Team Buzzer

Broadstairs ‘A’: Bob P, Nick, David , Paul

All hail the conquering heroes! Broadstairs ‘A’ won the Team Buzzer for only the second time since 1990 with a storming performance against all the other…er…two teams (one of which was Broadstairs ‘B’).  It was disappointing that none of the other Thanet League teams turned up but well played Broadstairs in managing not only to be there but to put out two teams. Indeed, as Colin Gregory wryly pointed out early in the evening, it looked as if only two teams turned up and Margate would come third.

For those unfamiliar with the format of the Team Buzzer, it is quite simple.  Once players are paired, a buzzer sounds every ten seconds and players must move on the buzzer – not before and not after or you lose the game. An illegal move also results in a loss as does failure to recognise a check when the king can be taken and the game ends.

     Broadstairs ‘B’: Jordan, Bob C, Tim, Viktor

It was decided that the competition would be an all-play-all double round and the ‘A’ team began with an excellent 3½-½ win against Margate but round two between the two Broadstairs teams saw the first surprise when Tim beat David on Board 1. Fortunately, the other three ‘A’ team boards managed to hold on for a 2½-1½ victory and the last two rounds were 4-0 formalities. The ‘B’ team did not disgrace themselves and it was a good evening for the Selyukovs as Viktor also managed to win a game, defeating Clive Le Baigue. Indeed, Viktor proved to be a tough opponent in all his matches, achieving an excellent draw in the first game with Paul Carfrae. 

The last time Broadstairs won the Team Buzzer was in 2012, once again with an ‘A’ team consisting of David Horton, David Faldon, Nick McBride and Ian Hames. Before that we have to go back to 1990 when Broadstairs won with Mac Greaves, Bob Page, Hugh Hosking and Alek Zielinski. Many thanks to all those who played and the trophy will be presented at the Thanet AGM in July.

                                                              Final Table

Pts Game Pts
Broadstairs A 8 14
Margate 4 7.5
Broadstairs B  0 2.5
                                                              

 

Walker Shield v Herne Bay (a)

Broadstairs  3         Herne Bay  1 

1 Reg Pidduck (107) ½-½    Paul Johnson (113)
2 Bob Cronin (103) 1-0    Ronnie Melhuish (96)
3 Michael Doyle (90) 1-0     John Heath (48)
4 default ½-½     default

Reg Pidduck writes:

By a coincidence both teams turned up one player short which ensured everyone got a game and the match began with each side on half a point for the default.

BOARD 1. DOWN TO THE LAST PAWN. Paul Johnson’s Sicilian Defence paid off as he forced me back and it was only in the middle game that I was able to swap off and get down to a pawn ending. Five pawns each, then four, three, two then one each, both on my h-file. Paul got there first but I was able to get my king to h1 and hold for a draw. An exciting game (thanks Paul).   Score now 1-1

BOARD 3. QUEEN FOR TWO ROOKS. The swap left our Michael with the two rooks which he used to full advantage while John Heath’s queen was the other side of the board making its own threats. The two rooks paid off and Michael won.  2-1 to us

BOARD 2. SOLID BOB. Game Ronnie Melhuish had to counter so many threats from our Bob that in the end after a queen swap off, Bob was left with three passed pawns and Ronnie resigned.   A 3-1 win for our final game.

Played 8  Won 3  Drew 4  Lost 1.  A good season but unable to hold on to the Walker Shield. Thanks to all the team and congratulations to Margate.

And thanks to Reg, Andy (Hargreaves Shield captain) and David (Millar Cup captain) for their entertaining match reports this season. (Ed) 

Walker Shield v Woodnesborough (h)

Broadstairs  3         Woodnesborough  1 

1 Reg Pidduck (107) 1-0     David Erwee (108)
2 Bob Cronin (103) 1-0    Mark Towlson (101)
3 Michael Doyle (90) ½-½     Bryan Rodwell (90)
4 Michael Jenkinson  (83) ½-½     Susan Green (52)

Reg Pidduck writes:

BOARD 2.  ESCAPE PART 1 .  Our Bob, after losing an exchange fairly early on to quick-playing Mark Towlson, looked in peril until Mark gifted him a rook for nothing . Bob duly accepted and the roles were reversed. Bob then made no mistake and opened our account. 1-0 to us.

BOARD 1. ESCAPE PART 2.  David Erwee pressed me from the start, all my moves were defensive and my king was under threat from his queen and two knights. My only chance was to sac a knight to get a discovered check . This worked as David had to waste a move by moving his king. I was then lucky to find all the correct moves to get back with an advantage and David resigned. 2-0 to us

BOARD 4 . BLOCKED GAME. Michael J  and Susan Green  had hardly taken a piece off the board after one and a half hours so both sides were well and truly blocked in . After another hour a few pieces came off but still no progress so a draw was agreed and Michael gave us the half point to win the match. 2½-½ to us

BOARD 3. TO AND FRO. At first I thought our M.D. had the advantage . Then back came Bryan Rodwell . It see-sawed like this until a draw was agreed. 3 – 1 win for Broadstairs.

Well done team and thanks to the Woody team. We now have two wins four draws and one loss with one to play in the Walker Shield.

 

Summer Swiss 2017

The Summer Swiss is a long-standing competition for Broadstairs members to keep them busy once league and championship games have been completed. Not everyone enters as there are five rounds and with three bank holidays occurring between now and the end of the season – the club is open but some members prefer to give chess a miss on bank holidays – those with five or more Goodall (championship) games still to play tend to opt out. Ideally, the competition probably needs at least twelve players to make it work but the difference with the Summer Swiss is that there is no prize for the winner! Instead, there is a grading prize for the best performance so uneven pairings are not a major problem and, anyway, as we are always told, it’s only a game….The draw for Round 1 has been made and matches have to be played by May 15.

Round 1

Reg Pidduck (107) v Nick McBride (171)
Bob Page  (141) v Michael Doyle  (90)
Michael Jenkinson (83) v Paul Carfrae (131)
John Couzens (125) v Fredy Reber (e50)
Jordan Leach (46) v Andy Flood (117)

 

 

 

Millar Cup v Margate (a)

Broadstairs  2         Margate   5 

1 Nick McBride (171) 1-0         Peter McGill (150)
2 Bob Page (141) 0-1        Harry Sharples (150)
3 Paul Carfrae (131) 0-1         John Thorley (142)
4 John Couzens (125) 0-1         Colin Gregory (106)
5 Andy Flood (117) 0-1         Clive Le Baigue (105)
6 Reg Pidduck (107) ½-½         Leon Garfield (102)
7 Bob Cronin (103) ½-½         John Clarke (94)

Bob Page writes:

Broadstairs’ Millar Cup campaign for the 2016/17 season ended in disappointment with a comprehensive defeat by Margate, the same team we had beaten comfortably only three days earlier. On reflection we were probably doomed from the start as at 7.30 only four of our team were present. Mr X – some names have been changed to protect the innocent (and the guilty) – forgot there was a match which would be a problem in itself. Unfortunately, he was the designated driver for two other members of our team which meant that Mr Y and Mr Z were also late. Consequently it was almost 8.00 before all seven games were up and running. As far as the chess was concerned, Nick won an exchange early on and gradually asserted his authority, beating Peter for the second time in a week. The only other game where we appeared to have an advantage was on Board 7 where Bob C had a slight edge but accepted a draw.  John seemed to have good compensation (three pawns) for a piece but Colin fought back and the game was lost. Andy was in familiar time trouble against Clive and this told in the end, Paul had a tight game where one pawn made all the difference as it did with Bob P’s game on Board 2. Reg took a draw against Leon with the match lost. On reflection, the team did not play badly and were simply beaten by better players on the night. One consolation is that with a better record against Margate in all three competitions, Broadstairs retain the Thanet Shield.