Bielby aims to win record county title
(Newcastle Chronicle, 3 May 2024)
The 2023-24 George Sell Trophy, an annual competition run for Under 2000-rated players by the Northumberland Chess Association, is set for a tantalising four-way shootout after the tournament ended in a tie.
Paul Bielby (South Shields), Mick Riding (Gosforth), Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall) and Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane) each scored 4.5/7 in the main tournament, and now face a four-way playoff to decide the winner.
Each player plays three games between now and early July, and the highest score wins.
If Paul Bielby, 87, were to win the event, he would be the oldest player ever to win a section of the Northumberland Championship.
Bielby first moved to Sunderland as a newly qualified school teacher in the 1960s. A regular competitor in the British Championship, Bielby ran the highly successful Sunderland YMCA Chess Club, which won several league titles over three decades. He also won the Zollner Trophy, the top section of the Northumberland Championship, on several occasions. His style is very much a classical one, but he has retained an attacking flair in his play to this day.
Bielby also built up Red House School in Sunderland into one of the strongest for chess in the North East, and after retirement continued to teach chess at Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, mentoring several international players and taking the school to the national finals on many occasions.
Bielby is still an active member of South Shields Chess Club, which meets twice weekly: on Thursdays from 7pm at the New Ship Inn in Cleadon, and on Saturdays from 10am at The Word, South Shields.
The other three players in the playoff also have good chances to win the trophy. Riding plays in an attractive, attacking style, while Benchebra also seems to relish complications. Mohindra has perhaps the most careful style of the playoff quartet.
In other events, the second round of the Northumbria League Summer Cup is due to take place in the week starting May 13, with Group A and B matches at Gosforth Empire Club on May 13, Group D matches at The Old George, Newcastle on May 14 and Group C matches at Morpeth Rugby Club on May 15.
There is still space for a small number of late entries to the upcoming Durham Chess Congress, which takes place from May 10-12 at Darlington’s Dolphin Leisure Centre. Competitions include the Open, Major, Minor and Junior (12 May only).
Enquiries to: https://durhamchesscongress.co.uk/contact/
The top seeds in the Open are Tim Wall (Newcastle), David Walker (Leam Lane), Mate Ther (Newcastle University) and Maksym Larchikov (Hull).
puzzles
This week’s puzzles are from the Northumberland Championships.
Puzzle A: Paul Bielby (Black) to move:
Puzzle B: Tim Wall (Black) to move:
Puzzle C: Paul Dargan (White) to move:
Puzzle D: Raj Mohindra (Black) to move:
Answers:
A: 1…a3+! 0-1. If 2 Kxa3 Qxc3.
B: 1…Rc2+ 0-1. If 2 Ne2 Qxd3 3 Rxd3 Rxe2+.
C: 1 Qc6+ 1-0. If 1…Kb8 2 Rd8 checkmate, or 1…Rc7 2 Qa8 checkmate.
D: 1…Qe3! 2 Bxe3 Bh2+ 3 Kh1 Be4+ 4 Rf3 Bxf3 checkmate.