Yes, Hammer and our frenemies Battersea renewed their rivalry by boldly taking our brilliant sport to places it has never been before.
Saturday saw the inaugural event of a Chess-Up in a Brewery. Some said it couldn’t be arranged, and it was a tough ask for members who had committed to a dry January, and even tougher for those of us who have not, but could not attend.
Not mentioning names but Carsten, our Great Dane, was subjected to huge online banter due to the fact he could not attend and was bemoaning the missed chance of sampling Sambrook’s excellent range of beer remedies. [They also do fantastic pies!!]
Due to various factors a serious OTB encounter between our great clubs was not feasible, so a handicapped rapid tourney was put in place instead. In some ways, this was by far the best choice for the day as the X-Factor of beer certainly lent itself very well to this slightly more sociable format of chess.
Some big shout-outs before I get to the gory details of the chess:
To Sambrook’s brewery for the invitation and the hospitality. They really went out of the way to accommodate us… the beer and venue are superb. On a scale of 1 to 10, Sambrook’s is an 11!!
Our barman Jacob, who looked after us so well – nothing was too much trouble.
Finally, to the incomparable Aldo, who brought all the kit along and the software for the pairings – I also know he hates public acclaim but he made sure the day chess-wise went very smoothly indeed.
To the chess.
A six-round Swiss Tourney with a 15-minute start and 2 second increment – however there was a handicap based on grade differential.
The final table looked like this:
On face value, no surprises at the top where Blair and Ryszard dominated proceedings, both scoring 5.5/6 – the half-point coming from their drawn game against each other.
However, the table also tells of some great performances from some Hammer Heroes – Paul K in 3rd place, and Dave Lambert in 4th – some great wins there by both these guys.
Adam and potential new Hammer member, Javier in joint 5th place – very solid performances and well deserved.
I must also mention Edward and Kennedy for joining in, again, two new potential Hammer members and both performed very creditably. We hope to see them and Javier at a club night very soon.
An honourable mention must also go to Charlie, for winning the beer side of things. The strains of his singing along to Led Zeppelin made for an excellent chess backdrop, and it must be said that the choice of soundtrack was generally excellent!
The true winner of the day, however, was camaraderie, banter and the beer. This is a brilliant venue and we will repeat this event. The chess played was certainly of the imaginative variety!
El Chess Up in a Brewery – it’s on! This Saturday 26th, Hammersmith will be taking on local upstarts Battersea, in a Rapidplay tournament at the home of Wandle, Sambrook’s Brewery!
Starting at 1pm sharp, and running all afternoon (until roughly 5pm), we’ll be in the taproom at their Brewery on Yelverton Road, SW11 3QG – nearest station, Clapham Junction!
It will be 15 minutes per game, with 3 sec increments, with some handicaps for extreme grading differentials.
It’s going to be a fun day, and we hope to see you all there – the venue is superb and the beer outstanding, and well-priced!
After the success of last year’s event, the second season of the Hammersmith Rapid League got underway last Monday. Six teams, five nights of chess, four boards, three senior chess teams, two junior chess teams, and one footy stats team… sums up the 2019 incarnation nicely!
This is the league where you play two games of rapid chess against the same opponent each night – one as black and one as white. All the games are rated and count towards an ECF rapid grade.
What more could any chess player want??
This year’s lineup was as follows:
The fearsome Tony’s Tigers
The awesomeTony’s Lions
The dreadedHackney Posse
The Crazy Gang of Football Radar
The ferociousBattersea Crew
And the MightyHammer
To the matches – the first round saw some really close matches with an internecine battle as the Tigers took on the Lions, Football Radar taking on Battersea, and Hackney squaring up to the Hammers.
Tigers vs. Lions
This was a seriously competitive match with a real heavyweight clash on top board, and the other three all closely contested. All the games went to the bitter end with no quarter given.
The Lions shaded it in Round One, with wins for Connall and Xu. Taymour struck back for the Tigers and the top board was drawn.
At the halfway stage the Lions had sneaked ahead, 2.5-1.5.
The Tigers had been wounded but were not down – the come back was possible. Plus we all know there is nothing more frightening than a wounded Tiger.
The second round saw the Tigers go to work and with three wins and a draw they swept to a well-deserved victory. Both these teams will be serious contenders for the title.
Final Score: Tigers 5 – 3 Lions
Battersea vs. Football Radar
This saw the clash of the newboys. Football Radar, and our beloved Frenemies Battersea.
Things did not go well for the Footy boys in the first round and they succumbed to a narrow but decisive 3.5-4.5 defeat. This match really could have gone either way and Battersea can consider themselves very unlucky.
Great performances from both Alistair of the Radar and Darius of Battersea, who both went 2-0. The game that attracted my attention was the second game between Alistair and James that had a very nice tactical sequence. It is one that will hopefully feature in a later posting.
Final Score: Battersea 3.5 – 4.5 Football Radar
Hammersmith vs. Hackney
Following the trend set by the other two matches, the Hammer boys were leading 2.5-1.5 at the halfway point. It could have been a half-point more but for a tactic missed by Wyatt. That game was the longest of the first round and could have gone either way. In the end, stoic defence from Wyatt secured the half-point.
However, the Hackney boys were not down, and definitely not out. They rallied superbly in the second round of games with three wins on the top three boards. Dipli bravely held the line on board 4 against Hackney captain, and great bloke, Bryan, but alas could not prevent Hammer going down 3-1.
A tough loss for Kostis to take, especially in his captain’s debut, but he can feel proud of his team.
Congratulations to captain Bryan and the Hackney team – they really fought back well. The sportsmanship in this contest was totally indicative of the whole evening, and all teams and players must be applauded for that.
Final Score: Hammersmith 3.5 – 4.5 Hackney
So after Round I the cross table looks like this:
And the normal table looks like this:
Roll on Round II – we look forward to seeing all the teams back on the 29th of January!
10.01.19 – Middlesex Div 3: Harrow 2 v Hammersmith
With Adam away gracing Europe’s ski slopes, it was left to your author, Dave, to captain the Hammer side in Middlesex Division 3, as we took on Harrow 2. Fortunately we ran out 4.5-3.5 winners which meant I could welcome Adam back with some good news!
Full score-card as follows:
In the end, a very satisfying victory against a side almost matching us grade-for-grade as we moved down the board order. Even more so when you consider that we started the match 1-0 down due to a default. Very well done one & all… !
I’m able to present two games for your enjoyment here, both of which ended up as full points for the good guys.
Brian secured the victory with some aggressive play as White in a Sicilian Najdorf, creating complications which ultimately led to a tactical mistake from his opponent. Some fine play, particularly when trying to make up some time on the clock.
Your temporary captain for the evening took home the point after playing out a slightly unusual encounter. Playing as Black, I felt I was slightly on the back-foot for the first 14-15 moves before my opponent exchanged several pieces. Each exchange seemed to favour me, and before I knew it, I had some fairly well-placed pieces, with the threat of mate or serious material advantage. Resignation soon followed.
Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming games, when normal service resumes under Adam’s stewardship.
Dave.
And Finally…
The lovely folk who sponsor us, Chess & Bridge, are happy to offer any Hammer Members a FREE3 month subscription to Chess magazine!
To claim this offer, simply drop them an email info@chess.co.uk or call them (020 7486 7015), and provide your name, address, telephone and email – of course, mention Hammersmith Chess Club!
Offer is valid until the end of Jan, and it is well worth signing up – a great magazine, and 3 free issues is a great offer!
It’s only the 12th of January, but already we have loads of things to update you all on – read on for a taste of what’s coming up, featuring foreign travel, breweries, more competitions, and a couple of GM’s paying us a visit in the next few months…
Poland trip
In case it’s escaped your notice this last week, the Annual Hammer trip abroad has been confirmed – we’re off to Breslau, Poland!
The trip takes place on the weekend of 7-9th June, and it’s going to be a brilliant experience. Breslau is a stunning medieval city, steeped in European history. Direct flights are available at reasonable cost from Standsted and Luton airpots, and there are already 10 Hammers booked to travel. What more could you ask for?
If you’re keen to join the intrepid party, please take the following steps:
Book your flights (this part is your responsibility, however as there are only a couple of flight options, chances are you’ll be on the same plane as at least one other Hammer)
Join the Breslau WhatsApp group to sort accommodation – similar to previous trips, this will be a combination of Airbnb for those wishing to share or reduce costs, and hotels for the well heeled who prefer their own space! It’s entirely up to you.
Don’t delay – flights are still cheap, so get in there while you can!
Yes, the mighty Hammer is taking on the slightly-less-mighty BatterseaChess Club over 14 boards in a local brewery – Sambrook’s!
A brilliant confluence of many enjoyable things, this is going to be a fantastic afternoon of entertainment.
The match takes place on Saturday 26th January, 1-5pm, and we are looking for players! If you’re keen to play, get in touch with John: john.white49@ntlworld.com
Places are going fast, so sign up soon if you want to be involved!!
Hammersmith & Celtic Tigers Raffle
A special raffle is taking place as we speak, to raise funds for Hammersmith and our sister club in the 4NCL, Celtic Tigers! Amongst the 50+ prizes on offer are:
Several training sessions with top players
Digital clocks
Championship chess sets
Ginger GM DVD’s
…and much more!
The odds of winning a prize are well over 50% , so you don’t even need to be that lucky to win something!!
Tickets are £10 a pop, or £15 for two, and the money is going to two great causes, supporting chess in the local area. If you want to nab a ticket, please contact fellow Hammer, Chris Skulte: chrisskulte@gmail.com
Good luck!!!
BBCA Rapidplay goes Monthly!
After the huge success of their annual big-money Rapdiplay tournament, our good friends in East London, the British Bangla Chess Association, have now launched a MONTHLY Rapidplay competition, and I’m pleased to report that the big money prizes are still there!!
Starting Sunday 27th January, and hosting up to 60 players per month, the competition will have Open (no limit) and Minor (Newcomers up to 80 ECF) sections, with prizes for 1st and 2nd places, plus several grading prizes – plenty of chance to win something!
Further details as follows:
Dates (all Sundays): January 27th, February 24th, March 31st, April 28th, May 26th, June 30th, July 28th, August 25th, September 29th, October 27th, November 24th, December 29th.
When: 4pm – 8pm
Where: The Hason Raja Centre, Spitalfields Housing Association, 117 Vallance Road,E1 5BW
Time Control: 15 minutes per player
Prizes: Open: 1st – £100, 2nd – £70; Minor: 1st – £30, 2nd – £20. Grading prizes: £25, for each of U180, U160, U140, U120, U100
Cost: £20 for ECF Silver or Gold, £27.50 for ECF Bronze or non-ECF, and £10 for all entries in the Minor section.
Our Thames Valley team are continuing their unbeaten run in this season’s league. We ‘stole’ a victory from Ealing A on Monday night, who put out a very strong team.
With two games left, Ealing were edging it 3.5-2.5, with just Bajrush and Tony to finish. Thankfully, both Hammers brought home the bacon and we squeaked out a 4.5-3.5 win! Amazing result:
We now sit top of the table, and are the only unbeaten team in the league. After Surbiton’s 5.5-2.5 win at WimbledonA, we also have a game in hand over our nearest rivals.
The purists amongst us will know that since TV records began in 1974, Hammersmith have never been Division 1 champions. Indeed, the last dozen years has seen honours rotated pretty evenly amongst Wimbledon, Ealing, Richmond and Surbiton.
Is this the season we buck the trend? Do we dare to dream??? Stay tuned…
An Evening with GM Matthieu Cornette – Monday 11th February
2016 French Champion, Celtic Tiger, and all-round top player, GM Matthieu Cornette will be gracing the Anvil on Monday 11th February form 7.30pm, for an evening of chess talk!
Matthieu will be providing a 2 hour talk and discussion, focused on club players in the range 100-150 ECF, so this will be of massive interest to many at Hammersmith.
The evening is free of charge, however we are limited to 48 people due to Health & Safety, so places will be limited. As ever, contact John to register your spot: john.white49@ntlworld.com
An Evening with GM Danny King – Monday 29th April
As if one GM isn’t enough, on 29th April we will be bringing you another evening of top-level chess instruction, humour, debate and anecdotes in the form of media-star GM Daniel King!
A GM since 1989, Daniel received huge plaudits for his coverage of the 1993 World Chess Championship on UK Channel 4, and has gone on to have a hugely successful career in chess broadcasting and media, with highlights including coverage of Kasparov v Deep Blue, work for the BBC, and even Cilla Black!
Daniel is a top level tutor and instructor, with a very successful YouTube channel, and remains a top British player. He’s also a native of West London! Couldn’t be better.
This will be a popular evening, so if you sign up as an ‘early bird’ before 10th April, it is only £7 per place, rising to £10 thereafter.
Tickets are exclusively for Hammer members up to March 31st, so don’t delay to secure your place amongst the lucky 48!
The Hammer vs Battersea Sambrook’s Club Challenge!
The world’s first “Chess-Up in a Brewery”!
There are three absolute truths in our corner of the chess world in early 2019:
The Noisy Neighbours, Battersea, are still smarting from the El Chessico encounter two months ago, and are thirsting for revenge.
The indisputable thirst that chess players have for the combination in liquid format of hops, barley, yeast and water.
Hammer will never not be thirsty for a chess challenge.
A thirst that must – and will – be quenched. That is a lot of thirst. We have the answer.
Yes, the first “Chess-Up in a Brewery” challenge has been arranged, and you bet those Battersea Boyz want revenge!
The challenge will take place in the tap room of Sambrook’s brewery, over in Battersea (SW11 3QG), on Saturday the 26th January from 1-5pm. Check out their website:
Due to space constraints, the match will be restricted to just 14 boards, and to ensure an even distribution of all playing strengths, the set-up will be as follows in terms of ECF ratings:
Boards 1&2 – ECF 200+
Boards 3&4 – ECF 180-200
Boards 5&6 – ECF 160-180
Boards 7&8 – ECF 140-160
Boards 9&10 – ECF 120-140
Boards 11&12 – ECF 100-120
Boards 13&14 – ECF below 100
So, we need 14 Hammers to step forward and volunteer for the challenge match! It will be strictly first come, first served, so get involved quickly if you want to play – it will be a brilliant event!
Festive greetings to you all! And thanks to everyone for getting your games played in time for Round II of the Rapidplay Competition.
Congratulations go to Andy on this occasion, who scored the only upset of the round!
With only four players left on 2/2, round three pits the leaders against each other. Four players are half a point behind on 1.5, and there are some juicy-looking pairings throughout the list:
The deadline for Round III is Monday 28th January. Please arrange your games ASAP and enter the details into the fixtures spreadsheet.
First up, a very exciting update on the recent British Bangla Rapidplay tournament, followed by some truly momentous news from the Thames Valley Division. This report is definitely worth a full read! Please enjoy…
A Chairman’s Performance
A trio of Hammers took part in the recent BBCA Rapidplay on 11th November, and the results were very encouraging!
Chris and Kostis both took part in the major section, with our Wily Chairman, Bajrush, playing in the Open (no grade limit!) section.
The Happy Hammer Trio!
Kostis came away with 2.5 points out of 6 – a solid result. Chris bettered that slightly, with 3 points from 6. But the performance of the day goes to Bajrush, with a whopping 5 out of 6, and a share of 2nd place!
The third round saw him facing GM Bogdan Lalic as white, with the following position:
Black to play. Bajrush gives his thoughts: “I think I have a winning position, but miscalculated the next move. Black played Bd2, the only move to save him losing the game on the next move (Qg8+). After, I should play Kg2, but instead played Qa2 and ended up losing”.
Still, Bajrush ended up sharing 2nd prize with a GM and an IM! Not a bad performance at all!!
05.11.18 – Thames Valley Division 3: Wimbledon v Hammersmith
Captain Robin reports from the front line….
Our first match got off to a shaky start with a 4-1 defeat, and one adjournment, against the very strong Wimbledon team.
The one bright note was Sheikh on board 2 with a rapid win. His game is presented below – on the White side of a Sicilian:
Nadhmi came up against a 161 player, and played courageously up to the very end.
Yazhou on board 5 adjourned with a possible slight advantage. We wait to see how that goes!
12.11.18 – Thames Valley Division 1: Hammersmith v Surbiton
The Thames Valley Times Are A Changing – A Clueless Onlooker Reports
Back ’63 a young man called Robert Zimmerman captured for an entire generation the scent of change and hope that was in the air. He was Bob Dylan and the rest is history.
The second verse of ‘The Times they are a-changin’ for your delight is given below because it perfectly encapsulates the journey made by Hammersmith Chess Club in the last four years:
Come writes and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who That it’s namin’ For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’
Nowhere has this progress been more forcibly demonstrated than the Thames Valley League.
On Monday night Hammer took on one of the perennial powerhouses of the First division – Surbiton A. Hammer have never beaten Surbiton A – last season we got a draw when some player called Clueless salvaged a draw in a murky adjourned game. Indeed, your correspondent can vividly recall a 7.5-0.5 mauling the Hammer crew took 20 months ago that was really traumatic at the time. Hammer were light years away from ever achieving parity, let alone victory.
However, this season Hammer have started at a pace in the Thames Valley League – as of Monday night, before the Surbiton encounter, we were 3 and 0. The match would prove how far along the road we have come.
The times are a changing – nothing shows this more than the scoreboard below:
First thing – we won. We won handsomely.
However, what strikes me is the change in our team line-up. Only Carsten, Bajrush and Marios played in the massacre 20 months ago.
Thomas, Sylvain, Tony, Paul and Jim have all joined the Hammer family since that 7.5-0.5 thrashing and hence do not bear the scars of that bruising encounter. Yep, not only the times are a changing, but the personnel definitely are as well.
Enough musings. To the games.
In board order, Carsten had yet another OTB no quarter given match-up with Chris Briscoe. I would love to know how many times they have played each other. Methinks it is up there with Karpov-Kasparov numbers. The one thing these games are not, and that is boring. It always seems to be primeval chess. Carsten is probably the most correct Hammer player I know but something happens to him when he runs into Chris. The inner Viking takes over.
This was a no holds-barred game with kings on an open-board with heavy artillery raining down. It was tightrope stuff with the result possibly going to either player. In the end Chris manoeuvred his black bishop to f3 to give a check, putting it en-prise, and this seemed with time ticking down to throw the Great Dane. A few moves later Carsten resigned in a position where he was one move away from delivering the coup-de-grace himself. Hammer down 0-1.
Thomas, our finest piece of French T-Bone, had a very positional game with his 200 rated opponent – playing black for a long period it looked like he held an edge with this bishop pair versus an opposing knight and bishop on a fairly open board. In a complex series of maneouvres he lost a pawn and was then fighting to salvage a draw which he duly delivered. Hammer on the scoreboard 0.5-1.5
Board three was possibly the game of the evening – our Wily Chairman Bajrush playing white against another 200-rated player. Yep, the patented Wily opening variation got another punt – but astonishingly he introduced a novelty – he actually castled! – which I thought was against the entire spirit of the variation. It was a very exciting encounter with white’s thematic c5! Making space for his bishop on c4 being a highlight. The whole game is given below for your enjoyment. Nobody plays chess like Wily!
Board 4 brought our newest newbie Sylvain to the fore – I must say this was a game of warfare that encompassed the whole board – it was brutal and complicated. There were tactics galore accompanied by deep strategy – it gave me a headache just looking at it. However, the finish was prosaic – white in desperation had launched a speculative kingside attack rather than just accept a totally passive position. Sylvain seized his moment by taking a knight with his Queen forcing a recapture with the white Queen and then playing Nf2+ forking the Queen – just very classy. I hereby nickname him Aramis!
Hammer nudging ahead 2.5-1.5
Board 4 saw the Surgeon in excellent form against a very tricky opponent Nick Faulks. Playing to provoke weaknesses in the black position, Tony induced his opponent to lash out. However, he had missed a sequence that lost a piece and then compounded the error by moving his queen to a7 instead of d8 and dropping an exchange. Here is the game:
Next up was Paul McK, the Prof, who deplores the Slow Play format and let it be said is fairly vocal about it. However, I do share his view that it should be confined to the dustbin of history. I have to confess I did not see much of the game but there looked like a lot of manoeuvring and the draw was agreed in one of those positions that would please the detractors of the current Carlsen and Caruana WCC match.
Hammer at 4-2 up and guaranteed at least a draw.
Next to the plate was Zeus – Marios had uncertain form to the end of last season due to a huge chess workload. However, with a new career, a lack of beard and an uptick in sartorial elegance he is returning to his best form.
The game below is him at his best although he unnecessarily berated himself for missing 18. Nd5! – the good news for Hammer is Zeus is back. It is always good to have the Gods on your side.
Hammer past the winning post at 5-2. Our first ever win over Surbiton A. Cue fireworks, music, ticker-tape parade and raucous celebrations. But hold your horses – Jim “El Loco” Stevenson still had to check-in.
All eyes turned to our LL Hammer 1 captain playing a slow-play finish game where he held the upper-hand. Now my knowledge of El Loco’s games is filled with Kings Gambits, with tactics and strategy in perfect harmony. This was not one of those games.
This was a drudge and a sludge affair where there were no tactics, just the heavy sound of positional moves. Jim had won a pawn in a position where there were two rooks vs two rooks and an opponent intent on just making the sealed move point. Jim was striving to convert when the adjournment came – fortunately his sealed move means he is +3 according to the uber brain, Stockfish. We expect good news shortly.
This was a stellar performance by the team – and it provides this pleasing picture:
Hammer has come of age!!!
A great Hammer night, and many congratulations to Captain Wily and the crew.
Can’t get a ticket, or visiting central London? Why not watch the LIVE online coverage for FREE with other chess fans and enthusiasts at Chess & Bridge shop! Yes, our website sponsors will be showing the official LIVE stream throughout the event at their central London store on Baker Street.
They’ll have some chairs in front of their large in-store TV screen, plus outdoor FREE to use chess sets if the world championship action gets too much. And of course, thousands of books and chess products to browse in-store.
Come watch, browse, chat, grab refreshments from any nearby establishments (there are lots!), and share your thoughts on the excitement of the match with like-minded people.
And remember, all Hammersmith Chess Club members are entitled to a 10% discount on all products with the code: HAMMERCHESS10 – works online too!
Forget about Christmas – El Chessico pt. IIis the only thing people are talking about this month, and it all kicks off tomorrow evening.
Three years of rivalry, grudges, scores-to-be-settled, oh and some friendship in there too – we’re putting it all on the line tomorrow night across 30+ boards against those noisy neighbours in saaaarf London, Battersea Chess Club.
Full details below – please get in touch if you have any last minute queries. And we have a tentative board order too (subject to change!). It’s going to be EPIC:
Tuesday 6th November, 7.15pm sharp start
Battersea Labour Club, 81-83 Falcon Road, SW11 2PF
Clapham Junction is the nearest station
Time Control: 70 minutes, +10 second increment
All games rated
There is a huge trophy to be won!
Tentative Board Order:
And There’s More!
Battersea will also be hosting a special Blitz tournament, inspired by the WCC match in conjunction with Chessable, on Tuesday 20th November.
There will be cash prizes, and more than a couple of Hammers have already thrown their hats into the ring.
If you’re keen to take part, please get in touch with Battersea’s Aldo, who is helping organise: aldocamilleri@aol.com
The Annual British Bangla Chess Association FIDE Rapidplay is coming up – and as always there are some serious cash prizes up for grabs, with a side dish of Biryani!
It’s been a great tournament the last few years, and the BBCA are terrific hosts & very welcoming – and terrific competitors too, as we know from our Summer League matchups!
Full details below, but the key thing to note is the £1,360 prize fund, which includes 3x grading prizes for the best performers at the lower levels – great idea!
When: Sunday 11th November 2018, 11am kickoff, 7pm prize-giving
Where: London Enterprise Academy, Commercial Road, E1 1RD
Entry: £25 entry (ECF bronze members will need to pay an additional £7.50)
What: Six round, Swiss pairings, 15 mins +5 sec increment
Contact: britishbanglachess@gmail.com
Further information is available on the BBCA website, along with entry forms and a current list of players:
Diversity Officer – if you’re interested in talking to us about this new position on our Committee, please get in touch. We’ll be locking this down on 26th October.
Safeguarding– we are now a fully-fledged child-friendly club, having signed up to the ECF’s Safeguarding Policy and with the appointment of a Child Protection Officer – full details here – we encourage all members to familiarise themselves with the ECF’s policy
Club Internal RapidPlay – if you haven’t done so already, please get in touch with your opponent and get your First Round match arranged! All results need to be reported back to the Tournament controllers by Friday 16th November. The clock is ticking!!
Tomorrow night sees us making our London Division 2 debut against the mighty East Ham! It’s been a wild ride for our top London team this last few years, with two rapid promotions. We’re now dining in the elite section of the London Club setup! Big Jim “Loco” Stevenson captains the side… wish them luck!
And finally… The Hammer Christmas Party will soon be upon us! The date is set for Thursday 6th December, and we have a spot reserved for us at Wahaca restaurant on Charlotte Street. It’s already proving popular, so don’t delay and get in touch with John to confirm your place: john.white49@ntlworld.com. Remember – partners, parents, friends and anyone else is welcome, the more the merrier… we just need to confirm numbers.
20 brave souls have thrown their hats into the ring for the opportunity to win this prestigious annual event. As with last year there are 4 sections, so plenty of opportunity for everyone to bag some glory, regardless of playing strength.
We’ll be running updates every month with the current standings and new pairings – so stay tuned.
The first round officially kicks off today, with the full (random) pairings below. Future pairings will operate on a Swiss system, so they get much tastier as the competition goes on:
Players are asked to contact their opponents using the information emailed out to you, and arrange your games ASAP – the round needs to be completed by close of business on Friday 16th November. If you miss this deadline, you’re looking at a default and nil points!
If you have any queries (or maybe the FOMO is too much and you want a late, late entry!), please contact the tournament controllers:
This coming Monday 22 October marks our first free evening at Lytton Hall this season with no home games, and as a result we’re putting on a small competition!
It was originally intended to be a training night, but we thought it’d be much more fun to play a few simultaneous games against our top players – Carsten, Tony and Bajrush – and get their thoughts & analysis afterwards.
This is a great opportunity to take on a top chess player, with the added time and thinking advantage that a Simultaneous provides! Depending on numbers, we’ll split the group and have 5-10 Hammerites taking on each of our top bods. Games will all be on a casual basis – no ratings for this one!
In addition, there’ll be the usual opportunity to play some more casual chess against other Hammerites, and enjoy a cup of tea with a hobnob. Who could ask for more???