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:
stewartreuben@aol.com; 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: wgarmstrong@aol.com;
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, office@englishchess.org.uk.
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
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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: TONY.HARGREAVES@sky.com)
15-25 Aug
12th Mind Sports Olympiad
Royal Horticultural Halls Conference Centre,
London SW1P 2QD.
Mind Sports Olympiad
(Email: msoentries@hotmail.com.uk)
~* 16-17 Aug
UK Chess Challenge Terafinal
The Source, Meadowhall, Sheffield. M Basman
(Tel: 07715 041320,
Email: ukchesschallenge@aol.com)
~*@ 16-25 Aug
Jessie Gilbert Celebration
International, Coulsdon.
Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman
(Tel: 020 8645 0302,
Email: chess@ccfworld.com)
18-21 Aug
Elite & Rookies Junior Coaching
Squad Week 1
Swiss Cottage Community Centre,
London NW3 3NR.
J Wallace (Tel: 07879 655581,
Email: johnpaulwallace@gmail.com)
@ 22-24 Aug
Marymass Congress
Irvine Royal Academy, Kilwinning Rd.
S Clark (Tel: 01294 278638,
Email: clark.s15@sky.com)
~ 23-25 Aug
44th Berks & Bucks Congress
Polehampton Junior School, Twyford. Nigel
Dennis, Boundary House
(Tel/Fax: 01491 576052,
Email: nigelwdennis@btinternet.com)
~* 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: sean@leicesterchess.co.uk)
~*@ 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: chess@ccfworld.com)
26-29 Aug
Elite & Rookies Junior Coaching
Squad Week 2
Swiss Cottage Community Centre,
London NW3 3NR.
J Wallace (Tel: 07879 655581,
Email: johnpaulwallace@gmail.com)
~ 30 Aug
Oxford Rapidplay Tournament
Brookes University Headington Campus. J Kelly
(Tel: 01494 462468,
Email: oxford.chess@btinternet.com)
30-31 Aug
World Fire Fighter Games Chess
Liverpool Echo Arena & Conference Centre, 14
Monarchs Quay.
V Fisher (Tel: 07859 911588,
Email: VojtechFisher@merseyfire.gov.uk) 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: plymouthchess@btinternet.com)
~* 6 Sep
Golders Green Rapidplay,
St Alban’s Church Hall, London NW11 7QG.
Adam Raoof (Tel: 07855 036537,
Email: adamraoof@yahoo.com)
~* 6-7 Sep
CCF Autumn Congress
84-90 Chipstead Valley Rd, Coulsdon. Howard
Curtis & Scott Freeman
(Tel: 020 8645 0302,
Email: chess@ccfworld.com)
~* 7 Sep
79th Richmond Rapidplay
White House Community
Association, TW12 3RN.
James Coleman (Tel: 020 8661 0722,
Email: rapidplay@aol.com)
8 Sep
Wiltshire 5 Minute Championship
The Brown Jack Pub, Wroughton.
Tony Ransom (Tel: 01225 774538,
Email: chesssalsa@aol.com)
~*@ 9-18 Sep
4th European Union Individual
Championships
Liverpool World Museum,
William Brown Street.
D Welch (Tel: 0151 733 1866,
Email: dave.welch@blueyonder.co.uk)
~* 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: noelboustred@yahoo.co.uk)
~* 14 Sep
22nd Leamington Rapidplay
Royal Spa Centre.
G Greenland (Tel: 01926 424360,
Email: leamcon2008@mac.com)
~* 19-21 Sep
Northumberland Congress
Parks Leisure Centre,
North Shields North Tyneside.
Abi Adams (Tel: 0191 296 1078,
Email: atadams2007@yahoo.com)
~ 20 Sep
English Chess Challenge - Champion
of Champions’, Coulsdon
Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman
(Tel: 020 8645 0302,
Email: chess@ccfworld.com)
~* 20 Sep
SJC Crowborough Junior Rapidplay
Beacon Community College,
North Beeches Rd.
Margaret Burch (Tel: 01483 534061,
Email: ammjburch@hotmail.com)
~* 21 Sep
23rd Crowborough CC Congress
Beacon Community College, North Beeches
Rd.
D Grant (Tel: 01892 654071,
Email: jonathanchess@talktalk.net)
~* 26-28 Sep
Spectrum Chess - 3rd portsmouth
Congress
The Hilton Hotel, Farlington.
Norman Went (Tel: 01708 551617,
Email: spectrumchess@hotmail.com)
~* 27 Sep
CCF RapidPlay, Coulsdon.
Howard Curtis & Scott Freeman
(Tel: 020 8645 0302,
Email: chess@ccfworld.com)
~ 28 Sep
Brighton Rapidplay Tournament
Royal Albion Hotel.
D Roy (Tel: 07952 573096,
Email: dr@piecesoffate.org)
28 Sep
Enfield Junior Rapidplay
Hazelwood School, Palmers Green.
J Arnold Lutton (Tel: 01268 280932,
Email: JALutton@aol.com)
~* 28 Sep
KJCA South-East London Junior
Rapidplay
Colfe’s School, Lee SE12 8AW.
Sue Maguire (Tel: 020 8656 6420,
Email: sue.maguire@btinternet.com)
LJCC Qualifier
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