This page is updated every Saturday at midday.

1st  July 2006

The recent Yeovil Congress finished in a triple tie for 1^st place, between Ian Ponter (Bristol), Paul Helbig (Bath) and Gerry Jepps (Frome), each with 4/5 points. This was a splendid result for Jepps who only the previous weekend had been elected the new WECU President. Here is his best game, against one of the favourites: (Notes based on those kindly provided by the event organiser, Jack Rudd).

White: Tyson Mordue (195). Black: Gerry Jepps (146).

Scandinavian Defence - Portuguese Gambit. [B01]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4!? The Portuguese Gambit, much used by well-prepared players looking for a win as Black. 4.f3 Bf5 5.Bb5+ Nbd7 6.c4 a6 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Ne2 e6 9.dxe6 Bxe6 A typical position from this opening. White has an extra central pawn; Black has a lead in development and the Bishop pair. Objectively, this should favour White, but in practical play, anything can happen. 10.b3 0–0–0 11.0–0 h5 Black immediately launches his attack against the castled King - can White respond quickly enough? 12.Nbc3 h4 13.Bg5?! Rh5 14.Qd2 Be7 15.Rad1 Bf5  16.Bf4? Making matters worse. While the Bishop was uncomfortably placed on g5, it was at least holding up Black's kingside expansion. The text allows Black to bring his entire army into the attack. 16...Rg8 17.Be5 g5 18.d5? g4 Black's Rooks and pawns are asking all the questions, while White's attack has yet to materialise. 19.Nd4 gxf3 20.Nxf3 20...Bh3 21.Rf2 Ng4 22.Re2 Now begins a series of exchanges which results in Black winning the Queen. 22...Nxe5 23.Nxe5 Rxe5 24.Rxe5 Rxg2+ 25.Qxg2 Bxg2 26.Rxe7 (if 26.Kxg2 Qg4+ 27.Kh1 [if 27.Kf2 Qf4 winning a Rook]. 27...Qf3+ 28.Kg1 Bc5; 26.Rde1 Bc5+ 27.Kxg2 Qg4) 26...Qxe7 27.Kxg2 Qe3 28.Rf1 h3+ Backing the King into a corner before the Queen starts to mop up, so White resigned.

The U-152 Grading Prize was won by John Gorodi (Teignmouth), and U-143 was shared between R. Turner and A. Galliano. The Intermediate Section was won by R. Desmedt (Netherton) and the Minor by A. Fraser (Beckenham).

At the recent Turin Olympiad, Mark Ozanne, who recently spent a year at Exeter University during which time he played for Devon, represented his home island of Guernsey, and his score of 6 points from 11 games played qualified him as a Candidate Master.

Last week's problem by Reginald Kelly, was solved by 1.Nb2!

This week's 2-mover was composed by Miss Frideswide Beechey (1843 - 1919), a one-time Plymouth resident, whose father, Admiral Beechey, was a distinguished naval officer and artist, and grandfather was Sir William Beechey, President of the Royal Academy.

     23rd  June 2006

Devon's Under-175 team have qualified for the National Final without having to push so much as a single pawn. Being the defending champions, they had a bye through to the Semi-Final, where they were due to meet Lancashire. As the match-day approached, players dropped out as (perhaps) they realised it coincided with the England - Paraguay match, and Lancashire conceded just hours before the Devon team were due to set out.

Fifty players crowded into the splendid Georgian Room of the Manor Hotel, Exmouth, when the Exeter & District League recently held their 3^rd annual "Coast v Country" match, with the Coast team comprising members of the Exmouth, Sidmouth & Seaton clubs, ranged against players from Exeter, Isca Juniors and the Met Office. As the "seasiders" had won the first two matches, the "townies" were determined to reverse this trend, and so they did, in style, winning 15 - 10. The details were as follows (Coast names first):- 1. K. Derrick 1 - 0 S. Homer. 2. M. Abbott 1 - 0 D. Regis. 3. B. Gosling 0 - 1 O. Hall. 4. P. Trussler 1 - 0 A. Keil. 5. I. Annetts 1 - 0 S. Owen. 6. S. Dean ½ - ½ T. Stephenson. 7. S. Murray ½ - ½ K. Atkins. 8. D. Adams ½ - ½  R. Wilby. 9. M. Belt 0 - 1 S. Cooke. 10. M. Taylor ½ - ½  R. Fredlund. 11. R. Jones 1 - 0 E. Palmer. 12. T. Badlan 0 - 1 C. Keene. 13. P. Hills 0 - 1 R. Pope. 14. R. Ryan 0 - 1 J. Waley. 15. F. Hodge ½ - ½ J. Maloney. 16. W. Burls ½ - ½ R. Hitchcock. 17. H. Welch 1 - 0 R. Shepherd. 18. L. Porter 0 - 1 L. Ten-Holter. 19. A. Dowse 1 - 0 G. Ward. 20. A. Green 0 - 1 G. Jenkins. 21. L. Herzberg 0 - 1 R. Hood. 22. P. Leask 0 - 1 D. Holt. 23. L. Hopkinson 0 - 1 R. Scholes. 24. J. Rayson 0 - 1 B. Aldwin. 25. P. Lawton 0 - 1 Y. Ehtesham.

Here is the game from Board 2.

M. V. Abbott. (152). Black: Dr. D. Regis (159).

Queen's Gambit [D30]

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.Qc2 f5 7.Bg5 Nf6 8.Bxf6 A good spot by White, seeing he can win the central pawn. 8...Qxf6 (8...gxf6 would rather spoil Black's King-side) 9.Nxd5 Qf7 10.Nc3 0–0 11.e3 Na6 12.a3 Bd7 13.Bd3 b5 14.0–0 Kh8 15.b4 Qh5 16.Ne5 Rf6 17.Qe2 White needs to bring more forces to the defence of his King. 17...Qh6 18.f4 Be8 19.Qc2 Qh5 20.Rf3 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Rg6 with the threat of QxR  22.Rg3 Rxg3 23.hxg3 Qg4 24.Kf2 Bd7 25.Rc1 Re8 26.e4 fxe4 27.Nxe4 Bringing the Knight into the forefront, while Black's languishes on the edge.  27...Re6 28.Ng5 Rh6 29.Nf7+ 1–0

This week's 2-mover was composed by Reginald Kelly, (1834 - 1899), who lived at Kelly, on the Devon side of the county line near Launceston, where his family had been the local landowners since the Norman Conquest.

     17th June 2006

In the Turin Olympiad, England, after a poor start, finished up in 19^th place out of the 150 competing nations, a little below their seeded position of 13th. Compared with India, seeded 2 and finished 30^th, it was quite respectable. Armenia won gold with 10 wins, 3 drawn matches and no losses, a brilliant achievement for a tiny country with a population equal to that of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. China, population one billion (approx), came 2^nd.

The England team was held together by Michael Adams who several times won his game, allowing the other three players to draw, thus winning their match. This is what happened  against Iran in the 12th round, and here is his game.

White: M. Adams (2720) Black: E.  Ghaem Maghami (2584)

Petroff Defence [C42]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0–0 0–0 8.c4 Nf6 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nc6 11.h3 Bf5 12.a3 Ne4 13.Re1 Nxc3 14.bxc3 supporting the isolated d-pawn. 14...Qd6 15.a4 threatening Ba3 15...Qg6 16.Kh1 Rae8 17.Bf4 Bd6 18.Qd2 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Bd7 20.Ng5 Nd8 21.Ne4 Bxf4 22.Qxf4 Qc6 23.Bb5 Qd5 24.Re3 f5 25.Bxd7 Qxd7 26.Nc5 Qf7 Black is on the back foot and the Whites pieces are better placed, but it is not easy to see how to make progress. Adams offers to swap d and c pawns. 27.d5 b6 28.Nd3 Qxd5 29.Qxc7 Ne6 30.Qe7 White wants to keep his Queen active in the centre rather than be tempted into picking up the a-pawn and possibly losing the initiative. 30...Rd8 31.Ne5 Nf4 32.Rg3 g6 33.Nf7 Qd1+ Just a bravado check. 34.Kh2 and Black resigned. The Black Rook must move e.g. if 34...Rd7 35.Nh6+ Kh8 36.Qf8 mate  Or 34…Rf8 35.Nh6+ Kh8 Qe5+ etc.

Andrew Greet's Trinidad & Tobago squad did well enough under his tuition, coming 100^th, roughly in line with their seeding, winning 6 matches and drawing 2. Compared to England's 8 wins and 2 draws, that was good.

The recent Cotswold Congress was won jointly by James Cobb and Steve Berry, and the Premier Section (U-155) by Dave Rogers (Exmouth) and Eddie Bromilow (Clifton).

In last week's position, you could have beaten Gurevich by playing 1.Bxd4

This week's 2-mover is the starter problem for the 2006 - 07 British Chess Solving Championship. You may enter by sending White's first move - the key move - to Paul Valois, 14, Newton Park Drive, Leeds LS7 4HH. Entries should be post-marked no later than 31^st July 2006, and be accompanied by a cheque or postal order for £3 payable to the British Chess Problem Society, and don't forget to mention the WMN. All entrants will receive the full solution to this problem, and those who get it right will also receive the Postal Round, comprising 8 more difficult and varied problems. Best of luck.

   10th June 2006

If England's team struggled at the 37^th Olympiad in Turin, it was not in any way the fault of their top two boards, Michael Adams and Nigel Short, who both scored 5 points from their first 7 games.

Adams in particular kept the flag flying and in Round 3 enjoyed this splendid win over the peripatetic Ukrainian, Gurevich, who has played for Belgium and now represents Turkey.

White: Michael Adams (2720) Black:  Mikhail Gurevich (2643).

French Defence Tarrasch Variation. [C06]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 3.Nc3. Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.c3 c5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6 9.exf6 White gives himself an isolated pawn on d4 but this is balanced by the backward pawn that Black now has on e6. 9...Nxf6 10.Nf3 Bd6 11.0–0 0–0 12.Bf4 Bxf4 13.Nxf4 Ne4 14.Qc1 Ng5 15.Nxg5 Qxg5 16.Ne2 Qf6 Black brings more pressure to bear on the isolated pawn at d4, 17.Qd2 Indirect protection of the threatened d-pawn, familiar to all players of the French, where Bxh7+ is involved. 17...Bd7 18.Bb5 Nb8 One of the constant dangers for French players is the appropriate development of the Queen-side pieces, and this game is no exception as it leads to Black's downfall. 19.a4 a very unusual move. 19...Bxb5 20.axb5 Doubled pawns are not nice, but Adams has decided this forward pawn is relatively safe for the time being and the a-file is opened for his Rook. 20...Nd7 21.g3 Nb6 22.Nf4 Nc4 23.Qe2 hitting the weak e6 pawn. 23...Rfe8 24.Rfd1 Nd6 25.Ra3 Re7 26.h4 Nf5 27.Qe5 b6?? 28.Nxd5! White's killer blow. The Knight forks Queen and Rook, yet cannot be taken because of Qxd5+ winning the unmoved Rook on a8. Adams has brilliantly exploited the weaknesses of the French Defence. 1–0

In spite of this win, Turkey won the match 2½ - 1½.

This game with much more analysis, and all England's other games from the Olympiad are available for playing through or downloading on Bill Frost's website chessdevon.co.uk

Meanwhile, Cornishman Andrew Greet's Trinidad & Tobago protégés had a great time, beating Honduras, Mozambique, Thailand and Uruguay, and drawing with Iraq and Bahrain in the first 9 rounds - almost as good as England's record at that point. Greet's coaching had a dramatically beneficial effect.

Mike Kobylka, a regular figure on the westcountry congress circuit, died recently at the age of 39. He was current the Grand Prix champion for the U-175 level.

Gary Lane's killer blow last week was 1. Bd6+! and whichever way Black takes it will lead to a mate.

If you want to get in on the Gurevich-beating act, can you see how to beat him in this position? He has just taken one of your pawns on e4, but can be punished for his presumption. Can you see how?  

  3rd June 2006

In football's World Cup, England are due to meet Trinidad & Tobago in the league stage. In the Chess Olympiad which is now coming to an end in Turin, both  countries are also involved, though it was always less sure that the two teams would actually face each other. Should they do, there would uniquely be a Cornishman involved on both sides, - Perranporth-born Michael Adams playing on top board for England and St. Austell's Andrew Greet as Trinidad's coach. Andrew was called in at 48 hours' notice, after their original trainer had to drop out.

As already reported, Greet won the recent Frome congress with a perfect score. With a score of 4/4 at the start of the final round, many players would settle for a short, safe draw in order to guarantee at least a share of 1st prize. So what happened in this case?

White: Michael White (Cheltenham - 185). Black: A. Greet (223)

Closed Sicilian [B26]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Be3 Rb8 7.Qd2 b5 One of the themes of the Sicilian is to launch an early Queen-side attack, while White is trying to do the same on the King-side. This often makes for exciting play as each side tries to balance defence with quick attack.  8.f4 b4 9.Nd1 Bd7 10.Ne2 Nd4 11.0–0 h5 12.Nc1 Ba4 13.Nb3 h4 14.e5 hxg3 15.hxg3 Nh6 16.Nxd4 cxd4 17.Bxd4 Nf5 Black opens the h-file for his Rook, but his other Rook is in some danger. 18.Bxa7 dxe5 Rather than trying to parry White's threats, Black chooses to press on with his own attack.  (if 18...Rc8 19.Qxb4 Qd7 20.Bf2) 19.Bxb8 Qxb8 20.a3 exf4 21.Rxf4 Nxg3 22.Rxb4 Qa7+ 23.Qf2 Bd4 24.Rxd4 Qxd4 25.Nc3 Qh4 threatening mate on h2. White not only counters this but whips up an attack of his own. 26.Bd5 Qg5 27.Bxf7+ Kf8 Both players have a discovered check available. 28.Bd5+ Kg7 29.Qf7+ Kh6 30.Nxa4 White's game hangs by a thread, yet he takes a piece that is doing nothing and puts his Knight out of play. The end is now swift. 30…Nf5+ Now Black's discovered check kicks in while at the same time cutting off the White Queen from the action. 31.Kf2 Qd2+ 32.Kf3 Qe3+ 33.Kg2 Kg5 34.Rh1? White activates his Rook at last, but only to lose it almost immediately. 34...Qe2+ 35.Kg1 Qe1+ Resigns, in view of 36.Kg2 Qxh1+ 0–1. A cracking game of continual thrust and counter-thrust. Greet was always favourite to win this particular game, but White put up a very creditable performance.

The solution to H. Maxwell Prideaux's problem last week was 1.Nxc5!

Other local interest in the Olympiad centers around Torbay's Gary Lane playing for Australia, where he now resides. This is one he played earlier: he is White and has won his opponent's Queen but is facing something of a fightback. How did Lane snuff out all Black's efforts in one killing move?

27th May 2006

Some chess authorities become obsessed with collecting every game, however obscure, of certain great players. David Hooper, for example, collected Capablanca games, while his colleague, Ken Whyld, concentrated on Lasker.

Similarly, there may be someone collecting the lesser-known games of David Ionovich Bronstein, one of the greatest players never to have won the World Championship. If so, this week's hitherto unpublished game may be of interest.

It was claimed by some that, when Bronstein was in with a chance of the world championship in his 1951 match against Botwinnik, the Soviet authorities brought secret pressure to bear on him, as a non-Russian Ukrainian, to throw his final game and hand the title to his Soviet opponent.

Born near Kiev in 1924, he is a sociable, friendly man with a ready smile, whose simultaneous displays have inspired many ordinary club players for decades. On 15^th August 1995 he took on 25 players graded between 174 - 90 at Charlton House, London. One of his opponents was Gareth Ward, now of the Met. Office Chess Club in Exeter. This is their game.

White: Gareth Ward (108) - Black: David Bronstein. (213)

Torre Attack  [A48]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nbd2 d5 5.c3 c5 6.e3 b6 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Qa4 0–0 9.Ne5 Bf5 10.0–0 Qc7 11.Bf4 Qc8 12.Rac1 Nh5 13.Bc6 Nxc6 14.Qxc6 Nxf4 15.exf4 Qa6 16.Qxd5 cxd4 17.cxd4 Rad8 18.Qc4 Qxc4 19.Ndxc4 Rxd4 After this exchange, there is material equality, except that the grandmaster has his 2 Bishops against 2 active Knights - an interesting balance of forces. 20.Nc6 Rd7 21.N4e5 Rc7 22.Rfd1 f6 23.Nf3 Be4 24.Nfd4 Bd5 25.Nb4 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Bf7 27.Ndc6 a5 28.Nxe7+ Kh8 29.Nbd5 b5 30.b3 f5 After having had the more cramped position, Bronstein now opens up to give the Bishops full rein. 31.Nb6 Bd4 32.Nec8 a4 33.bxa4 bxa4 34.Nxa4 Bxa2 35.Nab6 Re8 36.Kf1 Be6 37.Nd6 Rd8 38.Nbc4 Ra8 39.Ne5? Ra2 The net is tightening. 40.Nd3 Rd2 41.Ne5 Rxf2+ 42.Ke1 Rxf4 43.Nef7+ Bxf7 44.Nxf7+ Kg7 45.Rc7 Kf6 46.Nd8 Re4+ 47.Kf1 h5 48.h3 h4 49.Rd7 Be5 50.Rf7+ Kg5 51.Ne6+ Kh6 52.Nc5 Re3 53.Rf8 Bg3 White has nothing but bravado checks left. 54.Rh8+ Kg7 55.Rd8 Re1 mate.

Gareth is rightly proud of the resistance he put up against the great master.

The solution to last week's problem by David Howard was to swing the Queen right across the board with 1.Qh7!

This week's 2-mover is by a long-forgotten Devon composer, the splendidly-named H. Maxwell Prideaux (1857 - 1925). He was born at Westbrook, near Plymouth, became a solicitor and died at his home in Pennsylvania Road, Exeter.

20th May 2006

The 17^th Frome Congress was enjoyed by 183 players last weekend, and a Cornishman came top of the heap. Andrew Greet put in a faultless performance to finish with a maximum score in the toughest section, the only person to score five points in any section.

The full prizelist is as follows:

Open Section: 1^st Andrew Greet (St. Austell) 5/5 points; 2^nd Charles Tipplestone (Northampton) 4 pts. 3^rd= Tyson Mordue (Keynsham), Michael Yeo (Lymington), Paul Girdlestone (Trowbridge) & Paul Helbig (Bath) all on 3½ pts. Grading Prize (U-161) Andrew Footner (Yeovil). Tyson Mordue became the Somerset Champion and was awarded the Denys Bonner Cup, and Tipplestone was awarded the British Championship Qualifying Place and will be playing in August at the University of Wales, Swansea.

Major Section (U-155): 1^st= Mark Abbott (Exmouth); P. Stephenson (Merseyside) & R. Everson (Dartford) all on 4/5 pts. Grading prize (U-131) P. Smith (Hastings).

Intermediate (U-125): 1^st= R. Desmedt (Netherton) & R. Langham (Wantage) 4½/5 pts. 3^rd= Stuart Hay (Frome; Keith Atkins (Sedgemoor) & D. Mcarthur (Keynsham all on 4 pts. Grading Prize (U-105) Dave Woodruff (Keynsham)

Minor (U-100) 1^st= G. Gammon (Bristol) & S. Mullins (Yate & Sodbury) 4½/5 pts. 3^rd= M. Stone (Orpington); R. Ludlow (Trowbridge); P. Sartain (Keynsham); R. Coates (Brown Jack) & C. Kenward (Salisbury) all on 4½ pts.

Games from the event are not yet available, but here is a win by Greet from last year's British Championship on the Isle of Man, when he came a very creditable 6^th= out of 46 . In Round 9 he faced the veteran Paul Littlewood, with the following result.

White: P. Littlewood. (2355) Black: A. Greet. (2425)

Queen's Indian Defence. [E15]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Nbd2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.e4 cxd4 8.0–0 d6 9.Nxd4 Qd7 10.Qe2 Nc6 11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.b3 Be7 13.Bb2 Qb7 14.Rfe1 0–0 15.Rad1 Rfd8 16.Nb1 b5 17.Nc3 bxc4 18.bxc4 Nd7 19.Rb1 Bf8 20.Nb5 Qc8 21.Ba3 Nc5 22.Qe3 a6 23.Nd4 Be8 24.f4 Rb8 25.Rxb8 Qxb8 26.f5 Rc8 27.fxe6 Nxe6 28.Nxe6 fxe6 29.Bh3 Bf7 30.Rf1 Rxc4 31.Qf2 Qe8 32.Qb6 Rxe4 33.Bxd6 Bxd6 34.Qxd6 h6 35.Qxa6 The key is about whose pieces will coordinate the better. 35...Ra4 36.Qe2 e5 37.Rc1 Rxa2 38.Qe4 Ra8 39.Rc5 Ra1+ 40.Bf1 Bg6 41.Rxe5 Qf7 42.Qe2 Bf5 43.Re8+ Kh7 44.Rd8 Qa7+ 45.Qf2 Bh3 46.Qxa7 Rxf1# 0–1

I hope to have one of Greet's five wins at Frome next week.

The solution to little Lillian Baird's problem last week was 1.f5! This week's complicated-looking 2-mover is by Somerset's Dave Howard. White to play and mate in two.

13th May 2006

In the last few days of the Cornish leagues, the joint leaders of Division 1 are Helston's Godolphin A  (22 points from 12 of 14 matches) and Camborne A (22 points from 13 matches). Clear leaders of Division 2 are Penwith B with 22 points, well ahead of Falmouth on 17 points. The full details of both leagues can viewed on the Cornish chess website run by Ian George at www.cornwallchess.org.uk.

The 5^th Yeovil Congress starts in 4 weeks. Details are available from Jack Rudd on 0797-388-7123 and entry forms are downloadable from www.chessdevon.co.uk.

At the recent WECU Congress there were some entertaining games away from the Championship itself. Here is one example from the Major Section. After 5 rounds, Bill Ingham was feeling a bit stressed out for one reason or another, and felt he needed to withdraw from the last round, which made him feel even worse. So in this, his final game of the tournament, he decided to give it his all.

White: Bill Ingham (Teignmouth) Black: Barry Sandercock (Chalfont)

Dutch Defence [A85]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 f5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Ne5 0–0 7.e3 c6 8.h3 Ne4 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Qc2 Nd7 11.Bd3 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Qc7 13.f4 Ng3 14.0–0–0 Nxh1 15.Rxh1 Qb6 16.Qf2 Bd7 17.g4 White must press on quickly 17...Qc5 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.gxf5 exf5 20.Kb1 b5 21.Ne2 b4 22.Nd4 Qb6 23.Rg1 Be6 24.Qg2 Rf7 25.Bxf5 Clawing back some of his material deficit and opening lines to the Black King. 25...Re8 Black brings his Queen's Rook into play, even though it is quickly lost - better to lose it now for a Knight than possibly not get the chance to move it at all. 26.Bxe6 Rxe6 27.Nxe6 Qxe6 28.Rd1 Rd7 29.Qg4 Kf7 30.Rd4 Qc6 31.f5 Rc7 trying to set up a counter-attack. 32.Qd1 b3 33.axb3 Qh6 34.Rxd5 Qxe3 35.Rd7+ Rxd7 36.Qxd7+ Kf8 37.Qd8+ Black resigned in view of the forced 37…Kf7 followed by 38.e6+.

This win cheered him up no end.

Last week's problem by Shire was solved by 1.Kf7! This week's 2-mover was composed in 1890 by a 9 year old girl called Lillian Baird. Her mother had been Plymothian Edith Winter-Wood who found fame as Mrs. W. J. Baird, the queen of the 19^th century problemists. Her "Little Lillian" showed great early promise and composed around 100 problems unaided by her mother, but gave it up in her teens. She married a Mr. H. P. Strong whose career took him to India. Eventually the couple retired and returned to her home town of Brighton. In 1951 she presented the Plymouth Club with some chess pieces that had once belonged to her grandfather, Thomas Winter-Wood. They had them incorporated into a prize, the Strong Trophy, which is competed for in the Plymouth Club to this day.  She died in Brighton in 1977 at the age of 97.  

    6th May 2006

Exeter added the Rooke Cup to their other trophies won this season, when they beat Devon's newest club, Newton Abbot, 6 - 2 in the final. They were undone when two of their junior players, who had been involved in  the Teignmouth Rapidplay tournament the day before, failed to make the necessary mental adjustments for a potentially 4 hour game and lost quickly, leaving the mid-Devon club to play catch-up for the rest of the match. It was all part of their learning-curve. Details as follows (Exeter names first): 1. O. Hall (160e) ½ - ½ A. Brusey  (172). 2. S. Pope (156) 0 - 1 T. Thynne (164). 3. S. Waters (145) 1 - 0 R. Hocking (130). 4. T. Stephenson (129) 1 - 0 J. Parker (125). 5. R. Fredlund (120e) ½ - ½ R. Wilby (125). 6. J. Maloney   (108) 1 - 0 R. Thompson (107). 7. R. Scholes (79) 1 - 0 K. Sparks (79). 8. B. Aldwin (76) 1 - 0 T. Seah (62).
In last week's position, Gary Lane blocked the check with c6 which in turn discovered a check on the Black King, leaving the Queen stranded.

This week's 2-mover below is by David Shire, one of the country's leading composers. Born in Bath and now 58, he has been a regular competitor in the West of England Championships for over 40 years.

For example, in 1965 the teenage Shire met his Somerset compatriot Brian Gosling in the WECU Junior Championship, which resulted in this fine game.

White: D. J. Shire. Black: B. G. Gosling.

Sicilian Defence - Najdorf Variation. [B99]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0–0–0 Nbd7 10.g4 Rb8 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.g5 Nd7 13.Rg1 b5 14.a3 b4 15.axb4 Rxb4 16.Bh3 Nc5 17.f5 Qb7 So far, the game is identical to Hindle v Gligoric at Hastings earlier in the year, showing both boys knew the latest theory. 18.f6 Bf8 19.b3 Rg8 20.Rge1 gxf6 Shire now launches a winning attack 21.Nd5! 21...exd5 22.exd5+ Kd8 23.Qxf6+ Kc7 24.Qxf7+ Kb6 25.Qxg8 Bxh3 26.Qxf8 Qc7 27.Nc6 Resigns. Neither won the Championship that year, but Shire was awarded the Brigadier Morris Trophy for the best game by a junior.

However, 41 years later, Gosling got his revenge when they met again in this year's Championship.

White: D. J. Shire. Black: B. G. Gosling.

Bogo-Indian Defence [E11]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 Bxd2+ 6.Nbxd2 d6 7.Bg2 e5 8.Qb3 0–0 9.0–0 a5 10.Rac1 Nc6 11.d5 Nb4 12.e4 Na6 13.Ne1 Nc5 14.Qc2 Bd7 15.b3 Ne8 16.a3 f5 17.b4 axb4 18.axb4 Nxe4 19.Nxe4 fxe4 20.Bxe4 Nf6 21.Bg2 e4 22.Qc3 White is getting very hemmed in, but this move allows a Black Rook to encamp on its 7th rank. 22...Ra2 23.Nc2 Ng4 24.f3 exf3 25.Rxf3 Rxf3 26.Bxf3 Qg5 27.Ra1 Rxa1+ 28.Qxa1 Ne5 29.Be2 Qd2 30.Nd4 Qe3+ 31.Kg2 Qe4+ 0–1

29th April 2006

The annual Teignmouth RapidPlay Congress was successfully held last Saturday, with the winner of the past 2 years, the American Jim Sherwin, having to share the honours with local player Graham Bolt of Exeter. Other winners were as follows:

Open Section: 1^st= J. Sherwin (Keynsham) & G. Bolt (Exeter) 5/6 pts

Grading prizes: U-150  1^st= B. G. Gosling  (Exmouth) & W. Ingham (Teignmouth) 4 pts. U-140  S. Dean (Sidmouth), C. McKinley           (Sedgemoor) & W. Batt (Barnstaple) 3 pts.

Major Section: (U120)  1^st= J. Morris (Okehampton), R. Thompson (Torquay Boys' G.S.) & G. Whelan (Totnes) 5 pts.

Grading prizes: U-90  R. Hood (Isca Juniors) & J. George (Wimbourne).

U-75. R. Green (Brixham) & M. Ward (Taunton).

Junior prizes: U-16 M. Fisher. U-14: C. Picken & T. Seah (all Torquay Boys' G.S.).

Team competition: Cornish Pirates &

Exmouth (both 12/18 pts).

Here is Matthew Turner's last round game from the recent WECU Championship. At the outset, he needed to win to make sure of the title, but as his nearest rival Tyson Mordue on the next board agreed to a short draw in order to ensure his own clear 2nd prize, any pressure Turner may have felt quickly evaporated and he could cut loose.

White: Mike Yeo (Lymington) 186. Black: Matthew Turner (Millfield) 229 

Sicilian Defence Simagin Variation. [B35]

WECU Open Championship Exmouth

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3 This move may have number of virtues in its favour, but it contravenes the unwritten rule against moving a piece twice unnecessarily in the opening, in this case while leaving his King uncastled. 8...a5 9.f3 reinforcing e4. 9...d5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Nde2 a4 12.Nxa4 Nfxd5 13.Bd4 Bf5 Putting pressure on c2, which Black will exploit  14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Qd4+ e5 16.Qd2 (If 16.Qxe5+ f6 17.Qd4 Bxc2) 16...Bxc2 17.Bxc2 Ne3! White's uncastled King is fatally weak. 18.Bb3 0–1

This and all the games from the Open Section are now available to view or download from www.chessdevon.co.uk. There are even pictures of this game being played.

Last week's problem by W. H. Gundry was solved by 1.Qf8! threatening to mate on b4, and the Black Knight's capture allows 2.Nc5 mate.

The West of England Champion from 1982 - 85 was Gary Lane. This week's position is from a game of his against Aagaard (Black) in 2002. White is clearly threatening cxb5 with a discovered check and winning the Queen. To avoid this Black plays Qb6+ figuring that he will think of something after White has dealt with the check.  How did White meet the check?

22nd April 2006

The West of England Championship results were as follows:

Open: 1^st M. Turner (Millfield School) 6/7. 2^nd T. Mordue (Keynsham).3^rd= S. Dilleigh (Bristol); P. Roberson (Basingstoke); A. Minnican (Scotland)

Grading prize (U-165) I. Ponter (Bristol). 4½.Turner won the Championship Cup and Dilleigh  was awarded the British Championship Qualifying Place.

Major: (U-160) 1^st P. Andrews (Bank of England)           6. 2^nd= Heather Lang (Cowley); B. O'Gorman  (DHSS); S. Pride (Cambridge).Grading prize (U-138) C. Sellwood (Camborne). Sellwood also won the Wilkinson Cup as the highest eligible player.

Minor: (U-125): 1^st          A. Papier (Bristol Clifton) 6 2^nd R. Desmedt (Barnsley) 5½. 3^rd= G. Harrison (Gosforth) P. Errington (Kinson) D. Woodruff (Keynsham). Grading prize (U-100) J. Ariss (Teignmouth) 5. Papier won the Roger Neat Cup.

Matthew Turner missed out on last year's championship because he carelessly dropped the odd half point here and there. In Round 3 he was in danger of repeating the story.

White: S. Dilleigh. (180). Black: M. Turner (229).

Nimzo-Indian Defence - Rubinstein Variation. [E54]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0–0 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 d5 7.0–0 cxd4 8.exd4 dxc4 9.Bxc4 b6 10.Bg5 Bb7 11.Ne5 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Qc7 Black is thinking that White won't play Bxf6 because gxf6 would force away the Knight defending the Bishop. But White knew the theory better and that he had a draw for the taking. In fact, this game occurs move for move numerous times in the computer databases. 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qg4+ Ah - the importance of the check. 14...Kh8 15.Qh4 fxe5 16.Qf6+ And the Queen will keep checking to secure an unexpected half point.  ½–½

Karpov's killer move in last week's position was 1.Nf3+! after which Korchnoi resigned because of PxN 2. Rg6+  Kh1 3. Nf2 mate.

This week's problem was composed by W. H. Gundry, and appeared in the Devon & Exeter Gazette on 22^nd October 1901. Gundry was Secretary of the Exeter Club at the time and the following year became chess columnist of the Western Times, writing under the nome de plume "Fianchetto".

In those days, readers were invited to send in their solutions and their  comments were printed the following week. For example, this time we read from Rev. Arthur Baker, founder of the Teignmouth Club, "Very neat, as all Mr. Gundry's that I have tried". Other comments included "The problem is spicy in its way". (J. S. Wesley - Exeter); "A pretty waiting move" (H. J. Laxton - Winkleigh); "The mate is very ingenious" (A. R. Michell - Thorverton). Other correct solvers included Rev. H. Kruger (Jacobstowe), Benjamin Trickey (Broadclyst) and S. Trude (Poughill). They all solved it - can you?

15th April 2006

The fifth book in Garry Kasparov's excellent series "My Great Predecessors" has now been published, covering that period in the late 1970s and '80s when Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi were vying for the World Championship.

If the 1972 match between Fischer and Spassky has been characterised as a microcosm of the Cold War struggle between the Soviet empire and the West, then in this series of matches can be discerned the start of the break-up of the Soviet hegemony from within. Karpov was the political conformist, enjoying the full weight of state support, while Korchnoi was a dissident, leaving the USSR in 1976, convinced the Russians were using dirty tricks to help their man keep the title. Hypnotists, coded yoghurts and electronic bugs were all part of the mix, which gave an added edge to much of the chess. It made wonderful copy for the reporters of the time, but Korchnoi became virtually paranoid and his chess suffered, making him vulnerable to making the most elementary blunders. It was to his immense credit that he retained the physical and psychological stamina to keep the matches as close as they were.

Sufficient time has elapsed to enable Kasparov, himself now a dissident who has forsaken chess for the dangerous world of Russian politics, to take an objective view of that period. This book maintains the format, high production standards, readable narrative and in-depth game analyses that will be familiar to readers of the earlier volumes.

"My Great Predecessors Part V" Everyman Chess  480pp  £30.00 - a 20% hike in price. In the U.S. it is $40, equivalent to £22.75 - a discrepancy difficult to understand.

Here is the 17^th game from their World Championship match at Baguio City in 1978, at the height of the off-board shenanigans.

White: Korchnoi. Black: Karpov

Nimzo-Indian Defence - Rubinstein Variation  [E47]

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.d4 Bb4 4.e3 0–0 5.Bd3 c5 6.d5 b5 7.dxe6 fxe6 8.cxb5 a6 9.Nge2 d5 10.0–0 e5 11.a3 axb5 12.Bxb5 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Ba6 14.Rb1 Qd6 15.c4 d4 16.Ng3 Nc6 17.a4 Na5 18.Qd3 Qe6 19.exd4 cxd4 20.c5 Rfc8 21.f4 Rxc5 22.Bxa6 Qxa6 23.Qxa6 Rxa6 24.Ba3 Rd5 25.Nf5 Kf7 26.fxe5 Rxe5 27.Rb5 Nc4 28.Rb7+ Ke6 29.Nxd4+ Kd5 30.Nf3 Nxa3 31.Nxe5 Kxe5 32.Re7+ Kd4 33.Rxg7 Nc4 34.Rf4+ Ne4 35.Rd7+ Ke3 36.Rf3+ Ke2 37.Rxh7 Ncd2 38.Ra3 Rc6 Now Korchnoi, typically in desperate time trouble which only added to the psychological stress, blundered by playing 39.Ra1?? to counter the threat of the back-rank mate, but he resigned after Karpov's next move. What move, and what was the winning combination?

Last week's problem by J. Paul Taylor was solved by 1. Bg5 after which the Queen will mate, whatever Black tries

8th April 2006

The history of westcountry chess columns is a fascinating study in its own right. This column was started in 1891 by someone writing under the nome de plume "Queen's Knight", although it was an open secret that this was Carslake Winter-Wood, born in Brixton, near Plymouth, and then resident in Paignton. This proved sufficiently successful for the Devon & Exeter Gazette to start their own column in October 1898, contributed weekly by "King's Rook". Whoever he was, he protected his identity rather more assiduously than his Plymouth counterpart, to the point that I am still unsure today who he was.

The only reference I can find was written by C. T. Blanshard, who founded the Totnes Club in October 1901, who wrote, "Being a gentleman connected in several ways with the West of England press, "King's Rook" desires to keep his name private, but he is a strong player, and a very good fellow".

High on the shortlist of candidates must be Charles James Lambert, an Exeter solicitor who lived in St. David's Hill. Born in the city in 1850, he was Devon's strongest player at the time and President of the Exeter Club. He played his first over-the-board game at the Exeter Club in 1870, which then met at the Exeter Literary Society. In 1872 he walked into London's famous chess center, Simpson's Divan, and challenged the world champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, to a few friendly games, of which Lambert won 2 and drew 1. He certainly had all the credentials to be "King's Rook" - literate, local, authoritative etc. But was he?

Here is one of his games from the great international tournament held in London in 1883, where he came 7^th out of 26 in the 2^nd section.

White: L. Benima. Black: C. Lambert.

French Defence [C01]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.Nf3 0–0 7.0–0 Nc6 8.Ne2 Bg4 9.Ng3 Bxf3 10.gxf3 Nxd4 11.Bxh7+ Nxh7 12.Qxd4 c5 13.Qg4 (if 13.Qxd5 Bxg3 14.Qxd8 Bxh2+ 15.Kxh2 Raxd8) 13...Bxg3 14.hxg3 Black now has to cope with a strong attack down the h-file without losing sight of his own attacking possibilities.  14...f5 15.Qh3 Qf6 16.Kg2 Rae8 17.Rh1 Qg6 18.Bf4 Re6 19.Rh2 Rfe8 20.Rah1 Nf6 21.Qh4 Re2 22.Rc1 d4 23.Bb8 a6 (If 23...Rxb8 24.Qh8+ Kf7 25.Qxb8) 24.Ba7 Nd7 25.c3 dxc3 26.Qc4+ Qe6 27.Qxc3 b6 28.Rch1 Kf7 29.Rh8 Qd5 30.R1h7 Qd4 31.Qxd4 cxd4 32.Rh1 Rxh8 33.Rxh8 d3 34.Kf1 Rxb2 35.Ke1 Rxa2 36.Bb8 Nxb8 37.Rxb8 Rb2 38.Rd8 d2+ 39.Rxd2 Rxd2 40.Kxd2 Ke6 41.Kd3 Kd5 42.f4 a5 43.f3 b5 44.g4 g6 0–1

In last week's "knights-only" problem a waiting move had to be found  before the mechanism of the Knights can begin to work. The key move is therefore 1.Ka2! after which the check Nb4+ is met by Naxb4, and Nec3+ by Ndxc3.

This week's 2-mover is by J. Paul Taylor, who died in Exeter in 1923.