Top week for chess with 500 clashes at meeting
IT’S been a great week for local chess! Pride of place goes to the 54th Annual Northumberland Chess Congress held over last Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday.
It had all of the right ingredients. Firstly, it was held again at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields.
It has good sized rooms for both the matches and also for analysis. It has good caterers and helpful staff. Secondly, the events were well organised.
Lara Barnes is an excellent arbiter (referee/manager of the draw for each round and solver of any other issues that crop up!).
David Watson, in his unassuming way, puts in a massive amount of work, not least in negotiating the venue and attracting and managing the entry.
The North East is very fortunate to have people of this calibre available to bring together all of these elements to ensure an efficient and vibrant competition.
There were four sections. At the top, the Open attracted a strong field led by Charlie Storey, a terrific player, who was odds-on favourite to win the Tyne and Wear Trophy – but he didn’t!
In First Place there was a tie between Nick Tavoularis and David Henderson. Nick lives in Middlesbrough but played for Leam Lane Chess Club in the Northumberland League for many years.
David Henderson plays on board 1, with distinction, for Tynemouth Chess Club. Well done to them both.
In joint 3rd place were Charlie Storey, Zheming Zhang (Forest Hall) and William Rutherford from Scotland. Zheming’s results deserve particular mention as he got a really tough draw, and played three of the top five, beating Charlie and drawing with Nick before losing to David in his last game.
In the Major, there was again fierce competition at the top for the Ian Lambie Trophy. This was won by Ray Devenney, who is unattached to any club and is obviously an excellent player. Just behind in second place there was a tie between Kyril Gara (Leam Lane), John Clarke (Tynemouth), Stephen Omerod (Darlington), Mark Younger (Forest Hall), and Paul Robson (Durham City).
Wins and losses can be decided by the narrowest of margins. One slight error can change the course of a game.
It makes for exciting watching for the spectator and jangling nerves for the players.
In the Minor, competing for the Norma Hunter Trophy, there was a three-way tie for First Place between Paul Salisbury (York), Ciairan MacDonald (Forest Hall) and Dave Peardon (Hetton Lyons) with seven other players just half a point behind.
With over 40 entries in this section, it is further evidence of the growing interest in playing chess. It has a broad appeal.
Yes it is testing, but it is great fun at the same time.
I once heard it described as a war game where no-one gets hurt and everyone lives to fight another day.
Lastly there was a Foundation Tournament for relative beginners, played with faster time controls over 10 rounds.
This was won by Daniel Turnbull (Peterlee) followed by Ryan Duff (Forest Hall) and Craig Lacey (Newcastle University).
For some participants it was their first chess competition. A great experience. Those who had played chess only on the internet were excited and enthused by the atmosphere of playing a big hall with lots of other people, in contrast to their experience of playing at home, alone in a bedroom, against an opponent they couldn’t see and couldn’t discuss the game with.
Chalk and cheese!
One of the beauties of the Northumberland Congress is that it has always strived to reward and encourage participants so it has a range of other prizes.
Grading prizes are given to players who score a lot better than expected. In the Open, these were won by Max Turner (Forest Hall), Piotr Niebal (South Shields), Jake Sanger (Scotland) and Andrew Sainsbury.
In the Major the winners were Geoff Brown (Claycross) and Lee Blood (Peterlee). In the Minor the winners were Weiming Xu and Alex Rudzenis (both Forest Hall). In the Foundation, the winners were Morgan French (Forest Hall) and Paul Richardson (Tynemouth).
And, last but not least, recognition of good performances by Veteran players Paul Kendal, Robert Clegg, Ron Stather, Joe Chan and Gary McCausland and Juniors Zheming Zhang, Ciairan MacDonald, Tony Gao (all Forest Hall) and Benjamin Ridge (Scotland).
Altogether, nearly 500 games were played, at times amid great tension and excitement, and yet no-one was shown a yellow card, let alone a red one!
No-one had to be cautioned by the arbiter and every game ended with a handshake.
Chess has a thoroughly deserved reputation for improving concentration and analytical skills. It also encourages good sportsmanship and discipline.
Belatedly, this is being recognised by educationalists and more and more schools are introducing it into their extra-curricular activities. Some countries have gone a step further and made it a part of the core curriculum. Food for thought.