Daily practice key to chess success

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 26 January 2024)

Fail to prepare? Prepare to fail. This applies as much to chess as it does to maths tests and sports.

At a recent Tyneside schools match, one of the players was asked afterwards when was the last time they had played a serious chess game or done some study. The answer was shocking: during last year’s summer holidays.

The player had lost to a much lower-ranked player – in fact they were wiped out in a kingside onslaught. A year ago the out-of-practice player would have aced the game, but now – after intensive school work left little time for chess – they were rusty, and it showed.

My advice was to go back to basics: 15-20 minutes of daily practice will keep you in trim, chess-wise. Just like a gym session, chess is a mental workout that can be part of your daily routine.

Without regular practice, we tend to miss tactics and fail to calculate moves properly.

So, what are the ways you can practice and get better at chess?

The first is tactics puzzles. Find checkmates in two or three moves, and work up to more complex puzzles where you gain an advantage in another way. These can be found at chess.com and lichess.org.

The second is video tutorials. These can be found at chess.com, lichess.org and YouTube. It’s best to go with Grandmasters or accredited FIDE Trainers for good quality advice.

The third is training with online games. Don’t worry about other players cheating with computers. They’re not learning anything, but if you think for yourself, you are.

Just like Playstation, it’s best to ration yourself to an hour a day of online play, as more becomes addictive. Review your games afterwards (this is where computer analysis can be useful).

The best training method is to play at a chess club. Most clubs meet once a week, and the face-to-face interaction and exchange of ideas helps to hone your skills.

For more info about chess improvement, contact FIDE Trainer Tim Wall: timpeterwall@gmail.com or 0750 372 2366.

Check out these North East chess clubs:

Alnwick: Alnwick Rugby Club (Thurs) https://www.facebook.com/alnwickchess
Morpeth: Morpeth Rugby Club (Wed) https://morpethchessclub.wixsite.com/home
Tynedale: Ovington Social Club (Mon) https://tynedalechess.wordpress.com/
Tynemouth: The Hunting Lodge, Whitley Bay (Tues) https://tynemouthchessclub.netlify.app/
Forest Hall: Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s (Fri) https://www.foresthallchess.org.uk/
Gosforth: Gosforth Empire (Mon) https://www.gosforthchessclub.co.uk/
Jesmond: The Punch Bowl (Thurs) andytrev@gmail.com
Newcastle: Tyneside Irish Centre (Mon) https://newcastlechessclub.com
Newcastle University: (Thurs) Contact the Students Union
Gateshead: Carlton Club, Low Fell (Thurs) peter.wells@heraeus.com
Leam Lane: Leam Lane WMC (Tues) Rob Appleby: (0785) 0115170
South Shields: The New Ship Inn (Thurs) https://southshieldschessclub.co.uk/

Today’s puzzles are from last weekend’s Harrogate Open.

Puzzle A: Sarah Longson (White) to play & win

Puzzle B: Lorenzo Fava (White) to play & win

Puzzle C: Piotr Denderski (Black) to play and win

Puzzle D: Andy Burnett (Black) to play & win

Answers:

A: 1 Rxd5! 1-0. If 1…Nxd5 2 Qxg6+ Kh8 3 Qh7 checkmate.
B: 1 Nf4+ Kf5 2 Rc5 checkmate.
C: 1…Bd4+ 2 Kh1 Rf6! wins.
D: 1…Rg3! wins. If 2 hxg3 hxg3+ 3 Nh3 Qxh3+! 4 gxh3 Rh2 checkmate, or 2 Rc8+ Kf7 3 Rc7+ Kf6 4
Rd7 Rxf3 5 gxf3 Qh5.

St Cuthbert’s produce giantkiller upset in schools cup

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 19 January 2024)

As many sports teams have found to their cost, the knockout can be a brutal form of competition. Just because your team has a higher ranking, it’s no protection against an early exit.

The equivalent of the FA Cup in junior chess is the ECF National Under 19 Schools Championship. For the last few decades, RGS School Newcastle dominated the North East regional qualifiers – until 2022, when St Mary’s Catholic School, Longbenton, beat RGS in the regional final. In 2023, St Mary’s were again in the ascendancy, finishing ahead of RGS in the National Finals.

But in 2024, a new school may win the North East regional final – as this week St Cuthbert’s High School, Benwell, defeated regional champions St Mary’s A 3.5-2.5 in a thrilling quarter-final.
St Cuthbert’s and St Mary’s were neck-and-neck on 2-2 with just Boards 1 and 2 to finish. Unfortunately for St Mary’s, a 3-3 tie would be broken in St Cuthbert’s favour, due to wins on higher boards. When St Cuthbert’s Board 2, Daniel Tong, defeated St Mary’s Jinwoo Lee, the match was effectively over. A subsequent draw on Board 1 between Tom Weinstein (St Cuthbert’s) and Joel Dyter (St Mary’s) merely underlined what an upset had occurred.

In the other schools match played this week, St Mary’s B beat Dame Allan’s 5-1. St Mary’s could therefore still reach the regional final.

In the other two quarter-finals, RGS travel to Longridge Towers near Berwick, while Jesmond Park take on Bede’s, Blyth. Who wins the regional final is now anyone’s guess, as all teams remaining in the draw are closely matched.

The North East schools competition has expanded rapidly since the pandemic, with 16 teams now taking part. The higher level of participation is thanks to the hard work of St Mary’s Paul Richardson, the competition’s regional organiser, who has encouraged many new teams to enter.

Full results:

St Mary’s A 2.5-3.5 St Cuthbert’s
1 Joel Dyter 0.5-0.5 Tom Weinstein
2 Jinwoo Lee 0-1 Daniel Tong
3 Otto Nemeth 0-1 Isaac Lancaster
4 Daniel Francis 1-0 Joseph Lesser
5 Feitong Wu 0-1 Aazmeer Ansari
6 Hyunwoo Lee 1-0 Jan Ericho-Briones

St Mary’s B 5-1 Dame Allan’s
1 Daniel Clark 1-0 Oliver Savin
2 Aveesha Mapalana 1-0 Ethan Pattinson
3 Jan Siemens 0-1 Edward Cottam
4 Karthikeyan Nandakumar 1-0 Mo Chen
5 Alistair Craggs 1-0 Ben Thompson
6 Jiatong Wu 1-0 Nuo Li

This week’s puzzles are from the Four Nations Chess League last weekend.

Puzzle A: Julia Terbe (Black) to play & win

Puzzle B: Jon Speelman (Black) to play & win

Puzzle C: Daniel Fernandez (Black) to play & win

Puzzle D: Can Durak (White) to play & win

Answers:

A: 1…Rd2! 0-1 if 2 Qxe6+ Kh8 3 Kh1 Rxg2! 3 Kxg2 Rd2+ forces checkmate.
B: 1…Qa7! 0-1. The pin wins a piece.
C: 1…Kf3! 0-1. If 2 Ke1 Nd3+ 3 Kd1 Ke3 4 Ba4 Rd2 checkmate, or 2 Kg1 Rb1+ 3 Kh2 Ng4+
4 Kh3 Rh1 checkmate.
D: 1 Rxe6! Kxe6 2 Bd8! 1-0.

Newcastle emerge as favourites for Division 1 title

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 12 January 2024)

January is traditionally the month for rueing New Year’s resolutions, counting the cost of that Christmas spending splurge – and working out who’s going up and down in the sporting world.

So it is with chess leagues. At the halfway point in the 2023-24 Northumbria League season, candidates for titles, promotion and relegation are becoming clearer.

Newcastle A have surged into a clear lead in Division 1, with 10/10 match points, ahead of their nearest rivals South Shields A on 6/10.
In the top-table clash this week, Newcastle A beat South Shields A 3-1 thanks to wins by Tim Wall, Andy Burnett and Nathan Ekanem.
At the lower end of Division 1, Tynemouth A on 3/10 and Jesmond on 1/10 have a tough battle to avoid the drop.

In Division 2, Gosforth Salters are on top with 11/12 after defeating Gosforth Regents 4-0 this week. There’s a close fight between Newcastle University A (8/10) and the Regents (7/12) for the playoff spot.
At the foot of Division 2, it’s a dogfight between South Shields B (1/8) and Forest Hall Foxes (1/10) to avoid the wooden spoon.

The Division 3 leaders are Tynemouth B on 9/10, followed by Gosforth Centurions on 8/10. The relegation candidates are Morpeth B (2/10) and Forest Hall Woodpeckers (0/10).

Leam Lane Bullets are favourites to win Division 4 with 10/12, with Gateshead in second on 8/12.
Forest Hall Squirrels and Morpeth C (both on 2/10) are in danger of going down.

Newcastle University B are ruling Division 5 with 10/10, followed by Gosforth Jedis on 8/12.
Alnwick B (3/12) and Leam Lane Comets (2/10) are in the relegation zone.

The Division 6 runaway leaders are Newcastle B on 10/10, followed by Alnwick C (5/10) and Gosforth Otterburns (5/12).

Individual Leaderboards:

Division 1: Andy Burnett (Newcastle A) 4.5/5, Tim Wall (Newcastle A), Graeme Oswald (Leam Lane Aces) 3.5/5.
Division 2: Shakti Sood 5.5/6, Shakh Saliev (both Gosforth Salters) 4/5.
Division 3: George Ellames (Alnwick A), Mark McKay (Gosforth Centurions), Paul Edwards & John Clarke (Tynemouth B) 3.5/5.
Division 4: Dave Stewardson (Leam Lane Bullets) 5/6, Bob Heyman & Michael Owen (Gosforth Hawthorns) 4/5.
Division 5: Paul Castledine (Alnwick B) & Varun Padikal (Newcastle University B) 3.5/4.
Division 6: Alan Johnson (South Shields D) 5/6; Danny Atcheson & Didrik Leivdal (both Newcastle B) 4/4.

This week’s puzzles are taken from UK events in December.

Puzzle A: Raj Mohindra (Black) to play & win:

Puzzle B: Oscar Pollack (White) to play & win:

Puzzle C: Danny Gormally (White) to play & win:

Puzzle D: Andy Horton (Black) to play & win:

Answers:
A: 1…R8b2! & Black won. If 2 Nxb2 Rxe1 checkmate, or 2 Qxb2 Rxb2 3 Nxb2 Qxa3.
B: 1 Bf6! gxf6 2 exf6 Nf5 3 Re4 1-0.
C: 1 Bf8+! Kxf8 2 Qe8+ Kg7 3 Re7+ Kh6 4 Qf8+ Bg7 5 Qxg7+ Kg5 6 Re5+ Kg4 7 Kg2 1-0.
D: 1…Ng3+! 2 hxg3 Qh5+ 3 Bh2 fxg3 0-1.

Fixed draw scandal rocks chess world

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(Chronicle Chess 5th January 2023)

When is a draw not a draw? In chess, as in warfare and sports, the ‘honourable draw’ has a chequered history: Both sides fought bravely, but in the end no one could win and a peace treaty was signed.

Many games played by World Champion Magnus Carlsen go on to the bitter end with just king versus king: it’s a draw because neither player has enough pieces to deliver checkmate. Less honourably, some games in professional tournaments are agreed drawn in just a few moves because players want to split prize money or conserve their energy.

Players can have different ideas of what a draw looks like. Some juniors follow the example of John Cleese’s Black Knight in ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail,’ who suggests ‘Let’s call it a draw!’ after all his limbs have been hacked off.

Last week, a scandal erupted after a pre-arranged draw at the World Blitz Championships in Uzbekistan. Two Russians, Daniel Dubov and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Nepo for short), were caught on camera agreeing to a draw before the game and then performing a ‘Dance of the Knights’ – where they swapped the positions of their knights from g1 to b1 and b8 to g8, and then shook hands.
The referees penalised both players, awarding them zero. Dubov missed gold by half a point and Nepo finished just out of the medals.

The scandal has split the chess world, with Carlsen saying that no draws should ever be agreed, except when the same position occurs three times or when players run out of pieces.

Meanwhile, Chess.com has banned draws agreed under 30 moves in its prize tournaments. Some grandmasters have objected, claiming that ‘professional draws’ are necessary for them to earn a living.

A few people have even suggested going back to the pre-16th century rules, where the player delivering stalemate was awarded a win.

The World Chess Federation (headed by Russian politician Arkady Dvorkovich) has been accused of double standards, as other players agreed short draws in Uzbekistan without being forfeited. Dubov and Nepo, unlike some Russian grandmasters, are both vocal critics of Russia’s war with Ukraine, prompting suggestions that the referees were leaned on.

In North East club chess, there are few short draws, as players simply play for enjoyment. But sometimes a draw is agreed once a league match is decided or players simply want to catch the last bus home.

This week’s puzzles show spectacular ways to force a draw by perpetual check and stalemate.

Puzzle A: Siebrecht (White) to play & draw.

Puzzle B: Bernstein (White) to play & draw.

Puzzle C: Christiansen (Black) to play & draw.

Puzzle D: Boerkoel (Black) to play & draw.

Answers:
A: 1 Rh3! Qxf7 2 Bg6+! Draw by perpetual check.
B: 1 Rxb2! Rh2+ 3 Kf3 Rxb2 stalemate.
C: 1…Qxf6! 2 Qxf6 Rh2+! Draw. If 3 Kxh2 Rg2+! 3 Kh3 Rg3+! 4 Kh2 Rg2+! 5 Kh1 Rg1+! 6 Rxg1 stalemate.
D: 1…Rxf2! 2 Kxf2 (if 2 gxh4 Rg2+ 3 Kh1 Rh2+) 2…Bxg3+! 3 Nxg3 Qf4+ 4 Ke2 Qg4+ 5 Kxe3 Qg3+ 6 Ke4 Qg4+ draw by perpetual check.