A great summer for chess events

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 24 May 2024)

The fickle English summer can throw a spanner in the works of even the best-laid plans, with downpours from the heavens disrupting everything from an election launch to cricket matches. Thankfully, indoor chess events cannot be rained off, and the summer months are a popular time to stage all kinds of tournaments, from one-day rapid and blitz events to long-play international congresses.

The North East chess scene is blessed with several events this summer, starting with the Regional Qualifying Zonal for the EJCOA National Youth Championships. The zonal takes place at the Tyneside Irish Centre in Newcastle’s Gallowgate on Sunday June 2, from 12 noon to 6pm. This will be a five-round congress, with sections for Under 8s, Under 10s, Under 12s and Under 18s. Entries are welcome online at: https://northumbriamasters.com with inquiries to: timpeterwall@gmail.com.
For full information about how to qualify and enter the National Finals, participants can go to: https://ejcoa.co.uk.

An event that caters for players of ages and strengths is the Northumberland & Durham Rapidplay Championships, which take place on Saturday 15 June, from 11am-6pm, at Forest Hall Social Club on Great Lime Road in Palmersville. There are Open, Major, Minor and Junior competitions, with six rounds during the day. Entries are being taken by Tim Wall at: timpeterwall@gmail.com and online at https://northumbriamasters.com.

The next big regional event is the Northumberland & Durham Blitz Championships, held on Sunday 7 July at The Word library, South Shields. For info and entries, contact Eddie Czestochowski at: eddie@southshieldschessclub.co.uk.

Both the Rapidplay and Blitz championships are open to any North East resident in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham, with prizes and trophies in various categories.

The summer’s grand finale is the Northumbria Masters, which is hosted by Darlington Council at the town’s Dolphin Centre on 22-26 August – the August Bank Holiday weekend. The congress has a total prize fund of £6,500, and includes various tournaments for professional and club players, giving opportunities for players to score title norms.
It includes GM and IM norm all-play-alls, a Masters Open that includes invited Grandmasters, and two more FIDE-rated events aimed at amateur and club players: the Challengers (for players rated under 2000 FIDE) and the Major (for players rated under 1700 FIDE). Entries are being taken online for all tournaments at: https://northumbriamasters.com. Inquiries are welcome from players rated 2200+ wishing to take part in the GM and IM invitational events, and can be sent to: info@northumbriamasters.com.

puzzles

This week’s puzzles feature brilliant finishes from the games of the legendary Latvian world champion, Mikhail Tal.

Puzzle A: Tal-Vooresma. White to play.

Puzzle B: Tal-Koblencs. White to play.

Puzzle C: Tal-Smyslov. White to play.

Puzzle D: Tal-Gulko. White to play.

Answers:

A: 1 Ne6+! wins. If 1…fxe6 2 Rxf7, or 1…Qxe6 2 fxe6.
B: 1 Rf8! Rxf8 2 exf8(Q) Nxf8 3 e7 1-0. If 3…Kf7 4 exf8(Q)+ Kxf8 5 Kd1 wins.
C: 1 Qxf7! Qa1+ (or 1…Rxf7 2 Rxd8+) 2 Kd2 Rxf7 3 Nxf7+ Kg8 4 Rxa1 wins.
D: 1 Rxg7! fxe5 (1…Kxg7 2 Rg1+ Kf8 3 Qg3) 2 Rf7+ Ke8 3 Rxe7+ Kf8 4 Rf1+ Kg8 5 Rff7 1-0.

Darlington weekend tournaments build grassroots chess

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 17 May 2024)

For the third year running, the County Durham Chess Congress hosted a maximum capacity of 162 entries at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre last weekend.

The event, ably run by Gosforth’s Mick Riding, attracted enthusiastic amateur and club players from around the UK and abroad. The event is a personal triumph for Riding, who over four years has rebuilt the Durham Congress virtually from scratch, contributing greatly to the region’s chess recovering well from the Covid pandemic.

He has relocated the congress from a small venue in Houghton-le-Spring to a much larger central Darlington venue, close to the town’s East Coast Main Line station, and generated income through increased entries and sponsorship. Darlington Council is a key supporter of the congress, and the event is a net contributor to the local economy, attracting visitors to the town.

The Open section, with 40 entries, was won by Ukrainian junior Maksym Larchikov (Hull) on 4.5/5, followed by Joakim Niilson (Sweden) and Nicolas Skettos (Cyprus) on 4. The top North East players in the tournament were Tim Wall (Newcastle, 3.5), Nathan Ekanem (Newcastle) and David Armbruster (Gosforth) (both on 3). Ten-year-old Daniel Sewart (Newcastle), playing in his first Open tournament, had a promising performance with 2/5, winning one game and drawing two over the weekend.

The Major (Under 1900) section, with 46 entries, was won by John Cawston (York) and Nicholas Webb (Middlesbrough) on 4.5/5, followed by Paul May (Leeds) and Siu Kam Wa (Hong Kong) on 4. Among the players on 3 points were Ian Chester and Andrew Robinson (Gosforth), George Ellames (Alnwick) and Morgan French (Forest Hall).

The Minor (Under 1675) section, with 76 players, was won jointly by James Flint (Newcastle University), James Barwise (Peterborough) and Neil Druggan (Cumbria) on 4.5/5. Chris Clynes (Bishop Auckland) was among the players on 4, while Thomas Cameron (Gosforth) and Jonny Kearney (Tynedale) were in the group of players on 3.5.

In addition to the main competitions, a one-day junior tournament was held on Sunday, giving opportunities to new young players.

While the Durham Congress now attracts a wide spectrum of amateur players, it has yet to entice many titled or high-rated players. The highest-rated player in the Open this year was Northumberland Champion Tim Wall, but with an international rating of 2203, he is lowly ranked at only 227th in England.

The North East’s two highest-rated players, Alnwick Grandmaster Danny Gormally (at 2416, rated No. 42nd in England) and Newcastle International Master David Eggleston (at 2335, rated 106th in England) very rarely play in North East tournaments, preferring to play instead in the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) or at tournaments abroad.

The North of England has virtually no strong titled players, with the only grandmasters living here apart from Gormally being Gawain Jones (Sheffield) and Nigel Davies (Cheshire). The UK’s strongest players generally live in London and the South East, reflecting economic trends. Rather than weekend congresses, they prefer playing other strong players at the 4NCL, which takes place over five weekends a year at various out-of-town hotels in the Midlands. As a result, few titled players tend to play in events in the North of England, as prizes barely cover the cost of accommodation and travel.

The lack of titled players at Darlington is also part of a general trend in the UK of top players staying away from traditional weekend congresses, as prize funds have dwindled in real terms compared to the British chess scene’s heyday of the 1970s and 80s. One North East event that is trying to buck the trend and help to generate more strong players for the region is the Northumbria Masters, which also takes place at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington, on 22-26 August – the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The Northumbria Masters, with a prize fund of £6,500, has three tournaments giving opportunities for players to score title norms. It includes GM and IM norm all-play-alls, a Masters Open that includes invited Grandmasters, and two more FIDE-rated events aimed at amateur and club players: the Challengers (for players rated under 2000 FIDE) and the Major (for players rated under 1700 FIDE).

Entries are being taken online for all tournaments on the congress website: https://northumbriamasters.com. Inquiries are welcome from players rated 2200+ wishing to take part in the GM and IM invitational events, and can be sent to: info@northumbriamasters.com.

Bielby aims to win record county title

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 3 May 2024)

The 2023-24 George Sell Trophy, an annual competition run for Under 2000-rated players by the Northumberland Chess Association, is set for a tantalising four-way shootout after the tournament ended in a tie.

Paul Bielby (South Shields), Mick Riding (Gosforth), Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall) and Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane) each scored 4.5/7 in the main tournament, and now face a four-way playoff to decide the winner.
Each player plays three games between now and early July, and the highest score wins.

If Paul Bielby, 87, were to win the event, he would be the oldest player ever to win a section of the Northumberland Championship.

Bielby first moved to Sunderland as a newly qualified school teacher in the 1960s. A regular competitor in the British Championship, Bielby ran the highly successful Sunderland YMCA Chess Club, which won several league titles over three decades. He also won the Zollner Trophy, the top section of the Northumberland Championship, on several occasions. His style is very much a classical one, but he has retained an attacking flair in his play to this day.

Bielby also built up Red House School in Sunderland into one of the strongest for chess in the North East, and after retirement continued to teach chess at Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, mentoring several international players and taking the school to the national finals on many occasions.

Bielby is still an active member of South Shields Chess Club, which meets twice weekly: on Thursdays from 7pm at the New Ship Inn in Cleadon, and on Saturdays from 10am at The Word, South Shields.

The other three players in the playoff also have good chances to win the trophy. Riding plays in an attractive, attacking style, while Benchebra also seems to relish complications. Mohindra has perhaps the most careful style of the playoff quartet.

In other events, the second round of the Northumbria League Summer Cup is due to take place in the week starting May 13, with Group A and B matches at Gosforth Empire Club on May 13, Group D matches at The Old George, Newcastle on May 14 and Group C matches at Morpeth Rugby Club on May 15.

There is still space for a small number of late entries to the upcoming Durham Chess Congress, which takes place from May 10-12 at Darlington’s Dolphin Leisure Centre. Competitions include the Open, Major, Minor and Junior (12 May only).
Enquiries to: https://durhamchesscongress.co.uk/contact/

The top seeds in the Open are Tim Wall (Newcastle), David Walker (Leam Lane), Mate Ther (Newcastle University) and Maksym Larchikov (Hull).

puzzles

This week’s puzzles are from the Northumberland Championships.

Puzzle A: Paul Bielby (Black) to move:

Puzzle B: Tim Wall (Black) to move:

Puzzle C: Paul Dargan (White) to move:

Puzzle D: Raj Mohindra (Black) to move:

Answers:

A: 1…a3+! 0-1. If 2 Kxa3 Qxc3.
B: 1…Rc2+ 0-1. If 2 Ne2 Qxd3 3 Rxd3 Rxe2+.
C: 1 Qc6+ 1-0. If 1…Kb8 2 Rd8 checkmate, or 1…Rc7 2 Qa8 checkmate.
D: 1…Qe3! 2 Bxe3 Bh2+ 3 Kh1 Be4+ 4 Rf3 Bxf3 checkmate.

Fans cheer 17-year-old Indian world challenger

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 26 April 2024)

North East chess fans gathered at Gosforth Empire Club on Monday evening to celebrate the news that 17-year-old Indian grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh has become the youngest-ever challenger for the World Championship.

Gukesh, from Chennai in southern India, the hometown of five-time World Champion Vishy Anand, has qualified to play a World Championship match against China’s Ding Liren this November after winning the gruelling three-week Candidates tournament in Toronto, Canada, ahead of legendary grandmasters Ian Nepomniachtchi (33, Russia), Fabiano Caruana (31, USA) and Hikaru Nakamura (36, also USA).

Gukesh becomes the youngest player to challenge for the unified World Championship, run by FIDE, the international chess federation.

The Candidates tournament was watched by millions of chess fans online, finishing late on Sunday night with Gukesh on 9/14, half a point ahead of Nepomniachtchi, Caruana and Nakamura on 8.5.
In a dramatic last round, Gukesh held Nakamura to a draw, while Nepomniachtchi and Caruana played a must-win game but could only draw after a titanic struggle lasting six hours and 109 moves.

This week also saw the first 2024 Gosforth Chess Club Summer Blitz, which ended in a victory for Gustavo Leon Cazares (Gosforth), who scored 6.5 points out of 7 and leads the Open Grand Prix with 25 points.

In joint second place were Mick Riding (Gosforth) and David Henderson (Tynemouth) on 5.5.

In the Major category, the winners were Andy Trevelyan and John Turnock (both Jesmond) on 5 points.

The Junior prize was won by Kai Harkensee (Gosforth) on 4.5, and the Minor was won jointly by Jose Grueso (Morpeth) and Brandon Russell (Gosforth) on 4.

The tournament attracted a total of 48 competitors of all levels and ages. The other rounds of the Grand Prix will be held on May 20, June 17, July 15 and August 19.

For more info about these events, contact: enquires@gosforthchessclub.co.uk

Entries in the Open, Major and Minor tournaments are still being accepted for the Durham Chess Congress, which is being held at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre on May 12-14.
Go to https://durhamchesscongress.co.uk/ to register.

The biggest North East chess event planned for this summer is the 7th Northumbria Masters Congress, also at Darlington’s Dolphin Centre, over the Bank Holiday weekend of Thursday 22 to Monday 26 August.

The congress will feature Grandmaster and International Master round robin events, plus three nine-round Swiss tournaments: the Masters Open with several Grandmasters, the Challengers (Under 2000) and Major (Under 1600).

To enter the Northumbria Masters Congress online, go to: https://northumbriamasters.com

puzzles

Puzzle A: Kovalev (White) to play and win:

Puzzle B: Gritsac (White) to play:

Puzzle C: Kotronias (White) to play:

Puzzle D: Stefanova (Black) to play:

Answers:

A: 1 Qxg7+! 1-0. If 1…Bxg7 2 Rxe8+ Bf8 3 Rxf8 checkmate;
B: 1 Rxf7! 1-0. If 1…Rxf7 2 Bb3 wins;
C: 1 Rxh7+! 1-0. If 1…Kxh7 2 Rh1+ Kg6 3 h6 checkmate;
D: 1…Rxh4+! 0-1. If 2 Kxh4 Qf2+ 3 Kg4 or 3 Kh3, 3…Qg3 checkmate.

All welcome at Gosforth Blitz events

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 19 April 2024)

Gosforth Chess Club’s third annual series of summer blitz tournaments gets under way this Monday, with entries welcome from all comers.

The tournaments, held at Gosforth Empire Club and Institute, 32-34 Salters Road, NE3 1DX, take place at 7:15pm on April 22, May 20, June 17, July 15 and August 19.
Each player gets 5 minutes for all their moves, plus 5 seconds added per move.
Entry costs £5 for each event (£2.50 for juniors) and prizes are awarded for the top two players in Open, Major (Under 1900) and Minor (Under 1600) categories.

Players’ best three scores over the five tournaments count towards their Grand Prix total, and two Grand Prix prizes are awarded in each category.

Book your place in advance: enquires@gosforthchessclub.co.uk

More results have been coming in from the Northumberland Chess Association’s 2023-24 Individual Championships.

In the Zollner (Open) Championship, Tim Wall (Newcastle) has beaten David Armbruster (Gosforth) to finish with a perfect 6/6 score, sealing his sixth victory in the competition since 1991.

In the Sell (Under 1950) event, four players are still in contention: Paul Bielby (South Shields) leads with 4/6, followed by Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane), Mick Riding (Gosforth) and Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall) on 3.5.

In the Gilroy (Under 1700) Championship, Mark McKay (Gosforth) won an exciting last round encounter against teammate Andrew Robinson to win the competition with 6/7.

Scores in full:

Zollner:
1 Wall (Newcastle) 6;
2 Leon Cazares (Gosforth) 4.5;
3-4 David Henderson (Tynemouth), David Armbruster (Gosforth) 3;
5 Andy Trevelyan (Jesmond) 2;
6 Chris Izod 1 (Jesmond);
7 Gary Murphy (Jesmond) 0.

Sell (one round to go):
1 Paul Bielby (South Shields) 4;
2-4 Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall), Mick Riding (Gosforth), Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane) 3.5;
5 Alex Blake (Gosforth) 3;
6-7 James Ross, Ian Chester (both Gosforth) 2.5;
8-9 Stuart Skelsey (Forest Hall), John Clarke (Tynemouth) 2;
10 Morgan French (Forest Hall) 1.5.

Gilroy:
1 Mark McKay (Gosforth) 6;
2 Blake (Gosforth) 5.5;
3-6 Andrew Robinson (Gosforth), Jeff Baird (Forest Hall), David Pritchard (Gosforth), Joseph Miller (Gosforth) 4.5;
7-10 Dave Peardon (South Shields), Kevin Cox (Gateshead), Lev Drobiazko (Gosforth), Ethan Tatters (Forest Hall) 4;
11-12 David Simm (Morpeth), Robert Heyman (Gosforth) 3.5;
13-15 Denise Mosse (Gateshead), Jonathan Solomon (Forest Hall) Gautham Sathishkumar (Gosforth) 3;
16-17 Steve Downey (Leam Lane), Aaron Cheung (Gosforth) 2.5;
18-19 Morgan French (Forest Hall), Andrew Hardy (Alnwick) 2;
20 Sanjay Sathishkumar (Gosforth) 1.5;
21 Albert Griffiths (Gosforth) 1;
22 Robert Appleby (Leam Lane) 0.5;
23 Johnson Alan (South Shields) 0.

puzzles

Puzzle A: Carsten Hoi (White) to play:

Puzzle B: Carl Hautlaub (White) to play:

Puzzle C: Adolf Anderssen (White) to play:

Puzzle D: Emanuel Lasker (White) to play:

Answers:

A: 1 Qh7+! Nxh7 2 Rg6 checkmate.
B: 1 Ng5+! Fxg5 (2…Kg7 3 Qh5) 2 Qh5+ Kg7 3 Qxg5+ Kh7 4 Rf3 and 5 Rh3 checkmate.
C: 1 Qxg7+! Nxg7 2 xg7+! Kh8 3 g8+! Kxg8 4 Rg1+ Bg5 5 Rxg5 checkmate.
D: 1 Bxg7! Kxg7 2 Qg4+ Kh7 3 Rf3! e5 4 Rh3+ Qh6 5 Rxh6+ Kxh6 6 Qd7! Wins.

Summer Cup off to a flying start

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 12 April 2024)

The North East’s new team chess competition, the World Cup-format Summer Cup, got off to a flying start this week with 10 matches played at the competition’s three hubs: Gosforth, Morpeth and Newcastle.

At the biggest gathering, at Gosforth Empire Club, a total of 42 players were in action in the event, which brings together teams from as far afield as Alnwick and South Shields.

Round 1 saw the event’s first Minor v Major giant-killing acts, with Gateshead (a Minor team) beating Leam Lane (a Major team) and Forest Hall Badgers (Minor) beating Newcastle University (Major).

The revamped Northumberland Chess Association Summer Cup and Plate (to use its full name) retains its ratings handicap system, which gives lower rated teams extra game points, depending on the difference between the two sides.

Previously, all rounds were knockout, but this year, for the first time, teams play in World Cup-style all-play-all groups to qualify for the semi-finals and finals in September. Placings are decided by match points, with the lower rated team going though in the event of a tie.

The winner of each group goes through to the Cup Semi-Finals, while the group runner up qualifies for the Plate Semi-Finals. This format gives clubs more team matches through the summer months, while also giving players a break during the peak holiday season of late July and August.

In Group A, hosted by Gosforth Chess Club on Monday, Gosforth Empire beat Gosforth Regents 4-2.5, Forest Hall Magpies beat Gosforth Jedis 3-2.5 and Jesmond beat Newcastle C 3-2.5.

In Group B, also at Gosforth, Forest Hall Badgers beat Newcastle University 5.5-1 and Newcastle A beat Gosforth Hawthorns 4-3.5.

Group C, hosted by Morpeth Chess Club on Wednesday, saw Morpeth A beat Morpeth B 4-2.5.

And in Group D, hosted by Newcastle Chess Club on Tuesday, Gateshead beat Leam Lane 4-2.5, South Shields beat Newcastle 3.5-2 and Gosforth Centurions beat Tynedale 4-1.5.

The two remaining Round 1 matches (Tynemouth v Alnwick and Gosforth Salters v Gosforth Ivy) will be played next week.

Here are the group standings so far:

Group A
1-3 Gosforth Empire, Jesmond, Forest Hall Magpies 2;
4-6 Gosforth Regents, Gosforth Jedis, Newcastle C 0.

Group B
1-2 Forest Hall Badgers, Newcastle A 2;
3-6 Gosforth Hawthorns, Newcastle University, Gosforth Salters, Gosforth Ivy 0.

Group C
1 Morpeth A 2;
2-4 Morpeth B, Tynemouth, Alnwick 0.

Group D
1-3 Gateshead, Gosforth Centurions, South Shields 2;
4-6 Leam Lane, Newcastle B, Tynedale 0.

Round 2 of the Summer Cup will be held in the week starting May 13 at the same venues.

puzzles

This week’s puzzles are from games and variations in the current World Candidates tournaments in Toronto, Canada.

Puzzle A: Vidit (White) to play and win:

Puzzle B: Gukesh (White) to play and win:

Puzzle C: Tan (White) to play and win:

Puzzle D: Tan (White) to play and win:

Answers:

A: 1 Nxg7+! Bxg7 2 Qh5+ Kf8 3 Qf7 checkmate.
B: 1 Bxe5 dxe5 2 Bxb5+ Ke7 3 Qb4+ Qd6 4 Qxd6 checkmate.
C: 1 Nf6! gxf6 2 Ng6+ Kg7 3 Nxe7 Qxe7 4 gxf6+ wins.
D: 1 Qf7+ 1-0. If 1…Qxf7 2 exf7 and the pawn queens.

League playoffs in full swing

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 5 April 2024)

Sports fans will know the agony and the ecstasy that goes into end-of-season playoffs. One inspired moment, and your team crowns its efforts by clinching promotion. One mistake, and you’re consigned to relegation.

This is the scenario North East chess clubs face, as April is the month where the Northumbria Chess League endgame plays out and it’s decided who goes up and down.
The champion team in the second to sixth divisions is automatically promoted, while the bottom team is automatically relegated.


The 2023-24 divisional champions are:

Division 1: Newcastle A (20/20)
Division 2: Newcastle University A (18/20)
Division 3: Tynemouth B (19/20)
Division 4: Gosforth Hawthorns (17/24)
Division 5: Newcastle University B (18/24)
Division 6: Newcastle B (18/20)

The unlucky relegated teams are: Tynemouth A (Div. 1), South Shields B (Div. 2), Forest Hall Woodpeckers (Div. 3), Morpeth C (Div. 4) and Leam Lane Comets (Div. 5).

In the playoffs, the second-top teams play the second-bottom teams of the division above for a place in that higher division – and in six- or seven-team divisions, this creates a lot of jeopardy in the second half of the season, as teams vie to go up and avoid going down.

The first playoff is being contested by Jesmond (Division 1) and Gosforth Salters (Division 2).

The second playoff, between Forest Hall Foxes (Div. 2) and Gosforth Centurions (Div. 3) has already been played, and resulted in a narrow 2.5-1.5 win to the Foxes. (A 2-2 draw means the team from the higher division stays up).

The third playoff is between Morpeth B (Div. 3) and Leam Lane Bullets (Div. 4).

The fourth playoff is an internal club affair: Forest Hall Squirrels (Div. 4) play Forest Hall Owls (Division 5).

The fifth playoff is between Tynedale (Div. 4) and Alnwick C (Div. 6).

In the Northumberland Individual Championships (open to players from Northumbria League clubs and residents in Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside), the Zollner (Open) section has been decided with a round to go. The winner (for the sixth time, in a record of victories stretching back to 1991) is Tim Wall (Newcastle), who has 5/5 and cannot be caught by second-placed Gustavo Leon Cazares (Gosforth) on 4.5/6).

The other two competitions remain wide open. In the Sell (Under 1950), Paul Bielby (South Shields) leads with 4/6, followed by Mick Riding (Gosforth) and Dalil Benchebra (Leam Lane) 3.5/5, and Alex Blake (Gosforth) 3/5.

In the Gilroy (Under 1700), Mark McKay (Gosforth) leads with 5/6, followed by Andrew Robinson, Alex Blake (both Gosforth) and Jeff Baid (Forest Hall) on 4.5/5; and Dave Peardon (South Shields) and Kevin Cox (Gateshead) 4/5.

puzzles

This week’s puzzles are fittingly all endgame tactics. Find the winning move to clinch victory.

Puzzle A: White to play and win:

Puzzle B: White to play and win:

Puzzle C: White to play and win:

Puzzle D: White to play and win:

Answers:

A: 1 Rxh5+ Rxh5 2 g4+ Kg5 3 gxh5.
B: 1 g8+ Kxg8 2 a7 f2 a8(Q)+.
C: 1 g6! hxg6 2 h6 gxh6 3 f6.
D: 1 Rc6+ Kg5 2 Ra6 Rxa6 3 Kxa6.

Northumberland win Northern Counties title

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 29 March 2024)

The Northumberland Open chess team has won the Northern Counties Championship for the third year running, beating Yorkshire 7-4 at Darlington over the weekend.

Fine wins were achieved by David Mooney (South Shields), Graeme Oswald (Leam Lane), Zheming Zhang (Newcastle) and David Ambruster (Gosforth), while draws were scored by Tim Wall (Newcastle), David Walker (Leam Lane), Thomas Eggleston (Newcastle), Husain Nakara (Newcastle University), Nathan Ekanem (Newcastle) and Yaroslav Kolodiy (South Shields).

Zhang’s victory was an amazing defensive effort, as he survived a classic Greek Gift bishop sacrifice, marched his king to white’s side of the board under enemy fire from queen, rook and knight, won a piece and then coolly converted the endgame win.

Northumberland qualify as Northern Counties champions, as although they finished level on match and game points with Yorkshire, Northumberland won their individual match.

Northumberland now progress to the national semi-finals on June 8, where, according to seeding, they are due to play second-placed Southern Counties team Kent. Yorkshire, as the second-placed northern team, should play Surrey, who finished top of the Southern Counties competition.
The national final is on July 6, and Northumberland will be hoping for a repeat of their 2022 triumph.

Northumberland county chess has revived dramatically over the past few years. Despite being the northernmost county in England, Northumberland (which in chess terms covers Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, plus clubs affiliated to the Northumbria League) has coped with long travelling distances to compete successfully at a national level.

The resurgence actually began during the Covid pandemic, when Northumberland won the 2020 Online Open Counties Championship, thanks to the sterling efforts of Gosforth’s Mick Riding as team manager.

This was followed by winning the over-the-board Open Counties Championship in 2021-22. Beating Yorkshire 8-8 on board count in the final, it was Northumberland’s first-ever National Counties Championship trophy.

In 2023, Northumberland again won the Northern Counties title, and reached the national semi-finals, losing narrowly to Surrey.

David Watson Memorial

Closer to home, this week Morpeth Chess Club hosted a very successful memorial tournament for David Watson, a highly respected former Northumberland Chess Association secretary who passed away recently at the age of 79.

Thirty-eight players took part, and a total of £225 was raised for Whitley Bay Food Bank and Cancer Research.

The winners of the tournament were:
1 Tim Wall (Newcastle) 5.5/6;
2-4 David Ambruster (Gosforth), David Walker (Leam Lane), Phil Eastlake (Alnwick) 5;
Andy Trevelyan (Jesmond) 4 (best Under 1900 performance);
John Liddle (Gosforth) 3.5 (best Under 1700 performance);
James Charlton (Morpeth) 3 (best Under 1500 performance).
Phil Eastlake was the winner of the David Watson Memorial Trophy for best performance by a Morpeth or Alnwick player.

puzzles

This week’s puzzles are taken from one of the book prizes from the Morpeth Rapidplay: ‘The Complete Chess Workout’ by IM Richard Palliser.

Puzzle A: Alexey Fedorov (White) to play:

Puzzle B: Miklos Galyas (White) to play:

Puzzle C: Normunds Miezis (Black) to play:

Puzzle D: Alexander Ivanov (White) to play:

Answers:

A: 1 Ng6+! Rxg6 2 Qxh7 checkmate.
B: 1 Qxh7+! Nxh7 2 Ng6 checkmate.
C: 1…Nh3+! 2 gxh3 Qxd2 wins.
D: 1 Rxh7+ Kxh7 2 Qh4+ Qh6 3 Ng5+ Kh8 4 Qxh6 checkmate.

World Cup-style summer KO launched

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 22 March 2024)

As sports look to recruit more players and grow their fanbase, new formats emerge and the calendar seems to get more jampacked every year. Globally, there are hardly any breaks in the football or cricket seasons in various competitions.

A similar situation exists in chess, and the North East’s top knockout teams competition has been revamped with World Cup-style qualifying groups to give clubs more games over the summer – but also to give players a holiday in August.

The new Northumberland Summer Knockout Cup and Plate will run from early April to mid-September. All-play-all group stages will be played until mid-July, and then qualifiers in both competitions will compete in semi-finals and finals in the first half of September.

A total of 22 teams of four players each have signed up, which will see two groups of six teams playing at Gosforth Chess Club’s venue, the Gosforth Empire Club on Salters Road, one group of six teams playing at Newcastle’s venue, The Old George Inn off the Bigg Market, and another group of four teams playing at Morpeth’s venue, the Morpeth Rugby Club.

The top teams from each group will go through to the Cup semi-finals, while the second teams from Gosforth and Newcastle will go into the Plate semi-finals.

To even up the odds, the second team in the Morpeth group will go into a playoff with the best third-placed team from the other groups to decide the last Plate semi-final place.

The semi-finals and finals will be played at Gosforth.

Matches will be run on a ratings handicap system, where the higher a team’s average rating, the more points it needs to score to win.

Round 1 fixtures will be played on April 8 at Gosforth, April 9 at Newcastle and April 10 at Morpeth. New players interested in joining one of the teams can get captains’ contact details from: timpetewall@gmail.com.

Group A (Morpeth)

Morpeth A
Morpeth B
Tynemouth
Alnwick

Group B (Gosforth)

Gosforth Empire
Gosforth Regents
Gosforth Jedis
Newcastle C
Jesmond
Forest Hall Magpies

Group C (Gosforth)

Gosforth Salters
Gosforth Ivy
Gosforth Otterburns
Forest Hall Badgers
Newcastle University
Newcastle A

Group D (Newcastle)

Leam Lane
Gateshead
Tynedale
South Shields
Newcastle B
Gosforth Centurions

The next Newcastle Open Blitz tournament (with a time control of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move for each player) takes place on Tuesday 26 March at The Old George Inn, 7:15-10pm. Players of any strength welcome, entry costs £5, with all fees returned as prizes. To enter, contact the organiser, Tim Wall, at: timpeterwall@gmail.com

This week’s puzzles

Puzzle A: Vincent Keymer (Black) to play

Puzzle B: Mickey Adams (Black) to play

Puzzle C: Cameron Goh (Black) to play

Puzzle D: Ian Nepomniachtchi (White) to play

Answers:

A: 1…e4! 0-1. If 2 exd4 (2 Bf1 Nf3­+ 3 Ke2 Ng1+) 2…exd3+ 3 Kd2 Rxd4 4 Qb3 Rc4 wins.
B: 1…Bh3+! 2 Qxh3 Qf2 checkmate.
C: 1…Rxd4+! wins. If 2 Kxd4 b2 3 Re1 Nb5+ and 4…Na3.
D: 1 Qxh6+! 1-0. If 1…Bxh6 2 Rxh6+ Kg7 3 Rh7 checkmate.

Gormally wins British

/in

(Newcastle Chronicle, 15 March 2024)

The North East’s top player, grandmaster Danny Gormally of Alnwick, won the British Open Rapidplay Championship ahead of a strong field of 216 players, including four GMs, at Peterborough over the weekend of March 2-3.

Gormally, 47, finished first equal on 9/11, and then won a blitz playoff against Ireland’s No. 1 woman player, Trisha Kanyamarala, to take the title and first prize of £600.

In the regional final of the National Schools Championship, RGS beat St Cuthberts High School Newcastle 4-2. The match was closer than the scoreline suggests, as if the final game on Board 2 had gone to St Cuthberts they would have won 3-3 on board count.

Scores in full:

RGS 4-2 St Cuthberts
1 Ben Robinson 0-1 Tom Weinstein
2 Prachi Arora 1-0 Daniel Tong
3 Naman Berry 1-0 Isaac Lancaster
4 Ethan Ross 1-0 Joseph Messer
5 James Phillips 1-0 Aazmeer Ansari
6 James Reid 0-1 Jan Ericho-Briones

In the Northumberland Individual Championships, Tim Wall (Newcastle) leads the Zollner (Open) Championship with 5/5, followed by Gosforth’s Gustavo Leon Cazares (3/4) and Tynemouth’s David Henderson (2.5/4).

In the Sell (Under 1950) tournament, Paul Bielby (South Shields) is leading with 4/5, followed by Mick Riding (3.5), and Raj Mohindra (Forest Hall), James W Ross (Gosforth) and Dalil Bencheba (Leam Lane) on 2.5.

And in the Gilroy (Under 1700) event, Mark McKay (Gosforth) leads with 5/6, ahead of Dave Peardon (South Shields), Andrew Robinson and Alex Blake (both Gosforth) and Kevin Cox (Gateshead) on 4.

In the 2023-24 Northumbria League, Division 1 has been won decisively by Newcastle A, with 10 match wins out of 10 for a maximum 20 points.
The Newcastle team members also feature high on the individual leaderboard, with Tim Wall and Andy Burnett (8/10), Zheming Zhang (7/9) and Nathan Ekanem (5.5/6).

The Division 2 title looks likely to go to Newcastle University A, who have 14 points from 8 matches. Although Gosforth Salters are just ahead on 15 points from 10 matches, the University are expected to overhaul them in their final two fixtures.

Division 3 has been won by Tynemouth B (17 points from 9 matches), ahead of Gosforth Centurions (15 points from 10 matches).

It’s still undecided in Division 4, where Gosforth Hawthorns have 16 points (11 matches), ahead of Leam Lane Bullets (10 matches) and Gosforth Woodbines (11 matches) both on 14 points.

Division 5 looks set to go to Newcastle University B (16 points from 10 matches), even though Forest Hall Owls (12 points from 9 matches) could still mathematically overhaul them.

In Division 6, Newcastle B (12 points from 7 matches) ae close to wrapping up the title, but Alnwick C (10 points from 9 matches) could still theoretically catch them.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: White to play.

Puzzle B: White to play.

Puzzle C: White to play.

Puzzle D: White to play.

Answers:

A: 1 Qxh6+ Kxh6 2 Rh4 checkmate.
B: 1 Qxh6+ gxh6 2 Rxh6+ Rh7 3 Bxf6 checkmate.
C: 1 Qxh7+ Kxh7 2 Rh4+ Kg8 3 Rh8 checkmate.
D: 1 Qxf7+ Kxf7 2 Nh6+ Kf8 3 Rg8+ Ke7 Rg7+ Kf8 5 Rf7 checkmate.