Suffolk Chess

Will today be a happy day for Magnus Carlsen, who is celebrating his 26th birthday?   This evening (starting at 7 pm UK time) he will take on Sergey Karjakin in a series of rapidplay games, followed if necessary by Blitz games and a final 'Armageddon' game, to determine who shall be the next World Chess Champion.

This would appear to be compulsive viewing for chess players across the World.   But there will be at least 12 local players who will miss out on the action.   Teams from Manningtree and Bury St Edmunds will be fighting it out in the Norfolk & Suffolk Cup.   This is the first time that Manningtree have entered this competition.   There will be a full report tomorrow on this match, as well of course on the result of the World Championship.

For those watching the World Championship games this evening, here are the rules:
*   They start with a four-game rapidplay match, at 25 minutes each plus 10 seconds increment per move.   There will be a ten minute break between each game.   The players don't need to record the moves.
*   If the score is tied after these four games, they will play a two-game Blitz match, with five minutes on the clock and a three second increment per move.   If necessary, there will be up to four more two-game Blitz matches.
*   If the scores are still tied after these 14 games, they will play one 'Armageddon' game.   The players draw lots and the winner chooses White or Black.   The player with the White pieces has five minutes whilst the player with the Black pieces has four minutes.   But if it's a draw the player with Black wins the match.

Exciting stuff.   I bet you'll all be watching....

A total of 19 players are competing in this season's Ipswich Club Championship, where members utilise their 'off' weeks to organise matches against their chosen opponents.   Already, two rounds (out of six) have been completed.

Five players lead on maximum points: Ted Matthewson, Steve Gregory, Silas Peck, John Wright and Roger Holt.

The biggest surprise of Round 2 was Ted's win against Ian Wallis, who is graded 18 points higher.   Ted is pictured right.

You can see the latest results and cross-table here.

This evening's final round (of 12) ended in a draw after just 30 moves.   It was perhaps surprising that Carlsen, who had the White pieces, seemed content to swap off and head for a rather tame draw.

Carlsen may be confident of his abilities at Rapidplay and Blitz, to which they are heading on Wednesday after another rest day on Tuesday.

Today's game can be viewed here.

4NCL's Division 3 (South) and Division 4 played this weekend at Wokefield Park, near Reading.   Four Suffolk-based teams were competing, with two in each division.   These teams included 16 Suffolk players.

The best results were by Anglian Avengers 2, who won both their matches (4½-1½ and 3½-2½) and now head Pool B in Division 3 (S) with four match points and eight game points.   Individually, Steve Gregory won both games, Ian Wallis scored 1½, whilst both Graham Moore and Shaun Munson scored 1 point.

The other local team in Div 3, Iceni 1, suffered two defeats (2½-3½ and 2 - 4), with Paul Botham the best scorer on 1½ points.   John Feavyour won one game, but both John Peters and Steve Ruthen failed to register a point.

In Division 4, Anglian Avengers 3 won one match (4½-1½) and narrowly lost one (2½-3½).   Keith Woodcock scored 1½, whilst Silas Peck, Alex Sheerin and Alan John each won one game.   Adam John had one draw.

Iceni 2 had an easy win on Saturday against Barnet Knights 3, but crashed 1 - 5 to top-rated team Oxford 2 today.   Saxmundham's Rory Goldsmith scored 1½ points, which included an excellent draw against a 166 graded opponent.   Mike Usher scored 1 and Bob Jones had one draw.

Division 4 featured teams with substantial rating differences.   Oxford 2 were relegated from Division 3 last season but have reinforced their squad for a team average rating of 2080.   Only five of the 16 teams in Division 3 have higher team averages.   At the other end of the scale Barnet Knights 3 and 4 averaged 1311 and 1263 respectively.   Perhaps there should be a ceiling of, say, 1900 as the maximum average grade per team?   There were four players in Division 4 with grades in excess of 200.   Oxford 2's top boards were graded 213 and 211.

This weekend sees four Suffolk-based teams playing in Divisions 3 and 4 of the 4NCL, at Wokefield Park, near Reading.

Anglian Avengers have two teams ('2' and '3'), one in each division, whilst Iceni 1 and Iceni 2 also play with one team in each division.

Fortunately, there are no matches scheduled between these teams this weekend, although the new pool system in Division 3 will mean that AA2 and Iceni 1 will have to play each other later in the season, as they are both in Pool B.

A full report on these matches will feature here tomorrow evening.

As most readers will know, current champion Magnus Carlsen won the 10th game yesterday to level the score (5 - 5) against his challenger, Sergey Karjakin.

With today as a rest day, play resumes tomorrow Saturday in the crucial Round 11, when Karjakin will have the White pieces.   There then follows another rest day on Sunday, with the final round being played on Monday.

If the score is tied after 12 rounds, there will be a series of tie-break games on Wednesday.   Four games will be played with 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds per move.   If the score is still tied, there will then be a series of two-game blitz matches played at the rate of five minutes plus five seconds increment.   These will continue for up to five 'matches', eg ten games, until there is a winner.

In the unlikely event of the scores still being tied, a final sudden-death 'Armageddon' game will be played.   The player who wins the drawing of lots chooses the colour.   The player with the White pieces receives five minutes, whilst the player with the Black pieces has four minutes.   A three-second increment per move is applied if the game continues beyond 60 moves.   In the event of the game being drawn, the player with the Black pieces is declared the winner.

Wednesday could be a fun day.   So cancel all other arrangements!

Last weekend saw the first matches for the 4NCL teams in Divisions 1 and 2, at Wokefield Park near Reading.

Anglian Avengers 1 achieved promotion at the end of last season to Division 1 and faced tough opponents in Grantham Sharks and Guildford 1.   Predictably they lost both matches, by 3 - 5 and 2 - 6.   Guildford 1 are probably favourites to win the title and won their first match 7½-½, with only their Board 8 Suffolk's Dagne Ciuksyte gaining the draw.   In the Avengers' match against Guildford 1, top boards Andy Lewis and Adam Taylor lost respectively to GM powerhouses Matthew Sadler and Gawain Jones.   But Ed Player managed a draw against former Suffolk player GM Nick Pert.

There are no Suffolk-based teams in Division 2, but next weekend Iceni 1 and 2, as well as Anglian Avengers 2 and 3, play in Divisions 3 and 4 at the same venue.

The annual Bury St Edmunds Junior Chess Congress will take place this season on Sunday 5 March 2017.   It will be held at the usual venue, Moreton Hall Community Centre, where there will be a maximum capacity of 100 entrants.

There will be four sections, but not the same as in previous years.   For 2017 the sections will be as follows:

Open
Under 11
Under 9
Novices

The Open section will be for anyone aged 11 and over as at the start of the current school year.   The Novices section is for anyone who has never played in a chess tournament before.   They must be aged 10 or younger.

Entry forms will be available soon and will be sent to local schools and clubs.

After six rounds of the World Chess Championship, being held in New York between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin, the score is tied at three points each.   All games have been drawn so far.   The winner is the first to reach 6½ points.

Carlsen would appear to have let slip some winning chances in some of the games.

You can follow the games live on Chess24.com and on other sites, including ChessBomb.   Game seven is on Sunday evening as today is a 'rest' day.

The English Chess Federation's website has undergone a major facelift.   You can view it here.

What do you think?   Is it a substantial improvement?   Let's hear your views in the comments below.