Game of the Week 7

This latest Game of the Week may seem a contradiction in terms as David freely admits that ‘it is not a game to savour….. strewn with errors, missed opportunities and utter tedium’ so all the more reason to play though the entire 93 moves to see if you agree!

 David Wheatley writes:

“Away from the drama and excitement of the Hastings Masters, us lowly weekenders were doing our best to enjoy the dreaded last round.  In the U120 group (the lowest) you are either playing for a top three place, as did Clive Le Baigue (and he won, to secure third place on his own) or else for pride and reputation with an eye on your grading performance…

This is my game against a lower graded player so even more reason not to lose or even draw.  It is not a game to savour as it is strewn with errors, missed opportunities and utter tedium and it went on for 93 moves as neither of us wanted to give in.

By move 38 you can look at a ‘possibly won game’ but to win a game, you have to keep playing.   With the added ‘bonus’ of yet another new time control – all moves in 110 mins plus 10 seconds a move added – it was nerve-racking to the end….”

White: Ken Haworth (75)                            Black: David Wheatley (106)

(Hastings Weekend Congress: U120)  

Hastings Chess Congress

And so to Hastings.  Not having visited as either player or spectator for some years, I thought I would pop down to watch some of the top games in the masters tournament and check out the venue.  The Horntye Park Sports Complex has hosted the tournament for some years now and while it is an improvement on the pier, it lacks the comfort that the Cinque Ports Hotel provided for the top players when the Hastings Premier was held there previously. However, as Leonard Barden pointed out in his Guardian article, the problem the organisers face is that Hastings is sandwiched between the now established and successful London Chess Classic in December and the huge Wijk aan Zee tournament in Holland starting next week. Sponsored by Tata Steel, it can attract the best players: five of the world’s top ten are competing this year with the ‘weakest’ of the fourteen participants (all grandmasters) graded 2666 – only one player at Hastings has a higher grade.   A glance at the short video on their website illustrates the success of the tournament: 1800 players, 15,000 visitors, 90,000 website visitors each day etc.  Without similar investment it is difficult for Hastings – or any other major tournament for that matter – to compete.

Nevertheless, it has plenty going for it. It claims to be the oldest chess tournament in the world, dating back to 1895, and has been won by some of the world’s best players: Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Euwe, Tal.  It still attracts players from all over the world today and  the top five boards yesterday featured only three British players, the rest coming from India, China, Hungary, France, Brazil, Poland and Switzerland. It may not be the ‘Premier’ invitation tournament it once was but it is still worthy of the title Hastings International Chess Congress. It also has one tradition that needs preserving and that is the excellent Chris Ward in the commentary room.  Here is a game that enthused him yesterday.

White: Robert Bellin (ELO 2338)                            Black: Mark Hebden (ELO 2523)

(Hastings 14/15 Round 5)  

 

Christmas Quiz answers

Happy New Year from Broadstairs Chess Club.  I’m sure you are all on the edge of your seats waiting for the answers to the Christmas Quiz so here they are as promised.  

  1. Which veteran grandmaster is being described here and who is the ‘winner’ mentioned? “(His) morbid pride, inordinate vanity, and self-assurance …were well-known…after his defeat, in bitter and irresponsible interviews to the foreign press, (he) spoke disrespectfully about the winner and did everything possible to disparage his play and the result of the event as a whole.” (Korchnoi and Karpov)
  2. When was the first British Chess Championship played and who was the winner? (1866 Charles de Vere)
  3. How many moves were made in the longest drawn tournament game ever played? (191)
  4. Johnny Marks, a member of the board of governors of the Marshall Chess Club in New York, was a composer most famous for which popular Christmas song? (Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer)
  5. When was the first official over-the-board chess match between Oxford and Cambridge played?  (1871)
  6. Chess puzzle: White to play and mate in half a move…  (White completes castling queenside) chess puzzle

7. What is a ‘tabiya’ in chess? (a set opening or pattern of play)

8. Which thrice-married former world champion described the relationship with his first wife as ‘like bishops of opposite colours’ ? (Spassky)

9. According to a study by Pittsburgh University of leading protagonists (from Philidor to Alekhine), what is the average life expectancy of (top) chess players? (60)

10. Which famous nineteenth chess player said “Love chess and it will love you”? (Anderssen)

 

Christmas Dinner 2014

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Richard, Bob and Paul at the dinner

No-one is entirely sure when it was originally decided to hold a club Christmas dinner but it was about twenty years ago.  There wasn’t one in George Stiggers’ time so it is possible that the first was in 1995 which would make this the twentieth.  (In fact, a glance at the AGM minutes should reveal all so when the club re-starts in the New Year I shall check.)

Once again, as tradition has it, we assembled at the Charles Dickens overlooking Viking Bay for a drink before wandering down to the Tartar Frigate which has hosted most of our dinners over the years. With the harbour lit up, it is a picturesue sight at Christmas and the Tartar Frigate is cosy and ideal for small parties.  Although it is a Broadstairs dinner, we have occasionally invited friends from other clubs and this year Clive Le Baigue from Margate joined twelve Broadstairs members for the meal. As well as the delicious food and wine, crackers and terrible jokes, there were two quizzes – another Christmas tradition – one, a fiendishly difficult chess quiz set by David Faldon, and the other based on the words ‘tartar’ and ‘frigate’ set by Michael Jenkinson.

As was pointed out at the AGM, Broadstairs has enjoyed another successful year financially which enabled the club to subsidise the dinner once again so not only was the evening great fun but it was also a comparatively cheap one. The club will be closed for Christmas next week, re-opening on Monday January 5th.

Hargreaves Shield v Ramsgate (a)

Broadstairs ½        Ramsgate 3½

1. Paul Carfrae (132) ½-½       Steve Guy (139)
2. Tom Lovegrove (117) 0-1       Brian Westover (138)
3. Andy Flood (e114) 0-1       Malcolm Snashall (127)
4. David Wheatley (106) 0-1       David Howdle (83)

 Andy Flood writes:

John (tv celebrity) Couzens arrived at the Ramsgate venue early but was unable to play due to tv/media commitments. The game of the day was on Board 1 where Paul Carfrae fought for and accepted the draw offered to him with his opponent having only two minutes left on his clock. The game was highly complex and switched as each player sought to dominate but with Paul doing most of the pressing and attacking. Other than that excellent draw the rest of the team were, like John, all at sea. Tom struggled against his higher graded opponent before conceding. David unfortunately lost a piece on his unlucky move 13 and never recovered. My game was well balanced for three hours with Malcolm (Ramsgate) having the edge until it all crumbled as I sought to hold onto a pawn and lost much more before choosing to resign and watch Paul’s game. So the final result was a well deserved win for a strong Ramsgate team in the last game of the year with Paul saving Broadstairs’ blushes.