A recent visit to the picturesque village of Beddgelert in Snowdonia brought back childhood memories for me. Mum used to tell me the legend of Prince Llewelyn’s favourite dog, Gelert, which is said to have taken place there many centuries ago. No doubt many readers are familiar with the tragic tale. Llewelyn returned home from hunting to find his baby son’s cradle overturned and covered in blood. When Gelert ran to greet him with blood around his mouth the horrified prince assumed the dog had attacked the child so drew his sword and slew him on the spot. Only later, after Llewelyn had found his son unharmed beneath the upside-down cradle and discovered nearby the body of an enormous wolf, did he realise that the faithful hound had not savaged the baby but saved him. Grief stricken at his terrible mistake, Llewelyn carried Gelert outside and buried him with honour.

Nowadays, visitors to Beddgelert (“Gelert’s Grave” in English) can see the rocks that supposedly mark the brave dog’s resting place, and a life-size bronze statue of Gelert. On the day when Olly and I visited we were bemused at the way a dog belonging to other tourists reacted to the statue. He was alarmed by the sculpture and began barking at it aggressively. Reassured by his owner that there was nothing to be afraid of, he eventually stepped forward to sniff the rear end of the motionless figure, then leapt back, as if in shock. What was this thing that had the appearance of a dog, but didn’t move, sound or smell like one? The poor confused canine resumed his yapping, determined to warn everyone within earshot of the threat posed by the silently sinister imposter.

Perhaps the dog’s irrational reaction can be likened to a chess scenario that I know all too well. Imagine you’re on the receiving end of an unexpected move that looks brilliant and utterly devastating. You’re overcome with horror. In that moment, the chess voice inside your head barks out that all your carefully prepared plans are in tatters and there is no way to escape the crushing onslaught. Only later, perhaps even after the game, do you realise that the attack was flawed, and you had a perfectly adequate response. It was all a false alarm!

It’s more than three centuries since Alexander Pope wrote that to err is human, but of course it’s still true today for mankind and his most loyal four-legged friends alike, it seems! Even the best of us slips up sometimes, and to prove the point, included in this issue is a correction to an earlier article that contained a sincerely regretted omission. Owen confesses to a blunder in the hope of helping others to avoid similar mishaps. The next chapter in Gerry’s chess career reads, at times, like a comedy of errors in which a gravestone is mixed up with a trophy!

Make no mistake though, this gazette is not all about things going wrong. There’s loads of good news too! We’ve won an award, one of our members raised the profile of blind chess players at the London Chess Festival and Personalia is packed with happy events and remarkable achievements! We have the usual officers’ reports, news and results from several events, Gray’s puzzle and a deeply annotated game by Paul, who also invites players to enter the Correspondence League. You’re reminded that David Mabbs will be seeking games with as few gaffes as possible for this year’s best game competition and time is running out to enter! Forthcoming Events features face to face fixtures as we try to get our schedule back to normal. However, following the success of this year’s online AGM, it’s been decided that next year’s will also be held remotely to maximise the numbers attending.

This is the last gazette for 2021, so I’d like to congratulate all readers on putting up with another whole year of my editorials. Anyone who’s concerned that the editor is barking may have a valid point! Best wishes for the festive season. Please send me your articles for the February gazette by the end of December (ideally before Christmas).

Julie Leonard

Forthcoming Events

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

Dedicated to the memory of Antoine Reeves.

The 28th Chess Theme Break will be held at the Marsham Court Hotel, 3 Russell Cotes Road, Bournemouth, BH1 3AB. It is anticipated that the week will closely follow the tried and trusted programme developed by Peter and Celia Gibbs. It will include coaching provided by more experienced BCA members, a tournament and many social events. Please refer to Gary Wickett’s report on the 27th Chess Theme Break in the May 2019 issue of the Gazette to get a flavour of what the week entails. Alternatively, get in touch with Julie Leonard to find out more. (Contact details are at the start of the gazette.)

The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for the week is £392 per person sharing a double or twin inland room and £462 per person for single occupancy of a double room. The cost of individual nights for anyone not staying the whole week are £56 per person sharing, with a £10 per night supplement for single occupancy. There is also a supplement of £10 per room per night for a sea view subject to availability and on request. The hotel has no single rooms available.

Please note that the normal BCA booking procedures do not apply to this event. Bookings are to be made directly with the hotel by ringing reservations. The hotel will require a non-refundable deposit of £30 per person when booking. Bookings should be made before 30th November 2021 to avoid disappointment. Places will be limited after this date. Full payment will need to be made to the hotel by 31st December 2021.

Under the hotel’s cancellation policy, all deposits paid are non-refundable. Cancellations after 31st December 2021 will be charged in full. We advise members to take out holiday insurance.

When making your booking, please make it clear that you are a member of the BCA and that you will be taking part in the Chess Theme Break. The hotel will require you to confirm that you consent to your name and contact details being shared with the BCA. You will also be asked by the hotel whether you have any special dietary needs or room requests and whether you are a wheelchair user or will be bringing a guide dog. After booking your accommodation, please tell Julie Leonard whether you’re attending as a trainee, a coach or a non-chess person.

Under the current arrangements, BCA members who give or receive coaching during the Chess Theme Break will receive a grant of £50.

Friday 18^th to Sunday 20^th March 2022: Spring Chess Congress

This will take place at The Derby Station Hotel, Sure Collection by Best Western. It was formerly the Hallmark Hotel, very familiar to many of our members. We are pleased to be returning to this popular hotel with its excellent facilities. The hotel is very conveniently located within a few yards walk of Derby railway station.

The original plan was that, as usual, our AGM would be an integral part of the weekend. However, your committee has decided that, because of uncertainties with the pandemic, it would be best to hold the AGM as an online meeting the following Saturday 26th March. More information about the online AGM will be included in the February Gazette.

If the chess congress is able to go ahead, separating off the AGM will mean that the weekend is less crowded and easier for the hotel to manage. For example, the third round of the tournament would take place on the Saturday afternoon instead of the usual evening game. Depending on the number of entries, we will aim to run two five round chess tournaments. The Open section will be open to all visually impaired chess players and associate members of the BCA. The Challengers will be 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 £44 per person per night for Friday and Saturday nights in a single room, and £40 per person per night sharing a double/twin room. For those staying on the Sunday night, the cost will be £65 per person in a single room and £54 per person sharing a double/twin.

The closing date for entries is 14th January and we will almost certainly have difficulty in accepting late entries. Please send your entry fee and full payment for all accommodation to Gill Smith by this date.

Contact for enquiries: Steve Burnell.

Sunday 19th to Sunday 26th June 2022 BCA British Championship and Chairman's Cup

In memory of Sheila and David Milsom

This combined event will be held at the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth. Please put the dates in your diary! Details are still being worked out and more information will appear in the February 2022 gazette.

In addition to the chess tournament there will be a varied programme of social activities. Anyone with ideas for social events, or who wants further information is invited to contact the organisers: John and Pam Jenkins.

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 the last few months we have received a total of £2,500 from three grant giving charities: the Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association, the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust and the Worth Waynflete Foundation. We are grateful to them and to Linda Innes for continuing her fundraising work for the BCA.

I have investigated some options for a new service provider to process card payments on our website. So far, I have not found a viable solution. When we did offer this service we only took a very few payments this way. I hope this does not impact you unduly. I will continue to search for a service provider.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Membership Secretary’s Report

It’s been a very quiet quarter in terms of new members, with just two people joining our organisation over the summer months. Mah Hassan from Batu Caves, Malaysia has joined as a life member and Gill’s daughter Freya Smith has joined as a 5 year member. Freya and Tanvi Muir plan to help with arrangements at the Harrogate hotel. It’s really great to hear of more persons assisting with the organisation of OTB events.

Mark Hague

Fundraising

Give as you Live Instore. Raise funds for the BCA with your instore grocery shop!

Reloadable grocery store cards can be used at Sainsburys, Asda, Waitrose, Morrisons, and Marks and Spencer. Sign up with Give as you Live, order a card, pre-load funds and then shop. An average £100 weekly spend raises £100 per year.

If you are shopping online, please remember that at no cost to you there are fundraising schemes available to raise funds for the BCA. One is Amazon Smile which has the same products and prices as Amazon.co.uk. When you shop on AmazonSmile, 0.5% of the net purchase price is donated to your chosen charity, hopefully the BCA! In August, Amazon Smile gave the BCA £6.63. The total received in the last financial year (to end of September 2021) is £44.10.

We are also signed up to Give as you Live Online which allows you to shop with many different online retailers and a percentage of the price is donated. Recently we heard that we have reached the milestone of receiving £100 from Give as you Live Online.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

Millennium Club, the BCA’s monthly lottery

Last year we had 48 numbers in the lottery which generated a profit of £156. Thank you very much to Denise Ross for running the draw. She lets me know each month who the winner is so that I can make a payment to them.

To take part in the monthly draw costs £12 per number per year. You may have as many numbers as you like at £12 each. Every month a lucky winner receives £35. If you wish to take part, please make a payment to the BCA.

Recent Millennium Club winners:

July: Val Warner, number 2.

August: Olly Leonard, number 15.

September: Bill Armstrong, number 54.

Gill Smith, Treasurer

ECF Award for Contributions to Accessible Chess

During the summer we entered one of the competitions being run by the ECF, specifically the award for contributions to making chess accessible. This seemed an obvious one for the BCA to go for and I put together a text outlining what we've done in more normal times and how we managed to run online tournaments during the pandemic. Our fundraiser Linda provided a statement confirming and supporting our entry and we also included some testimonies sent in by members.

I'm pleased to say that in August I received notification that we had won the award. The panel were impressed with the association's work and we've now received a trophy and permission to use the fact we've won the award in our public relations material. A photo of the trophy has been uploaded to our Facebook page.

Guy Whitehouse

Correspondence Chess Director’s Report

Entries to the BCA League 2022-23, starting on 01 January 2022, are now being accepted, closing date 23 November 2021. Correspondence play can take place using a variety of methods, Braille, cassette, email, telephone, according to mutual agreement. For further information contact the Correspondence Chess Director, details as shown in list of Officers.

46th BCA CORRESPONDENCE TOURNAMENT 2021-22

Premier - Group Leader Paul Benson

Crombie 0.5 - 0.5 Phillips, London Opening, 30.

Phillips 1 - 0 Whitehouse, English Opening, 15.

Final scores: George Phillips 3.5-4, Alec Crombie 3, Guy Whitehouse 2.5, Eric Gallacher 1, Voldi Gailans 0.

Congratulations to George Phillips on becoming Correspondence Champion a year ahead of the planned end of the event.

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

Gallacher 1 - 0 Warren.

Cuthbert 0 - 1 Gallacher.

Warren 1 - 0 Cuthbert.

Final scores: George Phillips 3-3, Denis Warren 2, Eric Gallacher 1, Jim Cuthbert 0.

Division 3 - Group Leader George Phillips

Final scores: Mike Flood 3-3, Malcolm Jones 2, Eleanor Tew 1, Andrew Wood 0.

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

BCA v Surrey Correspondence Match Final Report

Last time it was reported that 20 games in this 22 board match had finished and the score was BCA 7.5, Surrey 12.5. Since then, the two remaining results have come in:

Board 4: Julien Shepley (Surrey) v Paul Benson (BCA) 0-1

Board 10: Andy Chesworth (Surrey) v Steve Hilton (BCA) 1-0

Final Match Score:  BCA 8.5, Surrey 13.5.

The BCA congratulates the whole Surrey team!  Our grateful thanks go to their captain and organiser, Richard Tillett, as well as to our own non-playing captain and organiser, Voldi Gailans.

2021 TESSLa – Wrap Up!

Julie Leonard writes:

In the August gazette I reported on the first two months of our 2021 Telephone, Email, Skype Summer Ladder tournament, which got underway on the 10^th of May. In addition to the platforms mentioned, players also used Zoom, Lichess and SMS texts to play their games. Eight points were awarded for a win, four for a draw and one for a loss. Players could also earn points by being a third-party timekeeper. In this event, players compete to try to get as high up the ladder as they can, while accruing points. There are ladder winners and points table winners in both the Open and the U1450 sections.

By the 13^th of July, Malcolm Jones had passed the 200 points mark and Roger Williams was on the top rung of the ladder (known as Rung 1 in this competition), clinging on precariously, having lost the first game in a challenge from Steve Bailey. We were in suspense waiting to hear whether the highest rung would change hands!

Over the next week, Stan Lovell tried to take Rung 2 from Malcolm but the challenge ended honours even so there was no ladder move for either of them. Likewise, Mark Hague attempted to knock Steve Burnell off Rung 14 without success. Norman Andrews on the other hand, won his challenge against Bittor Ibanez and moved up to Rung 12, which put him in range to challenge Malcolm for Rung 2. Nene Clayton, Norman Wragg and Eleanor Tew also added to their scores that week by taking part in points only challenges. With only around three weeks of the competition left players were jostling for position on the ladder and trying to accrue as many points as they could. Every challenge was crucial!

On the 20^th of July, Roger’s month-long reign at the top of the ladder came to an end. He’d valiantly fought off two challengers earlier in the event, but now Steve Bailey took over the coveted Rung 1 position. Voldi Gailans, who’d defended Rung 10 from an attack by Eamonn Casey, was the first to challenge the new ladder king! Colin Fisher had also gained altitude, defeating John Osborne to move up to Rung 6. Sadly, John now had a busy time ahead of him and a few things had cropped up for Roger so they both decided to withdraw at this point. We were sorry to lose two such fine competitors, but a three-month event is a huge commitment for anyone.

With two weeks to go, Mike Flood replaced Gill Smith on Rung 8, but had no time to rest before receiving a challenge from Eamonn. Mark Hague and Bittor each won a game in Bittor’s challenge for Rung 15, so there were no ladder moves for them. Bittor decided to aim a little higher by challenging Gill for Rung 10! Tony Lawton took Rung 13 from Eleanor and Steve Burnell moved up to Rung 4 after defeating Stan. Meanwhile, at the top of the ladder, Steve Bailey had already fought off a challenge from Voldi and was now facing Colin Fisher.

As we entered the last ten days of the competition, players were fighting with all their might to hold on to their rungs! Gill defended Rung 10 against Bittor, Alec Crombie defended Rung 3 from an attack by Richard Murphy and Steve Bailey retained his place at the top of the ladder after he and Colin won a game each in their challenge. Although time was running short, new challenges were still being issued. Colin took on Richard in an attempt to knock him off Rung 5 and Alec decided to go all out and try to take the top rung from Steve Bailey!

At the start of the final week Colin overpowered Richard and took Rung 5, but Tony was unsuccessful in his challenge against Steve Burnell for Rung 4. Our Irish friends were upwardly mobile, with Philip Doyle taking Rung 7 from Nene and Eamonn toppling Mike from Rung 8.

In the closing days of the 2021 TESSLa, Norman Andrews won a challenge against Malcolm to claim Rung 2. Malcolm was still enjoying a tremendous lead on the points table! In a long battle between two Johns, Mr Fullwood was the victor of a challenge with Mr Ramm and moved up to Rung 19. Bittor won his challenge with Tony and climbed to Rung 15.

One of the last challenges to finish was the critical one for the top Rung between Steve Bailey and last year's Ladder Champion, Alec. In a nail-biting finish, Alec narrowly won the challenge with a win and a draw so, with perfect timing, Alec moved up to take Rung 1, thereby defending his title. Many congratulations to Alec on becoming our 2021 TESSLa Ladder Champion!

Commiserations to Steve Bailey, who came so close to holding on, but it's not all bad news for Steve as he only dropped to Rung 3. On Rung 2 is Norman Andrews, who is deserving of an honorable mention because he had climbed up more rungs than any other competitor in this event. Sadly, there was no prize for that and Norman's rating is too high for him to qualify as a Challenger so we had to continue down the ladder to find our 2021 TESSLa Ladder Challengers winner - and it was Steve Bailey on Rung 3. Congratulations Steve!

Now to the points table. Firstly, very well done to Alec, the two Steves, Colin, Stan, Nene and Bittor, who all achieved scores in three figures but none of them were anywhere close to the huge 241 points amassed by last year's Points Champion, Malcolm Jones! He'd been top of the points table from the very early stages of this year's event and has finished an incredible 80 points clear of his nearest rival. Many congratulations to Malcolm on defending his title and becoming our 2021 TESSLa Points Champion!

Now we just need to find our 2021 TESSLa Points Challengers winner. In second place on the points table, with 161, is Steve Bailey. Well done Steve! However, as Steve has already got a Ladder award in this event, he is not eligible to win again. In third place on 144 is Stan, but Stan's rating is too high for him to be a challenger, so we move on. In fourth place on 143, is Nene, who does qualify! So congratulations to Nene on becoming our 2021 TESSLa Points Challengers winner!

The final 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 Alec Crombie 104

2 Norman Andrews 54

3 Steve Bailey* 161

4 Steve Burnell 123

5 Colin Fisher 119

6 Richard Murphy 62

7 Malcolm Jones* 241

8 Philip Doyle 60

9 Eamonn Casey 69

10 Stan Lovell 144

11 Gill Smith* 99

12 Voldi Gailans* 99

13 Nene Clayton* 143

14 Mike Flood* 52

15 Bittor Ibanez* 115

16 Mark Hague* 65

17 Tony Lawton* 64

18 Eleanor Tew* 16

19 John Fullwood* 26

20 John Ramm* 29

21 Norman Wragg 25

Controllers Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard once again warmly thank all the TESSLa competitors for their kind cooperation throughout this event. The spirit of friendship was evident throughout the 214 games played during the tournament! We particularly thank everyone who acted as a third-party timekeeper. The TESSLa would not have been such a success if people hadn’t been willing to give up their spare time to help others in this way. Special mentions go to Stan, Nene, Malcolm, Bittor and Mark, who all timed five or more games.

2021 Alternative BCA British Championship and Chairman's Cup

Report by Malcolm Jones, 1st October 2021:

“Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponents mind.” (Bobby Fischer).

As a result of the pandemic, it was decided that the British Championship and the Chairman’s Cup would be held remotely this year. This meant that the competition took place in the comfort of our own homes by using the telephone, Skype, Zoom or by any other mutually agreed platform.

There were 26 players who took part in the event. Using modern communication technology was like playing chess in the same room as your opponent with a fly on the wall being the timekeeper. The only disappointment for me was that we could not shake hands before the games and say, “Break a Peg!”

The thing that I like best about chess is that every game is different. The player with the white pieces starts the game with a cunning plan making the first move. Now this is where things can go pear-shaped because the opponent with the black pieces has a choice of 20 different moves to make. The opening player will either be very pleased or have to think about Plan B.

“A bad plan is better than none at all.” (Frank Marshall).

During this event each player played one game every week for six weeks. The player received one point for a win or a bye, half a point for a draw or a planned bye and nothing for losing. The time control for each player was one hour 45 minutes.

The British Championship was open to UK visually impaired players. The current holder, Paul Benson, did not take part to defend his title. The Chairman’s Cup was only eligible for BCA members who had the ECF rating of 1750 or under (140 in old money). Richard Murphy, the current holder, was looking forward to some great battles ahead to hang on to his title.

“Chess is mental torture.” (Garry Kasparov).

The draw for Round 1 was made and the games started on the 21st of August 2021. The 2021 BCA Big Bash winners, Steve Burnell and Steve Bailey, played against each other in the first round on the top board.

“The mistakes are there, waiting to be made.” (Savielly Tartakower).

The first round was completed before the Friday evening deadline with one or two surprising results. There were skewers, forks and pins galore, which reminded me of a quote by Fred Reinfeld “The Pin is mightier than the sword”.

The draw for the second round took place and the games continued on the 28th August. The draws for subsequent rounds were made on or before every Friday for the following four weeks. Pronounced skirmishes were fought between opponents in the true spirit of friendship. Some silly mistakes were made resulting in a dramatic defeat.

“One bad move nullifies forty good ones.” (Horowitz).

By the end of week 3, the half-way stage, there were only three players on perfect scores. They were Steve Burnell, Steve Hilton and Stan Lovell. There were about eight players on their tails with two points. Games continued with more bruising attacks and brilliant defences. Players had become more aware of how versatile pawns were. Philidor was a great lover of pawns. He once said, “Pawns: they are the soul of this game, they alone form the attack and defence”.

At the end of week four there were no players on maximum points. There were three players with 3.5 points and four players very close behind with 3 points. The tournament was now wide open. Any of the top seven players could win! The battles continued in earnest. Players with black pieces put up very strong defences. There were some Sicilian, Caro-Kann, Queen’s Indian, King’s Indian, Dragons, Black Lion, the Pirc, the English, French, Dutch Defences to name a few but no one appeared to have played the Monkey’s Bum. I may try that at the next event!

The draw for the final week took place and there was everything to play for. Stan Lovell was leading with 4.5 points, and four players were only half point behind with 4 points. Richard Murphy had 3 points and was desperately clinging on to his title. The race to the finishing line was very close and perhaps there would be a photo-finish!

“First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game.” (Siegbert Tarrasch).

Finally after week six, the final scores are:-

5 points Steve Burnell and Steve Hilton.

4.5 points Stan Lovell.

4 points Malcolm Jones, Tony Elbourn, Richard Murphy, Steve Bailey, Eamonn Casey.

3.5 points Gill Smith.

3 points Norman Andrews, Dan Rugman, Mark Hague, Steve Thacker, Neda Koohnavard, Bittor Ibanez, Nene Clayton, Tony Lawton, Jacopo Tinti.

2.5 points Voldi Gailans.

2 points John Fullwood, John Ramm, Lea Ryan, Simon Highsmith.

1.5 points Abi Baker.

1 point Igna Triay, Richard Harrington.

Tie-breaks were needed to separate Steve Burnell and Steve Hilton at the top of the table. They had the same sum of progressive scores (18.5). The next tie-break was sum of opponents' scores. Hilton had 19.5 and Burnell had 24.5. Therefore, by the narrowest of margins, the BCA British Champion 2021 was Steve Burnell. Stan Lovell was the highest placed player with a rating of 1750 or under and therefore the winner of the 2021 Chairman’s Cup.

Congratulations to the winners! My thanks go to Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard for organising the competition and keeping everybody under control. Many thanks go to the timekeepers who gave up their spare time and also to everybody who participated in this electrifying event. Although the winning is important, it’s the taking part that counts. Without players there would have been no event, so thank you once again.

“Chess is the art which expresses the science of logic.” (Mikhail Botvinnik).

Reference: Wikipedia for the Chess quotes.

Arbiters’ Note: It’s due to the sportsmanship of the players and the generosity of the timekeepers that the event ran as smoothly as it did. Gerry and Julie thank you all. Deserving of a special mention are Nene, Bittor and Voldi, who kept time for more games than they played, and Norman Wragg, Irene Elbourn and Lea Ryan’s mum, Maureen, who weren’t taking part in the tournament but still timed games. We couldn’t have done it without you!

15th BCA Email Tournament

Philip Doyle and Eamonn Casey write:

Welcome to our 15th BCA Email Tournament! There are 22 participants on this occasion, same as last time. We have divided these into two divisions of five players, and three divisions with 4 players in each division, based on BCA grades, performance in previous email tournaments where applicable, and where possible, incorporated promotion and relegation. 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. Divisions 1, 3 and 5 are being controlled by Eamonn, and Divisions 2 and 4 are being controlled by Philip. Play started on Friday 1st October and will finish on Friday 31st December. Here is the composition of the divisions and some early results:

Division 1: Peter Gibbs, Philip Doyle, Steve Burnell, Bill Armstrong, Alec Crombie.

Doyle drew with Crombie

Gibbs beat Doyle

Current scores: Gibbs 1/1, Crombie 0.5/1, Doyle 0.5/2

Division 2: Malcolm Jones, Eamonn Casey, Philip Gordon, John Fullwood, Tony Lawton.

Lawton lost to Jones

Jones beat Casey

Jones beat Fullwood

Lawton lost to Gordon

Current scores: Jones 3/3, Gordon 1/1, Casey and Fullwood 0/1, Lawton 0/2

Division 3: Voldi Gailans, Tony Elbourn, Steve Thacker, Gill Smith.

Smith lost to Thacker

Division 4: Mike Flood, Anton Emery, John Ramm, Nene Clayton.

Flood lost to Clayton

Ramm beat Flood

Flood lost to Emery

Clayton beat Ramm

Current scores: Clayton 2/2, Emery 1/1, Ramm 1/2, Flood 0/3

Division 5: Simon Highsmith, Neda Koohnavard, Igna Triay, Richard Harrington.

Koohnavard beat Triay

David Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Competition

Members are reminded that the deadline for submitting entries for this competition is fast approaching! You can send games to this year’s judge, David Mabbs, either directly or via a committee member, but please do so before the end of the year.

All members, including associates and overseas members can enter. All games from the following events are eligible: BCA Email tournaments; BCA v Surrey Match; Remote Spring Tournament; The Big Bash; this year’s TESSLa; the Alternative BCA British Championship and Chairman’s Cup; the over the board Autumn Tournament in Harrogate. Correspondence games played during 2021 also qualify.

David has received a good number of games already but hasn’t yet played through any of them. He wants to keep an open mind until all the entries are in! His decision will be announced as early as possible in 2022.

Bittor Ibanez at the London Chess Festival

Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC), a charity that uses chess to help children's educational and social development, held a three-day programme of events in London, culminating in a day of chess activities open to the public in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 18th July. Everyone was invited and our own Bittor Ibanez decided to take the bus and go along!

At 10am the sun was already beating down when Bittor arrived in the square and flagged down a passer-by to ask for help in finding the entrance to the festival. The organisers were expecting him and, as there were no other blind players there, they kindly offered him a place in the coaching tent. Bittor was glad to be in the shade on such a warm day. He set up his tactile chess set and before long children and adults were queueing up to play him!

Covid restrictions were still very much in place, so Bittor was careful to wear his mask. As usual, two boards were used, but the opponents weren’t used to playing blind people. Bittor explained the importance of announcing the moves phonetically and repeating your opponent’s moves. He stayed until after 5pm and played six to eight games during that time!

There was a lot of activity at the festival, including a living chess game, where the pieces were represented by actors in costumes. The actual players were seated on two enormous chairs and they announced their moves into microphones. Music was then played as the actors walked to their new squares. Unfortunately for Bittor, he was seated just a few metres from a huge speaker, so playing conditions were somewhat noisier than usual, but he found it all very exciting, especially if a capture was being made and one actor had to fight with another or chase them off the board!

Bittor enjoyed his time at the festival and even got an interview on the big outdoor screens before the day was over. Thank you, Bittor, for being such a terrific ambassador for the BCA and Braille chess in general!

BCA Audio Library: A Brief History - Part 2

Mark Kirkham writes:

When I took over the running of the library in April 2004, cassette tape was still the only medium used to send out books. This made my job pretty straightforward, even though at that time I had little knowledge of the chess publishing world. All I had to do was copy from the master tapes onto a recycled or new cassette every time someone made a request. The master tapes were all slightly shorter in length than those used for copies, as this avoided any cut-off at the end of side one or the beginning of side two. The copying process took approximately five minutes using our dedicated highspeed copier, which could copy onto three tapes at a time from a single master. The size of the pouches used to dispatch the tapes meant that usually I would only send out two tapes at a time to any individual, although we do still have a small number of larger ones that will hold six or seven; useful for an especially long book.

For housekeeping purposes, the master tapes were arranged into trays with Braille labels. This made them easily accessible but took up rather a lot of space. For this reason, with much help from my father, we developed a more compact system with the tapes in boxes, which has worked extremely well once we had catalogued the lists of tapes in each box. Having to lift several boxes down from a shelf every now and again may sound like a chore but it is definitely worth the effort.

By now I was settled into the role of librarian, and it had begun to occur to me that the library would benefit considerably from being made available in digital format. Digital technology was already an area where I had quite a keen interest, and I had been doing a few early experiments to transfer one or two of the more popular titles across to an old computer that I rarely used. It's fair to say this was not altogether smooth as I had to learn not to make amateurish mistakes such as wondering why I had ended up with a silent recording, only to finally realise that I'd left the volume on the tape player turned all the way down! Gradually though I managed to improve my techniques, and reached the stage when I was willing to announce plans for the grand project of making the entire library digital. I even persuaded the committee to purchase an external hard drive for storage, thus eventually saving even more space. Confession time; the so-called grand project is still only about half complete. In my defence, this is partly because the library contains over 300 titles, many of which are on multiple cassettes. The main reason, however, is that some older titles were produced using poor quality recording equipment, with some of the volunteers sounding as though they were sitting in their coal cellar.

As discussed in Part 1, the Basman titles tended to be some of the most professional and were a breeze to transfer over. What I can say with some pride is that the library is now able to offer any member a modern choice of formats for any title already in the library normally within a couple of days. USB sticks are widely used by other charities providing audio programs for visually impaired listeners, and the BCA Dropbox account means that large audio chess files can literally be dropped onto a member's computer within a matter of minutes, following an initial set-up process. Unlike some of these other organisations, we have not officially discontinued the tape service, but it has become increasingly rare for me to send these out. Copying from tape to tape is simple using the method described earlier but transferring from a digital format to tape has to be done in real time.

As the BCA website continues to develop, one feature we may look to investigate is an 'on demand' service for members to download audio titles for themselves. And yet surely there will still be room for human input. A traditional librarian is meant to offer guidance to their readers on what title might best suit a particular need. While our understanding of the term 'library' has altered significantly owing to the ease and flexibility of digital formats, the need to provide accessible content for chess players is still as pressing as ever. Happily, especially with the aid of ebooks, I believe the future is bright for visually impaired people wishing to study chess at their own pace.

Editor’s note: Anyone who missed Part 1 of this piece can catch up by referring back to their August 2021 gazette, but please bear in mind the correction which follows in the next item.

Correction and Apology from Stan

Stan Lovell writes: In the article I wrote on the BCA audio library, I omitted the name of Philip Gordon who served as cassette librarian for more than a decade. I apologise to Philip for failing to record his valuable service to BCA members during that period. The relevant passage should read:

“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 Philip Gordon who served for more than a decade, before handing over to Shirley Watkins. Shirley handed it on to the current custodian, Mark Kirkham.”

Champing at the Bit 04

Paul Benson writes:

As this game is being annotated the Alternative BCA Championship is under way without me. So the title of Champion will transfer to someone else, at the moment unknown, since it is now Round 5 being fought out. But since the event is not complete the title still resides here, hence the article heading remains unchanged.

M. Gurevic - S. Kuparman, USSR 1978.

Note: No FIDE ratings available, though in 1983 Gurevic will be rated 2420, then in 1985 become an International Master followed in 1986 rising to Grand Master. Your annotator estimates each player to be somewhere in the 2300 - 2360 bracket.

We depart from the 1872 gunslingers of the "Wild East" and come forward just over a century in time. Unsurprisingly many changes have occurred. Gone is the unspoken imposition of Gambiteering, though gambits in general are still acceptable, in both social and practical terms.

Now we have the inclusion of the Hyper-Modern approach, a subtle and less interactive means of beginning a game. Forget mounting immediate pressure on the supposed weak-point in the defences, the f2 and f7 pawns.

Similarly early occupation of the centre with pawns can be put aside. Instead think in terms of avoiding early direct conflict with the opposing forces. We are seeking swift and harmonious development of the minor pieces. The hand-to-hand fighting is postponed until the early stages of the middlegame. Observe carefully the early moves from White, in particular how both bishops are developed.

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d3 Bf5 5. Nbd2 h6 6. b3 e6 7. Bb2

(A double fianchetto system without a single white unit past the 3rd rank. This quiet approach cannot last for ever. White is happy to give Black a free hand in choice of system, a fingerprint of the Hyper-Modern philosophy. Furthermore, Black is allowed to occupy the centre with pawns according to positional taste. So just why is White offering all these goodies to Black without a fight? Simple, once Black has set up the chosen opening formation White will choose the appropriate target at which to aim. This slow approach must be handled carefully, knowing where and when to hit is necessary, miss opportunities and a passive game awaits.)

7. ... Nbd7 8. c4

(At last, something hinting at activity. White is beginning to nibble on the black central light-squared pawn chain, the g2 bishop is hoping to profit come the middlegame.)

8. ... Bd6

(So far Black has been constructing a Slav Defence formation with the c8 bishop developed outside the pawn triangle. Where the last black minor piece to be developed locates itself, the f8 bishop, indicates the short-term future strategy. On e7, a defensive attitude would have been flagged. But here on d6, a signal of aggressive intent is transmitted.)

9. Qc2 O-O

(King safety for Black achieved, White must similarly soon follow this plan or risk getting caught in the centre.)

10. a3 (Perhaps planning some queenside expansion with pawn b4, fine, but surely the usual counter-plan of pawn a5 from Black limits the white activity?)

10. ... e5

(Grand Rabbit wonders if there could be a subtle error in the game moves here? Perhaps somehow the black moves 10 and 11 have become inverted? While central play with the e-pawn cannot be wrong, surely 10. ... a5 holding up the white queenside plan was more consistent, then follow with 11. ... e5 next move? A more defensive idea is 10. ... Bh7 removing the black bishop out of the way of any white central activity.)

11. O-O

(Perhaps an important change in the white plan is occurring? Central pawn-play might now replace the proposed queenside pawn b4 expansion. Flexibility in planning is important, there is no shame in rejecting a previous idea if a better strategy becomes available.)

11. ... a5 12. e4

(White was always planning to hit in the centre with pawns, the Hyper-Modern methodology chooses quick development before deciding where and when to hit.)

12. ... Be6

(Black is strengthening the central light square pawns. Instead 12. ... Bh7 might leave the d5 pawn a tactic target should the centre open up.)

13. d4

(And the middlegame gets going. The central pawn tension has increased dramatically. White now has 3 pawn takes pawn captures, Black has 2 pawn takes pawn captures. Any capture is then followed by a number of different recaptures, mutual strategic and tactical testing escalates. Black must now prevent White capturing dxe5 which would presently win a piece.)

13. ... Qb8

(Black avoids pawn trades. Why? White already has a central pawn majority, both rooks can immediately centralise, and those fianchetto bishops are in the process of finding targets in the black position. These factors mean if the position becomes open it is White who will have the initiative.)

14. c5

(A difficult move to assess. White definitely desires some open lines, fine, so why make a move which temporarily closes the queenside? Perhaps Black is being squeezed such that activating the a8 rook requires re-grouping, such moves eat up time while not placing pressure on White. Meanwhile White can make moves which improve the position leading to an initiative which Black will find difficult to contain.)

14. ... Bc7

(A move of mixed consequences. The Gain: This c7 bishop plus b8 queen battery still points into the white kingside, nothing dangerous yet, but positions can change quickly. The Loss: Unravelling the black b8 queen and a8 rook to achieve heavy piece activity has become a serious problem. Black is in danger of fighting the middlegame without any support from the a8 rook.)

15. dxe5

(A tripler. Firstly, the b2 bishop will now fire up the a1 - h8 diagonal, nothing immediately threatening, but perhaps in 10 moves or so there may be something really serious to be neutralised. Secondly, when a unit moves it vacates a square for someone else. Thirdly, while not easy to appreciate here, the g2 bishop is similarly about to join in the fun.)

15. ... Nxe5 16. Nd4

(No trading by White here, multiple exchanges on e5 will only relieve the pressure on Black. White has both better development and coordination, in such positions keep material on the board.)

16. ... Bd7

(Black does not wish to risk the possibility of White gaining the bishop pair, though Grand Rabbit suspects trading Nxe6 was never in mind.)

17. f4

(A doubler. Firstly, the centralised black e5 knight is in the process of being shuffled to a much inferior location. Secondly, the a1 - h8 diagonal is in the process of being permanently claimed by White.)

17. ... Neg4

(With the threat of Ne3 winning an exchange to be neutralised. Easily achieved but will cost White a defensive tempo somewhere, right?)

18. Qc3

(A doubler. Firstly, the e3 square is guarded against the threatened black knight fork. Secondly, and very importantly, a queen plus bishop battery up the a1 - h8 diagonal is created, Black must now always be aware of a mate threat on the g7 square. But surely there are minor pieces between the white battery and the g7 pawn? Yes, but units can be pushed out of the way. In time Black might wish to shuffle the dark square bishop to f8 to defend g7, but the key word here is time, at present this will cost 4 moves.)

18. ... dxe4

(Black releases the central pawn tension, perhaps fearing that attempts to keep protecting the d5 pawn will lead to becoming tied up?)

19. Bxe4

(At last, a move likely to confuse the average club player, re-capturing with the bishop seems counter-intuitive. Surely the Hyper-Modern g2 bishop fianchetto is designed to point at the black queenside pawns, and now Black can eliminate it, right? Yes, but the White queenside queen plus bishop battery has set up some tactics. Black must be careful here.)

19. ... Re8

(Black avoids disaster, a few losing lines run:

(A). 19. ... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 f6 21. h3 and unless Black is willing to unblock the h8 - a1 diagonal with pawn f5, and face whatever tactics White has up the sleeve, then the g4 knight is trapped and will fall.

(B). 19. ... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 Nf6 21. Nxf6+ gxf6 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. Qxf6, Black must close the a1 - h8 diagonal, 23. ... Re5 24. Rxe5 Bd8 25. Re8+ Bxe8 26. Qg7+ mate.

(C). 19. ... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 Nf6 21. Nxf6+ gxf6 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. Qxf6 Be5 24. Rxe5 Rxe5 25. Bxe5 Qf8 26. Qh8+ mate.

(D). 19. ... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 f5 21. Nxc6 Rf7 22. Nxb8 Rxb8 23. Nf2 and Black has lost the queen for a knight.

Underestimate the power of x-ray attacks at your peril.)

20. Rae1

(The doubly-attacked white e4 bishop is now doubly-defended. Material loss avoided, White has in turn handed Black some problems to be solved, tactical alertness now required. Perhaps a couple of clues might assist in untangling these problems? Firstly, the black g4 knight is without a safe retreat square, simply white pawn h3 will trap it. Secondly, if the black king is thinking of escaping a white kingside mating attack by sprinting queenside, then tactics involving white discovered checks from the e1 rook demand careful calculation.)

20. ... h5

(When a unit moves it vacates a square for someone else, the black g4 knight now has h6 for a retreat if necessary. White to play now re-locates the unit presently contributing least to the forthcoming kingside campaign.)

21. N4f3

(Excellent, the white queen plus bishop battery up the a1 - h8 diagonal is unleashed. This means the black f6 knight can now only move if it protects the g7 pawn as it does so, and as both e8 and h5 squares are occupied, then more defensive shuffling time would be required to have the option to protect g7 in this way.)

21. ... b6

(Black has no useful moves to strengthen the kingside and so queenside activity must be tried while waiting for White to show how the kingside attack will proceed.)

22. Ng5 h4.

(Black diagnoses the position is difficult and attempts to create complications. They should not work here, White has far too many defenders around the g1 king, but when confronted with a bad game then some activity is better than none.)

23. h3

(Not just a spite pawn-prod for the sake of it. White has a specific plan in mind which requires the black f6 knight be denied the tandem-defence from a g4 knight. We all enjoy thinking about going on the attack but inviting possible tactics in front of your own king needs careful calculation. Has White just handed Black the opportunity which was hoped for when lining up the queen and both bishops to point kingside?)

23. ... Nh6

(Black wisely selects defence, unsurprisingly the attack seems to fall short. After 23. hxg3 24. hxg4 Bxf4 25. Nh3 doubly-attacks the black f4 bishop which gives White time for 25. Bf3 and White now a piece for a pawn up is holding the kingside.)

24. Bh7+

(A doubler. Firstly, the black king now has to decide which way to jump, should consume important time on the clock. Secondly, when a unit moves it vacates a square for someone else, the least-contributing white unit is about to join the fun.)

24. ... Kf8

(Running into the corner with 24. ... Kh8 might have tempted White into tactics, some ideas run:

(A). 24. ... Kh8 25. Qxf6 gxf6 26. Bxf6+ mate is cute but not forcing.

(B). 24. ... Kh8 25. Qxf6 Rg8 26. Bxg8 Qxg8 27. Qxh6+ Qh7 28. Qxh7+ mate, again nice but not forcing.

(C). 24. ... Kh8 25. Qxf6 Be5 26. Bxe5 Rxe5 27. Qxe5 f6 28. Qe7 fxg5 29. fxg5 Black already a rook and pawn down now has 2 pieces hanging, White would have a decisive material advantage.

(D). 24. ... Kh8 25. Qxf6 Nf5 26. Qc3 White emerges a piece ahead, though the kingside needs stabilising before it can be considered decisive, this is the least convincing of all the tactical lines.

We shall never know if White would have gone for it.

Perhaps the simple 24. ... Kh8 25. Nde4 when every white piece is better than every black piece was the most likely response, something tactical should soon happen somewhere in the black kingside.)

25. Nde4

(White now has all units except the f1 rook influencing the kingside. In particular, the queen plus bishop battery up the a1 - h8 diagonal is the most powerful factor in the position. Black in contrast has the forces spread across the board, those lounging on the queenside doing very little to assist the few defenders on the kingside. Immediate gut-reaction: White probably has a decisive advantage, Fritz and friends would thoroughly enjoy crunching out winning variation after winning variation. Fine, White must however soon do some serious calculations, and do not switch off your imagination yet, some inspiration is about to be needed for success.)

25. ... Bd8

(Giving extra protection to the f6 knight, if the white queen ever gets into the black kingside the game will almost certainly be over. Other tries fail, some ideas run:

(A). 25. ... Nhg8 26. Bxg8 Kxg8 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Qxf6 with several mates available.

(B). 25. ... Nhg8 26. Bxg8 Nxg8 27. Qxg7+ Ke7 28. Nd6+ Kd8 29. Ngxf7+ mate is neat.

(C). 25. ... Nhg8 26. Bxg8 Nxg8 27. Qxg7+ Ke7 28. Nd6+ Be6 29. Rxe6+ Kd7 30. Rxe8 and White is a rook, piece plus pawn up.

(D). 25. ... Re6, desperate tries must be explored, 26. Nxe6+ Bxe6 27. Nxf6 gxf6 28. Qxf6 and with the invasion of the white queen many threats appear, plus White is now an exchange up, Black will be quickly overwhelmed.

White to play has a clever means of increasing the pressure on the black defences, imagination required now.)

26. Bg6 (Demonstrating the tactical awareness which will in time take White to the heights of joint 5th in the FIDE rankings. Witnessing such a move could however easily cause confusion at club level. Surely the black f7 pawn is doubly-defended? And is it not the white a1 - h8 queen plus bishop battery the most important factor in the white kingside campaign? Yes on both counts. A simple change of perspective can explain this paradoxical choice. White is not requiring the light square bishop be on g6, but instead requires it is not sitting on the h7 square.)

26. ... fxg6

(Appearing materialistic? Not really. Black is trying to give the f8 king some breathing room, the f7 square is now vacated. Other choices only seem to offer White opportunities to show how tactics can flow from a positionally superior game. Herein follow 19 such lines, hard work ahead for the studious, those reading for pleasure might choose to skim over them.

There are a variety of ways of playing for Black, the initial try of 26. ... Nhg8 needs examining:

(A). 26. ... Nhg8 27. Nh7+ Nxh7 28. Qxg7+ Ke7 29. Qxf7+ mate.

(B). 26. ... Nhg8 27. Nh7+ Ke7 28. Nexf6+ Be6 29. Nxe8 Kxe8 30. Rxe6+ Kd7 31. Bxf7 and White emerges a rook, bishop, pawn up plus the black position is in disarray.

(C). 26. ... Nhg8 27. Nh7+ Ke7 28. Nexf6+ Be6 29. Nxe8 fxg6 30. Qxg7+ Kxe8 31. Rxe6+ Ne7 32. Nf6+ mate, a nice smothering.

(D). 26. ... Nhg8 27. Nh7+ Ke7 28. Nexf6+ Be6 29. Nxe8 fxg6 30. Qxg7+ Kxe8 31. Rxe6+ Be7 32. Rxe7+ Nxe7 33. Nf6+ Kd8 34. Qf8+ Kc7 35. Qxe7+ Kc8 36. Qd7+ mate.

Next Black tries to close the e-file, perhaps hoping the king can sprint queenside:

(E). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 Bxf6 28. Nh7+ Kg8 29. Nxf6+ gxf6 30. Qxf6 Kf8 31. Bxf7 Bxf7 32. Qg7+ mate.

(F). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 Bxf6 28. Nh7+ Kg8 29. Nxf6+ gxf6 30. Qxf6 Kf8 31. Bxf7 Nxf7 32. Qg7+ Ke7 33. Rxe6+ Kxe6 34. Re1+ Kd5 35. Qd4+ mate.

(G). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 Bxf6 28. Nh7+ Kg8 29. Nxf6+ gxf6 30. Qxf6 Kf8 31. Bxf7 Nxf7 32. Qg7+ Ke7 33. Rxe6+ Kxe6 34. Re1+ Kf5 35. Qg4+ mate.

(H). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 Bxf6 28. Nh7+ Kg8 29. Nxf6+ gxf6 30. Qxf6 Kf8 31. Bxf7 Nxf7 32. Qg7+ Ke7 33. Rxe6+ Kd7 34. Qxf7+ Kd8 35. Rxe8+ mate.

(I). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 Bxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Nxf6 gxf6 30. Bxf7 Kxf7 31. Qxf6+ Kg8 32. Qg7+ mate.

(J). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 Bxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Nxf6 gxf6 30. Bxf7 Nxf7 31. Qxf6+ Kd7 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. Qxf7+ Re7 34. Rd1+, the black e7 rook will fall, White emerges a piece up in the trading and the attack continues.

Now Black again tries to close the e-file but changes the recapture on the f6 square.

(K). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 gxf6 28. Nh7+ Kg7 29. Nxf6 Bxf6 30. Qxf6+ Kf8 31. Bxf7 only transposes into lines just examined.

(L). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6 gxf6 28. Nh7+ Kg7 29. Nxf6 Re7 30. Nd7+ Kxg6 31. Nxb8 Rxb8 White wins the black queen for a couple of minor pieces.

Another defensive attempt involves black gxf6 with a centralising king move to follow, both optimistic and dangerous.

(M). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Qxf6+ Kd7 30. Qg7 Nf5 31. Bxf5 Bxf5 32. Qxf7+ Re7 33. Qxf5+, White wins a piece in the trading and the attack continues.

(N). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Qxf6+ Kd7 30. Qg7 Ng8 31. Bxf7 Bxf7 32. Qxf7+ Ne7 33. Qe6+ Kc7 34. Be5+ skewering the black royalty, Black would lose the queen for a bishop.

(O). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Qxf6+ Kd7 30. Qg7 Ng8 31. Bxf7 Re7 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. Bxe6+ Kxe6 34. Re1+ Kd5 35. Qd4+ mate.

(P). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Qxf6+ Kd7 30. Qg7 Ng8 31. Bxf7 Re7 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. Bxe6+ Kxe6 34. Re1+ Kf5 35. Qg4+ mate.

(Q). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Qxf6+ Kd7 30. Qg7 Rg8 31. Qxh6 fxg6 32. Nf8+ doubly-attacking the black e6 bishop, Black must either give up and exchange on f8 or lose the e6 bishop, and the white assault continues.

(S). 26. ... Be6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nh7+ Ke7 29. Qxf6+ Kd7 30. Qg7 Rg8 31. Qxh6 Rxg6 32. Nf8+ Ke7 33. Nxg6+ fxg6 34. Qg7+ Ke8 35. Rxe6+ Be7 36. Qxe7+ mate.

Why are there so many powerful lines available to White? Firstly, the black minor pieces are not coordinating on the kingside to create a strong defence. Secondly, the black b8 queen and a8 rook are not able to challenge similarly powerful white invaders. Thirdly, when defensive pawns are removed the remaining defensive pieces rely on each other for support, risky at the best of times. Finally, the game move of 26. ... fxg6 definitely gives the black king some flight opportunities, but it also means if White ever gets Qxg7+ then as it stands it will be mate.)

27. Nh7+

(Creating a quadruple-attack on the black f6 knight which is only doubly-defended. White is breaking through. Anything else gives Black the chance of Nhg8 which offers Black time to transfer powerful queenside spectators over to the kingside.)

27. ... Kf7

(Other options turn out badly, the unprotected black d7 bishop is a liability, some ideas run:

(A). 27. ... Ke7, inadvisably walking into an x-ray attack, 28. Nexf6+ Kf7 29. Nxd7 Qc7 30. Qxg7+ mate, the white queen plus bishop battery proves decisive.

(B). 27 ... Ke7 28. Nexf6+ Be6 29. Nxe8 Kxe8 30. Qxg7 Black is already an exchange plus pawn down and has the e6 bishop and h6 knight hanging.

(C). 27. ... Kg8 28. Nhxf6+, black king and d7 bishop fork, 28. ... gxf6 29. Nxf6+ Bxf6 30. Qxf6 Nf5 31. Qxg6+ Kf8 32. g4, if the black f5 knight moves then 33. Qg7+ mate occurs, if it stands firm it is lost.

The white long-term strategic plan of opening the a1 - h8 diagonal for the queen plus bishop battery is about to begin.)

28. Nhxf6 gxf6

(Multiple trades do not help Black, the d8 bishop must try to prevent the white queen invading on the f6 square. Instead 28. ... Bxf6 29. Nxf6 gxf6 30. Qxf6+ Kg8 31. Qg7+ mate is a recurrent theme. Isn't an unleashed queen plus bishop battery aiming up the a1 - h8 diagonal powerful? Strengthening the black 2nd rank would force White to find the right ideas:

(A). 28. ... Re7 29. Ng5+ Kf8 30. Rxe7 Bxe7 31. Nxd7+ a royal fork winning the black b8 queen, but this is not forcing.

(B). 28. ... Re7 29. Ng5+ Kf8 30. Rxe7 Kxe7 31. Nxd7 Kxd7 32. Qxg7+ wins the loose black h6 knight, White emerges a piece plus pawn up.)

29. Nxf6 Rxe1

(Trading only removes the e8 rook from attack, the white position is still overwhelming. Attempting defence with 29. ... Re7 will not test White, simply either:

(A). 29. ... Re7 30. Nxd7 Rxd7 31. Qg7+ mate.

(B). 29. ... Re7 30. Nxd7 Qc7 31. Qg7+ Ke8 32. Nf6+ mate is cute.)

30. Rxe1 Be6

(A doubler, which usually implies a couple of gains, right? Normally so, and both gains here could be of value, but only if White fails to find the “Killer-Move”. Firstly, the hanging d7 bishop rescues itself. Secondly, the e-file is blocked, perhaps the white e1 rook has been negated? White to play has been aiming since move 18 for a certain invasion, it just takes an unleashing for the plan to succeed...)

31. Nd7 1-0

(A doubler, and this time the gains are for real. Firstly, the black b8 queen is attacked and Black has not gained sufficient material to think in terms of letting the queen drop for the white knight. Secondly, the white queen plus bishop battery up the a1 - h8 diagonal is unleashed, Black has no sensible means of preventing a Qg7 invasion.

A few sample lines show why resignation is the correct decision:

(A). 31. ... Bxd7 32. Qg7+ mate, too easy.

(B). 31. ... Qc7 32. Qg7+ Ke8 33. Rxe6+ Be7 34. Qxe7+ mate.

(C). 31. ... Ng8 32. Nxb8 Rxb8 33. Qg7+ Ke8 34. Qxg8+ Kd7 35. Qxe6+, white is a queen up in the trading.

(D). 31. ... Nf5 32. Nxb8 Rxb8 33. g4, if Black moves the f5 knight then 34. Qg7+ is a mating attack, and if the knight stands still it will be captured, White would win the black queen for just a knight in the trading.)

The Hou Hou Hou Game!

Owen Phillips suggests that we all look at this game between Yifan Hou and Marie Sebag from Round 2 of the 2011 Hangzhou GM Tournament in China. He notes that he marvelled at the directness of the whole game and at the beautiful finish! It has become known as the "Hou, Hou, Hou!" game.

2011.07.15 Hou, Yifan 2575 v Sebag, Marie 2510, Sicilian Chekhover variation

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Bg5 e6 9. Qd3 Be7

10. Nd4 Qa5 11. Bd2 Qc7 12. O-O-O O-O 13. f4 Rab8 14. f5 Bd7 15. g4 Rfc8 16. g5 Ng4 17. Rhf1 Qc4

18. Qh3 Ne5 19. Nf3 b5 20. f6 Bf8 21. g6 fxg6 22. Nxe5 dxe5 23. f7+ Kh8 24. Rf3 h6 25. Bxh6 gxh6

26. Qg4 g5 27. Qh5 Kg7 28. Rh3 Kf6 29. Rxd7 b4 30. Qxh6+ Bxh6 31. Rxh6+ Kg7 32. f8=Q+ 1-0

Owen’s Word of Warning about Resuming Over the Board Chess

Owen Phillips reports:

In my case, playing so much online chess (mostly rapid or blitz) has clearly damaged my discipline at the board. I was top seed (at 1998 grade) in the recent 4NCL OTB Major U2000 event, but only finished with 2/5! At times I almost felt a compulsion to move fast, and I was constantly looking for attacking moves and exotica, which backfired completely on the two occasions when I lost! In my last round game, I excitedly conjured up an 8 move queen trap or the loss of a piece and pawn for his opponent. It worked but “Hey ho nooni no!” what about my opponent’s quiet ninth? A pawn move that netted a rook by attacking one and unleashing a bishop attack on the other! It was “Good night, Phillips” soon thereafter! My opponent, who hadn't foreseen any of this, and I had to laugh! But the tournament net result will be the humungous loss of 29 rating points for Master Phillips! Lesson to learn: Be extra cautious and use your time to treble check things upon your return whether in league, county or tournament chess in particular! Naughty Master Phillips!

Editor’s Note: Some BCA members have already got back to OTB chess! Ian Blencowe, Tony Elbourn and Dan Rugman played in the Castle Chess tournament in Fareham, 1^st to 3^rd October 2021 and by the time you read this our Autumn Tournament in Harrogate will also have taken place. Best of luck to everyone taking up OTB chess once again. Owen’s advice will undoubtedly come in handy but even if the games don’t go so well, remember that returning to playing opponents in person is a win in itself!

Gerry’s Chess Career: A Promise Kept!

Gerry Walsh writes:

The FIDE Olympiad in Malta finished in December 1980 and we arrived home in time to recover over Christmas. I missed visiting the Hastings Congress for the first time since 1966.

In January 1981 my bank manager sent for me to advise that my overdraft was in fact more than most people’s mortgage and asked that I take steps to reduce it. The first thing was to step away from chess activity, so I resigned from the BCF Management Board and my responsibility for organising the British Championships. When I rang Harry Golombek to tell him of my decision he said “Fine, just have a rest, but you can't make it permanent because you promised the Braille Chess Association you would be my assistant at 1982 World Championship for the Blind in Hastings”. So I agreed just to have a rest.

In the summer of 1981, I was invited to join the arbiters panel at Hastings and Harry convinced me to accept. In the meantime, I seemed to work night and day to reduce my fiscal arrears by selling kitchens, selling gravestones, teaching chess in a prison and installing central heating systems and bathrooms as I was a time served plumber.

During the summer I was thinking a lot of the forthcoming World Championship and I realised that my only experience of Braille Chess activity was having played Les Whittle twice in county matches. So I made contact with Jack Horrocks, who suggested I visit the 1981 BCA Championship in Chorley Wood to present the prizes. I mentioned before that I sold headstones and one of my sales had been delivered to Middlesbrough with a part missing. I suggested to the office in Watford that they leave it at Chorley Wood for my attention which they did and I left it in the playing room. The ladies saw this and thought I was donating a new trophy, but a piece of white marble nine inches cube with a bronze container fixed to it was rather heavy. I believe Gwen Lilley was heard to say she would not take that back on the train to Liverpool if Graham were to win the tournament!

I was promised a room for the night but after the dinner and prize giving we walked to the pub, which was just over a mile away. Steve Eastwick-Field didn't want to take his chess equipment back to his room so he hid it under a bush in the garden. The problem was that by the time he got back after a few pints he couldn't remember where the bush was, and it was also raining. I recall some of the members decided to go for a dip in the outdoor swimming pool and as we were some distance from the rooms, birthday suits became the order of the night. Eventually people started to go off to bed so I asked where my room was, only to find there wasn't one.

I stayed around till about 3am and then set off to drive home. I was so tired I probably stopped at every motorway café consuming black coffee at each stop. Forty years later and I am still here having made so many great friends and been involved in some wonderful BCA events starting with the 1982 IBCA World Championship!

It is appropriate that the selected game comes from the IBCA World Championship which was undertaken by the BCA to mark the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the BCA in 1932.

White Tonteri (Finland) Black Carlin (England) French Defence

1 e4 e6, 2 d4 d5, 3 Nd2 Nf6, 4 e5 Ne4, 5 Bd3 Nxd2, 6 Bxd2 c5, 7 dxc5 Bxc5, 8 Nf3 Qb6, 9 O-O Qxb2,

10 Rb1 Qa3, 11 Rb3 Qxa2, 12 Qe2 a6, 13 Rfb1 Qa4, 14 Ng5 Qd7, 15 Qh5 g6, 16 Qh3 h6, 17 Nf3 Nc6,

18 Bg5 Be7, 19 Bd2 b5, 20 Qg3 Bf8, 21 Ra1 Bb7, 22 Rab1 Bg7, 23 c4 dxc4, 24 Bxc4 O-O, 25 Bd3 Rfd8,

26 Rd1 Qd5, 27 Bc2 Qc5, 28 Rc3 Qe7, 29 Re3 Nd4, 30 Nxd4 Rxd4, 31 Bc3 Rxd1+, 32 Bxd1 Rd8, 33 Bc2 Qa3,

34 Re1 b4, 35 Ba1 Qxg3, 36 hxg3 Rd2, 37 Bb3 Bd5, 38 Bxd5 Rxd5, 39 Bb2 Bf8, 40 Kf1 a5, 41 Ra1 Rd2,

42 Bc1 Rc2, 43 Be3 Bc5, 44 Rxa5 Bxe3, 45 fxe3 b3, 46 Rb5 b2, 47 resigns

Editor’s Note: Next time Gerry is going to focus on the IBCA World Championship in Hastings, 1982, in more detail. If you were there and would like to share some of your favourite memories, please do get in touch with me!

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.

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.

Solution: Ne4

November 2021 Puzzle

Magnus Carlsen vs Hans Harestad, Copenhagen, 2003

r7/3bb1kp/q4p1N/1pnPp1np/2p4Q/2P5/1PB3P1/2B2RK1

White: King g1, Queen h4, Rook f1, Bishops c1 and c2, Knight h6, Pawns b2, c3, d5 and g2

Black: king g7, queen a6, rook a8, bishops d7 and e7, knights c5 and g5, pawns b5, c4, e5, f6, h7 and h5

White mates in three moves. The solution will appear in the February gazette.

Personalia

Many congratulations to Geraldine Gailans, daughter of Clare and Voldi, and her partner Eugene, on the birth of their daughter, Maya Deirdre Clare, on 31^st August, a day earlier than expected, weighing 7lbs 1 oz. Maya needed some hospital treatment in the first few hours of her life, but this was dealt with quickly at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. Maya went home soon afterwards, and she is doing well. Voldi says she is proving to be an easy baby to look after, very much in the mould of Geraldine herself. Apparently, Maya has an exceptionally loud cry and there is speculation that she could be flexing her lungs to follow Clare and Voldi in their love of singing! Congratulations to grandparents Clare and Voldi, to Natalie on becoming an auntie and to her daughters Poppy and Florence, who have a new cousin to play with. Hopefully, the whole family will join us at a BCA event soon!

Recently the Gazette was fortunate enough to secure an exclusive interview with amateur athlete, Lea Ryan! Her successes on the chessboard are well known in these pages, but some of us are perhaps less well acquainted with Lea’s achievements in long distance running. In 2000, inspired by seeing the London Marathon on television, Lea set herself the goal of taking part one day and began training from scratch. In September 2001, she ran her first half marathon, in Windsor, and in April 2002 she achieved her ambition of completing the London Marathon! Since then, Lea has dipped in and out of running, but earlier this year, after a long break, she began training again, starting with the Couch to 5K programme and building up to the Windsor Half Marathon on 26^th September, twenty years after she first took part! Lea got lost a couple of times, so probably ran further than anyone else. At the end she was absolutely shattered, and everything hurt. On the way home, her train was replaced by a bus, which was rather jarring for her already aching limbs! When the bus finally arrived, there were no taxis because of the fuel shortage, and she had to walk the last few miles home! None of this deterred her from running a virtual full marathon just one week later. Lea, we admire your tenacity and wish you every success in future races!

Hazel and Steve Burnell proudly announce, “Our daughter, Philippa, will be married to Steven at Holy Saviours Church, Tynemouth on 30th September 2021. They have planned a small ceremony for close family and friends to share their special day. For the occasion there will be two vicars. The marriage ceremony will be carried out by The Reverend Dr Nicholas lo Polito, who was the university chaplain at Birmingham when Philippa studied there and is a family friend. The resident vicar, Reverend Captain Steve Dixon has kindly agreed to assist on this occasion, including ringing the church bells!” By the time this gazette is published Philippa and Steven’s wedding will have taken place so I’m sure everyone will join me in hoping that the big day was perfect for them in every respect and wishing them a long and happy marriage. We also need to thank them because some of their wedding presents are coming through Amazon Smile with the BCA as their nominated charity!

Readers may recall from the August gazette that Derek Heyes qualified to compete in the 2021 series of Brain of Britain on BBC Radio 4. His first heat took place at a socially distanced venue in Salford in July and was aired in August. In case you missed it, here’s a summary of the action. In Round 1 Derek correctly answered questions on horse racing and geography to become one of two joint leaders. Round 2 proved trickier and he slipped into equal second place. In Round 3, Derek’s knowledge of history, the Olympics and Egyptian antiquities enabled him to bounce back into the lead, a point ahead of his nearest rival. Derek’s Round 4 topics included jazz and mediaeval education. He stormed ahead of the pack when all other contestants failed to score. After Round 5, in which Derek earned a point on astronomy, he was still leading but the gap had narrowed. In a thrilling final round, one of Derek’s rivals scored a massive 5 points, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Derek, who had notched up a point on twentieth century literature to secure his semi-final place! Derek’s semi-final, recorded in London on 13^th October, will be broadcast on Monday 1^st November at 3pm (repeated on 6^th November at 11pm and available on BBC Sounds). Derek, we all congratulate you on reaching the semi-final and wish you the very best of luck!

A few years ago, participants at a Chairman’s Cup in Bournemouth were astounded to hear that Tony Lawton had ridden the zip wire from the pier to the promenade, but this feat is tame alongside Tony’s latest exploit – a wing walk! Here is a link to Tony’s interview with ITV and footage of the flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqbG8y-zuck. Tony stood on the roof of a bi-plane and was strapped on. Moments after take-off, his jeans flapping furiously in the powerful air stream, Tony raised both hands in the air to give the thumbs up. He said it was a bumpy ride and very noisy, but after a few minutes he began to relax. Tony sets himself a new challenge every year and has no intention of slowing down. I dread to think what he’ll get up to next! On this occasion Tony raised money for Reading Association for the Blind, and we congratulate him warmly on that. If anyone feels they’ve had a lot of enjoyment out of their BCA membership and would like to give something back, the Finance and Fundraising sub-committee will always be happy to discuss your sponsorship ideas. Please don’t hesitate to contact them!

Julie Leonard