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

Posted on: February 25th, 2012 by Ian Vaughan
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!

Posted in C Team

Altrincham A 2.5 ECA 3.5

Posted on: February 8th, 2012 by Phil Ramsey

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.

Posted in A Team

Macclesfield A 4.5 – ECA 1.5

Posted on: January 25th, 2012 by Phil Ramsey

After the close match earlier in the season we were hoping for more excitement tonight but all we got was a gradual grind down against a strong Macc. team. At least we don’t have to play them again this season!

1. D Risley (171) 0.5 – 0.5 J Reed

Playing against a Bogo-Indian John had the better of things and built up some useful Queenside pressure but Dave managed to exchange pieces for a draw.

2. D Lobo (153) 1 – 0 P Ramsey

In a topsy turvy game I started off better, then was losing and was finally easily winning. The problem was that we were in the allegro finish and my flag was about to fall. In a fluster I made a ridiculous move when I actually had a bit more time than I thought. Someone get me a digital clock for Christmas!

3. V Kumar (155) 0.5 – 0.5 D Newall

Dave played his favourite Colle / Birds system and gradually built up some Queenside pressure but Vijay managed to hold.

4. G Laurence (150) 0.5 – 0.5 D Broadbent

Dave played actively in the opening and had a very comfortable position but not enough to beat his solid opponent.

5. J-P Taylor (146) 1 – 0 P Bamford

Paul played a closed system against the Sicilian but his Kingside pawn pushes backfired as J-P ended up eating one of the Kingside pawns and winning the endgame.

6. P Cattermole (138) 1 – 0 S Howells

Sion played a positional gambit but didn’t seem to have enough compensation for the pawn and was gradually ground down.

So not a very fun night for East Cheshire.

Next match is away to Altrincham on Feb 6th. Let’s hope for some fireworks then!

Posted in A Team

EC C 3; Macc B 2

Posted on: January 14th, 2012 by Ian Vaughan

The C Team visited Macclesfield B and won by 3 to 2 this week, despite being outgraded on every board (very substantially on the lower boards: their average grade – 144). Special thanks to Edwin who stepped in at the last minute and won against a tough opponent. See his comments below.
G Laurence (150) 0, P Bamford 1
PWR Caulkett (148) 0, S Howells 1,
JP Taylor (146) 1, B Tait 0,
R Pomeroy (137) 1, I Vaughan 0,
PJ Colville (137) 0, E Cooke 1.
Edwin writes:
“Playing White on Board 5 and drafted in at the last minute to play, this game got off to a stolid start. I pushed my pawns down the right hand side seeking to gain an advantage leaving my king perilously unprotected.
This attack was thwarted but Black was pushed back into a tight space and failed to spot my deft switch of attack to the left flank. Here I constructed a devilish plan to force back his queen confining his pieces further. Unfortunately my opponent, Archimedes, mixed his metaphors and pulled his finger out of the dam allowing my troops to pour forward washing away any chance he had of avoiding defeat!”
Ian writes:
” My game, of the 1. e4, e5 variety, although lost was interesting, with tactics and potential counterplay right up until the last handful of moves.”

Posted in C Team

Whitewashed by the 3Cs scholars from Oldham

Posted on: January 7th, 2012 by Ian Vaughan

3Cs visited on Wednesday 4 January 2012, and rather unsportingly have probably been practicing! Just as in the pound shop, there is no need to ask – it’s 0-1.
Sion Howells v. Daniel Abbas
Andy Buckley v. Ahmed Abbas
Ian Vaughan v. Sam Hayman
Edwin Cooke v. Jack Mundy
Qasim Mohammed v. Robert McLean
Congratulations, 3Cs.

Posted in C Team

A dramatic win at Altrincham: the victor explains ….

Posted on: December 18th, 2011 by Ian Vaughan
After a dramatic win away at Altrincham on 13th December ’11, Edwin writes:
Finally after three matches I won my first game for East Cheshire and what a ripsnorter it turned out to be! Playing white and after a steady opening from both players, my gambit was to clear the diagonal so that I could capture his rook with my bishop. This involved a careful and extensive piece exchange disseminating the middle of the board to open up the channel. In response my opponent took my bishop with his queen allowing my queen to charge forward and reek havoc through his defenses. However once I was so far ahead, a little complacency crept in and I almost allowed myself to be mated after a careless move. In desperation to avoid check mate I lost both my rooks and ended up in an inferior position. Enter the end game, I had 3 pawns, 1 knight and 1 queen versus 5 pawns, 1 rook and 1 queen. After being perpetually checked and having pawns picked off, my opponent ran out of steam and I finally had a chance. I returned the salvo of constant checking bringing my knight into the game to assist the queen for the kill. A thoroughly enjoyable rollercoaster of a game. Victory at last!
Posted in C Team

C Team draws away vs Altrincham B

Posted on: December 15th, 2011 by Ian Vaughan
Andy Buckley (Captain) writes:
Alan on board one played a Q I D, lost a piece early on and was ground down.
Paul’s game led to an all pawn finish and a draw was accepted.
Bill won on board 3 with a strong finish despite being a knight down.
Andy lost after a poor middle game left him three pawns down.
Edwin made sacrifice after sacrifice for position and a good win.
Scoresheet reads:
1. Callum McNulty 1, Alan Stokes 0
2. Pete Arland 1/2, Paul Bamford 1/2
3. Stephen Ward 0, Bill Tait 1,
4. Tom Hague 1, Andy Buckley 0,
5. John Roff 0, Edwin Cooke 1.
Total 2.5 2.5 (Draw)
Posted in C Team

Denton B 3 ECA 3

Posted on: December 2nd, 2011 by Phil Ramsey

East Cheshire A earned its first point of the season on Wednesday night in a dynamic match against a relatively weak Denton team.

Dave T and I had a night to forget, losing with bad blunders, but Tudor and Keven had smooth wins to equalise the match for us.

1. K Ahmadi (155) 0.5-0.5 J Reed

John had to take on a stodgy Czech Benoni and managed to build an impressive pawn centre but his opponent created sufficient counterplay to draw the game.

2. D Boulden (146) 1-0 P Ramsey

I had a good opening and won a pawn but then got into time trouble. I played a combination that didn’t work, panicked and allowed a mate in one! Not my finest hour.

3. D Holt (139) 0.5 – 0.5 D Newall

Dave N built up a winning attack but misplayed the execution of it and ended up a piece down for nothing. Fortunately Dave H offered a draw as he was about to lose on time.

4. P Boyd (123) 0-1 T Rickards

Tudor gradually outplayed his opponent in an even middlegame and built up a strong attack on his opponent’s King which he finished in fine style.

5. D Taylor (114) 0-1 K Holton

Keven systematically turned the screw against his elderly opponent and eventually found a narrow path to victory.

6. D Cook (107) 1-0 D Taylor

David T won a pawn early on in a strange French Defence. However David’s King’s Rook was hemmed in the corner and, under some Queenside pressure, David blundered his other Rook.

We have a couple of months off now until 24th Jan when we are away to Macc. A.

Posted in A Team

C Team 2, Macclesfield B 3.

Posted on: November 27th, 2011 by Ian Vaughan
An outgraded C Team (our average grade 111, theirs 134) lost 2-3 at home to Macclesfield B on 23 November 2011, but with an excellent win by Andy B and draws against strong opposition by Paul (fighting the opponent featured in Tudor’s game vs Macc A (blog, passim)) and Sion.
The scoresheet and grades are:
B1 Paul Bamford (130) 1/2 G Laurence (150) 1/2
B2 Bill Tait (120) 0, R Pomeroy (137) 1,
B3 Sion Howells (110) 1/2, R Murphy (134)1/2,
B4 Andy Buckley (100) 1, A Brough (131) 0
B5 Ian Vaughan (93) 0, A Sime (117) 1.
(Nerd alert: the C Team’s grades are almost an arithmetic progression.)
The return match away, on a Tuesday, will be postponed probably until early January 2012.
Posted in C Team

Tudor gives up his Queen

Posted on: November 17th, 2011 by Phil Ramsey

Here is a recent win of Tudor’s playing for our A team against Macclesfield A.

One thing for King’s Indian players to note is that Tudor’s move order allowed White to transpose to the Pirc (playing e4 without c4.) If you want to avoid this you should play 2. … g6 so that you can reply to 3. Nc3 with d5.

Now over to Tudor.

The game involves a bishop sacrifice as only way to keep attack going. Then I found a nice queen sacrifice which was not just a variation of a known one.

The interesting thing for me was the very thematic way the game unfolded with black backing the Q side pawn storm against white’s superior centre. ICC analysis suggests white was always slightly ahead until 21 Ka3 (Kb1 leaves black having to find a win for his pressure and B sac. ).

During last few moves I was trying to get all my pieces coordinated into attack. I had noticed possibilities of Bf8 pinning White’s Queen but it did not quite work. Only then did I look for something better and noticed the very satisfying Queen sac (which seems a bit more obvious after the game.)

Posted in A Team

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