Congratulations to all the English juniors who have been selected to represent England at the upcoming European Youth Champions in Prague in late August.

They include my pupils Anisha Sawhney (U12 Girls), Ezzie Brass and Savin Dias (both U10 boys).

Here is Anisha in action against current Womens World Champion Hou Yifan of China, at an event in October 2015. Hou Yifan took on some of the top English girls which included Anisha and Kate Willmoth (who is looking on).

1st www.lorinchess.com Junior Invitational

34 of the strongest junior players descended on Muswell Hill for the 1st Junior Invitational, run by IM Lorin D’Costa. This was a 3 round slowplay event (1 hour each on the clock).
The event ran very smoothly and there were lots of exciting and interesting games. The level of play was very high, and many of the games went the full distance.
My thanks to Mr Michael Flatt for arbiting, and all parents who helped including Bernard Klingher to ensure the event ran as it did.
Games have been submitted for Grading, and should be included in the July 2015 Standardplay List.

The prizewinners after 3 rounds were as follows:

1st- Rory McLean (tie break) 3/3 £50 and trophy

1st= Oscar Selby, Anaya Popat, Noah Shapiro 3/3 £30 and trophy

Top Girl- Aimee Gee-Grant 2/3 £20 and trophy

2nd Girl- Anum Sheikh 2/3 (after playoff) £15 and trophy

1st Grading Rank 12-23 Harjivan Singh 2/3 £20 and DVD

2nd Grading Rank 12-23 Liad Levy 2/3 £10 and DVD

1st Grading Rank 24-34 Manraj Singh 2/3 £20 and DVD

2nd Grading Rank 24-34 Arav Raja 2/3 £10 and DVD

Best Game- Kian Shah

2nd Best Game- Max Marcuson

World Champions come to London!

After the season ending London Junior Championships in December 2014, some of North Londons top juniors held the honour of meeting some former World Chess Champions who came to visit London.

Ethan and Leo Sanitt met Garry Kasparov at the London Chess Classic in December, which the boys described as a ‘real buzz’ to meet arguably the greatest ever chess player the grace the royal game. Kasparov was World Champion for over 15 years (1985-2000) and was known for his fierce presence at the board.

Garry Kasparov factfile: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov

Garry also visited Akiva School in North London, where Barnet Under 9 Champion Noah Shapiro was one of around 30 pupils to take Garry on in a chess simultaneous. Noah essayed his favourite Queens Gambit Declined Variation and lasted 38 moves before being checkmated by the former champion. What Noah probably didn’t know was Garry can call himself an expert in this line, having played it for white and black many times in his World Championship matches in the 1980s and 1990s against his big rival, Anatoly Karpov!

In early January 2015, Nicolai Woltery of Haberdashers Askes School met and played against the current World Champion, 24 year old Magnus Carlsen of Norway, also in a simultaneous he gave in central London. Magnus has raised the bar in recent years of top level chess, even breaking Garry Kasparovs record for the highest ever international (FIDE) rating ever achieved. Nicolai as black also put in his best effort, and Magnus sportingly analysed his game with Nicolai afterwards, a nice touch.

Magnus Carlsen factfile: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen

It is nice to see such chess profiles inspiring the children, and I hope the boys will remember their experiences which most chess

LJCC COMPETITION TIME!

Just like last year, I will be holding yet another competition.

To enter, all you need to do is:

• Enter any London Junior (LJCC) qualifier (see list above)
• and/or the Tournament and Training day that I run with Rob Willmoth, which will be held on Sunday 12th October 2014.
  Email Rob Willmoth (rob@chesscoachingservices.net) for entry, this event is extremely popular with 120+ children attending the past 2 events so do sign up quickly!

Let me know of your child’s participation (regardless of result!)

Those who know me know how much I recommend playing in tournaments to gain practice and make new friends. These prizes are an incentive for your child to play this term, I hope!

THE PRIZES:

1st name drawn out of the hat:

• Orange and Purple pieces chess set, specially ordered from the USA
• Official 41st Chess Olympiad knight chess keyring (you cannot buy these anywhere)
• Copy of one of my official www.chessbase.com DVDs on the Giuoco Piano
  shop.chessbase.com/en/products/dcosta_murphy_the_giuoco_piano
• Copy of one of my official www.chessbase.com DVDs on prodigy Sergey Karjakin
  shop.chessbase.com/en/products/dcosta_chess_prodigies_uncovered_sergey_karjakin

2nd name drawn out of the hat:

• Copy of one of my official www.chessbase.com DVDs on the Queens Gambit Declined Opening
  shop.chessbase.com/en/products/dcosta_murphy_queens_gambit_declined
• Chess Scorebook
• Copy of one of my ‘Chess on Toast’ DVDs
  www.lorinchess.com/dvds

Girls Prize:

• Copy of one of my ‘Chess on Toast’ DVDs
  www.lorinchess.com/dvds
• Chess Scorebook
• Official 41st Chess Olympiad rook chess keyring

Remember, to enter you child must play in one of the tournaments listed above to enter this competition.
Parents- You MUST email me your child’s result and which tournament they played in, as condition of entry. Please do not assume that I know they have played, since I teach so many children!
Age limit-under 18 i.e. still at school.
Name to be drawn in December after all tournaments are finished, and hopefully I can present prizes before the Xmas holidays.

Good luck!

41st World Chess Olympiad, Tromso, Norway, 1-14 August 2014

It was a great experience to coach the Barbados national teams at the Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway.

The mens team came in 127th from 150 teams, and the womens team 120th from 136 teams.

I ran into the strongest female chess player ever, Judit Polgar from Hungary, who kindly posed for a picture with me!

It was here in Tromso I passed the FIDE Trainers Course, and the group posed for a photo afterwards!

EPSCA Under 9 Chess Success

English Primary Schools Chess Association (EPSCA) national success

I am very proud to announce that I have 2 schools who will be competing on 1st and 2nd July in the national EPSCA Under 9 schools finals in Birmingham.

Both Haberdashers Askes Prep and North London Collegiate School have fought through two tough qualifying rounds to reach the finals stage.

Habs Prep have had history in chess success, but for North London Collegiate, this has come after just 2 years of even playing in the competition!

The finals will be an 8 school, 7 round all play all and I wish both teams good luck.

The Under 9 finals list;

The Hall School
Laxton
Haberdashers Askes Prep
Brookland School
North London Collegiate
Akiva School
Radlett Prep
Westminster Under School

Chess in the national news

Over the past few months, chess has been in the national newspapers and radio.

Girls Chess Interview

An excellent article written by Radhika Sanghani at the Daily Telegraph, who came around to North London Collegiate Girls School (www.nlcs.org.uk) in May 2014 to interview myself and the senior school chess club.
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10844382/Chess-sexism-Compulsory-chess-for-schoolgirls-Will-schoolgirls-master-the-mens-game-of-chess.html

England’s top junior interviewed

10 year old Josh Altman was also featured on BBC Radio in May.

BBC RADIO 4, “IN DEFENCE OF PUSHY PARENTS”
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b042jpk2

AIRED WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014
11:00 – 11:30 AM

Presenter: Rosie Millard
Producer: Max O’Brien
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4

Uk Chess Challenge Megafinals, May 2014

Congratulations to all those who qualified for the Megafinals throughout the country, and especially those that got 4/6 to qualify for the Gigafinals to take place in July. The dates for your diary are:

Northern Gigafinal 5/6 July
Southern Gigafinal 12/13 July

Special mention to all those that won Supremo or Suprema titles by winning their age sections:

Herts Megafinal

Under 9- Nicolai Woltery 6/6 1st

Under 10- Avi Gogna 5.5/6 1st= Manraj Singh 5.5/6 1st=

17th May Middlesex Megafinal North

Under 7 Girls- Alisha Vyas 3/6 1st

Under 8 Boys- Eoghan Tucker 5.5/6 1st

Under 8 Girls- Jacqui Sanitt 5.5/6 1st

Under 9 Boys- Arav Raja 6/6 1st

Under 9 Girls- Anisha Sawhney 6/6 1st

Under 10 Boys- Leo Sanitt 6/6 1st

Under 10 Girls- Anaya Popat 5.5/6 1st

Under 11 Girls- Lara Mallin 4.5/6 1st

25th May Middlesex Megafinal South

Under 7 Girls- Serena Lincoln 4/6 1st

Under 8 Boys- Ezzie Brass 6/6 1st

Under 11 Girls- Emmanuelle Gelain-Sohn 6/6 1st

Under 11 Boys- Tim Lewis 5.5/6 1st

Under 17 Girls- Joanna Yass 3/6 1st

1st June Middlesex Megafinal Central

Under 8 Boys- Michael Uriely 6/6 1st

Under 10 Girls- Aimee Gee-Grant 5.5/6 1st

Under 12 Girls- Elizabeth Ivanov 3.5/6 1st

I am proud of all my pupils who qualified for the Megafinals, and well done to all of those that played!

Nicolai plays World Champion Magnus Carlsen!

For anyone, playing the world champion in their chosen field is quite an honour. For 9 year old Nicolai Woltery, of Haberdashers Askes Prep School in North London, it was a dream come true as he was invited to play against newly crowned world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who won the title just a few months ago in November 2013, at the Arctic Securities simultaneous event in Park Lane, London on Monday 6th January 2014.
Nicolai played a strong game and was eventually beaten in 37 moves, one of the longest games in the simul. His game was featured in the Daily Telegraph chess column by IM Malcolm Pein for his sterling effort.
Well done Nicolai!

Junior Chess Roundup - July 2013

Josh Altman on Child Genius

Many of you may have seen my appearance on Channel 4s ‘Child Genius’ programme back in late June, with my pupil 9 year old Josh Altman. Josh did fantastically well to get into the final 20 children to make the programme, after an initial 1500 applied.

You can see his appearance on the Lorraine Show (ITV)
youtu.be/UulhguQ5rqo

The actual episode Josh was in (episode 1) can be viewed here-which I am featured in too!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiPM25_Odqs

Check out Josh’s youtube channel here:
www.youtube.com/user/JoshuaAltmanChess

European Youth Girls Under 18 Team championships, Maribor, Slovenia 6-13 July 2013

Amy Hoare and my pupil Chantelle Foster are representing England in this 2 board team competition, in a 7 round all play all. You can see results at:

www.chess-results.com/tnr105774.aspx?ix=1&art=3&rd=1&lan=1&wi=821&turdet=YES

UK Chess Challenge hots up!

As I write, the Uk Chess Challenge Gigafinals will be taking place over the next few weekends (6/7th July for the Southern Gigafinal in Reading, and 13/14 July in the Northern Gigafinal)

Congratulations to all my pupils who went to their various Megafinals in May. Here are the results:
www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/

Wembley Megafinal (19th May 2013) Middlesex North

Under 7 boys:
Michael Uriely (Golders Hill) 6/6 1st SUPREMO Q
Jonah McCarthy (Manorside) 3/6
Zohar Applebum-Kahn (Manorside) 3/6
Daniel Nahali (Manorside) 3/6

Under 7 girls:
Jacqui Sanitt (HGS) 4.5/6 1st= Q SUPREMA
Siya Jagganathan (NLCS) 4.5/6 1st= Q
Tofunwa Daniel (NLCS) 4/6 Q
Rali Vanguelova (NLCS) 3/6
Avril-Chloe Hsu (NLCS) 2.5/6
Mirabelle Isaacs (NLCS) 2.5/6

Under 8 girls:
Rebecca Carter (Manorside) 5/6 1st SUPREMA
Kate Driscoll (NLCS) 4/6 2nd Q
Sherla Buergi (NLCS) 2/6

Under 8 boys:
Raffy Balouka-Myers 4.5/6 Q
Toby Balouka-Myers 4/6 Q
Oliver Shaw 3.5/6
Marcus Kung 2.5/6
Arav Raja 2/6
Yuya Sugo (Manorside) 1.5/6

Under 9 girls:
Anaya Popat (NLCS) 5.5/6 1st SUPREMA
Mukampikai Satheeswaran (NLCS) 4.5/6 Q

Under 9 boys:
Josh Altman (Arnold House) 5/6 2nd= Q
Leo Sanitt (HGS) 5/6 2nd= Q
Rory McLean (Highgate) 5/6 2nd= Q

Under 11 boys:
Ethan Sanitt (HGS) 4/6 Q
Federico Rocco (HGS) 5.5/6 1st SUPREMO

Isleworth Megafinal (25th May 2013) Middlesex South

U8 girls:
Imaan Bilgrami 4/6 Q
Ami Sheth 4/6 Q
Avni Tanna 1/6

U14 girls:
Sophia Sheera 2/6 SUPREMA

U16 girls:
Joanna Yass 0/6 SUPREMA

Herts Megafinal (25th May 2013)

U12 girls:
Asha Jina 4.5/6 SUPREMA

U13 boys:
Taran Jina 5.5/6 1st= SUPREMO
Vincent Lee 5.5/6 1st=

Isleworth Megafinal (26 May 2013) Middlesex Central

U7 girls:
Dana Dostanova 3/6
Diora Ibrakmova 1/6

U8 girls:
Anisha Sawhney 4/6 Q

U8 boys:
Elias Gelain-Sohn 4.5/6 Q

U9 girls:
Maya Gardi 4/6 1st= Q (after playoff)

U10 girls:
Emmanuelle Gelain-Sohn 5/6 2nd Q

U11 girls:
Aanya Gardi 2.5/6 SUPREMA

U12 girls:
Elizabeth Ivanov 4/6 SUPREMA

Kent Megafinal

Under 9 boys:
Aditya Verma 6/6 1st SUPREMO

Excellent results and I wish you all luck in the Gigafinals!

Coaching & training days, North London (2012/2013)

Myself and Rob Willmoth are pleased to announce our Coaching days to be held in John Keble Church, Church Close, HA8 9NS. We have had two successful editions in 2011, where over 80 children came to each event!
The coaching and training day is a 5 round junior chess tournament with 30 minute training sessions after each round. Children are put into four ability groups for the coaching, and given expert tuition by a strong chess coach.
Doors Open 12.30pm and the first round is at 1pm, culminating with prizegiving at 5.45pm.

The confirmed dates are:

21st October 2012
6th January 2013
3rd March 2013
28th April 2013
30th June 2013

Contact Rob Willmoth at rob@chesscoachingservices.net for more information and to enter this event.

European Youth Chess Championships, Prague, 15-26 August 2012

30 English boys and girls, aged from 8 all the way to 18 made the trip to Prague for the annual European Youth Championships. This was held at the ‘Top Hotel’ in the south east of the city.

Being picked to represent your country is a big honour in any sport, so those who have had the chance to go to this event (and the world youth championships, also held annually) are very lucky! It also is a reward for the hard work these young players have put into travelling up and down the country, honing their chess skills in various tournaments, as well as the training they have been doing with their coaches.

The main difference in this tournament to playing domestically is that every single player is the strongest the respective countries have sent, meaning absolutely no easy games. It can be very tough mentally losing to a player from Russia, only in the very next round to get the champion from Hungary! All the English players acquitted themselves well, and put their best efforts in which they can all be proud of.

Tournament details can be found at: www.chess-results.com/tnr79011.aspx?art=1&rd=9&lan=1&flag=30

Or the official website: www.eycc2012.eu/

The players that represented England were:

Joshua Altman- Under 8 boys
Leo Sanitt
Aditya Verma

Zheming Zhang- Under 10 Boys

Laura Davidson- Under 10 girls
Meytal Cohen

Girinath Haridas-Under 12 Boys
Arul Gupta
Yang-Jian Zhou
Dion Huang

Akshaya Kalaiyalahan-Under 12 girls
Eva Ressel
Beatrice Steele

Ravi Haria-Under 14 boys
Tarun Malhotra
Conor Murphy
Adam C Taylor
Ananth Balaji
Leo Tsoi
Rohan Shiatis

Martin Oliver-Under 16 boys
Patrick Smith

Amy Hoare-Under 16 girls
Chantelle Foster
Katherine Shepherd

Yang-Fan Zhou-Under 18 boys
Sam Franklin
James Foster
Gordon Scott
Adrian Archer-Lock

Although there were many exceptional performances, the biggest performance was 8 year old Joshua Altman, of North London who secured 3rd place on tie break and therefore the Bronze Medal in the boys under 8 competition with his score of 7/9. It has been a long time since England won a medal in the World or European Youth championships, and Joshua follows the great English talents David Howell, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane, Nick Pert (all of whom went on to become Grandmasters and represent England) and Jovanka Houska (who became International Master and board 1 for the England womens team) in winning a medal at these prestigious events.

Well done also to Aditya Verma, who came 8th in the same tournament with his score of 6.5/9 and also to Akshaya Kalaiyalahan (girls under 12) and IM Yang-Fan Zhou (boys under 18) who achieved good top 20 positions in their tournaments.

London Junior Championships-Qualifying Tournaments

Its the start of the new school year, and this means the London Junior Championship qualifiers take place throughout this first school term. I include the list below, or you can go to the official website: www.ljcc.co.uk/qualifying.htm

The 2012 finals will be held at University of Westminster, Harrow Campus. The Under 10 and Under 14 finals are two day events, 15th and 16th December. The Under 8 final is a two day event and will take place on the 29th and 30th December. The Under 12, Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21 finals are three day events, 28th – 30th December.

Qualifying:

To play in the Under 8, Under 10 or Under 12 Finals players must qualify by obtaining a high enough score in a qualifying event or by grade.
(No qualification is necessary to play in the older age groups)

Qualification by grade
Pre qualification for Major Events in the following sections is based on published ECF Grades (Standard or Rapidplay A, B, C, D or X)
Under 8 Grade 50 or higher
Under 10 Grade 110 or higher
Under 12 Grade 140 or higher

Scores required in Qualifying Events
Under 8 – 4 points or more out of 6 qualifies for the final.
Under 10 Major – 4.5 points or more out of 6 qualifies for the final.
Under 10 Minor – 3.5 points or 4 points out of 6 qualifies for the final.
Under 12 Major – 4.5 points or more out of 6 qualifies for the final.
Under 12 Minor – 3.5 points or 4 points out of 6 qualifies for the final.

Players who qualify for a Major event may not play in the corresponding Minor event.

List of qualifying events as at 20th August 2012. Please check with local organisers before making arrangements.

15/09/2012 Norfolk Kevin Moore 01842 750060 kevinmoore758@btinternet.com

16/09/2012 SE London Sue Maguire 020 8656 6420 sue.maguire@kjca.org

23/09/2012 Barnet Knights Rob Willmoth 07956 297329 rob@barnetknights.com

29/09/2012 Chelmsford James Simpson 07950 136450 james.simpson@selex-comms.com

30/09/2012 Hertfordshire Yogesh Jina 07971 196148 HSCA@Live.co.uk

06/10/2012 Belfast Mark Newman 07872 544868 mark.chris.newman@googlemail.com

06/10/2012 Devon Tim Onions 01626 865309 tim.onions@yahoo.co.uk

06/10/2012 Coulsdon Scott Freeman 020 8645 0302 chess@ccfworld.com

06/10/2012 Richmond Marie Gallagher 0794 4496045 magall@btopenworld.com

07/10/2012 Enfield Nathanael Lutton 01268 280932 chessorganiser@gmail.com

07/10/2012 Hampshire Joe French 01256 472537 joefrench86@hotmail.co.uk

14/10/2012 Barnet Tony Niccoli 0773 4816436 tony1n@yahoo.com

20/10/2012 Berkshire Nigel Dennis 01491 576052 nigelwdennis@btinternet.com

20/10/2012 Buckinghamshire Hans Hansen 01494 837173 hapehansen@aol.com

21/10/2012 Wey Valley Pat Armstrong 01372 726762 WeyValley@aol.com

27/10/2012 Sussex Paula Payne 01903 209415 entrymanager@sussexjuniorchess.org

28/10/2012 Harrow Angela Eyton 0793 992 0237 angelaeyton@aol.com

28/10/2012 West Kent Sue Maguire 020 8656 6420 sue.maguire@kjca.org

03/11/2012 Isleworth Sainbayar Tserendorj 0752 503 1843 londonrapidplay@yahoo.co.uk

03/11/2012 Elstree Ravi Kumar 0780 404 7647 chesscheck@gmail.com

04/11/2012 Oxfordshire Alan Kennedy 07834 356919 alan.kennedy@smithkennedy.co.uk

11/11/2012 Barnet & Finchley John Fleetwood 020 8346 2472 johnfleetwoodj@aol.com

17/11/2012 Maidenhead Claires Court Schools Nigel Dennis 01491 576052 nigelwdennis@btinternet.com

17/11/2012 Northamptonshire David Knight 01604 881023 david@knight005.orangehome.co.uk

18/11/2012 Basildon Nathanael Lutton 01268 280932 chessorganiser@gmail.com

18/11/2012 Millfield Matthew Turner 01458 837557 mjt@millfieldschool.com

25/11/2012 Woodbridge Adam Hunt 01394 615000 ahunt@woodbridge.suffolk.sch.uk

25/11/2012 Shenley Tony Niccoli 0773 4816436 tony1n@yahoo.com

01/12/2012 Wiltshire Cindy Acres 01793 762320 cindyacres@btinternet.com

08/12/2012 Potters Bar Ravi Kumar 07804 047647 chesscheck@gmail.com

15/12/2012 Harrow U12 Marc Shaw 07947 813303 2012@ljcc.co.uk

London Junior Championships-tournament qualifying list 2011

Go to: www.ljcc.co.uk/qualifying.htm#event to download entry forms etc.

List of qualifying events as at 13th August 2011. Please check with local organisers before making arrangements.

1st Tournament and training Day- 3rd July 2011 Results

Here are the results from the first Tournament and Training Day from 3rd July 2011. Well done to Akito Oyama of Cambridge who won the overall tournament with 4.5/5 ahead of Jonathan Pein (in a blitz playoff).
Players are listed in tournament position.

Tournament: CCS Tournament and Training Day
Section: Junior Open
Venue: John Keble Church Church Close HA8 9NS
Date: 03-Jul-11
Controller: Mr Adam Raoof

No”“” Name Grade Code 1 2 3 4 5 A B C D

70 OYAMA, Akito 143A 273236B b53+ w42+ b22+ w40+ b24+ 5 5 776 155
100 PEIN, Jonathan 138A 258775A b4+ w28+ b58+ w39+ b41+ 5 5 740 148
24 HSIEH, Oliver 114B 275803K w55+ b12+ w25- b3+ w70- 3 5 489 98
41 SPRUNG, Charlie 67C 276613K w43+ b6+ w51+ b25+ w100- 4 5 474 95
58 KARIA, Rishul 78C 276643H b50+ w38+ w100- b62+ w27+ 4 5 466 93
56 SADAGOPAN, Purushot 102D 283789E w5+ b30+ w3= b51- w63+ 3½ 5 444 89
51 IIOKA, Ren 96B 276625F b60+ w7+ b41- w56+ b28= 3½ 5 437 87
25 WILLMOTH, Harrison 67A 283359B b57+ w15+ b24+ w41- b42+ 4 5 420 84
3 PARTI, Aaron 51E 280162A b54+ w36+ b56= w24- b26+ 3½ 5 344 69
28 GITTLESON, Matt 55B 283470E w45+ b100- w8+ b20+ w51= 3½ 5 335 67
62 NAYAK, Raghav 84A 277320L w40- b34+ w52+ w58- b59+ 3 5 304 61
22 BROZEL, Sacha 94A 279700J bye+ b11+ w70- b59+ w38- 3 4 296 74
61 GRAN, David 87A 279633J b44- w26+ b63- w54+ b36+ 3 5 285 57
15 BAKER, Calum 0d 284755D w8+ b25- b4+ w7+ b60+ 4 5 230 46
38 AHMED, Junaid 0d w37+ b58- w12+ w44+ b22+ 4 5 230 46
40 AMERI, Gian Franco 0d b62+ w35+ b20+ b70- w39+ 4 5 230 46
42 KARIA, Devin 42D 283814L w52+ b70- w6+ b35+ w25- 3 5 205 41
4 COVEY, Jason 54D 283807C w100- b55+ w15- b53+ w5+ 3 5 200 40
26 TEKMAN OZAKINSEL, Mustafa 40A 283818H w21= b61- w29+ b33+ w3- 2½ 5 131 26
50 AU, Darica 0d w58- b16+ w53+ w60- b55+ 3 5 98 20
27 ISAKSEN, Peter 0d w2+ b39- w45+ b11+ b58- 3 5 90 18
30 DWIVEDI, Ishan 0d b9+ w56- b60- b34+ w35+ 3 5 90 18
39 CHAUHAN, Pranay 0d b63+ w27+ w59+ b100- b40- 3 5 90 18
44 DAN, Michael 0d w61+ b59- w31+ b38- w20+ 3 5 90 18
45 LEE, Raoul 0d b28- w9+ b27- w21+ b31+ 3 5 90 18
60 DAN, Gabriel 0d 272559K w51- b43+ w30+ b50+ w15- 3 5 90 18
6 LAVINGTON, Finn 0d b17+ w41- b42- w29+ bye= 2½ 4 80 20
36 BLISS, Wyn 0d w34+ b3- w21+ b63= w61- 2½ 5 80 16
63 SINGH, Harjivan 0d w39- b2+ w61+ w36= b56- 2½ 5 80 16
55 DE BATTE, Francesco 8E 283780J b24- w4- b57+ b52+ w50- 2 5 46 9
11 DAHAN, Omri 0d b13+ w22- b33= w27- b7+ 2½ 5 40 8
52 SAWADA, Hayato 0d b42- w17+ b62- w55- b53+ 2 5 38 8
5 CREGG, GianPaolo 0d 284534K b56- b37+ b7- w13+ b4- 2 5 30 6
54 HONEY, Ethan 0d w3- b31- w2+ b61- w33+ 2 5 30 6
59 THORN, Christopher 0d b32+ w44+ b39- w22- w62- 2 5 30 6
1 GELAIN-SOHN, Elias 0d 284531D w32+ w34- w9+ b12= 2½ 5 0 0
12 CIOLLI, Ettore 0d w24- b38- b8+ w1= 1½ 4 -10 -2
7 TINGER, Zac 0d w16+ b51- w5+ b15- w11- 2 5 -10 -2
21 COVEY, Sarah 0d b26= w33= b36- b45- w32+ 2 5 -10 -2
34 DE BATTE, Lucia 0d b36- w62- b1+ w30- b43+ 2 5 -10 -2
35 RAGHAVAN, Nathan 0d w31+ b40- w1+ w42- b30- 2 5 -10 -2
2 GITTLESON, Anna 0d b27- w63- b54- b16+ w17+ 2 5 -50 -10
13 HORSELL, Ben 0d 284541G w11- w53- b17+ b5- w8+ 2 5 -50 -10
31 BLOCH, Cameron 0d 286886G b35- w54+ b44- w43+ w45- 2 5 -50 -10
29 RODGERS, Wesley 0d b33= w20- b26- b6- w9+ 1½ 5 -60 -12
33 REGINALD, Thelaxini 0d w29= b21= w11= w26- b54- 1½ 5 -60 -12
20 GELAIN-SOHN, Emmanuelle 0d 284503K b29+ w40- w28- b44- 1 4 -60 -15
53 GROUT, Jonathan 0d w70- b13+ b50- w4- w52- 1 5 -70 -14
37 AZADDIN, Ibrahin Amin 0d b38- w5- 0 2 -100 -50
8 SHAH, Shaan 0d b15- w57+ b28- w12- b13- 1 5 -110 -22
43 THORN, Elizabeth 0d b41- w60- b32+ b31- w34- 1 5 -110 -22
9 SHOOTER, Tom 0d w30- b45- w16+ b1- b29- 1 5 -150 -30
32 LOUBENSKI, Sasha 0d w59- b1- w43- b57+ b21- 1 5 -150 -30
57 WEST CLARKE, Zaria 0d w25- b8- w55- w32- b16= ½ 5 -152 -30
16 ADDIS, Dylan 0d b7- w50- b9- w2- w57= ½ 5 -200 -40
17 SANSOM, Justine 0d w6- b52- w13- bye+ b2- 1 4 -200 -50

Chess Coaching Services Coaching Day- Sunday 23rd October 2011

IM Lorin D’Costa and Rob Willmoth are holding the 2nd edition of their successful coaching day at John Keble Church, Burnt Oak on Sunday 23rd October 2011.

Email Lorin or email Rob Willmoth for entries or further information.

The first event, held on July 3rd, was a success with 57 entrants coming for the coaching and tournament day.

Like the first one, there will be a 5 round tournament mixed with 30 minute training sessions between rounds. This intensive chess workout for the children proved very popular first time around, and we have stuck the same format.

European Youth Chess Championships, Albena, Bulgaria 10-21 September 2011

Official website of the tournament: www.eycc2011.eu

The players arrived in Albena, Bulgaria on 10th September late at night and hours after expected due to our flight from London Luton to Bourgas being delayed by nearly 4 hours. After this there was a 3 hour bus trip through the country to Hotel Mura, one of the hotels in the Albena holiday resort on the eastern coast of Bulgaria. However, with the first round being at 3pm on the 11th there was just enough time for the players and coaches to get enough sleep beforehand.
Amazingly the draw was up around 1pm meaning coaches had a bit of time to prepare their charges. Two of my pupils, Asha Jina (girls under 10) and Ananth Balaji (boys under 14) were making their debuts and had tough pairings to ease them into international competition.

Round 1

Team score: 1.5/4

A good score considering all fours players played against far higher opposition, often around 300 points difference. Chantelle and Henry played well to get off the mark; Chantelle winning on the black side of a Yugoslav Attack Sicilian Dragon where she tricked her opponent in the late middlegame. Henry was very close to winning his endgame but couldn’t quite finish off against a stubborn opponent after a five hour struggle. Ananth and Asha (both making their debuts in international competition) acquitted themselves well but found themselves up against high level opposition. Both will have learned a lot from this game which hopefully they will carry on into their remaining games.

Round 2

Team score: 3.5/4

An excellent return from my pupils today. Chantelle and Ananth both won in double quick time (16 and 18 moves respectively). Both however would have been prolonged with more stubborn defences, but both took their chances when presented with them. Asha got off the mark which was very welcome, comprehensively beating the local Bulgarian star with sensible chess and some nice tactics to finish off. Henry got his preparation but, playing the 7th seed, faced stiff resistance in the semi slav that occurred. He claimed he was ‘lucky’ to draw, but so far he has performed excellently in his two games against far higher rated opposition.

Round 3

Team score: 0.5/4

The team were generally unlucky today. Asha played an excellent opening and then unfortunately missed a winning combination on move 13 (which she spotted herself right after the game) which allowed her opponent to carry on and take full advantage. Ananth got short of time in a theoretical guioco piano where although he was two pawns up, in this quick time limit the complications were hard to work out. Henry was better, then worse, then better again only to spoilt a good position by playing a combination in the wrong move order. Chantelle on the other hand continued her excellent run with a draw against an opponent nearly 400 points above her. She grabbed a pawn in an advanced caro kann and even got a passed pawn on the queenside, but her resourceful opponent managed to mix things and the game ended in a complicated draw by perpetual check in a time scramble after nearly 4 hours play.

Round 4

Team score: 1/4

A bit of a rollercoaster day-Henry had a clear advantage out of the opening but his opponent managed to escape by sacrificing his queen. He still had the edge but then both players missed that Henry could lose his queen in one move! Eventually a drawn bishop ending resulted. High flying Chantelle was ‘monster prepped’ (the words of IM Tom Rendle) in her favourite Dragon Sicilian, it turns out a Spanish IM had played a new move and clearly this had been told to her Spanish opponent. In the quick time limit she couldn’t hold on in the complications. Ananths game ended in a draw just as both players were in time trouble and the fireworks were about to be lit. Asha fell victim to some home prep in her Kings Indian which left her in a passive position. She wriggled hard and nearly escaped but then fell for a tactic. Hoping the players can score well in round 5 before the rest day now.

Round 5

Team score: 2/4

An average day for my players. Asha and Ananth had good wins, Asha checkmating her opponent in 21 moves following a nicely played kingside attack whilst Ananth played for me his game of the tournament with a comprehensive win ending with a queen sacrifice against a player over 300 points higher rated than him. Chantelle was hit with an opening surprise and went down in an endgame. Still, her first half of the tournament has been a resounding success and she can be very pleased with how things have gone so far. Henry went down in a time scramble after a fluctuating game where he was worse for most of it but then had a chance to win a piece in the time trouble before allowing his opponent to crash through.

Now there is a rest day on 16th September. Round 6 resumes on the 17th.
Rest day activities included playing cricket (Mr Malhotra and Mr Croasdale turned out to be pretty handy with the bat!) swimming and an evening blitz tournament for the English players with Marcus Harvey triumphing.

Round 6

Team score: 2.5/4

Asha won with black against her Czech opponent in the endgame, however the key moment was in the middlegame when Asha sacrificed her rook for what appeared to her to be a forced mate. Her opponent believed this also and lost an exchange in the tactical melee, however in analysis it turned out the rook could have been taken after all. She won comprehensively once ahead though. Ananth drew with fellow countryman Tarun after a tight game resulted in Ananth winning a pawn but he couldn’t make any progress and a draw was eventually agreed. Henry was in attack mode seeking his first win, which he duly got after blitzing his opponent with a double pawn sac followed by an exchange sac. Chantelle unfortunately was hit by another piece of prep against yet another highly rated opponent, and was ground down throughout the middlegame without any counterplay. Still, she is doing very well this tournament despite only being on 2.5/6.

Scores after round 6:
Asha 3/6
Henry 2.5/6
Ananth 3/6
Chantelle 2.5/6

Round 7

Team score: 2/4

A mixed score for my players. Asha played excellently to checkmate her opponent in relatively short order-she has really got the hang of playing in this tournament now and we are all pleased she is doing well on her debut. Ananth was unlucky as once again he belied his low rating to equalise without difficulty against his Polish opponent. However he showed nerves to play for a win instead of going for the easy draw, this made things complicated and in his own time trouble he allowed his opponent a tactic he didn’t really deserve to have. Chantelle had yet another tough game and once she made one small slip in the opening, she was outplayed in the endgame without any real chances. Henry played the exciting game of the round, we had prepped his Dragon at one point to move 30 but on around move 20 his opponent tried something new and Henry gained material with a tactic. However he overlooked his opponent could get a dangerous outside passed pawn, however he found a very nice idea to queen a pawn himself and wrap things up in short order.

Scores after round 7:
Asha 4/7
Henry 3.5/7
Ananth 3/7
Chantelle 2.5/7

Round 8

Team score: 2.5/4

Henry won his third straight game after not winning at all in his first 5 games! The game was over after 12 moves when his Ukrainian opponent grabbed a hot pawn and was crushed mercilessly. Chantelle got back to winning ways, her trusty Sicilian Dragon coming up trumps again. Ananth showed just how much he has improved, coming out extremely disappointed to only draw with someone 270 points higher rated. Analysis showed if he had continued his pawn storm on his opponents king with more vigour he could well have been rewarded with a win. However a draw was still an excellent result. It’s been hard to predict the openings in the girls under 10 section but Asha was well prepared in her Kings Indian and she met a well coached Spanish girl who immediately whipped out one of the main lines. Both sides started attacking on opposite sides in typical Kings Indian fashion, but unfortunately for Asha her opponent got there first. However she is still on 50% going into the last round which is very good for the debutant.

Round 9

Team score: 2.5/4

Another excellent score for my players to finish off proceedings. Ananth defeated an opponent nearly 350 points higher than him, a smooth Ruy Lopez as black where the tactics that kicked off in the time scramble all worked in Ananths favour.

Henry, not to be outdone, won his fourth straight game against someone over 200 points above him. He told me he was in the mood to attack and he kept his word, throwing everything at his opponent and finally exchanging off into an endgame 4 pawn ahead. Chantelle also produced a very positive result to end her excellent tournament, drawing a long 5 hour game with a Belarussian 250 points above her.

Unfortunately for Asha she finished with a loss, but against a Russian girl where she stood well but got tricked in the middlegame. However Asha can be positive about her European tournament debut. The hope is she, and all the players who played, take their experience back to England where we hope their chess development can be continued.

Final Scores:

Congratulations to Henry Broadley who was the top English scorer with 5.5/9. He didn’t win at all in the first 5 games, but he certainly made up for this by winning his final 4!

Other English players:

Special final round mentions for Arul Gupta, drawing with the second seeded 2029-rated Russian in the final round, and Marcus Harvey who defeated a 2340 FM in the final round also to end up on a very respectable 5/9.

It has been a pleasure coaching here at the European Championships with the England squad, the parents have been very supportive of their charges and the children have worked very hard, which has been reflected in their results.

Lorin D’Costa

Please feel free to email me with any questions or enquiries (but please use the word ‘chess’ somewhere in the subject heading, otherwise it may go into my spam box!)

• lorinchess@gmail.com