A Friendly Evening

Nineteen keen chess players gathered at the Courtenay Centre this week to play friendly chess. Newcomer Neil Wright and David Morgan battled out an epic encounter which ended in a draw.

It was great to see Jacquie Barber-Lafon and John Fraser at the club once again.

Next week the Autumn Swiss starts, so, if you want to play, please let Paul know. Also if you want your games rated, please remember to join the ECF.

Bumper First Night Turn-out

The rapidplay tournament to mark the start of the 2024-25 season attracted 26 players including a number of new faces and old friends returning to the club. It was great to welcome juniors Leo Jones and Jack Amos, and newcomers Keith Middleton, Iosif Chrysomallos and Ryan Carson. Also Ben Sturt returned to the club after a number of years away.

The tournament itself was hard-fought with noone achieving 100%. Joint winners on 4.5 out of 5 were Alan Brusey and Joshua Blackmore - Josh distinguished himself with a check-mating queen sacrifice to win his game against Trefor Thynne. Joint third were Jack Wills and Mark Abbott with 4 points.

Our first game of the season is a very creditable draw achieved by Alan Brusey against International Master Chris Baker in a recent tournament. It can be accessed here.

Chess in the Park 2024

24 members and friends, one from as far away as Kent, gathered in Forde Park for an afternoon of friendly chess. It was brilliant to see so many keen chess players in action.

After a slightly delayed start, the competition was strong, with not a single draw in the whole tournament. It was a pleasant surprise that John Fraser returned to play at the club and he showed very good form to emerge with a 100% score of 5 out of 5 taking sole first place.

In joint second were Alan Brusey, Andrew Kinder, Joshua Blackmore and, with an excellent performance, Mike Hussey, who all scored 4 points. Such a strong turnout bodes well for the new season which starts with the first club night on Thursday 26th September.

Earlier in the summer, Trefor Thynne, Alan Brusey, Andrew Kinder and Ian Henry took part in the Dartmouth Summer Chess event, with Trefor Thynne winning the Thursday tournament, Alan Brusey coming second and Andrew Kinder equal third.

Peter Rooke Triumph

The final event in the 2023-24 calendar saw Newton Abbot battle it out with Exeter and Barnstaple to win the Peter Rooke Cup, contested over 8 boards with a total rating limit of 14000 points.

All the team contributed well to the victory: in board order Alan Brusey gained 0.5 points, Mark Abbott 1 point, Trefor Thynne 1.5 points, Jack Wills 2 points, Ellis Manning 2 points, Ian Henry 1 point, Len Jarman 2 points, Simon Howard 2 points.

The final scores were Newton Abbot 12 points, Exeter 9 points, Barnstaple 2.5 points. Well done to the whole team.

Newton Second in Bremridge

A very strong Exeter team took the DCCA Bremridge trophy, but Newton Abbot performed well to come second. Joshua Blackmore, Paul Brooks, Ellis Manning and Ian Henry all scored 1 point with Alan Brusey and Trefor Thynne each picking up a draw.

The final scores were Exeter 9 points, Newton Abbot 5 points, Barnstaple 4 points.

The 2024 AGM will be held this Thursday 23 May at 7pm in the Courtenay Centre, with the final official event of the season being the DCCA Peter Rooke Cup on 23 June in Exminster.

Some games from the Bremridge can be found here.

Trefor Takes the Title

A tense final game in the Competitors' League saw Alan Brusey and Trefor Thynne battling it out for the Club Championship title. Alan allowed Trefor to gain a strong attack but when Trefor missed the best continuation Alan had a big chance to gain a winning advantage. The game swung back and forward before time pressure intervened and Alan's clock fell when he was in the slightly better position. Trefor's win left him undefeated and the winner of the Club Championship on 4.5 points out of 6. There was a 3-way tie for second place with Jack Wills and Joshua Blackmore joining Alan Brusey on 4 points.

Ian Henry defeated Len Jarman to continue his winning streak and to take the Challengers' title ahead of Ellis Manning and Simon Howard.

The final match of the Torbay League season saw Newton Abbot secure second place in division 3, after a close encounter with Torquay Boys'. Ellis Manning and Richard Brenton won for Newton with Joshua Blackmore gaining a draw on board 1 which brought victory for the home team.

A reminder that the club AGM will be held next Thursday 23 May.

The decisive game between Alan and Trefor is available here.

Ian Comes into Contention

Two wins in succession against Rhys Hammond and Bobby Barr moved Ian Henry up to join the leaders in the Challengers' Tournament. In the only other game played this week, Simon Howard drew with Richard Ballantyne. It's now tight at the top and next week's matches will decide the destination of the trophies in both sections of the Club Championship.

A reminder that there are only 2 regular club nights left in the season and that the AGM will be held on Thursday 23 May.

Just one game from the championship this week, available here.

Alan Keeps up the Pressure

The destination of the Club Championship remains in the balance as top-rated Alan Brusey won a controlled game against Paul Brooks to join the leaders on 4 points.

In the Challengers', Ian Henry defeated Richard Ballantyne while Les Barron won against Ronit Randhawa. The final Division 4 match of the season saw Devonport High defeating Newton with Ronit scoring Newton's only point.

Games from the championship are available here.

Mamhead Triumph

Two teams from Newton Abbot were part of the line-up for the DCCA Mamhead trophy held at the Courtenay centre. Facing teams from Teignmouth, Exeter, Barnstaple, Seaton, and Totnes, both Newton Abbot teams performed really well, with the A team taking the trophy by a clear margin.

Newton Abbot A scored 6.5 points out of 8, 1.5 points more than the team in second place. The team was unbeaten, with Paul Brooks scoring 2 out of 2, and Alan Brusey, Trefor Thynne and Jack Wills each scoring 1.5.

The B team was heavily outgraded but showed lots of spirit in gaining 2.5 points. Two juniors, Ronit Randhawa and newcomer Shreyas Pasupulety, each scored 1 out of 2, and Joshua Blackmore on top board weighed in with the remaining half a point.

All the Newton Abbot games from round 1 can be found here, while those from round 2 are here.

Highs and Lows for Mark

Mark Abbott flew the flag for Newton Abbot Chess Club at the East Devon Chess Congress, taking joint first place in the Major Tournament with 4 points out of 5. Ian Henry scored 2.5 and Mac Holland scored 3.5 in the Minor.

It was back down to earth with a bump for Mark in the Competitors' League as he missed a tactic aginst Richard Brenton which forced immediate resignation. Trefor Thynne wasn't able to break through in a favourable position against Paul Brooks and the players agreed a draw. In the Challengers, Simon Howard was victorious against Les Barron while there were interesting draws played between Len Jarman and Ellis Manning and Richard Ballantyne and Ronit Randhawa.

Another selection of games is here.

Victory secures Second Place for Abbots

The final division 1 match of the season brought victory for the Abbots against South Hams. Trefor Thynne won quickly against Phil McConnell, and Josh Blackmore was also successful after pinning Tony Tatam's queen. Mark Abbott played a very controlled game against Dave Archer, picking up pawns then winning in the endgame. The final game to finish was the usual tough battle between Alan Brusey and Steve Levy which ended honours even. So the Abbots won 3.5-0.5 giving them second place in the first division, only beaten on game points by a Totnes team with a GM on board 1. A great performance!

The Competitors' League in the Club Championship saw a victory for Mark Abbott against Paul Brooks, while Jack Wills defeated Richard Brenton. In the Challengers' there were victories for Ian Henry, Rhys Hammond and Ronit Randhawa.

This week's games' selection is here.

Silverware in the Team Quickplay

Newton Abbot sent two teams to the annual Devon Team Quickplay in Exeter. This was a very strong event, enhanced by teams from Bristol and Southampton. The A team from Downend and Fishponds (Bristol) were clear victors on the day.

Newton Abbot A finished in a respectable mid-table position with 12 points out of 24, while the lower graded B team had a good performance finishing with 9.5 points and winning the trophy for the best Devon team rated below 6200.

Joshua Blackmore had a great result in the Individual Blitz tournament securing third place with 5 out of 7.

Up and Down Week in Division 1

The two away matches played in division 1 this week brought contrasting fortunes for the Newton teams.

On Monday, the Bishops travelled to top of the table Totnes, who knew that a victory would guarantee them the title. Some consternation was caused when Danny Gormally walked into the venue, making a second Grandmaster in the room, and Totnes captain Chris Collins joked that they would have to put Keith Arkell on board 2! Bishop's worries were calmed when it was revealed that Danny was just visiting, but Totnes still had an incredibly strong team which cruised to victory 4-0. There were some fighting performances from the Bishops, but all the results went the home side's way.

It was a different story on Tuesday as the Abbots went to Teignmouth. There were wins on the top 3 boards for Alan Brusey, Mark Abbott and Trefor Thynne, while the only upset was for in-form Joshua Blackmore who was beaten by Jack Smith's very good attack. 3-1 to the Abbots.

Black took the spoils in the Competitors' section of the Club Championship; Paul Brooks, Alan Brusey and Trefor Thynne all winning with the black pieces. In the Challengers' section, Rhys Hammond played a very good attack to defeat Les Barron while Ian Henry and Ellis Manning played out a solid draw.

A bumper selection of games is available here.

Bovey Tracey Chess Weekender

This brilliantly-run new event is destined to become a bright spot on the Devon Chess Calendar.

8 Newton Abbot players participated. In the very strong Maestros' section, Grandmaster Keith Arkell won top prize. Newton Abbot was represented by Paul Brooks (4 points out of 6 - voucher prize), Alan Brusey and Jack Wills, both 3 points, Trefor Thynne 2.5 points and Richard Brenton and Ellis Manning, both 1 point.

The Improvers' section saw Ronit Randhawa win the junior prize with 4 points out of 6, while Rhys Hammond also had a good tournament gaining 3.5 points. Trefor also won a prize in the lunchtime quiz.

Many thanks to club member Freddie Sugden for organising such an excellent new congress.

Win and Draw in Away Matches

Newton were on their travels this week, and came home with two good results.

The Division 4 team took on Torquay Boys' and won 3-1 with victories for Len Jarman, Ronit Randhawa and late replacement Richard Brenton.

In Division 1, the Bishops went to Kingsbridge to play South Hams, and the result went with the ratings. On the top 2 boards the strong South Hams players took the points, while on boards 3 and 4, good wins for Jack Wills and Piotr Ruszelak meant that the Bishops earned a creditable draw.

Mark Abbott drew with Trefor Thynne in the Club Championship and Mike Hussey defeated Les Barron in the Challengers' section.

This weekend, Freddie Sugden is organising the first Bovey Tracey Chess Weekender. Lots of Club Members are taking part - good luck to all of you.

Some recent games can be found here.

Lots to Catch up on

I've been away for a couple of weeks so there is plenty on news to catch up on.

It's been a successful time for the Division 3 team with two recent wins pushing them up the table. At Totnes the team won 3-1, with victories for Piotr Ruszelak, Richard Brenton and Ronit Randhawa. It was closer at Stover School, where wins for Piotr and Ellis Manning and a draw for Simon Howard brought home a 2.5-1.5 victory. The team has now moved up to a clear second in Division 3, but Plymouth still look odds on to take the title.

In Division 4 Newton gained a creditable draw against South Hams with Ellis Manning and Rhys Hammond achieving victories. The Knockout Cup match at South Hams was a tight affair, with the home team eventually coming out victors by 3.5-2.5. Rhys Hammond and Piotr Ruszelak won their games and Trefor Thynne got a draw, but it wasn't quite enough for Newton.

In the Club Championship, Jack Wills pulled off a surprise by defeating top seed Alan Brusey, and followed it up with a win against another strong contender, Mark Abbott. Joshua Blackmore racked up another victory for the youngsters against Richard Brenton, while Alan Brusey also took the point against Richard.

In the Challengers' section, Ellis Manning defeated Simon Howard, and Len Jarman won against Les Barron.

The recent Simon Bartlett Memorial tournament in Torquay brought success for Mark Abbott who was equal first in the Major section with 4 out of 5, Joshua Blackmore scoring 3.5. Suhayl Abdalla won the Minor section with a perfect score of 5/5, while former member Mac Holland gained 3.5 and Richard Brenton scored 3. Richard also won second prize in the loudest shirt competition. Alan Brusey finished on 2/5 in the strong Open section, with Freddie Sugden achieving the same score in the Intermediate Tournament.

Bishops trounce Teignmouth

The latest division 1 match saw the Bishops do the double over Teignmouth, winning their home match 3.5-0.5. Andrew Kinder played a good sacrifice and was rewarded when Peter Halmkin missed a one-move mate. Jack Wills kept going against Ian Henry and eventually won what looked like a drawn ending. Richard Brenton was under the cosh for most of his game against Jack Smith, but Jack couldn't see how to break through and eventually blundered his queen. On top board, Paul Brooks and Bill Ingham shared the point.

There was an epic encounter in the Club Championship. Josh Blackmore and Mark Abbott reached an ending where Josh had the very rare advantage of bishop and knight against a bare king. Josh kept his cool and mated Mark after 87 moves.

In the Challengers' League, Rhys Hammond played a good mating attack against Richard Ballantyne, Ellis Manning eventually overcame Les Barron, and Len Jarman defeated Mike Hussey. Bobby Barr put up spirited resistance before succumbing to Simon Howard.

Lots of recent games are available here.

Ronit, Simon and Ellis fight for the Challengers

Two new players are contesting top spot with Simon Howard in the Challengers' League. Ronit Randhawa and Ellis Manning only joined the club this year, but have made a strong impression with their enthusiasm and commitment. Their individual game saw Ellis play a typically combative defence against Ronit's Scotch opening, but Ronit defended well and came out with a clear advantage. When he tried a combination which didn't work, Ellis sportingly resigned.

This result left Ronit sharing the lead with Simon Howard, who won his game against Len Jarman, on 3.5 points out of 4. Ellis is half a point behind.

In the Competitors' League, Alan Brusey defended well to beat off Mark Abbott's attack and score his first win. The two other games played resulted in draws for Trefor Thynne against Joshua Blackmore, and Paul Brooks against Jack Wills.

Games from the Club Championship can be found here.

Teignmouth Take Moyle

The DCCA Moyle Cup was held at Newton Abbot on Saturday. The new one-day format proved popular, attracting a strong entry of 6 teams, with each player playing 2 games using a Jamboree system.

Competition was fierce with Teignmouth running out eventual winners with 5.5 game points, followed by Newton Abbot, a creditable second on 5 points. Two Barnstaple teams and Seaton shared third place on 4.5 points with Sidmouth coming sixth.

For Newton Abbot, Len Jarman scored 2 out of 2, with Jack Wills and Ellis Manning both scoring 1.5. Thanks to Trefor for running a very successful and enjoyable event.

Two Good Results

The Rapidplay team gained its first win of the season in a tight match against South Hams. Jack Wills was the star of the team with 2 wins in his 2 games. Alan Brusey did well to score 1.5 points, while Richard Brenton scored 1 out of 2, giving Newton Abbot a 4.5 to 3.5 win.

The Abbots went to Totnes on Monday and gained a creditable draw against a strong team. Ellis Manning won an excellent game against a player graded much higher than him, while Joshua Blackmore gained a second point by winning on time.

The one game in the Competitors' section of the Club Championship saw Joshua Blackmore take advantage of a blunder by Paul Brooks. In the Challengers' Section, there were wins for Len Jarman and Richard Ballantyne, while Ronit Randhawa and Simon Howard played out a draw.

There were great performances in the Torquay Boys Junior Open Championship. Jack Wills won the Under-16 section, while Ronit Randhawa came second in the Under-14s.

Games from the Totnes match and the Club Championship can be found here.

Championship gets Under Way

Both sections of the Club Championship saw plenty of action this week.

In the Competitors' League, Trefor Thynne overcame Richard Brenton's resistance by winning one pawn, then another, then a third, to set up a victory in the endgame. Joshua Blackmore and Jack Wills fought out a tough draw with some interesting moments, as you will see if you download the game.

There were lots of games in the Challengers' Section and it was great to see our new juniors participating. Si mon Howard overcame Ian Henry in a long struggle which looked like a draw for much of the game. Ellis Manning joined him in top spot, after he outplayed his two opponents in the opening. Ronit Randhawa won a battle of the juniors with Rhys Hammond after he exploited a pin to win a piece. In the other game played Len Jarman beat off a spirited challenge from Bobby Barr.

Games from the Club Championship are available here.

Abbots draw Bishops

The return first division match between the Abbots and the Bishops was, as usual, tightly fought.

Board 1 saw Alan Brusey bravely battling a chest infection, but allowing Paul Brooks to establish a dominant central knight, which led a few moves later to checkmate for Paul. On board 2, Trefor Thynne struck back for the Abbots, taking advantage of Andrew Kinder's badly placed bishop to launch a winning attack.

Piotr Ruszelak went for a mating combination on board 3, but a miscalculation saw Joshua Blackmore turn the tables. Jack Wills brought the Bishops back to parity when he won a pawn, then a piece against Ellis Manning. An honourable 2-2 draw.

The Club Championship got under way with two games played in the Challengers section. Experience told as Simon Howard and Les Barron were both successful against their young opponents.

Annotated games from the match and the Challengers can be found here.

Swiss Finishes

The last few games in the Autumn Swiss led to a quadruple tie for second place. Joshua Blackmore took advantage in the opening against Doug Morton and played a neat combination to simplify into a won position.

Trefor Thynne and Paul Brooks played out a tight draw to join Alan Brusey and Joshua in equal second place on 3.5 points, a full point behind tournament winner Mark Abbott.

Two other swiss games led to exciting victories for Piotr Ruszelak and Freddie Sugden. The final table can be seen on the Competitions page.

Two matches were played this week. Newton's division 3 team won 2.5 to 1.5 away at Torquay Boys' Grammar, with two new players helping the cause. There was a first league win for Ellis Manning and a creditable draw for Ronit Randhawa. The Rapidplay team took on a very strong Totnes outfit, and went down 6-2.

Congratulations to Jack Wills and Niranjana Narayanan who played a key role in Devon's victorious U18 team in the Wales and South West Jamboree. Suhayl Abdalla also performed well in the U18B team.

Some games from this week are available here.

Great Week in the First Division

Newton Abbot had one of their best weeks in the first division with excellent performances in 2 matches on Thursday.

The Abbots went to South Hams and came away with a win. Trefor Thynne won with a good attack, while newcomer Ellis Manning battled well but lost in the endgame. Both Alan Brusey and Mark Abbott were under severe pressure in their games, but tenacious defence led to a win for Alan and a draw for Mark. So 2.5-1.5 to the Abbots.

Meanwhile the Bishops hosted probably the strongest team ever to play in the Torbay League. Totnes brought a team with Grandmaster Keith Arkell on top board and all their other players were graded over 1900. The Newton Abbot players were outgraded by nearly 300 points per board. Keith had no problem in defeating Paul Brooks on top board, and Richard Brenton went down after losing a piece on board 4. On board 2, Andrew Kinder fought hard to create a position where, despite being two pawns up, it was difficult for Martin Goldschmidt to make progress. An attempt to win backfired and Andrew was able to successfully pin Martin's queen against his king. It was a similar story on board 3, where Jack Wills had been under pressure the whole game. His opponent missed chances and finally Jack was able to engineer a position which, although it looked much better for his opponent, was actually drawn. In time pressure, his opponent went for the win, and allowed a one-move mate. A brilliant 2-2 draw for the Bishops.

This week's results mean that the Abbots top the first division table at the halfway point of the season. Some games from the both matches are here.

Swiss Title goes to Mark

Mark Abbott deservedly wrapped up the Autumn Swiss tournament with a last round draw against Alan Brusey. Having won all his previous games this gave him an unassailable total of 4.5 points out of 5.

Richard Brenton finished the tournament well with a win against Evan Coulson, Simon Howard defeated Rhys Hammond, while Len Jarman gained victory in his postponed game against Les Barron.

This week's games can be found here.

Alan Keeps the Pressure on

Two games were played in the Autumn Swiss on the final club meeting before Christmas.

Alan Brusey kept his hopes alive with a win as black against Freddie Sugden, while Richard Brenton gained an early advantage against Rhys Hammond and steered it to victory.

Hope you all have a great Christmas - see you all again on Thursday 4th January!

The game between Richard and Rhys is here.

Good Win against Totnes

Newton's division 3 team gained their second win of the season, with a 3 - 1 victory against Totnes.

Jack Wills and Simon Howard won their games, while Piotr Ruszelak and Richard Brenton both gained draws.

In the Autumn Swiss, Mark Abbott maintained his winning streak, while Trefor Thynne and Paul Brooks also won their round 4 games.

Good luck to the Newton Abbot team competing in the new format Newman Cup in Seaton this Saturday.

This week's games can be seen here.

Mixed Fortunes for Newton Teams

Three league matches were played at Newton Abbot this Thursday with the teams gaining 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss.

The Abbots won their match against Teignmouth convincingly, with wins for Alan Brusey, Trefor Thynne and Josh Blackmore and a draw for Mark Abbott.

In the 4th Division, Newton drew against TBGS with wins for Simon Howard and Rhys Hammond.

Meanwhile, a strong South Hams team defeated the Bishops 3 - 1, with Jack Wills gaining the only win for the home team.

This week's games can be seen here.

Devon Junior Chess Results

More good performances from Newton Abbot members at the Devon Junior Chess Championships.

In the under 18's, Jack Wills came 3rd with 4.5 out of 6, while Suhayl Abdalla scored 3. 2 newcomers performed well in the under 15's, Ronit Randawa scoring 3 points while Rhys Hammond scored 2.5.

In the strong Plymouth Rapidplay, Alan Brusey scored a very creditable 4.5 out of 6, with Trefor Thynne and Freddie Sugden both gaining 3.5 points.

The third round of the Autumn Swiss came to a close with wins for Doug Morton, Mark Abbott, Piotr Ruszelak, Freddie Sugden, Jack Wills, Len Jarman and Evan Coulson (by default).

In the first division, the Bishops won a tight match against Teignmouth 2.5-1.5. Andrew Kinder scored the only win, while Paul Brooks, Piotr Ruszelak and Richard Brenton achieved draws.

Brilliant Performances at Torbay Congress

Newton Abbot was the most successful club at the recent Torbay Chess Congress.

8 players from the club took part and between them won 5 prizes. Jack Wills continued his fine run of form by coming joint first in the Intermediate Tournament, also winning the Intermediate Cup for the best performance by a local player.

Trefor Thynne was equal second in the Major Tournament, winning the Challenge Cup, while Alan Brusey scored well in the strong Open section winning the Basil Wallace Cup for the best local player.

The Newton Abbot team won the team prize, and Richard Brenton won a Slow Starter prize. There were also good performances from Suhayl Abdalla, Freddie Sugden, and in their first Congress, Len Jarman and Rhys Hammond.

A Close Run Thing at South Hams

In the rapidplay division Newton Abbot gave a strong South Hams team a good run for their money.

Andrew Kinder performed well on board 1, sharing the points with Steve Levy. On boards 2 and 3, the strong South Hams players took the spoils, while Jack Wills played well to win both his games, leaving the final score 5-3 to South Hams.

The first games in the 3rd round of the Autumn Swiss saw Alan Brusey and Josh Blackmore play out a draw, while Paul Brooks played strongly to defeat Mike Hussey. There was good activity in the Newcomers' Tournament, with Rhys Hammond, Ellis Manning, Richard Ballantyne, Bill Mentiply and brothers Ronit and Kairav Randhawa all completing games. This week's games are available here.

Second Round Complete

4 matches were played in the Autumn Swiss to complete the second round.

Mark Abbott built a powerful position to defeat Piotr Ruszelak. Andrew Kinder overcame Bill Mentiply, while Doug Morton and Alan Brusey fought out a draw.

In the last game to finish Richard Brenton battled hard against Josh Blackmore but eventually went down in the endgame. The game is annotated here.

DON'T FORGET THE TORBAY CONGRESS

It's not too late to enter the Torbay Congress which takes place this coming weekend 10-12th November.

Full details can be found here.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CONGRESS!

Totnes Take the Spoils

Totnes brought a very strong team to Newton for their match against the Abbots and took home a 3-1 victory.

Alan Brusey lost a pawn to Martin Goldschmidt and when he couldn't find the best line to give him compensation, Alan resigned. Josh Blackmore earned a battling draw in his game against Mark Furnevall.

Evan Coulson, on his division 1 debut, played an excellent game against the very strong Charlie Howard, only faltering in the endgame where Charlie was able to cash in. The last game to finish was an epic fluctuating battle between Mark Abbott and Chris Collins. The advantage changed hands several times and it seemed only fair at the end when the players were forced to agree a draw.

In the Autumn Swiss, Len Jarman built a great attack against Jack Wills but couldn't find the killer move and Jack eventually took over to win. Mike Hussey also gained an opening advantage to defeat Simon Howard. Games from the match and the swiss are here.

Plymouth Victorious

Plymouth were welcomed to the Courtenay Centre for the first division 3 match of the season, and went away with a 3-1 win.

Graham Mill-Wilson was first to finish with a win against Simon Howard. Jack Wills went down in the endgame to Rob Wilby, while Piotr Ruszelak was the victim of a strong attack launched by James Day.

Only Richard Brenton took a point for Newton, when his advanced h-pawn forced Tony Tatam into resignation.

In the Autumn Swiss, Trefor Thynne was in a losing position for most of his game against Freddie Sugden, but took the point when Freddie blundered a rook in the endgame. Paul Brooks won a piece early in his game against Evan Coulson and converted smoothly. This week's games can be found here.

Abbots Scrape a Victory while Devonport Win Big

Two big matches at the club this week. The Abbots held on to gain a welcome success against the Bishops, by the closest margin 2.5-1.5.

Josh Blackmore overcame a strong challenge from Jack Wills and back-rank threats brought home the victory. Piotr Ruszelak held Mark Abbott to reach an equal ending, then missed a winning chance when Mark tried to press for victory.

Paul Brooks had the advantage over Alan Brusey through most of their game, and, in the last game to finish, Trefor Thynne was under pressure from Andrew Kinder, but in both games the Bishops players could not find a way to win, and draws were agreed.

Devonport High came to Newton Abbot with a strong team, and went away with a 4-0 win in their opening division 4 match. Newton's team including 3 new members fought hard but came away empty-handed. Games from the matches are available here.

Riviera Results

2 Newton Abbot juniors, Niranjana Narayanan and Suhayl Abdalla, played well in the U-18 section of the Devon Riviera Junior tournament. Niranjana scored 4 points which gave her 3rd place and best placed girl, while Suhayl was close behind with 3.5 points.

The first round of the Autumn Swiss was concluded when Richard Brenton took advantage of an oversight by Paul Brooks to claim victory.

The second round draw is now available on the competitions page.

Lots of Action in the Autumn Swiss

There were 8 games played on the first evening of the Autumn Swiss tournament.

Top seed Alan Brusey came through in a tough game against Jack Wills, while Trefor Thynne had a more straightforward win against Bill Mentiply.

In other games there were wins for Freddie Sugden, Mark Abbott, Doug Morton and Piotr Ruszelak, who claimed victory with a pretty smothered mate. Simon Howard battled hard to hold the draw against Andrew Kinder, while in the final game to finish Josh Blackmore overcame spirited resistance from Mike Hussey.

It was good to see Jake Corbett coming back to the club for friendly chess, and to welcome visitor Paul Doherty from the north-west. Games from the swiss can be found here.

Tales from Mid-Devon

Three Newton Abbot players travelled to the small village of Halwill Junction in mid-Devon to play in the Peter Clarke memorial tournament.

Trefor Thynne had the opportunity to play on table 1 against grandmaster Jon Nunn using Peter Clarke's own special chess set which was gifted to him personally by Fidel Castro (a great chess fan) during a visit to Cuba.

Jack Wills won the tournament's junior prize, scoring 3.5 out of 6, Freddie Sugden also scored 3.5 and Trefor Thynne gained 3 points.

Autumn Swiss Launches This Thursday

Our first internal tournament of the season launches this week - the Autumn Swiss. It is great to see so many entrants.

Please make sure you organise and play your games promptly - the closing date for this round is Thursday 26th October.

Our first club matches take place next Thursday - the division 4 game against Devonport High School, and the division 1 clash between the Abbots and the Bishops. Lots of opportunity for friendly chess at the club this week, so please come along - you will be warmly welcomed.

A Fun First Night

It was great to welcome back old and new friends to the club's first night of the new season. A particularly warm welcome to new players Rhys Hammond, Len Jarman and it was good to see Bill Mentiply returning to the club.

We ran a very competitive quickplay where everyone scored at least one point. After 5 rounds, 3 players tied for first place - Mark Abbott, Andrew Kinder and Trefor Thynne all scoring 4 points each.

Next week will be a week for friendly chess, but in two weeks time we launch our Autumn Swiss tournament. Please sign up for this on the sheet in the club room.

Good Performances at Riviera Tournament

Five club members played in the inauagural Riviera Tournament in Torquay at the beginnnig of September.

Alan Brusey did well to finish equal third in the afternoon Open with 3.5 out of 5. Trefor Thynne and Mark Abbott performed creditably in the same section with 2.5 and 2 points respectively.

Brooklyn Stephens scored 2.5 in the afternoon under-1800, while Freddie Sugden gained 3 points in the morning under-1700. A good warm-up event for the new season.

Countdown to the New Season

The new season starts on Thursday 28th September and we look forward to welcoming all our old friends and plenty of new members.

To kick off the new season we will either have a Buzzer tournament or a quickplay Swiss. Let Paul or Trefor know your preference and we will run the one with the most votes!

SEE YOU THERE!

Jack and Freddie at the British

Two Newton Abbot players played in tournaments at the British Championships in Leicester.

Jack Wills had an excellent start in the British Under-16 Championships drawing against a player graded 2048! He continued his good form and finished with a creditable 2.5 points out of 6.

Freddie Sugden played in the under1750 event and gained 2 wins finishing on 3 points out of 6.

Great Match in the Park

Newton Abbot took on Totnes and friends in a double-round rapidplay match on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Forde Park.

The first round saw Newton playing white, and taking a 6-3 lead with wins by Trefor Thynne, Freddie Sugden, Brooklyn Stephens, Mike Hussey and Simon Howard. The second round had a similar pattern with wins for Newton by Paul Brooks, Trefor Thynne, Freddie Sugden, Jack Wills and Jacek Pietrzycki, and an overall tally of 6.5-2.5, leaving the final match score 12.5-5.5 to Newton Abbot.

It was great to see Jacek and Simon Drost back playing for Newton, and we welcomed Sam Freestone who gained a creditable draw in the second round.

Thanks to Trefor for organising the event, to Alan for helping with the tables and setting up, and to the Forde Park Pavilion for hosting the event.

Look out for announcements of another event later in the summer. It will be great to see you there!

Freddie's Portuguese Success

Congratulations to Freddie Sugden who gained an international victory by winning the 'Xadrez na Fábrica da Pólvora' tournament in Barcarena, Portugal.

Freddie came first by winning 5 out of 6 games against a field which contained Italian, German, Russian and Portuguese competitors.

On a more local note, the first 'Chess in the Park' event of the summer will take place at the Forde Park Pavilion on Sunday 25th June at 2pm. This will include a match against Totnes and all will be welcome.

Please let Trefor or Paul know if you want to come along. We will make a donation to the charity which runs the pavilion so please bring £2.

Paul and Jack win the Leagues

Paul Brooks won this year's Club Championship after gaining a comfortable draw in his final game against Trefor Thynne. This left Paul undefeated on 6.5/8. Alan Brusey won his final game against Piotr Ruszelak to finish second on 5.5.

Jack Wills capped a fine season by winning the Challengers' League. Jack only dropped half a point and completed the tournament on 6.5/7. Richard Brenton was runner-up with 5 points.

The Newcomers' Tournament was won by Ian Henry. We hope to see all club members including the prize-winners at the AGM on Thursday 25th May at 7.00pm at the Courtenay Centre.

A reminder that Trefor will be running the final coaching session of the season on Friday 26th May at 2pm in the Courtenay Centre. £3 per head - please come along - it promises to be very educational.

Andrew's Attack

Andrew Kinder quashed Trefor Thynne's hopes of winning the Competitors' League with a vicious attack on Trefor's king. In a Sicilian Defence, Trefor found himself under early pressure and couldn't create counterplay as Andrew's pawns advanced up the board. He was forced to resign when heavy losses of material became inevitable.

In the same league, Charlie Howard produced a neat winning sacrifice to take the point against Piotr Ruszelak.

The Challenger's League saw Mike Hussey pick up pawns and then a rook to defeat Iain Freestone, while Niranjana Narayanan produced a perpetual check in her draw against Les Barron.In the Newcomers' Competition, Simon Howard defeated Phil Walsh.

This week's games are available here.

Jack and Paul Lead the Way

With one game to play, Jack Wills and Paul Brooks are leading the two sections of the Club Championship.

In the Challengers' section, Jack moved on to 6.5/7 with a good win against Mike Hussey. In the same section, Niranjana Narayanan played an excellent sustained attack against Richard Brenton, while Les Barron got off the mark with a victory against Simon Howard.

Paul Brooks moved on to 6/7 in the Competitors' section after gaining an advantage in the opening against Doug Morton and simplifying to a won endgame. Mark Abbott completed his games with a victory against Piotr Ruszelak, while Charlie Howard and Josh Blackmore played out a hard-fought draw.

This week's selection of games can be found here.

A Week of Two Halves

Contrasting fortunes for Newton Abbot's division 1 teams in their matches this week.

On Monday, the Abbots produced an excellent performance, winning away 3-1 against a strong Totnes team. Trefor Thynne, Piotr Ruszelak and Richard Brenton all scored excellent victories.

The match between South Hams and the Bishops was the title decider, but it all went wrong for the Bishops when they couldn't muster a single point, and South Hams were deserved victors and league winners.

Games from the Totnes match are available here.

Alan keeps the Pressure on

The Club Championship is coming to the boil, with crucial matches taking place at the club this week. In the Competitors' League, Alan Brusey played a dynamic opening as black which immediately put the pressure on Mark Abbott. When Mark made a wrong turn with his king, Alan was able to break through with a decisive attack. Josh Blackmore also remains in the hunt after he took advantage of a piece-winning fork against Piotr Ruszelak.

In the Challengers' League, Jack Wills gained an important win when a pin won a piece against Brooklyn Stephens, while Jacquie Barber Lafon won against Simon Howard.

The final match of the season in Division 2 ended in a 2-2 draw against Totnes. The match was remarkable in that, in 2 games, draws were agreed in which one side had a winning advantage - in one case a forced mate!

Games from this week can be accessed here.

Tournament Tension

No matches at the club this week so the focus turned to the battles in the Club Championship.

In the Competitors' League, Trefor Thynne fought back to reach an equal position in the opening against Alan Brusey. Alan then gained space on both flanks, which forced Trefor's pieces to become congested in the centre. When Trefor misplaced a knight, Alan took advantage and gained a decisive pin. In the other match, Piotr Ruszelak also achieved a level position as black against Paul Brooks. However, misjudged advances on the kingside left Piotr's king without a home, which allowed Paul to sacrifice a piece and break through to achieve a winning material advantage.

Richard Brenton kept up his good form in the Challengers' Tournament by defeating Les Barron, while Jacquie Barber Lafon won the point against Mike Hussey.

These results leave both leagues wide open, with Paul Brooks leading the way in the Competitors' League with 5/6, followed by Trefor Thynne on 4 and Alan Brusey on 3.5. In the Challengers', Richard Brenton has 5/7, with Jack Wills on 3.5/4, and Brooklyn Stephens on 3.5/5. In the next few weeks, we hope that all the games can be completed, so the tournaments have a proper result.

This week's games from the Competitors' league are available here.

A final reminder that Trefor will be running a coaching session on Friday 21st April at 4pm in the Courtenay Centre. This later time has been chosen to give juniors the chance of joining in. £3 per player - please see Trefor to book a place.

Double Defeat for Newton

Both matches held at the club this week led to victory for the visitors. In division 3, Plymouth were the opposition. Games went with the ratings, with Paul Brooks winning on board 1, and the heavily outgraded boards 2 to 4 coming up empty-handed. Special mention goes to Evan Coulson who fought really hard in his first game for the team on board 3.

The Rapidplay team were also heavily outrated on boards 1 and 2 in their match against South Hams, so failed to take any points there. Jack Wills picked up a point on board 3, as did Richard Brenton on board 4. So the final score was 6-2 to South Hams.

There was better news earlier in the week, where the Bishops maintained their good record in division 1 by defeating Totnes away by 3 games to 1. Alan Brusey had a good victory on board 1, while Mark Abbott made the most of his chances in the endgame to pick up another win. With Paul Brooks and debutant Ollie Main making draws, this victory leaves the Bishops at the top of the table, with one crucial game against South Hams left to play.

In the Competitors' Tournament, Trefor Thynne and Josh Blackmore played an epic game. Trefor built up a dominant position and his attack seemed to be on the point of breaking through, when he played a plausible move which let Josh back into the game. Trefor was still ahead but Josh displayed great coolness in time pressure, and he was eventually able to exchange into a drawn endgame. The other game in the Competitors' League saw Charlie Howard force back Doug Morton's pieces and mate Doug's open king.

This week's game selection can be found here.

Trefor will be running the final coaching session of the season on Friday 21st April at 4pm in the Courtenay Centre. The later time has been chosen to give juniors the chance of joining in. £3 per player - please see Trefor to book a place.

Newton win the KO Cup!

Newton welcomed Totnes to Newton Abbot for the final of the KO cup and were victorious 4.5-1.5.

Alan Brusey and Martin Goldschmidt were level until Martin misjudged a tempo in a pawn endgame and was suddenly completely lost. Captain George Darling played an unconventional game against Charlie Howard (George opened 1.a3), but finished it with a classic smothered mate.

Piotr Ruszelak made early gains against John Allen and converted smoothly, while Jack Wills fought back well from an early setback to win on board 4. Simon Howard held on to draw against Clive Liggatt, while Les Barron suffered Newton's only defeat on board six. Well done to George and his team.

In the Challengers' Tournament, Richard Brenton played a smashing attack to defeat top seed Brooklyn Stephens, and in the Competitors' League, Mark Abbott allowed Paul Brooks' pieces to become too active on the queenside, and Paul won the exchange and the game.

Josh Blackmore defeated Doug Morton 2-0 in the rapidplay tournament, while, earlier in the week, Newton drew 4-4 with Totnes in the Rapidplay Division. Once again, it was great to see more new players at the club this week - we hope you enjoyed the experience.

A selection of this week's exciting games can be found here.

Another Huge Turnout

It was great to see 30 players at the club this week; a special welcome to newcomers Kiwan, Mac, Ben and Warren.

Both tournaments in the Club Championship saw significant action. In the Competitors' Tournament, Andrew Kinder got into early difficulties against Paul Brooks, then missed a queen-winning tactic and had to resign. Trefor Thynne gained a large space advantage against Doug Morton. Doug sacrificed the exchange, but wasn't able to hold the game.

Josh Blackmore played a very controlled game against Mark Abbott, winning an early pawn and slowly increasing his advantage until Mark was forced to give in. In the final game to finish, Charlie Howard converted an excellent endgame against Alan Brusey.

In the Challengers' Tournament, Richard Brenton and Iain Freestone played an exciting game, with Richard eventually coming out on top. Les Barron lost material early against Brooklyn Stephens and wasn't able to recover.

The Newcomers' Tournament saw Ian Henry win two games, one against Evan Coulson and one against Jude Brassington, while Mike Gilding defeated Andy Culverhouse. Trefor organised an enjoyable friendly match against the Grammar School for our newer members, with the Grammar School winning 3-1.

Some of this week's games can be found here.

Two Week Catch-up

There has been plenty of action at the club in the last two weeks. The division 2 team defeated South Hams 3-1, but might have exceeded the grade limit, so we are awaiting the outcome for our league position. On the same night, the Rapidplay team were defeated 5.5-2.5 by Totnes.

In the Club Championship, Trefor Thynne won against Mark Abbott, while in the Challengers' tournament, Brooklyn Stephens defeated Mike Hussey while Les Barron lost against Jacquie Barber Lafon.

This week was exceptionally busy with 3 matches at the club and a total of 34 attendees. In Division 1, the Abbots were defeated 3-1 by South Hams, while the Bishops kept their undefeated record but were held to a 2-2 draw by Totnes.

In Division 3, South Hams completed a win-double overcoming Newton Abbot by 2.5-1.5, while there were lots of friendly and Newcomers' tournament games played.

Trefor ran another successful coaching session on Friday with 4 members in attendance.

A Very Busy Week - Congratulations to Jack, Josh and Richard

Lots of news to report. Last weekend, Jack Wills played in the Devon Junior Spring Tournament and won the U-15 section with a perfect score of 6/6. Well Done, Jack!

Newton Abbbot sent a team to the Devon Quickplay Tournament in Exeter and came mid-table in a strong field.

One of the highlights of the year was undoubtedly Keith Arkell's simultaneous display against 21 club members. There were lots of hard-fought games, but pride of place goes to Josh Blackmore, who was the only player to take a point from Keith. He played an exceptional game. Special mention to Jack Wills and Jamie Glasson who both took Keith to very close endgames before experience told. A very enjoyable evening, and some of the games are available here.

The Simon Bartlett Memorial Tournament held this weekend was a triumph for Richard Brenton. Not only did he win the Minor section with a score of 4.5/5, he also eclipsed the field in the Loudest Shirt competition. Suhayl Abdalla was joint second in the Minor with 4 points.

And finally, Trefor will be running another coaching session on Friday 17th March at 2pm in the Courtenay Centre. £3 per player - please see Trefor to book a place.

Another Lively Evening

26 players joined us this week for another busy evening of competitive and friendly chess.

In the Newcomers' Tournament, Evan Coulson beat Andy Culverhouse 2-0, Ian Henry defeated Mike Gilding by the same score, while Simon Howard took a point off Jude Brassington.

The Challengers' League saw 2 games with Les Barron fight hard against Jack Wills, only going down after he lost a couple of pawns in the ending. Jacquie Barber Lafon and Richard Brenton agreed a draw in an interesting unbalanced position.

Alan Brusey gained his first win in the Competitors' League with a fine mating attack against in-form Doug Morton. Andrew Kinder fought back from 2 pawns down to get a good draw against Mark Abbott. Josh Blackmore had the advantage for most of his game against Paul Brooks, but Paul was able to sacrifice the exchange, leaving an endgame where he was able to build an impenetrable fortress, so a draw was agreed.

Earlier in the week, the division 2 team, defeated Torquay Boys' Grammar by 2,5-1.5, leaving them with a good chance of winning the division.

Several games from this week, including some from the match are available here.

Is This a RECORD?

There were 28 players at the club this week - great to see so many enjoying their chess including some new faces.

The big match between the Bishops and the Abbots resulted in a creditable draw for the outgraded Abbots. Board 1 was a relatively quick draw between Alan Brusey and Trefor Thynne - we think Alan might have brought the wrong glasses! Josh Blackmore and Freddie Sugden played a hard-fought game- they swapped off to an opposite coloured bishop endgame which looked like a dead draw. They shook hands but computer analysis of the game shows that Josh still had possible winning chances. It was hard to spot though.

On board 3, Piotr Ruszelak reached an advantageous position against Doug Morton, but then slightly misplayed the tactical sequence. The position was still level but, a few moves later, Piotr missed a skewer and Doug won. The final game to finish saw Andrew Kinder reach a level position from the opening against Mark Abbott, then Mark won a pawn but shortly afterwards missed a knight-fork which won a piece for Andrew and he calmly steered home the victory. 2-2!

The Challengers League saw Jack Wills draw a topsy-turvy game against Richard Brenton, Jacquie Barber Lafon went down to Niranjana Narayanan, while Simon Howard played a solid game to inflict a first defeat on Mike Hussey.

In the Newcomers' Tournament, David Morgan defeated Mike Gilding 2-0, Jude Brassington won against Martin Coles by the same score, while Ian Henry won a game against Phil Walsh.

Games from this week, including the match games are available here.

Even Bigger Club Night

24 players at the club this week, with lots of friendlies and competitive games on show.

The Competitors League saw four games with black winning 3 of them. Doug Morton took advantage of an oversight from Josh Blackmore to win smoothly. Trefor Thynne won a pawn, then marched it to the eighth rank, where he gained a decisive material advantage. Mark Abbott played the Benko Gambit against Charlie Howard and the queenside pressure he generated led to Charlie's defeat. Alan Brusey and Andrew Kinder played a long game, and eventually Andrew was able to hold an ending a pawn down.

In the Challengers League, Jack Wills kept picking up pawns against Iain Freestone and this was enough to gain the victory. Phil Walsh gained a mating attack aginst Simon Howard in the Newcomers Tournament, while Ian Henry played two games against David Morgan and won both.

Congratulations to the division 3 team, who had their first win against Torquay Boys, 2.5-1.5.

Many thanks to Trefor, who ran a coaching session on Friday involving 6 players. This was very well received and another session.is planned for March. Several games from this week are available here.

20 Players at Club Night AGAIN

Another excellent evening with lots of fun, exciting chess played.

In the Competitors league, Doug Morton made a winning start in a game where he had a big advantage from the opening against Piotr Ruszelak. Piotr fought back and missed a winning move, before Doug won a knight to seal the victory. Paul Brooks had the advantage in a tough game against Alan Brusey, but wasn't able to fully capitalise and, in time pressure, the players agreed a draw.

Mike Hussey made it 3 out of 3 in the Challengers League after winning a piece in the opening against Niranjana Narayanan. Simon Howard missed a chance to keep things level against Brooklyn Stephens and then succumbed to a mating attack.

The Newcomers Tournament saw Iain Freestone checkmate Dave Morgan, while Martin Coles went down to Phil Walsh. This week's games are annotated here.

Keith Arkell Simul

Grandmaster Keith Arkell is coming to the club to play a simultaneous exhibition on Thursday 2nd March.

This promises to be a great evening, a rare chance to take on a grandmaster who was a gold medal winning member of the England team which won the World Over-50s Championship last year.

Above all else, he is a really affable chessplayer, so, win or lose, you will have an enjoyable game. To cover Keith's expenses the club will need to charge £8 per player. Please let Trefor know, asap, if you want to play and he will collect the money from you. Please do this soon, as if we don't have sufficient players we will offer the opportunity to members of other local clubs.

Coaching Opportunity

Trefor has kindly offered to provide a coaching class on Friday 10th February at 2pm in room 4 (downstairs) in the Courtenay Centre.

The focus will be (1) Basic pawn endings, (2) The importance of development and the central squares in the opening and middle-game (analysis of an instructive game).

We only need to cover the room hire so anticipate the cost will be around £4 per player. Please let Trefor know if you are interested.

South Hams Knocked Out

For the third consecutive week, a team from Newton Abbot went to play a match in Kingsbridge.

This week it was the turn of the Knock-Out cup side, captained by George Darling, and in a close match Newton were victorious 3.5-2.5.

Well done to Andrew Kinder, Piotr Ruszelak and Freddie Sugden who won, Jack Wills who drew and to Ed Morris who made his debut for the club.

At the club it was another lively evening, with Mark Abbott defeating Doug Morton, and Trefor Thynne drawing with Charlie Howard in the Competitors section of the club championship.

In the Challengers section, Mike Hussey won against Les Barron, Richard Brenton defeated Simon Howard, and Jacquie Barber Lafon drew with Brooklyn Stephens. The Newcomers tournament saw Martin Coles share the points with Dave Morgan.

Two of Thursday's games are annotated here.

Good Result at South Hams

The Abbots went to South Hams and drew a tough match. There were wins for Freddie Sugden and Piotr Ruszelak, while Andrew Kinder and George Darling both went down to defeat.

The Club Championship got off to a lively start, with Paul Brooks gaining the first win in the Competitors League with a winning exchange sacrifice against Charlie Howard. Alan Brusey played a good attack against Josh Blackmore, but simplified too early and was only able to draw.

In the Challengers section, Mike Hussey overcame long resistance from Richard Brenton, while Niranjana Narayanan defeated Iain Freestone, and Jack Wills won against Simon Howard.

The Newcomers' Tournament continued with Tatiana Shute gaining a victory over Ed Morris. It was great to see so many players enjoying Chess in the New Year.

Here is a bumper crop of games from the Club Championship and last week's division 2 match against South Hams.

Lots to Catch up on

It's a while since I've posted so here is the news from the last few weeks.

Trefor Thynne deservedly won the enjoyable Christmas blitz tournament ahead of Josh Blackmore. Jack Wills won the junior prize while the newcomer prize went to Phil Walsh.

The Division B team went to South Hams and came away with a hard-fought win. Here is Trefor Thynne's report on the match.

"The match always promised to be tight with little between the two teams rating-wise. So it proved and it was only after a titanic 80-move epic on top board that we were able to return home with a victory by 2.5-1.5

Board 1. Trefor Thynne 1-0 James Schofield - This was my best game of the season so far. I switched to e4 (rare for me) and a long struggle in the Ruy Lopez ensued along well-known lines. I was only slightly better in the middle-game, but at the transition into the endgame James chose a recapture on c4 that left him with an ominously advanced but ultimately weak passed pawn. In the Q+R endgame I won this pawn, exchanged rooks and then spent 40 moves trying to avoid checks while gradually advancing my own pawns. A technical exercise but quite rewarding.

Board 2. Richard Brenton 0-1 Phil McConnell - A good game which went down to the endgame. Level for much of the game Richard got into difficulties by misplacing his rooks and finally lost a piece.

Board 3. Jack Wills 1-0 Andy Davies - Jack continued to show what a promising player he is by outlasting his opponent in a mostly even struggle. Jack picked up a couple of pawns late on and converted well.

Board 4. Simon Howard 1/2 -1/2 Arthur Doble - Simon recovered well from the early loss of the exchange and skewered his opponents rooks re-establishing material equality and transitioning into a completely drawn Q and R endgame."

Alan Brusey defeated Trefor Thynne to take first place in the Autumn Swiss on 4.5/5, ahead of Paul Brooks on 4/5 after Paul drew with Doug Morton. The Main Club Championship starts on Thursday 19th January, so we are looking forward to lots of fighting fun chess. Here are a couple of recent games.

Teignmouth Trouble

The division 2 team took on a strong Teignmouth side and came second-best in a difficult match.

Jack Wills was the first to finish when he lost the exchange to Charles Doidge and wasn't able to recover. Late replacement Simon Howard gained a creditable draw against John Ariss, while on board 2 Doug Morton offered a draw when his opponent was in time-pressure.

The match was decided on board 1. Paul Brooks came out of the opening worse against Bill Ingham, but fought hard and the game simplified to a rook, knight and pawn ending where Bill still had the advantage. Both players swapped mistakes and, in time pressure, Paul even missed a mate in 3, but, eventually, Bill prevailed. So 3-1 to Teignmouth.

The top-of-the-table clash in the Autumn Swiss between Paul Brooks and Alan Brusey ended in a draw, and there were also draws between Andrew Kinder and Jack Wills, Trefor Thynne and Josh Blackmore, and Iain Freestone against Niranjana Narayanan.

It was great to welcome Carla to the club for the first time. Next Thursday, the last before Christmas will be a blitz tournament with a few prizes. Hope to see you all there! Click for more recent games.

The Busiest Week Ever?

There were 4 matches and a club night this week, so lots of pre-Christmas Chess activity to enjoy.

On Monday, the division 3 team went to Plymouth, and were defeated 3.5-0.5 by a strong home team. Undaunted, a very similar team travelled to Kingsbridge on Thursday to play South Hams, but the result was similar too. 3-1 to a strong home team. Well played to those involved, especially Iain Freestone who was making his debut, Simon Howard who debuted as Captain, and Mark Wills who drove the team to Kingsbridge. It's always good experience to play matches.

Meanwhile, there were 2 first division matches being played at the Courtenay Centre. The Abbots hosted Totnes and got their first win of the season. Brooklyn Stephens defeated Clive Liggatt on board 4, while Andrew Kinder was on top for most of his game against Charlie Howard, but Charlie escaped by creating a perpetual check with his queen. Trefor Thynne went in for a tactic which led to him obtaining a queen for two rooks, but then gave Chris a chance to exchange into a tricky and instructive won pawn ending. Chris missed the not-so-obvious winning move and the game was drawn. The best game of the match was on board 1 where George Darling allowed the pawn cover in front of his king to be broken, but used the resulting open file to set up a strong attack. He sacrificed a bishop to achieve a winning breakthrough and Martin Goldschmidt had to resign. 3-1 to the Abbots.

The Bishops still top the table after a hard-fought 2-2 draw against South Hams. Doug Morton continued his good form by exchanging into a winning endgame against Ben Wilkinson. Paul Brooks could not make the most of a better position against Dave Archer and agreed a draw. Steven Levy equalised for South Hams by taking advantage of an oversight by Alan Brusey to gain a winning attack. The last game to finish saw Josh Blackmore and James Schofield play out a very close endgame with very little time on the clock. Eventually they agreed a ceasefire and the game and match were drawn.

In the Autumn Swiss, Ollie Main moved to 2 points after winning a tough game against Richard Brenton. Here are some games from the first team matches (and Doug Morton's victory against Charlie Howard from last week). The games from the division 3 match against Plymouth are here.

Newcomers make Headway

4 games were played in the Newcomers' Tournament with Tatiana Shute and Sam Freestone making their debuts and Tatiana taking a 2-0 victory. Ian Henry also won a game against Phil Walsh.

In the Autumn Swiss, Doug Morton continued his unbeaten run in an epic clash with Charlie Howard. Doug looked on top when his aggressive opening netted him a couple of pawns, but Charlie fought back and it looked like the resulting rook and pawn ending might be drawn. With time running out, Doug played a move which seemed give up his pawns, but it was a cunning trap into which Charlie fell, and he was forced to resign facing mate or the loss of a rook.

Jacquie Barber Lafon took her second point in the tournament when Mike Hussey missed a chance in the opening, and she won material to take a convincing victory. In the Rapidplay tournament, Josh Blackmore won a game against Paul Brooks.

We were pleased to welcome Nathan Hardaker back to the club.

Rapidplay Team go Down

A late withdrawal forced the Rapidplay team to go to Kingsbridge with only 3 players, where they suffered defeat at the hands of a strong South Hams team..

Alan Brusey won one and lost one against Steve Levy, while Andrew Kinder found Dave Archer too hot to handle going down 2-0. The best performance came from Trefor Thynne who defeated James Schofield 1.5-0.5.

With 2 games on board 4 being defaulted the final score was a disappointing 5.5-2.5 to South Hams.

A Lively Club Night

There were 20 members and newcomers enjoying chess at the club night this week.

The third round of the Autumn Swiss drew to a close with Trefor Thynne defeating Brooklyn Stephens, when Brooklyn blundered a knight.

Richard Brenton won against Oleg Kozukhar, while in the last game to finish, Doug Morton and Andrew Kinder agreed a draw after a long struggle.

Alan Brusey played Josh Blackmore twice in the Rapidplay tournament with Alan winning one and the other game being drawn. Here are a couple of this week's games.

It was great to welcome Kirsty and Adam to the club for the first time.

Prizes at the Torbay Chess Congress

Twelve Newton Abbot members played in the 2022 Torbay Chess Congress, and there were pleasing results in all the sections.

Alan Brusey gained a very creditable 3 points in a strong Open section while George Darling did well to reach 2.5. Alan won the slow starter prize and George won a share of a grading prize for his efforts.

In the Major, Paul Brooks scored a solid 3 points, Charlie Howard and Piotr Ruszelak both scored 2 points, while Trefor Thynne was on 1.5. Paul also won a grading prize.

The Intermediate Tournament included 5 players from Newton, and Brooklyn Stephens won a grading prize for scoring 3.5 points. Ollie Main in his first chess tournament played well to gain 3 points and a grading prize, Niranjana Narayanan scored 2.5, while Richard Brenton and Ian Henry both finished on 2 points. Richard also won a share of a grading prize.

In the Foundation Tournament, Jack Wills also finished in the top half with 3 points. Well done to all our competitors!

Division 2 Win

Torquay Boys' Grammar School gave a very good showing in their Division 2 match against Newton, before eventually succumbing 3-1.

Richard Brenton and Doug Morton won their games on boards 2 and 4, while Brooklyn Stephens was very fortunate to win, when his opponent ran out of time in a completely drawn position.

The best game of the match (and probably the season so far!) was on board 1, where Bradley Holland played an imaginative winning sacrificial attack against Trefor Thynne.

In the third round of the Autumn Swiss, Alan Brusey and Paul Brooks both reached 3/3 after defeating Charlie Howard and Niranjana Narayanan respectively. Josh Blackmore also won when Simon Howard dropped a pawn after defending stoutly. It was also good to see games being played in the Newcomers' Tournament.

Holland v Thynne and games and from the Swiss tournament can be found here.

Bishops bulldoze Abbots

The Newton Abbot division 1 local derby saw a tight match where the Bishops took the spoils against the Abbots.

An early draw was agreed on board 4 between Brooklyn Stephens and Doug Morton. For the Bishops, Alan Brusey pushed hard on board 1 against Trefor Thynne but Trefor defended well and when Alan closed the position the game headed towards a draw.

The decisive action took place on boards 2 and 3. Andrew Kinder built up an impressive-looking position against Josh Blackmore, but he pushed too hard and Josh was able to claim victory to give the Bishops the lead. The final game to finish was on board 2, where Paul Brooks won a piece against George Darling, but George battled on manfully before having to concede defeat on move 71. So victory to the Bishops by 3 games to 1.

In the third round of the Autumn Swiss, Jack Wills pulled off a spectacular sacrificial victory against Ollie Main, and Jacquie Barber Lafon defeated Les Barron. Games from the match and the Swiss tournament can be found here.

Club Full to Bursting

The first League match of the year took place at a club night where we had to find an extra table to fit all the players in. We welcomed TBGS in the 3rd division and were pleased to give debuts to Eli Gallamoy and Simon Howard. A hard fought match was won by the boys 2.5 -1.5.

The second round of the Autumn Swiss was completed with Alan Brusey finally overcoming stiff resistance from Ollie Main to win in the endgame. Paul Brooks also maintained 100% in grinding out a win over Brooklyn Stephens. Andrew Kinder and Niranjana Narayanan were also victorious. In matches played during the week, Simon Howard got his first point against Mike Hussey, while Jack Wills did the same against Oleg Kozhukar.

Early leaders in the tournament are Alan Brusey, Charlie Howard and Paul Brooks but there's still a long way to go. Click here to access some of this week's games.

The Rapidplay Tournament saw Josh Blackmore take a 2-0 win against Jack Wills. There were lots of friendly games played and it was great to welcome David, Andy, Phil, Iain and Simon to the club.

Autumn Swiss Round 1 Complete

The first drawn game of the Autumn Swiss saw Niranjana Narayanan sharing the point with Andrew Kinder while in the final game of the first round Josh Blackmore overcame Eli Gallamoy.

Last Thursday, round 2 got under way with Eli taking his first point against Les Barron, Trefor Thynne being held to a draw by Doug Morton, and Charlie Howard maintaining a 100% record by defeating Josh Blackmore.

The Newcomers' Tournament also began with an exciting game between Simon Howard and Ian Henry. Simon went down after missing a stalemate draw on his final move. Here are some of the games from the last couple of weeks.

This week sees the start of the match season when our division 3 team take on TBGS, while there are lots of second round Autumn Swiss games to be completed.

Lively Start to Autumn Swiss

7 games were played on the first day of the Autumn Swiss, with the higher-rated player coming out on top in most cases. Trefor Thynne was quite fortunate to claim victory after his opponent Richard Brenton missed a couple of good chances towards the end of their game. Alan Brusey came through against Jacquie Barber-Lafon, while Charlie Howard defeated Jack Wills.

Mike Hussey put up a good fight against Paul Brooks but Paul's attack eventually blasted through. In the battles of the new members, Ollie Main won against Oleg Kozhukar, and Simon Howard lost to Doug Morton, while there was also a victory for Brooklyn Stephens against Les Barron.

It was great to see Tatiana, Martin, Josh and George playing friendlies.

Three of Thursday's games are annotated here.

4-way tie in Buzzer Tournament

A fun night was had by all in the annual Buzzer tournament, expertly run by Trefor.

After 5 exciting rounds there was a tie for first place between Josh Blackmore, Alan Brusey, George Darling and recently-joined member Doug Morton.

New player Mia Pelham also had a very good debut.

Don't forget to sign up for the Autumn Swiss which starts on 13 October.

Fun Palace at Library this Saturday

Alan Brusey is running a Chess session at the annual Newton Abbot Library Fun Palace this Saturday, 1st October.

The session will run from 10am to 3pm and Alan will be pleased to see any members who wish to play a game, or discuss how to improve their chess.

It's a great way to promote chess and the club, so, if you can, please go along and join him.

Friendly First Night

It was great to welcome old friends and new faces to the first club night of the new season.

It was especially good to see potential new members, Eleanor, Tatiana and Ollie. We hope you enjoyed the evening.

Next Thursday, 29th September will be a special event: a 10-second buzzer tournament, run by Trefor - these are always great fun so we hope to see lots of you there.

On 6th October, Paul will run a quickplay tournament for those who want to play in it, and the Autumn Swiss will begin on 13th October. If you haven't already done so, please sign up.

Welcome to a New Season

The first club night of the 22-23 season will be held on Thursday September 22nd at 7pm at the Courtenay Centre. We look forward to welcoming members old and new.

It will be a night of friendly chess with a blitz tournament for interested players.

There will also be an opportunity to sign up for the Autumn Tournaments.

Here is a link to the 'Welcome Back' newsletter, which gives lots of details of club activities.

Your Chess Club needs You!

As announced at the AGM, Trefor is stepping down (at least temporarily) from his role as Secretary of the club.

Thanks are already due to Les Barron who has kindly offered to take on the vacant post of Club Treasurer, and to George Darling who has joined the Club Committee.

Paul Brooks will be taking on some of the administrative aspects of Trefor's role, but any extra help in running the club would be gratefully received. Just get in touch with Paul or Trefor if you can help.

The AGM decided that ALL ADULT MEMBERS of the club would be taking part in a duty rota where for 1 or 2 nights a season they would be give up their club chess and be responsible for arriving early to set up, ensuring that everybody gets a good game and welcoming any guests/visitors to the club. A rota will be published at the start of the season.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

British Week 2 News

Newton Abbot players continued to perform well in tournaments during the second week of the British Chess Championships in Torquay.

Trefor Thynne and Martin Goldschmidt both played well in the over 65s event, with Trefor scoring 4.5 out of 7 and Martin finishing on 4.

In the U1900 tournament Josh Blackmore gained 3.5 out of 7 for the second tournament in succession.

We are now looking forward to the start of the new season - remember the first session is scheduled for Thursday 22nd September - watch out for more news soon.

Good Showing in First Week of British

11 players with strong associations to Newton Abbot took part in the tournaments in the first week of the British Chess Championships in the Riviera Centre, Torquay.

Alan Brusey scored 3 points in the Over-50s event, with Stephen Homer finishing strongly to score 4.5. Jack Wills scored 3.5 in the Under-16 event and also did well in the rapidplay.

In the graded events, Trefor Thynne finished on 4/7 in the U2050 - Josh Blackmore scored 3.5 in the U1900. Brooklyn Stephens and Nandaja Narayanan both scored 3/7 in the U1750, while Nandaja's sister Niranjana gained 2 points in the U1600.

Perhaps the best result came in the U1450 event with Suhayl Abdalla scoring 5/7 to finish 3rd. Aritra Paul scored 4 in the same event, and in the weekend U1750 tournament Richard Brenton scored 1.5/5.

A great turnout from the club!

A Walk in the Park for Martin

Martin Goldschmidt was a clear winner in the second Chess in the Park tournament of the summer, dropping only half a point in scoring 4.5 out of 5. Alan Brusey finished strongly to take second place on 3.5, ahead of a group of three, Jack Wills, Josh Blackmore and Paul Brooks on 3 points.

10 players took part altogether and it was great to welcome another Ukrainian junior, Rostislav Ektov, who acquitted himself well.

Good Luck to all the participants from Newton in the British Championships - the list so far includes Brooklyn Stephens, Josh Blackmore, Richard Brenton, Paul Brooks, Edward Hill, Jack Wills, Trefor Thynne, Martin Goldschmidt, and Alan Brusey - an excellent turnout from the club!

Congratulations to the juniors who took part in the recent Gigafinal and acquitted themselves well against strong opposition. Well done to Suhayl Abdalla, Niranjana Narayanan, Jamie Glasson, Peter Pratt and Adrian Pratt.

Dominic Makes a Successful Return

The first Chess in the Park tournament of the summer marked a successful return to Newton Abbot chess for Dominic Mackle. He scored an unbeaten 4.5/5 taking victory ahead of Alan Brusey, Chris Collins and Paul Brooks on 3.5/5.

It was great to see Ukrainian refugee, Anastasia, competing well alongside the Newton Abbot regulars. Thanks are due to Trefor Thynne for efficiently organising the tournament and pairings.

Look out for news of a second tournament later in the summer.

Last Chance to Enter British (for less money!)

The British Championship comes to Torquay between 8th and 22nd August 2022.

There are lots of tournaments for players of all standards in an excellent venue, so it's definitely worth entering.

Entry fees go up from 7th July, so if you want to take advantage of the early-bird discount, do it now!

Here is the link to the Championship website.

Chess in the Park Returns

After a successful launch in 2021, we are pleased to announce that the Pavilion in Forde Parke will be the venue for the first 'Chess in the Park' tournament of 2022.

The format will be a Swiss Rapidplay Tournament of 5 rounds, starting at 2pm, and finishing around 5pm. There will be an entry fee of £2, and please only consume food and drink purchased from the cafe.

We would love to see as many players as possible so if you want to join us, get in touch with Trefor by phone or email.

Totnes Victorious in Friendly

The first outdoor event of the summer was played in good spirits and excellent weather at the Forde Park Pavilion.

Totnes brought a team of Newton Abbot club players and guests and emerged as victors in a double-round six-board rapidplay match.

Things were close after the first round where Martin Goldschmidt, Chris Collins and Andrew Skirrow won for Totnes, while Paul Brooks and Jack Smith got the points for Newton.The sixth match was drawn leaving Totnes with a narrow lead.

In the second round, Totnes stretched their lead when Martin Goldschmidt and Chris Collins made it two out of two, while Charlie Howard and Clive Liggatt also won. Newton took the lower boards with victories for Jack Smith and Les Barron, leaving the final score 7.5-4.5 to Totnes.

Members are encouraged to look out for more events during the summer. All will be welcome to join in.

Brooklyn and Alan win the Leagues

The Spring Leagues came to their climax with decisive games involving the challengers at the top of both divisions.

George Darling had a chance of catching Alan Brusey in the Competitors' League and kept his hopes alive when he defeated Paul Brooks, after Paul couldn't find a good continuation in a promising position and went down in time pressure in the endgame.

He next faced Andrew Kinder who is having an unpredictable season. This time George got the advantage, but missed a tactic and lost quickly. So the field was left open for Alan Brusey who cemented top position with a draw against Trefor Thynne. Charlie Howard finished his season well with a win against Andrew Kinder, while, in his last game, George Darling made a misjudgement in exchanging into an endgame and succumbed to Trefor Thynne. This left Alan Brusey clearly out on top with 5.5 points followed by Josh Blackmore and George Darling equal on 4 points each. Paul's and Trefor's games against George can be found here.

The Challengers' League was decided when Brooklyn Stephens defeated Suhayl Abdalla to finish half a point clear of Richard Brenton. In other games, Mike Hussey finished the season with a good result against John Allen, while Suhayl won against Jack Wills.

Wins for Josh and Mike

Two games were played in the Spring leagues this week.

Andrew Kinder took on Josh Blackmore with the black pieces and, surprisingly, played a rather passive opening which gave Josh the initiative. When Andrew missed a pin which allowed Josh to win a key pawn, Andrew came under further pressure, which eventually led to Josh checkmating him.

In the Challengers' League, Mike Hussey won with white against Les Barron. The game between Josh and Andrew can be found here.

Both leagues are coming to a climax in the next couple of weeks, with several players in contention for the top prizes.

Newton B Take the Title

The closest Torbay League title race for many years came to a conclusion in an exciting final match of the season at South Hams.

The home team hosted Newton Abbot A with both teams knowing that whoever won would take the title. George Darling defeated the dangerous Dave Archer on board 2, while Charlie Howard gained a draw on board 3. With Phil McConnell defeating John Allen, the match result hung in the balance with Alan Brusey coming under strong pressure from Steve Levy on top board. When Steve simplified by swapping off queens, Alan was able obtain counterplay and guided his game and the match to a draw.

This result left the door open for Newton Abbot B to take the prize, having gained 6 wins in the season, compared to the 5 wins and 1 draw achieved by both Newton Abbot A and South Hams. The A team took second place on game points.

The second division was equally close, with all 3 teams in the division finishing on 4 points. The title was shared by Torquay Boys Grammar and South Hams who both had an equal game point score which was slightly better than Newton Abbot's. Congratulations to all the players who have played for the teams this season.

The Spring League games were both drawn this week. Andrew Kinder played the combative Farjarowicz variation against Trefor Thynne, and defended well to gain just enough counterplay after he lost material early in the game. Suhayl Abdalla had the advantage through most of his game against Richard Brenton, but missed a simplification into a winning endgame and allowed Richard a stalemate draw. Both games are available here, as well as Alan Brusey's fighting draw against Steve Levy.

Andrew Topples Alan

Andrew Kinder inflicted a rare defeat on table-topping Alan Brusey in their Spring League game.

Andrew's typically agressive opening led to him sacrificing the exchange for a lead in development. When Alan was able to force off queens it looked like he might take control, but the ending was complex and Andrew was able to force his central pawns into a position which obliged Alan's resignation.

In the other Competitors' League match played this week, Trefor Thynne failed to take an opportunity to gain an active position in the opening against Paul Brooks and allowed Paul to take control of the position. 40 moves later, Paul's kingside attack broke through to mate Trefor's king.

In the Challengers' League, John Allen had a quick victory against Les Barron when Les failed to spot a knight-fork which won his queen.

This week's internal league games can be accessed here.

Narrow Victory against Boys' Grammar

TBGS continued their late season run of good form by making the B team work hard for their victory in their final match of the year.

Paul Brooks took advantage of David Forbes' oversight of a check and won David's queen to give the home team a good start. A knight-fork check enabled Trefor Thynne to win a rook and the game against Piran Wills making it 2-0 to Newton.

But that was as good as it got for the B team. Danilo Wasques lost his a-pawn against Jack Smith who played the resulting queen and pawn ending very accurately, and Danilo resigned when a pawn was about to promote. On top board, James Gibbs, playing his final match for the Grammar School, gained a very creditable draw against Martin Goldschmidt, when he created an impenetrable stronghold in a bishop and pawn ending. The final result was Newton Abbot B 2.5, TBGS 1.5.

Recent games in the Spring Leagues include a good attacking victory for Trefor Thynne against Danilo Wasques, a win for Richard Brenton against Mike Hussey, and a hard-fought victory for Brooklyn Stephens when he was able to exchange into a winning ending against Jack Wills. The top of the table clash between George Darling and Alan Brusey was decided when George lost on time with his kingside attack unable to break through Alan's solid defence.

Match and league games are available here.

Bad Week for the B Team

The B team went down to their second consecutive 3.5-0.5 defeat, losing at home to South Hams. The result leaves the 1st Division title wide open with the A team, B team and South Hams all on 10 points with one match to play.

On board 4, Jack Wills, on his well-deserved debut, missed a tactic against Trevor Hurt and lost a piece and eventaully the game. Martin Goldschmidt played solidly against Steve Levy, but then thought he was losing a piece to a queen fork and resigned, missing that he had a backwards defensive move which kept things level.

Things didn't improve when Piotr Ruszelak lost on time against Phil McConnell when there was still plenty of play in the game. Paul Brooks helped the team avoid the whitewash when he reached a winning ending against James Schofield, but both players were playing on the increment and a couple of inaccurate moves lost his advantage and the players agreed a draw.

In the Spring Leagues, Les Barron picked up his second win, defeating Mike Gilding, while John Allen drew against Patrick Anderson. Richard Brenton fought back to gain a perpetual check against Brooklyn Stephens.

Match games and others can be found here.

A Team Keep up the Pressure

Teignmouth were the latest victims of the A Team who achieved a 3.5 to 0.5 victory for the second consecutive week.

Richard Brenton was on top from the start against Charlie Tucker and won quickly, while John Allen agreed a draw with Charles Doidge.

On board 1, Charlie Howard built an advantage in the late middlegame against Bill Ingham and was able to transpose into a won rook and pawn endgame. Ian Henry held on-form Josh Blackmore to a more-or-less equal position for a long period of their game before he made 2 consecutive poor moves in time pressure and Josh finished the game off with a neat tactic.

In the Spring Leagues, Les Barron was defeated by Brooklyn Stephens, and Mike Gilding won against Patrick Anderson. Some games from the match can be found here.

In other news, congratulations to John Allen who has reached the top 100 for his age category in the latest ECF ratings list. And best wishes to Alan Brusey in recovering from a recent fall which left him with a broken arm - we hope you're back playing soon, Alan!

A Team win Local Derby

The A Team took revenge over the B Team with a comprehensive victory in the recent local derby, winning 3.5 to 0.5.

Things started well for the A team, when George Darling won a fine attacking game against Trefor Thynne. Paul Brooks could not break through agianst Charlie Howard and a draw was agreed.

On top board, Martin Goldschmidt reached a level and quiet position against Alan Brusey, but an oversight allowed Alan to advance in the centre, win a couple of pawns and eventually the game. It was a similar story on board 4, where Josh Blackmore won a pawn in the early stages of an ending and his good technique brought home the point.

The result leaves the 1st division title in the balance, with both Newton Abbot teams in the mix along with South Hams. Key games involving the protagonists are coming up in the next few weeks.

In the Spring Leagues, Patrick Anderson won a good game against in-form Brooklyn Stephens. Junior Ed Hall defeated Les Barron, and Mike Hussey eventually prevailed in a topsy-turvy game against Suhayl Abdalla. This week's games can be found here.

B Team Victory but Defeat in Division 2

Two matches played this week led to contrasting fortunes for Newton Abbot teams. In division 1, the B team played their second match in a week away against Teignmouth.

On board 1, Martin Goldschmidt ground down Bill Ingham's Indian defence successfully, while Trefor Thynne defeated Charles Doidge in a good game on board 2. Andrew Kinder converted an ending with bishop versus 2 pawns against John Ariss. Newton's only defeat was when Wilf Taylor made an unfortunate error in his game against Ian Henry.

The Division 2 team travelled to South Hams and gained just two draws from the match, with Wilf Taylor and John Allen both able to share the spoils on boards 1 and 2.

In the Spring Leagues, Josh Blackmore won a close game against Danilo Wasques, while Brooklyn Stephens won against Mike Hussey. Some recent games can be found here.

B team Keep their 100% Record

The B team continued their winning ways with a 3-1 victory over visitors Teignmouth.

Peter Ruszelak, in his first match this season, exchanged into a much better endgame against John Ariss and won comfortably. Danilo Wasques defeated Ian Henry in a tight contest.

Charles Doidge's unusual opening caused Paul Brooks some problems, but when he emerged stronger from some tactical exchanges, Paul's material advantage saw him through.

Top board saw a tough struggle between Bill Ingham and Trefor Thynne. Bill obtained a structural advantage from the opening, and was able to keep up the pressure, eventually forcing Trefor's king into the open where a tactical operation to win a rook forced Trefor's resignation.

There was another epic encounter in the Spring Leagues, when George Darling eventually prevailed in a rook-and-pawn ending against Josh Blackmore. Mike Gilding lost to John Allen, while Jack Wills defeated Les Barron.

Charlie's Epic Victory

The clock was heading towards 11pm when the longest game so far in the Spring Leagues ended in a 94-move victory for Charlie Howard. Trefor Thynne played a good response to Charlie's English Opening, and it looked as though his kingside play would give him the advantage.

When Trefor failed to make a preparatory king move Charlie spotted a clever tactic which won Trefor's queen. Trefor fought back and when Charlie made the mistake of driving Trefor's king up the board, Trefor had the chance to launch a mating attack with his rook, knight and king. When this opportunity was missed, Trefor also had the chance to make a perpetual check, but he captured a pawn which brought Charlie's queen back into the action. The game came down to an ending with Charlie's queen against a rook and two pawns, and after 30 patient moves, Charlie's technique brought him the point.

In contrast, George Darling and Danilo Wasques played a wild game which was over in 17 moves when George gained a decisive attack. Alan Brusey maintained his winning form, when he gained a large advantage against Paul Brooks, but the end of the game was spoiled by a problem with the clock settings. Paul conceded the game.

In the Challengers' League, Richard Brenton defeated Jack Wills when he trapped Jack's bishop in a balanced ending. John Allen went down to Brooklyn Stephens when he could not hold a good knight v bad bishop ending. Patrick Anderson held Mike Hussey to a draw, when Mike could not convert a rook and pawn ending, a pawn up.

This week's games are available here.

Jolt for B Division Team

The B Division team suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of Torquay Boys' Grammar School.

Things went wrong from the start with board 4 Edward Hill unable to play after a late positive Covid test result. So 0-1 at 7.15 p.m!

On Board 1, Brooklyn Stephens' successful run came to an end when he was well beaten by Evan McMullan. Then Suhayl Abdalla dropped a piece against Piran Wills and never recovered.

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Newton's only success was for Jack Wills who came back to defeat Josh Keay when Josh lost a rook to a fork when winning comfortably. 3-1 represents a notable scalp for the Grammar School.

Alan Still on Top

The 5 latest games in the Spring leagues saw Alan Brusey maintain his lead in the Competitors' league. He gained a pawn against Wilf Taylor but it looked as though Wilf would have drawing chances due to Alan having the worse bishop in an rook and opposite-coloured bishop ending. An oversight by Wilf allowed Alan to extricate his bishop and he duly converted.

The other two matches in the Competitors' League ended in draws, when both Paul Brooks and Trefor Thynne made little progress as white against Charlie Howard and Josh Blackmore respectively.

In the Challengers' League, Jack Wills came back from a piece down to defeat John Allen, while Richard Brenton shepherded his queenside majority to victory against Mike Gilding.

Games from this week and earlier in the season can be found here.

South Hams Cup Victory

South Hams fielded a strong team at home in the Knock Out Cup and were victorious in a tight match against Newton.

Here is captain Trefor Thynne's match report.

"We lost 2-4 - an interesting and closely contested match which should have ended 3-3 but we would have lost on board count with their wins on 2 and 3 counting for more.

Some chaotic stuff too!

In order of finishing: Board 3 Wilf 0-1 Phil McConnell. A bad start to the match as Wilf lost an exchange early on and never recovered.

Board 1 Trefor 1/2-1/2 Stephen Levy. A London system in which neither player established domination though I had the better bishop at the end.

Board 6 Jack Wills 1/2-1/2 James Fowler. Another good effort by young Jack. The game was always approximately equal and ended with Jack trying to win with K, N and P each.

Board 2 Danilo 0-1 David Archer. Danilo always looked second best against DA who is a strong player on board 2. He got as far as the ending but his 2 passed queenside pawns were outweighed by his opponent's 3 passed kingside ones.

Then the fun started! Both Mike and John should have won.

Board 5 Mike 1/2-1/2 Tony Tatam. Mike had attacking chances against black's king and had a very strong knight against a poor bishop with W, R and minor piece each. I am sure there was a win somewhere but Mike sacrificed his rook unnecessarily. Then Wilf said to me " Mike has stopped pressing his clock". At that point he had 17 minutes left so I did not worry but he continued to ignore his clock and sank into deep thought to find a non- existent win. He needed to claim a draw by repetition but did not do so. At one point it looked as though Mike's time would run out. Mike offered a draw. Tony did not answer but made a move. Finally, to my relief, Mike gave a flurry of repeated moves and common sense broke out all round - game drawn.

Board 4 John 1/2-1/2 Trevor Hurt. In some ways the best game except for the end. John early on won a piece but came under strong attack. He might have been worse but found his way through many complications to reach an ending with a piece advantage and a passed pawn on the 6th. Easily won but for some reason he simplified out into an ending with, K B and rook's pawn v king which was drawn because the pawn was queening on the wrong colour square for the bishop. Hurt headed for a1 with his king - a well-known draw! John not pleased!

So South Hams go through to face TBGS. I thought it would be tough when I saw their team. But an enjoyable evening." Here are the games from the match.

Alan in Winning Form

4 games were played in the Spring leagues this week. Alan Brusey continued his winning streak with an endgame victory against Charlie Howard.

Josh Blackmore gained an advantage from the opening against Paul Brooks and gained the exchange for a pawn when Paul tried to ease the pressure. Josh played the ending very well to take the point.

In the Challengers' League, Suhayl Abdalla defeated Les Barron, while Patrick Anderson and Richard Brenton agreed a draw when they discovered problems with the clock settings at the end of their game.

This week, Alan also had his first victory against Grandmaster Keith Arkell in a simultaneous display. This game and other Spring League games can be found here.

A Team Win Again

TBGS came to Newton Abbot to play the A team but went away empty-handed.

Alan Brusey got an active position from the opening, then won a pawn in the tactical battle and was able to exchange into a winning endgame.

On board 2, Josh Blackmore's opponent obtained a level position, but lost a pawn and then another piece when he tried to counterattack. Brooklyn Stephens took control when his opponent allowed a kingside attack, while Suhayl Abdalla brought home the point in a hard-fought game.

4-0 to Newton Abbot did not reflect the Grammar School Boys' efforts.

In the Competitors' League, Trefor Thynne was held to a draw by Wilf Taylor, after Wilf successfully defended an opposite-coloured bishop ending. Danilo Wasques and Paul Brooks played out a wild and exciting game, where Paul sacrificed 2 pawns in the opening, then a piece, to reach a position where he won back the material and had a small advantage. Time pressure caught up with him and Danilo played strongly to gain a winning position, then missed a 2-move mate, before Paul was able to find a tactical resource which secured the draw.

In the Challengers', Mike Gilding and Richard Brenton gained wins, while Jack Wills and Patrick Anderson drew their game. Many of this week's games can be accessed here.

B Team Top The Table

Another strong performance from the B team, away to South Hams, left them leading the way in the first division.

Danilo Wasques achieved an early victory when he overran Phil McConnell's Jobava System. Paul Brooks won a pawn early in his game against Ben Wilkinson, then gained the exchange, but allowed Ben some counterplay. When Ben missed a chance to force a draw, Paul consolidated and the game was soon over.

Trefor Thynne's game against James Schofield had an extraordinary conclusion. Trefor gradually built up a winning position, but missed the opportunity to win a clear piece. A couple of moves later, Trefor blundered to drop the exchange and it looked as though James would be victorious. Trefor's hopes were based on a passed pawn on the seventh rank, and James had to make a forced rook move to stop it promoting. Unbelievably, James picked up his king, and being obliged to move it lost immediately. Subsequent analysis showed that the ending was drawn.

The final game to finish was on top board, where Martin Goldschmidt had strong pressure all through his game against Steve Levy. Martin won a pawn, but an epic defensive effort meant that eventually he had to agree the draw.

So the final result was 3.5-0.5 to Newton Abbot. Some of the match games are annotated here.

Early Lead for Alan and John

Alan Brusey had a second victory in the Spring Competitors' League after he quickly won a pawn against Josh Blackmore which helped him to victory. George Darling made a winning debut against Charlie Howard.

In the Challengers' League, John Allen also moved to 2 points winning against Suhayl Abdalla, while Patrick Anderson let a big advantage slip against Les Barron and Brooklyn Stephens played out a long draw against Mike Gilding.

Some online milestones to celebrate - Alan Brusey has reached an amazing puzzle rating of 3000 on Chess.com, while Mike Hussey recently played his 20,000th game on the same platform.

Victory over South Hams

The latest division 2 match saw Newton Abbot come through to defeat South Hams 2.5-1.5.

Brooklyn Stephens continued his good form to win as black against Roy Greenhalgh. Wilf Taylor had a very good win when his strong kingside attack broke through to mate Tony Tatam.

With Mike Gilding going down on board 3, the result was decided when Jack Wills was able to hold the draw in an opposite-coloured bishop ending despite being a pawn down.

In the first week of the Spring leagues, Alan Brusey's pawn advances overwhelmed Danilo Wasques, while Paul Brooks converted a material advantage after Andrew Kinder missed the vital breakthrough in a promising attacking position. Charlie Howard and Josh Blackmore played out a peaceful draw.

In the Challengers' League, John Allen eventually prevailed after a long game against Richard Brenton. Several of this week's games can be seen here.

A Team 100%

The division 1 match between Teignmouth and Newton Abbot A ended in a comfortable 4-0 victory for Newton.

On top board, Alan Brusey showed good technique to win a rook and pawn ending against Bill Ingham. There were also good victories for Josh Blackmore, Brooklyn Stephens and a winning return to competitive chess for John Allen.

B Team Edge It

A close match between Newton Abbot's A and B teams was decided on the bottom boards, where the B team won both games.

Paul Brooks defeated Brooklyn Stephens in the first game to finish after Brooklyn missed a skewer on the long diagonal. Martin Goldschmidt made an optimistic attacking move against Alan Brusey which forced Alan's king into the open, but his attack ran out of ammunition and Alan was able to consolidate his material advantage.

The crucial game was on board 4, where junior Suhayl Abdalla achieved an advantageous position against Danilo Wasques, but missed a queen check which would have allowed a decisive breakthrough. Danilo exchanged down into an ending where his experience told. The final game to be completed saw Trefor Thynne unable to convert his opening advantage after stubborn defence from Josh Blackmore and the players finally agreed a draw, leaving the result 2.5-1.5 to the B team.

The match games, as well as an exciting club game between Jack Wills and Wilf Taylor can be accessed here.

The Spring Leagues launch next week with plenty of exciting chess in store.

Charlie is Joint Winner

Charlie Howard and Alan Brusey played out the final crucial game in the Autumn Swiss Tournament. Alan played his usual Chigorin defence reply to 1.d4, and the game looked level after Charlie agreed to a queen swap. The ending was proceeding peacefully when Alan played a natural-looking but dangerous move which allowed Charlie to play a neat combination to win a pawn, and when Alan immediately made an inaccurate follow-up, his fate was sealed.

This result enabled Charlie to join George Darling as joint winner of the tournament with 4 points out of 5, followed by a group of 4 players on 3.5. Brooklyn Stephens and Richard Brenton were awarded grading prizes with 2.5 points out of 5.

The game between Charlie and Alan is available here.

The rest of the club played a blitz tournament which was won jointly by Josh Blackmore and Trefor Thynne.

The first club night of the New Year on 6th January will feature the division 1 match between Newton Abbot A and Newton Abbot B.

George on Top

With just one match to play in the Autumn Swiss, George Darling is in pole position after his victory over previous leader Trefor Thynne. Trefor had a slightly better position as white in a Nimzoindian, but missed a strong pawn advance and then, a couple of moves later, he made a poor rook move which lost the exchange. George played well to take the point.

Junior Jack Wills played a good opening against Paul Brooks and had the initiative for a long period, but then overstretched in his attack, and Paul was able to swap off into a won ending.

These two games can be accessed here.

Wilf Taylor won a pawn against Brooklyn Stephens and was on his way to victory when he allowed his opponent a one-move mate with just a bishop, a knight and pawns on the board! Richard Brenton won a piece and the game against Suhayl Abdalla, while Mike Gilding defeated Les Barron. In the online game, Patrick Anderson overcame Mike Hussey.

The only question which remains is whether Charlie Howard or Alan Brusey can join George on 4 points.

A Winning Start for B Team

Things couldn't have gone better for the newly-formed B team, winning their opening match at Torquay Boys' Grammar School 4-0.

Paul Brooks had a quick win when his opponent tried the risky Englund Gambit, but was soon in a lost position and allowed a pretty smothered mate after only 13 moves!

Martin Goldschmidt made a winning debut with a strong attack against Evan McMullan's King's Indian Defence which also ended in checkmate. Trefor Thynne got an early advantage against Bradley Holland's London System and converted smoothly, while Wilf Taylor's opponent missed a winning knight fork which lost his queen.

All the games are available here.

Trefor Takes The Lead

The fourth round of the Autumn Swiss came to a climax with a batch of matches played this Thursday.

The top of the table clash saw Trefor Thynne and Josh Blackmore play out a cagey Nimzoindian. Josh was always slightly worse as black, but was still in the game, when, having exchanged off into an ending, he blundered by allowing Trefor to create a weak doubled pawn which was quickly captured, then Trefor wrapped things up efficiently.

Paul Brooks and Andrew Kinder contested a wild game where, after some unorthodox manoeuvering, Paul emerged from the opening with a clear advantage. The players castled on opposite sides, and after his rook invaded the seventh rank, it looked as though Paul was going to break through, but Andrew defended well to minimise his losses to a single pawn. When Paul failed to find the correct pawn break, time pressure intervened and the players settled for a queen swap and a draw. Both games can be accessed here.

In other results, Alan Brusey bounced back to defeat Danilo Wasques, George Darling broke down Wilf Taylor's resistance, and Jack Wills overcame Mike Hussey. Suhayl Abdalla fell ill just before the club session and had to default his game against Charlie Howard.

Going into the final round, Trefor is in the lead with 3.5/4, followed by a group of 5 players on 3 points.

In the rapidplay, there were wins for Charlie Howard and Brooklyn Stephens, while Alfie Sequeira defeated Edward Hill in the Junior Championship.

More Book Reviews

Alan Brusey has kindly provided some more short book reviews. A slimmed-down version of the library will be accessible to members after Christmas.

I - Play the c3 Sicilian by Eduardas Rozentalis and Andrew Harley. Rozentalis is a Lithuanian GM who has much experience of playing this opening. I have found that the 2.c3 line has stood the test of time.

J - Sharpen your chess tactics in 7 days by Gary Lane. Any book by Gary is worth a read.

K - Michael Adams - Development of a chess Grandmaster. This book details progress from first starting chess up to first becoming a Grandmaster. This book is an interesting general read and includes many references to competitions Michael played in Devon.

L - How to play the English opening by Anatoly Karpov. The book is based on 30 well annotated games by the former World Champion.

M - The World Champions Teach Chess. An anthology compiled by Yakov Estrin and Isaac Romanov. Botvinnik is quoted as saying every chess player must be well prepared both psychologically and physically. Read about how he and other former world champions went about preparing for their matches.

N - SHORT V KASPAROV by William Hartson. The inside story of the match. This book contains more photographs than most.

O - The Power Chess Program by GM Nigel Davies. Chapters 5 and 6 on endgame theory and endgame battles are well worth reading.

Devon Junior News

A number of players with past, present and possibly future connections with Newton Abbot Chess Club performed well in the recent Devon Junior Championships.

In the Under-18's, Niranjana Narayanan was best girl with 3/6. Suhayl Abdalla and Alfie Sequiera shared first place in the under-15's with 4.5 out of 6. Edward Hill was equal 3rd in the under-13s with 3/6.

Brothers Peter and Adrian Pratt took first place in the under-11 and under-9 competitions respectively. Congratulations to all who participated.

Alan's Book Reviews

The club has an extensive library of chess books and DVDs. Alan Brusey is keeping a watching brief on these and has kindly agreed to provide brief reviews on selected titles. If you want to borrow any of these or enquire about other resources, please just let Alan know.

A - Revolutionize your chess by Viktor Moskalenko. This covers all aspects of the game and sparkles with ideas. A good read for the advanced player. Learn about the five touchstones and much more.

B - The Ruy Lopez for the Tournament player by Gary Lane. Gary was born in Paignton and is now an International Master and prolific author. I have read many of Gary's books and would suggest this for anyone who is likely to face the Ruy Lopez with either colour.

C - How to play good opening moves by Edmar Mednis. Good basic advice on opening principles. Suitable for players new to club chess.

D - An explosive chess opening repertoire for Black by Jouni Yrjola and Jussi Tella. Title says it all.

E - The Ultimate Colle by Gary Lane. The book to borrow if you want to try the Colle from the white side.

F - The Complete Pirc by John Nunn. Grandmaster John Nunn is currently an active member of the chess club at Bude.

G - Kasparov teaches chess by Gary Kasparov. An opportunity to learn from one of the greats. Suitable for players who are new to club chess up to average club standard.

'A' Team Defeat

South Hams visited Newton Abbot to play the A team and went away with a 3-1 victory.

An exciting game on board 1 was decided by David Archer's sustained attack against Alan Brusey. On board 2, Charlie Howard made an unfortunate blunder in an equal position against James Schofield. George Darling was bemused by Ben Wilkinson's Blackmar-Diemar Gambit and lost on time. Newton's only victory was on board 4, where Josh Blackmore continued his excellent run of form with a solid victory against Phil McConnell.

The game from board 1 can be viewed here.

In the Autumn Swiss, Patrick Anderson notched up his first win against Mike Gilding, while Brooklyn Stephens and Richard Brenton played out a hard-fought draw.

The Rapidplay saw Trefor Thynne defeat Jack Wills, and Paul Brooks win against Brooklyn Stephens.

Next week is the final week for playing Round 4 games so please arrange these as soon as you can.

Josh Out On His Own

The 3rd round of the Autumn Swiss drew to a conclusion with Josh Blackmore in the sole lead on 3 wins out of 3.

George Darling made the long journey to Kingston to play Andrew Kinder, but left empty-handed after an early blunder cost him a piece. In the other 3rd round match to be played this week, Patrick Anderson fought hard against Jack Wills, but eventually Jack took the point.

In the Rapidplay competition, Alan Brusey had two wins against Paul Brooks and Josh Blackmore, Paul Brooks defeated Brooklyn Stephens, who also went down to Trefor Thynne. In the Junior Tournament, Suhayl Abdalla won against Edward Hill.

The results table and the draw for round 4 are shown on the Fixtures/Results - Competitions page, so please arrange your fourth round games as soon as you can.

Another Exciting Evening

There was plenty of action at the club this week as the 3rd round of the Autumn Swiss got under way.

Josh Blackmore made his way to the top of the leader board after winning a pawn early in his game against Danilo Wasques, then withstanding Danilo's sacrificial counterattack successfully.

Alan Brusey got back to winning ways against Brooklyn Stephens, while Charlie Howard did the same against Les Barron. Trefor Thynne took advantage of junior Suhayl Abdalla's lack of familiarity with the Slav defence, while earlier in the week, Wilf Taylor and Mike Gilding had an aggressive battle where Wilf came out on top.

Richard Brenton took the fight to Paul Brooks with the unusual Sokolsky (or Orangutan) opening. Paul was able to get a positional advantage after Richard blocked in his bishop, and his attack netted him the exchange. When Paul played rather passively, it looked like Richard was gaining counterplay on the dark squares, but, suddenly, he blundered, and allowed Paul a quick checkmate. Paul and Richard's game is annotated here.

'A' Team Victory over TBGS

Experience told in the first match for Newton Abbot 'A' where the away players overcame stiff resistance from their youthful opponents.

Alan Brusey showed the power of 2 bishops working together in his victory on board 1, while Charlie Howard executed a neat tactic after a long struggle.

With George Darling and Josh Blackmore also gaining wins, the score of 4-0 was more one-sided than the Grammar School boys deserved. Some games from the match can be seen here.

George, Josh and Danilo Lead the Way

The second round of the Autumn Swiss Tournament has been completed this week and contained some surprise results.

Top seed Alan Brusey responded aggressively to George Darling's quiet opening, but found himself in a slightly worse position, which allowed George to exchange into a knight ending where he was a pawn up. George showed excellent technique to bring home the point.

Danilo Wasques joined George and Josh Blackmore on 2 points after defeating Charlie Howard. Wilf Taylor and Mike Hussey played out a wild game in which Wilf eventually triumphed. Other round 2 results and the round 3 draw can be seen on the Competitions dropdown on the Fixtures/Results tab. Games can be found here.

In the Rapidplay tournament, Josh Blackmore won against Jack Wills.

A Warm Welcome Back to League Chess

Newton Abbot hosted Torquay Boys' Grammar School in the first over-the-board match for over 18 months. The B division match lived up to expectations, being closely fought and decided by the final game.

Brooklyn Stephens made a winning start to his Newton Abbot chess career, and junior Suhayl Abdalla gained a creditable draw. When Richard Brenton went down on board 3, all eyes were on the top board where Mike Gilding held a material advantage over his young opponent. After some ups and downs Mike was able to corral his opponent's king in a pleasing mating net, so leading Newton Abbot to a 2.5-1.5 victory.

In the Autumn Swiss, Josh Blackmore took full advantage of 2 consecutive inaccurate moves by Paul Brooks to create an attractive mate. The game can be viewed here.

Patrick Anderson took on Jack Wills in the Rapidplay tournament, with Jack taking the point in both games.

Wins for Andrew, Alan and George

Another busy night at the club saw the first round of the Autumn Swiss Tournament completed.

Alan Brusey played Wilf Taylor at his home and came through after a tough battle. Andrew Kinder won with a queen-pawn opening as white against promising newcomer Patrick Anderson, while George Darling created a mating net in the endgame against Jack Wills.

Round 2 takes place in the next two weeks and the draw is shown on the Fixtures/Results - Competitions page, so please arrange your matches promptly.

There were 2 sets of matches in the Rapidplay tournament, with Josh Blackmore achieving a win and a draw against Brooklyn Stephens, and Charlie Howard gaining the same result against Paul Brooks.

Internal Tournaments Launch

It was great to see 16 players at the club on Thursday on the launch night of the Autumn Swiss Tournament. Welcome to new players Martin Goldschmidt and Kasi Jankowski.

In the main Swiss tournament, Charlie Howard and Danilo Wasques both had a winning start against Brooklyn Stephens and Les Barron respectively. Mike Hussey put up a stout defence against Josh Blackmore but eventually succumbed.

Richard Brenton played the unusual Orangutan opening against Trefor Thynne, and after Richard castled queenside, Trefor was able to break through against Richard's advanced pawns and eventually win decisive material.

Paul Brooks played a slightly unorthodox variation of the Sicilian defence against Mike Gilding and his queenside pawn advances soon netted him a pawn. A neat queen manoeuvre enabled him to win another pawn and simplify to a winning pawn endgame.

Paul and Trefor's games are accessible here.

In the Rapidplay tournament, Alan Brusey played Patrick Anderson and was able to win 2-0.

Successful Start to Season

The first two weeks of the new season saw new and old faces getting used to over-the-board chess once again. It was great to welcome potential new members to the club.

In week 2, Paul Brooks ran a very well-received 'buzzer' or '10-second chess' tournament. After five competitive and brain-stretching rounds there was a three-way tie for first place. Returnee George Darling played impressively to share the top spot with Josh Blackmore and Alan Brusey, all three scoring 4 points out of 5.

Newcomer Jack Wills scored 2 points alongside junior Suhayl Abdallah and Charlie Howard, while Mike Gilding and new player Brooklyn Stephens gained 1 point each.

The internal club competitions will start in the next couple of weeks so please sign up with Paul Brooks if you want to play.

Alan Wins Again

The final Chess in the Park tournament was a great success with 14 players battling it out on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

It was great to welcome some new faces Alex Lyons, Simon Drost, Adam Lang, and Jack Pieprzycki, alongside Brooklyn Stephens and Andrew Ross; we hope they enjoyed the competition. It was also good to see the return of George Darling to Newton Abbot Chess after several years away.

Holding the event at the weekend meant that Danilo Wasques and Piotr Ruszelak were able to join us, and we were grateful to Trefor Thynne who stepped down from playing to act as tournament controller.

After 5 hard-fought rounds Alan Brusey emerged victorious with a 100% record, followed closely by Jack Pieprzycki with 4 points out of 5.

We are keen to welcome everyone, new and old, to the start of the new season at the Courtenay Centre at 7pm on Thursday 23rd September.

Alan wins 3rd Chess in the Park Tournament

Inclement weather forced the players indoors in the third Chess in the Park tournament at Forde Parke Pavilion.

There were two new players, Nathan Hardaker and Brooklyn Stephens, and two juniors, Jamie Glasson and Piran Wills, competing alongside more established club members.

In the end, Alan Brusey took the spoils with 4.5 out of 5 with Trefor Thynne second on 4 points.

The final chess afternoon of the Summer is planned for Sunday 5th September - look out for more details which will be published soon.

Park 2 a Great Success

Newton Abbot members enjoyed beautiful weather and lovely surroundings for their second over-the-board tournament at Forde Parke Pavilion.

Tim Onions was once again the controller and the field consisted of 9 Newton Abbot players with Ken Alexander making the journey from East Devon to join us.

After 5 competitive rounds Ken and Charles Howard came equal first with 4 points, followed by Alan Brusey and John Nyman sharing third place on 3.5 out of 5.

Our next chess afternoon will take place for Friday 6th August at 1.30pm - please join us - you will enjoy it!

A Great Afternoon

The Pavilion Cafe in Forde Park hosted an excellent afternoon of chess in the first chance we have had for over-the-board play this year.

12 players including 3 guests enjoyed a 4 round tournament of 15 mins plus 10 second increment, ably controlled by Tim Onions.

First place with 3.5 out of 4 was shared by Alan Brusey and John Nyman, but more important was the chance to meet again for 'proper' competitive, friendly chess.

The next chess afternoon is scheduled for Friday 16th July at 1.30pm - please come along - you'll enjoy it!

Chess in the Park

The first over-the-board chess in many months takes place on Friday 25th June from 1.30-4.30pm at the Pavilion Cafe in Forde Park, Newton Abbot.

We would love to see as many players as possible so if you want to join us, get in touch with Trefor by phone or email.

Stephen Wins with a Match to Spare

The Spring Rapidplay tournament was won by Stephen Homer after he defeated Trefor Thynne 2-0 in the latest round of matches. Stephen now has a unassailable lead with 11 points.

Paul Brooks came second with 10.5 points, while Andrew Kinder was third with 7.5 points.

Trefor plans to arrange some outdoor over-the-board chess during the Summer months, and will be contacting members by email with the details in the next few weeks.

Alan Triumphant

A bumper week for standardplay games saw Alan Brusey emphatically confirm his position as tournament winner. Alan started the week with a hard-fought victory against Andrew Kinder coming through to win in the endgame. He then had a more straightforward victory when Mike Hussey overcommitted losing material from a fairly level position. This meant that Alan had conceded only 2 draws in the whole tournament finishing with 13/14, a magnificent achievement.

Josh Blackmore also played 2 games first losing to Mike Hussey's sacrificial attack, then defeating Peter Ruszelak in a double-rook endgame. He finished second in the tournament with 8.5/14. Paul Brooks survived a difficult position against Andrew Kinder, before Andrew blundered a rook to lose the game, leaving Paul in 3rd place with 8 points.

Trefor Thynne had a last-round win, checkmating Wilf Taylor in a King's Indian Defence.

This week's games can be found here.

Trefor takes the Blitz

The end of year Blitz tournament was won by Trefor Thynne with a 100% score. Trefor played well throughout but was slightly fortunate in his last-round game when Alan Brusey lost his connection in what looked like a fairly equal position. Paul Brooks came second with 3.5/5, while Andrew Kinder and Richard Brenton were equal 3rd with 3 points.

It was great to welcome back Richard Brenton and Suhayl Abdalla to competitive chess.

In the standardplay tournament, Trefor Thynne built up early pressure against Mike Hussey's Sicilian defence and smoothly converted. Josh Blackmore took advantage of an oversight by Wilf Taylor in a relatively equal position.

The standardplay games are available here.

Black is Best??

This week's games saw 3 victories for players with the black pieces in the standardplay tournament. Alan Brusey maintained his unstoppable progress using his favourite Chigorin defence to outplay Trefor Thynne. Andrew Kinder provided a demonstration that opposite-coloured bishops favour the attacking side in his win against Josh Blackmore. Mike Hussey picked up his first victory when he took advantage of an early blunder from Paul Brooks.

The only white victory was quite fortunate, as Peter Ruszelak missed a clear win just before he succumbed to Wilf Taylor.

The standardplay games can be accessed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Alan Brusey defeated Paul Miller 2-0.

Two Underdog Victories

Lower graded competitors won their games in two matches played this week. Wilf Taylor built up a strong attacking position as black against Andrew Kinder, and after some ups and downs was able to carry off the full point. Peter Ruszelak played solidly against Trefor Thynne and reached an ending with a pawn advantage. With best play, the game was drawn, but under a bit of pressure, Trefor allowed his time to run out and Peter took the point.

Meanwhile, Alan Brusey continued his good form with a victory over Paul Brooks. Alan built up a strong position from the opening, but Paul fought back and it looked like Alan was in trouble. Alan found a clever sacrifice which eventually enabled him to re-establish control of the position and take the win.

This week's games can be viewed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Paul Brooks had a 2-0 win against Andrew Kinder, Stephen Homer also defeated Andrew 2-0, while Trefor Thynne and Peter Ruszelak won one game each.

Alan takes Control

Alan Brusey extended his lead in the Newton Abbot Standardplay Tournament with an endgame victory against Josh Blackmore. After 27 moves, the players reached a level ending with Josh having rook and bishop to Alan's rook and knight. Over the next 15 moves Alan took control of the game, creating activity for his rook and outposts for his knights, eventually winning 2 pawns and the game.

In the other standardplay game played this week, Trefor Thynne and Paul Brooks agreed a draw after a computer issue caused Trefor to lose material when he was in a good position.

The game between Alan and Josh is available here. I have annotated the ending.

In the rapidplay tournament, Peter Ruszelak defeated Wilf Taylor 1.5-0.5.

A Good Week for Wilf

Three of the games played in the Standardplay tournament this week ended in draws, with the only victory going to Wilf Taylor. Wilf won when Mike Hussey missed an intermediate check in an open position which lost his queen, and Wilf was able to quickly checkmate him.

Wilf also played very well to reach a king and pawn endgame with equal pawns against tournament leader Alan Brusey. It was another case illustrating the difficulties pawn endings can cause when Alan missed his chance to create a decisive outside passed pawn, and the game was quickly drawn. I have annotated the critical section of the game.

Paul Brooks reached an ending a pawn up against Josh Blackmore, but was unable to make the most of his chances and the point was shared. Similarly, Trefor Thynne had the better of the position for most of his game against Andrew Kinder but wasn't able to gain a decisive advantage.

The games from this week are accessible here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Alan Brusey drew 1-1 with Peter Ruszelak, and also drew 1-1 with Trefor Thynne. Andrew Kinder defeated Peter Ruszelak 1.5-0.5.

Endings Hold the Key

The results of three of the four games played this week were determined by blunders in the endgame. Trefor Thynne reached a 'good versus bad'-bishop ending against Josh Blackmore, and when Josh naturally swapped off his 'bad' bishop, the computer indicated the resulting pawn ending was winning for Trefor. However, pawn endings are notoriously tricky, and, within two moves, Trefor's position went from winning to drawn to losing. I've annotated the final part of the game, which can be accessed below.

Peter Ruszelak fought back to a level double-rook endgame position against Alan Brusey, but then missed a tactic which allowed Alan to win a pawn and the game. Wilf Taylor reached a very good early-endgame position against Paul Brooks, but he also missed a decisive tactic which enabled Paul to skewer Wilf's rook with his bishop. Andrew Kinder also won with a quick attack against Mike Hussey's King's Indian Attack.

This week's games can be viewed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Andrew Kinder won 2-0 against Alan Brusey, while Trefor Thynne also defeated Wilf Taylor 2-0.

Alan Leads at Halfway

Alan Brusey continued his good form in the Standardplay tournament by winning both games he played this week, defeating Josh Blackmore and Mike Hussey. He now leads the field at the halfway stage with 6.5/7.

Josh Blackmore won his second game of the week to move into second place with 5/7 when his powerful queenside attack broke through Peter Ruszelak's defences. Trefor Thynne is in third place with 4.5/7 after he defeated Wilf Taylor, while Andrew Kinder moved into joint fourth place with Paul Brooks on 3.5/7, when Andrew's strong kingside attack led to checkmate.

This week's games are available here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Paul Brooks won 2-0 against Wilf Taylor.

Favourites come out on Top

This week's games in the standardplay tournament were won by the higher-graded players, all playing black.

Andrew Kinder tried to attack Alan Brusey's solid kingside position in the French defence, but Alan defended calmly and broke through on the queenside winning material and the game.

Peter Ruszelak and Paul Brooks played out a very close game, which was only won in the endgame by Paul when Peter got into time trouble.

Trefor Thynne was able to harvest a large crop of pawns against Mike Hussey, while Josh Blackmore won a highly tactical game quite quickly when he was able to pin Wilf Taylor's queen.

This week's games can be viewed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Stephen Homer took a clear lead by defeating Alan Brusey 1.5-0.5.

Devon Junior News

2 Newton Abbot juniors took part in a recent Devon under-18 training tournament and achieved good results.

Suhayl Abdalla scored 3.5 out of 6 finishing joint third, while Alfie Sequiera scored 2 points.

Time Pressure takes its Toll

Blunders caused by the pressure of the clock were a feature of the matches played in the standardplay tournament this week. Andrew Kinder and Josh Blackmore reached a completely equal position after 35 moves with Josh well ahead on time. Over the next 10 moves, Josh blundered to give Andrew a forced mating attack and a couple of moves later, instead of swapping off queens to reach a totally drawn position, Andrew put his queen en prise and immediately resigned.

Trefor Thynne and Alan Brusey played a Gioco Piano where Alan had a slightly easier game and a time advantage. Trefor missed a tactic based on a pin to lose a piece and Alan was able to convert the point.

Peter Ruszelak quickly built up a very strong position against Wilf Taylor and Wilf resigned when it looked as though he was about to lose a second pawn.

In the fourth game played this week, Mike Hussey sacrificed a pawn in trying to attack Paul Brooks' Dutch Defence but was unable to break through and resigned when Paul organised some strong central counterplay which could only be stopped by jettisoning a rook.

This week's games can be seen here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Stephen Homer won both games against Paul Brooks.

Trefor takes the Blitz

10 players enjoyed the Spring Blitz tournament on lichess and, after 5 hard-fought rounds, Trefor Thynne came out on top.

The final top-three were Trefor Thynne with 4/5, Stephen Homer with 4/5 followed by Alan Brusey on 3.5/5, Trefor taking the title on countback.

There were lots of exciting games including Alan and Andrew Kinder's throwback to the golden age of attacking chess, which can be viewed here, along with Andrew's marathon draw with Peter Ruszelak in the standardplay tournament.

In the rapidplay tournament, Wilf Taylor defeated Paul Miller 2-0.

More Exciting Games

4 more standardplay games were played this week in the Spring online tournament. Trefor Thynne had some early difficulties against Peter Ruszelak's old indian defence, but when Peter rejected the opportunity to break the pawn cover in front of Trefor's king, Trefor countered impressively and created a mating attack.

Alan Brusey took advantage of Paul Brooks' indecisive play to create a strong kingside build-up as black, and when Paul tried to push back on the same side, Alan broke through to win decisive material.

Wilf Taylor opened very aggressively against Andrew Kinder, but overstretched himself and Andrew took advantage of his material plus to fashion a checkmate.

Josh Blackmore was able to take advantage of Mike Hussey's decision not to castle and broke through to attack Mike's centralised king, eventually winning Mike's queen.

This week's games are available here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Trefor Thynne and Paul Miller played 2 wild games with Trefor coming out on top 2-0, while Andrew Kinder shared the points with Wilf Taylor.

A Quieter Week

Only 2 games were played in the standardplay online tournament this week. Mike Hussey took on Wilf Taylor in a no-holds barred contest. Mike was the first to sacrifice a piece and the game continued with Mike trying to break open Wilf's king. Despite his efforts, he was unable to break through and Wilf consolidated to take the point.

In contrast Paul Brooks and Trefor Thynne agreed a draw in a more-or-less equal position after their connection to the server was lost.

Mike and Wilf's game can be viewed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Stephen Homer defeated Wilf Taylor 2-0 to move to joint-top spot with 3.5/4. Andrew Kinder also took both points against Trefor Thynne.

Lots of Online Action

Our Spring tournaments saw lots of exciting games, both rapid and standardplay. In the standardplay league, Wilf Taylor almost overcame the odds, sacrificing a pawn then a piece to build up a winning position against Alan Brusey. At the crucial moment, Wilf decided not to take Alan's queen, and allowed Alan to swap off queens into a winning endgame.

Paul Brooks also sacrificed early against Josh Blackmore - Josh failed to play the most active line and shortly overlooked the loss of a rook. He battled on but Paul was able to marshall his forces and embarked on a king hunt which ended in white's king being mated on a8!

Trefor Thynne picked up his first win when Andrew Kinder gained some queenside pressure from his Benko-like opening, but then played a combination which lost an exchange, and Trefor safely converted. In the 4th game played this week, Peter Ruszelak was able to grind down Mike Hussey's King's Indian defence.

The games can be viewed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Paul Brooks played 4 games winning 2-0 against Trefor Thynne, and then 1.5-0.5 against Alan Brusey. Stephen Homer had a 1.5-0.5 victory against Peter Ruszelak, while Andrew Kinder drew 1-1 with Paul Miller.

Spring Tournaments Launch

4 matches were played this week in the Newton Abbot Spring Online Standardplay tournament.

Andrew Kinder used the Sicilian defence to overwhelm Mike Hussey's defences. Peter Ruszelak played solidly to earn a draw against Alan Brusey. Trefor Thynne obtained a good position from the opening against Josh Blackmore, but then lost his way (and a rook) under time pressure. Paul Brooks blundered on move 6 against Wilf Taylor and was unable to recover.

The games can be viewed here.

In the rapidplay tournament, Alan Brusey had 2 wins against Wilf Taylor.

British Online Championships

2 Newton Abbot members played in the British Online Chess Championships held over Christmas and the New Year.

Alan Brusey played well to qualify for the finals of the Over-50s championship, and then scored 2.5/7 in the tough final section, finishing 9th out of 14 players.

Stephen Homer played in the Over-50s Rapidplay Championship (won by GM Keith Arkell!) and scored a solid 3.5/7 to finish 9th out of 16 competitors.

Last Games in Online Tournament

3 games were played to finish off the Autumn Online tournament, all involving Danilo Wasques.

In the first game, Danilo defended a wild King's Gambit against Peter Ruszelak. Peter built up a strong-looking attack on the king's side but sacrificed too many pawns and Danilo's counterplay led to him winning a piece. Even at the end, Peter missed a tactic to get him back in the game.

Next, Danilo was black against Mike Hussey who played his favourite London System. Mike made a speculative piece sacrifice to open up the h-file, and it looked like Danilo could counter easily, but he missed a tactic and Mike had a forced mate.

In the third game, Danilo was white against Niranjana Narayanan. A solid opening from both players led to a complicated middlegame, where Danilo advanced his queenside pawns. It looked like Niranjana was able to win the b-pawn but she missed a zwischenzug which allowed Danilo to win a piece for 2 pawns. Niranjana was able to win a third pawn, but Danilo organised his pieces in the middle of the board to create an attractive mating net.

This week's games are available here.

Paul wins Final Shootout

Paul Brooks defeated Josh Blackmore in the game which decided the fate of the Autumn online tournament. The opening was a Queen's Indian defence and a couple of inaccuracies from Josh allowed Paul to build up a strong initiative on the kingside. Paul won a pawn and broke though but he wobbled near the end and, even in the last couple of moves of the game, Josh had a chance to stir up counterplay. However, he missed his opportunity and had to resign.

Andrew Kinder finished third in the tournament after defeating Wilf Taylor in a wild game where Wilf loosened his king's position and paid the price. Alan Brusey cemented fourth place after Naru Narayanan played a good game to reach an ending with equal pawns but Alan's technique and some pawn weaknesses allowed him to take the point.

The final standings were: 1. Paul Brooks 8/9, 2. Josh Blackmore 7.5/9, 3. Andrew Kinder 6.5/9, 4. Alan Brusey 6/9.

This week's games are available here.

3 More Online Games

Josh Blackmore set up a 'winner-takes-all' finale against Paul Brooks by defeating Andrew Kinder in his penultimate game in the Newton Abbot Online Tournament. BUT he rode his luck in his game against Andrew Kinder. In a Sicilian defence, Josh put too many pawns on white squares. Andrew exploited the dark-squared weaknesses with a knight sacrifice and then broke through to win Josh's queen for a rook. Josh only had a passed c-pawn as compensation, and he advanced it to the seventh rank. Andrew missed that he could have sacrificed his rook for the pawn winning an extra piece, and, in time pressure, he allowed the pawn to queen, and 2 moves later lost his own queen.

Andrew played a second game this week drawing a close contest against Peter Ruszelak, while Alan Brusey defeated Wilf Taylor, after Wilf had missed a spectacular winning knight sacrifice.

The games are available here.

The Queen's Gambit

If you are looking for something a bit different to watch over the festive season, the highly acclaimed series, The Queen's Gambit,is streaming on Netflix.

The chess scenes are probably the best ever produced in a drama, with Garry Kasparov and renowned chess author, Bruce Pandolfini, involved in the production.

If you are new to Netflix you can sign up and get one month free (so pay £5.99 for 2 months subscription). Further details are available here.

Online British Championships

Thanks to Alan Brusey who has alerted us to the Caplin Online British Chess Championships which run from 18th December to 3rd January 2021. There is a range of tournaments at different time controls and different age/grading limits.

Full details can be found on the ECF website via this link.

A Hard-Fought Draw

Danilo Wasques and Paul Brooks played out a tough draw in the latest online tournament game. Danilo got an advantage from the opening when, after an oversight, Paul was left with a bad bishop and weak d5 square. Danilo then returned the favour by occupying the weak square too early and allowing Paul to exchange off to a more equal position. Paul advanced his f-pawn to threaten queening but Danilo manouevred well to prevent this and eventually won the f-pawn to reach a knight ending, where he was a pawn up. But Paul had left himself with a passed h-pawn which he was able to advance forcing Danilo's knight onto a passive square to prevent it queening. This enabled Paul to blockade Danilo's passed pawn pair and a draw was agreed.

The result leaves the tournament on a knife-edge with Paul on 7/8 and Josh Blackmore on 6.5/7. Josh and Paul are due to play each other in the final round.

The game can be viewed here.

Paul wins Top of the Table Battle

Two games were played in our online tournament this week. In the top of the table clash, Paul Brooks took on Andrew Kinder, who had a 100% record to this point. The opening was a Benoni defence, which suits Andrew's counterattacking style, but Paul was able to keep control of the position and, after winning Andrew's important d-pawn, Paul was able to promote his own d-pawn and liquidate to a winning endgame. This win enabled Paul to join Josh Blackmore in the lead of the tournament on 6.5/7.

In the other game played, Mike Hussey missed a chance to create an upset against Alan Brusey. After a fairly equal opening, Mike was able to advance towards Alan's king and had the opportunity to play a combination, capturing a pawn which appeared to be protected, with check. After a few forced moves, this would have led to an ending where Mike was 2 pawns up with excellent chances of a win. As it went, Alan was able to repel Mike's attack and a pin led to the win of a knight and subsequently the game.

The two games can be seen here.

Andrew keeps his 100% record, but Josh is still ahead

Andrew Kinder notched up his fifth win in a row in the latest round of the online tournament. He built up a good attacking position against Niranjana Naryanan and converted it quickly when she weakened her king position to allow a mate.

Peter Ruszelak played 2 games this week, one a solid draw against Alan Brusey, and the other a wilder affair against Wilf Taylor. In the second game, queens were exchanged early but Peter continued to put Wilf under pressure, missing the win of a piece in the middlegame. Later Peter picked up a knight due to a pin and mated Wilf in mid-board when he had just a Rook, Bishop and pawn left.

Josh Blackmore had a smooth victory against Naru Narayanan winning a pawn then a piece early in the game and constructing an elegant geometrical mate at the end.

The leaderboard shows Josh Blackmore ahead with 6.5/7, followed by Paul Brooks on 5.5/6 and Andrew Kinder on 5/5. There are some crucial games coming up in the next few weeks!

This week's games can be seen here.

Alan draws with GM!

Alan Brusey took part in the ECF Blitz tournament on Chess.com this week and gained a draw as black against Grandmaster Bogdan Lalic. Bogdan played an early simplifying line against Alan's favourite Chigorin defence and Alan was never in trouble from start to finish.

At a less rarified level, 3 games were played in the latest round of our online tournament. Wilf Taylor took on Paul Brooks, and, after a quiet opening, Wilf played a speculative bishop sacrifice to break up the pawn cover in front of Paul's king. Unfortunately, the rest of his pieces weren't able to help in the follow-up, and Paul was able to simplify to a winning endgame.

Josh Blackmore won a piece early in his game against Mike Hussey, and Mike resigned when his queen was also about to be lost. Peter Ruszelak and Niranjana Narayanan played a fluctuating game where, initially Peter was well ahead, but, then, overlooked some tactics and finished the exchange down. Niranjana wasn't able to press home her material advantage, and they agreed a draw.

All the games are accessible here.

Brooks and Kinder Victorious

Andrew Kinder and Paul Brooks continued their good form in the latest online matches.

Paul played Peter Ruszelak, and after a balanced opening, Peter made the committal decision to castle queenside. His king was certainly not safe there from Paul's advancing pawns and a nice knight sacrifice from Paul enabled him to break through and gain the point.

Andrew's game against Naru Narayanan was decided when Naru played an incorrect sacrifice in a position where he was under some pressure.

Here are the latest games.

Due to the new lockdown, we have decided to suspend the 'At Home' tournament for 1 month. We will review the situation at the beginning of December.

Latest Online Games

4 more games were played in the Newton Abbot online tournament this week.

Josh Blackmore continued his strong run in the tournament against Alan Brusey. Good play in the opening allowed him to win a pawn and he successfully transformed his position into a winning rook and pawn endgame. Andrew Kinder got an early advantage against Mike Hussey's King's Indian defence and Mike resigned when Andrew's attack broke through. Niranjana Narayanan tried to attack Wilf Taylor's king from the opening but then missed a back rank tactic which cost her a knight. Wilf successfully mopped up. Father Naru suffered the same fate against Wilf when a long tough game went down to a pawn ending where Wilf prevailed.

Currently top of the table is Josh Blackmore with 4.5 from 5 games played, followed by Paul Brooks 3.5/4, with Andrew Kinder on 3/3.

Here are the latest games.

At Home Matches

Newton Abbot's 'at home' tournament got underway with 2 recent matches.

Wilf Taylor hosted Trefor Thynne, but had a disappointing outcome when he blundered dropping a piece after playing out a fairly level opening. Alan Brusey and Paul Brooks played out their second game in 3 days, with the same outcome. This time Alan got a clear advantage from the opening, but then missed a sneaky trap which allowed Paul strong counterplay, and he was eventually quite fortunate when Paul offered a draw.

Here are the games.

More Online Matches

4 more matches were played in the online tournament this week.

Naru Narayanan lost as white against Peter Ruszelak, while daughter Niranjana suffered the same fate against Paul Brooks. Josh Blackmore overcame Danilo Vasques, while Alan Brusey and Paul Brooks agreed a draw when Paul could not find a way to break through.

The games can be viewed here.

Second Round of Online Matches

The higher-rated players had good results in the second round of matches in the Newton Abbot online tournament.

Peter Ruszelak overcame Mike Hussey and Josh Blackmore defeated Niranjana Narayanan in the early kick-offs. On Thursday night, Andrew Kinder eventally prevailed in a fluctuating game against Danilo Wasques, Alan Brusey defeated Niranjana, while father Naru had the same fate after putting up a tough fight against Paul Brooks. The first draw of the tournament occurred when a French Defence played by Josh against Wilf Taylor ended up in a totally blocked position.

The games can be viewed here.

Twin Town Clash Goes Down To The Wire

An exciting return online match between Newton Abbot and twin town chess club, de Pionier of Hellevoetsluis, went down to the final game.

The match had been close throughout with Stephen Homer, Paul Brooks and Nandaja Narayanan winning both their games. Late substitute Charles Howard gained 1/2 while Naru Narayanan got the same score.

Other Newton Abbot players had failed to score and with Andrew Kinder drawing his first game, the scoreline was 8.5-8.5 as the players entered the final moves.

Andrew built up a strong position on the kingside and decided to try to break through with a piece-sacrifice. His opponent defended well and when Andrew was unable to bring up the reserves, the counterattack was deadly.

The final result was a 9.5-8.5 victory for de Pionier.

Online Tournament Launches

The Newton Abbot Online Tournament on Lichess got off to a successful start with 4 matches being played this week.

Andrew Kinder got off to a great start by defeating one of the favourites, Alan Brusey, in a Vienna variation.

Josh Blackmore overcame Peter Ruszelak, while Mike Hussey was unlucky not to hold Paul Brooks to a draw when he lost the thread in an otherwise equal ending.

Youth triumphed in the battle of the Narayanans with Niranjana taking the spoils against her father, Naru.

The games can be viewed here.

New Season Tournaments

As the new season approaches, challenges to over-the-board chess continue. We will put in place two tournaments to keep members involved.

The first tournament will be modelled on the DCCA individual tournaments where one player travels to the opponent's home to play a game. We will organise it to even out travel issues and to take into account members who do not have cars. Depending on numbers involved this might be a one-round or two-round (home and away) tournament. Time controls will be all moves in 60 mins plus 30 second increment per move (if players want to opt for a longer time control this will be allowed). Please let Paul know if you want to play.

We will also organise an online tournament probably on lichess with a time control of 45 mins plus 15 second increment. If players are interested it would be good to play this as a regular event on Thursday evenings starting at 7pm. Games would last between 1 and 2 hours and it is easy to view other players games when yours has finished. This might give us a feel of the club continuing even in these difficult times. Paul will create a schedule of matches leading up to Christmas for all the players who wish to be involved so please let him know if you want to take part.

In the next few weeks we will organise a return online match between Newton Abbot and de Pionier of the Netherlands, and there are plans to organise online matches against Plymouth and South Hams.

Watch out for emails to confirm the details.

Niranjana Qualifies

Congratulations to Niranjana Narayanan who has qualified for the Terafinals of the UK Chess Challenge which is being held online this year. She scored a very creditable 5 points out of 7 in the recent online Gigafinal. We all wish her good luck in the next stage.

Twin Town Challenge

Newton Abbot Chess took on rivals from Torbay's twin town, de Pionier of Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands, in a 10-board online match.

The match was very close, with hard-fought games throughout, but, eventually, de Pionier, came through as victors by 11.5-8.5.

Well done in particular to Suhayl Abdalla and Alex Billings who won both their games. It was also great to welcome back Freddie Sugden playing his first match for a number of years. A rematch is planned in the next couple of months, so watch this space.

Victory for South Hams

The return online match between Newton Abbot Chess and South Hams was a close-fought encounter over 9 boards.

Andrew Kinder and Piotr Ruszelak performed particularly well for Newton Abbot winning both their games.

Danilo Wasques gained 1.5 from his two games, Wilf Taylor and Suhayl Abdalla picked up a point each, while Niranjana Narayanan scored half a point out of 2. The match was won and lost on the top 3 boards where South Hams had a clean sweep of victories, but it was great to see Alex Billings back playing for Newton Abbot on top board. In the end, South Hams were overall victors by 10 points to 8.

Club Championship News

Now that it has become obvious that we won't be meeting as a club for a while, the President, Secretary and Competitions’ Secretary conferred as to how to conclude this year’s unfinished internal tournaments (Curates and Deacons sections). It was agreed to award Joint Champion status to the best performers in the two sections as follows:

Club Championship: Curates: Alan Brusey (9.5/10). Deacons: Trefor Thynne (8/9)

Challengers (under 140): Curates: Richard Brenton (4/8). Deacons: Wilf Taylor (4.5/7)

Minor (under 110): Curates: Aarv Paul (2.5/7). Deacons: Mike Hussey (3.5/8)

Congratulations to all winners. Presentation of awards will have to await a return to some form of normality!

In recent internal tournament games, Trefor Thynne defeated Wilf Taylor at standardplay and Danilo Wasques won at rapidplay against Paul Brooks.

Coronavirus Clash

Newton Abbot Chess enjoyed an online rapidplay match against local rivals South Hams. Six players participated and the games were all hard-fought, with South Hams eventually coming through to win 8-4.

On board 1, Paul Brooks lost 2 very close games against top-rated Steve Levy. Trefor Thynne won one and lost one against Steve Dickinson, while Danilo Wasques achieved the same score against Phil McConnell. Jason Cole had 2 draws against Trevor Hurt, Wilf Taylor gained one out of two against James Fowler and Niranjana Narayanan went down 2-0 against experienced Tony Tatam.

In the internal tournaments, Paul Brooks had 2-0 rapidplay wins against juniors Suhayl Abdalla and Niranjana Narayanan.

Good Luck to Aarv

Everyone at Newton Abbot Chess Club extends their best wishes to junior Aarv Paul who is leaving us as his father is taking up a new post in Yeovil.

Aarv is a bright prospect and we are all very pleased that the standard of his chess has improved during his time with us. We remember especially his excellent victory over Grandmaster Keith Arkell in the simultaneous display last year, a feat of which Aarv can be justly proud.

Good Luck - keep enjoying your chess!

Latest Online News

The online tournaments continue to provide much needed chess during the lockdown.

In the latest Standardplay matches, Jason Cole drew with Trefor Thynne and defeated Paul Brooks, while Paul Brooks and Danilo Wasques played out a hard-fought draw.

The Rapidplay tournament saw Trefor Thynne playing the two junior competitors, defeating Suhayl Abdalla 2-0 and drawing 1-1 with Niranjana Narayanan. Trefor was very complimentary about the standard of their play. Paul Brooks played a single game, winning against Danilo Wasques.

More Online Results

Newton Abbot players enjoyed their chess online over the Easter weekend.

In the Standardplay tournament, Charles Howard and Jason Cole played a topsy-turvy game, where Jason won the exchange, but then played rather passively and allowed Charles to build up a mating attack. In the Rapidplay tournament, Stephen Homer made his debut with a 1.5-0.5 victory over Paul Brooks, while Trefor Thynne defeated Wilf Taylor in a single game, where Wilf missed that Trefor had offered him a draw, then blundered on move 63.

Here is the game between Charles and Jason.

Beat the Bug Tournament First Matches

3 sets of matches took place on the first virtual club night of the year.

In the Standardplay tournament, Trefor Thynne won a tough game against improving junior Suhayl Abdalla. In the Rapidplay tournament, there were 2 sets of matches; Piotr Ruszelak won 2-0 against Danilo Vasquez, while Paul Brooks defeated Wilf Taylor by the same margin.

Remember, games can be played at any time so just get in touch with your fellow competitors and make a challenge.

Online Chess Tournament

We have set up a new club on chess.com to play chess online while the club is suspended. Guidance on how to set up a chess.com account and join the online club 'Newton Abbot Chess' can be accessed here.

The aim is to set up an online standardplay tournament, and, possibly, a rapidplay tournament between club members. We might also be able to set up an online match against other Devon clubs (South Hams have set up a similar online club). The first step is to join chess.com and our online club. When I have an idea about who is keen to take part, I will set up the tournament(s) and provide you with further details. Many thanks, Paul.

Internal Tournaments Update

Thanks to all the club members who have played games in the Curates and Deacons Leagues. Although we couldn't finish the tournaments completely, the top places in both leagues have already been decided.

In the Curates League, Alan Brusey came first with an unbeaten 9.5/10. Second place is still not decided as there are several games still to be played. Things are slightly clearer in the Deacons League, where Trefor Thynne came first with 8/9, and Paul Brooks was second scoring 7. With any luck, we will be able to arrange a play-off to decide the overall champion. Here is the latest game played in the Deacons League, the top-of-the-table clash between Paul and Trefor.

Devon Junior Success

Newton Abbot players swept the board in the older age-groups at the recent Devon Junior Championships. Oliver Mortimer became the under-18 champion, while Evan McMullan was runner-up. At under-15 level, Nirinjana Narayanan won the tournament and Aritra Paul was equal second. Suhayl Abdalla and Aarv Paul competed at under-13 level with Suhayl finishing equal third. Congratulations to all participants!

Coronavirus

Here is the text of a message sent to all members in light of the Coronavirus outbreak on 16/3/2020.

Dear club member

The national situation regarding the corona virus epidemic has evolved very quickly to the point where the chess world, like everything else, has had to face up to tough decisions. The English Chess Federation over the weekend advised all club leagues to suspend activity for the next few weeks at least. Most have now done so. The two leagues in which we participate, the Torbay League and the Devon County Chess Association, have contacted clubs to say that, unless clubs agreed between themselves to continue with matches, all league fixtures would be cancelled until further notice. The NACC committee has made a decision that we will not play any further matches and the fixtures that were due to be played this week (TL Div 1 Abbots v Totnes, DCCA Div 2 and Div 4 v Barnstaple) are now off as are the remaining fixtures on this season's list. If the situation changes in a month's time this decision can be reviewed but this seems unlikely. It is almost certain that the Simultaneous display by GM Keith Arkell will not go ahead though I have not yet been in touch with Keith about this. For the time being the club will still open for ordinary club nights on Thursdays for those members who are happy to continue over-the-board chess. I will be there to open up this Thursday. Obviously it is up to every individual member to make his or her own decision as to whether to continue attending or not. I know that a couple of members have decided to stop playing for the foreseeable future. The question of what will happen to the leagues in relation to unplayed club fixtures for the 2019-20 season is one which will be dealt with at the relevant AGMs in early summer. To be realistic it may be next season before any semblance of normality is resumed.

Trefor Thynne Secretary

Two Good Wins

Two excellent performances saw Newton Abbot achieve comfortable victories in their latest matches in divisions 2 and 4. Brixham were the opponents in division 2, and Piotr Ruszelak, Wilf Taylor and Jacquie Barber-Lafon all won their games, with Andrew Kinder drawing on top board, to make the result 3.5-1.5.

The division 4 team took on South Hams and came through with a 3-1 win. Mike Gilding, Mike Hussey and Nirinjana Narayanan were victorious with only top board Richard Brenton going down to defeat.

East Devon Congress

4 Newton Abbot players took part in the 2020 East Devon Congress in Exeter. Alan Brusey scored 2/5 in a very strong Open section. In the Minor, Oliver Mortimer had a positive performance scoring 3/5, while fellow junior Surhayl Abdulla scored 2.5. Richard Brenton also scored 50% in the Minor section.

Draw for Bishops

A close match between the Bishops and South Hams leaves the destination of the first division title very much in doubt. Captain Andrew Kinder carried through a brutal attack on Phil McConnell's king, while, on top board, Alan Brusey weakened his kingside and Steve Levy took advantage. John Nyman and Josh Blackmore drew their games to leave the outcome 2-2. Here are the two decisive games. Scroll down to see the second game.

Moyle Defeat sets up Tense Finale

Plymouth defeated Newton Abbot's Moyle team 3-1 to leave both teams equal on match points and game points coming up to the final round of matches. Whichever team performs better in their final match against Barnstaple should take the title. Against Plymouth, Naru Narayanan gave Newton Abbot an early lead, but, as the afternoon progressed, the home team showed their strength and Nirinjana Narayanan, Mike Hussey and Jacquie Barber-Lafon all succumbed.

Win against Teignmouth after Board Default

Teignmouth arrived at Newton Abbot with a team which broke the division 3 grading limit, so were forced to default board 2 where their captain Ian Henry stepped down. In the match itself, Mike Gilding drew against Richard Bailey, and Mike Hussey recorded a very good win against Charles Doidge. The last match to finish was another epic board 1 encounter between Josh Blackmore and Bill Ingham. Bill had pressure throughout and eventually won a pawn, but Josh defended doggedly and Bill only came through to victory after a long struggle in the endgame.So the final result was 2.5-1.5 to Newton Abbot.

Division 4 Draw against the Grammar School

Newton Abbot's division 4 team claimed their second consecutive draw against TBGS in a match which was notable for the fact that players with the black pieces won all the games. Mike Gilding and Nirinjana Narayanan were both victorious while Paul Miller and Mike Hussey went down.

Schofield Draw

A close match in the DCCA Schofield Cup ended in a 2-2 draw between Newton Abbot and Barnstaple. Charles Howard drew with Steve Clarke on the top board while Danilo Wasques won with white against Rob Oughton on board 2. Mike Gilding drew with Michael Dow on board 4, while captain Wilf Taylor was defeated on board 3 by Richard Smith.

Good Win in Rapidplay

Newton Abbot's latest rapidplay match resulted in a comfortable victory away at Brixham, 6-2. Trefor Thynne and Andrew Kinder both won their matches 2-0, while Paul Miller and Aarv Paul picked up one point each. Here is an exciting game played on the most recent club night.

Bishops dent Abbots' Title Chances

A tense match between Newton Abbot's top teams saw the Bishops claim the spoils and inflict the first defeat of the campaign on the Abbots, 2.5-1.5. On top board, Alan Brusey defended well against Stephen Homer's attack and won the subsequent ending. Mark Bowhay and John Nyman drew on board 2, while Danilo Wasques did not make the most of a good position against Andrew Kinder and eventually succumbed. The last game to finish was the Abbots' only win when Paul Brooks steered his way to victory in a tight endgame against Josh Blackmore. The annotated game can be accessed here.

Division 2 Win against Totnes

Totnes visited Newton Abbot for a close match which Newton won 2.5-1.5. Wins for Wilf Taylor and Mike Gilding were backed up by a draw on top board from new member Piotr Ruszelak.

Latest News

Lots of recent matches have taken place, and are summarised in Trefor's recent newsletter which can be viewed here.

Newton Abbot through to Final

An excellent team performance took Newton Abbot through to the final of the White Knights KO Cup following a 5-1 win against Teignmouth. The team was undefeated with good wins for Richard Brenton, Wilf Taylor, Paul Miller and Mike Hussey and solid draws for Jacquie Barber Lafon and Josh Blackmore, the latter playing very coolly to hold a difficult queen and pawn ending against Teignmouth's top player.

Excellent Away Win in Division 3

A trip to Plymouth on a wet and windy Monday was rewarded with a very good victory for Newton Abbot's division 3 team. Good wins for Jacquie Barber Lafon and Nirinjana Narayanan were offset by a defeat on top board for Wilf Taylor. The match was rounded off by a victory for Mike Gilding who mated his opponent in excellent geometrical style to make the final result 3-1.

Abbots Top the Table

Newton Abbot 'Abbots' top the Torbay League First Division table at the halfway stage of the season following their latest match away at Totnes. Paul Brooks had an early victory when Charles Howard blundered a piece. Danilo Wasques also lost a piece for insufficient compensation against Rob Wilby to make the score 1-1. Stephen Homer carried through an excellent minor piece attack to mate David Archer, while Trefor Thynne's pressure eventually told against Ben Wilkinson to seal the victory 3-1.

Rapidplay Team Defeated

Plymouth came to Newton Abbot in the Torbay League Rapidplay Division and were victorious in a close match by 5 games to 3. Star of the show for Newton Abbot was Josh Blackmore on board 1 who gained one victory and one draw against Mick Stinton-Brownbridge.

Instructive Endgame

A recent friendly between Paul Brooks and Richard Brenton reached an opposite-coloured bishop endgame, where Paul found to his cost that delicate manouevering is sometimes much more important than material advantage. Here it is.

Good win in Schofield

Two closely matched teams contested a hard-fought match when Newton Abbot faced Teignmouth in the latest DCCA Schofield encounter. On paper it was a comfortable 3.5-0.5 victory for Newton Abbot, but all the games were very tight and, at one point, it looked as though Teignmouth were on top. Well done to Charles Howard, Mike Gilding, Mike Hussey and captain Wilf Taylor.

Drama in Division 2

Newton Abbot visited Brixham for the first time since they returned to the Torbay League in a match which had more than its fair share of drama. Wilf Taylor won quickly against Mike Cuggy, but then the evening took a worrying turn when Nathan Mills unfortunately fell ill and an ambulance had to be called. After this the other games in the match were agreed drawn to leave Newton Abbot victorious by 2.5-1.5.

Topsy-Turvy Mamhead Match

Exmouth came to Newton Abbot for the second Mamhead match of the season and left victorious by 2.5-1.5. It was a fluctuating match with fortunes changing as the games went on. Paul Brooks won the exchange and was well ahead, but then underestimated the potential of Mark Abbott's bishop-pair and lost. Charlie Howard couldn’t make headway against Brian Gosling's solid defence.

The bottom 2 boards should have had completely opposite results – John Nyman was a piece up and clearly winning, then, unfortunately, left his queen en prise. Josh Blackmore was 2 pawns down in a queen and pawn endgame and should have lost but his much lower graded opponent struggled to win it and eventually allowed Josh a one-move mate!

Busy Night for Matches

Four Newton Abbot teams were involved in Torbay League matches on the latest club night.

In Division 1, the Abbots played the Bishops, and came through 3-1 to retain their unbeaten record. The top two boards were drawn, with Alan Brusey fighting back well against Stephen Homer, and Paul Brooks rescuing a draw from an unfavourable position against John Nyman. Trefor Thynne won a controlled attacking game against Josh Blackmore, and Danilo Wasques defeated Les Barron. The interesting game Blackmore v Thynne is attached here.

The division 3 and 4 teams didn't fare so well. Torquay Boy's Grammar School produced an excellent performance to win 3.5-0.5 against our division 3 team. Jacquie Barber Lafon held the draw against James Gibbs, but Richard Brenton lost when he missed a one-move mate against Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels. Mike Gilding lost on time, while Nirinjana Narayanan went down quickly on board 4.

It was a similar story in division 4 where the team went to South Hams and came away with a 3-1 defeat. Mike Hussey defeated Roy Greenhalgh but the other 3 matches resulted in wins for the home team.

Schofield Team Defeated

Newton Abbot's Schofield team made the long journey to Barnstaple but came away empty-handed. Charles Howard won on top board, Danilo Wasques shared the points on board 2, but defeats on boards 3 and 4 gave victory to the home team, 2.5-1.5.

Bishops Go Down Fighting

An understrength Bishops team fought hard in their away match at South Hams. The whole team were facing higher-graded opponents; Alan Brusey, Andrew Kinder and junior Bradley Holland all gained very good draws with only Paul Miller failing to score in a close 1.5-2.5 defeat.

Plymouth Rapidplay

Many of the stronger players from Devon participated in the annual Plymouth Rapidplay tournament. Newton Abbot's Alan Brusey scored a creditable 3 points out of 6.

Exciting Club Night for Internal Tournament Games

There was lots of action in the Championship tournaments at the latest club night. In the Curates League, Charles Howard won the 'top-of-the-table' clash against Andrew Kinder, Alan Brusey defeated Evan McMullan, while Mike Gilding overcame Aarv Paul. The Deacons League saw Trefor Thynne beat Mike Hussey, and Josh Blackmore overcome Naru Narayanan. Paul Brooks won a tough game against Paul Miller - the annotated game is available here.

Foreign Adventures

Good luck to John Nyman who is currently playing in Benidorm in an international Swiss tournament (XVIII Gran Torneo Internacional - Aficionados B). His progress can be followed via Chess-Results.com.

Moyle Team Victorious Again

Newton Abbot's season was put back on the right road by the table-topping Moyle team. They travelled to Barnstaple and came away with a 2.5-1.5 win. Mike Hussey and Naru Narayanan both won with the white pieces with Jacquie Barber-Lafon drawing on top board to secure the victory.

Defeats in Divisions 1 and 2

Newton Abbot Bishops league campaign got off to a shaky start with a heavy defeat against new boys Totnes. Josh Blackmore gained a draw against Ben Wilkinson, but Alan Brusey, John Nyman and Andrew Kinder went down in a match which finished 0.5-3.5.

At the same time, the division 2 team were taking on South Hams. Danilo Wasques, Richard Brenton and Aarv Paul all failed to score, while Trefor Thynne, in his second match against Steve Dickinson in a month, carried through his kingside attack to victory. The match finished in a 3-1 victory for South Hams. The bright spot of the evening for Newton Abbot, Trefor's win, is available here.

Two Close Matches

Newton Abbot teams went down to South Hams by a single point in the 2 latest Torbay League matches. The Rapidplay team travelled to Kingsbridge and were defeated 4.5-3.5. In their games, Alan Brusey scored 0.5/2, Andrew Kinder 1/2, Wilf Taylor 1.5/2 and Mike Hussey 0.5/2.

Meanwhile, at Newton Abbot, the division 3 team also lost a close match against South Hams, 1.5-2.5. Solid draws were gained on boards 2-4 by Jacquie Barber-Lafon, Paul Miller and Aarv Paul, but Richard Brenton's time ran out in a tense position against James Schofield to give South Hams the victory.

Danilo Takes the Top Prize

There were several very good performances by Newton Abbot players at the Torbay Chess Congress. Star of the show was Danilo Wasques who took first place in the Intermediate section with an undefeated 4.5 out of 5 points. In another impressive performance, Jacquie Barber-Lafon won her last two games to finish equal third in the same tournament. Other club members who scored at least 50% were Alan Brusey, Paul Brooks, Charles Howard, John Nyman, Jamie Glasson, Suhayl Abdalla, Aarv Paul and Bradley Holland. Full details of all the Newton Abbot scores:

Open Section - Alan Brusey 3/5 (Grading Prize)

Major Section - Paul Brooks 3/5 Charles Howard 3/5 John Nyman 2.5/5

Intermediate Section - Danilo Wasques 4.5/5 Jacquie Barber-Lafon 3.5/5 Richard Brenton 0.5/5 (Slow Starter Prize)

Foundation Section - Suhayl Abdalla 3/5 (Grading Prize) Aarv Paul 2.5/5 Bradley Holland 2.5/5 Oliver Mortimer 2/5 Nirinjana Narayanan 1.5/5 Alfie Sequeira 1.5/5 Naru Narayanan 1.5/5

Club members also won several of the cups awarded to local players. In the Open section, Alan Brusey won the Basil Wallis cup, Danilo Wasques shared the Ralph Newman Cup, while Suhayl Abdalla shared the John Whitfield cup for the best score by a Devon Junior. Well done to all the competitors!

Win for Division 4 Team

Well done to Newton Abbot's division 4 team on their convincing victory, 3-1, against Teignmouth. The Narayanan's, Nirinjana and Naru, continued their fine form with victories on boards 3 and 4. Mike Gilding had a good first win for the club on board 2, while Mike Hussey lost an attacking game on board 1.

Arbiter Award for Josh

Congratulations to Josh Blackmore who qualified as an ECF level 1 arbiter after successfully completing a recent course at Exeter.

Fine Moyle Victory

Mike Hussey's Moyle team got their campaign off to a winning start with an excellent 3-1 victory against Plymouth. Two good victories for juniors Nirinjana Narayanan and Aritra Paul against their Plymouth junior counterparts gave Newton Abbot the lead, while Mike Gilding went down on board 2. The best game of the match saw captain Mike Hussey gain a positive result on board 1, defeating the much higher-graded Rob Wilby in an exciting contest. Here is the score of Mike's game.

Good Evening for Championship Games

8 more Club Championship games were played on the latest club night, all of them leading to a decisive result. In the Curates league, top seed Alan Brusey continued his impressive start to the tournament by defeating Danilo Wasques, while, second seed, Charles Howard won as black against Evan McMullan. Two higher-graded players were made to work hard for their victories with Andrew Kinder coming back from a poor position against Mike Gilding, and Richard Brenton, a pawn-down in a difficult position, profiting from an endgame error by Bradley Holland.

In the Deacons League, results went with the seedings. Top seed, Paul Brooks overcame a spirited challenge from junior, Nirinjana Narayanan - the game, an instructive French defence is accessible here - while, second seed, Trefor Thynne defeated her father, Naru. Josh Blackmore won with the black pieces against James Gibbs, and Mike Hussey also won with black against Les Barron.

Good luck to all the club members playing in the Beacon Seniors and Torbay Chess Congress next week.

First Defeat of Season

Plymouth inflicted the first defeat of the season on Newton Abbot as they started their defence of the Mamhead Cup. The teams were very closely matched on paper with players on each board separated by three grading points at most. Paul Brooks had a promising position against Mick Stinton-Brownbridge, but couldn't make the most of it and the players agreed a draw. Alan Brusey, on top board, blundered a pawn in the opening, but fought back well, and was only beaten by excellent play in the ending from his opponent, David Twine. Danilo Wasques gained his first point for the club by creating a strong attack against Rob Wilby and successfully converting his material advantage into a winning endgame. The last game to finish saw Charles Howard fighting hard but succumbing under time pressure against Nick Butland. So Plymouth won a close match 2.5 - 1.5.

Two More Exciting Contests

Newton Abbot's unbeaten start to the season continued following two exciting matches this Thursday. The Abbots started their Division 1 campaign with a tough match against South Hams who brought their strongest ever team to the Courtenay Centre. Paul Brooks agreed a relatively early draw against the higher-graded Dennis Cowley, while debutant, Danilo Wasques didn't make the most of a promising position and swapped off into a lost king and pawn ending. The best game of the night was on board 1 where Stephen Homer produced a consummate defensive performance to outplay his very strong opponent Steve Levy. The last match to finish saw Trefor Thynne just fail to convert an advantage he had held for most of his game against Steve Dickinson, when he swapped off into an endgame 2 pawns up, only to find that it was impossible to win because of opposite-coloured bishops. A very well-deserved 2-2 draw. Here are all of the games from the match. Steve's and Trefor's games are well worth playing through. (Scroll down to see all the games.)

The rapidplay team produced a winning performance against the newly reformed Brixham club. Josh Blackmore won both his games against Chris Collins, Andrew Kinder had a win and a draw against Nathan Mlls, while Aarv Paul had 2 good wins against Barry Lippard. Only James Gibbs struggled against the experienced Mike Cuggy. A very good win by 5.5 - 2.5.

Good performances in Divisions 2 and 4

Newton Abbot's division 2 team overcame debutants, Totnes, in a close match, 2.5-1.5. Good wins on the top 2 boards for John Nyman (against fellow club-member Charles Howard) and Josh Blackmore were backed up by a draw for James Gibbs on board 4.

There was an excellently contested match in Division 4 between Torquay Boys G.S. and Newton Abbot which ended in a hard-fought draw. The match was notable for the fact that all the players were Newton Abbot members. Torquay Boys took the spoils on the top 2 boards with Oliver Mortimer defeating Mike Hussey and Aarv Paul overcoming new member Mike Gilding. Newton Abbot fought back on boards 3 and 4, where Nirinjana Narayanan overcame Bradley Holland, while her father Naru defeated Aritra Paul. So 2-2 was the final score!

Lively Club Night

The Club Championship got off to a lively start on this week's club night with seven games played. Most notably, Richard Brenton had a very strong performance as black against the higher-graded Charles Howard, reaching a rook and pawn endgame a pawn up. Accurate defence ensured that Charles escaped with a draw. The results of the other games are on the competitions page. Competititors: please organise your games in the tournament!

Great First Win

Newton Abbot's division 3 team got the season off to a flying start with a 3.5-0.5 away win at Teignmouth. Josh Blackmore had an excellent victory on top board against the very experienced Bill Ingham, while Jacquie Barber-Lafon had a very good draw against Ian Henry. On board 3 Mike Hussey overcame Charles Doidge, while junior Aarv Paul also won to round off a splendid evening for Newton Abbot.

Enter the Devon Individual Tournaments

Newton Abbot has a strong tradition of success in the Devon DCCA Individual Championships. The current Devon Champion, Intermediate Champion and Ladies' Champion are all Newton Abbot members.

Here is an opportunity to enter the competition in 2019-20. There are 4 sections - the Devon Championship for players graded 170 and above, the Intermediate Championship for players graded 140-169, the Minor Championship for players graded 139 and below, and the Ladies' Championship with no grade limits. Each tournament is all-play-all once, and most matches are played on a club night or at weekends. Full details are in the attached leaflet. Paul is the Tournament Controller so just let him know if you want to enter.

Lively First Night Competition

It was great to welcome so many new faces to the first Club night of the year. A lively and competitive blitz handicap tournament stretched the brains of all participants with stronger players having to cope with as little as 2 minutes for their games, while some of the less-experienced players recorded very good wins.

Evan McMullan won the junior blitz prize, with Trefor Thynne, Josh Blackmore, Jacquie Barber-Lafon, and new players, Danilo Wasquez and Rob McPherson, performing particularly well in the senior event. Next Thursday will be a normal club night, so come prepared to play some longer (and maybe less frenetic) games. Please let Paul know by 10th October if you want to play in the Club Championship. Details of the Championship Competitions are attached here.

Tough Competition at Paignton

Newton Abbot players found the competition tough at the recent DCCA Paignton Congress. 6 club members participated with none scoring more than 50% in their section.

Alan Brusey scored 3.5 out of 9 in the Premier, Paul Brooks 3 out of 7 in the Challengers, while John Nyman scored 2.5 in the same event. Trefor Thynne entered two tournaments, scoring3 out of 7 in the Challengers and 2.5 out of 5 in the morning Boniface tournament. Jacquie Barber-Lafon also scored 2.5 out of 5 in the morning Thynne tournament. Richard Brenton enjoyed his first-ever chess congress experience, scoring 2.5 out of 7 in the Intermediate section, but impressing everyone with the quality and style of his various chess-themed sweatshirts. One game from the tournament, (Paul's only decent game, he says) is annotated here.

Newton Abbot Players perform well at British Championships

12 players from Newton Abbot club took part in different tournaments at the British Championships in Torquay, all with some success. 5 juniors participated and will have benefited from the tough competition they faced. Of particular note was the performance of James Gibbs who came equal second in the Under 100 tournament.

Trefor has compiled statistics for players' performances and these are attached.

Internal Competitions Results

The 2018-2019 Internal Competitions were hard fought with some excellent chess played. In Section A, John Stephens had a stunning performance winning all his seven games (although he readily admits that he had to battle back from some 'dodgy' opening positions). Alan Brusey came a creditable second with 5 points.

In Section B, Jacquie Barber-Lafon emerged victorious with 4 points, ahead of joint second-placed junior members Luke Glasson and Evan McMullan on 3 points.

Section C was won by another junior, Nirinjana Narayanan, with 4.5 points, ahead of junior James Gibbs with 3.5.

The Rapidplay Tournament was won by Josh Blackmore with 17.5 points, ahead of Alan Brusey with 14 points.

Congratulations to all competitors. Prizes will be awarded at the Club AGM on Thursday 23rd May.

Knockout Cup Triumph

Newton Abbot's strength-in-depth told as they wrapped up a very successful season with a 5-1 victory in the Torbay League Knockout Cup Final against Teignmouth. Teignmouth's promising junior Jamie Glasson picked up an early win against Naru Narayanan, but, following this setback, the Newton Abbot team turned the screw and victories followed one after another with Teignmouth drawing blanks in all the other games. Congratulations to team members Charles Howard, Josh Blackmore, Clive Liggatt, Mike Hussey, Richard Brenton and Naru Narayanan.

This result means that Newton Abbot teams have won 7 trophies making this the club's very best season since it formed in 2005.

Fighting Draw in Mamhead

Newton Abbot's trophy-winning Mamhead team finished the season undefeated with a hard-fought draw 2-2 away at Exmouth. Mark Bowhay and John Nyman took the spoils on boards 3 and 4, while Exmouth's strong pairings on the top two boards overcame Paul Brooks and Charles Howard. The games from the match can be accessed here.

Rooke Cup Victory Crowns Excellent Season

Newton Abbot brought home another DCCA trophy with an excellent 5-3 victory over Seaton in the final of the DCCA Rooke Cup. 3 new club members, Mark Bowhay, John Nyman, and Clive Liggatt all contributed well to a very solid performance with 2 victories (by John Nyman and Bradley Holland) and 6 draws (by John Stephens, Charles Howard, Mark Bowhay, Wilf Taylor, Evan McMullan and Clive Liggatt). Congratulations to captain Wilf Taylor and all the team.

This result caps the best-ever season for Newton Abbot in the DCCA leagues, winning the Rooke Cup and finishing top of the table in the Mamhead, Schofield and Moyle divisions. Well done to all who have contributed to an exceptional season. Games from the match can be accessed here.

Success at World Seniors

Two Newton Abbot players represented England with success in the World Seniors Championship held in Rhodes in April 2019. Stephen Homer played for England 2 in the Over-50s section and scored a very creditable 4 out of 7 helping England 2 to 9th place out of 26 teams. Trefor Thynne competed for England 3 in the Over-65s and scored 4.5 out of 9, which helped ensure that England 3 came 14th out of 27 teams, an excellent performance given that they were seeded to finish 22nd.

Devon Ladies' Championship - Only Newton Abbot Players Involved

Newton Abbot provided all 3 players in the 2018-19 Devon Ladies' Championship - Jacquie Barber Lafon, Nandaja Narayanan and her younger sister, Nirinjana. A tough competition was only resolved by a play-off between Jacquie and Nandaja. Nandaja triumphed in the game attached here and became the new Devon Ladies' Champion. Congratulations to all the players involved.

April Newsletter

Trefor's latest newsletter is attached here. It has all the latest news from the club, including successes in the Devon and Torbay Leagues, with a large number of results from recent matches.

Bishops win Torbay Premier League

Newton Abbot Bishops completed an excellent first season as champions of the Torbay Chess League Premier Division when Teignmouth were forced to default their last match against them. Their campaign included 5 victories and just a single defeat. Congratulations to captain Andrew Kinder and his team. The Abbots ended third in the division with a record of 3 wins and 3 defeats, but had the slight compensation of inflicting the Bishops' only defeat of the season.

Bremridge Team go down to League Champions Exeter

Exeter made their strength tell in Newton Abbot's final Bremridge match of the season, winning by a score of 4.5-1.5. Outgraded on all boards, the match got off to a shaky start for Newton Abbot when Charles Howard blundered a piece and Paul Brooks was comprehensively outplayed in the opening to give Exeter an early 2-0 lead. Alan Brusey made a draw on board 1, then Vignesh Ramesh after fighting hard allowed his opponent to break through decisively on the king's side. Trefor Thynne defended a difficult position very well, and would have gained half a point had he heard his opponent's draw offer, made a couple of moves before he put himself in zugzwang. The brightest moment for Newton Abbot came at the end of the match, when Josh Blackmore, after being under pressure for most of the game, broke through with a classy sacrificial attack to gain the sole win for the team. Thanks to captain Trefor Thynne and to all the players who have played in the Bremridge this season.

Schofield Triumph

A first trip to an away fixture at East Budleigh saw Newton Abbot return assured of winning the Schofield Cup. Good wins for Josh Blackmore, Wilf Taylor and Nirinjana Narayanan ensured a 3-1 victory, with Paul Brooks going down to defeat on board 1. Newton Abbot now know that, although they can still be caught on match points, their better game points' total will mean they win the title. Congratulations to team captain Wilf Taylor and all the members of the club who have represented the team this season.

Mamhead Team Stay on Top

Newton Abbot's Mamhead team made it 3 out of 3 with a hard-earned victory against Plymouth. Paul Brooks and Trefor Thynne played out solid but quite uneventful draws on boards 1 and 2. On board 3, Charles Howard obtained a good position from the opening against Rob Wilby's Budapest gambit and carried through the subsequent attack confidently and accurately. The match was decided by an exciting and fluctuating game on board 4 between Martin Quinn and John Nyman. Following quite a quiet opening, John's central pawns and well-placed pieces seemed to give him the advantage, but Martin gained counterplay by advancing his king-side pawns. As the clock ticked down both players missed opportunities, and when Martin missed a winning capture by his knight on move 51, John was able to force his pawns through, sealing a 3-1 victory for Newton Abbot. The decisive games from the match can be accessed here.

D team win the title

A 4-0 victory over TBGS cemented Newton Abbot D team's position as title winners in Division 4. Having scored 6 wins and 2 defeats, their points' difference now means they can't be caught even though there are still a couple of matches still to be played. Congratulations to team captain Mike Hussey, Kieran Raine, Richard Brenton and Naru Narayanan (who played in the TBGS fixture) and all the other club members who have represented the team this season.

East Devon Congress

Seven Newton Abbot members played in the recent East Devon congress at Exeter. In the Open section, John Stephens came away with 3/5 while Charles Howard sored 1.5. The Major (u155) section included John Nyman with 3.5/5 and Jason Cole with 2/5. 3 players competed in the Minor section (u125) with Oliver Mortimer scoring 3/5, Aarv Paul scoring 2 and new member Clive Liggatt scoring a very creditable 2.5/5.

4-0 to the D team

Newton Abbot's D team won a crushing victory at home to Teignmouth. All 4 games resulted in victories for the home team. Congratulations to Mike Hussey, Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels, Richard Brenton and Nirinjana Narayanan.

Away Defeat for Abbots

The Abbots made the long journey to South Hams in the premier division and came away empty-handed. John Stephens had a good win on board 1 against Steve Levy, while, on board 2, Paul Brooks and Dave Archer played out a fluctuating game which ended in a draw. The damage was done on the bottom boards where John Nyman's good run of form came to an end against James Schofield, while Evan McMullan lost a positional battle against Ben Wilkinson, to leave the final score 1.5-2.5. The game between Archer and Brooks can be accessed here.

March Newsletter

Trefor's latest newsletter is attached here. It has all the latest news from the club, with a large number of results from recent matches.

Another Moyle Victory

Newton Abbot's Moyle team made it 3 out of 3 with a home victory against Teignmouth, 2.5 - 1.5. There were wins for Evan McMullan and Mike Hussey on boards 2 and 3, while top board Jacquie Barber-Lafon gained a draw. Only Naru Narayanan failed to score after he was defeated on board 4. This result means that Newton Abbot only need a draw in their final match against Barnstaple to maintain their hold on the Moyle Cup.

Two Exciting Section A Games

The internal club tournaments are reaching their climax, and, last Thursday, saw two games in section A where the lower-graded player nearly caused a big upset. Andrew Kinder played the very aggressive Latvian Gambit as black against Alan Brusey and sacrificed the exchange to build up a threatening attacking position. At a crucial moment, a subtle king move would have allowed Andrew to bring his rook into the fray, but he elected to regain the sacrificed material and Alan took over the initiative and converted the point.

Jason Cole played white against top seed John Stephens and after 12 moves they had reached a fairly even position in a Kings Indian Attack. Then, on move 13, Jason played a move which 'lost' a pawn, but he took the opportunity to launch a king-side attack. Jason's queen penetrated deep into John's position, and another agressive pawn move increased the tension still further. John missed the best move which would have made Jason's queen very uncomfortable, and a couple of moves later, Jason had the chance to play a very strong Bishop move, which, if followed up with a line-opening bishop sacrifice, would have ripped John's position apart. After this miss, John's counterattack came quickly and he wrapped up the point efficiently.

Both games can be accessed here. (Scroll down to see the second game)

Revenge for Abbots

Premier division rivals Newton Abbot Abbots and Bishops met on Thursday with the Abbots keen to avenge their early season defeat. For the Abbots, on board 1, Stephen Homer put Alan Brusey under early pressure and broke through to take the point. John Nyman made it 2-0 by defeating Bishops' captain Andrew Kinder. On board 4, the game between Josh Blackmore and Wilf Taylor looked to be heading for a draw, when, probably due to the match situation, Josh pushed too hard for a win, and Wilf converted to make the score 3-0 to the Abbots. A whitewash was avoided when Charles Howard won a hard-fought game against Paul Brooks. So the final score was 3-1 to the Abbots, but the Bishops still look well placed to win the league title.

Good Win in D Division

Newton Abbot D team travelled to table-topping South Hams and came away with an important win, 2.5-1.5. There were good wins for new-player Richard Brenton and junior Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels, captain Mike Hussey made a draw on board 2, while the only defeat was for Thomas Bonds on board 1. This result leaves the D team in a strong position to challenge for the league title.

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Rapidplay Team go down

Plymouth visited Newton Abbot in the latest rapidplay match and their stronger team inflicted a defeat on the home side, 5.5 - 2.5. Jason Cole and Mike Hussey scored one win each while Jacquie Barber-Lafon gained a draw in the first round of matches.

Victory for Table-Topping Bishops

Newton Abbot Bishops continued their excellent form with an away victory against South Hams, 2.5 - 1.5. The win was sealed on boards 3 and 4, where Andrew Kinder and Josh Blackmore defeated Ben Wilkinson and Phil McConnell, respectively. Charles Howard gained a draw in his first match since he came back from Spain, while Alan Brusey suffered a defeat in a tight game against top board Steven Levy.

Latest Newsletter

Trefor's February newsletter is attached here. It has all the latest news from the club, plus details of upcoming matches.

Another Moyle Victory

Newton Abbot achieved a comfortable win,3.5 -0.5, against Barnstaple in their latest DCCA Moyle Cup match. There were victories for Jacquie Barber-Lafon, Evan McMullan and Aarv Paul, while Mike Hussey drew on board 3. This result leaves Newton Abbot on top of the table in the Moyle. Evan also competed in the recent South of England Junior championships scoring 3 out of 5, while fellow Newton Abbot junior James Gibbs scored 1.5.

New Grades Published

The latest January gradings have been published and are available here . These will be used in Torbay League matches during the second half of the season.

Simon Bartlett Memorial

Five members of Newton Abbot Chess Club played in the second Simon Bartlett Memorial tournament in Torquay. In the Open, won by GM Keith Arkell, John Stephens came joint-third, with a creditable 3 out of 5, while Alan Brusey scored 1 out of 3. In the Major, new member John Nyman was joint second with 3.5 out 5.

Two members competed in the Minor tournament. Aarv Paul scored 3 out of 5, while Naru Narayanan scored 2 and also won the prize for the LOUDEST SHIRT!

C Team Falter at South Hams

In their latest division 2 match, the Newton Abbot C team travelled to South Hams but fell to a disappointing defeat, going down 3-1. Jacqui Barber-Lafon and Nirinjana Narayanan both achieved good draws with Black, but Paul Miller and Mike Hussey suffered losses against experienced opponents.

Meanwhile, at the Newton Abbot club night, there was another strong turnout, with several matches taking place in the club championship. In section A, top-graded John Stephens overcame Alan Brusey, Paul Brooks defeated Andrew Kinder while Jason Cole and Josh Blackmore played out a draw. In section C, Prabhu Kashap went down to Leon Farmer, while juniors Aarv Paul and James Gibbs drew.

Good Results for Newton's Premier Teams

Two matches on the same evening in the Torbay League Premier Division both resulted in good wins for Newton Abbot. The Bishops maintained their excellent record at the top of the division by beating a strong South Hams team, 3-1. Alan Brusey and Andrew Kinder overcame strong opponents on boards 1 and 2, while Josh Blackmore and Jason Cole backed this up with solid draws on boards 3 and 4.

The Abbots were also successful, overcoming Teignmouth 3.5-0.5. John Stephens won a early pawn on on board 1 and wrapped up the point smoothly. Paul Brooks ground out a victory in a tough game, while Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels maintained his good record in the premier division by takng advantage of his opponent's mistake to win on board 4. On board 2, Stephen Homer built up a very strong attack which looked as though he was bound to win, but tough defence from his opponent enabled him to swap off into a drawn opposite-coloured bishop ending a pawn down.

Exeter Prevail

The demands of Devon's premier tournament, the Bremridge, were well illustrated by the team Exeter team, packed with high-graded players, which faced Newton Abbot last Saturday. All the games were hard-fought, but Newton Abbot eventually went down 1.5-4.5. On the positive side, Paul Brooks gained a solid draw against 188-graded Tim Paulden, while Trefor Thynne kept cool under pressure, before finishing strongly to beat Jos Haynes.

Great Evening with GM Keith

The long-awaited simultaneous display by GM Keith Arkell was a great success. Twenty members of Newton Abbot chess club enjoyed an evening pitting their skills against Keith's formidable talent, which due to Keith's warm and friendly personality provided a very memorable experience for all who took part.

Keith proved an outstanding opponent, and, despite many club members putting up a strong fight, he achieved the remarkable result of 18 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. The sole victor was fast-improving junior Aarv Paul who held his nerve brilliantly, keeping his cool when Keith attacked, taking advantage of a tactic which won a piece, and calculating very well to win the resulting endgame.

Club secretary Trefor Thynne was unlucky not to win, gaining the advantage of a knight for 2 pawns, but Keith showed his endgame prowess by playing actively to simplify the position to one where Trefor had a bare knight and a draw was agreed.

Keith awarded prizes to the best games played against him. Aarv was the worthy winner of the junior prize, while Jacquie Barber-Lafon who was unfortunate not to gain a hard-fought draw was awarded the senior prize. Jacquie also organised welcome refreshments on a splendid night for the club.

The games played by Aarv and Trefor are available here.

Second Mamhead Victory

A long trip to Barnstaple was rewarded by a second victory for Newton Abbot in the DCCA Mamhead tournament, 2.5-1.5. It was a good day for the white pieces, with Alan Brusey and Paul Brooks recording wins on boards 1 and 3.

Vignesh Ramesh gained a solid draw on board 2, while Josh Blackmore, in the last game to finish, eventually succumbed to his opponent's attack. Games from the match can be found here.

Revenge on South Hams

Newton Abbot experienced the pain of defeat and the joy of victory in 2 recent matches against South Hams. The Abbots unexpectedly went down 3-1 in their premier division match, with only John Stephens able to record a victory.

Revenge of a sort came 2 days later in the Mamhead competition, where the result was an equally unexpected 3.5-0.5 victory, with wins for Alan Brusey, Josh Blackmore and Wilf Taylor and a draw for Trefor Thynne. Games from the Mamhead match can be accessed here.

Bishops top the Table

Newton Abbot Bishops went to the top of the Torbay League Premier Division with an away win at Teignmouth, 3-1. Alan Brusey, Josh Blackmore and Jason Cole all recorded victories while only captain Andrew Kinder went down to defeat. Josh has annotated his game from the match which can be viewed here.

Devon Junior Chess Championships

Nine Newton Abbot juniors took part in the recent Devon Junior Championships with outstanding results. Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels came first with 5.5/6, while Vignesh Ramesh was close behind in second with 5/6. Nirinjana Narayanan won 3 prizes with her score of 4/6: best girl, first in the U13 age group and equal first in the U15s. Aarv Paul scored 3/6 and was equal first in the Under 12s. Other scores included Evan McMullan, James Gibbs and Oliver Mortimer all with 3.5/6, Bradley Holland with 3/6 and Alfie Sequeira with 2.5/6. Congratulations to all of them!

Bremridge Fighting Draw

The first match in Devon's top team event ended in a hard-won 3-3 draw between Newton Abbot and Exmouth. This was a very creditable performance as Newton Abbot were outgraded by an average of 14 points by their opponents. Players with the white pieces won the day as Stephen Homer and Paul Brooks both won with white against higher-graded players, while Alan Brusey and Andrew Kinder fought hard but went down with black. Trefor Thynne and Vignesh Ramesh both came out with draws to leave honours even. Games from the match can be accessed here.

Wins against the Grammar School

Two matches between Newton Abbot and Torquay Boys' Grammar School took place on the most recent club night, and both resulted in 3-1 wins for the home team. In division 3, there were wins for Paul Miller, Wilf Taylor and Jacquie Barber-Lafon while Nirinjana Narayanan was defeated on board 4. The same result occurred in the division 4 match, where Thomas Bonds won by default, while Mike Hussey and Naru Narayanan defeated their opponents on boards 2 and 4. Only Leon Farmer, on his debut, made a loss on board 3. So, overall, a succesful evening for the club!

Plymouth Rapidplay

Newton Abbot members had very creditable successes in the annual Plymouth Rapidplay tournament. John Stephens won the tournament with an excellent 5.5/6, while Alan Brusey came equal second with 4.5/6.

DCCA results

The first Schofield match of the season ended in a hard-fought draw 2-2. Naru Narayanan, debuting on board 4 suffered an unfortunate early loss, but Paul Brooks broke though to mate and Andrew Kinder won a very controlled ending (Queen and 2 pawns against 2 rooks) to leave the score 2-1 to Newton Abbot.

It all came down to board 1 where Vignesh Ramesh and Sean Pope played a very tight game in the Caro-Kann. It looked to be heading for a draw until Vignesh made an error, exchanging bishops into a King and Pawn ending. Sean broke through on the kingside, to leave the final score 2-2. Games from the match can be accessed here.

In the Moyle Cup, Jacqui Barber-Lafon's team had an excellent victory, 4-0 away at Teignmouth.

Latest Newsletter

Trefor's November newsletter is attached here. It contains lots of interesting and useful information.

Ups and Downs for the Rapidplay Team

The first rapidplay match of the season ended in a draw after a South Hams fightback in the second round of matches. Newton Abbot started strongly with wins in the first round for Andrew Kinder, Josh Blackmore and Mike Hussey, and led by 3-1 at half-time. But South Hams came back strongly with only Josh Blackmore able to complete a 100% performance, as the match ended in a 4-4 draw.

Good Away Win for D team

Newton Abbot D enjoyed a comprehensive away victory against Teignmouth by 3 games to 1. Mike Hussey's win on board 1 was backed up with victories for juniors Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels and Nirinjana Narayanan. Only Kieran Rayne on board 2 suffered the setback of a defeat against Alan Webster.

C Team in Hard-fought Draw

A very close match saw the C team share the spoils with South Hams. Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels continued his good run of form with a victory on Board 4 against Dennis Russell. Mike Hussey's attack was repulsed and his opponent claimed the spoils.

Another solid performance saw Jacquie Barber-Lafon share the point with Roy Greenhalgh which left the result of the match depending on Board 1. Jason Cole and Ben Wilkinson played out a very close game and, when Jason missed a late chance to gain the advantage, the game and the match was honourably drawn.

The game on board 1 can be accessed here.

Success at Torbay Congress

Seven NACC members participated in the recent weekend Torbay Congress. In a strong Open Section, Alan Brusey won a grading prize with 2.5/5. Josh Blackmore and Evan McMullan competed in the Intermediate Section with Josh scoring 3 and Evan 1.5.

Four juniors performed well in the Foundation tournament. James Gibbs scored 2.5, while Nirinjana Narayanan's score of 2 won her the slow starter prize. Aarv Paul also scored 2 points, and Oliver Mortimore 1.5.

Setback for D team

In a very close match, the D team were edged out by an experienced South Hams team, 1.5 - 2.5. The points were shared on the bottom 2 boards - Kieran won, while Nirinjana lost. Jacquie drew against Roy Greenhalgh, so the result of the match came down to the last match to finish between team captain Mike Hussey and Alan Davies.

Mike had a strong attack on Alan's king and, as the other games finished, he faced a choice of 2 tempting continuations - recapturing a piece or placing his rook agressively on the seventh rank. Mike moved the rook, which allowed his opponent to make a rather strange-looking move to protect his attacked piece. The tactics stopped working for Mike and he soon resigned when Alan had unstoppable queenside pawns.

Easy Win for Abbots

A near full-strength Abbots team enjoyed their first win of the season, 4-0 away at Teignmouth. Isaac Kennedy-Bruyneels, in an excellent performance, gained the first point for the team when his opponent resigned abruptly after losing a piece.

Teignmouth were severely outgraded on the top 3 boards, but fought hard. Paul Brooks' queenside pressure led to an exchange-gaining tactic and he wrapped up smoothly. Stephen Homer and John Stephens both faced stiff resistance but eventually won through - John's game had an amusing ending when his opponent (in a losing position) marched his king up the board into a one-move mate.

A game from the match can be accessed here.

Exeter retain DCCA quickplay trophy

14 teams of 4 players enjoyed an excellent Sunday afternoon of chess at the DCCA quickplay tournament. After 6 rounds of hard-fought chess, top seeds Exeter A came out on top with 20 games points. Newton Abbot Abbots (18 points) and Exeter University A (16) came close behind.

Grading trophies were awarded to Exeter B and Plymouth A (under 600), and to the team consisting of 4 members of the Bacon family (under 450). 2 players scored a maximum 100% in all 6 games, Tom Thorpe of Exeter A and Graham Bolt of Exeter B. Trefor Thynne's report on the tournament can be accessed here.

D Team defeat Plymouth

In a close first match, Mike Hussey's D team overcame Plymouth 2.5-1.5.

Kieran Raine took an early draw against Alan Crickmore, but the matches that mattered were on boards 1 and 2 where wins for Jacquie Barber-Lafon and Mike Hussey took Newton Abbot to victory. It was good to see Prabhu Kashap back at the club but unfortunately he was beaten by the experienced Tony Tatam. Nevertheless, a positive start for the D team!

First Blood to Bishops

The first match in the Torbay Chess League Premier Division pitted Newton Abbot Abbots v Newton Abbot Bishops. Bishops ran out easy winners 3.5-0.5.

Andrew Kinder's kingside attack broke through Evan McMullan's defence to give the Bishops an early lead. John Stephens and Alan Brusey played out a quiet draw, and the match was decided when Paul Brooks, in a level and very blocked position, decide to attack Vignesh Ramesh. The attack didn't work and the counter was crushing. In the last game to finish, Josh Blackmore held his nerve as Jacquie Barber-Lafon's endgame position went from better to equal to worse to lost.

Games from the match can be accessed here.

GM Keith Arkell Simultaneous Night

As a special Christmas treat, Grandmaster Keith Arkell will be giving a simultaneous display at Newton Abbot Chess Club on Thursday 20th December at 7pm.

This is a rare opportunity to play one of England's top players - the cost will be £5 per person, so if you want to book your place, please let Trefor or Jacquie know.

DCCA Team Quickplay Tournament

The annual DCCA Team Quickplay Tournament will be held on Sunday 4th November from 2.30-6.30 at Newton Abbot Chess Club. Players participate in teams of 4 against clubs from around the county and beyond.

This is a great competition (many of the website photos are stills from this event). The cost is £3 per person, so, sign up as soon as you can with Trefor.

Welcome to the New Season

The first club night of the new season is Thursday 27th September - we hope to see you all there! There will be a special Handicap Tournament, so everybody can be involved in friendly and competitive games.

Trefor's 'Members' Letter for the New Season' is attached here.

Don't forget to enter the internal tournaments - Club Championship and Rapidplay. Entry forms available at the club - deadline for entries THURSDAY 11th OCTOBER.

Paignton Congress

The DCCA Paignton Congress is a unique and historic event. Seven days playing chess in a relaxed environment with an extended time limit, and sections suited to players of all standards. This year's congress had a strong entry, headed by GM Keith Arkell, but only two competitors from Newton Abbot Club.

In the Premier section, Keith Arkell blasted his way to 6/6, but then had to struggle hard to hold the draw in his final game against Mike Waddington. Keith finished 2 points clear of the rest of the field.

The Challengers' section (in which Paul Brooks competed) was very closely fought, and resulted in an eight-way tie for first place. Among the joint winners scoring 4.5 were Megan O'Brien of Plymouth and Matt Wilson of Torbay. Paul was among another large group who scored 4 out of 7. The Intermediate section was won by Peter Halmkin of Teignmouth, who scored 5.5/7, and the Minor Tournament by Barry Miles of Coulsdon with 6/7.

Another unique feature of Paignton is the morning tournaments - 5 rounds from Monday to Friday. The Boniface Tournament for players graded below 180 was won jointly by Richard Bryant (Oswestry) and Robert Sanders (Sudbury) with 4/5. Jacquie Barber-Lafon scored a solid 2.5 (5 draws!) in the Thynne Morning Tournament (named after the father of our Club Secretary). The section was won jointly by Graham Shepherd (Church Stretton) and Graham Mill-Wilson (Plymouth).

European Adventures

Two members of Newton Abbot Chess Club competed successfully for England in the World Seniors Team Championships in Dresden this July. Stephen Homer, playing board 3 for England 3 in the 50+ section, had an exceptional performance of 6.5/9, easily the best in his team. In round 1 he lost narrowly to USA GM Jan Ehlvest but in round 5 he scored a great victory over Russian WGM Nina Fatalibekova and remained in good form to the end.

Trefor Thynne, playing board 3 for England 3 in the 65+ section, also had a very good tournament remaining unbeaten with 3 wins and six draws. His wins were over a Welsh player, Peter Bevan, a Dutchman graded 2057 and a German from a local team while the draws included one against the top-scoring Mongolian woman player. Trefor's full report from the tournament can be accessed here.

A Successful Season

The club enjoyed a successful season, especially in the Torbay League. Newton Abbot teams won both divisions 1 and 2 and finished as runners-up in division 3. In division 4, we took the opportunity to give valuable match-playing experience to our junior and newer club members.

Our Division 1 team convincingly won its first 5 matches, losing only to Torbay after the destination of the title was decided. Alan Brusey top-scored with 4/4. Wilf Taylor’s Division 2 team lost its first match but won the other three to top the table. Jacquie Barber-Lafon’s team in division 3 also lost its first match but then won 4 and drew 1 to end as runners-up on game points difference . A notable achievement was Mike Hussey’s score of 4 ½ out of 6 which won him the division’s player of the year award.

Our Torbay Knock-Out Cup campaign lasted one match as we lost 2-4 to Torbay. In the Rapidplay Andrew Kinder’s team won 2 and drew 2 but were pipped for first place on game points.

Thanks to all our players and, in particular, to our Team Captains for their excellent efforts in organising the teams.

Ups and Downs in the Devon League

In the Devon leagues we had a tough season in divisions 1 (Bremridge) and 2 (Mamhead) with unavailability of strong players on key dates proving a real handicap. In the Bremridge Cup we lost all three matches, two to an extremely strong Exeter team and one to Exmouth. The second Bremridge match with Exmouth went unplayed as a dead rubber.

Our Mamhead team also struggled losing 2 and drawing three matches, though all the matches were well-contested. Better news from divisions 3 (Schofield) and 4 (Moyle) both of which we won convincingly. Wilf Taylor’s Schofield team won 3 and drew 1 match with good contributions from Alan Brusey, Charles Howard and Evan McMullan. Jacquie’s Moyle Cup team won all four of its matches with Mike Hussey scoring 100% and the captain 2 ½ /3.

In the Rooke knock-Out, a competition in which we have an excellent record of 8 wins since 2007 we had an interesting semi-final against new opponents in Seaton (close match won 4½ -3 ½) and a comfortable victory against Exeter (5 ½ - 2 ½) in the last match of the season. No individual games were lost in this match.

Our junior team competed in the Bloodworth Shield, now held at the Courtenay Centre as a Jamboree event. Four teams took part. We came third behind Sidmouth Juniors and Torquay Boys’ Grammar School but the value here lies in the opportunity given to our younger juniors of match experience.

Many thanks again to all our Team Captains for their excellent stewardship of our teams . Not a single game was defaulted this season.

Top Match Performers

Congratulations go to Alan Brusey and Evan McMullan for their efforts which earn them awards as best adult match player and best junior match player respectively. There were a number of other really good individual scores: Mike Hussey (26 matches played 63%), Paul Miller (5/5 in his first season), Charles Howard and Andrew Kinder both 8 ½ out of 14 and Kieran Raine 8 out of 12.

Individual Competition Winners

The club’s internal competitions were again run on the All-Play-All system. Section A was won by Trefor Thynne with Paul Brooks as runner-up. Section B saw John Allen complete all 8 of his games before he headed off to France and his 5 points proved sufficient for first place. Wilf Taylor was runner-up with 4 ½. In Section C, junior Kieran Raine came first with 4 ½, ahead of joint runners-up Paul Miller and Prabhu Kashap.

In the Rapidlay Section A, Alan Brusey maintained his successful tradition in winning with 8 ½ points, just ahead of Paul Brooks on 8 and junior Josh Blackmore with 7 ½. Not many games were played in Section B though James Gibbs, one of our new juniors came first with 3 points.

The Junior Championship was a good tournament and was won jointly by Kieran Raine and James Gibbs on 9 points with Evan McMullan ½ point behind. The under-12 award went to Niranjana Narayanan with 6 ½.

More Awards

As ever the season saw some notable external individual successes by our members: Charles Howard has won the DCCA Intermediate Cup. Nandaja Narayanan has retained her Devon Ladies’ Championship Trophy (third year in a row). Evan McMullan won the Minor Section at the Simon Bartlett memorial Congress in Torbay in February. Vignesh Ramesh and James Gibbs won the Devon under 18 and under 15 titles respectively at the Devon Junior Championships held at Teign School in December.

- June 2018