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

Play Online Chess

[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 !'