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British Chess Magazine - British Chess News Archive


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Year: 20032004

2004

 
Freddie Flintoff - Chess Player? [28/11/04]

One thing in particular that caught the BCM editor's eye in the recent Guardian 'rook'n'roll' article on chess was the fact that top English test cricketer Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff was a chess player. Apparently this is true - he played a bit of junior chess in Lancashire when 'nobbut a lad'. Given his iconic status in English cricket, he would seem to be a trump card in chess's never-ending (and slightly desperate) attempts to demonstrate how 'cool' we are to children and the media. After a bit of 'googling', I found this reference to him in Manchester Online as a 'chess champion' (media-speak for anyone who has ever pushed a pawn). Also this one, where Flintoff's chess abilities are cited as one of the reasons why he would make a good England captain: "A top chess player at school, he enjoys tactics and has a sharp cricketing brain." Today's Observer Sports Monthly has a big article on Freddie Flintoff - coincidentally by the same journalist who wrote the 'rook'n'roll' story, Stephen Moss - in which it mentions that Freddie's 'more academic' brother Chris has 'played chess for England' - anyone know anything about that? If you do,

Chess: The New Rook'n'Roll? [28/11/04]

Click on the above link to read an interesting article by Stephen Moss on chess and its UK image which appears in today's Guardian. This was inspired by a recent report from major UK supermarket Tescos that there had been an unexpected surge in the sale of chess sets and that they expected to sell 35,000 of them in the run-up to Xmas. Tescos attributed it to the influence of Madonna and Lennox Lewis. This could of course be a clever sales pitch rather than a hard news story. Any views? Read the Tescos story hereLatest: Brian Gosling and Charlie Linford add comments in response to points made by well-known chess teacher and author Richard James. Click here.

Alexey's Angels [26/11/04]

One of the more remarkable British chess publicity stunts was pulled off at the weekend's 4NCL (British Team League) in West Bromwich. Wood Green team manager Brian Smith rested his usual grandmaster-filled squad and instead fielded seven of the world's top female players for league leaders Wood Green 1 in their matches against North West Eagles and Betsson. The magnificent seven were Pia Cramling (SWE), Viktorija Cmilyte (LTU), Ekaterina Kovalevskaya (RUS), Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (GEO), Elena Sedina (ITA), Harriet Hunt (ENG) and Yelena Dembo (GRE). As well as breaking the record for the most women in a 4NCL team, there were eight different nationalities represented. It scarcely needs saying that this was the strongest female chess line-up ever seen on British soil and, if divided in half, would produce two teams capable of challenging for Olympiad medals. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention... 4NCL rules demand that at least one male player play in a top division 4NCL match. So one of the women players' husbands helped out and played a couple of games. You may have heard his name before: Alexey Shirov (ESP), husband of Viktorija Cmilyte and rated 2726.
   Of course, this stunt could have gone badly awry had the team lost. But they didn't. They beat NW Eagles 5-3 and Betsson 5½-2½ to maintain Wood Green's championship challenge. Wood Green 1 still leads Guildford-ADC 1 by a slender half game point after Round four. Alexey Shirov played Craig Hanley (who came close to surprising him) and Simon Williams and won both games. Ben Hague of NW Eagles beat Elena Sedina while John Littlewood drew with women's world championship finalist Ekaterina Kovalevskaya. In the Sunday match Adam Hunt beat Pia Cramling. Otherwise the team dubbed Alexey's Angels came through with flying colours. Latest (26 Nov): all 4NCL games for the two November weekends can be downloaded or viewed here • Match results are posted at www.4ncl.co.uk

 
British Rapidplay Championship, 13-14 Nov [13/11/04]

The Britih Rapidplay Championship is running over the weekend of 13-14 November in Halifax. There is a website showing the top six games from the tournament live - www.bcfservices.org.uk/rapid2004/
 

 
Where are They Now? [07/11/04]

The last time I checked, there were something like 33 English chess grandmasters and 45 IMs. Given that opportunities to play professional chess in the UK are now about as plentiful as jobs for snow plough mechanics in the Sahara Desert, fewer and fewer titled players make their money from playing chess, or even around the fringes of the game. So what do they do? One escape route that is becoming increasingly popular is professional poker. The grandmaster skill set fits well with this activity: the ability to calculate, remember, visualise, stay cool and retain focus over long periods of time... all these qualities are common to both games. Poker is enjoying a major vogue as more and more people play on the internet from the comfort of their own home, and some talented chess players are trading their chess sets for card packs. One such is Yorkshire IM Angus Dunnington. Angus hasn't entirely turned his back on chess, but he is beginning to make a name for himself at the virtual poker table. He is already an author of a book on internet gambling and is now writing a poker diary at the 32Red Poker Room. Worth a read...
 

 
Thomas Rendle: 1st in Rosny-sous-Bois [01/11/04]

British players don't win too many international tournaments these days, so it is nice to be able to report something positive for a change. Thomas Rendle (rated 2303), who plays for the Hastings & St Leonards club and who turned 18 during the Monarch Assurance, has won the 3rd Rosny-sous-Bois tournament, held last week. It was a category 5 all-play-all (with two GMs in the field) and Thomas scored 7/9 for his first IM norm and a 2571 TPR. Hint to the England selectors: of the English players who played in the Olympiad, only Adams made a TPR higher than this. Official website: http://www.ecole-rosny-echecs.org/
 

 
 
 
Guernsey International, 3-9 Oct [13/10/04]

The annual Guernsey tournament has just finished. There are results of both sections at http://www.logiclines.nl/chess - thanks to Marc Jongerius. Final: IM Robert Bellin (ENG) won the Open with 6½/7 ahead of GM Tiger Hillarp Persson (SWE) on 6. P Carlucci won the Holiday tournament with 6/7. My thanks to Arthur Brameld for sending all the games. Download zipped PGN fileGames ViewerTournament Crosstable.
 

Hastings 2004/5 - A New Format and Time Control [07/10/04]

The Hastings Congress has always been one of the most traditional in the chess calendar. However, because it is as ever strapped for cash, the 80th in the series is going to feature one of the most boldly avant garde formats yet tried anywhere. It is to be a knock-out (with losers going into a swiss event), and Black will be allocated more thinking time than White. Not surprisingly, this radical change has caused controversy. Any views? Email if you have any views.
   
Click here for readers' comments and questions. Updated 7 October... Stewart Reuben responds to BCM website readers' comments. He reveals that the time limit has been significantly amended in the last week or so (though Black still has more time). There are also two further comments from readers, including one from Gausdal organiser Hans Olav Lahlum...
Official tournament website at http://www.hastingschess.org.uk  
 

 
13th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International 2004 [04/10/04]

The 2004 Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Masters is being held from 25 September to 3 October. This year's tournament is dedicated to the memory of Richard Furness who was the tournament's chief controller for 11 years. The total prize fund is an impressive £16,500. Top seeds: Milov, Smirin, Iordachescu, Volkov, also in the field: Korchnoi, Speelman, Rowson, etc. It is one of the strongest tournaments ever held in the British Isles (possibly the strongest). Latest: Final scores - 1-2 Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (Iran, winner on tie-break), Petr Kiriakov (Russia) 7/9; 3-6 Murray Chandler (England), Vasilios Kotronias (Greece), Jonathan Rowson (Scotland), Zhang Zhong (China) 6½, etc.

 

 
Gawain Jones, IM and British Under 21 Champion [15/09/04]

So the Scots scooped all the prizes at the Smith and Williamson British Championship, then? Wrong. In fact the English teenager Gawain Jones won the British Under 21 Championship with an excellent score of 6½/11 - and at the tender age of 16, too. In the process he chalked up his third and final IM norm, becoming one of the youngest Britons to qualify for the IM title. Back in July Gawain finished 1st= in the Irish Open Championship, although he was not eligible to take the title. He is a remarkable young talent. Read more on Gawain's own website.
 

 
2nd Staunton Memorial, Simpsons, 23-29 Aug [29/08/04]

As last year, a four-player double-cycle tournament was held at the famous 19th century chess venue, Simpsons in the Strand in London, to commemorate Britain's greatest player of that era, Howard Staunton. The four participants were Jonathan Speelman (2555g), Daniel King (2512g), Jonathan Levitt (2432g) and Jovanka Houska (2375wg). Final: 1-2nd Daniel King, Jon Speelman 4/6, 3rd Jon Levitt 3½, 4th Jovanka Houska ½. CrosstableGame ViewerDownload Games Official website1st Staunton Memorial (2003)
 

 
Welsh Championship, 9-12 Apr [25/08/04]

This year's Welsh Championship, held at the Cardiff Moat House Hotel over Easter, was won by 42-year-old Suan-Shiau Evans-Quek, originally from Singapore but now qualified for Wales and married to Welsh women's international Debbie Evans-Quek. Scores: 1st Suan Evans-Quek 6/7, 2nd Howard Williams 5½, 3-6th Leighton Williams (Nidum), Iolo Jones (Cardigan), Ioan Rees (Caerphilly) & Tim Kett (Cardiff) 5, etc, in a field of 30 players. CrosstableGame Viewer (all games now available) • Download PGN. Thanks to Jon Gilbert for the games.
 

 
Triple Scotch at the Smith & Williamson British Championship, 1-14 Aug [20/08/04]

Triple scotches all round in Scarborough - firstly, congratulations to Jonathan Rowson, who has become the first Scottish player to win the British Championship since 1946. He looked to be winning most of the way against Andrew Greet, but eventually agreed a draw when it was enough for victory, Wells having drawn with Motwani and Williams unlikely to do better than draw with Hebden. Rowson's post-victory quote: "it's nice to dispel the myth that Scots are not quite champions". Secondly, Joe Redpath, 18, of the Hamilton club has won the FIDE World Major with 9/11. Joe will be 19 next Monday. The new British champion has already predicted that Redpath will be Scotland's next GM. Thirdly, Edinburgh resident and Scotland's player of the year Kete Arakhamia retained her British Women's title. Final Scores: 1 J Rowson 8½/11, 2-3 P Wells, S Williams 8, 4-7 J Emms, A Greet, R Gwaze, P Motwani 7½, 8-9 M Hebden, S Knott 7, etc. Games downloads/viewers: names and header information standardised, and ratings added. Corrections made to Rowson-Arakhamia (Rd 3, date), Briscoe-P.Hutchinson (Rd 2, colours). Latest: All games now available (20/08/04)
Final Crosstable

Results: Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7Rd 8Rd 9Rd 10Rd 11
Game Viewer: Rd 1Rd 2 Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7 Rd 8Rd 9Rd 10Rd 11
Download Games: Rd 1 Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7 Rd 8Rd 9Rd 10Rd 11
Download all Championship games in a zipped PGN file
Official Website: http://www.bcf.org.uk/events/bcf2004/index.html
 

 
Civil Service Championship, Leeds, 28-30 Jul [01/08/04]

Kevin Thurlow reports: Peter Jowett won the Civil Service Championship, a five-round swiss held at Devonshire Hall, Leeds University earlier in the week. 1 P Jowett 4/5, 2 AW Brusey 3½, 3-6 DI Calvert, JG Cooper (ENG, not WLS), A Maxwell, A Pickersgill 3, etc. Game ViewerDownload games.
 

 
Glorney & Faber Cups, Aberdeen, 26-29 July [31/07/04]

The two annual boys and girls international competitions were played at Elphinstone Hall in Aberdeen, with teams from home nations plus Belgium and the Czech Republic. Final Results: England won both cups for the first time since 1997. Glorney: 1 England 17½/25, 2 Czech Republic 15, 3 Belgium 13, 4 Scotland 11, 5 Ireland 10, 6 Wales 8½. Faber: England 12½/15, 2 Wales 9½, 3 Czech Republic 7½, 4 Belgium 7½, 5 Scotland 6, 6 Ireland 2. Official website: http://www.glorneyfaber.co.uk/Results & Games
 

 
Irish Open Championship, 10-18 Jul [29/07/04]

This year's Irish Championship was held as an open tournament, with entrants from England, Scotland, France and the Czech Republic competing in the nine-round event, held in Limerick, although only Irish-registered players were eligible for the national title. Top seed was 16-year-old Gawain Jones, who is now resident in Ireland. Results: 1-2 Gawain Jones, Joe Ryan 6½/9, with each of them winning €1,250 and Joe Ryan becoming Irish champion. Website: http://members.fortunecity.com/irishchess/irish2004/irish_championship_2004.htm
 

 
SpecSavers Young Masters, Millfield School, 19-25 Jul [28/07/04]

The annual Young Masters tournament, this year sponsored by SpecSavers Opticians, has been won by FM Craig Hanley of England. 1 FM Craig Hanley (2356, ENG) 7½/10, 2-3 IM Gergely Antal (2478, HUN) & FM Stanislav Jasny (CZE, 2311) 7, 4-7 CM Gawain Jones (2453, ENG), WGM Jana Jackova (2403, CZE), IM Gabor Pinter (2356, HUN) & Rafe Martyn (2322, ENG) 6½. Best Untitled: Jones, Jackova & Martyn 6½; Best 2151-2300: Thomas Rendle (2258, ENG) & Michael White (2154, ENG) 6; Best 2000-2150: Peter Roberson (2111, ENG) & William Bennet (2084, ENG) 5½; Best Unrated: Balvinder Grewal (ENG) 6. Latest (28 July): all the games now available (full names, round numbers corrected): Game ViewerDownload gamesLink to Official Site
 

 
111th Scottish Championship, Hamilton, 10-18 Jul [26/07/04]

Scottish no.1 Jonathan Rowson recovered from being a point behind to win the Scottish Championship, held at New Douglas Park, the home of Hamilton Academicals football club. He scored 7½/9. Danish IM Jacob Aagaard, resident in Scotland but ineligible for the national title, finished second with 7, a point clear of the field which included GMs Motwani and McNab. Aagaard thus secured his second GM norm. Final CrosstableGame ViewerDownload gamesLink to Official Site
 

BCF National Club Championship Finals, 4 July [08/07/04]

John Philpott reports: Wood Green won this year's BCF National Club Championship, beating Bedford 4½-1½ in the final. For full report and results, games viewer and downloadable PGN, click on the above link.
 

 
1st Coventry International, 16-18 Apr [27/04/04]

Jonathan Wilson reports: The 1st Coventry International attracted 100 entries from 11 countries, including 3 GMs and 6 IMs. 70-year-old US IM James Sherwin led with 4/4 but was overhauled in the last round. Final scores: 1-3rd IM Roland Berzinsh (LAT), IM Colin Crouch (ENG), GM Mark Hebden (ENG) 4½/5. Click on the above link for full results. All games now downloadable.
  

Monarch Assurance Isle of Man 2004 - Entry Details [02/02/04]

Click on the above link for full details of how to enter the 2004 Monarch Assurance Isle of Man event, which will be held from 25 September to 3 October. The total prize fund is an impressive £16,500. There are a number of changes this year, and the tournament is immediately followed by the inaugural World Senior Team Championship at the same venue (5-12 October). Further into the future, the Smith & Williamson British Championship will be travelling to Douglas, Isle of Man, in 2005.
 

West of England Congress, 9-12 Apr [22/04/04]

GM Matthew Turner retained his West of England Championship, though without a 7/7 score this year. The tournament was played at the Royal Beacon Hotel, Exmouth. Final Scores: 1 Matthew Turner 6/7, 2-3 Jack Rudd, James Sherwin 5, 4 Ian Ponter 4½. 21 players took part. Complete crosstables of Open, Major and MinorGame Viewer of all Open Games • Download all Open games. Thanks to Bill Frost for sending the games.
 

Obituary: Richard A Furness (1937-2004) [20/04/04]

His many chess friends will be saddened to learn that Richard Furness, one of Britain's leading chess organizers, arbiters and administrators, died on 15 April 2004 after a long illness. Richard Furness will be sorely missed on the British chess scene, for which he did so much over so many years. I know I am just one of his many chess friends who have been privileged to know him and will miss him personally. On behalf of British Chess Magazine and its readers, I send our deepest condolences to his wife Judy and his children Robert and Clare. Click on the link above for a full obituary. JS
 

Welsh Championship, 9-12 Apr [13/04/04]

This year's Welsh Championship, held at the Cardiff Moat House Hotel over Easter, was an unusually strong competition, with many previous champions turning up to try to regain the title. Perhaps the most notable of these was 17 times champion Howard Williams who occupies an almost legendary place in Welsh chess but who has been semi-retired from major tournament chess for a long time. It was a great come-back for 'AH Wales' (as he was known in his university days) - he scored 5½/7 - but he had to cede first place to 42-year-old Suan-Shiau Evans-Quek, originally from Singapore but now qualified for Wales and married to Welsh women's international Debbie Evans-Quek. The key to Suan's success was his defeat of reigning champion Richard Jones in round four which took him to 4/4. Scores: 1st Suan Evans-Quek 6/7, 2nd Howard Williams 5½, 3-6th Leighton Williams (Nidum), Iolo Jones (Cardigan), Ioan Rees (Caerphilly) & Tim Kett (Cardiff) 5, etc, in a field of 30 players. Game Viewer (four games - more to follow) • Download PGN • Full results, plus some photos, are available at Jon Gilbert's website.
 

British Blitz Championship, 4 Apr [07/04/04]

Irish-registered IM Gavin Wall is the new British Blitz Champion, having scored 16/20 in the ten double-round swiss event held at Brunel University, Uxbridge, on 4 April. He took the first prize of £400. 2nd IM Robert Gwaze (ZIM) 14½, 3-4th Thomas Rendle (U18 title), GM Keith Arkell (both ENG) 14, 5th IM Richard Bates (ENG) 13½. Meri Lyell won the British Women's Blitz title with 12/20. 68 players took part. Official website: http://www.britishblitz.co.uk/
 

 

Jersey Festival of Chess, 22-28 Feb [01/04/04]

Three GMs entered the annual Jersey International this year, and, predictably, finished in the top three places. Perhaps even more predictable was the winner - Tiger Hillarp Persson of Sweden. This is the third time he has won the tournament (his other wins were in 1999 and 2000). Alon Greenfeld (ISR) was second and Chris Ward (ENG) third. Results and Prizewinners: OpenMajorMinor. The best game prize went to Nick McBride for his win against Nigel Dennis in the Major. Download All Games of Jersey Open, Major, Minor.

 

Oxford University vs Wales, 15 Feb [29/03/04]

Played some time ago, as a warm-up match for the Varsity match, this match was won 6-2 by Oxford University. It was hosted by Keble College, Oxford. It is the second match to take place between the two teams, and Oxford also won the first match in 2002. My thanks to Daniel Gunlycke for sending the games. Individual ResultsGame ViewerDownload PGNReport on OUCC websiteReport on WCU website.
 

 
Varsity Match, Oxford v Cambridge, 13 Mar [13/03/04]

The 122nd Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities - the world's longest standing regular chess fixture - took place at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, London, on 13 March and was sponsored by Henry Mutkin and Barry Martin. With world-class grandmaster Luke McShane on top board and two IMs, Oxford were always firm favourites to win this year, and so it proved. Oxford won by a comfortable 6-2, their 50th win and first success since 1998. The overall match score since its inception in 1873 now stands at +54, = 18, - 50 in Cambridge's favour. Individual ResultsGame ViewerDownload PGN.
 

Portsmouth Congress, 20-22 Feb [29/02/04]

GM Mark Hebden was the runaway winner of the 2004 Portsmouth Premier, ahead of a strong but rather small field including GM Peter Wells, IMs Harriet Hunt, Adam Hunt, Colin Crouch, Simon Williams, Lawrence Cooper, etc. ReportCrosstableDownload PGNGames Viewer. Thanks to Pat McEvoy and Arthur Brameld.
 

 
Bunratty Masters, 20-22 Feb [24/02/04]

The annual Bunratty Masters tournament took place last weekend. Tournament favourites were the three GMs, Nunn, Baburin and Greenfeld (ISR), besides whom there were 7 IMs in contention. But none of the above won the tournament. Instead, undisputed first place and the 1,000 euros prize went to the 19-year-old English FM Lorin D'Costa, who must be congratulated on a famous victory. He scored 5/6, with draws against Gawain Jones and Mark Quinn and wins against (among others) Greenfeld and Brian Kelly. An even bigger surprise was John Nunn's loss to 2271-rated John Joyce of Wicklow in round one. The English GM recovered to finish second equal with Alex Baburin (RUS), Mark Quinn (IRL) and Steve Mannion (SCO) on 4½. Official site results - click here.
 

IM Andrew Martin - Simultaneous World Record, 21-22 Feb [24/02/04]

Congratulations to English IM Andrew Martin who has broken the record for number of opponents played in a concurrent simultaneous display. He took on 321 opponents on 21-22 February at Wellington College, scoring +294, =26, -1. The display lasted 16 hours 51 minutes, having started at 9.27am and running through into the wee small hours of Sunday morning. Congratulations also to his longer-lasting opponents for whom the display was equally long!
 

 
Gibtelecom Masters, 27 Jan - 5 Feb [06/02/04]

The Gibtelecom Masters was a 10-round swiss tournament, run under the auspices of the BCF by Stewart Reuben and played at La Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. 37 GMs were in the field, headed by Short, Dreev, Epishin, Speelman, etc. Final: Short beat Inarkiev to take sole first place. Other top board games ended in draws. 1 Short 8/10, 2 Ganguly 7½, 3-5 Dreev, Harikrishna, Wells 7, etc. Norms: GM for Bakre (IND), IM for Howell (ENG), Seel (GER) and Wippermann (GER), WGM for Ghate Swathi. Download games (complete)Tournament table (final) • Official website: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/
  

 

Hastings Challengers, 28 Dec - 5 Jan [26/01/04]

It's one of the top tournaments played in Britain every year, but the Hastings Challengers tends to get overshadowed by its big brother, the Premier. To date, only about half a dozen of the games played in the 2003/4 Challengers competition have seen the light of day. This is no criticism of the organisers, who do a superb job keeping this famous congress running and currently have the more pressing task of ensuring its survival for another year. Anyway, Bernard Cafferty managed to commandeer the scoresheets and the BCM editor motored down to Hastings yesterday to help him key in a selection of the best games of this event. We managed to amass 102 of them for your delectation, including all the games of the top four players. A reminder that the tournament was won by Zahar Efimenko (UKR) 7½, followed by B.Lalic (ENG), McNab (SCO), B.Socko (POL) 7, Crouch (ENG), Williams (ENG), Gwaze (ZIM), Dworakowska (POL) 6½, in a field of 111 players. Latest - file amended 26/01/04, with 2 corrections and 9 additional games. Games corrected: Rudd-Dworakowska (rd 1) - result corrected to 0-1; Kuzmin-Lyell (rd 9) - additional moves now appended; and 9 games played by Roger de Coverly appended (thanks, Roger!). Download PGN FileGames Viewer Tournament Crosstable. Incidentally, if anyone would like to send in their own games to be added to this database, please feel free to send them (in PGN or ChessBase format) to me -
 

2004 Welsh International Congress, 7-15 Jan [16/01/04]

The 2004 Welsh International Congress was held at the Hilton Hotel, Newport, Gwent. It was won by English GM Mark Hebden with 7½/9, 2nd GM Normunds Miezis (LAT) on 7, 3-4th GM V.Georgiev (MKD), IM Gormally 6½, and then a big gap to a group of 7 players on 5. Unfortunately Daniel Gormally failed to achieve a GM norm, and Charles Cobb just missed out on an IM norm. Wales' two young players Richard Jones and Ioan Rees both scored 2300 performances. Download complete PGN FileGames Viewer Tournament Table • Official website: www.mark-adams-home.com/welsh/index.html
 

Fulprint 17th York Congress, 9-11 Jan [15/01/04]

Jon Griffiths reports: 235 players competed at this established and popular New Year congress. Joint winners of the Open were Bret Addison (Hartlepool) and Alan Walton (Oldham), who both scored 4½/5 after drawing with each other in round three. For the first four rounds the leader was IM Andrew Ledger from Sheffield, who was beaten by Addison in the final round. The British Championship qualifying place was awarded to Alan Walton on tie-break. Download PGN FileGames ViewerFull Results
 

† Frank Parr (1918-2003) [13/01/04]

Frank Parr, veteran English chess player and former winner of the Hastings Premier, died on 28 December at the age of 85. Click above for the full obituary. Later Note: the funeral is to be held on Friday 23 January at 3.30pm at Randalls Crematorium in Leatherhead, Surrey.
 

79th Hastings International Congress, 28 Dec - 5 Jan [06/01/04]

Stewart Reuben reports: The 79th Hastings International Congress takes place at the Horntye Sports Centre, Hastings, from 28 December to 5 January. The line-up for the Hastings Premier, the world's longest-running international event is as follows: Alexander Cherniaev (RUS), Vladimir Epishin (RUS); Stuart Conquest, Danny Gormally, Mark Hebden (ENG); Vasilios Kotronias (CYP); Abhijit Kunte (IND); Kateryna Lahno (UKR) (who celebrated her 14th birthday at the drawing of lots ceremony on 27 December 2003); Peter Heine Nielsen (DEN) and Jonathan Rowson (SCO). Final: Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson beat top seed Vladimir Epishin in the last round to tie for first place. He becomes the first Scottish player to win the Hastings Premier, in conjunction with Vasilios Kotronias of Cyprus who drew a short game with Kunte to finish 1st=. Scores: Rowson, Kotronias 6/9, Epishin 5½, Kunte 5. Download PGN File Play through games in Java


2003

 
British Rapidplay Championship 2003 [23/11/03]

GM Peter Wells of Abingdon retained his title of British Rapidplay Champion at the 11-round swiss event held in Halifax, 15-16 November. He finished strongly, defeating Nicholas Pert in the final round to end with a score of 9/11. The runner-up was was Bogdan Lalic with 8½. Nigel Davies and Nicholas Pert finished 3rd= with 8. Robert Gwaze of Zimbabwe scored 7½. Download 35 games in PGNPlay through 35 games in java window • for details of other prizewinners, etc, see the official website: www.british-rapidplay.org.uk.
 

29th Guernsey International Chess Festival, 19-25 Oct [26/10/03]

A delightfully discursive account of the annual Guernsey International from BCM's roving reporter Kevin Thurlow. Latest: GM Tiger Hillarp Persson (SWE) took a quick draw with Krunal Kahar in the last round to finish first with 6/7. 2nd= were K Kahar (ENG), R Bellin, (ENG) M van Herck (BEL) 5½. A few of the games now available: JavaPGN
  

Close Encounters of the Short Kind ... [09/10/03]

Or should that be Short Encounters of the Close Kind? I promised you further details of what happened when celebrity grandmaster Nigel Short withdrew from the Monarch Assurance tournament in the Isle of Man on 27 September. Well, here is the real inside story, of a tired Short and an emotional prizegiving. Don't miss the excellent advice to grandmasters from tournament winner Simen Agdestein... JS
 

Major Awards for the Monarch Assurance's Sponsor & Director [07/10/03]

The Managing Director of Monarch Assurance, Patrick Taylor, has been presented with the Isle of Man's Department of Tourism's "Merit Award" for 2003. This is a richly-deserved award for the sponsor of the Monarch Assurance International, of which the 12th just took place in Port Erin. The presentation was made at the prize-giving on 5 October. Full story on the www.manxradio.com website. At the same time tournament director Dennis Hemsley was awarded the BCF's President's Award for his huge contribution to chess in Britain by the BCF President Gerry Walsh. Our heartiest congratulations to both! We'll be reviewing the big Manx tournament here when we get our breath back... I flew home today after being given a seat on the plane next to ... Monarch Assurance MD Mr Patrick Taylor! A happy coincidence. JS

12th Monarch Assurance International, 27 Sept - 5 Oct 2003 [13/01/03]

A galaxy of top players took part in the 12th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International (27 Sept - 5 October), the strongest international swiss event held in the British Isles. Nine rounds, 26 GMs, 16 IMs and 2 WGMs, representing 30 countries were attracted by the generous £16,750 prize fund. Click here to see the official website, results, games in java and PGN, reports. Final: S Agdestein (NOR) and S Lputian (ARM) finished with 7/9 - Agdestein first on SPS (Sum of Progressive Scores)

BCF Book of the Year 2003 - Short List [04/09/03]

The British Chess Federation's judges have short-listed four books for this year's Book of the Year award. Click on the above link for full details of the books chosen and the judges' assessments. Latest: Kasparov's book is the winner.
 

Staunton Memorial Tournament, Simpsons, 25-31 Aug [01/09/03]

Grandmaster chess has returned to its most famous historical venue with the Staunton Memorial Tournament being played at Simpsons in the Strand, London. This four-player, double-cycle, event is organised by GM Ray Keene and Barry Martin and features grandmaster Jon Speelman, former world championship candidate; grandmaster John Emms, captain of the English 2002 olympiad team; grandmaster Daniel King, well-known TV commentator on chess; and England's most promising young player, FIDE Master David Howell, aged 12. Latest: Final Round results: both games were drawn (Howell ½-½ King, Emms ½-½ Speelman), which means that Jon Speelman made sure of undisputed first place with a draw. Final Scores: Speelman 4½/6, King 3½, Emms 3, Howell 1. The postponed round 5 King-Emms game was played off on Monday, and ended in a draw. Click on the above link for the official website, with full details, photos, PGN file, reports by GM Ray Keene and the games in java windows.
 

UK Chess Challenge Matches, 20 Aug [25/08/03]

On 20 August, the 2002 US Women's Chess Champion, Jennifer Shahade took on two UK Chess Challenge champions, 18-year-old Lorin D'Costa and 17-year-old Aly Wilson, and won. Jennifer played two 15m rapidplay games against each player on a giant chessboard in London's Broadgate.
Jennifer Shahade, who had never played outdoors on a giant set before, won 2-0 against Aly Wilson and 1½-½ against Lorin D'Costa. The event was financed and hosted by the British Land Company PLC
Shahade v Wilson, Game 1, in java window.

Lancashire Chess Festival, 4-9 Aug [25/08/03]

Bill O'Rourke reports: Two international tournaments took place at the Blackpool Hilton. The Hilton Premier was a category 8 10 player all-play-all, featuring the newly-crowned British champion Abhijit Kunte, and fellow GMs Nigel Davies and Colin McNab, while the Ron Banwell Masters was a category 2 all-play-all features three IMs plus the UK's top prodigy David Howell.
Final:
Hilton Premier Final Scores - three players shared first place - British champion GM Abhijit Kunte (IND), GM Nigel Davies (ENG) and Scottish IM John Shaw each scored 6/9. Irish FM Sam Collins made an IM norm. In the Ron Banwell Masters, IM Sundararajan Kidambi of India won with 7/9 ahead of Jeff Horner, IM Steve Mannion (SCO) and Gary Kenworthy on 6. No norms achieved. Note, there have been some corrections to the original game scores.
Hilton Premier Crosstable & ScoresPGN zipped Banwell Masters Crosstable & ScoresPGN zipped
Official Website

Smith & Williamson BCF Congress 2003, Edinburgh [02/08/03]

This year's BCF Congress started on 21 July at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh. The championship tournament is not very representative of British chess, there being very few top English grandmasters in the field and a great number of Commonwealth players. However, the congress as a whole has proved very popular with amateur players, topping 1,007 competitors - a notable achievement for congress director Neil Graham and his team. Click on the title link for commentary on the controversial structure of the BCF Championship, plus reader's feedback. The powers-that-be have finally bowed to widespread opinion. A meeting of national federation representatives was held on 21 July in Edinburgh and agreed that, as from 2004, the British Chess Championship would be open only to citizens or permanent residents of British Isles countries (click here for details).
Last Round: Congratulations to Abhijit Kunte of India, the 2003 BCF Champion. He made sure of the title when he drew with Joe Gallagher and reached 8½/11, while Harikrishna drew with Rowson. Ketevan Arakhamia is the 2003 British Women's Champion and Penteala Harikrishna the 2003 British Under 21 Champion. Scores after Round 11: 1st Abhijit Kunte (IND) 8½/11 (£10,000); 2-4th P Harikrishna (IND), V Kotronias (CYP), P Motwani (SCO) 8 (£3,000 each); 5-9th K Arakhamia-Grant (GEO), J Gallagher (SUI), J Rowson (SCO), A Summerscale, N Pert (both ENG) 7½, etc.
PGN File (COMPLETE exc for two missing games)Official Website
 


Hilton Ron Banwell Masters, 3-9 Aug 2003 [03/07/03]
Staunton Memorial Tournament, Simpsons, 25-31 Aug [11/07/03]
4th Joe Soesan Memorial Cup, Coventry 2003 [21/07/03]
Coulsdon Rapidplay, 19 Jul [21/07/03]
Central London Rapidplay, 13 Jul [21/07/03]
Monmouth Congress, 11-13 Jul [21/07/03] Kevin Staveley reports: The Monmouth Open was won by GM Julian Hodgson with 4½/5 ahead of D Gormally, J Sherwin, D Buckley, L Cooper and M Ferguson on 4. The Welsh Women's Championship ran as part of the open and was won by Debbie Evans-Quek.
1,800 Turn Out for British Land National Gigafinal, 12-13 July 2003 [21/07/03]
BCF Website of the Year 2003 [31/07/2003] The Essex Chess Association website has become the first recipient of the British Chess Federation's new website of the year award. It had some tough competition from the growing number of excellent British chess websites out there, but it thoroughly deserved the award. Check it out - the URL is http://www.essexchess.org.uk/
13th Smith & Williamson Young Masters, Millfield [21/07/03] Richard Palliser reports: The 13th (and final) Smith & Williamson Young Masters takes place again at the excellent venue of Millfield School, Somerset from 9-17 July. Final: GM Evgeny Prokopchuk (RUS) and FM Craig Hanley (ENG) finished 1st= with 6½/9. 3-4th Gawain Jones & IM Karl Mah (both ENG) 5½, with six players on 5. Every game bar one was drawn in the last round. The exception was the extraordinary game between back-marker Thomas Nixon and Gabor Pinter. Nixon's first win of the tournament came courteous of some beginner-like play from the Hungarian IM: Pinter,G (2376) - Nixon,T (2226): 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nxc6 bxc6 6 Nd2 Bc5 7 Bd3 d6 8 a4?? Ng4 9 0-0?? Qh4 10 Nf3 Nxf2 0-1. A FIDE-Rated event ran alongside and was won by J Ezra Lutton with 8½/11 ahead of Charlie Linford 8 - click below for a complete crosstable, prizes and games download. Sadly, this is the last time the tournament will be sponsored by Smith & Williamson, who must be thanked for their great generosity over the years.
Final Crosstable (Young Masters)
Official websiteComplete PGN file - Young Masters (Zipped)Final Crosstable (FIDE-Rated)Complete PGN File - FIDE-Rated event (Zipped)
'Chess in Pieces - 21st Century Art': Chess on UK TV [08/07/03]
Scottish Youth Team versus House of Commons, 30 June 2003 [30/06/03]
UK Education Minister Gives Chess a Boost, 30 June 2003 [30/06/03]
BCF National Club Finals, 29 June [02/07/03]
Central London Rapidplay, 29 Jun [03/07/03]
Swansea Rapidplay, 29 Jun [21/07/03]
Manchester Summer Congress, 27-29 Jun [03/07/03]
48th Richmond Rapidplay, 22 Jun [21/07/03]
9th Heywood Congress, 21-23 Jun [03/07/03]
Frodsham Rapidplay, 1 Jun [08/06/03]
Central London Rapidplay, 25 May [27/05/03]
47th Richmond Rapidplay, 18 May [28/05/03]
28th Nottingham Congress, 25-27 Apr [18/05/03]
GM Clock Simultaneous at Bury Chess Club - Keith Arkell, 29 Apr [02/05/03]
Central London Rapidplay, 27 Apr [02/05/03]
3rd Oxford University Chess Congress, 26-27 Apr [02/05/03]
Jersey v Guernsey Match, 26 Apr [02/05/03]
49th Welsh Championship, 18-21 April [27/05/03]
56th West of England Congress & Championship, 18-21 Apr [02/05/03]
Bolton Easter Congress, 18-20 April 2003 [02/05/03]
Six-Nations Visually-Handicapped Tournament, 14-16 Apr [27/05/03]
Durham Congress, 11-13 Apr [02/05/03]
110th Scottish Championship, Edinburgh, 5-13 Apr [21/04/03]
Coulsdon Rapidplay, 5 April [02/05/03]
Braille Chess Association (BCA) AGM Tournament, 21-23 Mar [02/05/03]
British Blitz Championship, 23 Mar [02/04/03]
121st Varsity Match, 15 Mar 2003 [15/03/03]
14th Nottinghamshire Rapidplay, 23 Feb [29/03/03]
Portsmouth Congress, 21-23 Feb [29/03/03]
Jersey International, 16-22 Feb [24/02/03]
Central London Rapidplay, 16 Feb [20/02/03]
Dorset Championship, 7-9 Feb [20/02/03]
4th Yateley Manor International (YMI) 24-26 Jan & 1-2 Feb [20/02/03]
Cleveland Congress, 24-26 Jan [29/01/03]
Nigel Short Simul, 20 Jan [28/01/03]
Friends of Hastings International Chess Congress [13/01/03]
8th Heywood Rapidplay, 12 Jan [13/01/03]