Stockport League B team - Previous seasons

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

Seasons 2020-21 to 2022-23

No competition was held in 2020-21 & 2021-22. We did not enter a team in 2022-23.

2019-20

The 2019-20 season was curtailed due to Covid-19. The team captain's report is included in the 2020 AGM minutes on this site.

Date Competition Opponents H/A Result Score
31/10/2019 League Div 3 Marple B A Lost 2-3
05/11/2019 League Div 3 Macclesfield C H Lost 0-5
26/11/2019 League Div 3 Marple B H Lost 2-3
11/12/2019 League Div 3 East Cheshire B A Lost ½-4½
30/01/2020 League Div 3 Urmston A Draw 2½-2½
24/02/2020 League Div 3 Northenden A Won 2-1
24/03/2020 League Div 3 Northenden H XXXX XXXX
31/03/2020 League Div 3 East Cheshire B H XXXX XXXX
14/04/2020 League Div 3 Urmston H XXXX XXXX
20/04/2020 League Div 3 Macclesfield C A XXXX XXXX

Full details of all matches and league tables can be found on the Stockport League website.

30/01/2020 - Urmston 2½ Altrincham B 2½

We faced a couple of our former players who now play for Urmston. Tom drew with John Reyes, whilst Tony lost to Mark Whalley. On the other boards Bill and David had draws, whilst Steve Ward won to give the team its first point of the season. Below is Tony's account of his game with Mark.

The match gave me the opportunity to play Mark for the first time, despite him being a member of our club for a number of years. It was good to see him again even though he was bravely sporting City regalia after yet another glorious win for the reds at the Etihad the previous night.

The opening developed in to a King's Indian Attack, but Mark got a bit carried away with his queenside counter play and pushed his a pawn alongside his b and c pawns which were already on my fourth rank. This push was extremely reluctant, as he left the pawn there a while after touching it, before having to move it forward to a square where it could be taken by my queen. At this stage I wondered if Mark was acting all along and setting a trap to capture my queen. However, although his next pawn move blocked the queen retreat, after I captured this second pawn, he did not continue with the option of capturing my queen for a rook and bishop, so I was able to then extricate my queen and emerge two pawns up after 16 moves. (Mark said later that he did not see the line that won the Queen).

In addition to my material advantage I had a good position with kingside pressure which I could have exploited by being more aggressive and playing an earlier g4. Instead I opted for a sound plan of forcing material exchanges to reach an ending with my two pawn advantage. This was so successful that between moves 22 to 33 a queen, rook, knight and both bishops had been exchanged.

This was now surely an easy win, even though endings and time trouble are not my forte, and they have a nasty habit of appearing at the same time as was the case now. Ironically, Mark suffers similarly as I have witnessed in the past, but he confided afterwards that he had been playing internet chess to help speed up his play which now contributed to his 20 minute time advantage.

The ending started promisingly and by move 40 computer analysis had me ahead by + 5.5. A further pair of pawns were traded at move 42 but just 2 moves later I was no longer recording my score as I entered the last 5 minutes on my clock. A further irony was that in the past, realising my game was in need of some improvement, Mark had kindly lent me an excellent book by Jeremy Silman. One of its key learning points was to compose yourself after an error and to never give up even when your position seems desperate as your opponent can also make mistakes to put you right back in the match. Mark put this into practice admirably, capitalising on my time trouble by constantly setting me problems to solve as he moved his remaining 2 pieces around my king.

After a dozen further moves, I intuitively moved my king forward alongside a couple of my pawns, and compounded that error by pushing my passed pawn to the sixth rank on move 56. Consequently I contrived to find the only way Mark could then execute a forced mate with his rook, knight and pawn assisted by two of my own pawns restricting my king's movement!

Returning to the opening football theme, I am reminded of quotes from Greavsie and Fergie which went something like "it's a funny old game" and "chess, bloody chess"!

Team captain's Report 2018-19

The year has been a mixed bag for the B team. It is an improvement over the previous year. We finished the league bang in the middle at 4th place in a league of 7 teams compared to the previous year where we finished 7th in a league of 8 teams. It was even steven with the results too with 4 match wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. This is better than the year before where we had 3 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses. It was better performance at home like any other year. We had 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss at home compared to 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses away.

In terms of performances, Sheraz had a completely opposite performance to the previous year. While he won or drew all his games in the previous year, this year either lost or drew all his games. It was a similar story with Nick Lowe too. I had a poor run too with 2 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. Our top performance for this year came from Tony Lane who had 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Tom Tomkins' availability was limited this year. He played only 3 games with 2 wins and a loss. Thomas Hague also had limited availability with 1 win and 3 losses. Mike Davies also had to pull out mid season due to personal reasons. He had 1 win and 1 loss. Bill McCartney also had an average season with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. Peter Hawes, who plays only in our home games had an average season too with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Stuart Sumner also had a decent season with 2 draws while Steve Ward had a win and a loss. Jeff Foy had 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. We also had contributions from Steve Douglas, Kieran Newell and Denis Osborne. Steve had a win in the solitary game he played for the team, Kieran had a draw and Denis had a loss. We had a defaulted fixture too when Urmston failed to turn up and conceded the fixture.

I would like to thank every player who made themselves available this season. I have done my best to give equal opportunity to every eligible player for this team. Unfortunately, due to my personal circumstances I am unable to lead this team in the next season.

Vijay Kakarparthi
Date Competition Opponents H/A Result Score
16/10/2018 League Div 3 Marple B H Draw 2½-2½
06/11/2018 League Div 3 Worsley A Lost 1½-3½
19/11/2018 League Div 3 Northenden A Lost 1½-3½
04/12/2018 League Div 3 Macclesfield C H Won 3-2
09/01/2019 League Div 3 East Cheshire B A Draw 2½-2½
12/02/2019 League Div 3 Urmston H Won* 5-0
05/03/2019 League Div 3 East Cheshire B H Lost 1½-3½
14/03/2019 League Div 3 Marple B A Won 3½-1½
18/03/2019 League Div 3 Macclesfield C A Draw 2½-2½
28/03/2019 League Div 3 Urmston A Won 3-2
16/04/2019 League Div 3 Worsley H Draw 2½-2½
30/04/2019 League Div 3 Northenden H Lost 2-3
* by default

Full details of all matches and league tables can be found on the Stockport League website.

30/04/2019 - Altrincham B 2 Northenden 3

Tony reports - In Vijay's absence I stood in as captain but was unable to repeat the winning formula achieved last time I took on that role at Urmston. I did however manage to get the team off to a good start. My opponent's rapid play, although a little unnerving, was littered with errors which proved costly, enabling me to win with 20 minutes left on my clock whereas he had over an hour having spent less than 20 minutes on his 30 moves. Nick then blundered a piece to level the scores and Thomas could not hold his endgame a pawn down. At that point I showed Sheraz the match score but held little hope that he could avoid a further loss. His opponent attacked his exposed king with queen, rook, knight and pawn on the sixth rank, and finished the game off nicely. Peter was well ahead on the final board and was a rook and pawns to the good when his opponent resigned to give Northenden a 3-2 win on the night.

16/04/2019 - Altrincham B 2½ Worsley 2½

Worsley are the table toppers and we managed to snatch a point from them. Thomas Hague on board 4 was first to finish with a win against M Sullivan. Fantastic result for Thomas with a quick win against slightly higher graded opponent. Sheraz was next to finish on top board. He was facing much higher graded Adam Scoular and found it tough to hold him and lost. Another fantastic result when Stuart Sumner drew his game again Paul Doherty in spite of the grading difference of 30. In fact Stuart had a 2 pawn advantage, but opposite coloured Bishops meant that his opponent was able to set up a fortress with no winning chances.

With 1½ points each, the fixture was dependent on board 2 where I was facing much higher graded Adam Tyton and board 5 where Peter Hawes was facing Lanre Bammeke who was equally graded to Peter. Though I was a bit worse getting into the endgame I wouldn't concede unless I knew which way the last board was going. I also gave instructions to Peter not to accept the draw if offered. My position deteriorated further under time pressure and eventually succumbed. With everything now dependent on Peter, he played an excellent endgame under time pressure to emerge victorious.

Well done to the team!! Good result considering Worsley were better in average grades. We have one more to go against Northenden at home before we close this season.

28/03/2019 - Urmston 2 Altrincham B 3

Tony stood in as captain and reports - Although comfortably outgrading Urmston the match was a very close affair. Jeff got us off to a flying start, seemingly well ahead right from the start to continue his good form. Kieran appeared to have the initiative in the opening but his game petered out into a draw.

That left the middle 3 boards. In my quest to play as many games as possible in the Stockport league to top the number of points scored, I had to settle for a draw and fourth place in that particular league. I had a good opening but decided to delay a strong b5 only to find I never got the chance to play it again. When offered a draw, I checked the other 2 games. Bill had just blundered a piece but I decided Nick's pawn advantage and active position would give us the win we needed to secure 2 points and move into third in the league above Urmston. So I accepted the draw as Bill resigned.

After a period analysing my game with my opponent I went back to view Nick's game and was slightly alarmed that his opponent was swarming over his king with queen, both rooks and a bishop! However, he fatally omitted to give his king on h8 a flight square and in attempting to mate Nick he fell foul of a back rank mate himself!

18/03/2019 - Macclesfield C 2½ Altrincham B 2½

We had a decent outing against Macclesfield C. On one hand I am happy we managed to grab a point against the table toppers and on the other hand I am upset my result could have won the fixture for the team. Thanks to all the players who made it in spite of the priorities they were facing.

Steve D was the first to finish on the bottom board against Thomas Robson with a quick win when his opponent blundered his queen. Mike Davies then won on board 3 against Mick Renshaw. His opponent played the King's Indian Defence which Mike himself is an expert in. We were up 0-2 at this point. Tony Lane on top board was the next to finish with an unfortunate loss. It was down to myself and Bill to get that 1 point to the team. On board 2 I was facing an estimated 140 graded player James Johnson who was playing his first graded game of his life. Playing Black, pressure was building on my Kingside with a complex middlegame with pins and tricks. At this point I found a perpetual threat on his queen and offered a draw. His captain instructed him to carry on playing as their team was trailing. With no choice he continued playing and gave up his bishop. I should have converted this advantage to a win on any day but not this time. Under time pressure my position went from bad to worse and eventually lost. Bill on board 4 finished immediately after. He was also severely low on time and a bit worse position wise when his opponent made an illegal move. At this point they agreed a draw.

14/03/2019 - Marple B 1½ Altrincham B 3½

We had better luck than last week's match against Marple A. There were no quick finishes. Tom on board 3 was first to finish with a loss. His opponent offered a draw but Tom decided to continue as he had a slight advantage. 3 moves later his opponent found a nice tactic to gain advantage and the game. Nick on board 2 was next to finish with a draw. Bill finished on board 5 next. He had a nice attack and then his opponent blundered mate in 1. I was next to finish on board 4. In opposite coloured Bishop end game all I needed was a zugzwang and I got it. It was enough for me to penetrate my king into his camp and gobble up his queen side pawns. Tony on board 1 was the last to finish. In an evenly matched game, Tony found a tactic to gambit his knight but his opponent did not fall for it. Still that move gave a lot of advantage to Tony and his opponent lost 2 extra pawns and the game in the process.

05/03/2019 - Altrincham B 1½ East Cheshire B 3½

Though we were marginally better on grades on most of the boards we couldn't convert it. Thomas on board 4 was first to finish. He was victim of some good tactical play by his opponent Steve McCall. Sheraz had another quick draw on top board against David Taylor. I finished next on board 3 with a draw in a deadlock position. Though I delayed the draw offer by my opponent Steve Tatlock to check progress on other boards, I could not find a way to break the closed position and eventually agreed for a draw. The other 2 games went to the wire. Peter had a draw against David Harris with both of them left with king and 4 pawns, neither of them able to penetrate. Tony on board 2 fought till the end though his position was a bit inferior. His opponent Paul Bamford blundered in time pressure to lose the exchange and Tony gave the favour back by giving away a knight to immediately resign.

09/01/2019 - East Cheshire B 2½ Altrincham B 2½

We were equally matched on grades. Bill was first to finish on board 3. He was playing Nick Flaherty. There was early exchange of Queens and a set of minor pieces. The position looked quite drawing when both of them agreed a draw. Mike was next to finish on board 4 against Steve McCall. Mike miscalculated his move order and lost couple of pawns. The pressure then built up and his king was struggling for squares when he threw in the towel. I finished next on Board 2 playing against David Taylor. Probably the only board with grading difference of 19. It was a tight game. With all pieces exchanged and no pawns traded, it was an end game with 8 pawns and light square bishop. Though I thought my bishop was better placed than his, I was unable to find a way to penetrate and we agreed a draw. At this point we were 2-1 down. Tony on top board was offered a draw by Paul Bamford. He was looking for captain's advice and I asked him to play on as Jeff's position was quite unstable with a piece down. A draw there would have sealed the fixture in their favour. Both Jeff and Tony turned out to be heroes of the day. Though a minor piece down and short of time, Jeff found a way to salvage the game with perpetual check against Steve Kelly. Tony who continued to play on found a winning combination and scored a full point.

04/12/2018 - Altrincham B 3 Macclesfield C 2

The B team got its first win of the season in an exciting finish. Sheraz lost quickly on board 1 to Macclesfield's Tony Lane (no relation to our own Tony Lane). The other games lasted quite a bit longer, with Bill levelling the scores after the tactics worked out in his favour. Peter's opponent blundered a piece, but got attacking chances in return, and Peter did not find the best defence on a couple of occasions and his position collapsed. Tom made it 2-2 when he eventually overcame Mick Renshaw's stubborn defence. Attention therefore turned to board 5 for the decisive game, where Jeff was a pawn up in a Rook ending but a rather blocked position. His opponent managed to open up the position and win back the pawn, reaching the position below -

Thomas Robson (103) vs Jeff Foy (104)
(PGN viewer by http://chesstempo.com)

19/11/2018 - Northenden 3½ Altrincham B 1½

Bill was first to finish on board 3 with a quick win against Khalid Khokhar. Next to finish was Steve Ward on board 5. He lost to Lionel Taylor. There were some tough fights on board 1 and board 4 where Nick faced Gary Jackson and Jeff faced Anthony Hunt. Eventually both of them succumbed. I was the last to finish on board 2 facing Neil Oddie and his Bird's opening for the first time. He had a tremendous attack on my King after he sacrificed his dark Bishop for 2 of my King's defenders. However, I knew I could hold the position as all my pieces were defending. I was a bit passive with Knight and Bishop stuck to the corner. I managed to untangle the position and take my King to safety. At this point, though I was a piece up for 2 pawns with just 3 minutes left for both of us in a no increments game, Neil opted for perpetual check and the game ended in a draw.

Thanks to the players who made it to the game. Especially Nick who had to rearrange his appointments. I know Monday evening is not a best time for chess for most of you. I am happy I was able to put up a full team.

06/11/2018 - Worsley 3½ Altrincham B 1½

I was not overly expectant of the result as Worsley is a much stronger team than ours. Sheraz had a quick draw on board 1 against Adam Scoular. This gave me a ray of hope and thought if others played reasonably well we should be able to clinch this fixture. However, the shocking defeat came on board 5 when Thomas Hague snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. In a totally winning position he let his opponent Jamie Kumar fork his King and Queen. Nick had a good game on Board 2 defending against higher graded Adam Tyton till the end game. However, similar to my game he had less time on his clock and Adam managed to create an unstoppable passed pawn. Nick resigned at this point. I finished next on Board 4. Playing Paul Doherty, it was quite an even position until move 40. However, the difference was the time utilised. With limited time on hand I decided to go for cheap tactics which cost me the game. To save the best for the last, Tony had a fantastic game against George Harman on board 3. In a closed game, pressure was building on the centre of the board and unlike myself and Nick, Tony had plenty of time in hand. He managed to convert the time advantage when George blundered a piece while he had less than a minute in a no increment game and resigned.

16/10/2018 - Altrincham B 2½ Marple B 2½

Denis lost quickly. Peter lost a piece early in the game, and though he battled on for a long time was never likely to avoid defeat. Steve W also looked likely to lose until a blunder by his opponent gifted him the game. Stuart won a pawn when his opponent overlooked a pin, but was unable to convert the advantage in a Knight v Bishop ending and had to settle for a draw. So Tom needed to win on board 1 to tie the match. The position looked drawish, but a draw was no good to Tom, so he played on seeking to exploit his time advantage. After many exchanges his King was trapped in a corner, at which point his opponent twice missed opportunities for a mate in 2, and then blundered the exchange allowing Tom to win the endgame.

Team Captain's Report 2017-18

The B team participated in the Division 3 of the Stockport league. We had a reasonable season this year. We finished in the bottom of the league the previous season with 2 wins, 2 draws and 8 loses. This season we finished last but one with 3 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses. A slight improvement from last year I must say. The season started reasonably well with 3 draws and a win. Downfall started mid-season when we lost 5 fixtures and won 2. The season did not end better. We lost 2 and drew 1 fixture. Tony slipping on his grading gave us an extra option at the top. Sheraz had a fantastic season with this team. He won 4 games, drew one and lost 1. Peter Hawes did even better with 5 wins and 1 draw. I as captain did not contribute much to this team with 4 wins, 4 losses and 3 draws. Tom Tomkins had a good season as well by winning 3 out of 3 games he played. Unfortunately his availability diminished as the season progressed. Mike Davies joining the club mid-season helped us a great deal in terms of availability. He had a decent performance with 4 wins and 4 losses. Other notable contributions came from Bill McCartney, Nick Lowe, Steve Douglas, Thomas Hague, Steve Ward, Denis Osbourne, Kip Sumner and Jaydeep Patil. I thank every player who contributed to this team. With some more players joining the club this summer I am hoping to have better availability the following season and better performance by this team.

Vijay Kakarparthi
Date Competition Opponents H/A Result Score
17/10/2017 League Div 3 Sale H Draw 2½-2½
26/10/2017 League Div 3 Marple C A Draw 2½-2½
31/10/2017 League Div 3 Denton H Lost 1½-3½
07/11/2017 League Div 3 Marple C H Won 4-1
28/11/2017 League Div 3 East Cheshire C H Draw 2½-2½
02/01/2018 League Div 3 Stockport D A Lost 1-4
22/01/2018 League Div 3 Sale A Lost 2-3
07/02/2018 League Div 3 Denton A Lost ½-4½
08/03/2018 League Div 3 Urmston A Won 4-1
14/03/2018 League Div 3 East Cheshire C A Lost 2-3
27/03/2018 League Div 3 Stockport D H Lost 2-3
03/04/2018 League Div 3 Stockport C H Won 3½-1½
17/04/2018 League Div 3 Urmston H Draw 2½-2½
08/05/2018 League Div 3 Stockport C A Lost ½-4½

08/05/2018 - Stockport C 4½ Altrincham B ½

It was a tough night. We were out graded and they were wounded losing to us in our home fixture. Unlike the result suggests, we did fight hard. Nobody went down easily. Tony on the top board was the first to finish with a draw. That is the best we could manage. Mike was next to finish in a dark bishop end game where his opponent was left with a solitary h pawn but his bishop was unable to cut the diagonal. I was next to finish in a King's Indian Attack against Caro Kann. The game was fairly even though I was short of time. I offered a draw and blundered the very next move to allow his pawn to be pushed till the second rank. The position was still salvageable if I had sacrificed my rook for a Bishop and pawn but I was severely short of time at this point in a no increments game and resigned a couple of moves later. Thomas was next to finish. He had a fairly even game too until he let his knight in a fork with his king by the opponent's bishop. Nick was last to finish in a King and Pawn end game. He just needed a zugzwang to draw the game and there was no such opportunity.

17/04/2018 - Altrincham B 2½ Urmston 2½

(report by Reg) Tony had a great position but his opponent managed to fend off the attack and even went on to win. Bill proved the theory that all Rook endings are drawn by drawing a losing one. Steve Ward came in at the last minute when Peter had to drop out, and lost a piece early on, though his opponent later blundered it back but still had an extra pawn which was enough to win. Mike had a good win, coolly defending against his opponent's sacrificial attack and converting the material advantage. Vijay was last to finish and played a captain's innings to square the match - in a drawish looking Rook & opposite colour bishop ending he managed to get his Queenside pawns rolling and his opponent's Bishop was on the wrong colour squares to do anything about it, and Vijay played very well under time pressure to convert the advantage.

Dave Bellis v Mike Davies (notes by Mike & Reg)

03/04/2018 - Altrincham B 3½ Stockport C 1½

It was a fantastic victory against a strong team. We were out graded on every board by at least 20 grading points except top board where we were still out graded by 10 points. Sheraz on the top board playing black was the first to finish with a quick win. At the point where I was expecting to lose 0-5 this came as a pleasant surprise. I was happy we were not going down without scoring. Mike on board 3 was next to finish. He got to play his favourite King's Indian Defence. However, in an attempt to play fast to make up for the time loss last time, he blundered a piece and threw in the towel. I was the next to finish on 4th board. In a Caro Kann game which turned into a French structure, I was constantly attacked. My opponent was attacking on the queen side whilst his king side was under developed. He was playing fast for some reason. Maybe the rating difference made him over confident. He had 55 mins on his clock while I had 12 mins. At this point he overlooked a discovered attack and lost his rook. It was game over. We were 2-1 up at this point. Bill on board 2 was next to finish. It was tight game with both of them having no opportunity to penetrate. Bill was running out of time and offered a draw which was accepted. We were 2½-1½ and everything was now on Peter on Board 5. The game was quite even till the end game with both of them hurrying up the moves due to time pressure. Peter's opponent was flagged at this point, his first defeat of the season, to give us the win. Well done all. It was a fantastic comeback to how we lost the previous fixture.

David Pardoe (142) vs Sheraz Khalil (135) (notes by Reg)

14/03/2018 - East Cheshire C 3 Altrincham B 2

It was not a night to remember for our team. Firstly, most of us reached the venue late except Bill due to road works and closures. The game kicked off at 7.45 pm. Sheraz was first to finish with a quick draw on the top board. Mike was next to finish on board 4. He was looking to play the King's Indian Defence again and he got it. He pushed for advantage with a pawn fortified on f4. Relentless attack ensured his opponent was on the back foot and eventually Mike got a smothered check mate. Bill was next to finish on board 3. When I last checked his board he had mate in 2. I wonder what happened then, Bill mentioned he lost the game. It was my turn to finish next. In a Philidor defence game, I had a slight positional advantage from the opening and I pushed it further. A middle game tactic ensured I won an exchange and later a pawn. This game is a reminder to me that I cannot get complacent at any point in the game. I was playing the end game fast and blundered my rook. My opponent offered me a draw at this point. I am not sure why but maybe he was not good at time management. He was close to 10 mins on the clock. I accepted the draw without second thought. Tony on Board 2 was the last to finish, and describes the game as follows - "I had a terrible opening making a horrible move 11 after dismissing a strong alternative. We made the opening moves quickly and I can only put this early misjudgment down to a combination of the stress of trying to get to the venue on time combined with the heating being off! I was forced to give up a pawn and had to exchange queens and 2 minor pieces by move 17 just to stay in the game. Unbelievably after another 17 moves I had won the pawn back and had what should have been a winning position. I got complacent at this point and let him back in the game by allowing his rook to get too active. At this stage with time short I offered a draw but although he was willing to accept he was asked to continue in view of the match position at that stage. Hence the scrambled finish at the end when I managed to throw the match away."

08/03/2018 - Urmston 1 Altrincham B 4

There was a power interruption and we had to move from the playing area to the bar below. It turned out in our favour as our players found ways to win! Board 1:Bill McCartney I had my opponent on the ropes until the lighting break and I then found it very hard to reconnect and ultimately made a gross error. Board 2:Tom Tomkins I played my usual Centre Counter game with Black and after about 40 minutes it looked as though I would be going home with an early loss; I had to lose a pawn and probably two. But I then found the one way to contain the damage to one pawn and then managed to get some counterplay - even though I was continually tied to my remaining isolated pawn. I was thinking of offering a draw as it was very hard for my opponent to press home his pawn advantage, but he had a bit of breakthrough - and then blundered a piece. I was still three pawns and a lot of time down but had the extra Rook. But I was able to press home and force the win. Board 3:Thomas Hague After exchanging queens very early the game was materially equal until the middle part, to the extent that my opponent offered a draw. I thought I may have a slight positional advantage as he had double pawns so I declined. After exchanging all the major pieces I was able to push a pawn to the last row and he resigned. Board 4:Mike Davies My opening error is quite clear; In the Samisch variation of the King's Indian, I need to play Ne8 and f5 before he can play g4. As the openings book says, if black can force white to forgo the king's side pawn attack, his troubles are over. As it was, patient defence became the order of the day waiting for the moment to counter attack. It was interesting how quickly white's position fell to pieces once he had overstretched his attack. I mated him with R, N and P long before I needed to mop up and queen a pawn. Board 5:Vijay Kakarparthi It was a Scotch game with me playing white. After the opening my position was slightly better. That was sufficient for me to create a central passed pawn. In a rook end game he found it difficult to stop my pawn from promoting and resigned.

22/01/2018 - Sale 3 Altrincham B 2

We were quite evenly matched on grades. I was the first to finish winning on Board 2. I had a pawn advantage which I managed to hold till the end and convert it to a queen. Steve Ward on board 3 was the next to finish. In a evenly matched contest, he overlooked a mate in 1 in the endgame and lost. Denis on Board 5 was next to finish. He managed to drag his opponent to the endgame but lost his pawns to lose advantage. Jaydeep making a debut for us on board 4 was the next to finish. He had a good debut with a win. He had a 2 pawn advantage over his opponent in a queen and rook game. However, I was expecting the game to drag a bit with his opponent trying to come back but then he overlooked a mate in 1 and handed over the game to Jaydeep. Well played Jaydeep! Hope to see you play many more games for our club. Bill on the top board had a long battle being an exchange down he was trying to push his passed central pawn to the finish line but his opponent defused the plan and pushed his pawn to the finish instead.

02/01/2018 - Stockport D 4 Altrincham B 1

This fixture did not turn out in the way we would hope the new year to start. It was a bit unsettling to start with as they were short of players and were looking to default a board. A last minute replacement helped them reshuffle the team when the games had almost started. We lost 1-4 being slightly better on grades. Tony and myself on top board and 4th board respectively had a similar game with king and pawn endgame with opponent having an extra pawn on the opposite side of the pawn chain. This is always a tough position to hold. Both of us lost. Bill on the second board was playing a slightly higher rated opponent and lost. Thomas on third board also blundered to lose his game. The only saving grace came from the bottom board where Steve Ward managed to win his game.

28/11/2017 - Altrincham B 2½ East Cheshire C 2½

Gradings were matched evenly. However, the best performance came from Peter Hawes on board 4 beating his opponent who was graded 17 points above him. Tom won on board 3 as well. Unfortunately, Sheraz lost on the top board despite having a better position. Bill drew his game on board 2, being 2 pawns up it could have converted into victory. However he was under time pressure and agreed a draw. Steve lost on board 5 making it 2½ points each.

07/11/2017 - Altrincham B 4 Marple C 1

Another impressive win by Sheraz put us 1-0 up within half an hour. This caused Steve D to have a rush of blood to the head, with an unsound piece sacrifice which his opponent refuted easily. So 1-1, but Tom, Thomas and Peter were each a pawn up on the three remaining boards, and all converted this to a full point.

31/10/2017 - Altrincham B 1½ Denton 3½

There was a good fightback from a losing position by Sheraz on board 1 -

David Campbell (135) vs Sheraz Khalil (132)

Team Captain's Report 2016-17

In terms of results, the B team doesn't have a pretty reading as we finished at the bottom of the table. However, results were never the purpose of this team. It was all about giving opportunity to club members who can't make the A team cut. The season started well with a draw against Marple C and a win against Stockport C. Soon things started going downhill. We lost Mark Hann mid season. He turned out to be too good for B team. He climbed to the top spot in the club in his very first season with us. We were being heavily outgraded in every fixture. We managed to win both home and away against a strong Stockport C team. We managed draws against Marple C and Sale. The season ended with 6 points. However, we did have some impressive individual brilliance. Steve Ward won against Steve McCall of East Cheshire who was graded 45 points above him. Tom Tomkins beats Chris Baker, 20 grading points above him. I managed couple of wins against John Kelly and Brian McGlone. Both were graded 30 points above me.

Philip and Kip Sumner made their debut for the B team this season and regularly played for this team. The other regulars were Steve Ward and Peter Hawes (at home games). Other significant contributions came from Bill McCartney, Steve Douglas, Richard White, Tom Tomkins, Thomas Hague, Pete Arland and Denis Osborne. Needless to mention, Mark Hann and his unbeaten season with us.

It is being proposed that B team exit this league and play the limit league to give some good contests and winning possibilities. We might not see this team in the next season. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone who contributed to this team in this season.

Vijay Kakarparthi
Date Competition Opponents H/A Result Score
29/09/2016 League Div 3 Marple C A Draw 2½-2½
18/10/2016 League Div 3 Stockport C H Won 3½-1½
25/10/2016 League Div 3 East Cheshire C H Lost 1½-3½
10/11/2016 League Div 3 Urmston A Lost 1½-3½
21/11/2016 League Div 3 Wilmslow A Lost ½-4½
07/12/2016 League Div 3 East Cheshire C A Lost 1½-3½
13/12/2016 League Div 3 Marple C H Lost 2-3
03/01/2017 League Div 3 Stockport C A Won 3-2
24/01/2017 League Div 3 Sale H Lost ½-4½
20/02/2017 League Div 3 Sale A Draw 2½-2½
21/03/2017 League Div 3 Urmston H Lost 1½-3½
25/04/2017 League Div 3 Wilmslow H Lost 1½-3½

Full details of all matches and league tables can be found on the Stockport League website.

25/04/2017 - Altrincham B 1½ Wilmslow 3½

This match featured a nice win by Peter Hawes -

Mike Palmer (112) v Peter Hawes (101)

21/03/2017 - Altrincham B 1½ Urmston 3½

It was not a good night for us. We were the stronger team but did not manage to convert the advantage to results. Board 1: Dave Bellis (110) v Nick Lowe (130) 0-1 A Grunfeld defence game saw a series of exchanges until only dark colour Bishop and pawns were left on the board when Nick's opponent blundered to handover the game. Board 2: Tom Tomkins (122) vs Grant Randall (113) ½-½ A four knights game again saw exchange with Rook and pawns. With penetration not possible and short of time on both sides, a draw was agreed. Board 3: Tim Plunkett (100) vs Philip Sumner (95) 1-0 It was a rare Chigorin variation in this season. Philip blundered in the middle game and had to give up his Bishop for a pawn. With inferior position the only option was to play an aggressive game. In this endeavour, Philip gave away another piece but the attack could not gather momentum and he resigned. Board 4: Peter Hawes (101) vs Thomas Hynes (76) 0-1 An advance variation of Caro Kann defence game. It was going well for Peter who had the a-file pawn on the 6th rank and a pawn advantage. Unfortunately, the game started slipping in the end game and his opponent managed to queen his centre pawn when Peter resigned. Board 5: G Bell (75) vs Kip Sumner (83) 1-0 It was Philidor defence game. Kip's opponent gave up a piece for 2 of King's defenders. This sacrifice was decisive as his queen was able to pierce on the king side followed by bishop and knight. There weren't enough defenders to protect the king and Kip resigned.

20/02/2017 - Sale 2½ Altrincham B 2½

Though we were slightly better on the grading, Sale managed to draw the fixture. Board 1: Richard White 1 - Neil Oddie 0 This was a Dutch defence game with swinging fortunes. Richard's opponent erred first to lose a Knight. Then it was Richard's turn to line up his queen and rook in the same diagonal of his opponent's bishop and went an exchange down. His opponent erred again to allow Richard to go exchange up and regain his piece advantage which he held to win the game. Board 2: Paul Gledhill ½ - Bill McCartney ½ This was a quick game by agreeing a draw in 21 moves. I haven't analysed the game as I do not understand Bill's way of noting the moves. I will learn from you next time we meet, Bill. Board 3: Steve Douglas 0 - Khalid Khokhar 1 Steve's opponent continued his good run after winning the Frodsham Congress a couple of weeks ago. It was the rarely played Wade defence of the Reti system. This game saw a series of exchanges and at the end of it Steve emerged a piece down. Steve's king was forced to the corner with limited movement in the end game and finally succumbed. Board 4: Sajjad Dehghan-Afifi 1 - Vijay Kakarparthi 0 I was a bit passive in the opening and gave away the initiative. My opponent had a tremendous attack on the c7 square which I managed to defuse and gain equality in the middle game, but I had lost significant time in the process. However, to gain active play I exchanged my dead knight for 2 pawns. I was under tremendous time pressure and ended up losing on time. Board 5: Steve Ward 1 - Des Lougheed 0 I did not get a chance to analyse Steve's game. It was queen pawn opening. Steve was a piece and pawn up in the end game and managed to win it thoroughly. Well Played Steve!

03/01/2017 - Stockport C 2 Altrincham B 3

Stockport C seems to be lucky for us. We have beaten them twice this season. We were evenly matched on grades though they were better on the bottom 2 boards. Board 1: Mark Hann (140e) vs Jill Barber (144) Mark's Nimzo-Larsen Attack worked again, see the game below. Board 2: Vic Rushworth (126) v Samuel Toniolo (140e) It was Samuel's French defence and in the opening I felt Sam will easily settle this board but it did not go that way. In an advance variation, his opponent managed to exchange the crucial dark bishop and posting the Knight on the b5 square for a long time. Samuel finally succumbed to defeat. Board 3: Thomas Hague (118) v John Kelly (117) Probably the best game of the night. In a Petrov's defence Thomas played an aggressive game. It was well crafted in the end. I haven't seen a game where the opponent queens his pawn first and still loses the game. Thomas played an excellent game and managed to queen his pawn 3 moves after his opponent did and still managed to win. Board 4: Brian McGlone (110) v Vijay Kakarparthi (90) I got to play my favourite Owen's defence. Probably over confidence, I messed up the move order and handed over the tempo to my opponent. The game was evenly poised in the queen and rook end game. Both had equal attacking opportunities and my opponent blundered. Though I was running short on time, the extra rook ensured I seal this tie. I must say I was lucky. Board 5: Steve Ward (84) v Antony Prime (98) Another French defence game. Steve blundered a knight in the middle game but managed to hold on to his deficit for a long time. It is not easy to fight with a piece down and Steve finally gave up when his opponent's rooks dragged Steve's king to the central ranks.

A very impressive performance by our team members and a successful night. Well played all.

Mark Hann v Jill Barber

13/12/2016 - Altrincham B 2 Marple C 3

Board 1: Chris Baker (140) 0-1 Tom Tomkins (121) Tom's opponent preferred the English opening with the fianchetto of the light squared Bishop. Tom created some attacks on the f2 square which was then neutralised by his opponent. With a series of exchanges both of them ended up with one bad knight with Queen and Rook. While Tom's knight was struggling for squares, he had an excellent queen which was swinging on the 6th rank creating threats on both sides of the board. While all the onlookers thought this could end in a draw, Tom created threats and in time pressure his opponent overlooked a discovered attack on his queen and resigned after a couple of moves. Board 2: Peter Hawes (95) 0-1 David Preen (135) Peter's opponent opened with Owen's defence (which is my favourite too!). The game progressed slowly into the middle game with opposite side castling. While Peter had the opportunity to attack his opponent's king, he decided to wait and defend his king from the pawn advance and ended up with his own pawn advance. His opponent built up pressure on the b file and created a passed pawn. Peter's king was drawn out to the centre and it did not last long there. Board 3: Jeff Barlow (121) 0-1 Philip Sumner (95) This was the best game of the evening! Philip scored his first win for the club, and the game can be seen below. Board 4: Steve Ward (84) 0-1 Tony Kay (113) It was Steve's favourite Sicilian game but as white. Another game with opposite side castling. Game progressed well and with equal chances until the end game. Steve had a pawn storm on his opponent's king side which gradually fizzled out. This ended up with a passed pawn for his opponent. With Steve's king stuck on the other side of the board there was no way Steve could stop the touch down and resigned. Board 5: Tony Doust(102) 1-0 Kip Sumner (95) Kip's opponent preferred the London system. It was a cluttered centre with tactics brewing on both sides. It was queen side play by both with king tucked away safely on the other side. However, Kip ended up losing couple of pawns on queen side and eventually gave up.

Jeff Barlow vs Philip Sumner
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07/12/2016 - East Cheshire C 3½ Altrincham B 1½

Though we lost the encounter, the result is not discouraging. We were outgraded on every board. I was suspecting a whitewash but luckily it did not turn out that way. Board 1: Steve Douglas (123) 0-1 Jim McKie (129) Steve's opponent responded with an aggressive Benoni defence against his d4. It was slow grind until the end game with opposite colour bishops. His opponent managed an extra pawn and also managed to get it to the 7th rank. Steve gave up at this stage as there was no way he could stop the pawn from queening. Board 2: Dave Taylor (134) 1-0 Thomas Hague (118) It was a Reti opening. I did not get a chance to follow this much but it ended in the middlegame when Thomas resigned. I could see from the far end of the table where Thomas's opponent's rook penetrated to the 7th and 8th rank. Board 3: Kip Sumner (95) 0-1 Myles Heywood (132) In his trademark style Kip opened with English Opening. He lost a tempo with his Bishop moving up and down. In the middlegame his opponent took control of a1-h8 diagonal with a strong fianchettoed Bishop and pawns marching down on the queen side with Kip's pieces struggling to find good squares. Eventually Kip gave up. Board 4: Paul Bamford (123) ½-½ Vijay Kakarparthi (90) I tried the King's Indian Defence after a long time and managed to hold on to a strong defence. It was an interesting middlegame with Paul doing a pawn storm on the queen side with his pawns sitting on a4, b4, c4 and d4. I managed to defuse that attack. We had a series of exchanges and with no penetration possible by both of us we had to settle for a draw. Board 5: Steve Ward (84) 1 - 0 Steve McCall (130) What a night Steve Ward had!! His opponent was rated 44 points higher and still Steve managed an excellent victory. I could not analyse the opening. It was opposite side castling and Steve Ward's rooks created havoc on the d and e files gobbling up pawns and threatening piece capture. While Steve Ward's king was safely tucked, his opponent ran the risk of his king entering the dance floor with constant checks and he threw in his towel.

10/11/2016 - Urmston 3½ Altrincham B 1½

It was a night filled with confusion. On our arrival we were told that they are short of a player as one of them had fallen sick. We were looking to play only 4 boards and all of a sudden John Reyes appeared. They moved everybody a board down and now ready to play all 5 boards. We started the game and their player on the top board did not appear. We were back to 4 boards again. They defaulted the top board to Mark Hann. Board 2: Steve Douglas had to play John Reyes at the last minute. Steve playing black could not hold his defence and resigned. Board 3: I played the Italian variation of the 4 knights game. It turned out to be sharp game after I dragged his king out from his position but he managed an artificial castle. I lost an extra pawn but managed to keep my position tight and finally in a locked position we agreed a draw. Board 4: Steve Ward playing black was under constant attack. He could not hold on started losing pawns and pieces and eventually threw his towel in. Board 5: Pete Arland had a decent opening and an equal middle game where it was easy for both the players to miscalculate. Pete lost this one eventually.

25/10/2016 - Altrincham B 1½ East Cheshire C 3½

It did not go very well for us this week. As expected we were outgraded by a large margin on the bottom 3 boards. Board 1: Mark Hann chose the unusual Keres Defence against d4. This was played cautiously from both players until a deadlock situation towards the end with both unable to penetrate and running out of time. A draw was agreed. Board 2: Thomas Hague playing white came up against a Caro Kann from his opponent. There were quick exchanges and Tom was playing a pawn down which he managed to equalize in the end game. It was a simple theoretical draw but his opponent failed to move within the 10 second increment and lost on time. Good result Tom! Board 3: Here is where the grading difference started to count. Opponent was 30 grading points above ours. Kip Sumner playing black chose an irregular opening which made his opponent think a lot but held on to the attacking position. A middle game error resulted in a piece down and Kip gave up with not much hope. Just a bad day Kip. Don't mind the loss! Board 4: Like board 3 the grading difference was too big here as well. It was 35 points. Peter Hawes playing white chose the Ruy Lopez. It was going well until the middle game, like Kip, Pete erred to allow his opponent fork his queen and knight. With not much hope Pete gave up. Bad day again Pete! Not to worry. Board 5: This was a total mismatch with Denis Osborne rated 41 facing an opponent rated 130. It was a queen's gambit declined game. Denis lost his pieces in the middle game and was a rook and 2 pawns down when they approached the end game. Denis fought till the end and was checkmated.

18/10/2016 - Altrincham B 3½ Stockport C 1½

What a night of chess it was for our club! We were outgraded on every board by 25 grading points at least, and how we broke the opponents! Board 1: Phil Sumner was the first to finish. It was a Vienna opening transforming into 4 knights game. He ended up losing but to be fair to Phil, it was his first league match and he faced a much higher rated player. Placing him on the top board itself was a bit unfair to him but had to do so in the endeavour to build a strong B team. Not to be disheartened Phil! You have a long way to go and you will get some good games on the course. Board 2: Pete Hawes again faced a much higher rated player and was held for a draw. This was a rare Caro Kann opening which I have hardly seen in these league games. A very good result considering the grading difference of 29. Well played Pete! Board 3: I was playing black against a higher rated opponent as well with a grading difference of 27. I somehow managed to weather the attack and build my own. It was an Owen's defense game against a transformed London System. Though I squandered an opportunity to gobble up his rook under time pressure, I managed to keep up the pressure, ate up his pawns and checkmated him. Board 4: Like Phil, Kip Sumner was playing his first league game for our club as well. Like others, he was facing a higher rated opponent. He chose to use the English opening and kept up the pressure on his opponent who eventually succumbed to the attack. Board 5: Pete Arland was playing a league match after quite a while I guess. He also had an opponent who was rated 28 grading points above him. He was defending an Italian opening and did exceptionally well to go on and win.

29/09/2016 - Marple C 2½ Altrincham B 2½

Steve Ward was the first to finish on the bottom board playing white. He had a quick win against his opponent. I did not have much opportunity to follow his game. I finished next and ended up losing playing black. I was not at my best and couldn't defend against the London system. It is unusual as I play a lot of London System myself while playing white. The top 3 boards went to the wire where all the 6 players had less than 5 mins left on their clock. Mark Hann on the top board ended with a draw playing white. He was a pawn down but his opponent's pawns were doubled. Both the kings weren't able to pierce into the opposition territory and agreed for a draw. Tom Tomkins also ended up with a draw on third board playing white. Tom had a rook and pawn for 2 knights. Though Tom lost his extra pawn, there were no inroads possible for both the players. Steve Douglas was the last to finish on second board playing black. Steve also, like Tom, had a rook and a pawn for a Knight and Bishop. Though Steve lost his rook for an advanced pawn, his king was in the center of the board making it difficult for his opponent to push for a win with 2 minor pieces under time pressure. Though we were better in overall grading than our opponents, considering this is a season opener with fixture at such short notice we will take this draw as a good result.

2015-16

Date Competition Opponents H/A Result Score
13/10/2015 League Div 3 Wilmslow H Lost ½-4½
26/10/2015 League Div 3 Wilmslow A Lost 1-4
24/11/2015 League Div 3 Stockport C A Won 4-1
14/12/2015 League Div 3 Sale A Won 3½-1½
07/01/2016 League Div 3 Marple C A Lost 0-5
12/01/2016 League Div 3 Stockport C H Draw 2½-2½
20/01/2016 League Div 3 East Cheshire C A Lost 2-3
02/02/2016 League Div 3 Sale H Lost 1-4
01/03/2016 League Div 3 Macclesfield C H Won 4½-½
05/04/2016 League Div 3 Marple C H Won 3-2
18/04/2016 League Div 3 Macclesfield C A Lost 1½-3½
03/05/2016# League Div 3 East Cheshire C H Lost 1½-3½
# Rearranged fixture

03/05/2016 - Altrincham B 1½ East Cheshire C 3½

The team finished its season with a defeat, but were unlucky not to at least draw the match against opponents who outgraded us on all but the top board. Steve Douglas capped a fine season for himself, winning the exchange and the game shortly after, to cancel out a loss for Wayne who lost a piece early in the game. Bill had a winning position, but picked up the wrong piece to make a capture, transforming it into a loss. Peter played very well against a strong opponent, reaching an equal rook endgame but unfortunately missing a move which would have reached a theoretically drawn position, and subsequently lost. At 3-1 the match was lost but Vijay battled until late in the evening, having the better of his game but eventually having to accept a draw in a queen endgame, unable to avoid perpetual check.

05/04/2016 - Altrincham B 3 Marple C 2

This match featured some volatile games and the result was in doubt right to the end. On board 1 John Reyes won a piece in the opening, but then went astray and lost. The reverse happened with Tom and Bill, who both won after being a piece down. Peter Hawes was playing his first match of the season, but didn't show any signs of rustiness and had a good win, though this too was not without a wobble - after winning the exchange he then lost a piece, but in the endgame his rook was sufficient to shepherd home a passed pawn against his opponent's bishop and knight. Vijay was involved in a complex game, where his King was trapped in the centre which eventually decided the game in his opponent's favour.

01/03/2016 - Altrincham B 4½ Macclesfield C ½

The B team got back to winning ways, turning the form book upside down with this emphatic victory. Wayne was first to finish, first winning the exchange, then losing a piece, but then winning his opponent's queen. Thomas also won quickly, winning a piece after which his opponent managed to prolong the game for a while, but the result was never in doubt. Steve D won a pawn, but his opponent's active minor pieces were giving good compensation until Steve managed to exchange enough pieces to make the extra pawn count. Bill won after his opponent made an unsound piece sacrifice. That left Tom, who was involved in a long manouvering game in a blocked position, agreeing a draw after the position eventually opened up.

02/02/2016 - Altrincham B 1 Sale 4

Sale gained revenge for our win over them in December. Bill had a solid draw on board 1, and Steve Ward also did well to draw having been promoted to board 2. Wayne tried the rarely played Damiano's defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6?!), an experiment he is not likely to repeat! There was a welcome return to our teams for Pete Arland and Rob Isaac, playing their first League match of the season.

20/01/2016 - East Cheshire C 3 Altrincham B 2

The B team emulated last week's A team result with a narrow defeat at East Cheshire. The good news was a first win for Vijay, and the following nice win by Wayne, who describes it as "a successful exercise in how to hide sacrifices as apparent mistakes to breakout of a locked position into a decisive mate"!!

Geoff Clarke (94) vs Wayne Kranz (79)

12/01/2016 - Altrincham B 2½ Stockport C 2½

Our team was not as strong as when we won 4-1 at Stockport in November, but did well to draw the match. Wayne succumbed to an attack on his Q-side castled King. Our new member Vijay lost a pawn in the opening, but played very well thereafter and came close to equalising the position before missing a little tactic. Steve Ward got a good draw on board 3 and Thomas had another exciting win, leaving Bill with the chance of tying the match if he could win his game. This he did when his opponent blundered in time trouble.

Thomas Hague (112) vs John Kelly (124)

14/12/2015 - Sale 1½ Altrincham B 3½

Sale's new venue, Northenden Social Club, is a lot quieter than their previous home. We won with a draw from John Reyes on board one, and wins from Wayne, Steve D & Steve W.

13/10/2015 - Altrincham B ½ Wilmslow 4½

Wilmslow had over 30 grading points advantage on each of the top two boards, so we needed to score well on the lower boards to have a chance in this match. But Wayne and Callum both had losing positions early on, although Wayne bravely resisted for a long time before succumbing to the inevitable. Steve Douglas had a fairly quick draw, a good result against a higher graded opponent. Meanwhile, Bill was being slowly asphyxiated on board 1, but Thomas came very close to a draw on board 2, in a very entertaining game for the spectators. From a losing position, Thomas got back into the game when his opponent allowed the advance of a dangerous passed pawn. You can play through the crucial phase of the game on the interactive board below.

Thomas Hague (112) vs Colin Mills (147)
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2014-15

This season we ran a B team in Division 3, in addition to a Limit League team.

Date Competition Opponents H/A Result Score
13/10/2014 League Wilmslow A Draw 2½-2½
28/10/2014 League Wilmslow H Draw 2½-2½
05/11/2014 League East Cheshire C A Won 4-1
16/12/2014 League Stockport C H Lost 1-4
10/02/2015 League Stockport C A Draw 2½-2½
16/02/2015 League Macclesfield B A Lost 2-3
24/03/2015 League Sale H Won 3-2
31/03/2015 League East Cheshire C H Won 5-0
13/04/2015 League Sale A Draw 2½-2½
28/04/2015 League Macclesfield B H Won 3-2

28/04/2015 Altrincham B 3 Macclesfield B 2

The team finished the season with a good win over Macclesfield B, who had already clinched the division title, but this win meant that we finished a highly creditable second. Credit must go to Wayne who has been an inspirational captain with 6½ points from his 7 games for the team. He was unavailable for this final match of the season, but wins by Richard, Bill and Tom won us the match.

13/04/2015 Sale 2½ Altrincham B 2½

A win would have kept alive our outside chance of winning the division, but it wasn't to be. However the team can finish no lower than third, and could finish second with a win in the final match against champions Macclesfield B. Wayne continued his impressive undefeated record in the B team with another win, with Thomas also winning and Adhi drawing.

31/03/2015 Altrincham B 5 East Cheshire C 0

Due to player availability, the B team for this match was similar in strength to the A team that played East Cheshire B a couple of weeks ago, and the team certainly performed on the night. Wayne was last to start due to being delayed, but first to finish, the twenty minute time loss proving inconsequential as he recorded a comfortable victory. Thomas Hague for once used more time than his opponent, and appeared to be in some trouble when a piece down and facing a dangerous passed pawn, but his opponent misplayed a tactical sequence after which Tom won back his piece, and his own passed pawn then decided matters. Bill's game featured some heavy manouvering behind blocked pawn structures, but he eventually won his opponent's queen for rook & knight, though his own queen was immobilised in a nest of enemy pawns. However he managed to exchange it for two rooks, after which he had an easily winning endgame. Karl's and Richard's games were level for most of the way, but their opponents used a lot of time, which eventually led to mistakes giving us a 5-0 whitewash.

24/03/2015 Altrincham B 3 Sale 2

Thomas had one of his customary quick finishes, but this time it was a defeat instead of one of his quick wins. Everyone else had winning positions, and after some trials and tribulations three of these games were won to ensure overall match victory. Richard reached a minimal ending with queen against a pawn on the 7th rank, and although unfamiliar with the winning technique he showed great composure by working it out at the board, for his first win of the season. Steve D went from being a piece up to a piece down in the space of a few moves, but then restored the material balance and went on to win the ending. Pete's game followed a similar pattern at first, but he was unable to recover following the loss of his piece advantage and ended up losing. Wayne was the only one who pressed home his material advantage without any hiccups. This win took the team from the foot of the table up to 3rd (out of 6).

16/02/2015 Macclesfield B 3 Altrincham B 2

A narrow defeat against the team who are likely to win the division. Karl's opponent on board 1 was of a similar grade and Karl drew fairly comfortably. Everyone else was at a significant grading disadvantage, so David Hughes did well to draw in an equal knight endgame, and Thomas Hague even better in winning a game that culminated in a race between two passed pawns - a clever temporary queen sacrifice ensured that Thomas's pawn reached the line first. Steve Ward and Daniel had even bigger grading deficits to overcome, but both battled well before being defeated, with Steve's game the last one to finish.

10/02/2015 Stockport C 2½ Altrincham B 2½

We emerged with a creditable draw in the end. Bill had an excellent win against Vic Rushworth showing the strength of a well placed knight. David Hughes won against Peter King, again with the help of a knight outpost. Steve Ward drew his game after both players decided neither could afford not to repeat the position. Steve Douglas was a piece down but with advanced pawns as compensation, but eventually lost when his opponent forced the exchange of queens. Denis looked likely to be swamped by promoted queens, but in the end one sufficed to overcome him.

05/11/2014 East Cheshire C 1 Altrincham B 4

Our third match fell on November 5th, 'Bonfire Night' which contributed to extra festive traffic in our local area to contend with for those of us car pooling across the suburbs to the away match against East Cheshire C, who kindly held off starting the clocks to allow for our delay. Under a chorus of mortars, rockets, explosions and crackles, heads quickly hunkered down to strategise their individual battle movements. Adhiyaman playing in his first competitive league match was first to claim a resignation from East Cheshire on board 4, followed by myself on 5. Steve Douglas refused a draw offer on board 3 and pressed home his advantage to ensure our first outright match victory.

There appeared every chance of finishing 5-0, however Richard sagely decided not to risk a loss on board 2, due to his doubled pawns after his opponent suggested a draw and Graham still with 30 minutes in hand to his opponent's 4, magnanimously offered his opponent a draw in preference to playing for the win by time. Thus we all departed without defeat, scoring 4:1 for the match.
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28/10/2014 Altrincham B 2½ Wilmslow 2½

Match 2 was the return match with Wilmslow at home. I was grateful to have Bill, Richard, Thomas Hague and Peter Hawes available, for a team total grading of 548 to Wilmslow's 632, narrowing the overall ratings gap to 84 from the previous match's 158.

After some explanation of our elected use of 80 minutes plus the Fischer incremental time bonus of 10 seconds per move for time control, Wilmslow's team captain having consulted his team, requested a change to the all moves in 90 minutes alternative only to be informed the home club's prerogative would stand.

Time was not an issue yet again for Thomas, who was able to continue his tendency to humbly apologise for winning so quickly before excusing himself after only 15 minutes of gameplay. I enjoyed what felt like a fluid trumping of my opponent, only to be left counting my good fortune when Reg, who took an interest in spectating, kindly took the time to go through my game to highlight a few missed variations to have strengthened my play without the holes that had unwittingly been allowed across the board.

The remaining three boards were still locked in even exchange, with Peter finally succumbing to strong multiple piece attack on a position that was left with no room to move, there being only two pawns a side removed from the board.

With the match now 2-1 in our favour, the increasingly likely result of draw offers from boards 1 and 2 would see us clinch a 3-2 victory. Wilmslow's captain did indeed offer Richard a draw, which he happily accepted from his 20 grade point higher adversary. Bill's opponent was then forced to decline a draw to allow for any chance of saving Wilmslow from defeat, and even with the new bonus time control, a new experience for both players, pressure mounted in how to deal with each other's remaining rook and pawn combinations. Bill's opponent managed to exchange rooks to reach a winning pawn ending so we happily gained another match draw.

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13/10/2014 Wilmslow 2½ Altrincham B 2½

Wayne Kranz reports -
The first outing of the newly re-entered Altrincham B Team was an away match against Wilmslow, who had been relegated from Division 2 the previous season, promising to be stiff competition from which to obtain first runs on the board, as a first time team captain. Wilmslow fielded a team with a combined grading of 652 over their five boards, to give an on paper rating advantage of 158 over our collective total of 494.

Steve Ward who availed himself at short notice, after Richard prudently withdrew with flu symptoms on what held to be a cold wet evening, was quickest to earn our first points when he extracted acceptance of his draw offer from his 33 higher graded opponent. I broke a long drought of few competitive wins in the previous season, when I was able to capitalise on capture of an unprotected Rook on move 22 as a trigger to the resignation of my 42 higher rated opposite number before his 28th move.

Steve Douglas, facing the hardest task on board 2 against a 51 point superior ranked player, suffered our first loss resigning his position, before Pete anguished over the same decision to turn the tables in Wilmslow's favour. This left Karl who had agreed to lend his support by travelling from Crewe, with a tightly balanced game on material resisting repeated draw offers, to coolly press home the smallest advantage of a slightly more advanced pawn, swapping off until each had only a Knight, and three pawns versus two pawns, with just two and half versus one and a half minutes left on clocks. A final potential sacrifice with a deft check forking his foe's Knight with his own, saw Karl clinch a long awaited resignation by paving the way for a passed pawn.

2013-14

There was no B team in 2013-14; instead, the club's second team played in the newly formed Limit League.

2012-13 Team captain's report

My thanks to all club members who competed for the team. We came 7th out of the 8 teams in the C league.

The team played 14 games and won 4. Only 4 were lost 5 - nil and one was won 5 - nil

10 members competed for the club with every board filled for each match but during the season opponents failed to compete on 4 boards including 3 from Stockport C in one match when they won the other 2 boards.

Steve Ward played 14 games mainly on boards 1 to 3 with once on board 5 but lost that match. Otherwise 6 wins with a 43 % win rate.
Steve Douglas was the next most frequent player with 12 matches and after a slow start losing the first 4 games he went on to achieve 4 wins and points for a DNS, a 36% win rate and played on boards 2 to 4.
Rob Isaac played 11 matches also with a DNS in addition. Rob achieved 3 wins and one draw with a 30% win rate on boards 4 and 5.
Wayne Kranz played 9 games with 1 win, Denis Osborne 6 games with 1 win and a draw.
Pete Arland played 5 games and lost all but played only on boards 1 and 2 whilst Callum McNulty played 7 games and lost all but one but played all his games on board 1.
John Roff, Thomas Hague and Reg Clucas each played 2 games with Reg winning both his to achieve the team's highest win rate at 100%.
Again my thanks to all who turned out for the team.

Steve Ward
Team captain

2011-12 Team captain's report

2011/12  Altrincham & Hale B team in Stockport league division D.

My thanks to all who took part and played for the team.

It was not a great start to our inclusion in the Stockport league but it could have been worse. We could have been bottom of the lowest league rather than equal bottom but we competed and enjoyed ourselves.

We lost most games and some badly but there were wins against Macclesfield C, Ashton and Marple C with draws against East Cheshire C twice.

We were able to field a full team for each match and ten club members played for the team and contributed to the team's achievement.

Reg Clucas scored 3 wins from 4 games, Pete Arland 3 from 10 with 4 draws, Callum McNulty 2 from 10 with 3 draws but playing some strong players, myself 3 wins and 8 losses, Wayne Kranz 3 wins from 9, Thomas Hague 2 wins from 5, the new find of the season Steve Douglas 3 wins and 1 draw from 5 games.

John Roff, Denis Osborne and David Hughes all played but without wins. Nevertheless I am grateful for their contributions.

Thankyou
Steve Ward