Playing fast ‘n’ furious for £5,000
EXTREME speed is not normally recommended in a built-up area, but on September 8, the Royal Grammar School in Jesmond will host the Regional Final of the UK Blitz Chess Championships – where the play will be fast and furious.
Under competition rules, each player will get three minutes on theclock, plus an extra two seconds a move. As you can imagine, this can lead to some pretty crazy games, with players struggling to think on their feet.
Play starts at 11am at the RGS Junior School cafeteria, Lambton Road NE2 4RX. Each competitor plays a total of 15 blitz games, and the tournament finishes at 6pm. (To enter, go to: https://www.englishchess.org.uk/uk-openblitz-championship/)
The top two players will qualify for the UK Open Final in Birmingham on December 1, and the top two females not already qualified will go through to the UK Women’s Final, also held there that day. The national and regional competitions will have a total of £5,000 in prizes.
There will also be junior prizes awarded at the Newcastle qualifier, in the Under 18, Under 11 and Under 9 age categories.
Blitz is a form of chess that requires cool calculation, nerves of steel and razor-sharp reactions – so it’s no surprise often young players do best. The World Champion at classical chess, 27-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway, likes to hone his game by playing blitz (or even so-called ‘bullet’ chess, where you have just one minute for your moves). Carlsen has won the World Blitz Championship three times, most recently in December in Saudi Arabia.
If you’re looking to get into practice, and dust off the cobwebs after a summer break, you can play some quick (or slow) chess on Saturdays at Newcastle City Library, from noon to 2pm. For those who believe (like Inspector Morse) that a pint of ale helps you think, there are blitz chess evenings at Bar Loco (near St James’ Park) on Sundays from 6pm (see ‘Newcastle Blitz Chess’ events on Facebook), and at South Shields Chess Club, which meets Thursdays at 7pm at the New Ship Inn, on Sunderland Road.
Or if you prefer, you can also play blitz chess on the internet. Some popular sites are: Chess. com, Chess24.com and Lichess.org, where you can play for free but need to register to play rated games.
In other news, Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s Institute this evening is hosting the grand final of the Northumbria Knockout Trophy between the Forest Hall ‘A’ and ‘C’ Teams. Kickoff is at 7:15pm, and spectators are welcome.
The higher graded team has to play with a points handicap, meaning giant-killing is possible! Among thosee involved in this match is 10-year-old Yichen Han, the newly crowned British Under 11 and Under 12 Champion.
.Qd2 d4 21.Be4 dxe3+ 22.Kxe3 Rd8? 23. Qxd8+! Nxd8 24.Bxa8 g5 25.Rd1 Ba6 26.Rxd8+ Kg7 27.Rbb8 gxf4+ 28.Kxf4 c3 (See Puzzle A) This Week’s Puzzles In Puzzle A, Yichen’s move may surprise you, but perhaps he was inspired by the position in Puzzle B, which features a famous king march by English World Championship Challenger Nigel Short, against the Dutch Grandmaster Jan Timman. It pays to study games by leading Grandmasters – so you can use their tactical ideas in your own games.