Author: bobideco

Strong Anstey 2 get their first win on the road

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In spite of facing solid opposition in Ashby 2, our second team dominated a difficult contest

In the second round of Division 3 in the Leicestershire League, our second team travelled to Ashby to face their second team. With the captain Ben having to step down, it was Boris The Toaster who had to deputise for the chairman. The Bulgarian captained a very strong team on the night, with John The Torturer, Mike and Noor The Prodigy all looking to make their mark on the night. Eventually, they did just that, taking the win and leaving only half point for the strong home team.

John The Torturer Robinson (Anstey) vs Christopher Tipper (Ashby) Result: 1/2 – 1/2

John The Torturer was back on top board for the second team, this time as White facing the solid but tricky player Christopher Tipper. The game started with the Polish defence employed by the home team player against our top board’s Queen’s pawn opening. The game continued with the players developing their pieces swiftly on somewhat natural squares without fancy tactics and reckless attempts for advantage. During the proceedings, the Ashby player stroke in the centre with c5 and our teammate decided to release the tension straight away by taking. By move 10 the game was already in the middlegame, and The Torturer decided to exchange one of his knights for one of their black counterparts. The players continued to improve their pieces, and John exchanged his light-squared bishop for one of the black knights, leaving the home team player with doubled pawns on the e-file. At move 18 there was lots of potential on the board and it looked as if fireworks are about to go off, but in a strange turn of events, the players decided that the position does not provide enough opportunity and agreed to a draw.

A solid half-point for John who is looking to make his mark for the second team this season.

Lawrence Hayden (Ashby) vs Boris The Toaster (Anstey) Result: 0 – 1

Boris The Toaster was playing with the black pieces on board 2 against a familiar opponent of his in Lawrence Hayden who by Boris’ words “battered” The Toaster an year prior in the summer cups in rapid format. On the lookout for his revenge, Boris answered his opponent’s e4 with his favourite Caro-Kann. The home team player took the Fantasy variation path – a notoriously tricky and tactical attempt from White to take an early advantage. The players played “by the book” until move 10 when White accepted the queen exchange on b3 and subsequently relinquished his e4-pawn. Boris, finding himself a pawn up, immediately exchanged a pair of knights and a set of pawns in the hope to play for only two possible results. Unfortunately, our teammate left his king too open, and White seized the opportunity to attack it with his well developed pieces. Our teammate “parked the bus” in front of his king and managed to just hold everything together when he received a gift from his opponent who offered an exchange of the light-squared bishops. Our teammate snapped the black “pointy hat” and then managed to exchange a set of rooks followed by a couple of pawn pushes on the queenside (Q-side) to create some breathing space for his pieces. To The Toaster’s delight, White offered another exchange, this time of knight for the black dark-squared bishop which was welcomed by our teammate, leaving him a pawn up, with all of his pawns on dark-squares, and with a knight and rook against a dark-squared bishop and rook. Boris slowly improved his position and having claimed the open d-file, while blocking the e-file with his knight, managed to take away the space from his opponent’s pieces. Eventually the rooks got exchanged on e1, and our teammate’s knight started hopping around dangerously on the Q-side, eventually taking one of the white pawns, at which point the Ashby player demonstratively took his king and present it to our teammate.

A great win for The Toaster to kick off his league campaign.

Mike Griffiths (Anstey) vs Nick Wyld (Ashby) Result: 1 – 0

Mike had the white pieces against another solid yet tricky player in Nick Wyld. Our teammate opened with his favourite English opening which was met by the Caro-Kann defensive system from his opponent. The players deviated from the book as early as the fourth move after exchanging the c4 and d5 pawns, with one of the black knights taking over the d5 square. Mike played with energy and developed his pieces swiftly while his opponent spent a few tempi to stabilise the central knight and cover the g4 square. While Black was finishing his development and castling, our teammate launched his Q-side pawns for a minority attack. His opponent brought his second knight to the centre and it was immediately exchanged with one of its white counterparts. A bit of a back and fourth shuffle from Mike’s remaining knight and the black queen but when it almost looked like a three-fold repetition and another “grandmaster draw” (apparently it is a thing), the home team player decided to leave the said queen and centralise a rook. Eventually Mike exchanged the remaining knights and the dark-squared bishops, and solidified the centre with a timely e3. His opponent rushed to exchanged the remaining bishops, leaving only major pieces on the board which Mike welcomed, creating a battery on the semi-open c-file. The Ashby player created one himself on the e-file and offered a queen exchange which our teammate took happily. Having a tempo in hand, Mike did not hesitate and pushed the Q-side pawns, finally finishing his minority attack. Our teammate managed to get a pawn in the process and in his characteristic solid way navigated a difficult endgame with two rooks still on the board for each side to bring the win home.

Amazing win for Mike as he continues to shine for the second team for a second week in a row.

Les Fancourt (Ashby) vs Noor Datoo (Anstey) Result: 0 – 1

On board 4, Noor The Prodigy was scheduled to play as Black against the tactical player Les Fancourt. Knowing the tactical capabilities of our best performing player last season, the game looked promising and it will be fair to say that the spectators were not disappointed. The players engaged in the Giuoco Pianissimo, four knights variation of the Italian game. At move 6 The Prodigy decided to offer a light-squared bishop exchange, leading the game in less explored territory, albeit still in book. The “pointy hats” were swapped and our teammate had achieved the goal for Black, equalising early on. The home team player found himself with a slight lead in development and started a Q-side attack with his a- and b-pawns which was followed by another exchange, this time of the white dark-squared bishop for one of Noor’s knights. This exchange opened the g-file for our teammate in case he was interested for a kingside (K-side) attack towards the white king. Always the exciting player, The Prodigy immediately castled Q-side which was followed with another set of exchanges when Noor managed to fix his pawn structure and a pair of knights headed for the box. 17 moves into the game, the race started. The black h-pawn started marching towards the white king while the white Q-side pawn army looked to gang up on their black counterparts. No subtle play was to follow, and our teammate brought his queen to g4, eyeing the white king directly. White continued to push the Q-side pawns and only slowed down for a move to prevent a mate in one by pushing his g-pawn forward one square. Eventually, the remaining black bishop ended completely cut out from the game by those dreaded Q-side pawns and White started looking towards the defence of the K-side. Noor looked to support an f-pawn push with his rook and it looked like he lost the h-pawn in the process but he immediately moved his rook back to the h-file to eye the white king. The next move proved to be crucial for the game, as (probably looking to release the tension a pawn up and with better minor piece) the Ahsby player decided to offer a queen exchange on f3. Unfortunately for the home team player, this move fell victim to a nice tactic from The Prodigy, and as it is a tactic, he was quick to find it, taking the knight on h4 for free, as the white queen ended being unprotected while the said rook was protecting the black lady. The white queen stepped back, and another fancy tactic from our teammate kept the pressure on the white K-side. At this moment the Ahsby player decided to exchange his queen for Noor’s rooks. The black lady proved to be a great hassle, as The Prodigy played energetically and started picking up material quickly. The white rooks managed to activate themselves and White even picked up the buried 13 moves prior dark-squared bishop but the black queen kept devouring the white pawns in the meantime. Nevertheless, one last white try found the rooks doubled and ready for the exchange with Black up three pawns, however, good calculation from The Prodigy found that the h-pawn was slightly ahead in the race with the black a-pawn and instead opted for active play with the queen. White still tried to push the said h-pawn but the queen came back to harass the white king, and seeing that at least one more pawn is lost, White resigned.

Another brilliant game from The Prodigy who is set to be knocking on Matt’s door for a first team initiation quite soon.

With the games over, our team headed back home having given only half point to Ashby 2 and proving their worth in a difficult contest. Anstey 2’s next fixture is on 9th November at home against another Ashby team, this time their third, and our players will be looking to build on their great performance so far and start in a strong manner their challenge for the division title. After two rounds, our second team stands in second with 3 points, one less than Market Harborough 3 but also having played one game less.

League season 2023/24 kicks off with a double fixture for Anstey Chess Club

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Two of the Anstey teams starting their campaigns tonight as four sides from our club are looking to make an impact this season

The summer is officially gone, and it is time to look forward to the new league season. The pieces have barely cooled down from the busy county championships and summer cups, and we are about to take them out again this evening as two Anstey sides are preparing to take on different challenges.

Anstey 2 will be looking to make their mark in Division 3 as they start their campaign against a solid Loughborough 3 team at home. The second team captain, El Presidente Ben, will be looking to fulfil a strong team as our second side will be bidding for the division title this year.

On the other side of Leicester, Anstey 4 will be making their debut in Division 4 against the talented Wigston 5 side. The match will be a real spectacle of chess, with six boards to be contested by the players from both teams.

Good luck to all Anstey teams as the new season starts! If you want to get involved in competitive chess, or just want to get some casual games, pop down to the Anstey Methodist Church tonight. Club nights happen every Thursday from 7.30pm, parking available at the Nook.

Anstey Chess Podcast celebrates double figures with a special guest

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One year after initiating the podcast, the hosts continue to work hard to provide valuable content and interesting guests

It has been a full year since the launch of the very first episode from our own podcast, the Anstey Chess Podcast. To celebrate the full turn and the transition to double figures in the episode count, the hosts El Presidente Ben and Boris The Toaster were joined by their most decorated guest so far, the British Chess Champion Grandmaster Michael Adams.

In spite of his world class chess player status, GM Mickey Adams as he is well-known around the globe, engaged vividly in the conversation and shared his thoughts on the development of chess, his experience with the great game, and provided a valuable insight for the chess players out there looking to improve their game. In addition, the British Champion and our humble hosts discussed a variety of topics, including rugby, cricket, and the value of keeping active in chess and in life.

In the second part of the episode, the hosts discussed the end of the rocky summer campaign, the presentation evening last Tuesday, and shared their thoughts on the new season which will feature four Anstey teams in the Leicestershire league. El Presidente and The Toaster shared their experiences from the Desford and Anstey social events, and also discussed the great performance from Yuvraj The Silent Destroyer who ended being just short of winning the Minor division in the County Championship.

Follow this link for the full episode…

Anstey’s Harrod Cup second team win against the juniors

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Authored by Aarav Sinha


Oskar as captain selected a strong initial team for the second team with himself on board 1, Aarav Sinha on 2, Jakub Miler on 3 and Hayden Padgett on board 4.

Leo was selected late as captain and managed a team of young but strong players consisting of himself on board 1, Curtis Blunt on 2, Young John on 3 and new player Reidan Minhas on board 4.

Just so our many millions of readers are aware, the Harrod Cup is a rapid play tournament in Leicestershire and isn’t mandatory for all clubs. Some clubs choose to take a summer break – but not Anstey. The players play the same opponent twice in the quicker format, once with the white pieces and once with the black pieces with a 20-minute time control with 10 second increments. Because of the nature of the games being rapid play, notating is not required and with 8 games to look over, it is hard to recall what happened in each one, so the rapid play reports will be shorter than usual and comprise a summary of the games.

Board 1 – Oskar Rudczenko vs Leo Abraham – result: 1-1

1st game:

On the first board, 2 strong players against each other, Oskar was the first to play white and opened with the Scotch. Leo on the other hand has a counter and developed his pieces aggressively forcing Oskar to back down and play more defensively. Leo eventually managed to isolate Oskar’s queen with his side pawns, but Oskar still had more active pieces he could play with to make Leo play defensively for the rest of the game. Eventually Oskar was up by two pawns and unfortunately Leo lost on time, due to the immense pressure.

2nd Game:

Leo now had his chance as playing white and Oskar was keen on playing the modern Scandinavian against him. Within the first couple of moves they both traded their knights and developed their pieces naturally without causing any threats to each other. Leo now playing to equal points was able to coordinate his pieces very well to create multiple threats on Oskar’s position. Eventually Oskar blundered mate in one on the back rank and Leo was able to gain advantage from Oskar’s mistake.

Board 2 – Aarav Sinha vs Curtis Blunt – result: 2-0

1st game:

On the second board, 2 players similarly rated fairly playing against each other, Aarav played white first and played the Evans gambit where he could eventually play a swift Rook sacrifice which forced his opponent’s position to slowly crumble of which Curtis eventually resigned, after losing a Rook to a fork, between the King and the Rook which after posed a threat on his Queen and other Rook.

2nd game:

Curtis now playing white he was able to make a counterattack on the Sicilian defence that the opponent had never played against before and he was able to sacrifice many of his pieces to eventually promote to a Queen and be up a Queen against a bishop. Unfortunately, he rushed his moves after being able to
give many checks and take many pawns and blundered his queen after taking a pawn that he didn’t realize was guarded by Aarav’s bishop. He then resigned on the last move when he lost his Queen.

Board 3 – Jakub Miler vs Young John – result: 1-1

1st game:

Jakub played white in his first game and started with c4 “The English”. This ended up turning into a reversed Sicilian. As much as he wanted to Jakub never managed to castle his king to safety. Even so, to put the final nail into the coffin happened when Jakub blundered his rook. This caused him to eventually
resign as there was an eventual checkmate for John.

2nd game:

Jakub, now playing black, started off with the Sicilian but after miscalculating a trade he went down a piece. Later John gifted Jakub’s lost piece back to him and gave him a very strong passed pawn. Jakub later saw a brilliant move where he was able to sacrifice a rook to secure a promotion and managed to
find a checkmate, few moves later.

Board 4 – Hayden Padgett vs Reidan Minhas – result: 1-1

Rookies both on debut finally play against each other.

1st game:
On the 4th and final board, Hayden was playing white, in a very closed position. A series of trades were rapidly played leaving Hayden’s king exposed with all his pawns surrounding his king were captured. During the middle game, Hayden struggled to maintain his security and tried constantly to move his King
to safety. Reidan was able to move his rook to an open file threatening check mate in 1 which unfortunately Hayden didn’t see and was checkmated with a rook and a bishop.

2nd game:

Second game, Reidan now playing white, and Hayden had a strong start to the game, with him being able to capture a free bishop and was able to threaten checkmate very early on. This caused Reidan to play defensively. Despite Hayden breathing down on Reidan’s neck with his queen and bishop very close
to his king, he was able to hold on surprisingly. Then once again there was a quick series of trades. In the endgame Hayden was up in a king vs king and rook situation. Hayden was able to play well and remain cool to be able to checkmate Reidan just after 10 moves in the endgame.

STRONG EFFORTS FROM BOTH PLAYERS RESULTING IN A DRAW

The Juniors narrowly lost 5-3 by one game, which could have resulted in a draw between both sides.

Further expansion for Anstey Chess Clubs in the new season after the AGM

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Four Anstey teams scheduled to play in 2023/24 season, as the first team take on a tough challenge

On the 3rd August, the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Anstey Chess club took place in our great venue.

The club met for our annual meeting, followed by a curry next door at the Passage to India (or chess for those who did not want a curry).
In a nutshell, the members decided that four teams will represent the club in the next season. Although rumours circulated about the club playing five teams in the weeks prior, the more conservative number was agreed, with chances to extend the 4th team if possible to accommodate more boards.
In addition to the extended number of teams, the top Anstey team were offered the chance to play in division 1. Always the gambler and in accordance with his teammates’ opinion, first team captain Matt did not hesitate and took on the challenge.
For next season, the captaincy does not change much as Matt will continue to lead the first team, Ben will be again the driving force of the second team, while Oskar will continue his tenure as Anstey 3 captain. This star line-up will be complemented by our rising junior Aarav who in spite of his young age offered to take on the responsibility of captaining the 4th team.

As usual, happy faces left the Anstey Methodist Church, as our club will be looking to take part in another exciting league season from September.

A young Anstey 2 team struggle to hold on Latimer

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Reinforced heavily by the juniors, Anstey 2 find themselves unfortunate against a strong Latimer side

In the “double trouble” Thursday (13/07/23), Anstey 2 were scheduled to play against Latimer in the third round of the Harrod cup. With Boris playing for the first team, Bob on holiday, and Oskar having his County Championship on the evening, our second team ended up being heavily represented by the juniors. Noor The Prodigy, Aarav, Yuvraj The Silent Destroyer and Yakub worked hard throughout the evening, but eventually the experience from the Latimer side prevailed.

Noor The Prodigy Datoo (Anstey 2) vs Richard Davis (Latimer) 1.5 – 0.5

As Anstey 2 were scheduled to play first with the black pieces, Noor looked to start strong against the higher rated Richard Davis from Latimer. Unfortunately, no one apart from Noor and Richard saw any of the games, however, with the black pieces, our teammate managed to not only equalise, but take an advantage and eventually claim the win.

Your editor managed to get a really short glance at the board in the second game where Noor as White seemed to be involved in a balanced game. Not long after, the players agreed to a draw.

Another excellent performance from The Prodigy, who is firmly back on track to become the next challenger for the top spots in the first team.

Aarav Sinha (Anstey 2) vs Brian Slater (Latimer) 0 – 2

Aarav was scheduled to face the tricky yet still solid player, Brian Slater from the away team. Aarav started well with the black pieces and seemed to have equalised comfortably. Our teammate was unfortunate to miscalculate a several move combination whereby he lost his queen with no compensation. Aarav tried his best to hold on, but the advantage for white was too great, and our teammate resigned.

In the second game, neither of our regular editors was able to look at the play. Unfortunately, Aarav found himself again on the back foot, and eventually had to resign the game.

An unfortunate evening for Aarav who will be looking to bounce back in the Anstey 2 vs Anstey Juniors clash.

Yuvraj The Silent Destroyer Sadhra (Anstey 2) vs Michael Garland Sr. (Latimer) 0 – 2

The Silent Destroyer was scheduled to play against the most solid player in the Latimer side, Michael Garland Sr. who had a reunion with his son, Michael Garland Jr., on the night (the latter playing for Market Harborough’s first side against Anstey 1). In the first game, Yuvraj started strong with the black pieces and tried to put pressure on his opponent. Unfortunately, our teammate dropped a piece in the process, and before long found himself in a too great of a disadvantage to hold on and had to concede his first loss of the night.

In the reversed colours game, our teammate was unfortunate to find himself on the back foot again. As usual, Yuvraj fought bravely, but it was just not his night, and eventually he had to concede another loss.

A tough day in the office for The Silent Destroyer who will be another one on the look out for getting back on track in the “Anstey derby”.

Jakub Miller (Anstey 2) vs Granville Hill (Latimer) 0 – 2

One of the new players for Anstey, Jakub Miller, was scheduled to play against another experienced trickster in Granville Hill. With the black pieces, Jakub was put under pressure early on in the game. The Latimer player managed to pick up a piece during the middle game and unfortunately Jakub could not hold on his experienced opponent and had to throw the towel.

In the second game, our teammate was unfortunate to find himself in the same position, and his opponent managed to put pressure and capitalise on his advantages to claim a second win on the night.

An unfortunate evening for Jakub but we are sure that it will not be long until he is another junior force to be reckoned with.

Eventually, our teammates suffered a 6.5-1.5 defeat. This places Anstey 2 on 11th place in the Harrod cup table. Next, they are playing Anstey Juniors in the “Anstey derby” on 10th August.

Anstey 1 claim the first Anstey win in the Harrod cup

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Brilliant performances from a strong team deliver a crushing 6 – 2 defeat to Market Harborough 1

Thursday (13/07/2023) was another busy night for our favourite Anstey Chess Club. The first team was scheduled to face Market Harborough 1 (MH1) while Anstey 2 was looking to get points against Latimer. A strong side turned up at the venue to play for Anstey 1, with the captain El Presidente Ben leading the team which also included Boris The Toaster, Brian The Griller and one of our many brilliant juniors Alex. MH1 tried their best to hold on to our strong team, but brilliant performances from El Presidente, The Griller and Alex sealed a 6 – 2 win for our side.

El Presidente Ben Vaughan (Anstey 1) vs David Curran (MH1) 1.5 – 0.5

Looking sharper and sharper every game, El Presidente was faced with another serious challenge in David Curran. As Anstey 1 started with the black pieces in round 1, our chairman managed to equalise early on with black, and a strategical battle started in the middlegame. A draw was agreed in a highly tense position, which Dave Curran probably had the better of, but El Presidente saw that Dave was lower on time and offered a draw. The offer was accepted as neither player had time to calculate.

With the white pieces, Ben went for it and again started an early strategical battle, employing his favourite opening and attempting to break through the enemy forces. Dave played a move that looked like it won a piece or an exchange as a minimum but this allowed El Presidente to try a combination that got a Rook on the 7th and an open board for a Bishop pair. Seeing the attack, El Presidente tried the line, which at least would have achieved repetition, but it actually won 3 Kingside pawns, and initiated a strong attack on Dave’s stranded King on an open board with a Bishop pair. The end came where El Presidente delivered a check which forked the King and a Rook which Dave seemingly missed by picking up his Rook and capturing a Bishop which was not the checking piece. He resigned after this illegal move.

Another excellent performance from Ben who is looking to be one of the pillars of our club’s Harrod cup campaign.

Borislav The Toaster Lazarov (Anstey 1) vs Michael Garland Jr. (MH1) 0.5 – 1.5

Boris The Toaster on board 2 has not been in great form recently, which showed again against Michael Garland Jr. With the black pieces, our teammate found himself under pressure early on, but with clever manoeuvring, The Toaster managed to untangle his pieces and achieve equality around the beginning of the endgame. The players repeated moves and agreed to a draw.

With the white pieces, Boris started a promising attack early on in the opening, capturing a pawn in the process. His opponent managed to not only gain back the pawn with a minority attack but to create a powerful passer of his own, which was defended in probably the poorest way by our teammate. Eventually the pawn became unstoppable, and met with the prospect of going a full rook down, our teammate resigned.

Another tough day in the office for The Toaster who is looking to get back on the winning path soon.

Brian The Griller Foreman (Anstey 1) vs Will Smith (MH1) 2 – 0

Brian The Griller was also back in action for the first team, facing a new player in Will Smith. Brian consolidated early on with the black pieces and before long took advantage of his opponent’s mistakes. As a the most solid player in our team, The Griller showed again that once he has the edge, he does not lose it easily, and capitalised on his winning position.

In the second game, our teammate put the pressure on his opponent early on, and before long the same types of mistakes started creeping in from Black, which was happily received from our teammate. Brian again managed to consolidate the advantage easily and before long, he found himself going up 2 – 0 against his opponent.

Another great performance from Brian The Griller who is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Harrod cup.

Alex Street (Anstey 1) vs Robert Mills (MH1) 2 – 0

After a bumpy start of his career as a chess player, Alex found himself facing a lower rated player in Robert Mills. Sensing the opportunity to turn a corner, our teammate step on the gas and started his game with the black pieces with the tactical guns blazing. Overwhelmed by Alex’ sharp play, the MH1 player found himself down a piece by the late middlegame. Still calm and with a stone face expression, our teammate consolidated his advantage to claim the win in the first game.

With the white pieces, Alex did not give his opponent a break, and if anything, step on the gas even more. Sharp tactics continued to fly from our teammate, and story pretty much repeated itself, with Alex capturing a piece with a combination, finding himself up material towards the late middlegame. Our teammate proved “too hot to handle” in this bout, and before long the second Anstey win board 4 was claimed.

Brilliant performance from Alex and we are sure that there are going to be many more to come.

Amazing first win for Anstey 1 who find themselves on sixth place, three points behind the leaders Kirby Muxloe. Would they be able to make the comeback of the year?

Strong youngsters and poor top board performance deprive Anstey 1 from points in the Harrod cup

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In spite of brilliant performances from The Prodigy, our first team could not hold on Wigston 1

Round 2 of the Harrod cup was scheduled on 22nd June, and all three Anstey teams were involved, with our second and juniors team taking on the Ashby second and third teams. Anstey 1 was scheduled to face the young Wigston 1 side who were the Anstey Juniors’ nemesis in the first round. A strong team consisting of the acting captain Boris The Toaster, Mike, returning Brian The Griller, and the always exciting to watch Noor The Prodigy, arrived in Wigston with time to spare, and faced the young Wigston players. It was a tale of two halves, with the bottom Anstey boards playing their best, only to be let down by the top two boards who did not have a great day over the board. Eventually, the draw on board 3 decided the fate of the match, and the home team congratulated themselves with the win.

Borislav The Toaster Lazarov (Anstey 1) vs Laurence Norton (Wigston 1) 0 – 2

Boris The Toaster was scheduled to face Laurence Norton from Wigston, who exchanged a point each against Yuvraj The Silent Destroyer in the first Harrod cup round. Our teammate played with the black pieces in the first round of the match, and the players engaged in an early series of exchanges. Playing at Blitz speed, the pieces were coming off the board quickly, and before long, The Toaster found himself in a Bishop vs Knight endgame where he managed to create a passed pawn on the queenside (Q-side), only to be overwhelmed by his opponent’s kingside (K-side) majority, eventually resulting in a pawn queening on the e-file, which could not be stopped, so Boris resigned.

In the second game, our teammate played a dubious opening, and before long the emotions took the best of him, making his already bad situation worse. The Toaster exchanged a bishop and two rooks for a queen and a pawn, but created what seemed to be a strong passed pawn on the f-file which also managed to get to the seventh rank. Brilliant defence combined with great tactical vision from the Wigston player, however, denied Boris any opportunities for redemption, and instead created a mating attack, with the only defence to exchange the white queen for one of the black rooks, at which point our desperate deputy captain threw the towel with 21 minutes left on the clock (yes, the games are Rapid format, and the players start with 20).

A rare disaster for our teammate and a great lesson for himself and every chess player about the consequences of playing emotionally and fast at the same time.

Mike Griffiths (Anstey 1) vs Madhav Eradi (Wigston 1) 0 – 2

In his second match of the Harrod Cup for the first team, Mike was scheduled to play young Madhav from Wigston. The home team player was slightly late, so our teammate graciously waited for about 5 minutes until his opponent arrived. With the white pieces in the first game, Mike opened with his characteristic English which was met by a Queen’s gambit setup from Black. Both players developed their armies, but our teammate found himself losing a pawn early into the middlegame. Material up, the Wigston player turned up the pressure and soon won a piece with a discovered attack on Mike’s queen. Finding himself some substantial material down against a very capable opponent, our teammate tried his best to fight back, but eventually realised that he could not do much more, so resigned.

With the black pieces, the players found themselves in a very similar situation as in the first game, with the colours reversed. As in the encounter just finished, Mike found himself down a pawn in the early middle game. This time, however, the middle game did not produce any decisive moments, but the young home team player still managed to put some pressure on our teammate, and capture another pawn. Finding himself with a clearly winning endgame if the remaining pieces get exchanged, White created practical problems for Mike leading to a series of swaps. Behind in material, our teammate tried to stop the white pawns, but their relentless march proved too difficult of an obstacle to overcome, and our teammate resigned.

Tough day in the office for Mike who had a difficult task against a strong young player.

Brian The Griller Foreman (Anstey 1) vs Shae Patel (Wigston 1) 1.5 – 0.5

With all teams and players summoned for the triple treat, Brian The Griller returned to action and was facing a young unknown player in Shae Patel from the home team. Starting as Black in the first round, our most decorated second league team player defended solidly against the attacking chess from his opponent. Pieces got exchanged, and our teammate found himself in a very drawish looking ending. Eventually, the players found themselves in a rook endgame, and although everything seemed to be decided in favour of the draw, The Griller received a gift from his opponent in the form of a passed pawn after a couple of captures, but instead our teammate opted for pushing his K-side pawns. Unfortunately, the latter move sealed the draw and after a few rook and king shuffles from both sides, the players decided to officially do the point share.

In the second game, The Griller started more aggressively, and with his opponent trying to match White for the initiative, our teammate trapped the black light-squared bishop giving Brian an early advantage. The young home team player tried his best to complicate matters, but as the club’s expert of consolidation and solid chess in general, The Griller left no chance for a comeback. Pieces got exchanged, and our teammate’s advantage kept increasing until he found himself with an unmatched queen on the board. The newly promoted piece did only one move Qh8#, but it was enough for our teammate to claim the full point.

Another valiant performance from The Griller who proves to be a force in faster formats as well.

Noor The Prodigy Datoo (Anstey 1) vs Aryan Maini (Wigston 1) 2 – 0

Probably one of the most exciting players nowadays for our club, Noor The Prodigy was scheduled to play against another unknown young player in Aryan Maini. With the white pieces, our teammate engaged in a symmetrical game, whereby both players decided to castle Q-side. Noor decided to pursue an initiative on the K-side and pushed his pawns there, only for them to end up locked in with their black counterparts. Pieces got exchanged in the process, and The Prodigy managed to emerge with two rooks vs rook and bishop in the endgame. Our teammate activated his army and before long grabbed some of his opponents’ pawns, followed by trading one of his rooks for the enemy bishop. With the path cleared, Noor pushed his pawns and “queened” one of them, when his opponent decided that it is lost and resigned.

With the black pieces, the players engaged in the highly popular 1.e4 e5 opening, usually leading to sharp and open games much to the taste of none other than our Anstey Tiger Just Mick. The players quickly developed their minor pieces, however, the Wigston player in his eagerness to get back on track with the points, rushed a knight move, only to fall victim to a discovered attack whereby the said knight had to head for the box. Seizing the opportunity, The Prodigy put pressure on his opponent and eventually the white king found itself trapped behind its own pieces, and with Noor’s Queen and Bishop on their way to deliver a deadly attack to the white king, it was not long before our teammate claimed the second point in this encounter, scoring a perfect 2/2 on the night.

Another masterpiece from The Prodigy who is looking to be a force to be reckoned with next league season.

A bitter disappointment for our first team, as their title defence (joint, admittedly, but still a title) appears to be slipping away after gaining only a point after two rounds. After this result, Anstey 1 find themselves on ninth position in the Harrod cup, and they will need nothing shorter than a miracle, if they were to challenge for the top spot. Nevertheless, with El Presidente who is also the team’s regular captain likely to return for the second team in the next round, a miracle might not be such a difficult task for this team who has already proven their ability to play successfully against all odds.

Three-way Jamboree this Thursday in the Anstey Chess Club

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Two clubs to scheduled to arrive for some casual rapid games in the Anstey Methodist Church

As usual, El Presidente keeps himself busy and does not waste any club night opportunity to be filled with some extracurricular activities. For this Thursday, our chairman has organised a three-way jamboree in Rapid format, with the participation of Nuneaton Chess Club from Warwickshire and Radcliffe and Bingham Chess Club from Nottinghamshire. The teams will be scheduled to play each other in casual (non-rated, they will still try to win) games over six boards per match.

Another exciting club night in front of us, and with the teams possibly bringing more players for casual games, we encourage all of our players, whether casual or competitive, to attend and have the opportunity to face players from other counties.

Anstey 2 start their Harrod campaign with a hard-fought draw

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Unfortunate in the second round of the match, our second team could not hold on an amazing comeback from the home team

So the league season is done and dusted for a while now, but the local chess competitions are only getting hotter along with the weather. After the start of the Individual County Championship, with Anstey Chess Club hosting the Minor and the Challengers division, the summer cups are also back for four (yes, the number 4) Anstey teams. Following the unfortunate loss for the Juniors and the draw between Anstey 1 and Latimer, it was Anstey 2’s turn to try and get the first Harrod Cup win for our club in their visit to Loughborough. The strong team of Boris The Toaster, Oskar El Capitan, Bob The Lawman, and young Curtis were not far off but unfortunately a brilliant comeback from the home team players denied Anstey 2 the win, and the teams shared half point each, resulting in the fourth draw of what looks to be a very interesting Harrod Cup 2023.

Borislav The Toaster Lazarov (Anstey 2) vs Michael Bordiak (Loughborough)

Boris was scheduled to play one of the new faces our players saw on the evening, the student in Theoretical Physics Michael Bordiak. With Anstey having the white pieces in the first game, Boris opened with his usual d4 setup, to which his opponent responded with very solid approach, only to blunder his knight early on. The Toaster snatched the minor piece and easily consolidated to gain a huge advantage straight from the opening. Black tried to get active by jumping forward with his queen, but our teammate remained calm and composed, and before long trapped the said lady to exchange it for his bishop. In a completely winning position, Boris continued with a sharp tactical approach to pick up and exchange more pieces in a pursuit of the black king. Eventually The Toaster managed to sacrifice a knight, freeing the important g1-a7 diagonal, and delivering a beautiful dovetail checkmate.

With the black pieces, our teammate had a difficult task, as his opponent was determined to come back with a win, taking his time in this occasion and even notating. Unlike the home team player, Boris went into auto-pilot and lost the exchange early on. The players continued developing, and The Toaster managed to pick up a couple of pawns, but after an exchange of knights, the white pieces sprung to life and started harassing the black army. The valiant defence from our teammate, combined with attacking ideas of his own, created practical problems for White, but the Loughborough player was determined to leave the venue with at least one win under his belt. Great solid defence from White led to a series of exchanges where the home team player ended a piece up and with better coordination. After attacking both the black queen and rook, White managed to pick up the blundered latter piece, at which point Boris threw in the towel.

An unfortunate end to an exciting start for The Toaster who will be looking to get more wins under his belt in the Harrod Cup this time around.

El Capitan Oskar Rudczenko (Anstey 2) vs Jacob McNulty (Loughborough)

Our captain was scheduled to face another new face in Jacob McNulty. In the first game Oskar as White engaged in an Open Sicilian, a highly theoretical opening which is only a testament of Oskar’s progress in the last few years in all areas of his chess. The home team player ended with four connected pawns on dark squares early on while completely ignoring piece development. Unlike his opponent, El Capitan brought a couple of pieces into the game straight from the start and with the early lead in development decided to put pressure on the d-file. The players engaged in a complicated middle game, whereby our teammate had the better piece coordination, ready to execute one of the numerous tactics in the position, putting his opponent under immense pressure. Struggling to find any good squares for his pieces but under obligation to make a move, Black eventually made a mistake, blundering his queen, and shortly resigned.

In the second game Oskar played The French (via transposition, but El Presidente will still be proud). The players closed the centre early on, with the c-file ending as the only open file in a closed positional battle. Following sound chess principles, El Capitan doubled his rooks on the said open file, only for them to be quickly exchanged with their white counterparts by his opponent, who ended neatly with two knights against Oskar’s two bishops in the very closed position. Struggling to find good moves, our teammate spent too much time, and eventually in a slightly losing position, his flag dropped (def.: His time ran down to zero which means that he loses the game; this is indicated on the chess clock by a flag)

Amazing start from El Capitan on board 2 and he was another Anstey player to be unfortunate in the second game. Nevertheless, we are excited to see our captain back in action for more sharp tactics.

Bob Grindrod (Anstey 2) vs Mindas Mikalajunas (Loughborough)

Bob was scheduled to play the only familiar face for your author in the Loughborough team (apart from acting captain on the night Glyn Ward), Mindas Mikalajunas (a.k.a. Kajus’ dad). With the white pieces, The Lawman opened with Boris’ favourite slightly weird London system, warming our website maintenance guy’s heart. The Loughborough player rushed to counter any early Q-side threats well and defended solidly as Black. With the Q-side out of question, our teammate followed the correct way to attack and turned his attention to the K-side, where he quickly built up a piece imbalance in his favour. With the black king in sight, Bob went for a (“possibly dubious!” by his words) sacrifice breakthrough with his rooks. His opponent overreacted and left enough major pieces for The Lawman to clear the K-side pawns and swiftly deliver checkmate after a few nice queen & rook manoeuvres.

Unfortunately, our teammate had to face another determined to get back on track Loughborough player, and after a solid start, Bob went into three-move combination, but with the wrong move order. At the end of the combination, the home team player found himself with a better position and a pawn up. The Lawman tried to get back in the game but without the correct piece coordination, it was straightforward for White who consolidated on his position and used his pawn advantage to get himself over the line.

Another unfortunate second game for Anstey 2, but The Lawman showcased again great attacking play and hunger for decisive attacks.

Curtis Blunt (Anstey 2) vs Matthew Essex (Loughborough)

After an unfortunate start of his Harrod Cup, Curtis was determined to get something out of this match, and to be honest, he could not have done it better. Scheduled to face another new face in Matthew Essex, our teammate went at his opponent straight from the opening with the white pieces. Having thoroughly examined the proverbial book, Curtis set up a perfect Fried Liver attack and before long his opponent found himself in a completely losing position. Faced with a dilemma of going down a rook, or a bishop and two pawns, the home team player decided that enough is enough, and after only twelve moves resigned.

Unfortunately, the quick win, much like on the top board, went straight in our teammate’s head, and he started aggressively with Black, throwing all of his forces in attack. Completely ignoring his defence, however, Curtis let his opponent to penetrate the Black position and in an unfortunate end of the game, our teammate hung checkmate in one.

In spite of the loss with Black, an amazing fist win for Curtis for our club, and we are more than certain that it will be one of many more to come.

Aftermath:

With the games concluded by 9:20pm, our players headed to their new sweet parking location, to which our whole club would like to express gratitude to Mike, the provider of this precious piece of information. After the match, Anstey 2 find themselves behind Anstey 1 on fifth (based on alphabetical order, as eight teams are on one point after round 1) position. In their next fixture, our second team are scheduled to play Ashby 3 at home.