Club Championship latest

When 22 players enter an all-play-all club championship, some imagination is required to ensure that all the games are played, especially when league matches, the club knockout competition, the five-round Summer Swiss and the annual Blitz tournament are also taken into account.  It helps that our season runs until August and we weren’t to know that two players would drop out for different reasons. The solution was hardly revolutionary, but it was not something we had done before: timetable each round. The problem in the past that was (a) not all players were pro-active when it came to arranging games and (b) some players would not turn up on the off chance on a club night if they had no game. Consequently, games were sometimes left unplayed and if we were to play 21 games in a season alongside everything else, the solution was to timetable games, so everyone knew when they were playing.

With 13 of the likely 19 rounds played, we are two-thirds of the way through the competition and it seems to be working.  Club nights are busy and although there have been some postponements and a few players are behind the run-rate as it were, several games have been brought forward so we have a strange situation where one or two players are still in single figures in games played while others have notched up over thirteen games and Michael Jenkinson has played 16. The reason it works, of course, is that the onus for arranging games has been taken from the players and assumed by one all-powerful dictator but it’s a benevolent dictatorship.

But who is winning, you may ask? A glance at the excellent ECF LMS which now has 52 leagues and 35 clubs under its umbrella – it is a mystery to this writer why all the chess leagues in the country are not using the same system – shows that the defending champion, David Faldon, has a 100% record but he still has to play his two closest rivals, Trefor Owens and Arnaud Wisman. Full details can be found here.

It seems appropriate to feature a game from the club championship, but those submitted for Game of the Week have already appeared which only leaves my games, most of which are x-rated. However, take a look at this ending which demonstrates two things: (a) the sort of mistakes I have been making and (b) how well Fredy has been playing.  What follows from Black could qualify as Blunder of the Week but that would not be fair to Fredy who played well throughout the game which had been level for some time. We join it after Black has just played 36….Qd5.

White:  Fredy Reber (63)    Black:  Robert Page (133)

Goodall Cup

White now played 37. Qg5 offering an exchange of queens. This was a mistake and I could sense a clear win. The game continued:

37………..Qxg5

  1. hxg5    f6
  2. f4        fxg5
  3. fxg5    Kf7
  4. Kf2      Ke6
  5. Ke3     Kf5
  6. Kd3     Kxg5?!

This was careless. According to Stockfish, Black can still mate in 20 but 43…..Kg4 was better.

  1. Kc4      Kg4??

A blunder that loses the half-point. Not only does Black waste a crucial tempo but it puts the king on the square that will allow White to queen with check so although Black will come out of these exchanges a pawn up, it will count for nothing because he has lost two tempi and his newly crowned queen will become a hopeless spectator. The correct move was, of course, 44…..h4. Black’s winning chances have gone from mate in 20 to -1.33 at best. White was not going to waste his chance.

  1. Kxc5     Kxg3
  2. b4         h4
  3. b5         h3
  4. b6         h2
  5. b7         h1 (Q)
  6. b8 (Q) +   Kg4
  7. Qc8

And a draw was agreed soon afterwards.

 

Game of the Week

This latest Game of the Week is the crucial deciding game in Monday’s Walker Shield match between Broadstairs and the runaway leaders, Bridge. Having won all seven matches of their matches so far with only three to go, victory for the Bridge team here would have been a major step towards becoming Walker Shield champions for this season which, of course, may still happen. However, it was a must-win match for Broadstairs if we were to maintain our slim chance of becoming champions ourselves. With the scores level, everything rested on the result of the board 1 game between Andy Flood and Peter Blundell. Both players were in good form but it was fortunate for us that Andy came out on top on this occasion. Peter readily admitted afterwards that it ‘must have been my worst effort all season!’ and he deserves great credit for agreeing to let us feature the game. Full credit to Andy, though, for an excellent win and his fine form continues.

White:  Andrew Flood (115)    Black:  Peter Blundell (115)

Walker Shield v Bridge

Walker Shield v Bridge (a)

                                                 Broadstairs   2½      Bridge 1½                       

1 Andy Flood (115) 1-0 Peter Blundell (115)
2 Reg Pidduck (99) 0-1 Gary Hilleard (107)
3 Bob Cronin (90) ½-½ John Dickie (e90)
4 Mike Doyle  (87) 1-0 Ian Redmond (81)

Mike Doyle writes:

Going into this match, Bridge were flying high with seven wins out of seven but suffered a defeat against a well-drilled Broadstairs team. Bridge were going all out for the Walker Shield until Andy, President of the Thanet Chess League, and our captain Mike clinched wins to secure a 2½-1½ victory.

We arrived ten minutes late because our driver Andy took a re-directed route due to flooding and road maintenance. Our opponents did not press the clocks on time, thank goodness, and the match started out with a draw for Bob. He was frustrated after the game because he had a win against newcomer John with two pawns ahead but squandered his pawns in the end game. On the other hand, Reg, President of the Broadstairs Chess Club, had a tricky opponent in Gary Hilleard, who lost to him last season. Gary, playing White, amassed a pawn structure in the middle of the board and ground down Reg’s Dutch Defence.

At this stage Bridge were a point up, well on the way to winning the shield, but our captain, Mike, got the match squared up with a win against Ian Redmond, a neurologist consultant, who was all at sea with his pieces. He threw away his bishop and I capitalized with a queen and rook invading his king and he resigned. It was all up to Andy on the top board, who lost to Peter Blundell last season with both grades tied. Playing White, Andy was full throttle at the outset with his opponent’s king playing walkabout. He resigned after Andy checked with a rook on the seventh rank about to lose his bishop.

Reg said that after the match if Bridge and Folkestone lost one of their matches, Broadstairs had a chance of winning the Walker Shield with a match behind. Before the match I predicted ‘tables will turn’. Unlucky to Bridge for a well-fought match and here’s hoping that Broadstairs will win the remaining matches and bring home the Walker Shield.

Steele Cup v Woodnesborough (h)

                                      Broadstairs   2½      Woodnesborough    1½                       

1 Trefor Owens (164) ½-½ Harry Sharples (149)
2 Bob Page (133) ½-½ John Thorley (120)
3 John Couzens (108) 1-0 Mark Towlson (101)
4 Bob Cronin (90) ½-½ Michael Davies (93)

Paul Carfrae writes:

We welcomed Woodnesborough to Broadstairs for our latest Steele Cup match, looking for our first win in the competition. Harry always brings a competitive team even though we outgraded Woodnesborough on three of the four boards.

Bob C on board four was slightly outgraded by his opponent and had a tight, tatical game. With neither player wanting to give an inch, they agreed a draw. Next to finish was John on board three. He was playing Mark Towlson, who is renowned for his rapid rate of play. By the time I got to see the board, both players had a queen, rook, knight but John had a pawn advantage 7 to 6. After the queens and rooks were swapped off, John cleverly managed to get a passed pawn promoted and won the game.

Trefor on board one was also involved in a close game with Woodnesborough’s captain Harry Sharples. All seemed to be even so after John’s win, Trefor offered a draw that Harry gladly accepted. This meant we would get our first points whatever the result of Bob P’s game. Bob on board two was up against John Thorley whose grade of 120 belies his quality and experience. It was another close game, John possibly having an advantage in the opening but Bob with a clear advantage later on. Time was ticking on and although there was a lot of play left in the game, a draw was agreed, thereby confirming Broadstairs’ first win.

Well done, everyone, and thanks to Harry and his team for a well-fought match.

 

Meet the new boss

As was mentioned in an earlier post, Alan Atkinson has been appointed Manager of Arbiters by the ECF. We were able to meet the new boss who, contrary to what The Who might have said, is not the same as the old boss, to learn a bit more about his new role and what it is like being an arbiter at some high-profile events.

 

Congratulations on your appointment, Alan. First question and an obvious one, what does the role of Manager of Arbiters entail and is it a new appointment? No, it’s not a new post; I took over from Tom Thorpe just before Christmas. The Manager of Arbiters’ main task is to arrange courses for, and keep records of, the progress of Arbiters as they move through the various grades up to International Arbiter level.

 

When did you first become an arbiter and what attracted you to the job? I had helped at events decades ago, and when, more recently, I was told that all leagues would need an arbiter if the games were to get graded (it will happen soon), and we were also having problems finding arbiters for the Thanet Congress, I resolved to get my paperwork in order to become a qualified arbiter. Strangely, since, I’ve done almost no arbiting within Kent, and certainly none in Thanet since then! It is just about making things happen; if I did not offer to help, some events would probably not happen. And then with the grander events, there is the fact that I now get to be there with some great players. Say like a World Cup football referee, or an F1 pit steward, etc.

 

Which is the most high-profile tournament in which you have been involved? This last year or so I was an anti-cheating referee at the Georgia Olympiad in Batumi so probably that or the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss on the Isle of Man. I was also at the British Championships in Torquay, and Hull the previous year, and I played in the Mick Croft Cup. (Ha ha! Arbiters clearly do not lack a sense of humour – the Mick Croft Cup is a minor Thanet League competition as far removed from the Olympiad as you can imagine. – Ed)

 

An arbiter can sometimes have to deal with controversial situations. Are there any that you can talk about without naming names?! The best events are when nothing unusual happens! But I was one of the two arbiters at the British Championships when a player left the hall in possession of his phone; sadly, his game was still in progress, so we had to default him. That made the newspapers which was a pity, I thought. Some players were moved at the Isle of Man 2019 which raised a few questions. But usually, “things” do not happen: most players are fairly sensible, and the British arbiters are fairly good and reasonable, and the players understand that. So when an arbiter decides something, it is accepted with good grace.

 

 

What is the most amusing or unusual incident you can recall? At the British Championships in Torquay, after the end of the day, when all the work was done, and the next day’s pairings had been published, the arbiters went for their dinner. We then had a phone call about a senior member of the English chess establishment’s game from earlier that day. I had recorded the game result incorrectly, I was told. I had put down a win for Player A, when it had been a loss for him. We had already done the draw for the next day, so I was utterly embarrassed, in front of the whole arbiter team.

Player B was contacted; yes, he had won, the result I had put into the system was certainly incorrect. But he conceded that he might have written down the result the wrong way around on his own score-sheet.  Well, from Player A’s point of view, that was still not good enough, I should have checked both score sheets against each other of course. And Player A knew that, for he is an International Arbiter too! So I had my dinner spoiled, in my embarrassment. And breakfast the next morning too.

Later that next day, when we could get to check the previous day’s actual score sheets, it transpired that both players had recorded the result of their game incorrectly. Both players had shown a win for Player A when Player B had in fact won. I did swear. But just in the Arbiter Office; no apology from the players though. So after that, I could start the next round of the Masters by asking that the players hand in the same result to the arbiters, and, ideally, hand in the correct same result.

 

Do you still play much chess or have you had to cut back in recent years? I hardly play at all now. And when I do, I am out of the habit, and yet still have to play in grade order, so it seems that my grade is falling out of the sky.

 

Which of your own games has given you the most satisfaction? Well, since becoming an arbiter… see above! Hardly any games to choose from, and they are error strewn. But at the IoM the organiser arranged for Hou Yifan to play local players and the arbiters in a simul: I am happy that I managed a draw against her; it’s probably good for the players to know that the arbiters can play a bit sometimes!

 

White:   Hou Yifan     Black:  Alan Atkinson

Isle of Man 2017 simul

Is there any game that you witnessed as an arbiter that stands out? There are a few: the first time I realised that I was officiating with “the big names” was the game Shirov-Nakamura IoM 2017.I saw much of their game when I was in the playing area, and then I was sent for the early dinner. (We have to be there until ten or eleven at night, so we have split dinner shifts at the IoM). Shirov came in, having drawn, and sat with we two Arbiters, (place was empty otherwise, and he knew the arbiter I was with). “Hello, I’m Alexei”, so I discussed his game with him, and afterwards, when I was returning to the hall, I thought “Wow, I’ve just sat chatting to Shirov about his game; (and he’s not called me an idiot)”. People younger than me might not know of Shirov, but he was a super player. This year at the IoM he was one of the four players involved, when two games, played on adjacent boards, were identical for an unusually large number of moves. (See earlier comment about players being moved IoM 2019 -Ed)

 

White:   Alexei Shirov     Black:  Hikaru Nakamura

Isle of Man 2017 

½-½

 

If you could do one thing to improve chess in this country, what would it be? Ah, an easy question at last! Compulsory hour a week of chess in all schools for all pupils.

 

Finally, what advice would you offer to anyone with aspirations to be an arbiter?
Don’t expect to be treated well.
No-one tells you how to do anything.
Most people will assume that you are getting paid a fortune, which you won’t be.
You won’t get any of the glamorous events to do.
The players will always manage to do the wrong thing.
And it will be your fault.
But it might be a good laugh anyway!
Start by helping out at a few events, then do the ECF Arbiter exam, then do some more events.
And remember that the players have paid good money to get there and play and so they don’t want some power-crazed arbiter spoiling their weekend!