Wall regains Zollner lead

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 7 March 2025)

The reigning Northumberland Open Individual Champion, Tim Wall, has regained the lead in the 2024-25 Zollner Championship, going half a point ahead of Scotsman Andrew Burnett as results from the penultimate round come in.


Wall defeated Chris Izod (Jesmond) in 25 moves in a complex Advance French after Izod got his queen and bishop caught in a queenside trap. Rather than soldier on a piece down, Izod sought to swap his queen for rook, bishop and two pawns – only to find that his bishop was also trapped. In the space of four short moves, the game had swung from advantage Black to winning for White, and Izod was forced to resign.

The result allows Wall, of Newcastle Chess Club, to leapfrog Burnett, his clubmate, into the lead. Wall now has 4.5/6, while Burnett (on 4/5) now faces Gosforth’s No. 1 player, Gustavo Leon Cazares (3.5/5), in his sixth-round game. A win for Burnett would make him odds-on favourite to win his first Zollner title, while a win for Leon Cazares or a draw would allow Wall to share the lead with one or other of those two players.

After the current round, there is one more round to go. A tie after seven rounds would be decided by a playoff match of two games, with sudden death games following that if necessary.

Wall has six Zollner titles (1990-91, 1992-93, 1994-95, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24), matching the tally by Peter Oakley in the 1970s and 80s. A win in this year’s competition would allow him to surpass Oakley’s record.

The Zollner Championship is named after the Danish consul to Newcastle, Louis Zollner (1854-1945), who was a longtime Newcastle resident, as well as one of the region’s strongest players. Zollner awarded his silver Viking trophy to the newly formed Northumberland Chess Association in 1930, and it has been presented for the winner of the Northumberland Championship ever since.

The Zollner Trophy is one of the world’s most iconic chess trophies, depicting the 10th century Viking king and ruler of Normandy, Rollo, with a longsword in hand. It has been valued by the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow at £25,000.

Full 2024-25 Zollner scores so far:
1 Wall 4.5/6;
2 Burnett 4/5;
3 Leon Cazares 3.5;
4-9 Husain Nakara (Newcastle University), Paul Dargan (Tynemouth), David Armbruster & Jack Erskine-Pereira (Gosforth) 3/5, Chris Izod (Jesmond), John Boys (South Shields) 3/6;
10 Andy Trevelyan (Jesmond) 2.5/5;
11 Nathan Ekanem (Newcastle) 2/5;
12 Gary Murphy (Jesmond) 1.5/5;
13 Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane) 1/5.

PUZZLES

This week’s puzzles feature games by Zollner champions past and present.

Puzzle A: Oakley-Bielby, 1980. White to move.

Puzzle B: Wall-Izod, 2025. White to move.

Puzzle C: Storey-Walker, 1999. Black to move.

Puzzle D: Bielby-McDonald, 2019. White to move.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Bf6! 1-0. If 1…Rd7 2 Rc8+ Kh7 3 Rh8 mate.
B: 1 N1d2 Qa4 2 Bb2 Bxb2 3 Rxa4 Bxc1 4 Nb3 1-0.
C: 1…Rxg3+! 2 hxg3 Qxg3+ 3 Ng2 Bd4+ 0-1. If 4 Qxd4 Qxg2 mate, or 4 Kh1 Qh3 mate.
D: 1 Rh8+! 1-0. If 1…Kxh8 2 Qxh6+ Rh7 (2…Kg8 3 Rf8 mate) 3 Rf8+ wins.