Month: May 2023

Important Announcement – 2023 AGM

Dear Members, the club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is approaching – this year it will be held on Monday 3rd July at the Mindsports Centre. The observant among you will note that this is a month later than usual. This is due to the chess season being pushed back by a number of match postponements caused by tube strikes.

The Committee gives notice that the following members will stand for re-election:

  • President – John White
  • Treasurer – Matteo Bezzini
  • Secretary – Adam Cranston
  • Club Captain – Robin Sarfas
  • Diversity Officer – Tom Rendle
  • Auditor – Nadim Osseiran
  • PR & Events Officer – Chris Skulte

We are sad to announce that Benji Portheault and Jim Stevenson have decided to step down from the Committee this year. As Webmaster for the last two years, Benji has spearheaded the development of our fantastic new logo. This now features prominently on all the Hammer stash we sell via our new merchandise store, again set up by Benji. As Junior Officer for a year, Jim has continued to grow the size of our junior club, leading a new subcommittee instrumental in providing a high level of coaching to juniors of varying abilities. The Committee is grateful for Benji and Jim’s contributions.

With this in mind, Gastón Franco plans to stand for election as Webmaster, and Tom Townsend plans to stand for Junior Officer.

The Committee proposes to make a few amendments to the club constitution as follows:

The Annual General Meeting
  • The AGM will take place on the first Monday in June, every year, when the club meets within 45 days after the 31st May each year.
  • The minutes of the previous AGM will be displayed by the Secretary on the information board 30 days before the AGM sent out by the Secretary with the information pack for the AGM.
  • The notification of the AGM will take place in a form of an announcement on the club website 45 30 days prior to the actual meeting.
  • Any member can propose a motion for consideration by the AGM provided he or she they have a seconder and has done this in writing to the Secretary 30 21 days before the AGM.
Committee Rules
  • Any member can stand for any position on the Committee but must have their nomination seconded by another member and give notice to the Secretary 30 21 days before the AGM.
Duties of The Officers of The Club – The Club Captain
  • Must be a team captain of a Hammersmith team in the London League, Central London League, Thames Valley League or Middlesex League

Any member who wishes to stand for a committee position, or to submit a motion for the meeting, should do so at least 30 days prior to 3rd July – that is, 4th June.

If you want to support any of the committee roles, we would love to hear from you too, as there is a lot of work to run the club and any time is valued.

Please contact Club Secretary Adam, to submit details: adam1234321@gmail.com

Thank you for your continued support!

Strong finish for Hammersmith in London League Division 1

Hammersmith won a very exciting match against strong opposition, and we present you with some of the games, including analysis from our First team players.

As the League season is coming to an end, our last match for the First team in Division 1 was against none other than Cavendish Chess Club, a real powerhouse of the London chess community. We were sitting in second place (behind Wood Green, who had already secured the title), but since Cavendish had played fewer matches than us, they were one of the clubs with chances to catch us – the other one being Hackney. We were expecting them to bring their very best, so naturally we tried to do the same. The result was a thrilling match full of interesting games between the strongest players from both clubs!

We all gathered at Cavendish’s venue close to Russell Square, everyone was on time (yes, even Bajrush!) and ready for the big fight. Our Captain Jim Stevenson did not play, but he was present in support of the team and, as he had promised, he won the toss so we would get white on odd boards. Before the start of the games, we observed a minute of silence after hearing the tragic news of the passing of dear Hammer (and former board 1 for our club) WIM Sue Maroroa Jones earlier that day and our opponents respectfully joined us.

The games were entertaining from the start and Carsten drew first blood on board 6, not only defending against what looked like a scary kingside attack, but also setting up a devilish trap with precise calculation, which allowed him to win a piece when his opponent failed to see the danger. Carsten Pedersen’s thoughts on the game are below:

Cavendish hit back by winning on board 1, but Hammersmith took the lead again on board 8, with Bajrush ending his Div 1 season with an astonishing 6/6! Soon the score became 3-1 in our favour, with a win on board 7 full of tactics and hanging pieces. Comments by Gaston Franco:

Alex skilfully made a draw on board 3, in a game where it looked like one of his bishops might have been trapped at some point, but the rest of his pieces came to its rescue. We only needed one more win and we got it on board 4 with a positional masterpiece after his opponent got a weak pawn in the centre. Alistair Hill explains it below:

On board 6, Thomas was pressing with a strong initiative, but had given up some material and both players got in time trouble. As we all know, “T-Bone” is ruthless when it comes to blitz and spotted a nice tactic that ended the game immediately. The last game of the match was, as usual, played by Marco on board 2. His GM opponent sacrificed a pawn for initiative in the opening but black also had his chances and soon started playing for a win. Marco Gallana shares his ideas from a few instructive moments of the game:

Thus, the match ended with an impressive 6-2 win for our Firsts and the team went for a celebratory pint at a nearby pub, where we discussed the games and Jim may or may not have promised to stay as captain for one more season.

L to R: Marco, Gastón, Carsten, Alex, James, Ali. Photo Credit: Captain Jim Stevenson

The win helps us remain in second place, and pending some results from other clubs it could mean we are the best (real) chess club in all of London! After getting some rest over the summer, we’ll be ready to try to defeat Wood Green next year once and for all.

While we still have a few more games to go for other teams/leagues, personally I might have to give them a miss. Wishing everyone a great summer and see you back soon at the board!

Gastón