Issue No. 4: 1 October 2004
Introduction
This is another club- and Internet-only issue. For the first time, I’ve found space to include a little chess (see over). If you have any interesting games or positions, please send them to me and I’ll include them here and/or on the web site.
Club championship
Entries for the club championship are now closed. Further details will be available shortly.
Match results
This is a summary of results since the previous issue. Full details are on the web site, along with unofficial league tables.
First team (Division 1)
The first team has played two more matches since the last issue:
Ashfield 1 3½–1½ West Nottingham 1
West Nottingham 1 2½–2½ University 2
With three draws and a defeat, the team is performing reasonably well. First division survival should not be a problem.
Second team (Division 3)
A quiet month for the second team, with just one match:
Bunkers 2 1–4 West Nottingham 2
Four wins out of four mean that the team is sitting comfortably at the top of the division. Nomads 2 have withdrawn from the division, leaving just seven teams.
Third team (Division 4)
The third team seems to be catching all the bad luck and awkward opposition going. For instance, the Grantham 2 team was much stronger than that which the fourth team beat.
West Nottingham 3 1–4 Gambit 4
Grantham 2 4–1 West Nottingham 3
Fourth team (Division 4)
Just the one match to report:
West Nottingham 4 4–1 Grantham 2
...and the 100% record remains intact.
Fifth team (Division 5)
Two matches played and one abandoned:
Gambit 5 ½–3½ West Nottingham 5
Ashfield 5 4–0 West Nottingham 5
The home match against Long Eaton 2 was abandoned when the fire alarm went off and Long Eaton decided to leave rather than wait for the noise to stop. Both of the other matches that night were played to a finish without problems, so Long Eaton’s departure was a little premature.
University 4 are a late entry to this division – the new fixtures are on the web site.
Derby & District League (Division 3)
Two matches this month:
Long Eaton B ½–3½ West Nottingham
West Nottingham 2½–1½ Trent B
There may be tougher matches to come, but the team has a 100% record and leads the division. In the match against Trent B, Tracey Clegg and Louise Sun were pressed into action at the last minute, scoring a win and a draw respectively in their first ever competitive games.
Team handicap knockout
Neither of our teams was able to progress beyond the first round:
West Nottingham Daydream 1½–1½ Radcliffe Rabbits
Newark B 3–0 West Nottingham Nightmare
The Daydream, as the higher-rated team, were knocked out on tie break.
The handicap can be quite brutal in this competition. The Daydream players had only 10 minutes each for all their moves, which makes life very hard against opponents who have almost two hours. Amazingly, Amarjit Mehton actually won on time, while in a similarly bizarre finish Billy Grewal was offered (and had to accept) a draw with just two seconds left on his clock.
Other news
Club members have been playing in other tournaments this month. Lateefah Messam-Sparks continued her excellent run of form by taking second place in the Leicester Rapidplay Minor tournament on 10 October with a score of 5/6. Toby Thurgood scored 4/6 and Daniel Lin scored 3/6 in the same section, while John Collins scored 1½ in the Major.
The following weekend, Lateefah had more success, this time at the Warwickshire Open Junior Championships. She won the Under 14 Championship with a score of 5½/6, and in the Under 16 event she scored 4/6, finishing third.
Four of the club’s juniors are playing in the Ampleforth Junior Masters at the time of writing. Scores after four rounds:
| Michael Keetley | 2 |
| Lateefah Messam-Sparks | 2 |
| Peter Keetley | 1 |
| Toby Thurgood | 1 |
Check the web site for the final scores, which should be available by the time you read this.
Endpiece
To round off this issue, here’s an amusing finish from a recent First Division game.
J. K. Walters (University 1) – I. S. Kingston (West Nottingham 1) (Board 5)
Position after 47... K×d5
Both players have missed several winning opportunities during the game. White can still play for a win with either 48. Nc7+ or 48. Na3, although Black should be able to hold the draw. Short of time, however, White played 48. a7?, assuming that Black has no time to take the knight and that the position is an easy win. Fortunately for me, this allows a quick and easy draw by 48...R×b5!, and White suddenly realised that 49. a8(Q)+ is met by 49... Kd4+ 50. Kf4 B×a8 51. R×a8, with a dead draw.
Ian Kingston
Secretary, West Nottingham Chess Club
secretary@westnottinghamchess.org
0115 967 8367
48 Bramcote Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 4DT