After last week’s Simul it was a return to lessons and playing ladder board games. Great to see 23 juniors coming along to learn and play chess on a glorious sunny Saturday morning.
Summer Term Plans
There are 5 Saturdays in May, followed by 4 weeks in June. We plan to have our last meeting on 27th June when we will play an all-play-all competition with prizes and winners of the weekly ladder board games.
Highlights
- Great to see the return of Sarah, who has real talent and will become a strong player if she continues.
- Jake joined the advanced group for the first time, making it 8 strong players — Tony is superbly improving them week by week.
- Steve, our beginners expert, had his usual group of Erin, Omer, Arini and Atlas.
- Full house of 18 players in the 1st session. The 2nd session was smaller, giving us more opportunity for individual lessons.
♟ Tony’s Advanced Session
Tony took the advanced group through two instructive problems from chess literature, exploring positional understanding and imbalances, followed by six tactical puzzles from The Woodpecker Method.
Problem 14 — Nimzo-Indian Imbalances
White to play. This position was reached from a once-popular Nimzo-Indian line after:
This position is very interesting from the point of view of opening imbalances. Can you list the imbalances and, from that, deduce White’s correct plan and best move?
Key imbalances to consider: White has the bishop pair (Bb2 + Be2) versus Black’s knight and bishop. White has doubled f-pawns (f2 and f3) and a damaged kingside. White has a queenside pawn majority (a3, c4 vs a7, b7, c5). Black has an active bishop on h3 and a well-placed knight on f6. The d-file is contested by the rooks.
Think about how White can use the bishop pair advantage and queenside majority. What’s the best move?
Problem 18 — Positional Choice
White to move. If you had to choose between 1.Be3, 1.Bd2, or 1.Na4 — which would you play and why?
This is a great exercise in understanding the needs of the position. Each move develops a piece, but only one best addresses the positional requirements. Think about what White’s pieces need to do, where the tension is, and what Black’s plans might be. Discuss your choice with Tony next week!
Puzzles of the Week — The Woodpecker Method
Tony set six tactical puzzles from The Woodpecker Method by Axel Smith and Hans Tikkanen — each featuring a different tactical motif. Try to solve them before next Saturday!
♞ Graham’s Intermediate Session
Graham took the intermediate section with a group of 6 players, focusing on the fundamentals that separate good players from great ones.
Top 35 Chess Principles — Get the Basics Sorted!
Graham took both groups through our Top 35 Chess Principles as part of the “get the basics sorted” approach. These principles are the foundation that every improving player needs to know inside out.
👉 View the Top 35 Chess Principles here
Focus: Castling Strategy
This week’s deep dive was all about castling — one of the most important strategic decisions in any game. The session covered:
- Castle after developing your minor pieces — get your knights and bishops out first, then tuck your king away to safety.
- Pros and cons of short castling (O-O) vs long castling (O-O-O) — kingside castling is generally safer and faster, but queenside castling can be aggressive and opens the h-file for your rook.
- Waiting for your opponent to castle — sometimes it pays to see where your opponent puts their king before committing your own.
- Opposite-side castling and pawn storms — when you castle on opposite sides, it becomes a race! Push your pawns towards the enemy king to rip open their defences. This creates exciting, attacking chess.
Graham’s Puzzles
Graham also set two quite different puzzles for the group:
- King and Pawns endgame — a pure pawn ending where precise calculation and knowledge of key concepts like opposition and passed pawns are essential.
- Queens and Rooks — a heavy-piece position with a nice checkmate finish. Can you spot the mating pattern?
🏆 Ladder Board Results — 25th April
1st Session Results
Jake 0 – Harvey 1, Peter 0 – Nathaniel 1, Neil 0 – Nicolas 1, Rafan 1 – Hektor 0, Milan 1 – Nirvan 0, Pavina 1 – Markas 0, Jack 0 – Sarah 1, Atlas 0 – Arini 1, Erin 0 – Omer 1
2nd Session Results
William 0 – Gotham 1, Cooper 1 – Mariusz 0
📊 Ladder Board Standings
1st Session — Advanced
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Nicolas | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 🥈 Nathaniel | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 8.5 |
| 🥉 Peter | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7.5 |
| 🥉 Neil | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Hektor | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Harvey | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5.5 |
| Jake | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Rafan | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
🎉 Congratulations to Nicolas on scoring 10/10 games! Running through from January unbeaten. Nathaniel is 2nd with 8.5, and Neil & Peter are joint 3rd on 7.5 — with 8 weeks to go, it’s all to play for.
1st Session — Intermediate
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Kit | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6.5 |
| 🥈 Nirvan | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 🥉 Markas | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Jack | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 |
| Milan | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3.5 |
| Pavina | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Sarah | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Kit still leads the intermediate section with 6.5, followed by Nirvan with 5.5 and Markas on 5. Keep coming to have the best chance of scoring points!
1st Session — Beginners
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Omer | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 🥈 Atlas | 10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Arini | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Erin | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2.5 |
| Amaury | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Omer is the standout leader with 6 points in the beginners section, and Atlas is on 4.5.
2nd Session — Inter/Beginners
| Name | Played | W | D | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Nilay | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 🥇 Manvik | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 🥉 William | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 |
| Koko | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Mariusz | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Cooper | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gotham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sonny | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 |
Two leaders on 5.5 — Nilay and Manvik — followed by William on 4.5. All to play for, so keep coming to score points and progress!
Scoring: 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw, 0 for a loss
As always, many thanks to our dedicated team of Steve, Tony & Graham.
Remember — chess is a life skill, so keep it going and you will reap the benefits. Chess is mandatory and part of the school curriculum in many countries including India.
I look forward to seeing you all next week!
Eric Sachs