‘Chess Masters’ comes to TV

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 14 March 2025)

This Monday, a new half-hour TV show called “Chess Masters: The Endgame” aired on BBC2 with Sue Perkins, and it’s getting a wide range of reactions.


The format is a light-hearted mix between “Bake Off,” “Only Connect” and a knockout chess tournament, and is designed to draw in viewers who don’t know much about the game. Twelve participants are assigned to two qualifying groups of six players each, and a mix of rapidplay games and visualisation puzzles are used to eliminate one competitor every week. The top two players from each group then go through to the semi-finals stage.

Despite the title, the competition does not include any masters. In this, it differs from “The Master Game”, a popular BBC show in the 1970s and 80s, which featured strong grandmasters, giving their thoughts on their moves in voiceovers. In the new show, players of average club strength have been chosen to reflect diverse demographics, with most young adults (there are no senior citizens or child prodigies in sight).

Players are given nicknames such as “The Killer Queen” and “The Unruly Knight”. Three-time British champion David Howell and Anthony Maturin, a chess coach who appeared recently on “The Traitors,” are on hand to explain the chess and offer encouragement.

The commentary is also different to what chess players are used to viewing on Twitch, YouTube and Chess.com. Mixed in with relatively advanced concepts such as back-rank checkmate and controlling the centre are the mechanics of how the knight moves, checkmate and castling.

TV reviewers so far have ranged from very enthusiastic to somewhat disappointed. “Could the BBC succeed in making chess sexy? Not quite but they did make it pretty darned exciting,” wrote Michael Hogan in The Telegraph, describing the show as “quietly compelling and full of chequered charm.”

Carol Midgeley in The Times said it was inevitable that chess “had to wear reality TV clothing, with the old ‘one of you will leave the competition today’ shtick in place to create tension”. But she added it had “a wholesome nerdy charm that is seductive.”

The most negative review came from Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, who described the programme as “thin, tired and scared.” She wrote: “[It] could have been gentle and charming if somebody involved had had some faith in the game, in the potential for people to be interested in explanations of its finer points or allowed Sue Perkins off the leash a bit to make more jokes”.

“Chess Masters: The Endgame” can be viewed at 8:00 pm on Mondays on BBC2 or watched on the iPlayer.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: King-Conquest, 1985. White to move.

Puzzle B: Gara-Wall, 2025. Black to move.

Puzzle C: Pert-Ganguly, 2001. White to move.

Puzzle D: Keene-Miles, 1975. White to move.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Nf6+! Qxf6 2 Qxf6 wins. (If 1…Kh8 2 Qxh5+ leads to mate)
B: 1…Bc2! 2 Qxc2 Ne5 3 Bc4 Nxf3+ 4 gxf3 Qh2+ 5 Kf1 dxe3 6 Nc3 e2+! 7 Nxe2 Qxh3+ 8 Kg1 Bh2+ 0-1. If 9 Kh1 Bg3+ 10 Kg1 Qh2+ 11 Kf1 Qxf2 mate.
C: 1 Ng5+! Rxg5 2 Qf7+ Kh6 3 Qxf6+ Kh7 4 Qf6+ Kh7 5 Qf7+ Kh6 6 Rxe6+ wins.
D: 1 Qb1! Ne5 2 dxe5 Ne4 3 Nxe4 Kh7 4 Nf6+! Bxf6 5 Qxg6+ Kh8 6 Bg7+1-0.

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.

Northumberland takes junior challenge

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 28 February 2025)

It’s been a few years since Northumberland entered the Pennine Cup, the premier annual competition for the strongest Under 18 teams in the Northern Counties. This year, Gosforth organiser Mick Riding took two Northumberland teams of six players each for the event in Swinton, Manchester, on Sunday February 23.


After six matches, both Northumberland teams finished fifth equal, with 7 points out of 12 – a very creditable result, given the strength of the event. On the day, Merseyside A dominated with a total of 30.5 game points out of 36.

Full results:
1 Merseyside A 12;
2 Wirral A 9;
3-4 Merseyside B & Lancashire 8;
5-9 Oldham A, Northumberland A, Northumberland B, Manchester A,
Manchester C 7;
10 Oldham B 6;
11-14 Oldham B, Cumbria A, Wirral B, Manchester B, Manchester D 5;
15 Merseyside C 4;
16-17 Cumbria B, Oldham C 3;
18 Wirral C 0.

Northumberland teams comprised 10 juniors from Gosforth Chess Club and two juniors from Newcastle Chess Club. Here are the Northumberland individual scores in board order:

Northumberland A (20.5/36 game points) – Kai Harkensee 1/6; Daniel Sewart 3.5; Lev Drobiazko 3; Joey Pramana 5.5; Gautham Satishkumar 4; James Phillips 3.5.

Northumberland B (21.5/36 game points) – Aaron Cheung 3/6; Ethan Ross 5; Sanjay Satishkumar 3; Alistair Howell 4; Maximus Scott 3; Viaan Gokul Nath 3.5.

In the Northumbria League, Division 1 leaders Gosforth Empire suffered a shock 3-1 defeat this week at the hands of Newcastle University A. This creates a three-horse race for the championship. Gosforth Empire (14/18) are still ahead, but Newcastle University A (13/18) and Newcastle Dragons (11/16) are now breathing hard on their necks.

In Division 2, Gosforth Regents (12/16) are in the lead, ahead of South Shields Arbeians (11/16) and Morpeth A (9/16).

Leam Lane Bullets (11/16) enjoy a narrow lead in Division 3, just ahead of Gateshead (10/14) and Forest Hall Titans (8/14).

Division 4 is being led by Newcastle Jesters (12/16), ahead of Tynedale (11/16) and Newcastle University B (9/18).

The Division 5 leaders are Jesmond Knights (16/18), but South Shields Sand-dancers (13/16) are still within striking distance.

Gosforth Siths are the runaway leaders of Division 6 with 16/18, having beaten second-placed Newcastle Cavaliers (13/18) in their match last week.

Several North East players took part in the Doncaster Congress (21-23 February), with Tim Wall (Newcastle) the joint winner of the Open on 4/5 and Martin Beardsley (Gosforth) third equal in the Intermediate on 4/5.

PUZZLES

This week’s puzzles are from ‘The Complete Chess Swindler’ by David Smerdon.

Puzzle A: Furman-Smejkal. White to move & draw.

Puzzle B: Liu-Wohl. White to move & draw.

Puzzle C: Smerdon (Black) to move & win.

Puzzle D: Smerdon-Tan. White to move & draw.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Nc1! a1Q stalemate, or 1…a1N 2 Nb3 Nxb3 stalemate.
B: 1 Rxc3 Rxc3 2 g6 b2 3 gxf7 Ke7 4 f8Q+ Kxf8 stalemate.
C: 1…Rf3+! 2 gxf3 Bf1 mate.
D: 1 Rg6+! fxg6 stalemate, or 1…Kf8 2 Rg8+ Ke7 3 Re8+ Kxe8 stalemate.

Scotsman Burnett leads Zollner

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 21 February 2025)

These days, chess comes in all shapes, sizes and time controls. In Blitz players make all their moves in under 10 minutes. In Rapid players take between 10 minutes and an hour. And in Classical, players have over an hour.


In the Northumberland Individual Championships, players have 75 minutes, plus a bonus of 10 seconds per move. The whole competition takes place over seven months. With one game per month, the competitors prepare intensively for their opponents, trying to spring opening surprises.

With just over two rounds left to go in the 2024-25 Northumberland Open Championship, Andy Burnett, a Scottish international who plays for Newcastle in the Northumbria League, has taken the lead. It would be Burnett’s first time winning the Zollner Trophy, first awarded in 1930. The silver trophy, portraying Viking King Rollo with sword in hand, has been valued on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow at £25,000.

Burnett has 4/5, ahead of Gustavo Leon Cazares (Gosforth) on 3.5, while there are five players on 3 points: Husain Nakara (Newcastle University), Tim Wall (Newcastle), David Armbruster & Jack Erskine-Pereira (Gosforth) and Chris Izod (Jesmond). Paul Dargan (Tynemouth) and Andy Trevelyan (Jesmond) are on 2.5, John Boyd (South Shields) and Nathan Ekanem (Newcastle) are on 2, Gary Murphy (Jesmond) is on 1.5, and Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane) is on 1.

The game between Dargan and Wall was due to be played on Thursday. A win for Wall would see him keep pace with Burnett, but any other result would leave Burnett as the clear favourite.

In the other two sections, Alex Blake (Gosforth) leads the Sell (Under 2000), while Denise Mosse (Gateshead) is in poll position in the Gilroy (Under 1700).

Sell scores: Blake 4.5/5, Stuart Skelsey (Forest Hall) 4; John Awesome (Newcastle) and Morgan French (Forest Hall) 3; Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall), Paul Bielby (South Shields), Jounaid El-Archi (Newcastle) and Mick Riding (Gosforth) 2.5; Andrew Robinson (Gosforth) 2; Ian Chester & Mark McKay (Gosforth), Michael Allen (Newcastle University), Jeremy Revell (Newcastle) 1.5; Reese Wright (Forest Hall) and Alan Green (Gosforth) 1; Stamen Kolev 0 (Newcastle).

Gilroy scores: Mosse 4.5/5; Jonny Kearney (Tynedale) 4; Ian Rook (Forest Hall), David Simm (Morpeth), Michael Owen (Gosforth) 3.5; Darren McCarthy and Andrew Hardy (Alnwick), James Phillips (Newcastle), Alex Piercy (Gosforth) 3; Tom Krause, Jonathan Rooney, Brandon Russell and Alykhan Bandali (Gosforth), Kevin Cox (Gateshead), James Flint and Thomas Cameron (Newcastle University), Dave Peardon (South Shields) and Martin Brookes, 2.5; Alfie McMonagle (Newcastle University), Joey Pramana, Antonio Stipanovic and Felix Glover (Gosforth), Ethan Tatters (Forest Hall) 2; Alan Smith (South Shields), Bob Heyman, Gautham Satishkumar, Sanjay Satishkumar, Ethan Ross, Vishnu Sriram and Viaan Gokul Nath (Gosforth), Jonathan Solomon (Forest Hall), Viktorija Bezganovic (Newcastle University), Daniel Atcheson (Newcastle) 1.5; Simon Horrocks, Aaron Cheung (Gosforth) 1; Steve Armstrong (Gosforth) 0.5.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: White to move.

Puzzle B: White to move.

Puzzle C: White to move.

Puzzle D: White to move.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Qg8+! Rxg8 2 Nf7 mate.
B: 1 Qxh8+! Kxh8 2 Bf6+ Kg8 3 Re8 mate.
C: 1 Rxb7+! Kxb7 2 Ra7+ Kc8 3 Rc7 mate.
D: 1 Qc7+! Nxc7 2 Nb6 mate.

Northumbria League leaders stumble

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 14 February 2025)

The Northumbria League is heating up, with leading teams losing key matches and allowing their nearest rivals to catch up.


Division 1 leaders Gosforth Empire are on 14 points from eight matches after conceding a 2-2 draw against Tynemouth A on Tuesday. Either Newcastle Dragons or Newcastle University (10 points from seven matches) can now catch them.

Tynemouth A v Gosforth Empire was a thrilling affair: Gosforth’s Gustavo Leon Cazares beat Paul Dargan on Board 1 and Tynemouth’s Tommaso Penna scored a shock win against Roger Coathup on Board 2. On Board 3, Gosforth’s David Armbruster moved to 7.5/8 by beating David Henderson, while Tynemouth’s Gary Cornwall defeated Stefan Hartmann on Board 4.

Div. 1 Standings:
1 Gosforth Empire 14;
2-3 Newcastle Dragons & Newcastle University A 10;
4-5 Tynemouth A & Jesmond Monarchs 7;
6 Gosforth Salters 2;
7 Leam Lane Aces 0.

Division 2 leaders Gosforth Regents have also slipped up, losing 1.5-2.5 against their clubmates, last-placed Gosforth Centurions. The Regents are three points ahead of Morpeth A and South Shields Arbeians, but both chasing teams have a match in hand.

    Div. 2 Standings:
    1 Gosforth Regents 12;
    2-3 Morpeth A & South Shields Arbeians 9;
    4-5 Tynemouth B & Forest Hall Dragons 6;
    6-7 Alnwick A & Gosforth Centurions 4.

    Division 3 is a two-horse race between Leam Lane Bullets and Gateshead.

    Div. 3 Standings:
    1 Leam Lane Bullets 11;
    2 Gateshead 8;
    3-4 Gosforth Ivy & Gosforth Hawthorns 7;
    5 Forest Hall Titans 6;
    6 Morpeth B 4;
    7 Gosforth Woodbines 3.

    Tynedale unexpectedly lost 4-0 to Tynemouth C in Division 4, allowing Newcastle Jesters to catch up.

    Div. 4 Standings:
    1-2 Newcastle Jesters & Tynedale 10;
    3 Forest Hall Phoenixes 9;
    4 Newcastle University B 8;
    5 Tynemouth C 6;
    6 Gosforth Jedis 5;
    7 Alnwick B 2.

    Division 5 is very close, with Jesmond Knights just a point ahead of South Shields Sand-dancers.

    Div. 5 Standings:
    1 Jesmond Knights 14;
    2 South Shields Sand-dancers 13;
    3 Tynemouth D 9;
    4-5 Gosforth Otterburns & Forest Hall Griffins 8;
    6 Forest Hall Centaurs 4;
    7-8 Alnwick C & Morpeth C.

    Junior team Gosforth Siths are three points ahead in Division 6, despite losing 2.5-1.5 to Newcastle University C.

    Div. 6 Standings:
    1 Gosforth Siths 14;
    2-3 Forest Hall Wizards & Newcastle Cavaliers 11;
    4 Newcastle University C 8;
    5 South Shields Custodians 6;
    6-7 Cramlington Royals & Morpeth D 3;
    8 Newcastle University Women 2.

    PUZZLES

    Puzzle A: White to move.

    Puzzle B: White to move.

    Puzzle C: White to move.

    Puzzle D: Black to move.

    ANSWERS:

    A: 1 Qh3+! Kxh3 (1…Kg5 2 Qxd7) 2 Nf2 mate.
    B: 1 b5+! Cxb5 2 Kb4 f5 3 e5 f4 4 e6 f3 5 e7 f2 6 e8N! f1Q 7 Nc7 mate.
    C: 1 Qc7+! Nxc7 2 Nb6+! axb6 3 Rd8 mate.
    D: 1…g4! 2 Qf4 Qf1+! 3 Kxf1 (3 Rxf1 Ne2 mate) Rh1 mate.

    Northumberland leads chess revival

    /in

    (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.

    Gosforth teams extend lead in Northumbria League

    /in

    (Newcastle Chronicle, 31 January 2025)

    Teams from Gosforth Chess Club are dominating the Northumbria League, leading the first, second and sixth divisions as the 2024-25 season goes into its fourth month. The club, which meets on Monday evenings at Gosforth Empire Club on Salters Road, now has a total of 10 league teams and is the undisputed powerhouse of Tyneside chess.


    In Division 1, Gosforth Empire have extended their lead with 13 match points, ahead of Newcastle Dragons on 10, Newcastle University A 8, Jesmond Monarchs 7, Tynemouth A 6, Gosforth Salters 2 and Leam Lane Aces 0.

    In Division 2, Gosforth Regents are two points in front on 10, ahead of Morpeth A 8, South Shields Arbeians 7, Forest Hall Dragons and Tynemouth B 6 each, Alnwick A 3 and Gosforth Centurions 2.

    Leam Lane Bullets are the clear leaders in Division 3 on 9 points, ahead of Gosforth Ivy 7, Gateshead and Forest Hall Titans each on 6, Gosforth Hawthorns 5, Morpeth B 4, Gosforth Woodbines 3.

    Division 4 is more of a three-horse race, with Tynedale A on 10, Forest Hall Phoenixes 9 and Newcastle Jesters 8 in contention. Further back are Newcastle University B 5, Tynemouth B 4, Gosforth Jedis 3 and Alnwick B 1.

    South Shields Sand-dancers are leading Division 5 with 11 points, ahead of Jesmond Knights 10, Forest Hall Griffins 8, Tynemouth D 7, Gosforth Otterburns 6, Forest Hall Centaurs 4, Alnwick C and Morpeth C both on 3.

    In Division 6, Gosforth Siths reign supreme so far with 12 points, ahead of Newcastle Cavaliers 11, Forest Hall Wizards 7, Newcastle University C 6 and South Shields Custodians both on 6, Cramlington Royals and Morpeth D both on 3, and Newcastle University Women on 2.

    After four rounds in the Northumberland Individual Championships, a battle royal is under way in the Zollner (Open) tournament. There are three joint leaders – Tim Wall and Andy Burnett (Newcastle) and Husain Nakara (Newcastle University) – on 3 points. In the chasing group on 2.5 are Gustavo Leon Cazares and Jack Erskine-Pereira (Gosforth), Paul Dargan (Tynemouth) and Chris Izod (Jesmond).

    The Sell (Under 2000) tournament has a clear leader, Alex Blake (Gosforth), with 4 points. In equal second place on 3 points are Stuart Skelsey (Forest Hall) and John Awesome (Newcastle).

    There’s a three-way tie for the lead on 3.5 points in the Gilroy (Under 1700) tournament between Ian Rook (Forest Hall), Denise Mosse (Gateshead) and David Simm (Morpeth). Their nearest rivals are Darren McCarthy (Alnwick), Jonny Kearney (Tynedale) and James Phillips (Newcastle) on 3 points.

    PUZZLES

    Puzzle A: Erskine-Pereira-Benchebra, 2025. White to move.

    Puzzle B: Patel-Gormally, 2025. Black to move.

    Puzzle C: Gormally-Sowray, 2025. White to move.

    Puzzle D: Wu-Kalaiyalahan, 2025. White to move.

    ANSWERS:

    A: 1 Bxb5! Rxd1 2 e6 1-0.
    B: 1…Bxf2+! Kxf2 Qd4+ 0-1. If 3 Kg2 Nxd3.
    C: 1 Re8! 1-0. If 1…Rxe8 2 Nxe8+.
    D: 1 Rb6! 1-0. If 1…Rxb8 2 d8Q+.

    Could Freestyle change the rules?

    /in

    (Newcastle Chronicle, 24 January 2025)

    When players take part in the Northumbria Chess League, the game they play is the same one that has been played by standard rules for hundreds of years. But those rules, or at least who controls what the rules are, could now be under threat.

    Freestyle Chess, a variant where the back-rank pieces on the chessboard are shuffled at the start of the game, was invented by former world champion Bobby Fischer, and is also called Fischer-Random or Chess960.

    The current world No. 1, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, is partnering with a German businessman, Jan Henric Buettner, to stage the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a series of multimillion-euro elite tournaments. The first one runs in Weissenhaus, Germany next month. Further events will follow in Paris, New York, Delhi and Cape Town.

    The Freestyle Chess Players Club has signed up Carlsen, the FIDE Classical World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi (India), Hikaru Nakamura, Lev Aronian and Fabiano Caruana (USA), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), Alireza Firouzja (France), Vladimir Fedoseev (Slovenia) and Vincent Keymer (Germany).

    With an exciting format guaranteed to produce plenty of thrills and spills, the Freestyle tournaments could be onto a commercial winner, just like other sports where breakaway projects have shaken up the game.

    But the international chess federation, FIDE, has taken umbrage at the Grand Slam Tour, warning that if it calls itself a “World Championship,” anyone taking part in it will be banned from taking part in the FIDE Classical, Rapid and Blitz World Championships for the next four years.

    Some of the top players have hit back, with Nakamura calling on his colleagues to refuse to sign FIDE contracts, which are due to be agreed by February 3. Where this leaves the chess world remains to be seen, but the worst-case scenario could see players from the top 10 banned from conventional world championships, and possibly even rival championships emerging.

    In the North East, chess players have no conflicts over Freestyle versus conventional chess, merely seeing Freestyle as a fun extra addition to the game. Gosforth has organised Freestyle events, but mainly as a light-hearted alternative to conventional tournaments. There are certainly no plans yet for Freestyle leagues.

    The first Freestyle Grand Slam event will be covered live (with commentary) from February 7-14 at freestyle-chess.com, lichess.org and chess.com.

    PUZZLES

    Puzzle A: Aronian-Ding, Freestyle 2024. White to play.

    Puzzle B: Gukesh-Keymer, Freestyle 2024. Black to play.

    Puzzle C: Aronian-Keymer, Freestyle 2024. White to play.

    Puzzle D: Carlsen-Aronian, Freestyle 2024. White to play.

    ANSWERS:

    A: 1 Qg7+! 1-0. If 1…Rxg7 2 fxg7+ Kg8 3 Bxh7+! Kxh7 (3…Kf7 4 g8Q+ Rxg8 5 Bxg8+) 4 gxf8Q.
    B: 1…Be6! 0-1. If 2 Qxe6 Qxa1+, or 2 Rxa4 Bxh3 3 gxh3 Nxc5.
    C: 1 Rxd6+! cxd6 (1…Rxd6 2 Rxe8+ Kxe8 3 Qxg8+) 2 Rc4+ Qc7 3 Qxc7 mate.
    D: 1 Rxb4! 1-0. If 1…Bxb4 2 Qd7+ Kb6 3 Rb1, or 1…Qe8 2 Rb7+ Kc8 3 Qa6 Kd8 4 c7+ Bxc7 5 Rd1+.

    Leagues and Zollner close at halfway point

    /in

    (Newcastle Chronicle, 17 January 2025)

    The North East’s main league and individual competitions are very close at the halfway point, with various teams and players in contention.

    In the Northumbria League, all six divisions are too close to call, but teams from Gosforth, the region’s largest chess club, are leading in four of them.

    In Division 1, Gosforth Empire (11 points from six matches) are now being challenged again by Newcastle Dragons (8 points from six matches), while in Division 2 Gosforth Regents are ahead by three points, but their nearest rivals South Shields Arbeians have a match in hand.

    Division 3 is being led by Gosforth Ivy by one match point, but their closest competitors have two matches in hand. The clear favourites in Division 4 are Forest Hall Phoenixes, who are a point ahead and have a match in hand over Newcastle Jesters.

    In Division 5, South Shields Sand-dancers are ahead by 2 points, while in Division 6 the Gosforth Siths are leading Newcastle Cavaliers by 2 points.

    In the Northumberland Individual Championships, open to players throughout the North East, reigning champion Tim Wall has suffered his first loss in a few years, and now has three points from four games. Wall’s loss was to his Newcastle club colleague, Andy Burnett, who now joins him in the lead on 3/4.

    There are five other players on 2/3 who could reach 3 points after Round 4: David Armbruster and Gustavo Leon Cazares (Gosforth), Husain Nakara (Newcastle University), Chris Izod (Jesmond) and John Boyd (South Shields).

    In the Sell (Under 2000) tournament, Alex Blake (Gosforth) leads with 3/3, followed by Paul Bielby (South Shields) on 2.5, and Stuart Skelsey (Forest Hall), John Awesome (Newcastle) and Andrew Robinson on 2.

    And in the Gilroy (Under 1700) tournament, Denise Mosse (Gateshead) has moved into the lead on 3.5/4, ahead of Darren McCarthy (3/4), Martin Brookes (Tynemouth), David Simm (Morpeth), Ian Rook (Forest Hall), Thomas Cameron (Newcastle University) and Tom Krause (Gosforth) on 2.5/3.

    Northumberland’s open team will play in the Northern Counties Championship on Sunday February 2nd, versus Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside at Bradford Latvian Club.

    The Under 1450 Counties Championship is being played (also at Bradford) on March 9, and the Northern Counties Under 16 teams tournament is taking place in Swinton, Manchester on February 23.

    Anyone wishing to play for the Northumberland teams in these competitions can contact team captain Tim Wall on: timpeterwall@gmail.com.

    PUZZLES

    This week’s puzzles all feature dramatic king hunts.

    Puzzle A: Wall-Burnett, 2025. Black to play.

    Puzzle B: Carlsen-Nakamura, 2023. White to play.

    Puzzle C: Fedoseev-Salem, 2024. Black to play.

    Puzzle D: Tabatabei-Praggnanandhaa, 2024. White to play.

    ANSWERS:

    A: 1…Rh7! 0-1. If 2 Re2 dxe3 3 Rxe3 Qh2 mate.
    B: 1 Rxc5+! Bxc5 2 Rc7+! Kxc7 3 Qxc5+ Kb7 4 Qd5+ Kb8 5 Be5+ 1-0. If 5…Ka7 6 Bd4+ Kb8 7 Qd6+ Kb7 8 Qd7+ Ka6 9 Qc6+ Ka5 10 Bc3 mate.
    C: 1..Qxh5+! 2 Qxh5 Ra1+ 3 Bc1 Rxc1+! 0-1. If 4 Kxc1 Bf4+ 5 Kd1 c2+ and mate follows.
    D: 1 Re7+! Kxe7 2 Qxg7+ Ke8 3 Re1+ Kd8 4 Qf6+ Kc7 5 Qd6+ Kb7 6 Re7+ Ka6 7 Qxc6+ Ka5 8 Rb7! 1-0.

    Playing by Magnus’s rules

    /in

    (Newcastle Chronicle, 10 January 2025)

    One of the great things about chess is that the rules are the same for everyone. Certainly, if you play in the Northumbria League, rules are applied equally without fear or favour – no matter who you are.

    Yet the recent World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York showed that there is sometimes one rule for VIPs, and another for everyone else. The “Jeansgate” scandal involving Magnus Carlsen erupted, almost derailing both events and prompting a rash of media stories worldwide.

    Carlsen, the world number one for over a decade, is pure box office, and his very presence in a competition tends to attract big money sponsors. But the extent to which Carlsen can bend competition rules is now being tested – as FIDE, the international chess federation, seems willing to compromise for him.

    In New York, FIDE imposed a dress code that required the players to wear formal attire, not jeans. Carlsen turned up for Day 2 in jeans, was fined $200, and then defaulted in one game, knocking him out of contention.
    In response, he withdrew and was only persuaded to play in the World Blitz after the head of FIDE, Russian Arkady Dvorkovich, allowed him to play in his jeans again.

    Then, to rub in the point that Carlsen can do things differently, the Norwegian agreed to share the World Blitz title with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi rather than play out a long series of sudden death games. This unorthodox finale was also approved by Dvorkovich, against FIDE rules.

    All of this comes against the background of a wider power struggle in the chess world between Carlsen and FIDE. In 2023, Carlsen abdicated his Classical World Championship title (where players have longer for their moves), asking for a combination of Classical, Rapid and Blitz games instead. He is also involved in a multi-million dollar Freestyle Chess championship (where the back-rank pieces are shuffled randomly) that wants to call itself a World Championship – much to the annoyance of FIDE, which sees itself as the governing body of all forms of chess.

    Below the 2700-rated grandmaster level, the financial conditions available to Carlsen and his rivals are unattainable, and only the very top players worldwide can master the very tricky Freestyle Chess variant. All of which may ironically make Carlsen look like an enfant terrible akin to one of his biggest critics, the American grandmaster Hans Niemann.

    But on the other hand, FIDE has become increasingly bureaucratic and inflexible, particularly since being controlled by a series of Russian officials. Where the Carlsen v FIDE feud is headed, no one knows. It all seems a world away from the Northumbria League.

    PUZZLES

    Puzzle A: Karthikeyan-Mamedov, 2024. White to play & win.

    Puzzle B: Can-Svane, 2024. Black to play & win.

    Puzzle C: Jones-Adams, 2024. White to play & win.

    Puzzle D: Caruana-Donchenko, 2024 (variation). Black to play & win.

    ANSWERS:

    A: 1 Qxf5+! 1-0. After 1…gxf5 2 Rh6+ Ke7 3 Nxf5 mate.
    B: 1…Qb4+! 0-1. If 2 Ke5 Qe1+ wins the queen.
    C: 1 Rf8! Rf6 2 Rdd8 1-0.
    D: 1…Ng3+! 2 hxg3 Rh6+ 3 Qh5 Rxh5 mate.