Harlow 1 hauled their way back into the Harrogate League Division One title race by dramatically slashing Chapel Allerton's lead at the summit.

Harlow's 10-5 win - their sixth in a row - means Harlow are 24 points behind the leaders but they have a game in hand which, if they win it, could make for a thrilling finish to the season.

No.3 Richard Leonard's 3-0 win over Randolph Victor gave Harlow a solid start, and although skipper Ross Williamson clawed Chapel level with his four-game battle against Tom Wake, John Simpson won a ding-dong five-gamer with Phil Young at top string.

That leaves Chapel A 1 on 125 points with three matches left - but they can feel the hot breath of Harrogate 1 on their necks after their 10-3 win over Adel 1 put them just four points behind. Top string Simon Myring lost his third consecutive HL match but by then the job had been done by team-mates Mark James and Olly Hotchkiss.

Fourth-placed Collingham 1 have a game in hand but William Hill now have them at 50/1 title shots following a 12-1 slapping at fifth-placed Otley 1. Rick Saunders, Mark Swift and Phil Davies were all pretty ruthless on a short night for the Chevinistas.

In the battle of the bottom two, there was no let-up in Aireborough's misery as Chapel Allerton 3's Cameron Ward, Thomas Whiteway and Jason Miller - stepping up to top string - all bagged victories.

Into Division Two, and, boy oh boy, what a promotion race we have here.

Chapel Allerton 5 took the scalp of leaders Collingham 2 on a night of high drama on Court 6. Even with a shiny new racket Mike Dale could do little to prevent Nick Williamson recording a 10th successive win of the season at No.3, but Dave Stannard overcame Dan Adams and his 'wife-beater' singlet in four tough games, then the hosts' No.1 Tim Manuel recovered from two games down (including losing the second game in a single hand!) to overcome James Rollinson in a bruising five-game duel.

That narrowed the gap on the leaders to 11 points, but the chasing pack are bearing down hungrily on the top pairing. Harrogate 2 are only one point adrift in third after a 12-4 triumph over lowly Chapel Allerton 6, although their top two of Andy Benson and Peter Hotchkiss were both taken to five by James Steingold and Pratik Patel.

Dunnington are just two points further back in fourth and despite fielding a much-weakened team to the one which tonked Chapel A 5 the previous week, they dropped only two games in beating Skipton. Darren Mould claimed a great win over fellow shotmaker extraordinaire Daryl Ley while Andy Tuck and George Pethullus completed the job.

Fifth-placed Chapel Allerton 4 are only eight points off second after seeing off bottom side Collingham 4 for the loss of just two points with Mark Taylor, Julian Gorton and Bobby Pearson all triumphant in efficient fashion.

In Division Three, leaders Adel 3 were pushed surprisingly hard on their visit to bottom side Ilkley 2. Stewart Banister ended a horror run of seven straight defeats to topple Kevin Jackson at No.2 string and equalise after David Gifford had given the table-toppers the lead. It all came down to Rob Pell v Jonty Hodgson and it was the latter who took it, but only in the deciding game.

Second-placed Ilkley 1 took home a maximum 12 points from their short trip to fourth-placed Otley 3. The McGregor brothers, Andy and Matthew, were victors at Nos. 3 and 1, while Ben Bearpark thrashed John Knight at second string.

Third-placed Chapel Allerton's promotion credentials received a blow as they were sunk 10-5 at Harrogate 3. Lloyd Palmer won impressively at No.1 but the home side's James Green and Nicky Horne had already done the damage lower down the order.

In Division Four, Collingham 5 are the dominant force. Their lead may only be four points but they have a game in hand on all their nearest challengers and this week's 12-1 stomping of second-placed Ilkley 3 was a bold declaration of intent. Youngster Maximus Cooke (unbeaten all season), Michael Odling-Smee and James Dodwell all waltzed to victories.

Third-placed Adel 5 failed to make up ground as they lost 10-5 at home to Chapel Allerton 9. Alan Johnson landed an early blow for Adel but Simon Child, in three, and Martin Holland, in five, turned the game on its head.

On 71 points, fourth-placed Otley 4 are virtually out of the promotion picture despite a 9-6 win over cellar-dwellers David Lloyd. Geoff Gifford and Mark Firth were their heroes.

The League now enters a three-week break which should give all promotion-chasers and relegation battlers a chance to sharpen their fangs ready for what's set to be a merciless fight down to the wire.