Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Norfolk Rapidplay Congress

The annual Norfolk Rapidplay Congress took place last Sunday at the Gas Club in Norwich.

This event is divided into three sections: Championship, Challengers (u140) and u100.   The total entry was 42, an improvement of five from last year.

The winner of the Championship was IM Alan Merry, who won all six games.   In equal second place on 4½ points were David Spence and Stephen Orton.   The only other Suffolk player in this 17-player section was Jon Collins, who scored 2½ points.

There were 16 entrants in the Challengers section, where the only Suffolk player, Rory Goldsmith, finished equal 4th on 3½ points.

There were no Suffolk entrants in the u100 section, where only nine played.


Monday, 30 January 2017

New ECF grades published

The January 2017 ECF grades have been published this evening.

Click here to see your new grade!

Some major improvements (+ 6 points or more) from:
Nathan Barnes (Clacton)   -   from 148 to 156
Chris Davison (Bury)   -   from 183 to 190
Jaden Jermy (Bury)   -   from 110 to 123
Mark Le-Vine (Bury)   -   from 173 to 182
David Mabbs (Saxmundham)   -   from 170 to 180
Silas Peck (Ipswich)   -   from 176 to 186
Tom Roy (Bury)   -   from 91 to 102
Nick Savage (Ipswich)   -   from 180 to 186
Mike Usher (Saxmundham)   -   from 140 to 147

Apologies to anyone who has been omitted!



Sunday, 29 January 2017

English Closed Championships (under 12)

Following his success in the London Junior Championships just after Christmas, when he scored 6/9, Jaden Jermy (right) of the Bury Knights Junior Chess Club was invited to participate in the English Closed Championships, held at Yateley Manor in Hampshire over this weekend. The tournament was 'invitation-only', and featured many of the strongest Under 12s in the country.

16 youngsters entered, with Jaden (110 ECF) seeded 13th.   The top two seeds were both graded over 150.   12 of the entrants came from the Home Counties (Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Middlesex), which has always been the hotbed of English Juniors.   Jaden was the only entrant from the East of England.

Jaden took a half-point bye in Round 1, due to the distance he had to travel.   Over the next four rounds he drew three and won one, to remain unbeaten for the event.   His total of three points has earned him selection to the England Junior Squad!   This means that he will almost certainly be selected to play for England in forthcoming international matches.

Jaden is now looking forward to the imminent publication of the new ECF grades, which should see him improve his grade substantially.


Saturday, 28 January 2017

British Championships

The British Chess Championships will take place this year in Llandudno, North Wales, between 28 July and 6 August.

It's possible to enter online now.

There is a wide range of events, including weekend tournaments, weekday tournaments, and age-group events from Under 8 to 65+.

Entry to the main British Championship is either by qualification or exemption.   Players graded 218 or higher gain automatic entry, as do those rated 2350 or higher.   There are other ways that players can qualify, for example all titled players (GM, IM, FM) are able to enter.

Others can qualify due to performance in certain events.   Amongst the list of qualifiers is John Peters, following his excellent score in the Major Open at last year's Championships in Bournemouth.   Also qualifying to enter are Ed Player (from the Isle of Man Masters), Graham Moore (Hertfordshire Open), Alan Merry (titled) and Adam Taylor (Junior 180+ last year).


Friday, 27 January 2017

Drug testing?

A major study has for the first time identified two stimulants that significantly boost a player's endurance and ability to concentrate during a match.

Dr Klaus Lieb, a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy at the University of Mainz, in Germany, says: "There is (sic) lots of data showing that a subject in a sleep-deficient state or exhausted people do profit from an enhancer.   We recommend to introduce rigorous doping controls in chess competitions."

There's a detailed article in today's Daily Telegraph.   At first read, it feels like an April Fool's joke.

Really?!   It looks as if coffee should be banned, too.



Thursday, 26 January 2017

Ever lost on time?

Just don't say that to Vassily Ivanchuk.   In Round 2 of the Gibraltar Masters yesterday, fourth seed 'Chucky' was in a winning position and thought he had made the 40-move time control.   But have a look at his scoresheet and see if you can spot what was wrong:

Yes, he missed out move 24 at the bottom of the scoresheet, which meant he had only played 39 moves.   His opponent apologetically pointed it out when the flag fell.

Along with Ivanchuk, both the two top seeds (Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave) could only manage draws, which left third and fifth seeds Nakamura and England's Michael Adams at the top of the standings.   Both the other English GMs, David Howell and Nigel Short, also won, to take their scores to 2 and 1½ respectively.

In the third round, played today, Michael Adams leads the standings, along with eight other GMs on three points.   Both David Howell and Nigel Short are on 2½ points.


Wednesday, 25 January 2017

The dangers of pawn grabbing

The following position was reached yesterday (White, Franceys Allen, to play) against David Green in the third round of the Stowmarket Club Championship:

Franceys, who was short on time with about four minutes remaining, played Qxh7??

I'm sure you can work out how David can force a win, but in case you're struggling, the answer is lower down this page.
















...f4+!   0 - 1

If Kxf4, then ... Qe5+,   Kg4   Qf5#
If Kg4, then ... Qf5#
If Kh6, then ... Qh5+, Kg7 and after the exchange of queens, Black's g-pawn will promote.


Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Gibraltar Congress gets under way

The 15th edition of the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Congress got under way today, with the first round of the Masters event.   This 254-player Open, probably the strongest open tournament in the World, features no fewer than 72 Grandmasters, of whom 12 are rated over 2700.

There are no local entrants, but three of England's top GMs are playing.   Both Michael Adams and David Howell enjoyed comfortable wins, but Nigel Short was extremely fortunate to escape with a draw against his 2314-rated Dutch FM opponent.   In the position below, Short (Black) has just played 43... Qe8.

White now played 44. Rb4??, to which Short replied ... Qe1, threatening both rook and the h4 pawn.   White was virtually forced to play 45. Qd4 and after the exchange of rooks and 46...Qxd6, it was relatively easy for Short to draw the game.   Instead, White could have played 44. Rb1 (covering e1) or c5, with a huge and winning advantage.

To view results and live games, go to the Congress website.



Monday, 23 January 2017

Date set for Bury Junior Congress

The Bury St Edmunds Junior Chess Congress will take place on Sunday 5 March at the usual venue, Moreton Hall Community Centre.

There will be four sections: Under 18, Under 11, Under 9 and 'My First Tournament'.   This latter section is designed to attract youngsters aged under 11 to enter an organised chess tournament for the first time.

The highest-placed qualifying entrant in the Under 18 section will be the EACU Junior Champion and will hold the trophy for one year.   To qualify, a player must either live in, or attend school, in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Befordshire or Hertfordshire.

Due to space restrictions, the total number of entrants will be limited to 100.

Anyone requiring an entry form should .


Sunday, 22 January 2017

Junior 4NCL results

Eight Bury Knights members travelled to Solihull this weekend to take part in the five-round Junior 4NCL event.   This tournament features some of the top juniors in the country.

Bury Knights were able to field two teams of four players ('Lions' and 'Tigers').   In order that all eight players could compete, the two teams were composed of roughly equal strength, ensuring that the average grade was below the required level to enter Division 2.   An alternative approach would have been to select the top four players to form a Division 1 team, but this would have left the Division 2 team rather weak.

After a flying start, when both teams recorded 4 - 0 wins in the first round, the teams did not fare quite so well.   By the end of the event, 'Lions' were on five points (two wins and a draw), whilst 'Tigers' were on four points (two wins).

Individual scores were as follows:

Lions:

Adam John   3/4 (unbeaten - 2 wins and 2 draws)
Tom Roy   3/4
Ralph Martin   1½/4
Amy John   1/4
Tia Martin   1/4

Tigers:

Jaden Jermy   3½/5
Rowan Kent   3½/5
Toby Martin   1/4
(two other non-Bury Knights members also played for this team: Denis Dupuis scored 2/4 and Wilfred Hill-Wood scored 1/2)

Rowan's performance (see photo right) was exceptional.   Still aged only 7, he had a grading performance of 120.   He is now one of the strongest players for his age in the country.


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