Northumberland leads chess revival

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 7 February 2025)

Chess across the North of England is undergoing a serious revival, thanks in large part to the efforts of players and organisers from Northumberland, Tyneside and County Durham.


The Northumberland Chess Association, which covers the area from Berwick to South Shields, has been one of the key movers in getting northern chess back on the map, introducing new competitions and expanding the number of counties affiliated to the Northern Counties Chess Union (NCCU).

The Northumbria Masters, organised by Tim Wall, will run its seventh international congress at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre this summer, from August 20-25, providing opportunities for players to gain International Master and Grandmaster norms, and for aspiring young players to get their first international ratings. For information about this year’s Northumbria Masters Congress, go to: https://northumbriamasters.com.

The Durham County Congress, also at the Dolphin Centre from May 9-11, and the Northumberland Congress, at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields, from 26-28 September, both attract many players to the North East and provide local players with opportunities.

Since 2020, Northumberland, through its presidency of the NCCU, has been instrumental in reviving the Northern Counties Championships, bringing Greater Manchester into the NCCU and encouraging Cheshire and Cleveland to take an active part in the Northern Counties.

Last weekend, Northumberland organised the NCCU Open Teams Championship, against Greater Manchester and Yorkshire. The event was held at the Bradford Latvian Club, with the honours going to Manchester, who fielded a strong team.

Results were:
Greater Manchester 7.5/12,
Yorkshire 6,
Northumberland 4.5.

In their mini-matches, Northumberland drew 3-3 with Yorkshire but lost 1.5-4.5 to Greater Manchester.

Northumberland’s individual scores were:
1 Tim Wall (Newcastle) 0.5;
2 Husain Nakara (Newcastle University) 0;
3 Thomas Eggleston 1;
4 Andy Burnett (Newcastle) 1;
5 Graeme Oswald (Leam Lane) 0;
6 Zheming Zhang (Newcastle) 0.5;
7 David Armbruster (Gosforth) 1;
8 Nathan Ekanem (Newcastle) 0;
9 John Awesome (Newcastle) 0;
10 Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall) 0;
11 Krithik Shai (Newcastle) 0.5;
12 Daniel Sewart (Newcastle) 0.

Greater Manchester and Yorkshire go through to the national stages of the Counties Championships, while Northumberland will have to wait until 2025-26 for their next chance.

The next major northern chess competition will be the Pennine Cup, for teams of juniors under the age of 18. This takes place in Swinton, Manchester, and Northumberland will be entering two teams of six players.

Northern chess will receive another boost this summer, with the British Championships coming to Liverpool from July 31 – August 10. For more information about how to qualify and enter the British, go to: www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: Miaoyi-Yakubboev, 2025. Black to move.

Puzzle B: Finn-Murawski, 2024. White to move.

Puzzle C: Kovalskyi-Sowray, 2024. White to move.

Puzzle D: O’Donnell-Baunaure, 2024. Black to move.

ANSWERS:

A: 1…Ra5! wins. If 2 Qxa5 Qg1+ mates.
B: 1 Rf6+! gxf6 2 Nf4 mate.
C: 1 Qf8+! Bxf8 (or 1…Rxf8) 2 Ng7 mate.
D: 1…Nf4+! 2 gxf4 (or 2 Kg4 h5 mate) 2…Qxh4 mate.