Welcome Back and New Faces
It was great to welcome 4/5 new players yesterday and to see the return of those new ones from last week. This included Lucas who came to us as a 7/8 year old in the pre-Covid days and is now 15 and a good player.
Preston, Jenson, Ritha, Lucas and Markas – we hope you enjoyed coming along to join our regulars to learn and play chess. I think we received 30 in all and it was really encouraging to see our 2nd session numbers in excess of our 10 am session.
Coaching Sessions
Tony (welcome back) took 3 of our advanced players through visualised puzzles level 1 and they all did well. We hope they use this session to practise learnings in their own games.
Paul taught the intermediate section how to defend with the black pieces against a strong central white position. Choosing the right time to equalise and pick the right moment when to attack. Much to learn…
Ian (welcome back) took the high level advanced players through the middle game, looking for weakness in the opponent’s position.
Eric went through the basics of chess with Preston (6 years old) who came for the 1st time and did well.
2nd Session
In the 2nd session Peter Nimmo came along to play William and take him through some middle game tactics. This was kindly taken over by Sergiu (Poole CC) to allow Peter to give Lucas a game.
Ian took the 2nd session intermediates (all 8) through the Sicilian Najdorf opening.
Paul took the beginners through opening basic moves and it’s great to see them progress and be so enthusiastic.
Eric reviewed a game being played by Leo and Ritha which was a good standard and ended in a draw.
Pics from Yesterday
The Art of the Draw
I would like to stress to all our players that some games are better drawn if the position is really equal and there are no more moves to make which will weaken the position. A draw sometimes is necessary. This is the beauty of chess – the continuing calculation of assessment from every single move.
Practice Makes Perfect
I also think it is important to advise all our players of the need to practise in the week. The Saturday lessons are very short and it’s a glimpse of the depth of chess. Nowadays there are so many tools to use.
Online – chess.com, lichess, chess24. All of these have basic moves and tactics at every level including puzzles and everything possible one can learn and progress with.
There are more chess books written than nearly any other subject. I am not advertising for Amazon but if you want to learn by book there are so many advertised under chess for kids and higher levels. I urge you to practise and play as much as possible.
Ladder Board Competition
We started our Ladder Board competition yesterday which will run until early December. A reminder of the rules:
Ladder Board Rules
All games to be played on the clock – 15 minute time control. 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.
It is touch and move – if you touch a piece you must move it regardless of the position.
All players are to shake hands at the beginning of the game maintaining chess etiquette. All games to be played without talking and commentary please.
Only the 1st game counts so use your time wisely and avoid making mistakes.
Advanced and Intermediate games need to notate their moves on the score sheets provided. Games without score sheets handed in will not count. Anyone unable to notate just needs to request any of our helpers to advise.
We will combine advanced and intermediate sections this term to allow more competition through the 12 weeks but prizes for each section will be given in December.
An extra point will be given to a player who beats a player from a higher section. E.g. Intermediate beats an Advanced, Beginner beats an Intermediate.
1st Round Results
1st Session
| White | Score | Black |
|---|---|---|
| Ram | 0 – 1 | Neil |
| Nathaniel | 0 – 1 | Rafan |
| Harvey | 1 – 0 | Arini |
| Kit | 1 – 0 | Markas |
| Sarah | 1 – 0 | Nirvan |
| Lucas | 1 – 0 | Hektor |
2nd Session
| White | Score | Black |
|---|---|---|
| Peter | 0 – 1 | Lucas |
| Koko | 1 – 0 | Atlas |
| Manvik | 1 – 0 | Milan |
| Emmanuel | 0 – 1 | Omer |
| Erin | 1 – 0 | Alexander |
| Ritha | ½ – ½ | Leo |
| Kiara | 0 – 1 | Markas |
| William | 1 – 0 | Sergiu |
Ladder Board Standings – Round 1
1st Session – Advanced/Intermediate
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rafan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Harvey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sarah | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lucas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ram | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nathaniel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Arini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Markas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nirvan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Hektor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2nd Session – Intermediate/Beginners
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Koko | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Manvik | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Omer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Erin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Markas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| William | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ritha | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Leo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Atlas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Milan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Emmanuel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alexander | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kiara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
See you all next Saturday!