It’s often said that “An Englishman’s home is his castle”, which fits quite well with our game because Kings can live in castles too and in chess, when we castle, what else are we doing but making a secure residence for our king? Over the past eighteen months many of us will have spent a lot more time in our homes than we’re used to and some can’t wait to break out and seek new adventures. Perhaps there’s a comparison to be drawn with a chess king who’s spent too long cooped up behind pawns with a rook on guard and is desperate to go on the march when the heat of the middlegame battle has subsided!

As I write this editorial in mid-July, it looks as if our Autumn Tournament in Harrogate could go ahead as planned in October. Following the disappointment and frustration at the cancellation of other events since the covid outbreak began, this will be encouraging news to many. We’ve held tournaments at The Old Swan Hotel for some years now, so it’s almost a “home from home” for members. You’ll find all the details in Forthcoming Events. Kindly note that the closing date for entries has been brought forward to the 1^st of September.

Sadly, we know that some of our OTB tournament regulars will not feel able to attend this first post lockdown event. All our circumstances are different and, as in chess, everyone must give careful consideration to their own position. If we dare hope that the worst of the pandemic is now behind us in the UK, perhaps we’re in the endgame, but it looks like it’s going to be a long one, fraught with danger. Caution is still very much needed. The BCA has been running replacement remote tournaments in various formats, such as the current TESSLa. There’s an interim report in this issue. We also have our combined Alternative Championship and Chairman’s Cup coming soon (see Forthcoming Events) and we are committed to running more remote events in future. So there will be lots of opportunities to play chess in the comfort of your own home. After all, there’s no place like it!

I heard that football was expected home recently but there was a last-minute change of plan. Nevertheless, our Membership Secretary, Mark Hague, gives a warm welcome in his report to all our new members, including one from Italy. Mark also updates us on who’s moved home lately and of course there are the usual officers’ reports to keep you up to date with everything that’s going on in the association. Mark Kirkham announces a new reader for our audio excerpts from Chess Magazine and invites members to subscribe. There’s also a history of our Audio Library from Stan, who explains how chess material was distributed long before home computers were dreamt of!

Each chess piece has its own home square. This issue contains an annotated game by Paul Benson, in which at least one piece stays at home for the whole encounter! Paul also sent in a game from our Remote Spring Tournament, where all competitors had a home advantage. There’s a game selected by Owen Phillips too, with annotations by Rod Macdonald, and another instalment of Gerry Walsh’s chess career.

Personalia is full of good news and there are charming anecdotes by Philip Doyle, domiciled in Dublin and Hugo Roman, who dwells in Belgium! Finally, we say a fond farewell to Antoine Reeves, who passed away in April.

Thank you very much to everyone who sent an article or news for this gazette. Please send me your contributions for the November gazette by the end of September.

Julie Leonard

Forthcoming Events

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. Each player will have 1 hour 45 minutes for all moves. 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 graded unless a sufficient number of the participants are in favour of sending them for grading. Note that we are not referring to the ECF OTB grading system but to a completely separate ECF system for grading games played online.

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. If you have a preference, please also say whether or not you’d like the games to be sent for grading. 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. Because of the pandemic, there was initially considerable uncertainty as to how feasible it would be for us to go ahead with the event. As a result, we carried out a survey of regular tournament attendees at the end of June to assess how many members would hope to attend. The outcome of this survey gave us the confidence to inform the hotel that we were indeed going ahead with the event.

The hotel, with its excellent facilities, is located close to the town centre, and a short taxi ride from the railway station. As usual, we shall aim to run two five-round chess tournaments, an Open section and a Challengers section limited to those graded ECF 1450 or below. The tournaments are open to all visually impaired chess players and associate members of the BCA.

The entry fee for both tournaments is £10. The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for members and associate members, sharing a double/twin room is £45 per person per night for Friday and Saturday nights 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. Car drivers need to note please that there is a £10 charge per day for parking.

The closing date for entries is Wednesday 1st September 2021. We shall need to let the hotel know our room requirements very shortly after this and so it might not be possible to accommodate late entries. Please send your entry fee and full payment for all accommodation to Gill Smith by this date. Queries about the tournament should be directed to Steve Burnell.

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

This week-long break offers coaching, a friendly rapid-play tournament and a wide range of entertainment. It will be held at the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth. At a recent committee meeting it was agreed that this event will be dedicated to Antoine Reeves, a regular attendee at Chess Theme Breaks, who passed away in April.

We sincerely hope it will be possible for this event to go ahead and are monitoring the situation closely. All being well, details of the cost and how to book will follow in the November gazette.

Friday 18^th March to Sunday 20^th March 2022: AGM Congress

This will be held in Derby. There’ll be a five round Swiss tournament and the AGM will take place on the Saturday afternoon. More details will follow in a future gazette.

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.

Words from the Whitehouse

There have been two committee meetings and an AGM since my last Words from the Whitehouse article. Even so this will be relatively brief, as much of what the committee and the relevant sub-committees have been discussing has already been acted on (e.g. changes to the way TESSLa events are run).

Constitutional changes: The constitution was amended at the AGM; Junior Development Officer is now a committee post and accounts will be published after they have been approved and certified by a professional accountant rather than after approval at an AGM. This last change enables us to complete our return to the Charity Commission earlier. Accounts will, however, still be presented at the AGM and it will of course still be possible to raise any concerns or questions.

Tournaments: We decided that even when we were able to get back to playing over-the-board chess, we would still run online tournaments, though they might not run for quite as long as the first few have.

There has been some discussion as to whether games in these online tournaments should be graded. It was felt games ought to be graded in some way if only because it might impact the ranking of someone who then played in mainstream online tournaments, and in fact we were invited to have them included in the ECF’s new online grading system. We declined the offer and don’t want to discourage those who would only play if games were ungraded. We’d welcome members’ views.

We decided to ask those we thought likely to attend the Autumn Tournament whether they would be prepared to travel and play in the event that covid-related rules allowed the event to go ahead. We had to do this to be able to cancel in time and so avoid paying the full balance on the hotel booking if members said they would not attend. The result of the survey and the lifting of covid-related restrictions mean we have felt able to confirm the booking and so the tournament will go ahead as a face-to-face event

Those thinking of playing in any mainstream tournaments that start up again will not be excluded from a grant from the congress support scheme due to the inability to participate in over-the-board chess caused by the pandemic.

Equipment: Recently FIDE decided to make the new DGT clock their officially approved clock for use in tournaments they ran. We have begun a process of getting a version of the clock which has audio output, the DGT Echo, reviewed by a few members. We will then put together a simple set of instructions on how to get started with the clock.

We do have some funds ringfenced for equipment and we will have to start spending these funds soon. We are thinking of purchasing some magnetic sets from Italy and some DGT Echos. We’ve also decided to offset the cost of the DGT Echo by £60. This subsidy will only be available to those purchasing their first clock, and if you decide to buy one from an alternative supplier, you should pay for the clock in full and then claim the refund from us.

A significant anniversary: Next year will be our 90th anniversary. We’ll be giving some thought to how best to mark this significant milestone. Again, members’ views would be welcome.

Guy Whitehouse.

Constitution of Subcommittees

Finance and Fundraising: Norman Wragg (Chair), Gill Smith, Linda Innes and Guy Whitehouse.

Information and Communication Technology: Dan Rugman (Chair), Mark Kirkham, Julie and Olly Leonard and Gill Smith.

Technical: Guy Whitehouse (Chair), Stan Lovell and Ednun Pourtahmasbi.

Tournament: Steve Burnell (Chair), Voldi Gailans, Stan Lovell and Norman Wragg.

Treasurer’s Report

Recently we received £3,500 in grants from 3 trusts: the Anson Charitable Trust, the Calleva Foundation, and the Moynitrust. We are very grateful to them for they each give regularly.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Millennium Club, the BCA’s monthly lottery

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 in the draw, please make a payment to the BCA.

Recent Millennium Club winners:

April: Joan Shorrock, number 12.

May: Stan Lovell, number 36.

June: Moira Whittle, number 19.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Fundraising

Give as you Live Instore. Raise free funds for the BCA with your instore grocery shop! Reloadable grocery store cards can be used at Sainsburys, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Morrisons. Sign up with Give as you Live, order a card, pre-load funds and then shop.

If you are shopping online please remember that at no cost to you there are fundraising initiatives available to raise funds for the BCA. Amazon Smile has the same products and prices as Amazon.co.uk. When you shop on smile.amazon.co.uk, 0.5% of the net purchase price is donated to your chosen charity. In May, Amazon Smile gave the BCA £9.93.

Another option, Give as you Live, allows you to shop with many different retailers and a percentage of the price is donated.

Members are encouraged to contact the committee with suggestions for fundraising activities which will be endorsed on a case by case basis. We can promote fundraising activities through all of our publicity outlets.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Membership Secretary’s Report

We have three new five year members joining the BCA this quarter. David Levens, a chess coach from Alfreton has joined as an associate member. He is interested in the BCA and wishes to support the work of our organisation. Jacopo Tinti from Novara Italy and Niall Fitzpatrick from Boher, Co. Limerick, Ireland have joined as five year visually impaired members. I have already had the pleasure of playing chess with Jacopo in an online Skype tournament. He has also signed up to play in the remote British Championship and Chairman’s Cup in August.

Change of name: Congratulations are due to Sarah Kenealy and Daniel Scarrott who have recently married. Sarah now becomes Sarah Scarrott.

Deceased: Very sadly since my last report three active and very popular members have passed away. These being Arthur Greatrex, Stan Lightowler and Antoine Reeves. They will be greatly missed.

Mark Hague.

Correspondence Chess Director’s Report

46th BCA CORRESPONDENCE TOURNAMENT 2021-22

Premier - Group Leader Paul Benson

Crombie 0.5 - 0.5 Whitehouse, Centre Counter, 26.

Gallacher 0 - 1 Whitehouse, Modern, 34.

Phillips 1 - 0 Gallacher, Queen's Pawn, 22.

Ernie McElroy has withdrawn without starting any of his games due to technical difficulties with a new computer system.

Scores: Alec Crombie 2.5-3, Guy Whitehouse 2.5-3, George Phillips 2-2, Eric Gallacher 1-4, Voldi Gailans 0-4.

Challengers - Group Leader Paul Benson

No results. Scores: Philip Gordon 2-2, Eleanor Tew 1-2, Jim Cuthbert 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

Andrew Wood has been out of communication for more than a year, all of his games are now judged to be losses on time. Final scores: Mike Flood 3-3, Malcolm Jones 2, Eleanor Tew 1, Andrew Wood 0.

Congratulation to Mike Flood on winning Division 3 with a perfect score.

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

Remember that all members, including associates, can now enter games for this competition! Games must have been played in a BCA event or for a BCA team during 2021. Therefore, games from the Surrey Match, 51.55 Parallel Match, the BCA Big Bash, the Remote Spring Tournament, the 14^th BCA Email Tournament and the 2021 TESSLa are all eligible. Any such games that are published in the gazette are automatically entered. Other games can be sent to this year’s judge, David Mabbs, either directly or via a committee member.

New Reader of Chess Magazine

Dewi Jones, who has read extracts from the chess magazine for the BCA since 2019, stepped down in February. We have successfully recruited a new reader, Hugh Lawson. By the time you read this, Hugh will have read from five editions of the magazine from March to July. The transition was extremely smooth as Hugh is a keen chess player and soon got the hang of how to record with very little training required. We are most impressed with both the quality and presentation of Hugh's recordings, and would like to encourage members to listen. You can receive them on USB stick or as a direct link via our Dropbox account. Please contact me if you are interested. Some of the regular features in the magazine include the following:

How good is your Chess by GM Daniel King

60 Seconds (a brief interview with an established player, always with a favourite game)

Obituaries of famous chess players with tribute games

Never Mind the Grandmasters

Find the Winning Moves (with Solutions)

Studies with Stephenson

Home News

Overseas News

New Releases

There is plenty of variety from issue to issue, with recent articles such as ‘The Counter-Break ... Some pawn breaks can be met by another’, ‘The Two-Move Trap’ and one regular contributor is our very own associate member Ben Graff, whose article on the BCA appeared in the fall of last year in the magazine, and was reproduced in the February gazette.

Naturally, time constraints prevent Hugh from covering everything, so we try to select the most interesting looking articles beforehand so they are not always the same each time. Hugh will endeavour to record approximately three hours’ worth of material each month.

I look forward to hearing from anyone wishing to take advantage of this service.

Mark Kirkham

BCA Audio Library: A Brief History - Part 1

The BCA Tape Library, as it was originally known, was formed around the late 1950's or early 1960's. The evidence suggests the joint architects were the late Hans Cohn and the late Jack Horrocks. Around the same time, Hans Cohn set up a service of readings of Chess Columns from the press. In this service, voluntary readers selected various chess columns from a selection of newspapers and read them onto reel to reel tapes. Hans had sturdy cardboard boxes constructed in which, copied tapes were sent to members. These boxes had four fold in flaps onto which the addresses of four members were written. This enabled the boxes to be circulated around four members in rotation. At its height, these tapes were being received by more than 40 members each month.

Around the same time, Hans Cohn and Jack Horrocks began recruiting volunteers to read full chess books and shorter chess articles onto tape. These recordings formed a library from which members could borrow recordings free.

In 1963, the Phillips company launched the ‘audio cassette’, also known as the ‘compact cassette’ or ‘tape cassette’, onto the market. This more convenient format was an immediate success, and cassette tape recorders were soon readily available. Voluntary readers started reading content onto cassette tapes, and the task of transferring the existing recordings from reel to reel to cassettes began. The bulk of this work was carried out by Frank Oliver, who had taken over the library from Jack, and by Ted Williams, who became librarian after Frank.

A considerable boost to the library occurred, when Mike Basman, the founder of ‘Audio Chess’, allowed BCA to buy recordings to add to its library. The excellently produced Basman tapes contained a wide variety of material, much of it being the original work of leading players, including: Raymond Keene, Jim Plaskett, Andrew Martin and many others.

During the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's chess study material, accessible to blind players, was extremely limited. The BCA Tape Library was a very significant addition to the material available.

The BCA Tape/Cassette/Audio Library, could not have been formed or grown, as it did, without many hundreds of hours generously given by dozens of amazingly generous voluntary readers. Some produced so many recordings that their voices were welcome friends in the homes of many of our members.

By the time Stan Lovell became Librarian, the name had moved with the times and the library was now the ‘BCA Cassette Library’. The next Librarian was Shirley Watkins, who handed it on to the current custodian, Mark Kirkham.

The library is now known as the ‘BCA Audio Library’, reflecting the broadening of formats now available to Audio Books and advanced technology.

Stan Lovell, April 2021

Editor’s Note: In Part 2 (next issue), Mark Kirkham will tell us how the library has evolved in the 21^st century!

BCA v Surrey Correspondence Match Update

Last time it was reported that 18 games in this 22 board match had finished and the score was BCA 7, Surrey 11. Since then, two more results have come in:

Board 8: Nick Grey (Surrey) v. Bill Armstrong (BCA) 1-0.

Board 9: Norman Wragg (BCA) v. Steve Berry (Surrey) 0.5-0.5.

Current Match Score:  BCA 7.5, Surrey 12.5.

Two games remain in play:

Board 4: Julien Shepley (Surrey) v Paul Benson (BCA)

Board 10: Andy Chesworth (Surrey) v Steve Hilton (BCA)

14th BCA Email Tournament

Philip Doyle and Eamonn Casey report:

Our 14th BCA Email Tournament reached its conclusion in early May. Thanks to all the players, it was a very easy event to control. And now for the wrap up. I think we should rename Division 1 the Peter Gibbs Benefit, as once again, he has won it conclusively. Come on guys, surely someone can topple the master? Well done Peter! In Division 2, Randy Kruzeniski stormed to victory, winning by 1 and a half points. Eamonn Casey won a much tighter Division 3. Tony Lawton demanded promotion by winning Division 4 for the second time and Anton Emery was the victor in Division 5. We’re hoping to hear from you all, plus some of your friends for our 15th tournament in September!

Final scores and results that came in after the May gazette went to print are as follows:

Division 1 Final scores:

Peter Gibbs 3.5 from 4, Philip Doyle 2.5, Steve Burnell and Colin Chambers 2, Malola Prasath 0.

Division 2:

Armstrong drew with Andrews

Armstrong lost to Kruzeniski

Jones lost to Armstrong

Final scores:

Randy Kruzeniski 3.5 from 4, Bill Armstrong and Gerry Walsh 2, Norman Andrews 1.5, Malcolm Jones 1.

Division 3 Final scores:

Eamonn Casey 2.5, Philip Gordon 2, John Fullwood 1, Voldi Gailans 0.5.

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

Flood drew with Thacker

Thacker beat Smith

Final scores: Tony Lawton 3 from 3, Steve Thacker 1.5, Gill Smith 1, Flood 0.5.

Division 5 Final Scores:

Anton Emery 2.5 from 3, John Ramm 1.5, Anthony Borg and Simon Highsmith 1.

2021 TESSLa – The First Two Months!

Julie Leonard writes:

The 2021 Telephone, Email, Skype Summer Ladder tournament got underway on the 10^th of May. Twenty-eight entries were placed on the ladder in reverse rating order i.e. the lowest rated on the top (known as Rung 1 in this event) and the highest rated at the bottom. Controllers, Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard paired people up for their initial Rung Challenges based on which platforms each person had said they could use, ensuring that nobody was more than 10 rungs away from their opponent in accordance with the rules. Players wasted no time in scheduling their games and agreeing on a platform. In addition to telephone, email and Skype, other popular choices were Lichess and Zoom. Some players also issued Points Only challenges which, as the name suggests, are purely for points and never result in changes to ladder positions. In this event, players compete to get as high up the ladder as they can, while accruing points. At the end of the tournament we’ll have ladder winners and points table winners in the Open and U1450 sections.

It took just three days to complete the first Rung Challenge, which was honours even between Steve Bailey and Jermaine Raymond. There are two games in each challenge, one with each colour, so a player has to get at least a win and a draw to be victorious. This year we’re awarding 8 points for a win, 4 for a draw and 1 for a loss. Third party timekeepers also get 2 points per game up to a maximum of twenty games.

Four days into the event there were two clear leaders on the points table: Steve Bailey on 17, just ahead of Malcolm Jones on 16. Their nearest rivals were on 9, but of course it was still very early days in this marathon three-month event! Stan Lovell became the first player to move up the ladder, jumping nine places to land on Rung 16 and earning enough points to draw level with Steve Bailey.

After about a week of play the pace really began to pick up. Gill Smith was the next upwardly mobile player, moving seven places to Rung 3. Malcolm also won his first Rung Challenge and moved up eight to Rung 6. Meanwhile, Steve Thacker had defended Rung 18 against Richard Murphy, and Malcolm had established a strong lead on the points table; he was already 18 points ahead of the pack.

A few days later Mike Flood ascended to the top rung by beating Eleanor Tew! Voldi Gailans replaced John Osborne on Rung 9, where he came under fire from Tony Lawton. Further down the ladder Eamonn Casey took Rung 15 from Bittor Ibanez, and Steve Burnell seized Rung 19 from Colin Fisher.

Two weeks into the event Philip Doyle captured Rung 17 from John Fullwood and Roger Williams fought off a challenge from Anton Emery to hold on to Rung 5. Malcolm Jones was on 51 points and his nearest rival, Nene Clayton, had 36. A couple of days later Colin won Rung 18 from Bittor, and Stan replaced Lea Ryan on Rung 8.

As the month of May drew to a close, Mark Hague won Rung 11 from John Ramm, and Steve Bailey took Rung 7 from Malcolm, who had notched up 64 points. Nene was gaining ground on 56, followed by Stan on 54.

By early June, a total of four people had dropped out for various reasons but the remaining players were still adding to their points totals and jostling for position on the ladder. Malcolm had climbed to Rung 4, Steve Bailey to 6 and Richard to Rung 12. Last year’s Ladder Champion, Alec Crombie had made his way up to Rung 13 and Bittor, after a few downward moves, was back where he’d started on Rung 15!

The 8^th of June saw a big shake up at the top of the ladder! Roger Williams seized the top rung from Mike Flood, and Nene, who had valiantly defended her starting position on Rung 2 against challenges from Tony, Malcolm and Eleanor now relinquished it following a second onslaught by Malcolm. Gill stood firm on Rung 3 though, fending off an attack from Voldi Gailans. Malcolm, on a score of 104, had become the first player to reach three figures. Stan was in second place on 65 with Nene just behind on 62.

By mid June, Steve Bailey had taken up residence on Rung 6. Two long draws with Alec earned him the right to stay there and nearly a month later he has continued to repel all challengers! Alec was delighted to receive a challenge from Colin Fisher as the two hadn’t played each other since their schooldays! A couple of friendly draws saw Alec hold on to Rung 13. Meanwhile, a victory against Gill meant that Nene edged back up one rung to number 3 and Norman Andrews defeated John Fullwood to take Rung 22

Headlines for the 27th of June were that Roger had defended the top rung against Malcolm and Steve Burnell had jumped up eight places to number 11. Nene had joined Malcolm by passing the 100 points milestone! Malcolm still had a commanding lead on 132 points, with Nene second on 103. Before the end of June, Steve Bailey had joined them on a three-figure score and Stan was very close, having defeated Gill to take Rung 4.

By early July the nation’s attention may have been drawn away from our TESSLa a little by England’s progress in the football, but the competition was no less fierce. Alec advanced to Rung 3 with a win against Nene, John Osborne grasped Rung 7 from Eleanor, and Bittor continued on his upward path, beating Mark to take Rung 11.

Steve Burnell and John Osborne attempted to dislodge Malcolm from Rung 2 and Alec from Rung 3 respectively, but neither was successful. Richard fared better against Mike Flood and climbed to Rung 5, while Colin took possession of Rung 17 at Tony’s expense.

Roger has been at the top of the ladder for over a month now but has lost the first game in a challenge from Steve Bailey. We’re in suspense waiting to hear whether Rung 1 will change hands! Meanwhile on the points table, Malcolm's score has just passed the 200 mark! As I write on the 13^th of July, the current ladder placings and scores are as set out below, with players in the U1450 section indicated by an asterisk after their name:

Rung Name Points

1 Roger Williams* 54

2 Malcolm Jones* 202

3 Alec Crombie 80

4 Stan Lovell 108

5 Richard Murphy 52

6 Steve Bailey* 111

7 John Osborne* 24

8 Nene Clayton* 116

9 Gill Smith* 61

10 Mike Flood* 34

11 Voldi Gailans* 45

12 Bittor Ibanez* 57

13 Eleanor Tew* 11

14 Steve Burnell 67

15 Philip Doyle 48

16 Mark Hague* 49

17 Colin Fisher 70

18 Dan Rugman 0

19 Eamonn Casey 41

20 Tony Lawton* 32

21 John Ramm* 25

22 Norman Andrews 22

23 John Fullwood* 10

24 Norman Wragg 6

Gerry and I are once again full of admiration for the friendly way in which the players are taking part. Of course, there have been a few hiccups, particularly on less familiar platforms such as Lichess, but players have always found an amicable solution. Nine people have acted as timekeeper in at least one game. Special mentions go to Stan, who has timed six games and Malcolm, Nene, Bittor and Mark, who have each timed five.

When Bittor sends out Skype links for his games he advertises that coffee, tea and biscuits will be available. Gerry and I are keen to know what sort of biscuits they are. My money’s on “dichesstives”! (Readers have been known to cringe over my dreadful puns so I’d better refrain from speculating that they might even be “checkalot dichesstives”.)

Already 150 games have been played but there’s still nearly a month to go in this event so anything could happen! There’ll be more TESSLa news in the next issue.

A Matter of Time and Space

Many thanks to Paul Benson, who has kindly annotated one of his games from the BCA Remote Spring Tournament, 19^th to 21^st March 2021. He writes:

For some reason my games in this event were seriously lack-lustre. Perhaps the hotel policy of not serving a cooked breakfast suppressed the inspiration? So, no favourite game available, but not wishing to disappoint, here is the critical final round tussle. Note: Time control is 90 minutes each for the entire game.

P. Benson (1930) - S. Lovell (1615), BCA Remote Spring 2021 R5.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 At this point the clocks read 15 - 1 minutes consumed. Why has White struggled to reproduce possibly the most popular line in the Caro-Kann system? Simple. A desperate sifting of the memory circuits for tricky lines to destabilise the Black thinking was occurring, with nothing positive surfacing. So, this will now have to be the usual strategic battle with the unnecessary loss of time on the White clock, not a good start.

6. ... Nd7 7. Bc4 e6 8. O-O h6 9. Qe2 Ngf6 10. Ne5 A poor move, hoping for a bad reply, never a good idea.

10. ... Nxe5 The correct response. White was hoping for the "knee-jerk" response of 10. ... Bh7 when 11. Nxf7 is crushing. The idea is after 10. ... Bh7 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Qxe6+ Kg6 13. Bd3 mate, which means Nxf7 is winning at least an exchange and pawn.

11. dxe5 A sad necessity, the pawn structure imbalance disappears, the middlegame now becomes almost impossible to complicate, though the cramping effect of an e5 pawn might lead somewhere when the endgame begins. Instead 11. Qxe5 maintains the pawn formation imbalance but after 11. ... Bxc2 where is the compensation for the lost c-pawn?

11. ... Nd5 12. Bb3 Careless, a result of playing quickly to catch up on the clock. Instead 12. a3 keeps a minor piece out of the b4 square while offering the a2 square as a safe retreat for the c4 bishop.

12. ... Be7 13. a3 Qc7 14. c4 Nb6 15. Rd1 Black must not be permitted the luxury of castling queenside, however placing a rook on the d-file can only lead to a rook trade. Those much-desired middlegame complications become more remote than the event itself.

15. ... Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Qxd8 17. Be3 O-O When developing with 17 Be3 White needed to be certain that 17. ... Bd3 did not cost a pawn, some ideas run:

(A). 17. ... Bd3 18. Bxb6 Qxb6 19. Qxd3 White has won a piece.

(B). 17. ... Bd3 18. Bxb6 Bxe2 19. Bxd8 Bxd8 20. Nxe2 White again wins a piece.

(C). 17. ... Bd3 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Qe3 O-O 20. Rd1 pins and wins the black d3 bishop, but this is not forcing.

(D). 17. ... Bd3 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Qe3 Bh7 20. Rd1 Qc7 and White must now be wary of an opposite-colour bishop endgame.

18. f4 Qc7 Perhaps Black had 18. ... Bd3 when 19. Qf2 Nxc4 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21. Bxa7 regains the pawn but how can White avoid further simplifications? Clock times are now about equal, White has a space advantage, fine, but how can it be exploited?

19. Rd1 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Qxd8 21. Bc2 Bxc2 The only compensation of the simplifications is that an opposite-colour bishop ending is no longer possible.

22. Qxc2 Qc7 23. Ne4 c5 Perhaps played in order to prevent White pushing pawn c5 with a massive grip on the d6 square? Fine, but now it is Black who is falling behind on the clock without finding anything to ease the slight white pressure.

24. b3 Nc8 When a unit moves it vacates a square for someone else, Black is attempting to consolidate the queenside pawns.

25. Kf2 Anticipating a trade of queens the white king hopes to join in the fight. Fine, but as the pawn structure presently stands, he cannot make an entry into the black position.

25. ... b6 Black plans a static queenside pawn formation. Unfortunately this will be on dark squares and so vulnerable to the white bishop. But surely the white e5 and f4 pawns prevent any invasion attempt? For the moment this is true, but these pawns are not locked, there is mobility available, it is for White to find a way for the bishop to get at the black queenside pawns.

26. Nc3 Qd7 27. Qd2 Qxd2+ Played with an offer of a draw but with a suggestion that it will most likely be declined. Tournament ambitions of White demand the game continues. Black has handled the opening and middlegame well, fine, so now the test of endgame skill begins.

28. Bxd2 Kf8 Centralising the king with a specific plan in mind, activate the c8 knight. Fine, but maybe challenging White in the only area of the board where progresses can be made might have been better? Instead 28. ... f6 29. exf6 gxf6 intending 30. ... Kg7 and Black is better placed to absorb any white kingside expansion.

29. g4 Ke8 30. Kg3 f6 Sifting through a variety of ideas to find play has led to Black now being 15 minutes behind on the clock. Furthermore this game could easily last for another 30 or 40 moves, time is becoming a significant factor.

31. exf6 Bxf6 Activating the bishop, fine, but if it occupies the centre then it cannot defend the queenside pawns from the rear.

32. Ne4 Ke7 33. h4 Important changes have just occurred. The cramping white e5 pawn has gone, the black minor pieces suddenly have options of activity. White now has a mobile kingside pawn majority, chances of creating an outside passed pawn are in the air. Who is gaining more in this positional evolution? Even allowing for "Annotator-Bias", it is Black who has the more difficult questions to answer. If White manages to create an outside passed pawn on the kingside, or maintain the threat of creating such a monster, then Black must find a means of coping with it. And while finding a setup capable of doing this, must also prevent White from gaining access to the black queenside pawns.

33. ... Nd6 A critical move which also consumed a significant portion of time. Black has been space-deprived for much of the game so seeking activity is understandable. However just sitting there, doing nothing committal, meaning king-shuffling with Kf7, would force White to find a means to make progress, instead costing White time on the clock. Important decision to be made here by white, choosing from:

(A). Retreat to avoid an exchange of knights, fairly easy to assess.

(B). Exchange knights, again fairly easy to assess.

(C). Exchange knight for bishop, difficult to assess, this will cost White time.

(D). Defending is a mistake as 34. Kf3 Nxe4 35. Kxe4 Bxh4 and it is now Black thinking of how to win.

34. Nxd6 Fritz and friends could easily offer a definitive assessment of this exchange of knights. Ageing bio-organic grey cells computing away over the board thought White should be winning, if so then the only trick was to work out how. Instead backing-off with Nc3 or Nf2 do little to either test Black or make progress. Much harder to assess was Nxf6, leaving white bishop against black knight, what would happen if the knight managed to infiltrate the white queenside, and rejecting this trade did indeed cost White time?

34. ... Kxd6 35. g5 A doubler. Firstly, the g4 square is vacated giving the white king a potential entry route into the black kingside. Secondly, the kingside campaign to create an outside passed pawn begins, Black now has a tricky 3-way decision to consider, more precious time will tick away.

35. ... hxg5 Black had to spend precious time sifting the complications arising from:

(A). Trading pawns before moving the bishop which gives White excellent chances of creating an outside passed pawn.

(B). Advancing the bishop into the centre when White has the plan pawn h5 - Kf3 - Ke4 - hxg6 - pawn f5 and the fixed black h6 pawn is a problem.

(C). Retreating with Bd8 when White has the same kingside plan just outlined.

36. fxg5 Bd4 Retreating with Bd8 will secure the queenside but loses control of the h8 - a1 diagonal. If white then creates an outside passed h-pawn and grabs the long diagonal with Bc3 there might not even be a chance for black to give up the bishop to prevent promotion.

37. h5 A curious clash of advantages and disadvantages has arisen. White has a mobile kingside pawn majority capable of creating an outside passed pawn. Black has a central passed pawn ready to run, though how it can be supported is not obvious. The white king is free to roam, the black king seems to be forced into defensive duties. Who is better? Wrong question. Instead ask: “Who has the trickier problems to solve, and who has more time available to answer the questions?”

37. ... Ke7 Black is trying to hold the kingside with both king and bishop. The alternative was activity with 37. ... Ke5 38. Bf4+ Ke4 sending the black king in amongst the white queenside pawns. Play might continue 39. Bb8 Kd3 40. Bxa7 Kc3 41. Bxb6 Kxb3 42. h6 gxh6 43. gxh6 Kxa3 and the big question is whether or not White can force the black bishop off the long a1 - h8 diagonal, if so, the h6 pawn promotes. Tricky to calculate in your head, all taking up more time. Having chosen passivity Black is hoping to find shuffle-moves to hold the position, distinctly easier to play when only about 5 minutes remain on the clock.

38. Kf4 Kf7 39. Ke4 a6 40. a4 A tripler. Firstly, any black activity arising with pawn b5 is denied. Secondly, all the white queenside pawns are now on light squares and so automatically out of danger from bishop attack. Thirdly, the most likely pawn to offer opportunities of queenside promotion, the a-pawn, is a tempo closer to achieving this aim.

40. ... a5 41. Bf4 Heading queenside, the b6 pawn cannot be saved though in the short term Black can guard the remaining queenside pawns.

41. ... Bb2 42. Be5 Yes, the black b6 pawn is to be consumed, but not quite yet. White must secure the kingside advantage before switching queenside. Black dares not exchange bishops, the threat of creating an outside passed pawn on the kingside will mean the subsequent mutual king sprint into the queenside will be easily won by White.

42. ... Bc1 43. g6+ Kg8 Perhaps fearing placing the king on f8, a dark square, might run into an unfortunate check somewhere down the line? Instead 43. ... Kf8, taking the risk, would force White to work much harder in a couple of moves time, the e6 pawn could then easily be defended with Ke7.

44. Bc7 1-0 Accompanied with a comment along the lines of: “I'm sure you will work out how to win this.”

Just so, the times are 20 - 3 minutes respectively, more than enough. Simply 44. ... Bd2 45. Bxb6 Bb4 46. Ke5 picks off the black e6 pawn due to the black king being on g8, to be followed by the white king moving queenside to win more material. Instead 44. ... Kf8 45. Bxb6 Ke7 will save the e6 pawn while keeping the white king passive but allows 46. Bxa5 and the white a-pawn is ready to roll.

Albin Planinc v Dragoljub Baretic

Editor’s note: This game was sent to me by Owen Phillips, who described it as “a beauty”! Owen selected the game without knowing that Dragoljub Baretic was a blind player, making it an especially suitable choice for our gazette. The annotations are by “Our man in Hawaii”, Rod Macdonald. Grateful thanks to both Owen and Rod!

23rd Yugoslav Championship, 1968, Cateske Toplice, Round 4

Opening: C18: French Defense, Winawer Variation, Poisoned Pawn Variation, Euwe-Gligoric Variation

1. e4 e6 [The French Defence.]

2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 [The Winawer Variation.]

4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 [This used to be the main line in the Winawer but is not even mentioned in the latest (15th) edition of "Modern Chess Openings"!]

7. Qg4 Qc7 [The French, Winawer, "Poisoned Pawn" variation used to be one of the wildest arenas of opening theory. It has calmed down a bit, lacking a champion at the highest levels, but it's still a complicated and thrilling ride.]

8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Kd1 [This is known as the Euwe-Gligoric, or "Life or Death", Variation. It has been played over 500 times since 2000. The Konstantinopolsky Variation, 10. Ne2, is more common. The main line is: 10. ... Nbc6 11. f4 Bd7 12. Qd3 dxc3 13. Nxc3.]

10. ... Nbc6 11. Nf3 dxc3 12. Ng5 Rf8 13. f4 Bd7 14. Rb1

[14. Be2 Nd4 15. Bh5 Ba4 16. Bxf7+ Rxf7 17. Qxf7+ Kd7 18. Be3 Qc4 19. Kc1 Qe2 20. Bxd4 Qxc2# 0-1, was played by S. Nilsson (2321) - G. Szabo (2543), Cappelle-la-Grande 2015.]

14. ... Na5 15. Bd3

[15. Be2 Nf5 16. g4 Ne7 17. Qg7 O-O-O 18. Nxf7 Rxf7 19. Qxf7 Qc5 20. Ke1 d4 21. Bd3 Nd5 22. f5 Ne3 23. fxe6 Be8 24. Qg7 Qd5 25. Rg1 Nxc2+ 26. Kf2 Bc6 27. Qf6 Ne3 28. e7 Re8 29. Kg3 Nac4 J. Christiansen (2432) - C. Praveen Kumar (2279), Lienz 2017, was won by Black in 34 moves.]

15. ... Qc5 16. Qh3

[A novelty. 16. Ke2 Nc4 offers equal chances. 16. Qh5 Nc4 17. Nh7 O-O-O 18. Nxf8 Rxf8 19. Qe2 b5 20. a4 a6 21. Ke1 Bc6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ra1 Rg8 24. g3 d4 25. Rg1 Nf5 26. Qh5 Rf8 27. Bxf5 d3 28. Bxd3 Qxg1+ 29. Bf1 Rd8 30. Qe2 Nd2 M. Kreuzer - T. Muehl, Regensburg 1981, was won by Black in 40 moves.]

16. ... Bc6 [16. ... O-O-O!? gives Black a moderate advantage.]

17. Nh7 [White threatens to win material: Nh7xf8.]

17. ... O-O-O 18. Nxf8 Rxf8 [White wins the exchange.]

19. Qe3 [19. f5!? is worth looking at: 19. ... Nxf5 20. Rf1 offers equal chances.]

19. ... d4 [Black stands slightly better at this point.]

20. Qe2? [20. Qf2 Nc4 21. Ke2 is a bit better, but Black is still comfortably ahead.]

20. ... Nf5?? [Not a good decision, because now White is right back in the game. Better is 20. ... Rg8, where Black could have maintained the advantage. 21. Rg1 Nd5 is very strong for Black.]

21. Rf1 [The position is now even.]

21. ... Rd8 22. Rb4 [22. Ke1!? offers equal chances.]

22. ... a6 [This consolidates b5, giving Black a slight edge.]

23. Ke1 Ne3 [23. ... b5 24. g4 Ne3 25. Bxe3 dxe3 26. f5 is also good for Black.]

24. Rg1?? [Throwing away the advantage. Better is 24. Bxe3, and White can hope to live: 24. ... dxe3 25. f5 is slightly better for White.]

24. ... Nd5 [After this move Black is comfortably ahead.]

25. Rb1 [Better is 25. g4!? Bb5 26. Rxb5 axb5 27. Kf2, though Black still stands slightly better.]

25. ... Nc4 [A very strong position for Black.]

26. h4 Nxa3 27. Ra1?? [White crumbles in the face of a dire situation: Better would be 27. Rb3 Nc4 28. Bxc4, though Black remains in command.]

27. ... Nc4 28. h5 [28. Rb1 is not the saving move, in view of 28. ... Nb2.]

28. ... Nb2 [Better is 28. ... Nce3, and Black has it in the bag: 29. g3 Nb4 30. Bxe3 dxe3 is very strong for Black.]

29. h6 [29. Kf2 Nxd3+ 30. cxd3 b5 31. Rxa6 b4 should prevail for Black.]

29. ... Bb5 [29. ... Nb4 might be the shorter path: 30. Kf2 N2xd3+ 31. cxd3 with a very strong position for Black.]

30. Rh1 [30. Kf2 Bxd3 31. cxd3 keeps Black in control.]

30. ... Bxd3?? [Instead of simply winning the game. Better is 30. ... Nxd3+ and Black has prevailed: 31. cxd3 Nb4 and Black should prevail.]

31. cxd3 [White has reached equality.]

31. ... Nb4 [Black threatens to win material: Nb4xd3.]

32. h7?? [There were better ways to keep up the pressure. Better is 32. Bxb2, the rescuing straw: 32. ... cxb2 33. Rb1 Qc3+ 34. Qd2 with equality.]

32. ... N2xd3+ [Weaker is 32. ... N4xd3+ 33. Kf1 Nxc1 34. Rxc1, though Black is still dominant.]

33. Kf1 Nxc1 34. Qg4?? [Terrible, but the game is lost in any case: Somewhat better is 34. Rxc1 d3 35. Qd2, with a very strong position for Black.]

34. ... Nc2 35. Qg8 Nxa1 36. h8=Q Rxg8 37. Qxg8+ Kc7 38. Qxf7+ Kb6 39. Qxe6+ Ka5 40. g4 d3

41. Qd7 Qe3 42. Qc7+ Ka4 43. Qc4+ Ka3 44. Kg2 d2 45. e6

[45. Rh3 cannot change what is in store for White: 45. ... Qe2+ 46. Qxe2 Nxe2 47. e6 Nxf4+ 48. Kg3 Nxe6 49. Kf2 d1=Q 50. Rxc3+ Kb2 51. Re3 Qd4 52. Ke2 Nc2 53. Rxe6 Qxg4+ 54. Kf2 Qxe6 55. Kg3 Qf5 56. Kg2 Ne3+ 57. Kg3 Ka3 58. Kh2 Qf3 59. Kg1 Qg2#]

45. ... Nc2

[45. ... Nc2 46. Kh2 Ne1 47. Qd5 Ne2 48. Qa5+ Kb3 49. Qd5+ Kb2 50. Qxb7+ Kc1 51. Rxe1+ dxe1=Q 52. Qb1+ Kxb1 53. f5 Q1g1#]

0-1

Champing at the Bit 03

Paul Benson writes:

We are returning to '72 for a trip down Nostalgia Lane. Aha, perhaps memories of Fischer and Spassky doing battle in Reykjavik are coming to mind? Forget them, it is 1872 under the microscope.

Life could sometimes be fairly short and brutal in those days. In the "Wild West" it appears Wild Bill Hickock had just hung up his guns for a less bloody career. Wyatt Earp and his brothers had to wait another 9 years for events at the O.K. Corral to unravel. Looks like 1872 has a lull in the gunslinging department, but no need to be disappointed. We can instead turn to the "Wild East" for our shoot-outs, albeit of a more subtle nature.

Our hero being studied is Emmanuel Schiffers (1850 - 1904). Russian champion for 10 years, losing the title to his student, Mikhail Chigorin, in 1879 should say a lot about him. His preference at the board was to maximise the pleasure found from exciting play. A complete opposite of present-day chess professionals’ maxim: “The point is the point!” And as any long-lasting gunslinger would confirm, staying alive involves both shooting bullets and dodging them...

Game 1: I. Shumov - E. Schiffers, St. Petersburg 1872, had White gunning for a quick kill.

(In those days there seemed to be an unspoken, ‘Commandment of Chess’, in operation as opponents shook hands. It sort of went: “I say to thee Sir, if thee value thy reputation as a Gentleman thou shalt offer a gambit.”)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4

(Gambit pawn offered, ‘Gentlemanship Reputation’ intact. Nowadays this is more commonly known as the Urasov Gambit. Is it sound? Wrong question. It is perfectly playable for both sides, providing the necessary homework has been done, the real fighting happens as the middlegame begins. Ah but remember, this is almost 150 years ago, no databases around back then, not much reference material available. They had to rely heavily on a combination of analytical ability plus experience controlled by instinct of just what the position might offer.)

4. ... Bc5 (This might look like trying to keep the gambit-pawn, but it is actually just developing the bishop on a good square.)

5. O-O d6 6. c3 (White offers a pawn trade on c3, if Black accepts we have a true gambit.)

6. ... Bg4 (Black wisely declines the material, preferring to maintain development tempi equality at 3 - 3 each. This pin on the white f3 knight also strengthens the black grip on the d4 pawn. Fine, but when a unit moves attacks may be created but in turn defences elsewhere may become absent. Instead 6. ... dxc3 7. Nxc3 is simply giving a Gambiteer just what they want, activity plus a lead in development.)

7. Qb3 (A move of mixed consequences. A double-attack hits the target black f7 pawn, fine, but the white kingside can be shattered if Black trades on the f3 square. There is also the deserted black b7 pawn up for grabs, though White would be rather missing the point if Qxb7 was the intention. Black to play and show a bit of nerve.)

7. ... Bxf3 (Difficult to believe, but at only move 7 Black makes a decision which shapes the entire game to come. Whatever threats White has on Black are permitted to proceed. In gunfighting terms the antagonists are setting themselves up to blast each other off the street. Had Black wished to avoid whatever developmental disruption is about to occur then 7. ... Qd7 avoided the complications.)

8. Bxf7+ (A zwischenzug, an in-between move which cannot be ignored. This snatch of a pawn with check forces the black king to move, the necessary white re-capture on f3 can be postponed for a move or so.)

8. ... Kf8 (Black avoids running into a speeding bullet, if 8. ... Kd7 9. Qe6+ mate.)

9. Bxg8 (White carries on playing with those units already developed, though in return there is a threat of Qf7+ mate to be neutralised. Choice for Black now, capture the invading white g8 bishop or retreat the f3 bishop to prevent mate.)

9. ... Rxg8 (This counter-intuitive move has hidden depths. Instead 9. ... Bh5 10. Bd5 leaves Black wondering where the compensation for the king displacement can arise.)

10. gxf3 (Only move 10 and careful consideration of what has occurred is required. Both light square bishops have departed, White consuming 3 tempi, Black 2 tempi. Pawn moves stand at 4 - 3 with White again spending an extra tempo. This explains why the development count is 1 - 3 in favour of Black. But development alone, or the lack of it, is not the sole factor in evaluating a position. Kings are the most important pieces on the board, their safety is paramount as the opening morphs into the middlegame. How do we assess the short-term future of each king? Both kings have lost some pawn-cover, this means if the opposing army can get close then expect some royal problems. Lastly, is the development count of 1 - 3 correct? Surely the white f1 rook is in play? Technically yes, but his presence on f1 might be a hindrance to his lord and master on g1, so a hindering contribution does not make the count. Now if the white f1 rook is perceived not to be counting, why is the black g8 rook believed to be of positive value?)

10. ... g5 (Without a doubt the best move of the game so far, and probably the best move of the entire game. A black kingside attack is about to materialise out of nowhere, the apparently out-of-action g8 rook suddenly has a satisfying job to do.)

11. Qe6 (Transferring herself over to the kingside hoping to offer some defensive support to the white king. Fine when a queen versus queen challenge is in the air, but a defending queen can be kicked around by lesser value attacking units, queens do not enjoy defensive chores.)

11. ... Rg6 (A strong rook lift, the imagination behind advancing with pawn g5 is revealed, the black kingside attack begins.)

12. Qf5+ (This only helps Black, the king finds immediate shelter on g7 and the f8 square is vacated for someone else just itching to join the attack. Instead 12. Qh3 would save White a couple of tempi, though just what White could have gained with them will have to remain conjecture.)

12. ... Kg7 13. Kh1 (Sensibly removing the king off the semi-open g-file, unfortunately hiding on h1 only seems to bring a different set of problems his way.)

13. ... Qe7 14. b4 (With the intention of a queenside fianchetto, this will give White some dark square play but surely the black king will find safety on the light squares?)

14. ... Rf8 (A useful gain of a tempo on the white queen who seems to insist on conducting the attack on her own, rarely a successful plan.)

15. Qg4 Ne5 (Another tempo gain for Black while transferring the knight over to the scene of action, the white queen must make her 5th move. Combine this count with the 3 tempi of the departed light square bishop and half of the white moves result in the white queen languishing in front of her king.)

16. Qg2 Bb6 17. Bb2 (Losing count of how many times the advice: “Ignore x-ray attacks at your peril!” has been offered. Perhaps this should be declared an unchallengeable edict? Not quite. While x-rays are indeed dangerous, sometimes after careful analysis they can be permitted to happen. Here the black king has good supportive defence and the white b2 bishop is attacking alone, no need this time for an immediate evasive response by Black.)

17. ... Nxf3 (While this wins a pawn in the vicinity of the opposing king, this is not the true objective. It is in fact the white h2 pawn who is being targeted. Those heavy pieces skulking in the black defences can quickly join the attack, distance of location does not mean inability to contribute.)

18. cxd4 Rh6 (Pressure on h2 mounts, who in the white camp can offer support?)

19. d5+ Kg8 (The a1 - h8 diagonal is open, however due to no other white units being available to join the attack the black king is perfectly safe on g8. Now White must do something about the black threats on the h2 pawn.)

20. h3 Qd7 0-1

(White has no sensible means of staying in the game, some ideas run:

(A). 21. Qg4 Qxg4 the white h3 pawn is pinned, black has Rxh3+ mate next move.

(B). 21. Qg3 Rxh3+ 22. Kg2 Rxg3+ 23. fxg3 Qg4 only stops the immediate mating threats, black should quickly wrap this up.

(C). 21. Qxf3 Rxf3 hardly stems the attack, black Qxh3 will lead to mate.

(D). 21. Qxg5+ Nxg5 only slows down the mating attack.

Perhaps a brief report on the strongest and the most important units in order of appearance in this short play might assist?

White Queen: Opted for early aggression before realising defending was required, a task for which she is not well suited.

Black King: Kicked around a few times but nothing painful, good support from close defenders before those units were released for attacking duties.

White King: Pawn defences disrupted early, the h-pawn became a target just waiting to be hit, close defenders sadly unable to assist while blocking a possible flight route into the queenside.

Black Queen: Quietly defended, shuffling a single square in both of her moves, provided the necessary strength from a distance once the attack began rolling, just what she is good at.)

A curious thought has just occurred. How did gunslingers of the "Wild West" acquire the necessary skills to compete and stay alive? Surely much practice on their own before hitting the streets? Similarly, how did chess players of the "Wild East" acquire the chess skills to become the Champion of Russia? Chess literature was somewhat limited in 1872 and probably expensive as well. So that which we take for granted, shelves full of books on strategy and tactics, would surely be in short supply? If so, then the treat below about to unfold shows remarkable insight.

Game 2, E. Schiffers - Nolde, Event unknown 1872, witnessed White demonstrating comprehension that: “Tactics flow from a positionally superior game.”, almost a century before Fischer made it into a quote.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 (Welcome to the Evans Gambit. Very popular at club level and still played by some Grand Masters, an excellent choice for rapid or blitz chess. Again, is it sound? And again, wrong question. For a wing pawn White will get a lead in development with chances of establishing a good pawn centre. All the early and enjoyable tactics are for White to discover and for Black to try to neutralise. Furthermore this is a gambit which Black dare not decline.)

4. ... Bxb4 (Experience suggests other moves give White a good game, so any Gambiteer can essentially achieve their aim with the Evans Gambit, speedy development combined with aggressive activity.)

5. c3 Bc5 (Dropping back with 5. ... Ba5 keeps a pin on the c3 pawn but does not pressure the d4 square. White now just plays simple moves to take control of the centre.)

6. O-O d6 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Na5 (Black is already behind in development plus White has a mobile pawn centre, so getting on with development might have been preferable. Of course, attacking the white c4 bishop will force white to either move it or defend it, right?)

10. Bg5 (White begins to mix it up by ignoring the attack on the c4 bishop, Black in reply must do something about the threat to the d8 queen.)

10. ... f6 (Blocking with the pawn saves the queen but has weakened the light squares on the black kingside.)

11. Bh4 Nh6 (Black cannot win a piece as 11. ... Nxc4 12. Qa4+ and then 13. Qxc4 regains the material. White to play decides the position needs to be opened up.)

12. e5 g5 (Pawn moves have a common feature with time, movement is forward only. However, this highly committal advance is probably the best try in a difficult position. Instead, 12. ... dxe5 gives White the opportunity to “Punch the Random Button” with 13. Nxe5 producing complications, White has threats of both 14. Qh5+ or 14. Re1 to be neutralised. Remember the opening comment suggesting Schiffers plays for pleasure? Complications are now on offer for White, just some inspiration with a little perspiration is required.)

13. Nxg5 (When ahead in development opportunities to tear the position open should always be in mind. It is the opening of the d1 - h5 diagonal for the white queen which motivates this tactical idea.)

13. ... Bg4 (Closing the d1 - h5 diagonal and forcing White to make a decision about the d1 queen, right?)

14. exf6 (We shall assume the strongest player in Russia at the time noticed the queen was under attack. Certainly so, then this passive queen offer must be leading to a forced mate, right? Not automatically, some sacrifices only plan to regain the offered material with some positional or material advantage once the tactics are complete.)

14. ... Bxd1 (Black assesses there is no immediate mate and so asks White to justify the sacrifice. Declining gains little, 14. ... Qd7 15. Re1+ forces the black king to either f8 or d8 and the black coordination is extremely poor.)

15. Re1+ (An easy follow-up move to find which forces the black king to make an important decision on where to run.)

15. ... Kd7 (Trying to escape by heading into the kingside seems possible but does White regain sufficient material as the black king gets kicked around? Fritz and friends would almost certainly crunch out the necessary analysis, aging bio-calculator cannot make a definitive announcement. Several enjoyable hours have been spent throwing pieces around with the opinion that Black will probably come out worse, but this is by no means certain. Reproducing line after line shall not be undertaken here, instead a chat-oriented discussion is offered had 15. ... Kf8 been selected. Firstly, each player has a unit en prise, the white c4 bishop and the black d1 bishop, this will be of importance when the checking-chase runs out of steam. If the black king selects f8 then the black royalty are vulnerable to a white Ne6+ fork. This sets up a potential discovered check if Black runs further with Kg8, and a double-discovered check if Kf7 is chosen. There is also the idea of Black trying Ke8 after the white knight royal fork. Black must also be aware that stepping onto either e8 or g8 gives White the option of pawn f7+ when the white h4 bishop also attacks the black d8 queen. Much to juggle with, Black might have simply felt that with 5 active white units on the attack that running queenside seemed the best chance.)

16. Be6+ (Avoiding 16. Re7+ Qxe7 when Black returns the queen while snatching a rook.)

16. ... Kc6 (Deciding to flee into the queenside. Instead 16. ... Ke8 17. Bh3+ Kf8 18. Ne6+ and the black king is back in kingside complications similar to those discussed a move ago.)

17. d5+ (White can force black to decide with 17. Bd5+ Kd7 18. Be6+ when 18. ... Kc6 could lead to 3-fold repetition or 18. ... Ke8 19. Bh3+ Kf8 20. Ne6+ and kingside complications would be in play.)

17. ... Kc5 18. Nge4+ (A tripler. Firstly, the white c3 knight is now protected. Secondly, another white unit joins the chase of the black king. Thirdly, the white h4 bishop has been unleashed to give a defence to the cramping f6 pawn, the black queen must be kept out of the action.)

18. ... Kc4 (Reminiscent of days of old when a King on horseback, sword held aloft, would lead the charge at the enemy lines. Well, perhaps not exactly so, back then the charging King would be accompanied by his army. Here the black forces are scattered, completely lacking coordination, the lonely black king is in danger of being suffocated.)

19. Rexd1 Bd4 20. Rab1 (White plans setting up rooks on adjacent files, the idea is to push the black king into the centre. Note how the white bishops on adjacent diagonals create a prison wall which the black king cannot climb over.)

20. ... Bxc3 21. Rdc1 (Regaining the piece, the noose is tightening.)

21. ... Rg8 (Sensible options do not readily come to mind. Black is desperately hoping White will turn materialistic and snatch the g8 rook. No chance, the e6 bishop is far more valuable than the black g8 rook, light squares on the h3 - c8 diagonal need to be controlled to cage the running black king. Instead, Black could fight for the b4 square though White has sufficient resources available to finish matters:

(A). 21. ... c5 22. Rxc3+ Kd4 23. Rd1+ Kxe4 24 Re3+ Kf4 25. g3+ mate.

(B). 21. ... c5 22. Rxc3+ Kd4 23. Rd1+ Ke5 24. Bg3+ Kxe4 25. f3+ mate.

Instead of pawn c5 Black could march the king further into the white position, but after 21. ... Kd3 22. Rxc3+ Ke2 23. Re3+ mate would occur.)

22. Rxc3+ Kd4 23. Rb4+ Nc4 (Black knows the end is coming, this only places an extra move on the scoresheet.)

24. Rbxc4+ (White keeps the rooks on adjacent ranks, the black king now has only a single legal move, the net is almost closed.)

24. ... Ke5 (With no legal moves available, should the black king now receive a check which cannot be countered, then it will be mate. White to play adopts the professional approach, hit with checks which only offer a single legal reply. Note: For those who like problems, White to play can mate in 3 moves, and beware, there is a variation to be rejected if mate in 3 is being sought.)

25. f4+ (Accurate. Instead, 25. Bg3+ Rxg3 26. hxg3 allows 26. ... Qxf6 when 27. f4+ Qxf4 28. gxf4+ Kxf4 is clearly winning for White but misses the desired 3-move mate.)

25. ... Kxf4 26. Ng5+ (An unleashing, the power of the white c4 rook is released to control the entire white 4th rank.)

26. ... Ke5 27. Nf3+ mate 1-0

(Another unleashing, the power of the white h4 bishop is unblocked to defend the f6 pawn. Yet again, perhaps a brief report on the strongest and the most important units in order of appearance in this short play might assist?

White King: On move 6 by castling played into safety which was maintained throughout the game.

White Queen: Sacrificed for a doubler, opening up the e-file for the f1 rook and establishing a restricting f6 pawn.

Black King: Made the choice to run into the queenside to avoid complications, a nice try, but there were just too many active enemy units to evade.

Black Queen: Unmoved, both physically and emotionally.)

How a Blind Guide Dog Created a Boom in the Turkish Chess League!

Hugo Roman writes:

Wikipedia mentioned lately that the Turkish chess league, with 800,000 members, had become the biggest sports federation in the land. Remarkable indeed, but I’m fairly sure that I gave it a big boost. Here comes a true story!

Entrepreneur Jef Taeymans lost his sight at the age of 49 and went to Holland to learn to play chess. He started organising international tournaments in 1969 then in the early seventies he became the second blind person to join the Royal Chess Club of Ostend. Jef had a guide dog that was going blind and could no longer be relied upon so he always asked his opponent to help him cross two streets. I began helping him regularly and he soon asked me to guide him to a tournament. I felt honoured to be trusted as his guide and until today I try my very best to guide visually impaired players to tournaments. So I accompanied Jef to Haaksbergen and got hooked for 40 years!

It was in Haaksbergen that I met Piet Devos, an eleven year old boy, who showed me four combinations, so fast that I knew a great talent was sitting in front of me! I started guiding him abroad and in 1998 we ended up in Istanbul. On arrival, I asked to see the chief arbiter to inform him that a blind player would be using his own board and announcing his moves in a language that would not always be understood. Ali Nihat Yatziki, now Vice President of FIDE, said he’d sleep on it and later decided to give Piet one of his arbiters as an assistant for the whole tournament. Piet performed very well on the top board for Belgium and was given 200 American dollars; a special price created for him!

During one of my outings with Ali, I asked him how Turkish children were taught our noble art. He indicated that no real system was being used so I showed him some Step Method books that were being used in Holland and Flanders. The Step Method is inexpensive. Initially there were six books, now there are 23, with 600 exercises per book. Turkey got a licence for the method and has been using it for 15 years. The newest profession in Turkey is chess teacher; they are desperate to find new ones, so if you like the sun, and speak some Turkish…

BCA Motto Suggestions

You might recall that in the May gazette I asked if anyone had any suggestions for a BCA motto. Many thanks to everyone who gave it some consideration and most especially to Eleanor Tew and Alec Crombie who sent me their clever ideas. Eleanor came up with “We shall not be held in check”. Alec submitted four possibilities: “Strength through friendship;” or “Freedom through friendship;” or “Friendship in combat;” or “Freedom through combat.”

If you’re still thinking about sending in a motto please don’t delay!

Julie Leonard

Personalia

Congratulations to John Osborne, who has qualified with his new guide dog, Vixen. She’s an amber coloured golden retriever and all being well, John hopes to bring her to our Autumn Tournament in Harrogate so fingers crossed that we’ll get to meet her there!

In May, Michael Delaney was posthumously inducted into Vision Sports Ireland Hall of Fame. This honour is reserved for their most influential, valued and longstanding members and decorated athletes. Michael represented Ireland in high jump and cycling (as well as chess). His award was presented to his brother, Dave Delaney.

Congratulations to Derek Heyes who has qualified for the 2021 series of Brain of Britain! Derek is a keen competitor who has taken part in national quizzes before. He says, “The audition this time was a little different. One could do the qualifying quiz on line but in my case it was done over the phone. It consisted of 30 general knowledge questions each with 4 suggested alternative answers. I managed to score 27 and was hopeful that this would be good enough to qualify me as one of the 48 contestants who get through to the recording heats of the quiz. A couple of weeks later I was informed that I had indeed qualified.” His first heat, recorded on the 10^th of July in Salford, will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Monday August 23^rd at 3pm and repeated on the following Saturday at 11pm. No doubt many of us will enjoy listening to that and Derek, we wish you the very best of luck!

Congratulations also to Lara Norman on completing her degree in Fine Art at De Montfort University, Leicester!

It’s very rare to have a wedding to report in Personalia, but this time we have two and a Golden Wedding to boot!

Firstly, congratulations to Ednun Pourtahmasbi, who married Emily in St. John’s church, Wimbledon on the 5^th of June. The couple took the brave decision of streaming the ceremony so that all their family and friends who could not be there in person due to Covid restrictions were able to follow it live. It was a beautiful service and everything went smoothly.

Now here is an account by Sally Kenealy on another couple who tied the knot this summer:

“The wedding of Sarah Kenealy to Daniel Scarrott took place on June 12^th 1pm at Warwick registry office followed by a reception for 30 (due to covid restrictions) at Stoneleigh Deerpark golf club. Tom Kenealy was best man along with 8 year old George who made sure his father and uncle behaved themselves and wore their suits and ties, not jeans and T shirts as they had threatened. Felicity, now 12, made a beautiful bridesmaid. Everyone had a lovely time. Phyllis did not attend for health reasons, but afterwards Sarah and Danny took her a piece of cake and a wedding favour and she enjoyed looking at the photos.”

Tony and Irene Elbourn have sent a response to ‘Concerning Hugo’ in the May gazette, in which Hugo Roman cautioned against family members playing each other at chess in case it ends badly. Here’s what they wrote:

“Thank you very much Hugo for the warning contained in May’s Gazette. We think that Julie summed up the situation nicely in the last paragraph of the article.

“At Torquay in 2019 Irene beat Tony in round one of the Challenger’s competition, which may well have helped fuel his determination as he won the next six games. We thought there may have been speculation that Tony let Irene win, but that was not the case. Irene would have been upset if he had done so. Tony got an overwhelming attack going on the King’s side, Irene had a bishop on a3 which prevented him castling so when he attacked Irene’s queen there was only one square for the queen and the rest is history.

“Some years ago, someone referred to us as ‘the odd couple’. Perhaps we are! We met at a ‘blind date’, which was a Halloween dance at the R.N.C. We don’t think we are going to fall out over who wins at chess, which Irene describes as ‘only a game’. Together we have overcome many difficulties and are now looking forward to celebrating our Golden Wedding anniversary on 7th August.”

I know members will join me in wishing both pairs of newlyweds a long and happy marriage. Let’s also congratulate Tony and Irene on their 50 years together and hope they have a wonderful time marking the big day!

Teammates Reunited!

Philip Doyle writes:

I was involved in a little sleuthing lately! I was reading an article on a Chess history site www.irlchess.com about a Glorney Cup match way back in 1951. One of the English team was a man called P. C. Gibbs from Bradford. Our Peter Gibbs is about the same age so I asked him if he knew him. He replied that he was the same man.

Peter told me that he knew that all the team had died except for one, Malcolm Barker, and he wondered if I could help find out if he was still alive. I contacted the editor of the site, Sean Coffey, who told me he was alive in late 2019 because he was interviewed in England by Neil Blackburn. Long story short, Sean made contact with Neil, who was able to get him an email address for Malcolm and I'm glad to be able to say that the two old colleagues are now in touch after a gap of more than seventy years!

Gerry’s Chess Career: A FIDE Title!

Gerry Walsh writes:

Without doubt 1977 was a busy and exciting year for me! As the Spassky Portisch match was coming to a close Harry Golombek was reading some FIDE papers for future meetings one of which was the proposal to appoint new FIDE Arbiters. Harry asked me to write down the list of international tournaments where I had assisted or officiated and I seem to remember there were about 12 so Harry said he had no hesitation in recommending to FIDE that my name be submitted for consideration by the appropriate committee. And so my name appeared on the schedule for the FIDE Congress in Buenos Aires in the Autumn 1978. At the end of October, I received a phone call from an International Master in Portugal inviting me to be the Chief Arbiter in the FIDE Zonal Tournament starting in a few weeks’ time. I told him that I didn't know if I could accept because I had not heard FIDE’s decision. “Don't worry” he said, “I was there and you are a FIDE Arbiter.” So that is how I found out. I accepted his invitation and quite soon after I left my employment with a national builder and became a full time Arbiter.

This exciting time of my life was dented by the sudden death of my father in April 1978 when he was only 63. During the Zonal tournament the player representing Malta invited me to be Chief Arbiter at an International tournament in January 1979 and this became the first of many visits to Malta in ’79 and ’80 culminating in the FIDE Olympiad at the end of 1980.

Another Teesside event was the Clare Benedict Team Tournament held in July 1979 with teams from West Germany, England, Scotland, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland.

Here is a game from round 1 between Scotland and Austria, White IM CW Pritchett Black GM K Robatsch

1 e4 c5, 2 Nf3 Nc6, 3 d4 cxd4, 4 Nxd4 Nf6, 5 Nc3 d6, 6 Bg5 Qa5, 7 Bxf6 gxf6, 8 Bb5 Bd7, 9 Nb3 Qd8,

10 Qh5 a6, 11 Be2 Rg8 12 O-O-O Rg6, 13 f4 Rxg2, 14 Qxh7 e6, 15 Rhg1 Rxg1, 16 Rxg1 Qb6, 17 Rf1 O-O-O,

18 Qxf7 Qe3+, 19 Kb1 Be7, 20 Qh7 Rf8, 21 Bd3 Bd8, 22 a3 Ne7, 23 Nd1 Qb6, 24 Qg7 Rg8, 25 Qxf6 Rg2,

26 Qc3+ Kb8, 27 h4 Rh2, 28 f5 exf5, 29 exf5 Nd5, 30 Qg7 Nf6, 31 Qg3 resigns

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.

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.

Solution: Bxf6

August 2021 Puzzle

Magnus Carlsen vs Can Arduman, Rethymnon, 2003

2R1b1k1/N4p1p/5np1/8/8/2N4P/Pr4P1/7K

White: King h1, Rook c8, Knights a7 and c3, Pawns a2, g2 and h3

Black: king g8, rook b2, bishop e8, knight f6, pawns f7, g6 and h7

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

RIP Antoine Reeves

Julie Leonard writes:

Antoine was born in Blackpool on the 20^th of February 1955. In 1967 he went to Henshaws school for the blind in Manchester, before moving in 1975 to the RNC in Hereford, where he studied music and piano tuning. Later on, he returned to education and graduated in Performing Arts from Scarborough University in 2002.

Antoine’s first contact with the BCA was at a Chess Theme Break organised by Peter and Celia Gibbs at the Windermere Manor Hotel in 2013. He tried to learn chess but alas, it wasn’t for him. He’d enjoyed the rest of the week though and met many new friends so was keen to attend in 2014. The story goes that he struck a good-natured deal with the organisers. Antoine could go without playing chess provided he would once again perform “Mother”, a beautiful song that he’d written himself. (Google “Antoine Reeves Mother” to find it on YouTube.)

Since then, Antoine never missed a Chess Theme Break. Each year, he gladly fulfilled the terms of his agreement by playing “Mother” on the piano and singing to a delighted audience. He contributed hugely to the soirées, playing other instruments such as guitar and flute. His collaborations with fellow talented musicians such as Abi, Thuy, Tanvi and Gary never failed to be a hit. He also truly appreciated other skilled performers such as those hired by the hotel and our own late Michael Meaney from Ireland. Everyone received enthusiastic praise from Toiney. He enjoyed the trips, took part in the bingo and quizzes and became a much-loved member of the group.

Antoine also attended BCA Chairman’s Cups in Bournemouth and Championships in Harrogate and Torquay. He came to his first weekend tournament in Solihull in the autumn of 2019. I was unsure of how he’d get on because our weekend events are a lot more “chessy” than the longer tournaments. He loved it though and had already booked for the AGM weekend in Derby 2020, when it was cancelled due to covid.

In Torquay, Antoine had to visit a GP’s surgery so I gave him a lift. At his appointment time a careworn and tired looking healthcare professional opened her door to him. When she reappeared to bring Toiney back to me she was beaming from ear to ear. I wondered who had mended whom during that consultation. Helping people feel better was another of Antoine’s great gifts that he shared liberally with anyone he met. That same week, Antoine played the hilariously incompetent “Inspector Antoirot” in our murder mystery evening. He wasn’t a bit concerned about having lost his script. He always trusted that everything would turn out well and it did!

For Antoine, everyday activities became something magical. He called his shower “The Tardis” and as he stepped inside, he imagined he was entering Dr Who’s time travelling spaceship for a trip to a distant galaxy! He never had a simple cup of tea – it was always an Ocean of tea! His local café kept an enormous mug just for him. He was a seize the moment and have fun sort of a guy! A brilliantly funny mimic, he tackled voices as diverse as John Lennon and Kate Bush with ease. He adored music of all types but his greatest love was for the Beatles about whom he had an encyclopaedic knowledge! He read a lot and had an endearing childlike fascination with Harry Potter. At BCA events he often wore his Hogwarts slippers! He was adventurous and relished his trips to his sister Annette and family in Brazil. As a gifted medium, he had helped many bereaved families find solace.

Antoine himself passed away unexpectedly on the 8^th of April, having been admitted to hospital just a couple days earlier. Family and friends were stunned. One month later Annette, to whom I am indebted for information about Antoine’s life for this piece, organised an online celebration for him. More than 70 people from Brazil, Europe, Australia and New Zealand joined in, including at least fifteen BCA members. People shared favourite memories of Antoine. Gary even played a song that he’d written for him. Antoine’s funeral was on the 9^th of July in his Spiritualist Church in Huddersfield. Miraculously, Annette and her daughter Sasha managed to get across the Atlantic for it. Gary and Tanvi also attended in person and many more of us followed the service online.

The world is a poorer place without Antoine, but even as I write that I know he’d gently tell me off and say “But I’m still here with you all, just in a different way!” Whether or not we share his faith in spiritualism, knowing that Antoine believed his spirit would go on will surely comfort all those who miss him.

Rest in peace, Antoine. Sincere sympathy to the family. The last words are from Antoine’s brother-in-law in Brazil, Marcos DeCastro, who composed a tribute to him. For all who knew Antoine, it perfectly encapsulates his very essence and those who attended the online celebration were profoundly moved by it. Here is an excerpt:

“There is no need for sad, bitter farewells as he said he is happy, free of any physical pain and in the here and now drinking a most amazing Cup of Tea with his Mom Yvonne, even though he confesses, he misses a brilliant Chicken Curry or a good old Kebab. He said we would not be able to get rid of him that easily as he is now alive and present in every single moment of our lives and even in the instruction voice of Waze and we can hear him saying ‘in two hundred meters Turn Left’, ‘in eight hundred meters Turn Right’ and Wow, Great, You have NOW reached your destination! Well done!”