A scary game

After the first teams bad result against University A the previous week we fared only marginally better this week. However scraped a draw courtesy of this not very well played game (by both players)

Play Online Chess

[Event "Cov Chess League Div 1"]
[Site "University B v Rugby A"]
[Date "2010.1.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "E Lutton"]
[Black "R Wildig"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Be7 5. Bd3 O-O 6. h4 {Why didn't this type
of move happen in Capablanca's day? It'll be a while before I am convinced its
right.} 6... c5 7. c3 b6 8. Ne5 Bb7 9. Nd2 Ne4 10. g4 f6 11. Nef3 Nd7 12. Qc2
c4? {A bad move - the typical result off spending a long time thinking about
something else and then rejecting it.The right course was to select that
alternative as follows12.. cxd4 13 exd4 e5 14 dxe5 fxe5 15 Bxe5 Nxe5 16 Nxe5
Bc5! and Black has a lot of threats against whites poorly defended K
position.} 13. Be2? {Black is lucky, Nxc4 wins a pawn for nothing.} 13... b5
14. Rh2 {White ahs understandable worries about the long White sqaured
diagonal.} 14... a5 {Turns out unsuccessfully. The pawn is needed to look
after the p onb5} 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Nd2 f5 17. a4! Bd5 18. axb5 Nb6 19. b3
{Black is struggling now to hold the Q side} 19... Qc8 20. bxc4 Nxc4 21. gxf5
exf5 22. Qb3 {Looks risky but seems ok} 22... Nb6 23. c4 Bf7 {Black has lost a
pawn and must play actively not to be overwhelmed by the 3 passed pawns.} 24.
Kd1 {Something like Qc2 and then c5 looks much better. Both sides were
starting to get short of time.} 24... Qd7 25. h5?! Rfc8 {Black is back in the
game now.} 26. Rc1 a4 {No time to waste} 27. Qb2 a3 28. Qa1 Bb4 {Getting the
black squared bishop behind the pawns in case of c5 boxing it in} 29. d5 Na4
30. Be5 Nb2+ 31. Bxb2 axb2 32. Qxb2 Ba3 33. Qe5 Bxc1 34. Rg2 Bxd5 35. Kxc1
Be6 36. h6 g6 {By this time Blacks big disadvantage on the clock had become a
reasonable advantage} 37. Kb1 Qe7 38. Qb2 Ra4 39. Bh5 {Last throw of the
dice} 39... Rb4 40. Nb3 Bxc4 41. Bxg6 Rxb3 42. Bxf5+ Kf8 43. Qxb3 Bxb3 44.
Bxc8 Qc5 0-1

Pegler - Sweatman revisited (and same result as previously)

I was playing Paul Sweatman, who I last played in my second game of the season (13th October). The same result, but a much better game from me. Until I got to move 27. I may be improving in my openings and middle game, but my endgame still requires a lot of attention.

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[Event "CDCLLeague, Division 3"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.1.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Chris Pegler"]
[Black "Paul Sweatman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 Bf5 {Considered Bf4, but pressed on with fiancetta}
4. Bg2 Be4 {Hm.Pinsmy knight on the bishop.} 5. O-O Bxf3 {Not sure why he does
this. Should have asked. Or one of you can tell me. } 6. Bxf3 e6 7. Bf4 Bd6
{Thought that if I took him he would take back with queen and that would then
be in a good position so moved in closer to protect bishop with dpawn and fork
bishop and knight. } 8. Be5 Bxe5 {He takes me anyway.} 9. dxe5 {And I take
back and threaten knight.} 9... Nfd7 {Which moves here and stays here -
blocking in the queen - for some time.} 10. Bxd5 {This wasa risky move and all
about advancing the pawn and a threat on the rook. I reckoned he would take
it. I thought long and hard but did it anyway. Craving excitement? } 10...
exd5 {He did take it.} 11. Qxd5 {Now queen threatens rook (potentially)and
more importantly protects pawn.} 11... c6 {Attacks queen and counters threat
to rook. } 12. Qd6 Qe7 {He's fed up by now and wants to swap or see me off? If
I had swapped it would have removed chance of him castling as he would have
had to take back with king. But e pawn would have been dead.} 13. f4 {To
protect d pawn } 13... Qxd6 14. exd6 O-O 15. Nc3 Nf6 {Nice move which stops me
developing Knight to e4} 16. Rad1 Nbd7 17. e4 h6 18. e5 Ng4 {The knight on g4
now threatens to fork rooks on e3.} 19. Rfe1 {To prevent that.} 19... Rae8
20. h3 {Spot that this has nowhere safe to retreat to.} 20... Ngxe5 21. fxe5
Re6 {Threatening to double up, so...} 22. b4 Rfe8 {Now is doubled up.} 23. b5
Rxe5 24. Kf2 {Decide to move king into action. } 24... Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Rxe1 26.
Kxe1 {At this stage its looking not bad. But what to do now?} 26... f5 27.
Kf2 Kf7 28. bxc6 bxc6 29. Na4 Ke6 30. c4 Kxd6 {Finally gets to remove this
nuisance pawn. } 31. Kf3 a6 32. Nc5 Ne5+ 33. Kf4 Nxc4 34. g4 fxg4 35. Ne4+
Ke6 36. hxg4 g5+ 37. Kg3 Ke5 38. Nc5 a5 39. a4 Nb6 40. Nd3+ Kd5 41. Nb2 Kd4
42. Kf3 c5 43. Ke2 c4 44. Kd2 c3+ {Enough is enough. I resign. An enjoyable
game which showed how I really need a better idea about endgames. } 0-1

Hope to do better next time but really quite pleased with how I did here. This is of course the cue for John and Nalin and Jon to pile in and tell me all about glaring errors and missed opportunities. But whatever they say it was an enjoyable game and a nice bloke.

Valentine Chess

Well if you have nothing else to do on Valentine's Day you could consider a spot of competitive chess. The Warwickshire Open Chess Congress is taking place at Knowle.

There are U125, U150, U175 and Open sections, adults and juniors. I hear that Nalin won the U125 last year so RCC has a reputation to uphold!

Still time to enter. The website link above links to downloadable application forms.

Rugby "C" Results

Results of Tuesday 19/01/10 Match-away to Uni E

Board 1 James - Win
Board 2 Roy - Win
Board 3 Joe - Lost
Board 4 Sue - Lost

Two Games for the Price of One

Last week's game that I didn't put up.

Play Online Chess

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.1.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "James"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
%Orient=B
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3 5. bxc3 Nxe4 6. Qe2 d5 7. d3 Nxc3
8. Qxe5+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. Bb2 Nb5 11. Bxg7 Re8 12. Be2 f6 {12...Rg8 wins
the g2 pawn, but I preferred to keep the bishop off the long diagonal.} 13.
O-O?? {Castling can leave pieces hanging...} 13... Kf7 {Discovered attack with
the king.} 14. Rae1 Kxg7 15. Nh4? Nxa3 16. Bh5 Rxe1 17. Rxe1 Nxc2 18. Rc1 Kh6
19. Bf3 Nd4 20. Bd1 c6 {I still haven't developed those three queenside
pieces...} 21. Kf1 Bf5 22. Nxf5+ Nxf5 23. g4 Nd4 24. h4 Nd7 25. Kg2 Re8 {Claim
those open files...} 26. f4 b5 27. g5+ fxg5 28. fxg5+ Kg6 29. Bg4 Re7 30. Rf1
a5 {Here my opponent gracefully resigned as the passed pawns are unstoppable.
} 0-1

This week's game that I hesitated to put up.

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[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.1.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "James"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "70"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 Bd7 {6...b4 is a
better way to continue.} 7. axb5 cxb5 8. Ne5 a6 9. Qf3 Ra7 10. Nd5 {OK, so
this isn't a particularly strong move against best play...} 10... Nxd5?? {My
evil move pays dividends...} 11. Qxf7# 1-0

Where did it all go wrong again???

Play Online Chess

[Event "Rugby C v Uni E"]
[Site "Warwick University"]
[Date "19.01.2010"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Arvind"]
[Black "Sue"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. f4 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. e5 Nh5 6. Nf3 d6 7. g4 Bxg4 8.
exd6 Qxd6 9. Nb5 Qb4+ 10. c3 Qa5 11. b4 Qb6 12. Be2 Bf5 13. Ne5 Nc6 14. Nxc6
bxc6 15. Na3 Be4 16. Rg1 Rfd8 17. Nc4 Qb7 18. Bxh5 Qb5 19. Qe2 gxh5 20. Qxe4
Qxc4 21. Qg2 21... Qxc3+ 22. Kf1 Qxd4 23. Bd2 Qxf4+ 24. Ke1 Qg4 25.
Qxg4 hxg4 26. Rxg4 f6 27. h4 h5 28. Rg3 Rab8 29. Bc3 e5 30. Ke2 Kf7 31. Rag1
Rg8 32. a4 f5 33. Rg5 Bf6 34. Rxg8 Rxg8 35. Rf1 e4 36. Rxf5 Rg3 37. Rxf6+ Ke7
38. Rxc6 Kd7 39. b5 a6 40. Be5 Rg2+ 41. Ke3 Ra2 42. Rxa6 c6 43. bxc6+ Ke6 44.
Kxe4 Re2+ 45. Kf4 Rxe5 46. c7+ Kd5 47. Ra5+ Kd6 48. Rxe5 Kxc7 49. Rxh5 1-0

Chess events in Rugby Feb/March 2010

In addition to all the matches and serious chess playing we are now in the build up to the annual Rugby Schools Chess Championship. The 34th! This will take place on 7th March and links to further information about this (posters and entry forms to download) are available on the Rugby Junior Chess blog. Please pass on this information if you know junior players who might like to register for the event.

As part of the build up to the event we planned to put on something in Rugby Central Library. This has rather grown from the original plan. There will be an exhibition in the Museum during most of February/March. (Tuesday, 2nd Feb to Sunday 14th March - NOTE, not open on Mondays!).

In addition there will be art and crafts events in the Art Gallery during half term week (15-19 Feb) and a hunt for chess peices hidden within exhibits across the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum during that week. The organiser will be interested in anyone coming along and playing with the chess set which will be left out on display for that purpose. So you could even be a living exhibit.

Downstairs in the Library there will be various events on the 18th Feb (again during half term week). Bring this one to the attention of any junior players that you know as we will be setting up a playing area from 11-6.30pm so that players who want to try their hand at the tournament can get some practice against other junior players. Again see on the Rugby Junior Chess blog for posters/programme and information on how to win a chocolate chess set in a competition organised by Sue Sanders.

If you have any free time over half-term week and would like to take part in these events then please contact Chris. Or come say hello to Bob, Sue, Jon and Chris as they act as junior chess marshalls on the 18th. (There will be one of those big chess sets to tempt you to get hands on!)

Bring child/children if you have them, or come on your own just to marvel at it all.

Finally, a game worthy of publishing

Play Online Chess

[Event "Coventry League Div 2"]
[Site "Rugby"]
[Date "2010.1.13"]
[Round "?"]
[White "L Whelan, Newdigate"]
[Black "S Turner, Rugby B"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{598MB, Fritz11.ctg, JUMBO4} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2
Nbd7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Nc5 9. Nd2 a5 10. b3 Bh6 11. Qc2 Bg4 12. Bxg4
Nxg4 13. Nf3 Bxc1 14. Rfxc1 f5 15. a3 fxe4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Rf4 18. Qe2
e4 19. h3 exf3 20. Qe6+ Kg7 21. g3 Rf5 22. Qe4 Ne5 23. Rc3 Qg5 24. Ra2 Raf8
25. Kh2 Rf4 26. Qe1 h5 27. Re3 h4 28. Qg1 hxg3+ 29. fxg3 Ng4+ 30. Kh1 f2 31.
* {598MB, Fritz11.ctg, JUMBO4} 31... c4 32. Nf6 Nc3 33. g6 e4 34. d6 d4 35.
Bg7 Be2 36. Nbd7 Nf3 37. O-O O-O 38. e5 d5 39. Nc5 Nd2 40. a5 b3 41. Bh6 Qc2
42. Bg4 Bxg4 43. Nxg4 Nf3 44. Bxc1 Rfxc1 45. f5 a3 46. fxe4 Nxe4 47. Nxe4
Qxe4 48. Rf4 Qe2 49. e4 h3 50. exf3 Qe6+ 51. Kg7 g3 52. Rf5 Qe4 53. Ne5 Rc3
54. Qg5 Ra2 55. Raf8 Kh2 56. Rf4 Qe1 57. h5 Re3 58. h4 Qg1 59. hxg3+ fxg3 60.
Ng4+ Kh1 61. f2 *

A rare game for Rugby by Nigel Stanley

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[Event "Rugby B v Warwick University C"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.12.8"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nigel Stanley"]
[Black "L. Barkauskas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "138"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8.
cxd4 Qb6 9. Nb3? {Standard opening play up to now (French Defence, Tarrasch
Variation) but here I should have played Nf3 instead of Nb3. If White has
already castled, Nb3 is good (the idea is for the queenside rook to move to c1
then c3 and help in a kingside attack), but here, white has not yet castled.
Black should now play a5, with a view to a4, and if white plays a4, Bb4+ puts
white in trouble. Fortunately my opponent missed this, and within a move I
was safe.} 9... Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Be3 f6 {Black should really play f6
earlier , e.g. around move 8. White wants to hold the pawn on e5, to keep the
black knight off f6, but white cannot play f4 yet because the pawn on d4 would
be pinned to the bishop on e3.} 12. Rc1 fxe5 13. dxe5 Qd8 14. f4 Nb6 {Black's
kingside knight has now moved to b6, leaving a weakness on h7 which White is
ready to attack. Black fails to spot the danger.} 15. Ned4 {Nd4 releases the
White queen to move to h5 to attack h7.} 15... Bd7? 16. Qh5 {Black is now in
serious trouble. Perhaps Rf5 is the best defence, but Black will still lose
from now on.} 16... g6 17. Bxg6 hxg6 18. Qxg6+ Kh8 19. Rf3 Bh4 20. Rh3 Qe7
21. Bf2 {Not 21.g3, because White wants to keep open the 3rd rank, to allow
the queenside rook into the attack. Bf2 opens up the 3rd rank.} 21... Qg7
22. Rxh4+ Kg8 23. Qh5 {Threatening Rg4. It is important for White to keep the
queens on the board rather than exchange them, as the Black queen is very
exposed and can be pinned to the king with a white rook.} 23... Be8 24. Qe2
Nd8 25. Rg4 Bg6 26. Rc3 Rc8 27. Rcg3 Kf7 28. f5 exf5 29. Nxf5 Qh8 {Qh7 was
slightly better, but Black is lost anyway.} 30. Nd6+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

Rugby Avertiser has a Chess Column!

Well its a sort of one-off this week as Zoe, their sports editor kindly placed an article about the photo of 1910 with the names of those photographed. It includes the date of the 34th junior tournament, mentions the website - so eyes are on you, behave sensibly please! - it does not mention that we are currently heading Div 1 with the A-team, but we are so that's a good start to 2010.

Those who know me will be mildly amused to see that I have a formal title in this article 'Rugby Chess Club Publicity Officer' (probably better than the informal one of web mistress?) and I am Mr C Peglar. For those who have not met me the Chris is short for Christine and I am one of the two female members of the Club. The other being Sue Sanders. Yes, the 2010 club photo would look a little different :-)

After sending the info to the Advertiser someone pointed out that there was a 1911 census site online. I could locate some people on that who might be those in the photo. So back row looks like Stanley Watts GIBSON, (1876), Patrick Charles LITTLEJOHN (1895) - so c.15 when this was taken!, Barnabas SPRUCE (1896), DELANY (not found), William Avron WALES (b. 1891 so c.19 years), SOMERFORD - no record, Percival Bailey CLARKE (1871), BALLARD - no record.

Front row: George Hill ADCOCK (1871), Charles SNEWING (1853), TURNER, GOODE COLEMAN and WRIGHT relatively common names in Rugby so several options, no male DRAKE found and no record of SWAIN. So this suggests an age range of 15-57 at that time.

This photo and others from the RCC Russia trip in the 1980s, ones of Bob (and others) looking very young, a selection of chess sets and clocks from RCC and members' personal collections with the silver salver and photo will be on display in the Art Gallery and Museum from early Feb to around mid-March (exact dates to be confirmed).

NOTE: Non-RCC members cannot comment or post to this blog. So if you are not one of our members but have some information for us (you know some of the history of this photo or the club) then please could you email me or the Club Secretary, Bob Wildig. We will try to include this information in the exhibition if we have time/space.

Snowed off

The A and B team cup matches were snowed off this week. In fact it was all sorted out by the B team when - while cancelling their own match - generously cancelled the A team match as well as we were playing in the same place! (Seriously thats fine! and saved us contacting our opponents)

Feeling competitive?

The Coventry and District Chess League have been underwhelmed (seriously underwhelmed) by the entries to the Individual contests this year. So in a goodwill gesture they have extended the deadline for entries. This is now 12th January 2010. So still time to put your name forward.

The information is at the Coventry site - link. There are tropies for 1600+ (no upper limit) and 160 and below, 140 and below, 120 and below, and U18 (on 30th Sept 2009). Free to enter

E-Mail Individual Competitions Secretary for more information or tel. 01926 855467

It can't go ahead if there are insufficent entries.

Walnuts and Turkey cassarol to all

Hi All and Happy New Year to you - as Chris said hope you all enjoyed yourselves over the season. Hopefully the lousy weather will go by the time we have to start playing again - which of course is only days away... There seems to be a revolution going on which is poing to propel Nalin to the top - all I can say to that is 'Have some of our left over Brussels Sprouts !'