Merry Christmas

Hope that you all have a good Christmas and here is a little something that I made specially for the chess blogs. Its easy to do if you have a bit of time on your hands. I used the words from 'I wish it could be Christmas every day' - it does this automatically. You can find the lyrics here (and the program seems to have added the word chess by itself). How clever!

You will notice that I have chosen purple to please a certain purple-prone person. :-)

Congratulations to Jamie Kearney

Now that Jamie is the joint under 12 Warwickshire Closed Champion there is even more reason to challenge him on the Rugby Junior Chess Club ladder, then after Christmas we should do well as a club when we enter the UK Chess Challenge.

Warwickshire Junior Chess Tournament

Four Rugby players took part in the WJC Tournament in Knowle on Saturday. Jamie did particularly well with no losses over his six games (4 wins and 2 draws), coming joint 2nd in a very competitive field. As the winner of the U-12s (Joseph Friar is from Worcs) Jamie was joint winner of the Warwickshire Under-12 category, with Ashwin Kalyana from Edgbaston. They share a lovely trophy and are joint age-related Warwickshire Champions. Congratulations to Jamie on a chess triumph.

Leo won four games of his six, again against strong competition, losing first and last game - the last to the age group winner I think. He won a medal. Sam Elks was also there, but not sure what his score was. (Sam, if you let me know I will update this information). We need a banner of some sort to muster Rugby players at large tournaments :-)

Rhys was playing in the 14-21 age group, which contained some very experienced players. He won two games, gained one draw and declined another draw (which he then went on to lose). His first match was against Astghik Stepanyan, a very good U-18 female player with a 156 rating. Several of the older players in this category were very strong, one with a rating of 191 (near Jonn Naylor's own) showing how talented Junior players can be.

Warwickshire Junior Chess Championship - U12 section

Jamie Kearney had a fun time at the Warwickshire Junior Chess Championship today. There were 42 competitors in the U12 category. Jamie's first three matches were all long fought games but Jamie was triumphant in all three. He then met Ashwin Kalyana from Edgbaston in the fourth round match; another good battle and a draw was agreed upon. Jamie’s fifth round match also ended in a draw as did Ashwin’s. Going into the final round Joseph Friar and Matthew Fergusson, both with 4.5 points were pitted against each other. Jamie and Ashwin with 4 points each were both against players also having 4 points.
Joseph Friar won against Matthew Ferguson to finish the day on 5.5 points and win the Under 12 category.
Both Jamie and Ashwin triumphed in their games to end the day undefeated on 5 points and share the runner up trophy.

Northamptonshire Junior Congress - U-14

Adding to Phill's magnificent post here are the U-14 results. There was only one U-14player (Rhys) and his first game was the highlight of his day as he won on time against English Junior Team player, Marcus Rose (Marcus's only loss of the day). After that excitement Rhys settled into another long game (lost) to Henry Lambley, then quicker wins against Elliott Jackman, Kieran Sullivan and Lewis Newton, another loss against another Lambley brother (Daniel, who came second overall) and a final rapid loss (12 moves)to Alex Gibson. Overall 4 wins from 7 games.

The organisers gave Rugby a special mention for travelling out there, and with Ethan the club was well represented with seven players (compared to two last year). Only one raffle prize won between us though.

31st Northamptonshire Junior Congress

Several of the junior players entered the under 12 section of the 31st Northamptonshire Junior Congress on 20 November and had a very good day. Chris Harling gained a respectable 2 points and Kai Cockerell took 3 points in his first tournament. Kieran Roberts lost his first two games but then took 3 points from the last four games and won the prize for “U12 slow starter”. Jamie Kearney slipped up in his first game and lost when he should have really won. But there were no mistakes in the next four games that Jamie won confidently to qualify for the London Junior Chess Championships. Jamie’s last game against Seth Tsang was a long battle lasting almost the full hour on the clock before Seth triumphed.
Well done to all!
Jamie’s last four games are posted here. Anybody got any tips that might have led to a different outcome in Jamie’s last game against Seth?

Play Online Chess

[Event "31st Northamptonshire Junior Congress"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.11.20"]
[Round "3"]
[White "James Kearney"]
[Black "Elliot Reece"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nc6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e5 dxe5 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Nxc6 bxc6
8. Bxc6+ Bd7 9. Bxa8 Qxa8 10. Qg4 Bf8 11. d3 Nf6 12. Qg3 Bc6 13. f3 Bd7 14.
Ne4 Nxe4 15. fxe4 g6 16. Rf1 Bg7 17. h4 O-O 18. Rh1 Qb8 19. Qxb8 Rxb8 20. g4
Be5 21. h5 Bg3+ 22. Kf1 f5 23. hxg6 hxg6 24. Rg1 Bh2 25. Rg2 Be5 26. gxf5
exf5 27. Rxg6+ Kh7 28. Ra6 Rb7 29. Ra5 Bd6 30. b3 fxe4 31. dxe4 Bg4 32. Bb2
Bg3 33. Kg2 Bc7 34. Rxc5 Bd6 35. Rg5 Bb8 36. Rh1+ {and black resigns} 1-0

Play Online Chess

[Event "31st Northamptonshire Junior Congress"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.11.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Jade Miller"]
[Black "James Kearney"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bf5 5. Bg2 Nb4 6. O-O Nxc2 7. Rb1 Nb4 8.
Ra1 e6 9. Bf4 Bd6 10. a3 Nc6 11. Bd2 Ne4 12. Nb5 a6 13. Nxd6+ Qxd6 14. Bf4
Qe7 15. Qb3 b6 16. Rac1 Nd6 17. Qc3 Nc4 18. b3 N4a5 19. b4 Nc4 20. Qb3 b5 21.
a4 Qxb4! 22. Qd1 Qxa4 23. Rc2? Qxc2 24. Qe1 a5 25. Bxc7 a4 26. h3 a3 27. g4
Be4 28. Qd1 Qxd1 29. Rxd1 a2 30. h4 a1=Q 31. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 32. Kh2 Bxf3 33. exf3
Nxd4 34. Bf4 Ra2 35. g5 Rxf2 36. Bg3 Nxf3+ 37. Kh3 Rxg2 38. Kxg2 Nfe5 39. Kh3
b4 40. Bxe5 Nxe5 41. h5 Ng6 42. hxg6 hxg6+ 43. Kg4 f5+ 44. Kf4 e5+ 45. Kxe5
b3 46. Kxd5 b2 47. Ke6 b1=Q 48. Kd6 Qb6+ 49. Ke5 Rh4 50. Kd5 Ke7 51. Ke5 Qd6#
0-1

Play Online Chess

[Event "31st Northamptonshire Junior Congress"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.11.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "James Kearney"]
[Black "Eva Reese"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+
8. Nbxd2 O-O 9. e5 Nd5 10. Bxd5 Nb4 11. Be4 d5 12. exd6 Qxd6 13. a3 Nd5 14.
Nc4 Qe6 15. Qe2 Nf4 16. Ng5 Qe7 17. Bxh7+! Kh8 18. Qxe7 Nxg2+ 19. Kf1 Nf4 20.
Qxf8# 1-0

Play Online Chess

[Event "31st Northamptonshire Junior Congress"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.11.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Seth Tsang"]
[Black "James Kearney"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qa4+ Nc6 5. cxd5 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qxd5 7. e3 Bd7
8. c4 Nce7 9. Qb4 Qc6 10. Rb1 Qb6 11. Nf3 Bf5 12. Rb2 e4 13. Qc3 Qa6 14. Ne5
f6 15. c5 Qe6 16. Nc4 Nd5 17. Qd2 b6 18. cxb6 Nxb6 19. Nxb6 axb6 20. Bb5+ c6
21. Be2 b5 22. O-O Ne7 23. Qc2 Bg6 24. Bd2 Bf7 25. Bb4 Rxa2 26. Bxe7 Rxb2 27.
Qxb2 Qxe7 28. Rc1 Bd5 29. Bxb5! O-O 30. Bxc6 Bxc6 31. Rxc6 Qd7 32. Qb3+ Kh8
33. Rc1 Qa7 34. Qd5 f5 35. h3 h6 36. Qe5 Rf7 37. g3 Kh7 38. Kg2 g6 39. Rc8
Rg7 40. d5 Qb7 41. Qe8 g5 42. d6 h5 43. Qxh5# 1-0

Junior player does game for Rugby D (and wins)

This season with four teams it is possible that junior players can be asked to play the odd chess match for the Coventry and Distict Chess League. This happened over half-term when Rhys played for the D team alongside his Mum (a regular D team player, Jim MacDonald (captain), and Joe Oswell (former team captain). With no high expectation, Rhys won, which helped the team to an overall win.

The match is noted below. It was Rhys' longest ever match he says and although he was chewing his pen a time or two Chis thinks he did better than she would have. To prove it she played Gordon immediately afterwards and was thrashed me convincingly! A convincing win by the D team against a strong side.

Play Online Chess

[Event "CDCL Div 3 Match"]
[Site "Nuneaton"]
[Date "2010.10.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gordan Crump"]
[Black "Rhys Davies"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "70"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nc3 Qc7 7. Bb5 Bd7 8.
O-O Nxe5 9. Bxd7+ Kxd7 10. Nb5 Qb6 11. Nbd4 Nxf3+ 12. Nxf3 Rd8 13. Ne5+ Kc8
14. Nxf7 Nf6 15. Nxh8 Rxh8 16. c3 Rd8 17. b4 Bd6 18. Rb1 Bc7 19. Bg5 h6 20.
Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qf3 Qd6 22. g3 f5 23. Qe3 h5 24. h4 Bb6 25. Qg5 Rh8 26. Qf6 Bd8
27. Qxh8 f4 28. Kg2 Kb8 {Trying to get the King safe so not to worry about
him. } 29. Qxh5 a6 30. Qh6 Bc7 31. Kh3 fxg3 {Threatening mate if fxg} 32.
Qf8+?? {This was the big mistake move. } 32... Qxf8 33. fxg3 Qg8 34. Rf3 Ka7
35. b5 Qg6 36. Rb4 a5 37. Rg4 Qb1 38. Rg7 Qh1+ 39. Kg4 Bb6 40. Rff7 d4 41.
cxd4 Bxd4 42. Rg8 Qe4+ 43. Rf4 Qe5 44. Rc8 Qd5 45. a4 e5 46. Rff8 Qe6+ 47.
Kh5 Be3 48. Ra8+ Kb6 49. g4?? {This was an unfortunate move ...} 49... Qh6#
0-1

Rugby Junior Chess Ladder

We will be starting the Rugby Junior Chess Ladder on 1st November.
To begin with it is in reverse surname order so Zac Ward is at the top.
A player can challenge anyone 1,2 or 3 places above them on the ladder.
If the challenger wins they take their opponent's place on the ladder.
A challenge cannot be refused but it might have to wait a week or two.
Matches will be adjudicated by Bob or another adult if time runs out.

London Chess Tournament 8-15 December

The 2nd London Chess Classic will be the strongest chess tournament ever to be held in Britain, with eight of the world’s best players attending from 8-15 December 2010 at the Olympia Conference Centre.

Junior attendance is free, adults are £10 for weekdays and £15 for weekend

It is a great opportunity to get close to some of the best chess players in the world and there will be all sorts of demonstrations, commentaries and an open contest.

Some players from Rugby Chess Club will be going so let us know if you are thinking of going too.

Visit www.londonchessclassic.com for details

Chess Ladder

It was lovely to see so many junior players this week. We are soon going to start a chess ladder then players will be able to challenge each other to improve their position on the ladder. After Christmas we will prepare for the UK chess challenge so keep on practising. Why not challenge your Mum and Dad?

Map and details for the new venue for Rugby Juniors Club

Here is a map which has already been set up elsewhere for the Rugby Workers club:

Map for the Rugby Workers club

(Beware : there is a slight error on their map - the club is on the other side of the road to that shown, on Oliver Street between Parnell Close and Bridget Street)

For those of you travelling from the North, South, Western sides of Rugby you should find it easier than the LMRCA. For those of you coming from the Hillmorton / Northamptonshire directions it is a bit more further but hopefully you will still enjoy it when you get there!

Essential information:
- The street is called Oliver Street and the postcode is CV21 2ET
- There is good parking all round the venue on its own ground.
- The door entry system is just like the LMRCA so you will need to press the bell and wait. (We are sorting out individual cards with the club staff at the moment)
- There is a spacious lounge adjoining our chess playing area where parents can relax if they wish.
- Nominal times are from 7.00 pm until 8.30 pm but the idea is for you to come and go at whatever time suits you.

And thats about it!
We are looking forward to seeing you on Monday

Bob and Sue

Change of venue and new earlier start time

From September we will be meeting at Rugby Workers Club on Oliver Street and starting at the earlier time of 7pm.

Algebraic Chess Notation

If you would like to record your chess matches you could find out more by searching for Algebraic Chess Notation on Wikipedia. Leo if you are reading this check out the section on Disambiguating Moves.

UK Chess Challenge Congratulations

Congratulations to the junior players from Rugby Chess Club who played at the Megafinals last weekend and have qualified for the next round. Good luck for the Gigafinals in July.

Play chess against the computer to improve your game

Visit www.chess.com and select Play Against The Computer

Magnus Carlsen gains sponsorship deal worth $300, 000

Not bad for a 19 year old chess player!

34th Rugby Schools Chess Championships results

Here are the results from the 34th Rugby Schools Chess Championships 7 March 2010, held at Rokeby Primary School. There was a total of 43 entrants and the competition was supported well by the primary schools, in particular Northlands and Cawston Grange.

Congratulations to all the champions prize winners and medallists and if you were one of the unlucky ones not to win a prize we hope you enjoyed the day. (One or two champions became champions even though their scores weren't so good in previous years!)

Under 18 competition
Alistair Galt Champion King Henry 5.0

Under 14 competition
Rhys Davies Lawrence Sheriff Jt Champion 5.0
Sam Tiller Lawrence Sheriff Jt Champion 5.0
Michael Johnson Bilton Grange 3rd 4.0
Mark Loraine Bilton High 3rd 4.0

Also taking part were:
Karan Dusara Lawrence Sheriff
Gavin Wood Bilton High
Danny Uruchurtu Bilton Grange

School having ‘Best 3’ combined results:
Winners: Lawrence Sheriff 10 points.

Under 11 competition
Jamie Kearney Cawston Grange Primary Champion 7.0
Christopher Harling Cawston Grange Primary 2nd 5.0
Parth Joshi Rokeby Junior School 2nd 5.0
Chelsea Ward Long Lawford Primary 2nd 5.0

The medal winners were:
Kian Taylor-Jackson Northlands Primary Gold 4.5
Callum Moriarty Cawston Grange Primary Silver 4.0
Lucy Tiller Northlands Primary Silver 4.0
Phoebe Hewitt Dunchurch Junior Bronze 3.5
Kieran Roberts St Maries Junior Bronze 3.5
Bridget Tiller Northlands Primary Bronze 3.5

Also taking part were:
Rosie Forder Northlands Primary
Sean Huxley Cawston Grange Primary
Holly Smedley Northlands Primary
Jamie Townsend Northlands Primary
Lewis Murphy Clifton Primary
Luke Silver Northlands Primary
Andrew Goldsmith St Matthews Bloxam
George Bowers Northlands Primary

School having ‘Best 3’ combined results:
Winners: Cawston Grange 16 points.
Also: Northlands 12 points

Under 9 competition
Sean Fernando St Maries Junior Jt Champion 4.0
Leo Johnson Bilton Grange Jt Champion 4.0
Marcus Nicholson Bilton Grange 3rd 3.5

The medal winners were:
Vishan Dusara Northlands Primary Gold 3.0
Felix Sewing Cawston Grange Primary Gold 3.0
Zac Ward Long Lawford Primary Gold 3.0
Alice Tittley Dunchurch Junior Silver 2.5
Jack Tittley Dunchurch Junior Silver 2.5

Also taking part were:
Alfie Bowers Northlands Primary
Samuel Mortimore Northlands Primary
Ryan Roberts St Maries Junior
Pierce Ryan St Maries Junior
Adam Hewitt Dunchurch Junior

Schools having ‘Best 3’ combined results:
Winners: St Maries and Bilton Grange each with 7.5 points.

Puzzle 1: How can white win the game on the next move?

Click on the Next arrow |> to display the answer

Play Online Chess

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/2Q3N1/5p1p/6k1/8/8/6K1 w KQkq - 0 1"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. Qg2#

Two junior chess events for your diary

Saturday 6th March
Warwickshire Junior Chess Championships in Coventry
For more information call Nick Thomas on 01926 316894

Sunday 7th March
34th Rugby Schools Chess Championships at Rokeby school
For more information call Bob Wildig on 01788 860509

Good luck and have fun

Magnus Carlsen Official Fan Club on Facebook

If you are on Facebook then you can join the official fan club of the world's number 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=7467797717&ref=mf

Photographs from the Chess Fun Day in Rugby Library

The winners of the chocolate chess set competition which took place in Rugby library on 18th February are Maisie and Austin

Rugby Junior Chess Tournament

We have had a fantastic week of chess in Rugby Art Gallery, Museum and Library this week and we hope you have all enjoyed it. Now we are looking forward to the 34th Rugby Schools Championships at Rokeby Primary School on Sunday 7th March. We hope to see you there.

Watch this space to find out who won the chocolate chess sets...

February is chess month in Rugby: Find out more

For those who like chess EVERY month is a chess month! But February is shaping up to be very special for junior chess players in Rugby. Come and visit the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum or Rugby Library during February half-term to get the whole chess experience.

* There will be an exhibition in the Mueseum from 2nd Feb to 14th March
* Special creative art and craft activities on a chess theme (various dates over half term)
* King of the Castle hunt for chess peices (half term)
* Learn chess with Rugby Chess Club: Tips and Hints and learn the basics (17th Feb, 10-12pm)
* Word Hunts in Rugby Library (organised by Sue!) on 18th Feb with CHOCOLATE CHESS SETS AS PRIZES!
* Junior chess tuition and games in the Library (18th Feb, 11am - 6.30pm)

This last event will be particularly useful to anyone wanting to get some practice playing other juniors before the 34th Rugby Schools Chess tournament.

Lots of these activities are listed in the SMART programme. But note that this leaflet says the 18th Feb event in the Library is a tournament. This is not correct. Its less formal, but helps prepare for the real tournament on the 7th March. See poster and entry form.

This month really is about chess for all ages. A very special time. (Note that the Art Gallery and Museum are not open on Mondays).

Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen from Norway became a chess grandmaster at the age of 13 making him the third youngest grandmaster in history. In November 2009 at the age of 18 he became the youngest ever player to be ranked world number 1. Will he be the next world champion?