The National Chess Library is
Transcription
The National Chess Library is
July / August 2008 NEWSLETTER OF THE ENGLISH CHESS FEDERATION £1.50 The National Chess Library is ... Officially Open! Charles Clarke MP officially opening the library, pictured with Gerry Walsh, Margaret Wallis and Stuart Laing. Photograph reproduced by kind permission from UCH. Charles Clarke MP examining his father’s books. Photograph by Robert Gurney. Relative of Harry Golombek with Lothar Schmid. Photograph reproduced by kind permission from UCH. Gerry Walsh, Lothar Schmid and Charles Clarke MP. Photograph by John Saunders. Guests gathering prior to the opening ceremony. Photograph by Robert Gurney. Editorial Opening of The National Chess Library Tuesday 10th June 2008 saw the official opening of The National Chess Library at the University Centre Hastings. It was a very successful event for both the University Centre and the English Chess Federation. this venture, dignitaries from Brighton University and UCH, five members of the Harry Golombek family, Eric Croker a major donor to the library and representatives from Green Insurance Brokers, who very kindly stored the collection free of charge in their offices for three months whilst a new home was being sought. The event began with guests being greeted on arrival and served with light refreshments. Once assembled everyone made their way to the impressive lecture theatre of UCH for the opening speeches. The welcome address was given by Professor Stuart Laing Pro-Vice-Chair of Brighton University, this included a presentation of an award to Frances Warrell a student of UCH from Special Library Association for her dissertation on the Chess Library. Professor Laing was followed by Gerry Walsh ECF President who spoke on the History of the Library and also introduced an honoured guest Lothar Schmid German Grand Master and renowned collector of chess books (possibly the largest private collection worldwide) who had flown in from Germany especially to attend the opening of the library. Lothar Schmid gave a warm congratulatory speech which included some banter between himself and his great chess friend much venerated International Master Bob Wade who was in the audience. Finally Charles Clarke MP former Home Secretary spoke about his father Sir Richard Clarke (renowned statistician and inventor of the BCF/ECF grading system) and his collection. Charles Clarke reminisced on the impact that his father’s dedication to chess and it’s grading system made on his childhood. This was a landmark occasion in the history of chess and the best way to secure the future of the library is to invest in its continued growth. I appeal to everyone who can help to do so by donating their own collection of chess books to the National Library. This can be done by individual donations of duplicates, if you are downsizing or by legacy. Cynthia Gurney, Editor Presentation to Frances Warrell. Photograph by John Saunders After the speeches all those attending made their way to the library itself where Charles Clarke performed the cutting of the black and white ribbon, after which guests were free to wander, browse and look at the displays featuring trophies from past glories and varied chess memorabilia including the Bratby portrait of Harry Golombek, then to partake of the delicious champagne buffet provided by UCH. Included in the esteemed guest list were many civic dignitaries from Hastings Council who have greatly supported Contents National Chess Library ........................... FC Editorial . ...................................................... 2 ECF News ................................................. 3, 4 National Club Finals .................................. 5 County Championships ........................... 6 Junior News ............................................ 7-9 International News . ................................ 10 Obituaries .................................................. 11 Book Reviews . .......................................... 12 Littlewood’s Choice . ............................... 13 Grand Prix . ................................................ 14 Results Round-Up . ........................... 14, 15 Calendar of Events . ................................. 16 Copy Deadline 10th September 2008 2 To mark the occasion BBC Southern Counties Radio staged an interview between Kat Downes (BBC) and Con Power (Hastings International Organiser) earlier in the day. Photograph reproduced by kind permission from UCH. ECF BATSFORD COMPETITION Congratulations to the MAY/JUNE Winner Carl Portman from Banbury, Oxfordshire The correct answer is 1. Qd5! Matthew Fox, Comm., The Sun-Herald, 1961 White to play and mate in 2 ---#- -$+-'--)! --&! "-- $- ---- Please send your answer (just the first move is sufficient) on a postcard to the ECF Office, The Watch Oak, Chain Lane, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0YD The first correct entry drawn on 10th September 2008 will win a Batsford voucher for any book on their current list. CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 ECF News Chess Sets for St Peters English Chess Federation President and Normanby resident Gerry Walsh will join local MP Vera Baird and St Peters Roman Catholic College Deputy Head Hartley Ward at the college on Friday 20th June 2008 to hand over 10 free new chess sets. Vera Barid MP & Gerry Walsh with pupils © Northern Echo This is one the first such handovers of the national programme of chess sets for schools coordinated by the English Chess Federation and backed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. In December, Vera hosted top young chess players from up and down the country to play chess in the Houses of Parliament, with keen chess playing MP Charles Clarke urging them to continue with their sport. Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe spoke at the event and indicated his support for English Chess. Vera Baird said “Although I did play chess with my father as a little girl, I won’t pretend I’m now a chess player myself but I know many children love it. It’s proven to improve concentration and mental ability and it’s so impressive that the ECF have shown such dedication in organising this scheme. Every child should have the opportunity to play chess.” Gerry Walsh said “This national programme is picking up pace and I’m proud that one of the first schools to have taken advantage of it is in Teesside. The ECF supports all young chess players as well as taking our young champions to international tournaments. There are vital issues around the funding for chess, however, with its recognition as a sport still not finalised. Hopefully these new sets will mean we will have future chess champions from Teesside.” School welcomes gift of chess sets This article was reproduced by kind permission from the Northern Echo (www.thenorthernecho.co.uk) A school is making all the right moves thanks to the presentation of chess sets. St Peter’s Roman Catholic College, Normanby, has been given ten sets. The donation is one of the first in a national scheme coordinated by the English Chess Federation (ECF) and backed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Normanby resident Gerry Walsh, who is president of the ECF, joined Redcar MP Vera Baird for the presentation at the school, yesterday. Ms Baird said: “Although I did play chess with my father as a little girl, I won’t pretend I’m now a chess player myself, but I know many children love it. “It’s proven to improve concentration and mental ability, and it’s so impressive that the ECF has shown such dedication in organising this scheme. Every child should have the opportunity to play chess.” Last December, the MP got top young chess players from across the UK to take on MPs at chess in the Houses of Parliament. Mr Walsh said: “This national programme is picking up pace, and I’m proud that one of CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 the first schools to have taken advantage of it is in Teesside.’’ Feckenham First School Presentation HASLINGER, Stewart G, 2511g; GORDON, Stephen, 2508m; ARKELL, Keith C, 2506g; GORMALLY, Daniel, 2504g; WILLIAMS, Simon K, 2496g; FLEAR, Glenn C, 2493g; DAVIES, Nigel R, 2478g; TRENT, Lawrence, 2470m; PERT, Richard, 2468m; ARAKHAMIAGRANT, Ketevan, 2448m; HOUSKA, Jovanka, 2405m; LALIC, Susan, 2344m We look forward to seeing you at the British Championships in Liverpool. New Sponsor for National Schools Championship Gerry Walsh with Jacqui Smith MP (Home Secretary), Beverley Hartigan (Head Teacher) and some school pupils. Editors Note: At the time of going to print a special ECF Council meeting has been arranged for 26th July to discuss the way forward for the Chess for Schools project. British Championships 2008, Liverpool At the time of going to press we have 600 entries which is 90-95% of the total entries received last year. The following titled players will be appearing in Liverpool this year: JONES, Gawain C, 2549g; PERT, Nicholas, 2547g; CONQUEST, Stuart, 2536g; LALIC, Bogdan, CRO, 2533g; HEBDEN, Mark, 2520g; Yateley Manor School are the new sponsors of the National Schools Championship. This important and prestigious annual event involves hundreds of schools from all over the UK and many thousands of children in friendly chess combat. Headmaster Francis Howard said: “Yateley Manor has a long history of supporting junior chess and we are delighted to provide this sponsorship”. IM Andrew Martin, the ECF Manager of Coaching, has been on the staff at Yateley Manor for some 17 years, teaching chess to children from age 5 to age 13. The South of England Junior Chess Championships and the English Junior Closed Championships are also held at the School. Speaking on behalf of the English Chess Federation, Andrew Martin said: “We look forward to an excellent tournament 3 in 2008/9 with many new schools participating and we anticipate working with Yateley Manor for many years to come. Andrew Martin ECF Manager of Coaching Nominations for Election at the ECF AGM The voluntary posts to be elected at the AGM on 18 October 2008 are: President Chief Executive Director of Finance A minimum of 2 Non-Executive Directors Up to 4 Executive Directors (currently Directors of Marketing, Home Chess, International Chess and Junior Chess and Education) The FIDE delegate The Chairman of the Finance Committee Members of the Finance Committee The Chairman of the Governance Committee Members of the Governance Committee Each candidate for a Post must be either: (a) A retiring Director, FIDE Delegate or Chairman of a Standing Committee seeking re-election to the same Post; or (b) A nominee of the Board for a Post; or (c) A person proposed by any of the following full* members: (i) any Director; (ii) the FIDE Delegate; (iii) the Chairman of a Standing Committee; (iv) any two Trustees; (v) any Representative Member of a Constituent unit; (vi) any two Representative Members of Counties; (vii) a ny two Direct Members’ Representatives; (viii) a ny two of a Trustee, a Representative Member of a County and a Direct Members’ Representative; or (ix) any five Individual** Members or Representative Members. * Full Members are Constituent Units, County Associations, Chess Leagues, Chess Congresses, Other Organisations, the Directors, the FIDE Delegate, the Chairmen of the Standing Committees, the Trustees (of the Permanent Invested Fund), Patrons, the Past President and the Past Chief Executive. ** Individual Members are any of the Full Members listed above. Updated brief job descriptions for these 4 posts are shown on the website www. englishchess.org.uk/organisation/general in downloadable form and available in hard copy form from the office. A note of which incumbents will be seeking reelection, will be shown on the website in downloadable form from 30 July 2008, available in hard copy form from the office from that same date and will be sent to each earlier enquirer automatically. To be eligible for election, nominations with the required level of support, must be received at the ECF Office, The Watch Oak, Chain Lane, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0YD no later than 13:30 on Wednesday 10 September 2008. Managers and other officers are appointed by the Board and by individual Directors and are not subject to election by Council. However, this is an appropriate time for anyone interested in this type of essential work to indicate their interest to the Board through the ECF office. Player of the Year 2008 nominations for any of the other vacant posts and those may be filled by the Board if appropriate candidates come forward. The Direct Member Representatives are: Honorary Life Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, Corporate Vice Presidents, Honorary Life Members, Life Members: Stewart Reuben, 11 Bevan Court, Clevedon Road, Twickenham TW1 2TS. Tel/Fax: 020 8892 6660, e-mail: [email protected]; one vacancy Full Direct Members, Family Members, Veteran Members, Student Members, Special Members, Members with Disabilities: William Armstrong, 6 The Heights, Leek, Staffs ST13 7LQ. E-mail: [email protected]; Peter J B Wilson, 11 Clos de Gibauderie, St. Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 1XQ. Tel/Fax: 01481 713441, e-mail: director.marketing@ englishchess.org.uk Standard Members, Junior Members: Robert Gurney, 212 Hillside Road, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 2QT; one vacancy Basic Members, Basic Members: two vacancies Junior The Board are seeking to fill the vacancies for a second Representative from among Honorary Life Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, Corporate Vice Presidents, Honorary Life Members and Life Members and Standard Members, Junior Members. As well as the two vacancies to represent Basic Members and Basic Junior Members. To find out more, contact the ECF Office, 01424 775222, [email protected]. Proposals for Discussion and Decision at the AGM The English Chess Federation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 Player of the Year Award - for the second year running the award goes to David Howell. Michael Adams came a close second followed by Gawain Jones in third place. Direct Member Representatives Four present Representatives have been re-elected unopposed to serve for another term from the end of the AGM 2008 to the end of the AGM 2009. There were no It is open to full members as specified in (c) (i - ix) above to submit proposals to the AGM of ECF. It is recommended that proposers should consult the Chairman of the Governance Committee to ensure that their proposed papers are in an appropriate format and are sound from a constitutional point of view. John Philpott may be contacted by e-mail at chair.G over nance Commit te e @ englishchess.org.uk or by telephone at reasonable hours on 020 8527 4063. For inclusion in the agenda for the AGM final papers must be received at the ECF Office, as above by 13:30 on Wednesday 10 September 2008. CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 National Club Finals played in London on Sunday 6 July 2008 The Open finalists. The National Club Finals kicked-off on a dull wet Wimbledon Finals day under the control of ECF Senior Arbiter David Sedgwick. The 5-section 24 boards were hosted by London Chess League at their Barbican HQ in Golden Lane, where light refreshments could be consumed along with the occasional orange juice or something stronger in the downstairs bar for those chessplayers that “like their Sunday beer”.....so not much orange juice was consumed !! The matches started promptly at 1:30, but most finished well within the 5-hour time limit. The final match results were Open: Wood Green 6-0 Maidstone Major: Hackney 3-2 Diss Appointed Major Plate: Wood Green 3.5-1.5 Wanstead & Woodford Minor: Hackney 2-2 Ashfield - Hackney won on boardcount (played at Syston) Minor Plate: Bushbury 3-1 Tunbridge Wells U100: Snodland 4-0 Forest of Dean One very interesting game was the b1 clash for Maidstone v Wood Green in the Open Celebrating Wood Green winners totally ignoring the photographer because Nadal was on one of his match points !! Taylor,M 2342 - Pert,N 2547 National Club Finals, Maidstone v Wood Green 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 c6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5 6 Nh4 Bg4 7 h3 Bh5 8 g4 Bg6 9 Nxg6 hxg6 10 e3 e6 11 Bxc4 Bb4 12 Bd2 Nbd7 13 g5 Nd5 14 f4 N7b6 15 Bb3 c5 16 a5 cxd4 17 exd4 Nc8 18 Bxd5 Bxc3 19 Bxb7 Bxd2+ 20 Qxd2 Rb8 21 Bc6+ Kf8 22 Bg2 Ne7 23 0-0 Kg8 24 Rac1 Qd6 25 Rc5 Rb3 26 Rc3 Rb5 27 Re3 Kh7 28 Re5 Rhb8 29 Rxb5 Rxb5 30 Qc3 Nf5 31 Rf2 Qb8 32 Qd3 Rxb2 33 Rxb2 Qxb2 34 d5 exd5 35 Bxd5 Qc1+ 36 Kg2 Qf4 37 a6 Qxg5+ 38 Kh1 Qc1+ 39 Kh2 Qf4+ 40 Kh1 Qf2 41 Bg2 Ng3+ 42 Kh2 Ne2 0-1. The prizes were kindly presented by ECF Chief Executive Chris Majer - just in time for people to rush home to see Nadal’s epic win against Federer. Hackney Team with Mike McNaughton (he was disappointed !!) Major Plate Finalists Minor Plate Finalists CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 U100 Finalists 5 County Championships Once again the cream of the County teams gathered at Moat College, Leicester. This increasingly popular venue, with its ease of access and spacious playing hall is ideally suited to this event and we are very grateful for the continuing support of the school which is gaining an excellent reputation as a science college. Lancashire thought they were lucky to defeat Surrey in the semis, and faced Middlesex with trepidation. The closeness of the match was reflected in the number of times that controllers were asked as to the status of the board count. Eventually, the holders triumphed over Middlesex by 9-7. The Minor Counties final saw Norfolk trying to go one better than their runners-up spot last year against the Midlands Minor Champions, Shropshire. Here the result was never in doubt after Norfolk gained an early lead eventually winning 10-6. Essex’s match against Surrey saw the swansong as a county captain after 102 matches of John Philpott. This match was always very close with Surrey ending John’s dream of a winning exit by 8½ - 7½. An Essex player allowing a mate in one did not help. Yorkshire, regular visitors to this event played Hertfordshire in the U150s in another match which was not as easy as it looked with Yorkshire running out 10-6. Norfolk had had two close matches on their way to the final, winning one by a mobile phone gambit, but Sussex ran them very close until the last three boards resulted in a 9½ - 6½ wins for Norfolk giving them an usual double. The U100s between Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire looked like being a runaway win for the latter but late wins for Nottinghamshire could not quite prevent a 7-5 win for Hertfordshire. Applause for the venue was also shared with the appreciation for the controllers, headed by John Shaw assisted by Adrian Elwin. Dave Welch and Cyril Johnson with administrative assistance from Liz Gist and Tarek Rahman. 6 CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 Junior News ECF National Schools Championship 2007-8 The competition got under way in November with an increased entry of 136 teams. The twelve Local Zones were completed by early March. There was an innovation this year: two one-day Last Chance Saloon events, one north one south, for teams that missed out on qualification from the Zonal stage. The Southern event unfortunately was cancelled when only two teams entered; they played each other for the qualifying place. The Northern event, on 1st March in Nottingham, was more successful. The National knockout stage concluded on Friday & Saturday 4th & 5th July at Uppingham School. Some familiar faces got there, as always, but the Plate featured three teams that had never reached this stage before. The exception was Nottingham High School B. (Remarkably, this is not the first time Nottingham HS have had both A and B teams in the final Gathering.) Leeds GS, weakened by the unavailability of players, were even a board short. They lost both their matches but did well to score three wins. The Plate Final was between two other newcomers: Wilson’s School and Wellington College, themselves both below strength. Their match was tight all the way, with Wilson’s at the end fractionally better in a boardcount decision. The Championship contestants were likewise missing some players. RGS Guildford, who have often reached this stage in the last few years, never really got going. Haberdashers, always a force to be reckoned with, could not quite handle Millfield in the semi-final. Nottingham High School A, Champions for the last three years, lost their title to Millfield in a very close Final. Millfield, like Wilson’s, are first-time winners. NATIONAL STAGE (For full match results, see www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/times.htm) PLATE - Round 1 Bolton School Juniors (11.1)* 2 4 Greenwood Academy Irvine (15.3); Nottingham HS B w/o scr Foremarke Hall; Aylesbury GS (14.5) 1 5 QE Barnet (15.4); Wellington College (15.1) 6 0 Charterhouse Square School (10.2); Wilson’s School (13.11) 6 0 Kings House A (11.0); Holway Park Primary (10.10) 0 6 Winchester College B (15.7). Byes: Woodbridge School; Leeds GS Quarter-Finals Bolton School Juniors 1 5 Leeds GS; Nottingham HS B (13.5) 3½ 2½ Woodbridge School (14.6); QE Barnet (14.11) 2½ 3½ Wilson’s School (15.1); Winchester College B (15.9) 1 5 Wellington College (14.10) Semi-finals Nottingham HS B (13.7) 2½ 3½ Wilson’s School (15.1); Leeds GS (15.3) 1 5 Wellington College (15.5 Third Place Play-off Leeds GS (15.3) 2 4 Nottingham HS (13.7) Final Wilson’s School (15.1)* 3 3 Wellington College (15.5) Final Nottingham HS A 1 2 3 4 5 6 Plate Final Wilson School 1 2 3 4 5 6 5.6.08 Millfield School Ankush Khandelwal 196 (B) 0 1 Michael Keetley 148 0 1 Jonathan Day 127 1 0 Daniel Lin 132 1 0 Ted Pinegar 122 ½ ½ Joel Lamy 0 1 (16.8) 2½ 3½ Anand Krishnan 124 Mani(etc) Peri(etc) 120 James Schenck Michael Rogan 106 Keith Barker 88 Owen Wright (15.1) Peter Poobalasingam 188 (W) Rhys Cumming 138 Sharon Soni 117 Harry Streeter 103 George Galliano 75 Matthew Turner 79 (15.10) 5.7.08 Wellington College 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 3 Akash Jain 162 Alex Galliano 158 Adrian Archer-Lock 111 Chris Fraser 89 David Lee 83 George Wilson 45 (15.5) CHAMPIONSHIP – Round 1 (by 7th April) Wilson’s School won on board count. Manchester Grammar School (15.3) 5 1 Methodist College Belfast (17.3); King Edwards Birmingham (15.11) 4½ 1½ Magdalen College School (15.8); Millfield School (15.7) 6 0 Monmouth School (16.3); Haberdashers Askes B (11.8) 4 2 Norwich School (15.0); Kings House Richmond B 0 6 Haberdashers Askes A; Eton College (15.2) 1½ 4½ Whitgift School (14.4). Byes: RGS Guildford; Nottingham HS A Schools Finals at Pontin’s Brean Sands Quarter-Finals (by 9th May) Manchester Grammar (15.5) 1 5 Nottingham HS A (16.3); Haberdashers A (15.10) 4½ 1½ K Edwards Birmingham (16.0); RGS Guildford (15.0) 4 2 Haberdashers B (13.2); Whitgift (14.3) 1½ 4½ Millfield (15.7) Semi-finals Millfield School (15.10) 3½ 2½ Haberdashers A (16.1); RGS Guildford (14.6) 2 4 Nottingham HS A (16.8) Third Place Play-off Haberdashers (16.4) 5½ ½ RGS Guildford (14.6) Final Nottingham HS A (16.8) 2½ 3½ Millfield School (15.10) CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 Wednesday 2nd July and Thursday 3rd July saw 6 National Schools’ titles decided. The U16, U14 and U12 sections of the UK National Schools Team Championships were played along with the English Primary Schools’ Chess Association U11, U9 and small schools’ championships. In the U16 competition three schools moved to the front after three rounds and stayed there. Haberdashers’ beat Magdalen College 3-2 and drew with Queen Elizabeth, Barnet to take the trophy with 24½ points ahead of Queen Elizabeth’s on 22½ and Magdalen on 20½. Board prizes were won by players from 5 Schools (there were two ties) Saravanan Sathyanandha (1) Athman Sivakumar (3) and Tom Senior (4) of Haberdashers’ Amit Desai (2) of Queen Elizabeth’s, 7 Harry Mann (2) of Torquay Boys’, Tom Lilburn (3) King Edwards’ Birmingham, Jacob Trefethan (5) and Ben Stone (6) of Magdalen College. The U14 competition was dominated by Haberdashers’ who only dropped three points in the whole tournament finishing 6 points ahead of King Edward’s with Torquay Boys’ a further two points behind. Haberdashers also won the top four board prizes with Shyamel Patel, Daniel Lande, James Lawrence and Aneesh Aggarwal whilst the board five went to Marco Saccardi of Queen Elizabeth “C” team. In the U12s Aldro “A” team were never behind in the tournament and entered the last round with a 2 point advantage. They should have sealed it with a win against Broadclyst, the only primary school in the competition, but ended up losing 2-3. They then had an anguish wait whilst their nearest rivals, RGS Guildford and Queen Elizabeth’s battled it out. This game ended in stalemate giving Aldro the championship with 15½ points, 1½ clear of RGS who came second on tie break and Queen Elizabeths’. The board prizes here were fairly well distributed with Oliver Demerger (1) and Jeff Leung (2) of Torquay Boys’, Ben Collins (3) of Queen Elizabeth’s, E Ghent (4) and O Timms (6) of Aldro and James Royle (5) of Broadclyst all proving successful. In the EPSCA events the U11s proved to be a rerun of the Hemsby semi-final with Dulwich College Prep, Eltham College and Haberdashers’ fighting for top spot. Going in to the final round Eltham held a half point lead over Dulwich and Haberdashers’ with each team playing apparently similar opposition. There was much tooing and froing but eventually both Haberdashers’ and Eltham won 3-2 whilst Dulwich secured that vital half point to tie with Eltham and take the title on board count in the drawn match between the teams. In the U9s there were three teams on 15½ point after 5 rounds, Eltham College, Magdalen College and Nottingham High. In round six Eltham beat Nottingham 4½ - ½ whilst Magdalen lost 1-4 to Holmfield. This put Eltham in a seemingly unassailable 3½ point lead. This proved true although Magdalen College fought hard all the way against them holding them to 3-2.. Meanwhile Hallfield and Nottingham High “B” had drawn giving Rosemead, 4-1 winners over Nottingham High “A” the chance to come through in to second place. Henry Broadley, Joshua Cavendish, Robert Fitzgerald, Chantelle Foster, Conrad Green, Felix Haxby, Amy Hoare, Daniel Lea, Joseph McPhillips, Ram Mohan, Shyam Moham, Gautham Reddiar, Adam Taylor, Milo Thrumble, Jamie Tilston and Roy Zhang. The England team hit the floor running and coasted through the first round to the tune of 14.5 – 4.5 but we have played the Dutch too often to think this would last. That evening the Dutch requested an early start for the rapid play as their national team was playing that strange game with the round ball – and not playing it very well as it turned out. We invited the U11 school teams to send their board one to join the two international teams in the rapid play and a total of 53 players took part. The Dutch demonstrated their superiority in this form of chess with only Roy Zhang able to keep pace with the leaders. He lost in the final round to Tjark Vos who ended up with maximum points whilst Roy got the prize for the best English Player and Stephen Chung from Merchant Taylors’ Crosby got the best non international prize with 3 points. He claimed the scalps of two English and one Dutch international. After their disappointment on the soccer field and their heavy loss in round one we warned our team that they would be back thirsting for revenge. They got it to the tune of 11-8 but we had the points in the bag and took the match 22.5-15.5. It was pleasing to see every England player getting at least half a point whilst Joseph McPhillips, Gautham Reddiar, Adam Taylor and Jamie Tilston are to be congratulated on scoring two points. We look forward to our trip to Holland next year whilst our next match this year is in Flanders at the end of August. National Girls’ Team Championships 2008 Possibly the best chess tournament in the world! Girls travelled from all across the UK to take part in this fantastic event, which was held in the glamorous setting of Claremont Fan Court School. Finally, disappointingly only two small schools entered so Heathfield and Blagdon went head to head over two rounds. Heathfield won round one 4-0 thus only needing a half point to secure victory. Blagdon held them 2-2 in the second round but Heathfield ran out winners 6-2 Finally a great vote of thanks needs to be given to Tony Corfe for the tremendous work he puts in, not just at the events but throughout the year. Fortunately he has got a very able assistant in Traci Whitfield – the two of them did 4 stays at Pontins as well as attending some of the preliminary tournaments. The enjoyment gained by the young (and not so young in some cases) is great to see. Long may they continue. Anglo Dutch Match 2008 Our annual match against Zukertort Chess Club from Amstelveen near Amsterdam took place over the weekend 21st-22nd June at Pontins Holiday Centre, Prestatyn, Denbighshire North Wales. The format is the first round of the match on the Saturday morning, some free time to enjoy Pontins followed by a rapid play in the evening then the second round of the match on the Sunday morning. The teams consisted of 19 players this year with the England Under 11 players being; Greg Ackerman, Peter Batchelor, Nathasha Bogoda, 8 We were delighted to be able to start this tournament, as in previous years with an elite presentation for the top English juniors. Thank you to the Principal of Claremont Mrs. Farrar and the main sponsor of the National Girls’ Team Championships Matthew Pierce for their help and support. Thank you to the International Chess School for providing the excellent prize of 6 months free chess coaching for the winning under 18 team. Everyone, without exception, had a great day. The chess played was superb. The weather, venue and tournament atmosphere was perfect. Congratulations to all competitors. CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 1st Surrey Sharks Katherine, Alicia, Eleanor, Amber We have a fantastic team of people, whose help makes this event such a success. Thank you to Mike Basman, Ray Ryan, Pauline Foster, Fiona Petrie, Maya Haria, Rosalind Kieran, Jake Miller, Paul Gladstone and Harriet Hunt for providing the excellent coaching. Under 9 Best Under 7 team Under Seven Smashers Egene, Natasha, Teresa, Francesca Best School team Old Palace Queens Victoria, Sophia, Kateeja, Callisto 3rd Mother Hubbard and Bute House Fiona, Tara, Asha, Skye Congratulations to the section winning Surrey Sharks. Under 14 1st = Midlands Queens Astghik, Gabby, Philomena, Katie Brave Bishops Evie, Lucy Under 18 2nd Cruel Kings Shefali, Aneesa, Alice, Tamara 2nd Flamingos Sheila, Danae, Anuurai, Kavitha, 1st Old Palace Queens Victoria, Sophia, Kateeja, Callisto 1st The Right Move Selina, Jessica, Hannah, Angelica I always like to introduce new exciting elements to this tournament. Chess TV is a big hit, where games are beamed live to the parents. Tournament tee-shirts also proved really popular this year. Claire Summerscale Junior Squad Trip to Ukraine May 2008 3 of the Under Seven Smashers Under 11 Best School team Wimbledon High School Rachel, Georgia, Isobel, Susannah 3rd Wimbledon High School Rachel, Georgia, Isobel, Susannah 2nd Kentish Belles Yasmin, Elizabeth, Vishal, Sophie CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 A group of 16 English juniors flew out to the Ukraine in a reciprocal visit following a group of young Ukrainians visiting Devon at Easter. We went from Birmingham and Heathrow and met up at Amsterdam where a group of 8 Welsh joined us. The idea was to visit the Dominanta School, play some chess and look round the city. Although the matches were not quite what we expected some good chess was played and some interesting visits made. The first day we had an opening ceremony with many of the top brass from Kiev and the Ukrainian chess federation there. These included the mayor of Kiev who made a very quick speech explaining that they were voting as he spoke and he was not sure if he was still the mayor! Also there was Ruslan Ponomariov who acted as a filler in the ensuing rapid play. What an opponent to have as your first Ukrainian. He was, in fact a charming and very friendly young man. The Ukrainians took the first three places in the event with James Abrams being the top English player. The next two days were spent sightseeing in the morning and playing matches in the afternoon. We had expected to have two teams of eight with the Welsh team and various Ukrainian teams as opponents. In fact they produced two teams of 12 and we had to “lend” 4 players to the Welsh. As they took higher boards than they would have been for England they had harder opponents which was a consolation. Monday we toured the city by boat and there was nearly as much water on land as in the Dneiper. In the match the stronger Ukrainian team defeated the Anglo-Welsh team whilst the English defeated Ukraine “B”. We had a walk round central Kiev on the Tuesday morning seeing many fine sights and doing some souvenir shopping. In the afternoon it was back to the chess. The stage was set for a grand finale and the match did not disappoint. At 6-5 to England (with us down on tie break) our player appealed under 10.2 and his opponent accepted the draw giving us the narrowest of wins. We then went back to the hotel, which is part of the catering department of the university and had a most magnificent end of tour banquet. Even our fussier players tucked in to the Ukrainian food. The final morning was spent on last minute shopping and we also spent some time in class with our hosts before heading to the airport and returning to England. ECF EMAIL ALERT Register your email address at www.englishchess.org.uk to receive news items as soon as they are known to us 9 ECF Online Grading List 2008 The latest ECF Online Grading List was released on 21 July 2008 at www.englishchess.org.uk/grading/ This list is complete and official, but provisional. It includes games up to the end of May 2008. A revised version incorporating corrections (but no new events) will appear in late August 2008 in time for the start of the new season. The August version will be official for all ECF Standard play events throughout the season. The printed list, available at the start of September, will be identical to the August version. In the online list you can choose to see active players only (those with a current grade). Or you can include inactive players who are not currently graded but have been graded in the past. Recall that you can get extra information on a player, including all his grades since 1994, by clicking on his grading code (Ref ). “NEW GRADES” The central grading team has been working on a complete revision, designed to undo the perceived deflation of grades over the years. The switch to “New Grades” is planned for 2009-10. For the coming season, Old Grades (as in this list) remain current. It has been announced that, for information only, New Grades are to appear alongside them. They do not appear here. They will appear in August with the start-of-season version of the list. ECF 2009 DIARY Available September 2008 Crammed with useful information this clear, easy to use Diary is a must for all! Visit www.englishchess.org.uk or ring 01424 77522 to order your copy 10 International News 8th European Individual Championship for Women Gawain, myself and Peter in the old city of Plovdiv. This year the 8th European Individual Championship for Women was held in Bulgaria’s second largest city Plovdiv. This little known city has actually a rather large history being one of the oldest cities in Europe being a contemporary with the legendary cities of Troy and Mycenae. With a roman theatre, old town, a very modern shopping centre and an abundance of excellent restaurants we had masses of things to do as well as play chess! Arne, myself and Gawain at the Roman Theather believed to have been built around year 200. The European Individual championship is one of the Continental Qualifiers for the Women’s World Championship so as usual the tournament was fiercely competitive with over 157 participants competing for the 13 places available. In fact it seems to me that each year the level gets tougher with the amount of points needed to qualify increasing! Two years ago 7.5 points was enough to guarantee qualification and play-off for a medal while this year only 8 points could guarantee safe passage to the World Championship. The tournament itself was incredibly closely fought with many players sharing the lead - in fact it was so narrow that going into the tenth round up to ten players were in the running for the first place. However it was the 18 year old Ukrainian Katerina Lahno’s tenth round win over the experienced Russian Ekaterina Kovalevskaya that allowed her to break away and secure the title with 8.5/11. Katerina played as usual in her uncompromising manner and made an impressive rating performance of 2615. The Silver and Bronze medals were determined by a play-off between six players on 8 points. After a day of very tense rapid blitz and games it was Lithuanian Victoria Cmilyte and Ukranian Anna Ushenina who emerged with the silver and bronze medals respectively. There were three English players playing in the Women’s championship, myself Dagne Ciuksyte and Diana Mihajlova. Dagne after a promising start finished on 6 points and Diana, who was in Plovdiv as a chess journalist (and a relative latecomer to the game) scored 1 point. I scored 7 points out of 11 but was rather disappointed with my performance, as a disastrous loss in the last round, cost me a World Championship place and would have sealed what was an otherwise excellent tournament. Peter and Gawain at the Cafe next to the Roman Theather. Despite the highs and lows that follow such European Individual Championships I would wholeheartedly recommend this tournament to anyone! Jovanka Houska. CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 Former Chess Correspondent Elected President of Midlands Chess At the Annual General Meeting of the Midland Counties Chess Union at Syston, Leicestershire, Peter Gibbs was elected President. Peter is now an elder statesman of the game, but in his youth he represented England for the team tournament in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). He competed several times in the British Championship and his best placing was 7th. For nearly 40 years Peter was Chess Correspondent for the Birmingham Post. Peter has helped Blind players over many years starting after he had coached a talented blind player at his local club. He has frequently acted as Arbiter (referee) at the British Championships for Blind players and more recently he was Team Manager for an English side of Blind Junior players in international team tournaments. Other elected Midlands senior officials were: Julie Johnson (Leics, Chief Executive Officer), Andrew Leadbetter (Staffs, Finance Director), Graham Humphries (Staffs, Director for Junior Chess), Sean Hewitt (Leics, Events Director). Just how devastating the new Midlands’ President can be over the board is shown in the super-miniature below. The game was played in a qualifying round for the British Championship against the Worcestershire player Reg Bonham, the World Correspondence Chess Champion. White: R.W. Bonham Black: P.C. Gibbs British Championship Qualifier 1955 King’s Indian Defence 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Bg2 0-0 5 0-0 d6 6 c4 c5 7 Nc3 Nc6 8 h3 Bd7 9 Kh2? cxd4 10 Nxd4 Nxd4 11 Qxd4? Ng4+! 0-1 Leonard Barden An important milestone was passed on Monday 19 May. Leonard’s chess column in the London Evening Standard became the longestrunning ever in the world. He has beaten George Koltanowski’s record in San Francisco. The Monday to Friday column is a model of its type. There is always a chess diagram and a story about it. The solution to the puzzle is given at the bottom of the page. He often publicises forthcoming events. In 1972 the Evening Standard became sponsors of the Islington Congress of which I was the director. There were 1508 players in 1973. This was the first sponsorship of chess in this country after Council support of Hastings and the Sunday Times National Schools Championship. The Grand Prix was my idea, but it was he who sold it to Cutty Sark and administered it until Leigh Industries withdrew. Later he and I collaborated on the Lloyds Bank Masters. He also has columns in the Guardian and the Financial Times. He is a past British Champion. Also his work for junior chess was hugely valuable and many of our leading players owe him an immense debt of gratitude. For example, he would update the grades of juniors every week. This was a cornerstone of encouraging them to play. It is so satisfying to be able to highlight the work of chess administrators who are still with us. Let us hope Leonard continues with his column for such a long time that his record becomes completely unassailable. Stewart Reuben CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 Obituaries Patrick Taylor It is with great sadness that we report that Patrick Taylor of Monarch Assurance, an Honorary Life Member of the ECF, died in hospital on the Isle of Man on Friday 23rd May. He was 74. A tribute by John Saunders is available on the BCM blog (http://bcmchess.blogspot. com/2008/05/rip-patrick-taylor.html). Wilfred (Tom) Widdows It is with sadness I report the death of Tom, for very many years a stalwart of Worcester City Chess Club and Worcester Chess Association reported to me by Bill Watson. The text of Bill’s letter reads: “He died on 29.6.08 and the funeral is on Wednesday next (9.7.08) at Worcester Crematorium at 1pm. No flowers. Donations to Air Ambulance via Funeral Directors (CRUMP), Hanbury Road, DROITWICH.” A feature article published in 2002 by Worcester Evening News states Tom was born in South Wales in 1912. Tom learned to play chess at the age of 7 being taught by his father Thomas, a railwayman. In 1920, the family moved to Worcester when Tom’s father’s job was transferred to Shrub Hill Railway Station. Tom attended Stanley Road School and then Worcester Technical School. Tom left school aged 15 to work as an apprentice draughtsman for Heenan & Froude Engineering Company. He later served the successor company Redman Heenan as manager of the company’s environmental services and travelled several times to Brazil and Argentina in connection with their business. He retired in 1975 and was retained by the engineering company as a consultant. After the formal retiring age of 65, he took part- time work with Reddiplex, the plastics extrusion firm in Droitwich and finally retired from paid employment at the age of 81. Tom joined Worcester City Chess Club when he was 22. In the 1958-9 season, Tom was board 4 of an extremely strong Worcester City side that won all seven matches in Worcestershire County League, the team dropping only two game points in the whole season. Not only a player, Tom was a well-respected Competitions Secretary for over 30 years for Worcestershire Chess Association who dealt fairly and firmly with occasional disputes. He was Life Vice President of the Worcestershire Chess Association. In addition to chess, Tom was a bridge player with his wife, June, in Droitwich. At the close of the second World War, Tom took on the job of Chess Correspondent for Worcester Evening News. Writing under the byline Checkmate, his first column appeared on October 9, 1945 and he put down his pen in 2006 and is almost certainly the world record holder of the title “longest serving chess correspondent” of any newspaper in the world. The Worcester chess scene has lost a much respected member. Ray Dolan 11 Book Reviews by Gary Lane The Greatest Ever Chess Opening Ideas by Christoph Scheerer published by Everyman £15.99 There are so many opening ideas that have been formed through the years that it is an impossible task to compile the perfect list. Therefore, one has to rely on the author to choose his own guide and just sit back and enjoy some banter. It is important that the historical background is correct and an incredibly long bibliography seems to be encouraging. Therefore, it is amusing to read that Scheerer found out about the oldest game ever played by looking it up on Mega Database 2008. Still, it does get better with anecdotes and historical notes which are very interesting. Now you might not be able to use the book to win quickly at the next weekend tournament, but it will help to settle an argument about the first time that 3...a6 was played against the Ruy Lopez. There are 50 examples and a whopping 368 pages to explain them all. I was intrigued that he had managed to refute the Schliemann Defence against the Ruy Lopez in seven pages. If you are a connoisseur of the line then don’t worry too much because the author has underestimated the chances of a side-line (5...Nf6) by not noticing the critical game Kramnik-Radjabov, Monte Carlo Rapid 2007. It is naturally intriguing to find out what the German author thinks is the most important English game amongst contemporary players. Will it be Nigel Short’s innovations on the way to the World Championship match or Michael Adams’s impressive repertoire enabling him to stay in the world’s top ten for so long or maybe even Jon Speelman with one of his robust openings? The honour falls to Miroslav Houska for an attractive miniature against David Tebb at the British championships 1998. The combination of old and new games bring the opening ideas to life and it is certainly to be highly recommended. A great read for people who want to know how an opening evolves and how it stands up to the test of time. The series name by Everyman is hopefully a winner because I have already written The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps which is due to be published in September. Moral Victories by David Lovejoy published by Echo Publications £14.99 David Lovejoy really wanted to write a biography on the great chess player Savielly Tatakower. After all when he was growing up in England his games fascinated him, so it seemed the right thing to do when researching in his adopted country of Australia. The only snag is that Tartakower travelled a lot in life and it is difficult to create a definite record of events, so he used the material as the basis of an historical novel. It works well and his background as a newspaper editor means that the prose is of a high standard. There are also some excellent notes at the end to help the keen reader work out what is a genuine fact and what has been made up. A chess novel that is worth reading. Engaging Pieces by Howard Goldowsky £12.99 published by Daowood Brighton This is a collection of chess writing which involves lots of interviews, fiction and some opinion. The US slant might leave some people wondering about some of the personalities but in general it is an enjoyable read. He also thankfully updates his articles. For instance he points out that his first ever interview with book author Michael de la Maza “....shows ,in places with its clunkiness.” His useful tips on how to improve the writing style are soon forgotten when he mentions in passing that he tried for ages to contact de la Maza before someone pointed out that for the past year he was working in the same office building. A pleasant way to enjoy chess on a train or plane. 12 CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 Littlewood’s Choice Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be! What a refreshing change for me to leave the age of computer chess and go back to my teen-age years when my hero was undoubtedly Paul Keres. One is spoilt for choice but I’ve chosen a powerfully played game against exWorld Champion Max Euwe. 18th World Championship 1948 Max Euwe ■ Paul Keres 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5!? Needing to win this game, Keres chooses the risky Siesta Variation of the Ruy Lopez, never refuted but demanding high tactical understanding of its complexity. 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.d4 A later attempt to refute the line by 7 0-0!? Bd3 8 Re1 Be7 9 Re3 e4 10 Ne1 gave Black enough chances after 10…Bg5! 11 Rh3 Nf6 12 Nxd3 exd3 13 Rxd3 0-0 14 Rh3 Qe7 15 Na3 Rae8 16 Nc2 Ne4 as in the game Smyslov-Lutikov, 1961, which was eventually drawn. 7…e4 8.Ng5 10.f4 Of course, 10 Bxe3 h6 11 Nh3 Bxh3 12 gxh3 Bd6 gives Black a splendid position, so Euwe decides to capture the e3 pawn with his queen, then retreat his knight to f3 heading for e5, but the subtle 11 Qh5+ has been given as an improvement on 11 Qf3 (as played in the game) in order to stop Black’s knight reaching g6 later. 10…Bd6 The natural development by 10…Nf6 also seems promising. The interesting but hardly error-free game Kinnmark-Ciocaltea, 1967, continued 11 0-0 Bd6 12 Nf3 0-0 13 Ne5 Bxe5 14 dxe5 Bg4! 15 Qd3 e2 16 Re1 Nh5 17 Na3 Nxf4?! 18 Qg3! Qg5 19 Bxc6 bxc6 20 h3 h5 21 hxg4 h4 and now, instead of 22 Bxf4 Rxf4 23 Qd3!, White blundered with 22 Qf3?? allowing the neat finish 22… Rae8! 23 Nc2 Qxe5 24 Nd4 Nh3+! and if 25 Qxh3 Rf1+! mating in three moves. 11.Qf3 Qf6 12.Qxe3+ Nge7 *--,-$ -'!"!' '-(#%--'-) --- -- - Keres suggests the interesting piece sacrifice 8 0-0 exf3 9 Qxf3 with good attacking chances but hardly in Euwe’s style. 8 d5!? is another seemingly valid attempt to refute the gambit but I leave that for the reader to analyse … White’s time-wasting has given Black an excellent lead in development and Euwe’s next weak move is practically the final nail in his coffin, leaving the white squares fatally unprotected. 8…d5 9.f3 Euwe probably intended to play his knight to e5 via f3 but after 14 Nf3 0-0 15 Ne5 Black has 15…Bxb1! 16 Rxb1 Bxe5 followed by 17…Qg6 forking b1 and g2. *-%,#($ -'!-!' '-(----'-) -'---- -- - 9…e3! A key move in Black’s plan. Clearly, 9…exf3? 10 0-0 is excellent for White but 9…h6!? 10 fxe4 hxg5 11 exf5 Bd6! has its adherents too CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 13.Bxc6+? bxc6 14.0-0 14…0-0 15.Nd2 Ng6 16.g3 Rae8! 17.Qf2 Since 17 Qf3? h6 loses a piece. 17…Bd3 18.Re1 Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 --$,-!-!' '-'#%(--'- --)- - 19…Bxf4! 20.gxf4 Exchanging queens does not help either, because 20 Qe6+ Qxe6 21 Nxe6 allows 21… Be3+ 22 Kh1 Rf1+! 23 Kg2 Rf2+ winning. 20…Nxf4 21.Ndf3 21 Ngf3 allows 21…Qg6+ 22 Kf2 Nh3+ 23 Ke3 Bc2! 24 Qe2 Qh6+, and 21 Qh4 Ne2+ 22 Kg2 Be4+! mates quickly. 21…Ne2+ 22.Kg2 h6 23.Qd2 Qf5 24.Qe3 hxg5 25.Bd2 Be4 0-1 ECF CLUB & CONGRESS INSURANCE FOR 2008 NOW AVAILABLE Contact the ECF Office for further details 01424 775222 NOW AVAILABLE THE 2008 CHESS CATALOGUE British Chess Magazine’s ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR GAMES OF SKILL! 44 Baker Street London W1U 7RT Telephone 020-7486-8222 Fax 020-7486-3355 [email protected] www.bcmchess.co.uk SPECIAL CHRISTMAS OFFERS INSIDE Contact the BCM Chess Shop for your copy on 020 7486 8222 or email [email protected] 13 Results Round-Up KJCA Sutton Valence Junior Rapidplay 1 June 2008 Under 18: Anthony Gregory, Maidstone CC, 158, 4; William Jones, Lewisham CC, 154, 4; Sheila Dines, Sanderstead, 143, 4; Tim Weaver, Maidstone CC, 103, 3½ Under 14: Victor Jones, Lewisham CC, 153, 4½; Gautham Reddiar, Orpington, 66, 3½; Duncan Bell, Beckenham & Bromley CC, 82, 3; Alexei Davis, Mottingham, 77, 3; Raunak Rao, Lewisham CC, 66, 3; Abigail Sathyamurthy, Herne Bay CC, 51, 3; Billy Sargent, Westerham CC, 28, 3 Under 11: James Selway, Bromley, 40, 5½; Oliver Petrick, Sevenoaks CC, 25, 5; Samuel Wahts, Maidstone, 24, 5; Mano Sathyamurthy, Herne Bay CC, 32, 4; Folarin Ogunsola, Weald of Kent CC, 28, 4; James Wagstaff-Hall, Sidcup, 23, 4; Rowan Hancox, Forest Hill, 22, 4; Hector Huser, Balham, 22, 4; Conor Murphy, Lewisham CC, 13, 4; Edward Bottomley, Rotherhithe, 4 Under 9: Yasmin Giles, Lewisham CC, 42, 5½; Lawrence Lee, Barnet Knights CC, 40, 5; Owen Messere, Lewisham CC, 8, 5; Thomas Morton, Hayes, 10, 4½ KJCA Grand Prix Final 29 June 2008 Under 18: Sheila Dines, Sanderstead, 143, 4½; William Jones, Lewisham CC, 154, 3½; Anthony Gregory, Maidstone CC, 158, 3; Robert Maguire, Beckenham & Bromley CC, 117, 3; Matt Bunn, Snodland CC, 111, 3 Under 14: Akash Jain, Pinner CC, 162, 4½; Victor Jones, Lewisham CC, 153, 3½; Jasdeep Gahir, Lewisham CC, 106, 3½; Sheila Subbiah, Chislehurst, 54, 3½; Justin Brown, Beckenham & Bromley CC, 51, 3½; Duncan Bell, Beckenham & Bromley CC, 82, 3; Alastair Thomas, Sittingbourne, 45, 3; Elliot Briery, Kensington, 38, 3 78th Richmond Rapidplay 13 July 2008 90 participants took part and prizes totalling over £700 were awarded for the following results: Open: 1st= GM Bogdan Lalic, IM Graeme Buckley 5/6; U180 Grading Prize: John White 3.5/6 Major (U160): 1st Joshua Pineda 5.5/6; 2nd= and also U140 Grading Prize Michael Mutale and Raul Lamorena 4.5/6 Intermediate (U120): 1st= Theodore Dias, Martin Durrant 5/6; 3rd= Michael Nightingale, Keith Bateman 4½/6; U100 Grading Prize: Ravi Haria, Richard Dulley and Rohan Shiatis 4/6 Minor (U80): 1st= Barry Miles, Harvey Kandohla 5/6; 3rd John Davis 4.5/6; 4th= Jake Simms, Ben Simms, Zhihan Li, Vincent Lee 4/6 York Celebration of Chess Grand Prix 2007/8 Sponsored by CCF MindGames Ltd We are extremely grateful to John and Christine Constable for their generosity in donating the trophies for the 5 categories of the Grand Prix. These handsome presentation trophies should be presented to the winners of the sections at the players’ local club or at a congress which they attend. Final Leader Boards 14 July 2008 Bold indicates players who are counting the maximum number of events. Junior Prix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jones, Victor GL, Kent Junior Congresses..........697 Weller, Jean-Luc, York RI.................................659 Clarke, Brandon GI, Littlethorpe.....................645 Fitzgerald, Robert C, Sussex Junior.................617 Clanchy, Nicholas, Kent Junior Congresses.......602 Jain, Radha, Pinner........................................602 Sanders, Isaac B, Highgate School...................601 Jones, William EG, Kent Junior Congresses.......595 Zhou, Yang-Fan, Richmond Juniors..................595 Harvey, Marcus R, Bicester RHS.......................591 Held outside in Parliament Street with prizes donated by the Council. Under 11: 1st Cameron Blair Dunnington; 2nd Joshua Levine, Talbot Road Leeds; 3rd Louis Romer Sherburn in Elmet; 4th Chris De- Planta, Stockton on Forest; 5th James Nelson, Bootham Junior School; 6th David Noyvert, Saint Lawrence. Merit awards to Matthew Paw, Hempland and Sarah Woodmansey, Heworth Green, best girl Under 18: 1st Yasmin Niksaz, Wetherby; 2nd Joe Towse, Millthorpe; 3rd Amand Hipshon. Harrogate Ladies College; 4th James Knighton, Archbishop Holgate; 5th Peter Hornsby, Ampleforth; 6th Ewan Miller, Hempland; 7th= Andrew Barns, Millthorpe and Andrew Woodmansey, Archbishop Holgate Graded Prix (150-174) 2007-8 British Ladies Correspondence Chess Championship Graded Prix (100-124) The 2007-8 BLCCC has resulted in a tie between the defending champions Sue Howell of Redhill and six-times former champion Valerie Craven of Leeds on Under 11: Radha Jain, Pinner CC, 109, 6; Raunak Rao, Lewisham CC, 66, 5; Alexei Davis, Mottingham, 77, 4½; Gautham Reddiar, Orpington, 66, 4½ 3/4 (both games between them ending in draws). They each win ¬£37.50 and hold the Lady Herbert Trophy for 6 months. Third was Astghik Stepanyan of Birmingham on 0/4. Under 9: Rohan Shiatis, Coulsdon CC, 62, 5½; Raphael Kalid, Anerley, 58, 5; Yasmin Giles, Lewisham CC, 42, 5; Alexander Selway, Bromley, 15, 5; Hector Huser, Balham, 22, 4½; Conor Murphy, Lewisham CC, 13, 4½; Owen Messere, Lewisham CC, 8, 4½ Entries for the 2008-9 BLCCC should be sent to Keith Escott, 43 Orchard Rd, Erdington, Birmingham B24 9JB by the closing date of 30 September 2008 (entry fee ¬£7, cheques payable to British Federation for Correspondence Chess). 14 English Chess Federation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Evans, Paul A, AXA Lytham..............................614 Hjort, Helge, Hendon.....................................590 Gamble, Raymond J, Spondon.........................553 Bryant, Richard BE, Telepost (Shrewsbury)......551 Cutmore, David A, Wood Green........................541 Almond, Richard J, Hastings & St Leonards.......530 Jaszkiwskyj, Peter, East Ham..........................522 Mitchell, Stephen R, Slough............................492 Hegarty, Sarah N, Ashtead..........................................................479 Cutmore, Martin J, Wood Green.......................473 Graded Prix (125-149) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Desmedt, Richard E, Netherton......................622 Goodfellow, Russell R, Tunbridge Wells...........606 O’Gorman, Brendan, DHSS..............................597 Clegg, Robert, Huddersfield...........................578 Connor, Michael I, Great Lever........................545 Combie, Alex B, Newark & Southwell...............526 Jackson, Paul G, Coulsdon CF...........................520 Waldock, Adrian DP, Guildford........................519 Papier, Alan, Bristol & Clifton.........................511 Price, Andrew, Leamington............................506 Walker, Roger W, Belper.................................581 Gartside, Carl, High Peak................................575 Boustred, Noel J, Gosforth..............................556 Jones, Laurence AG, Lewisham........................553 Allen, Timothy S, Battersea............................542 Barnell, Terry E, London E *.............................542 Farthing, Andrew P, Worcester........................534 Buckell, David J, Pendle..................................534 Rush, Steven J, Rhyl.......................................520 Naldrett, Geoff W, Insurance..........................509 Graded Prix (U100) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Foley, Phil T, Upminster..................................635 Fraser, Alan R, Beckenham & Bromley.............555 Miles, Barry S, Middlesex CCA..........................548 Jain, Dinesh, Pinner.......................................519 Scorer, David M, Pendle..................................503 Everitt, David, Haywards Heath......................494 Stone, Mark R, Petts Wood & Orpington...........491 Saunders, Peter, Bristol & Clifton....................483 Robson, Caroline J, Barnet Elizabeth...............480 Smith, Phil, Rolls Royce Derby.........................476 CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 4NCL Rapidplay 28-29 June 2008 The second 4NCL rapidplay was held over the weekend of June 28 & 29 and retained the same venue as last year; Harben House in Newport Pagnell but suffered a drop in entries, from 15 to 10. After some consultation with team captains this lead to the schedule being revised from a 10 round swiss to a 9 round all play all. The time limit was 20 minutes per player with an additional 10 seconds per move. Last year the event was deservedly won by Barbican who defeated their nearest rivals Hilsmark Kingfisher in their individual match in round 4. Although there was no Hilsmark team this year the NACCPO (National Alliance of Childhood Cancer Parents Organisation) team bore an uncanny resemblance to the 2006-2007 Hilsmark 4NCL squad and was also captained by a former Hilsmark captain, who is responsible for writing this article. My association with the NACCPO charity is due to a friend of mine, Rachael Olley, (who I used to work with) whose son Connor developed leukaemia. Thankfully, Connor recovered after several years’ treatment and although he still has to have certain tests is basically okay. As Rachael became involved with the charity I became a supporter and have raised money through simultaneous displays as best I can. NACCPO supports children and young adults with cancer and their families from all over the UK and receives no Government funding so every penny raised is vital. The idea to name my teams in the rapidplay after the charity were to give the charity some free publicity and I was therefore conscious that winning the event would be the best way to maximise the coverage. Therefore I invited players who I considered would give us a good chance of winning the event although in view of the difficulties and cost of getting the players to the venue I tried to ask people who either drive or at least had minimal travel expenses. I have to say I was more than happy with the players I ended up with; Grandmasters Gawain Jones and Keith Arkell, International Master & Woman Grandmaster Jovanka Houska and finally Ameet Ghasi the former British Rapidplay Champion. Ideally I would be first reserve and only play when they wanted a rest but as it turned out I was pressed into action in the second team alongside Martin Burrows, Arne Hagesaether and Sean Hewitt. Our main rivals were Barbican, the defending champions, who like last year had a strong squad of five players who could play in any order and 3Cs, who despite being forced to drop out of the 4NCL due to the southern location of the venues have at least appeared in both rapidplays. There were two teams making their debut; Metropolitan Police (who included retired Grandmaster William Watson on board 1) and The Welsh Old Boys. Effectively the event was decided by the matches between the three favourites. The first clash came in round 2 when wins for Stephen Gordon and Alan Walton gave 3Cs a slightly surprising victory against Barbican. Then in round four 3CS faced NACCPO knowing a match victory would give them a great chance of winning the entire event. Ultimately, NACCPO’s CHESSMOVES – JULY / AUGUST 2008 strength in depth told as Jovanka defeated John Bentley and Ameet defeated Alan Walton in a mind boggling game when a draw would have won the match but he eventually found his way through a maze of complications to force a winning ending. The last of the three clashes came on Sunday morning, a slight concern to me as my teams generally struggle with the early morning rounds. At the start of the match I would have happily settled for 2-2 and the likelihood of a subsequent tournament triumph. My pre match nerves weren’t helped when I received a phone call to say my board four was still on the M1 as the match was due to start but thankfully Ameet arrived and a close looking match was under way. I still can’t explain the final score, all boards were fiercely fought and I have to confess I was somewhat concerned by Jovanka’s two pawn deficit as I was by Keith appearing to have one less. Somehow we ended up winning 4-0, which I still can’t quite believe. Although that effectively decided the tournament NACCPO had a scare in the following round against Guildford where possibly complacency set in or it was just one of those matches. In any case, the loss of 6 minutes time on my clock to locate our board 2 proved a good investment as a surprise loss by Gawain against Ian Thompson and a draw by Jovanka meant Keith was required to grind out an endgame to win the match. The last two rounds didn’t change the final placings with the exception of a surprise victory by NACCPO B over Bristol which allowed them to leapfrog into 4th place. The final placings then were NACCPO first with 9 match wins out of 9 and individual scores of Gawain with 7.5, Keith with 8 and Jovanka and Ameet with 8.5 all out of 9. 3Cs, led by Stephen Gordon on board 1 who scored 7.5/9 (to add to his 8/8 from last year), finished second thanks to their win against Barbican who finished third. My thanks to David Welch and Neville Belinfante for organising and controlling the event and to all the players and captains who supported the event. I hope to see far more of you next year, it really is a fun event and I said that last year even though my team didn’t win! If anyone is interested in finding out more about the charity then you can view their website at http://www.naccpo.org.uk/. The easiest way to help them is to make http://www.everyclick. com/rachaelolley your homepage and then you make money for them every time you carry out a search. NACCPO is also registered with ebay (user ID naccpo) - so people can elect to donate a % of their auction fees to the charity (and benefit from having the ebay for charity symbol on their auction, thus attracting more buyers) and get a % of their listing/auction fees re-credited by ebay. 15 Calendar of Events (For a more comprehensive list of events visit our website at www.englishchess.org.uk) * denotes English Chess Federation Grand Prix @ denotes FIDE Rated Event # denotes British Championship Qualifying Tournament ~*# 15-17 Aug Thanet Congress Canterbury Christchurch University, Broadstairs. A D Hargreaves (Tel: 01227 274885, Email: [email protected]) 15-25 Aug 12th Mind Sports Olympiad Royal Horticultural Halls Conference Centre, London SW1P 2QD. Mind Sports Olympiad (Email: [email protected]) ~* 16-17 Aug UK Chess Challenge Terafinal The Source, Meadowhall, Sheffield. M Basman (Tel: 07715 041320, Email: [email protected]) ~*@ 16-25 Aug Jessie Gilbert Celebration International, Coulsdon. Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman (Tel: 020 8645 0302, Email: [email protected]) 18-21 Aug Elite & Rookies Junior Coaching Squad Week 1 Swiss Cottage Community Centre, London NW3 3NR. J Wallace (Tel: 07879 655581, Email: [email protected]) @ 22-24 Aug Marymass Congress Irvine Royal Academy, Kilwinning Rd. S Clark (Tel: 01294 278638, Email: [email protected]) ~ 23-25 Aug 44th Berks & Bucks Congress Polehampton Junior School, Twyford. Nigel Dennis, Boundary House (Tel/Fax: 01491 576052, Email: [email protected]) ~* 23-25 Aug 36th Hereford Weekend Congress Aylestone School, Broadlands Lane. W A Archer (Tel: 01432 265712) ~*@ 23-25 Aug & 6-7 Sep Leicester FIDE Rated All Play All Plough Inn, Littlethorpe. S Hewitt (Tel: 07845 518 972, Email: [email protected]) ~*@ 23-25 Aug 2nd Leyland Congress Wellfield Business & Enterprise College. Bob Tinton (Tel: 01257 451046, Email: LeylandChessCongress2008@ googlemail.com) 25 Aug CCF Open Blitz, Coulsdon. Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman (Tel: 020 8645 0302, Email: [email protected]) 26-29 Aug Elite & Rookies Junior Coaching Squad Week 2 Swiss Cottage Community Centre, London NW3 3NR. J Wallace (Tel: 07879 655581, Email: [email protected]) ~ 30 Aug Oxford Rapidplay Tournament Brookes University Headington Campus. J Kelly (Tel: 01494 462468, Email: [email protected]) 30-31 Aug World Fire Fighter Games Chess Liverpool Echo Arena & Conference Centre, 14 Monarchs Quay. V Fisher (Tel: 07859 911588, Email: [email protected]) Chess competition a part of the world fire fighter games taking place in Liverpool. ~*#@ 31 Aug - 6 Sep 58th PAIGNTON CONGRESS Oldway Mansions, Paignton. Linda Crickmore (Tel: 01752 768206 before 10 pm, Email: [email protected]) ~* 6 Sep Golders Green Rapidplay, St Alban’s Church Hall, London NW11 7QG. Adam Raoof (Tel: 07855 036537, Email: [email protected]) ~* 6-7 Sep CCF Autumn Congress 84-90 Chipstead Valley Rd, Coulsdon. Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman (Tel: 020 8645 0302, Email: [email protected]) ~* 7 Sep 79th Richmond Rapidplay White House Community Association, TW12 3RN. James Coleman (Tel: 020 8661 0722, Email: [email protected]) 8 Sep Wiltshire 5 Minute Championship The Brown Jack Pub, Wroughton. Tony Ransom (Tel: 01225 774538, Email: [email protected]) ~*@ 9-18 Sep 4th European Union Individual Championships Liverpool World Museum, William Brown Street. D Welch (Tel: 0151 733 1866, Email: [email protected]) ~* 12-14 Sep 7th Leek Congress Westwood College. R Milner (Tel: 01782 550112) ~ denotes ECF Graded Event ~* 12-14 Sep 2nd Whitby Stars Barred Weekend Congress The Conservative Club, Upgang Lane. N Boustred (Tel: 0191 236 9871, Email: [email protected]) ~* 14 Sep 22nd Leamington Rapidplay Royal Spa Centre. G Greenland (Tel: 01926 424360, Email: [email protected]) ~* 19-21 Sep Northumberland Congress Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields North Tyneside. Abi Adams (Tel: 0191 296 1078, Email: [email protected]) ~ 20 Sep English Chess Challenge - Champion of Champions’, Coulsdon Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman (Tel: 020 8645 0302, Email: [email protected]) ~* 20 Sep SJC Crowborough Junior Rapidplay Beacon Community College, North Beeches Rd. Margaret Burch (Tel: 01483 534061, Email: [email protected]) ~* 21 Sep 23rd Crowborough CC Congress Beacon Community College, North Beeches Rd. D Grant (Tel: 01892 654071, Email: [email protected]) ~* 26-28 Sep Spectrum Chess - 3rd portsmouth Congress The Hilton Hotel, Farlington. Norman Went (Tel: 01708 551617, Email: [email protected]) ~* 27 Sep CCF RapidPlay, Coulsdon. Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman (Tel: 020 8645 0302, Email: [email protected]) ~ 28 Sep Brighton Rapidplay Tournament Royal Albion Hotel. D Roy (Tel: 07952 573096, Email: [email protected]) 28 Sep Enfield Junior Rapidplay Hazelwood School, Palmers Green. J Arnold Lutton (Tel: 01268 280932, Email: [email protected]) ~* 28 Sep KJCA South-East London Junior Rapidplay Colfe’s School, Lee SE12 8AW. Sue Maguire (Tel: 020 8656 6420, Email: [email protected]) LJCC Qualifier The views expressed in ChessMoves are those of the Editor and Contributors they are not official policy of the ECF unless specifically stated. For details of Advertising Rates please contact the ECF direct at THE WATCH OAK, CHAIN LANE, BATTLE, EAST SUSSEX TN33 0YD tel: 01424 775222 fax: 01424 775904 email: [email protected] website: www.englishchess.org.uk
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