18 October 2017
Our Teams A and C were in action at the Fox & Grapes and they both kept their supporters on edge right till the very last pawn-push.
Team A, in Division 2, were playing Alwoodley C. On paper it looked another likely 5 – 0 win as Limewood outgraded Alwoodley by an average of 26 points per board. On the ground it was a different story as Alwoodley put up a spirited challenge. With 4 games decided (a win for Tom Leah against John Hipshon and draws for Paul Johnson and Bob Maltby) the score was level at 2 points each.
Everything now depended on Team Captain Paul May who was still locked in a desperate endgame battle with Peter Saunders – a struggle that could have gone either way. Eventually Paul produced the winning moves and Limewood won the match by 3 points to 2.
“We gave you a fright”, was the Alwoodley comment as they left. True, very true.
Still, a victory however narrow is still a victory and Limewood A stay at the top of Division 2, ahead on ‘goal difference’ of Rose Forgrove B who have also won their first 3 matches.
Team C in Division 3 is our ‘no pressure, don’t worry’ team but they too provided a nailbiting finish as they played Rose Forgrove F. With 4 games settled they were trailing 2½ to 1½ (a win from David Halpin and a draw from Steve Hodgson) with Howard Brears still playing.
A win from Howard would level the match and bring home Team C’s first-ever point. Could he do it? The answer was Yes and Team C celebrated their draw.
Last season, before Team C existed, Team B lost every match and ended the season with zilch points. So Team C have already beaten their clubmates’ record. A definite cause for rejoicing.