Suffolk Chess

Adam Hunt was on a roll in Bad Wiessee, on 5/5, having beaten GM Martin Krämer in Round 5.   But in Round 6 he lost to second seed GM Evgeny Romanov (2667).   Tomorrow in Round 7 (out of nine) Adam plays his third GM in a row, Robert Kempinski (2522).   A couple of good results and a GM norm may be achievable.   There are 7 players on 5½/6 and 18 players on 5 points, including Adam.   Justin Tan has now scored 4 points.

You can check the results late tomorrow evening here.

(with thanks to Michael Clapham for this article)

Three local chess-players have published chess books to my knowledge:

Tony Rubin: Chess for the Rank and File, published by Tournament Chess, Brighton 1992.

Adam Harvey: Colle Plays the Colle System, published by Chess Enterprises, Pennsylvania 2002.

Adam Hunt: Chess Strategy: Move by Move, published by Everyman Chess 2013.

Tony Rubin has now retired from chess but for many years was a leading member of Ipswich Chess Club.   This book was written in collaboration with John Emms and between them they produced a very instructive and humorous chess handbook.   Tony was not the first to use this title as W Roche and A Battersby had previously authored a chess book with the same title in 1947.

Tony takes us through his chess career as it intertwined with his personal life incorporating many amusing anecdotes, including chess on his honeymoon!   There is much of local interest with many of the games taken from Ipswich Club and Suffolk County matches.

This book is full of practical advice from Rubin and Emms and studying this would almost certainly improve your chess, and give you a laugh.

Adam Harvey carried out meticulous research to unearth and analyse all 116 games played by Edgard Colle using the opening system bearing his name.   This book is therefore not only an anthology of Colle’s games but also an openings manual on the Colle System.

Many brilliant games against the leading players of the era are included - Alekhine, Euwe, Marshall, Rubinstein, Tarrasch, Bogoljubow, Nimzowitsch etc. - enabling Adam to show all of Colle’s experiments in the variation (both successful and not so).

Adam also provided a 16-page biography and tournament record of Colle, a chronological list of the games and a bibliography which, combined with the annotated games, provides an entertaining and informative book.

Adam Hunt is an International Master and has recently brought out this brand new book with the aim of teaching chess strategy to club players and juniors.   This seemingly complex subject is presented in a step-by step easy-to-read manner covering all of the strategical principles including development, king safety, attack, defence, initiative, pawn play etc.   Adam encourages readers to answer relevant questions throughout the book thereby increasing their understanding and knowledge of the game.

In summary Adam has produced an essential guide to chess strategy in which he uses an ideal approach to chess study so that important ideas are easily absorbed.

The books by Tony Rubin and Adam Hunt are easily obtainable on the internet but Adam Harvey’s book has become quite scarce.

(Note from Bob Jones: I have one nearly new copy of Tony Rubin's book on sale at only £4.00)

Suffolk clubs playing in the Bury Area Chess League have had mixed results so far.

In Division 1, where for the first time ever Bury St Edmunds are fielding more teams (3) than Cambridge City (2), the lead is currently held by last season's champions Linton A.   After two matches Bury St Edmunds Scarabs are on five points, just half a point behind second-placed Cambridge Choristers.

In Division 2, Bury St Edmunds Vipers are third and Newmarket Stallions, having lost their only match to date, are in last place.

In Division 3, Stowmarket are just half a point behind leaders Cambridge Gowns.

John Peters (Bury St Edmunds) and Vicky Allen (Stowmarket) are the only Suffolk players on 100% from two games.

Click on the Division links to view the current league tables.

Woodbridge School chess teacher IM Adam Hunt and Woodbridge School pupil FM Justin Tan currently share the lead in the Bavarian International Open on 3/3, along with 34 others!   The huge entry of 474 players has been treated to a complex accelerated pairing system.   It seems to be working, however, as the lowest-rated player on three points is rated at 2041.   The 100% scorers include 13 Grandmasters, 7 International Masters and 12 FIDE Masters.   The latest pairings can be viewed here.   The tournament is over nine rounds, finishing on 3 November.

So far, all six of Adam's and Justin's opponents have been relatively low rated.   But the tournament proper starts now for Justin, as he faces 2522-rated GM Kempinski in Round 4. Adam has it easier as he has managed to be paired against the lowest-rated player on three points.

Since his arrival earlier this year from Australia, Justin is the highest-rated 16-year old in the UK, even higher (currently 2333) than Alan Merry.   Presumably this event is one where Justin will be hoping to obtain an IM norm.   He will need a rating performance of at least 2450, which may be difficult to obtain because the average rating of his first three opponents is only 1997.   As an example, a score of 7/9 needs an average opponents' rating of 2230 to attain a rating performance of 2450.

Alan Merry has won the IM tournament in Majorca, on tie-break, scoring 6½ points out of 9 (four wins and five draws). Sixth seed of the ten competitors, his 2459 rating performance was exceptional and has earned him a deserved second IM norm.   He now needs one more for an IM title, as well as improving his rating to 2400.   The 30 points he gained in Majorca has raised his current 'live' rating to 2327.

The full cross-table can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, in Bavaria, Adam Hunt and Justin Tan both won yesterday against moderate opposition and play their second round matches today against opponents rated 2050 and 2006.   The results can be seen here.

IM Adam Hunt and FM Justin Tan (both Woodbridge School) are playing in the huge Bavarian International Open Chess Championship in Bad Wiessee, Germany, which starts today.   There are 478 entrants in the Open, including 20 Grandmasters (and two Women's Grandmasters)!   The event is over nine rounds, finishing on 3 November.   Adam is seeded 30th and Justin 51st.   The tournament website is here; hopefully it will carry round by round updates.

Bad Wiessee sounds an idyllic location.   According to the website, "Lake Tegernsee is 6.5 km long, 1.4 km wide and fed by crystal-clear alpine brooks. Its south end is bordered by impressive Mts. Wallberg, Leonhardstein and Hirschberg.   From authentic traditions to alpine sophistication, from lively culture to unspoiled nature, this exclusive region charms its visitors with its sheer diversity and many assets in terms of pleasure, wellbeing, glamour and good fun.

As Bavaria’s first and only Gourmet Region, the Tegernsee Valley treats its guests to outstanding culinary diversity, from high quality regional produce to exquisite gourmet restaurants, cosy mountain inns and beer gardens with lake views.   At the picturesque ponds beside the Kreuth fish farm, guests can enjoy smoked vendace or buy freshly caught fish for home-cooking.   The TegernseerLand dairy delights visitors with organic speciality cheeses.   Fabulous lake vistas, Bavarian delicatessen and freshly tapped beer are on offer at Tegernsee Town’s 355-year old beer hall called Herzogliches Bräustüber."

Adam certainly knows where to go to play his chess....

After seven rounds of the IM tournament in Majorca, Alan Merry sits proudly on top of the ranking crosstable, with five points.   He now needs a win and a draw from his final two rounds to attain his second IM norm.   So far Alan has gained 27 rating points, taking his 'live' rating to 2324, his highest-ever.

His opponents in the ten-person All-plays-All event includes three IMs.   Alan has now played all three, scoring a win and two draws against them!   In his last rounds, he plays the two players currently at the foot of the crosstable.

The eighth round is tomorrow (Saturday) evening, with the final round on Sunday morning.   The results are published here.

Dagne Ciuksyte (right), Suffolk's only Women's Grandmaster, has been selected to play for England on Board 1 in the forthcoming European Team Championships, taking place in Warsaw from 8 to 17 November.   The other members of the team are WIM Sabrina Chevannes, WGM Anya Corke, WFM Meri Grigoryan and WFM Kanwal Bhatia.   The English entry to this event has been in some doubt, due to financial limitations, but these appear to have been solved and the team will now travel.   You can read more about the on-off-on nature of this team's entry here on the ECF Forum.

Meanwhile, over in sunny Majorca (where the temperature is 29 degrees today), Alan Merry is nearly halfway through his all-plays-all IM tournament.   With two wins and two draws to date, he is handily placed for his target of 6½ points that will earn him a second IM norm.   Alan is currently in second place, half a point behind top seed IM Pedro Mascaro (Spain), whom he has yet to play.

Still on international matters (but not directly chess related), last Sunday Bury St Edmunds' Mike Harris competed in (and completed!) the Amsterdam Marathon.   Congratulations Mike!

Finally, German born Yvonne Freiherr (Bury St Edmunds) returned to her native country in September to get married.   She will now be known as Yvonne Freiherr-Fenton (Dave Wild please note).

Through the sole initiative of a sixth-former, a new chess club has been formed at King Edward VI School in Bury St Edmunds.   Held every Monday lunchtime in the school's Learning Centre, it is proving very popular, with twenty of more boys and girls attending each week.   At present they are using a variety of chess sets, some very small, others huge, as in a Harry Potter set!   The Headteacher, Geoff Barton, is considering the purchase of some modern sets.   One the school's Teaching Assistants, Sam Starling, the mother of one of the members of the Bury Knights Junior Chess Club, also comes along to help.

A number of ex-members of the Junior Club now attend this Upper School and are renewing their interest in the game, which is good to see.

I'm hoping that this trend continues, and more schools take up the initiative of forming a chess club.   It's a good time of year to do this, because playing chess indoors has its attractions when the alternative is a cold and damp playground!

Alan Merry is currently playing in the WinterChess IM tournament in Majorca.   It's a ten-player all-plays-all event, which includes three IMs and five FMs.   It started yesterday evening, with sixth-seeded Alan having the Black pieces against the 22-year old second seed IM Tigran Simonian (2416) from Armenia.   And yes, Alan WON!

In round 2, which starts at 10.00 this morning, Alan faces the only other English entrant, 14-year old Ravi Haria from Barnet, again with Black.   The games continue with either one or two games each day, with the final (ninth) round on 27 October.

Alan needs a score of 6½/9 to obtain his second IM norm.   You can follow his progress here.