Latest Wei Yi Game of the Week

Here is another amazing game from our old – or not so old – friend Wei Yi, who is currently playing in a grandmaster tournament in Danzhou in China.   Thanks to David Faldon for spotting it as it was only played yesterday. The website Chess.com has already described it as a ’21st Century Immortal Game’ and you can guarantee it will feature in newspapers next week but you read it here first! Wei Yi feels like an adopted son of Broadstairs Chess Club – perhaps we should invite him to play a simultaneous….In the meantime, take a look at this game and admire a young player who will surely become world champion sooner rather than later.
White: Wei Yi (2724)     Black: Lazaro Bruzon Batista (2669)

 

Summer Swiss Update

Unlike many chess clubs that shut down after Easter once league matches have dried up, Broadstairs prides itself in remaining open for 49 weeks of the year. The Summer Swiss is a long-standing competition that the club instigated to provide plenty of chess during the supposedly quiet months from May to August.  It consists of five rounds and is notable for the fact that the prize does not go to the winner but to the player with the best grading performance over the five rounds. It is therefore difficult for the highest-graded player to win even if he defeats all five opponents which we think is both laudable and egalitarian.  For many years the prize was free entry to the Thanet Congress but there were two problems with this idea: firstly, the Congress had already taken place by the time of the AGM when the prize was presented and secondly, sometimes the winner did not take part in the Congress anyway. After John Cutting’s death in 2010, it was decided to present a trophy in his name and the John Cutting Cup is now awarded each year.  After three rounds of this year’s competition David Faldon leads the way with 3/3, followed by Bob Page and John Couzens, both on 2½/3.

The Way We Were

Here is picture that will bring back a few memories for some but will mean nothing to others.  Apologies for the quality but clearly seated at the table is John Couzens and to his right is Hugh Hosking, who moved to Croydon within a year or two of this photo.  On the far left is Ron Reed, and from the right we have Paul Havens, Bob Page, Bill Gray, who died a year or two later, and Reg Pidduck. The more you look at the photo, however, the more puzzling it appears.  The occasion appears to be an AGM but what year? Who can remember the name of the young man behind Reg’s right shoulder?  Most intriguingly, in what room was the photo taken? Any suggestions would be welcome.


AGM 1995

Post script:  Many thanks to all those who offered suggestions.  A big clue to the year was that Paul Havens is clearly holding the Goodall Cup.  John Couzens joined the club in 1990 so it puts the photo at somewhere in the mid-90s. Paul won the Goodall Cup in 1995 and 1996 but only in the latter year did all those in the photo appear at the AGM.   A glance at the 1996 minutes suggests that David Wheatley – to his surprise – took the photo. The young chap to Reg’s left is Chris Newberry and the room is our current Room 10 at the far end. The confusion was caused by the cupboards and fireplace on the right since removed.  The less said about David Wheatley’s suggestion that the chap second from the right (your correspondent) was ‘a young-looking Steve Guy’, the better.  John will be flattered by Michael Doyle’s guess that he was in his late 20s when the photo was taken but then I did say it was poor quality….

Wei Yi Game of the Week

Regular visitors to this site may be wondering what has happened to Wei Yi since our last bulletin.  For the uninitiated, Wei Yi is a formidable talent in the chess world. In January he won the Tata Steel Challengers at Wijk an See with some sparkling chess (see Game of the Week 9) at which point he was ranked 49 in the world.  Since then his star has continued to rise: in April China won the World Chess Team Championships (Wei Yi +5 =4 -0) and in May he won the Chinese Chess Championships. He is now ranked 30 in the world yet only last week did he celebrate his sixteenth birthday.  Both Michael Adams and Malcolm Pein featured his Round 4 win against Ding Liren (ELO 2749) in their newspaper articles – probably because Ding had a higher grade and was the runner-up – but your correspondent, a lesser judge, preferred this one from Round 6, even though his lower-graded opponent could only finish twelfth.

White: Wei Yi (2718)          Black: Liu Qingnan (2521)

(Chinese Chess Championships 2015)  

 

2015 Jamboree

2015 JAMBOREE RESULTS

 

BOARD 1

Richard EALES    201                        1            0                    David FALDON        170

Jim BAYFORD     188                       0.5       0.5                   Peter McGILL           152

Leon WOOLDRIDGE 190                0.5       0.5                   Gordon BOTLEY     186

 

BOARD 2

Stuart WILLIAMS    179                   0.5       0.5                   Jo SCHULTZ 187

Colin GREGORY    117                        0          1                      Arnaud WISMAN      178

David HORTON      164                    0.5       0.5                   Harry SHARPLES    151

 

BOARD 3

Mark MORTIMER   159                    0          1                      Bob POOLEY  147

Alan GOSMAN        149                     1          0                      Leon GARFIELD 101

Emily GREEN          136                    0.5       0.5                   David SHIRE 179

 

BOARD 4

Matthew CUSSENS 146                    0          1                      Shany REZVANY     157

Mick MICKLETHWAITE 139              1          0                      Paul CARFRAE         132

John CLARKE              86                   0          1                      Kit BLUNDELL       e128

 

BOARD 5

James ESSINGER      155                  1          0                    Roy DAWSON          75

David ERWEE           115                  1          0                      Reg PIDDUCK          104

Paul ARNOLD           125                  1          0                     Don RICHARDS       e70

 

BOARD 6

Ashley CORDERY      41                  1          0                      Jamie DAWSON        e75

Michael DOYLE          80                 0          1                     Chris SIEBERT          102

Susan GREEN             47                  0          1                    Ray RENNELLS        82

 

 

INDIVIDUAL TEAMS

 

BRIDGE                     1st place:                      HERNE BAY                         2nd place:

 

Richard EALES          201      1                      Gordon BOTLEY                   186      0.5

Arnaud WISMAN      178      1                      Stuart WILLIAMS                 179      0.5

Mark MORTIMER     159      0                      Bob POOLEY                         147      1

Shany REZVANY        157      1                      Mick MICKLETHWAITE        139      1

James ESSINGER      155      1                      Paul ARNOLD                         125      1

Ray RENNELLS           82       1                      Jamie DAWSON                    e75      0

———–                                                                      ———–

155      5                                                                      142      4

 

 

FOLKESTONE          3rd place:                      WOODNESBOROUGH       4th place:

 

Jim BAYFORD          189      0.5                   Leon WOOLDRIDGE           190      0.5

Jo SCHULTZ             187      0.5                   Harry SHARPLES                 151      0.5

David SHIRE             179      0.5                   Emily GREEN                        136      0.5

Matt CUSSENS         146      0                      Kit BLUNDELL                      e128       1

David ERWEE           115      1                      Roy DAWSON                           75       0

Chris SIEBERT          102      1                      Susan GREEN                            47       0

————-                                                                    ————-

153      3.5                                                                   121      2.5

 

MARGATE                equal 5th place:            BROADSTAIRS             equal 5th place:.

 

Peter McGILL            52      0.5                   David FALDON                    170      0

Colin GREGORY      117      0                      David HORTON                    164      0.5

Leon GARFIELD      101      0                      Alan GOSMAN                      149      1

John CLARKE             86      0                      Paul CARFRAE                     132      0

Don RICHARDS       e70      0                      Reg PIDDUCK                      104      0

Ashley CORDERY      41      1                      Michael DOYLE                      80      0

————-                                                                    ————-

  95      1.5                                                                   133     1.5