The Gazette - August 2020
Sponsored by The Ulverscroft Foundation
Edited by Julie Leonard
The views expressed in the Gazette do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the BCA, nor those of the editor.
BCA TESSLa Tournament
Julie Leonard writes:
On the 23rd of May, our Telephone Email Skype Summer Ladder tournament - TESSLa for short – got underway. It’s the first time the BCA has run an event of this type so it was a step into the unknown for the organisers and competitors alike! Naturally we were hoping for a good turn out and thought that we might get a dozen people, or perhaps twenty if we were lucky. So imagine our surprise when no fewer than 32 members entered! We immediately had to adapt the rules to cater for this number of players. We were delighted that the line up included members from Ireland, Canada and Malta, as well as many from the UK, some of whom rarely compete in BCA events these days. It was also especially pleasing to welcome two members to their first ever BCA event. What an exciting start!
There are two ways in which players can make progress in this event. Rung Challenges are issued against players who are higher up the ladder. Every challenge involves two games – one with each colour. If the lower placed player wins the challenge they swap places. Points are awarded for won and drawn games and also for completed challenges. To try to accrue more points, players can also issue Points Only Challenges. At the end of the event the player on the top rung will have won the ladder section and there will also be a prize for the player with the greatest number of points. In addition, prizes in both categories will be awarded to players with a grade or estimated grade under 100.
At the outset, competitors were placed on the ladder in order of playing strength with the strongest at the bottom. Controller, Gerry Walsh, then paired everyone with an opponent who has a compatible playing platform and is no more than five rungs away. Some players can only use email. Others prefer Skype or telephone. Most are very flexible and just want to play chess somehow or other!
Just six days later, results started to come in. Michaels took an early lead on the points board, with Michael Flood on 5 and Michael Keating on 4. The following day, Colin Chambers was the first player to win a rung challenge!
By the end of May, there were five joint leaders on the points table: including Malcolm Jones, Michael Flood, Colin Chambers and Colin Fisher, who had also won his first rung challenge
The pace began to hot up! By the 5th of June, Stan Lovell was in the lead on the points board, only to be overtaken one day later by Anthony Borg! Sadly, by this stage, Denis Warren and Donna Jodhan had withdrawn from the event for personal reasons. We were sorry to see them go but glad that they’d given it a try!
By the 15th of June, Malcolm Jones had claimed the top rung on the ladder! Other climbers included Voldi Gailans (11), Colin Fisher (15), Michael Keating (17) and John Gallagher (18). One day later, Malcolm drew level with Anthony Borg at the top of the points leader board and Stan Lovell was just three points behind them.
The next few days brought successful rung challenges for both Colins! Colin Fisher climbed to rung 9 and Colin Chambers to rung 17. Rung challenges between John Osborne (10) and Tony Elbourn (13) and between Dan Rugman (16) and Eamonn Casey (20) were drawn by the players winning a game each so they all stayed on their rungs. Meanwhile, Malcolm Jones, Colin Fisher and Anthony Borg were jostling for the lead on the points board!
By midsummer’s day, Malcolm Jones had a three point lead, but within 24 hours Colin Fisher had caught up with him again. There were also successful rung challenges for Graham Lilley (25), Norman Wragg (24) and Colin Fisher (8).
On the 24th of June, Malcolm Jones defended a rung challenge from Voldi Gailans, but then Colin Fisher challenged Malcolm and three days later Colin was at the top of the ladder! By the end of June there were successful rung challenges for Stan Lovell (15) and Philip Doyle (22). Ed Pourtahmasbi successfully defended a challenge to stay on rung 3. On the points board Colin Fisher had regained the lead by a narrow margin.
The first week in July saw upward ladder moves for Alec Crombie (13), Eamonn Casey (12) and John Gallagher (15). Colin Fisher successfully fought off a challenge from Voldi Gailans to remain on the top rung.
On the 8th of July Malcolm Jones edged ahead of Colin Fisher once again on the points board and Randy Kruzeniski defended a rung challenge from Richard Murphy. Another exciting development was that a brand new member, John Ramm, had jumped straight in at the deep end by entering this tournament! The rules allow for latecomers, so if anyone reading this feels they’d like to give it a try please do get in touch. The event will run until the 20th of September so there’s still plenty of time to follow John’s example and fit in a few games!
The next few days saw a successful rung challenge for Norman Wragg, who moved up to rung 14, then lost no time in challenging Lea Ryan for rung 6! John Gallagher moved up to Rung 5. Malcolm Jones moved back up to Rung 3 and is now re-challenging Colin Fisher for the top of the ladder! Malcolm has reclaimed first place on the points leader board. Mark Hague is also performing very strongly on the points board, putting him in second place in the U100 section.
As I write, on the 14th of July, an impressive total of 142 games have been played. Some participants are demonstrating a seemingly insatiable appetite for games! Tony Lawton is among the competitors who have already issued or received ten or more challenges! Eleanor Tew and Irene Elbourn are embarking on a points challenge, having never had the chance to play each other before now. Norman Andrews is taking on Gill Smith in a rung challenge.
Here are the current ladder positions, starting at the top, followed by the points total for each player. I’ve also indicated who is in the U100 section
RungNameU100Points
1Colin Fisher34
2Anthony BorgU10021
3Malcolm JonesU10038
4Irene ElbournU10011
5John Gallagher21
6Lea RyanU1003
7Roger WilliamsU1008
8Ed PourtahmasbiU1006
9Jermaine RaymondU10022
10John OsborneU10010
11Voldi GailansU10016
12Eamonn Casey 14
13Alec Crombie16
14Norman Wragg19
15Eleanor Tew U1003
16Dan RugmanU1003
17Colin Chambers12
18Stan Lovell31
19Randy Kruzeniski14
20Gill SmithU10013
21Tony ElbournU1005
22Philip Doyle14
23Michael KeatingU10013
24Tony LawtonU10012
25Graham Lilley4
26Michael FloodU10012
27Stephen Thacker11
28Richard Murphy3
29Norman Andrews6
30Mark HagueU10025
31John RammU1000
The TESSLa tournament has already been of benefit to competitors, not just by allowing them to play socially distanced chess, but also by keeping in touch with old BCA friends and making new ones! Some people have acquired new skills such as learning more about Skype features or how to use an online timer for Skype games. Courtesy of Mike Flood, Steve Thacker has unexpectedly gained a new nickname, “Fearsome Steve”!
Controller, Gerry Walsh, and I are having great fun running the event and we would like to thank everyone for their support. We’ve had a few reports of difficulties but so far players have been able to resolve them without intervention from us. We’ve had many more reports of great sportsmanship, camaraderie, cooperation and mutual respect between players. Keep up the good work!
Regular updates on this event are emailed to the BCA usergroup. If you haven’t yet subscribed and would like to please contact me or our Website Coordinator.