Exciting 2025 ahead for North East chess

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 27 December 2024)

North East chess looks set for an exciting 2025 after a year of growth in all formats, with organisers confident of making a breakthrough at the adult and junior levels.

The Northumbria League has grown to 44 teams, while entries for the three sections of the Northumberland Individual County Championships have doubled in the last year.

There are more than 25 schools from Northumberland and Tyneside taking part in National Schools Championships, and over 100 children attending junior clubs on Tyneside: Gosforth (Saturday 10 am – 12 noon at Gosforth Empire Club), Newcastle (Sunday 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm at Jesmond Library) and Forest Hall (Friday evenings at Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s).

Saturday morning library drop-in clubs are also going strong at The Word, South Shields and Newcastle City Library.

In 2024 both the Northumbria Masters and Durham congresses at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington attracted more than 150 players each, and the Northumberland Congress at The Parks, North Shields had more than 130 players.

The Northumbria Masters is expanding in 2025, combining a six-day FIDE-rated Congress from August 20-25 with a Darlington Chess Festival with fun family chess activities on the town’s Horse Market Square.

Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities at the Northumbria Masters Congress and Darlington Chess Festival should contact: info@northumbriamasters.com.

New clubs and teams are coming to the fore, with the newly formed Newcastle club winning Divisions 1 and 6, while Gosforth now field an impressive number of junior players.

A lot of the growth can be attributed to Gosforth Chess Club, whose Monday match nights at Gosforth Empire Club on Salters Road regularly attract as many as 60 players.

Newcastle Chess Club holds regular blitz tournaments at its city centre venue, The Old George Inn off the Bigg Market, at 7:15 pm on the first Monday of every month. For more info, go to: https://newcastlechessclub.com or text/WhatsApp: 0750 372 2366.

Forest Hall is also thriving after moving to the Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s Institute, with the club winning the Summer Knockout Cup.

The brand new Cramlington club now meet in the Manor Walks Shopping Centre on Friday evenings.

Northumberland also continue to punch above their weight in the National Counties Championships. In 2024, the county were runners-up in the National Open Championship. In 2025, the county is entering teams in the Open and Under 1450 competitions.

For more information about how to get involved in a chess club or event near you, email Tim Wall at: timpeterwall@gmail.com.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: Magnus Carlsen (White) to play & win.

Puzzle B: Vasyl Ivanchuk (White) to play & win.

Puzzle C: Bassem Amin (White) to play & win.

Puzzle D: Vaishali Rameshbabu (White) to play & win.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Qxf8+! Kxf8 2 Rd8+ Ne8 3 Rdxe8 mate.
B: 1 Rxf6! wins. If 1…Qxf6 2 Bd4, or 1…Kxf6 2 Bh4+.
C: 1 Bxg6! hxg6 (or 1…fxg6 2 Rb8! Kxb8 3 f7) 2 Rb8! Kxb8 3 h7.
D: 1 Qe4! Qd7 (or 1…d2 2 d8N+! Kf6 3 Nxb7) 2 Qh7+ Ke8 3 Qxd7+ Kxd7 4 Ke3 wins.

Christmas Quiz

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 20 December 2024)

Q1: Christmas Tree. White to play. Mate in 2.

Q2: Silent Knight. White to play. Mate in 5.

Q3: Santa’s Chimney. White to play. Mate in 8.

Q4: Dracula (White) to play. Mate in 4. Why didn’t he play the last move?

Q5: Which piece always moves to a different colour square?
a) King
b) Knight
c) Bishop
d) Pawn

Q6: Which club won the 2024 Northumbria Summer Knockout?
a) Morpeth
b) Gosforth
c) Newcastle
d) Forest Hall

Q7: How old is new World Champion D. Gukesh?
a) 16
b) 18
c) 22
d) 64

Q8: Name the commentator at this year’s British Championships.
a) Jonathan Hawkins
b) David Eggleston
c) Danny Gormally
d) Charlie Storey

Q9: What can a king, rook, bishop, knight and pawn all do, but a queen can’t?
a) Be promoted
b) Discover check
c) Castle
d) En passant

Q10: Which chess award depicts a Viking warrior?
a) Louis Zollner Trophy
b) Prince Bishops Cup
c) Harry Clasper Shield
d) Lindisfarne Horn

Q11: Why did GM Vladeslav Tkachiev lose his 2009 game in Kolkata after 11 moves?
a) His mobile phone alarm went off
b) His pacemaker set off the metal detector
c) He fell asleep drunk
d) He got locked in the bathroom

Q12: Which chess master represented a North East parliamentary constituency?
a) Jonathan Arnott MEP
b) Rachel Reeves MP
c) Joyce Quin MEP
d) Guy Opperman MP

Q13: Name Alexander Alekhine’s annoying habit.
a) Blowing cigar smoke at his opponent
b) Peeling oranges over the pieces
c) Pulling out his gun during the game
d) Letting his cats roam over the board

Q14: Which chess-mad British monarch was a regular at Newcastle Chess Club’s venue, The Old George Inn?
a) Henry VIII
b) Mary Queen of Scots
c) Charles I
d) Lady Jane Grey

Q15: Whose title was inspired by chess?
a) Archbishop of Canterbury
b) Chancellor of the Exchequer
c) Shah of Iran
d) Knights of the Round Table

Q16: Which celebrity was a member of Durham City Chess Club?
a) George Lazenby
b) Nish Kumar
c) Dominic Cummings
d) Gabby Logan

Q17: Who wrote the novel ‘The Queen’s Gambit’?
a) Walter Tevis
b) George RR Martin
c) Vladimir Nabokov
d) Jovanka Houska

Q18: How many queens can you have on the board at the same time?
a) 2
b) 4
c) 9
d) 18

Q19: Which is not a famous checkmate pattern?
a) Anastasia’s Mate
b) Back Rank Mate
c) Cluedo Mate
d) Damiano’s Mate

Q20: Which venue hosted the 2012 British Championships?
a) Alnwick Castle
b) The Parks, North Shields
c) Newcastle City Hall
d) Baltic Art Gallery

ANSWERS:

1) 1 Qc5! If 1…dxc5 2 Re5 mate, 1…Rxc5 2 Nd4 mate, 1…Kxf5/Rxe4 2 Qxd5 mate, 1…Bxe4 2 Nf4 mate.
2) 1 Ka1! Ba5 2 Nc7+ Kb8 3 Nxa6+ Ka8 4 Qb8+ Rxb8 5 Nc7 mate.
3) 1 0-0-0! Kxa7 2 Rd8! Kxa6 3 Rd7 Kxa5 4 Rd6 Kxa4 5 Rd5 Kxa3 6 Rd4 Kxa2 7 Rd3 Ka1 8 Ra3 mate.
4) 1 Nd4+ Kd6 2 Rxd5+ Nxd5 3 Qxd7+ Nxd7 4 Re6 mate. The last move completes the sign of the cross.
5) b
6) d
7) b
8) c
9) b
10) a
11) c
12) a
13) d
14) c
15) b
16) c
17) a
18) d
19) c
20) b

Who wants to be a chess millionaire?

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 6 December 2024)

Going from rags to riches is the stuff of legend, but few people would expect it to happen from chess. Yet in the global chess explosion we are currently witnessing, an 18-year-old from India, Dommaraju Gukesh, is battling it out for the World Championship in Singapore with China’s Ding Liren for a $2.5 million (£2 million) prize fund.

In India, chess – just like cricket – can transform lives. Sponsors are falling over themselves to finance Gukesh and other top Indian players. It seems a little like the plot of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire,” where a former Mumbai street kid wins the jackpot in a TV quiz. Gukesh is not quite a rags-to-riches story – both his parents are well-qualified doctors – but you do get the sense that chess is a viable career option for Indian and Chinese youngsters.

In the UK, we just have a handful of chess prodigies. None of them can expect to make a decent living from chess unless they make it into the world top 20. Here, chess – without major sponsors or government recognition as a sport – is a part-time activity for even the best young talents, and the singular obsession required to reach the top is tempered by the need to get a good degree and a well-paying job.

(In 2023, the UK government did give grants totalling £1 million to chess, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to other countries’ support for the game.)

Darts and snooker, through canny marketing, have broken into TV and provide a more viable career path. They have on their side a down-to-earth image of accessibility – that any youngster can make it to the big time if they practice hard enough.

Chess suffers, perhaps, from a perception that it is an elite activity that’s hard to master. Yet the evidence worldwide is to the contrary: girls and boys from all backgrounds can excel at chess, and chess helps kids become smarter in general.

Next year, chess is back on the BBC in a programme called “Chess Masters”, where amateur players do battle in a game show format. Who knows whether this and other promotional efforts can revive the fortunes of the game in the UK. But the exploits of Gukesh and Ding will definitely inspire a generation of young players worldwide.

Next Monday, 9 December, the latest Newcastle Blitz Grand Prix tournament takes place at The Old George Inn, just off the Bigg Market. Play starts at 7:15pm, and entry is open to all. To enter, contact timpeterwall@gmail.com or go to https://newcastlechessclub.com for more details.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: Sindarov-Nikitenko, 2024. White to play.

Puzzle B: Agasarov-Shahinyan, 2024. White to play.

Puzzle C: Pranesh-Nigmatov, 2024. Black to play.

Puzzle D: Nagarkatte-Miszler, 2024. White to play.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Bxh6! 1-0. If 1…Kxh6 2 Qg6 checkmate.
B: 1 Re7! 1-0. If 1…Rxe7 2 Qxf8 checkmate.
C: 1…Qh3+! 2 Rgg2 (if 2 Rxh3 Rxf2 checkmate) Rxf2+ 0-1.
D: 1 Nxd5! exd5 2 Re1+ Kf7 3 Re7+ 1-0.