Month: June 2016

All – please note that due to other commitments we have had to change the date of our Simultaneous game against WIM Sue Maroroa.

The event will now take place on Monday July 25th. All other details remain the same – save the date!!

• Monday 25th July, 7.30pm
• Albion Pub, Hammersmith Road
• Contribution – Members: £1, Non-members: £2

It has so far proven very popular, so please let us know if you would to play.

We’re also looking for players for our two upcoming games against Battersea Chess Club. Get in touch with us or your team Captain if you’d like to play in either event.

 

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Hammersmith player Ken Hedger last week. Ken had been at Hammersmith for a number of years and was a regular at Club Nights and in London League games. Our club Secretary and friend of Ken’s, Mike Mackenzie, has written a short tribute:

Ken, one of Hammersmith Chess Club’s great characters, passed away Sunday 12th June 2016.

Reflecting on his time at Hammersmith – he was unique, a snazzy dresser, he never once concerned himself with grades; he would play anyone, anywhere, on any board, and with his idiosyncratic style managed to fool even the best of players.

He would turn up armed with a completely new opening not found in any chess manual. It didn’t always work, but on occasions he would pull a rabbit from the hat.

He was a more than active chess player before he joined Hammersmith, captaining and serving on the Committees of other clubs. He was a familiar, well known face with all opposing teams.

I travelled many times with Ken and enjoyed his company immensely. His three loves were chess, cigarettes, and coffee.

He will be truly missed by all members old & new, by opponents, and by friends.

God bless you Ken.

Your friend, Mike Mackenzie.

As Summer approaches and the Chess Leagues take a well-deserved break,  we are lining up some exciting events of competitive and fun chess to keep our collective fingers on the chess pulse!

The first Event we are pleased to confirm is a Simultaneous display against Women’s International Master Sue Maroroa.

Sue is a former Hammersmith Player, and with an ECF rating of 213 currently ranks in the top 10 female players in England. She is a former New Zealand Chess Champion, has played at several Olympiads, achieving the WIM title in 2009 and later achieving International Master norms in 2014. Definitely a force to be reckoned with!

The event will be held at the Albion on Monday 11th July, starting between 7.30 and 8pm. We have space for 20 boards on a first-come first-served basis – if you’d like to reserve a spot please get in touch or leave a message below.

• Monday 11th July, 7.30pm
• Albion Pub, Hammersmith Road
• Contribution – Members: £1, Non-members: £2

We are also working on a few more events this Summer – a small taster below:

• Club vs Club challenges – we’re currently in touch with some other London clubs about arranging a Club v Club game across 8 or more boards. A great chance for some competitive chess, particularly for our newer players.

• 30 Minute Club Tournament – an internal tournament that will run throughout the Summer, involving several games for all players involved.

• 10 Min Blitz Tournament – similar to other blitz-tournaments we have run this year, we’ll have an evening of blitz chess for all-comers.

• Chess Pub Crawls – we’re lucky that the club is based in a part of London blessed with very good pubs! So why not combine the two in the form of a chess pub crawl! We’ll see how your Benoni looks after a few pints!

• Chess Charity Day in Association with MIND – we are organising some open air chess in Lyric Square, Hammersmith, on September 10th as part of a MIND-charity day. A great cause and should be a fun day playing games against the public in the open air! Hopefully the weather is good to us.

The 55th AGM of Hammersmith Chess Club took place last night, 6th June, at our home in Lytton Hall.

I think I can safely say it was the most important AGM since The Club was inaugurated back in 1962.

The scent of change was in the air and with great respect to our proud history, The Club took a large step into the 21st Century last night.

The adoption of a new constitution, the appointment of a new Committee and Team Captains, the meeting was presented with a concrete analysis of our financial position – with excellent cash flow projections and a sense that the club had a clear direction. This, coupled with the naming of our award winners and for the first time in our history the appointment of a different Captain for each individual team. The first time we have ditched multiple captaincy roles.

There was also a presentation to Anda for all her work in making the Wednesday nights at Hammersmith Library truly “Chess Night” – something we will and must replicate at the the other libraries in the Borough. The “Anda Method” is the way to go!

Our ever dependable and long-serving Secretary Mike Mackenzie was awarded “Personality of the Year” for all his work and commitment to The Club. Thank you Mike!

The meeting took 90 minutes to complete, with the distribution of reports to all members beforehand.

With the serious business over, a 10 minute handicapped blitz tournament followed with 19 players involved. This was frenetic blitz at its best and worst – but huge fun. Once again our Chairman the Kosovan Wizard Bajrush triumphed against your correspondent in a final where I blew a winning position – as usual!!

However it was only fair and right that the man who started the revolution and change in our club was the victor.

A great night was had by all and Bajrush treated the club to drinks, both soft and hard, with plenty of crisps and snacks.

Maybe that’s the reason he won the blitz….

See you all at the Albion Pub next Monday as we relocate for the Summer months. Stay tuned for details of our Summer events.

John White.

Our third and final look back at the archives (for the time being), is this truly devastating example of the King’s Gambit from Hammersmith’s own Sheikh Mabud in 2009.

Aggressive, dynamic chess at its finest. Take a look – here.

BY CLUB SECRETARY, MIKE MACKENZIE

A flurry of activity in May saw the conclusion of most of the leagues we play in, bringing with it a large dollop of success (and a tiny drop of failure) for the Club’s teams!

Monday 2nd May – Club Night
As it was the May Day bank holiday, the Club did not open!

Tuesday 3rd May – Middlesex League Division 2
Ealing 2 v Hammersmith
Unfortunately the penultimate round of games in the Middlesex League brought with it confirmation that Hammersmith are relegated to Division 3 along with Harrow next season. A 5-3 win over Ealing  brought some consolation. The final match is against Kings Head on 16th May.

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Position
13	2	2	9	3	7th

Player of the Season in the Middlesex League is… John D White

Friday 6th May – London League Division 4, Second Team
Morley College v Hammersmith
This game completes the Second Team’s campaign for this season. Some consolation is brought by us winning our final game 5-2, with one adjournment. Dave Lambert has captained the side with excellence this year and I’m sure he will look forward to leading the side in 2016/17.

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Position
10	2	0	8	2	8th

Player of the Season in London League 4, second team is… Brian Dodgeon

Monday 9th May – Club Night
We had a marvellous turn out with 14 members present, including two first-time callers. The theme of the evening was tactics. John White talked through a game of his where some clever tactical play secured him a win. Bajrush then analysed a game of his where he used his own opening “The Steamroller”, winning in short time.

Unfortunately we had no time for the planned blitz tournament so the remainder of the evening was quick fire chess.

Wednesday 11th May – London League 4, First Team
Athenaeum v Hammersmith
A thumping 6-2 win rounded off a great season for the Division 4 first team. We are promoted!!! Well done to John and his team.

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Position
10	8	1	1	8.5	2nd

Player of the season in London League 4 first team is… Paul Kennelly

Thursday 12th May – London League Division 6
Cavendish v Hammersmith
A clean sweep in our final game saw us finish the season as Champions!! Brilliant well done to all the many players who participated in this league and huge thanks to Dave who took the reigns for this last match.

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Position
9	7	1	1	7.5	1st

Player of the season in London League 6 is… David Lambert

Thursday 12th May – Thames Valley League
Harrow v Hammersmith
A fine final win (4.5-2.5) from our Thames Valley side clinched 1st place and we are Champions of Division 2! Promotion to Division 1 is the order of play next season. Many congratulations to Bajrush and his team for this superb effort.

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Position
12	8	1	3	8.5	1st

Player of the season in Thames Valley Division 2 is… Bajrush Kelmendi

Monday 23rd May – Club Night
A Committee Meeting lasting nearly 2 hours took place. Reports from all Officers were presented in preparation for the AGM.

Following this, Bajrush gave another of his game demonstrations using his by now famous “Steamroller” attack. On completion we all enjoyed some blitz chess. Another fantastic turnout with no fewer than 17 members in attendance.

 

Thursday 26th May – London League Division 5
West London v Hammersmith
Our season in Division 5 ended in a 3-1 defeat. We have had a tough time of it in this league but with a new captain on board for next season and a number of new members, things should soon improve!

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Position
9	3	2	4	4	6th

Player of the season in London League Division 5 is… Robin Lee

Library Evenings and Rota for June
As you may have read previously, we have expanded our Library evenings throughout the Borough and now offer sessions at four different locations. Full details can be found here, but the dates for June are as follows:

Monday 6 June – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 7 June – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 8 June – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 9 June – Fulham (6-7.30pm)

Monday 13 June – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 14 June – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 15 June – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 16 June – Fulham (6-7.30pm)

Monday 20 June – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 21 June – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 22 June – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 23 June – Fulham (6-7.30pm)

Monday 27 June – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 28 June – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 29 June – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 30 June – Fulham (6-7.30pm)

If you’d like to help out with running a session please drop us an email. They are short, fun, and you’ll play some crazy chess!

Thank you to all our members and players this season, and to Anda for the great job in running the Library evenings! We now look forward to the AGM and our Summer activities, and a new season of chess in the not-too-distant future!