Smallest of chances are grabbed for wins in final
FIRSTLY, many thanks to Tim Wall for submitting two excellent articles while I’ve been away on holiday at Nancy in France. Nancy is twinned with Newcastle and has a thriving chess club. They have a different set-up with all of their clubs meeting at the same venue which is an interesting idea. On a quiet night there are 50-plus people there. In the playing season it approaches 250. I think I prefer our system, with every club having its own venue, but it certainly has some merit. Having found a contact there, it may be possible to organise a match, perhaps by internet.
I arrived back home in time to watch the final of the League Cup which was between Forest Hall A and Forest Hall C. This is a handicap tournament for teams of four players and the huge grading advantage held by the A-team meant that they had to win 4-0. Any slip-up, even one game ending in a draw, would be enough for the C-team to claim the trophy. Looking at the grading differences of the players, this seemed to be a highly unlikely outcome. But sometimes scores can paint a misleading picture. Shocks can happen in chess too. See the puzzles!
Forest Hall A Forest Hall C 1. Tim Wall 1-0 Mark Broughton 2. Caveh Madjpour 1-0 John Wall Snr 3. Dave Mooney 1-0 Ian Rook 4. Yichen Han 1-0 Ryan Duff
On Board 1, an early slip by Mark gave Tim a big advantage, which he converted to a win despite determined and resolute defence. Boards 2 and 3 followed similar patterns, with the A-team players gaining smaller advantages which they expertly developed into winning advantages but not without some real effort on their part. The main excitement, though, came on Board 4, which on paper seemed to be the game most likely to end quickly in the A-team’s favour. A grading advantage of 20-plus points is usually critical. Here Yichen had a grading advantage of 128, which suggests a likely massacre. However that was not to be the case. On the conclusion of Boards 1,2 and 3 with the A-team needing to win on Board 4 as well, everyone was gathered around Board 4. Here Ryan was a pawn up with a sound position. He also had a bigtime advantage, too. A shock win was possible and even a draw would win the match for the C-team. Ryan had played exceptionally well, and was continuing to set Yichen problems. One of the hallmarks of top players is their ability to create problems for their opponents even in difficult positions. Yichen is a top player and achieved this. He gradually turned the position round and eventually won, securing the cup for the A-team. Ryan played an excellent game, showing the progress he has made since joining the club at the start of the season. Previously he had played only on the internet. If you play on the net and are considering joining a club, look up the Northumbria League website for details of all the League clubs.
In this week’s puzzles, find the checkmates.