East Cheshire marched into the semi-finals of the Charnley Cup with a 5-1 victory at Wilmslow. We were able to field almost our strongest line-up and Wilmslow were unable to keep up with the pace. Here is how things worked out:
1. C Guffogg (126) 1-0 John Reed
London System vs Chigorin? Didn’t see much of this one as it ended early when John blundered in a solid position.
2. R Warhurst (122) 0-1 Graham Ball
If Robin had done his homework he would have known not to play the French Defence against a world expert in that opening! Graham won a piece in the early middle game and the game was soon over.
3. M Palmer (114) 0-1 Phil Ramsey
Playing the London system against my King’s Indian Defence my opponent decided to sacrifice a piece early on for some fun against my king rather than be ground down! Unfortunately for him he then accidentally sacrificed another piece and I managed to finish the game with a nice piece storm against his king.
4. A Flynn (109) 0-1 Dave Newell
Dave’s trusty Bird’s opening came good with a Kingside pawn storm that swept away all before it.
5. C Jackson (108) 0-1 David Taylor
On the Black side of a symmetrical English David built up an active position and then unleashed a fearsome combination to win a pawn and the exchange. Game of the night I think.
6. M Garvin (84) 0-1 Tudor Rickards
Playing the Queen’s Gambit Tudor soon won a pawn and then easily ground out the win in the endgame.
On to the semi-finals where we will probably meet Holmes Chapel! That match may be a teeny bit harder…