Keverel Chess

Archive for the ‘Exmouth Club’ Category

Exmouth’s Bremridge Cup encounter against Teignmouth was their last match of the season, and there was nothing at stake, except, perhaps, the wooden spoon. Nevertheless, games were played with all seriousness, and although the final scoreline may sound like an end-of-term romp, this was certainly not the case.

Tindal played the White side of a Closed  Sicilian very quickly and a rook & pawn ending was soon reached, with Jones 2 pawns up, but it needed careful play and in the end it boiled down to a single pawn that couldn’t be prevented from queening.

The Hurst-Ingham game involved a complex position, but Hurst managed to conclude matters in 19 moves. Hart entered the endgame on the back foot, but Hindom rather lost his way which enabled Hart to negate any serious threat and a draw was agreed. Gosling was the nearest to having a field day, as all his pieces had open lines bearing down on the enemy king, to which there was no adequate defence.

The most double-edged game was Halmkin-Wensley, in which the Teignmouth player got short of time at the sharp end of the game, and Wensley was offering pieces that couldn’t be taken without giving in to a mating attack. In the end he did find a way through to mate the White king.

This left Meyrick “The Python” Shaw with a tight control of the position, and a supported passed pawn on d6. However, to maximise this advantage he had to relax his grip and open the position up, which gave Gorodi scope to break out of the straight-jacket he was in, and make threats of his own. Shaw monitored all threats and with only BvsN it was the d6 pawn that won the day.

So Exmouth thus won their first and last match in this premier tournament, losing to Newton Abbot and Tiverton in between – at least avoiding the wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Newton Abbot were playing Tiverton to determine top spot in the Bremridge Cup, and their captain, Trefor Thynne has kindly sent in his account of that match.

“The fixture list for this year’s Bremridge Cup threw up an extremely tasty last-round pairing with 2010 and 2011 holders  Newton Abbot travelling to Blundell’s School to face Tiverton on 21st April, both sides having won all three of their matches to date. The visitors went into the match with the advantage of knowing that a 3-3 scoreline would be sufficient to retain the trophy since they had a favourable “goal difference”. However, the gradings of the two teams were likely to be close so a tough struggle was in prospect.

And so it turned out with hard-fought games on each board. The first three results were all draws, on Bds 4 (Thynne – Duckham), 5 (Kinder- Annetts) and 2 (Homer-Hewson). Only in the final hour, as the time control approached, did Newton Abbot’s players get on top, first on Bd 6 where Paul Brooks,  playing an English  Opening against Keith Atkins’ Dutch Defence, converted pressure into a material advantage. On Bd 3, perhaps the best game of the match, Alex Billings maintained his fine form this season and kept control in a complex position against Simon Bartlett. This settled the outcome of the match and a good day for the visitors was made better when Dominic Mackle showed exemplary endgame technique to defeat Ben Edgell on top board.  So Newton Abbot retain  the title of Devon’s top club. The league has been very interesting this year with 5 teams competing. It could be even better and more representative of all parts of the county if Plymouth (who certainly have the players on paper) and Barnstaple were to join in”.

TFT

The match gets under way

Exmouth's Bds. 2 - 6

Nearest: Halmkin vs Wensley.

Exmouth's Bds. 4-6

Teignmouth's Bds. 4-6

Halmkin & Gorodi both involved in tight finishes.

Hurst & Wensley, deep in thought.

Shaw v Gorodi - last game to finish. Norman Tidy looks on.

Exmouth’s win over Barnstaple on Saturday marked the end of that tournament for another year. The final table is as follows:

Tiverton were undoubtedly deserved winners. Our fate was sealed by the topsy-turvy match against Teignmouth; a blundered rook by each side and a breathless blitz finish between Redman and Brusey that could have gone either way but finished in a draw, as did the match. The unlikeliest result was surely Newton Abbot’s last place.

Still, a good result for Exmouth, considering the unavailability of top players at times.

Exmouth’s penultimate match of the season was in Devon’s 2nd Division, the Mamhead Cup, when they played host to a  Barnstaple team headed by IM Jack Rudd. There was nothing inevitable about his likely outcome as the last time he visited Exmouth 2 years ago, he lost to Brian Hewson, so, having won the toss, team captain Steve Clarke opted to give Rudd the White pieces, although this did put some pressure on the other three players who had to cope with 2 blacks. 

Once the match started, both Rudd and Stephens set off at a great rate of knots, both reaching move 10 in 60 seconds. The whole game was over in 90 minutes, having made 33 moves. A great start for the visitors but it was quickly balanced by a win for Oliver Wensley in just 19 moves. Soon after that, Tony Hart secured a result by mating his opponent in 33 moves. 

Leading 2-1, the win now depended on Meyrick Shaw vs Richard Smith, the latter making a return to weekend chess having recently semi-retired, and it was a much more stately affair. In a long endgame, Shaw had 4 v 3 pawns, a rook each and the “minor exchange”. Slowly, he was able to restrict the central space, preventing White’s rook and knight from making any real threats, squeezing all the life out of his defences. 

The 3-1 win puts Exmouth in with a chance of a at least a share of the title, depending on results elsewhere.

The match gets under way.

Hart vs Jones in foreground.

Wensley can't quite believe the speed of play on Bd. 1

Richard Smith, newly available for weekend matches.

The key last game to finish.

The Exmouth team travelled to Seaton knowing they had already secured the Newman Cup for the RapidPlay League with this match to spare; the only question was whether this would lull them into a sense of  anti-climax leading to a meaningless  loss – or inspire them to a final flourish, winning like true champions.

With the first round almost over, it certainly looked like the former case, as Exmouth trailed 3-0 and Belt left with a double-edged game to complete. He managed to force the win, leaving Seaton, during the break, contemplating gaining their first-ever win in a DCCA tournament.

However, in Rd. 2, Stone blundered again in the opening; instead of 2 pawns as in game 1, it was a whole piece, and Jones was determined not to blunder the game back a second time and ran out a winner. Shaw also made amends, winning a piece in the endgame, leaving him with R+N vs R plus pawns each. Against Wensley, Steve Dean ran short of time and blundered his last piece, leaving him a rook down. Belt and Dowse were again involved in a double-edged game in which Belt sacrificed a piece in order to break open the enemy king’s position, eventually getting a pawn to the 7th rank, which won the game. A 4-0 win in Rd. 2 gave them the match 3-5. Seaton were understandably disappointed to lose the match after such a promising start, but it was only Belt’s double win that was the difference and both of those games were very finely-balanced. Exmouth had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, but it was a close-run thing.

The Town Hall home of the Seaton Club.

Wensley vs Dean on Bd. 1 as Martyn Adams looks on.

Malcolm Belt, the only double-winner, vs Alan Dowse.

If there was a feeling of deja vu last night, it might have had something to do with the fact that Exmouth and Tiverton have already met 4 times this season in various competitions, and this fifth encounter was in Division 1 of the Exeter & District League, the newly-named “Premiership”. Having already won their first 2 matches in this tournament, against the Met. Office and Exeter A, a good result here would keep them on course to retain the League’s main trophy.

However, Tony Hart came unstuck against an in-form Keith Atkins (his last game against Exmouth notwithstanding), as the Tiverton player sacrificed material to smash his way through to the Black king, eventually winning the queen.

On the brighter side, Wensley established a pawn on the 7th rank in the middlegame, greatly restricting Duckham’s options and piece development. Eventually, he did manage to release his own rooks but, as they abandoned defence for attack,  Black’s threats materialised into a winning combination. 1-all.

On top board, Stephens entered the endgame with a time and slight positional advantage, both of which evaporated as the 1st time control approached. Errors of judgement on both sides meant the game finished as a draw, which focused attention on the last game, Shaw-Annetts. Shaw had won a pawn in the centre, and as more material came off they were left with Shaw’s R+3 vs R+2, all pawns connected and on the king’s side. Annetts was very much on the back foot but defended well, and 2 pawns each came off. Eventually, with 2 minutes left on his clock, Annetts stopped the clock and claimed a draw as White couldn’t win “by normal means, whatever that means”. After some discussion about the rules, it was agreed the position probably was drawn anyway, and therefore, so was the match.

With only Exeter B left to play, Exmouth are in a good position, though nothing can be taken for granted.

Following the fortuitous win against Tiverton in the DCCA RapidPlay league, thus securing the trophy with the away match against Seaton still to be played, Exmouth seem to have hit a winning streak. In defence of their Exeter & District League Div. 1 trophy, they have made a perfect start, following up their win against the Met. Office with another against Exeter by an even more convincing margin. These game points may prove useful in a tie-break situation at the end of the season.

On Saturday, they had a trip to Newton Abbot to play their Div. 2 match. The home team may have felt somewhat stretched as they were committed to playing an 8 board match at the same time, though they didn’t stint on this team, being just 5 points short of the permitted maximum.

On Bd. 1, they had the Torquay schoolboy, Jeff Leung, a rapidly rising star, though perhaps his weakness is playing too quickly and not extracting the maximum advantages from some of the positions he gets. Although excellent at rapidplay, Stephens does take his time in the crucial middlegame stages, and in this case won the day. The crucial game was on Bd. 4, the last game to finish, where Shaw’s strong nerves in the run up to the time control with his flag hanging in a complicated position were commendable! 

 This result leaves that league like this…..

With all matches played, Newton will finish bottom. If Exmouth beat Barnstaple to reach 5 points, and that’s a big if, the key match will be Tiverton vs Teignmouth, with Tiverton probably favourites to reach 6 points – though anything is possible, of course. After all, who would have put money on Newton Abbot coming last?!

After their disappointing loss to Tiverton in the Bremridge Cup (Div. 1) on Saturday, Exmouth were faced with meeting them again just four days later, this time in the Newman Cup, which comprises four players involved in two one hour games.

The teams were well-matched, to within 1 grading point. Playing “Steady Freddy” Hodge with a modest grade on Bd. 4 allowed stronger players in the middle order – a policy that paid dividends when he won the 1st game as Knowles, in desperate trouble, had to watch his digital clock count down the last 10 seconds. Wensley also won, while the other 2 games were drawn, Jones being a knight for a rook down but a king in a good defending position. With seconds to go, his opponent was not prepared to risk losing on time so agreed a draw. 3-1 to Exmouth.

In Rd. 2 with colours reversed, Annetts and Knowles took revenge for their earlier losses, while Stephens and Hewson drew again. Jones had White and went all out for early attack against the Sicilian Defence, using the Yugoslav System. He lost the exchange but it didn’t seem to matter as all his pieces were active and the Black king was stuck in the centre. Atkins defended stoutly and his queen became active. With a minute to go, the queen checked forking a rook. White brought his queen back to both block the check and protect the rook, which looked good for about 2 seconds until he realised the rook was not reciprocating the defence; in fact the queen was completely undefended and could be taken for nothing, with check and picking up the rook as well. Black’s mindset was that he did not wish to exchange queens as the White pawns would win the game, so imagining, like White, that the proximity of the rook to the queen meant they were protecting each other, withdrew his queen back up the board. The collective and audible sharp intake of breath from the spectators told him something was very amiss and then he realised. ****! (Expletive deleted). Seconds later the queens were forced off and the danger passed. Those 10 seconds of double lunacy decided the game, the match and the destination of the League trophy.

It actually made up for our bad luck on Saturday.

After the match it was calculated that even with a match against Seaton still to play, Exmouth cannot be caught and have won the cup with a match to spare.

The position below was the vital one. The pieces at the top of the board are not exact, as the whole thing was a blur at the time. White now played 1.Qe1 to block the check and protect the rook. Black, not realising the queen was unprotected and not wishing to exchange queens (as he thought) , played 1…Qg5. Nothing to be proud of on either side, but anything can happen as the clocks run down to the last few seconds.

After a disappointing 5-1 loss to Newton Abbot in their previous Div. 1 match, Exmouth were hoping for better luck against an equally strong Tiverton side. They had their 4 regulars on the top boards, fresh from triumphs at the East Devon Congress the previous weekend, and were joined by 2 “newcomers” on Bds. 5 & 6, namely Tony Hart and Meyrick Shaw, both of whose absence from active play for can be measured in decades.

After 2 hours play there were some very worried faces on the Tiverton side, as the home side looked to be comfortable-to-better on 5 boards. However, converting any advantage to a full point proved impossible.

Tony Hart was running Ivor Annetts ragged for most of the game, but misjudged his defences, allowing his opponent back into the game and he succumbed to a strong kingside attack. Shaw fell for a sucker punch in the opening, allowing Bxf7+ to an uncastled king with a knight hovering to follow it up. The “gift” was declined and he got back to a pawn up going into a bishops of opposite colour endgame, which couldn’t be forced. Gosling overlooked what appeared to be a forced mate in 2 and allowed his opponent to get in a long series of checks and a draw was agreed, making 3 results that got away. Wensley was always comfortable against Hewson and it ended up with K+equal pawns with no advantage to either side. Stephens’ position was equal up to the point where he inadvertantly lost his bishop. His only compensation was for his queen to have total domination of the white squares and a long series of checks that again ended in a draw. At the outset, Hurst was determined to play quickly in the opening in order to avoid the risk of blundering pieces away in time trouble at the end – a plan that didn’t quite work the way he intended. Never the less, Edgell knew he was in danger at several points and had to be at his best.  All in all, it was a case of ’so near and yet so far’ from a fabulous result.

Exmouth facing Tiverton.

Shaw (l) vs Atkins.

Exmouth's top boards.

Nervous Tiverton faces at the match end, as they were throughout.

A minor piece of local chess history was made on Wednesday when a Seaton team came to Exmouth to play in a DCCA tournament, the Team Rapidplay (Newman Cup); neither Seaton nor Sidmouth had ever played  in any DCCA competition before this season.

The maximum total grade for this match was 599, grades taken on the September 2011 grades (RapidPlay grade where appropriate), an average of just under 150 per board. Seaton’s team were all fairly close to this average, whereas Exmouth used Fred Hodge, relatively low-graded but vastly experienced and a safe pair of hands, on Bd. 4 to balance up the top 2 boards.

This policy proved successful as Fred held his own in both rounds against Alan Dowse who is c. 30 grading points higher, while Stephens and Wensley proved more than a handful at the top end. Only Jones failed to score, twice succumbing to Stone’s attacking skills.

Exmouth now have this win and a draw against Tiverton, with return matches yet to be played.

Stephens (l) v Dean & Wensley v Adams.

Post-match analysis on Hodge's draw that clinched the match. l-r Wensley; Hodge; Stephens; Adams; Stone & Dean.

Exmouth travelled to Teignmouth for their 2nd match in the Mamhead Cup (Devon’s division 2), fielding their secret weapon, Mike Redman, in what may be his only match for the club this season.

The first game ended when Jones coolly and quickly placed a rook en prise, with no compensation whatsoever. However, Teignmouth are nothing if not even-handed, and Bill Ingham marooned his last rook, leaving Murray to pick it up at leisure, levelling the scores. Gosling got short of time in what might have been a slightly better position, and he accepted the offer of a draw. This left everyone to gather around the top board game, as fortunes swung to and fro.

In the middlegame, Redman seemed to have a positional bind and merely needed to open the centre and exploit his advantage. However, he inadvertantly placed a piece on a bad square and Brusey could counter-attack. He went 2 pawns up and seemed sure to win himself. Material came off and with minutes to go, they were in a knight+pawns endgame. Redman’s knight perfomed minor miracles, winning  3 pawns and threatening to queen. From nursing a loss, to looking drawn, he was suddenly sniffing a win again. With the last seconds running out on the digital clocks, both sides queened and after a flurry of checks a draw was agreed. Nerves frayed all round, but honours even.

Bds 1 & 2 get down to action.

Gosling (l) vs Halmkin.

Gorodi (l)vs Jones.

Tense knight and pawns ending reaches a climax.