Wednesday, 16 August 2017
2017-18 Fixtures Published
All the Leamington League and Coventry League fixtures are now available on this site on the appropriate tabs. Get those diaries out and reserve the dates for your team(s) now!
Friday, 11 August 2017
That's A Wrap
I'm hoping no-one has been waiting for me to update them on the final two days of the British Championships - there are much quicker ways to get the news than this website!
Anyway, in my last round game in the Over-50s tournament I managed to chalk up another win to finish on 4.5/7 for a share of 5th place with IM (and former British Champion) Paul Littlewood. Not such a good achievement as it may sound, as I didn't play a single higher graded player all week, and my performance was almost exactly in line with both my ECF and FIDE grades. Meanwhile, in what was his penultimate round, Paul went down rather badly with Black to an unknown Frenchman, who presumably qualified by residence. On the same day, Ben put in a hard shift in the Rapidplay event to score 4.5/9, matching his 50% score in the long play tournaments.
Only Paul was in action on the Sunday, bringing his British Championship campaign to an end with a very memorable game - and a finish that deserves pride of place in these Reports. Let Paul set the scene:-
"I played 1.Nc3 with the intention of move-ordering my opponent into a line with which he was unfamiliar. Because I’m so smart, I managed to move-order myself into the White side of an Open Sicilian…something which I have not seen over the board for years! I was left to navigate my way through the thickets which, surprisingly, I was able to do to the extent that I found myself with a clear advantage after 19 moves. Unfortunately, by that stage I had run myself down to just 13 minutes to my opponent's 57 minutes, with 21 moves to go to the time control. Two appalling moves in succession followed from me and I found myself staring defeat in the face. With just several minutes left, Tactical resourcefulness came to the fore and I spotted a filthy swindle. Whether or not my opponent would fall for it was another matter....." Find out if there's a happy ending by playing through the game now!
Its often better to be a lucky player than a good one!
Anyway, in my last round game in the Over-50s tournament I managed to chalk up another win to finish on 4.5/7 for a share of 5th place with IM (and former British Champion) Paul Littlewood. Not such a good achievement as it may sound, as I didn't play a single higher graded player all week, and my performance was almost exactly in line with both my ECF and FIDE grades. Meanwhile, in what was his penultimate round, Paul went down rather badly with Black to an unknown Frenchman, who presumably qualified by residence. On the same day, Ben put in a hard shift in the Rapidplay event to score 4.5/9, matching his 50% score in the long play tournaments.
Only Paul was in action on the Sunday, bringing his British Championship campaign to an end with a very memorable game - and a finish that deserves pride of place in these Reports. Let Paul set the scene:-
"I played 1.Nc3 with the intention of move-ordering my opponent into a line with which he was unfamiliar. Because I’m so smart, I managed to move-order myself into the White side of an Open Sicilian…something which I have not seen over the board for years! I was left to navigate my way through the thickets which, surprisingly, I was able to do to the extent that I found myself with a clear advantage after 19 moves. Unfortunately, by that stage I had run myself down to just 13 minutes to my opponent's 57 minutes, with 21 moves to go to the time control. Two appalling moves in succession followed from me and I found myself staring defeat in the face. With just several minutes left, Tactical resourcefulness came to the fore and I spotted a filthy swindle. Whether or not my opponent would fall for it was another matter....." Find out if there's a happy ending by playing through the game now!
Its often better to be a lucky player than a good one!
Tuesday, 8 August 2017
The Return of the Romantic
I am delighted to be posting on this site for the second time, a mere two years and two months after my first contribution! As readers of this site will be aware, I was part of the intrepid KCC contingent that travelled to Llandudno, Wales to play in the 2017 British Chess Championships. I was the sole KCC representative in the Main Event and scored 4.5/9, matching my 50% score from my last Championship in 2015.
 |
| Me before the start of round 4, courtesy of the British Championships website |
The main motivation however behind being present at the Championships was so I could support the Coventry Chess Academy (CCA) members playing in the junior sections. An unprecedented nine of them competed in age sections ranging from under 8 to under 16, showcasing skill, resilience, determination and effort throughout the event. Some were challenging for medal positions right up to the final rounds and, to my knowledge, more than one England junior squad norm was scored (bringing the recipient closer to selection for the national team). It wasn’t plain-sailing the whole way through. There were blunders, mid-tournament roadblocks and missed opportunities, but these are all part and parcel of the chess tournament experience (including my own). As I said to everyone, each setback or loss represents an opportunity for growth and improvement; a useful lesson for life, not just chess. And the chess on display was at times awe-inspiring. Highlights included Iolanda Ercsei's round 5 masterclass, David Phillips taking a 171-rated opponent to school, Manvith Sandhu defeating last year's British Champion in his age group, Silas Bowcott-Terry scoring 4/7 despite being seeded second from bottom in a field of 41 and Jude Shearsby finishing the tournament playing on the heights of 2nd board. Simply brilliant. Moreover, alongside the serious stuff, everyone had a lot of fun and we took away some very fond memories of our time in Wales.
I spent every morning and evening during the Championships with the CCA's members; watching, encouraging, analysing and preparing. What preparation I did for my own games usually took place the wrong side of 00:00! The nature of my schedule had an impact on my choice of opening and style and too often I found emotions drawing me into the type of battles which were not always to my best advantage. My best performance was probably in round 1 against International Master Craig Hanley, a game in which I stood better and was even winning at various points before I committed errors under time pressure. He went on to achieve a share of first place, losing his playoff to the eventual tournament winner, Grandmaster Gawain Jones. Talk about fine margins! My play ranged from precise, controlled efforts to emulating a drunken machine gunner over the chessboard, which gave the commentators a field day. The only thing that can be said with any certainty is that the brand of chess I displayed was not nearly as dubious as my fashion sense during the event (please see Mark's last post for context)! On reflection, I suppose that scoring 50%, almost exactly what would have been expected of me based on my tournament seeding, was a satisfactory showing under the circumstances. I wore my heart on my sleeve the whole tournament and the results were, if anything, entertaining for everyone concerned. Moreover, I just about managed to play respectably enough to avoid embarrassing myself completely in front of the CCA's members!
I'm pleased to present one of my better efforts from the Championship. It came with the White pieces in
round 7 against a young female player, Katherine
Shepherd. Katherine is a former member of the England Junior Squad and has a
FIDE rating of 1929 and an ECF grade of 173. She was a fellow competitor at the
last British Championship I played in, at the University of Warwick in 2015, in
which she defeated none other than Mark! She also has a number of notable wins
or draws against titled players, so I knew she was not to be taken lightly.
In the game I reverted to a romantic opening of my youth, the French Wing Gambit. I was introduced to this offbeat but enterprising gambit via a Nigel Davies video at the age of twelve and was instantly enamoured. Over the next decade, I used it frequently and with devastating effect, claiming the scalps of dozens of club and county players. However, all indications in the last few years pointed to it having passed its use-by-date. An increasing number of French adherents were finding antidotes to the gambit, equalising with worrying ease and steering the game down dreary paths that left few opportunities for dynamic play. After a fortunate draw against Mark in a Coventry League game, I decided that enough was enough and, with a heavy heart, cast my beloved opening onto the rubbish heap of history. Or so I thought until round 7 of the 2017 British Chess Championship when I once again assumed the mantle of the Wing Gambiteer! Up to that point in the tournament, I had opened with only 1.Nc3 and 1.d4, while the majority of my recently published White games began with 1.g3. None of these choices seemed palatable to me in the circumstances. Through my preparation, I learned that Katherine was well-acquainted with the kind of queen’s pawn openings that I play as White and while ordinarily I would have been content to gradually outplay her in a strategic game starting with 1.g3, I was loath to follow this path due to the tiring nature of a schedule that involved coaching before and after every one of my rounds. In the course of my preparation, I did however notice that she was an exclusive devotee of the French Defence against 1.e4. Memories of past glories with the Wing Gambit were invoked and I was overcome by pangs of nostalgia. Before I knew it, I once again had the position after 4.b4 set up on the chessboard and was engrossed in analysis. I confronted my worst fears - the Black responses that had once seemed to sound the death knell of my beloved opening - and discovered lines for White that appeared to offer excellent practical chances and led to play that resonated with the spirit of the opening. I took further confidence from the opening’s absence in my recently published games as Katherine would be unlikely to expect or prepare for it.
In the game I reverted to a romantic opening of my youth, the French Wing Gambit. I was introduced to this offbeat but enterprising gambit via a Nigel Davies video at the age of twelve and was instantly enamoured. Over the next decade, I used it frequently and with devastating effect, claiming the scalps of dozens of club and county players. However, all indications in the last few years pointed to it having passed its use-by-date. An increasing number of French adherents were finding antidotes to the gambit, equalising with worrying ease and steering the game down dreary paths that left few opportunities for dynamic play. After a fortunate draw against Mark in a Coventry League game, I decided that enough was enough and, with a heavy heart, cast my beloved opening onto the rubbish heap of history. Or so I thought until round 7 of the 2017 British Chess Championship when I once again assumed the mantle of the Wing Gambiteer! Up to that point in the tournament, I had opened with only 1.Nc3 and 1.d4, while the majority of my recently published White games began with 1.g3. None of these choices seemed palatable to me in the circumstances. Through my preparation, I learned that Katherine was well-acquainted with the kind of queen’s pawn openings that I play as White and while ordinarily I would have been content to gradually outplay her in a strategic game starting with 1.g3, I was loath to follow this path due to the tiring nature of a schedule that involved coaching before and after every one of my rounds. In the course of my preparation, I did however notice that she was an exclusive devotee of the French Defence against 1.e4. Memories of past glories with the Wing Gambit were invoked and I was overcome by pangs of nostalgia. Before I knew it, I once again had the position after 4.b4 set up on the chessboard and was engrossed in analysis. I confronted my worst fears - the Black responses that had once seemed to sound the death knell of my beloved opening - and discovered lines for White that appeared to offer excellent practical chances and led to play that resonated with the spirit of the opening. I took further confidence from the opening’s absence in my recently published games as Katherine would be unlikely to expect or prepare for it.
New Season - Early Fixtures
The provisional fixtures for the Leamington League have now been published on the LDCL website, but should be viewed with care at the moment as we still have a number of problems to resolve before they are finalised. However, we can at least be certain about the matches for the first few weeks:-
Leamington League
A team
Tue Sep 12 v Banbury A away
B team
Mon Sep 11 v Kenilworth C (H)
Wed Sep 27 v Daventry A (A)
C team
Mon Sep 11 v Kenilworth B (A)
Mon Sep 18 v Shirley A (A)
D team
Mon Sep 18 v Banbury E (H)
Mon Sep 25 v Nuneaton (H)
Coventry League
As soon as the fixtures are finalised (hopefully this week), they will be made available on this website so that you can all ink in the dates which your Match Captain would doubtless like you to keep free. Our Leamington League and Coventry League Squads are essentially the same as last season, so you will almost certainly be in the same team(s) as then.
Just a reminder that the captains this season are:-
Leamington League
A team and Open KO Cup - me
B team - Dave Shurrock
C team and U-700 Cup - Mike Johnson
D team and U-120 Cup - Steve Payne
Coventry League
Div 1 and KO Cup - me
Divisional Cup - Ben Graff
A new league season also means a new ECF membership year, so I hope everyone is responding promptly to their renewal e-mails from the ECF. And if anyone has still not paid their 2017 Abbey Club membership subs, you really need to do so now!
Leamington League
A team
Tue Sep 12 v Banbury A away
B team
Mon Sep 11 v Kenilworth C (H)
Wed Sep 27 v Daventry A (A)
C team
Mon Sep 11 v Kenilworth B (A)
Mon Sep 18 v Shirley A (A)
D team
Mon Sep 18 v Banbury E (H)
Mon Sep 25 v Nuneaton (H)
Coventry League
Divisional Cup
Tue Sep 26 v Nuneaton C (H)
Division 1
Tue Oct 3 v Rugby A (A)
As soon as the fixtures are finalised (hopefully this week), they will be made available on this website so that you can all ink in the dates which your Match Captain would doubtless like you to keep free. Our Leamington League and Coventry League Squads are essentially the same as last season, so you will almost certainly be in the same team(s) as then.
Just a reminder that the captains this season are:-
Leamington League
A team and Open KO Cup - me
B team - Dave Shurrock
C team and U-700 Cup - Mike Johnson
D team and U-120 Cup - Steve Payne
Coventry League
Div 1 and KO Cup - me
Divisional Cup - Ben Graff
A new league season also means a new ECF membership year, so I hope everyone is responding promptly to their renewal e-mails from the ECF. And if anyone has still not paid their 2017 Abbey Club membership subs, you really need to do so now!
Saturday, 5 August 2017
Grey Thursday ....... Briliant White Friday!
Things improved slightly after Wednesday's nadir, with all three of us drawing on Thursday, though Ben did manage to lose his morning game, so it was not all sweetness and light. But on the law of averages we were due a good day sometime and thankfully it arrived yesterday, when the KCC team chalked up a 4-0 scoreline.
Ben must be star of the show as he accounted for half the points/wins all by himself to finish on 2/5 in the Morning Open, and 3/5 in the U-180 Championship. So 50% overall, and a good performance against strong opposition. Paul reverted to an (unsound?) opening of his youth to overwhelm his young female opponent (who beat me in the 2015 Championship) with a brutal kingside attack that produced mate on the board. This took Paul to 3.5/7. My win was more sedate and owed everything to a one move oversight by my opponent which allowed me to win a pawn and swap queens off. The resultant position gave the lie to the myth that all rook endings are drawn. I am now on 3.5/6, but have no reason to feel happy as I haven't played a single opponent of a higher grade.
Finally, I must assume the role of KCC Style Correspondent, and report that for the last two days Paul has been guilty of fashion crimes by turning up wearing fewer clothes than anyone I have ever seen at a chess board. Maybe he got confused and thought that he was attending a power lifting event? I think Sir Stuart Milner-Barry or Harry Golombek would have had an instant coronary if they had found themselves seated opposite Paul. Less flesh from now on please, Paul!
Don't expect anymore reports from me as I have to dash back to Kenilworth tonight so that I can go to Merthyr Tydfil tomorrow for an 80th birthday party (not mine!). If it's not North Wales, its South Wales!
Ben must be star of the show as he accounted for half the points/wins all by himself to finish on 2/5 in the Morning Open, and 3/5 in the U-180 Championship. So 50% overall, and a good performance against strong opposition. Paul reverted to an (unsound?) opening of his youth to overwhelm his young female opponent (who beat me in the 2015 Championship) with a brutal kingside attack that produced mate on the board. This took Paul to 3.5/7. My win was more sedate and owed everything to a one move oversight by my opponent which allowed me to win a pawn and swap queens off. The resultant position gave the lie to the myth that all rook endings are drawn. I am now on 3.5/6, but have no reason to feel happy as I haven't played a single opponent of a higher grade.
Finally, I must assume the role of KCC Style Correspondent, and report that for the last two days Paul has been guilty of fashion crimes by turning up wearing fewer clothes than anyone I have ever seen at a chess board. Maybe he got confused and thought that he was attending a power lifting event? I think Sir Stuart Milner-Barry or Harry Golombek would have had an instant coronary if they had found themselves seated opposite Paul. Less flesh from now on please, Paul!
Don't expect anymore reports from me as I have to dash back to Kenilworth tonight so that I can go to Merthyr Tydfil tomorrow for an 80th birthday party (not mine!). If it's not North Wales, its South Wales!
Thursday, 3 August 2017
Black Wednesday
It wasn't quite as bad as Norman Lamont's experience in 1992, but yesterday was not kind to the KCC contingent at the British Championships. Half a point out of four is pretty disastrous, however, you cut it. Ben managed our sole draw in his morning tournament, so the afternoon session saw us go 0-0-0 - and I don't mean queenside castling.
Paul seemed to be playing a good controlled game against a WGM from Poland (how she qualifies for the British, I'm not sure!) but when I returned to his board around the time control, his position had been decimated and the end was inevitable. Something clearly went horribly wrong. I thought I was playing a good game, but near the time control my opponent found some good counterplay and I reacted badly. I was completely busted, but he played one inaccurate move (which won the exchange rather than the game!) and I found some clever moves to get my small army aiming at his king. I sacked a bishop which he couldn't take as it was perpetual, but declining it looked like possible suicide as my three pieces chased his king across the board. However, when I had to play one non-check, he found the only winning move - a far from obvious bishop retreat - and it was all over. Ben tells me he should have won his morning game, but in the afternoon he "played like a drain. And not a particularly good one."
Tuesday had been much better for us. Ben had two draws with Black against strong opposition, I got a draw after some strange adventures, and Paul won against one of those dreaded juniors by simply completely outplaying him.
So, we're all over half way now and the standings are:-
Paul 2/5
Me 2/4
Ben 1/3 and 1.5/3
All eyes are now on Paul to see if he will actually draw a game in the tournament or continue his run of decisive games. BTW, while Paul does battle today against an ungraded Irishman on Board 38, his extremely fortunate first round conqueror will be playing Gawain Jones on Board 2. Fine margins!
Paul seemed to be playing a good controlled game against a WGM from Poland (how she qualifies for the British, I'm not sure!) but when I returned to his board around the time control, his position had been decimated and the end was inevitable. Something clearly went horribly wrong. I thought I was playing a good game, but near the time control my opponent found some good counterplay and I reacted badly. I was completely busted, but he played one inaccurate move (which won the exchange rather than the game!) and I found some clever moves to get my small army aiming at his king. I sacked a bishop which he couldn't take as it was perpetual, but declining it looked like possible suicide as my three pieces chased his king across the board. However, when I had to play one non-check, he found the only winning move - a far from obvious bishop retreat - and it was all over. Ben tells me he should have won his morning game, but in the afternoon he "played like a drain. And not a particularly good one."
Tuesday had been much better for us. Ben had two draws with Black against strong opposition, I got a draw after some strange adventures, and Paul won against one of those dreaded juniors by simply completely outplaying him.
So, we're all over half way now and the standings are:-
Paul 2/5
Me 2/4
Ben 1/3 and 1.5/3
All eyes are now on Paul to see if he will actually draw a game in the tournament or continue his run of decisive games. BTW, while Paul does battle today against an ungraded Irishman on Board 38, his extremely fortunate first round conqueror will be playing Gawain Jones on Board 2. Fine margins!
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside
All 3 KCC members are now up and running at this year's British Championships in Llandudno.
Paul was first out of the blocks with a Saturday start in he Championship itself, and the black pieces against IM Craig Hanley. I was following his progress on-line during my own journey to Wales. At Oswestry he was already slightly better, and by the time I got to Llandudno his advantage was even bigger. But it was a very difficult and complex position, and mistakes started to occur (by both players) From being pawns up, Paul became position down, as White was able to march connected centre pawns forward to decisive effect. An unfortunate game for Paul, who was clearly wining at some points. He bounced back on Sunday with a straightforward win, but as I saw nothing of the game, I can't be any more specific. Yesterday, with Black against one of Wales' top players, Richard Dineley, Paul missed a chance to break out with a timely c5 pawn push, and then found himself on the backfoot as White used his space advantage and two bishops to great effect to win a well played game.
I began play in the over-50s on Sunday, and had a crazy game. I sacked a pawn out of the opening, but it was totally unsound. However, my Welsh opponent played too passively and when I sacked a second pawn to open the a and b files against his king I was winning. At the crucial moment I had a very long think. There were 4 candidate moves. I chose the second best, but the first (a rook sac) was +6 for me! Despite pushing right to the end my opponent defended well, and it was only a draw. I got my lost half a point back yesterday when yet another Welsh opponent blundered on move 40 to give me the win. I had burped a pawn on b7 early in the game and then spent a lot of moves hanging on to it as he chased my queen around. Finally I got my act together and began to target his weak kingside, but he defended very well. In time trouble I let him have the pawn back thinking I had a decisive attack, but there was a defence which should have led to a queen ending with me a pawn up. Thank goodness he missed it and walked into mate instead! Surprise news from this tournament is that GM John Nunn has already dropped half a point, and IM Paul Littlewood is only on 50%.
Ben only started play yesterday (Monday) but already has two games under his belt. He lost in the 5 day Open event in the morning (you will not be surprised to learn I was not present for this) but had a good win in the afternoon in Round 1 of the U-180 Championship. Playing against the older brother of an even stronger microbe who beat me earlier this year, Ben cheapoed his way to an extra piece in just 11 moves - and with the Black pieces to boot!
White: Rajeiv Ratnesan
Paul was first out of the blocks with a Saturday start in he Championship itself, and the black pieces against IM Craig Hanley. I was following his progress on-line during my own journey to Wales. At Oswestry he was already slightly better, and by the time I got to Llandudno his advantage was even bigger. But it was a very difficult and complex position, and mistakes started to occur (by both players) From being pawns up, Paul became position down, as White was able to march connected centre pawns forward to decisive effect. An unfortunate game for Paul, who was clearly wining at some points. He bounced back on Sunday with a straightforward win, but as I saw nothing of the game, I can't be any more specific. Yesterday, with Black against one of Wales' top players, Richard Dineley, Paul missed a chance to break out with a timely c5 pawn push, and then found himself on the backfoot as White used his space advantage and two bishops to great effect to win a well played game.
I began play in the over-50s on Sunday, and had a crazy game. I sacked a pawn out of the opening, but it was totally unsound. However, my Welsh opponent played too passively and when I sacked a second pawn to open the a and b files against his king I was winning. At the crucial moment I had a very long think. There were 4 candidate moves. I chose the second best, but the first (a rook sac) was +6 for me! Despite pushing right to the end my opponent defended well, and it was only a draw. I got my lost half a point back yesterday when yet another Welsh opponent blundered on move 40 to give me the win. I had burped a pawn on b7 early in the game and then spent a lot of moves hanging on to it as he chased my queen around. Finally I got my act together and began to target his weak kingside, but he defended very well. In time trouble I let him have the pawn back thinking I had a decisive attack, but there was a defence which should have led to a queen ending with me a pawn up. Thank goodness he missed it and walked into mate instead! Surprise news from this tournament is that GM John Nunn has already dropped half a point, and IM Paul Littlewood is only on 50%.
Ben only started play yesterday (Monday) but already has two games under his belt. He lost in the 5 day Open event in the morning (you will not be surprised to learn I was not present for this) but had a good win in the afternoon in Round 1 of the U-180 Championship. Playing against the older brother of an even stronger microbe who beat me earlier this year, Ben cheapoed his way to an extra piece in just 11 moves - and with the Black pieces to boot!
White: Rajeiv Ratnesan
Black: Ben Graff
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. 0-0 Bg7 6. d3 e6 7. Nc3 Ne7 8. Be3 d6 9. e5 Nd5 10. Ne4 Nxe3 11. Nxd6+ Qxd6 The game went on for some time, but Ben duly brought home the full point.
So all 3 of us already have a win to our names. Plus the sun is out. What's not to like? Actually, one thing. Seagulls are b****y noisy. To borrow a phrase from East Enders - they're doing my 'ead in!
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