We had high hopes of winning both of our opening 2024 matches on Tuesday evening but, in the end, it turned out to be a bit of a disaster.
Petru failed to materialise for the 'B' team's Division 2 match against 3rd placed Alsager 'B', meaning that we had to default a board. Given the circumstamces we did well to draw the match 2-2, with yet another win for Kas on board 2 and draws for Steve H and Ray on boards 1 and 3 This leaves us in 2nd place, just a point behind Crewe 'D', who we play next Tuesday. Click here for the full match score card - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/node/190082
Mycle and Lea were late withdrawals from the 'C' team due to illness and work commitments. This meant drafting in Gennady and Alan from the 'D' on boards 3 and 4 for the match at Crewe 'E'. Unfortunately, their opponents proved to be too strong and they both lost early on in the evening. Phil looked to have drawing chances on board 2 but blundered a piece going into the endgame and the inevitable loss followed. Steve E was the last to finish, with a 17 move grandmaster draw on board 1, making the final score 3.5- 0.5. Click here for the full match score card - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/league_fixture/190086.