Time controls in practice

I've updated the MSCL page of the website, see tab above under Juniors, with information on the new time controls in the League. Hopefully this will go some way to clarifying any confusion! (If you have any quibble or it's not clear let me know.) With the two 'home' matches played - 1st v 2nd and 3rd v 4th - we've managed to play the default time control on every board without a problem, in fact the games have tended to finish earlier than before. Every match has been conclusive and the captains haven't had the old mopping-up operation while we try and decide who - or if - anybody won!

The first team beat the second last night with Luke returning to play for the first team and Will and Michael Cain making their debuts in the expanded first division. A good match which was far from being a whitewash for the second team.

John Henshaw        1-0          Robin Jones
Luke Rutherford     1-0         Anna Charpidou
Geoff James           ½-½       Michael Hamilton
Paul Batchelor        0-1         Will Wright
Paul Selby               1-0          Michael Cain
                            3½ - 1½

MSCL AGM: B&H win again and Junior League approved

Much excitement at the MSCL AGM last week when it was decided to run a separate Junior League next season, starting earlier and finishing on the night (!), sneaking in as an alternative proposal to Eastbourne's  fourth division idea. Plus Brighton and Hove won the league cup and the first division tankard - both of which were carried off by first team captain, Paul Batchelor. Congrats to him for winning 6/7, and the first team for a winning team performance of 8.5/9.

Brighton &Hove 1 v Eastbourne 1 and League report

Our last match of the season was against Eastbourne 1. John Henshaw was the first to finish, winning against the Semi-Slav. I drew against John Herbert. Callum Brewer drew a game which had transposed to an Old Indian line. Geoffrey James was next to finish, winning as black against an English set up. Last to finish was Brian Denman drawing in a Sicilian against Oliver Froom. We won this match by 3.5 points to 1.5 points.
  This last match victory enabled us to finish as runners up in Division one. Our overall performance was only slightly worse than previous years.Which was not totally disappointing. Luke Rutherford, a key player was unable to play any part in the season's campaign. We faced formidable opposition this season in a strengthened Worthing team. Both Michael Nicholas and Donald Macfarlane were to prove useful recruits to the Worthing club. Looking at the positives the club gained a strong new player in Simon Wilks. His results this season were very encouraging. On paper we were perhaps a little weaker than last season, but we still threatened for first place. In previous years, this season's
performance from the club, might have clinched the title. This season however it proved to be not quite enough. A strong Worthing side ran out winners and i think justly deserve their title.

Tough match for first team against Worthing 1

Last Thursday we entertained a strong Worthing side in the Mid-Sussex League. The Worthing juggernaut had been mowing down all the opposition this season sometimes by a large margin and we knew that we would face a stern test. Worthing were without Donald Macfarlane for the match, but they had a good substitute in Peter Larwood.

Geoffrey James was our best player on the night and he won a positional game against Chris Jones. The other game to finish that evening saw Paul Batchelor lose against Peter Larwood.

That left three unfinished games which all ended in draws. David Graham missed a win against me and Mike Nicholas appeared to be much better at one time against Simon Wilks. John Henshaw's game against Keith Homeyard was the last to be declared drawn. The two players had previously only played each other once and that was as long as 39 years ago!

The match was therefore drawn, though we would have to admit that, if Worthing had taken their chances, we would have lost. We have now 6.5 points out of 8, while Worthing have the same number of points from 7 games. Our last match is against Eastbourne, but, even if we run out winners, we are unlikely to win the league.

First team win against Horsham 1

Last Tuesday we gained an excellent 3.5 to 1.5 win against Horsham first team. Horsham has a vibrant club, which can always be relied upon to provide stern opposition. Wins were obtained by Paul and me, while Simon, Geoffrey and John drew their games. This means that we have now won five and drawn two of our seven games. Although this is a good sequence of results, it has been eclipsed by the performances of the strong Worthing team, who have won every match so far. We play Worthing next week which match could decide the league. However, unfortunately it is likely that matters are not entirely within our hands and, even if we were to win our last two matches, we might still miss out on retaining our title.

1st team wins against Horsham 2

Yesterday we won our Mid-Sussex League fixture against Horsham 2 by the score of 3.5 to 1.5. 14 year old Callum Brewer made his debut for the first team and gained an impressive win. John and Paul also did well to win. I drew my game and Geoffrey lost. This means that we have now won four and drawn two of our six games. To stand a chance of retaining our league title we would probably have to win all three of our remaining matches and this involves playing against some very strong opposition.

Brighton reach the final of the McArthur Cup

Yesterday we travelled to Haywards Heath to play our game in the semi-final of the McArthur Cup. Last week we had drawn with our opponents in the Mid-Sussex League, but this time we recorded a 4-2 win in the six board competition. Wins were obtained by Simon, Geoffrey and Paul. John and I drew our games while Chris lost. We now play the winners of Horsham and Hastings in the final.

A draw for the first team against Haywards Heath 1

Just as in our match at Hastings last weekend we struggled to make an impression against Haywards Heath first team. Wins were obtained by John and Paul and losses by Simon and Geoffrey. My own game ended in a draw. This means that we have four points out of five in the league, but we need to improve rapidly to stand a chance of winning the competition. We do it all again against Haywards Heath in the McArthur Cup next week, when the match will be played over six boards.

A draw for first team against Hastings 1

Last Saturday we travelled down to Hastings for a Mid-Sussex League match against old rivals Hastings. Like last season the match ended in a draw. Hastings were without Bernard Cafferty who is ill. I myself played against Francis Rayner, a Welsh international, and declined an offer of a draw after about twenty moves, when I was pressing for an advantage. After the match I greatly regretted that I had not accepted the offer as a horrendous move of mine about ten moves later completely compromised my position after which my opponent won efficiently. Simon fell victim to the experienced Howard Tebbs, who played a fine game. Howard's London System has given him a lot of success against strong players in particular. On board three Geoffrey played what was probably his best game this season as he won against promising junior Ollie Willson after establishing a strong bind on the position from the opening. Paul came up against the experienced John Sugden and at the end of the game had a slightly worse position, though the blocked nature of the pieces resulted in a draw. John Henshaw won against Paul Kelly in a game in which one side of the board was completely blocked for a while. I was dreading that the other side of the board might also be blocked (!), but John did well to turn his extra space into a win. This means that we have so far recorded three wins and a draw in our four matches.

Change of result

I recently reported on Brighton 1's game against Hastings 2 and gave the result as 3-2 to the Brighton team. After the match it was discovered that Hastings had accidentally fielded an ineligible player in their team. As a result Brighton's win has now been changed to the score of 3.5 to 1.5.

Narrow win for Brighton 1 against Hastings 2

Last Thursday our first team was involved in a close match against a resolute Hastings second team. Four of the games ended up as draws and it was left to Simon Wilks to gain the all important win against a very experienced opponent. Like our last match against Lewes we scraped a 3-2 win. This means that we have won our first three matches, but it would appear that we must generally play better than this, if we are to stand a chance of retaining our title.

Hard-earned win for first team at Lewes

Last Tuesday our first team travelled to Lewes for a Mid-Sussex League match. Our hosts were without their first three nominated players including Dominic Lawson, the new ECF president. However, the match was very close and most of our players struggled to make an impact. In the end we scraped through 3-2. Wins were obtained by John, Simon and me while Paul and Geoffrey lost. A difficult match was followed by a difficult journey back. When we reached the outskirts of Lewes, we found that the road to Brighton was blocked. This meant that we had to take a long detour and we travelled north of the Downs through Ditchling. Normally there would have been some nice scenery to observe, but it was dark and the roads were wet. However, as we climbed over Ditchling Beacon there was a good view of the lights of the AMEX stadium in the distance.

Good start to the season for Brighton 1

Last night we won 3.5 to 1.5 in our home fixture against Crowborough 1. The visitors were without county president, Robert Elliston, but we are still missing our normal top board player, Luke Rutherford, through illness. We welcomed to the side a strong player in Simon Wilks. Wins were obtained by Geoffrey James and Paul Batchelor, and John Henshaw, Simon Wilks and I drew our games. This was a good start to the season, but many hard matches lie ahead.

Paul plays a captain's part.

Paul Batchelor has shown great loyalty to the club by serving as first team captain for nearly fifteen years. It is no easy job to be a team captain. Boards have to be arranged, clocks set at the correct rate, refreshments arranged and teams selected. If any incident occurs in a match, the captain has to be on the spot even if he/she is concentrating on his/her own game. Paul is also the county U-180 captain, a post which he first undertook in 2009. As his grading is nowadays over 180, he cannot play in this team, although he still organises the players. Paul also helps Dix Roberts, the Open team captain, and plays himself in the first team. The improvement in his play is reflected in the fact that he won the Brighton CC Championship in 2010. In the recent McArthur Cup final against Hastings Paul played a captain's part by winning on board three against Ollie Willson, a very promising junior who won the British U-16 Championship last year. Paul had a won game by about move fifteen and he did not allow his opponent to obtain any significant counterplay. I enclose the score of this excellent win

Play Online Chess

[Event "McArthur Cup final"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "10.05.2014"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Paul A Batchelor"]
[Black "Ollie Willson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {The Veresov System named after Bussian master, Gavriil Veresov, who lived from 1912 to 1979. The opening is less explored than the regular Queen's Gambit lines.} d5 3. Bg5 Bf5 {A playable move, though 3...Nbd7 is the main line.} 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 c6 6. Nge2 Nd7 7. Ng3 Bg6
8. h4 h6 {This move gives White space on the king's side. 8...h5 is better and if 9 Be2 Qb6 10 Rb1 0-0-0. White could then capture the 'h' pawn, though Black would have compensation because of his play down that file.} 9. h5 Bh7 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Qa5 12. O-O Nb6 {12...0-0-0 is better. After the move played the knight and queen get in each other's way.} 13. b3 {Most strong players would make this move, but better is 13 a3. If then 13...Nc4 14 b4 (14 b3 also gives White a good game) Qc7 15 e4 0-0-0 16 b5 Nb2 17 Qe2 Qa5 18 Qg4+ Kb8 19 Nge2 Na4 20 Qh3 is a complex line which gives White a strong initiative.} Bb4 {Not the best. 13...Ba3 would stop a3 possibilities for White and allow Black to castle safely on the king's side.} 14. Nce2
Qb5 {A mistake as the queen is now shut out of the game for a number of moves. Better was 14...0-0.} 15. Qf5 {White is probably now in a winning position as Black cannot castle on the king's side because of Qg4.} Nd7 {Planning to castle on the queen's side, but the king will not be safe there. 15...Ba3 was to be considered followed by Rg8 and Kf8.} 16. Qg4 {An amazing computer suggestion is 16 Rfb1 planning a3 and c4. There does not seem to be any good line against this.} Bf8 17. Rfc1 O-O-O 18. c4 dxc4 19. bxc4 Qg5 20. Qf3
g6 21. Nf4 Re8 {21..gxh5 gives more practical chances.} 22. c5 {A fine move restricting Black's counterplay.} f5 23. Rab1 {More decisive might have been 23 Qd1 and if 23...Rxe3 24 fxe3 Qxg3 25 Qb3 Bxc5 26 dxc5 Ne5 27 e4 Qxf4 28 Rab1 winning.} Qf6 {Black might have done better with 23...Qg4 exchanging queens but losing a pawn.} 24. Nd3 {Better 24 Qd1 followed by Qb3 or Qa4.} Qe6 {Black might have done better with 24..f4 giving up a pawn.} 25. Rb3 {The obvious move and clearly good. It is possible that 25 Rc3 was slightly better putting one rook on the 'a' file and other on the 'b' file. If 25...Qxa2 26 Qd1 is unpleasant for Black.} Nb8 {Passive, but it is difficult to find a better move. Perhaps 25...Kc7 could have been tried to transfer a rook to b8. White could force the king back by 26 Qf4+, but the queen has better squares than f4.} 26. Rcb1 Re7
27. Nf4 Qf6 28. d5 {A good move but 28 Qe2 followed by 29 Qb2 might have been more decisive.} Rg8 29. d6 Rd7 30. Nd3 {30 e4 might have been a little better.} Na6 {A mistake which gives White a quick win. Better was 30...Qe6.} 31. Rxb7 Rxb7 32. Qxc6+ Rc7 33.
d7+ Kd8 34. Qxf6+ 1-0

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Brighton retain the McArthur Cup trophy

Last Saturday the club's first team defeated Hastings 4-2 to hold the trophy for the sixth consecutive year. A few days ago we had received a setback when we heard that our top board player, Luke Rutherford, was ill and unable to take part in the match. We wish Luke a speedy recovery from his illness. When the match got under way, Hastings were unfortunate to lose on board two by default. We do not know why their player did not turn up, but this win took some of the pressure off the Brighton players. Draws were obtained by John, Mustapha, Chris and me and Paul gained an excellent win. Earlier in the year the club won the Mid-Sussex League first division and it has been a good season for the first team. Thanks are due to Paul for organising the side.

McArthur Cup final preview

125 years ago Lewes defeated Horsham in the first ever McArthur Cup final. The competition, which began in the 1888-89 season, was named after Sgt. Major William McArthur of the Royal Sussex Regiment. He had been a founder member of the Chichester CC in 1877 and was a keen composer of chess problems as well as a prominent correspondence player. He had been a secretary of the Sussex Chess Association and following his death in 1888 a halt was called to competitive chess in the county for about a month as a mark of respect. Next Saturday, 10th May, Brighton play Hastings at Hove to decide who will win the trophy. In the early years of the competition Brighton and Hastings clubs were not allowed to field players of county strength and this led to a number of the smaller clubs lifting the trophy. It was not until 1965 that the competition was opened to all players and from that time the winners have usually been Brighton or Hastings. Teams from Brighton and Hastings first started playing each other in 1882 and few years have passed without such a match taking place. In the first World War difficulties in travel meant that Brighton and Hastings players were forced into playing each other by correspondence. In World War II Brighton and Hastings managed to play several friendly matches despite the fact that the Hastings CC suffered war damage. We welcome our visitors from Hastings next Saturday and the usual close match is expected. The teams are well-matched and it would be very difficult to predict the result.

First team wins MId-Sussex League championship

Last night the first team drew its match against Hastings 1, which was enough for us to win the first division championship for the third year in succession. The team finished with 8 points out of 9 with Hastings 1 coming second with 7 points. Not long after the start of the match a mobile phone belonging to Hastings player, Paul Kelly, went off and according to the rules John Henshaw could have claimed a win. However, he sportingly declined to do so and after a few more moves won the game. John has had a particularly successful season in the league scoring seven wins and two draws in nine games. After John's win,  draws were obtained by Paul, Geoffrey and me before Luke lost a complex game against Welsh international player, Francis Rayner.

Teams in the first division of the Mid-Sussex League compete for the Mowatt Cup. Godfrey F Mowatt, a preacher and Justice of Peace (c. 1874-1958), presented the trophy for the first Mid-Sussex League in 1923. The original competition, which came to an end in 1939, was for clubs centred around Haywards Heath. The league was revived in the 1967-68 season and at first followed the pattern of the first competition with clubs in the middle of Sussex taking part. Grading restrictions were also applied in the early years. Gradually the league allowed clubs from outside the central area of Sussex to take part and from 1993 it was clearly established that clubs could field their strongest teams. Another barrier was taken away in 2011, when Hastings (and presumably other clubs situated a good distance from the middle of the county) were allowed to play home fixtures. The league is thriving nowadays with four divisions and includes clubs from all parts of the county with the exception of the extreme south western area.

First team defeats Horsham 1

Last night the first team won 3-2 against Horsham 1 in the Mid-Sussex League. Wins were obtained by John and me and John conjured up a pretty mating position. Geoffrey and Paul both obtained strong positions, but were thwarted by resourceful defending by their opponents and drew their games. Luke lost against the very strong player, Gavin Lock.

This win means that we are now one match point and three game points ahead of Hastings 1 and an interesting match between the clubs is expected next Thursday. If my maths is correct, Hastings must beat us 4-1 to tie first with us and 4.5 to 0.5 to become outright champions. Although we are ahead on points, we must not become complacent as Hastings are very worthy opponents.  In 2009 they needed to win 5-0 in their last match in the league to share the first place and they achieved just that.

As I said previously, spectators are welcome. They must, however, be willing to be silent in the match room and to ensure that doors are shut firmly on entering and leaving the room.

First team progress report

The first team have played two matches since my posting last week and these have involved travelling to both Crowborough and Horsham. Our Mid-Sussex League match against Crowborough 1 resulted in a 3.5 to 1.5 win for us. Our hosts were missing three strong players and wins were obtained by John and me, while Luke, Geoff and Paul drew. This win gives us a total of 6.5 points out of 7, but Hastings 1's 4-1 win against Lewes 1 means that they are still only half a point behind us. Our last two games are at home against Horsham 1 and Hastings 1 later this month and it is going to be a tough battle to win the first division championship.

Our other match was played against Horsham in the semi-final of the McArthur Cup, the Sussex knock-out competition which was first won by Lewes in 1889. Because the matches are decided over six boards and we had only one car, it was necessary for one player to travel by train. Thanks are due to Paul and Luke for sharing this duty. Horsham are a very strong team and we were at one time in a difficult position. After Luke drew his game and I lost, the remaining four players knuckled down to the challenge and all did well to win. The winners were Geoff, Paul, John and Mustapha, who all faced strong opposition. The 4.5 to 1.5 win means that we face Hastings in the final who defeated Haywards Heath by the same score.

All to play for

The first team now faces a tough set of fixtures within a short space of time. Last season we won the McArthur Cup and the Mid-Sussex League first division, but we shortly face challenges in both competitions. In the league we have 5.5 out of 6 and are in the lead, but our last three fixtures are against Crowborough 1 away and Horsham 1 and Hastings 1 at home. In the McArthur Cup we have drawn Horsham away in the semi-final in a competition which is played over six boards. The winners meet either Hastings or Haywards Heath in the final. Spectators are always welcome, but please make sure that doors are shut tightly when entering and leaving rooms. It would be very unfair if a player in time trouble were to lose their game because of noise in the room.