Links to other news pages etc 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 10th May 2008 All four divisions in the Torbay League have been decided. Teignmouth won Division 1 on tie break from Newton Abbot. St. Marychurch were clear winners of Division 2 ahead of Plymouth, who in turn won Division 3. Newton Abbot won the Rapidplay League. The Cornish Leagues have still to be completed. Michael Adams had his share of wins and losses (3 of each) in FIDE's new Grand Prix tournament in Baku, on the Azerbaijani coast of the Caspian Sea. He eventually finished up in 6th place out of 14 with a 50% score of 6½/13 points, a creditable performance given the great strength of the opposition. He won approximately £10,000 in prize money and 85 Grand Prix points in this first FIDE event of its kind. Here is his fine win from Round 9 against the strong Russian, Peter Svidler.
See link above for game The Frome Congress takes place this weekend at the Selwood School, and finishes tomorrow evening. Favourite to win is GM Keith Arkell, who is returning to the local congress circuit this season after a gap of several years. The next big event is the 41st Cotswold Congress at St. Edward's School, Cheltenham of the Whit Bank Holiday, - 24th - 26th May. Enquiries from Ron Powis on 01453-762518. The solution to last week's problem was 1.Qa5! and if 1…Pa1=Q then 2.Na4 discovers mate and prevents the BQ from doing anything about it. This week's position is from the 1892 match between Lasker and the American Jackson Whipps Showalter, who played here 1.Nf6!! and Lasker (Black) played only two more moves before resigning. Can you work out White's powerful attack?
3rd May 2008 "Use it or lose it" is a familiar saying that refers equally to our mental as well as physical powers, and the longevity of many active chessplayers would seem to support the theory. It's also the raison d'etre behind The University of the Third Age, or U3A as it is called for short, which was founded 25 years ago to encourage the setting up of self-help, self -managed learning cooperatives for older people no longer in full time work. Most towns in Devon and Cornwall have groups covering a range of disciplines, though not all of them involve chess. Plymouth does have a chess group which meets regularly, not to play competitively, but to look at some of the finer points of the game in a discursive, relaxed way. It is run by Richard Manly of Hartley, who will be pleased to answer queries on 01752-771057. Find out if there is a U3A chess group in your area, and if not, consider starting one yourself. Meanwhile, Michael Adams is keeping very busy. After winning the Ruy Lopez tournament in Spain, he is currently involved in the 1st FIDE Grand Prix. This involves 21 of the world's top players who have agreed to play in four of the six tournaments over the next 2 years, one in each of the continents. The first event is being held in Baku, and ends on Tuesday. Here is Adams' win from Round 4.
See link above for game The 19th Frome Congress, which incorporates all the Somerset Championships, starts on Friday evening. Details regarding late entries may be obtained from Gerry Jepps on 01749-344191. The solution to last week's problem was 1.Bh8! The Black King may move to either d6 or e6, but in either case 2.Qd7 is mate. Today's 2-mover was composed by Cyril Kipping in 1912.
26th April 2008 The popular Teignmouth Rapidplay Congress was held successfully last Saturday. The winners were:- Open: 1st= Ben Edgell (Sedgemoor) & Graham Bolt (Exeter) 5/6 pts. Edgell took the Walker Cup on tie break. Grading prizes - U-145: 1st Charlie Howard (Totnes) 4½. U-135: 1st= Martyn Adams (Sidmouth) & Arthur Hibbitt (Bristol) both 3½.. Major Section (U-120): 1st Joergen Nielsen (Exeter) 5½. 2nd= Martin Worrall (Taunton); Geoffrey Rosser (St. Marychurch) & Rob Barnes (Plymouth). Grading prizes: U-90: 1st= John George (Wimborne) & Ishan Ramdewar (Exeter). U-71: Brian Aldwin (Exeter) 3½. U-16 yrs: 1st= Daniel Miller (Liskeard) U-14 yrs: 1st Charlie Rochford (Newton Abbot). Team Prize: Exeter (S. Pope, G. Bolt & C. Keen). Junior Event: (U-12) 1st= Jeff Leung (Torquay Boys' G. S.), Adam Batten (Broadclyst P.S.) & Nathaniel Cleland (All Hallows) all 5/6: 2nd Ben Newman (Broadclyst P.S.) 4½ pts. 3rd= Jamie Linsley-Parish (Kingsbridge), Alex Griffiths (St Peter’s) & Joseph Gabriel (Broadclyst P. S). all 4 pts. U-11: 1st Jack Searle (Broadclyst) 3½. U-9: 1st= Dylan Billings (Warberry), Edward Bragg (ISCA Juniors) & Laurence Demeger (Newton Abbot). Best Girl: Lilian Barnes (Lipson Vale, Plymouth). Former prodigy Cornishman Michael Adams won the recent Ruy Lopez tournament at Marida in Spain at a canter. Here is his 3rd round game against a new star, a 13 year old Chinese girl.
See link above for game In last week's position Bobby Fischer won quickly after 1.Qxh7! Kxh7 (forced) 2.hxg6+ Kxg6 (also forced) 3.Be4 mate. Here is a 2-mover.
19th April 2008 The death was announced last weekend of John Dunleavy, who had spent most of his 20 years retirement in Kingsbridge. After first completing an Open University degree he became increasingly involved in chess administration, first in Devon, then in the West of England Union and finally on the Management Board of the BCF. He helped steer the national federation through its extremely difficult metamorphosis into an English Federation, being Chairman of its Governance Committee. He set himself the highest standards in his work and strove to get the same from colleagues. Although often at the center of events he never sought the spotlight and kept in the background whenever possible. His loss will be keenly felt at all levels of English chess administration. There are two weekend congresses coming up next month. First is the 19th Frome Congress held at Selwood Middle School, 9th - 11th May. Details are available from the Entry Secretary, Gerry Jepps, on 01749-344191. This is followed a fortnight later by the 41st Cotswold Congress at St. Edward's School, Cirencester Road, Cheltenham from 24th - 26th May. Further details available from Ron Powis on 01453-762518. The Bristol player, Chris Beaumont has won the Frome event twice in the last 3 years. Here is one of his wins from last year.
See link above for game The solution to the Easter problem was 1.Ne2! and Black cannot avoid all the mating threats. This week's position comes from the Interzonal tournament played at Sousse on the Mediterranean coast of Tunisia in 1967. The late Bobby Fischer was widely expected to feature in the top few and would go on to challenge for the World Championship. He started well enough, though after a number of typical wrangles with the organisers, he later walked out of the tournament. In this game from Round 3 he was White against the Mongolian master, Lhamsuren Miagmarsuren. What did Fischer play to cause Black to resign immediately, and why?
12th April 2008 By this stage in the year, many competitions are nearing their end, with numerous trophies being decided in the next few weeks. In the Cornish Leagues, the Godolphin Club, based at Redruth, seems to have matters sewn up in both divisions. They lead Div. 1 with 12 points from 8 matches played, followed by Truro A with 9 points from 7 matches. Division 2 is closer, but Godolphin B still lead with 16 points from 10 matches, followed by Camborne B with 15 point from 11 matches. Here is one of Devon's few wins from their loss against Gloucestershire.
See link above for game Devon's 1st Division, the Bremridge Cup, went right down to the last match, with Newton Abbot needing to beat Teignmouth by 6-0 to overtake Exeter on game points. They did win but the narrow margin of 3½ - 2½ meant that Exeter took the title on tie break. Exmouth have won the Mamhead Cup (Div. 2) and the Newman Cup (Rapidplay), while Teignmouth won the Schofield (Div 3). The Moyle Cup (Div. 4) is still open, though Exeter are well-placed to win. The Peter Rooke Knockout Final is between Teignmouth and Exeter and will be played next Saturday. In the active Torbay League, Teignmouth have one hand on the Division 1 title with one match still to play. St. Marychurch have retained the Division 2 championship, while Division 3 is still wide open. The RapidPlay Championship has been won by Newton Abbot. In contrast, the North Devon League is a much simpler affair. The entire set of league results consist of Barnstaple 2-2 Bideford and Bideford 4-0 Barnstaple, giving Bideford the league title with 3 match points. Last week's problem was solved by 1.Ba1! threatening Rf6, and Black is unable to cover all eventualities. This week's 2-mover was composed by the topically-named East Anglian, Norris Easter (1886 - 1952).
5th April 2008 The inter-county season ended in a triple tie for 1st place between Devon, Gloucestershire and Hampshire, each having lost one match. The first level of tie break usually depends on the total number of game points won by each team, but in this respect, Gloucestershire had an advantage in having two 16 - 0 default wins to their credit. At the West of England Executive Meeting on Saturday it was decided that this was a little unfair, and only the game points between the three counties involved should be counted, and this gave the title to Devon ahead of Hants and Glos. In the 2nd team competition for the Wayling Cup, Devon came 1st with 5 points, followed by Dorset (4) and Hampshire (3). Somerset withdrew during the season. Cornwall won just one match during the season; this was against Somerset but it was a dramatic affair. With one game to finish the score stood at 7½ each, and the unfinished game involved the current WECU President Gerry Jepps against former President Ian George. George had a slight advantage, but he had to nurse it through 70 moves to get the full point that gave Cornwall the match. The game on Bd. 8 was also a lively Cornish win; notes based on those kindly supplied by the winner.
See link above for game The solution to last week's problem by Wenman was 1.Qa6+! KxQ (forced) and 2.Nc7 is mate, with both knights covering all flight squares. This week's 2-mover was composed jointly by Barry Barnes and the late Godfrey Quack of Budleigh Salterton.
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