| February 2001 | Newsletter of the British Chess Federation | Online Edition |
New Name - Same Game!4NCL
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 Luke McShane made his debut for IndexIT (Photo: J Saunders) |
Slough kept up the pressure by defeating IndexIT 2, but the 5-3 scoreline suggests there were one or two nervous moments. Index's Nathan Alfred caused an upset when he beat Slough's Graham Buckley, but wins from Summerscale, McNab, Susan Lalic and Jovanka Houska brought home the two points for the more fancied team. Wood Green also found it tough going against South Wales Dragons, the match being quite a lot closer than the final score of 5½-2½ suggests. Indeed, despite being heavily outrated, South Wales Dragons more than held their own on the top five boards, losing only one game, and this was a very complicated encounter which only just saw Wood Green's Alex Baburin come out on top against James Cobb. On board 5 Charles Morris defeated Andrew Martin, who was lost out of the opening but may have missed a chance to get an unlikely draw by perpetual check later on. Wood Green captain Brian Smith had his bottom three boards to thank for the eventual victory, with Jon Levitt, Bjorn Tiller and Sheila Jackson all winning their individual games.
Elsewhere Guildford-ADC had a convincing 6½-1½ win over Richmond, while Barbican 1 defeated Midland Monarchs 5½-2½. The surprise of the round was Barbican's second team beating Thistle White Rose by the same score. Barbican scored heavily on the top boards, their heroes being Richard Palliser and Chris Duncan, who scored convincing wins over higher-rated opposition in Harriet Hunt and Angus Dunnington.
There were some meaty ties to savour in round 6, which witnessed two major clashes in Slough v Barbican 4NCL 1 and Guildford-ADC v Wood Green. Slough-Barbican was a very tense match. The first five games to finish were all drawn. Of the remaining three games, Slough held the advantage in two while Barbican were clearly better in one. Slough's Susan Lalic converted her advantage into a full point against Stephen Dishman, while Barbican's Mark Ferguson defended accurately to draw against Tony Kosten. The game between Simon Knott and Graeme Buckley was the most eventful. As the time control approached Knott won a piece, although he could have actually forced immediate resignation. By the time they had reached move forty, however, Buckley was right back in the game, and after further adventures he even managed to conjure up a win.
Experienced Wood Green Manager Brian Smith was holding his cards close to his chest the night before their clash with Guildford. He had informed his senior players that a 'wild card' would be playing on top board, but that was about all he would divulge, apart from his cryptic statement of 'What's better than having one Norwegian in a team?' (a reference to Saturday winner Bjorn Tiller). As we were busily trying to remember who Norway's top Grandmaster was, Chris Ward came up with the cheeky reply 'No Norwegians!'
 Nigel Short of Wood Green and England (Photo J Emms) |
I only realised that Chris's attempt at a joke was actually spot on the next morning, when at our breakfast table we were approached by a friendly looking Nigel Short. Of course, Nigel had played for Wood Green last season, but this didn't stop Chris meeting him with an inquisitive 'Who are you playing for?'
The general assumption had been that Nigel was registered with
IndexIT. In fact, even though Nigel had appeared on Index's registration list,
he wasn't actually registered for them! Perhaps the words of NCL chief arbiter
Richard Furness tell the story more clearly:
'When determining eligibility
I believe it is the wish of the player which is paramount. A player can
demonstrate his (or her) allegiance in one of two ways. A player can sit down
and play for a team. Alternatively a player may indicate his allegiance by
completing and signing a registration form. When deciding on Nigel Short's
eligibility, I noted that he had only played for one team in the 4NCL, namely
Wood Green. I also noted that only one registration form had been received;
again, from Wood Green. I therefore deemed him eligible to play for Wood Green.
I have established that although Nigel was approached by IndexIT during the
close season, no commitment to play for IndexIT was given by the player and no
terms were discussed. Nigel was unaware his name was on the IndexIT
registration list.'
Onto the actual match, and Short scored his first victory for Wood Green in a hard fought battle with Danny King. Guildford hit back when Stuart Conquest, who is in a rich vein of form, defeated Alexander Baburin, but Wood Green finally secured a 5½-2½ victory after wins from Chris Ward, Jon Levitt and myself.
Elsewhere the relegation dog fight has really started to heat up. Both South Wales Dragons and Poisoned Pawns scored their first match points (they both won 5-3 against Richmond and IndexIT 2 respectively). Meanwhile at the top it was 'business as usual' as IndexIT 1 overcame Thistle White Rose 5½-2½, Luke McShane scoring his first win for the top seeds.
Twyble-Gayson
4NCL Div1, Barbican II vs White Rose
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Knott-G.Buckley
4NCL Div1, Barbican vs Slough
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 Michael Adams - World Number One at Rapidplay(Photo Christine Higgins) |
Michael Adams becomes the first English player to top a FIDE rating list after being named the number one rapidplay player in the World. Impressive results in Frankfurt and then in the FIDE Championship in Delhi saw him overtake Garry Kasparov at the top of the list. Kasparov, who only played in Frankfurt, was also overtaken by new FIDE World Champion Vishy Anand, who moves into second place. Adams will have a chance to maintain his new high rating at the World Rapidplay Championship, which will be organised later this year and will include both Adams and Kasparov.
The FIDE Rapidplay list is still very much in its infancy, especially as far as England is concerned. Overall 1200 players are listed, but only ten of these are from England.
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World's Top Ten 1 Adams Michael (England) 287 |
England's Top Ten 1 Adams Michael 287 |
Battle Abbey in East Sussex - once the scene of the greatest battle in the country's history when Harold lost to William in 1066 - takes on another international challenge when the game of chess moves in for a week during February.
 Susan Lalic leads England at Battle Photo: Christine Higgins |
Spectators are welcome from 2pm each afternoon from Saturday 17 to Saturday 24 February (except Monday 19 and Thursday 22 February when play starts at 4pm) to watch the international challenge match between England's and Germany's women's players. It is only the second international challenge match to take place between England's and Germany's women's players - the first was held in Dresden two years ago and won by England.
The ten-round British Chess Federation match sees Woman Grandmaster Susan Lalic lead the five-strong English team as they take on opponents from Germany, led by Woman International Master Anke Koglin. The match is aimed at encouraging younger players - including four who are still in their teens - by giving them international experience and the opportunity to gain title norms.
The teams are:
Germany: WIM Anke Koglin; WIM Ulrike
Heymann; WIM Jessica Nill; Sabine Schlander (14); Carolin Umpfenbach (17);
Coach - Uwe Bonsch.
England: WGM Susan Lalic; WIM Christine Flear; WIM Ingrid Lauterbach; Melanie Buckley (18); WFM Heather Richards (17); Coach - Grandmaster Peter Wells
The following players declared themselves unavailable for selection: Harriet Hunt, Jovanka Houska, Ruth Sheldon, Jana Bellin, Sheila Jackson, Natasha Regan, Rita Hennigan and Cathy Forbes. It was therefore necessary to ask Christine Flear to play (with the consent of the Germans) to preserve the event as a WIM norm event.
The match has been organised with the assistance of FIDE Commerce; British Chess Educational Trust; Friends of Chess and BH Wood Memorial Fund.
Admission is free to the matches, which are being staged in the Abbey's ancient gatehouse. Call Battle Abbey on 01424 773792 for further site information or the British Chess Federation on 01424 775222 from 10am-2pm for more match information. To order a free copy of the English Heritage 2001 Events diary, giving details of hundreds of events to enjoy at historic properties countrywide throughout the year, call 0870 333 1181 or visit the website:www.english-heritage.org.uk.
With the help of David Anderton
FIDE have run into much protest over their new time limits, which were decided in a Presidential Board Meeting in Tehran on 26th December 2000, without consultation with federations.
The new time control, which is applied for all FIDE events starting from 1st January 2001, is 40 moves in 75 minutes, the rest of the moves in 15 minutes, with an additional 30 second time increment for each move. This would mean that for a game of 40 moves, a player will have 1 hour and 35 minutes of time. Obviously the new time control requires an electronic chess clock. Subsequently FIDE announced that in a letter to federations dated 4 January 2001 that there was no compulsion for organisers to use the new time control in an (undefined) transitional period.
Both the Dutch and German Chess Federations sent letters of protest to FIDE, and this was quickly followed by another letter of protest from the BCF (you can read this at Letter from BCF to FIDE). The French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish Federations have added their voices to the opposition and an International Petition of Opposition is now circulating. On 20 February the Dutch and German Federations announced a Court challenge through the International Sports Arbitration Court in Lausanne.
One can assume that FIDE are hoping that the new time limits will generate more interest from the media and easier organisation of tournaments (perhaps two rounds a day and thus shorter events - the Istanbul Olympiad lasted two and a half weeks).
With the help of David Anderton
Chess in the capital received
a boost recently with the relocation of British Chess Magazine and the
Chess Shop from Kensington into the heart of London's West End, at 44
Baker Street, W1U 7RT.
The new BCM Shop, which opened on the 15th January, is now reachable via all forms of public transport, with the nearest tube stations being Baker Street, Bond Street and Marble Arch. The shop is also close to main line stations Marylebone, Paddington and Euston.
Note the new phone and fax numbers: 020 7486 8222 and 020 7486 3355 (fax)
For the first time a local player has won the Fulprint York Chess Congress. David Adams, who has long been York's leading player, started with four exciting if turbulent wins. In the final round David faced Gawain Jones, the fourteen year old York prodigy who has already represented England in junior competitions. At stake was not only the congress championship, but also a prized place in the Smith & Williamson British Championships. Gawain required a win with the black pieces, but he was unable break David's solid play and a draw was agreed after 34 moves. Gawain shared second place with Harry Lamb of Bolton, Clive Waters (Tynemouth) and Roelof Westra from Hull.
The Congress attracted 213 players to the University venue this week-end, equalling last year's attendance and defying the decline at similar events elsewhere. A novel innovation was the prize structure which offered £250 for winning all five games, £150 for 4½ and £50 for 4 points. The top prize of £250 was won by Mick Riding from Durham in the major section and Simon Anscombe of Holme Valley in the intermediate competition. Grading prizes and junior prizes brought the total prize fund to £2,300 distributed among 42 winners. The Congress was generously sponsored by Fulprint.
Jon Griffith
For full results go to the Results Supplement.
FIDE have accepted my plea that missing the rating report for the Isle of Man Monarch Assurance was an error on their part. A list of amended ratings for all those participants in the event has (or will be) published on the FIDE website. In the meantime I can advise that the following English player rates have been officially advised from FIDE and take effect from 1/1/2001 replacing previously published lists.
| rating | games | ||
| Mark | Hebden | 2552 | 24 |
| Keith | Arkell | 2434 | 26 |
| Lawrence | Cooper | 2361 | 15 |
| Daniel | Gormally | 2492 | 18 |
| Jim | Plaskett | 2479 | 19 |
| Adrian | Jackson | 2230 | 8 |
| Martyn | Goodger | 2168 | 6 |
| Richard | Palliser | 2282 | 9 |
| Chritopher | Ward | 2506 | 9 |
| Maria | Yurenok | 2079 | 7 |
| Stephen | Clark | 2117 | 4 |
| Derek | Ellison | 2104 | 6 |
| Andrew | Hughes | 2046 | 7 |
| Stephen | Peters | 2181 | 11 |
| JM | Fraser-Mitchell | 2097 | 5 |
| Ross | Rattray | 2076 | 5 |
| David | Sedgwick | 2082 | 8 |
| John | Hickman | 2115 | 7 |
| Timothy | Spanton | 2086 | 4 |
| Paul | Benson | 2046 | 12 |
| Neville | Gill | 2053 | 1 |
| David | Hill | 2151 | 16 |
George Smith
International Grader
Downloadable GamesChessbase 6/7/8 Format
(Zipped) Events included: 4NCL - 258 games South Wales Masters - 45 games Kidlington Congress - 76 games Dorset Congress - 30 games GMCCA Winter Congress - 11 games York Congress - 4 games |
BCF AnnouncementsThe BCF Management Board Meeting will be held on 10 March 2001, in Birmingham The BCF Finance Council Meeting will be held on 28 April 2001, at the Bristol Marriott Hotel, Lower Castle Street, Bristol, BS1 3AD. Any business to be considered must be with the BCF Office at least 35 days before the meeting (23 March) and comply with appendix D of the Constitution. There will not be an election for direct members delegates. |
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BCF SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENTS AWARDS The BCF invites nominations for its President's Awards. The Awards are made annually for services to the game. Previous winners include B H Wood, the BBC, veteran IM Bob Wade, Oakham School, blind player Stan Lovell, junior organiser and journalist Richard James, study composer John Roycroft and a host of grass roots players and organisers. Nominations should be sent to John Wickham c/o The BCF, The Watch Oak, Chain Lane, Battle, TN33 0YD, fax 01424 775904, email j.r.wickham@btinternet.com to arrive by 12th April 2001. Winners are announced at the BCF Council meeting in September. |
For the latest Book Reviews go to articles index |
TERENCE CHAPMAN GROUP
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| GRAND PRIX | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K Arkell | 124.5 |
| 2 | M Turner | 90.1 |
| 3 | D Gormally | 80.7 |
| 4 | J Hodgson | 76.0 |
| 5 | B Lalic | 67.0 |
| 6 | J Shaw | 57.8 |
| JUNIOR PRIX | ||
| 1 | R Palliser | 37.0 |
| 2 | S Williams | 20.1 |
| 3 | N Pert | 18.9 |
| 4 | M Chakravorthy | 16.0 |
| 5 | P Chakravorthy | 16.0 |
| 6 | D Diamond | 16.0 |
| PRIXETTE | ||
| 1 | C Harvey | 16.0 |
| 2 | S Khoo | 14.0 |
| 3 | D Norman | 12.0 |
| 4 | A Wilson | 12.0 |
| 5 | S Hegarty | 11.5 |
| 6 | K Keeling | 10.5 |
| AMATEUR PRIX | ||
| 1 | J Stephenson | 16.2 |
| 2 | D Everitt | 16.0 |
| 3 | P Buswell | 15.0 |
| 4 | G Hope | 15.0 |
| 5 | S Anscombe | 10.0 |
| 6 | D Bennett, M Riding | 10.0 |
| SENIOR PRIX | ||
| 1 | D Everitt | 16.0 |
| 2 | J Sherwin | 9.8 |
| 3 | Five Players | 8.0 |
| DISABLED PRIX | ||
| 1 | R Dunn | 6.0 |
| 2 | S Gardner | 4.0 |
| 3 | D Hartley | 4.0 |
| 4 | S Mullins | 3.0 |
| For full details of the 2001 Terence Chapman Grand Prix, visit http://www.bcf.org.uk/grandprix | ||
Advertisement Cover: Jovanka Houska British Chess
Magazine |
8 February - GM Keith Arkell has extended his lead in the Terence Chapman Grand Prix by another ten points and is now nearly 35 ahead, thanks to his impressive clean sweep in the Wigan Open. However, the front runner can expect some serious challenges, not least from GM Julian Hodgson.
In the past two years Hodgson has only started his Grand Prix campaign in the summer, but this time the British Champion already has a perfect 76/76 total thanks to his successes at York Vikings, Richmond and the Coulsdon Blitz.
Prixette: Christina Harvey, of the Hastings and St Leonards Club, currently leads. Sarah Hegarty, 12, last year's winner, and Selina Khoo, 10, continue to outperform older players both in the Prixette and against the boys in the Junior Prix. Their latest successes are Hegarty's second place in the strong London U12 Championship and Khoo's outright victory in an adult section at Hastings.
Junior Prix: FM Richard Palliser has been the star performer of the month and has thrown down a serious challenge to IM Simon Williams, who is attempting to win the Junior Prix for a fourth successive year. Palliser won the IM group at York, then shared first at South Wales in both the Masters and Open.
Amateur Prix: Early days, and many in with a chance, including the large group of 27 players who have each scored 4/5 in a double-pointed Amateur Prix tournament. This means a tournament with at least £300 prize money (Grand Prix multiples increase with each £150) or an event with £150 prize money which offers a discount of £2 to BCF Direct Member entrants.
Disabled Prix: Dean Hartley, who along with Graeme Lilley is the most successful disabled player of recent years, gets on the leader board again with third prize in the Redcar U151 Intermediate.
Senior Prix: Bobby Fischer's old rival, IM James Sherwin, advances to second place with a high score in the Coulsdon Blitz and is likely to be a leading contender.
Leonard Barden
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  Sponsors of the British Chess Federation International Teams |
