At the recent Torbay Congress, the prizewinners not already given were:

Minor Section: 1^st P. Hills (Sidmouth). 5/5 pts. 2^nd M. Cuggy (Brixham) 4½. 3^rd= K. Alexander (Sidmouth) & D. Healey (Watford) 4 pts. Grading prizes U-84: 1^st= J. Britten (Brixham), P. Saunders (Bristol) & G. Mill-Wilson (Yate & Sodbury). U-70: S. Billett (Portsmouth).

From within each section, the Torbay Individual Champions were  determined, as follows:- Open: Andy Dunne (St. Marychurch). Major: Stephen Schofield (Newton Abbot). Intermediate: Rob Wilby (Totnes). Minor: Mike Cuggy (Brixham). The  Newman Cup for the highest score by a Devon player went to Peter Hills, the only one to finish with a perfect 5.

The British Championship Qualifying Place was offered to Andrew Lewis.

There is a burgeoning strength in the Torbay area, with a number of top players having moved into the area in recent months. Ex-Cannock player, Stephen Schofield, has already been mentioned and has soon made his mark by becoming Torbay Major Champion. He has been joined by two newcomers with earlier grades approaching 200; Dennis Cowley who has moved down from Leicester and Dominic Mackle from Hackney. Their arrival extends Devon's predominant position in westcountry chess.

In fact, Mackle was in a position to win the Open, when he faced Lewis in the final round of the Open, just half a point behind the leader. The fact that he lost this game was probably due to "ring rust", not having played much recently.

[See Games]

Gerald Frank Anderson's problem last week was solved by 1.Rb4b6!. He was born in Newcastle, Natal, and  resided in Devon for a short time in the 1920s. Here is another of his 2-movers.

9th December 2006

The winners at the recent Torbay Congress were as follows:-

Open Section: 1^st= A. P. Lewis (Colchester) & T. Mordue (Keynsham) 4½/5. 3^rd= S. Dilleigh (Bristol) & J. F. Menadue (Truro) 4.

Grading prizes: U175: G. Bolt (Exeter)

U163: R. Webster (Ashfield) .

Major Section: (U-155) 1^st= R. Dean (Pudsey); R. Kneebone (Penwith); G. Taylor (Gloucester); C. Watson (Bristol) & G. Wilcock (Wimborne) all 4½/5. Grading prizes: U140: 1^st= R. Kearsley (Wimbledon) & N. Burton (W. London). U-129: 1^st=  J. Nielson (Wimborne); D. Lawrence (King's Head); D. Papworth (Bournemouth) & D. R. Rogers (Exmouth) all 2½.

Intermediate Section: (U-125)

1^st= T. Clayton (London)   & R. Wilby (Totnes) 4½/5. 3^rd= E. Smith (Brixham) & J. G. Mason (Shaldon)

Grading prizes: U-114: I. Blencowe (Gloucester); D. Burt (Poole); A. Willis (Cowley) & H. Mann (St. Marychurch).

U-105: 1^st=   R. Ludlow (Trowbridge) & R. Hunt (Bognor).

More details next week.

At the start of the final round, Dilleigh was the clear leader with Mordue half a point behind. I kidded them that I was looking for a game worthy of the situation and publication today. At the end, Tyson leaned back and grinning broadly at me asked "Will that do?"

Here's what happened.- See games.

In last week's position, Steve Boniface played 1.Nh7, winning the Rook unless Black takes it with 1…Kxh7, after which White played 2.Bxg6+ winning Black's untouched Queen.

Now try this 2-mover by G. F. Anderson, (1893 - 1983) once the problem editor of this paper.

2nd December 2006

Last week I took delivery of a bound copy of the British Chess Magazine for 1929, and found on almost the first page the full result of that season's Devon v Cornwall match. The score was 15½ - ½ to Devon, which must surely be the biggest winning margin in the long history of this annual encounter, if not the whole of westcountry inter-county chess.

But what made the match even more interesting was the identity of Devon's bottom board, there listed as "the Earl of Perth". Exactly who he was and how he came to be playing for Devon was a mystery. However, a few minutes "Googling", came up with some, if not all the answers.

He was, in fact, William Huntly Drummond (1871 - 1937), the 15^th Earl of Perth. He had been born in Simla, India, to the Hon. Captain James David Drummond and his wife Ellen, née Thornhill. James was the 10^th Viscount Strathearn but was not in line for the Earldom of Perth. However, in 1902 the 14^th Earl, George Drummond, died aged almost 100. As his sons had predeceased him without male issue, the title went to William, as the nearest relative.

In 1911, he married Anna Strauss of Prague, and at the outbreak of the Great War was resident in Munich, whereupon he was immediately seized by the German authorities as a suspicious alien and imprisoned at the Ruhleben Camp, near Berlin, where he spent the duration of the war with 5,500 others. One fellow prisoner recalled…"our most brilliant chess-player… was the Earl of Perth".

In 1922 he made a large donation to the Edinburgh Chess Club to enable them to purchase their own premises.

In 1925, he was listed as a paid-up member of the Dawlish Chess Club, which gives us a clue as to his possible Devon connection, for at this time the President of the County Association was Lord Mamhead, whose local club would have been Dawlish. It is possible that these two members of the Lords knew of each other's interest in the noble game, and that Drummond was a regular visitor to Mamhead House at this time, although this bit is surmise. If anyone can throw further light on his Devon connection, please get in touch.

In the meantime, William Drummond must be the only peer of the realm to have played chess for Devon. An expanded version of this biography may be found on www.chessdevon. co. uk in the section headed Pioneers of Devon Chess.

Last week's problem by David Shire was solved by the unusual 1. Kf7!

This week's position was reached by the late Steve Boniface when a pupil at Northampton G. S. in 1968. He had just played Ng5, met by h6 in order to move the Knight on elsewhere. This it certainly did with great effect, as Black's next-but-one move was to resign. White set a trap and Black fell for it. How did that work?  

25th November 2006

The 7^th Royal Beacon Seniors Congress was successfully completed last week, and the prizewinners were:-  Seniors' Section (60+ yrs.): 1^st= Roger Gamble (Derby) & Ian Reynolds (Basildon) both on 4½ / 5 points. Grading prizes - (Under-120): 1^st= Clive Deakin (Totnes) & Brian Ross (Abergavenny) both on 3½. Under-95: Peter Carrick (Bath) 2½.

"Juniors" Section (50 - 60 yrs.) 1^st Mike Yeo (Lyndhurst). 2^nd=  Alan Barton (Hastings) & Ian Heppell (Wimbledon). Grading prize: U-145: Ronnie Burton (Weymouth) 3. Dr. Neat Prize: Geoff Patching (Penzance).

Everson was the clear leader going into the final round of the Juniors section, and Yeo had to play vigorously if he was to overtake him.

Joint winner of the Seniors section, Roger Gamble, won 4 games, and this was his favourite, in which White adopts a closed approach to the French Defence.

Last week's position ended with 1.Qf4+ g5 2.Qf5 mate. Crucially, Black's Knight on h5 was pinned and unable to help.

This week's 2-mover is a recent composition by David Shire.

18th November 2006

The westcountry congress scene seems to centre on Devon, which currently hosts five long-lived events; Paignton (55 years), Torbay (40), East Devon (37), Exmouth Seniors (7) and the WECU championship (59) that has been settled in Exmouth for a decade. They are enduringly popular and draw in players from adjacent counties, which leaves them with only one or two events of their own. Cornwall has its county championship congress in January each year; Dorset has an event in Weymouth each October, and Somerset has Frome in May and Yeovil in June.

Next year, a new congress will be parachuted into this existing structure. This will be organised by Spectrum Chess, a body that puts on events in different places round the country. They are sympathetic to local organisers and try to avoid any clash of interests. To this end, although they have chosen a Devon venue, it will be on the north coast and at a time no-one would normally think of - the first week of the summer holidays. This will be at Tanton's Hotel, Bideford, on the weekend of 21^st - 23^rd July.

Meanwhile, the Torbay Congress will be under way next weekend at the Belgrave Hotel, Torquay. After that, the next event is Cornwall's "closed" event at Truro School, on the weekend of 19^th - 21^st January. It includes the county championships at three different levels, and is restricted to players who have a connection to Cornwall either by birth, residence or schooling. Further details from Ian George on 01209-719727 or e-mail: iangeorge@eclipse.co.uk

A past champion is St. Austell's Andrew Greet, who famously won all his 11 games in last year's Grand Prix season. In that campaign he faced young Jessie Gilbert, who was to die so tragically earlier this year.

Last week's position from the game Bird v Burn was swiftly concluded after the Queen sacrifice 1.Qxg4+ Kxg4 2. Be2 mate. The game was a friendly played 120 years ago yesterday at Simpson's Divan in The Strand and the full game score can be found in Richard Forster's seminal work on Burn (Game no. 249).

Here is another game involving Amos Burn, this time against the American Frank Marshall, who has white and the move.  

11th November 2006

The 7^th Seniors Congress starts on Monday at the Royal Beacon Hotel, Exmouth. Following this is the 40^th Torbay Congress on the weekend of 24^th - 26^th November at the Belgrave Hotel on the Torquay sea front, a new venue for this event, which includes within it the Torbay League individual championships. Enquiries about late entries should be directed to Ray Chubb on 01626-888255.

This marks the beginning of a significant year for the Torbay League as it was founded in 1957 by J. E. "Edwin" Jones of Totnes, who was  chess correspondent for this paper. Fifty years ago exactly he was making plans for the league's creation and by the following summer, everything was set to begin in the early autumn. There was a lot of chess activity in its first year, one of which was a 20 board match against the Exeter & District League. To mark their Golden Anniversary another such match has been arranged for next year. This will take place at Torquay Boys' Grammar School on Sunday 30^th September 2007, and it is hoped will comprise 50 players on each side.

Jones was a teacher at the old King Edward VI Grammar School, Totnes, and was very pro-active, having posts in the Devon Association and West of England Union. He left the area in the mid-1960s to take up a lecturing post at Alsager Teacher Training College in Cheshire, but eventually retired back to Totnes, where he found the League, virtually his own creation, still flourishing.

He was not averse to publishing his own games in his chess column and this one came from a Bremridge Cup match in 1958, Paignton v Tavistock. Although Archie Winterburn made what seems to be an elementary mistake in seizing an inconsequential pawn, he was one of Devon's top players and was to become champion of the strong Exeter Club that year and in 1959. 

Last week's position from Guernsey 2002 was swiftly concluded after 1.Nc4++ Kc6 forced, like all Black's moves. 2.Qe4+ Kb5 3.Rb1+ Ka6 4.Qxa8+ Qa7 5.Rb56 mate.

This week's position came at the end of a game in 1886 between two of England's great 19^th century masters, the quixotic Henry Bird and steadier Amos Burn. Bird's Queen is under attack but he has one of his cheeky tricks up his sleeve and mates in 2.

4th November 2006

The Guernsey Chess Festival, with its beautiful setting in St. Peter Port and unusual formula of no graded sections, with titled and club players all mixed in together, attracts a number of regular devotees from this country and around the world. This year saw entries from Steve Murray of the Met Office, entering for the 25^th consecutive year, together with debutante Ian Jamieson (Axminster) and Mark Ozanne, (Guernsey-born but currently resident in Exeter).

The formula means that almost anyone can meet a Grandmaster in Round 1 and try their luck. Three years ago, this happened to Murray when he was paired with the Swedish GM, Hillarp-Persson, and in spite of the massive grading difference, the Paisley-born weatherman made him struggle for his full point.

For the record, this year's event was won jointly by 2 titled Israelis, Gofshtein and Porper on 6/7, with Hillarp-Persson in clear 3^rd.

Last week's problem by Sam Loyd was solved by 1.Rf1 covering f5 and allowing the Knight to move with an unstoppable double check and mate.

This week's position arose at the end of a game at the Guernsey Congress 2002, between Kuijpers and Goman. Black is about to lose anyway but what is the most economical way of doing this?

28th October 2006

In contrast to the recent one-sided encounter between Devon and Dorset, Cornwall's match against Gloucestershire at Exminster was a much closer affair. The teams were reasonably well-matched in terms of playing strength, with wins and losses evenly spread throughout the lists. However, an unfortunate default by Cornwall may have tilted the balance in favour of their opponents, who won the match by 9 - 7. Cornish winners were Mark Hassall (Truro - Bd. 4) , Jeremy Kneebone (Penwith - Bd. 7), Gary Trudeau (Liskeard - Bd. 8), Christopher Reeves (Truro - Bd. 13) and Colin Webb (St. Austell - Bd. 15). Honorable draws were obtained by Jeremy Menadue (Truro - Bd. 1), Roger Grime (Helston - Bd. 3), Simon Bartlett (Bodmin - Bd. 5), Edward Webb (St. Austell - Bd. 11).

Prizewinners in the lower sections of the recent Dorset Congress were as follows: Major Section (U-155): 1^st= R. Coates (Brown Jack), M. Sellars (Bristol) & C. Watson (Horfield, Bristol). Grading prize: A. Galliano (Coulsdon).

Minor Section (U-125): 1^st R. Desmedt (Wombwell). 2^nd= A. Farthing (Worcester), M. House, (Weymouth), D. Rapkins (Southbourne & G. Sweetland (Bath). Grading prizes: B. Childs (Bodmin) & I. Lamb (Bolton).

Cornwall lost one of their better players to their neighbours recently, when Stephen Schofield, originally of Staffordshire, moved from St. Austell to Newton Abbot where he has joined the burgeoning club there. His first game for his new county was against Dorset at Luppitt, and shows what an acquisition he is.

Last week's problem by the late A. W. Busby of Cornwall, was solved by 1. Ke5!

This week's 2-mover was composed by the witty American problemist, Sam Loyd in 1859 when he was just 17.

21st October 2006

The Dorset Congress is not one of the larger events on the westcountry calendar, but their Open Section at this year's event was as strong as any. The Open was won jointly by Tyson Mordue (Keynsham) and Martyn Simons (Bournemouth) both on 4 out of 5 points. Graham Bolt (Exeter), Michael Yeo (Lymington) and Danny Wright (Cavendish) came 3^rd= on 3½.

Graham Bolt started in cracking style with three straight wins, but then met Martyn Simons in Round 4.

For the games:

Simons v Bolt and

Rudd v Dooley please use link above.

Last week's position by Godfrey Quack was solved by 1. Rc6! threatening 2. Rf4. If 1…Re5 then 2.Qf7. Here is a another 2-mover.

14 th October 2006