Suffolk Chess

Suffolk's First Team, inspirationally captained by Ian Wallis, has won their way through to the National Final by beating Hertfordshire in the semi-final by 12 points to four.   This exceptional result followed on their quarter-final victory against Worcestershire, when they won 13 - 3.   In the 32 individual games that have been played so far in the national rounds, not one Suffolk player has lost a game!

11 players have featured in both matches, with Richard Lamont and Ian Wallis winning both their games.   Eight others have scored 1½ points: Alan Merry, Shaun Munson, Graham Moore, Nick Savage, Tim Lunn, Silas Peck, John Peters and Ted Matthewson.   Martin Fogg drew both games.

Suffolk will now face Essex (whom they beat convincingly last season in the semi-final) in the National Final, taking place in Warwick on Saturday 4 July.   As current holders of the Minor Counties trophy, Suffolk will be keen to retain the title.

The Suffolk Closed Championships will be held at Ipswich Chess Club on Saturday 11 July and Sunday 12 July.

There are two sections: the Championship and the Challengers.

The Championship is a six-player all-plays-all tournament.   The entrants will be:
Alan Merry (226)
Andrew Lewis (207)
Adam Taylor (207)
Stephen Gregory (194)
Shaun Munson (194)
Silas Peck (178)

The winner of the Championship will receive a trophy and will be Suffolk Champion for 2015.

If numbers permit, the Challengers will be a Swiss tournament.   The winner of the Challengers will gain an automatic qualification for the Championship in the following year.   There will also be an Intermediate trophy for the highest placed player graded under 130.

Both sections will be over five rounds, using Suffolk League time limits (30 moves in 75 minutess, then an extra 15 minutes to finish).   All games will be submitted for grading.

The timings
Saturday 11 July (venue open 9:00am)
1st round: 9:30am - 12:30pm
2nd round: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
3rd round: 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Sunday 12th July (venue open 9:30am)
4th round: 10:00am - 1:00pm
5th round: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Prize giving will take place no later than 6:00pm (in the unlikely event of a play-off match).

Entry Fee and prizes
The entry fee will be £3.50 for ECF Direct Members.   This will cover the cost of venue, and some light refreshments.   Please note that there are NO money prizes.   Trophies will be presented at the end of the tournament.

Where to find it
Ipswich Institute, Admirals House, Tower Street, IP1 3BE.   The entrance can be found off Tower Street (down from the Tower Ramparts bus station).   If heading down the (alley) side entrance to Tower Ramparts shopping centre, the double doors are on your left - set in an alcove with an iron gate.   To enter, press the buzzer, then open the door when you hear the return click.   Once inside, the room is at the top of the stairs (on the left).

From 2014
Suffolk Champion: Dagne Ciuksyte
Challengers Winner: Silas Peck
Intermediate Winner: Alex Sheerin

If interested please contact Tim Lunn: 07882 470473, or email [email protected]

Yesterday, Bury St Edmunds Chess Club hosted Broadland Club in the Final of the Norfolk & Suffolk Cup.

This was the Bury St Edmunds team before play started:

(left to right):
Steve Ruthen (Board 4), Mike Harris (1), John Peters (3), Ed Player (2), David Brown (6), Richard Lamont (5).

Broadland's team averaged 188, whilst Bury St Edmunds could only manage 180.   Broadland had a grading advantage on four of the six boards.

After two hours play all matches were level, although Ed, John and Richard seemed to have slight positional advantages.   Steve Ruthen was the first to finish, after he accepted a draw offer from Ken McEwan.   This was followed by a draw on Board 6, when Daniel Frean accepted David Brown's draw offer.

Meanwhile, on Board 1, Mike Harris was struggling with a bad bishop against Richard Polaczek's good knight.   Eventually Richard (graded 224) prevailed and for the first time Broadland took the lead.

Ed Player achieved a smooth win against Roy Hughes, despite getting into his usual time trouble.   He had to make moves 25 to 30 in 38 seconds, which he achieved with four seconds to spare!   John Peters missed a pin and had to take a draw against Gerald Moore.   So with the score at 2½ - 2½, it was all down to Richard Lamont, facing Terry Turner.   After an exchange of all four rooks, Richard's bishop was no match for Terry's passed pawn and Richard was forced to use his queen to prevent the pawn from promoting.   Richard bravely declined a draw with less than a minute remaining, but eventually agreed the draw with only seconds on his clock.

So, with four draws on the bottom four boards, it was Ed's excellent win on Board 2 that had to be eliminated in order to break the tie.

Congratulations to Broadland, whose name will appear on the cup for the first time.   Below is their winning team, together with non-playing captain Paul Badger, holding the trophy.   (left to right): Gerald Moore, Terry Turner, Ken McEwan, (Paul Badger), Roy Hughes, Richard Polaczek, Daniel Frean.