, 15 February 2012

1. A Buckley (100) 0 R Pomeroy (140)1

2. I Vaughan (84) 0 R Murphy (135) 1

3. E Cooke (65 est) 1 D Mallinson (U/G) 0

4. Q Mohammed (52 est) 0 T Robson (74) 1

5. R Burrows (53) 0.5 A Howe (50) 0.5

Total East Cheshire C 1.5 Macclesfield C 3.5

Macclesfield C (Home) vs East Cheshire C (Away), 21 February 2012

1. Alan Sime (109) 0.5 Paul Bamford (134) 0.5

2. Tom Robson (74) 0 Andy Buckley (100) 1

3. David Styles (U/G) 1 Edwin Cooke (65 est) 0

4. Matthew Wade (U/G) 0 Andrew Walker (78)1

5. Angie Howe (50) 0 Roy Burrows (53) 1

Total Macclesfield C 1.5 East Cheshire C 3.5

Congratulations to both Roy and Andy W on their return to matchplay, with points.

Edwin writes:

Another swashbuckling affair from Mr Delmonte (tonight's personal pseudonym), proving there is actually more to life than oranges and tinned peaches.

A fairly standard opening left me in an unsatisfactory position where his king was neatly tucked away on the queen sideand mine was exposed in the middle. But hey! It was my go, time to light the touch paper! Since there was a lot of space, I tried to swap his bishop for a knight, thus living me the power of two bishops on the diagonals. I quickly followed this up by pushing his knights into defensive positions making them redundant before launching a salvo of heavily supported prawns to almost queen.
It worked! God knows how, but outside in the fresh air afterwards The Man From Delmonte, he says, "Yes!"

Definitely a food theme here - I like the heavily supported prawns: Ed.

Andy W writes:

Sure I felt nervous, it had been over 18 months since my last match win and only my second match of the season.

The kid facing me looked edgy in a cool kind of way. I sensed he was keen for some action and up for the fight.

1. I punched the clock and he opened 1.e4... confident and matter of fact. I licked my lips nervously, considered the Sicilian but played safe with ...e5. I pushed the button on the clock.
2. Without hesitation he

played 2.Bc4... and it was back to me. I sat and looked at the board for a good 2 minutes hoping the throb in my temples was going to subside. I retorted with a nice safe ...Nf6 (Berlin
defence) and pushed the time button.
The nerves were starting to ease.
3. He played 3.Bxf7+... with a confidence that sent my head into a spin.... what!! Another 3 minutes passed as I evaluated his gambit - this was new territory for me. What had I missed? I had no choice but to reply ...Kxf7 so losing the ability to castle and pushing my king off the back row... and I was already 5 minutes off the pace and feeling very vulnerable and not at all comforted by having a material advantage.

4. He played Nc3... which seemed a bit off beam to me as 4.Qf3... or 4.Nf3... would have put pressure on my exposed king. Still, feeling somewhat defensive in the face of such aggression I played ...c6 to block the advance of his knight.

5. Nf3... as expected and I played ...Bd6 to open my back row, develop the bishop and defend e5. Maybe ...d6 would have been better??

6. d4...Re8. I saw this as an opportunity to get the king behind the rook and also to strengthen my control of the centre An exchange follows:
7. Pxe5 ... Bxe5
8. Nxe5 ... Rxe5 to leave me reasonably in control of the centre with the rook out very early and pinning d4, and still with a material advantage... I was now starting to think 3.Bxf7+... was bluster on behalf of my opponent as I couldn't see any advantage to his gambit at this point.
9. Qf3 ... D5
10. 0-0 ... Kf8 I felt that my king was now safe and his unusual aggressive opening had come to nought.
11. With the king released from the pin he now made the error of Rd1... to bring pressure on d5
but my reply of ...Bg4 gave him something to think about as my bishop pinned his queen to his rook!
At this point I thought the game was turning in my favour and I now made up the time deficit.
12. Not wanting to back down, he played Qg3... to threaten the rook exchange. I declined with ...Nd7 so developing my pieces further.
13. Re1... moves his rook to safety and I made the decision to attack king's side and replied with ...Qe8
14. He's not beat yet and played Qf4... (I felt that Bf4 may have been better) I replied ...Qg6
15. g3... (?? I think f3 would have been better) ... Rf8 signals my firm commitment to the king's side attack 16. Qd2 ... Bh3 that'll be useful later!
17. b3 (??) ... Rf7
18. Ba3 (??) and then my attack commences with ...Nxe4
19. Nxe4 ... Rxe4 20. Rxe4 ... Qxe4 mate in 1 and he should have resigned at this point 21. f3 (??) ... Qxf3 22. Bb2 ... Qf1+ 23. Rxf1 ... Rxf1+ and mate.

So despite the shaky start, it was a tense game and I won through in the end....phew!

Altrincham A 2.5 ECA 3.5

At last, a win for the first team!

We slightly out-rated our opposition for a change and wins for Dave N and I saw us scrape to a 3.5-2.5 victory.

1. Y Kolodiy (178) 0.5-0.5 J Reed

Sadly for John his opponent did not play the Queen's Gambit but - obviously scarred by his previous defeat - tried a Benoni. John seemed to have a nice position with extra space and pressure against some weak pawns when Yaroslav unleashed a fearsome combination which ended in a drawn endgame.

2. K Lockett (169) 0-1 P Ramsey

Karl played his favourite English system and I was probably a bit hasty in pushing pawns on my Kingside and ended up with some hanging pawns in the centre. Karl allowed me to consolidate though and missed a couple of tricks in the middlegame which allowed me to win a piece.

3. R White (135) 0-1 D Newall

Dave's Bird's opening resulted in a strong Kingside attack which his opponent was unable to counter.

4. T Tomkins (130) 1-0 D Broadbent

Dave lost a piece early in the middlegame. He then won it back but at the expense of giving his opponent a winning attack.

5. D Hughes (134) 0.5-0.5 K Holton

Keven's Reti opening didn't seem to lead to any pressure and after a quiet game (unless I missed something) a draw was agreed.

6. R Clucas (127) 0.5-0.5 D Taylor

In a rather stodgy French Defence the pieces were swapped off and a draw agreed.

Our goal this season is to score points against Altrincham A and Denton B and finish mid-table so this was a job well done.

Our next first team match is Stockport C at home on Feb 29th.