Season 2018-2019 starts shortly with Ecclesall A defending their championship title and the rest of the club rebuilding.
If you are a new player and want to play for the club please contact Alan McIntosh
If you are a new player and want to play for the club please contact Alan McIntosh
More photos and a further report can be found here.
The photo above is by courtesy of Steve Withington of http://deedah.org
Ecclesall Club Championship 2016
The annual Ecclesall Club Championship took place at our home venue, the Dore and Totley Golf Club, on Sunday 20th November. It was a 6 round swiss tournament, with 30 minutes per player per game. The entry fee was £3.50, plus an optional £6.50 for the food that was available, and the event was open to all Ecclesall Club members and invited guests. The tournament was well represented by our guests. Regulars such as Mark Allison and Bill Ward from Woodseats, Paul Fletcher from Stannington, and 'newcomers' such as Steve and Henry Withington from Nomads, all turned up to support the event. 18 players took part in total and all the entry fee money was returned in prizes: £20 1st prize, £15 2nd prize, £10 3rd prize and 2 x £10 grading prizes (one for the middle third and one for the bottom third of ranked players).
Henry Withington was drawn against his lower graded father in the first round and only managed to draw. Thereafter he 'saw off' Francis Kay, Paul Fletcher, Stephen Lee, John Neely and Ken McIntosh, to win the tournament outright with 5½.
Our own Peter Hempson, despite a loss in the first round to Stephen Lee and a draw against Ken McIntosh in round 5, finished 2nd with a score of 4½and not for the first time became the Club Champion.
There was a three way tie on 4/6, between Mark Allison, Stephen Lee and John Neely, for 3rd place. The latter two also picking up a half share of the first grading prize.
Paul Fletcher and Ken McIntosh followed with 3½. Then came a clutch of Ecclesall players (Peter Hoare, Alan McIntosh, Elliott Spencer and Norman Wragg) plus two guests (Paul Cheshire and Steve Withington), all on 3/6. These two guests and Elliott, sharing the third grading prize.
Those that scored less than half marks, and indeed some with more than half marks, may have been disappointed with their performance but, all seemed to have a good day. The venue was comfortable, the atmosphere friendly, the food tasty and the chess - brought us together.
The above report is by Alan McIntosh, Ecclesall Chess Club Secretary who also ran the Club Championship.
Many thanks Alan from everyone who attended.
Quite a large Ecclesall contingent made the annual trek to Scarborough. Here our chairman was looking like a film star between rounds.
The best performance was probably that by Elliott Spencer, who with 3 points in the Minor received a share of a well earned grading prize.
Also on 3 points were Jim Burnett in the open, Phil Ellis (Inter) and former member Pete Willoughby (Foundation).
Other creditable performances saw Farshad Ai achieve 2 points in the Open section as Peter Hoare did in the Inter.
Beside the above and Norman, Bill Egan and Richard Wood made the journey, along with other former member Danny Dhunna.
Members are reminded that the Club Championship is being held on November 20th at the Golf Club, and if you have not heard from your team captain you can also enter through Alan McIntosh secretary or Norman Wragg Chairman.
This season Ecclesall A team are in Division 1, the B team in Division 2, the C team in Division 3 and the D team in Division 4. There is also a team in the 400 League for players graded 120 and under. We also have 3 teams in the Richardson cup. The full fixtures can be seen on the respective team/ competition pages and on the Fixtures/ Results overview page.
The following guide to chess etiquette is reproduced from a chess club that I used to be a member of:
Etiquette for members of a chess team:
Always ensure that the team captain is aware of your availability for each match, don’t wait to be asked.
If selected for a match please ensure that the captain is informed asap if you might not be/ are not available.
Be pro-active regarding suggestions to help the chess matches run more smoothly.
Home matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the match starts and be prepared to lay out board, clocks and pieces.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members, and help put away equipment if possible without disturbing unduly other players.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
Whenever venues are being provided at a reduced charge or free of charge, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased.
It is not the captain’s job to put out equipment and put it away again. It is all team members’ responsibility.
Away matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive in time for the match start, if possible a few minutes before hand.
Be prepared to share transport with other team members either by driving occasionally or paying petrol money to the driver.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
If playing in a typical chess club venue, as a matter of courtesy to your hosts, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased.
Etiquette for captain of a chess team:
Please ensure that potential team members are aware of selection policy.
Ensure that selected team members are in no doubt that they are required to play in a match.
Select the team based upon playing ability, availability, and development of team members.
Be pro-active regarding suggestions to help the chess matches run more smoothly.
Home matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before the match starts and be prepared to lay out board, clocks and pieces and have the team selection already prepared.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members, and help put away equipment if possible without disturbing unduly other players.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
Whenever venues are being provided at a reduced charge or free of charge, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased, and encourage team members to do the same.
Away matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the match starts, and have the team selection already prepared.
Be prepared to share transport with other team members either by driving occasionally or paying petrol money to the driver.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
If playing in a typical chess club venue, as a matter of courtesy to your hosts, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased, and encourage team members to do the same.
James Marley the first team captain forwarded the following game of Peter Hemspon's with the following comment 'Peter may not know it, but he is famous! My favourite chess website posted an article by Jon Speelman featuring a great win by Peter at the 2012 British Champs.'
http://en.chessbase.com/post/jon-speelman-s-agony-column-6
I agree James, an excellent website and an extra special reason to have a look at it. I have published the game in our games section, but it is highly recommended that the Speelman column is searched for.
Meanwhile the AGM Minutes can now be found on the website.
The Sheffield Congress has been saved thanks to Phill Beckett. It will go ahead on June 24th to 26th at the usual venue. An entry form can be found on the Chess Congress website.
Life goes on much as usual at Ecclesall Chess Club during the summer months. John Speck is captain of the Summer League team so if you wish to play team chess during the summer contact him directly. The fixtures can be found on the chessnuts site . John's contact details can be found on the SDCA site where you can also find details of the Crabb shield and the
Darnall rapidplay .
It can also be seen here that Bill Egan had an excellent performance in the Sheffield Individual Tournament being unbeaten and winning the Holroyd Trophy.
The Under140 tournament 2016/2017 is also being run this season details can be found on the Under 140 Tournament page.
Be sure to visit the new chess server https://www.chesssupersite.com
Early days very few players on line, I never had any lag/freezing issues like I get on chess.com with Windows 10. This may be because there are currently few users.
I have also started a new website for followers of the Shuffleduck. This is called the hpawn warrior and focuses on when early hpawn moves are played by real hpawn warriors. The first two added are Topalov and Simon Williams. Shortly there will be Carlsen, Kasparov, Fischer, Korchnoi, Morphy and a few others that you might have heard of. You can find the site at http://hpawn-warrior.weebly.com
Bill Egan has kindly provided the moves from his game with Chris Shephard (see Games). This game should inspire all of the members who aspire to play in the first team. Bill is not an ordinary member, he plays chess most nights of the week and most weekends, but for many years he has been graded between 120 and 130. He is now playing some of the best chess of his life. Following his draw with Deje Jeje in the Sheffield Championship he has now drawn with the reigning champion, and is currently unbeaten on 3.5/5. Well done, Bill.
This week the club night at the Golf Club was considered by many to be the most enjoyable for a long time. Buoyed up by the marvellous news that Bill Egan had managed to hold Chris Shephard to a draw in the Sheffield Championship, and with our two newest recruits battling out a scintillating game the rest of the members settled down to a few games of blitz, development of new lines in the anti-Fried Liver 3...h6 line and just general banter. As can be seen from the U140 Tournament section Safdar managed to beat Stuart but it was no one sided affair, with good chess played by both sides. With both players having an infectious attitude to chess and both improving rapidly, I am looking forward to the future at Ecclesall with these players as established players in the teams.
A team beat Nomads A 5-3 and the D team beat Rotherham B 3.5-2.5.
Elliott Spencer achieved 4 wins out of 5 in the Minor Section of the Doncaster Congress and shared 3rd place and a grading prize. Well Done Elliott! We are proud of you. To celebrate he has submit two of his superb wins to the games section. Thanks.
On Wednesday the A team beat Nomads B 8-0 while the C team lost to Stannington B 2.5-3.5 in a close match, and the B team take on the University B team on Thursday
This week SASCA A strengthened their grip on the Division One title with a 5.5-2.5 win over our A team. The 400 League team struggled against a good Woodseats team. John Speck held the draw on board 1 and newcomer Stuart Bullington had quite a classy win on bottom board, showing promise for the future.
The B team match against Barnsley was cancelled at fairly short notice.
It is with regret that Ken Scott has informed us that Peter Mitchell has passed away at 87 years of age. Peter was a metallurgist at Firth Vickers and British Steel.
I have not known Peter for long but as far as I know he has since a young man played chess in Sheffield League and the Sheffield Works League.
He was a keen violinist and an active snooker player. Until recently he was a keen golfer. He was also a keen stamp collector.
I know that he lost his wife many years ago in a tragic manner.
Peter has played in all of the Ecclesall teams and was for many years the club librarian. In seasons 1996 and 1997 he had an ECF grade of 93: equal to a current 118. I suspect that he had been stronger than that in his youth. In recent years he had beaten Alan Coupe, Steve Moxon, John Knight, Ron Keenan, Ken Kay, Joe Morrison and this season Josh Speakman.
Our condolences are passed to his family.
"Like everyone at the club, I'm saddened at the loss of Pete Mitchell, for whom we all had a lot of time, especially with respect for his insight, banter and memories and characteristic stories. He had quite a serious disposition, attention for detail befitting his hardworking attitude and dignified manner, but on a personal level, also had a wicked sense of humour. My abiding memory of him shall always be his ability to have the last laugh, and joyful moments when he would light-up in relating particular tales and experiences. He will be missed."
Ken Norbury
Bill Egan has kindly submitted his recent draw against Deji Jeje in the Sheffield Championship. Good game Bill and fantastic result thanks for the game.
Recent developments regarding the Shuffleduck (1.h4) are that Edward Winter has produced a special edition of his chess notes on the opening in which he mentions the book, and Simon Williams delivers checkmate in impressive style using the Shuffleduck system of play (see Shuffleduck and Appendix to the Shuffleduck respectively).
The new season is here at Ecclesall chess club. This will be our first full season at the Dore and Totley Golf Club.
Jim Burnett, the new Yorkshire Chess Association President, has been pretty prolific. He won the Castle Chess in Harrogate and has played a whopping 25 graded games in Yorkshire since the start of the season. (Honorary mention in Yorkshire Player of the Month citation).
This evening (13th January 2016) there were four Ecclesall teams in action at the Golf club. As it is Cup week Ecclesall 1 beat Barnsley 1 4-2 and progress to the semi-final, Likewise Ecclesall 2 beat Ecclesall 3 4-1 in the Sam Haystead Memorial Trophy and also progress to the semi-final. In addition Ecclesall D played and lost 2.5-3.5 to a strong Chesterfield C side in Division 4. Photographs of the venue (from tonight's action) can be seen in the Photos section
Last week saw the B team obtain a creditable draw against Stannington B.
Tonight will be a magnificent sight for everyone at Ecclesall with almost all of the members being present.
Three recent new games (see Games section) feature a convincing win by Simon Williams using the Shuffleduck opening system, a good win on Gameknot by John Speck, and an interesting game by Ivan Basarab-Horwath when he battled well although massively outgraded.
The Simon Williams game in which he mentions the Shuffleduck can be seen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B48K3cRA8hw
from around 29 minutes.
Three Ecclesall Chess Club members won grading prizes at the Scarborough Chess Congress. Phil Ellis and Norman Wragg in the Intermediate and Elliott Spencer in the Foundation. Well Done!
At the Golf Club there is sufficient space for analysis or other chess activity, even while major matches are taking place.
For example the Under 140 tournament has been progressing well.
With this in mind the following have been suggested as alternative activities:
A rapidplay tournament, either as an all-play-all or a knock-out.
Matches between club players, e.g. six game match, three each with white and black.
Challenges between our club members and players from other clubs.
Any of these activities should be able to be submitted for Yorkshire grading. The principal criteria are that this is agreed beforehand, and that it is agreed by all participants.
Ecclesall players helped Darnall and Handsworth Chess Club celebrate 30 years. The event was held at their new venue.
Ecclesall players taking part were Paul Fletcher (who shared third place in the rapidplay), Ken Norbury, Pete Willoughby (shared rapidplay grading prize and win for RoW v Darnall), Bill Egan (draw), Ivan Basarab-Horwath, John Fryer, Danny Dhunna and Guido Ngandu. Former Ecclesall player Daniel Sullivan drew with Chris Ross who won the rapidplay.
Further details will be found on the chessnuts site in due course.
The Player of the Summer is Ken Scott. Ken has been working tirelessly for the club over the last few months and was instrumental in securing our excellent new premises. He is continuing to captain the Rooks and has been supporting the Summer League team. A big thanks Ken.
An honourable mention goes to John Speck who stepped in at the last minute to captain the Summer League team, and with his captaincy and his good results, Ecclesall are hopeful of remaining in Division 2 with a good win (3-1) last night (3rd August 2015) over Chesterfield C.
The Second Lightning Tournament of the Summer was held on Wednesday 15th July 2015. Due to a limited entry it was run as a 7 player all-play-all. James Marley won with 5.5/6, Chris Shephard was second with 4.5/6, but perhaps the best performance of all was by Elliott Spencer who came third with 4/6 beating Chris Shephard and Ken Norbury in the process.
SHEFFIELD CHESS CONGRESS 2015 incorporating the NCCU Individual Championshipsheld at King Edward VII Upper School, Glossop Road, Sheffield
from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June 2015 with David Welch as chief controller
There were 156 entrants, of whom one withdrew without play, due to illness. Participants were distributed across four sections as follows:
Open 40 participants
Major(under 171)32 participants
Intermediate(under 146) 49 participants
Minor(under 121) 34 participants
By tying for first place with GM Mark Hebden on 4½ points out of 5, Jim Burnett of Bawtry, near Doncaster, became Northern Counties Chess Union individual champion, and holder of the Dr. Wahltuch Trophy, and also became NCCU Senior (over 60) individual champion, and second holder (after Paul Bielby) of the John Littlewood Trophy recently presented by Paul Littlewood in memory of his famous chess-playing Sheffield-born father John Eric Littlewood.
Jim conceded a draw to 18-year-old Oscar Hackner of Rotherham, while Mark Hebden conceded a draw to Jon Nelson of Sheffield.
Jim also secures nomination as the NCCU nominee for the 102nd British Chess Championships, to be held at University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, from Saturday 25th July to Saturday 8th August 2015.
Unusually, there were no junior (under-18) participants in the Open section, so the NCCU junior individual championship went to the highest-placed junior in the Major section, namely Max N Turner of Berwick, who finished on 3 points out of 5 and becomes holder of the Edmund Spencer Memorial Cup.
Final scores and prizes were as follows:
Open Section - 40 participants:
Name Club/Location Points Place &c Prize
Jim Burnett Ecclesall / Mansfield 4½ 1st-2nd = £150
Mark Hebden Birstall 4½ 1st-2nd = £150
Chris Ross Northampton Chessmates 4 3rd £60
Oskar Hackner Sheffield & Rotherham Js 3½
Deji Jeje Sheffield Nomads 3½ GP1 = £10
Shabir Okhai Syston 3½ GP1 = £10
Full lists - Open Major Intermediate Minor
Giant Killing in the Summer League.
The new Summer League captain rose to the task and defeated a player significantly higher graded with a nice positional sacrifice: see Games.
This year's AGM was held at the Abbey on Wednesday 20th May 2015. Changes in offices include Ken Scott going back to being the Rooks captain and also captaining the Richardson 3 side, and John Speck captaining the Knights and the Summer League Team. Roger Swindell has relinquished captaincy of the B team after 15 years his replacement has not yet been found. It is not intended to run an E team next season unless new members are forthcoming during the Summer Season. It was also confirmed that our new venue is the Dore and Totley Golf Club Clubhouse.The Clubhouse, Bradway Road, Bradway, Sheffield, S17 4QR
Telephone: 0114 2369872 Location Map - http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=433437&Y=380398&A=Y&Z=115
http://www.doreandtotleygolfclub.co.uk/how-to-find-us/
Lightning tournaments will once again be organised by Peter Hempson. The club is grateful for his continued support. If you are planning to attend and haven't already informed Peter please telephone him on 0114 2369230.
Non-members are welcome at these events providing that they have informed Peter beforehand.
Peter Hempson will be running lightning tournaments on June 17th and July 15th. If you wish to attend these events please arrive at 7.30 pm for a 7.45 start
The Summer timetable
27/05/15
So we had our first meeting at the new venue. Five members attended and it was a relaxed occasion, absorbing our new environment, discussing recent changes and applications of chess rules. Looking at some recent openings that had either been played by members or of interest to members, with Ken as usual finding more active ways of playing the openings, usually involving a pawn or piece sacrifice. As usual we all learn quite a bit from Ken, and contemplating the venue the mood of the meeting was optimistic.
22/07/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
29/07/15 Ecclesall - - Aughton A
05/08/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
12/08/15 Ecclesall - - SASCA B
19/08/15 Lightning Tournament
26/08/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
02/09/15 Lightning Tournament
07/09/15 SDCA AGM
09/09/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
16/09/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
21/09/15 SDCL Fixtures Meeting
23/09/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
Coaching by Ken Norbury, friendly games and games in the Under 140 tournament will be available most club nights as well as other activities. Some members take advantage of the more relaxed atmosphere of the summer months by going over their games, good and bad, with comments from other members.
If any chess players want to try out the chess club the summer season is the ideal time. Coaching is available during the summer for would-be chess players who may or may not know the moves yet. Please contact Pete Willoughby on 01246769511 before you come along.
Coaching will be undertaken by Ken Norbury on an ad hoc basis. This was very successfully introduced by Ewan Cormack, with help from Ken Norbury, and Ken has kindly agreed to continue these sessions this year. Ken will be at the club on the designated nights and will be hosting activities designed to help players improve. The target ability level is 0 to 150, though in my opinion, slightly stronger players would benefit from attending also. Ken is an accredited ECF coach and is available for one-to-one coaching, the coaching offered here, which will be free of charge is group coaching and may take the form of tactics recognition, opening planning, guided chess games, simul, or off-hand discussion. Ken will try and tailor this to members needs, so it is important that members let him know what aspirations they have. As well as members, potential members are also welcome at these events, an ideal way of getting to know us as a club. The only stipulation is that your intention should be to enjoy your chess. If Ken is not aware of your intention to attend please telephone him on 0114 2360461.
On an ordinary club night, the club is available to members and potential members to play chess, discuss chess or pretty much whatever they wish to do. In the summer season the attitude is more relaxed so if you are thinking of joining us this is the ideal time to give us a try. Some members may be playing organised games on these nights (see Under 140 tournament). Any member is eligible to join the Under 140 tournament providing that at the time of entry their grade (ECF/Yorkshire) is under 140. There is a trophy available for the winner.
When a Summer League match is on ordinary club activities are available at the club, but members are asked to keep the noise levels down for the sake of the match players.
The Ecclesall Club Championship was played on
Sunday 26 April. Due to late withdrawals there were only 14 entrants. Jim Burnett is once again Club Champion with 6 points out of 6. James Marley came second with 4.5 points.
The Under 140 Grading Prize was shared between Bill Ward and Peter Cooper (3.5 points each), Peter Cooper received the new plate. The Under 120 grading prize was shared between Kypros Pilakoutas and Pete Willoughby (2.5 points each), the under 110 cup was given to Elliott Spencer who performed exceptionally well (1.5/3) before having to go to work thereby missing three rounds.
Yorkshire Player of the month Dave Adams
The player of the month for January is Dave Adams. Dave won the York Rapid play with 5.5 out of 6 and on the way defeated International Master James Adair. He scored two wins and a draw in Yorkshire league matches in the month but has remained unbeaten all season in Yorkshire league games. 14 matches in all.
With the usual good turnout of Ecclesall players, Scarborough Chess Congress was once more enjoyable. Bill Egan of Scunthorpe and Ecclesall was joint winner of the Minor section with a grading performance of 161. The only other success was a joint grading prize in the Foundation for Pete Willoughby.
Series 2 of Across the Board has started on BBC Radio 4. These programmes are hosted by Dominic Lawson. Dominic is the new President of the ECF.
The programmes can be heard here and seen here
I (webmaster) recently attended the Isle of Man International Chess Congress. With Masters, Major and Minor Sections there is something for anyone with the venue being at the Villa Marina, the site of the British Championship and the main entertainment venue in Douglas. The time control was 40 moves in 100 minutes, with an extra 50 minutes added after 40 moves. There was also a 30 second increment. So for 100 moves you got 200 minutes versus 75 in the Sheffield League. This allowed the standard of play to be much higher. I was pleased with 3 points/7 (2 wins and 2 draws), especially as all of my games were against higher graded opposition, except for one against a relative newcomer, ungraded but who still managed two wins against opponents graded 112 and 109. As usual I had more blacks (4) than whites (3), unbeaten as white.
Poker Stars sponsored this excellent event, and are likely to increase their sponsorship next season. With free time in the mornings and the evenings and a whole island to explore, I do recommend this congress to everyone.
News from the Sheffield & District Chess Association AGM.
Alan McIntosh was deservedly elected as Vice-President of the Association for his services to Sheffield B etc.
Steve Housley from Chesterfield has been given a number of books and DVDs etc. in pristine condition available for a donation to Jessops children's hospital. Anyone wishing any of the chess books etc. should contact him
Ecclesall finished a creditable 4th in the Champions Challenge just a half point behind Nomads
The Full report can be found at:
http://yorkshirechess.org/champions-challenge-2/
Champions Challenge
Bradford Knights 11
Leeds CCCC 10
Sheffield Nomads 8
Sheffield Ecclesall 7½
Bradford 160 3½
I am looking forward to playing at the Isle of Man International Open Tournament alongside loads of GMs. I will only be in the Minor section, but check it out six hour games in the minor!
http://iominternationalchess.com/
Potential members are recommended to telephone the club before attendance to ensure that their needs can be met. The normal contact is Pete Willoughby on 01246 769511, but if you know any other member, or prefer to contact one of the officers that is fine too. Potential members can just drop in, but in that case there is always a danger that they may find that all the members are busy in formal games, and are not available for formal greeting.
Ecclesall A will be entering the Yorkshire Champions Challenge tournament in August. The 2 day event is open to winners and runners up from leagues across the county. Tournament details can be found on the Yorkshire chess website- http://yorkshirechess.org/champions-challenge/
Champion’s Challenge 9/10 August
Last summer we ran the first ever ‘Champions’ tournament.
The idea was to invite all the championship winning teams from every league in Yorkshire to play in an end of season competition to see which team would end up as the champions of champions. It was also a chance for the teams to celebrate their success.
After the success of the first event I am pleased to say that we are now able to repeat the process.
I have negotiated with The Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford city centre to host the event on the weekend on 9 /10 August in one of their ground floor rooms. The hotel is situated in the centre of Bradford opposite the train and bus interchange. There is also ample parking for use by guests.
The Great Victoria Hotel has also provided us with a number of discounts for the weekend. Most notably Bed & Breakfast per twin or double room of only £50. If you wish to book any of the hotel offers you must contact them direct and quote chess event.
I hope to circulate the respective secretary of each of the leagues. I have had a promising response so far and am excited by the prospects.
Please consider this a formal invite to the champions of your league to take part in the event. It is open to champions and runners up of each of the leagues in Yorkshire. This year there will be a small entry fee of £15 per team to help cover some of the costs. I need to have confirmations of the entry by 1 July 2014 so I stress the urgency of getting back to me as soon as possible.
Ihor Lewyk
details available at http://yorkshirechess.org/champions-challenge/
Ecclesall Chess Club Championship 2014
Ecclesall Chess Club Championship was held on Sunday 13th April 2014at the Abbey. It was run as a six round Swiss with each player having 30 minutes to complete all moves.
The new champion is Jim Burnett who won with 5.5/6. His win in the crucial final game will be available in the Improvers section shortly. Runner-up was Peter Hempson with 5.
The Junior Section was won by Ashwin Krishna with 4 points with very creditable runners-up in Adhitya Krishna and Yiyuan Wang with 3 points each.
The Under 140 Champion is Phil Ellis with 3 points, and the Under 110 champion is Pete Willoughby with 2.5 points.
The names of previous winners can be seen in the honours section.
Sheffield Congress
Last weekend in June
http://www.sjmann.supanet.com/SheffCong14.htm
Got some time on your hands this summer, why not try your hand at big chess. This is only available at FICGS http://www.ficgs.com/
Report on Simul and coaching
14th August 2013
Ewan played a number of simultaneous games again, followed by demonstration of a master game, some endgame tuition and some opening principles. As it went well it is his intention to repeat it on the 28th August, (simul followed by coaching) so come along and shake that summer rust off and get ready for the new season.
31st July 2013
Ewan was nervous starting his first ever simul. The rules were explained and he was off like a rocket playing quickly on all boards with the players struggling to keep up with his pace. Ewan then hung a rook in one game, and slowed his pace to a more reasonable one, and even though a number of the remaining games were complex he managed to get to the end with no more losses, having to concede a draw in a dead drawn position, he managed to win the other three games for +3 =1 –1 result. If you don’t think that this is a good result for a first ever simul, come along and prove it. You are always welcome to give a simul at the club. So well done Ewan. He said he would like to do it again sometime with perhaps more, and even stronger players involved. Following the simul, Ewan went through a couple of the more interesting games, and continued his coaching on pawn structures, and also explained some of the peculiarities of some king pawn openings. The evening was finished off with some manic five minute games. The nest session is on 14th August so come along, so if you are not doing anything else you are guaranteed to enjoy yourself. Ewan would also like to point out that although I stated on the website that the coaching was essentially for Under 140 players, players over that grade will also be catered for, and would benefit the group.
Please also note that the series of books by Gary Kasparov, My Great Predecessors have been donated to the chess club by Ian Fielding. This series of books has received wide accolades but with some criticism:
My Great Predecessors received lavish praise from some reviewers (including Nigel Short), while attracting criticism from others for historical inaccuracies and analysis of games directly copied from unattributed sources. Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, chess historian Edward Winter said, "The absence of, even, a basic bibliography is shocking in a work which claims to be 'Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship', and a lackadaisical attitude to basic academic standards and historical facts pervades the book."
International Master John L. Watson said that Predecessors "must be recommended as an ambitious, interesting work by (I believe) the greatest player in history. It clearly delights and inspires some of its readership regardless of its weaknesses, and is a book that most players will want to own, if only for the story-like narration of events and chess developments. For these reasons alone, I would call it a significant book, perhaps even one of this year's best. But for some reason we have been led to believe that Predecessors is a masterpiece, belonging to the class of great books if not transcending them. In reality it is something less grandiose: a valuable book with numerous weak spots."
Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, International Master William John Donaldson said the book "represents good value if one lowers one's expectations and views it as a very reasonably priced hardback game collection rather than the definitive historical guide to the early World Champions. It is too bad that Kasparov and Plisetsky didn't hire Winter to fact check the book. It could have been much better and one hopes more care is taken with upcoming volumes."
Through suggestions on the book's website, some of the book's criticisms were addressed in following editions and translations.The books have received several awards from the English Chess Federation, which said "... Kasparov’s mammoth series has set new standards for writing about chess history."
Unofficial details of what happened at the AGM.
Peter Hempson to step down as Secretary following 2013-2014 season, Danny Dhunna to shadow him this season with a view to taking over next season (subsequently Danny has move to Bradford so the secretarial job is open again.
Joe Morrison has stepped down as C team captain, and has been proposed as Honorary Member. The Executive are to look into the Constitution, probably requiring it to be updated to allow this to happen.
Pete Willoughby has taken over as C team captain for the 2013-2014 season.
Ivan Basarab-Horwath has replaced Pete Willoughby as D team captain for 2013-2014 season.
An extra Richardson team to run in 2013-2014, Ecclesall 3 captain Pete Willoughby.
The executive are to look into a new trophy for the Club Championship under 140 section (worn out with no space for engraving), Player of the season (presumed lost) and the Stars Barred Tournament (new trophy).
Peter Hempson is looking at procuring lighting for the far end of the room to allow more boards to be played on an evening.
We are to look into the Pub advertising the presence of the Chess Club a little more pro-actively.
Everything else remains pretty much as it was.
Details of Ecclesall A 's great win against Woodseats A are on the A team page.
Congratulations to Daniel Sullivan who is this year's Sheffield Individual Champion.
The club are grateful for Peter and Janet Hempson who have organised the Ecclesall Club Championships for the 26th time.This season's Club Championship was held on Sunday April 14th at the Abbey with a time control of 30 minutes. It was a six round Swiss tournament and seventeen players took part. The winners were Peter Hempson and James Marley, with 4.5 out of six. The following won grading prizes:- Peter Cooper, John Fryer, Shane Frith (a visitor) and Pete Willoughby (for previous winners see honours page).
Ecclesall 1 were successful in winning the Richardson Plate with a comprehensive 5.5 - 0.5 victory against Worksop 1.
Matthew Holborow was successful at the York Congress sharing the winner's prize in the Major. An excellent result for Matthew. Well done!
Peter Hempson has put together a short history of the club for the website. If you think you can help him, please contact him. He has found that the inaugural meeting took place on September 11th,1974, and he took over as club secretary in 1986, so he would especially welcome help to find more details of those first 12 years.
Ecclesall have entered a team in the Summer League for 2013, Daniel Sullivan has agreed to captain this team so please contact him if you wish to play in this team.
As usual Ecclesall were well represented at the Scarborough Congress with both Peter Hoare and Phil Ellis winning grading prizes in the Intermediate Section. Joe Morrison also did well finishing just outside the prizes with 3.5 in the Foundation Section.
Anyone who wishes to submit news items or games for publication are encouraged to do so.
The club championship went smoothly this weekend. There were 18 entrants but two didn't turn up which left 16. It was a 6-round Swiss tournament. At the end Pete Hempson won with 5.5 and there were four people on 4 viz. John Fryer, Peter Hoare, Alan Mackintosh and a visitor Mark Allison. The Under-110 prize went to Joe Morrison with 2.5 and the junior prize went to Sam Cobbold with 3.5. Congratulations to all winners.
It was with the greatest of trepidation that I (PW) did the annual trek to Blackpool this year. My grade requiring me to enter the intermediate section. After settling in and having some mediocre fish and chips, it was time to renew old acquaintances. Together with John Eddershaw and Richard Wood, we had to also miss out on the club championship due to an unfortunate clash of dates. I managed to win my first game on the Friday night, against someone with an estimated grade of 130, a pleasing win as my opponent played well, but I deserved to win. Richard also had a good win, but as John was at a room on the other side of the hotel, I couldn't see his game.
On the Saturday morning, with my second black I managed to stay in the game against my second 130 grade opponent, until I blundered the exchange under a lot of pressure on move 46. The afternoon brought a sound beating, this time as white against a regular opponent who as usual gave me a lesson in how to play.
Saturday night was the time for the usual curry with the guys from Formby Chess Club, and the guys from Crusaders/ Preston, the curry at the Akash being up to the usual high standard, a great night had by all.
And so onto Sunday, a little tired, and expecting the worse, my opponent decided that he didn't like the knight being pinned in a Torre Attack, but after forcing it back and my sacrifice of the knight for two pawns and a kingside attack, he blundered fairly quickly and allowed a quick win (see improvers). The afternoon brought another Black this time against William Ward of Woodseats. He got his move order wrong in the Three Pawns Attack against the King Indian Defence and quickly lost a pawn. Subsequently he allowed an all out attack, when with apparently a quick win available, I failed to find the difficult continuation and settled for a draw by repetition. Bill defended well, and the game was very enjoyable (the game is available both here (improvers) and on the Woodseats website.
It is with the greatest of pleasure that we can announce that Ken Norbury has achieved accreditation as an ECF coach. It is fitting that this action acknowledges the good work that he has done with the SASCA juniors and here at our club.
Ken is quoted as saying 'I am pleased to have gained accreditation as an ECF Coach, and would like to take the opportunity of thanking everyone who has similar interest in promoting the game and especially enabling their knowledge skills and enthusiasm to be passed on to newcomers and improvers, both young and old, and in particular for allowing me to begin to develop a personal contribution to this cause. '
The fixtures can be seen by logging on to Chessnuts
The photo above is by courtesy of Steve Withington of http://deedah.org
Ecclesall Club Championship 2016
The annual Ecclesall Club Championship took place at our home venue, the Dore and Totley Golf Club, on Sunday 20th November. It was a 6 round swiss tournament, with 30 minutes per player per game. The entry fee was £3.50, plus an optional £6.50 for the food that was available, and the event was open to all Ecclesall Club members and invited guests. The tournament was well represented by our guests. Regulars such as Mark Allison and Bill Ward from Woodseats, Paul Fletcher from Stannington, and 'newcomers' such as Steve and Henry Withington from Nomads, all turned up to support the event. 18 players took part in total and all the entry fee money was returned in prizes: £20 1st prize, £15 2nd prize, £10 3rd prize and 2 x £10 grading prizes (one for the middle third and one for the bottom third of ranked players).
Henry Withington was drawn against his lower graded father in the first round and only managed to draw. Thereafter he 'saw off' Francis Kay, Paul Fletcher, Stephen Lee, John Neely and Ken McIntosh, to win the tournament outright with 5½.
Our own Peter Hempson, despite a loss in the first round to Stephen Lee and a draw against Ken McIntosh in round 5, finished 2nd with a score of 4½and not for the first time became the Club Champion.
There was a three way tie on 4/6, between Mark Allison, Stephen Lee and John Neely, for 3rd place. The latter two also picking up a half share of the first grading prize.
Paul Fletcher and Ken McIntosh followed with 3½. Then came a clutch of Ecclesall players (Peter Hoare, Alan McIntosh, Elliott Spencer and Norman Wragg) plus two guests (Paul Cheshire and Steve Withington), all on 3/6. These two guests and Elliott, sharing the third grading prize.
Those that scored less than half marks, and indeed some with more than half marks, may have been disappointed with their performance but, all seemed to have a good day. The venue was comfortable, the atmosphere friendly, the food tasty and the chess - brought us together.
The above report is by Alan McIntosh, Ecclesall Chess Club Secretary who also ran the Club Championship.
Many thanks Alan from everyone who attended.
Quite a large Ecclesall contingent made the annual trek to Scarborough. Here our chairman was looking like a film star between rounds.
The best performance was probably that by Elliott Spencer, who with 3 points in the Minor received a share of a well earned grading prize.
Also on 3 points were Jim Burnett in the open, Phil Ellis (Inter) and former member Pete Willoughby (Foundation).
Other creditable performances saw Farshad Ai achieve 2 points in the Open section as Peter Hoare did in the Inter.
Beside the above and Norman, Bill Egan and Richard Wood made the journey, along with other former member Danny Dhunna.
Members are reminded that the Club Championship is being held on November 20th at the Golf Club, and if you have not heard from your team captain you can also enter through Alan McIntosh secretary or Norman Wragg Chairman.
This season Ecclesall A team are in Division 1, the B team in Division 2, the C team in Division 3 and the D team in Division 4. There is also a team in the 400 League for players graded 120 and under. We also have 3 teams in the Richardson cup. The full fixtures can be seen on the respective team/ competition pages and on the Fixtures/ Results overview page.
The following guide to chess etiquette is reproduced from a chess club that I used to be a member of:
Etiquette for members of a chess team:
Always ensure that the team captain is aware of your availability for each match, don’t wait to be asked.
If selected for a match please ensure that the captain is informed asap if you might not be/ are not available.
Be pro-active regarding suggestions to help the chess matches run more smoothly.
Home matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the match starts and be prepared to lay out board, clocks and pieces.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members, and help put away equipment if possible without disturbing unduly other players.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
Whenever venues are being provided at a reduced charge or free of charge, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased.
It is not the captain’s job to put out equipment and put it away again. It is all team members’ responsibility.
Away matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive in time for the match start, if possible a few minutes before hand.
Be prepared to share transport with other team members either by driving occasionally or paying petrol money to the driver.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
If playing in a typical chess club venue, as a matter of courtesy to your hosts, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased.
Etiquette for captain of a chess team:
Please ensure that potential team members are aware of selection policy.
Ensure that selected team members are in no doubt that they are required to play in a match.
Select the team based upon playing ability, availability, and development of team members.
Be pro-active regarding suggestions to help the chess matches run more smoothly.
Home matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before the match starts and be prepared to lay out board, clocks and pieces and have the team selection already prepared.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members, and help put away equipment if possible without disturbing unduly other players.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
Whenever venues are being provided at a reduced charge or free of charge, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased, and encourage team members to do the same.
Away matches:
Whenever possible:
Aim to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the match starts, and have the team selection already prepared.
Be prepared to share transport with other team members either by driving occasionally or paying petrol money to the driver.
Remain at the venue to show support to other team members.
Support other team members by kind words and advice when appropriate, if welcomed.
If playing in a typical chess club venue, as a matter of courtesy to your hosts, ensure that at least one item of refreshment is purchased, and encourage team members to do the same.
James Marley the first team captain forwarded the following game of Peter Hemspon's with the following comment 'Peter may not know it, but he is famous! My favourite chess website posted an article by Jon Speelman featuring a great win by Peter at the 2012 British Champs.'
http://en.chessbase.com/post/jon-speelman-s-agony-column-6
I agree James, an excellent website and an extra special reason to have a look at it. I have published the game in our games section, but it is highly recommended that the Speelman column is searched for.
Meanwhile the AGM Minutes can now be found on the website.
The Sheffield Congress has been saved thanks to Phill Beckett. It will go ahead on June 24th to 26th at the usual venue. An entry form can be found on the Chess Congress website.
Life goes on much as usual at Ecclesall Chess Club during the summer months. John Speck is captain of the Summer League team so if you wish to play team chess during the summer contact him directly. The fixtures can be found on the chessnuts site . John's contact details can be found on the SDCA site where you can also find details of the Crabb shield and the
Darnall rapidplay .
It can also be seen here that Bill Egan had an excellent performance in the Sheffield Individual Tournament being unbeaten and winning the Holroyd Trophy.
The Under140 tournament 2016/2017 is also being run this season details can be found on the Under 140 Tournament page.
Be sure to visit the new chess server https://www.chesssupersite.com
Early days very few players on line, I never had any lag/freezing issues like I get on chess.com with Windows 10. This may be because there are currently few users.
I have also started a new website for followers of the Shuffleduck. This is called the hpawn warrior and focuses on when early hpawn moves are played by real hpawn warriors. The first two added are Topalov and Simon Williams. Shortly there will be Carlsen, Kasparov, Fischer, Korchnoi, Morphy and a few others that you might have heard of. You can find the site at http://hpawn-warrior.weebly.com
Bill Egan has kindly provided the moves from his game with Chris Shephard (see Games). This game should inspire all of the members who aspire to play in the first team. Bill is not an ordinary member, he plays chess most nights of the week and most weekends, but for many years he has been graded between 120 and 130. He is now playing some of the best chess of his life. Following his draw with Deje Jeje in the Sheffield Championship he has now drawn with the reigning champion, and is currently unbeaten on 3.5/5. Well done, Bill.
This week the club night at the Golf Club was considered by many to be the most enjoyable for a long time. Buoyed up by the marvellous news that Bill Egan had managed to hold Chris Shephard to a draw in the Sheffield Championship, and with our two newest recruits battling out a scintillating game the rest of the members settled down to a few games of blitz, development of new lines in the anti-Fried Liver 3...h6 line and just general banter. As can be seen from the U140 Tournament section Safdar managed to beat Stuart but it was no one sided affair, with good chess played by both sides. With both players having an infectious attitude to chess and both improving rapidly, I am looking forward to the future at Ecclesall with these players as established players in the teams.
A team beat Nomads A 5-3 and the D team beat Rotherham B 3.5-2.5.
Elliott Spencer achieved 4 wins out of 5 in the Minor Section of the Doncaster Congress and shared 3rd place and a grading prize. Well Done Elliott! We are proud of you. To celebrate he has submit two of his superb wins to the games section. Thanks.
On Wednesday the A team beat Nomads B 8-0 while the C team lost to Stannington B 2.5-3.5 in a close match, and the B team take on the University B team on Thursday
This week SASCA A strengthened their grip on the Division One title with a 5.5-2.5 win over our A team. The 400 League team struggled against a good Woodseats team. John Speck held the draw on board 1 and newcomer Stuart Bullington had quite a classy win on bottom board, showing promise for the future.
The B team match against Barnsley was cancelled at fairly short notice.
It is with regret that Ken Scott has informed us that Peter Mitchell has passed away at 87 years of age. Peter was a metallurgist at Firth Vickers and British Steel.
I have not known Peter for long but as far as I know he has since a young man played chess in Sheffield League and the Sheffield Works League.
He was a keen violinist and an active snooker player. Until recently he was a keen golfer. He was also a keen stamp collector.
I know that he lost his wife many years ago in a tragic manner.
Peter has played in all of the Ecclesall teams and was for many years the club librarian. In seasons 1996 and 1997 he had an ECF grade of 93: equal to a current 118. I suspect that he had been stronger than that in his youth. In recent years he had beaten Alan Coupe, Steve Moxon, John Knight, Ron Keenan, Ken Kay, Joe Morrison and this season Josh Speakman.
Our condolences are passed to his family.
"Like everyone at the club, I'm saddened at the loss of Pete Mitchell, for whom we all had a lot of time, especially with respect for his insight, banter and memories and characteristic stories. He had quite a serious disposition, attention for detail befitting his hardworking attitude and dignified manner, but on a personal level, also had a wicked sense of humour. My abiding memory of him shall always be his ability to have the last laugh, and joyful moments when he would light-up in relating particular tales and experiences. He will be missed."
Ken Norbury
Bill Egan has kindly submitted his recent draw against Deji Jeje in the Sheffield Championship. Good game Bill and fantastic result thanks for the game.
Recent developments regarding the Shuffleduck (1.h4) are that Edward Winter has produced a special edition of his chess notes on the opening in which he mentions the book, and Simon Williams delivers checkmate in impressive style using the Shuffleduck system of play (see Shuffleduck and Appendix to the Shuffleduck respectively).
The new season is here at Ecclesall chess club. This will be our first full season at the Dore and Totley Golf Club.
Jim Burnett, the new Yorkshire Chess Association President, has been pretty prolific. He won the Castle Chess in Harrogate and has played a whopping 25 graded games in Yorkshire since the start of the season. (Honorary mention in Yorkshire Player of the Month citation).
This evening (13th January 2016) there were four Ecclesall teams in action at the Golf club. As it is Cup week Ecclesall 1 beat Barnsley 1 4-2 and progress to the semi-final, Likewise Ecclesall 2 beat Ecclesall 3 4-1 in the Sam Haystead Memorial Trophy and also progress to the semi-final. In addition Ecclesall D played and lost 2.5-3.5 to a strong Chesterfield C side in Division 4. Photographs of the venue (from tonight's action) can be seen in the Photos section
Last week saw the B team obtain a creditable draw against Stannington B.
Tonight will be a magnificent sight for everyone at Ecclesall with almost all of the members being present.
Three recent new games (see Games section) feature a convincing win by Simon Williams using the Shuffleduck opening system, a good win on Gameknot by John Speck, and an interesting game by Ivan Basarab-Horwath when he battled well although massively outgraded.
The Simon Williams game in which he mentions the Shuffleduck can be seen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B48K3cRA8hw
from around 29 minutes.
Three Ecclesall Chess Club members won grading prizes at the Scarborough Chess Congress. Phil Ellis and Norman Wragg in the Intermediate and Elliott Spencer in the Foundation. Well Done!
At the Golf Club there is sufficient space for analysis or other chess activity, even while major matches are taking place.
For example the Under 140 tournament has been progressing well.
With this in mind the following have been suggested as alternative activities:
A rapidplay tournament, either as an all-play-all or a knock-out.
Matches between club players, e.g. six game match, three each with white and black.
Challenges between our club members and players from other clubs.
Any of these activities should be able to be submitted for Yorkshire grading. The principal criteria are that this is agreed beforehand, and that it is agreed by all participants.
Ecclesall players helped Darnall and Handsworth Chess Club celebrate 30 years. The event was held at their new venue.
Ecclesall players taking part were Paul Fletcher (who shared third place in the rapidplay), Ken Norbury, Pete Willoughby (shared rapidplay grading prize and win for RoW v Darnall), Bill Egan (draw), Ivan Basarab-Horwath, John Fryer, Danny Dhunna and Guido Ngandu. Former Ecclesall player Daniel Sullivan drew with Chris Ross who won the rapidplay.
Further details will be found on the chessnuts site in due course.
The Player of the Summer is Ken Scott. Ken has been working tirelessly for the club over the last few months and was instrumental in securing our excellent new premises. He is continuing to captain the Rooks and has been supporting the Summer League team. A big thanks Ken.
An honourable mention goes to John Speck who stepped in at the last minute to captain the Summer League team, and with his captaincy and his good results, Ecclesall are hopeful of remaining in Division 2 with a good win (3-1) last night (3rd August 2015) over Chesterfield C.
The Second Lightning Tournament of the Summer was held on Wednesday 15th July 2015. Due to a limited entry it was run as a 7 player all-play-all. James Marley won with 5.5/6, Chris Shephard was second with 4.5/6, but perhaps the best performance of all was by Elliott Spencer who came third with 4/6 beating Chris Shephard and Ken Norbury in the process.
SHEFFIELD CHESS CONGRESS 2015 incorporating the NCCU Individual Championshipsheld at King Edward VII Upper School, Glossop Road, Sheffield
from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June 2015 with David Welch as chief controller
There were 156 entrants, of whom one withdrew without play, due to illness. Participants were distributed across four sections as follows:
Open 40 participants
Major(under 171)32 participants
Intermediate(under 146) 49 participants
Minor(under 121) 34 participants
By tying for first place with GM Mark Hebden on 4½ points out of 5, Jim Burnett of Bawtry, near Doncaster, became Northern Counties Chess Union individual champion, and holder of the Dr. Wahltuch Trophy, and also became NCCU Senior (over 60) individual champion, and second holder (after Paul Bielby) of the John Littlewood Trophy recently presented by Paul Littlewood in memory of his famous chess-playing Sheffield-born father John Eric Littlewood.
Jim conceded a draw to 18-year-old Oscar Hackner of Rotherham, while Mark Hebden conceded a draw to Jon Nelson of Sheffield.
Jim also secures nomination as the NCCU nominee for the 102nd British Chess Championships, to be held at University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, from Saturday 25th July to Saturday 8th August 2015.
Unusually, there were no junior (under-18) participants in the Open section, so the NCCU junior individual championship went to the highest-placed junior in the Major section, namely Max N Turner of Berwick, who finished on 3 points out of 5 and becomes holder of the Edmund Spencer Memorial Cup.
Final scores and prizes were as follows:
Open Section - 40 participants:
Name Club/Location Points Place &c Prize
Jim Burnett Ecclesall / Mansfield 4½ 1st-2nd = £150
Mark Hebden Birstall 4½ 1st-2nd = £150
Chris Ross Northampton Chessmates 4 3rd £60
Oskar Hackner Sheffield & Rotherham Js 3½
Deji Jeje Sheffield Nomads 3½ GP1 = £10
Shabir Okhai Syston 3½ GP1 = £10
Full lists - Open Major Intermediate Minor
Giant Killing in the Summer League.
The new Summer League captain rose to the task and defeated a player significantly higher graded with a nice positional sacrifice: see Games.
This year's AGM was held at the Abbey on Wednesday 20th May 2015. Changes in offices include Ken Scott going back to being the Rooks captain and also captaining the Richardson 3 side, and John Speck captaining the Knights and the Summer League Team. Roger Swindell has relinquished captaincy of the B team after 15 years his replacement has not yet been found. It is not intended to run an E team next season unless new members are forthcoming during the Summer Season. It was also confirmed that our new venue is the Dore and Totley Golf Club Clubhouse.The Clubhouse, Bradway Road, Bradway, Sheffield, S17 4QR
Telephone: 0114 2369872 Location Map - http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=433437&Y=380398&A=Y&Z=115
http://www.doreandtotleygolfclub.co.uk/how-to-find-us/
Lightning tournaments will once again be organised by Peter Hempson. The club is grateful for his continued support. If you are planning to attend and haven't already informed Peter please telephone him on 0114 2369230.
Non-members are welcome at these events providing that they have informed Peter beforehand.
Peter Hempson will be running lightning tournaments on June 17th and July 15th. If you wish to attend these events please arrive at 7.30 pm for a 7.45 start
The Summer timetable
27/05/15
So we had our first meeting at the new venue. Five members attended and it was a relaxed occasion, absorbing our new environment, discussing recent changes and applications of chess rules. Looking at some recent openings that had either been played by members or of interest to members, with Ken as usual finding more active ways of playing the openings, usually involving a pawn or piece sacrifice. As usual we all learn quite a bit from Ken, and contemplating the venue the mood of the meeting was optimistic.
22/07/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
29/07/15 Ecclesall - - Aughton A
05/08/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
12/08/15 Ecclesall - - SASCA B
19/08/15 Lightning Tournament
26/08/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
02/09/15 Lightning Tournament
07/09/15 SDCA AGM
09/09/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
16/09/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
21/09/15 SDCL Fixtures Meeting
23/09/15 Ordinary club night/ adhoc coaching
Coaching by Ken Norbury, friendly games and games in the Under 140 tournament will be available most club nights as well as other activities. Some members take advantage of the more relaxed atmosphere of the summer months by going over their games, good and bad, with comments from other members.
If any chess players want to try out the chess club the summer season is the ideal time. Coaching is available during the summer for would-be chess players who may or may not know the moves yet. Please contact Pete Willoughby on 01246769511 before you come along.
Coaching will be undertaken by Ken Norbury on an ad hoc basis. This was very successfully introduced by Ewan Cormack, with help from Ken Norbury, and Ken has kindly agreed to continue these sessions this year. Ken will be at the club on the designated nights and will be hosting activities designed to help players improve. The target ability level is 0 to 150, though in my opinion, slightly stronger players would benefit from attending also. Ken is an accredited ECF coach and is available for one-to-one coaching, the coaching offered here, which will be free of charge is group coaching and may take the form of tactics recognition, opening planning, guided chess games, simul, or off-hand discussion. Ken will try and tailor this to members needs, so it is important that members let him know what aspirations they have. As well as members, potential members are also welcome at these events, an ideal way of getting to know us as a club. The only stipulation is that your intention should be to enjoy your chess. If Ken is not aware of your intention to attend please telephone him on 0114 2360461.
On an ordinary club night, the club is available to members and potential members to play chess, discuss chess or pretty much whatever they wish to do. In the summer season the attitude is more relaxed so if you are thinking of joining us this is the ideal time to give us a try. Some members may be playing organised games on these nights (see Under 140 tournament). Any member is eligible to join the Under 140 tournament providing that at the time of entry their grade (ECF/Yorkshire) is under 140. There is a trophy available for the winner.
When a Summer League match is on ordinary club activities are available at the club, but members are asked to keep the noise levels down for the sake of the match players.
The Ecclesall Club Championship was played on
Sunday 26 April. Due to late withdrawals there were only 14 entrants. Jim Burnett is once again Club Champion with 6 points out of 6. James Marley came second with 4.5 points.
The Under 140 Grading Prize was shared between Bill Ward and Peter Cooper (3.5 points each), Peter Cooper received the new plate. The Under 120 grading prize was shared between Kypros Pilakoutas and Pete Willoughby (2.5 points each), the under 110 cup was given to Elliott Spencer who performed exceptionally well (1.5/3) before having to go to work thereby missing three rounds.
Yorkshire Player of the month Dave Adams
The player of the month for January is Dave Adams. Dave won the York Rapid play with 5.5 out of 6 and on the way defeated International Master James Adair. He scored two wins and a draw in Yorkshire league matches in the month but has remained unbeaten all season in Yorkshire league games. 14 matches in all.
With the usual good turnout of Ecclesall players, Scarborough Chess Congress was once more enjoyable. Bill Egan of Scunthorpe and Ecclesall was joint winner of the Minor section with a grading performance of 161. The only other success was a joint grading prize in the Foundation for Pete Willoughby.
Series 2 of Across the Board has started on BBC Radio 4. These programmes are hosted by Dominic Lawson. Dominic is the new President of the ECF.
The programmes can be heard here and seen here
I (webmaster) recently attended the Isle of Man International Chess Congress. With Masters, Major and Minor Sections there is something for anyone with the venue being at the Villa Marina, the site of the British Championship and the main entertainment venue in Douglas. The time control was 40 moves in 100 minutes, with an extra 50 minutes added after 40 moves. There was also a 30 second increment. So for 100 moves you got 200 minutes versus 75 in the Sheffield League. This allowed the standard of play to be much higher. I was pleased with 3 points/7 (2 wins and 2 draws), especially as all of my games were against higher graded opposition, except for one against a relative newcomer, ungraded but who still managed two wins against opponents graded 112 and 109. As usual I had more blacks (4) than whites (3), unbeaten as white.
Poker Stars sponsored this excellent event, and are likely to increase their sponsorship next season. With free time in the mornings and the evenings and a whole island to explore, I do recommend this congress to everyone.
News from the Sheffield & District Chess Association AGM.
Alan McIntosh was deservedly elected as Vice-President of the Association for his services to Sheffield B etc.
Steve Housley from Chesterfield has been given a number of books and DVDs etc. in pristine condition available for a donation to Jessops children's hospital. Anyone wishing any of the chess books etc. should contact him
Ecclesall finished a creditable 4th in the Champions Challenge just a half point behind Nomads
The Full report can be found at:
http://yorkshirechess.org/champions-challenge-2/
Champions Challenge
Bradford Knights 11
Leeds CCCC 10
Sheffield Nomads 8
Sheffield Ecclesall 7½
Bradford 160 3½
I am looking forward to playing at the Isle of Man International Open Tournament alongside loads of GMs. I will only be in the Minor section, but check it out six hour games in the minor!
http://iominternationalchess.com/
Potential members are recommended to telephone the club before attendance to ensure that their needs can be met. The normal contact is Pete Willoughby on 01246 769511, but if you know any other member, or prefer to contact one of the officers that is fine too. Potential members can just drop in, but in that case there is always a danger that they may find that all the members are busy in formal games, and are not available for formal greeting.
Ecclesall A will be entering the Yorkshire Champions Challenge tournament in August. The 2 day event is open to winners and runners up from leagues across the county. Tournament details can be found on the Yorkshire chess website- http://yorkshirechess.org/champions-challenge/
Champion’s Challenge 9/10 August
Last summer we ran the first ever ‘Champions’ tournament.
The idea was to invite all the championship winning teams from every league in Yorkshire to play in an end of season competition to see which team would end up as the champions of champions. It was also a chance for the teams to celebrate their success.
After the success of the first event I am pleased to say that we are now able to repeat the process.
I have negotiated with The Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford city centre to host the event on the weekend on 9 /10 August in one of their ground floor rooms. The hotel is situated in the centre of Bradford opposite the train and bus interchange. There is also ample parking for use by guests.
The Great Victoria Hotel has also provided us with a number of discounts for the weekend. Most notably Bed & Breakfast per twin or double room of only £50. If you wish to book any of the hotel offers you must contact them direct and quote chess event.
I hope to circulate the respective secretary of each of the leagues. I have had a promising response so far and am excited by the prospects.
Please consider this a formal invite to the champions of your league to take part in the event. It is open to champions and runners up of each of the leagues in Yorkshire. This year there will be a small entry fee of £15 per team to help cover some of the costs. I need to have confirmations of the entry by 1 July 2014 so I stress the urgency of getting back to me as soon as possible.
Ihor Lewyk
details available at http://yorkshirechess.org/champions-challenge/
Ecclesall Chess Club Championship 2014
Ecclesall Chess Club Championship was held on Sunday 13th April 2014at the Abbey. It was run as a six round Swiss with each player having 30 minutes to complete all moves.
The new champion is Jim Burnett who won with 5.5/6. His win in the crucial final game will be available in the Improvers section shortly. Runner-up was Peter Hempson with 5.
The Junior Section was won by Ashwin Krishna with 4 points with very creditable runners-up in Adhitya Krishna and Yiyuan Wang with 3 points each.
The Under 140 Champion is Phil Ellis with 3 points, and the Under 110 champion is Pete Willoughby with 2.5 points.
The names of previous winners can be seen in the honours section.
Sheffield Congress
Last weekend in June
http://www.sjmann.supanet.com/SheffCong14.htm
Got some time on your hands this summer, why not try your hand at big chess. This is only available at FICGS http://www.ficgs.com/
Report on Simul and coaching
14th August 2013
Ewan played a number of simultaneous games again, followed by demonstration of a master game, some endgame tuition and some opening principles. As it went well it is his intention to repeat it on the 28th August, (simul followed by coaching) so come along and shake that summer rust off and get ready for the new season.
31st July 2013
Ewan was nervous starting his first ever simul. The rules were explained and he was off like a rocket playing quickly on all boards with the players struggling to keep up with his pace. Ewan then hung a rook in one game, and slowed his pace to a more reasonable one, and even though a number of the remaining games were complex he managed to get to the end with no more losses, having to concede a draw in a dead drawn position, he managed to win the other three games for +3 =1 –1 result. If you don’t think that this is a good result for a first ever simul, come along and prove it. You are always welcome to give a simul at the club. So well done Ewan. He said he would like to do it again sometime with perhaps more, and even stronger players involved. Following the simul, Ewan went through a couple of the more interesting games, and continued his coaching on pawn structures, and also explained some of the peculiarities of some king pawn openings. The evening was finished off with some manic five minute games. The nest session is on 14th August so come along, so if you are not doing anything else you are guaranteed to enjoy yourself. Ewan would also like to point out that although I stated on the website that the coaching was essentially for Under 140 players, players over that grade will also be catered for, and would benefit the group.
Please also note that the series of books by Gary Kasparov, My Great Predecessors have been donated to the chess club by Ian Fielding. This series of books has received wide accolades but with some criticism:
My Great Predecessors received lavish praise from some reviewers (including Nigel Short), while attracting criticism from others for historical inaccuracies and analysis of games directly copied from unattributed sources. Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, chess historian Edward Winter said, "The absence of, even, a basic bibliography is shocking in a work which claims to be 'Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship', and a lackadaisical attitude to basic academic standards and historical facts pervades the book."
International Master John L. Watson said that Predecessors "must be recommended as an ambitious, interesting work by (I believe) the greatest player in history. It clearly delights and inspires some of its readership regardless of its weaknesses, and is a book that most players will want to own, if only for the story-like narration of events and chess developments. For these reasons alone, I would call it a significant book, perhaps even one of this year's best. But for some reason we have been led to believe that Predecessors is a masterpiece, belonging to the class of great books if not transcending them. In reality it is something less grandiose: a valuable book with numerous weak spots."
Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, International Master William John Donaldson said the book "represents good value if one lowers one's expectations and views it as a very reasonably priced hardback game collection rather than the definitive historical guide to the early World Champions. It is too bad that Kasparov and Plisetsky didn't hire Winter to fact check the book. It could have been much better and one hopes more care is taken with upcoming volumes."
Through suggestions on the book's website, some of the book's criticisms were addressed in following editions and translations.The books have received several awards from the English Chess Federation, which said "... Kasparov’s mammoth series has set new standards for writing about chess history."
Unofficial details of what happened at the AGM.
Peter Hempson to step down as Secretary following 2013-2014 season, Danny Dhunna to shadow him this season with a view to taking over next season (subsequently Danny has move to Bradford so the secretarial job is open again.
Joe Morrison has stepped down as C team captain, and has been proposed as Honorary Member. The Executive are to look into the Constitution, probably requiring it to be updated to allow this to happen.
Pete Willoughby has taken over as C team captain for the 2013-2014 season.
Ivan Basarab-Horwath has replaced Pete Willoughby as D team captain for 2013-2014 season.
An extra Richardson team to run in 2013-2014, Ecclesall 3 captain Pete Willoughby.
The executive are to look into a new trophy for the Club Championship under 140 section (worn out with no space for engraving), Player of the season (presumed lost) and the Stars Barred Tournament (new trophy).
Peter Hempson is looking at procuring lighting for the far end of the room to allow more boards to be played on an evening.
We are to look into the Pub advertising the presence of the Chess Club a little more pro-actively.
Everything else remains pretty much as it was.
Details of Ecclesall A 's great win against Woodseats A are on the A team page.
Congratulations to Daniel Sullivan who is this year's Sheffield Individual Champion.
The club are grateful for Peter and Janet Hempson who have organised the Ecclesall Club Championships for the 26th time.This season's Club Championship was held on Sunday April 14th at the Abbey with a time control of 30 minutes. It was a six round Swiss tournament and seventeen players took part. The winners were Peter Hempson and James Marley, with 4.5 out of six. The following won grading prizes:- Peter Cooper, John Fryer, Shane Frith (a visitor) and Pete Willoughby (for previous winners see honours page).
Ecclesall 1 were successful in winning the Richardson Plate with a comprehensive 5.5 - 0.5 victory against Worksop 1.
Matthew Holborow was successful at the York Congress sharing the winner's prize in the Major. An excellent result for Matthew. Well done!
Peter Hempson has put together a short history of the club for the website. If you think you can help him, please contact him. He has found that the inaugural meeting took place on September 11th,1974, and he took over as club secretary in 1986, so he would especially welcome help to find more details of those first 12 years.
Ecclesall have entered a team in the Summer League for 2013, Daniel Sullivan has agreed to captain this team so please contact him if you wish to play in this team.
As usual Ecclesall were well represented at the Scarborough Congress with both Peter Hoare and Phil Ellis winning grading prizes in the Intermediate Section. Joe Morrison also did well finishing just outside the prizes with 3.5 in the Foundation Section.
Anyone who wishes to submit news items or games for publication are encouraged to do so.
The club championship went smoothly this weekend. There were 18 entrants but two didn't turn up which left 16. It was a 6-round Swiss tournament. At the end Pete Hempson won with 5.5 and there were four people on 4 viz. John Fryer, Peter Hoare, Alan Mackintosh and a visitor Mark Allison. The Under-110 prize went to Joe Morrison with 2.5 and the junior prize went to Sam Cobbold with 3.5. Congratulations to all winners.
It was with the greatest of trepidation that I (PW) did the annual trek to Blackpool this year. My grade requiring me to enter the intermediate section. After settling in and having some mediocre fish and chips, it was time to renew old acquaintances. Together with John Eddershaw and Richard Wood, we had to also miss out on the club championship due to an unfortunate clash of dates. I managed to win my first game on the Friday night, against someone with an estimated grade of 130, a pleasing win as my opponent played well, but I deserved to win. Richard also had a good win, but as John was at a room on the other side of the hotel, I couldn't see his game.
On the Saturday morning, with my second black I managed to stay in the game against my second 130 grade opponent, until I blundered the exchange under a lot of pressure on move 46. The afternoon brought a sound beating, this time as white against a regular opponent who as usual gave me a lesson in how to play.
Saturday night was the time for the usual curry with the guys from Formby Chess Club, and the guys from Crusaders/ Preston, the curry at the Akash being up to the usual high standard, a great night had by all.
And so onto Sunday, a little tired, and expecting the worse, my opponent decided that he didn't like the knight being pinned in a Torre Attack, but after forcing it back and my sacrifice of the knight for two pawns and a kingside attack, he blundered fairly quickly and allowed a quick win (see improvers). The afternoon brought another Black this time against William Ward of Woodseats. He got his move order wrong in the Three Pawns Attack against the King Indian Defence and quickly lost a pawn. Subsequently he allowed an all out attack, when with apparently a quick win available, I failed to find the difficult continuation and settled for a draw by repetition. Bill defended well, and the game was very enjoyable (the game is available both here (improvers) and on the Woodseats website.
It is with the greatest of pleasure that we can announce that Ken Norbury has achieved accreditation as an ECF coach. It is fitting that this action acknowledges the good work that he has done with the SASCA juniors and here at our club.
Ken is quoted as saying 'I am pleased to have gained accreditation as an ECF Coach, and would like to take the opportunity of thanking everyone who has similar interest in promoting the game and especially enabling their knowledge skills and enthusiasm to be passed on to newcomers and improvers, both young and old, and in particular for allowing me to begin to develop a personal contribution to this cause. '
The fixtures can be seen by logging on to Chessnuts
