The 2nd George Winterton Pairs Competition

On Tuesday we met at home for the second George Winterton Pairs Competition - our annual friendly against the Red Admiral.
We used Harrod/Wylie Cup time controls and each pair played one game with the white pieces and one with the black. Pairs played without consultation and so had to work out what their team mate was thinking as well as their opponents.

Round 1

The first round went 2-1 to the Red Admiral. This should really have been 3-0, but Paul and Richard lost on time despite being two bishops up.

Rob Ensor & John Manger (1-0) Paul Wyley & Richard Smith
Colin Ross & Ray Beach (0-1) Andy Carter & Mick Slater
Drew & Michael Bubb (0-1) Stan Parsons & Calvin Burton

Half time refreshments consisted of a choice of Chicken or Vegetable Curry with Poppadoms and Pickles, or Faggots, Chips and Mushy Peas.


Round 2

Our decision to substitute myself and Ray with Pete & Dave paid off with a win on board 2 at the end of a hard fought game against Andy and Mick. Round 2 finished 1.5 to 1.5 points and the match finished 3.5 points to 2.5 in the Red Admiral's favour making it two wins out of two to them.

Rob Ensor & John Manger (Draw) Paul Wyley & Richard Smith
Pete Harrison & Dave Ricketts (1-0) Andy Carter & Mick Slater
Drew & Michael Bubb (0-1) Stan Parsons & Calvin Burton

Well done everyone. Another fun, pressure free, evening. We look forward to next year.

On Tuesday 17th May, Heathcote Arms 2 (HA3) plays at home against Wigston in the Chapman Cup, and on Wednesday, HA1 plays away in their defence of the Wylie Cup at Loughborough.

Colin.

County Champs Update, Pairs, and Chess in May

Last night we had the first round of the Minor, Major, and Challengers sections of the County Championships.

Ray was the first HA player to finish, having agreed to a draw offer from Dennis Wilkins.

I then managed a surprise win against the comparatively strong Jez Wells (136).



 

With the black pieces, I had been feeling quite comfortable. White had just played 17 Nc5. From here, i completely ruined my game with 17...Bxc5, 18 dxc5 Qxc5, 19 Bxf6 resulting in a discovered attack on my queen and both of my rooks being forked.

 

... some time later...

 

 

 

 

I had just played 28...Rg8 and offered a draw. My opponent replied with a firm 'No' and then played 29 Qe5. This allowed 29...Nf3+ forking king and queen with the pawn unable to take. Jez resigned straight away.

 

It is surprising how often i have my draw offers refused only for my opponent to blow up immediately afterwards.

 

The last game in the room to finish was Haka Dave against Roy Lathwood. Dave had held the upper hand earlier, but things deteriorated later on. Afterwards Roy remarked to Dave that ''You were 5-0 up at half time''. 

 

Results were:

 

Ray Beach (90) Draw Dennis Wilkins (110)

Dave Ricketts (99) 0-1 Roy Lathwood (117)

Jez Wells (136) 0-1 Colin Ross (102)

 

On Tuesday 10th May, at the Arms, we have the George Winterton Pairs Competition against the Red Admiral. We are expecting 7 Red Admiral players. As with last year, pairs will be in order of strength and we will use Harrod/Wylie time controls and the pairs on each board (also as in the Harrod/Wylie Cups) will play one game with black and one game with white. There will be some hot food at half time (curry maybe?).

 

There is a lot going on this month:

 

10th May George Winterton Pairs Competition.

11th May HA1 play in the Wylie

17th May Heathcote Arms 2 (actually HA3) at home against Wigston, Chapman Cup

24th May Heathcote Arms at home against Wigston, Harrod Cup

25th May Leicestershire and Rutland Chess Association AGM

31st May Club AGM.

 

In addition, Heathcote Arms 1 (actually HA2) will also be playing in the Chapman Cup, at home, against Shepshed on either the 17th or 24th May.

 

We have put some links on the website (on the right hand side). These include a link to the Master Game programmes that have recently appeared on you tube. Programmes from 1980,81 and 82 are being added over time. The 1981 final between a 15 year old Nigel Short and a stressed out Tony Miles is well worth a look. Besides the links, we have also put a counter on the website. We had over 500 hits last month - so someone is obviously visiting our site.

 

Well done everyone,

 

Colin.

First Round of the County Champs

Hi All,

Tuesday night at the Arms was a quiet affair. The latest club night mini simul saw me taking on Rob and Ray, winning the against the former and losing to the latter.

Thursday night saw the first round of the County Championship Championship. Graham S won with the black pieces; Sean, also playing black lost to Alan Byron; Rajan lost with the white pieces to Martin Burrows; and Graham B was given a one point bye.

There will not be a club night this coming Tuesday as the lower sections of the County Championships begin at Wigston on Thursday.

The George Winterton Pairs competition looks set to take place on Tuesday 10th May with 4 members of the Red Admiral having confirmed so far.

Colin.

HA2 - Postponed Match Against Syston 2

HA2 played it's last match last night. This was a postponed match from earlier in the season and whilst we played at Syston, it was actually a home match for us. There was some confusion at the start when Rob went to the Heathcote Arms - making it to Syston, in the end, by five to eight. Management at the Syston venue were not expecting any chess on the night and did not have any spare rooms, so we squeezed into the bar next to the football club's AGM. It was noisy enough that nobody could really object when Ray's mobile rang.

The first result was a win for me with the black pieces. The adrenalin rush of racing to Syston did Rob no harm at all as he took the whole point from Rob Stone. Ray also managed a win. With a won match, John had the better game against Stuart Hollingworth, but with a lot of locked up pawns, the position became a draw.

Our winning the match meant that Syston 2 are relegated from Division 4.

19 Apr		Heathcote Arms 2		v	Syston 2
				3½ - ½
1	B	139	Ensor, Rob	1 - 0	Stone, Robert	116
2	W	122	Manger, John	½ - ½	Hollingworth, Stuart	107
3	B	102	Ross, Colin	1 - 0	Gist, Elizabeth	109
4	W	90	Beach, Ray	1 - 0	King, Ron	97

Well done everyone,

It is absolutely certain that there will be a club night next Tuesday.

Colin.

HA2 Promoted.

On Thursday, HA2 managed a draw away at Kirby.

14 Apr		Kirby Muxloe 1		v	Heathcote Arms 2
				2 - 2
1	B	135	Gray, Paul	1 - 0	Harrison, Peter	138
2	W	125	Cowley, Jim	0 - 1	Ensor, Rob	139
3	B	124	Townsend, Ray	0 - 1	Manger, John	122
4	W	115	Walker, John	1 - 0	Beach, Ray	90

Whatever happens now, HA2 finish second in Division 4 with a promotion place should they choose.
There is still a postponed match to play, however, at Syston on Tuesday 19th April.

A club night this Tueday is now less likely, as some of us will be away, but still possible.

Over the summer
Our AGM will be due soon. Date to be announced.
The George Winterton Pairs Competition against the Red Admiral looks likely to go ahead on Tuesday 10th May. This is a good laugh and we will put some food on.
Sean has announced the dates of the County Champs.
We have entered one team in the Wylie Cup (to be defended by HA1), one team in the Harrod Cup (Captained by Haka Dave) and two teams in the Chapman Cup, Captained by Pete and myself (HA2 + Mike C, and HA3).
We might also have time for a club championship.

Well done everyone.

Colin.

Last League Matches of the Season for HA1 and HA3

HA1 needed an upset to avoid relegation. Graham B assures us that relegation is now certain unless one of the second division teams refuses promotion.

12 Apr		Heathcote Arms 1		v	Wigston 1
				1 - 4
1	B	192	Sharpe, Graham	0 - 1	Byron, Alan	197
2	W	168	Bray, Dave	0 - 1	Burrows, Martin	190
3	B	167	Ganger, Rajan	0 - 1	Morley, Andrew	178
4	W	156	Hewitt, Sean	½ - ½	Ward, Alan	162
5	B	156	Cowley, Michael	½ - ½	Dodds, Iain	157

On Wednesday, at Oadby, HA3 played their socks off. Heavily outgraded, Michael was a pawn up going into the endgame and looked like taking his second win in a row.
Gary opened well and was, at one point, close to mating his opponent.
Drew held his own and at one point had a better position than his 125 opponent.
Drew, Gary, and Michael have all improved markedly of late.
I was the last to finish. I was able to get a knight for two pawns, and then put lots of pieces close to a relatively unprotected king, eventually forcing mate.

13 Apr		Oadby 1		v	Heathcote Arms 3
				3 - 1
1	B	136	Candlin, Don	0 - 1	Ross, Colin	102
2	W	125	Pettitt, David	1 - 0	Bubb, Andrew	80
3	B	98	Williams, Ted	1 - 0	Sanders, Gary	80
4	W	72	Gutteridge, John	1 - 0	Bubb, Michael	60

Well done everyone.

HA2 face Kirby Castlers 1 away tonight - good luck.

Colin.

Club Night

Tuesday night's action consisted of two simultaneous displays. In the first, Rob slaughtered us all 4-0, and in the second, Ray scored a creditable two wins and two losses.

Colin.