Another treat from the archives on this Bank Holiday Monday.
Our former Chairman and now Life Member Peter S Morton took on a much stronger opponent in the final round of the Guernsey Open back in 2004. Cast your minds back – Facebook was launched in February of that year, the EU expanded by adding another 10 Nation States to the Union, and Greece somehow conspired to win the Euros!
The Guernsey Open is a prestigious event in the calendar, with a sizeable prize pot. Although not in touch of winning the event outright, a victory for Peter would be enough to secure him victory in the Under-2000 section (gives you some idea of the strength of the competition!).
The good news keeps on rolling in!!! After an anxious wait of almost two weeks we have finally received confirmation that our London League 4 first team have been promoted as runners-up in the division. London League 3 awaits next year!
Huge congratulations go to Captain John White and his team. It’s been a very successful season for them, and they’ve always looked on track to gain promotion. Amongst the highlights this season were two 8-0 walkovers – full results here.
We go again!!
The League 4 guys celebrate an 8-0 win earlier in the season!
A treat from the archives this evening – Club Secretary Mike Mackenzie managed to dig out this classic from 1975 – the same year we saw the Thriller in Manilla, Thatcher became leader of the Tories, and Aston Villa were even a good club back then, winning the League Cup final!
Reigning Club Champion (since 1962!!) John Rogers – rated 200 ECF! – faced our late Chairman John White – rated 148 ECF – in the deciding game of the Club Championship.
On paper an easy victory for John Rogers and should’ve been a 13th straight Club Championship for him. Could the young upstart unseat him?
A reminder folks – we hold our next FREE theory & practice session at our club venue on Monday 23rd May, starting from 7.30pm.
As usual it is open to anyone who would like to join us – we’ll have a session involving some theory, and in-depth game analysis, followed by a bit of putting it into practice. If you’d like your game to be considered for analysis, please bring it along! One of our top club players will be hosting and we’ll have our usual selection of tea, coffee and other refreshments on hand.
Our previous session saw a fantastic turnout – no less than 17 people turned up including a number of new faces. It would be great to see some more new faces (and familiar ones of course!) this coming Monday – hope to see you there!!
More good news for the club late last week, with Bajrush and his Thames Valley team beating Harrow in their last game of the season, thereby ensuring the team finishes as Champions and securing their promotion to Division 1!
Congratulations and thanks to all players who turned out for the team this year – we look forward to returning to Division 1 next year! 😀
Congratulations to our League 6 Captain Mike Mackenzie, and his team of stalwarts as we celebrate winning the London League 6 Trophy – victory was sealed late last night as Hammersmith beat Cavendish 4-0 to confirm our status as Champions!
It’s been a great year for Mike & team with Hammersmith leading the table for most of the season. Honourable mention to our friends at Battersea, who were in the hunt until the last round of games but couldn’t quite pip us to the prize, despite some decidedly sharp mind-games the last few weeks (see our Twitter feed @hammer_chess) 🙂
In more good news for Hammersmith, our League 4 first team eagerly awaits confirmation of winning that league. With all our games played it would take a very unlikely set of results for us to be disappointed there. More on that as and when we find out.
Thanks again to Mike and everyone who’s played in the L6 team this year. We go again in 2016/17!!
We are pleased to announce details of our upcoming Theory & Practice sessions for May! Details as follows:
Monday 9th May, from 7pm – following hot on the heels of our previous session, another look at endgame tactics. April’s session was really valuable & very well received, particularly the discussions on the Lucena and Philidor positions. This will then be followed by another match involving all players – similar to the previous session, it should get everyone thinking well outside of the box!
Monday 23rd May, from 7pm – a session run by Carsten – currently our top-rated club player and GM-slayer! – this will involve a deeper look at some endgame scenarios, followed by a move-by-move analysis of some recent games from our club players. The game analyses are always fascinating, if only to see just how differently (or perhaps similarly!) a stronger player views the positions. Always gets you thinking and a great way to see moves you wouldn’t otherwise have thought of.
As usual the sessions are free of charge and open to all-comers – no need to be a member, just get in touch if you’d like to come along; we’d love to see you there!
The games came thick & fast in April, with the club playing no fewer than 10 matches as we approach the end of the season.
Monday 4th April – Thames Valley League Ealing Juniors v Hammersmith
Hammersmith won the match 4-3 with 2 matches remaining. Monday 11th April we are home to Ealing B, followed by Thursday 12th May away to Harrow A. We are now favourites to win the League and promotion.
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
10
7
1
2
7.5
1st
Keeping the home fires burning at the Club House were myself and Andy, who organised, controlled and won a blitz tournament! With five members in attendance, plus a late appearance by Graham, we had an all-play-all competition, results as follows:
Andy 4-3-1-0 = 3.5 points – Winner
Mike 4-2-1-1 = 2.5 points
Chris 4-2-0-2 = 2 points
Phil 4-2-0-2 = 2 points
Chris 4-0-0-4 = 0 points
Phil is one of our newest members. The other Chris was a guest of Chris Moore’s; he lives in Spain but dropped in for a game whilst over on vacation.
Wednesday 6th April – London League Division 4, Team 1 Hammersmith v Kings Head
Great result for the team last night, an 8-0 whitewash!! Cannot get any better! Our closest rivals DHSS who have played 6 (two games more than us), having won 5 and drawn 1. We meet on the fields of Agincourt on Tuesday 26th April. Let’s get as good a turnout as we had last time and we will have the same success as Henry V!!
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
8
7
1
0
7.5
1st
Thursday 7th April – London League Division 6 Wanstead v Hammersmith
A splendid win for Hammersmith securing top spot with 1 game to go. It was a tense affair going to the wire. With the scores level at 1.5-1.5, Robin Lee beat off a furious attack and seemed to be heading for a draw. However he managed to Fork his opponents Rook and Queen, winning the exchange and eventually the game.
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
8
6
1
1
6.5
1st
07.04.16 – The mighty League 6 team in action. On the left, closest to camera Robin grafts for his win, behind him is John, with Dan at the rear of shot. Captain Mike decided to sit this one out, preferring to catch up on the day’s news (background, with paper!)
Monday 11th April – Thames Valley League Hammersmith v Ealing B
Another tense game that went to the wire. Hammersmith with 2 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss held on to draw the game and win the match 4-3. This will secure promotion to Division 1, however the Championship will probably go down to board count against Richmond. Hearty congratulations to captain Bajrush and his team!
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
11
7
1
2
7.5
1st
On the other side of the hall four new guests arrived, receiving welcome packs and applications forms – welcome to our new members! We hope to see them at our next training evening.
Wednesday 13th April – London League Division 5 Hammersmith v Metropolitan
Although hopelessly out graded, we put up a good show with 2 draws and 2 losses. We have struggled a bit in this division, but with the influx of new members will certainly do better next season!
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
6
2
1
3
2.5
9th
Tuesday 14th April – London League Division 4, Team 2 Newham v Hammersmith
Our London League 4 second team welcomed two of our newest members, Gokhan and Phil. Gokhan fared well on his debut with a win. Robin was again the star, winning in 16 moves! The overall result was a loss for us 3-5. No shame in that though, Newham are top of the league!
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
9
1
0
8
1
10th
Monday 18th April – Middlesex League Hammersmith v Muswell Hill
This last 3-5 loss means we are relegated to Division 3. A great shame for Bajrush and his players – we’ll be back in Division 2 next season.
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
12
1
2
9
2
8th
Tuesday 19th April -Exhibition Match Hammersmith v Fulham Juniors
This was Hammersmith’s first clash with a Junior team. A suburb little tournament, turn out, and a very pleasing result. Two matches were played, with a 3-3 result in both – match drawn! You can read a full report of the match here.
Thursday 21st April – London League 5 Battersea v Hammersmith
A nice win for Hammersmith, with Dan excelling again on board 4, and John R winning with a nice controlled attack, despite giving away 13 grading points to his opponent.
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
7
3
1
3
3.5
8th
Monday 25th April – Free Evening & Training Session
A special Committee meeting took place at the clubhouse from 6.30pm to finalise details of our Club Constitution. Some other business was discussed and will be finalised at our next Committee meeting.
A training session started after the meeting in which Bajrush demonstrated Rook-Pawn endings. The endings were well known positions: the Lucena and the Philidor positions (the two articles are well worth a read if you’re unfamiliar with either of them). Another successful turnout and an excellent display from Bajrush.
25.04.16 – The training in full swing. Mike, Bajrush and several other members watch on as Robin takes on a visitor – no pressure Robin!
To round the evening off an excellent and original tournament took place, whereby members were split into two “teams” but then rotated around the boards. An excellent way to encourage original and agile thinking about positions. 12 members took part and it was superbly controlled by Bajrush. We will certainly do this again!
Tuesday 26th April – London League Division 4, Team 1 DHSS v Hammersmith
Our promotion hopes took a setback with this loss to what looks like the strongest team in the league. Hammersmith lost narrowly, 3.5-4.5. We have one game left and should be overwhelming favourites to beat Athenaeum who are floundering near the bottom of the table. This will give us 8.5pts. Newham have completed their season on 8pts. Streatham who have also completed their season have the same score as us but after beating Kings Head 8-0 have a board count of +36 compared to our +30. DHSS have two to play (Kings Head, and Wanstead). Sitting with 7pts they could end up with 9pts.
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
9
7
1
1
7.5
2nd
Thursday 28th April – London League 5 Hammersmith v Streatham
An excellent draw for Hammersmith – on board 1 Robin won in double quick time against a strong 130-rated player, and I had a nice controlled draw against a 123.
Played
Won
Drawn
Lost
Points
Position
8
3
2
3
4
8th
May Fixtures:
3rd May – Ealing 2 (A), Middlesex League
6th May – Morley College (A), London League 4 (Team 2)
11th May – Athenaeum (A), London League 4 (Team 1)
12th May – Cavendish (A), London League 6
12th May – Harrow A (A), Thames Valley League
16th May – Kings Head (H), Middlesex League
18th May – Metropolitan (A), London League 4 (Team 2)
26th May – West London (A), London League 5
Full list of fixtures & results can also be found here.
Library Evenings and Rota for May
As you may have read previously, we will shortly be expanding our library evenings as a result of the enormous success of our weekly spot in Hammersmith Library. Full details can be found here, but the dates for May are as follows:
Monday 9 May – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 10 May – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 11 May – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 12 May – Fulham (6-pm)
Monday 16 May – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 17 May – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 18 May – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 19 May – Fulham (6-7.30pm)
Monday 23 May – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 24 May – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 25 May – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 26 May – Fulham (6-7.30pm)
Monday 30 May – Kensington (5.30-7pm)
Tuesday 31 May – Shepherds Bush (5.30-7pm)
Wednesday 1 May – Hammersmith (6-7.30pm)
Thursday 2 May – Fulham (6-7.30pm)
Thanks to all members & players, and best of luck in our remaining games this season!
Club membership – Paid.
ECF Membership – Sorted.
Played some games at your club to prove you know your way round the board – Done.
Now what?
Now you’re ready to play some London League chess, of course!
That’s where it started for me 3 years ago. It’s been at times bewildering, exhilarating, and sometimes just downright confusing (How did I just lose on time??), but I hope this post serves as a reasonable guide to assuage any doubts for those thinking about taking the plunge.
My first game was a memorable ride. Turning up at the ascribed venue near Euston station, I’d arrived early – eager to impress, clearly! – but it wasn’t hard to spot the chess crowd milling around. Nervous tension palpable, a slight sense of foreboding overcame me – how would I remember to write down each move correctly (harder than you might think when the board is un-annotated and you’re playing black!), press the clock, whilst trying not to embarrass myself on the board? Surely all new players go through the same set of thoughts, fears and emotions, I tried to reassure myself.
Thankfully my team captain was already there and helpfully pointed out where I should be sitting. The respective captains toss a coin to decide who picks which colour on the top board. The other boards then alternate down from that, as does the slow/quick play timing. It’s worth reminding yourself of the difference in the timing regimes and other rules of play before you start – I’ve won and lost cheaply through not knowing the details properly.
Typical league chess board setup with scoresheets and clocks
With my opponent and I in situ and apparently ready to go, there’s the awkward wait for the allotted start time to arrive. Do you engage your opponent in conversation? It doesn’t appear to be the done thing but some are more receptive to it than others. One thing that’s useful to do at this point is ensure you have written your opponents name and the other details of the match down correctly on your match sheet.
A general murmur of excitement builds, the home captain might make a quick announcement about mobile phones, and you’re ready to start. A quick shake of your opponents hand – mumble a “good luck” while you do it – and you’re off.
I will admit, I spent most of my first game panicking about making a spectacular blunder. Check, double check, triple check every move and position – diagonals for bishops, potential forks for knights, discovered checks, any obvious intermezzos I’ve missed? The stress level and heart rate were both pretty high. I can’t really remember too much of the detail but after about 4 moves I was way off any openings I knew about (admittedly not saying much, but my opponent employed the English opening – 1.c4, rare enough for a beginner like me I think). Somehow I was able to convince myself it’s fine; just play your game and don’t worry too much about anything else.
I don’t remember the sequence of moves or my thought process at the time, but I ended up with an advanced knight threatening the squares near his King, with my Queen poised to move forward next move and check him. Surely this couldn’t be check mate, I thought, as I sat there pondering the combinations and desperately hoping my opponent wouldn’t make the obvious defensive move to repel me? The excitement and pressure at a moment like that can be quite intense. My mouth was dry, my right leg hopelessly twitching in nervous response to the sudden burst of adrenaline as I contemplated victory against a respectably strong player in my maiden game for my club.
The overriding thought was to double, triple, quadruple check to ensure I wasn’t leaving the back door open to a disastrous failed attack. Breathe and relax, write your move down and await your opponents response.
An eight board London League Match
One notable difference in face to face chess versus that played over the internet or on my phone, is that your opponent nearly always finds the right move to deny your thrilling combination. Your considered sacrifice resolves to vain, inglorious defeat. You quickly learn to leave your Mikhail Tal impression at home and more often play the dull – but safe – move. On balance this is where results are found in the London League. Very rarely does the frivolous attack lead to victory.
Not today though.
Beginners luck perhaps but my opponent failed to spot the threat, making a move of little consequence. I tried – and mostly failed – to nonchalantly advance my Queen, dispatching my opponents King with aplomb. I stumbled slightly in announcing “check mate” (as is de rigour when one achieves it), not entirely convinced of my own victory. After a brief pause to assess the position my opponent looked up and mumbled “Uhm… I didn’t spot that”, conceding defeat with the offer of a hand to shake.
What normally passes after a game has finished is the stilted assessment by bother players in hushed tones, offering advice or pointing out where victory/defeat was achieved. Aside from annoying your neighbouring players (and thus often having to de-camp to the nearest empty room), these little chess vignettes can be remarkably useful in understanding how you played, where you could have made better moves, or what the expected response to a certain opening was. It can be a good opportunity to get into the mind of your opponent too – they will often have assessed a situation quite differently to what you may have. On occasion I’ve had my opponent point out where I missed an opportunity for check-mate. Now that is frustrating!
As a relatively hardened pro I now tend to shy away from assessing my defeats with my opponent – pretty poor on my part this – but I do enjoy replaying the occasional game that was particularly enjoyable and close fought. I prefer to analyse my games a few days later with a book or two and perhaps a computer to aide me. I’ve found it one of the best ways to learn opening theory and spot holes or missed opportunities in my performance – though admittedly my current grade (92 ECF) does not reflect this!
Regardless of the outcome you can always be sure of learning something about the game in a face to face match. It may not be the fluid attacking combo you were hoping for, executing that opening you’ve been studying for weeks, or ruining your opponent in a 20-move blitz of style and sophistication, but even old pros get a bit of luck occasionally.
You can see my full “analysis” of that game here. Enjoy!
– Andy.
Last night at Lytton Hall the club had its latest training session, hosted by club Chairman Bajrush. The session had two parts. In the first part Bajrush presented some common positions featuring rook vs rook and pawn, and posed to us how a win (or draw) could be forced.
In the second part of the session, the club was split into two teams: Knights and Bishops. Each player lined up against someone from the other team and played three moves each on a board, then moved with their opponent to play three moves on the next board, which had already been played on by a different pair. A pair of players would drop out when one checkmated the other.
This session was great fun and forced everyone to examine positions they might not be familiar with. In the end the session finished in a 3-3 tie. The debate over which is stronger out of the Knight and the Bishop will continue!
