A database is being compiled of games played by Exmouth members. This is regularly updated and can be found in PGN format by Updated 12/03/2008 20:28
Club Dates :: Summer Term 2005. With the season coming to a climax, please note that the remaining club sessions this season are as follows:
Club Knockout Competition :: The Turner Cup.
The Quarter Final draw is as follows:-
We need to press on with this if we are to complete it before the AGM. Club Championship At the time of writing, the master scorechart records the information in the chart below:-. You are reminded that the tie break rules, as confirmed at the last AGM are as follows: "Where more than one player reaches 11 points or more, the tie will be broken by selecting the players' 11 best results and applying the following tie break rules:- (a) The player with the greater number of wins in their selected 11 games will be the winner. (b) If the number of wins is level, the sum of those 11 opponents' scores will apply. (c) If the sum of opponents scores is level, then the individual results between the players involved in the tie will apply. (d) Where no player scores 11 points, then the player with the highest number of points is the winner. (e) Where there is a tie on less than 11 points, the above tie break procedure shall be applied, except that where a half point is involved, the player shall count half of that opponent’s points in his sum-of-opponents score.
Congratulations. With several events and tournaments yet to be decided before the end of May, this is the Rolle Call of success so far this season. Teams: Devon Team Blitz 2004 Winners - Exmouth A. Devon League 1 Bremridge Cup. Winners - Exmouth Individuals: Mark Abbott: Grading Prize in the E. Devon Congress Premier Section. Dave Rogers: Grading prize in the E. Devon Congress Major Section.
Ivor Annetts: 1st= in the Major Section E. Devon Congress.
"Coast v Country" Match - 14. 06. 05. Exmouth is hosting the 2nd Coast v Country match, details of which are attached. Please leave this date free as Exmouth will hopefully provide the backbone of the upper echelons of the Coast team. West Of England Championships & Congress 2005 & 2006. The Royal Beacon Hotel again proved an excellent venue for this flagship event, and was well-supported by club members, who enjoyed considerable individual success. Full details are attached. The hotel management, too, is pleased with the way things went, and readily agreed to retaining the event for Easter 2006. Yours sincerely, R. H. Jones.
Exmouth's traditional "season-starter" was well-attended this year and resulted in a fine win for the Club Champion, Adam Woodruff. He won his first 8 games outright, and could afford to lose his last game to Mark Abbott. The tyranny of the buzzer inevitably gave rise to blunders but the standard of play generally was not to be denied and there were some intriguing positions and classy attacks.
NB: Ch = Playing in the club Championship and internal competitions. M: = Willing to play in matches, subject to availability.
Rate of moves: 36 moves in 75 minutes + 15 minutes thereafter for the rest of the game. New names may be added to the chart up to 1st February 2004, after which entries are closed. Each player is responsible for ensuring that his results are entered on the club chart at the earliest opportunity after the game is played. Details of the tie-break rule to determine the winner of the Tempest Trophy may be found elsewhere in the Yearbook. Club Championship Rules The Tempest Trophy 1. Rate of moves: 36 moves in 75 minutes + 6 moves per 15 minutes thereafter. 2. New players may enter the championship at any time up to 1st February 2004, after which it is unlikely that anyone would be able to complete a sufficient number of games to be fair to all other competitors. 3. No games may be started after 21st May 2004 in order to ensure that all started games are completed and, where necessary, tiebreaks may be established before the A. G. M. 4. Each player is responsible for ensuring that his results are entered on the club chart at the earliest opportunity after the game is played. 5. Any player scoring 11+ points will receive a commemorative certificate at the A.G.M. 6. The following tiebreak rules will apply to determine who receives the Tempest Trophy as club champion. 7. Where more than one player reaches 11 points or more, the tie will be broken by selecting the player's 10 best results and applying the following tie break rules: - (a) The player with the greater number of wins in their selected 10 games will be the winner.
(b) If the number of wins is level, the sum of those 10 opponents' scores will apply. (c) If the sum of opponents scores is level, then the individual results between the players involved in the tie will apply. (d) Where no player scores 11 points, then the player with the highest number of points is the winner. (e) Where there is a tie on less than 10 points, the above tiebreak procedure shall be applied, except that where a half point is involved, the player shall count half of that opponent’s points in his sum-of-opponents score. 7. If you have any queries about the above rules, contact Bob Jones in the first instance. 8. Any disputes arising from the interpretation of these rules will be resolved by the Club’s Management Committee. 1st March 2004 Club Championship : This year’s championship is being just as keenly contested as ever, with added hazards for the "regulars" in the presence of newcomers Brian Gosling and Steve Murray. Even so, it is a case of anyone being capable of beating any other player in the competition – nothing can be taken for granted. Nothing new there, then.Assuming the master tournament chart in the clubroom is up to date, the standings as at 24th February are as follows: Here are three different perspectives on the results so far.
(: 01409-221767. Forthcoming Local Events: (a) Teignmouth RapidPlay: Sat. 3rd April K.O. 9.45 a.m. Contact Ray Chubb on 01626-888255
Extract From The Diary Of A Middle-Aged (Hopefully) Improver….. (a.k.a. Roger Neat) This Exeter event usually heralds my entrance onto the West Country Chess Congress scene! For some reason I never feel fully prepared for this and consequently I have a little 'psychological downer' before I go!!! This should not have been the case as I had previously played 9 good matches for 3 different teams achieving 5 wins and 4 draws. Two of the draws resulted in team wins! So my morale should have been good. Nevertheless, I make no excuses for poor results. Also, I never apologise for winning a game in which I had some luck in converting from a poor game!!! It is satisfying to achieve an artistic win, like Tal, but like my hero Capablanca I simplify and win where possible, at my level. Friday evening 27th arrived with round one commencing at 7pm. The congress numbers overall were high. There were 31 people playing in the Premier with the highest grade at 196; not that this means much as the competitors graded 170 and above are the ones to watch, such as Ponter! As usual, my heart sank as I drew the black pieces and Bruce Baer (171) of Devon who has won this event in the past. I decided that I would open with a Sicilian Defence against his e4. This is a big step for me as I gave up playing this defence some 20 years ago!!! He spoilt it by playing the Morra Gambit that I accepted. I was 2 pawns up at one stage but he had a better attack and double my time on his clock. In the end a superior player outplayed me and I resigned after 2 hours 10 mins. I have now dropped the Sicilian. To be fair to myself he did go on to achieve 3½/4 with a possibility of winning the tournament in the last round if he overcame young Michael White (156). They were still playing when I left late on Sunday. White: B. Baer (171) Black: R. J. Neat (125) [B21] E. Devon Congress Premier. Rd. 1 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7 8.Qe2 Bb4 9.0–0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Ne7 11.Nd4 0–0 12.f4 d5 13.f5 e5 14.Nf3 dxe4 15.Nxe5 Qc7 16.Ng4 Qxc3 17.f6 Ng6 18.fxg7 Qxg7 19.Bb2 1–0 Saturday and round 2 at 10am; Hooray I drew the white pieces against Ann Marie Ashby (160) from Birmingham. Unfortunately she can play and her boyfriend is one of the talented 170s!!! She is however short in stature and is one of the few players I can look in the eye. I intended to open with my favourite London opening and got a Dutch Defence in reply. Unfortunately I did not have an opportunity to play b4. Nevertheless, I was happy with my position but then on move 10 I played a silly natural move and allowed a Knight in winning the exchange for a rook. It was pure chess blindness as I was moving too far ahead in my mind. I was embarrassed and wondered if I should resign as I am not a 'patzer' despite a grading of 125 only. Then I thought her development is not that great and she looks miserable; I will throw all the wood at her on the King's side. This I did and I noticed she started to worry; arms crossed over her ample chest (very defensive) and two blotches on her neck went bright pink until the whole of her face, after some minutes, was red. Her King had to go a short walkabout. Unfortunately I could not take advantage of the clear Kingside rook file so she played up to her grade and I resigned on move 40(3 hours 18mins) just before the time control. I was pleased to rattle her in a spirited attempt to gain counterplay. Liz was with me and had gone shopping prior to our meeting for lunch. As usual she was supportive and stayed in the hall during the afternoon. In the generous lunch break I also managed to view The Landscape painting exhibition at the Museum. White: R. J. Neat (125). Black: Ann-Marie Ashby (160) [A96] E. Devon Congress Premier (2), 1.d4 f5 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0–0 0–0 6.b3 d6 7.Bb2 Qe8 8.c4 Qh5 9.Nfd2 Qh6 10.f4 Ng4 11.Nf3 Ne3 12.Qd2 Nxf1 13.Kxf1 Nd7 14.Kg1 Nf6 15.Ng5 d5 16.h4 c6 17.c5 Qg6 18.Qe1 Ne4 19.Nxe4 fxe4 20.e3 Qf6 21.Nd2 Bxc5 22.Rb1 Bd6 23.g4 h6 24.g5 hxg5 25.hxg5 Qg6 26.Qh4 Bd7 27.Bh3 Kf7 28.Kg2 Rh8 29.Qg3 Rh5 30.Bg4 Rh7 31.Rf1 Ke7 32.a3 Rah8 33.Rg1 Rh4 34.Nf1 Qh7 35.Bc1 Be8 36.b4 Bg6 37.Bd2 Bf5 38.Bxf5 exf5 39.Kf2 Rg4 0–1 Round 3 at 3pm - Shock horror I drew the black pieces against Brian Gosling(149) of Exmouth who I know well; playing above me in the Devon County team and in the top 3 or 4 in the Exmouth Club. He was on nil points too! We had previously played and drawn a firework game last year at the WECU Congress in Exmouth. I decided I was going to attack no matter what!!! We opened d4 but on move 9 I went for an irregular attack moving a5 and delaying castling. This caused him to think a lot as my attack mounted on the Kingside. He did however put up a good defence and under time pressure I made a positional mistake that lost the initiative. After 2 hours 50 mins I resigned and made him a very happy man!!! His wife told mine that he gets very down and upset when he loses. Oh well, yet another downer for me but Liz said tomorrow will be different!!! I took her out for dinner at 6.30 and we had a good evening!!! White: B. Gosling (149) Black: R. J. Neat (125) [D05] E. Devon Premier (3), 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 Be7 5.Nbd2 c5 6.c3 c4 7.Bc2 Nc6 8.0–0 h5 9.e4 Bd7 10.exd5 exd5 11.Ne5 Ng4 12.Ndf3 Ncxe5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Bg4 15.Ba4+ Kf8 16.Qd4 b6 17.Bc6 Be6 18.Bxa8 Qxa8 19.b4 cxb3 20.axb3 Bc5 21.Ba3 Bxa3 22.Rxa3 g5 23.Rfa1 Kg7 24.Rxa7 Qc6 25.h4 Qb5 26.Qd2 gxh4 27.Qg5+ Kh7 28.Qxh5+ Kg7 29.Qg5+ Kh7 30.R7a4 1–0 Sunday Round 4 at 10 am - I was due to have white playing Webly (154) but within minutes it was all change as Horton-Kitchlew had withdrawn at the last minute and I ended up with a bye and a full point; a hollow crown. What is more, it took until 10 .30 to clear the situation so I missed the opportunity of attending sung Eucharist at the Cathedral. I am a friend of Exeter Cathedral that in my view is one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical buildings in Britain. I did have just over an hour there in peaceful contemplation at 1 p.m.; also bought some books in their shop. I felt good after the visit as I enjoy lighting candles for my friends and family. Round 5 at 3pm (Time to throw caution to the wind) - not another Exmouth club and county player, Adam Woodruff (155) who drew with Gosling in an earlier round. Still, I had white and played the London but had a moment of madness when I decided to deviate from the norm on move 9 which changed the nature of my game and caused me to castle long with a slow Kingside attack. I made a game of it but he was in control so after 2 hours 50 mins I resigned again. He is a better player than I, but I intend to have my revenge in due course!!! And Brian G can watch out too. White: R. J. Neat (125) A. C. Woodruff (154) [D02] 29th E. Devon Premier, Rd 5 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 d5 4.e3 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Bd6 7.Bg3 0–0 8.Bd3 Qe7 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Nb3 Bb6 11.Nbd4 Ne4 12.Qc2 f5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.0–0–0 c5 15.Bxe4 fxe4 16.Bh4 Qe8 17.Ne1 Bb7 18.f3 exf3 19.Nxf3 e5 20.Bg3 e4 21.Ne1 d4 22.Qb3+ Kh8 23.cxd4 cxd4 24.exd4 e3 25.Nc2 Rc8 26.d5 Qg6 27.Rd3 e2 28.Rf3 Rxf3 29.gxf3 Bxd5 30.Qa4 Bxa2 31.Re1 Be3# Naturally I am disappointed not to have achieved more! Ponter was in the top 4 and I drew with him in the Cotswolds Congress last year. I took someone to his home en-route to mine and Liz had a fine candlelit dinner ready for me at 8pm. She said they needed to win as well and are better graded players so you cannot be too hard on yourself. This does not help my psyche as I am trying against all odds to make the quantum leap at the age of nearly 60 when I am physically unfit too. Nevertheless I still have stamina and some magic as I drew against 11 opponents graded 159 to 176 last year in congresses.Now back to the drawing board in time for Easter in Exmouth!! In conclusion, here is a bright win by our Club President against a highly graded opponent. White: M. V. Abbott (153) Black: A. J. Gilmour (174) [A70] 29th E. Devon Premier - Rd. 5 1.d4 c5 2.d5 g6 3.e4 d6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Nc3 0–0 7.h3 a6 8.a4 e6 9.Nf3 exd5 10.cxd5 Nbd7 11.0–0 Re8 12.Re1 Qe7 13.Bf4 Nh5 14.Bg5 Qf8 15.Qc2 h6 16.Be3 Ne5 17.Nxe5 Bxe5 18.Qd2 g5 19.Be2 Nf4 20.Bg4 h5 21.Bxc8 Raxc8 22.Ne2 Nxe2+ 23.Rxe2 g4 24.hxg4 hxg4 25.Ra3 Qg7 26.Bh6 Qg6 27.Bf4 Kg7 28.Rg3 Rh8 29.Bxe5+ dxe5 30.f3 Rh5 31.Qc3 f6 32.a5 Rch8 33.Qxc5 Rh1+ 34.Kf2 R8h4 35.Qe7+ Kh6 36.Qf8+ Kh7 37.Rc2 1–0
Exmouth Club Results
Games played in this match are included in the D.C.C.A section of the "Games and Reviews" pages of this website
Nicolas Worthing, a former member of our Club, who died recently at Budleigh Salterton Hospital aged 88, lived the life of a retired English gentleman that belied an extraordinary life story. He was born in 1913 in St. Petersburg and christened Nicolai Wasilevich Worobjeff (pronounced Vorobioff), son of a rich businessman and aristocratic mother. During the civil unrest leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, his father, fearing for the family’s safety, moved them back to his home town of Rybinsk, north of Moscow. One evening, while walking along the riverbank that ran through his estate there, he overheard two men discussing whether they should "put Worobjeff in a sack and throw him in the Volga". Realising from this the way things were going in Russia, he decided the family had to leave the country, and plans were made, involving forged papers and a risky trip by train, in a horse wagon, heading for Pskov, on the border with German-occupied Latvia, in scenes reminiscent of the film Dr. Zhivago. Here, their ruse was uncovered by the Bolshevik passport Commisar, who accepted a large bribe to let them through, and they made their way to Riga. However, at the end of the Great War the German forces in Latvia were simply replaced by the Bolsheviks, and the family had to move on. They enlisted the help of Captain Smyth of HMS Princess Margaret, then stationed off Riga to resist the Russian advance. The Captain took pity on them and took them to Leith, near Edinburgh. The family settled in the Hampstead area of London and set up a company trading with the Baltic States. Nicolai attended University College School, where he was gifted in many areas, notably languages, technology and chess. In 1927, the great World Chess Champion, Capablanca, gave a simultaneous display at the Hampstead Club, where the 13 year old Nicolai was by far the youngest member. As play commenced, the boy tried out an opening he had been preparing, and sure enough, the Grandmaster fell into a trap that lost a pawn on move 8. As he came to the board, Capablanca realised his mistake immediately, but instead of standing on his dignity and fighting back, he smiled benignly at the boy’s impudence and offered a draw, holding out his hand, which Nicolai shook wa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||