Running alongside the London Chess Classic, where nine of the World's top players are competing (final round today), the FIDE Open has attracted an amazing 235 entrants, including 11 GMs and 25 IMs. There are three entrants from Suffolk (well, two from the county and one formerly from Suffolk). Ed Player (Bury St Edmunds) scored an excellent 5½/9 for a 2240 performance, losing only to three IMs. Former Suffolk player David Whitehead, now London-based, scored 5 points, whilst newcomer Silas Peck (Ipswich), only 16 years old, recovered from a poor start (0/4) to finish with 2½ points.
The event was won by two GMs from Armenia and the Netherlands, who both scored 7½/9 and drew with each other in Round 7.
Click here for full results of the FIDE Open. To see the Classic games (Carlsen plays Anand today in the final round), click here. Games start today at 12.00.
Monday, 10 December 2012
Sunday, 9 December 2012
A game from the Bury Congress
Here are the moves with Dave's own notes. You can play through the game using the board at the bottom of the page.
White: Robert Killeen (Brentwood)
Black: Dave Green (Stowmarket)
1. e4 c5 2. b4 Oh well, that is my Sicilian opening book in the bin, so now I have to play on my wits. My first long think, well about six minutes actually. 2… e5 3. bxc5 Bxc5 Looks like I have gained a tempo already. 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O Here again I had a long think (by my standards). Just what is wrong with the ultimate Sicilian freeing move d5? I could find no good reason not to play it, so … d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Ne4 I thought the pin on the long diagonal would save the e4 pawn, so … Be7 10. Bb2 This looks a bit passive so do I defend e4 again or go for some space and activity in the centre? … f5!? Chucking the knight out. 11. Ng3 The knight runs to the only available safe square. … e4 and kick the other knight whilst saving the e-pawn. 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 I now have the chance to swap off this irritating bishop, develop my queen and occupy the long diagonal all together. Doing three things in one move has to be good. 13… Bf6 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 and now a surprise. 15. f4 Whoa David. What is this? Thinking cap firmly on. exf3 e.p. is nuts as it gives away all my advantage in the centre by freeing his knight and bishop. No, it is time to develop and be awkward whilst doing so. 15… Be6 attacking the a-pawn, freezing his rook for a bit and stopping any checks on the a2-g8 diagonal. Another case of doing three things in one move. 16. Kh1? This looks so passive; it must be time to attack. Now in the Sicilian the queen is usually good on c7. Ok 16… Qc7 17. c4 Hmmm, can I artificially isolate this pawn and attack it? Rd8 and the pin on the queen is a nuisance so now I have to choose a rook. No problem, the f-rook will do well and the a-rook can then go to c8. 17… Rfd8 While he is thinking I took a long look around the board. Black has more space, more active queen and rook. My knight has useful squares whilst his knight has only one useless square. My bishop is active on two diagonals. His bishop runs into his own pieces or is harassed by my advancing pawns. Two pawn islands for me and three for him, including the horrible isolated a- and c-pawns and the backward d-pawn. Kings are equally safe. I considered I was better in this position. 18. Qc2 Rd4 A rook lift. GM Larry Christiansen is always in favour of rook lifts in his attacking chess videos on ICC, so here goes. Yet more pressure on the c4 pawn. 19. d3 So where now? Rc8 is solid and keeps up the pressure but his queen on c2 and his rook on f1 are ripe for a knight fork from e3. How do I get my knight there? Well, the c4 pawn is pinned to the queen, so … Nd5 20. Qb2 This move was a long time coming. Now his clock is really helping me. 20… Qb6 defending the rook, attacking the queen and saving the cheeky knight. 21. Qxb6 Nxb6 22. dxe4 fxe4 and a powerful and well-supported passed pawn appears on e4. 23. c5 Nc4 24. Bxc4 Bxc4 The exchanges left me winning; bishop for knight with pawns on both sides of the board. A centralised rook, better pawn structures and a monster passed pawn. 25. Rfe1 Bd3 26. Nf5 Rc4 Not Rd5 because of the fork on e7. 27. Rac1 Rxc1 Exchanging rooks increases my advantage. 28. Rxc1 Here I want to play Rc8 but the knight fork at e7 prevents this, so … g6 shifts the steed but it goes to a better square! 29. Nd6 I still cannot play Rxc1 so I push the e-pawn … e3 30. Re1 e2 31. Kg1 Rd8 Letting the b-pawn go. 32. Nxb7 Rd7 33. Na5 Bb5 34. Kf2 Rd1 This was rushed; Rd2 was much better. 35. c6 Rd2 Correcting the last move. 36. Nb3 Rxa2 Now the Black a-pawn needs constant attention from White. 37. c7 Scary! But … Ba6 holds all. 38. Nd4 Ponderously returning to the defence. … Rd2 39. Ke3 Rd3+ 40. Ke4 Rc3 41. Ne6 Kf7 42. Ng5+ Kg7 43. g3 White was very short of time, while I still had 45 minutes on the clock. … h6 44. Ne6+ Kf6 45. Ra1 Bb7+ 46. Kd4 Rc6 47. Nd8 Rxc7 Killing the dreaded c-pawn. 48. Nxb7 Rxb7 49. Re1 Re7 Rook and pawn endgame, but I have two passed pawns and one is on the seventh rank. 50. g4 a5 51. Kc4 Re4+ 52. Kd5 Re8 53. Kc4 a4 54. Kb4 Re4+ 55. Ka3 Ke6 and White resigned with next to no time on his clock and in a lost position. The Black king can penetrate via d5, d4, e3 and f2. Houdini says I am +7.22 ahead.
Whoopee two out of two at the Congress!
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Formation of the Suffolk County Chess Association
Vicky Allen, a former Secretary of the SCCA, recently handed over to me a box of old papers and files that she has kept hidden away in an attic for some time.
Deep within the box was a dusty, dog-eared volume (see photo opposite) of the minutes of the Suffolk County Chess Association, from 1930 to 1974. Mostly handwritten, the minutes of AGMs and committee meetings contain gems of information, some of which will appear on this website from time to time.
For starters, here is the very first entry:
“At a meeting of chess players held at the Institute, Tavern Street, Ipswich on Oct 11 1930, Mr A. H. Welburn presiding, it was decided to form a Suffolk County Chess Association which will take part in competitions under the auspices of the Southern Counties Chess Union in the East Anglian area, the other counties being Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Mr J. W. Wilson, Secretary of the Ipswich Chess Club read letters from Mr R. M. Fleming, the assistant secretary of the S.C.C.U. , Mr A. M. Diaper, Hon. Sec. of the Bury Chess Club, and the secretaries of the Norwich & District Chess Club and the Cambridge Town Club in favour of the project. Help was also promised from Mr Whitworth, Framlingham School, and several prominent chess players promised to become Vice-Presidents.
The following officers were provisionally elected: Vice-Presidents – Messrs Bunnell, H. Burton, W.H. Allen Whitworth, Bernard Pretty, C.F. Lines and Commander Porsnand (Walsham-le-Willows), with Mr J.W. Wilson Hon. Secy. pro tem.
Subsequently Col. W. Guinness, M.P., D.S.O. agreed to become President, and Mr P. Cowell and the Rev. Dudley Symon became Vice-Presidents.
Matches were played with Norfolk and Cambridge at Diss and Bury respectively. Messrs Hooper and Wilson attended as delegates at meetings of the Committee of the S.C.C.U. A committee meeting of the Association drew up a set of provisional rules.”
That makes us 82 years old!
Deep within the box was a dusty, dog-eared volume (see photo opposite) of the minutes of the Suffolk County Chess Association, from 1930 to 1974. Mostly handwritten, the minutes of AGMs and committee meetings contain gems of information, some of which will appear on this website from time to time.
For starters, here is the very first entry:
“At a meeting of chess players held at the Institute, Tavern Street, Ipswich on Oct 11 1930, Mr A. H. Welburn presiding, it was decided to form a Suffolk County Chess Association which will take part in competitions under the auspices of the Southern Counties Chess Union in the East Anglian area, the other counties being Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Mr J. W. Wilson, Secretary of the Ipswich Chess Club read letters from Mr R. M. Fleming, the assistant secretary of the S.C.C.U. , Mr A. M. Diaper, Hon. Sec. of the Bury Chess Club, and the secretaries of the Norwich & District Chess Club and the Cambridge Town Club in favour of the project. Help was also promised from Mr Whitworth, Framlingham School, and several prominent chess players promised to become Vice-Presidents.
The following officers were provisionally elected: Vice-Presidents – Messrs Bunnell, H. Burton, W.H. Allen Whitworth, Bernard Pretty, C.F. Lines and Commander Porsnand (Walsham-le-Willows), with Mr J.W. Wilson Hon. Secy. pro tem.
Subsequently Col. W. Guinness, M.P., D.S.O. agreed to become President, and Mr P. Cowell and the Rev. Dudley Symon became Vice-Presidents.
Matches were played with Norfolk and Cambridge at Diss and Bury respectively. Messrs Hooper and Wilson attended as delegates at meetings of the Committee of the S.C.C.U. A committee meeting of the Association drew up a set of provisional rules.”
That makes us 82 years old!
Friday, 7 December 2012
How not to win a won game
Last Tuesday, Ian Wallis (White) faced Mike Cook in an all-Ipswich fixture in Division 1 of the Suffolk League.
Ian's detailed analysis is shown below, and you can play through the game using the diagram.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Qe2 or 4.d3 are designed to prevent the Berlin Wall, on reflection an odd choice against Michael as he always follows up with 4...Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.d3 h6 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.h3 Bb6 A surprise, I was expecting ...a6 gaining a tempo to give the bishop a retreat square on a7. On seeing Black's last move I decided on a slow manoeuvring plan 9.Nf1?! Better was 9. O-O to keep pace with Black's development 9...Ne7! Now Black's plan is perfectly clear. He intends Ng6 (eyeing up Nf4), c6 and Bc7 preserving the bishop on a different diagonal. Realising the strength of this plan I decided to abort the intended knight manoeuvre in a belated attempt to develop quickly 10.Be3 Ng6 11.g3?! A horrible move to have to play – what does his neighbour on h3 think? ...c6 12.Ba4 d5 13.Bxb6 Qxb6 14.exd5 cxd5 15. O-O-O. Castling at last and getting time to reflect on my wretched position. It is safe to say that picking a dubious (some would say ambitious) plan and then changing it has resulted in a difficult position. Black has a clear advantage here. It is at times like this in a game that strange forces come into play. Rather than worrying about my position, I felt a calmness about it, knowing that if Black executed his game plan accurately there would be precious little I could do about it. And yet here sprang eternal hope! How many of us mere mortals have failed to convert advantages they thought they had during a game? The pressure is all on Black to prove the evidence of the position. 15...Qc7?! At the time I thought this to be inaccurate, fearing more Be6 followed by d4. However on checking with the electronic monster back home it found nothing wrong with the idea which is obviously to make way for the pawn storm on the newly castled king. 16.Kb1 Be6 17.d4 I thought this was forced as I couldn't contemplate allowing Black to advance himself. The machine was unimpressed with my move and assessed the position after Black's next as circa -0.90, i.e. significantly inferior! 17...e4 Good enough for Hr Fritz but Mike said after the game this is where he thought he took a wrong turn and preferred to keep the position open with Bf5+ which is fine if White co-operates with Bc2 swapping bishops, but is less significant after Ka1. 18.N3d2 a6 19.Ne3 b5 20.Bc2 Rfc8 Over the last few moves Fritz has assessed the position as between -0.50 to -1.00 depending on whose turn it is to move. I now took the opportunity to create my first threat in the game: 21.f4!? Ne7 which Black easily parried. 22.Nb3 Bd7 23.Nc5 a5 Now the assessment of the position is only marginally better for Black, although I can't see that Black has been making any inferior moves which brings me to ask the question as to why Hr Fritz thought so highly of Black's position only three moves ago? He has gone strangely quiet on this question and I am still waiting for his answer... Anyway back to the game 24.Ng4! The exclamation is not because the move is surprising or particularly brilliant, more so that it is a shot that dramatically changes the assessment of the position and having found it I felt comfortable for the first time in the game. 24...Nf5? Black does not react well to the change of events. After the game he said that he couldn't allow the knight to land on e5 as he didn't like his position after that. However the cure is worse than the complaint. I was expecting a capture on g4 and then a classical pawn storm on each side of the board. I was quietly confident at this point. Fritz now recommends Ne8, eventually redeploying the knight to d6 which it assesses as favourable (about -0.50) to Black. Appearances can be deceptive some times! 25.Nxf6+ gxf6 26.Rhg1 It is now White who has a significant advantage (around +1.00). ...Kf8 Another step in the wrong direction according to Fritz (now around +1.50) although its suggestions do not inspire confidence in Black's position. 27.Qh5! (+1.82) ...Ke7?! What is Black thinking? (now over 3.00) Or was it a psychological move knowing that I would not be able to resist such provocation? 28.Nxe4?! Fritz preferred Rde1 preparing the sac after Be6 then gives Bxe4 to preserve the knight to attack f6. I was looking at the bishop hitting the rook on a8. 28...dxe4 29.Bxe4 Ne3? Missing Ng7= (understandably so in my opinion!) 30.Rde1 Now all is well with the world (+5.50) Happy days!! ...Be6 31.Bxa8 Rxe3 was simpler, however I didn't think that the counter-play was going to be a serious problem. ...Qc4 32.Rxe3 Qxa2+ 33.Kc2 b4 All according to plan, now how to nullify Black's activity and wait for him to run out of pieces? f5, d5, Bd5, Rxe6+ and the move played were all candidate moves and thereby lay the problem, choice means indecision. Just when hand and brain co-ordination is required to bring the game to its ultimate conclusion, after a long day and energy-sapping game, brain goes AWOL thinking it has done its job and all that is needed is to mop up, over to you hand... 34.Rge1 OK not bad (approx +6.70) just behind d5 at around (+7.40) 34...bxc3 35.Rxc3 Qb3+ Now one last precise move and it's all over... 36.Kc1?? Unfortunately this is not it! Suddenly =(0.00). Even now I cannot comprehend why I made this move 36...Rxc3+ 37.bxc3 Qxc3+ 38.Kd1 Qd3+ ½–½. If 36. Kd3 (+11.29) and Black can start putting the pieces back in the box.
If any other reader has played an interesting game recently, please send it to me!
Ian's detailed analysis is shown below, and you can play through the game using the diagram.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Qe2 or 4.d3 are designed to prevent the Berlin Wall, on reflection an odd choice against Michael as he always follows up with 4...Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.d3 h6 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.h3 Bb6 A surprise, I was expecting ...a6 gaining a tempo to give the bishop a retreat square on a7. On seeing Black's last move I decided on a slow manoeuvring plan 9.Nf1?! Better was 9. O-O to keep pace with Black's development 9...Ne7! Now Black's plan is perfectly clear. He intends Ng6 (eyeing up Nf4), c6 and Bc7 preserving the bishop on a different diagonal. Realising the strength of this plan I decided to abort the intended knight manoeuvre in a belated attempt to develop quickly 10.Be3 Ng6 11.g3?! A horrible move to have to play – what does his neighbour on h3 think? ...c6 12.Ba4 d5 13.Bxb6 Qxb6 14.exd5 cxd5 15. O-O-O. Castling at last and getting time to reflect on my wretched position. It is safe to say that picking a dubious (some would say ambitious) plan and then changing it has resulted in a difficult position. Black has a clear advantage here. It is at times like this in a game that strange forces come into play. Rather than worrying about my position, I felt a calmness about it, knowing that if Black executed his game plan accurately there would be precious little I could do about it. And yet here sprang eternal hope! How many of us mere mortals have failed to convert advantages they thought they had during a game? The pressure is all on Black to prove the evidence of the position. 15...Qc7?! At the time I thought this to be inaccurate, fearing more Be6 followed by d4. However on checking with the electronic monster back home it found nothing wrong with the idea which is obviously to make way for the pawn storm on the newly castled king. 16.Kb1 Be6 17.d4 I thought this was forced as I couldn't contemplate allowing Black to advance himself. The machine was unimpressed with my move and assessed the position after Black's next as circa -0.90, i.e. significantly inferior! 17...e4 Good enough for Hr Fritz but Mike said after the game this is where he thought he took a wrong turn and preferred to keep the position open with Bf5+ which is fine if White co-operates with Bc2 swapping bishops, but is less significant after Ka1. 18.N3d2 a6 19.Ne3 b5 20.Bc2 Rfc8 Over the last few moves Fritz has assessed the position as between -0.50 to -1.00 depending on whose turn it is to move. I now took the opportunity to create my first threat in the game: 21.f4!? Ne7 which Black easily parried. 22.Nb3 Bd7 23.Nc5 a5 Now the assessment of the position is only marginally better for Black, although I can't see that Black has been making any inferior moves which brings me to ask the question as to why Hr Fritz thought so highly of Black's position only three moves ago? He has gone strangely quiet on this question and I am still waiting for his answer... Anyway back to the game 24.Ng4! The exclamation is not because the move is surprising or particularly brilliant, more so that it is a shot that dramatically changes the assessment of the position and having found it I felt comfortable for the first time in the game. 24...Nf5? Black does not react well to the change of events. After the game he said that he couldn't allow the knight to land on e5 as he didn't like his position after that. However the cure is worse than the complaint. I was expecting a capture on g4 and then a classical pawn storm on each side of the board. I was quietly confident at this point. Fritz now recommends Ne8, eventually redeploying the knight to d6 which it assesses as favourable (about -0.50) to Black. Appearances can be deceptive some times! 25.Nxf6+ gxf6 26.Rhg1 It is now White who has a significant advantage (around +1.00). ...Kf8 Another step in the wrong direction according to Fritz (now around +1.50) although its suggestions do not inspire confidence in Black's position. 27.Qh5! (+1.82) ...Ke7?! What is Black thinking? (now over 3.00) Or was it a psychological move knowing that I would not be able to resist such provocation? 28.Nxe4?! Fritz preferred Rde1 preparing the sac after Be6 then gives Bxe4 to preserve the knight to attack f6. I was looking at the bishop hitting the rook on a8. 28...dxe4 29.Bxe4 Ne3? Missing Ng7= (understandably so in my opinion!) 30.Rde1 Now all is well with the world (+5.50) Happy days!! ...Be6 31.Bxa8 Rxe3 was simpler, however I didn't think that the counter-play was going to be a serious problem. ...Qc4 32.Rxe3 Qxa2+ 33.Kc2 b4 All according to plan, now how to nullify Black's activity and wait for him to run out of pieces? f5, d5, Bd5, Rxe6+ and the move played were all candidate moves and thereby lay the problem, choice means indecision. Just when hand and brain co-ordination is required to bring the game to its ultimate conclusion, after a long day and energy-sapping game, brain goes AWOL thinking it has done its job and all that is needed is to mop up, over to you hand... 34.Rge1 OK not bad (approx +6.70) just behind d5 at around (+7.40) 34...bxc3 35.Rxc3 Qb3+ Now one last precise move and it's all over... 36.Kc1?? Unfortunately this is not it! Suddenly =(0.00). Even now I cannot comprehend why I made this move 36...Rxc3+ 37.bxc3 Qxc3+ 38.Kd1 Qd3+ ½–½. If 36. Kd3 (+11.29) and Black can start putting the pieces back in the box.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Under 18 Team Manager needed!
In 1997 Suffolk won the u18 National Inter-Counties Championship. Admittedly, we had a cracking team in those days: Pert, Pert, Player, Whitehead to name but a few.
Now, 16 years later, it would be good to see a 12-board team entered again in this event, which takes place in June 2013, probably at Eton College. It's a two-round event, with a total of 2½ hours for each game.
If we can persuade everyone to play, we would have the nucleus of a good team. On top board would be Alan Merry (225), with Adam Taylor (181), Sam Brennan (157), Silas Peck (150), Nikolai Lastochkin (136) and Emilia Jewell (133) potentially on the next few boards.
But what we really need is a TEAM MANAGER! The job isn't particularly demanding. It will require some degree of organisational ability, contacting and maintaining contact with prospective team members, arranging transport to the venue and informing the national organiser of the team details.
It's a one-off event, so the commitment is not ongoing.
If anyone (perhaps a parent?) is interested in taking on this role, would they please contact me soon.
Now, 16 years later, it would be good to see a 12-board team entered again in this event, which takes place in June 2013, probably at Eton College. It's a two-round event, with a total of 2½ hours for each game.
If we can persuade everyone to play, we would have the nucleus of a good team. On top board would be Alan Merry (225), with Adam Taylor (181), Sam Brennan (157), Silas Peck (150), Nikolai Lastochkin (136) and Emilia Jewell (133) potentially on the next few boards.
But what we really need is a TEAM MANAGER! The job isn't particularly demanding. It will require some degree of organisational ability, contacting and maintaining contact with prospective team members, arranging transport to the venue and informing the national organiser of the team details.
It's a one-off event, so the commitment is not ongoing.
If anyone (perhaps a parent?) is interested in taking on this role, would they please contact me soon.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
When the Women's World Champion came to town
In the absence of topical news, here's another look back at a bygone age.
Vera Menchik, born in Moscow in 1906, was the first Women's World Champion, obtaining that title in 1927 in London. At a time when strong women chess players were rather thin on the ground, she held that title throughout the rest of her lifetime.
She moved to England in 1921 with her Czech father and English mother, and in 1936 was invited by the Bury and West Suffolk Chess Club to give a simultaneous display. The photo below shows her surrounded by her opponents. Somewhere in that photo is a young Don Ward, doyen of Suffolk Chess and Suffolk Champion on 12 occasions.
(Click on photo for larger image)
Vera played 23 simultaneous games against Club members, winning 18, losing one and drawing four.
Sadly, she died on 27 June 1944, when a V1 bomb destroyed her home in Clapham, London, killing Vera along with her two sisters and mother.
Vera Menchik, born in Moscow in 1906, was the first Women's World Champion, obtaining that title in 1927 in London. At a time when strong women chess players were rather thin on the ground, she held that title throughout the rest of her lifetime.
She moved to England in 1921 with her Czech father and English mother, and in 1936 was invited by the Bury and West Suffolk Chess Club to give a simultaneous display. The photo below shows her surrounded by her opponents. Somewhere in that photo is a young Don Ward, doyen of Suffolk Chess and Suffolk Champion on 12 occasions.
Vera played 23 simultaneous games against Club members, winning 18, losing one and drawing four.
Sadly, she died on 27 June 1944, when a V1 bomb destroyed her home in Clapham, London, killing Vera along with her two sisters and mother.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Feedback please!
From speaking to a number of Suffolk chessplayers I know that many of you are following these daily news updates. The verbal feedback I've received has been most positive. But only two people, so far, have ventured to write a comment on the website.
At the bottom of each posting there's a hyperlink (in blue) to 'No comments'. If there has already been a comment, this will have changed to '1 comment'. Click on this and a comment box will open. Type in your comment. Then below, where it says 'Comment as:', scroll down to 'Name/URL'. Type in your name but leave the URL empty. Click 'Publish'. You'll be asked to 'prove you're not a robot' by typing a word or words that appear. That's it.
Some people may already have a Google account, which is the simplest way of making a comment. If you don't have a Google account, you can sign up for one. You'll be directed to the Blogger page where you should click on the 'Sign up' box in the top right corner and follow the instructions.
One minor criticism I've received is that there's been a lot of historical stuff. That's only because there's been little of topical interest to report! In the Suffolk League alone, some 160 games have been played already this season. There must be something worthwhile to report. Please send me some interesting games, or positions, and I can publish them on this website. Or perhaps there was an unusual incident (my opponent's phone rang last Thursday - the first time I've won a game in this manner).
Comments from readers provide a real incentive for me to continue with these regular daily postings.
At the bottom of each posting there's a hyperlink (in blue) to 'No comments'. If there has already been a comment, this will have changed to '1 comment'. Click on this and a comment box will open. Type in your comment. Then below, where it says 'Comment as:', scroll down to 'Name/URL'. Type in your name but leave the URL empty. Click 'Publish'. You'll be asked to 'prove you're not a robot' by typing a word or words that appear. That's it.
One minor criticism I've received is that there's been a lot of historical stuff. That's only because there's been little of topical interest to report! In the Suffolk League alone, some 160 games have been played already this season. There must be something worthwhile to report. Please send me some interesting games, or positions, and I can publish them on this website. Or perhaps there was an unusual incident (my opponent's phone rang last Thursday - the first time I've won a game in this manner).
Comments from readers provide a real incentive for me to continue with these regular daily postings.
Monday, 3 December 2012
Suffolk Under 11s
A Team Manager has been found for the Suffolk Under 11 team. The County has entered the English Primary Schools Chess Association (EPSCA) inter-Association tournament (East Region), which will take place in Northampton on Saturday 16 March.
Laura Cortabarria, mother of Alba, Mario and Aaron Saenz de Villaverde, will now attempt to find a 20-board team to play against other counties and affiliated areas, which include Norfolk, Kent, Barnet, Richmond, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire.
Those already being considered for the team include:
Those already being considered for the team include:
Alex Sheerin
Mario Saenz de Villaverde
Anita Somton
Daniel Garcia-Leon
Alan John
Aaron Saenz de Villaverde
William Moody
William Starling
Bethany Young
Abel Vadakelan
Liya Baby
The above are all members of the Bury Knights JCC. Others will be added from Woodbridge School (Abbey) and Ipswich JCC. If anyone knows of other children (born after 31 August 2001), please let know.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Suffolk Under 160 results
The Suffolk under 160 team, weakened by a number of forced absences, played Norfolk this morning and newcomers Hertfordshire this afternoon, at Turner Hall in Newmarket.
The full results can be viewed on the Results website.
The average grade of the Suffolk team was just over 138. This compares to recent years when we have achieved an average of over 145. Many thanks to those on Boards 12 to 16, who filled in so admirably. Between them they scored a highly creditable 50%.
In the morning match, against Norfolk, we were told that Board 16 would be defaulted, but in addition, their Board 5 failed to turn up. So we were winning 2 - 0 before we started! Their remaining 14 boards averaged 141.4, three points per board more than us. But Suffolk still managed to win 7½ - 6½ on these boards, giving an overall score of 9½ - 6½.
The afternoon match pitted Suffolk against Hertfordshire, playing in the EACU u160s for the first time. They brought a strong team, which averaged 147.4, a full nine points per board better than Suffolk. They should have won convincingly, but only managed to do so by 9½ - 6½.
If anyone who played had a game worthy of publication, please send it to me. In the meantime, you can view my win in the afternoon on the Games page.
The next pair of matches, against Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, take place on Sunday 6 January. If anyone is unable to play, please let me know.
Later...
Rob Harden has sent me his win in the morning against Jim McAvoy from Norfolk. Here's his fine finish. This is the position after Black's 20...Bd7:
21. Rac1+ Kb8 22. b5 (threatening Nc6) ...Ka8 23. Rc7 Rc8 24. Ne6 Rxc7 25. Nxc7+ Kb8 26. Rc1 Rc8?? (seems natural, but loses immediately) 27. Bxa7+! Kxa7 28. Qa4+ Kb6 29. Qd4+ Ka5 30. Qa7#
The full results can be viewed on the Results website.
The average grade of the Suffolk team was just over 138. This compares to recent years when we have achieved an average of over 145. Many thanks to those on Boards 12 to 16, who filled in so admirably. Between them they scored a highly creditable 50%.
In the morning match, against Norfolk, we were told that Board 16 would be defaulted, but in addition, their Board 5 failed to turn up. So we were winning 2 - 0 before we started! Their remaining 14 boards averaged 141.4, three points per board more than us. But Suffolk still managed to win 7½ - 6½ on these boards, giving an overall score of 9½ - 6½.
The afternoon match pitted Suffolk against Hertfordshire, playing in the EACU u160s for the first time. They brought a strong team, which averaged 147.4, a full nine points per board better than Suffolk. They should have won convincingly, but only managed to do so by 9½ - 6½.
If anyone who played had a game worthy of publication, please send it to me. In the meantime, you can view my win in the afternoon on the Games page.
The next pair of matches, against Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, take place on Sunday 6 January. If anyone is unable to play, please let me know.
Later...
Rob Harden has sent me his win in the morning against Jim McAvoy from Norfolk. Here's his fine finish. This is the position after Black's 20...Bd7:
Saturday, 1 December 2012
ACE OF TROMPS (Part 4)
The final episode of Mike McNaughton's epic tale
Black plays 2… g6
This move is, perhaps, not the most common you are likely to encounter if you play the Tromp as White. It can easily transpose into the Byrne Variation against the Pirc, or something like it.
The move does not prevent 3. Bxf6 by White and then the position will not be unlike the more common 2… g6 3. Bxf6.
I’m going to give you a short game which was played in Cork, Ireland, in 2005. The winner was called David Smith. I’ve known two players with that name; one used to play top board for Cleveland and the other played for Capenhurst in the Chester League. Both were pretty decent players (certainly better than yours truly). In this game Black played g6 but the same position could have been reached by a different move order.
White: Oisin Benson; Black: David Smith.
Well, you don’t need to be a county player to work that one out. But I’ll give the answer later down the page anyway. One has to say that White did not play well, but I hope I have demonstrated, if nothing else, that Black does not need to fear the doubled pawns. To reinforce the point, I will give a game played by our own Adam Hunt as Black against Richard Palliser, who has written a book on the Trompovsky and should, therefore, know his onions. But Richard did not get far in this game.
White: Richard Palliser; Black: Adam Hunt.
Well, Black didn’t have too much trouble holding an expert. In our next game, Adam produces an overwhelming attack on the Q-side, though one must admit White’s play could have been better.
White: Eric Lawson; Black: Adam Hunt.
Well, your name doesn’t have to be Garry Kasparov to work out that White is in a mess; but would YOU have sacrificed your Queen here as White? Whether you would have done or not, White did - and of course after that it was all over and I don’t think much purpose would be served by going through White’s death agonies. But this game does, I think, illustrate one thing; namely the strength of Black’s KB.
I said I’d give you the killer move from the game Benson – Smith, which isn’t hard to work out; Black played Nh3+ and White has a choice of two grisly ways of being executed. He chose 19. gxh3 Bxf3 and White had to sacrifice the Queen to avoid mate.
But, as I remarked in the introduction, the most popular reply to 2… g6 at master level isn’t 3. Bxf6; it’s 3. Nf3.
Typically, White will play moves like Nbd2, c3, e4, Bc4 and Qe2 and Re1. White ought to get quite a reasonable position out of this, but Black’s game is quite playable.
I will give a rather drastic miniature which will show that Black needs to be careful. The following game was played in the World u12 Championship in 2005. White was Saeed Mohammad and his opponent was Mike Jiang.
To conclude I will give you a cute little game between two players I haven’t heard of called Olcayoz and Duman. White was the higher-rated player but he got really turned over here.
So there you have it; I hope you have derived something from this survey of the Trompovsky. I wonder whether anyone will play it against me next season??
Now there’s a challenge.
Black plays 2… g6
This move is, perhaps, not the most common you are likely to encounter if you play the Tromp as White. It can easily transpose into the Byrne Variation against the Pirc, or something like it.
The move does not prevent 3. Bxf6 by White and then the position will not be unlike the more common 2… g6 3. Bxf6.
I’m going to give you a short game which was played in Cork, Ireland, in 2005. The winner was called David Smith. I’ve known two players with that name; one used to play top board for Cleveland and the other played for Capenhurst in the Chester League. Both were pretty decent players (certainly better than yours truly). In this game Black played g6 but the same position could have been reached by a different move order.
White: Oisin Benson; Black: David Smith.
White: Richard Palliser; Black: Adam Hunt.
White: Eric Lawson; Black: Adam Hunt.
I said I’d give you the killer move from the game Benson – Smith, which isn’t hard to work out; Black played Nh3+ and White has a choice of two grisly ways of being executed. He chose 19. gxh3 Bxf3 and White had to sacrifice the Queen to avoid mate.
But, as I remarked in the introduction, the most popular reply to 2… g6 at master level isn’t 3. Bxf6; it’s 3. Nf3.
Typically, White will play moves like Nbd2, c3, e4, Bc4 and Qe2 and Re1. White ought to get quite a reasonable position out of this, but Black’s game is quite playable.
I will give a rather drastic miniature which will show that Black needs to be careful. The following game was played in the World u12 Championship in 2005. White was Saeed Mohammad and his opponent was Mike Jiang.
So there you have it; I hope you have derived something from this survey of the Trompovsky. I wonder whether anyone will play it against me next season??
Now there’s a challenge.
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