As is customary since the Mighty Bees took up residence in WDCL Division 1, the opening fixture of the 2023-24 campaign was the local match-up of Culcheth B v Culcheth A. With a number of the usual 1st team players unavailable this was an opportunity for other club members to stand in and stake their claim for more Division 1 playing time!
The first game to finish on the night was board 1 where Ian and Rob – both intent on trying to surprise each other with offbeat and rare sidelines in the opening – succeeded only in confusing themselves and agreeing to share the spoils in an unbalanced but roughly equal position after 13 moves.
Next to finish was board 2 where Andy somehow managed to escape James’s devastating attack on his King to emerge with a Bishop for 3 pawns, and with rooks still on the board was able to complete a remarkable turn around to put the A team 1 up on the night.
On board 4 Nick C v Nick B ended in a draw shortly before Alex’s Queen and passed pawn overpowered Dan’s pair of Rooks and gave the A team an unassailable 1-3 lead with victory on board 3.
This left Phil and Vincent battling it out on board 5 where Phil’s defensive Knight positioned next to his King was rebuffing Vincent’s attack down the h file – proving the old adage that “with a Knight on f8 there cant be mate”. After some manoeuvring by both players Phil managed to untangle his Rooks, and with Vincent running low on time was able to form a mating net around white’s King and force a resignation. A consolation win for the B team meant the match finished with a narrow victory for Culcheth A.
