News archive 2004–05

The Passed Pawn newsletter

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As from Issue 8, the HTML version is discontinued. You can read all the news items on this page or (if very recent) on the home page.

Notts League fixtures (31 August)

Fixtures for the Notts League are now available: West Nottingham 1; West Nottingham 2; West Nottingham 3; West Nottingham 4; West Nottingham 5; and West Nottingham 6.

These should be the definitive fixtures, but there is always the possibility of late changes.

The league has two extra teams this year: West Nottingham 6 and Bunkers 4, both in Division 5.

Web site restructuring (27 August)

Parts of this site have been restructured in preparation for the new season. The changes will also make future maintenance easier. The main changes affect the individual team pages (new pages are needed for this season’s matches) and the games section (caused by a change in the software used to produce the online games). It’s possible that some internal links may have broken despite efforts to find and alter everything affected by the changes. If you come across a malfunctioning link, please contact webmaster@westnottinghamchess.org.

Derby & District League fixtures (27 August)

Provisional fixtures for the Derby & District League teams are now available: West Nottingham A and West Nottingham B.

‘Provisional’ is the operative word here: the Division 4 fixtures have already changed once following the withdrawal of one team.

Note also that the Derby & District League has been restructured into four divisions.

Grading list updated (26 August)

The BCF’s online grading database has been updated with corrections. A quick check suggests that no WNCC grades have changed since the original list was published, but you might want to check your own grade, just to be sure.

A handful of extra searches have been added, in which two of our players feature. Amisha Parmar is one of the top 100 most improved players in the country; she is also =15th in the list of most active players in Britain, having played 121 graded games in the 2004–05 season. Further down the most active list, Lateefah Messam-Sparks is in 73rd place with 89 games.

British Land UK Chess Challenge Terafinal news (22 August)

The Terafinal – the last round of the British Land UK Chess Challenge – took place in Sheffield on 20–21 August. Over 70,000 schoolchildren took part in the early rounds, making it the biggest chess tournament in the world. Full results have yet to be published, but Lateefah Messam-Sparks reports that she scored 4/6 in her section of the Terafinal and that Daniel Lin and Michael Zhang scored 4/6 and 3/6 respectively in their sections of the Challengers tournament.

More details will be posted as they become available.

British Championships for the Visually Impaired (22 August; updated 27 August)

Steve Thacker competed in the above event, organised by the Braille Chess Association and held from 13–20 August at the Auckland Hotel, Morecambe. Steve finished 2nd with 4½/7, just half a point behind the winner, Chris Ross. Steve also says that in five of the seven rounds his was the last game to finish, so he had to work hard for the points.

Update: Two of Steve’s wins are now online.

WNCC web site moves (20 August)

Following the decision made at this year’s AGM the WNCC web site has moved away from Ian Kingston’s personal web space to its own domain: http://www.westnottinghamchess.org/. Please update your bookmarks and favourites.

If you have bookmarked any pages other than the home page (e.g. your team’s results page) you will find that those pages still exist at the old site but are not being updated. In due course they will disappear.

Committee members and team captains will soon be able to use westnottinghamchess.org email addresses for club business. For example, the club secretary can be reached at secretary@westnottinghamchess.org – try it if you like. This address will stay the same whoever happens to be secretary – the mail is simply forwarded to the relevant address.

Notts Correspondence Chess Team (20 August)

Keith Walters is looking for players for the Nottinghamshire team in next season’s County & District Correspondence Chess Championships, following this season’s success in winning Division 3 of the Minor Counties Championship.

Promotion means that the team needs 26 players next season (up from 20 last year).

Correspondence Chess is played either by post or by email. Games usually take several months to play. You are allowed to consult books.

I can strongly recommend Correspondence Chess to anyone who has sufficient time, because you will definitely improve your understanding of chess. You can, if necessary, spend as long over a single move as you would normally take for an entire game, which means that you can study positions in great depth.

If you are interested in joining the Notts team, contact Keith Walters on 0115 928 2384 or at j.k.walters@nottingham.ac.uk. Keith's deadline for submitting team details is 9 September. Play starts in mid-October.

Gambit Chess Club web site (15 August)

Gambit Chess Club now has its own web site: http://www.gambitchess.org.uk/index.html.

British Championships Week 2 (14 August)

The second week of the BCF Congress saw Lateefah turn her attention to the Under 14 Championship. As the lowest-graded player in the tournament this was a brave move, but it paid off as she took the lead after three rounds. Inevitably, perhaps, subsequent results brought her back down to earth, but Lateefah still finished with 3½/7, taking second place in the Girls’ Championship and once again performing well above her grade. Ankush Khandelwal of Nomads was among those who shared the overall title.

Ian Kingston competed in the Harry Baines Week 2 tournament, scoring 5½/9 and finishing 3rd of six entrants.

Playing conditions at the tournament were excellent, and it was a great shame that more people didn’t take part. Here’s a picture of the venue – the Villa Marina:

Villa Marina - venue of the 2005 BCF Congress
The 2005 BCF Congress venue: the Villa Marina, Douglas, Isle of Man

Here are two games, one by each of the WNCC players.

British Championships (4 August; updated 7 August)

As far as I can tell, only one member of WNCC is competing in any of the Championship events at this year’s BCF Congress (entries are down in every tournament, probably because of the expense and comparative inaccessibility of the Isle of Man). However, our representative – Lateefah Messam-Sparks – currently leads the Under 13 Championship with 3½/4. She faces the top seed in Round 5 – further details will be posted here.

Two rounds were played on Friday: Lateefah drew in Round 5 and lost in Round 6 to drop back to 3rd place.

A last round defeat dropped Lateefah back to =5th place overall, and second place in the Girls’ Championship, with a final score of 4/7 – well above expectations.

Czech Open (30 July)

Amisha Parmar competed in the B2 section at the Czech Open, Pardubice, Czech Republic, from 23–30 July. This was an international rating tournament for players rated under 2200 Elo (200 BCF). Amisha scored a solid 4½/9 in a field of 283 players.

Simuls at Ashfield CC (29 July)

The low turnout for Saturday’s simultaneous display prompted Neil Graham of Ashfield Chess Club to offer a second opportunity, initially for Katarzyna but also, as it turned out, for Agnieszka, to display their talents. Both gave eight-board simuls at Ashfield, Agnieszka winning 8–0 and Katarzyna 6½–1½. Mike Alcock was the sole winner; Neil Graham, following his draw against Agnieszka on Saturday, repeated the feat against Katarzyna. Here’s Ashfield’s report and some more details.

Prizegiving and AGM (26 July)

This year’s AGM was preceded by a prizegiving ceremony in which trophies and medals were handed out to the club’s various champions and winning teams. The prizes were presented by Agnieszka Matras and Katarzyna Toma. Full details on the prizegiving page.

The AGM will be dealt with in detail in the minutes. The more notable points:

BCF becomes ECF (25 July)

The British Chess Federation (BCF) will shortly be changing its name to become the English Chess Federation (ECF). This is long overdue, as the BCF is the governing body for England only – other constituent parts of the UK (including individual Channel Islands) have their own organisations. The change has been known about since April in organisational circles, but a news item on the BCF’s home page seems to be the first public announcement (other than in the BCF’s magazine, ChessMoves). The change takes effect on 22 October.

NCJS Young Masters (25 July; updated 26 July)

The results of WNCC’s members at the NCJS Young Masters, held at Millfield School, Somerset, from 19–24 July are now in. Billy Grewal finished second in the main event with a score of 7/10 – an excellent result. In the weekend competition, Eric Williamson scored 3/5, qualifying for the England squad. Toby Thurgood also scored 3/5, while Lateefah Messam-Sparks had a rare bad tournament, scoring just 1/5.

Simultaneous Display (24 July)

There was a disappointing turnout for the simultaneous display on 23 July – perhaps the start of the school holidays was to blame. The 11 players who did summon up the courage to take part had an excellent time. Agnieszka Matras took on all 11, while Katarzyna Toma offered a second chance to those beaten early by Agnieszka.

Final results:

Agnieszka Matras 9½–1½
Katarzyna Toma 3–0

Agnieszka lost to Ian Kingston and was held to a draw by Neil Graham. Several other games (notably those of Harry Morgan and John Crawley) were pretty close affairs.

Full details and pictures now available, including 12 games.

WNCC welcomes titled visitors

The club was delighted to welcome as guests throughout July two Woman International Masters: Agnieszka Matras and Katarzyna Toma, both from Poland. We organised a couple of special events while they were here: a Friday night blitz and a simultaneous display. Ashfield Chess Club also organised simuls for both women. Agnieszka and Katarzyna, along with Katarzyna’s cousin Kordian Goslawski, also visited the club on Monday nights and played in our Lightning Championship. The two titled players kindly agreed to hand out the trophies at the club’s prizegiving.

Katarzyna Toma and Agnieszka Matras
Katarzyna Toma and Agnieszka Matras

Here are a couple of snappy wins, one by each of our guests.

BCF Grading list available online (24 July)

For the first time, the BCF Grading list is available online. This includes the grades for the season just finished, so you’ll find your new grade there. I’ve posted all the WNCC grades on the Players page. Several juniors have improved their grades significantly. Those gaining more than 10 points are: Amisha Parmar (+22); Daniel Lin (+19); Eric Williamson (+19); Lateefah Messam-Sparks (+16); Michael Keetley (+15); Jonathan Day (+12); Toby Thurgood (+12); and Jyoti Parmar (+12).

Billy Grewal remains the club’s top player (up 4 points to 178). Reece Needham and Tracey Clegg both receive their first grades.

3rd Friday Blitz tournament (22 July)

The final blitz tournament of the season saw a win for one of our guests, Agnieszka Matras, scoring 5½/6.

UK Chess Challenge Gigafinal results (19 July; updated 28 July)

Several West Nottingham juniors competed in the UK Chess Challenge Gigafinals in Manchester on 16–17 July. Some of the results:

Lateefah, Daniel, Anjuli, Michael and Andrew all qualify for the Terafinals.

Lightning Championship (18 July)

A total of 29 people took part in this year’s lightning championship, boosted by a contingent of very strong guests. Apart from WIM Agnieszka Matras and WIM Katarzyna Toma, IM Andrew Greet and Alex Posazhennikov (grade 202) also took part. Not surprisingly, these four (playing hors de combat as far as the championship was concerned) took the top places, finishing in a four-way tie on 5 points out of 6. Andrew took first place on tie break.

The various West Nottingham titles were won by the following:

English Primary Schools Chess Association Finals (13 July)

Nottingham High School’s junior teams matched the achievements of the senior boys by winning the national Under 9 schools championship and finishing as runners up in the Under 11 competition. West Nottingham was well represented again: Andrew Garside led the Under 9 team, while Toby Thurgood, Peter Keetley and Hamzah Ali played for the Under 11s.

Club Championship: final results (12 July)

The final round of the Club Championship has been completed, and the winners of all three titles are now known. As previously reported, Billy Grewal took the overall title with 4½ points. David Levens and John Collins tied for second place with 4 points, David taking second position on tie break.

The U16 competition was a three-way fight between Daniel Lin, Eric Williamson and Lateefah Messam-Sparks, who all scored 3 points. Daniel takes the title on tie break.

The U11 section was won outright by Toby Thurgood with 2½ points.

The Passed Pawn: Issue 8 (7 July)

The latest issue of The Passed Pawn is now available for download from the News page.

County Under 150 Championship (6 July)

Nottinghamshire won the County Under 150 Championship at the weekend. The final, against Norfolk, was an 8–8 tie, but Nottinghamshire’s superior board count won the day.

Notts Chess Association AGM (6 July)

David Levens and Ian Kingston attended this year’s NCA AGM on 5 July. Here’s a brief summary of the most significant points, with particular reference to West Nottingham.

British Schools Championship (5 July)

Nottingham High School won this year’s British Schools Championship, held at Quorn Hall in Leicestershire on 2–3 July. Four of the six players – Billy Grewal, Michael Keetley, Ian Harris and Dominic Heining – are West Nottingham members.

The High School’s B team finished as runners-up in the plate competition. Jonathan Day, Toby Thurgood and Daniel Lin formed the West Nottingham contingent.

Club Championship: Billy’s title (4 July)

Billy Grewal secured the 2004–05 championship with a draw in the final round against Ian Kingston, giving him an unassailable 4½/5. John Collins moved past Ian into second place with a win over Toby Thurgood, but he can still be caught by either Daniel Lin or David Levens.

All England Girls Championship (4 July; updated 10 July)

Lateefah Messam-Sparks won the All England Girls Under 14 Championship, held in Nottingham on 2 July, with a score of 3½/5. Other West Nottingham results: Kerry Langsdale 1/3 (withdrawn ill); Chloe Langsdale 1/4 (withdrawn). In the U12 section Anjuli Henderson scored 3/5, and in the U10 section Fatima Ali scored 2/5.

Derbyshire Individual Championship (23 June)

David Levens finished third in this year’s Derbyshire championship with a score of 5/7. The winner was Paul Madden (6½/7), followed by Mike Alcock (5½/7).

Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship (8 June)

The starter problem for the 2005–06 Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship has just been published. This is the first of three stages in the championship. Every entrant who solves the starter problem correctly moves on to a harder postal round later in the year. The best contestants in that round qualify for the final.

To enter, solve the starter problem and send White’s first move (the key move) to: Paul Valois, 14 Newton Park Drive, LEEDS LS7 4HH. Entries, post-marked no later than 31 July 2005, should be accompanied by a cheque or postal order for £3.00 made payable to the British Chess Problem Society.

Here’s the starter problem:

BCPS starter problem. Forsyth notation: 1R1R1B2/2p3pb/P1k3B1/rN3K2/P7/5n2/1pN3Qn/1q6

White to play and mate in 2
Forsyth notation: 1R1R1B2/2p3pb/P1k3B1/rN3K2/P7/5n2/1pN3Qn/1q6

If you are new to chess problems like this, all you need to know is that White has just one move that will force checkmate in the specified number of moves at most. All Black has to do to defeat the other White moves is to delay mate by at least one extra move.

Update (14 August): entries are now closed and the solution has been published: 1.Be7!

Hydra vs. Michael Adams match (8 June)

British No. 1 Michael Adams plays a six-game match against what is claimed to be the strongest chess computer ever built, Hydra, at the Wembley Conference Centre from 21–27 June. If you want to be in the audience, watching the games live, all you need to do is turn up: entry is free and no prior registration is required. Play starts at 3:00 p.m. for each game. There is no game on 24 June.

Update: as you may have seen in the press, Adams was destroyed by the computer by a score of 5½–½.

For more details, visit HYDRAchess.com

BCF Grand Prix Leader Boards (4 June)

The BCF Grand Prix competitions end at this year’s British Championship in August. Three of our members are in the top 10 of their respective competitions. In the Female Prix, Amisha Parmar is in 6th place and Lateefah Messam-Sparks is in 9th. In the Graded Prix (174–150) section, Derek Jarvis is in 6th place.

Informal blitz tournament (27 May)

Ian Kingston won the second informal Friday blitz tournament with a score of 6/6.

Kasparov vs. Deep Blue documentary (26 May)

BBC2 is screening the documentary Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine on Sunday 29 May, from 10:30 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. The film is concerned with Kasparov’s second match against IBM’s Deep Blue computer in 1997, during which Kasparov claimed the machine had outside help. Set your VCR...

Bunkers Chess Club web site (24 May)

Bunkers Chess Club has a new web site. There’s not much there yet (basic information about the club etc.), but it does include a link to our site, so thanks for that – I’ve added a reciprocal link on our links page.

Since our site was set up last summer, it’s been a steady source of new members. Every club should have a regularly updated site, both to attract new members and to keep existing members up to date.

The Passed Pawn: Issue 7 (22 May)

The latest issue of The Passed Pawn is now available. As always, you can collect a copy at the club or download it from the news page.

Notts Chess Association best game prize (21 May)

Entries are invited for the annual best game prize. Entries should be sent to Drag Sudar by the end of May.

Changes to FIDE Laws of Chess (21 May)

The official FIDE Laws of Chess have undergone some minor revisions, and the new version of the Laws comes into force on 1 July. The BCF web site contains details of the changes. You can download a copy (MS Word format) if you want one. All WNCC team captains will be given a copy before the start of next season, and a copy will also be available in the blue folder kept with the club’s equipment.

Most of the changes are minor and unlikely to affect day-to-day competitive chess. However, there are two changes that everyone needs to know about.

First, you are no longer allowed to write down your move before you play it. Many people have developed this habit, advocated by Alexander Kotov in his famous book Think Like a Grandmaster, as a way of avoiding blunders.

Update: The Association of Chess Professionals has told FIDE that it is unhappy about this rule and is preparing proposals about it.

The second important change is that mobile phones are now banned from the playing venue. I expect that individual leagues and tournaments will modify this rule for practical reasons, but you will need to ensure that you know exactly what rule is being applied wherever you happen to be playing. At the very least, your phone should be turned off during your game, and should never be used within the playing area, even after your game has finished.

National Girls’ Team Championship (21 May)

Amisha Parmar was a member of the winning U18 team, Silent Knights, at the National Girls’ Team Championship, held at Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, on 7 May.

Final league tables (16 May)

Final league tables for the divisions in which we competed this season are now available on the individual teams’ pages: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Derby.

Nottingham Congress (16 May)

The 30th Nottingham Congress took place on 13–15 May. A brief summary of WNCC members’ results follows (all scores out of 6 points).

Derek finished equal second in the Major. Dominic and Toby shared 3rd place in the Minor after drawing with each other in the final round.

The Open was won by FM Andrew Greet with 5½ points. GM Mark Hebden, the overwhelming favourite, could only manage 4½ points and 3rd place.

Derby & District League AGM (13 May)

John Crawley and Ian Kingston attended the Derby & District League AGM on 12 May. Here’s a summary of the main decisions that affect WNCC:

Finally, we were presented with the Division 3 trophy. This will be on display at the club for those who want to see the results of their efforts.

British Land UK Chess Challenge (9 May)

The British Land UK Chess Challenge is an annual national event in which over 70,000 schoolchildren compete. Players qualify from tournaments held within individual schools for a series of regional and national tournaments: the Megafinal, Gigafinal and Terafinal. As WNCC is the leading club for juniors in Nottinghamshire, it should come as no surprise that our members did extremely well in the Trent region Megafinal, held at Foremarke Hall School on 7 May.

WNCC results (all scores out of six points):

World School Chess Championship, Athens (29 April)

Michael Keetley scored 4/9 in the U16 section of the First World School Chess Championship (22–28 April). Other local juniors also took part: Anjali Lakhani 4½/9 (U12); Kishan Lakhani 5/9 (U14); and Daniel Wells 5½/9 (U16).

Notts League D1: Grantham 1 3–2 West Nottingham 1 (27 April)

With five first team squad members unavailable, the team slipped to another narrow defeat in the last match of the season.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 3–1 Rolls Royce C (26 April)

The team completed the season by taking the Division 3 title with another comfortable win.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 4–0 Long Eaton 2 (26 April)

The fifth team rounded off the season with a big win, finishing with a solid mid-table performance.

Notts League D3: University 3 1½–3½ West Nottingham 2 (25 April)

Another win brings a spectacularly successful season to an end.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 miss out (24 April)

In the final match of Division 4, Gambit 4 won 3½–1½ against Newark 2, pushing West Nottingham 4 down to third place. Nevertheless, that represents a fine effort by the fourth team, who may yet reach the third division if the league restructures itself in the off-season.

Notts League D1: First team stays up (22 April)

The theoretical risk of relegation evaporated this week when West Bridgford 1’s heavy defeats against Mansfield 1 (5–0) and Nomads 1 (4–1) became known. See the league table for confirmation.

Notts League D4: Nomads 3 4–1 West Nottingham 4 (19 April)

A heavy defeat sees Nomads move past the fourth team to take the lead in Division 4. The team now faces a nervous wait for the outcome of the Gambit 4’s final match against Newark 2. A win for Newark will send us up; any other result will see Gambit promoted.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 2–3 University 1 (18 April)

A narrow defeat for the first team, which was lacking three first choice players and the strongest reserve.

The Friday Simultaneous Challenge (15 April)

Ten people were brave enough to take on Ian Kingston in the club’s first simultaneous challenge. Over the course of the evening, Ian was able to pick off all bar one of the opposition to win 9–1, the sole winner being Daniel Lin. An honourable mention should also go to Eric Williamson for the most interesting game of the night.

Derby League D3: Derby/Mickleover C 1–3 West Nottingham (12 April)

Put the champagne on ice – the win guarantees promotion and the divisional title is almost ours.

Leicester Rapidplay (12 April)

Several West Nottingham players competed in the Leicester Rapidplay on 10 April. The best performance came from Derek Jarvis, who finished equal second in the Major section with 4½ points out of 6. In the Intermediate section, Lateefah Messam-Sparks scored 2/6, and in the Minor section, Daniel Lin scored 3½/6, Ashton Alfred 2/6 and Lawrence Alfred 1/6.

BCA Congress (12 April)

Steve Thacker competed in the Braille Chess Association Congress (8–10 April), scoring 3 points out of 5.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 3 3–2 Grantham 2 (11 April)

Helped by a default on Board 5, the third team won the match with hard-fought draws in all the other games. The win ends the team’s season and sees them safely avoiding relegation.

Notts League D5: Nomads 4 1–3 West Nottingham 5 (5 April)

A good win that ends Nomads 4’s promotion campaign.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 3–1 Breadsall B (4 April)

Promotion becomes all but certain with a tense win against the third-placed team. One more point will settle things.

Notts League D4: Newark 2 2–3 West Nottingham 3 (1 April)

A vital win, lifting the team out of the relegation zone. A draw in the final match will be enough.

Notts League D1: West Bridgford 1 1–4 West Nottingham 1 (30 March)

A crucial victory all but banishes relegation worries.

Notts League D4: Radcliffe & Bingham 2 1–4 West Nottingham 4 (30 March)

A big boost to the team’s promotion chances, the win putting us three points clear of the chasing pack.

Derby League D3: Spondon C 1–3 West Nottingham (30 March)

Another win keeps the team on course for promotion. Two vital matches coming up will decide the issue.

Derby League D3: Trent B 2–2 West Nottingham (23 March)

A point dropped in the promotion race.

Eastern Region Junior Championships (21 March)

Lateefah Messam-Sparks won the Under 14 Girls Championship with a perfect 5/5.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 3 2–3 Nomads 3 (21 March)

A strong Nomads team all but ends the third team’s promotion chances.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 4–0 Spondon D (15 March)

An easy win, stretching the lead at the top of the table and putting pressure on the chasing pack.

Notts League D3: Fiveways 2 1½–3½ West Nottingham 2 (14 March)

A less emphatic win than of late, but convincing enough.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 2½–2½ Gambit 4 (14 March)

The team edged closer to promotion with a draw that could so easily have been a win.

Blackpool Congress (14 March)

A quartet of West Nottingham juniors competed in the Blackpool Congress (11–13 March). The star of the show was Jyoti Parmar, who scored 4½/5 to finish equal first in the U80 section. Amisha Parmar scored 3/5 in the U175 section, while Lateefah Messam-Sparks and Toby Thurgood scored 2½ and 1½ respectively in the U120 section.

Derby League D3: Belper C 1–3 West Nottingham (11 March)

A strong West Nottingham team comfortably beat one of their promotion rivals and remain at the top of the division.

Notts League D3: West Nottingham 2 4–1 Bunkers 2 (7 March)

Mission accomplished! The second team clinched promotion with two matches to spare with yet another resounding win Update (9 March): The latest results show that the team has now also won the Division 3 Championship.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 2–2 Bunkers 3 (7 March)

An excellent draw for the fifth team against the division leaders.

New games (5 March)

Three more new games in the games section.

Informal blitz tournament (5 March)

Amisha Parmar won the five-minute blitz tournament on 4 March with a perfect 6/6.

Notts League D5: University 4 2–2 West Nottingham 5 (2 March)

A solid draw for the fifth team, now showing definite signs of improvement.

Derby League D3: Lichfield 2–2 West Nottingham (2 March)

A point dropped in the promotion battle, as a strong side manages only a draw.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 1½–3½ Ashfield 1 (1 March)

Back to losing ways. Yet another defeat in a match that looked good at the halfway mark.

The Passed Pawn: Issue 6 (27 February)

The latest issue of The Passed Pawn is now available. As always, you can collect a copy at the club or download it from the news page.

Notts League D4: Gambit 4 2½–2½ West Nottingham 3 (24 February)

A drawn match that keeps the team in contention for promotion and helps the fourth team.

Notts League D1: University 2 2½–2½ West Nottingham 2 (24 February)

The losing streak ends with a draw, but it was so close to a win. A time scramble on top board cost half a point.

Notts League D5: Long Eaton 2 2½–1½ West Nottingham 5 (23 February)

A narrow defeat. Dave Bolstridge scored his first win for the club.

Capelle la Grande Open (22 February)

The Parmar sisters, Amisha and Jyoti, competed in the Capelle la Grande Open in France from 12–19 February, scoring 5/9 and 2/9 respectively. Amisha finished first in her category. A number of Grandmasters also finished on the same score, so she was in good company. The tournament is a huge Open Swiss with almost 600 competitors, and has been running since 1985.

Notts League D3: West Nottingham 2 4–1 Ashfield 4 (21 February)

The second team moved to within a whisker of guaranteeing promotion by gaining revenge over the only team to beat them this season.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 3½–½ Long Eaton B (21 February)

Another convincing win keeps the team at the top of the division.

16th Notts Rapidplay: Results (20 February)

Jonathan Day was the the most successful of the West Nottingham players, scoring 5/6 to finish equal second in the Minor. Other results:

Open: 1st M. Broomfield and P. Cumbers (4½); West Nottingham results: Billy Grewal (2) and Amarjit Mehton (2)

Major: 1st J. Wagenbach (5); WN: Derek Jarvis (4), John Collins (3), Ian Kingston (3)

Intermediate: 1st R. Clegg and S. Wells (5); WN: Lateefah Messam-Sparks (3½)

Minor: 1st B. Lemper (5½); WN: Jonathan Day (5), Daniel Lin (3½), Eric Williamson (3½), Reece Needham (2)

Derek, John, Ian and Lateefah joined forces in the team competition, but a disastrous last round knocked the team into 3rd place.

Notts League D4: Grantham 2 3½–1½ West Nottingham 4 (11 February)

The promotion battle remains tight, as Grantham move into contention at the fourth team’s expense.

Notts League D1: University 1 3½–1½ West Nottingham 1 (11 February)

A nice win for John Collins, but the team loses for the fourth match in a row.

Notts League D3: West Bridgford 2 ½–4½ West Nottingham 2 (9 February)

Another crushing win, as the second team forge ahead at the top of Division 3. The team has dropped just half a point in its last three matches.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 1½–2½ Gambit 5 (8 February)

An unfortunate defeat: two winning positions turned into losses in time trouble.

Two more new games (6 February)

Entertaining wins by John Collins and Dominic Heining have been added to the Games section.

Notts League D5: Long Eaton 3 1–3 West Nottingham 5 (4 February)

An excellent win for the fifth team, finally returning to the form of earlier in the season.

Notts League D1: Gambit 1 3½–1½ West Nottingham 1 (2 February)

West Nottingham dominated the match, but threw it all away at the finish to fall to a third straight defeat.

Team handicap: second round (2 February)

Results from the second round and the draw for the semi-final. There’s a possible Ashfield clash in the final.

Notts League D3: West Nottingham 2 5–0 Gambit 3 (31 January)

Not an entirely deserved margin (the captain’s game was particularly poor), but a clean sweep sees the team extend its lead at the top of the table.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 3½–1½ Newark 2 (31 January)

A solid win to restore the team to the top of the division.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 3 3–2 Radcliffe & Bingham 2 (25 January)

Another win lifts the third team to the fringe of the promotion battle.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 2–3 Mansfield 1 (25 January)

Another setback in a close match.

New games (20 January)

At long last, a couple of new games have been added to the games section.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 2–2 Derby/Mickleover C (18 January)

A comfortable draw against our closest promotion rivals.

Derby League D3: Rolls Royce C 0–4 West Nottingham (15 January)

A big win against the bottom team, maintaining the team’s leadership of the division.

York Congress results (12 January)

Amisha Parmar and Lateefah Messam-Sparks both played at the York Congress from 7–9 January. Amisha scored 4/5 in the Major (a 187 grading performance), while Lateefah scored 3/5 in the Minor.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 2–3 Nomads 1 (11 January)

A below-strength team misses the opportunity to move up to second place following a narrow defeat.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 ½–3½ Ashfield 5 (11 January)

The New Year opens with another heavy defeat.

New newsletter (1 January)

Issue No. 5 of The Passed Pawn is now available online. You can also pick up a copy at the club when we reopen.

Christmas quiz (21 December)

The Christmas quiz proved to be highly entertaining. See Other events for more details.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 3½–1½ Grantham 1 (13 December)

A third straight win strengthens the first team’s league position in the fight for second place.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 1½–3½ West Nottingham 3 (13 December)

Revenge for the third team, but something of a setback for the fourth team’s promotion hopes.

Spondon Christmas Quickplay: 28 December (11 December)

Spondon Chess Club is holding a quickplay tournament on the evening of 28 December. Entry is £1 per player. For more details, contact Bert Loomes (Bert@spondon27.freeserve.co.uk).

Derby League D3: Breadsall B 2–2 West Nottingham (9 November)

A tight match against the second placed team ends the 100% run, but maintains leadership of the division.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 2–2 Nomads 4 (6 December)

Relief for the fifth team, as their bad run ends with a solid draw.

Club Championship: First Round Draw (2 December)

The draw has been made for the first round of the Club Championship. Details have been sent to all entrants via email or post.

Notts League D3: West Nottingham 2 5–0 University 3 (29 November)

The second team bounce back to winning form with a crushing win.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 1½–3½ Radcliffe & Bingham 2 (29 November)

The unbeaten run comes to an end with a hard fought defeat.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 2½–1½ Spondon C (29 November)

The team maintains its 100% record with a sixth straight win.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 ½–3½ University 4 (23 November)

Another heavy defeat for the fifth team.

Notts League D4: Nomads 3 3–2 West Nottingham 3 (23 November)

A tight match, with one game needing adjudication. Sadly, the position was a loss.

Notts League D1: Nomads 1 2–3 West Nottingham 1 (22 November)

A tight match in which the result went down to the last 60 seconds gave the first team a second win.

The new rook ’n’ roll? (20 November)

The Guardian has an article suggesting that chess might be shedding its nerdy image, citing a number of celebrity chess players, including Madonna, Bono, cricketer Andrew Flintoff and Education Secretary Charles Clarke (son of Sir Richard Clarke, who devised the British grading system), among others.

Notts League D5: Bunkers 3 4–0 West Nottingham 5 (17 November)

Another setback for the fifth team, with a second successive whitewash.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 3½–1½ West Bridgford 1 (15 November)

The first team chalk up their first win of the season, restoring their record to 50%.

Hull Congress (14 November)

Lateefah Messam-Sparks scored 3/5 in the Minor at this year’s Hull Congress, played on 5–7 November.

Amisha at the World Youth Championships

Amisha Parmar competed in the Girls Under 12 World Championship from 4–13 November, finishing with a score 5½/11. Round by round scores are given below; for more details visit the official site.

RoundOpponentResult
1Camilla Kohi½
2Maria Butuc0
3Zsofia Edes1
4Patankar Devangi0
5Jevgenija Abolina1
6Li-Cheng Toh1
7Raushan Abylkassymova0
8Natasa Bucar1
9Andrea Adam1
10Angela Song0
11Gayatri Vempati0
Total5½

Derby League D3: Spondon D 1–3 West Nottingham (13 November)

Another win, extending the team’s lead at the top of the division.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 2½–2½ Gambit 4 (9 November)

The Amirabadis come to the rescue, with both David and Davoud winning against the other unbeaten team in the division.

Team Handicap KO: Round 1 results (9 November)

The first round results and the draw for the second round are now available.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 3 5–0 Newark 2 (8 November)

Newark 2 were unable to fulfil the fixture, so the third team claimed the walkover.

East Midlands Grand Prix (4 November)

The club has three members playing in this junior tournament, and all are doing well. After the first session, Eric Williamson leads the Under 16 section with 6 points; Reece Needham similarly holds first place in the Under 11 section with 5 points; and Michael Zhang is in equal 5th place (4 points) in the Under 10 section.

Notts League D3: Ashfield 4 3½–1½ West Nottingham 2 (3 November)

A bad night for the second team, as good positions turned sour against weak opposition.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 3–1 Belper C (1 November)

A fourth win keeps the team’s 100% record intact and keeps the club firmly on top of the division.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 3–2 Nomads 3 (1 November)

An amazing comeback win in a match that seemed hopelessly lost at one stage sees the fourth team maintain its 100% record at the top of Division 4.

Notts League D4: result update (1 November)

The score in the match between West Nottingham 4 and Grantham 2 has been amended from 4–1 to 4½–½ because Grantham defaulted on Board 2. League tables and results have been amended accordingly.

Ampleforth Junior Masters (31 October)

Four West Nottingham juniors took part in the 5th Ampleforth Junior Masters (28–31 October). Final scores (maximum 6 points): Lateefah Messam-Sparks 3½; Michael Keetley 3; Toby Thurgood 2; Peter Keetley 1½. Lateefah’s performance was 20 points above her current grade. In the blitz tournament, Toby shared first place in the Under 11 category with 4/6. More details at the tournament web site.

Two games from the tournament are now available.

The Passed Pawn: new issue available (31 October)

Issue No. 4 of The Passed Pawn is now available. As with the last issue, this one is only available online or at the club: it will not sent out by post.

Notts League D4: Grantham 2 4–1 West Nottingham 3 (28 October)

The third team suffer at the hands of a surprisingly strong Grantham second team.

Notts League D5: Ashfield 5 4–0 West Nottingham 5 (28 October)

Ashfield deliver a whitewash against the fifth team.

Notts League D3: Nomads 2 withdraw (27 October)

Nomads 2 have withdrawn from Division 3. The second team’s fixture list has been updated to reflect this.

Notts League D3: Bunkers 2 1–4 West Nottingham 2 (27 October)

The second team extends its 100% record with a straightforward win.

Notts League D5: New team added (26 October)

University 4 have been added to Division 5. They will play their home matches on Tuesday nights. I’ve updated the fixtures on the fifth team page.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 2½–2½ University 2 (26 October)

Yet another drawn match for the first team.

Notts League D1: Ashfield 1 3½–1½ WN1 (20 October)

A disappointing loss for the first team in a match that looked quite promising at one stage. Good positions drifted away in time trouble, leaving Ian Kingston as the sole winner.

Lateefah wins in Solihull (19 October)

Lateefah Messam-Sparks had another successful weekend, 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.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 3 1–4 Gambit 4 (19 October)

A bad night for the third team. Daniel Lin lightened the gloom.

Derby League D3: West Nottingham 2½–1½ Trent B (19 October)

Another win for the Derby League team, restoring us to the top of the division with a 100% record. Louise Sun and Tracey Clegg made their competitive debuts in this match, drawing and winning respectively.

Team Handicap KO: Newark B 3–0 West Nottingham Nightmare (15 October)

The Nightmare suffered a nightmare, failing to take advantage of the handicap.

Leicester Rapidplay: Lateefah takes 2nd prize (12 October)

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.

Derby League D3: Long Eaton B ½–3½ West Nottingham (12 October)

A second win in the Derby League takes us to the top of the table.

Team Handicap KO: West Nottingham Daydream 1½–1½ Radcliffe Rabbits (11 October)

Facing a huge time handicap, the Daydream were knocked out on tie-break.

Notts League D5: Gambit 5 ½–3½ West Nottingham 5 (6 October)

The fifth team register their first win in their first away match of the season. The score has been updated following the resolution of a dispute in one game.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 4 4½–½ Grantham 2 (4 October)

The unstoppable fourth team roll on to a third straight victory.

The Passed Pawn: new issue available (3 October)

The latest issue of The Passed Pawn is now available. This issue will not be mailed out, but you can read it online, download a copy or collect a copy from the club.

Notts League D4: Newark 2 2–3 West Nottingham 4 (2 October)

A second straight win for the fourth team.

Team handicap competition (1 October)

The draw for the team handicap knockout competition has been made. We have two teams in the competition: West Nottingham Daydream (captained by David Levens) and West Nottingham Nightmare (captained by Ian Kingston). The Nightmare will play away against Newark B on 14 October; the Daydream will play at home against Radcliffe Rabbits (date to be confirmed).

Teams of three play with a time handicap determined by grades. Each player starts with 60 minutes on the clock, but the lower graded player adds the difference in grades to his or her time and the higher graded player subtracts the difference. Thus a 120 versus a 140 would see initial clock times of 80 minutes versus 40 minutes respectively.

County Championship (1 October)

The Nottinghamshire County Championship was played on 25–26 September at Sherwood Community Centre. Mike Barnes of Gambit won the Open title; Darren Ince of Ashfield won the Major (under 130); Ankush Khandelwal of Nomads won the Under 18 championship. West Nottingham scores: Open – Amarjit Mehton 3½ (equal 3rd place); Balvinder Grewal 3; David Levens 3; Ian Kingston 2; Major – Lateefah Messam-Sparks 3½ (equal 2nd place); Toby Thurgood 3; James Thomson 2.

Notts League D4: Radcliffe & Bingham 2 1½–3½ West Nottingham 3 (1 October)

West Nottingham 3 score their first points of the season with a good away win.

Notts League D1: Mansfield 1 2½–2½ West Nottingham 1 (1 October)

West Nottingham 1 pick up another draw against higher-rated opponents. Late arrival caused by heavy traffic cost the team 15–20 minutes each on the clock.

Notts League D3: West Nottingham 2 3½–1½ West Bridgford 2 (27 September)

Three wins in a row for the second team. The lower boards continue to deliver the goods.

Notts League D5: West Nottingham 5 2–2 Long Eaton 3 (27 September)

A solid start for the fifth team in their opening match.

Local press coverage (22 September)

The Nottingham and Long Eaton Recorder has a brief item about the club on page 5 of the 23 September issue. This should be the start of a regular results column in the paper (subject to all the usual constraints on space, of course).

Leicester Rapidplay on 10 October (22 September)

Entry forms for the Leicester Rapidplay on 10 October have been received. If you’re interested in playing, pick up a form at the club or visit the tournament’s web site.

Notts League D3: Gambit 3 1½–3½ West Nottingham 2 (21 September)

A second straight win for the second team.

Notts League D1: West Nottingham 1 2½–2½ Gambit 1 (21 September)

A solid draw for the first team against higher-rated opponents.

Notts League D4: West Nottingham 3 1–4 West Nottingham 4 (20 September)

Davoud’s youngsters upset Ric’s higher-rated side.

Derby League results and table update (18 September)

The first week’s results and league table from the Derby League are online.

Club Championship details (16 September)

Details of this year’s Club Championship are now online. To enter, visit the club before 18 October and sign your name on the entry list.

Notts League D3: WN2 3–2 Fiveways 2 (14 September)

West Nottingham 2 kick off the season with a win. Play through Phil Burley’s smooth positional win from the match.

Derby League D3: WN 2½–1½ Lichfield (14 September)

Juniors win the club’s inaugural match in the Derby and District League.

New game added (11 September)

One of Balvinder Grewal’s wins from the Specsavers Young Masters.

Derby and District League fixtures (7 September)

We’re running a team in Division 3 of the Derby and District League this season. Fixtures are now online.

Team lists published (7 September)

Players have been allocated to teams for the new season. Check which team you’re in by visiting the team pages: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth.

2004–05 league fixtures (1 September)

The new league fixtures are out. Check your team’s fixture list: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth.

The Passed Pawn: issue 2 (1 September)

The latest issue of the renamed newsletter is now online.

2004 grades (20 August)

The 2004 BCF grades have been published. See the list of players for full details. Most improved adult: John Crawley (up 19 points); most improved junior: Amisha Parmar (up 30 points).

Summer break (26 July)

The club is now on its summer break. We’ll be open again for the new season on 6 September. Enjoy your holiday!

Lightning Championship (19 July)

Ian Kingston has won the 2004 club lightning championship. Eighteen players took part.

Newsletter – first issue (19 July)

The first issue of the club’s newsletter is now out. Read it here.

Annual General Meeting (14 June)

Various decisions were taken about the future of the club. The most notable was the decision to change the club’s name from Stapleford Chess Club to West Nottingham Chess Club. The new name reflects the fact that the club now draws its membership from a much wider geographical area, and will enable the club to publicize itself throughout that area.

Other news from the AGM:

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