The Gazette
February 2023
Registered Charity Number 263049
Bringing Chess to Visually Impaired People.
BCA
Website Address: www.braillechess.org.uk
Email: customerservices@braillechess.org.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/braillechess @braillechess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrailleChess
User Group Email Address: BrailleChess@groups.io (Any
member wishing to join this forum should email the Editor or Website
Coordinator, who will be pleased to send an invitation.)
To contact a member of the
committee, please see the Braille Chess Association’s website where there is a
facility for emailing each officer.
Honorary
Members
Christine and Norman Andrews, Hazel and Steve Burnell, Alec Crombie, Celia and Peter Gibbs, Julie Leonard, Stan Lovell, Mike Murphy, Richard Murphy, Julia Scott, Joan Shorrock, Gill Smith, Gerry Walsh, Roger Waters.
Note:
The views expressed in the Gazette do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the BCA, nor those of the editor.
CONTENTS
Millennium
Club, the BCA’s monthly lottery
Correspondence
Chess Director’s Report
David
Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Competition
90th
Anniversary Tournament in Solihull
90th
Anniversary Poem for the BCA
The
Mystery Person by Janet Hempson
Is
a Bishops of Opposite Colour Ending Always a Draw?
The
Dangerous c4 Line against the Caro Kann
2022 FIDE World Individual Seniors 50+ Championship
Regular
readers will know that in the February gazette I take editorial inspiration from
the Chinese New Year and some will already have
guessed that this time it’s the Year of the Rabbit! According to Chinese astrology, those born in
a rabbit year are vigilant, witty, quick-minded and
ingenious. Excellent qualities for a
chess player! How ironic then, that in chess
parlance, “rabbit” is an unkind term for a weak chess player. Whoever coined that phrase clearly didn’t
know that both Anatoly Karpov and Gary Kasparov were born in Rabbit years!
Our
hard-working Tournament Subcommittee twice had their plans for our 2023 AGM
event scuppered by hotels cancelling our bookings and it seemed as if we might
not find a venue at all. Then they
pulled a rabbit out of the hat and got a slot at one of our regular
hotels! See Forthcoming Events for
details of this and other tournaments.
There
are games galore in this issue! Paul Benson
focuses on the English Defence, and if you feel like a rabbit caught in the
headlights when faced with a Caro Kann, there are some tips from Owen Phillips
that may help.
You
can read about our 90th Anniversary weekend too, from the
celebrations to the tournament and from the new Honorary Members to the soirée. It was a perfect time to reflect on what our
little charity has achieved. Beatrix
Potter’s Peter Rabbit said, “Even the smallest one can change the world.” The BCA has certainly changed mine!
This
issue also contains a roundup of the latest email tournament and news about the
2023 Best Game Competition. There are
all the usual officers’ reports too, including the latest Millennium Club
winners. What is the secret to their luck,
one wonders. Hopefully not a rabbit’s
foot!
Sadly,
in this issue we say a fond farewell to two much loved members, Denis Warren and Graham Lilley.
Mark Hague has very kindly offered to take over providing puzzles for
the gazette from Graham. Thank you, Mark!
Your
Editor confesses to have learnt a valuable lesson when compiling this gazette. In future, I shall always read items before
promising to include them! Luckily there
was no harm done this time, but if something in the gazette ever displeases you,
don’t let yourself get hopping mad about it, just tell me. I’m all ears!
Please let me have articles for the May gazette by the end
of March. Don’t be late like the White
Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland! Now, to
quote the closing sequence from Bugs Bunny cartoons, “That’s All Folks!”
Julie Leonard
Friday 14th April to Sunday 16th April 2023: AGM Weekend Chess Congress
This will take place at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. The plan at present is to resume our usual practice of holding the AGM as part of the chess weekend. The AGM will take place at 20.15 on Saturday evening, 15th April. We shall also aim to enable members to join in via an online platform if they prefer. The idea behind moving the AGM to the evening is to make the chess timetable more relaxed on the Saturday.
We have held successful tournaments at The Old Swan on a number of occasions. However, several members have mentioned that they have had difficulty getting assistance and/or a taxi at Harrogate station. We will be taking steps to hopefully make the transfer from the station to the hotel a little easier by contacting Network Rail in advance to request greater assistance at the station and also providing details of a taxi company who can be contacted by members themselves in advance. Members travelling from London may like to note that although most King’s Cross to Harrogate trains involve changing at York or Leeds, at the time of writing there is at least one direct train on a weekday late morning in both directions.
We are hoping there will be enough entries to hold two five round Swiss tournaments – an Open and a Challengers for those whose grade or estimated grade is 1300 or below. Both are open to blind and partially sighted players and to associate members of the BCA. The entry fee for each tournament is £10. Please state when booking which tournament you would like to enter – subject to eligibility.
Rooms will be available on the Friday afternoon from 15.00 with dinner that evening at 18.00. Likely start times for the five games are 20.00 on the Friday evening, 09.45 and 14.00 on the Saturday and 09.45 and 14.00 on the Sunday, but these times might need to be changed depending on discussions with the hotel. The rate of play is likely to be 90 minutes for each player for all moves. Any player can request a half point bye in any one of the first four rounds or a delay in the start of their game in round 1 of 30 minutes.
Any enquiries about the tournament or hotel should be sent to Steve Burnell.
Please send your entries to Steve, with a copy to our Treasurer Gill Smith. The closing date for entries is Monday 27th February 2023.
The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for members and associate members is £60 per person per night irrespective of room type. This is also the cost for Sunday night. Note that the hotel charges £10 per day for car parking which is payable direct to the hotel on check in.
Please
send your entry fee and full payment for all accommodation to Gill Smith by the
closing date. Please send any
resolutions or other items for inclusion on the AGM agenda to Guy Whitehouse by
the same date. Also, let Guy know if you
are planning to join the AGM online or attend the AGM without staying at the
hotel so that we can let you have the AGM papers.
Saturday
15th July to Saturday 22nd July 2023: Chairman’s Cup
This will take place at the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth, which has proved to be a very popular venue for some of our recent events. It is very friendly and comfortable, and we also have use of an outdoor heated pool. The parking and green areas are also very good.
The tournament is open to all blind and partially sighted chess players and to associate members of the BCA. The Chairman’s Cup will be awarded to the highest placed player, whether VI or associate member, whose most recent published grade is 1750 or below (equivalent to about 140 under the old ECF grading system). A player who scores the highest number of points but does not meet the rating criterion will be recognised as the overall winner of the tournament but will not receive the Chairman’s Cup.
If there are sufficient entries we will run two sections, an Open and a Challengers for players whose rating or estimated rating is 1300 or below. Both are open to blind and partially sighted players and to associate members of the BCA. Please state when booking which tournament you would like to enter – subject to eligibility. The entry fee for each section is £10.
Rooms are likely to be available on the Saturday afternoon from 15.00 with dinner that evening at 18.00. The event will be played over 7 rounds with one round each day. Likely starting times for the seven rounds are 19.45 on the first Saturday evening and a morning start of 10.30 for the remaining six rounds but these times might have to be changed a little depending on discussions with the hotel. The rate of play will be all moves in two hours for each player. Players may request a half point bye in any one of the first six rounds.
In addition to the chess tournament there will be a varied programme of social activities. Anyone with ideas for social events, or who wants further information about the hotel or tournament should contact the organisers:
John and Pam Jenkins.
Please send your entries to John Jenkins, with a copy to our Treasurer, Gill Smith. The closing date for entries is Friday 19th May 2023.
The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast to members and associate members of the BCA is £385 for the week irrespective of room type. The cost to those booking for less than the full week will be £55 per night for members and associate members. For anyone wishing to stay additional nights at the beginning or end of the tournament, the cost per night will be £75 per person regardless of room type. There are also options for guests to pay significant supplements for a sea view room or sea view plus balcony. Please contact John Jenkins if you would like to know more about these options.
Bookings accepted after the closing date of 19th May are at the discretion of the organiser and will be subject to a late booking fee of £10 per person. All payments should be sent to Gill Smith (see list of BCA Officers for contact details). Please note that rooms will not be reserved until full payment has been received.
Autumn Tournament 2023: A Date for your Diary
The Autumn tournament will be the weekend of 10th to 12th November at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Solihull.
Booking
Conditions and Procedures.
By entering a BCA tournament, a player is deemed to have consented for their name and any special requirements to be passed to the hotel prior to the event. Also, consent is considered to have been given for a player’s name, club, results and possibly also their gender to be sent to the ECF for grading purposes. For juniors, their date of birth is also required if they are to get the age-related grading bonus they are entitled to.
If you have any queries about the hotel or the tournament please contact the organiser.
Blind and partially sighted UK residents under the age of 25 receive free entry and free accommodation when playing in BCA events. In appropriate circumstances, free accommodation is also available to a parent or guardian accompanying a junior.
Visually impaired UK residents in their first year of membership receive their first BCA weekend event free or £100 reduction in the cost of a week-long event. They may also be accompanied by a guide or companion who will receive the same concession. For a first event we ask for payment in advance and we then make a refund at the event.
You may pay in these ways:
Cheques payable to Braille Chess Association should be sent to Gill Smith, see the front of the Gazette for her address.
Online or telephone payments may be made to:
Account name: Braille Chess Association, sort code: 40 52 40, account number: 00082456.
If you pay by direct payment then you should inform Gill when the payment has been made.
Bookings accepted after the closing date are subject to a £10 late booking penalty for each person. Late bookings and entries are accepted at the discretion of the organiser.
Bookings are confirmed when full payment has been received. Payments can only be refunded within the time limit set in the terms and conditions set by the hotels. Members are advised to take out holiday insurance to cover themselves.
When making your booking please let the organiser know if you want a single, double or twin room and if you have a preference for a bath or a shower. And remember, if emailing the tournament organiser, copy in Gill so she can look out for your payment and let you know when it has been received. Gill will always confirm receipt of any payment.
Also say if any of the following apply.
1 If you will be bringing a guide dog;
2 If you are on a special diet;
3 If you have mobility problems and would benefit from being located in a room near to a lift;
4 If you are a wheelchair user;
5 If you feel you would have any special difficulties in an emergency such as a fire evacuation;
6 Any other special requirements.
The BCA reserves the right to refuse or cancel any entry or to exclude any person from any event it runs.
Readers will be aware that from time to time we appoint Honorary Members in recognition of their outstanding service to the BCA. At the time of our 2022 AGM we had seven Honorary Members: Alec Crombie, Peter and Celia Gibbs, Julie Leonard, Stan Lovell, Julia Scott and Gerry Walsh. It was agreed at the AGM that our 90th anniversary year was an opportune time to add to our list of Honorary Members.
We called for nominations in the August Gazette and these were then reviewed and sifted by the committee. After all the dust had settled, we decided to create nine new Honorary Members: Norman and Christine Andrews, Steve and Hazel Burnell, Mike Murphy, Richard Murphy, Joan Shorrock, Gill Smith and Roger Waters. One could argue that nine is an appropriate number for our 90th anniversary, one for each decade, but this was purely accidental.
The names of our new Honorary Members were announced at the Saturday evening celebration dinner in Solihull in October and each was presented with a certificate, designed and produced by Gill’s daughter Freya. It was a very happy and positive occasion.
Norman Wragg
The following is a summary of the main points of the committee meeting held on 19th November last year.
Financial Matters and End of Year Reports: Our finances were in remarkably good shape thanks to the success of our arrangement with our new fundraising consultant, Carl Concannon. During the financial year 2021-2022 we had raised £17,800, and this financial year we had already received an astonishing £13,300 in donations. This is a remarkable improvement on what we were experiencing during the pandemic.
We’ve updated our reserves and investments policies to reflect our current financial situation and we also approved the accounts Gill circulated before the meeting. These can now be sent to our independent examiner. The committee also approved the trustees’ annual report; when drawing it up I couldn’t help reflecting on how much our over-the-board activities had got back to normal.
We’re looking into setting up an account to receive card payments from members. At the moment we haven’t found a provider that allows for dual authorisation of payments, so if we decide to go ahead with this we might have to update our constitution which currently insists on dual authorisation for all payments; we’d put in place safeguards such as specifying a maximum amount that could be transferred out of the account.
Domestic Tournament Matters: We discussed holding a memorial event for Graham Lilley. The 2023 autumn international or the 2024 British championships seemed the best options; in the end, although 2024 was a way off, we decided the British was the one to go for. It would be ideal if we could find a suitable hotel in, or at least near St Helens where Graham lived.
We decided to run the idea of bringing back a ladies’ prize past our active female players. It would be awarded in a tournament where there were at least three female players. The British ladies champion would have to be a visually impaired member, but in other tournaments the prize could be awarded to an associate member.
Publicity and Junior Development: Julie has designed some large print scoresheets with the BCA logo at the top; these will be made available for download from the ECF website.
Sadly, we had to face the fact that our attempts to generate interest in chess at Worcester and RNC, Hereford had not been successful and we would simply have to start again from scratch. We are going to approach the RNIB to see if they could help us locate visually impaired children in mainstream schools. Also at Solihull we had found out the name of the ECF officer with responsibility for promoting chess in universities, so we would contact him to see if he could help in any way.
Membership Discounts: We decided that members who joined for a year could still receive a discount on a chess set, but that they should be expected to join for five years before receiving a discount on a talking chess clock. Ideally associate members should be expected to join for more than a year before being eligible for reduced hotel rates, though we should allow ourselves some flexibility in the case of certain families who were well known to us.
Equipment: We will be using ringfenced funds to purchase six more DGT Echo talking chess clocks. We’ve also decided in principle to purchase up to ten magnetic sets from Italy assuming an acceptable set can be found. Unlike last time we wouldn’t be drawing up a list of names of those wanting a magnetic set; we’d just place the order and stock them. One thing to note is that these might not be the same sets as the ones produced by Fabrizio; we did assess another Italian magnetic set which was a bit larger but which was of a high quality.
Online Content: Two small videos introducing the association and illustrating how we play chess have been uploaded to our Facebook page. Abi also wants to start a ‘meet the members’ section featuring radio-style interviews with members. She already has ideas on those she’d like to interview and would be interested in hearing from members who would like to take part in the project.
Accessibility Issues: At Solihull Nigel Towers of the ECF told us he would like to help sort out problems with the accessibility of the ECF’s online calendar of events. Since then some improvements have been made, but we aren’t there yet.
IBCA Matters: At the 2022 AGM we decided not to send representatives to IBCA tournaments because they had not banned Russian/Belorussian players from taking part in their events as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. Next year the IBCA will be holding the world individual championships and the European team championships. They have not reviewed their policy, but Russian/Belorussian players might not participate after all. The invitation specifies that only countries which have paid their IBCA fees can send players, and apparently Russia and Belorussia have not done so.
Subsequent to the meeting I did find out that we can lend a proxy vote to another country should the matter come up for discussion again. We would not have envisaged sending a team to the European team championships, but if it were to emerge that Russia and Belorussian players were not going to be present at the world individual championships, should we consider sending a representative?
Guy Whitehouse.
To take part in the monthly draw costs £12 per number per year. You may have as many numbers as you like at £12 each. Every month a lucky winner receives £35. If you wish to take part, please make a payment to the BCA.
Recent Millennium Club winners:
October: Gerry Walsh, number 33.
November: Colin Fisher, number 11.
December: Steve Burnell, number 55.
Gill Smith, Treasurer
In the last 3 months of 2022 our new fundraiser, Carl Concannon, helped us to raise over £15,000. We received grants from 21 organisations and the total income is a wonderful amount.
We have also received donations totalling £400 in memory of Graham Lilley.
In December Morpeth Chess Club raised £80 with a simultaneous event in memory of Les Whittle. For many years the club has organised an annual fundraising event when they kindly collect funds for the BCA. It is thoughtful of them to continue raising funds for us even though they and we lost Les over four years ago.
Sometimes members round up payments and ask me to record the extra amount as a donation.
We are very grateful for each and every gift, it all adds up.
Gill Smith, Treasurer
When shopping online please remember to shop through one of our fundraising schemes. Give as You Live Online allows you to shop online with many different retailers and a percentage of the price is donated to charity. Also, Amazon Smile has the same products and prices as Amazon.co.uk but when you shop on AmazonSmile, a donation is raised. Since the last Gazette we have received £19.59 from AmazonSmile.
Gill Smith, Treasurer
Two
new five-year visually impaired members have joined in the last quarter. Welcome to Maria Dod
from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and Gary Hogan from Carterton, Oxfordshire! I’m also delighted to report that Irene and
Tony Elbourn, who’ve been members for some years now,
have both taken the plunge and become life members!
Deceased
Very sadly we have
lost three more BCA members. The legendary Graham Lilley, one of our finest
chess champions, and Denis Warren, an extremely popular chess player and
entertainer, both passed away since the last gazette. They will be very much missed. Also, I was notified that Roger Bishop, a very
keen supporter of correspondence chess, had died. I remember having some good games with Roger
many years ago.
Mark
Hague
Another Correspondence Championship event has started with marginally fewer competitors than in the previous cycle.
47th BCA CORRESPONDENCE Championship
2023-24
Premier - Group Leader Paul Benson
Players: Alec Crombie, Philip Doyle, Malcolm Jones, George Phillips, Guy Whitehouse, all 0-0.
Challengers - Group Leader Paul Benson
Players: Maria Dod, Mike Flood, Voldi Gailans, Eric Gallacher, Eleanor Tew, all 0-0.
BCA LEAGUE 2022-23
Division 1 - Group Leader Voldi Gailans
Final scores: Alec Crombie 2-2, Voldi Gailans 0.5, George Phillips 0.5.
Division 2 - Group Leader Guy Whitehouse
Final scores: Malcolm Jones 3-3, Mike Flood 1.5, Eric Gallacher 1.5, Eleanor Tew 0.
In closing, to those about to start a game: Break a peg!
Paul Benson
As
last year drew to a close, our judge, Paul Benson, was
still considering which game to declare our best one of 2022! The winner will probably be announced at the
2023 AGM in Harrogate and the game will be published in the May 2023 gazette.
Each
year we ask a someone new to judge the Best Game Competition and I’m delighted
to say that Norman Andrews has accepted the challenge of being our judge for
2023!
All
BCA members, including associates and overseas members, can enter games, which
must have been played in a BCA event or for a BCA team during 2023. Any eligible games that are published in the
gazette are automatically entered. Other
games can be sent to Norman either directly or via a committee member. The 2023 competition is open!
Julie
Leonard
Bill
Armstrong writes:
In
October we celebrated our 90th anniversary of our chess association. The centre piece of our weekend was the
anniversary but there was also competitive chess that needs reporting.
We
had a wonderful turnout of 27 players with Olle Engström (Sweden), Eamonn Casey
(Ireland). Neda Koohnavard
(Iran) and Bittor Ibanez (Spain) making both sections of our tournament
international events.
The
Open event was enriched by several players who qualified for the Challengers
but opted to play in the Open event. The
Open attracted our reigning champion, Stan Lovell, and three former champions
so they were facing five rounds where they could expect strong opposition in
several games. Some had misgivings about
their decision but these were groundless fears. (e.g. Gary Wickett
shared second place on 3.5 and all gave performances that justified their
choice. Mark Hague did less well than
Gary but in our game, he launched a ferocious attack against my king and he did not deserve to lose.)
White
Mark Hague Black Bill Armstrong
1.
d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. Be2 0-0 6. Qd2 Nc6 7. h4 Nxd4 8. 0-0-0 Nxe2+ 9. Ngxe2 h5
10.
f3 Kh7 11. g4
Rh8 12. gxh5
Nxh5 13. Rdg1
Nxf4 14. Nxf4 e5 15. Nfd5 c6 16. Ne3 Bh6 17. Kb1 Qf6
18.
Qf2 Be6 19. Ng4
Bxg4 20. Rxg4 Bf4 21. Ne2 Kg7 22. h5 g5 23. Nxf4 exf4 24. Qh4 Kh6 Intending Qe5 and f6 with a safe
position for Black’s king and a slight plus in the ending but still with a lot
to do for a win.
Here
Mark placed the Black king on h7 and chose his next moves on
the basis of that placement of pieces.
25.
Rxg5 Qxg5 26.
Qxg5 Kxg5 White
now discovered Black's King had been misplaced on his board and resigned. Black gained a full point without really
deserving it.
The
Open event was won by Steve Burnell with 4.5 from 5 games, demonstrating that
he deserved the grade that made him the top seed. The drawn game was in round 4 and was
published in the November edition of Chess magazine.
White
Steve Burnell Black Bill Armstrong
1.
d4 d6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. e4 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 Nc6 7. h3 a6 8.
a4 a5 9. Nf3 h6 10. Be3 Nb4
11.
O-O c6 12. Ne1
e5 13. d5 Ne8 14. Qd2 Kh7 15. f4 f5 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. Rd1 Qc8
19.
dxc6 Qxc6 20.
Nd5 Nxd5 21.
Qxd5 Be4 22.
Qxc6 Rxf1+ 23.
Kxf1 Bxc6 24.
b3 Nf6 25. Nc2
Ne4
26.
Bd3 Rf8+ 27.
Kg1 Nc3 28. Rd2
e4 29. Bf1 Be5 30. Bd4 Bxd4+ 31. Rxd4 and
offered a draw which Black happily accepted .1/2-1/2
Despite
the absence of those who usually star in the Challengers Section, the event was
still highly competitive. The winner was
the steadily improving Simon Highsmith with 4.5 points.
For
the record, the scores and prizes were as follows.
OPEN
4.5
Steve Burnell 1st
3.5
James Connors and Gary Wickett =2nd
3
Bill Armstrong, Stan Lovell, Norman Andrews and Eamonn Casey
2.5
Olle Engström, Colin Chambers and George Phillips (Olle and George shared
Grading Prize A)
1.5
Mark Hague
1
Malcolm Jones, Voldi Gailans
and Tony Elbourn (all three shared Grading Prize B)
CHALLENGERS
4.5
Simon Highsmith 1st
3.5
Neda Koohnavard and John Fullwood =2nd
3
Bittor Ibanez, John Osborne, Gill Smith and Steve
Bailey (John and Gill shared Grading Prize A)
2.5
Jim Cuthbert and Abi Baker
2
Phil Rafferty and Richard Harrington (shared Grading Prize B)
1.5
Lea Ryan
1
Irene Elbourn
The
chess took precedence on Friday evening and in the mornings and afternoons of
Saturday and Sunday. But on Saturday and Sunday evenings the focus was much
more on the Association celebrating its anniversary.
More
than fifty of us gathered on Saturday to celebrate the 90 years of its
existence. We welcomed Nigel Towers, the
ECF Director of Home Chess as our special guest. Our gathering included relatives of David
Hodgkins family and six of the seven surviving members of an elite group, the
honorary life members Stan Lovell and Alec Crombie, Peter and Celia Gibbs,
Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard. The missing honoured member, Julia Scott,
prevented from attending by failing health was sadly missed. I know that everyone values the immense
contribution her work as a fund raiser has made to us reaching our 90th
anniversary.
It
was great to have those six whose past and present efforts have created or
continued the traditions of the thriving community of visually impaired chess
players, our BCA.
Covid
struck a mighty blow to many aspects of social life and chess did not escape
this. But the BCA has come through that.
Stan, Alec and currently Norman Wragg
have built on the foundations of the 1932 initiative, have guided our
association through some tricky times and established traditions of two weekend
tournaments each year, and two seven day events, the
Championship and the Chairman’s Cup. Of
recent years, Gerry and Julie have been the main figures controlling these and
it was fitting that they took charge with their usual efficiency of the chess
part of the celebration. Peter and Celia
Gibbs created and developed the theme break week and by the time you read this,
the continuation at Weston super Mare will have taken place under new
guidance. Yet another role for Julie
Leonard.
All
these events and activities would be impossible without a lot of background
organisation which often goes unnoticed when it goes as smoothly as the 90th anniversary
celebration did under the control of people such as Steve and Hazel
Burnell. I still remember with pleasure
the Harrogate championship where they organised such a wonderful variety of
non-chess activities. The advance
preparation for the celebration would have impressed any wedding planner. We had our seating plan, our individual menu
choices and even our selected beverage for the toast all recorded in advance
and delivered as planned. It went like
clockwork but if you imagine the scope for chaos, then you appreciate the
importance of their efforts.
Here
it is worth mentioning the willingness of the hotel staff to give assistance
and the good quality of the hotel food and amenities – apart from a two- hour
interlude just before the celebration dinner when the hotel lift was not
functioning properly. Fortunately, the
problem was solved quickly but I guess the organisers were temporarily worried.
Another
group, at this weekend represented by Norman Andrews, Gill Smith, and Richard
Murphy, (but which includes also Roger Waters,
Christine Andrews and Mike Murphy) are the sighted volunteers who make almost
everything run smoothly and, when they don’t run as they should, are quick to
sort things out. The six people just
mentioned and Hazel and Steve Burnell were all honoured by the award of
honorary life memberships at a soirée which followed the celebration dinner.
Joan
Shorrock founded the tradition of soirée at seven-day events and should have been with us to also
receive honorary life membership. Again,
ill health prevented her attendance but such has been
her success the soirée went
ahead even though a weekend leaves limited time for artistic collaboration pre
performance.
In
Joan’s absence, Julie stepped into the role of organiser and, in addition to
her own musical contribution, acted as continuity announcer. What a great variety of talents were on
display! I chose “continuity announcer”
because the soirées always
remind me of sitting with a radio and flicking between various channels. Radio 3 could have a professional violinist
Abi Baker showing her versatility by playing a piano piece by Liszt. Classic FM might happily present Guy
Whitehouse with his flute solo piece. While
Radio 1 and 2 might offer Richard Harrington’s Elvis tribute, Stan Lovell’s
lively piano playing or Gary Wickett and friends rendering yet another aspect
of the musical range of BCA talents. Not
to be left out, Radio 4 could carry Tessa Fullwood’s soirée debut with three poem selections and
Julie’s musical item whose chess references might just be wasted on the majority of Radio 1 devotees. One voice which would not sound out of place
on a BBC broadcast will be familiar to those who receive the audio version of
the Gazette. Janet Hempson achieved
another step in soirée progress by making a much appreciated and specially
recorded contribution to our celebratory soirée without coming to Solihull.
Perhaps
because it was a special weekend event, a larger than usual number stayed for
the Sunday evening meal. This provided
me with a lasting memory of the event.
It was a very convivial occasion. It was not just a group of chess players
marking an anniversary of their association. It was a group of friends sharing memories of
the past, some of which were tinged with sadness, and creating new happy
memories for the future. The dominant
note of that Sunday evening was of happiness and laughter, especially from a
riotous group crucial to the soirée performances. I will spare their blushes by using only that
general label.
If
anyone questioned the chance of the BCA reaching its centenary, a recording of
the joyous sound of hilarity on Sunday evening would dismiss any doubt
completely.
Our
90th anniversary was a significant landmark well celebrated.
Editor’s note: Before receiving
Bill’s excellent report, I had already asked the two winners if they would like
to send in a game for the gazette. Steve
chose the same one that Bill used in his report and added some comments. Simon also selected a game.
Steve
Burnell:
“The
game was interesting in itself as well as in the
context of the tournament. Going into Round
4, I was on 3/3 and my opponent Bill Armstrong on 2.5/3. Although the resulting draw probably suited us
both, nevertheless neither of us played for this and it was only at the very
end when Bill was getting rather short of time and neither of us could see a
way to win, that we agreed the draw.”
Simon
Highsmith:
“Wow,
what a tournament! I would like to put
forward my game with Bittor from R4. He
has given me his permission to publish the game in the gazette. I was just amazed as anyone that he fell for
it, and like Julie said to him, it happens to all of us. That is how I learnt about it. All those defeats before now have come useful
after all!”
R4:
Simon Highsmith v Bittor Ibanez
1.
e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Ng5 h6 4. Nxf7 Kxf7 5. Qf3+ Ke8 6. Qh5+ g6 7. Qxg6, checkmate
Joan Shorrock writes:
Sorry I can’t be with you
At this special time.
To show I’m with you in spirit,
Here’s a little rhyme!
The BCA is 90 years old,
Not the members. Or so I’m told!
Maybe there’s room for doubt
But chess is what it’s all about!
Then there is the soirée too.
All contribute, no matter who,
With instruments, songs and rhyme.
I’ll miss it, but hopefully, see you all next time!
Editor’s note: This year Janet stood down from recording the
audio gazette for us. She had been doing
it for 11 years so we’re enormously grateful to her! Sadly, Janet and her husband, Peter, were
unable to join us for our 90th Anniversary celebration. Instead, Janet composed a poem called “The
Mystery Person” to be read at the Soirée and, if possible, put in the gazette. I assumed the mystery person in the poem
would be Janet herself because although many members know her voice, most don’t
know anything about her. This sounded
like a brilliant idea to me, and I agreed to include the poem in the gazette
before I’d even heard it. However, I got
a very big surprise in Solihull!
Nevertheless, I’m keeping my word and including it in the gazette. Here it is:
Is there no end to her talents,
Is there anything she cannot do?
From guiding, controlling and playing
A blind chess player’s dream come true.
She works every day in an office
Then back to her home she will go,
To work in her garden is blissful
She’s good with a spade and a hoe.
Her flowers open their petals
To beam at the sun in the sky,
They open their hearts for the birds and
bees
What pleasure they give her, oh my!
But soon she must turn her attention
To matter that come to the fore
From people who send contributions
She cannot afford to ignore.
There are articles all about holidays
And contests in which we might play
Some she’ll have to leave out this time
And same for another great day.
Her editorial theme will relate to the chess
The game we all know and play
Oh, how does she do it, I only can
guess,
I admire such a skill every day!
I’m sure that by now you will know who I
mean
And I’ll add the guitar she can play
She can sing – she’s our own wonder woman
Julie, the Ed. Of Gazette B.C.A.
Editor’s Note: The BCA Band performed a version of Billy
Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” with lyrics adapted to cover 90 years of BCA
history! I’m including the words here
because a few people requested them.
Nineteen thirty-two, Reg Bonham and his crew
Correspondence Chess, was what they liked the best
Brailled moves on little notes, sent them in the post
Had a great idea one day, “Let’s start the BCA!”
Olympiad, Weymouth, Jack Horrocks, Harry Booth
Organisers, thank you, Hans Cohn and Stefi too
Moving on, passed pawn, forty years, growing strong
Ted Williams, Yorkshireman, Ivy’s laughing policeman
Chorus – 2 lines
We didn't make the first move, we don’t mind admitting but the clock’s still ticking
We didn't make the first move, no we didn’t play it, but we’re glad that they did
Fifty years, let me check, Hastings, Harry Golombek
Paul Benson new talent, Geoff Carlin what a gent!
Doncaster, no bar staff, Graham Lilley’s booming laugh
Sensation, Bill Armstrong, he’s the new, champion
Jan and Stan, Sean and Pat, north v south, with my Dad,
Blackpool, Torquay, Sheila Milsom brought the tea,
We don’t mind, where we play, Llandudno, Morecambe Bay
Chorley Wood, I’m not kidding, players went skinny dipping!
(Chorus)
Oakham School, Sixty, Diamond, Jubilee
Willerby, championships, Walking on the Humber Bridge
Ivor Wagner, Guitar, Six Nations, Scarborough
Gerry Walsh, Teeside, Anglo Dutch, who needs a guide?
Now we’re platinum, Eastwick-Field, Paignton
Watkins, Patching, moves sent on cassette
Ladies Champion Chrissie Brown, York v Hamburg on the lawn
All the news in the gazette, Peter Price, Juliet
Three quarter century, hosted IBCA
European, in Durham, Spain to Azerbaijan
Twenty five nations, joined the celebrations
Fundraiser Julia, couldn’t have done it without her
Committee, Guy and Voldi, Norman Wragg, Alec Crombie
Oh no, fancy that, Victor ate the Chairman’s hat
(Chorus)
Peter Gibbs, Celia, Chess Theme Breaks in Windermere
Coaching, each other, Antoine singing “Mother”
Dublin, London, Steve Thacker, Haaksbergen
Bournemouth, Murder Mystery, Joan does the Soirées
Hodgkins, 4NCL, Gallagher, Steve Burnell,
Harrogate, Old Swan, Tanvi, Dan, Gary’s Band,
Ninety years, Solihull, hope you liked this chronicle
Digi clocks, magnetic sets, our flag’s not fallen yet
We didn't make the first move, we don’t mind admitting but the clock’s still ticking
We didn't make the first move, but when we are gone
BCA will go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on ….
Philip Doyle and Eamonn Casey write:
For the first time ever in our seventeen
completed tournaments, we've had to resort to adjudications to decide the
outcome of two of the games in Division 4.
Steve Burnell, chairman of the tournament subcommittee, performed the
task very efficiently. This is also the
first time we've used up our full allocation of three months to complete the
tournament.
In Division 1 we had joint winners, Bill
Armstrong and Steve Burnell. Congratulations to both in sharing victory in
a very hard-fought division.
Doyle
drew with Burnell
Burnell
drew with Jones
Doyle
beat Jones
Jones
lost to Armstrong
Armstrong
beat Doyle
Burnell
beat Armstrong
Final
Scores: Armstrong and Burnell 2, Doyle 1.5, Jones 0.5
Division 2 ended up being a
three-cornered struggle, due the early withdrawal of Daniel Shek, a new young
associate member. As all three games had
started before the withdrawal, each of the three remaining players was awarded
a full point. All three players won one
game apiece so there was no dividing them.
Casey
beat Fullwood
Prasath
beat Casey
Fullwood
beat Shek
Shek
lost to Casey
Prasath
beat Shek
Fullwood
beat Prasath
Final
Scores: Casey, Fullwood and Prasath, 2
Division 3 ended up in a clearcut
victory for Voldi Gailans. He won all his 3 games and was the only 100 percenter in the tournament.
Smith
lost to Gailans
Gailans beat Emery
Gailans beat Elbourn
Elbourn beat Emery
Elbourn beat Smith
Emery
beat Smith
Final
Scores: Gailans 3, Elbourn
2, Emery 1, Smith 0
Division 4 went right down to the
wire. Our colleague, Marilyn Bland from
the United States, experienced a number of problems,
including disruption caused by all the terrible snowstorms over there, before
Christmas and as a result, two of her games needed to be sent for
adjudication. However, in the event, she
still managed to come out the winner of this division.
Harrington
lost to Flood
Flood
lost to Ramm
Ramm
beat Harrington
Bland
beat Harrington
Bland
drew with Flood
Ramm
lost to Bland
Final
Scores: Bland 2.5, Ramm 2, Flood 1.5,
Harrington 0
In conclusion, we wish to thank all the players
for their co-operation and also for the friendly and
sporting manner adopted by all during the tournament. Our next tournament is due to commence in
March, so it won't be long before you are hearing from us again. Look out for the notice in early
February. Just one gentle reminder, only
enter the tournament if you are fully committed to seeing it through. We had 16 players this time, let's get it
back up into the twenties next time!
Paul Benson writes:
Just over 10 years
ago a file was downloaded from a chess database onto my laptop. It contains four games which were to be
examined with the intention of incorporating them into my repertoire. Thankfully chess games do not go mouldy. Here are a couple of those games
demonstrating how surprisingly effective this offbeat idea can turn out. Attention should be paid to comments
regarding pawn characteristics, in particular “Isolated”
or “Passed”.
Z. Franco Ocampos
(2522) - J. Arizmendi Martinez (2503), Cala Mendia, Mallorca, 2001.
1. c4 b6
Welcome to the
English Defence. Black is hoping to
influence the centre right from the start.
There is a secondary reason for the immediate black fianchetto. White is discouraged from the move 2. g3
planning a kingside fianchetto. Some
players base their entire repertoire of the English Opening on having a g2
bishop. Only a single move has been played
and Black is already annoying White.
2. Nc3 Bb7 3. e4 e6 4. Nge2 Nf6 Threatening to win
a pawn after just 4 moves.
5. d3 d5 Another challenge
to the centre. White must again respond to Black’s threat to win a pawn with exchanges on
the e4 square. So much for thinking it
is White who leads in the dance of the opening skirmishes. White can maintain pawn symmetry with 6 f3,
but this leaves the f1 bishop wondering how to get into play. There is also 6. Ng3 but this means white
pieces are tied down to defensive roles.
So this black system involving 5. ... d5
appears to force imbalance in the centre pawn structure. Exactly what a combative player desires.
6. cxd5 exd5 7. e5 Nfd7 8. d4 c5 Trying to undermine
the defence of the cramping white e5 pawn, there is a feel of the French
Defence in the air.
9. f4 A branch point. In the game to follow this one White chooses
9. Nf4 leading to a completely different type of middlegame.
9. ... Nc6 10. Be3 cxd4 A move of both
mixed and as yet unknown consequences. Black
voluntarily, depending on your perspective, either “Isolates” the d5 pawn, or
creates a “Passed” d-pawn. Which is it? Only time will tell. If White can restrain the advance of the d5
pawn followed by ganging up on it, then isolation is the status. If Black organises sufficient support to give
safety followed by preparation to advance, a “Passed” d-pawn is in play.
11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bc5 Despite always being a move behind
from the start of the game, Black is now a development tempo ahead, not bad
huh?
13. Be2 O-O 14. O-O Qe7 15. Bf3 A second attack on
the black d5 pawn. Perhaps it is becoming
“Isolated”?
15. ... Rad8 An x-ray attack on
the white d1 queen. Fine, but there are
3 units between the opposing pieces of the x-ray threat, so is Black gaining
anything?
16. Re1 White could
probably snatch with 16. Bxd5 but perhaps reckons the black d5 pawn cannot run
away and so prefers to mount more pressure into the position. A less energetic plan of pawn g3 with Bg2
would keep everything under control.
16. ... Bxd4+ 17. Qxd4 Nc5 A couple of changes
in the position need noting. Firstly,
the white queen is now directly x-rayed by the black d8 rook, there now being
only a single unit between the opposing heavy pieces. Secondly, White now has 3 attackers focusing
on the black d5 pawn which is only defended twice. However, this does not tell the complete
story. If White starts capturing on d5 a
white piece will be entering into a self-pin up the d-file. Expect problems to emerge rather quickly.
18. Nb5 Keeping the
tension. White seems content to postpone
capturing, possibly on the grounds the black d5 pawn is destined to fall no
matter what. Some ideas on an immediate
capture run:
(A). 18. Nxd5 Bxd5
19. Bxd5 Ne6 20. Qc4 Nxf4 21. Qxf4 Rxd5 when it is White who has an “Isolated”
e5 pawn.
(B). 18. Nxd5 Bxd5
19. Bxd5 Ne6 20. Qc4 Nxf4 21. Bf3 Ne6 again White has an “Isolated” pawn to
worry about.
Black seems all right
in these lines, however White can vary the capture move order.
(C). 18. Bxd5 Ne6
19. Qc4 Nxf4 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. Qxf4 Black has lost a piece for a pawn.
(D). 18. Bxd5 Qd7
19. Rad1 Ne6 21. Qc4 and Black has no sensible means to increase the pressure.
If these lines
with 18. Bxd5 are correct then perhaps White could have quite safely won a
pawn.
In the game White
is planning the positional Nd6 denying Black access to some light squares in
the defence. Fine, but it is Black to
move.
18. ... Ne6 19. Qe3 A sad necessity,
there are some simple tactics to be avoided:
(A). 19. Qf2 Nxf4 White
drops a pawn.
(B). 19. Qd2 Qc5+ 20. Kh1 Qxb5 Black
wins a piece.
(C). 19. Qd2 Qc5+ 20. Nd4 Qxd4 again Black
wins a piece.
This strongly
hints that White 18. Nb5 was not the best available. Black to play can now take a strong grip on
the position.
19. ... d4 20. Qd2 Bxf3 21. gxf3 f5 Several important
changes have occurred in the position. Firstly,
Black has fixed the centre but much more importantly the white f4 pawn is now a
target waiting to be hit. Secondly, that
d4 pawn is beginning to take on the persona of a “Passed” pawn. Higher power white forces will become tied
down to prevent it from advancing further.
But surely White has something even better, an “Advanced Protected
Passed” e5 pawn? Indeed so, but it will
be difficult to defend if the f4 pawn falls.
22. Rac1 Opening up the
position only favours Black. Instead 22. exf6 Rxf6 and the white f4 pawn will soon fall.
22. ... Rd5 23. Nd6 Qh4 24. Rc6 Nxf4 Weak pawn falls,
job done, right? Not really. White is starting to think something is
available by following the maxim: “Passed pawns must be pushed.” But Black also knows of this maxim. A satisfactory defence to the forthcoming
white threat needed to be carefully calculated before
abandoning the blockade of the white e5 pawn.
The real middlegame fun is about to begin, complications to escalate,
who will envisage the further?
25. e6 Only chance. The threat is pawn e7 and promotion on e8
costing Black a rook. Black to play
needs inspiration, but what?
25. ... Nd3 Exploiting an
overloading of the white queen. She
cannot give a defence to the e1 rook and keep out this invading black knight at
the same time, the e1 rook must move.
26. Re2 Tactics favour Black. A couple of ideas run:
(A). 26. e7 Qxe1+
27. Qxe1 Nxe1 28. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 29. Rc8+ Ke7 30. Re8+ Kxd6 31. Rxe1 Re5 32. Rd1
Kd5 Black has 2 extra pawns plus the more active pieces, a quick win coming
soon.
(B). 26. e7 Qxe1+
27. Qxe1 Nxe1 28. e8=Q Rxe8 29. Nxe8 d3 30. Rc1 d2 31. Rd1 Nxf3+ Black is 3
pawns up.
26. ... Ne5 A tripler. Firstly, Black
threatens Nxf3+ winning the white queen.
Secondly, a backward attack hits the white c6 rook. Thirdly, the support of the white e2 rook to
the e5 pawn is blocked.
27. e7 White throws in a tactrick. That is, a
tricky tactical move which is not completely sound but might work if the
opponent gets confused or panics.
27. ... Qxe7 Black avoids the
trap but needed to find the follow up before snatching this dangerous white
pawn. Instead
27. ... Nxf3+ 28. Kh1 Nxd2 29. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 30. Re8+ mate was what White hoped
might appear.
28. Qf4 There is a
different way to try to exploit the pinned black e5 knight, some ideas run:
(A). 28. f4 Nf3+
29. Kg2 Nxd2 30. Rxe7 Rd8 31. Rcc7 and Black has no means of preventing the
white rooks from forcing perpetual check.
(B). 28. f4 Rxd6
29. Rxd6 Qxd6 30. fxe5 Qd5 when Black is 2 pawns up, this is winning but needs
careful nurturing.
(C). 28. f4 Rxd6
29. Rxd6 Qxd6 30. Rxe5 g6 again Black is 2 pawns up, winning, but careful play
required to convert.
(D). 28. f4 Rxd6
29. Rxe5 Qd7 30. Rc1 White is 2 pawns down but has all the heavy pieces still
in play, Black must work harder than in the above lines.
Black to play
cleverly simplifies into an easily won endgame.
28. ... Qg5+ 29. Qxg5 Nxf3+ A royal fork. Black is going to be 3 pawns up, and we can
finally pronounce the d-pawn status to be “Passed”.
30. Kg2 Nxg5 31. Re7 d3 0-1 Grandmaster technique ensures Black will take
the full point.
M. Voiska (2320) - S. Matveeva (2447), 2nd Women’s European
Championship, Warsaw, 2001.
1. c4 b6 2. Nc3 Bb7 3. e4 e6 4. Nge2 Nf6 5. d3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e5 Nfd7 8. d4 c5 9. Nf4 A bold decision,
instead 9. f4 as in game 1 is safer.
9. ... cxd4 10. Ncxd5 Nxe5 Black chooses a
simple life. Trying to refute the white
construction of tandem knights with 10. ... g5 gives White an attack, some
ideas run:
(A). 10. ... g5
11. Ne6 fxe6 12. Qh5+ mate is cute but will not happen.
(B). 10. ... g5
11. Ne6 Qc8 12. Nec7+ Kd8 13. Bxg5+ Be7 14. Bxe7+ mate hints of the style seen
in the 1870s.
(C). 10. ... g5
11. Ne6 Qc8 12. Nec7+ Kd8 13. Bxg5+ f6 14. exf6 White would have a fine
position plus being 2 pawns up.
11. Bb5+ Nbc6 12. Qh5 Here or on the
previous move capturing Qxd4 seems playable.
Your Annotator cannot find a refutation and so assumes White judges the
black d-pawn is “Isolated”, it can be picked off in time. Now both players decide the opening skirmish
is over, time to get king safety before the middlegame gets rolling.
12. ... Qd6 13. Bd2 O-O-O 14. O-O g6 A tripler. Firstly,
the white queen is pushed to a less aggressive location. Secondly, g7 is vacated for the black f8
bishop. Thirdly, the f5 square can now
be occupied by a black piece.
15. Qh3+ Kb8 16. Qg3 Bg7 17. Rac1 Rhg8 Difficult to
explain this move, speculation required.
Maybe Black planned Bh8 intending pawn g5 disrupting the white tandem
knights only to change her mind for something less loosening?
18. Bxc6 Somewhat committal. This unforced exchange of pieces only leaves
the black light square bishop thinking of a rosy future come the late
middlegame onwards. Instead
18. Rfe1 or 18. Rfd1 waiting for Black to produce a plan makes sense and
vacates f1 for the light square bishop to strengthen the defences.
18. ... Nxc6 19. Rfe1 Rge8 20. h4 Strongly hinting White
does not have a positive plan. This
advance cannot be aimed at opening the kingside. Only Black could profit from that. Perhaps it is designed to prevent black pawn
g5 disrupting the mutual protection scheme of the white tandem knights? White cannot force open the queenside with
the symmetric pawn structure over there.
All that is left is shuffling pieces while trying to contain the growing
black central activity.
20. ... Re5 21. Nb4 Surely this drops a
piece to a fairly obvious capture sequence?
21. ... Rxe1+ 22. Bxe1 Ne7 Black avoids the
trap. White had a couple of discovered
checks available, accuracy required, the ideas run:
(A). 22. ... Nxb4
23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Nd5+ Ka8 25. Nxb4 when White wins the black queen for a
piece, painful, but White has something far better.
(B). 22. ... Nxb4
23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Nd5+ Ka8 25. Nc7+ Kb8 26. Na6+ Ka8 27. Qb8+ Rxb8 28. Nc7+
smothered mate.
But Black is
missing a trick in those lines, the disasters can be avoided.
(C). 22. ... Nxb4
23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Nd5+ Qd6 Black saves the queen and prevents mate. White has simply lost a piece.
However in turn White is also missing a trick.
(D). 22. ... Nxb4
23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Ne6+ Rd6 25 a3 Qxb2 26. Qxd6+ Ka8 27. Qd8+ Bc8 28. Qxc8+
mate.
(E). 22. ... Nxb4
23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Ne6+ Qd6 25. Nxd8 and the black queen is pinned to her king,
white has snaffled an exchange, Black can no longer think of winning.
And just to show
how tricky tactics can be, Black can produce a surprise in the white
improvement lines.
(F). 22. ... Nxb4
23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Ne6+ Be5 25. Qxe5+ Qd6 26. Qxd6+ Rxd6 when Black still has
the extra pawn.
However the simplifications give White an easier game, keeping the
tension while probing the kingside gives white more problems to solve. Having sidestepped the trap, is Black making
any gains with a knight retreat? Yes,
this knight is heading for a more active posting on the kingside while still
supporting the d4 pawn. Also the black b7 bishop is unleashed and finally
influencing the light squares on the a8 - h1 long diagonal, as planned so long
ago. Black now improves the position of
a couple of units while the corresponding white units become a little more
passive.
23. Nbd3 Nf5 24. Qh2 Rc8 25. Rd1 a5 A move requiring
careful consideration. The Gains: The a7
square is vacated for the black king, the b7 bishop still has options of using
the a6 square, the white e1 bishop is denied the b4 square. The Loss: White can get some queenside pawn
activity, this is what needed careful consideration.
26. b4 a4 Keeping the
queenside closed for as long as possible.
Instead 26. ... axb4 27 Rb1 White will win the
pawn back with piece activity into the bargain.
27. b5 Ka7 28. Bb4 Qd7 So White gets a
bishop on b4 anyway, but the advanced b5 pawn is now a liability.
29. Rb1 Placing an x-ray
defence on the stranded white b5 pawn. This
should make the black queen think twice before capturing, right?
29. ... Qxb5 Perhaps played with
an unspoken: “Show me!” Had the white
rook been on the b2 square, backwardly guarded by the d3 knight, this capture
would be a blunder. White could then
reply 30. Bc5 which will win the black b6 pawn.
But surely giving the opponent a semi-open file in front of your king is
unwise? Generally
speaking, yes, but Black has weighed the gains and losses. The white units are scattered across the
board, they cannot coordinate against the black defences, in particular the
queen on h2 contributes nothing.
30. Re1 h5 Fixing the white h4
pawn, another target appears for Black to combine against.
31. a3 Bf6 32. Qh3 While 32. g3 saves
the h4 pawn it also incarcerates the white queen.
32. ... Bxh4 33. Re5 Setting up a
tactic, it should not work, but in desperate positions try something, anything.
33. ... Qd7 34. Rxf5 Qxf5 35. Qxh4 g5 The tandem knights
mutual protection scheme is in the process of falling apart. On f5 the black queen hits both white
knights, now the f4 knight is attacked by the black g-pawn, it dare not move as the d3 knight would fall. White has a couple of ideas available which
must be tried.
36. Qxh5 Pinning the black
g5 pawn to the unprotected f5 queen. Black
to play can force a win of material.
36. ... Be4 A doubler. Firstly, backward protection is given to the
black f5 queen so the g5 pawn is no longer pinned and can safely capture the
white f4 knight. Secondly, a double
attack now hits the white d3 knight, if it moves the f4 knight falls.
37. g4 Setting just one
last test for Black to pass.
37. ... Qh7 Keeping all threats
in place, a pawn attack on the f4 knight, a double attack on the d3 knight.
38. Ne1 There is nothing
better. Instead
38. Qxh7 Bxh7 39. Nh3 Bxd3 40. Nxg5 Bc4 Black would be an exchange plus pawn
up.
38. ... gxf4 0-1 Black is an exchange plus 2 pawns up, a
decisive material advantage. In closing,
the black d4 pawn must be declared as “Passed” and will soon cost White a
piece.
Owen Phillips
writes:
There is a saying
that opposite colour bishop endings are always draws. Well, they often can be but for two good
reasons they shouldn't be assumed to be.
Firstly, if one can get an attack then the side attacking can develop a
powerful initiative as the opposing bishop will often not be a good defender. Secondly, in all endings where a rook is
involved the relative activity of a rook is often the key from which a player
can get a lasting initiative.
The following
position arose during my recent foray in the 46th International Guernsey Open
event in St Peter Port (White to move):
White: Kh2 Rg3 Bd4
with pawns on g2, f2, a3, b4 and h4
Black: Kf7 Rc1 Bb7
h7, g6, f6, a6 and b5
I was White and my
opponent seemed shocked that I hadn’t accepted his offer of a draw as it was an
opposite coloured bishops ending with equal material
and if anything my h pawn looked vulnerable.
I didn't want to as such an ending can be very tricky and that was why I
had placed my pawn on h4 in the first place, as a distraction. I had remembered that the key to such endings
is to get activity.
The ending that
ensued, where my opponent captured my h pawn and I went a pawn down in order to create a strong bishop and permanently active
rook, soon showed the importance of following good principles and in playing on
in so called ‘drawn opposite bishop endings’!
Enjoy:
33. Re3 Rc4 34. Bc5 Rxh4+ 35. Kg3 Re4 36. Rd3 Ke6 37. f3 Re2 38. Rd6+ Kf5
39. Rd7 Bc6 40. Ra7 h5 41. Rxa6 Bd5 42. Bd4 Re6 43. Ra5 Bc4 44. a4 g5 45. axb5 h4+ 46. Kh2 Kf4
47. b6 Re8 48. Bxf6 Ke3 49. Bxg5+ Kd4 50. Bxh4 Bd5 51. Bg3 Rh8+ 52. Kg1 Rg8 53. Rxd5+ 1-0
You may note that
several mating threats were key to the win!
The opening was 1.
e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nxd5 6. d4 e6 7. Nf3 Nc6 8.a3 a6
9. Bd3 Be7 10. O-O Nf6.....where White deliberately
saddles himself with an isolated central pawn with the intent of a less regular
and an attacking Caro Kann game.
P.S. I finished
with 4/7 with a gain of 21 rating points. Incidentally I can highly recommend going to
the Guernsey Festival of Chess as the playing conditions are always excellent
and with one game a day there is plenty of time to take in the fresh and
generally rather warmer air than on the mainland. Many participants are regulars as it is so
well thought of. Three players have
attended over 40 times now!
Owen Phillips
writes:
Example game
showing the dangerous c4 line against the Caro Kann
Chess.com INT:
Harshavardhan, GB (2397) v Devaev, Alexander (2325)
Round 6, 03.08.2021, ECO B14
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Bb4 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 Nc6 9. Bd3 O-O
10. O-O Be7 11. Re1 Bf6 12. Ne4 Nce7 13. Rc1 Ng6 14. Nxf6+ Nxf6 15. Bg5 Qd6 16. Ne5 Nd5 17. Qh5 Bd7
18. Re4 Rac8 19. Rce1 Nf6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rh4 1-0
Owen
Phillips our Associate Member and long-time coach of our international team writes:
I
enjoyed the 2022 World Seniors event in Assisi Italy although it was tough work!
I was 113th seed but finished equal 80th
on 5/11 so was pleased with that. My
trip started with a few days of sightseeing in Florence
so I was reasonably relaxed from the outset. The paintings, architecture, sculptures, basilicas and frescoes were very dramatic. Assisi proved equally awe inspiring with works
by the great masters of the Renaissance!
The
Championships had 350 competitors from 52 Federations including a host of
famous Grand Masters, top IMs and numerous top women
players. In all there were 22 GMs, 5
WGMs, 37 IMs, 5 WIMs, 42 FMs, 3 WFMs and 10 CMs participating! The highlight for England was John Nunn
taking home the Over 65 World Title with 9/11.
In
my Over 50s event GM Zurab Sturua of Georgia emerged victorious on 8.5/11
winning on tie break from GM Maxim Novak.
GM Nona Gaprindashvili of Georgia won her 8th Senior Ladies World Title.
It
was hard to select games for the Gazette but I
plumped for my Round 10 win against Giancarlo Badano.
I thought that game was exciting and also most relevant to the BCA as Giancarlo has long been
playing in the IBCA events. I met him at
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia a few years back, where he lost
a tussle with Stevie Hilton, but as he arrived in the playing hall he was
hailed as El Maestro by the Italians! He
is clearly a favourite of theirs! I have
to say that although Giancarlo was some three hundred to 450 points below my
other opponents, I found him a very good competitor and we had a most exciting
game.
The
other miniature from the last round I chose because it involved a very sharp
line of the French Defence and I thought it might be
of interest to those of you who play the French but not the extremely sharp
MacCutcheon line!
Owen
Phillips (1978) v Giancarlo Badano (1751), Round 10, 25.11.2022
1.
e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. f4 d4 4. Nce2 c5 5. Ng3 Nf6 6. c3 Tempting d3, where
the pawn gets over extended.
6. ...
Nc6 7. d3 Now I prefer to stop the pawn roll.
7. ...
b5 8. Nf3 Be7 9. a4 b4 10. cxd4 Nxd4 11. Be3 Nxf3+ 12. Qxf3 Bb7 13. b3 Black has a backward c pawn
13.
... Rc8 14. Be2 O-O 15. O-O Qb6 16. Rad1 Rfd8 17. h3 A tempting alternative was f5.
17.
... Rd7 18. Nh1 Time to reposition
my charger!
18.
... Rcd8 19. Nf2 .Ba6 Piling the
pressure on my d pawn!
20.
g4 Ne8 21. g5 The Fritz
assessment here is still only +0.33 for White!
21.
... f5 22. gxf6
Nxf6 23. Bc1 Maybe Kh1 was
preferable.
23.
... Bb7 24. Kh2
Kf7 I thought
maybe he would go for a pawn break with c4.
I have to be incredibly careful in moving forward that I don't
release the latent power of his two bishops!
25.
Bb2 Qc7 26. h4
g6 27. Qg3 Rg8 28. Rg1 R7d8 29.Be5 Qb6 By now Black was in serious time trouble
almost down to just his 30 second increments per move! In some ways yet again this adversely affected
the accuracy of my own play, but I did pose my opponent significant tactical
issues.
30.
Qh3 Rdf8 31.
Rgf1 Ke8 32.
Nh1 Nd7 33. Bb2
Bf6 34. e5 Be7 35. a5 Qa6 36. Ng3 Bd5 37. d4 Qxa5
38.
Ra1 Qc7 39. Bc4..Time! 1-0
I
shall leave you to spot where White went wrong getting excited in his
opponent's time trouble! Giancarlo
finished well scoring 4/11.
Marco
Ceccarini (2014) v Owen Phillips (1978), Round 11, 26.11.2022
1.
e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Be3
A
major alternative was 6. exf6 hxg5 7. fxg7 Rg8 8. Qh5 Qf6 9. Nf3 Qxg7 10. h4 gxh4 11. Qxh4 Nd7 12. O-O-O a6. Back to the game:
6. ...
Ne4 7. Qg4 Kf8 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Nxc3 10. Bd3 c5 11. dxc5 Nc6 12. Nf3 f5!!? This came as a major surprise to my opponent but it seemed natural to me. He now spent almost 50 mins on his next move!
13.
Qh3 Else if 13.
Qh4 Qxh4 14.
Nxh4 Kf7 or if 13. Qh5 Bd7 14. Ng5 Nxe5 15. f4 g6 both of which look slightly
better for Black. Back to the game:
13.
... d4 and finding the position unclear and wanting to watch the French World
Cup match I offered a draw which was eagerly accepted by my Italian opponent. The MacCutcheon indeed looks alive and well
with the move 12. ... f5! resource!
Steve Burnell writes:
Since the 1980’s, I have played Graham more times than I
have played any other member of the BCA. We both used to attend OTB tournaments
regularly where our paths would invariably cross – usually in round 3 or 4. In addition to these games, over recent years
when poor health prevented Graham from attending BCA events, we played a series
of friendly games by email. These games
showed that without doubt, although Graham wasn’t fit enough to attend BCA
events, his ‘chess brain’ was as sharp as ever. These email games also gave us the opportunity
to chat about various matters – often football related, where Graham’s team
(Liverpool) invariably fared better than mine!
Throughout all our games, I think that a draw was the most
common result, with victory for Graham the next most frequent. Here are a couple of our games. Note the common theme at the end of each – the
knight fork. It can happen to the best
of us!
This is one of our earliest encounters at a BCA weekend
tournament in Llandudno. I don’t recall
the outcome of the tournament overall, but I would be pretty sure that Graham
won it.
Lilley-Burnell, BCA AGM Weekend Congress, Llandudno, Round 3, 31.03.1990
1. d4 d5
2. c4 dxc4
3. Nf3 Nf6
4. e3 Bg4
5. Bxc4 e6
6. Nc3 Nbd7
7. h3 Bh5
8. Be2 Bd6
9. 0–0 0–0
10. e4 e5
11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe2 13. Nxe2 Bxe5 14. f4 Bd6 15. Qc2 Qe7 16. Ng3 Bc5+ 17. Kh1 Bb6
18. Bd2 Rad8 19. Bc3 Bd4 20. Bxd4 Rxd4 21. e5 Nd5 22. Nf5 Qb4 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. Rad1 Ne3
25. Rxd4 Nxc2 26. Rd7 Black resigns
The second game is one of a series of email games we played
over the past three years. Most of these
were draws, with the game below being my only win. After the game Graham told me that he had made
a similar mistake in our game in the British Championship in 1999!
Lilley-Burnell, Email game 2022
1. c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 e6
3. Nf3 b6
4. d4 Bb7
5. h3 Be7
6. Bf4 d6
7. Bh2 Nbd7
8. e3 a6
9. Be2 0–0
10. 0–0 c5
11. d5 e5
12. e4 h6
13. Ne1 g5
14. Nc2 Kg7
15. Ne3 Ng8
16. Nf5+ Kh7
17. Bd3 Ndf6
18. Ne2 Bc8
19. Neg3 Bd7 20. Qd2 b5 21. b3 bxc4 22. bxc4 Rb8 23. Rab1 Bxf5 24. Nxf5 Qc7 25. g3 Rxb1 26. Rxb1 Rb8
27. Qc2 Rxb1+ 28. Qxb1 Bf8 29. f3 Ne7 30. Nxe7 Bxe7 31. Kg2 Kg7 32. Bg1 Qa5 33. Be3 Bf8 34. Qc2 Qc7
35. Bd2 Be7 36. Qb1 Bd8 37. Bc2 Ng8 38. Ba4 Ne7 39. f4 f6 40. h4 exf4 41. gxf4 gxf4
42. Bxf4 Ng6
43. Bg3 Ne5 44. Qc1 Qb6 45. Bd1 Qc7 46. Bf4 Kg8 47. Bxh6 Qh7 48. Bf3 Qg6+ 49. Kf2 Nd3+ White resigns
Here is the
solution to the final Gray Matter Test selected by Graham Lilley.
November 2022 Puzzle
Magnus Carlsen vs Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Khanty Mansyisk,
11/29/2005
3R4/2r1p1k1/4pNpb/q1p2n1p/1pB2P2/2P3P1/1P2Q2P/6K1
White: King g1. Queen e2, Rook
d8, Bishop c4, Knight f6, Pawns b2, c3, f4, g3, h2
Black: King g7, Queen a5, Rook
c7, Bishop h6, Knight f5, Pawns b4, c5, e7, e6, g6, h5
White mates in two moves.
Solution: Rg8+, black King moves, followed by
White playing Qxe6 mate.
These puzzles are selected by Mark Hague from the website http://www.wtharvey.com, which contains many puzzles that challenge you to find a win from a position in a real game.
Graham had been supplying puzzles derived from Magnus Carlsen's games, please let me know if you would like any alternative puzzle themes.
February 2023 Puzzle
Kjetil Stokke vs Magnus Carlsen, Oslo, 6/8/2006
1Q6/4ppkp/1p4p1/3q4/1P3n2/P4N1r/5PP1/4RK2
White: King f1, Queen b8, Rook e1, Knight f3, Pawns a3, b4, f2, g2
Black: King g7, Queen d5, Rook h3, Knight f4, Pawns b6, e7, f7, g6, h7
Black mates in two moves. The solution will appear in the May Gazette.
Mark Hague
Gary Wickett writes:
As Denis and I were close friends, Julie asked me if I would write an obituary for the Gazette. In truth, I know very little of Denis’s life before the BCA as we mainly talked about music and chess. The only surviving member of his family that I know of is his sister, but unfortunately, I have no way of contacting her for information. So my apologies that this obituary will be a very pale and unsubstantial reflection of a long life well lived.
Denis, along with his twin brother, was born on 28 July 1932, the same year that the BCA came into being, and he sadly passed away almost twelve months to the day of his late wife June.
Although having very poor sight as a child, he attended his local mainstream school; taking a particular interest in woodwork, which he continued to enjoy well into his eighties. In fact, about ten years ago, when I showed him my chess set, he was appalled at its quality and offered to make me a new one, which he produced about two weeks later and which I still use to this day.
I can’t quite remember what Denis did for a living, but he worked, I think in some kind of engineering capacity well into his fifties, when he accepted the offer of early retirement due to his sight deteriorating.
Losing both the little sight that he had and his job was a triple blow, because although he had never spoken to me about this, he would have been no doubt still grieving over the death of his first wife, who would have died possibly less than a year previous to this.
However, Denis, as many who have played him at chess will know, is not a man that is easily beaten. He eventually moved from his home in London to Luton where a year or so later he met June. Romance blossomed and they were married on 6 June 1981.
Denis joined the BCA in 2011, and until prevented by lockdown and subsequent poor health, he and June were familiar faces at all our events. He was also a keen correspondence player; playing in both the email and correspondence tournaments, as well as finding time for friendly correspondence games. For a time, he took on the role as Friendly Games Coordinator.
I started this report by mentioning that we often spoke about music. As well as his love of chess, when he wasn’t wielding a hammer or a saw, Denis enjoyed playing the guitar. I have fond memories of going down to Luton and after tussling over a game of chess, which often ended in a draw, we would get the guitars out and sing and play for a good couple of hours before June dished up the food and it was time for me to catch my train home.
Denis was a regular performer at the BCA soirées, and I am sure many, like me, will always think of Denis when they hear the Bob Dylan classic made famous by Adele: “To feel My Love”.
Although he continued to play correspondence chess, the last event Denis attended was the 2019 BCA British in Torquay, where he came joint second in the Challenger’s section.
It is always sad when we lose one
of our members; but many of us have been left with lots of happy memories.
Editor’s note: This piece is
based on the eulogy for Graham, written and kindly shared with us by his
brother, Jon.
Graham was born on the 19th of August 1954, the second son of Gwen and Bert Lilley. The family lived in Liverpool for Graham’s first year then moved to St Helens. Graham put on weight and was sent to hospital for a few months of enforced dieting. Much later, his condition was diagnosed as Bardet-Biedel Syndrome (BBS).
At primary school, BBS combined with low vision made life difficult but Graham put up with it without complaint (except for the dieting). A glancing blow with a car prompted further sight tests that showed marked deterioration. By 1970 Graham was certified blind and went to Henshaws Specialist School in Manchester to learn Braille and other skills for life as a blind person. He loved sports, especially football and used to play using a ball with a bell inside. He was a lifelong Liverpool FC supporter but also enjoyed cricket and tennis radio commentaries.
Graham loved music too. Initially on vinyl, then tape when he got a player designed for a blind person. Later he embraced the CD. He loved a brass band and would go out of his way to listen to one, especially at Christmas.
At seven, Graham’s father taught him chess and it became his favourite hobby. Bert was soon outclassed! They played together until Bert’s death in 1966. At eighteen Graham joined Pilkington and Knotty Ash Chess Clubs, where he played sighted opponents from other Merseyside teams, which greatly improved his game. He was also playing up to a dozen postal games at once. In 1973 he competed in the British Blind Chess Championship.
Graham became a well-known figure in St Helens, striding confidently along with his white cane on his many journeys to chess matches or the pub, where he enjoyed a pint or two (or three or four). He was friendly to all and apparently bus passengers used to ‘light up’ when Graham got on board!
In 1976, Graham was one of a few blind players to face Russian Grandmaster Mark Taimanov. This encounter was practice for his first IBCA Chess Olympiad in Finland. As reserve, he won two of his six games, narrowly losing the others. He was accompanied by Gwen, whose colleagues had raised funds towards her expenses.
The following year, he played in a Six Nations tournament in Germany. On his return he found a massive party waiting for him at the Hare and Hounds where he was a regular. Everyone there thought the world of Graham and marvelled at his chess ability and his cheerfulness. The regulars raised cash to support him in his travels.
Graham travelled all around Britain to play chess. He once fell into a hole when someone had moved the barriers, and he was trapped for two hours in a school playground in Bolton late one night after taking a wrong turn, but nothing deterred him! He played for the UK in every IBCA Olympiad from Finland 1976 to Crete 2008, and took part in World Individuals, World Cup team competitions, European Individuals and many others besides.
Graham attended a day centre for social gatherings and life skills training. His friends there fondly remember him standing like a mountain leaning on his cane and telling corny jokes. He was a whizz at whatever he tried from macramé to rug-making. He got a cookery qualification, but Gwen still wouldn’t let him loose in her kitchen!
Graham wanted to get a job and earn his own money. He passed an NVQ in Information Technology and the RNIB Employment Services Manager said he was an inspiration to others. He got a placement with a Special Needs User Group to pass on some of his computer skills. He also helped others with Braille and was recognised for his volunteer work. His crowning achievement though was to teach his computer hating brother to use a PC!
Graham was a long-standing member of the BBS charity. Keen to provide information about BBS to the medical profession and fellow sufferers, he regularly attended the National Bardet-Biedl clinic in Birmingham.
When his international chess travels ended Graham continued to go to local clubs and play email games. BCA friends kept in contact by email and regular phone calls. Members of the local clubs kept in touch too.
As Graham’s health declined Gwen finally agreed to a care package for them both. After Gwen’s death in 2016, Graham’s brother Jon and his family played an increasing role. Movement became harder for Graham and falls were more frequent. In the summer of 2022, he moved to a care home but shortly afterwards was admitted to hospital where he lost his battle with sepsis, slipping away peacefully on the 3rd of November with Jon at his side.
Jon writes, “Unlike usual sibling relationships there was never any rivalry between us. I always tried to protect Graham, but he rarely required my assistance as he got on with life in his own inimitable way. In the years following my marriage to Maria, Graham was proud to be an uncle to our children, David and Janet and later David’s wife Julie and Janet’s husband Pete, then granduncle to Sophie, Max and Ellie. He loved them all and asked about them till the end. He liked reminding me about their birthdays and checked I had got gifts from him. Graham led as full a life as possible, never letting disabilities limit him. His hearty laugh was heard in chess halls around the world for years and the many friends he made here and abroad mourn his passing. His cheerful disposition, quiet fortitude and generosity endeared him to everyone. You could not meet a better man.”