Bournemouth Junior Chess Newsletter
24 January 2026
Important Notice: We are running the club as usual next Saturday but are unavailable on 7th February and 14th February. We will continue with the club on 21st February.
On a wet and windy day we still had 22 keen and enthusiastic juniors who came along to learn and enjoy chess.
Highlights
- 22 Juniors in total
- 4 of our advanced players – Peter, Kautum, Neil and Nicolas – entered the local Dorset closed chess congress. Good luck to them and at the time of writing they were all doing well.
- Nathaniel, Harvey and Sam joined our main group and enjoyed playing some hand and brain games with our coaches.
- Graham took the intermediate group with a good lesson on the history and movement of the bishop and bishop combinations. This was well received.
- Steve had a collection of 4 keen beginners who are progressing week by week, especially Atlos in his 2nd lesson.
- 2nd session lessons were also well received by a group of 5 juniors with individual lessons given by Martin, Eric and Lynsey Aris.
Welcomes and Farewells
New Members: We welcomed Jessica, a beginner in the 2nd session, and hope to see her again. We also welcomed Lynsey Aris as a coach/helper from the Bournemouth chess club yesterday and hope he enjoyed the club and will continue to support us.
Farewells: This was the final session for JH who is returning to Korea and Sam who has other commitments on Saturday. We wish them both well and hope they continue to play some chess in the future.
Photo Gallery
Lesson Report: The Bishop
Graham presented an excellent lesson on the history and movement of the bishop, which was very well received by the intermediate group.
The Chess Piece Called the Bishop
Each side on a chess board has 2 Bishops, each operating on different colors, Black and White.
History of the Bishop: From Elephant to Cleric
- Chaturanga (India, ~6th Century): The piece was an elephant, a vital part of ancient armies, sometimes depicted with a rider, called al-fil in Arabic, meaning “elephant”.
- Spread to Persia & Islamic World: The name remained pil (elephant) or al-fil, with movement restricted to jumping two squares diagonally.
- Arrival in Medieval Europe (12th Century): Elephants were rare, so the unfamiliar piece was adapted to fit European society.
- The Bishop’s Emergence: The piece’s shape was reinterpreted to resemble a bishop, a powerful figure in medieval society, often serving with armies.
- The Mitre: The characteristic slit on the bishop’s head is a stylized representation of a bishop’s mitre (headwear), though it also echoes the original elephant’s tusks.
Strategic Uses of the Bishop
The Bishop is designated a minor piece and therefore should be deployed in the early stages of the game, the Opening.
Bishops are often used to:
- Pin a Knight to the King or Queen – Pins can be tricky and not to be underestimated by the defender. Why? They often mask or hide a tactic against the central Pawns.
- Fianchetto in defences or hypermodern openings – Good examples include the King’s Indian Defence (as Black against d4 openings) or for White the Catalan System (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3), where white exerts Queen side pressure on the long white diagonal.
- Work in combination with Knights – To attack the opponent’s 7th Rank Pawns.
- Used as Battering rams – To open up an opponent’s King with a sacrifice to allow other pieces to checkmate or win material by harassing the King.
- Stronger in open positions – Bishops are much stronger when a position is more open, allowing control over long diagonals.
- Weak in closed positions – Bishops are weak when a position is closed by Pawn formations blocking their movement. In such closed positions it can be a good idea to swap off the Bishops for the opponent’s Knights as they are naturally stronger in a closed game.
- The Horwitz Bishops – Bishops are very strong if operating on adjacent diagonals and often create mating nets or patterns that lead to checkmate. Named after German chess master Bernhard Horwitz.
Bishops in the Endgame
Bishops can be very strong or very weak in the endgame phase of the game:
- If you have opposite colour square Bishops, games tend to be a bit drawish
- If your opponent has their Pawns on opposite colours to your Bishop, it’s ineffective and weak – so be careful where you put your Pawns earlier in the game
- A Knight tends to be more useful than a Bishop as it can change its squares to attack either colour that a Pawn is sitting on; a Bishop cannot do this
- 2 Bishops are generally better than 1 Rook (castle) in an endgame scenario
Example Game: Emanuel Lasker vs Johann Hermann Bauer (1889)
Bird’s Opening – Demonstrating the Power of the Bishop Pair
Game Notation:
1. f4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. b3 e6 4. Bb2 Be7 5. Bd3 b6 6. Nc3 Bb7 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Ne2 c5 10. Ng3 Qc7 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Qc6 13. Qe2 a6??
Critical moment: 13…a6 is a fatal error. 13…g6 would give Black solid equality. Instead, this blunder hands Lasker his double-bishop sacrifice, which eventually wins material and the game by force.
14. Nh5 Nxh5 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qxh5+ Kg8 17. Bxg7 Kxg7
Refusing the second bishop does not save Black: 17…f5 loses to 18.Be5 Rf6 19.Rf3 with Rg3 to follow, and 17…f6 loses to 18.Bh6.
18. Qg4+ Kh7 19. Rf3 – Black must give up his queen to avoid mate.
19… e5 20. Rh3+ Qh6 21. Rxh6+ Kxh6 22. Qd7 – Were it not for this move, forking the two bishops, Black would have adequate compensation for his queen, but now Lasker has a decisive material advantage.
22… Bf6 23. Qxb7 Kg7 24. Rf1 Rab8 25. Qd7 Rfd8 26. Qg4+ Kf8 27. fxe5 Bg7 28. e6 Rb7 29. Qg6 f6 30. Rxf6+ Bxf6 31. Qxf6+ Ke8 32. Qh8+ Ke7 33. Qg7+ Kxe6 34. Qxb7 Rd6 35. Qxa6 d4 36. exd4 cxd4 37. h4 d3 38. Qxd3 1–0
Who was Emanuel Lasker?
He was the second World Chess Champion, holding the title for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921—the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champion, winning 6 World Chess Championships.
Ladder Board Competition – Week 2
The ladder board continues with all players showing great improvement and competitive spirit!
1st Session – Advanced
| Name | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nicolas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nathanial | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nicholas Mitze | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Harvey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kautum | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Neil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rafan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Results: Sam 1 Harvey 0, Nathaniel 1 Coach 0
1st Session – Intermediate
| Name | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nirvan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Markas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kit | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| JH | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Pavina | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Sarah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liam M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Results: Nirvan 1 Pavina 0, JH ½ Coach ½, Kit 0 Markas 1
1st Session – Beginners
| Name | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Atlos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Erin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Arini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Results: Erin 0 Omer 1, Atlos 1 Arini 0
2nd Session – Intermediate & Beginners
| Name | Played | Won | Draw | Loss | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hektor | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Andres (Beginner) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Nilay | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Manvik | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| William | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jake | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Koko | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sepanta (Beginner) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Liam M | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Results: William 1 Koko 0, Jake 0 Hektor 1, Nilay 0 Teo 1, Manvik 1 Liam 0
Note: Ladder Board scoring – 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw, 0 for a loss
Just to recall: chess is a life skill and we enjoy sharing our chess journey with our young players who come along to learn and play. See you next Saturday!
