Congress shows growth in Tyneside clubs

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(Chronicle Chess 29 September 2023)

The 59th Northumberland Congress kicks off this evening at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields, and runs throughout the weekend.

The top seeds in the Open are FIDE Masters Rafe Martyn (London), David Walker (Leam Lane), Tim Wall and Andy Burnett (both Newcastle).

As of Thursday, the congress had 114 entrants – slightly down on the record numbers from last year and 2021, but still higher than before the pandemic.

This reflects the healthy state of chess clubs in and around Tyneside as we get ready for another league season. For a complete list of clubs and where and when they meet, go to: northumberlandchess.com.

The biggest club in the North East is Gosforth, which this year is entering 10 teams of four players in the Northumbria League. Gosforth meets at the Gosforth Empire Club on Salters Road on Monday evenings from 7-10:30pm. It also runs a junior section on Saturdays, 10am-12noon. For more info, contact: mickriding@hotmail.co.uk

Forest Hall has four teams and meets on Fridays (juniors 5-7pm, adults 7-10.30pm) at a new venue, the Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s Institute. Contact: foresthallchessclub@gmail.com

South Shields has three teams, and meets on Thursdays, 7-10:30pm at the New Ship Inn on Sunderland Road. They also run free drop-in sessions at The Word, South Shields, from 10am-12noon on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Contact: eddie@southshieldschessclub.co.uk

Tynemouth also has three teams, and meets on Tuesdays, 7-10:30pm, at The Hunting Lodge, West Monkseaton. More info at: https://tynemouthchessclub.netlify.app/

Newcastle is a new club, and meets at the Tyneside Irish Centre, Gallowgate, on Mondays from 6:30pm-9:15pm. They are entering two teams, one in Division 1 and one in Division 6.

Newcastle held their first tournament on Monday, a FIDE-rated Blitz. The winners were Andy Burnett, Nathan Ekanem and Zheming Zhang, who were equal first on 5/7. Winning the Under 2000 and Under 1600 categories were Jeremy Revell and Danny Atcheson, respectively.

From October 2, Newcastle is hosting a Rapidplay Championship, with ECF rated games every Monday evening at a time control of 30 minutes plus 10 seconds a move.

Newcastle also runs a junior club on Sundays, 2:30pm-4:30pm, at Jesmond Library. For more details on Newcastle’s activities, contact: timpeterwall@gmail.com

Surprise results prompt chess ratings enquiry

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(Chronicle Chess 22 September 2023)

What do these sports have in common: Football, baseball, American football, basketball, pool and table tennis?
The answer is they all use the Elo system, a way of rating chess players invented by US physics professor Arpad Elo.

Elo predicted the expected score by two players in a competitive game. Two players rated the same are expected to score 50 percent. If a player is rated 100 points higher, the expected score rises to 64 percent; if it’s 200 points higher, that rises to 76 percent.

Elo’s system has stood the test of time, but in recent years its chess ratings have started to show signs of distortion. At the top end (where Magnus Carlsen plays mostly against other super grandmasters) there are clear signs of inflation.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the ratings scale, juniors are coming onto to the system with far lower ratings than their real strength – in part because they play most of their games online, and in their first over-the-board games, they tend to under-perform.

Underrated and unrated players can create problems in club matches.

For example, in the Northumbria Summer KO Plate Final this week, a 2-2 draw meant that Newcastle University B (average age less than 20) won against Gateshead, (average age over 70) based on the students’ marginally lower estimated average ratings.

In a generous move, after the match the University players offered to share the Plate trophy with their more experienced opponents.

In money tournaments, ratings can also cause headaches, as a few players unscrupulously throw games after team matches are decided so that they can enter lower rating category tournaments and have a better chance of winning prizes.

It’s difficult to prove this unethical practice, known as ‘sandbagging,’ and tournament organisers rarely bar or reassign a player.

The next two tournaments coming up on Tyneside give opportunities for players of all ratings to take part.

The Newcastle Central Chess Club Blitz is on Monday 25 September at the Tyneside Irish Centre, 6:30pm-9:30pm. It’s open to everyone, and the time control is 5 minutes, plus three seconds per move. Games qualify for international (FIDE) ratings. To enter the Blitz, email: timpeterwall@gmail.com.

The 59th Northumberland Weekender takes place at the Parks Leisure Centre, Howdon Rd, North Shields NE29 6TL from 29 September to 1 October. There are Open (FIDE-rated), Major (Under 1900), Minor (Under 1675) and Foundation (Under 1450) tournaments.

In line with the ‘amateur’ ethos of most local congresses, the prizes (£350 for 1st, £200 for 2nd and £100 for 3rd) are the same in the Open, Major and Minor, even though the levels of play are quite different. Entries are being taken online at: https://northumberlandchess.wixsite.com/congress

Blitz & league chess comes to Tyneside Irish Centre

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(Chronicle Chess 15 September 2023)

Tyneside Irish Centre, the popular venue for live music and Guinness opposite St. James’ Park football stadium, is the venue for a new blitz
chess tournament.

The tournament, which will be FIDE-rated, takes place at the Gallowgate venue on Monday 25 September, from 6:30-9:15pm. There will be a total of seven rounds of blitz, where the time control per game is 5 minutes for each player, plus 3 seconds added after each move. Anyone can enter, and entry costs £3, payable on the day.

It’s the first event held by the newly formed Newcastle Central Chess Club, which is aiming to attract players thanks to its convenient city centre location and nearby bus and metro links.

Newcastle Central also aims to enter two teams in the upcoming 2023-24 Northumbria League: one in Division 1 and one in Division 5.

The new club’s first team is likely to be made up of players who until this week have represented one of the biggest North East clubs, Forest Hall,
but the club is keen to attract players of all standards and experience, and newcomers will be encouraged to try league chess.

To book your place in the Blitz tournament, or to join Newcastle Central Chess Club, write to organiser Tim Wall at: timpeterwall@gmail.com.

On Tuesday, two Knockout matches took place at Gosforth Empire Club. In the Knockout Cup, Division 1 champions Forest Hall A (an Open
team) defeated Division 5 champions Gosforth Woodbines (a Minor team) 4-0. With a handicap of 3.5 points, the Woodbines just needed a
single draw to pull off a major giant-killing surprise, but it was not to be as all four games ending in comfortable wins for the Division 1 team.

Forest Hall A 4-0 Gosforth Woodbines (Forest Hall players first)
1) Tim Wall 1-0 Jonathan Rooney
2) Andrew Burnett 1-0 David Pritchard
3) Matthew Forster 1-0 Michael Owen
4) Zheming Zhang 1-0 Andrew Brown

In the other match, a Plate Semi-Final, Newcastle University B (an Intermediate team) knocked out Gosforth Empire (an Open team) in somewhat bizarre fashion. As the University had a 2.5 point handicap, Gosforth had to win 3.5-0.5 to go through. But then Gosforth’s Board 4 failed to show up, defaulting the game and effectively losing the match before a move was played.

Newcastle University B 4.5-2 Gosforth Empire (University players first)
1) Michael Allen 0-1 Gustavo Leon Cazares
2) Varun Padikal 0-1 David Armbruster
3) Alexander McKay 1-0 Martin Thompson
4) Newcastle University 1-0 Default

The University team now goes through to the Plate Final against Gateshead on 18 September.

Gosforth face Forest Hall in KO final showdown

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(Chronicle Chess 9 September 2023)

The Northumberland Summer Chess Knockout has always produced a bunch of surprises, and this year has proved no exception.

The Cup Semi-Final between Gosforth Salters (Division 2, let’s call them the Giants in this case) and Gosforth Woodbines (Division 5, who we can safely call the Giantkillers) battled it out on Monday for a place in the Final against Forest Hall A (the even bigger Giants).

The first shock result in the match was between Jonathan Rooney (Woodbines), who scored a draw with former Irish champion Ray Devenney (Salters) on Board 4. This left the Salters having to win all three remaining games to win the match, due to the handicap system, which gave the Woodbines a 2.5 points start.

On Board 1, the Salters’ young Uzbek sensation Shah Saliev safely defeated the Woodbines’ Antonio Stepanovic, while on Board 3 Gosforth Salters captain Mick Riding dispatched the Woodbines’ Michael Owen.

This meant it all came down to whether Stefan Hartmann (Salters) could beat Woodbines’ captain David Pritchard in a drawish-looking endgame. As Stefan’s final pawn was exchanged, leaving no result except a draw, the cheers went up from the watching Woodbines, as the underdogs – by scoring 1-3, with the handicap had won 3.5-3.

The Woodbines now go through to meet Forest Hall A, the Division 1 champions, who defeated Jesmond 4-0 in their semi-final.

In the KO Final, Forest Hall A have to win 4-0 for victory, as the Woodbines have a 3.5 points start. The Final is due to take place at Gosforth Empire Club on Tuesday 12 September.

In other news, as the Northumbria League gears up for the 2023-24 season, Jesmond Chess Club have revealed that their new match venue is at the Punch Bowl, 125 Jesmond Rd NE2 1JY, from 7:15pm on Thursday evenings. For more info on Jesmond Chess Club, contact Andy Trevelyan on: andytrev@gmail.com

The West Jesmond Junior Club has also resumed its Sunday afternoon sessions, at Jesmond Library, St George’s Terrace NE2 2DL – now from 2:30pm-4:30pm. To attend and more info, please contact Tim Wall on: timpeterwall@gmail.com or text/call: 0750 372 2366.

The upcoming 59 th Northumberland Weekend Congress, at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields, runs from Friday 29th September to Sunday 1st October 2023. Entries are welcome for the Open, Major, Minor and Foundation sections, with an online entry form available at: https://northumberlandchess.wixsite.com/congress

Entries are currently over the 50 mark, with the organisers hoping to reach close to last year’s numbers of 130-plus.

Record seven title norms at Northumbria Masters

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(Chronicle Chess 1 September 2023)

The Northumbria Masters Chess Congress at Forest Hall Social Club, Palmersville, ended successfully this week with a total of 170 players competing for a total of £6,600 in prize money.

Remarkably, a record total of seven title norms were scored: one for the Grandmaster (GM) title and six for the International Master (IM) title. This bevy of norms exceeds all other tournaments in the UK this year put together.

This year’s congress included two Schiller team tournaments, designed to create opportunities for GM and IM norms. The GM and IM tournaments were dominated by teenagers, showing that chess is very much a young person’s game these days.

The winner of the GM tournament was 16-year-old Rajat Makkar (France). Makkar played an enterprising, attacking chess throughout, scoring an impressive 7.5/9 – exceeding the GM norm by a full point. As Makkar is still only currently a FIDE Master (the third-highest international title), his result counts for both IM and GM norms.

Thanks to sponsorship from Mark Jordan, the norm achievers shared a prize pool of £600.

Heading up the IM tournament was 15-year-old Krzysztof Raczek (Poland) with 7.5/9, a point over the IM norm. The other IM norms were scored by Borna Derakhshani (21 years old, England), Tanmay Chopra (19, India), Edvin Trost (16, Sweden) and Freddy Waldhausen Gordon (13, Scotland).

The Masters tournament (2000+ FIDE) with 28 players was won jointly by GMs Danny Gormally (Alnwick) and Gudmundur Kjartansson (Iceland) on 7/9. Leading scores: 3 Steven Jones (Basingstoke) 6.5; 4 GM Keith Arkell (Torquay) 6; 5-6 Charlie Storey (Cramlington) and Manmay Chopra (London) 5.5.

The Challengers (Under 2000 FIDE) with 51 players was won by Owen Crawford (Derby) on 7/9, followed by Ran Song (China), Jack Liu (Millfield School) and Edmond Andal (Phillipines) on 6.5. Among the players on 6 was Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall).

The Major (Under 1800 FIDE) with 27 players was won by Joel McBeath (Ashton) on 6.5, followed by Bob Kane (Edinburgh) and Will Sidney (Ireland) on 6.

The Minor (Under 1600 FIDE) with 25 players was won by Lea Tang (Hong Kong) on 7/9, ahead of Mo Fei Pham (also Hong Kong) on 6.5. Ryan Duff (Forest Hall) and Brandon Russell (Newcastle) were equal third with 6.

The Foundation tournament (Under 1400 ECF) with 15 players was won by Aaron Gifford (Newcastle) on 7.5/10, ahead of Jonathan Solomon (Forest Hall) and Daniel Sewart (Durham City) on 7.

The congress was supported financially by the English Chess Federation, The Chess Trust, John Robinson Youth Chess Trust, Mark Jordan, Friends of Chess, Northumberland Chess Association and Northumbria Junior Chess Association.