ChAMPS Chess Match Report: 13/11/25
ChAMPS Chess Match Report: Thursday 13/11/25
ChAMPS 2 – 2 Eccles
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After a disappointing start to the day, things gradually began to improve. At 11am yesterday I received an email from a club captain saying they were unable to field a team that evening due to player availability. It’s the kind of call nobody wants to make — and certainly not one you want to receive.
Naturally, I was disappointed. Members of Team Eccles had arranged childcare, and another had organised to finish work early. I always try my best to agree to postponements, but Eccles are absolutely chock-a-block with fixtures, so any rescheduled match would likely have to take place at the weekend.
After some thought, I decided that a match simply had to take place to avoid further disappointment.
Without telling the team the bad news, I managed to find another three chess-hungry players keen for a game. Suddenly the day was looking brighter.
The icing on the cake came when I had to phone the ECF and ended up saying that GM Danny Gormaly (pictured) was in the kitchen cooking a chicken — and the result was to die for! GM Danny “Gourmet” Gormally is not only a very talented chess grandmaster, but is also a culinary wizard!
Later that evening, by turning a negative into a positive, the interclub mini chess event we hosted was a great success.
ChAMPS (Chess Association for Manchester Players and Supporters) vs Eccles Community Chess Club took place.
There was some fun camaraderie when the top board for ChAMPS Mohamed Gouda won the toss but called “black” instead of “white,” simply because his opponent preferred to play black. The rest of the ChAMPS team booed playfully because they wanted him to choose white! Both top board players were Egyptian and had only ever played friendly rapid or blitz games so it was no surprise they were the first to finish.
After the games, I asked the players who should be nominated as Man of the Match, and everyone agreed it should be Zakaria Salih, because they were so proud of him for not saying a single word during his game. Well done, Zak!
The official Man of the Match: Dan Cook
I’m so pleased that Dan — who supplies half the UK with honey — has started climbing the chess ladder! He’s had some unfortunate losses recently, but he is now looking forward to achieving a published known (K) rating.
Here is the chessdrop for Dan’s game submitted by James Buckley.
Black has a slight advantage for much of the game, but he commits an “unforced error” with …h6. Dan is obviously thinking of a King side pawn storm, and this move simply creates a target for him to aim at. Dan handles the attack very well, although I think that Rh1 would have been a bit better in forcing the mate. …Qf6 is a blunder by black which allows Dan to mate in 4 – but you have to be able to seize these chances, and Dan certainly does!! Well done to him, well worthy of Man of the Match!
This was the first time players from Eccles Chess and ChAMPS had faced each other, and it was so refreshing to see the match ending in a respectable draw with only a 23 rating point difference between both teams.
Well played to everyone who took part!
Today, Eccles said a fond farewell to GM Danny Gormally and hopes he joins us again very soon.
Thanks, Danny — it’s been a pleasure !!!
Next match:
Tuesday 18/11/25
Atherton vs Eccles
A Division — Warrington League
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