A game from the past

Below is a game played in 1957 - a match between Colchester and Ipswich from the Border League. Dr Kellerman, representing Colchester, has the white pieces.

[Event "Colchester v Ipswich, Border League"] [Site "Colchester"] [Date "1957.11.25"] [Round "?"] [White "Kellerman, Dr"] [Black "Smith, M. C."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E24"] {E24: Nimzo-Indian: Sämisch: Unusual Black 5th moves and 5...c5 sidelines} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 d6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. f3 {Controls e4 and g4} O-O 8. e4 e5 9. Bd3 c6 10. Ne2 h6 11. Bd2 Re8 12. O-O Nf8 13. Qc2 Ne6 14. d5 Nc5 15. f4 $2 {White has two bishops pointing at the kingside and so is looking to open up the position - but the timing of this move is wrong.} exf4 $17 16. Rxf4 (16. Bxf4 Nfxe4 17. Bxe4 Nxe4 $17) 16... Nxd3 (16... Ng4 { looks better} 17. Raf1 g5 18. R4f3 Ne5 {and Black is winning material}) 17. Qxd3 g5 18. Rff1 Nxe4 19. Qf3 (19. Ng3 Nxg3 20. Qxg3 cxd5 21. cxd5 b5 $11) 19... f5 (19... Nxd2 $4 {Black should leave the bishop alone} 20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. Rf6 Qxf6 22. Qxf6+ Kg8 23. Qg6+ Kf8 24. Qxh6+ Kf7 25. Nd4 $18 ) 20. Be3 c5 21. Qh5 (21. Ng3 $142 Nxg3 22. Qxg3 $17) 21... Nf6 $2 {gives the opponent counterplay} (21... Re7 $142 $19 {Black clearly has the better chances }) 22. Qg6+ {Fine, but Qxh6 is slightly better} Kf8 $4 {Should be the losing blunder} (22... Kh8 23. Rf3 Nh7 $14 {keeps Black in the game}) 23. Qxh6+ $2 { White has a clear advantage, but this does not take full advantage of Black's blunder} (23. Ng3 $142 {and White wins} Qe7 24. Nxf5 Bxf5 25. Rxf5 $18) 23... Kf7 $16 24. Qxg5 Rg8 $2 (24... Qe7 $142 $5 25. Rf3 Rg8 $14) 25. Qf4 $16 Rg4 26. Qf2 {White hasn't taken advantage of Black's error - Black's king is exposed but White is also vunerable.} Ne4 $14 27. Qf3 Ng5 $4 {Diagram [#] Black gives White another chance to win} 28. Qxg4 $18 {Black resigns} 1-0

New ECF grades

The July 2014 ECF Grading List has been published. The grades for active Colchester players are:

Ref	Name	Age	Standard	Previous	Rapidplay	Previous
140673F	Barnes, Nathan		146D
250046C	Bellinger, Clive		139D	139D
155695C	Daley, Philip		123C	124D
227455D	Duff-Cole, John		90B	90B
292991A	Glenn, Samuel		121E	121E
139627E	Gooding, Ian		185C	176C
256466L	Goodman, Ed		71C	77D
150405J	Harris, Martin		120A	139D		89E
283272A	Harris, Peter	16	69E	57E		52E
297586F	Jaufarally, Nadia	10			80D
297619F	Jaufarally, Shazia	13			71E
293018D	Johnson, Mark		69D	49E
286563E	King, John		26E	26D
292992C	Kolomvas, Dimitrios		158E	158E
295637J	Lachinov, Eldar		198D
117812L	Remmer, Brian		110D	109E
213710A	Smith, Pete		123C	122B	113E	113E
120924D	Wagstaff, Michael		147D	145D
295877G	Welge, Alex	11			34D
290797F	Wood, David		19A	21A	43A	38A

There are also a number of other Colchester players - like Javier Ruano Marco, Aleksandr Orava, Mohammud Jaufarally, Rob Smith, Jake Stones and Luke Tatchell - who have played some graded games in the last season (but not enough to have a grade yet).

Several players appear on the list for the first time: Eldar Lachinov, Nadia Jaufarally, Shazia Jaufarally and Alex Welge.

A number of players have increased their grades - with Mark Johnson (+20) and Ian Gooding (+9) both improving their grade by a large margin. Ian scored 4/6 in NECL matches this year and 6.5/9 in the 4NCL (Four Nations Chess League) where he plays for Cambridge University. Below is a minature won by Ian in the 4NCL earlier this year.

Recent tournament results

Some of the club's junior members have been taking part in a few competitions in the last month and achieved good results.

• 7th Nadia Jaufarally 4/6 - Saffron Walden Junior U11 Section
• 10th Shazia Jaufarally 2/6 - Saffron Walden Junior U18 Minor Section
• 5th Nadia Jaufarally 4.5/6 - Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge – Southern Gigafinal U10 Girls
• 9th Shazia Jaufarally 3/6 - Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge – Southern Gigafinal U13 Girls
• 30th Tor Leijon 2/6 - Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge – Southern Gigafinal U8 Boys "B"
• Nadia Jaufarally 3.5/5 - UKI Girls Chess Championship U10 (1/2 a point behind the winner)
• Shazia Jaufarally 2.5/5 - UKI Girls Chess Championship U13

If I have missed anyone out please let me know!

Colchester Junior Chess Tournament

Several Colchester Chess Club members took part in this tournament, part of the Essex Junior Grand Prix.

In the Under 18 Minor event Shazia Jaufarally won the grading prize for the best performance by an ungraded player with a score of 3/6, finishing in 6th place. Luke Tatchell came 16th in this event - he was one of the youngest competitors in this section.

In the Under 11 section, Alex Welge scored 3 out of 6 to finish in 15th and Nadia Jaufarally scored 4 out of 6 to finish in 6th. Nadia won the prize for best newcomer (for a player in their first Essex Junior Grand Prix event).

Club Grand Prix

22 players took park in the Colchester Chess Club Grand Prix - points are awarded for results in the club championship, Tony Locke Rapidplay and NECL matches. The top ten players this season were:

Position	Player	Points
1st	Eldar Lachinov (ungraded)	21.5
2nd	Nathan Barnes (ungraded)	18.5
3rd	Martin Harris (139)	12
4th	Peter Smith (122)	11
5th	Brian Remmer (109)	10.5
6th	Mark Johnson (49)	9.5
7th=	Phil Daley (124)	9
	John Duff-Cole (90)	9
9th	Mike Wagstaff (145)	8.5
10th	Clive Bellinger (139)	6.5

Club Championship - part 3

The final of the club championship was between two players taking part in the event for the first time - Eldar and Nathan. During the game both players held the advantage at different stages but Eldar managed to win - maintaining his unbeaten season.

In the game (shown below) Black obtained a strong, probably winning, advantage in the opening but White slowly equalised as the game went on. Two inaccurate moves by Black let White go into a won endgame. Black made winning the endgame tricky but accurate play from White avoided any chance of Black snatching the draw.

The top 8 in the club championship were (19 players took part):

1st	Eldar Lachinov (ungraded)
2nd	Nathan Barnes (ungraded)
3rd	Mark Johnson (49)
4th	Brian Remmer (109)
5th	Martin Harris (139)
6th=	Phil Daley (124)
6th=	Pete Smith (122)
8th	John Duff-Cole (90)

Club Championship - part 2

The 3rd place play-off was also the decider for the Club Shield (awarded to the under-120 graded player with the best result in the club championship). In the game, Mark showed that he knew how to handle Brian's Grob Attack and a well-timed attack by the central pawns led to a decisive material advantage.

The top 3 in the club shield were:

1st	Mark Johnson (49)
2nd	Brian Remmer (109)
3rd	John Duff-Cole (90)