Diary of an Itinerant Chess Player

4th Jessie Gilbert International Tournament Results

2011-09-05T10:25:00.000+01:00

As expected, the Open was won by GM Keith Arkell with 8/9. Second were GM Bogdan Lalic and Michael Matuszewski with 6/9.
The 'Sections for All' B event was again won by Richard Bryant with 4/5. Second were Dominic Gibbs and Francis Fields with 3.5. Alan Fraser won the U1600 grading prize with 3/5.
The 'Sections for All' C event was won by Craig Kennedy with 5/6. Joint second were Richard Bryant and Frank Kane with 4.5.
Congratulations to all of the winners.

4th Jessie Gilbert International Tournament

2011-08-24T11:14:00.000+01:00

The 4th Jessie Gilbert International Tournament is well under way at CCF Coulsdon. There are a number of events taking place, the main one being the open tournament.

The sections for all FIDE rated A event took place last weekend and was won by Richard Bryant with 5/6. Craig Kennedy came second with 4.5 and the grading prizes were won by John Torrance, David Young and Amit Athawale with 3.5.

The Open is being led by GM Keith Arkell with 3.5 out of 4. Just behind him are GM Bogdan Lalic, Michael Matuszewski and IM Jack Rudd with 3/4. This afternoon could be very interesting with Arkell v Rudd and Matuszewski v Lalic.

ECF Funding Proposals

2011-08-23T14:34:00.001+01:00

The ECF has brought out new funding proposals with 4 levels of membership, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. This link http://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ECF-Funding-Proposals-Aug-2011.pdf gives the full information, but the basic scheme is as follows:

Bronze - Participation in Club, League and County events - £12 (£8)

Silver - As above plus non-FIDE congresses - £18 (£12)

Gold - As above plus FIDE-rated congresses, eligible for ECF Grand Prix - £27 (£22)

Platinum - As above plus ECF Yearbook and Diary - £60

Wrekin Congress

2011-01-09T17:47:00.001Z

This weekend has been spent at the Wrekin Congress, near Telford. I had stuck to my New Year Resolution and studied chess for at least an hour each day this week. But it was to no avail. I scored 2 out of 5 in the minor, with a grading performance of 20 points below my grade. Not a good weekend, hopefully I can learn from my mistakes. (Especially my last game in which I turned an outright win into a draw). At least I helped 2 of my opponents to 3rd place!
So, here are the final results:
Minor

Roger Brown 5
Graham Ives 4
Anthony Meakin; Richard Leaper; Ivor Salter; Jonathan Hockey; Matthew Wilson; Richard Szwajkun; Tim Skidmore; Louise Coxon 3.5

Major

Tom Robinson; Brendon O'Gorman; Tim Lane; Adrian Walker; Phil Bull 3.5

Premier

Gavyn Cooper 4
Russel James; Don Mason; Andy Baruch 3.5

Hasting Weekend - Final Round

2011-01-02T15:05:00.000Z

As the final round of the weekend tournament begins, top board in the open sees GM Stuart Conquest on 3.5 playing white against James Essinger on 3. James Holland managed to hold the Grand Master to a draw in round 4.

In the Major there are 3 players on 3.5. Maurice Lawson plays white against John Hickman, whilst Andrew Fleming downfloats to play black against Brendan O'Gorman.

The Minor sees a battle on the top 2 boards as 4 players are on 3.5. Owen Messere plays white against Phil Foley, whilst Keith Findley has the white pieces against Robert Pooley.

The under 120 sees Yang-Jian Zhou half a point clear on 3.5, with Alan Fraser upfloating to play white against him. Mason Woodhams plays white against James Robertson, both also on 3.

Hastings International Chess Congress

2011-01-02T12:33:00.000Z

The Hastings Masters Tournament is well under way now and after 5 rounds GM David Howell is a clear 1 point ahead with a perfect 5 out of 5.

In the 5 round weekend tournaments the positions were as follows after 3 rounds:
Open

GM Stuart Conquest 3
Laurence Webb, James Holland, Victor Jones, James Essinger, Rhys Cumming 2

Major

Andrew Fleming, Maurice Lawson 3

Minor

Owen Messere, Keith Findley 3

Under 120

Yang-Jian Zhou, Paul Buswell, James Robertson, Alan Fraser 2.5

Caterham Chess Congress - Final Results

2010-10-18T16:22:00.004+01:00

The Caterham Chess Congress took place this weekend at Caterham School. The playing hall is the school's concert hall which was spacious and well lit. As usual there was a good selection of food available at very reasonable prices and plenty of seating for spectators etc.

Where there was a tie for 1st place the prize money was shared, but the trophy was decided on tie-break.

Open

Graeme Buckley (4)
Yang-fan Zhou (4)
William Jones; Gavin Lock; Tyson Mordue (3.5)

Major

Lyall Baylis (4)
Aditya Gupta (4)
Rohan Shiatis; Daniel Staples; Adam Taylor; Samuel Woolacott (3.5)

Intermediate

Mark Stone (4)
Conrad Allison (4)
Alexander Hardwick; James Porter (3.5)

Minor

Barry Miles (4)
David Howes (4)
Stephen Billet; James Hall; Rob Woolacott (3.5)

Caterham Congress Cross Tables

Spectrum Chess Congress - Portsmouth Final Results

2010-09-26T19:00:00.080+01:00

Premier
1st Takaedza Chipanga (4)
2nd Richard G McMaster (3.5)
Major
1st Matthew Chapman (4.5)
2nd Paul Smith (4)
U145 GP ThomasSlater (2.5)
Minor
1st Kenneth Sullivan (4.5)
2nd= Lee Neville; Tony Dempster; William Curry (4)
U108 GP Kevin Lamb (3)

Spectrum Chess Congress - Portsmouth Round 4 Leaders

2010-09-26T14:08:00.004+01:00

Takaedza Chipanga is now guaranteed 1st place in the Premier, being 1.5 points clear with a perfect 4 out of 4.

In the Major, Paul Smith is still 1/2 a point clear.

In the Minor Kenneth Sullivan is 1 point clear with a perfect 4, but needs at least a draw against Mick Plumb to guarantee 1st outright. As there are 7 players on 3, there could be a number of people tying for prize money.

Premier

Takaedza Chipanga 4
Richard G McMaster 2.5
Robert J Harnett; David W Fowler; David J Deacon; Kamarunsalehin Kamis, Joseph A Coburn 2

Major

Paul Smith 4
Matthew Chapman 3.5
Philip J Kennedy 3

Minor

Kenneth Sullivan 4
Robert E Treloar; Paul Eyles; William Curry; Mick D Plumb; Lee Neville; Tony Dempster; Jim Hall 3

Spectrum Chess Congress - Portsmouth Round 3 Leaders

2010-09-26T10:45:00.004+01:00

At the end of 3 rounds a clear leader is emerging in the Premier. Takaedza Chipanga from Rose Forgrove is 1 point clear on a perfect score.

In the Major, Paul Smith from Brighton and Hove, is 1/2 point clear, again on a perfect score.

In the minor, there are 2 leaders on a perfect score, Kenneth Sullivan and Paul Eyles both from Portsmouth.

Leaders after 3 rounds:

Premier

Takaedza Chipanga 3
Richard G McMaster; Joseph A Coburn 2

Major

Paul Smith 3
Shum Ghumman; Matthew Chapman; Kier Eyles 2.5

Minor

Kenneth Sullivan; Paul Eyles 3
Robert Trebar; Jim Hall 2.5

Spectrum Chess Congress - Portsmouth

2010-09-25T15:19:00.006+01:00

The Spectrum Chess 5th Portsmouth congress is taking place this weekend in the Hilton Hotel. This is an excellent venue with good lighting in the main playing area, attentive staff and excellent rooms. Numbers are up on last year too, which is always a good sign.

The leaders after 2 rounds are as follows:

Premier (U-200)

Takaedza Chipanga 2
Richard G McMaster; David W Fowler 1.5

Major (U160)

Shum Ghumman; Kier Eyles; Paul Smith 2

Minor (U-120)

Kenneth Sullivan; Paul Eyles; John Kooner; Lee Neville; Jim Hall 2

Results of the Paignton Diamond Jubilee Chess Congress

2010-09-11T15:55:00.007+01:00

Ron Bruce Open

Keith Arkell 6.5
Richard Almond 5
Neville Gill; Edward Hurwitz; Bruce Jenks; Dirk Jordan; Jason McKenna; Tyson Mordue; Martin Simons 4.5

Rowena Bruce Challengers

Ivor Annetts; Andrew Footner; Brian Hewson; Martin Page; Andrew Price 5

Ken Bloodworth Inter

Paul Smith 5.5
Peter Hannon; Dinah Norman; David Walshaw 5

Walker Minor

Colin Long 5.5
Christine Constable; Geoffrey Naldrett 5

Boniface 5 Round Morning

Richard Bryant 4.5
Andrew Footner; Eric Key; Brendon O'Gorman; David Patrick; Barry Sandicott 4

Looking across the magnificent marble staircase towards the results charts.

Round 5 Results from Paignton

2010-09-10T10:08:00.009+01:00

Photo of the Ballroom at the start of the morning tournament. This room is also used for all but the minor tournament in the afternoon. A visitor's comment yesterday was that they weren't used to seeing chess played in such a grand setting.

In most tournaments round 5 would be the final round, but this is 7 rounds and so leaders can still be overtaken in most sections! The minor sees the battle of the ladies, and GM Keith Arkell is now 1.5 points clear in the open.

Ron Bruce Premier

Keith Arkell 5
John Blore; Neville Gill; Tyson Mordue; Martin Simons 3.5

Rowena Bruce Challengers

Chris Archer-Lock; Brian Hewson; Mel Young 4

Ken Bloodworth Inter

Paul Smith 4.5
Gordon Farrar; Kenneth Francis; Peter Hannan; Geoffrey Rasser; David Walshaw 3.5

Walker Minor

Chris Constable; Hazel Welch 4

Boniface 5 Round Morning

Richard Bryant 4/4
Eric Key; David Siddall 3.5

In the American All-Play-All Nigel Dennis has won all 5 of his games so far.

Adams Chess Simul Paignton 2010

2010-09-09T11:30:00.000+01:00

Results So Far at the Paignton Congress

2010-09-09T11:04:00.008+01:00

Last night saw a civic reception at Oldway Mansions in honour of the congress's Diamond Jubilee. All of the chess players were invited. One of the invited guests was Ken Bloodworth, who played in the first Paignton Congress, and would have been playing in this one too if ill health had not forced his withdrawl.

There have now been 4 rounds in the afternoon events and 3 in the morning events. It is fairly tight at the top in all but the Open section in which Keith Arkell is a point clear of the field. The results for the top players in each section are given below:

Ron Bruce Open

Keith Arkell 4
John Blore; Neville Gill; Dirk Jordan; Tyson Mordue 3

Rowena Bruce Challengers (U-180)

Brian Hewson 4
Chris Archer-Lock; Richard Bryant; Andrew Footner; John Nyman; Martin Page; Andrew Price; Mel Young 3.5

Ken Bloodworth Inter (U-150)

Paul Smith 3.5
Gordon Farrar; Kenneth Francis; Terry Greenaway; Peter Hannon; Freddie Sugden; David Walshaw 3

Walker Minor (U-125)

Paul Bland; Chris Constable; Joe Farrell; Philip Gordon; Kevin Hindom; Conrad Jowett; Hazel Welch 3

Boniface 5 Round Morning (U-180)

Richard Bryant; Roger Scowen 3

Michael Adams Simul in Paignton

2010-09-08T12:26:00.008+01:00

Last night Michael Adams gave a simultaneous chess display at the Paignton Chess Congress at Oldway Mansions. This was part of the celebrations of the Paignton Congress Diamond Jubilee - 60 years of chess in the same venue! Quite a record.

31 players took part in the simul, which was free to enter and then drawn by lot. 3 Devon juniors were chosen and of those, Robert Thompson, was the only person to beat Michael. There were also 4 draws too, so congratulations to Brendan O'Gorman, Chris Archer-Lock, W Taylor and J Wells.

Oldway Mansions, the venue for the congress, is the former home of Isaac Singer and is modelled on the Palace of Verseilles. The main room is the magnificent ballroom, with the minor section taking place in two smaller rooms, one of which is the Mayor's Parlour. The photo below shows part of the painted ceiling.

Results From Spectrum Dudley

2009-01-26T19:11:00.014Z

Major U165

1st Tom Robinson 4/5

2nd = John Blore, Robin Huq, Simon Smith 3.5/5

Minor U125

1st Shailesh Jobanputra 4/5

2nd = Andrew Wiggins, Barry Kocan 3.5/5

Challengers U100

1st John Gibbs 5/5

2nd= Paul Broderick, Richard Leaper, Hazel Welch, Paul Williams 3.5/5

Final Round of Spectrum Chess, Dudley

2009-01-25T14:47:00.014Z

The final round of the Spectrum Chess Congress in Dudley started within the last half hour. On top board in the U165 Major are Tom Robinson (white) with 3.5/4 and John Blore (black) with 3/4.

In the U125 Minor Section Andrew Wiggins (3.5/4) is playing white against Shailesh Jobanputra (3/4).

In the U125 Challengers Section, top board sees John Fenby on 3/4 playing white against John Gibbs, who is sitting undefeated on 4/4. Snapping at their heels are Paul Williams (white) and Richard Leaper (black), both on 3/4, playing on board 2.

Results and prize winners will be posted to this blog tomorrow.

Spectrum Chess - Dudley

2009-01-24T15:18:00.006Z

The first Spectrum Chess Congress of 2009 is taking place this weekend at the Quality Hotel, Dudley. For those who aren't aware, Spectrum specializes in organizing chess congresses in hotel venues. This offers good playing conditions in hotel function rooms combined with hotel accommodation, and the camaraderie that comes from players able to socialize over meals.

This event takes place over 5 rounds, with 3 rounds on the Saturday and 2 on the Sunday. There are 3 sections: U165, U125 and U100. A goodly number have turned up to play and competition is fierce. The rate of play is 36 moves in 90 minutes plus 15 minutes quick play finish.

John and I are providing CCF MindGames bookstall, and also the equipment for the congress. It is good to see an organization which was formed in 1994 still providing congresses. I played some of my first congresses at Spectrum events and even won prize money in the past. This weekend, however, I have chosen not to play as I seem to be in free fall where my chess is concerned.

A Scary Play

2008-11-15T09:22:00.003Z

Yesterday I spent some time listing some of the recently released chess books on ebay. We've let the chess side of ebay slip a bit as we've been concentrating on the trophies and cds.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CCF-MindGames_Chess_Chess-Books-General_W0QQfsubZ4QQssPageNameZSTOREQ3aPROMOBOXQ3aLINKSQQtZkm

In the evening John and I went to the theatre in Worthing. I had won a pair of tickets to 'The Woman in Black' and we were looking forward to an enjoyable night. It is a chilling ghost story, so I spent a lot of time holding John's hand for reassurance. Unfortunately, at a particularly scary moment. I jumped, grabbed his hand even tighter and bent his wrist back. He's OK now, but was not too happy last night!

Ebay Again

2008-11-14T08:55:00.002Z

Yesterday was another typical ebay listing day. Our part-timer was ill, so John and I were frantically trying to make sure that sufficient new listings went live last night to finish a week on Sunday. Mainly that was jazz cds, but John also listed 2 just released train and flight simulations. I was also making sure that our full range of leather key fobs were on the site. No time for any chess study - we hardly stopped for lunch. At least today will be a little quieter.

CCF World Cup Match

2008-11-12T07:49:00.003Z

Monday was chess club night again. We have a new competition there, the CCF World Cup, which is an individual event in rounds. On Monday, that is what I was playing in. I knew that my opponent was tricky, although I had managed to swindle a win against him the previous time that we played. I was sure that he would be out for revenge for that. I was black, but knew that I would need to prepare for our match if I was to stand any chance. I carefully learnt a response to his opening that would give me equality going into the middle game, when I knew that we would both be relying on our chess ability rather than our knowledge of openings. He varied on move 10, which gave me a lot of confidence about my position. I think I lost my way for a few moves after that, but soon was able to treble his pawns on the g file. A rather nice, though I say so myself, tactic and I was also a pawn and the exchange up. We played on a little more, before an error by my opponent enabled me to pin his queen to his king. He resigned, but even without the error, I think I probably should have won. So, I am at last feeling a little more confident about my ability to play this game!

Ebay Listing

2008-11-08T08:37:00.002Z

Most of this week has been spent working on our ebay listings. At present we are selling a large number of jazz cds - used but in great condition. I think there's about 1,000 of them to list altogether, so this takes up a fair amount of time each week. We also sell brand new books on a variety of subjects, and trophies and engravables. It was a pleasant break at the end of the week to spend time photographing and listing pin badges and key fobs for the ebay shop. We are able to provide these with a wide variety of centres for all sorts of sports and hobbies and had recently taken a delivery of these. John tends to do a lot of the ebay posting as I don't tend to get on too well with the packing tape machine (apparently it is all in the wrist action).
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CCF-MindGames

Chess Study

2008-11-05T10:55:00.003Z

Monday is our chess club night and I had started preparing for my match last week. Then, I had a sudden brainstorm that I had seen my opponent playing a certain opening as black (I was white). So, I stopped what I had been looking at and started on something completely different. Needless to say he didn't play that opening, but at least we drew - I'm sure that I had a win in there somewhere though. As John said, the other study was still useful for the future.

ECF Grand Prix

2008-11-01T09:26:00.008Z

This week has been a week of listing on ebay and generally working on the business. However, on Wednesday we had a trip down to Hastings to see John's family and also to deliver the ECF Grand Prix trophies to their office in Battle. CCF MindGames sponsored the ECF Grand Prix last year and are doing so again this year. We felt that it was important to many of our customers and friends and wanted it to continue. We have been supplying trophies for a few years and have had a computerised engraving machine for a few months, so providing the trophies fits in nicely for us.

The new Grand Prix tables are out and I was pleased to see that I am 4th in the bottom section. As I haven't played 7 tournaments yet, I am hopeful to improve on this. However, there is a long way to go until the end of the season and I've had a few bad tournaments as well as some good ones.

http://www.ccfworld.com/MindGames/index.html

http://www.ccfengraving.co.uk/

A Day On Portland Bill

2008-10-31T08:36:00.010Z

If we are not careful, John and I can find that we've worked for 2 or more weeks and not had a day off. So, we now try to build days off into our week. We had been fortunate with our b&b in Weymouth to get 3 nights for the price of 2, so were able to stay over on the Sunday night and have some free time on Monday. I had said that I wanted to go over to Portland Bill, as I hadn't been there before and Tyson offered to show us around.

We met him at the highest point on the island and spent almost 6 hours looking around. He had lots of interesting information about what we were seeing and knew of all sorts of hidden vistas. For example, we climbed a bank and there below us was a working quarry. We visited the Victorian High Angle Battery, which looks like a series of grassy mounds, but when you get up close reveals itself as concrete tunnels and gun emplacements. We naturally visited Portland Bill and were treated to a heavy hail storm - after a morning of glorious sunshine. We took refuge in the cafe and had a meal, with a beautiful rainbow as a background. The remainder of the day was cold and reminded us that it was almost November.

We ended our tour with a visit to Chesil Beach - one of my favourite geographical features ever since I first visited it as a student. Again it didn't disappoint. We spent quite a while there and I must admit that by the time we got back to our van and set off on our way home I was very cold. However, it had been a lovely day with no work, no chess, just a time to relax and rejuvenate.

Weymouth Chess Congress

2008-10-30T12:01:00.005Z

John and I spent last weekend running our bookstall at the Weymouth Chess Congress. The congress had moved to a new hotel, which is always interesting for us as we have to rethink the position and layout of the stall. This time we were able to use the small bar area annexed to the ballroom which was being used as the playing venue. The playing area itself was a large room with plenty of space between tables, even when everyone was seated. I was told by one of the players that the floor was maple and that he had been involved in the laying of it 20 years previously.

We were also running a bookstall at the Caterham Congress at the same time. My parents, who know nothing about chess, had agreed to man the stall there. As a result, John decided that he would be better than I manning the mobile with any problems or queries from Caterham.

Friday evening started well when I beat an ungraded player in an equal material endgame. (My knight and king were more centrally placed than his, so I was pretty sure that I had an advantage). However, that was to be the last game that I won all weekend, one of my worst tournaments ever. I did have some tough games, and it was an under-125, but even so......

Exmouth and a Golden Wedding

2008-03-31T10:11:00.003+01:00

We had a very hectic week last week, so no blog for a while. Easter weekend saw us at the WECU congress in Exmouth. This time we made it all the way there with our van intact. After unloading I then had the enjoyment of spending most of the easter weekend in a room under the playing hall with the bookstall. However, there were plenty of people to talk to and the weather outside wasn't too good. Most mornings John and I managed a short walk before opening the shop and then we took it in turns at lunchtime to go for a walk.

After getting home on the Monday evening, Tuesday was a hectic work day. We had to post out our internet sales and bring the internet shop up to date with the weekend sales. We also had some engraving to do (we recently purchased an engraving machine).

On Wednesday we had the shopping to do for my parents' golden wedding party on the Thursday. Fortunately, most, although not all, came from one shop. I had been planning the menu for weeks and had now taken to dreaming about it. My only concern was if I was unable to get a side of salmon - I needn't have worried.

Thursday was spent preparing food, transporting tables, chairs, crockery and food to my parents' house and then further preparation. Why do salads all need preparing at the last minute? Still, it all seemed to go well and the food was enjoyed. People were impressed by the 'golden yellow' table cloths - normally gracing the tables of the bookstall. We had also specially engraved coasters for the occasion - John spent Wednesday evening on that whilst I was busy losing a chess game in Redhill.

Friday was a strange day. We were both exhausted, but the business has to continue. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders though.

La Dolce Vita, Olympia

2008-03-17T11:38:00.003Z

Friday was a rare day off when we went to La Dolce Vita at London's Olympia, an exhibition of all things Italian. We last went two years ago, when John was so impressed with the taste of freshly made pasta (after a cookery demonstration by Aldo Zilli) that he asked for a pasta machine for his birthday. I must say that although it takes longer than opening a packet, the results are definitely worth it.
This year one of our quests was to look for ideas and food for my parents' golden wedding party which I'm catering for at the end of March. We were not disappointed, although some items will need to be purchased nearer to the date itself.
We also booked ourselves into the cookery school for a session on filleting fish. I've attempted this a few times in the past, but have found it a little challenging. This time though we both managed to produce good fillets from the sea bass we were given, with very little left on the bone. What they hadn't mentioned was that we were also gutting the fish - fortunately we were also given latex gloves! An aside here, many years ago, just after I had moved into my flat, I was busy gutting mackerel in the kitchen. The door bell rang and I went down to open it smelling of fish and covered in fish blood. I opened the door to an immaculately dressed lady, who introduced herself as one of my new neighbours. Not a good start, but she's still speaking to me!
Later in the day we attended another cookery class, this time for aubergine sauce and stuffed aubergine. Interestingly, I don't like aubergine! However, I am sure that the recipe will translate to other vegetables. (John keeps saying he wants to make the meatballs again).
Another highlight of the show was a stall giving away ice cream. I had a rich, bitter chocolate and a pistachio and chilli - the latter being very spicy but very good. John was on red wine sorbet and a ginger and lemon sorbet. We went back to the stall to find out how we could buy these, only to discover that they can only be bought in one shop, and it is in Turin!
Needless to say that by the end of the day we were exhausted, but we had managed a good few hours without mentioning the business once - quite an achievement.

Blackpool Chess Congress - Part 3

2008-03-14T08:21:00.004Z

My first game on Sunday, knowing that I needed a win, went into a pawn and opposite colour bishop ending. Twice my opponent offered me a draw, but I was two pawns up and so twice I turned him down. My problem was that my one passed pawn was blocked by his bishop, supported by his king. My king couldn't get round to his other pawns easily, and even then they could be defended by the time I got there. After his second draw offer I thought for a long time and realised that I had to push my pawn majority. This would lose me two pawns for one, but would also enable my past pawn to push on and be swapped for his bishop. If he avoided this I would have two past pawns just two squares off queening. He went for the former option, which also left my king closer to the remaining four pawns on the board. His resignation came soon after.

In the afternoon I knew that nothing less than a win would put me into the prize money. My opponent was graded 13 points higher than me, but I had to go for it. In the endgame, I had a chance to force a perpetual (my opponent would lose his rook if he didn't keep checking me), but decided to continue to play for a win. Wrong decision! I took the king the wrong way and 15 or so moves later the game was lost. I felt gutted to say the least. Needless to say, later that evening I suddenly realised that if I had played a different move I could get to a square where I couldn't be checked and thus could have won. Why is it that I always find the perfect move hours after the game has finished?

Blackpool Chess Congress - Part 2

2008-03-12T08:21:00.003Z

My first game on Saturday saw my opponent opening 1.f4. A few weeks ago I had learnt a response to this in preparation to play a fellow club member - did I remember this, of course not! Instead I tried to work my way through the opening. I tried to keep things complicated, but came out of a long combination a minor for two pawns down. It wasn't enough compensation and I went on to lose. However, I enjoyed the game. I have been told since to "play for where you want to be in five years time and not where you want to be today" and that the more aggressive and attacking you are the more likely your opponent is to miss something.

In the afternoon I faced a junior from the London area. Not a good omen - he's come all the way from London and he's playing up a section. Fortunately I was white and he did seem to have to think about my opening moves. Although he spent most of the game a pawn up, I did have compensation. Towards the end I had the lovely situation of my queen being en prise to his queen. However, I ignored this and took his extra pawn (which was now past) with my rook, leaving it en prise to his rook. If he took either piece, I had a mate in two or three moves. He saw this and moved his rook to prevent this and offered me a draw. I knew that I couldn't afford a draw, either in terms of his grade or in terms of the competition, so I turned it down, taking another pawn with my queen. Yes, it was probably drawn at this point, but fortunately my opponent then blundered his other rook and resigned after my next move.

Blackpool Chess Congress

2008-03-11T09:26:00.003Z

Friday saw us travelling north to the Blackpool Chess Conference - probably the largest weekend chess congress in the country. We always say that there are no easy games at Blackpool, and yet again this proved to be the case. With a grade of 101, John had to play in the intermediate section this year (under-120) whilst I stayed in the minor (under-100).

On arrival, almost the first people we met were the Isle of Man group. It was good to meet up with them again and here the progress on the Isle of Man congress.

John's first game was against a grade 112 and he managed a draw. I was drawn, again, against the same opponent as I played on Saturday morning in Exeter (and who I may be playing in an inter-club match on Thursday). This time I was white and was determined not to go pushing pawns without good reason. The result, I went the exchange up, then a bishop up, then blundered the bishop back. I turned a draw down, partly because I was cross with myself for losing the bishop, partly because I was still the exchange up, and partly because John was still playing and I didn't want to sit around waiting for him. Apparently, we went into an ending which, with best play, was drawn. I, of course, was unaware of this and eventually went on to win with under 3 minutes left on my clock. This for someone who never gets into time trouble was quite an achievement. So, as the round ended, we headed off to our hotel, rather later than we would have liked, but both pleased with our results.

East Devon Congres, Exeter, Part 3

2008-03-07T07:30:00.004Z

After a good night's sleep, I felt much more awake on Sunday. I also had all to play for as I knew that I would be disappointed with anything less than 3 out of 5 points. My morning opponent, a lady who I had played a lot in the past, although not since the mid 1990s, had never lost to me. However, times change and I went into the game feeling reasonably confident. We went into a complicated middlegame exchange where I thought that I would come out a pawn up, but it was so complicated that I just couldn't work the whole thing out. All I could do was to try to ensure that everytime she took one of my pieces or pawns, I took one of hers back. We came out of the exchange and I counted the pawns left on the board, 6 each. Now I would have my work cut out as the game was much simplified and it wouldn't be difficult to swap off into an equal ending. I did not want a draw - what to do? A couple of moves later I noticed that I could only see one of her bishops, looking more closely, I realised that whilst I was able to count to 6, 2 seemed more of a problem! I had come out of the exchange a minor piece up and was now more than happy to swap off into an ending, which I went on the win.

In the afternoon a faced a Devon player who I had no experience of. His grade was higher than mine, and, for the second time that day, I was black. Again we went into a complicated exchange, though less complex than the morning. Again it appeared that the exchange would be equal, until careful thought revealed that I could move the final attacked knight to attack his queen which could not defend his also attacked bishop. Again we swapped off into an ending with me a minor piece up. This time though I had to be much more careful. He had threats on and I had to give a lot of thought to the king moves that eventually gave me passed pawns and his resignation.

So, finally I achieved the minimum score that I would be happy with and came away feeling much more confident about my chess. However, the day wasn't over and we still had the bookstall and equipment to pack away - thank you to the organisers for their help in this. Then it was a dash to Chard, where we traditionally stop at the Wetherspoon's for something to eat and a break in the journey. Only they had run out of food! (It was Mother's Day). Fortunately we found an Indian Restaurant still open (although about to close, their faces fell as we walked in). Fortunately for them we only wanted a quick meal and were soon back on our way again.

East Devon Congress continued

2008-03-06T09:01:00.003Z

Saturday dawned bright and clear, even if I didn't! I'm not sure how little sleep I had, but it definitely wasn't enough. I arrived at the hall to find that my opponent was someone I had played a few times before and who I had a lot of respect for. It was never going to be an easy game, but I pushed a pawn in the middle game that I shouldn't have done and ended up going 2 pawns down. After that things got worse and resignation was the only option.

My afternoon opponent was an unknown entity to me. However, by then I was definitely feeling the lack of sleep, despite going out for a walk at lunchtime. Needless to say I blundered my way through the game, leaving pieces en prise for no good reason and, inevitably, losing. I was not happy, 1 out of 3 in a minor section is not what I expect of myself. By now I had decided that I was hopeless at chess and questioning why I was playing the game. John did his best to reassure, but we've all been there.

The evening was spent in a nearby Indian Restaurant (not surprisingly half full of chess players) followed by a good night's sleep.

East Devon Congress, Exeter

2008-03-05T10:23:00.004Z

Last Friday saw us travelling down to Exeter. We started setting the bookstall up at 4pm, with the first round starting at 7pm. I was playing and I always go into my first game still thinking about the bookstall and take a while to settle down. It was a good game though, until my opponent blundered as we went into an ending and I went a minor piece up and won the game. Whilst, if I had a choice, I would then scuttle off to our hotel and relax, instead I joined John on the bookstall until the last game had finished. We finally got back to our hotel after 11pm. Unfortunately it was a windy night and we had a persistently banging door to our room. As a result I didn't get a lot of sleep - not good when I was playing the next day.

Bobby Fischer Dies

2008-01-18T12:15:00.000Z

I can't believe the news - it was a real shock to me. Bobby Fischer is one of those people who, although was rarely in the news, you just think is always going to be around. As John put it "it's the end of an era".
Link

CCF v Wimbledon

2008-01-17T06:21:00.000Z

Last night John and I played for the 6th team at CCF. I think that the whole team were outgraded on every board. John played a 130 player , 29 points above his grade, whilst I played a 118, 35 points above my grade. John, and the team, unfortunately lost. John tried a rook for knight sacrifice to blast his opponent's king open, it didn't work! I, however, managed to win. It was a strange opening and I was out of theory almost from the start. As we headed into the middle game I won a pawn, then, a little later on another one. Then a rook for a bishop. I should have felt confident then, but my opponent had a nasty attack on. He sacked his knight and if I had taken back in what appeared to be a logical way, either with my bishop or queen, I'm sure that mate would have ensued in the next few moves. Instead, I took back with the g pawn, opening my king up, but managing to side-step the worst of the attack and we finally went into the endgame with me a rook up.

Painted Coffin

2008-01-16T10:49:00.000Z

Yesterday was our second funeral in a week! Very different from my uncle's, but still moving. The coffin was beautiful - pale yellow (Iris's favourite colour) with a border of painted irises and daffodils (her favourite flower) round the sides and a painted spray of irises on the lid. I've never seen a painted coffin before and it really did reflect the person who had died. It got John and me talking about what we would want painted on our coffins - not as morbid as it sounds.

Brighouse and Rastrick

2008-01-14T09:29:00.000Z

Saturday saw us running the bookstall at CCF and playing in their 6-round rapidplay. John was second in the U100 section, whilst I only scored 50%. It was strange getting back to playing rapidplay after so long - don't think I've played any for about 6 months or more. I definately played the first round too fast, but did manage to slow down after that.

In the evening we were taken out by my parents to see the Brighouse and Rastrick Band at the Hawth in Crawley. An excellent evening with a wide variety of music played. Yes, for those who remember, they did encore with the Floral Dance. Their rendition of The Bare Necessities was brilliant, with lots of humour from the bass horn soloist. I found the two more technical pieces a little difficult to take in, but could really appreciate how difficult these were to play.

Return to Leicester

2008-01-11T17:21:00.000Z

Yesterday was my birthday. It was also my uncle's funeral. So, we went back to the town of my birth, Leicester. Yes, we did view the body. It was a strange experience, he had been embalmed because of the long wait between his death and the funeral (he died just before Christmas) and seemed more like a wax-work model than a human being.

We had lunch at the Walker's Stadium, built on the site of the old power station. Another interesting experience. My father and grandfather had both worked at the power station and I was taken there to be shown off at 10 days old. Now it's Leicester City's home ground, yes I do support them, but fortunately we also have a rugby team!

The funeral was extremely moving. At the gathering afterwards it was a chance to meet up with family and friends who I hadn't seen for many years. One conversation involved my mother's youngest bridesmaid, to whom I had been bridesmaid, myself, and the mother of my youngest bridesmaid.

CCF v Ashtead

2008-01-09T11:00:00.000Z

Another day, another game of chess. Last night saw us playing in a match, against Ashtead, in the Lauder Cup. My opponent was a rapidly improving junior graded 15 points ahead of me, and I was black. That's my reason for losing anyway! I need to look at that game as I am sure that at one point I had a good position, but wrecked it my overextending. The good news is that CCF won the match, so we all went home happy.

CCF SuperLeague

2008-01-08T09:55:00.000Z

First day back from Hastings and we were again playing chess - Monday is our club night. CCF is a very active club and last night was SuperLeague - a team event for teams of four drawn from squads of up to six. There is a maximum number of grading points that can be used over the course of the seven games, so it makes for an interesting time, especially if you are a captain. Our team is sitting near the bottom of the first division (there are two divisions) so a win would have been good. Unfortunately we only managed a draw, but I was pleased to win on the bottom board. John plays for a team further up the table, he unfortunately lost and was not a happy bunny!

New Year

2008-01-07T16:38:00.000Z

So, it's now 2008 and the New Year saw us on our way to Hastings. I'd never played there until I met John, now I wouldn't miss it. The original idea was that we both played in the New Year tournament, then I played at the weekend and John joined the arbiting team. On arrival, it turned out that there was an arbiter short at the weekend, so I agreed to join the team too.

First round, I won and John lost. Second round, I played one of the two top seeds and drew (John was the other top seed and he won his second game). In round three, John won again whilst I lost. Then, round four, I missed a win and managed to draw. John won again! Final round, a win would give John first, or at least a share of it, whilst a draw would give him a share of second or third and his opponent a guaranteed win. Despite John's best efforts, they drew. I, however, had an upfloat against a player I had never beaten before. My job was to win or draw, so that there would be fewer sharing John's prize. It was an interesting game with opposite side castling and lots of threats (some real, some imagined). I was offered a draw, and turned it down. I just felt that I could win it - not sure why, just a feeling. We went into an ending with me a pawn up, but I had to sack my rook for his past pawn. That left me with two passed pawns against his rook. Fortunately the pawns were well advances and once they both arrived on the seventh rank my opponent resigned. For once I was right to turn down the draw, John was joint second and I got a share of the grading prize. A successful few days.

Monarch Assurance - 1st round

2007-10-03T17:45:00.000+01:00

Finally Monday arrived and I was able to start playing. Our days started to fall into a routine. John prepared a cooked breakfast whilst I wandered up to the Ocean Castle to check my pairing. After breakfast we would do an hour or so chess study, including checking for previous games against my next opponent on Chessbase and putting in the previous day's game. My first opponent was graded 43 ECF points higher than me, so although I wasn't expecting too much, I was confident after my Paignton result (5/7). For most of the game I felt equal, but then made a poor move in a pawns and minor pieces ending and lost the game. My opponent felt that the game should have been drawn and kindly pointed out my weak move - instead of forcing his pawns onto the same coloured square as my bishop, I had moved one of mine onto that colour and he had forced it to remain there. I'd like to say that I learnt from this and won't be repeating this, but unfortunately I made the same mistake again later in the tournament!

Monarch Assurance - Isle of Man

2007-10-02T15:28:00.000+01:00

Friday 21 September saw our alarm going off at 3.30am. By 4.15am we were on the road and heading up to Liverpool to get the ferry to the Isle of Man. Check-in closed at 10.15, hence the early start and we made it with time to spare. It was great to be heading back to the island that we first visited when the British Championships were held there in 2005.

Our first stop is always McDonalds just outside Douglas. Not because we love McDonalds, but because on our first trip over we didn't take any food with us and the food on the ferry was expensive so by the time we got to the island we were more than a little hungry. It was then on to Port Erin - a lovely little seaside resort in the south of the island. We had always camped near Kirk Michel in the past, but the combination of cold winds and a 45 minute drive at the end of each day persuaded us to rent a flat close to the venue this year.

Saturday saw us up at the Ocean Castle, setting up the bookstall and generally preparing for the opening ceremony at 1pm. I was playing in the minor tournament which didn't start until Monday, so the weekend was spent helping John. It was great to sit reading the Sunday papers by our window overlooking the bay and knowing that we didn't have to start work until the afternoon.

Bristol and Hereford

2007-08-31T15:32:00.000+01:00

Ten days away from home this time and the first time that we have done congresses back to back without returning to base. We started with the Bristol Congress, a four day affair with a rapidplay on the Saturday followed by a three day long play. John and I both played in the rapidplay, but I have to say that I made blunder after blunder and only finished on 1 out of 6. I found moving down to 25 minutes after playing 4 hour games a real problem and in future will probably play some 30 minute games against John in preparation. John scored .

Neither of us played in the long play event as the round times were afternoon and evening. We just couldn’t fit a main meal together around running the bookstall and when we would be playing. Instead, we went off for a meal at the start of the evening round and a friend kept an eye on the books whilst we were gone. We varied our destinations – if we aren’t careful we live off Wetherspoon’s 2 meal deal. Fortunately there was also the Hog’s Head doing a two meal deal, and a pizza ‘eat as much as you can’ for £3.99.

Our campsite in Bristol is a wonderfully old fashioned farm site. It’s on the edge of Western-super-mare and is definitely better when the sun is shining! The shower block is good, with four large showers in each of the gents and ladies. The field is flat and there is electric hook-up. Other than that there are fresh free-range eggs for sale. No TV, no bar, no clubroom, no children’s play area. Just a quiet site. It’s also very reasonably priced, so it worked out cheaper to stay on for a couple of extra nights than to drive back home and then almost straight back out to Hereford.

So, what did we do with our two days off? We went to an auction viewing on the Wednesday and to the auction on the Thursday. Unfortunately the lots that we were interested in went above our limit so we came away empty handed. The day wasn’t wasted though as we then headed off to Clivedon Court – a National Trust property. It is an interesting medieval house that is still part lived in today.
On the Friday we packed up the tent in the morning, headed off to Ross on Wye, and put the tent back up again. In contrast to the last site, this one was a much bigger commercial site with children’s play area. However, still no clubroom, TV or bar and to be fair was almost silent from 10.30pm onwards. When we have to be up early in the mornings to play chess you don’t want noise late into the night.

This time John played whilst I looked after the books. Hereford is an under 115 minor section and as John’s grade is now 101, he is playing any minor that isn’t an under 100. He did very well on the Saturday, winning both of his games. He was then down floated on Sunday morning and drew his game. In the afternoon he was down floated again, and again drew. (Shortly before his draw by repetition his opponent had a winning position, but one poor move and a draw could be forced). Fortunately there had been some other draws on the top boards and the tournament leader was only half a point ahead of John.

On Monday John faced a player that he had always lost to before, and this time was no exception. With opposite side castling it was always going to be a knife-edge game and I gather that in places it was quite exciting, until John decided to blunder his queen, he resigned soon afterwards. In the afternoon John needed a win to put him into the prize money. He got a winning position, which he then managed to turn into a losing position, before finally scraping a draw.

Kite Flying

2007-08-13T11:27:00.000+01:00

On Saturday as neither of us had won anything at the British we decided to make the most of the day and spend time in the local area. Our first stop was Herringwood Hills and a walk around the nature reserve there. Then it was on to another reserve, Carlton marshes, just past Outen Broad. We cycled down to the River Waveney, almost opposite the river centre that we had hired canoes from last Saturday. Before we left we unearthed our £1 kite and had some fun trying to keep it airborne! As I hadn't flown a kite since I was a child and John has never flown a kite you could say that we are novices. Afterwards it was on to Beccles to pick up our cooker. I should explain that this one was half price and with our lifestyle we have to pick up bargains of things that we need when we see them. We'd done an internet search for the particular model and the cheapest there was £70 dearer. So, it seems like a good deal to us.

Sunday, another sunny day saw us taking the tent down and then meandering our way home. First stop was Southwold and a more successful kite flying experience. We had some hints from a teenage boy flying a stunt kite nearby - a great help. Then down to Aldeburgh and a wander around the town. Finally home.

British Chess Championships U-100 Section

2007-08-10T18:48:00.000+01:00

After my loss on Monday, and swindled draw on Tuesday, I then drew again on Wednesday. It was a pawn and opposite coloured bishop ending. Thursday saw my first win of the week, with a very enjoyable game. My opponent came out of the opening with a serious attack and put me on the defensive. However, I was able to counteract this by swapping off his most aggressive pieces and, in order to avoid a mate in one by me, had to sack a knight for a pawn. At the end of it all we had one of those strange material imbalances where I was a knight for two pawns up. My kingside was blown apart, but, by forcing the queens off I was able to pick up a second pawn and win the ending. Today was not so good - I lost. So I did better in the under-125 tournament than the under-100!

During the week we have been using the afternoons to see the local area. We've done quite a few walks around nature reserves and have been rewarded with ancient monuments that we didn't know existed. On Monday whilst walking along the river at Burgh Castle we came across an enourmous Roman fort. Then on Tuesday we found a 13th century priory with a well preserved undercroft.

On Wednesday, our wedding anniversary, we wandered around Beccles and found just the cooker that we needed, our old cooker being 16 years old and not doing too well. Two days of measuring up the kitchen etc (it's 5cm wider than the present cooker) and we finally bought it today. Both of us are really pleased. Yesterday we had a wonderful meal out in the evening - our anniversary celebration a day late. So, overall, although the chess hasn't always gone our way, we have at least spent a really pleasant time up here.

A Weekend Without Chess

2007-08-07T18:17:00.000+01:00

Although there was a weekend tournament that we could have entered, John and I took Saturday and Sunday off. On Saturday we hired a canoe and paddled our way along the River Waveney, 12 miles in all. Unfortunately mis-timing meant that we were paddling against the tide both on the way there and on the way back. To say that we ached at the end was putting it mildly. We also managed to get sunburnt.

On Sunday we drove up to Cromer. We arrived just in time to see a display by the lifeboat and had a good wander around the town, buying some Cromer crab for lunch on the way. Then we headed out to Sheringham Woods to eat our picnic. From there we drove over to Thursford where there is a museum of fairground organs, steam engines and 2 fairground rides (both of which we went on). At 3pm we were treated to a recital on the Wurlitzer organ - it was excellent.

Monday morning saw us playing in the U-100 section of the British Championships. I played a grade 20 and lost (I won't say what this has done to my grade, but it's not good). Last week he beat a 104 and a 110, so I shouldn't be too worried.

Today I had a very interesting game against a lady I had swindled a win from at Hastings. Today I didn't manage that, but, with seconds on her clock to the final time control she queened a pawn against my lone king. An exciting chase up the board followed. Finally, she went to pick up her king, but hesitated as she realised that to move it to the obvious square was stalemate. Too late, her flag fell and the game was drawn. A real get out of jail free.

Walking the Broads

2007-08-03T17:43:00.000+01:00

Yesterday’s chess went well for both John and me. John drew, and, after spending the first two thirds of the game a knight for a pawn down, I won. It was also the most enjoyable game that I have had so far.

In the afternoon we went down to Chedgrave and walked along the River Chet. The water was much higher than usual and halfway along Hardley Flood it was flooded and we could go no further. However a treat was in store as shortly after we saw a family of water voles on the river bank. A little later we saw two herons flying past. It was good to get out into the countryside and get some exercise.

Today did not go so well for me. Having looked at the game since I made so many horrendous mistakes that it is a wonder I didn’t lose sooner than I did. I know that I wasn’t thinking for as long as in previous games and it showed. Lesson to be learnt – think hard and move slowly. Mind you, I am tired at the end of the week. Probably the reason why I do well at the start of tournaments and then peter out. John, however, drew and finished on 3 out of 5.

As both our games finished relatively quickly we had longer for sightseeing this afternoon. We went first to Surlingham Church Marsh, a small reserve beside the River Yare. There was a lovely circular walk around the reserve, with a hide overlooking the broad. Unfortunately the only birds that we saw were ducks and a moorhen. Then we drove on to Brundall Church Fen, an even smaller reserve. We again had a circular walk around the reserve.

Now we have the weekend free.

Success and Failure

2007-08-01T18:22:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was successful for both John and I. I drew my game whilst John won. So rejoicing all round. Today was not so good - I lost, but John won. I am finding that this week I am playing more slowly and thinking deeper, so I am having very long games, but by the end I am exhausted. I don't know how some of our friends are managing, playing morning and afternoon.

British Chess Championships

2007-07-30T17:19:00.000+01:00

Today is the first day of the British Chess Championships. This week John and I will play in the under 125 section, and next week the under 100. We took 4 chess dvds with us to South Africa, and watched none of them! However, we did play some internet chess when we could and a couple of games on the last day. Not enough I fear.

Both of us played higher graded opponents this morning. John lost and I drew! Same start as last year. Otherwise the results seemed to go mainly with grade. I had a long but interesting game, with my opponent getting short of time coming up to both time controls. I didn't expect to win, but was more than happy with a draw.

Kruger Park Safari

2007-07-29T11:37:00.000+01:00

Our final four days in South Africa were spent at two private game lodges on the edge of the Kruger. The first, at Chitwa Chitwa involved a three hour drive from Hazy View, half of which was on unmade roads. We arrived shortly before lunch to wonderful rooms overlooking the waterhole.

Our first game drive left after tea and cake at 3.30pm. One of our first spots was a leopard, who we were able to follow for a while. I was really pleased about this as last time I was in the Kruger I had seen neither leopard nor cheetah. This was followed by a herd of elephants, complete with a baby. The little one was very cute, and still testing out how to use his trunk (fairly unsuccessfully). We also found a sleeping lion.

Dinner was in a boma. An outside area enclosed by a circle of mature trees. In the centre was a huge fire and we sat in a semi-circle of tables around the fire. The food was good and the setting perfect.

All too early (6.00am) we were woken for our morning game drive. Dressing quickly we headed off to the lapa for tea and rusks before getting onto the vehicles for our second drive. This morning we were tracking a white rhino. Our tracker ranger sat on a seat on the bonnnet of the vehicle whilst our range drove. After some time we finally came across the rhino, close to the road. It was an ideal photo opportunity, although sitting at the back of the land rover, with our seats hanging over the back, we did feel very vulnerable. (Rhino horns look very large when close up!). Later we again saw sleeping lions, elephant, impala and some Cape buffalo.

Then it was back to the lodge for breakfast. The central part of the day is left free for resting, game viewing from the decks etc. However, John and I opted to go for a game walk. We were taken out by one of the tracker ranger who told us about the various plants, how to recognise footprints and about the dung that we found. It was a fairly long walk and by the time we got back we were extremely hot and the swimming pool seemed like a good idea. It's unheated, but, once in, it was wonderful. It did amaze the bar manager - apparently it's not really used in winter!

The afternoon game drive found yet more sleeping lions and another leopard, wandering along the road. Also, zebra, kudu and yet more impala. (Impala are on every predators menu). The following morning's drive didn't throw up anything new. However, we did have our coffee overlooking a hippo pool.

After breakfast we headed off to our final destination - Shambalala (where the lion sleeps). We left our car at the Thornybush Game Lodge (Shambalala is on the Thornybank reserve) and were taken to on to our destination by Sebastian (our ranger) and Raymond (our tracker ranger). On the way we found out that we would be the only guests and Sebastian asked us which animals we wanted to see. Mum had yet to see giraffes close up and none of us had seen cheetah. We had also mentioned that we had seen more than enough sleeping lions. On arrival at the lodge we were upgraded to the presidential suite and given time to sort ourselves out before high tea at 3.00pm. Then it was out on the game drive with the aim of seeing cheetahs. Sebastian did not disappoint us and we were rewarded with 3 males lying in the grass. Then we saw three lionesses, and they were sitting up. Our first non-sleeping lions. They didn't disappoint us because they then moved off to hunt. However, as one was stalking she was spotted by impala and wildebeest, who then sounded a warning to others.

Our wake-up call came at 5.30am and by 6.00am we were off on another game drive. Suddenly Raymond pointed and we set off through the bush, dodging trees and shrubs as we went. We didn't know what he had seen, but eventually we found a group of white rhino, who we followed for a while. Sebastian then headed off to one of the dams where we found a whole herd of Cape buffalo. Many were in the water, but there seemed to be as many still on the land. As we drove towards them we were soon surrounded, an amazing experience.

The evening game drive saw us heading far to the south of the reserve as a herd of elephant had been spotted. They had split up, but we did see a few of them. On our way back we came across a group of lions sitting up in the grass by a road junction. Suddenly, there was a padding at the side of us and a male lion walked just past our vehicle. In all there were six lions - all awake and watching us.

Our final game drive started off routine, but turned into the best. Sebastian headed off to check where the cheetahs were as there was a possibility that they had gone under the fence to another reserve. The footprints were confusing, but Raymond thought that they had moved back into the thicker bush of our reserve. We headed off in that direction and, after some time, heard the mewing of one male cheetah. We set off in pursuit of it, stopping every so often and switching the engine off to listen again. It had gone deep into the bush and the only way to see it was to follow it. I now have a lot more respect for Land Rover Defenders - they really can go anywhere. After 30 minutes or so we finally found the cheetah, sitting on a hillock mewing for his friends. It is likely that the three were attacked by lions the night before and had been split up, now this one was trying to find his companions. We were treated to the thrill of the chase followed by the perfect photo opportunity.

All too soon it was time to leave, our time in South Africa over. We were sad to leave, John and I both love the country. John has good reason to - his parents met and married there and his brother was born there. We both want to return, but when...........

Flight Problems

2007-07-28T08:18:00.000+01:00

After an early start from Wilderness we flew from George to Johannesburg and then on to Nelspruit. Everything appeared to go well at George. We checked ourselves and our bags through to Nelspruit and enjoyed the views en route to Johannesburg. As we headed off to domestic departures at Johannesburg we happened to pass the baggage reclaim, and there, circling the belt on its own, was my case. We then had the problem of what to do with it! We took it across to the SAA desk for baggage problems, who told us to check it in upstairs at the main desk. At that point a porter arrived with a wheelchair (from where and why we don't know, other than my mother had her stick with her). He then took over, taking us up to check-in, jumping the queue to get my bag on the flight, and then delivering us to the gate. He more than earned his tip.

At the boarding gate, despite our seats having been booked months ago, and issued to us in George hours before, my seat was changed. I asked if John could sit with me, but was told to "see the cabin crew" aggresively. Fortunately, the one and only cabin crew was lovely and let John set with me at the front of the plane and then she looked after us for the remainder of the journey. Amazingly, all 4 suitcases arrived in Nelspruit on the same plane as us.

From Nelspruit we travelled to Hazy View for 2 nights before our safari. This gave us the opportunity to visit Blyde River Canyon. We were treated to amazing views at The Pinnacle, God's Window, the Potholes and finally the Three Rondavals. Whilst having lunch at the potholes, we were clearing our rubbish away, that included 3 apple cores. They were the last things left on the table when, quick as a flash, a vervet monkey dashed onto the table and put one in his mouth and grabbed one in each hand. He then shot up the nearest tree and sat eating them. (We're still trying to work out what he would have done if there'd been 4 apple cores).

Knysna and Wilderness - The Garden Route

2007-07-27T19:05:00.000+01:00

From Franschoek we travelled to Knysna on the Garden Route. Although it was winter there were plenty of aloes in flower. It was a long drive, stopping in Swellendam for lunch. We arrived in Knysna in the middle of their oyster festival.

Our first full day was spent touring around the lagoon and heads. We were rewarded with a school of southern right whales swimming past when we were on the eastern head. (John and I had been whale watching at Walker Bay on our previous trip so we knew to look for the characteristic V-shaped plume of spray around large grey objects in the water).

Our second day we retraced our route from 2003 into the Grounveld Forest and the gold mines. We had a walk at Jubilee Creek and then it was on to Mother Holly's for lunch. It was good to walk in the forest and relax a bit from the more hectic side of sightseeing.

Our main reason for going to Knysna had been that Dad wanted to go on the Outeniqua Choo Choo, the only scheduled steam train in the country. Unfortunately there had been a landslide near Wilderness last year so, instead of running from Knysna to George, the train now ran from George to Mossel Bay. It was now much easier to do the trip from Wilderness, so the Cango Caves, which had been planned for Wilderness, were covered with a large detour on the way from Knysna. The route took us through the ostrich farming area of Oudtshoorn and then on through the Klein Karoo. It was well worth the detour.

The Choo Choo is still as enjoyable as ever, although the route is a little less spectacular without the Knysna lagoon and the Kayman's river crossing. The return trip was completed with a tour of the railway museum in George - steam locomotive after steam locomotive. There were also photos and carriages of the royal train that King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and the princesses travelled on when they visited South Africa in 1947.

Cape Winelands

2007-07-25T18:23:00.000+01:00

From Cape Town we moved on to Stellenbosch for 2 days. This required wine tasting, at Boschendal, Simonsig, Beyerskloof and Rustenberg. At Simonsig we sat outside in the sun, sipping our wine, with a new wine appearing every 10-15 minutes. Definately the way to relax. At Rustenberg we were guided through the tasting with special shaped glasses that you rolled on the counter-top to air the wine. Just as on our honeymoon we bought 2 bottles of their Brampton Viognier - which has the most wonderful aftertaste of apricots.

The trip had been scheduled for us to be in Franschoek on a Saturday. On our honeymoon we had accidentally visited Haute Cabriere for the cellar tour conducted by Achim von Arnhem. He only does the Saturday tour and is a real character. With Dad being very into wine we couldn't let this opportunity miss. It was everything that we had hoped. Informative and entertaining. I got to open a bottle of champagnois wine with a sabre this time - I still have the mounted cork. We followed the visit up with lunch in his restaurant - very good.

The rest of our 3 days in Franschoek were fairly relaxing, involving great food in the evening (it is the food capital of South Africa) and visiting the Huguenot museum and monument.

Cape Town Part 2

2007-07-24T10:26:00.000+01:00

Our second day in Cape Town was the only rain that we saw over the whole 3 weeks that we were in South Africa. Rather a contrast to the England. It turned into a relaxing day, with visits to the Victoria and Alfred waterfront and Kloof Street.

Sunday, our third day, we visited the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Museum. Very interesting and very moving. It gave us a good idea of some of the history of the country and the development of commerce there. We learnt about the establishment of ostrich farming in Oudsthoorn, a town we visited on the way to the Cango Caves later in our trip.

On Monday we did the round tour of the Cape Peninsular. Chapman's Peak drive had finally been reopened (it had been closed for 3 years due to a landslide), so unlike on our honeymoon we were able to do a complete circuit. I managed to conquer my fear of heights and make it to the top at Cape Point. Then it was on to Boulder's Bay and the African penguin colony. The penguins had babies of a variety of ages, all fluffy and cute, so plenty of photo opportunities from the boardwalks. Finally it was on to Simonstown for coffee and cake - just as we did on our honeymoon.

Our final full day in Cape Town was spent at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on the slopes of Table Mountain. Even in winter it is worth a visit. We took to golf buggy tour and we rewarded with a view of an eagle owl resting in a tree. We'd never have found it without the botanist showing it to us.

Cape Town

2007-07-23T12:55:00.000+01:00

We arrived in Cape Town for our three weeks in South Africa and spent 5 nights there. Fantastic. As the flight was overnight, we intended to pick up the hire car, head up to our accomodation and then have an easy day. Nothing could be further from the truth. The tablecloth was off Table Mountain and our hosts reccommended that we went straight up and made the most of the clear, sunny day.

It was stunning at the top. Last time John and I were in South Africa was on our honeymoon and we had only about an hour before the cloud came down again. This time we were able to walk right around the top on one of the longer pathways and see the city and peninsular from all sides. Mum managed the walk too, despite having two false hips, a false knee and a sciatic nerve playing up! Only hiccup was when she went to sit on a rock and missed the rock completely and fell over. Fortunately she didn't try to stop herself and just ended up bruised. We made up for this by having hot chocolate and cake in the cafe at the top - must have one of the best views of any cafe!

That evening we wandered down the road to where we knew there were some reccommended restaurants. By the time we got to Manolo, Mum felt that she couldn't walk any further, so that was where we stopped. It was a great choice. They had a new chef a couple of months ago who is also known as 'the alchemist'. (None of this we knew when we walked in!). I had never had springbok before, let alone springbok with ice cream! Believe me, it works. Pudding - gorgonzola ice cream, almond cake etc. It is also amazing. Coming from England it made me think of Heston Blumenthal. Being in South Africa I could afford to eat in Manolo, I can't afford the Fat Duck, although I have wanted to sample that style of cuisine for a long time.

After a long trip and an active afternoon, to be in a restaurant with fantastic, innovative food; attentive service and a quiet, refined atmosphere was just what we needed.

Yeovil Congress

2007-07-22T06:52:00.000+01:00

Life had been hectic - preparing for a trip to South Africa with my parents to celebrate their Golden Wedding. As a result this blog took a back seat for a while. We arrived home yesterday after a fantastic trip, but more of that later.

Yeovil was our last congress before the trip, a lovely, friendly congress. We have found a quiet, tranquil campsite about 20 minutes drive away. It's good to get back in the evening and get the charcoal oven going. (Once we've finished cooking it also provides heat in the tent).

This time John played and I looked after the books. Unfortunately he didn't do as well as normal (too much on his mind?). The congress takes place in a primary school with plenty of parking and space outside. The open and major are in the gym, whilst the other sections are in the school hall. It can therefore get interesting coming up to time control, with only one official arbiter, but as John and I have both passed our arbiter's exams we step in to help out at that time.

It was good to see all the 'usual suspects' again, probably the last tournament we will all play in before the British Championships in Great Yarmouth.

Camping and chess

2007-05-28T08:30:00.000+01:00

Over the summer, well from May to the end of September, we save money on accomodation by camping. When we decided on this we drew up a list of what we wanted in a tent. John - to be able to stand up. Me - somewhere to eat at a table if it was raining and quick to put up. We went around various displays looking at tents and fell in love with a Colorado 5 - a five man tunnel tent. It was over our original budget, but we negotiated a good deal and it has been perfect for our needs.

Having a van means that we are anything but lightweight campers. We have plastic chests of drawers on wheels for clothes and cooking equipment. Last year we started using electric hook-up, so now we can heat the tent at the beginning and end of the season and have toast for breakfast! Last year we managed to spend all but 2 weeks in the tent over August and September, so it has to be a home from home.

It is lovely, after a long day looking after the bookstall or playing chess to return to the tent and sit outside with a glass of wine, whilst barbequeing. June is great, with the longer days and we often sit out until after the sun has gone down.

Looking for a new Delilah

2007-04-18T07:51:00.000+01:00

This week we are spending a lot of time looking for a new van. Fortunately we have a couple of weeks before it becomes a real need. John has done a lot of research on different types of vans, wheelbase length, load carrying capacity etc and is becoming a bit of an expert (or anorak, depends on your point of view). We have looked at a few, so far only one stands out.

Alongside this has been ebay listing, posting and keeping our websites up-to-date. I need to do some chess study, but it seems to be at the bottom of the priority list.

Hitchin & Letchworth Chess Congress

2007-04-16T08:15:00.000+01:00

This weekend saw us travelling to Cambridge for a friend's son's christening. A lovely service in Sidney Sussex chapel - you really felt the historic atmosphere. It was good to meet up with my friend who I used to work with and who I hadn't seen since my wedding.

Instead of travelling straight home, we had decided to stay overnight in Stevenage and then play in the bottom section of the Hitchin and Letchworth one day rapidplay. As usual, on arrival at the chess congress, we began by checking the opposition out. Seeing the list of entrants I contented myself that the best that I could hope for would be a grading prize, if there was one. John was naturally more confident. The time control was an unusual one - 40 minutes each for all moves. I found that this suited me and led to some very enjoyable games. There was time for both myself and my opponent to think, so fewer cheap tricks and better chess.

I drew my first game and was relived, momentarily, that this would mean I wouldn't have to play the top seeds. Then saw that the top seed had also drawn. Fortunately, I didn't have to play him next, instead I got his opponent, and won. Then it was another draw, followed by a win against the top seed. I went into the final round being the only person on 3, with only John and the other tournament leaded ahead of me on 3.5. I won quickly (my opponent overlooked a smothered mate) and decided that this would give me either second or third. My maths had deserted me and when John and his opponent drew, John had to persuade me that I had come joint first! Sure enough, he was right, so joint celebrations were in order last night.

Death of a Van

2007-04-13T07:46:00.000+01:00

This week has been a very emotional one for us, so I just haven't felt like writing. Everything was too raw to put into words.

Last Thursday we travelled down to Exmouth to the West of England championships. We had problems with the van on the way down, finally getting to Exmouth 9-10 hours after we left home. John decided to take a bye for the first round, on the Friday morning, to help me to set up the bookstall. After that, it was a good tournament for him. Of the 6 rounds that he played, he drew 5 and won one, resulting in a share of the grading prize. Not bad going as all of his opponents were graded higher than him.

Exmouth was beautiful. The chess took place in The Royal Beacon hotel, but we stayed down the road at The Manor. Although our window was small, we still had lovely views to the sea, and by leaning out, of the Exe. In the evening the sun was a fiery, red ball as it set over the estuary.

Normally we would leave on the Monday afternoon for the drive back, but with the problems we had been having with the van, decided to stay an extra night. This meant that we had a chance to walk around the town, visiting the new development along the estuary and watching mussels being unloaded at the quayside.

Tuesday was a different story. Delilah, our beloved van, was dead. She refused to start and the RAC were to arrange a relay back. It looked like a blown head gasket and possibly other damage too. Now we had the problem of trying to get back in time to post the items which had been bought over the weekend. We arrived back with 1 hour before the last post and both went to work wrapping, addressing parcels and certificates of posting and finally made it with minutes to spare. It was then time to console each other with what may happen to the van.

Wednesday's first job was to empty out all the chess equipment and bookstall from Delilah before the garage could have a good look at her. Fortunately a good friend with a Volvo estate helped and the job was done quickly. Then the bad news. A blown head gasket, blown water pipe, possibly distorted cylinder head, and a gear oil leak. The latter was the most worrying and, with an automatic gear box, could easily send the bill into 4 figures. After discussions and much soul searching, it was decided to scrap her. But the day wasn't over, and we had a chess match to play in that night (I won, John lost, but was heavily out graded by his opponent).

Thursday and we took the final few bits out of Delilah and said our goodbyes. Both of us were emotional, she may only be a lump of metal that got us from A to B, but she was our lump of metal and we loved her. Now we have to find a new van.........

Chess Study

2007-04-02T11:10:00.000+01:00

In theory I should now be studying the black opening that I crashed and burned with on Saturday evening. However, I have a match as white tonight, so have decided to concentrate on my white opening. Recently I have been questioning the move order, so out comes the book that I prefer and study begins.

I am also aware that I lack confidence in my ability at the moment, so hopefully some concentrated study will help to rectify that problem. It's finding the time to study alongside everything else, but if I want to improve then that is what I must do.

Caterham Congress

2007-04-01T18:04:00.000+01:00

I played in the U-100 section yesterday and today. 3 rounds yesterday, 2 today. I started off with a game which I won easily. Then, in the afternoon, a slightly tougher game, but I managed to get a 2 pawn advantage and swap off into an ending. The final game of the day was a very different story. I played black, against an opening that I know is critical, that I know that I should study and haven't, and that I lost to the last time I faced it. History repeated itself. Guess what I shall be studying next week! This morning I had a game which on paper I should have been ensured a win. However, my opponent threw everything at me and I ended up defending for my life. Fortunately he made a miscalculation and lost a minor piece. After that the position was such that swapping off was inevitable and I won, although really it should have been the other way round. The final game was against the tournament leader who was on 4/4. (Last week he beat a 160 so I knew that I would have my work cut out to win). Tactically he's very good and I managed to get into an awful mess and lost. It put me out of the prize money, but I enjoyed the game - at one point I took a pawn which I knew would lead to something nasty, but I couldn't see what, and as I was losing wanted to see the continuation. The good news was that our club came second in the club competition, so at least that was a consolation.

Setting up a Bookstall

2007-03-30T19:27:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow is the Caterham Congress, so we spent the early part of the afternoon setting up the bookstall. When we arrive at a congress we never know how much space we will have, or how many tables. This time we are in a polygonal shaped area at the base of the stairs outside the tournament hall, but close to the refreshments. It was a strange area to work in as there were lots of different angles, but we are happy with the finished result.

A Quiet Weekend

2007-03-26T11:05:00.000+01:00

Saturday John and I were running the bookstall at a junior event. It was a fairly quiet day, so we took the opportunity to get on with some other work. Both of us are trying to improve our knowledge of and ability at web design. I'm very aware that I don't know too much about what is going on behind the screen.

Sunday, after an early night to make up for the missing hour, started with church. An interesting discussion in the bible study and lots of choruses that John was able to play his trumpet to. Afterwards we had the van to unload. Not all bad as we had lunch at the church.

Then home, and a quiet afternoon with the Sunday papers.

A Typical Day and Playing Bridge in France

2007-03-21T20:27:00.000Z

Today was another typical day 'at the office'! These are the less interesting days, listing books on ebay. We had taken delivery of an order whilst we were away, so today was the day for putting new chess and bridge books onto the site. Some of the books looked interesting - but I don't have time to read them!

I played bridge once, on a ski holiday. There were 4 of us sharing an apartment and 2 were keen players, so each of them partnered each of us novices and we spent the evenings playing bridge whilst drinking cherry brandy and schnapps. I remember that by the halfway point of the evenings I didn't really mind what was in my partner's hand! I think my partner and I won most evenings, she had a high alcohol tolerance!

I played a lot of whist as a child - my grandparents played regularly and taught me when I was around 8. I think I've forgotten most of the tactics that I once knew, although I still enjoy the occasional game. My grandfather also taught me to play cribbage, and now John and I play when we're away camping. It's a good way to while away the evenings in the tent. We're similar standard and highly competitive, so it makes for some good games.

Back from Blackpool

2007-03-20T14:59:00.000Z

Today is our first day home after the Blackpool Chess Conference. After a successful tournament last year, this year was a disaster. One win and one draw, and three losses. Not sure quite what happened, think it's my middlegame that needs work.

It's a huge tournament, and a good chance to meet up with friends on the circuit. People travel from all over the UK to play there. It was good to meet up with the players from the Isle of Man again. We love the island and love hearing about the chess scene there.

Today is a busy day, catching up with business - we run a chess bookshop and provide equipment and bookstalls to tournaments. Lots of mail order posting to do and making sure that our main website is up to date.