EN PASSANT ISSUE 998 July-August 2021

ISSN 1363-0253 (print) ISSN 2631-9160 (online)

The Journal of the National Correspondence Chess Club The object of the Club: ‘To foster friendship between members’

A CHANGE FOR THE NBKO?

NEW CLUB TREASURER AND MEMBERSHIP

SECRETARY

TOURNAMENT UPDATES

Club President: Anthony Thistlewood Lifetime Vice-Presidents: Chris Ackley, Jerry Cope, Mary Deans, Craig Douglas, Les Dutch, Brian Goodwin, Des Green, Colin Hipwell, Fred Margrave, Bob Oliver. Committee Posts: Chairman: Marc Wakeham 76 Ael-y-bryn, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff CF23 9LL (chairman@natcor.org.uk) Vice-Chairman: Peter Dudeney 12 Gatcombe, Great Holm, Milton Keynes MK8 9DW (vc@natcor.org.uk) Secretary: Paul Pope 72 Southbrook St. Swindon, Wilts. SN2 1HG (secretary@natcor.org.uk) Treasurer: David Elwood Stable Cottage, Nether End, Baslow, Bakewell DE45 1SR (treasurer@natcor.org.uk) Editor of ‘En Passant’: Colin Hipwell 19 Pirton Lane, Churchdown, Glos. GL3 2RU (epeditor@natcor.org.uk) Webmaster: Colin Hipwell (webmaster@natcor.org.uk) General: Eddy Bishop (eddyabishop@aol.com) General: Lee Senior (seniorlee2000@yahoo.co.uk) General: Graham Mill-Wilson 7 Churchway, Weston Mill, Plymouth, Devon PL5 1AQ (apa@natcor.org.uk) Tournament Controllers: Keith Richardson GM All-Play-All: Graham Mill-Wilson (as above) Norman Bond Knockout: Anthony Thistlewood 12a Oslo Gardens, Walsgrave, Coventry CV2 2DF (nbko@natcor.org.uk) Reg Gilman Continuous Tournament: Peter Dudeney (as above) ctpairings@natcor.org.uk Tom Morris League Championship: Paul Pope 72 Southbrook St. Swindon Wilts. SN2 1HG (championship@natcor.org.uk) Match Captain: Paul Pope (as above) ICCF Webserver International Arbiter: Marc Wakeham (as above) ICCF Webserver Tournament Directors: David Elwood, Colin Hipwell, Graham-Mill-Wilson, Paul Pope, Anthony Thistlewood ICCF Webserver Tournament Organisers: Colin Hipwell, Marc Wakeham (as above) Other Officers: Awards Secretary: Colin Hipwell (as above) awards@natcor.org.uk Book Reviewer: Dr. Adam Spencer (bookreviewer@natcor.org.uk) Distribution Secretary: Fred Margrave 11 Broadwater Drive, Dunscroft, Doncaster DN7 4BQ (alfred.margrave@sky.com) Historian: vacant Membership Secretary: David Wilkinson 48 Haslam Hey Close, Bury, Lancs. BL8 2LB Tel: 0161 761 2656 (membership@natcor.org.uk) Recruitment Project Leader: Eddy Bishop Flat 1 Silverdale, Racefield Road, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 4AP (recruitment@natcor.org.uk) Returning Officer: Richard Webster 33 Primrose Court, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottingham NG19 9DY (returningoff@natcor.org.uk) Rules Officer: Colin Hipwell (as above) ‘Mailers Oracle’ Editor: Brian Goodwin Flat 2-4, 98 Fenwick Road, Giffnock, Glasgow G46 6AA (brianjgoodwin@btinternet.com)

Issue 998 July-August 2021

2

Chairman’s Chat

Hi all From NATCOR TOWERS,

I must begin with an apology Last time out I began by saying: “Recently our Treasurer/Membership Secretary and one of our Vice Presidents, Des Green, has been forced to relinquish his roles as Treasurer and Membership Secretary. I’m sure you will all join me in thanking Des for everything he has done over many years for our wonderful club.”

I want to make it totally clear that the matters that forced Des to stand down were to do with his hectic life and NOTHING to do with anything else. Des needs a break after 10 years as Treasurer and committee man. Indeed, I and the rest of the committee were most disappointed to see Des stand down.

I also said that the Membership Secretary role was being split from the Treasurer’s role. We needed two men to fill Des’s massive presence! Well, David Wilkinson stepped up to that role so welcome Dave to the band of officers of NATCOR

So far an apology and some good news. What’s next? Well, we are always looking for people who are willing to serve in many roles. If you are interested in helping us in any way just contact me or our secretary for further details of any of the jobs.

Finally, having reviewed the NATCOR archive we have a mass of chess book that we are willing to sell to members. We are not looking to make a vast profit just cover the postage and a small donation for any book. If you would like a list of the books we hold please contact me and I will send you a list; there are all sorts of books and too many to list in EP, it would take a “special edition” to list them all. There are also a number of pocket sets and some old pocket computer chess programs. These are quite old and quite weak. However if they are of interest please contact me.

Remember

You can find us in the following places:

Facebook - Just type in NATCOR.

Twitter - Look for NATCOR@NATCORCHESS

The Web - www.natcor.org.uk

Email - have your EP delivered directly to you PC, laptop or tablet!

Paper - EP will continue to be available by post!

Enjoy the best game in the world with the best correspondence club in the world!

NATCOR - "To foster friendship between members"

Issue 998 July-August 2021

3

Secretary – Paul Pope

I hope you and your families are well and coping with everything going on in the world at the

moment. Please remember to stay safe and to look after yourselves as it seems that cases are on

the rise again. I can testify to this, as at time of writing I’m in my 2nd period of self-isolation in 3

weeks! So, keep playing correspondence chess from the safety of your homes!

On that note, it’s coming up to renewal season! Included with your EP this issue is the renewal

form for 2021-22, and prices have once again been held at their current rates. Please ensure that

if you are returning your form and payment by post you note the new address to send it to, which

is included on the form. If you are completing payment by electronic means these have not

changed. I look forward to seeing you all again for another year of brilliant chess here at NATCOR!

New Members

We extend a warm Natcorian welcome back to returning members, Graham Salmon from Diss and Alan Terry from Paignton.

Book Review – Adam Spencer

The Bird Tweets

Many players seem to like to start their games as white with the goal of getting the sort of position that they have chosen rather than let black’s choice of defence set the tone for the game. Several opening systems lend themselves to this approach. In my own, recent, correspondence games I have faced The Sokolsky (1. b4), The Colle, and the London System.

I have also, entirely for the purposes of a possible book review, tried out the suggestions in Wellings and Giddens recent book Side-stepping Mainline Theory. Your book reviewer’s top tip is don’t buy this book with the intention of trying out the white side of the repertoire. There is some good stuff on the Philidor and Old Indian as black, but the authors’ suggestions for white are very unpromising as my results with them might suggest.

In similar vein, Williams and Palliser have a new book out, The Iron English, in which they set out a white repertoire based upon the Botvinnik structure in the English Opening.

The problem with many of these universal approaches is, in my humble opinion, that they can get a bit samey. True, they lead to positions where the white player is familiar but variety is the spice of life and all that and none of these systems offers a ‘lifetime repertoire’ although all are worth an

Issue 998 July-August 2021

4

occasional outing once in a while.

Often missing from discussions of these universal systems is Bird’s Opening which is somewhat surprising to me. Firstly, because the Bird can be played in various ways - as a Revered Classical, Stonewall, or Leningrad Dutch, or combined with a queen’s side fianchetto - it offers a variety absent from many other supposedly universal systems. Secondly, some pretty strong players have given it a punt. Bent Larsen added his own take on the opening by playing the fianchetto with b4 rather than b3. And even the Mighty Carlsen has played the Bird, including a very nice win in the Reversed Leningrad against Kramnik.

I first played the Bird back when I lived in Penrith and played OTB chess in the Cumbria League. Another member of Penrith Chess club had bought the Soltis book (below) and started playing it with some success. I, too, took it up with similar success.

In correspondence games the first example I can find in my own games is against our very own Colin Lyne in the BPCF Open 192 from 1990. In that game I adopted the Reversed Leningrad approach and drew in 24 moves. My first and only draw against Colin. On my return to correspondence play I have essayed the Bird a few times and results are, by and large, no better or worse than with anything else I have tried. Stronger players beat me; I beat weaker players by and by.

Looking at my bookshelves I see that I have a few books on the Bird and the rest of this article is based on the following books.

● O’Connell, K.J., 1983. Bird’s Opening. Nottingham: The Chess Player. ● Soltis, A., 1989. Bird-Larsen Attack. Dallas: Chess Digest. ● Taylor, T., 2005. Bird’s Opening. London: Everyman Chess ● Danielsen, H., 2017. The Polar Bear System. Self-Published.

In addition to these books there is also a ‘Move by Move’ book from 2015 by Cyrus Lakdawala which I don’t have beyond a short pdf extract made available by the publisher.

What of the books themselves. O’Connell is an old school ‘Informator’ style book with no prose. Lots of good stuff on From’s Gambit (1. f4, e5) including from a thematic postal tournament. Taylor and Lakdawala attempt a comprehensive approach with good explanations. Soltis is a thin book that looks only at a quick b3 after 1. … d5 but offers recommendations against black’s other tries. Denielsen looks at the Reversed Leningrad approach only, which he has renamed, for reasons doubtless clear to him, the Polar Bear System. A weakness of Danielsen’s book is that he does not cover the From which is a critical try for black and one which you are likely to meet in correspondence play but which I have never encountered in OTB games.

A major weakness in the Soltis book is that he doesn’t cover problems of move order and does not cover at all the ‘refutation’ of the 2.b3 line which is an early d4! By black. Consider Nimzowitsch - Steiner 1927 for example, given by Taylor.

Taylor is clear that 2. Nf3 is the move when 2. … g6 can prevent any q-side fianchetto by white. Indeed Taylor is rather sniffy about the whole fianchetto line, preferring both the Reversed Leningrad and Classical approaches. Personally, I retain a soft spot for the fianchetto line if black permits it. Back in my Penrith days I won some nice games following a well-timed c4 break in the centre. The key thing is not to get hung up on a king-side attack after playing through Lasker-Bauer 1889.

Danielsen’s book focuses on the Reversed Leningrad which seems to be the modern preference

Issue 998 July-August 2021

5

for white players. After all, the Leningrad Dutch is risky but fine for black so why not for white too? Danielsen offers a comprehensive coverage of his system but omits the From. However, Soltis, O’Connell, and Taylor all show that white is fine taking the pawn. If you don’t fancy it, you can always play 2.e4 and transpose to a King’s Gambit which would certainly come as a shock to your opponent.

If you only want one Bird book on your shelves, which should it be? Well, here I am hindered by not having read Lakdawala’s book. But, I have to admit, his writing style can grate after a while. So, for me, I would go for Taylor which covers all the system options (as does Lakdawala) without Lakdawala’s idiosyncratic prose. If you can find space for a second book, and you like the Reversed Leningrad, then add Danielsen’s book.

Bird’s Opening is never going to be anyone’s ‘forever’ opening as white, but it’s a lot of fun to play, especially OTB but sound enough to be tried in correspondence games too. If you want to reach a position where the result is determined by playing ability rather than who has the most up to date book or database, then get the old Bird tweeting once in a while.

NBKO Policy Change? – Anthony Thistlewood

As the NBKO Tournament Controller I'm coming up against a reluctance from some members to

take part unless their opponents play on the webserver. This is understandable these days but

creates a problem when we offer as a club all CC formats and are proud to do this.

Several of our most loyal players in the NBKO prefer postal play or even simply e-mailing but this

means I am currently struggling to start NBKO170 because webserver-only entrants are put off.

A possible solution would be to have one tournament for webserver-only players and another for

players happy to use any format.

Since this is a departure from previous policy in the club, I would welcome members' views.

Hopefully positive views from members will be accompanied by more entries from now on.

Tournament News

(Events not mentioned here remain as last reported)

TMLC 2020/21 – Paul Pope

The Premier Division has now concluded, with the final game now finished. It has not changed the

placings in the final table, Colin Lyne is still very much the champion!

Premier Division 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tot.

1 Stephen Bailey 0 1 0 C 0 0 1

2 Paul Pope 1 ½ 0 C ½ ½ 2½

Issue 998 July-August 2021

6

3 Russell Finch 0 ½ 0 C 0 0 ½

4 Colin Lyne 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 5

5 Colin Truelove c C c 0 c ½a ½

6 Jim Garvock 1 ½ 1 ½ C 0 3

7 Marc Wakeham 1 ½ 1 ½ ½a 1 4½ Due to the sad death of Colin Truelove, his remaining games were either cancelled (c) due to insufficient

moves played or adjudicated (a).

.

The First Division still has three results to declare, so all to play for!.

First Division 1 2 3 4 Tot.

1 David Waud 0 1 1

2 Jerry Cope 1 1 2

3 Paul Dahlgren 0 0 0

4 Alan Beresford

The Second Division still has a number of games to declare, so anyone can still make a run at

promotion.

Second Division 1 2 3 4 5 Tot.

1 Ken Law 1 0 1

2 Gordon Barron 1 1

3 Chris Martin

4 Graham Mill-Wilson 0 0

5 Eddy Bishop 1 0 1

The Third Division has now crowned its champion in Phillip Beckett, who has announced his

presence in the tournament in the best possible way: delivering an unbeaten 4/4. Well done

Phillip! Only a couple of games left to declare now.

Third Division 1 2 3 4 5 Tot.

1 Phillip Beckett 1 1 1 1 4

2 Nick Glanvile 0 1 1 2

3 Phil Drury 0 0 1 1 2

4 John Owens 0 0 0 0

5 Ian Fawcett 0 0 0 0

I am always looking for new players for this tournament. The next season will commence around

the beginning of October, so if you are interested in taking up the challenge please let me know.

Bear in mind that this is a postal tournament, so you will be expected to play any games required

by post if your opponent wishes to do so, but you may play any of your games by email or

webserver by agreement with each opponent.

For current players, this is your FINAL warning that the end date for this year's tournament is the

1st September. You must ensure that either an agreed result or an adjudication claim has reached

me for any outstanding games that you are involved in by the 15th September, or you risk being

defaulted in these games.

Issue 998 July-August 2021

7

Also, I will assume that you are willing to continue your participation in the TMLC for 2021-22

unless I hear from you telling me to the contrary. I’m looking forward to seeing you all again next

season!

The Keith Richardson GM All-Play-All Tournament – Graham Mill-Wilson

Players in each event are matched as fairly as possible according to their grading. Come and play in the APA! If you want to play your APA games via the ICCF server please let me know and I will enter you in one of the server-only APA tournaments. Players not specifying the server as their choice will be placed in a standard APA event where they may agree any method of play (including server) with their opponents with post as the default.

APA102 Server (20’12/20 – 19/12/2021) 1 2 3 4 5 P

1 Peter Dunks ½ 1 ½ 2

2 Stephen Bailey 1 0 1

3 David Elwood ½ ½ 0 1

4 Jon Mahony 0 0 ½ 0 ½

5 CCE Marc Wakeham ½ 1 1 1 3½

Marc wins this tournament. Congratulations!

APA103 Postal (8/01/2021 – 7/01/2022) 1 2 3 4 5 P

1 Colin Lyne ½ ½

2 CCE Marc Wakeham ½ 1 1 2½

3 Stephen Bailey 0 1 1

4 Alan Berestord

5 John Mahony 0 0 0

APA104 Postal (20/04/2021 – 19/04/2022) 1 2 3 4 5 P

1 John Gardner 0 0

2 Adam Spencer 1 1

3 Ray Cox

4 Alan Beresford

5 Andrew Borkowski

APA105 Server (21/04/2021 – 20/04/2022) 1 2 3 4 5 P

1 Stephen Bailey

2 CCE Marc Wakeham 1 1 1 3

3 Lawrence Rhodes 0 0 0

4 Nick Glanvile 0 0

5 CCE Colin Beveridge 0 1 1

Issue 998 July-August 2021

8

APA106 Server (18/062021 – 17/06/2022) 1 2 3 4 5 P

1 Rob Taylor

2 Eddy Bishop

3 Graham Mill-Wilson

4 Jonathan Powell

5 Anthony Thistlewood

Reg Gilman Continuous Tournament – Peter Dudeney

RGCT Table @ 12th July 2021

Name R/R G/O P W D L Pts

LYNE, COLIN 4 20 16 4 0 18

WAKEHAM,MARC CCE 2 4 20 16 4 0 18

Sherwood, Russell CCM 2 11 20 15 5 0 17½

BAILEY, STEPHEN 2 31 20 16 2 2 17

LOBLEY, JIM 5 20 12 7 1 15½

Mason, Ian CCM 1 1 20 10 10 0 15

Clarke, David 1 5 20 14 2 4 15

Deans, Mary 2 7 20 10 9 1 14½

Dunks, Peter 5 20 12 4 4 14

Hewes, Ralph 4 20 11 5 4 13½

Rhodes, Lawrence 2 6 20 12 3 5 13½

Senior, Lee 1 17 11 4 2 13

Parrott, Laurence 1 2 18 12 0 6 12

Richardson, Dave 2 20 10 4 6 12

Wright, Ashley 3 7 20 10 4 6 12

Goodwin, Brian 3 4 20 11 2 7 12

DUDENEY, PETER 2 20 7 9 4 11½

Elwood, David 9 20 8 7 5 11½

Pope, Paul 7 20 8 7 5 11½

Rimmer, Tony 5 20 7 8 5 11

Moore, John 1 4 20 8 5 7 10½

Kirk, Matthew 1 3 17 6 8 3 10

Mahony, Jon 1 9 15 9 2 4 10

Cornes, Cornelius 2 20 8 4 8 10

Randall, Adam 2 4 20 8 4 8 10

Dahlgren, Paul 9 20 7 5 8 9½

Egginton, Roy 2 2 20 7 5 8 9½

Garvock, Jim 8 20 7 5 8 9½

Wusteman, Fred 4 20 7 5 8 9½

Whymark, Derek 4 20 9 1 10 9½

Allport, Andrew 2 9 20 7 4 9 9

Tupper, Alex 1 2 20 7 4 9 9

Dixon, Richard 3 11 20 8 2 10 9

Douglas, Craig 2 20 6 5 9 8½

Dudeney, Keith 1 5 20 5 6 9 8

Issue 998 July-August 2021

9

Lawrence, Stephanie 2 20 6 4 10 8

Spencer, Adam 2 20 7 2 11 8

Mackenzie, Reginald 4 20 8 0 12 8

Pomeroy, Ray 1 20 7 1 12 7½

Upton, Bob 1 3 20 5 4 11 7

Swindells, Philip 3 20 6 2 12 7

Mountford, David 4 8 6 1 1 6½

Glanvile, Nicholas 3 4 20 4 5 11 6½

Gardner, Jon 1 10 6 6 0 0 6

Taylor, Robert 8 20 5 2 13 6

White, John 2 20 5 2 13 6

McCaul, Christian 2 2 20 6 0 14 6

Caulkett, Peter 2 2 8 5 1 2 5½

Barron, Gordon 12 20 3 4 13 5

Miles, Alan 4 20 3 4 13 5

Wilkinson, David 1 1 20 5 0 15 5

Drury, Philip 4 8 20 4 1 15 4½

Finch, Russell 2 20 4 1 15 4½

Beckett, Phillip 8 12 1 6 5 4

Bishop, Edward 1 2 20 3 2 15 4

Jones, Malcolm 2 20 3 2 15 4

Powell, Jonathan 4 3 20 3 2 15 4

Stone, John 5 6 12 2 3 7 3½

Childs, Simon 1 2 13 2 3 8 3½

Mill-Wilson, Graham 2 6 20 3 1 16 3½

Almarza Mato, Carlos 2 4 2 2 0 3

Rixon, Anthony 1 4 20 2 2 16 3

Law, Ken 2 10 20 3 0 17 3

Williamson, Dawn LGM 6 4 1 3 0 2½

Smith, Andrew CCE 4 4 0 4 0 2

Keevil, Paul CCM 2 8 2 0 2 0 1

Dunne, Marcus 2 5 0 2 3 1

Titley, Malcolm 3 3 0 1 2 ½

Cox, Ray 1 2 4 0 1 3 ½

Beresford, Alan 2 6 0 1 5 ½

Harrigan, Iestyn 2 4 0 0 4 0

Zlosnik, John 2 4 0 0 4 0

No Results Box Shaw, Tony 6 0 0 0 0 0

Beveridge, Colin CCE 4 0 0 0 0 0

Results Reported Since EP998

11/05/2021 34468 Nicholas Glanvile ½ ½ Paul Pope 12/05/2021 34508 David Clarke ½ ½ Tony Rimmer 13/05/2021 34251 Bob Upton 1 0 Malcolm Titley 13/05/2021 34543 Edward Bishop 0 1 Stephen Bailey 14/05/2021 34556 Nicholas Glanvile 0 1 Colin Lyne

Issue 998 July-August 2021

10

16/05/2021 34450 Stephen Bailey ½ ½ Peter Dunks 17/05/2021 34687 Ashley Wright 1 0 David Wilkinson 17/05/2021 34582 Derek Whymark 0 1 Lawrence Rhodes 18/05/2021 34558 Stephen Bailey 1 0 Anthony Rixon 18/05/2021 34638 Ken Law 0 1 Philip Swindells 19/05/2021 34507 Tony Rimmer 0 1 David Clarke 19/05/2021 34528 Keith Dudeney ½ ½ Tony Rimmer 20/05/2021 34559 Paul Pope 1 0 Robert Taylor 20/05/2021 34564 Robert Taylor 0 1 John Moore 21/05/2021 34102 Dave Richardson 0 1 Fred Wusteman 22/05/2021 34196 Alan Beresford 0 1 Stephen Bailey 23/05/2021 34581 Lawrence Rhodes 1 0 Derek Whymark 23/05/2021 34641 Ashley Wright ½ ½ Roy Egginton 23/05/2021 34642 Roy Eggington ½ ½ Ashley Wright 23/05/2021 34607 Mary Deans ½ ½ Jim Lobley 24/05/2021 34593 Stephen Bailey ½ ½ Mary Deans 24/05/2021 34605 Edward Bishop 0 1 Graham Mill-Wilson 26/05/2021 34688 David Wilkinson 0 1 Ashley Wright 27/05/2021 34610 David Mountford 0 1 Ralph Hewes 28/05/2021 34631 Graham Mill-Wilson 0 1 Jon Gardner 28/05/2021 34557 Anthony Rixon 0 1 Stephen Bailey 29/05/2021 34428 Iestyn Harrigan 0 1 Ken Law 29/05/2021 34598 Alan Miles ½ ½ John Moore 30/05/2021 34501 Gordon Barron 0 1 Stephen Bailey 30/05/2021 34502 Stephen Bailey 1 0 Gordon Barron 30/05/2021 34609 Ralph Hewes ½ ½ David Mountford 01/06/2021 34448 Jon Mahony 1 0 Paul Dahlgren 04/06/2021 34678 David Mountford 1 0 Graham Mill-Wilson 04/06/2021 34677 Graham Mill-Wilson 0 1 David Mountford 04/06/2021 34597 John Moore 1 0 Alan Miles 07/06/2021 34683 Nicholas Glanvile ½ ½ Keith Dudeney 08/06/2021 34643 Ray Pomeroy 1 0 Jonathan Powell 08/06/2021 34460 Stephen Bailey 1 0 Robert Taylor 09/06/2021 34594 Mary Deans 1 0 Stephen Bailey 11/06/2021 34033 Richard Dixon 0 1 Jim Garvock 11/06/2021 34034 Jim Garvock 1 0 Richard Dixon 12/06/2021 34618 Stephen Bailey 1 0 Philip Swindells 14/06/2021 34606 Graham Mill-Wilson 0 1 Edward Bishop 15/06/2021 34639 Jonathan Powell 0 1 Adam Randall 15/06/2021 34684 Keith Dudeney ½ ½ Nicholas Glanvile 15/06/2021 33849 Richard Dixon 1 0 Christian McCaul 15/06/2021 34206 Brian Goodwin 1 0 Richard Dixon 18/06/2021 34137 Anthony Rixon ½ ½ John Stone 21/06/2021 34726 Lawrence Rhodes 1 0 Ashley Wright 21/06/2021 34461 Peter Caulkett 1 0 John Stone 21/06/2021 34462 John Stone 0 1 Peter Caulkett 21/06/2021 34174 John Stone ½ ½ Bob Upton 22/06/2021 34567 Jonathan Powell 0 1 Philip Drury 22/06/2021 34532 Russell Sherwood 1 0 Brian Goodwin 22/06/2021 34725 Ashley Wright 0 1 Lawrence Rhodes 22/06/2021 34227 Simon Childs ½ ½ John Stone 24/06/2021 34313 Brian Goodwin 1 0 Ray Cox 25/06/2021 34721 Roy Eggington 1 0 Ken Law

Issue 998 July-August 2021

11

29/06/2021 34616 Stephen Bailey 1 0 Jon Mahony 30/06/2021 34680 David Wilkinson 0 1 Philip Drury 30/06/2021 34722 Ken Law 0 1 Roy Egginton 30/06/2021 34650 Andy Allport 0 1 Ashley Wright 01/07/2021 33850 Christian McCaul 1 0 Richard Dixon 04/07/2021 34640 Adam Randall ½ ½ Jonathan Powell 05/07/2021 34667 Marc Wakeham ½ ½ Paul Keevil 05/07/2021 34668 Paul Keevil ½ ½ Marc Wakeham 07/07/2021 34181 Ian Mason ½ ½ Russell Sherwood 07/07/2021 34568 Philip Drury 0 1 Jonathan Powell 07/07/2021 34600 Philip Drury 0 1 Andrew Allport 08/07/2021 34719 John Moore ½ ½ Matthew Kirk 09/07/2021 34189 Laurence Parrott 1 0 Alex Tupper 11/07/2021 34632 Jon Gardner 1 0 Graham Mill-Wilson 11/07/2021 34611 Nicholas Glanvile 0 1 Mary Deans 11/07/2021 34612 Mary Deans 1 0 Nicholas Glanvile 12/07/2021 34729 Stephen Bailey 1 0 David Clarke

New Pairings

13/05/2021 34703 34704 Edward Bishop Stephen Bailey 13/05/2021 34705 34706 Paul Pope Peter Dudeney 18/05/2021 34707 34708 Reginald Mackenzie Philip Swindells 19/05/2021 34709 34710 Cornelius Cornes Nicholas Glanvile 19/05/2021 34711 34712 Tony Rimmer Marc Wakeham 19/05/2021 34713 34714 Colin Beveridge Russell Sherwood 19/05/2021 34715 34716 Colin Beveridge Marc Wakeham 20/05/2021 34717 34718 Paul Pope Matthew Kirk 22/05/2021 34719 34720 John Moore Matthew Kirk 23/05/2021 34721 34722 Roy Egginton Ken Law 23/05/2021 34723 34724 Ashley Wright Derek Whymark 26/05/2021 34725 34726 Ashley Wright Lawrence Rhodes 26/05/2021 34727 34728 Lawrence Rhodes David Clarke 26/05/2021 34729 34730 Stephen Bailey David Clarke 27/05/2021 34731 34732 Colin Lyne Fred Wusteman 27/05/2021 34733 34734 Colin Lyne Ralph Hewes 29/05/2021 34735 34736 Ken Law Derek Whymark 30/05/2021 34737 34738 David Mountford Alan Miles 31/05/2021 34739 34740 Alan Beresford Stephen Bailey 04/06/2021 34741 34742 David Clarke Ralph Hewes 04/06/2021 34743 34744 Ken Law Iestyn Harrigan 04/06/2021 34745 34746 Robert Taylor Adam Spencer 05/06/2021 34747 34748 David Mountford John Moore 08/06/2021 34749 34750 Robert Taylor Stephen Bailey 15/06/2021 34751 34752 Richard Dixon Jim Garvock 15/06/2021 34753 34754 Richard Dixon Graham Mill-Wilson 15/06/2021 34755 34756 Gordon Barron Graham Mill-Wilson 18/06/2021 34757 34758 Anthony Rixon Robert Taylor 25/06/2021 34759 34760 Anthony Rixon Bob Upton 25/06/2021 34761 34762 Simon Childs Malcolm Titley 30/06/2021 34763 34764 Roy Egginton Robert Taylor 05/07/2021 34765 34766 David Elwood Ashley Wright 05/07/2021 34767 34768 Ken Law Adam Randall

Issue 998 July-August 2021

12

07/07/2021 34769 34770 John Stone Marcus Dunne 11/07/2021 34771 34772 Mary Deans Laurence Parrott 11/07/2021 34773 34774 Philip Drury Nicholas Glanvile 11/07/2021 34775 34776 Jonathan Powell Graham Mill-Wilson

Norman Bond Knockout Tournament – Anthony Thistlewood Have you tried the NBKO yet? Why not give it go? You play only one opponent in each round! Please let me have your details as I am eager to start a new NBKO tournament as soon as I can. (M = Major Game, m = minor game)

NBKO 166 Final (01/01/2021 – 31/12/2021)

Alan Beresford -v- Marc Wakeham

NBKO 168 R1 (16/06/20 – 16/06/2022)

Colin Lyne 2-0 Anthony Thistlewood

Rob Taylor 0-2 Marc Wakeham

Alan Beresford 0-2 Stephen Bailey

Russell Sherwood 2-0 Cornelius Cornes

NBKO 168 SF1 (14/9/20 – 13/9/2022)

Colin Lyne 1-1(2draws) Marc Wakeham

NBKO 168 SF2 (9/11/2020 – 9/11/2021)

Stephen Bailey 0-2 Russell Sherwood

NBKO 168 Final (16/05/2021 – 15/05/2022)

Marc Walenam -v- Russell Sherwood

NBKO 169 R1 (1/1/2021 – 31/12/2021)

Graham Mill-Wilson -v- Ray Cox

Shaun Holmes -v- Ken Law

Mark Wakeham -v- Nick Glanvile

Colin Lyne 2-0 Stephen Bailey

Issue 998 July-August 2021

13

Chess from a Backseat – Anthony Thistlewood

Once I'd been prescribed chemotherapy after my operation in October, I decided to take a rest

from chess. I was warned about the strain of the treatment so decided not to overload myself.

Marc was good enough to take over my NBKO controller duties. For some months the chess bug

didn't bite, but eventually I missed not having any chess challenges to chew on. My tiredness was

increasing but so was my appetite for chess.

As Clint Eastwood put it, “A man has to know his limitations”, and I know mine. When it comes to

chess I know I get bored with chess theory very easily. Books with titles like “A Rock-Solid

Approach to Openings” and “Smash the Sicilian” (silly titles) leave me cold.

What I do enjoy is history. I also find games played in the past are usually easier to understand.

Capablanca's games have always appealed to me, especially his endgames, and also Harry

Pillsbury. Pillsbury's games never seem boring so when I needed a chess fix during these

housebound months I went back to Pillsbury's games mostly.

His best years were between 1895 and 1904. He had an even score against the World Champion

Emmanuel Lasker. One great feature of his play was seizing the initiative. Then just when his

opponent thought he had weathered the storm, he would realise there was a second wave coming

at him . Pillsbury summed this up himself when he said, “So set up your attacks that when the fire

is out, it isn't out”. This requires some depth of calculation, far-sightedness and patience too.

Simple attacks that quickly burn out won't do.

A good example of Pillsbury's style would be Pillsbury v Lasker played at Cambridge Springs in

1904. Tragically Pillsbury died only two years later at the age of 33. (Anyone interested in further

biographical details like his blindfold chess exploits and health issues can find those elsewhere.)

What a pity he didn't live long enough to play Capablanca.

No you won't find Pillsbury's insights into the Indian defences or the Sicilian because he didn't play

them. But I feel there are timeless lessons we should know whatever opening theory is in vogue.I

wish I could apply such lessons in my own games but I think I must have learned something from

Pillsbury, Capablanca and their best contemporaries.

Peter Dunks – Colin Lyne

RGCT 34554

(A45 Trompovsky Attack)

Notes by Colin

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 this move has been played by Kasparov, Karpov and Leko.

3.e4 h6 4.Bxf6 forced as 4.Bh4 g5 and Nxe4 winning a pawn.

4… Qxf6 5.Nf3 d6 6.c3!? 6.Nc3 is the most common move here.

Issue 998 July-August 2021

14

6… g5 a move not uncommon in this line.

7.e5!? a slight surprise 7.Bd3 is the most common move.

7… Qg7 8.exd6 Bxd6 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.0-0 Bd7

Black already has a comfortable game and intends to castle queenside and attack on the kingside.

11.Na3 g4 12.Nd2 0-0-0 13.Nac4 Kb8 14.Nxd6 cxd6 15.a4 intending to also attack.

15… e5 16.d5 Ne7 17.Qb3 f5! I already felt that black’s attack was the more dangerous.

18.a5 18.Nc4 Qf6 19.f4!? seems better.

18… Qf7 19.c4 e4 20.Be2 h5 21.Qa3? Rac1 may be best but white is already worse.

21… Qf6 22.Rfc1 22.Rfe1 seems better.

22… h4 23.Qc3 Qh6 black has no interest in exchanging queens.

24.a6 b6 25.Qe3? sacking a pawn with c5 may be best.

Issue 998 July-August 2021

15

25… f4! now black sacks a pawn.

26.Qxe4 Rde8 27.Qd3 f3 28.Bf1 Ng6 29.Re1 Nf4 30.Qa3 leaving his knight loose.

30.fxg2 winning at least a piece as he is attacking two. So white resigned at this stage.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the game. I now have some of my teaching sessions on YouTube.

Winning Against the Odds – Anthony Thistlewood

I'm not a Netflix subscriber so I didn't see “Queen's Gambit” but I did read the book. I hadn't got

far into Walter Tevis's story before I wondered if he was basing it on real events. It's the story of a

girl who learns about chess in an orphanage and rises to become a top international player. Beth

Harmon's unfortunate start in life mirrors the true story of Mikhail Chigorin.

Chigorin was, like Harry Pillsbury, a player whose games never bore me. For the Methven

House Orphanage where the fictitious Beth Harmon began life substitute the Gatchina Orphanage

in St Petersburg where Chigorin's teacher taught him chess. Chess became his obsession; his

way to tolerate the cruel orphanage discipline and make his way up in the world.

Chigorin was a fine attacking player and Boris Spassky was a great admirer. He twice played

Wilhelm Steinitz for the World Title in 1889 and 1892 losing on both occasions; narrowly the

second time. He had many closely fought games with Pillsbury. They were closely matched but

Pillsbury was the better endgame player.

Perhaps Pillsbury's greatest ending was played on Christmas Day 1895 in St. Petersburg

against Emmanuel Lasker, the recently crowned World Champion, but the story I like best

happened a few months before in the Hastings International Tournament which had attracted

every top player in the world. Pillsbury was relatively unknown at the time but by the final round he

was leading by half a point. His nearest rival was Chigorin who was not expected to win his last

game. So Pillsbury just set out out to draw against Isidor Gunsberg . He traded off most of the

pieces into a position where he couldn't lose but it was almost impossible to win. Then suddenly

he realised that Chigorin was winning and he might have to share first place with him.

How Pillsbury beat Gunsberg from a level position is still a superb endgame lesson for any

aspiring player. All his moves have been checked with a modern search engine which proved that

Pillsbury found the absolutely best moves every time.

Issue 998 July-August 2021

16

From Your Editor

My sincere thanks to those of you who have used the unexpected leisure time to submit items for

publication. Please remember that this magazine stands or falls on the contributions from you, the

members, so if you have something to say or an interesting game to submit please don’t hold

back. Put it down on paper (I’m happy to transcribe handwritten material provided it is reasonably

legible) or, preferably, send it to me via email in order to avoid possible transcription errors

creeping in.

Please let me have your comments and contributions for the next edition by 15th September

at the very latest.

Colin Hipwell