ENGLAND WIN AT BATTLE

England v Germany, Battle Abbey 17-24 February 2001

The English Women's Team: (l to r) Susan Lalic, Melanie Buckley, Heather Richards, Peter Wells (coach), Christine Flear, Ingrid Lauterbach (photo by Christine Higgins)

Susan Richards in the magnificent setting of English Heritage's Battle Abbey Gatehouse (photo by Christine Higgins)

Hot on the heels of their success in the Istanbul Olympiad, the English Women's team scored a morale-boosting victory in a ten-round international match against Germany at Battle Abbey. Led by splendid performances from team members Susan Lalic and Heather Richards, the English team eventually ran out winners by the score 27½-22½. It was a close match that was only decided for certain in the final round, which England won 4-1.

WGM Susan Lalic was top scorer with an impressive 8/10, while Heather Richards recovered excellently from a first round loss to reach 7½/10, a full point over the requirement for her second Women's International Master norm. Germany's main successes came in the shape of WIMs Jessica Nill and Anke Koglin, who scored 7/10 and 6/10 respectively. Despite being a 'friendly' international, the match was played with a keen competitive spirit by both sides; this was reflected by the fact that 66 per cent of the games were decisive.

This tournament, organised by Director of Women's Chess Susan Richards, was the first all female adult international event in England for ten years. The event was supported by FIDE Commerce, British Chess Educational Trust, Friends of Chess and BH Wood Memorial Fund. (For the full story see below)

Wijk aan Zee 2001

England's number one Mickey Adams was in action in January when he played in the super-strong Corus Wijk aan Zee event. This year's tournament boasted the participation of the World number one Garry Kasparov, the Brain Games World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the FIDE World Champion Vishy Anand! These three players took the top three spots, Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk scored 8 points to finish fourth, while Adams scored 7½, sharing fifth place with Alexander Morozevich and Alexei Shirov. Adams' three victories included this nice win over Morozevich.

White: Alexander Morozevich
Black: Michael Adams
Evans Gambit C52

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4 Bxb4 5 c3 Ba5 6 d4 exd4 7 0-0 Nge7 8 Ng5 d5 9 exd5 Ne5 10 Bb3 0-0 11 cxd4 Ng4 12 Qf3 Nf6 13 Ba3 h6 14 Ne4 Nxe4 15 Qxe4 Re8 16 Bb2 Nf5 17 Qf4 Bb4 18 Na3 Bd6 19 Qd2 Qh4 20 g3 Qh3 21 Nc4 b5 22 Ne5 Bb7 23 Rae1 a5 24 a3 b4 25 axb4 Bxb4 26 Bc3 Bxc3 27 Qxc3 Nh4! 0-1

119th Varsity Chess Match:

Oxford v Cambridge 3 March 2001

The winning Cambridge team (left to right at back):Vigus, Moskovic, Conlon, Alfred (captain), Hodge, Anguelov, Dearing, Rudd (Hodge was reserve: Mah is missing from the photo). At the front: left to right: Lady Milner-Barry, Sir Jeremy Morse, Ray Keene. One interesting snippet about Sir Jeremy Morse: he is the man after whom Colin Dexter named "Inspector Morse" - they were friends at Oxford. (photo by John Saunders)

The world's oldest regular chess event, the Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity Match, took place on Saturday 3 March 2001 at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, sponsored by Tony Buzan, the Buzan Group and Henry Mutkin. This was the 119th such match, which was first held in 1873, and marked two other milestones: the 90th anniversary of the host venue's RAC Chess Circle and the 50th anniversary since arbiter IM Bob Wade had first officiated at the match.

BCF Senior Arbiter David Sedgwick shared arbiter's duties at the match. Oxford were outrated on every board, but put up a spirited fight. Grandmaster onlookers felt that a score of 4-4 had been a probability until the final phase of play. The last games to finish were boards 3 and 7 where Oxford's two women competitors succumbed after a hard fight, to leave Cambridge victors by the slightly flattering margin of 5½-2½. Cambridge now leads the overall series by four wins.

Ratings in brackets are derived from national (BCF) grades.

Games

White: Karl Mah
Black: Kieran Smallbone
Modern Defence B06

1 d4 d6 2 Nf3 g6 3 e4 Bg7 4 h3 Nf6 5 Bd3 0-0 6 0-0 b6 7 Re1 Bb7 8 a4 a6 9 c3 c5 10 Na3 Nfd7 11 Bg5 Nc6 12 Bf1 h6 13 Bh4 Nf6 14 d5 Ne5 15 Nxe5 dxe5 16 Nc4 Nd7

17 Nd6!

This wins material, although Black's next move accelerates his demise.

17...Bxd5 18 exd5 g5 19 Nf5 gxh4 20 Qg4 1-0

White: Joel Eklund
Black: Jack Rudd
King's Indian Defence E87

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 0-0 5 f3 d6 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 8 Qd2 f5 9 exf5 gxf5 10 0-0-0 Nd7 11 Bd3 Ndf6 12 Nge2 c6 13 g3 Bd7 14 h3 b5 15 dxc6 Bxc6 16 Bxf5 Bxf3 17 Rhf1 e4 18 g4 b4 19 gxh5 bxc3

20 Nxc3! Bxd1 21 h6 Re8 22 Qg2 Re7 23 Rxd1 Qa5 24 Be6+ Kh8 25 Rg1 Qc7 26 hxg7+ Rxg7 27 Bd4 Rxg2 28 Bxf6+ Rg7 29 Bxg7+ Qxg7 30 Rxg7 Kxg7 31 Nxe4 Rf8 32 Nxd6 Kf6 33 Bd5 Ke5 34 Nb5 a6 35 Nc3 Rf2 36 Bb7 a5 37 c5 Rf7 38 c6 Kd4 39 Kc2 Kc4 40 Ba6+ Kc5 41 Bb7 Kc4 42 Bc8 1-0

International Women's Match
England v Germany

17-24 February 2001, Battle Abbey

The German Women's Team: (l to r) Carolin Umpfenbach, Jessica Nill, Uwe Bönsch (coach), Sabine Schlander, Anke Koglin, Ulrike Heymann (photo by Christine Higgins)

What makes a chess event magical? The England versus Germany Women's International Match, a ten-round Scheveningen, in Battle in February was undoubtedly successful for England. The team won by five points (27½-22½) and Heather Richards performed 236 points above her rating to achieve her second WIM norm only six months after her first. Yet over and above this, there was a magical quality which was felt as early as the reception launching the match. Local dignitaries, including the Mayor of Battle who made the first move, enjoyed the start, telling me they were honoured to be there and how exciting this prestigious event was for Battle.

Although my responsibility, this was a return of the match held in Dresden two years ago which had provided norm opportunities and so David Anderton, as International Director, had selected the team. WGM Susan Lalic and WIM Ingrid Lauterbach, WFM Heather Richards and Melanie Buckley were joined by WIM Christine Flear to enable norms for the German team. They made a formidable quintet with a strong team spirit who, with Olympiad coach GM Peter Wells, had an infectious sense of humour. Germany sent a team of similar playing strength featuring WIMs Anke Koglin, Jessica Nill and Ulrike Heymann, with norm-seekers Carolin Umfenbach and, at 14 the youngest player, Sabine Schlander. Their coach was GM Uwe Bönsch, the Bundestrainer (Coaching Director, German Chess Federation) and captain of the German Men's Olympiad team. Germany was taking this friendly match seriously. They threw down the gauntlet with a resounding first-round victory of 3½ to 1½ and both England's norm seekers lost.

Heather Richards scored her second WIM norm (photo by Christine Higgins)

The venue was a large, pleasant room in the Gatehouse of Battle Abbey, an imposing stone building of 1550 owned by English Heritage. Its welcoming ambience and sense of history made it perfect for this match, the first BCF event to be held there. The only drawback, the lack of a good-sized analysis room available all day, was solved by the use of a small, adjoining staff room in the afternoons and some improvisation in the mornings (a larger event would find this a serious problem). Mind Sports Ltd even found space for a bookstall on two afternoons, and everyone drank tea and joked there when not playing. The staff of English Heritage were kind, helpful and fascinated by the match, following the score keenly. One woman was thrilled when I taught her the moves of chess. They allowed us to send the results daily by email, as there was no suitable telephone in the hotel.

At dinner after the first round, a stranger would have thought that the serious Germans had lost and the light-hearted English had won. The atmosphere was friendly and the two teams were getting on well. We stayed at the George Hotel, Battle, where the new owners had turned the ground floor into an Italian restaurant. We were their first and only guests: the chef had never cooked a hotel breakfast before. All the bedrooms were comfortable despite waiting for refurbishment and one was used as an analysis/coaching room. Everyone was kind and eager to help, which overcame some inevitable minor hitches. The meals were excellent, but Sabine never wants Italian food again: too much of a good thing?

The second round saw England win 4-1 and take a slight lead. Ten seven-hour games in eight days were a lot and adjournments were unavoidable. The players had little or no experience of these and did not like them, particularly with Fischer timing. Adjournments did allow an unusual opportunity to study endgames during an event (in between preparing openings for the following game), and they also meant that the overall score was not always clear, so that the match felt very close indeed. As a result, all the players and both coaches worked extremely hard and had little time for anything else. A guided tour round Battle Abbey and the Battlefield of Hastings was all that could be managed, but that proved singularly apt in that here England's Anglo-Saxon and hence Germanic past is celebrated.

By the final round, England was leading by just two points: the match could still go either way. Would Germany's youth and seriousness overtake England's experience and joie de vivre? David Sedgwick, the former International Director, was delighted to see England win 4-1 and finish with exactly the same score as two years ago when he took the team to Dresden.

Susan, Heather and Melanie all increased their FIDE ratings, and Ingrid and Christine were supportive and enthusiastic team members. In the German team, the outstanding performances came from Jessica and Carolin. For John Robinson, the arbiter, and I it had all been very hard work but also a great deal of fun and well worthwhile. The England team helped us tidy up, photocopy the final bulletin and take a last look at the playing hall.

The match closed with an informal dinner at the hotel with only one speech which, like my welcome, was made in English and German. Certificates and mementoes were presented and no-one wanted the evening to end. Susan summed the mood up best when she said this had been the friendliest event she had known. Our thanks go to FIDE Commerce, the British Chess Educational Trust, the Friends of Chess and the BH Wood Memorial Fund for their support of a truly magical match.

Susan Richards
Director of Women's Chess

Games

Richards-Umpfenbach in Java Window

Buckley Umpfenbach in Java Window

Lalic-Heyman in Java Window

Major Protest against New FIDE Time Controls 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. 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. On 27 February Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of FIDE, issued a statement regarding the new time control which in some ways backed down from FIDE's original decision. In a note of compromise, Ilyumzhinov said, 'After reflection and consultations, I shall recommend to the next meeting of the Board in Cannes next month, to review its decision after hearing from all interested parties. I can see that some Federations are not yet prepared to accept the inevitable changes that our sport must undergo, if it is to move with the other sports of the modern era. Some Federations have stated that the Presidential Board's action in respect of the time control should have been limited to the World Championships, and not all FIDE events and title tournaments. Therefore, I shall in the FIDE spirit, propose a further compromise solution. I shall recommend to the Presidential Board to accept the new time control as currently approved for the World Championships and to make it recommendatory for other FIDE events and title tournaments, subject to further review at our next Congress in September.' 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

Portsmouth Chess Congress 9-11 February 2001 The number of entrants in this year's congress (173) represented a modest recovery from last year's nadir of 159. General indications from similar events throughout the country point to a continued decline in numbers attending the traditional 6-round weekend events. A small number of significant events did not take place at all this year, so the general scene gives some cause for concern. Additional efforts were made on the marketing front this year, perhaps explaining an even wider catchment area than normal, with players from as far away as Northumberland, Wales, Cornwall, France and Germany. Enquiries were received from Pakistan and Israel, but neither of these resulted in entries. A particular irony was that at least 6 people (including an International Master) phoned the organiser's home enquiring about entry a couple of hours before the event was due to begin. At that time, of course, the organiser was at the venue setting up the playing halls and did not return home until 1:00am! The 26 players who contested the £700 prize fund in the Premier Tournament enjoyed a pleasant weekend in the library of Portsmouth Grammar School, the ambience of which is ideally suited to the playing of serious chess. Top seed Danny Gormally, making his first appearance at the event, was challenged by 6 other players with grades in excess of 200, including the previous winner, Andrew Ledger. The average grade of the remaining players in this section was not much lower at 188. Unfortunately, Andrew was too tired to give his best performance and he withdrew after 4 rounds. His brother David continued to press, as did local player, Philip Rossiter, another previous winner. In the last round, Danny (on 5 points) played Philip (on 4 points), and the resulting draw saw Danny emerge the clear winner by 1 point. Elsewhere in the congress, the Khoo sisters from Weybridge were setting a hot pace, with 10-year old Selina leading the Novices Tournament throughout. Selina's last round game against Dave Worsfold had a cracking ending in which Dave sacrificed two pieces to force a new Queen. However, he then found himself set enormous problems by his young adversary and he eventually succumbed to a mate. In the Major Tournament, 15-year old Teresa was hampered by having to take a half point bye in round 3 to attend an appointment in London. However, she returned to score 2½/3 to finish joint second. Local players showed up to best effect in the Minor Tournament, where 3 of the 4 joint winners from the area. One of those, Andrew McDougall of Waterlooville Library Junior Chess Club, took the News Trophy on tie-break for the best performance by a local player. Pat McEvoy

A Chess Wedding Down Under Gary and Nancy Lane Many congratulations go to Gary Lane and Nancy Jones, who married in Sydney on Friday 9th February 2001. We wish them every success. International Master and ChessMoves reviewer Gary, a self confessed Torquay United fan, is now living in Australia, but will be back in England in the summer to play in this year's British Championship in Scarborough.

Yateley Manor International Yateley Manor School 19-21 January and 3-4 February 2001 This was an open event and part of the Terence Chapman Group Grand Prix. The format provided the opportunity for 9 FIDE rated games over 2 weekends - rather than the usual 9-day format. The venue was Yateley Manor School, near Camberley on the borders of North Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey. This is the second year the tournament has been held and once again the event was highly thought of by both players and spectators with many of last year's players returning. The results were: 1 Paul Littlewood IM 7/9 (£220); 2 Colin Crouch IM 6½ (£120); 3 Kevin Bailey 6 (£60); 4-5 Matthew Broomfield, Andrew Bigg 5½; 6-7 Thomas Rendle, Anna Partington 5. 30 played (including Cathy Forbes WIM and Jessie Gilbert WFM).

Also in ChessMoves, March 2001, paper edition * BCF News * Master Points * January 2001 Ratings * Littlewood's Choice * Congress and Team Results * Book Reviews * Congress Diary * Terence Chapman Group Grand Prix * Batsford Competition

ChessMoves, March 2001, was edited by John Emms

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