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Welcome to the official website of the Warwickshire
Chess Association (WCA). What do we mean by
Warwickshire? Click here to find out more about the
Warwickshire county boundaries and for more information about the
WCA including contact details.
Upcoming Events
See the Calendar for details and entry
forms for all of these chess events and for many more chess
tournaments coming up in the future...
Uxbridge International in Denham,
Buckinghamshire on 11-15 August 2010
All sections FIDE rated. Masters section (over
2100 FIDE) qualifies for IM, WGM and WIM norms.
Steve Boniface Memorial Congress in Bristol
on 20-22 August 2010
British Land UK Chess Challenge Terafinal and
Challengers in Warwick, Warwickshire on 21-22 August 2010
Macmillan Cancer Support Chess Rapidplay in
Bloxwich, West Midlands on 22 August 2010
Second year of this local event with proceeds in
support of charity. Please show your support and
enter.
News and Results
Latest ECF Standard and
Rapidplay Grades on 25 July 2010
The annual update to the ECF grades are now
available. Click here to check your new grade in the ECF
database. Note that some tournaments may use these
new grades before they are finalised at the end of August 2010,
so do check on the entry form.
Warwickshire's Junior Chess Leagues
2009-2010
There is one junior league in the county, the
Birmingham & District Junior. An end of
season report is posted below.
Birmingham & District Junior Chess
League 2009-2010
There were six divisions in this season's junior
league, with a total of twenty-four teams playing. Four teams
across divisions one and two. Four teams in division three.
Seven teams in division four. Three teams in the U13 division and
six teams in the U12 division.
In total, forty-seven matches and two hundred and
eighty-two chess games were played.
League Champion: King Edward's Camp Hill
School
Runner-up: King Edward's School
Division Two Champion: King Edward's Five Ways
School
Runner-up: Windsor High
School
Division Three Champion: King Edward's Camp Hill
School
Runner-up: Solihull School
Division Four Champion: King Edward's
School
Joint Runner-up: King Edward's Camp Hill and King Edward's
Five Ways
U13 Division Champion: King Edward's
School
Runner-up: King Edward's Five Ways School
U12 Division Champion: King Edward's
School
Runner-up: King Edward's Camp Hill School
Congratulations to each of the division
champions!
English Chess
Challenge Warwickshire Semi-Final in Warwick, Warwickshire on
21 June 2010
A belated report.
The organisers, Coulsdon Chess Fellowship (CCF), say
that this tournament was set up in 2001 to provide a competition in
which ALL juniors would have an open and fair chance of making it
from a small domestic competition to a national
final. Qualification and the right to play in the later stages
is earned purely on results over the board.
The following juniors have qualified for the next
stage.
U11 Boys
Gold Medallists: Edward Dearmitt
(Warwick), Justin Hsu (St. Laurence CofE), Andrew Smith (King Henry
VIII)
Silver Medallists: Ben Rhodes (Warwick), Henry Adams (King
Henry VIII), William Richards (Burton Green), Matthew Blake
(Eversfield), Matthew King (King Henry VIII), George Muston
(Dunchurch Boughton), Nathaniel Read (St. Laurence CofE), Alexander
Read (St. Laurence CofE)
U11 Girls
Gold Medallists: Helena Board
(Stratford), Natasha Aldulaimi (Sharman's Cross)
Silver
Medallists: Cheryl Harley (Burton Green)
U10 Boys
Gold Medallists: Henry Burston
(Eversfield), Nicky Miller (Warwick), Thomas Curley (Eversfield),
Aaron Hayre (King Henry VIII), Robert Bartlett (Clinton)
Silver
Medallists: Nicholas Marshall (Solihull Checkmates), Gregory Porter
(Warwick), Aaron Crowder (Canon Maggs), Michael Keane (St.
Augustine's), James Deeley (Stivichall), Heiran Dosangh (Whitmore
Park), George Wade (Ettington)
U9 Boys
Gold Medallists: James McClure
(Eversfield), Ralph Mortimer (St Augustine's), Finn O'Brien
(Telford)
Silver Medallists: Luke Griffiths (Canon Maggs), Henry
Wei (Clinton), Julien Carrouche (Dunchurch Boughton), Daniel
Withington (Eversfield)
U8 Boys
Gold Medallists: Dillon Patel
(Ettington), Marcus Nicholson (Bilton Grange), Jack Titley
(Dunchurch Boughton), Aaron Tucker (Warwick), Aasim Ahmed (King
Henry VIII), William Marshall (Croft), Amar Nahil (Davenport
Lodge)
U8 Girls
Gold Medallists: Jasmine Close (King
Henry VIII), Alice Tittley (Dunchurch Boughton)
U7 Boys
Gold Medallists: Ethan Shum (Bilton
Grange), Thomas Jennings (Solihull Checkmates)
Silver Medallists:
Rishit Harsh (King Henry VIII), Jonathan Anderson (Eversfield),
Jonathan Varnish (Bilton Grange), Lucas Marshall (Bilton
Grange)
U6 Boys
Gold Medallists: Victor Hartas-Moody (Solihull
Checkmates), Peter Crews (Bilton Grange)
Well done to everyone for these great results and
best wishes for the next
stage!!
Yateley Manor ECF National Schools Plate
Finals in Uppingham, Rutland on 8-9 July
2010
Immediately after their victory in the UK National
Schools U18 Championship, Camp Hill travelled up from Somerset to
Rutland.
Camp Hill were missing a couple of the teams best
players, Aled Walker and Nathan Brown, who were both in the UK
Team at the International Mathematical Olympiad otherwise known as
the World Championship!!
Camp Hill's First Team nevertheless gave a
great performance. They were undefeated in all matches (as far as
over the board chess goes) and they scored more board points than
all of the other teams. However because the competition features an
age handicap, so in spite of their superiority over the board they
finished in 3rd place.
Congratulations to all of the team: Clive Ke,
Andrew Briggs, Andrew Pearson, Nick West, Kyle Reed and Max
Cheung.
UK National
Schools Teams U18 Final in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset on 6-7 July
2010
King Edward's Camp Hill School beat Queen Elizabeth
Barnet by a clear point to win the U18 Championship!
Congratulations to all of the team: Clive Ke,
Andrew Briggs, Nick West, Jason Pereira, Max Cheung and Inderveer
Kang.
EPSCA National
Primary Schools Chess Championships U9 & U11 Finals in
Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset on 6-7 July
2010
Hallfield School finished 2nd in the U11 event and
3rd in the U9 event.
Congratulations on this great result!
UK Chess Challenge Northern Gigafinal in
Dukinfield, Greater Manchester on 10-11 July
2010
68,000 junior chess players started in this
year's UK Chess Challenge. This was whittled down to 2,315
players from across the UK who qualified through from the county
Megafinals. And of this total, 86 juniors
from the traditional county of Warwickshire qualified
to compete in the national Gigafinals.
In the end, 61 juniors from Warwickshire competed and finished
amongst 773 juniors in the Northern Gigafinal - playing against the
very best juniors in their respective age groups from across all of
the counties in England (Midlands and North), and from
all of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
So just a little bit tough then eh!! Well this
is how our 61 juniors fared against their peers in this national
stage......
Ultimi:
Ibraheem Malik (Checkmate! Junior
Chess Club) is the U9 Boys Ultimo having scored 5.5 / 6
Kaiser
Malik (King Edward's) is the U18 Boys Ultimo having scored 5 /
6
2nd Place Runners-up:
Ashwin
Kalyana (Hallfield) U10 Boys scored 5 / 6
Matthew Fergusson (Hallfield) U10
Boys scored 5 / 6
Andrew Fergusson (Hallfield) U8
Boys scored 5 / 6
Leo Tsoi (Bishop Vesey's Grammar) U12 Boys
scored 4.5 / 6
Chris Smith (King Edward's Five Ways) U18 Boys scored 4 /
6
Sophia Emanuel (King Edward's Camp Hill) U18 Girls scored 3 /
6
3rd Place Runners-up:
Aloysious
Lip (Solihull Checkmates) U10 Boys scored 5 / 6
Philip
Purcell (King Edward's Five Ways) U15 Boys scored 4.5 /
6
Hari Nijjar (Hallfield) U11 Boys scored 4.5 / 6
Astghik
Stepanyan (North Birmingham Academy) U16 Girls scored 3.5 /
6
Philomena Lip (King Edward's High) U14 Girls scored 3.5 /
6
Felicity Parker (King Edward's Five Ways) U13 Girls scored
3.5 / 6
Katie Smith (King Edward's Five Ways) U15 Girls
scored 3 / 6
Ultimi qualify for the UK Terafinal, 2nd Place
Runners-up qualify for the UK Terafinal Challengers A, and 3rd Place
Runners-up qualify for the UK Terafinal Challengers B.
Rosette Winners:
Henrik Stepanyan (St.
Edmund Campion RC) U14 Boys scored 4.5 / 6
Shakeel
Choudbury (King Edward's) U15 Boys scored 4 / 6
Manpreet
Nijjar (King Edward's) U13 Boys scored 4 / 6
Oliver
Whitfield (King Edward's Camp Hill) U13 Boys scored 4 /
6
Jake Rigby (Warwick Junior) U11 Boys scored 4 / 6
Adam
Nazarali (Sharman's Cross) U8 Boys scored 4 / 6
Arjan
Ubhi (Hallfield) U7 Boys scored 4 / 6
Aroun
Kalyana (Hallfield) U8 Boys scored 4 / 6
Chimnay
Monga (Hallfield) U8 Boys scored 4 / 6
Kyle Reed (King Edward's Camp Hill) U14
Boys
scored 3.5 /
6
Siddharth Singh (King Edward's Handsworth) U12 Boys scored
3.5 / 6
Ollie Barron (Warwick Junior) U10 Boys scored 3.5 /
6
Jennifer Ellis (Blue Coat) U7 Girls scored 3.5 /
6
Also Competed:
Daniel
Oztekin (Solihull Checkmates Junior Chess Club) U16 Boys scored
3 / 6
Shivi Ravi (Solihull Checkmates Junior Chess Club) U13
Girls scored 3 / 6
Kieran Roberts (St. Mark's) U11 Boys
scored 3 / 6
William Button (Warwick Junior) U11 Boys scored
3 / 6
Cameron Westwood (World's End Junior) U10 Boys scored
3 / 6
James Draper (Blue Coat) U10 Boys scored 3 /
6
James Kearney (Cawston Grange) U10 Boys scored 3 /
6
Rajen Parekh (Bablake) U10 Boys scored 3 / 6
Ali
Syed (Hallfield) U9 Boys scored 3 / 6
Benjamin
Hale (Hallfield) U9 Boys scored 3 / 6
Hussain
Norris (Sharman's Cross) U9 Boys scored 3 / 6
Emil
Ali (Hallfield) U8 Boys scored 3 / 6
Krishan
Kaushal (Blue Coat) U8 Boys scored 3 / 6
Victor Hartas-Moody
(Solihull Checkmates) U7 Boys scored 3 /
6
Unnat
Krishna (King Edward's Five Ways) U17 Boys scored 2.5 /
6
Ben Rhodes (Warwick Junior) U11 Boys scored 2.5 /
6
Johnny von Holstein (Warwick Junior) U11 Boys scored 2.5 /
6
Megan Richter (St. Mary's) U9 Girls scored 2.5 /
6
Sanam Chawla (Hallfield) U8 Boys scored 2.5 / 6
Sejay Segal
(Hallfield) U7 Boys scored 2.5 /
6
Matthew
Watkeys (King Edward's Five Ways) U18 Boys scored 2 / 6
Aman
Sandu (King Edward's Stratford) U12 Boys scored 2 /
6
Christopher Harling (Cawston Grange) U10 Boys scored 2 /
6
Arjun Sharma (Hallfield) U9 Boys scored 2 / 6
John
Villanueva (St. Mary's) U9 Boys scored 2 /
6
Roman
Shantsila (St. Mary's) U9 Boys scored 2 / 6
Rhea
Takhar (Hallfield) U8 Girls scored 2 /
6
Hannah
Clayton (St. James') U10 Girls scored 1.5 / 6
Sanjeevan
Ghataore (Chad Vale) U9 Boys scored 1.5 /
6
Lewis
James (Warwick Junior) U11 Boys scored 1 / 6
Theo
McAuliffe (Warwick Junior) U10 Boys scored 1 /
6
India McRae (Avon
Valley) U12 Girls scored 0.5 / 6
Eleanor Parker (Acocks
Green Junior) U8 Girls scored 0.5 /
6
Well done to everyone for reaching and finishing
this tough national stage, and congratulations to the Ultimi and
Runners-up who will be going to the 'All UK' finals!
These will be held in Warwick, Warwickshire on 21-22 August
2010 where there will many thousands of pounds of cash prizes up for
grabs!
ECF National County U100 Championship Final
on 10 July 2010
Warwickshire's U100 county team captained by Dave
Rowe unfortunately lost 3.5 vs 8.5 to Essex.
The team's three wins came from Gary Wickett, W B
(Bill) Yeomans and Craig Mills. In fact Gary and Craig secured
wins in both the semi and the final - well done!!
This was a new team and so congratulations to Dave
and all the players for reaching the final - and our very best
wishes for future success next season!
Click here for detailed scores from the
match.
ECF National County U180
Championship Final on 10 July 2010 - UPDATED with more
photos!
Warwickshire's U180 county chess team captained by
John Fahy have been crowned National Champions after a hard fought
final in which they prevailed against Nottinghamshire!!!
Strengthwise it was dead even and the match proved
to be an incredibly tense affair with the balance constantly
shifting until the end. However Warwickshire eventually won
through to claim the trophy, ending the match with a final score of
9 vs 7. The team's five wins came from
Alan Lloyd, Joey Stewart, Rob Wallman, Simon Smith and Ed
Goodwin.
Congratulations to John and all the finalists and to
everyone who played for the team this season to win the
championship!!
Click
here for a full match report, photos of
this scorching (literally - just spot the shorts!) final, and all
the game scores.
(Announced on 1 July 2010) English Chess
Federation Grand Prix 2009-2010
Final results for the national grands prix are now
in, with several players from Warwickshire finishing amongst the
country's top 50 in two of them!
U180 Prix: Andrew Price (Leamington) finished 9th on
522 points, and Robin Huq (Mutual Circle) finished 21st with 446
points.
U160 Prix: Andrew Wiggins (Greenlands) finished 15th
with 476 points, Steve Edwards (Boldmere St. Michael's) finished
42nd on 334 points, and Andrew Lake (Boldmere St. Michael's)
finished 48th with 301 points.
There were no players from Warwickshire in the top
50 of any of the: Junior prix, U140 Prix, or
U120 Prix.
Note that the new prix for 2010-2011 has already
started, with each qualifying game from 1 June 2010
counting.
ECF National County Under 13, Under 18
Championships in Wallington, Surrey on 27 June
2010
Results now published for this 60th year of the
event!! 196 junior chess players took part this year.
The event featured sections for Open, Minor and Girls for teams of
U18 and U13 junior players. As is usual for this event, the
U18 Open was for 12 board teams - average grades were between 145
and 150. The U18s played a two-round Jamboree with (allegedly)
a whopping 75 minutes per move!! I'm guessing this should (of
course) read 75 minutes per player. The U13 Open was a 6 board
event with four rounds but played as a rapidplay with just 30
minutes per player.
In the U18 Open, Warwickshire finished 3rd= out of
six teams with 12 / 24 points.
And in the U13 Open, Warwickshire finished 5th out
of eight teams with 9.5 / 24 points.
Congratulations and well done to all of the players
from both teams!! Click
here for a full report, results and a couple of games from the
event.
Chester Open Chess Congress in Chester,
Cheshire on 26-27 June 2010
125 players took part in this well regarded
tournament. A great achievement for Golam
Ali (South Birmingham) who finished in 1st place to win the
Major! Congratulations Golam and well
done!!
e2e4 Sunningdale Congress in Ascot,
Berkshire on 28-31 May 2010
Belated news of Stephen Crockett from Birmingham who finished 2nd=
with 5 / 7 in the Minor. Congratulations and well done
Stephen!!
Warwickshire's Chess Leagues
2009-2010
There are three chess leagues in the county:
Birmingham, Coventry and Leamington.
Across these three leagues, one hundred and twenty
nine teams played chess, within a total of thirteen
divisions.
An end of season report for each of the three
leagues is posted below.
Coventry & District Chess League
2009-2010
End of season report for one of the three chess
leagues in Warwickshire.
There were three divisions in this season's league,
with a total of twenty-two teams
playing. Seven teams in each of divisions one and two.
Eight teams in division three.
League Champion: Rugby A with 17
points
Runner-up: Nuneaton A with 16 points
(on tie-break)
Division Two Champion: University of Warwick C
with 17 points
Runner-up: Coventry Chess D with 16
points
Division Three Champion: Nuneaton D with 19
points
Runner-up: Nuneaton E with 17 points
Knockout Cup Winner: Rugby A
Knockout Plate
Winner: ?
Division One Cup Winner: Rugby A with 7
points
Runner-up: Coventry Chess A with 6 points (on
tie-break)
Division Two Cup Winner: Newdigate with 11
points
Runner-up: Nuneaton with 7 points
Division Three Cup Winner: Nuneaton with 8 points
(on tie-break)
Runner-up: Coventry Chess G with 8
points
Leamington & District Chess League
2009-2010
End of season report for one of the three chess
leagues in Warwickshire.
There were four divisions in this season's league,
with a total of thirty-three teams playing. Seven teams in
each of divisions one and two. Ten teams in division
three. Nine teams in division four.
League Champion: Olton A with 23
points
Runner-up: Leamington A with 13
points
Division Two Champion: Banbury B with 23
points
Runner-up: Stratford A with 16 points
Division Three Champion: Solihull B with 29
points
Runner-up: Daventry A with 26 points
Division Four Champion: Nuneaton with 26
points
Runner-up: Solihull C with 25 points
Knockout Cup Winner: Kenilworth
U700: Solihull
U120:
Stratford 1
Individual Knockout Cup Winner: Mark Page and
Richard Weaving
U140: Iain Brodie
U120: Andy
Johnson
Lightning Tournament Winner: Mark Page
U140:
Robert Stevens
Stanley Gibbens Trophy: Tim Lawson
Best Game Prize: Steve Rumsby
At the AGM the league voted that any player whose
mobile phone goes off during a game shall lose that game. This
is to more closely comply with the ECF and the FIDE Laws Of
Chess.
Birmingham & District Chess League
2009-2010
End of season report for one of the three chess
leagues in Warwickshire.
There were six divisions in this season's league,
with a total of seventy-four teams playing. Thirteen teams in
each of divisions one, two and three. Twelve teams in each of
divisions four and six. Eleven teams in division
five.
League Champion: South Birmingham A with 20 points
(on tie-break)
Runner-up: Lichfield with 20 points
Division Two Champion: West Bromwich with 20
points
Runner-up: Warley Quinborne with 18
points
Division Three Champion: Sutton Coldfield with 20
points
Runner-up: Bushbury with 17 points
Division Four Champion: Mercia with 17
points
Runner-up: Halesowen with 16 points
Division Five Champion: Warley Quinborne with 16
points (on tie-break)
Runner-up: Redditch with 16
points
Division Six Champion: Tamworth & District with
17 points (on tie-break)
Runner-up: Olton with 17
points
Relegations:
Division One: Kynoch/Barn and South
Birmingham C
Division Two: Tamworth & District and Olton
B
Division Three: Shirley & Lucas B and Wolseley
Division
Four: Sutton Coldfield and Walsall Kipping B
Division Five:
Halesowen and Kynoch/Barn
The champions and runners-up in divisions two to six
are promoted to the next higher division, with the relegated teams
from the division above moving down to take their place.
Trophy Winners:
Terrill Trophy: West Bromwich
2
Homer Trophy: Warley Quinborne 2
Townshend Trophy: Boldmere
St Michaels 4
Barrington Trophy: Warley Quinborne
5
ECF National County Chess Championships
Roundup following the Semi Finals on 19 June 2010 (see separate
reports below)
After a miserable performance by the England
football team, some great news as Warwickshire's Under 180 and Under
100 chess teams both emerge victorious to reach the national
finals!!!
U180 Team: Following their close Semi Final victory,
Warwickshire will play Nottinghamshire in the U180 final - click here for
details.
U100 Team: Warwickshire comfortably won their Semi Final
match and will play against Essex in the U100 final - click here for
details.
NOTE: The U100 is a NEW team so if you want to play in this
match get in
touch with Dave Rowe or Pauline Woodward as soon as
possible to put yourself up for selection! If you have an ECF
(or estimated) grade of Under 100 then definitely do not miss out on
this brilliant opportunity to play in the National Finals!!
Both of the above forthcoming matches are also now featured on
the Calendar.
See below for details of both Semi Final
matches.
ECF National County U100
Championship Semi Final on 19 June 2010
It's a double! Warwickshire's U100 county
chess team captained by Dave Rowe convincingly won their match
against Yorkshire and are therefore also through to the national
finals!!!
The match never looked like being anything but a
comfortable victory, as Yorkshire gave up a point on balance of
defaults and, Warwickshire had a grade superiority across all
boards. The match therefore ended with Warwickshire the
unsurprising victors on a score of 7.5 vs 2.5.
The team's seven full points came from Sam Doran,
John Clulee, Bob Hillman, Peter Kearns, Paul Heeney, Gary Wickett
and Craig Mills.
Congratulations to Dave, Pauline and all the
team!! Click here for a match report and all the scores.
Warwickshire now go on to face the ultimate
test in the ECF County Chess Championships Final on 10 July, where
they will play against Essex - click here for more
details of the U100s final.
ECF National County U180
Championship Semi Final on 19 June 2010
Yes!! Warwickshire's U180 county chess team
captained by John Fahy have beaten Devon and are therefore through
to the national finals!!!
Strengthwise it was reasonably even. Devon
were slightly stronger on a few of the top boards, while
Warwickshire were slightly stronger elsewhere. The match was a
nail-biter going down to the wire, with Warwickshire finally
emerging as victors after winning on board count on an 8 vs 8
draw.
The team's five wins came from Martin Smyth, Alan
Lloyd, Mark Cundy, Tom Robinson and Mike Doran.
Congratulations to John and all the team!!
Click
here for a match report and all the
scores.
Warwickshire now go on to face the ultimate
test in the ECF County Chess Championships Final on 10 July, where
they will play against Nottinghamshire - click here for more
details of the U180s final.
(Announced on 7 June
2010) British Land UK Chess Challenge Warwickshire Megafinal in
Knowle, Warwickshire on 14 May 2011
Further information and dates for this and many
other future chess events are available on the calendar in order to help organisers when
planning events and matches.
Leek Rapidplay Chess Congress in Leek,
Staffordshire on 6 June 2010
More Warwickshire junior chess news! Ashwin
Kalyana (Hallfield School and Solihull Checkmates) scored 3.5 / 6 in
the U145 (St. Edward's) section to share the Late Starters
prize. Congratulations and - particularly in such a strong
section - well done Ashwin!!
2nd Bristol Rapidplay in Bristol on 5 June
2010
Matthew Trigg (Solihull) scored 4 / 6 in the Minor
section to share 2nd place and the U110 Grading Prize.
Congratulations Matt and well done!!
(Announced on 5 June
2010) 2nd London Chess Classic at Olympia in Kensington, Middlesex
on 8-15 December 2010
The reigning World Chess Champion is to play in this
year's event!!
Viswanathan Anand will take part alongside the
current World No. 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen, former World Chess
Champion Vladmir Kramnik, and the US No. 1 chess player Hikaru
Nakamura. Anand's participation further strengthens the
category and profile of this event. Of note is that this is
the first time a reigning World Champion will be playing in London
for over a quarter of a century! The other
players are, like last year, our top four active English
Grandmasters: Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and the
current reigning British Champion David Howell.
Alongside the classic, there will be a range of open
tournaments that chess players of all standards will be able to
enter and play in.
Click here for full details of this upcoming event
(also see the earlier report below on the first London Chess
Classic).
Cotswold Chess Congress in Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire on 29-31 May 2010
More Warwickshire junior chess news!
Kyle Reed (King Edward VI Camp Hill School) shared one
of the Grading Prizes in the U120 section as well as the
tournament's 'Top Junior' prize. Kyle held the eventual winner
of the Minor section (and last year's winner) to a draw in round
one. Congratulations Kyle!!
British Land UK Chess Challenge
Staffordshire Megafinal in Leek, Staffordshire on 23 May
2010
There were two title winners and qualifiers from
Warwickshire schools and junior clubs at this megafinal, including
from: King Edward VI Handsworth School and
Bishop Vesey's Grammar School.
With one of those two players from Warwickshire
winning a Staffordshire junior county champion
title (Supremo for boys and Suprema for girls) in this year's
tournament. Title winners qualify to play in the next stage,
along with all other players scoring 4 or more points.
The next stage is almost as tough as it gets!!
In the Gigafinal, they will be up against the top junior chess
players in their age group at a national level. They will
need to succeed against the very best players from all of the
Midlands, Northern England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern
Ireland.
Under 12 section:
Siddharth Singh won the U12
Supremo title on tie-break with 4.5 / 6
Leo Tsoi qualified in the
U12s with 6 / 6 (Hors Concours)
Congratulations(!!) and good luck to you both in the
national Northern Gigafinal to be held in Dukinfield, Greater
Manchester in July.
In addition to the above players,
eighty-four more juniors from Warwickshire schools and junior
clubs have also won titles or qualified from the Worcestershire and
Warwickshire Megafinals (see earlier reports
below).
89th Richmond Rapidplay in Hampton, Surrey
on 23 May 2010
Kyle Reed from Warwickshire played in the
Intermediate U135 section against 32 other players, finishing just
below the main prize winners, but nevertheless in the prize money
after scoring 4 / 6 (no losses) to share the U115 Grading
Prize. Well done Kyle!!
ECF National County Chess Championships
Roundup following the Quarter Finals on 22 May 2010 (see separate
reports below)
Two of Warwickshire's teams march forward into
the Semi Finals: the Under 180 and the Under 100.
U180 Team: Following their excellent Quarter Final victory,
Warwickshire will play Devon in the Semi Finals. Click here for more.
U100 Team: Yet to play this season, the team will finally
play it's first match against Yorkshire in the Semi Finals. Click here for more.
NOTE: The U100 is a NEW team so if you want to play in this
match get in
touch with Dave Rowe to put yourself up for
selection! If you have an ECF (or estimated) grade of Under
100 then do not miss out on this fantastic opportunity to play in
the National Semi Finals!!
Both of the above forthcoming matches are featured on the Calendar.
ECF National County U180 Championship
Quarter Finals on 22 May 2010
Warwickshire's U180 Team captained by John Fahy
stormed to success against Lancashire, beating them comfortably 10
vs 6.
Warwickshire were slightly weaker on the bottom
three boards, but even there the team only dropped one
point. In fact we only lost two games in the match, so this
was a well deserved victory! The team's six wins came from
Martyn Smyth, Alan Lloyd, Alan Agnew, Simon Williams, Simon Smith
and Mike Doran.
Congratulations to John and to all the team on this
brilliant result!! Click here for full details of the match.
ECF National County U120 Championship
Quarter Finals on 22 May 2010
Warwickshire's U120 Team captained by Pauline
Woodward unfortunately lost 9 vs 3 to Kent.
Warwickshire had a weakened side with several
players unable to make the match, forcing a new player to step
straight up to the plate on Board 1 on his debut for the team!
Well done to Pauline and to all of the team for reaching the Quarter
Finals and best wishes for future success next season!
Click
here for full details of the match.
British Land UK Chess Challenge Warwickshire
Megafinal in Knowle, Warwickshire on 22 May 2010
There were sixty-six title winners and qualifiers from Warwickshire schools and junior
clubs, including: Blue Coat, Solihull Checkmates, Hallfield,
Sharmans Cross, Chad Vale, Bilton Grange, St Mary's, Cannon Park,
Warwick Junior, St James', Cawston Grange, Bablake, Wyken Croft,
King Henry VIII, KES, Avon Valley, KE Stratford, King Edward's High,
St Edmund Campion RC and North Birmingham Academy.
Twenty of those sixty-six players won a Warwickshire junior county champion title (Supremo for
boys and Suprema for girls) in this year's tournament. Title
winners qualify to play in the next stage, along with the other
forty-six players who qualified by scoring 4 or more
points.
The next stage is almost as tough as it gets!!
In the Gigafinal, they will be up against the top junior chess
players in their age group at a national level. They will
need to succeed against the very best players from all of the
Midlands, Northern England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern
Ireland.
Under 17 section:
Robert Statham won the U17
Supremo title with 4 / 6.
Under 16 section:
Astghik Stepanyan won the U16
Suprema title with 4.5 / 6.
Richard Weaving
won the U16 Supremo title with 4.5 / 6.
Also qualifying were:
John Gilbert and Daniel Oztekin with 4 / 6.
Under 15 section:
Shakeel Choudbury won the U15
Supremo title with 3 / 6.
Under 14 section:
Philomena Lip won the U14
Suprema title with 4.5 / 6.
Henrik Stepanyan
won the U14 Supremo title with 4.5 / 6.
Under 13 section:
Shivi Ravi won the U13 Suprema
title with 5 / 6.
Manpreet Nijjar won the U13 Supremo title with
5 / 6.
Also qualifying were: Oliver Whitfield and Arpan
Sharma.
Under 12 section:
Nathen Chung won the U12
Supremo title with 4 / 6.
India McRae won the U12 Suprema title
with 2 / 6.
Also qualifying were: Aman Chawla and Aman Sandu with
4 / 6.
Under 11 section:
Hari Nijjar won the U11 Supremo
title with 6 / 6.
Jeneva Griffiths won the U11 Suprema title with
3 / 6.
Also qualifying were: Si Woo Kim, Ben Rhodes, Jake Rigby,
Andrew Smith, William Button, Ashrit Chohan, Edward De Armitt, Lewis
James, Kieran Roberts, Thomas Steeley, Johnny von Holstein, Kuba
Williams.
Under 10 section:
Aloysious Lip (reigning Under
10 English Rapidplay Chess Champion) won the U10 Supremo title with
6 / 6.
Hannah Clayton won the U10 Suprema title with 4 /
6.
Also qualifying were: Ashwin Kalyana, Rajen Parekh, Eddie
Travis, Vishal Aurora, Ollie Barron, Jonathan Blackhurst, James
Draper, Christopher Harling, James Kearney, Theo
McAuliffe.
Under 9 section:
David Noyvert won the U9 Supremo
title with 6 / 6.
Megan Richter won the U9 Suprema title with 3 /
6.
Also qualifying were: Leo Johnson, Hussain Norris, Taran
Chauhan, Sanjeevan Ghataore, Benjamin Hale, Christopher McCloskey,
Roman Shantsila, Arjun Sharma, Ali Syed, John Villanueva.
Under 8 section:
Andrew Fergusson won the U8
Supremo title with 5.5 / 6.
Rhea Takhar won the U8 Suprema title
with 2.5 / 6.
Also qualifying were: Aroun Kalyana, Krishan
Kaushal, Chimnay Monga, Emil Ali, Sanam Chawla, Adam
Nazarali.
Under 7 section:
Victor Hartas-Moody won the U7
Supremo title with 5.5 / 6.
Jennifer Ellis won the U7 Suprema
title with 2.5 / 6.
Also qualifying were: Arjan Ubhi and Sejay
Segal.
Congratulations to all Supremos, Supremas and
qualifiers!! Well done and good luck to you all in the
national Northern Gigafinal to be held in Dukinfield, Greater
Manchester in July.
In addition to the above sixty-six players, twenty
more juniors from Warwickshire schools and junior clubs have also
won titles or qualified from the Worcestershire
and Staffordshire Megafinals (see other
reports).
Yateley Manor ECF National Schools
Championship Quarter Finals in Birmingham, Warwickshire
on 17 May 2010
After defeating Magdalen College away in Round
1, King Edward's played Haberdashers' Aske's A team at home in the
Quarter Final. Unfortunately in the match they were defeated 1
vs 5 against a strong (across all boards) Haberdashers'
side.
In the overall competition, this now leaves King
Edward's Camp Hill (having defeated Eton) as the only Warwickshire
school through to the Semis / Finals (see earlier report
below).
Chipping Sodbury Rapidplay in Yate,
Gloucestershire on 15 May 2010
Joey Stewart from Warwickshire played in the Open
and finished 1st= with 5 / 6. Congratulations and well done
Joey!! And all the best for your future chess in your new
county home of Gloucestershire.
ECF National County Open Championship
Quarter Finals on 8 May 2010
Warwickshire's First Team captained by Joey Stewart
unfortunately lost away 12 vs 4 to Sussex.
Warwickshire had a weakened side (the team was
outgraded on every board apart from Tony Hynes on board 2 where the
grades were equal) and were also one player short thereby suffering
from an immediate default. Wins came from Tony Hynes and
Joey Stewart. Well done to Joey and to all of the team for
reaching the Quarter Finals and best wishes for future success next
season! This was Joey's last match as county First Team
Captain and we all very much appreciate the effort he has put
in!
Click
here for full details of the match.
Yateley Manor ECF National Schools Plate
Championship Quarter Finals in Windsor, Royal Berkshire on 4 May
2010
In Round 1, King Edward VI Camp Hill School
(managed by Andrew Rogers) made a 6.5 hour return journey
to defeat Woodbridge School (managed by IM Adam
Hunt) - see earlier report below. Having progressed to this
Quarter Final stage, they were to play against Eton College.
Founded in 1440 by King Henry VI, Eton is the most famous and
prestigious public school in the world!!
There were several challenges that the Camp Hill
First Team had to face before the match started. They were
supposed to play at home, which meant they would be fresh, however
Eton College have long holidays and a date could not be
agreed. So Camp Hill had to travel away again and, although
not as far as Woodbridge, the match would have to be after a hard
day at school. On arrival at Eton after their journey, the
boys had hungrily hoped for a spot of tea before the match
commenced. However that was not to be. From the ECF
grading database, the Eton chess team had looked
formidable, for example 8 players had grades from ECF 132 rising
quickly up to ECF 163. Eton needed to choose just 6
boards. And if that wasn't enough, Eton
also had the advantage of a younger team and, after applying the age
handicap, Camp Hill would have to win 4 vs 2 against a stronger
team! How would it all end??
The match got underway, and the first result was
unfortunately a loss from Andrew Pearson on Board 3, after an
interesting and unusual game. Next, and in the same way as at
Woodbridge previously, Kyle Reed got the first win for Camp Hill on
Board 6. However on Board 5, Nick West was outplayed in the
opening and eventually lost the game, though he put up fierce
resistance and the game proved to be a long hard
struggle for his opponent. With two losses, Camp Hill now had
to win all three remaining games. To put it mildly, the
pressure was on!!! Andrew Briggs won on Board 4 with an
unusual bishop sacrifice, leading to the promotion of a pawn.
On Boards 1 and 2, the games were very close, with Camp Hill looking
slightly worse on both of them. However, as is the nature of
timed chess, things were not over yet. Clive Ke held his game
together admirably, surviving a tricky attack from his opponent on
Board 2 and then went one step further to win his game in a time
scramble! Team captain Aled Walker on Board 1, played a very
positional game. His opponent had the upper hand, but only
just, and the game looked like it would end in a draw, leading to a
defeat for Camp Hill with 3.5 vs 2.5. Then in another mad time
scramble, Aled held his nerve and came out on top. Camp Hill
had succeeded!
There after a thrilling evening of chess with an
adrenaline fuelled heart pounding knife-edge finish, the final
result was a well deserved victory for Camp Hill, who prevailed
against the elite Eton College beating them 4 vs 2. The boys
were finally rewarded with some welcome supper and a tour of the
famous school.
Well done to Andrew and all the boys for a fantastic
result!! Camp Hill are through to the last stage - the Yateley
Manor ECF National Schools Chess Championships Semi-Finals and Finals at Uppingham School, Rutland in July
2010. Inter-County Correspondence Chess update on 3 May
2010
See the Correspondence Chess section for
Keith Escott's news from the Brown Pond and more, including an edge
of the seat game with several sacs...!!
4NCL Divisions 2 & 3 Rounds 9,
10 & 11 in Berkshire on 1-3 May 2010
These were the final rounds of the season,
where both Warwickshire Select teams were in with a chance of
promotion.
Division 2:
Entering the final rounds after the close of Round
8, Warwickshire Select 1 were in 4th place in the Division 2
Championship Pool on 5 points.
The weekend started with Round 9, in which
Warwickshire Select 1 faced the Sambuca Sharks. Outgraded on
every single board by an average of FIDE 150 points, the team
perhaps unsurprisingly lost but nevertheless scored a very
respectable 3.5 vs 4.5 with wins from John Pitcher (Worcestershire
Open Champion 2009) and Andy Baruch.
In Round 10 the team faced Kings Head, who were
similarly matched in strength. Again perhaps unsurprisingly a
draw 4 vs 4 followed, with wins from Don Mason, Chris Shephard and
Brandon Clarke.
Then in the final Round 11, the Select few valiantly
faced the AMCA Dragons. After warming up against sharks, one
supposes that fighting dragons wasn't quite as daunting as might
otherwise have been. It seems that way anyway, because the
team emerged victorious from the battle with a score of 4.5 vs
3.5. Special congratulations to both John Pitcher and Brandon
Clarke who each scored their second wins of the weekend for the
team!
At the end, with the top four places in the
Championship Pool available for promotion, the top two were decided
(Sambuca Sharks and Cheddleton). However the other two places
were still up in the air after three teams finished on 8
points! After the tie-breaks were carefully applied,
Warwickshire Select 1 celebrated finishing in 3rd place along with a
promotion to Division 1 - a wonderful end to the
season!
And so with these great results, many congratulations and well done to everyone
involved!!
Division 3:
Entering the final rounds after the close of Round
8, Warwickshire Select 2 were at the top of Division 3 on 13
points.
Starting off the weekend in Round 9, Warwickshire
Select 2 played Cambridge University. The team were outgraded
on every single board by an average of FIDE 120 points. Even
so, the team played very well to secure a draw with a score of 3 vs
3. Wins came from Mark Page and Matthew Tapp.
Round 10 saw the team face a considerably less scary
named branch of the Sambuca family: the Black Sheep.
Anyway the sheep had a slight edge on paper and, although the team
had a win from Henrik Stepanyan, it wasn't quite enough and the team
lost 2.5 vs 3.5.
In Round 11, the team played Wessex 2 and
unfortunately the team lost 2.5 vs 3.5. Wins for the team came
from Richard Weaving and Nicholas Fallowfield.
At the end the final table was close at the top,
with Warwickshire Select 2 finishing in 6th place, just 1 point
below the fourth place needed for promotion!
Well done to the whole team for an extremely
respectable season's results!!
England U11 Team Selection Trial in
Liverpool, Merseyside on 24-25 April 2010
Matthew Fergusson (Hallfield School) scored 3.5 / 6
in a tough tournament in which 42 of the very best junior chess
players from around the country competed to win a place in the
England Under 11 squad. Aloysius Lip also took part in the
tournament and, after doing so well all year, it is somewhat
upsetting to hear that things didn't go quite as well on the second
day (knowing what Aloysius is clearly capable of).
With this result, Matthew has indeed won himself a
hard earned place in the national team! Congratulations and
well done Matthew!! Also well done to Aloysius for all his
effort and successes throughout the year (see earlier reports
below).
Matthew joins other juniors from Warwickshire who
have recently qualified to play for the national chess teams (see
earlier reports below) - Richard Weaving who has just this week been
confirmed as finishing in 3rd place in the John Robinson Under 16
Grand Prix - and Astghik Stepanyan who won the right to represent
England's U16 Girls in the World Youth Chess
Championships.
(Announced on 24 April 2010) Bloxwich
Community Church Junior Chess Club in Walsall, Staffordshire starts
on Saturday 12 June 2010
Venue: Bloxwich Community Church, Stokes Street (off Somerfield
Road), Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 2DT
Club President: Pastor Neville Johnson
Tel: 01543 376328
Junior Coach: Ray Dolan
Mobile: 07980 101744
Email: dolan_ray@yahoo.co.uk
Starting on Saturday 12 June 2010 and then every week on Saturday
mornings 10.00am - 11.30am. All juniors from 4 to 16 years of
age are welcome. Membership is FREE! Coaching is
FREE! Venue is FREE! - thanks to the Church.
With so much for FREE, what more could you want?? This is a
great opportunity for juniors to receive coaching. Ray has a
lot of experience in running junior clubs.
British Land UK Chess Challenge
Worcestershire Megafinal in Worcester, Worcestershire on 18 April
2010
There were eighteen title winners and qualifiers
from Warwickshire schools and junior clubs at this megafinal,
including from: Acocks Green Junior School, Checkmate!, World's End
Junior School, Hall Green Junior School, King Edward's School, King
Edward VI Five Ways School and King Edward VI Camp Hill
School.
With nine of those eighteen players from
Warwickshire winning a Worcestershire junior
county champion title (Supremo for boys and Suprema for girls) in
this year's tournament. Title winners qualify to play in the
next stage, along with all other players scoring 4 or more
points.
The next stage is almost as tough as it gets!!
In the Gigafinal, they will be up against the top junior chess
players in their age group at a national level. They will
need to succeed against the very best players from all of the
Midlands, Northern England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern
Ireland.
Note: U18 results revised following publication on
the Worcestershire Megafinal website.
Combined Under 13 - 18 section (with tied scores
ordered by ascending age):
Kaiser Malik
qualified in the U18s with 5.5 / 6 (Hors Concours)
Chris Smith won
the U18 Supremo title with 5 / 6
Kyle Reed won the U14 Supremo title with 4 /
6
Katie Smith won the U15 Suprema title
with 4 / 6
Philip Purcell won the U15 Supremo title on tie-break
with 4 / 6
Jason Pereira was runner-up in the U15s and
qualified with 4 / 6
Aled Walker was
runner-up on tie-break in the U18s and qualified with 4 /
6
Matthew Watkeys qualified in the U18s on 4 / 6
Felicity Parker won the U13 Suprema title with
3.5 / 6
Unnat Krishna won the
U17 Supremo title with 3 / 6
Sophia Emanuel won the U18 Suprema title with 2.5
/ 6
Under 11 - 12 section:
Aldrich Miguel scored 5 / 6 to win the U12 Supremo
title
Under 10 section:
Matthew Fergusson scored 6 / 6 to win the U10
Supremo title
Also qualifying were Cameron Westwood with 4.5 / 6
and Abdul Altaie with 4 / 6
Under 9 section:
Ibraheem Malik scored 5.5 / 6 to
take the U9 Supremo title, with Rashid Amin also qualifying with 4 /
6
Under 8 section:
Eleanor Parker scored 4 / 6 to
qualify
Congratulations to all Supremos, Supremas and
qualifiers!! Well done and good luck to you all in the
national Northern Gigafinal to be held in Dukinfield, Greater
Manchester in July.
In addition to the above eighteen players,
sixty-eight more juniors from Warwickshire schools and junior clubs
have also won titles or qualified from the Staffordshire and
Warwickshire Megafinals (see other reports).
Nottingham Congress in Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire on 17-18 April 2010
Nearly 150 players took part in this long running
chess tournament! There were (unsurprisingly) a few chess
players from Warwickshire
who joined in and several won a prize.
Open: Ankush Khandelwal (Warwick University),
Anthony Hynes (Warwickshire Select) and Don Mason (Shirley) all
scored 4 points to share in a 4-way tie for first place.
Minor (U110): A great performance from junior Ashwin
Kalyana (Solihull Checkmates) who finished 2nd with 4
points.
Congratulations to all the prize
winners!!
Staffordshire Congress in Bloxwich,
Staffordshire on 10-11 April 2010
A welcome return this year for one of our midland
congresses! Joining in to play chess over a warm and friendly
weekend, several players from Warwickshire
brought home prizes. Speaking of prizes, one great feature of
this tournament was there were a range of prizes on offer, allowing
more people than usual to go home with something to
celebrate!
Premier U200: Andy Baruch (Warwicks Select), Henry
Brockbank (Olton) and Russell James all scored 3 / 5 to be part of
an 8 way split sharing 3rd prize.
Major U160: Stephen Edwards (Boldmere St Michael)
and Stephen Chadaway (Olton) won the U150 grading prize after
scoring 3.5 / 5.
Minor U120: Kyle Reed (King Edward's Camp Hill
School) scored 3 / 5 to win the Junior Prize and John Pakenham
(Warley Quinborne) finished with 2.5 / 5 to take home the Veteran
Prize.
Well done everyone!!
European Chess Solving Championship in
Ascot, Berkshire on 9-12 April 2010
The first major international problem solving event
to be held in Britain for 20 years!! A total of 55 solvers and
13 teams took part. Rising to the occasion, our national
players managed a double home triumph! Great Britain A
won the team gold to become European Champions. And in the
individual event, England's own double GM (Solving and OTB) Dr John
Nunn won the trophy and gold medal. Brilliant news for
national chess!
National Chess Junior Squad Championships in
Wolverhampton, Staffordshire on 9-11 April 2010
Several juniors from Warwickshire
competed in this major national junior event as follows.
Prize place finishers:
U12:
Leo Tsoi (Checkmate!) finished 1st= with 5 / 6
U16: Richard
Weaving (Solihull Checkmates) finished 2nd with 4.5 /
6
This places Richard 3rd in the overall U16 John
Robinson Grand Prix.
Scores of over 50% count towards England Team
selection via the John Robinson Grand Prix and/or the U11 Team
Trials:
U12: Aloysius Lip with 3.5 /
6
U16: Henrik Stepanyan with 3.5 / 6
Other players who took part:
U10: Andrew Fergusson with 2 / 6, Aroun Kalyana (Solihull
Checkmates) with 1 / 6
U12: Ashwin
Kalyana (Solihull Checkmates) with 2.5 / 6, Matthew Fergusson
(Solihull Checkmates) with 1 / 6
U14: Philomena Lip with 1.5 /
6
Congratulations and well done to all of
you!!!
IAPS National Prep Schools' Championships in
Godalming, Surrey on 7-9 April 2010
Held at Aldro school during the Easter end of term
holidays, the championships featured chess, as well as other games
and sports. 125 chess players from across the country took
part in the championship, individual and team events.
Junior teams and players from Warwickshire
did extremely well.
In the team event, Hallfield School (coached by
Malcolm Hunt) competed in the U11 Team Championship for the David
Bull Cup, and in the U13 Team Championship for the Hodgson
Cup. Hallfield School emerged as joint National Champions(!!)
in both cup championships after scoring 18.5 / 28. The
top 4 scores counted and Hallfield players did very well with
Aloysius Lip scoring 5.5, Ashwin Kalyana and Matthew Fergusson 4.5
each, with Aaron Vitarana and Hari Nijjar 4 each.
And as if that wasn't enough, Aloysius Lip is joint
winner of the IAPS U11 Championship with 5.5 / 7 !!
Also I'm told it wasn't just chess where Hallfield
excelled, as they rounded their sporting performance by coming
second in both the 5-a-side football and in the individual table
tennis competitions.
A magnificent performance by everyone! Well
done!!
Bolton Easter Chess Congress in Bolton,
Lancashire on 2-4 April 2010
Three day five round tournament featuring three
sections: Open Championship with a British Championships Qualifying
place, Major, and Knights. Plus an eight round Busy Persons
Blitz. This Easter congress had something for everybody.
Two players from Warwickshire fared North to
play in the Open. Don Mason (Shirley) and Andy Baruch
(Warwicks) both scored 3.5 / 5 to finish 4th= out of 31
players. Well done!!
4NCL Divisions 2 & 3 Rounds 7 &
8 in Daventry, Northamptonshire on 27-28 March
2010
Division 2:
In Round 7 of Division 2B, Warwickshire Select
1 unfortunately lost their match 2.5 vs 5.5 against
e2e4 1. Nevertheless, Round 8 saw Warwickshire Select 1
move into the Championship Pool, where they won
their second match of the weekend 5 vs 2.5 against Barbican 4NCL
Youth, with full points for the team coming from Nick Thomas, Paul
Webster, Andy Baruch and Keith Ingram.
Following these rounds, Warwickshire Select 1 are
now placed 4th in the Division 2 Championship Pool table on 5
points. Their next game is in the closing rounds of this
season's league on 1 May. They will play
their closest rivals in the Championship Pool
table, who are also on 5 points, the 3rd placed and rather scarily
named Sambuca Sharks?! Go Warwickshire!
Division 3:
In Round 7, wins from Richard Weaving and
Astghik Stepanyan (recently qualified for the World Youth
Championships - see earlier report below) helped the Warwickshire
Select 2 team secure a 3.5 vs 2.5 win against e2e4 2. A great
result(!) and no doubt with a little sweet taste for Warwickshire as
it balanced the opposite result in Division 2B. In Round 8, another victory followed from Warwickshire Select
2 as they scored 4 vs 2 against Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg. Richard
Weaving got his second win of the weekend and, not to be left out,
there were accompanying wins from teammates Jeremy Fallowfield, Mark
Page and Nicholas Fallowfield.
These two match victories allowed Warwickshire
Select 2 to move up from 4th place to the top of Division 3 on
13 points. Well done team!!
Vasily Smyslov 7th World Chess Champion
passed away aged 89 on 27 March 2010
International news isn't something normally
featured, however the passing of a World Champion is very
different. Tribute has already been paid by 10th World Chess
Champion, Boris Spassky. "Vasily was one of the great chess
geniuses of the twentieth century", said Spassky. "For me there were
four titans of chess in the Soviet Union after the Second World War:
Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres and Bronstein." See special features
in memoriam in TWIC, ChessVibes, Chessbase and the ECF.
Play through five of Smyslov's
great games in the Analysis Area of
The Four Knights Cafe, two of which having caught the special
attention of Gary Kasparov!
Yateley Manor ECF National Schools
Championship Round 1 in Oxford on 24 March 2010
King Edward's School qualified for the national
stages of the Championship after victory in the Last Chance Saloon
North. Round 1 of the Championship saw the boys play away
against Magdalen College School.
King Edward's six boards scored 3.5 vs Magdalen's
2.5 to win the match. Victory was helped
with a win from Team Captain Kaiser Malik against Magdalen's captain
Jeffrey Levicki, and with wins from Arron Dhesi, and Jaspal
Jheeta. A great result from all the boys -
well done!!
In the next stage, King Edward's will play at home against Haberdashers' A in
the Championship Quarter Finals, with Haberdashers' A having
beaten Fortismere School by 4 vs 2 in Round
1.
Manchester Rapidplay in East Manchester on
21 March 2010
Held in the superb Citizen's Suite at Manchester
City FC's ground at SportCity (built for the 2002 Commonwealth
Games). The event was opened by local MP Tony Lloyd, and a
Mayor from Kosovo who gave a friendly and enthusiastic opening
speech, declaring it as an international tournament (given several
players were from Kosovo).
Players competing from Warwickshire were:
John Pitcher (South Birmingham), former Junior
England International chess player and Worcestershire's reigning
Open Champion, entered a strong Open section featuring eight
players with grades between 190 and 220. John finished on 4.5
/ 6 and shared first prize cash with three other players. John
also collected the trophy for 3rd place on tie breaks.
Kyle Reed (King Edward's Camp Hill School) scored
4.5 / 6 to share third prize cash in the U120 section. Kyle
also won the trophy for Best Junior in the tournament.
Well done to you both!!
Update to ECF Grading Database on 21 March
2010
Ongoing corrections to players' details and game
results has resulted in a change to a small number of grades.
Click here to
find out your grade and to make sure your details are fully complete
and correct.
MCCU Inter-County Under 160 Championship
Match in Spondon, Derbyshire on 20 March
2010
Great result to finish the season!
Warwickshire's U160 Team captained by John Fahy, won 9.5 vs 6.5 at
home to Leicestershire. Victory in this last match of the
regional MCCU Open championship meant Warwickshire moved up to
finish in fourth place in the final standings. Click
here for full details of the match and the
final championship table.
MCCU Inter-County Under 140 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 20 March
2010
Another great result in the closing match of the
season! Warwickshire's U140 Team captained by Dave Brelsforth,
even with two boards defaulted, drew 8 vs 8 away to
Derbyshire. This draw in the last match of the regional MCCU
U140 championship kept Warwickshire in fourth place in the final
table. Click here for full details of the
match and the final championship table.
English Primary Schools' Chess Association
(EPSCA) Inter-Association U11 Championship Southern Zone in Oxford,
Oxfordshire on 20 March 2010
There were eight regional teams in this event,
including strong counties like Berkshire, Sussex and
Oxfordshire. Birmingham did well finishing 6th with 25.5
points, unfortunately just missing out on a place in the final, but
qualifying for the Plate. Well done to everyone who took
part!
e2e4 Uxbridge Congress in Denham,
Buckinghamshire on 19-21 March 2010
Two players from Warwickshire had
great performances. Richard Smith (Olton)
finished 2nd with 4 / 5 in the Major, and Andrew
Wiggins (Greenlands) finished 1st= with 4 / 5 in the
Intermediate. Congratulations and well
done!! Yateley Manor ECF
National Schools Plate Championship Round 1 in Woodbridge, Suffolk
on 16 March 2010
King Edward VI Camp Hill Boys School (managed
by Andrew Rogers - legend of Birmingham senior school chess!)
entered the Plate after finishing as Runners Up in the Birmingham,
Oxford & More zone. Round 1 of the Plate saw the boys make
a 6.5 hour 350 mile journey to play a one day chess match
against Woodbridge School (managed and coached by IM Adam Hunt -
sibling of WGM Harriet Hunt, England's Top Woman Chess Player - see
earlier report below).
Shaking off any weariness from the outward journey,
Camp Hill's six boards scored 3.5 vs Woodbridge's 2.5 to secure
the result. Victory was helped with wins from Team Captain
Aled Walker, and Kyle Reed.
Aled's win is perhaps worth a special mention, since
Aled defeated Edward Venmore-Rowland. "Hmmm, okay...??" I hear
you say. Well yes because last season Edward beat none other
than Felix Jose Ynojosa - top England Junior International in the
World Youth Championships and overall winner (STRAT) of the massive
2009 UK Chess Challenge!! Don't believe
me? Well I was there to see it, but you can play through
Edward's victory over Felix in the Analysis Area of the Four Knights Cafe and see for yourself.
Clive Ke on board two also faced a tough and experienced opponent in
Anna Egorova. Anna plays for the Anglian Avengers in Division
2A of the 4NCL and has just finished 4th in the Girls U18 section of
the World Youth Trials! Nevertheless Clive played very well
and held Anna to a draw.
Well done to Andrew and to all the boys for a great
result!! Camp Hill now proceed to the Plate
Quarter Finals where they will play at home against Eton College
(who beat Yateley Manor B in Round 1 by 6 vs 0).
World Youth Trials in Leicester,
Leicestershire on 13-14 March 2010
Warwickshire's Astghik Stepanyan achieved 1st place
in the U16 Girls section and qualifies to play for the England
Junior Team in the World Youth Chess Championships in Greece in
October 2010. Congratulations to Astghik on qualifying again
this year - another fantastic achievement!!
Other players from Warwickshire who played in the
trials were Aloysius Lip in the Boys U10 who finished 3rd!!
Leo Tsoi in the Boys U12 who finished 12th. And in the Boys
U16, Richard Weaving finished 7th and Henrik Stepanyan finished
13th.
Congratulations and well done to all of
you!
ECF National
County Championships Roundup following the MCCU matches on 13 March
2010
Having finished in second place in the regional MCCU
Open Championship (see news below), Warwickshire's First Team will
now play away against Sussex in the ECF national stage quarter
finals. Click here for more.
In the MCCU Under 180 Championship, Warwickshire
were early champions and will next play Lancashire at home in the
ECF quarter finals. Click here for more.
And in the Under 120, Warwickshire finished second
(see news below) in the regional championship and now go on to play
away against Kent in the national stages. Click here for
more.
And finally with Warwickshire being the only county
to enter the Under 100 regional stage we are the MCCU U100 Champions
by default. The U100 Team will get it's first game in
the national semi-finals(!) by playing at home against the
winner of Kent vs Yorkshire. Click here for
more.
All of the above forthcoming matches in the national
stages are all confirmed and now in the Calendar.
MCCU Inter-County Open Championship Match in
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire on 13 March
2010
Great result! Warwickshire's First Team
captained by Joey Stewart, won 9.5 vs 6.5 away to Greater
Manchester.
This victory in the last match of the regional MCCU
Open championship secured a second place finish for Warwickshire in
the final championship table.
Click
here for full details of the match and the final championship
table.
MCCU Inter-County Under 120 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 13 March
2010
Another great result! Warwickshire's U120 Team
won 6.5 vs 5.5 at home to Staffordshire Terriers.
This victory in the last match of the regional MCCU
Under 120 championship means that Warwickshire finish in 2nd place
(up from 4th) in the championship table, finishing just above
Nottinghamshire.
Click
here for details of the match and the final championship
table.
English Primary Schools' Chess Association
(EPSCA) Inter-Association U9 Championship Southern Zone in
Leatherhead, Surrey on 13 March 2010
There were eight regional teams in this event,
including strong counties like Sussex, Oxfordshire and
Berkshire. Birmingham did well finishing 6th with 12 points,
unfortunately just missing out on a place in the final, but
qualifying for the Plate. Well done to everyone taking
part!
English Chess Federation Board Meeting in
Birmingham, Warwickshire on 13 March 2010
If you play chess in Warwickshire
and have an interest in decisions that affect chess at a national or
county level, then Gordon Christie is the ECF delegate (representative) for
Warwickshire. If you want to contact Gordon about this click
here for details.
Warwickshire's own late great GM Tony Miles
on Radio ChessBase starting on 10 March 2010
Speaking below (see Millennium Chess report) of the
award in honour of the late GM Tony Miles. Tony was born and went
to school in Warwickshire
(don't forget Birmingham was part of Warwickshire for nearly a
thousand years right up to 1974). Tony helped coach juniors at
the Checkmate! junior club in Quinton, including local players Ameet
Ghasi (a British Rapidplay record breaker and
Warwickshire's youngest champion), Sabrina Chevannes and
others. The result is that our own Checkmate! club became
probably the strongest junior club in all of England!!! Well
if you have a subscription to Playchess (which
includes those of you who bought the full price version of Fritz 12)
then you can listen to FM Dennis Monokroussos's two training
sessions covering Tony's fascinating battles against the 12th World
Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov. If you miss the live broadcasts
on Radio ChessBase on 10 & 17 March 2010, I believe you can
watch them later. Click here to find out more.
Blackpool Congress in Blackpool, Lancashire
on 6-7 March 2010
Following his finish of 3rd= in our recent
Warwickshire Congress U125, James Mendes (Rugby) is again a
prize winner - this time at Blackpool. James finished 2nd=
with 4/5 in the Standard (U100) section. Well
done!
Millennium Chess Junior Chess Tournament at
King Henry VIII Preparatory School in Coventry, Warwickshire on
6 March 2010
This new junior tournament organised by Nick Thomas
and incorporating the Warwickshire Closed Junior Championships, has
been a great success in it's first year with about 150 children
taking part! Click here for
the winners and a report on the event. Well done to each of
the winners, also to everyone else who took part. And
a special congratulations to Chris Smith
(King Edward's Five Ways School) who received the Tony Miles
Award and who incidentally attends the junior club that Tony helped
coach at (see below for more).
(Announced on 5 March 2010) The
Birmingham Rapidplay in Birmingham, Warwickshire will be held on 24
October 2010
The date for this popular local rapidplay has been
decided, so make a note in your diary! It will take place
on Sunday 24 October 2010. Yes, it's slightly later than
usual. This is because of a clash with a new 4NCL event that
has started this year. See the Calendar
for further details.
(Announced on 2 March 2010) Who's the
Best?
Chess player that is. In England. Well
the March FIDE list has just come out and Michael Adams (2704) has snatched back the top
spot from Nigel Short (2686), followed by younger players Luke McShane (2628) and 19 year old David Howell (2612). All four of these
played in the recent London Chess Classic reported earlier (see
below). Harriet Hunt (2452) remains the leading woman,
followed by Jovanka Houska (2392), Dagne Ciuksyte (2344) and Susan Lalic (2298).
And the best in the world is still the 19 year old
Magnus Carlsen (2813). Special stuff -
especially for a 19 year old! Magnus's rating/grade is the
second highest ever in the history of chess!!
(Announced on 1 March 2010) ECF Master
Points System
The English Chess Federation (ECF) have adjusted the
qualification limits required to get a master title, presumably
following the introduction of the new grades in September. You
can apply for a title - they only cost 5 pounds each - if you are a
direct member (any category) of the ECF. Plus you then need to
meet the criteria based on your ECF grade - check yours here. For example, to get the title of 'Team
Master' a player must achieve a grade of at least 120 on any ECF
official grading list.
British Universities' Chess Association
(BUCA) Championship 2010 in Oxford, Oxfordshire on 27-28
February 2010
Although just recently revived and organised within
a short period of time, the organiser Alex Holowczak (Warley
Quinborne and Aston University) managed to get 14 universities to
play - a fantastic number considering. The event saw Bath 1
taking the title on 9 points, beating Edinburgh (also on 9 points)
into 2nd place with the decider down to game points of 18 vs
16. Oxford followed in 3rd place with 7 points. Local
teams from Warwickshire taking part were Warwick University who
finished 9th with 4 points, just ahead of Aston University in 8th
(also on 4 points) with the higher finish position decided by game
points of 10.5 vs 8.5. With more time to organise and
advertise for next year, it would be good to see even more teams
playing - including from Warwickshire. Really good to see
these championships back. Well done Alex!
MCCU Inter-County Under 160 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 27 February
2010
The Warwickshire U160 Team won 11 vs 5 at home to
Greater Manchester. Well done to everyone involved!
Click
here to read the report, results and updated
championship table.
National Primary Schools Chess Championships
(NPSCC) Birmingham Zone in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 27 February
2010
Seven primary schools took part in the Under 11
championship, including Hallfield, Blue Coat, Chad Vale (fielding
two teams), Worlds End Junior, St Patricks Catholic Primary,
Aardvarks and St Georges CE. Four school teams qualified for
the next stage. Hallfield, coached by Malcolm Hunt, finished
in clear 1st place with 24.5 points, ahead of runners-up Blue Coat
on 16.5 points, closely followed by Chad Vale A on 15 points, and
Chad Vale B on 11.5 points.
Four primary schools took part in the Under 9
championship, including Hallfield (two teams), Blue Coat, Chad Vale
(again fielding two teams) and Aardvarks. Three teams
qualified for the next stage. Hallfield A, under the tutelage
of junior coach Malcolm Hunt, finished in clear 1st place with 22
points, ahead of second placed Blue Coat on 17.5 points, and Chad
Vale A on 14.5 points.
Well done to the qualifying teams, and to everyone
who took part in playing, coaching and
organising!!
4NCL Divisions 2 & 3 Rounds 5 & 6 in
Hinckley, Leicestershire on 20-21 February
2010
Division 2B: In Round 5 Warwickshire Select 1
won their match 6 vs 2 against FCA Solutions 1.
Warwickshire Select were only beaten on one board, so this was a
great team result! And in Round 6, Warwickshire Select 1 went
on to win their second match of the weekend 4.5 vs 3.5 against
Cheddleton, with wins from John Pitcher, Brandon Clarke and Paul
Webster helping to secure victory! Warwickshire Select 1 head
the Division 2B table on 10 points, ahead of Cheddleton, e2e4.org.uk
1 and Celtic Tigers 1 all on 8 points. Fantastic
results!!
Division 3: In Round 5 a win from Carl
Pickering plus three other draws was unfortunately not enough and so
Warwickshire Select 2 lost 2.5 vs 3.5 against KJCA Kings. And
in Round 6, Warwickshire Select 2 win 3 vs 0 against Nottinghamshire
1 - another great result!! Warwickshire Select 2 are currently
in 4th place in the Division 3 table on 9 points - joint with the
3rd place team - and only 1 point behind the 1st and 2nd place teams
who are both on 10 points.
MCCU Inter-County Under 120 Championship
Match on 20 February 2010
The Warwickshire U120 Team lost 5 vs 7 away to
Leicestershire. With just one match left to play this season,
Warwickshire drop from 2nd place down to 4th in the championship due
to game points. Click
here to see the report, results and updated
championship table.
Warwickshire Open in Solihull,
Warwickshire on 13-14 February 2010
Many local players from across Warwickshire emerged
victorious! Congratulations to John Naylor (Rugby) for taking
the title of Warwickshire Champion 2010, winning the Tucker Trophy,
and securing a place in the British Chess Championships
2010. A particular well done to John-Paul Taylor (Warwick
University) who with a grade of just 85(!!) scored a perfect 5/5 in
the Under 125 section. Unsurprisingly, some amazing chess was
played at this year's congress! Also good to see several new
entrants from Warwickshire schools taking part. On behalf
of the WCA, thank you to everyone who played and we look forward to
seeing you again next year! Click here for the report,
prizewinners, full results, pictures and games, which are all now
available.
Wiltshire Junior Open & West of England
Junior Championships in Swindon, Wiltshire on 13-14 February
2010
Some outstanding performances by juniors from
Warwickshire. Leo Tsoi (England Junior International and
member of Checkmate! junior club in Quinton, Birmingham) scored
5.5/6 to become the new West of England Under 12 Champion.
Aroun Kalyana (Solihull Checkmates junior club) finished equal
second with 5/7 in the Under 8 Championship. Aroun also
scooped the Grading Prize in the Saturday Intermediate event.
And not to be left out, Neddy Tsoi won a Controller's Medal in the
Beginners event. Congratulations and well
done to all of you!! This is another major national
junior event, the fourth of five events in the John Robinson Grand
Prix, used to select the England Team for the European Youth
Championships, and the sixth of seven events for players to qualify
to take part in the England Under 11 Team Selection
Trials.
14th Dudley Spectrum Chess Congress on 30-31
January 2010
Two Warwickshire players won prizes. Simon
Smith (Warley Quinborne) took the grading prize in the Premier U195
section with 2.5/5. And Phil Bull (West Bromwich), won first
prize in the Major U155 with 4.5/5.
South of England Junior Championships in
Yateley, Hampshire on 30-31 January
2010
Juniors from Warwickshire travelled down to
Hampshire to play in this important event and again did extremely
well. Philomena Lip (Solihull Checkmates) scored 3.5/5 to
finish second in the Under 15. Neddy Tsoi (Checkmate!) scored
3.5/6 in the Under 8. Aloysius Lip 3/5 in the U10
Closed. Matthew Fergusson (Checkmate!) scored 3/5 PQ in the
U11, which added to his 5 PQ in Liverpool, means that Matthew has
now also qualified to take part in the England Under 11 Team
Selection Trials. Andrew Fergusson scored 3/6 in the U9.
Aroun Kalyana (Solihull Checkmates) scored 2.5/6
in the Under 8. And Ashwin Kalyana scored 2/6 in the
Under 11. Congratulations and well done to all
of you!! This is a major national junior event, the third of
five events in the John Robinson Grand Prix, used to select the
England Team for the European Youth Championships. It is also
the fifth of seven events for players to qualify to take part in the
England Under 11 Team Selection Trials.
MCCU Inter-County Open Championship Match in
Birmingham, Warwickshire on 30 January 2010
The Warwickshire First Team won 11 vs 5 at home to
Derbyshire, to move into second place. Click
here to read the report and
results.
21st Nottingham Rapidplay on 24 January
2010
K Gilbert (Shirley) took the grading prize in the
Intermediate U135 section with 4/6. And junior Aloysius Lip
(Checkmate!) shared first prize in the Minor U110 with
5/6.
MCCU Inter-County Under 160 Championship
Match on 23 January 2010
The Warwickshire U160 Team lost 4.5 vs 11.5 away to
Staffordshire. Click
here to read the report, results and updated
championship table.
MCCU Inter-County Under 120 Championship
Match on 23 January 2010
The Warwickshire U120 Team lost 5.5 vs 6.5 away
to Staffordshire Bulldogs. Click here to read the report and results.
EPSCA Rapidplay Championship in Liverpool,
Merseyside on 16 January 2010
This is the fourth of seven events from which
players can qualify to take part in the England Under 11 Team
Selection Trials. Juniors from Warwickshire did very well
indeed. Andrew Fergusson (of the famous Checkmate! junior club
in Quinton, Birmingham) scored a perfect(!!) 7/7 in the U8
competition. And from the U10 section we
have the following results. Matthew Fergusson (Checkmate!) and
Ashwin Kalyana (Checkmate!) both scored 5/6 to Part Qualify
(PQ). And finally, Aloysius Lip (Checkmate!) scored 4.5/6 PQ,
which added to his previous scores of 3 PQ in Nottingham and 4 PQ in
Halifax, means that Aloysius has now qualified for the trials.
Congratulations and well done to all of
you!!
Latest ECF Rapidplay Grades on 10 January
2010
The half-yearly update to the ECF Rapidplay grades
are now available. Click here to check your new rapidplay grade in
the ECF Grading Database. Note that some tournaments will
continue to use the grades from September 2009, so do check on the
entry form.
10th Wrekin Congress in Telford,
Shropshire on 9-10 January 2010
Players from Warwickshire, dubbed as the 'outsiders'
by folks in Shropshire - went, saw and plundered! Braving the
winter freeze to loot this popular annual congress were Russell
James (South Birmingham) who came joint second in the Premier U211
section, along with junior Kyle Reed (King Edward VI Camp Hill
School) who shared the prize for best junior with 3/5.
London Christmas Congress in Harrow,
Middlesex on 28-30 December 2009
A junior just into his second year of playing chess,
Kyle Reed (King Edward VI Camp Hill School) shared the grading prize
in the Minor U125 with 4/6.
MCCU Inter-County Under 140 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 12 December
2009
The Warwickshire U140 Team won 11 vs 5 at home
to Nottinghamshire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
London Chess Classic at Olympia in
Kensington, Middlesex on 8-15 December 2009
A promising junior from the county, Aloysius Lip
(member of the famous Checkmate! junior club in Quinton, Birmingham)
scored 3.5/6 to take first place in the Under 10 section of the
English Junior Rapidplay Championships. Well done Aloysius in
gaining this national junior title! And just missing out on a
prize, John Pitcher (South Birmingham and 4NCL's Warwickshire
Select), the reigning Worcestershire Open Champion and a former
Junior England International chess player, scored 4/6 in a tough
Open section of the Classic Rapidplay event. Click
here for more information on the biggest event in English Chess
for 25 years.
MCCU Inter-County Under 160 Championship
Match on 5 December 2009
The Warwickshire U160 Team lost 5 vs 11 away to
Nottinghamshire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
MCCU Inter-County Under 140 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 28 November
2009
Warwickshire's U140 team lost 7 vs 9 at home to
Worcestershire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
MCCU Inter-County Under 180 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 21 November
2009
Warwickshire became the first county to win one of
the MCCU championships this year, after the U180 County Team brought
home the U180 title with a 9.5 vs 6.5 win at home against
Nottingham. Well done to everyone involved! Click here to read a
report from Captain John Fahy (Warley Quinborne) and to see the
match results in full.
MCCU Inter-County Under 120 Championship
Match on 21 November 2009
The Warwickshire U120 Team won 7 vs 5 away to
Worcestershire on 21 November 2009. Click here to read
the report and results.
MCCU Inter-County Under 160 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 7 November
2009
The Warwickshire U160 Team lost 5.5 vs 10.5 at
home to Shropshire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
MCCU Inter-County Under 140 Championship
Match in Birmingham, Warwickshire on 31 October
2009
Warwickshire's U140 team lost 4 vs 12 at home to
Staffordshire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
MCCU Inter-County Under 120 Championship
Match on 17 October 2009
The Warwickshire U120 Team won as a result of
Nottinghamshire conceding the match.
MCCU Inter-County Open Championship Match on
10 October 2009
The Warwickshire First Team lost 6 vs 10 away to
Staffordshire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
MCCU Inter-County Under 140 Championship
Match on 3 October 2009
Warwickshire's U140 team won 12 vs 4 away to
Shropshire. Click
here to read the report and
results.
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