Keverel Chess

The Paignton Congress has enjoyed some of the best weather of the summer which has put all players in a good mood. The favourite, Grandmaster Keith Arkell, won the Premier Section for the 18^th time in his career, after the predictable short, safe draw in the final round. But there were many other prizewinners all the way down the order.

Premier: 1^st K. Arkell 6/7 pts. 2^nd= R. Bates (Hackney); D. Ledger (Bedford) & D. Mackle (N. Abbot) all 5 pts.

Challengers: 1^st= C. Costello & A. Footner (Yeovil). 3^rd= R. Thompson (N. Abbot) & Y. Tello (Wimbledon). Grading prizes: U-162: T. F. Thynne (5). U-155: A. Price (Leamington) 4½.

Best slow starters: A. Hibbitt (Grendel) & Jackson (Coulsdon) both 3½.

The key game in Arkell’s campaign was this Rd. 6 win, which allowed him to coast home with a short draw in the final round to become clear 1^st and take home a cheque for £600. Notice how, as in Rd. 1 published last week, he makes full use of his bishop pair to force fatal weaknesses in Black’s position.

White: K. C. Arkell (234). Black: Zaki Harari. (193)

Queen’s Gambit Accepted. [D20]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Qxd4 White is happy to exchange queens early on, keeping things simple and knowing his endgame technique will probably win the day. 5…Qxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Nc3 a6 8.Bxc4 Bb4 9.f3 0–0 10.Bf4 b5 11.Be2 c5 12.Nc2 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Be6 14.Kf2 Nbd7 15.Rhc1 Nb6 16.Ne3 c4 17.Nc2 Na4 18.Nd4 Rac8 19.Bd1 Nc5 20.Bc2 Rfd8 21.Rd1 h6 22.Be3 Bd7 23.Rd2 Kf8 24.Rad1 Ke8 25.g4 Ng8 26.Nf5 Bxf5 27.gxf5 Rxd2+ 28.Rxd2 Nf6 29.e5 Nfd7 30.f4 Ke7 31.Kf3 Rc6 32.Rd1 making as if to move it to g1. 32…Rc7 33.Rd6 But no, the rook moves forward instead. 33…a5 34.a3 Rb7 35.Rc6 Nb3 36.Be4 Rb8 37.Bd5 a4 38.Rc7 Kd8 39.Ra7 f6 40.e6 1–0 The advanced pawn must win it.

Here is the full list of winners:-

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