Another great Saturday morning at Bournemouth Library with 28 juniors, 4 coaches and 15 ladder games played across both sessions. A warm welcome to Yuvaan who joined us for the first time today – we hope to see you again next week!
Children In Need 2026
Thank you to all parents for your very kind donations to our Children In Need campaign. So far we have collected £120, which with the club’s £1 for £1 matching means we have raised £240 in total. Donations can still be made online to the same bank account with reference CIN. A really great effort – thank you.
Remainder of Term Calendar
21st Nov – Normal club
28th Nov – Normal club
5th Dec – Final week for ladder board games
12th Dec – All-play-all 5-second buzzer competition (both sessions)
19th Dec – Final week: an open competition for all, with players from Ferndown and Bournemouth clubs joining us. Limited to 30 players. Competition from 10am-1pm with prize giving and certificates for all including the ladder board winners. Further details to follow.
1st Session
Tony’s Coaching – Simultaneous Game
Tony played a simultaneous game against Hektor and Jake. Both players put up a strong fight and it was great to see them testing themselves against a coach in this format.
Graham’s Coaching – Senior Advanced
Graham’s lesson this week started with puzzles from the excellent book “Take and Mate” – abstract positions designed purely to stretch the imagination of the solver. The main event was a detailed analysis of the classic game Ivanchuk vs Adams, Terrassa World Cup 1991 – a Ruy Lopez Marshall Gambit. Key teaching points included transposition of openings, the middle game battle between Knights and Bishops (keeping the position closed for Knights, opening it up for Bishops), time pressure tactics and endgame scenarios. Adams played a fantastic Marshall Gambit and the sacrifice on move 25 (…Rxg4+) is worth studying closely.
Graham also spent the final 15 minutes with William, continuing last week’s lesson on the Bb5 Nimzovitch-Rossolimo variation against the Sicilian Defence – simplifying the lines for White.
Ivanchuk vs Adams, Terrassa 1991 – Ruy Lopez Marshall Gambit
Play through the full annotated game below. A brilliant example of the Marshall Gambit where Adams sacrifices the exchange and creates an unstoppable attack against Ivanchuk.
You can also view this game on PlayStockfish for engine analysis.
Eric’s Coaching – Intermediate Group
Eric reviewed a game between Neil and Harvey which lasted 31 moves. Arini and Omer both contributed suggested candidate moves during the analysis – good to see the group engaging and thinking about alternatives.
Steve’s Coaching – Beginners
Steve had Saint, Omer, Oliver and Preston in the beginners group this week, covering the fundamentals and building their confidence at the board.
2nd Session
Graham repeated his lesson on the Ivanchuk vs Adams game for the 2nd session group. Eric reviewed the game between Milan and Lenni, and Peter worked with William and Leo on their game. Steve had Manvik, Kiara, Adelyn and new member Yuvaan in the beginners group. Welcome Yuvaan!
Results
1st Session Results
Coach ½ Nathaniel ½ – the coach held Nathaniel to a draw.
Jake 1 Hektor 0
Neil 1 Ram 0
Omer ½ Arini ½
Alexander 0 Nirvan 1
Kit 0 Markas 1
Oliver 0 Preston 1
Saint 1 Nathan 0
Nathaniel drew with the coach this week – still a strong result. Jake got the better of Hektor, and Markas continues to impress with a win over Kit. Preston picks up another win, and Saint gets his first victory over Nathan.
2nd Session Results
Leo 0 William 1
Leo(2) 0 Erin 1
Emmanuel 0 Milan 1
Lenni 1 Manvik 0
Adelyn ½ Kiara ½
Manvik(2) 1 Yuvaan 0
Atlas ½ Coach ½
Milan picks up another win to extend his lead at the top. William’s unbeaten run continues with a win over Leo. Lenni had a good result beating Manvik.
Ladder Board – Round 9
1st Session Standings
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Neil | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Harvey | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Nirvan | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Hektor | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Markas | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Ram | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| Kit | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Omer | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Jake | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Preston | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Rafan | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Arini | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Alexander | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Saint | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Nathan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oliver | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2nd Session Standings
| Name | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| Manvik | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| William | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Erin | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Emmanuel | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Leo | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Kiara | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Manvik(2) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Ritha | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Atlas | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Koko | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Adelyn | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Jenson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Lenni | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Leo(2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Yuvaan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Nathaniel is marching on with 15 points from 9 games. Neil is in 2nd on 12 points and Harvey 3rd on 11. In the 2nd session, Milan leads on 14 points with Manvik and William both on 10 – a real three-way battle developing. William remains unbeaten with 3 wins and 4 draws.
All games are played with a 15 minute time control and all players are now notating their moves. There is room for improvement with the notation but it serves a good purpose when reviewing the games afterwards.
As always, thank you to Steve, Graham, Tony and Peter for their help. I look forward to seeing you all next Saturday.