Thanet Chess Congress: Major Section

                      The Major and the Gullbuster

The 50th Thanet Chess Congress has come and gone and what a memorable weekend it was in so many ways. There is much to say after we have looked at some of the winning games on this site. The overall results and cross tables of the five sections can be found on the congress website. Here we shall look at each of the sections in turn, starting with the Major (U151). There were 24 entries in a competitive field and at this point your correspondent has to declare an interest in the proceedings because he was fortunate enough to win the section.

Of course, playing through games afterwards on a computer is a sobering experience. You think you have played well only for the occasional glaring error and frequent oversights to be highlighted. However, this was the decisive game in the final round and therefore deserves a wider audience for that reason alone. If the computer analysis proves anything, it is that (a) Black’s early exchanges gave him an advantage isolating the White QP and (b) White’s kingside attack was less threatening that it appeared to Black at the time and in the end proved to be a losing one. While several chances were missed to win the game earlier – I wish I’d seen 71….Ne4 but by then the end was nigh – Black’s advantage always showed him to be winning.

Thirty years ago I finished second in an U140 congress at Folkestone, losing to Bob Pooley who won the tournament. It was worth the wait.

White:   Robert Pooley (150)    Black:  Robert Page (133)

50th Thanet Congress (Major) Round 5

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End of Term Report

Congratulations to David Faldon who has won the Goodall Cup for the club championship. It would be tempting so say that his victory was a foregone conclusion bearing in mind his run of success that goes back about ten years. However, this was definitely not the case. The club this year has been boosted by several strong players who took the competition to the wire. It says a great deal about a club when the championship which started last September was only decided just before 11.00 p.m on the final club night of the season in the middle of August. Of course, with such a large all-play-all competition it is not surprising that a few games were not played but there are plans to improve the playing arrangements next season while maintaining the all-play-all format which is considered essential by most members.

Along with David, the front runners throughout the season were Arnaud Wisman and Richard Clement. Richard enjoyed an excellent season, losing only to the aforementioned players to finish in third place. Arnaud and David, having drawn their game against each other, went into the final game neck and neck. David was to play Trefor Owens whom he had never beaten – Trefor only joined the club last year – while Arnaud had to play the dangerous  Shany Rezvany. Both knew each other well, having formerly been members of Bridge Chess Club. A win for Arnaud and David would mean the Goodall Cup would be shared while defeat for either would open the door for the other. Arnaud was always behind on time and when his promising position faded, Shany used his time sensibly and slowly a pawn advantage became two then three and the game was up. Meanwhile, David, who had been watching their game closely, still had to win his. Here is that crucial game. The opening and closing comments are by Trefor, the rest by David.

White:   David Faldon (178)    Black:  Trefor Owens (165)

Goodall Cup

David’s conclusion: “Both Trefor and I played very well in this game. There were no huge mistakes I could spot, except for White missing 31.Qh5. White got a slight advantage in the opening, Black defended aggressively and well but then White found a couple of really difficult moves at exactly the right time.”

The 50th Thanet Chess Congress is almost upon us and on the left you can see the magnificent trophies made by John Couzens for the winners of the five sections (plus a few spares). These unique prizes are for the winners to keep so there will be some keen competition this weekend. They look rather like Oscars lined up before the annual Academy Awards ceremony, prompting them to be nicknamed ‘Johnnies’ after their creator. In addition to these special trophies, there is over £2300 in prize money, the title of SCCU Champion and Kent Individual Championship titles available. There is still time to apply so if you want to get your hands on a Johnny this weekend, you know what to do.

 

Blunder of the Week

Here we are again, folks, bursting the balloon which is the apparent invulnerability of top players. Yes, we’ve all done it: made howlers at vital moments while rehearsing our victory speech at the prize giving – “I’d like to thank….oops, what happened there?” Somehow, though, we have this idea that blunders are the preserve of mere woodpushers like us. Well, it may be that by definition more mistakes are made by weaker players otherwise we would all be grandmasters. However, while sympathising with anyone who makes a howler – unless, of course, it is your opponent – we can’t avoid affording ourselves the smuggest of smug grins. For this example, I have to thank Geoff Chandler, a contributor to the English Chess Forum who has a team of spies whom he calls his Blunder Hunters. This game was played in Round 5 of the Irish Championship. After seventy moves the players had reached the following position where White has just played 70.Kc2. Have a look at the position and before you see what Black played, think carefully and – be honest – what would you do?

White:   GM Alexander Baburin (2432)    Black:  Killian Delaney (2247)

Irish Championship 2019

Black played 70…Qxa5?? It is debatable who was more surprised, White on seeing this move, or Black when White replied 71.Qb2+ whereupon Black resigned. In fact, although it looks like it should be a draw, the only move that guarantees this for Black is 70…Qe2+. All other checks allow a trade off of queens and the a-pawn romps home. If you were thinking of 70…Qc4+ 71.Qxc4 stalemate, think again because White simply ignores the capture and plays 71.Qc3+ again forcing off the queens. And if you looked at this position for a long time and still would have played 70…Qxa5??, then that is why you (and I) are the grade we are.

Congress news

There are only fourteen days until the 50th Thanet Chess Congress and things are hotting up. Numbers currently stand at 89 which is a pretty healthy position at this stage. With it being the fiftieth congress, there are some special prizes as everyone must know by now and this latest photograph shows where we are with them.  John says: “Ten kings in the rough ready for polishing. Should get them back mid next week ready to fit mahogany bases.”

David Faldon warmed up for the congress by taking part in the U2050 section of the British Championship which this year is being held in Torquay. His tournament consisted of five games, one each afternoon and after losing his first game, David recovered to finish on a respectable 3/5. His only loss was to a typical young whippersnapper that you are likely to come up across at the British. The boy is currently graded 152 but last year he was 129 and the year before that 107. By next year he may have overtaken David. We shall have to wait to find out the last time David lost to a player graded 152 or below – surely, it couldn’t have been your humble editor, could it?!

Meanwhile, we should offer a belated ‘well done’ to Trefor Owens who finished second in the Tunbridge Wells Major in June. Victory in his final game would have made him the outright winner but he could only draw with his opponent who began the round half a point ahead. Trefor had no complaints about his draw, however:  “I was happy to come second. Actually my final round opponent and the winner (of the Major), David Heath, is a really nice guy and was also my opponent when I played my very first competitive game, I think in 1974 when I was 15.” In this photo Trefor is about to unleash a devastating move against his Round 4 opponent, Geoffrey Bishop.

Photo by Karen Shilstone

With three wins and two draws, Trefor can be pleased with his performance. Here is his Round 2 win with his own comments.

White:   Trefor Owens (156)    Black:  Chris Hann (146)

Tunbridge Wells Major 2019

 

Thanet and East Kent Chess League AGM

At the Thanet Chess League AGM on Tuesday, the Chairman, Broadstairs’ own Andy Flood, announced that the league was in a very healthy financial position, helped considerably by another successful Thanet Congress in 2018. Andy (seen on the left receiving the Mick Croft Cup for Broadstairs from League Event organiser, John Clarke) has done so much for the league in his three years in charge and last month he appeared – if that’s the right word – on BBC Radio Kent promoting chess in general but specifically the 50th Thanet Chess Congress which is fast approaching. He has been promised another slot in September when he hopes to be able to give some feedback on what promises to be a very special occasion. (If you haven’t read earlier items on the congress, we have received entries from five players who took part in the first Thanet Congress in 1970 and from Gordon Lloyd the instigator of the congress and controller for the first dozen years or so.)

The evening was also a successful one for Broadstairs Chess Club. In addition to the Mick Croft Cup, the club was presented with four further trophies for winning the Jamboree, the Hargreaves Shield, the Team Buzzer and the Team Quickplay. This capped an excellent year for the club which also finished second in the Millar Cup and the B teams finished runners up in both the Team Buzzer and Team Quickplay.

As they say in all the awards ceremonies, there are too many people to mention individually but thanks to all those who contributed to the club’s success in the past year. Unfortunately, Andy was the only captain present of any of the winning Broadstairs teams to collect his award – and even he was a non-playing captain of the Hargreaves Shield team – so the editor collected three trophies despite not playing in any of the respective competitions. Here he is receiving the shield for the Team Quickplay. This is a relatively new competition but Broadstairs’ first victory in our initial attempt.

Thanks were given also to Ian Hames (who took the photos and who appears in the mirror reminiscent of that painting by Velásquez) who as League Secretary has done so much to help by setting up the ECF LMS account for the Thanet League, arranging fixtures and helping Andy with the congress. Roll on the 50th Thanet Chess Congress in three weeks’ time and for those of you who have been on Mars for the past few months, information and online entry can be found on the congress website here.