Important notice
The Tony Locke Shield will take place on Wednesday 16th April (draw for 1st round will be made at 19:15). The event is open to all club members. It will be a five-round swiss with 15 minutes on the clock for each player.
Saturday, 12 April 2014
NECL player of the year
As the end of the season approaches it is time for a look at the top players in the NECL so far this season - and Colchester players are doing well.
Currently in 1st place is Eldar Lachinov with a score of 7.5/8 (94%) - looking like he can't be caught. In 2nd place is Mike Wagstaff with a score of 7.5/9 (83%) and Pete Smith is in 3rd place with 6.5/8 (81%). Also in the top 20 are Nathan Barnes (13th), Clive Bellinger (16th=) and Phil Daley (16th=).
All figures are taken from the NECL website.
The resurgence of Colchester Chess Club this season is apparent when comparing this to last season when there were no Colchester players in the NECL top 30.
Tournament Results
Colchester players have been competing in a few tournaments recently. Eldar Lachinov came 2nd in the FIDE-rated Hendon Blitz competition (results not on the website yet) and also got a good result at the Norfolk Rapidplay. Martin Harris scored 50% in the FIDE-rated Major section e2e4 High Wycombe and followed this up with a 3/5 score in the Intermediate section of the St. Albans Congress.
With the (relatively) local Southend Congress taking place Easter weekend there will be more Colchester players in action soon.
Here is a miniature from the 4th round of the St. Albans Congress. Martin makes a mistake that loses material on move 13 but then gives a good demonstration of how, even when you have a lost position, making all your pieces have activity can cause significant problems for your opponent.
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Club Championship Draw
The group stages of the club championship have now finished.
Group 1 was won by Eldar Lachinov, with Martin Harris taking the runners-up spot. In group 2, Pete Smith finished 1st and John Duff-Cole 2nd. Group 3 was won by Nathan Barnes and there was a 3-way tie for 2nd (Mark Johnson, John King, Dave Chatfield) - Mark Johnson progressing with the best tie-break. Group 4 had a tie for 1st place between Phil Daley and Brian Remmer - Brian edging the tie-break criteria.
The 1st round of the knockout will take place on Wednesday 7th May - players should toss a coin to determine who has the White pieces. In the result of a draw a second match should be played (must be completed by 21st May at the latest). Players who do not complete the match on the 7th will be defaulted - unless they have agreed an alternative date with their opponent. All players in the knockout will get further games (even those beaten in the first round) as there will be play-offs to determine placings.
Draw for main competition:
- Eldar Lachinov - Phil Daley
- Pete Smith - Mark Johnson
- Nathan Barnes - John Duff-Cole
- Brian Remmer - Martin Harris
Draw for plate competition:
- Clive Bellinger - Jake Stones
- Sam Glenn - Rob Smith
- Dave Chatfield - Dave Wood
- John King - Ed Goodman
CRGS match
The final match of the season for the B team was a 3-1 win over Colchester Royal Grammar School. The B team will have to wait to see if they will win the division, if Galleywood Knights win or draw their last match then the B team will finish second.
| Date: 01-Apr-2014 | ||||||
| NECL League: Division 3 | ||||||
| Brd | Col | CRGS | Result | COLCHESTER B | Col | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | b | Gorak Rajesh (161) | ½ | ½ | Nathan Barnes (e145) | w |
| 2 | w | Jeremy Hadcock (140) | ½ | ½ | Martin Harris (139) | b |
| 3 | b | Shivan Harani (90) | 0 | 1 | Clive Bellinger (139) | w |
| 4 | w | Peter Harris (57) | 0 | 1 | Peter Smith (122) | b |
| (avg=112) | 1 | 3 | (avg=136) | |||
Saturday, 22 March 2014
March summary
The current top ten players in the club grand prix are:
| Points | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Nathan Barnes | 11 | 79 |
| 2nd | Eldar Lachinov | 10.5 | 95 |
| 3rd | Peter Smith | 9 | 75 |
| 4th= | Brian Remmer | 8.5 | 77 |
| Mike Wagstaff | 8.5 | 77 | |
| 6th | Phil Daley | 7 | 70 |
| 7th | Martin Harris | 6 | 55 |
| 8th= | Clive Bellinger | 4.5 | 64 |
| John Duff-Cole | 4.5 | 56 | |
| Mark Johnson | 4.5 | 50 |
Games played in the club championship, Tony Locke rapidplay and the NECL league/knockout count for points in the grand prix. Wins by default in NECL matches do count for points.
In the club championship the top two in each group are currently: Eldar Lachinov, Martin Harris (group 1), Pete Smith, Dimitrios Kolomvas (group 2), Nathan Barnes, Mark Johnson (group 3) and Brian Remmer, Phil Daley (group 4). There are two weeks left for group stage games to be played, this means that four players have already qualified for the knockout rounds - Pete Smith, Nathan Barnes, Brian Remmer and Phil Daley.
All group games in the club championship need to be completed by Wednesday 2nd April. At the end of the evening the draws for the first knockout round and the plate competition will be made. Where group games have not been completed the tournament controller will make any decisions regarding the awarding of wins by default.
Currently unbeaten (minimum 4 games):
- Mike Wagstaff - standard play with White pieces (5 games), NECL league matches (10 games)
- Eldar Lachinov - standard play (11 games), 100% with White (6 games)
- Dimitrios Kolomvas - standard play with Black pieces (6 games)
- Dave Chatfield - club championship (4 games)
- Clive Bellinger - standard play with Black pieces (4 games)
- Nathan Barnes - standard play with Black pieces (8 games), 100% in club championship (4 games)
NECL update
After three disappointing results (the B team drawing with Billericay B and losing to Chelmsford D; the A team losing narrowly to Braintree B), the A and B teams have got back on track with three 4-0 whitewashes. The A team beat Dunmow and Witham B, the B team beat Chelmsford C.
| Date: 20-Mar-2014 | ||||||
| NECL League: Division 3 | ||||||
| Brd | Col | CHELMSFORD C | Result | COLCHESTER B | Col | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | b | John Constantine (123) | 0 | 1 | Nathan Barnes (e145) | w |
| 2 | w | Peter Brander (118) | 0 | 1 | Mike Wagstaff (145) | b |
| 3 | b | Elliot Cocks (100) | 0 | 1 | Phil Daley (124) | w |
| 4 | w | Mario Cassar (76) | 0 | 1 | Peter Smith (122) | b |
| (avg=104) | 0 | 4 | (avg=134) | |||
| Date: 19-Mar-2014 | ||||||
| NECL League: Division 2 | ||||||
| Brd | Col | WITHAM B | Result | COLCHESTER A | Col | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | w | Peter O'Malley (116) | 0 | 1 | Javier Ruano Marco (e189) | b |
| 2 | b | Barrie Quin (115) | 0 | 1 | Ian Gooding (176) | w |
| 3 | w | Barry Mitchell (111) | 0 | 1 | Eldar Lachinov (e155) | b |
| 4 | b | John Staplehurst (110) | 0 | 1 | Michael Wagstaff (145) | w |
| (avg=113) | 0 | 4 | (avg=166) | |||
| Date: 10-Mar-2014 | ||||||
| NECL League: Division 2 | ||||||
| Brd | Col | DUNMOW | Result | COLCHESTER A | Col | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | b | John Bradley (119) | 0 | 1 | Ian Gooding (176) | w |
| 2 | w | Derek Jones (125) | 0 | 1 | Eldar Lachinov (e155) | b |
| 3 | b | William Attwood (115) | 0 | 1 | Aleksander Orava (e155) | w |
| 4 | w | Eric Page (86) | 0 | 1 | Mike Wagstaff (145) | b |
| (avg=111) | 0 | 4 | (avg=157) | |||
The position below is from Barnes - Constantine. White to play, Black has just played 9...c5 - solution in the comments.
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