This was a night for the Sicilian Masters, and the c3 anti-Sicilian paid off in shovels and spades for Brian on top board.
With the White pieces, he posted a commanding Rook on d5 that became totally surrounded by the enemy. His opponent was yet to prevail, and once a White Knight and Bishop came to support the Rook, the blood bath could begin.
The stranglehold on the Black pieces was a beauteous sight of complete domination. The Rook was then offered in sacrifice near the end, but by then the White Knight had a beautiful fork of Black’s Queen and Rook that finally was taken with 2 minutes on the clock, at which point Brian’s opponent resigned.
With White’s a and b-pawns having passed the 6th rank together, White’s victory was anyway inevitable.
Unfortunately for John, employing a Sicilian Scheveningen, White got his English Attack launched. With the Black h-file open and the White Queen coming down it, Black could not survive and John resigned just a few moves later against the Hackney Captain. Bad luck.
On board 4 Nick cleverly won a minor piece as White’s Austrian Attack looked a bit ambitious. In any case, Nick then got his Rooks doubled and with a possible back row mate on either side, a cliff-hanger of a game ensued. Nick won the exchange and went a Rook up, but it took his passed h-pawn reaching the back rank for his opponent to resign!
24.11.16 – Thames Valley League: Richmond & Twickenham v Hammersmith
This past Thursday saw your TV Hammer (a cooler version of MC) take the journey down to Teddington, to take on a strong Richmond team in Division 1 of the Thames Valley League.
Not only a tough task at the best of times, but with travel woes on top and the closure of Teddington High St due to turning on the Christmas lights, it was taking on the mantle of Herculean proportions! Fortunately the Hammer team are made of stern stuff in the “getting to where I’m going” department and our team duly assembled at the designated time and place – Christchurch Hall, Teddington.
The team was already missing two of our strongest players in Carsten and Tony, and this helped exacerbate the grading difference between the teams. Although overall it probably would not have made much difference.
TV Hammer were out graded by an average of 31 points per board, with Bajrush facing a 52 point deficit on top board!
Tom using Stockfish for his post-game analysis
You probably realise by now that things did not turn out well…
The roll of honour in defeat reads as follows – Bajrush, Paul, Jeremy, Adam, Orial and Alex.
This was hard to take, especially Adam’s loss where a blunder in a position where he had both material and positional advantage after using his London opening to great effect against a Queen Indian style setup, cost him dearly. A smart tactic netted him his opponents Queen for a Rook and Minor piece. Unfortunately an oversight lead to the loss.
Bajrush, Hammer’s on WOSF (Wily Old Silver Fox) was totally outplayed by an IM and really I could truthfully say there was nothing he could have done.
Paul also had an edge after an extremely complicated middle game against a 213-rated opponent, but he just faltered at a critical moment and the loss became inevitable.
Jeremy’s game I did not see, but again he gave his all for the team.
Orial had a brilliant game with chances for both sides, indeed in the critical position I think he had the advantage. Sadly, he could not consolidate and another victory appeared on the Richmond side of the scoreboard.
Alex was forced into a speculative attack which left his King naked. This was duly exploited by his opponent and Alex joined the ever-lengthening list of casualties. It was starting to resemble a day on the Somme – would TV Hammer succumb to an 8-0 drubbing?
This did not happen thanks to an amazing escape deliberately and cold-bloodily played for by Sheikh, and your over-cautious reporter. Ours were the last two games to finish.
I had the advantage when a draw was agreed. Indeed, looking at the position a win for me was more than probable. However, knowing my unrivalled ability to blow such positions and the match result already decided, I took the easy option. A draw against a 170 opponent was enough on the night.
Sheikh’s ending was lost both from a positional and material viewpoint. However, in mutual time pressure he spotted a stalemate combination that his opponent walked straight into. Clear thinking under time pressure is a great quality that Sheikh has and the final position was totally original. Despite being a Queen, Rook and Bishop down he had no legal move. A brilliant save!!
So in the end it was Mission Impossible, and to be honest even with the addition of Carsten and Tony I doubt the result would have been any different.
TV Hammer have now played the top four teams in the league, a tough opening to our schedule of matches. Hopefully we can now get some points on the board and cement our position in Division 1 this season.
Keep the faith, go TV Hammer and cue the soundtrack to “U Can’t Touch This“…. till my next dispatch from the TV front, farewell!
21.11.16 – A first for Hammer, and one more step on the road to creating a vibrant, learning culture at our Chess Club, as ECF trainer Tony Niccoli gave us an evening of his finest teaching!
It was a brilliant training session last night for 12 members of the Club. The clarity and format of the evening was perfectly pitched, and the subsequent working in pairs to solve the problems set for us by Tony was just right.
Tony gets into his stride… silence at the back!
There were two themes to the evening. Firstly, the importance of the outside pawn, and Second, the power of the pin. Even a Lombardy and Fischer game ending was brought into the mix!
The former was illustrated by the use of the three problems, and the learning was delivered in a measured way with plenty of audience participation. Having nailed the importance of this concept we were able to transfer these elements to the second theme – the power and use of the pin.
A crowd of eager Hammer members looks on intently!
Again, using problems of increasing difficulty we were shown how to exploit the power of the pin to it’s maximum effect. Some important concepts were highlighted, such as:
Not cashing in & taking the pinned piece too soon
Using the power of the pin to improve your position
Using the pin to ensure your opponent runs out of moves and is forced to surrender material (incorporating elements of zugzwang)
Increasing the pressure of the pin by bringing all your pieces to bear on it
Concepts that were new to some attendees and probably forgotten by the others. This was real eye-opening stuff, delivered in a manner that will stick.
Regardless of your strength, anyone would benefit from the content delivered in a very professional and logical way by Tony. This was borne out with some of the trickier examples proving a significant challenge to our players rated 160+, indeed it’s fair to say not everyone got the right answers first time round.
Proof that homework can be fun… !
The evening ended with homework. Tony gave each attendee a puzzle sheet to take away and work on. A definite case of back to school days and a great way to follow-up on the lessons learnt.
On behalf of the club I wish to thank Tony for the huge effort he put into the evening, and his immeasurable patience with us!
To all Hammer members who did not attend, you missed a real treat and an evening that would have improved your game!
On a wet and dark November evening, what could be more enjoyable than playing in our third (and first away) Middlesex League match?
Our hosts Ealing 2 were as friendly as ever. Their venue is one of the nicest to play in, with large tables, big comfortable chairs and digital clocks combining to make for a supremely enjoyable experience.
Having resoundingly beaten them 6.5-1.5 at our venue, we went into the match with a lot of confidence, despite a smaller grade gap than before.
In the spirit of squad rotation, no less than five players were making their season debuts in the League. A particular mention has to go to Carsten and John for stepping in following late dropouts.
Only one game was over within ninety minutes. Newcomer Danny blundered in a winning position, and for the first time this season we were losing the match.
Fortunately boards five through seven were on hand to rectify the situation. Solid wins from Hammersmith stalwarts Robin and Nick, and a top class performance from new member David, saw us take a 3-1 lead. This meant that John’s loss on board four was not the end of the world, and left us needing three draws on the top three boards.
Adam was pleased to be up against the same opponent he had played in the return fixture, again with the White pieces. Unfortunately, his opponent had done his homework and this time played a much better defence to Adam’s London System. The game headed into a Rook +3 pawn vs. Rook +2 pawn endgame, but after much manoeuvring in time trouble all Adam could do was to settle for the draw.
Carsten and Paul heavily out graded their opponents, and were therefore both surprised by the resistance they came up against. Neither looked to get a significant advantage from the opening or middle game, but their experience and technique were always a little too much for their opponents. In a time scramble at the end, the victories were sealed, as was the team’s win.
Next up is likely to be our toughest test so far – a trip to Muswell Hill on December 1st. Our sights are now firmly set on the Christmas #1 spot!
17.11.16 – London League 3: Hammersmith v Mushrooms 2
Stop the press!! Hold the front page!! The internet may crash!!!!…. Hammer 1 finally got a half-point and are on their way in London 3!
For those of you who know their American Football, Hammer 1 were starting to look like the 2016 Cleveland Browns of the London League 3. Despite huge potential and tenacity we had nil points… just like the unfortunate Browns!
That all changed last night with a fighting draw against Mushrooms 2 at Golden Lane.
I have never been involved in a match that veered so violently as the results of the individual games came in. At one stage Hammer 1 were 4-1 up with 5 games to be decided. Within the blink of an eye we were trailing 4-5 and all attention switched to the last game.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and that man was Jeremy. A truly titanic struggle ended in…. more of that later!! Here’s the blow-by-blow account:
The Hammer 1 team deep in the action
Paul, Sheikh and Adam were the first to finish – all clocking up really impressive victories.
Paul’s victory – his first of the season – on the white side of a very complicated French Winawer, represented a welcome return to form of our player of the year last season. A really excellent win.
Sheikh’s win was equally welcomed. Playing black against the Closed Sicilian, Sheikh was under severe pressure and facing a pawn roll on his Kingside. With the added complication that his King was there and gradually having his protective pawn shield eroded. However, in a remarkable turnaround Sheikh triumphed. A definite example of the motto – it is never over ’till it is over!!!
Adam’s victory with white, utilising the London setup against the fianchetto version of the Dutch was very smooth. Indeed, over a pint later on in the pub Adam opined that this was his best victory since his entry into League chess. He has promised to annotate it for the website. A great performance.
The draws of the evening went to Bajrush and Orial.
Our wily silver fox of a Chairman, Bajrush was under pressure for much of the game but then assumed the initiative and was threatening a checkmate at the end. Unfortunately there was not enough material to prosecute the attach and the game ended honours even. Bajrush never gives up trying to win and he epitomises what the Hammer spirit is all about.
Orial will now be known within our club as the “Wizard of Dingle” thanks to his miraculous escape in this game! An exchange and pawn down, he threw caution to the wind and went on the attack, forcing his opponent to concede a draw. A brilliant rear-guard action.
And so to the fallen!
John Wooley had a very messy position and was under real pressure. He defended tenaciously but in the end the wall was breached and he resigned in a very difficult position.
Alex was the unluckiest loser – despite being substantial material up, he succumbed to a simple mate due to time pressure. A very tough loss and another example that chess can really hurt!
Matteo playing on board 8 suffered his first loss in League Chess against a very experienced opponent. He cam out of the opening with quite a constricted position while his opponent gradually built up the advantage. Matteo fought back, nearly achieving equality until, with his Queen offside and under threat he had to surrender material. The end was long but never really in doubt. He will learn from this!
Your captain was doing well and then threw away the advantage with the move c4. Having missed a simple intermezzo earlier that would have provided a definite advantage, the loss was fully deserved. At this level of chess you have to take your chances.
So it all came down to the final game – could Jeremy get us to 5-5? Would he be the hero or the… zero…?
Attention turns to Jeremy’s game… could he save the result?? No pressure!!
A really complicated game ended up with Jeremy being a piece and two pawns down. However, under time pressure he was able to penetrate his opponents King position with his Queen and Rook. The two pieces were like the hammer and anvil, and a checkmate ensued. Rome was saved and Jeremy was roundly congratulated by his fellow team members.
Points on the board is the moral of the story. Hopefully Hammer 1 can now build on this and achieve our goal of staying in Division 3.
Ladies & Gents – a reminder that ECF trainer Tony Niccoli (ECF 198!) will be down at the Club on Monday 21st November to run a FREE session of training, analysis and insight!
It’s an enormous treat for the club & we’re really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible. Our members have given Tony a number of recent & interesting games to run through with his experienced eye. Will be a great opportunity to learn and improve your game.
Entry is FREE, there’s no need to pre-register and you don’t even need to be a member – this session is open to anyone & everyone! We’re looking to start at about 7pm… see you there!
15.11.16 – Fulham Juniors v Hammersmith (Rapidplay)
After the huge success of last year’s event, both clubs decided to go for a double repeat of the same format last night.
This time the match was played over 9 boards with the same time control of 20 minutes to start with, plus a 5 second increment per move. The match would pit each team member against their opponent twice – playing white in the first game and black in the second. Games were rated so players can get a rapid grade.
This was truly a brilliant evening with great fighting chess and an unbelievable display of talent by the Juniors. The Hammer All Stars triumphed in both matches but the result of the second-round match was very much up in the air until the end.
At half-time, Fulham Juniors held a prize-giving in which Vigus Widdicombe-Gasson received the club’s Perpetual Shield for the next year, for the best results during the 2016 season. Xavier Cowan had run him very close.
The previous year’s winner, Thomas Le Rendu, received a small trophy to keep, in compensation for having to hand in the Perpetual Shield.
The Fulham Juniors are a credit to their coach, Paul McKeown, and were only “Trumped” by the steely determination of the Hammer All Stars. The Hammer All Stars were relentless and ruthless but that did not mean they were not sailing close to the edge at times.
Our boards 1, 2 and 3 in the form of Orial, Dave and Robin all achieved 2-0 results but not without the odd critical moment. All games were keenly contested and both Robin and David had a wobbly moment in the second games. Orial’s games were unbelievably complicated and great credit for that goes to Xavier his opponent. In the end Skill, technique and experience triumphed.
Matt and Hammersmith debutant David were also 2-0 winners – great to have them in the club! I thank them for volunteering last night and also not been fazed by the sight of an eight-year old boy whizzing pieces around the board!
The critical games occurred on boards 4, 5, 6 and 9.
On board 4 Chris had to default the first game due to a late arrival but thank fully made it for round 2. As is the way at these faster time limits – Chris achieved a clear edge but then time pressure began to enter the equation and Chris simply overlooked the overload on f2 and his young opponent Samuel smoothly converted.
Danny on board 6 played a really strong first round with the black pieces and duly notched up the point. The second game was the complete opposite with his opponent Hugo playing a great game and gaining a fully-deserved win to split the mini-match 1-1.
One of the most interesting games of the night was Andy’s encounter with young Wilfred. The first game ended in a draw as Andy could only force perpetual check due to Wilfred’s strong defending and under intense time pressure. In the second Andy’s experience in endgames triumphed. However, there was one stage of this game where young Wilfred displayed an uncanny understanding of black-square control that must be innate and caused Andy real technical difficulties at the board.
Finally, on board 9 – we have the tale of the best-dressed chess player in London (maybe in the world!)– Shaun. Shaun has only just started playing competitive chess over the board and his clock-handling is still something he has to come to terms with. He lost both games on time, despite being way ahead materially and positionally. Chess is very unfair sometimes. Fortunately, the administration of a post-match Glenmorangie helped soothe the pain!
The Hammer team “analyses” the result afterwards… alcohol incidental!
A great night and many thanks to the Fulham Juniors and Paul for their hospitality and the great spirit in which the match was played
14.11.16 – Middlesex League: Hammersmith v Harrow 2
As the Christmas season approaches, the Middlesex League is into full flow. Coming off the back of their first 6½ – 1½ win, Hammersmith were full of confidence. The second match of the season saw the club play host to Harrow 2.
Despite Hammersmith leaving out several of their top boards, this time the guests were outgraded by an average of 45 points!
Boards 5, 7 and 8 were over within the hour, with Adam, John and Richard ruthlessly punishing a spattering of inaccurate moves by their opponents.
On board 4 John had a dominating position against his opponent. Desperation took over, and she decided it was time to sacrifice a knight to get some play. Alas, it came to nothing, and John smoothly converted.
Sheikh was next to finish. With all of the major pieces still on the board, his opponent decided it was high time to re position his king on f6, directly in front of the f7 pawn. Of course Sheikh’s attack came raining in immediately. Black resigned before the time control.
Yasser looked in control throughout. Though only a pawn up for most of the game, he maintained the initiative and gradually forced his opponent’s pieces back onto the first rank. Finally the position collapsed and it was all over.
Paul’s game on board 1 was the closest of the night. It didn’t take long for the entire queenside to become closed, and for play to be focused only down the f, g and h files. With the black king trapped for much of the game on h8, Paul’s opponent defended tenaciously against the relentless queen, rook and bishop batteries. As time trouble grew more intense, Paul missed perhaps his only chance on move 39, where cheeky push of the f pawn would have blown open the position and won him the game. Paul reluctantly accepted the draw offer 15 moves later.
Brian Dodgeon has been labelled by some as the Magnus Carlsen of West London. Infamous for seeking out positions where he has a slight edge, opponents are gradually ground down by his accurate, if not always spectacular play. Today was no exception. After establishing an early passed pawn on the queenside, Brian was unphased by huge pressure down the open e-file. A series of drawn out piece shuffles commenced, and soon Brian’s opponent saw nothing better than to give up the pressure by exchanging pieces. After some more patient shuffling, it was time to start pushing the passed pawn. As it started to pick up speed, its promotion became inevitable and his opponent offered his hand.
Result: Hammersmith 7.5 – 0.5 Harrow 2
We now enter a sequence of four away games. We are still looking to rotate the team to get as many members playing as possible so please contact captain Adam if you would like to play:
Ladies & Gents – we’ve got some exciting news of a few fantastic London-based chess events to share.
First up, our friends at Battersea Chess Club have given us the opportunity to be amongst the first to register for a pair of events they will be holding in December.
On Tuesday 6th December, they’ve a double-header – firstly, IM John Bartholomew will be playing a Simul against all-comers from 5.30 to 7.30pm. Full details can be found here, but in short – entry is £10 per player, which includes two free drinks from the bar at their venue, and free entry to their open Blitz tournament which starts immediately afterwards.
The Blitz tourney will be run Swiss-style, with the first 60 entrants absolutely free, although if you’ve already paid up for the Simul your entry is guaranteed to be free no matter how many people play. It starts at 7.30pm sharp, with the winner taking all donations and a very fine trophy too! You don’t even need to be a club member – Can’t say fairer than that!
If that’s not enough, on Tuesday 20th December Battersea will be hosting former British Champion – the “Prince Charming” of Chess – GM David Howell for a Simultaneous exhibition.
With a FIDE Rating of 2655, David is one of England’s strongest players. The Simul starts at 7.30pm, with entry £20 for non-members. Further details here.
And last – but most certainly not least – our friends at the British Bangla Chess Association have informed us of an International Chess Tournament they are hosting at the London Enterprise Academy in Whitechapel (E1 1RD) on Sunday 4th December.
Full details can be found on their Facebook page here, but broadly speaking it’s a 7-round Rapid play Swiss tourney with three different groupings depending on ability. Substantial cash prizes are on offer for placing, from £500 down to £40.
Entry is £15 for adults, £5 for juniors, and the fee includes free refreshments throughout the day, along with a Biryani (chicken or veggie!) for lunch. Almost worth it for the food alone!
08.11.16 – London League 4: Hammersmith v Metropolitan
It was a classic ‘game of two halves’ last night. The first four games to finish landed us with just the half-point to show for our efforts. Then, just when it looked like we were heading for defeat, a fantastic last surge that Donald Trump would have been proud of, sent us to an honourable 4-4 DRAW. Probably pretty fair all things considered – there wasn’t much to call between the grades…
Standing room only on a busy night at the Lane
It’s a reflection on how hard I was concentrating on my own game that I have little insight on the games involving Brian, Robin or Andy. When I finally conceded defeat, we were already down 0.5 vs 3.5. Brian once again held firm and chipped-in with a solid half-point.
My game was a frustrating one. I felt I outplayed my opponent all the way through the middle-game, managed to fork King and Rook with my Knight and entered the endgame +1.5 points according to my engine. Still, they haven’t developed a Stockfish that allows for a couple of slack moves under time pressure! Before I knew it, my opponent had squared-up his double-bishops and they were at least as strong as my Rook / Bishop pair. Real frustrating one.
Ken was first to claim a win – an outstanding result on his debut! Not least because my spies tell me he looked in a spot of bother early-doors. It was nice to see the guys playing through some variations once the game had finished. A pleasure when you’ve won. Torture when you’ve lost.
The Hammersmith team, deep in focus…
Rich found himself in a good position against his tricky adversary, again with advanced pawns raiding their way up the board. Short on time, he pushed hard for promotion but allowed the back-door open and the most frustrating of finishes: a perpetual check when you’re clearly winning! No doubt almost as painful as his 5am start the next morning.
Next to finish was Orial who maintains his fine start for the club. All the focus was on his lone pawn on the 6th rank, and whether he could force it home. No easy feat with 3 pieces blocking its path. Still, through a series of skilful manoeuvres he found a way, and ended up slipping it a surprise checkmate into the bargain. Very impressive to watch.
The night was rounded off by John who was a whole piece and a pawn up when the clock chimed and it was time to adjourn. His position was solid, with a natural plan emerging to raid into enemy territory with his doubled-pawns. Sensing the end in sight, his opponent did the honourable thing and resigned rather than force the resumption. Also allowed a few of us to nip to the pub to muse over what might have been!
Another step on what’s proving to be a very enjoyable season in League 4. Next up is Metropolitan’s big brother team. The bigger they are, the harder they fall…
