Hampshire Juniors Team Manager Maha Chandar is looking for more Under-18s to play in the County Championship on Saturday 21st November 2020.

ECF online Under 18 County Championship

The English Chess Federation Online Under 18 County Championship will be on Saturday 21st November 2020. Our own chess club member Maha Chandar is Hampshire’s Team Manager. Hampshire are looking for Juniors to play in the Under 18 County Championship, and entries must be in by 9pm on Wednesday 18th November. See The ECF website’s Online Entry Form

‘Where’ and when

The English Chess Federation Online Under-18 County Championship will be on Saturday, 21st November 2020, starting at 11:00. It is a team Swiss format.

The event will be online at chess.com. Before the scheduled start time for each round, players should be logged in to chess.com/live

Round 1 – 1100; Round 2 – 1200; Round 3 – 1300; Round 4 – 1400; Round 5 – 1500; Round 6 – 1600; Round 7 – 1700

See below for further information, as given on the ECF web Page for the event:

Time limit

The time limit is all moves in 10 minutes, plus 5 seconds per move. The expected maximum duration of each game is 30 minutes, but they may take longer in the case of a long game. A player whose game is not started within 10 minutes of the actual start time for their round will lose their game by default.

The teams

Each team will be represented by 6 players in total, from four categories –

• Category A Under 18 – Born 01/09/2002 or later, 2 players + up to 2 reserves
• Category B Under 18 Girls – Born 01/09/2002 or later, 2 players + up to 2 reserves
• Category C Under 11 – Born 01/09/2009 or later, 1 player + up to 1 reserve
• Category D Under 11 Girls – Born 01/09/2009 or later, 1 player + up to 1 reserve

If your child fits into one of these categories and would like to represent Hampshire then please contact our Team Manager who is Maha Chandar.

Maha may be contacted via mahachandar@hotmail.com, 07858-464846.

Board order

The team on the left-hand side of a match in the pairings will be white on the odd-numbered boards, and the board order of each match will be the following:

Boards 1 & 2 – Category A
Boards 3 & 4 – Category B
Board 5 – Category C
Board 6 – Category D

Technical requirements

The games, as mentioned, will be on chess.com, but there are other, technical requirements to ensure fair play and event integrity.

Players need to be connected to the tournament Zoom call before and throughout their games. Webcams, microphones, and speakers to be switched on. See the ECF website Page for full details.

Useful Links

The links within the article above will take you to the relevant websites, but for handy reference they are listed together below:

This week: online tournament results for 6th and 8th October; forthcoming online tournaments Tuesday 13th and Thursday 15th October. Plus, the ECF Under 18s County Championship.

Online tournament results 6th October

Twelve of us took part in this week’s weekly online ‘Arena’ online tournament on 6th October on lichess.org. Congratulations to David Culliford (djc202) who won this week’s Tournament. Well done too Don Creasey 2nd and Joseph Henbury 3rd.

Looking at the standings above, Joe and John had the same number of points – and in the same order. The lichess system does show a Performance statistic though, and can tie-break from that.

5-round Swiss 8th October results

Eight of us played in this tournament. Congratulations to Joseph Henbury who won this week, and well done Graham Stuart who came second and Rose Saunders who was third. Rose is a regular tournament player but this was her first time on the ‘podium’: well done Rose!

Forthcoming online tournaments

Our two regular club tournaments online this week at lichess.org – the Tuesday Arena on 13th October, and the 5-Round Swiss on Thursday 15th, both at 8pm on the respective evenings.

ECF online Under 18 County Championship

More details to follow in a separate Post, but here’s an early mention of this event (see Hampshire Junior website article) , which will be on Saturday 21st November 2020. Our own chess club member Maha Chandar is Hampshire’s Team Manager. Hampshire are looking for Juniors to play in the Under 18 County Championship, and entries must be in by 9pm on Wednesday 18th November.

This week: online tournament results for 29th September and 1st October; this week’s tournaments; plus: a new club Tournament of standard-length (90 minutes) being set up by Peter Przybycin.

Online tournament 29th September

Twelve of us took part, another good turnout for our weekly online ‘Arena’ online tournament on 29th September on lichess.org. Congratulations to David Culliford (djc202) who won this week’s Tournament. Well done too Sam Murphy 2nd and Steve Saunders 3rd. Steve is a regular player in these tournaments, but this was his first podium standing. Well done Steve!

Southampton Chess League Tournament 1st October

17 of us took part in the monthly SCL Southampton Chess League online tournament on lichess.org. The monthly tournament is organised by Graham Stuart. Congratulations to Keith Gregory who won this month’s tournament, and well done Diogo Ramos who was second, and Michael Singleton 3rd.

The time control of the SCL tournaments is the same as we use on our club’s 5-round Swiss tournaments. Taking part is easy, join the Southampton Chess League club on lichess.org, and when the events are organised you can easily join them.

New Chandlers Ford Tournament

Peter Przybycin will be setting up a new tournament for club members. It will be online at lichess.org, and the time control will be Standard length, in this case 90 minutes. Please see Peter’s message below.

Hello all, 

I am planning to run a tournament for Chandlers Ford members with an ECF grade of 1450 or less. 1450 equates to 100 in the old system.

This will be either a Swiss tournament or an all-play-all, depending on number of entries. All games to be played online using Lichess, unless by some miracle Covid disappears. Rate of play, 90 minutes each for all the moves.

There will be no trophy but the winner will receive a copy of the excellent book “Bronstein, Move By Move” by Steve Giddins.

All those who wish to enter please contact me. Closing date for entries will be Saturday 31^st October.

Thank you,

Peter P.

Forthcoming online rapid play tournaments

There are two Chandler’s Ford Chess Club online tournaments coming up, both on lichess.org, on Tuesday and Thursday.

Firstly the regular Tuesday evening Arena (ten minutes per player per game in a one-hour tournament) on 6th October 2020. 8pm start.

And on Thursday, 8th October, we return to our weekly 5-round Swiss tournaments. Players have an initial 7 minutes each game plus a 3-secoond increment per move (roughly ten minutes each per player). 8pm start.

This week’s round-up: the regular club online tournaments on lichess.org: Tuesday evening ‘Arena‘ club tournament, the Thursday club 5-Round Swiss, and the conclusion of this year’s Knockout. Plus details of the coming week’s tournaments (the club’s Tuesday Arena and on Thursday the Southampton Chess League – SCL -monthly rapid play Tournament). And we mark two years of this website chandlersfordchess.org.uk.

A good evening for the Henburys

Last Tuesday 22nd September was a good week for the Henbury father and son duo as they both achieved podium positions in the 11-player Arena event on lichess.org. Both won all their games. Joseph won the tournament whilst his dad Mike came second. Joseph won by quite a margin, as his winning streak points, plus ‘Berserk’ win bonus point widened the gap – and he’d squeezed in a game more than Mike during the hour. Well done too Rob Sims who was third.

Knockout Final Wednesday 23rd September

As reported in the previous Post, the 2020 Knockout reached its conclusion this week with the Final between Patrick Pavey and Peter Przybycin. Congratulations to Peter who retains the title from last year.

And a thank you to the event’s organiser Steve Dunleavy. See detail of his closing remarks on this year’s Knockout:

“I must admit that I was not certain whether to run the competition this year due to the current problems we are all experiencing and I was unsure if I would have sufficient support to make it a worthwhile event. In the end I was prodded into action, got the numbers to validate running it and it went quite smoothly (albeit with the odd hiccup) and I am glad that I organised it.

Steve Dunleavy

5-round Swiss 24th September

Ten of us played in this tournament. Congratulations to Keith Gregory who won this week, and well done Graham Stuart who came second and Joseph Henbury who was third.

In the last couple of weeks we’ve seen father play against son – but it sometimes happens that husband and wife also play against each other. I see that Steve and Rose have also been paired in the full standard-length game of the Summer Tournament‘s 5th Round…

Forthcoming online Tournaments

Our weekly Tuesday Arena 29th September on lichess.org at 8pm, plus the monthly SCL Tournament on Thursday 1st October, also on lichess.org, at 7.30pm.

The weekly Tuesday Arena is a one hour tournament in which players have ten minutes each per game.

Graham Stuart has kindly set up another of the monthly Southampton Chess League (SCL) rapid-play tournaments: ‘SCL Rapid -Tournament No 1′ Arena, Thursday 1st October at 7.30pm. The tournament lasts an hour and a half. Players have an initial 7 minutes per game, plus a 3-second increment per move (i.e. roughly ten-minutes each per game, the same time control we use for our club’s Thursday tournaments).

Website 2 years old!

Yes, this website has now been going for two years. See the link to the first Post (article) on 26th September 2018.

The 2020 Knockout Final was played on Wednesday 22nd September.

2020 Knockout Final: victory for Peter Przybycin

The Chandlers Ford Chess Club 2020 Knockout Finalists announced: Patrick Pavey versus Peter Przybycin: i.e. PP v PP…

The Knockout Tournament is run by Steve Dunleavy.

Peter Przybycin won his Semi final against Rob Bird, and Patrick Pavey beat Rose Saunders. The Final was therefore between Patrick Pavey (white) and Peter Przybycin (black). The game was played on Wednesday 22nd September online at lichess.org. See the game here.

The 23-move game was a win for Peter Przybycin. Congratulations Peter!

See event organiser Steve Dunleavy’s message to the Finalists below.

Hi Peter and Patrick well done for reaching the final the guidance notes are as follows;

1. Please complete this game by the 18^th October(4 weeks time)-please let me know if a time extension is required
2. This game can be played on lichess, chess.com, email, telephone, text or over the board or whatever medium/format is agreeable to both players
3. Patrick is playing with white, in the event of a draw colours will be reversed
4. All games played on lichess or chess.com will have a 90 minute time control for both players, games played in any other format can dispense with any time control unless both players can agree on an acceptable solution
5. Please let me know when the game has been arranged to play so that I can monitor progress and email me the result asap thereafter
6. Enjoy the game and thanks for entering/supporting this competition in such difficult times
7. The result is not acceptable for grading purposes

Breaking news: Castle Chess have cancelled their forthcoming 17th Fareham Chess Congress tournament which would have been 25-27th September. Although news, it is perhaps not unexpected.

Castle Chess have also cancelled their Dudley Congress in October.

Castle Chess website http://www.castlechess.co.uk/

This week’s online tournaments on lichess.org: the Tuesday Arena Tournament (in which a player won against his own Dad – again!) and the Thursday 5-round Swiss. Plus details of next week’s tournaments – our own online tournaments, and a reminder about the Castle Chess Fareham tournament next weekend.

Tuesday Arena, 15th September 2020

Eleven of us participated in the tournament this time. It was a one-hour Arena event in which players had ten minutes each per game.

Congratulations to Joseph Henbury – JoeHenbury- who won the event. Well done too Don Creasey – ‘Carouselman’- 2nd, and Sam Murphy 3rd. Joseph triumphed with 16 points from his unbeaten run of games, whilst his closest rivals had 10 points each. Joseph’s performance was calculated by the system as 2161, well above the others. One of his victories was another win against his own dad, ‘Ewokmike’!

5-Round Swiss, Thursday 17th September

Nine of us played in the 5-round Swiss on Thursday 17th September on lichess.org. Each Round comprised games in which players had an initial 7 minutes then 3 second increment per move.

Congratulations to Keith Gregory who won this week’s Swiss. Well done too Joseph Henbury who came 2nd, and Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) 3rd.

Forthcoming Tournaments (two online, one over-the-board)

There are two online tournaments coming up, both on lichess.org, on Tuesday and Thursday. Then there is the Castle Chess Fareham Congress tournament over next weekend, from Friday evening, 25th September.

Firstly the regular Tuesday evening Arena (ten minutes per player per game in a one-hour tournament) on 22nd September 2020.

Then a 5-Round Swiss on Thursday 24th September (7minutes then 3 seconds a move increment roughly equating to ten minutes per player).

Castle Chess Fareham Congress, 25-27th September

The Castle Chess Fareham Congress – their 17th- will run over the weekend 25-27th September 2020. The venue is the Lysses House Hotel, Fareham. The 6-round swiss is comprised of 3 Sections according to playing strength. Grades Under 115 ECF play in the Minor. Those Under 155 play in the Major, and grades above that in the Open Section. See their website online Entry Form for full details.

This week’s online tournament on lichess.org: the Tuesday Arena Tournament and the Thursday 5-round Swiss – in which a player won against his own Dad! Plus details of next week’s tournaments.

Tuesday Arena, 8th September 2020

Twelve of us participated in the tournament this time. It was a one-hour Arena event in which players had ten minutes each per game.

Congratulations to Sam Murphy who won the event. Well done too Don Creasey 2nd and Joseph Henbury, playing his first such tournament, 3rd.

Each of the three podium winners had 8 points, interestingly, so the system had to place them according to its tie-break criteria of performance rating.

How is the winner decided?

The player(s) with the most points at the conclusion of the tournament’s set time limit will be announced winner(s).

When two or more players have the same number of points, the tournament performance is the tie break.

5-Round Swiss, Thursday 10th September: Ewok defeated by son

Eight of us played in the 5-round Swiss on Thursday 10th September on lichess.org. Each Round comprised games in which players had an initial 7 minutes then 3 second increment per move.

Congratulations to Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) who won this week’s Swiss. Well done too Joseph Henbury who came 2nd, and David Culliford (‘djc202’) 3rd.

A stellar performance by Joseph, who, In the tournament’s 2nd round, played and beat his own Dad! Joseph Henbury beat his father Mike (‘Ewokmike‘) in their 37-move game.

Forthcoming online Tournaments

There are two online tournaments coming up, both on lichess.org. Firstly the regular Tuesday evening Arena (ten minutes per player per game in a one-hour tournament) on 15th September 2020.

Then a 5-Round Swiss on Thursday 17th September (7minutes then 3 seconds a move increment roughly equating to ten minutes per player).

Click on the buttons below to go to the tournaments:

Yes, that’s right: an actual chess congress! Castle Chess have thought carefully about how to resume over the board chess in a safe way.

Fareham Congress, 25-27th September

The Castle Chess Fareham Congress – their 17th- will run over the weekend 25-27th September 2020. The venue is the Lysses House Hotel, Fareham. The 6-round swiss is comprised of 3 Sections according to playing strength. Grades Under 115 ECF play in the Minor. Those Under 155 play in the Major, and grades above that in the Open Section. See their website online Entry Form for full details. An excerpt from it below gives the Playing Schedule and rate of Play:

What measures are Castle Chess taking to provide a safe tournament?

Some of you may have received the Castle Chess Newsletter, and the excerpt from it below shows how Castle Chess meet the challenge of providing a safe chess tournament environment.

Lysses House Hotel has put into place many safety measures regarding the use of toilets, extra deep cleaning of bedrooms, preparation and serving of food in the restaurant. Tea and Coffees will need to be ordered and paid for from the bar rather than in the congress office, as normal.

In the event that the curve of the virus increases dramatically then the tournament will not happen and all monies will be refunded.

Unless things are completely back to normal, which we think is unlikely, there will have to be some new playing conditions.

1. Each player will be required to bring their own chess set and each player will make moves on their own board, just as you would if you are playing against a blind player.

Note:

Castle Chess can sell you a new tournament set and board for £15 if ordered in advance.

2. You will not sit facing your opponent but diagonally away from them with the statutory social spacing distance.

3. Two clocks will be placed back to back between the two boards so that each player can see a clock face and each player will press the buttons simultaneously on both clocks to complete their move.

4. The result slip will be completed by the person with the white pieces and will be the only player to touch the slip when they place it in the results box.

5. The arbiter will be on call as normal. At the end of the round the arbiter will clean the clocks ready for the next round.

6. Players will be required to wear a mask or visor whilst in the hotel.

7. Your temperature will be taken as you arrive upstairs for the tournament. Anyone who is not feeling well should stay away from the tournament.

We think that these will be the only alterations to the playing conditions.

Entry to the hotel and then the playing rooms will be controlled by the arbiters. Players are asked to follow their guidance and be a little patient as social distancing is maintained.

There will be lower numbers allowed to play in each of the playing rooms, which means that our total number of players who can enter for the weekend will be limited.

In order of priority players who reply earliest and who also are booked into the host hotel will be allocated a place in the tournament.

Because the number of players will be lower, we have to share the costs between fewer players and therefore Castle Chess will be adding a £10 CoronaVirus19 surcharge on top of the prices on the entry form.

Are other Congresses happening?

Castle Chess are not unique in getting back to over-the-board chess tournaments, as the chess world cautiously emerges from its COVID hibernation. Northumberland Congress, also this month, for example.

Hampshire Congress, however, normally on the 1st weekend of November, won’t be happening this year. Hampshire’s Secretary, John Wheeler, said in a recent email circular:

The Hampshire committee was in the middle of planning the 2020 congress when lockdown struck. We have been waiting for any sign that it would still be possible to go ahead, but we have now reluctantly concluded that it will not be possible to run the congress in 2020.

But we want you to understand that the congress is not happening in 2020. We do expect and hope that we will be able to run the congress next year – in 2021, same place, same time. And we hope to see you there.

Results of last week’s two online tournaments on lichess.org: the club’s Tuesday Arena on 1st September, and the Southampton Chess League Tournament on Thursday 3rd, plus details of the next two forthcoming online Tournaments on Tuesday 8th September and Thursday 10th September.

Tuesday Arena, 1st September 2020

Eleven of us participated in the tournament this time. It was a one-hour Arena event in which players had ten minutes each per game.

Congratulations to Graham Stuart (‘WillHeSac’) who won the event. Well done too David Culliford (‘djc202’) 2nd, and Sam Murphy 3rd.

Southampton Chess League Tournament, Thursday 3rd September

Graham Stuart had hoped that the Southampton and Portsmouth Leagues would compete in a Team Battle tournament on lichess.org. On the evening this wasn’t possible due to lack of players in one of the sides, but Graham had anticipated this and had set up a Contingency Tournament as a back-up.

The players all gathered in the Southampton Chess League team and played a tournament within that: 16 of us participated. It is hoped that there will be a monthly Team Battle. The tournament as played on Thursday was good fun, and used a familiar Rapid play time control of 7 minutes initial time per player, then 3 seconds increment per move (i.e. about ten minutes per player per game), and the event ran for one hour 20 minutes.

Congratulations to Keith Gregory who won the Contingency Arena. And looking at the results list below, ‘TheVirtualAir’ managed to squeeze in ten games in the tournament!

Forthcoming online Tournaments

There are two online tournaments coming up, both on lichess.org. Firstly the regular Tuesday evening Arena (ten minutes per player per game in a one-hour tournament) on 8th September 2020.

Then a 5-Round Swiss on Thursday 10th September (7minutes then 3 seconds a move increment roughly equating to ten minutes per player).

Click on the buttons below to go to the tournaments: