Update at 18th May. The end of season social organised by Eddy involved a meal and participation in the weekly quiz at the Railway Formby. A dozen members/wives/friends had a very enjoyable evening and ate well and whilst not winning any prizes were able to demonstrate both knowledge and ignorance of a variety of uncommon facts and subjects. Formby put out a team of four in the M'side team Lightning competition held at the Prescot venue last Monday. Again no prizes were won but a very enjoyable and interesting series of games were played. Aided by a very welcome appearance by James Clarke who defied his two year lack of chess by winning 5 from 6 together with 3/6 by both Dave Colbourne and John Grady with 1.5/6 by MDB, the team ended with 12.5/30 and 'mid table'. An overall win went to Aigburth1 with 18.5 followed by Atticus 1 with 16, both dependent upon last round results of several teams. Mike Barooah was the club's only representative in the Rhyl congress last weekend. Unfortunately he was not feeling well and after a lot of pieces won and lost plus his usual time scrambles ended with 1win,1 draw and 3 losses The club will now rest until the AGM on 7th June for which I will be circulating an Agenda and copies of the 2015 minutes. Update at 6th May The club champion for 2015/6 is Gareth Haslinger. In his first game v Dave Colbourne he defended well and sacrificed to simplify the position and get a draw. In the replay Dave blundered a pawn and whilst this made him play more aggressively he missed an opportunity which might have given him a draw and the loss gave Gareth his first club championship. In the Challengers' tournament Mike Barooah first beat Rob Haseman before drawing with John Grady. In their replay semi-final Mike gained a material advantage although (naturally in time trouble) and John resigned to leave Mike to play Bob Platt in the final at some as yet undetermined date.
Update at 27th April At last some good news or at least not bad news in that by Wallasey C losing on last Monday the 3rds retain their place in Div 4 of the M'side League. Wallasey B made up for it last night when they came and beat Formby 2 by 4.5-2.5 with only Bob Greaves winning a game.
So the team competitions finish for the season with the 1sts not gaining promotion, the 2nds being relegated and the 3rds avoiding it whilst the 440 team finished in the top half of the table.
The Club Championship final between Gareth and Dave C ended in a draw so that a replay will be due This will hopefully be played next Tuesday 3rd May when the club will be open for this and other games.
N B The Mside team lightning tournament will be on Monday 16th May at Prescot and the Mside AGM at Aigburth on Wednesday 25th May
The Formby AGM will be held on Tuesday 7th June at Ravenmeols centre.
Update at 20th April Dave Williams reports on the 1st team's last match of the season ''On the one hand a draw with champions Waterloo to confirm second place seems a good result. On the other hand, realising afterwards that we outgraded them on every board rather confirms we haven't done as well as we should this season. An early offer of a draw and a pint from Player of the Season Colin Horton was too good to refuse. By the time we returned to the action Phil had won and Dave C had lost, I know not how. Paul, with knight and pawn against knight, managed to get his pawn home. And Mike, with what looked to be a long-term advantage in a bishop and pawns ending, suddenly chased the bishop into a corner with his king, and won it for nothing. Bob and Gareth both had pretty double-edged positions, and sadly both resolved themselves into decisive mating attacks for their opponents. All square''. Last night Formby's attempt to retain the Knotty Ash cup failed at the semi-final stage against Prescot. Rob's brief report and details are on relevant page.
There was a little more progress in the Challengers' Trophy last week when Bob Platt beat Dave Whitby with the loser saying that he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory having been the exchange and two pawns up In the same competition John Grady had beaten Eddy in a quick play game after a previous draw. NB 1 The last booked night of chess at RCC is next week 26th April when there is a 2nd team match at home. Should players still involved in club championships require a further night to play games and not be able to play elsewhere by mutual agreement, I should be able to book RCC for Tuesday 3rd May. If this is required please tell me but I don't really want to extend booking beyond that date (on economic grounds)
NB 2 An end of season social gathering has been set for Sunday 8th May. This will be at the Railway pub Formby starting with a( late pub lunch) meal at 7-30 pm followed by participation in the pub organised quiz starting at approx 9-00pm. All members spouses and partners are invited and it is hoped we can provide at least two teams. Names to Eddy Patten please at 01704 879800 or [email protected] asap so that tables and meals can be reserved as necessary..
Update at 15th April Dave Williams reports '' A belated return to form for Formby 1 at Prescot, who started our decline by beating us back in December. As the last to finish I didn't see a lot of the play, so most of this is gleaned from what others have told me. Dave C won a piece and the game early on. Phil was next to finish, with a draw. A draw too for Paul, and wins for Mike and Bob, though I gather Bob's was by a swindle in a lost position. Gareth need to win to keep in the hunt for Player of the Year, and looked to me to have the advantage, but eventually it fizzled out to an inevitable draw. I had a slight advantage throughout, except for one moment when Kevin Sartain had a forced draw by repetition, which he spurned in view of the match score at the time - and soon regretted it. So a fine 5.5-1.5 victory in the end, though we still probably have to beat champions Waterloo to clinch second place''. The 3rd team had two matches in the week needing to win both to ensure a stay in div 4. On Tuesdaythey received division leaders Liverpool 2 and had an immediate advantage with a default win for the skipper. This was followed by wins from Rob and Andre so that when Eddie was offered a draw by the opposition skipper there should have been no doubt in his mind although he was ahead. The skipper's advice was followed and a team win all for the best as both Dave McK and Kevin G then lost. Last night the team went to Prescot 2where Eddy emphasised his good play with a win but it was the only one and with only draws from Andre and Paul the team went down 2--4 and now await Wallasey's last match which if won will mean relegation for Formby 3.
Update at 7th April It was a case of what might or could have been for the 2nd team this week when, following the 3rd team's first win last week, they won well against Atticus 3 with no individual defeats. Needing to win both remaining matches by 6.5-.5 to remain in Div 2 the team started with a draw by Dave Whitby. A deserved if surprising win by MDB against Luke Boumphrey and wins by Mike Bh and John G kept the dream alive and despite being material down Alan W had a forced surrender of his opponent's queen which went unacted for several moves. However a draw by Andre burst the dream and after Alan had agreed a draw Duncan and his opponent agreed a draw as the team result had been decided. A win in the final match v Wallasey will mean relegation on game points deficit but equal match points with Atticus. PS at 10th Jim Wiseman's very courteous report on the match is now on the Atticus website The previous night the 440 team had won their rearranged match v Prescot '1' by 3-1. A win by Bob G and one by Paul S having been the exchange down plus draws by MDB and Dave McKee gave the team the win. Semi-finals of the club championship were played on Tuesday when Gareth went a piece up against Phil and despite his bishop being pinned was able to use it to support a very active queen against an open king and then bring in the extra knight to deliver the telling check. .Meanwhile Mike H had sacrificed two pawns to attack Dave C when castling on opposite flanks but Dave's defence was equal to the attack and Mike had spent too much time in his efforts. Over the Easter holiday period the Haslingers had made one f their regular trips to Dutch congresses. In the Delft congress all three scored 3.5 from 6. Stewart seeded 3 in Group A finished equal 11th. Gareth seeded 2nd in group B finished equal 9th therefore both slightly below expectations whilst Mike seeded 13th finished equal 13th. N B please note that the final 440 match will be away at Waterloo on Monday 25th April and the web page has been amended accordingly. My apologies for the error. 3rd team and Knotty Ash matches have also now have agreed dates and Rob and Paul S will be contacting relevant players.
Update at 2nd April
3rd Team skipper Paul S reported yesterday on Thursdays away matchagainst Hoylake 3 '' No its not an April fool, we really have won a match! Early win by Rob, followed by draws on bottom 3 boards Dave McKee then lost after a close game Eddie played an excellent game until his opponent gave up and resigned with Eddies pawn about to become a queen All in all a very encouraging result albeit a bit late in the season'' The previous weekend Mike Bh had been the only Formby player at the Bolton Congress where in the U170 section he had a great result in finishing =2nd (5) with 2wins and 3 draws which he tells me he should have converted with a little more time.
Update at 25th March The respective hopes of Formby 1 and 2 of getting promotion and avoiding relegation were extinguished on Monday night at Waterloo when the 2nds lost by 1.5 --5.5 giving the home team the division 2 title. Whether Waterloo were expecting Stewart to appear I don't know but MDB on top board was faced with a suntanned Gary Quillan appearing for the first time this season. Formby had been at an immediate disadvantage with Dave McKee stuck in Majorca by a ATC France strike and then faced by a grading discrepancy of over 50 on each of four boards. Congratulations go to John G, Bob G and Mike F who secured draws. MDB spurned a chance to win a piece for two pawns fearing his king would be too open thereafter However subsequent analysis with Gary indicated he would have held on for longer had he accepted. The following night Formby received Atticus in a John Ripley Cup tie and not surprisingly were well beaten. Reports by both captains are on the relevant page. Special mention must be made of Mike Bh who always like to challenge himself against higher graded players (vide Blackpool) but was outgraded by over 55 points for the second night running. In the circumstances he did well before finally succumbing .Any chance of silverware this season will now depend upon the Knotty Ash team yet to play their semi-final. On the same night the 440 team went to Fazakerley and came away with a 2--2 draw helped by a win by Paul S and draws by MDB and Dave Whitby.
Update at 17th March After a few days in Keswick followed by a weekend in Blackpool I have collated the information for this update. The report on Blackpool is on the relevant page and congratulations to Gareth and (possibly) Rob for their prizewinning. Two matches in a week for the 1st team have all but ended hopes of promotion. Although there was a narrow win at Wallasey a draw at home to Liverpool will leave Waterloo needing only to beat Formby 2 next Monday to finish top whatever the result of the final match v Formby 1. Stand in Skipper JMH reports on the Wallasey match ''Every board was quite close for a couple of hours, so the match was very intense. I learnt afterwards that Phil had won a piece, but this was when I had to give my board full attention, so I did not see it. I had glanced at the league table earlier yesterday, and noticed that if we lost this match, Wallasey B would overtake Formby 1 in the table. Eddy had a close game and was first to finish with a draw after about 2 and a half hours. Dave had an extra pawn after an hour but had returned it when I next looked on the 2 hour mark and a draw was agreed shortly after Eddy. Gareth tells me he did a piece sac which might not have been sound but it did result in a win for him. I was nearly lost after 15 moves, but after 20, I was luckily beginning to get my head above water, and slowly gained the advantage and won. So with 3 games to finish we now stood 2 up, but Bob was under very difficult pressure positionally and clockwise, with a little complex counterplay, but a loss looked imminent. Phil had by now given up his piece for what he thought was a won R ending but it looked a bit drawish to me, and he had to be careful not to mate himself. Paul had always looked slightly better to me, but ended with a draw, and so did Phil. Bob finally lost with 14 seconds remaining on his clock, so the final score was 3-4, with a well deserved but close win for the travellers.'' EDW was back for the Liverpool match ''A very quick win for me opened up the prospect of over two hours watching my team-mates in action.Gareth was already two pawns up, though with a blocked position. I was a little concerned when he sank into prolonged thought, till I realised he was just assessing which potential mating attack was the better. Phil was a pawn up early, but his game came down to a rook and pawn ending that was only a draw. Dave fell victim to either a deep positional pawn sacrifice, or an opponent who skilfully exploited the chances he got from blundering a pawn away. Either way, Dave fought long and hard, staving off mate threats aplenty till he ran out of material. Time was the crucial factor in the remaining three games. Bob's game looked pretty level, with a blocked pawn structure, till his opponent, short of time, presented him with a pawn, after which Bob mopped up efficiently. Mike used up a lot of time freeing himself from a very constricted position, but had no time to cope with the wild position that resulted, with unsupported knights all over the board and rooks in unnatural positions. This left Paul needing to draw to win the match, struggling for most of the game against a tough opponent. He went a pawn down and a long way down on the clock (and was probably let off the hook a couple of times). But he managed to win back the pawn, and had fought his way back to a completely level endgame position when his time ran out. The drawn match means that, short of a miracle from our second team next week, we will be in the second division again next season, with Waterloo confirmed as worthy champions.
Further Club championship games have been playeed and recorded on the appropriate page
Update at 4th March The 3rd team's relegation battle with Wallasey D ended in defeat and was not helped by a default on what would have been board 1. The skipper was again the only individual winner and there was a good draw by Eddy who had to play on board 1. This season the 2nds and 3rds have been handicapped by a lack of players which will result clearly in relegation for both teams. It is unfortunate that for valid reasons good players who would more than hold their own in the lower divisions cannot commit to most matches. This is highlighted by the 3-1 win by the 440 team against Atticus last Tuesday with wins for Dave McK and Bob G and draws for Dave Whitby and Andre. There were no surprises in the Club championship games played where Mike H had too powerful an attack for Duncan and Dave C refuted all MDB's attacking threats but it took two replays before Bob P overcame Alan W. Update at 24th Feb The 2nds were the only team to play this week and yet again they were up against a side for whom all seven players outgraded the Formby board 1. However the team fought hard and it was only in the last game to finish that defeat was made certain. After two hours only Bob G had finished and lost and then Mike Bh conjured a win when thirty minutes down on the clock. John G has still not fully recovered from illness and could not hold on following which there were three draws to leave the respective skippers fighting on board one. The position was complicated with several pieces en pris but MDB could not break through and spent too much time trying .He lost on time but Kevin Sartain was two passed pawns up and likely to win anyway to leave the team result as 2.5--4.5. Update at 19th Feb There has been limited chess activity this week with only a rearranged 440 match played at Formby on Tuesday but with visitors Atticus'1' being treated as the home side. MDB playing his first game for this team overwhelmed old foe Jim Wiseman but Dave Whitby is still feeling his way back and allowed his opponent a dominant pawn advantage. Bob Greaves was playing Natasha May yet again and whilst the game looked very involved for some time he came out with a piece up and a good win. On bottom board Andre was fighting a rearguard action but when his opponent seemed to back away from an all out attack a draw was agreed.to give Formby a 2.5--1.5 win. In the first game of the knockout stage of the Club championship neither Bob Platt nor Alan W could land a decisive blow and will have to fight a further but faster battle. Last night several Formby players with friends from Southport and Skem playing as Woodvale are keeping alive Joe Dilworth's desire for chess at St John Stone and it was a great pleasure to greet ex Formby member Mike O'connell on top board for Winwick and playing Phil Fisher. As both are now over 80 and very experienced it was right that a draw should be the result.of that game. Mike wishes to be remembered to all old stagers at Formby who played both chess and cards with him.
Update at 12th Feb Unfortunately the teamsuccess at Frodsham did not continue into the week in the Mside league. On Tuesday the 1sts received Atticus 3 and whilst the relative gradings indicated a win would occur it did not go to plan on the night. Dave Williams reports '' Another disappointing day for Formby 1, a draw with Atticus 3. We were missing Dave C, and they had their strongest line-up of the season, but even so we heavily outgraded them. Gareth breezed to victory in no time while Luke Boumphrey was outplaying me on the next board. Three draws followed, and for a while I thought I had turned the tables on Luke, but I'd left myself far too little time, so that was all square. When Rob's position collapsed spectacularly, attention turned to Bob, rook for bishop up with four pawns apiece. For a while he could make no progress against an obdurate opponent, but finally a pawn was won, a pawn was queened, and we escaped with a drawn match.'' PS The Atticus skipper's report is now on their website at 13/2 Last night the 2nds were up against a very strong Liverpool team all of whose players are graded above the Formby top board. It did not help therefore that Formby defaulted on two boards and the skipper then had a disastrous game to lose. Other boards were fighting hard but John G was not helped by being unwell so his loss gave a 0-4 score. Duncan battled to no avail but thee were very good wins by MBh and Alan.
The knockout stages of the Club championships are now on site and noticeboard.
Update at 9th Feb I am putting this piece in individually so as to congratulate our three intrepid travellers to Frodsham last weekend and who all came away with prizes together with the team prize. Well done to John, Mike Bh, and Eddy whose report together with the basic stats now heads the Congress page on this site.
Update at 4th February A brief report this week to avoid more blushes with the only team match ending in a resounding 1--5 defeat for the 3rds who stay at the bottom of Div 4. A welcome win for the skipper was the only silver lining.Unfortunately there was a default loss to start as Dave Whitby had suffered a fall the previous evening and spent Tuesday in hospital. He is now at home with no broken bones but having to take life very sedately. The last of the group games in the Club championship was played with Duncan beating Mike Bh to finish 2nd in his group Update at 27th January The return fixtures in M'side Div 2 started last night with Formby 1 hosting Formby 2.Missing their board 1 and coming off two successive defeats the 1sts had something to prove.The final score of 5.5 --1.5 suggests they did so quite easily but this was not apparent during most of the evening. MF soon had a defended pawn on the seventh rank but was not able to convert it, lost it and a piece and soon after the game.At the same time Andre and Eddy were having a battle royal on bottom board where Andre had 'given up' three pawns to open up the position but failed to castle beforehand. Duncan was a piece down but Alan was forcing the pace with an extra pawn and then John over whelmed Phil to level the score.After two hours Eddy had won his game but MBh had won the exchange against JMH, MDB and Gareth were involved in quite a hairy battle whilst Alan still had the edge against Paul J. However JMH had two very powerful bishops backing up his queen and mated MBh and Gareth whilst having only a few minutes left negated MDB's threats and the 2nd team skipper resigned when about to lose his queen for a rook. The match finished with Alan and Paul agreeing a draw.
N B The revised gradings at Jan 2016 are now out but the existing grades will contine to be used for most competitions and congresses.
Update at 21 January Most of our members will now know that Joe Dilworth died at the end of last week .Our sympathy and prayers go to Teresa, Tony and Janet. The 2nd teams position at the bottom of Div 2 was cemented when losing away at Atticus 3 this week. Again we were handicapped by a player default compounded by an early defeat of DMcN who lost his queen. MF was able to draw but Alan then lost in peculiar circumstances. . MDB's acceptance of a draw when positionally suspect gave Atticus the win but there were well fought draws for JG and RG.
On the following evening the 440 team at last played its second game which ended in a 3-1 win v Aigburth aided by good winw on top two boards by JG and EP and draws by RG and AE
Next Tuesday the 1st team will hope to return to winning ways with the return match versus the 2nds but the absence of the 1st team skipper may make a difference.
Update at 15th January Not the best of starts to 2016 for the 1sts and 2nds with both going down by 1.5--5.5 this week David Williams reports on the homematch on Tuesday. ''A bad defeat by a weakened Waterloo team (if not quite as weakened as we had been led to believe). I set the ball rolling by transposing two moves in the opening, followed by blundering a piece. Phil won a bishop for two pawns and could then only watch as the pawns romped home. And Bob's opponent's dominant centralised queen ensured we were soon 3-0 down, though not quite out at this stage. Paul had been ahead for a long time, but Jim Moran showed how to draw a rook ending a pawn down, putting us on the edge. Gareth's piece sacrifice led only to a level position, needing to win, but Peter O'Driscoll showed how to win a rook ending from level material, so the match was over. I am unable to report just how Dave C lost (he was three pawns up when last I looked), so in the end our only winner was Mike H, who correctly calculated that opposite coloured bishops were not really a problem to his four extra pawns. 5.5 - 1.5 and hats off to Waterloo, who were on top form.'' Last night the 2nds went to Wallasey B and started 0-1 down with another last minute cry off. After an hour DMcK agreed a draw with a much stronger opponent and D McN was the exchange up with the remaining games level.An hour later both MBh and JG had lost and DMcN had been unable to benefit from the exchange was forced to give it back for a draw.MDB got a draw by repetition after his opponent had turned down a previous offer. Finally AW had what the thought was a mating attack but without a check enabling his opponent to do likewise and force the exchange of all major pieces leaving AW a bishop down and resigning. AW had had some success in the Club championship winning his play off game versus JG.
I am sorry to have to report that Joe Dilworth is extremely ill and our prayers go out to him, Teresa, Tony and family.
Update at 8th Jan 2016 Welcome to a busy start to the new year. All teams will have at least one match in January and the 2nds 3 which will no doubt determine their fate. Last Tuesday there were four club championship games with two surprise results. John Grady beat Dave Colbourne so that Dave will now have to play off against Phil for 1st place in his group and John will play off against Alan for 3rd and 4th.In the play off in Group A Bob Greaves beat Eddy to go into the main draw as 2nd to MDB. Other results were expected with Mike H beating Paul j to top his group and Gareth beating Mike Bh to top his.
Update at 19th December On Monday Dave W, Dave C and MDB played in the Mside Individual Lightning competition and whilst MDB was never in the hunt and finished with 2/6 both Daves were among the leaders until the last round. However defeats, that of Dave C to the winner Nick Martin, cost them their chances. Overall however it was a very enjoyable evening very capably overseen by David Welch. The one club championship game this week produced a shock with a win by Eddy over Bob Platt. Eddy overcame an early pawn loss to gain a win in a closely fought game. Eddy and Bob G will now play off for the second place from the group whilst Bob P will surely be among the favourites for the Challengers' trophy. I also owe an apology to Andre for misrecording his result against Mike Bh which was in fact a win for him. Last night eight members enjoyed a convivial evening starting at the Cross House and ending with the usual good food at the Balti House Formby.Discussions on future social activities centred round joining a Wednesday Quiz night at the Railway pub and a bowling session. More details will follow. There is now a two week break from Ravenmeols and I wish all Formby members Friends and families a very Happy Christmas and a joyful New Year. We will return to the club on Tuesday Jan 5th.
Update at 11th December Matches in bothM'side League knockouts were played this week and Formby have won both by very narrow margins Reports and some details are on the relevant page. with the K/A result and opposition players to be confirmed. N B The annual Xmas social evening will be on Friday 18th Dec starting at Cross House pub and then at either Zyka or Balti house at 9-pm. Names for meal to Paul Sutton asap please with any preference. e-mail [email protected] or 07775 878105
Update at 3rd December The 3rd team result from last week is now on the relevant page and yet again shows a loss against a Liverpool teamwith three unknown and ungraded playerswho all won. Mr Petrevski especially has had three wins against Formby teams this season plus a loss to Dave C. There is a report from Eddy on the Preston congresson the congress page with some success for Formby. The limited information i have to date on the congress is that not one player in any of the four sections scored a maximum and in the Open the winning score shared by eight players was 3.5 from 5. There is now a four way tie at the top of Mside div 2 following Formby 1's defeat at home against Prescot and skipper Dave W reports as follows ''Our first defeat of the season, 4.5 - 2.5 to Prescot, and to be honest it could have been worse. Bob was a pawn down for ages before finally regaining it for a draw. Gareth's queen went rook-hunting in the opening and never came back, but with an ending of rook against three minor pieces he managed to use his two extra pawns to such good effect that opponent Mike O'Mahoney was happy with a draw at the end. With Dave C also drawing we were glad to be level at this stage. With the other three all under pressure, but not without prospects, and a seemingly overwhelming positional advantage in my game I was still hoping for a narrow victory. But Kevin Sartain managed to cover every try, and I found myself having to give up my dominant rook for his dreadful bishop. As I hoovered up pawns against the clock, the news filtered through that all the other three had lost, so my last gasp win was to no avail.
The top four in the division are now tied with one loss each. Interesting times ahead.''
Update at 26th Nov With no team matches on the night progress was made in the club Championship with five group games.Pride of place must go to Bob Greaves who drew with Bob Platt after at one stage being three pieces down. Bob miscalculated in giving two back to force a pawn home with a check but Bob G had also queened a pawn the move before. Unfortunately Bob P could not check on his next move leaving his opponent able to do so. Bob P was naturally rather tired after 2 3/4 hours play and rather than bring his king out into the open where it might possibly have got out of check he accepted the draw by repetition. Mdb drew with Eddy in the same group which might allow for a shock exit dependent upon the last game between Eddy and Bob P. Gareth always had the edge against Dave McKee with a surplus of pawns as Did his father against Rob H. In the game between two first teamers Dave C beat Phil. N B A look at the specific page on this contest indicates that two members are yet to start their campaign. December is relatively free from team matches so can they and members generally do some catching up. I am away for this weekend so the 3rd team match report from tonight will have to wait a week when hopefully I shall include a report from the Formby participants at the Preston Congress and the 1st team's effort to keep on top of Div 2 in their home match v Prescot. Update at 18th Nov. Yesterday was not a good day for your correspondent. He knew he was up against it having to play a grade 182 in the 2nd team match v Waterloo but it didn't help when he gave his queen away whilst trying to force an attack and already a rook down.This happened minutes after two members of the 440 team returned to say there was no Southport team and he realised he had not updated his records to show Southport's withdrawal from that division! He thus had to watch for the rest of the evening as the 2nds tried their utmost to gain their first point of the season and so nearly succeeded. Duncan and Dave Whitby got welcome draws and although Mike F lost after a struggle John Grady's win kept us in the hunt. Alan was a rook up altho' facing an advanced and supported passed pawn. Unfortunately he chose the wrong alternative in moves which left the pawn on the boardso the match was already lost when Mike Barooah (whisper it gently) won on time but with a rook advantage also. Last week Rob H beat Dave Whitby in the club championship when Dave let slip a material advantage.
N B the 2nd team match v Atticus 3 scheduled for Monday 30th Nov has been postponed to 18th january 2016
Update at 13th Nov David Williams reports ''We braved the onslaught of Abigail to travel to resurgent Liverpool's new premises (a distinct improvement on the previous ones!). I was distinctly relieved to find Phil there, confirming that his phone is on the blink rather than any more sinister reason for being unable to contact him. Gareth and Dave C both won a piece early, and though Gareth's game went the distance neither win was ever really in doubt. I was able to work up an overwhelming attack on Tony Morley's king, for a 3-0 lead. Bob meanwhile had a dreadfully cramped position, with his queen's pawn stuck on its initial square, and for once he was unable to escape. The decisive point came from Phil, an exchange up and massively ahead on the clock, but where any slip would allow his opponent's queen to cause havoc. After calmly avoiding slip-ups he managed to exchange queens, and quickly promoted two more. With the match won, Mike H was trying to hold an ending with a rook and half a dozen pawns each, but less than a minute on the clock. Somehow he contrived to exchange pawn after pawn, until, with the last pawn about to disappear, his opponent conceded the draw, saving Mike the trouble of trying to remember how to claim it. Last to finish was stand-in Rob. A pawn down for a long time, but with a good knight against a bad bishop, for a while even a win seemed possible. In the end time trouble led to a couple of mistakes, and eventually even an extremely illegal knight move was not enough to save him. (His opponent, seeing that Rob had only two seconds left, just ignored it!) So, 4.5-2.5 and four wins out of four.'' (and a further grandchild for Paul and Mrs Jordan so congratulations to all . MDB) Update at 4th November David Williams reports on last night's first team match in Div 2 v Wallasey; ''Early draws from our elder statesmen, Bob and Phil, were followed by a win for Paul and a loss for Dave. But after that everything (eventually) turned out well, with the top three all winning. After having the worst of it I won a pawn, which in the end proved sufficient to win the game, though my advantage hung by a thread at times. I was a little distracted by realising that Gareth, alongside me, was making a genuine piece sacrifice, and indeed he remained behind on material for the rest of the game, but with an immense position that eventually forced the win. Mike, meanwhile, told me that he thought he had been losing at one stage, but turned it round to take the final point. Formby 5 - Wallasey B 2 Three wins out of three, and we go to Liverpool next week for a table-top clash.'' N B. this is a match brought forward to Thursday 12th from the following week (19th) A further three club championship games were also played. Alan won a piece against John G and then swapped off other pieces to negate any attack. Bob G had a good win against Eddy allbeit the final decision was on time whilst Dave McK drew with Andre as neither player could force a win. Update at 29th October The 3rd team bottom of Div 4 received bottom but one team Hoylake 3 on Tuesday and basically took a battering which anchors them at the foot of the table. Rob soon lost to an up and coming junior followed by defeats for Paul S, Dave McKee. Andre hung in for some time as did Kevin but to no avail and it was left to Eddy when the match was lost to get a draw. In the club championship Gareth used his greater expertise in the end game to beat Duncan and Dave C put too much pressure on Alan whilst in a rare ladder game Mike h also had greter expertise in the end game to beat John G
Update at 22nd October Another quiet team week with 3 more club championship games the only competition.after the 440 match was postponed by Prescot., MDB and Bob G took the opportunity to play each other in a very interesting game. MDB went on the attack once Bob had castled and with sacrifices and exchanges offered but not taken was able to bring both rooks and both knights plus queen to bear on the king forcing a mating attack which Bob fended off by resigning. Phil beat Alan with his greater experience telling in an end game. Duncan and Andre attacked each other but Duncan came out a piece and 3 pawns up and with two very effective bishops which on the long diagonals both defended and attacked to maximum effect. Having had a bye in the 1st round our John Ripley team are due to play at Hoylake next week but the actual date is still in doubt. The Knotty Ash team will not need to start their defence until December having also had a bye in the 1st round. Update at 15th October This has been a quiet week with no team matches and just three club championship games played. Phil beat John Grady in a game that I watched for a while. John with black seemed very reluctant to castleand whilst initially his king was well defended when I left Phil had swapped off the majority of these defenders. Gareth with black beat Andre and Mike H with white beat Dave Whitby. Both these results were not unexpected. Attempts are being made to fix a date for the John Ripley match away v Hoylake but unsuccessfully so far. Update 2 at 7th October I have now updated schedule of Listed players for M'side clubs per document from League Secretary and it is on relevant page. I have not inserted individual grades for other clubs but it should be easy to check these via ECF site. There have been some local transfers and some players coming back and with grades from 1/14 or 1/15. Update at 7th October The two Formby teams playing this week both suffered heavy defeats. On Monday the 2nds loss by 1--6 away at Prescot 1 was not unexpected but not helped by being a player short. After an hour's play all but Bob G's games were level while he was 2pieces to 3 pawns down. Alan W then agreed a draw to maintain his unbeaten record but Bob lost. At 13/4 hours. Duncan was fighting hard altho' a piece to 2 pawns down but could not maintain his attack and lost as did John G. The match was lost before MDB got a good draw against the Prescot skipper and M Bh ended the evening by being mated when in material time deficit . The following night Formby 3 received Wallasey D. An early draw by Kevin G was followed by a good mating win by Rob H but this was followed by defeat for Paul S. The other three games went to the wire but unfortunately all ended with defeats for Formby. Eddy had battled on defending stoutly when a piece down but when the queens were forced off his opponent was able to use his extra piece and mobile rook to good effect. Bob G was always having to defend against a strong concerted attack by queen and rooks backed up by a strong bishop and advanced connected pawns. Ultmately his opponent was able to break through and deliver mate.Andre's game was even more interesting as he had possibilities when a queen to two minor pieces down .His own rook bishop and knight were well connected and had he chosen a different move when seeking to fork the queen and king he would have forced the loss of the opponents queen and ended with material advantage. His opponent then became a little impatient with his attack when he should have taken one more preparatory move against which Andre could not stop mate. The game actually ended with Andre losing on time with his opponent having only seconds longer. . MDB and Bob P got the club championship under way with a very interesting game in which MDB first accepted Bob's bishop sacrifice in taking the h6 pawn but hen refused the next sacrificial offer of the knight on g5 as this would have allowed Bob's rook freedom of the h file with a forced mate. Bob then had to decide whether to continue with the exchange down or force a draw by repetition and chose the latter. Update at 1st October Dave comments on the 1st team match away at Atticus 3 last Monday 'Our grading advantage was such that I doubt if Ladbrokes would have given odds, but unfortunately Atticus did not see it that way, and it was a battle to the very end. Paul and Bob drew their games early, and Phil won, though I didn't see any of the play. Late stand-in Eddy went the distance, but reached a balanced position where neither side could make any progress. Gareth, alongside me, with a good knight against a bad bishop and better pawn structure had all the advantages, but with Jim Wiseman resolutely declining to make any mistakes there was no way through. My game with Luke Boumphrey was probably level, but the sort of position where weak moves by me were more likely to be costly than weak moves by him. And so it proved, as he adeptly prevented anything arising from my potential threats while creating threats of his own. All square, so it was a relief to see Mike emerging from a middle game a piece up and with a big time advantage. For a few minutes he seemed to be making no progress, until a neat combination exchanged off most of the remaining pieces, leaving both sides with a handful of pawns, and Mike with an extra bishop. So we squeaked home, and probably deserved to, but only just.' The Atticus skipper's view on what happened is on their website!
On Tuesday the 2nds were at home to a Liverpool 1 team. A previous look at the Liverpool club gradings indicated that f they played their top team Formby top board would be outgraded by the opposition board 7 but on the night Liverpool had only two of their listed players and a material deficit in aggregate if estimated grades. Of course it didn't turn out as it should and after 2hours we were 0-2 down and although Mike Fraser lost it was very good to see him return to the board after his recent illness. Alan gave us some hope but then Dave Whitby lost as did Mike Bh to give Liverpool the win. Thus the draw by John and a pleasing end game win for the skipper were in vain. Last night the 3rds went to play Aigburth 4 and as suggested by the all but equal aggregate grading the result was a draw. This had not seemed likely when we went 0-3 down However wins by Eddy and Rob followed by a 'swindle' by Paul J when Will Cook gave him his queen levelled the score. Update at 24th Sept. There wasa not unexpected result when the 1sts and 2nds met in their first matches in Division 2, the 1sts winning 6--1. After the first 11/2 hours all games except that of the respective skippers on top board were level. MDB was a piece down to EDW and fell on his sword soon after. On bottom board late substitute Andre was fighting against Paul J's passed pawn on the sixth rank and had to give up his bishop for it. This allowed Paul free rein to mop up other pawns and force resignation. Alan W and Dave C agreed a draw.Although level and in an apparent drawn position new member Dave Whitby's draw offer was declined by Phil who had time on his side to gain an advantage which Dave had insufficient time to counter.John G and Bob P drew whilst Duncan lost to Mike H. In the last match to finish Gareth went the exchange up against Mike Bh but then gave it up to leave himself with a one pawn and positional advantage to be able to queen it. Update at 16th Sept The3rds opened their season in Division 4 by fielding their strongest side at home to Prescot 2. However despite an aggregate grade advantage of 36 they came a cropper. After an hour Alan was a piece up but Rob appeared to be about to lose 1-2 pawns. Hardly any material had gone in Dave and Eddy's games and nothing at all in Paul's. After a further hour Kevin lost but Rob got a draw and then Alan won but Eddy lost. Dave Mckee fought hard but had a very exposed king against a strong attack and advanced passed pawn and Paul had taken too long to consider his options and lost on time. Next week comes the clash between 1sts and 2nds. With a likely 250 grading advantage to the 1sts it will be a stern test for their opponents. Update at 12th Sept. The first competitive team match was played last Tuesday between the Formby and Liverpool 440 teams. Liverpool arrived with 3 out of 4 unknown and ungraded. but clearly not novices as Andre was beaten after being a piece up and a rusty Dave Whitby's opponent forced victory after going two pawns up. Dave Mckee's game was always level so a draw was agreed. The final game involving Bob Greaves produced a contretemps with time running out when his opponent .failed to record moves despite being told it was necessary. Bob had stopped recording as less than 5 minutes remained on his clock but his opponent did the same despite having more than 5. After some discussion a draw was agreed. The draw for the Club championship group stage has been made and full details are on both the noticeboard and the relevant page of this website . Games can be played in any order so best of luck to all entrants. Update at 7th Sept As I was unable to be at the club last Tuesday i asked Mike H to do a report on the evening and this follows; 'Turnout was the best I remember, and I think it was about my 25th attendance. Eddie quickly collected the funds, and everyone helped me regarding their interest in the club championships and various ladders. Rob Haseman had meanwhile led several members preparing many tables, boards and sets for the highlight of the evening. There was a brief moment of concern when Phil enquired somewhat anxiously where all the mechanical clocks were, but they soon appeared and Phil's excellent organisation paved the way for many competitive and enjoyable close matches, albeit at speeds far to quick for nearly everyone - not a good prep for the tough serious season to come!
The times were 6 minutes for 1st teamers, 8 minutes for 2nd teamers and 10 minutes for 3rd teamers and others, excepting if players were from the same team, when they would each have 10 minutes. Illegal moves lose, and I think 2 or 3 games ended as a result. But they were the exception, and most games were hard fought and many very closely so.
In the first round, the unusual pairing of the top 2 favourites was a little surprising, but as Phil believes in random pairing for this event, it can happen! Dave W and Gareth fought out an oscillating game in which Gareth initially outplayed Dave, and then blundered, but then after some more twists and turns the game was drawn in a R and P versus B and Ps ending.
None of my games was easy, and many ended with at least one flag hovering or falling whilst moves were hammered out at ridiculous pace. I had one ten minute game and 2 games with 6 against 10 minutes and 2 games with 6 against 8 minutes.
final results : 1st equal. Dave W and Gareth 4.5 from 5 games. 3rd Mike H 4.
I'm not sure about precise numbers, but I think 16 players took part, and Bob P watched a little before he left.
Everyone was very grateful for the President's generosity in giving his time to officiate, and in providing the prizes.'
Competitive chess at the club starts on Tuesday 8th Sept with a 440 match with a 3rd team match the following Tuesday and the 1stand 2nds facing each other on 22nd Sept. August 2015 The new season starts on Tuesday 1st September back at Ravenmeols and an e-mail concerning various relevant matters for the early part thereof has been issued. I give a gentle reminder of the changes of dates for 1st and 2nd team matches asterisked on the relevant pages of this site and the need for subs to be paid on that night if at all possible. Thanks go to Joe and Tony Dilworth and John Grady for the provision of chess at Woodvale during the summer and enjoyed by several members. Some members were a little more serious in their approach. Mike, Stewart and Gareth played in the Dutch Championships. In the Open Stewart ranked 5th out of 59 scored 6/9 and finished 6th equal. In Reserve A Gareth ranked 6th from 66 also scored 6/9 and finished 6th equal In Reserve B Mike ranked 31 from 74 scored 5/9 and finished 21st equal.
Phil Fisher played in the Senior section of the British Championship was ranked 29th 27th equal scored 2/6 and finished. He was the first to admit that the schedule and standard of the opposition was very tough. Hopefully Board 1 in Formby 2 in the Mside Division 2 will be slightly less so.