Thank you Santa! I take it the clocks came from the best batch.

Clocks !

Looks like Santa has made a delivery of Two New DGT 2010 Chess Clocks over the Christmas period. Team Captains take note. Maybe make use of.

Hastings PS

I've added to the Hastings summary on the News page to include Chris Lowe's result in the New Year Afternoon A tournament. Given there were fewer of us at Hastings this year compared to some previous years these were very good results.

Tournament Deadline

I would like to remind all players of the tournament deadline on 31st July 2012.
Last year due to various circumstances several players wished to finish games in August.
This puts extra pressure on the committee who have to present prizes and engraved cups at the AGM in early September.
Players often seem to delay their matches intending to finish more at the latter end of the season. Unfortunately they then find that suitable players are away, or busy with other games.
Ideally we should try and have about 50% of our games played by the end of February.
Last year we achieved some excellent completions. e.g PK had 96% of games played.
It would be great if a fair comparison could be achieved in each of the tournaments.I suggest one of oue New Year resolutions should be " Get pushing those pieces".

January round of Club Championship

Please note this is the final month for playing the first round proper in the Club Championship - please prioritise these games so that the round can be finished by the end of January. The one outstanding game from the earlier preliminary round is due to be played this Saturday. See Club Championship page.

..... and a Ha... Hastings New Year!

Some good results at the Hastings Weekend tournaments with Paul Batchelor winning joint first in the Major, only dropping half a point, and Duncan Badham sharing second place in the Minor on 4/5. Congratulations to both. And still time to catch three days of live commentary on the Masters from Chris Ward.

No Chess Club on Christmas Eve

We are open as usual on Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons over Christmas and New Year, with the exception of this Saturday afternoon, Christmas Eve. (Any special holiday closures can also always be found on the How to Find Us page of the website.)

Merry Christmas !!

Daily lift to Hastings Chess Congress

Hi All,
just thought i'd let it be known to anyone signed up for the Hastings Congress (or still to sign up!) that i will be driving to and from daily. So if you are interested in the congress, and want a lift please let me know, the more the better. Just contact me and we can arrange pick up and drop off points to convenience.
Terry
07949203591

London Classic continued.......

Yes, it was another brilliant event. Carl and I were there on Sunday - lots of people - you never know who you might meet! 

London Classic

Just thought I'd mention that I visited Olympia for this on Monday and it was great, for £15 it's a bargain.  Get to sit in an auditorium and watch some of the worlds best players then once your done trying to figure out what's going on in their games you can breeze along to the commentary room and listen to a several GMs trying to figure out what's going on!  When I was there, Vladimir Kramnik was sitting out and I had the chance to ask him a question from the audience about chess computers, he answered fully and eloquently. In fact I've had the chance to listen to 'Big Vlad' both times I've been to the Classic and on both occasions have been impressed by what he has to say and by his sense of humour, he seems like a really nice guy.

As I am at work in London today I may pop along if I finish early enough, though I expect it will be busier on a weekend.  If not I am considering going up on Monday for the last day.  If you can't make it, they've been having  a few problems with their internet connection but when accessible the coverage is great, you can see it by clicking the link on the London Classic web-site which goes to the livestream link.

A crucial win in a vital match in the league

Well done everyone Saturday afternoon.Great wins to Luke and Geoffrey. Also solid draws with black by John and Brian. I won the toss but that may have been my greatest contribution in this one.The war was won but my battle lost. Well done everyone. Keep it up!

Carlsen v Howell

Following on from the last post, this is the 'game of the day' from the first round of the London Chess Classic - the only game that didn't end in a draw. How many of us remember David Howell at our last venue, kneeling on the chair to reach the far side of the board and moving faster than the eye could see? Driving seasoned old hands to grumpy despair at congresses?



I might be tempted to go for a day - although Monday and Saturday are out.

London Classic 2011

Starts tomorrow (Sat 3rd), press conference in an hour followed by a game against Twitter followers, not sure how that's going to pan out! Anyway, this is an historic event with four of Englands strongest GMs taking part in a field containg (gulp) four 2800-rated players, thanks goodness Nakamura is there to dilute the talent ;-) He is 'only' currently rated 2758 !!
David Howell is studying at University and his chess seems to have been suffering, it's a shame Matthew Sadler can't sub in, but maybe that's harsh, I hope Howell proves me wrong.

The live event was brilliant the time I went in 2009 and the online coverage is great, possibly only bettered by the US Chess Championship in my opinion, but this year the London Classic has a different format with a nine players, one of whom sits out each round to join the commentary, so a new level of excellence  is to be expected.

I keep changing my mind, but at the moment I am planning to use an afternoon off on Monday to attend the event, and may well be attending next Saturday (10th) as I am in London for work anyway. I'm vaguely considering Sunday 11th and Monday 12th but I expect two days will be enough.  I should be at the BHCC playing a match tomorrow if anyone would like to discuss meeting up, or just e-mail or call me on the day if you have my details.

Twice-yearly grading

The ECF is changing to a twice-yearly grading system. The end of the current grading period will be the end of December for grades which will be published in late January. Grades will then be published every six months, the next period ending at the end of June for grades due at the end of July. So, a month to go to either qualify for - a total of nine graded games - or improve your grade for 2012. All new members acquiring a first-time grade will be added to the Members page of the website.

PS See the News page for a short report on the e2e4 Brighton Congress at the weekend.

Bobby Fischer documentary

On BBC4 (tv) this Wednesday (November 30) at 9.00pm is a documentary about Bobby Fischer.I am unsure if it is the one released in cinemas recently.

Bursting!

There's a slight chance that bridge may overflow next Thursday and require some upstairs space. There's also a fourth team home match against Horsham. It should be OK but be prepared if you're arranging to play a club tournament game. (Of which not a great many are being played at the moment, especially in view of the numbers attending! Both main rooms were being used for friendlies and analysis last night, as well as a first team match in the match room. Perhaps we're just having more fun!!)

e2e4 Brighton Congress 25th-27th November

Don't forget the e2e4 Brighton Congress at the Old Ship Hotel is on the weekend after next. A dozen members are already down to play.

mscl div3 / horsham 5 v. b+h tm4

hi all, carl here. team 4 played a match versus horsham 5 on monday. the result was a draw, 2.5 to 2.5. in grading terms this result may be seen as a little disapointing, but i have to say the horsham team played very well. nerves on both sides were jangling with the score on 2 wins each, the last board to come in being an agreed draw in a very double edged position. i'd like to thank aurthur, robin, kevin and bob for making the effort to play in an away match on a cold, wet and dark night. well done and big thanks.

Prepare to be on camera tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the day for Britain in a Day, a BBC 2 project to be screened pre-Olympics next summer. You can take your camera to the club tomorrow, record your day and then submit your video to britaininaday@youtube.com.

In addition, please give a warm welcome to Javier Douglas, BBC director/producer/cameraman, whom I have invited to visit the club tomorrow to do some of the filming himself. (I won't be there tomorrow as playing in Horsham.) He is local and also genuinely interested in chess, so with a bit of luck we may get some of the club included in the final documentary. He intends to arrive sometime after 3:00 pm and will be filming discreetly with your permission. If you see this before tomorrow afternoon please tell others to expect him when you arrive at the club. Thanks.

Extra space and phones

Excellent news regarding the new playing area.

Regarding phones, thanks for the clarification Sue. Perhaps it is worth sending Eastbourne a gentle note? Also, maybe team captains should make a clear announcement before the start of the game emphasising that 'silent' mode may not be good enough.