After Magnus Carlsen, the World Champion lost the following game he withdrew from The Sinquefield Cup; possibly the most prestigious invitation event in chess. He then issued a strange tweet which contained  vague insinuations.

Will we ever know whether

Magnus threw his toys out of the pram after losing to the lowest rated competitor?

Suspects Hans Niemann of cheating during the game?

Thinks that a member of his team passed Niemann his opening preparation?

Without any evidence it does smack of a bad loser, anyway here is the game

 White:  Carlsen, M.     Black:  Niemann, Hans Moke

9th Sinquefield Cup 4^th September 2022

   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7.   bxc3 dxc4 8. Nf3 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nc6 11. Qxc4 e5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Rfd1   Be6 14. Rxd8 Bxc4 15. Rxa8 Rxa8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Kf1 Rd8 18. Ke1 Na5 19. Rd1   Rc8 20. Nd2 Be6 21. c4 Bxc4 22. Nxc4 Rxc4 23. Rd8+ Kg7 24. Bd5 Rc7 25. Ra8 a6   26. Rb8 f5 27. Re8 e4 28. g4 Rc5 29. Ba2 Nc4 30. a4 Nd6 31. Re7 fxg4 32. Rd7 e3   33. fxe3 Ne4 34. Kf1 Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Rc2 36. Bxf7 Rxe2+ 37. Kg1 Re1+ 38. Kg2 Re2+   39. Kg1 Kf6 40. Bd5 Rd2 41. Rf7+ Kg6 42. Rd7 Ng5 43. Bf7+ Kf5 44. Rxd2 Nf3+ 45.   Kg2 Nxd2 46. a5 Ke5 47. Kg3 Nf1+ 48. Kf2 Nxh2 49. e4 Kxe4 50. Be6 Kf4 51. Bc8   Nf3 52. Bxb7 Ne5 53. Bxa6 Nc6 54. Bb7 Nxa5 55. Bd5 h5 56. Bf7 h4 57. Bd5 0-1   

The final club event of last season saw a close battle between the two stars of the season in the KnockOut final. After an exciting and very close battle Dominic Blundell was victorious and wins the John Cousens Vase

After a very long tournament we have a new Club Champion

Congratulations to Manoj Natarajan

The Club Championship was, as always, tough and hotly contested and Manoj was the player able to rise above all challengers, all tricky positions and claim the crown.

Manoj played superbly throughout the season, both in this tournament and when representing Broadstairs in team matches. Manoj played many super games on his way to victory and he has chosen the following game to best show his skills and style. Fittingly this was the final game of the Championship and both players were aware that a victory would guarantee that Manoj would be the Champ.

 White:  Flood, Andy     Black:  Natarajan, Manoj

Broadstairs 1 August 2022

   1. Nf3 {A solid start, Andy was aware that if he lost this game then Manoj   would be crowned Goodall Champion} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O {Manoj   prefers to get his King to safety before deciding on a plan} 5. e3 d6 6. d4   Nbd7 7. Nbd2 e5 8. Bd3 Re8 {Manoj now has some threats....e4 or the opening of   the e file} 9. Ne4 {A 'misclaculation' now if Manoj finds the correct moves   the Goodall is secure} Nxe4 {Great move, forcing a sequence which increases   his advantage} 10. Bxe4 exd4 {Attacking the Bishop on e4} 11. Qc2 {The White   King is stuck on e1 watching his fortress collapsing} Nf6 {A nice forcing move,   maybe Nc5 was even stronger} 12. Bd3 dxe3 {Manoj is simply 2 pawns up, with a   better position} 13. O-O-O Ng4 {Very nice, again Manoj forces play for a few   moves} 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. fxe3 Nxe3 {Forking Rook and Queen, Andy finds a move   that saves losing the exchange} 16. Qc3+ Qf6 17. Qxf6+ Kxf6 18. Rde1 Bg4 19.   Re2 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Re7 21. Be4 Nf5 {Nice play, pinning the Bishop to the Rook}   22. Rhe1 Rae8 23. Kd2 c6 {Manoj doesn't rush but covers all the tricks before   cashing in} 24. f4 Nd4 {Knights are so tricky!} 25. Re3 Ne6 26. Rf1 Nc5 {   The final excellent move, Black is completely winning} 27. f5 Nxe4+ 28. Rxe4   Rxe4 0-1       

Congratulations to Paul Verrall, winner of the Broadstairs Summer Swiss.

Paul has been a very valuable club member this season, playing whenever possible and improving quickly. Paul was a very deserved winner of the Summer Swiss and will be a dangerous opponent, for everyone, next season

The following position was reached in a Goodall game yesterday.

White played e6 and eventually won after a tough battle, this morning my 12 year old student pointed out a better move. The calculation took him about 1 minute…which proves the old chess saying that ‘ If you see a good move, look for a better one ‘

See if you can find the move that I didn’t consider: actually there are at least 2 moves that are much better than e6!

White to Move