The 2015 British Chess Championships have begun at the University of Warwick. Plenty of information including details of the various competitions together with commentary on the leading games which can be played through on screen can be found on the website www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk. Broadstairs’ own Davd Faldon is competing in the U180 tournament and he started today (Monday) with a draw.  He will be hoping to go one or even two better than last year at Aberystwyth where he came third in the same tournament.  Here he is receiving his cheque from the Chairman of Ceredigion County Council.

As the website approaches its first birthday, it seems sensible to tidy things up a bit so that current news can be separated from the more ancient.  There is a new category at the top (Season 2014-15) where most of this year’s news has been deposited. The only problem is that everything is on the one page and we can’t as yet separate reports from match results from news etc. Instead, everything is in reverse chronological order for the moment. It may not be possible to change anything but we’re working on it.  A few of the more recent items of news have been retained for the time being but will be transferred for the new season. At the club things are winding down as the various competitions reach their climax and we look forward to the Thanet Congress on August 21st. If you haven’t entered already, there’s still time.   Meanwhile, here’s a photo from the Christmas Dinner featuring (from the left) John Couzens, Tom Lovegrove and David Clifford.

The idea of an end of season blitz tournament – yes, folks, Broadstairs Chess Club is still open until the middle of August – was first thought of ten years ago so just like a well-known out-of-town Thanet shopping centre, 2015 is our tenth anniversary. The routine is tried and tested and appears to work well so there seems little need to change it. The players are divided into two teams of roughly equal ability in grade order. They are then paired against each of the opposing players in turn and the final totals are added up to find the winning team. Token team prizes are awarded but it’s just for fun. There was originally a prize for the individual with the highest score but as it was invariably one of the two number one boards it seemed pointless so that has now been scrapped. Fourteen players took part this year: thirteen from Broadstairs and our guest and long-standing friend, Colin Gregory from Margate.  Each player had six minutes to make all his moves and the theme this year was Waterloo 200 so the two teams were the Wellington Boots and the Napoleon Brandies. It was a close contest throughout with the Wellingtons taking an early lead and clinging on to it until the final round when the Napoleons won their only round sufficiently impressively to win the match.  Where were the Prussians when we needed them?  Next week the club returns to normal for the last few weeks of the season with three competitions still to be decided: the club tournament for the Goodall Cup, the knockout tournament for the John Couzens Vase, and the last two rounds of the Summer Swiss. The club closes for two weeks in August, re-opening in September and new players are always welcome (see ‘About’).