Hammersmith Chess Club

The Hammer Christmas Chess Soiree- Ostend – 2nd December 2022 to the 4th of December 2022.

Covid has affected every part of our lives these past two- and a bit years. We have lost loved ones, had to cancel holidays, curtail our social lives and in our chess world, we endured no over-the-board chess for nineteen months. 

An early casualty of the pandemic was our planned trip to the beautiful German city of Lubeck. It is now approaching two years since Hammer last ventured abroad -the time is right to start again.

The Royal Chess Club of Ostend is a famous chess club in West Flanders and they have agreed to host us for the weekend – a blitz tourney Friday night and a long play game on Saturday. Interspersed will be a chance to enjoy the atmosphere and all the delights that await us.

Note the Royal designation – Hammer is definitely moving up in the world. Also, I must thank GM Daniel King who opened the door to negotiations and who has in the past turned out for Ostend over the board.

The rough itinerary is as follows

Friday 2nd December – Hammer crew boards a private coach at “middayish” – travel to Folkestone – travel through the tunnel and then up the coast to Ostend. We get settled into our hotel or accommodation (TBA), some grub to then be taken and then we attend the Royal Ostend chess club for a Friday night blitz tourney. I am sure a beer oasis awaits us later on and a chance to get to know our new friends.

Saturday 3rd December – In the morning we may do the Christmas markets, or a cultural tour followed by the club-on-club long play challenge. We will be playing for the Evans Cup. Then a meal with our hosts and then retire to a suitable bar

Sunday 4th December – more Christmas markets and sightseeing before returning to London mid-afternoon.

This is a unique opportunity for all Hammers to enjoy an amazing chess challenge against a more than worthy opponent – enjoy a historic city, and the fabulous Christmas markets, take in the culture and sample some amazing beer. Also, a chance to make new friends and spread the goodwill and camaraderie of our beautiful game and the renown of Hammer

Please note the Ostend club has an excellent Junior section so for the first time we would like to take a Junior Team for the trip if we can get the numbers.

Now some fun facts about Ostend and the Royal Chess Club

• Ostend has over five miles of sandy beaches and is the 9th biggest city in Belgium.
• Ostend is connected to Bruges and Ghent by canals
• It has a population of over 70,000.
• It is a historic city with a history dating back at least 1000 years.
• It held two famous chess tournaments in 1907 and 1907 – these happened before I was even born. The names of Rubinstein, Bernstein, Janowski et al featured in these tournaments.
• The creator of the Evans Gambit – seafarer William Evans – is buried in Ostend!

What true red-blooded Hammer could resist?

So, if you want to take part, now is the time for action. The Closing Date is the 31st July 2022. The reason for the tight decision date is this is an incredibly busy time of year and accommodation will go quickly.

So, what do you need to do if you want to take part?

• First, email Lord Clueless to say count me in -jdrw9591@gmail.com
• If you act early, then you will be on the trip – a deposit will be taken as the club will need to book a coach and possibly a deposit at the hotel. 

Simples.

Time is short, as the many Hammers who have enjoyed the delights of Amsterdam, Cork and Wroclaw in the past three years – these weekends are just superb.

Ostend awaits us.

Lord Clueless expects every Hammer to do their duty!

 

By Christopher Skulte

We are very very very excited (yes 3 very’s!) to announce that the 2015 IBCA Olympiad silver-medallist Chris Ross will be coming to Hammersmith Chess Club on the 20th June 2022 (start time 7:30pm).

 

It’s not every day that you will have a chance to listen and ask questions to the UK’s strongest ever fully blind chess player and learn about his journey from amateur club player to a 2250-strength player.

 

He has just released an 80-chapter book tackling some of the aspects of the game which club players find most difficult:  how to plan; manoeuvring and positional play; defence, and the all-important questions of practical over-the-board chess.

 

 

Praise for Blind Faith:

 

”Although Chris has never been a full-time chess player, having pursued a successful career in academia, his approach has always been professional. He has developed an impressive opening repertoire and worked on his endgames and middlegame planning. I hope the reader enjoys this fine collection.” – Grandmaster Neil McDonald

 

If you would like to pre-order a hard copy of Blind Faith by Chris Ross, I have 10 hard copies available for £20 each. (RRP is £19.95, I just don’t want to handle the change…) –  please message Chris Skulte on 07881472324 to reserve your copy.

 

Note: Digital copies can be purchased here for £9.99 – https://steelcitypress.co.uk/product/blind-faith-ebook/

 

We look forward to seeing everyone on Monday the 20th!

 

Chris.

It is time to do Battle (geddit??!!!) again

Hammers the gauntlet has been thrown down – honour must be satisfied – the esteemed and noble Chess Club of Hastings (aged 140) has challenged the brash (but very nice) new kids on the block Hammersmith (aged 60). This will be a mighty clash over 14 boards with all to play for.

The Hammers will be captained by Adam and places are already going fast – it is time to get with it. If you want to take part contact Adam as soon as possible as he needs to finalise the team early next week.

The long play challenge will be followed by a blitz tourney and a few pints. 

Hastings is one of the most historic chess clubs in the world, home to the ECF for many years and just a train journey away.

Play will start midday and Adam will advise you of the travel arrangements. Hammer this is a club that has entertained the greats –Lasker, Capablanca Botvinnik, Karpov and Korchnoi are just some that spring to mind.

Now they have the new force in UK club chess turning up – Hammersmith.

This is your chance to create some chess history – contact Adam Cranston now!!!

Lord Clueless

Dear Members, the club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is approaching – this year it will be held on Monday 4th 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 the Covid-19 wave in January.

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

• Treasurer – Matteo Bezzini
• Secretary – Adam Cranston
• Club Captain – Ben Rothwell
• Webmaster – Benji Portheault
• Diversity Officer – Tom Rendle
• Auditor – Nadim Osseiran
• No Portfolio – Chris Skulte

We are sad to announce that Bajrush Kelmendi has decided to step down from the Committee this year. As Chairman for the last eight years, Bajrush has presided over the rise of a dwindling club with a mere 20 players to a sprawling community of 200 active members. The Committee is grateful for Bajrush’s contributions.

With this in mind, John White plans to stand for election as Chairman, meaning we are actively seeking applicants to John’s former role as PR and Events Officer.

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 4th July – that is, 5th 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!

At the midpoint of the Season, Hammersmith’s second team went to visit Albany with a lot at stake in Division 2 of the Middlesex League: the lead was shared by Hendon, Ealing and Hammersmith all with 6 points, followed closely by Metropolitan and Albany with 5, so it was anyone’s game with a lot of matches still to be played.

Our team was coming from three away wins in a row and looking to continue our good run, while a win for the locals would have placed them at the top of table. After losing to them at home earlier this season, by a crushing 5.5-0.5 no less, we knew it would be a fierce battle and all the games met the expectations!

Our team had strong reinforcements with Chris Skulte joining our ranks on board 1 and the additions of Jake Stones and Anton van Niekerk on boards 4 and 5 respectively, in their first game for this team.

We were white on evens after losing the toss, and soon it looked tough in these 3 games, with Gaston getting a worse position against his opponent’s Najdorf Sicilian on board 2, Jake being an exchange down albeit with some initiative, and Charlie with an unfortunate blunder (after quickly getting a winning position) that gave the first point to Albany on the bottom board.

Meanwhile, the odd-numbered boards were not looking any easier for us with Chris reaching an unclear position in a Chigorin Defense, Anton facing some pressure on the kingside and trying to look for counterplay on the queenside, and Matteo in perhaps the most calm game of the bunch on board 3 as it seemed his opponent was mostly playing safe with the white pieces.

In a sudden turn of events, Anton equalized the match after finding 16… Nxb2! 17. Kxb2 Qb4+ followed by 18… Qxc3.

Soon enough we were leading with Chris sacrificing a piece and capitalizing on a mistake by his opponent with 28… Rg4+, winning the white Queen.

Shortly after that, Gaston won our third point after 26. Nf6+ gxf6 27. Ne4! when white’s attack becomes unstoppable.

All eyes were now on boards 3 and 4, with Jake’s initiative slowly vanishing, leading eventually to a loss and moving the score to 3-2 for the Hammers. Matteo was able to neutralize all of white’s attempts at an advantage, and even ended up playing for a win when a draw was enough to win the match, on another typical display of the Hammers’ fighting spirit. Even then, the position remained balanced and a draw by perpetual check in a Queen endgame was agreed.

The match ended in a win by the narrowest of margins 3.5-2.5, and Hammersmith claimed sole lead of Division 2.

With many more matches to come against strong teams, we’ll be looking to keep it up and finish on a high note this Spring.

Gastón

EDIT: all info there :

Congress – Hammratty

 

On the 4th and 5th June 2022 Hammersmith Chess Club will run its first Chess Congress to celebrate our Diamond Jubilee. In homage to a trip made by several Hammers to the legendary Bunratty tournament in 2020 this congress will be known as Hammratty.

The event will be held at the home of Hammersmith Chess Club – the Mindsports Centre in the heart of Hammersmith West London.

It will be an ECF rated and there will be three sections:

Open – 2000 and above

Major – 1500 to 1999

Minor – <1500

The entry fee will be £40 – all the details of the tournament are on this link. There are guaranteed cash prizes in each category for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Open (£400, £200,£150), Major (£200, £100, £100), Minor (£100,£50,£50). The best woman in each category will get an additional £50 prize.

https://form.jotform.com/220782502017346

There will also be a blitz tournament on the Friday night at the Prince of Wales pub on Dalling Road – if you enter the Chess Congress then entry will be free – otherwise a £10 entry fee is payable. There will be cash prizes available on the evening thanks to the sponsorship of Smoke Brew – 1st prize £100, Second prize – £50 and Third prize £25.

All the information (fact sheet, registration form, current entries, and results) is available here on our website.

 

This has been an amazing year in Hammer history. Some of the highlights

• We moved into our new home the Mind Sports Centre

• We are 60 years old this year – our Diamond Jubilee

• We now have over 180 club members – will we reach 200 before the end of May?

• We have won the Central London League Division 3 under the expert captaincy of Robin

• We have teams positioned very well in the Thames Valley, the Middlesex and London Leagues

• Our Junior section is thriving under the expert and watchful eye of El Loco – aka Jim Stevenson

• We have had amazing guest lecturers – Nigel Short, Maxime Lagarde, Danny King and Harriet Hunt. All free of charge to Hammer members.

• We have run simultaneous displays, puzzle evenings, blitz nights. So much work here from Adam our secretary and Ben our club captain

• The new logo on the website – thanks to webmaster Benji – with Hammer merchandise so to follow

• The ground-breaking initiative to reduce the fee for women and girls to £10

• Finally, the first-ever Hammersmith Chess Congress – to be called Hammratty- will be held on the 4th and 5th of June at the Mind Sports Centre. 

This has been a busy year and your Committee has worked hard to keep pace with Covid consequences, a cancelled January match program and a rapidly changing landscape.

I want to thank all the team captains, the volunteers who help with the Junior hour and the Hammers who help clear up at the end of the evening. 

However, I think we need to acknowledge the amount of work put in by our secretary Adam – this club is so lucky to have him.

This brings me to an important date – the club AGM is due on the first Monday evening of June. This is when members get to see the detail, the financial position and question the Committee. This is an important evening and I urge you all to attend.

Furthermore, I urge all of you to consider standing for a position on the Committee – yes at times it can challenging, but it is incredibly rewarding. This is your club not the Committees nor any one individual– indeed historically the club would not be where it is unless key members had not initiated a velvet revolution at an AGM seven years ago.

So, my plea to all members is to get involved – we need help in many areas – Junior Hour, Membership and Captaincy. Plus, there are things we maybe should be doing but are not. New ideas and new blood are essential in any organisation.

If you would like to stand for a position on the Committee then please do, Under the constitution you have 30 days before the AGM to nominate yourself with another Hammer member seconding you, in writing and delivered to the secretary, Similarly, if you wish to propose a motion to the AGM this must follow the same process.

We are a democratic organisation; the AGM is the ultimate authority of the club – your vote and thoughts carry huge weight.

Please value it and get involved.

John – Lord Clueless

Hammer kicked off the awareness of Women’s International Day a day early with a tremendous lecture from IM Harriet Hunt. Her theme very appropriately was the history of women in Chess.

Harriet is a 5 times British Women’s Chess Champion who has represented England all over the world. As she remarked her chess career took her to countries and cities she would probably never have visited. She is humble and very aware of her good fortune in being born into family that allowed her and her brother Adam to pursue their love of chess. All in all, just a fantastic woman and human being.

She presented to a packed Anvil, sadly very testosterone dominated, but one that was attentive and very appreciative. Before, I report on the night I must put on the record what a tremendous and caring lecturer/tutor Harriet is. Her style is probably partly due to her chosen career, she is a highly qualified academic, but I think it is overwhelmingly about the person she is. She made everybody feel part of the lecture, she listened, she shared, and she gave a superb talk. It was Springsteen in length but never lost its audience.  What was different and very refreshing is she opened the analysis to the whole room at various critical moments. She did not dismiss suggestions but analysed them, with her audience, on the demo board. We were truly blessed and better chess-educated for it.

 

There are many women in the history of chess who have made their mark. For the basis of the lecture Harriet concentrated on four women. They were

• Vera Menchik – Woman’s World Champion from 1927 to 1944
• Nona Gaprindashvili – Woman’s World Champion from 1962-1978
• Maia Chiburdanidze – Woman’s World Champion from 1978-1991
• Judit Polgar – The strongest woman’s chess player of all time.

Vera Menchik had an amazing career – she won many notable wins against strong men players – Sultan Khan and George Thomas – however, the game Harriet chose was against Max Euwe. A familiar name to many Hammers, not only a men’s World Chess Champion and FIDE President, but some of us were lucky to visit the Max Euwe centre, in Amsterdam, when we took on Du Pion chess club in match challenge.

This is the game

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1258406

Played in 1931 when Euwe was approaching the height of his powers, this was a dominant performance by Menchik. A very instructive game. Harriet demonstrated numerous variations and took time to work through the suggestions of the Hammers. A great start.

Next up was Nona Gaprindashvili. The game selected by Harriet was her immortal game against IM Rudolf Servaty. This was an amazing game and showed the dominant characteristics of her play – e4, direct play and actively fighting for the initiative. This was an important theoretical game at the time.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1047235

Harriet again went beyond the end of the game analysing that the game was indeed lost. To be honest I am not sure I have the courage to play this sort of chess!

Nona is a fascinating player – obviously back in the news over her fight with Netflix and the reference to her on the “Queens Gambit”. However, I also urge you to check out her game against a 14-year-old Judit Polgar – another amazing game of chess.

Harriet then moved onto Nona’s successor – her fellow Georgian Maia Chiburdandze – and their first serious encounter over the board. Maia was 12 years old at the time and the maturity of her play is simply outstanding. Harriet pointed out the rerouting of the black knight that Maia initiated – this was outstanding chess. Here is the game.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1285155

The final game was an outstanding one from Judit Polgar – her opponent was Jan Timman. Once ranked number three in the world and a finalist twice in the Challenger match for the World Chess Championship. This game was a tour de force and very exciting and a fitting finale to the lecture. I urge you to play through it.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1354768

Harriet, then spent a long-time answering questions such as… 

• Why do women make up only about 10% of the population playing chess?
• How can we get more women into Hammersmith Chess Club?
• How did she feel about women only tournaments?

She gave very thoughtful and insightful answers and did not duck any question. 

Interspersed with these answers were great anecdotes especially the one when she was playing the final of the Oxford County Championship. Her opponent was her brother Adam. The only time and place they could play was a Saturday afternoon at home. The reason being this was the era of adjournments, multiple games – time was very precious,

In the middle of the game their younger brother came in and reported the latest score from the Liverpool- Manchester United derby match – the score so threw Adam he blundered on his next move and Harriet won the game and became Oxfordshire Champion. Just priceless.

She then played some blitz games against Tomas and Bajrush before departing into the night. 

What an amazing evening.

On behalf of Hammersmith Chess Club, we thank you Harriet for a great evening. You are welcome anytime at the Anvil.

John aka Lord Clueless

Monday 31st of January at the Anvil (Hammersmith’s home – The London Mindsports Centre) brought together a top of the table clash between the might of Hammersmith’s Division 1 team against a very strong away team from Richmond & Twickenham.

With a reasonably priced bar and food menu, we welcome all teams to come down early to have a drink and a meal before the match.

A win for Richmond & Twickenham would move them equal on points with Hammersmith at the top of the table, a win for Hammersmith would set them apart and make them likely contenders to take the title once again. It was only 6 boards of chess, but every game was critical!

The Match

Board 5: A quick win on board 5 for Christopher ‘Hurricane’ Skulte, dismantling the disliked London System in quick fashion put Hammers in a strong position, adding pressure to the other boards. 1-0 to Hammersmith

Board 3/4/6: Alas, I wasn’t able to watch the games – though there were many opportunities, critical moments, and missed chances with the results flowing through with a win for Carsten Pedersen, a loss for Jim Stevenson, and a win for one of our regular enforcers Thomas Bonn. A half point more and we would win the 6 board match. 3-1 to Hammersmith

Board 2: Ali ‘Mantis’ Hill vs Mike Healey. An ‘unique’ game in which a wild 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 two knights tango, led to deep complications. No matter the rating you must always be focused during complications, which Hill navigated with expert precision – though like the titanic, all that is required is 1 Iceburg you were not ready for to stop you in your tracks. A mate in 1! – Richmond & Twickenham were back in the match! 3-2 to Hammersmith

Board 1: Marco ‘Michelangelo’ Gallana vs International Master Gavin Wall: After an unusual Sicilian, king marches, delayed development, and sacrifices for passed pawns – as Shirov would say, there was fire on the board! Both players were neck & neck on move 25. Wall was playing to get his team back in the game, knowing he probably needed the win. Marco was able to solidify his position, stop the passed pawn, and take the game. 4-2 to Hammersmith

The match ended with a 4-2 win for Hammersmith! A tough encounter where both teams gave it their all, putting Hammersmith in a leading position to take the Thames Valley title once again, adding to the trophies which Chairman & Captain Bajrush Kelmendi has achieved for the club.

The Aftermath

After a hard-fought win, and many a pints later, alas the MindSports venue needed to close, after a quick drink at the Plough & Harrow, we headed back to yours truly’s house for a late night time-odds tournament.

Richmond & Twickenham player Healey achieved a picket fence, winning the tournament with 7/7 (unfortunately no revenge today for Ali Hill).

With a running group, tennis group, cooking group, and many other sub-groups, Hammersmith clearly lives by its motto – Més que un chess club (More than a chess club)

Christopher Skulte