The Gazette
May 2017
Registered Charity Number 263049
Editor:
Julie Leonard, 42 Beckford Road, Alderton, Tewkesbury GL20 8NL
Tel: 01242 620643; Email: [email protected]
BCA Website Address:
www.braillechess.org.uk
Email:
[email protected]
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/braillechess
@braillechess
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BrailleChess
BCA Officers 2017-18
Chairman:
Norman Wragg OBE, 2 Chorley Avenue, Fulwood, Sheffield S10 3RP
Tel: 0114 230 5995, Email: [email protected]
Secretary:
Guy Whitehouse, The Flat, 63 The Parade, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5BB
Tel: 01164 296554, Email: [email protected]
Treasurer:
Gill Smith, 58 Foxfield Avenue, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 0BW
Tel: 01454 885045, Email: [email protected]
Website Coordinator:
Chris Ross, 83 Far End, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN5 5FN
Tel: 01604 750856, Email: [email protected]
Publicity Officer:
Voldi Gailans, 65 Donald Drive, Chadwell Heath, Romford RM6 5EB
Tel: 02085 999572, Email: [email protected]
Correspondence Chess Director: Paul Benson, 242 The Glen, Palacefields, Runcorn WA7 2TE
Tel: 01928 711734, Email: [email protected]
Audio Librarian:
Mark Kirkham, 35 Hallamshire Close, Sheffield S10 4FJ
Mobile: 07906 387187, Email: [email protected]
Membership Secretary:
Mark Hague, 6 Maclise House, Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4JJ
Tel: 0207 8341742, Email: [email protected]
Junior BCA Representative: Post currently vacant
Chairs of Sub-committees
Finance and Fundraising: Norman Wragg, Email: [email protected]
Information, Communication and Technology: Chris Ross, Email: [email protected]
Technical: Guy Whitehouse, Email: [email protected]
Tournament: Steve Burnell, Email: [email protected]
Non-Committee Posts
Congress Support Officer: Mark Kirkham, Email: [email protected]
Friendly Games Coordinator: Denis Warren, Tel: 01582 575905, Email: [email protected]
IBCA Secretary: Steve Hilton, Tel: 01475 731944; Email: [email protected]
Periodicals Distributor: Richard Harrington, 65 Mosaic House, Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead HP2 5YG
Tel: 01442 258643; Email: [email protected]
Representative to ECF Council: Owen Phillips, Email: [email protected]
BCA Fund-raiser: Julia Scott, Email: [email protected]
Junior Development Officer: Voldi Gailans, Email: [email protected]
Note: The views expressed in the Gazette do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the BCA, nor those of
the editor.
CONTENTS
Editorial .......................................................................................................................................................................3
Forthcoming Events .....................................................................................................................................................3
All Under One Roof.....................................................................................................................................................4
Notes on the AGM .......................................................................................................................................................5
Treasurer’s Report .......................................................................................................................................................6
Membership Secretary’s Report ..................................................................................................................................6
24th Windermere Chess Theme Week ........................................................................................................................7
Windermere 2017 Poem ..............................................................................................................................................8
25th Windermere Chess Theme Break 2018 ..............................................................................................................10
AGM Tournament Report 2017.................................................................................................................................10
2
ECF National Club Championships 2017..................................................................................................................12
2016 BCA Annual David Hodgkins Pink Diamond Best Game Award ...................................................................13
Correspondence Chess Director’s Report ..................................................................................................................15
E-Chess News ............................................................................................................................................................16
ECF Grades for BCA Members January 2017 ..........................................................................................................17
Chris’s Puzzle ............................................................................................................................................................18
Millennium Club........................................................................................................................................................18
Personalia ...................................................................................................................................................................18
Obituary – Stefi Cohn ................................................................................................................................................18
Editorial
One day in March I proudly donned a hat shaped like a daffodil, had a couple of red dragons stencilled onto my
face and joined the throngs of people dressed variously as leprechauns, sheep, shamrocks and leeks who, like me,
had travelled to Cardiff for the Wales vs Ireland rugby match. For editorial balance, I should point out that my
husband, Olly, was at my side supporting the Irish team just at fervently as I was backing the Welsh!
Admittedly, it is hard to find common ground between rugby and chess. For example, I have yet to witness a
scrum at a BCA event, except perhaps at the bar after an exceptionally hard fought round. However, in the full to
capacity stadium, when a place kicker was preparing to take a penalty, tens of thousands of fans fell silent in
anticipation and I felt as if I could hear the grass growing! It reminded me of the situation where just one game is
still in play at a chess tournament and others gather around to follow it. In rugby, of course, the focus is all on a
single kick of the ball. Contrast this with the chess scenario, where the tension builds with every move, each one
of which must be sufficiently accurate to hold a defence or advance an attack! A BCA member was recently
under exactly this type of pressure at the ECF National Club Championship and you can read more about that in
this gazette. There is also tournament and AGM news from our recent weekend event in Derby. Please note the
two new names in the Officer’s Contact Details section; one feels indebted to fellow BCA members, the other is
inspired by eagles and rabbits! In these pages we also hear about several internet based chess events and another
successful Chess Theme Break in Windermere. What’s more, we celebrate our best BCA games of 2016! So sit
back, relax and take it all in at your leisure, without the pressure of a crowd waiting with bated breath for your
next move! You have until the end of June to send me your articles for the August gazette.
Finally, in case anyone is wondering, Wales won 22 to 9, but Olly still speaks to me!
Julie Leonard
Forthcoming Events
27th
3rd
Saturday
May to Saturday
June 2017: British Championship
This will be held at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. It will be a seven round event, with one round each day, and
will be open to all visually impaired chess players both from the UK and overseas. It will also be open to all
associate members of the BCA. The British Champion will be the highest placed UK visually impaired player.
Depending on the entry, there may also be a Challengers event in addition to the main championship.
We are pleased to be returning to this hotel with its excellent facilities. It has proved popular on previous
occasions for our weekend tournaments, and we feel it will be very suitable for our week long event. It is located
close to the town centre and a short taxi ride from Harrogate railway station.
The cost to BCA members and associate members will be £270 per person for the week, for dinner, bed and
breakfast regardless of room type. The entry fee will be £10. For anyone staying part of the week only, the cost
will be £40 per person per night for dinner, bed and breakfast. For anyone wishing to stay additional nights at the
beginning or end of the tournament, the cost per night will be £63 per person in a single room and £56.50 per
person in a twin or double room. The closing date has now passed but there may still be space for late entries.
(The late booking penalty of £10 per person will apply.)
Organiser Steve Burnell, tel. 07733 064587; email [email protected].
27th to 29th October 2017: International Autumn Tournament
Crown Plaza Hotel, formerly Holiday Inn, Solihull, West Midlands
This will consist of two five round Swiss tournaments – an Open Tournament and a Challengers Tournament for
those whose grade or estimated grade is 100 or below. Both tournaments are open to blind and partially sighted
players and to associate members of the BCA. The hotel is conveniently located a short taxi ride from Solihull
Railway Station, and is also convenient for Birmingham International Airport. It has extensive grounds and is
adjacent to Solihull’s indoor shopping centre.
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As the hotel has changed hands prices have increased, but we are of course doing our best to minimise the effect
of this to members. The cost for dinner, bed and breakfast for the Friday and Saturday nights is £37 per person per
night for BCA members and associate members in a shared room and £39 per person per night in a single room.
The cost for non-members and for those staying the Sunday night will be £56 per person per night sharing and £58
per person per night single.
Payment for all accommodation (including Sunday if required), together with the £10 entry fee should be sent to
the Treasurer, Gill Smith (see list of BCA Officers for contact details). The closing date for entries is 8th
September 2017. Any queries, please contact the organiser, Voldi Gailans on 0208 599 9572 or email
[email protected].
Booking Conditions and Procedures
If you have any queries about the hotel or the tournament please contact the organiser.
Blind and partially sighted UK residents under the age of 25 receive free entry and free accommodation when
playing in BCA events. In appropriate circumstances, free accommodation is also available to a parent or
guardian accompanying a junior.
Visually impaired UK residents in their first year of membership receive their first BCA weekend event free or
£100 reduction in the cost of a week-long event. They may also be accompanied by a guide or companion who
will receive the same concession.
For a first event we ask for payment in advance and we then make a refund at the event.
You may pay in these ways:
Cheques payable to Braille Chess Association should be sent to Gill Smith, see the front of the Gazette for her
address. Online or telephone payments may be made to:
Braille Chess Association, sort code 40 52 40, account number 00082456.
Credit/debit card payments may be made through the BCA website.
If you pay by direct payment then you should inform Gill when the payment has been made.
Bookings accepted after the closing date are subject to a £10 late booking penalty for each person. Late bookings
and entries are accepted at the discretion of the organiser. Bookings are confirmed when full payment has been
received. Payments can only be refunded within the time limit set in the terms and conditions set by the hotels.
Members are advised to take out holiday insurance to cover themselves.
When contacting Gill please let her know if you want a single, double or twin room and if you have a preference
for a bath or a shower. And remember, if emailing Gill, copy in the tournament organiser.
Also say whether any of the following apply.
1 If you will be bringing a guide dog;
2 If you are on a special diet;
3 If you have mobility problems and would benefit from being located in a room near to a lift;
4 If you are a wheelchair user;
5 If you feel you would have any special difficulties in an emergency such as a fire evacuation;
6 Any other special requirements.
By entering a BCA tournament a player is deemed to have consented for their forename, surname, club, results
and possibly also their gender to be sent to the ECF for grading purposes. For juniors, the date of birth is also
required if they are to get the age-related grading bonus they are entitled to.
Please note: BCA reserves the right to refuse or cancel any entry or to exclude any person from any event it runs.
All Under One Roof
Members can claim support for attending any of these congresses from the Congress Support Scheme. You just
have to flag up with the Congress Support Officer, Mark Kirkham, that you intend to participate, and assuming
you have not exceeded the amount you are entitled to claim in a year and that you send in a small report on the
tournament afterwards you could probably offset the vast bulk of costs incurred by playing in an event. If you do
choose to claim for attending one of these tournaments, or indeed for playing at any other tournament covered by
the scheme, please follow the guidelines and send the Congress Support Officer, Mark Kirkham, travel receipts
and the required report.
This list should not be treated as definitive and is only as complete as I can make it whilst complying with gazette
deadlines. The following events take place in hotels so the accommodation and tournament are at the same venue.
Castle Chess Website: www.castlechess.co.uk
These are organised by Tony and Barbara Corfe, telephone 01707 659080 or email [email protected],
though I’ve found that emailing [email protected] gets a quicker response. You can subscribe to
4
Tony’s newsletter yourself; just email him at one of these addresses and you will be added to his list of
subscribers. Tony and Barbara are used to having visually impaired participants in their events. I have also found
that other participants in Castle Chess events have got to know and befriended BCA players.
Please note that unless otherwise stated, all Castle Chess congresses are now six-round Swiss events and you are
allowed to take a half-point bye in any two of the first five rounds. The grading bands are an U195 Championship
with a Premier U175 section, the Major for those under 155 with an Intermediate section for U135s, and a Minor
section for those with a grade less than 115 with a Challengers section for U95s.
5th – 7th May 2017, 3rd Harrogate Congress, Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate.
It seems the Old Swan is becoming a regular venue for Castle Chess and that attempts to get a regular congress
going in the north are proving successful.
29th September – 1st October 2017, 12th Fareham Congress, Lysses House Hotel, High Street, Fareham
Rooms in this hotel are limited so book well in advance if you wish to go to this event and stay in the hotel.
e2e4 events Website: www.e2e4.org.uk
At this writing I can find no e2e4 events listed for the period covered by this gazette. However if you wish to make
enquiries yourself, contact details for the main organiser, Sean Hewitt are telephone 0845 4639798, email
[email protected].
4NCL Events Website: www.4ncl.co.uk
Five round Swiss tournaments with sections: FIDE Open, FIDE U2000 (ECF U175) and an ECF U135. Contact
Mike Truran, email: [email protected].
14th – 16th July 2017, 14th 4NCL FIDE Rated Congress, De Vere Wokefield Estate Hotel, Reading
9th – 11th September 2017, 15th 4NCL FIDE rated Congress, Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield
Other Events
3rd – 9th September 2017, 67th DCCA Congress, Livermead House Hotel, Torquay TQ2 6QJ
Contact: Alan Crickmore Tel: 01752 768206 (before 9.00pm, please)
Ron Bruce Premier (FIDE-rated Open), Rowena Bruce Challengers U180, Bloodworth Intermediate U150, Walker
Minor U120, Boniface Morning 5 Round U180 and Thynne Morning 5 Round U135
Guy Whitehouse
Notes on the AGM
th
The 2017 AGM was held on Saturday 18 March at the Hallmark Hotel in Derby. We started on a positive note
welcoming two new players, David Mabbs and Tony Lawton, to their first BCA event.
We continue to be in excellent shape financially. In the 2015/16 financial year Julia Scott raised over £38,000 for
the association, and her total at this writing is £17,000. It goes without saying she received her customary round
of applause! Julia will be scaling down her general fundraising activities in the future, but we’re pleased to report
she is keen to continue working for us and a new contract was signed in March.
The winner of the 2016 best game prize was announced. It went to Bill Armstrong for an excellent win he
notched up at the European Team Championships in Poland which helped us win our match against the
Netherlands. See Owen’s article in this issue for more details about the winning game and other entries. The
competition is being re-run this year with Graham Lilley acting as adjudicator.
Arrangements are now in place for our yearly trip to Haaksbergen and for the Olympiad. Reports on these events
will no doubt appear in future editions of the gazette. We also had a team playing in the ECF National Club
Championships and this is reported on elsewhere in this issue.
The 2017 Junior Championships will be held at Wallington Chess Club on 6th May. Owen is getting some email
games going between juniors and some ideas aimed at strengthening links between the association as a whole and
our juniors were discussed. One such idea was a match between the juniors and some senior BCA members, while
another was to organise a simul against one of our senior players. We had also found coaches who were prepared
to try to get something regular going at New College Worcester and at the RNC in Hereford, but unfortunately
initial attempts to make contact with the colleges had met with no response, though we’ll keep trying.
In response to a reminder from Julie, Norman mentioned the change in the rules requiring an announcement to be
made at the start of a tournament as to whether the two-minute rule was being used or whether it was simply first
flag to fall and he invited Gerry Walsh to comment. Gerry said that players frequently left it too late to put their
hands up and claim a draw and that mainstream events were increasingly using a time limit based on increments of
so many seconds a move. There was a brief discussion on the pros and cons of the two minute rule and flag fall
but the discussion quickly moved on to whether players were in favour of time increments in preference to the
5
more traditional fixed time limits. A non-binding vote resulted in five people voting for traditional methods, with
or without the two-minute rule, and nine voting to switch to the use of time increments. Those who played in the
Open section of our events favoured time increments, whereas those who played in the Challengers favoured
keeping the traditional approach, partly because not everyone had a digital clock. It was felt that both time limits
could be used during an event as long as both players of a game agreed on which time limit applied in their game.
Norman said the committee would discuss the matter further.
The issue of chess sets was raised again. Some people are interested in a smaller version of the Italian magnetic
set that some of our players now use. After the meeting I emailed Stefano Murgia in Italy who has offered to put
me in touch with the producer of the set (there are some of the original sets left, but about half of those are
reserved for visually impaired chessplayers in Italy).
Finally there were some important changes to the committee. Gary stood down from the posts of Membership
Secretary and Correspondence Chess Director. Norman presented him with a gift pack of various types of gin as a
token of appreciation for his service on the committee. It was also noted that Mark Hague and Lea Ryan would no
longer be acting as tournament organisers. Mark Hague was elected as the new Membership Secretary and Paul
Benson’s offer to run correspondence chess activities without getting bogged down in large amounts of committee
work was gratefully accepted. Voldi is organising this year’s Autumn International Tournament, but as you’ll be
aware he is very busy on the association’s behalf already, so help with any area of the association’s work from
those who feel able to offer it would be welcome.
Guy Whitehouse
Treasurer’s Report
I am pleased to report that our financial status is strong. We have sufficient funds to meet the requirements of our
reserves policy. This means we can book events well in advance with the confidence we will be able to proceed
and we can also order batches of adapted chess sets and clocks when stocks are running low.
Julia Scott, our fantastic fundraiser, continues to raise income with many of the donors making regular grants. We
are very pleased that during the AGM weekend Julia signed up to work with us for another 3 years.
For the 7th year in a row the Morpeth Chess Club, where Les Whittle is president, held a simultaneous display
evening and this event raised £150 for the BCA.
Thank you to everyone who has given money to the BCA, it is all appreciated.
Gill Smith, Treasurer
Membership Secretary’s Report
Firstly, I’d like to thank my predecessor, Gary, whose invaluable contribution to the work of the BCA has already
been outlined by many people. I myself would also like to acknowledge his outstanding contribution to the social
side of our organisation. His gentle humour and good nature bring a great deal of happiness to our events. He is
also one of the driving forces behind the BCA music scene which is very evident at our week long events. The
music scene greatly enriches our events and has the bonus of attracting additional members to our organisation
through the love of chess and music. Rock on Gary!
Secondly, I’d like to thank Jim Cuthbert as if I hadn’t met him at the RNIB Eastbourne Hotel around fifteen years
ago and played a five hour chess match with him well into the wee hours of the morning I may never have joined
the BCA and would have missed out on the enjoyment of chess as well as the opportunity to make great new
friends.
New Members
We have 2 new members.
Martyn Wilson, a long time friend of many of us in the BCA, has joined as a five year member. His preferred
format is Braille.
Shirin Aghaee is a new member from Iran. I have had the pleasure of speaking to her over Skype and she is very
keen to attend one of our tournaments in the UK. Let’s hope she does so as I’m sure we’ll enjoy her company.
6
Deceased
Honorary Member Stefi Cohn died aged 89 on 17th January. Stefi, wife of Hans Cohn, has contributed greatly to
the BCA through her work on the BCA committees. She was also very prepared to use her partial sight to help
read documents for BCA members. She will be sadly missed.
Janet Plechaty, life associate member and widow of George, died last year. She was a popular member and
accompanied her husband George (now passed away) on many BCA trips and tournaments.
Mark Hague
24th Windermere Chess Theme Week
Saturday 28th January to Saturday 4th February 2017
Report by Mark Kirkham, with assistance from his Mother Liz
It was only the second time that we have attended this event, but we were both looking forward to it with eager
anticipation in view of our experience last year. This annual week takes place at the Windermere Manor Hotel in
the heart of the Lake District.
Members of the party (more than thirty of us) began to congregate in the bar just before dinner in time to be
warmly welcomed by Shery, the activities co-ordinator, who outlined the excursions that were being organised
during the week. Later that evening, Peter Gibbs discussed the week from a chess perspective, including the
coaching due to start the following morning with all of us either in pairs or groups of three, and the format of the
cup competition that the trainees would be taking part in once the coaching was over. The competition would
consist of two groups of five players each (an expansion on the previous year) with all games lasting a maximum
of one hour. However, the amount of initial time on each player’s clock would vary according to their perceived
playing strength. The games would be overseen by Peter and Norman Andrews.
Over the four coaching sessions, the relaxed, yet focused, environment enabled Mark Hague and me to look at
several of our recently played games and to cover the opening ideas and endgame technique that arose in each
case. These individual chess sessions took us up until Monday afternoon. Those not involved in the chess were
free to enjoy the hotel’s leisure facilities and venture into Windermere. Monday morning’s trip was to Grasmere,
which hosts a famous church. In the evening we took part in Celia’s general knowledge quiz. Perhaps the
questions were a little tougher than they had been last year, as the score by the winning team was 40 from 50,
beating our team by a single point, and leaving us ruing a couple of missed opportunities.
On Tuesday morning the hotel organised a trip to Hayes Garden Centre at Ambleside. That afternoon I went on
my first outing of the week, this being the circular boat trip on Lake Windermere. Those who read my
corresponding report last year will recall that I sat on the top deck for much of the return journey. Unfortunately
on this occasion the rain made this an unattractive option, but I believe the hot drinks and snacks available on the
boat kept most of us happy.
Throughout Tuesday a lucky few of us were given the chance to learn from Philip, an expert in smart-phone and
tablet technology, who, funded with the aid of a national lottery grant, drew our attention to various apps designed
specifically to help visually impaired people with aspects of daily living.
The bingo that evening made many a happy punter, with Gary completing his card of numbers in the final round
just in time!
The next morning we visited Cartmel, well-known for its Priory, sticky toffee pudding and race course. I was
pleased to find that, unlike last year, the latter, though muddy enough to require wellington boots, was not
waterlogged, so we were able to walk round it with Shery giving us a conducted tour. Having been made aware of
my interest in the sport, she also read out a detailed brochure about the course’s history and summer programme.
We then popped into the brewery for a quick tasting and a demonstration; something we had somehow failed to
fulfil on our previous visit.
By the time we returned to the hotel for lunch, the first two rounds of the cup competition had been completed.
This continued late into the afternoon, as five rounds were needed to complete the group stages and determine who
progressed to the finals. In group A, Mark Hague and Jim Cuthbert prevailed, despite each having only half the
time as their other three opponents. In group B, which I had unofficially labelled the ‘group of death’, John
Jenkins and Alan Kearsley were both successful debutants. Lea Ryan will not forget the moment she triumphed
against Gary.
That evening’s entertainment was once again provided by popular music vocalist Sue Parish, a favourite of our
party.
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On Thursday morning we were keen to take part in the trip to the picturesque town of Keswick, one that had not
been possible the previous year due to flooding. A good walk along the lakeside, followed by refreshments at a
cafe was how we spent the morning, and it became clear as we boarded the mini-bus that several people had used
the opportunity to purchase chocolates, mugs and other souvenirs from a local shop.
Meanwhile, the morning’s chess had resulted in John and Mark being declared joint winners of the trophy after
agreeing to draw their game. Perhaps Mark had gained some confidence from his trainer? I suspect due to
everyone’s exertions, the afternoon was a quiet one whilst people prepared for the regular soirée organised by
Joan, which took place after dinner.
Peter’s monologue set the tone for the wonderful variety that followed. We were treated to limericks, poems and
numerous songs as a wide range of talent was on display. There was a ‘hot off the press’ poem from Joan herself
describing the week thus far. Stan was followed on the piano by Tanvi (accompanying Claire’s vocals), Abi and
Antoine. Quite an orchestra evolved including percussion instruments from Thuy and Jim. Several songs by Gary
and Antoine using a guitar and ukulele included their version of ‘Hey Jude’.
On Friday morning a group visited Kirkby Lonsdale. The chess, however, was not yet done, for in the afternoon
Peter’s friend John Toothill arrived to give a simultaneous display, where Gary restored much chess pride as he
was the only one of us to impressively take half a point from his opponent. This achievement was certainly better
than my own effort because John, perhaps not wishing to face my French defence again, caught me off guard with
the English opening. Despite having good counter-play in a long tussle I went wrong once my opponent was in a
position to visit my board more frequently, and ended up getting checkmated in the middle game. Hopefully this
will teach me not to make assumptions about my opponents’ openings. Abi and Thuy, in their joint enterprise,
held out for a little longer and their game with John was the last to finish.
Any disappointment we felt was soon forgotten once the final evening meal of the week was under way.
Afterwards, Peter presented the trophy to John Jenkins who gave a short speech of gratitude. Peter also took this
opportunity to show our appreciation for the service we had all received from the hotel staff throughout the week.
The reader may have noticed that I have somewhat glossed over the subject of food. I have deliberately postponed
it until now in order to save you the involuntary salivation process, so suffice to say that I like to take full
advantage of weeks like this. I will just mention one specific here and point out that the hotel’s lunch menu had
been generously extended to include hot meals. I twice partook in the traditional fish and chips with mushy peas.
This was in addition to the ample catering provided for breakfast and dinner.
On Saturday morning we said our farewells during and after breakfast, and many of us were already booking for
next year. All that is left for me to do is to thank Peter and Celia for organising yet another highly successful and
enjoyable week, to Norman for all his help and for filling me in on the chess when I was out on trips, and to
everyone who helped to make the week such a memorable part of our calendar.
Windermere 2017 Poem
by Joan Shorrock
All was peaceful at the Manor
Until the BCA came
Then the peace was shattered
And the place was not the same.
The women were rather rowdy
Celia and Liz suspect and then
Abi, not as sweet as she looks
Ruth’s room is a magnet for men.
Moira, Pam, Lea – so so
And Joan, of course, is fine.
Jan fell in the bathroom.
Far too much red wine.
Another one is Tanvi
Who didn’t come until Tuesday.
Just enough days for her
To fit in a bag & shoes day.
8
Let’s face it, without the women
Men would be in a mess.
But one thing they do quite well
Is play a game of chess.
Ernie and Jim went to church
To pray for our souls to be saved.
But Caspar, Joyce, Hesta and Greg,
The dogs, were better behaved.
Gary had been a bad boy
So had to dine in isolation
Jim and Antoine joined him
So three was a complication.
So Tanvi came to sort them out
Now that makes it four
But these are trouble makers
So listen up, there’s more.
Antoine’s medallion has magical powers
And to my understanding
He is able to create
A water feature on the landing.
Garden World was good on Tuesday
As the sun didn’t shine a
Trip on the lake in the afternoon
Felt like a slow boat to China.
Seven runners at Cartmel
Sean, Jane, George, Joan, Martin and Pat
Kevin took an early lead
He was ok on the flat.
Martin and Pat fell by the way
Then Sean & Jane gathered pace
But Kevin came up from behind
And easily won the race.
We’ve had bingo, we’ve had a quiz
Where our brains were taxed
Then an evening with Sue Parish
Which made us all relaxed.
Keswick, Antoine in the chocolate shop
Really made his day
Tanvi bought expensive clothes
And found she couldn’t pay.
Then there is the soirée
Which we are having now
Everyone does their party piece
So come on, take a bow.
But it’s not all fun and games
There’s serious chess to be done
After a well fought tournament
Mark and John have won.
9
Thanks to Peter and Celia
Two tireless people, who
Make this week so special
With everything they do.
We had some lovely outings
So I would like to say
Thanks, also to Shery
For taking us out each day.
Hard to say ‘See you all next year’
So we should make a banner
And march to the powers that be
Shouting ‘Save Windermere Manor!’
We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when
But we hope it will be here
We’re such a happy family
At the Manor, Windermere.
25th Windermere Chess Theme Break 2018
The booking is from Saturday, 27th January 2018 to Saturday, 3rd February 2018. The tariff is £65 per person per
day. However, if a non-returnable deposit of £50 is paid prior to 30th September 2017 then a discount of 10%
Early Bird is available giving a figure of £58.50 per person per day. Therefore for the week the cost would be
reduced from £455 to £409.50 per person. In order to make the booking secure, the residue after the deposit, is
due one month before the 27th January 2018. The bookings include dinner, bed and breakfast, and a light lunch
each day. There is one evening of light entertainment provided by the hotel and apart from that we organise our
own evening entertainment. Outings are arranged by the hotel. Bookings should be made direct with the hotel
whose telephone number is 015394 45801. Please note that the Windermere Manor Hotel does not allow refunds,
so everyone booking is strongly advised to take out insurance.
On the morning and afternoon of the Sunday and Monday there is chess coaching, Tuesday is a free day for
everyone and from Wednesday onwards the Chess Handicap Cup Competition takes place. On Friday afternoon
there is a simultaneous chess display.
Peter and Celia Gibbs
AGM Tournament Report 2017
This tournament was supported through a generous donation from The Provincial Grand Charity of Derbyshire.
The BCA would like to express its sincere thanks for this charity’s kind support.
Our latest BCA chess tournaments were run alongside the BCA AGM. The events did not have a record turnout
of players as several withdrew ‘near D Day’, but both tournaments were still strong and hotly contested. In all
thirty five BCA guests booked into the hotel. It was particularly nice to welcome new people; in the Challengers
full member Tony Lawton and in the Open associate member David Mabbs, who was accompanied by his wife,
Jenny. David is a former gold medallist on board 1 for England in the World Student Games! In addition
everyone heartily welcomed former multiple BCA Champion and long-time 2200+ player, Graham Lilley, back
into action at a BCA event. The tournament was organised by Steve Burnell, his wonderful wife, Hazel, and BCA
Treasurer Gill Smith. The events were very ably and affably run by Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard, with much
assistance from Roger Waters.
The Grade II Listed Hallmark Derby Midland Hotel, just a stone’s throw from Derby central station, provided a
cossetting, warm and pleasant venue for three days of exciting chess with plenty of opportunities for interaction
between the players and guides. The food and drink were of the usual high standard, as was the accommodation.
Round 1 saw newcomer Tony Lawton hold previous Challengers’ champion, Efe Shimwell, to an up and down
draw. The other highlight of the round had to be Steve Burnell’s win against David Mabbs. Mark Kirkham put up
stiff resistance to ‘our Rossie’, but finally fell!
Round 2 saw Chris make it ‘third time lucky’ against Owen Phillips, after their draws in the last two events. This
time Chris found himself in his element in a highly strategic middle game which he played very precisely,
gradually constricting Owen’s oxygen resources until a resignation proved inevitable! A tough well played win by
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Rossie against a Larsen opening, which is reproduced at the end of the article. In the Challengers Efe Shimwell
bounced back to winning ways against Gill Smith.
In round 3, Chris mercilessly marched on to 3/3 with a win against Steve Burnell. Graham Lilley gave Owen a
full work-out before matters dissipated into an agreed draw. This was a fierce looking Slav where Owen said that
he felt the moral victory was Graham’s for having Owen under the cuff for many moves! Graham is clearly still
well up on his opening theory as he whirled out the first 12 or 14 moves inside 7 minutes! Meanwhile Phil
Gordon gave David Mabbs a very hard game, including twice repetition, before David found a way through by
switching his bishop backwards and sidestepping it neatly onto the a1-h8 diagonal leading to critical pressure!
In round 4 Chris made sure of matters by beating David Mabbs in a sharp g4 variation of the e6 Sicilian. David
may have regretted taking on Rossie in his beloved Sicilian Kan! Owen meanwhile bounced back to form with a
very nice win with a Larsen Birds against Mark Kirkham.
Before the final round of hostilities got underway, the customary BCA raffle took place, kindly run by Moira
Whittle, ably assisted by Hazel. We thank them both! Many good prizes had been donated, which resulted in
extra smiles and laughs while raising more than £150 for the BCA. Long may the raffles continue!
In round 5, Chris, already champion, was up against the former long-term top man in the BCA, Graham Lilley.
This petered out into a fairly tame draw. A lot of draws followed, although they were not of the infamous
Grandmaster variety! Meanwhile Owen and Steve kept us all waiting for the prize-giving with a mighty battle on
board 2. Steve’s King’s Indian set-up against Owen’s Larsen was proving much harder to crack than the Larsen
Owen had in round 4, but eventually he did so after transposing it into a delayed King’s Indian Attack formation.
In the Challengers the board 1 game was also rather a long one and eventually George finished proceedings with
another win to run out Challengers Champion. The final standings were:
OPEN
1st Chris Ross 4.5
2nd Owen Phillips 3.5
3rd Graham Lilley and David Mabbs 3
Steve Burnell and Colin Chambers 2.5, sharing the Grading Prize
Ian Blencowe and Mark Kirkham 2
Phil Gordon 1.5
CHALLENGERS
1st George Phillips 4.5
2nd Voldi Gailans 4
3rd Jim Cuthbert 3.5
4th Dan Rugman 3
Gary Wickett 2.5
Tony Lawton, Gill Smith, Eleanor Tew 2 (Gill won Grading Prize A. Eleanor and Tony shared Grading Prize B.)
Michael Lowery and Efe Shimwell 1.5 (sadly Efe withdrew after round 2 due to a family emergency)
Richard Harrington 0
The participants thanked the organisers, arbiters, guides and hotel staff for their great support and work. We all
agreed that we had had an inspiring weekend’s chess and socialising, and were somewhat sad that the event had
come to an end. We are now looking forward to the next BCA event, which will be the Annual BCA
Championship, in the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate (see Forthcoming Events). These events really are held in fine
locations at a very reasonable price and are more personable compared with huge congresses elsewhere in the UK.
Extra publicity efforts will be made to encourage more juniors to take the leap of faith and come and participate
and enjoy the surroundings.
Time now for Chris Ross’s round 2 win with black against Owen Phillips:
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 d6 3. e3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Qxd4 Be7 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. Nf3 Qd7
The position is probably level here, but Owen goes tempo wasting!
10. h3 O-O 11. O-O-O
{Owen had considered 11. e4 Rfe8 12. O-O-O a5 13. a4 and feels that line was better. Rossie struck out fast:}
11. ... a5 12. Rhg1
{Owen was unhappy with his play here and felt 12. e4 was preferable. Rossie noted that there was no way he was
going to take the h pawn on offer thus Rg1 was arguably a wasted tempo by Owen!}
12. … a4! 13. b4
11
{Owen notes that he again chose wrongly. He had planned 13. Rge1 and if 13. … axb3 14. cxb3 Rfe8 15. Kb1
with a playable position. Instead he went off at a tangent resulting in a long-term ‘as good as buried Bishop’.}
13. … a3 14. Ba1
{Here, Owen expected 14... Qf5 15. e4 Bxe4 16. Nxe4 Qxe4 17. Rge1 Qxd4 18. Bxd4 Rfe8 19. c4 with a
somewhat worse, but still playable position. In came a clear sign that Rossie was about to put Owen in deep
trouble; a ‘strategic bind’.}
14. ... Ne8 15. Nd5
{Afterwards Owen felt he should have avoided close contact with Black’s Queen by playing 15. Qd3. Likely
would have been: 15. … Bxf3 16. gxf3 c6 17. Ne2 Kh8 18. Bc3 Compare this piece with what happened in the
game! 18. ... f6 19. Nf4 d5 20. Rg4. Black only has a slight plus. However, the game now edged towards Master
Rossie}.
15. ... Bxd5 16. Qxd5 Qe6 17. Qxe6
{Owen had considered 17.Qb3 g6 18. Nd4 Qc8 19. g4 Bf6 20. Kb1 which would have been preferable to the
game continuation. This is not Owen at his best! Rossie now strengthened his centre.}
17... fxe6 18. Rgf1 Ra4 19. c3??!
{Owen notes that his last chance was 19. b5 d5 20. Be5 Bd6 21. Ba1 Nf6 22. Bxf6 Rxf6 23. Rd3 Rc4 24. Rb3 e5
where Black would have stood better, but White was left with more room to make problems later. Instead Owen’s
buried bishop became a huge liability!}
19. ... d5 20. Nd4 Rf6 21. Nb3 {21. f4 was more what was required!}
21. ... Rg6 22. g3 Nd6 23. Nc5
{Little better would have been 23. Nd2 Ra8 24. Kc2 Rf8 25. Kb3 Rh6 26. h4 Rhf6 27. f4 Rg6 28. Rg1 Nf5
29. c4 Nxe3 30. h5 with a winning edge! Rossie inexorably moved towards the winning line.}
23. ... Ra8 24. Kc2 b6 25. Nd3 Nc4 26. Nf4 Rh6 27. h4 Bd6 28. Rh1 Rf8 29. Nh3 Rhf6 30. Nf4 c6
The net tightens!
31. Kb3 b5 32. Nd3 Rf3 33. Rh2 e5! 34. h5 R8f6 35. Rg2 R6f5 36. g4 Rf8
Loss of material for White now becomes inevitable.
37. g5 e4 38. Ne1 Rxf2 39. Rxf2 Rxf2 40. Nc2 RxNc2 netting a further pawn!
41. KxRc2 Nxe3+ 42. Kd2 NxRd1 43. KxNd1 Be5 and Owen threw in the White towel being left as he was with
his relatively useless Bishop!
Owen would not like to put you off The Larsen opening so here is his round 3 win against Mark Kirkham.
1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 e6 3. e3 Be7 4. f4 Larsen Birds variation
4. … 0-0 5. Nf3 d5 6. d3 c5 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Nd2 d4 9. NxNc6 bxNc6 10. e4
Black has considerable problems due to his pawn structure and bad white squared Bishop.
10. … e5 11. f5 a5 12. a4 Re8 13. Be2 Bf8 14. 0-0 Qc7 15. Qe1 Be7 16. g4 h6 17. Qg3 Nh7 18. h4 Bf8
19. Nf3 Qe7 20. Bc1 Kh8 21. Kf2 Kg8 22. Bd2 Bd7 23. Rh1 Qf6 Allows the attack with tempo.
Owen notes that he is simply getting all his pieces into position and will then pull the trigger!
24. g5 hxg5 25. hxg5 Nxg5 26. BxNg5 Mark felt enough was enough. Mate or huge loss of material is inevitable.
Written by ‘The Phoenix’ (who as yet has not fully risen!)
A game from Round 1 of the Challengers: Gill Smith vs Gary Wickett
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Bd3 dxe4 7. Bxe4 Bg4 8. O-O Bc5 9. d3 Qc8
10. h3 Bh5 11. Qd2 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 O-O 13. Be4 Nd4 14. Qd1 Nf5 15. Qh5 g6 16. Qg5 Be7 17. Qd2 Bc5
18. Qg5 Be7 19. Qg4 Nd6 20. Qg3 Nxe4 21. dxe4 Qe6 22. Bh6 Rfd8 23. Qc3 g5 24. Qxc7 Rd7 25. Qc3 Qxh6
26. Qxe5 Bf6 27. Qb5 Rad8 28. e5 Rd5 29. Qxb7 Bxe5 30. Qxa7 g4 31. Qe3 Bf4 32. Qb3 gxh3 33. Rfe1 hxg2
34. Kxg2 Qh2+ 35. Kf3 Rf5 36. Qb6 Bc7+ 37. Kg4 Qf4+ 38. Kh3 Bxb6 39. Rg1+ Kh8 40. Rg4 Qf3+ 41. Kh4 Rf4
42. Rag1 Qxf2+ 43. Kg5 Rg8+ 44. Kh5 Qh2+ 45. Rh4 Rxh4# Black mates 0-1
ECF National Club Championships 2017
Ian Blencowe writes:
The weekend 1st and 2nd April saw us playing in the Intermediate Section of the ECF National Club Championship
held at St John’s Hotel in Solihull. The hotel is only 5-10 minutes from the train station and is close to parkland to
exercise one’s dog or oneself!
The team was: Board 1 Steve Hilton; Board 2 Steve Burnell; Board 3 Ian Blencowe; Board 4 Voldi Gailans.
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The playing conditions were very good and we started playing at 12.30. Although severely out graded we all
played well and lost 3-1 to Sutton Coldfield gaining draws on Boards 1 and 2. We had an easier draw in Round 2
and won 2.5-1.5 against Warley Quinborne: 3 draws in this match with me winning the last game. We had dinner
at 8pm and although very good, certain items on the menu had run out, which was a little disappointing.
We all had a lovely breakfast and started Round 3 at 10.00 on Sunday playing Newcastle-under-Lyme. Board 1
was a tough game and was eventually lost. Steve Burnell had a good win on Board 2. I threw away a won game
and Voldi lost on Board 4. In the last round we played Solihull and lost a tight match 2.5-1.5
In conclusion, although out graded we were not outclassed. We all enjoyed the experience and further enhanced
the BCA’s reputation.
Steve Burnell writes:
Here are two wins from the tournament. Ian shows very efficiently how to convert a clear advantage, after
winning the exchange, into a win. As is so often the case, exchanging pieces helps the player who is material
ahead. Steve Burnell’s game illustrates the psychology of blunders! His stronger opponent thinks he is clearly
winning, and is perhaps getting frustrated by Steve’s defending. Add to that the fact that he only had a couple of
minutes left on his clock plus 10 second increments per move and that this was the last game to finish so had
attracted quite an audience! The pressure gets to him and his apparently inexplicable blunder at the end is maybe
a little more understandable.
Blencowe vs Valea (Warley Quinborne)
1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 d6 4. h3 Nbd7 5. e3 c6 6. c3 Qc7 7. Be2 e5 8. Bh2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qb3+ Kh8
11. Ng5 Nb6 12. Nf7+ Rxf7 13. Qxf7 exd 14. exd Bd8 15. Qxc7 Bxc7 16. c4 Ne8 17. c5 dxc 18. Bxc7 Nxc7
19. dxc Nbd5 20. Bf3 Be6 21. Na3 Na6 22. Rfe1 Bf7 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. b4 Nxb4 25. Re7 Nd3 26. Rxb7 Nxc5
27. Re7 Nd3 28. Rb1 Nc5 29. Rbe1 Ne4 30. f3 Nf6 31. Rb1 c5 32. Rc7 Rd8 33. Rc1 Re8 34. R7xc5 Bxa2
35. Rxf5 Kg8 36. Kf2 Kf7 37. Nb5 Bb3 38. Re1 Rxe1 39. Kxe1 h5 40. h4 a5 41. Nd4 a4 42. Nxb3 axb3
42. Rb5 Ke6 43. Rxb3 Kf5 44. Rb5+ Kg6 44. Kd2 Kf7 45. Kd3 Ke6
White goes on to win in a couple of dozen more moves.
Harris (Newcastle-under-Lyme) vs Burnell
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. e3 d5 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Be2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. O-O Bb7 9. d4 Nbd7 10. Nc3 c5
11. Rc1 Rc8 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Ne4 14. Bg4 Nxc3 15. Bxc3 Rc6 16. Qd2 f6 17. Bf3 Re6 18. Rfd1 fxe5
19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Qxd5 Qxd5 21. Rxd5 e4 22. Rcd1 Bf6 23. Bxf6 Rexf6 24. R1d2 Re8 25. Kf1 Kf7 26. a4 Rc6
27. Ke2 c4 28. bxc4 Rxc4 29. R5d4 Rc1 30. h4 Rh1 31. g3 Rc1 32. Rd7+ Re7 33. Rxe7+ Kxe7 34. Rd4 Rc2+
35. Ke1 Rb2 36. Rxe4+ Kf6 37. Rd4 Ke6 38. g4 a5 39. h5 Rb1+ 40. Ke2 Rb2+ 41. Kf3 b5 42. axb5 Rxb5
43. Ke4 Rb7 44. Ra4 Ra7 45. f4 Kd6 46. Kd4 Ke6 47. e4 Kd6 48. e5+ Kc6 49. e6 Kb5 50. Ra1 a4 51. f5 a3
52. g5 Kc6 53. f6 gxf6 54. gxf6 Kd6 55. Re1 a2 56. e7 Ra8 57. Kc3 Kd7 58. Kb2 Ke8 59. Re6 a1=Q+
White resigns
2016 BCA Annual David Hodgkins Pink Diamond Best Game Award
Owen Phillips, BCA Associate Life Member, ECF Regional Master and Long-term Lover of Chess, writes:
It was not easy for me to decide which game was best, particularly as I had to choose between email
correspondence games and over the board ones, taking into account the circumstances in which the games were
played. I looked through sixteen submitted games as well as additional games from qualifying tournaments and
narrowed it down to six, each of which had considerable merits. In no particular order, the games were:
(1) Les Whittle (1771) vs Louis Van Duuren (1890) Round 7 of the 2016 IBCA European Team Championship in
Poland: UK vs Netherlands. A fine controlled win by Les. It was played in difficult circumstances, with our team
badly in need of a win, and Les still reeling from the previously well documented mishaps, including Moira’s loss
of luggage, and his own smashing of his finger in a taxi car door; resulting in his barely being able to feel his
pieces during the tournament due to a heavily bandaged finger, which was also in a splint!
Les played a well prepared ‘Blatny’ opening inviting his opponent to over-extend or sacrifice, went on to hold and
then outplay his opponent with his extra piece against a powerful central passed and almost promoted pawn!
David would have loved how Les fought back for us all, and executed a well made plan. (Incidentally, the young
Polish A Team and European Championship ‘Player of the Tournament’ took great interest in Les’s opening, so
doubly well done!)
(2) Eamonn Casey vs Stephen Hilton BCA email correspondence game
An exciting ebbing and flowing game, where both players went all out to win. Eventually Eamonn won, but the
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game really was a tussle and a credit to both players. David would have enjoyed this Dutch Leningrad variation
game. The Dutch was an opening David often played himself! A typically attacking game from Stephen Hilton,
albeit one that he eventually lost.
(3) Sergio Harnandan (1897) vs William (Bill) G. Armstrong (1839), Round 7 of the 2016 IBCA European Team
Championship in Poland: UK vs Netherlands. Again played in difficult circumstances where the UK team was
desperate to get a match win and game points on the board after a number of close encounters and other maulings
at the hands of so many teams which greatly out-graded our lads! Bill fought hard and bravely sacrificed to go all
out for a win. His tenacity and do or die attitude resulted in a very fine problem-like finish to an exciting game,
and put us on the way to our first and only match win of the European Team Championship event. David
Hodgkins would have been proud of Bill’s fighting spirit and fine sacrifices here!
(4) Chris Ross (ECF199) vs Marcus Osborne (ECF214) in Rd 9 of the Colin Crouch Memorial Masters Open
event played in Harrow in April 2016. Well what can you say other than Chris was in fine form here defeating a
respected Surrey player who has finished highly placed in the British Championship on two or more occasions.
Chris had not started the event well, but this win was part of a stirring finish for Chris who ended up with 5.5/9 in
a very strong Colin Crouch Memorial Masters event. Colin would have been proud of Chris’s comeback and this
win, as would David Hodgkins.
(5) Alaettin Gundogmus (1590 but has been quite a lot higher!) vs Guy Whitehouse (e1350) Round 7 of the 2016
IBCA European Team Championship in Poland: UK vs Netherlands. Guy was faced with playing many
opponents upwards of 500-900 points higher than himself. He had already missed out on two very close
encounters where he was our last player to finish. Here he was finally up against someone ‘only’ 250-300 points
higher graded than himself! He outplayed his opponent by adopting an ultra sharp Dzindzi Indian opening line,
and then showed considerable team spirit in securing a draw once he felt in danger. We effectively won the match
because of Guy’s effort! This was indeed an excellent draw for Guy, and showed his considerable fighting spirit
in spades! Once more a game that David would have appreciated greatly.
(6) Owen Phillips (ECF170) vs William (Bill) G. Armstrong (ECF149), Round 4 of the BCA Autumn
International Open event played in Solihull in October 2016. A late but worthy top six game, if somewhat coyly
one of my own! I short-listed it because it was a highly sacrificial effort and exciting game in which Bill made me
work very hard for the win. Even in a highly sacrificial game ‘it takes two to tango’, so thanks again for a fine
game Bill! In the end I had only 4 minutes left when Bill himself lost on time, although by then I had retained a
theoretically won position two pawns ahead and about to trap Bill’s remaining Bishop. This game set me up well
for a tough draw in round 5 in Solihull against our mighty ‘Rossie’!
Here is my choice of top three games for the David Hodgkins BCA Best Game Prize 2016:
In third place is Eamonn Casey vs Stephen Hilton. In view of it being a correspondence game I felt it wasn’t quite
accurate enough overall to deserve the Best Game Prize.
1. d4 f5, 2. c4 Nf6, 3. Nf3 g6, 4. Nc3 Bg7, 5. Bf5 d6, 6. e3 0-0, 7. Be2 c6, 8. 0-0 Na6, 9. h3 Nc7, 10. Qc2 Ne6,
11. Bh2 Qe8, 12. Rac1 Bd7 13. Rfd1 Rc8, 14. b4 Kh8, 15. e4 Nxe4, 16. Nxe4 fxe4, 17. Qxe4 Nd8, 18. d5 Bf5, 19.
Qe3 c5, 20. Qd2 Nf7, 21. bxc5 Rxc5, 22. Nd4 Bd7, 23. Re1 Qc8, 24. Bf4 Ne5, 25. Bxe5 Bxe5, 26. Nf3 Bf4, 27.
Qc3+ Kg8, 28. Rcd1 b5, 29. Bf1 Rf7, 30. Re4 Qd8, 31. Qd4 Qf8, 32. cxb5 Bxb5, 33. Bxb5 Rxb5,
34. Qd3 Rb2, 35. Re2 Qb8, 36. Nd4 Bg5, 37. Nc6 Qb6, 38. Nd4 Bh4, 39. g3 Bf6, 40. Nb3 Rxe2, 41. Qxe2 Be5,
42. Kg2 a5, 43. f4 Bf6, 44. Qc4 Rf8, 45. Nd4 Rb8, 46. Nf3 Qe3, 47. Rd2 Rb4, 48. Qd3 Qb6, 49. Qe2 a4,
50. Ng5 Rb1, 51. Qe6+ Kh8, 52. Qc8+ Black resigns
In second place, is Les Whittle’s epic win against Louis Van Duuren in the European Team Championships. In
many ways Les deserved the win for taking on this opening at short notice, as I had predicted it would confuse and
bamboozle his opponent into sacrificing inaccurately. This happened, but then Les to his further credit executed a
well fought out win under considerable pressure. This virtually secured UK its first and only match win of the
European Championships. For this I was tempted to give Les the prize, but I felt members might think I was
swayed by Les adopting our pre-game prep, and besides I felt it fitting that the David Hodgkins Prize should on
the first occasion be awarded to a somewhat more open, sacrificial affair, which I feel members would agree was
an exciting game and fully merited the prize.
Les Whittle vs Louis Van Duuren
1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Bd6 6. d3 O-O 7. Bg2 e5 8. O-O Re8 9. Nbd2 Bg4 10. h3 Be6
11. Qe2 h6 12. Rad1 Qc8 13. Kh2 Bf5 14. Ng1 Nb4 15. e4 Bh7 16. c3 dxe4 17. cxb4 exd3 18. Qe3 Bxb4
14
19. Ne4 Nd5 20. Qxd3 c6 21. Qe2 Qe6 22. Nd2 Nc3 23. Bxc3 Bxc3 24. Qc4 Bd4 25. Qxe6 Rxe6 26. Ngf3 Bd3
27. Nxd4 exd4 28. Rfe1 Be2 29. Rc1 g5 30. Bf3 d3 31. Bxe2 dxe2 32. Rc2 Rd8 33. Nf3 Rd3 34. Kg2 Rf6
35. Ne5 Rd1 36. Rcxe2 Rfd6 37. Rxd1 Rxd1 38. Ng4 Kg7 39. Ne3 Rd7 40. Kf3 Kg6 41. Nc4 Rc7 42. Rd2 b5
43. Rd6+ Kg7 44. Ne5 c5 45. Rd7 Rxd7 46. Nxd7 c4 47. bxc4 bxc4 48. Ke3 Kg6 49. Kd4 Kf5 50. Ne5 c3
51. Nc4 g4 52. h4 f6 53. Ne3+ Ke6 54. Kxc3 h5 55. a4 f5 56. Kd4 a6 57. a5 and Black resigns.
In first place is Bill Armstrong’s exotic win against Sergio Harnandan. I now set out the game with comments
from Bill himself, although naturally I reviewed the game with the aid of Fritz and Komodo before shortlisting it.
Sergio Harnandan vs Bill Armstrong
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Qd2 exd5 9. cxd5 a6 10. a4 Nbd7
11. Be2 (Ne2 is better) Ne5 12. h3 Nh5 13. Bf2 Qf6 14. g3
Black must retreat or find a response to White’s likely f4. Why not sacrifice a piece?
14. ... g5 15. f4 gxf4 16. Bxh5 fxg3 17. Bxg3 Nc4 The point of the sacrifice.
18. Qf4 (If White had played 18 Qc2 Black is winning after 18. … Nxb2 19 Qxb2 Qxc3+)
18. … Qxf4 19. Bxf4 Nxb2 20. Kd2
I was much more worried about Bd2 when Black has less obvious lines of attack.
20. … f5 21. Be2 fxe4 22. Bxd6 Rf2 23. Bxc5 Nc4+
24. Kc2 e3 If now 25. Kd3 then b5 26 axb5 Bf5+ 27. Kxc4 axb5+ winning the Rook on a1.
Harnandan chose 25. Rf1 Bf5+ 26. Kc1 Bxc3 27. Rxf2 Bd2+ Resigns as mate is imminent.
27 Bxc4 also loses Bb2+ 28 Kd1 Bc2+ 29 Ke1 Bc3 mate.
If White prefers 26. Kd1 rather than Kc1, I much prefer Black’s attack in that position. After 26 Kd1 Nb2+ 27
Kc1 Bxc3 Black has Rc8 and Be4 as powerful weapons against a white formation with poor development and a
king that is far from being safe.
My own additional comments just to show that I didn’t just take Bill’s as read:
The opening stages were ‘book’ up to move 11, when White should have preferred Nh3 followed by Be2 and Nf2
with a slight plus. 21. Nge2 was preferable for White and should have given Sergio a plus. Nevertheless, Bill
should be credited for taking a calculated punt over his initial sacrifice. He assumed correctly that it would give
him better chances than sitting back and having a passive defence. This was a good strategic decision in the heat of
battle, and afterwards Bill played very well, making his pieces incrementally more active. As they say ‘Fortune
favours the brave’. 24. Kc1 was a better choice for White, and as the game was played, certainly 25. Rd1 would
have just led to a slight ‘pull’ for Black, rather than a clear win. However Bill was brave, and found an elegant
finish to boot! By any standards this was a very good game of chess! I feel David would perhaps have chosen
this one too. Many congratulations to Bill and to all six finalists!
In 2017 it will be former BCA Champion, Graham Lilley, who decides the Annual BCA David Hodgkins Best
Game. Good luck Graham! There will doubtless be many games of considerable merit played by our intrepid and
ever resourceful members. So please do remember to send in your best games to Graham either directly or via our
Committee. Good luck in making his job in 2017 as difficult as you made mine in 2016!
Correspondence Chess Director’s Report
Way back in late 1976 Joe Walsh of The Eagles sang:
"Hi there, how are ’ya?
It’s been a long time.
Seems like we’ve come a long way.
My, but we learn so slow.
And heroes, they come,
And they go."
Time since my withdrawal from competitive play in 1999 has not been totally misspent. Regular hard study
sessions were replaced with sporadic afternoons of passive absorption. A much wider range of material began to
be consulted. Inspiration could be found in some of the most unlikely sources. One concept from Adams in his
first book proved to be very enlightening. It involves recognising you can’t always recognise whether a position is
winnable or not. This refers to the famous encounter between General Woundwort and Hazel, (Watership Down
1972). I reckon Woundwort should have taken that earlier offer of a draw. It’s all about the recognition of one’s
lack of recognition. As Joe Walsh of The Eagles sang: "My, but we learn so slow."
15
44th BCA CORRESPONDENCE TOURNAMENT 2017-18
Premier - Group Leader Les Whittle
No results yet, all games still in play.
Alec Crombie, Mike Hague, Ernie McElroy, George Phillips, Les Whittle, all 0-0.
Challenger Group A - Group Leader Denis Warren
Gailans 0 - 1 Warren, Nimzowitsch-Larsen 29.
Scores: Denis Warren 1-1, Voldi Gailans 0-1, Eric Gallacher, Arthur Greatrex, Guy Whitehouse, all 0-0.
Challenger Group B - Group Leader Gary Wickett
Heyes 1 - 0 Tew, French Defence 28.
Tew 0 - 1 Wickett, Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 31.
Heyes 1 - 0 Wickett, King’s Gambit Declined 45.
Scores: Derek Heyes 2-2, Gary Wickett 1-2, Eleanor Tew 0-2, Jim Cuthbert, Geoff Patching, both 0-0.
BCA LEAGUE 2016-17
Division 1 - Group Leader Norman Wragg
No update. The only game still in play will determine who wins the Division 1 title.
Scores: Ernie McElroy 2-2, Alec Crombie 1.5-2, Mark Hague 1-3, Derek Heyes 0.5-3.
Division 2 - Group Leader Denis Warren
Patching 0.5 - 0.5 Warren, 31.
Scores: Mike Hague 2-2, Geoff Patching 1.5-2, Denis Warren 0.5-2, David Mears 0-2.
Division 3 - Group Leader Jim Cuthbert
Gallacher 1 - 0 Cuthbert, no details.
Congratulations to Voldi Gailans on winning Division 3.
Scores: Voldi Gailans 3-3, Eric Gallacher 2-3, Jim Cuthbert 1-3, Eleanor Tew 0-3.
FRIENDLY LADDER TABLE
Warren 1 - 0 Cuthbert, irregular 25.
Leading ladder scores as at 4th April 2017: 9 Gary Wickett; 8 Roger Bishop; 7 Jim Cuthbert; 5 Stan Lightowler.
In closing I would like to ask a question. Are chess players a superstitious bunch? Thespians are renowned for
never wishing each other good luck. Their goodwill wishes to another are instead expressed as: "Break a leg!"
This is designed to fool any evil spirits who might happen to be listening to the conversation. So, to all BCA
players setting out on a game, may I offer a variation on the Thespian theme with: "Break a peg!"
Paul Benson
E-Chess News
January-March 2017 World Chess Parlor Tournament:
Jim Slagle of the USA runs regular international Skype tournaments via the World Chess Parlor. Twenty-three
players took part in the first such event of 2017. Congratulations to Steve Hilton for finishing in first place! Mike
Lowery and Dan Rugman also put in solid performances, 13th and 18th respectively.
6th BCA Email Tournament:
The 6th BCA email tournament started on the 1st of March. There are 17 participants, in one division of five
players and three divisions with four players each. Each division is an all play all group. Players were ranked
according to ECF grades and performance in previous email tournaments. Where possible, promotion and
relegation from the 5th BCA Email Tournament was incorporated. Once again, the tournament is being run by
Eamonn Casey and Philip Doyle and we’re very grateful to them for their hard work.
All games are due to finish by the end of May, but results have already been coming in thick and fast. Division 1
is now complete, and we have joint winners, Peter and Rod. In a depleted division 2, the one outstanding game
between Philip and Eamonn, will produce the winner. Divisions 3 and 4 are still in the melting pot.
The groups and results to date are as follows:
Division 1 Final Scores: Peter Gibbs & Rod MacDonald 3.5, Steve Burnell & Colin Chambers 1.5, Stan Lovell 0.
Gibbs beat Chambers
Gibbs beat Burnell
Chambers drew with Burnell
Macdonald beat Lovell
Lovell lost to Chambers
Burnell beat Lovell
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Gibbs drew with MacDonald
Macdonald beat Chambers
Lovell lost to Gibbs
Burnell lost to MacDonald
Division 2 Scores: Eamonn Casey and Philip Doyle 2/3, Derek Heyes 1/4, Robert Grimwood (withdrawn)
Heyes beat Doyle
Casey beat Heyes
Doyle beat Heyes
Heyes lost to Casey
Doyle beat Casey
Division 3 Scores: Voldi Gailans 1/1, Michael Meaney and Steve Thacker 1/2, Denis Warren 1/3
Gailans beat Warren
Warren lost to Thacker
Thacker lost to Meaney
Meaney lost to Warren
Division 4 Scores: Gill Smith 2/3, Anthony Borg and Tony Lawton 1/2, Nicholas Ireland 0/1
Lawton lost to Borg
Smith beat Ireland
Borg lost to Smith
Smith lost to Lawton
Inaugural BCA Junior Email Chess Championship 2017/18:
This event is being organised by Owen Phillips and the games are scheduled to start in April. There are five
participants: Efe Shimwell, Alex Wright, Jijjith Thukaram, Nishad Patil and Sanjay Rajkumar. We wish them all
the best of luck and look forward to hearing how they get on.
ECF Grades for BCA Members January 2017
A new grading list was published by the English Chess Federation in January and revised on the 28th of March.
Here are the new grades of BCA members, with Rapidplay grades also noted in parentheses where applicable.
Andrews, Norman G 128
Gordon, Philip L 119
Pennington, Graham 138
Armstrong, William 144 (151R)
Graff, Ben 161 (144R)
Phillips, George W 94
Bailey, Stephen 68
Hague, Mark 97
Phillips, Owen S 169 (164R)
Bhutta, Ehteshaam (19R)
Harman, Kenneth B 180
Prasath, Malola TS 184 (184R)
Bhutta, Shehroze (37R)
Harrington, Richard 0
Ross, Chris N 205
Blencowe, Ian P 132 (142R)
Hilton, Steve H 163
Rugman, Daniel 86
Brookes, Paul 47
Holtz, Steve 89
Shimwell, Efe 86 (102R)
Brown, Geoffrey D 151 (132R)
Jenkins, John H 86
Smith, Gill 47
Burnell, Steve 137
Kenealy, Thomas 1
Stephenson, F Norman 175
Carr, Matthew 128
Khare, Shivank 70 (81R)
Tew, Eleanor 0
Casey, Eamonn 100
Khare, Shubhransh 9
Thacker, Steve M 98
Chambers, Colin R 142
Kirkham, Mark 154
Thukaram, Jijjith 70 (94R)
Chapman, Gordon 124
Lilley, Graham 173
Walsh, Gerry F 118
Clayton, David G 117
Loftus, Sean 126
Warren, Denis 34
Cloudsdale, Peter 149
Lovell, Stan E 129
Waters, Roger G 119 (102R)
Cuthbert, Jim 76
Lowery, Michael 30
Welch, David 147
Delaney, Michael 147
Mabbs, David 180 (157R)
Whittle, Les V 146 (147R)
Doyle, Philip 132
McAloon, Joe 122
Wickett, Gary M 97
Fisher, Colin 146 (139R)
McElroy, Ernie 146
Willis, Graham 131
Foster, George 3
Mills, David G 134
Wragg, Norman A 137
Gailans, Voldi 85
Murphy, Richard LW 116
Yu, X Gregory 89 (85R)
Gallagher, John 196
Osborne, John 49
Yu, X Henry 146 (135R)
Gibbs, Peter C 161
Patel, Ayush (47R)
I have tried to make this list as complete and accurate as possible, but please do let me know if your ECF grade is
missing or incorrect. Congratulations to everyone who has a grade for the first time or whose grade has gone up.
Julie Leonard
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Chris’s Puzzle
February Puzzle:
FEN: 8/8/7B/3N3Q/8/8/3r2P1/4k1K1
White: King g1, Queen h5, Bishop h6, Knight d5, Pawn g2
Black: king e1, rook d2
White to play and mate in two. Solution:
1. Nf4!
A. 1... Rxg2+ 2. Nxg2#
B. 1... R on second rank 2. Nd3#
C. R along the D-file 2. Qe2#
May Puzzle:
FEN: 5/K1k/6p1/5N1b/4N2b/6R1/8/8/8
White: King f8, Rook g4, Knights e5 and f6 Black: king h8, bishops h5 and h6, pawn g7
White to play and mate in two.
Chris Ross
Millennium Club
Recent Millennium Club winners:
February:
Clare Gailans, number 60.
March:
Hazel Burnell, number 56.
April:
Les Whittle, number 6.
The Millennium Club raises funds for the BCA by holding a monthly draw at £12 per number per year. Each
month a lucky winner receives £35. If you wish to enter the draw, send a cheque made payable to "Braille Chess
Association" to the treasurer or make an online or telephone payment to the BCA.
Gill Smith, Treasurer
Personalia
th
At 13:38 on the 27 of February Fionnuala Ní Bhrádaigh, Michael Delaney and their daughter Laoise welcomed
baby Ríona into the world. She arrived just over three weeks ahead of her due date and weighed in at 3.93 kg
which is 8lb 10½ oz in old money. Heartfelt congratulations to all the family!
No fewer than three new guide dogs attended the 2017 AGM weekend! Chris Ross’s Bovis, Dan Rugman’s Inky
and Steve Burnell’s Volley were all exceptionally well behaved. However, arbiters try to avoid three consecutive
colours being the same, and so the canine trio was the cause of some consternation for them as it is entirely black!
John Osborne had planned to play in the AGM tournament, but was unable to do so because the dates clashed with
guide dog training. Vectra has retired and now lives near Reading with a gentleman who needed a companion for
long walks. We hope John will bring his new dog, Bradley, to a BCA event soon. The arbiters will be especially
pleased because Bradley is almost white so will partially redress the earlier colour imbalance!
The following is a broadcast by Radio Cheltenham; a station of many various departments that usually transmits
on the BCA Email User Group but has asked for a slot in this issue. Regular readers will know that milestone
birthdays have featured in this column in the past so I feel I cannot refuse.
Announcement by Radio Cheltenham, Favourite Daughter Department:
Julie Leonard née Chambers turned fifty on the 6th of April! She attended her first BCA chess tournament at a
very young age but I would like to highlight 1981, the Year of the Disabled, when a chess tournament for visually
impaired players was held in Weston-super-Mare. Julie helped by showing arrivals to their hotel rooms. One of
them asked Julie, "Are you the chamber maid?" and the 14 year old Julie replied "No, I'm the Chambers Maid!"
50th Birthday celebrations for Julie went on throughout April and I am sure you will join Radio Cheltenham staff,
i.e. Barbara and Colin Chambers, in wishing her all the very best for her big birthday!
Obituary – Stefi Cohn
Stefi Cohn passed away on 17th January, five days after her 89th birthday. Her husband, Hans, was with her at the
end. Hans was BCA Secretary from 1965 to 1980 and Stefi was one of the team of active volunteers during that
time and for many years afterwards. She also accompanied Hans on all his trips abroad as a member of the BCA
Olympiad team or the IBCA Executive from 1964 until she lost her sight in the early 1990s. Highlights included
the 2nd Olympiad in 1964 in what was then East Germany, where she helped the British and Irish participants to
choose meals which had to be booked one day in advance. She also worked as a communicator with German
speakers at the 3rd Olympiad in Weymouth in 1968 and the Individual IBCA World Championship, which was
held in Hastings in 1982 to mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the BCA. At home she recorded a BCF
quarterly on tape for many years.
Stefi was an Honorary Member of the BCA in recognition of all the work she did for us. The association is
greatly indebted to her. Rest in peace, Stefi.
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