The season got off to a competitive start with a 5-minute timed handicap event. This meant that the stronger the player the less time they had to play.

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Kingston Chess Club has moved to ASDA Kingston Vale.

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Surrey beat Kent at the weekend to win the Southern Counties Chess Championships and lift the Shannon Cup for the first time since 1964. The Open team, led by Graeme Buckley won 5-11 in Dartford. It was the culmination of five years of trying by Graeme who hands over the reins to Owen Phillips.

Graeme Buckley: the winning captain leading from the front more »

Kingston have completed their matches for this season in the second division of the Surrey League. The final outcome was Played 7 Won 4 Lost 3 which places Kingston in the top half of the league but is not quite good enough to get automatic promotion.

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The match between South Norwood and Kingston was always going to be tough. The final result was 3.5-3.5 with one game for adjudication which is probably lost. The result means that Kingston failed to gain top position in the Second Division and must postpone its hopes of returning the the premier league of Surrey Chess.

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Kingston reached the lofty heights of top of division 2 of the Surrey League following back-to-back victories over Wimbledon and Crystal Palace. Such is the tightness of the competition in these leagues, a couple of victories can make the difference between relegation fears and promotion aspirations.

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Wimbledon 3.5 v Kingston 4.5

It was looking pretty unlikely that Kingston would be able to get a team together for this away match. Six of our first team regulars were unavailable. The scratch team was expecting not even a draw against Wimbledon which has strength in depth. It was therefore a pleasant surprise that Kingston won by a whisker..

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Ultimately, chess will return to pubs. This will mean a change in the way chess is played. Perhaps it will become more of a social game.

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The English Chess Federation has just awarded this website the accolade of Chess Website of the Year.

We tell of the tribulations of a suburban chess club probably not very different from many clubs up and down the country. We also tell of the experiences of the players. Chess is meaningful to us in ways that are rarely discussed in the chess books. Chess as sport, chess as salvation, chess as proving something to oneself. Chess as an addiction dressed as a hobby.

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Kingston Chess Club kicks off the season with a home fixture against Staines 2 at the Quaker meeting hall on Monday 20th September 2010. We are a reasonably strong side and should do well this season.

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John Foley, chairman of Kingston Chess Club has somehow managed to win the British Championships Quiz 2010. See quiz

His winning score was 14/15. The one that got away was “What year was the English Chess Federation formed? John had answered 1904 based on no less an authority than the Wikipedia page on the English Chess Federation. However, the correct answer is (click the logo on the right to find out)

Stewart Reuben provides an historical explanation.

Places are still available for the various British Championship events.

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The game between John Foley of Kingston and Stephen Berry of Wimbledon proved to be an attacking sacfest. Stephen, a FIDE Master has been in sparkling form recently. However, there is no undue respect for titles in the Surrey and John was determined to make Stephen play hard for the point.

THE FINAL POSITION ——> more »

Richard Haddrell, the Grading Administrator at the English Chess Federation has been doing a bit of tidying up of gradings. He asked for some assistance with this exercise.

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The world champion Viswanathan Anand from India will be playing in the second London Chess Classic tournament in December 2010. This is something of a coup for the organisers who have built upon the successful format of the inaugural tournament last December. The tournament comprises four top British players with four of the top players in the world. The British players are the two veteran grandmasters over the last two decades, Nigel Short and Michael Adams and two up-and-coming grandmasters: Luke McShane and David Howell. In addition to the reigning world champion, the world players are the former world champion, Vladimir Kramnik from Russia, the USA champion, Hikaru Nakamura, and the highest graded player in the world, Magnus Carlsen from Norway.

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Julan Way was presented with Surrey’s Slater Kennington Cup by Paul Archer at a brief ceremony at Surbiton Chess Club on Wednesday evening. Celebrations were muted given that Julian was engaged in a game in this year’s championship and the other players in the room were concentrating in silence. The cup is surprisingly large; it can barely fit into a plastic shopping bag. Nevertheless after winning his latest game, Julian was last seen venturing onto the public transport system with his silvery load.

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Viswanathan Anand of India defeated Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the final game of their 12 game match to win the world chess championship. Anand never looked in danger of losing his crown and played with consummate aplomb throughout the match even though the players were level going into the final game. In order to win the game and the match, Topalov took an unnecessary risk by allowing the position to be opened up which benefited Anand who had more active pieces.

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This was the last match of the season for Kingston and we were hoping to win in order to consolidate our position in the Thames Valley first division. However we knew it was not going to be easy against local rivals Richmond. On paper, the Kingston team was one of the strongest fielded this season. We outgraded Richmond on all boards apart from the top board. However, Richmond, led by Gavin Wall played above themselves and managed to secure a draw in a hard-fought match. Six of the eight games were decisive.

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Kingston lost another match by a single game last night – this time against Maidenhead in the Thames Valley league. Julian Way won for the second time against Maidenhead this season – he is having an excellent season which should result in a significant rise in his grading next year. Chris Clegg lost on time in the quickplay finish, which is the first time this season for a Kingston player.

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Kingston came runners up on tie-break in a bunched finish in the Beaumont Cup in the Surrey League. This is quite an achievement for Kingston who were worried about relegation just three matches before the end of the season. Congratulations to Redhill who earn promotion to the top division.

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Kingston only just lost the match against the strong Richmond team. Given the struggle in the match against the Richmond second team earlier in the season, this was an excellent performance. The Kingston bottom board forgot to turn up which was the difference between the teams.

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Battersea played very well to lose by only 5-3 given that they were comprehensively outgraded on each board. Only the top and tail boards produced a result in favour of Kingston with each other board being a hard-fought draw. After the debacle of the Alexander Cup match between these two teams which was affected by a snowstorm, this was a sweet victory for Kingston.

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Kingston second team secured a comfortable 0-5 (one adjourned) victory against Crystal Palace’s third team. Kingston welcomed new member Usman Syed, a student from Pakistan, who won on his first outing.

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Another splendid late season result for Kingston beating Wimbledon third team 1-7. Wimbledon did not field a strong team and were fatally weakened by two defaults.

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Kingston have been thrown a lifeline in the Surrey 2nd Division by the default of the match by Crystal Palace. This is the first time this season that another team has defaulted a game, let alone a match, against Kingston. Kingston first team are now on 1.5/5 match points which takes us off the bottom position and above Wallington.

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Although the final result appears convincing the match went through a more balanced phase. Stephen Moss won but he appeared lost at one point – although he adamantly denies this. Similarly, Chris Clegg was in considerable trouble until his opponent gave up a piece unsoundly. These two reversals favoured Kingston.

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The controversy about mobile phones is exacerbated by the emerging technology of phone apps. Whilst we might not expect a clandestine advisor to be at the end of a regular call, it is much more plausible that phone apps could be used to analyse the position. Club players will not tolerate being accompanied to the restroom, as in the World Championships. The consolation is that a lost game may be due to computer assistance. In the Olympics, after a transgression is proved, the results are corrected, perhaps years later. So look on the bright side: the truth will out and you can rewrite your chess highlights to what would have been.

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Kingston second team beat Wallington’s second team comfortably in the return match. Earlier in the season Kingston only drew after one player’s mobile phone rang. This time no mobile phones were heard. Unfortunately in the mean time, Kingston lost that player. Who can blame someone who plays the game as a hobby only for a harsh rule to spoil their enjoyment.

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Kingston were heading for their third loss this season to local arch rivals, Surbiton who lead 3.5-1.5. There were only two decisive results in the games played on the night. One game is for adjudication with two games playing on.

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There has been a surge of interest to the Kingston Chess Club website following a favourable mention on the popular blog produced by Streatham and Brixton Chess Club on 15th February. The blog, which has several authors, was the English Chess Federation’s Website of the Year in 2007. It was an innovative use of the blog format to express the activities of a chess club. The surge of interest is modest in absolute terms, but it is appreciated nonetheless by those of us toiling in the engine room beneath the chess board. Welcome to visitors from the USA, Germany, Russia and China.

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Kingston second team were seeking to avenge their defeat earlier in the season and to put some distance between ourselves and the second ranked team – Dorking. Unfortunately matters got off to a bad start and Kingston were down 0-2 very early after two horrible games. However, Kingston showed its proper mettle and went on to win the rest of the games for a 4-2 victory. This victory over Dorking means that Kingston 2 now has 5.5/7 points and leads the Centenary Division in the Surrey league.

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Julian Way has won the Surrey Individual Championship. He writes:
“ In May 2009 I got a missed call from someone on my mobile. I returned the call hopeful it was the elegant blonde I had been chatting to the previous week in O’Neills in Kingston. However, I got through to Paul Archer from Wimbledon Chess Club inviting me to play in the Slater-Kennington, which is the Surrey Individual Chess Championship. He told me the Surbiton section was one player short and asked if I could play to make up the numbers. I agreed and thus began a nine month odyssey to become Surrey Individual Champion.”

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Kingston lead Staines 2.5-3.5 on the night with two games adjourned. The expectation is that the match will be drawn. The most exciting game was played on Board 4 by Neil Maxwell against Svjatoslavs Melnikovs. Neil threw everything but the kitchen sink and an undeveloped knight at his opponent for a mating attack. The Kingston players, who were waiting for lifts home, watched the game with mounting satisfaction because Neil had to win to draw the match.

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Julian Way played a double knight sacrifice to create a mate-in-six. Although his opponent did have a chance to escape the attack, the right move was difficult to find since it involved the king walking bravely towards the enemy. Beautifully played by Julian.

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The match was an honourable draw which was an excellent result against Ealing which outgraded Kingston on all boards. Ealing sought revenge for losing earlier in the season but Kingston players put up a spirited fight. On Board 1 Caius Turner won a heavyweight struggle against John Quinn in a classic King’s Indian. The game was distinguished by a neat tactical flourish at the end.

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Kingston had a disastrous match against Wallington in the Surrey League following the medical unavailability of four players and the absence of reserves at short notice. Kingston arrived with four boards already defaulted. At least, advance notice had been given to Wallington so that their players did not make a wasted journey. It was no surprise when in the first draw offer from Wallington came early in the proceedings. Kingston had beaten Wallington convincingly in the Alexander Cup earlier in the season and might have expected to triumph again. In the event, the four players who arrived acquitted themselves well and won 1-3 on the top four boards; the formal match result being 5-3.

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The Wimbledon first team proved too strong for Kingston, outgrading their opponents on every board. There was no repeat of the result of the first match of the season when Kingston splendidly beat Wimbledon. A welcome improvement at the Trinity Road venue this year is the lighting with new ceiling fittings. So Kingston could not go for a “bad light stopped play” outcome.

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This was definitely the coldest night at the club in many years. The players sat in the hall dressed in their jackets and, in some cases, hats. Occasionally a player stood against a radiator. Unusually, all the games were resolved in the course of the evening. As noted previously in matches in this cold winter, thought processes seem to slow down.

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Surrey lost to Essex by the closest possible margin of 8.5-7.5 on Saturday. The Surrey top board was Chris Briscoe in the absence of the captain Graeme Buckley. Chris was up against an on-form Lawrence Trent and lost a rook v 2 knights endgame. Other Kingston chess club interest was from David Rowson on Board 10 who drew against Kevin White and John Foley on Board 14 who won an complex game against Ian Reynolds.

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Kingston 2 beat Crystal Palace 3 by the narrowest of margins 3.5 – 2.5 on a freezing night (-6C is really cold for Kingston) which seemed to slow down the players’ mental abilities. Boards 1 and 5 were flag-drops when the players were still contemplating the middle game. Board 4 was a near-default when the away player arrived late and had too much to do in the limited time available. Board 6 was a piece en-prise. Kingston Board 2 had the upper hand but it would have been too much effort to have sought a decisive outcome. The most entertaining game of the evening was on Board 3 where Nick Grey sacrificed the exchange to create a virtually unstoppable attack. The fluent combination of the white minor pieces led to a particularly attractive mating tableau.

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On the night, the final score was 4.5 – 3.5 in favour of Battersea. The Kingston team did not feel that this was a fair outcome since the defaulted board 3 was affected by the weather in the same way as the other players whose games were voided. However, voiding the board 3 game would not seem fair to Battersea because that would imply that Kingston win on board count whereas Battersea could have arranged a stronger line-up if it had played a seven-board rather than an eight-board match. Given this conundrum, the matter was referred to the tournament controller, Graeme Buckley, who decided in favour of Battersea. The matter has now been escalated to the Surrey Disputes Committee.

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Magnus Carlsen from Norway won the London Chess Classic. He could have dominated it more convincingly if he had converted several won positions. Clearly he is a future world champion. His compatriot, the impressive Jon Hammer, also comfortably won the FIDE Open which was run alongside. We have just had a Viking raid – they came, they saw and they conquered. A millennium ago the Vikings brought us hnefatafl, now they bring chess.

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Kingston 2 beat Crystal Palace 3 convincingly 5-1 in a cracking encounter.

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One of the advantages of being a journalist is that you get into Press Conferences. The opening of the London Chess Classic was a golden opportunity for Stephen Moss to play Magnus Carlsen whilst plying his trade. Magnus Carlsen has just been graded the strongest player in the world. Their difference in grading is that between Mozart and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (see article) in the Guardian. Nevertheless Stephen held his own for a dozen moves in the Sicilian Defence. It was magnamimous of Magnus to allow Stephen to play White. There is no need to report the result.

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The most significant chess event in England for 25 years. Get on down and support this exciting event. See the great Dane Magnus Carlsen, as well as the the Russian, American and Chinese champions compete with the top British foursome Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell.

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The greatest blunder was committed by the nameless Kingston player who had to withdraw from the team at short notice having only just realised it was his wedding anniversary! Kingston 2 beat Redhill 3 3-2 with one game adjudicated but favourable to Kingston.

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Kingston were level with the Richmond second team after Monday night’s match with one game unfinished. Richmond are a very strong club as reflected in the fact that the top board of their second team is graded 200ECF.

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Nevil Chan paced the room nervously, assessing the situation at each board. As non-playing captain, he showed more restraint than a football manager – neither shouting nor gesticulations were exhibited. But scratch the surface and his stomach was churning. As the games began to finish, Nevil Chan became visibly more relaxed. He even allowed himself a smile as it became clear that the Knights were developing an unassailable lead. He began to compose the wording of his message of commiseration to Simon Williams. He was still wordsmithing the text message in the pub afterwards; not a GSM character was to be wasted. He was clearly savouring his moment of triumph.

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Dorking did well to beat Kingston 3.5-2.5 since they were outgraded. The top three boards were all drawn. Unfortunately Kingston again had a depleted team as one member had to pull out at the last moment. The Kingston team effort was notable for the sole win by Stephen Moss on Board 5 – whose playing strength has leapt up in the last couple of years.

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For those who collect tips on how to play better, this is the PG Tip: pay more attention to your opponent’s last move if you have just returned to the board with a cup of tea.

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The mystery of the Lewis chess men has deepened. According to the latest research by medieval scholars, the pieces may be for playing another game: hnefatafl. This is a game played by the Vikings as they traded their way across Europe.

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Kingston could only afford to drop a half point and in a stirring performance, managed to score 3.5 out of 4 points to secure a magnificant victory, with the youthful James Foley emerging as the hero of the hour.

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Black finally won after a frenetic last two minutes with the customary knocked board, falling pieces, illegal moves, captured king, and failing to notice that the flag had dropped.

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An understrength Kingston side were beaten 5-3 by Guildford’s second team last night in the first outing in the Surrey second division aka the Beaumont Cup. The choice of a fixture on Guy Fawkes night was not well received by Kingston players who had family commitments.

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Bill Waterton is now 80 years of age and no longer plays chess (“cannot play for toffee”). He dislikes travelling in the dark and does not wish to leave his wife on her own. Last evening, Bill walked into the club, as he had done on numerous times before, and simply said: “I have come to say goodbye.”

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The team was proposed for membership of the London League by Bob Wade, who silenced a detractor making a long speech at the AGM by saying the name wouldn’t matter, and the Drunken Knights would be a worthy addition to the League.

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Adam Raoof’s energy and commitment have encouraged hundreds of people to continue playing serious chess. He deserves all the support that we can muster.

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Chris Briscoe sacrificed his rook to drive Caius Turner’s king across the board. At the same time as this was happening, by a process of morphic resonance, Julian Way was sacrificing his rook to drive Rob Harrison’s king into the centre.

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Edgar Ndahiro, playing for Kingston for the first time, was involved in a tense endgame. With all the other games finished, the crowd gathered around Edgar’s table, only for his mobile phone to ring. Under the rules of the league, this counts as an immediate loss.

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This website achieved 100 unique visitors today. The visitor spike is thought to be due to the interest in the site generated from an email sent out to members of the Drunken Knights chess club. In a bout of mutual reputation lubrication, both the Drunken Knights and Kingston Chess Club have raised their profile.

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It is the most sociable of all the London clubs as measured by the number of pints consumed before, during and after the game. The club, which has been going for 35 years, is going from strength to strength…

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Kingston were knocked out of the Thames Valley Cup competition in a tight Derby match against Surbiton with just one decisive game separating the teams… It is as well to set out the excuses for the first loss of the season. Kingston were playing away and felt uneasy in the warmer southern climate…

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Kingston comfortably eased past Wallington in the first round of the Alexander Cup, the Surrey team knockout competition.

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The Beat the Champ competition starts at noon on Sunday, October 4 at C’est Bon cafe in Victoria Road, Surbiton. It is organised by 1973 British champion, Mike Basman. The prize for winning a game is a cup of coffee.

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The Lewis chessmen are to return to the Isle of Lewis on tour. The majority of the pieces are housed in the British Museum. The pieces, believed to be medieval Norse in origin, were discovered on a sand dune near Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides. Experts regard the pieces as amongst the top ten archaeological finds in Britain.

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The club championship will be played on evenings when the players are not involved in a match. First team players can play during second team matches and vice versa. It is up to club members to organise the matches between themselves.

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Visiting teams will be able to park round the corner from the club on Monday evenings for a flat £1. The street-level carpark, accessed from Lady Booth Road, had been closed on Mondays for a year.

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Kingston continued to show its mettle this season as it held Ealing in Thames Valley League Division 1. The games were tight with only two decisive results.

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The club is embarking on the process of nominating players for the three teams that it manages – Surrey 1, Surrey 2 and Thames Valley.

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Kingston got off to a confident start this season with an impressive performance against last year’s league winners Wimbledon. In a hard-fought encounter, only three games finished in the evening but Kingston won two and drew a third.

Update

On 19th October the three top boards completed their unfinished games. The result was honours even with Turner losing, Rowson drawing and Foley winning. On 4th Dec, Peter Roche confirmed that the adjudication was a draw. On 7th Dec, Alan Scrimgour confirmed he had lost.

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Chris Clegg is Kingston’s Player of the year for the 2008/9 season. Not only did he play more games than anybody else, but his success rate was also the highest. To cap off his success, Chris was made Vice-President of the club by the acclamation of those members attending the AGM in recognition of the service he has given to the club over several decades and of the high regard in which he is held by members.

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Do you have memories of Kingston Chess Club? We would love to hear about them.

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We have set up a new website for the club. Please let others know about www.kingstonchess.org.uk!

We hope that this will help keep people aware of club happenings as well as gain new members for the club. Our webmaster is John Foley.

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