Reasons to be Cheerful

Roy has (temporarily?) forgotten how to publish a post on the club blog, so has asked me to share with everyone the drama of last night's Division 3 match between Leamington B and Kenilworth D. I am happy to do this, as it makes fantastic reading, which can make the whole club very proud. Take it away, Roy.


We have recently had a large influx of new and junior players into the club. The team selected for this week's match reflected the club's wish to give juniors, in particular, exposure to adult league play rather than the wish to win the match at all costs.

As I said in a pre-match email "Although this might be a tough match - Keatan on top board for the first time and Gregory has not played a League game before - we can be confident of giving Leamington, at the very least, a good run for their money. With a favourable wind we have every chance of winning the match."

In the event, the opposition had a huge advantage in experience and a colossal grading advantage of - wait for it - 1,133!! An average of what? Well I'll tell you. 283 on each and every board! A floor wiping advantage you might, not unreasonably, think. 

So lets see how the match went. Both myself and Paul were in attendance. The analysis is mine so please do treat this with a sackfull of salt.First to finish was Zac (1341) playing only his second ever game for us, against Alex Kagalis (1571) on board three. Zac's 1.d4 was met with 1...c5 ( a Benoni Defence I believe) which I think flummoxed Zac, although he handled it fine after 2 dxc5. Nevertheless, Zac came under quite a bit of pressure before briefly equalizing in mid-game. Sadly he overlooked the danger to his queen, sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of the board in a crowed position. He lost his queen and resigned. But a creditable performance well deserving of a place in a team next season.

Next to finish was Steph (1377), playing her first match for the club, against Mick Nevin (1668) on board two in a Queen's Gambit Declined. After playing an inaccuracy early in the opening, Steph gave a valiant performance but was later forced to drop a pawn in order to save her exposed queen.  After dropping a further pawn and under tremendous pressure, Steph continually sought active moves and gave her opponent a good run for his money before finally succumbing.

Less positive supporters than Paul and myself may have been a little disheartened at the 2-0 score line. But we were aware of what was going on on boards one and four.

Keatan (1443) played Owen Clarke (1794) on top board and despite the huge grade difference of 351!!!!! had the upper hand from the outset and a beautiful knight sacrifice put his opponent under massive pressure with queen, rook, knight and bishop bearing down on an exposed King. Although this attack did not result in mate, Keatan did win a pawn. The advantage lay with Keatan when his opponent's time expired. A VERY impressive performance and attitude from Keatan (aged 15) whose use of time was an example to us all - well to me and Paul, anyway!

Brilliant though Keatan was and whose win brought us back into contention, the star of the show was undoubtedly Gregory (aged eleven, grade 1103) who was playing on bottom board against Charlie Corden (1364). Gregory broke the opening symmetry at about move seven, establishing a solid position which he held on to. He went on to win the exchange not flustered by the ghost of an attack against his king which he deftly sidestepped by pushing his h-pawn rather than recapturing on g6 - a mistake common to many a junior. Taking advantage of White's exposed king, Gregory managed to go a whole rook and three pawns up before giving the crowd a master display of how to win a simple endgame. HUGELY impressive play from Gregory who knew he had to win to save the match and despite a crowd of adults all gathered around was not at all phased by the pressure.

Last night's two heroes - Keatan (l) and Gregory (r) - plus Paul's report for the Coventry Chess Club Facebook page. There's a first for the KCC blog - two different reports of the same match!)

This is a result the team and club have every right to be extremely proud of!If there was a prize for best team result of the season this would surely win it!

Splendid words from Roy (and Paul). Plenty of reasons to be cheerful, not least that despite the fact that the D team is not being run primarily to win every match, it has gone back to the top of Division 3 after this latest result. So, plenty of reasons for a song as well!

Top of the Table!

Rather improbably, after our heavy defeat in the first game of the season, Kenilworth made it to the top of the Coventry League Division 1 table (just!) on Tuesday, after a 3-1 win over previous leaders Nuneaton A. The match odds were certainly tilted in our favour as Nuneaton were missing two first choice players, while we were able to welcome new member Bruce Baer into our side giving us a very meaty looking line up. Even though I was still on Board 1!

Mike was in total control from the very beginning on Board 4 against Thomas Glenn, and after winning an exchange he mopped up easily to put us ahead early on. There was quite a wait for the next result, but when it arrived it was more good news for us as Jude won a very interesting game against Tony Green on Board 2. After Tony's trademark Philidor had featured the standard Nxe4 and d5 combo to simplify the position in the centre, the game went into a queenless middlegame featuring two rooks and two bishops each. White had a pawn on e5 and Black a pawn on e4 - I don't think they hopped over each other but how else could that position have arisen?! White's pawn went to e6 and Black's to e3, each protected by a  bishop - and neither got taken. Black then captured a rook on d7 bringing that e pawn closer still to queening, and though Tony was able to round it up, it cost him an exchange in the process. I wasn't at all sure who was better, as Black had at least 2 pawns for the exchange, and a pair of bishops can be a formidable force. But Jude got his rook working brilliantly and it managed to capture quite a few pawns to almost level things up, and when a pair of bishops came off, he had rook and 2 against bishop and 3 - all on the kingside. But White's king was able to move in on the light squares to force the win. Exciting stuff - but was it sound? I have no idea!!

Bruce had initially been pressing against Colin Green on Board 3, but couldn't quite turn the initiative into anything decisive, and after some middle game manoeuvring the players reached a queen ending where Colin briefly had an extra pawn but his king was wide open for a perpetual and a draw soon resulted, which gave us a match winning 2.5 points. I finished shortly afterwards, with another draw against Phil Briggs. I was much better in the middlegame but missed a couple of ways to turn the screw and Phil defended to reach a near equal ending, where my bishop pair against his bishop and knight was balanced by his extra 3 minutes on the clock. So 3-1 to us and first place in the table by a miniscule game point advantage.

For those of you wondering why there was no report of our previous week's KO Cup match against Nuneaton C, I can categorically state that it wasn't because I couldn't be bothered to write one. Rather, it was because Nuneaton couldn't be bothered to travel, having been unable to raise a full team. So we advanced to a quarter-final against Coventry University (a new opponent!!) without having to make any moves.

Did everyone notice that it was very cold on Tuesday night? I had to scrape my car windscreen on the way to the match, and on the way home, which was chilly work in sub-zero temperatures. But a small price to pay for an excuse to include this old classic. Little Feat and Bonnie Raitt. A match made in heaven!

Another 64 Squares of Despair - Concluding the Film Trilogy of Ingmar Pageman

Part 3 starts with a bang, as we are treated to one of the greatest moments in cinema history. But unfortunately you'll just have to take my word for that, as the ****** blog tells me that I have exceeded the maximum file size. Even though I have gone to the considerable trouble of stringing this flight of fancy out to three instalments! I guess this will have to go as a bonus scene on the 3CD Collector's Edition.

Meanwhile, back at the story. Joshua, a draw offer hanging heavy in the air, thinks for a long time ........ and plays on. This man doesn't know the meaning of the word draw. Mind you, there are a lot of other words he doesn't know the meaning of, too. I get fed up of watching and return to the player's rest area. The inevitable happens as soon as I turn my back - they agree a draw. I have missed the action yet again. The A team has won by 3-1, but the B team can hold their heads up high. The Director decides to claim the film was an art-house study of ennui and the tragedy of the human condition, rather than the all-action thriller he had intended. Fade to grey.

64 Squares of Despair - A trilogy

A major new film series by Mark Page
(Filmed in Glorious, Full Colour Mobilovision)

With An All Star Cast of Hollywood Greats

The critics loved it, with most agreeing that John Malkovich (as Joshua Pink) stole the show with his moving mix of wit and angst. Mark Lester, as cheeky chappie Jude Shearsby, slightly disappointed by never bursting into song as he had in Oliver! but this was a solid all round performance by an ensemble cast of consummate professionals. Unfortunately, the film has bombed at the Box Office. Straight to video. The Director is very unlikely to be entrusted with the funds to make another film. Ever.

64 More Squares of Despair - A Sequel by Ingmar Pageman

After the torpor of the earlier film, the sequel starts with tumultuous action.

A result! Draw on Board 1 as Jude's slight endgame advantage ebbs away when Mike trades knight for bishop. The Director completely misses the moment! But the players are soon conducting a post mortem in a desperate attempt to uncover the chess truths which eluded them in the game. A sinister figure (Death? The Devil??) looks on and mischievously throws in anarchic suggestions.

Unbelievably the action intensifies. There is another result. The immaculately attired Andrew P has despatched the now even more dishevelled Phil, and modestly accepts the congratulations of the admiring mob, before vanishing mysteriously into the night. Having never taken his coat off the entire evening. Suspicious or what??

The excitement of the match has dissipated, with the A team already up to 2.5 points. But the struggle of the individual for redemption and truth continues on Board 4. Bernard is pressing, his knight clearly superior to Joshua's hapless bishop. White's d5 pawn is about to be lost. Then pandemonium - a distraction sacrifice on the queenside gets Black some much needed activity, at the cost of giving White an extra passed a pawn. But Bernard's clock is ticking ever faster and is now down to 3 minutes. Lente, lente, currite noctis equi. He can't stand the tension and offers a draw, despite his extra pawn.  The End. Another cliff-hanger as the resolution is postponed to Part 3.

64 Squares of Despair - A Film by Ingmar Pageman

A World First! Possibly. Last night's Kenilworth A v Kenilworth B match must surely have been the first Leamington League match to have been recorded on video. And more than that, the first to have been made into a block buster of a feature film, with an all star cast.  Unroll that red carpet and get ready for the World Premiere

But first, an explanation of why I was roving around the Abbey Club instead of sweating blood over the board as part of the match. Unfortunately Bernard C, who was due to be my opponent, was unable to play due to being unwell, and Bernard R, standing in as B Team Captain for the State-side Ben, could not find a fourth player at short notice. So I won by default, and the A team were 1 up as play started on the remaining 3 boards and the cameras started rolling.

The excitement is palpable, the tension clearly etched on the players' faces. The stakes are high. Failure is not an option when a town's pride and an individual's ego are on the line. The camera probes remorselessly, looking for signs of weakness and human frailty. Joshua's witty aside punctures the tension and momentarily eases the highly febrile atmosphere.

Well into the first hour and all three games remain tense. Jude has a slight edge against Mike on Board 1, but the gnarled veteran looks confident of holding. He has been here a thousand times, and faced down plenty of new gunslingers. Bernard is comfortable on Board 4 against Joshua "Mr 100%" Pink. Only on Board 3 do the B team look under pressure. Andrew P, on his belated seasonal debut, is turning the screw on Phil, grabbing space and forcing the Black pieces to poor squares. The Director goes walk about and after a brilliant long tracking shot (reminiscent of Hitchcock's 1948 masterpiece Rope) the camera finally pans onto two familiar faces. They seem transfixed by the drama and theatre of the struggle. (Oxford v Arsenal in the FA Cup on the TV.)  What are they doing there? Have they no homes to go to? Are they harbingers of doom?

The action ends. The viewer is intrigued, desperate to know what happens. What dreadful fate lies in store for the collection of vulnerable players trapped in that small room??

The sequel will reveal all!

Mid-Season Progress Report

Well, its just a few days to the return Kenilworth A v Kenilworth B Division 1 match that marks the start of the second half of the LDCL season, so it seems like a good time to assess the club's league and cup performances so far.

Actually, its far from that, as the headline statistics show:-

Leamington League

Kenilworth A - Div 1 - P6 W6 D0 L0 - Pts 12 - Position 1/8

Kenilworth B - Div 1 - P7 W2 D1 L4 - Pts 5 - Position 5/8

Kenilworth C - Div 2 - P5 W1 D1 L3 - Pts 3 - Position 6/7

Kenilworth D - Div 3 - P7 W3 D2 L2 - Pts 8 - Position 3/8

Open KO Cup - beat Banbury (walkover!) and play Solihull in the semi-final

U8750 Cup - lost to Leamington

U1600 Cup - beat Leamington and play Shirley in the semi-final

Coventry League

Kenilworth - Div 1 - P5 W3 D1 L1 - Pts 7 - Position 2/6

KO Cup Team - beat Nuneaton C and play Coventry University in the Quarter Final

The LDCL A team are clearly the star performers so far, with not a single individual game lost yet, and some very heavy hitters in the points department. Jude, in a remarkable start to his A team Board 1 career, has managed 5/6, a score matched by me on Board 2, while Joshua has weighed in with a mere 5/5 and Andy, Mike and Bernard C have contributed a combined 4/5.

Our C and D teams might not have achieved quite such stellar results, but it has to be remembered that neither of them is single-mindedly pursuing league success. Promotion for either would rather overstretch our resources, so their priorities are to provide opportunities at the right level for our membership - and given the very encouraging influx of new members, we find ourselves in the unusual situation of having rather too many players, until we can address this situation for next season. So both Bernard and Roy, as C & D team captains, are focussed on sharing the playing opportunities around. Anyone remember Claudio Ranieri's nickname at Chelsea? The Tinkerman. Well, we have 2 of them, and already each team has used 8 different players (4 making their debuts for us), with several more eager to join them during the second half of the season. Having said which, the C team has been a bit below par, with - rather distressingly! - Ed being the only player to have amassed more than 1 point so far! Quite a contrast with the D team, where Katya, Roy, Keatan and Harry have all been points machines when they've played! Finally, a word for the B team, which has been consistently competitive in Division 1 again, despite facing - exclusively - A teams. They can give anyone a tough match, as our A team discovered last season, and may discover again next week!

We are not going to repeat our 2021-22 performance and get all three of our teams through to the LDCL Team KO Finals, as the U8750 side put up no sort of defence of its trophy this time around and crashed out heavily at the first hurdle. But the other two teams are through to their respective semi-finals, so cup silverware is still a possibility.

Our single Division 1 team in the Coventry League has had a pretty good first half of the season, especially given the disastrous start we made in what will forever be known as the Covid-Gate match against Nuneaton A. But after a clean sweep against the 3 Warwick University teams and a gritty draw against Coventry A, we sit in a respectable 2nd position, two points behind Nuneaton A who look clear favourites to lift the title. Even though the first round of the KO Cup is still a week away, we are already through to the Quarter Final against Coventry University, as our intended opponents, Nuneaton C, were unable to raise a team.  So our defence of the trophy is alive and kicking!

Completely random choice of music this week, but - naturally - its more high quality stuff. I can hardly believe its 50 years old. Almost makes me want to weep. And is it me, or does the lead singer remind you (even just a bit?) of Jim Plaskett??

2022 Christmas Quiz - the Answers

Mea Culpa. It seems that despite spending what seemed like 10,000 hours assembling this year's quiz, I still managed to make several mistakes with some of the questions. Thanks to Joshua and Bernard R for pointing these out, though a bit less glee on their part at discovering my fallibility would have been welcome. The questions affected were numbers 8 and 59, while numbers 1 and 26 were apparently slightly ambiguous - and yes I agree, this was very shoddy work by the Quizmaster. Anyway, the correct versions of the two clearly wrong questions, for anyone remotely interested, should have been:-

8 What did the relatively unknown John Keynes and Samuel Meredith do 8 times and 6 times respectively, that GMs/future GMs Luke McShane, Michael Stean and Daniel Fernandez only managed 3 times each?

59 Name the 5 players in the England team that won the World U-26 Team Championships, ahead of the USSR, in 1978 in Mexico City.

The issues with questions 1 and 26 are discussed below - so, spoiler alert, look away now if you don't want to see the answers yet.

1	Name the players in these World Championship Matches:- a) Havana 1889 b) New York 1890-91 c) Moscow 1896-97 d) Berlin 1910 (1 pt each - 8 pts total)	a) Steinitz & Chigorin b) Steinitz & Gunsberg c) Lasker & Steinitz d) Lasker & Janowski (The 1910 Lasker-Schlechter match was played in Vienna and Berlin)
2	Since 1992,   Peter Svidler has famously won the Russian Championship 8 times. Name the 4 other players who have managed to win the title more than once in the same period. (1 pt each - 4 pts total)	Alexander Morozevich (‘98. ‘07) Dmitry Andreikin (‘12, ’18) Evgeny Tomashevsky (’15, ’19) Ian Nepomniatchi (‘10, ‘20)
3	Who is the only man to win the World Junior Championship title twice? (1 pt)	Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2003 & 2005)
4	Who is the only English player ever to have beaten Tigran Petrosian (World Champion, 1963-69)? Where, and in what year, did this occur? And how many moves did the game last? (within 5 either way) (I pt each – 4 pts total)	John Nunn Interpolis Tournament, Tilburg (NL) in 1982 Just 20 moves!!
5	Karpov and Kasparov played 5 World Championship matches.   a) Name the 6 cities in which the matches were played. (1 pt each)   b) What was the points difference between the players over these 5 matches (144 games in total!) (1 pt) (7 pts total)	Moscow (1984, 1985) London (1986) Leningrad (1986) Seville (1987) New York (1990) Lyons (1990) 2 (Kasparov 73/Karpov 71)
6	a) Who preceded Yuri Averbakh as the world’s oldest Grand Master until his death in 2010, at the age of 99 yrs and 3 days? b) How old was Averbakh’s opponent in his last ever published game, played in 2017 when he was 96? c) And who succeeded Averbakh, after his demise in 2022, as the world’s oldest GM? (1 pt each – 3 pts total)	a) Andor Lilienthal (Hungary) b) 4 years old! (Misha Osipov) c) Aleksandar Matanovic (Serbia, b 23.05.30)
7	What was the FIDE Budget for 2022? Any figure within 1 million Euros either way gets a point! (1 pt)	12.84 million Euros
8	What did the relatively unknown John Keynes and Samuel Meredith do 8 and 6 times respectively, that GMs/future GMs Luke McShane, Michael Stean and Daniel Fernandez only managed 3 times each? (1 pt)	Number of games won in the Oxford v Cambridge Varsity Match.
9	a) Which GM, infamous for two major cheating controversies at the board, served 9 months in prison for vehicular manslaughter? b) Against which player did he retract a losing move at the 1967 Sousse Interzonal, in an incident which generated a less than flattering nickname? c) And who was the opponent when he was accused of throwing a game for $400 at the 1970 Palma de Mallorca Interzonal? (1 pt each – 3 pts total)	a) Milan Matulovic   b) Istvan Bilek (Hungary)   c) Mark Taimanov (USSR)
10	Which two Grand Masters had a street brawl in St Louis in 2018? (1 pt each - 2 pts total)	Hikaru Nakamura and Eric Hansen

And here's the evidence for Question 10. Though its not exactly a Rumble in the Jungle, or a Thriller in Manilla!

11	Since 2010 Magnus Carlsen has only twice failed to win against opponents rated under 2500. Name the 2 players who have held him to a draw.       (1 pt each – 2 pts total)	Nino Batsiashvili (2015 Qatar Open) Geir Sune Tallaksen Ostmoe (2022 Norwegian team Championship) (Note: Ivan Schitco  was rated 2509 when drawing at the 2022 Olympiad, Moldova v Norway)
12	Character played by Oscar Homolka: “Do you play chess?” Character played by Michael Caine: “Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating.” In which 1966 film did this exchange occur, and who wrote the novel on which it was based? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)	Funeral in Berlin   Len Deighton
13	a) Who was the first person to not win a single game in an official World Championship Match? (1 pt) b) And how many classical games has Magnus Carlsen won and lost (1 pt each) in his 5 World Championship Matches? (3 pts total)	a) Frank Marshall (1907) v Lasker     b) Won 11, Lost 2
14	Between 2009-22, the 14 US Championships have been shared between just 5 players. Name them.         (1 pt each – 5 pts total)	Wesley So (2017/20/21) Hikaru Nakamura (2009/12/15/19) Sam Shankland (2018) Fabiano Caruana (2016/22) Gata Kamsky (2010/11/13/14 – and 1991 for good measure!)
15	Name the Norwegian player (peak rating 2264), arbiter and organiser who has written 5 crime novels in which Inspector Kolbjorn Kristiansen (K2) and the wheelchair bound Patricia Borchmann are the leading protagonists. (And very good the books are, too!) (1 pt)	Hans Olav Lahlum
16	Which eminent critic and man of letters (1819-1900) was a Vice-President of the British Chess Association, and in regular correspondence with Henry Bird? Clue: his 6 year marriage to Effie Gray was famously never consummated. (1 pt)	John Ruskin
17	Who was the only non-GM to play in a Grand Chess Tour event in 2022? (1 pt)	IM David Gavrilescu (Romania), in the Warsaw Superbet Rapid & Blitz
18	Which GM played 1 e4 c5 2 Qg4 against SP Sethuraman, a 2600+ GM, in an important play-off game at the 2021 Sunway Sitges Open? (1 pt)	Lucas van Foreest (and he won!)
19	a) Which World Champion had a cat called Chess? b) Which super-GM (the best chess commentator in the world!) has a chihuahua called Chessy?(Spelling uncertain!) c) Which GM’s daughter is this super-GM married to? d) And which super-GM (possibly the second best chess commentator in the world) has a dog that is usually referred to on air as Doggo? (1 pt each – 4 pts total)	a) Alexander Alekhine b) Peter Leko   c) Arshak Petrosian   d) Peter Svidler
20	Which GM is an elected member of the Dutch Senate? And which GM played professional football for 9 seasons, and made 8 appearances for his country, scoring one goal? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)	Loek van Wely Simen Agdestein (Lyn Oslo and Norway)
21	Who literally fell off his chair at the 2021 World Blitz Championship after blundering into mate against Tigran Petrosian (no, not the famous one!)? And which player (and chess author) collapsed at the end of the 1954 British Championship, after losing a last round game that would have given him a tie for 1st place? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)	Polish IM, Pavel Teclaf       Gerald Abrahams (author of The Chess Mind)

And here's the evidence - if it were needed, because I can hardly believe you haven't seen this before - for the first part of Question 21.

22	Identify these GMs from their online usernames:- a) Atomrod b) DrNykterstein c) Chefshouse d) Lordillidan  (1 pt each - 4 pts total)		a) Keith Arkell b) Magnus Carlsen c) Ding Liren d) Richard Rapport
23	How many times were the following World Champions married:- Capablanca Alekhine Spassky  (I pt each - 3 pts total)		2 4 3
24	a) Unknown new GM: “Good-day, Grand Master Korchnoi. We are now colleagues.” Korchnoi: “ You are no colleague of mine.  You are a colleague of …..” Which Yugoslav GM did Korchnoi reputedly now disparagingly name? b) Korchnoi (in winning position): Do you speak English? Unknown opponent (possibly GM Al Modiahki): Yes What did Korchnoi now say? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		a) Mato Damjanovic         b) Then why don’t you resign?
25	a) Who once famously claimed: “There is a God and he is not Bulgarian!”  b) Where did he say it?  c) And who had he just beaten to prompt this remark?  (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		a} Nigel Short b) Wijk aan Zee (2008) c) Ivan Cheparinov
26	When Captain Kirk played Mister Spock at 3D Chess, who won? (1 pt)		Perhaps surprisingly, it was Captain Kirk! (Though a would-be Trekkie tells me there was a match won by Spock. So take a point whichever answer you chose! It's all the same to me!)
27	Identify the 3 most recent holders of the record for the longest unbeaten streak at elite level:- a)       95 games from 1973-74 b)      100 games from Aug 2017 - Nov 2018 c)       125 games from Aug 2018 - Oct 2020  (1      pt each - 3 pts total)		a} Mikhail Tal b} Ding Liren c} Magnus Carlsen
28	a) What chess World Championship took place (partially) at the Sibree Hall in Coventry?   b) Where was the rest of the event played?  c) Who won? d) And which English player came second?  (1 pt each – 4 pts total )		a) The first ever World Junior Chess Championship, 1951 – Rds 1 & 2 were held in Coventry b) Birmingham University c) Borislav Ivkov (Yugoslavia) d) Malcolm Barker
29	Which 2022 Grand Chess Tour participant responded to the question, “What are you goals for this event?” with the answer, “To eat all the sandwiches!” (1 pt)		The one and only Anton Korobov (Ukraine) This is possibly the only Un-Google-able question, other than 36b, in the Quiz.
30	Of which IM & Honorary GM compatriot, a national champion and 12 times Olympiad player, did Jan Hein Donner write: “He hasn’t got a clue. He is the worst player in the whole wide world…… It is a sad thing that a player of his level must rate officially as the strongest in Holland…… Ugh!” (1 pt)		Lodewijk Prins
31	The BCF Laws and Regulations sub-committee of 1950 had four members (JT Boyd, W Ritson Morry, W Winter and AF Stammwitz), supported  by the BCF Hon Sec, Frank Chetwynd. What, ironically in the circumstances, linked 4 of these 5 names? And who was the odd man out?  (1 pt each - 2 pts total)		Four had spent time in prison.   Only JT Boyd had not. They don’t have Laws and Regulations sub-committees like that anymore!
32	In which 3 countries has Anish Giri lived for at least 5 years?  (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		a) Russia (1994-2002) b) Japan (2002-2008) c) Netherlands (2008-present)
33	Name any 10 of the 26 Russian Grand Masters who signed the Open Letter to Putin demanding an end to the war with Ukraine.     (1 pt each – 10 pts total)		Any 10 from:- Kirill Alekseenko Igor Berdichevsky Maksim Chigaev Anton Demchenko Daniil Dubov Andrei Esipenko Artur Gabrielian Evgeny Gleizerov Valentina Gunina Ildar Khairullin Alexander Khalifman Mikhail Kobalia Alexandria Kosteniuk Dmitry Kryakvin Igor Lysyj Maxim Matlakov Alexander Motylev Evgeny Najer Ian Nepomniachtchi Nikita Petrov Pavel Ponkratov Ivan Rozum Alexandr Shimanov Peter Svidler Pavel Tregubov Daniil Yuffa
34	Identify the following chess legends:- a) Born Wroclaw, Poland 1862; died Munich, Germany 1934 b) Born Somerville, USA 1872; died Philadelphia, USA 1906 c) Born Rostov, Russia 1887; died Paris, France 1956 d) Born Odessa, USSR, 1925; died Peredelkino, Russia 1998 ( 1 pt each – 4 pts total)		a) Siegbert Tarrasch b) Harry Nelson Pillsbury c) Savielly Tartakower d) Efim Geller
35	Which two Chinese GMs played a 3 game match in 2022 that sounded like they were crying?  (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		Bu – Hou (Boo hoo – geddit?!) (Bu Xiangzhi – Hou Yifan)
36	a) Name the 6 members of the Hungarian team that broke the long standing (excluding the boycotted 1976 Olympiad in Haifa) USSR monopoly on the Olympiad when triumphing in Buenos Aires in 1978.     b) And a bonus question – which of the 6 got mated by the Kenilworth Chess Club Organiser in a 1979 simultaneous display in Coventry?  (1 pt each – 7 pts total)		a) Lajos Portisch Zoltan Ribli Gyula Sax Andras Adorjan Istvan Csom Laszlo Vadasz   b) Istvan Csom
37	And name the 6 members of the USSR team that “only” won the silver medal from that same Olympiad.     ( 1 pt each – 6 pts total)		Boris Spassky Tigran Petrosian Lev Polugaevsky Boris Gulko Oleg Romanishin Rafael Vaganian
38	Which future super-GM lost first place on tiebreak in consecutive years in the World U-10 and World U-12 Championships? (1 pt)		Ding Liren (2003 & 2004)
39	a) When Karjakin was suspended for 6 months by the FIDE Ethics Committee in March 2022, which other Russian GM was found not guilty of a similar disrepute charge? b) Which super-GM said that Karjakin would be “a very interesting subject for a scientist”? c) And which super-GM said of Karjakin, “I think he has lost his mind in the last couple of months”? (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		a) Sergei Shipov     b) Daniil Dubov c) Wesley So
40	Who was the first English born person to be awarded a Grand Master title by FIDE? Clue: it wasn’t Tony Miles! (1 pt)		Comins Mansfield was made a GM for Chess Composition in 1972.
41	What is particularly significant about the game Francisco De Castellvi – Narcisco Vinoles? (1 pt)		Oldest recorded game of chess, dating from 1475, and played in Valencia
42	a) Who is the youngest player ever to achieve a rating of 2700? b) At what age did he do this? c) And talking of ratings, which player has a lifetime live rating peak of 2799.6? So near, yet so far away! (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		a) Wei Yi (China)  b) 15 years old   c) Teimour Radjabov
43	Tony Miles famously beat Karpov at the 1980 European team Championships, but which other English player also won (against Lev Polugaevsky) with Black in the 4-4 draw between England and the USSR? (1 pt)		John Nunn
44	These people have all given their names to opening variations. What nationality were they? a) Caro b) Kann c) McCutcheon d) Winawer e) Richter f) Trompowsky g) Grob h) Morra i) Breyer j) Colle (1 pt each – 10 pts total)	a) British – Horatio Caro b) Austrian – Marcus Kann c) American – John Lindsay McCutcheon d) Polish - Szymon Winawer e) German – Kurt Richter f) Brazilian – Octavio Trompowsky g) Swiss – Henri Grob h) French – Pierre Morra i) Hungarian – Gyula Breyer j) Belgian – Edgard Colle
45	In which US states are the following, all locations of famous 20th century tournaments?  a) Cambridge Springs (1904) b) Lake Hopatcong (1926) c) Lone Pine (1971-81)   And name the winners of (a) and (b), and the two players who won (c) more than once (each had one outright win and one tie for 1st):-  (1 pt each – 7 pts total)		a) Pennsylvania b) New Jersey c) California   a) Frank Marshall b) Jose Raul Capablanca c) Vladimir Liberzon (Israel) and Svetozar Gligoric (Yugoslavia)
46	Name the only two English players to have won the Wijk aan Zee tournament. And how many times did each win? And which player has won the tournament the most times – and how many? (1 pt each - 6 pts total)		John  Nunn (3 wins, incl 1 tie) Nigel Short (2 wins, incl 1 tie) Magnus Carlsen has 8 wins (incl 1 tie)
47	a) Who, in May 2022, scored his final 2 GM Norms (in classical chess) in less than 24 hours?    b) And which fellow national was awarded the GM title in 2022, 11 years after her first norm? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		Frederik Svane (Germany) – firstly in a Hamburg tournament, and the next afternoon in the Bundesliga. Elizabeth Paehtz (who became the 40th ever female holder of the full GM title)
48	Name 5 pairs of siblings, both of whom hold the full GM title.   (Clue: There are 3 pairs of sisters, and 6 pairs of brothers to choose from.)       (1 pt per pair - 5 pts total)		Any 5 from the following pairs:- Polgar Kosintseva Muzychuk Horvath Mastrovasilis Svane Van Foreest Vovk Zhigalko
49	The USSR beat Britain 18.5-1.5 in a double round match at Caxton Hall, London in 1954 (winning 10-0 in Rd 1!). Which three British players managed to get a draw? (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		Hugh Alexander (v Smyslov) William Fairhurst (v Boleslavsky) Anne Sunnucks (v Zvorikina)
50	Name the 6 teams in the Open Section at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad that did not have a single FIDE rated player in their 5 person squad.   (1 pt each)     And which European country had two female players on the top three boards in the Open Section of the 2022 Olympiad? (1 pt) (7 pts total)		Bhutan Chad Comoros Islands Equatorial Guinea Niger St Kitts and Nevis Luxembourg (Elvira Behrend and Fiona Steil-Antoni)
51	Which former World Blitz Champion lost 8 blitz games in a row in a 2022 international tournament? And where did it happen? And which GM did this former Blitz World Champion beat later in the year in classical chess in just 10 moves at their national championship? (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		Lenier Dominguez, at the St Louis Rapid and Blitz Elshan Moradiabadi at the 2022 US Championships
52	Which British company unsuccessfully tried to sponsor a 2 game match between Bobby Fischer and an English player in 1973? And which English player was to be Fischer’s opponent? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		Clarks Shoes (yes, really!)    William Hartston
53	Which English GM shares a name with a character (now deceased) in The Archers? And the surname of which (titled) competitor at the 2022 US Championships contained two famous motor manufacturers? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		Mark Hebden   WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki (2022 US Women’s Championship)
54	Which World Champion lost a game at the 2003 European Team Championships when his mobile phone went off – and what was particularly ironic about this? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		FIDE World Champion, Ruslan Ponomariov. It was a friend ringing to wish him a Happy Birthday!
55	a) Which super-GM is a brand ambassador for Lenovo computers? b) Which young GM signed a sponsorship deal in 2022 with a Singapore company, worth a reported $1.5 million over 5 years? c) Which female IM is a brand ambassador for Ford cars? d) And which two sporting mega stars were pictured playing chess against each other in a 2022 advert for Louis Vuitton? (1 pt each – 5 pts total)		a) Jan-Krzysztof Duda    b) Arjun Erigaisi    c) Laura Unuk d) Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
56	Which GM resigned after 1 move against Magnus Carlsen in a 2022 online game? And what was Carlsen’s first move (as Black), to which he took such extreme exception? (1 pt each – 2 pts total)		Rauf Mamedov    1…..g5
57	a) Which French GM was subsequently banned for cheating at the 2010 Chess Olympiad? b) Who was the non-playing French Team Captain (a GM) who was also banned? c) And who was the French IM who was also banned for transmitting computer suggested moves to the Captain? (1 pt each – 3 pts total)		a) Sebastien Feller   b) Arnaud Hauchard  c) Cyril Marzolo
58	a) The first 4 women to be awarded the full GM title came from just 2 countries. Name the countries.   b) Of the 40 women to be full GMs, only 4 are still under the age of 30. Name them. (1 pt each – 6 pts in total)		a) USSR – OK, you can have Georgia as well! - (Gaprindashvili and Chiburdanidze) and Hungary (Susan and Judit Polgar) b) Hou Yifan (28), Lei Tingjie (25), Aleksandra Goryachkina (24), Zhansaya Abdumalik (22)
59	Name the 5 players in the England team that won the World U-26 Team Championships, ahead of the USSR, in 1978 in Mexico City.     (1 pt each – 5 pts total)		Jonathan Mestel Jon Speelman Shaun Taulbut David Goodman Jonathan Kinlay
60	Name the 5 players in the England team that won the World U-26 Team Championships in 1986 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.       And which English player won the World U-12 title at the same venue/time? (He also won the World U-16 title in 1991.) (1 pt each - 6 pts total)		James Howell Stuart Conquest Peter Wells John Hawksworth Neil McDonald Future GM Dharshan Kumaran

So there you have it - 200 points available, and my extensive market research (2 people) that anyone with a couple of hours spare, and a search engine to hand, should be able to score around 180 without too much effort. Quite probably, though, only 198 answers can be successfully Googled, although the Law of Averages does suggest that the other two could have been guessed by some people as they both have a limited number of possibilities. So 100% is possibly less difficult to achieve than I imagined. Though it would still hardly be a straightforward task - so many congratulations if you made it.

I think I can fairly safely say that there won't be a 2023 Quiz of this magnitude, as all the enthusiasm I had when I started putting this together (about 10 months ago) has long since drained out of me. But hopefully an idea for some other form of chess related mental test will come to mind by next Christmas. Though, you shouldn't count on it.

I had thought that I was rather late posting the answers this year, but looking back I find that it was January 3rd when the 2021 answers were published, so I am on time. Which is a bit of a blow, as my intended claim to have been "running behind" would not be correct, thus ruining the link to my intended choice of accompanying video. But regular readers will know, only too well, that I don't let mere trifles like accuracy and correctness get in the way of my song selections. So, here's the one and only Jackson Browne to draw down the curtain on 2022's Quiz, and get us up and running (on empty) in 2023.

What a performance. And what a song. I want this played at my funeral!