Suffolk Chess

Last Sunday (23 June) I attended the Annual General Meeting of the East Anglian Chess Union, representing Suffolk.   It took place in Whittlesford and was attended by representatives of all EACU counties (Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire).

It was a fairly non-contentious meeting.   Proper minutes will be available soon, but until then, here's a summary of the main points that were discussed:

*  Entries for the various graded County competitions need to be received by the end of August.   In recent years, Suffolk has entered the Open and Under 160 sections.   But there are also u100, u120 and u140 sections.   If we can find captains there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to enter these lower sections, for which only eight players are required for the EACU rounds.

*  If Suffolk organise a Rapidplay, it could qualify for the EACU Grand Prix.   Each county is allowed two events to count towards the GP.   The Bury St Edmunds Congress already qualifies.   Does anyone want to organise a Suffolk RP?

*  The 2014 EACU Congress will be held in Newmarket on 7/8 June

*  The annual affiliation fee for each county to the EACU remains at £60.

*  The Bury St Edmunds Junior Congress (Feb 2014) will incorporate the EACU Junior Championship.   The highest-scoring EACU-based player in the Open section will become EACU Junior Champion.   A new trophy will be purchased by the EACU.

*  I was elected to the Disputes Committee.   This committee is only needed if there is an appeal against a decision by the EACU Chief Arbiter (Adrian Elwin).

The minutes, when available, will be published on this website.

The annual Ipswich Chess Club Championship is fought over six rounds.   Members generally arrange to play their matches at the Club on Tuesday evenings when they don't have a league match.   It's a tribute to the Club that 19 members entered and that most of the games were played.   There were a few defaults, but not many.

Although graded third, Tim Lunn shot down his first five opponents, including the two players graded higher than him, before agreeing to a draw in the final round to ensure the title.

Although most results followed the grades, there were some interesting individual performances.   11-year old Alex Sheerin (3 points) recorded a grading performance of 130, which included a win over Andrew Shephard (136).   And Martin Tomes achieved a draw against Kevin Greenacre, graded 27 points higher than him.

The leading final scores were:

Name	Grade	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Tim Lunn	176	5	1	0	5½
Ted Matthewson	182	4	1	0	4½
Martin Fogg	164	3	3	0	4½
Mike Cook	190	4	0	2	4
Steve Gregory	174	4	0	2	4
Sam Brennan	152	3	1	2	3½
Les Jones	148	3	1	2	3½

So, congratulations to Tim Lunn, pictured here away from the chessboard with his wife Adele and baby Sophia (now aged three).

The Suffolk Closed Championships are taking place at the Ipswich Chess Club over the weekend 22/23 June.

The Championship section will be competed for by six entrants:

Dagne Ciuksyte 227
Shaun Munson 206
Adam Taylor 187
Ted Matthewson 182
Phil Hopkins 177
Stephen Gregory 174

The remaining entrants, so far, include:

Martin Fogg 164
Kevin Greenacre 161
Silas Peck 154
Keith Woodcock 137
Andrew Shephard 136
Mark Weidman 123
Rory Goldsmith e100

Ideally, a few more entrants are required, so that there can be two further sections (Challengers and Swiss).

Anyone interested in playing should contact as soon as possible.

The annual East Anglian Chess Union Congress took place last weekend at the Turner Hall, Newmarket.   A total of 76 players took part, in three graded sections.

Suffolk players were few and far between, with most entrants coming from Cambridge, Peterborough and points north.

In the Open (21 entrants), Chris Davison of Cambridge City and Bury St Edmunds was joint first on 4 points.   Alan Merry (Bury St Edmunds) was 6th= on 3 points, with Ian Wallis (Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds) close behind on 2½ points.   Both Shaun Munson and Adam Taylor withdrew at the end of the first day, having scored only one point out of three.

There was only one Suffolk player, Andrew Shephard (Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds), playing in the Under 170 section.   He scored 3 points to finish 7th= (out of 27 entrants).

There were 28 entrants in the Under 130 section, including six from Suffolk.   Abdulla Mufti and Colin Gardiner (both Newmarket) scored 3 points, the same score as 9-year old Anita Somton (Bury St Edmunds).   With a win, three draws and a bye, Anita was unbeaten.   Other scores were Zac Vane (Bury St Edmunds 2; Gareth Young (Stowmarket) 1½; and Rob Scott (Newmarket) 1.

The AGM of the Suffolk County Chess Association will take place at the Ipswich Chess Club on Tuesday 3 September. An agenda will be published in due course and will be available on this website.

A Committee Meeting (of the SCCA) will be held on Thursday 20 June.   The Committee includes the following officers:

President (Colin Roberts)
Secretary & u160 Captain (Bob Jones)
Treasurer (Adrian Sanderson)
Competitions Secretary (Mike McNaughton)
Results Officer (Dave Wild)
Women's Organiser (Vicky Allen)
Correspondence Captain (Jim Buis)
First Team Captain (Ian Wallis)

The Committee will review the past season and, if necessary, make proposals for consideration at the AGM.   Any affiliated club may also put forward proposals; these may concern the Rules, the Constitution, or any other relevant matter.

There are currently two unfilled posts on the Committee - Vice-President and Junior Chess Organiser.   Anyone interested should contact .

-oOo-

Whilst on the topic of dates, remember that the Suffolk Junior Open is taking place at Woodbridge School on Sunday 16 June.   As well as all the age-groups, there are also sections for adults and parents.   Contact if you wish to enter.

Born in 1961, Rob Woodcraft was Suffolk Junior Champion in 1978.   He died suddenly of a heart attack whilst in Italy in February last year.   Rob and his wide Erica lived in Haute Savoie, France, within range of the slopes on which he loved to ski.   He had worked for Mars for many years and was still a consultant to them.

He attended Ipswich School, and on arrival in the First Form, he soon demolished the reigning school champion.   He is remembered by the school for his inspirational coaching of promising players in the Prep.

He played for the Ipswich Club for several years before moving to France.   There will still be a few players around who remember him.

The following game was played in the Final of the Norfolk & Suffolk Cup in 1978, when Ipswich beat Lowestoft 4 - 2.   Rob played on Board 3, behind Messrs Gregory and Wallis:

Emilia Jewell, just 15, is the new Suffolk Ladies' Champion, having been unbeaten throughout her six matches.   Five of the entrants were juniors, with the youngest, Anita Somton, only eight years old at the start of the tournament.   The final match saw Anita beat Adele Lunn, thus depriving Adele of a share of the title.   This is the final table:

Name	Grade	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Emilia Jewell	132	4	2	0	5
Vicky Allen	112	4	1	1	4½
Adèle Lunn	105	3	2	1	4
Anita Somton	59	3	1	2	3½
Alba Saenz de Villaver.	76	3	0	3	3
Bethany Young	e25	1	0	5	1
Liya Baby	e25	0	0	6	0

The highest-graded player in the seven-player event, Emilia won four games and drew two (against Adele and Anita).   One important win was against former Suffolk Ladies' Champion Vicky Allen.   This was the position at move 31 with Vicky (Black) to move:

31.... Rc2? (If Vicky had played ... Nf4, the game would be level.)
32. Ne4    Rh6
33. Rxe6!   It's all over after this move.   Rxh5   (If ... Rxe6, then Ng5+)
34. Rd6    Rc4
35. Rd1    d3
36. f3    Rf5
37. R6xd3    Rc2
38. Rd5    Rxf3?
39. Ng5+    1 - 0