THE WESTERN MORNING NEWS

The Western Morning News has one of the oldest chess columns in the country, having carried one, almost continuously, since the 1880s. The first columnist was Carslake Winter-Wood, who wrote under the nom-de-plum 'Queen's Knight'. Over the past half century, there have been just three columnists; J. E. Jones, originally from Lichfield, Staffordshire, later of Totnes. He was followed by Ken Bloodworth, who wrote the column for 37 years. He was succeeded by Bob Jones, who runs Keverel Chess. The WMN management have kindly agreed to allow their columns to be posted on this site, as a source of news of westcountry chess. The column appears regularly in their Saturday issue

At the recent Paignton Congress, Ajoy Soloman won a grading prize in the Premier, meeting two Exeter players in the process, with varying fortunes.

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0–0 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 d5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.a3 Ba5 9.Ne2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 cxd4 11.exd4 h6 12.Qd3 Qe7 13.b4 Bc7 14.Re1 e5 15.dxe5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.Ng3 Qc7 Taking stock, White has a rook attacked, and his Queen is somewhat exposed in the centre, inviting further attack by Black's minor pieces. 18.Ra2 Rd8 19.Qb3 b5 driving the Bishop from c4 in preparation for a strong attack. 20.Bxb5 Be6 21.Qc2 Bxa2 22.Qxa2 Rac8 Black's development through the centre is scattering the White forces. 23.Ba6 Bxg3 24.hxg3 Qxc1 25.Rxc1 Rxc1+ a pair of active rooks are usually a good match for a Queen, but it still takes some courage to let one's Queen go without an immediate win in view. 26.Kh2 Ng4+ 27.Kh3 Rd4 28.f4 Nf6 29.g4 Ne4 30.g5 h5 Resigns as Black threatens mate on h1. If 31.Kh2 Rdd1 32.g3 Rd2+ 0–1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.Nexd4 Be7 9.c3 0–0 10.Bd3 Nc5 11.Bc2 f6 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.0–0 Bd7 14.Be3 Qe7 15.Qe1 a6 16.Qf2 Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Rac8 18.Rfc1 Ba4 The useful deployment of the white-square Bishop is always a problem for Black in the French Defence as it tends to remain blocked in for many moves. As a solution, here Black would like to exchange it off, but overlooks White's reply. 19.Bxc5 Hitting the Black Queen and removing the Bishop's defender at one go, losing a piece. 1–0. Bolt was one of the few Premier players to go through undefeated.

The next westcountry event is the 41^st Dorset Congress to be held on the weekend 7^th - 9^th October at the Rembrandt Hotel, Weymouth . Enquiries about late entries should be directed to Frank Kingdon on 01305-812237 (before 9 p.m.).

After that there is the 6^th Royal Beacon Seniors Congress, to be held in Exmouth during the week commencing Monday 14^th November. There are sections for players in their 50s and over 61. More details obtainable from me on 01395-223340.

Last week's position by van der Ven was solved by 1.Bg8! protecting the Knight on d5 and threatening Nc5#. Black has eight possible moves, but each is met by a different mate. This week's position is another 2-mover from the recent World Solving Championships, specially composed for the event by Helmut Zalic. White to play and mate in 2.

Further details of the prizewinners at the recent Paignton Congress are as follows:

Challengers Section (U-170): 1^st A. Footner (Yeovil) 6/7 pts. 2^nd= M. Kobylka (Wood Green); C. Plasa (Fareham); P. J. Patience (Southampton) & T. Stock (Folkestone) 5 pts. Grading prizes: U-149 - S. Bartlett (N. Cornwall). U-138 -R. Allen (Bristol).

Intermediate Section (U-130): 1^st O. Namouk (Hastings) 6/7. 2^nd= F. Moreland (E. Ham) & M. Valentine (Bristol). Grading prizes: U-117 - K. Francis (Mercia). U-106 - C. Southall (St. Marychurch) & D. Tout (Exeter).

Minor Section: 1^st S. Simpson (London) 6/7 pts. 2^nd M. Ingram (Peterborough). 3^rd= J. Marchant (Burnley) & R. W. Shepherd (Exeter).

Grading prizes: U-83 - M. Barker (Ashton-U-Lyme) & G. Plechaty (Braille). U-75 - D. Bate-Smith (Edgware) & A. Coaker (Exeter). Best Lady: Hazel Welch (Seaton).

5 Rd. Morning Section: 1^st B. Giles (New Zealand) 4½/5 pts. 2^nd= M. V. Abbott (Exmouth) R. Gamble (Spondon), H. Hjort (Hendon), P. Holt, (Kinson) E. Key (York) & M. Kobylka.

One point of interest at the congress was the re-emergence from chess retirement, at the age of 58, of Danny Wright, one-time scourge of the weekend congress circuit in the 1970s. This game shows that he needs little encouragement to show his old form.

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 c5 5.c3 Nh5? Black has made the mistake of moving the same piece twice in the opening, and neglecting development. White spots the resulting opportunity. 6.Bxb8 Rxb8 7.Bb5+ Ke7 The first of six King moves. (If 7...Bd7 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.Ne5 and Black loses his offending Knight). 8.dxc5 Qc7 9.b4 b6 10.Nd4 bxc5 11.Nc6+ Kd6 Black is sinking ever-deeper in the mire. 12.Na3 cxb4 13.cxb4 a6 14.Nc4+ Kd7 15.Nxb8+ Ke7 16.Nc6+ Ke8 17.Ba4 Bd7 18.N4e5 Bxb4+ 19.Nxb4 Qc3+ 20.Kf1 Black resigns. He can recover a piece on e5, but that still leaves him a piece down.

Last week's position was solved by 1.c6! The British team of Jonathan Mestel, John Nunn and Michael McDowell won 1^st place in the World Team Solving Championship, held recently in Eretria, Greece, beating defending champions Israel, and current European Champions, Finland. This problem was one of three 2-movers, intended to ease competitors in gently, though this was the most tricky of them. It was composed by A. van der Ven in 1925.

A record number of competitors arrived at Oldway Mansion in a tropical downpour for the start of the Paignton Congress, but once play started the sun came out and shone all week.

The Premier Section was won by Steve Berry (London) 6/7 pts. 2^nd Thomas Rendle (Hastings) 5½ 3^rd= Dave Adams (York), Richard Britton (Hull), Dave Collier (Bristol) and Danny Wright (Cavendish), all 5 pts. Grading prizes to Dave Fryer (E. Grinstead) and Ajoy Soloman (Willesdon). Slow Starter prize: Alan Brown (Northampton). Berry was offered the Qualifying Place to next year's British Championship.

The Challengers Section was won by A. Footner (Yeovil); the Intermediate by O. Namouk (Hastings) and the Minor by S. Simpson (London). More details of the full prize list will be given next week.

In round 3 of the Intermediate Section, our former columnist, 92 year old Ken Bloodworth, was paired against 12 year old Robert Thompson, giving a mere 80 years age gap. Robert is no beginner, being an England Under-11 International, and at the outset it was clearly going to be a classic case of youth versus experience. Here is that Brief Encounter.

1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 Black is playing the French Defence, but White doesn't want to stick rigidly to the "book"; usually White would now play 2.d4, almost automatically. 3.Nc3 d4 Black's d-pawn is tempted forward. 4.Ne2 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.cxd4 cxd4 7.Qa4 Pinning the Knight increases the attack on the advanced d-pawn 7...Bc5 8.b4 Keeping the pressure up. 8...Bxb4 9.Nexd4 Nge7 10.Bb5 Qb6?? The Knight is now effectively undefended, so... 11.Qxb4 a6 12.Bxc6+ leaving the Queen undefended, so Black resigned.

Similar age differences were on show on Saturday at Exeter Museum when a team of Devon juniors met a team of Devon "elders", an event intended to coincide with the exhibition of historic board games and the Lewis chess set, entitled "Across The Board" which finishes today. On this occasion, too, the older timers showed they still had one or two tricks up their collective sleeves, and ran out winners. But the junior team organizer, Tim Onions, was happy that his young protégées had had the opportunity to meet some seasoned veterans.

In last week's position, Simon Bartlett of North Cornwall, won by playing 1.Rxf7+ Rxf7 (if 1…Kg8 then 2.Rxf8+ Qxf8 3.Nxd5) 2. Ne6+ winning the Queen.

The 55^th Paignton Congress finishes today, and as there are no grandmasters or other titled players taking part, the Premier Section is unusually open.

The original Congress in 1951 was organised to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Devon County Chess Association, and the top section then consisted of an 8 player all-play-all, which included Harry Golombek, 3 times British champion, the Dutchman Max Euwe, former World Champion, his fellow countryman, Jan Donner, the young Londoner, Leonard Barden, and Devon's top four players, Andrew Thomas, Frank Kitto, Ron Bruce and Jack Goodman.

It was expected that Euwe would win at a canter, but he was a notoriously slow starter in events like this, due to the fact that he was not a chess professional, being a university lecturer in maths. Thus Golombek was able to catch him cold in the first round, and proceeded to play out of his skin thereafter, not allowing Euwe to catch him.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3 a6 6.a4? White wants to prevent Black from holding on to the gambit pawn, but this is too slow as it allows Black active counter-play. 6...c5! 7.0–0 Nc6 8.Nbd2 cxd4 9.Nxc4 Bc5 10.Nfe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 0–0 12.Qc2 Ba7! 13.Rd1 threatening to win back the pawn with e3 13...Nd5 14.Qc4 Qd6 15.Nf3 e5 16.Ng5 [ 16.Nxd4 loses a piece to 16...Nb6] 16...Be6 17.Qd3 f5 18.Bd2 e4 19.Qb3 h6 20.Nxe6 Qxe6 White has secured the slight advantage of the Bishop pair, but still needs to find them open lines. 21.Rac1 (of course not 21.Qxb7 as 21...Rfb8 loses the Queen.) 21...Rf7 22.Kh1 Re8 23.a5 Qe5 24.f3 Qe6 25.fxe4 fxe4 26.Rf1 Nf6 27.Qxe6 Rxe6 28.Bh3 Now the Bishops are finding open diagonals; this piece becomes particularly menacing. 28...Re8 29.Bf5 e3 30.Bb4 Ne4 31.Bh7+ converting his spatial advantage into material gain. 31...Kxh7 32.Rxf7 d3 33.exd3 Nf2+ 34.Kg2 Nxd3 35.Bc3! Kg6 36.Rcf1 Nf2 37.Rxb7 Bc5 38.Rxg7+ At this point, a spectator was heard to whisper "At last", but Golombek felt it was better to keep this move in hand as a threat. 38...Kf5 39.Rc7 Bd6 40.Rc6 Be5 41.Rc5 Black resigned. The easiest way for White to win would have been to swap off all pieces, and be left with a 2:1 pawn advantage on both wings.

Last week's problem was solved by 1. BxP! This week's position comes from Paignton 2003. How did Simon Bartlett (White) finish off his opponent? (Footner).

The 55^th Paignton Congress starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. with a record entry, and continues through the week, finishing on Saturday morning. The splendid surroundings of Oldway Mansion provide a good ambience for quality chess, and is well worth a visit from interested spectators.

Former Plymouth junior, Neil Crickmore, rarely plays these days, and when he does it is usually on the continent. Last week he took part in a tournament in Castelldefels, near Barcelona, along with 151 others, 10 of whom had masters titles. He eventually scored 6½ / 9 points and made his first norm for the title of International Master. In this game from Round 7 he gives up his Queen, but gets more than enough compensation to win in style.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 constituting the Nimzo-Indian Defence, one of Black's most feared and respected responses, so aggressive it barely merits the "Defence" bit of its title. 4.Nf3 Gligoric called this move the Flexible Variation, but after Kasparov took it up in the 1980s it now bears his name. 4...c5 5.g3 0–0 6.Bg2 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.0–0 Qa5 12.Bd2 Bxc3 13.bxc3 preserving his Bishop pair and creating a threat on Queen and Knight. 13...Ba6 14.Rfd1 Rab8 15.c4 meeting attack with attack. 15...Qc5 the key moment in the game - White opts to sacrifice his Queen for two pieces. 16.cxd5 Rxb3 17.axb3 Bxe2 18.Re1 Bb5 White has won Rook and Bishop for his Queen, but his Rooks have open lines and the Bishop pair rake the board on long diagonals. 19.dxc6 a6 Black can't yet win the dangerous pawn lurking with intent on c6 (e.g. 19...Bxc6 20.Rac1 losing the Bishop) 20.Rac1 Qb6 21.Be3 Qa5 22.c7 Bc6 23.b4 Qxc7 (if 23...Qxb4 24.Bc5) 24.Rxc6 Qe5 25.Rxa6 Rb8 Black's Rook eventually joins the fray, but it's too little too late. 26.Rb1 Qf5 27.Raa1 h5 28.h4 f6 29.Ba7 Rb5 30.Bc6 Re5 31.b5 Re2 32.Be3 Rxe3 33.fxe3 Qh3 34.Bg2 Qxg3 35.Ra3 Qd6 36.b6 By now White can afford the luxury of letting a Rook go, as another pawn heads for promotion. 1–0

In last week's position, Michael Adams simply played 1.RxB+ as White's Rook is "overloaded", trying to defend both Bishop and Queen. If the King moves to h2, Black can exchange Queens and pick up the Rook on d1.

This week's 2-mover was composed by Cyril Kipping and George Hume, and first appeared in this paper in 1922.

Entries for the Paignton Congress, which starts at Oldway Mansion on Sunday 4^th September, have reached near record levels, and the event Secretary, Alan Crickmore, has had to put a stop on further entries for any of the afternoon tournaments in view of the available accommodation. The only space left is in the 5-Round Morning Tournament, which starts at 9.30 each morning, Monday to Friday. Enquiries about any late entries should go to Alan or Linda Crickmore on 01752-768206 (any day before 10 p.m.)

The Dorset Congress at the Rembrandt Hotel, Weymouth, to be held on the weekend of 7th - 9^th October, is also approaching fast. Brochures are already out, but if necessary, further details are available from Frank Kingdon on 01305-812237.

In the recent British Championship, the defending Champion, Jonathan Rowson, found steady form after a shock loss in Round 2 cleared his head, and he went on to retain his title. But not without a stern test from St. Austell's Andrew Greet in this game from Round 6.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 a characteristic Benoni move, designed to lure White's d-pawn forward, which allows space for White, but Black will usually try to undermine this centre by pushing on the Queen-side. 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Bb5+ Nfd7 7.a4 0–0 8.0–0 Na6 9.Re1 Nc7 10.Bf1 Ne5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.Bh6 Re8 13.Qd2 e6 14.Bg5 f6 15.Be3 Bxc3 16.Qxc3 e5 17.f4 b6 18.fxe5 Rxe5 19.Bf4 a5 [If Black tries to save his Rook by 19...Re8 then his central defences come under strong attack after 20.Qg3 attacking Black's d-pawn with the Black Knight already constrained for space.] 20.Rad1 Rather than grabbing the Rook immediately, White opts for development. 20...Kg7 21.Bxe5 dxe5 22.d6 Ne6 23.Qc4 Nd4 24.d7 Ba6 25.Qd5 Bxf1 26.Rxf1 Ra7 27.Rxf6 Greet gives back his material advantage in a brave King-side attack. 27...Kxf6 28.Rf1+ Nf5 [if 28...Ke7 29.Rf7#; or 28...Kg7 29.Qxe5+ Kh6] 29.exf5 Rxd7 30.fxg6+ Kxg6 31.Qe6+ Kg7 32.Qxe5+ Kg8 Now White goes for a draw by perpetual check rather than risk over-reaching himself and losing to the British Champion in what would have been a long and intricate endgame if he were to try and capitalise on his extra pawn. 33.Qe6+ Kg7 34.Qe5+ Kg8 35.Qe6+ ½–½

The Scot Jonathan Rowson retained his crown at the British Championship, collecting another £10,000 cheque in the process. Cornishman Andrew Greet had another commendable tournament, being joint 1^st at the start of the 8^th round, but the downside of that meant that he was drawn mostly against Grandmasters in the last four rounds, and this kept him back to 7/11 points, and 6^th= place overall. Jack Rudd of Bideford, on the other hand, had a good last few rounds, managing to grind out wins in the last 2 rounds to finish in 8^th= position. Alex Therrien of Exeter finished with an excellent 50% score of 5½ points.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.g3 Bb4 7.Bg2 Qa5 8.Nde2 d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.0–0 0–0 11.Bd2 Qd8 12.Bg5 Be6 13.Nb5 Bg4 14.c3 White tries to push away the Bishop, but Black continues to probe at the heart of White's defences. 14...Re8 15.Re1 Bc5 16.h3 Qb6 Again Black refuses to be distracted by irksome pawns. 17.hxg4 Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Qxb5 19.Nd4 Nxd4 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.cxd4 Ne4 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.d5 e3 24.Qf3 Qxb2 and White resigned in view of the multiple threats engendered by 25...e2. Play might have continued.... 25.Rf1 e2 26.Qxf2 exf1Q+ 27.Qxf1 Re2 28.d6 Rh2+ 29.Kg1 Rc2 30.Qe1 [or 30.d7 Qd4+ 31.Kh1 Qd5+ 32.Kg1 Qxg5] 30...Re2 31.Qf1 Qd4+ 32.Kh1 Rxa2 33.Qg1 Ra1 34.Bc1 Qxg1+ 35.Kxg1 Rxc1+ 36.Kf2 Rd1 0–1

The "Across The Board" exhibition at Exeter Museum, which features the world famous Lewis chess set, is proving very popular and continues there until 17^th September. As well as the exhibits, there are lots of games for children to take part in - well worth a visit.

The solution to last week's position, was 1.Qb1! Here we have another look at the starter problem of this year's British Solving Championship, and it proved a tricky one that produced the lowest number of correct solutions for some years. This problem is what is called a Complete Block; that is, if it were Black's move, any one of his moves would be met by an immediate mate. Therefore, White is looking for a neutral move that does not disturb this situation. That move is 1. Be7! This type of problem is also called a "Waiter", and in the 19th century was considered so easy they were discontinued, but this one appears to have flummoxed many 21^st century solvers. There were 2 correct entries sent in by WMN readers, the highest number by any provincial newspaper.

Devon's former Match Captain, Dr. Ian Mason of Teignmouth, passed away last month at the age of 82. After 20 years as the Head of a London Comprehensive School, he retired to Teignmouth in 1983, where he quickly became involved in the local chess club. In 1995 he succeeded another Teignmouth player, Tim Hay, to become only Devon's 6th team captain since 1901.

He took teams to the Under-175 final which Devon narrowly lost, and the Under-150 final, and though national titles eluded him, he took great pleasure in Devon's recent win in the U-175 competition under the new captain Brian Hewson.

The British Championships got under way on 1^st August with a much-reduced entry, the Isle of Man proving a difficult venue, and some top players on call at the European Team Championships. There were only 45 entries in the Championship section with Andrew Greet (St. Austell & 228 grade) as 7^th seed; Alex Therrien (Exeter - 212) were 13^th and Jack Rudd (Bideford - 208) 15^th seeds.

The results in the early rounds were very erratic, but Jack Rudd's bold play in Round 3 paid off with this win.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 Nf6 Most players would now continue with sensible development, but Rudd is not like most players, so... 12.g4 Qd7 13.h3 fxe4 14.fxe4 h5 Black is drawn into a King-side slug-out, neglecting his own piece development in the process. 15.g5 Qxh3 The 15 year old player sees the promise of a telling attack against a King stripped bare of its pawns, but it's a mirage. 16.Rf3 Qg4+ 17.Ng2 h4 18.Rxf6 winning a piece. 18...Qd7 19.Rxf8+ Bxf8 20.Nxh4 resigns. Black is a piece down and hardly has a move on the board. 20...Qh3 attacking 2 pieces, would be answered by 21.Bf2.

After 5 rounds, Greet was equal second on 4/5 points, with Therrien a pojnt behind and Rudd on 3/5.

Entries for the Paignton Congress are now approaching 150 and rising fast, and late entrants should get in touch with the Entries Secretary, Linda Crickmore on 01752-768206 to ensure participation in their preferred section.

In last week's position, White should have pushed his own passed pawn, and although Black gets a second Queen he cannot prevent the attack on his back rank.

This week's 2-mover is by Somerset reader, David Howard. Black's King has a pawn bodyguard, but how can they be circumvented?

Thomas Taylor was born in 1860 at St. Cleer near Liskeard, the son of William Taylor, a mining engineer from St. Just. The family moved first to St. Ives and by 1888 to Plymouth where Thomas became a manufacturer of waterproofs. That year he became a founding member of the newly-formed Plymouth Club. He won the club championship for the first time in 1893 and repeated the feat a further sixteen times, the last time in 1926. He won Devon's Winter-Wood Trophy nine times between 1911 and 1924. He was Devon's first Match Captain, a post he held for many years, and won Devon's Winter-Wood Trophy nine times between 1911 and 1924.

He is pictured in 1901 when he lived at 8, Connaught Avenue, a bachelor with his retired father and sister Elizabeth Taylor. He died in 1934, by which time a young Ronald Mackay Bruce had assumed Taylor's mantle, and in turn combined a great ability and consistency in the service of Devon chess.

Here is a hitherto unpublished game from the Plymouth Club championship of 1924, in which the 64 year old Taylor shows his teenage opponent he's not yet past it.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 White goes for the bold Four Pawns Attack. 5...0–0 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.0–0 h6 10.Bd2 e5 11.fxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.c5 Qe7 14.Be3 Kh7 15.h3 a6 16.Qd2 Ne8 17.Rad1 Bd7 18.Rc1 f5 19.Bd3 f4 20.Bf2 Rd8 21.Be2 Bc8 22.Rfd1 Rf6 23.d6 Freeing d5 for the Knight. 23...Qf8 24.Nd5 Rf7 25.Qa5 Rdd7 26.Bg4 cxd6 The Rook was bound to fall anyway. 27.Bxd7 Bxd7 28.Nb6 Bf6 29.cxd6 Bg5 30.Nxd7 Rxd7 31.Qxe5 Nxd6 32.Qe6 Qe7 33.Qxe7+ Bxe7 34.e5 and the Knight must also fall, being pinned against the Rook. 1–0

In last week's position, Michael Adams did not do the obvious thing and retake with his Knight, but played the winning 1.QxR+!! RxQ 2.NxB RxR+ 3. RxR and White cannot now cope with the twin threats of Re1 mate and NxQ+.

This week's position is from a game at the West of England Championships in 2000. Martyn Simons is White against James Parkin (Exeter) and played the attractive-looking Bd7 but which lost in view of Black's rapidly advancing g-pawn. However he missed a less obvious but ultimately winning line. What should he have done?

One consolation for Michael Adams after his disappointing match against the Hydra chess computer was the presentation to him, after the final game, of the British Chess Federation Player of the Year Award 2005, for a record 11^th time. He is currently ranked 7^th in the world with a grade of 268 (Elo 2741).

The 55^th Paignton Congress, which starts on Sunday 4^th September, is now rapidly approaching and late entrants need to be getting a move on by contacting the Entry Secretary Linda Crickmore on 01752-768206 or e-mail plymouthchess@btinternet.com

Unexpectedly there will not be a Torbay Congress this year. Congress Secretary Ray Chubb has been unable to find a suitable alternative venue to the Riviera Centre which is fully booked this autumn. However, he has already secured a new venue for what will be the 40^th Congress in 2006. This will be at the Belgrave Hotel, Torquay on 24^th - 26^th November.

Board games have been enjoyed in all societies and civilizations since the dawn of time, showing that they fulfil a basic need in the human psyche. This is amply illustrated in the "Across The Board" exhibition that has now opened at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. Sub-titled "Around The World In 18 Games", it features an assortment of board games throughout history, from the Ancient Egyptian game of Senet, the Romans' Duodecim Scripta up to a 1^st edition Monopoly set. The centerpiece is a selection of the world famous Lewis Chessmen, and chess is the focus of the whole event. Quite apart from looking at these historic games, a number of activities for juniors has been organized, including making chess masks, a chess piece parade, making board game sets etc. For details contact the Museum on 01392-665858. Entry is free.

In last week's position, Paul Morphy could happily give up his Queen with 1. Qb8+ because after NxQ he had 2. Rd8 mate. It's not difficult to see from the comfort of your armchair, but remember that Morphy played this game (a) against two consulting opponents (b) in a box at the Paris Opera during a performance of The Barber of Seville, (c) with his back to the stage so he couldn't even enjoy the action on stage. At least they didn't insist that he be blindfold as well - though he would have doubtless coped with that too.

This week's position is from the game Rozentalis v Michael Adams 1998. White now played 1. Bxf5 assuming Adams (Black) would simply recapture with his Knight and Queens could come off, leaving him with a reasonable endgame. But Adams had other ideas - a true master stroke. What was it?

Even the most experienced players in Devon's Under-175 team that won the National Championship recently have admitted to a feeling of euphoria at their historic win. Trefor Thynne, teacher at Torquay Boys' Grammar School, for one, has not yet quite come down to earth after this game which helped his team to the Ron Banwell Trophy.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 d5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.h3 0–0 8.Nbd2 b6 9.0–0 Bb7 10.Qb1 Rc8 11.Ne5 Re8 12.Bh2 Bf8 13.f4 White launches a King-side attack with some abandon. 13...g6 14.g4 Bg7 15.Bg3 a5 16.Bh4 Qd6 17.Ndf3 Rc7 18.Ng5 Rf8 19.Bg3 Qe7 20.Ngxf7 Rxf7 21.Nxf7 Qxf7 22.f5 exf5 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Bxc7 Qxc7 25.Qe1 Ne4 26.Bxe4 fxe4 27.Qh4 Ne7 28.Qf4 Qxf4 29.Rxf4 The exchange of Queens leaves the unusual balance of 3 minor pieces against a Rook pair. 29...Bc8 30.Kh2 Nf5 31.Rg1 Kf7 32.dxc5 bxc5 33.Rg5 overlooking 33...Be5 34.Kg2 Bxf4 35.exf4 Ne3+ 36.Kg3 d4 37.Rxc5 d3 38.Kf2 Black's d-pawn cannot now be stopped. 38...d2 39.Kxe3 d1Q 40.Rxc8 Qf3+ 0–1

This is team captain Brian Hewson's game, longer and more tactical, but ending with a nice twist of the dagger.

1.c4 b5 2.cxb5 a6 3.e3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.b3 axb5 7.Bxb5 c6 8.Be2 d5 9.0–0 Nbd7 10.d4 0–0 11.Bb2 Ba6 12.Rc1 Qb8 13.Bxa6 Rxa6 14.Qe2 Qa8 15.Na4 Rb8 16.Rc2 Bf8 17.Rfc1 e6 18.h3 Ne4 19.Nd2 Nxd2 20.Qxd2 Nb6 21.Nxb6 Rbxb6 White now spends a lot of time preparing to open the centre with e4, while avoiding back rank mates and protecting his a-pawn. 22.Bc3 Ra3 23.Re1 Rba6 24.Re2 f5 25.f3 Ra7 26.Kh1 Qb8 27.Qe1 Bd6 28.Qc1 Qa8 29.Qb1 Qb7 30.Rb2 Qe7 31.Qe1 Ra8 32.Rbc2 R3a6 33.e4 Now White judges the time is right for e4. 33...fxe4 34.fxe4 Bf4 35.Qf1 Bh6 36.exd5 cxd5 37.Qe1 Bf4 38.Bd2 Bc7?! Blacks opts not to exchange Bishops, but White's proves much the stronger of the two. 39.Bb4! Qd7 40.Qh4 Bd8 41.Qf4 Qf7 42.Qxf7+ Kxf7 43.Rf2+ Now the White Rooks have the open lines. 43...Kg7 44.Bf8+ Kg8 45.Bh6 Bh4 46.Rf3 Be7 47.a4 Rb8 48.Rc7 Bd6 49.Rd7 Rc8 50.Rff7 Rac6 51.Rg7+ Kf8 52.Rxd6! Now White's spatial superiority can be converted to material. 52...Rxd6 53.Rd7+ Ke8 54.Rxd6 Ke7 55.Rb6 Kf6 56.Bf4 1–0

In last week's position, Black fell to 1. Nxf7 Kxf7 2.Qxe6+ and 3.Qf7 mate to follow. In this week's position, the great Paul Morphy (White) mated in 2.

Devon are the new U-175 county champions after a comfortable 9½ - 6½ win against Lancashire in the Finals at Systen, Leicestershire. Although the teams were evenly matched in playing strength, the key to Devon's success was a string of five consecutive wins on boards 3 - 7. The details were:

1. Graham Bolt (Exeter) 0; 2. Dave Regis (Exeter) ½; 3. Brian Hewson (Exeter & Captain) 1; 4. Trefor Thynne (Torquay Boys G.S.) 1; 5. Alan Brusey (Teignmouth) 1; 6. Chris Bellers 1; 7. Oskar Hall (Exeter); 8. Adam Woodruff (Exmouth) 0; 9. Paul Brooks (S. Hams) ½; 10. Arthur Pinkerton (Brixham) 0; 11. Mark Abbott (Exmouth) 0; 12. Bill Ingham (Teignmouth) ½; 13. Mark Ozanne (Exeter) ½; 14. Simon Waters (Exeter) ½; 15. John Gorodi (Teignmouth) 1; 16 Jonathan Underwood (Seaton) 1.

This was the first time Devon have won this section, and their first national title since winning the U-150 competition in 1996 under the captaincy of Tim Hay.

Open Section: 1^st Rashid Ziatdinov (Uzbekistan / USA) 4½/5 pts. 2^nd= Jim Sherwin (Bath) & David Sully (Pentyrch) 3½. Grading prize: Peter Poobalasingam (Millfield School) & Allan Pleasants (Weymouth).

Major: 1^st= Mark Abbott (Exmouth) & Sarah Hegarty, (Millfield). 3^rd= P. Chapman (Yeovil) & S. Pride (Cambridge). Grading Prize: P. Smith (Brighton). Intermediate: 1^st N. Baranga (Millfield) 4½. 2^nd= J. McKenna (Crystal Palace) & J. Shaddick (Basingstoke) 4. Grading Prize: Sheila Dines (Coulsdon).

Minor: 1^st J. Galloway (Andover) 4½. 2^nd A. Fraser (Beckenham). 3^rd= Doreen Helbig (Keynsham) & H. Streeter (Millfield) 3½. Grading prize: R. Hood (Exeter), Robert Thompson (Torquay Boys' G.S.) & Sharon Soni (Millfield). Team Prize: Millfield School.

This week's position comes from a game played in Plymouth in 1938 as part of the Congress to commemorate the Plymouth Club's 50^th anniversary. The organisers had assembled a dazzling group of players for the top section which included the World Champion, Alekhine, a legend in his own lifetime, and the Woman World Champion, Vera Menchick. Local organiser Ron Bruce, was drawn to play Alekhine in the morning round and in this game tried the Caro-Kann Defence. Bruce's defences were torn to shreds in short order in a game that entered chess literature. Can you spot Alekhine's winning line? To rub salt in his wounds, Ron Bruce was drawn to play Menchick in the afternoon game, making him one of the very few people to have played two World Champions on the same day.

In spite of the £84,000 prize fund on offer, Michael Adams proved no match for the latest silicon monster, the chess-playing super computer, Hydra, losing five of the six scheduled games and winning £5,500 for his one draw.

The result indicates not so much a poor result for Adams, the representative of mankind in this instance, but the giant strides taken by the technology in the past decade. In fact, it marks the end of an era during which the best players have challenged and usually beaten whatever device was trundled out before them. The tide had begun to turn when Kasparov narrowly lost to Deeper Blue in 1997; now there is no question that the best computer will always beat the best human. There seems little point in further such contests as the outcome will be entirely predictable.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.O-O Ne7 8.c4 d6 9.Nc3 Nbc6 10.Qe2 O-O 11.Be3 e5 12.Rad1 Nd4 13.Bxd4 exd4 14.Nd5 Nc6 15.f4 Qh4 16.Nd2 Be6 17.Nc7 Rac8 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.g3 Qe7 20.a3 e5 21.f5 Nb8 22.Kg2 Nd7 23.b4 Kh8 24.Bc2 Nf6 25.Rc1 Rc7 26.Bb3 Rfc8 27.Rc2 a5 28.Rfc1 Qe8 29.h3 a4 30.Ba2 Re7 31.c5 dxc5 32.bxc5 Rec7 33.Be6 Rd8 34.Qd3 g6 35.Kh2 Qc6 36.Qf3 Rf8 37.g4 Qb5 38.Qg3 Qe2+ 39.Qg2 Qe3 40.Qg3 Rxc5 41.Qxe3 dxe3 42.Nf3 Nxe4 43.Kg2 Kg7 0-1

Last week's position, which arose in an actual game between Sam Loyd and Arnous de Riviere in 1867, was one of those rare occasions when it pays to "under-promote" a pawn to a Knight rather than the usual Queen, for the sake of the check that it gives. Otherwise Black was threatening a mate on b4, but the vital Knight check and the follow-up it permits, prevents this from happening.