Any Newcastle or Sunderland football fan can testify to the benefits that talented young sportspeople from around the world bring to the North East. The same effect applies to chess, and international talent was very much on display this Tuesday at Newcastle Chess Club’s Open Blitz, held at the club’s new venue, The Old George Inn, just off the Bigg Market.
The Old George pub in Newcastle city centre was once the favourite hangout for chess-mad King Charles I during the English Civil War.
Now it is welcoming back the royal game for Newcastle Chess Club’s Open Blitz tournament on February 13.
Northumberland’s teams are gearing up for another crack at the national county championships, two years after winning the 2022 Open Championship for the first time in the county’s history.
Fail to prepare? Prepare to fail. This applies as much to chess as it does to maths tests and sports.
As many sports teams have found to their cost, the knockout can be a brutal form of competition. Just because your team has a higher ranking, it’s no protection against an early exit.
January is traditionally the month for rueing New Year’s resolutions, counting the cost of that Christmas spending splurge – and working out who’s going up and down in the sporting world.
So it is with chess leagues.
When is a draw not a draw? In chess, as in warfare and sports, the ‘honourable draw’ has a chequered history: Both sides fought bravely, but in the end no one could win and a peace treaty was signed.
David Watson, a genial and devoted servant of Morpeth Chess Club and Northumberland Chess Association, has passed away in his sleep after a short illness. He was 79.
It’s been a good year for grassroots chess in the North East – a trend that looks set to continue in 2024.
Try our Christmas Chess Quiz!