After an exciting 2021/22 season marked by the return to OTB chess, there were plenty of opportunities for our players to show the progress they’ve made during the pandemic while studying at home, playing online, or even just learning how to play from scratch! League matches are back and they are a great source of activity. Everyone regardless of playing strength will be able to find a chance to play and get more experience – while our most seasoned players can compete at the highest level and try to bring more trophies home.
Below we include a brief selection of games that some of our members kindly submitted and they truly reflect the wide range of players that we have at Hammersmith Chess Club: rated higher or lower, playing tactical or positional, sharp Sicilians and London systems, everyone is welcome and we all play as a team!
Greater London 2 v Hammersmith Central (London League Division 3 East) Board 1
Michael Saunders 1-0 Tony Packham
We start with a highly tactical game where Michael was able to overwhelm his opponent with a strong kingside attack, finishing in style with the queen sac 25. Qh7! which threatens Qg8+ followed by Nh7#.
Hammersmith v Battersea (El Chessico) Board 6
Edmond Andal 0-1 Carsten Pedersen
A game from our summer match “El Chessico” against Battersea, where Carsten found 19… Nc5! when the knight is untouchable due to the threat of Bc8 winning the white queen. After winning the exchange, Carsten dominated the centre of the board with his powerful bishops, taking advantage of white’s lack of development.
Hammersmith 4 v Harrow 2 (Middlesex League Division 3) Board 3
Surjit Dhemrait 0-1 Frank Valle
Frank was under a lot of pressure against his king, but he defended well and made the most of some inaccuracies by his opponent to repel the attack. In the endgame he kept his cool and won some more material before his king marched to the queenside to pick up the rest of white’s pawns.
Battersea v Hammersmith (El Chessico) Board 10
Adam Cranston 1-0 William Drennan
Another game from the Chessico with Adam exploiting the weak light squares around the enemy king, as the black bishop on b7 cannot join the defense. The rest of the game was tense but white was eventually able to invade with his rook, proving it was stronger than black’s uncoordinated knight and bishop.
Hammersmith 2 v Streatham (Central London League) Board 2
Andrew Cuff 1-0 Harry Morgan
In a more positional game, Andrew patiently kept building up pressure before opening up the centre with 12. e4! and then unleashing an attack on the kingside. White traded some pieces to secure his advantage and found a mating combination at the end when black’s queen ventured into white’s territory.
Hammersmith 2 v West London (Middlesex League Division 2) Board 2
Tom Townsend 1-0 John Tobisch
This one works well as a puzzle showing that even in some seemingly harmless endgames some tactical opportunities can arise. After some thinking, Tom found 28. Rc5!. Now White threatens Nd5 and trying to get out of the pin by moving the king will run into Rxc7 – black must lose material so he resigned.
Hammersmith 2 v Hendon 2 (Middlesex League Division 2) Board 2
Gaston Franco 1-0 Eric Eedle
Another short combination showing the power of unopposed bishops: the exchange sacrifice opens up the g-file for the queen to join the attack thanks to the pinned f7 pawn.
Wishing all of our Hammers good luck for the upcoming 2022/23 season and hoping to keep adding amazing games to this section!