This week, Malcolm Clarke’s regular news item (he writes for the weekly newspaper the Hampshire Chronicle); Junior chess Team Battle; online tournaments; the Ladder.

News summary – Malcolm Clarke

It has been a busy week in the Chandlers Ford chess club ladder competition with seven games played and twelve different players involved in these games, which produced seven different winners, but it is gratifying to see the likes of Patrick Pavey and Andrew Vagg have returned to competition having not played league chess for a few years.

The chess club is also in the process of writing account of its’ history.  The current club first played in the Southampton Chess League in 1984  as  Cricketers Arms, then played at Eastleigh Unity Club before spending one year at the Stoneham Park venue, before relocating to the Eastleigh Rail club where it played at until 2015 when it relocated to Chandlers Ford.

However it should also be mentioned that chess has been played at the Eastleigh Rail club almost continuously from the 1950’s to 2015 and A C Delco, Fair and  Eastleigh Working Men’s club have also had teams  in the Southampton Chess League with A C Delco also playing at the former Stoneham Park venue.

Junior Chess: Hampshire Girls in online Team Battle 14th February 2021

Maha Chandar organises the Chandler’s Ford Junior Chess Club and helps run the County junior team as a Team Leader. The Girls Under-11’s played in a 6-team Battle on lichess.org today 14th February, the team coming 6th.

Results of club tournaments

Tuesday Arena: the winner of Tuesday’s Arena tournament (9th February) was Rob Sims with an impressive win rate of 100%!

Thursday’s 5-Round Swiss on the 11th was won by Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’ on lichess), with 4.5 points out of a possible 5.

Forthcoming club tournaments

Chandler’s Ford Chess Club will be participating in an invitational Team Battle hosted by Ringwood Chess club tomorrow 15th February. Eight local teams are competing.

Lichess Ladder

The club’s Ladder Tournament, played online on lichess.org, remains unchanged, organiser Nobby George reports. There was one game this week – a draw.

Nobby George 0.5, Sam Murphy 0.5

If the challenger doesn’t win (a draw or if the Challenger loses), the players stay where they are, if the Challenging player wins, the two players exchange places.

To see the current Ladder Standings, see our Ladder Page.

News from Juniors Chess team leader Maha Chandar that there is an online inter-County Team Battle for the Girls under-11s tomorrow, Sunday 14th February 2021.

The Tournament is on lichess.org and is a multi-County tournament Team Battle. Tournament Link: Girls-Only Six Team Battle #dCygDEnX • lichess.org.

Other participating Counties include Berkshire, Sussex, and Suffolk.

Time control is Rapid-play, at 15 minutes per player per game plus an increment of 5 seconds a move.

The two-hour event starts at 10:00. Good luck to the Hampshire Girls!

Weekly chess news round-up. A welcome return to print for Malcolm Clarke in the Hampshire Chronicle weekly newspaper. Also, the Lichess Ladder latest, and links to this week’s regular club tournaments.

Malcolm Clarke’s Chess news round-up

Chandlers Ford chess club continue to play chess online and have weekly chess tournaments.  The most recent winner has been John Zastapilo a former member of the club who now lives in Belgium, with Keven Lamb who has worked hard to organise these tournaments second, and Joseph Henbury (son of Mike Henbury who is known by some people for playing an Ewok in Star Wars) 3rd.

There was also a rapid-play tournament this week in which Keith Gregory won with 5 points out of 5, with Kev Byard currently resident in New Zealand second and Graham Stuart third.

There is also an all play all tournament in which 12 players all play each other.  After six of the eleven rounds John Kooner leads with a 100% record, but he plays his nearest challenger Mike Henbury who is one point behind in the next round.

Chandlers Ford are intending to play an online chess match against Wimborne on Friday 12th February and are currently in the process of compiling an account of the club’s history.

Chandler’s Ford Lichess Ladder latest

The club’s Lichess Ladder organiser Nobby George reports that it was a busy week in the Ladder, with 7 games played:

• Steve Saunders: 0  Maha Chandar:  1
• Steve Dunleavy:  0  Rose Saunders:  1
• John Kooner:  0  Sam Murphy:  1
• Peter Pryzybycin:  1  Rob Sims:  0
• Nobby George:  1  John Kooner:  0
• Andrew Vagg:  1  Steve Saunders:  O
• Patrick Pavey:  1  Rob Strachan:  0

The Lichess Ladder Rules summary.

All games to be played online at lichess.org. The Time control is 90 minutes per player. Players may challenge up to four places above their own step. If the challenger wins he will exchange places with the loser, for all other results then the positions remain the same. The Challenger has the white Pieces.

The Ladder will be updated every Sunday. See the Ladder Page for the most recent standings.

Forthcoming online tournaments

Details of the next two online tournaments for club members at lichess.org.

Tuesday Arena, 9th February 2021, 8pm

This is our regular weekly rapid play online tournament in which players have ten minutes each per game in the one-hour tournament. 8pm start. It’s already set up, click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

5-round Swiss, 11th February at 8pm

Our next 5-round online Swiss Tournament is on Thursday 11th February 2021. This starts at 8pm at lichess.org. Players have an initial 7 minutes each per game plus a 3-second increment per move (that is, about ten minutes each). Click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

Tournament organiser Peter Przybycin reports on the Book Prize Tournament so far, and announces the player pairings for Round 7 – including some ‘local Derby’ – literally in-house – fixtures…

Hi All,

Round 6 is now complete.

John Kooner maintains his one point lead, but he will play his nearest challenger this coming round. A game worth watching?

Round 7 will also see two domestic battles. No bloodshed please!

I have noticed that Suzan Dunleavy’s play has improved a lot, with no reward as yet, but it will come. She fought well against Keven. Maybe she can break her duck against her husband!

Round 6 Results

White		Black
Steve Saunders	0-1	Rob Sims
Geoffrey Parish	1-0	Nobby George
Mike Henbury	1-0	Rob Strachan
Steve Dunleavy	0-1	John Kooner
Suzan Dunleavy	0-1	Keven Lamb
Rose Saunders	0.5-0.5	Don Creasey

Scores to date:

• John Kooner 6
• Mike Henbury 5
• Rob Sims 4½
• Keven Lamb 4
• Rob Strachan 4
• Don Creasey 3½
• Rose Saunders 3
• Nobby George 2
• Geoffrey Parish 2
• Steve Dunleavy 1
• Steve Saunders 1
• Suzan Dunleavy 0

Round 7 Pairings:

• Suzan Dunleavy v Steve Dunleavy
• Nobby George v Rob Sims
• Geoffrey Parish v Rob Strachan
• Rose Saunders v Steve Saunders
• Mike Henbury v John Kooner
• Don Creasey v Keven Lamb

As ever, the player named first has the white pieces.

Deadline for finishing this round is Saturday 27th February 2021.

All the best,

Peter.

Rules Recap

• The Book Prize Tournament is an all-play-all contest, so with 12 players that makes 11 Rounds.
• Although players will sometimes play consecutive games with the same colour, each player will end up having played at least 4 games as white.
• Each Round should be completed within 3 weeks, but there can be some flexibility.
• The games are to be played online – on lichess.org.
• The time control is 90 minutes each per game.
• The winner (or white if drawn) should notify Peter of the result.

The latest on the Lichess Ladder Tournament, plus the Juniors in 10-team online County Battle, plus results of last night’s Arena Tournament (2nd February).

The Lichess Ladder

Ladder Tournament organiser Nobby George reports 2 results from last week:

• Peter Przybycin 1- 0 Patrick Pavey
• Nobby George 0 – 1 Sam Murphy

Sam retains top rung on the Lichess Ladder. See The Ladder Page for the full standings as of 31st January 2021.

The Lichess Ladder Rules summary.

All games to be played online at lichess.org. The Time control is 90 minutes per player. Players may challenge up to four places above their own step. If the challenger wins he will exchange places with the loser, for all other results then the positions remain the same. The Challenger has the white Pieces.

The Ladder will be updated every Sunday. See the Ladder Page for the most recent standings.

Hampshire Juniors 4th in 10-team County Team Battle

The Hampshire Junior Chess Association team competed in the 14th Inter-County online Team Battle on Monday, coming a respectable 4th out of ten teams.

‘Tuesday Arena’ Tournament 2nd February

Ten of us played in the weekly ‘Arena’ on Tuesday 2nd February 2021. These regular events for club members are one hour rapid-play tournaments in which the players have ten minutes each per game.

Congratulations to Graham Stuart on winning the tournament, and well done John Zastapilo 2nd and Keven Lamb 3rd. For full results see the lichess tournament Chandlers Ford 2 February Arena.

The latest on the club’s Book Prize Tournament and the weekly Arena and 5-round Swiss tournaments. And good luck to the Hampshire Juniors tomorrow in the 14th Online County Team Battle!

The Book Prize Tournament

Firstly, an update from Book Prize Tournament organiser Peter Przybycin:

Hi All,

Five results this week.

• Steve Saunders 0 Rob Sims 1
• Geoffrey Parish 1 Nobby George 0
• Mike Henbury 1 Rob Strachan 0
• Steve Dunleavy 0 John Kooner 1
• Rose Saunders ½ Don Creasey ½

John Kooner continues to maintain his 100% record, although he had a hard time in this round against Steve Dunleavy.

Geoffrey Parish continues to improve and recorded his second win in a row.

Round seven pairings will be published once the final round six result is in.

All the best,

Peter.

Online weekly Tournament results

Ten club players took part in the weekly Tuesday Arena on lichess.org on 26th January. Congratulations to John Zastapilo who came top, well done Keven Lamb 2nd, and Joseph Henbury 3rd. For full results see the lichess.org 26th January tournament details.

The 5-round Swiss rapid-play online tournament at lichess.org on Thursday 28th was also contested by ten players. Congratulations to Keith Gregory with an impressive 5 out of 5 wins, and well done Kev Byard 2nd and Graham Stuart 3rd. Kev and Graham both scored 3.5, and the system used a tie-break performance score to decide who was 2nd and who 3rd. For full results see Chandlers Ford 5 Round Swiss 28th January.

Forthcoming online tournaments

Details of the next two online tournaments for club members at lichess.org.

Tuesday Arena, 2nd February 2021, 8pm

This is our regular weekly rapid play online tournament in which players have ten minutes each per game in the one-hour tournament. 8pm start. It’s already set up, click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

5-round Swiss, 4th February at 8pm

Our next 5-round online Swiss Tournament is on Thursday 4th February 2021. This starts at 8pm at lichess.org. Players have an initial 7 minutes each per game plus a 3-second increment per move (that is, about ten minutes each). Click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

Fourteenth Team Battle

Good luck to the Hampshire Junior Chess players in the Fourteenth Team Battle on lichess.org: see the tournament at 6pm Monday 1st February 2021 at 14th Inter-County Division 2 Team Battle.

Junior Chess Club leader Maha Chandar forwards the announcement by John Upham about the 14th Team Battle online on lichess.org, 1st February 2021.

The event is an Arena tournament online at lichess.org. The players have 5 minutes each per game plus a 3 second increment per move. The Battle is between 10 Teams and 10 Leaders.

Fourteenth Team Battle on lichess.org, Monday 1st February 2021

Dear chess parent,

The Fourteenth Team Battle on the Lichess Arena will take place on Monday, February 1^st 2021 starting at 6pm.

Please register at https://lichess.org/tournament/ph8UB8tz

Please register for this ASAP !

The matches starts at 6pm monthly on a Monday night and completes by 7.30pm

Please register (for free) on lichess.org and then email me (John Upham) at john.upham@zen.co.uk and will get you into the team !

All the best,

John Upham, Secretary, Hampshire, Junior Chess Association

John Upham, British Chess News

Twitter  @ BritishChess

Chandlers Ford Junior Chess Club Page

This week, results of our regular online tournaments, and links to the forthcoming week’s club tournaments; plus the latest Ladder positions. And young chess player Shreyas Royal will be on the telly!

Results of Tuesday Arena 19th January 2021

12 of us participated in this week’s Arena Tournament on Tuesday 19th January 2021, online at lichess.org. Congratulations to David Culliford (‘djc202’), this week’s winner. Well done too Dean Shaw (‘Sheff84’) 2nd, and Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) 3rd.

5-round Swiss results 21st January

12 of us played in Thursday’s 5-round Swiss. Congratulations to Keith Gregory (‘KeithDFG’) on winning with a formidable five out of five wins. Well done too Kev Byard 2nd, and Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) 3rd.

Forthcoming online tournaments

Details of the next two online tournaments for club members at lichess.org.

Tuesday Arena, 26th January 2021, 8pm

This is our regular weekly rapid play online tournament in which players have ten minutes each per game in the one-hour tournament. 8pm start. It’s already set up, click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

5-round Swiss, 21st January at 8pm

Our next 5-round online Swiss Tournament is on Thursday 28th January 2021. This starts at 8pm at lichess.org. Players have an initial 7 minutes each per game plus a 3-second increment per move (that is, about ten minutes each). Click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

The Lichess Ladder Latest: 24th January 2021

Tournament organiser Nobby George reports on results of the week’s games: see below, and the updated Ladder is on our Ladder Tournament Page.

• Peter Przybycin 0-1 Andrew Vagg
• Rob Strachan 1-0 Rose Saunders
• Joseph Henbury 1-0 Nobby George
• Patrick Pavey 0.5-0.5 Maha Chandar

Young Chess Player on Telly on Thursday

Several club members have met chess prodigy Shreyas Royal. He’s played in the Hampshire Congress before, and some of us have met him in other congresses (Potters Bar, Southend etc). The youngster is on the telly this week! Shreyas features in the 2nd episode of the ITV television series Brains Trains and Automobiles, a spin-off of The Chase quiz show, on Thursday 28th January as the Chasers meet talented and gifted youngsters. The programme will be available on ITV Hub.

Round 5 of the Book Prize Tournament is now complete, and organiser Peter Przybycin announces the pairings for Round 6 of the club tournament.

Round 5 of the Book Prize Tournament is now complete. You people are keen!

This round saw Geoffrey Parish break his duck with a win against Steve Saunders. Well Done.

John Kooner now has a clear lead with an impressive maximum score.

Round 5 Results

White		Black
Nobby George	1-0	Rose Saunders
Mike Henbury	1-0	Suzan Dunleavy
Don Creasey	1-0	Steve Dunleavy
John Kooner	1-0	Keven Lamb
Steve Saunders	0-1	Geoffrey Parish
Rob Sims	1-0	Rob Strachan

Scores to date:

• John Kooner 5
• Rob Strachan 4
• Mike Henbury 4
• Rob Sims 3½
• Keven Lamb 3
• Don Creasey 3
• Rose Saunders 2½
• Nobby George 2
• Steve Dunleavy 1
• Steve Saunders 1
• Geoffrey Parish 1
• Suzan Dunleavy 0

To see the individual results for the tournament round by round, see the Book Prize Tournament Page.

Round 6 Pairings

• Steve Saunders v Rob Sims
• Geoffrey Parish v Nobby George
• Mike Henbury v Rob Strachan
• Steve Dunleavy v John Kooner
• Suzan Dunleavy v Keven Lamb
• Rose Saunders v Don Creasey

As ever, the player named first has the white pieces. Deadline for finishing round six is now Saturday 14th February 2021.

All the best,

Peter.

Rules Recap

• The Book Prize Tournament is an all-play-all contest, so with 12 players that makes 11 Rounds.
• Although players will sometimes play consecutive games with the same colour, each player will end up having played at least 4 games as white.
• Each Round should be completed within 3 weeks, but there can be some flexibility.
• The games are to be played online – on lichess.org.
• The time control is 90 minutes each per game.
• The winner (or white if drawn) should notify Peter of the result.

Sam was on top form this week: he won this week’s Tuesday Arena tournament. He retains his lead at the top of the Ladder too. Results of the week’s online chess tournaments on 12th and 14th January; the Ladder latest; and links to the next two online tournaments on 19th and 21st January.

Online rapid-play tournament results this week 12th, 14th January 2021

Our two regular weekly tournaments online at lichess.org: the Tuesday Arena on 12th January, and the 5-round Swiss on the 14th.

Results of Tuesday Arena 12th January 2021: Sam 100%

14 of us participated in this week’s Arena Tournament on Tuesday 12th January 2021, online at lichess.org. Congratulations to Sam Murphy, this week’s winner who came first by an extremely narrow margin, closely followed by David Culliford (‘djc202’) 2nd. Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) came 3rd. Sam and David both had 12 points, but Sam had a higher tournament performance rating and had a 100% win ratio. David did squeeze in an impressive nine games during the hour though! Graham also did well to get 7 games in!

5-round Swiss results 14th January

11 of us played in Thursday’s 5-round Swiss. A good week for 2 of our club members who now live overseas. Congratulations to New Zealand-based Kev Byard on winning with a formidable five out of five wins. Well done too Keith Gregory (‘KeithDFG’) 2nd, and Belgium-based John Zastapilo 3rd.

Forthcoming online tournaments

Details of the next two online tournaments for club members at lichess.org.

Tuesday Arena, 19th January 2021, 8pm

This is our regular weekly rapid play online tournament in which players have ten minutes each per game in the one-hour tournament. 8pm start. It’s already set up, click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

5-round Swiss, 21st January 2021 at 8pm

Our next 5-round online Swiss Tournament is on Thursday 21st January 2021. This starts at 8pm at lichess.org. Players have an initial 7 minutes each per game plus a 3-second increment per move (that is, about ten minutes each). Click on the button below to go to the Tournament.

The Lichess Ladder Latest: 10th January 2021: Sam still in the lead

Tournament organiser Nobby George reports on results of the week’s games: see below, and the updated Ladder is on our Ladder Tournament Page.

• Joseph Henbury:  1  Patrick Pavey:  0
• Rob Strachan:  1  Don Creasey:  0
• Manoj Chandar:  1  Maha Chandar:  0
• John Kooner:  1  Nobby George:  0
• Peter Przybycin 1  Steve Dunleavy  0.