Hoping to start a series of these; a lot of our members like to gad about the place; if you can get a chess theme into your travels then please send me a photo. See below for a shot of Nigel G. He recently went on a European tour with his beloved. “Just by chance” they stopped in Budapest when a certain chess event was happening. Mrs G was thrilled to see more chess, apparently.
Two of the three Summer KO Cups were decided last night at St Mary’s. Bart Fajfer beat Gee Cross in the Open KO. Gee tried to confuse him with some annoying c3 sicilian stuff, but Bart’s Karpov-like sense of danger got him through the opening safely. He then got the better of the middlegame, winning a pawn and then even trapping Gee’s knight. Gee kept him sweating, as Bart had hardly any time left, but eventually she had to resign.
The Major KO final was more chaotic. Oskar Jarzynski beat Finlay Charbonneau. When I first checked this one out Oskar was an exchange up but Finaly had a strong pawn centre. Finlay then won a rook , but reports from the front say that Oskar’s 2 outside passed pawns became unstoppable. Well done to Oskar, he just keeps on getting better.
Below is a shot of the Bart, going over his game. Oskar legged it too fast to get him on camera.
As Martin Fisher asked me; where else can you spend £30 and get a guarantee of 12 months joy and misery? Join Crewe Chess Club now!
At this time of year the nation eagerly awaits the start of the new NSDCA chess season. It is now an established tradition that this joyous time is marked in our club by the Time and Point Handicap Competition, an event in which, just like in life in general, time is the great leveller. In this “swiss” contest the higher rated players get less time, and some of the lower rated players are given extra points. If you have a couple of hours to spare, and need a full explanation, then Secretary Hulme will gladly go on with himself about the intricacies of the handicap system; enough to say that he has designed things so that everyone has a chance of winning the tournament. Thanks again to Dave for his hard work
Last night saw the 10th annual event take place with a record number of 36 players competing for the coveted Les Hall Memorial Trophy.
Those of you who follow the news will know that Lukasz has won this competition for the last two years, and many feared that he might win it again, and run off with the Les Hall Memorial Trophy forever. Nod to Les here, one of the club’s founders, who hopefully will have been been looking down on us fondly, from the great chess board in the sky.
This year as 36 players battled it out, and as is not unusual, a playoff had to be arranged to settle matters. Dave Lambton overcame Pawel Stanny, and so wins his first club competition. We are all chuffed for him, especially me, who he absolutely battered in our game, The photo shows the playoff final about to start.
David becomes the 9th different winner as the handicap format allows every member to have a good chance of winning. This is underlined by the fact we had 9 players in with a chance of winning as we entered the final Round (No. 5) with their ratings ranging from 2139 to 1022. At the end of round 4 we had three players on 4.5 pts ! (with their handicaps), three more on 4/4 and two on 3/4 plus a 1 point handicap and one more with 2/4 plus a 2 point handicap. Spare a thought for Martin Burns as the only player to score 5/5, wasn’t enough to win the trophy as David battered him (Martin’s own words) in the play-offs before David faced Pawel in another Armageddon show-down.
In the foreground of the second photo Richard Lee tries to pinch Chairman Price’s wine. Play is about to start. Another great evening was had by all at St Mary’s.
A quick reminder; the Leyland Congress starts next Saturday, 24 August. This is a 3 day, 6 round, long play event; so that should satisfy chess addicts out there.
(the interesting bit of the AGM).
Lukasz Michalek won the Les Hall memorial trophy. Lukasz is the first player to win this handsome piece of silverware twice.
Steve Ballantyne’s team won the NSDCA Division 4 title by a mile. Steve suprised us all when he presented each player on his team with a trophy. Nice touch Steve. My team got nowt from me.
Dave Lambton captained the “D” team to collect the NSCDA Division 2 trophy.
The “D”s looking a bit chuffed. On a sad note, the club will no longer be uplifted by the ready smile of Joe Moxon, on the right of this picture, as he is going back to Nottingham.
The “A” team thought they had won the league, but they hadn’t. Crewe did however win the Open Cup for the first time; see below as modelled by the team captain.
Jamie Roberts collected the Junior Player of the Year, was part of the Division 4 winning team, and he won Club Individual Division 3 title. Lucky his dad was there to help him carry all the trophies home.
Welcome newcomer, Finlay C, won his first club competition; the Individual u1600 Rapidplay.
Julian; 2023 Summer U1600 KO winner, and plum farmer.
There have been calls for an investigation into how the next one happened. Chairman Price won the Club Individual Division 2 title. Did money change hands?
Aaannd the big one…. Harry won the the club championship, again.
Crewe and Wallasey compete for the WC Cup once a year. As usual, the secretary has plenty to say before any match starts. The players wait patiently…maybe.
Opening moves. In the background you can see Gerald getting the butties laid out. There was a generous spread; all organised by Chairman Price.
Martin “sounds a bit like Fischer” Frisher played a belter of a game. When we expand our limited IT skills we might get to put the game on here. Until then you will just have to believe me when I say it was good. If you want to know anything about Fischer, just ask our Martin F. (he is the one in the black jacket)
Chinenye in action. Unfortunately he lost his game; but that shirt is gorgeous.
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Jamie Roberts hung on for a draw against Mark Burgess.
Simon Layhe drew with Rick Purcell. Here is Simon being watched by his dad. Hard to say if Nev approves of Simon’s position or not.
Bit of a dodgy picture of the team captains, Dave and Alan. They kept dancing about, and I am no David Bailey. Hope you get the idea that they had a great evening. We all appreciate their efforts in organising such a special event.
The 2024 WC Cup winning team…Wallasey. Well done!
In the 2023-24 season Harry Gardiner won the club championship for the second time. He has set a record that may prove hard to beat; he scored an amazing 10 points out of a possible 11; winning nine games and drawing two. Carmel, Cyrus and Dave Lambton trailed behind in joint second on 7.5 points; H beat them all on the way to victory. Harry is pictured above, getting ready for a game at St Mary’s, while Dave L looks on.