Suffolk Chess

As this will be the last posting for ten days, it's a good opportunity to wish 9-year old Anita Somton the best of luck in the forthcoming WORLD SCHOOLS CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS.


Anita and her father Somton leave next Monday for a ten-day trip to Halkidiki in Greece that will involve nine daily games of up to five hours duration.   Anita is one of a 48-member squad of England players.   Playing in the Under 9 Girls section, Anita will be facing strong opponents from countries that include Kazakhstan, Turkey, Romania, India, Slovenia and Azerbaijan.

Anita is a member of the Bury Knights Junior Chess Club, which has awarded a grant of £250 to assist with travel and accommodation costs.

I will be on holiday until 10 May, so there will be no more postings until then.

Back in January, Saxmundham Chess Club won their way through to the semi-finals of the National Intermediate Club Championship (see report here).   To qualify for the Intermediate section players must be graded below 170 and the team grade must be under 580.

Yesterday Saxmundham travelled the 112 miles to Maidstone Chess Club.   Clearly exhausted after such a long journey they unfortunately lost 3 - 1, although captain Arthur McCormick reports that all games were "tight but enjoyable":

Maidstone v Saxmundham

1   Robert Lane (159)   1 - 0   John Feavyour (168)
2   George Hollands (146)   ½ - ½   Malcolm Lightfoot (157)
3   Alan Riddoch (139)   ½ - ½   Arthur McCormick (127)
4   Douglas Smith (115)   1 - 0   Andrew Paige (109)

This coming week should see the remaining matches played in the League and cups.

In Division 2, Saxmundham take on Adastral Park on Tuesday 30th.   In Division 3, the only outstanding match is Felixstowe v Stowmarket Rooks.   This was due to have been played back in January and no new date appears to have been set (according to Dave Wild's website).

There are two Finals to be played.   The Under 125 Final is between Felixstowe and Ipswich, whilst the League Cup Final sees Manningtree take on Ipswich.   This match was due to have been played last week, but no result has been submitted.   Perhaps it wasn't played - does anyone know?

To finalise the reports on the Bury Area League, here are the various league promotions and relegations, as well as the Players of the Year:

Division 1 Champions - Linton A (see yesterday's report)
Relegated from Division 1 - Cambridge Oddfellows
Division 2 Champions - Bury St Edmunds Cobras
Relegated from Division 2 - Cambridge Dons
Division 3 Champions - Newmarket

So, for the first time since 2002/03, Cambridge City Chess Club will have only two teams in Division 1 next season.

Players of the Year

(and runners-up)

Division 1

Paul Kemp (Linton A)   81.8%   (9/11) - no losses
Chris Davison (Cambridge City)   79.2%   (9½/12) - no losses

Division 2

Rob Cope (Bury St Edmunds)   75.0%   (6/8)
David Brown (Bury St Edmunds)   71.4%   (5/7) - no losses

Division 3

Charles Richmond (Newmarket)   78.6%   (5½/7)
Eugene Husband (Newmarket)   72.2%   (6½/9)

See the Bury Area Chess League website for detailed tables etc.

In a fascinating finish to Division 1 of the Bury Area Chess League, Cambridge Choristers came within a whisker of grabbing the title from leaders Linton A.

Facing Bury St Edmunds Scorpions last night, the Choristers fielded their strongest team, outgrading their opponents on three of the four boards.   Choristers needed to win 4½-½ to climb above Linton in the final league table.   That score would have placed them level with Linton, with an identical number of wins.   But in this league there is a second tie-break based on the results between the two teams during the season.   With a draw and a win behind them, Choristers would have triumphed had they won on three boards and drawn on one (remember, in the BACL there's a bonus point for a team win).

The Scorpions team included Shaun Munson and Ian Wallis, who play for Bury St Edmunds in this league.   Linton owe them a drink or two, because Shaun drew (against IM Richard Tozer) and Ian beat Rob McCorry.   The other two boards lost, making the final score 3½-1½ to Choristers, a point short of their target.

So, the Bury League Champions for 2012/13 are Linton A.

Left to right:   Kevin Clark (191), David Coleman (202), Paul Kemp (188) and Norman Hutchinson (186).

We all have our favourite chess sites, so let's share them.   Either reply in the comments box below, or email me with your best websites.

They could be general sites, such as the ECF Forum, Geurt Gijssen's 'Arbiter's Notebook', or sites that focus on specific openings, such as the Diemer-Duhm Gambit (sorry, that's a favourite of mine!)

When I've received a number of replies, I'll publish a full list.

Ipswich Chess Club is making a habit of winning everything this season.   Following their success in winning Division 1 (as reported here) and the Suffolk Final of the Norfolk and Suffolk Cup, they have also beaten Felixstowe in the Final of the Under 145 Cup.

Played yesterday, the results were (Ipswich first):

Martin Tomes   1 - 0   Gary Hemsworth
Keith Woodcock    ½ - ½   Dave Robertson
Alonso Paez    ½ - ½   Adele Lunn
Roger Smith    1 - 0   Gordon Fisher

Ipswich can also win the remaining uncompleted competitions.   In the Under 125 Cup, they again play Felixstowe (who can field the same team as played in the Under 145).   The Final of the League Cup will see Ipswich face Manningtree.

Ipswich convincingly won the Suffolk Final of the Norfolk & Suffolk Cup this evening, beating Bury St Edmunds by 4½ - 1½ (three wins and three draws)   On paper, Bury should have won, as they outgraded their opponents on the top four boards.

The winning team (minus Steve Gregory, who had already left) - Shaun Munson, Mike Cook, Tim Lunn, Ted Matthewson, Ian Wallis:

Ipswich	Grade	Result	Bury St Edmunds	Grade
Shaun Munson	206	½ - ½	Mike Harris	211
Mike Cook	190	1 - 0	Ed Player	214
Ted Matthewson	182	½ - ½	David Spence	206
Tim Lunn	176	1 - 0	Mark Le-Vine	193
Ian Wallis	174	½ - ½	Richard Lamont	171
Steve Gregory	174	1 - 0	Steve Ruthen	169

Ipswich will now face Norfolk & Norwich in the Final, at home in May.

For anyone interested, a visit to the Ipswich Chess Club tomorrow (Tuesday) should be worthwhile.   The two top clubs in Suffolk, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, will be battling it out to see who qualifies to play the Norfolk winners (and current trophy holders) Norfolk & Norwich in the Final of the Norfolk & Suffolk Cup.

It is anticipated that several 200+ graded players will be on display.

Last year, Bury St Edmunds won, for the first time in many years, beating Ipswich on bottom board elimination after the scores were tied at 3 - 3.   But they came a cropper against Norfolk & Norwich in the Final, despite having a considerable grading advantage.

This year the Final will be held in Suffolk (it alternates each year).

A full report on the match will appear late tomorrow evening.

Tucked away in the Appendices to the Laws of Chess are the specific rules for Rapidplay and Blitz.   To summarise the main points:

Rapidplay:

(A.1)   Rapidplay is where each player has between 15 and 59 minutes to complete the game.

(A.2)   You do not have to record your moves.

(A.4d)   An arbiter shall refrain from signalling flag fall (unlike in standard play), unless both flags are down.

Blitz:

(B.1)   Blitz is where each player has fewer than 15 minutes to complete the game.

(B.3b)   FIDE Rule 10.2 does not apply.

(B.3c)   An illegal move loses, provided the opponent claims before making his move.   If the claimant cannot checkmate, then he can claim a draw instead.

If you are playing in a Rapidplay event, such as the Cambridgeshire Rapidplay in Peterborough this coming Sunday (21 April), be sure to check up on the relevant rules before you go!

NB.   There will be no further postings this weekend as I'm off to Bristol this evening.   Next one will be on Monday.