This page is updated every Saturday at midday. The games published in the following articles in playable and downloadable form can be found by clicking HERE 31st March 2007 The other day, someone tried to convince me that Alekhine once lived in St. Ives and was a member of the old West Penwith Chess Club when it met at nearby Lelant. Of course it may be that he was trying to get in an early April Fool's joke, but I'm checking out this seemingly incredible story and will report back. In the meantime, what do you think - true or false? On the theme of April foolishness, chess matches usually run smoothly but there is always the potential for disaster, leaving someone feeling foolish. One classic occurred 35 years ago today, when the Match That Never Was took place, or rather, didn't. Devon were due to play Gloucestershire at the Shrubbery Hotel, Ilminster. Being technically the home team, Gloucestershire were due to provide the playing equipment and, fatally, two of their team were responsible for bringing the sets, boards and clocks. The problem was that each thought the other was bringing the boards, so almost inevitably there were 64 players, sets and clocks, but no boards to play on. After a few panic-induced ideas quickly ran into the sand, like drawing boards by hand on the paper table cloths, and rescheduling the match to the Easter holidays, when none of Devon's strong university players would be unavailable, the match was abandoned as a default win for Devon. I imagine those responsible woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat for some time afterwards. The Devon captain, Ron Bruce, vowed that Devon would provide the equipment for all future matches. Already well-established in Devon chess folklore was the time an Exeter team, in a car crawling up Haldon Hill on their way to Teignmouth, spotted a car speeding down the hill, carrying the Teignmouth team on their way to Exeter. History does not record who merited the dunce's cap that time. Alekhine did play in Devon in 1938 when Plymouth celebrated their Golden Anniversary with a special congress. The game between Alekhine and Ron Bruce was a brief and bloody affair that entered the literature as a known line in the Caro-Kann, and one to avoid.
See
link above for game After giving this win over an Englishman, it is only right, in the interests of balance, to give one of Alekhine's losses to an Englishman. Can you spot Fred Yates' lovely 3 move combination that put paid to Alekhine at Carlsbad in 1923? Black to play. Last week's problem by Dr. Reeves was solved by 1. Kb6!
24th March 2007 Even at considerably less than full strength Devon were much too strong for Hampshire when they met recently in the final round of the Union Inter-County competition, cantering home by 12 - 4 in the 1st team and by 5½ - 2½ in the reduced 2nd team match. Of the 23 players involved, only two Devon players lost, while one game had to be conceded through a car break-down on the way to the match. Devon's wins came from Steve Homer (Bd.1), John Wheeler (3), Chris Bellers (4), Tim Seymour (5), Denis Cowley (7), Ewan Walton (9), Mark Ozanne (10), John Stephens (13), Andy Frangleton (16), Paul Brooks (17), Simon Waters (18), Charlie Howard (19), John Gorodi (20) and Bob Jones (24). Creditable draws were obtained by Mike Cox, Brian Hewson, Mark Abbott, Brian Gosling, Bill Ingham, Joachim Reinhardt and Steve Murray. As with Devon's previous encounter against Somerset, the only lady involved in the match, Gillian Moore, was playing for the opposition and was one of Hampshire's two winners.
See
link above for game An excellent result for the lady, considerably outgraded by her opponent who is usually a tenacious player for Devon. Perhaps more ladies should take up the game. Devon now go on to the national quarter-final of the U-175 section. In the Semi-Final of Devon's Rooke Cup, which involves teams of 8 players, Exmouth have been drawn at home to Newton Abbot and Exeter play host to Teignmouth. Last week's problem composed by Dr. Christopher Reeves and Barry Barnes in 1972 was solved by 1.Bf6!, unpinning White's Rook which now threatens 2.Rxh7. Here is another Barnes/Reeves 2-mover. Pieces are distributed all over the board but what is White's killer move?
17th March 2007 As reported earlier, an interesting new face on the Cornish chess scene emerged at the recent East Devon Congress, that of Philip Aston of the Newquay Club. No respecter of reputations, he enjoyed an excellent win in Round 1, but was then drawn against Paul Helbig of Bristol, a vastly more experienced and highly graded player. Help with the notes kindly provided by Jack Rudd. See
link above for game If he can find some sort of consistency, his grade may well be on the way up. The WECU Congress starts in Exmouth on Good Friday, 6th April and is limited to 100 players, so enquiries about late entries should go to the Entry Secretary Linda Crickmore on 01752-768206. Rudd's own event is the 6th Yeovil Congress on the weekend starting Friday 15th June. Details may be downloaded from the chessdevon website, or obtained from Jack Rudd on 0797-388-7123 or jackkelshallrudd@aol.com. Last week's championship problem by O. Stocchi was solved by 1.Nc3! From time to time the British Chess Problem Society has residential weekends for members to pursue their interest with fellow enthusiasts. Their current President, the Rev. Dr. Christopher Reeves of St. Agnes, Cornwall, has organised the next one which will be held on the weekend commencing Friday 30th March at the Belgrave Hotel, Torquay. Although primarily for members, the lectures on the Friday and Saturday evenings are open to anyone who may be interested. Also open to all is a 3 hour solving contest on the Saturday morning. Any non-members wishing to participate should contact Tony Lewis on 01242-672865. Meanwhile, here is one of Dr. Reeves' 2-movers composed in 1965 in collaboration with Barry Barnes.
10th March 2007 The 47 year old Irish FIDE Master, Andrew Smith, won the East Devon Congress at a canter. See
link above for game His two most interesting games came in Rounds 2 & 4 and make an interesting comparison. Notes are based on those kindly supplied by FIDE Master, Jack Rudd. Then came Smith's 4th game; compare and contrast with his other game as White. Smith spent very little time working out his opening strategy as he'd done all that the day before. Last week's championship problem was solved by 1.Qe7! Here is another of the 2-movers from the recent British Solving Championship.
3rd March 2007 Exeter's ever-popular East Devon Congress experienced a slight dip in numbers this year, but was no less competitive for that. The main prizewinners were as follows:- Premier Section: 1st Andrew Smith (Bourne End) 4½/5 points. 2nd= were two former Plymothians, John Wheeler and Steve Dilleigh and Steve Homer (Exeter), all on 4 points. Smith also took the new Steve Boniface Cup. Grading prize (U-164): 1st= Simon Bartlett (Newquay) and Paul Hutchings (Camborne). Major: 1st= Bill Ingham (Teignmouth), M. Page (Insurance) & B. O'Gorman (DHSS), all on 4 pts. Ingham won the Schofield Salver on tie break. Grading prize (U-138) Robert Wright (Bridport). Intermediate: 1st Chris Southall (St. Marychurch) 4½. 2nd= Charles Keen (Exeter), John Kelly & Paul Brackner (both Weymouth) & Glen Mason (Shaldon). Grading prize (U-106) Grant Healey (Falmouth). Minor: 1st= Brian Aldwin (Exeter) and Peter Saunders (Bristol). Aldwin won the trophy on tie break. 3rd= Alan Fraser (Beckenham) & Louis Ten-Holter (Exeter). Grading prize (U-78) Don Turtle (West Penwith). The team prize was won by Exmouth. An interesting new face on the Cornish chess scene is that of Philip Aston who, with the modest grade of 97, entered the top section for the chance of a tilt at the best players. He cares little for grades or reputations, and woe betide anyone who underestimates him on the basis of his grade. This is his fine win from Round 1. It was followed in Round 2 by a veritable train crash as he misplayed the Black side of a King's Gambit - but that's chess for you. See
link above for game The British Solving Championship took place recently at Oakham School, resulting in a win for John Nunn, just ahead of Jonathan Mestel, our two solving GMs. WMN reader, John Lawrence of Paignton, came 17th of the 28 competitors. Round 1 consisted of three 2-movers with a total solving time of 20 minutes allowed, the first of which is below. Allow yourself up to 7 minutes to find White's best move, which leaves Black defenceless.
23rd February 2007 Cornwall's
run of good form continued with a drawn match against Hampshire, 7½ all.
Each team had 3 wins with no less than 9 drawn games. Cornish winners were
Roger Grime, Paul Hutchings and Jeremy Kneebone, while the undefeated ones
were messrs Menadue, George, Bartlett, Wettasinha, Webb, Hill, Scott,
Barkhuysen and the new Cornish Ladies Champion, Beth Hardwick. Meanwhile,
Devon overcame both
Somerset 1st and 2nd teams at West Buckland.
The first team won 9½-6½, while the 2nd team won more
comfortably 13-3. The only lady involved in this match was a 21 year old
French student, Marie Menard, who was the only Somerset 2nd
team player to win. Whether her opponent was dazzled by her good looks or
good moves, or both, is not recorded. See
link above for game White:
Marie Menard (153). Black: Simon Waters (148) Four
Knights' Game [C47] The
following game was a bright but flawed Devon win. Can you spot the flaw? White
T. Thynne. (160) Black: C. Purry. (140) In
last week's position you could have beaten Akopian with 1.Bxh7+ Kh8
(taking the Bishop immediately would have allowed the White Queen in with
2.Qh3+) 2.fxg7+ Kxh7 3. g8=Q+ Rxg8 4. Qh3+ Kg7 forced in front of his
Rook, allowing 5. Rg1+ Kf8 Rxg8+ resigns. You could be forgiven for
finding the correct sequence of
checks hard to spot. Now for something a little more clear cut from
Mr. Polgar's massive training manual, compiled for his three daughters'
chess education. White to mate in 2.
17th February 2007 Cornwall
scored an unexpected, narrow win against Somerset by 8½ - 7½ in their
annual match at Exminster. Cornish winners were Mark Hassall (Truro),
Edward Webb (St. Austell), Gary Trudeau (Liskeard),
Vasanta
Wettesinha (Truro) and team captain Anton Barkhuysen (Camborne) -
some good old Cornish names there! Honorable draws that helped clinched
the match were obtained by Ian George (Camborne), Simon Bartlett (Newquay),
Colin Sellwood (Camborne), Chris Reeves (Truro) and Colin Webb (St.
Austell). All
this without the help of Michael Adams or Andrew Greet, who were playing
in the Gibtelecom Congress on the Rock. In spite of being the top grade,
Adams was held to draws in the last two rounds, watched three players
overtake him and had to be content with coming 5th=. Greet did
well to be just a half point behind him on 6/9 pts. Of the two Devonians
taking part, Steve Murray (Met. Office) scored a respectable 50% in the
Challengers B section, while Phil Kennedy (Exmouth) led the Amateur B
section at the start of the final round, but lost his last game to finish
in 4th place. Adams started brightly enough, and in this 1st round game brushed aside any hopes the German WGM, Elisabeth Pähtz may have had of an early upset. See
link above for game In
last week's position, Asztalos could have tried his luck with 1. Qxh8 Ke7
2.Rd7+ and the Queen is forced to take it, leaving the mating attack in
the process, giving the White Queen enough time to take the second Black
Rook. But the moment passed, and with it the chance of glory. Gibraltar
was won by the Armenian Vladimir Akopian who stormed through with 4 wins
in the final rounds. He is not invincible, however. In this position he is
Black and poised to win with his heavy guns lined up on the b-file, but
it's your move. How can you upset his plans to record your own win?
10th February 2007 Devon's
recent Inter-Area Jamboree attracted teams of 12 from the East, South and
West of the county. The event is usually a close affair with little more
than a single point between teams - a triple tie has even occurred more
than once. South Devon won the trophy in 2006 and the West the year
before, home advantage telling in each case. This time, however, the East
Devon team took an early lead, and were never caught, securing the trophy
with games to spare. All but one of their team contributed points, with
wins by Messrs Abbott, Gosling, Stephens, Kennedy, Jones and Sparke, and
draws for Messrs Annetts, Murray, Knowles Thorpe-Tracey and Maloney. The following game is an excellent illustration of how regular chess keeps you young - the winner in this case, Guy Sparke, being in his 90th year and still playing tennis, bowls and swimming in the sea at Budleigh Salterton. [See
link above for game.] Two
weeks today and the 32nd East Devon Congress at St. George's
Hall, Exeter, will be under way, so late entrants need to get a move on
and contact the Entry Secretary, Alan Maynard on 01363-773313, or a.maynard@tesco.net.
Alternatively, entry forms can be downloaded from the chessdevon website.
(http://www.chessdevon.co.uk) In
last week's position, Black's idea of RxB was worth a try in the
circumstances, but didn't actually work. In the game, White decided to
take the Rook with 1.axb4 and after 1…a3, played 2.b5+ and if the Black
King moves either to b5 or b6, it allows 3.Rd7 from where it can rush to
cover the queening square. This week's position is from the game Asztalos
v Alekhine, Bled 1939, when the latter was at the height of his powers.
Here, however, he is in trouble against a tail-ender. Perhaps overawed by
the moment, White, afraid of the immediate mating threat on b2, played
axb3 and Black escaped with a lucky draw. How could Asztalos have won in
style?
3rd February 2007 The
penultimate Saturday of January was an incredibly busy one, with the
Cornish Championships at Truro, Devon taking on Gloucestershire at West
Buckland and Devon's Inter-Area Jamboree at Torquay; it will take several
weeks to report fully. In a nutshell, Andrew Greet regained the Cornish
Championship, Devon beat Gloucestershire 12 - 4 and East Devon won the
Jamboree. International
Master Greet (St. Austell) won the Emigrant Cup with a score of 4½/5, a
point ahead of defending champion Jeremy Menadue (Truro) and Simon
Bartlett (Newquay). The Falmouth Cup for the Under-125s
produced a small piece of Cornish chess history, when 15 year old
Beth Hardwick of Truro School won, the first time a lady has won any
Cornish chess trophy, according to county secretary Ian George. She won it
on tie break from Michael Hill (Liskeard), also on 4/5 points. This year,
as an experiment, the section for the Penwith Cup was made a one-day,
all-junior event. The result was a huge entry of 32, more junior players
than was thought to exist in the whole of the county. Can one of these be
the next Mickey Adams or Andrew Greet? The winner was 13 year old Luke
Rugg of Truro School. The
bare scoreline of the Gloucestershire match makes it sound like a
massacre, but it was far from that - there were two quick wins but the
rest were tough struggles all round. Devon's winners were Dominic Mackle,
Oskar Hall, Graham Bolt, Denis Cowley, Dave Regis, Ewan Walton, Mark
Ozanne, Sam Wingrove, John Stephens and Bill Ingham. Creditable draws were
secured by Mike Cox, John Wheeler, Brian Hewson, and Mike
Stinton-Brownbridge. This was the first game to finish. White: Sam Wingrove (Devon). Black: Ian Blencowe. (See
database above for game.) In
last week's position, Spassky played 1.Nf3+! winning the exchange and
breaking up the kingside. Play continued gxf3 2.Qg5+ Kh1. 3.Qxh4 Qg1 4.Qh5
Rc1 5.Qxf3+ Qg2 6.Rad8 Qxf3 exf3 7.Rc7 Rd2! 8.Rxb7 Rxf2 9.h3 Ne4 10.Nf5
Rg2 11. Resigns. This
week's position comes from the recent Devon Jamboree, in the game P. J.
Kennedy (W) v P. Ruszelak. White is poised to push his advanced pawn, but
Black came up with the plan Rxb4, with the idea that taking the Rook will
allow Black's a-pawn to run on and queen. Is this a good or flawed plan?
How should White respond?
27th January 2007 Ron
Slade of Lelant in Cornwall, died recently at the age of 89. He gave the
game up after his retirement in 1977 and had become largely a forgotten
man in the chess world, but his interest had revived in the last two years
as he sorted through his old scorebooks so that a selection of his best
games could be put on the Devon chess website for all to enjoy and admire.
(Chess Devon - The games are included on the "Pioneers" page HERE.) He
was born in Plymouth in 1917, and after an injury cut short his promising
rugby career at the age of 18, (Devon Schoolboys and Plymouth Albion
reserves) he joined the chess club
where he came under the influence of Ron Bruce. After the war he
moved to Bristol and found the top players there played in a much more
adventurous style, which appealed to him more, and he adopted that
approach thereafter. It meant he lost a few games but he couldn't resist
the adrenalin rush that sharp games bring. Of the eight top westcountry
players that contested the first West of England Championship in 1947, he
was the last still alive, and that thread of continuity is now broken. He
eventually won the WECU Championship at Newquay in 1958 and became the
Gloucestershire, Kent and Civil Service Champion several times each during
the 50s and 60s. Here is one of his miniatures that demonstrates his
adventurous style. (See database above for game.) Boris
Spassky will be 70 on Tuesday, and to commemorate this milestone Everyman
have brought out a book, entitled Boris Spassky - Master of Initiative.
(Everyman 160pp PB £12.99). It is more than just a collection of his best
games - this has already been done several times - but consists of a
series of 150 puzzles from positions in his games with a provocative
question about how best to proceed. The second half of the book gives the
solutions plus the whole score of each game. This week's position is from
the book. In this game Bronstein - Spassky 1958. How can Spassky finish
White off quickly? In
last week's position, Spassky played 1.Qh6! where it threatens mate, yet
cannot be taken because the Knight retakes with mate. His
only venture into the westcountry was in January 1966 when, shortly after
winning the Hastings Congress, he undertook a series of simultaneous
displays and took on all-comers at the Plymouth Club. A photograph of the occasion may be found on the
Devon chess website.
20th January 2007 Local
players did well at the Hastings Congress. In the Christmas Morning
section, Ivor Annetts (Tiverton) came 3rd= behind two players
graded 224 and 181. In the top Masters Swiss section, Jack Rudd (Bideford)
and Andrew Greet (St. Austell) came 9th= out of 100, just 1
point behind the winners. They played out a draw against each other in the
final round, but Rudd's penultimate game, against an Australian IM, was
far from tame. Notes based on those by the winner. (See
database for game) This
weekend the Cornish Championships are being held in the Maths Block of
Truro School, where the event finishes tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, a
strong Devon team take on Gloucestershire at West Buckland Village Hall,
near Taunton, this afternoon. The
increasingly popular Gibtelecom Congress on the Rock starts on Tuesday
with a star-studded cast headed by Cornishmen Andrew Greet and World No. 9
Michael Adams, the latter's 1st open swiss event for a decade.
Exmouth's Steve Murray and Phil Kennedy will also be participating.
Details of results to follow shortly. In
last week's position, Spassky lost out to 1.Qg3+ both attacking and
defending the mating threat on a3. 1…Kh8 forced. 2.Rf7! Rg2 3.Rxh7+ Kxh7
4. Rf7+ Kh6 5.Rf6+ and the Queen and supported Rook will win. In
this week's position, Spassky's Queen is doubly attacked and must move. To
which square should it go?
13th January 2007 Hastings'
annual Christmas Congress may not be quite what it was, but it retains its
attraction to grassroots players who have a chance to watch and learn from
the masters. Among WMN readers who also played there this year were Andrew
Greet (St. Austell), Jack Rudd (Bideford), Ivor Annetts (Tiverton), Ian
Jamieson (Axminster) and Hazel Welch (Seaton). Greet
and Rudd were two of the 100 who played in the top Masters' Section, now
played on the Swiss system, and were never far from the leading pack. Here
is an early Rudd win. There
are other sections at Hastings for club players whose games are no less
enjoyable both to them and the spectator. e.g. (see
attachment for games) Last
week's problem by H. D'O Bernard was solved by 1. Nb8! The
former World Champion Boris Spassky is 70 later this month. He is probably
more famous for his loss to Fischer in 1972 than anything else he did.
Certainly, he was not invincible as this week's position demonstrates. As
Black, he is poised to mate the Canadian Kevin Spraggett on a3, but it's
White's move. How should White best proceed?
6th January 2007 Chessplayers
may be wondering how best to dispose of any book tokens that may have come
their way recently, and there are a number of worthy candidates in the
shops. For
example, the 5th volume in Garry Kasparov's splendid series, My
Great Predecessors appeared last year, and covers Korchnoi and Karpov.
The ECF declined to award it their Book of the Year accolade as Korchnoi
was not strictly a world champion predecessor and it omits all Karpov's
epic matches with Kasparov himself, as these will be covered in a
newly-planned 6th volume. This apart, the writing and
production standards are as sumptuous as ever, making it an essential
acquisition for anyone who has collected and enjoyed the earlier titles. Kasparov:
My Great Predecessors Vol. 5. Everyman 2006 480pp HB £30 The
ECF's choice eventually went to Gerardus van Perlo's Endgame Tactics -
A Comprehensive Guide To The Sunny Side of Chess Endgames. This 74
year old Dutch chess master covers 1105 different positions, many not in
other literature, and writes about them in an engaging and often humorous
style. It was this potent combination of instruction and entertainment
that won the judges over. G.
Van Perlo: Endgame Tactics New In Chess 2006
479pp
PB £18.95. Runner-Up
for the ECF's award was Jonathan Rowson's Chess For Zebras - Thinking
Differently About Black & White.
The 29 year old Scot is an erudite academic, currently at the
height of his playing and writing powers, having just completed a
hat-trick of British Championship titles, a doctorate in Wisdom, and
getting married to an Indian lecturer in Law. He has interesting and
perceptive views on chess and expresses them in a way that can prompt
readers to re-evaluate their own approach to playing the game. J.
Rowson: Chess for Zebras Gambit 2005
255pp
SB
£17.99. The
prices quoted are the cover prices, though they are available more cheaply
from some on-line suppliers. In
last week's unfinished game, Steve Boniface finished off with 1. Rxd7+
Qxd7 2.Qf8+ Qe8 3.Nf7+ Kc7 4. Qd6+ Kc8 5.Rc1+ and Black resigned because
of 5…Kb7 6.Rc7+ Ka6 7.Qa3+. A
brief biography of Henry D'Oyly Bernard, once heir to the lordship of the
manor of Combe Raleigh, near Honiton, now appears on the chessdevon
website. He was one of Britain's best-regarded problemists between the
wars, and for some years judged problem-composing tournaments for this
paper. On
one occasion, on looking through the entries for a composing competition,
he returned them all to the Chess Editor, refusing to award any prize,
saying they were not good enough. His standards were high, as this
position, one of his best 2-movers, exemplifies.
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