League changes this season

Hello all,

In an effort to provide more information, attract new members, share experiences, perhaps entertain and, who knows, even to learn more about the game, I will update the blog more regularly while Anthony Giles will be posting on Facebook. I like writing so if there's a game you'd like to share or anything else which may be of interest, I'd be happy to help putting it up here.

The MSCL (Mid-Sussex Chess League) kicks off in October, with the 3rd team taking on the 4th team on the 18th and the 1st team taking on the 2nd on 25th. This season there are 3 divisions instead of 4 because the number of teams has fallen from 34 to 33 (despite Brighton now adding a fifth team), meaning that each team will play 10 matches instead of 7 or 8.

A change in the time control is the other main change, with 65mins + 30secs increment now being the default, instead of the previous 80mins + 10secs. 14 of the 26 MSCL AGM delegates voted for this in order to increase the number of completed match games. It also means that players are obliged to keep score throughout, helping to avoid disputes and validate draw claims (repeated positions).

The disadvantage is that games can go on for longer and therefore clubs can impose a 60 move limit to avoid late finishes. Alternative time controls are possible if both players agree and note also that the time control now has to be added onto match scoresheets, which are downloadable from MSCL site download here

MSCL provides the following table to indicate game length times:

All the best for the new season!

Home win against Dieppe

Our twelfth match against Dieppe resulted in another home win for Brighton against some stiff opposition, especially at the top where Steve Newman faced IM Kamran Shirazi for a closely fought game. Afterwards in-depth analysis, refreshments and chat were enjoyed as we renewed our acquaintance with L'Echiquier Dieppois.

The annual fixtures began in 2007 when we travelled to Dieppe. The 'score' now stands at Brighton 6 Dieppe 5 with one draw. A big thank you to all those who took part to keep this tradition going and ensure we had an opponent for every one of our French visitors, including Anthony who acted as reserve and was invaluable as help.

DIEPPE	elo		BRIGHTON	elo	ECF
Kamran Shirazi  IM	2329	1-0	Steve Newman	2072	183
Christophe Ferrand	2051	1-0	Paul Batchelor	2012	175
Olivier Delabarre	2003	0-1	Joe Everett	1967	169
François Burdet	1964	0-1	Oli Weiss	1840	152
Cyril Hameau	1783	1-0	Will Wright	1757	141
Marianne Barzilay	1507	1-0	Michael Cain	1735	138
Guillaume Mathys	1384	0-1	Dona Strauss	1682	131
Frederic Gault	1380	0-1	Rob Counsell	1675	130
Pierre Robichon	1346	½-½	Arthur de Silver	1660	128
Jean-Marc Lacire	1399	0-1	Susan Chadwick	1577	117
Caroline Auboiron	1399	0-1	Louis Ferron	1562	115
Noé Mendy	1091	½-½	Kevin Gee	1540	112
Agnès Eden	1084	0-1	Andrew Caswill	1457	101
		5-8

Club closed Saturday 22nd September

Please note on Saturday 22nd we are hosting the annual match against Dieppe. This means the club will be full and silent all afternoon and non-members should stay away. If members want to drop in and spectate they can but there'll be no casual play.

Welcome to the new season: 2018/19

The Junior Club restarts on Thursday 20th September - please see Juniors tab above for details.

The Senior Club AGM is tonight at 8:00 pm. Subscriptions are due and new members are welcome.

Weald Congress

Don't forget the Weald Congress next weekend if you feel all this sun and football is getting too much - although there's a nice barbecue and football between rounds (the running around kind).

Brighton and Hove Chess Club Summer Tournament in progress

Library

Please could you borrow no more than one book at a time. The loan period has now been extended to 6 weeks.

I have contacted some members concerning overdue books - please could you look them out and bring them back (and write the date in the loans book). Sadly, the club has lost many books over the years. I suspect that members forget they have borrowed them and then leave the club, move away etc.

Donations are welcome. Please leave books on the top shelf in the library.

Anthony

Junior Club

The Junior Club won't be running over the Easter holidays but will start up again on Thursday 19th April from 6:00 - 7:00 pm as usual. We are still open for new junior members - just come along at 5:45 to register and pay the £10 summer joining fee. Coaching is £3 per session in addition.

Easter Saturday

Open as usual at 2:00 pm until 6:00.

Dave Springgay

The funeral of former club member, Dave Springgay, is being held at Worthing Crematorium on Wednesday 7th March at 9 a.m. Players of my generation will remember how in the early 1960s Dave was the best player in Sussex. He won the club championship in 1953 at the age of 16 and his first county championship in 1958 when he was 21. Altogether he won the club championship four times and the county championship three times. In 1961 he played in the British Championship at Aberystwyth and came tenth equal. He gave up chess at a relatively young age, but has continued to live in Brighton. 

Charles Holcombe

Charles Holcombe, who was the club secretary for many years, passed away recently. His funeral is on Friday 26th January. Geoff has the details for all those interested in attending.

Christmas Opening and Events

We will be open on all the Thursdays and Saturdays over the Christmas period as usual, however the Bridge Club will be closed on Saturday 23rd so we will be open strictly between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00 pm - tournament games still possible with a prompt start.

Hastings International starts on the 28th and goes on until the weekend events of the 6th/7th January when no doubt some of us will be putting in an appearance, if not before. If you can't wait that long or need a last minute 2017 grading booster there's also the Coulsdon Christmas Congress next weekend.

Brighton and Hove Juniors debut in Lewes

Our junior team made their debut on Tuesday evening with a match against Lewes which they drew 2-2  - an excellent start considering the average grade was 50 against Lewes's 73. The actual results can be seen here. Our team are coached by Callum Brewer and captained at away matches by erstwhile member of the club James Rayment.

Staying up in the league and more games at home!

Congratulations to the fourth team on beating the third team last night - the exact result is still subject to some analysis. Although this might seem like bad news for the third team, it's great for the club as it increases the chances of the fourth team staying up. We would like a fifth team in the fourth division again next year - one that would give some league experience to lower graded players - but this year the fourth team will aim to pick the strongest players available in an attempt to avoid relegation.

So, what are the rest of the club going to do? We are making some changes to the internal tournaments to significantly increase the number of graded games you can play at the club throughout the year. There will never be more than one league match taking place on a Thursday this season (sole exception - 22nd March) and when there is a league match the whole of the through room will be available for the match and tournament games. This will allow more graded games to be played on a Thursday as well as a Saturday.

We have increased the number of internal tournaments and reduced the time available to complete them in - this is to make tournament play a more regular reason to visit the club rather than on the odd occasion you have something arranged. In future we may bring in internal fixtures - as many other clubs do - but for now we're leaving it to you to get through the games you've committed to. (Although internal fixtures might sound too overbearing they might actually lead to a simpler life!)

The other element we're seriously trying is to offer you the chance of playing in a second tournament after Christmas - a place in the tournament above the one you're in - if you can demonstrate your commitment to playing regularly enough to finish both tournaments before the end of April. This earlier finish date is so we can wind up the tournaments in time to try something else over the summer - when our membership has shifted slightly and we find new members with nothing to do and regular members having lost their unplayed opponents. So please expect to see tournament gaps being filled and your opponents increasing before the end of the season.

All this represents quite a shift in thinking if people take it on board and commit to playing more games at home - if they want to of course. It's part of the overall aim of attracting and planning for new members and getting some of our Thursday juniors playing in the senior tournaments. It's hard to get the balance right but we hope anyone wanting to play at a higher level than they're currently placed will jump at the opportunity to double their games and play some different people. There are still two whole months left to play half a tournament and qualify for two - for more details see the Tournaments tabs above.

Dieppe Vs Brighton Chess Club Match Report 2017

We had a fantastic trip to Dieppe this year, although we lost the match 6 to 5. The team played very well considering Brighton was outgraded on every board by some margin.

We had such a fun trip, i really hope this continues for many years to come. A big thanks to the French team who treated us so well, not to mention getting in there cars and coming to pick us all up after the taxi company failed to show up...

Also everyone enjoyed the Doubles speed chess match on the ferry and congrats to Mikolia winning the chocs.

Anyway here are a few pics and video clips;

Brighton Chess Club vs Dieppe Pictures

Video Links Below

1 - Before the match

2. Meet the Team

3. The Match

4. Congrats to the French

5. Simon vs Callum Bullet Game

Match Result

Thanks

Michael

Successful launch of B&H Junior Chess

Brighton and Hove Juniors got off to an excellent start last night with ten juniors divided between two coaching groups. Callum's advanced group contained some familiar faces and Anna's 'beginners' were already well into the game. Their ages ranged from seven to twelve. We have advertised at Sussex Junior Chess but not yet in schools so we're hoping our numbers will soon be up to twenty. Anyone interested should come at 5:45 pm on Thursdays while we still have spaces. Girls too please - it's not all boys - the future is different! Callum and Anna are both excellent and experienced coaches with grades of 192 and 180 ECF. It's also looking very positive for a B&H junior team entry in the MSCL Rapidplay League this season.

Please see the Juniors tab above for more information.

Brunswick Square 2017 Photos

Here are the Chess photos from this years 2017 Brunswick Festival.

 

Click This link to see the 2017 Brunswick Square Photos

Thank you to all those who came along to support the club.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the Ferry in a few weeks time.

All the best

Michael

Brighton Chess Club Promotional Day This Saturday at Brunswick Square.

Hi Brighton Chess Club Members,

I am  pleased to tell you about an up coming exciting event "Brunswick Square Chess and Brighton Chess Club Promotional Day" on Saturday August 19th from 12 oclock to 6pm located at the prestigious Brunswick Square, Hove. 

Please come down and support your club.

If you are interested in seeing some photos;

 

Click Here to See Pictures

*We have been allocated a space in Brunswick Square as part of the popular Brunswick Square Festival.

  Click Here to See map

 

Additionally the event organizer has kindly donated 6 large tables and chairs which we can use to play chess on during the day.

 

*** All you have todo is come down and play chess with each other and the general public. ****

Thanks for reading this and will be great to see you between 12 and 6pm on Saturday the 19th August 2017 at the Brunswick Square, Hove.

Thank You

 

Michael

Mobile:  07976 739911

BHCC AGM Thursday 7th September at 8:00 pm

The BHCC AGM will be held on Thursday 7th September at 8:00 pm at the club. New members can join and subscriptions are due for the new season.

Internal Tournament Winners 2017

The final results of the internal tournaments are now up on the Tournament pages. The Tasker Tankard was won by newcomer Joe Reid on 5/6, the Plummer Knight was extraordinarily close and resulted in a three-way tie between Brian Izzard, Paolo Ortolani and Anthony Stanton on 4.5/8, and the Club Championship was won by a junior, Mikolaj Rogacewicz, on an amazing 8.5/9. Congratulations to all!

Here is Mikolaj's win against Simon Wilks with analysis by Brian Denman:

Mikołaj Rogacewicz 1-0 Simon Wilks

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 d6 8. Bd3 

Nbd7 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bh4 Qe7 11. g4 e5 12. g5 hxg5 13. Nxg5 exd4 14. O-O-O Qe5 15. 

Bh7+ Kh8 16. cxd4 cxd4 17. Rxd4 b5 18. Nf3 Qh5 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Rh4 Qxh7 21. 

Rxh7+ Nxh7 22. cxb5 Bb7 23. Qf5 Rac8+ 24. Kd2 Rc5 25. Qf4 Nf6 26. Rb1 Be4 27. 

Rb2 Rf5 28. Qh4+ Rh5 29. Qg3 Ba8 30. Ke2 Ne4 31. Qg4 g6 32. Ke1 Kg7 33. h4 f5 

34. Qf4 Rc8 35. Ng5 Nxg5 36. hxg5 Rh1+ 37. Kd2 Be4 38. f3 Rcc1 39. fxe4 Rhd1+ 

40. Ke2 Re1+ 41. Kd3 Red1+ 42. Rd2 fxe4+ 43. Qxe4 1-0

I am really impressed by your tactical attacking play in this game and you displayed excellent technique to finish him off. I am not particularly keen on his 6th move of Bc3+. Why give up a good bishop when it is not required? However, the crucial position comes on move 11 when you play the incredibly bold move of g4. Strictly speaking 11 Nd2 was probably better, but your move is difficult to defend against. On move 13 he probably should have played cxd4, and then after 14 Rg1 the position is probably about level. However, it was difficult to see this and by move 17 you have got your rook into play on the dangerous d4 square. He should probably have played 17...Qa5 when you are better, but instead 17...b5 looks like a mistake. He should perhaps have played 18...Qc5, though 19 Bf5 would have been good for you. After 18..Qh5 he may be lost, but it was not easy to convert this into a win. On move 24 your king might have been safer if you had headed for a1, but on move 25 he should have captured your pawn on b5. For the rest of the game you show good technique and keep finding good moves, though 32 Ke1 was not the best move. An excellent result, easily your best so far. Well done!

Three out of four wins for Brighton and Hove

Rob Counsell, Paul Batchelor and Paul Selby at MSCL AGM

The MSCL AGM passed off on Tuesday without much controversy. Peter Farr of the Args volunteered to take on Julie Denning's job of Fixtures Secretary so the league drew a collective sigh of relief - it will continue! Brighton and Hove picked up three division cups which were collected by the first team captain Paul Batchelor and regular supporters of the second and fourth teams, Paul Selby and Rob Counsell.