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 1st 2021 starting at 6pm.
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.
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.
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.
Sam was on top form this week: he won this week’s Tuesday Arena tournament. Heretains 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.
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.
Results of the week’s online chess tournaments on 5th and 7th January; Sam takes the lead in the Ladder; and links to the next two online tournaments on 12th and 14th January.
Online rapid-play tournament results this week 5th, 7th January 2021
Our two regular weekly tournaments online at lichess.org resumed, with the Tuesday Arena on 5th January, and the 5-round Swiss on the 7th.
Results of Tuesday Arena 5th January 2021
13 of us participated in this week’s Arena Tournament on Tuesday 5th January 2021, online at lichess.org. Congratulations to Joe Henbury, this week’s winner who came first by an extremely narrow 1 point margin, closely followed by Sam Murphy 2nd, and David Culliford (‘djc202’) 3rd.
5-round Swiss results 7th January
11 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 New Zealand-based Kev Byard on 2nd, and Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) 3rd.
Forthcoming online tournaments
Details of the new year’s first two online tournaments at lichess.org.
Tuesday Arena, 12th 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.
Our next 5-round online Swiss Tournament is on Thursday 14th 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.
Chandler’s Ford players in the official English Chess Federation England online women’s team! Also in this article, the Queen’s Gambit TV series, and the film Queen of Katwe.
The England Women team on Lichess
The England Women ECF team on lichess.org
There is an online lichess.org team exclusively for women, open to women and girls of all abilities. It is well subscribed, and there are currently 253 members. Chandler’s Ford Chess Club’s own Rose Saunders and Maha Chandar are two of them.
The captain of the English Women club on lichess.org is Jovanka Houska (‘ButterflyQueen’). The club is the official English Chess Federation women’s team on lichess.org. The team is open to women and girls of all abilities. Click on the button below to go to the team on lichess.org.
Jovanka Houska is the captain of the England Women Club on lichess.org. Pictured at the London Chess Classic 2012 (Kev Lamb)
English Rose takes on Libya
Chandler’s Ford Chess Club player Rose Saunders plays for the England Women ECF team on lichess.org. And she’s won games for the England team! Rose tells her story:
Now I have joined the women’s team, I’m getting more out of playing chess. I have played two matches. The first against Libya. There were five teams on our side and we played nine games. We won all our games. I played two and won both. Another day I played against Seventy one players from different women’s teams from all over the world. I played thirteen games. Won two and drew two. I was placed Forty first. The games were each three minutes. So fast, but I liked it and enjoyed the experience. I will certainly play again with the women’s team.
Rose Saunders
Rose Saunders plays Rob Strachan in the Chandlers Ford C vs D team match 1st October 2019
Chandler’s Ford’s Maha Chandar regularly plays for the England Women team , most recently on 3rd January.
3rd January 2021: Maha Chandar of Chandler’s Ford Chess Club plays in the England Women team
The Queen’s Gambit
The media sensation of 2020 on Netflix – The Queen’s Gambit – tells the story of a fictional female chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, as she becomes a chess champion. The 7-episode series is based on the novel by Walter Tevis, The title refers to the Queen’s Gambit chess opening. See the official series trailer on YouTube: The Queen’s Gambit | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube.
The Queen of Katwe
This 2016 film of a female chess player is based on a real story – that of Ugandan girl Phiona Mutesi, who triumphs from adversity in the Kampala slum area Katwe. See IMDb website article about the film, and also the Disney Official Trailer on YouTube
Female chess players are heavily outnumbered by their male counterparts in chess. Female players number about 15% in FIDE (see: statistics – Is it true that Chess is generally more played by men? – Chess Stack Exchange). Hopefully the increased interest in chess due to The Queen’s Gambit and the depiction of female leads in TV and film media about chess, as well as the experiences of our own club’s Maha and Rose, will encourage more girls and women to play chess.
The Lichess Ladder started on 27th November 2020, and will be updated each Sunday.
The time control is 90 minutes per player in each game. A player may challenge up to 4 places above, and if the challenger wins the two players swap places on the Ladder (otherwise they stay perched on their current rungs). The Challenger has the White pieces.
Lichess Ladder 3rd January 2021
Ladder organiser Nobby George reports a busy week in the tournament, with 5 games played:
Manoj Chandar: 1 Rose Saunders: O
Sam Murphy: 1 Steve Saunders: 0
John Kooner: 1 Maha Chandar: 0
Joseph Henbury: 1 Keven Lamb: 0
Steve Dunleavy: 0 Don Creasey: 1
See the Ladder Page for full current standings list of the 17 players as of 3rd January. Patrick Pavey retains top slot as we go into 2021. The Ladder Page is updated weekly.
Happy New Year everyone. Results from Tuesday’s Arena tournament online at lichess.org, plus a look back at a highlight from 2020 (there weren’t many…). And looking ahead, to next week’s online tournaments.
Results of tournament Tuesday 29th December 2020
10 of us participated in this week’s Arena Tournament on Tuesday 29th December, online at lichess.org. Congratulations to Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’), who came first with an awesome score of 20. Graham made good use of the Arena format’s ‘Berserk‘ function (in which you trade in half your time in a game for the chance of a bonus point –IF you win). Well done too Mike Henbury (‘Ewokmike’)2nd, and John Kooner 3rd.
Forthcoming online tournaments
Details of the new year’s first two online tournaments at lichess.org.
Tuesday Arena, 5th 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.
Our next 5-round online Swiss Tournament is on Thursday 7th 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.
What was the best bit of 2020? It seems like a strange question given that the year is generally viewed as not having been a good one… Selecting a highlight from this year shouldn’t be difficult though, the bar being set quite low… I’ve actually selected two highlights – and one of them is since the pandemic restrictions.
The ‘Super-Match’: 16 Chandler’s Ford players in one match
There was one event that was a real chess highlight though: when Chandler’s Ford Chess Club’s C and D teams played each other in their Southampton Chess League Division 5 match in January. Each team was double-size, so it was an 8 v 8 players match. A great 16-players involvement from the same club in an event on one night. Boards 1-4 counted towards the Match result, whilst the remaining boards were still graded for English Chess Federation grading purposes. See Southampton Chess League match result screen for individual results – and our own match article D Team Beats C Team in Super-match. The super-match would be a highlight in any year, a great chess club night. And I say that as the captain of the losing side – it was such an enjoyable event.
Incidentally, the COVID-19 crisis came along late in the chess League 2019-20 season, so the C team only missed out playing one match, but the D team’s last 2 fixtures were cancelled due to the pandemic. See the Southampton Chess League Division 5 table. Obviously the 2020-21 season hasn’t started – and will probably simply not happen now.
The A and B teams also did very well in the Southampton League: the A team managed to play 7 games in Division 3 before the pandemic ended the season, and came 2nd. The B team did even better in Division 4: playing 8 games, they came top of Division 4!
Chandlers Ford C (left) v D team (right) Tuesday 14th January 2020 (photo by Suzan Dunleavy)
Chandler’s Ford players represent England
Since the COVID crisis began, over-the-board chess came to a halt – but now games are played remotely online, at such websites as lichess.org and chess.com. The English Chess Federation has an official lichess Women’s team – England Women and Chandler’s Ford’s own Rose Saunders and Maha Chandar have played in the team! This is a brief mention here, but there will be a fuller post on this soon.
Tournament organiser Nobby George reports two results in the last week in the Lichess Ladder:
Peter Przybycin 1 Joe Henbury 0
Sam Murphy 1 Steve Dunleavy 0
See our Ladder Page for the current standings table. Patrick Pavey, who was top over Christmas, retains the number one slot over the New Year. Well done Patrick!
An old photo of Patrick Pavey (right of picture, smiling) taken in 2008
Club online tournaments
See our previous Post (Christmas) for results of last week’s online tournaments on lichess.org on 22nd and 24th December.
The next Tournament is Tuesday 29th December.
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.
