Suffolk Chess

Long-time Suffolk chess players will remember Tony Rubin (pictured left) well (although he looks a bit different nowadays having shaved off his 'tache three years ago).

He was an excellent player and a mainstay of the Ipswich Chess Club.   But 12 or 13 years ago, he suddenly and surprisingly stopped playing.

Tony has been in contact recently, and met up with Michael Clapham for a catch up.   Now 58, Tony still plays chess ("not very well") on the ICC site (handle - TonyR).   He spends ("too") much of his time playing golf, having more or less retired from ‘proper’ work last year.   He is also writing a few questions for the TV show 'Only Connect’ and has submitted questions to University Challenge too, but he is still waiting to hear if they will employ him!

Back in 1992 he wrote 'Chess for the Rank and File', a brilliantly-titled book which detailed his chess career to date.   He enlisted the assistance of (then) IM John Emms, who corrected some of the analysis.   The book can still be purchased online for a few pounds or dollars.

Back in 1998, Tony's grade was 164, which is probably more like 175 with the upgrading a couple of years ago.   At his peak, around 1985, his grade was 183.   He says he may try and come down to Ipswich and play a few quick games on a Thursday night in the summer.

The last two days' articles have provoked a flurry of comments - many thanks to all those who've taken the time to do so.   If you haven't already read these articles, please do, as they touch on issues that affect us all - mobile phones and the use of increments (Fischer timing).   I'd like to hear your views.

Here's a third topic which may provoke some discussion - promotion.

With the season fast approaching its conclusion, teams will be nervously watching the league tables, hoping either for promotion or wanting to avoid relegation.   In the past there have been several instances of teams declining promotion.   So today's question is: Should a team be allowed to decline promotion, or should they be compelled to accept it?

The rules state: "The top team will be promoted to a higher division, if there is one.   More than one team may be promoted if teams withdraw from a higher division" (Rule 29).   The rules don't say that promotion can be declined.

There will be situations where a team knows that promotion, if accepted, will be temporary because they will be too weak to remain in the higher division.   This may be simply that the gulf between, for example, Division 2 and Division 1 is perceived as too great, or possibly the winning team may know it will be losing a couple of its 'star' players.   But should they be allowed to stay in the lower division?   It could be argued that if they do so, they will probably win the division again the following season.

Let's hear your views!

You're twenty moves into a complicated game, where material is level; both you and your opponent have good chances of winning.   Then your opponent's phone goes off.   What happens next (or should happen)?

According to the rules of the Suffolk League (and the Bury Area League), your opponent loses the game.   You get the full point, unless you have insufficient mating material, when the result would be ½ - 0.

But in reality, what actually does happen?   I've been in a couple of situations in recent league matches where my opponent's phone has rung.   In one, he casually lent over to his jacket which was hanging on his chair, turned the phone off and resumed thinking about his next move.   I was in a quandary; should I claim the game, or say something, or what?   On the other occasion my opponent was more generous.   Admitting his fault, he asked, "I suppose that means I lose the game?"   It was easy for me to say, yes, I'm afraid it does.   And that was that; 1 - 0 to me.   But returning to the first instance, it's embarrassing to have to tell your opponent that he has lost the game, which is why I kept quiet (fortunately, I went on to win, anyway).   It's absolutely clear from the rules that it's a loss for the person whose phone has made a noise and he/she should resign on the spot.

OK, that's the law according to FIDE, which both local leagues have incorporated into their rules.   But I'm going to suggest something rather different and would welcome opinions from other local players.

Whilst in a tournament, where there is a controller/arbiter, the decision is clear: the player loses.   But in a local league, where we all know each other as friends, it does seem a bit brutal to have to concede the game.   I suggest that if it occurs in a Suffolk League match, or any of the competitions organised by the SCCA, then the game continues, but that person is banned from playing in the next match for which he would normally be selected.   So a regular in a team would miss the next match for that team.

That's it; no loss of game, but perhaps a slight loss of face.   "Why aren't you playing in the match tonight?"   "Oh, in the last match I forgot to switch off my phone and it rung, so I've been banned for this match".

How does that sound to you?   Let's hear your views.   If this idea is generally supported, it could be put as a proposal to the Suffolk AGM on 10 June.

As most of you know, instead of playing 75 minutes + 15 minutes quick-play finish, we are allowed to use increments in the Suffolk League.   To date, very few people have tried this, although those who have have found no problem with it.   If you are using increments (also known as 'Fischer timing') you start with the same 75 minutes, but instead of a quick-play finish, you receive an additional 10 seconds for every move, from move 1.

Most games played with increments are slightly shorter than those with a quick-play finish.   This is because a 30-move game will take an hour and 20 minutes each, and a 60-move game takes an hour and 25 minutes each.   You will need to play 90 moves to reach the same 1½ hours as in a quick-play finish.   Very few games in the League last this long.

One of the reasons that players reject the use of increments is because the 10 seconds added each move is considered too little time.   If you were to run out of your initial stock of 75 minutes, you would have to make a move every 10 seconds, else lose on time.

I plan to propose to the SCCA Committee and to the AGM that we change the timings from 75 minutes + 10 seconds per move, to 65 minutes + 20 seconds per move.   This has the distinct advantage that you would have longer to think if your time runs out; you would need to make a move within 20 seconds, which is not unreasonable.   The 4NCL uses 30 seconds per move, by the way, but with only one game played each day, there's plenty of time to finish the game, even if it goes on for six or seven hours.

As has been pointed out before, the main advantage of using increments is that there's no 'Rule 10.2' - the 'two-minute' rule, when you can claim a draw in the last two minutes of your time if you feel your opponent is making no effort to win 'by normal means'.   This can cause major problems in a match where there is no arbiter.

I would like to know what Suffolk players think of my proposal.   A 30-move game would last an hour and a quarter each (slightly less than the current 75 minutes + 10 seconds per move); a 60-move game would last for an hour and 25 minutes each (the same as the current timings), and a 90-move game would extend just over, with an hour and 35 minutes each.   If that is seen likely to cause a problem with venues, the initial stock could be decreased to 60 minutes (instead of 65), when a 90-move game would take an hour and a half each.

Please post your comments below.

With only one or two matches remaining to be played by each team in the three divisions, there are no guaranteed promotions or relegations yet.

Here are the current league tables, following this evening's match between Bury St Edmunds B and Ipswich C in Division 1:

Division 1

Team	Played	Points
Manningtree A	8	19½
Ipswich C	8	16½
Bury St Edmunds A	8	15½
Ipswich A	8	15½
Bury St Edmunds B	8	15
Ipswich B	8	14

Manningtree A are sitting proudly at the top, with a three-point margin over their nearest rivals, Ipswich C.   But all teams still have two matches to play, with both Manningtree's being against the Bury St Edmunds' teams.   Which team will be relegated is anyone's guess; in theory any team could suffer the dreaded drop.

Division 2

Team	Played	Points
Bury St Edmunds C	9	20
Adastral Park	9	18½
Ipswich D	9	18
Stowmarket A	8	17
Sudbury	9	16½
Saxmundham A	8	13

Stowmarket A's match next Tuesday against Saxmundham A could decide which team tops the division with just one match to play.   Stowmarket are currently three points behind leaders Bury St Edmunds C.   At the other end of the division, Saxmundham have a similar incentive, as they lie 3½ points adrift with the game in hand.

Division 3

Team	Played	Points
Bury St Edmunds D	11	26
Ipswich E	11	23
Clacton	10	22
Stowmarket Rooks	10	21½
Manningtree B	10	18
Felixstowe	10	17½
Saxmundham B	10	16

Clacton's recent win against Manningtree B has given them renewed hope of winning this division.   But they stand four points behind leaders Bury St Edmunds D, with a match in hand.   Bury's last match is on 18 March, when they will be the first team to complete their scheduled matches.   Their final total will be the target for the other teams.

Many Suffolk players will remember Steve Collins.   He moved to Bury St Edmunds in May 2007 to live with Donna (whom he'd met at the 2006 Bury Congress where she was serving refreshments).   He was an active member of the then Bury Cannons Chess Club.   Just before Christmas 2007, Steve suffered a horrific accident when he tripped over in his own kitchen, striking his head against the wall.   A broken neck paralysed him and he spent a couple of months in Addenbrookes in Cambridge, followed by a lengthy period in Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

During his time in hospital in Cambridge, members of the Bury Cannons Chess Club took turns to take Donna to visit him.

When he had recovered sufficiently, Steve moved back to Chelmsford to a nursing home and later lived with his fiancée Vanessa in a bungalow; she was his main carer for the majority of the almost five years from then until his passing.

Until recently, Steve was still playing chess - his friends in Chelmsford would take him to the chess club where he played in the North Essex League - and he was very active on Facebook where he last posted on 23 February.   A couple of weeks ago he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia.

Sadly, yesterday morning, Steve passed away, aged 43.

The photo above was taken in May 2008, when visiting him at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Steve's latest grade was 150, but two years ago, in January 2012, he recorded his highest-ever grade of 165.

An effervescent personality, Steve did not let his disability get the better of him.   He will be sorely missed.

When the Bury Knights Junior Chess Club was formed in 1992, a large number of Patrons provided start-up funding which enabled the purchase of some 60 chess sets and boards.   Many of these have been replaced in recent years, but the old sets have been stored at Horringer Court Middle School, where the Bury Knights meet every Friday.

Rather than gather dust, it has been decided to offer a small number of sets to local schools who are keen to set up new chess clubs.

The first school to take up this offer is Woolpit Primary School.   Yesterday, Bury Knights Organiser Bob Jones met with Shaun Holland, Woolpit Primary School's Deputy Head, to hand over six sets and boards.   The school's chess club will commence after Easter and Bob hopes to pay a visit once it gets properly under way.

Any other schools in the Bury area who would like to take up this offer should contact soon, 'whilst stocks last'!

The annual Suffolk Junior Open took place yesterday at Woodbridge School.   There was nearly a clean sweep for members of the Bury Knights JCC, who won five age-group titles outright, and shared two others:

Under 9      Aaron Saenz de Villaverde (4½/6)
Under 10    Anita Somton (6/6)
Under 11    Mario Saenz de Villaverde (6/6|
Under 12    Alex Sheerin (6/6)
Under 13    Rufus Easdale (shared)
Under 14    William Sait (5½/6)
Under 15    Patrick Gembis (shared)

Unsurprisingly, the team prize was won by Bury Knights, with their team consisting of the four boys, Aaron, Mario, Alex and William, who amassed a total of 22 points out of 24.

The Open section was won by Justin Tan, who also scored 6/6.   With only eight entrants, this section was considerably weakened by the EACU First Team Championship, which also took place on Sunday.

The final matches in the EACU First Team County Championships were played today, at Newmarket.   Needing to win both matches to finish in first place, Suffolk beat Cambridgeshire 9½-6½ in the morning but could only draw 8-8 with Norfolk in the afternoon.   Suffolk individual scores were as follows (out of 2):

Alan Merry    1
David Spence    1
Shaun Munson    1½
Graham Moore    ½
Steve Gregory    1½
Tim Lunn    0
Steve Ruthen    1½
Rob Sanders    1½
Martin Fogg    1½
Ted Matthewson    1
John Peters    1½
Silas Peck    1½
Ian Wallis    ½
Nick Savage    1
Phil Hopkins    1½
Michael Clapham    ½

This leaves three counties, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk all tied on 8 match points.   Had either Suffolk or Norfolk won their match (instead of drawing), then that county would have finished in first place, but the draw has provided Cambridgeshire with an unexpected lifeline.   The tie-break calculation has yet to be finalised, but it appears that Cambridgeshire will be awarded first place.   EACU Organiser Patrick Ribbands will need to check the tie-break rules before confirming this.   Suffolk will probably finish second.

There are two places in the National quarter-finals (Minor Counties) and the second place county will be away to the winner of the Western Area Chess Union.   This match would be played at a neutral midway venue, probably on Saturday 17 May.

More information will be provided here as soon as the decision has been made.

The new FIDE Rating list for March has just been published.   The following players currently rated over 2000 are eligible to represent Suffolk as they live in the county.   Others, including Adam Taylor (Manningtree) and Mike Harris (Bury St Edmunds) live outside Suffolk but are still eligible through membership of their respective clubs (unless they already play for their 'home' county).

No.	Name	Rating
1	Adam Hunt	2435
2	Justin Tan	2351
3	Dagne Ciuksyte	2348
4	Alan Merry	2316
5	Ed Player	2247
6	David Spence	2222
7	Shaun Munson	2165
8	Tim Lunn	2057
9	Steve Ruthen	2052
10	Steve Gregory	2046
11	John Feavyour	2045
12	Mike Cook	2039
13	Phil Hopkins	2022
14	Ian Wallis	2019

The March list includes one new entry - 9-year old Anita Somton.   Her first FIDE rating has been set at 1470, which is outstanding for one so young.   Not only is she the highest-rated English Under 10 Girl, but also the highest-rated Under 11 and Under 12 Girl.   She is also ranked at number 58 amongst all active English women and girls.

The photo below shows Anita (Bury's youngest member) facing Chas Szentmihaly (Bury's oldest member) before a match in the Bury Area Chess League last Thursday.