NEWS 2019-20
Update at 19th March
All members should now be aware that all MCA chess activities are suspended until further notice and the RCC is also shut. However, John Grady and Rob Owens have organised facilities for on line chess between members and if interested please contact either of them. An e-mail on this activity has been circulated.
The last chess before the shut down was the Blackpool Congress attended by 3 Formby players and a report is now on the relevant page
Update at 11th March
Both 1sts and 2nds were due to play Liverpool teams last night but unfortunately we were obliged to seek a postponement of the 1st team match.If this cannot be rearranged F1 will concede the match which will not help attempts to stay in Div 1 but also affect the situation at the top of the table.
The 2nds received a Liverpool 3 team of which only one player had played in our previous encounter and which had two ungraded players. We started well with draws on the top two boards followed by a welcome return to form by John G on board 4. He had gone the exchange down but then won piece to go the exchange up and with a more mobile rook and bishop was able to force resignation. Eddie appeared to be holding his position but then his opponent was able to burst through with a combined rook and queen attack and Rob was forced to give up queen for rook and could not recover. Alan was fighting hard with both players using up time but it was Alan who thought for a little too long and lost on time.
It is the Blackpool Congress this coming weekend with a much reduced Formby presence. Best wishes go to Rob H, Andre and Bob G.
Update at 4th March
At last- a win for the 3rd team. Although the opponents Ormskirk are bottom of Div 4 they slightly out graded the home team. Skipper Paul led the way going from a piece down to forcing an unstoppable pawn advance. This was followed by a win from Bob G with a similar tactic. Earlier VAR would have helped when his opponent appeared to momentarily release his rook on the wrong square but courtesy prevailed. Andre held out against a strong attack whilst Rob H obtained the team win with another pawn surge. Thus after a good win by Dave W making his first appearance the defeat of Eddie on top board made no difference to the team result of 4.5--1.5.
At the same time the 1sts were playing Hoylake 1. Early draws by Mike H and Paul J suggested that the team might hold out but heavily outgraded on the top four boards it was not to be with four losses thereon. Mike Bh's win at least gave some comfort.
Update at 28th February
The 3rd team's disappointing season continued when they played Prescot 2 last Monday losing 1-5 and not helped by a board default loss. Saving a complete whitewash were draws by Eddie and Paul S. The following night the 2nds went to Hoylake 2. There were four draws before skipper MDB won his first match of the season. He was able to win a pawn and forcd the exchange of minor pieces with a check. This allowed him to threaten mate on the next move or to win more pawns at which his opponent resigned. the team result was therefore down to John G who fought valiantly despite going the exchange down. however he ran out of time whilst doing so to give a team draw, the same result that had occurred in the match at Formby.
Update at 20th February
The 440 team resumed their season with a visit from Waterloo with the Jan 2020 aggregate gradings giving a 1 point advantage to the home team. The team draw was therefore a fair result but it could have been better. Eddie allowed his king to be opened up and lost to a concerted attack by Q and Rs but Andre then got a back row mate and Bob G after being level for some time was able to go a rook up and win comfortably against only two pawns. At this stage MDB was holding his position and was very close to offering a draw but snatched a pawn before deciding .unfortunately this blew him apart as his opponent was immediately able to win a piece and then the game.
In the club championship quarter finals Gareth beat Mike Bh and Mike H after winning a piece was able to advance connected pawns and with a rook keeping the K on the back rank and mate Phil with just 30 seconds left on his clock
Update at 12th February.
Waterloo the 1st team's opponents on Monday were missing their high graded top two boards but their replacements still outgraded their Formby opponents. Dave C was an early loser having gone a piece down whilst Gareth was the last to finish when his loss did not affect the team result. His opponent had none of his pieces beyond the third rank after an hour but
later on went two pawns up which was sufficient in the end game to force a win. Formby were able to take advantage on the lower boards with Rob O playing his normal attacking game offering a N sacrifice when having connected pawns on 5th and 6th ranks. His opponent ultimately accepted the sacrifice but then gave up material in a vain attempt to avoid the consequential mating attack , resigning when this proved futile. MDB gave a N for two pawns and a better position but accepted a draw offer when he could not quite break through.James was a pawn down with Qs off and with a considerable time deficit when he got his pieces active and attacking so that when the air cleared he had an unstoppable passed pawn.When Phil won, but with Gareth in a lost position, we only needed a draw by Mike H to win the match which he duly achieved altho' his opponent seemed not to be aware of the team position when he accepted the offer.
Formby 2 were missing top board Paul J,away with a family emergency, when receiving local rivals Southport and after two hours were 0-2 down with both not able to hold with a deficit of pawns.Eddie was a piece down but got rid of a pawn on the seventh rank. Unfortunately he was not able to hold so the team went 0-3 down. The situation improved when Alan had a good win against the Southport team's highest graded player and more adventurous play gave Rob O a win. So it was down to Bob G to decide the team result and for a while his chances looked good. However in time trouble when his opponent was able to check him and remove some pieces he had to accept the draw offer.
Andre and Rob H had their replay in the Challengers' Competition which Andre won when Rob unfortunately not only missed a discovered check which would have won Andre's Q but moved his own Q into a square where it could be taken without any recompense.
Update at 6th February
The 3rds played Liverpool Juniors on Tuesday in a Div 4 match with basically all the odds stacked against them. Firstly altho' a home match they were required to play in Liverpool. Secondly the time limit was 75 rather than 90 minutes which the Juniors are playing in every match and clearly disadvantages the 'elderly' Formby players and finally the respective aggregate grades as at Jan 2020 were 589 (8/19 586) for Formby and 767 (8/19 732) for Liverpool which included 154 and 149 on the top two boards. To put the Liverpool grades into perspective only once in 8 matches this season have Formby 2 or their opponents in Div 3 had an aggregate grade above that of the Juniors and that by only 5 points. Eddie's draw on Board 2 and the skipper's win on bottom board are worthy of mention and were the only points in a 1.5--4.5 loss. The Juniors are heading for the divisional title at which stage Liverpool's situation viz a vis the conditions mentioned above and any reluctance to be promoted will have to be fully discussed in MCA committee.
It was a quiet night in the club with only one Championship game in which John G beat Alan W.
Update at 31st January
On Monday the 2nds travelled to division 3 leaders Atticus 4. On grading the teams were equally matched and so it proved in a 3-3 draw. First to lose was Rob O whose cunning plan fell when he realised he had sacrificed the rook he then needed to take advantage of the sacrifice!! Paul J agreed a draw in a stodgy position and then MDB gave up Knight for two pawns intending to win a third with a positional advantage. He didn't succeed with this but in defending against 18 checking moves by MDB's Q whilst protecting his pawns his opponent was forced to accept a draw. Dave McK then won as did Bob G who was a piece up but against an advanced passed pawn.However his opponent ran out of time when seeking the winning move. The reverse happened in John G's game to level the score.
On the following night Formby 1 received fellow Div 1 strugglers Aigburth 1 and were immediately given an advantage by two non-attendance defaults including the board 1 which required a move up the order by those players present. These were still stronger in grade than each of their Formby counterparts and it was not long before they had levelled the score with losses by James and Phil. Gareth had a good draw on top board as did his father leaving dave C to decide the team result. He held out against an opponent graded 20 points higher to give the team a draw.
The 440 team received Atticus and were also recipients of a default advantage. Both Rob O and Bob G played their opponents from the previous night. Unfortunately Rob did no better and Bob's opponent got his revenge so that a draw by Alan W still left the team losing by 2.5--1.5
The defaults helped some members to play Club championship games. Paul J beat MDB who lost a rook after failing to see a bishop journey from G2 to A8. Eddie was too strong for Peter P as was Dave Mck for Dave W. Andre and Rob had a ferocious battle but could not be separated after 3 hours and will have to play again.
. The Jan 20 grades are now out and all I will say is that not surprisingly the biggest loser is your correspondent by 11 points.
Update at 25th January
The 1sts and 3rds played this week but unfortunately both lost. Atticus 1 were the visitors to Formby 1 on Tuesday and arrived with what appeared top be a weaker team than their usual.However their top two boards were very strong and after a draw by Phil on board 4 Dave C lost on board 2. He had held on for some time after going a piece down was unable to exert
sufficient pressure to hold on. No other Formby players held any advantage and a loss by late substitute Dave McKee was followed by one by James. When Gareth finally gave way the match was lost. Mike Bh had given up the exchange for some play and advanced pawns and altho' then going a full rook down exerted a lot of pressure and won on time .Mike H was also doing well with advanced pawns qyeening one and getting a mating attack. The final score although a loss was thus closer than might have been
I have no full details of 3rds but Andre was the sole winner with draws by Rob H and Paul S
NB John Nelson's funeral is on Monday 27th at St Luke's Formby at 11-30am
Update at 17th January
There have been two satisfying wins by Formby teams this week. On Wednesday the 440 team went to Aigburth and won 3.5--0.5 with a very good win by Rob O on top board and also by Rob G and Rob H. Last night the 2nds played Wallasey C and came away 4-2 victors. There were early draws by MDB and Rob O on the top boards followed by a win for Eddie when under great pressure from his connected passed pawns his opponent suffered a K and R fork. John G had an epic battle with Mark Spriggs in which both had threats but with a shortage of time John obtained a draw. Alan's opponent accepted a draw offer when down in material but with Alan having only seconds left leaving Andre to win with 2 pawns queening forcing the giving up of a rook and eventual mate.
Update at 9th January 2020
A very Happy New Year to all members and friends although it has started with the sad news of the death of John Nelson who had rejoined the club last season after a break of many years. His wife gave me the news earlier this week but stressed how much John had enjoyed his chess since coming back.
The 3rds were soon back into the fray with a trip to Skem which ended in a narrow loss. The absence of three names in the Skem team on the Mside site leaves some doubt of the quality of their team but it was clearly a good win by Dave McK on top board and also with Eddy's draw on board 2.
Two club championship games were played on Tuesday with Eddy and Paul J drawing and John G beating Dave McK. John said he was a little lucky so maybe Dave had not fully recovered from his previous night's result.
Update at 19th December
5 Club Championship games were played on Tuesday. Dave McK recovered from his previous shock loss to hold Phil to a draw when he held a slight material advantage of 7 to 6 pawns but could do nothing with it. Rob O gave Dave W a piece for three pawns but was then able to get it back with a two pawn advantage and sufficient to win. Eddy and Mike Bh were equally matched with K,N and 3 Pawns v K,B and 4 when Eddy made a bad move to lose his piece and the game.
John G refused Bob G's possibly faulty sacrificial offer but thereafter the swapping off of pieces did leave him a piece up with 2R,N and 4 v 2R and 4 which he was able to convert to a win. The game between Alan and Mike H lasted all evening as after 2 hours only a N and 2 pawns each were off the board. Mike's greater experience ultimately told in the end to give him a 100% record in his group.
N B Some group games remain to be played. Jan 7th is the first night back after the Christmas break and with no team matches players should make every effort to clear games.
NB the Christmas night out is tomorrow with the meal at the Balti Formby due to start at 8-30 pm.
A very Happy Christmas to all members
Update at 12th December
The only match this week was the home tie in the K?A Cup v Atticus and which ended with a 1--4 defeat. Details are on the relevant page below with detailed individual game comments on the Atticus website--'Nuff said'
NB The club will be open next week 17th but not on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve
Update at 4th December
On Monday the 1sts went to top of the table Atticus 2 and lost 1--6 although Dave C said that for some time it looked much closer against a team with a 200 point grading advantage. Congratulations go to Dave,And Rob O for their draws.
Gareth's comments ''Just a couple of lines about my game last night with Steve Kee. I was white against a Dutch Leningrad set up in which we castled on opposite sides. Unfortunately my attack on the K-side didn't proceed as quickly as Steve's on my Q-side. So I was forced to make concessions and had to defend. Unfortunately I made a bad mistake with my last move missing a simple mate.''
His father's comments ''I played very well in the opening and achieved equality after about 13 moves. Unfortunately I followed up with play that was too aggressive and too optimistic and Luke demonstrated very skilfully how to destroy my position. I don't give up easily and fought on for a few moves but it was hopeless. Luke also showed me in analysis how I might have made it a bit harder for him to win, but he sees much more than me!''
On Tuesday the 2nds played Wallasey B table toppers in Div 3 and gained the tightest of wins.
After an hour most games were level but John G was a piece up and then added a rook to his advantage.However a rook sacrifice which he had to accept to avoid mate gave his opponent a draw by repetition. MDB was having a hairy game in which he won the queen but then realised it was in exchange for two rooks and a bishop! However his queen supported by Knight and pawn on the 6th rank coupled with an error by his opponent gave him a rook back. Unfortunately after exchanges he could not force a mate and agreed a draw offer.Other draws left the match to be decided on bottom board where Bob G had R,N and 6 pawns v Rand 6. With his pieces working closely together and holding his nerve well he was able to force a pawn to the 7th rank whereupon his opponent had to give up his rook and resigned.
The previous week the 3rds faced an Atticus 5 team who included on top board a returning veteran who was to be found later on Board 3 in the Atticus 2 team above. The silver cloud was in the draws by Eddy, Bob G and Rob H.
The club championship has been brought more up to date with the feature being a win by Peter Paine v Dave Mck whose one (big) mistake was duly punished.
NB1 Drinks and meal (Balti Formby) on 20th Dec -names to Paul Sutton asap
2 Congratulations to Mike Barooah for result at Bolton rapid play Major section-seeded 24/26 finished 3rd= on 4/6 losing to eventual winner in last round grading prize won.
Update at 22nd (25th) November
For some reason my original report has disappeared altho' you might find it inserted in a completely different spot.
The 1sts gained an unexpected but very useful 7-0 win when St Helens defaulted the match due to have been played on Wednesday. There was no reason given nor any prior request for a postponement. Maybe we shall know more next week as they are due to play at Atticus 1 on the same night as we play at Atticus 2.
AT the Preston Congress the previous weekend Eddie did extremely well to finish joint 1st of 3 in the standard section. All 5 Formby players competing were asked to give me brief comments. Only two did so and my thanks go to Eddie who filled a lot of the blanks.His report and more details are on the Congress page.
Update at 14th November
The 1st team were again heavily outgraded when they received Liverpool 1 on Tuesday but pressed hard and were unfortunate not to sneak a draw.
After nearly two hours the first result was a draw for Mike H but then James who had appeared to be level but at the expense of his time allocation lost as did Phil who went from minor piece to rook down.Gareth struggled with Q,R and 4 v Q,2B and 6 and when he lost the best the team could was draw. Very good wins by Mike Bh and especially Dave C left the final result in the hands of MDB on board 7. Although under the cosh he had some counter play and was ahead on time but had to refuse a draw offer to try and win. Unfortunately he spent too long himself in trying to win and was pipped on the clock.
Update at 8th November
The 2nds were back to almost full strength for the visit to Liverpool 3 on Tuesday with Dave Whitby deputising on board 6. His instructions from his skipper were to get at least a draw and this he quickly did. John G won in a game where most of the pieces had been quickly removed but this was followed by defeat for Alan whose queen was trapped. The skipper was suffering yet again despite regaining a lost piece and was mated but Rob O looked to have an effective attack only to allow his opponent to have similar threats upon which a draw was agreed. It was therefore left to Paul J on top board against wily campaigner Dave Leeming to decide the team result. Paul was being very patient and using all his available time when Dave lost his head a little gave away a piece and then resigned when facing a forced mate. Thus the team came away with a creditable draw.
Update at 30thOctober
This has been a quiet week with last night given over basically to club championship games with no unexpected results..
Phil had an early win over Bob G followed by wins by Haslinger ,pere et fils. Gareth was always in control against MDB and Mike went a knight up against Rob O converting this advantage to a rook and an overwhelming attack. The closest to an upset was the advantage held by Dave W against Alan but unfortunately he made a slight error and the game went away from him.
Duncan has been obliged to withdraw from his chess activity in the light of Clare's illness and we wish both them and their family all the best in this difficult time.
Update at 24th October
It has been a busy week notwithstanding that the 3rd team fixture due for Monday was postponed.
On Tuesday F2 received Hoylake 2 .The team was missing three regulars and the visitors had two ungraded players.
After a couple of hours play draw offers were accepted by John G, Eddy and Rob H on 3,5 and 6.On 2 Rob H went the exchange up, was attacking and had 30 minutes time advantage. Bob G was a piece up but had his king pinned and faced a marauding queen whilst deputy Board 1 MDB was under pressure from advancing and supported pawns.All of a sudden there was cry of anguish by Bob's opponent who had left his queen en prix after Bob had released the pin. Rob however in pressing his attack had allowed his opponents queen supported by a bishop to get 'round the back' and facing a mating attack the Hoylake player was able to draw by perpetual check. MDBb allowed the advance and queening of pawn in an overly optimistic attack from which the king was able to escape and resigned to give a team draw and the first point of the season.
Last night the 1sts went to Aigburth 1 fearing the worst and were duly well beaten altho' the basic score does not fully reflect the efforts put in by the team. Phil and MDB were the earl losers followed by draws by James and MIke H. On board 6 Mike Bh
had an epic struggle with Dave Eisen who had two connected passed pawns supported by two rooks .Mike defended with his two rooks and his advanced pawns seemed to be stuck before his opponents king. One set of rooks was exchanged and mike got his remaining rook into a better supporting position than Dave's and it seemed that 'with one bound he was free' He was able to get continual checks with his advancing pawns onto the seventh rank so faced with a queened pawn also giving check Dave resigned . Meanwhile Formby's top two boards were holding out against players graded 200 plus. Poor Dave on 2 for the third consecutive game was facing someone graded over 200 and 50 plus points ahead albeit that Andreas Vogt's grade stemmed from 2015 and he is technically at present ungraded. Ultimately the superior gradings told with both losing. The problem this season is that the 1sts can not see any opponents that will not have such a grading advantage.
The 440 team provided the silver lining with a 4-0 'thrashing' of a strong Atticus side. I have no further details but Rob O, Bob G ,Dave W and Rob H are to be congratulated upon this result.
Update at 16th October
Dave Colbourne reports on last nights match
'' So the newly elevated Formby took on last year's winners away. The grades tell the story of the gulf between the sides. Dave C was the first to finish adopting a maverick approach to move 6 in the modern defence (Bf6), or not so modern as it turned out. He lasted until move 19 but should have resigned much earlier. This gave him the chance to watch the rest of the match unfold.
Mike Barooah had failed to stop a passed pawn get free and was last ditch defending. Meanwhile Phil was applying the principle that he is most dangerous when he is in trouble. Somewhere he lost a piece but was causing his opponent some bother. Meanwhile the Haslingers had both received draw offers. Things were happening fast.
After deliberating Mike H accepted the draw yet Gareth smelt a win and played on. Mike B had stayed in the game but once he had sacked a R for B, the inevitable then happened and Mike conceded.
Phil struggling still managed to get an impressive R, N and P for his Q but ended up two R vs Q+R. He therefore resigned
Paul J had played a solid development game and was mounting a patient attack. Eventually he broke through forcing the win.
So Hoylake 3.5 vs Formby 1.5 and James and Gareth still playing, so we had a chance for a draw. However after a tense 10-15 mins of play, Gareth's win could not be found and he agreed a draw in a very symmetrical position. A good result against a very strong player.
James fueled on chocolate eclairs, was in a tight battle with lots of play and counter play but losing on time, and he eventually fell victim to the flag. Hoylake win 5-2.''
The 440 team received Aigburth in their long delayed first match of the season. Dave W was first to finish with a draw followed by a similar result on top board where the players were evenly matched. MDB lost a piece and was on the rack when his opponent was a little to eager and gave the piece back. Andre was too patient for his equally veteran opponent and won when a mistake was made. this left Bob G with a 30 point grading deficit defending stoutly against a passed pawn but ultimately losing out to leave a team draw.
In Club championship games Rob H drew with Eddy whilst John G beat Peter P.
N.B. The inception of a new website that will be more compatible with that of the MCA and allow a lot more exchange of data is being developed with the help of Martin Blasczyk at MCA with Dave W liaising btween MCA and FCC and John Grady agreeing to be the new FCC webmaster in our club. Member will be kept informed of progress and the actual time of change
Update at 10th October
Both 1sts and 3rds played at home this week and both were against a considerable higher grading aggregate
The 1sts in their first match back in Div 1 received Waterloo whose board 1 was IM Gary Quillan; board 2 was graded 215 and the first four boards grades all exceeded our board 1. In the circumstances Formby did well to hold them to 3-3 losing only when Dave C could no longer hold out against a passed pawn. Wins by Phil and Mike Bh who both forced resignation with opponents subject to an unstoppable mate were particularly satisfying.
The 3rds were soon one down v Prescot 2 with a defeat for Bob G and then went 3-0 down with losses by Dave McK and Rob H .Draws by Eddy, Paul S and Duncan were welcome but did not affect the team result.
In the club championship games played the previous week Mike Bh beat Rob H and Bob G beat Peter P
Update at 3rd October
The only team match this wee was that of the 2nds v Southport 2. An unfortunate misunderstanding led to the absence of Rob O so after 30 minutes grace we were 0-1 down and the situation got worse when MDB playing on top board in the absence of Paul J was well and truly trounced. A slight improvement followed with draws by Alan and Duncan. Defeat for Eddy meant the match was already lost when John Grady's opponent resigned. Two matches -two defeats !!
Details of Club Championship games played this week will be reported next week.
Update at 26th September
3rd team skipper Paul S reports
'' Disaster last night at Liverpool Juniors
Lost 4 - 2
Lost on boards 1 -4
Rob H staged a great comeback on 5 from losing a bishop to queening a pawn and forcing a resignation just before a certain check mate.
Paul had another default on bottom board, and has yet to play in the team!
Notable that 2 of our defeats were due to time running out and it may have been different with the full 90 mins (Maybe!)''
MDB has checked handbook and Liverpool CC website and there is no information or suggestion that these games should be any shorter than 90 minutes altho the handbook entry for Hoylake Juniors does say that their games shall be for 75 minutes as was ultimately agreed for this Liverpool match
MDB adds that on boards 1-5 Formby were outgraded by 658 to 495 with each Liverpool player on boards 1-4 being above 125 so result not unexpected.
It was a quiet night at the club with just one championship game. John Grady got into time trouble when he was 2 pawns and N v 1 pawn and B against Phil. Although getting one pawn to 6th rank he could go no further and a draw was agreed
Congratulations are due to Stewart Haslinger and fiancee Sara who are getting married this coming weekend
Update at 19th September
This week was reserved by MCA for knockouts.
The JR team of 6 went to Aigburth and there their involvement was well and truly shattered with a 0--6 defeat . Individual results and a brief comment are on the relevant page.
The Knotty Ash team remain in contention as they had a bye in the 1st round.
Two Club championship games were played on Tuesday. Peter Paine had a baptism of fire against Phil and resigned when two pieces down. Andre had MDB in trouble after an unusual opening after which he was able to bring several pieces to bear on an uncastled king. However he let MDB's supported Q check on A7 which was followed up by the winning of a piece and two pawns after which Andre resigned.
Update at 11th Sept
The 3rd team's first match ended with a win by the narrowest of margins despite an immediate advantage when the opposition Aigburth3 arrived two players short. However their top two boards outgraded ours by a relevant margin and wins for them duly occurred. A win by Duncan and draw by Andre ensured the team victory.
The 2nd teams match v Atticus 4 ended with the score reversed. There was an early defeat for Dave McK when two marauding bishops supported by the queen forced resignation. Paul J went a pawn up but was unable to use this advantage on a crowded board and his draw offer was accepted. MDB playing Atticus skipper Jim Wiseman for the nth time was faced with a bishop sacrifice which opened the rook file against an attack by Q and R but Jim was not able to bring any other piece to bear and faced with a possible mating attack forced a draw by repetition. Alan was level throughout and when Rob O with a large time advantage had opened up his opponents king and won a rook it was down to John G to determine the team result. However Tom Webb is a wily old soul and when his attack would have won Q for R John resigned.
The draw for the Club Championship group stage has been made an full details are now on the relevant page below. One or two more entries can be accepted if made soon but Mike is anxious that games be played asap so that the stage is concluded by end of December.
Update at 30th August
The President's evening was very successful with 10 players responding to Phil's challenge on Fischer computer generated positions and allowing a 1minute consideration and 10 minute play.As expected Dave C and Gareth had 100% from their first three games and Dave then won in their 4th round clash.However after a first round loss Alan W was creeping up and when he beat Dave in the fifth and final round and Gareth won there were 3 joint winners. Fortunately there were no squabbles on allocating the three prizes generously provided by Phil and the evening ended with a vote of thanks to the organiser and possibly relief from most players that from now on the pieces at the start of games would be in their expected squares.
On the previous Bank Holiday weekend Gareth had played in the Open section of the Leyland Congress with Mike providing support. Seeded 6th he finished 12th with 2.5/6 but two of his losses were against the 3rd and 1st seeds with the latter graded on FIDE 400 above him.Both he and Mike recommend this congress to all club members for its organisation, venue and atmosphere and easy access from Formby.
Start at 22nd August 2019
People with sharp eyes will note that I have solved(?) my problem of positioning this subject by overriding the 'listed players' schedule. This info for all MCA clubs is made very clear now when entered on its site on the 'Leagues and Tables data for individual clubs.I have already put he Formby data on our teams having regard to the July gradings. James is now listed for the 1sts in place of John Grady with Mike Barooah being the lowest grade listed for them.Alan W is the lowest grade listed for the 2nds joining Paul J, MDB, Rob O and John. This leaves Dave McK and all those graded below him available for the 3rdswith Peter Paine likely to be the only ungraded member of that squad and the 440 team.
I am sure that last weeks golf tournament was the team building exercise that it meant to be with all the players coming together in adversity.It is clear from Eddy's report now on the Social page below that it was very enjoyable for all who played allowing for the Bryson DeChambeau moments in hunting for lost balls.Our minds will now be exercised by the CP Fis(c)her games of chess next Tuesday on our return to Ravenmeols and the competitive season starts the following week withe 3rds altho' Bob has been obliged to postpone the 440 match due to be played att the same venue and date(3rd Sept)