Northumberland Championships under way for 2024-25

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 27 September 2024)

The 2024-25 Northumberland Individual Championships are under way, with a total of 62 players set to battle it out over the next seven months for the coveted Zollner, Sell and Gilroy trophies. This is an impressive entry, up some 50 per cent on previous years and underlining the welcome increase in chess activity on Tyneside in the last few years.

Heading up the 14-player Zollner tournament list is six-time winner Tim Wall (Newcastle), but he faces a tough challenge from fellow FIDE Masters David Walker (Leam Lane) and Andy Burnett (Newcastle), as well as newcomer Husain Nakara (Newcastle University).

In the 16-player Sell competition, reigning co-champions Mick Riding (Gosforth) and Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall) are joined by veteran former Zollner winner Paul Bielby (South Shields), last year’s Gilroy winner Mark McKay (Gosforth) and Jounaid El-Archi (Newcastle).

The 32-player Gilroy tournament is the toughest competition to predict, with a new name on the trophy highly likely to appear in May. Potential contenders are Darren McCarthy (Alnwick), Antonio Stipanovic (Gosforth), Dave Peardon (Hetton Lyons), Alfie McMonagle (Newcastle University) and Ethan Tatters (Forest Hall).

The Northumbria League is also expanding, with 44 teams of four players each from 13 clubs due to take part in the 2024-25 season. Gosforth is leading the way with 10 teams, followed by Forest Hall with six. Newcastle University is entering an all-women’s team and its newly promoted first team likely to be a strong challenger in Division 1.

Newcastle Dragons are likely to be the favourites again for Division 1, while new club Cramlington are a welcome addition to the league. Full fixtures are due to be published next week, and the season will run from October through to the end of April.

This weekend sees the 60th Northumberland Weekend Congress take place at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields, from Friday evening through to Sunday. As of Thursday, a healthy 136 entries had been registered.

Top seed in the Open is Alnwick grandmaster Danny Gormally, with his challengers likely to be Wall and Burnett (Newcastle), Walker (Leam Lane), Nakara (Newcastle University) and promising England junior Theo Khoury (Oxford).

Local hopes in the Major rest with Bielby (South Shields), McKay (Gosforth) and Stuart Skelsey (Forest Hall), while in the Minor the leading contenders include Stipanovic (Gosforth), McMonagle (Newcastle University) and Noel Boustred (Forest Hall).

The Foundation includes a bevy of juniors from Gosforth and Forest Hall, with the pre-tournament favourite possibly Sanjay Sathishkumar (Gosforth).

PUZZLES

This week’s puzzles are taken from the recently concluded FIDE World Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.

Puzzle A: Urkedal-Noritsyn. White to play.

Puzzle B: Caruana-Tin. White to play.

Puzzle C: Fawzy-Abdusattorov. Black to play.

Puzzle D: Lopez-Wang. Black to play.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Bxe6! Kxe6 2 f5+ Ke7 3 Nd5+ wins a key pawn.
B: 1 Qe8+ Kh7 2 Ng5+! 1-0. If 2..hxg5 3 Qxh5+ Kg8 4 Re8+ wins.
C: 1…Rd2! 0-1. If 2 Nxd2 Qxh3 checkmate, or 2 Qxd2 Qxf3+ 3 Kh2 Qg3+ 4 Kh1 Qxh3 checkmate.
D: 1…Rh1+! 0-1. If 2 Kxh2 Qh4+ 3 Kg1 Qxe1+ 4 Kh2 Qxe5 wins.

Forest Hall upset Morpeth in Cup Final

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 20 September 2024)

As any sports fan will tell you, in Cup Finals underdogs often rise to the occasion and defeat the favourites. In the Northumberland Summer Chess Cup Final, Forest Hall Badgers pulled off an impressive giant-killing act to defeat Morpeth A, while Gosforth Regents defeated their club mates Gosforth Centurions in the Plate Final.

With the help of a 3.5-point handicap, Forest Hall Badgers (a Minor team) beat Morpeth A (an Open team) 5.5-2 – winning two games and losing two games against much higher-rated opposition.

Scores (Morpeth players first):

Board 1: Roger Coathup 1-0 Morgan French
Board 2: Mike Smyth 0-1 Hanif Zaman
Board 3: Martin Seeber 0-1 Reese Wright
Board 4: Alan Welsh 1-0 John Thomas

Forest Hall’s wins were helped by time trouble, with Smyth and Seeber allowing themselves to get into severe time trouble and then blundering. On Board 2, Smyth was a queen for rook ahead, but with only a minute left on his clock, he allowed a checkmate by Zaman with his king trapped on the side of the board.

That decided the match, as the Badgers only needed a single draw to clinch the title. Board 3 also went Forest Hall’s way after Seeber, a piece up with no counterplay, missed a tactic by Wright to win his queen.

Although both wins could be termed lucky, the fighting spirit showed by the young Forest Hall players, coupled with indecision by their more experienced opponents, turned the match in Forest Hall’s favour.

The Plate Final between Gosforth Regents and Gosforth Centurions (both Intermediate teams) was more straightforward. The Regents won comfortably 3.5-0.5, with greater experience this time the factor that swung the match.

Scores (Regent players first):

Board 1: Mark McKay 1-0 Steven Eggleston
Board 2: Marco Checchi 1-0 Antonio Stipanovic
Board 3: Ian Chester 0.5-0.5 David Pritchard
Board 4: Martin Beardsley 1-0 Michael Owen

As the winter chess season gets underway, the 6oth Northumberland Congress takes place at The Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields, over the weekend of 27-29 September. Over 130 players are expected to compete for a total of £2,200 in prizes. It’s still possible to enter the congress, with a range of tournaments for players to try their hand at: Open, Major (under 1900), Minor (under 1675) and Foundation (under 1450). You can enter online at: https://northumberlandchess.wixsite.com/congress.

PUZZLES

This week’s puzzles are from the Chess Olympiad currently taking place in Budapest, Hungary.

Puzzle A: Eicharb-Hillarp Persson. Black to play & win.

Puzzle B: Gumularz-Tuan Minh. White to play & win.

Puzzle C: Erigaisi-Prohaszka. White to play & win.

Puzzle D: Duda-Dragnev. Black to play & draw.

ANSWERS:

A: 1…Ne5+! 2 Kxe4 (2 fxe5 Qxg4 checkmate) 2…Qxg4! (2…Qg6+ also leads to mate) 3 Qxd6 Qf5 checkmate.
B: 1 Nb5! wins material. 1…Qa5 2 Nxa3, or 1…Rxa2 2 Rxb4.
C: 1 Qxh6+! gxh6 2 Rxh6+ Qh7 3 Rxh7 checkmate.
D: 1…Qxh3+! 2 gxh3 Rxf2+ 3 Kg3 Rf3+ 4 Kh2 (if 4 Kxh4 Rxh3 checkmate) 4…Rf2+ Draw. If 3 Kg1 Rxg2+ 4 Kh1 Bxh3 should draw.

Northumberland Congress turns 60

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 13 September 2024)

The Northumberland Weekend Congress celebrates its 60th edition later this month at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields. Over 130 players are expected to compete for a total of £2,200 in prizes.

The event, which runs from 27th-29th September, began in the 1960s, and is the North East’s longest running annual chess congress. At one time called the Tyne & Wear Congress, it has variously been held at Newcastle University’s Castle Leazes campus, Monkseaton High School, Whitley Bay and Cruddas Park Community Centre, before settling at its current location.

Over the years, the congress’s Open tournament has been won by many Grandmasters (GMs) and International Masters (IMs), and this year’s top seed is GM Daniel Gormally of Alnwick. Gormally’s participation is noteworthy as he has tended to avoid playing in local congresses in recent years, instead preferring national and international competitions.

Based on entries received so far, Gormally’s main rivals for the Open title are likely to be FIDE Masters Tim Wall and Andy Burnett (Newcastle), and David Walker (Leam Lane), plus visiting German player Joerg Raasch. The Open is a great opportunity for North East players to get an International rating.

In the Major tournament, leading contenders include Mick Riding and Mark McKay (Gosforth), Stuart Skelsey (Forest Hall) and Paul Bielby (South Shields).

The top players in the Minor tournament include Antonio Stipanovic (Gosforth), James Flint (Newcastle University), Kevin Cox (Gateshead), Ryan Duff and Noel Boustred (Forest Hall).

And in the Foundation tournament, aimed at newcomers to tournament play with either no rating or a national rating of less than 1450, the leading contenders include Riaan Pathare, Leonardo Trevisan and Ruby Johnstone (Forest Hall), Ross MacDonald and Gautham Satishkumar (Gosforth).

There is still time to enter the congress. Around 100 entries have been received so far, and the total usually rises to between 130 and 150 for all competitions.

This week sees the start of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, where England’s Open and Women’s teams are hopeful of competing for the medals. The England Open team consists of grandmasters Nikita Vitiugov, current British Champion Gawain Jones, former British Champions David Howell and Mickey Adams, and Luke McShane. The England Women’s team is led by IM Jovanka Houska, and includes Lan Yao, Harriet Hunt, Katarzyna Toma and nine-year-old prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan.

PUZZLES

This week’s puzzles are taken from the 2024 English Championship.

Puzzle A: Zhu-Gordon. White to play.

Puzzle B: Kumar-Hebden. Black to play.

Puzzle C: Ghasi-Banarjee. White to play.

Puzzle D: Savidge-Boswell. White to play.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Rxh7+! Nxh7 2 Nf7 checkmate.
B: 1…Rxe4! 2 Bxe4 Bc5 0-1.
C: 1 Rxg6+! Kxg6 (1…fxg6 2 3 Bf8+ Kh7 4 Qf7 checkmate) 2 Nxe5+ Kh6 3 Bf8+ Kh7 4 Qf5 checkmate.
D: 1 Rh8+! (1 Bh7+ Kf8 2 Nxe6+ also wins) 1…Bxh8 2 Qh7+ Kf8 3 Nxe6+ 1-0.

Four teams reach KO Cup finals

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 6 September 2024)

The Northumberland Summer Cup and Plate’s 22 teams have been whittled down to just four for the Finals, which take place on Monday September 16 at Gosforth Chess Club. Morpeth take on Forest Hall Badgers in the Cup Final, while Gosforth Regents play Gosforth Centurions in the Plate Final.

This year the competition has a new format, with World Cup-style qualifying groups before the knockout stage. Over 220 games have been played, helping chess clubs stay active over the summer months. Top teams from four groups qualified for the Cup semis, while second-placed teams from the group stages went through to the Plate semis. The handicap system awards extra points to lower rated teams.

In the Cup semi-finals at Gosforth on September 2, Morpeth fielded Division 1 stars Roger Coathup, Mike Smyth, James Turner and Alan Welsh to win 4-2.5 versus Forest Hall Magpies. The Magpies had their highly experienced lineup of Mike Smith, Jeff Baird, Steve Bowey and Jeff Bentham. Although the Magpies had a 2.5 handicap, Morpeth swept the board 4-0.

The other Cup semi-final saw two Minor teams, Gateshead and Forest Hall Badgers, duel it out. The Badgers, including three young players Morgan French, Hanif Zaman, and Reece Wright, triumphed 3-1 versus the more experienced Gateshead (Kevin Cox, Barry Edgar, Peter Wells and Alex Johnson). Since Gateshead had the lower average rating, the Badgers had needed 2.5 points to go through, while Gateshead only needed 2 points.

In the first Plate semi-final, underdogs Gosforth Centurions (Antonio Stipanovic, David Pritchard, Michael Owen and Brandon Russell) edged out Division 1’s Jesmond (Edward Dodds, Chris Izod, Andy Trevelyan and Alex Surtees) 3.5-3, after Stipanovic pulled off a fine giantkiller win against Dodds. With a 2.5-point handicap, this saw Centurions through to the final.

In the other Plate semi-final, Gosforth Regents (Mark McKay, Alex Blake, Ian Chester and Martin Beardsley) overcame Gosforth Hawthorns (Alex Piercy, Jacob Manley, Steve Armstrong and Andrew Brown) 4-2.5.

In the Cup Final, Open team Morpeth will be giving a 3.5-point head start to Minor team Forest Hall Badgers. Morpeth need a clean sweep, while just one draw will give the Badgers the title.

In the Plate Final, Major team Gosforth Regents give a 1.5-point handicap to Intermediate team Gosforth Centurions. The Regents need 3 points to win, while the Centurions just need 1.5.

Spectators for the Finals are welcome at the Gosforth Empire Club, 32-24 Salters Road, Gosforth. Matches kick off at 7:15pm.

The next big local chess gathering is the 60th Northumberland Weekend Congress, 27-29 September at The Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields. Entries are being taken at: https://northumberlandchess.wixsite.com/congress.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: Andy Burnett (White) to play

Puzzle B: Jude Shearsby (Black) to play

Puzzle C: Billy Fellowes (White) to play

Puzzle D: David Wise (White) to play

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Rh3+ 1-0. If 1…Bxh3 2 Qxg5.
B: 1…Bxb2+! 2 Qxb2 Qe1+ 3 Kc2 Rd2+ 0-1
C: 1 Rxc6+! Bxc6 2 Rb1 1-0.
D: 1 Rxb7! Qc8 (1…Qxb7 2 Nxd6+! exd6 3 Ba6+) 2 Nxd6+! exd6 3 Bb5+ Be7 4 Bxd7+ Qxd7 5 Rxd7 and White won.