Thursday, 10 November 2016

Lowestoft Rapidplay

Five members of Saxmundham Chess Club were amongst 29 entrants to the third Lowestoft Rapidplay tournament which took place at the Parkhill Hotel, Oulton Broad, last Sunday.

David Mabbs (3½) and Malcolm Lightfoot (2) took part in the Open section (11 entrants), whilst Mark Pulman (4), Rory Goldsmith (3) and Lee Osman (1½) played in the Under 150 section (with 18 entrants).


Wednesday, 9 November 2016

If you're in Cambridge...

... look up this guy.   Challenge him and see if you can beat him (but don't forget to make a donation).

According to this website, Slide Martin was once a junior chess champion, and has only ever lost six games when playing on the street.

Surely there are some strong local players who could beat him?


Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Herts reminder

The annual Herts Congress is taking place this coming weekend in Hertford.   There is still time to enter.

At least six Suffolk players, including five from the Bury St Edmunds club, will be playing - Graham Moore, John Peters, Jon Collins, Adam John, Tom Roy and Amy John.

If you are interested in playing, go to their website, or contact the organiser, .


Monday, 7 November 2016

Wrong set up

How often do you see a chess board set up incorrectly?   Does anyone know of other examples?


Sunday, 6 November 2016

Mark's result in Germany

Mark Le-Vine (right) finished the nine-round tournament in Bad Wiessee, Germany, earlier today, with a 50% score.

The event had over 470 entrants, all in one section, which included 28 Grandmmasters.   Seven players (all GMs) shared first prize, on 7½ points.

Mark was given an estimated Elo rating of 1500, which of course is far too low for his ability.   His tournament performance of 1940 was probably much closer to his true rating.   But because his rating was estimated, he didn't qualify for the u1600 rating prize, despite being equal first in that category.   Instead, he was awarded a year's subscription to Chess24.

The full crosstable for the event can be viewed here.   Mark's number is 244.


Saturday, 5 November 2016

Woodbridge Junior

The 16th Woodbridge Junior Open will be taking place in three weeks' time on Sunday 27 November at its usual venue, Woodbridge School.

Organised by International Master Adam Hunt, this is the first of the three junior-only events that are held in Suffolk during the chess season (the others are the Bury St Edmunds Junior on 5 March and the Suffolk Junior Open).

There are trophies for section winners at Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 levels, as well as cash prizes dependant on the size of entry.   There are also separate trophies for the best players in each section who either attend a school or live in Woodbridge.

The tournament is a qualifying event for the London Junior Championships.   Scores of 4/6 are required to qualify for the u8 Final, or 4½/6 for the u10 and u12 Finals.   No qualifying score is required to enter the older sections.

For more information, go to the Woodbridge School chess website.


Friday, 4 November 2016

The World's youngest IM

One of the stars at the Isle of Man International Tournament, which finished on 9 October, was 11-year old Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (pictured left).   He is the youngest International Master ever, having achieved the title at the tender age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days.

The chess world reeled at Praggna's amazing 18-move win in the final round, against a 2645-rated GM from Paraguay.   You can view the game here.   After White's 14. Na3?, the youngster played all the best moves, according to Stockfish.

Suffolk's Ed Player found himself playing the young IM in Round 3.   Ed was White and played a fairly standard Ruy Lopez.   His opponent won a pawn on move 23 and Ed was forced to resign after 37 moves.   Follow Ed's game below.

At 2448, Praggnanandhaa needs another 52 rating points, as well as three GM norms, to become the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster.   His target is the 12 years and 7 months of World Champion Challenger Sergei Karjakin.


Thursday, 3 November 2016

Hastings Congress

In past years a number of Suffolk players have entered the Hastings Congress, which takes place just after Christmas every year.   Last year, Adam Taylor (Manningtree) was the only local player to enter.

The TRADEWISE 92nd Hastings International Chess Congress will take place at Horntye Park Sports Complex from 28 December to 5 January and will be held in memory of Con Power, Director of the Congress for many years.   The event will be sponsored by Tradewise Insurance Services and co-sponsored by Hastings Borough Council.   Further support is given by the English Chess Federation, the White Rock Hotel, Lansdowne Hotel, KC Computers and the John Robinson Trust.

Tournaments will include Masters, Christmas, New Year Morning and Afternoon and the 34th Weekend Congress.   The nine-round Masters will provide opportunities to qualify for titles and for FIDE ratings.   The Weekend Major section will also be FIDE rated.

Any enquiries should be addressed to Congress Director   Tel: 01424 443300 or to PR Officer   Tel: 01424 445348.


Wednesday, 2 November 2016

County Match Controller vacancy

The post of EACU County Match Controller has been held for several years by Linton's Patrick Ribbands (photo right).   A vacancy will exist for this important role at the end of the current season, when Patrick will be standing down.

The County Match Controller arranges the fixtures and venues for the various inter-County matches in the EACU.   At present this involves First Team matches, as well as the Under 160 and Under 120 matches.

This is an organisational task which can easily be managed from home; there is no requirement to attend matches.   It will be expected that the post-holder will attend one committee meeting during the year, as well as the EACU AGM.

If anyone from Suffolk would like to take on this role, they should initially contact , EACU Chairman.


Tuesday, 1 November 2016

A late starter

13-year old Ralph Martin, from the Bury St Edmunds Chess Club, has a current grade of 84.   Last year his grade was only 50.

Ralph is a late starter, despite having joined the Bury Knights Junior Club four years ago, in November 2012.   It has taken a while for him to come to terms with the game.   But suddenly, he has emerged as one of the club's leading youngsters.   He has played eight graded games so far this seaaon, losing only one, for an average grade of 124.

Below, he plays a very accurate game in the Suffolk Cup & Plate against another junior who is a year older than him:





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