The
Gazette
May
2025
Braille
Chess Association
Registered
Charity Number 263049
Supporting Chess Players with Sight Loss.
This issue has kindly been sponsored by Irene and Tony Elbourn
BCA Website Address: www.braillechess.org.uk
Email: info@braillechess.org.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrailleChess
BCA User Group: BrailleChess@groups.io
To contact a member of the
committee, please go to the Contact page on the Braille Chess Association’s
website.
https://braillechess.org.uk/contacts
Honorary Members
Christine and Norman Andrews, Hazel and Steve Burnell, Colin Chambers, Alec Crombie, Celia Gibbs, Julie Leonard, Stan Lovell, Mike Murphy, Richard Murphy, Joan Shorrock, Gill Smith, Gerry Walsh, Roger Waters, Norman Wragg.
Trustees
(Chair to be elected) Bill Armstrong, Abi Baker, Tristram Cole, John Fullwood, Voldi Gailans, Gary Hogan, Mark Kirkham, Julie Leonard, Brandan Read, Gerry Walsh, Guy Whitehouse.
Note: The views expressed in the Gazette do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the BCA, nor those of the editor.
CONTENTS
Changes to
Officers’ Contact Details
Correspondence
Chess Director’s Report
Millennium Club,
the BCA’s monthly lottery
Winner of the
2024 David Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Competition
2025 David
Hodgkins Memorial Annual Best Game Competition
A Game from the
22nd BCA Email Tournament
Report on the
2025 AGM Weekend Chess Tournament
Games from the
2025 AGM Congress
Annual Award in
Memory of Graham Lilley
In the words of Hungarian-American grandmaster, Susan Polgár, “Chess is a miniature
version of life. To be successful, you
need to be disciplined, assess resources, consider responsible choices and
adjust when circumstances change.” As
Susan is a former Women's World Chess Champion, we can safely say that she
knows what she’s talking about! In this
gazette you will find many examples of games where players have used their
pieces to great effect, nimbly switched between plans and either proceeded with
caution or attacked as needed.
Curiously,
most of the games in this issue are themselves miniatures i.e. they have
twenty-five moves or fewer. These brief
skirmishes often feature sharp tactical play, leading to exciting tussles! Tiny inaccuracies are exploited, in some
cases leading to huge upsets that go against seedings.
May I
draw your attention to a minuscule, but nonetheless significant, change to our
Booking Conditions for over the board events.
We’re now asking participants to tell us if they have a known medical
complaint that could require urgent treatment.
Please study the Booking Conditions in full next time you enter an
event!
In this
issue you can find out about the AGM, including who won the 2024 Best Game
Competition and which miniature gift was given to a retiring officer. I suspect the gift has long since disappeared
altogether! There are articles on the
Chess Theme Break and the AGM Congress as well as updates on How Good is Your
Chess and the most recent email tournament.
There’s a flashback focusing on one of the UK VI greats of old, a
reminder about an award in memory of another celebrated player and news of a
new international challenge! Our Audio
Librarian is seeking expressions of interest in a new recording of a book by a
former BCA champion, so please do respond.
We have all the usual officers’ reports, a puzzle and, in Personalia,
some notable milestones in the lives of members. Finally, we say a fond farewell to a highly
respected member who passed away in recent months.
In
contrast with the theme of this editorial, there is nothing at all diminutive
about the largesse of Irene and Tony Elbourn, who
sponsored this gazette. On behalf of us
all, many thanks to them both for their kind generosity!
Please
let me have articles for the August gazette by the end of June.
Julie Leonard
Booking Conditions and Procedures
All bookings must be made through the named event organiser or via an online form on the BCA website.
See https://braillechess.org.uk/events/event-forms
The organiser will confirm the amount to be paid to the BCA and will notify the Treasurer to expect this payment from the entrant. Only when full payment has been received will the booking be complete.
When booking, please supply the organiser with the following:
1.
Name/names of everyone the booking is
for.
2.
Dates of arrival and departure.
3.
Room type (single/double/twin/accessible
room).
4.
If you will be bringing a guide dog.
5.
Any special dietary requirements.
6.
Any special requests: For example, a
preference for a bath or shower or a need for a walk-in shower; a preference to
be near the lift or stairs; a need for support in case of a fire alarm at
night.
7.
Consent for your name, dates booked, room
type and any special requirements to be sent to the hotel.
8.
Whether you require a Braille, print or
large print event programme. (The programme will
be emailed to all participants for whom an email address is held.)
9.
An emergency contact number. This is important as otherwise it puts a great responsibility on the organiser
if an emergency arises. The organiser will keep this information confidential and
destroy it after the event.
10.
Details of any
known medical condition that you have, which could require urgent treatment
during the event. For example, if you
carry an auto injector or similar device for a severe allergic reaction or
other life threatening emergency. With your agreement, the organiser may share
this information with people who will help to keep you safe.
If you are taking part in the chess, please also give:
11.
Consent for your forename, surname, club,
results and gender to be sent to the ECF for rating purposes.
12.
The section you would prefer to play in
if you are under the rating limit for the Challengers.
If you have any queries about the hotel or the tournament please contact the event organiser, not the Treasurer.
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 resident members receive a refund equivalent to two nights’ accommodation after attending their first BCA 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 or after the event.
The Treasurer will acknowledge receipt of your payment and let the organiser know. You may pay in these ways:
Cheques payable to Braille Chess Association should be sent to the Treasurer.
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 you should inform the Treasurer when the payment has been made.
Bookings accepted after the closing date are at the discretion of the organiser and are subject to a £10 late booking supplement for each person.
Bookings can only be cancelled and payments refunded within the time limit set in the conditions by the hotels. Members may consider it advisable to take out holiday insurance to cover themselves.
The BCA reserves the right to exclude from its events anyone whose behaviour towards participants and tournament organisers was unacceptable or who is currently serving a time ban for cheating.
Saturday 5th July to Saturday 27th
September 2025: BCA Summer Cup to be played remotely.
The Summer Cup will be a five-round tournament in which games are played on any mutually agreed internet-based platform such as Zoom, Lichess or WhatsApp, or by telephone. The general default platform will be Zoom as most members find this accessible and people can dial into meetings if they prefer or if they do not have internet access. Players for whom Zoom is genuinely inaccessible should mention this when entering and if possible special arrangements will be made to accommodate their participation.
The event will run for 12 weeks with four weeks allowed for Round 1 because many players will be at the Chairman’s Cup during that time, and two weeks allowed for Rounds 2 to 5. Games are played at a mutually convenient time agreed by the two players. Ideally, there should be a third-party timekeeper for each game unless it is played on a dedicated chess server such as Lichess. Players may take a half point bye in any one of the first four rounds and will be able to request this when entering or arrange it at fairly short notice. The arbiters will be Gerry Walsh and Julie Leonard. If we’re lucky, Bittor Ibanez may once again collate all the games for us!
The tournament will be open to all members and associate members of the BCA. Entry is free. Depending on the entries, we may be able to incorporate a Ladies’ section and a Challengers’ section for those whose ECF online standard play rating or estimated rating is below the cutoff point, which is likely to be around 1750. Trophies will be awarded to section winners, provided they are based in the UK or can arrange to collect the trophy at one of our over the board events within twelve months. Trophies will not be posted to overseas winners.
The tournament will be a friendly and fairly informal event. We urge members and associate members to “have a go” regardless of their playing strength. Results will be sent for rating in the ECF Online Rating system.
To enter please complete the appropriate online form on https://braillechess.org.uk/events/event-forms by Monday 30th June 2025. The online form is the preferred method of entering. Please try it as it will guide you through the information you need to provide. If you cannot use the form, you may send your entry to the organiser, Julie Leonard (see Officers’ Contact Details), giving your full contact details, your location or time zone if you’re not in the UK and stating which playing platforms you can use. You must also give consent for your contact details to be shared with all 2025 Summer Cup players and arbiters and for rating information to be sent to the ECF.
Saturday 19th to Saturday 26th
July 2025: Chairman’s Cup
This will take place at the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth, which has proved to be a very popular venue for some of our recent events. It is very friendly and comfortable, and we also have use of an outdoor heated pool. The parking and green areas are also very good.
The tournament is open to all blind and partially sighted chess players and to associate members of the BCA. The Chairman’s Cup will be awarded to the highest placed player, whether VI or associate member, whose most recent published grade is 1750 or below (equivalent to about 140 under the old ECF grading system). A player who scores the highest number of points but does not meet the rating criterion will be recognised as the overall winner of the tournament but will not receive the Chairman’s Cup.
If there are sufficient entries we will run two sections, an Open and a Challengers for players whose rating or estimated rating is 1300 or below. Both are open to blind and partially sighted players and to associate members of the BCA. Please state when booking which tournament you would like to enter – subject to eligibility. The entry fee for each section is £12.
Rooms are likely to be available on the Saturday afternoon from 15.00 with dinner that evening at 18.00. The event will be played over 7 rounds with one round each day. Likely starting times for the seven rounds are 19.45 on the first Saturday evening and a morning start of 10.30 for the remaining six rounds but these times might have to be changed a little depending on discussions with the hotel. The rate of play will be all moves in two hours for each player. Players may request a half point bye in any one of the first six rounds.
In addition to the chess tournament there will be a varied programme of social activities. Anyone with ideas for social events, or who wants further information about the hotel or tournament should contact the organisers, John and Pam Jenkins.
Please send your entries to John Jenkins, with a copy to our Treasurer, Tris Cole, or complete the online form (https://braillechess.org.uk/events/event-forms). The closing date for entries is Friday 23rd May 2025.
The cost of dinner, bed and breakfast to members and associate members of the BCA is £420 for the week irrespective of room type. The cost to those booking for less than the full week will be £60 per night for members and associate members. There are options for guests to pay significant supplements for a sea view room or sea view plus balcony. Please contact John Jenkins if you would like to know more or you wish to stay additional nights at the beginning or end of the tournament.
Bookings accepted after the closing date of 23rd May are at the discretion of the organiser and will be subject to a late booking fee of £10 per person. All payments should be sent to Tris Cole (see list of BCA Officers for contact details). Please note that rooms will not be reserved until full payment has been received.
Friday 31st October to Sunday 2nd
November 2025: International Autumn
Tournament
This year's International Autumn Tournament will again be held at the Kents Hill Park Hotel and Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. The hotel is situated in a very quiet area of Milton Keynes on the edge of an extensive area of parkland. It is comprised of a number of separate buildings connected by covered walkways. The buildings are named after birds.
The main building, Swallow, contains the reception area, and the dining room on the ground floor. On the first floor is the bar. BCA will occupy the ground floor bedrooms of the Lapwing building, which is about 50 yards from the main building. The chess room will be on the ground floor of the Nightingale building, again about 50 yards from the main building but in the opposite direction from Lapwing. Kents Hill Park has a leisure Centre, which has a gym, an indoor swimming pool, a spa pool, a steam room and a sauna. The hotel is just a short taxi ride from Milton Keynes railway station.
Last year was the first time we held a tournament at Kents Hill Park. As a result of the feedback we received, some points have been discussed with the management there. If the hotel has not put tactile numbers on bedroom doors by the start of the tournament, they have agreed that we can provide our own temporary numbers. The staff will be instructed to ensure that we all sit together at mealtimes, which was something that did not always happen last year. Lunch time sandwiches will be available if people pre-book them in the same way that they can pre-book a cooked lunch. We have booked four accessible rooms as a minimum this year. Hopefully two of these will be rooms with walk-in showers and two with lowered baths. We have agreed that people who might have difficulty locating their rooms will be assigned rooms closer to the connecting walkways.
The format will be a five round Swiss tournament. If there are sufficient entries there will be two sections, an Open and a Challengers for those rated under 1450. When making your booking, please state the section you wish to play in. If you do not state a preference, it will be assumed you wish to enter the section according to your rating. Both tournaments are open to blind and partially sighted players and to associate members of the BCA. The tournament entry fee is £12, regardless of which section you enter.
The rate of play is likely to be 90 minutes for each player for all moves. Any player can request a half point bye in any one of the first four rounds or a delay in the start of their game in round 1 of 30 minutes. Likely start times for the rounds are 20.00 on the Friday evening, 09.45 and 14.15 on the Saturday and 09.45 and 14.00 on the Sunday.
The cost for dinner, bed and breakfast for BCA members and associate members per night is: for a single room, £60; for a twin/double room £50 per person. Bookings can be made via the appropriate online form on https://braillechess.org.uk/events/event-forms or by contacting the organiser. Payment for all accommodation (including Sunday if required), together with the entry fee should be sent to the Treasurer, Tristram Cole. The closing date for entries is 5th September. Please send any queries about the event to John Fullwood.
Saturday 24th January to Saturday
31st January 2026 – Chess Theme Break
The 32nd Chess Theme Break will be held at the Lauriston Hotel, 6-12 Knightstone Road, Weston-super-Mare BS23 2AN. This will be the fourth time running we’ve held the CTB at the Lauriston; with its friendly and helpful staff, delicious food, comfortable rooms and being a modest size, it is the perfect venue. The hotel is also in an excellent location, one mile from Weston-super-Mare railway station, a short walk from the seafront and the town centre shops. Beds and bowls are provided for guide dogs. The hotel also offers a dog food service by prior arrangement, to save owners having to transport it themselves. During the winter, dogs are allowed to run on the nearby beach.
It is anticipated that the week will closely follow the tried and trusted programme developed by Peter and Celia Gibbs over many years. It will include coaching provided by more experienced BCA members, a non rated rapid play tournament and many social events. Please refer to Mark’s report on the 31st Chess Theme Break in this gazette to get a flavour of what the week entails. Alternatively, get in touch with the organiser, Gary Wickett.
All members and any visually impaired person who wishes to learn chess or improve their chess can take part. Any member with a rating of about 1400 or higher who would like to assist with the coaching would also be most welcome, as would anyone seeking a winter break with BCA friends.
For members, the cost of dinner, bed and breakfast for the week is £420 per person in a single room or sharing a double or twin room, and £455 per person for single occupancy of a double or twin room. The cost of individual nights for any member not staying the whole week is £60 per person in a single room or sharing, and £65 per person for single occupancy. With all these prices, an increased members’ discount of £20 per person per night has already been taken off and so no grants will be paid to coaches and trainees after the event. If there is sufficient interest it may be possible to arrange an excursion for the free day at an additional cost.
Bookings can be made via the appropriate online form on https://braillechess.org.uk/events/event-forms or by contacting Gary Wickett. Please say whether you’re attending as a trainee, a coach or a non-chess person. The closing date is 29th November 2025. Early booking is advised, especially if you’d like a single room or a room with a bath as there are limited numbers of these. Rooms are allocated on a first come first served basis and are only reserved when the BCA has received your payment. Payments made to the BCA are refundable until the money is forwarded to the hotel, which will be in the first half of December. No refunds are possible after that time and therefore we strongly advise members to take out holiday insurance.
The Congress Support Scheme
aims to encourage members to take part in mainstream congresses in the UK or
overseas by offering financial assistance.
During the period of the BCA financial year (1st October to 30th September)
an eligible member can claim up to £300 over a maximum of four mainstream or
non-BCA chess events. To be eligible you
must be a visually impaired UK resident BCA member, you must have played in at
least one BCA over the board or remote tournament in the past year and you must
not have received international funding, for example to take part in an IBCA
tournament.
Eligible members attending
their first ever mainstream event or non-BCA overseas event, or their first one
for ten years or more, may also be able to claim up to £150 for a sighted
guide. At the discretion of the committee,
limited funding for a personal assistant may also be granted to a profoundly
disabled member who needs to be accompanied to non-BCA events.
If you are considering
entering a mainstream event you may well find yourself in good company as some
of them are popular with BCA members!
See the All Under One Roof article for details of events that may be
suitable.
HOW TO CLAIM
In order to make a claim there are three simple steps:-
1. Contact the Congress Support Officer by
telephone or email at least one week prior to the event, giving full details of
the tournament in which you wish to compete.
(See list of officers' contact details.)
Retrospective claims will not normally be accepted. The Congress Support Officer must have enough
time to check your eligibility and establish whether funding exists to cover your
claim. This scheme is subject to
available funds so if there are a lot of claims in a financial year the money
may run out.
2. Send a receipt or proof of expenditure
to the Treasurer on return from the congress.
Claims can include the entry fee and reasonable expenses for
accommodation, travel or other justifiable costs. All claims should be appropriate to
expenditure. The Congress Support Scheme
does not cover claims for insurance.
3. Provide feedback on the event to the
Congress Support Officer. This does not need to be formal and will be stored as
an anonymous record for our database. It may benefit other BCA members thinking
of attending the same event in the future.
Please note that, in the
spirit of the Congress Support Scheme, failure to complete all the above steps
may mean that we cannot guarantee your claim will be processed successfully.
Tony Elbourn,
Congress Support Officer
Guy Whitehouse has
compiled the following list of mainstream tournaments where the accommodation
and chess playing room are in the same hotel.
5th
Cornwall Chess Congress, 2nd-4th May 2025, Falmouth Hotel, Castle Beach,
Falmouth
There are three sections: an Open, a Major U1800
and a Minor U1500. Contact the organiser Rebecca Gardiner.
3rd
Cambridge International Open, 26th-31st May 2025, University Arms Hotel, Regent
Street, Cambridge
The English Chess Federation is organising this
nine round Swiss System tournament, open to all English and foreign players
with a FIDE ID. Website: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/3rd-cambridge-international-open/ Organiser: Nigel Towers.
English
Chess Championships and English Women’s Chess Championships, 18th-21st July
2025, Kenilworth Holiday Inn, Kenilworth, Warwick.
There’s also a women’s U1700 championship. For the main event, it’s likely that our
players will have to apply for a wild card entry. Contact the organiser, Nigel Towers, or for
the women’s events Aga Milewska.
111th
British Chess Championships, 31st July-10th August 2025, Liverpool
The main event will be held in St George’s Hall on
St George’s Place opposite Liverpool Lime Street station. However, a weekend congress will be held in
the Liverpool Holiday Inn on Lime Street four minutes’ walk away from the hall
1st-3rd August. There will also be a rapid play event in the Holiday Inn on
Saturday 9th August. For further
details, including eligibility for the main event, contact the English Chess
Federation.
3rd
Torquay Riviera Congress, 30th August-5th September 2025, TLH Carlton Hotel,
Torquay
A 7 round afternoon event with Open and U1750
sections. Also, a 6 round morning event
with U2000 and U1700 sections. Website: http://congress.org.uk/congress/583/home Organiser: John Constable.
Castle
Chess 28th Fareham Congress, 10th -12th October 2025, Lysses
House Hotel, Fareham
A weekend congress in a family run 3-star
hotel. Friendly atmosphere with
experienced organisers. Sections are Open,
including Premier U2001; Major U1901, including Intermediate U1701; and Minor
U1601 including Challengers U1401.
Website: http://castle-chess.co.uk/ Organiser:
Tony Corfe.
Sadly, we had to begin the AGM with a minute’s silence for two members who had passed away during the year, Derek Couchman and Gordon Cantrill. We also remembered that two of our members, Efe Shimwell and Gary Wickett, had lost close relatives in tragic circumstances.
On a happier note, the Chair highlighted various reasons for regarding the year as a successful one. In particular, we had seen an influx of new members, and it was a definite target to get as many of these as possible active in our events. Our finances are in good shape. We have moved funds from cash into investments taking care to ensure those funds are managed cautiously.
On IBCA matters, we are very pleased that Gary Hogan and Brandan Read will be representing us in the 2025 Classic World Individual Chess Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Poland in August. It’s worth noting that Olympiad teams can now be composite, i.e. made up of players from more than one country. Stan Lovell and Bernard Duthoit had organised a match between the BCA and France, and it’s not only with our IBCA friends that the BCA will be playing outside opposition; James Connors who acts as arbiter to some of our tournaments, is hoping to organise a match against a parliamentary team.
Reports from other officers were largely positive. The recording of extracts from Chess Magazine remains popular and we were making progress recording a book called The Chess Player’s Bible. Mark Kirkham did ask people who thought their friends might be persuaded to read chess material for us to get in touch.
The How Good is Your Chess sessions are proving very popular. Gerry thanked all of those who had sent him supportive messages during his recent health scare, they had played a large part in helping him continue coaching activities. Meanwhile our coaching policy is being reviewed; those who wish to claim all or part of the £120 yearly allowance must apply to the coaching officer before starting any coaching.
We had received £10,000 from funds given by the government to the ECF. These had been used to offset the cost of our participation in recent IBCA events. Gerry would soon be sent a link to a webpage where we can apply for ECF funds to support grass roots chess.
We are in a reasonably strong position regarding the availability of accessible chess equipment. Steve Bailey’s friend had converted some peg-based sets to magnetic ones, and these had proved very popular. Phill Clayton had told the committee he would soon have a set he had designed ready for evaluation. Also, we had a good supply of talking DGT Echo clocks.
The addition of tournament entry forms to the website had proved very popular. Our new online membership application form had also been used by several people. The launch of the new website had proved a real success, and we would make enhancements as and when we could.
We had had a good year regarding publicity. During the Chess Theme Break BBC Bristol had recorded a feature on the event and our association. We had also received good coverage on RNIB Connect and we had been told that there might be chess activity at New College Worcester and RNC, Hereford. We are in the process of organising visits to both colleges.
Three motions were passed. The text of these was published in an earlier gazette so I’ll just produce a brief summary here. The first enables us to deal with situations where someone joins the committee but does not want to be a trustee. The Charity Commission does specify a minimum number of trustees for an organisation like ours and the committee can now invite members to become trustees if necessary. We also have a mechanism for removing any trustee we regard as not acting in the association’s best interests.
The second motion brings the handling of membership renewals and subscriptions into line with current practice, e.g. the fact we now offer five years membership, not just annual or life membership. The final motion gives associate members who are trustees voting rights, but importantly without overriding the provisions of clause 17 of the constitution which deals with the winding up of the association.
Most of the committee were re-elected unopposed. However, Gary Wickett stood down as Membership Secretary and was replaced by Voldi Gailans. Abi Baker relinquished the post of Junior Development Officer and was replaced by Gary Hogan, while Brandan Read is our new Junior Representative. The post of Correspondence Chess Director remains unfilled. Other non-committee posts have not changed hands. Gary Hogan has agreed to adjudicate the 2025 Best Game Competition.
Three presentations were made in the meeting. Bill Armstrong was presented with the trophy for the 2024 Best Game Competition. Brandan Read received his trophy for winning the autumn email tournament, while Gary Wickett was presented with some port miniatures as a thank you for the work he had done as Membership Secretary.
And finally, an invitation to you all: one attendee rather wittily pointed out that most of what came out of the White House these days was nonsense, and he asked if, on that basis, I would still be calling my articles “Words from the Whitehouse”? If you can think of a suitable alternative title, let me know!
Guy Whitehouse
From the Editor.
You may have spotted that we’re no longer including officers’ postal addresses in the contact details at the start of the gazette. Gazettes are sent to many members in print, and we have no way of knowing whether all those copies are disposed of securely. Also, many people receive their gazettes via email, and we all know that email accounts can be hacked. Therefore, we feel that by continuing to share officers’ postal addresses we are putting our hard-working committee members at risk of identity theft and potentially jeopardising their personal safety or household security. We take great care not to disclose the postal addresses of members and it’s time to start giving the same level of protection to our officers.
We are still sharing email addresses and telephone numbers, and we believe this to be sufficient for the vast majority of communications. If any of the members has a genuine need for one of our postal addresses, they can contact any officer by email or telephone to request it.
If you receive your gazette by email, you may also notice that email addresses in this issue are formatted as links which will hopefully make it easier for you to write to an officer, should you wish to do to. A new member suggested this change and I was grateful for the idea because I’m always interested in ways to improve the gazette. If the change causes issues for anyone please let me know and we can easily revert to plain email addresses in the next gazette.
I have now completed my first year as Treasurer and
want to thank everyone who has helped to make this period run smoothly.
The charity's financial situation remains extremely
positive. This is partly due to the
continued work of our fundraiser Carl Concannon who since the last gazette has
helped raise over £20,000 for which we are all grateful.
If you are shopping online, please consider using
Give As You Live which raises funds with many
different retailers at no cost to you.
Simply search for “give as you live online”, sign up and choose the BCA
as the charity you are supporting.
If anyone has any questions relating to these or
other related matters please get in touch via the
Officers’ Contact Details. I look
forward to seeing many of you in upcoming events.
Tris Cole
Let me start my first report to you by thanking Gary for his excellent work as Membership Secretary. His warm and welcoming style comes over in all his reports and I very much hope that I can be a worthy successor in this post.
The main aim of our association is, of course, to help and encourage all members to enjoy and improve their chess and to increase their appreciation and interest in the game and I very much hope that any of you will feel able to drop me a line if you have ideas as to how the BCA can promote and increase your chess in the future.
With a healthy influx of members in recent months I would very much wish to encourage their participation in our chess activities, whether over the board in our regular tournaments or remotely using phone, Zoom or e-mail to play competitive or friendly games or to contact our Coaching Officer, Gerry, who will look at coaching opportunities for any of our UK-based members.
I am particularly keen to encourage beginners or those new to chess and the BCA to get started and to play as often as possible and I am very happy to play games by phone or Zoom with anyone who would like a friendly game. At our recent AGM I undertook to take over the role of Friendly Games Co-ordinator and I would be very happy to put people in touch with each other to play some friendly games. I would also be happy to have some sessions with beginners in respect of the moves and first principles.
We have six new members this quarter and may I offer a very warm welcome to you all and wish you luck and much enjoyment in your chess activities:-
Ashar Smith from Cardiff, who has joined as a life member. Ashar works for a charity to help young, disadvantaged people get into the creative industry.
Mark Higgins from Hertfordshire, who has joined as a life member. Mark is an ex-student of New College, Worcester who played in the NCW chess club.
Teresa Davey from Somerset, who has joined as a five-year member.
Theo Oakley, a junior member from Kent, who plays chess at school and is new to chess.
David Baillie, an associate from Tyneside, who has joined for five years. He is an experienced chess player.
Elaine Jorgenson from Tyneside, an associate with little chess experience, who has joined for five years.
Voldi Gailans
Many readers will already be aware that Chris Ross has written a chess book, titled ‘Blind Faith’. It was published as a paperback in 2022. It would be fantastic if we could have an audio version of the book for our library. To gauge interest, I'd be grateful if anyone who would wish to access the book in this format could please let me know, as having some idea of numbers will help us decide how to proceed in terms of finding someone willing to record it for us. All fully paid up visually impaired members of UK BCA would be entitled to the audio version, regardless of their country of residence. I look forward to hearing from you.
In the meantime, the book is available for purchase in Epub format from Steel City Press at the following link:
https://steelcitypress.co.uk/product/blind-faith-ebook/
To whet appetites, here's a sample from the description page about the book:
“Join Britain’s strongest ever blind player and 2015 IBCA Olympiad silver medallist Chris Ross on a journey through 80 of his most memorable games. Many years ago, Chris elected to follow Botvinnik’s advice by writing deep analysis to his games: initially to better understand his own style, but later because his highly detailed annotations are also highly instructive for weaker players. This collection charts his journey from turbulent days as a strong club player in 2006 to a more polished and rounded style by 2020. From smooth, positional wins, to bumpy, sharp encounters, we watch and learn with Chris as he develops into a 2250-strength player. The reader will pick up many handy tips to improve their own game: opening repertoire, middlegame and endgames strategies, and – crucially – appreciating how to plan.”
Chris has kindly agreed that anyone who has bought the book from there, but experiences accessibility issues reading it with a screen reader, will be provided with a Word version on request.
Mark Kirkham
The post of Correspondence Chess Director is vacant; therefore, this report has been written by our Chairman, Bill Armstrong.
One of the traditional features of the Braille Chess Association is correspondence chess. In its founding year, 1932, this was probably its main benefit for the braillists who created the world’s first association of visually impaired chess players.
In the traditional Braille postal tournament, games could be played over a period of 21 months. I'm told that most of the correspondence has become email exchanges. The number of participants has dwindled over the years and for a while it seemed that the correspondence competition might cease. However, three players have expressed interest in the more leisurely correspondence rate of this event and a make-shift contest has been organised to match that wish. Games between Marilyn Bland, Eric Gallacher and Eleanor Tew are underway and the players are enjoying taking part.
After 93 years of existence, slow correspondence chess should cease only when we do not have two players who enjoy the challenge of finding the best move they can, without a computer's help or the pressure of strict time limits to distract. Until computers spoiled it, this was the highest level of chess that amateurs could reach.
Gerry Walsh’s monthly “How Good Is
Your Chess?” training, held over Zoom, continues to grow in popularity! Students are taken through the opening moves
of a game, then asked to predict the succeeding moves for one side or the
other. Points are given to those who
guess correctly, and sometimes fewer points are given for other moves. Recordings of recent sessions are available
for anyone interested in finding out more.
The sessions are very informal,
the points awarded are subsidiary to the main objective, which is to provide
instruction, to give us an opportunity to work together as a group to find
solutions and to enjoy some very exciting chess. For those not used to solving chess problems
it is a wonderful way to start, and an encouragement to become involved by
suggesting moves at each stage of the game.
There is no criticism of individuals' suggestions, and anyone is free to
suggest any possible move. I highly recommend
these sessions to players of all standards!
At the end of each month, I will
send a note to the user group, reminding everyone of the next session and
asking for names of those interested in taking part. (Please email the Gazette Editor or Audio
Librarian if you have not yet joined the user group and would like to do
so.) I will then liaise with the group
and Gerry to find a suitable day. For
those not familiar with Zoom, help is available, either for accessing the
sessions online on a PC or an iPhone. It
is also possible to dial in to the Zoom meeting from any phone.
Please contact Gerry Walsh or me
(see Officers’ Contact Details) if you have any questions regarding the
sessions.
Voldi Gailans
RECENT SESSIONS:
January 2025
During the week of the 31st
Chess Theme Break, two games were examined in a series of sessions.
The first game was Vsevolod Rauzer v Mikhail Botvinnik, Leningrad, 1933 (Sicilian
Defence). Scores for this game were Abi
Baker 19, Gill Smith 18, Gary Wickett and Lea Ryan 16, Eleanor Tew 15, Tony
Lawton 14, Mark Hague and John Ramm 9, Richard Harrington 8 and Mark Noble 7.
The second game was Leonid Stein
v Mikhail Tal, Moscow, 1971 (Catalan).
Scores for this game were Gary Wickett 17, Mark Hague and Mark Noble 16,
Abi Baker and Gill Smith 15, and Richard Harrington 9.
For Chess Theme Break trainees
who studied both games, their combined scores were Abi Baker 34, Gill Smith and
Gary Wickett 33, Mark Hague 25, Mark Noble 23 and Richard Harrington 17. Congratulations to Abi on achieving the
highest combined How Good is Your Chess score at the 31st Chess Theme Break!
February 2025
On Wednesday 26th February, the
game under scrutiny was M. Dutreeuw v S Kishnev, Belgium 1993.
The opening was Ruy Lopez C78 and the original “How Good is Your Chess?”
article had been written by the late John Littlewood, who was a great friend to
the BCA in years gone by. There were
twelve moves to guess and up to four points per move were awarded for those who
found the correct continuation. We were
delighted to welcome Mark Noble, Mark Higgins and Joe Paton to their first
online “How Good is Your Chess?” session.
Scores were as follows:
Steve Bailey 19, Abi Baker and
Richard Harrington 14, Mark Noble 11, Gill Smith, Lea Ryan, Mark Hague, Mark
Higgins and Voldi Gailans
10, Nene Clayton 8, Eleanor Tew 7 and Joe Paton 5. Please note that due to circumstances beyond
their control, Joe only guessed ten moves, and that Nene Clayton and Mark
Higgins each only guessed eleven, so they could all have earned more points!
March 2025
On Friday 28th March,
participants studied Tal v Smyslov, from the Bled Candidates,
1950. The opening was a Caro Kann and
once again the original article had been written by John Littlewood. The group enjoyed Tal’s attacking and daring
style of play! Some of the moves were so
impressive that they scored as many as six points.
Everyone was happy to welcome
Catherine Turner to her first “How Good is Your Chess?” session. We were also pleased that Joe Paton returned
and that Abi Baker, who was sadly unable to come to the Leicester AGM Congress
due to health problems just two weeks earlier, had recovered sufficiently to
join in.
Scores were very close, as
follows:
Voldi Gailans 20, Irene and Tony Elbourn, and Joe Paton all got 17, Mark Hague and Richard
Harrington 16, Catherine Turner and Lea Ryan 14, Eleanor Tew 13, Abi Baker 12,
Gill Smith 11 and Nene Clayton 10.
The most recent Millennium Club winners and numbers
are:
January - Mike Murphy with Number 24
February - Martyn Wilson with Number 21
March - Joan Shorrock with Number 12
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.
Tris Cole, Treasurer
Norman Wragg writes:
It has been a most interesting experience to play through all the eligible games with a view to selecting a winner. I have found it a real challenge as there have been so many good quality games to consider, with several of them very strong contenders. Before announcing the winner, I would like to spotlight a couple of these close contenders.
Firstly, in the 2024 Summer Cup one of our newer members, Paul Baldwin, won a game against Mahendra Galani with an impressive display of simple, relentless attacking chess. Secondly, Brandan Read won a game against Bill Armstrong in the Autumn 2024 email tournament which enabled Brandan to win the top division of the tournament. Brandan plays in an exciting energetic style and this game was no exception. But the game I have chosen as the winner is a reversal of this example, in which Bill in the 2024 British Championship beat Brandan to clinch the title of British Champion. Both players played well but Bill came out on top and wins the 2024 Best Game Competition. Bill was presented with the trophy at the recent AGM.
Editor’s note:
Bill won the David Hodgkins
Memorial Annual Best Game Competition for the inaugural year of 2016. Now he is the first person to have won it for
a second time. Many congratulations to
Bill! The winning game was in the August
2024 issue of the gazette, with annotations by Bill. Here it is again, with just the moves this
time.
Round 6 of the 2024 BCA British
Championship in Harrogate: Bill Armstrong v Brandan Read
1. e4 e6 2. d3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 f5 5. Ne2 Nf6 6. Nd2 d6 7. Nf4 Qe7 8. 0-0 fxe4 9. Re1 Nbd7
10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Bxe4 12. Rxe4 Nc5 13. Re1 g5 14. Nd5 Qf7 15. Bxg5 Kd7 16. Nf6+ Kc6
17. b4 Nd7 18. c4 Nxf6 19. Qf3+ d5 20. cxd5+ exd5 21. Rac1+ Kb7 22. Qxf6 Qxf6 23. Bxf6 Bxb4
24. Bxh8 Bxe1 25. Be5 c6 26. Rxe1 Re8 27. Bc3 Rxe1 28. Bxe1 Black resigns.
Now that you’ve seen the winning game from 2024, have you got a game from the recent AGM Weekend Tournament or from the 22nd Email Tournament which you might like to submit? If so, why not have a go by sending in one of your games? It’s open to all members and associate members, regardless of playing strength, to submit a game. Any competitive game which is played in a BCA event, or by a BCA member representing the BCA in an overseas event is eligible. All games published in The Gazette will automatically be considered.
Please send your games to me to forward to this year’s judge, Gary Hogan. You can send them by email. Alternatively I am happy to receive games in Braille or over the phone.
Steve Burnell – Coordinator
Mark Hague writes:
Saturday 25th January to Saturday 1st February 2025 at the Lauriston Hotel, Weston-super-Mare. This BCA event is possibly the premier social event in our calendar as well as being very attractive to total novices and chess coaches alike so consequently it has a wide appeal to our members. In total 32 people attended during the week. This consisted of twelve chess trainees, eight coaches and twelve friends and organisers. We welcomed new trainees Mark Noble, Susan Hughes and John Ramm, as well as new coach Tris Cole, to their first Chess Theme Break. Other chess coaches were Bill Armstrong, Colin Chambers, Stan Lovell, John Jenkins, Richard Murphy, George Phillips, and Gerry Walsh. I've divided this report into two parts, namely chess and social activities.
Chess Activities.
Chess trainees had the option of taking up to six 2-hour morning or afternoon training sessions from the Monday to the Wednesday. Some of these sessions would be on a one-to-one basis, others would have a few trainees, as happened with Gerry's friendly competitive “How Good is Your Chess?” Sessions were held in the bar or a downstairs room. On the Thursday and Friday, a mini rapid play Swiss tournament was organised. Players were graded A, B or C according to their estimated strength, with A being the strongest group. In the five round Swiss tournament an A player would have 20 minutes on his clock and his C opponent would have 40 minutes to make all of their moves. If a B player played a C player or a B player played a C player, then the weaker player would have 35 minutes and the stronger player would have 25 minutes on their clocks. Players in the same group would of course each have 30 minutes on their clocks. The philosophy is to give weaker players a better chance of winning their matches as they would have more time to make their moves. As it turned out Lea Ryan, a C graded player, was thrilled to win the tournament with a score of 4 out of 5. (Whoops! She lost her game against me!) I personally don't remember a C player winning the tournament before. John Ramm, Gary Wickett, Gill Smith and I were runners up with a score of 3 out of 5. Later in the evening, Lea was presented with a lovely trophy for her to keep. Other chess activities included two sessions on the History of Chess, read in the bar by Gerry, concentrating on the years when Bobby Fischer rose to prominence. On the Thursday afternoon a simultaneous chess session was organised against members of the local chess club and BCA members performed better than they had done in the year before. John Ramm won his game against Alex Keen, Gary Wickett drew with Malcolm Dinham, and Tony Lawton drew with Kerry Kyriacou. A very good show for the BCA this year.
Social Activities.
Every night apart from the first night there were social activities to be enjoyed. On the Sunday night Val Cuthbert organised a five round Quiz with each round containing 10 questions and five to six persons in each team. The winners were the “Black Bishops”, their members were Stan Lovell, Gary Wickett, Eleanor Tew, Gill Smith, George Phillips and Susan Hughes. On Monday evening the hotel arranged their in-house singer Steve Cesari to play a selection of music from the 60s and 70s. It was very lively and many of our members got up and danced. On Wednesday we were delighted by a Miss Marbles murder mystery extravaganza. We were divided into small teams and treated to a short play. Afterwards we had to work out who murdered the character Fishy by interviewing the members of the cast. The play featured Richard Murphy as Rocky, Freya Smith as Spooky, Gerry Walsh as Dodgy and Lea Ryan as Penny Slotz. Miss Marbles was played by Julie Leonard. No one quite worked out exactly how Spooky and Rocky murdered Fishy, however it was a very entertaining evening. On Wednesday, Gill Smith organised a Call My Bluff session and this was won by the team “Knighty MacKnight Face” whose members were Thuy Mallallieu, Abi Baker, Tanvi Muir, Eleanor Tew and Claire Armstrong. On Thursday night Chris Rainbow, another in-house entertainer, treated us to “A Bit of Rock and Roll!” and many of us danced to his music. Friday night was Soirée night which was ably compèred by Lea Ryan. There were many contributions including musical numbers by Colin Chambers, Richard Harrington, Eleanor Tew, John Jenkins, John Ramm, Julie Leonard, Claire Norman and the “Chesston Rock” BCA band. Members of the band were Gary Wickett, Tanvi Muir, Thuy Mallallieu, Eleanor Tew, Claire Armstrong, Claire Norman and Julie Leonard. Between acts Lea kept us amused with her great jokes and comedy ditties which went down very well, except for the fact that I was the target of a few of her jokes! Also, on the Friday we had the raffle draw organised by Freya and Gill, which raised £171 for the BCA.
During the week Julie organised a couple of outings. One to a local café for lunch and a very interesting visit to a helicopter museum. We were divided into small groups and were taken around the large number of helicopters by a volunteer. In my group our volunteer, Paul, had been a helicopter winch operator responsible for lifting casualties into a hovering helicopter after a land or sea rescue. He regaled us with many exciting experiences and later in the day he invited a small group to actually go inside the cockpit of a small French Gazelle helicopter. He gave instructions on how to use the controls to fly the helicopter. A really wonderful tactile experience!
It certainly was a great week, and I really would like to thank Julie and all her organisers for making it such a super event.
Eamonn Casey and Philip Doyle write:
Our 22nd BCA email tournament started on Saturday 1st March and will finish by Saturday 31st May. There are 21 participants on this occasion. We have divided these into five divisions with five players in Division 2 this time, and four each in the remaining four divisions, based on ECF ratings, performance in previous email tournaments where applicable, and where possible, incorporated promotion and relegation. Because there are five players in Division 2, each player will have two whites and two blacks. As Divisions 1, 3, 4 and 5 have four players, half the players will have two whites, and the other half will have two blacks, dependent on the seeding. Players in Division 2 will play four games, whereas those in the remaining four divisions will play three games.
Divisions 1, 3 and 5 will be controlled by Eamonn, and Divisions 2 and 4 will be controlled by Philip. The divisions are as follows:
Division 1:
Richard Murphy, Steve Burnell, Philip Doyle, Bill Armstrong.
Division 2:
Eamonn Casey, Malcolm Jones, John Fullwood, Voldi Gailans, Glenn Crawford.
Division 3:
Gill Smith, Tony Elbourn, Marilyn Bland, Anton Emery.
Division 4:
John Ramm, Tony Lawton, Maria Dod, Mark Higgins.
Division5:
Mike Flood, Richard Harrington, Mark Noble, Catherine Turner.
Voldi Gailans has sent in his Division 2 game against Malcolm Jones. Voldi describes the game as “a really lovely win by Malcolm” and says he found it exciting even though he lost!
Gailans v Jones
1. c4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. Nf3 e5 5. e3 Be7 6. Be2 h6 7. b3 c6 8. Bb2 Qc7 9. Rc1 Nf8 10. e4 Bd7
11. O-O g5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Na4 Ng6 14. Qc2 Nf4 15. Bxe5 Qc8 16. Rcd1 Bh3 17. Bxf4 gxf4
18. gxh3 Qxh3 19. Kh1 Rg8 20. Rg1 Ng4 21. Bf1 Qxf3+ 22. Rg2 Bh4 23. Rd2 Ne3 24. Qd3 Rxg2
White resigns.
Steve Burnell writes:
The March 2025 AGM weekend tournament saw the BCA returning to the Hilton Hotel in Leicester. As last year this proved a very suitable venue with excellent facilities. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food good, the bedrooms and chess playing room were spacious, comfortable and all on the ground floor. There was a swimming pool and sauna and good facilities for guide dogs with plenty of grass around the hotel. In addition, there was a small nature reserve adjacent to the car park which was enjoyed by those with or without a guide dog.
We were delighted to welcome Maria Dod to her first OTB tournament, and guests David Baillie and Elaine Jorgenson to their first BCA event. David and Elaine are from the Teesside area and known to some of our North East members. The chess got under way on Friday evening with all games going according to seeding with the exception of Murphy-Smith which saw Gill pulling off an outstanding result by winning against her opponent in the face of a 400-rating point difference. Gill’s reward was to be drawn against second seed Brandan Read in round 2 with no rating upset this time. However, the round’s upset came from a great result for Lea Ryan who beat George Phillips. The rating difference of over 500 points just helps to highlight what an entertaining, exciting and unpredictable game we are all playing!
Round three saw the current BCA British Champion, Bill Armstrong, drawn against the top seed, Steve Burnell. In a lengthy, hard-fought game which saw both players getting low on time, Bill scored a well-deserved victory which put him in joint lead with Brandan Read. In this round newcomer Maria Dod scored her first point by beating John Osborne.
Going into round four Brandan and Bill were battling it out for top spot. Their draw left them both on 3.5 with Stan Lovell joining them on the same score after a win against Gary Wickett. In the Challengers’ section (for those rated U1450), Dan Rugman gained top spot with a win against Lea Ryan.
If round five saw a large number of draws, it wasn’t for the want of people trying to win! In fact, 7 of the nine games ended in draws, including on the top three boards. This left a three-way tie for first place in the Open, with Bill, Brandan and Stan on 4/5 points. Dan Rugman won the Challengers’ section finishing with a great result with a draw against Brandan. See below for the final scores.
This was a very enjoyable and well organised tournament in a good hotel. Many thanks to John Osborne and Phil Rafferty for all their hard work once again in organising the event. Thanks also to Gerry Walsh, James Connors and Tris Cole for running the chess side of the weekend so smoothly and efficiently.
Final scores:
4 points: Armstrong, Read and Lovell shared 1st prize. Armstrong won the trophy on tie break.
3.5 points: Burnell, Rugman and Blencowe. Rugman won 1st prize in the U1450 and the trophy.
3 points: Fletcher-Harris and Murphy. Fletcher-Harris won 2nd prize in the U1450.
2.5 points: Wickett, Gailans, Hague and Fullwood. They all shared 3rd prize in U1450.
2 points: Phillips, Ryan and Bailey. Ryan won the U1000 rating prize.
1.5 points: Smith, Osborne and Dod. Osborne and Dod shared U1100 rating prize.
1 point: Rafferty and Lawton.
The AGM was held on the Saturday evening. The report on this will appear in another article.
For those staying on the Sunday evening we were once again treated to fine entertainment from Julie, Tanvi, Steve Bailey, Gary and Brandan. A fitting finale to another great weekend. Thanks to everyone for making it such a success.
Bill Armstrong writes:
“I was awarded the trophy on a lucky technicality. Brandan is much more deserving. When we reached a drawn level position, Brandan, ignoring his time advantage, agreed a draw. He now has the trophy, a memento of his first tournament success in an over-the-board BCA event.”
All of the prize-winners were asked to select one of their games for the gazette and I’m delighted to say that many of them obliged!
But first up is Gill Smith’s R1 upset against Richard Murphy because it gets a special mention in Steve Burnell’s report. Gill says, “My fortune changed on move 22 when I spotted White’s bishops were both unprotected, so I moved my queen to threaten them both at once.”
Richard
Murphy ECF 1550 v Gill Smith ECF 1148, R1 BCA AGM Congress 2025, Leicester
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nxd4 5.Qxd4 e6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bc4 Be7 8.0-0 b6 9.e5 Nh5 10.Qg4 g6
11.Bh6 Bb7 12.Rad1 Qc7 13.Rfe1 0-0-0 14.Nb5 Qb8 15.Nd6+ Bxd6 16.Rxd6 Nf6 17.Qd1 Ne8 18.Rd3 f6
19.exf6 Nxf6 20.Bg7 Rhg8 21.Bxf6 Rde8 22.Rxd7 Qf4 23.Qd4 Qxd4 24.Bxd4 Kxd7 White resigns.
John Fullwood chose his R1 encounter with Brandan Read. John says, “When I found I was drawn against Brandan I knew he would open with f4, so I was ready with my standard reply of b6.” The comments in the game are from John’s analysis tool.
Brandan Read
ECF 1695 v John Fullwood ECF 1245, R1 BCA AGM Congress 2025, Leicester
1. f4 b6 2. Nf3 Bb7 3. e3 Nf6 4. b3 e6 5. Bb2 Be7 6. Be2 Nc6 7. 0-0 d6 8. Qe1 h6
9. Qg3 Inaccuracy. Best move was d4.
9. ... Rg8 10. Nc3 Nb4 Mistake. Best move was Qd7.
11. Nd4 Inaccuracy. Best move was a3.
11. ... Ne4 Blunder. Best move was c5.
12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. Bf3 Mistake. Best move was f5.
13. ... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 d5 Inaccuracy. Best move was c5.
15. a3 c5 16. axb4 cxd4 17. Bxd4 Bf6 18. Be5 Bxe5 Inaccuracy. Best move was Qd7.
19. fxe5 Qe7 20. c4 Rd8 21. c5 bxc5 22. bxc5 Rf8 23. d4 f6 24. Qh5+ Black resigns.
Bill Armstrong chose his R3 game against Steve Burnell.
Bill says, “I considered this was a good attacking game. Steve Burnell thought he had played badly and was critical of his defence. This point helped me win the AGM tournament. That completes my set of trophy wins, including the Challengers’ event, which I once entered to qualify for the next BCA championship.”
Bill
Armstrong ECF 1591 v Steve Burnell ECF 1763, R3 BCA AGM Congress 2025,
Leicester
1. e4 c6 2. e5 d5 3. Ne2 c5 4. Ng3 Nc6 5. f4 e6 6. Be2 Nh6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 Nd4 9. Be3 Ndf5
10. Nxf5 Nxf5 11. Bf2 Bd7 12. c3 Qb6 13. b4 Qc7 14. bxc5 Bxc5 15. d4 Be7 16. g4 Nh6 17. Bd3 O-O
18. Be3 Kh8 19. Qf3 Qd8 20. Qh3 Rg8 21. Nd2 Qf8 22. Nf3 g6 23. Kh1 f5 24. exf6 e.p. Bxf6 25. g5 Nf5
26. Bxf5 gxf5 27. gxf6 Qxf6 28. Ne5 Bb5 29. Rg1 Be2 30. Rg5 Rxg5 31. fxg5 Qg7 32. Rg1 Rg8 33. g6 1-0
The threats are 34 Nf7+ and 34 Bh6. Even 33. ... Bf3+ can be met by Nxf3 and if say 33. ... Qc7 34. Nf7+ Kg7
If say 35. Qh6+ Kf6 36. Bg5 mate.
Brandan Read chose his R3 game against Ian Blencowe.
Brandan Read
ECF 1695 v Ian Blencowe ECF 1548, R3 BCA AGM Congress 2025, Leicester
1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. b3 Bf5 4. Bb2 e6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Qe2 O-O 8. O-O-O Ne4 9. d3 Nxc3
10. Bxc3 Bf6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Ne5 Rd8 13. g4 Bg6 14. h4 h6 15. g5 hxg5 16. hxg5 Qe7 17. Qh2 Qa3+
18. Kb1 Black Resigns
Ben Fletcher-Harris selected his R3 game against George Phillips, which Ben describes as “a nice miniature that was full of drama”. Ben writes:
“When I played George last year, he started very quietly, developing only on the 6th and 7th ranks, biding his time until, all of a sudden, he came up with a game-changing, winning move! I was determined that wouldn’t happen again this time. However, George did it once again, with the brilliant 11. … f5, a move I totally didn't see, and one which would lose me my knight or bishop. So, I had to come up with a new plan. I decided to let my knight go, and make the most of my bishops, rooks and queen. What followed was one of my greatest comebacks in chess, in only 10 moves! Lesson: Never underestimate George’s quiet opening!”
Ben
Fletcher-Harris ECF 1398 v George Phillips ECF 1414, R3 BCA AGM Congress 2025,
Leicester
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 a6 5. Qd2 h6 6. Nf3 e6 7. Be2 b6 8. h4 Bb7 9. h5 g5 10. Nh2 Ne7
11. Ng4 f5 12. f4 gxf4 13. Bxf4 fxg4 14. Bxg4 e5 15. Be3 Nbc6 16. d5 Nd4 17. Rf1 Rf8 18. O-O-O a5
19. Rxf8+ Kxf8 20. Rf1+ Kg8 21. Bxh6 Bc8 22. Qg5 Black resigns
Mark Hague encouraged Lea Ryan to send in her second-round game against George Phillips, saying that in his opinion it’s a “truly stunning game by Lea”!
George
Phillips ECF 1414 v Lea Ryan ECF 858, R2 BCA AGM Congress 2025, Leicester
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bf5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 Bd6 6. Re1 Nbd7 7. Nbd2 c6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Qb6
10. Nh4 Bxg3 11. Nxf5 Bxf2+ 12. Kh1 exf5 13. Rf1 Nh5 14. Rxf2 Qxf2 15. Qf1 Ng3+ 16. Kh2 Nxf1+
17. Nxf1 Rfe8 18. e4 f4 19. Bd2 f3 White resigns
Maria Dod writes:
Having recently attended my first BCA chess congress at the Hilton Leicester, I thought that members who have not attended before might be interested to hear how I got on, especially if, like myself, they would be attending alone. From the start I was made very welcome by everyone and soon made new friends. Yes, there was plenty of catching up by old friends, but new members were instantly made to feel like a valued member of the Braille Chess family.
Meeting with players I had only previously met by email was especially pleasant, as was meeting with those who do so much for our organisation - I won't mention names because there are so many. Sadly, I missed dinner and the first round of chess for family reasons but still met a few members on the first evening before orientating the layout of the hotel and going to bed.
The dog spending area was just a few steps from the hotel entrance, and this was much appreciated by us guide dog owners, especially early in the morning. I think there were another five or six guide dogs in addition to my Yosie. Having seen to the necessary, I then met up with members for breakfast and we were given waiter service at our table. In the evening, we were all seated together in a separate section of the dining room. The food was plentiful and good. In between times you could make your own tea or coffee in the bedroom or buy it from the coffee shop from which you could also buy a light lunch. And adjacent to the coffee shop was a bar.
When it came time to play, I was nervous as this was the first time I was going to play over the board with another blind player, and my first tournament. I was also concerned because I didn't know how to set my chess clock but needn't have worried as the stewards cheerfully set it for me each time. My nervousness soon dissipated however as I was thinking hard about my moves.
How did I get on? Well suffice it to say that you win some and you lose some and I prefer to draw a veil over my blunders! But I soon relaxed and enjoyed playing very much indeed. Would I go again? Yes, most certainly. And if you have not been before I would encourage you to give it a try. You will make new friends as well as having the opportunity to enjoy your hobby and have a break away from home as well. I would just like to thank Gerry and his team who worked so hard enabling our games to go forward without a hitch and also the organisers who ensured our stay at the hotel went smoothly.
Julie Leonard writes:
Former Chairman Alec Crombie, and his wife Caroline, had hoped to call in to see BCA friends in Leicester during the AGM Congress weekend, but sadly their plans didn’t work out. Instead, Gerry Walsh and I visited them. It was lovely to see them and the time flew by while we caught up with news and chatted about old times. As we were leaving, Alec returned some BCA chess clocks, along with a commemorative item for the archives!
The item for the archives turned out to be the correspondence championship trophy, which was in Alec’s keeping because he had been the last person to win it. The shield is made of dark wood, and it has its own wooden case. It was instantly familiar to me because I remember it being displayed on the sideboard at home when I was young.
Affixed to the shield are 12 small silver coloured metal shields arranged around a larger central one, which carries the words “Braille Chess Association Postal Championship Tylor Memorial Shield”. The twelve small shields bear the names of earlier winners as follows: 1970 and 1972 H. Cohn; 1974, 1976 and 1978 G. Carlin; 1980, 1982 and 1984 C. Chambers; 1986 P. Benson; 1988 G. Carlin again; 1990 G. McElroy; 1992 W. Hodder. What a fine collection of the names of some of our best players! When asked why his name isn’t among them, Alec lamented, “There’s no room on the shield!” Unfortunately, I suspect Alec is not the only winner whose name is missing.
But what of Tylor? Younger and newer members of the BCA might be wondering who Tylor was and why the shield had been dedicated to his memory. Read on!
Theodore Henry Tylor, 1900-1968, learned chess at the age of seven and improved his game while attending Worcester College for the Blind 1909-1918. He went on to study at Oxford University, where he captained the chess team and earned a First-class Honours degree in Jurisprudence. He became a lecturer at Balliol College and was made a Fellow in 1928.
Alongside Tylor’s academic accomplishments, he also achieved truly great things over the chess board in what we now call mainstream events. Bear in mind that the BCA did not yet exist when Tylor began his chess career! He competed in twelve British Championships, his first appearance being in 1925, when he finished fourth. In 1933 he finished second! These feats are, to best of my knowledge, unsurpassed by any other British VI player, before or since. But there’s more! He won the main British Correspondence Championship in 1932, 1933 and 1934. He tied for first place at the 1929-30 Hastings Premier Reserves, ahead of notable players of the day including C.H.O.D. Alexander, who famously went on to become a wartime codebreaker at Bletchley Park. Having earned his place, Tylor subsequently played in the elite Hastings Premier no fewer than nine times. He was also selected as reserve for the England team at the 1930 Chess Olympiad in Hamburg, where he played in 7 of the 17 rounds and got four draws and a win. At a tournament in Margate in 1936, he beat P. S. Milner-Barry, another future codebreaker, and he drew with none other than former World Champion, José Raúl Capablanca!
Alongside his work at Oxford University, Tylor found time to be President of the Midland Counties Chess Union 1947-50. Furthermore, his work for the welfare of the blind was such that he was knighted in 1965.
Here is Tylor’s New Year’s Eve game against George Koltanowski, with whom he tied for first place at the 1929-30 Hastings Premier Reserves. The opening is a Philidor, exchange variation.
Theodore
Tylor v George Koltanowski, R5 Hastings Premier
Reserves, 31st Dec 1929. ECO C41
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Qe2 exd4 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7
10. Ne6 Kxe6 11. Qc4+ d5 12. exd5+ Kf7 13. d6+ Nd5 14. dxe7 Rxe7 15. Nxd5 Ne5 16. Qf4+ Kg8
17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Bd2 Ng6 19. Qg3 Be6 20. Rfe1 Qf7 21. Bc3 Rf8 22. Re3 Bd5 23. Rae1 h5 24. h4 c5
25. f3 b5 26. b3 a5 27. Qg5 b4 28. Ba1 Qf5 29. Re7 1-0
Skype will be discontinued on the 5th of May 2025 and members may be wondering how remote events such as our Summer Cup and virtual meetings will be affected. The BCA intended to get its own Zoom account anyway, so the news about Skype has merely expedited this. We obtained a discount via Charity Digital Exchange and are grateful to an anonymous donor for a generous and thoughtful gift specifically to fund a Zoom subscription. As a result, our Zoom account is up and running! Many members find Zoom more accessible than Skype anyway, and with the added benefit that people without internet connections can dial in to Zoom meetings from anywhere in the world, it is surely a good move for us. We are confident that all remote events will go ahead as planned.
Jon and Maria Lilley (Graham's brother and sister-in-law) have very kindly sponsored this award, which will run for three years, with the first award being decided this year, in August.
Visually impaired UK members who have played in at least one BCA rated OTB tournament during the prior 12 months are eligible for the award. The winner will be the player whose ECF Standard OTB rating has increased the most since August 2024. He or she will receive an engraved medal and a prize of £50. In the event of a tie, the money will be shared, and each winner will receive a medal.
You only have a couple of months left to improve your ratings and be in with a chance of winning the award. Results in this summer’s Chairman’s Cup could be the deciding factor! So keep working on your game and improving your rating to increase your chances of winning this award in memory of one our most successful, highly respected and well-liked members of all time.
Stan Lovell is collaborating with Bernard Duthoit of the French BCA to organise a remote Anglo-French match for VI members! After the first game, players will have a second game with colours reversed. Our team includes Abi Baker, Marilyn Bland, Steve Burnell, Eamonn Casey, Ben Fletcher-Harris, Voldi Gailans, Mahendra Galani, Mark Hague, Irene Hampton, Malcolm Jones, Stan Lovell, John Ramm, Brandan Read, Lea Ryan and Norman Wragg.
Games will probably get underway in April and the results will appear in the August gazette. In the meantime, congratulations to Stan and Bernard on coming up with such a great project and best of luck to our team!
Gary Wickett writes:
I play for my local club, Norton Canes, and Julie had asked me how I had got on in my match against Tamworth. I told her it was a pretty little ten move miniature, and she suggested I sent it to the Gazette. Unfortunately, I am dreadful with remembering names so I will just head it with the names of the clubs.
Norton Canes – Tamworth, Division 4 Board 2
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4 Bg4? 5. Bxf7+
Taking the bishop could have been met with Ng5+ but he probably would have still done better to take it.
5. ... Kd7? 6. h3 Bxf3? 7. Qxf3 Nh6 8. Bxh6 gxh6 9. Qf5+ Ke7 10. Qe6 #
Firstly, it’s my pleasure to inform you of two happy events that both occurred on the 9th of March 2025!
Belated happy birthday wishes to Guy Whitehouse, who celebrated his 60th birthday on the 9th of March. Guy is undoubtedly one of the BCA’s most loyal volunteers and it is staggering to think that he’s been on the BCA committee for more than a third of his life, having first stepped up in 2002. Since then, he has served in various roles including Tournament Director, Gazette Editor and now, of course, Secretary. So please join me in congratulating Guy on his milestone birthday and wishing him many happy returns!
Congratulations to Barbara and Colin Chambers, who became great grandparents on the 9th of March! Their eldest grandson Jack and his wife Tammy are the proud parents of baby Logan.
Last but not least, congratulations to Tom Kenealy and his bride, Eve, who tied the knot at Ardencote Manor in Warwickshire on the 22nd of March. Tom says, “We had a lovely day even if we had a little bit too much to drink! Arthur (my son) looked beautiful as always in his little suit.” Tom and Eve – you are wished a long and happy marriage by all BCA members, especially those of us who remember Tom’s uncle David (Hodgkins).
Julie Leonard
February 2025 Puzzle
Louis Paulsen vs Blachy, New York, 1857. This is a novel mate in 2!
1rb4r/pkPp3p/1b1P3n/1Q6/N3Pp2/8/P1P3PP/7K
White: King h1, Queen b5, Knight a4, Pawns a2 c2 c7 d6 e4 g2 and h2.
Black: King b7, Rooks b8 and h8, Bishops b6 and c8, Knight h6, Pawns a7 d7 f4 and h7.
Clues:
1. White's first move is a forcing move. 2. A man on horseback delivers the killer blow!
Solution 1. Qd5+ Ka6 2. cxb8=N#
May 2025 Puzzle
Paul Morphy vs Duke Isouard, Paris, 1858. White mates in 2.
4kb1r/p2n1ppp/4q3/4p1B1/4P3/1Q6/PPP2PPP/2KR4
White: King c1, Queen b3, Rook d1, Bishop g5, pawns a2, b2, c2, e4, f2, g2 and h2.
Black: King e8, Queen e6, Rook h8, Bishop f8, Knight d7, pawns a7, e5, f7, g7 and h7.
Clue: Think of a one-word song by Elton John! The first move is also a distractive one to enable White to deliver the killer move!
The solution will be in the August Gazette.
Mark Hague
Gary Wickett writes:
Born in September
1944, Derek grew up in Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. From childhood, he was highly intelligent and
remarkably creative. Above playing with
toys, he was at his happiest tinkering with wire, wood, chemistry sets and the
like. Whilst still at school, he
designed and made his own train set and various radio sets.
After graduating
from his school in Harrow, Derek went on to Kings College London, where he
achieved a degree in Engineering and Theology.
He then moved to Surrey, where he spent 20 years working for CERL
(Central Electricity Research Laboratory) in a high voltage lab.
During this time,
in 1969, Derek married Adele. They had
known each other since they were children as they had met through their fathers
serving together in the same regiment during the war. They went on to enjoy 55 years of marriage
and have two children and three grandchildren.
Sadly, in 1987, due
to his sight beginning to deteriorate, he had to leave the job that he loved so
much and took early retirement. Despite
his gentle nature, anyone that knew Derek would know that he is made of stern
stuff and he would not take this devastating blow lying down. He immediately applied for a guide dog and in
1988 had the first of two dogs and became a speaker for the Guide Dogs for the
Blind Association. He also did home
tutoring in maths and physics and Adele told me that one of his students went
on to work for David Blunkett.
After taking early
retirement, Derek and his family moved to Leatherhead. It was also around this time, late 80s early
90s, that Derek joined the BCA, where he was a long term regular in the
correspondence tournaments and correspondence Friendly Ladder Table as it was
then known.
I can say for
certain that anyone that knew Derek would agree that he was a true gentleman in
every sense of the word. He would be the
first to tell you that the rare form of MS that took his sight also in later
years adversely affected his memory.
Despite this, he was the epitome of grace and intelligence. He was also able to hold his own on the chess
board and we’ve had many close and enjoyable games.
Being an academic,
Derek was always fascinating to talk with.
During our games and phone calls, we would also often chat about our
shared love of country music and late 50s/early 60s pop. Derek particularly like Dwaine Eddie and the
pianist Floyd Cramer.
Let me close by
offering my deepest sympathy to Adele and their two sons and their three
grandchildren.
RIP Derek.