ECF E NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2020
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the September eNewsletter. Our lead story this month is from Brian Valentine and his team for their outstanding work on the new replacement to the ECF grading website. We are also indebted to one of the all-time greats of English Chess, Mr Howard Staunton, for accepting our invitation to discuss historical and contemporary chess matters with our correspondent, the titled Timothy Wall Esq.
Dr Stephen Greep provides an excellent summary of the 2020 ECF Awards. There is also full coverage of the vibrant online scene around the country and beyond including Malcolm Pein’s report on England’s performance at the FIDE Online Olympiad, Nigel Towers’ monthly round-up and reports from Mark Murrell (County Championship Finals and National100) and Andrew Caswell (chess.com 2020 World League title).
We are reminding members once again that renewal of membership fees is vital for ensuring the continuation of the ECF’s work both online and over the board. Like many sports and leisure organisations we have taken an enormous hit over the past six months and we need members’ help to continue providing online and over the board services. Renewal is a very simple process at this link - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-your-federation-needs-you/
Also, please remember that the generous offer to ECF members from Chess & Bridge runs out on Sunday 13 September. More here - https://www.chess.co.uk/ecf-members/
Finally we would like to hear from members who have written, or are intending to research and write, about the history of chess in their club, league or county. I will be pleased to offer space in the newsletter for such projects. If you have a link to such a history that already exists, please share it with [email protected] to be part of a planned new section on the ECF Resource website.
--- Mark Rivlin
The new ECF Rating website
Brian Valentine Reports --- A new replacement for the grading website has been a long time coming! We are introducing a much quicker results service supporting more frequent rating updates. We’ve decided to call the new numbers ‘ratings’ rather than ‘grades’. I hope members will appreciate our big step forward. The new Monthly Rating System has gone live here - https://www.ecfrating.org.uk/v2/new/list_players.php
The August grading revision of results to the end of June was converted from old grades to new four-digit ratings applicable on 1 July. There has been a smattering of results since then and so a few ratings have jogged forward to 1 September under the Elo methodology. This is a beta version and I would appreciate any comments members may have and we will strive to improve things. There is a help section that will be refined and extended based on feedback.
Any results submitted by results officers should be loaded overnight and new monthly lists should be published overnight on the first of each month starting on 1 October.
All information on historical grades has been transferred to the new site. Although the old site will remain up for sometime, we will be encouraging players to make this the go-to site.
We still have more developments in mind, the first noticeable one is likely to be getting the online ratings into a similar place.
A little hint: if you don’t like the black and red layout (designed to be phone friendly) hit the ECF logo in the top left corner and see if you prefer the change. Please use this email address to contact us - [email protected]
Pieces of Staunton - Tim wall interviews one of the legends of English Chess here
ECF 2020 Awards
Stephen Greep reports --- Awards go to Oxford University Chess Club (Club of the Year), Bude Chess Club (Small Club of the Year), Scorch Chess and 4NCL Online (Online Contributions of the Year), Hull 4NCL International Congress (Congress of the Year), Graham Bromley, Ian George, Alex Holowczak, Peter Hornsby, Harry Lamb and Nigel Towers (President's Award for Contribution to Chess). No award was made in the Magazine of the Year category. Copies of all the citations for the awards can be found here
We would like to thank all the people who sent nominations to the committee reflecting the tremendous work taking place throughout the chess world. Every nomination was carefully considered and evaluated. As Committee Chairman, I will continue reviewing the awards process over the next few months, and I welcome views as a part of an on-going consultation with members of the ECF.
Online Olympiad
ECF Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reports here
Online chess
Nigel Towers’ monthly report is here
Online Counties Championship Finals Night
Mark Murrell reports --- On August 22, Northumberland, undefeated in three months of competition, became the first Online County Champions after a ruthless display. It was a good night for the East all round with Essex taking the U1825 crown. Both teams had encounters with double championship finalists Lincolnshire, who had proved to be the county to beat in all competitions over the summer. Northumberland batted deep and well, whilst Essex, the surprise package, had the run of the green in the championships stage, gaining momentum in the final by turning the tables in a couple of crucial games.
In the divisional championships Devon’s victory was just as emphatic in the Major Open. Middlesex B’s domination of the ‘Minor counties’ encounters continued in the Challengers final played over 24 boards. Worcestershire’s staying power prevailed in the Minor and the greater strength in depth of Greater Manchester secured the U1825 Challenger’s title. Middlesex (top seed in the Open) was the only county to have a presence in all three sections of the competition, Divisions 1, 2 and U1825.
Open - Northumberland 8½ - 3½ Lincolnshire
Major Open - Devon 8½ - 3½ Yorkshire
Open Challengers - Middlesex B 17 - 7 Oxfordshire
Minor Open - Worcestershire 6½ - 5½ Somerset
U1825 - Lincolnshire 3½ - 7½ Essex
U1825 Challengers - Norfolk 4 - 9 Greater Manchester
GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan provided live commentary of the Division 1 Finals (Open and Major Open).
Results are here - Championships | Group Stages | Full (ECF LMS)
The event ran from June to August on chess.com played at G60/15. It was organised by Counties Championship Controller, Mark Murrell, and Matt Perry (UK and Ireland online correspondence County Championships), supported by ECF Online Manager, Nigel Towers and a team of arbiters, Alan Atkinson, Shohreh Bayat, David Clayton, Adrian Elwin, Fiona Green, Chunrong Lu, Alex McFarlane, David Sedgwick and Bob Tinton. The team was headed by Chief Arbiter Lara Barnes who gave up many weekends (and more) throughout the summer to support the event as did the 20 county team captains/organisers who were crucial to getting the competition off the ground and its success. A huge thank-you from the Controller to each of you.
The National 100 – grand slam for South
Mark Murrell reports --- Played over three successive Saturday evenings in August coinciding with the knockout Championships stage of the Counties Championship at the same G60/15 rate of play, this competition made slow play chess available online to those graded U100. There was insufficient support back in May for a lower tier counties competition, so a regional event was devised at short notice by the Counties Championship controller to ensure that the Championships August festival gave opportunities for all abilities. 99 players registered for the competition.
For the Midland Outlaws and the Northern Raiders there was just enough support to maintain 4 regional teams, whilst the East Saxons and in particular The South saw an avalanche of junior player making the transition to online slow play. The South had by far the largest squad which enabled a Civil War match between Middlesex v The Rest of the South to take place as an U100 National Challenge pool match at the same time as their first fixture against a depleted Midlands Outlaws team.
Finals scores - The South (3), East Saxons (2), Midland Outlaws (1) and Northern Raiders (0)
The ECF LMS has the details - National 100 results | League Table | National Challenge (7-9) | Overview
The South did not have it all their own way. Their first and third encounters against the Outaws and the Raiders were won by narrow margins. The Outlaws and the Saxons saved their energies for the Raiders who surprisingly took the wooden spoon, though their reservists took their revenge against The South in their National Challenge encounter. The South reserves joined in the action winning their Finals Night battle doing the double over the Saxons.
Phill Beckett and Bob Tinton assisted Controller, Mark Murrell, with the arbiting, which was remarkably plain sailing.
Team England close in on Chess.Com 2020 World League title
ECF Manager of Daily Chess, Andrew Caswell writes --- The English Chess Federation - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members - endorses Team England as the national team competing in the various international daily chess competitions including the World Daily League. The World Daily League on Chess.com is now in its 13th year, and Team England are currently on course to be crowned 2020 World League Champions.
In what has been an incredibly hard fought 665 Board contest, England are currently leading Russia in the pivotal match of the season by a small margin with around 70 games still playing. Many ECF members are part of this effort, playing for Team England in the Daily format (3 days per move) on the Chess.Com platform, but if any members want to take part in future matches, they can join Team England via this link - https://www.chess.com/club/team-england
European Online Youth Championships 2020
This hybrid tournament starts on September 18; more here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/european-online-youth-championships-2020/ - and here - https://www.europechess.org/european-online-youth-individual-team-chess-championships-2020-regulations/
ECF AGM
Chair of Council Michael Farthing writes --- We have taken the formal decision to hold the AGM by Zoom, but it remains set for Saturday 17 October 2020 commencing at 1.30 pm. As with the Finance Meeting the "room" will open at about 12:45 to give everyone time to check hardware and software and provide an opportunity for pre-meeting chat. There will also be an opportunity for unchaired chat at the end of the meeting for those who would like this.
Book Reviews
IM Gary Lane has been busy this month with another set of excellent critiques; Arkell’s Endings by Keith Arkell A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns by Vladimir Barsky; Adolf Anderssen Combinative Chess Genius by Robert Johnson; Hein Donner – The Biography by Alexander Münninghoff. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Tiger Tiger
Tiger Sharks UK managed to win Stage 5 of the Worldwide 2020 Chess Championships; more here - https://results.scorchapp.co.uk/t/2020stage5/standings/7 . The Tiger Sharks squad was made up of Peter Robertson, Tom Rendle, Ameet Ghasi and Bao Nghia. Says Tiger Sharks captain Ben Purton, 'The Tiger Sharks are made up of two 4NCL teams which have links to Grantham and Hammersmith chess teams. We really enjoyed this event. as lots of my team specialise in blitz. We have played all six stages of the event, winning two of them.'
One Hundred for John Poole - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/john-poole-at-100/
Tweet of the Month
John Saunders on GM Murray Chandler’s game vault ...
ECF Direct Members’ Representatives
Following the elections for these posts the successful candidates are: Gold - Lorin d’Costa and Rob Willmoth; Silver - John Reyes and Tim Wall; Bronze - Aga Milewska and Chris Skulte. Congratulations to the elected representatives, who are taking up their positions immediately.
Message from Director of Membership, Dave Thomas
I announced on 21 August that I was planning to stand again as Membership Director for no longer than a year, in order to ensure delivery of the new monthly grading system in particular. Since that announcement, I am very pleased to be able to say that, because another candidate has now come forward who plans to stand as Membership Director, a candidate with whom I have had detailed discussions and who I believe will do a great job as my successor if elected, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy.
I have confirmed both to the candidate and to the Chief Executive that I am more than willing to carry on for a period in a technical expert capacity and to ensure a smooth hand-over. This will hopefully allow the new Membership Director to focus on the more outward-facing aspects of the job such as membership retention and acquisition, which are so critical to the ECF’s present survival and future prosperity.
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones with another problem to ease the lockdown blues here
Christine Adams' retirement
The ECF Membership Secretary for 12 years, Christine Adams, is retiring from the post. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership-secretary-retirement/
Witney Rapidplay
This online congress takes place on Sunday 20.9.20; more here - http://www.witneychess.co.uk/witneyrapid20_information.htm
Coffee-break read
A lengthy and fascinating look at the online chess explosion (thanks to Gary Lane for sharing on social media) here - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/technology/chess-new-streaming-obsession-twitch.html
A game of two halves (not sixty four squares)
Neil Graham writes --- The Fantasy Premier League commences this Saturday 12 September, so there's still time to enter a team here - https://fantasy.premierleague.com/. Can you do better than Magnus Carlsen who was 10th overall last year? ‘Premier Chess’ welcomes prospective managers - join code this year is 9as9zf. One rule for managers – real names not pseudonyms.
CHESS Magazine taster - here
To subscribe, or to purchase the whole thing, click here
Obituaries
Winston Williams - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/an-appreciation-of-winston-williams-1958-2020/
Tony Buzan - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10189
David Greensmith - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10954
Geoffrey Wolfarth - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10956
Alan Hare - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10963
Bill Falconer - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10966
Paul MacDonald - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10967
Derek Miller - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10969
Brian Foster - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10965
David Woodruff - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10978
John Brooke - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10980
Bill Pinder - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10947
John Naylor - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10984
John Calvert - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11011
Wolfgang Uhlmann - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11001
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the September eNewsletter. Our lead story this month is from Brian Valentine and his team for their outstanding work on the new replacement to the ECF grading website. We are also indebted to one of the all-time greats of English Chess, Mr Howard Staunton, for accepting our invitation to discuss historical and contemporary chess matters with our correspondent, the titled Timothy Wall Esq.
Dr Stephen Greep provides an excellent summary of the 2020 ECF Awards. There is also full coverage of the vibrant online scene around the country and beyond including Malcolm Pein’s report on England’s performance at the FIDE Online Olympiad, Nigel Towers’ monthly round-up and reports from Mark Murrell (County Championship Finals and National100) and Andrew Caswell (chess.com 2020 World League title).
We are reminding members once again that renewal of membership fees is vital for ensuring the continuation of the ECF’s work both online and over the board. Like many sports and leisure organisations we have taken an enormous hit over the past six months and we need members’ help to continue providing online and over the board services. Renewal is a very simple process at this link - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-your-federation-needs-you/
Also, please remember that the generous offer to ECF members from Chess & Bridge runs out on Sunday 13 September. More here - https://www.chess.co.uk/ecf-members/
Finally we would like to hear from members who have written, or are intending to research and write, about the history of chess in their club, league or county. I will be pleased to offer space in the newsletter for such projects. If you have a link to such a history that already exists, please share it with [email protected] to be part of a planned new section on the ECF Resource website.
--- Mark Rivlin
The new ECF Rating website
Brian Valentine Reports --- A new replacement for the grading website has been a long time coming! We are introducing a much quicker results service supporting more frequent rating updates. We’ve decided to call the new numbers ‘ratings’ rather than ‘grades’. I hope members will appreciate our big step forward. The new Monthly Rating System has gone live here - https://www.ecfrating.org.uk/v2/new/list_players.php
The August grading revision of results to the end of June was converted from old grades to new four-digit ratings applicable on 1 July. There has been a smattering of results since then and so a few ratings have jogged forward to 1 September under the Elo methodology. This is a beta version and I would appreciate any comments members may have and we will strive to improve things. There is a help section that will be refined and extended based on feedback.
Any results submitted by results officers should be loaded overnight and new monthly lists should be published overnight on the first of each month starting on 1 October.
All information on historical grades has been transferred to the new site. Although the old site will remain up for sometime, we will be encouraging players to make this the go-to site.
We still have more developments in mind, the first noticeable one is likely to be getting the online ratings into a similar place.
A little hint: if you don’t like the black and red layout (designed to be phone friendly) hit the ECF logo in the top left corner and see if you prefer the change. Please use this email address to contact us - [email protected]
Pieces of Staunton - Tim wall interviews one of the legends of English Chess here
ECF 2020 Awards
Stephen Greep reports --- Awards go to Oxford University Chess Club (Club of the Year), Bude Chess Club (Small Club of the Year), Scorch Chess and 4NCL Online (Online Contributions of the Year), Hull 4NCL International Congress (Congress of the Year), Graham Bromley, Ian George, Alex Holowczak, Peter Hornsby, Harry Lamb and Nigel Towers (President's Award for Contribution to Chess). No award was made in the Magazine of the Year category. Copies of all the citations for the awards can be found here
We would like to thank all the people who sent nominations to the committee reflecting the tremendous work taking place throughout the chess world. Every nomination was carefully considered and evaluated. As Committee Chairman, I will continue reviewing the awards process over the next few months, and I welcome views as a part of an on-going consultation with members of the ECF.
Online Olympiad
ECF Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reports here
Online chess
Nigel Towers’ monthly report is here
Online Counties Championship Finals Night
Mark Murrell reports --- On August 22, Northumberland, undefeated in three months of competition, became the first Online County Champions after a ruthless display. It was a good night for the East all round with Essex taking the U1825 crown. Both teams had encounters with double championship finalists Lincolnshire, who had proved to be the county to beat in all competitions over the summer. Northumberland batted deep and well, whilst Essex, the surprise package, had the run of the green in the championships stage, gaining momentum in the final by turning the tables in a couple of crucial games.
In the divisional championships Devon’s victory was just as emphatic in the Major Open. Middlesex B’s domination of the ‘Minor counties’ encounters continued in the Challengers final played over 24 boards. Worcestershire’s staying power prevailed in the Minor and the greater strength in depth of Greater Manchester secured the U1825 Challenger’s title. Middlesex (top seed in the Open) was the only county to have a presence in all three sections of the competition, Divisions 1, 2 and U1825.
Open - Northumberland 8½ - 3½ Lincolnshire
Major Open - Devon 8½ - 3½ Yorkshire
Open Challengers - Middlesex B 17 - 7 Oxfordshire
Minor Open - Worcestershire 6½ - 5½ Somerset
U1825 - Lincolnshire 3½ - 7½ Essex
U1825 Challengers - Norfolk 4 - 9 Greater Manchester
GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan provided live commentary of the Division 1 Finals (Open and Major Open).
Results are here - Championships | Group Stages | Full (ECF LMS)
The event ran from June to August on chess.com played at G60/15. It was organised by Counties Championship Controller, Mark Murrell, and Matt Perry (UK and Ireland online correspondence County Championships), supported by ECF Online Manager, Nigel Towers and a team of arbiters, Alan Atkinson, Shohreh Bayat, David Clayton, Adrian Elwin, Fiona Green, Chunrong Lu, Alex McFarlane, David Sedgwick and Bob Tinton. The team was headed by Chief Arbiter Lara Barnes who gave up many weekends (and more) throughout the summer to support the event as did the 20 county team captains/organisers who were crucial to getting the competition off the ground and its success. A huge thank-you from the Controller to each of you.
The National 100 – grand slam for South
Mark Murrell reports --- Played over three successive Saturday evenings in August coinciding with the knockout Championships stage of the Counties Championship at the same G60/15 rate of play, this competition made slow play chess available online to those graded U100. There was insufficient support back in May for a lower tier counties competition, so a regional event was devised at short notice by the Counties Championship controller to ensure that the Championships August festival gave opportunities for all abilities. 99 players registered for the competition.
For the Midland Outlaws and the Northern Raiders there was just enough support to maintain 4 regional teams, whilst the East Saxons and in particular The South saw an avalanche of junior player making the transition to online slow play. The South had by far the largest squad which enabled a Civil War match between Middlesex v The Rest of the South to take place as an U100 National Challenge pool match at the same time as their first fixture against a depleted Midlands Outlaws team.
Finals scores - The South (3), East Saxons (2), Midland Outlaws (1) and Northern Raiders (0)
The ECF LMS has the details - National 100 results | League Table | National Challenge (7-9) | Overview
The South did not have it all their own way. Their first and third encounters against the Outaws and the Raiders were won by narrow margins. The Outlaws and the Saxons saved their energies for the Raiders who surprisingly took the wooden spoon, though their reservists took their revenge against The South in their National Challenge encounter. The South reserves joined in the action winning their Finals Night battle doing the double over the Saxons.
Phill Beckett and Bob Tinton assisted Controller, Mark Murrell, with the arbiting, which was remarkably plain sailing.
Team England close in on Chess.Com 2020 World League title
ECF Manager of Daily Chess, Andrew Caswell writes --- The English Chess Federation - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members - endorses Team England as the national team competing in the various international daily chess competitions including the World Daily League. The World Daily League on Chess.com is now in its 13th year, and Team England are currently on course to be crowned 2020 World League Champions.
In what has been an incredibly hard fought 665 Board contest, England are currently leading Russia in the pivotal match of the season by a small margin with around 70 games still playing. Many ECF members are part of this effort, playing for Team England in the Daily format (3 days per move) on the Chess.Com platform, but if any members want to take part in future matches, they can join Team England via this link - https://www.chess.com/club/team-england
European Online Youth Championships 2020
This hybrid tournament starts on September 18; more here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/european-online-youth-championships-2020/ - and here - https://www.europechess.org/european-online-youth-individual-team-chess-championships-2020-regulations/
ECF AGM
Chair of Council Michael Farthing writes --- We have taken the formal decision to hold the AGM by Zoom, but it remains set for Saturday 17 October 2020 commencing at 1.30 pm. As with the Finance Meeting the "room" will open at about 12:45 to give everyone time to check hardware and software and provide an opportunity for pre-meeting chat. There will also be an opportunity for unchaired chat at the end of the meeting for those who would like this.
Book Reviews
IM Gary Lane has been busy this month with another set of excellent critiques; Arkell’s Endings by Keith Arkell A Modern Guide to Checkmating Patterns by Vladimir Barsky; Adolf Anderssen Combinative Chess Genius by Robert Johnson; Hein Donner – The Biography by Alexander Münninghoff. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Tiger Tiger
Tiger Sharks UK managed to win Stage 5 of the Worldwide 2020 Chess Championships; more here - https://results.scorchapp.co.uk/t/2020stage5/standings/7 . The Tiger Sharks squad was made up of Peter Robertson, Tom Rendle, Ameet Ghasi and Bao Nghia. Says Tiger Sharks captain Ben Purton, 'The Tiger Sharks are made up of two 4NCL teams which have links to Grantham and Hammersmith chess teams. We really enjoyed this event. as lots of my team specialise in blitz. We have played all six stages of the event, winning two of them.'
One Hundred for John Poole - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/john-poole-at-100/
Tweet of the Month
John Saunders on GM Murray Chandler’s game vault ...
ECF Direct Members’ Representatives
Following the elections for these posts the successful candidates are: Gold - Lorin d’Costa and Rob Willmoth; Silver - John Reyes and Tim Wall; Bronze - Aga Milewska and Chris Skulte. Congratulations to the elected representatives, who are taking up their positions immediately.
Message from Director of Membership, Dave Thomas
I announced on 21 August that I was planning to stand again as Membership Director for no longer than a year, in order to ensure delivery of the new monthly grading system in particular. Since that announcement, I am very pleased to be able to say that, because another candidate has now come forward who plans to stand as Membership Director, a candidate with whom I have had detailed discussions and who I believe will do a great job as my successor if elected, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy.
I have confirmed both to the candidate and to the Chief Executive that I am more than willing to carry on for a period in a technical expert capacity and to ensure a smooth hand-over. This will hopefully allow the new Membership Director to focus on the more outward-facing aspects of the job such as membership retention and acquisition, which are so critical to the ECF’s present survival and future prosperity.
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones with another problem to ease the lockdown blues here
Christine Adams' retirement
The ECF Membership Secretary for 12 years, Christine Adams, is retiring from the post. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership-secretary-retirement/
Witney Rapidplay
This online congress takes place on Sunday 20.9.20; more here - http://www.witneychess.co.uk/witneyrapid20_information.htm
Coffee-break read
A lengthy and fascinating look at the online chess explosion (thanks to Gary Lane for sharing on social media) here - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/technology/chess-new-streaming-obsession-twitch.html
A game of two halves (not sixty four squares)
Neil Graham writes --- The Fantasy Premier League commences this Saturday 12 September, so there's still time to enter a team here - https://fantasy.premierleague.com/. Can you do better than Magnus Carlsen who was 10th overall last year? ‘Premier Chess’ welcomes prospective managers - join code this year is 9as9zf. One rule for managers – real names not pseudonyms.
CHESS Magazine taster - here
To subscribe, or to purchase the whole thing, click here
Obituaries
Winston Williams - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/an-appreciation-of-winston-williams-1958-2020/
Tony Buzan - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10189
David Greensmith - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10954
Geoffrey Wolfarth - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10956
Alan Hare - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10963
Bill Falconer - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10966
Paul MacDonald - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10967
Derek Miller - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10969
Brian Foster - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10965
David Woodruff - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10978
John Brooke - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10980
Bill Pinder - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10947
John Naylor - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10984
John Calvert - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11011
Wolfgang Uhlmann - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11001
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2020
Dear Member
Welcome to the August newsletter. All members have received an email reminder on the issue of membership renewals for the 2020-21 season which are due from 1 September. With apologies to the late JFK, please carry on asking what your Federation does for you. But also ask what you can do for your Federation. Renewing at your current level of membership immediately and, if you are able, even going one level higher just for this season are ways that will greatly help the Federation and ensure the future of chess in England.
With no outside funding, the ECF needs a strong membership to function. We also need to know the level of income to plan and enable a return to across-the-board chess and the myriad events the ECF organise. So our message is clear – we need members to renew subscriptions as early as possible.
As we go to press around 1400 subscriptions have been taken out for the 2020/21 membership year. This is very encouraging, and we’re very grateful to everyone who has renewed so far. That said, we are still about 10-15 percent down on the comparative period last year so Covid-19 is clearly having a negative effect on our finances.
We are committed to providing chess inititiatives. During lockdown, the ECF has enhanced its online events, resources and innovations (County matches, National 100 and North v South). Please see details of these and other initiatives here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
Chess & Bridge are offering generous discounts to ECF members, which allow you to recover the entire cost of whichever membership you choose. The offer runs until Sunday 13th September, and there are more details at https://www.chess.co.uk/ecf-members/
In addition to the above special offer members and supporters can:
Play competitively online in ECF club matches, internationals and major national events and get a national ECF online rating;
Enjoy ongoing discounts with leading chess suppliers;
Receive the monthly newsletter and annual yearbook;
Stay in touch with colleagues in the English chess community and be ready for the return of OTB chess with participation in a range of rated OTB events when these restart.
Junior members, even if renewing as junior members, also benefit from the full Chess & Bridge discounts. General information on ECF membership can be found here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-2020-21/ - as well as details about membership categories and how to renew.
We are proud of what The Federation has achieved over 116 years of service. Please help us ensure that this level of achievement can continue. The ECF appreciates your efforts. Stay safe
--- Mark Rivlin
ECF Monthly Rating System
Nigel Towers reports --- The new ECF monthly rating system is now in the final stages of testing with a group of graders and should be ready for go-live during the autumn. The system will replace the current grading database and website and will provide new monthly ratings in four digit format starting with a conversion of all members Clarke System Grade to the equivalent four digit Elo number. The new ECF OTB ratings will then be produced on a monthly basis using the Elo rating formula applied to players’ results for the previous months. Further details can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grading-proposal/
My Sixty Memorable Zombies
Tim Wall on chess in a lockdown - click here
Monthly Interview
Mark Rivlin meets three players who are making a living out of chess coaching - click here
FIDE Online Olympiad
Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reports --- At rather short notice, FIDE has organised an online Olympiad. Most member countries will be participating and I am pleased to announce that England will be at full strength for the event. Although the ECF budgets have had to be trimmed due to the Covid-19 crisis, the team and coaching for the juniors has been funded by private donors to whom I made an appeal earlier this month. I am delighted to say the funding target was reached and applications to the Chess Trust and the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust for training the junior players were successful This means the team can compete without recourse to ECF funds. I want to thank the Trustees of the Chess Trust and JRYT and all those ECF members who contributed so generously and whose help in recent times has helped the team enjoy success the likes of which we have not had for 20 years.
The team formats have been changed from the usual four board matches. The Open and Women's teams will be merged and seedings determined on the basis of Gaprindashvili scores. These are based on the final standings of both the Open and Women's teams at the Olympiad held at Batumi, Georgia in 2018.
Seeded 13th, England are in the Pool B. England’s matches will be played on 14, 15 and 16 August, with the timings depending on who qualifies for our pool in the preliminary rounds. If England finish in the top three of our pool, we will go forward to the elimination stage.
Each match is contested over six boards, two open boards, two women's boards and two junior boards. The England squad is as follows ---
Open - Michael Adams, Luke McShane, Gawain Jones and David Howell
Women - Jovanka Houska, Harriet Hunt, Katarzyna Toma, Dagne Ciuksyte
Juniors - Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Matthew Wadsworth, Jonah Willow, Nadia Jaufarally.
Harry Grieve and Anita Somton have agreed to stand by as reserves.
More details here - https://olymp.fide.com/
ECF Finance Council Meeting
Michael Farthing reports --- The ECF Council, which elects the Board and agrees the general policies of the Federation, held its Finance Meeting on July 18 through Zoom and with a deliberately small agenda focussing on the budget and membership rates for 2020/21. As is our custom we started by remembering those players who have died since our last meeting, and in particular two of our own Council members, David Welch, who represented Merseyside and the Hastings Congress and whom many of you will remember as a lively and colourful arbiter, and Robert Richmond, who represented Nottinghamshire.
Despite some suggestions in recent months for a reduction in membership fees, the Board asked for them to be kept at last year's levels; a lot of the ECF expenses are fixed costs which are incurred whatever the level of over the board or online activity and there is a concern that some members may not renew. If you are among those thinking this way please reconsider! One day over the board chess will return and the ECF will need to be in a position to ensure it thrives when it does.
The budget for next year was proposed at a reduced level from that originally planned and the Board also asked for a special liberty of being able to vary the budget in the light of the present highly uncertain and volatile situation.
The fees, budget and special permission were all approved by Council by large majorities.
Online Overview - Nigel Towers writes
Club Events
Chess.com - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members
Lichess.org - https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players
We continue to run 6 ECF club competitions per week – three on Chess.com and three on Lichess. These are a mix of Swiss and Arena format tournaments at rapid and blitz time controls and are all ECF online rated. The Friday Evening tournaments are ‘Diamond’ events, with a month’s free upgrade to Chess.com Diamond status to the tournament winner. We are also looking at organising a Grand Prix system with a club leader board based on points accumulated over the competitions for a season. Online club membership is open to all ECF members or Supporters at the links above.
National Events
The group stages of the Online English Counties are now complete with Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northumberland and Middlesex A qualifying for the Open Championship finals and full details of the various championship sections here - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/node/60070/tables. Mark Murrell has also organised a National 100 competition for Regional U100 teams and an online rerun of the historic North v South matches of 1893 and 1894 [further details elsewhere in this newsletter]
Internationals
On the international front, the ECF Chess.com and Lichess club teams are competing in weekly events in the Nations League on Chess.com and the Nations Cup and World Team Battles on Lichess.
Chess.com Nations League
After a strong start with a win against Greece, we have settled into the lower half of the Group A/Division 1 table for the Nations league with the Eastern European teams leading the pack - https://www.chess.com/news/view/nations-league-results-and-standings-after-round-4
NameRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6Round 7Total
1RomaniaW3W4W7W5-6-8-24
2PolandW8W6D3D4-7-5-13
3KazakhstanL1W8D2W6-4-7-52.5
4ArgentinaW5L1W8D2-3-6-72.5
5United StatesL4W7W6L1-8-2-32
6EnglandW7L2L5L3-1-4-81
7GreeceL6L5L1D8-2-3-40.5
8BrazilL2L3L4D7-5-1-60.5We regularly have teams of 20 or more taking part with all chess.com ECF members players eligible to join the matches and play for England. The matches consist of a Rapid (15|2) and a Blitz (3|2) Segment with each segment consisting of 2 games against the opposing board with colours reversed. The division has proved tough for us given the strength of the opposition and even though the England team has regularly included English GMs on the top boards.
Our final matches in Season 1 are against Argentina on the 9th August and Brazil on the 16th.
Do please let me know if you would be available to join the team so that I can keep track of our squad and make sure we have 20 players (and hopefully more), and please do join the ECF members clubs if you are not already a member which will enable you to join the International team matches.
League of Nations/ Nations Cup
We participate in the Nations Cup with blitz team battles held on Saturdays generally based on 10 teams with results based on the scores of the 8 leading players in each team. You can find the one of our recent team battles at the link here - https://lichess.org/tournament/gZDhx52l
World Team Battles
We also participate in the weekly World League events on lichess. Our last World league event was a bullet (1.5|0) team battle with 9 nations and 20 leaders at 2-45 pm on Saturday August 1st here - https://lichess.org/tournament/UeXl8p4J. We finished third in this one behind the Philippines and Spain with a fine performance from GM Keith Arkell on Board 1 and all members of the English Team.
England Women's Team
The England Women's Club is captained by Jovanka Houska and can be found here, including full details of upcoming events. The club continues to be very well subscribed and runs a regular schedule of events every week, with some major events being planned.
England Juniors
As noted by Alex Holowczak in the newsletter, an England Juniors team has been set up on Lichess, and runs weekly events on Thursday at 6.00pm with occasional matches against other countries. The club link and joining instructions are here - https://lichess.org/team/england-juniors
ECF Online Ratings
All club events and other ECF-registered events are ECF online rated at the relevant time control (Standard, Rapid or Blitz). The June online rating list is out now with results to end of May and will be followed shortly by the July list. The June list includes ratings for almost 3,000 ECF members or supporters based on results from club events and affiliated leagues or events including the 4NCL, West Midlands and Other leagues and events - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/monthly-ratings/. You can register an online league or event for online rating on the web site here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/register-your-event-for-ecf-online-rating/
Membership
Our online clubs memberships continue to increase - current figures as below ---
Chess.com ECF Open club - 3,519
Chess.com ECF Members - 937
Lichess English Players - 668
If you would like to receive weekly updates on upcoming ECF online events and results from the previous week please subscribe to our weekly online email here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-online-mailing-list/
National 100 Launch
Mark Murrell reports --- The National 100 is a four-region slow play national mini-league for U100 players played across the three middle Saturdays in August at 6:30pm, running alongside the Open and U150 County Championships. The structure allows players to sign up to their region up to the last of the three matches (22nd August), though before the 8th would help me decide how many boards the three matches should be played over. Counties have not entered per se; it's down to individuals (and perhaps those who fell out of the current competition) to sign up and we will find them a team - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-national-100-launches/
North v South
Mark Murrell and Anthony Fulton on a revival of the national divide chess match - Anthony Fulton sets the scene here [https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-north-v-south-challenge-2020/] and Mark Murrell has the details here
Online County Championships update
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-counties-championships-update-as-group-stage-draws-to-a-close/
Online Schools Blitz Championship
Rob Willmoth reports --- For the last few years I have been taking my school teams to the English Primary Schools Chess Association (EPSCA) National Under 9/11 school team events. These are most enjoyable weekends for the children and coaches. There is a great standard of school team chess and a terrific atmosphere generated by the event and the normal surrounding attractions. This results in great team spirit for all the children who have a lot of fun playing chess and then going to the beach afterwards.
With a great void in the yearly chess calendar because if Covid-19, Mark Josse and I decided to run an online schools team event on Lichess on Sat 27 June. The event was for school teams of five players aged under 11 and divided into two sections. The sections were Premier for more experienced school teams and Championship for less experienced school teams. The children played 5 games against other schools lasting around 5 hours. The time control was 10 mins each and 5 second increments.
We had a couple of innovations for this event. Chess coaches are in a very difficult position financially at present as are many others. There will be virtually zero school chess in September due to Covid-19 despite the schools returning. Putting this all together we decided to give any coach who put in a team a share of the entry fee. This gave every coach who entered some much needed cash just for putting their team into the event.
We also wanted to attempt to create the atmosphere of normal OTB events. Each team had a dedicated team manager who was responsible for setting up Zoom links for their team for the duration of the event. The children within each school could see and speak to each other during the event. The feedback we had after the event for this alone was fantastic. Many commented it was great to see their children being able to see, speak and have fun with their school friends.
We had a large entry with 61 teams for this event. Results here - http://chess-results.com/tnr529261.aspx?lan=1 and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr529191.aspx?lan=1
Book Review
Last month we missed out the link to Gary Lane's book review. This month Gary has added a review of Daniel King's book on the remarkable life of Sultan Khan, a fascinating new book on IM Stuart Rachels and reviews from last month that were cruelly denied by your editor. Read more here - https://chess.business/blog/
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones provides another brain teaser here
Upstairs Downstairs
The July 2020 grades have been issued - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/july-2020-grades-are-out/
Arbiter news
Congratulations to ECF Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak, who has been announced as Chief Arbiter for the Olympiad, with Shohreh Bayat also on the ticket. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/and-the-fide-online-olympiads-chief-arbiter-is/
Tweet of the Month
IM Lorin D’Costa showing his limerick-writing skills from 2018 ...
Another 4NCL online season!
4NCL and Junior 4NCL Online League Season 2 are fast approaching, so register your keyboard warriors asap - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/. Also 4NCL Online Congress and 4NCL Autumn Congress dates announced - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
Risk assessment and social distancing
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- The ECF have published a new section in the Tournament Rules to cover the mechanics of playing chess in clubs and tournaments under Socially Distanced conditions. These can be found here. To read more about social distancing guidelines - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing-after-4-july
From 25 July, HM Government announced that sports facilities and venues, including indoor gyms, fitness and dance studios, indoor swimming pools and indoor water parks, can open. Further to this easing of restrictions, it was also announced that from the 1st August (subject to the rates of transmission at the time):
1) bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos can open;
2) conference and exhibition centres will be able to reopen in order to enable pilots for business events to take place;
3) small wedding receptions‚ sit-down meals for no more than 30 people‚ can take place, subject to COVID-19 Secure guidance.
However, in response to warning signs that the virus may be growing again, further guidance was issued on 31 July, full details of which are here - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/31-july-announcement - but include -
1) Restrictions to social contact in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire, parts of West Yorkshire
2) Extending the list of areas where face coverings are mandatory from 8 August
3) Delaying the changes that had been proposed in the roadmap for 1 August until at least 15 August
This means remaining leisure settings, such as bowling, skating rinks and casinos, will remain closed; indoor performances will not be permitted; restrictions will remain on the highest risk close contact services, such as treatments on the face including eyebrow threading or make-up application.
Whilst this further guidance is not necessarily applicable to all the types of premises that chess clubs use, the advice gives a good idea of what is generally expected. Compliance with the guidance is likely to be onerous, and as before the ECF advises all chess clubs that are considering re-opening to read the advice carefully and consider whether they are in a position to comply with it. Ability to comply with the guidance may (or may not) have a significant effect on clubs’ ability to start up again depending the nature of the premises they use. If clubs are thinking about re-opening, the ECF once again strongly recommends that they should first do a risk assessment [linked above]. Going through this document methodically should highlight the various things that need to be considered in preparation for re-opening when the time is right.
In summary, the ECF’s opinion continues to be that the issue remains less when chess clubs can re-open and more when and in what way the premises they use can re-open, and whether, given the nature of their premises, chess clubs consider that they are able to comply with HM Government’s guidance if they are minded to re-open. Given the nature of the HM Government guidance, and because each club’s circumstance is different, the ECF is unable to provide general advice, and each club needs to make its own decision in the light of the information above. As we said in our earlier communication of 3 July, in these uncertain and rapidplay-changing times clubs need to keep a close eye on further HM Government announcements and also liaise closely with their venues.
PRO University Chess League
Michael Green and Dylan Mize from Chess Lifestyle report --- The second season of the PRO University Chess League is approaching, and we have a lot of new and exciting changes this season, reflected on our website at prounichessleague.co.uk. Among these changes are ---
- An increase in the number of teams from 16 to 32
- Sponsorship from GingerGM
- Online Group-stages
- We are both ECF Level 1 arbiters
We have produced a promotion video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNNd4V7UgHc. The first fixture will be in October. Please contact [email protected] for further details.
European Chess Club Cup postponement
European Chess Union Secretary General Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou reports --- Due to the travel bans and border restrictions currently in effect for several European Countries/ECU members, the European Chess Club Cup, scheduled for 5 to 13 October 2020 in Mayrhofer, Austria is postponed. The European Club Cup is a large event involving about 80 clubs in two sections and involving 500 participants. If the situation improves the Club Cup may be conducted later in 2020.
Five Counties Online League
Starting Tuesday 1 September and matches every second week, 45 minute, 15 sec increment, classic ECF graded matches - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/node/60543/home. Our main aim is to run the third division for juniors in a Swiss format, 6pm start. Unlimited teams, maybe two Swiss divisions. We are reaching out to all junior teams in London and surrounding areas. Players will require ECF supporter membership minimum. Contact Daniel Knight Email: [email protected]
Glorney Gilbert International
England did well this year winning the Glorney, Robinson and Stokes Cups. Netherlands won the Gilbert Cup. More here - https://www.glorneycupchess.org/
Farewell and thanks to Dr John Swain
A fitting tribute to an ECF stalwart is below. We wish John well in his retirement from ECFs-related administration. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/dr-john-swain-ecf/
Adrian Elwin International Arbiter title
Alan Atkinson, ECF Manager of Arbiters reports --- The 2nd FIDE Council meeting for 2020 recently approved the granting of the International Arbiter title to Adrian Elwin, the ECF’s Director for Home Chess. Warm congratulations are extended to him.
Fundraising friendly
Andrew Zigmond, Chairman, Harrogate Chess Club writes --- An online charity match between Harrogate Archbishops and Kenilworth Chess Club has raised over £350 for Harrogate Community Trust Fund. Mick Stokes (Archbishops) and Mark Page (Kenilworth) came to know each other from representing England at Over 65 level. The match was played on Lichess with each pair of opponents playing two games each and Harrogate Archbishops emerging as winners by the narrowest possible margin 10 1/2-9 1/2. Both teams featured junior players with fifteen-year-old Mate Ther on top board for Archbishops. The fund for the link is open until the end of October and can be found on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelStokes20
Hybrid chess
The ECF would be pleased to hear of hybrid chess initiatives so please contact [email protected] with your experiences as an organiser or participant - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10922&sid=5460d5235eed972e1862b7c210077816
CHESS Magazine taster - here
To subscribe, or to purchase the whole thing, click here
Obituaries
Julian Farrand - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/julian-t-farrand-rip/. More here - www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10928
Winston Williams - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/an-appreciation-of-winston-williams-1958-2020/
Kevin Hawkins - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10934
Andrew Jonathan Whiteley - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=6697
Hugh Price - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10911
Bernard Sharples - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10920
Bill Pinder - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10947
David Greensmith - http://sheffieldchess.btck.co.uk/
Neville Hawkins - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10927
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the August newsletter. All members have received an email reminder on the issue of membership renewals for the 2020-21 season which are due from 1 September. With apologies to the late JFK, please carry on asking what your Federation does for you. But also ask what you can do for your Federation. Renewing at your current level of membership immediately and, if you are able, even going one level higher just for this season are ways that will greatly help the Federation and ensure the future of chess in England.
With no outside funding, the ECF needs a strong membership to function. We also need to know the level of income to plan and enable a return to across-the-board chess and the myriad events the ECF organise. So our message is clear – we need members to renew subscriptions as early as possible.
As we go to press around 1400 subscriptions have been taken out for the 2020/21 membership year. This is very encouraging, and we’re very grateful to everyone who has renewed so far. That said, we are still about 10-15 percent down on the comparative period last year so Covid-19 is clearly having a negative effect on our finances.
We are committed to providing chess inititiatives. During lockdown, the ECF has enhanced its online events, resources and innovations (County matches, National 100 and North v South). Please see details of these and other initiatives here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
Chess & Bridge are offering generous discounts to ECF members, which allow you to recover the entire cost of whichever membership you choose. The offer runs until Sunday 13th September, and there are more details at https://www.chess.co.uk/ecf-members/
In addition to the above special offer members and supporters can:
Play competitively online in ECF club matches, internationals and major national events and get a national ECF online rating;
Enjoy ongoing discounts with leading chess suppliers;
Receive the monthly newsletter and annual yearbook;
Stay in touch with colleagues in the English chess community and be ready for the return of OTB chess with participation in a range of rated OTB events when these restart.
Junior members, even if renewing as junior members, also benefit from the full Chess & Bridge discounts. General information on ECF membership can be found here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-2020-21/ - as well as details about membership categories and how to renew.
We are proud of what The Federation has achieved over 116 years of service. Please help us ensure that this level of achievement can continue. The ECF appreciates your efforts. Stay safe
--- Mark Rivlin
ECF Monthly Rating System
Nigel Towers reports --- The new ECF monthly rating system is now in the final stages of testing with a group of graders and should be ready for go-live during the autumn. The system will replace the current grading database and website and will provide new monthly ratings in four digit format starting with a conversion of all members Clarke System Grade to the equivalent four digit Elo number. The new ECF OTB ratings will then be produced on a monthly basis using the Elo rating formula applied to players’ results for the previous months. Further details can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grading-proposal/
My Sixty Memorable Zombies
Tim Wall on chess in a lockdown - click here
Monthly Interview
Mark Rivlin meets three players who are making a living out of chess coaching - click here
FIDE Online Olympiad
Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reports --- At rather short notice, FIDE has organised an online Olympiad. Most member countries will be participating and I am pleased to announce that England will be at full strength for the event. Although the ECF budgets have had to be trimmed due to the Covid-19 crisis, the team and coaching for the juniors has been funded by private donors to whom I made an appeal earlier this month. I am delighted to say the funding target was reached and applications to the Chess Trust and the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust for training the junior players were successful This means the team can compete without recourse to ECF funds. I want to thank the Trustees of the Chess Trust and JRYT and all those ECF members who contributed so generously and whose help in recent times has helped the team enjoy success the likes of which we have not had for 20 years.
The team formats have been changed from the usual four board matches. The Open and Women's teams will be merged and seedings determined on the basis of Gaprindashvili scores. These are based on the final standings of both the Open and Women's teams at the Olympiad held at Batumi, Georgia in 2018.
Seeded 13th, England are in the Pool B. England’s matches will be played on 14, 15 and 16 August, with the timings depending on who qualifies for our pool in the preliminary rounds. If England finish in the top three of our pool, we will go forward to the elimination stage.
Each match is contested over six boards, two open boards, two women's boards and two junior boards. The England squad is as follows ---
Open - Michael Adams, Luke McShane, Gawain Jones and David Howell
Women - Jovanka Houska, Harriet Hunt, Katarzyna Toma, Dagne Ciuksyte
Juniors - Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Matthew Wadsworth, Jonah Willow, Nadia Jaufarally.
Harry Grieve and Anita Somton have agreed to stand by as reserves.
More details here - https://olymp.fide.com/
ECF Finance Council Meeting
Michael Farthing reports --- The ECF Council, which elects the Board and agrees the general policies of the Federation, held its Finance Meeting on July 18 through Zoom and with a deliberately small agenda focussing on the budget and membership rates for 2020/21. As is our custom we started by remembering those players who have died since our last meeting, and in particular two of our own Council members, David Welch, who represented Merseyside and the Hastings Congress and whom many of you will remember as a lively and colourful arbiter, and Robert Richmond, who represented Nottinghamshire.
Despite some suggestions in recent months for a reduction in membership fees, the Board asked for them to be kept at last year's levels; a lot of the ECF expenses are fixed costs which are incurred whatever the level of over the board or online activity and there is a concern that some members may not renew. If you are among those thinking this way please reconsider! One day over the board chess will return and the ECF will need to be in a position to ensure it thrives when it does.
The budget for next year was proposed at a reduced level from that originally planned and the Board also asked for a special liberty of being able to vary the budget in the light of the present highly uncertain and volatile situation.
The fees, budget and special permission were all approved by Council by large majorities.
Online Overview - Nigel Towers writes
Club Events
Chess.com - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members
Lichess.org - https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players
We continue to run 6 ECF club competitions per week – three on Chess.com and three on Lichess. These are a mix of Swiss and Arena format tournaments at rapid and blitz time controls and are all ECF online rated. The Friday Evening tournaments are ‘Diamond’ events, with a month’s free upgrade to Chess.com Diamond status to the tournament winner. We are also looking at organising a Grand Prix system with a club leader board based on points accumulated over the competitions for a season. Online club membership is open to all ECF members or Supporters at the links above.
National Events
The group stages of the Online English Counties are now complete with Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northumberland and Middlesex A qualifying for the Open Championship finals and full details of the various championship sections here - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/node/60070/tables. Mark Murrell has also organised a National 100 competition for Regional U100 teams and an online rerun of the historic North v South matches of 1893 and 1894 [further details elsewhere in this newsletter]
Internationals
On the international front, the ECF Chess.com and Lichess club teams are competing in weekly events in the Nations League on Chess.com and the Nations Cup and World Team Battles on Lichess.
Chess.com Nations League
After a strong start with a win against Greece, we have settled into the lower half of the Group A/Division 1 table for the Nations league with the Eastern European teams leading the pack - https://www.chess.com/news/view/nations-league-results-and-standings-after-round-4
NameRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6Round 7Total
1RomaniaW3W4W7W5-6-8-24
2PolandW8W6D3D4-7-5-13
3KazakhstanL1W8D2W6-4-7-52.5
4ArgentinaW5L1W8D2-3-6-72.5
5United StatesL4W7W6L1-8-2-32
6EnglandW7L2L5L3-1-4-81
7GreeceL6L5L1D8-2-3-40.5
8BrazilL2L3L4D7-5-1-60.5We regularly have teams of 20 or more taking part with all chess.com ECF members players eligible to join the matches and play for England. The matches consist of a Rapid (15|2) and a Blitz (3|2) Segment with each segment consisting of 2 games against the opposing board with colours reversed. The division has proved tough for us given the strength of the opposition and even though the England team has regularly included English GMs on the top boards.
Our final matches in Season 1 are against Argentina on the 9th August and Brazil on the 16th.
Do please let me know if you would be available to join the team so that I can keep track of our squad and make sure we have 20 players (and hopefully more), and please do join the ECF members clubs if you are not already a member which will enable you to join the International team matches.
League of Nations/ Nations Cup
We participate in the Nations Cup with blitz team battles held on Saturdays generally based on 10 teams with results based on the scores of the 8 leading players in each team. You can find the one of our recent team battles at the link here - https://lichess.org/tournament/gZDhx52l
World Team Battles
We also participate in the weekly World League events on lichess. Our last World league event was a bullet (1.5|0) team battle with 9 nations and 20 leaders at 2-45 pm on Saturday August 1st here - https://lichess.org/tournament/UeXl8p4J. We finished third in this one behind the Philippines and Spain with a fine performance from GM Keith Arkell on Board 1 and all members of the English Team.
England Women's Team
The England Women's Club is captained by Jovanka Houska and can be found here, including full details of upcoming events. The club continues to be very well subscribed and runs a regular schedule of events every week, with some major events being planned.
England Juniors
As noted by Alex Holowczak in the newsletter, an England Juniors team has been set up on Lichess, and runs weekly events on Thursday at 6.00pm with occasional matches against other countries. The club link and joining instructions are here - https://lichess.org/team/england-juniors
ECF Online Ratings
All club events and other ECF-registered events are ECF online rated at the relevant time control (Standard, Rapid or Blitz). The June online rating list is out now with results to end of May and will be followed shortly by the July list. The June list includes ratings for almost 3,000 ECF members or supporters based on results from club events and affiliated leagues or events including the 4NCL, West Midlands and Other leagues and events - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/monthly-ratings/. You can register an online league or event for online rating on the web site here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/register-your-event-for-ecf-online-rating/
Membership
Our online clubs memberships continue to increase - current figures as below ---
Chess.com ECF Open club - 3,519
Chess.com ECF Members - 937
Lichess English Players - 668
If you would like to receive weekly updates on upcoming ECF online events and results from the previous week please subscribe to our weekly online email here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-online-mailing-list/
National 100 Launch
Mark Murrell reports --- The National 100 is a four-region slow play national mini-league for U100 players played across the three middle Saturdays in August at 6:30pm, running alongside the Open and U150 County Championships. The structure allows players to sign up to their region up to the last of the three matches (22nd August), though before the 8th would help me decide how many boards the three matches should be played over. Counties have not entered per se; it's down to individuals (and perhaps those who fell out of the current competition) to sign up and we will find them a team - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-national-100-launches/
North v South
Mark Murrell and Anthony Fulton on a revival of the national divide chess match - Anthony Fulton sets the scene here [https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-north-v-south-challenge-2020/] and Mark Murrell has the details here
Online County Championships update
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-counties-championships-update-as-group-stage-draws-to-a-close/
Online Schools Blitz Championship
Rob Willmoth reports --- For the last few years I have been taking my school teams to the English Primary Schools Chess Association (EPSCA) National Under 9/11 school team events. These are most enjoyable weekends for the children and coaches. There is a great standard of school team chess and a terrific atmosphere generated by the event and the normal surrounding attractions. This results in great team spirit for all the children who have a lot of fun playing chess and then going to the beach afterwards.
With a great void in the yearly chess calendar because if Covid-19, Mark Josse and I decided to run an online schools team event on Lichess on Sat 27 June. The event was for school teams of five players aged under 11 and divided into two sections. The sections were Premier for more experienced school teams and Championship for less experienced school teams. The children played 5 games against other schools lasting around 5 hours. The time control was 10 mins each and 5 second increments.
We had a couple of innovations for this event. Chess coaches are in a very difficult position financially at present as are many others. There will be virtually zero school chess in September due to Covid-19 despite the schools returning. Putting this all together we decided to give any coach who put in a team a share of the entry fee. This gave every coach who entered some much needed cash just for putting their team into the event.
We also wanted to attempt to create the atmosphere of normal OTB events. Each team had a dedicated team manager who was responsible for setting up Zoom links for their team for the duration of the event. The children within each school could see and speak to each other during the event. The feedback we had after the event for this alone was fantastic. Many commented it was great to see their children being able to see, speak and have fun with their school friends.
We had a large entry with 61 teams for this event. Results here - http://chess-results.com/tnr529261.aspx?lan=1 and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr529191.aspx?lan=1
Book Review
Last month we missed out the link to Gary Lane's book review. This month Gary has added a review of Daniel King's book on the remarkable life of Sultan Khan, a fascinating new book on IM Stuart Rachels and reviews from last month that were cruelly denied by your editor. Read more here - https://chess.business/blog/
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones provides another brain teaser here
Upstairs Downstairs
The July 2020 grades have been issued - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/july-2020-grades-are-out/
Arbiter news
Congratulations to ECF Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak, who has been announced as Chief Arbiter for the Olympiad, with Shohreh Bayat also on the ticket. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/and-the-fide-online-olympiads-chief-arbiter-is/
Tweet of the Month
IM Lorin D’Costa showing his limerick-writing skills from 2018 ...
Another 4NCL online season!
4NCL and Junior 4NCL Online League Season 2 are fast approaching, so register your keyboard warriors asap - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/. Also 4NCL Online Congress and 4NCL Autumn Congress dates announced - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
Risk assessment and social distancing
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- The ECF have published a new section in the Tournament Rules to cover the mechanics of playing chess in clubs and tournaments under Socially Distanced conditions. These can be found here. To read more about social distancing guidelines - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing-after-4-july
From 25 July, HM Government announced that sports facilities and venues, including indoor gyms, fitness and dance studios, indoor swimming pools and indoor water parks, can open. Further to this easing of restrictions, it was also announced that from the 1st August (subject to the rates of transmission at the time):
1) bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos can open;
2) conference and exhibition centres will be able to reopen in order to enable pilots for business events to take place;
3) small wedding receptions‚ sit-down meals for no more than 30 people‚ can take place, subject to COVID-19 Secure guidance.
However, in response to warning signs that the virus may be growing again, further guidance was issued on 31 July, full details of which are here - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/31-july-announcement - but include -
1) Restrictions to social contact in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire, parts of West Yorkshire
2) Extending the list of areas where face coverings are mandatory from 8 August
3) Delaying the changes that had been proposed in the roadmap for 1 August until at least 15 August
This means remaining leisure settings, such as bowling, skating rinks and casinos, will remain closed; indoor performances will not be permitted; restrictions will remain on the highest risk close contact services, such as treatments on the face including eyebrow threading or make-up application.
Whilst this further guidance is not necessarily applicable to all the types of premises that chess clubs use, the advice gives a good idea of what is generally expected. Compliance with the guidance is likely to be onerous, and as before the ECF advises all chess clubs that are considering re-opening to read the advice carefully and consider whether they are in a position to comply with it. Ability to comply with the guidance may (or may not) have a significant effect on clubs’ ability to start up again depending the nature of the premises they use. If clubs are thinking about re-opening, the ECF once again strongly recommends that they should first do a risk assessment [linked above]. Going through this document methodically should highlight the various things that need to be considered in preparation for re-opening when the time is right.
In summary, the ECF’s opinion continues to be that the issue remains less when chess clubs can re-open and more when and in what way the premises they use can re-open, and whether, given the nature of their premises, chess clubs consider that they are able to comply with HM Government’s guidance if they are minded to re-open. Given the nature of the HM Government guidance, and because each club’s circumstance is different, the ECF is unable to provide general advice, and each club needs to make its own decision in the light of the information above. As we said in our earlier communication of 3 July, in these uncertain and rapidplay-changing times clubs need to keep a close eye on further HM Government announcements and also liaise closely with their venues.
PRO University Chess League
Michael Green and Dylan Mize from Chess Lifestyle report --- The second season of the PRO University Chess League is approaching, and we have a lot of new and exciting changes this season, reflected on our website at prounichessleague.co.uk. Among these changes are ---
- An increase in the number of teams from 16 to 32
- Sponsorship from GingerGM
- Online Group-stages
- We are both ECF Level 1 arbiters
We have produced a promotion video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNNd4V7UgHc. The first fixture will be in October. Please contact [email protected] for further details.
European Chess Club Cup postponement
European Chess Union Secretary General Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou reports --- Due to the travel bans and border restrictions currently in effect for several European Countries/ECU members, the European Chess Club Cup, scheduled for 5 to 13 October 2020 in Mayrhofer, Austria is postponed. The European Club Cup is a large event involving about 80 clubs in two sections and involving 500 participants. If the situation improves the Club Cup may be conducted later in 2020.
Five Counties Online League
Starting Tuesday 1 September and matches every second week, 45 minute, 15 sec increment, classic ECF graded matches - https://ecflms.org.uk/lms/node/60543/home. Our main aim is to run the third division for juniors in a Swiss format, 6pm start. Unlimited teams, maybe two Swiss divisions. We are reaching out to all junior teams in London and surrounding areas. Players will require ECF supporter membership minimum. Contact Daniel Knight Email: [email protected]
Glorney Gilbert International
England did well this year winning the Glorney, Robinson and Stokes Cups. Netherlands won the Gilbert Cup. More here - https://www.glorneycupchess.org/
Farewell and thanks to Dr John Swain
A fitting tribute to an ECF stalwart is below. We wish John well in his retirement from ECFs-related administration. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/dr-john-swain-ecf/
Adrian Elwin International Arbiter title
Alan Atkinson, ECF Manager of Arbiters reports --- The 2nd FIDE Council meeting for 2020 recently approved the granting of the International Arbiter title to Adrian Elwin, the ECF’s Director for Home Chess. Warm congratulations are extended to him.
Fundraising friendly
Andrew Zigmond, Chairman, Harrogate Chess Club writes --- An online charity match between Harrogate Archbishops and Kenilworth Chess Club has raised over £350 for Harrogate Community Trust Fund. Mick Stokes (Archbishops) and Mark Page (Kenilworth) came to know each other from representing England at Over 65 level. The match was played on Lichess with each pair of opponents playing two games each and Harrogate Archbishops emerging as winners by the narrowest possible margin 10 1/2-9 1/2. Both teams featured junior players with fifteen-year-old Mate Ther on top board for Archbishops. The fund for the link is open until the end of October and can be found on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MichaelStokes20
Hybrid chess
The ECF would be pleased to hear of hybrid chess initiatives so please contact [email protected] with your experiences as an organiser or participant - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10922&sid=5460d5235eed972e1862b7c210077816
CHESS Magazine taster - here
To subscribe, or to purchase the whole thing, click here
Obituaries
Julian Farrand - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/julian-t-farrand-rip/. More here - www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10928
Winston Williams - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/an-appreciation-of-winston-williams-1958-2020/
Kevin Hawkins - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10934
Andrew Jonathan Whiteley - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=6697
Hugh Price - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10911
Bernard Sharples - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10920
Bill Pinder - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10947
David Greensmith - http://sheffieldchess.btck.co.uk/
Neville Hawkins - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10927
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER JULY 2020
Dear Member
Welcome to the July edition of the eNewsletter. In this edition we feature an interview with two keen players who have taken up chess during lockdown, and a piece by ECF-graded 123 Alan Ruffle, who has written and published a book for club players.
Lockdown has affected the ECF in many ways, with financial resources being hit particularly hard. Director of Membership Dave Thomas writes, 'The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the ECF. We have to cover our office staff and infrastructure as well as provide benefits to members now and when the present crisis eases. Although over-the-board chess is still not back on the calendar (and may not be for some time) we’re asking members to support the ECF in its time of need by renewing subscriptions as soon as possible, if finances permit. The greater the number of members willing to support the ECF, the easier it will be for us manage the financial difficulties which almost certainly lie ahead despite the support that we have received from the government.
New memberships will be available from Monday 20th July, and as a small gesture to members we’ll be proposing at the forthcoming ECF Council meeting that all rates remain unchanged. Please renew your membership (and see what membership benefits the ECF provides) here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership/
Finally, a reminder that the ECF is looking for a Finance Director (voluntary post) - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/vacancies/
Enjoy the weather and stay safe ...
Mark Rivlin
The Monthly Interview
Mark Rivlin meets two chess rookies here
ECF Risk Assessment
A number of clubs and other chess organisers have asked the ECF whether they will be able to re-open given that social distancing requirements are due to be relaxed on that date. The ECF has published a statement here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/chess-clubs-and-covid-19/
Online Chess
Nigel Towers' monthly round up is here, National Club Championships Stephen Greep reports on a successful online weekend of action here, and Online County Championships Mark Murrell's report is here
Junior Chess
Alex Holowczak reports --- An English Juniors team has been set up on Lichess, and runs weekly events on Thursday at 6.00pm, and occasionally takes part in matches against other countries. Any ECF member is welcome to join, and we currently have 300 members! The link to do so is here - https://lichess.org/team/england-juniors - but please make sure you provide the real name and ECF membership number on your application.
Junior County Chess
Inter-County Team Battles are being played on Lichess at 6.00pm on the first and third Monday of each month, and now has 17 counties taking part. The most recent edition was won by Sussex, with Kent winning the first three. If you organise county teams and would like your team to join, please contact Alex Holowczak Email: [email protected]
Schools Chess
Schools Team Battles for secondary schools are being played on Lichess at 4.15pm on alternate Fridays, with the next one planned for Friday 3rd July. If you work in a secondary school and would like your school to take part, please contact Neill Cooper Email: [email protected]
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones keeps us busy with another problem here
Grading Update
Director of Membership Dave Thomas reports --- We continue to make good progress on the monthly grading system development and testing and we now have a complete and working phase 1 system with the initial phase of testing / proving more or less complete. This has been thanks to a huge amount of effort put in by the volunteer team over the last six months including lead developer Stephen Bush who has done the majority of the system build, Yorkshire Grading System owner Jon Griffith who provided the basic platform for the system and the grading algorithm, and Malcolm Peacock who developed the LMS interface, together with a number of other volunteers who have supported the delivery work over a number of months.
Our plan is to continue with phase 1 testing during July and we are then looking to go live with the first monthly lists in the Autumn. The system has been populated with historical data and monthly Elo grades converted from the ECF grades in the current systems as at the July 2020 list, and there will be a catch-up before the system finally goes live. Our current plan is that monthly grades will be published at the start of each month based on information available at that time.
We are looking for further volunteers to help with the final stages of testing and system enhancements over the next few months to help get the system into live service and transition to operation and maintenance. If you have PHP or SQL database skills we would welcome your support as part of the development/test and/or operations team and I look forward to hearing from potential volunteers to help with this exciting project.
British Chess Championships 2021
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- In 2021, the British Chess Championships will again be held in Torquay. After the Coronavirus pandemic caused the cancellation of the booking for this year, this is the simplest, most economic option available to the ECF. The schedule has yet to be finalised, but the festival will start on Thursday 22 July or Friday 23 July with events running until Sunday 1st August. A schedule will be published as soon as we are able. It is intended to start the British Chess Championships themselves on Saturday 24 July with the final matches, including playoffs, if required, on Sunday 1st August. However, this will be dependent on which dates FIDE chooses to run the Olympiad, and will be confirmed once we have been able to take that into account. Prior to the British Championships, the Glorney Cup and the other associated competitions will be held at the same venue, starting on Monday 19th July. (Congratulations to Adrian, who has been awarded International Arbiter (IA) title the by FIDE)
Battle of the Prodigies
See what happened when Shreyas Royal took on the nine-year-old rising star in the USA, Tami Adewumi, here - https://www.chesskid.com/videos/usa-vs-uk-rising-stars-match-tani-vs-shreyas
Book reviews
Gary Lane looks at Beyond Material by Davorin Kuljasevic and On the Origin of Good Moves by Willy Hendricks. Tim-Jake Gluckman reviews the Fred Reinfeld biography Fred Reinfeld: The Man Who Taught America Chess with 282 Games by Alex Dunne here - https://www.kingpinchess.net/2020/05/deep-bloke-shallow-book/
First 4NCL Online Congress
Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July, five rounds for a fiver - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/online/arrangements_1.htm
Also 4NCL Online and Junior 4NCL Online results are now up on the 4NCL website - www.4ncl.co.uk
ECF Safeguarding Policy
The updated safeguarding document is available to read and download here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-safeguarding-policy/
Tweet of the Month is from IM Gary Lane's Twitter feed @garylanechess. Jack is rated 2100. Link to the song here - https://jackrodgers.bandcamp.com/releases
Arbiters' Seminar
Alan Atkinson, ECF Manager of Arbiters, reports on the 79th International Arbiters Seminar held online in in June- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/79th-internet-based-fide-arbiters-seminar-2/
Unruffled
ECF member Alan Ruffle goes into publishing here
CHESS Magazine teaser - here
Purchase the complete magazine here --- https://shop.chess.co.uk/CHESS-Magazine-July-2020-p/cb07877.htm
Obituaries
Joe Spooner - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10837
Jim Macrae - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10864
Adrian Jackson - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10889
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the July edition of the eNewsletter. In this edition we feature an interview with two keen players who have taken up chess during lockdown, and a piece by ECF-graded 123 Alan Ruffle, who has written and published a book for club players.
Lockdown has affected the ECF in many ways, with financial resources being hit particularly hard. Director of Membership Dave Thomas writes, 'The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the ECF. We have to cover our office staff and infrastructure as well as provide benefits to members now and when the present crisis eases. Although over-the-board chess is still not back on the calendar (and may not be for some time) we’re asking members to support the ECF in its time of need by renewing subscriptions as soon as possible, if finances permit. The greater the number of members willing to support the ECF, the easier it will be for us manage the financial difficulties which almost certainly lie ahead despite the support that we have received from the government.
New memberships will be available from Monday 20th July, and as a small gesture to members we’ll be proposing at the forthcoming ECF Council meeting that all rates remain unchanged. Please renew your membership (and see what membership benefits the ECF provides) here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership/
Finally, a reminder that the ECF is looking for a Finance Director (voluntary post) - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/vacancies/
Enjoy the weather and stay safe ...
Mark Rivlin
The Monthly Interview
Mark Rivlin meets two chess rookies here
ECF Risk Assessment
A number of clubs and other chess organisers have asked the ECF whether they will be able to re-open given that social distancing requirements are due to be relaxed on that date. The ECF has published a statement here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/chess-clubs-and-covid-19/
Online Chess
Nigel Towers' monthly round up is here, National Club Championships Stephen Greep reports on a successful online weekend of action here, and Online County Championships Mark Murrell's report is here
Junior Chess
Alex Holowczak reports --- An English Juniors team has been set up on Lichess, and runs weekly events on Thursday at 6.00pm, and occasionally takes part in matches against other countries. Any ECF member is welcome to join, and we currently have 300 members! The link to do so is here - https://lichess.org/team/england-juniors - but please make sure you provide the real name and ECF membership number on your application.
Junior County Chess
Inter-County Team Battles are being played on Lichess at 6.00pm on the first and third Monday of each month, and now has 17 counties taking part. The most recent edition was won by Sussex, with Kent winning the first three. If you organise county teams and would like your team to join, please contact Alex Holowczak Email: [email protected]
Schools Chess
Schools Team Battles for secondary schools are being played on Lichess at 4.15pm on alternate Fridays, with the next one planned for Friday 3rd July. If you work in a secondary school and would like your school to take part, please contact Neill Cooper Email: [email protected]
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones keeps us busy with another problem here
Grading Update
Director of Membership Dave Thomas reports --- We continue to make good progress on the monthly grading system development and testing and we now have a complete and working phase 1 system with the initial phase of testing / proving more or less complete. This has been thanks to a huge amount of effort put in by the volunteer team over the last six months including lead developer Stephen Bush who has done the majority of the system build, Yorkshire Grading System owner Jon Griffith who provided the basic platform for the system and the grading algorithm, and Malcolm Peacock who developed the LMS interface, together with a number of other volunteers who have supported the delivery work over a number of months.
Our plan is to continue with phase 1 testing during July and we are then looking to go live with the first monthly lists in the Autumn. The system has been populated with historical data and monthly Elo grades converted from the ECF grades in the current systems as at the July 2020 list, and there will be a catch-up before the system finally goes live. Our current plan is that monthly grades will be published at the start of each month based on information available at that time.
We are looking for further volunteers to help with the final stages of testing and system enhancements over the next few months to help get the system into live service and transition to operation and maintenance. If you have PHP or SQL database skills we would welcome your support as part of the development/test and/or operations team and I look forward to hearing from potential volunteers to help with this exciting project.
British Chess Championships 2021
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- In 2021, the British Chess Championships will again be held in Torquay. After the Coronavirus pandemic caused the cancellation of the booking for this year, this is the simplest, most economic option available to the ECF. The schedule has yet to be finalised, but the festival will start on Thursday 22 July or Friday 23 July with events running until Sunday 1st August. A schedule will be published as soon as we are able. It is intended to start the British Chess Championships themselves on Saturday 24 July with the final matches, including playoffs, if required, on Sunday 1st August. However, this will be dependent on which dates FIDE chooses to run the Olympiad, and will be confirmed once we have been able to take that into account. Prior to the British Championships, the Glorney Cup and the other associated competitions will be held at the same venue, starting on Monday 19th July. (Congratulations to Adrian, who has been awarded International Arbiter (IA) title the by FIDE)
Battle of the Prodigies
See what happened when Shreyas Royal took on the nine-year-old rising star in the USA, Tami Adewumi, here - https://www.chesskid.com/videos/usa-vs-uk-rising-stars-match-tani-vs-shreyas
Book reviews
Gary Lane looks at Beyond Material by Davorin Kuljasevic and On the Origin of Good Moves by Willy Hendricks. Tim-Jake Gluckman reviews the Fred Reinfeld biography Fred Reinfeld: The Man Who Taught America Chess with 282 Games by Alex Dunne here - https://www.kingpinchess.net/2020/05/deep-bloke-shallow-book/
First 4NCL Online Congress
Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July, five rounds for a fiver - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/online/arrangements_1.htm
Also 4NCL Online and Junior 4NCL Online results are now up on the 4NCL website - www.4ncl.co.uk
ECF Safeguarding Policy
The updated safeguarding document is available to read and download here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-safeguarding-policy/
Tweet of the Month is from IM Gary Lane's Twitter feed @garylanechess. Jack is rated 2100. Link to the song here - https://jackrodgers.bandcamp.com/releases
Arbiters' Seminar
Alan Atkinson, ECF Manager of Arbiters, reports on the 79th International Arbiters Seminar held online in in June- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/79th-internet-based-fide-arbiters-seminar-2/
Unruffled
ECF member Alan Ruffle goes into publishing here
CHESS Magazine teaser - here
Purchase the complete magazine here --- https://shop.chess.co.uk/CHESS-Magazine-July-2020-p/cb07877.htm
Obituaries
Joe Spooner - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10837
Jim Macrae - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10864
Adrian Jackson - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10889
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER INTERIM JUNE 2020
Dear ECF Member
Here's an interim newsletter with some information on upcoming online events ...
National Online Club Championships
As many of you will know these are taking place over the weekend of June 26th – 28th 2020. The Championships are being held as a five round Swiss tournament, for teams of six players (from a pool of up to 12). There will be a £10 entry charge with trophies for the winners. The event is taking place on the lichess platform and managed through LMS. Sections will be decided following entry closure – with last entries midnight Sunday 21st June.
The Tournament Controller is Stephen Greep Email: [email protected] and the Chief Arbiter and Fair Play Controller is Douglas Vleeshhouwer Email: [email protected]. Entries can be made online here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-national-club-championships-2020-entry-form/, and further details, and the rules, can be found on the ECF web site here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/ecf-national-online-clubs-championships. The Online Fair Play and Anti-Cheating Rules can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-online-fair-play-and-anti-cheating-rules/. Entries will be placed in the LMS National Online Club Championship section as they are made. Clubs please note – individual teams will be placed in the relevant section after the closing date. Please do consider entering a team for your club in this event to decide the English National Online Club Champions.
English Online Counties Championships
The English Online Counties Championships have entered the group 'all play all' stage which runs until 1st August. This is the qualifying competition for the six Championships taking place in August. Matches are played on a Saturday evening at 6:30pm at a rate of play of all moves in 60 minutes with 15 second increments from move 1. The friendlies on the 6th June went well, notwithstanding that online chess was new to many. However, the first round on the 13th was interrupted by a number of Chess.com server restarts due to IT issues, which impacted all of the Chess.com events that evening. This meant that the round had to be abandoned. It has been re-scheduled for 1st August. We have discussed the issue with Chess.com and are making arrangements to minimise disruption in the future were similar issues to arise.
The competition web page is now live on the ECF website, providing full details with various links, including a link to the event Club on Chess.com and the results service on the ECF LMS. If you would like to register for a County squad please contact your County’s organiser or secretary through the link provided on the competition web page. You will need to be an ECF Member or ECF Supporter before registration, and have one of the associations with that County listed on the web page.
Regular Events
As ever we have our regular ECF online rated weekly tournaments on chess.com and lichess with further details here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/upcoming-club-events/. There are a number of other ECF organised or supported online events which you may be interested in joining - see below ...
Internationals
The first round of the Chess.com Nations League will now be starting on Sunday 21st June. The matches will be 1v1 team matches against other
nations with boards of 10-20 players or more and two segments per match (rapid and blitz). Matches will start at 18-00 UK (19-00 CEST) on Sundays although it’s possible that different times can be agreed between Federations. The ECF members clubs have entered an English Chess Federation team for the competition and further details of the fixtures will be posted in the chess.com ECF members club as they become available. Please do join the ECF members clubs if you are not already a member which will enable you to join the team matches. Details of the rules and league formats are here - https://www.chess.com/news/view/nations-league-rules-and-format. We also have the regular Lichess Internationals in the Lichess Nations league where we play in Division 1 and the Lichess World Series - these are played on Saturday afternoons and evening, with details in on the Lichess English Players club home page here - https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players
English Women
English Women's Team
The English Women's team took part in a two round International team battle on 28th May and 4th June. We came second in round 1, qualifying for the top group of 5 nations in the finals on 4th June, where the England team played against Germany, France, Austria, and Hungary. The final was won by the German team with the French team in second. We came third, just keeping our lead against the Austrian team to overturn the previous week's order and ahead of the Hungarian team in 5th. This was a great result for the English Women's team in a closely fought international event with a big attendance from women and girl players across Europe. The English Women's team is captained by Jovanka Houska, and details can be found here, including a full list of upcoming events - https://lichess.org/team/england-women
English Juniors
England Juniors Lichess Team
An English Juniors team has been set up on Lichess, and runs weekly events on Thursday at 6pm, and occasionally takes part in matches against other countries. Any ECF member is welcome to join, and we currently have 300 members! The link to do so is here - https://lichess.org/team/england-juniors - please make sure you provide the real name and ECF membership number on your application.
Junior County Chess
Inter-County Team Battles are being played on Lichess at 6.00pm on the first and third Monday of each month, and now have 17 counties taking part. The most recent edition was won by Sussex, with Kent winning the first three. If you organise county teams and would like your team to join, please contact Alex Holowczak Email: [email protected]
Schools Chess
Schools Team Battles for secondary schools are being played on Lichess at 4.15pm on alternate Fridays, with the next one planned for Friday 3rd July. If you work in a secondary school and would like your school to take part, please contact Neill Cooper Email: [email protected]Joining ECF online clubs
You can find full details of ECF online and joining instructions for the Chess.com and Lichess clubs at the link here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
Affiliate Events
The ECF affiliate events programme is now well underway with organisers and clubs registering their events for ECF online rating, and getting publicity for events on the ECF calendar. The registration form for events is now available here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/register-your-event-for-ecf-online-rating/, and the calendar can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/ ... and it now includes ECF registered online events.
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Here's an interim newsletter with some information on upcoming online events ...
National Online Club Championships
As many of you will know these are taking place over the weekend of June 26th – 28th 2020. The Championships are being held as a five round Swiss tournament, for teams of six players (from a pool of up to 12). There will be a £10 entry charge with trophies for the winners. The event is taking place on the lichess platform and managed through LMS. Sections will be decided following entry closure – with last entries midnight Sunday 21st June.
The Tournament Controller is Stephen Greep Email: [email protected] and the Chief Arbiter and Fair Play Controller is Douglas Vleeshhouwer Email: [email protected]. Entries can be made online here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-national-club-championships-2020-entry-form/, and further details, and the rules, can be found on the ECF web site here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/ecf-national-online-clubs-championships. The Online Fair Play and Anti-Cheating Rules can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-online-fair-play-and-anti-cheating-rules/. Entries will be placed in the LMS National Online Club Championship section as they are made. Clubs please note – individual teams will be placed in the relevant section after the closing date. Please do consider entering a team for your club in this event to decide the English National Online Club Champions.
English Online Counties Championships
The English Online Counties Championships have entered the group 'all play all' stage which runs until 1st August. This is the qualifying competition for the six Championships taking place in August. Matches are played on a Saturday evening at 6:30pm at a rate of play of all moves in 60 minutes with 15 second increments from move 1. The friendlies on the 6th June went well, notwithstanding that online chess was new to many. However, the first round on the 13th was interrupted by a number of Chess.com server restarts due to IT issues, which impacted all of the Chess.com events that evening. This meant that the round had to be abandoned. It has been re-scheduled for 1st August. We have discussed the issue with Chess.com and are making arrangements to minimise disruption in the future were similar issues to arise.
The competition web page is now live on the ECF website, providing full details with various links, including a link to the event Club on Chess.com and the results service on the ECF LMS. If you would like to register for a County squad please contact your County’s organiser or secretary through the link provided on the competition web page. You will need to be an ECF Member or ECF Supporter before registration, and have one of the associations with that County listed on the web page.
Regular Events
As ever we have our regular ECF online rated weekly tournaments on chess.com and lichess with further details here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/upcoming-club-events/. There are a number of other ECF organised or supported online events which you may be interested in joining - see below ...
Internationals
The first round of the Chess.com Nations League will now be starting on Sunday 21st June. The matches will be 1v1 team matches against other
nations with boards of 10-20 players or more and two segments per match (rapid and blitz). Matches will start at 18-00 UK (19-00 CEST) on Sundays although it’s possible that different times can be agreed between Federations. The ECF members clubs have entered an English Chess Federation team for the competition and further details of the fixtures will be posted in the chess.com ECF members club as they become available. Please do join the ECF members clubs if you are not already a member which will enable you to join the team matches. Details of the rules and league formats are here - https://www.chess.com/news/view/nations-league-rules-and-format. We also have the regular Lichess Internationals in the Lichess Nations league where we play in Division 1 and the Lichess World Series - these are played on Saturday afternoons and evening, with details in on the Lichess English Players club home page here - https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players
English Women
English Women's Team
The English Women's team took part in a two round International team battle on 28th May and 4th June. We came second in round 1, qualifying for the top group of 5 nations in the finals on 4th June, where the England team played against Germany, France, Austria, and Hungary. The final was won by the German team with the French team in second. We came third, just keeping our lead against the Austrian team to overturn the previous week's order and ahead of the Hungarian team in 5th. This was a great result for the English Women's team in a closely fought international event with a big attendance from women and girl players across Europe. The English Women's team is captained by Jovanka Houska, and details can be found here, including a full list of upcoming events - https://lichess.org/team/england-women
English Juniors
England Juniors Lichess Team
An English Juniors team has been set up on Lichess, and runs weekly events on Thursday at 6pm, and occasionally takes part in matches against other countries. Any ECF member is welcome to join, and we currently have 300 members! The link to do so is here - https://lichess.org/team/england-juniors - please make sure you provide the real name and ECF membership number on your application.
Junior County Chess
Inter-County Team Battles are being played on Lichess at 6.00pm on the first and third Monday of each month, and now have 17 counties taking part. The most recent edition was won by Sussex, with Kent winning the first three. If you organise county teams and would like your team to join, please contact Alex Holowczak Email: [email protected]
Schools Chess
Schools Team Battles for secondary schools are being played on Lichess at 4.15pm on alternate Fridays, with the next one planned for Friday 3rd July. If you work in a secondary school and would like your school to take part, please contact Neill Cooper Email: [email protected]Joining ECF online clubs
You can find full details of ECF online and joining instructions for the Chess.com and Lichess clubs at the link here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
Affiliate Events
The ECF affiliate events programme is now well underway with organisers and clubs registering their events for ECF online rating, and getting publicity for events on the ECF calendar. The registration form for events is now available here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/register-your-event-for-ecf-online-rating/, and the calendar can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/ ... and it now includes ECF registered online events.
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER JUNE 2020
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the June edition of the Newsletter. In this edition we reproduce Malcolm Pein's editorial from the May 2020 CHESS magazine, much of which covers the issue of online cheating in chess. We would like to thank CHESS magazine for permission to present this to all ECF members. We also feature an interview with 11-year-old Battersea Chess Club member Shreyas Royal, who has broken the 200-plus grading barrier. Tim Wall has written a superb polemic on chess as a metaphor through Ingmar Bergman's 1957 classic film The Seventh Seal.
Lockdown has forced chess players into online options (also covered in Tim's piece) and I had a great time supporting the ECF-British Red Cross 24-hour marathon on Chess.com. Hats off to ECF Manager of Social Media Danny Rosenbaum and all the donors who raised over £10k, and to our top players and 459 members who took part. For the record, FM Harry Grieve just edged out GM Danny Gormally for top spot by 517 points to 516. Danny writes, 'I want to thank all those who helped to raise funds for the British Red Cross. It’s wonderful that in addition to those who donated prizes, and those who in effect donated time like streamers and grandmasters, there were literally hundreds of donations from players at all levels even those who could have no hope of winning a prize. It is great to see the ECF and the wider chess community coming together to help this great cause.'
In addition, ECF Manager of Chess in Prisons, Carl Portman, wrote on Twitter, 'More than ever before, I felt a real sense of unity and purpose at the ECF charity Blitz event for the British Red Cross. I am not alone in that view. Chess proves again that it is a force for good.'
It looks like it could be still some time before we can go back to over-the-board chess, but our new ECF Managers of Online Chess, Nigel Towers and Jo Hutchinson (more below), will keep us all busy.
Stay safe
Mark Rivlin
For Malcolm Pein's Chess Editorial June 2020, click here
Chess and the Dance of Death
Tim Wall on the pandemic and how it has affected chess (some parts of the piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the ECF) - click here
By Royal Command
An interview with Shreyas Royal - click here
Welcome Nigel and Jo
The ECF Board have agreed the creation of two new positions, Manager of Online Chess and Manager of Women’s Online Chess, and are delighted to announce that Nigel Towers and Jo Hutchinson respectively have been appointed to the roles.
Jo writes, 'I have been playing chess since I was 5 years old and still play, for fun and competitively, today. I have been involved with junior chess since 2003 where I have had various roles from being Lincolnshire U11 County Coach to running chess clubs in schools.
I think chess is very important for all age groups but especially young people, as it teaches life skills such as competitiveness, improves concentration, illustrates social etiquette and social skills to name just a few. It is also a game everyone, regardless of age, gender or disability can play.
However, chess is now changing, and in this current climate we are having to alter our perspectives. Due to the general nature of chess i.e. 2 players sat opposite each other for hours touching the same pieces, it is unlikely that ‘over the board’ chess will return for some time. Therefore, we have to change our perception to alternative play, mainly on the internet. There are numerous online chess sites that cater for all needs - correspondence, quick play, blitz etc. Therefore it makes sense to utilize these sites! There are already puzzles, games and tournaments up and running on Lichess, Chess.com and Chesskids among many others.
Therefore, my short term aim is to encourage more women and girls into ECF online activity. I would like to see women congregate to form teams (all female or mixed) with puzzles, daily games, weekly events, coaching activities and international tournaments, ideally getting ECF members to engage in these practices and to build the ECF online membership.'
ECF Awards 2020
Details of how to apply for this year’s ECF awards have been released. Nominations are invited for Club of the Year, Small Club of the Year, Online Chess Contribution, Congress of the Year, Magazine of the Year and the President’s Awards for Services to Chess (whose number has now been fixed at three). Alongside inviting citations for this year’s awards, the new Awards Committee Chairman Stephen Greep is also inviting comments on the awards scheme as a part of a consultation exercise on the future arrangements for the awards. Entries for this year’s awards close at the end of June. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/applications-invited-for-this-years-ecf-awards/
ECF Finance Council Meeting
The delayed ECF Finance Council meeting will be now be held using Zoom on Saturday July 18th at the usual time of 1.30pm to 6.00pm.
National Online Club Championships
Stephen Greep writes, 'A chance for your club to win a national title! A five-round Swiss to be played over the weekend of 26th-28th June. This is a six-board tournament (maximum of 10 players per team), played on the Lichess platform and managed through the ECF’s League Management System. Rules for the competition can be found here and the entry form here. Entries close at midnight on Sunday 21st June. £10 per team entry fee. Informal enquiries to the Championship Controller Stephen Greep at [email protected]
Decode Chess
Gideon Segev writes, 'The first AI chess tutor, DecodeChess explains the moves of a chess engine (Stockfish) in rich, intuitive language. With more than 10,000 registered members, from ages ages 9-89, DecodeChess is currently most effective for players in the strength range of 40-150 ECF, but also provides value for stronger players. GMs Dejan Bojkov and Boris Gelfand have already recommended it along with other IMs and chess tutors. If you use chess engines quite often and find it frustrating to be left with a cold answer, DecodeChess can help make sense out of those recommendations and to help you understand the WHY behind good moves. It's also a great tool for parents who struggle with helping their children. For an example of the system's capabilities please visit https://decodechess.com. Special offer to ECF Members - 60% off our annual subscription. Valid for 10 days from this newsletter being published. The discount applies only for the first year of the subscription, after which it will be full price ($99 per year.)
Online Chess
Our newly-appointed Online Chess Manager Nigel Towers writes --- The first ECF English Online Blitz Championship and Checkmate Covid-19 events both went really well during May with further details, including winners and final standings, here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-english-online-blitz-championships-update/ - and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/checkmate-covid-19-report/
The ECF also scheduled a very successful English Youth Championships at the end of May, winners and final standings at the address here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-youth-online-championship-prize-lists/
The England Women's team have participated in a two stage Women's team battle on lichess, with the finals played on 4th June - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-international-team-battle-28th-may/. Jo played in the events and has provided a more detailed report below.
Many thanks to all those who took part in these events, and congratulations to the winners and runners up given the number of participants and the strength of the players taking part.
We are continuing with our six regular club events per week, and are planning a number of familiar ECF events in online format for the first time from June, including --- the English Counties Championships which are about to start - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-county-championships-rules-published/ - and will continue over the Summer, and the National Clubs Championships, scheduled to be played over the weekend of 26th-28th June - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/national-online-club-championship/
We are also expecting to be fielding England teams in the upcoming chess.com Nations League which is scheduled to start around third week in June.
Most of the ECF online competitions are covered elsewhere in the newsletter in more detail, and I hope everyone is enjoying the events and able to participate in some of the upcoming ones. We are also starting to take on more local league and club events for online rating.
The ECF has published the latest version of its fair play policy which can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-online-fair-play-and-anti-cheating-rules/ and here on the online joining page - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/joinus/
The May rating list is delayed due to the time required to amend the rating system for the additional standardplay ratings, and to process 4NCL results, but the June list will be out shortly with events received to date.
Futher details can be found in the online pages here, which provide joining instructions for the clubs, a schedule of events, details of National and International Championships, online rating lists and support pages for organisers - https://www.englishchessonline.org.uk
ECF Club memberships continue to increase with current numbers as follows ---
chess.com ECF Open club - 3,314
chess.com ECF Members - 850
lichess English Players - 525
Girls and Women Team Battle
Jo Hutchinson, the new Manager of Women's Online Chess, reports --- The English Women’s team led by WGM Jovanka Houska has been playing in an Online International Women’s Competition against a number of European National teams with the first round on Thursday 28th May and the second round on Thursday 4th June at 18.30 British Summer Time. The events were played on lichess in team battle format over 20 boards for purposes of the team score but with larger numbers participating from a number of European nations.
Round 1 of the competition was played at 6:30 pm UK time on Thursday 28th with two group stage matches (Groups A and B). England was in Group B with the English team playing against teams from Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Portugal. The Group B event was extremely well attended with 650 players in total from the 5 nations and more than 100 women and girls in the English contingent. Scores were based on the 20 top scoring players in each team. The battle went down to the last few games and we finished a close second to the Austrian team.
Round 2 was played at the same time on Thurday 4th June where the England team played in the finalists match against Germany, France, Austria, and Hungary. The final was won by the German team with the French team in second. We came third in the finalists match just keeping our lead against the Austrian team to overturn the previous weeks order and ahead of the Hungarian team in 4th. An outstanding result for the England Women's team in the inaugural lichess Womens team battle against nine other European federations across the two rounds. The match links can be found here along with Jovanka's commentary ---
https://lichess.org/tournament/5YQD6ZxI | https://lichess.org/tournament/BLPTPQgm | www.twitch.tv/jovihouska
NCA Bulletin
Northumberland Chess Association's magazine NCA Bulletin won the ECF Magazine of the Year award in 2019. We feature their most recent edition here
Online County Championships
Mark Murrell writes, 'The Online Counties Championships start in earnest on 13th June following a preliminary familiarisation round the Saturday before. They have a different feel to the 100 years that have gone before. This is a new competition and not a substitute, of course. A seeded divisional format replaces regional qualifiers, feeding six Championships for the Finals stage in August. Interest rekindled in counties far and wide, a warm return to the likes of Berkshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Gloucestershire, Northumberland, Oxfordshire and Somerset. Durham almost made it too. Follow the tournament throughout the summer on the Counties Championships Club page on Chess.com and the ECF LMS for full results. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-county-championships-rules-published/ and rules here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ECF-Online-County-Championship-2020-Rules-1.pdf
ECF Academy
Alex Longson reports --- The ECF Academy May training weekend took place online over a double header weekend – 2nd/3rd May and 9th/10th May. The weekends were thoroughly enjoyable, with 70 children and six coaches taking part. The coaching staff included GM David Howell, GM Danny Gormally, IM Lorin D’Costa, IM Andrew Martin, IM Ravi Kumar, FM Tim Wall and WFM Sarah Longson. In the mornings interactive Zoom classrooms were held covering topics 'Best of British', 'Improving Your Pieces' and 'Alireza Firouzja spotlight'. The afternoons included activities on Lichess.org, such as coach simuls, rapidplay tournaments and quizzes. On the final Sunday we held a live quiz on our Twitch channel. Feedback from parents was hugely encouraging and whilst everyone is keen for over the board competition and training to resume, there are certainly elements of this weekend that worked better - in the future we hope to bring the best of both worlds. To register an interest for September’s training weekend or the full 2021 programme visit the website https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/training-academy/. To take part in the daily free live lessons and challenges follow us at https://www.twitch.tv/chessstarsacademy/
Braille Chess Association
The excellent Braille Chess Association (BCA) magazine May 2020 is out and credit is due to Julie Leonard for putting an excellent edition together - here
Online Fair Play
Follow these links - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ECF-Online-Fair-Play-and-ACv2_0-1.pdf and https://englishchessonline.org.uk/joinus/
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones with the latest problems - click here
Delancey 2020
Alex Longson reports on the online tournament for 2020 here
Winton Problem Solving 2020
More here ...
ECU Arbiters' Workshop
This has come in from the ECU --- The Arbiters Commission is pleased to announce two new workshops: the first one (June 10th, co-organized with ECU) will be dedicated to educating arbiters on best practices to fulfill their role in the new context of online competitions. The second one (June 18th) will provide some guidelines to arbiters in the process of title applications, with the aim of helping arbiters and federations to have their title applications approved timely and smoothly. Both webinars are free of charge, and we will appreciate it if you could forward this announcement to all the arbiters in your respective federations.To register, simply send an email to [email protected]. Prior to the start, the organizer will provide a link to join the webinar.
Book Review
Gary Lane looks at Keep It Simple 1 d4 by Christof Sielecki and Emanuel Lasker - A Reader by Taylor Kingston here - https://chess.business/blog/
English Youth Online Championships results here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-youth-online-championship-prize-lists/
Tweet of the Month
Chess Magazine sampler for June - here
To buy the full June edition, click here - https://shop.chess.co.uk/CHESS-Magazine-June-2020-p/cb07849.htm
Obituaries
Tom Evans - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10778&sid=544e9ed5937ce3f5ec45d359efb48389
Lieutenant-General Sir Anthony Pigott - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10784&sid=544e9ed5937ce3f5ec45d359efb48389
Michael Delaney - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10800
Hugh Flockhart - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10807
Brian Heath - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10817
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the June edition of the Newsletter. In this edition we reproduce Malcolm Pein's editorial from the May 2020 CHESS magazine, much of which covers the issue of online cheating in chess. We would like to thank CHESS magazine for permission to present this to all ECF members. We also feature an interview with 11-year-old Battersea Chess Club member Shreyas Royal, who has broken the 200-plus grading barrier. Tim Wall has written a superb polemic on chess as a metaphor through Ingmar Bergman's 1957 classic film The Seventh Seal.
Lockdown has forced chess players into online options (also covered in Tim's piece) and I had a great time supporting the ECF-British Red Cross 24-hour marathon on Chess.com. Hats off to ECF Manager of Social Media Danny Rosenbaum and all the donors who raised over £10k, and to our top players and 459 members who took part. For the record, FM Harry Grieve just edged out GM Danny Gormally for top spot by 517 points to 516. Danny writes, 'I want to thank all those who helped to raise funds for the British Red Cross. It’s wonderful that in addition to those who donated prizes, and those who in effect donated time like streamers and grandmasters, there were literally hundreds of donations from players at all levels even those who could have no hope of winning a prize. It is great to see the ECF and the wider chess community coming together to help this great cause.'
In addition, ECF Manager of Chess in Prisons, Carl Portman, wrote on Twitter, 'More than ever before, I felt a real sense of unity and purpose at the ECF charity Blitz event for the British Red Cross. I am not alone in that view. Chess proves again that it is a force for good.'
It looks like it could be still some time before we can go back to over-the-board chess, but our new ECF Managers of Online Chess, Nigel Towers and Jo Hutchinson (more below), will keep us all busy.
Stay safe
Mark Rivlin
For Malcolm Pein's Chess Editorial June 2020, click here
Chess and the Dance of Death
Tim Wall on the pandemic and how it has affected chess (some parts of the piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the ECF) - click here
By Royal Command
An interview with Shreyas Royal - click here
Welcome Nigel and Jo
The ECF Board have agreed the creation of two new positions, Manager of Online Chess and Manager of Women’s Online Chess, and are delighted to announce that Nigel Towers and Jo Hutchinson respectively have been appointed to the roles.
Jo writes, 'I have been playing chess since I was 5 years old and still play, for fun and competitively, today. I have been involved with junior chess since 2003 where I have had various roles from being Lincolnshire U11 County Coach to running chess clubs in schools.
I think chess is very important for all age groups but especially young people, as it teaches life skills such as competitiveness, improves concentration, illustrates social etiquette and social skills to name just a few. It is also a game everyone, regardless of age, gender or disability can play.
However, chess is now changing, and in this current climate we are having to alter our perspectives. Due to the general nature of chess i.e. 2 players sat opposite each other for hours touching the same pieces, it is unlikely that ‘over the board’ chess will return for some time. Therefore, we have to change our perception to alternative play, mainly on the internet. There are numerous online chess sites that cater for all needs - correspondence, quick play, blitz etc. Therefore it makes sense to utilize these sites! There are already puzzles, games and tournaments up and running on Lichess, Chess.com and Chesskids among many others.
Therefore, my short term aim is to encourage more women and girls into ECF online activity. I would like to see women congregate to form teams (all female or mixed) with puzzles, daily games, weekly events, coaching activities and international tournaments, ideally getting ECF members to engage in these practices and to build the ECF online membership.'
ECF Awards 2020
Details of how to apply for this year’s ECF awards have been released. Nominations are invited for Club of the Year, Small Club of the Year, Online Chess Contribution, Congress of the Year, Magazine of the Year and the President’s Awards for Services to Chess (whose number has now been fixed at three). Alongside inviting citations for this year’s awards, the new Awards Committee Chairman Stephen Greep is also inviting comments on the awards scheme as a part of a consultation exercise on the future arrangements for the awards. Entries for this year’s awards close at the end of June. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/applications-invited-for-this-years-ecf-awards/
ECF Finance Council Meeting
The delayed ECF Finance Council meeting will be now be held using Zoom on Saturday July 18th at the usual time of 1.30pm to 6.00pm.
National Online Club Championships
Stephen Greep writes, 'A chance for your club to win a national title! A five-round Swiss to be played over the weekend of 26th-28th June. This is a six-board tournament (maximum of 10 players per team), played on the Lichess platform and managed through the ECF’s League Management System. Rules for the competition can be found here and the entry form here. Entries close at midnight on Sunday 21st June. £10 per team entry fee. Informal enquiries to the Championship Controller Stephen Greep at [email protected]
Decode Chess
Gideon Segev writes, 'The first AI chess tutor, DecodeChess explains the moves of a chess engine (Stockfish) in rich, intuitive language. With more than 10,000 registered members, from ages ages 9-89, DecodeChess is currently most effective for players in the strength range of 40-150 ECF, but also provides value for stronger players. GMs Dejan Bojkov and Boris Gelfand have already recommended it along with other IMs and chess tutors. If you use chess engines quite often and find it frustrating to be left with a cold answer, DecodeChess can help make sense out of those recommendations and to help you understand the WHY behind good moves. It's also a great tool for parents who struggle with helping their children. For an example of the system's capabilities please visit https://decodechess.com. Special offer to ECF Members - 60% off our annual subscription. Valid for 10 days from this newsletter being published. The discount applies only for the first year of the subscription, after which it will be full price ($99 per year.)
Online Chess
Our newly-appointed Online Chess Manager Nigel Towers writes --- The first ECF English Online Blitz Championship and Checkmate Covid-19 events both went really well during May with further details, including winners and final standings, here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-english-online-blitz-championships-update/ - and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/checkmate-covid-19-report/
The ECF also scheduled a very successful English Youth Championships at the end of May, winners and final standings at the address here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-youth-online-championship-prize-lists/
The England Women's team have participated in a two stage Women's team battle on lichess, with the finals played on 4th June - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-international-team-battle-28th-may/. Jo played in the events and has provided a more detailed report below.
Many thanks to all those who took part in these events, and congratulations to the winners and runners up given the number of participants and the strength of the players taking part.
We are continuing with our six regular club events per week, and are planning a number of familiar ECF events in online format for the first time from June, including --- the English Counties Championships which are about to start - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-county-championships-rules-published/ - and will continue over the Summer, and the National Clubs Championships, scheduled to be played over the weekend of 26th-28th June - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/national-online-club-championship/
We are also expecting to be fielding England teams in the upcoming chess.com Nations League which is scheduled to start around third week in June.
Most of the ECF online competitions are covered elsewhere in the newsletter in more detail, and I hope everyone is enjoying the events and able to participate in some of the upcoming ones. We are also starting to take on more local league and club events for online rating.
The ECF has published the latest version of its fair play policy which can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-online-fair-play-and-anti-cheating-rules/ and here on the online joining page - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/joinus/
The May rating list is delayed due to the time required to amend the rating system for the additional standardplay ratings, and to process 4NCL results, but the June list will be out shortly with events received to date.
Futher details can be found in the online pages here, which provide joining instructions for the clubs, a schedule of events, details of National and International Championships, online rating lists and support pages for organisers - https://www.englishchessonline.org.uk
ECF Club memberships continue to increase with current numbers as follows ---
chess.com ECF Open club - 3,314
chess.com ECF Members - 850
lichess English Players - 525
Girls and Women Team Battle
Jo Hutchinson, the new Manager of Women's Online Chess, reports --- The English Women’s team led by WGM Jovanka Houska has been playing in an Online International Women’s Competition against a number of European National teams with the first round on Thursday 28th May and the second round on Thursday 4th June at 18.30 British Summer Time. The events were played on lichess in team battle format over 20 boards for purposes of the team score but with larger numbers participating from a number of European nations.
Round 1 of the competition was played at 6:30 pm UK time on Thursday 28th with two group stage matches (Groups A and B). England was in Group B with the English team playing against teams from Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Portugal. The Group B event was extremely well attended with 650 players in total from the 5 nations and more than 100 women and girls in the English contingent. Scores were based on the 20 top scoring players in each team. The battle went down to the last few games and we finished a close second to the Austrian team.
Round 2 was played at the same time on Thurday 4th June where the England team played in the finalists match against Germany, France, Austria, and Hungary. The final was won by the German team with the French team in second. We came third in the finalists match just keeping our lead against the Austrian team to overturn the previous weeks order and ahead of the Hungarian team in 4th. An outstanding result for the England Women's team in the inaugural lichess Womens team battle against nine other European federations across the two rounds. The match links can be found here along with Jovanka's commentary ---
https://lichess.org/tournament/5YQD6ZxI | https://lichess.org/tournament/BLPTPQgm | www.twitch.tv/jovihouska
NCA Bulletin
Northumberland Chess Association's magazine NCA Bulletin won the ECF Magazine of the Year award in 2019. We feature their most recent edition here
Online County Championships
Mark Murrell writes, 'The Online Counties Championships start in earnest on 13th June following a preliminary familiarisation round the Saturday before. They have a different feel to the 100 years that have gone before. This is a new competition and not a substitute, of course. A seeded divisional format replaces regional qualifiers, feeding six Championships for the Finals stage in August. Interest rekindled in counties far and wide, a warm return to the likes of Berkshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Gloucestershire, Northumberland, Oxfordshire and Somerset. Durham almost made it too. Follow the tournament throughout the summer on the Counties Championships Club page on Chess.com and the ECF LMS for full results. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/online-county-championships-rules-published/ and rules here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ECF-Online-County-Championship-2020-Rules-1.pdf
ECF Academy
Alex Longson reports --- The ECF Academy May training weekend took place online over a double header weekend – 2nd/3rd May and 9th/10th May. The weekends were thoroughly enjoyable, with 70 children and six coaches taking part. The coaching staff included GM David Howell, GM Danny Gormally, IM Lorin D’Costa, IM Andrew Martin, IM Ravi Kumar, FM Tim Wall and WFM Sarah Longson. In the mornings interactive Zoom classrooms were held covering topics 'Best of British', 'Improving Your Pieces' and 'Alireza Firouzja spotlight'. The afternoons included activities on Lichess.org, such as coach simuls, rapidplay tournaments and quizzes. On the final Sunday we held a live quiz on our Twitch channel. Feedback from parents was hugely encouraging and whilst everyone is keen for over the board competition and training to resume, there are certainly elements of this weekend that worked better - in the future we hope to bring the best of both worlds. To register an interest for September’s training weekend or the full 2021 programme visit the website https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/training-academy/. To take part in the daily free live lessons and challenges follow us at https://www.twitch.tv/chessstarsacademy/
Braille Chess Association
The excellent Braille Chess Association (BCA) magazine May 2020 is out and credit is due to Julie Leonard for putting an excellent edition together - here
Online Fair Play
Follow these links - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ECF-Online-Fair-Play-and-ACv2_0-1.pdf and https://englishchessonline.org.uk/joinus/
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones with the latest problems - click here
Delancey 2020
Alex Longson reports on the online tournament for 2020 here
Winton Problem Solving 2020
More here ...
ECU Arbiters' Workshop
This has come in from the ECU --- The Arbiters Commission is pleased to announce two new workshops: the first one (June 10th, co-organized with ECU) will be dedicated to educating arbiters on best practices to fulfill their role in the new context of online competitions. The second one (June 18th) will provide some guidelines to arbiters in the process of title applications, with the aim of helping arbiters and federations to have their title applications approved timely and smoothly. Both webinars are free of charge, and we will appreciate it if you could forward this announcement to all the arbiters in your respective federations.To register, simply send an email to [email protected]. Prior to the start, the organizer will provide a link to join the webinar.
Book Review
Gary Lane looks at Keep It Simple 1 d4 by Christof Sielecki and Emanuel Lasker - A Reader by Taylor Kingston here - https://chess.business/blog/
English Youth Online Championships results here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-youth-online-championship-prize-lists/
Tweet of the Month
Chess Magazine sampler for June - here
To buy the full June edition, click here - https://shop.chess.co.uk/CHESS-Magazine-June-2020-p/cb07849.htm
Obituaries
Tom Evans - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10778&sid=544e9ed5937ce3f5ec45d359efb48389
Lieutenant-General Sir Anthony Pigott - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10784&sid=544e9ed5937ce3f5ec45d359efb48389
Michael Delaney - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10800
Hugh Flockhart - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10807
Brian Heath - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10817
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER MAY 2020
Find out more by visiting https://www.chessable.com/anna-1
Dear Member
Welcome to the May edition of the E-newsletter. I have been out of action but am feeling fit and well again. A special thanks to Tim Wall for putting out an excellent April edition in my absence. In this edition we feature an interview with GM Danny Gormally and a round-up of all the latest online chess initiatives. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Nigel Towers and his colleagues for their immense work in this area.
I have to comment on the sad, but somewhat predictable hike in obituaries featured below. This is partially due to the effects of COVID-19 as there is a large cohort of recreational chess players in the at-risk category. Professional and recreational players have been hit by the pandemic but we are fortunate to have a raft of online options to play, watch and learn. We are waiting to hear how the 2019-20 season will be resolved (more below) but while we embrace the 'chess is made for the Internet age' mantra, we should be equally fervent about over-the-board chess.
This is not only about the tension a face-to-face live encounter generates but of equal importance is the social aspect in team and tournament chess. The ritual of leaving the house, reaching the match or tournament and meeting up with your colleagues and friends, the frisson of excitement as a game begins, and in a team situation, the collective watching in agony or ecstasy as the final board strives to save a match point in a time scramble. All of these scenarios, along with the post-match gathering in a local hostelry, reinforce this social impact effect. Having had this taken away we appreciate how much we miss OTB chess and a return can't come soon enough.
But of course we should embrace the opportunities of reaching out to people to play, watch and learn chess online (as Malcolm Pein writes below, if you follow the commentary of live events, you are getting free chess lessons). From the new 4NCL Online live on Twitch to Magnus Carlsen's innovative invitational tournament live broadcast (with our own IM Lawrence Trent carrying out the Gary Lineker Match of the Day anchor role with style), chess is responding to the demand and who knows, a future generation world champion may be telling us that he got into the game during the 2020 pandemic. This piece in the Guardian by Sean Ingle sums up the zeitgeist https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/may/04/fast-and-furious-carlsen-and-nakamura-transform-chess-into-an-adrenaline-sport and you know you are onto a winner when one of the tabloids gets excited: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lockdown-boom-chess-britain-400-21943522
Stay strong and healthy.
Mark Rivlin
ECF Charity InitiativeSocial Media Manager Danny Rosenbaum writes
Please support the ECF initiative to raise funds for the British Red Cross’s work to tackle Covid-19. We want as many people as possible to play in the 24-hour speed chess marathon on 23-24 May. It’s free to enter but you need to join the ECF open club on chess.com at https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation. Tournament details to follow to those in the group. We urge players and non-players alike to donate to the campaign at https://tiltify.com/+chess-v-covid-19/checkmate-covid19
Interview with GM Danny Gormally (link)
Chief Executive, Mike TruranThese are troubling times for everyone, so it’s very heartening to see so much online chess activity taking place and providing so many opportunities for our locked-down chess community. The English Chess Federation is doing its bit with its ECF Online Chess Clubs events and the English Online Blitz Championships, and we will also be organising the Online Counties Championships and the Online National Club Championships later this year. Crises like this tend to bring out the best in everyone, and in this regard I would like to mention in particular Chess in Schools and Communities’ splendid initiative to get a million school children playing online chess during the lockdown and the ECF’s forthcoming ‘Checkmate Covid 19’ marathon charity online event in partnership with the Red Cross. We’re also doing our best to get in good shape for the return of over the board chess – a lot of work is going into rolling out monthly grading, and improvements are being made to the membership and league management systems. My thanks to all our hardworking volunteers who do so much for English chess, and of course to you the players for your continuing support. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to the return of over the board chess, and it’s good to know that in the meantime all the hard work that’s been going on and that will continue in the online space is giving us the chance to continue to play our wonderful game.
The ECF’s Finance Director David Eustace will be retiring in October and we urgently need to find a replacement (the ECF’s Articles require that the ECF has a Finance Director). Can anyone help? If you’re interested, you can find more details here: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/vacancies/.
English Online Blitz Championships: this Saturday!Nigel Towers
The English Online Blitz Championships Group stage tournaments is scheduled for Saturday the 9 May on chess.com. The group stage is open to all ECF members or supporters and will be based on two 11 round Swiss tournaments with a 3|2 time control at 2-00 pm and 8-00 pm. There will be a total of 16 players qualifying for the Open final and 16 players for the Women's final which will both be on 16 May with a streaming commentary for the two knockout events. The finals will have a prize fund of over £800. You can find further details and a registration here:
https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020/
Please register here if it is of interest to help us gauge numbers https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/english-online-blitz-championship-2020-4253/
You can enter the group stage event whether or not you have registered. To enter you must have a chess.com account, then join the ECF members club here https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members and follow the tournament links as follows:
ECF English Championships Group Stage - 1 (Starts 2-00 pm 9th May) - https://www.chess.com/live#t=1217776
ECF English Championships Group Stage - 2 (Starts 8-00 pm 9th May) - https://www.chess.com/live#t=1217782
The links will also be published on the club home page with any amendments to the details should these be necessary.
ECF members can play in either or both tournaments with joining open on the day an hour before each event starts. If you are interested in playing please make sure you have joined the ECF members club in advance as above, login to chess.com, and follow the link(s) on the day to join before the first round starts.
Online RoundupWe have a number of national and international events now scheduled for members of the ECF Clubs on chess.com and lichess.org in addition to our regular weekly tournaments.
You can find full details of how to join the clubs here together with a calendar of all the upcoming events.
Counties TournamentThe ECF is pleased to announce the inaugural English Online Counties competition which will take place between June and August 2020. County Associations and online chess players are invited to participate in the competition, which open to all ECF Members and ECF Supporters. The group 'all play all' stage will be played in June and July 2020 on a Saturday afternoon or evening with the knockout Finals stage in August. The rate of play will not be less than all moves in 45 minutes with 15-second increments. If you would like to play in this competition see the link below and contact your county’s organiser or secretary. You will need to be an ECF Member or ECF Supporter before registration.
Please follow the link here for further details.
Online National Clubs Championships in late JuneWe are also pleased to announce the return of the much-missed National Club Championships as an online event and now taking place at the end of June. This will be a weekend event open to all English OTB, Online, or 4NCL clubs. Clubs will be organised into sections based on strength with a five-round team Swiss played between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. Further details of the event will be provided over the next week with a club entry form for registrations.
International focusThe lichess English Players club has taken part in a number of Internationals over the last few weeks.
England v Bangladesh lichess Team BattleAn ECF English players team took part in a 1:1 team battle with the Bangladesh Federation team on 2 May with some fighting performances from the England team. We fielded a GM on board 1 and there were 29 English players versus 50 in the Bangladesh team. We took the top 3 individual spots and won the match overall by 199 to 143 points. You can see full details of the event and results here: https://lichess.org/tournament/yCpvq7kC
Lichess Amateur OlympiadThe ECF English players team also managed an excellent results from the Amateur Olympiad on lichess on 2 May. This one was organised by Imran Mughal of the Pakistan Federation. The team battle was a 90-minute arena with 10 teams and 10 leaders. English player Ferrari-Fan led the way on top board and we moved into the top three around the halfway point. We were then able to edge in front of the Pakistan team (despite Imran's encouragement to his players in the chat room) to finish in second place behind a very strong Team Spain. Again you can find full details of the event and results on lichess at the link below: https://lichess.org/tournament/bR6qddJh
Chess.com Nations LeagueWe have entered an English Federation team in the Nations league on chess.com and will be participating in the daily and rapid leagues with other National Federation teams once the competitions are under way in May or June. https://www.chess.com/club/chess-com-nations-league
New ECF Daily Chess Tournament on chess.comAs practice for the daily league and to support ECF daily and correspondence players, Andrew Caswell ( @AndreSC21 ) has set up an ECF 'daily chess knockout tournament' for ECF member club players on chess.com. Joining is open now for club members at the tournament link here: https://www.chess.com/tournament/ecf-members-2020-daily-tournament. The tournament will start on 22 May and will run at up to 3 days per move with matches based on a 4 player group knockout format. This will be based on players being allocated to groups of 4 players who will play round robin matches with white and black against their group opponents. Group winners will then be paired into further groups with further knock out rounds until the final with the remaining 4 players at the end of the tournament. We have over 100 players signed up so far and please do join now if you are a daily player and the competition is of interest.
Online Ratings and Affiliated eventsAll of the regular ECF online events are ECF online rated with the rating lists published here: https://englishchessonline.org.uk/monthly-ratings/
The May lists will include updated online rapid and blitz ratings based on results from April ECF members club events and will also include a new ECF online Standard play rating based on results from 4NCL online rounds player in April. Please complete the form here if you would like to apply for your events to be ECF online rated. We are currently limiting this to 'member/supporter only' events played on ECF recognised platforms.
https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/register-your-event-for-ecf-online-rating/
Update on club finder and the general move to onlineMany thanks to all those who have let us know about their online club. You can find details of 'local' online clubs here and please do let us know if you would like your online club to be added to the list: https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-club-finder-map/.
ECF Officers' messagesDirector of Home Chess, Adrian ElwinOnline chess has many new converts, and is likely to continue to expand over the next few months. For those looking to play chess during the crisis, this will give you an overview as to how the ECF can help.
As everybody knows, OTB chess had to close down very quickly after Coronavirus struck. Given the proximity of players to their opponents, this was inevitable. The competitions affected include both the British Championships and County Championship, and it is unlikely that the UK Open Blitz will be held in the same form as last year. The ECF has a community covering online chess which can be accessed under the Communities tag on the main ECF website or directly at https://englishchessonline.org.uk/.
Many clubs have set up their own online competitions and there are links to many of them at the ECF Online Community under Club Finder. The ECF is also running its own competitions and has set up its own online rating list. These competitions are fairly informal and can be found on the Online Community website, as can the ECF Online Rating list. The ECF are also organising some more formal competitions.
The next event that you need to look out for is the English Online Blitz 2020 competition with the group stage on 9 May and the finals on 16 May. More here https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020/.
Following on from that, there will be an Online Counties Championship running from June to early September. Details have been sent to OTB county organisers. It is also proposed to hold an Online National Club tournament, with details still to be finalised.
(All online events are covered in more detail in Nigel Towers' report above).
Director of Junior Chess, Alex HolowczakLichess team battles.
Under 12: https://lichess.org/tournament/SohUYi3H
We won ahead of Ireland and Israel.
Under 14: https://lichess.org/tournament/lppa1eFc
Under 16: https://lichess.org/tournament/i5SJ152P
Under 20: https://lichess.org/tournament/u5AfA6su
We won all three sections! They were closer than they look; the U14 and U20 in particular were close right up until the last hour. We finished ahead of teams from France, Russia, Estonia, Greece, Netherlands, Austria and Ireland in the various competitions.
Director of International Chess, Malcolm PeinThere has been no over-the-board competitive chess since the Candidates. The Olympiad and World Championship have been postponed and no date has yet been set by FIDE for the resumption of the Candidates. Chess24 and chess.com took the initiative in developing more online tournaments. Magnus Carlsen's invitational eight-player challenge with a $250,000 price fund is something I think we’re going to see more of in the coming months. The Sitges Open tournament in Spain ran an online version with slow play time limits. It was largely experimental, but was completed with GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt winning. With all online tournaments played at rapid or classical time limits, the spectre of cheating remains. All tournament organisers are going to have to grapple with this and introduce layers of governance in cooperation with the providers. The European Chess Union announced an Individual Championship and FIDE's Nations Cup began on May 5th and continues to the 10th with very strong teams from China, Europe, USA, Russia, Indian and Rest of the World. The matches will take place on Chess.com and there will be online commentary. When commentary is by grandmasters with good English and a sense of how to bring the complexities of the game to a level where most of us can understand, it’s just a way of getting fabulous free chess lessons. So if you’re not already watching on chess24 or twitch I’d recommend you give it a go.
Director of Women's Chess, Chris FeganWomen's chess has been very badly affected by the Covid-19 lockdown throughout the world. The ECF is looking at participation in online International competitions. We had a very interesting online meeting organised by the European Chess Union and facilitated by Chess Plus which looked at the future of Women's Chess in Europe and which built on the work of the major Chess and Female Empowerment Conference held in London in December 2019. We are planning to meet regularly online during the current crisis.
I am trying to keep an open mind in regard to when we can start playing over-the-board chess again in England and in particular with regard to the English Women's Championships which we have had to postpone.
However I am pleased to report that the ECF are planning to participate in a European Womens team competition which is being organised by the German Chess Federation and will be based on a series of lichess team battles with initial group stages and then a final between different nations. We will provide further details for female players who may wish to play in these events very shortly.
Finance Council Chair, Statement, Michael FarthingIn light of the current coronavirus situation it is clear that it would have been inappropriate to hold Finance Council in April. The Board and myself, with the advice of the Chair of Governance, will continue to monitor the position. By the end of August 2020 we will either (a) have held Finance Council if circumstances allow or (b) have proposed to Council a written resolution dealing with approval of the budget, the setting of membership fees and the other matters that require to be dealt with. In the coming months I shall use the new forum to keep members of Council updated and the forum will also continue to be a means for Council Members to raise and discuss matters of interest.
Book reviewsIM Gary Lane looks at Memorable Games of British Chess by Neil Hickman; The Complete Chess Swindler by David Smerdon; Mental Toughness in Chess by Werner Schneitzer and Attacking with g2-g4 by Dmitry Kryakvin. All the reviews here https://chess.business/blog/
2020 Chess Worldwide Online Championships(link)
What a ChokerWe've had Chess Comedy (your editor's efforts over the board this season), ChessBoxing (well documented on these pages) and now we welcome Chess Poker (Choker). Deren Stevens writes: Combining the brilliance of chess with the cunning of poker, Choker is a free to play app available on Apple and Android devices. the Challengers Choker Cup is a free live stream event featuring eight top chess and poker players in a straight knockout tournament over seven weeks with an opportunity to play GM Hikaru Nakamura and lift the first ever Challengers Choker Cup. More information here www.chokergame.com. The live stream tournament will begin on 7 May 2020 on chess24.com. We have confirmed with the organisers that there is no gambling facility on this app.
Fundraising for Charities TogetherBrothers Jon and Michael Hill are hosting online chess tournaments on chess.com to raise money for the NHS Charities Together appeal. The tournaments will take place at 2 pm EVERY SATURDAY and will last for 1hour. Just register yourself on chess.com, its free to join, create a username on and then join our club. For donations please see here
Problem CornerChristopher Jones with another set of teasing problems.
Paperback WriterThe story behind Ben Graff's chess novel The Greenbecker Gambit.
CHESS Magazine sample (link)
ObituariesRichard Guy: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10677
Tim Crouch: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10738
WIM Arianne Caoile: https://www.chess.com/news/view/arianne-caoili-obituary
Jacoba (Cobie) Ives: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10729
Gennady Kuzmin: https://www.chess.com/news/view/gennady-kuzmin-1946-2020
John Pakenham: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10625
Steve Brockelsby: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10664
Tony Suttill: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10673
Alan Whitbread: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10674
Denis Lane: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10704
Adrian Dawson: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10702
Bill Pettigrew: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10739
Richard Collins: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10741
David Fewkes: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10736
Geoff Robinson: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10770
Roy Catlow: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10774
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General: [email protected]
Membership: [email protected]
Web: [email protected]
Dear Member
Welcome to the May edition of the E-newsletter. I have been out of action but am feeling fit and well again. A special thanks to Tim Wall for putting out an excellent April edition in my absence. In this edition we feature an interview with GM Danny Gormally and a round-up of all the latest online chess initiatives. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Nigel Towers and his colleagues for their immense work in this area.
I have to comment on the sad, but somewhat predictable hike in obituaries featured below. This is partially due to the effects of COVID-19 as there is a large cohort of recreational chess players in the at-risk category. Professional and recreational players have been hit by the pandemic but we are fortunate to have a raft of online options to play, watch and learn. We are waiting to hear how the 2019-20 season will be resolved (more below) but while we embrace the 'chess is made for the Internet age' mantra, we should be equally fervent about over-the-board chess.
This is not only about the tension a face-to-face live encounter generates but of equal importance is the social aspect in team and tournament chess. The ritual of leaving the house, reaching the match or tournament and meeting up with your colleagues and friends, the frisson of excitement as a game begins, and in a team situation, the collective watching in agony or ecstasy as the final board strives to save a match point in a time scramble. All of these scenarios, along with the post-match gathering in a local hostelry, reinforce this social impact effect. Having had this taken away we appreciate how much we miss OTB chess and a return can't come soon enough.
But of course we should embrace the opportunities of reaching out to people to play, watch and learn chess online (as Malcolm Pein writes below, if you follow the commentary of live events, you are getting free chess lessons). From the new 4NCL Online live on Twitch to Magnus Carlsen's innovative invitational tournament live broadcast (with our own IM Lawrence Trent carrying out the Gary Lineker Match of the Day anchor role with style), chess is responding to the demand and who knows, a future generation world champion may be telling us that he got into the game during the 2020 pandemic. This piece in the Guardian by Sean Ingle sums up the zeitgeist https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/may/04/fast-and-furious-carlsen-and-nakamura-transform-chess-into-an-adrenaline-sport and you know you are onto a winner when one of the tabloids gets excited: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lockdown-boom-chess-britain-400-21943522
Stay strong and healthy.
Mark Rivlin
ECF Charity InitiativeSocial Media Manager Danny Rosenbaum writes
Please support the ECF initiative to raise funds for the British Red Cross’s work to tackle Covid-19. We want as many people as possible to play in the 24-hour speed chess marathon on 23-24 May. It’s free to enter but you need to join the ECF open club on chess.com at https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation. Tournament details to follow to those in the group. We urge players and non-players alike to donate to the campaign at https://tiltify.com/+chess-v-covid-19/checkmate-covid19
Interview with GM Danny Gormally (link)
Chief Executive, Mike TruranThese are troubling times for everyone, so it’s very heartening to see so much online chess activity taking place and providing so many opportunities for our locked-down chess community. The English Chess Federation is doing its bit with its ECF Online Chess Clubs events and the English Online Blitz Championships, and we will also be organising the Online Counties Championships and the Online National Club Championships later this year. Crises like this tend to bring out the best in everyone, and in this regard I would like to mention in particular Chess in Schools and Communities’ splendid initiative to get a million school children playing online chess during the lockdown and the ECF’s forthcoming ‘Checkmate Covid 19’ marathon charity online event in partnership with the Red Cross. We’re also doing our best to get in good shape for the return of over the board chess – a lot of work is going into rolling out monthly grading, and improvements are being made to the membership and league management systems. My thanks to all our hardworking volunteers who do so much for English chess, and of course to you the players for your continuing support. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to the return of over the board chess, and it’s good to know that in the meantime all the hard work that’s been going on and that will continue in the online space is giving us the chance to continue to play our wonderful game.
The ECF’s Finance Director David Eustace will be retiring in October and we urgently need to find a replacement (the ECF’s Articles require that the ECF has a Finance Director). Can anyone help? If you’re interested, you can find more details here: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/vacancies/.
English Online Blitz Championships: this Saturday!Nigel Towers
The English Online Blitz Championships Group stage tournaments is scheduled for Saturday the 9 May on chess.com. The group stage is open to all ECF members or supporters and will be based on two 11 round Swiss tournaments with a 3|2 time control at 2-00 pm and 8-00 pm. There will be a total of 16 players qualifying for the Open final and 16 players for the Women's final which will both be on 16 May with a streaming commentary for the two knockout events. The finals will have a prize fund of over £800. You can find further details and a registration here:
https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020/
Please register here if it is of interest to help us gauge numbers https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/english-online-blitz-championship-2020-4253/
You can enter the group stage event whether or not you have registered. To enter you must have a chess.com account, then join the ECF members club here https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members and follow the tournament links as follows:
ECF English Championships Group Stage - 1 (Starts 2-00 pm 9th May) - https://www.chess.com/live#t=1217776
ECF English Championships Group Stage - 2 (Starts 8-00 pm 9th May) - https://www.chess.com/live#t=1217782
The links will also be published on the club home page with any amendments to the details should these be necessary.
ECF members can play in either or both tournaments with joining open on the day an hour before each event starts. If you are interested in playing please make sure you have joined the ECF members club in advance as above, login to chess.com, and follow the link(s) on the day to join before the first round starts.
Online RoundupWe have a number of national and international events now scheduled for members of the ECF Clubs on chess.com and lichess.org in addition to our regular weekly tournaments.
You can find full details of how to join the clubs here together with a calendar of all the upcoming events.
Counties TournamentThe ECF is pleased to announce the inaugural English Online Counties competition which will take place between June and August 2020. County Associations and online chess players are invited to participate in the competition, which open to all ECF Members and ECF Supporters. The group 'all play all' stage will be played in June and July 2020 on a Saturday afternoon or evening with the knockout Finals stage in August. The rate of play will not be less than all moves in 45 minutes with 15-second increments. If you would like to play in this competition see the link below and contact your county’s organiser or secretary. You will need to be an ECF Member or ECF Supporter before registration.
Please follow the link here for further details.
Online National Clubs Championships in late JuneWe are also pleased to announce the return of the much-missed National Club Championships as an online event and now taking place at the end of June. This will be a weekend event open to all English OTB, Online, or 4NCL clubs. Clubs will be organised into sections based on strength with a five-round team Swiss played between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. Further details of the event will be provided over the next week with a club entry form for registrations.
International focusThe lichess English Players club has taken part in a number of Internationals over the last few weeks.
England v Bangladesh lichess Team BattleAn ECF English players team took part in a 1:1 team battle with the Bangladesh Federation team on 2 May with some fighting performances from the England team. We fielded a GM on board 1 and there were 29 English players versus 50 in the Bangladesh team. We took the top 3 individual spots and won the match overall by 199 to 143 points. You can see full details of the event and results here: https://lichess.org/tournament/yCpvq7kC
Lichess Amateur OlympiadThe ECF English players team also managed an excellent results from the Amateur Olympiad on lichess on 2 May. This one was organised by Imran Mughal of the Pakistan Federation. The team battle was a 90-minute arena with 10 teams and 10 leaders. English player Ferrari-Fan led the way on top board and we moved into the top three around the halfway point. We were then able to edge in front of the Pakistan team (despite Imran's encouragement to his players in the chat room) to finish in second place behind a very strong Team Spain. Again you can find full details of the event and results on lichess at the link below: https://lichess.org/tournament/bR6qddJh
Chess.com Nations LeagueWe have entered an English Federation team in the Nations league on chess.com and will be participating in the daily and rapid leagues with other National Federation teams once the competitions are under way in May or June. https://www.chess.com/club/chess-com-nations-league
New ECF Daily Chess Tournament on chess.comAs practice for the daily league and to support ECF daily and correspondence players, Andrew Caswell ( @AndreSC21 ) has set up an ECF 'daily chess knockout tournament' for ECF member club players on chess.com. Joining is open now for club members at the tournament link here: https://www.chess.com/tournament/ecf-members-2020-daily-tournament. The tournament will start on 22 May and will run at up to 3 days per move with matches based on a 4 player group knockout format. This will be based on players being allocated to groups of 4 players who will play round robin matches with white and black against their group opponents. Group winners will then be paired into further groups with further knock out rounds until the final with the remaining 4 players at the end of the tournament. We have over 100 players signed up so far and please do join now if you are a daily player and the competition is of interest.
Online Ratings and Affiliated eventsAll of the regular ECF online events are ECF online rated with the rating lists published here: https://englishchessonline.org.uk/monthly-ratings/
The May lists will include updated online rapid and blitz ratings based on results from April ECF members club events and will also include a new ECF online Standard play rating based on results from 4NCL online rounds player in April. Please complete the form here if you would like to apply for your events to be ECF online rated. We are currently limiting this to 'member/supporter only' events played on ECF recognised platforms.
https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/register-your-event-for-ecf-online-rating/
Update on club finder and the general move to onlineMany thanks to all those who have let us know about their online club. You can find details of 'local' online clubs here and please do let us know if you would like your online club to be added to the list: https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-club-finder-map/.
ECF Officers' messagesDirector of Home Chess, Adrian ElwinOnline chess has many new converts, and is likely to continue to expand over the next few months. For those looking to play chess during the crisis, this will give you an overview as to how the ECF can help.
As everybody knows, OTB chess had to close down very quickly after Coronavirus struck. Given the proximity of players to their opponents, this was inevitable. The competitions affected include both the British Championships and County Championship, and it is unlikely that the UK Open Blitz will be held in the same form as last year. The ECF has a community covering online chess which can be accessed under the Communities tag on the main ECF website or directly at https://englishchessonline.org.uk/.
Many clubs have set up their own online competitions and there are links to many of them at the ECF Online Community under Club Finder. The ECF is also running its own competitions and has set up its own online rating list. These competitions are fairly informal and can be found on the Online Community website, as can the ECF Online Rating list. The ECF are also organising some more formal competitions.
The next event that you need to look out for is the English Online Blitz 2020 competition with the group stage on 9 May and the finals on 16 May. More here https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020/.
Following on from that, there will be an Online Counties Championship running from June to early September. Details have been sent to OTB county organisers. It is also proposed to hold an Online National Club tournament, with details still to be finalised.
(All online events are covered in more detail in Nigel Towers' report above).
Director of Junior Chess, Alex HolowczakLichess team battles.
Under 12: https://lichess.org/tournament/SohUYi3H
We won ahead of Ireland and Israel.
Under 14: https://lichess.org/tournament/lppa1eFc
Under 16: https://lichess.org/tournament/i5SJ152P
Under 20: https://lichess.org/tournament/u5AfA6su
We won all three sections! They were closer than they look; the U14 and U20 in particular were close right up until the last hour. We finished ahead of teams from France, Russia, Estonia, Greece, Netherlands, Austria and Ireland in the various competitions.
Director of International Chess, Malcolm PeinThere has been no over-the-board competitive chess since the Candidates. The Olympiad and World Championship have been postponed and no date has yet been set by FIDE for the resumption of the Candidates. Chess24 and chess.com took the initiative in developing more online tournaments. Magnus Carlsen's invitational eight-player challenge with a $250,000 price fund is something I think we’re going to see more of in the coming months. The Sitges Open tournament in Spain ran an online version with slow play time limits. It was largely experimental, but was completed with GM Ahmed Adly of Egypt winning. With all online tournaments played at rapid or classical time limits, the spectre of cheating remains. All tournament organisers are going to have to grapple with this and introduce layers of governance in cooperation with the providers. The European Chess Union announced an Individual Championship and FIDE's Nations Cup began on May 5th and continues to the 10th with very strong teams from China, Europe, USA, Russia, Indian and Rest of the World. The matches will take place on Chess.com and there will be online commentary. When commentary is by grandmasters with good English and a sense of how to bring the complexities of the game to a level where most of us can understand, it’s just a way of getting fabulous free chess lessons. So if you’re not already watching on chess24 or twitch I’d recommend you give it a go.
Director of Women's Chess, Chris FeganWomen's chess has been very badly affected by the Covid-19 lockdown throughout the world. The ECF is looking at participation in online International competitions. We had a very interesting online meeting organised by the European Chess Union and facilitated by Chess Plus which looked at the future of Women's Chess in Europe and which built on the work of the major Chess and Female Empowerment Conference held in London in December 2019. We are planning to meet regularly online during the current crisis.
I am trying to keep an open mind in regard to when we can start playing over-the-board chess again in England and in particular with regard to the English Women's Championships which we have had to postpone.
However I am pleased to report that the ECF are planning to participate in a European Womens team competition which is being organised by the German Chess Federation and will be based on a series of lichess team battles with initial group stages and then a final between different nations. We will provide further details for female players who may wish to play in these events very shortly.
Finance Council Chair, Statement, Michael FarthingIn light of the current coronavirus situation it is clear that it would have been inappropriate to hold Finance Council in April. The Board and myself, with the advice of the Chair of Governance, will continue to monitor the position. By the end of August 2020 we will either (a) have held Finance Council if circumstances allow or (b) have proposed to Council a written resolution dealing with approval of the budget, the setting of membership fees and the other matters that require to be dealt with. In the coming months I shall use the new forum to keep members of Council updated and the forum will also continue to be a means for Council Members to raise and discuss matters of interest.
Book reviewsIM Gary Lane looks at Memorable Games of British Chess by Neil Hickman; The Complete Chess Swindler by David Smerdon; Mental Toughness in Chess by Werner Schneitzer and Attacking with g2-g4 by Dmitry Kryakvin. All the reviews here https://chess.business/blog/
2020 Chess Worldwide Online Championships(link)
What a ChokerWe've had Chess Comedy (your editor's efforts over the board this season), ChessBoxing (well documented on these pages) and now we welcome Chess Poker (Choker). Deren Stevens writes: Combining the brilliance of chess with the cunning of poker, Choker is a free to play app available on Apple and Android devices. the Challengers Choker Cup is a free live stream event featuring eight top chess and poker players in a straight knockout tournament over seven weeks with an opportunity to play GM Hikaru Nakamura and lift the first ever Challengers Choker Cup. More information here www.chokergame.com. The live stream tournament will begin on 7 May 2020 on chess24.com. We have confirmed with the organisers that there is no gambling facility on this app.
Fundraising for Charities TogetherBrothers Jon and Michael Hill are hosting online chess tournaments on chess.com to raise money for the NHS Charities Together appeal. The tournaments will take place at 2 pm EVERY SATURDAY and will last for 1hour. Just register yourself on chess.com, its free to join, create a username on and then join our club. For donations please see here
Problem CornerChristopher Jones with another set of teasing problems.
Paperback WriterThe story behind Ben Graff's chess novel The Greenbecker Gambit.
CHESS Magazine sample (link)
ObituariesRichard Guy: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10677
Tim Crouch: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10738
WIM Arianne Caoile: https://www.chess.com/news/view/arianne-caoili-obituary
Jacoba (Cobie) Ives: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10729
Gennady Kuzmin: https://www.chess.com/news/view/gennady-kuzmin-1946-2020
John Pakenham: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10625
Steve Brockelsby: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10664
Tony Suttill: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10673
Alan Whitbread: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10674
Denis Lane: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10704
Adrian Dawson: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10702
Bill Pettigrew: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10739
Richard Collins: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10741
David Fewkes: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10736
Geoff Robinson: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10770
Roy Catlow: https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10774
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General: [email protected]
Membership: [email protected]
Web: [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER INTERIM APRIL 2020
Interim April 2020 Newsletter - Play Chess at Home (2)
An update from the ECF
Dear chess friends,
Welcome to the interim April Newsletter. Our publicity officer Mark Rivlin is feeling much better now and should be back in the editor's chair for the May edition. In the meantime, Mike Truran has asked me to put together a quick update with a number of announcements, given the number of developments in the last two weeks.
The ECF Office is still on furlough due to the lockdown, but queries sent to [email protected] will be answered by the relevant ECF director.
We are continuing to develop our online chess platform, and there have been a number of other online initiatives which its worth being aware of as the lock down continues.
Your sincerely
Nigel Towers
ECF Online
As most members will be aware the ECF has set up an ECF online platform at https://www.englishchessonline.org.uk/ with online members clubs on Chess.com at https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members and lichess.org at https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players. The clubs are open to all ECF members and supporters, and allow you to take part in regular ECF online rated tournaments, with 6 ECF rated events per week across the two platforms. Club memberships are fast increasing, and are currently as follows ---
Chess.com ECF members - 404 members
lichess English players - 373 members
We have players from more than 250 OTB clubs represented across the two online clubs. The ECF also runs an open club for non-member English players on Chess.com with 2,559 members and a further 3 'social chess' tournaments per week.
ECF English Online Blitz Championships
In addition to the regular club tournaments, the ECF pleased to announce that we will be running the first English Online Blitz Championships on Chess.com, with a group stage on 9th May and the finals on 16th May. The Championships will be open to all ECF members or supporters with entry via the ECF members club in Chess.com. The group stage will be based on two Swiss tournaments at 3|2 time control in the afternoon and evening of Saturday 9th May. As with last years UK Blitz, there will be two categories (Open and Women's) with the top four in each category qualifying from each tournament, and a further 8 qualifiers for those with the highest score across the two tournaments. The Open and Women's finals will be played a week later on the 16th May, and will be based on a 16 player knockout format for each competition, with 4 blitz games for each pairing to proceed to the next round. The last 16 and quarter finals will be played in the afternoon and the semis and final will be played in the evening of 16th May. We will have an £800 prize fund for the event and will be organising a streaming commentary. You can find further details here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020/ with a registration form here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/english-online-blitz-championship-2020-4253/
ECF Online Ratings
We have published 2 monthly ECF online ratings lists so far for Blitz and Rapid time controls in March and April. We will be adding standardplay online events for the May lists, which will include online rating of 4NCL and other online events which have been registered with the ECF. These ratings are completely separate from OTB ratings but provide a 4-digit ECF rating for online games in registered events and are now being published monthly.
Affiliate Events and Calendar
Mike Truran writes, 'The ECF is establish an affiliate events programme where organisers and clubs can register their events for ECF online rating and get publicity for events on the ECF calendar. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to register an event for ECF online rating'.
Join Your Local Club
Where to find your local online chess club? Many OTB chess clubs have now set up online clubs on lichess.org, Chess.com, or other provider platforms where you can play online tournaments, matches and other events – all free of charge. The ECF is now maintaining a directory of Online English clubs – please take a look at the online club finder - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-club-finder-map/ If you’re moving your club online or know of an online club not on the list, please let us know by emailing [email protected] so that we can keep the list up to date.
ECF Chess Marathon - Checkmate Covid-19
Danny Rosenbaum writes that 'the ECF is organising a 24-hour online chess marathon fundraiser hosted on Chess.com. All proceeds will go to fund the British Red Cross’s work helping health workers, the elderly, and the vulnerable in the face of the pandemic. The marathon will take place over the weekend of Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of May, and will be based on a long running Arena tournament with the winners being those who accumulate the most points over the course of the event. We are expecting a number of celebrity players with sponsorship for their matches. Entry is free but only donors and fundraisers will be eligible for prizes. Players will need to join the ECF Open Club - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation - which is open to all English players on Chess.com. Join now to be kept posted on further tournament details and prizes. Everyone can either donate or become a supporter, creating their own fundraising campaigns to raise money by going to the Checkmate Covid-19 Tilitfy page - https://tiltify.com/+chess-v-covid-19/checkmate-covid19. Chess.com has generously agreed to match the first $500 of donations'.
Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross said, 'We are delighted that the chess community has decided to support the British Red Cross in our work to help several important groups including health workers, the elderly, and the vulnerable'.
One Million ChessKids - Free Online Lessons and Play to July 2020!
Malcolm Pein writes --- 'Chess in Schools & Communities has teamed up with ChessKid in a campaign to get one million children playing chess in the UK during the lockdown. CSC are offering 1 million free 3-month Gold Memberships of ChessKid’s online platform valid until 20th July 2020. Every child of primary school age in the UK is eligible. Teachers, headteachers from any UK school, parents, chess coaches and chess clubs may apply. The free memberships may be claimed by individual parents or carers, chess coaches and schools who may request up to 1,000.The memberships include access to videos, lessons and puzzles. Children can play others from all over the world once they’ve learnt the rules.
See https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/chesskid-for-parent and https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/chesskid-for-schools
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
An update from the ECF
Dear chess friends,
Welcome to the interim April Newsletter. Our publicity officer Mark Rivlin is feeling much better now and should be back in the editor's chair for the May edition. In the meantime, Mike Truran has asked me to put together a quick update with a number of announcements, given the number of developments in the last two weeks.
The ECF Office is still on furlough due to the lockdown, but queries sent to [email protected] will be answered by the relevant ECF director.
We are continuing to develop our online chess platform, and there have been a number of other online initiatives which its worth being aware of as the lock down continues.
Your sincerely
Nigel Towers
ECF Online
As most members will be aware the ECF has set up an ECF online platform at https://www.englishchessonline.org.uk/ with online members clubs on Chess.com at https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members and lichess.org at https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players. The clubs are open to all ECF members and supporters, and allow you to take part in regular ECF online rated tournaments, with 6 ECF rated events per week across the two platforms. Club memberships are fast increasing, and are currently as follows ---
Chess.com ECF members - 404 members
lichess English players - 373 members
We have players from more than 250 OTB clubs represented across the two online clubs. The ECF also runs an open club for non-member English players on Chess.com with 2,559 members and a further 3 'social chess' tournaments per week.
ECF English Online Blitz Championships
In addition to the regular club tournaments, the ECF pleased to announce that we will be running the first English Online Blitz Championships on Chess.com, with a group stage on 9th May and the finals on 16th May. The Championships will be open to all ECF members or supporters with entry via the ECF members club in Chess.com. The group stage will be based on two Swiss tournaments at 3|2 time control in the afternoon and evening of Saturday 9th May. As with last years UK Blitz, there will be two categories (Open and Women's) with the top four in each category qualifying from each tournament, and a further 8 qualifiers for those with the highest score across the two tournaments. The Open and Women's finals will be played a week later on the 16th May, and will be based on a 16 player knockout format for each competition, with 4 blitz games for each pairing to proceed to the next round. The last 16 and quarter finals will be played in the afternoon and the semis and final will be played in the evening of 16th May. We will have an £800 prize fund for the event and will be organising a streaming commentary. You can find further details here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020/ with a registration form here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/english-online-blitz-championship-2020-4253/
ECF Online Ratings
We have published 2 monthly ECF online ratings lists so far for Blitz and Rapid time controls in March and April. We will be adding standardplay online events for the May lists, which will include online rating of 4NCL and other online events which have been registered with the ECF. These ratings are completely separate from OTB ratings but provide a 4-digit ECF rating for online games in registered events and are now being published monthly.
Affiliate Events and Calendar
Mike Truran writes, 'The ECF is establish an affiliate events programme where organisers and clubs can register their events for ECF online rating and get publicity for events on the ECF calendar. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to register an event for ECF online rating'.
Join Your Local Club
Where to find your local online chess club? Many OTB chess clubs have now set up online clubs on lichess.org, Chess.com, or other provider platforms where you can play online tournaments, matches and other events – all free of charge. The ECF is now maintaining a directory of Online English clubs – please take a look at the online club finder - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-club-finder-map/ If you’re moving your club online or know of an online club not on the list, please let us know by emailing [email protected] so that we can keep the list up to date.
ECF Chess Marathon - Checkmate Covid-19
Danny Rosenbaum writes that 'the ECF is organising a 24-hour online chess marathon fundraiser hosted on Chess.com. All proceeds will go to fund the British Red Cross’s work helping health workers, the elderly, and the vulnerable in the face of the pandemic. The marathon will take place over the weekend of Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of May, and will be based on a long running Arena tournament with the winners being those who accumulate the most points over the course of the event. We are expecting a number of celebrity players with sponsorship for their matches. Entry is free but only donors and fundraisers will be eligible for prizes. Players will need to join the ECF Open Club - https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation - which is open to all English players on Chess.com. Join now to be kept posted on further tournament details and prizes. Everyone can either donate or become a supporter, creating their own fundraising campaigns to raise money by going to the Checkmate Covid-19 Tilitfy page - https://tiltify.com/+chess-v-covid-19/checkmate-covid19. Chess.com has generously agreed to match the first $500 of donations'.
Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross said, 'We are delighted that the chess community has decided to support the British Red Cross in our work to help several important groups including health workers, the elderly, and the vulnerable'.
One Million ChessKids - Free Online Lessons and Play to July 2020!
Malcolm Pein writes --- 'Chess in Schools & Communities has teamed up with ChessKid in a campaign to get one million children playing chess in the UK during the lockdown. CSC are offering 1 million free 3-month Gold Memberships of ChessKid’s online platform valid until 20th July 2020. Every child of primary school age in the UK is eligible. Teachers, headteachers from any UK school, parents, chess coaches and chess clubs may apply. The free memberships may be claimed by individual parents or carers, chess coaches and schools who may request up to 1,000.The memberships include access to videos, lessons and puzzles. Children can play others from all over the world once they’ve learnt the rules.
See https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/chesskid-for-parent and https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/chesskid-for-schools
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER APRIL 2020
Stay Safe – Play Chess at Home
CONTENTS
1 - Play Chess at Home: an update from the ECF
2 - 4NCL Online: All the action from Round 1
3 - ECF Online Events
4 - Join the Club: Where to find your local online chess club
5 - ECF Online Ratings & OTB Monthly Grading
6 - Inside the Chess Bunker: Interview with chess journalist Leon Watson
7 - Tune In, Check Out: Chess podcasts you might like
8 - Chess on YouTube: 8 highly recommended channels
9 - We’ll Meet Again: What you need to know about postponed events
10 - Magnus Carlsen Invitational: $250,000 online rapidplay starts April 18
11 - In Czech: England’s teams at the World Senior Championships in Prague
12 - School’s Out, But Not Chess: CSC online resources for students & tutors
13 - Delancey UK Chess Challenge
14 - ECF Academy Goes Online
15 - ECF Finance Council update
16 – FIDE Veterans Award for Gerry Walsh
17 - Chess Magazine: April 2020
18 – ‘Checkmate Covid-19’ Red Cross Fundraiser
19 - ‘The Chess Pit’ Quiz: 10 brainteasers from the UK’s new chess podcast
1 - Play Chess at Home: An update from the ECF
Dear chess friends,
Welcome to this unusual April 2020 edition of the ECF Newsletter. Due to the Coronavirus crisis, these are tragic and difficult times, and as we’re all in lockdown, the ECF Newsletter (like the chess world) is going to be a little different this time.
This e-newsletter would normally have been prepared by Mark Rivlin, who has been unwell but is now well on the road to recovery.
I have been asked to step in as guest editor for the month in Mark's absence, and we offer him all our best wishes and look forward to him taking up the reins again in May.
The ECF Office is currently on furlough due to the lockdown, but queries sent to [email protected] will be answered by the relevant ECF director.
Despite the lack of over-the-board events, there’s lots going on in the chess world, as everything from major global tournaments, the 4NCL and your local chess club migrate online.
To help you navigate these challenging times, we aim in this issue to showcase all that new online chess activity and point you in the right direction to find it.
In English chess, the ECF members clubs are now well established with six ECF online-rated tournaments per week for ECF members and supporters on chess.com and lichess.org.
https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members
https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players
We also run regular members club internationals on both platforms. You can find all the details at the above links and we encourage everyone to join and get an ECF online rating from club events alongside and separate from your OTB rating.
The 4NCL has been leading the way for OTB events moving online, with an impressive 172 teams taking part in its first round on April 7. There’s also a Junior 4NCL Online, with 118 teams, starting on Thursday April 16.
Online chess clubs have also sprung up (almost overnight) across the country, with scores of clubs now holding regular tournaments, matches and club nights via such popular playing sites as lichess.org and chess.com.
As over-the-board chess is all currently postponed or cancelled until further notice, there’s never been a better time to play chess at home. Whether you’re a seasoned online player or just dipping your toes into internet chess for the first time, there’s something for everyone.
(While some online-savvy chess fans play blitz, bullet and even various chess variants online on chess.com, lichess.org and chess24.com, other, more traditional players say they are simply playing chess by Skype video call and moving the pieces on their wooden board at each end. Whatever your preference, the main thing is to do what you enjoy).
I hope the following bite-size nuggets of information, articles, website links and chess quiz questions will keep you engaged until we meet each other (virtually) next month. Until then, stay safe and play chess at home!
Yours sincerely,
Tim Wall
2 - 4NCL Online: All the action from Round 1
The 4NCL has stepped into the breach by organising a massive online league competition, 4NCL Online, running from April until the end of June. A total of 172 teams took part in 5 Divisions on Tuesday April 7, and the following rounds take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday until June 30 on lichess.org
The Round 1 results saw great giant-killing exploits worthy of an FA Cup tie, with Surbiton 1 beating the mighty Irish team Gonzaga 2.5-1.5, including a win by 17-year-old Koby Kalavannan over French GM Sebastian Maze on board 1. Another GM having a tough time was John Emms (Chessable White Rose), who lost to 14-year-old Aaravamudhan Balaji (Kent KJCA Kestrels A), even though the Yorkshire team triumphed 3-1.
Other titled players are also getting involved behind the scenes, with GM David Howell gallantly taking on the manager role for the junior team Battersea Howitzers.
The 4NCL is providing links to each player’s lichess.org profile, and from there games can be viewed live by clicking on the TV icon during the game, while pgns of each round can be viewed here.
The Junior 4NCL kicks off next week, also on lichess.org, with Round 1 on Thursday 16th April at 6:00pm. A grand total of 118 teams of 4 players will play two games each against the same opponent (one with black and one with white), with 15 minutes plus 1 second on the clock. Details of the Junior 4NCL format and pairings will be published shortly on the 4NCL website.
3 - ECF Online Events
Nigel Towers writes: In addition to the regular ECF members club tournaments on chess.com and lichess.org, the ECF will be running an English Blitz Championship on chess.com with the Group Stage starting in April and a 16-player final in May for the title of English Online Blitz Champion.
The ECF is also looking at an Online Counties Championship and a return of the National Club Championships.
4 - Join the Club: Where to find your local online chess club
Many ECF-affiliated OTB chess clubs have now set up online teams at lichess.org and clubs at chess.com, where you can play online tournaments, matches and other events – all free of charge. On chess.com, you can find your club via: https://www.chess.com/clubs/find, while on lichess.org go to: https://lichess.org/team/all and search for your club there.
If your club does not already have an online club or team, you can set one up by following the instructions at: https://lichess.org/team/new or https://www.chess.com/club/create
Both websites also have instructions on how to create tournaments and matches for your club or team. The ECF is now maintaining a directory of Online English clubs – please take a look at the online club finder here:
If you’re moving your club online or know of an online club not on the list, please let us know by emailing: [email protected] so that we can keep the list up to date.
5 - ECF Online Ratings & OTB Monthly Grading
Nigel Towers writes: ECF online club games are now being rated with the March list published last month and the second (April) monthly list due out shortly here:
Separate lists are being produced for online rapid and blitz games in registered events. And all online ratings are completely separate from the OTB grades and won’t impact these.
4NCL games will be ECF online-rated and the results from April should be reflected in the standard-play online list in May.
Please contact the ECF if you would like to register your event and submit results for online rating.
Brian Valentine reports: There is good progress with the phase 1 over-the-board Monthly Grading system, which is expected to be ready for initial testing with graders within the next four weeks. We have a team of volunteers helping with the work to get us this far and would like to ask for additional front-end developers with MySQL and/or PHP skills to join the team.
6 - Inside the Chess Bunker: Interview with chess journalist Leon Watson
The ECF Newsletter interviewed chess journalist and Battersea Chess club member Leon Watson about his top tips for surviving the coronavirus lockdown, including how to play blitz chess, change nappies and watch Netflix all at the same time.
What does your Twitter profile say about you (and is it true)? It says I’m a proud dad, a journalist and a chess player. The last bit might be an exaggeration though...
Where are you currently in lockdown? Deep in south London. Nothing has changed much here – we’re always in lockdown due to the high crime rate.
Home life (is there any other??) Watching Netflix, changing newborn nappies and playing the odd blitz game – usually all at the same time. Occasional garden cricket too.
What’s your occupation, and how has it changed in the time of coronavirus? I work for the Play Magnus group which owns chessable.com and chess24. Right now, I’m busy trying to promote The Magnus Carlsen Invitational, an event which will be the richest online event ever. Look out for it!
What new life/chess skill are you learning during the lockdown? I’m nailing the 100 Endgames You Must Know course on Chessable. I’m on No. 48 right now. By the end of this, I’ll be far more confident in the endgame.
Which chess club do you belong to – and what is it doing online now? I’m the secretary of Battersea Chess Club and we’re trying to turn this situation into an opportunity. It’s not easy – who knows what will happen when it ends – but in the meantime we’re getting everyone in the club, young and old, into online chess and holding as many events as we can. So, for example, we recently held an online simul with GM Simon Williams, we have a match lined up against Romagna Chess Club in Italy, a 30-board online derby match against Hammersmith we’re calling ‘El Chessico’ on April 14, and we’re also holding tournaments three times a week.
Favourite TV series to binge-watch? Currently ‘Better Call Saul’ and Season 3 of ‘Ozark’ – both are brilliant. But ‘The Wire’ and ‘The Sopranos’ are my all-time favourites.
What’s the worst thing about not being able to play over-the-board chess? Not getting the feeling of enjoyment that comes with winning.
And the best thing? Not getting the feeling of utter devastation that comes with losing. Chess is cruel.
With all other sports cancelled, is chess the new sexy? I’m trying to make it so! If chess doesn’t take this opportunity when there’s no other competition, it never will. So, all hands on deck – let’s make it happen!
Fantasy lockdown: Which chess player from history would you choose to be in social isolation with, and why? I bet Paul Morphy was a hell-raiser, it would have to be him.
Who is your favourite chess streamer? It’s a dead heat between GM Simon Williams and the Chessable co-founder IM John Bartholomew. Both are just great communicators.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened while you were playing chess online? Ha! Well I’m not sure if anything embarrassing has happened online. In an OTB game I got up once and immediately fell flat on my face.
What is your favourite chess-related app, podcast or other online chess gadget? I work for Chessable because I believe in it. I’ve learnt so much using it, and I just enjoy using it. Has to be Chessable.
How do you think chess organisations should adapt to the current situation? It’s a difficult situation and we need to adapt. Constant communication is key, making people who may be stuck at home on their own feel like part of an active community, despite what is happening in the world. Chess can be the escapism and the warm blanket everyone needs right now. If chess clubs, the ECF, even FIDE can do that then we will emerge stronger.
What piece of advice would you have for ECF members trying to stay safe and play chess at home? Watch The Magnus Carlsen Invitational on chess24 – it’s going to be massive!
7 - Tune in, check out: Podcasts you might like
An irreverent new London-based podcast, The Chess Pit, in which Football Today podcaster and newbie chess enthusiast Jon Mackenzie joins forces with chess coaches Phil Makepeace and Chris Russell, is a very accessible weekly mix of chess news, whimsy and banter – aimed equally at casual and competitive players. Typical episode titles are ‘Mountain Goats Just Run Wild,’ ‘The Wingside and the Bingside’ and ‘Everything Sounds like the Triwizard Tournament.’ The podcast is sponsored by Playfair Capital, a London venture capital firm.
If ‘The Chess Pit’ is Banter Blitz meets Ricky Gervais podcast, another great weekly listen, The Perpetual Chess Podcast, is more in the John Humphreys Radio 4 interview mould. Each week, the highly engaging American chess teacher Ben Johnson interviews leading GMs, coaches, organisers and authors about their life and work, and teases recommendations out of them for how to improve at chess.
8 - Chess on YouTube: 8 highly recommended channels
Chess24 – Lively and entertaining commentary on leading chess tournaments, plus banter blitz with such stars as Magnus Carlsen, Jan Gustafsson, Peter Svidler and England’s Lawrence Trent.
Chess.com – More excellent commentary from the US-based playing website, plus a wide range of instructional videos for all playing strengths. Includes commentary and teaching from the Ginger GM himself, Simon Williams.
St. Louis Chess Club – Studio-based commentary from GMs Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Also includes highly instructional classroom lectures from a range of leading chess teachers.
Power Play Chess (GM Daniel King) – If you only have 15 minutes a day to study chess, this is a great learning resource. Daniel King focuses on analysing the best games from leading tournaments and players in an easy-to-understand way.
GingerGM (GM Simon Williams) – Highly entertaining (and instructional) videos and live streaming of banter blitz games from the Surrey-based GM, who has garnered an enthusiastic following worldwide with his combination of dashing attacking play and devil-may-care sense of fun. There aren’t many chess players as well known as Magnus Carlsen, but particularly among younger players, Simon is the fans’ favourite.
Game Changer (GM Matthew Sadler & WIM Natasha Regan) – Brilliant analysis by Sadler and Regan of the games of AlphaZero and other neural network programs, showing how human play can be improved by following the AI machines’ recommendations.
IM Andrew Martin – Classic instructional videos by the highly respected FIDE Senior Trainer, showing how to use positional and tactical ideas in your own games.
Kingscrusher (Tryfon Gavriel) – The London-based player and chess teacher has built up a loyal following, with over 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. Like Sadler & Regan, Gavriel enjoys showing model attacking games by AI computer programs.
9 - We’ll Meet Again: What you need to know about postponed events
As public gatherings have been banned under official Coronavirus restrictions, all over-the-board chess events scheduled for the next few months have been either postponed or cancelled for 2020.
Among the biggest events called off are The British Championships, due to take place in Torquay in July, which has now been cancelled for 2020, and the FIDE Olympiad, scheduled for Moscow in August, now postponed.
For a full guide to all English chess events either postponed or cancelled, see the ECF Calendar.
The ECF is also looking to put online events on the calendar, so please do email your events to [email protected] if you would like these to be included.
10 - Magnus Carlsen Invitational: $250,000 online rapidplay starts April 18
Magnus Carlsen may be isolating at home – but he’s not hiding from the challenge posed by the Coronavirus crisis. As well as putting his reputation on the line in dramatic banter blitz matches, through his company Play Magnus the champ is also putting up $250,000 in prize money for a 2-week Rapidplay tournament against 7 of his closest rivals.
The Magnus Carlsen Invitational from April 18-May 2 is expected to include several of the players in the just-postponed FIDE Candidates tournament – and will also feature players’ commentary and the chance for Chess24 premium users to play participants in blitz games.
In a statement, Carlsen made it clear he was staging the tournament to show that the Coronavirus crisis will not prevent chess being played safely from home.
He said: ‘This is a historic moment for chess, and given that it’s possible to continue top professional play in an online environment, we have not only the opportunity but the responsibility to players and fans around the world who need a distraction when no other live, competitive sport is being played.’
For full info about how to follow the tournament and watch the live commentary, go to chess24.com.
11 - In Czech: England’s teams at the World Senior Championships in Prague
GM Glenn Flear (5.5/7) led the England Over 50 Senior open team to 4th place with 10/14 in the World Senior Teams Championships in Prague last month. The England teams in the Over 50 open, Over 65 open and Women’s Over 50 events all had to return home abruptly after Round 7 (out of a scheduled 9 rounds), when the Czech government ordered a halt due to Coronavirus fears. All England players were able to return home safely.
Reports from Glenn Flear and Stewart Reuben here
12 - School’s Out, But Not Chess: CSC online resources for students & tutors
The UK’s biggest chess educational charity, Chess in Schools and Communities, is adapting to the Coronavirus lockdown by offering a range of teaching online resources to school students, their parents and school chess tutors. These are scheduled to include:
- Comprehensive chess worksheets that children can use with parents at home - YouTube videos to accompany the worksheets - Kahoot quizzes for children to try at home For more information, go to: https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/chess-at-home
13 - Delancey UK Chess Challenge
The Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge is organising daily online school chess tournaments, simuls against titled players and various other online events. More details available here.
The annual UKCC MegaFinals have been postponed until (at the earliest) September and GigaFinals until October, respectively. Online qualifying tournaments may be organised in the summer, UKCC’s Alex Longson reports.
Sign up for updates about rescheduled UK Chess Challenge events here.
14 - ECF Academy goes online
The May 2020 ECF Academy training weekend will now be held online. Academy director Alex Longson said: “We are currently reviewing with parents and coaches what the best approach is, but we’re excited to be trying out something new. We’ll also be running some exclusive training tournaments and activities online.”
For more information, students should email: [email protected]
15 - ECF Finance Council update
This year’s Finance Council meeting, scheduled to be held on April 25 in London, has been cancelled. Further information will be sent to Council delegates shortly.
16 - FIDE Veterans Award for Gerry Walsh
The former President of the English Chess Federation, Gerry Walsh, has been named as one of 17 honoured recipients of FIDE’s Veterans Awards for 2020. The awards, recently increased to a total of 35,000 euros in view of the Coronavirus crisis, are granted to distinguished players, coaches and organisers for their sterling services to chess over the years. Gerry, a leading arbiter and one of the foremost tournament organisers from the North of England, is best known for staging an impressive series of international events in Teesside in the 1970s, and for being the long-time organiser of the popular Scarborough weekend congress.
FIDE’s announcement can be viewed here.
17 - Chess Magazine: April 2020
The April 2020 taster is here for download. If you like this and would like to read more, the full issue is available to purchase here.
18 – ‘Checkmate Covid-19’ Red Cross Fundraiser Danny Rosenbaum writes: The ECF and the British Red Cross are organising a 24-hour online chess marathon fundraiser, Checkmate Covid-19. All proceeds go to fund the British Red Cross’s work helping health workers, the elderly, and the vulnerable in the face of the pandemic. The event takes place in May on chess.com, who are also making a generous donation.
For more information on how to support the marathon, email: [email protected]
18 - ‘The Chess Pit’ Quiz
Test your knowledge against podcaster and chess coach Phil Makepeace, who set the following chess trivia questions on episodes of ‘The Chess Pit’ podcast. Answers can be found on the ECF website.
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
CONTENTS
1 - Play Chess at Home: an update from the ECF
2 - 4NCL Online: All the action from Round 1
3 - ECF Online Events
4 - Join the Club: Where to find your local online chess club
5 - ECF Online Ratings & OTB Monthly Grading
6 - Inside the Chess Bunker: Interview with chess journalist Leon Watson
7 - Tune In, Check Out: Chess podcasts you might like
8 - Chess on YouTube: 8 highly recommended channels
9 - We’ll Meet Again: What you need to know about postponed events
10 - Magnus Carlsen Invitational: $250,000 online rapidplay starts April 18
11 - In Czech: England’s teams at the World Senior Championships in Prague
12 - School’s Out, But Not Chess: CSC online resources for students & tutors
13 - Delancey UK Chess Challenge
14 - ECF Academy Goes Online
15 - ECF Finance Council update
16 – FIDE Veterans Award for Gerry Walsh
17 - Chess Magazine: April 2020
18 – ‘Checkmate Covid-19’ Red Cross Fundraiser
19 - ‘The Chess Pit’ Quiz: 10 brainteasers from the UK’s new chess podcast
1 - Play Chess at Home: An update from the ECF
Dear chess friends,
Welcome to this unusual April 2020 edition of the ECF Newsletter. Due to the Coronavirus crisis, these are tragic and difficult times, and as we’re all in lockdown, the ECF Newsletter (like the chess world) is going to be a little different this time.
This e-newsletter would normally have been prepared by Mark Rivlin, who has been unwell but is now well on the road to recovery.
I have been asked to step in as guest editor for the month in Mark's absence, and we offer him all our best wishes and look forward to him taking up the reins again in May.
The ECF Office is currently on furlough due to the lockdown, but queries sent to [email protected] will be answered by the relevant ECF director.
Despite the lack of over-the-board events, there’s lots going on in the chess world, as everything from major global tournaments, the 4NCL and your local chess club migrate online.
To help you navigate these challenging times, we aim in this issue to showcase all that new online chess activity and point you in the right direction to find it.
In English chess, the ECF members clubs are now well established with six ECF online-rated tournaments per week for ECF members and supporters on chess.com and lichess.org.
https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members
https://lichess.org/team/english-chess-players
We also run regular members club internationals on both platforms. You can find all the details at the above links and we encourage everyone to join and get an ECF online rating from club events alongside and separate from your OTB rating.
The 4NCL has been leading the way for OTB events moving online, with an impressive 172 teams taking part in its first round on April 7. There’s also a Junior 4NCL Online, with 118 teams, starting on Thursday April 16.
Online chess clubs have also sprung up (almost overnight) across the country, with scores of clubs now holding regular tournaments, matches and club nights via such popular playing sites as lichess.org and chess.com.
As over-the-board chess is all currently postponed or cancelled until further notice, there’s never been a better time to play chess at home. Whether you’re a seasoned online player or just dipping your toes into internet chess for the first time, there’s something for everyone.
(While some online-savvy chess fans play blitz, bullet and even various chess variants online on chess.com, lichess.org and chess24.com, other, more traditional players say they are simply playing chess by Skype video call and moving the pieces on their wooden board at each end. Whatever your preference, the main thing is to do what you enjoy).
I hope the following bite-size nuggets of information, articles, website links and chess quiz questions will keep you engaged until we meet each other (virtually) next month. Until then, stay safe and play chess at home!
Yours sincerely,
Tim Wall
2 - 4NCL Online: All the action from Round 1
The 4NCL has stepped into the breach by organising a massive online league competition, 4NCL Online, running from April until the end of June. A total of 172 teams took part in 5 Divisions on Tuesday April 7, and the following rounds take place at 7:30pm every Tuesday until June 30 on lichess.org
The Round 1 results saw great giant-killing exploits worthy of an FA Cup tie, with Surbiton 1 beating the mighty Irish team Gonzaga 2.5-1.5, including a win by 17-year-old Koby Kalavannan over French GM Sebastian Maze on board 1. Another GM having a tough time was John Emms (Chessable White Rose), who lost to 14-year-old Aaravamudhan Balaji (Kent KJCA Kestrels A), even though the Yorkshire team triumphed 3-1.
Other titled players are also getting involved behind the scenes, with GM David Howell gallantly taking on the manager role for the junior team Battersea Howitzers.
The 4NCL is providing links to each player’s lichess.org profile, and from there games can be viewed live by clicking on the TV icon during the game, while pgns of each round can be viewed here.
The Junior 4NCL kicks off next week, also on lichess.org, with Round 1 on Thursday 16th April at 6:00pm. A grand total of 118 teams of 4 players will play two games each against the same opponent (one with black and one with white), with 15 minutes plus 1 second on the clock. Details of the Junior 4NCL format and pairings will be published shortly on the 4NCL website.
3 - ECF Online Events
Nigel Towers writes: In addition to the regular ECF members club tournaments on chess.com and lichess.org, the ECF will be running an English Blitz Championship on chess.com with the Group Stage starting in April and a 16-player final in May for the title of English Online Blitz Champion.
The ECF is also looking at an Online Counties Championship and a return of the National Club Championships.
4 - Join the Club: Where to find your local online chess club
Many ECF-affiliated OTB chess clubs have now set up online teams at lichess.org and clubs at chess.com, where you can play online tournaments, matches and other events – all free of charge. On chess.com, you can find your club via: https://www.chess.com/clubs/find, while on lichess.org go to: https://lichess.org/team/all and search for your club there.
If your club does not already have an online club or team, you can set one up by following the instructions at: https://lichess.org/team/new or https://www.chess.com/club/create
Both websites also have instructions on how to create tournaments and matches for your club or team. The ECF is now maintaining a directory of Online English clubs – please take a look at the online club finder here:
If you’re moving your club online or know of an online club not on the list, please let us know by emailing: [email protected] so that we can keep the list up to date.
5 - ECF Online Ratings & OTB Monthly Grading
Nigel Towers writes: ECF online club games are now being rated with the March list published last month and the second (April) monthly list due out shortly here:
Separate lists are being produced for online rapid and blitz games in registered events. And all online ratings are completely separate from the OTB grades and won’t impact these.
4NCL games will be ECF online-rated and the results from April should be reflected in the standard-play online list in May.
Please contact the ECF if you would like to register your event and submit results for online rating.
Brian Valentine reports: There is good progress with the phase 1 over-the-board Monthly Grading system, which is expected to be ready for initial testing with graders within the next four weeks. We have a team of volunteers helping with the work to get us this far and would like to ask for additional front-end developers with MySQL and/or PHP skills to join the team.
6 - Inside the Chess Bunker: Interview with chess journalist Leon Watson
The ECF Newsletter interviewed chess journalist and Battersea Chess club member Leon Watson about his top tips for surviving the coronavirus lockdown, including how to play blitz chess, change nappies and watch Netflix all at the same time.
What does your Twitter profile say about you (and is it true)? It says I’m a proud dad, a journalist and a chess player. The last bit might be an exaggeration though...
Where are you currently in lockdown? Deep in south London. Nothing has changed much here – we’re always in lockdown due to the high crime rate.
Home life (is there any other??) Watching Netflix, changing newborn nappies and playing the odd blitz game – usually all at the same time. Occasional garden cricket too.
What’s your occupation, and how has it changed in the time of coronavirus? I work for the Play Magnus group which owns chessable.com and chess24. Right now, I’m busy trying to promote The Magnus Carlsen Invitational, an event which will be the richest online event ever. Look out for it!
What new life/chess skill are you learning during the lockdown? I’m nailing the 100 Endgames You Must Know course on Chessable. I’m on No. 48 right now. By the end of this, I’ll be far more confident in the endgame.
Which chess club do you belong to – and what is it doing online now? I’m the secretary of Battersea Chess Club and we’re trying to turn this situation into an opportunity. It’s not easy – who knows what will happen when it ends – but in the meantime we’re getting everyone in the club, young and old, into online chess and holding as many events as we can. So, for example, we recently held an online simul with GM Simon Williams, we have a match lined up against Romagna Chess Club in Italy, a 30-board online derby match against Hammersmith we’re calling ‘El Chessico’ on April 14, and we’re also holding tournaments three times a week.
Favourite TV series to binge-watch? Currently ‘Better Call Saul’ and Season 3 of ‘Ozark’ – both are brilliant. But ‘The Wire’ and ‘The Sopranos’ are my all-time favourites.
What’s the worst thing about not being able to play over-the-board chess? Not getting the feeling of enjoyment that comes with winning.
And the best thing? Not getting the feeling of utter devastation that comes with losing. Chess is cruel.
With all other sports cancelled, is chess the new sexy? I’m trying to make it so! If chess doesn’t take this opportunity when there’s no other competition, it never will. So, all hands on deck – let’s make it happen!
Fantasy lockdown: Which chess player from history would you choose to be in social isolation with, and why? I bet Paul Morphy was a hell-raiser, it would have to be him.
Who is your favourite chess streamer? It’s a dead heat between GM Simon Williams and the Chessable co-founder IM John Bartholomew. Both are just great communicators.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened while you were playing chess online? Ha! Well I’m not sure if anything embarrassing has happened online. In an OTB game I got up once and immediately fell flat on my face.
What is your favourite chess-related app, podcast or other online chess gadget? I work for Chessable because I believe in it. I’ve learnt so much using it, and I just enjoy using it. Has to be Chessable.
How do you think chess organisations should adapt to the current situation? It’s a difficult situation and we need to adapt. Constant communication is key, making people who may be stuck at home on their own feel like part of an active community, despite what is happening in the world. Chess can be the escapism and the warm blanket everyone needs right now. If chess clubs, the ECF, even FIDE can do that then we will emerge stronger.
What piece of advice would you have for ECF members trying to stay safe and play chess at home? Watch The Magnus Carlsen Invitational on chess24 – it’s going to be massive!
7 - Tune in, check out: Podcasts you might like
An irreverent new London-based podcast, The Chess Pit, in which Football Today podcaster and newbie chess enthusiast Jon Mackenzie joins forces with chess coaches Phil Makepeace and Chris Russell, is a very accessible weekly mix of chess news, whimsy and banter – aimed equally at casual and competitive players. Typical episode titles are ‘Mountain Goats Just Run Wild,’ ‘The Wingside and the Bingside’ and ‘Everything Sounds like the Triwizard Tournament.’ The podcast is sponsored by Playfair Capital, a London venture capital firm.
If ‘The Chess Pit’ is Banter Blitz meets Ricky Gervais podcast, another great weekly listen, The Perpetual Chess Podcast, is more in the John Humphreys Radio 4 interview mould. Each week, the highly engaging American chess teacher Ben Johnson interviews leading GMs, coaches, organisers and authors about their life and work, and teases recommendations out of them for how to improve at chess.
8 - Chess on YouTube: 8 highly recommended channels
Chess24 – Lively and entertaining commentary on leading chess tournaments, plus banter blitz with such stars as Magnus Carlsen, Jan Gustafsson, Peter Svidler and England’s Lawrence Trent.
Chess.com – More excellent commentary from the US-based playing website, plus a wide range of instructional videos for all playing strengths. Includes commentary and teaching from the Ginger GM himself, Simon Williams.
St. Louis Chess Club – Studio-based commentary from GMs Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Also includes highly instructional classroom lectures from a range of leading chess teachers.
Power Play Chess (GM Daniel King) – If you only have 15 minutes a day to study chess, this is a great learning resource. Daniel King focuses on analysing the best games from leading tournaments and players in an easy-to-understand way.
GingerGM (GM Simon Williams) – Highly entertaining (and instructional) videos and live streaming of banter blitz games from the Surrey-based GM, who has garnered an enthusiastic following worldwide with his combination of dashing attacking play and devil-may-care sense of fun. There aren’t many chess players as well known as Magnus Carlsen, but particularly among younger players, Simon is the fans’ favourite.
Game Changer (GM Matthew Sadler & WIM Natasha Regan) – Brilliant analysis by Sadler and Regan of the games of AlphaZero and other neural network programs, showing how human play can be improved by following the AI machines’ recommendations.
IM Andrew Martin – Classic instructional videos by the highly respected FIDE Senior Trainer, showing how to use positional and tactical ideas in your own games.
Kingscrusher (Tryfon Gavriel) – The London-based player and chess teacher has built up a loyal following, with over 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. Like Sadler & Regan, Gavriel enjoys showing model attacking games by AI computer programs.
9 - We’ll Meet Again: What you need to know about postponed events
As public gatherings have been banned under official Coronavirus restrictions, all over-the-board chess events scheduled for the next few months have been either postponed or cancelled for 2020.
Among the biggest events called off are The British Championships, due to take place in Torquay in July, which has now been cancelled for 2020, and the FIDE Olympiad, scheduled for Moscow in August, now postponed.
For a full guide to all English chess events either postponed or cancelled, see the ECF Calendar.
The ECF is also looking to put online events on the calendar, so please do email your events to [email protected] if you would like these to be included.
10 - Magnus Carlsen Invitational: $250,000 online rapidplay starts April 18
Magnus Carlsen may be isolating at home – but he’s not hiding from the challenge posed by the Coronavirus crisis. As well as putting his reputation on the line in dramatic banter blitz matches, through his company Play Magnus the champ is also putting up $250,000 in prize money for a 2-week Rapidplay tournament against 7 of his closest rivals.
The Magnus Carlsen Invitational from April 18-May 2 is expected to include several of the players in the just-postponed FIDE Candidates tournament – and will also feature players’ commentary and the chance for Chess24 premium users to play participants in blitz games.
In a statement, Carlsen made it clear he was staging the tournament to show that the Coronavirus crisis will not prevent chess being played safely from home.
He said: ‘This is a historic moment for chess, and given that it’s possible to continue top professional play in an online environment, we have not only the opportunity but the responsibility to players and fans around the world who need a distraction when no other live, competitive sport is being played.’
For full info about how to follow the tournament and watch the live commentary, go to chess24.com.
11 - In Czech: England’s teams at the World Senior Championships in Prague
GM Glenn Flear (5.5/7) led the England Over 50 Senior open team to 4th place with 10/14 in the World Senior Teams Championships in Prague last month. The England teams in the Over 50 open, Over 65 open and Women’s Over 50 events all had to return home abruptly after Round 7 (out of a scheduled 9 rounds), when the Czech government ordered a halt due to Coronavirus fears. All England players were able to return home safely.
Reports from Glenn Flear and Stewart Reuben here
12 - School’s Out, But Not Chess: CSC online resources for students & tutors
The UK’s biggest chess educational charity, Chess in Schools and Communities, is adapting to the Coronavirus lockdown by offering a range of teaching online resources to school students, their parents and school chess tutors. These are scheduled to include:
- Comprehensive chess worksheets that children can use with parents at home - YouTube videos to accompany the worksheets - Kahoot quizzes for children to try at home For more information, go to: https://www.chessinschools.co.uk/chess-at-home
13 - Delancey UK Chess Challenge
The Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge is organising daily online school chess tournaments, simuls against titled players and various other online events. More details available here.
The annual UKCC MegaFinals have been postponed until (at the earliest) September and GigaFinals until October, respectively. Online qualifying tournaments may be organised in the summer, UKCC’s Alex Longson reports.
Sign up for updates about rescheduled UK Chess Challenge events here.
14 - ECF Academy goes online
The May 2020 ECF Academy training weekend will now be held online. Academy director Alex Longson said: “We are currently reviewing with parents and coaches what the best approach is, but we’re excited to be trying out something new. We’ll also be running some exclusive training tournaments and activities online.”
For more information, students should email: [email protected]
15 - ECF Finance Council update
This year’s Finance Council meeting, scheduled to be held on April 25 in London, has been cancelled. Further information will be sent to Council delegates shortly.
16 - FIDE Veterans Award for Gerry Walsh
The former President of the English Chess Federation, Gerry Walsh, has been named as one of 17 honoured recipients of FIDE’s Veterans Awards for 2020. The awards, recently increased to a total of 35,000 euros in view of the Coronavirus crisis, are granted to distinguished players, coaches and organisers for their sterling services to chess over the years. Gerry, a leading arbiter and one of the foremost tournament organisers from the North of England, is best known for staging an impressive series of international events in Teesside in the 1970s, and for being the long-time organiser of the popular Scarborough weekend congress.
FIDE’s announcement can be viewed here.
17 - Chess Magazine: April 2020
The April 2020 taster is here for download. If you like this and would like to read more, the full issue is available to purchase here.
18 – ‘Checkmate Covid-19’ Red Cross Fundraiser Danny Rosenbaum writes: The ECF and the British Red Cross are organising a 24-hour online chess marathon fundraiser, Checkmate Covid-19. All proceeds go to fund the British Red Cross’s work helping health workers, the elderly, and the vulnerable in the face of the pandemic. The event takes place in May on chess.com, who are also making a generous donation.
For more information on how to support the marathon, email: [email protected]
18 - ‘The Chess Pit’ Quiz
Test your knowledge against podcaster and chess coach Phil Makepeace, who set the following chess trivia questions on episodes of ‘The Chess Pit’ podcast. Answers can be found on the ECF website.
- Which country has the highest number of grandmasters per million people a) inside the Eurovision Song Contest area; and b) outside it?
- Which Wimbledon Chess Club member is the Guardian’s chief sports correspondent (and was ‘voted the hardest man in Luton’ on his Wikipedia page)?
- Who was the youngest player to beat a grandmaster, and at what age?
- Who was the last South American player to play in the Candidates, and when?
- Which piece of military equipment does the rook take its name from?
- Who became FIDE World Champion when ranked No. 44 in the world?
- How does the Kraken, a fairy chess piece, move on the chessboard?
- Which British government minister’s title is derived from chess?
- Who is the strongest player since World War II whose surname starts with the letter Y (based on world rankings at the time)?
- Which Merseyside rock band released a single called ‘Bad losers on Yahoo! Chess’?
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2020
Dear English Chess Federation member
Welcome to the February edition of the Newsletter. In this edition we have an interview with Lennart Ootes, a 2100+ player who is making a name for himself as a chess broadcaster, videographer and photographer. We also feature an excellent roundup of the Gibraltar Masters by Tim Wall.
I am dedicating this February editorial to the doyen of English chess Leonard Barden [below, image via Twitter], who is still going strong with his superb chess columns at the sprightly age of 90. He signed off his near-64 year column with the Evening Standard on Thursday 31.1.20 (a square for every year). His final article includes this memorable line, "The series began on 4 June 1956 and has continued for 63 years, 7 months and 27 days without missing a day, a world record in all journalism for a daily column by a single individual."
Doug Wills, Managing Editor of the Evening Standard writes, "Leonard has deservedly won the respect of so many of our readers for his passion for chess as well as his staying power. He has never been less than a perfectionist, always winning the admiration of the Evening Standard editorial team. We would like to congratulate him on his amazing feat and wish him well for the future."
When the Evening Standard relegated Barden's column from the print edition to a digital output in August 2010, I was one of many chess players to complain. I loved Leonard's ‘Find the Next Move’ position in the Standard (usually beyond my patzer grading level) and always accompanied by a cameo background piece on all aspects of world chess. This was my letter --- "I am a keen London-based club chess player and this is the second time I have had to write to the Standard regarding the withdrawal of Leonard Barden's chess column from the print edition. I know you have received many letters of support from players and chess fans to reinstate the print column and I have read some of the replies you have sent. Your standard (excuse the pun) response paraphrased is, 'yes, we're sorry too, we love Leonard, we're delighted he has agreed to go online, sorry no room in print edition' is complete nonsense of course. There are hundreds of online sources for chess, the beauty of Leonard's column in print is the very fact it is (or was) in print; that it gave so much pleasure to so many people as we struggled to get to and from work, an oasis of calm in a packed carriage or bus. Leonard's quirky, entertaining background stories which accompanied the daily puzzle were a delight with the carefully chosen problems testing thousands of players."
Says ECF Chief Executive Mike Truran, "We are sure that you will join us in congratulating Leonard on his world-beating achievement in penning the Evening Standard chess column for over 63 years. Leonard has been one of English chess's most outstanding chess servants, and we will always be grateful to him for his fantastic contribution over the years to our great game as a player, organiser and journalist."
Leonard's last Evening Standard column is here - https://www.standard.co.uk/staticpage/chess/chess-with-leonard-barden-a1939236.html and a discussion on the English Chess Forum here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=10600&p=240057
--- Mark Rivlin [Image - Chessbase]
We will rock you
Tim Wall reports on the Gibraltar Masters - here
Lennart and his lens art
Mark Rivlin interviews Lennart Ootes [pictured below], the man who expertly captures and relays the zeitgeist of top chess tournaments - here
Monthly gradings
Manager of Grading Brian Valentine writes --- As advised in last month's newsletter, we have now started implementation of the monthly grading system. Phase 1 will run from January to April and will provide us with a core system/minimum viable product, with a results interface from the ECF LMS, storage of Players, Events and Results, and calculation of ratings with a basic web publishing system. Phase 2 will provide the full system with all interfaces, extracts, reports and full web publishing.
The system is being implemented as an extension/ upgrade to an existing system with coding in PHP, Javascript, and MySQL with some Python processing for back end services. We have a core development team in place including volunteers who have come forward to offer their time, following the last Newsletter. Can I ask for any further volunteers particularly with PHP experience to complete the development team? We are looking mainly for developers at this stage but support with QA and testing would also be very welcome.
The monthly grading implementation is an important project to bring our grading system up to date and replace our legacy grading system which is no longer supportable. This is a great opportunity for our members or supporters/colleagues to support English Chess, and any help with this will be very much appreciated [email Brian on [email protected]]
Click and enter
Malcolm Peacock's excellent online entry software is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/congress-online-entry-software/
ECF Online Month 1
Nigel Towers writes --- As you may know the ECF launched our English Chess Online Service on 8th January 2020 following a six months period of beta testing with a group of volunteer club players. The service is based on ECF clubs on chess.com and lichess.org open to all ECF members and supporters. We also have an ECF open club on Chess.com, open to all English registered players. The launch has gone really well with club memberships as follows (as at 31/01) -
www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation - ECF Open club 1,317
www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members - ECF Members 180
www.lichess.org/team/english-chess-players - English Players 143
We are currently running two ECF internet rated club events per week for club members on each platform in Swiss and/or Arena formats. Our club tournaments are a mix of Blitz (3|2, 5|5 or 10|0) and rapid (15|10) time controls and are well attended, with increasing numbers of players as the clubs grow in size. We also run a 1|0 or 1.5|0 bullet tournament every Sunday evening on lichess in response to demand for those who like a very fast format. Results from club games since go-live on 8th Jan will be used to calculate four digit Elo rating lists, which will be published on a monthly basis from February/March onwards. The ECF online ratings will be completely separate from, and will not impact, players' OTB ECF grades/ ratings. The current schedule for club tournaments is as below ---
As well as the club events we are planning international events for our club members on chess.com and lichess, and we endorse the Team-England-Live and Team-England clubs for participation in World and European league matches on chess.com. We have an England USA chess.com international scheduled for Sunday 16th Feb between players in the ECF members club and the USCF club. Further details will be provided on the ECF Members home page as these are available. You can find futher details and joining instructions for the clubs here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/. We also publish a weekly online newsletter with upcoming events, last weeks results and articles of interest from online membets which you can view or download here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/online-news/. Do please give the clubs a try, and/or have a look at the newsletter and let us know what you think.
World Senior Team Chess Championships, Prague
Stewart Reuben writes --- We have one of our strongest ever English entries for the World Senior Team Championships in Prague. We have now entered a total of six five-player English teams for the event in March with support from a private donor, the ECF, Friends of Chess and Terry Chapman. Our 50+ English first team is an all GM squad as follows - Jon Speelman, Keith Arkell, Mark Hebden, Glenn Flear (Captain), and Neil Mcdonald. The team is seeded 5th out of 56 teams. We are also fielding two additional and very strong 5-player teams in this section - our second team captained by Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell, and the English Women's team of Sheila Jackson, Jana Bellin, Ingrid Lauterbach, Petra Nunn (Captain), and Helen Frostick. Our 65+ English first team comprises John Nunn, Nigel Povah (Captain), Anthony Stebbings, Ian Snape and Geoffrey James and is seeded 4th out of 61. In the 65+ section we are also fielding a 5 player second team captained by Stewart Reuben, and a five player third team captained by ECF Grading Manager Brian Valentine. The event is scheduled to run from 5th to 15th March in Prague. You can see all of the teams and follow the results at the links below - http://chess-results.com/tnr491114.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30 and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr491115.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30 - and find more information here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/teams-for-the-wstcc-in-prague/
Qualifiers
European Schools and World Youth Rapid and Blitz here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/qualifiers-european-schools-world-youth-rapid-blitz/
Hastings GM Simon Williams on the revived Hastings Congress here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/simon-says-2019-23 and here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/simon-says-2019-24
Marcus, you're So cool
Marcus Harvey analyses a memorable victory over Super GM Wesley So in the PRO Chess League here [PGN]
County Finals venue
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- Due to a clash of bookings, it will not be possible to use last year's excellent venue for this year's County Championships Finals. The replacement venue will be the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport and NEC. Many of you will remember this hotel as it has been used for the 4NCL on many occasions. It is close to the M42 and a short taxi ride from the Birmingham Airport train station.
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan writes ---
The ECF is recruiting for two new crucial volunteer posts - Recruitment Officer and Women's Strategic Plan Implementation Officer. Both will report to the Director of Women's Chess. These are new, crucial and linked roles for the ECF's strategy of gaining new members for over-the-board graded chess (in all the categories) and also for the long-term task of recruiting new members as supporter or family members who will mostly play either socially or online – the ECF needs to change and evolve with worldwide trends.
The ECF has recently launched its Internet Chess Service, and there is huge potential for now attracting many new members who may not wish to play over the board rated chess, but enjoy chess socially or online. The new Recruitment Officer will help to recruit members of all ages and genders and report to myself, and will work closely with the new Women's Strategic Plan Implementation Officer in ensuring I put into operation the current consultation document, 'The Future of English Women's Chess', along with meeting agreed targets when this document is fully agreed and launched later this year. I am confident that both of these officers will play a large part in the transformation of ECF outputs and outcomes, and help to support a possible regeneration of chess playing activity in England.
Actually, years mean nothing. It's what's inside them - Simon Van Booy
The ECF Yearbook 2020 is on its way (electronically) to the printers. Platinum and Lifetime members will receive a free printed copy as always, but we have something up our sleeves that will enable ECF members to see this rather spiffing publication (the second edition of the new-style Yearbook) more widely than ever before - watch this space! - Andrew Walker, Yearbook Builder
Vacancies – please contact the ECF Office if interested
Finance Director - the Finance Director is responsible for the financial affairs of the Federation which includes the separate entities of the ECF, BCF and Chess Centre Ltd. Duties include the presentation of the annual accounts to Council and the production of regular management accounts to the Board, production of the Board's budget, coverage of VAT, corporation tax, staff pension scheme, banking arrangements and sundry investments. The Finance Director is responsible for the bookkeeping service and the Office Finance Manager. The full range of responsibilities can be found in Regulation No. 2 'Directors' and Officers' Responsibilities – Finance Director'. The current Finance Director, David Eustace who retires in October, is happy to provide further information - [email protected]
Awards Committee Chairman - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Manager of Disabled Chess
Forthcoming events - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/
4NCL Women's League - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/womens/information.htm
2nd 4NCL Easter Congress - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter20.htm
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones keeps you on your toes with some more problems - here
Election of ECF Council Chairman
The process is underway with two nominations, James Conlon and Michael Farthing, who have set out their manifestos here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/election-of-council-chairman/
Quarterly membership stats
The latest quarterly membership stats and and the 2018/19 membership profile are here (thanks to Director of Membership Dave Thomas for publishing these) - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Membership-Analysis-Dec-2019-1.pdf and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Membership-Profile-2018-19-1.pdf
If Carlsen did betting
World champion Magnus Carlsen has signed a sponsorship deal with Malta-based betting company Unibet. More here - https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/magnus-carlsen-unibet-sponsorship-deal-ambassador-chess
British Chess Educational Trust Awards
BCET Awards nominations are open until 31 May 2020. More details here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/bcet-awards-2020/
Book Reviews
Gary Lane reviews Chess Tests by the late Mark Dvoretsky, Larry Kaufman's New Repertoire for Black and White and The Chess Scene by Alan Ruffle, a rare self-published chess book about playing club chess and coaching in England. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Tweet of the month
John Saunders catches the mood at Gibraltar Airport after the Masters. Is this a new departure?
Warwickshire Congress Ed Goodwin writes --- Thanks to sponsorship from the ECF, the Warwickshire Chess Congress is this year able to offer free entry to the first 20 female entrants as well as £10 discount for any further entries. There will also be a prize for the top female player in each section and the title of Warwickshire Women's Champion for the top female player in the Open Section. The congress takes place at The Citrus Hotel in Coventry on February 21st–23rd. Details are at http://www.congress.warwickshirechess.org
Have you made the grade?
January Grades are out - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-grades-are-out-5/
BBCA Rapidplay takes place on Sunday 23rd February in east London at the Hason Raja Centre, Vallance Road, London E1 5BW from 4pm to 8pm. More details here ...
Sorry wrong blunder
Your editor has been on the naughty step after this self mate in the January newsletter
'World Senior Chess Team Championships ... note that this is not a FIDE-rated event'
My apologies, this IS of course a FIDE-rated event, and I take full responsibility for the error.
Chess Magazine - February 2020
The February 2020 taster is here for download. If you like this and would like to read more, the full issue is available to purchase here
Obituaries
Robert Richmond - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-robert-richmond-1956-2020/
Bob Long - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10571&sid=a768e08cf6d9acfe1bac61599080c931
Derek Coope - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10598&sid=a768e08cf6d9acfe1bac61599080c931
Yoseph Helbawi - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-yoseph-helbawi/
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the February edition of the Newsletter. In this edition we have an interview with Lennart Ootes, a 2100+ player who is making a name for himself as a chess broadcaster, videographer and photographer. We also feature an excellent roundup of the Gibraltar Masters by Tim Wall.
I am dedicating this February editorial to the doyen of English chess Leonard Barden [below, image via Twitter], who is still going strong with his superb chess columns at the sprightly age of 90. He signed off his near-64 year column with the Evening Standard on Thursday 31.1.20 (a square for every year). His final article includes this memorable line, "The series began on 4 June 1956 and has continued for 63 years, 7 months and 27 days without missing a day, a world record in all journalism for a daily column by a single individual."
Doug Wills, Managing Editor of the Evening Standard writes, "Leonard has deservedly won the respect of so many of our readers for his passion for chess as well as his staying power. He has never been less than a perfectionist, always winning the admiration of the Evening Standard editorial team. We would like to congratulate him on his amazing feat and wish him well for the future."
When the Evening Standard relegated Barden's column from the print edition to a digital output in August 2010, I was one of many chess players to complain. I loved Leonard's ‘Find the Next Move’ position in the Standard (usually beyond my patzer grading level) and always accompanied by a cameo background piece on all aspects of world chess. This was my letter --- "I am a keen London-based club chess player and this is the second time I have had to write to the Standard regarding the withdrawal of Leonard Barden's chess column from the print edition. I know you have received many letters of support from players and chess fans to reinstate the print column and I have read some of the replies you have sent. Your standard (excuse the pun) response paraphrased is, 'yes, we're sorry too, we love Leonard, we're delighted he has agreed to go online, sorry no room in print edition' is complete nonsense of course. There are hundreds of online sources for chess, the beauty of Leonard's column in print is the very fact it is (or was) in print; that it gave so much pleasure to so many people as we struggled to get to and from work, an oasis of calm in a packed carriage or bus. Leonard's quirky, entertaining background stories which accompanied the daily puzzle were a delight with the carefully chosen problems testing thousands of players."
Says ECF Chief Executive Mike Truran, "We are sure that you will join us in congratulating Leonard on his world-beating achievement in penning the Evening Standard chess column for over 63 years. Leonard has been one of English chess's most outstanding chess servants, and we will always be grateful to him for his fantastic contribution over the years to our great game as a player, organiser and journalist."
Leonard's last Evening Standard column is here - https://www.standard.co.uk/staticpage/chess/chess-with-leonard-barden-a1939236.html and a discussion on the English Chess Forum here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=10600&p=240057
--- Mark Rivlin [Image - Chessbase]
We will rock you
Tim Wall reports on the Gibraltar Masters - here
Lennart and his lens art
Mark Rivlin interviews Lennart Ootes [pictured below], the man who expertly captures and relays the zeitgeist of top chess tournaments - here
Monthly gradings
Manager of Grading Brian Valentine writes --- As advised in last month's newsletter, we have now started implementation of the monthly grading system. Phase 1 will run from January to April and will provide us with a core system/minimum viable product, with a results interface from the ECF LMS, storage of Players, Events and Results, and calculation of ratings with a basic web publishing system. Phase 2 will provide the full system with all interfaces, extracts, reports and full web publishing.
The system is being implemented as an extension/ upgrade to an existing system with coding in PHP, Javascript, and MySQL with some Python processing for back end services. We have a core development team in place including volunteers who have come forward to offer their time, following the last Newsletter. Can I ask for any further volunteers particularly with PHP experience to complete the development team? We are looking mainly for developers at this stage but support with QA and testing would also be very welcome.
The monthly grading implementation is an important project to bring our grading system up to date and replace our legacy grading system which is no longer supportable. This is a great opportunity for our members or supporters/colleagues to support English Chess, and any help with this will be very much appreciated [email Brian on [email protected]]
Click and enter
Malcolm Peacock's excellent online entry software is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/congress-online-entry-software/
ECF Online Month 1
Nigel Towers writes --- As you may know the ECF launched our English Chess Online Service on 8th January 2020 following a six months period of beta testing with a group of volunteer club players. The service is based on ECF clubs on chess.com and lichess.org open to all ECF members and supporters. We also have an ECF open club on Chess.com, open to all English registered players. The launch has gone really well with club memberships as follows (as at 31/01) -
www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation - ECF Open club 1,317
www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members - ECF Members 180
www.lichess.org/team/english-chess-players - English Players 143
We are currently running two ECF internet rated club events per week for club members on each platform in Swiss and/or Arena formats. Our club tournaments are a mix of Blitz (3|2, 5|5 or 10|0) and rapid (15|10) time controls and are well attended, with increasing numbers of players as the clubs grow in size. We also run a 1|0 or 1.5|0 bullet tournament every Sunday evening on lichess in response to demand for those who like a very fast format. Results from club games since go-live on 8th Jan will be used to calculate four digit Elo rating lists, which will be published on a monthly basis from February/March onwards. The ECF online ratings will be completely separate from, and will not impact, players' OTB ECF grades/ ratings. The current schedule for club tournaments is as below ---
As well as the club events we are planning international events for our club members on chess.com and lichess, and we endorse the Team-England-Live and Team-England clubs for participation in World and European league matches on chess.com. We have an England USA chess.com international scheduled for Sunday 16th Feb between players in the ECF members club and the USCF club. Further details will be provided on the ECF Members home page as these are available. You can find futher details and joining instructions for the clubs here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/. We also publish a weekly online newsletter with upcoming events, last weeks results and articles of interest from online membets which you can view or download here - https://englishchessonline.org.uk/online-news/. Do please give the clubs a try, and/or have a look at the newsletter and let us know what you think.
World Senior Team Chess Championships, Prague
Stewart Reuben writes --- We have one of our strongest ever English entries for the World Senior Team Championships in Prague. We have now entered a total of six five-player English teams for the event in March with support from a private donor, the ECF, Friends of Chess and Terry Chapman. Our 50+ English first team is an all GM squad as follows - Jon Speelman, Keith Arkell, Mark Hebden, Glenn Flear (Captain), and Neil Mcdonald. The team is seeded 5th out of 56 teams. We are also fielding two additional and very strong 5-player teams in this section - our second team captained by Jeremy Fraser-Mitchell, and the English Women's team of Sheila Jackson, Jana Bellin, Ingrid Lauterbach, Petra Nunn (Captain), and Helen Frostick. Our 65+ English first team comprises John Nunn, Nigel Povah (Captain), Anthony Stebbings, Ian Snape and Geoffrey James and is seeded 4th out of 61. In the 65+ section we are also fielding a 5 player second team captained by Stewart Reuben, and a five player third team captained by ECF Grading Manager Brian Valentine. The event is scheduled to run from 5th to 15th March in Prague. You can see all of the teams and follow the results at the links below - http://chess-results.com/tnr491114.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30 and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr491115.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30 - and find more information here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/teams-for-the-wstcc-in-prague/
Qualifiers
European Schools and World Youth Rapid and Blitz here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/qualifiers-european-schools-world-youth-rapid-blitz/
Hastings GM Simon Williams on the revived Hastings Congress here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/simon-says-2019-23 and here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/simon-says-2019-24
Marcus, you're So cool
Marcus Harvey analyses a memorable victory over Super GM Wesley So in the PRO Chess League here [PGN]
County Finals venue
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- Due to a clash of bookings, it will not be possible to use last year's excellent venue for this year's County Championships Finals. The replacement venue will be the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport and NEC. Many of you will remember this hotel as it has been used for the 4NCL on many occasions. It is close to the M42 and a short taxi ride from the Birmingham Airport train station.
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan writes ---
The ECF is recruiting for two new crucial volunteer posts - Recruitment Officer and Women's Strategic Plan Implementation Officer. Both will report to the Director of Women's Chess. These are new, crucial and linked roles for the ECF's strategy of gaining new members for over-the-board graded chess (in all the categories) and also for the long-term task of recruiting new members as supporter or family members who will mostly play either socially or online – the ECF needs to change and evolve with worldwide trends.
The ECF has recently launched its Internet Chess Service, and there is huge potential for now attracting many new members who may not wish to play over the board rated chess, but enjoy chess socially or online. The new Recruitment Officer will help to recruit members of all ages and genders and report to myself, and will work closely with the new Women's Strategic Plan Implementation Officer in ensuring I put into operation the current consultation document, 'The Future of English Women's Chess', along with meeting agreed targets when this document is fully agreed and launched later this year. I am confident that both of these officers will play a large part in the transformation of ECF outputs and outcomes, and help to support a possible regeneration of chess playing activity in England.
Actually, years mean nothing. It's what's inside them - Simon Van Booy
The ECF Yearbook 2020 is on its way (electronically) to the printers. Platinum and Lifetime members will receive a free printed copy as always, but we have something up our sleeves that will enable ECF members to see this rather spiffing publication (the second edition of the new-style Yearbook) more widely than ever before - watch this space! - Andrew Walker, Yearbook Builder
Vacancies – please contact the ECF Office if interested
Finance Director - the Finance Director is responsible for the financial affairs of the Federation which includes the separate entities of the ECF, BCF and Chess Centre Ltd. Duties include the presentation of the annual accounts to Council and the production of regular management accounts to the Board, production of the Board's budget, coverage of VAT, corporation tax, staff pension scheme, banking arrangements and sundry investments. The Finance Director is responsible for the bookkeeping service and the Office Finance Manager. The full range of responsibilities can be found in Regulation No. 2 'Directors' and Officers' Responsibilities – Finance Director'. The current Finance Director, David Eustace who retires in October, is happy to provide further information - [email protected]
Awards Committee Chairman - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Manager of Disabled Chess
Forthcoming events - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/
4NCL Women's League - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/womens/information.htm
2nd 4NCL Easter Congress - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter20.htm
Problem Corner
Christopher Jones keeps you on your toes with some more problems - here
Election of ECF Council Chairman
The process is underway with two nominations, James Conlon and Michael Farthing, who have set out their manifestos here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/election-of-council-chairman/
Quarterly membership stats
The latest quarterly membership stats and and the 2018/19 membership profile are here (thanks to Director of Membership Dave Thomas for publishing these) - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Membership-Analysis-Dec-2019-1.pdf and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Membership-Profile-2018-19-1.pdf
If Carlsen did betting
World champion Magnus Carlsen has signed a sponsorship deal with Malta-based betting company Unibet. More here - https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/magnus-carlsen-unibet-sponsorship-deal-ambassador-chess
British Chess Educational Trust Awards
BCET Awards nominations are open until 31 May 2020. More details here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/bcet-awards-2020/
Book Reviews
Gary Lane reviews Chess Tests by the late Mark Dvoretsky, Larry Kaufman's New Repertoire for Black and White and The Chess Scene by Alan Ruffle, a rare self-published chess book about playing club chess and coaching in England. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Tweet of the month
John Saunders catches the mood at Gibraltar Airport after the Masters. Is this a new departure?
Warwickshire Congress Ed Goodwin writes --- Thanks to sponsorship from the ECF, the Warwickshire Chess Congress is this year able to offer free entry to the first 20 female entrants as well as £10 discount for any further entries. There will also be a prize for the top female player in each section and the title of Warwickshire Women's Champion for the top female player in the Open Section. The congress takes place at The Citrus Hotel in Coventry on February 21st–23rd. Details are at http://www.congress.warwickshirechess.org
Have you made the grade?
January Grades are out - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-grades-are-out-5/
BBCA Rapidplay takes place on Sunday 23rd February in east London at the Hason Raja Centre, Vallance Road, London E1 5BW from 4pm to 8pm. More details here ...
Sorry wrong blunder
Your editor has been on the naughty step after this self mate in the January newsletter
'World Senior Chess Team Championships ... note that this is not a FIDE-rated event'
My apologies, this IS of course a FIDE-rated event, and I take full responsibility for the error.
Chess Magazine - February 2020
The February 2020 taster is here for download. If you like this and would like to read more, the full issue is available to purchase here
Obituaries
Robert Richmond - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-robert-richmond-1956-2020/
Bob Long - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10571&sid=a768e08cf6d9acfe1bac61599080c931
Derek Coope - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10598&sid=a768e08cf6d9acfe1bac61599080c931
Yoseph Helbawi - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-yoseph-helbawi/
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2020
Dear Member
Happy New Year from the ECF and welcome to the January 2020 edition of the Newsletter.
In this edition we we are delighted to launch the ECF internet service (please see Nigel Towers’s piece headlining the Newsletter below). We also feature an excellent piece from John Hennessy, secretary of Northenden Chess Club in south Manchester that has recently organised its first tournament. John ticks every box around contributing to grass-roots chess and I would welcome contributions from other club secretaries and players who have an opinion on any chess-related issue, or just want to advertise a tournament or event. Please send submissions to [email protected]
We look at the World Rapidplay and Blitz Championships held in Moscow through the eyes of one of one of the few English people there, our Director of Junior Chess and International Arbiter Alex Holowczak. There was no English presence at the board for this prestigious championship, which World Champion Magnus Carlsen won on both time controls (more on the tournament itself here – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/03/chess-carlsen-wins-double-speed-title-after-controversial-game, and John Ashworth, CEO of Caplin Systems writes about his company’s sponsorship of the Hastings International Congress.
There are vacancies for ECF roles to fill along with an update on Monthly Grading and a review on the play Ravens currently running at the Hampstead Theatre. Finally, it is not unusual to lock horns with chess players in their fifties and sixties (myself included) but hats off to 87-year-old David Hamilton of Lewisham Chess Club, who gave me a lesson in middle and end-game technique in a recent London League encounter. To paraphrase the former football manager Ron Atkinson, I was lucky to get nil.
— Mark Rivlin
ECF online chess launch
Nigel Towers writes – The ECF is pleased to announce that after much planning and several months of beta testing with a team of volunteers, the long awaited ECF internet chess service is now ready for live use. We have established a number of ECF clubs/ teams across different provider platforms with chess.com and lichess clubs currently available and ready for use. The online clubs are open to all ECF members and supporters and will allow you to play in regular ECF organised online tournaments, as well as international matches, and will also let you receive an online rating which will be published monthly from February/ March 2020 onwards. The online rating will be a 4 digit elo rating based on internet club games against other ECF members or supporters, and will be completely separate from your ECF OTB grade. Full details including joining instructions, details of upcoming and previous events, and full grading records from the beta test competitions to date are now available on the ECF online site at https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
Please do join one or more of the clubs so that you can take part in the club events and give the online service a try. Any questions or feedback to help improve the service are very welcome and should be directed to [email protected]
Hastings 2019-20 – a big success!
Indian GM Magesh Panchanathan won the 95th Hastings Congress with a 7.5/9 performance. GM Romain Edouard came second with 7 and four players finished on 6.5 – GM Kantor Gergely, GM Simon Williams, IM Mate Bagy and GM GA Stany. More here – https://en.chessbase.com/post/hastings-congress-2020-r9
John Ashworth, CEO of Caplin Systems, the new prime sponsors writes – This is our first venture with chess sponsorship, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. It was a tweet from Simon Williams which alerted me to the opportunity to get involved. From the moment Pam Thomas at Hastings introduced me to Malcolm Pein and Stewart Reuben in our City of London offices, I knew we were onto something very special in the history of chess. As a specialist software company serving banks globally with internet trading technology, we wanted to raise our profile and explore a different angle for recruiting talented engineers. Chess players make great programmers. I was personally delighted to see that our investment helped to entice a few more GMs than in previous years, which in turn attracted 50 percent more entrants in the main Masters competition. It was a huge privilege to meet David Howell and play his first move (g3) against Yao Lan as part of the opening ceremony with Dominic Lawson, as well as getting to know many of the other GMs and club players from 27 countries over the course of the week. An adult beginner myself, I decided to throw myself in at the deep end and enter the U130 to see how the whole thing worked. The U130 certainly fought back, but I took my first ever tournament point, played against some encouragingly talented youngsters, and ended the Congress with the unique (if dubious) honour of playing both the top board (by ceremony) and the bottom board (by merit). After the prizegiving, a few of the GMs and I shared a glass of wine in the Hastings Old Town late on Sunday night. Keith Arkell remarked that the buzz in the playing hall was as intense as he can remember, which really makes it all worthwhile. We’re looking forward to 2020/21. Finally, I’d like to thank Pam Thomas and Marc Bryant on the Congress committee, the Hastings Chess Club, officials at Hastings Borough Council, Steve Smith and Jaimie Wilson at Chichester Chess Club, and, individually, Stephen Moss, John Saunders and Phil Makepeace for all helping to make this such a success for Caplin. Much more on the official Hastings website, including pictures, here
Our man in Moscow
Mark Rivlin interviews International Arbiter and Director of Home Chess Alex Holowczak here
Problem Corner
Chris Jones with another set of teasers here
Small is Beautiful
Manchester-based Northenden Chess Club is a small club with aspirations. Secretary John Hennessy writes about the club’s first tournament, a pre-Christmas Blitz here
Chess rocks! [left to right] Daniel Sheppard, Stockport CC (Winner) John Hennessy, Northenden CC and Raimund Klein, Stockport CC (Runner-up).
Theatre Review
Mark Rivlin is less than impressed with Ravens, a new play about Fischer-Spassky 1972 – here
Castling Long
An excellent radio show from comedian and scriptwriter Josie Long on getting back into chess – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cnby
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin reports — An ECF Arbiters’ Course will be held at Daventry Court Hotel in Daventry on 15th-16th February. Adrian Elwin and Alex Holowczak will be leading the course. Further details and link to registration can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiters-course-february-2020/ and more here about general arbiter opportunities.
Manager of Arbiters Alan Atkinson has been appointed as ECF Manager of Arbiters, taking over from Tom Thorpe. Please direct any arbiting queries to him using the email on the ECF website. The ECF has also published an Anti Cheating Policy document to help prevent and punish cheating. This can be viewed at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Anti-Cheating-Document.pdf
Monthly Grading – an opportunity to support an important development for English Chess
Brian Valentine reports — The ECF is progressing the monthly grading project with the aim of having a core system in place by March/ April 2020 and the full system ready for operation by July/ August, to support production of monthly lists from September 2020 onwards. Further details can be found here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grading-proposal/. The system is being implemented in PHP, Python 3 and MySQL and is re-using a number of existing system components. We have a core team working on the implementation and would like to ask for additional volunteers to support the coding work (in any of the above languages) and/or testing. If you are interested in helping with this please contact Brian Valentine at [email protected]
New Junior Selection Policy
More here from director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/new-junior-selection-policy-2020/
Chess Magazine
January 2020 taster here
UK Blitz Final
More games and videos from Justin Tan and Simon Williams here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-blitz-final-this-weekend/
ECF Vacancies
Please contact ECF Office if interested on [email protected]
Chairman of Council – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nominations-sought-for-post-of-chairman-of-council/
Awards Committee Chairman – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Manager of Disabled Chess
Forthcoming Events
24th 4NCL Congress Friday 17 – Sunday 19 January 2020 at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate – http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_24.htm
Junior 4NCL 18-19 January 2020 at Holiday Inn, South Normanton – http://www.4ncl.co.uk/j4ncl/jn_entry_1920.htm
ECF National Schools Girls’ Chess Championships 2020 – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/nscc-girls-chess-championships-2020/
Chess Tweet of the Month
It’s all kicking off in Surrey!
World Senior Chess Team Championships
Stewart Reuben on the forthcoming competition here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/wstcc-prague-2020/ and more here – https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=10493&p=237171&hilit=World+Senior+Chess+Team+Championships#p237171
Note that this is not a FIDE rated event!
Obituary
Lander Arrasate Bedialauneta 1973-2019 – https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10532
Happy New Year from the ECF and welcome to the January 2020 edition of the Newsletter.
In this edition we we are delighted to launch the ECF internet service (please see Nigel Towers’s piece headlining the Newsletter below). We also feature an excellent piece from John Hennessy, secretary of Northenden Chess Club in south Manchester that has recently organised its first tournament. John ticks every box around contributing to grass-roots chess and I would welcome contributions from other club secretaries and players who have an opinion on any chess-related issue, or just want to advertise a tournament or event. Please send submissions to [email protected]
We look at the World Rapidplay and Blitz Championships held in Moscow through the eyes of one of one of the few English people there, our Director of Junior Chess and International Arbiter Alex Holowczak. There was no English presence at the board for this prestigious championship, which World Champion Magnus Carlsen won on both time controls (more on the tournament itself here – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/03/chess-carlsen-wins-double-speed-title-after-controversial-game, and John Ashworth, CEO of Caplin Systems writes about his company’s sponsorship of the Hastings International Congress.
There are vacancies for ECF roles to fill along with an update on Monthly Grading and a review on the play Ravens currently running at the Hampstead Theatre. Finally, it is not unusual to lock horns with chess players in their fifties and sixties (myself included) but hats off to 87-year-old David Hamilton of Lewisham Chess Club, who gave me a lesson in middle and end-game technique in a recent London League encounter. To paraphrase the former football manager Ron Atkinson, I was lucky to get nil.
— Mark Rivlin
ECF online chess launch
Nigel Towers writes – The ECF is pleased to announce that after much planning and several months of beta testing with a team of volunteers, the long awaited ECF internet chess service is now ready for live use. We have established a number of ECF clubs/ teams across different provider platforms with chess.com and lichess clubs currently available and ready for use. The online clubs are open to all ECF members and supporters and will allow you to play in regular ECF organised online tournaments, as well as international matches, and will also let you receive an online rating which will be published monthly from February/ March 2020 onwards. The online rating will be a 4 digit elo rating based on internet club games against other ECF members or supporters, and will be completely separate from your ECF OTB grade. Full details including joining instructions, details of upcoming and previous events, and full grading records from the beta test competitions to date are now available on the ECF online site at https://englishchessonline.org.uk/
Please do join one or more of the clubs so that you can take part in the club events and give the online service a try. Any questions or feedback to help improve the service are very welcome and should be directed to [email protected]
Hastings 2019-20 – a big success!
Indian GM Magesh Panchanathan won the 95th Hastings Congress with a 7.5/9 performance. GM Romain Edouard came second with 7 and four players finished on 6.5 – GM Kantor Gergely, GM Simon Williams, IM Mate Bagy and GM GA Stany. More here – https://en.chessbase.com/post/hastings-congress-2020-r9
John Ashworth, CEO of Caplin Systems, the new prime sponsors writes – This is our first venture with chess sponsorship, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. It was a tweet from Simon Williams which alerted me to the opportunity to get involved. From the moment Pam Thomas at Hastings introduced me to Malcolm Pein and Stewart Reuben in our City of London offices, I knew we were onto something very special in the history of chess. As a specialist software company serving banks globally with internet trading technology, we wanted to raise our profile and explore a different angle for recruiting talented engineers. Chess players make great programmers. I was personally delighted to see that our investment helped to entice a few more GMs than in previous years, which in turn attracted 50 percent more entrants in the main Masters competition. It was a huge privilege to meet David Howell and play his first move (g3) against Yao Lan as part of the opening ceremony with Dominic Lawson, as well as getting to know many of the other GMs and club players from 27 countries over the course of the week. An adult beginner myself, I decided to throw myself in at the deep end and enter the U130 to see how the whole thing worked. The U130 certainly fought back, but I took my first ever tournament point, played against some encouragingly talented youngsters, and ended the Congress with the unique (if dubious) honour of playing both the top board (by ceremony) and the bottom board (by merit). After the prizegiving, a few of the GMs and I shared a glass of wine in the Hastings Old Town late on Sunday night. Keith Arkell remarked that the buzz in the playing hall was as intense as he can remember, which really makes it all worthwhile. We’re looking forward to 2020/21. Finally, I’d like to thank Pam Thomas and Marc Bryant on the Congress committee, the Hastings Chess Club, officials at Hastings Borough Council, Steve Smith and Jaimie Wilson at Chichester Chess Club, and, individually, Stephen Moss, John Saunders and Phil Makepeace for all helping to make this such a success for Caplin. Much more on the official Hastings website, including pictures, here
Our man in Moscow
Mark Rivlin interviews International Arbiter and Director of Home Chess Alex Holowczak here
Problem Corner
Chris Jones with another set of teasers here
Small is Beautiful
Manchester-based Northenden Chess Club is a small club with aspirations. Secretary John Hennessy writes about the club’s first tournament, a pre-Christmas Blitz here
Chess rocks! [left to right] Daniel Sheppard, Stockport CC (Winner) John Hennessy, Northenden CC and Raimund Klein, Stockport CC (Runner-up).
Theatre Review
Mark Rivlin is less than impressed with Ravens, a new play about Fischer-Spassky 1972 – here
Castling Long
An excellent radio show from comedian and scriptwriter Josie Long on getting back into chess – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cnby
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin reports — An ECF Arbiters’ Course will be held at Daventry Court Hotel in Daventry on 15th-16th February. Adrian Elwin and Alex Holowczak will be leading the course. Further details and link to registration can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiters-course-february-2020/ and more here about general arbiter opportunities.
Manager of Arbiters Alan Atkinson has been appointed as ECF Manager of Arbiters, taking over from Tom Thorpe. Please direct any arbiting queries to him using the email on the ECF website. The ECF has also published an Anti Cheating Policy document to help prevent and punish cheating. This can be viewed at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Anti-Cheating-Document.pdf
Monthly Grading – an opportunity to support an important development for English Chess
Brian Valentine reports — The ECF is progressing the monthly grading project with the aim of having a core system in place by March/ April 2020 and the full system ready for operation by July/ August, to support production of monthly lists from September 2020 onwards. Further details can be found here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grading-proposal/. The system is being implemented in PHP, Python 3 and MySQL and is re-using a number of existing system components. We have a core team working on the implementation and would like to ask for additional volunteers to support the coding work (in any of the above languages) and/or testing. If you are interested in helping with this please contact Brian Valentine at [email protected]
New Junior Selection Policy
More here from director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/new-junior-selection-policy-2020/
Chess Magazine
January 2020 taster here
UK Blitz Final
More games and videos from Justin Tan and Simon Williams here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-blitz-final-this-weekend/
ECF Vacancies
Please contact ECF Office if interested on [email protected]
Chairman of Council – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nominations-sought-for-post-of-chairman-of-council/
Awards Committee Chairman – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Manager of Disabled Chess
Forthcoming Events
24th 4NCL Congress Friday 17 – Sunday 19 January 2020 at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate – http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_24.htm
Junior 4NCL 18-19 January 2020 at Holiday Inn, South Normanton – http://www.4ncl.co.uk/j4ncl/jn_entry_1920.htm
ECF National Schools Girls’ Chess Championships 2020 – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/nscc-girls-chess-championships-2020/
Chess Tweet of the Month
It’s all kicking off in Surrey!
World Senior Chess Team Championships
Stewart Reuben on the forthcoming competition here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/wstcc-prague-2020/ and more here – https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=10493&p=237171&hilit=World+Senior+Chess+Team+Championships#p237171
Note that this is not a FIDE rated event!
Obituary
Lander Arrasate Bedialauneta 1973-2019 – https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10532
ECF E NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2019
Dear Member
Welcome to the December eNewsletter of 2019. In this edition we lead with a tribute to past ECF Chief Arbiter Dave Welch, who died on November 9th. We also feature an op-ed on the no-castling exhibition games as part of the London Chess Classic and a report on the Chess and Female Empowerment Conference.
In the past month I have had the privilege and pleasure of playing non-competitive games in two very different settings. After going through a lengthy vetting process and training I did my first chess session at Isis Young Offenders Institute (YOI) in south east London. The Isis sessions are part of a Chess and Schools in Communities initiative which includes nursing homes, libraries and prisons as well as over 2,000 schools. Across the board I was pleasantly surprised by the levels of the players, a couple of whom took games off me (one with a Knight sac that came from virtually nowhere) and a third who took me to a draw in an exciting Queen and Pawn ending. Without computers these guys have honed their chess skills through the prison library and would easily negotiate the lower divisions of leagues and hold their own in individual tournaments (one of the guys told me he would join a club on his forthcoming release). A special mention to Peter Sullivan and his team who run the Isis project.
The second match-up was at the London Chess Classic when I played comedian and writer Josie Long after she had made the ceremonial opening move in the Gawain Jones-Luke McShane 'no castling' exhibition match, part of the British Knockout Championship. A keen junior player, Josie has been coming back into the game in adulthood and was at the Classic recording for a forthcoming Radio 4 documentary on chess which will be broadcast on 28.12. More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cnby. Like my opponents at Isis, Josie played a very decent game which took me time and energy to win.
This year, the Hastings International Congress has a spring in its step (or should that be winter?) with its new sponsor Caplin Systems and with 19 GMs (including David Howell) participating. This is the strongest field in many years, and promises to be a cracker. Our thanks go to Caplin for restoring the tournament to its status as one of the UK's top events. More here - http://www.hastingschess.com/
Wishing ECF members a Happy Christmas and New Year!
--- Mark Rivlin
Tribute to Dave Welch
Dave died in November following a long illness, and such was his stature in English chess that we lead with a fitting tribute to his long-standing service to the ECF and home and abroad. Dave’s funeral took place at Landican Crematorium, Wirral on 6.12.19. ECF Director of Membership Dave Thomas, Alex McFarlane, Peter Purland and John Saunders write about Dave here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/david-welch-rip/
Classic rocks
Tim Wall writes --- the 11th London Chess Classic, held from November 29th-December 8th, marked an impressive 10 years of top-class chess and schools events at the Olympia London Conference Centre for the UK educational charity Chess in Schools and Communities. The $350,000 Grand Chess Tour Finals culminated in an impressive win for Chinese superstar Ding Liren, who dominated the final match versus France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who in turn had knocked out World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the semi-finals. In the third place playoff match, Carlsen defeated Armenia's Lev Aronian.
The accompanying British Knockout Championship saw a win by British Champion Mickey Adams, who defeated David Howell in the final. Earlier in the tournament, Adams faced a tough challenge from FM Marcus Harvey, who narrowly missed a win in their Armageddon game.
In the other events, 14-year-old Indian prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa won the FIDE Open with 7.5/9, just ahead on tie-break from Australia's Anton Smirnov.
Gawain Jones won the Super Blitz, after defeating France's Tigran Gharamian in a final Armageddon game.
In addition to these high-level tournaments, Olympia also hosted a total of 2,500 schoolchildren from CSC programmes in schools, and the children enjoyed a combination of a Grandmaster Show in the main auditorium, tutor-led training and a 5-round tournament with prizes for individuals and school teams.
Said Tournament Director Malcolm Pein, 'The 11th London Chess Classic was one of the best yet with great chess from the elite and huge enthusiasm from the 2500 primary school children who came from all over the country. Congratulations to DIng Liren on his success in winning the GCT title and to Michael Adams for taking the British KO.'
No castle, no hassle
Tim Wall on an interesting variation of chess rules here
Director of Women's Chess, Chris Fegan reports ---
December 2019 has been one of the most exciting in the history of the ECF and female chess, as we held the first ever joint education conference with FIDE, the European Chess Union, ECF and CSC. Entitled 'Chess and Female Empowerment', it was held at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith as part of the London Chess Classic.
The Conference was a truly international event and attended by delegates from around 40 countries and was headlined by Judit Polgar who also made several media appearances in connection with the Conference including on the BBC here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000bxhk. A full report will be published in due course, but in the meantime I encourage ECF members to look at the Conference website for more information on what occurred here - https://londonchessconference.com
One of the most instructive messages for ECF members generally was the achievements of our colleagues in the United States Chess Federation, who sent a strong delegation and shared many examples of good practice and success. One of the key outcomes for the ECF was the formal launching of the new ECF Board's consultation document on the Future of Women's Chess in England --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/development-of-womens-chess-progress-plan/
I was also delighted with the London Chess Classic event and the fact that we had hundreds of female players involved, including of course CSC schoolchildren receiving daily chess lessons and playing in tournaments. A major new initiative this year was the English Open for Women and Girls Rapidplay which had an entry of around 50 players. The event was keenly contested and eventually won by Madara Orlovska – many congratulations to her.
Justin time
GM Justin Tan won the UK Open Blitz championship in Solihull with a 13/15 performance. IM Ameet Ghasi came second with 12/15 and GM Danny Gormally came third with 9.5/15. In the Women's championship, GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant took first place with 14.5/15; WGM Katarzyna Toma was second with 13/15 and Madara Orlovska came third with 12.5/15. More here, including links to GM Simon Williams' excellent commentary --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz/
Just in Times
GM David Howell's tweet on his new Saturday job --- Pleased to announce that I will now be writing for @thetimes every Saturday. First column out today! [7.12.19]
National Schools Girls’ Chess Championships 2020
Entries can be made at the National Schools website for the January semi-finals. More here ...
Heavy medal
Leonard Barden's Guardian column on Gawain Jones's 2019 medal hauls. More here, including Magnus Carlsen's unbeaten classical play run - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/22/chess-magnus-carlsen-wont-count-norway-league-games
Malta Open
English players at the Malta International Open – our thanks to the excellent research by folks on the ECForum for this information as the results were not available on the Chess Results site. More here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10501
English players at the World Senior Chess Championship
http://chess-results.com/tnr449485.aspx?lan=27&art=1&rd=11&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30, http://chess-results.com/tnr492825.aspx?lan=27&art=1&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30
Celtic Tigers at the European Club Cup
http://chess-results.com/tnr462794.aspx?lan=1&art=20&fed=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30
Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer play offer
London-based Hampstead Theatre is currently showing Tom Morton-Smith’s new play, which dramatises the 1972 ‘Match of the Century’, until January 18th 2020. Receive a third off top-band tickets by entering promo code LCC2019 at checkout here - https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2019/ravens-spassky-vs-fischer/
ECF Online Service ready for launch
Nigel Towers writes - the ECF Online Service will be going live within the next few weeks. The service is currently in beta test and once live, will allow members and supporters to take part in regular ECF organised internet tournaments and events, and to receive an ECF online rating. The internet service is based on ECF clubs which have been set up on different provider platforms and which are open to all ECF members and supporters. Club tournaments are being held for the beta test group on a weekly basis with rapid and blitz time controls and will continue once we go live. The ECF internet service will also suport participation in Federation endorsed international team events against other Federations and/ or national clubs. Once the service is live, the club online tournaments will be ECF rated with a monthly Elo rating published for club members, based on results from rated ECF club events, and a Grand Prix competition for games played in the ECF events. Please email the ECF Office at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the beta test group to take part in some of the remaining beta test events. Otherwise we look forward to seeing you at the online tournaments once the system is live.
World Online School Chess
This tournament begins in April 2020 and continues to March 2021. More details in this PDF and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/world-online-school-chess-tournament/
Forthcoming 4NCL events
24th 4NCL Congress Friday 17.1 to Sunday 19.1.2020 at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_24.htm
Junior 4NCL 18th-19th January 2020 at the Holiday Inn, South Normanton - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/j4ncl/jn_entry_1920.htm
ECF Academy, Reading weekend
Mimi Khan and David Gray report here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-weekend-4-november-2019/
Joining the Academy
Pauline Whitehead writes - The ECF Academy is the English Chess Federation’s flagship training programme for young chess players. Each year around 100 players are selected for the program which is designed to support and nurture hard working chess playing families to help the child develop their talent and enjoyment of the game. The programme is structured around a number of training weekends (players can select between 2 and 4 weekends) where high quality chess training is provided by some of the country’s top chess coaches including Grandmasters and International Masters. The training takes place in comfortable hotel facilities so parents can relax whilst their children are mastering various chess topics. There are also presentations and talks available for the parents including the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress with our mentors and coaches. Please find further information below and how to apply here - https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/training-academy/. For any further information please contact Alex Longson or Pauline Whitehead at [email protected]
European Youth Rapid and Blitz in Tallinn, Estonia
ECF Head of Delegation Neil Jackson reports - the facilities were excellent and generally rooms and food were fine and the tournament was professionally run (although some children were concerned about unresolved disputes and not all the arbiters could speak English). We can be proud of all the English youngsters whose behaviour was impeccable. Results were I think as expected. While I was encouraging the England squad, the Russian delegation had GM Valerij Popov (winner of the 2018 adult championship) as a state-funded team coach. In the U14 blitz 8 of our 12 players finished on half points or higher and in the U14 rapidplay 4 of our 7 players finished on half points or better. There were outstanding results from Conall McBrinn finishing on 6.5/9 in U100 rapid and Billy Fellowes 6.5/9 in U80 rapid. In the team event our top U10 and U14 boys finished in the top half with several impressive individual performances. The youngsters left enthused by chess, it was a huge positive experience and influence on British junior chess. The team event was a particular success with new friendships forged. I encouraged the teams to hang out together as groups of 4 between rounds and observed a lot of England players encouraging each other and discussing games. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-youth-rapid-and-blitz/
Senior opportunities 2020 - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/senior-opportunities-2020/
Vacancies
Awards Committee Chairman - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Chair of Council vacancy - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nominations-sought-for-post-of-chairman-of-council/
Manager, Disabled Chess - expressions of interest in this post should be made to the ECF office - [email protected]
CHESS magazine teaser here
Chess Tweet of the Month
From Nishith Pandya
Obituary
Martin Costley - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10511
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the December eNewsletter of 2019. In this edition we lead with a tribute to past ECF Chief Arbiter Dave Welch, who died on November 9th. We also feature an op-ed on the no-castling exhibition games as part of the London Chess Classic and a report on the Chess and Female Empowerment Conference.
In the past month I have had the privilege and pleasure of playing non-competitive games in two very different settings. After going through a lengthy vetting process and training I did my first chess session at Isis Young Offenders Institute (YOI) in south east London. The Isis sessions are part of a Chess and Schools in Communities initiative which includes nursing homes, libraries and prisons as well as over 2,000 schools. Across the board I was pleasantly surprised by the levels of the players, a couple of whom took games off me (one with a Knight sac that came from virtually nowhere) and a third who took me to a draw in an exciting Queen and Pawn ending. Without computers these guys have honed their chess skills through the prison library and would easily negotiate the lower divisions of leagues and hold their own in individual tournaments (one of the guys told me he would join a club on his forthcoming release). A special mention to Peter Sullivan and his team who run the Isis project.
The second match-up was at the London Chess Classic when I played comedian and writer Josie Long after she had made the ceremonial opening move in the Gawain Jones-Luke McShane 'no castling' exhibition match, part of the British Knockout Championship. A keen junior player, Josie has been coming back into the game in adulthood and was at the Classic recording for a forthcoming Radio 4 documentary on chess which will be broadcast on 28.12. More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cnby. Like my opponents at Isis, Josie played a very decent game which took me time and energy to win.
This year, the Hastings International Congress has a spring in its step (or should that be winter?) with its new sponsor Caplin Systems and with 19 GMs (including David Howell) participating. This is the strongest field in many years, and promises to be a cracker. Our thanks go to Caplin for restoring the tournament to its status as one of the UK's top events. More here - http://www.hastingschess.com/
Wishing ECF members a Happy Christmas and New Year!
--- Mark Rivlin
Tribute to Dave Welch
Dave died in November following a long illness, and such was his stature in English chess that we lead with a fitting tribute to his long-standing service to the ECF and home and abroad. Dave’s funeral took place at Landican Crematorium, Wirral on 6.12.19. ECF Director of Membership Dave Thomas, Alex McFarlane, Peter Purland and John Saunders write about Dave here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/david-welch-rip/
Classic rocks
Tim Wall writes --- the 11th London Chess Classic, held from November 29th-December 8th, marked an impressive 10 years of top-class chess and schools events at the Olympia London Conference Centre for the UK educational charity Chess in Schools and Communities. The $350,000 Grand Chess Tour Finals culminated in an impressive win for Chinese superstar Ding Liren, who dominated the final match versus France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who in turn had knocked out World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the semi-finals. In the third place playoff match, Carlsen defeated Armenia's Lev Aronian.
The accompanying British Knockout Championship saw a win by British Champion Mickey Adams, who defeated David Howell in the final. Earlier in the tournament, Adams faced a tough challenge from FM Marcus Harvey, who narrowly missed a win in their Armageddon game.
In the other events, 14-year-old Indian prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa won the FIDE Open with 7.5/9, just ahead on tie-break from Australia's Anton Smirnov.
Gawain Jones won the Super Blitz, after defeating France's Tigran Gharamian in a final Armageddon game.
In addition to these high-level tournaments, Olympia also hosted a total of 2,500 schoolchildren from CSC programmes in schools, and the children enjoyed a combination of a Grandmaster Show in the main auditorium, tutor-led training and a 5-round tournament with prizes for individuals and school teams.
Said Tournament Director Malcolm Pein, 'The 11th London Chess Classic was one of the best yet with great chess from the elite and huge enthusiasm from the 2500 primary school children who came from all over the country. Congratulations to DIng Liren on his success in winning the GCT title and to Michael Adams for taking the British KO.'
No castle, no hassle
Tim Wall on an interesting variation of chess rules here
Director of Women's Chess, Chris Fegan reports ---
December 2019 has been one of the most exciting in the history of the ECF and female chess, as we held the first ever joint education conference with FIDE, the European Chess Union, ECF and CSC. Entitled 'Chess and Female Empowerment', it was held at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith as part of the London Chess Classic.
The Conference was a truly international event and attended by delegates from around 40 countries and was headlined by Judit Polgar who also made several media appearances in connection with the Conference including on the BBC here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000bxhk. A full report will be published in due course, but in the meantime I encourage ECF members to look at the Conference website for more information on what occurred here - https://londonchessconference.com
One of the most instructive messages for ECF members generally was the achievements of our colleagues in the United States Chess Federation, who sent a strong delegation and shared many examples of good practice and success. One of the key outcomes for the ECF was the formal launching of the new ECF Board's consultation document on the Future of Women's Chess in England --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/development-of-womens-chess-progress-plan/
I was also delighted with the London Chess Classic event and the fact that we had hundreds of female players involved, including of course CSC schoolchildren receiving daily chess lessons and playing in tournaments. A major new initiative this year was the English Open for Women and Girls Rapidplay which had an entry of around 50 players. The event was keenly contested and eventually won by Madara Orlovska – many congratulations to her.
Justin time
GM Justin Tan won the UK Open Blitz championship in Solihull with a 13/15 performance. IM Ameet Ghasi came second with 12/15 and GM Danny Gormally came third with 9.5/15. In the Women's championship, GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant took first place with 14.5/15; WGM Katarzyna Toma was second with 13/15 and Madara Orlovska came third with 12.5/15. More here, including links to GM Simon Williams' excellent commentary --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz/
Just in Times
GM David Howell's tweet on his new Saturday job --- Pleased to announce that I will now be writing for @thetimes every Saturday. First column out today! [7.12.19]
National Schools Girls’ Chess Championships 2020
Entries can be made at the National Schools website for the January semi-finals. More here ...
Heavy medal
Leonard Barden's Guardian column on Gawain Jones's 2019 medal hauls. More here, including Magnus Carlsen's unbeaten classical play run - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/22/chess-magnus-carlsen-wont-count-norway-league-games
Malta Open
English players at the Malta International Open – our thanks to the excellent research by folks on the ECForum for this information as the results were not available on the Chess Results site. More here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10501
English players at the World Senior Chess Championship
http://chess-results.com/tnr449485.aspx?lan=27&art=1&rd=11&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30, http://chess-results.com/tnr492825.aspx?lan=27&art=1&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30
Celtic Tigers at the European Club Cup
http://chess-results.com/tnr462794.aspx?lan=1&art=20&fed=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30
Ravens: Spassky vs. Fischer play offer
London-based Hampstead Theatre is currently showing Tom Morton-Smith’s new play, which dramatises the 1972 ‘Match of the Century’, until January 18th 2020. Receive a third off top-band tickets by entering promo code LCC2019 at checkout here - https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2019/ravens-spassky-vs-fischer/
ECF Online Service ready for launch
Nigel Towers writes - the ECF Online Service will be going live within the next few weeks. The service is currently in beta test and once live, will allow members and supporters to take part in regular ECF organised internet tournaments and events, and to receive an ECF online rating. The internet service is based on ECF clubs which have been set up on different provider platforms and which are open to all ECF members and supporters. Club tournaments are being held for the beta test group on a weekly basis with rapid and blitz time controls and will continue once we go live. The ECF internet service will also suport participation in Federation endorsed international team events against other Federations and/ or national clubs. Once the service is live, the club online tournaments will be ECF rated with a monthly Elo rating published for club members, based on results from rated ECF club events, and a Grand Prix competition for games played in the ECF events. Please email the ECF Office at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the beta test group to take part in some of the remaining beta test events. Otherwise we look forward to seeing you at the online tournaments once the system is live.
World Online School Chess
This tournament begins in April 2020 and continues to March 2021. More details in this PDF and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/world-online-school-chess-tournament/
Forthcoming 4NCL events
24th 4NCL Congress Friday 17.1 to Sunday 19.1.2020 at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_24.htm
Junior 4NCL 18th-19th January 2020 at the Holiday Inn, South Normanton - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/j4ncl/jn_entry_1920.htm
ECF Academy, Reading weekend
Mimi Khan and David Gray report here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-weekend-4-november-2019/
Joining the Academy
Pauline Whitehead writes - The ECF Academy is the English Chess Federation’s flagship training programme for young chess players. Each year around 100 players are selected for the program which is designed to support and nurture hard working chess playing families to help the child develop their talent and enjoyment of the game. The programme is structured around a number of training weekends (players can select between 2 and 4 weekends) where high quality chess training is provided by some of the country’s top chess coaches including Grandmasters and International Masters. The training takes place in comfortable hotel facilities so parents can relax whilst their children are mastering various chess topics. There are also presentations and talks available for the parents including the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress with our mentors and coaches. Please find further information below and how to apply here - https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/training-academy/. For any further information please contact Alex Longson or Pauline Whitehead at [email protected]
European Youth Rapid and Blitz in Tallinn, Estonia
ECF Head of Delegation Neil Jackson reports - the facilities were excellent and generally rooms and food were fine and the tournament was professionally run (although some children were concerned about unresolved disputes and not all the arbiters could speak English). We can be proud of all the English youngsters whose behaviour was impeccable. Results were I think as expected. While I was encouraging the England squad, the Russian delegation had GM Valerij Popov (winner of the 2018 adult championship) as a state-funded team coach. In the U14 blitz 8 of our 12 players finished on half points or higher and in the U14 rapidplay 4 of our 7 players finished on half points or better. There were outstanding results from Conall McBrinn finishing on 6.5/9 in U100 rapid and Billy Fellowes 6.5/9 in U80 rapid. In the team event our top U10 and U14 boys finished in the top half with several impressive individual performances. The youngsters left enthused by chess, it was a huge positive experience and influence on British junior chess. The team event was a particular success with new friendships forged. I encouraged the teams to hang out together as groups of 4 between rounds and observed a lot of England players encouraging each other and discussing games. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-youth-rapid-and-blitz/
Senior opportunities 2020 - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/senior-opportunities-2020/
Vacancies
Awards Committee Chairman - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Chair of Council vacancy - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nominations-sought-for-post-of-chairman-of-council/
Manager, Disabled Chess - expressions of interest in this post should be made to the ECF office - [email protected]
CHESS magazine teaser here
Chess Tweet of the Month
From Nishith Pandya
Obituary
Martin Costley - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10511
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2019
Dear Member
Welcome to the November ECF Newsletter. In this edition we feature an excellent performance from the men's national team's who won the Bronze Medal in the European Team Championships in Batumi, their first medal in this tournament for 22 years. Our women's team also had some fine individual performances. We also have a piece from Ursula Wielgosz, a chess parent with views on the proposal to make a couple of sections at next year’s British Chess Championships adult only events. I have written a piece on the unscientific way to attract new ECF members.
As you all know, I want a wide range of views to be represented in the newsletter so please send anything chess-related to [email protected]
Later this month the London Chess Classic returns to Olympia for the 11th time. World Champion Magnus Carlsen joins the elite GMs fighting it out for the Grand Chess Tour prizes and there is another British Knockout tournament and a huge festival for players of all levels, along with a Chess and Female Empowerment conference and activities for schools through Chess in Schools & Communities. Much more here - http://www.londonchessclassic.com/ and here - https://londonchessconference.com/
--- Mark Rivlin
Gentlemen prefer bronze
Tim Wall on another superb effort by our international men's team here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/bronze-in-batumi/
Takes on a plane
Mark Rivlin attracts chess enthusiasts with a pocket set - click here
Hull 4NCL
Report | pictures
Junior exclusion zone?
Ursula Wielgosz on the British Championships - click here
Tweet of the Month - TATA source?
Shreyas Royal on his new sponsorship deal from the Indian steel magnate - https://twitter.com/shrez_royal09/status/1190701822870278144
Junior roundup - from Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak
World Youth results - http://chess-results.com/tnr470711.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&flag=30
World Junior results - http://chess-results.com/tnr479945.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&flag=30
English Girls Championship results (won by Imogen Dicen from Coventry Chess Academy) - http://chess-results.com/tnr481047.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=5
English Women & Girls Rapidplay - https://tickets.londonchessclassic.com/tournaments.php#womenandgirls
Terafinal results
U8 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151131
U10 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151151
U12 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151152
U14 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151153
U18 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151154
Isle of Man
Wang Hao wins Candidate slot after beating Fabiano Caruana on a tie-break. More here - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/25/chess-wang-hao-shocks-elite-at-isle-of-man and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr478041.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30
AGM 2019
Minutes here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ECF-Council-AGM-October-2019-Minutes-version-1-1.pdf
London Chess Conference 2019
Female and male chess players, organisers and educators are invited to two days of ground-breaking presentations, discussions and workshops on “Chess and Female Empowerment,” which will be the theme of the seventh London Chess and Education Conference, held on November 30-December 1 at the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith. The conference will focus on improving the gender balance in chess, creating a safe and welcoming environment for women, and making chess more accessible to women and girls. It will feature inspirational speakers from the United States, Africa and Europe, including leading female players, coaches and organisers. Female ECF members can register for free entry to the conference by sending an email in advance to - [email protected] with your membership number. The general conference fee is £65 for one day and £95 for both days, while participants in the London Chess Classic Open or Weekender events can take part on both days with a one-day ticket. The event’s sponsors include the ECF, FIDE, Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) and the European Chess Union (ECU). For more details of the conference, headline speakers and the topics covered, please see the London Chess Conference website.
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin's monthly report
County Championship rules and venue
The rules for the County Championships 2020 have been published on the ECF website and can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/counties-championship-2020/. Unfortunately, the venue that we proposed using has been booked for a computer gaming tournament on the date we wish to use it. This does not actually use the area that we use, but would be extremely noisy, which is unacceptable. A search for a different venue has started and the venue will be announced as soon as possible.
Arbiters course
An ECF Arbiters Course was held at Exeter on 5th-6th October. Congratulations to the following people who passed the course and are now Level 1 Arbiters - Josh Blackmore, Graham Bolt, Tim Paulden, Sean Pope, Matthew Rolls and Sandesh Tathare.
Grand Prix – Open
After the completion of the 2018-2019 Grand Prix, a complaint was made concerning the score made by GM Keith Arkell which had been reduced between the penultimate list and the final list. This was due to the correction of a previous mistake. However, we accept that the delay between the two lists gave Keith no knowledge of the correction, and no chance to recover from it. It has been decided that the ‘fairest and most equitable’ solution is to declare the competition as a tie between Keith and Yichen Han. This decision has been accepted by all parties concerned. Congratulations to both!
IPCA (International Physically Disabled Chess Association)
1st open Individual Chess championship IPCA for the disabled, rapid and blitz 2019 Torrevieja takes place in Spain on 21-25th November 201 More here - http://ipca.online/
Weekend FIDE Chess Congress, Leyland, Lancashire
David Clayton writes --- A two-day, five-round, FIDE rated event in Leyland, Lancashire, 14-15 December 2019. Major under 1900 (ECF 160) & Minor under 1500 (ECF 107). Held in the recently converted conference centre at South Ribble Borough Council, the venue offers excellent playing conditions with plenty of space. The congress will utilise the IT facilities available to display pairing and results on monitors and have live games which will be broadcast on the website. Free WiFi and parking is available. For further information and to pay on-line, by credit/debit card or PayPal, please visit the website at http://congress.popmalc.org.uk/congress/49/home
BBCA FIDE Rapidplay ...
... takes place on Sunday 10.11.19 at London Enterprise Academy, 81-91 Commercial Rd, Whitechapel, London E1 1RD [details]
4NCL FIDE-rated Congress in Harrogate 17-19 January 2020
This is a five-round congress with three categories and £3000 of prize money. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_24.htm
Photo of the Month
Three-handed chess? Mike Pollard of St Andrews Chess Club, Hornsea, snaps the new seafront chess table ...
ECF Women's Recruitment Officer
Tim Wall has been appointed to this post. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/appointment-of-an-ecf-womens-recruitment-officer/
Problem corner
Wind up the brain cells, another teasing problem from Christopher Jones - click here
Hampshire Congress report here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/hampshire-congress-report-from-john-wheeler/
Leeds Junior Chess Congress on November 30. More here - https://www.yorkshirejuniorchess.org/
Players wanted in Cambridge
Development Officer Carl Portman on a shortage of players for Cambs County Tournament - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/players-wanted/
So Random
Wesley So defeated Magnus Carlsen to win the First Fischer Random Championship in Oslo. More here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/fischer-random-wc-2019-final-day-3
Bury St Edmunds Congress
Another successful congress attracted 170 players. Results here - https://www.bsecongress.org.uk/results-2019 and media report here - https://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/sport/the-37th-chess-congress-welcomes-record-numbers-to-the-apex-event-9087906/
CHESS magazine teaser - November edition here
Obituaries
RIP C RICHARD MOORE
Born 9 June 1934 Died Monday 21 October 2019.
Stewart Reuben writes --- Richard was appointed an Honorary Life Vice President of the ECF in 2009. He served as a trustee of the federation from 1975-2009. His final grade was 120C. He was active for many years in Cleveland and the longest-serving member of Redcar Chess Club.
He was a defence solicitor, renowned for his objectivity and utmost integrity, who wanted to think well of everybody. Further information can be found on http://www.clevelandchessassociation.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Richard-Moore.pdf.
Our condolences to his son and daughter. The funeral took place 1 November 2019 at 1pm at St Bedes Chapel, Middlesborough Crematorium. It was well-attended, with several local chess players present (our thanks to Gerry Walsh who represented the ECF at Richard's funeral). Also see Ernie Lazenby's eulogy here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10459&sid=e14e26d2d7af7b6314676a6535e99e3c
Mike Kaye - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10430&sid=e14e26d2d7af7b6314676a6535e99e3c
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the November ECF Newsletter. In this edition we feature an excellent performance from the men's national team's who won the Bronze Medal in the European Team Championships in Batumi, their first medal in this tournament for 22 years. Our women's team also had some fine individual performances. We also have a piece from Ursula Wielgosz, a chess parent with views on the proposal to make a couple of sections at next year’s British Chess Championships adult only events. I have written a piece on the unscientific way to attract new ECF members.
As you all know, I want a wide range of views to be represented in the newsletter so please send anything chess-related to [email protected]
Later this month the London Chess Classic returns to Olympia for the 11th time. World Champion Magnus Carlsen joins the elite GMs fighting it out for the Grand Chess Tour prizes and there is another British Knockout tournament and a huge festival for players of all levels, along with a Chess and Female Empowerment conference and activities for schools through Chess in Schools & Communities. Much more here - http://www.londonchessclassic.com/ and here - https://londonchessconference.com/
--- Mark Rivlin
Gentlemen prefer bronze
Tim Wall on another superb effort by our international men's team here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/bronze-in-batumi/
Takes on a plane
Mark Rivlin attracts chess enthusiasts with a pocket set - click here
Hull 4NCL
Report | pictures
Junior exclusion zone?
Ursula Wielgosz on the British Championships - click here
Tweet of the Month - TATA source?
Shreyas Royal on his new sponsorship deal from the Indian steel magnate - https://twitter.com/shrez_royal09/status/1190701822870278144
Junior roundup - from Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak
World Youth results - http://chess-results.com/tnr470711.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&flag=30
World Junior results - http://chess-results.com/tnr479945.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&flag=30
English Girls Championship results (won by Imogen Dicen from Coventry Chess Academy) - http://chess-results.com/tnr481047.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=5
English Women & Girls Rapidplay - https://tickets.londonchessclassic.com/tournaments.php#womenandgirls
Terafinal results
U8 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151131
U10 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151151
U12 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151152
U14 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151153
U18 - http://bracketcloud.com/tournament/151154
Isle of Man
Wang Hao wins Candidate slot after beating Fabiano Caruana on a tie-break. More here - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/25/chess-wang-hao-shocks-elite-at-isle-of-man and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr478041.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30
AGM 2019
Minutes here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ECF-Council-AGM-October-2019-Minutes-version-1-1.pdf
London Chess Conference 2019
Female and male chess players, organisers and educators are invited to two days of ground-breaking presentations, discussions and workshops on “Chess and Female Empowerment,” which will be the theme of the seventh London Chess and Education Conference, held on November 30-December 1 at the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith. The conference will focus on improving the gender balance in chess, creating a safe and welcoming environment for women, and making chess more accessible to women and girls. It will feature inspirational speakers from the United States, Africa and Europe, including leading female players, coaches and organisers. Female ECF members can register for free entry to the conference by sending an email in advance to - [email protected] with your membership number. The general conference fee is £65 for one day and £95 for both days, while participants in the London Chess Classic Open or Weekender events can take part on both days with a one-day ticket. The event’s sponsors include the ECF, FIDE, Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) and the European Chess Union (ECU). For more details of the conference, headline speakers and the topics covered, please see the London Chess Conference website.
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin's monthly report
County Championship rules and venue
The rules for the County Championships 2020 have been published on the ECF website and can be found at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/counties-championship-2020/. Unfortunately, the venue that we proposed using has been booked for a computer gaming tournament on the date we wish to use it. This does not actually use the area that we use, but would be extremely noisy, which is unacceptable. A search for a different venue has started and the venue will be announced as soon as possible.
Arbiters course
An ECF Arbiters Course was held at Exeter on 5th-6th October. Congratulations to the following people who passed the course and are now Level 1 Arbiters - Josh Blackmore, Graham Bolt, Tim Paulden, Sean Pope, Matthew Rolls and Sandesh Tathare.
Grand Prix – Open
After the completion of the 2018-2019 Grand Prix, a complaint was made concerning the score made by GM Keith Arkell which had been reduced between the penultimate list and the final list. This was due to the correction of a previous mistake. However, we accept that the delay between the two lists gave Keith no knowledge of the correction, and no chance to recover from it. It has been decided that the ‘fairest and most equitable’ solution is to declare the competition as a tie between Keith and Yichen Han. This decision has been accepted by all parties concerned. Congratulations to both!
IPCA (International Physically Disabled Chess Association)
1st open Individual Chess championship IPCA for the disabled, rapid and blitz 2019 Torrevieja takes place in Spain on 21-25th November 201 More here - http://ipca.online/
Weekend FIDE Chess Congress, Leyland, Lancashire
David Clayton writes --- A two-day, five-round, FIDE rated event in Leyland, Lancashire, 14-15 December 2019. Major under 1900 (ECF 160) & Minor under 1500 (ECF 107). Held in the recently converted conference centre at South Ribble Borough Council, the venue offers excellent playing conditions with plenty of space. The congress will utilise the IT facilities available to display pairing and results on monitors and have live games which will be broadcast on the website. Free WiFi and parking is available. For further information and to pay on-line, by credit/debit card or PayPal, please visit the website at http://congress.popmalc.org.uk/congress/49/home
BBCA FIDE Rapidplay ...
... takes place on Sunday 10.11.19 at London Enterprise Academy, 81-91 Commercial Rd, Whitechapel, London E1 1RD [details]
4NCL FIDE-rated Congress in Harrogate 17-19 January 2020
This is a five-round congress with three categories and £3000 of prize money. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_24.htm
Photo of the Month
Three-handed chess? Mike Pollard of St Andrews Chess Club, Hornsea, snaps the new seafront chess table ...
ECF Women's Recruitment Officer
Tim Wall has been appointed to this post. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/appointment-of-an-ecf-womens-recruitment-officer/
Problem corner
Wind up the brain cells, another teasing problem from Christopher Jones - click here
Hampshire Congress report here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/hampshire-congress-report-from-john-wheeler/
Leeds Junior Chess Congress on November 30. More here - https://www.yorkshirejuniorchess.org/
Players wanted in Cambridge
Development Officer Carl Portman on a shortage of players for Cambs County Tournament - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/players-wanted/
So Random
Wesley So defeated Magnus Carlsen to win the First Fischer Random Championship in Oslo. More here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/fischer-random-wc-2019-final-day-3
Bury St Edmunds Congress
Another successful congress attracted 170 players. Results here - https://www.bsecongress.org.uk/results-2019 and media report here - https://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/sport/the-37th-chess-congress-welcomes-record-numbers-to-the-apex-event-9087906/
CHESS magazine teaser - November edition here
Obituaries
RIP C RICHARD MOORE
Born 9 June 1934 Died Monday 21 October 2019.
Stewart Reuben writes --- Richard was appointed an Honorary Life Vice President of the ECF in 2009. He served as a trustee of the federation from 1975-2009. His final grade was 120C. He was active for many years in Cleveland and the longest-serving member of Redcar Chess Club.
He was a defence solicitor, renowned for his objectivity and utmost integrity, who wanted to think well of everybody. Further information can be found on http://www.clevelandchessassociation.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Richard-Moore.pdf.
Our condolences to his son and daughter. The funeral took place 1 November 2019 at 1pm at St Bedes Chapel, Middlesborough Crematorium. It was well-attended, with several local chess players present (our thanks to Gerry Walsh who represented the ECF at Richard's funeral). Also see Ernie Lazenby's eulogy here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10459&sid=e14e26d2d7af7b6314676a6535e99e3c
Mike Kaye - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10430&sid=e14e26d2d7af7b6314676a6535e99e3c
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2019
***Dear Member
Welcome to the October edition of the ECF eNewsletter. In this edition we feature an interview with the new ECF social media manager Danny Rosenbaum along with a delightful op-ed from Tim Wall on running the Northumbria Masters. If there was an award for best chess players' writer, Tim would win it inside 10 moves. We also preview the 11th London Chess Classic.
The UK Open Blitz qualifiers were a big success and we now look forward to the finals in Solihull on November 16 with 32 qualifiers battling for the title. I took part in the London event with a less than impressive 6/15. Talking to players between rounds I heard an interesting point which I think is worth airing here. There is a cohort (we don't know how large or small) of online blitz players who have never encountered across-the-board-chess against a human opponent, some of whom are playing to a reasonable-plus standard. Should we entice these self-taught keyboard warriors to enjoy the delights of club and tournament chess, or should we not bother (imagine Liverpool and Manchester City not poaching the top FIFA20 gaming stars!)
On this and any other chess-related topic, I would be pleased to welcome submissions from members so please send your article, tournament, congress or news to [email protected] and I will endeavor to publish it.
Finally a big 'break a leg' to the newly formed Pro University Chess League which kicks off this month. More here - https://www.prounichessleague.co.uk/
Have a great season!
--- Mark Rivlin
AGM
The ECF 2019 AGM takes place on Saturday 12.10.19 at 1.30 pm at the Thistle City Barbican, Central Street, Clerkenwell London EC1V 8DS. Papers are available here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/ecf-council-and-board/
If you are not a delegate and would like to attend please contact Mike Gunn at [email protected]
Social Service
Mark Rivlin interviews the ECF's Social Media Officer Danny Rosenbaum - click here
Geordie Roar
Tim Wall takes us on a nostalgic journey of running the Northumbria Masters - click here
UK Open Blitz Championship qualifiers
A very good turnout for the qualifiers with 450 participants in the 15 venues around the country. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship-2019/
Problem solvers bar Nunn
The English team enjoyed success at the 43rd World Chess Solving Championship with ace problem solver GM John Nunn's excellent report here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/43rd-world-chess-solving-championship-vilnius-2019
Terafinals
A great turnout for the Delancey Terafinals in Daventry with 211 participants in the five categories. Winners - Under 8 Aayush Dewangan; Under 10 Denis Dupuis; Under 12 Yichen Han; Under 14 Ranesh Ratnasan; Under 18 Koby Kalavannan. Full results and roundup here - https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/terafinal-2019-results-report/
A Rook at Bedtime
Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan's Game Changer is the unanimous choice of judges Ray Edwards, Julian Farrand and Sean Marsh for ECF Book of the Year Award. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-book-of-the-year-2019/ and a special offer from Chess & Bridge to get the book from only £16.20 by using your ECF member discount here - https://shop.chess.co.uk/Game-Changer-Matthew-Sadler-Natasha-Regan-p/cb07223.htm
FIDE World Cup
The World Cup knockout in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia was won by Azerbaijan GM Teimour Radjabov who beat the Chinese GM Ding Liren in the tie breaks. The English contingent was made up of Mickey Adams, Gawain Jones and Luke McShane. Adams lost in the first round to Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram while Jones beat Argentinian GM Diego Flores in Round 1 before losing to Russian Gm Dmitry Jakovenko in Round 2. McShane beat Paraguayan GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez in Round 1 but went out in Round 2 to Russian GM Daniil Yuffa. More here on Adams' exit from Leonard Barden - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/13/chess-michael-adams-knocked-out-first-round-world-cup and a roundup here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-cup-2019-r7-d5
Classic Rocks again
Tim Wall sets the scene for the 11th London Chess Classic. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is … undoubtedly when the UK’s greatest chess festival as the 11th London Chess Classic rolls into the London Olympia Conference Centre from November 29 to December 8. And we’re pleased to share the news that entries for all the various Festival Events are now live at londonchessclassic.com with special Early Bird discounts available if you enter by October 28.
Whether your yen is for Classical, Rapidplay or Blitz, the LCC has the event to suit all tastes. The £14,000 FIDE Open (Nov 29-Dec 6), the Weekend Rapidplays and the English Open Women and Girls Rapidplay Championship (Saturday Dec 7) and the £8,000 Super Blitz Open (Sunday Dec 8) are among the main attractions, while the organisers Chess in Schools and Communities are putting on their renowned Olympia chess excursions and training events for groups of schoolchildren from around the country. Chess and Female Empowerment is the theme of the accompanying London Chess and Education Conference from Nov 30 to Dec 1 at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith which the organisers anticipate will be of great interest to women chess players, organisers and educators. Sessions will include debates and workshops on how to make chess a more engaging, social and collaborative activity in primary and secondary schools, and will look at ways chess can improve the engagement of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Seniors keep grades northwards
Stewart Reuben reports from the European Seniors Team Chess Championships in Croatia ... Three English teams took part in the European Senior Team Chess Championships in Croatia in September. This was a much better turnout than in Serbia last year, where we fielded just one team. In both 65-plus and 50-plus competitions we were outgunned. There is little interest from our leading eligible players and thus less financial support. The whole event attracts fewer teams than the equivalent World Senior TCC. There just isn't that much interest in two such events in one year.
In the 65-plus Russia won all nine of their matches. The highlight of our individual match was that John Quinn beat the legendary Yuri Balashov. This helped propel him to the Silver medal on Board 1, scoring 5/7 and gaining 53 rating points.
Paul Hutchinson did well, recovering from his very long layoff. I also gained a few rating points (8). But even that is welcome for an 80 year old. It was only at the prizegiving that I learnt I was the oldest player in the competition. Brian Ewart got the silver medal on the reserve board.
We were ranked 7th/18 before the start and improved our ranking to 6th.
In the 50-plus Russia managed to edge out Croatia on a tiebreak. The both scored 17/18 match points. England 1 were originally seeded 5th, but finished a slightly disappointing 6th. Andrew Ledger started off badly, but made a strong comeback to score 4.5/7, gaining a few rating points. Steve Ledger scored 3.5/6 on reserve board and thus achieved the Bronze medal. England 2 were the lowest ranked team out of 13.
Even so, there were some successes. Sheila Jackson scored 3.5/8 on board 1, gaining 18 rating points. Majid Mashayekh had just 0.5/7, but won his last round game to actually gain 2 rating points. Peter R Wood and Julie Denning didn't fare so well, but they put up stubborn resistance.
Why the emphasis on ratings? Without that it is very difficult in a tournament and, even more so in team events to gauge how one has done.
In some ways the most important news is that no less than four players dropped out of the event due to ill-health. All seem to have made reasonable recoveries.
Final results here - https://www.fide.com/news/124
Carl Portman - new ECF Development Officer
ECF Non-Executive Director Stephen Woodhouse writes: The ECF now has a Development Officer. He is Carl Portman, who many of you will know from his sterling work managing the ECF Chess in Prisons programme. This is a key role for the development of chess in England, focusing on -
Driving forward the ECF’s plans for increasing its membership base by 500 or more per year.
Broadening the grass roots appeal of chess through encouraging social chess and chess in the community.
Retaining the impressive population of English juniors so that they continue playing and stay engaged with the ECF into adulthood.
Encouraging more women to participate at all levels.
Says Carl, 'This is an exciting time to be working with the ECF. I am looking forward to working the Directors and the wider chess community to develop chess at all levels and all areas of England, building on my experience with Chess in Prisons.'
Says ECF CEO Mike Truran, 'The appointment of the Development Officer is an important step in helping us achieving our vision of a substantially increased and diverse chess community. Carl’s work with Chess in Prisons shows the capacity for the study and playing of chess to achieve substantial social and education benefits beyond simple competitive success. I look forward to working with Carl in his new role.'
The appointment is supported by funding from the Chess Trust, the charitable body set up to support and develop English chess, working in combination with the ECF.
ECF Secondary Schools Rapidplay
Well done to RGS Guildford A (25/30) who won this year's tournament ahead of Hampton School A (24.5) and Gonzaga College, Dublin A (23.5) The Plate was won St Paul’s Girls School John Place's full report is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-secondary-schools-rapidplay-2019/
World Youth Rapid and Blitz
Yukteshwar Kumar writes --- The World Youth Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships was held at the coastal town of Salobrena near Malaga, Spain from September 10 to 14. There solo entry from England, Yuvraj Kumar, participated in the U14 group. Some of the bigger chess playing nations like India, China and USA had no entrants. Yuvraj won more than 50 per cent of his matches and was among the top 32 players in the rapid tournament. In Blitz, he started well and won some matches against stronger players. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-youth-rapid-blitz-in-salobrena-spain/
British Championship 2020
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- The preliminary schedule for next year’s British Championship can be found at https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Schedule-2020-1.pdf. Other competitions may be added and the schedule will be finalised by January 2020.
Chair of Awards Committee
Following Paul Bielby's retirement from heading the ECF Awards Committee, the Federation is looking to appoint a successor. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Controller for ECF Grand Prix
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- Applications are invited for the post of Controller of the ECF Grand Prix. Responsibilities include ensuring that tournaments submitted for inclusion are acceptable and that the leader board for the Grand Prix is kept up to date and published regularly. This is a voluntary position. Applications should be made to the Director of Home Chess at [email protected] or to the ECF office. If it is not possible to find a volunteer to fill this post, it may be necessary to discontinue the Grand Prix.
Forthcoming events
ECF Girls Chess Championships at Blenheim Palace - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-girls-chess-championships-2019/
ECF National Schools Girls Semi-Finals - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u19-girls-3/ and https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u11-girls-3/
4NCL Women’s League at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth-Warwick – both team and individual entrants welcome. Click here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_womens_league.htm
Hull 4NCL International Congress – including a nine-round GM norm APA event - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_hull_2019.htm and http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_gmnorm_event_hull_2019.htm
October Festival
The fifth 24-hour Global Chess Festival starts on 12.10.19 More here - https://www.facebook.com/GlobalChessFestival/
Problem Corner
Christopher James unrolls some ‘rescued’ problems which will test you way beyond the coffee break time in reading this newsletter here
CHESS magazine - teaser here
Tweet of the Month
GM David Howell's chance encounters with GMs while walking the streets of London ...
Obituaries
Malcolm James McHugh - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&p=235039&sid=8757b731776613e9c915428956656dcc#p235039
Dale Brandreth - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10407
Tony Bill - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10412
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
********************************
Welcome to the October edition of the ECF eNewsletter. In this edition we feature an interview with the new ECF social media manager Danny Rosenbaum along with a delightful op-ed from Tim Wall on running the Northumbria Masters. If there was an award for best chess players' writer, Tim would win it inside 10 moves. We also preview the 11th London Chess Classic.
The UK Open Blitz qualifiers were a big success and we now look forward to the finals in Solihull on November 16 with 32 qualifiers battling for the title. I took part in the London event with a less than impressive 6/15. Talking to players between rounds I heard an interesting point which I think is worth airing here. There is a cohort (we don't know how large or small) of online blitz players who have never encountered across-the-board-chess against a human opponent, some of whom are playing to a reasonable-plus standard. Should we entice these self-taught keyboard warriors to enjoy the delights of club and tournament chess, or should we not bother (imagine Liverpool and Manchester City not poaching the top FIFA20 gaming stars!)
On this and any other chess-related topic, I would be pleased to welcome submissions from members so please send your article, tournament, congress or news to [email protected] and I will endeavor to publish it.
Finally a big 'break a leg' to the newly formed Pro University Chess League which kicks off this month. More here - https://www.prounichessleague.co.uk/
Have a great season!
--- Mark Rivlin
AGM
The ECF 2019 AGM takes place on Saturday 12.10.19 at 1.30 pm at the Thistle City Barbican, Central Street, Clerkenwell London EC1V 8DS. Papers are available here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/ecf-council-and-board/
If you are not a delegate and would like to attend please contact Mike Gunn at [email protected]
Social Service
Mark Rivlin interviews the ECF's Social Media Officer Danny Rosenbaum - click here
Geordie Roar
Tim Wall takes us on a nostalgic journey of running the Northumbria Masters - click here
UK Open Blitz Championship qualifiers
A very good turnout for the qualifiers with 450 participants in the 15 venues around the country. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship-2019/
Problem solvers bar Nunn
The English team enjoyed success at the 43rd World Chess Solving Championship with ace problem solver GM John Nunn's excellent report here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/43rd-world-chess-solving-championship-vilnius-2019
Terafinals
A great turnout for the Delancey Terafinals in Daventry with 211 participants in the five categories. Winners - Under 8 Aayush Dewangan; Under 10 Denis Dupuis; Under 12 Yichen Han; Under 14 Ranesh Ratnasan; Under 18 Koby Kalavannan. Full results and roundup here - https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/terafinal-2019-results-report/
A Rook at Bedtime
Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan's Game Changer is the unanimous choice of judges Ray Edwards, Julian Farrand and Sean Marsh for ECF Book of the Year Award. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-book-of-the-year-2019/ and a special offer from Chess & Bridge to get the book from only £16.20 by using your ECF member discount here - https://shop.chess.co.uk/Game-Changer-Matthew-Sadler-Natasha-Regan-p/cb07223.htm
FIDE World Cup
The World Cup knockout in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia was won by Azerbaijan GM Teimour Radjabov who beat the Chinese GM Ding Liren in the tie breaks. The English contingent was made up of Mickey Adams, Gawain Jones and Luke McShane. Adams lost in the first round to Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram while Jones beat Argentinian GM Diego Flores in Round 1 before losing to Russian Gm Dmitry Jakovenko in Round 2. McShane beat Paraguayan GM Neuris Delgado Ramirez in Round 1 but went out in Round 2 to Russian GM Daniil Yuffa. More here on Adams' exit from Leonard Barden - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/sep/13/chess-michael-adams-knocked-out-first-round-world-cup and a roundup here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-cup-2019-r7-d5
Classic Rocks again
Tim Wall sets the scene for the 11th London Chess Classic. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is … undoubtedly when the UK’s greatest chess festival as the 11th London Chess Classic rolls into the London Olympia Conference Centre from November 29 to December 8. And we’re pleased to share the news that entries for all the various Festival Events are now live at londonchessclassic.com with special Early Bird discounts available if you enter by October 28.
Whether your yen is for Classical, Rapidplay or Blitz, the LCC has the event to suit all tastes. The £14,000 FIDE Open (Nov 29-Dec 6), the Weekend Rapidplays and the English Open Women and Girls Rapidplay Championship (Saturday Dec 7) and the £8,000 Super Blitz Open (Sunday Dec 8) are among the main attractions, while the organisers Chess in Schools and Communities are putting on their renowned Olympia chess excursions and training events for groups of schoolchildren from around the country. Chess and Female Empowerment is the theme of the accompanying London Chess and Education Conference from Nov 30 to Dec 1 at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith which the organisers anticipate will be of great interest to women chess players, organisers and educators. Sessions will include debates and workshops on how to make chess a more engaging, social and collaborative activity in primary and secondary schools, and will look at ways chess can improve the engagement of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Seniors keep grades northwards
Stewart Reuben reports from the European Seniors Team Chess Championships in Croatia ... Three English teams took part in the European Senior Team Chess Championships in Croatia in September. This was a much better turnout than in Serbia last year, where we fielded just one team. In both 65-plus and 50-plus competitions we were outgunned. There is little interest from our leading eligible players and thus less financial support. The whole event attracts fewer teams than the equivalent World Senior TCC. There just isn't that much interest in two such events in one year.
In the 65-plus Russia won all nine of their matches. The highlight of our individual match was that John Quinn beat the legendary Yuri Balashov. This helped propel him to the Silver medal on Board 1, scoring 5/7 and gaining 53 rating points.
Paul Hutchinson did well, recovering from his very long layoff. I also gained a few rating points (8). But even that is welcome for an 80 year old. It was only at the prizegiving that I learnt I was the oldest player in the competition. Brian Ewart got the silver medal on the reserve board.
We were ranked 7th/18 before the start and improved our ranking to 6th.
In the 50-plus Russia managed to edge out Croatia on a tiebreak. The both scored 17/18 match points. England 1 were originally seeded 5th, but finished a slightly disappointing 6th. Andrew Ledger started off badly, but made a strong comeback to score 4.5/7, gaining a few rating points. Steve Ledger scored 3.5/6 on reserve board and thus achieved the Bronze medal. England 2 were the lowest ranked team out of 13.
Even so, there were some successes. Sheila Jackson scored 3.5/8 on board 1, gaining 18 rating points. Majid Mashayekh had just 0.5/7, but won his last round game to actually gain 2 rating points. Peter R Wood and Julie Denning didn't fare so well, but they put up stubborn resistance.
Why the emphasis on ratings? Without that it is very difficult in a tournament and, even more so in team events to gauge how one has done.
In some ways the most important news is that no less than four players dropped out of the event due to ill-health. All seem to have made reasonable recoveries.
Final results here - https://www.fide.com/news/124
Carl Portman - new ECF Development Officer
ECF Non-Executive Director Stephen Woodhouse writes: The ECF now has a Development Officer. He is Carl Portman, who many of you will know from his sterling work managing the ECF Chess in Prisons programme. This is a key role for the development of chess in England, focusing on -
Driving forward the ECF’s plans for increasing its membership base by 500 or more per year.
Broadening the grass roots appeal of chess through encouraging social chess and chess in the community.
Retaining the impressive population of English juniors so that they continue playing and stay engaged with the ECF into adulthood.
Encouraging more women to participate at all levels.
Says Carl, 'This is an exciting time to be working with the ECF. I am looking forward to working the Directors and the wider chess community to develop chess at all levels and all areas of England, building on my experience with Chess in Prisons.'
Says ECF CEO Mike Truran, 'The appointment of the Development Officer is an important step in helping us achieving our vision of a substantially increased and diverse chess community. Carl’s work with Chess in Prisons shows the capacity for the study and playing of chess to achieve substantial social and education benefits beyond simple competitive success. I look forward to working with Carl in his new role.'
The appointment is supported by funding from the Chess Trust, the charitable body set up to support and develop English chess, working in combination with the ECF.
ECF Secondary Schools Rapidplay
Well done to RGS Guildford A (25/30) who won this year's tournament ahead of Hampton School A (24.5) and Gonzaga College, Dublin A (23.5) The Plate was won St Paul’s Girls School John Place's full report is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-secondary-schools-rapidplay-2019/
World Youth Rapid and Blitz
Yukteshwar Kumar writes --- The World Youth Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships was held at the coastal town of Salobrena near Malaga, Spain from September 10 to 14. There solo entry from England, Yuvraj Kumar, participated in the U14 group. Some of the bigger chess playing nations like India, China and USA had no entrants. Yuvraj won more than 50 per cent of his matches and was among the top 32 players in the rapid tournament. In Blitz, he started well and won some matches against stronger players. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-youth-rapid-blitz-in-salobrena-spain/
British Championship 2020
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- The preliminary schedule for next year’s British Championship can be found at https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Schedule-2020-1.pdf. Other competitions may be added and the schedule will be finalised by January 2020.
Chair of Awards Committee
Following Paul Bielby's retirement from heading the ECF Awards Committee, the Federation is looking to appoint a successor. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Controller for ECF Grand Prix
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes --- Applications are invited for the post of Controller of the ECF Grand Prix. Responsibilities include ensuring that tournaments submitted for inclusion are acceptable and that the leader board for the Grand Prix is kept up to date and published regularly. This is a voluntary position. Applications should be made to the Director of Home Chess at [email protected] or to the ECF office. If it is not possible to find a volunteer to fill this post, it may be necessary to discontinue the Grand Prix.
Forthcoming events
ECF Girls Chess Championships at Blenheim Palace - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-girls-chess-championships-2019/
ECF National Schools Girls Semi-Finals - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u19-girls-3/ and https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u11-girls-3/
4NCL Women’s League at the Holiday Inn Kenilworth-Warwick – both team and individual entrants welcome. Click here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_womens_league.htm
Hull 4NCL International Congress – including a nine-round GM norm APA event - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_hull_2019.htm and http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_gmnorm_event_hull_2019.htm
October Festival
The fifth 24-hour Global Chess Festival starts on 12.10.19 More here - https://www.facebook.com/GlobalChessFestival/
Problem Corner
Christopher James unrolls some ‘rescued’ problems which will test you way beyond the coffee break time in reading this newsletter here
CHESS magazine - teaser here
Tweet of the Month
GM David Howell's chance encounters with GMs while walking the streets of London ...
Obituaries
Malcolm James McHugh - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&p=235039&sid=8757b731776613e9c915428956656dcc#p235039
Dale Brandreth - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10407
Tony Bill - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10412
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
********************************
ECF E NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2019
Welcome to the September edition of the ECF e-newsletter. As we move from summer to the start of the new chess season we are headlining with an excellent review of the e-book market from IM Gary Lane, which we hope will benefit members of all levels
This is also the time of year to renew your membership and this year is a more streamlined method. You will receive an email reminder to renew including a username code with a link to the membership portal here - https://ecf.azolve.com - and the payment method is user-friendly and efficient. And of course once you renew or active your membership you can benefit from some exciting offers from Chess & Bridge and Chess Direct which are outlined below.
The ECF is looking for motions and nominations for the 2019 elections ahead of the AGM in October (link below) and we pay tribute to the doyen of British Chess Leonard Barden who celebrated his 90th birthday on 20 August.
There is an important issue that I would like to highlight. I have heard anecdotally that one club got a communication from one of the major image banks claiming that one of their rights-managed images had been used on the club’s website without permission and they were forced to pay the cost of the image. Having run a niche image bank for a few years I know a bit about this. However tempting it may be to go to an image bank or Google images and ‘borrow’ an image to highlight an article, you do need to check whether you have permission and if you don’t have it, then I recommend you don’t use it. The big libraries like Getty, Shutterstock and Alamy have invested huge sums of money in software to protect their IP so if you put an image on a website without a license, it could be tracked.
There are free image websites around these days like this one - https://unsplash.com/search/photos/chess - which has over 3,200 free to use images on chess alone! As well as this, the ECF are collecting a bank of images that we have rights to use and we will look at how we can share some of these. If you use one of the free libraries like unsplash then you must always give a credit to them (something like, ‘Image - unsplash.com'). I am sure there are members who have images they would be happy to share so if you have please contact me at [email protected]. Finally as prices get lower in this market, you can actually buy images for less than a tenner as with here on Istock - https://www.istockphoto.com/gb/photo/chess-pieces-gm956930910-261290299 – a good move, I'm sure you'll agree.
Have a great season!
--- Mark Rivlin
Page turner or clicker?
Gary Lane reviews e-books. Click here to see how e-books can help your game!
European Team Chess Championships
The England teams for the European Team Championships at Batumi, Georgia will be -
Open - Michael Adams, David Howell, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane, Nick Pert, (Captain) Malcolm Pein
Women - Jovanka Houska, Katarzyna Toma, Sarah Longson, Kanwal Bhatia, Ingrid Lauterbach, (Captain) Lorin D’Costa
The tournament takes place from October 23 (arrival) to November 3 (departure). There are nine rounds and play begins at 13.00 UK time on October 24. Board order will be announced shortly before the tournament begins.
For the FIDE World Cup
Mickey Adams, Gawain Jones and Luke McShane will competing in the FIDE World Cup which takes place in Batumi from September 10 - October 4. First round pairings here - https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2019/FIDE_News/World_cup_2019/World_Cup_2019_Round_1_no_color.pdf
Universities challenged
A great initiative from UCL Chess Club in launching this pro collegiate chess league. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/pro-university-chess-league/ and here https://www.prounichessleague.co.uk/
British Championships 2020
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes - At the beginning of June, the British Championship management team had almost completed negotiations at an excellent new venue, a conference centre in Southport. In July, the team were contacted with the information that the management there had reviewed the proposed contract and would need to change it to a ‘much higher rate’ that would have made the congress financially unviable. With our alternative venue having already fallen through, this left the team in a difficult position. After contacting several possible venues, mostly recent venues who had expressed an interest in hosting the competitions again, we have negotiated a return to Torquay for next year's British Championships (which will run from 17 to 31 July). This is not without precedent – Eastbourne was the venue for 1990 and 1991.
Returning to the same venue for a second consecutive year is not ideal. The British Championship should move around the country. This year has proved exceptional, even for these uncertain times, and a return to Torquay is the best option currently open to us. A further complication for 2020 is the timing of the Olympiad, which starts in Russia on August 1 so the British Championship will need to finish earlier than usual. This has the unfortunate consequence that the tournaments would clash with the last week of the school term in many areas of the country. It has been decided to temporarily to return to a two-week festival with the junior sections following the main British Championships. A schedule for the festival is available here. Further events will be added in the second week.
UK Open Blitz Championships
News from organisers Nigel Towers and Ed Goodwin - The regional events for this year's UK Open Blitz are being held at locations across the UK over the weekends of 7th and 14th September. Further details can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship-2019/ - together with a list of entrants to date. As you will see from the entry list, the competition is proving very popular this year across all of the eight regional events. There is still time for you to join the event of your choice, with a chance of winning one of the regional event prizes, or qualifying for the UK finals which will be held in Solihull in November.
Director of Women’s Chess Chris Fegan reports -
The 2019 English Women's Chess Festival took place in Hull over the weekend of Friday August 30 to Sunday 1 September. The Festival itself included coaching and talks by British Women's Champion Jovanka Houska, a talk by Sean Marsh on the Friday including a reception, a rolling simultaneous display by IM Richard Palliser for local players on the Saturday afternoon, coaching for local girls on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons and a free barbecue reception on the Saturday evening.
All participants in the festival and also the championship were given a free copy of the August 2019 CHESS Magazine courtesy of Chess & Bridge. The Championship itself was the biggest and best to date with 34 players and a record prize fund of £3000 with special and new trophies for the English Women's Senior Champion and also age related trophies.
The whole event was a partnership between the ECF, Hull & District Chess Association and Hull Council and I would also like to express my gratitude for the support for the age related trophies from Women's Enterprise in the Humber and it is fantastic news and possibly a first for English chess to have an ECF Women's event supported by the local Women's business community.
The English Women's Championship itself was a tremendous tournament with several senior women England Internationals and top class young women at all age levels. The tournament itself ended with an incredible last round in which the final game lasted an amazing 154 moves and resulted in a win for WGM Katarzyna Toma which enabled her to share the Championship with Louise Head. A full ranking list of the final standings are available at - http://chess-results.com/tnr467011.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30
The next big event in English female chess is the English Girls Championships to be held at Blenheim Palace,Woodstock,Oxfordshire over the weekend of 19/20 October 2019 and entries can be made here.
I am also very excited about the London Chess Conference 2019 to be held in December in London and which is on the subject of Chess and Female Empowerment and which is being supported by the ECF,FIDE,ECU and CSC and is as far as I known the first ever Conference held in partnership between the ECF and both FIDE and ECU.
I would encourage all ECF Women to put this Conference in their diaries and to try and attend.
Monthly grading update
ECF Chief Executive Mike Truran writes - We have had some very good discussions recently with the Welsh Chess Union, the outcome of which is that the two federations hope to be able to work together on implementing the planned new monthly grading system. The project is being led on the ECF side by Director of Membership Dave Thomas and Manager of Grading Brian Valentine, and we hope to have the specification and outline costings completed in the next few weeks.
Have your say
2019 AGM motions and nominations - Time is short for motions and nominations so please see these links asap. For the motions see here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/motions-for-the-2019-annual-general-meeting/ - and for the nominations we are looking for replacements for Tim Herring (Chair of the Finance Committee) and Mike Gunn (Chair of Council) here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nominations-for-the-2019-elections-at-the-agm/
We are also looking for a Chair of the Awards Committee. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Benefits across the board
Membership benefits from Chess & Bridge and Chess Direct here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership/ - and here - https://www.chess.co.uk/ecf-members/ - and here - https://www.chessdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Discount-Information.html
Well done Alex!
Our Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak heads the new New FIDE Technical Administrative Panel (TAP). More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-fide-technical-administrative-panel/. Get involved and fill in the FIDE Qualification Commission time limits questionnaire - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide-qualification-commission-questionnaire/
ECF Arbiters’ Course in October
More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiters-course-3/
World Cadets Championship
Ravi Sandhu Head of Delegation, England Chess Team reports from Weifang China here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-cadets-championship-u81012/
World Online Prison Chess Championships
Here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HMP-Wandsworth-World-Championships.pdf - and here - https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11767-inmates-from-7-countries-competed-online-in-an-event-auspiced-by-anatoly-karpov.html
Happy Birthday Leonard!
Leonard Barden celebrated his 90th birthday in August and he’s still going strong with his excellent columns for the Guardian and Evening Standard. Here is a lovely piece from nearly three years ago by media writer Roy Greenslade celebrating Leonard winning the longest chess column accolade - https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/oct/26/new-record-for-leonard-barden-grandmaster-of-newspaper-chess-columns
European Youth Championship
Borna Derakhshani reports from Pardubice here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-youth-team-u18-u12-in-pardubice/
Northumbria Masters
Tim Wall reports - The 2019 Northumbria Masters, held 23-27 August at Novotel Newcastle Airport, saw a fine win by Dutch GM Roeland Pruijssers with 7.5/9, followed by English IM Alan Merry and German GM Alexander Donchenko on 7/9. Among the English contingent, IM David Eggleston and junior Max French were in equal fifth on 6 points.In the field of 54 players, there were a total of 6 GMs and 6 IMs.The event was more than twice the size of the 2018 Northumbria Masters, with a total of 120 players in 4 sections (Masters, Challengers, Major and Junior Rapidplay), including a total of 22 England juniors playing in the nine-round FIDE-rated sections. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr463482.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9
English Girls’ Chess Championship
This event will take place at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire on the weekend of 19 and 20.10. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-girls-chess-championships-2019/
4NCL – new teams welcome
Opportunities for teams to join 4NCL Division 3 North or Division 4 South. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/entry_guidelines.htm
New 4NCL Women’s League
The first round of the 4NCL Women's League will take place in Kenilworth-Warwick on the weekend of 12-13 October. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_womens_league.htm
23rd 4NCL Congress in South Normanton. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_23.htm
Well done Chessable!
Our newsletter sponsors Chessable deserve a double !! for this business move - https://www.independent.ie/world-news/world-chess-champion-buys-tech-startup-from-swindonbased-amateur-38461419.html !!
Junior coaching at the Hull 4NCL
A reminder of junior coaching opportunities from Hull & District Chess Association ahead of Hull 4NCL on 30 and 31October and 1 November here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/junior-coaching-at-the-hull-4ncl/ - and here - https://www.hullchess.com/public/files/Events%20-%20ours/2019%20Congress/coaching.pdf
CHESS magazine taster - click here
Obituaries
Andy Price - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10364
Pal Benko - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/sports/pal-benko-dead.html
Shelby Lyman - https://new.uschess.org/news/shelby-lyman-dies-age-82/
GPS "Philip" Coy - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10390
This is also the time of year to renew your membership and this year is a more streamlined method. You will receive an email reminder to renew including a username code with a link to the membership portal here - https://ecf.azolve.com - and the payment method is user-friendly and efficient. And of course once you renew or active your membership you can benefit from some exciting offers from Chess & Bridge and Chess Direct which are outlined below.
The ECF is looking for motions and nominations for the 2019 elections ahead of the AGM in October (link below) and we pay tribute to the doyen of British Chess Leonard Barden who celebrated his 90th birthday on 20 August.
There is an important issue that I would like to highlight. I have heard anecdotally that one club got a communication from one of the major image banks claiming that one of their rights-managed images had been used on the club’s website without permission and they were forced to pay the cost of the image. Having run a niche image bank for a few years I know a bit about this. However tempting it may be to go to an image bank or Google images and ‘borrow’ an image to highlight an article, you do need to check whether you have permission and if you don’t have it, then I recommend you don’t use it. The big libraries like Getty, Shutterstock and Alamy have invested huge sums of money in software to protect their IP so if you put an image on a website without a license, it could be tracked.
There are free image websites around these days like this one - https://unsplash.com/search/photos/chess - which has over 3,200 free to use images on chess alone! As well as this, the ECF are collecting a bank of images that we have rights to use and we will look at how we can share some of these. If you use one of the free libraries like unsplash then you must always give a credit to them (something like, ‘Image - unsplash.com'). I am sure there are members who have images they would be happy to share so if you have please contact me at [email protected]. Finally as prices get lower in this market, you can actually buy images for less than a tenner as with here on Istock - https://www.istockphoto.com/gb/photo/chess-pieces-gm956930910-261290299 – a good move, I'm sure you'll agree.
Have a great season!
--- Mark Rivlin
Page turner or clicker?
Gary Lane reviews e-books. Click here to see how e-books can help your game!
European Team Chess Championships
The England teams for the European Team Championships at Batumi, Georgia will be -
Open - Michael Adams, David Howell, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane, Nick Pert, (Captain) Malcolm Pein
Women - Jovanka Houska, Katarzyna Toma, Sarah Longson, Kanwal Bhatia, Ingrid Lauterbach, (Captain) Lorin D’Costa
The tournament takes place from October 23 (arrival) to November 3 (departure). There are nine rounds and play begins at 13.00 UK time on October 24. Board order will be announced shortly before the tournament begins.
For the FIDE World Cup
Mickey Adams, Gawain Jones and Luke McShane will competing in the FIDE World Cup which takes place in Batumi from September 10 - October 4. First round pairings here - https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2019/FIDE_News/World_cup_2019/World_Cup_2019_Round_1_no_color.pdf
Universities challenged
A great initiative from UCL Chess Club in launching this pro collegiate chess league. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/pro-university-chess-league/ and here https://www.prounichessleague.co.uk/
British Championships 2020
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin writes - At the beginning of June, the British Championship management team had almost completed negotiations at an excellent new venue, a conference centre in Southport. In July, the team were contacted with the information that the management there had reviewed the proposed contract and would need to change it to a ‘much higher rate’ that would have made the congress financially unviable. With our alternative venue having already fallen through, this left the team in a difficult position. After contacting several possible venues, mostly recent venues who had expressed an interest in hosting the competitions again, we have negotiated a return to Torquay for next year's British Championships (which will run from 17 to 31 July). This is not without precedent – Eastbourne was the venue for 1990 and 1991.
Returning to the same venue for a second consecutive year is not ideal. The British Championship should move around the country. This year has proved exceptional, even for these uncertain times, and a return to Torquay is the best option currently open to us. A further complication for 2020 is the timing of the Olympiad, which starts in Russia on August 1 so the British Championship will need to finish earlier than usual. This has the unfortunate consequence that the tournaments would clash with the last week of the school term in many areas of the country. It has been decided to temporarily to return to a two-week festival with the junior sections following the main British Championships. A schedule for the festival is available here. Further events will be added in the second week.
UK Open Blitz Championships
News from organisers Nigel Towers and Ed Goodwin - The regional events for this year's UK Open Blitz are being held at locations across the UK over the weekends of 7th and 14th September. Further details can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship-2019/ - together with a list of entrants to date. As you will see from the entry list, the competition is proving very popular this year across all of the eight regional events. There is still time for you to join the event of your choice, with a chance of winning one of the regional event prizes, or qualifying for the UK finals which will be held in Solihull in November.
Director of Women’s Chess Chris Fegan reports -
The 2019 English Women's Chess Festival took place in Hull over the weekend of Friday August 30 to Sunday 1 September. The Festival itself included coaching and talks by British Women's Champion Jovanka Houska, a talk by Sean Marsh on the Friday including a reception, a rolling simultaneous display by IM Richard Palliser for local players on the Saturday afternoon, coaching for local girls on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons and a free barbecue reception on the Saturday evening.
All participants in the festival and also the championship were given a free copy of the August 2019 CHESS Magazine courtesy of Chess & Bridge. The Championship itself was the biggest and best to date with 34 players and a record prize fund of £3000 with special and new trophies for the English Women's Senior Champion and also age related trophies.
The whole event was a partnership between the ECF, Hull & District Chess Association and Hull Council and I would also like to express my gratitude for the support for the age related trophies from Women's Enterprise in the Humber and it is fantastic news and possibly a first for English chess to have an ECF Women's event supported by the local Women's business community.
The English Women's Championship itself was a tremendous tournament with several senior women England Internationals and top class young women at all age levels. The tournament itself ended with an incredible last round in which the final game lasted an amazing 154 moves and resulted in a win for WGM Katarzyna Toma which enabled her to share the Championship with Louise Head. A full ranking list of the final standings are available at - http://chess-results.com/tnr467011.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30
The next big event in English female chess is the English Girls Championships to be held at Blenheim Palace,Woodstock,Oxfordshire over the weekend of 19/20 October 2019 and entries can be made here.
I am also very excited about the London Chess Conference 2019 to be held in December in London and which is on the subject of Chess and Female Empowerment and which is being supported by the ECF,FIDE,ECU and CSC and is as far as I known the first ever Conference held in partnership between the ECF and both FIDE and ECU.
I would encourage all ECF Women to put this Conference in their diaries and to try and attend.
Monthly grading update
ECF Chief Executive Mike Truran writes - We have had some very good discussions recently with the Welsh Chess Union, the outcome of which is that the two federations hope to be able to work together on implementing the planned new monthly grading system. The project is being led on the ECF side by Director of Membership Dave Thomas and Manager of Grading Brian Valentine, and we hope to have the specification and outline costings completed in the next few weeks.
Have your say
2019 AGM motions and nominations - Time is short for motions and nominations so please see these links asap. For the motions see here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/motions-for-the-2019-annual-general-meeting/ - and for the nominations we are looking for replacements for Tim Herring (Chair of the Finance Committee) and Mike Gunn (Chair of Council) here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nominations-for-the-2019-elections-at-the-agm/
We are also looking for a Chair of the Awards Committee. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/vacancy-chair-of-awards-committee/
Benefits across the board
Membership benefits from Chess & Bridge and Chess Direct here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership/ - and here - https://www.chess.co.uk/ecf-members/ - and here - https://www.chessdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Discount-Information.html
Well done Alex!
Our Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak heads the new New FIDE Technical Administrative Panel (TAP). More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-fide-technical-administrative-panel/. Get involved and fill in the FIDE Qualification Commission time limits questionnaire - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide-qualification-commission-questionnaire/
ECF Arbiters’ Course in October
More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiters-course-3/
World Cadets Championship
Ravi Sandhu Head of Delegation, England Chess Team reports from Weifang China here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-cadets-championship-u81012/
World Online Prison Chess Championships
Here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HMP-Wandsworth-World-Championships.pdf - and here - https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11767-inmates-from-7-countries-competed-online-in-an-event-auspiced-by-anatoly-karpov.html
Happy Birthday Leonard!
Leonard Barden celebrated his 90th birthday in August and he’s still going strong with his excellent columns for the Guardian and Evening Standard. Here is a lovely piece from nearly three years ago by media writer Roy Greenslade celebrating Leonard winning the longest chess column accolade - https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/oct/26/new-record-for-leonard-barden-grandmaster-of-newspaper-chess-columns
European Youth Championship
Borna Derakhshani reports from Pardubice here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-youth-team-u18-u12-in-pardubice/
Northumbria Masters
Tim Wall reports - The 2019 Northumbria Masters, held 23-27 August at Novotel Newcastle Airport, saw a fine win by Dutch GM Roeland Pruijssers with 7.5/9, followed by English IM Alan Merry and German GM Alexander Donchenko on 7/9. Among the English contingent, IM David Eggleston and junior Max French were in equal fifth on 6 points.In the field of 54 players, there were a total of 6 GMs and 6 IMs.The event was more than twice the size of the 2018 Northumbria Masters, with a total of 120 players in 4 sections (Masters, Challengers, Major and Junior Rapidplay), including a total of 22 England juniors playing in the nine-round FIDE-rated sections. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr463482.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9
English Girls’ Chess Championship
This event will take place at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire on the weekend of 19 and 20.10. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-girls-chess-championships-2019/
4NCL – new teams welcome
Opportunities for teams to join 4NCL Division 3 North or Division 4 South. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/entry_guidelines.htm
New 4NCL Women’s League
The first round of the 4NCL Women's League will take place in Kenilworth-Warwick on the weekend of 12-13 October. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_womens_league.htm
23rd 4NCL Congress in South Normanton. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_23.htm
Well done Chessable!
Our newsletter sponsors Chessable deserve a double !! for this business move - https://www.independent.ie/world-news/world-chess-champion-buys-tech-startup-from-swindonbased-amateur-38461419.html !!
Junior coaching at the Hull 4NCL
A reminder of junior coaching opportunities from Hull & District Chess Association ahead of Hull 4NCL on 30 and 31October and 1 November here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/junior-coaching-at-the-hull-4ncl/ - and here - https://www.hullchess.com/public/files/Events%20-%20ours/2019%20Congress/coaching.pdf
CHESS magazine taster - click here
Obituaries
Andy Price - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10364
Pal Benko - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/sports/pal-benko-dead.html
Shelby Lyman - https://new.uschess.org/news/shelby-lyman-dies-age-82/
GPS "Philip" Coy - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10390
ECF E NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2019
Dear Member
I hope you are enjoying the weather, the Ashes and the start of the football season (also chess, if you have time). In this edition we lead on the British Championship with Michael Adams taking his seventh title and Jovanka Houska winning the women's title for the ninth time. Our correspondent FM Tim Wall gives us the inside view both on and off the board in what has been another exciting and successful tournament in Torquay and Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin gives a precis of the event. We also feature a superb history of the county championships by Anthony Fulton with a round-up of the July finals from tournament director Mark Murrell. It is hard to believe that at one time there were 100-a-side matches! Imagine organising such a team without WhatsApp and with 200 people merrily smoking Capstan unfiltered cigarettes.
Other features include news of the forthcoming London Chess Classic, England Women's Festival in Hull and a report on the inaugural World Prison Chess Championships.
--- Mark Rivlin
British Championships
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin's roundup here
Wall-ky Torquay
Tim Wall blogs about the British here
Up the ladder or down the snake?
Check your July grades here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-grades-are-out-4/
Roses are White
Yorkshire took the honours at the County Championships finals; results of each section were
Open - Yorkshire; Minor - Lincolnshire; U180 - Essex; U160 - Middlesex; U140 - Yorkshire; U120 - Essex; U100 - Staffordshire.
More here - www.englishchess.org.uk/100th-counties-championships-finals-day-13th-july/ and for Anthony Fulton's superb piece on 100 years of county chess click here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/100-Years-of-the-Counties-Championship-1.pdf
Glory at Glorney
England won the Gilbert and Robinson sections of the Glorney Gilbert Robinson Cup and came second in the Stokes section and third in the Glorney section - http://chess-results.com/tnr458025.aspx?lan=1 and https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/the-glorney-cup-2019/
The European Youth Chess Championship is taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia. Daily roundups here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-youth-championship-starts-today/ and the European Youth Team Championships results are here - https://chess-results.com/tnr450723.aspx?lan=1&art=20&turdet=YES&flag=30&snr=15
English Girls’ Chess Championships
19th-20th October - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-girls-chess-championships-2019/
Midland Open this weekend
Last chance saloon to enter the Midland Open this weekend in Telford. Details here - http://www.mccu.org.uk/m_congress/
FIDE questionnaire ...
... on time limits for rated games. Alex Holowczak, FIDE Qualification Commission Secretary, is seeking responses to a questionnaire about the length of games required for standard play games to be FIDE rated. Links here - https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11769-qc-questionnaire-on-time-limits-for-rated-games.html and herehttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQV61DavV-2Z85IDQkAMK5itDzWPgy3YmPPxWnRLI6ePNSDQ/viewform
World Prison Chess Championships
James Corrigan reports from HMP Wandsworth. The first ever World Prison Chess Championship took place on the 5th and 6th of August bringing together teams of 4 prisoners from Armenia, Belarus, Russia, USA, England, Brazil and Italy for 15 minute games across the internet on chess.com. Team England comprised the best chess players from HMP Wandsworth, where the chess club is run by Peter Sullivan, Prisons Co-ordinator of Chess in Schools and Communities. Russia won the tournament and Team England finished last place, but that score does not reflect on the quality of the individual games. Playing across continents and language barriers is difficult for organising any event, but in a prison doubly so! The event was a wonderful experience for the prisoners and couldn’t have taken place without the fantastic support of the prison staff at HMP Wandsworth. To quote our Board Two, 'Without a doubt it was the happiest day of life for the past two years inside.'
See below for Board 1 England vs Board 1 Belarus. White in this game lost on time, but judge for yourself who was the better player ---
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 e6 4. Qa4+ Qd7 5. Qxc4 Bd6 6. e4 c67. e5 Bc7 8. Nc3 Ne7 9. Ne4 b5 10. Qc2 Na6 11. a3 Nf5 12. Be3Nxe3 13. fxe3 O-O 14. Bd3 Bd8 15. Nd6 h6 16. Be4 Nb8 17. Nxb5 Ba6 18. Nd6 Be7 19. Nc4 Qc7 20. b4 Bb5 21. O-O Nd722. Rf2 Rac8 23. Rc1 Nb8 24. Nfd2 Bg5 25. Rf3 f6 26. Nd6 fxe527. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Nxb5 Bxe3+ 29. Kh1 Qb6 30. Nd6 Qxd431. N6c4 Rf2 32. Rd1 Bxd2 33. Nxd2 Re2 34. Bf3 Rf2 35. Qc1 Qh4 36. Ne4 Ra2 37. Qc4 Rxa3 38. Qxe6+ Kh7 39. Qf5+ Kg840. Qg4 Qe7 41. Nc5 Re3 42. Qc8+ Qf8 43. Qxf8+ Kxf8 44. Kg1Ke7 45. Kf2 Ra3 46. Re1 Nd7 47. Nxd7 Kxd7 48. Rxe5 Rc3 49. Bg4+ Kd6 50. Re6+ Kd5 51. Re7 g5 52. Rxa7 Kc4 53. Rb7 Rb354. Be6+ Kc3 55. Bxb3 Kxb3 56. Rb6 Kc4 57. Rxc6+ Kxb4 58. Ke3 Kb5 59. Rc3 Kb4 60. Kd4 Kb5 61. Rb3+ Ka4 62. Kc4Ka5
4NCL Women’s League
Terms & Conditions of entry here - https://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_womens_league.htm and entry forms here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/4ncl_womens_league_indiv.htm
Caps off to Caplin
Specialist provider of desktop and mobile etrading technology Caplin will be the primary sponsor of the Hastings International Congress. More here -http://www.hastingschess.com/caplin-systems-sponsors-the-hastings-international-chess-congress/
The 23rd 4NCL Congress will take place in South Normanton 4-6 October - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_23.htm
Speed Kings
Nigel Towers writes about UK Open Blitz. This is an ECF-organised UK Championship event, with regional events across the UK and an all play all final with a significant prize fund. Entries will include very strong players given the number of GMs, IMS, WGMs and WIMs in last year's events. The availability of section prizes for the regionals so players of all strengths have a chance of winning a prize. Two open and two women's qualification places from each event. The Open and Women's finals in Solihull which we will be using live boards for, and (probably) streaming live with one of the internet chess providers. Entries and more details here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championships-2019/and entry here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/uk-open-blitz-2019/
London Chess Classic
The 11th Classic will run this year from November 29th to December 8th at its traditional home of the Olympia Conference Centre. The Super GM tournament will be accompanied by the Festival including a FIDE-rated Open and other graded sections as in previous years. Malcolm Pein and the team at Chess in Schools and Communities are also trying to organise another Super Blitz and Super Rapid. There will also be the daily activities for schools and chess teacher training courses. More to come next month. Please checklondonchessclassic.com for updates or email [email protected]
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's roundup
The 2019 British Championships are now over and many thanks and congratulations to all women and girls who participated. All attention now turns to the English Women's Chess Festival which will be held at the Royal Hotel, Hull over the weekend Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September 2019. The centrepiece of the Festival is the English Womens Chess Championshipn 2019 and entries can be made online at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2019/
The festival which surrounds the Championship will include coaching, talks, simultaneous displays and a Civic Reception on the Saturday night. The festival promises to be the highlight for women's chess in 2019.
Northern Knights
The excellent Northumbria Masters tournament is taking place 23rd-27th August at Novotel Newcastle Airport. The nine-round FIDE rated tournaments include Northumbria Masters (eligible for title norms) Challengers (Under 2050 FIDE, Under 180 ECF) £975 Major (Under 1825, Under 150 ECF): unior Rapidplay (Under 11 & Under 14 sections) – a one-day tournament on Friday 23rd August with numerous prizes and trophies. More here - https://northumbriamasters.com/
On a roll
GM Igor Rausis was caught cheating by a camera concealed in the men's lavatory at the Strasbourg Open. Perhaps he was studying a variation of the Bowel Opening. More here -https://en.chessbase.com/post/58-year-old-gm-igors-rausis-caught-cheating-at-the-strasbourg-open
ECU training courses
The next open ECU courses in the UK are ECU101 Teaching chess in primary school (two day course) at Cambridge Saturday 31st August / 1st September –http://bit.ly/ChessTeacherCourse and London Wednesday 4th/5th December – http://bit.ly/ChessTeacherHammersmith. Teaching mathematics through games on a chessboard (one day course) are being held in Cambridge on Friday 30th August – http://bit.ly/ChessMathsCambridge and London Friday 29th November – http://bit.ly/ChessMathsHammersmith
More on both courses here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecu-training-courses/
Master at the Local
Stephen Greep reports on GM Simon Williams taking on the good folk of Hull. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Hull, Simon Williams entertained local players to a 26 board simultaneous – the sixth Hull Grandmaster Challenges, following Michael Adams, David Howell, Luke McShane, Gawain Jones and Jovanka Houska. The venue was the smart Edwardian suite at the Royal Hull Hotel. After four gruelling hours the scores were GM 24, locals 2 with no draws –wins were recorded by Mate Ther of Harrogate (who beat Gawain Jones when he was aged just nine in an earlier Hull GM simultaneous) and Rod Wardlaw of Scunthorpe who was awarded a prize by Simon for the best game of the day. Mate Ther won the prize of a copy of Fritz, kindly donated by Chess Direct and there were further prizes from Simon and Chess Magazine. Simon's time to dispatch 26 players with an average grade of 137, was just 10 minutes each. The opening move on board one was made by Cllr Craker, portfolio holder for Culture, Leisure and Tourism at Hull City Council. Not only had his committee donated £10,000 towards the British Championships last year but a further £4,500 for other local chess events this year. After 1. D4, Cllr Craker sat down and became board 27. Unfortunately, Simon forgot his brief and dispatched him rapidly. Hull hopes this hasn’t ended the council's sponsorship of local chess ...
Golden age tickets
Team lists for European Senior Team Chess Championship, Croatia 17-27 September here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/revised-team-list-croatia/
Chess magazine taster for August here
Fast coach to Hull
Hull Chess Club's Stephen Greep reports on a chess windfall from the local council ...
We have received £8,000 for junior chess from Hull City Council which must be spent on Hull children. We have split it on three years’ worth of summer schools (as the first one we did was a brilliant success), £1,000 for schools and our Saturday library club, £1,000 for local juniors to attend congresses outside the area and also for dedicated junior coaching.
Hull CC are also hosting the 4NCL International Congress, incorporating the 56th Hull Congress on the weekend of 1st-3rd November. There will also be a junior coaching initiative at the tournament. More here - https://www.hullchess.com/ and here https://www.hullchess.com/public/files/Events%20-%20ours/2019%20Congress/coaching.pdf
Book review
IM Gary Lane on 300 Most Important Chess Positions by Thomas Engqvist, a useful accompaniment for club players - here
Winning inmates
Carl Portman plays chess at HMP Hewell - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/carl-portman-visits-hmp-hewell/
Problem solved
Another testing problem from Christopher Jones with last month's solution here
Obituary
John Henshaw - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10340
The English Chess Federation
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I hope you are enjoying the weather, the Ashes and the start of the football season (also chess, if you have time). In this edition we lead on the British Championship with Michael Adams taking his seventh title and Jovanka Houska winning the women's title for the ninth time. Our correspondent FM Tim Wall gives us the inside view both on and off the board in what has been another exciting and successful tournament in Torquay and Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin gives a precis of the event. We also feature a superb history of the county championships by Anthony Fulton with a round-up of the July finals from tournament director Mark Murrell. It is hard to believe that at one time there were 100-a-side matches! Imagine organising such a team without WhatsApp and with 200 people merrily smoking Capstan unfiltered cigarettes.
Other features include news of the forthcoming London Chess Classic, England Women's Festival in Hull and a report on the inaugural World Prison Chess Championships.
--- Mark Rivlin
British Championships
Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin's roundup here
Wall-ky Torquay
Tim Wall blogs about the British here
Up the ladder or down the snake?
Check your July grades here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-grades-are-out-4/
Roses are White
Yorkshire took the honours at the County Championships finals; results of each section were
Open - Yorkshire; Minor - Lincolnshire; U180 - Essex; U160 - Middlesex; U140 - Yorkshire; U120 - Essex; U100 - Staffordshire.
More here - www.englishchess.org.uk/100th-counties-championships-finals-day-13th-july/ and for Anthony Fulton's superb piece on 100 years of county chess click here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/100-Years-of-the-Counties-Championship-1.pdf
Glory at Glorney
England won the Gilbert and Robinson sections of the Glorney Gilbert Robinson Cup and came second in the Stokes section and third in the Glorney section - http://chess-results.com/tnr458025.aspx?lan=1 and https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/the-glorney-cup-2019/
The European Youth Chess Championship is taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia. Daily roundups here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-youth-championship-starts-today/ and the European Youth Team Championships results are here - https://chess-results.com/tnr450723.aspx?lan=1&art=20&turdet=YES&flag=30&snr=15
English Girls’ Chess Championships
19th-20th October - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-girls-chess-championships-2019/
Midland Open this weekend
Last chance saloon to enter the Midland Open this weekend in Telford. Details here - http://www.mccu.org.uk/m_congress/
FIDE questionnaire ...
... on time limits for rated games. Alex Holowczak, FIDE Qualification Commission Secretary, is seeking responses to a questionnaire about the length of games required for standard play games to be FIDE rated. Links here - https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11769-qc-questionnaire-on-time-limits-for-rated-games.html and herehttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQV61DavV-2Z85IDQkAMK5itDzWPgy3YmPPxWnRLI6ePNSDQ/viewform
World Prison Chess Championships
James Corrigan reports from HMP Wandsworth. The first ever World Prison Chess Championship took place on the 5th and 6th of August bringing together teams of 4 prisoners from Armenia, Belarus, Russia, USA, England, Brazil and Italy for 15 minute games across the internet on chess.com. Team England comprised the best chess players from HMP Wandsworth, where the chess club is run by Peter Sullivan, Prisons Co-ordinator of Chess in Schools and Communities. Russia won the tournament and Team England finished last place, but that score does not reflect on the quality of the individual games. Playing across continents and language barriers is difficult for organising any event, but in a prison doubly so! The event was a wonderful experience for the prisoners and couldn’t have taken place without the fantastic support of the prison staff at HMP Wandsworth. To quote our Board Two, 'Without a doubt it was the happiest day of life for the past two years inside.'
See below for Board 1 England vs Board 1 Belarus. White in this game lost on time, but judge for yourself who was the better player ---
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 e6 4. Qa4+ Qd7 5. Qxc4 Bd6 6. e4 c67. e5 Bc7 8. Nc3 Ne7 9. Ne4 b5 10. Qc2 Na6 11. a3 Nf5 12. Be3Nxe3 13. fxe3 O-O 14. Bd3 Bd8 15. Nd6 h6 16. Be4 Nb8 17. Nxb5 Ba6 18. Nd6 Be7 19. Nc4 Qc7 20. b4 Bb5 21. O-O Nd722. Rf2 Rac8 23. Rc1 Nb8 24. Nfd2 Bg5 25. Rf3 f6 26. Nd6 fxe527. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Nxb5 Bxe3+ 29. Kh1 Qb6 30. Nd6 Qxd431. N6c4 Rf2 32. Rd1 Bxd2 33. Nxd2 Re2 34. Bf3 Rf2 35. Qc1 Qh4 36. Ne4 Ra2 37. Qc4 Rxa3 38. Qxe6+ Kh7 39. Qf5+ Kg840. Qg4 Qe7 41. Nc5 Re3 42. Qc8+ Qf8 43. Qxf8+ Kxf8 44. Kg1Ke7 45. Kf2 Ra3 46. Re1 Nd7 47. Nxd7 Kxd7 48. Rxe5 Rc3 49. Bg4+ Kd6 50. Re6+ Kd5 51. Re7 g5 52. Rxa7 Kc4 53. Rb7 Rb354. Be6+ Kc3 55. Bxb3 Kxb3 56. Rb6 Kc4 57. Rxc6+ Kxb4 58. Ke3 Kb5 59. Rc3 Kb4 60. Kd4 Kb5 61. Rb3+ Ka4 62. Kc4Ka5
4NCL Women’s League
Terms & Conditions of entry here - https://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_womens_league.htm and entry forms here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/4ncl_womens_league_indiv.htm
Caps off to Caplin
Specialist provider of desktop and mobile etrading technology Caplin will be the primary sponsor of the Hastings International Congress. More here -http://www.hastingschess.com/caplin-systems-sponsors-the-hastings-international-chess-congress/
The 23rd 4NCL Congress will take place in South Normanton 4-6 October - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_23.htm
Speed Kings
Nigel Towers writes about UK Open Blitz. This is an ECF-organised UK Championship event, with regional events across the UK and an all play all final with a significant prize fund. Entries will include very strong players given the number of GMs, IMS, WGMs and WIMs in last year's events. The availability of section prizes for the regionals so players of all strengths have a chance of winning a prize. Two open and two women's qualification places from each event. The Open and Women's finals in Solihull which we will be using live boards for, and (probably) streaming live with one of the internet chess providers. Entries and more details here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championships-2019/and entry here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/uk-open-blitz-2019/
London Chess Classic
The 11th Classic will run this year from November 29th to December 8th at its traditional home of the Olympia Conference Centre. The Super GM tournament will be accompanied by the Festival including a FIDE-rated Open and other graded sections as in previous years. Malcolm Pein and the team at Chess in Schools and Communities are also trying to organise another Super Blitz and Super Rapid. There will also be the daily activities for schools and chess teacher training courses. More to come next month. Please checklondonchessclassic.com for updates or email [email protected]
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's roundup
The 2019 British Championships are now over and many thanks and congratulations to all women and girls who participated. All attention now turns to the English Women's Chess Festival which will be held at the Royal Hotel, Hull over the weekend Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September 2019. The centrepiece of the Festival is the English Womens Chess Championshipn 2019 and entries can be made online at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2019/
The festival which surrounds the Championship will include coaching, talks, simultaneous displays and a Civic Reception on the Saturday night. The festival promises to be the highlight for women's chess in 2019.
Northern Knights
The excellent Northumbria Masters tournament is taking place 23rd-27th August at Novotel Newcastle Airport. The nine-round FIDE rated tournaments include Northumbria Masters (eligible for title norms) Challengers (Under 2050 FIDE, Under 180 ECF) £975 Major (Under 1825, Under 150 ECF): unior Rapidplay (Under 11 & Under 14 sections) – a one-day tournament on Friday 23rd August with numerous prizes and trophies. More here - https://northumbriamasters.com/
On a roll
GM Igor Rausis was caught cheating by a camera concealed in the men's lavatory at the Strasbourg Open. Perhaps he was studying a variation of the Bowel Opening. More here -https://en.chessbase.com/post/58-year-old-gm-igors-rausis-caught-cheating-at-the-strasbourg-open
ECU training courses
The next open ECU courses in the UK are ECU101 Teaching chess in primary school (two day course) at Cambridge Saturday 31st August / 1st September –http://bit.ly/ChessTeacherCourse and London Wednesday 4th/5th December – http://bit.ly/ChessTeacherHammersmith. Teaching mathematics through games on a chessboard (one day course) are being held in Cambridge on Friday 30th August – http://bit.ly/ChessMathsCambridge and London Friday 29th November – http://bit.ly/ChessMathsHammersmith
More on both courses here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecu-training-courses/
Master at the Local
Stephen Greep reports on GM Simon Williams taking on the good folk of Hull. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Hull, Simon Williams entertained local players to a 26 board simultaneous – the sixth Hull Grandmaster Challenges, following Michael Adams, David Howell, Luke McShane, Gawain Jones and Jovanka Houska. The venue was the smart Edwardian suite at the Royal Hull Hotel. After four gruelling hours the scores were GM 24, locals 2 with no draws –wins were recorded by Mate Ther of Harrogate (who beat Gawain Jones when he was aged just nine in an earlier Hull GM simultaneous) and Rod Wardlaw of Scunthorpe who was awarded a prize by Simon for the best game of the day. Mate Ther won the prize of a copy of Fritz, kindly donated by Chess Direct and there were further prizes from Simon and Chess Magazine. Simon's time to dispatch 26 players with an average grade of 137, was just 10 minutes each. The opening move on board one was made by Cllr Craker, portfolio holder for Culture, Leisure and Tourism at Hull City Council. Not only had his committee donated £10,000 towards the British Championships last year but a further £4,500 for other local chess events this year. After 1. D4, Cllr Craker sat down and became board 27. Unfortunately, Simon forgot his brief and dispatched him rapidly. Hull hopes this hasn’t ended the council's sponsorship of local chess ...
Golden age tickets
Team lists for European Senior Team Chess Championship, Croatia 17-27 September here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/revised-team-list-croatia/
Chess magazine taster for August here
Fast coach to Hull
Hull Chess Club's Stephen Greep reports on a chess windfall from the local council ...
We have received £8,000 for junior chess from Hull City Council which must be spent on Hull children. We have split it on three years’ worth of summer schools (as the first one we did was a brilliant success), £1,000 for schools and our Saturday library club, £1,000 for local juniors to attend congresses outside the area and also for dedicated junior coaching.
Hull CC are also hosting the 4NCL International Congress, incorporating the 56th Hull Congress on the weekend of 1st-3rd November. There will also be a junior coaching initiative at the tournament. More here - https://www.hullchess.com/ and here https://www.hullchess.com/public/files/Events%20-%20ours/2019%20Congress/coaching.pdf
Book review
IM Gary Lane on 300 Most Important Chess Positions by Thomas Engqvist, a useful accompaniment for club players - here
Winning inmates
Carl Portman plays chess at HMP Hewell - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/carl-portman-visits-hmp-hewell/
Problem solved
Another testing problem from Christopher Jones with last month's solution here
Obituary
John Henshaw - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10340
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
If you wish to unsubscribe from our newsletter, click here
ECF E NEWSLETTER JULY 2019
A message from Chessable, sponsors of the ECF eNewsletter ---
To celebrate Independence Day in America we've launched our biggest sale yet! The Born in the USA Super Sale includes up to 50% off 24 courses written by US authors and we've got great deals on PRO Chessable membership.
Check out all these great courses, including GM Sam Shankland's Small Steps To Giant Improvement and our new Alekhine Defense course by GM Roman Dzindzichashvili & NM Bryan Tillis, right here - https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/all/offer/
Dear Member
Welcome to the July edition of the newsletter. The British Championships begin in Torquay on 26th July and Tournament Manager Kevin Staveley sets the scene. I have written an article about the costs of playing and organising chess. Whatever your views I would welcome feedback and I will collate the responses into an article for the August edition. please send your comments to [email protected]. I particularly want to hear from people who disagree with my premise that playing recreational chess in leagues and tournaments is a leisure pursuit that is excellent value for money. We also feature the timetable for British Blitz Championships along with a proposed initiative from 4NCL to run a Women's League, and we look at Gawain Jones and David Howell at the 2019 Summer Chess Classic and Luke McShane at the Netanya Masters.
I hope you having a great summer!
--- Mark Rivlin
Best of British
The annual British Championships returns to the popular location of Torquay for the third time in 10 years with this year's tournament taking place from 26th July to 4th August. Tournament Manager Kevin Staveley reports. We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the Riviera Centre. The Championship features England current number one David Howell, along with GMs Michael Adams (defending his 2018 title with a chance to go back to England Number 1 ranking, should he win the tournament), Nick Pert, Stephen Gordon, Chris Ward, John Emms, Keith Arkell and Simon Williams, along with a raft of other titled players competing for the first prize of £5000. As in previous years there will be live commentary at and from the venue. For those who cannot be there in person you will be able to follow the games live online and also view the commentary. A wide ranging social programme is also being arranged around the Championships. For full details and links to live games and commentary visit www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk
Financial sacrifice?
Mark Rivlin on the costs of playing recreational chess - here
Into Battle to save Hastings
ECF Chief Arbiter Lara Barnes has launched a fundraising campaign to save the iconic Hastings Chess Congress. You can read more and donate here -https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lara-barnes
Membership reminder
Director of Membership Dave Thomas writes --- ECF memberships for 2019-20 (expiring 31st August 2020) are now on sale. The new membership rates are published on the website atwww.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-rates, and instructions for joining, renewing and upgrading your membership online are here ---https://www.englishchess.org.uk/join-the-ecf-2019-20/, https://www.englishchess.org.uk/renew-your-membership-2019-20/ and https://www.englishchess.org.uk/upgrade-your-membership-2019-20/. All members are encouraged to renew online where you have the option of paying by card or setting up a Direct Debit. Our preference is for members to set up a Direct Debit. Once this is set up you will be notified a month in advance before the money is called for. You will not need to take any further action unless you want to change your category of membership or cancel it. All current members for whom we have a valid email address will be shortly receive an invitation to renew their membership. This should contain all the information you need to login to your membership and renew. If you are an existing member please renew your current membership rather than taking out a new one; creating a new membership unnecessarily creates extra administrative work for both the office and the grading team.
Players and organisers are reminded that ECF memberships 2018/19 run to 31st August 2019 but 30th June was the cut-off for grading results. From now, the ECF will be billing Leagues and Clubs for any players who played four or more games in 2018/19 (rapidplay counting as half a game) in that League or Club competitions and who is not an ECF member. Billing, per League or Club, will be £16 per player or £5 for known juniors. To check whether a player is a member either look at the ECF grading database (correct as at 24th May) or email [email protected]
And the winners are ...
The 2019 ECF awards have been announced by Paul Bielby, Chairman, ECF Awards Committee. Congratulations to Vassos Georgiou, Robin Kneebone, George Spalding, John D Wheeler and Mike Wiltshire. Warwick Chess are Club of the Year and Battersea Chess Club were awarded Website of the Year (www.batterseachessclub.org.uk). More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-awards-2019-2/
Northumbria Masters
The international congress is taking place Novotel Newcastle Airport from 23rd - 27th August 2019, with the following 9-round FIDE rated tournaments - Northumbria Masters (eligible for title norms), prize fund £2,950; Challengers (Under 2050 FIDE, Under 180 ECF), prize fund £975; Major (Under 1825, Under 150 ECF), prize fund £975; Junior Rapidplay (Under 11 & Under 14 sections) – a one-day tournament on Friday 23rd August with numerous prizes and trophies. More here - https://northumbriamasters.com/
Upcoming major women's event
English Women’s Chess Championships, Hull 30th August - 1st September - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2019/
Rank good 1
Baira Marilova from FIDE reports on the latest titles - Please be informed that the decisions on title applications approved by the 2nd quarter PB 2019, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 27th-30th June, are as follows - IMs James P Jackson - YES; Adam C Taylor - YES; Matthew J Wadsworth - YES
Rank good 2
Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reports - England rose from 12th to 11th in the world rankings thanks to the recent strong performances of leading players. More here -https://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml?ina=1&country=ENG
Englishmen abroad
Summer Chess Classic - Gawain Jones and David Howell had mixed fortunes at the 2019 St Louis Summer Chess Classic. Howell came second with 5.5/10 to take joint second prize. Jones lost his last three games to finish with 3.5/10. More here - https://uschesschamps.com/2019-summer-chess-classic/2019-summer-chess-classic
Luke McShane had a roller-coaster tournament at the Netanya Masters in Israel, starting with brilliant wins against world number 11 Leinier Dominguez and Pavel Eljanov but tailed off with a final score of 4/9 to finish eighth. More here - http://imt.chess.org.il/
All right on the night
At its AGM on 4th July, the London Chess League voted for a default of 75 minutes with a 15 second increment on all boards so games will finish on the night.
4NCL schedule 2019-20
Divisions 1 - 4 dates here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/1920_dates.htm
Junior dates here -
Weekend 1 5th - 6th October 2019, Basingstoke Country Hotel; Weekend 2 18th-19th January 2020, Holiday Inn South Normanton; Weekend 3 15th - 16th February 2020, Mercure Daventry Court Hotel and Spa
22nd 4NCL Congress, Telford 19th - 21st July, details and applications here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_22.htm
New 4NCL Women’s League proposals
The 4NCL are thinking about setting up a Women’s League – initially for one weekend during the 2019/2020 season just to test the water, with maybe expansion in later seasons if the idea gains decent traction.
Rather than asking teams to enter, they are asking for expressions of interest from individual players whom they will then group into teams of broadly similar strength before the weekend itself. That way captains won’t have the worry of having to find players beforehand in order to field a team. If you would like to be a captain and field your own team that is absolutely fine (and there will be a discount on the entry fee). More details here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/4ncl_womens_league.htm
Rock around the clock
Nigel Towers on the 2019 UK Open Blitz Championship --- The UK Blitz 2019 will be staged as a series of qualifiers over two weekends in September followed by an all-play-all final in November. The Finals and qualifiers combined will have a total prize fund in excess of £5,000. This will be an Open Championship and there is no geographic or citizenship restriction on entry.
Qualifiers: There will be eight 15-round qualifying Swiss tournaments played over the weekends of 7th and 14th September at regional venues as below. Eligible players will be able to enter one qualifying tournament of their choice.
7th September
Birmingham – Quinborne Community Centre, Ridgacre Road, Quinton, Birmingham B32 2TW
Newcastle – venue to be confirmed
Cardiff – The Cardiff North Hotel by AccorHotels, Circle Way East, Llanederyn, Cardiff CF23 9XF
Edinburgh – Broughton High School, 29 East Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh EH4 1EG
Belfast – Ormeau Bowling Club, Ormeau Park, Park Road,Belfast BT7 4NA
8th September
Bristol – Bristol Grammar School, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SR (TBC)
14th September
London – The Rugby Portobello, 221 Walmer Road, W11 4EY
Manchester – Ukrainian Social Club, 99 Castle Street, Bolton BL2 1JP
Final
The top two players in each qualifier will qualify for the Open Final on 16th November 2019, to be played at St John’s Hotel, Solihull. The top two female players in each qualifier will qualify for a Women’s Final, held concurrently. Each of the finals will be a 16-player FIDE-rated Round Robin tournament. The time limit will be all moves in 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move for all matches.
NSCC finals
John Swain reports on U19 finals held at Uppingham School here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u19-finals/
In the fast Lane
IM Gary Lane with two excellent book reviews on 1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players by Frank Erwich and The 100 Endgames You Must Know Workbook by Jesus De La Villa -https://chess.business/blog/
European Team Championships arbiters invitation
Applications are invited to apply for the post of Arbiter at the European Team Championships 2019 in Batumi, Georgia from 23rd October to 3rd November along with other ECU events). More here - http://www.europechess.org/european-team-chess-championship-2019-official-invitation and here https://www.englishchess.org.uk/etcc-arbiters-invitation/
Supporter for a fiver
The new ECF Supporter initiative has been launched on social media here
ECF Member Reps
Gary Willson from Head Office writes --- following the annual exercise for renewal of the DM Reps, the following members are appointed unopposed - Lifetime: Stewart Reuben, Gerry Walsh; Platinum: Francis Bowers, [vacancy]; Gold: Lorin D’Costa, Rob Willmoth; Silver: John Reyes, Keith Jones; Bronze: Charles Higgie, Angus French. They have all been informed, and they will take up post from 1 August in accordance with the rules.
Problem solved
Christopher Jones with an other teasing problem and solution to last month's. In last month's problem, published by Daniel Papack in 1993, there is a good try --- 1.Rb5? threatens 2.Nd2, but fails to 1…Rd5!. The key is 1.Qb6!, with the same threat, after which we have the interesting variations 1…d2 2.Nc5 and 1…Nf1 2.Ng5. Everything hinges on which lines are opened and which closed by these moves! You’ll find an interesting commentary on this problem (both from the point of view of the solver and of seeing what effects the composer had in mind) on the BCPS website. Go to www.theproblemist.org/, click on ‘Solving’, then on ‘Two-movers for solving’ and click on Problem 1 [attached here]
BBCA open day
Abu Hassan from British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) writes --- The sun shone brightly on 30th June at the Tower Hamlets Boishakhi Mela celebrating the Bangla New Year as hundreds of chess lovers from novice to professional visited the the British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) and Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) Chess Corner at Weavers Fields, East London. With two teams in the London Chess League and three in the ongoing summer chess league organised by Battersea and Hammersmith Chess Clubs, BBCA also has an ECF graded monthly rapidplay on the last Sunday of each month and an annual FIDE-rated rapidplay in November ...
Reelin’ in the Years II
Andrew Walker from Head Office writes --- The 2019 Yearbook is now available as a PDF to members and visitors alike on the website front page or directly here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-ECF-Yearbook-Complete.pdf
Game Changers
Authors GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan were joined by Carl Portman for a special event at Banbury where the titled players led a discussion on their book Game Changers which was followed by a simul. More here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/a-simul-alphazero-and-more
Hull 4NCL International Congress
Stephen Greep writes --- Junior Coaching (30th October – 1st November) - In the three days before the above congress and concurrently with the first five rounds of the GM norm event, there will be three full days of junior coaching with FM Charlie Storey (Wednesday October 30th – Friday November 1st) . This coaching is provided free, courtesy of the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust. Numbers will be restricted, and preference will be given for players taking part in the congress. Juniors must be graded 100 or above. More information here - https://www.hullchess.com/public/files/Events%20-%20ours/2019%20Congress/coaching.pdf and here - www.hullchess.com or contact Stephen Greep on [email protected]
Chess Magazine taster - click here
Obituaries
Marcus Misson - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-marcus-misson/
Bryan Fewell - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-bryan-fewell/
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
To celebrate Independence Day in America we've launched our biggest sale yet! The Born in the USA Super Sale includes up to 50% off 24 courses written by US authors and we've got great deals on PRO Chessable membership.
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Dear Member
Welcome to the July edition of the newsletter. The British Championships begin in Torquay on 26th July and Tournament Manager Kevin Staveley sets the scene. I have written an article about the costs of playing and organising chess. Whatever your views I would welcome feedback and I will collate the responses into an article for the August edition. please send your comments to [email protected]. I particularly want to hear from people who disagree with my premise that playing recreational chess in leagues and tournaments is a leisure pursuit that is excellent value for money. We also feature the timetable for British Blitz Championships along with a proposed initiative from 4NCL to run a Women's League, and we look at Gawain Jones and David Howell at the 2019 Summer Chess Classic and Luke McShane at the Netanya Masters.
I hope you having a great summer!
--- Mark Rivlin
Best of British
The annual British Championships returns to the popular location of Torquay for the third time in 10 years with this year's tournament taking place from 26th July to 4th August. Tournament Manager Kevin Staveley reports. We look forward to welcoming players and spectators to the Riviera Centre. The Championship features England current number one David Howell, along with GMs Michael Adams (defending his 2018 title with a chance to go back to England Number 1 ranking, should he win the tournament), Nick Pert, Stephen Gordon, Chris Ward, John Emms, Keith Arkell and Simon Williams, along with a raft of other titled players competing for the first prize of £5000. As in previous years there will be live commentary at and from the venue. For those who cannot be there in person you will be able to follow the games live online and also view the commentary. A wide ranging social programme is also being arranged around the Championships. For full details and links to live games and commentary visit www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk
Financial sacrifice?
Mark Rivlin on the costs of playing recreational chess - here
Into Battle to save Hastings
ECF Chief Arbiter Lara Barnes has launched a fundraising campaign to save the iconic Hastings Chess Congress. You can read more and donate here -https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lara-barnes
Membership reminder
Director of Membership Dave Thomas writes --- ECF memberships for 2019-20 (expiring 31st August 2020) are now on sale. The new membership rates are published on the website atwww.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-rates, and instructions for joining, renewing and upgrading your membership online are here ---https://www.englishchess.org.uk/join-the-ecf-2019-20/, https://www.englishchess.org.uk/renew-your-membership-2019-20/ and https://www.englishchess.org.uk/upgrade-your-membership-2019-20/. All members are encouraged to renew online where you have the option of paying by card or setting up a Direct Debit. Our preference is for members to set up a Direct Debit. Once this is set up you will be notified a month in advance before the money is called for. You will not need to take any further action unless you want to change your category of membership or cancel it. All current members for whom we have a valid email address will be shortly receive an invitation to renew their membership. This should contain all the information you need to login to your membership and renew. If you are an existing member please renew your current membership rather than taking out a new one; creating a new membership unnecessarily creates extra administrative work for both the office and the grading team.
Players and organisers are reminded that ECF memberships 2018/19 run to 31st August 2019 but 30th June was the cut-off for grading results. From now, the ECF will be billing Leagues and Clubs for any players who played four or more games in 2018/19 (rapidplay counting as half a game) in that League or Club competitions and who is not an ECF member. Billing, per League or Club, will be £16 per player or £5 for known juniors. To check whether a player is a member either look at the ECF grading database (correct as at 24th May) or email [email protected]
And the winners are ...
The 2019 ECF awards have been announced by Paul Bielby, Chairman, ECF Awards Committee. Congratulations to Vassos Georgiou, Robin Kneebone, George Spalding, John D Wheeler and Mike Wiltshire. Warwick Chess are Club of the Year and Battersea Chess Club were awarded Website of the Year (www.batterseachessclub.org.uk). More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-awards-2019-2/
Northumbria Masters
The international congress is taking place Novotel Newcastle Airport from 23rd - 27th August 2019, with the following 9-round FIDE rated tournaments - Northumbria Masters (eligible for title norms), prize fund £2,950; Challengers (Under 2050 FIDE, Under 180 ECF), prize fund £975; Major (Under 1825, Under 150 ECF), prize fund £975; Junior Rapidplay (Under 11 & Under 14 sections) – a one-day tournament on Friday 23rd August with numerous prizes and trophies. More here - https://northumbriamasters.com/
Upcoming major women's event
English Women’s Chess Championships, Hull 30th August - 1st September - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2019/
Rank good 1
Baira Marilova from FIDE reports on the latest titles - Please be informed that the decisions on title applications approved by the 2nd quarter PB 2019, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 27th-30th June, are as follows - IMs James P Jackson - YES; Adam C Taylor - YES; Matthew J Wadsworth - YES
Rank good 2
Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reports - England rose from 12th to 11th in the world rankings thanks to the recent strong performances of leading players. More here -https://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml?ina=1&country=ENG
Englishmen abroad
Summer Chess Classic - Gawain Jones and David Howell had mixed fortunes at the 2019 St Louis Summer Chess Classic. Howell came second with 5.5/10 to take joint second prize. Jones lost his last three games to finish with 3.5/10. More here - https://uschesschamps.com/2019-summer-chess-classic/2019-summer-chess-classic
Luke McShane had a roller-coaster tournament at the Netanya Masters in Israel, starting with brilliant wins against world number 11 Leinier Dominguez and Pavel Eljanov but tailed off with a final score of 4/9 to finish eighth. More here - http://imt.chess.org.il/
All right on the night
At its AGM on 4th July, the London Chess League voted for a default of 75 minutes with a 15 second increment on all boards so games will finish on the night.
4NCL schedule 2019-20
Divisions 1 - 4 dates here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/1920_dates.htm
Junior dates here -
Weekend 1 5th - 6th October 2019, Basingstoke Country Hotel; Weekend 2 18th-19th January 2020, Holiday Inn South Normanton; Weekend 3 15th - 16th February 2020, Mercure Daventry Court Hotel and Spa
22nd 4NCL Congress, Telford 19th - 21st July, details and applications here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_22.htm
New 4NCL Women’s League proposals
The 4NCL are thinking about setting up a Women’s League – initially for one weekend during the 2019/2020 season just to test the water, with maybe expansion in later seasons if the idea gains decent traction.
Rather than asking teams to enter, they are asking for expressions of interest from individual players whom they will then group into teams of broadly similar strength before the weekend itself. That way captains won’t have the worry of having to find players beforehand in order to field a team. If you would like to be a captain and field your own team that is absolutely fine (and there will be a discount on the entry fee). More details here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/4ncl_womens_league.htm
Rock around the clock
Nigel Towers on the 2019 UK Open Blitz Championship --- The UK Blitz 2019 will be staged as a series of qualifiers over two weekends in September followed by an all-play-all final in November. The Finals and qualifiers combined will have a total prize fund in excess of £5,000. This will be an Open Championship and there is no geographic or citizenship restriction on entry.
Qualifiers: There will be eight 15-round qualifying Swiss tournaments played over the weekends of 7th and 14th September at regional venues as below. Eligible players will be able to enter one qualifying tournament of their choice.
7th September
Birmingham – Quinborne Community Centre, Ridgacre Road, Quinton, Birmingham B32 2TW
Newcastle – venue to be confirmed
Cardiff – The Cardiff North Hotel by AccorHotels, Circle Way East, Llanederyn, Cardiff CF23 9XF
Edinburgh – Broughton High School, 29 East Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh EH4 1EG
Belfast – Ormeau Bowling Club, Ormeau Park, Park Road,Belfast BT7 4NA
8th September
Bristol – Bristol Grammar School, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SR (TBC)
14th September
London – The Rugby Portobello, 221 Walmer Road, W11 4EY
Manchester – Ukrainian Social Club, 99 Castle Street, Bolton BL2 1JP
Final
The top two players in each qualifier will qualify for the Open Final on 16th November 2019, to be played at St John’s Hotel, Solihull. The top two female players in each qualifier will qualify for a Women’s Final, held concurrently. Each of the finals will be a 16-player FIDE-rated Round Robin tournament. The time limit will be all moves in 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move for all matches.
NSCC finals
John Swain reports on U19 finals held at Uppingham School here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u19-finals/
In the fast Lane
IM Gary Lane with two excellent book reviews on 1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players by Frank Erwich and The 100 Endgames You Must Know Workbook by Jesus De La Villa -https://chess.business/blog/
European Team Championships arbiters invitation
Applications are invited to apply for the post of Arbiter at the European Team Championships 2019 in Batumi, Georgia from 23rd October to 3rd November along with other ECU events). More here - http://www.europechess.org/european-team-chess-championship-2019-official-invitation and here https://www.englishchess.org.uk/etcc-arbiters-invitation/
Supporter for a fiver
The new ECF Supporter initiative has been launched on social media here
ECF Member Reps
Gary Willson from Head Office writes --- following the annual exercise for renewal of the DM Reps, the following members are appointed unopposed - Lifetime: Stewart Reuben, Gerry Walsh; Platinum: Francis Bowers, [vacancy]; Gold: Lorin D’Costa, Rob Willmoth; Silver: John Reyes, Keith Jones; Bronze: Charles Higgie, Angus French. They have all been informed, and they will take up post from 1 August in accordance with the rules.
Problem solved
Christopher Jones with an other teasing problem and solution to last month's. In last month's problem, published by Daniel Papack in 1993, there is a good try --- 1.Rb5? threatens 2.Nd2, but fails to 1…Rd5!. The key is 1.Qb6!, with the same threat, after which we have the interesting variations 1…d2 2.Nc5 and 1…Nf1 2.Ng5. Everything hinges on which lines are opened and which closed by these moves! You’ll find an interesting commentary on this problem (both from the point of view of the solver and of seeing what effects the composer had in mind) on the BCPS website. Go to www.theproblemist.org/, click on ‘Solving’, then on ‘Two-movers for solving’ and click on Problem 1 [attached here]
BBCA open day
Abu Hassan from British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) writes --- The sun shone brightly on 30th June at the Tower Hamlets Boishakhi Mela celebrating the Bangla New Year as hundreds of chess lovers from novice to professional visited the the British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) and Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) Chess Corner at Weavers Fields, East London. With two teams in the London Chess League and three in the ongoing summer chess league organised by Battersea and Hammersmith Chess Clubs, BBCA also has an ECF graded monthly rapidplay on the last Sunday of each month and an annual FIDE-rated rapidplay in November ...
Reelin’ in the Years II
Andrew Walker from Head Office writes --- The 2019 Yearbook is now available as a PDF to members and visitors alike on the website front page or directly here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-ECF-Yearbook-Complete.pdf
Game Changers
Authors GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan were joined by Carl Portman for a special event at Banbury where the titled players led a discussion on their book Game Changers which was followed by a simul. More here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/a-simul-alphazero-and-more
Hull 4NCL International Congress
Stephen Greep writes --- Junior Coaching (30th October – 1st November) - In the three days before the above congress and concurrently with the first five rounds of the GM norm event, there will be three full days of junior coaching with FM Charlie Storey (Wednesday October 30th – Friday November 1st) . This coaching is provided free, courtesy of the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust. Numbers will be restricted, and preference will be given for players taking part in the congress. Juniors must be graded 100 or above. More information here - https://www.hullchess.com/public/files/Events%20-%20ours/2019%20Congress/coaching.pdf and here - www.hullchess.com or contact Stephen Greep on [email protected]
Chess Magazine taster - click here
Obituaries
Marcus Misson - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-marcus-misson/
Bryan Fewell - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-bryan-fewell/
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER MAY 2019
A busy month of chess on and off the board with Gawain Jones continuing his good form with a joint first in the Reykjavik Open and England's seniors emulating our national team by getting Silver in the FIDE Senior Championships in Rhodes. Tim Wall goes all the way down the 4NCL pecking order (Division 3 North) and Danny Rosenbaum takes on the sensitive subject of cheating and gamesmanship in chess. Two London-based clubs share the plaudits off the board this month – Battersea CC laid down a huge marker by fielding a team of the country's top juniors against the mighty titled coterie that makes up Wood Green in the London League, and Hammersmith CC have launched a Women's Chess Month, a superb initiative to attract women to chess in England (both are featured below). If you want to advertise your league, tournament or congress or if you have any opinions on chess matters, please contact me at [email protected] – everything will be considered.
--- Mark Rivlin
ECF Finance Council meeting outcomes
A summary on the ECF Finance council meeting is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/finance-council-meeting-summary/
Off the Wall
Tim Wall on the final round of 4NCL in Division 3 North - here
No ordinary Jones
Gawain Jones joins the 2700 club and becomes England number 1 after a joint first 7/9 at the GAMMA Reykjavik Open. More here from Leonard Barden in the Guardian -https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/apr/19/chess-gawain-jones-reykjavik-england-no1 and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr374902.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&flag=30 and here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10177&sid=4036bef76f4e60e8539802420110b5ed&start=15
Prime time
The English Seniors Congress was played in Solihull in August. Paul Littlewood won the Over 50s section and Kevin Bowmer the Over 65s. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/the-english-seniors-2019/
Rhodes paved with Silver
Another outstanding showing from an ECF team as England take Silver at the FIDE Senior Championships in Rhodes. Article, summary and images from Stewart Reuben here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/european-seniors-in-rhodes/
ACO Graded Championships
Dave Gilbert reports on the Amateur Chess Organisation chess-fest in Rhodes. In addition to the FIDE & ECU events taking place at the Olympic Palace Hotel, the Amateur Chess Organisation (ACO) was holding its graded World Championships next door at the Sheraton Hotel - and the English contingent did good! John Wood from Norfolk (according to the database John has only played four competitive games since 1998) won the 1800 Group. Christopher Bak from Bradford took the Bronze medal in the 2200 Section and Tal Wood (John’s son), who was last spotted as a promising junior playing for Beckenham in 1998 with an ECF grade of 111, finished third in the 1600 Group.
European Women’s Individual Chess Championship
Russian IM Alina Kashlinskaya won the European Women's Championship in Antalya, Turkey. Kashlinskaya had the best tiebreak among a group of five players who all finished on 8/11.England's Jovanka Houska just missed out on a qualifying place for World Cup 2020 - http://chess-results.com/tnr423302.aspx?lan=2&art=4&flag=30
4NCL
Guildford march on to another 4NCL title with final summaries and tables here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/ and here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/data/tables_1819.htm
More than a slight edge
Danny Rosenbaum on cheating and gamesmanship in chess - here
How to make a GM cry
Bravo to Battersea Chess Club who found a novel way of putting fear into London League giants Wood Green (who last lost a match in 2001 and have won the Division One title of London Chess Club since chess was invented). Instead of putting up the ubiquitous 10 best adults in the club against the giants, Battersea fielded 10 of England's top juniors, two of whom - Jacob Watson and Luca Buanne - came away with half a point off the untouchables. Battersea member Leon Watson summed up the zeitgeist - Midway through the match, Brian Smith, Wood Green’s benefactor and non-playing captain was heard remarking “I’ve never seen eight grandmasters crying before…” Leon's article, along with the two drawn games here - https://www.batterseachessclub.org.uk/last-night-we-did-something-special-our-kids-made-8-grandmasters-cry/
Go west London for women's chess
Another great initiative from the resourceful Hammersmith Chess Club, this time launching a women's chess month at the club. Says ECF Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan, "I am delighted to see this great new initiative, and that we have been able to support it directly from the ECF and the Director of Women’s Chess Budgets" More here - http://hammerchess.co.uk/ and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/womens-chess-month-at-hammersmith-chess-club/
World Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The 14th championship took place in Cagliari, Italy and there were good performances from Chris Ross and Bill Armstrong. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/14th-world-championship-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired/
World Schools Chess Championships
England had a 27-player representation at the World Schools, held in Antalya, Turkey. A big thanks to our team of coaches, parents and participants for a great trip. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-schools-2019-in-antalya/ and here for a final roundup of all scores - http://chess-results.com/tnr427511.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&flag=30. Next up is European Schools tournament in Romania at the end of May.
On course for titles
Matthew Wadsworth got a GM norm and Adam Taylor an IM norm after the final 4NCL weekend.
Qualifiers for European Youth, and World Youth and Cadets
Deadlines to qualify for these events are are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/qualifiers-for-european-youth-and-world-youth-and-cadets/
Members Benefits
The ECF membership includes number of benefits, listed here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-benefits/ and we are delighted to have agreed a range of discounts off chess products with Chess Direct here - https://www.chessdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Discount-Information.html
ECF Awards 2019
The deadline of 19th May for nominations for these awards is approaching. The awards are - President’s Award for Services to Chess, ECF Club of the Year, ECF Small Club of the Year, ECF Website of the Year, ECF Congress of the Year. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-awards-2019/
Academy tender
The ECF have appointed UK Chess Challenge to provide training for the ECF Academy. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-tender-decision/. The ECF has also published an article on the selection process here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-academy-statement/
Director of Women's Chess monthly report from Chris Fegan
The big event of May is Women's Chess Month at Hammersmith Chess Club and which is a fantastic innovation and I am looking to attend and speak at one of the events this month. I would encourage all chess clubs throughout England to try and emulate the fantastic work that been done by Hammersmith. I am also pleased that the 2019/20 ECF Budget was agreed by the ECF Council meeting and we are now planning events and work for the forthcoming year. As I explained at the ECF Council we need to look at structural improvements for women's chess in England and I was disappointed that we did not agree to structural changes to the County Championships to encourage more women to participate. I will continue to examine ways of doing so over the summer months.
Women's congress sponsorship
Through Stephen Greep of the Hull and District Chess Association, the ECF were pleased to accept sponsorship from the Women’s Enterprise on the Humber and Turpin Bookkeeping in Hull for three trophies to be presented at the English Women’s Chess congress to be held in Hull later this year. The awards will go to the best performances for Under 12, 16 and 20 alongside the cash prizes already announced. Jo Hutchinson of the Hull and District Chess Association (second left in the picture) displayed the trophies at the latest meeting of the Women’s Enterprise on the Humber ...
Organisers' consultation
Instructions for getting a copy of the organisers’ consultation document are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/organisers-consultation/
SCCU/London Club Championships
Dave Gilbert writes --- A 6-round rapidplay for teams of four players in three average grade sections at St Luke’s Church,12 Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead, London NW3 7SU on Saturday 29 June 2019. More details from the SCCU website - https://sccu-chess.com/index.php/en/london-club-champs
Stevenage successes
Marcus Harvey and Mark Hebden came put on top in the 4NCL Easter Congress in Stevenage. See results here - http://chess-results.com/tnr433144.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30 and watch Danny Gormally's excellent analysis of two games here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/reports1920/rep.gormallyd.htm
4NCL Spring Bank Holiday Congress
Use the late May Bank Holiday to ramp up your grading at the 4NCL FIDE-rated congress in Basingstoke. Details here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_springbh_2019.htm
REYTA awards 2019, we nearly made it!
The ECF is proud to have been shortlisted in the Remarkable East Yorkshire (REYTA) Awards 2019 in the Remarkable Tourism Category for last year’s highly successful British Chess Championships in Hull. Unfortunately we did not win, but there was a certificate by way of consolation. Pictures here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/reyta-awards-2019/
All white on the right?
Hull Chess Club's Stephen Greep finds a way to pass the time on a recent train journey. I wonder if the game's outcome was dependent on the signals' exchange variation ...
Tigers' tyre burning bright
4NCL team Celtic Tigers had an adventure getting to Telford for the final weekend of fixtures, but all ended well ...
BBCA rapidplay
Latvian FM Tokranovs Dmitrijs won the fourth ECF graded British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) rapidplay with 5/5, ahead of Argentinian GM Damain Lamos and BBCA's Adam Bukojemski, both on 4/5. The next rapidplay is on Sunday 26th May - see the ECF calendar for details - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/action~oneday/exact_date~26-5-2019/
Chess Magazine
The May taster is here
Obituaries
Timothy Whitworth - http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/ochess/timothywhitworth.pdf and here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10194
Tony Buzan - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10189 and here - https://twitter.com/oxfordfolio/status/1118468309190610944?s=19
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]here to edit.
--- Mark Rivlin
ECF Finance Council meeting outcomes
A summary on the ECF Finance council meeting is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/finance-council-meeting-summary/
Off the Wall
Tim Wall on the final round of 4NCL in Division 3 North - here
No ordinary Jones
Gawain Jones joins the 2700 club and becomes England number 1 after a joint first 7/9 at the GAMMA Reykjavik Open. More here from Leonard Barden in the Guardian -https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/apr/19/chess-gawain-jones-reykjavik-england-no1 and here - http://chess-results.com/tnr374902.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&flag=30 and here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10177&sid=4036bef76f4e60e8539802420110b5ed&start=15
Prime time
The English Seniors Congress was played in Solihull in August. Paul Littlewood won the Over 50s section and Kevin Bowmer the Over 65s. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/the-english-seniors-2019/
Rhodes paved with Silver
Another outstanding showing from an ECF team as England take Silver at the FIDE Senior Championships in Rhodes. Article, summary and images from Stewart Reuben here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Seniors/european-seniors-in-rhodes/
ACO Graded Championships
Dave Gilbert reports on the Amateur Chess Organisation chess-fest in Rhodes. In addition to the FIDE & ECU events taking place at the Olympic Palace Hotel, the Amateur Chess Organisation (ACO) was holding its graded World Championships next door at the Sheraton Hotel - and the English contingent did good! John Wood from Norfolk (according to the database John has only played four competitive games since 1998) won the 1800 Group. Christopher Bak from Bradford took the Bronze medal in the 2200 Section and Tal Wood (John’s son), who was last spotted as a promising junior playing for Beckenham in 1998 with an ECF grade of 111, finished third in the 1600 Group.
European Women’s Individual Chess Championship
Russian IM Alina Kashlinskaya won the European Women's Championship in Antalya, Turkey. Kashlinskaya had the best tiebreak among a group of five players who all finished on 8/11.England's Jovanka Houska just missed out on a qualifying place for World Cup 2020 - http://chess-results.com/tnr423302.aspx?lan=2&art=4&flag=30
4NCL
Guildford march on to another 4NCL title with final summaries and tables here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/ and here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/data/tables_1819.htm
More than a slight edge
Danny Rosenbaum on cheating and gamesmanship in chess - here
How to make a GM cry
Bravo to Battersea Chess Club who found a novel way of putting fear into London League giants Wood Green (who last lost a match in 2001 and have won the Division One title of London Chess Club since chess was invented). Instead of putting up the ubiquitous 10 best adults in the club against the giants, Battersea fielded 10 of England's top juniors, two of whom - Jacob Watson and Luca Buanne - came away with half a point off the untouchables. Battersea member Leon Watson summed up the zeitgeist - Midway through the match, Brian Smith, Wood Green’s benefactor and non-playing captain was heard remarking “I’ve never seen eight grandmasters crying before…” Leon's article, along with the two drawn games here - https://www.batterseachessclub.org.uk/last-night-we-did-something-special-our-kids-made-8-grandmasters-cry/
Go west London for women's chess
Another great initiative from the resourceful Hammersmith Chess Club, this time launching a women's chess month at the club. Says ECF Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan, "I am delighted to see this great new initiative, and that we have been able to support it directly from the ECF and the Director of Women’s Chess Budgets" More here - http://hammerchess.co.uk/ and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/womens-chess-month-at-hammersmith-chess-club/
World Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The 14th championship took place in Cagliari, Italy and there were good performances from Chris Ross and Bill Armstrong. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/14th-world-championship-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired/
World Schools Chess Championships
England had a 27-player representation at the World Schools, held in Antalya, Turkey. A big thanks to our team of coaches, parents and participants for a great trip. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-schools-2019-in-antalya/ and here for a final roundup of all scores - http://chess-results.com/tnr427511.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&flag=30. Next up is European Schools tournament in Romania at the end of May.
On course for titles
Matthew Wadsworth got a GM norm and Adam Taylor an IM norm after the final 4NCL weekend.
Qualifiers for European Youth, and World Youth and Cadets
Deadlines to qualify for these events are are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/qualifiers-for-european-youth-and-world-youth-and-cadets/
Members Benefits
The ECF membership includes number of benefits, listed here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-benefits/ and we are delighted to have agreed a range of discounts off chess products with Chess Direct here - https://www.chessdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Discount-Information.html
ECF Awards 2019
The deadline of 19th May for nominations for these awards is approaching. The awards are - President’s Award for Services to Chess, ECF Club of the Year, ECF Small Club of the Year, ECF Website of the Year, ECF Congress of the Year. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-awards-2019/
Academy tender
The ECF have appointed UK Chess Challenge to provide training for the ECF Academy. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-tender-decision/. The ECF has also published an article on the selection process here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-academy-statement/
Director of Women's Chess monthly report from Chris Fegan
The big event of May is Women's Chess Month at Hammersmith Chess Club and which is a fantastic innovation and I am looking to attend and speak at one of the events this month. I would encourage all chess clubs throughout England to try and emulate the fantastic work that been done by Hammersmith. I am also pleased that the 2019/20 ECF Budget was agreed by the ECF Council meeting and we are now planning events and work for the forthcoming year. As I explained at the ECF Council we need to look at structural improvements for women's chess in England and I was disappointed that we did not agree to structural changes to the County Championships to encourage more women to participate. I will continue to examine ways of doing so over the summer months.
Women's congress sponsorship
Through Stephen Greep of the Hull and District Chess Association, the ECF were pleased to accept sponsorship from the Women’s Enterprise on the Humber and Turpin Bookkeeping in Hull for three trophies to be presented at the English Women’s Chess congress to be held in Hull later this year. The awards will go to the best performances for Under 12, 16 and 20 alongside the cash prizes already announced. Jo Hutchinson of the Hull and District Chess Association (second left in the picture) displayed the trophies at the latest meeting of the Women’s Enterprise on the Humber ...
Organisers' consultation
Instructions for getting a copy of the organisers’ consultation document are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/organisers-consultation/
SCCU/London Club Championships
Dave Gilbert writes --- A 6-round rapidplay for teams of four players in three average grade sections at St Luke’s Church,12 Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead, London NW3 7SU on Saturday 29 June 2019. More details from the SCCU website - https://sccu-chess.com/index.php/en/london-club-champs
Stevenage successes
Marcus Harvey and Mark Hebden came put on top in the 4NCL Easter Congress in Stevenage. See results here - http://chess-results.com/tnr433144.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30 and watch Danny Gormally's excellent analysis of two games here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/reports1920/rep.gormallyd.htm
4NCL Spring Bank Holiday Congress
Use the late May Bank Holiday to ramp up your grading at the 4NCL FIDE-rated congress in Basingstoke. Details here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_springbh_2019.htm
REYTA awards 2019, we nearly made it!
The ECF is proud to have been shortlisted in the Remarkable East Yorkshire (REYTA) Awards 2019 in the Remarkable Tourism Category for last year’s highly successful British Chess Championships in Hull. Unfortunately we did not win, but there was a certificate by way of consolation. Pictures here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/reyta-awards-2019/
All white on the right?
Hull Chess Club's Stephen Greep finds a way to pass the time on a recent train journey. I wonder if the game's outcome was dependent on the signals' exchange variation ...
Tigers' tyre burning bright
4NCL team Celtic Tigers had an adventure getting to Telford for the final weekend of fixtures, but all ended well ...
BBCA rapidplay
Latvian FM Tokranovs Dmitrijs won the fourth ECF graded British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) rapidplay with 5/5, ahead of Argentinian GM Damain Lamos and BBCA's Adam Bukojemski, both on 4/5. The next rapidplay is on Sunday 26th May - see the ECF calendar for details - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar/action~oneday/exact_date~26-5-2019/
Chess Magazine
The May taster is here
Obituaries
Timothy Whitworth - http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/ochess/timothywhitworth.pdf and here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10194
Tony Buzan - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10189 and here - https://twitter.com/oxfordfolio/status/1118468309190610944?s=19
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]here to edit.
ECF E NEWSLETTER APRIL 2019
When do you learn most about your chess? After a game, analysing with your opponent? Perhaps even over a pint in the pub!
Join GM Daniel Gormally in his new instructional course, Sharp Middle Games, now available on Chessable
Dear ECF Member
It is with a great deal of pride that we lead with England's superb performance at the World Team Championships held in Astana, Khazakstan in March. The England team of Mickey Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell and Gawain Jones, plus reserve/analyst Jon Speelman secured England its first-ever Silver medals in this tournament. The medals are also the first for England in a major team competition since we won Gold in the 1997 European Championship. Luke, who won the Board 2 Gold kindly shares some insights into the tournament and his own plans for the coming year. David won the Board 3 Bronze and Gawain the Board 4 Silver.
I'm delighted to bring a lighter tone to the newsletter with an irreverent cameo from author Danny Rosenbaum on how not to improve your game. There are also the results of the other crucial referendum in the UK (whether grades should go four-figure Elo and be published monthly) along with news from the Chess Trust and Glorney Faber alumni event.
Finally, it's that time of year again and we list the main Easter congresses.
Best wishes, Mark Rivlin
A stunner in Astana!
England trailblazers - (L-R) Jon Speelman, Luke McShane, Michael Adams, Gawain Jones, David Howell and Malcolm Pein
You would have got extremely generous odds against England finishing second in the World Open Teams Championship. But those dapper ECF blazers worn by the team and backroom staff certainly had a silver lining as England gained their best ever team result since 1997. Leonard Barden's piece in the Guardian is well worth a read - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/14/chess-england-win-first-medal-for-22-years and Chess.com provided an excellent roundup here -https://www.chess.com/news/view/england-grabs-silver-at-world-team-chess-championship
We hope this result is a catalyst for more great things to come. It will be interesting to see how the fab four (assuming they all play) share the spoils in the British.
Following the tournament we interviewed Luke McShane, who won the individual Board 2 Gold. The England team's achievement was celebrated at an event hosted by Chris Flowers on April 4. ECF chief executive Mike Truran noted the importance of the Chess Trust and Academy in supporting our young talent and Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reiterated his thanks to the Scheinberg Foundation without whose support the team would have been unable to compete. It's worth noting Malcolm turned down an invitation to the 2017 event because the ECF did not have the funds.
Improved gradings
The grading consultation closed last month and there were more than 900 responses to these questions - 'Do you agree with the Board’s decision to move to monthly grading?' and 'Do you agree with the Board’s proposal to use a four-figure Elo style system?' Each age group and membership category voted in favour for the proposals. Says Mike Truran, 'All age ranges and membership categories responded favourably to the proposals to move to monthly grading and four figure numbers. That is very encouraging, and we feel gives us a strong mandate for implementing the proposals. Our thanks to ECF webmaster Andrew Walker for collating this information.'
Detailed results here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation-initial-results/
Titles and Trainers
At the latest FIDE titles seminar held in Astana, Brandon Clarke has been awarded the IM title and David Clayton the IA title. And at the FIDE Trainers' Seminar, Tim Wall was awarded FIDE Trainer status and Adam Taylor FIDE Instructor status. Congratulations to all.
Happy ending in Skopje
Banbury Chess Club’s James Jackson had a fine performance at the European Individual Chess Championship in Skopje, winning his last three games to finish with 6/11 and a 2416 rating performance.
Chess friends with benefits
As the newly launched Supporter category joins Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, here is an update to the benefits of joining and supporting the ECF -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-benefits/
Cheque mates
The ECF Finance Council meeting takes place in Birmingham on Saturday 27th April 2019. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2019-finance-council-meeting/
Reelin' in the years
The ECF Yearbook 2019 is now available in full colour priced at £13.50 for members and £15.50 for non-members. Click this link to order your copy -https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-yearbook-2019-order-form/
Accelerating to success
- from Ray Edwards, chairman of the Chess Trust on the Accelerator Programme
The Chess Trust charity at a recent trustee meeting agreed to extend the funding of the important Accelerator Programme for a second year. This important programme funds chess training and coaching for up to 12 of the most promising young players in England. GM Peter Wells manages the programme on behalf of the charity. He aims to mentor the young players, guide them to play in appropriate tournaments and coach them (with others) to help them become strong chess players.
Presently, the majority of the bequests to The Chess Trust are designated to support junior chess; however, the Chess Trust welcomes donations for all chess-related purposes except those of a professional nature. You can find more information about the Chess Trust here - http://www.chesstrust.org.uk/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's round-up
The main emphasis for DoWC has been the preparation for the ECF Finance Council meeting which takes place at the end of April in Birmingham. The two main items for me are the DoWC Budget and also a motion in respect of the County Championship. As an ECF flagship event, the participation of females in the County Championship is woeful and we need to change this situation. I am proposing that in the final stages of the Open section all teams must play at least one female. I have also had discussions about flexibility in the implementation of rules regarding the 'pool of women' that Counties can approach to make the new regulation easier to comply with. If we do not take action to improve the situation then we are paying lip service to increasing and supporting regular women's participation in English chess. The 4NCL have had a similar rule in their competition for years – the ECF should be emulating this.
Arbiters' course
A reminder that the ECF will be running an ECF Arbiters course in conjunction with the Chess Academy at Staverton Park on the weekend of 13-14 April. More details here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiter-course-registration/
County Championships
The draw for the finals of the County Championships is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/county-championships-2019/
ECF Awards 2019
Paul Bielby, Chairman, ECF Awards Committee on this year's awards --- Yes, it’s April again, and time to start thinking of the ECF Awards for the 2018-19 season. The ECF Awards Committee invites submissions for the following awards for the year starting July 2018 The President’s Award for Services to Chess; ECF Club of the Year; ECF Small Club of the Year; ECF Website of the Year; ECF Congress of the Year. For the purpose of these awards, the season starts with the 2018 British Championships. Up to five President’s Awards may be made. A small club is defined as one having fewer than sixteen members. To recommend entries for any of these awards, detailed citations should be sent as an email attachment to the Chairman of the Awards Committee, Paul Bielby at [email protected] to be received on or before Sunday 19 May, 2019. Citations for Website of the Year can be minimal, as a website should be its own best advertisement. Two further awards, Magazine of the Year and Player of the Year, fell into abeyance last year due the lack of suitable entries. They can be resurrected if we receive suitable citations.
English Women’s Championship entries are now open for what promises to be the best English Women's Championships to date. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2019-english-womens-championship/
Winning's a loser's game
At last, an article on the realities at the lower-to-middle rankings of the chess pecking order. Danny Rosenbaum, who plays for Hackney Chess Club and is the Secretary of the Hamilton Russell Cup (https://hamiltonrussell.wordpress.com/) shares the secrets of how not to improve your game.
Easter bunnies?
Wherever you live and whatever your level, there is an Easter Congress for you and my apologies to the organisers of the Southend Easter Congress which takes place 19-22 April for not publicising the event in last month's newsletter.
Southend - http://www.southendchesscongress.org.uk/
4NCL Congress, Stevenage - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter19.htm
West of England Congress - http://chessdevon.org.uk/
CCF Coulsdon - https://www.ccfworld.com/Chess/Adult%20Competitions/Longplays_Easter.htm
Bolton Easter Congress - https://boltonchessclub.webs.com/
The ECF Calendar has all the details - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar
4NCL
Immediately after the performance in Astana, England's heroes were back in 4NCL action for the fourth weekend - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/22/chess-england-luke-mcshane-gawain-jones-david-howell-4ncl, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/15/chess-guildford-4ncl-showdown-with-manx
CHESS magazine taster - click here
Review King
IM Gary Lane looks at Game Changer by Natasha Regan and Matthew Sadler, along with Carl Portman's Chess Behind Bars. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Can you help?
A request has come into ECF from Tim Clare. Over 30 years ago I sustained a spinal injury in a car accident which left me as a permanent wheelchair user (tetraplegic). At the moment, I do not have any transport so I am limited to where I can play chess. My new mode of transport is currently waiting for adaptations and will take at least nine months. I am looking for a chess partner to improve my game and keep my brain from stagnating. My level of chess has never been rated but I imagine I am of a low club standard. (Editor's note - Tim is based in Windsor. Please contact him directly on 07956 483201 or via [email protected] if you are able to help him)
Glorney Faber Alumni Day
Desmond Beatty, organiser of the Glorney Gilbert organiser on the first Glorney Faber alumni day - Since its foundation in 1948, it is estimated that over 2,000 players from at least 9 nations have played in the Glorney Faber/Gilbert, Robinson and Stokes Cups. Over the past 4 years, the archive project has identified many of these players by name. This year it is time to try to find and contact them all to invite them to the first Glorney / Faber Alumni Day to be held in conjunction with the Glorney Gilbert International 2019 in the Carrickdale Hotel and Spa, Co Louth, Ireland on Sunday 21 July 2019.Specifics of the event will be determined based on levels and nature of interest but are expected to include an Alumni lunch, some chess and the opening ceremony of the Glorney Gilbert International 2019. The schedule will be such as to facilitate those who wish to travel in and back on the day. The ask, therefore, is that you spread the word amongst your chess colleagues, both in your own federations and beyond asking for any and all player who participated in the Glorney Faber Gilbert Robinson Stokes Cups since 1948 to register their interest in coming to Ireland for this reunion event on the ICU website.
Obituaries
Jeff Cox and Nancy Cox - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10137
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Join GM Daniel Gormally in his new instructional course, Sharp Middle Games, now available on Chessable
Dear ECF Member
It is with a great deal of pride that we lead with England's superb performance at the World Team Championships held in Astana, Khazakstan in March. The England team of Mickey Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell and Gawain Jones, plus reserve/analyst Jon Speelman secured England its first-ever Silver medals in this tournament. The medals are also the first for England in a major team competition since we won Gold in the 1997 European Championship. Luke, who won the Board 2 Gold kindly shares some insights into the tournament and his own plans for the coming year. David won the Board 3 Bronze and Gawain the Board 4 Silver.
I'm delighted to bring a lighter tone to the newsletter with an irreverent cameo from author Danny Rosenbaum on how not to improve your game. There are also the results of the other crucial referendum in the UK (whether grades should go four-figure Elo and be published monthly) along with news from the Chess Trust and Glorney Faber alumni event.
Finally, it's that time of year again and we list the main Easter congresses.
Best wishes, Mark Rivlin
A stunner in Astana!
England trailblazers - (L-R) Jon Speelman, Luke McShane, Michael Adams, Gawain Jones, David Howell and Malcolm Pein
You would have got extremely generous odds against England finishing second in the World Open Teams Championship. But those dapper ECF blazers worn by the team and backroom staff certainly had a silver lining as England gained their best ever team result since 1997. Leonard Barden's piece in the Guardian is well worth a read - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/14/chess-england-win-first-medal-for-22-years and Chess.com provided an excellent roundup here -https://www.chess.com/news/view/england-grabs-silver-at-world-team-chess-championship
We hope this result is a catalyst for more great things to come. It will be interesting to see how the fab four (assuming they all play) share the spoils in the British.
Following the tournament we interviewed Luke McShane, who won the individual Board 2 Gold. The England team's achievement was celebrated at an event hosted by Chris Flowers on April 4. ECF chief executive Mike Truran noted the importance of the Chess Trust and Academy in supporting our young talent and Director of International Chess Malcolm Pein reiterated his thanks to the Scheinberg Foundation without whose support the team would have been unable to compete. It's worth noting Malcolm turned down an invitation to the 2017 event because the ECF did not have the funds.
Improved gradings
The grading consultation closed last month and there were more than 900 responses to these questions - 'Do you agree with the Board’s decision to move to monthly grading?' and 'Do you agree with the Board’s proposal to use a four-figure Elo style system?' Each age group and membership category voted in favour for the proposals. Says Mike Truran, 'All age ranges and membership categories responded favourably to the proposals to move to monthly grading and four figure numbers. That is very encouraging, and we feel gives us a strong mandate for implementing the proposals. Our thanks to ECF webmaster Andrew Walker for collating this information.'
Detailed results here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation-initial-results/
Titles and Trainers
At the latest FIDE titles seminar held in Astana, Brandon Clarke has been awarded the IM title and David Clayton the IA title. And at the FIDE Trainers' Seminar, Tim Wall was awarded FIDE Trainer status and Adam Taylor FIDE Instructor status. Congratulations to all.
Happy ending in Skopje
Banbury Chess Club’s James Jackson had a fine performance at the European Individual Chess Championship in Skopje, winning his last three games to finish with 6/11 and a 2416 rating performance.
Chess friends with benefits
As the newly launched Supporter category joins Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, here is an update to the benefits of joining and supporting the ECF -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-benefits/
Cheque mates
The ECF Finance Council meeting takes place in Birmingham on Saturday 27th April 2019. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2019-finance-council-meeting/
Reelin' in the years
The ECF Yearbook 2019 is now available in full colour priced at £13.50 for members and £15.50 for non-members. Click this link to order your copy -https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-yearbook-2019-order-form/
Accelerating to success
- from Ray Edwards, chairman of the Chess Trust on the Accelerator Programme
The Chess Trust charity at a recent trustee meeting agreed to extend the funding of the important Accelerator Programme for a second year. This important programme funds chess training and coaching for up to 12 of the most promising young players in England. GM Peter Wells manages the programme on behalf of the charity. He aims to mentor the young players, guide them to play in appropriate tournaments and coach them (with others) to help them become strong chess players.
Presently, the majority of the bequests to The Chess Trust are designated to support junior chess; however, the Chess Trust welcomes donations for all chess-related purposes except those of a professional nature. You can find more information about the Chess Trust here - http://www.chesstrust.org.uk/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's round-up
The main emphasis for DoWC has been the preparation for the ECF Finance Council meeting which takes place at the end of April in Birmingham. The two main items for me are the DoWC Budget and also a motion in respect of the County Championship. As an ECF flagship event, the participation of females in the County Championship is woeful and we need to change this situation. I am proposing that in the final stages of the Open section all teams must play at least one female. I have also had discussions about flexibility in the implementation of rules regarding the 'pool of women' that Counties can approach to make the new regulation easier to comply with. If we do not take action to improve the situation then we are paying lip service to increasing and supporting regular women's participation in English chess. The 4NCL have had a similar rule in their competition for years – the ECF should be emulating this.
Arbiters' course
A reminder that the ECF will be running an ECF Arbiters course in conjunction with the Chess Academy at Staverton Park on the weekend of 13-14 April. More details here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiter-course-registration/
County Championships
The draw for the finals of the County Championships is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/county-championships-2019/
ECF Awards 2019
Paul Bielby, Chairman, ECF Awards Committee on this year's awards --- Yes, it’s April again, and time to start thinking of the ECF Awards for the 2018-19 season. The ECF Awards Committee invites submissions for the following awards for the year starting July 2018 The President’s Award for Services to Chess; ECF Club of the Year; ECF Small Club of the Year; ECF Website of the Year; ECF Congress of the Year. For the purpose of these awards, the season starts with the 2018 British Championships. Up to five President’s Awards may be made. A small club is defined as one having fewer than sixteen members. To recommend entries for any of these awards, detailed citations should be sent as an email attachment to the Chairman of the Awards Committee, Paul Bielby at [email protected] to be received on or before Sunday 19 May, 2019. Citations for Website of the Year can be minimal, as a website should be its own best advertisement. Two further awards, Magazine of the Year and Player of the Year, fell into abeyance last year due the lack of suitable entries. They can be resurrected if we receive suitable citations.
English Women’s Championship entries are now open for what promises to be the best English Women's Championships to date. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2019-english-womens-championship/
Winning's a loser's game
At last, an article on the realities at the lower-to-middle rankings of the chess pecking order. Danny Rosenbaum, who plays for Hackney Chess Club and is the Secretary of the Hamilton Russell Cup (https://hamiltonrussell.wordpress.com/) shares the secrets of how not to improve your game.
Easter bunnies?
Wherever you live and whatever your level, there is an Easter Congress for you and my apologies to the organisers of the Southend Easter Congress which takes place 19-22 April for not publicising the event in last month's newsletter.
Southend - http://www.southendchesscongress.org.uk/
4NCL Congress, Stevenage - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter19.htm
West of England Congress - http://chessdevon.org.uk/
CCF Coulsdon - https://www.ccfworld.com/Chess/Adult%20Competitions/Longplays_Easter.htm
Bolton Easter Congress - https://boltonchessclub.webs.com/
The ECF Calendar has all the details - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/event-calendar
4NCL
Immediately after the performance in Astana, England's heroes were back in 4NCL action for the fourth weekend - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/22/chess-england-luke-mcshane-gawain-jones-david-howell-4ncl, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/15/chess-guildford-4ncl-showdown-with-manx
CHESS magazine taster - click here
Review King
IM Gary Lane looks at Game Changer by Natasha Regan and Matthew Sadler, along with Carl Portman's Chess Behind Bars. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Can you help?
A request has come into ECF from Tim Clare. Over 30 years ago I sustained a spinal injury in a car accident which left me as a permanent wheelchair user (tetraplegic). At the moment, I do not have any transport so I am limited to where I can play chess. My new mode of transport is currently waiting for adaptations and will take at least nine months. I am looking for a chess partner to improve my game and keep my brain from stagnating. My level of chess has never been rated but I imagine I am of a low club standard. (Editor's note - Tim is based in Windsor. Please contact him directly on 07956 483201 or via [email protected] if you are able to help him)
Glorney Faber Alumni Day
Desmond Beatty, organiser of the Glorney Gilbert organiser on the first Glorney Faber alumni day - Since its foundation in 1948, it is estimated that over 2,000 players from at least 9 nations have played in the Glorney Faber/Gilbert, Robinson and Stokes Cups. Over the past 4 years, the archive project has identified many of these players by name. This year it is time to try to find and contact them all to invite them to the first Glorney / Faber Alumni Day to be held in conjunction with the Glorney Gilbert International 2019 in the Carrickdale Hotel and Spa, Co Louth, Ireland on Sunday 21 July 2019.Specifics of the event will be determined based on levels and nature of interest but are expected to include an Alumni lunch, some chess and the opening ceremony of the Glorney Gilbert International 2019. The schedule will be such as to facilitate those who wish to travel in and back on the day. The ask, therefore, is that you spread the word amongst your chess colleagues, both in your own federations and beyond asking for any and all player who participated in the Glorney Faber Gilbert Robinson Stokes Cups since 1948 to register their interest in coming to Ireland for this reunion event on the ICU website.
Obituaries
Jeff Cox and Nancy Cox - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10137
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER MARCH 2019
From Chessable, sponsors of the ECF eNewsletter
The landmark Build up your Chess series is now specially adapted with MoveTrainer™ for chess players who want to build their skills on solid foundations --- check it out here
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the March edition of the ECF e-newsletter. In this edition Tim Wall reports on the Wolf Gambit and an 'alarming' experience at a Doncaster weekender. We also report on the sad and hopefully temporary venue problem of one of the country's most famous clubs, Drunken Knights, who have been put in a difficult position by their pub hosts of 29 years. There is also a reminder to make your voice heard on the ECF grading recommendations and a call for Members' reps for Platinum and Gold categories.
Best wishes, Mark Rivlin
Off the Wall
Tim Wall reports on an interesting weekend conference in Doncaster ...
Make the grade and have your say
Please make your views heard on the ECF consultation document on a prospective new grading system. It only takes a few minutes - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation/
Your Fed needs you!
There is a vacancy for a Gold Members' Representative, along with the existing Platinum Members' Representative vacancy, with both posts lasting until July 31, 2019. Most work is concentrated around the two half-yearly meetings, with the ECF office providing administrative support for messages to and from Members. If you are interested please email Roger Emerson (for Gold rep enquiries) at regoldecf@gmail.com and Francis Bowers (for Platinum rep enquiries) at [email protected]
BCET awards - a message from the British Chess Educational Trust (BCET)
With funds provided by the generosity of the late Sir George Thomas (now administered by the British Chess Educational Trust), the BCET annually awards shields to schools which have shown outstanding achievements or enthusiasm in chess. Commencing in 1982, inscribed chess boards have been substituted for shields. Recommendations for awards should be forwarded (via the appropriate Union if in England, or via the national organisations for Scotland or Wales) to John Wickham, 55 Shakespeare Way, Taverham, Norwich, NR8 6SL Email [email protected] by 31st May 2019
Hard cell
ECF Director of Chess in Prisons Carl Portman makes the long trip to HMP Channings Wood in Devon
Sooner rather than REYTA
The ECF is proud to have been shortlisted in the Remarkable East Yorkshire (REYTA) Awards 2019 in the Remarkable Tourism Category for last year's highly successful British Chess Championships in Hull. We are in good company with these other nominees – Beverley Puppet Festival; Tribfest Music Festival; Pride in Hull; Urban Legends: Northern Lights; Humber Street Sesh and Beverley Food Festival. More here --- https://www.visithullandeastyorkshire.com/reyta/2019finalists.aspx
World Team Championships
England have qualified for the world team championships for the first time since 1997. The competition runs until 13th March in Astana, Kazakhstan. England’s qualification was on the back of the excellent fifth-place result at last year’s Olympiad in Batumi. The England team is made up of Michael Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell and Gawain Jones. As we go to press England are third with a maximum 4/4 points after two rounds. You can follow the matches live on chess24.com
ECF Finance Council meeting
The 2019 Finance Council meeting will take place on the afternoon of 27th April in Birmingham. The prescribed business of the meeting includes presentation by the Board of the 2019/20 budget and the determination of fees and subscriptions for 2019/20.
Other business can be included on the agenda if it is proposed by or on behalf of the Board or proposed by ‘the requisitionists’ as defined in Article 1.1 of the ECF’s Articles of Association (see below). In respect of motions to be proposed by the requisitionists, please note that --
(a) the motion should be submitted to [email protected] no later than 1.30 p.m. on Thursday 21st March; and
(b) if the motion does not relate to the financial affairs of the ECF, it can only be included on the agenda with the consent of the President or the Chief Executive.
‘The requisitionists’ comprise any of the following full* members:
(i) any Director;
(ii) the FIDE Delegate;
(iii) the Chair of a Standing Committee;
(iv) any two Trustees;
(v) any Representative Member of a Constituent Unit;
(vi) any two Representative Members of Counties;
(vii) any two Direct Members’ Representatives;
(viii) any two of a Trustee, a Representative Member of a County and a Direct Members’
Representative; or
(ix) any five Individual** Members or Representative Members.
* Full Members are Constituent Units, County Associations, Chess Leagues, Chess Congresses, Other Organisations, the Directors, the FIDE Delegate, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, the Trustees (of the Permanent Invested Fund), Patrons, the Past President and the Past Chief Executive
** Individual Members are any of the Full Members listed above: individual Direct Members do NOT qualify as requisitionists.
Best of British
Entry is now open for the British Chess Championships 2019 here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/the-106th-british-chess-championships-2019/
A paper form can also be downloaded from https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BCC-Entry-Form-2019.pdf
Monthly grading
There is still time to join the consultation on the ECF moving to monthly grading. The consultation is open until 15th March. Contribute here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation/
More details on the proposals have been published here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grading-proposal/ and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grades-faq/
Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak's roundup
The ECF are inviting tender applications for the ECF Academy for the final two Academy weekends of 2019, and then going forward into 2020. More here ---https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-academy-tender/
Northern Junior Championship results here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/northern-junior-championship-results/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's roundup
The big news this month is that the English Women's Championship 2019 will now take part as part of a much bigger chess festival, which will be the English Chess Women's Festival 2019. Detailed discussions concerning the line up of the festival are still underway but it is planned to include a special chess lecture, coaching sessions for women and girls of all ages and at least one simul. There will also be a civil reception sponsored by Hull which will include a BBQ and possible other out of door activity-weather permitting. The English Women's Championship itself will include another major increase in prize money including special new prizes and details of these will be announced shortly ...
Imperial’s measure
Imperial College won the British Universities Chess Association (BUCA) championship with a maximum 10 points from five matches. UCL 1 and Bristol 1 came second and third with LSE 1 coming fourth. All four qualify for the 2019 European Universities’ Championship in Budapest, Hungary, in July. More here --- https://www.bucachess.org.uk/
4NCL Easter congress --- http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter19.htm
4NCL third weekend --- http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
In the fast fast Lane
IM Gary Lane with an excellent view of the DVD Closing Gambit by Alan Byron, which looks at the 1978 Karpov-Korchnoi world championship. More here ---https://chess.business/blog/
ECF junior selection policy
Details of junior selection policy and events here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/junior-selection-policy/
Knights forked
One of the country's most famous and loved chess clubs, Drunken Knights, have had to pull out of the London Chess League for the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign due to The Plough pub in Bloomsbury being unable to continue their 29 years of free hosting. DK have three strong teams, one in Division 1 and 2 in Division 2. More here from the admirable Battersea Chess Club ...
Chess Magazine - the March excerpt here
Obituaries
Richard Harris - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&p=227575 and here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10089
Simon Norton - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10095 and here - https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/22/simon-norton-obituary
John Drew - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10101
Anne Sunnucks-Mothersill - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10117
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
The landmark Build up your Chess series is now specially adapted with MoveTrainer™ for chess players who want to build their skills on solid foundations --- check it out here
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the March edition of the ECF e-newsletter. In this edition Tim Wall reports on the Wolf Gambit and an 'alarming' experience at a Doncaster weekender. We also report on the sad and hopefully temporary venue problem of one of the country's most famous clubs, Drunken Knights, who have been put in a difficult position by their pub hosts of 29 years. There is also a reminder to make your voice heard on the ECF grading recommendations and a call for Members' reps for Platinum and Gold categories.
Best wishes, Mark Rivlin
Off the Wall
Tim Wall reports on an interesting weekend conference in Doncaster ...
Make the grade and have your say
Please make your views heard on the ECF consultation document on a prospective new grading system. It only takes a few minutes - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation/
Your Fed needs you!
There is a vacancy for a Gold Members' Representative, along with the existing Platinum Members' Representative vacancy, with both posts lasting until July 31, 2019. Most work is concentrated around the two half-yearly meetings, with the ECF office providing administrative support for messages to and from Members. If you are interested please email Roger Emerson (for Gold rep enquiries) at regoldecf@gmail.com and Francis Bowers (for Platinum rep enquiries) at [email protected]
BCET awards - a message from the British Chess Educational Trust (BCET)
With funds provided by the generosity of the late Sir George Thomas (now administered by the British Chess Educational Trust), the BCET annually awards shields to schools which have shown outstanding achievements or enthusiasm in chess. Commencing in 1982, inscribed chess boards have been substituted for shields. Recommendations for awards should be forwarded (via the appropriate Union if in England, or via the national organisations for Scotland or Wales) to John Wickham, 55 Shakespeare Way, Taverham, Norwich, NR8 6SL Email [email protected] by 31st May 2019
Hard cell
ECF Director of Chess in Prisons Carl Portman makes the long trip to HMP Channings Wood in Devon
Sooner rather than REYTA
The ECF is proud to have been shortlisted in the Remarkable East Yorkshire (REYTA) Awards 2019 in the Remarkable Tourism Category for last year's highly successful British Chess Championships in Hull. We are in good company with these other nominees – Beverley Puppet Festival; Tribfest Music Festival; Pride in Hull; Urban Legends: Northern Lights; Humber Street Sesh and Beverley Food Festival. More here --- https://www.visithullandeastyorkshire.com/reyta/2019finalists.aspx
World Team Championships
England have qualified for the world team championships for the first time since 1997. The competition runs until 13th March in Astana, Kazakhstan. England’s qualification was on the back of the excellent fifth-place result at last year’s Olympiad in Batumi. The England team is made up of Michael Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell and Gawain Jones. As we go to press England are third with a maximum 4/4 points after two rounds. You can follow the matches live on chess24.com
ECF Finance Council meeting
The 2019 Finance Council meeting will take place on the afternoon of 27th April in Birmingham. The prescribed business of the meeting includes presentation by the Board of the 2019/20 budget and the determination of fees and subscriptions for 2019/20.
Other business can be included on the agenda if it is proposed by or on behalf of the Board or proposed by ‘the requisitionists’ as defined in Article 1.1 of the ECF’s Articles of Association (see below). In respect of motions to be proposed by the requisitionists, please note that --
(a) the motion should be submitted to [email protected] no later than 1.30 p.m. on Thursday 21st March; and
(b) if the motion does not relate to the financial affairs of the ECF, it can only be included on the agenda with the consent of the President or the Chief Executive.
‘The requisitionists’ comprise any of the following full* members:
(i) any Director;
(ii) the FIDE Delegate;
(iii) the Chair of a Standing Committee;
(iv) any two Trustees;
(v) any Representative Member of a Constituent Unit;
(vi) any two Representative Members of Counties;
(vii) any two Direct Members’ Representatives;
(viii) any two of a Trustee, a Representative Member of a County and a Direct Members’
Representative; or
(ix) any five Individual** Members or Representative Members.
* Full Members are Constituent Units, County Associations, Chess Leagues, Chess Congresses, Other Organisations, the Directors, the FIDE Delegate, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, the Trustees (of the Permanent Invested Fund), Patrons, the Past President and the Past Chief Executive
** Individual Members are any of the Full Members listed above: individual Direct Members do NOT qualify as requisitionists.
Best of British
Entry is now open for the British Chess Championships 2019 here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/the-106th-british-chess-championships-2019/
A paper form can also be downloaded from https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BCC-Entry-Form-2019.pdf
Monthly grading
There is still time to join the consultation on the ECF moving to monthly grading. The consultation is open until 15th March. Contribute here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/grading-consultation/
More details on the proposals have been published here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grading-proposal/ and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/monthly-grades-faq/
Director of Junior Chess Alex Holowczak's roundup
The ECF are inviting tender applications for the ECF Academy for the final two Academy weekends of 2019, and then going forward into 2020. More here ---https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-academy-tender/
Northern Junior Championship results here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/northern-junior-championship-results/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's roundup
The big news this month is that the English Women's Championship 2019 will now take part as part of a much bigger chess festival, which will be the English Chess Women's Festival 2019. Detailed discussions concerning the line up of the festival are still underway but it is planned to include a special chess lecture, coaching sessions for women and girls of all ages and at least one simul. There will also be a civil reception sponsored by Hull which will include a BBQ and possible other out of door activity-weather permitting. The English Women's Championship itself will include another major increase in prize money including special new prizes and details of these will be announced shortly ...
Imperial’s measure
Imperial College won the British Universities Chess Association (BUCA) championship with a maximum 10 points from five matches. UCL 1 and Bristol 1 came second and third with LSE 1 coming fourth. All four qualify for the 2019 European Universities’ Championship in Budapest, Hungary, in July. More here --- https://www.bucachess.org.uk/
4NCL Easter congress --- http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter19.htm
4NCL third weekend --- http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
In the fast fast Lane
IM Gary Lane with an excellent view of the DVD Closing Gambit by Alan Byron, which looks at the 1978 Karpov-Korchnoi world championship. More here ---https://chess.business/blog/
ECF junior selection policy
Details of junior selection policy and events here --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/junior-selection-policy/
Knights forked
One of the country's most famous and loved chess clubs, Drunken Knights, have had to pull out of the London Chess League for the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign due to The Plough pub in Bloomsbury being unable to continue their 29 years of free hosting. DK have three strong teams, one in Division 1 and 2 in Division 2. More here from the admirable Battersea Chess Club ...
Chess Magazine - the March excerpt here
Obituaries
Richard Harris - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&p=227575 and here - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10089
Simon Norton - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10095 and here - https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/22/simon-norton-obituary
John Drew - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10101
Anne Sunnucks-Mothersill - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10117
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2019
A word from Chessable, sponsors of the ECF eNewsletter ...
Game Changer, the highly-anticipated investigation into AI insights, is now available to train on Chessable with MoveTrainer™. Learn AlphaZero's opening and middlegame strategies for an edge at the board ...
Check it out here
Dear Member
Welcome to the February Newsletter. In this edition we have a report on the latest 4NCL weekend along with an introductory statement from the ECF on revised gradings. Please take a few minutes to fill in the consultation form, because your opinion really does matter on this one --- https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-monthly-grading-consultation/ (more below on this topic from Director of Membership Dave Thomas) and please note that the consultation period ends on 15th March 2019. I'd be pleased to publish an op-ed piece on this, so please send contributions to [email protected] and I will make sure as many voices are heard as possible. We also have reports from the Director of Home Chess on the revamped Over 65s Championships and an update from the Director of Women's Chess. There is news from the Academy Weekend and a roundup of another excellent tournament from the hardworking British Bangla Chess Association.
--- Mark Rivlin
Team England
ECF Director of International Chess IM Malcolm Pein opens with some terrific breaking news. As a result of our fine performance at the 2018 Chess Olympiad, England have been invited to the World Team Championships. Thanks to support from the Scheinberg family, a team will be sent to the competition which begins on March 4th in Astana, Kazakhstan.
England Women's Championships 2019
The ECF has announced that the 2019 English Women’s Championships will take place in Hull on Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September 2019. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2019-english-womens-championship/
Rock around the clocks
The Gibraltar Chess Festival Masters was won by Russian GM Vladislav Artemiev with 8.5/12. GM David Howell finished on a creditable 7.5. More here -https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/01/gibraltar-open-vladislav-artemiev-shock-rock-chess - and here - https://www.gibchess.com/
From younger ... ECF Academy weekend
Mimi Khan and David Gray report on another highly successful training weekend - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-study-weekend-january-2019/
... to older - Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin on the English Seniors Championship
The ECF is relaunching the annual English Seniors Championship with a four day FIDE-rated and ECF graded congress at the St Johns Hotel, Solihull in April 2019. The event will run for four days from 4th to 7th April, with a total of six rounds. There will be two sections - Over 50s and Over 65s - with the two winners becoming English Seniors Champions for 2019/2020. English players aged 50 or over by the end of 2019 will be eligible to enter the Championships, with an early bird discount available on entries received before 15th February. Full details of the congress can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-seniors-championships/ - and we hope to see as many of you as possible at this exciting event to re-establish the Seniors Championship on the chess calendar. For further details please contact Ed Goodwin at [email protected]
Brought to book
ECF webmaster Andrew Walker reports on the ECF Yearbook 2019
The yearbook is currently with the printers, and once it lands at the Watch Oak, you’ll be able to order it online or over the telephone at £13.50 for members, £15.50 for everyone else. Keep an eye on the ECF website. Platinum members as always will get a free copy as part of their membership … and this year it’s in full colour!
Don't miss the coach
An Expression of Interest form for coaches for various England team events is available here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/coaches-expression-of-interest-2019/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's latest update
The major news in recent weeks has been the announcement that the English Women’s Chess Championships 2019 will be in held in Hull over the weekend of Friday 30 August to Sunday 1 September. I am delighted that the ECF is working in partnership with the Hull and District Chess Association in arranging and delivering this flagship event. I am also very grateful for their solid and significant support for English Women’s chess. The 2018 EWC broke all previous records of attendance and prize funds and I am hoping that 2019 will be even better (we aim to have some special events taking place). We are rolling out the new Grant scheme aimed at supporting women in playing chess in England in competitive and social settings. Yes, there is much to do in this area of ECF work but we are starting to make progress. Grants are available to any organisations that can demonstrates plans and outcomes to benefit women of all ages playing chess in England. I am willing to consider applications not only from existing chess organisers and organisations but also from those who are willing to begin chess playing opportunities for women. I am delighted to inform ECF colleagues that Christelle Jager-Hafstad has been appointed to the FIDE Women’s Commission. We had a rmeeting to discuss how we can work together to pursue common objectives for women in the ECF and FIDE and I am sure that her appointment to the FIDE Women’s Commission is a great boost to women’s chess worldwide.
Book review
IM Gary Lane reviews Endgame Virtuoso, Magnus Carlsen by Tibor Karolyi - https://chess.business/blog/ (scroll down the page to find the review)
4NCL second weekend
Tim Wall reports - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Wall-4NCL-report.pdf
4NCL Easter congress
The 4NCL Easter Congress takes place from Friday 19th to Monday 22nd April in Stevenage. There are four categories. More here -http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter19.htm
Up or down?
The new ECF January grades are out - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-new-grades-are-out-2/
Weighting the ratings
ECF Director of Membership Dave Thomas on the ECF Board's response to the new grading system ---
The ECF Board is responding to changes in the expectations of both members and potential members by working to move grading from a six monthly to a monthly update. The intention is to introduce the change with effect from the January 2020 grading list update.
This has also focussed the Board on whether we should continue with the traditional three-digit grade used in English chess since the 1960s or move to a four-digit, Elo style system. This has been discussed within the Board who are minded to use this opportunity to move to a four digit system.
This has several advantages ---
• It would bring English chess in line with FIDE ratings and the rating systems in most of the rest of the world, including - the other countries in the UK, most other National Federations, correspondence chess, online rating systems
• It would help comparability between English grades and other ratings
• It would make the grades more meaningful for younger players who are accustomed to four digit ratings from playing online
• It is likely to reduce substantially the cost of introducing the monthly grading system (as it will be easier to replicate existing software using four digit calculations)
The Board recognises that this will be a significant change. We have therefore set up an online consultation form at https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-monthly-grading-consultation/ which all players are invited to complete. The consultation period will end on 15th March 2019.
Organisers' area
The Federation has set up a password protected area of its website for data of use to organisers which data protection regulations only permit us to distribute to users with an identified requirement for access. At present this is the membership spreadsheet, which is updated at least weekly and more often when practical, and the member finder, which is a real-time view of the membership database. Additional material will be made available as time goes on, either as we complete the work necessary to make it available, or the demand becomes apparent. Any organiser who requires access to this data for the purpose of running events should email [email protected], listing the events they run and stating why they feel they need access.
BBCA Rapidplay
Abu Hasan reports on British Bangla Chess Association latest monthly rapidplay ...
The British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) launched its monthly ECF graded Rapidplay tournament on 27 January. Held at the newly built Hason Raja Centre of Spitalfields Housing Association, London E1, the tournament was arranged in two sections - Open and Major (ECF 120 and below). International arbiter Alan Atkinson oversaw the event. The Open attracted 26 players, with Adam Bukojemski (220) on the top of the starting rank followed by FM Jovica Radovanovich (218). After a nail-biting six-round battle, Jovica snatched first prize securing 5.5 points while Thomas Quilter, Andrew McGettigan and Vikram Kamath shared second prize, scoring 4.5 points. Nasrullah Sheikh, Mohammed Alahi and Mostaque Choudhury won the three grading prizes. In the Major section. Chris J Soltysiak, Gerry Geron and Dorbesh Choudhury shared the top prize scoring 5 points, while Masud Hoque, Mahmud Mazed and Abu Hasan shared U100 grading prize. The second BBCA monthly Rapidplay will be held on Sunday 24 February at the same venue, which is close to Whitechapel and Bethnal Green stations. Full details of the event are to be found on the ECF calendar together with a link to register online.
Magnus insights
World champion Magnus Carlsen started the year in top form with victory at Wijk an Zee followed by a revealing interview with GM Jan Gustafsson on chess24.com - well worth listening to
World Physical Disability Chess Championships
This tournament is being held in Ruzomberok, Slovakia 27th June to 7th July 2019 [PDF]
British Chess Educational Trust
Details regarding applications for BCET awards for schools here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/bcet-awards-2019/
Junior clarification
ECF Director of Junior Chess and Education Alex Holowczak on a grading issue ...
The ECF has been made aware that the London Junior Championship Under 8s has been submitted as a standardplay tournament rather than a rapidplay tournament. The ECF’s grading team is aware of the issue, and it is being resolved as quickly as practicable.This has knock-on consequences with regard to the Junior Selection Policy. Parents should not make assumptions about their children’s qualification status based on these initially published grades until a revised grading list is published in due course; and until they have received a communication from the ECF Office informing them that their children have qualified. Please note that due to the calculation method of grades for juniors, it is not unlikely that this will affect the grades of children even if they were born before 2011.
Lately at Yateley
The South of England Junior Championships at Yateley Manor School took place at the end of January. Results here - https://www.southofenglandjunior.com/
CHESS magazine taster
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CHESS-Feb-2019.pdf
Obituaries
Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10039
Khosrow Sheikh Harandi - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10036
Game Changer, the highly-anticipated investigation into AI insights, is now available to train on Chessable with MoveTrainer™. Learn AlphaZero's opening and middlegame strategies for an edge at the board ...
Check it out here
Dear Member
Welcome to the February Newsletter. In this edition we have a report on the latest 4NCL weekend along with an introductory statement from the ECF on revised gradings. Please take a few minutes to fill in the consultation form, because your opinion really does matter on this one --- https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-monthly-grading-consultation/ (more below on this topic from Director of Membership Dave Thomas) and please note that the consultation period ends on 15th March 2019. I'd be pleased to publish an op-ed piece on this, so please send contributions to [email protected] and I will make sure as many voices are heard as possible. We also have reports from the Director of Home Chess on the revamped Over 65s Championships and an update from the Director of Women's Chess. There is news from the Academy Weekend and a roundup of another excellent tournament from the hardworking British Bangla Chess Association.
--- Mark Rivlin
Team England
ECF Director of International Chess IM Malcolm Pein opens with some terrific breaking news. As a result of our fine performance at the 2018 Chess Olympiad, England have been invited to the World Team Championships. Thanks to support from the Scheinberg family, a team will be sent to the competition which begins on March 4th in Astana, Kazakhstan.
England Women's Championships 2019
The ECF has announced that the 2019 English Women’s Championships will take place in Hull on Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September 2019. More here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2019-english-womens-championship/
Rock around the clocks
The Gibraltar Chess Festival Masters was won by Russian GM Vladislav Artemiev with 8.5/12. GM David Howell finished on a creditable 7.5. More here -https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/01/gibraltar-open-vladislav-artemiev-shock-rock-chess - and here - https://www.gibchess.com/
From younger ... ECF Academy weekend
Mimi Khan and David Gray report on another highly successful training weekend - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-study-weekend-january-2019/
... to older - Director of Home Chess Adrian Elwin on the English Seniors Championship
The ECF is relaunching the annual English Seniors Championship with a four day FIDE-rated and ECF graded congress at the St Johns Hotel, Solihull in April 2019. The event will run for four days from 4th to 7th April, with a total of six rounds. There will be two sections - Over 50s and Over 65s - with the two winners becoming English Seniors Champions for 2019/2020. English players aged 50 or over by the end of 2019 will be eligible to enter the Championships, with an early bird discount available on entries received before 15th February. Full details of the congress can be found here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-seniors-championships/ - and we hope to see as many of you as possible at this exciting event to re-establish the Seniors Championship on the chess calendar. For further details please contact Ed Goodwin at [email protected]
Brought to book
ECF webmaster Andrew Walker reports on the ECF Yearbook 2019
The yearbook is currently with the printers, and once it lands at the Watch Oak, you’ll be able to order it online or over the telephone at £13.50 for members, £15.50 for everyone else. Keep an eye on the ECF website. Platinum members as always will get a free copy as part of their membership … and this year it’s in full colour!
Don't miss the coach
An Expression of Interest form for coaches for various England team events is available here - https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/coaches-expression-of-interest-2019/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan's latest update
The major news in recent weeks has been the announcement that the English Women’s Chess Championships 2019 will be in held in Hull over the weekend of Friday 30 August to Sunday 1 September. I am delighted that the ECF is working in partnership with the Hull and District Chess Association in arranging and delivering this flagship event. I am also very grateful for their solid and significant support for English Women’s chess. The 2018 EWC broke all previous records of attendance and prize funds and I am hoping that 2019 will be even better (we aim to have some special events taking place). We are rolling out the new Grant scheme aimed at supporting women in playing chess in England in competitive and social settings. Yes, there is much to do in this area of ECF work but we are starting to make progress. Grants are available to any organisations that can demonstrates plans and outcomes to benefit women of all ages playing chess in England. I am willing to consider applications not only from existing chess organisers and organisations but also from those who are willing to begin chess playing opportunities for women. I am delighted to inform ECF colleagues that Christelle Jager-Hafstad has been appointed to the FIDE Women’s Commission. We had a rmeeting to discuss how we can work together to pursue common objectives for women in the ECF and FIDE and I am sure that her appointment to the FIDE Women’s Commission is a great boost to women’s chess worldwide.
Book review
IM Gary Lane reviews Endgame Virtuoso, Magnus Carlsen by Tibor Karolyi - https://chess.business/blog/ (scroll down the page to find the review)
4NCL second weekend
Tim Wall reports - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Wall-4NCL-report.pdf
4NCL Easter congress
The 4NCL Easter Congress takes place from Friday 19th to Monday 22nd April in Stevenage. There are four categories. More here -http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_easter19.htm
Up or down?
The new ECF January grades are out - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-new-grades-are-out-2/
Weighting the ratings
ECF Director of Membership Dave Thomas on the ECF Board's response to the new grading system ---
The ECF Board is responding to changes in the expectations of both members and potential members by working to move grading from a six monthly to a monthly update. The intention is to introduce the change with effect from the January 2020 grading list update.
This has also focussed the Board on whether we should continue with the traditional three-digit grade used in English chess since the 1960s or move to a four-digit, Elo style system. This has been discussed within the Board who are minded to use this opportunity to move to a four digit system.
This has several advantages ---
• It would bring English chess in line with FIDE ratings and the rating systems in most of the rest of the world, including - the other countries in the UK, most other National Federations, correspondence chess, online rating systems
• It would help comparability between English grades and other ratings
• It would make the grades more meaningful for younger players who are accustomed to four digit ratings from playing online
• It is likely to reduce substantially the cost of introducing the monthly grading system (as it will be easier to replicate existing software using four digit calculations)
The Board recognises that this will be a significant change. We have therefore set up an online consultation form at https://britchess.wufoo.com/forms/ecf-monthly-grading-consultation/ which all players are invited to complete. The consultation period will end on 15th March 2019.
Organisers' area
The Federation has set up a password protected area of its website for data of use to organisers which data protection regulations only permit us to distribute to users with an identified requirement for access. At present this is the membership spreadsheet, which is updated at least weekly and more often when practical, and the member finder, which is a real-time view of the membership database. Additional material will be made available as time goes on, either as we complete the work necessary to make it available, or the demand becomes apparent. Any organiser who requires access to this data for the purpose of running events should email [email protected], listing the events they run and stating why they feel they need access.
BBCA Rapidplay
Abu Hasan reports on British Bangla Chess Association latest monthly rapidplay ...
The British Bangla Chess Association (BBCA) launched its monthly ECF graded Rapidplay tournament on 27 January. Held at the newly built Hason Raja Centre of Spitalfields Housing Association, London E1, the tournament was arranged in two sections - Open and Major (ECF 120 and below). International arbiter Alan Atkinson oversaw the event. The Open attracted 26 players, with Adam Bukojemski (220) on the top of the starting rank followed by FM Jovica Radovanovich (218). After a nail-biting six-round battle, Jovica snatched first prize securing 5.5 points while Thomas Quilter, Andrew McGettigan and Vikram Kamath shared second prize, scoring 4.5 points. Nasrullah Sheikh, Mohammed Alahi and Mostaque Choudhury won the three grading prizes. In the Major section. Chris J Soltysiak, Gerry Geron and Dorbesh Choudhury shared the top prize scoring 5 points, while Masud Hoque, Mahmud Mazed and Abu Hasan shared U100 grading prize. The second BBCA monthly Rapidplay will be held on Sunday 24 February at the same venue, which is close to Whitechapel and Bethnal Green stations. Full details of the event are to be found on the ECF calendar together with a link to register online.
Magnus insights
World champion Magnus Carlsen started the year in top form with victory at Wijk an Zee followed by a revealing interview with GM Jan Gustafsson on chess24.com - well worth listening to
World Physical Disability Chess Championships
This tournament is being held in Ruzomberok, Slovakia 27th June to 7th July 2019 [PDF]
British Chess Educational Trust
Details regarding applications for BCET awards for schools here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/bcet-awards-2019/
Junior clarification
ECF Director of Junior Chess and Education Alex Holowczak on a grading issue ...
The ECF has been made aware that the London Junior Championship Under 8s has been submitted as a standardplay tournament rather than a rapidplay tournament. The ECF’s grading team is aware of the issue, and it is being resolved as quickly as practicable.This has knock-on consequences with regard to the Junior Selection Policy. Parents should not make assumptions about their children’s qualification status based on these initially published grades until a revised grading list is published in due course; and until they have received a communication from the ECF Office informing them that their children have qualified. Please note that due to the calculation method of grades for juniors, it is not unlikely that this will affect the grades of children even if they were born before 2011.
Lately at Yateley
The South of England Junior Championships at Yateley Manor School took place at the end of January. Results here - https://www.southofenglandjunior.com/
CHESS magazine taster
https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CHESS-Feb-2019.pdf
Obituaries
Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10039
Khosrow Sheikh Harandi - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=10036
ECF E NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2019
A word from Chessable, sponsors of the ECF eNewsletter
GM Jacob Aagaards' Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation is now an interactive online course and on special offer for a limited time only!
Check it out here
Dear ECF Member
Happy New Year and welcome to the January newsletter. The pre-Christmas jamboree of the World Championship and the London Chess Classic was followed by a closely-fought Hastings Masters, and with Gibraltar round the corner there will be plenty to watch this month. We start the year on a sad note with the untimely death of Stephen Berry, one of the country's stalwart players (obituary by Andrew Stone below).
We feature an interesting article by John Foley around the definition of chess as a sport, and Tim Wall has been busy for us this month with a report on the London Chess Classic and an excellent homage to iconic chess players in his blog.
--- Mark Rivlin
Be a sport?
John Foley, secretary of ECU Education Commission on why chess should be classed as sport - click here
Hastings 2018-19 - a fair share of the spoils
Pam Thomas reports on a six-way tie for first place and four-way tie for second place in the Masters at the 34th Tradewise International Chess Congress. More here -http://www.hastingschess.com/final-round-up-pam-thomas/
Classic rocks
Tim Wall reports on the 10th London Chess Classic - https://www.londonchessclassic.com/ - click here
Conference decides
John Foley on the London Chess Conference - https://chessplus.net/london-chess-conference-2018/
FIDE and ECU Commissions
Appointments and nominations include John Foley – Secretary, ECU Educational Commission; John Higgs – Member, ECU Events Commission; Christelle Jager-Hafstad – ECU Nomination to the FIDE Women’s Commission. More here - http://www.europechess.org/ecu-commissions-2019-2022-and-nominations-to-fide-commissions/
The following people who are ECF members/people are on FIDE Commissions until 2022 ---
Arbiters Member - Alex McFarlane (Scotland)
Events Member - Lara Barnes
Global Strategy Member - Ali Mortazavi
Qualification Chairman - Nick Faulks (Bermuda), Secretary - Alex Holowczak, Member - Thomas Thorpe (Wales)
Women Member - Christelle Jager-Hafstad
Says Alex Holowczak, ECF Director of Junior Chess, "We are wondering if Tom is the youngest person ever to be on a FIDE Commission; he is 22."
Full list here
Arbiter-ly cold
Alex Holowczak was a pairings arbiter at the world Rapidplay and Blitz championships in St Petersburg - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/alex-goes-to-st-petersburg/
Off the Wall
Tim Wall on departed chess icons here
South of England Junior Congress
This takes place on January 26/7 at Yateley Manor. More here - https://www.southofenglandjunior.com/
Approaches to coaches
The ECF's announcement on an accredited coaches scheme - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-accredited-coaches-scheme-announcement/
Banging the drum for chess
Abu Hasan reports on the British Bangla Chess Association FIDE Rapidplay and the continuing success of the association ...
Players at the BBCA FIDE Rapidplay
Your country needs you
The ECF has published the selection criteria for 2019 international junior events – more here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/junior-selection-policy/
Just the Minutes
The minutes of the ECF AGM held in Birmingham in October are here
Organisational skills
ECF Director of Membership Dave Thomas on new arrangements for an Organisers Area of the ECF website ---
The Federation has set up a password-protected area of its website for data of use to organisers, which data protection regulations only permit us to distribute to users with an identified requirement for access. At present this is the membership spreadsheet, which is updated at least weekly and more often when practical, and the member finder, which is a real-time view of the membership database. Additional material will be made available as time goes on, either as we complete the work necessary to make it available, or the demand becomes apparent. Any organiser who requires access to this data for the purpose of running events should email [email protected], listing the events they run and stating why they feel they need access.
Inside view
Carl Portman takes his chess roadshow to Hewell, The Grange and Grendon prisons (PDF attachments)
Rilton Cup
The strong Swedish tournament was won by Israeli GM Tamir Nabaty with 8/9. English participants were Lorin D'Costa (5/9) David Egglestone (5/9), Ravi Haria (4/9) and Aditya Munshi (3.5). Results here
Remember to be a member
However much chess you play, from a game on the beach to the British Championships, we have a category to suit you. See here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-benefits/ and here for the new Supporter (casual player) category - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/federation-announces-new-ecf-supporter-arrangements/
English Seniors Championships 2019
The ECF is relaunching the annual English Seniors championship with a four-day FIDE and ECF rated congress in Solihull in April of 2019. Details of the event, which will run from 4th - 7th April at St Johns Hotel in Solihull are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-seniors-championships/
There will be two sections – over 50s and over 65s – with the two winners becoming English Seniors Champions for 2019/2020.
... and the rest of the year's senior events? ECF Director of Senior Chess Stewart Reuben outlines what's on in 2019 for senior players.
Gawain's electric surge
Hardly having time to reflect on winning the British Knockout, Gawain Jones played in the World Rapidplay and Blitz tournaments in St Petersburg. After a disappointing rapidplay, Gawain had a brilliant 10.5/12 surge in the blitz ending with 12.5/21 and 36th position out of 150 - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/04/chess-magnus-carlsen-retains-world-blitz-title
Stuck in the middle with you
Gary Lane reviews Thomas Willemze's middle game instructive book The Chess Toolbox - https://chess.business/blog/
Respect for the French
16-year-old junior Max French finished a quality packed-field Sunway Sitges tournament this morning with 5/10 (+2=6-2) with a TPR of 2290 and a hefty 113-point enhancement of his FIDE rating. Max's TPR was 2290 and he gains 113 Fide points from the Sitges tournament.
Rock around the clock
The prestigious Gibraltar Chess Festival starts on January 22 with a raft of top GMs in the Open and a range of categories to suit all levels. More here - https://www.gibchess.com/
4NCL Harrogate Congress
The 21st 4NCL FIDE rated Congress (with three categories) takes place in Harrogate at the Old Swan Hotel over the weekend of 18-20 January. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_21.htm
CHESS magazine taster
December's edition of CHESS magazine here
Obituary
Stephen Berry, a great stalwart of English chess has died aged 67. Andrew Stone reflects on Stephen's life and contribution to chess ...
GM Jacob Aagaards' Grandmaster Preparation: Calculation is now an interactive online course and on special offer for a limited time only!
Check it out here
Dear ECF Member
Happy New Year and welcome to the January newsletter. The pre-Christmas jamboree of the World Championship and the London Chess Classic was followed by a closely-fought Hastings Masters, and with Gibraltar round the corner there will be plenty to watch this month. We start the year on a sad note with the untimely death of Stephen Berry, one of the country's stalwart players (obituary by Andrew Stone below).
We feature an interesting article by John Foley around the definition of chess as a sport, and Tim Wall has been busy for us this month with a report on the London Chess Classic and an excellent homage to iconic chess players in his blog.
--- Mark Rivlin
Be a sport?
John Foley, secretary of ECU Education Commission on why chess should be classed as sport - click here
Hastings 2018-19 - a fair share of the spoils
Pam Thomas reports on a six-way tie for first place and four-way tie for second place in the Masters at the 34th Tradewise International Chess Congress. More here -http://www.hastingschess.com/final-round-up-pam-thomas/
Classic rocks
Tim Wall reports on the 10th London Chess Classic - https://www.londonchessclassic.com/ - click here
Conference decides
John Foley on the London Chess Conference - https://chessplus.net/london-chess-conference-2018/
FIDE and ECU Commissions
Appointments and nominations include John Foley – Secretary, ECU Educational Commission; John Higgs – Member, ECU Events Commission; Christelle Jager-Hafstad – ECU Nomination to the FIDE Women’s Commission. More here - http://www.europechess.org/ecu-commissions-2019-2022-and-nominations-to-fide-commissions/
The following people who are ECF members/people are on FIDE Commissions until 2022 ---
Arbiters Member - Alex McFarlane (Scotland)
Events Member - Lara Barnes
Global Strategy Member - Ali Mortazavi
Qualification Chairman - Nick Faulks (Bermuda), Secretary - Alex Holowczak, Member - Thomas Thorpe (Wales)
Women Member - Christelle Jager-Hafstad
Says Alex Holowczak, ECF Director of Junior Chess, "We are wondering if Tom is the youngest person ever to be on a FIDE Commission; he is 22."
Full list here
Arbiter-ly cold
Alex Holowczak was a pairings arbiter at the world Rapidplay and Blitz championships in St Petersburg - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/alex-goes-to-st-petersburg/
Off the Wall
Tim Wall on departed chess icons here
South of England Junior Congress
This takes place on January 26/7 at Yateley Manor. More here - https://www.southofenglandjunior.com/
Approaches to coaches
The ECF's announcement on an accredited coaches scheme - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-accredited-coaches-scheme-announcement/
Banging the drum for chess
Abu Hasan reports on the British Bangla Chess Association FIDE Rapidplay and the continuing success of the association ...
Players at the BBCA FIDE Rapidplay
Your country needs you
The ECF has published the selection criteria for 2019 international junior events – more here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/junior-selection-policy/
Just the Minutes
The minutes of the ECF AGM held in Birmingham in October are here
Organisational skills
ECF Director of Membership Dave Thomas on new arrangements for an Organisers Area of the ECF website ---
The Federation has set up a password-protected area of its website for data of use to organisers, which data protection regulations only permit us to distribute to users with an identified requirement for access. At present this is the membership spreadsheet, which is updated at least weekly and more often when practical, and the member finder, which is a real-time view of the membership database. Additional material will be made available as time goes on, either as we complete the work necessary to make it available, or the demand becomes apparent. Any organiser who requires access to this data for the purpose of running events should email [email protected], listing the events they run and stating why they feel they need access.
Inside view
Carl Portman takes his chess roadshow to Hewell, The Grange and Grendon prisons (PDF attachments)
Rilton Cup
The strong Swedish tournament was won by Israeli GM Tamir Nabaty with 8/9. English participants were Lorin D'Costa (5/9) David Egglestone (5/9), Ravi Haria (4/9) and Aditya Munshi (3.5). Results here
Remember to be a member
However much chess you play, from a game on the beach to the British Championships, we have a category to suit you. See here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership/membership-benefits/ and here for the new Supporter (casual player) category - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/federation-announces-new-ecf-supporter-arrangements/
English Seniors Championships 2019
The ECF is relaunching the annual English Seniors championship with a four-day FIDE and ECF rated congress in Solihull in April of 2019. Details of the event, which will run from 4th - 7th April at St Johns Hotel in Solihull are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-seniors-championships/
There will be two sections – over 50s and over 65s – with the two winners becoming English Seniors Champions for 2019/2020.
... and the rest of the year's senior events? ECF Director of Senior Chess Stewart Reuben outlines what's on in 2019 for senior players.
Gawain's electric surge
Hardly having time to reflect on winning the British Knockout, Gawain Jones played in the World Rapidplay and Blitz tournaments in St Petersburg. After a disappointing rapidplay, Gawain had a brilliant 10.5/12 surge in the blitz ending with 12.5/21 and 36th position out of 150 - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/04/chess-magnus-carlsen-retains-world-blitz-title
Stuck in the middle with you
Gary Lane reviews Thomas Willemze's middle game instructive book The Chess Toolbox - https://chess.business/blog/
Respect for the French
16-year-old junior Max French finished a quality packed-field Sunway Sitges tournament this morning with 5/10 (+2=6-2) with a TPR of 2290 and a hefty 113-point enhancement of his FIDE rating. Max's TPR was 2290 and he gains 113 Fide points from the Sitges tournament.
Rock around the clock
The prestigious Gibraltar Chess Festival starts on January 22 with a raft of top GMs in the Open and a range of categories to suit all levels. More here - https://www.gibchess.com/
4NCL Harrogate Congress
The 21st 4NCL FIDE rated Congress (with three categories) takes place in Harrogate at the Old Swan Hotel over the weekend of 18-20 January. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_21.htm
CHESS magazine taster
December's edition of CHESS magazine here
Obituary
Stephen Berry, a great stalwart of English chess has died aged 67. Andrew Stone reflects on Stephen's life and contribution to chess ...
ECF E NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2018
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Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the Christmas and New Year edition of the eNewsletter. Part 1 of the London double chess feast bill is over (well done Magnus) and we have the most wonderful anecdote from the guys at Wanstead & Woodford Chess Club concerning a keen chess player they met in the boozer after two of their teams had played in the London League last week. Part 2 of the double bill begins on 10th December with the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the Grand Chess Tour. As you may have gleaned from my short report on the ECF AGM in Birmingham in last month's newsletter, there is a mood of change in the air within English chess. The world championship provoked interest, with TV, print and social media giving excellent coverage, and the Federation has announced an excellent initiative for chess players and fans who don't want a grading or to play competitively but like an occasional social game. I suspect there are thousands of people like this and joining the ECF for a fiver a year will hopefully get them interested enough to dip their toes in joining a club and playing in leagues and tournaments.
Tim Wall has penned a wonderful article on his day at the World Championship, and we also include a roundup by Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan, while Gary Lane reviews a new edition of Paul Keres's Practical Chess Endings classic. I'm around at the Classic, so if anyone wants a natter about the newsletter, please email me at [email protected]
Seasonal Greetings to all members! The next edition will be landing on your computers around 8th January 2019 ...
--- Mark Rivlin
If Carlsen did pub chess ...
So here is the scenario - Wanstead & Woodford have finished two matches in London League. Their second team beat King's Head 2 by a healthy 7-3 margin, while the thirds were hammered 7-1 by Lewisham. The Wanstead posse found the nearest hostelry to go over games and have a swift half and go home (fake news alert). And, as if the whole episode was specially designed for an abstract film noir with eight lines of subtitles, as the guys walked into Pendenville's Oak on High Holborn, a three-minute walk from the London League's Citadenes Hotel venue, who happened to be sitting there but World Champion Magnus Carlsen (who also had a three-minute walk to the boozer)! Said WW's Kevin Sweeney, "We were out celebrating our team's victory and unfortunate loss at the nearest Wetherspoons, and found another victor. It took him three weeks to find the cheapest ale house in Holborn!"
On top of the world
Tim Wall reports from fortress World Championship - here [PDF]
London Chess Classic 10th Anniversary
It does not feel like 10 years ago that the London Chess Classic first laid down its marker as what has become one of the world’s most prestigious tournaments. This year sees World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana battle it out in an exciting new Knockout format from December 11th-17th with Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for the LCC and Grand Chess Tour title. With a mix of classical, rapidplay and blitz, there’s a healthy pot at stake of $300,000 (and $120,000 to the winner).
Accompanying the Classic this year is an expanded British Knockout Championship with a £50,000 prize fund and a stellar field led by members of England’s successful Olympiad team - Mickey Adams, David Howell, Luke McShane and Gawain Jones. For the first time, the event also includes places for England’s top two women players, Jovanka Houska and Harriet Hunt. In total, 12 of the country's top players will be fighting for a place on the Classic auditorium stage to determine the winner. Like last year, the event will be staged at Google HQ and Olympia. And the festival hall will again provide plenty of spills and thrills for hundreds of professional and amateur players at all levels, from the FIDE Open to various weekday and weekend tournaments. Most events are sold out, but spectator tickets are still on sale.
More here - www.londonchessclassic.com - and here - https://tickets.londonchessclassic.com/spectators.php
New membership driver ... for a fiver
A new initiative from ECF offering a £5 per year membership for people who play chess socially or exclusively online and want a connection to the Federation. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/federation-announces-new-ecf-supporter-arrangements/
Beating cheating
Alex Holowczak, Chief Arbiter 1st 4NCL International writes - "At the first 4NCL International during a routine Anti-Cheating check by the arbiting team a player was found to have used electronic means to assist them with their games. After further investigation, that player was subsequently disqualified from the tournament. The details have been forwarded to the FIDE Fair Play Commission, and consequently it is not possible to comment further on the case at this time. We have received a number of questions about the scores of the players in the tournament. Page 13 of the FIDE Anti-Cheating Guidelines, which are binding on us given the tournament is FIDE-rated, say the following - “In an individual Open tournament, the offender shall be excluded from the final ranking. Each of the offender’s games shall be considered a loss, but the score for the opponent shall remain unchanged. All games shall be reported as unplayed”. None of the 8 games played by the player have been submitted for FIDE rating, and they will not be submitted for ECF grading" --- Alex Holowczak, Chief Arbiter, 1st 4NCL International
A further note from ECF Director of Chess Adrian Elwin - Anti-Cheating Proposals
"In light of the case of cheating at the recent 4NCL International, the board is investigating ways of protecting players from the effects of cheating. While cheating can be dealt with at any competition where it is discovered, there is no formal system of ensuring that offenders do not re-offend. Initially, the board is contacting other organisations in a similar situation in order to establish the 'best practice' for dealing with cheats. The intention is to produce an advisory set of guidelines and best practice which competition organisers will be invited to adopt. Other actions covering reporting of cheating, recording and potential punishments are under consideration and will be based on the 'best practice' used elsewhere".
World Cadets
A 14-strong England squad participated at the World Cadets in Santiago, Spain More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/2018-world-cadets-chess-championship/ - and here - https://www.wccc2018.com/
ECF National Schools Girls Tournament
For 2019 entry please follow this link - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/
Weekend Academy
Mimi Khan and David Gray report on the latest ECF Academy study weekend in Coventry - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-study-weekend-november-2018/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan with the latest developments
The last month has been an important one in English Women’s chess with both on the board activity and also off the board work. With regard to the chess playing itself we have had the UK Open Blitz Championship Finals held at St John’s Hotel Solihull and this followed the Qualifying competitions that had been held throughout the UK in September. 16 women competed in the final, which was won by IM Sophie Milliet with 13.5 out of 15 ahead of Madara Orlovska who scored 11. Congratulations to Sophie and Madara and indeed all the women who competed. We are now looking forward to the London Chess Classic 2018 which will take place as usual in December and where we are hoping for many female participants and once again there is free entry to women. I am very pleased that this year the top two UK women players will compete in the British KO Championship for a first prize of £15,000 and I will be watching even more closely than usual how the event unfolds (and will be quietly supporting Harriet Hunt and Jovanka Houska).
Off the board we have had two major developments which I have been pressing for agreed at the ECF Board, and am hoping they will play a major role in ECF activity in 2019. Firstly I now have sign-off in regard to my proposals for the Grant Scheme to support more women in chess, and existing clubs and other organisations and individuals can now write to me with their applications for grants/support in relation to their plans for women's chess in their areas. I will be looking for plans to not only support the existing women players that we have in English chess but also schemes that bring new women players into the game. I am hoping the first grants will be agreed before Christmas. This brings me to the second development, which is the new ECF Supporter scheme, at a cost of £5 per individual, which is designed to involve social chess players and especially women with the ECF. I am also very pleased with this and it is an exciting and innovative idea, which is long overdue.
4NCL International Congress
GM Oleg Korneev and GM Tamas Fodor tied for first place in the first 4NCL International Congress Open in Telford with 6.5/9. GM Matthew Turner and GM Simon Williams got the two qualifying places for the British Knockout Championship in December. More here with all the results - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
4NCL Harrogate Congress
The 21st 4NCL FIDE-rated congress takes place in Harrogate 18-20 January 2019 with three sections. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_21.htm
Finding a resource
The newly launched ECF Resource website - https://www.ecfresource.co.uk/ - is a treasure trove of luminaries, titles, awards and results - in short, everything you want to know about chess in England is there (or will be). A further note about the site and using the errata form is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-ecf-resource-website/
Here comes the Sun
The health secretary backing chess to beat dementia; read all about it in the nation's biggest selling tabloid - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7909703/health-secretary-matt-hancock-backs-chess-dementia/
And so to Bled
Tim Harding reports on the World Seniors - http://www.chessmail.com/seniors/Bled2018-report.html
Chess in the press
There was a lot of coverage on TV, print and social media during and after the World Chess Championship. Here are some snippets ---
Chess writer John Saunders - http://johnchess.blogspot.com/2018/11/carlsen-caruana-2018-through-glass.html
Caroline Davies in the Guardian on reaction to the world championship - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/dec/01/magnus-carlsen-tie-break-fabiano-caruana-sparks-soaring-interest-in-chess
Malcolm Pein plays Sky presenter Niall Paterson (Sky News) - https://twitter.com/i/status/1067720354762817536
... and the ECF's President having a polite dig at HIGNFY - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ive-got-news-for-you-its-stupid-to-mock-chess/
David and Sophie rock around the clock
The inaugural UK Open Blitz Championship took place in Solihull first weekend of December. GM David Howell won the Open with 13/15 ahead of Witney CC's FM Marcus Harvey (12.5) who was the only player to take a point off the champion, and GM Danny Gormally was third with 11 points. IM Sophie Milliet won the women's title with 13.5/15 ahead of Orlavska Madara (11.5) and WFM Rasa Norinkeviciute with 11 points. WIM Sarah Longson came fourth, also with 11 points.
Education and Chess
John Foley from the Education Commission of the European Chess Union writes: Next week marks the annual London Chess Festival. This year the first event is the 6th annual London Chess Conference (8/9 Dec) of which the theme is "The Future of Chess in Education". This major conference brings together 50 experts on chess and education from around the world. Topics cover: educational visions, the future of school education, the professionalisation of chess teaching, transversal learning, chess and mathematics, chess for children with learning needs, chess in prisons, chess in communities etc. Speakers include Baron Mark Price, until recently UK Minister for Trade and Industry; John Claughton from the International Baccalaureate; Bachar Koautly, Deputy President of FIDE; Jesper Hall, chair of ECU's Education Commission, Malcolm Pein, CEO of Chess in Schools and Communities; Graeme Gardiner, founder of Gardiner Chess in Australia; Boris Bruhn, President, German School Chess Association; GM David Smerdon, economist at University of Queensland; and Professor Fernand Gobet, the leading chess psychologist. There will also be presentations from leading software outfits LearningChess, Chessable, ChessKid, DeCodeChess and Lichess and displays from Millennium chess computers and Rochade Chess. Following the conference there will be ECU accredited teacher training courses for teaching chess (10/11 Dec) and teaching chess and mathematics (12 Dec). More details here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/chess-and-education/ - and here - www.londonchessconference.com
Making the Grading - ECF Director of Membership on more frequent grading lists
The calculation of grades for players and the publication of grading lists is recognised as being a core function of the Federation. Annual grading lists have been published since time immemorial, and for the past few years the time interval has been six-monthly. The Board recognise that there is a clear demand from many sections of the chess community for more frequent grading lists. They have set a target of providing monthly grading capability for the 2019/2020 season. The present method of calculating grades was devised to handle batch processing of of results, with each batch containing a significant number of results for each active player. This method of calculation is statistically unsound once the frequency of calculation is such that the number of results in each batch for the majority of players is small. Moving to more frequent grading lists will require us to replace the ECF calculation method with a more suitable one. For this reason there is no merit in a half-way house of, for example, quarterly grading lists.
We assure organisers that, at least for a transitional period, there will be no requirement for leagues or club competitions to submit interim results while the event is still in progress, although as at present with six-monthly lists such interim submissions will be encouraged.
CHESS magazine taster - click here [PDF]
Rapid Response
GM Danny Gormally with his thoughts on the British Rapidplay (and a note on Carlsen-Caruana) here - https://gingergm.com/blog/the-british-rapidplay-the-shining-and-thoughts-on-carlsen-vs-caruana
Danny's blogs are featured in GM Simon Williams's website gingergm.com, well worth a visit - https://gingergm.com
Happy endings
IM Gary Lane reviews the revived Paul Keres' Practical Chess Endings - https://chess.business/blog/
Uxbridge Junior Tournament
Daniel Knight, manager of Uxbridge Junior Chess Club is launching a new junior tournament on Saturday 19th January 2019. More here!
Obituaries
Nick Grant, sponsor of England chess teams - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-nicholas-grant/ and an obituary from the Times - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9953
Irish FM Philip Short - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9819
Eric Schiller, American chess player and author - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9924 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schiller
Roy Ashmore, Basingstoke Chess Club - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9961
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the Christmas and New Year edition of the eNewsletter. Part 1 of the London double chess feast bill is over (well done Magnus) and we have the most wonderful anecdote from the guys at Wanstead & Woodford Chess Club concerning a keen chess player they met in the boozer after two of their teams had played in the London League last week. Part 2 of the double bill begins on 10th December with the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the Grand Chess Tour. As you may have gleaned from my short report on the ECF AGM in Birmingham in last month's newsletter, there is a mood of change in the air within English chess. The world championship provoked interest, with TV, print and social media giving excellent coverage, and the Federation has announced an excellent initiative for chess players and fans who don't want a grading or to play competitively but like an occasional social game. I suspect there are thousands of people like this and joining the ECF for a fiver a year will hopefully get them interested enough to dip their toes in joining a club and playing in leagues and tournaments.
Tim Wall has penned a wonderful article on his day at the World Championship, and we also include a roundup by Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan, while Gary Lane reviews a new edition of Paul Keres's Practical Chess Endings classic. I'm around at the Classic, so if anyone wants a natter about the newsletter, please email me at [email protected]
Seasonal Greetings to all members! The next edition will be landing on your computers around 8th January 2019 ...
--- Mark Rivlin
If Carlsen did pub chess ...
So here is the scenario - Wanstead & Woodford have finished two matches in London League. Their second team beat King's Head 2 by a healthy 7-3 margin, while the thirds were hammered 7-1 by Lewisham. The Wanstead posse found the nearest hostelry to go over games and have a swift half and go home (fake news alert). And, as if the whole episode was specially designed for an abstract film noir with eight lines of subtitles, as the guys walked into Pendenville's Oak on High Holborn, a three-minute walk from the London League's Citadenes Hotel venue, who happened to be sitting there but World Champion Magnus Carlsen (who also had a three-minute walk to the boozer)! Said WW's Kevin Sweeney, "We were out celebrating our team's victory and unfortunate loss at the nearest Wetherspoons, and found another victor. It took him three weeks to find the cheapest ale house in Holborn!"
On top of the world
Tim Wall reports from fortress World Championship - here [PDF]
London Chess Classic 10th Anniversary
It does not feel like 10 years ago that the London Chess Classic first laid down its marker as what has become one of the world’s most prestigious tournaments. This year sees World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana battle it out in an exciting new Knockout format from December 11th-17th with Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for the LCC and Grand Chess Tour title. With a mix of classical, rapidplay and blitz, there’s a healthy pot at stake of $300,000 (and $120,000 to the winner).
Accompanying the Classic this year is an expanded British Knockout Championship with a £50,000 prize fund and a stellar field led by members of England’s successful Olympiad team - Mickey Adams, David Howell, Luke McShane and Gawain Jones. For the first time, the event also includes places for England’s top two women players, Jovanka Houska and Harriet Hunt. In total, 12 of the country's top players will be fighting for a place on the Classic auditorium stage to determine the winner. Like last year, the event will be staged at Google HQ and Olympia. And the festival hall will again provide plenty of spills and thrills for hundreds of professional and amateur players at all levels, from the FIDE Open to various weekday and weekend tournaments. Most events are sold out, but spectator tickets are still on sale.
More here - www.londonchessclassic.com - and here - https://tickets.londonchessclassic.com/spectators.php
New membership driver ... for a fiver
A new initiative from ECF offering a £5 per year membership for people who play chess socially or exclusively online and want a connection to the Federation. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/federation-announces-new-ecf-supporter-arrangements/
Beating cheating
Alex Holowczak, Chief Arbiter 1st 4NCL International writes - "At the first 4NCL International during a routine Anti-Cheating check by the arbiting team a player was found to have used electronic means to assist them with their games. After further investigation, that player was subsequently disqualified from the tournament. The details have been forwarded to the FIDE Fair Play Commission, and consequently it is not possible to comment further on the case at this time. We have received a number of questions about the scores of the players in the tournament. Page 13 of the FIDE Anti-Cheating Guidelines, which are binding on us given the tournament is FIDE-rated, say the following - “In an individual Open tournament, the offender shall be excluded from the final ranking. Each of the offender’s games shall be considered a loss, but the score for the opponent shall remain unchanged. All games shall be reported as unplayed”. None of the 8 games played by the player have been submitted for FIDE rating, and they will not be submitted for ECF grading" --- Alex Holowczak, Chief Arbiter, 1st 4NCL International
A further note from ECF Director of Chess Adrian Elwin - Anti-Cheating Proposals
"In light of the case of cheating at the recent 4NCL International, the board is investigating ways of protecting players from the effects of cheating. While cheating can be dealt with at any competition where it is discovered, there is no formal system of ensuring that offenders do not re-offend. Initially, the board is contacting other organisations in a similar situation in order to establish the 'best practice' for dealing with cheats. The intention is to produce an advisory set of guidelines and best practice which competition organisers will be invited to adopt. Other actions covering reporting of cheating, recording and potential punishments are under consideration and will be based on the 'best practice' used elsewhere".
World Cadets
A 14-strong England squad participated at the World Cadets in Santiago, Spain More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/2018-world-cadets-chess-championship/ - and here - https://www.wccc2018.com/
ECF National Schools Girls Tournament
For 2019 entry please follow this link - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/
Weekend Academy
Mimi Khan and David Gray report on the latest ECF Academy study weekend in Coventry - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ecf-academy-study-weekend-november-2018/
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan with the latest developments
The last month has been an important one in English Women’s chess with both on the board activity and also off the board work. With regard to the chess playing itself we have had the UK Open Blitz Championship Finals held at St John’s Hotel Solihull and this followed the Qualifying competitions that had been held throughout the UK in September. 16 women competed in the final, which was won by IM Sophie Milliet with 13.5 out of 15 ahead of Madara Orlovska who scored 11. Congratulations to Sophie and Madara and indeed all the women who competed. We are now looking forward to the London Chess Classic 2018 which will take place as usual in December and where we are hoping for many female participants and once again there is free entry to women. I am very pleased that this year the top two UK women players will compete in the British KO Championship for a first prize of £15,000 and I will be watching even more closely than usual how the event unfolds (and will be quietly supporting Harriet Hunt and Jovanka Houska).
Off the board we have had two major developments which I have been pressing for agreed at the ECF Board, and am hoping they will play a major role in ECF activity in 2019. Firstly I now have sign-off in regard to my proposals for the Grant Scheme to support more women in chess, and existing clubs and other organisations and individuals can now write to me with their applications for grants/support in relation to their plans for women's chess in their areas. I will be looking for plans to not only support the existing women players that we have in English chess but also schemes that bring new women players into the game. I am hoping the first grants will be agreed before Christmas. This brings me to the second development, which is the new ECF Supporter scheme, at a cost of £5 per individual, which is designed to involve social chess players and especially women with the ECF. I am also very pleased with this and it is an exciting and innovative idea, which is long overdue.
4NCL International Congress
GM Oleg Korneev and GM Tamas Fodor tied for first place in the first 4NCL International Congress Open in Telford with 6.5/9. GM Matthew Turner and GM Simon Williams got the two qualifying places for the British Knockout Championship in December. More here with all the results - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
4NCL Harrogate Congress
The 21st 4NCL FIDE-rated congress takes place in Harrogate 18-20 January 2019 with three sections. More here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_21.htm
Finding a resource
The newly launched ECF Resource website - https://www.ecfresource.co.uk/ - is a treasure trove of luminaries, titles, awards and results - in short, everything you want to know about chess in England is there (or will be). A further note about the site and using the errata form is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-ecf-resource-website/
Here comes the Sun
The health secretary backing chess to beat dementia; read all about it in the nation's biggest selling tabloid - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7909703/health-secretary-matt-hancock-backs-chess-dementia/
And so to Bled
Tim Harding reports on the World Seniors - http://www.chessmail.com/seniors/Bled2018-report.html
Chess in the press
There was a lot of coverage on TV, print and social media during and after the World Chess Championship. Here are some snippets ---
Chess writer John Saunders - http://johnchess.blogspot.com/2018/11/carlsen-caruana-2018-through-glass.html
Caroline Davies in the Guardian on reaction to the world championship - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/dec/01/magnus-carlsen-tie-break-fabiano-caruana-sparks-soaring-interest-in-chess
Malcolm Pein plays Sky presenter Niall Paterson (Sky News) - https://twitter.com/i/status/1067720354762817536
... and the ECF's President having a polite dig at HIGNFY - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ive-got-news-for-you-its-stupid-to-mock-chess/
David and Sophie rock around the clock
The inaugural UK Open Blitz Championship took place in Solihull first weekend of December. GM David Howell won the Open with 13/15 ahead of Witney CC's FM Marcus Harvey (12.5) who was the only player to take a point off the champion, and GM Danny Gormally was third with 11 points. IM Sophie Milliet won the women's title with 13.5/15 ahead of Orlavska Madara (11.5) and WFM Rasa Norinkeviciute with 11 points. WIM Sarah Longson came fourth, also with 11 points.
Education and Chess
John Foley from the Education Commission of the European Chess Union writes: Next week marks the annual London Chess Festival. This year the first event is the 6th annual London Chess Conference (8/9 Dec) of which the theme is "The Future of Chess in Education". This major conference brings together 50 experts on chess and education from around the world. Topics cover: educational visions, the future of school education, the professionalisation of chess teaching, transversal learning, chess and mathematics, chess for children with learning needs, chess in prisons, chess in communities etc. Speakers include Baron Mark Price, until recently UK Minister for Trade and Industry; John Claughton from the International Baccalaureate; Bachar Koautly, Deputy President of FIDE; Jesper Hall, chair of ECU's Education Commission, Malcolm Pein, CEO of Chess in Schools and Communities; Graeme Gardiner, founder of Gardiner Chess in Australia; Boris Bruhn, President, German School Chess Association; GM David Smerdon, economist at University of Queensland; and Professor Fernand Gobet, the leading chess psychologist. There will also be presentations from leading software outfits LearningChess, Chessable, ChessKid, DeCodeChess and Lichess and displays from Millennium chess computers and Rochade Chess. Following the conference there will be ECU accredited teacher training courses for teaching chess (10/11 Dec) and teaching chess and mathematics (12 Dec). More details here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/chess-and-education/ - and here - www.londonchessconference.com
Making the Grading - ECF Director of Membership on more frequent grading lists
The calculation of grades for players and the publication of grading lists is recognised as being a core function of the Federation. Annual grading lists have been published since time immemorial, and for the past few years the time interval has been six-monthly. The Board recognise that there is a clear demand from many sections of the chess community for more frequent grading lists. They have set a target of providing monthly grading capability for the 2019/2020 season. The present method of calculating grades was devised to handle batch processing of of results, with each batch containing a significant number of results for each active player. This method of calculation is statistically unsound once the frequency of calculation is such that the number of results in each batch for the majority of players is small. Moving to more frequent grading lists will require us to replace the ECF calculation method with a more suitable one. For this reason there is no merit in a half-way house of, for example, quarterly grading lists.
We assure organisers that, at least for a transitional period, there will be no requirement for leagues or club competitions to submit interim results while the event is still in progress, although as at present with six-monthly lists such interim submissions will be encouraged.
CHESS magazine taster - click here [PDF]
Rapid Response
GM Danny Gormally with his thoughts on the British Rapidplay (and a note on Carlsen-Caruana) here - https://gingergm.com/blog/the-british-rapidplay-the-shining-and-thoughts-on-carlsen-vs-caruana
Danny's blogs are featured in GM Simon Williams's website gingergm.com, well worth a visit - https://gingergm.com
Happy endings
IM Gary Lane reviews the revived Paul Keres' Practical Chess Endings - https://chess.business/blog/
Uxbridge Junior Tournament
Daniel Knight, manager of Uxbridge Junior Chess Club is launching a new junior tournament on Saturday 19th January 2019. More here!
Obituaries
Nick Grant, sponsor of England chess teams - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rip-nicholas-grant/ and an obituary from the Times - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9953
Irish FM Philip Short - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9819
Eric Schiller, American chess player and author - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9924 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schiller
Roy Ashmore, Basingstoke Chess Club - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9961
ECF E NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2018
Dear ECF Member
With the season well under way we are closing the year with what promises to be an action packed schedule. Chess players of all levels have a great opportunity to see the very best of world chess as the World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana comes to town on Friday November 9th and the 10th London Chess Classic (which may feature a world champion, as Fabiano is participating) takes place at Google HQ in King’s Cross and Olympia from 11th-17th December. In the last newsletter we featured a piece about a Chess Festival accompanying the world championship, but this has been cancelled due to the refurbishment of the premises which the organisers were not informed about until mid-October. Updates on the World Championship including ticketing arrangements here - worldchess.com
A good summary of the players' strengths and weaknesses is here - https://www.chess.com/article/view/carlsen-vs-caruana-caps-predicts-the-2018-world-championship
On the home front we congratulate Adrian Elwin on his election to the role of Director of Home Chess. Adrian narrowly won a tight ballot over our feature writer Tim Wall at the recent ECF AGM in Birmingham. We have an exclusive interview with Adrian below.
Other stuff this time around includes the welcome return of IM Gary Lane’s book reviews and the ECF’s Book of the Year result, as well as your editor’s thoughts on his first AGM.
I will be around for most of the London Chess Classic and will be pleased to talk with any member who has ideas on improving the newsletter and who may wish to contribute ... and please send me details of tournaments, congresses, league events by the 25th of each month to [email protected] and I will include them.
--- Mark Rivlin
Director line
Adrian Elwin won the election for Director of Home Chess election at the ECF AGM. In his first interview in post Adrian tells Mark Rivlin about his priorities for English chess in the next few years here
Isle of Man
Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland won the chess.com Isle of Man congress after a play-off with Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan. Both players finished on 7/9. Seven players finished on 6.5 - Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Grischuk, Hikaru Nakamura, Jeffery Xiong, Wang Hao, Gawain Jones and Baskaran Adhiban. David Howell finished on 6 and Michael Adams 5.5. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr385685.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30
Board order, order --- Mark Rivlin reports from English Chess Federation AGM
Surely there are better ways to spend a lovely autumn Saturday than join the 70 or so hardy souls at the ECF AGM. I could have watched my beloved Leyton Orient drawing 0-0 with Hartlepool in the Vanarama League (long story of decline, a bit like my chess) or make the pilgrimage to Tottenham IKEA with the missus (let's shelve that one).
Over the years I've sat through a raft of non-chess related AGMs where the Minutes can run into hours and where inconsequential points of order can be dissected until there is nothing left in the test tube. But under the stewardship of the admirable Mike Gunn the ECF AGM ran over time by a paltry 20 minutes. The AGM agenda offers Council the opportunity to grill Board members and there were some feisty exchanges, especially during the discussion on the proposed raising of membership fees. Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan made a powerful speech about the ECF being more inclusive towards girls and women players and there were strong representations from the floor as the Board's Draft Strategy and Business Plan was given the hair dryer treatment. And so it should, the paid-up membership of around 9,000 should indeed make its voice heard and it is good for chess and ECF governance that the Board is put under scrutiny and pressure.
The business end of proceedings was the election of officers with the only contested elected position being Director of Home Chess. Alex Holowczak had stepped down following five years at the helm and was voted in as Director of Junior Chess replacing Traci Whitfield. The two candidates for DoHC, Adrian Elwin and Tim Wall each had five minutes on the hustings before taking questions from the Council. Adrian won the election by 12 votes and he lays out his vision for chess in England in an exclusive interview with this edition of the newsletter.
Yes, there are urgent issues facing the Board and Council over the coming year; how to make chess more appealing for youngsters; attracting more girls and women to play; working on a tight budget to promote and deliver chess; sorting out the county championships and setting up more arbiter courses (see details of the next course below), to name some of the pressing ones. But there is an enormous amount of goodwill, expertise and commitment from our unpaid representatives and members who work tirelessly for the good of the game. So let's accentuate the positive and look forward to a successful 2018-19 which has started so well on the board after our men's Olympiad team came fifth out of a field of 185 in Batumi. See the facts and figures from the AGM here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-agm-october-2018-decisions/ - and make your voice heard through your membership rep and sending opinion pieces about anything to do with chess in England. My email box is always open - [email protected]
Following the AGM, ECF Chief Executive Mike Truran published this message from the Board to members -
The Board would like to thank Council members and those they represent for approving the Board’s plans for extra expenditure in 2018/19 and beyond at the 2018 Annual General Meeting, and also for giving the Board an indication that they are minded to support the membership fee increase proposals required to support that extra expenditure at next April’s Finance Council Meeting. We are very excited about what this may mean for the future development of English chess, and would urge you to read the proposals that the Board put to Council here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/C29.12-b-Challenges-for-English-Chess-and-the-ECF.pdf. We would welcome any comments that you may have on the plans; please direct these in the first instance to your member representatives, whose contact details you can find here at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/ecf-officials/, or to your county/league/congress representatives, whose names can be found here at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/C29.3-ECF-Voting-Register-3.pdf.
Women's Power
A message from ECF Director of Women's Chess, Chris Fegan
I am delighted to inform all ECF Members and supporters that at the recent ECF Council AGM, it was agreed to TREBLE the Director of Women's Chess' budget for the current financial year. A dedicated amount of £5000 has been allocated to spend in encouraging more females of all ages to play chess and I will be using this in the form of grants to existing chess clubs. leagues, congresses,etc and others to put into effect schemes to enable more women to play our game and I will be inviting applications to me for grants. I am working with Board colleagues and others on the exact and detailed nature of the scheme and will give further information as soon as possible.
Georgia on their minds - the England Women’s team lining up in Batumi: (L-R) Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Jovanka Houska, Dagne Ciuksyte, Sue Maroroa and Louise HeadBirmingham Blitz
The UK Open Blitz finals will take place on Saturday 1 December in Solihull, Birmingham. Three GMs head a title packed field in the Open final section and there is a similar titled field in the Women's final section. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2018-uk-open-blitz-finals/
Top Markos
In the ECF 2018 Book of the Year Award, there was a strong shortlist this year, with GM Jan Markos winning the award. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-book-of-the-year-2018/
Brought to book
IM Gary Lane reviews a new chess biography on Fabiano Caruana; a much lauded book on the English; Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen; IM Lawrence Trent’s video on the Albin Counter gambit and Cyrus Lakdawala’s book on Ulf Andersson’s 'Bulletproof Strategic Repertoire for White' - https://chess.business/blog/
BBCA Rapidplay
This popular one day rapidplay tournament is on Sunday 11th November 2018, and there is plenty of time to enter. More here - https://form.jotform.com/81766005914963
Hull of an achievement
At the ECF AGM it was noted that Hull Chess club's Stephen Greep was to be given a special award for his work at the British Championships (also included was Wakefield Chess Club's Mike Denison). Stephen presided over some excellent activities in the summer including a GM at the Local with WGM Jovanka Houska doing a simul ahead of the championships in early July and during the championships he led an excellent three-day summer school.
Entitled to smile
Congratulations to Andrew Horton and Joseph McPhillips who were awarded their FIDE International Master titles at the recent FIDE Congress. Lewis Martin was awarded the FM title, and congratulations too to Tom Thorpe, who has been awarded the FIDE International Arbiter title.
Stefan-ately worth considering
Playwright Richard McElvain is bringing his adaptation of Stefan Zweig's masterpiece novella 'Chess' to the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden from 13th - 17th November. The play has enjoyed excellent reviews excellent reviews and if you haven't read the book I can thoroughly recommend you put out strong hints for people to place it under the Christmas tree with your name on it. ECF members will get a special two-for-one ticket offer. Tickets here - https://www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-chess-player
Falling Short
An apology is due to GM Nigel Short for omitting to mention his appointment as Deputy President of FIDE in the October newsletter. We were on a tight deadline to include the results of the FIDE election and Olympiad results from Batumi and we missed this piece of news, so sorry Nigel - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nigel-short-fide-vice-president/
Arbiter Course
The next ECF Arbiter Course is at the University of Warwick on 17-18 November. Registration here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiter-course-registration/
Junior news
Congratulations and best wishes to Alex Holowczak who takes over from Traci Whitfield as ECF Director of Junior Chess.
Accredited coaches - a note from Alex Holowczak
Please be advised that the Manager of Coaches post is vacant, and we have various technical problems concerned with the DBS checks that mean we are not able to accept new Accredited Coach applications at the moment. While those problems are being resolved, we are taking the opportunity to review the Accredited Coaches scheme. We are hopeful that these problems can be resolved as soon as possible, and we will be in touch once we are able to accept Accredited Coach applications again. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
National Schools Individual and Team Blitz - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/blitz/
World Cadets
The world cadets championships are taking place in Spain in Santiago de Compostela from 3rd-16th November. The England team profiles are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-cadets-chess-championship-2018/
White Rose in bloom
An excellent Yorkshire Junior Chess Day on October 20 at Upperthong Junior School, Holmfirth; Peter Cloudsdale's report here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/yorkshire-junior-chess-day/
IM Andrew Martin has published the dates for the 2019 National Schools Chess Championships - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/
4NCL International Congress
GM Oleg Korneev won the 4NCL International open with 6.5/9, with GM Tamas Fodor coming second. Matthew Turner and Simon Williams bagged the two qualifying places for the British Knockout. Full report in the December newsletter ...
4NCL Harrogate Congress details - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_21.htm
European Club Cup
The 34th event of this tournament was played in Porto Carras, Greece. Mednyi Vsadnik St Petersburg came first with AVE Novybor second. England's representation was Wood Green (20th), Grantham Sharks (33rd), Blackthorne Russia (36th), White Rose (46th) and 3Cs (52nd). There were 61 clubs participating. More here - http://eurochess2018.com/participants/
CHESS magazine taster
November edition highlights here
Yes Minister - Shreyas Royal meets Home Secretary Sajid Javid
Shreyas Royal celebrated his father Jitendra Singh’s news that the family have been given an extension of their visa in the UK with a visit to Home Secretary Sajid Javid. Pictured below, L-R, are ECF President Dominic Lawson, Sajid Javid, Shreyas, Jitendra and CSC Events and Client Relations Officer Tereza Pribanova
With the season well under way we are closing the year with what promises to be an action packed schedule. Chess players of all levels have a great opportunity to see the very best of world chess as the World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana comes to town on Friday November 9th and the 10th London Chess Classic (which may feature a world champion, as Fabiano is participating) takes place at Google HQ in King’s Cross and Olympia from 11th-17th December. In the last newsletter we featured a piece about a Chess Festival accompanying the world championship, but this has been cancelled due to the refurbishment of the premises which the organisers were not informed about until mid-October. Updates on the World Championship including ticketing arrangements here - worldchess.com
A good summary of the players' strengths and weaknesses is here - https://www.chess.com/article/view/carlsen-vs-caruana-caps-predicts-the-2018-world-championship
On the home front we congratulate Adrian Elwin on his election to the role of Director of Home Chess. Adrian narrowly won a tight ballot over our feature writer Tim Wall at the recent ECF AGM in Birmingham. We have an exclusive interview with Adrian below.
Other stuff this time around includes the welcome return of IM Gary Lane’s book reviews and the ECF’s Book of the Year result, as well as your editor’s thoughts on his first AGM.
I will be around for most of the London Chess Classic and will be pleased to talk with any member who has ideas on improving the newsletter and who may wish to contribute ... and please send me details of tournaments, congresses, league events by the 25th of each month to [email protected] and I will include them.
--- Mark Rivlin
Director line
Adrian Elwin won the election for Director of Home Chess election at the ECF AGM. In his first interview in post Adrian tells Mark Rivlin about his priorities for English chess in the next few years here
Isle of Man
Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland won the chess.com Isle of Man congress after a play-off with Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan. Both players finished on 7/9. Seven players finished on 6.5 - Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Grischuk, Hikaru Nakamura, Jeffery Xiong, Wang Hao, Gawain Jones and Baskaran Adhiban. David Howell finished on 6 and Michael Adams 5.5. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr385685.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30
Board order, order --- Mark Rivlin reports from English Chess Federation AGM
Surely there are better ways to spend a lovely autumn Saturday than join the 70 or so hardy souls at the ECF AGM. I could have watched my beloved Leyton Orient drawing 0-0 with Hartlepool in the Vanarama League (long story of decline, a bit like my chess) or make the pilgrimage to Tottenham IKEA with the missus (let's shelve that one).
Over the years I've sat through a raft of non-chess related AGMs where the Minutes can run into hours and where inconsequential points of order can be dissected until there is nothing left in the test tube. But under the stewardship of the admirable Mike Gunn the ECF AGM ran over time by a paltry 20 minutes. The AGM agenda offers Council the opportunity to grill Board members and there were some feisty exchanges, especially during the discussion on the proposed raising of membership fees. Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan made a powerful speech about the ECF being more inclusive towards girls and women players and there were strong representations from the floor as the Board's Draft Strategy and Business Plan was given the hair dryer treatment. And so it should, the paid-up membership of around 9,000 should indeed make its voice heard and it is good for chess and ECF governance that the Board is put under scrutiny and pressure.
The business end of proceedings was the election of officers with the only contested elected position being Director of Home Chess. Alex Holowczak had stepped down following five years at the helm and was voted in as Director of Junior Chess replacing Traci Whitfield. The two candidates for DoHC, Adrian Elwin and Tim Wall each had five minutes on the hustings before taking questions from the Council. Adrian won the election by 12 votes and he lays out his vision for chess in England in an exclusive interview with this edition of the newsletter.
Yes, there are urgent issues facing the Board and Council over the coming year; how to make chess more appealing for youngsters; attracting more girls and women to play; working on a tight budget to promote and deliver chess; sorting out the county championships and setting up more arbiter courses (see details of the next course below), to name some of the pressing ones. But there is an enormous amount of goodwill, expertise and commitment from our unpaid representatives and members who work tirelessly for the good of the game. So let's accentuate the positive and look forward to a successful 2018-19 which has started so well on the board after our men's Olympiad team came fifth out of a field of 185 in Batumi. See the facts and figures from the AGM here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-agm-october-2018-decisions/ - and make your voice heard through your membership rep and sending opinion pieces about anything to do with chess in England. My email box is always open - [email protected]
Following the AGM, ECF Chief Executive Mike Truran published this message from the Board to members -
The Board would like to thank Council members and those they represent for approving the Board’s plans for extra expenditure in 2018/19 and beyond at the 2018 Annual General Meeting, and also for giving the Board an indication that they are minded to support the membership fee increase proposals required to support that extra expenditure at next April’s Finance Council Meeting. We are very excited about what this may mean for the future development of English chess, and would urge you to read the proposals that the Board put to Council here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/C29.12-b-Challenges-for-English-Chess-and-the-ECF.pdf. We would welcome any comments that you may have on the plans; please direct these in the first instance to your member representatives, whose contact details you can find here at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/about/ecf-officials/, or to your county/league/congress representatives, whose names can be found here at https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/C29.3-ECF-Voting-Register-3.pdf.
Women's Power
A message from ECF Director of Women's Chess, Chris Fegan
I am delighted to inform all ECF Members and supporters that at the recent ECF Council AGM, it was agreed to TREBLE the Director of Women's Chess' budget for the current financial year. A dedicated amount of £5000 has been allocated to spend in encouraging more females of all ages to play chess and I will be using this in the form of grants to existing chess clubs. leagues, congresses,etc and others to put into effect schemes to enable more women to play our game and I will be inviting applications to me for grants. I am working with Board colleagues and others on the exact and detailed nature of the scheme and will give further information as soon as possible.
Georgia on their minds - the England Women’s team lining up in Batumi: (L-R) Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Jovanka Houska, Dagne Ciuksyte, Sue Maroroa and Louise HeadBirmingham Blitz
The UK Open Blitz finals will take place on Saturday 1 December in Solihull, Birmingham. Three GMs head a title packed field in the Open final section and there is a similar titled field in the Women's final section. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/2018-uk-open-blitz-finals/
Top Markos
In the ECF 2018 Book of the Year Award, there was a strong shortlist this year, with GM Jan Markos winning the award. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-book-of-the-year-2018/
Brought to book
IM Gary Lane reviews a new chess biography on Fabiano Caruana; a much lauded book on the English; Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen; IM Lawrence Trent’s video on the Albin Counter gambit and Cyrus Lakdawala’s book on Ulf Andersson’s 'Bulletproof Strategic Repertoire for White' - https://chess.business/blog/
BBCA Rapidplay
This popular one day rapidplay tournament is on Sunday 11th November 2018, and there is plenty of time to enter. More here - https://form.jotform.com/81766005914963
Hull of an achievement
At the ECF AGM it was noted that Hull Chess club's Stephen Greep was to be given a special award for his work at the British Championships (also included was Wakefield Chess Club's Mike Denison). Stephen presided over some excellent activities in the summer including a GM at the Local with WGM Jovanka Houska doing a simul ahead of the championships in early July and during the championships he led an excellent three-day summer school.
Entitled to smile
Congratulations to Andrew Horton and Joseph McPhillips who were awarded their FIDE International Master titles at the recent FIDE Congress. Lewis Martin was awarded the FM title, and congratulations too to Tom Thorpe, who has been awarded the FIDE International Arbiter title.
Stefan-ately worth considering
Playwright Richard McElvain is bringing his adaptation of Stefan Zweig's masterpiece novella 'Chess' to the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden from 13th - 17th November. The play has enjoyed excellent reviews excellent reviews and if you haven't read the book I can thoroughly recommend you put out strong hints for people to place it under the Christmas tree with your name on it. ECF members will get a special two-for-one ticket offer. Tickets here - https://www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-chess-player
Falling Short
An apology is due to GM Nigel Short for omitting to mention his appointment as Deputy President of FIDE in the October newsletter. We were on a tight deadline to include the results of the FIDE election and Olympiad results from Batumi and we missed this piece of news, so sorry Nigel - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nigel-short-fide-vice-president/
Arbiter Course
The next ECF Arbiter Course is at the University of Warwick on 17-18 November. Registration here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-arbiter-course-registration/
Junior news
Congratulations and best wishes to Alex Holowczak who takes over from Traci Whitfield as ECF Director of Junior Chess.
Accredited coaches - a note from Alex Holowczak
Please be advised that the Manager of Coaches post is vacant, and we have various technical problems concerned with the DBS checks that mean we are not able to accept new Accredited Coach applications at the moment. While those problems are being resolved, we are taking the opportunity to review the Accredited Coaches scheme. We are hopeful that these problems can be resolved as soon as possible, and we will be in touch once we are able to accept Accredited Coach applications again. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
National Schools Individual and Team Blitz - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/blitz/
World Cadets
The world cadets championships are taking place in Spain in Santiago de Compostela from 3rd-16th November. The England team profiles are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/world-cadets-chess-championship-2018/
White Rose in bloom
An excellent Yorkshire Junior Chess Day on October 20 at Upperthong Junior School, Holmfirth; Peter Cloudsdale's report here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/yorkshire-junior-chess-day/
IM Andrew Martin has published the dates for the 2019 National Schools Chess Championships - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/
4NCL International Congress
GM Oleg Korneev won the 4NCL International open with 6.5/9, with GM Tamas Fodor coming second. Matthew Turner and Simon Williams bagged the two qualifying places for the British Knockout. Full report in the December newsletter ...
4NCL Harrogate Congress details - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_21.htm
European Club Cup
The 34th event of this tournament was played in Porto Carras, Greece. Mednyi Vsadnik St Petersburg came first with AVE Novybor second. England's representation was Wood Green (20th), Grantham Sharks (33rd), Blackthorne Russia (36th), White Rose (46th) and 3Cs (52nd). There were 61 clubs participating. More here - http://eurochess2018.com/participants/
CHESS magazine taster
November edition highlights here
Yes Minister - Shreyas Royal meets Home Secretary Sajid Javid
Shreyas Royal celebrated his father Jitendra Singh’s news that the family have been given an extension of their visa in the UK with a visit to Home Secretary Sajid Javid. Pictured below, L-R, are ECF President Dominic Lawson, Sajid Javid, Shreyas, Jitendra and CSC Events and Client Relations Officer Tereza Pribanova
ECF E NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2018
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the October edition of the ECF eNewsletter. With the season underway we are ready for a terrific Autumn with the world championship and London Chess Classic coming to London in November and December. We also look at the Chess Olympiad and FIDE election at Batumi, Georgia, introduce a new caption competition and feature another chess op-ed by the inimitable Tim Wall. And there’s a feature on Carl Portman excellent work showcasing chess in the UK’s prison system.
The ECF’s AGM takes place on Saturday 13.10.18 in Birmingham and I would like to take the opportunity of thanking Alex Holowczak and Traci Whitfield for their outstanding work as Director of Home Chess and Director of Junior Chess and Education, as both are standing down from their roles.
Finally, a great initiative by Phil Makepeace who runs the ECF social media with the first of a regular caption competition below. I'm expecting a big response!
I am always happy to advertise your events, tournaments and leagues and if you have an opinion about chess that you want to get off your chess please send me around 400-500 words and I will consider it for publication. Please email me at [email protected]
--- Mark Rivlin
England rocks
Brilliant all-round performances by the Open and Women’s teams in Batumi, Georgia, secured fine results for England. Tim Wall reports from Batumi ...
The Open team of Mickey Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell, Gawain Jones and Nick Pert (expertly captained by the seasoned Olympiad campaigner John Nunn) achieved the best England result since 1996. A total of 17/22 match points secured 4th equal (5th on tie-break), behind only the chess superpowers China, the USA and Russia, with only the losses being to Russia and Azerbaijan.
Mickey Adams was a very solid board one, scoring 6/10, Luke McShane on board two scored vital match-winners to total 5.5/10, David Howell on three was a megastar with a fantastic 7.5/10 (his only loss was to Vladimir Kramnik), and Gawain scored an excellent 6.5/10. Fifth board Nick Pert did exactly what was required, giving boards one to four a day off each, scoring 2/4. All-in-all, a very impressive, disciplined team performance!
Even though Batumi offered very pleasant weather for late September-early October, a good number of the team suffered from colds throughout the Olympiad making their result even more remarkable. After one (very enjoyable) Georgian dinner I shared with Luke, Gawain, Sue Maroroa Jones and Women’s team captain Lorin D’Costa, the team members went straight off to the chemist’s to stock up on Lemsip and other flu remedies.
The Women’s team of Jovanka Houska, Dagne Ciuksyte, Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Sue Maroroa and Louise Head (with Lorin D’Costa ably assisting as captain) also performed well, placing 20th equal (29th on tie-break) for a very good joint effort.
Jovanka Houska’s 7.5/9 was a stand-out result (and included a loss to only Scotland’s Keti Arakhamia-Grant, whose 10.5/11 in her native country was the best score of the whole Olympiad). Akshaya Kalaiyalahan with 5.5/9 and Dagne Cuiksyte with 6.5/10 were equally solid, and Louise Head and Sue Maroroa Jones also did a very creditable job (2.5 and 4.5 from eight games each), giving respite to the top boards.
Batumi as a destination was quite charming (it reminded me of the Baku I lived in nearly 20 years ago, before its modern construction boom had really taken hold), and the England team hotel the Coliseum Marina was perfectly situated on the sea front (it was also, slightly bizarrely shaped like the Coliseum in Rome, with staggered edges). Variable quality in hotel catering meant the England teams quite often ventured out for Georgian cuisine in local restaurants, where the food was very good and importantly, served hot!
Overall, the team spirit among the Open and Women’s teams was excellent, and the whole experience must definitely give cause for optimism for future Olympiads.
Walk the Dvork
Arkady Dvorkovich from Russia won the FIDE presidential election, also held in Batumi beating Georgios Makropoulos after Nigel Short had opted out of the race on the morning of the election and offering his support to Dvorkovich. The ECF had supported the Makropoulos ticket which included Malcolm Pein as a potential Deputy President.
Boxing clever
Coventry Chess Academy social enterprise founder Paul Lam has taken the brave step of getting into a boxing ring with one of the UK's top heavyweight fighter Dave Allen to raise money for the son of Paul's work colleague son who has a rare form of cancer. More here about the story - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=PaulLamChessBoxing&pageUrl=1 and here - https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/enterprise/voices/plam-ccc/
Off the Wall
Another great chess opinion piece from FM Tim Wall - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Tim-Wall.pdf
Problem solved
A very good showing for England at the World Problem Solving Championships. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/gb-successes-at-the-world-problem-solving-championships/ and here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/nunn-on-the-world-chess-solving-championship-2018
Location, location, location
The new ECF club finder facility - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-club-finder/
Brits blitz
The first regional multi-venue weekend of the UK Open Blitz got off to a cracking start. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship/, https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-report-2018/
4NCL Congresses
4NCL Rapidplay 13-14 October - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_rapid_2018.htm and 4NCL International Congress 31 October-4 November - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_intl_2018.htm
Never too late
Peter Gayson got his first IM norm at the European Senior Championships in Drammen, Norway - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/peter-gayson-im-norm/
NSCC Girls’ Championships
Go here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nscc-girls-chess-championships-2019/
It's a fair Kop, Trent
Magnus Carlsen took on Liverpool FC defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was coached beforehand by ECF juniors Shreyas Royal and Kyan Bui. The world champion won in 17 moves but we are very grateful to Trent for giving his support for chess to attract more young players. More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/45786786
... and Malcolm Pein took on Tony Livesey on Radio Five Live on 8.10 with WFM Sarah Longson, Shreyas and Kyan in the studio providing an excellent half hour of chess chat. You can listen here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/m0000lth (slide timer bar to 2hr.35m)
Rocking all over the world
Tim Wall reports on a great initiative for the Carlsen-Caruana World Cup ...
As we are about to host the Carlsen-Caruana World Championship match in London (November 9th-28th), it seems that now is a brilliant time to reach out and recruit new (and returning) people into chess. Without abandoning our traditional forms of the game, such as leagues, weekend tournaments and county matches, we also need to reach out beyond our existing clubs and find a new audience, through social chess in cafes, pubs and libraries. One example that clubs could be inspired by is what Simon Williams (aka the ‘Ginger GM’) is doing during the World Championship – holding a “chess festival” of online commentary (with a live audience) and blitz in a London pub. Taking a leaf out of Simon’s book, clubs around the country could organise a fun evening down their local, streaming live commentary on a large-screen TV or projector screen, and attracting newcomers with a (World Cup football-style) Fan Zone. Some of these new formats are already catching on. The ECF’s inaugural UK Blitz Championships, with their successful regional qualifiers in September attracted 340+ players, and the national finals on December 1 are a clear sign of the potential. A lot can be achieved if we don’t panic, but just give it a go.
Junior report
Traci Whitfield reports on junior chess - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Junior-Roundup.pdf
London Chess Classic
London is going chess crazy with the world championship followed by the 10th super GM London Chess Classic - https://www.londonchessclassic.com/
CHESS magazine
The October taster here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Chess-October-2018.pdf
Secondary Schools Rapidplay
Eton College hosted the Secondary Schools Rapidplays - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ssrs/
BBCA Rapidplay
Moustaque Choudhury, Secretary of the British Bangla Chess Association, is advertising the excellent BBCA FIDE-rated Rapidplay on 11.9.18 at the London Enterprise Academy E1. They have only 120 places available and they will be taken very quickly so book your place ASAP. Leaflet here and entry form here - https://form.jotform.com/81766005914963
Hard cell
ECF Chess in Prisons Manager Carl Portman, with his 50th column for Inside Time magazine - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Inside-Time-50th.pdf followed by a successful visit to HMP Coldingley here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Portman-Coldingley.pdf
Weekend in Suffolk
The annual Bury St Edmunds Congress is on 20-21 October. More here - https://www.bsecongress.org.uk/
If the caption fits
The first of a monthly competition where we are asking you to submit a caption for a topical photo. Your editor and Phil Makepeace will be judges and the winner will get either a free Gold membership to the ECF or if a current member, will get an upgrade of your membership.
So for our opening move we feature a picture of Mickey Adams at the Olympiad. Over to you to get the creative juices flowing. Please send your caption in (maximum 10 words) to [email protected] by October 30
Obituaries
Peggy Clarke - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9865
Rudiger Von Saldern - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9862
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the October edition of the ECF eNewsletter. With the season underway we are ready for a terrific Autumn with the world championship and London Chess Classic coming to London in November and December. We also look at the Chess Olympiad and FIDE election at Batumi, Georgia, introduce a new caption competition and feature another chess op-ed by the inimitable Tim Wall. And there’s a feature on Carl Portman excellent work showcasing chess in the UK’s prison system.
The ECF’s AGM takes place on Saturday 13.10.18 in Birmingham and I would like to take the opportunity of thanking Alex Holowczak and Traci Whitfield for their outstanding work as Director of Home Chess and Director of Junior Chess and Education, as both are standing down from their roles.
Finally, a great initiative by Phil Makepeace who runs the ECF social media with the first of a regular caption competition below. I'm expecting a big response!
I am always happy to advertise your events, tournaments and leagues and if you have an opinion about chess that you want to get off your chess please send me around 400-500 words and I will consider it for publication. Please email me at [email protected]
--- Mark Rivlin
England rocks
Brilliant all-round performances by the Open and Women’s teams in Batumi, Georgia, secured fine results for England. Tim Wall reports from Batumi ...
The Open team of Mickey Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell, Gawain Jones and Nick Pert (expertly captained by the seasoned Olympiad campaigner John Nunn) achieved the best England result since 1996. A total of 17/22 match points secured 4th equal (5th on tie-break), behind only the chess superpowers China, the USA and Russia, with only the losses being to Russia and Azerbaijan.
Mickey Adams was a very solid board one, scoring 6/10, Luke McShane on board two scored vital match-winners to total 5.5/10, David Howell on three was a megastar with a fantastic 7.5/10 (his only loss was to Vladimir Kramnik), and Gawain scored an excellent 6.5/10. Fifth board Nick Pert did exactly what was required, giving boards one to four a day off each, scoring 2/4. All-in-all, a very impressive, disciplined team performance!
Even though Batumi offered very pleasant weather for late September-early October, a good number of the team suffered from colds throughout the Olympiad making their result even more remarkable. After one (very enjoyable) Georgian dinner I shared with Luke, Gawain, Sue Maroroa Jones and Women’s team captain Lorin D’Costa, the team members went straight off to the chemist’s to stock up on Lemsip and other flu remedies.
The Women’s team of Jovanka Houska, Dagne Ciuksyte, Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Sue Maroroa and Louise Head (with Lorin D’Costa ably assisting as captain) also performed well, placing 20th equal (29th on tie-break) for a very good joint effort.
Jovanka Houska’s 7.5/9 was a stand-out result (and included a loss to only Scotland’s Keti Arakhamia-Grant, whose 10.5/11 in her native country was the best score of the whole Olympiad). Akshaya Kalaiyalahan with 5.5/9 and Dagne Cuiksyte with 6.5/10 were equally solid, and Louise Head and Sue Maroroa Jones also did a very creditable job (2.5 and 4.5 from eight games each), giving respite to the top boards.
Batumi as a destination was quite charming (it reminded me of the Baku I lived in nearly 20 years ago, before its modern construction boom had really taken hold), and the England team hotel the Coliseum Marina was perfectly situated on the sea front (it was also, slightly bizarrely shaped like the Coliseum in Rome, with staggered edges). Variable quality in hotel catering meant the England teams quite often ventured out for Georgian cuisine in local restaurants, where the food was very good and importantly, served hot!
Overall, the team spirit among the Open and Women’s teams was excellent, and the whole experience must definitely give cause for optimism for future Olympiads.
Walk the Dvork
Arkady Dvorkovich from Russia won the FIDE presidential election, also held in Batumi beating Georgios Makropoulos after Nigel Short had opted out of the race on the morning of the election and offering his support to Dvorkovich. The ECF had supported the Makropoulos ticket which included Malcolm Pein as a potential Deputy President.
Boxing clever
Coventry Chess Academy social enterprise founder Paul Lam has taken the brave step of getting into a boxing ring with one of the UK's top heavyweight fighter Dave Allen to raise money for the son of Paul's work colleague son who has a rare form of cancer. More here about the story - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=PaulLamChessBoxing&pageUrl=1 and here - https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/enterprise/voices/plam-ccc/
Off the Wall
Another great chess opinion piece from FM Tim Wall - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Tim-Wall.pdf
Problem solved
A very good showing for England at the World Problem Solving Championships. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/gb-successes-at-the-world-problem-solving-championships/ and here - https://en.chessbase.com/post/nunn-on-the-world-chess-solving-championship-2018
Location, location, location
The new ECF club finder facility - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-club-finder/
Brits blitz
The first regional multi-venue weekend of the UK Open Blitz got off to a cracking start. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship/, https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-report-2018/
4NCL Congresses
4NCL Rapidplay 13-14 October - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_rapid_2018.htm and 4NCL International Congress 31 October-4 November - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_intl_2018.htm
Never too late
Peter Gayson got his first IM norm at the European Senior Championships in Drammen, Norway - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/peter-gayson-im-norm/
NSCC Girls’ Championships
Go here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/nscc-girls-chess-championships-2019/
It's a fair Kop, Trent
Magnus Carlsen took on Liverpool FC defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was coached beforehand by ECF juniors Shreyas Royal and Kyan Bui. The world champion won in 17 moves but we are very grateful to Trent for giving his support for chess to attract more young players. More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/45786786
... and Malcolm Pein took on Tony Livesey on Radio Five Live on 8.10 with WFM Sarah Longson, Shreyas and Kyan in the studio providing an excellent half hour of chess chat. You can listen here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/m0000lth (slide timer bar to 2hr.35m)
Rocking all over the world
Tim Wall reports on a great initiative for the Carlsen-Caruana World Cup ...
As we are about to host the Carlsen-Caruana World Championship match in London (November 9th-28th), it seems that now is a brilliant time to reach out and recruit new (and returning) people into chess. Without abandoning our traditional forms of the game, such as leagues, weekend tournaments and county matches, we also need to reach out beyond our existing clubs and find a new audience, through social chess in cafes, pubs and libraries. One example that clubs could be inspired by is what Simon Williams (aka the ‘Ginger GM’) is doing during the World Championship – holding a “chess festival” of online commentary (with a live audience) and blitz in a London pub. Taking a leaf out of Simon’s book, clubs around the country could organise a fun evening down their local, streaming live commentary on a large-screen TV or projector screen, and attracting newcomers with a (World Cup football-style) Fan Zone. Some of these new formats are already catching on. The ECF’s inaugural UK Blitz Championships, with their successful regional qualifiers in September attracted 340+ players, and the national finals on December 1 are a clear sign of the potential. A lot can be achieved if we don’t panic, but just give it a go.
Junior report
Traci Whitfield reports on junior chess - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Junior-Roundup.pdf
London Chess Classic
London is going chess crazy with the world championship followed by the 10th super GM London Chess Classic - https://www.londonchessclassic.com/
CHESS magazine
The October taster here -https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Chess-October-2018.pdf
Secondary Schools Rapidplay
Eton College hosted the Secondary Schools Rapidplays - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/ssrs/
BBCA Rapidplay
Moustaque Choudhury, Secretary of the British Bangla Chess Association, is advertising the excellent BBCA FIDE-rated Rapidplay on 11.9.18 at the London Enterprise Academy E1. They have only 120 places available and they will be taken very quickly so book your place ASAP. Leaflet here and entry form here - https://form.jotform.com/81766005914963
Hard cell
ECF Chess in Prisons Manager Carl Portman, with his 50th column for Inside Time magazine - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Inside-Time-50th.pdf followed by a successful visit to HMP Coldingley here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Portman-Coldingley.pdf
Weekend in Suffolk
The annual Bury St Edmunds Congress is on 20-21 October. More here - https://www.bsecongress.org.uk/
If the caption fits
The first of a monthly competition where we are asking you to submit a caption for a topical photo. Your editor and Phil Makepeace will be judges and the winner will get either a free Gold membership to the ECF or if a current member, will get an upgrade of your membership.
So for our opening move we feature a picture of Mickey Adams at the Olympiad. Over to you to get the creative juices flowing. Please send your caption in (maximum 10 words) to [email protected] by October 30
Obituaries
Peggy Clarke - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9865
Rudiger Von Saldern - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9862
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
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Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF E NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2018
This month's newsletter is sponsored by DecodeChess - the first chess analysis software to explain the recommended moves of a chess engine (Stockfish) in rich, intuitive language ...
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the September edition of the e-newsletter. What an Autumn we have in store with the World Championship match and the London Chess Classic both coming to London ... and there's an exciting new national tournament with the UK Open Blitz Championship - first qualifiers taking place this weekend. So if you are free, see the link here and book a place in your region --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship/
Our resident op-ed columnist, FM Tim Wall, previews the event in his inimitable and irreverent style. We also feature an interview with Allison Harvey, mother of Jessica Mellor, who won the Gold Medal at the European Schools Under 11 Championships in Krakow in July, and Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan reports on a very successful English Women's Championship.
A quick bookkeeping nudge; it's time to renew your ECF membership if you have not already done so and this year the process is extremely user-friendly, so please follow this link --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership-renewals-are-now-open/
After a glorious summer, we are ready for action in the 2018-19 season, and I wish you all success on and off the board.
--- Mark Rivlin
Simply the Jess
In July Jessica Mellor won the Gold Medal at the European Schools Championship Girls' Under 11 section. Her mother Allison talks about parenting a talented chess junior. Read the interview here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jessica-Mellor-September.pdf
Let's get blitzed!
You have three minutes (and a further increment of two seconds per word) to read this gem of an article from Tim Wall previewing the UK Open Blitz Championships qualifiers here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Tim-Wall-September.pdf
In memory of Peter
WFM Sarah Hegarty is organising the inaugural annual tournament in memory of of Peter Poobalasingam, who died last year. More here - https://sarahhegartychess.co.uk/product/tournament-entry/
Walk the Torq
The 2019 British Championships will be held in Torquay at the Riviera Centre from 26th July to 4th August. More details to come in the October Newsletter.
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan reports on the 2018 English Women’s Championship
The 2018 English Women’s Championship took place over the last weekend in August at St John’s Hotel in Solihull. The event attracted 30 players of all ages and chess ratings representing the country's depth of talent. The prize fund had been doubled from 2017 and this had dramatically increased the number of entries from the 11 players who participated in 2017. Last year's champion Louise Head was defending her trophy and the entrants also included the 2016 Champion Kanwal Bhatia. The first round saw all the top seeds win their games and Round 2 saw the first clash of titled players with Louise Head playing White against WIM Natasha Regan – Natasha won with the Leningrad Dutch. The leader board included Natasha, Kanwal, Sheila Jackson, Ingrid Lauterbach and Naomi Wei.
Round 3 was an historic moment for English Women’s chess as seven-year-old Elis Denele Dicen won her first game in the English Women’s Championship precipitating a Twitterstorm in the process. Chess statisticians with time on their hands might like to check if Elis is the youngest player to win a game in the Women's Open. Ingrid and Naomi both won their games to to share a joint 3/3 lead and set up a clash for Round 4. Ingrid beat Sheila in a game between 2 of the Bronze medal winning English Women’s Seniors form the recent World Championship Team event in Germany and Naomi beat another promising young women player Zoe Varney. Their Rd 4 game was a significant event of a clash of generations and honours were equal as the game was drawn to leave then both on 3.5/4 and which gave the field the chance to catch up. Kanwal duly took advantage by beating Thivyaa Rahulan.
Winners' podium - (L-R) Julie Denning, joint winners Kanwal Bhatia and Ingrid Lauterbach, Helen Frostick
The final round was thus set up for a great end to the event with a possible seven women still in contention to become champion with Ingrid, Kanwal and Naomi all a half point ahead of Sheila, Nadia Jaufarally, Sarah Longson and Anum Sheikh.The afternoon and early evening were tense affairs and Kanwal v Naomi was the very last game to finish as Kanwal won a Rook and Pawn endgame to join Ingrid who had won earlier on 4.5/5 and for them both to share the Championship trophy. The event was a major success with all competitors playing hard-fought chess with a very low number of draws and we are already looking forward to 2019. Our sincere thanks must go to Arbiters Priscilla Morris and Matthew Carr for running a splendid event.
Director of Junior Chess Traci Whitfield rounds up the latest news
Alex Golding won the 54th Berks & Bucks Championship section scoring 5.5 out of 6. Results can be found here - http://berksandbuckschess.com/?page_id=644
Akshaya Kalaiyalahan achieved the Bronze medal in the U18 section at the European Youth Chess Championships held in Riga, Latvia. In a hard fought competition, she gained a score of 7/9 with 6 wins and 2 draws.
EYCC – Including Akshaya, 28 players attended the European Youth Chess Championships 19-30 August in Latvia. For the full report go to https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/euro-youth-chess-champs-2018/
Wilson’s School were selected by the EFCC to represent England in the International Schools Event (organised by the Polish Federation). The competition is unusual in that apart from being played on the ICCF webserver, the team includes three school pupils and a member of staff (Neill Cooper)
In the British Problem Solving first round there were 60 solvers from schools (mostly pupils with a few members of staff) of whom 41 submitted correct solutions. They have all been sent the second round and the top scorers will qualify for the final at Eton College in the new year (the Problem Solving Society have guaranteed 5 junior places in the finals)
British Chess Championships – Nishchal Thatte won the U10 section and has therefore been awarded the Neil Carr Scholarship to the ECF Chess Academy for the year beginning January 2019. Nishchal is already a student at the academy and will have his next year’s fees paid by the scholarship.
Congratulations to Koby Kalavannan and Jonah Willow, who have both had confirmation of their FM titles.
Secondary Schools events
ECF National Secondary Schools Co-ordinator Neill Cooper’s newsletter, giving details of some school chess events happening during the Autumn term 2018, is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ECF-Secondary-School-News-September-2018.pdf. If you can’t find anything local to you do, email Neill to see if he can arrange something for you and other schools near you - manager.secondary@englishchess.org.uk
Brought to book 1
IM Gary Lane reviews Lawrence Trent's Albin Counter Gambit DVD; How Ulf Beats Black: Ulf Andersson’s Bulletproof Strategic Repertoire for White by Cyrus Lakdawala and The Art of the Tarrasch Defence by Alexy Bezgodov. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Brought to book 2
The shortlist for the ECF Book of the Year includes USA champion Sam Shankland on pawn play and the chess community in Odessa; more here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/book-of-the-year-2018-shortlist/
Classic Rocks
The 10th London Chess Classic takes place from December 9-17, days after the Magnus Carlsen-Fabiano Caruana World Championship clash. The final leg of the Grand Chess Tour, this year the Classic will have a knockout format and a prize fund of $300,000. The semi-final will feature the four top players from the Grand Chess Tour qualifying events in Paris, Leuven and St. Louis, and will be hosted by the pioneering artificial intelligence company, DeepMind, at Google’s London headquarters. Then the action moves to the London Chess Classic’s traditional venue, Kensington Olympia, for the final.
Along with the Super GMs, the FIDE Open and 5-day and weekend events for players of all levels will also feature. Further details and ticket information here londonchessclassic.com
4NCL league and tournament details
4NCL 20th congress - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_20.htm
4NCL new season - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/entry_guidelines.htm
Junior 4NCL new season - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/j4ncl/jn_entry_1819.htm
Q&A
Winton British Chess Solving Championship results are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/winton-british-chess-solving-championship-solutions/
Rum do
Congratulations to Steve Rumsby from Banbury Chess Club was presented with his ECF President's Award for Services to Chess. The Award recognises that for over 30 years Steve has been the Chairman of Banbury Chess Club. Steve has overseen the growth of the club from initially fielding 2 teams in 1 league to the latest season where the club fielded 4 teams in the Leamington League, 3 teams in the Oxford League and entered all the available league cup competitions. In recent years, Banbury entered a team in the 4NCL. Virtually every year, Steve has captained one of the club teams. Steve’s wider contribution to chess is seen in his work for the Leamington and District Chess League. He is, and has been for a number of years, both the league's webmaster and fixtures secretary. At the start of the 2016-2017 season Oxfordshire County were unable to find a volunteer to captain the Under 150 county Team. Steve at short notice volunteered and led the county team to 5 wins from 6 matches. They ended that season as Chiltern League Champions. Steve has continued in this county captaincy role. Steve is highly regarded by chess players in an area stretching from Birmingham down to Didcot.
Steve (right) receives the President's Award from Leamington League chairman Ben Graff
Bled and breakfast
If you are over 50 and fancy a few days of chess in the beautiful Slovenian setting of Bled at the World Individual Seniors, this is for you - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=9805
Media pieces
Two recent articles on chess that are worth a look ... here - http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180822-what-we-can-learn-from-female-chess-prodigies and here - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/02/who-will-be-king-three-way-battle-for-control-rocks-international-chess
Obituaries
FM Phillip Short - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9819
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the September edition of the e-newsletter. What an Autumn we have in store with the World Championship match and the London Chess Classic both coming to London ... and there's an exciting new national tournament with the UK Open Blitz Championship - first qualifiers taking place this weekend. So if you are free, see the link here and book a place in your region --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship/
Our resident op-ed columnist, FM Tim Wall, previews the event in his inimitable and irreverent style. We also feature an interview with Allison Harvey, mother of Jessica Mellor, who won the Gold Medal at the European Schools Under 11 Championships in Krakow in July, and Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan reports on a very successful English Women's Championship.
A quick bookkeeping nudge; it's time to renew your ECF membership if you have not already done so and this year the process is extremely user-friendly, so please follow this link --- https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership-renewals-are-now-open/
After a glorious summer, we are ready for action in the 2018-19 season, and I wish you all success on and off the board.
--- Mark Rivlin
Simply the Jess
In July Jessica Mellor won the Gold Medal at the European Schools Championship Girls' Under 11 section. Her mother Allison talks about parenting a talented chess junior. Read the interview here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jessica-Mellor-September.pdf
Let's get blitzed!
You have three minutes (and a further increment of two seconds per word) to read this gem of an article from Tim Wall previewing the UK Open Blitz Championships qualifiers here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Tim-Wall-September.pdf
In memory of Peter
WFM Sarah Hegarty is organising the inaugural annual tournament in memory of of Peter Poobalasingam, who died last year. More here - https://sarahhegartychess.co.uk/product/tournament-entry/
Walk the Torq
The 2019 British Championships will be held in Torquay at the Riviera Centre from 26th July to 4th August. More details to come in the October Newsletter.
Director of Women's Chess Chris Fegan reports on the 2018 English Women’s Championship
The 2018 English Women’s Championship took place over the last weekend in August at St John’s Hotel in Solihull. The event attracted 30 players of all ages and chess ratings representing the country's depth of talent. The prize fund had been doubled from 2017 and this had dramatically increased the number of entries from the 11 players who participated in 2017. Last year's champion Louise Head was defending her trophy and the entrants also included the 2016 Champion Kanwal Bhatia. The first round saw all the top seeds win their games and Round 2 saw the first clash of titled players with Louise Head playing White against WIM Natasha Regan – Natasha won with the Leningrad Dutch. The leader board included Natasha, Kanwal, Sheila Jackson, Ingrid Lauterbach and Naomi Wei.
Round 3 was an historic moment for English Women’s chess as seven-year-old Elis Denele Dicen won her first game in the English Women’s Championship precipitating a Twitterstorm in the process. Chess statisticians with time on their hands might like to check if Elis is the youngest player to win a game in the Women's Open. Ingrid and Naomi both won their games to to share a joint 3/3 lead and set up a clash for Round 4. Ingrid beat Sheila in a game between 2 of the Bronze medal winning English Women’s Seniors form the recent World Championship Team event in Germany and Naomi beat another promising young women player Zoe Varney. Their Rd 4 game was a significant event of a clash of generations and honours were equal as the game was drawn to leave then both on 3.5/4 and which gave the field the chance to catch up. Kanwal duly took advantage by beating Thivyaa Rahulan.
Winners' podium - (L-R) Julie Denning, joint winners Kanwal Bhatia and Ingrid Lauterbach, Helen Frostick
The final round was thus set up for a great end to the event with a possible seven women still in contention to become champion with Ingrid, Kanwal and Naomi all a half point ahead of Sheila, Nadia Jaufarally, Sarah Longson and Anum Sheikh.The afternoon and early evening were tense affairs and Kanwal v Naomi was the very last game to finish as Kanwal won a Rook and Pawn endgame to join Ingrid who had won earlier on 4.5/5 and for them both to share the Championship trophy. The event was a major success with all competitors playing hard-fought chess with a very low number of draws and we are already looking forward to 2019. Our sincere thanks must go to Arbiters Priscilla Morris and Matthew Carr for running a splendid event.
Director of Junior Chess Traci Whitfield rounds up the latest news
Alex Golding won the 54th Berks & Bucks Championship section scoring 5.5 out of 6. Results can be found here - http://berksandbuckschess.com/?page_id=644
Akshaya Kalaiyalahan achieved the Bronze medal in the U18 section at the European Youth Chess Championships held in Riga, Latvia. In a hard fought competition, she gained a score of 7/9 with 6 wins and 2 draws.
EYCC – Including Akshaya, 28 players attended the European Youth Chess Championships 19-30 August in Latvia. For the full report go to https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/euro-youth-chess-champs-2018/
Wilson’s School were selected by the EFCC to represent England in the International Schools Event (organised by the Polish Federation). The competition is unusual in that apart from being played on the ICCF webserver, the team includes three school pupils and a member of staff (Neill Cooper)
In the British Problem Solving first round there were 60 solvers from schools (mostly pupils with a few members of staff) of whom 41 submitted correct solutions. They have all been sent the second round and the top scorers will qualify for the final at Eton College in the new year (the Problem Solving Society have guaranteed 5 junior places in the finals)
British Chess Championships – Nishchal Thatte won the U10 section and has therefore been awarded the Neil Carr Scholarship to the ECF Chess Academy for the year beginning January 2019. Nishchal is already a student at the academy and will have his next year’s fees paid by the scholarship.
Congratulations to Koby Kalavannan and Jonah Willow, who have both had confirmation of their FM titles.
Secondary Schools events
ECF National Secondary Schools Co-ordinator Neill Cooper’s newsletter, giving details of some school chess events happening during the Autumn term 2018, is here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ECF-Secondary-School-News-September-2018.pdf. If you can’t find anything local to you do, email Neill to see if he can arrange something for you and other schools near you - manager.secondary@englishchess.org.uk
Brought to book 1
IM Gary Lane reviews Lawrence Trent's Albin Counter Gambit DVD; How Ulf Beats Black: Ulf Andersson’s Bulletproof Strategic Repertoire for White by Cyrus Lakdawala and The Art of the Tarrasch Defence by Alexy Bezgodov. More here - https://chess.business/blog/
Brought to book 2
The shortlist for the ECF Book of the Year includes USA champion Sam Shankland on pawn play and the chess community in Odessa; more here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/book-of-the-year-2018-shortlist/
Classic Rocks
The 10th London Chess Classic takes place from December 9-17, days after the Magnus Carlsen-Fabiano Caruana World Championship clash. The final leg of the Grand Chess Tour, this year the Classic will have a knockout format and a prize fund of $300,000. The semi-final will feature the four top players from the Grand Chess Tour qualifying events in Paris, Leuven and St. Louis, and will be hosted by the pioneering artificial intelligence company, DeepMind, at Google’s London headquarters. Then the action moves to the London Chess Classic’s traditional venue, Kensington Olympia, for the final.
Along with the Super GMs, the FIDE Open and 5-day and weekend events for players of all levels will also feature. Further details and ticket information here londonchessclassic.com
4NCL league and tournament details
4NCL 20th congress - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_20.htm
4NCL new season - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/entry_guidelines.htm
Junior 4NCL new season - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/j4ncl/jn_entry_1819.htm
Q&A
Winton British Chess Solving Championship results are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/winton-british-chess-solving-championship-solutions/
Rum do
Congratulations to Steve Rumsby from Banbury Chess Club was presented with his ECF President's Award for Services to Chess. The Award recognises that for over 30 years Steve has been the Chairman of Banbury Chess Club. Steve has overseen the growth of the club from initially fielding 2 teams in 1 league to the latest season where the club fielded 4 teams in the Leamington League, 3 teams in the Oxford League and entered all the available league cup competitions. In recent years, Banbury entered a team in the 4NCL. Virtually every year, Steve has captained one of the club teams. Steve’s wider contribution to chess is seen in his work for the Leamington and District Chess League. He is, and has been for a number of years, both the league's webmaster and fixtures secretary. At the start of the 2016-2017 season Oxfordshire County were unable to find a volunteer to captain the Under 150 county Team. Steve at short notice volunteered and led the county team to 5 wins from 6 matches. They ended that season as Chiltern League Champions. Steve has continued in this county captaincy role. Steve is highly regarded by chess players in an area stretching from Birmingham down to Didcot.
Steve (right) receives the President's Award from Leamington League chairman Ben Graff
Bled and breakfast
If you are over 50 and fancy a few days of chess in the beautiful Slovenian setting of Bled at the World Individual Seniors, this is for you - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=9805
Media pieces
Two recent articles on chess that are worth a look ... here - http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180822-what-we-can-learn-from-female-chess-prodigies and here - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/02/who-will-be-king-three-way-battle-for-control-rocks-international-chess
Obituaries
FM Phillip Short - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9819
ECF NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2018
Dear Member
Welcome to the August edition of the eNewsletter. A successful British Championships in Hull ended with Michael Adams winning the Open for the sixth time, after a dramatic last day seeing both players tied on 7/9. Adams won the tie break rapidplay and blitz 2-1; Gawain Jones came third with 6.5/9 and Jovanka Houska won the Women's title for the eighth time. You can read FM Tim Wall’s excellent account of the Championships below. We headline this month with an interview with Chris Fegan, ECF Director of Women's Chess, whose appointment precipitated a robust debate about the suitability of a man assuming this role. Chris has tackled the issue head on, appointing Helen Frostick as Manager of Female Social Media, and he has extensive plans to attract more juniors and women to take up chess. We also have a round-up of excellent performances by England players in summer tournaments. The July gradings are out, so if you haven't already seen if you can give up the day job to become a full-time player, here is the link - http://www.ecfgrading.org.uk/new/menu.php.
Please remember to update your membership or join if you have not done so already! The new system used by the ECF is GoMembership, administered by Azolve. User-friendly, easy to navigate and extremely efficient, it is a huge improvement! More on the new membership system here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-membership-system/
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
--- Mark Rivlin
Interview with Chris Fegan, ECF Director of Women's Chess
As well as being a high-graded player (182) with a lot of experience in chess, many people know you through your day job at Chess in Schools and Communities. Tell us a bit about your role in CSC.
My role at CSC is at one level, fairly straightforward which is to ensure that the day-to-day activities of the charity is progressed and delivered according to the directions of the Trustees' strategic objectives. In such a large and diverse organisation, this can be complicated.
Why did the role of Director of Women's Chess interest you?
I was very concerned that the position was under threat and I was determined to try and ensure that the ECF continued the post. I am delighted that this has been achieved.
Without drawing you into a controversy that you had nothing to do with, can you understand why some women (and men) players feel the post might be better suited to a woman?
Yes, I can understand some of the views articulated but as I have said elsewhere I do not wish to comment on the appointment process. My aim is to move on to work and deliver for all the women, young and old in the English chess community.
You are currently the post holder until October and then if you wish to continue, you will need to be elected again? Is that correct?
That is my understanding.
Walk into any league night or tournament in the UK and generally the make-up of the hall will be predominantly white men over 40. Do you think this imbalance against women and people from BAME backgrounds is a problem for the ECF?
It is a massive problem for the ECF and also for chess generally. The whole chess community needs to take stock and to change the way that chess is delivered in England to reflect that we live in a diverse, modern 21st century society and if we are to be successful then English chess needs to adapt to modern times and modern lives. I have many plans and I am already starting to roll them out. Hopefully some of these will have been delivered by the time this article is seen by the wider ECF Membership. One of the more innovative proposals (at least for the chess world but fairly standard elsewhere) is crèche facilities and I am investigating the possibility of providing a crèche for the 2018 English Women’s Championships later this summer.
In your acceptance of the post you said: "I am looking forward to the challenge of working with men and women across English chess to change the culture of the game in this country." What did you mean by this?
English chess needs to modernise to fit society and not the other way around. I have many ideas about this and hope to work with all English chess players of both genders in reaching out to wider society to make chess more accessible and welcoming and to radically increase the overall number of people playing chess in England. I also include social chess as being equally important.
What are your views on the Casual Chess initiative started by Women's Chess Network? On their gofundme page they write as follows - "We are starting a Women's Chess Network, in response to - The refusal of any funding contribution towards free chess lessons for women at Casual Chess, by the national chess body. An attempt by that body to abolish the Women's Chess Director post, then appointing a man ahead of two qualified female candidates. The appointment of a male Captain of the Women's Chess Olympiad Team."
I am aware of Casual Chess and the recent request for ECF support and then the subsequent social media announcement to which you refer. One of the first things I did after being appointed was to write to the named organiser for Casual Chess/Women’s Chess Network and I offered to come to their venue and speak to the members there about how we can move forward together for the benefit of women wanting to be involved in chess in London. I have as yet not received a reply to my e-mail to her.
British Chess Championships
FM Tim Wall continues his excellent op-ed pieces on Chess in England with his reflections on the British Championships in Hull - click this link for the PDF
Excellent performances by English players over the summer
Another fine Jess
10-year-old Jessica Mellor from Guildford won the Girls’ Gold Medal Under 11s category at the European Schools Chess Championships held in Krakow, Poland. Jessica scored a brilliant 7.5/9 to claim clear first ahead of players from Russia, Turkey and Slovakia. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/gold-medal-for-jessica-mellor-at-the-european-schools/ and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ECF.Press_.Release.11.7.18.pdf
Seniors' moment
A great performance by our elder chess statesmen and women in the World Senior Team Championships in Radebeul, Germany. The men's team came second in the 50+ section. The team won seven matches, drew one and lost one, finishing one point behind top seeds and gold medallists USA, whom England defeated in their Round 4 match. The England Women’s team in the 50+ section came third with Sheila Jackson winning the individual bronze medal with 4½/9 on board 1 and Petra Fink-Nunn winning the individual silver medal with 6½/9 on board 4. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/england-wins-silver-at-world-senior-team-chess-championship/
Everything's coming up Faroes
GM Gawain Jones and his partner WIM Sue Maroroa both participated at the Faroes Open. Gawain came third with 65.5/9 and Sue came 24th with four points. Check out these links - http://chess-results.com/tnr330086.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=9&flag=30 and https://www.faroesopen.com/ninth-round-srinath-winning-the-faroes-open/
Justin's time
Australian Justin Tan won the Paracin Open in Serbia and got his final GM norm. Marcus Harvey did well with 6.5/9 and a 2445 TPR, just shy on norm while gaining 20 points. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr343573.aspx
Visually unimpaired
A strong performance from the GB team at the 8th IBCA Championships in Sofia. The team, coached by GM Andrew McDonald and led by England's Chris Ross, finished 7th out of 8 in the Group A category. More here, including a fascinating 20-minute interview with Chris - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/8th-ibca-championships-for-blind-and-visually-impaired-chess-players/
Good posts in the Czech - English players in the Czech Open in Pardubice
IM Ravi Haria 6/9; IM Alan Merry and FM William Claridge-Hansen 5.5/9; WFM Louise Head 5/9. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr365637.aspx?datatyp=&lan=1&flag=30
In form for norms
Joseph McPhillips gained a second IM norm at First Saturday event (Budapest) and James Adair got his first IM norm and came first at Hersonissos Open (Crete)
Olympiad teams
The England Men's and Women's teams for the forthcoming Olympiad in Batumi Georgia in October have been announced ---
Open – Michael Adams, David Howell, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane and Nick Pert with John Nunn as non-playing captain
Women – Jovanka Houska, Dagne Ciuksyte, Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Sue Maroroa and Louise Head with Lorin D’Costa as non-playing captain
Schools in for summer
Sponsored by Winchester College, the National Schools U19 finals were played at Uppingham School in Rutland. The tournament was won by Reading School with RGS Guildford in second place and City of London School and Nottingham High sharing third place. Brighton College won the Plate. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u19-final-2018/
Check flag for English Youth
The ECF Youth Grand Prix arrangements for 2018-19 are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-youth-grand-prix-2018-19/
Get fit for blitz!
The UK Open Blitz championship is going to be a countrywide affair this coming season. There will be eight 15-round qualifying Swiss tournaments played in different cities around the United Kingdom on Saturday, 8 September. Eligible players will be able to enter one qualifying tournament of their choice. The top two players in each qualifier will qualify for the Final on 1 December 2018, played at a date and venue to be announced. The top two female players in each qualifier will qualify for a Women’s Final, held concurrently. Both Finals and the qualifiers combined will have a total prize fund in excess of £5,000. Qualifier venues are listed here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship/
Battle Royal goes to the very top
Junior prodigy Shreyas Royal is still battling to be allowed remain in the UK following a Home Office directive that his parents, Jitendra and Anju Singh, will need to leave the country in September. The parents had appealed to extend their visas stating that Shreyas is a 'national asset' (fourth in World Cadets in Brazil last year and a current July 2018 grading of 176). The ECF have made a representation to Home Secretary Sajid Javid. More here - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/03/visa-battle-to-keep-child-chess-prodigy-shreyas-royal-in-the-uk
Bird's opening
The ECF Manager of Chess in Prisons, Carl Portman, and the charity Chess in Schools and Communities are featured in this interesting Guardian piece which highlights the benefits of chess in Isis and Wandsworth prisons - https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/15/prison-reform-latest-weapon-chess
Kings Placed - Adam Raoof reports on another bumper rapidplay tournament at the prestigious Kings Place
The Kings Place annual one-day tournament is acknowledged one of the largest one-day rapid play tournaments in the country with one of the biggest prize funds as well as providing opportunities for a range of players, and especially promising juniors. This year's event was a great success (266 entries) despite a reduction in numbers due to a clash with the ECFCounty finals, notable junior tournaments and the England vs Sweden World Cup quarter final. The success or failure of next year's Kings Place chess festival will depend on whether or not we can find a sponsor to support such a big event to cover the increased costs of the venue and the prize fund. More here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/11AmZdZ0HKN_AFXRLP59F6P3ZvshzqvKFbknIA_gU6EQ/edit?usp=sharing
World Championship venue and ticket prices
November's world championship clash in London between Magnus Carlsen and Fabio Caruana will take place in The College in Holborn, central London (known as Midtown). Tickets for the match (which runs from 9 -28 November) are on sale via Ticketmaster here - https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/search?q=chess - with a daily price of £45 up to £600. According to the FIDE press release from Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, "There are millions of chess fans in the UK – this is their chance to witness a battle of the world’s greatest minds". Now that would be good for the ECF – millions of chess fans. More here - https://www.chess.com/news/view/carlsen-caruana-world-championship-venue-announced and here - http://www.locationhouse.co.uk/location/the-college/
Deaf Olympiad
Manchester hosted the Deaf Olympiad, with Serbia and Ukraine winning the Open and Men's tournaments. England's leading players were Alasdair Macleod 6.5/9 and Martin Lewis 6/9. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr364954.aspx?lan=1 and here http://chess-results.com/tnr364998.aspx?lan=1
Junior news
ECF Director of Junior Chess Traci Whitfield's monthly round-up here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/junior_report_august2018.pdf
About time?
Normally a fairly mild evening out, this year's London Chess League AGM was robust, to say the least. A motion to end adjournments was on the agenda to be voted on, but an amendment was carried instructing the committee to come back next year with more details on the proposal. One of the the best chess leagues in England is left as one of the few leagues and tournaments in which some matches may require a second meeting.
County finals - coming up roses
The county championship finals day in Leamington saw Lancashire retain the Open title against Yorkshire with the White Rose county taking the U180 title. All the results are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/lancashire-retains-the-county-championship/
Short backed and siding
The ECF have nominated the Nigel Short ticket in the forthcoming FIDE presidential election to be held in Batumi in October - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide-presidential-nomination/
4NCL 20th Congress here ...
http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_20.htm
and 2018/19 season entry guidelines here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/entry_guidelines.htm
Midland Open at Ramada, Telford (a British Championship Qualifier) for the Midlands Champion - http://www.mccu.org.uk/m_congress/index.htm
Obituaries
Michael John Haygarth
The former British Champion died in 2016, and it has taken this long for this sad news to filter through. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/michael-john-haygarth-rip/
Rod McShane
Father of GM Luke McShane, Rod died in April - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rod-mcshane-rip/
Brian Hare
https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9710
John Leake of St Albans Chess Club
https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9751
Robert Everson
https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9546
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
Welcome to the August edition of the eNewsletter. A successful British Championships in Hull ended with Michael Adams winning the Open for the sixth time, after a dramatic last day seeing both players tied on 7/9. Adams won the tie break rapidplay and blitz 2-1; Gawain Jones came third with 6.5/9 and Jovanka Houska won the Women's title for the eighth time. You can read FM Tim Wall’s excellent account of the Championships below. We headline this month with an interview with Chris Fegan, ECF Director of Women's Chess, whose appointment precipitated a robust debate about the suitability of a man assuming this role. Chris has tackled the issue head on, appointing Helen Frostick as Manager of Female Social Media, and he has extensive plans to attract more juniors and women to take up chess. We also have a round-up of excellent performances by England players in summer tournaments. The July gradings are out, so if you haven't already seen if you can give up the day job to become a full-time player, here is the link - http://www.ecfgrading.org.uk/new/menu.php.
Please remember to update your membership or join if you have not done so already! The new system used by the ECF is GoMembership, administered by Azolve. User-friendly, easy to navigate and extremely efficient, it is a huge improvement! More on the new membership system here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-membership-system/
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
--- Mark Rivlin
Interview with Chris Fegan, ECF Director of Women's Chess
As well as being a high-graded player (182) with a lot of experience in chess, many people know you through your day job at Chess in Schools and Communities. Tell us a bit about your role in CSC.
My role at CSC is at one level, fairly straightforward which is to ensure that the day-to-day activities of the charity is progressed and delivered according to the directions of the Trustees' strategic objectives. In such a large and diverse organisation, this can be complicated.
Why did the role of Director of Women's Chess interest you?
I was very concerned that the position was under threat and I was determined to try and ensure that the ECF continued the post. I am delighted that this has been achieved.
Without drawing you into a controversy that you had nothing to do with, can you understand why some women (and men) players feel the post might be better suited to a woman?
Yes, I can understand some of the views articulated but as I have said elsewhere I do not wish to comment on the appointment process. My aim is to move on to work and deliver for all the women, young and old in the English chess community.
You are currently the post holder until October and then if you wish to continue, you will need to be elected again? Is that correct?
That is my understanding.
Walk into any league night or tournament in the UK and generally the make-up of the hall will be predominantly white men over 40. Do you think this imbalance against women and people from BAME backgrounds is a problem for the ECF?
It is a massive problem for the ECF and also for chess generally. The whole chess community needs to take stock and to change the way that chess is delivered in England to reflect that we live in a diverse, modern 21st century society and if we are to be successful then English chess needs to adapt to modern times and modern lives. I have many plans and I am already starting to roll them out. Hopefully some of these will have been delivered by the time this article is seen by the wider ECF Membership. One of the more innovative proposals (at least for the chess world but fairly standard elsewhere) is crèche facilities and I am investigating the possibility of providing a crèche for the 2018 English Women’s Championships later this summer.
In your acceptance of the post you said: "I am looking forward to the challenge of working with men and women across English chess to change the culture of the game in this country." What did you mean by this?
English chess needs to modernise to fit society and not the other way around. I have many ideas about this and hope to work with all English chess players of both genders in reaching out to wider society to make chess more accessible and welcoming and to radically increase the overall number of people playing chess in England. I also include social chess as being equally important.
What are your views on the Casual Chess initiative started by Women's Chess Network? On their gofundme page they write as follows - "We are starting a Women's Chess Network, in response to - The refusal of any funding contribution towards free chess lessons for women at Casual Chess, by the national chess body. An attempt by that body to abolish the Women's Chess Director post, then appointing a man ahead of two qualified female candidates. The appointment of a male Captain of the Women's Chess Olympiad Team."
I am aware of Casual Chess and the recent request for ECF support and then the subsequent social media announcement to which you refer. One of the first things I did after being appointed was to write to the named organiser for Casual Chess/Women’s Chess Network and I offered to come to their venue and speak to the members there about how we can move forward together for the benefit of women wanting to be involved in chess in London. I have as yet not received a reply to my e-mail to her.
British Chess Championships
FM Tim Wall continues his excellent op-ed pieces on Chess in England with his reflections on the British Championships in Hull - click this link for the PDF
Excellent performances by English players over the summer
Another fine Jess
10-year-old Jessica Mellor from Guildford won the Girls’ Gold Medal Under 11s category at the European Schools Chess Championships held in Krakow, Poland. Jessica scored a brilliant 7.5/9 to claim clear first ahead of players from Russia, Turkey and Slovakia. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/gold-medal-for-jessica-mellor-at-the-european-schools/ and here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ECF.Press_.Release.11.7.18.pdf
Seniors' moment
A great performance by our elder chess statesmen and women in the World Senior Team Championships in Radebeul, Germany. The men's team came second in the 50+ section. The team won seven matches, drew one and lost one, finishing one point behind top seeds and gold medallists USA, whom England defeated in their Round 4 match. The England Women’s team in the 50+ section came third with Sheila Jackson winning the individual bronze medal with 4½/9 on board 1 and Petra Fink-Nunn winning the individual silver medal with 6½/9 on board 4. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/england-wins-silver-at-world-senior-team-chess-championship/
Everything's coming up Faroes
GM Gawain Jones and his partner WIM Sue Maroroa both participated at the Faroes Open. Gawain came third with 65.5/9 and Sue came 24th with four points. Check out these links - http://chess-results.com/tnr330086.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=9&flag=30 and https://www.faroesopen.com/ninth-round-srinath-winning-the-faroes-open/
Justin's time
Australian Justin Tan won the Paracin Open in Serbia and got his final GM norm. Marcus Harvey did well with 6.5/9 and a 2445 TPR, just shy on norm while gaining 20 points. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr343573.aspx
Visually unimpaired
A strong performance from the GB team at the 8th IBCA Championships in Sofia. The team, coached by GM Andrew McDonald and led by England's Chris Ross, finished 7th out of 8 in the Group A category. More here, including a fascinating 20-minute interview with Chris - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/8th-ibca-championships-for-blind-and-visually-impaired-chess-players/
Good posts in the Czech - English players in the Czech Open in Pardubice
IM Ravi Haria 6/9; IM Alan Merry and FM William Claridge-Hansen 5.5/9; WFM Louise Head 5/9. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr365637.aspx?datatyp=&lan=1&flag=30
In form for norms
Joseph McPhillips gained a second IM norm at First Saturday event (Budapest) and James Adair got his first IM norm and came first at Hersonissos Open (Crete)
Olympiad teams
The England Men's and Women's teams for the forthcoming Olympiad in Batumi Georgia in October have been announced ---
Open – Michael Adams, David Howell, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane and Nick Pert with John Nunn as non-playing captain
Women – Jovanka Houska, Dagne Ciuksyte, Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, Sue Maroroa and Louise Head with Lorin D’Costa as non-playing captain
Schools in for summer
Sponsored by Winchester College, the National Schools U19 finals were played at Uppingham School in Rutland. The tournament was won by Reading School with RGS Guildford in second place and City of London School and Nottingham High sharing third place. Brighton College won the Plate. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/NSCC/u19-final-2018/
Check flag for English Youth
The ECF Youth Grand Prix arrangements for 2018-19 are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/english-youth-grand-prix-2018-19/
Get fit for blitz!
The UK Open Blitz championship is going to be a countrywide affair this coming season. There will be eight 15-round qualifying Swiss tournaments played in different cities around the United Kingdom on Saturday, 8 September. Eligible players will be able to enter one qualifying tournament of their choice. The top two players in each qualifier will qualify for the Final on 1 December 2018, played at a date and venue to be announced. The top two female players in each qualifier will qualify for a Women’s Final, held concurrently. Both Finals and the qualifiers combined will have a total prize fund in excess of £5,000. Qualifier venues are listed here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-open-blitz-championship/
Battle Royal goes to the very top
Junior prodigy Shreyas Royal is still battling to be allowed remain in the UK following a Home Office directive that his parents, Jitendra and Anju Singh, will need to leave the country in September. The parents had appealed to extend their visas stating that Shreyas is a 'national asset' (fourth in World Cadets in Brazil last year and a current July 2018 grading of 176). The ECF have made a representation to Home Secretary Sajid Javid. More here - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/03/visa-battle-to-keep-child-chess-prodigy-shreyas-royal-in-the-uk
Bird's opening
The ECF Manager of Chess in Prisons, Carl Portman, and the charity Chess in Schools and Communities are featured in this interesting Guardian piece which highlights the benefits of chess in Isis and Wandsworth prisons - https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/15/prison-reform-latest-weapon-chess
Kings Placed - Adam Raoof reports on another bumper rapidplay tournament at the prestigious Kings Place
The Kings Place annual one-day tournament is acknowledged one of the largest one-day rapid play tournaments in the country with one of the biggest prize funds as well as providing opportunities for a range of players, and especially promising juniors. This year's event was a great success (266 entries) despite a reduction in numbers due to a clash with the ECFCounty finals, notable junior tournaments and the England vs Sweden World Cup quarter final. The success or failure of next year's Kings Place chess festival will depend on whether or not we can find a sponsor to support such a big event to cover the increased costs of the venue and the prize fund. More here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/11AmZdZ0HKN_AFXRLP59F6P3ZvshzqvKFbknIA_gU6EQ/edit?usp=sharing
World Championship venue and ticket prices
November's world championship clash in London between Magnus Carlsen and Fabio Caruana will take place in The College in Holborn, central London (known as Midtown). Tickets for the match (which runs from 9 -28 November) are on sale via Ticketmaster here - https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/search?q=chess - with a daily price of £45 up to £600. According to the FIDE press release from Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, "There are millions of chess fans in the UK – this is their chance to witness a battle of the world’s greatest minds". Now that would be good for the ECF – millions of chess fans. More here - https://www.chess.com/news/view/carlsen-caruana-world-championship-venue-announced and here - http://www.locationhouse.co.uk/location/the-college/
Deaf Olympiad
Manchester hosted the Deaf Olympiad, with Serbia and Ukraine winning the Open and Men's tournaments. England's leading players were Alasdair Macleod 6.5/9 and Martin Lewis 6/9. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr364954.aspx?lan=1 and here http://chess-results.com/tnr364998.aspx?lan=1
Junior news
ECF Director of Junior Chess Traci Whitfield's monthly round-up here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/junior_report_august2018.pdf
About time?
Normally a fairly mild evening out, this year's London Chess League AGM was robust, to say the least. A motion to end adjournments was on the agenda to be voted on, but an amendment was carried instructing the committee to come back next year with more details on the proposal. One of the the best chess leagues in England is left as one of the few leagues and tournaments in which some matches may require a second meeting.
County finals - coming up roses
The county championship finals day in Leamington saw Lancashire retain the Open title against Yorkshire with the White Rose county taking the U180 title. All the results are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/lancashire-retains-the-county-championship/
Short backed and siding
The ECF have nominated the Nigel Short ticket in the forthcoming FIDE presidential election to be held in Batumi in October - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide-presidential-nomination/
4NCL 20th Congress here ...
http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_20.htm
and 2018/19 season entry guidelines here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/entry_guidelines.htm
Midland Open at Ramada, Telford (a British Championship Qualifier) for the Midlands Champion - http://www.mccu.org.uk/m_congress/index.htm
Obituaries
Michael John Haygarth
The former British Champion died in 2016, and it has taken this long for this sad news to filter through. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/michael-john-haygarth-rip/
Rod McShane
Father of GM Luke McShane, Rod died in April - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/rod-mcshane-rip/
Brian Hare
https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9710
John Leake of St Albans Chess Club
https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9751
Robert Everson
https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9546
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
ECF NEWSLETTER JULY 2018
Dear Member
Welcome to the July edition of the ECF eNewsletter and welcome also to the ECF’s new branding. The Board recognised that the old logo was becoming outdated – the brief for the new look was to produce a brand that would enable the Federation to reach out to new players and sponsors while reflecting the traditional status of one of the oldest federations in the world. The logo will be incorporated into ECF’s digital, print and commercial collateral and brand guidelines will be sent to stakeholders which need to use the branding. An explanatory PDF about the branding process is below.
This edition also features the Chess in Schools and Communities charity and welcome the first of a series of chess op-ed pieces by FM Tim Wall who opens with the English (AKA the British) Championships that begin on July 27 in Hull. With nearly 700 participants the event is one of the highlights of the chess calendar and an e-round of applause is certainly in order for tournament organiser Kevin Staveley and his team for their efforts in delivering such a prestigious event.
The newsletter stats are encouraging as the link below shows. As I have said before, I will be pleased to give anyone a forum to talk about issues concerning chess in England so if you have any points please send them, along with accompanying PDFs and or photos to [email protected]
Maximum respect to Battersea Chess Club in organising the London Summer League, a four round event over the summer including sections for all levels. This kind of initiative with a superb strapline (London's lighter league) team graphics and a guest lecture from GM Simon Williams does a great service to UK chess.
Finally, an apology is due to 3Cs and Durham University player FM Andrew Horton who got his second IM norm at the 4NCL final weekend in May but was not included in the June edition list of other players who got norms. I plead guilty on all counts, I simply blundered. Thanks also to Mick Norris for pointing out the omission.
Enjoy the weather!
Mark Rivlin
Big brand sound
After many years with the red logo, ECF has a new look. More details on the rebranding process and presentation here
Bringing chess to children and communities, a touch of class
Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) is an established charity doing remarkable work with children and vulnerable adults. Mark Rivlin speaks to CSC's research officer James Corrigan
Stats the way, aha aha ...
ECF eNewsletter viewing stats are encouraging. If you are a member and do not receive the eNewsletter in your inbox (please also check trash box as it may land there) then please contact the office at [email protected] - more here
Brought to book
We are looking at the ECF yearbook become a more streamlined edition with much of the material moving online. Have a look at the proposals here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-yearbook-proposal-to-change-the-format/ and please do come back to us with your comments to [email protected]
Captains Fantastic
GM John Nunn and IM Lorin D'costa will captain the men's and women's teams at the Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia starting in September. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/captains-for-the-womens-and-open-olympiad-teams/
English Women’s Championship
The English Women's Championships takes place in Solihull on 31.8 to 2.9. More details are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2018/
Fegan work it out
Chris Fegan has been appointed ECF Director of Women's Chess. Chief operating Officer of Chess in Schools & Communities charity, Chris comes to this important ECF role with over 40 years playing and administrative experience in chess. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-director-of-womens-chess/
Georgia on their minds
Congratulations to ECF officiating representatives at the forthcoming FIDE Olympiad in Batumi Georgia. Director of Home Chess Alex Holowczak has been appointed to TAP (Technical Administration Panel) while Alan Atkinson, Matthew Carr, David Sedgwick and Alex McFarlane have been appointed as Match Arbiters. More here - http://fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/10959-2018-batumi-chess-olympiad-principals.html
It's the final county down
Finals day is on 7 July in Warwick and features --- Open - Lancashire v Yorkshire; Minor - Surrey v Lincolnshire; U180 - Yorkshire v Warwickshire; U160 - Yorkshire v Lancashire; U140 - Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire; U120 - Warwickshire v Norfolk; U100 - Leicestershire v Lancashire
Direct Line
ECF are looking for direct members' representatives for the following categories - Honorary Life Vice Presidents, Honorary Life Members and Life Members, Gold and Gold Concessionary, Silver and Silver Concessionary, Bronze and Bronze Concessionary, and Platinum Members. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/direct-members-representatives-4/
Don't flag!
Membership deadline day for 2017-18 has passed. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership-deadline/
There will be a piece on membership renewals and joining for 2018-19 in the August newsletter.
Best of British
13 GMs lead the 688 entrants who have registered to date for the 104th British Championships, this year being held in Hull from the 27 July. All the details, including how to register and what's on in Hull to accompany the championships are here - https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/
A full copy of the programme is also available here - https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Events-BCC-2018.pdf
As well as the action on the board, there is also an arbiters seminar. Please see here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide-arbiters-seminars/
Off the Wall
FM Tim Wall opens a regular chess op-ed piece with a preview of the British Championships - click here
Fillip for Joseph!
Manchester Chess Federation report that Bolton Chess Club and Bath University FM Joseph McPhillips achieved a second IM norm at the June First Saturday Chess Tour in Budapest. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr358262.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30&snr=1
Swimmingly well in Pula
English participation in the Pula Open was a big success with IM Ravi Haria finishing first with 7/9, GM Daniel Fernandez third also on 7/9 with FM Joseph McPhillips and FM Andrew Horton both scoring 6.5/9. The results were particularly sweet for Andrew and Joseph as both are now waiting for their IM titles to be verified. The English contingent's results are here - http://chess-results.com/tnr328509.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30 and going into final round Leonard Barden covered the tournament in his Guardian piece here - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/29/young-english-talent-pula-open-croatia
Hackney CC and Wood Green player Jonathan Pein finished on 5.5/9.
Schools Poland
European Schools Chess Championships started on Friday 29 June in Krakow. Meet the team here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-schools-chess-championships-2018/
Yad a good time!
Congratulations to Yad Rahman our highest placed player in the FIDE World Cadet Rapidplay Championship in Minsk, Belarus.. Yad came 11th in the U8s with 7/9. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr362250.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30
Royal Cadet
Shreyas Royal's excellent form continues with the nine-year-old scoring 3/5 at theTunbridge Wells Open. Shreyas beat Martin Cutmore (179), John Bennet (190) and Ivan Myall (179)
Chess Magazine
The July taster is here ...click to read
Awards Committee Report
Headlining the ECF annual awards are Broadland CC in Norfolk (Club of the Year) and Manchester Social CC (Small Club of the Year). Phil Adams, Mike Denison and Howard Grist each received the President's Award for Services to Chess. Full list here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/awards-committee-report/
Two in Telford
Two great tournaments run by 4NCL, both in Telford. First is a weekender in July - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/4nclfideform_19.htm and then a five-day international tournament late October, early November to celebrate 25 years of 4NCL here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_intl_2018.htm
Obituary
Brian Hare - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9710
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
If you wish to unsubscribe from our newsletter, click here
Welcome to the July edition of the ECF eNewsletter and welcome also to the ECF’s new branding. The Board recognised that the old logo was becoming outdated – the brief for the new look was to produce a brand that would enable the Federation to reach out to new players and sponsors while reflecting the traditional status of one of the oldest federations in the world. The logo will be incorporated into ECF’s digital, print and commercial collateral and brand guidelines will be sent to stakeholders which need to use the branding. An explanatory PDF about the branding process is below.
This edition also features the Chess in Schools and Communities charity and welcome the first of a series of chess op-ed pieces by FM Tim Wall who opens with the English (AKA the British) Championships that begin on July 27 in Hull. With nearly 700 participants the event is one of the highlights of the chess calendar and an e-round of applause is certainly in order for tournament organiser Kevin Staveley and his team for their efforts in delivering such a prestigious event.
The newsletter stats are encouraging as the link below shows. As I have said before, I will be pleased to give anyone a forum to talk about issues concerning chess in England so if you have any points please send them, along with accompanying PDFs and or photos to [email protected]
Maximum respect to Battersea Chess Club in organising the London Summer League, a four round event over the summer including sections for all levels. This kind of initiative with a superb strapline (London's lighter league) team graphics and a guest lecture from GM Simon Williams does a great service to UK chess.
Finally, an apology is due to 3Cs and Durham University player FM Andrew Horton who got his second IM norm at the 4NCL final weekend in May but was not included in the June edition list of other players who got norms. I plead guilty on all counts, I simply blundered. Thanks also to Mick Norris for pointing out the omission.
Enjoy the weather!
Mark Rivlin
Big brand sound
After many years with the red logo, ECF has a new look. More details on the rebranding process and presentation here
Bringing chess to children and communities, a touch of class
Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) is an established charity doing remarkable work with children and vulnerable adults. Mark Rivlin speaks to CSC's research officer James Corrigan
Stats the way, aha aha ...
ECF eNewsletter viewing stats are encouraging. If you are a member and do not receive the eNewsletter in your inbox (please also check trash box as it may land there) then please contact the office at [email protected] - more here
Brought to book
We are looking at the ECF yearbook become a more streamlined edition with much of the material moving online. Have a look at the proposals here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-yearbook-proposal-to-change-the-format/ and please do come back to us with your comments to [email protected]
Captains Fantastic
GM John Nunn and IM Lorin D'costa will captain the men's and women's teams at the Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia starting in September. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/captains-for-the-womens-and-open-olympiad-teams/
English Women’s Championship
The English Women's Championships takes place in Solihull on 31.8 to 2.9. More details are here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/english-womens-championships-2018/
Fegan work it out
Chris Fegan has been appointed ECF Director of Women's Chess. Chief operating Officer of Chess in Schools & Communities charity, Chris comes to this important ECF role with over 40 years playing and administrative experience in chess. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-director-of-womens-chess/
Georgia on their minds
Congratulations to ECF officiating representatives at the forthcoming FIDE Olympiad in Batumi Georgia. Director of Home Chess Alex Holowczak has been appointed to TAP (Technical Administration Panel) while Alan Atkinson, Matthew Carr, David Sedgwick and Alex McFarlane have been appointed as Match Arbiters. More here - http://fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/10959-2018-batumi-chess-olympiad-principals.html
It's the final county down
Finals day is on 7 July in Warwick and features --- Open - Lancashire v Yorkshire; Minor - Surrey v Lincolnshire; U180 - Yorkshire v Warwickshire; U160 - Yorkshire v Lancashire; U140 - Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire; U120 - Warwickshire v Norfolk; U100 - Leicestershire v Lancashire
Direct Line
ECF are looking for direct members' representatives for the following categories - Honorary Life Vice Presidents, Honorary Life Members and Life Members, Gold and Gold Concessionary, Silver and Silver Concessionary, Bronze and Bronze Concessionary, and Platinum Members. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/direct-members-representatives-4/
Don't flag!
Membership deadline day for 2017-18 has passed. More here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/membership-deadline/
There will be a piece on membership renewals and joining for 2018-19 in the August newsletter.
Best of British
13 GMs lead the 688 entrants who have registered to date for the 104th British Championships, this year being held in Hull from the 27 July. All the details, including how to register and what's on in Hull to accompany the championships are here - https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/
A full copy of the programme is also available here - https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Events-BCC-2018.pdf
As well as the action on the board, there is also an arbiters seminar. Please see here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/fide-arbiters-seminars/
Off the Wall
FM Tim Wall opens a regular chess op-ed piece with a preview of the British Championships - click here
Fillip for Joseph!
Manchester Chess Federation report that Bolton Chess Club and Bath University FM Joseph McPhillips achieved a second IM norm at the June First Saturday Chess Tour in Budapest. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr358262.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30&snr=1
Swimmingly well in Pula
English participation in the Pula Open was a big success with IM Ravi Haria finishing first with 7/9, GM Daniel Fernandez third also on 7/9 with FM Joseph McPhillips and FM Andrew Horton both scoring 6.5/9. The results were particularly sweet for Andrew and Joseph as both are now waiting for their IM titles to be verified. The English contingent's results are here - http://chess-results.com/tnr328509.aspx?lan=1&art=25&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30 and going into final round Leonard Barden covered the tournament in his Guardian piece here - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/29/young-english-talent-pula-open-croatia
Hackney CC and Wood Green player Jonathan Pein finished on 5.5/9.
Schools Poland
European Schools Chess Championships started on Friday 29 June in Krakow. Meet the team here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/european-schools-chess-championships-2018/
Yad a good time!
Congratulations to Yad Rahman our highest placed player in the FIDE World Cadet Rapidplay Championship in Minsk, Belarus.. Yad came 11th in the U8s with 7/9. More here - http://chess-results.com/tnr362250.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&fedb=ENG&turdet=YES&flag=30
Royal Cadet
Shreyas Royal's excellent form continues with the nine-year-old scoring 3/5 at theTunbridge Wells Open. Shreyas beat Martin Cutmore (179), John Bennet (190) and Ivan Myall (179)
Chess Magazine
The July taster is here ...click to read
Awards Committee Report
Headlining the ECF annual awards are Broadland CC in Norfolk (Club of the Year) and Manchester Social CC (Small Club of the Year). Phil Adams, Mike Denison and Howard Grist each received the President's Award for Services to Chess. Full list here - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/awards-committee-report/
Two in Telford
Two great tournaments run by 4NCL, both in Telford. First is a weekender in July - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/4nclfideform_19.htm and then a five-day international tournament late October, early November to celebrate 25 years of 4NCL here - http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/information_intl_2018.htm
Obituary
Brian Hare - https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9710
The English Chess Federation
Tel: 01424 775222
General – [email protected]
Membership – [email protected]
Web – [email protected]
If you wish to unsubscribe from our newsletter, click here
ECF NEWSLETTER MAY 2018
Problems viewing this email? Click here to view it in your browser.
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the May edition of the e-newsletter. In this edition we talk about what the Federation does to back up the strapline 'furthering the cause of English Chess'. From bronze to platinum, we make every penny of your membership fees count. Below you will see the main areas we cover (this list is certainly not exhaustive) with much of the work being carried by a raft of unpaid officers. We currently boast 11,655 members with 18,808 players who have played at least one graded standard or rapid game.
From an ad-hoc game on the beach to the top board in the last round of the British Championships, we are here for people who want to learn, achieve and enjoy playing and watching chess. This edition also includes a piece from Richard Quin, a disabled chess player from Purbeck Chess Club who was one of the respondents to my call for comments on whether there should be recommended standards for playing facilities. Thanks also to everyone else who responded.
Finally, a bit of financial housekeeping as we approach 'that time of the year' when membership renewals become due. The new rates for 2018-19 are listed in the Pay and play report below.
Mark Rivlin
Editor
What is the ECF and what does it do?
The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organisation in England and is affiliated to FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Its mission is to promote the game of chess, in all its forms, as an attractive means of cultural and personal advancement to the widest possible public. In addition, the ECF exists to develop chess by creating the means to enable the highest forms of chess excellence to be achieved, and to expand the game as a social and sporting activity.
Annual competitions run by the ECF include:
– the British Championships, featuring events for all ages from Under 8s to veteran chess players (over 50s, over 65s);
– the County Championships;
– the English Women’s Championships;
– the Tradewise Grand Prix;
– the National Schools Chess Championships.
Other activities include:
– selecting English teams and individual representatives to all FIDE events, including the European and World Team Championships, Chess Olympiads, and European and World Junior Championships;
– working with the Chess Trust and the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust to support young players;
– running the ECF Chess Academy for our most promising junior players;
– maintaining the National Grading System, with an online database available throughout the year, and bi-annual online publication of ECF grades (January and July);
– training and refresher courses for arbiters.
ECF services include:
– submission of chess events to FIDE for FIDE rating, and international rating liaison;
– chess club and congress insurance scheme;
– discounted motor and travel insurance scheme for all chess players and accompanying persons;
– a monthly eNewsletter to all members;
– a regularly updated online chess events calendar;
– the annual ECF Yearbook: the year’s results, a directory of English chess organisations and officers, lists of past and present Champions and more;
– a map of the current chess clubs in England that the ECF is aware of with their contact details, and the same for English junior clubs;
– maintenance of five websites covering the ECF, ECF Juniors, ECF Seniors, the National Schools competition and the British Chess Championships;
– the ECF Master Points system, which allows chess players to apply for the title of National Master, Club Master, County Master, Regional Master, Team Master and Chess Maestro for performance in graded events;
– the ECF Certificate of Excellence and Certificate of Merit schemes, which feature the CoE tests, available for download from the ECF website at Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond level; and the CoM tests, an online suite of chess skills tests
4NCL
The inaugural seven-round Spring Bank Holiday Congress takes place on 25-28 May at Basingstoke Country Hotel here
October sees the first overseas holiday and congress at Hotel Mangalan, La Manga del Mar, Spain (11-17 October) here
We have reserved the services of GM Keith Arkell for coaching, simultaneous displays etc for the week.
Planning is underway for the inaugural nine-round International Title-norm Congress at Park Inn Telford on 31 October-4 November. More to follow!
The final weekend of action 9n the 2017-18 4NCL takes place over this coming Bank Holiday weekend, You can catch up with the action live here and here
Finally, we hope to announce the venue for the annual Rapidplay soon. The likely slot will be probably to be October or November. We may consider changing the format for this from a one day team/one day individual event to a two-day individual event.
If you have any views on this please contact Mike Truran on mike(at)truranfamily.co.uk
Director of Women's Chess
ECF Office Manager Gary Willson writes: The position of Director of Women's Chess has been vacant since Sarah Longson moved on to pastures new. Directors are normally elected by Council at the AGM every October, but the Board has decided to consider appointing a person to the role for the intervening period, until such time as a formal election can be run and voted on by Council. A link to Directors' and Officers' Responsibilities and Regulations can be found here
Anyone interested in applying for the position should do so before the end of May, by writing to [email protected]
Pay and play:
ECF Finance Council met on 28 April and agreed the following membership rates for 2018/19
i. Platinum (adult and junior): £70
ii. Gold (adult): £34
iii. Gold (junior): £17
iv. Silver (adult): £23.50
v. Silver (junior): £5
vi. Bronze (adult): £16
vii. Bronze (junior): £5
Pay to play fees for congresses:
i. ECF graded adult congresses: £7.50
ii. FIDE rated events: £10.50
iii. Junior only congresses: £2.00
Game fee for non-members playing four games or more in any league or competition:
i. Adult £16
ii. Junior £5
A summary of key decisions made by Council can be found here
Juggling clubs
ECF Webmaster Andrew Walker is on a mission – to put your club on the map!
Says Andrew: In an ongoing effort to make the ECF clubs list and the ECF clubs map tally more closely, and to enable the ECF office to maintain a list of club contacts as up-to-date as possible, we’d like to ask for the assistance of club secretaries and/or interested club members right across the country. All you need to do is visit two locations on the web:
1) ECF clubs page here
2) ECF clubs map here
3) Find your club (alphabetically on the clubs page, CTRL-F on the map page) and let us know the following:
• All’s well in both cases
• Corrections are required in one or both places
• We’re not there in one or both cases, so here are our details – get it done!
We hope this exercise will be a success, and plan to extend it to the junior clubs page and map shortly thereafter. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Send your emails to [email protected]. Your thoughts are welcome.
The norm the Merryer England IM Alan Merry got his first GM norm at the Open Polar Jersey Chess Festival. More here
Director's cut
Alex Holowczak with his monthly roll call. We are running ECF Arbiter courses in Hull, and north London. We also have a FIDE Arbiters Seminar in Hull at the start of the British Championships.
The EPSCA Under 11 winners were Kent and Richmond with Kent taking the Under 9 title.
The League Management System created by the ECF is inviting leagues to sign up for the 2018/19 season. The software has been used for a number of leagues successfully in 2017/18, including the Birmingham & District Chess League, the North Staffordshire & District Chess League and the Derby & District League. It allows leagues to set up their competitions and give access for captains to report results directly via the system. It generates the grading files for the tournament to be sent to the ECF. This will reduce the workload of league secretaries around England. The software is free to use for any ECF-graded league to use.
Please contact [email protected] if your league is interested in using this in the 2018/19 season Link here
Junior 4NCL weekend results here
I think therefore IM
Congratulations to Ezra Kirk for receiving his IM title and Matthew Wadsworth for an IM norm. More here
Royal flush against Nick Ferrari
LBC listeners enjoyed a real treat on 2.5 when CM Shreyas Royal (aged 9) took on the morning presenter in a chess challenge. The likeable Shreyas, who plays for Charlton & Beckenham in London League Division 2, was in the studio with his parents Jitendra Singh and Amjid who were talking about the family’s problem with an impending deportation. Jitendra Singh told Nick that he was filing an application to the Home Office because of Shreyas’s status as an 'exceptional talent’. For the record, it was a pretty straightforward win for Shreyas after Nick blundered his Queen. Follow the interview and game here
Arbiters Rule
At the most recent FIDE presidential board meeting three England arbiters/organisers were awarded FIDE titles for their work as follows; IA title: Alan Atkinson; FA title: Michael C Forster; IO title: Alan Hustwayte. Says Thomas Thorpe, ECF Manager of Arbiters: "These titles represent many years of hard work and dedication towards chess administration and we congratulate them on their achievements."
National Club Championships
In what could be the final National Club event in its current format, Telford were the hosts with Solihull A winning the Major, Telford the Intermediate on a tie-break and Telepost B the Minor. Final standings here
Body politic
Richard Quin from Purbeck Chess Club on facilities for disabled chess players, link here
King gong
If your club has something to shout about, let's hear it as nominations are now open for the following ECF awards: Club of the Year; Small Club of the Year; Congress of the Year; Website of the Year; Magazine of the Year; President's Award for Services to Chess. More here including how to submit an application.
Hull of a great time....
If you think the British Championships are just about chess......as with every British Championship there is plenty going on at Hull in July/August. Events include a ghost walk, a visit to The Deep aquarium, sampling Hull's very own Grandmaster beer, the delights of Napoleon's Casino, pizza making (and eating) for children, quiz night, ten-pin bowling and the laser tag game Quasar. A huge thanks to Hull City Council Sports & Leisure who have donated £10,000 to the championships. More here and The delights of Hull here
Oh, and let's not forget the chess – here is the online form for the British.
Charger in Sharjah
GM Gawain Jones was fast out of the blocks on his April Emirates adventure winning the Sharjah Masters Blitz ahead of the main tournament where he finished on 5.5/9. Gawain's partner WIM Sue Moraroa finished on 4/9. Results here
Minsk meet The latest episode in the long-running FIDE soap here
County Championships draw here
Chess Magazine taster Another excellent edition from the legendary Richard Palliser / Matt Read editorial combo – taster here
Junior news
ECF Director of Junior Chess and Education Traci Whitfield rounds up the latest news:
National Schools Girls’ Chess Championships here
U18 County Championships results championships here
Academy weekend report here
West of England Junior Chess Championship results here
North of England Junior Chess Championships here
Obituaries Sadly, this month there are four deaths to report in the chess community:
Colin Roberts, a stalwart of chess in Shropshire
WGM / IM Nino Khurtsidze
John Watts, Fleet & Farnborough CC
Roger Barnett, Redhill Chess Club
Dear ECF Member
Welcome to the May edition of the e-newsletter. In this edition we talk about what the Federation does to back up the strapline 'furthering the cause of English Chess'. From bronze to platinum, we make every penny of your membership fees count. Below you will see the main areas we cover (this list is certainly not exhaustive) with much of the work being carried by a raft of unpaid officers. We currently boast 11,655 members with 18,808 players who have played at least one graded standard or rapid game.
From an ad-hoc game on the beach to the top board in the last round of the British Championships, we are here for people who want to learn, achieve and enjoy playing and watching chess. This edition also includes a piece from Richard Quin, a disabled chess player from Purbeck Chess Club who was one of the respondents to my call for comments on whether there should be recommended standards for playing facilities. Thanks also to everyone else who responded.
Finally, a bit of financial housekeeping as we approach 'that time of the year' when membership renewals become due. The new rates for 2018-19 are listed in the Pay and play report below.
Mark Rivlin
Editor
What is the ECF and what does it do?
The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organisation in England and is affiliated to FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Its mission is to promote the game of chess, in all its forms, as an attractive means of cultural and personal advancement to the widest possible public. In addition, the ECF exists to develop chess by creating the means to enable the highest forms of chess excellence to be achieved, and to expand the game as a social and sporting activity.
Annual competitions run by the ECF include:
– the British Championships, featuring events for all ages from Under 8s to veteran chess players (over 50s, over 65s);
– the County Championships;
– the English Women’s Championships;
– the Tradewise Grand Prix;
– the National Schools Chess Championships.
Other activities include:
– selecting English teams and individual representatives to all FIDE events, including the European and World Team Championships, Chess Olympiads, and European and World Junior Championships;
– working with the Chess Trust and the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust to support young players;
– running the ECF Chess Academy for our most promising junior players;
– maintaining the National Grading System, with an online database available throughout the year, and bi-annual online publication of ECF grades (January and July);
– training and refresher courses for arbiters.
ECF services include:
– submission of chess events to FIDE for FIDE rating, and international rating liaison;
– chess club and congress insurance scheme;
– discounted motor and travel insurance scheme for all chess players and accompanying persons;
– a monthly eNewsletter to all members;
– a regularly updated online chess events calendar;
– the annual ECF Yearbook: the year’s results, a directory of English chess organisations and officers, lists of past and present Champions and more;
– a map of the current chess clubs in England that the ECF is aware of with their contact details, and the same for English junior clubs;
– maintenance of five websites covering the ECF, ECF Juniors, ECF Seniors, the National Schools competition and the British Chess Championships;
– the ECF Master Points system, which allows chess players to apply for the title of National Master, Club Master, County Master, Regional Master, Team Master and Chess Maestro for performance in graded events;
– the ECF Certificate of Excellence and Certificate of Merit schemes, which feature the CoE tests, available for download from the ECF website at Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond level; and the CoM tests, an online suite of chess skills tests
4NCL
The inaugural seven-round Spring Bank Holiday Congress takes place on 25-28 May at Basingstoke Country Hotel here
October sees the first overseas holiday and congress at Hotel Mangalan, La Manga del Mar, Spain (11-17 October) here
We have reserved the services of GM Keith Arkell for coaching, simultaneous displays etc for the week.
Planning is underway for the inaugural nine-round International Title-norm Congress at Park Inn Telford on 31 October-4 November. More to follow!
The final weekend of action 9n the 2017-18 4NCL takes place over this coming Bank Holiday weekend, You can catch up with the action live here and here
Finally, we hope to announce the venue for the annual Rapidplay soon. The likely slot will be probably to be October or November. We may consider changing the format for this from a one day team/one day individual event to a two-day individual event.
If you have any views on this please contact Mike Truran on mike(at)truranfamily.co.uk
Director of Women's Chess
ECF Office Manager Gary Willson writes: The position of Director of Women's Chess has been vacant since Sarah Longson moved on to pastures new. Directors are normally elected by Council at the AGM every October, but the Board has decided to consider appointing a person to the role for the intervening period, until such time as a formal election can be run and voted on by Council. A link to Directors' and Officers' Responsibilities and Regulations can be found here
Anyone interested in applying for the position should do so before the end of May, by writing to [email protected]
Pay and play:
ECF Finance Council met on 28 April and agreed the following membership rates for 2018/19
i. Platinum (adult and junior): £70
ii. Gold (adult): £34
iii. Gold (junior): £17
iv. Silver (adult): £23.50
v. Silver (junior): £5
vi. Bronze (adult): £16
vii. Bronze (junior): £5
Pay to play fees for congresses:
i. ECF graded adult congresses: £7.50
ii. FIDE rated events: £10.50
iii. Junior only congresses: £2.00
Game fee for non-members playing four games or more in any league or competition:
i. Adult £16
ii. Junior £5
A summary of key decisions made by Council can be found here
Juggling clubs
ECF Webmaster Andrew Walker is on a mission – to put your club on the map!
Says Andrew: In an ongoing effort to make the ECF clubs list and the ECF clubs map tally more closely, and to enable the ECF office to maintain a list of club contacts as up-to-date as possible, we’d like to ask for the assistance of club secretaries and/or interested club members right across the country. All you need to do is visit two locations on the web:
1) ECF clubs page here
2) ECF clubs map here
3) Find your club (alphabetically on the clubs page, CTRL-F on the map page) and let us know the following:
• All’s well in both cases
• Corrections are required in one or both places
• We’re not there in one or both cases, so here are our details – get it done!
We hope this exercise will be a success, and plan to extend it to the junior clubs page and map shortly thereafter. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Send your emails to [email protected]. Your thoughts are welcome.
The norm the Merryer England IM Alan Merry got his first GM norm at the Open Polar Jersey Chess Festival. More here
Director's cut
Alex Holowczak with his monthly roll call. We are running ECF Arbiter courses in Hull, and north London. We also have a FIDE Arbiters Seminar in Hull at the start of the British Championships.
The EPSCA Under 11 winners were Kent and Richmond with Kent taking the Under 9 title.
The League Management System created by the ECF is inviting leagues to sign up for the 2018/19 season. The software has been used for a number of leagues successfully in 2017/18, including the Birmingham & District Chess League, the North Staffordshire & District Chess League and the Derby & District League. It allows leagues to set up their competitions and give access for captains to report results directly via the system. It generates the grading files for the tournament to be sent to the ECF. This will reduce the workload of league secretaries around England. The software is free to use for any ECF-graded league to use.
Please contact [email protected] if your league is interested in using this in the 2018/19 season Link here
Junior 4NCL weekend results here
I think therefore IM
Congratulations to Ezra Kirk for receiving his IM title and Matthew Wadsworth for an IM norm. More here
Royal flush against Nick Ferrari
LBC listeners enjoyed a real treat on 2.5 when CM Shreyas Royal (aged 9) took on the morning presenter in a chess challenge. The likeable Shreyas, who plays for Charlton & Beckenham in London League Division 2, was in the studio with his parents Jitendra Singh and Amjid who were talking about the family’s problem with an impending deportation. Jitendra Singh told Nick that he was filing an application to the Home Office because of Shreyas’s status as an 'exceptional talent’. For the record, it was a pretty straightforward win for Shreyas after Nick blundered his Queen. Follow the interview and game here
Arbiters Rule
At the most recent FIDE presidential board meeting three England arbiters/organisers were awarded FIDE titles for their work as follows; IA title: Alan Atkinson; FA title: Michael C Forster; IO title: Alan Hustwayte. Says Thomas Thorpe, ECF Manager of Arbiters: "These titles represent many years of hard work and dedication towards chess administration and we congratulate them on their achievements."
National Club Championships
In what could be the final National Club event in its current format, Telford were the hosts with Solihull A winning the Major, Telford the Intermediate on a tie-break and Telepost B the Minor. Final standings here
Body politic
Richard Quin from Purbeck Chess Club on facilities for disabled chess players, link here
King gong
If your club has something to shout about, let's hear it as nominations are now open for the following ECF awards: Club of the Year; Small Club of the Year; Congress of the Year; Website of the Year; Magazine of the Year; President's Award for Services to Chess. More here including how to submit an application.
Hull of a great time....
If you think the British Championships are just about chess......as with every British Championship there is plenty going on at Hull in July/August. Events include a ghost walk, a visit to The Deep aquarium, sampling Hull's very own Grandmaster beer, the delights of Napoleon's Casino, pizza making (and eating) for children, quiz night, ten-pin bowling and the laser tag game Quasar. A huge thanks to Hull City Council Sports & Leisure who have donated £10,000 to the championships. More here and The delights of Hull here
Oh, and let's not forget the chess – here is the online form for the British.
Charger in Sharjah
GM Gawain Jones was fast out of the blocks on his April Emirates adventure winning the Sharjah Masters Blitz ahead of the main tournament where he finished on 5.5/9. Gawain's partner WIM Sue Moraroa finished on 4/9. Results here
Minsk meet The latest episode in the long-running FIDE soap here
County Championships draw here
Chess Magazine taster Another excellent edition from the legendary Richard Palliser / Matt Read editorial combo – taster here
Junior news
ECF Director of Junior Chess and Education Traci Whitfield rounds up the latest news:
National Schools Girls’ Chess Championships here
U18 County Championships results championships here
Academy weekend report here
West of England Junior Chess Championship results here
North of England Junior Chess Championships here
Obituaries Sadly, this month there are four deaths to report in the chess community:
Colin Roberts, a stalwart of chess in Shropshire
WGM / IM Nino Khurtsidze
John Watts, Fleet & Farnborough CC
Roger Barnett, Redhill Chess Club
ECF NEWSLETTER APRIL 2018
Dear ECF Member,
Welcome to the April edition of the e-newsletter. Thanks to those of you who responded to my request for views on venues, more on this topic in May. In this edition we have an interesting discussion on whether graded events are better than one-size-fits-all format. Open tournaments have the advantage of a possible pairing of a patzer (like your editor) with a GM. But this is not an FA Cup tie replay played on a January night on a frozen pitch in Carlisle with 18,000 home fans squeezed in and another 18,000 locked out. This is one versus one and we know what the result will be. On the other hand, to get better surely we need to test ourselves against better players and it is challenging to leave your comfort zone. And let's be honest, the higher-graded players have much more to lose. This topic will also be on this forum so please join the debate.
We also look at an excellent English showing at the European Individual Championships along with an update of GDPR data procedures.
As we near the end of the chess leagues' season I hope your club or team has exceeded expectations and that you can enjoy a little rest from chess (that's my April fool for you).
Mark Rivlin
Across the Board
The Debate - Grading Tournaments – an Open or Closed case?
Do you prefer playing in tournaments with graded sections or with one open Section with grading prizes? FM Tim Wall presents a strong argument for cutting graded sections with players of all abilities in the same pool. Tournament organiser Adam Raoof says club players prefer the graded sections and 140-graded Chris Levy from Hackney Chess gives his experience of 'playing-up' in the London Chess Classic FIDE Open. Read the debate here
New opening
Is your house or club getting cluttered with old chess equipment, especially clocks? The ECF can help! Carl Portman, who runs the ECF Chess in Prisons initiative explains: "It is true to say that prisoners have time on their hands. In chess terms, I am always looking to make this happen. Such items always fascinate inmates and I am often asked what they are and how they are used. I already donate chess sets, boards, books and magazines on behalf of generous donations from organisations and in some cases individuals, but clocks are expensive, and I am yet to donate a single one. I am looking for about half a dozen clocks, these can be either analogue or digital but I need them to be in good working order. They will have plenty of use in prison after all. These would really make a big difference as many inmates are only able to play for limited times out of their cells and timing a game is of great importance.” Please email Carl: [email protected] or the ECF office [email protected]
European Individual Championships
There were excellent performances from Gawain Jones and Luke McShane at the European Individual Tournaments in Batumi, Georgia won by GM Ivan Saric with 8.5/11. Both English GMs came joint second; Gawain finished fourth with 8/11 and a TPR of 2787 while Luke finished sixth, also with 8/11 and TPR of 2768 and both have now qualified for the individual world championships to be held in June in Prague. The two other English players were Ravi Haria 5.5/11 and Daniel Fernandez 4/11.
Ab Fab
Fabiano Caruana won the Challengers Tournament in Berlin and will play Magnus Carlsen for the world title in London and November. Let's hope Chess 24's Colin McGourty's comment will not come to pass: "there must be a non-zero chance that Rex Sinquefield will now offer a significantly higher prize fund than the bare minimum Agon usually provide for their events in order for FIDE to switch the match to St. Louis [from London]."
GDPR, Data Protection, County and Club Guide
The ECF have produced a document outlining roles for counties and clubs which hold people's data ahead of the new GDPR rules which come into force on 25.5.18. Please see a PDF of the main points of the guidelines here
To Hull and back
More on details, registering to play and organising accommodation for the 105th British Championships here, here and here
Go with the cash flow
Details of forthcoming ECF Finance Council meeting here and here
National Club championships
It’s not too late to enter the 2018 ECF National Club Championships at the Park Inn by Radisson Telford Hotel, Forgegate, Telford Centre, Telford, Shropshire TF3 4N. The event is run by Guy Greenland Email [email protected] and Alex Holowczak. Entry is £30.00 per team, with reductions for hotel bookings. Follow this link for more details and online entry.
Weekend in Doncaster
Details of the 18th 4NCL FIDE rated congress in Doncaster on 13-15 April here
4NCL fourth weekend
Guildford 1 continue their winning run of 4NCL championship pool with Cheddleton, White Rose and Wood Green in pursuit. Roundup here
Sent by Cable
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Vince Cable backs the petition to have chess recognised as a sport. More Here
No ordinary Joe
Twelve-year old Newcastle-under-Lyme player Joe Hirst won the Blackpool Congress Standard section with a perfect 5/5. More here:
World Schools Chess Championships
Head of Delegation Rejean Dupuis and coaches FM Adam Taylor and GM Glenn Flear will lead the ECF delegation to this prestigious tournament in Durres, Albania from 20-29 April. More here
Making his Mark
Congratulations to the new County Championships controller Mark Murrell. A solicitor by profession, Mark plays for Wanstead & Woodford CC and Essex. More here
CHESS magazine
March and April teasers of Chess magazine here and here:
Deaths and Obituaries
Reginald 'Mike' Sinclair
Graham Humphreys
Roger Barnett
John H Watt
Welcome to the April edition of the e-newsletter. Thanks to those of you who responded to my request for views on venues, more on this topic in May. In this edition we have an interesting discussion on whether graded events are better than one-size-fits-all format. Open tournaments have the advantage of a possible pairing of a patzer (like your editor) with a GM. But this is not an FA Cup tie replay played on a January night on a frozen pitch in Carlisle with 18,000 home fans squeezed in and another 18,000 locked out. This is one versus one and we know what the result will be. On the other hand, to get better surely we need to test ourselves against better players and it is challenging to leave your comfort zone. And let's be honest, the higher-graded players have much more to lose. This topic will also be on this forum so please join the debate.
We also look at an excellent English showing at the European Individual Championships along with an update of GDPR data procedures.
As we near the end of the chess leagues' season I hope your club or team has exceeded expectations and that you can enjoy a little rest from chess (that's my April fool for you).
Mark Rivlin
Across the Board
The Debate - Grading Tournaments – an Open or Closed case?
Do you prefer playing in tournaments with graded sections or with one open Section with grading prizes? FM Tim Wall presents a strong argument for cutting graded sections with players of all abilities in the same pool. Tournament organiser Adam Raoof says club players prefer the graded sections and 140-graded Chris Levy from Hackney Chess gives his experience of 'playing-up' in the London Chess Classic FIDE Open. Read the debate here
New opening
Is your house or club getting cluttered with old chess equipment, especially clocks? The ECF can help! Carl Portman, who runs the ECF Chess in Prisons initiative explains: "It is true to say that prisoners have time on their hands. In chess terms, I am always looking to make this happen. Such items always fascinate inmates and I am often asked what they are and how they are used. I already donate chess sets, boards, books and magazines on behalf of generous donations from organisations and in some cases individuals, but clocks are expensive, and I am yet to donate a single one. I am looking for about half a dozen clocks, these can be either analogue or digital but I need them to be in good working order. They will have plenty of use in prison after all. These would really make a big difference as many inmates are only able to play for limited times out of their cells and timing a game is of great importance.” Please email Carl: [email protected] or the ECF office [email protected]
European Individual Championships
There were excellent performances from Gawain Jones and Luke McShane at the European Individual Tournaments in Batumi, Georgia won by GM Ivan Saric with 8.5/11. Both English GMs came joint second; Gawain finished fourth with 8/11 and a TPR of 2787 while Luke finished sixth, also with 8/11 and TPR of 2768 and both have now qualified for the individual world championships to be held in June in Prague. The two other English players were Ravi Haria 5.5/11 and Daniel Fernandez 4/11.
Ab Fab
Fabiano Caruana won the Challengers Tournament in Berlin and will play Magnus Carlsen for the world title in London and November. Let's hope Chess 24's Colin McGourty's comment will not come to pass: "there must be a non-zero chance that Rex Sinquefield will now offer a significantly higher prize fund than the bare minimum Agon usually provide for their events in order for FIDE to switch the match to St. Louis [from London]."
GDPR, Data Protection, County and Club Guide
The ECF have produced a document outlining roles for counties and clubs which hold people's data ahead of the new GDPR rules which come into force on 25.5.18. Please see a PDF of the main points of the guidelines here
To Hull and back
More on details, registering to play and organising accommodation for the 105th British Championships here, here and here
Go with the cash flow
Details of forthcoming ECF Finance Council meeting here and here
National Club championships
It’s not too late to enter the 2018 ECF National Club Championships at the Park Inn by Radisson Telford Hotel, Forgegate, Telford Centre, Telford, Shropshire TF3 4N. The event is run by Guy Greenland Email [email protected] and Alex Holowczak. Entry is £30.00 per team, with reductions for hotel bookings. Follow this link for more details and online entry.
Weekend in Doncaster
Details of the 18th 4NCL FIDE rated congress in Doncaster on 13-15 April here
4NCL fourth weekend
Guildford 1 continue their winning run of 4NCL championship pool with Cheddleton, White Rose and Wood Green in pursuit. Roundup here
Sent by Cable
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Vince Cable backs the petition to have chess recognised as a sport. More Here
No ordinary Joe
Twelve-year old Newcastle-under-Lyme player Joe Hirst won the Blackpool Congress Standard section with a perfect 5/5. More here:
World Schools Chess Championships
Head of Delegation Rejean Dupuis and coaches FM Adam Taylor and GM Glenn Flear will lead the ECF delegation to this prestigious tournament in Durres, Albania from 20-29 April. More here
Making his Mark
Congratulations to the new County Championships controller Mark Murrell. A solicitor by profession, Mark plays for Wanstead & Woodford CC and Essex. More here
CHESS magazine
March and April teasers of Chess magazine here and here:
Deaths and Obituaries
Reginald 'Mike' Sinclair
Graham Humphreys
Roger Barnett
John H Watt
ECF NEWSLETTER MARCH 2018
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Dear ECF Member,
Welcome to the March edition of the e-newsletter. In this edition we have an interview with Brian Smith, secretary of London Chess League, a gentle reminder about General Data Protection Regulation, a great success in the north east with the Newcastle Chess Festival and the fascinating Random Chess match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.
Playing regular club chess over many years I have come to realise that conditions of play can vary considerably. The board and pieces may be a similar shape and size and I'm certainly not bothered what they are made of. What can be of concern however, is what might constitute unacceptable playing conditions (lack of space to manoeuvre, peripheral noise and poor heating or cooling). I fully understand that a lot of chess tournaments do not have budgets that meet the very good conditions offered by 4NCL and London Chess Classic (and plenty of other tournaments). But if a venue is so cold that players have to wear a coat, or, as I have experienced in my long and mediocre career, are competing with a monthly karaoke quiz in the downstairs area of a boozer ("In what year was this a hit for Abba?", cue blaring rendition of 'Dancing Queen') or a children's party pass-the-parcel medley, or indeed playing a match on chairs designed for eight year-olds in a primary school. And don't get me started on some naughty clubs and venues that don't provide tea and biscuits which surely should be a minimum requirement. Coming out of an opening much worse (I am an authority on this) there is at least a warm glow from dunking a solid Hobnob into a steaming cuppa to get the tank refuelled (see Peter Kay's take on this here). This is not a naming and shaming exercise – rather, it's to see if there is a consensus on whether it actually matters.
Enjoy the Spring (if it ever arrives).
Mark Rivlin
Across the Board
Interview with Brian Smith, secretary of London Chess League.
Tell us a bit about LCL's history and the league’s current stats
Last season 2016-17was a memorable year for LCL with over 1000 players and 70 teams in our six divisions. But it's not only the number of players, but also the quality that we are particularly proud of. Possibly the oldest Chess League in the World, LCL's 130-year Div1 record of 22 Championship wins (held by the Hampstead Club of the Penrose brothers in the 1950s-60s) was broken by Wood Green CC with 23 Championships. A great season indeed for celebration.
How long have you been secretary and what have been the highlights and downside of running such a big league?
I have been LCL Secretary since 2002, with much help from ex-President Alan Martin to run LCL's first website so that everyone could see results on something new called The Internet using a device called Email. We are now in the extremely clever hands of our website and database manager John Upham who keeps our playing records protected and accessible for all.
After around 25 years at the legendary (if slightly run-down) Golden Lane venue, the league has moved to the more upmarket Citadines Hotel in Holborn. Describe the difference in venues and whether paying more for a venue gives added value.
Most players who given feedback on Citadenes have decided that the free tea and coffee, followed by analysis space with a cheap beer is worth the extra charge for playing at a more upmarket venue. And of course being located only 100m from Holborn Tube is very handy. The bottom line is this, where in London can you get an evening's entertainment with refreshments for £3.50?
What kind of help would you like to see the ECF provide a league of your size and stature?
Game Fees were much easier for most of England's Winter Leagues and Clubs to administer, with known fixed charges when the season started. Now it is more difficult for clubs to calculate costs if players who are members of other Federations decide not to join ECF. This is particularly relevant in London.
In the new venue most matches are played on one night. A cursory glance at the demographics suggests that the league is not attracting people that reflect the diversity of Britain (usually around 85 per cent of players are white men aged 30-plus). Does this concern you and is there anything that you can do to address this issue?
This observation probably reflects who wants to learn and play chess. Things are rapidly changing because all of the recent new clubs joining LCL are from London's minority backgrounds. The great work done by CSC (Chess in Schools and Communities) and its supporters is having an impact. We are delighted that BBCA (British Bangla Chess Association and Alfil have joined the league and it is particularly welcoming to see young players participating.
Five years ago, the league introduced two divisions for players graded under 145 and 125. How popular has this been and would you consider a division for U100 players in order to attract an 'advanced beginner' cohort?
The Major and Minor Divisions are sponsored by Chess and Bridge and they have been a great success for LCL because it gives our players with lower ratings an opportunity to play games and support their club. A few weeks ago we laid out the tables so that a Division Six game was next to the Wood Green juggernaut so a 120-ish rated player was rubbing shoulders with Luke McShane. Who knows, Luke may have picked up some handy tips watching!
Most club chess players turn up for a game and then go off for a beer or three. Give us an idea of how much work goes into preparing for a league night.
I arrive at Citadenes hotel around two and a half hours before kick-off at 7pm. Setting up 100 boards with pieces scoresheets, clock adjustments and team cards takes time. I am very much indebted to our 70 team captains who sometimes have a difficult time getting a full team to turn out for their pre-arranged matches. And they in turn are thankful to their reserves who come along just in case they are needed. There is always help from players in setting up. What people tend to forget, having been immersed in a three-hour match, is that the process has to be reversed at around 10.15pm so it is rare that I leave the hotel before 11.30pm. Our superb treasurer Andy Heard does a lot of work keeping us afloat (literally) and for more than a quarter of a century, Vic Rumsey has carried out the extremely difficult tasks of preparing the more than 400 matches as LCL's Fixtures Secretary, a task that has become even more difficult with the move from three nights a week to one. The other members of LCL's extremely efficient Committee are the 'referees' who have to rule on disputes, but thankfully these are extremely rare.
You are one of the few leagues in the country that still offer adjournments. Is the flag about to drop for this type of time control?
At present we have odd boards playing quicker play (30 moves/75mins then 20 minutes more for a finish on the night; even boards playing the more traditional 36 moves/90mins and then adjournment if no result is reached. If both players agree to switch from default that is fine. Fortunately more players are moving to our quicker play option as they know that if they decide on the longer play and adjournment they will be playing a computer upon resumption. I would not be surprised if this issue is brought up at our AGM.
Fee-day rating The ECF is making junior pay-to-play fees more reasonable, more here
FIDE berating More trouble at the FIDE inn with a confirmation missive from treasurer Adrian Siegel that the game's governing body may soon have its bank account frozen due to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov being on the USA sanction list for alleged dealings with President Assad of Syria. Background document here. Full document here
Data remember GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is coming soon. ECF Director of Membership outlines the main features of the new legislation:
GDPR is the new data protection legislation which comes in to force in May. It relates to all individuals and organisations who collect, store, or process personal data, defined as "any information relating to an identifiable person ...". The major change in the Law from the point of view of organisers is the need to document what data you collect, why you collect it, what use you make of it, and whom you pass it on to. This is an onerous requirement. The ECF is drafting guidance for clubs and organisations; in the meantime the best resource available for further information is the official ICO Guide to GDPR.
Club UK United Kingdom Chess Challenge: More than 65,000 children take part in this national event on an annual basis; this year the overall champion at club level was Devan Patel on 19 points. Second place went to Dhiren Bahia and Cameron Rehman, both on 18 points. In third place was Arryan Singh on 17 points – a close call in the last round between Devan, Cameron and Dhiren. More here
Hip hip Howay! FM Tim Wall reports on a very successful Northumbria Masters and Newcastle Chess Festival. The tournament had two aims – to provide opportunities for norms, and to give players in the north of England a chance to play international chess without having to travel large distances. It was run alongside other events in the Newcastle Chess Festival, including the Northern Junior Championships at Excelsior Academy, a public simul in Newcastle City Library by GM Danny Gormally, and a GM coaching session at Forest Hall Chess Club by Russian GM and author Alexander Raetsky. Russian-born 19-year-old German GM Alexander Donchenko won the Masters and first prize of £1,200 with 7/9, ahead of 22-year-old Jakhongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan, with 6.5/9, who won £600. On 6/9 were Northumberland GM Danny Gormally, who lives just 30 miles from Newcastle in the town of Alnwick, Ravi Haria (England), Martin Percivaldi (Denmark), and Alexander Raetsky (Russia) - at 58 years old the top veteran player in what was a punishing schedule of two rounds a day. With seven GMs and 11 IMs in a field of 50 players (and an average rating of 2217) the tournament was by far the strongest in the north of England for some years. The closest English player to narrowly miss an IM norm was Paul Macklin, of Chorlton, who scored 5.5/9 and qualified for the 2018 British Championship in Hull. The Northumbria Masters benefited from sponsorship from the ECF and Capital Bridging Finance Solutions, a Liverpool-based company keen to support chess around the UK, as well as various donations from chess charities. The John Robinson Youth Chess Trust sponsored the entry fees and pre-tournament training for five local juniors. It is planned to make the tournament an annual event, to be held again in the February half-term school holidays, and to build the Newcastle Chess Festival to develop chess in the North East of England. More here and here
Magic Mushroom International Arbiter David Sedgwick has been reappointed as the Grand Chess Tour Chief Arbiter for 2018. David regularly turns out for Mushrooms in the London League and has a healthy 173 standard play grade. Congratulations, David
That's the Spirit, John A highly entertaining round-up of 4NCL Division 1a from Spirit of Atticus's John Carleton here and here and a heads-up for Spring Bank Holiday 4NCL FIDE-rated tournament here
Be a sport An important online petition has been launched to persuade Sport England to recognise chess as a sport. If you agree with this sentiment then here is a link for you to participate in the petition.
Junior news
School of Rook The ECF academy is nurturing the cream of the country's talented youngsters.Here's a report on the recent academy weekend
Nine, going on 14 Nine-year-old Shreyas Royal batted well above his already high average to win the U14 Major at the West of England Junior Chess Championships on 17-18 February in Swindon.
Under 18 County Championships Kent and Norfolk take the titles. After an absence in 2017, the ECF Under 18 county championships made a welcome return, this time hosted by the King's School in Grantham. Kent won the Open and Norfolk won the U130 sections. Neill Cooper was the tournament controller ably supported by arbiters Phill Beckett and John Swain whose excellent roundup is here
ESPCA For news of forthcoming events and updates from the English Primary School Chess Association please see here
Regions to be cheerful West of England Junior Chess Championship results
North of England Junior Chess Championships
Junior 4NCL ECF Director of Home Chess Alex Holowczak reports on the second round of Junior 4NCL: The 2nd weekend of the 2017/18 Junior 4NCL weekend was held at the Park Inn Hotel in Telford. 32 squads of players participated, with the top 10 being entered into Division 1. Cambridge Knights had defied their seeding to win the first weekend, but they followed that success by winning Division 1 in the second weekend too. They won 4 of their 5 matches. English Queens finished second, and the Chess in Schools' second team finished third, comfortably beating their first team in the process! In Division 2, Welsh Dragons Green won against Welsh Dragons Blue to win the competition. They finished ahead of Barnet Knights 2 and Robin Hoods.
The final tables are here and here.
Back rank fate? Magnus Carlsen and Hikaro Nakamura battled out a fascinating five days of creative chess in the Fischer Random Chess Challenge in Norway. Nice to start with 1: 0-0! Here'sLeonard Barden's take and more here:
Club Class The ECF National Club Championships 2018 is one of the most popular tournaments of the season, a weekend away with three mates and the usual grading sections. This year the tournament will be played at the Park Inn by Radisson Telford Hotel, Forgegate, Telford Centre, Telford, Shropshire TF3 4NA on Saturday 7 April and Sunday 8 April 2018. Enquiries to [email protected] Guy Greenland/Alex Holowczak.
Entry is £25.00 per team of four, rising to £30.00 after March 24th 2018. Discounts on entry available for those staying overnight at the Hotel (per three persons).
Gary Lane's Book Review The Art of the Tarrasch Defence by Alexy Bezgodov
Deaths and obituaries:
Unfortunately February has seen a number of deaths in the chess community. Some lovely memories here:
Simon Bartlett
Stan Cramer
Dave Springgay
Tim Upton
Robert Everson
Tatiana Zatulovskaya
Dear ECF Member,
Welcome to the March edition of the e-newsletter. In this edition we have an interview with Brian Smith, secretary of London Chess League, a gentle reminder about General Data Protection Regulation, a great success in the north east with the Newcastle Chess Festival and the fascinating Random Chess match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.
Playing regular club chess over many years I have come to realise that conditions of play can vary considerably. The board and pieces may be a similar shape and size and I'm certainly not bothered what they are made of. What can be of concern however, is what might constitute unacceptable playing conditions (lack of space to manoeuvre, peripheral noise and poor heating or cooling). I fully understand that a lot of chess tournaments do not have budgets that meet the very good conditions offered by 4NCL and London Chess Classic (and plenty of other tournaments). But if a venue is so cold that players have to wear a coat, or, as I have experienced in my long and mediocre career, are competing with a monthly karaoke quiz in the downstairs area of a boozer ("In what year was this a hit for Abba?", cue blaring rendition of 'Dancing Queen') or a children's party pass-the-parcel medley, or indeed playing a match on chairs designed for eight year-olds in a primary school. And don't get me started on some naughty clubs and venues that don't provide tea and biscuits which surely should be a minimum requirement. Coming out of an opening much worse (I am an authority on this) there is at least a warm glow from dunking a solid Hobnob into a steaming cuppa to get the tank refuelled (see Peter Kay's take on this here). This is not a naming and shaming exercise – rather, it's to see if there is a consensus on whether it actually matters.
Enjoy the Spring (if it ever arrives).
Mark Rivlin
Across the Board
Interview with Brian Smith, secretary of London Chess League.
Tell us a bit about LCL's history and the league’s current stats
Last season 2016-17was a memorable year for LCL with over 1000 players and 70 teams in our six divisions. But it's not only the number of players, but also the quality that we are particularly proud of. Possibly the oldest Chess League in the World, LCL's 130-year Div1 record of 22 Championship wins (held by the Hampstead Club of the Penrose brothers in the 1950s-60s) was broken by Wood Green CC with 23 Championships. A great season indeed for celebration.
How long have you been secretary and what have been the highlights and downside of running such a big league?
I have been LCL Secretary since 2002, with much help from ex-President Alan Martin to run LCL's first website so that everyone could see results on something new called The Internet using a device called Email. We are now in the extremely clever hands of our website and database manager John Upham who keeps our playing records protected and accessible for all.
After around 25 years at the legendary (if slightly run-down) Golden Lane venue, the league has moved to the more upmarket Citadines Hotel in Holborn. Describe the difference in venues and whether paying more for a venue gives added value.
Most players who given feedback on Citadenes have decided that the free tea and coffee, followed by analysis space with a cheap beer is worth the extra charge for playing at a more upmarket venue. And of course being located only 100m from Holborn Tube is very handy. The bottom line is this, where in London can you get an evening's entertainment with refreshments for £3.50?
What kind of help would you like to see the ECF provide a league of your size and stature?
Game Fees were much easier for most of England's Winter Leagues and Clubs to administer, with known fixed charges when the season started. Now it is more difficult for clubs to calculate costs if players who are members of other Federations decide not to join ECF. This is particularly relevant in London.
In the new venue most matches are played on one night. A cursory glance at the demographics suggests that the league is not attracting people that reflect the diversity of Britain (usually around 85 per cent of players are white men aged 30-plus). Does this concern you and is there anything that you can do to address this issue?
This observation probably reflects who wants to learn and play chess. Things are rapidly changing because all of the recent new clubs joining LCL are from London's minority backgrounds. The great work done by CSC (Chess in Schools and Communities) and its supporters is having an impact. We are delighted that BBCA (British Bangla Chess Association and Alfil have joined the league and it is particularly welcoming to see young players participating.
Five years ago, the league introduced two divisions for players graded under 145 and 125. How popular has this been and would you consider a division for U100 players in order to attract an 'advanced beginner' cohort?
The Major and Minor Divisions are sponsored by Chess and Bridge and they have been a great success for LCL because it gives our players with lower ratings an opportunity to play games and support their club. A few weeks ago we laid out the tables so that a Division Six game was next to the Wood Green juggernaut so a 120-ish rated player was rubbing shoulders with Luke McShane. Who knows, Luke may have picked up some handy tips watching!
Most club chess players turn up for a game and then go off for a beer or three. Give us an idea of how much work goes into preparing for a league night.
I arrive at Citadenes hotel around two and a half hours before kick-off at 7pm. Setting up 100 boards with pieces scoresheets, clock adjustments and team cards takes time. I am very much indebted to our 70 team captains who sometimes have a difficult time getting a full team to turn out for their pre-arranged matches. And they in turn are thankful to their reserves who come along just in case they are needed. There is always help from players in setting up. What people tend to forget, having been immersed in a three-hour match, is that the process has to be reversed at around 10.15pm so it is rare that I leave the hotel before 11.30pm. Our superb treasurer Andy Heard does a lot of work keeping us afloat (literally) and for more than a quarter of a century, Vic Rumsey has carried out the extremely difficult tasks of preparing the more than 400 matches as LCL's Fixtures Secretary, a task that has become even more difficult with the move from three nights a week to one. The other members of LCL's extremely efficient Committee are the 'referees' who have to rule on disputes, but thankfully these are extremely rare.
You are one of the few leagues in the country that still offer adjournments. Is the flag about to drop for this type of time control?
At present we have odd boards playing quicker play (30 moves/75mins then 20 minutes more for a finish on the night; even boards playing the more traditional 36 moves/90mins and then adjournment if no result is reached. If both players agree to switch from default that is fine. Fortunately more players are moving to our quicker play option as they know that if they decide on the longer play and adjournment they will be playing a computer upon resumption. I would not be surprised if this issue is brought up at our AGM.
Fee-day rating The ECF is making junior pay-to-play fees more reasonable, more here
FIDE berating More trouble at the FIDE inn with a confirmation missive from treasurer Adrian Siegel that the game's governing body may soon have its bank account frozen due to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov being on the USA sanction list for alleged dealings with President Assad of Syria. Background document here. Full document here
Data remember GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is coming soon. ECF Director of Membership outlines the main features of the new legislation:
GDPR is the new data protection legislation which comes in to force in May. It relates to all individuals and organisations who collect, store, or process personal data, defined as "any information relating to an identifiable person ...". The major change in the Law from the point of view of organisers is the need to document what data you collect, why you collect it, what use you make of it, and whom you pass it on to. This is an onerous requirement. The ECF is drafting guidance for clubs and organisations; in the meantime the best resource available for further information is the official ICO Guide to GDPR.
Club UK United Kingdom Chess Challenge: More than 65,000 children take part in this national event on an annual basis; this year the overall champion at club level was Devan Patel on 19 points. Second place went to Dhiren Bahia and Cameron Rehman, both on 18 points. In third place was Arryan Singh on 17 points – a close call in the last round between Devan, Cameron and Dhiren. More here
Hip hip Howay! FM Tim Wall reports on a very successful Northumbria Masters and Newcastle Chess Festival. The tournament had two aims – to provide opportunities for norms, and to give players in the north of England a chance to play international chess without having to travel large distances. It was run alongside other events in the Newcastle Chess Festival, including the Northern Junior Championships at Excelsior Academy, a public simul in Newcastle City Library by GM Danny Gormally, and a GM coaching session at Forest Hall Chess Club by Russian GM and author Alexander Raetsky. Russian-born 19-year-old German GM Alexander Donchenko won the Masters and first prize of £1,200 with 7/9, ahead of 22-year-old Jakhongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan, with 6.5/9, who won £600. On 6/9 were Northumberland GM Danny Gormally, who lives just 30 miles from Newcastle in the town of Alnwick, Ravi Haria (England), Martin Percivaldi (Denmark), and Alexander Raetsky (Russia) - at 58 years old the top veteran player in what was a punishing schedule of two rounds a day. With seven GMs and 11 IMs in a field of 50 players (and an average rating of 2217) the tournament was by far the strongest in the north of England for some years. The closest English player to narrowly miss an IM norm was Paul Macklin, of Chorlton, who scored 5.5/9 and qualified for the 2018 British Championship in Hull. The Northumbria Masters benefited from sponsorship from the ECF and Capital Bridging Finance Solutions, a Liverpool-based company keen to support chess around the UK, as well as various donations from chess charities. The John Robinson Youth Chess Trust sponsored the entry fees and pre-tournament training for five local juniors. It is planned to make the tournament an annual event, to be held again in the February half-term school holidays, and to build the Newcastle Chess Festival to develop chess in the North East of England. More here and here
Magic Mushroom International Arbiter David Sedgwick has been reappointed as the Grand Chess Tour Chief Arbiter for 2018. David regularly turns out for Mushrooms in the London League and has a healthy 173 standard play grade. Congratulations, David
That's the Spirit, John A highly entertaining round-up of 4NCL Division 1a from Spirit of Atticus's John Carleton here and here and a heads-up for Spring Bank Holiday 4NCL FIDE-rated tournament here
Be a sport An important online petition has been launched to persuade Sport England to recognise chess as a sport. If you agree with this sentiment then here is a link for you to participate in the petition.
Junior news
School of Rook The ECF academy is nurturing the cream of the country's talented youngsters.Here's a report on the recent academy weekend
Nine, going on 14 Nine-year-old Shreyas Royal batted well above his already high average to win the U14 Major at the West of England Junior Chess Championships on 17-18 February in Swindon.
Under 18 County Championships Kent and Norfolk take the titles. After an absence in 2017, the ECF Under 18 county championships made a welcome return, this time hosted by the King's School in Grantham. Kent won the Open and Norfolk won the U130 sections. Neill Cooper was the tournament controller ably supported by arbiters Phill Beckett and John Swain whose excellent roundup is here
ESPCA For news of forthcoming events and updates from the English Primary School Chess Association please see here
Regions to be cheerful West of England Junior Chess Championship results
North of England Junior Chess Championships
Junior 4NCL ECF Director of Home Chess Alex Holowczak reports on the second round of Junior 4NCL: The 2nd weekend of the 2017/18 Junior 4NCL weekend was held at the Park Inn Hotel in Telford. 32 squads of players participated, with the top 10 being entered into Division 1. Cambridge Knights had defied their seeding to win the first weekend, but they followed that success by winning Division 1 in the second weekend too. They won 4 of their 5 matches. English Queens finished second, and the Chess in Schools' second team finished third, comfortably beating their first team in the process! In Division 2, Welsh Dragons Green won against Welsh Dragons Blue to win the competition. They finished ahead of Barnet Knights 2 and Robin Hoods.
The final tables are here and here.
Back rank fate? Magnus Carlsen and Hikaro Nakamura battled out a fascinating five days of creative chess in the Fischer Random Chess Challenge in Norway. Nice to start with 1: 0-0! Here'sLeonard Barden's take and more here:
Club Class The ECF National Club Championships 2018 is one of the most popular tournaments of the season, a weekend away with three mates and the usual grading sections. This year the tournament will be played at the Park Inn by Radisson Telford Hotel, Forgegate, Telford Centre, Telford, Shropshire TF3 4NA on Saturday 7 April and Sunday 8 April 2018. Enquiries to [email protected] Guy Greenland/Alex Holowczak.
Entry is £25.00 per team of four, rising to £30.00 after March 24th 2018. Discounts on entry available for those staying overnight at the Hotel (per three persons).
Gary Lane's Book Review The Art of the Tarrasch Defence by Alexy Bezgodov
Deaths and obituaries:
Unfortunately February has seen a number of deaths in the chess community. Some lovely memories here:
Simon Bartlett
Stan Cramer
Dave Springgay
Tim Upton
Robert Everson
Tatiana Zatulovskaya