Suffolk Chess

Of the three divisions in the Suffolk League, only Division 3 is making much sense.   Whilst teams in Divisions 1 and 2 have played different numbers of matches (between four and six each), all eight teams in Division 3 have played six matches, making it easier to see how things are panning out.

In a clear lead is Manningtree B, who were relegated last season from Division 2.   They have 18½ points, 3½ points clear of the two Saxmundham teams (B & C) who are in joint second place.

At the other end of the table, Felixstowe B are 2½ points adrift, with Ipswich E above them in seventh place.

Unsurprisingly, players from Manningtree and Saxmundham lead the individual table, with Adrian Sanderson (Manningtree) leading on 5/5.   Close behind is Mike Usher (Saxmundham) with 5/6.

The London Chess Classic started today and continues until 18 December.   In the Grand Tour, England's only entrant, Michael Adams, lost to Lev Aronian in the first round.

In the FIDE Open, which features 34 GMs and 24 IMs amongst the 250 entrants, Ed Player won his first round against a lower-rated opponent.   Ed will gain just 1½ rating points from this victory, taking him to 2240 in the live Elo ratings. Adam Taylor took a first round bye.

From an article in Science 2.0

"Chess, like science, is the kiss of death for optimists.   Only the most naïve rookie feels optimistic in Chess.   Instead, Chess players think about their doom.   In a study called "Chess Masters' Hypothesis Testing", Michelle Cowley and Ruth Byrne of Trinity College, University of Dublin, set out to put that to the test with actual chess players and the falsification idea held up.

The best chess players, they found, used falsification to determine their future moves.   Bad chess players thought about the counter-moves of opponents in a very positive light (i.e. the opponent will do exactly what is needed in order to lose) while the best chess players thought about what opponents' counter-moves would damage them the most if they enacted a strategy; they falsified their own hypotheses.

So it isn't just scientists who regularly use falsification, but also chess players."

Your thoughts?

The ECF is organising a weekend course for potential arbiters on 21/22 January.   It will take place in Solihull, West Midlands.

The course fee is £30 and the lecturers are the two Alex's - McFarlane and Holowczak.

If anyone is interested in joining this course, they should follow the links here.

There's a new documentary film on the life of World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen whichgoes on general release this month.   It has the original title of 'Magnus' (U).

It is very unlikely to be shown in many mainstream cinemas.   So you may be unaware that it is being shown at the Ipswich Film Theatre (the Corn Exchange) next week (13, 14 & 15 December, evenings at 7.30 pm).   There's an extra afternoon performance (2.30 pm) on Thursday 15th.

It costs £7.50 for a ticket, or just £3.00 for under 25s.   You can book tickets online.

The Woodbridge Junior Open tournament took place last Sunday, with 77 players entered across five age-group sections.

There were strong entries from Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, with Suffolk being largely represented by players from Bury Knights JCC and Woodbridge School.

Prizewinners (Suffolk players in bold) were:

Under 8:
1st   Rowan Kent   6/6
2nd   Daniel Shek
3rd   Rishan Sharma

Under 10:
1st   Aarnavh Trivedi   5½/6
2nd   Arnav Srivastava
3rd   Kian Dharmasena
(All three are from Cambridgeshire)

Under 12:
1st=   Gavith Dharmasena & Jaden Jermy   5/6
3rd   Abigail Weersing
(1st and 3rd are from Cambridgeshire)

Under 14:
1st   William Bradley   6/6
2nd   Ralph Martin
3rd   Preethi Saravanan
(1st and 3rd are from Norfolk)

Under 18:
1st   Karthik Saravanan   6/6
2nd=   William Sait & Ben Sadler
(1st and 2nd= are from Norfolk)

This event was also a qualifying tournament for the London Junior Championships, which is one of the most prestigious junior tournaments in the country and takes place later this month.   Scores of 4 points were required to reach the Under 8 Final, whilst 4½ points was needed for the Under 10 and Under 12 Major Finals.   A lower score of 3½ points qualified players for the Minor Finals in these age-groups.   No qualifying score was required for the older age-groups.

The only other Suffolk player not mentioned above who will qualify is Tom Roy (Under 12 Minor)

Last Wednesday, the final day of the World Championship, IM Jovanka Houska gave an interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, which is well worth a listen if you missed it.

You can listen to it here.   You will need to run the slider to 1:41:30, which is when the interview is about to start.

As reported here, the London Chess Classic commences next Friday, 9 December.   It continues until Sunday 18 December.

Local interest includes Ed Player (2239) and Adam Taylor (2212) in the FIDE Open, where 37 Grandmasters are included among the 250 entrants.   They play nine rounds between 9 and 16 December.

The Super Rapidplay, with 10 rounds over the second weekend, 17/18 December, features 40 GMs and 363 entrants, so far.   Entries are still being accepted for this event, which is free to enter if done by 16 December.

Of course, the main event is the fourth and final round of the Grand Chess Tour, which features eight of the World's strongest players (plus two other invitees, including England's Michael Adams).   This event is currently led by GM Wesley So, who looks to have an unassailable lead in the battle for the $120,000 first prize.

FM Adam Taylor came to Bury St Edmunds this evening to give a Simul against ten of the best Bury Knights members. His opponents' grades ranged from 129 down to 16.   They were no match for Adam, who swept them all aside within an hour and a quarter.

He then proceeded to run through one of the games (against Jaden Jermy), which proved very instructive.

Before the event started, Adam pointed out that his ECF grade, now over 200, was below 100 seven years ago, when he was 11 years old.   Several of his opponents today are younger than that, so they were able to see that anything is possible.

In the photo above, the ten opponents are (clockwise around the boards): Adam John, Jaden Jermy, Alan John, Ralph Martin, Aaron Saenz, Mario Saenz, Amy John, Tia Martin, Tom Roy and Toby Martin.

Entering this annual competition for the first time, Manningtree Chess Club last evening achieved a notable draw against current Norfolk & Suffolk Cup Champions Bury St Edmunds.   Fielding a slightly weakened team, Bury lost on the bottom two boards, but won on Boards 3 and 4.   The top two boards finished in draws.

The full results can be seen here.

Whilst the match was in progress, several players could be seen sneaking off to check on the progress of the final day of the World Chess Championship, taking place in New York.   As most readers will be aware, Magnus Carlsen succeeded in retaining his title by beating Sergey Karjakin 3 - 1 in the Rapidplay tie-breaks.   Carlsen won the final game in style.   From the position below, when Karjakin (Black) had three ways of checkmating White in one move, Carlsen played Qh6+!, forcing mate on his next move.   Karjakin resigned on the spot.