Tag: Cumnor Chess Club

Cumnor 1 vs Oxford City 2 [Match Report]

Last Thursday saw Cumnor 1 gain their first league win of the season at home to Oxford City 2.

After suffering a couple of heavy losses in recent weeks, it was Cumnor’s turn to move up a gear and win handsomely.

Cumnor 1 City 2
1 Stevens, Gareth (149) 0 – 1 Smith, Roger A ( )
2 Varney, Andrew (146) 1 – 0 Biswas, Karl (147)
3 Glenn, Liam (140) 1 – 0 Yates, John O (142)
4 Varney, Daniel (133) 1 – 0 Godfrey, David (140)
5 Sayers, Mark (134) 1 – 0 Smith, Lucy K (125)
6 Carr, Robin (126) 1 – 0 Brooke, Ian R (109)
Match played: 21 Nov 2013 5 – 1

The first to finish was Daniel who played the Smith-Morra gambit as white. He sacrificed two pieces in the build-up to the mate.

Gareth on top board played against a Smith-Morra and suffered the same fate, 1-1.

Andrew won a piece early in the game and went in to win, while Liam was under a lot of pressure but wiggled his away out to end up in a better position.

Robin and Mark also won to produce a 5-1 win for Cumnor 1!

Even more shocking is that this win puts us up to 4th place (for now at least) in Division Two.

Current state of Division 2

Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion!

Viswanathan Anand has been dethroned by World No 1 Magnus Carlsen after Game 10 of 2013 World Chess championship ended in a draw.

Carlsen won the match 6.5-3.5 with 3 wins and 7 draws.

Carlsen, who became a grandmaster at 13, became the game’s youngest No 1 in history at the age of 18. His game against Anand was his first world championship and now is the youngest world champion at the age of only 22. Hopefully, he has many years ahead of him.

Thank you, for all the amazing games you produce from Cumnor Chess Club

Cumnor 1 vs Witney 2 [Match Report]

Cumnor Chess Club’s depleted first team lost 5-1 on Thursday night at home to Witney 2.

Cumnor 1 Witney 2
1 Stevens, Gareth (149) 0 – 1 Truran, Michael (188)
2 Glenn, Liam (140) 0 – 1 Weston, Richard (157)
3 Carr, Robin (126) 0 – 1 Searle, Howard AJ (147)
4 Steel, Robert (87) 0 – 1 O’Byrne, Daniel (143)
5 Ives, Marc ( ) ½ – ½ Edwards, Derek F (143)
6 Ives, Leonora ( ) ½ – ½ Smith, Paul ( )
Match played: 31 Oct 2013 1 – 5

Games against Witney 2 are always difficult, and this time things weren’t helped by a number of Cumnor 1 players being unavailable due to holidays, work and sickness.

Gareth Stevens played against Mike Truran on top board, a close game was played out between the two players however Mike had enough to win.

Liam Glenn had a great game with Richard, both players went on the attack very early. However, a small miscalculation by Liam allowed Richard to gain a tempo and went on to win. Richard pointed out that the last time they played, they where playing on board 6 of their respective teams!

Both Robin Carr and Robert Steel had hard games against much stronger players, and both went on to lose.

It was Marc Ives and young Leonora Ives who stepped up to the mark and gained some points for Cumnor 1.

Marc had a close game and got the draw as Derek was slipping into time trouble and Leonora was winning her game but her opponent managed a repetitive check. He was very complimentary about her game.

Our next game is Wednesday against Didcot 1 who have won both of their games so far this season. We have sadly lost both. :(

An early end for Cumnor Chess Club’s Frank Wood Shield dream

Cumnor 1 won its chess match last Tuesday against Wantage 2 in the Frank Wood Shield (FWS) 3.5-2.5.

But, hold the champagne. Because due to the the handicap system used in the cup competition, we won’t progress to the next round.

As a Division 2 team, Cumnor 1 needed to beat Wantage 2’s Division 4 team at least 4.5-1.5 to ensure progression.

The match, held on Tuesday night on Wantage’s home turf, started in confusion as Cumnor team captain Liam Glenn somehow managed to arrange for seven Cumnor players to turn up to play on the six boards!

Thankfully Wantage’s George Spalding (131) allowed Liam to sub himself out of the match and put junior player Daniel Varney (133) on to board two – thus saving both Daniel and his father Andrew a wasted journey.

Wantage 2 Cumnor 1
1 Hemmings, Peter (143) 0 – 1 Stevens, Gareth (149)
2 Spalding, George H (131) 1 – 0 Varney, Daniel (133)
3 Booker, Julian (110) 0 – 1 Alvarez, Francisco (114)
4 Cordon, Ray (103) ½ – ½ Bennett, Steve (114)
5 Leake, John (98) 0 – 1 Steel, Robert (87)
6 Thompson, Steven (96) 1 – 0 Harrop, Richard (57)
Match played: 15 Oct 2013 2½ – 3½
Wantage 2 win on handicap.

Gareth Stevens (149) quickly entered an endgame with his two bishops versus his opponent’s bishop and knight, and went on to pull out another win.

You can play through his game, and see his notes, below:

Daniel, playing on board two, didn’t fair too well in the opening but then put up a very good fight to pull it back. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to take anything from the game.

Francisco “Pako” Alvarez (114) was playing his last game for Cumnor before he starts his Central American adventure. Pako found himself four pawns down in the endgame, but created a storming kingside attack, which would have lead to him queening a pawn if his opponent hadn’t resigned.

Steve Bennett (114) had a very drawn game early on against Ray Cordon (103), with little else to add to that.

There was a win and a loss on the bottom boards with Robert Steel (87) winning his game and Richard Harrop (57) losing.

Robert must be enjoying playing at the moment – after all, this is the second win he has had in a week against the Wantage 2 team.

Being knocked out of the tournament isn’t the most disastrous result as we would have to play top division team Cowley 1 in the next round.

It also allows us to concentrate on our league games. Next match for Cumnor 1? Witney 2 on Halloween!

A revamped website

No, your eyes don’t deceive you – the Cumnor Chess Club website has been revamped.

Although a lot of things have changed behind the scenes on the site, you should be able to find all the articles where you’re expecting to find them… although the design of the site has been smartened up a little.

The behind-the-scenes changes bring with them some exciting new possibilities – including one that we are taking advantage of immediately: the ability to embed chess games directly on the site so you can follow them move-by-move.

Thanks go to Gareth Stevens for offering the game he played last week against Wantage to be the guinea pig for this new feature.

Inevitably there will be teething problems and glitches with the new site. Please leave a comment below if you spot anything. Thanks!

Cumnor 2 vs Wantage 2 [Match Report]

Cumnor Chess Club’s second team started the season in fine form, achieving a convincing win against Wantage 2 on Thursday, 10th October 2013.

Cumnor 2 Wantage 2
1 Sayers, Mark (134) ½ – ½ Booker, Julian (110)
2 Carr, Robin (126) 1 – 0 Barker, Richard (109)
3 Alvarez, Francisco (114) 1 – 0 Cordon, Ray (103)
4 Bennett, Steven (114) ½ – ½ Rey, Alvaro (86)
5 Cluley, Graham (113) 1 – 0 Mahon, Paul (69)
6 Steel, Robert (87) 1 – 0 Raimbach, Arron (42)
Match played: 10 Oct 2013 5 – 1

Come back soon to read more about the individual games that were played in this match.

The new season is about to begin for Cumnor Chess Club

Chess boardCumnor Chess Club has reconvened after the summer recess, and we’re looking forward to another season of competitive matches against other clubs.

Like last year, Cumnor will be putting a team forward for the Frank Wood Shield (a knockout tournament, comparable to the football FA Cup) as well as for matches in Divisions Two and Four of the Oxfordshire and District Chess League (ODCL).

Cumnor 1 managed to hold onto its place in division two of the ODCL last season – which is great news, but means that there are many challenging matches ahead!

Here’s the list of upcoming match fixtures:

October 2013
8 Oct – Wantage 1 vs Cumnor 1
10 Oct – Cumnor 2 vs Wantage 2
15 Oct – Wantage 2 vs Cumnor 1 (Frank Wood Shield, Round 1)
31 Oct – Cumnor 1 vs Witney 2

November
6 Nov – Didcot 1 vs Cumnor 1
7 Nov – Cumnor 2 vs Witney 4
11 Nov – Cowley Workers 2 vs Cumnor 2
18 Nov – Witney 5 vs Cumnor 2
21 Nov – Cumnor 1 vs City 2
28 Nov – Cumnor 2 vs St Claires
28 Nov – Cumnor 1 vs Cowley 1 (Frank Wood Shield, Round 2)

December
3 Dec – Wantage 2 vs Cumnor 2
5 Dec – Cumnor 1 vs Bicester 1
11 Dec – MCS/B 2 vs Cumnor 2

January 2014
9 Jan – Cumnor 1 vs Wantage 1
23 Jan – Cumnor 1 vs Cowley 3

February
3 Feb – Witney 2 vs Cumnor 1
6 Feb – Cumnor 2 vs Cowley Workers 2
24 Feb – Witney 4 vs Cumnor 2
27 Feb – Cumnor 1 vs Didcot 1

March
2 Mar – City 2 vs Cumnor 1
6 Mar – Cumnor 2 vs Witney 5
11 Mar – St Claires vs Cumnor 2
18 Mar – Bicester 1 vs Cumnor 1
20 Mar – Cumnor 2 vs MCS/B 2

April
7 Apr – Cowley 3 vs Cumnor 1
10 Apr – Cumnor 2 vs Cowley 4

Good luck everyone.

It’s Summer Time and The Weather is Fine

Tonight is our penultimate club night before we close for the summer. We are open on the 18th July and our last night is on the 25th July. We are not open on the 1 August through out the whole of August and we will open again on the 5th September, with the league starting in October.

But before we wish the summer away we have a few things to sort out. First the players cup is still going (and will be updated after tonights games) and it is might close near the top!

4/5 players are starting to pull away but it is still possible for the chasing pack to catch up.

The ECF chess grades will be published soon but no one knows the extact date. I will keep you posted on them when they arrive.

And finally Witney chess club are planning two tournaments in the Autumn. A rapid play in September and a long play weekend tournament (similar to Kidlington) in October more information can be found here on Witney’s website.

And for those who I don’t see before August have a great summer!