Keverel Chess

Welcome to the Keverel Chess website, which will be covering all chess matters relating to Exmouth and Exmouth players, whether played or written in the town or further afield.

In addition, there will be a selection of chess books available to discriminating collectors. Lists will be updated regularly and enquiries about books listed may be e-mailed.

Here are some short biographies of chessplayers who have made above-average contributions to chess at some level, whether in Devon or further afield.

The 1^st editions of some of these articles got their first airing on the chessdevon website, and the author is grateful to its webmaster for that opportunity. These early ones have now all been reviewed and updated where new information has come to light before posting here.

Copyright remains with the author who will be pleased to receive further information for inclusion, or make corrections where necessary. Family history researchers should contact the author in the first instance with a view to a possible useful exchange of information.

This section contains news specifically about Exmouth’s Chess Club.

Currently, it meets at Age Concern, 8, New Street, Exmouth. EX8 1RT, on Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m.

The club welcomes new members who are keen to make the most of their chess skills by playing real opponents, face to face. Queries should be addressed to the Club Secretary via e-mail. jones_r53@sky.com.

Above: Look for the Age Concern sign.

Below: The door to the club premises.

The Plymouth-based Western Morning News carries one of the oldest chess columns in any provincial daily paper. It was started in 1891 and has continued ever since in one form or another, in spite of having shifted for a short spell to another title in the same stable, the Illustrated Western Weekly News.

For the past 55 years it has had just three correspondents: J. E. “Eddy” Jones (1956 – 63); K. J. “Ken” Bloodworth (1963 – 1999) & R. H. “Bob” Jones from 1999.

For all this time, it has reported weekly on the chess activities within its readership’s area, Devon & Cornwall, However, since December 2010, in a cost-cutting exercise and rationalisation, the WMN joined forces with its Northcliff Group neighbour, the Bristol-based Western Daily Press, to produce a weekend supplement in common, called Westcountry Life. Fortunately, they retained the chess column, which means it now gets a much wider readership, and this must be reflected in the scope of what it records. So the activities in Somerset and Gloucestershire must get equal billing, as it were, with those of Devon & Cornwall.

One must hope this experiment will prove successful and continue. We hope chess followers will purchase the two papers in question, at least their Saturday edition, as this is the point of the exercise. However, I have permission to reproduce it on this website for the benefit of those outside the readership area.

To that end, I aim to post it here a day or two after its appearance in the paper.

Bob Jones

The 23rd Frome Congress finished earlier this evening with a triple tie for 1st place in the Open involving Paul Byway (191 – Hertford); Oliver Gill (190 – Southampton) and Gareth Morris (182 – Bristol), all on 4/5 points. 

Here’s the full prizelist, kindly sent by Gerry Jepps, after all due checking had been done:  

Open :-  

1^st=: (4/5)  Paul Byway (Hertford) 

Oliver Gill (Southampton) 

Gareth Morris (Bristol & Clifton)          

British Championship Qualifying Place          Paul Byway (Hertford) 

Reserves: Oliver Gill (Southampton), 

Gareth Morris (Bristol & Clifton) 

 U-181 Grading prize (3½/5)              David Sully (Pentyrch) 

Major (U170):- 

 1^st (4/5)                                                      Ian Ponter (Downend & Fishponds) 

2^nd  (4/5)                                                     Wiatt Ropp (Stratford) 

3^rd= (3½/5)                                     Roger Gamble (Spondon) 

                                                                 Paul Jackson (Coulsdon) 

                                                                 Paul Carlucci (Morley College) 

                                                                 Kevin Winter (Bingley) 

                                                                 Ewart Smith (Basingstoke) 

                                                                 Simon Bartlett (Tiverton) 

 U-150 Grading prize (3/5)                 Duncan Macarthur (Keynsham) 

                                                                 Dave Marshall (Trowbridge) 

    Intermediate  (U140):- 

1^st (5/5)                                                      Peter Dimond (Bath) 

2^nd= (4/5)                                               David Cornes (Wimborne) 

                                                                      David Rogers (Exmouth) 

 U-120 Grading prize (3½/5)              Derek Hadley (GLCC) 

 Minor (U115):- 

 1^st= (4½/5)                                     David Woodruff (Keynsham) 

Stephen Crockett (Redditch) 

William Curry (Fareham) 

 U-95 Grading prize                          Marian Cox (Southampton) 

                                                                 Reg Cox (Southampton) 

                                                                 Lee Bullock (Coulsdon) 

 Somerset Trophies  

 Denys Bonner (Highest placed Somerset player in the Open):             Patrick Krzyzanowski (Yeovil) 

Leon York Memorial (Highest placed Somerset player in the Major):    Mark Leonard                (Frome) 

Roy Hossell (Highest placed Somerset player in the Intermediate):     Peter Dimond                (Bath) 

Cyril Chapman (Highest placed Somerset player in the Minor)             David Woodruff   (Keynsham) 

Jean Mackereth (Highest placed ungraded Somerset player in the Minor) David McGeeney  (Bristol Cabot) 

Cuprinol Trophy (Highest scoring West of England Junior in any section): Max French (Frome) 

Team Competition 

Keynsham 

In the final round, Gill played Black against the experienced Tyson Mordue, and played a Petroff Defence. With minutes to go before his flag fell, he established an advanced pawn on d3 backed by both rooks, and it couldn’t be stopped, thus giving him a share of 1st prize. 

Mordue (w) faced with an unstoppable pawn.

Top boards in the Major: Bartlett v Gamble was drawn, but Ponter (l) went on to win and come 1st.

The Intermediate (U-140) was won by Peter Dimond (Bath – 135) with a perfect score. 

Peter Dimond (l) recieves this trophy from Chris Purry (section Controller).

The full prizelist will be found here v. shortly, as soon as available. It is complicated by having the Somerset Championships at all 4 levels, all mixed in with section winners and grading prizes.

A snapper snapped: Brendon O'Gorman adding to his massive collection of pictures, all accessible on-line.

The 8^th World Schools Chess Championship finished on Sunday in laşi, Romania. The English Chess Federation arranged for 23 young players to participate in the many different sections, from U-7 to U-18, both boys and girls.

The only westcountry representative among them was 11 year old Eleanor Hapeshi of Gloucester, who competed in the Girls’ U-13 event. She is a pupil at King’s School, Gloucester and plays for the Wotton Hall Club in the city and the Musketeers Juniors Club in Cheltenham.

Here is a win of hers from Round 3.

White: Eleanor Hapeshi (92). Black: Georgeta Bulgaru (u/g).

Vienna Gambit [C28]

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.d3 Nf6 4.f4 d6 5.Nc3 The opening has transposed into a Vienna Gambit, related to a King’s Gambit, but where White has played an early Nc3 5…Bg4 6.Nf3 Be7 7.0–0 0–0 8.h3 Bd7 9.Be3 Qc8 with an eye on the h3 pawn. 10.f5 a6 11.a4 Na5 12.Bd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Re8 14.Qd2 Nc6 White has to balance up the risks of attacking Black’s kingside with defence of her own king. 15.f6 She opts for attack. Computer analysis suggests 15.Qf2 might be sounder in the longer term. 15…Bd8 16.Nh4 Bxh3 Black also opts for all-out attack, unwisely in this case as she sacrifices her only free-moving piece. 17.gxh3 Qxh3 Where are the re-enforcements when they’re needed? 18.Qh2 Qxh2+ 19.Kxh2 Black’s speculative sacrifice hardly seems worth it, as White’s pieces are now all poised for attack while the enemy’s are all hemmed in behind pawns. 19…gxf6 20.Nxf6+ Bxf6 21.Rxf6 Re6 22.Rg1+ Getting the final piece into play before exchanging to increase the differential. 22…Kf8 23.Rxe6 fxe6 24.Bh6+ Ke7 25.Rg7+ Kf6 26.Rxc7 Rg8 27.Rxb7 Nd4 28.c3 Ne2 29.Rb6 Nf4 30.Bxf4 exf4 31.Rxd6 Rg3 32.c4 1-0 Black resigned as there is nothing the solitary rook can achieve; e.g. 32…Re3 33.Nf5 Re2+ 34.Kh3 Ke5 35.Rxe6+ Kxe6 36.Nd4+. Or 32…Kg5 33.Ng2 Kg4 34.Rxe6 Rxd3.

Her win from Rd. 5 bore several similarities to the previous game.

White: Eleanor Hapeshi. Black: Andrada-Iona Hrib (1672).

Bishop’s Opening [C24].

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Be7 4.Nc3 0–0 5.Be3 Nc6 6.f4 d6 7.f5 Na5 8.Bb3 Nxb3 9.axb3 a6 10.Nf3 c6 11.0–0 Qc7 12.d4 Ng4 13.Qd2 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 Bf6 15.d5 cxd5 16.Nxd5 Qxc2 17.Rac1 Qxb2 18.Nxf6+ gxf6 19.Qh6 Qxb3 20.Qxf6 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Qd8 22.Qh6 f6 23.Nh4 Rf7 24.Rf3 Qf8 25.Rg3+ Rg7 26.Rcc3 Bd7

If 26…Rxg3 27.Rxg3+ Kf7 28.Qxh7+ Ke8 29.Rg8 Qxg8 30.Qxg8+ Kd7 31.Qf7+ Kc6 32.Qxf6 Bd7 33.Qg7. 27.Rxg7+ Qxg7 28.Rg3 1–0

In last week’s position, Yates won elegantly with 1.Qg6 threatening 2.Qh7 mate, and if 1…NxQ then 2.NxN mate.

This cruciform 2-mover was composed by G. Carpenter in 1873.

White to mate in 2 moves.

Last week there was only space to give the names of section winners of the recent Bournemouth ‘Grand’ Congress, so here are the grading prizes from the Open Section. U-210: 1^st= Don Mason (Shirley); R. Nevanlinna & Tony Corkett (Fareham). U-200: Walter Braun (Southbourne). U-190: David Cutmore (Wood Green). U-180: Ian Ponter (Downend). U-170: Arul Gupta (Kent). U-160: 1^st= Cosmo Charles (Lewisham); Toby Brookfield (Guernsey); Vincent Homolka (Dulwich) & Akshaya Kalaiyalahan (Richmond).

The names of all other winners, as well as many of the games, may be found on the event website

www.bournemouthchesscongress.org.uk.

Gupta and Kalaiyalahan are, in fact, two of the country’s top 10 year olds, with grades of 153 and 152 respectively. Here is how Gupta dealt with one of Dorset’s senior players.

White: Ian C. Clark (188). Black: Arul  Gupta (153).

Giucco Piano [C54]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 The Giucco Piano or Italian Opening. 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Qb3 Nce7 11.0–0 0–0 12.Rfe1 So far, this is all well-known theory. 12…c6 13.Ne5 Qb6 14.Qxb6 axb6 15.a4 Be6 16.Ndf3 h6 17.h3 Rad8 18.Ra3 Nf4 19.Rb3 Ned5 20.Kh2 Ra8 White now miscalculates a combination. 21.g3 Nxh3 22.Bxd5 but 22…Bxd5 forces the rook to move, which gives Black’s knight time to escape and cause more mischief.  23.Rbe3 Nxf2 24.Kg2 Ne4 25.Nd7 Nd2 26.Nxb6 Nxf3 27.Rd1 If 27.Rxf3 Bxf3+ 28.Kxf3 leaves White the exchange and a pawn down. 27…Ng5+ 28.Kf2 Rae8 29.Rde1 Re4 30.Rxe4 Nxe4+ 31.Kf3 Re8 32.Nxd5 Ng5+ 0-1 White resigned as the Black knight escapes yet again and will be the only piece left after the final exchanges. viz 33.Kf2 Rxe1 34.Kxe1 cxd5.

The Frome Congress starts on Friday evening at Oakfield School, Frome, BA11 4JF, which includes the Somerset Championships for eligible players. There are 4 sections; the Open, the Major (U-170); Intermediate (U-140) and Minor (U-115). Enquiries about late entries should go to Gerry Jepps on 01749-344191 or e-mail gnjepps@btinternet.com. I hope to have the list of winners and a key game or two by next week.

Last week’s problem by Chris Reeves was solved by 1.d4! threatening 2.Rc5#. Black taking the rook with 1…Bxc4 enables the queen to take Black’s rook on f3.

This week’s position is taken from a simultaneous display by Fred Yates, the Yorkshire champion, not the Cornish artist. White has several ways to win, but can you find the shortest and most elegant of them?

White to play and win quickly & elegantly.

With a prize fund of £3,200 and an excellent venue at a 3-star hotel, the Bournemouth ‘Grand’ Congress last weekend attracted 170 entries overall and some top talent in the Open Section where there were 20 players graded over 190. After 5 rounds, it was David Howell who scooped the top prize of £1,000 with a 100% score. GM Alexander Cherniaev (229) and strong English junior, 15 year-old Peter Williams (224) shared second prize of £200 each with 4½/5. Clear 4^th was GM Simon Williams (232) on 4 pts.

Challengers’ Section (U-155) 1^st Roger Greatorex (Llangollen) 4½. Upper Minor (U-125) 1^st Martin Pope (Camborne) 4½. Lower Minor (U-106) 1^st Barry Childs (Cornwall) 4½

Here is Howell’s 1^st Round game against the 2010 West of England Champion.

White: Paul Helbig (179). Black: David Howell (251).

Scotch Game [C47]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 The Scotch Game; White tries for an open, active position, rather than risk getting steamrollered. 3…exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Bd3 0–0 8.0–0 Re8 9.Re1 d6 10.Bd2 Ng4 11.h3 Ne5 This knight manoeuvre has only been seen once in on-line databases, but the knight exerts great influence on e5 and proves to be the killer piece. 12.Bf1 Qf6 13.Na4 Bxd2 14.Qxd2 g5 This looks risky as it weakens his own king’s position, but with White’s knight sidelined on the other wing, Black now has his queen and minor pieces all bearing down on the enemy king. 15.Re3 Kh8 16.Rg3 Rg8 17.Be2 Be6 18.Rf1 Rg6 19.f4 gxf4 20.Rxf4 Qg7 21.Rxg6 Qxg6 22.Kh1 Rg8 23.Bg4 Bxg4 24.hxg4 Qh6+ 25.Kg1 Rxg4 0–1. White must lose material after 26.Rf2 Nf3+ 27.Kf1 and now there are forced mating lines. 27…Nxd2+ 28.Rxd2 Qh1+ 29.Kf2 Qxg2+ 30.Ke1 Rxe4+ etc.

The next big event in the region is the 23^rd Frome Congress which starts a week on Friday, 11^th – 13^th May at Oakfield School, a new venue for the event. Enquiries to Gerry Jepps on 01749-344191 or e-mail gnjepps@btinternet.com.

Last week’s position was taken from the game Arkell-Holland at the recent High Wycombe tournament. White seemed to be in great trouble with both rooks attacked and a forced mate just 1 move away, but he found 1.Qd8! where it is undefended and can be taken by two pieces, but it is sufficient to unravel all Black’s threats. There’s a lot of play left, but White now has enough initiative to win in the end.

The Cornish problemist, Christopher Reeves, recently sent me a current copy of the excellent Serbian magazine Mat Plus, which contained a 10 page article by David Shire on Reeves’ 2-movers. Of his 120 published problems, this is one of the earliest from 1962.

White to mate in 2.

Exmouth’s Bremridge Cup encounter against Teignmouth was their last match of the season, and there was nothing at stake, except, perhaps, the wooden spoon. Nevertheless, games were played with all seriousness, and although the final scoreline may sound like an end-of-term romp, this was certainly not the case.

Tindal played the White side of a Closed  Sicilian very quickly and a rook & pawn ending was soon reached, with Jones 2 pawns up, but it needed careful play and in the end it boiled down to a single pawn that couldn’t be prevented from queening.

The Hurst-Ingham game involved a complex position, but Hurst managed to conclude matters in 19 moves. Hart entered the endgame on the back foot, but Hindom rather lost his way which enabled Hart to negate any serious threat and a draw was agreed. Gosling was the nearest to having a field day, as all his pieces had open lines bearing down on the enemy king, to which there was no adequate defence.

The most double-edged game was Halmkin-Wensley, in which the Teignmouth player got short of time at the sharp end of the game, and Wensley was offering pieces that couldn’t be taken without giving in to a mating attack. In the end he did find a way through to mate the White king.

This left Meyrick “The Python” Shaw with a tight control of the position, and a supported passed pawn on d6. However, to maximise this advantage he had to relax his grip and open the position up, which gave Gorodi scope to break out of the straight-jacket he was in, and make threats of his own. Shaw monitored all threats and with only BvsN it was the d6 pawn that won the day.

So Exmouth thus won their first and last match in this premier tournament, losing to Newton Abbot and Tiverton in between – at least avoiding the wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Newton Abbot were playing Tiverton to determine top spot in the Bremridge Cup, and their captain, Trefor Thynne has kindly sent in his account of that match.

“The fixture list for this year’s Bremridge Cup threw up an extremely tasty last-round pairing with 2010 and 2011 holders  Newton Abbot travelling to Blundell’s School to face Tiverton on 21st April, both sides having won all three of their matches to date. The visitors went into the match with the advantage of knowing that a 3-3 scoreline would be sufficient to retain the trophy since they had a favourable “goal difference”. However, the gradings of the two teams were likely to be close so a tough struggle was in prospect.

And so it turned out with hard-fought games on each board. The first three results were all draws, on Bds 4 (Thynne – Duckham), 5 (Kinder- Annetts) and 2 (Homer-Hewson). Only in the final hour, as the time control approached, did Newton Abbot’s players get on top, first on Bd 6 where Paul Brooks,  playing an English  Opening against Keith Atkins’ Dutch Defence, converted pressure into a material advantage. On Bd 3, perhaps the best game of the match, Alex Billings maintained his fine form this season and kept control in a complex position against Simon Bartlett. This settled the outcome of the match and a good day for the visitors was made better when Dominic Mackle showed exemplary endgame technique to defeat Ben Edgell on top board.  So Newton Abbot retain  the title of Devon’s top club. The league has been very interesting this year with 5 teams competing. It could be even better and more representative of all parts of the county if Plymouth (who certainly have the players on paper) and Barnstaple were to join in”.

TFT

The match gets under way

Exmouth's Bds. 2 - 6

Nearest: Halmkin vs Wensley.

Exmouth's Bds. 4-6

Teignmouth's Bds. 4-6

Halmkin & Gorodi both involved in tight finishes.

Hurst & Wensley, deep in thought.

Shaw v Gorodi - last game to finish. Norman Tidy looks on.

The 31^st Teignmouth RapidPlay Congress was held last weekend at Trinity School, and the winners were as follows (grade & club given after name):

Open Section: 1^st Stephen Piper (176- Salisbury) 5½/6 points. 2^nd= Steve Homer (175-Exeter) & Ernest White (170-Bristol). Grading prizes: (U-167) Frank Pitman (172-Weymouth) 4. (U-154) Chris Strong (148-Clevedon); Sebastian Stone (147-Seaton) & Steve Dean (152-Seaton).

Major Section (U-140): 1^st= Ben Wilkinson (137-S. Hams); Alex Conway (118-Taunton) & Paul Pierstorff (131-Cabot). Grading prizes (U-127); Giles Body (126-Exeter). (U-110); John Fraser (107-Newton Abbot). (U-14 yrs): Zoe Strong (92-Clevedon).

Team prize: 1^st Newton Abbot. 2^nd Taunton Titanics.

Junior Section: (U-12 yrs) 1^st Taylor Finch (Exeter & Colyton). 2^nd Greg Susevee (Colyton G.S.). (U-11 yrs) 1^st= Guy Susevee (Awliscombe P.S.) & Vignesh Ramesh (Newton Abbot). (U-9 yrs) Declan Davies (Abbey School). Best Girl: Nandaja Narayanan (Churston).

The Bournemouth Congress is being held this weekend at the Carrington House Hotel, and its prize fund of over £2,500 is bound to have attracted a large number of entries.

This game was played in the recent WECU Championship.

White: K. Arkell (225) Black: S. Greely (170).

East Indian Defence [A48]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.b4 Bg7 4.Bb2 0–0 5.Nbd2 d6 6.e4 c5 7.bxc5 dxc5 8.c3 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qa5 10.Bd3 Nc6 11.0–0 The Black king’s fortress looks impregnable in the short term, but it breaks down remarkably quickly. 11…Nh5 12.Nc4 Qd8 13.d5 Bxb2 14.Nxb2 Nb8 15.Qd2 Qd6 16.e5 Qd8 The proffered d-pawn is too hot to handle. e.g. 16…Qxd5 17.Qh6 and 17…f6 to prevent Ng5 with mate to follow is impossible because of 18.Bc4. 17.Qh6 f6 18.Rad1 Nd7 19.e6 Ne5 20.Nxe5 fxe5 21.Nc4 Nf4 22.Be4 Qc7 23.Ne3 Rb8 24.Rfe1 b5 25.g3 Nh5 giving White the chance of a sacrificial attack. 26.Bxg6 hxg6 27.Qxg6+ Ng7 28.Ng4 Bb7 29.Rxe5 1-0 Black would have to give up a lot of material to avoid mate.

In spite of this reverse and his relatively modest grade, Simon Greely (Bristol) went on to score 4/7 pts and was awarded the Qualifying Place for the British Championship in August.

The solution to last week’s problem was 1.f8=N with the threat of 2.Bg6. Black has a number of checks available to try and delay the inevitable. For example, if 1…Re5+ 2.Be4, or if 1…e3+ 2.Bd3, or if 1…Rb2+ 2.Bc2.

In this position, taken from a recent tournament, White is facing threats from Black’s queen (Qe3), which cannot be taken because of RxR mate, so needs a near miracle to save the day. The move White found was described by Michael Adams as “the most spectacular way I have ever seen to simplify to a better ending”. Can you spot the unlikely-looking escape?

White to play and simplify to a winning position.

Exmouth’s win over Barnstaple on Saturday marked the end of that tournament for another year. The final table is as follows:

Tiverton were undoubtedly deserved winners. Our fate was sealed by the topsy-turvy match against Teignmouth; a blundered rook by each side and a breathless blitz finish between Redman and Brusey that could have gone either way but finished in a draw, as did the match. The unlikeliest result was surely Newton Abbot’s last place.

Still, a good result for Exmouth, considering the unavailability of top players at times.

Exmouth’s penultimate match of the season was in Devon’s 2nd Division, the Mamhead Cup, when they played host to a  Barnstaple team headed by IM Jack Rudd. There was nothing inevitable about his likely outcome as the last time he visited Exmouth 2 years ago, he lost to Brian Hewson, so, having won the toss, team captain Steve Clarke opted to give Rudd the White pieces, although this did put some pressure on the other three players who had to cope with 2 blacks. 

Once the match started, both Rudd and Stephens set off at a great rate of knots, both reaching move 10 in 60 seconds. The whole game was over in 90 minutes, having made 33 moves. A great start for the visitors but it was quickly balanced by a win for Oliver Wensley in just 19 moves. Soon after that, Tony Hart secured a result by mating his opponent in 33 moves. 

Leading 2-1, the win now depended on Meyrick Shaw vs Richard Smith, the latter making a return to weekend chess having recently semi-retired, and it was a much more stately affair. In a long endgame, Shaw had 4 v 3 pawns, a rook each and the “minor exchange”. Slowly, he was able to restrict the central space, preventing White’s rook and knight from making any real threats, squeezing all the life out of his defences. 

The 3-1 win puts Exmouth in with a chance of a at least a share of the title, depending on results elsewhere.

The match gets under way.

Hart vs Jones in foreground.

Wensley can't quite believe the speed of play on Bd. 1

Richard Smith, newly available for weekend matches.

The key last game to finish.

The prizewinners of the West of England Congress last weekend were as follows:-

Open: 1^st K. C. Arkell     (225 – Paignton) 5½ points. 2^nd= S. Berry (216) & R. McMichael (194) both 5 pts. Grading prizes: U-186 1^st= S. Dilleigh (183 – Bristol) & P. Krzyzanowski (185 – Yeovil) 4pts. U-180: S. Greely (170 – Downend) 4 pts.

Keith Arkell thus became the West of England Champion, but his title pre-qualifies him for the British Championship so that place will go to someone lower down the order.

Major Section: 1^st J. Nyman (156) 5½  . 2^nd= R. Bryant (171); R. Gamble (161); W. Ingham (155 – Teignmouth) & M. Wilson (149 – Teignmouth) all 5 pts. Grading Prize: U-158 1^st A. Hibbitt (156 – Grendel)

4 pts. U-148 1^st G. Body (147 – Exeter) 4½.

Minor Section: 1^st= T. Woodward (137 – Trowbridge) & P. Errington (129). 3^rd= J. Morrison (136 – Tiverton);    A. Wiggins (134); I. Blencowe  (125 – Gloucester) & M. French      (119 – Millfield) all 5 pts. Grading Prize:  U-127 1^st= I. Blencowe (125 – Gloucester) & M. French (119 – Millfield). U-108: Alyssa Wang               (106) 4 pts.

It was, perhaps, no great surprise that GM Arkell should be overall winner, but it was not as smooth as might be expected, as he had to concede a draw and a loss before the start of the final round, leaving him half a point behind Berry and McMichael. They could only draw their last game, leaving Arkell needing to win to overtake them. This was the key game.

White: R. De Coverly. Black: K. Arkell.

Caro-Kann – Arkell/Khenkin Variation [B12]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 Arkells’ own gift to the chess world – the Arkell-Khenkin variation. 4.dxc5 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.c3 e6 7.b4 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nxe5 9.Bb5+ Nc6 10.Nd2 Nge7 11.Nb3 Qc7 12.0–0 Ng6 13.c4 Rd8 14.Bb2 Be7 15.Rad1 0–0 16.cxd5 exd5 17.a3 a6 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.g3 Qc8 21.Kg2 Nf8 22.h4 Ne6 23.Nd4 Nxd4 24.Bxd4 Bf8 25.Re3 Rxe3 26.Bxe3 Qe6 27.Rd4 a5 28.h5 axb4 29.axb4 h6 30.Qf4 Be7 31.Rd3 f5 32.Qf3 Bf6 33.Bd4 Bg5 34.Be3 Qe4 35.Bxg5 hxg5 36.Qxe4 fxe4 reducing the game to a single R&P ending, an area in which Arkell excels. However, he is running out of time at this stage. 37.Rd4 Rb8 38.f3 exf3+ 39.Kxf3 Kf7 40.Ke3 Ke6 41.Rg4 Kf5 42.Rd4 Kf6 43.Kd3 Ke6 44.Rg4 Kf6 45.Rd4 Ra8 46.Kc2 Ra3 cutting off the White king from any further action in the centre. 47.g4 Ke5 48.Rd1 d4 the key move, freeing up d5 for his king. 49.Re1+ Kd5 50.Re7 Rg3 51.Rxg7 Kc4 52.Rxg5 Black has given up 2 pawns in the expectation that his own plan will work. 52…d3+ 53.Kd2 Rg2+ 54.Kd1 Kc3 55.Re5 Rg1+ 56.Re1 Rxe1+ 57.Kxe1 Kc2 0-1. White resigns as the pawn must queen and will be able to cover the advance of any white pawns.

David Howard’s Easter special was solved by 1.Bb2! This 2-mover by A. Lewis appears in this year’s ECF Yearbook. Of White’s best three tries, two fail only to a single Black response. Can you find them and the correct solution?

White to mate in 2.

Rd. 7:

The draw is as follows: The three joint leaders had all played each other, so there was no question of short draws in order to guarantee some prizemoney – all 3 had to play for a win. Also, after over 35 years each on the chess circuit, De Coverley and Arkell had never played each other other – this was a first.

This contributed to what was probably the most interesting finale for some years. Firstly, Berry conceded a draw, while the McMichael-Dilleigh game looked very congested with a lot of material still on the board and not much space available to exploit them, so another draw was recorded. This left De Coverley and Arkell in a R+P endgame, the sort that the latter would enjoy, but he had only minutes left to find a plan. But find it he did, giving up 2 pawns in order to bring his king up to help his rook usher the d-pawn home. So Keith Arkell, currently resident in Paignton, became the latest West of England Champion.

The last game to finish in the hall was Richardson – Shaw, where the latter was a pawn down, but their bishops were on opposite coloured squares which tends to minimise this disadvantage, and a draw was agreed.

 Rd. 7 Open games here →  http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu127/base.htm

De Coverley vs Arkell - a chess 1st!

Greely vs Berry in Rd. 7.

Joint leader, McMichael starts against Steve Dilleigh.

Top 2 games in the Major.

Top 3 games in the Minor start their last game.

There were several good performances in the Minor. Sole leader, John Morrison, only needed a draw to ensure at least joint 1st, but he lost the exchange, assumed he would lose and resigned. His opponent said he had a saving move and sportingly offered to play on. Even more sportingly, John stuck by his resignation. So he finished 3rd= with, among others, 9 yr old Max French of Millfield. 

Prize List:

New WECU Champion receives trophy from Andrew Footner

Krzyzanowski (l) & Dilleigh receive grading prizes.

J. Nyman, winner of the Major Section, with the Wilkinson Cup.

Alyssa Wang of Cardiff got a £20 Grading Prize in the Minor.

9 yr old Max French came 3rd= in the Minor.

T. Woodward, joint winner of the Minor SEction.

Dr. Robert Ryan (l) plays Heinz Herschmann in Rd. 7 - combined ages = 176 yrs.

Ronnie Burton of Weymouth, a regular player both here and in the Autumn Seniors Congress,  had to withdraw shortly before the event, but offered his entry fee to be awarded to the oldest player not to feature in the prize list. The two chief candidates were Robert Ryan and Heinz Herschmann. The German-born musician is 88 later this week, but Ryan reached that landmark a short while ago, so he gets the unexpected reward for longevity. By sheer coincidence they were paired in the final round.