Suffolk County Chess

Suffolk Chess League: dates for cup finals

2011-04-12T17:21:00.003+01:00

19th April -
U145 Cup - Adastral v Saxmundham
N/S Cup - Ipswich v Bury St. Edmunds

26th April -
League Cup - Ipswich B v Adastral

3rd May -
U125 Cup - Ipswich v Clacton

All finals taking place at Ipswich Chess Club.

New Suffolk Chess Champion!

2011-04-11T21:40:00.001+01:00

On 2nd/3rd of April the Suffolk Closed Championships took place at the Ipswich chess club.
Defending Champion Ian Wallis, faced Shaun Munson, Stephen Gregory, Alan Merry, Ted Matthewson and Martin Fogg.
The event was a 6 player all-play-all. The first round saw an interesting start with reigning champion Ian Wallis blundering on move 3! He survived however to draw versus Stephen Gregory.
Round 2 saw Alan Merry defeating top grade Shaun Munson. This result was to set the tone with Alan reaching 4 out of 4.
In the last round Ian faced Alan with the black pieces. Ian needed to win in order to catch Alan on points and win on the tie-break rule. At a glance the ending looked promising for Ian but Alan's passed pawns made a rush - and soon a draw was agreed.
Alan Merry became Suffolk Chess Champion.
This is all the more remarkable as Alan is the tender age of 14.
Congratulations to Alan!!

Full results can be found here:
http://www.c4results.org.uk/chess/php/DisplayEvents.php?EventCode=CWSCC1&SectionId=57

In the Challengers section there was again a 6 player all-play-all. Returning Ipswich Junior (from the 90's) Leif Dixon was the clear winner, edging leader of the first 3 rounds Colin Roberts. In the final round, Colin needed to defeat Leif in order to catch on points and win on tie-break. However, heading towards the ending Leif was a pawn up, and a draw was agreed. Well done to Leif, who received the new Challengers trophy and will receive an invite to the main Championship next year.

Results for the challengers are in the following link:
http://www.c4results.org.uk/chess/php/DisplayEvents.php?EventCode=CWSCC1&SectionId=58

Suffolk Junior Open 2011 - results

2011-04-01T11:31:00.005+01:00

The Suffolk Junior Open took place on Sunday 13th March.

This well run tournament is held at the Woodbridge High School and decides all the Suffolk Junior Champion titles and also includes an adult section.
All games are rapidplay (30 mins) and runs for one day.

The complete results can be found here (on the Woodbridge School Chess club site):
http://www.woodbridgechess.com/content/Suffolk2011.txt

T.L.

Suffolk Championship & Challengers

2011-03-31T15:29:00.000+01:00

The Suffolk Championship has had a withdrawal, and a replacement found from the Challengers.
The contestants are now: Ian Wallis, Shaun Munson, Stephen Gregory, Alan Merry, Ted Matthewson and Martin Fogg.

The Challengers has had a very poor response, just as last year.
In fact, a number of people have withdrawn this week as well as Martin moving up to the Championship.
People can enter at the last minute, but would apprectiate some notification.
Please e-mail on:
lunn31 at talktalk.net
Or phone/text on:
0788 247 0473

Cheers,
Tim

Suffolk Chess: Under 160's success

2011-03-08T12:06:00.001Z

Hi

We are still waiting for the results to be confirmed,but we belive the situation is as as follows. We won both our matches by 9 - 7 which means we have 6 match points (3 wins) and 34 game points. Norfolk finished with 4 match points (2 wins) and 34 game points. Which mean we finish in first place and go through to quarter-finals on 21st May. More information about that will follow when we have more details.

Our victory was due in part to a fantastic come back by Cambridgeshire in their match against Norfolk. Cambridgeshire were 3 points down at half-way stage, but eventualy won, 9 - 7.

see
http://www.c4results.org.uk/chess/php/DisplayEvents.php?EventCode=CWEAC1&SectionId=38

There were many fine performances yesterday, but Les managed to win both his games. His victory in the afternoon gave us the win against Cambridgeshire.

Thank you sincerely

From Jakob and Ed

Road to Chess Improvement - Part 1

2011-03-04T13:57:00.001Z

Just a simple tip to start us off.

Firstly, join http://www.chesstempo.com/
It's free, you just have to register.

Then every day:

- try the 2 free endgame puzzles (suggest Practice not Theory in the settings).
When the solution pops up, click the different options on the tablebase to learn a thing or two.

- try and get in at least 15 minutes of tactical exercises (change settings to non-blitz).
If you get the puzzle wrong, go over the solution until you understand and only then move on.

Concentration in chess

2011-02-23T12:42:00.003Z

I wrote this sometime ago for the Suffolk Chess Journal but thought I'd repeat it here.
Please discuss in the comments if you have any opinions or advice on this topic.

"Do you ever maintain concentration right the way through a game, or, when you play, is your mind still on last night's television, work or school? Once we start the game, we have three to four hours of which to make the most use. You can't win a game by not thinking, so the more you do, then the greater the chance of winning.

I often find that my level of concentration picks up considerably when a game is almost lost, and survival is the order of the day. I tend to become more aware and spot tactics that I don't think I would have done. Unfortunately, when this increased level of play arrives, I am already close to losing. (With this in mind, I am currently trying to cultivate an ever more pessimistic view of my game).

Another situation when I have noticed my concentration improving, is while playing superior opponents. I am sure that most people find that they can raise their level of play when facing stronger players and give that 'little bit extra'.

The question I would like to ask is why isn't it possible to reach this increased intensity for every game?

This is a subject I have seldom heard mentioned with regard to chess. Mental preparation is common in many physical sports. Weightlifters psyche themselves before a lift, and 100-metre runners focus hard before a sprint. I feel sure that there are some methods that chess players can adopt. Perhaps more so, as the chess player needs to be in the right frame of mind before starting what some describe as 'mental gymnastics'. A real must is to avoid playing when we don't really feel like playing. As we may be tied to fixtures, however, it is more practical to cast off our attitude than withdraw from matches. I have played whilst being in this frame of mind and find that I make moves with barely any consideration and do absolutely no thinking in my opponent's time.

Sometimes I have tried to force myself to think in as much of the time that is available. Before some games, I have thought to myself, "think in your opponent's time, even if there is nothing to calculate". However, my effort is half-hearted; a couple of moves into the game and all my good intention are forgotten.

One method I can recall to help concentration is choice of opening. I sometimes adopt an opening that I have never played before. This is usually after I have been losing a few games. My argument goes, "I will probably lose, whatever I play, so why not play something new for the excitement". I find that the fear of venturing into the unknown forces me to concentrate on all the moves that are played by both sides. The down side, of course, is that I don't really know what I am doing, but at least I feel as though the game hasn't just passed me by.

Something I used to notice in my play, was when I had an advantage and 'knew' I was going to win; I would play aimlessly and withought thought. Expecting the game to win itself, I would often allow my opponent back into the game (usually to some obvious tactic). Another time I would fall for simple tactics was when I thought a game was purely positional and assumed there was plenty of time for 'slow manoeuvres'. It is good to realise these situations where you lose concentration so that you make an extra effort, and more importantly, never to assume anything.

I find that I am unable to play decent friendly games through my lack of effort. This is especially true against computers which I tend to regard as 'throw away games', in which I am not bothered about the result. I think this attitude in too many friendlies can carry over into serious games, through habit. Perhaps it would be a good training method to give every friendly our complete attention and commitment. This could be used as an exercise in concentration, and could be beneficial to playing serious games."

- TL

Suffolk Chess Closed Championship - 6 players in place!

2011-02-18T10:39:00.003Z

A number of invitations went out for participating in Suffolk Chess Closed Championships, and we now have 6 players accept.

The 6 contenders in the all-play-all for the Suffolk title are:

Ian Wallis (181) the reigning Suffolk Champion of 2010
Shaun Munson (201)
Stephen Gregory (186)
Alan Merry (182)
Ted Matthewson (163)
Luke Hill (161)

For the Challengers section there are currently 8 players, but I am hoping for more players (24 limit) for a more workable Swiss competition.

Suffolk Closed Championship

2011-02-11T12:12:00.005Z

The Suffolk Closed Championship takes place on the 2nd & 3rd April.
After last years enjoyable weekend (Championship won by Ian Wallis & challangers won by Kevin Greenacre), the event will again be held at the Ipswich Chess club.

The Championship section to contest the title of Suffolk Chess Champion is a 6 player all-play-all. Invitations have been accepted and I will finalize the line up shortly.

The Challengers Section will be a swiss competition open those Suffolk players not gaining entry into the Championship. As there are a limited number of spaces in the room, places will be given to those accepting first. I estimate that we can get 24 players comfortably (perhaps more at a push).

There are still plenty of places available in the Challengers section, so please leave a comment here or e-mail me if you are interested in playing.

Timetable:
Saturday 2nd April (venue open 9:00am)
1st round: 9:30am - 12:30pm
2nd round: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
3rd round: 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Sunday 3rd April (venue open 9:30am)
4th round: 10:00am - 1:00pm
5th round: 2:00 - 5:00pm
Prize giving at 6:00pm at the latest (in the unlikely event of a play-off match).

Tim.

Free bit of training software & games

2011-02-01T12:33:00.002Z

Hi,

Thought this one was worth mentioning (think it used to be around £18):

There is currently a free training download (plus games) at http://www.chessok.com/?p=24620
It's based on Botvinnik's games and features a number of training positions.
The interface comes with the download which is called Peshka but does take a little time getting used to getting around.

Suffolk's Bob Jones - mammoth sponsored cycle ride

2011-01-31T13:59:00.003Z

To all players in the Suffolk Chess League

Apologies for this non chess-related email, but please read on!

I will be undertaking a mammoth cycle ride this coming summer. Starting (and finishing) in Ipswich, I will be cycling unaccompanied around the entire coastline of England, Scotland and Wales (and back into England again!), a distance of nearly 6,000 miles This will include a number of islands, including Orkney, Skye, Mull, Anglesey and the Isle of Wight. Most nights I will be camping, but a few friends have offered me a bed as I travel around the coast.

All this can be seen in more detail at my website – http://www.coastrider.org.uk/

I will be doing this to raise funds for two charities. My partner Bundy suffered a severe stroke in February 2009 which has left her with impaired speech and writing abilities, both crucial aspects of her job as a university lecturer. So one of the worthy charities for which I hope to raise a total of £3,000 is The Stroke Association. The second charity, The Meningitis Research Foundation, relates to my own illness back in 1995, when I was fortunate to survive meningococcal septicaemia. A further £3,000 is the target. The total target of £6,000 is roughly equal to a pound per mile.

I very much hope that you will wish to support my efforts, which should take just short of 100 days if I manage to maintain my 60 miles per day average schedule. I will be starting the ride on Saturday 30th April.

On the above website, you will see there’s a ‘Donate now’ page. Alternatively, you could go direct to either (or both) of the Just Giving websites:

Stroke Association - www.justgiving.com/coastrider1
Meningitis Research Foundation - www.justgiving.com/coastrider2

The benefit of donating online is that Gift Aid is added to your donation(s). However, if you prefer not to donate on line, I can add cash/cheque donations manually.

Please don’t feel under any obligation to sponsor me, but if you do I shall be very grateful. Also, please don’t feel that you have to donate to both charities; but if you can split the amount (however small) between the two charities, it will be much appreciated.

Best regards
Bob

EACU Grand Prix - current standings: top 10

2011-01-25T00:01:00.003Z

The EACU Grand Prix is a points system where individuals gain points from Congresses within the EACU, as well as major rapidplays and county matches. Points count from any section and level.

The current top ten is:

Player Club Total

David Spence Ipswich 11.5

Roger Smith Ipswich 11.0

Akiito Oyama Cambridge 10.0

David Redman Cambridge 10.0

Norman Hutchinson Linton 9.5

Chris Davison Cambridge 9.0

Peter Housden Bedford 9.0

Harunobu Oyama Cambridge 9.0

Nick Pert Sandhurst 9.0

Vicky Allen Stowmarket 8.0

Clacton Congress - 12th/13th Feb

2011-01-24T23:53:00.002Z

Just a mention for a little known congress taking place in Clacton.

It is part of the Spectrum circuit (well known for their plush venues).

It's on 12th/13th Feb.

There are 2 sections:

under 165's

and under 125's.

Link to: www.spectrumchess.com/

for the on-line entry form.

Results from Chess Tournaments: end of 2010

2011-01-07T12:25:00.003Z

Woodbridge Junior Open 2010:
http://www.woodbridgechess.com/content/wjo2010.html

Bury St Edmunds Congress 2010:
http://www.buryleaguechess.org.uk/congress2010/

Ipswich Junior Open 2010:
http://www.ijcc.org.uk/tournament_13.html

New recruit practicing her opening repertoire

2010-11-23T23:24:00.001Z

Woodbridge Junior Open - including adult section

2010-11-19T09:44:00.002Z

On Sunday 28th Nov, Woodbridge School is hosting a rapidplap tournament.
There are many age sections for juniors, and also an adult section.
See the link under upcoming event for the entry form.
Entries are required by Wed 24th.

Tournaments in Suffolk this month

2010-10-05T16:46:00.003+01:00

Firstly there is the Ipswich Junior Chess Club on Saturday 16th October, held at the Copleston School in Ipswich. This is the Ipswich Junior Championship but also includes a popular section for Adults.
This event helps fund the Ipswich Junior Chess Club (which runs Saturday mornings during term time), so I hope that we can give them as much support as possible.
Their site is:
http://www.ijcc.org.uk/

Then at the end of the month (30th/31st October), there is the excellent Bury St. Edmunds Congress, which this year takes place in brand new premises.
The congress website can be found at:
http://www.buryleaguechess.org.uk/congress2010/
The event is always impressive, and has something for everyone of all levels. You can normally expect a number of titled players in the top section to watch!

SCCA: County U140's Captain needed

2010-09-02T12:47:00.003+01:00

After the recent AGM a number of posts were filled - details of which will appear in the Minutes that will be published shortly.

However, the U140's county team is missing a Captain.
Jakob had a very successful 2 years with the club, winning the national title and then reaching the semi-final. Jakob's grade has now moved on, so this winning side is without a Captain.

The following is a county list of players in the 120-139 bracket:
Stevens, Patrick A 139 Woodbridge School
McAllister, John WF 138 Adastral Park
Lambert, John E 137 Clacton
Phillips, Carl 135 Manningtree
Campbell, Peter J 135 Bury St Edmunds
Hemsworth, Gary 133 Felixstowe
Hill, Martin 133 Hadleigh Suffolk
Harrison, Paul 133 Bury St Edmunds
McCormick, Arthur 131 Saxmundham
Avis, Rupert 130 Hadleigh Suffolk
Kent, John 130 Sudbury
Wilden, Martin 129 Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket
Sanderson, Adrian 128 Hadleigh Suffolk, Manningtree
Keffler, Y Peter AG 128 Clacton
Johnson, David 127 Hadleigh Suffolk
Paez, Alonso 127 Adastral Park, Ipswich
Alvin, Martin 127 Clacton
Kelly, Rob 127 Manningtree
Garcia, Laureano 126 Bury St Edmunds
Fitzsimons, Joe 125 Bury St Edmunds
Weidman, Mark J 124 Adastral Park
Woodcock, Keith D 124 Ipswich
Steele, Melvin 122 Clacton
Wild, Dave 121 Adastral Park
Welsh, Dave 121 Clacton

Please could someone, or maybe a duo, step forward and take on this role.
It would be a huge shame to have to withdraw the team from the EACU competition.

Tim

Suffolk Junior Chess report

2010-09-01T21:33:00.003+01:00

Apologies to Adam Hunt and those at the meeting, but I missed an e-mail with Adam's report. Unfortunately no report was read at the meeting. I have e-mailed all members that I have a contact for.

Here is the report:

Junior Chess 2009-10

I apologise that I am unable to attend the meeting in person, but would like to send this report on junior chess in the past year. As has been the case over the past few years, the majority of junior chess in the county seems to be situated in small pockets, notably Woodbridge, Bury and Ipswich. The school chess competitions (Under 13, Under 16, Under 18) this year were all won by Woodbridge School, with Stephen Donaghy, the competition organiser deciding to step down at the end of the year. In the meantime until another volunteer steps in I am willing to attempt to run the competitions.

As usual junior tournaments have been held at Woodbridge (3), Bury and Ipswich with healthy numbers attending each event. Speaking only as spectator to the Woodbridge events it seems that the chess is of a reasonable standard through the age groups. Alan Merry continues to impress as the outstanding junior in the county (as I can attest having lost to him at the Great Yarmouth congress), with Anna York-Andersen the leading girl having recently represented England at the Faber cup.

Junior chess remains very much a regional activity in Suffolk, with no children as far I could tell playing in the British or the UK Chess Terafinal. This year, similarly to the last couple I didnt feel putting out an Under 9 or Under 11 inter-county team would have been worthwhile due to the limited numbers or juniors in the age groups, but on a more positive note the Abbey (the prep school to Woodbridge) finished =3rd in the EPSCA Under 9 national semi-finals and the Under 11 team finished =8th, which were outstanding achievements.

I would of course be interested to hear of any promising juniors in your areas/clubs. The more we can do to promote the game to youngsters the better.

Agenda for SCCA 2010 AGM

2010-08-27T10:56:00.003+01:00

Suffolk County Chess Association

Agenda for the Annual General Meeting, to be held on Tuesday 31st August 2010 at the Ipswich Chess Club.

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of previous meeting and Matters arising

3. Officer’s Reports

President
Secretary County ------------U120 Team
Treasurer’s Report ----------Women’s Chess
Competition Secretary -------Correspondence Chess
County First Team -----------Suffolk Chess Journal
County U160 Team ----------CountyResults Officer
County U140 Team ----------Suffolk Junior Chess

4. Election of Officers

President
Vice President -------------County U140 Team
Secretary -----------------County U120 Team
Treasurer -----------------Women’s Chess
Competition Secretary -----Correspondence Chess
County First Team --------Suffolk Chess Journal
County U160 Team --------County Results Officer

5. Voting at General Meetings

6. Constitution for SCCA – Approval or Timetable for completion

7. Fixtures List / Cup Competitions – Reporting Results of Matches

8. Suffolk Chess Journal / Alternative publication of Chess Events etc.

9. Any Other Business

Minutes of the SCCA 2009 AGM

2010-08-27T10:54:00.001+01:00

suffolk county chess association

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Suffolk County Chess Association, held at the Ipswich Institute on Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Present: Tim Lunn, Adrian Sanderson, Rob Sanders, John Lambert, Michael Coughtrey, Jane Jennings, Dave Wild, Mark Bettley, Andrew Paige, Arthur McCormick, Mike Spalding, Steve Gregory, Adele Lunn, Michael Clapham, Bob Jones, Colin Roberts, Dave Robertson, Adam Hunt, Jim Buis, David Brown, Ben Dukes, Keith Woodcock and Mark Weidman.

1. Apologies: were received: from Kevin Greenacre, Laurie Pott, Steve Moss, Jakob Tulic, Scott Taylor and Alan Watkins.

2. Minutes of the AGM held on 16 September 2008: Colin Roberts considered that the Minutes in their note form were not a suitable record of the meeting. Tim Lunn noted his intention to record all important facts. Bob Jones proposed, Rob Sanders seconded the proposal and members agreed that the minutes be approved and signed. There were no matters arising.

3. Officers’ Reports:

3.1. President – Tim Lunn noted that he had nothing specific to report under this heading. He was concerned that there are posts still to be filled, which must be settled for the Association to operate effectively.

3.2. Secretary – Adrian Sanderson was pleased to note that an executive committee meeting had been held for the first time in several years and that we were at last making progress in preparing a Constitution document.

3.3 Treasurer - Adrian Sanderson presented written accounts for the year. He briefly outlined the accounts and provided a report, which explained that the surplus for 2008/09 had been boosted by the writing back of provisions for officers’ expenses provided over several years. Almost the whole of the Association’s income comes from Clubs’ team fees and is used to pay for game fees (ECF and EACU) and insurance. A discussion ensued as to whether SCCA was liable to pay any game fees relating to games played by direct members. Dave Wild and AS had been communicating with ECF understanding that no payment was required. Bob Jones said Thelma Merry had received clear information from ECF for the Bury League and he would ask her to speak to us. There should be a note on invoices to clubs to let them know if direct members are not required to pay game fees.
For many years the ECF charges for game fees in respect of Clubs internal games had not been recharged to individual clubs provided a club team was entered in the Suffolk League. BJ proposed that with effect from the start of season 2009/10 clubs must pay their own game fees for internal competitions. The proposal was approved.
AS noted that among the financial matters to be considered for the Constitution document raised at the Executive Committee meeting are whether the accounts should be audited and whether cheques needed to be countersigned. Following discussion it was proposed and agreed that both should be put in place when the Constitution document has been approved by members.
Proposal 8 of the Executive Committee that League team fees should be £40, SL Cup team fees remain at £12 with Knock-out Cup team fees £4 per team was approved.

3.4. Competition – Rob Sanders presented his first report as Competition Secretary.
It has been a sharp learning curve, dealing with many problems. Last year three divisions were proposed but with one team dropping out it was necessary to rearrange second and third into one division to ensure that teams were all able to play ten matches. Division 1 was competitive settled in February when a weakened Ipswich A went down to Ipswich B, the ultimate champions. Michael Clapham was Player of the Year with 8 out of 10.
Only by winning their final match, Division 2 was won by Bury Cannons B. Division 2 Player of the Year was Adam Hunt with 8 out of 8.
Two finals nights were held at the end of the season for all the Cup competitions.
The Suffolk League Cup was won by Ipswich B. Ipswich beat Bury Cannons to represent Suffolk in the Norfolk & Suffolk Cup. Adastral Park beat Manningtree for the u125 Cup and Bury Cannons won the u100 Cup beating Ipswich.
Some important issues requiring clarification of the Rules arose, which will be considered later in the Agenda

3.5 County First Team – Tim Lunn reported that the county were East Anglian Champions having beaten Norfolk twice. Instead of competing with minor counties as in previous years, the first placed team was entitled to go to the Open Finals. Unfortunately this meant meeting a very strong Middlesex team, receiving an 11.5 : 4.5 thrashing. A card of thanks had been received from the Sue Ryder charity for a donation made (the venue was free so the board fees went to the charity as designated by the venue – BAE Systems, Baddow). TL said he was standing down as captain. Michael Clapham congratulated him for getting the team to the finals for the first time in many years.

3.6 County U 150 – Bob Jones noted that all four matches were only lost narrowly. 22 players took part, the team suffering because we had almost no-one in the 140 – 150 grading range. The team had done extremely well being outgraded by the opposition in this way.

3.7. County U 125 – Jakob Tulic with the help of John Lambert had produced a championship winning team. Results against Cambridge 9 : 3 and 6.5 : 5.5 and Norfolk 7: 5 and 5 : 7 meant the team were EACU u125 champions. In the next round it was 8.5 : 7.5 against Herts. The Quarter Final was 10 : 6 against Yorks leading to a Semi-final 9 : 7 against Warwicks and the Final against Kent ,which was won 10 : 6. John Lambert gave some insight into the problems and successes of the escapade particularly noting Phil Revell’s 4 out of 5 on board one, Luke Hill played all eight games and was unbeaten, Keith McMillan five from six matches, Martin Fogg four wins at national stages and Anna Egorova also unbeaten. When some of the youngsters in the squad were unavailable we were able to call on several lower graded players whose contribution was an essential part. The final was a brilliant day and JL had been glad to be with the team (most dressed in blue). For the record the National winning team was Phil Revell, Luke Hill, Anna Egorova, Ed Kirkham, Mark Bettley, Keith McMillan, Jakob Tulik, Melvin Steele, John Wheatley, Carl Phillips, John Lambert, Keith Woodcock, Martin Fogg, Mike Coughtrey, Dave Wild and Mark Weidman.
The question of re-imbursement of expenses to team-members in the case of long-distance travel was raised. It was agreed that this should be referred to the Executive Committee for detailed consideration.
Members were concerned about where extra expenditure should come from if not Club team fees. Bob Jones pointed out that for any “Event” sponsorship might well be available if it is well publicised. A comment about Health Authority interest in publicity may be relevant. Information about this would be forwarded to TL.

3.8. County U 100 – Adele Lunn reported that as Cambridge couldn’t play Suffolk could only play Norfolk. There were problems with date clashes and with gradings. AL is standing down as captain.

3.9. Women’s Chess – Jane Jennings noted that unfortunately the competition was down to five players. Anna won with 4 / 4, Adele second with 3 / 4, Vicky three. The others were Mary and Jane. JJ had E-mailed clubs for others without success. She asked members to put any female players in touch with her.

3.10 Correspondence Chess - Jim Buis said the email/correspondence team scored 6.5 out of 10 and were joint top with Surrey II but lost on Board count. He congratulated Bob Jones for winning his match six years on the trot.

3.11. Suffolk Chess Journal – Michael Clapham apologized that after producing an issue a year ago, he had not managed to get round to issuing another. He said that if we do not want to continue there may be subscriptions to return. Several articles are on hand so he has sufficient material to continue if the will is there. Colin Roberts commented it would be a shame if we lost SCJ. Articles, games and reports of County matches and league updates are very handy in this format. Mark Weidman suggested if articles etc. are submitted on line, they could be selected by the Editor as needed. General discussion about the relative merits of internet and hard copy formats ensued. It was agreed to accept MC’s offer to continue as SCJ editor and he asked that clubs/members supply him with games, articles etc. to enable him to do the job.

3.12 County Results – Dave Wild asked that he be sent all results promptly.

3.13 Suffolk Junior Chess – Adam Hunt noted that SJC is centred on Woodbridge and Bury although this year Ipswich has been a little more involved. The strength of junior players is higher than ever, increasing every year with stable numbers competing in tournaments. u9 and u11 teams were not run this year due to lack of parental support. Woodbridge school team were second behind Wellington College. In a match against Norfolk u18 had 6 : 6 result. Bob Jones commented it was a good result at Thetford. He would like to repeat next year. The potential is good with several good players coming through. AH said that in the UK Chess Challenge Anna had won her age group (also representing England Board 1) also mentioned Alan Merry representing country in u13.
John Lambert asked about progress in the Initiative – Chess Sets for Schools. AH said not yet going but the wheels are turning – coming to Woodbridge School,
BJ asked how SJC were budgeting. AH responded that finances are not in a particularly good state. Costs add up. Colin Roberts felt SJC needs more than money, organisational effort is required. Adele Lunn said Ipswich need experienced players to encourage juniors.
TL asked who represents SJC. AH said that there had been little interest so no meetings were being held. John Lambert noted that “Child protection” is now a consideration. BJ said coaches at Bury all have approval. He remembered that a long time ago we did very well with developing junior talent. After he left a committee was formed and SJC development drifted. Maybe a different sort of meeting is needed deciding how to get kids into clubs, particularly ways of drawing talent from schools. Bury hold an open evening each year at which 20 to 30 attend from which some join Bury Knights.
BJ recommended the executive committee should consider arranging a meeting where one person nominated from each club would attend to promote junior chess. It was agreed that this could be set up after E-mail discussions between interested members. TL felt that his Blog might be the appropriate means for members to comment.
After further discussion BJ agreed to circulate Bury Knights Child Protection Policy, which it might be appropriate to incorporate in the Constitution document.

4. Election of Officers - The following were re-elected en bloc: President (Tim Lunn), Vice-President (Colin Roberts), Treasurer (Adrian Sanderson), Competition Secretary (Rob Sanders), County First Team Captain (Alan Watkins), U160 (Bob Jones), U140 (Jakob Tulic), Women’s Organiser (Jane Jennings), Correspondence Secretary (Jim Buis), Editor of the Suffolk Chess Journal (Michael Clapham) and County Results Officer (Dave Wild).
Therefore nominations are still required for the following:
Secretary - any volunteers/ideas please to President
County U120 match captain.
Proposal 1 of the Executive Committee meeting concerning its structure was discussed. No formal vote was taken and it was agreed to defer a decision until considered at the proposed Constitution Meeting on 28 September.

5. Proposed Meeting to agree a Constitution for SCCA: Proposal 2 of the Executive Committee was considered. Colin Roberts felt that this document was extremely important and should not be rushed through. It must be carefully reviewed and worded before being presented to an Extraordinary General Meeting of SCCA. TL agreed to circulate draft document to all interested members by E-mail before the proposed Constitution Meeting.
It was proposed that all elected officers may attend the Constitution Meeting on 28 September 2009. The completed Constitution document will be set before an Extraordinary General meeting of SCCA to be held on a date at least a month thereafter. The proposal was approved.

6. SCCA Competition Rules: Proposal 3 of the Executive Committee was reviewed. It was pointed out that Club Secretaries rather than team captains should be responsible for registering players. Members discussed the danger of muddling Registrations (Rule 7) and Nominations (Rule 20), the problem with registering a new player who is available when another team member has not turned up, grading needed before commencing a match but it was agreed that there was no need to combine the two rules. RS said that providing he receives a list that allows him to know whether a player is registered with a club and a list of nominated players for each team there is no problem with the Rules if everyone has read them and is clear as to what is required. Forms would be filled in after this AGM following which RS would circulate. This procedure was accepted.
Rob Sanders informed members that last season several postponements were played at the end of April and Bury had run out of time. In accordance with rule 14 a new date for re-arranged matches should be set immediately. RS has put in a lot of effort to keep results up to date and noted ten instances during the season when no result was submitted on time by either captain. DW also needs results for grading so both teams need to submit match results promptly.
The proposal was amended to the following:-
In order to claim the points achieved, team captains must register the result of a match with the Competition Secretary and the County Results Officer within seven days.
The proposal was approved.
CR proposed thanks to RS following on from JL for the effort put into running the league.

7. Grading List Changes: Proposal 4 of the Executive Committee concerning the changes in Grade calculations was approved as follows:-
Following the changes in Grade Calculations it is proposed that for the Suffolk League Cup the limits set for maximum grades for individuals be set at 160 for Board 2 (previously 145), 140 Board 3 (120), 120 Board 4 (95) with any defaulted Boards graded as 119 (94). The total team grade limit should be 570 (500).

8. Fixtures List / Cup Competitions: Rob Sanders had reviewed the fixtures schedule for the coming season and considered that his proposed Suffolk Rapidplay Cup and the existing u125 and u100 Knock out competitions, which he felt did not give a wide enough range for players of differing grades, would not both fit into the programme. He would like to see every club take part in both the SL Cup and the Rapidplay Cup with more than one team where possible.
Dave Robertson pointed out that clubs with only low graded players have more difficulty in competing in these, whereas with the u100/u125 their team does have a chance. CR congratulated RS on a brilliant fixture list both League and u100/u125 cups have their merits but a four week Swiss might be better perhaps linking with the Bury League to give a final with a club from each league.
It was agreed that if the Rapidplay Cup was approved it would be run as a four round Swiss with two 30 minute games in each round.
DR felt that we had insufficient information about the running of a Rapidplay Cup at this stage. Seven votes in favour of the existing u100/u125 Cups against six votes in favour of the Rapidplay Cup. As proposal 6 of the Executive Committee had been rejected RS agreed to provide full details of how he proposed to run a Rapidplay Cup so that Clubs could reconsider before the next AGM.
Proposal 5 of the Executive Committee redesignating the u125 and u100 Cups as u145 and u125 respectively was approved

9. Suffolk Chess Journal: Michael Clapham will continue to produce the Journal while there are sufficient resources of articles, match reports, games and subscribers.

10. Any Other Business
a) Tim Lunn elaborated on Proposal 7 of the Executive Committee. He intended to invite up to twelve top graded players and run a smaller Swiss for qualification in the following year. The proposal “A self-financing closed Suffolk Championship between the top six graded players in the county, who wish to participate is proposed for the start of 2010 if this can be organised by the president following discussions with the likely participants” was approved.

b) Colin Roberts suggested that votes at the AGM should be regulated and a number of votes allocated to each club rather than one per person attending. He suggested that this point be considered for inclusion in the Constitution.

c) A Schedule of the Proposals of the Executive considered in this meeting are attached.

11. The meeting closed at 10:35 pm.

Suffolk AGM Tues 31st August, Ipswich

2010-08-24T13:05:00.004+01:00

Just a reminder that the Suffolk County Chess Association AGM is being held next week on Tuesday 31st August.
The meeting is taking place at the Ipswich Chess club, starting at 7:30pm.

There will be some e-mails shortly (and postings here) relating to the agenda and any proposals that may be put forward at the meeting.
We hope to see you there.

Suffolk players at the British Championships

2010-08-15T23:01:00.007+01:00

As most of you will know, the British Championships came to a close in Canterbury last weekend. There was excellent representation from Suffolk. The following report came from Bob Jones:

Suffolk 'ruled' at the British Championship at Canterbury, which concluded this evening (6 August). Apart from the runaway winner and out-and-out favourite Michael Adams, who scored 9½/11, sole second place on 8 points was secured by Ipswich-born Nick Pert, who won a mammoth 86-move last-round win against fellow GM Stephen Gordon.

In joint third place on 7½ points were Nick's twin brother Richard, and Woodbridge's Adam Hunt, who went through the tournament unbeaten and secured a (second) GM norm as early as Round 9. Adam played seven Grandmasters, beating one and drawing with the other six, a tremendous performance, gaining 29 Elo rating poUints.

Also playing in the British Championship was David Spence, who sadly lost his last three games to finish on 5 points.

Bob

A fantastic result by Adam with a 2624 performance!
Also from Suffolk playing at the British were:
Stephen Gregory (Ipswich)in the Major Open,
Paul Botham (Adastral Park) in the U180 Championship,
and Adam Taylor (of the Ipswich Junior Club) in the U12's.
(Sorry to anyone if I didn't spot you and you were there!)

The website for the Championships with results and all games in the Open can be found at:
http://www.britishchess2010.com/

Edit:
As mentioned by Bob,
Andrew Salmon (Clacton) took part in the Major Open.
...And how could I forget the Ipswich crew that took part in the weekend tournament: Luke Hill, Martin Fogg & Keith Woodcock (all Ipswich) headed down to Canterbury.

Suffolk's top scorer in 4NCL 2009-2010

2010-07-27T22:44:00.005+01:00

Three players were the joint top scorers for the whole of the 4NCL 3 divisions.

Two of them were Grandmasters Chris Ward and Neil McDonald playing in division 1.
The other was Suffolk's very own (and newly crowned County Champion) Ian Wallis.
They all scored an excellent 9.5 out of 11.

Suffolk player in Faber cup

2010-07-27T22:41:00.002+01:00

Bob Jones sent the following link:

See www.welshchessunion.org.uk/glorneyfabergilbert.html for Anna's achievements in this event which took place 21 - 23 July.

As you will notice, Anna York-Andersen was the 'best on board' for her competition.

The New Grades are out!

2010-07-25T19:49:00.003+01:00

Hello all,

that moment in the year most chess players anticipate/dread for, is here.
The new grades are out!

Find out the grades at the official site:
http://grading.bcfservices.org.uk/

Edit: and now available on Dave Wild's excellent grading site:
http://www.c4results.org.uk/chess/php/index.php?GroupId=3

Tim

Suffolk U160's are National County Champions!

2010-07-13T20:21:00.009+01:00

Hi everyone

We WON 9½ - 6½. Wow, what a fantastic performance. We were outgraded by an average of more than four points per board (see attached results sheet).

1 Conrad SIMONS 155 ½-½ Louis BRIJMOHUN 159
2 Luke HILL 154 0-1 James BOWLER 154
3 Richard LAMONT 155 1-0 Andrew BAGLEY 156
4 Edward VENMORE-ROWLAND 155 1-0 Richard BOYLAN 156
5 Stuart TATE 146 1-0 Robert DEAN 152
6 David E BROWN 149 1-0 Paul HOWDEN 153
7 John WHEATLEY 150 ½-½ Randy DONAHUE 154
8 Martin FOGG 143 1-0 Ben CUARESMA 151
9 Yury TSISCHANKA e150 0-1 Paul JOHNSON 150
10 Robert W STEPHENS 146 0-1 Robin BROWNE 151
11 Philip W REVELL 142 ½-½ Rupert JONES 152
12 Colin A ROBERTS 140 0-1 David HIRST 144
13 Robert L JONES 139 1-0 Stan ALEXSANDROWICZ 144
14 Ed KIRKHAM 138 ½-½ Tim HILL 147
15 Jakob TULIC 138 1-0 Nick MAHONEY 145
16 Mark S BETTLEY 131 ½-½ Ian STRICKLAND 130
TOTAL Av 145.7 9½-6½ TOTAL Av. 149.9

Populations: Yorkshire - 4,559,800 Suffolk - 715,700 (according to Wikipedia)

So, we were also 'out-peopled' by over 6 to 1....

We started well, with Jakob Tulic winning early on. This was followed by a draw from Ed Kirkham and a loss by Colin Roberts. 1½ - 1½

Then a couple of losses by Bob Stephens and Yury Tsischanka. 1½ - 3½. Not looking good.

Under no pressure my opponent then blundered a piece and Mark Bettley salvaged a draw from a poor position. 3 - 4.

Then Luke Hill succumbed after unsuccessfully sacrificing two pieces, Phil Revell cleverly forced the Yorkshire captain to bale out with a perpetual check although the latter was a bishop ahead, and John Wheatley escaped with a draw, having earlier been the exchange down. 4 - 6.

Now there were just six games left, on Boards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8. Then began an hour of Suffolk successes that will be remembered for many a year...

Richard Lamont, from a pawn ahead, converted nicely by forcing a win of the exchange.
Martin Fogg benefitted from an amazing oversight by his opponent who, when two pawns ahead, managed to hang his rook.
Edward Venmore-Rowland eventually converted a three-pawn advantage, although he found it difficult with opposite-coloured bishops on the board.
David Brown, with a pair of bishops against a lone rook, forced home a pawn which the rook had to take. A second pawn was then promoted, leaving his opponent with no hope.
(8 - 6)
Then, with just two boards still in play and a draw needed to secure the title, Stuart Tate won a tense battle, with both players having less than three minutes remaining, to make the score 9 - 6 to Suffolk!

With just Board 1 left, Conrad Simons offered a draw with only four seconds remaining on his clock. His opponent (with a bare queen) had been trying for half an hour to force Conrad (rook, knight and pawn) to move his king to the wrong square, in order to fork the rook and king. With the match result already determined, his opponent graciously accepted the draw offer. He would have easily won on time, of course.

NB: County players (at all levels) must remember Rule 10.2, when a draw can be claimed in the last two minutes. If Conrad had stopped the clocks earlier and claimed a draw, an arbiter would have watched the remainder of the game until his flag had fallen; he would undoubtedly have awarded a draw, as Conrad's opponent was clearly making no progress.

Final score: Suffolk 9½ Yorkshire 6½

The team, with the trophy:

(back row: John Wheatley, Conrad Simons, Mark Bettley, Ed Kirkham (hiding), Martin Fogg (probably kneeling), Ed Venmore-Rowland, Bob Stephens, Yury Tsischanka, Jakob Tulic.
front row: Bob Jones, Colin Roberts, Luke Hill, David Brown, Phil Revell, Stuart Tate, Richard Lamont)

Receiving the trophy from ECF Chief Executive, Chris Majer:

Well played everyone, including all those who played in previous rounds!

Bob

Suffolk U140's: meet their match in National Semis

2010-07-13T20:18:00.001+01:00

Dear members of Suffolk County team
The result of the match was Suffolk 6,5 and Hampshire 9,5
We did our best but our opponents were better - this time ! The results on 9 boards was a draw. Ed Kirkham and Laureano Garcia gave us two valuable victories but that was not enough.
On behalf of our deputy captain and myself I wish to thank you very, very much to all and each of you.
Jakob

Suffolk U160's do it again! Next stop, the Final!

2010-06-28T21:55:00.001+01:00

Hi guys

What a tremendous result! We didn't just win, we thrashed them!

Despite being outgraded on 15 out of 16 boards, we managed to win 10 - 6. Leicestershire had a bad start when two of their team failed to turn up; it seems that the driver had forgotten, so the other guy was marooned at home.

Our initial 2 - 0 advantage soon became 4 - 0 when Richard Lamont on Board 4 completely outplayed his opponent, swiftly followed with a kingside demolition by Stuart Tate on Board 5. The result was never in doubt, being ahead 6½-1½ at one stage. The winning margin of 8½ points was achieved when Luke Hill won on Board 2. Conrad Simons had a tough match against a strong opponent on top board and Scott Taylor suffered a similar reverse on Board 3. The only other losses were sustained on the bottom two boards (Ed Kirkham and John Lambert).

Phil Revell had a nice trick up his sleeve which either mated his opponent or won his queen, whilst Colin Roberts was ahead very early and turned a fine position into a relatively straightforward point. Second last to finish was Martin Fogg who, playing with his usual calmness and assuredness, forced his opponent to resign with mate inevitable.

The remaining matches were drawn, featuring David Brown, Anna York-Andersen, Bob Stephens and myself. Sadly, Craig Hadrych and Dave Pearce didn't get a game, due to the defaults. But it was good that even if we had lost the two games that Leicestershire defaulted, we would still have won, albeit on board count...

So, well done to everyone - a real team effort. We now take on the might of Yorkshire (who beat Essex on board count) in the Final, in Leicester, on Saturday 10 July.

Regards
Bob (Jones)

Fantastic news.
A big congratulaions to Bob Jones and his team.
Good luck all in the final!

Bury Area Chess League: AGM

2010-06-28T21:52:00.004+01:00

The Annual General Meeting of the Bury Area Chess League took place last Thursday, 17 June, at Moreton Hall Community Centre, Bury St Edmunds. 17 members attended and Paul Kemp was elected Chairman, to replace Bob Jones who has completed his three-year stint. Stephen Pride was re-elected Match Secretary. These two are pictured below:

Regards
Bob (Jones)

National

2010-05-24T14:50:00.005+01:00

MATCH : Lincolnshire vs Suffolk
Lincs white on ODD boards
DATE : 23rd May 2010
SECTION : Minor Counties, quater finals
VENUE : New England Institute, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

1 Nigel Birtwistle 202 0-1 Edmund Player 202
2 Paul Cumbers 194 1-0 Michael Cook 185
3 Kevin McCarthy 182 0-1 Stephen Gregory 183
4 Daniel Wells 179 1-0 Tim Lunn 178
5 Claudio Mangione 178e 1-0 Edward Matthewson 177
6 Nick Stead 177 1-0 Rob Sanders 177
7 Jason Dilley 177 1-0 Steve Ruthen 176
8 Nick Payne 176 1-0 Ian Wallis 174
9 David Coates 175 1-0 Michael Clapham 172
10 Harry Russell 173 1-0 Alan Watkins 163
11 Keith Palmer 171 1-0 Scott Taylor 156
12 Samuel Milson 168 0-1 Luke Hill 154
13 Denis Georgiou 166 0.5-0.5 Harold Thomas 154
14 Ian McDonald 163 0-1 Craig Haydrych 152
15 Geoff Collyer 160 1-0 Anna York-Anderson 149
16 Ivan David 152 0.5-0.5 Martin Fogg 143
TOTAL 11-5

A report from Captain Alan Watkins is to follow.
We were outgraded on the lower boards, but Suffolk pulled though with a few good results there.
A couple of wins on the top boards also, but it looks like the expression 'middle order collapse' seems most appropriate. A dissapointing result to which I contributed with the first loss of the day.
- TL.

National County Chess: U160's march on to Semi's

2010-05-24T09:59:00.005+01:00

From Bob Jones:

(on Saturday 22nd May) the Suffolk Under 160s triumphed 9 - 7 in their national quarter-final against Nottinghamshire. We will be playing Leicestershire in the semi-final, on either 19 or 20 June.

SUFFOLK Under 160 team – 22 May 2010

v Nottinghamshire

Board Name Grade Result Opponent’s grade
1 Conrad Simons 155 1-0 157
2 Luke Hill 154 1-0 156
3 Scott Taylor 156 1-0 156
4 Harold Thomas 156 1-0 152
5 Richard Lamont 155 1-0 151
6 Stuart Tate 157 ½-½ 150
7 David Brown 149 ½-½ 148
8 Anna York-Andersen 149 0-1 146
9 Craig Hadrych 152 ½-½ 145
10 Dave Pearce 150 0-1 145
11 Martin Fogg 143 1-0 144
12Bob Stephens 146 0-1 144
13 Colin Roberts 140 0-1 144
14 Bob Jones (capt.) 139 ½-½ 143
15 Ed Kirkham 138 ½-½ 140
16 Jakob Tulic 138 ½-½ 140
team total 9-7

National County Chess: Suffolk u140's win again!

2010-05-17T20:19:00.004+01:00

Suffolk U140 squad led by Jakob Tulik began the defence of their 2009 (U125) National Championship Title by winning the 1/4 Final match against Staffordshire at Islop, on Sun 16th May 8½ -7½.

Suffolk were outgraded on 12 of the 16 boards and with several new faces.
Holiday commitments, exams, etc, of at least half a dozen regulars meant that we had to play the bottom eight boards all below 120 grade.
The top eight boards achieved 6½ / 8 with wins for Bob Jones, Ed Kirkham, Alonso Paez, John Lambert and Keith Woodcock, coupled with a win from Greg Ellis on board 16 and two further draws we achieved the 8½ points required to set up a semi final match against either Kent or Hampshire.

Suffolk Staffs

1. R.Jones (W)139 1-0 M.Wyza 137
2. J.Tulik 138 ½- R.Edmunds 136
3. E.Kirkham 138 1-0 J.Button 135
4. M.Bettley 131 ½-½ J.Day 134
5. A.Paez 132 1-0 R.Taylor 134
6. J.Lambert 122 1-0 S.Onions 130
7. K.Woodcock 122 1-0 F.Westlake 127
8. D.Picton 124 ½-½ T.Healey 131
9. C.Szentmihaly 117 0-1 R.Dolan 127
10. M.Steele 116 0-1 A.Meakin 126
11.J.Fitzsimons 121 0-1 B.Birchall 125
12. D.Wild 119 ½-½ A.Dobson 125
13. M.Weidman 113 0-1 J.Montague 124
14. L.Garcia 110 ½-½ D.Nesbitt 120
15. M.Coughtrey 113 0-1 K.Walklate 119
16.G.Ellis 113 1-0 P.Shaw 107

Total 8½ 7½

John Lambert
Suffolk U140 deputy capt

Suffolk has a Chess Champion again!

2010-04-19T20:30:00.005+01:00

Suffolk has it first Chess Champion since 1998.

Well done to Ian Wallis!

Ian competed in the 6 player all-play-all, and was the fifth highest graded player of the 6.
With a tremendous 4.5 out of 5, Ian had a 212 grading performance for the tournament.

Full results details can be found at Dave Wild's grading site:
http://www.wildd.freeserve.co.uk/chess/2009/event/CWSCC0.html

In the last round Rob Sanders needed to beat Ian in order to catch him and to win on the tie-break system.
With the Black pieces Rob acheived a comortable position in the French and started to apply pressure on the Queenside. That pressure told, as Rob then went into a minor piece ending a pawn up. The game got to a critical position with a number of options to choose from. All spectators considered the game winning for Rob, but somewhat short of time, and Ian fighting hard and causing problems with his lone Knight, Rob had to commit to a plan and his advantage slipped away. A draw resulted.
This meant that Ian had become the Suffolk Champion!

The Challengers section was won by Kevin Greenacre who receives an invite to next years Championship section.

Suffolk U140 are East Anglian Chess Union Champions

2010-04-19T20:19:00.003+01:00

From John Lambert:

"SUFFOLK U140 again EACU Champions

Jakob's U140 team, 2009's U125 English County Champions, retained the EACU Championship in March by comfortably beating Cambridgeshire. They now move on to play Yorkshire "A" or Staffordshire in the 1/4 finals."

Women Chess Players in the Bury League

2010-04-19T20:14:00.004+01:00

There aren't many women who play chess in Suffolk - just nine at the latest count (including two from Cambridge).

Four of these happened to be playing at the same venue on 15 April at the Bury St Edmunds Chess Club. Pictured below: Vicky Allen, Jane Jennings (both Stowmarket); Heather Burgess (Cambridge City); Yvonne Freiherr (Bury St Edmunds).

Bob (Jones)

Suffolk U160's are EACU Champions!

2010-03-22T19:15:00.004Z

Hi everyone

Following the matches today against Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, Suffolk have convincingly won the EACU Under 160 Championship. Narrow wins in both matches today meant that we won all four matches in the competition. There were two individual wins today for David Brown, Stephen Lewis and myself.

Although we fielded a weaker team (on paper) than in January, and we were outgraded by both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, we beat Norfolk 9 - 7 and Cambridgeshire 8½-7½.

The latter match hinged on the final match between Craig Hadrych and Patrick Ribbands. At lunch we led easily, 5½-2½, but following a couple of blunders, the score crept to 7½-5½. Two more losses for Suffolk followed, leaving the match tied. Craig's a-pawn eventually promoted, forcing Patrick's resignation - and a win for Suffolk!

The result of the Norfolk match was never in doubt. We led 5-3 at lunch, and continued solidly all afternoon. I was pleased that my result against Les Gladwell gave us the winning point.

As EACU winners, we avoid having to play a qualifying round in the national u160 inter-county competition. We await our opponents in the Quarter-Finals on Saturday 22 May; it will be either Lancashire or a qualifying county from the Midlands, who have to play a Preliminary round on 17 April. See www.englishchess.org.uk/?page_id=36 for more details.

Will you please let me know if you will be available for 22 May. Clearly, we want to select the best possible team. This won't necessarily be based on grade; I will take current form into consideration, as well as performances over the four matches to date. The Under 140 team will also be playing on the same date against either Staffordshire or Yorkshire, so if you are graded under 140, then I expect you will want to play for them.

Well done everyone!

Regards
Bob

SUFFOLK u160 RESULTS
　
30 January 2010
Suffolk 10 – 6 Cambridgeshire
Suffolk 8½-7½ Norfolk
　
20 March 2010
Suffolk 8½-7½ Cambridgeshire
Suffolk 9 – 7 Norfolk
　

Congratulations to Bob and team.
The U160's (and U150's before that) have always performed well but just fallen short - and just losing out to the odd point or two.
So it's really nice to see them having such a good season.
Well done to the EACU U160's Champions!
And good luck in the National Stages.

14th march - Suffolk Junior Chess Open - Woodbridge School

2010-03-02T12:03:00.003Z

Just in case you haven't seen a printed entry form, there is one on-line for the Suffolk Junior Chess Open at Woodbridge school.

Please note that there is an adult section too, which normally features chess players covering a whole range of grades.

http://www.woodbridgechess.com/content/SJO2009.pdf

Suffolk Chess League: cup comps

2010-02-18T23:57:00.003Z

I don't think the pairings have been posted for the cup competitions so thought I'd include here for everyone:

The U125 Cup has already reached the final:
It is between Ipswich and Clacton,

The U145 Cup
the draw for the Semi Finals has been made, it is -
9/3/2010 Ipswich v Clacton
10/3/2010 Manningtree v Adastral

The League Cup
the semi finals are:
30/3/2010 Ipswich B and Ipswich A play each other
1/4/2010 Bury St Edmunds home to Sudbury.

Our Chess Association in need of a county secretary

2010-02-16T22:16:00.005Z

The Suffolk County Chess Association is in need of a secretary.

Adrian Sanderson is at present running two posts, treasurer and temporary secretary.

He, and the county needs your help!

If you would like to volunteer for the role or want further detail, please do contact us.

Maybe you know someone who might be interested - please pass this on to them.

"Your County Needs You".

Suffolk County Chess 1st Team Report

2010-02-13T23:21:00.003Z

Suffolk County Chess 1st Team Report

Firstly I must thank Martin Fogg for coming out at such a short notice and the Ipswich players for helping me put out a full team.
Well this year the team got off to a winner start even though it was a close call at the end. A win is a win.
From what I can gather this year is going to be between us and our northern neighbours Norfolk who also won both their matches last Sunday.
Therefore we need to have good strong team out for the next match day 6th March (Saturday). For which we will be playing Norfolk then Bedfordshire.
The win against Bedfordshire in the Morning was brilliant but close considering Bedfordshire had 9 white, the game had already started before we realised what happened, so it was decide to let the game continue and on the reverse fixture Suffolk will get the extra white on that board. (Board 16)
　
The match to Cambridge went down to the wire with Ed Player winning by an illegal move with about a minute or to spare at the end which results in an 8.5/7.5 win. The drop board order scored most of the wins again in this match.

Yours truly,
Alan

[editted slightly for Blog]

More Suffolk success in the EA Chess Union Div 1

2010-02-10T23:34:00.002Z

The Suffolk first team have followed on from the U160 county chess team the previous weekend to win both their matches.
Team and individual results can be gained from:
http://www.wildd.freeserve.co.uk/chess/2009/event/CWEAC0_Section6.html

It looks like Suffolk may have been slightly outgraded in both matches but came home with full points. Congratulations to Stephen Gregory, Alan Merry and Michael Cook for scoring 2 out of 2.
Also a mention to Ted Matthewson who is new to the area for his 1.5 on his debut.

Go Suffolk!

14th Mar - Suffolk Junior Open, Woodbridge School

2010-02-09T22:03:00.000Z

14 Mar - Suffolk Junior Open, Woodbridge School, Burkitt Road, Woodbridge

For details contact:
Adam Hunt, Woodbridge School, Burkitt Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4JH
(Tel: 01394 615000)
ahunt@woodbridge.suffolk.sch.uk

28th Feb - Bury St Edmunds Junior Congress

2010-02-09T22:00:00.001Z

28 Feb - Bury St Edmunds Junior Congress, Culford School, Bury St Edmunds

For deatails contact:
Peter Campbell, Primrose Cottage, Great Saxham, Bury St Edmunds IP29 5JR
(Tel: 01284 810371)
pc8@sanger.ac.uk

20th-21st Feb, Spectrum chess comes to Clacton

2010-02-09T21:54:00.004Z

20-21 Feb - Spectrum Clacton-on-Sea Congress , Laxfield Hotel, Beach Road, Clacton-on-Sea

There appears to be two sections:
U155 & U115.

For details:
Norman Went, 53 New Zealand Way, Rainham, Essex RM13 8JT (Tel: 01708 551617)
spectrumchess@hotmail.com
Website is:
http://www.spectrumchess.com/

(I gather you have to enter online).

East Anglian Chess Union: U160's - Rnds 1&2

2010-02-09T21:07:00.003Z

The Suffolk Chess team in the Under 160's competition got off to a great start on Jan 30th.
They defeated both opposing teams, Norfolk and Cambridgshire, to head the league table after the first weekend.

Check out Dave Wild's site:
http://www.wildd.freeserve.co.uk/chess/2009/event/CWEAC0_Section7.html
For full details.

I believe two players scored a maximum 2 out of 2.
They were Colin Roberts and Bob Jones. Excellent performances.

And well done team.

Suffolk Chess Championships are back!

2010-02-06T23:01:00.004Z

Hello all,

I'm glad to say I have managed to find a date and venue for the Suffolk Chess Closed Championships (despite other priorities at the moment!!).
The dates will be the weekend 10th/11th April held at the Ipswich Chess Club.

I will officially invite upto 16 players to take part in the competition for the title of Suffolk Chess Champion.
There will also be a challengers section, also consisting of upto 16 players, from which the winner will be invited to play in the Title section the following year.

Invites with full details will be sent out shortly.
I'll be pleased if we can get this competition going again, as it has been a long time since Suffolk has had an official Chess Champion.

Tim.

ECF BOARD MEETING 16TH JANUARY 2010

2010-01-22T10:15:00.000Z

ECF BOARD MEETING 16TH JANUARY 2010

Held at the Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island, during a 4NCL weekend. The room at the venue was kindly arranged by Mike Truran and at no cost to ECF. With the current financial constraints this was of benefit to the ECFs finances.

With around 400 people playing chess over a weekend the 4NCL meetings are probably the largest regular chess events in the country. It was good to see a contingent from East Anglia playing.

The ECF meeting was in a side room and went from 11 – 6. Probably a bit too long as we tended to rush things through towards the end. John Paines was in the chair at a Board meeting for the first time and did reasonably well but needs a bit more experience and to take a firmer line with those that participate.

Attending for the first time was the new Finance Director, Gareth Caller. He quickly demonstrated that he was an excellent appointment as he had in a short period got to grips with the accounts. He came to the meeting with proposals to improve the budgeting and reporting process. His analysis of the accounts did not suggest the deficit predicted and it appears that actions taken will lead to a small surplus. However, we cannot be complacent and ECF needs to look at ways to increase income.

Under the Chess for Schools project an on line Certificate of Merit scheme has been produced and this is to be offered to target schools together with a book and a DVD. The CoM is not just for juniors and could be of benefit for adults who are learning to play chess. There will be some publicity on this when it is launched shortly and look out for it. Any one involved in developing Juniors will find the resources available of great assistance.

A great deal of time was spent discussing the British Championships to be held in Canterbury this year. They are keen to involve people in the locality and publicise the event. The venue is the University campus and I do know that it is a good site and will provide good accommodation and facilities. My suggestion was that ECF use the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain to attract sponsors to the event.

Adam Raoof advised that the National Controller for the Counties Championships is Jack Rudd, who some of you will know. He has asked for the Union nominations and the draw for the final stages will be made shortly.

The next Board meeting is on 13/03/2010 and will be in Birmingham.

John Wickham

Suffolk Chess players abroad

2009-10-23T21:37:00.002+01:00

The following report featured on the English Chess Federation site:

VI Calvia International Amateur Open:
http://chess-results.com/tnr26302.aspx?art=1&rd=9&lan=2&m=-1&wi=1000
Congratulations to David Spence who finished second equal with 7/9. Paul Hutchinson and Alan Walton scored 5.5, Peter Tart 5, Graham Burton and Norman Hutchinson 4.5.

Yes. Congratulations indeed!
David's rating performance in the tournament was an excellent 2390.

SCCA Player of the Season awards

2009-10-23T19:45:00.004+01:00

I want to re-introduce the Player of the Season awards that have lapsed over the last several years.
The awards went to the PotS in each Suffolk Chess League Division, and to each county team (providing the counties had played more than 4 matches).
Originally small trophies/shields were presented, then a choice of trophy/voucher and then vouchers. However, this shift didn't really get organized and so no prizes have been presented for many years.

I am going to go back to trophies/shields using the system that was in place and approved at the time. This is that in the Divisions it will be the most points scored by an individual for one team. Defaults will count. In the case of a tie (two or more), the tie break will be firstly results against each other, and secondly that defaults won't count in the case of a tie. If there are still two winners then there will be co-winners of trophies. If there is three or more tied then certificates will be issued.
For county matches, it will be the number of points scored in total for a single team, which will include the national knockout phases. If two players are tied on number of points then there will be co-winners. If three or more are tied then certificates will be given.

I hope this brings back good memories to many who have been around a while, and that it adds a little zest to proceedings in the leagues and for the County matches.

Tim.

SCCA Draft Constitution

2009-10-23T19:36:00.002+01:00

The Draft Constitution that resulted from the committee meeting of 28th Sept, and typed and checked of the following 2 weeks has now been ciculated.
If you haven't received an e-mail and would like one, please get in touch.

I am now posting replies that I have received in the 'comments' of this post.
Please feel free to discuss.
To access 'comments' just click the word 'comments' below this post.

Suffolk Chess League Rules

2009-10-10T00:02:00.004+01:00

Just a reminder of some newish rules that cover all Suffolk Chess League and Cup matches.

- All the players in the team must have been 'registered' with the Competition Secretary (Rob Sanders) beforehand. Please note that registering a player is separate to being nominated for a team.

- The results of the match must be sent to the Competition Secretary (Rob Sanders) and the Grading Officer (Dave Wild) with 7 days of the match, in order to claim your points. Failure to send in the teams results in time will result in 0 points. Yes, thats a big fat lonely zero - so please do be prompt!

EACU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

2009-10-08T18:48:00.004+01:00

Tim
See below.
Could you circulate this round all Suffolk clubs please.
We really need some Suffolk entries and there are no county matches untill next year.
Thank you
Patrick (Ribbands)

EACU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
Open and Minor
Saturday 21st November 2009
Whittlesford Memorial Hall, Mill Lane, Whittlesford CB22 4NE

Teams consist of 4 players from an EACU club; that is one located in or affiliated to Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk or Suffolk.Linton are the 2009 champions so this will actually be the 2010 championship.
The Minor is a team with an average grade under 150. This just means the aggregate grade for the team must be under 600 though for this calculation anyone with a grade under 100 will be taken as 100. If there is sufficient demand there could be another lower graded section so let me know if you would be interested in that.

Hopefully there will be an inscribed digital clock for the team with most game points in each category but this may depend on the number of entries. The event uses the county match format of 2 rounds starting at 10.00 and 2.30 with a time limit of 36 moves in 90 minutes then 20 minutes to finish the game. As there are no county matches untill the New Year this is an opportunity to get into practice!

The exact format of the competition will depend on the number of entries.The entry fee is £20 per team payable on the day.
Tea and coffee will be provided free of charge. For other requirements the village shop is just a short walk away.

Enquiries and entries should be made to ribbs@waitrose.com or to 01223 842197. Entries by 15th November please though an early indication that you might raise a team would also be much appreciated.

Bury Chess Congress

2009-10-02T13:20:00.002+01:00

The always excellent Bury St Edmunds Chess Congree is only a month away.
Given that the Braintree Congress didn't go ahead due to lack of entries, it might be a good idea that if you know that you're going to enter - to do it soon!
Entry form is:
http://www.adrian.elwin.btinternet.co.uk/EACU/BuryCongress2009.pdf

Also, another blogsite wrote quite a nice piece for the tournament and Bob Jones.
You can find it scrolling down the following page a bit:
http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

Charity Blitz Event

2009-09-22T21:11:00.002+01:00

The Charity Chess event at Churches Bar (Ipswich) on 14th September was quite a success!

In the 'amateur' competition, 12 Novices took part. Quite a number of the players were from co-organisers the Deben Rotoract Club and few more were from the Poker league that takes place on Thursday evenings at the Ransomes Social club.
The winner was Helen Dickenson with a maximum 5 out of 5. Second was Michelle Johnson with 4 out of 5. And equal 3rd were Harriet Warriner, Sarah Walker, Chris Chatterton and Rexie Maton all with 3 points. The novices mostly coped with the Blitz time limit of 5 minutes but it seemed all had a fun evening.

The section entitled the 'professional' section had 14 competitors.
First was GM Jonathon Levitt with a maximum 5 from 5. Second was IM Adam Hunt with 4. In joint 3rd was Stephen Gregory, Mark Weidman, Michael Clapham, Martin Fogg and Gordon Maton each with 3 points.

A number of prizes (bottles of wine, and chess books) were given out to the winners and runners-up. A few prizes also went out in the raffle.

In all, £120 was raised on the night for the Ipswich Diabetic Clinic.
Thanks to everyone who took part, those who helped in the organising, and thanks to Geoff for opening up the Churches Bar especially for or event to take place.

SCCA AGM - junior chess, your thoughts needed

2009-09-04T15:51:00.005+01:00

Hello all,

At the SCCA AGM, I said that we would try and get a discussion on the issues of junior chess going, which will culminate in a meeting which will invite delegates from all clubs. The primary aim is to increase the interest at junior level - both the children and perhaps the adult support also. It was also to be discussed whether funding can be made available for junior chess.

At present we have a few motivated individuals that are running junior chess, but without the structure of an overall organisation. It is hoped that the different groups, (namely: Woodbridge School, Bury Knights, Ipswich Junior and Schools competition organisers) can communicate throughout these discussion.

The topics are open to anything relating to junior chess.

Please click the 'comments' word or the header title to access the comments.

Here are a few topics to get us underway.

Q1. How can we encourage more junior chess at Adult club level?

Q2. How can we encourage more junior chess at junior clubs?

Q3. How can we encourage more chess at schools?

Q4. Do we need more organisation in order to get Adults to help with the junior chess scene.

Q5. How can we help increase the chess ability of the current junior players?

Q6. Does junior chess need more funding?
Q7. If so, where can that money come from?

Q8. How can we make coaching more accessible to more children?

Q9. Are all child protection issues currently dealt with sufficiently within Suffolk Chess?

SCCA AGM - Constitution: your comments needed!

2009-09-04T15:32:00.004+01:00

Dear county members, the following is the current text (3/9/9) for the SCCA Constitution. I will also e-mail copies round (if anyone not receiving one would like one, please contact me). The aim here is to start a discussion on draft we have, and for people to raise and argue issues. On Monday 28th September, and committee will meet to put a wording to the draft based on the discussions held. After the 28th Sept meeting, the draft will be circulated prior to a meeting where all members will be invited to attend and vote. This second meting will some 3 weeks or more after the initial meeting. Please do start a discussion within the comments of this post.

Suffolk County Chess Association
Constitution
1. Name
The Association shall be called the Suffolk County Chess Association and hereinafter referred to as SCCA within this document.
2. Work of the SCCA
The Object of the SCCA is to organise, encourage and promote adult and junior chess throughout Suffolk, including appropriate surrounding areas, and to represent players and clubs from that area by affiliating to the English Chess Federation (ECF) and the East Anglian Chess Union (EACU).
The SCCA may, subject to resources:
(a) organise teams to compete in the EACU Championship;
(b) organise competitions between clubs and individuals of all strengths, for which the SCCA shall offer trophies and prizes;
(c) publish the Suffolk Chess Journal, which is available by subscription.
3. Membership
Any chess club that has its meeting place in the county of Suffolk, including appropriate surrounding areas, and any other chess clubs as shall be admitted by the SCCA in General Meeting, may (subject to any ruling pursuant to Article 8) affiliate to the SCCA.
Affiliated Club members shall (subject to any ruling pursuant to Article 8) be those members of an Affiliated Club whose names are contained in its official list of members, which must be sent to the Secretary of the SCCA if so requested.
4. Committee
The SCCA shall consist of the following officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Competition Secretary, County Team Captains, Suffolk Junior chess representative, Women’s chess representative, Correspondence chess captain, Suffolk Chess Journal editor, County results officer.
The SCCA shall be governed by a Committee composed of:
(a) President, Vice-President, Secretary, Competition Secretary, and Treasurer;
(b) such other Office holders as deemed necessary
(c) up to six such other members as the AGM shall elect.
The committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy occurring during the year and to co-opt up to three additional members.
The Committee shall meet at least once a year. On at least two other occasions the Secretary should ask the committee if a meeting is deemed necessary, and if anyone person says yes then a meeting will be called.
The President shall, if present, be Chair of Committee and shall be responsible for the smooth running of the SCCA, and, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, and subject to any powers specifically reserved to another Officer or Subcommittee, shall have the authority to take such actions as may be necessary to achieve this. In the absence of the President one of the other Officers specified in group (a) shall Chair a meeting.
Five members of Committee shall form a quorum. If within an hour from the time appointed for holding a committee meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall stand adjourned to another day, within 21 days, to be fixed by the Secretary. And if at such adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within an hour from the time appointed for holding the meeting, those members present shall form a quorum. If any Committee member is unable to attend a meeting, he may give any other Committee member a proxy vote in writing to be used as he directs, provided written notification is also given to the Chair. Each member shall have one vote except the Chair who in the event of equality of votes shall have the casting vote only.
Committee shall manage all tournaments and competitions arranged by the SCCA, and shall, if necessary, appoint Controllers and/or Arbiters.
Any member of the Committee wishing to submit an item for inclusion on the agenda shall inform the Secretary not less than 21 days before the meeting. The Secretary shall give members 14 days notice of the date of each meeting together with an Agenda detailing all items to be discussed and the Minutes of the previous Committee Meeting.
The Secretary of each Affiliated Club shall send to the appropriate Officer any such information regarding membership as Committee may from time to time decide.
5. General Meetings
The Secretary shall send notice of any General Meeting to the Vice-President, Officers, Committee Members and Affiliated Clubs at least 14 days prior to the date of the meeting.
The President shall, if present, chair any General Meeting unless he/she is absent when the meeting will be chaired by the Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer
5.1. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of members shall be held on or about the first Tuesday of September each year.
5.2. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by the secretary:
(a) upon a resolution of the Committee
(b) upon a requisition signed by 20 individual members of Affiliated Clubs.
Such a resolution or signed requisition shall state clearly the reason for calling such a meeting, which shall be the only business transacted at that meeting. The Secretary shall call the meeting within 21 days of the resolution or receipt of the requisition except where the purpose of the meeting is the proposal of a change to the Constitution or the Rules, in which case the meeting shall be called within the month following the notice period specified in Article 11.
A quorum for an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be 12 for the purposes of (a) and (b) above, and in the case of (b) above shall include at least ten of the signatories to the requisition. If a quorum is not present within an hour of the time called for the meeting, no further meeting shall be called and the resolution shall be held to be abandoned.
6. Subcommittees
The SCCA shall elect such Subcommittees as required for the smooth running of the SCCA.
7. Smoking
Smoking shall not be permitted at any of the following:
General Meetings, Committee Meetings, Subcommittee Meetings and home county matches.
8. Conduct
The SCCA relies on the good conduct of members and others playing in events organised by it, and appropriate sanctions may be taken against individuals of Affiliated Clubs whose conduct is unsatisfactory or whose actions are detrimental to the SCCA. The SCCA or appointed Subcommittees shall rule on such matters.
Where not specifically covered by SCCA rules the following shall apply:
(a) Any members of an Affiliated Club acting through its Secretary, may notify the appropriate Competitions Controller/Officer in writing of any complaint regarding the conduct of one or more individuals and/or Affiliated Clubs, hereinafter known as the Individual.
(b) The Officer concerned shall notify the Individual (the Secretary in the case of an Affiliated Club) in writing of the complaint and request a formal reply to the accusation in writing within 7 days.
(c) The Officer concerned shall bring the matter to the attention of the SCCA Committee the Chair of which shall appoint/elect a Complaints Subcommittee. No person involved in the complaint, nor any member of either club, shall sit at any meeting of the Complaints Subcommittee to consider the complaint.
(d) A Complaints Subcommittee will be convened and may consider such written and other evidence it thinks fit and may invite any person to submit written evidence, or to appear. Individuals (the Secretary or his nominated representative in the case of Affiliated Clubs) shall have the right to submit written evidence or to appear before the Subcommittee.
(e) The Complaints Subcommittee may impose sanctions against the Individual to the extent that it finds the complaint to be proved in whole or in part. Sanctions may include (but are not limited to) suspension of or exclusion from membership (for an Individual), suspensions or loss of affiliation (for a Club), and the exclusion from one or more competitions organised by the SCCA, and may be for a fixed or an indefinite period. The ruling of the Complaints Subcommittee shall be communicated in writing to the Individual (Secretary in the case of an Affiliated Club) within one week of the decision, which shall be final.
9. Finance
The SCCA's financial year shall run from 1 May to 30 April.
The assets of the SCCA shall vest in the Treasurer, who shall hold them as trustee for its members.
The Treasurer shall keep proper financial records recording transactions of the SCCA and shall present a current statement of the finances of the SCCA to all Committee Meetings. The County Team-Captains shall be responsible for receiving board-fees from members of County teams sufficient to cover the costs of accommodation and refreshments at each venue and these transactions will not be recorded in the SCCA accounts. In the later stages of Inter-County Competitions where travelling costs may be higher SCCA may provide a contribution to Team-Captains.
At the Annual General Meeting, the Treasurer shall present, and report on accounts of the SCCA for the year just ended. The Committee will decide from time to time whether it is necessary for the accounts to be reviewed or whether a formal audit is required.
Affiliated Clubs shall pay entry fees as determined by members at the SCCA AGM for club competitions. If so decided an Affiliation fee shall be paid by each Club. Fees shall be paid by 31 October.
Each Club will provide the Treasurer with contact details of its Official responsible for paying fees. The Treasurer shall by 30 September issue each Affiliated Club an invoice for any outstanding dues in respect of the current season's affiliation and club competition fees. The Treasurer will remind Clubs if payment is not received by 31 December will incur a 5% surcharge per month or part thereof. Failure to pay before 31 December may be considered unsatisfactory conduct within the scope of Article 8.
10. Trophies
The SCCA shall maintain:
　
(a) Trophy called the "Whiteley" Challenge Cup – Suffolk Chess Clubs Championship.
(b) Silver Plated two handled Cup – Suffolk League Division 2.
(c) A Hallmarked Silver, shallow bowled two handled Cup – Suffolk Chess Association Ladies County Championships.
(d) A Wooden Shield "Sir Henry Warner Shield" – Suffolk County Chess Association Schools Chess Championship.
(e) A Wooden Shield – Suffolk County Chess Association – Under 15 Inter Schools Competition.
(f) A Wooden Shield – Suffolk School Chess – Under 14 Team trophy.
(g) A Wooden Shield – Suffolk County Chess Association – Division IV winners
(h) A Wooden Rectangular Plaque – Suffolk Under 14 League Champions.
(I) A Trophy for Girls Tournament – Suffolk Junior Championships.
(j) A Cup – Suffolk U125 winners.
(k) County Championship, presented by Suffolk Chess Association. Two handled silver cup, first presented 1935.
(l) Suffolk U21 Champion. Rectangular wooden plaque. First presented 1989.
(m) SCCA Swiss Tournament trophy, a silver plated 2 handled cup
(n) Suffolk Chess League Cup , 2006
(o) Silver plated two handled cup – Suffolk League Div 3 winners
　
　
These trophies, other than those held by Suffolk Junior Chess for use in competitions organised by SJC, shall be presented to the winner or their representatives at the AGM following a date set for the completion of the competition, or if this is not practicable, at an occasion suitable by SCCA.
These trophies shall be returned to the SCCA by 30 April immediately succeeding the AGM at which the presentation was made. The holders of the trophies shall be responsible for their safe conduct and return, and in the case of loss or damage to the trophies, shall pay to the SCCA the cost of making good such loss or damage. Failure to return any trophy on time may be considered unsatisfactory conduct within the scope of Article 8.
11. Amendments
Any amendments to the Constitution may be made only by the SCCA in General Meeting. Any such amendment shall require at least two-thirds of the votes cast and for this purpose, SCCA Club competitions for a season shall be treated as having commenced at the conclusion of the previous AGM.
(a) Any amendment to the rules may be made by the SCCA in General Meeting, but shall not be effective as regards a competition already in progress. Any such amendment shall require a simple majority of the votes cast.
(b) Notice of amendment shall be put in the form of a resolution, the exact wording of which shall be sent to the Secretary, for consideration by the SCCA Committee as to being proper for an AGM, for inclusion on the AGM Agenda, no later than 14 April.
Either the proposer or seconder of any resolution put before a General Meeting must be present otherwise the motion is automatically lost.
The notice period shall be two months for all other proposals.
　

SCCA AGM - two posts to fill

2009-09-04T15:23:00.002+01:00

Hi,

After the recent SCCA AGM (Tues 1st Sept), we are left with 2 roles that are not filled.

The first is Secretary. This post will include a position on the Executive Committee. The Secretary's role is the taking and typing og minutes at the AGM and any meetings, and also contacting club secretaries with any information that they require from the SCCA.

The second role is U120's captain. This role last was U100's but has been rebadged with the increase in grades. This therefore the U100's captains role of last year. The captain will need to get a team of 12 together for either 1 or 2 weekends based at Thetford. If the team qualifies for the national stages, a venue will also need to be arranged with the opposing captain.

We really need to fill these roles, so please do someone step forward. If you can think of someone else who could be interested, do inform them of the situation.

3rd September, Coaching with Harriet Hunt

2009-08-30T11:14:00.000+01:00

Next Thursday, 3 September, IM Harriet Hunt will be coming to Bury to coach Under 125s (new grades). With a maximum of 16 attending, there are still a few vacancies. Please let me know soon if you'd like to come. Cost £5.00 each. Start 7.30 pm at Moreton Hall Community Centre.

Bob Jones (bobjoneschess@btinternet.com)

Suffolk County Chess Association AGM 2009

2009-08-27T20:29:00.007+01:00

The SCCA AGM takes place on Tuesday 1st September, 7:30pm, at the Ipswich Chess club.
The following are items that are to be raised at the AGM (supplied by Adrian Sanderson). Please take note of some of the proposals that are mentioned. If you wish to start a discussion on any of the issues here, please press the word "comments" beneath this post and leave your message or question.

Proposals of the Executive Committee to be considered at the Annual General Meeting of the SCCA to be held on Tuesday, 1 September 2009.

Agenda 4 – Each Year an Executive Committee comprising President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Competition Secretary and any other members as are deemed necessary by the President will meet in June to discuss and agree proposals for consideration at the AGM to be held the following September.

Agenda 5 – A draft Constitution Document has been prepared following discussions between members. It is proposed that a Constitution Meeting be fixed (suggested 28 September at Quay, Sudbury) at which those present be authorised to agree the final wording of the Constitution. Any member entitled to attend this AGM may become a delegate to take part in the Constitution Meeting decisions.

Agenda 6 – Team Captains must provide a list of Registered Players for their Club together with a list of Nominated Players from within that list to the Competition Secretary in September. Any additional Registrations must be notified to the Competition Secretary before taking part in any match on penalty of disqualification. Team Captains must E-mail every match result to both the Competition Secretary and County Results Officer within four days following the due date of each match. It is proposed by the Competition Secretary that - "if a result is not received after 4 days, then the match will be scored 0-0."

Agenda 7 – Following the changes in Grade Calculations it is proposed that for the Suffolk League Cup the limits set for maximum grades for individuals be set at 160 for Board 2 (previously 145), 140 Board 3 (120), 120 Board 4 (95) with any defaulted Boards graded as 119 (94). The total team grade limit should be 570 (500).

Agenda 8 – It is proposed that the u125 and u100 knock-out Cups be redesignated u145 and u125 respectively

Agenda 9 – Suffolk Rapidplay Cup proposal by the Competition Secretary: -I propose we organise a new competition - the Suffolk Rapidplay Cup. This tournament will have the same rules as the Suffolk League Cup, except -a. Matches will consist of 2 rapidplay games of 30 minutes each. The home team will have black on odd boards in the first match and colours will be reversed in the second. The 2 match scores will then be added and the team with the highest aggregate will win.b. The Rapidplay Cup will be run on a knockout basis.c. Matches will take place over 3 weeks in January, February and March.

Agenda 10 – A self-financing closed Suffolk Championship between the top six graded players in the county, who wish to participate is proposed for the start of 2010 if this can be organised by the president following discussions with the likely participants.

SCCA Officer post that need filling at the AGM:

Secretary;
1st Team captain;
U140's Team captain (retitled from old grade - U125's);
U120's Team captan (retitled from old grade - U100's);
U100's Team captain (new post if team entered into competition).

It is very important that these roles are filled for the county to function.

Bury Cannons event on Thursday 20th August

2009-08-17T22:53:00.001+01:00

Hi Tim

Bury Cannons (yes, we are still 'Cannons' until the end of August, when we become the Bury St Edmunds Chess Club) will be holding a Gambit Tournament this Thursday, 20 August at Moreton Hall Community Centre (start 7.30 pm). The attached sheet explains how this will work. In each of four rounds, games will start from a published position; you won't know whether to expect White or Black. Hence, any advance study will need to be approached from either side of the board.

The four gambits being used are: Round 1 - King's Bishop Gambit; 2 - Blackmar-Diemer Gambit; 3 - Schara (Hennig-Schara) Gambit; 4 - Icelandic Gambit.

Anyone is welcome - just £1.00 entry fee to pay. Prizes for winner and 'best under x'.

Regards
Bob

Charity Chess Blitz Tournament - Monday 14th Sept

2009-08-17T18:33:00.002+01:00

Hello,

News of a charity blitz tournament!!
The event is organised by the Deben Rotaract club http://www.debenrotaract.org.uk/.
I (Tim) will be running the tournament, and Adele (who say "Hi") has chosen the Ipswich Diabetic Clinic as the charity to receive the money raised.
[Ipswich Chess club (well,Tim Lunn, Michael Clapham & Stephen Gregory) were runners up in the Rotaract charity Quiz in July]

The event will be held at Churches Bistro bar (behinh McDonalds on Ipswich high street) on Monday 14th September, starting at 7:30pm.

There will be two tournaments:
The first will be a 6 round swiss armaggedon blitz tournament. This will be for 'professionals', those who have played for a club and have a grade. This will be open, but with a graded section within.
The 'ameteur' tournament, will be for those who have not had a grade and have never played in a club. This will be a 6 round blitz tournament.

If you wish to play, please leave a comment or e-mail me direct.

Suffolk County Chess Association AGM

2009-08-10T16:31:00.005+01:00

The date for the AGM is now fixed.
It will take place on Tuesday 1st September at the Ipswich Chess Club, 7:30pm.

If any one wishes to raise an issue, please contact Adrian Sanderson or myself (Tim Lunn) by e-mail or phone.
Rob Sanders will also require information for the league composition. If any club secretaries or representative knows how many teams they wish to enter, and in which cups they wish to take part then please e-mail Rob Sanders or myself with the details.

If anyone would like to be Captain and run either the County First team or (as was) the County U100's team, please contact me. The posts will be available this coming AGM.

As raised on this blog, I would like to get the Suffolk titles back in circulation. According to the polls held here, this will involve a closed Tournament in the New Year. Mark Weidman of Adastral Park has made some interesting proposals, and I hope that this is something that can be confirmed at the AGM.

Suffolk Players at the British Championships

2009-08-10T16:15:00.004+01:00

This year the British Chess Championships returned to Torquay.
More than just a tournament, the British is more of a chess festival. With tournaments to cater for all requirements the British often attracts around 1000 competitors over the two week period.
As well as adult sections, and seniors, hundreds of the top juniors in the country take part.

This year I am only aware of two Suffolk players taking part. Sadly I didn't notice the name of any juniors. If you are aware of any Suffolk chess players taking part, please leave me some details and I'll give them a deserved mention.

Keith Woodcock of Ipswich was first to particpate. Keith scored 3 out of 5 in the Weekend U110 tournament (starting Friday night, with a further two rounds a day over the weekend).
Keith followed this by taking part in the 2nd week afternoon swiss. This was an Open 5 round tournament that featured a GM! Keith again scored 3 out of 5, just missing out on a grading prize.

Michael Cook (also of Ipswich) took part in the Seniors tournament. The tournament was FIDE rated. Michael was 15th seed out of 30 participants and scored 4 out of 7. This saw him gaining some FIDE rating points from the tournament.

In the main Championship, teenager David Howell is British Champion (and U21's, U18's and English Champion). Jovanka Houska is the British Women's Champion (and also the English Women's Champion).

Suffolk junior plays chess for England

2009-07-24T16:22:00.003+01:00

Anna Egorova (who recently played in Suffolks U125's nationally successful team) has been selected to play for an English girls team.

The Glorney and Faber Cups are international chess team competitions for players aged under 18. It's a four nations match featuring England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales.

And I'm pleased to report, that after 2 rounds, Anna is going well with 1.5/2.

For more details go to: http://chessscotland.com/international/junior/Glorney2009/Home.html

Event at Bury Cannons Chess club

2009-07-07T12:34:00.002+01:00

From Bob Jones:

Everyone is invited to the Bury Cannons Chess Club on Thursday (9 July) for a six-round Lightning Tournament. The buzzer will sound every 10 seconds, so you have 20 seconds between each of your moves.

Prizes for the winner and best Junior.

Just £1.00 to pay. Be there for a 7.30 start.

Regards
Bob

2009-07-06T23:41:00.004+01:00

From Bob Jones:

On 23 June, Suffolk Under 18s played Norfolk Under 18s in a Challenge Match, at Thetford. With four of our top players unavailable (Ed Venmore-Rowland, Tom Huband, Alan Merry, Chris Dickinson), a somewhat weaker team was selected. Suffolk 'borrowed' Chris Davison from Cambridge, although he did play for Newmarket in the Bury League's Rapidplay Tournament this year (so he qualified, really...)

Norfolk had defaulted on bottom board already, but on the evening, their Board 4 failed to turn up, so Suffolk started with a 2-0 advantage.

Results went Norfolk's way, until near the end of the three-hour playing period, there were three games remaining and a score of 5-4 to Norfolk. Anna Egorova managed to draw; Chris Davison also drew (though he was somewhat fortunate as his opponent missed better moves in time trouble), leaving Joe Fitzsimons, who was under extreme pressure in his game. With less than a minute remaining on both clocks, Joe's opponent blundered, allowing a snap mate on g2. So the final score was 6-6 - an honourable draw.

UNDER 18 CHALLENGE MATCH
23 June 2009
Suffolk v Norfolk
Board Suffolk Club Grade Result Norfolk Club Grade
1 Chris Davison Newmarket 154 ½-½ William Boulton Norfolk & Norwich 148
2 Dominik Lander Ipswich 144 0 - 1 Gordon Scott Norfolk & Norwich 131
3 Anna Egorova Woodbridge 118 ½-½ Gabriel Barr Norfolk & Norwich 114
4 John Wheatley Sudbury e110 1 - 0 (Default)
5 Patrick Stevens Woodbridge 100 0 - 1 Chu-Kwei Wong King’s Lynn 80R
6 Joe Fitzsimons Bury Cannons 95 1 - 0 Nick Franklin Norfolk & Norwich 88
7 Sam Gaffney Woodbridge 82 0 - 1 S Gibbs e90
8 Greg Ellis Bury Cannons 80 1 - 0 Jack Walker Norfolk & Norwich 59R
9 Peter Newton Bury Cannons 72R 0 - 1 Robert Haynes e90
10 Harry McCrea Bury Bandits 43 1 - 0 Ryan Haynes Norfolk & Norwich 87
11 Gabriel Storey Bury Bandits 37R 0 - 1 Adam Dougall e80
12 George Horan Bury Cannons 52R 1 - 0 (Default)

FINAL SCORE
6 - 6

County Upper School success in Bury St. Edmunds

2009-07-06T23:27:00.005+01:00

From Bob Jones:
click the picture to read the article..

Alan Merry wins EACU chess grand prix

2009-07-06T18:50:00.007+01:00

Congratulations to Alan Merry for winning the first EACU grand prix. The grand prix was made up of county matches, EACU congresses (Bury, St. Edmunds, Grt Yarmouth & Newmarket) as well as EACU rapidplays.

The top ten were:

Player Club Grade Total
Alan MERRY Bury Cannons (130) 31.0
Jonathan BURROWS Norwich Dons (142) 29.5
John DAUGMAN Cambridge City (142) 29.0
Ashley STEWART Cambridge City (142) 27.0
Chris DAVISON Cambridge City (154) 26.0
Steve MOORE Norwich Dons (150) 25.0
Patrick RIBBANDS Cambridge City (134) 25.0
Stephen GREGORY Ipswich (173) 24.5
Shaun MUNSON Ipswich (180) 24.5

Suffolk U125's are National chess champions!

2009-07-05T18:58:00.013+01:00

From the Captain, Jakob Tulic:

Dear winners of U125 County Championships 2009.
You did achieve the impossible. We won. YOU WON !!! Nobody can say that we won by the skin of our teeth, it was convicing win 10 to 6.
Now you ARE the real TEAM.
It was great pleasure and great honour to be your captain.
Thank you
Jakob

The team before the final...
(Click on photo for a closer look)

From John Lambert:

"Suffolk U125 10 Kent U125 6

CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND

Once again Jakob' U125 Team overcame Stronger Opposition Winning The National Counties U125 Championship, in beating Kent we proved to be the best County team at our level of over 40 County Entrants.

BLUE ARMY HEROS

Captain Jakob Tulic for reviving the team following last years debacle.

Luke Hill played all eight matches with out Losing a game, Martin Fogg came in at the harder national stages and won all four games, Keith McMillan won five out of six games, Phil Revell was unbeaten in five games as was Anna Egorova. Winners in the Final included Mark Bettly, John Wheatley and Carl Phillips.

Footsoldiers in the Final were Ed Kirkham, Melvin Steele, John Lambert, Keith Woodcock, Mike Coughtrey, Dave Wild and Mark Weidman.

Squad members who contributed in earlier rounds were Colin Roberts, Alonso Paez, Adrian Sanderson, Stephen Lewis, Kevin Abbott and Richard Doyle.

Magnificent effort by one and all

John Lambert - Deputy Captain"

The victorious team...

Captain Jakob Tulic (on the right) and assistant John Lambert...

Report (extract) on ECF website by ECF counties championship organizer Cyril Johnson:
http://www.englishchess.org.uk/
Suffolk regained the U125 trophy which they had last held in 1995 by a 10-6 win over Kent. The fact that Suffolk did not lose a game on the lower half of the match went a long way towards their win.

Clacton Chess Club competitions

2009-07-03T23:50:00.000+01:00

From John Lambert:

Clacton end of season internal comps may be newsworthy, David Pearce won the Swiss Handicap ( PK Shield) I won the 10 min rapid play, beating Andrew, David, Melvin and all others who entered bar Mike Coughtrey.

Hopefully we can report a Suffolk U125 Win tomorrow

Norfolk & Suffolk cup final

2009-06-23T09:27:00.002+01:00

Having defeated Bury Cannons, Ipswich went on to play in the Norfolk and Suffolk Cup final. Their opponents (as nearly always) were Norfolk & Norwich chess club.
The Ipswich team looked better on paper but with the Norwich side fielding a few promising juniors.

First to finish was Mike Cook. Mike withstood some kingside pressure from his opponent to end up a pawn to the good. But his opponent had used a lot of time in attack and lost on time.
Next Tim Lunn agreed to a perpetual, though on later analysis there may have been winning chances in the endgame. However, I had only considered one possible winning idea which my opponent had covered.
John Feavyour played a controlled game. He won the queen for two minor pieces, weathered a bit of pressure, then tactically out did his opponent. A solid win.
In a complicated game, Shaun Munson could not contain his opponents advanced coupled pawns despite having won the exchange.
The match stood 2.5-1.5 with two matches remaining. We were down in both! And with the loss on top board, a tied match, would be in favour of the Norwich side due to board count.
We needed one point from the two games, but Ian Wallis was a pawn down with slight drawing possibilities but mostly lost (and did in fact lose in the last game to finish). Stephen Gregory was sacrificing the whole of his queenside (3 pawns) in the hope of delivering mate. It didn't look like it was going to be possible, but Stephens opponent missed an idea and Stephen got his mate, and winning us the match!

Ipswich 3.5 - 2.5 Norfolk & Norwich
Shaun Munson 0-1 Stephen Orton
Stephen Gregory 1-0 Ben Collinson
Michael Cook 1-0 Gerd Wagner
Tim Lunn 0.5-0.5 William Boulton
Ian Wallis 0-1 Gordon Scott
John Feavyour 1-0 Gabriel Barr

News from Bury Cannons Chess Club

2009-06-17T12:44:00.004+01:00

From Bob Jones:

1: Bury Cannons Chess Club will, as from 1 September, be known as the Bury St Edmunds Chess Club (as agreed at our AGM last week).

2: Winners of the Bury Cannons Club Championship this year are:
Open section - Alan Watkins; Under 100 - shared by Yvonne Freiherr and Dave Clark.

3: Bury Cannons meet alternate Thursdays over the summer, with various events such as a 10-minute tournament, lightning tournament, and a gambit tournament taking place.
Everyone welcome, including members of other clubs.
Meeting dates 25 June, 9 July, 23 July, 6 August, 20 August.
Then on 3 September, IM Harriet Hunt will be providing coaching for Under 125s (using the new gradings). Cost £3.00 each.

[Coaching from an IM looks like an opportunity not to be missed! - TL]

Social Chess in Ipswich

2009-06-17T12:39:00.002+01:00

Ipswich chess club has now closed for the season until next September.
However, chess players are meeting at Churches bar (path opposite club entrance - behind McDonalds).
We are meeting on Wednesday evenings, and arrive typically between 8:30 and 9pm. There are a few boards behind the bar at present, though bringing a small set might help if we have larger numbers.
Anyone is welcome!

Contact me (Tim) if you want to check if we're going on a particular day, else just turn up - play chess - chat - and drink (nice coffee available also!).

Suffolk Chess Individual Championship

2009-06-17T12:35:00.004+01:00

I asked a question previously as to who was the last Mens (individual) county champion.

Bob Jones commented:
"Re the Men's Championship: I have the trophy, handed to me a while ago for safe keeping by Ed Player, whose name is engraved as the last winner in 1998..."

So it has been some time! With Jane Jennings running a successful Ladies Championship, should the Suffolk County Championship be revived? I would say yes!
Running a sponsored tournament may be too big a task, but a closed competition of some sort should be manageable.
Either a single tournament, or through 'regional' matches.

What does anyone think?

[edit: after the first comment to this post I'd like to add some options.
There are a few ways to go.
One option would be to invite the X top graded players. Maybe add in a few top graded juniors.
Another option, would be to just open it up to anyone from Suffolk, though this could affect the final result in a Swiss if too many non-contenders play (similar to awarding prizes within an Open involving people out side of Suffolk - though not quite so bad).
A third option is to have regional qualifiers from different clubs, who then go on to the final.]

County Chess Championships - Finals

2009-06-16T13:01:00.003+01:00

The County Chess Championship finals, for which the Suffolk U125's have succeeded in reaching will take place on:
Saturday 04 July 2009
at Moat College, Leicester.

On the day, all the National finals will take place including the Open, Minor Counties, U175's, U150's, U125's & U100's.

Check out the website:
http://www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/matchbcf.htm
for more details of the previous stages.

Suffolk U125's Chess team in National Final!

2009-06-15T12:48:00.002+01:00

Congtatualtions to the counties U125's team! I'm sure everyone would agree that we wish them every success in the final.

" The Suffolk U125 squad have reached the National Counties Grand Final and will play Kent , with almost all the players outgraded Suffolk beat Warickshire 9 - 7 on 13th June, wins were achieved by Colin Roberts, Anna Egorova, Ed Kirkham, Keith McMillan, Alonso Paez and Martin Fogg. Draws for Phil Revell, Luke Hill, Melvin Steele, Keith Woodcock, John Lambert and Dave Wild. The other squad members were Mark Bettley, Carl Phillips, John Wheatley and Mike Coughtrey.

Many thanks to all the players and of course Captain Jakob who had to miss the match due to a holiday.

John Lambert "

EACU Newmarket Chess Congress

2009-06-09T21:29:00.002+01:00

Several Suffolk players took part in the EACU's last event in the Grand Prix.
The Open was particularly well attended - with the whole top half of the draw being graded above 170.

Suffolk players were in the prizes!
In the Minor section (U100's) the leader from the off was Martin Fogg (Ipswich) who maintained his position to finish in sole first place.
Runner-up was Adele Lunn (Ipswich) finishing in second place.

The Open was won by Chris Briscoe who wins the British Qualifier.

The EACU champion is Shaun Munson through his combined scores in Bury St Edmunds, Great Yarmouth & Newmarket.

Suffolk Chess: Ladies Championship

2009-05-29T22:05:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to Anna!
Anna Egorova has retained her title of Suffolk Ladies Champion.

Anna and Adele Lunn went into the last round both with the maximum 3 out of 3. Anna with the white pieces won the contest (52 moves) to clinch the title.

The other contestants this year were Vicky Allen, Jane Jennings and Mary Gardener, and the event was played as an all-play-all.
Thanks go to Jane for organizing the event.

This brings to mind a quiz question to which I'm not 100% of the answer:
Who was the last winner of the Suffolk Mens Championship title?

Suffolk Chess: club news

2009-05-15T20:52:00.003+01:00

The recent poll on this site suggested that there should be more club news. Please send in any club news that you have (results, championships, events) and I'll post them.

To start us off, I'm happy to announce the Ipswich Club championship results.

Retaining the club championship title is Tim Lunn.
Retaining the ladies title (with a creditable 2pts) is Adele Lunn.

Yep, maybe need some more club news!

Suffolk Chess U125's team

2009-05-15T20:42:00.003+01:00

CONGRATULATIONS to the Suffolk U125's who continue their success. Two messages received:

John Lambert: " Jakob's U125 squad rolls on, 16 travelled to Leicester and beat Yorkshire 10 - 6, wins for Phil Revell, Luke Hill, Jakob Tulic, Carl Phillips, Mike Coughtrey, Dave Wild, Martin Fogg and Richard Doyle draws for Adrian Sanderson, Keith Woodcock, Kevin Abbott and Mark Weidman. Ed Kirkham, Keith McMillan, John Lambert and Alonso Paez also played. A great result as most were outgraded. Bring on Norfolk or Warickshire in the Semis."

Jakob (The Captain): To the kind attention of all members of Suffolk County U125 team.
WE WON ! Result was 10 to 6. WOW !!!
As one of our young players said we are now one of four best national county teams. We have to wait Saturday 16th of May to see who we play in semi-final, Warickshire or Norfolk. The date is Saturday 13th of June but I will try for Sunday 7th of June. We are away team again but this time it cannot be as far as today.
Thank you.
Jakob
Ps. I will be away from home for 3 days, to celebrate ? Yes,why not .

Suffolk League & Cup chess results

2009-05-15T20:26:00.003+01:00

Ipswich and Bury Cannons teams take the remaining titles:

Division 1: Ipswich B win the league title.

Division 2: Bury Cannons B take the title ahead of Stowmarket by 2.5 points.

Suffolk Cup Final, Bury Cannons v Ipswich
Watkins, Alan 159 0 - 1 Spence, David 197
Taylor, Michael 155 ½ - ½ Munson, Shaun 180
Merry, Alan 130 0 - 1 Gregory, Stephen 173
Pott, Laurie 131 0 - 1 Wallis, Ian 163
Taylor, Scott 131 0 - 1 Cook, Michael 167
Le-Vine, Mark 123 ½ - ½ Greenacre, Kevin 152

U100's Final, Bury Cannons v Ipswich
Harrison, Paul 95 1 - 0 Fogg, Martin 93
Szentmihaly, Charles 94 1 - 0 Smith, Roger 86
Myhill, Richard 93 1 - 0 Spalding, Michael 71
Lovell, Steve (e95) 1 - 0 Moss, Steve 47

Great Yarmouth Chess Congress

2009-05-15T20:17:00.004+01:00

The Great Yarmouth congress took place in late April.
Suffolk was extemely well represented.

Shaun Munson came 2nd in the Open, with Stephen Gregory in 3rd place.

In the Minor section Roger Smith had a good tournament and came joint 2nd.
Also in the Minor section, Adele Lunn took the grading prize.

There were also fine results by Luke Hill, Anna Egorova, Martin Fogg & Steve Moss performing above their gradings.

Also taking part were: Tim Lunn, Ian Wallis, Alan Merry, Keith Woodcock & Gordon Chapman. Apologies to any other Suffolk players not listed.

Several other Suffolk players were present, and all enjoyed the event and evening out.

Short holiday (but squeezed in some chess)

2009-05-15T20:09:00.009+01:00

Hi, apologies for not updating recently - but we (the Lunns) have been away on a short break.

Picture is me and Adele playing chess in Central Park (New York).

Despite being on holiday, we managed 3 visits to the chess area within the park.

Also we visited the chess set shop/open house/coffee shop/free for all - called the Village Chess shop were we squeezed a few more games in while downtown.

League Chess: Division 2 (and player of seasons)

2009-05-01T12:51:00.004+01:00

In Division 2, Stowmarket sit at the top of the table. However, Bury Cannons 'B' need to only take 1 point from Bury Cannons 'C' to clinch the title. The only other remaining match is Ipswich 'C' vs Saxmundham which could see the Ipswich side take 3rd ahead of Mannningtree.

Current player of the seasons for Division 2 are:
Adam Hunt (226) Woodbridge School 100.00% 8/8
Stephen Lewis (110) Stowmarket 81.25% 6½/8
Adele Lunn (67) Ipswich 77.78% 7/9 [1 game remaining]

Current player of the seasons for Division 1 are:
Laurie Pott (131) Bury Cannons 100.00% 6/6 [1 game remaining]
David Spence (197) Ipswich 92.86% 6½/7
Michael Cook (167) Ipswich 85.71% 6/7 [1 game remaining]

Suffolk League Chess: Finals night, Part 1

2009-04-30T12:29:00.005+01:00

Tuesday 28th saw the first installment of Finals night, organised by competition secretary Rob Sanders.

In the League Cup final, Ipswich faced Bury Cannons. In the League Cup grades must total under 500 (else conform to the bandings). The Cannons side had the much higher grade total (498 to 473) meaning that Ipswich would benifit from a draw.
The match got off to a good start for Ipswich with Steve Moss defeating is higher ranked opponent. Needing just 1 more point, the rest of the team duly obliged ending up with a good 4-0 victory. Well done to the Ipswich team.

Ipswich 4 - 0 Bury Cannons
Shaun Munson (180) 1 - 0 Alan Watkins (159)
Luke Hill (120) 1 - 0 Scott Taylor (131)
Les Jones (126) 1 - 0 Bob Jones (127)
Steve Moss (47) 1 - 0 Hugo Smith (81)

In the Under 125's cup final Adastral Park faced Manningtree. Congratulations to Adastral for a fine victory.

Manningtree ½ - 3½ Adastral Park
Carl Phillips (109) 0 - 1 John McAllister (119)
John Price (95) ½ - ½ Dave Wild (97)
William Eckhart (74) 0 - 1 Mark Weidman (78)
Rob Kelly (e94) 0 - 1 Richard Doyle (62)

On the same night, Ipswich 'B' took a step closer to winning Division 1 with 4-0 win over Saxmundham. This means that Ipswich 'B' need only score ½ point versus Bury Cannons on Tuesday to secure the Championship.

Finals night, Part 2 takes place on Thursday 7th May. The Norfolk & Suffolk Cup final will be contested by Ipswich and Bury Cannons, and the U100's Cup final will be between Ipswich and Bury Cannons also.

Chess in the sun?

2009-04-24T12:45:00.007+01:00

With quite a number of players expected from Suffolk, Great Yarmouth chess congress takes place this weekend.
This event is one of three (Bury & Newmarket also) that makes up the EACU Grand Prix, so there are more points up for grabs.

Suffolk players have been in the prizes in the past, so good luck to everyone going! Let's hope for more Suffolk success.

Victory for the Suffolk U125's!

2009-04-19T13:21:00.005+01:00

Congratulations to the Suffolk U125's chess team. Two messages received:

John Lambert: Jakob steers U125's to Victory, Suff 8.5 Herts 7.5 wins for Phil Revell, Keith McMillan, Stephen Lewis, Alonso Paez & Martin Fogg plenty of draws made up win score

Jakob Tulic (Captain): Dear members of Suffolk County U125 team.
First to let you know that today we won the match with Herts by 8.5 to 7.5. It was apsolute thriller and only the last game and win of Phil Revell on board one gave us victory. I was very happy because I could see that each of you tried hard to win. Thank you.
NOW !. In the quarter final we play with Yorkshire.

Suffolk players top the EACU Grand Prix

2009-04-16T22:41:00.010+01:00

Suffolk chess players Michael Clapham (2nd), Alan Merry (4th) & Mark Le-Vine (5th) [correction: Mark Le-Vine (of Bury Cannons) qualifies for Suffolk but plays for Norfolk] are in the top 5 of the EACU Grand Prix (as of 12th April 2009).
This is the individual Grand Prix based on local chess tournaments, rapidplays and county matches.

Visit the EACU site: http://www.eacu.org.uk/ for more details.

Select the 'comments' button to read more ideas based on this post.

Suffolk U125's in the National finals

2009-04-16T16:28:00.006+01:00

The Suffolk U125's chess team qualified for the National knockout stages and face Hertfordshire in the prelim round (before the 1/4 finals).
The team is run by Jakob Tulic (of Sudbury) and they play their chess match this Saturday the 18th April.
Good luck to Jakob and the team!

Suffolk based team wins the North Essex Chess League

2009-04-16T10:39:00.006+01:00

A Suffolk based team with players from the Ipswich Chess club but basing themselves at the Colchester venue has won the North Essex Chess League. Stour Valley, which is run by Shaun Munson, have become Division 1 champions with a match to spare - up against the likes of Writtle (who had recently beaten Stour Valley in the cup final), Chelmsford and Colchester.

Full details on the NECL can be found on Clacton's comprehensive chess web-site:
http://clactonchess.org.uk/NECL

The regulars for Stour Valley were: Shaun Munson, Stephen Gregory, Ian Wallis, Tim Lunn, Michael Cook, Kevin Greenacre and Michael Clapham.

Suffolk Chess League Division 1: close at the top!

2009-04-16T09:29:00.005+01:00

It's hotting up at the top of the Suffolk Chess League Division 1.
With Ipswich B losing 3-1 to Bury Cannons on Thursday night, it's now very tight at the top.

----------P W D L PTS
Ipswich A 9 7 1 1 24½
Ipswich B 8 6 0 2 22½

Ipswich A have a 2 points lead with 1 game remaining, while Ipswich B have a game in hand.

For all the Suffolk Chess League details and to see who is in the running for player of the season, take a look at Dave Wild's excellent website: http://www.wildd.freeserve.co.uk/chess/2008/event/SCCL.html

Suffolk first team in the National Open Championship

2009-04-15T22:29:00.002+01:00

The Suffolk first team won the EACU Div 1 qualifying for the National County Open Championship.
This I believe is a first for the EACU. Previously EACU county chess teams only qualified for the Minor Counties competition.
Also, it has been a while since Suffolk has qualified for the National stages with both Norfolk and Bedfordshire often making the National Minor Counties final in recent years.
So it is, that Suffolk jumps straight into the Open.
The chess match takes place on Saturday May 16th.