Suffolk Chess

At around 11pm last evening, this website clocked up 20,000 page views.   The first posting was on 29 September 2012, so up to and including yesterday it has been going for 193 days.   That's an average of just over 100 page views per day.

The site is currently averaging 171 per day, with a peak on 17 March of 342.   Unsurprisingly, that first posting has received the greatest number of 'hits' (213).

These are the page views, month by month:

October     2034
November     1623
December    2283
January    3347
February    3804
March    5301

In this time, there have been 163 postings.   After a slowish start, there has been a new article every day.   Many thanks to those people who have provided material, as well as others who have suggested new themes, such as the discussions on the Laws of Chess.

OK, it's your ninth birthday and you're playing Black in your third long-play game of the day, against the second seed in your section of an important national tournament.   You get down to K + PP each, but things aren't looking too good.   It's White (Oliver Howell 103) to play:



1.   f6    gxf6
2.   Kxf6   h5!

If now 3. gxh5, the new h-pawn cannot promote, so a draw was agreed.  

But let's look at the other possible move for Black (2... Kh7), which leads to some interesting complications which might be difficult to find across the board:

3.   Kf7    Kh8
4.   Kg6    h5 (the only move to survive)
5.   Kxh5   Kh7 (opposition, and a draw)
If instead 5.  g5, then NOT ...h4??, since 6.  Kf7   h3 is a clear win for White.
So after 5.   g5, Black saves the game with ...Kg8!   Then if 6.   Kxh5    Kg7 draws.

A good and mature save by Anita Somton.

Continuing our series on the Laws of Chess, we now look at the rules surrounding the use of clocks...

Placing the clock

Who decides where the clock should be placed?   In league matches, it is normal practice for the clock to be placed on White's left-hand side.   If White is left-handed, he may prefer to have the clock on his right-hand side; he may suggest that to his opponent.   But whilst this may be acceptable in a league match, where there is no arbiter, it will not be allowed in a tournament, where it's the arbiter who decides (FIDE Rule 6.4).   The arbiter may wish to walk down a central aisle to view clocks on either side, and this may require some of the clocks to be placed on White's right-hand side.   So if you're playing in a tournament, don't move the clock to the opposite side, even if your opponent suggests it.

Using the clock

The clock must be pressed by the same hand that made the move (Rule 6.7b).   Forcible presses, or picking up the clock, are not allowed, and can be punished by the arbiter, who might initially warn the player, but can penalise him by awarding his opponent more time (Rule 6.7c).   Ultimately, the game could be declared lost if the problem continues.

Move completion

A move is not considered to have been completed until the clock has been pressed.   The only exceptions to this are when the move achieves checkmate or stalemate.   Checkmate and stalemate end the game immediately, so in a time scramble that ends in mate, there's no need to slam the clock after making the decisive move (Rule 6.7a).

Calling flag-fall

Who can call a flag fall?   Certainly not a spectator, or another player.   Unfortunately, if this happens, there's nothing that can be done about it, other than to punish the culprit if this happens during a tournament by banning the person from the event.   So, other than the opponent, can anyone else call flag-fall?

It may surprise some people to learn that an arbiter can call flag-fall, at least in a standard-play or rapidplay game (but not in Blitz).   In fact, the arbiter should call flag-fall if he observes it (Rule 6.8).

Flag falls - who wins?

Not always the opponent, because the game will be drawn if it is impossible for the opponent to deliver checkmate by any series of legal moves (Rule 6.9).

Both flags down

If both flags have fallen, then on a digital clock you can see whose flag fell first.   But with analogue clocks it is often impossible to establish whose flag fell first.   In this case, the game is drawn if it happens in the final period of the game (when all remaining moves have to be made).   But if it occurs in any period except the last one, then the game simply continues without penalty to either player (Rule 6.11).

Rising star Anita Somton celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday by scoring 2½/3 on the first day of the National Junior Squad Under 10 Championship (in Daventry).   She is still, of course, an 'Under 9' for this season.

Then today she played two of the higher-graded opponents in her section.   She lost against the top seed (104) in Round 4 and drew against a 99 in the final round.   Her grading performance over the five games was 102.   She was the best girl in the 26-player section.

The games were 30 moves in 1¼ hours, plus 30 minutes QP finish (longer than a standard league game!)

Don Picton died on 25th March from cancer after a relatively short illness.   He was proud of his family and will be sorely missed by his wife Vi, sons and family.

Don was a keen chess player, and a reliable and supportive member of the Saxmundham Chess Club.   Don won the Club Championship in 2001-2, and played for Saxmundham as recently as last December.   Don was a lovely man, and a perfect gentleman.   He was always considerate of others and had a wry sense of humour.

(submitted by John Feavyour)

By Dr John Wharam

When Bob asked me if I'd write an article on the use of computers in correspondence chess I was quick to agree because I have strong views on the subject!   My correspondence chess career started with postal and alongside the development of email and then the ICCF Webserver I have had to adapt to the development of chess databases and deal with the ever-increasing strength of chess engines.

I think that the ICCF Webserver is a fantastic innovation; it handles all the time and administrative issues for you and is 'drag and drop' - what could be easier or more convenient?   The other big computer plus for me has been Chessbase which has transformed my opening preparation.   In June I will begin playing in a semi final of the 37th World Correspondence Chess Championship.   When I know who my opponents will be I will look at their previous games so that I can prepare against them.   What sort of openings do they struggle against?   Are there particular types of position that they mishandle?   I enjoy this part of the game and appreciate being able to get game information so easily.

The use of chess engines is an entirely different matter and one I feel very strongly about.   I continue to play correspondence chess because I enjoy trying to discover the truth about positions that interest me; no way am I going to just switch on a computer and then send off the move it suggests!

Some organisations try to ban the use of chess engines but this is unenforceable so it doesn't work well at all.   The only practical solution is to accept that some players will use them and this is the route that the ICCF have taken for International play.   The reality is that there is extensive use of chess engines in high level correspondence play.   So how do I deal with this given my strong opinions?   I start each game with the expectation that my opponent is going to use them and I try to get the sort of positions that engines struggle with.   By taking this practical approach I have found that another dimension has been added to the game and I enjoy the added challenge.

I usually play much faster than my opponents and have between 10 and 20 games on the go at a time.   I spend about 10% of my time analysing at the board or using Chessbase and about 90% is spent mulling over different options whilst riding my bicycle or out walking.   Despite the ever increasing strength of chess engines my rating has slowly climbed over the years and I am now an IM so my approach might have some merit.   Whether you want to use engines to help you analyse, or like me just want to exploit their weaknesses, a good starting point would be 'Modern Chess Analysis' by GM Robin Smith.   Correspondence chess is an activity that brings me a great deal of enjoyment, pleasure and satisfaction; if you haven't tried it then why not give it go?

If you haven't already seen it, here is an earlier article about John's achievements in correspondence chess.

Following the postponement in March of the Suffolk Junior Open Tournament, reported here, a new date has been finalised:

Sunday 16 June

An entry form can be downloaded directly from the Woodbridge School Chess website here.

Note that there are age-group sections for every age from Under 7 to Under 18, as well as separate sections for Parents and other Adults.

The event is ECF Rapidplay graded.

You'd think this was pretty straightforward.   Punish someone if they make an illegal move and ensure they make a legal one instead.   Sure, but things ain't quite that simple...

Let's consider the obvious illegal moves.   You can't move your rook like a knight; you can't move your king into check; you can't castle through check.   There are several other illegal moves like these.   But what about some slightly rarer ones?   Such as, castling after the king or rook has already moved; capturing a king; making two successive moves without allowing your opponent to play his move?

We'll look first at the basics.   FIDE Rule 7.1 states that if the initial position of the pieces is found to be incorrect, eg the king and queen are found to be on the wrong sguares, the game must be restarted.

If the board is found to be the wrong way round (a Black square on the right) the game continues but is transferred to a correct board (Rule 7.2).

If an illegal move has been completed (i.e. the clock has been pressed), then the position immediately before the irregularity should be reinstated.   If that cannot be determined, then the game continues from the last identifiable position, prior to the irregularity (Rule 7.4a).

For the first two illegal moves by a player, two minutes extra time are awarded to his opponent in each instance; for a third illegal move by the same player, the game is lost by this player.   But the game would be drawn if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate by any possible series of legal moves (Rule 7.4b).

So that's the rules, but what actually happens if, for example, you try to castle but find you're either moving into check, or moving through check.   In this situation you must move your king somewhere, as castling is fundamentally a king move.   If it's impossible to move the king anywhere, then you can make any other move.   But either way, your opponent will receive two extra minutes.

Suppose now that you don't notice that you are in check, and move a piece elsewhere on the board.   If that piece is able to prevent the check, then it must be used accordingly.   If that piece cannot prevent check, either by making a capture, or by blocking the check, then you are allowed to make another move to stop the check.

There's a false belief that if you make an illegal move during a quick-play finish, or when there is less than five minutes remaining on the clock, you lose the game.   Not true.   Your opponent just gets the two extra minutes.   But in Blitz chess it is true (at any stage of the game), provided your opponent points out the illegal move before making his own.

If you capture the king, that is considered to be an illegal move.   But be careful in Blitz chess, because if your opponent leaves his king in check (an illegal move), and you immediately capture it and claim the game, it is you that has made the last illegal move and therefore lose the game.   If you had simply pointed out your opponent's error in leaving his king in check, then you would have won.   By making your move you are deemed to have accepted his earlier illegal move.

If a game has been concluded, and during subsequent analysis it is found that an illegal move was played, then the result stands.   If the illegal move had been pointed out before the game had finished (even if it was a number of moves earlier) then as stated above, the game is is reset back to the last identifiable position, ideally just before the illegal move was made.   Under FIDE rules, there is no limit to the number of moves later that an illegal move can be pointed out, but in the US, where they have slightly different rules, there's a limit of 10 moves.

That's enough on this topic for the time being, but if anyone has any questions on illegal moves, or considers that any of the above statements is incorrect, please let me know!

The four-day Southend Easter Chess Congress took place over the long weekend.   The seven-round Open section is FIDE-rated, and usually attracts a number of strong players.

52 competitors entered the Open, including five Grandmasters and six other titled players.   Seven players from Suffolk entered.   The Suffolk scores were:

David Spence (Bury St Eds)    4½
Edmund Player (Bury St Eds)   4
Martin Fogg (Ipswich)      3½
Adam Taylor (Manningtree)   3½
Steve Gregory (Ipswich)    3
Ian Wallis (Ipswich)         2½
Keith Woodcock (Ipswich)   2

Ed Player had the toughest draw, after he won in the first two rounds.   His three losses were against IM Ameet Ghasi (2452), GM Peter Wells (2491) and in the final round GM Mark Hebden (2518) - see photo below.   He managed to gain five rating points from the event, taking him to 2242.

David Spence had an easier route to his 4½ points, and lost only one game, to FM Dave Ledger.   His rating will fall by 11 points to 2221.

Martin, Adam and Keith all managed small rating gains.

See the full crosstable here.

If you are reading this, but haven't yet had a chance to look at the problems, then close this page now!   The problems are here and here.

First, the three retro puzzles on Good Friday:

1.    Black's last move must have been a capture on a3, as Black must be on move (1. a3-a4 is impossible as the Black king must have stood on b4).   But which piece?   Queen or bishop would have meant the Black king was in an illegal check, and there is no way for the piece to be a white rook, as then White would have no last move himself.   That leaves only a knight, so 1. ..Kb4 x Na3 is the only possible last move.

2.    It cannot be Black to move, because any king move or Bb2-c1 would have been from illegal positions.   That leaves White to move and he must have captured on b1 - but what?   (It must be a capture, not a simple move, as there is no legal previous move for Black other than moving a piece to b1).   Queen or rook would have been illegal checks (how did they get there?) and a Black bishop could not have got through the pawns.   So the only possible last move is Ba2 x Nb1.

3.    Mate in 2 by Rb3, Ka2, Ra3#.


The Easter Egg puzzle yesterday.   Name the squares a to d and 1 to 4.   The knight travels in turn from d1 to:

b2, a4, c3, a2, c1, d3, b4, c2, d4, b3, d2, b1, a3, finishing up on c4.   I suspect this may not be the only solution.   Can anyone find another one?