Saturday 16 December 2017

HA3 (1-3) Leicester University 2


12 DecHeathcote Arms 3vLeicester University 2
13
1B122Ross, Colin01Ammon, Dominik138
2W94Maconnachie, Richard01Lyon, Alexander124
3B92Roberts, Bill01Lichnovsky, Marian100
4W90Harbidge, Drew10d(Default)



Colin

Sunday 10 December 2017

HA3 (2-2) Ashby 4


05 DecHeathcote Arms 3vAshby 4
22
1B122Ross, Colin01Wilson, Andrew97
2W94Maconnachie, Richard10Lassetter, Neil94
3B92Roberts, Bill10Brown, Mick84
4W39Milner, Gordon01Hart, Jake83

In my game, Andrew seemed determined to lose on time despite having the better position. I was 30 minutes ahead, but despite this, on both moves 56 and 57, I missed a mate in one with Rxh2#. Ay Caramba!
Good wins for both Richard and Bill.



Colin

Thursday 30 November 2017

Red Admiral (2-2) HA3


A pleasant evening at the Red Admiral finished with a drawn match and both teams at the bottom of the table.

29 NovRed AdmiralvHeathcote Arms 3
22
1B133Johnson, Andy01Ross, Colin122
2W96Matts, Stephen10Roberts, Bill92
3B91Slater, Mick01Maconnachie, Richard94
4W90Carter, Andy10Harbidge, Drew90

Here was my game against Andy Johnson.



Colin

Wednesday 1 November 2017

HA3 Not Bottom of the Table Anymore.



31 OctHeathcote Arms 3vWigston 4
22
1B122Ross, Colin10Eastlake, Charles118
2W92Roberts, Bill01Woods, Trevor99
3B94Maconnachie, Richard01Kershaw, Harry89
4W90Harbidge, Drew10McKiernan, John87

Last night, HA3 took its first step towards its main mission for the season - namely finishing above Red Admiral in the table. Gordon, our non-playing Captain, had a plan. Hooray - a point!

My game below against Charles Eastlake was rather sharp.



Colin

Friday 20 October 2017

Atkins Rapidplay


On Sunday 15.10.17 Ray, John and I competed in the latest version of the Atkins. This was a six round Rapid Play Swiss held at Leicester Grammar School in Great Glen. This was a nice venue and there was a decent turnout. Time control was 20 minutes plus 10 seconds per move from the start.

One of the highlights was Hebden (with White) K+Q+P winning against Dong K+Q in a game that lasted around 50 minutes.

I was very pleased to jointly win the Minor with 5/6.

Sorry, no games recorded.

Results available at: https://leicestershirejuniorchess.com/chess/Atkins/2017/Open/

Colin.

Thursday 12 October 2017

Syston 1 (4.5-0.5) HA1

On Tuesday, I was drafted in as a sub for HA1 against a seriously strong Syston 1 team.

I opened with the Ruy Lopez. Black played 8...d5, a move known as the Marshall Attack. The idea of the Marshall is that black sacrifices a pawn for development and then throws everything at White's kingside. This was the first time that I had faced it. My queenside pieces became trapped and I did not get time to untangle them and bring them into the game. Some homework required.



Graham B was a pawn up, but running short on time. He had at least a draw, but then made an error (I made the same mistake as I played along in my head).

10 OctSyston 1vHeathcote Arms 1
½
1B242Hebden, Mark10Sharpe, Graham177
2W186Galligan, Brian½½Bray, Dave177
3B178Taylor, Robert10Booley, Graham149
4W181Naylor, John10Manger, John139
5B167Robinson, John10Ross, Colin122

Market Harborough were also playing Syston 3. I watched a very exciting finish between Ian Clarke and Ben Pourmozafari. Ben had over 30 minutes in hand to Ian's 2 minutes, and eventually seconds. Both sides were pushing pawns towards the end of the board. It ended with Ben's King jumping around six squares into a corner out of harm's way.

It is the Atkins Rapidplay Tournament this Sunday.

Colin.

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Braunstone 2 (3.5 - 0.5) HA3


03 OctBraunstone 2vHeathcote Arms 3
½
1B120Closs, Guy½½Ross, Colin122
2W124Reid, Patrick10Maconnachie, Richard94
3B105Gulab, Vijay10Harbidge, Drew90
4W96Barlow, Steve10Milner, Gordon39

Ray was also present as a supporter. The match was perhaps not as one sided as the score suggests. Gordon played well on board 4 and he and Steve were the last to finish.



Against me, Guy missed a win with 42...Qe1+ picking up the Bishop. I was so relieved that he missed this, that I offered a draw following my next move. My best hope was Qf8 followed by Qg7#, but getting the time to make these moves was far from certain. 



Colin

Friday 8 September 2017

County Champs (Minor) 5th Round

After round 4, I was on 4 points, but could still be caught by Granville Hill and Les Corlett - both on 3 points. For round 5, I was drawn with the white pieces against Granville. In order to retain the Minor title I would have to at least draw. If I lost, I would have had to playoff against Granville; and if I lost and Les won, there would have been a playoff between Granville, Les and myself.

I had played Granville twice before. I had been white both times and Granville had played the Sicilian both times, so I had spent the last week preparing for a Sicilian. This turned out to be a waste of time since, on the night, he met e4 with the Scandinavian Defence.

Things started badly. I made poor opening moves, moved my queen twice and allowed my king to get stuck in the middle of the board with a centralised rook and queen bearing down on it. Granville had an active position and things were not looking at all good for me.

On the next board, Les demolished Charles Eastlake in seven moves.

Fortunately for me, Granville blundered on move 16. He had meant to retake my bishop with his rook, but picked up his knight in error. This left me a piece up and I was able to hang on.


Also in the Minor, Ray won against Harry Kershaw; and Gordon's opponent did not appear.
John lost to Jim Bingham in the Challengers and this sealed the section for Jim.

Heathcote play in the 5th round of the Harrod at Ashby on the 14th.

Colin.

Harrod Cup 4th Round



22 AugHeathcote ArmsWBBWWigston
3
5
1182Sharpe, Graham1010Dawkins, Stuart119
2109Ross, Colin0101Chalashkanov, Nikola115
383Roberts, Bill0110Kershaw, Harry118
485Beach, Ray0101Woods, Trevor114

A bad day at the office. Rapidplay, so unfortunately no moves recorded.

Colin

Thursday 3 August 2017

Well done COLIN  4 wins I think you have retained  the  cup

Wednesday 2 August 2017

Philidor's Legacy

I am not around on the 10th, so John Oliver and I played our 4th round Minor game at the Heathcote Arms on Tuesday. Ray came down to watch.



Colin

Friday 14 July 2017

Harrod Cup Third Round & County Champs Third Round.


Following wins in the first two rounds, we faced a perfectly selected 500 grade Ashby team on Tuesday. It looked very much like we were going to lose until John pulled off a quite excellent save with only seconds left on his clock.

11 JulHeathcote ArmsWBBWAshby 2
 
4
4
1182Sharpe, Graham0110Dove, Tom173
2127Manger, John0110Gibson, Paul146
3109Ross, Colin1010Worrow-Goodin, George97
439Milner, Gordon0101Hart, Jake84


PosTeamPlWDLGPDPts
1Heathcote Arms321025
2Wigston220094
3Ashby 1220034
4Ashby 2311113
5Kirby Muxloe310232
6Loughborough310222
7Melton Mowbray210102
8Syston2101-22
9Latimer3102-62


On Thursday, several of us were in action in the CCs at Wigston. Ray beat Gordon. Bill lost. Graham S won. I beat John McKiernan, who I last met in the play off for last year's Minor.





Colin


Sunday 9 July 2017

Birstall Cup Match at Loughborough

Already knocked out of the Chapman Cup, things did not go any better in the Birstall. There was no handicap. I lost early to Peter Hickman. Game below:




Ray then lost too. John won, but then Mike was in time trouble in this position with the black pieces. Mike took the pawn on g6 and lost to h7 - it cannot be stopped. Can you see anything better for black?



 

05 JulLoughborough 2vHeathcote ArmsGD
31-19
Handicap00
31
 
1W158Miller, James10Cowley, Michael148-10
2B119Adcock, Terry01Manger, John14122
3W112Hickman, Peter10Ross, Colin1120
4B119Adcock, Michael10Beach, Ray88-31




Tuesday, we are home in the Harrod against Ashby and on Thursday it is the County Championship.

Colin


Friday 9 June 2017

CCs Minor (Round 2) Bill Vs Colin

In Round 2 of the Minor, Bill and I were drawn against each other. I am not around next week, so we played our game early. I was up against it in the middle-game, but hung on. After white's 23rd move, we were equal on material and Bill offered me a draw, but by then I felt I had the edge and was able to convert the point.




Afterwards, we watched the exciting 0 - 1 conclusion of Graham Sharpe Vs Shabir Okhai in the Open. Graham B was around too, playing Sherif Gonem, but I did not get to see any of that game.

Next Thursday, in the Minor, Ray plays Andy Carter and Gordon plays Paul Martin and John is down to play Jez Wells in the Challengers. 


Good luck everyone.

Colin.

Sunday 21 May 2017

Two of Colin's Recent Games


The first below, was my final league game of the season. Kirby Muxloe 3 Vs HA3. I am afraid that I mis-recorded a few moves and even with the aid of opponent's score sheet, I could not quite make sense of the ending. I have entered all the moves that I am certain of here.  What I can say is that I did have the upper hand with around 10 minutes left on the clock, and my opponent with 27 seconds, when I made an illegal move at around move 60. We put the clock back 2 minutes, and then my position disintegrated.



04 MayKirby Muxloe 3vHeathcote Arms 3
41
1B105Kruitbosch, Gijs10Ross, Colin96
2W107Hill, Eddie10Beach, Ray81
3B59Bowles, Les01Maconnachie, Richard93
4W50Apgarth, Osian10Roberts, Bill76
5B17Gonzaga, Edda10Milner, Gordon38

We finished the season in second place.

PosTeamPlWDLGPDPts
1Ashby 41610332123
2Heathcote Arms 316934921
3Melton Mowbray 416754519
4Braunstone 516835217*
5Ashby 516646416
6Red Admiral16466-313*
7Melton Mowbray 5166010-1412
8Kirby Muxloe 316439-1111
9Oadby16259-137*


The County Championships have started. Ray and I know each others games very well and it is always difficult playing him.



Also in the Minor, Bill scored an impressive win against Andy Carter. Gordon had played well, but eventually lost to John McKiernan. 

Colin.

Friday 12 May 2017

Hi would like to thank all the players  who played for the 3rd team  this season well done all of you 2nd was brilliant thanks ray

Monday 1 May 2017

A Couple of Colin's Recent Games

I have not been around much for a couple of weeks. My two most recent games. First a draw:




The next was a technical king and pawn draw, but I still managed to lose. My first loss in the league all season. See if you can spot what I should have done to save the half point.
 

With one match to play, HA3 look set for second place in Division 5

PosTeamPlWDLGPDPts
1Ashby 41510322323
2Heathcote Arms 3159331221
3Melton Mowbray 416754519
4Ashby 516646416
5Braunstone 515735015*
6Melton Mowbray 515609-1212
7Red Admiral15366-511*
8Kirby Muxloe 315339-149
9Oadby16259-137*


Colin

Saturday 25 March 2017

HA3 (4-0) Melton 5


21 MarHeathcote Arms 3vMelton Mowbray 5
40
1B96Ross, Colin10Martin, Steve85
2W88Harbidge, Drew10Smith, Peter80
3B81Beach, Ray10Freeman, Trevor80
4W76Roberts, Bill10Walton, Alison66



PosTeamPlWDLGPDPts
1Heathcote Arms 3138321019
2Melton Mowbray 4136521117
3Ashby 4117221516
4Ashby 514545114
5Braunstone 513625-114
6Melton Mowbray 514509-1310
7Red Admiral12255-59
8Oadby13247-98
9Kirby Muxloe 311236-97

We are at the top of the table with three matches to go. Melton 4, Ashby 4 and Braunstone 5 are all within striking distance.

Colin

Friday 17 March 2017

HA3 (2-2) Ashby 5



14 MarHeathcote Arms 3vAshby 5
22
1B96Ross, Colin10Griffiths, Mike97
2W93Maconnachie, Richard10Brown, Mick96
3B81Beach, Ray01Lassetter, Neil90
4W38Milner, Gordon01Roberts, Neil76



PosTeamPlWDLGPDPts
1Melton Mowbray 4136521117
2Heathcote Arms 312732617
3Ashby 4117221516
4Braunstone 512624314
5Ashby 513445-312
6Melton Mowbray 513508-910
7Red Admiral12255-59
8Oadby13247-98
9Kirby Muxloe 311236-97

 4 matches left now. It is getting a bit tight at the top of Div 5.

Well done everyone.

Colin

Friday 3 March 2017

"Time Waits For No Man"

HA3 had a good evening at Braunstone.

The first result in was a loss for Richard with the black pieces. I then beat John Oliver who had lost a couple of pawns early on. The last two games literally went the distance with both flags dropping. See the image at the end for the final position in Gordon's game. Bill's opponent refused a draw offer when both had only a few minutes left on the clock.

28 FebBraunstone 5vHeathcote Arms 3
13
1B105Oliver, John01Ross, Colin96
2W101Read, Barry10Maconnachie, Richard93
3B100Hall, Nick01Roberts, Bill76
4W87Martin, Paul01Milner, Gordon38

We ended with the same result as Leicester City against Liverpool the night before.

Here is my game against John Oliver:




Here was the final position from Paul and Gordon's game. White to move when the flag dropped.

 
 
Well done everyone,
 
 
Colin.

Wednesday 1 March 2017

Sorry guys i should have put against braunstone again GREAT
Well done  all great result ray

Sunday 19 February 2017

HA3 (3-1) Red Admiral


Red Admiral are struggling a bit to get a team out at the moment and, unfortunately they had to default on one of the boards. This gave us a point, but left Gordon without a game.
Stan Parsons, with his make them up as he goes along openings, is always tricky to play against and this was too much for Ray on the knight. Bill was victorious with his opponent having refused an earlier draw offer. Mick made me work for it, but I was able to recover a win.

14 FebHeathcote Arms 3vRed Admiral
31
1B96Ross, Colin10Slater, Mick96
2W81Beach, Ray01Parsons, Stan87
3B76Roberts, Bill10Burton, Calvin74
4W38Milner, Gordon10(Default)

 
 
Amazingly, this result leaves us at the top of the table, whereas usually we are glued to the bottom of it.

 
PosTeamPlWDLGPDPts
1Heathcote Arms 310622414
2Ashby 486111613
3Braunstone 510613513
4Melton Mowbray 410442712
5Ashby 511425-310
6Melton Mowbray 510406-98
7Red Admiral9144-46
8Kirby Muxloe 39225-76
9Oadby11146-96
 
 
Well done everyone.

Colin