Sadly, Adam slipped up in the middle of the tournament, scoring only half a point in rounds six to eight. He finished on a better note, drawing his final round against a higher-rated FM. Seeded 44th, he finished in 38th place.
You can see his results here.
In Division 1, Manningtree A have delayed their start until 15 October, whilst in Division 2, Saxmundham A will play their first match on 7 October. Three other teams, all in Division 3, play their first matches tomorrow. They are Stowmarket Rooks, Saxmundham B and Manningtree B.
The current leaders in each division are:
The popular Cambridgeshire Rapidplay which took place today at Whittlesford Village Hall attracted a record 102 entrants. Of these, 17 were from Suffolk (12 from Bury St Edmunds, four from Ipswich and one from Felixstowe).
The winner of the Open section was top seed Alan Merry on 4½ points, with David Spence (who drew with Alan) joint runner-up on 4 points.
The Major (u160) section was won on 4½ points by players from Banbury and Letchworth.
The Challengers (u120) section was won by Gerry Clayton, from Norwich, the only player in the event with a 100% score.
As well as Alan and David in the Open section, other Suffolk players' scores were (Juniors in italics):
The photos are of Roger Smith (Ipswich) and 11-year old Alan John (Bury St Edmunds).
1. d4 d5
2. e4 dxe4
3. Nc3 Nf6
4. f3 exf3
5. Qxf3?! (see diagram right)
The aim is to develop quickly, although the White Queen is depriving the g1 Knight of its most natural square. The d-pawn is en prise, and this is where the gambit can prove lethal should Black accept the pawn.
The game may continue:
Now White plays 8. Nb5!!, threatening mate in one. Not only that, but the move shields b7 from its defender. It was Emil Josef Diemer who first played this move in 1934.
How can Black respond? The only move that prevents an early loss is 8... Na6, although correct play by White should give an advantage. Everything else loses quickly. For example 8... e6 (or ...e5) fails to 9. Nxc7+ Ke7 10. Qxb7! Qxb7 11. Bc5#. Or 8... Nbd7 9. Qxb7 Rb8? 10. Qxb8! Nxb8 11. Nxc7#.
Going back to the position after 6. Be3, Black is best advised to play ... Qg4, when White usually responds with 7. Qf2. The game remains double-edged, with Black's Queen exposed to various attacks.
Try it sometime (probably not in a league match!) and see how it goes.
The members range in age from 5 to 14. There are 18 girls (more than one-third) amongst the total membership of 53.
As of today's date, we already have 55 entrants, with the Minor section the most popular with 21.
The top seed, and the only Grandmaster to enter so far, is Alex Cherniaev, who hails from Archangelsk in Russia. He still has to obtain his visa, but that hasn't been a problem in previous years.
If any local person is interested in having a GM to stay, Alex is looking for accommodation for the Saturday night!
As well as Alex, we have two IMs and a Women's International Master. In fact there are already six players graded over 200 in the Open.
You can check the list of current entrants (updated daily) here.
This year we will field four teams, with an Under 120 team being added.
We have been fortunate to find two able captains: the Under 100s will be captained by Daniel Yarnton (97) of Stowmarket, whilst the Under 120s will be captained by Peter Collicott (107) from Saxmundham. Many thanks to both for agreeing to captain these teams. Both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire will have teams in the u100s and u120s.
The date for these teams' matches has not been decided yet, but it is likely that the Under 120s will play alongside the Open teams, whilst the Under 100s will play at the same time as the Under 160s.
Adam's current Elo rating is 2023, which seems much too low for someone who has a 204 ECF grade (recently revised from 203). This event is certainly an opportunity for him to gain some useful rating points.
Today was a double-round day and in the morning he faced another 2300+ player, from Belgium. Again he managed a draw to arrive on three points from his five games. In the afternoon he was paired against a 2246-rated opponent from Croatia, but sadly lost.
So, after six rounds, Adam remains on three points. He has gained 51 rating points over these six games. Tomorrow is a rest day, but on Thursday he will face a lower-rated player from Australia. The remaining five rounds are all on separate days, so no more exhausting double-round days!
The current leader is the 2496-rated top seed, who is on 5½ points.
One of the Bury St Edmunds' teams, the 'Scorpions', consists entirely of Ipswich-based players (Graham Moore, Steve Gregory, Tim Lunn and Ian Wallis). They all enjoy playing the different (and strong) opponents that they face in the BACL. These include IM Richard Tozer (207), David Coleman (207), Martyn Goodger (205), as well as a host of 190+ players.
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The Cambridgeshire Rapidplay, organised by Paul Kemp, takes place at Whittlesford Village Hall on Sunday 28 September. This event is always well-supported and well-organised, and entrants can play in one of three sections: Open, u160 and u120. For further details, contact .
In the first round Adam (2023) beat an unrated player from Burundi and in Round 2 beat a 2256-rated player from France. With 17 players on 2/2 and Adam the lowest-rated player, it was surprising that he received the downward float to play the highest-rated player on 1½ points; this was the third seed, from India, an IM rated 2462. That seems a strange pairing to me; I would've floated down the median from the black-seekers.
Anyway, in a Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence, Adam always seemed to be on the back foot. Because he was on one of the top boards, you can view the whole game here. In the position below, Adam played 38...Kg6 and resigned after 39. Bc5 Re6 40. Bxe7 Rxe7 41. Rxd5.
Stockfish gives 38... Ke6 as the best move for Black, followed by 39. Rh5 Rd8, when Black may well be able to hold out for a draw. Still, a very creditable performance by Adam.
At the time of writing, the pairings for Monday's Round 4 have not been made. But Adam can certainly expect another tough opponent. At least he should have the white pieces this time!
Edit: And tough it is! A 2397-rated FM from Ukraine.
