Winchcombe, a little town just four miles from my home, has had many glimpses of fame in olden times. King Ethelred the Unready used to hunt there in his royal deer park. From 1007 to 1017 it was the centre of its own county, Winchcombeshire. In 1662, a Winchcombe man became the first to document how to add sugar to wine for the production of sparkling wine. That was more than three decades before Dom Perignon!

Since then, Winchcombe has largely enjoyed the quiet life until earlier this year when it was thrust into the limelight once again! A meteorite was spotted just before 10pm on the 28^th of February. Its trajectory was expertly reconstructed and people were asked to search for fragments in an area to the north of Cheltenham. One Winchcombe family didn’t have to look far. A large chunk of sooty debris had landed on their driveway!

Reflecting on the space rock’s journey, I was reminded of some of my chess games. The meteorite had hurtled through the vast vacuum of the universe before illuminating the night sky for a few seconds as it entered the earth’s atmosphere, only to fall to the ground and shatter. In much the same way, ideas for winning moves have traversed the gaping void between my ears, blazing brightly for a moment or two as I mistakenly convinced myself of their brilliance, and shortly after that everything would come crashing down!

Fortunately, there are no such catastrophic games tainting the pages of your May gazette. In this issue we have numerous fine examples of play from members and masters alike! You can read the results from no fewer than five BCA events. We also have brainteasers galore, with the usual Gray Matter Test from Graham Lilley, some bonus chess problems from Owen Phillips and for those who prefer word puzzles there is an invitation to concoct a motto for the BCA!

Everyone is encouraged to read the “Note from the Chairman”, which explains the reasons behind our current plans for the coming year. Naturally, due to the pandemic, our next few tournaments will be remote ones but there is an exciting summer of chess lined up for you so don’t forget to check Forthcoming Events.

The Winchcombe meteorite has now been declared a rare, ancient and exciting find. Scientists are analysing its very atoms. They’re going into almost as much detail as Paul Benson has done in his analysis of a master game in part two of “Champing at the Bit”! We also have the second instalment of “Gerry’s Chess Career”, in which Gerry Walsh journeys abroad.

There are the usual officer’s reports and details of a podcast interview with our Junior Development Officer, Voldi Gailans, whose family dominates Personalia this quarter! It’s always good to hear from overseas members and this issue includes pieces by Hugo Roman in Belgium and Donna Jodhan in Canada. You can also read why overseas members are now eligible to take part in the David Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Competition. Finally, we say a sad farewell to George Foster, whom many of us will recall from summer events in recent years.

Please send me your contributions for the August gazette by the end of June.

Julie Leonard

Note from the Chairman

What an extraordinary and challenging year it has been for us all. And as if to underline the strange times we are going through, we held our remote AGM over Skype yesterday, 10th April. A total of 28 members took part and I am pleased to say it went very well. Nevertheless, as a committee we do hope that this will be the only time we need to hold our AGM in this way.

Sadly we have not been able to hold any over the board tournaments for more than a year and we now know that it will not be possible to go ahead with our proposed one-week event in June this year at the Marsham Court Hotel in Bournemouth. The hotel have outlined the restrictions they are required to follow and, suffice to say, running a chess tournament would be impossible. Instead, our summer chess activities will be another TESSLa tournament running for three months from 10th May and then a remote British Championship and Chairman’s Cup starting 23rd August and spread over six weeks with one round of games each week. More details are given in the section on Forthcoming Events. Please give them your support: We are hoping once again they will be played in a spirit of friendship and cooperation. Our next scheduled over the board tournament is our International Autumn Tournament at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate in October so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

It is very encouraging that, despite the pandemic, we are attracting active new members. Indeed, we have welcomed 14 new members in just over a year, offering them a friendly and supportive environment to learn the game, to improve their playing ability and to meet their aspirations in the chess world.

One final point. Next year will see us reach our 90th anniversary. This is a remarkable achievement and I know from previous fundraising activities that potential donors are often very impressed with how long we have been in existence. The committee will need to consider options for how best to mark this anniversary but, in the meantime, we can all hope that the pandemic does not have a significant voice in the discussions.

Norman Wragg

Forthcoming Events

BCA TESSLa Monday 10th May to Sunday 8th August 2021

Following the unavoidable postponement of our over the board event this summer, we are holding another Telephone Email Skype Summer Ladder tournament - TESSLa for short! The 2020 TESSLa proved very popular and enabled members of all abilities to have fun playing as much chess as they wanted on any mutually convenient platform while remaining safe at home. Some people played half a dozen games, others got through over sixty!

The format will be broadly the same as last year. Players challenge each other in order to gain points or move up the ladder. However, the rules will be tweaked slightly, for example to recognise the contribution of third-party timekeepers. In single session games, players will have 75 minutes each for all moves. In games where moves are transmitted one at a time, players should make at least one move per game per day. Games will not be graded.

Last year, people played on Skype, Zoom and WhatsApp, as well as by telephone and email. This year Lichess is increasingly popular so will no doubt be used too. We anticipate that participants will be able to play on their preferred platform most of the time so don’t let the possibility of having to play a game or two on another platform deter you from entering. Hopefully, as many members as possible will join forces to prove that we won’t let coronavirus deprive us of our chess! It’s a great way to keep in touch with BCA friends and make some new ones.

The TESSLa positions and current scores will be published on our email user group at regular intervals and those without email can telephone the controller to get the latest news. The tournament will end at midnight on Sunday 8th August. There will be four TESSLa winners: The player on the top rung of the ladder, the player with the highest number of game points, the highest placed player with an ECF rating 1450 or less and the player with an ECF rating of 1450 or less who has accumulated the highest number of points.

The tournament is open to all members of the BCA, including associate and overseas members. To enter, please contact the controller, Gerry Walsh, and provide the following information:

- Your preferred platform

- Contact details for all platforms that you can use. (Please be as flexible as possible so that this event is as inclusive as we can make it! For example, it would normally be expected that people who prefer email would also be able to play by telephone and that people who prefer Skype would be able to use email or telephone as well, though this may not always be the case.)

- Your rating or estimated playing strength.

By entering this event participants are deemed to have consented for the controller to give their contact details to all other participants. The deadline for entries is Saturday 8th May. Players may join the event after it has started and anyone doing so will be placed on the bottom rung of the ladder.

Alternative BCA British Championship and Chairman’s Cup: Saturday 21^st August - Saturday 2^nd October

Following the cancellations of last summer’s Chairman’s Cup, and this year’s combined British Championship and Chairman’s Cup, we are following on from recent tournaments by holding this year’s combined event by telephone, Skype, or other internet based platform. Telephone will be the default method of play.

The tournament will run over six weeks, with one round per week at a mutually agreed time between both players. Players will be able to take either one or two byes if they wish in round one to five, and will be able to arrange this at fairly short notice.

The tournament will be open to all members and associate members of the BCA. The title of BCA British Champion will be awarded to the highest placed visually impaired UK player. The Chairman’s Cup will be awarded to the highest placed member or associate member whose most recent published grade is 1750 or below (equivalent to 140 or below under the old ECF grading system). Depending on the entries, we may be able to incorporate a Challengers’ section. Whether or not this is possible, the tournament will be a friendly and fairly informal event and we would urge as many members and associate members to “have a go” regardless of their playing strength. Games will not be sent for grading.

Please let Gill Smith have your entry by Saturday 7^th August, giving full contact details and which playing platforms you are able to use. By entering this tournament, you are deemed to have consented to sharing your relevant contact details with all participants and the arbiters. The arbiters will be Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard.

15^th to 17^th October 2021: International Autumn Tournament.

This will take place at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. We are pleased to be returning to this popular hotel with its excellent facilities. The hotel is located close to the town centre, and a short taxi ride from the railway station. Naturally, we are hoping that the event can go ahead as planned but there can be no certainty and members are advised to check with a committee member before making a booking.

There will be two five round chess tournaments. The Open section is open to all visually impaired chess players both from the UK and overseas and to associate members of the BCA. The Challengers section is limited to those graded 1450 or below. The entry fee for both tournaments is £10. The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for members and associate members is £45 per person per night for Friday and Saturday nights for those sharing a double/twin room and £47 per person per night in a single room. For members and associate members staying on the Sunday night, the cost will be £60 per person sharing a double/twin room and £69 per person in a single room. For prices for non-members, please contact the organiser. Car drivers need to note please that there is a £10 charge per day for parking.

The closing date for entries is Thursday 10th September 2021. Please send your entry fee and full payment for all accommodation to Gill Smith by this date. Organiser Voldi Gailans. Queries about the tournament should be sent to Voldi. Please see the list of BCA Officers for contact details.

Sunday 30^th January to Sunday 6^th February 2022: 28^th Chess Theme Break.

This week-long event provides coaching, a friendly rapid-play tournament as well as a wide range of entertainment. It will be held at the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth. More details to follow.

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.

Treasurer’s Report

In February and March we received £7,000 in grants from 3 trusts, the Dorothy Hay-Bolton Charitable Trust, The Primary Club and the Sir John Eastwood Foundation. Many thanks to our fundraiser Linda Innes.

WorldPay, which accepted card payments made via our website, increased their fees significantly in January so our WorldPay account has been closed. I am investigating alternative solutions for accepting card payments so the facility can be reinstated.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Millennium Club, the BCA’s monthly lottery

To take part in the monthly draw costs just £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 in the draw, make a payment to the BCA or set up a standing order then next year’s subs will not be forgotten.

Recent Millennium Club winners:

January: John Gallagher, number 58.

February: Alec Crombie, number 73.

March: Graham Lilley, number 24.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Fundraising

If you are shopping online please remember that at no cost to you there are fundraising initiatives available to raise funds for the BCA. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products and prices as Amazon.co.uk. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, 0.5% of the net purchase price is donated to your chosen charity. We signed up to Amazon Smile at the end of 2019 and so far the BCA has received £33.35.

Another option, Give as you Live, allows you to shop with many different retailers and a percentage of the price is donated. The BCA signed up in 2008 and since then over £89 has been raised, £67 of which is from supporters’ online shopping over the last 5 years.

Please consider signing up to these fundraising schemes and ask your friends and family to sign up too.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

BCA Merchandise

I have in stock some bags, polo shirts and sweatshirts, all with the BCA logo printed on.

The bags are black with a drawstring and can be worn over the shoulder or as a rucksack. Approximate size 34cm by 44, the bags cost £5.

The polo shirts have collars, they are short sleeved and are blue. Sizes available: medium, large and extra large. The polo shirts cost £9.

The sweatshirts are long sleeved and blue and cost £10. Sizes in stock: small, medium, large and extra large.

I usually bring some with me when we have over the board events but I can also post them. I will be ordering more sizes later this year, some ladies’ sizes and men’s XXL.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Membership Secretary’s Report

Five new members have joined this quarter, this includes three junior members: Zehra from Hove, Erica from Dingwall and Jose Ignacio, from Guatemala.

Married couple John and Tessa Fullwood from Camberley, Surrey have joined with John a visually impaired member and his wife joining as an associate member.

Deceased

Sadly George Foster who attended some of the recent OTB tournaments has passed away after becoming ill in December with Covid 19. Our thoughts go out to his partner Jadwiga Kelly and friend Mark Longstaff.

Mark Hague.

Editor’s note: Just before going to print, more tragic news reached us. We have also lost our friend, Antoine Reeves, who slipped away peacefully on the 8^th of April. There will be a fitting tribute to him in the August issue.

Correspondence Chess Director’s Report

46th BCA CORRESPONDENCE TOURNAMENT 2021-22

Premier - Group Leader Paul Benson

Gailans 0 - 1 Crombie, Dutch, 24.

Crombie 1-0 Gallacher, Queen's Pawn, 19.

Gailans 0 - 1 Phillips, Veresov, 9.

Gallacher 1 - 0 Gailans, Irregular, 39.

Whitehouse 1 - 0 Gailans, Four Knights, 28.

Scores: Alec Crombie 2-2, George Phillips 1-1, Guy Whitehouse 1-1, Eric Gallacher 1-2, Ernie McElroy 0-0, Voldi Gailans 0-4.

Challengers - Group Leader Paul Benson

Tew 0 - 1 Gordon, French, 28.

Gordon 1 - 0 Warren, no details.

Warren 0 - 1 Tew, Nimzowitsch Defence, 12.

Scores: Philip Gordon 2-2, Eleanor Tew 1-2, Jim Cuthbert 0-0, Arthur Greatrex 0-0, Denis Warren 0-2.

BCA LEAGUE 2020-21

Division 1 - Group Leader Guy Whitehouse

Final scores: Alec Crombie 2.5-3, Ernie McElroy 2.5, Mark Hague 1, Voldi Gailans 0.

Division 2 - Group Leader Voldi Gailans

No results.

Scores: George Phillips 3-3, Jim Cuthbert 0-1, Eric Gallacher 0-1, Denis Warren 0-1.

Division 3 - Group Leader George Phillips

No results.

Scores: Mike Flood 2-2, Malcolm Jones 1-2, Andrew Wood 0-0, Eleanor Tew 0-2.

FRIENDLY LADDER TABLE

Apologies, the laptop with records of Ladder games has still not yet been resuscitated. Consequently, announcing the winner of the 2020 Ladder is not yet possible. Similarly offering the present Ladder is not possible as the unknown winner must be placed at the foot of the Ladder.

Anyone wishing to play a friendly game on the Ladder should either contact myself or issue a challenge to another player on the Ladder, my contact details as shown in list of Officers.

Any friendly games played under correspondence conditions, such as by Braille, cassette, email, Skype, telephone, can qualify as a Friendly Ladder game. Please report such games and let your efforts be reflected in your accumulating score.

In closing, to those about to start a game: Break a peg!

Paul Benson

David Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Competition

With the 2021 competition now firmly underway, we have some exciting news about who can enter this event! In the past, we’ve limited it to entries from the British Isles, for the sole reason that we didn’t want the Pink Diamond Paperweight trophy to be sent around the globe and potentially get lost in transit. However, we’ve now had a couple of years when it hasn’t been possible to award the trophy to the winner in person, and although this is unfortunate, we don’t feel it has detracted from the prestige of winning to any great extent. Therefore, the committee has decided to open this event up to all members regardless of where they live. The one proviso is that the trophy will only be awarded to a winner who regularly attends AGMs and is therefore likely to be able to return it the following year.

As you know, David Mabbs has kindly agreed to judge the 2021 event, so if you play a good game in any of our events please do submit it directly to David or via a committee member! Eligible games that are published in the gazette are automatically entered into the competition.

The BCA v Surrey Correspondence Match reaches the Final Stretches

Ben Graff writes:

As we go to print, Surrey leads the BCA by 11 points to 7, with four games still underway. Julie Leonard asked me to pull together a report, and I started by talking to our captain, Voldi Gailans. Voldi was quick to praise the contribution of Owen Phillips. “Owen was the catalyst. He reached out to Surrey and none of this would have happened without him. This match was an amazing thing for Owen to have suggested and is a real credit to him.” So, a big thank you from all at the BCA to Owen.

Julie rightly highlighted that special thanks are also due to Surrey captain, Richard Tillett. “Richard put a lot of work in to get the Surrey side together and collaborated with Voldi to get the match up and running. Voldi would obviously be too modest to say so, but he has also worked hard on this match and therefore deserves thanks too!”

Voldi told me that from his perspective everything had run smoothly and “relationships now existed between the players on the opposing sides, that weren’t there before.” This chimed with my own experience. I had not previously met my opponent Martin Smith, but we really enjoyed getting to know each other during our game. The last time I played correspondence chess was back in the early 1990s, when I would wait with anticipation for the post to arrive from far and wide. I even had an Icelandic opponent on one occasion! It is amazing to think about how much the world has changed in a relatively short period of time thanks to email.

Yet fundamentally perhaps nothing has changed. Correspondence chess is such a great way to make new friends. It gives all of us a chance to think deeply about our games, without the pressure of a ticking clock and is a particularly good medium for trying out new openings. Certainly, for me it was a refreshing antidote to the hours of meaningless blitz I am playing during lockdown. If anyone has not played correspondence chess before and might be tempted in the future, I would recommend it. Particularly in events such as this where you only play one game, the commitment is very manageable.

I have played through every game and wanted to pick out three to share in this piece. Peter Gibbs had a terrific victory on Board 1 against Matt Piper and Rod Macdonald also had a fine win on Board two against Justin Horton. These games have both been expertly analysed by Rod, who has provided the following commentary. (I’ve slightly edited, Rod’s analysis of his own game, just in the interests of space.) I thought I had better also share my own efforts…

Also, a special shout-out to Malcolm Jones who made Surrey’s Tim Cutter work hard for the point in their eighty-move battle and to Philip Doyle for his excellent victory against Dieter McDougall. Win lose or draw, I hope everyone has enjoyed this match as much as I have.

Board 1: Peter Gibbs (BCA) v Matt Piper (Surrey)

Opening: A29: English Opening, Four Knights Variation

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. d3 Bf5 [Black should probably proceed with 7. ... Re8 here. e6 seems like a better development for the bishop rather than g6.]

8. e4 [8. Bg5!? h6 9. Bh4 looks promising.]

8. ... Bg6 [8. ... Be6 9. Be3 offers equality.]

9. Bg5 [Another choice is 9. h3 h6 10. Be3 with equal chances.]

9. ... Qd7?? [This weakens Black's position. Better is 9. ... h6 10. Bd2 Nd4, where White has only a slight edge. Another idea is 9. ... Nd4 10. Rb1 c6 11. Re1 a6 12. b3 b5. After White's next move White has a very strong position.]

10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 [11. Nh4 Kh8 is very good for White. 11. ... Nd4 is also solid for White.]

11. ... Qd8 [11. ... Kh8 12. Kh1; or 11. ... Kg7 12. Nh4 are very strong for White.]

12. Nh4 [12. Qd2 Kg7 is also very strong for White.]

12. ... Nd4 [12. ... a5 would be a better try.]

13. Kh1 [13. b4 Bb6 leaves White moderately better.]

13. ... c6 14. Nc3 [14. Ne3 Kh8 is also good for White.]

14. ... a5? [14. ... f5!? must definitely be considered, but after 15. f4 exf4 16. exf5 Nxf5 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Rxf4 Bg6 White is still comfortably better.]

15. f4 exf4 16. Rxf4 Kh8 [16. ... Ne6 17. Rf1 would be very strong for White.]

17. Qd2 Qe7 [17. ... Ne6 18. Rff1 is very strong for White.]

18. Raf1 a4 [18. ... Qe5 19. Rxf6 Rg8 20. Bh3 is a bit better but White is definitely in command.]

19. a3 [19. Rxf6!? might be the shorter path: 19. ... a3 20. bxa3 Kg7.]

19. ... Nb3 20. Qd1 Bd4 21. Nxa4! b5 [21. ... Rxa4 22. Nxg6+ Double attack; 22. Qxb3 Removes a defender]

22. cxb5 [22. Qxb3?! is much weaker; 22. ... bxa4 23. Qd1 Bxb2 offers only equality.]

22. ... Rxa4 23. Qxb3 [23. Nxg6+?! fxg6 24. Qxb3 cxb5 25. Qxb5 Ra7 and Black has equalized.]

23. ... cxb5 24. Nf5 [24. Qxb5 Qa7 25. Nxg6+ fxg6 gives White a moderate advantage. 24. Nxg6+?! is clearly inferior after 24. ... fxg6 25. Qxb5 Ra7, giving White only a slight advantage.]

24. ... Bxf5 [24. ... Qe5 25. Nxd4 Rxd4 26. Rxf6 is very strong for White.]

25. Rxf5 [25. exf5?! Be5 26. Rxa4 bxa4 27. Qxa4 Bxb2 is also very strong for White.]

25. ... Be5 26. Bh3 [26. Rh5 makes it even easier for White: 26. ... Qa7 27. Bh3 Qe3.]

26. ... Raa8? [26... Qa7 27. Rh5 Qe3 28. Qd1 and White wins. 28. Qxb5?! is much weaker. After 28. ... Rd4, White has only a moderate edge.]

27. Rh5 Rg8 28. Bf5 Rg7 29. Qxb5 Qa7 30. a4! [The decisive move, leading to a winning endgame. For example, 30. ... Qxa4 31. Qxa4 Rxa4 32. Rc1 Ra8 33. b4 Rb8 34. Rc6 Kg8 35. b5.]

30. ... Rb8 31. Qc6 1-0

Board 2: Justin Horton (Surrey) v. Rod Macdonald (BCA)

ECO: D47 - Semi-Slav, Meran System

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c6 5. e3 [Roughly 50% of Master games continue with 5. e3. White gives priority to developing his light-squared bishop, and accepts that, for the time being, the dark-squared bishop will remain somewhat out of play. The main line continues with 5. ... Nbd7. The bishop moves 5. ... Bd6 and 5. ... Be7 are seldom seen, as Masters realised early-on that at e7, the bishop is passively placed and does nothing to further one of Black's aims - the freeing move ... e5. The unusual move 5. ... a6 is considered solid for Black. Some sources call 5. ... a6 the "accelerated Meran".]

5. ... Nbd7 6. Bd3 [One of the main variations of the Semi-Slav is the Meran Variation. White plays 6. Bd3, provoking the continuation 6. ... dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 where Black surrenders his centre in exchange for queenside expansion and some tempi against the white bishop. The line was first played in 1906 in the game Schlechter-Perlis. The variation takes its name from the town of Meran (Merano) in northern Italy. During a 1924 tournament in Meran, it was used successfully in the game Gruenfeld-Rubinstein. Gruenfeld adopted the same variation two rounds later against Spielmann, winning as well. White will play in the centre, leading to a rich, complicated game. These opposing strategies, with the ensuing keen play, have long made the Meran a favourite for enterprising players of either colour.]

6. ... dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Be2 [Retreating the bishop to e2, instead of the typical d3 square, has an impact on certain continuations, when the white queen is protecting the d-pawn. A line where Black plays in the typical Meran style might be: 8. Be2 a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 and now White has the option of playing 11. Qxd4 Bc5 12. Qf4 with a comfortable advantage.]

8. ... Bb7 9. O-O Be7 10. e4 b4 11. e5 bxc3 12. exf6 [This line is supposed to lead to a very tiny edge for White and the most frequent result is a draw.]

12. ... Bxf6 [12. ... Nxf6 is a safe alternative: 13. bxc3 O-O 14. Rb1 Qc7 (14. ... Qc8 15. Qb3 Ba6 is also playable) 15. Bf4 Qxf4 16. Rxb7 and White's initiative is not easy to convert into something more concrete. On the other hand, Black's position might not be to everybody's taste.]

13. bxc3 c5 [Temporarily sacrificing a pawn to double-isolate pawns on White's c-file.]

14. dxc5 O-O [Commenting on the Kramnik (2743) - Topalov (2813) playoff game, round 4, Elista 2006, won by White, Annotator Mihail Marin (Romania) commented, "Black usually played 14. ... O-O, when White cannot demonstrate a convincing way of developing his initiative too easily."]

15. Be3 [I ran out of applicable games to refer to at this point, although Fritz found a few more when I checked after the game ended. The usual continuation, as far as I could tell at the time, is 15. Ba3 Be7 16. Qd4 Qc7 17. Rab1. I was unable to find any games with 15. Be3, so my "book" closed here and I will be on my own from now on. Ahem! Black's plan now is to focus resources on the half-open c-file, to regain the sacrificed pawn and to eventually put pressure on White's second isolated c-pawn, currently resting on c3.]

15. ... Rc8 [Fritz suggests instead 15. ... Be7 16. Rb1 and now:

(A) 16. ... Bd5 17. Nd4 Bxc5 18. Bf3 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Bb6 20. Rfd1 Qc8 21. Nc6 Kh8 22. Bf4 Qb7 23. Rb4 f6 24. Rd6 Rae8 25. Qh5 Qc7 26. Rd3 Qxc6 27. Rh3 Kg8 28. Qxh7+ Kf7 29. Bh6 Rg8 30. Rg4 Ke7 31. Bxg7, as played in the game D. Valerga (2468) - G. Della Morte (2384), Buenos Aires 2014, won by Black in 38 moves; or (B) 16. ... Qc8 17. Qd3 Rd8 18. Qb5 Rb8 19. Qa5 Bxc5 20. Bxc5 Nxc5 21. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Ne4 23. c4 Qc5 24. Rd8+ Rxd8 25. Qxd8+ Qf8 26. Qa5 Qc5 27. Qd8+ Qf8, draw agreed, as in the game S. Lputian (2627) - V. Ivanchuk (2709), Bled 2002.]

16. Qa4 [White does not want to give back the extra pawn without a fight.]

16. ... Bd5 [I spent several days pondering this and came up with 16. ... Bd5. This protects the a-pawn, but the downside is that Black will likely have to move the Bishop again soon, or lose it. Alternatively, there is 16. ... Nxc5 17. Qxa7 Rc7 18. Qa5, which gives Black a slightly better position. 18. Bxc5? looks very tantalising, but not after 18. ... Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Rxa7 20. Bxa7 Bxc3, leaving Black with a very strong game.]

17. Rac1 [Of course not 17. Qxa7 Ra8 and White would lose his Queen. Fritz suggests that after 17. Qa3 Qc7, Black stands slightly better.]

17. ... Nxc5 [Now if White goes after the pawn on a7 we would have 18. Qxa7 Be7 19. Bxc5 Bxc5 20. Qa6 Ra8 21. Qb5 Ra5 22. Qb1 Rxa2 with a strong position for Black. But what is White going to do about the threat to his Queen?]

18. Bxc5? [Fritz assigned a question mark to this move, suggesting that 18. Qb4!? is worthy of consideration; and that 18. ... Be7 19. Qg4 offers equal chances.]

18. ... Rxc5 19. c4 [19. Qxa7 Ra5 20. Qe3 Qa8 is strong for Black.]

19. ... Qc7 20. Nd2? [Again, the question mark is from Fritz. 20. Qb3 is a better choice, but Black still stands much better.]

20. ... Qf4 [It's Guy Fawkes Day now...]

21. Qxa7 [21. Qb3 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Qxd2 23. Qe3 is devastating for Black.]

21. ... Bxg2 22. Qxc5 Be5

0-1 [23. Nf3 Bxf3 24. Qxe5 Qxe5 25. Bxf3 Qg5+ 26. Kh1 Rc8 and White is lost.]

Board 6: Martin Smith (Surrey) v. Ben Graff (BCA)

During lockdown, I have mainly been working in the spare room in our house, and I had this game set out on a little wooden pocket board on the desk. There was many a moment where I drifted from whatever I was supposed to be doing to look at the position. Chess is just so engrossing!

Even so, I proved that having endless time does not always help. I was unsure as to a concrete plan and while I subsequently discovered that Fritz thought I was slightly better throughout, it never felt like that to me. Similarly, Martin Smith was not entirely confident either. He commented after the game: “I don’t think I played the sharpest opening – and dithered too much on the queenside. Was most impressed by your mysterious rook manoeuvres and was caught out by the cheeky pin along the rank! It was almost the triumph of creative defence over ponderous attack – was lucky to have that Qh7 resource at the end. Not sure if I’ll repeat that line against the Slav – though I see some GMs continue to indulge.”

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. g3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. c5 Qc7

11. Bf4 Qc8 12. 0-0-0 Nh5 13. e4 Tempting, but not the best choice. White’s doubled kingside pawns are a weakness, but set against this White has a space advantage and a position that is perhaps easier to play.

13… Nxf4 14. gxf4 Be7 15. Kb1 Nd7 16. Qc2 Qc7 17. Ne2 Nf6 18. h3 0-0-0 I am keen to get my king away from the centre. Notwithstanding this, Fritz likes follow ups that involve the b6 break, but I think a human would be very brave to play like this, given White’s potential along the c file.

19. e5 Nd7 20. Rc1 Kb8 21. Qa4 Rh4 22. Rg1 Rdh8 The “mysterious rook manoeuvres,” Martin refers to… I’m trying to use my open file to put pressure on the h and f pawns, but I lack a concrete plan. One of those positions where I failed to develop a long-term plan

23. Rg4 R4h5 24. Nc3 Bd8 25. b4 a6 26. Qb3 Ka8 27. Rc2 g5 Fritz isn’t a fan of this move, as it allows White to undouble the pawns, but it gives Black practical chances which put me on top.

28. fxg5 Rxg5 29. Rxg5 Bxg5 30. Qa4 Rh4 31. b5? Nxe5 32. b6 I don’t think b6 is the best choice, but again in a practical sense it proves useful given the lack of escape squares available to my king on a8.

32… Qc8 33. Rb2 Nc4 34 Bxc4 Rxd4 35. Rg4 Rxc4 36. Rxc4 dxc4 37. Qxc4 Qd7 38. Ne4 Qd1+ 39 Kb2 Qxf3? Looks clever but proves to be wrong

40. Nxg5 Qg2+ 41. Qc2 Qxg5 42. Q-h7 Qd2+ draw agreed. I can only stop the mate by giving a pawn and while still a pawn up, progress looked impossible to me. A fair result!

BCA v. Surrey E-mail Match – Results in full

Board 01: Peter Gibbs (BCA) 1 v 0 Matt Piper (Surrey)

Board 02: Justin Horton (Surrey) 0 v 1 Rod Macdonald (BCA)

Board 03: John Gallagher (BCA) 0.5 v 0.5 Tony Ashby (Surrey)

Board 05: Graham Lilley (BCA) 0.5 v 0.5 Steve Hooker (Surrey)

Board 06: Martin Smith (Surrey) 0.5 v 0.5 Ben Graff (BCA)

Board 07: Steve Burnell (BCA) 0 v 1 Graham Alcock (Surrey)

Board 11: Norman Andrews (BCA) 0.5 v 0.5 Paul Hartdegen (Surrey)

Board 12: Mike Gunn (Surrey) 1 v 0 Stan Lovell (BCA)

Board 13: Philip Doyle (BCA) 1 v 0 Dieter McDougall (Surrey)

Board 14: Richard Tillett (Surrey) 0.5 v 0.5 Alec Crombie (BCA)

Board 15: Eamonn Casey (BCA) 0 v 1 Tony Foreman (Surrey)

Board 16: Edward Mospan (Surrey) 0.5 v 0.5 Philip Gordon (BCA)

Board 17: Colin Fisher (BCA) 0.5 v 0.5 Mike Foss (Surrey)

Board 18: Tim Cutter (Surrey) 1 v 0 Malcolm Jones (BCA)

Board 19: Randy Kruzeniski (BCA) 0 v 1 Richard Jones (Surrey)

Board 20: Chris Rebbeck (Surrey) 1 v 0 Steve Thacker (BCA)

Board 21: Guy Whitehouse (BCA) 0.5 v 0.5 Andras Horvath (Surrey)

Board 22: Simon Rebbeck (Surrey) 1 v 0 Mark Hague (BCA)

Current Score: BCA 7, Surrey 11. (Four games are still in play.)

51.55 Parallel Match

No fewer than forty BCA members initially stepped forward to volunteer to take on the might of Surrey so sadly, there wasn’t room for everyone in the team. Undeterred, twelve members took part in a six board internal North v South match, where the dividing line was the 51.55 degrees north latitude!

The North team comprised of: Gerry Walsh (Middlesbrough), John Ramm (Wrexham), Simon Highsmith (Hornsey), Voldi Gailans (Romford), Mike Flood (Finsbury Park) and Lea Ryan (Northolt).

Representing the South were: Gill Smith (Bristol), Tony Lawton (Reading), Paul Hartdegen (Esher), Tony and Irene Elbourn (Gosport) and Donna Jodhan (Toronto).

For the pairings, the teams were not put in order of playing strength in the traditional way. Instead, each player got an opponent that they had never played or hadn't played recently in a BCA event. The results were as follows:

North (White on odd boards) South

Voldi Gailans (W) 78 0.5 0.5 Paul Hartdegen (B) 125

Gerry Walsh (B) 118 1 0 Tony Elbourn (W) 75

Lea Ryan (W) 17 1 0 Gill Smith (B) 51

Mike Flood (B) 42 1 0 Donna Jodhan (W)

Simon Highsmith (W) 1 0 Tony Lawton (B) 48

John Ramm (B) 1 0 Irene Elbourn (W) 1

So after six games the North had 5.5 to the South’s 0.5. However, three of the pairs opted to reverse colours and play again. Southerner, Irene, managed to triple her team’s score!

Gerry Walsh (W) 118 1 0 Tony Elbourn (B) 75

Simon Highsmith (B) 1 0 Tony Lawton (W) 48

John Ramm (W) 0 1 Irene Elbourn (B) 1

The final score was North 7.5, South 1.5. Congratulations to the North and commiserations to South!

Let the Bashing Commence!

Hello BCA members. My name is John Ramm and I joined the BCA in spring 2020. I have lots to learn, but my style is to dive in and that’s what I’ve been doing, taking part in the email tournaments and looking forward to the time when we can play together over actual boards.

I’ve been in the BCA for less than a year and already I’m amazed at the creativity of the people who arrange tournaments, especially in these strange times. After all, at the end of the day, we’re playing chess, but they just can’t stop themselves!

For the BCA Big Bash in February 2021, the organisers came up with the best approximation of over the board chess they could with the addition of the creation of very plush virtual surroundings in the form of a hotel seemingly formed solely of suites named after famous chess masters. Games were to take place in real time over the phone, via Skype, or via any other suitable platform agreed between the two players.

Over three weeks, groups of three players would move into one of the beautiful suites and play everyone in the group by the end of the week gaining 8 points for a win, 4 for a draw, 1 for a loss and 2 points for acting as a third-party time keeper, (with a maximum of 4 time keeping points per week).

To add a little spice to the play, each group of three was made up of players from the top third, the middle third and the bottom third of the seedings (estimated or otherwise). With 21 players we occupied 7 suites and bashing seemed to be the order of the tournament with few draws in evidence.

By the end of week one, Stan Lovell had taken the lead on 18 points, just two points off the maximum, but the bashers were learning about the difficulties of poor connections, accessible or semi accessible programs and using whatever work arounds got the job done.

By the end of week two Stan had been bashed off the top spot by Steve Burnell who had amassed 32 points to Stan’s 28. Further down the table the scores were close, but there will be no need to talk about mine. Two winners were to be declared; an open winner and a challenger winner for those rated 1450 or below.

And so the final week commenced with the groups of players moving into the penthouse suites and readying themselves for the final Big Bash games. Steve Burnell held onto the lead to become the open winner and, after a tense tie break, Steve Bailey won the challengers section. Thus both sections of the tournament were won by Steve Bs to prove once again that life is indeed stranger than fiction.

This sort of tournament can be difficult and time consuming as people try to arrange games, time keepers, methods of communication and so on, but everyone seemed to get on with it in a typically British “stiff upper lip” fashion, and huge credit goes to the organisers, Julie Leonard and Gerry Walsh for keeping us focused and running the tournament with kindness and efficiency.

While I’m sure we’re all looking forward to being able to get together and play over real boards, I for one thought that this format of time limited tournament was useful in showing me something about the pressures associated with playing chess in real time and could perhaps be employed usefully in the future.

Final scores:

44 Steve Burnell, winning the Open section

42 Malcolm Jones

40 Steve Hilton

37 Stan Lovell

35 Norman Wragg

34 Norman Andrews, Colin Fisher, Stephen Thacker, Steve Bailey and Gill Smith.

Stephen, Steve and Gill were the joint highest Challengers (1450 or below) and Steve Bailey won on tie-break.

32 Mark Hague

28 Lea Ryan

27 Gary Wickett and Voldi Gailans

20 John Osborne and John Ramm

19 Anthony Borg and Tony Lawton

16 Tony Elbourn

13 Simon Highsmith

Congratulations to Steve Burnell and Steve Bailey, who have both received medals! When asked to choose a game for the gazette, Steve Burnell replied, “I think my favourite and most exciting game was my game against Steve Bailey, the other prize winner. Steve played excellently and outplayed me for much of the game. He really deserved to win, and it was only my extra experience of endings that enabled me to pull off a bit of a swindle! I was also getting short of time, down to my last few minutes, while Steve had an hour left, I think. It was the first competitive game I have played on Lichess.org.”

Steve Burnell v Steve Bailey 16-02-2021 ECO A52

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Bb4+ 5. Nd2 Nc6 6. Ngf3 Qe7 7. e3 Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. Be2 d6

10. a3 Ba5 11. b4 Bb6 12. Nf3 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 a5 14. O-O g5 15. Bg3 h5 16. h3 g4 17. hxg4 hxg4 18. Bxg4 Bxg4

19. Qxg4 Qe6 20. Qxe6+ fxe6 21. Rfd1 Rh5 22. Kf1 axb4 23. Ke2 bxa3 24. f3 Rg5 25. Rh1 Kd7 26. Rh3 a2

27. f4 Rgg8 28. Kf3 Ra3 29. Bf2 Ba5 30. Rh7+ Kc6 31. Rhh1 Bc3 32. g4 Rf8 33. Rhc1 Bb2 34. Rd1 Bxa1

35. Rxa1 Rfa8 36. Bh4 Rb3 37. Bf6 Rb1 38. Bd4 Rxa1 39. Bxa1 Ra4 40. g5 Ra8 41. g6 Rg8 42. g7 Kc5

43. Ke2 Kxc4 44. Kd2 Kb3 45. Kc1 c5 46. e4 c4 47. f5 exf5 48. exf5 c3 49. f6 Re8 50. Kd1 c2+ 51. Kd2 Kc4

52. f7 Rd8 53. g8=Q Rxg8 54. fxg8=Q+ and White goes on to win quickly.

Remote Spring Tournament, 19^th to 21^st March 2021

Richard Murphy writes:

“Unto the place of Turneyment” E. SPENSER Second Pt. Faerie Queene IV. iv. 13; (1596)

This weekend event was arranged after the AGM congress was postponed because of the pandemic. Fifteen tournamenteers journeyed “unto the place of turneyment”; in my case, the kitchen table. Five rounds were played by telephone, Skype or other internet-based platform as agreed between the players. Each player had 90 minutes for the game, the clock being operated by White unless otherwise agreed.

As with the Alternative Autumn Tournament, ELO grades were used, but a new scoring system was employed: 8 points for a win, 4 for a draw, and 1 for a loss, so no-one emerged empty-handed. Up to two optional 4 point byes were permitted.

Here are the players, with their ELO or estimated ELO grades. Paul Benson (1930); Steve Hilton (1696); Steve Burnell (1818); Norman Wragg (1713); Stan Lovell (1615); Richard Murphy (1615), Steve Thacker (1450), Malcolm Jones (1315); Mahendra Galani (1336); Voldi Gailans (1285); Bittor Ibanez (1263); Steve Bailey (1180), Gill Smith (1083); Tony Lawton (1060); Simon Highsmith (1050). All competed in the on event, but there was a Challengers Prize for the highest-placed player graded 1450 or below.

Round 1 confirmed that lethal weapons were employed, with no draws. The victors were Paul (W), Norman (W), Steve Hilton (B), Stan (W), Richard (B), and Steve Thacker (W) against Malcolm, Voldi, Steve Bailey, Gill, Tony, and Simon, respectively. Steve Burnell and Mahendra received full (8-point) byes, while Bittor took a 4-point (requested) bye.

In Round 2 also, no mercy was shown. Paul (B), Steve Burnell (W), Steve Hilton (W), and Stan (B) maintained perfect scores (16 points) by unhorsing Richard, Tony, Mahendra, and Bittor, respectively. Steve Bailey and Simon scored their first wins against Malcolm and Voldi. There was a full bye for Gill and a requested bye for Norman. Sadly, Steve Thacker was unable to play in Round 2 and withdrew from the lists for health reasons.

Round 3 witnessed verily hard-fought draws on Board 1 ‘twixt Paul (W) and Steve Hilton, and Board 2 ‘twixt Stan (W) and Steve Burnell. Norman joined the leaders (each on 20 points) by winning with Black against Mahendra. Richard (B) had a lucky escape against Gill while Steve Bailey (B) overcame Simon, leaving both winners on 17 points and Steve also leading the Challengers. Bittor and Malcolm won with Black against Voldi and Tony, respectively. Other scores after Round 3: Bittor – 13; Mahendra, Malcolm, Gill, and Simon – 10; Tony and Voldi – 3.

In Round 4, Bittor defeated Steve Bailey with Black, and Simon beat Gill with White. The jousts between Steve Burnell and Paul, Richard and Stan, Malcolm and Mahendra, and Tony versus Voldi were drawn, while Steve Hilton and Norman requested byes. So with one round to go, five players shared the lead on 24 points: Paul, Steve Burnell, Steve Hilton, Norman, and Stan. Bittor now led the quest for the Challengers’ trophy.

In the final battles, Paul (W) edged out Stan on Board 1. Honours were even ‘twixt Richard and Norman, and ‘twixt Steve Hilton and Steve Burnell. All other games were decisive: Bittor (W) and Gill (W) defeated Simon and Tony, respectively; Steve Bailey (B) and Malcom (B) won against Mahendra and Voldi.

Here are the final standings at the end of the “ordeals by chess”.

Paul Benson: the overall winner with 32 points

Bittor Ibanez: second place and winner of the Challengers with 29.

Steve Hilton, Steve Burnell and Norman: joint third with 28.

Steve Bailey: 26

Stan and Richard: 25

Malcolm: 22

Gill and Simon: 19

Mahendra: 15

Voldi and Tony: 8; Steve Thacker also scored 8 points before reluctantly withdrawing.

Congratulations to Paul and Bittor on their fine performances.

Thanks to Julie and Gerry for their hard work running the event, sending out the results and pairings, taking calls from the players, and to Gill for collating the entries. All three demonstrated their ability to multi-task: Gerry completed his census return; Julie put some laundry on and attempted to bake bread, but had to abandon the loaf when a game needed assistance; Gill handled her set, clock, and cat together. Julie and Gerry smoothly handled the very few hiccups that arose, and all games were played in excellent spirit.

When we think of chess, tournaments, or especially chess tournaments, we think of Knights. With two sets per game and four Knights per set, 256 valiant Knights fought for the honour and glory of their liege lord or lady. I suppose most were slaughtered; but they will rise again at our next turneyment.

Note: “Turneyment” and “tournamenteers” are real words in the Oxford English Dictionary!

Editor’s note: Paul Benson is going to provide us with an annotated game from this event for the August gazette!

14th BCA Email Tournament

Our 14th BCA email tournament began on the 1^st of March and is once again being expertly controlled by our friends across the Irish Sea, Eamonn Casey and Philip Doyle. There are 22 participants, divided into two divisions of five players, and three divisions of 4 players, based on ratings and performance in previous email tournaments. Where possible, promotion and relegation has been incorporated. In divisions 1 and 2 players will have two whites and two blacks, but because there are only four players in the other 3 divisions this is not possible, so half the players will have two whites, and the other half will have two blacks, dependent on the seeding.

With just over six weeks gone, there are only five outstanding results and four of the five divisions have already been decided. Once again Peter Gibbs reigns supreme in Division 1! Congratulations also to Eamonn Casey for winning Division 3, to Tony Lawton on a clean sweep in Division 4 and to Anton Emery for his Division 5 victory!

Division 1: Peter Gibbs, Philip Doyle, Colin Chambers, Malola Prasath, Steve Burnell.

Doyle beat Chambers

Doyle drew with Burnell

Prasath lost to Doyle

Gibbs beat Doyle

Burnell drew with Chambers

Chambers beat Prasath

Gibbs beat Prasath

Burnell lost to Gibbs

Prasath lost to Burnell

Chambers drew with Gibbs

Final scores from four games each: Gibbs 3.5, Doyle 2.5, Burnell and Chambers 2, Prasath 0.

Division 2: Bill Armstrong, Norman Andrews, Malcolm Jones, Randy Kruzeniski, Gerry Walsh.

Walsh lost to Jones

Jones lost to Kruzeniski

Kruzeniski drew with Walsh

Andrews lost to Walsh

Kruzeniski beat Andrews

Walsh drew with Armstrong

Andrews beat Jones

Scores so far: Kruzeniski 2.5/3, Walsh 2/4, Andrews and Jones 1/3, Armstrong 0.5/1.

Division 3: Eamonn Casey, Philip Gordon, Voldi Gailans, John Fullwood.

Gordon beat Fullwood

Gordon drew with Gailans

Fullwood beat Gailans

Casey drew with Gordon

Gailans lost to Casey

Casey beat Fullwood

Final scores from three games each: Casey 2.5, Gordon 2, Fullwood 1, Gailans 0.5.

Division 4: Gill Smith, Tony Lawton, Steve Thacker, Mike Flood.

Smith lost to Lawton

Lawton beat Flood

Smith beat Flood

Lawton beat Thacker

Scores so far: Lawton 3/3, Smith 1/2, Thacker 0/1, Flood 0/2.

Division 5: John Ramm, Anton Emery, Anthony Borg, Simon Highsmith.

Highsmith beat Borg

Borg beat Ramm

Ramm beat Highsmith

Emery beat Highsmith

Ramm drew with Emery

Emery beat Borg

Final scores from three games each: Emery 2.5, Ramm 1.5, Borg and Highsmith 1.

The Chess Circuit – A BCA Podcast!

In February, Ben Graff gave the BCA an opportunity to take part in a podcast about Braille chess for Adam Raoof’s “The Chess Circuit”. Here’s a description of some of the points they discussed.

Episode 16: Ben Graff and I talk to Voldi Gailans, Junior Development Officer of the Braille Chess Association.

How effective is chess playing software designed for visually impaired players? Kaiser speaking chess clock - we had lots of fun trying to work out how to use that! Is there a good range of accessible chess literature for chess enthusiasts? What’s the one thing you would like to see happen that would improve the experience of visually impaired chess enthusiasts?

If you haven’t heard the podcast yet and would like to, it’s still available here: https://anchor.fm/thechesscircuit

Many thanks to Voldi, Ben and Adam!

Champing at the Bit 02

Paul Benson writes:

Here we shall examine a Grand Master with white vs a 20 years old International Master with black. This almost 300 Elo point difference offers a classic "Goliath vs David" clash. Clearly White expects to win, Black probably hoping for a draw. Best laid plans...

B. Socko (2654) - I. Bulmaga (2375), European Individual Championship (Yerevan) 2014.

Diagram, white to move.

White pieces: Kg1, Qd2, Ra1, Rd1, Nf1. White pawns: b2, b3, c4, d5, f2, g2, h2.

Black pieces: Kg8, Qg5, Rc7, Rf8, Nf4. Black pawns: a6, b7, d6, e5, f5, g7, h7.

(Despite the opening being a Sicilian Defence it has passed without excitement, but with 21. ... Qg5 Black cheekily threatens Qxg2+ mate.)

22. f3 e4 23. fxe4 fxe4 24. Kh1 (Sensibly getting off the g-file, ignore x-ray attacks at your peril. Instead blockading the black passed e4 pawn with 24. Ne3 allows 24. ... Nh3+ 25. Kh1 Nf2+, Black wins an exchange on d1. Black to play now grabs the initiative with an attractive sequence of active moves.)

24. ... e3 25. Nxe3

(Forced, any move which takes the white queen off the white 2nd rank allows 25. ... Qxg2+ mate.)

25. ... Re7 (All black pieces are now attacking, White must be very careful. The initial threat is a deflection with 26. ... Rxe3 when the idea is 27. Qxe3 Qxg2+ mate, easily prevented.)

26. g3 (A move of mixed consequences. The mate threats on g2 are eliminated but the light squares of f3 and h3 are handed over to Black.)

26. ... Nh3 (A tactical doubler. Firstly, Black threatens 27. ... Qxe3 winning a piece. Secondly, Black threatens 27. ... Nf2+ winning an exchange on d1.)

27. Re1 Rf3 (Approxi-Kasparovism: “Every black piece is better than every white piece.”, and just for the cost of a pawn. Black now has some nasty threats, White has only a single move to stay in the game.)

28. Qg2 (White escapes the black queen x-ray attack with an attack on the black undefended f3 rook and h3 knight. Instead, 28. Nf1 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Qxd2, White loses the queen for an exchange.)

28. ... Nf2+ 29. Kg1 Rexe3 (Black captures the white e3 knight while maintaining a defence on the vulnerable f2 knight, looks like White has lost a piece, right?)

30. Rf1 (Nice, White triply-attacks the black f2 knight, the “apparently” lost piece is actually being regained.)

30. ... Qh5 (International Master confuses Grand Rabbit. With so much black heavy piece kingside activity combined with temporarily being a piece up the position is surely screaming: "Winning Tactic Somewhere!", perhaps there is, how about:

(A). 30. ... Rxg3 31. hxg3 Rxg3 32. Qxg3 Qxg3+ is a rather cute mate.

(B). 30. ... Rxg3 31. hxg3 Rxg3 32. Rxf2 Rxg2+ 33. Rxg2 Qe3+ 34. Kh1 Qxb3 and a black queen, king, a pair of connected passed pawns will overpower a rook pair, Black is winning.

(C). 30. ... Rxg3 31. Rxf2 Rxg2+ 32. Rxg2 Qe5 Black is simply a queen for rook ahead and winning.)

31. Rxf2 Rxf2 32. Qxf2 Re2 (White has significantly reduced the attacking forces and yet Black still has the initiative. Accuracy combined with some ingenuity is now required if White is to fight on.)

33. g4 (The white queen is in trouble, she needs some breathing space, the g3 square is vacated for her majesty. Instead running away fails:

(A). 33. Qf4 Qxh2+ 34. Kf1 Qg2+ mate.

(B). 33. Qf1 Qxh2+ mate. Rooks just love being on the opposing 2nd rank.)

33. ... Qxg4+ 34. Qg3 Qd4+ (Simplification is a temptation to be resisted until the maximum gain can be squeezed from the position. Yes, in the long-term queens must be removed, but not quite yet, Black keeps prodding around against the white king to immobilise the white queen.)

35. Kh1 Qe4+ (Fighting over control of the e1 square while the black threat of Qg2+ mate needs to be prevented.)

36. Kg1 Rxb2

(A move of mixed consequences. The sacrificed e-pawn gave considerable activity resulting in Black emerging a pawn up. Fine, but surely now White can centralise with Re1 and have some serious threats of his own?)

37. Re1 (As anticipated, White completes development as the time-control approaches, Black must have prepared a good answer to this, but what? Clue: Best move of the game about to be played...)

37. ... Rg2+ (Forcing the game into a won rook and pawn ending, and this clever resource needed to be in mind when capturing the white b2 pawn.)

38. Kf1 (Correctly declining as 38. Qxg2 Qxe1+ 39. Qf1 Qxf1+ 40. Kxf1 a5, putting a squeeze on the white queenside, is a won pawn ending for Black. Instead, 38 Kh1, inadvisably walking into an x-ray attack, offers an opportunity to show how tactics can arise with minimal material present:

(A). 38. Kh1 Re2+ 39. Kg1 Rxe1+ 40. Kf2 Qe2+ mate.

(B). 38. Kh1 Re2+ 39. Kg1 Rxe1+ 40. Qxe1 Qxe1+ avoids mate but is playing on a queen down, never done at this level!)

38. ... Rxg3 39. Rxe4 Rxb3 40. Re6 (Taking the 7th rank gains little as 40. Re7 b5 41. Rd7 Rf3+ 42. Ke2 and Black continues in similar manner to game.)

40. ... Rf3+ (Appropriate Fischerism: “In chess it is important to know when to punch and when to duck.” No one likes to retreat but the black rook must get back to save the d6 pawn. Instead 40. ... Rb6 41. c5 Rb5 42 c6 bxc6 43. dxc6 Rc5 44. Rxd6 a5 45. Rd8+ Kf7 46. Ra8 Ke7 47. c7 Kd7 48. c8=Q+ Rxc8 49. Rxa5 seems to let White off the hook.)

41. Ke2 Rf6 (Black is consolidating. Those extra couple of pawns are a winning advantage, the only question is how long it will take to convert. Perhaps 12 moves or so should to the trick? Too optimistic, keep time on the clock for at least 20 moves, perhaps more?)

42. Re8+ Kf7 43. Rb8 (Aims are clarifying. If White can eliminate all the black centre/queenside pawns it is a draw. To win Black must retain a centre/queenside pawn, ideally a pawn other than the a-pawn.)

43. ... b5 (Neither the black king or rook can defend the queenside pawns, it must be the d6 pawn which is retained if Black is to win.)

44. Rb7+ Kg6 45. cxb5 axb5 46. Rxb5 Rf5

(Despite winning a pawn back White is still losing. Black can simultaneously pressure the remaining white pawns with the rook leaving White to find a way to defend them. Note that White dare not trade rooks, the pawn ending is a simple win for Black. The short-term black aim is to try to surround and capture the white d5 pawn.)

47. Ke3 Kf6 48. Ke4 Rh5 49. Rb2

(Activity gets nowhere as 49. Rb7 Rh4+ 50. Kf3 g5 51. Kg3 Ke5 and the white rook must return to b5.)

49. ... Rh4+ (Forcing the white king back to his 3rd rank allowing the black king to advance to e5, the white d5 pawn is about to be surrounded.)

50. Kf3 (Thinking of using the king to guard the h-pawn permitting the b2 rook to go active again. Trying to stay near the stranded d5 pawn fail, a couple of ideas run:

(A). 50. Ke3 Ke5 51. Rd2 Re4+ 52. Kf3 Rd4 the white d5 pawn falls.

(B). 50. Kd3 Ke5 black follows up with 51. Rd4+ again picking off the white d5 pawn.)

50. ... Rd4 51. Rb5 h6 52. Kg3 g5 53. h3 Ke5 54. Rb8 (The white rook plans making attacks/checks from the distant safety of the 8th rank, these are forlorn hopes, Black has it all under control.)

54. ... Kxd5 (At the point of consolidation, 41. ... Rf6, a guess of 12 moves or so to win was floated. This is 13 moves later and Black might need another 13 moves, right?)

55. Rh8 Rh4 (Establishing a triangle of “Mutual Protection”, a strong static formation worth remembering. The black h6 pawn protects the g5 pawn, which protects the h4 rook, which backwardly protects the h6 pawn. This structure keeps the kingside completely safe permitting other units, here the black king and d-pawn, to make progress in the centre.)

56. Rd8 Ke5 57. Re8+ Kd4

(The black king is using the d6 pawn as shelter while leaving the d5 square vacant for a pawn advance.)

58. Re1 (As attacks from the rear gain nothing this rook plans to annoy the black king from the white 1st rank. Note that it is important to place the maximum distance possible between the disputing pieces when engaging in rook-on-king annoyances.)

58. ... d5 59. Rd1+ Kc5 60. Rc1+ Kb4 61. Rh1 (Defensive duties are being reversed, the white rook defends the h3 pawn releasing the king to try to prevent the promotion of the black passed d-pawn.)

61. ... Kc3 62. Kf2 d4 (Kingside pawn-play would be premature, it is the black d-pawn which must squeeze White into conceding the h3 pawn.)

63. Ra1 (Active defence seems the only chance. Instead, just putting the white king on the back rank simply permits Black to march the king to g3 followed by Rxh3 with an easy win even if the black d-pawn falls in the process. Black to play must take care.)

63. ... d3

(Avoiding the disastrous 63. ... Rxh3 64. Ra3+ a skewer which picks off the black h3 rook and White wins.)

64. Ra3+ Kc2 65. Ra2+ Kb1 (Annoyances from the side cannot continue, White reverts to annoyances from the rear of the black king. However, notice the key word here is “annoyances”, White will never find anything forcing.)

66. Ra6 Rxh3 (We have now had 25 moves since black 41. ... Rf6, consolidating, and yet there is still much more work to be done. White cannot save this but there are always tricks to try, here is a specific formation worthy of mention. Imagine Black marches the king back to the kingside to assist the shuffling forward of the passed pawns. If this idea appeals, there is a self-trap to avoid. Placing the rook on the black 7th rank, say b2 or c2, is fine, but beware that advancing a pawn to h2 with the white king on h1 throws it all away. The white king would be in stalemate if white had no rook, which gives that rook the opportunity to chase the black king with checks, irrespective of the safety of the rook, White wants to give it away. Handled correctly, some careful dancing is required at times, the rook can give a perpetual check until White concedes it cannot be won.)

67. Ke1 Rh2 68. Kd1 Kb2 69. Rc6 (Preventing the black king sprint to the kingside, fine, but does nothing to stop the kingside pawns, the poor white rook is overloaded, it has too much work to do.)

69. ... h5 70. Rd6 d2 (An important change has just occurred. The white king has no legal moves, if White did not have a rook it would be stalemate, which is a clue as to a trick up the white sleeve.)

71. Rd3 (Clearly 71. Rxd2+ Rxd2+ 72. Kxd2 is hopeless for White.)

71. ... g4 (Strategic clue for the black future: At the moment the black rook on h2 guards a couple of vital pawns, fine, but is there a similar square from where the same defences may be given, even if it not yet available? White to play has a clever trick, not forcing but worth a try, you never know...)

72. Rb3+ Ka2 (Avoiding 72. ... Kxb3 stalemate. An immobilised king, here the white d1 unit was effectively in stalemate while the black king sat on b2, should set off alarm bells to both players when that king has just a single friendly fighter remaining in play.)

73. Rg3 (Further attempted gifting fails as 73. Rb2+ Ka3 74. Rb3+ Ka4 75. Rb4+ Kxb4 and the c2 square is available to the white king. Black to play cannot make progress with the king while the white rook owns the white 3rd rank. Furthermore, the kingside pawns are restrained as black pawn h4 drops the g4 pawn. Process of elimination, the black rook needs re-locating, but to where? Clue: On h2 it performs an important double-protection, find the reflection.)

73. ... Rh3 74. Rg1 (Trading-down loses as 74. Rxh3 gxh3 75. Kxd2 h2 and Black promotes.)

74. ... Rd3 75. Rh1 (There is nothing better, treading water fails. Instead, 75. Rg2 g3 76. Rg1 h4 77. Rg2 h3 and the black pawns march through on their own. Note if the white king ever steps off the back rank Black simply promotes on d1, forcing liquidation, those black passed pawns will then be decisive.)

75. ... Rd5 (Double-protection of pawns re-established, centre and kingside secure. Note that when the black rook transferred to the d-file almost all white tricks seeking stalemate evaporated. Now the black aim is to get the black king into the kingside to support pawn advances. And for those keeping count, this is now 34 moves since the black consolidation of the d6 pawn, will this game ever end?)

76. Rg1 Kb3 77. Rg3+ Kc4 78. Rg1 Rd3 (Black could instead drag the king back to d6 and try to charge up the f-file. White might try to put the rook on f2, but then black has pawn h4 and pawn g3, the white rook cannot control the f-file and restrain the black pawns, another case of overloading.)

79. Rh1 Rh3 (Retreating with 79. ... Rd5 80. Rg1 is gaining nothing.)

80. Rg1 Rh2 (Double-protection of pawns on again. Yes, we have been here before, but now the black king is centralised and has a simple route into the kingside. Fine, but surely on h2 the black rook has re-created that potential stalemate trap previously avoided? Stalemating ideas are only possible if the black king denies the white king access to the c2 flight square.)

81. Rg3 Kd4 82. Rd3+ Ke4 (A variation on the theme, Black avoids 82. ... Kxd3+ stalemate.)

83. Ra3 Rf2 (Vacating h2, the h5 pawn is ready to run.)

84. Ra4+ (There is nothing better, shuffling on the white 3rd rank fails, the black h-pawn just rolls through.)

84. ... Kf3 85. Ra3+ Kg2 0-1

(Nothing sensible can stop the black h-pawn. With 41. ... Rf6 black consolidated the rook ending, it then took 44 moves to arrive at resignation. Patience in endgames is not only a virtue but sometimes a necessity.)

Puzzles and a Game from Owen

Editor’s note: Many thanks to Owen Phillips, who sent these items at Christmas. The February issue was so packed that I had to hold them over until May, but hopefully the wait won’t detract from your enjoyment of them!

P1 Easy puzzle:

White: Qe6, Rd8, Nf4, Rh4, Be2, Kd2 Black: Kd4, Qe4, Ba2, Rb5, Be5, d5

White to move and mate in 2.

P2 Relatively easy puzzle:

White: Kb4, Qa3, Be3, c5, d2, d3 Black: Ne2, Qa2, Kc6, a7,b5

Black to mate in two moves.

P3 A surprising puzzle:

White: Ke7, Rb8, Bc5, Nd3, Bh2, Qa1 Black: Kc6, Qc8, Bc2, Rh6

White to move and mate.

P4 A middling puzzle with a few principles involved:

White: Kh1, Bc2, Qe8, Rf7, h2, g2, f3, b3 Black: Kh6, Nh5, Qb4, Bc6, Bb6, a7, g6

White to mate in three!

The solutions are in this issue, just after Personalia.

An interesting game played on Lichess at 10mins/player between:

Hubertor (2110) and Lord Melbury (2001) on 13/12/2020:

The opening is the highly combative `Double Bayonet attack':

1. b4 Nf6 2. Bb2 d5 3. a3 Bf5 4. h3 Nbd7 5. d3 e5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Bg2 c6 8. Nd2 Bd6 9. e3 Qe7 10. Ne2 Nb6

11. Rc1 Na4 12. Ba1 Rd8 13. 0-0 0-0 14. f4 exf4 15. exf4 h5 16. g5 Nd7 17. f5 Bh7 18. Nf3 Qe3+

19. Kh1 Bxf5 20. Bd4 Qe6 21. Nfg1 Rfe8 22. Nf4 Bxf4 23. Rxf4 Nf8 24. Qxh5 Ng6 25. Rf2 c5 26. bxc5 Rc8

27. Rcf1 Ne7 28. Re2 Qg6 29. Qxg6 Bxg6 30. Rfe1 Rc7 31. Bxd5 Kf8 32. Rxe7 Rcxe7 33. Rxe7 Rxe7

34. Bb3 b5 35. cxb6 axb6 36. Bxa4 Ra7 37. Bb3 Rxa3 38. Bxb6 Ra1 39. Kg2 Ke8 40. Nf3 Ra6 41. Bd4 Kf8

42. Ne5 Rd6 43. Bc5 Ke7 44. Nxg6+ fxg6 45. Bxd6+ Kxd6 1-0

Gerry’s Chess Career: A truly Swiss Event!

Gerry Walsh writes:

My 1972 Grandmaster Tournament was a great success and I trust you have enjoyed the games I have posted on my daily bulletin. It certainly brings me happy memories because I was able to watch these games at close range. When 1972 finished I knew we had the 1973 World Junior Championship to organise and this was another success with a record entry of 52 countries participating, it was won by Belyavsky from USSR.

In 1974 I organised The World Student Team Championship, another fantastic event, with one unique feature. It was the only chess tournament where Black's clock was started first. In 1975 I followed up with The Alexander Memorial Tournament which was another grandmaster tournament won by Geller ahead of Smyslov, Bronstein, Hort, Hubner, Sax, Timman, Kavalek, Olafsson, Miles, Gheorghiu, Lombardy, Stean, Keene and Hartston. Games from this event will follow soon.

Four magnificent tournaments in my own Teesside certainly furthered my chess career but it was further enhanced by an invitation to Geneva to be deputy arbiter first of all in a super grandmaster tournament won by Larsen and then the semi-final of the Candidates Tournament between Spassky and Portisch. On both occasions I was deputy to chief arbiter Harry Golombek. During the event I attended my first FIDE Congress in Lucerne, which was another highlight.

There was an additional bonus for being in Geneva because the second semi-final was staged 22 miles away in Evian in France between Korchnoi and Polugayevsky and by arrangement they played on alternate days to Geneva. The two magnificent hotels had agreed that if the players and arbiters visited the other venue we could take our meals with our colleagues and since my hotel had provided me with the use of a car I was able to drive to Evian many times.

Here is the ninth game of the Spassky v Portisch match, with Portisch leading by 4.5 to 3.5

White B Spassky Black L Portisch Spanish Game Breyer Variation

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 O-O 9 h3 Nb8 10 d4 Nbd7

11 Nbd2 Bb7 12 Bc2 Re8 13 Nf1 Bf8 14 Ng3 g6 15 a4 c5 16 d5 c4 17 Bg5 h6 18 Be3 Nc5 19 Qd2 Kh7

20 Nh2 Bg7 21 Rf1 h5 22 f3 Qe7 23 Bg5 Qf8 24 f4 exf4 25 Rxf4 Nfd7 26 Raf1 Ne5 27 Nxh5 gxh5

28 Qe2 Qh8 29 Rh4 Kg6 30 Bd1 f5 31 Rxf5 Rf8 32 Qxh5+ Qxh5 33 Bxh5+ Kh7 34 Bf7+ Bh6

35 Rxh6+ Kg7 36 Bf6+ Kxf7 37 Bxe5+ Ke8 38 Rxf8+ Kxf8 39 Bxd6+ Kg7 40 Ng4

Portisch resigned thus the match score was 4.5 each. 8.5 was needed to win

Editor’s note: The daily bulletin that Gerry refers to is his regular contribution to our user group forum. Gerry has been posting a master game every day since the first lockdown of 2020, so that’s over a year now! He has provided no end of entertainment for members of the group and we’re very grateful to him. If you would like to join the group please email me and I will send you an invitation.

It’s More Than Just Chess!

By Donna J. Jodhan

In 2014 I and my friend Jackie journeyed from Canada to Windermere where I participated in the Windermere tournament. This is where I met some of the nicest and most welcoming folks. I met Peter Gibbs and his wife Celia. Denis and June Warren, and so many others.

I did not enter the tournament to necessarily win; I wanted to meet other blind and vision impaired chess players and to reacquaint myself with British hospitality and this is exactly what happened.

I lost to Mark Hague, was lucky to defeat Denis Warren and drew my other game. I had the good fortune to benefit from Ernie McElroy's coaching and so many others reached out to me while I was there.

In 2019 I again visited Windermere this time with my friend Rebecca but having been sick prevented me from entering the tournament. Yet, it was a great visit and a most warm and welcoming one.

My friend Jilla drove me from London to Windermere and stayed with me for two days; leaving on the Tuesday and returning on the Saturday to drive me to Liverpool for a family reunion and then back to London to catch my flight back to Canada.

Both Liz and Mark Kirkham were so very nice to me on this visit. Liz took care of me while I was sick and Mark spent time playing a few friendly games against me.

Since my return from Windermere, I have had the wonderful opportunity to play friendly games against several folks and each game has helped me to learn, play, and even socialize from afar.

Mark has been such a wonderful inspiration to me; always the patient coach and always willing to impart his knowledge. I have made so many friends through the BCA despite being so far away and it just goes to show that across the miles does not pose barriers.

During this time of Covid I have learned that it's not just about playing chess. It's much more than just playing chess. It's all about making friends via email or across the miles. It's all about having fun, socializing, and getting to know each other. It's all about the fact that we are all in this together and helping each other to stay strong, stay safe, and help each other to keep positive.

I am so very lucky and fortunate to be involved in the BCA and it does not matter that I live here in Canada and others live across the pond in Britain. I have made so many new chess friends but they are more than just chess friends. We play chess, discuss the weather, talk about our cooking adventures and exchange so many varying ideas.

I thank Julie Leonard for helping me along, Eamonn Casey, Philip Doyle, and Paul Benson. To Ednun Pourtahmasbi for having made it possible for me to purchase magnetic chess sets and to Irene Elbourn and Denis Warren for being such willing friendly game players.

You see, for me, it's a lot more than just playing chess! Maybe much sooner than later when this horrible Covid choke hold is gone but never forgotten, I will once more venture across the pond where I hope to meet some of my cherished chess friends.

Concerning Hugo!

With our second TESSLa event starting imminently, Hugo Roman, our member in Belgium, is gravely concerned about games played between family members. He writes:

Here’s a warning for Tony and Irene! Chess games between me and my brother Glenn, who is six years younger than me, used to be fought harder than when playing others. That was more than 50 years ago, but still, between husband and wife, things can be different.

The first tournament director I got to know in the Royal Chess Club of Ostend, André Gruell, became one of my best chess friends ever. At around one or two o’clock in the morning André used to tease me and another blitz loving friend Roland by pretending that he was leaving. He put on his coat and hat, but when we had gone, he sat down again, lit a cigarette, poured a glass of beer with lots of foam, and started studying games between Fischer and Spassky, as he always did, every Friday and Saturday evening. He was always there, even on Christmas Eve!

To end my story: he once told me he had divorced his first wife, and added: she played first class chess, and I have never been able to win against her! So be careful, Tony and Irene!

Editor’s note: Thank you Hugo, but anyone who has met Tony and Irene will know that they are a most devoted couple, and always in good cheer whether they’ve won, lost or drawn, so please put your mind at rest!

A BCA Motto?

The imaginary venue for the BCA Big Bash was a hotel called “Gens Una Sumus” which, as many will know, is the motto of FIDE, the international governing body of chess. It is usually translated as “We are One Family”. Many organisations have mottos. The Olympic Games has: Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger). The Paralympic Games have: Spirit in Motion. Your favourite football club probably has one. A school or university that you went to might too. As far as I know though, the BCA has never had a motto. Perhaps it’s time we did!

Can you think of a few words that really sum up the aspirations of the BCA or capture the very essence of our association? Please send me your ideas. They needn’t be in Latin, but if they are please supply translations!

Please note that this is purely a whim of mine and there is no guarantee that the committee will choose to adopt a motto. However, if we have some really inspired suggestions I’m sure they would at least consider doing so.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Julie Leonard

Personalia

Firstly, there is sad news from our Braille chess friends in Germany. Jürgen Pohlers passed away on the 18th of February 2021 after a long and serious illness, aged just 64. Although he never joined the BCA, he attended quite a few of our events 1990s and 2000s and no doubt many members will remember him from those days. His Braille chess career spanned a critical moment in German history. In 1989 he was the last East German champion and in 1991 he became German champion. RIP Jürgen. Condolences to his family and friends.

Belated 70^th birthday congratulations to Hugo Roman! The big day was on the 7^th of January 2021. We look forward to the day when Hugo will once again be able to travel from Belgium to join us for a tournament!

Natalie, the daughter of Clare and Voldi Gailans, had a baby girl at 5am on 20^th January 2021! Florence Clare Marie, whose middle names are a tribute to her two grandmothers, was born safely at home, weighing 8lb 11oz. Congratulations to all the family, but most especially to Natalie, her partner Ellis, and their daughter Poppy, who is now five and is absolutely delighted to have a baby sister!

There will be further celebrations in the Gailans household this month as it’s Clare and Voldi’s Ruby wedding anniversary on the 2^nd of May. Many congratulations to them both from all their friends in the BCA!

Finally, congratulations to John Ramm for completing a 250 mile sponsored walk, roughly five miles at a time. He walked in snow, rain, wind, and spring sunshine to raise an impressive £1,150 for the RNIB! If any members have an idea for fundraising in aid of our own BCA, please don’t hesitate to contact our Finance and Fundraising sub-committee, who will be delighted to discuss the details with you.

Solutions to Owen’s Puzzles

P1: 1. Qxd5+ If B (Q or R) x Qd5 then 2. Ne6#!! The Principle is Smother and Pin related sacrifices!

P2: .1. ... a5+ If 2. Kxa5 then 2. … QxQa3# whilst if 2. Qxa5 then 2. … Qb2#!! The principle is Deflection!

P3: 1. Qh1#!! easy as long as you trawl the board. A very important skill particularly for players who are blind or have restricted sight. Principle: Trawling and looking for extra lines of attack!

P4: 1. Rh7+ If 1. … Kxh7 then 2. Qxg6+ Kh8 and 3. Qh7#!

Or more likely the more complex route of 1. … Kg5 then still 2. Qxg6+ and after 2. … Kh4 then 3. Qg3#!! (as the Black Knight is pinned!) Principles of Deflection, Exposed attack, and a pin!

Remember when you do problems -always think afterwards what were the principles involved. That way one learns more and you are more likely to retain and be able to reproduce that knowledge in matches.

Gray Matter Test

These puzzles are selected by Graham Lilley 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.

February 2021 Puzzle

Magnus Carlsen vs Gustav Gulbrandsen, Norway, 2002

r1b1k2r/pp1nqpp1/4p2p/3pP1N1/8/3BQ3/PP3PPP/2R2RK1

White: King g1, Queen e3, Rooks c1 and f1, Bishop d3, Knight g5, Pawns a2, b2, e5, f2, g2 and h2

Black: king e8, queen e7, rooks a8 and h8, bishop c8, knight d7, pawns a7, b7, d5, e6, f7, g7 and h6

White to move and win.

Solution: Qxa7 If … Rxa7 Rxc8+ Qd8 Rxd8+ & Nxf7+ Or if … Rb8 Qxb8 Nxb8 Rxc8+ & Rxh8

May 2021 Puzzle

Magnus Carlsen vs Per Manne, Bergen, 2002

6k1/3n1ppp/ppr2n2/8/P2B4/1P2N1P1/4rP1P/3R1RK1

White: King g1, Rooks d1 and f1, Bishop d4, Knight e3, Pawns a4, b3, f2, g3 and h2

Black: king g8, rooks c6 and e2, knights d7 and f6, pawns a6, b6, f7, g7 and h7

White to move and win. The solution will appear in the August gazette.

RIP George Foster

George was born in Belfast and learned chess from his twin brother when he was just fourteen years old. Fully sighted in those days, George had a varied career which included engineering. He lived through the troubles in Northern Ireland and went on to work in security at Stormont, where he once declined to admit a certain Chris Patten, who had forgotten his identity pass!

When George was in his fifties his eyesight began to fade. He had several guide dogs over the years, which kept him very active. He was also a keen swimmer. Another of his hobbies was reading and he got a great deal of enjoyment from his In Your Pocket device which gave him access to Talking Books and a great deal of other reading material in audio format. His favourites were thrillers by Lee Child and war books.

A pivotal moment in George’s life came when he decided to register for the RNIB Talk and Support befriending service, which offers blind and partially sighted adults the opportunity to socialise in small groups online or by telephone. He was placed in a group with Jadwiga Kelly and they hit it off straight away, sharing the same sense of humour and immensely enjoying each other’s company. After a while they began to consider meeting in person, which was not going to be easy because Jadwiga was in Hereford. Eventually they decided to book a holiday on neutral territory in Teignmouth. When the time came they were both nervous and even a bit reluctant to go but they plucked up courage which was just as well because they had a wonderful time. By the end of the week neither of them wanted to go home! Six years ago, now in his sixties, George took the huge step of moving from Belfast to Hereford to be with Jadwiga. They both joined the BCA so that George could resume his interest in our game and they came to several of our week-long events in Bournemouth and in Torquay, where they made many friends. George enjoyed his training sessions and had great success, on one occasion even beating his trainer! Perhaps his most memorable contribution though was the song he sang with Jadwiga at our soirée in Torquay: A World of Our Own, by the Seekers. Their choice of song seems all the more poignant now we know the story of how they built their own world together in Hereford.

Sadly, it wasn’t to last. George was diagnosed with vascular dementia and towards the end of last year he was admitted to a care home for a short time. The plan had been for him to return home to Jadwiga when his medication had been sorted out and a care package was in place. However, an unfortunate accident in the care home resulted in a broken finger, which required hospital treatment. After returning to the care home George began to feel very poorly and tests confirmed that he had contracted Covid-19. He passed away on the 23^rd of December 2020, aged 73. His funeral took place in Belfast and he is laid to rest in Roselawn Cemetery there.

Condolences to Jadwiga and to George’s family in Northern Ireland. Many thanks to Jadwiga for supplying the information that went into this tribute to George. She hopes to join us at a BCA event in 2022 and no doubt we shall all look forward to welcoming her back.