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Anstey 2 – League season report

/ bobideco / 1 Comment

Anstey Chess Club’s second team showed tremendous improvement to challenge the leaders at the end of the season

In May the league season finished for our second team as they found themselves mid-table in Division 4 of the Leicestershire chess league following their last game against Melton Mowbray.

As mentioned in the report for the first team, the COVID-19 pandemic hit over the board (OTB) chess quite hard leading to a big pause in the league. Following the return of OTB chess, the club found itself in a new venue with plenty new faces eager to try playing the great board game we all love. The season started promptly in October and our young second team, led by the captain Oskar, went to Heathcote Arms for their opener.

Heathcote Arms 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 4 – 0

The first league game for the Anstey Chess Club’s second team was not the greatest of openers. In a four board match, our team started on the back foot after the third board was defaulted. ‘El Capitan’ Oskar, accompanied by young Hal and Alan, tried their best to gain something from the match but unfortunately found themselves on the losing side on all three boards. Suffering the decisive defeat, Oskar’s team was determined to build themselves up and over the course of the season they did just that

Anstey 2 vs Market Harborough 3 Result: 0 – 4

The first home game for our second team found them playing against Market Harborough 3 who eventually won the division. Mike, Leo, Alan and captain Oskar tried their best but did not manage to get anything our of the game again.

Ashby 3 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2.5 – 2.5

The first points for the team came from their visit to Ashby to face the hosts’ third team. Unfortunately, ‘El Capitan’ and Hal conceded losses in their games, while Leo drew against the always friendly Brian Wood. Mike and Alan were the heroes of the night, getting the first wins for Anstey 2 in the 2021-2022 league season.

Anstey 2 vs Loughborough 2 Result: 1.5 – 2.5

With the team seemingly starting to turn the corner and get on the front foot, our players faced a strong Loughborough team. The game marked the return of ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Matt Connor for the second team and against a strong opponent he managed to draw. Mike and Hal also drew their games, while Leo eventually lost to the away team captain Stewart Gordon.

Anstey 2 vs Wigston 4 Result: 1.5 – 2.5

Leading into Christmas, Anstey 2 were scheduled to play “the big guns” Wigston 4 at home and Braunstone 2 away. The first of the games found our players outrated by more than 1100 points in a four-board match against ‘El Presidente’ Ben’s old club. In spite of Mike and Leo’s losses, the team managed to get some positives out of the match, with Hal drawing against 1500+ opponent and Oskar defeating a 1300+ rated player.

Braunstone 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 3 – 1

The game against Braunstone saw only one point for our team from a defaulted fourth board, while outrated by more than 1300 points, Hal, Alan and Leo fought hard but eventually conceded against the strong experienced Braunstone players. The game marked the last game for Alan in the season as he had to focus on school. On the other hand, the match was the last loss Anstey 2 had to suffer this season.

Melton Mowbray 3 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 3

And just like with the first team in January came the new year, the new website, and “the new me” for Anstey 2. The first win for the team was achieved in the away game in Melton which also marked the debut of Boris ‘The Toaster’. In spite of starting a point down due to defaulted board, the latter and Mike managed to drew their games while Hal delivered a great display of endgame play to win against 1600+ rated opponent. Fittingly, it came down to the captains to play for the decisive points and our own ‘El Capitan’ delivered with solid active play to secure the first win of the season for Anstey 2. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Heathcote Arms 2 Result: 2.5 – 1.5

The first home win for the team came against Heathcote Arms 2 who arrived with a strong team led by 1700+ John Manger. However, ‘El Capitan’ answered the challenge by summoning ‘The Dark Destroyer’ on board 1 and the latter delivered again securing a win in the clash of the titans on the night. Hal quietly drew his game while Boris got his first win in the league. Unfortunately, Oskar conceded a loss but the team celebrated his captain’s birthday and the win. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Ashby 3 Result: 4.5 – 2.5

The next home game for the second team ended being a true celebration of chess for many reasons. Seven boards saw action on the night and the game marked the debut of our first female competitor Deepa. Unfortunately, our teammate had a tough game and along with Oskar conceded a loss. Hal managed to quietly draw again while Boris and Leo dominated their games. With the teams level after five games had finished, Mike and ‘The Dark Destroyer’ had all to play for in their games. Mike dominated his game and despite his opponent’s best efforts to stay in it, our teammate had been too many times around the block to miss the win. Which led to the most exciting moment of the night when Matt found himself with four minutes left on the clock, down material and in a bad position, only to receive a gift from his opponent who blundered a mate in one. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Market Harborough 3 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 2

Entering the last third of the season, Anstey had four big challenges in front of them in the face of the top four teams at the time. The sequence started with Market Harborough 3 (MH3) who were aiming to get their revenge following the battering of their second team delivered by Anstey 1 the previous evening. After the long commute (always the case with our friends at Market Harborough) Mike, Boris, Leo and Oskar faced a strong MH3 team. Mike and Boris went into solid and boring positions and both got the draws. ‘El Capitan’ was unfortunate to lose against the MH3 captain Rene while Leo was the hero on the night, managing to save a losing position and fork his opponent’s queen to win the game. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Loughborough 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 2

The next stop for our resilient second team was Loughborough where their second team hosted a decent Anstey 2 consisting of Mike, Boris, Hal, Leo and Oskar. Unfortunately, Mike and ‘The Toaster’ lost their games setting our team back, however, Hal and Leo showcased great play to win their respective games, with Leo taking his revenge against the home team captain Stewart Gordon. Eventually, it was down to ‘El Capitan’ who managed to get himself in a winning position but missed an idea from his opponent and the game was drawn leaving the team unbeaten in five. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Wigston 4 vs Anstey 2 Result: 1 – 5

After the trip north, the team made a trip south to face another one of “the big guns” in the face of Wigston 4. However, this encounter was completely different than the reversed fixture as our second team brought some higher rated reinforcements as well. ‘Just Mick’, ‘The Dark Destroyer’, Mike, Leo and Oskar all defeated their opponents, with Hal suffering the only defeat on the evening. Unfortunately, at the end the win was bitter sweet as the team saw Hal play for the last time this season. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Braunstone 2 Result: 2 – 2

In the penultimate fixture Anstey 2 faced the division favourites in a four-board match, where our players were outrated on every single board. Unmoved by this fact, Mike and Boris played strong solid games against their opponents and sealed the deal on boards two and three. Oskar was unfortunate to lose to young 400 points higher rated Daniel Wilkinson while Mick managed to find himself in a winning position, only to miss an idea from his opponent and lose the game. After the game ‘El Capitan’ even received praise from our friends at MH3 as Braunstone’s march towards the top was stalled. Full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 2 vs Melton Mowbray 3 Result: 3 – 1

Fittingly, the last win for Anstey 2 in the league season came against the team they achieved their first season win against. We hosted Melton Mowbray 3 as they were looking to take their revenge, however, they managed to get only one win in a drawless match on board 2 where Boris managed to blunder his rook in almost winning position. With flawless performances from Matt, Leo and Oskar, the season for our second team finished on a high. The team demonstrated an amazing improvement in the second half of the season and we are excited to see where would the team fit in the next season. Full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Stats

Throughout the season Anstey 2 won 5 games from 14, lost 5 and drew 4, accounting for 36% win rate. They finish fourth in the division with 14 points overall, trailing the strong teams of Market Harborough 3, Braunstone 2 and Wigston 4. The players engaged in 64 games over the board, with a win rate of 39.1% while they drew 18.8% of their games and lost 42.1%. The best win of the season was against Wigston 4, while the best player for the second team was Leo Abraham, who finishes his first team season level for most wins with Oskar – 5, with Leo having slight edge in win percentage.

Anstey 1 – League season report

/ bobideco / 2 Comments

Mixed emotions for Anstey’s top players as they assert themselves as the menace of the table toppers

The season has finished for Anstey Chess Club’s first team and they found themselves in third position, narrowly missing the top spot in Division 3 of the Leicestershire chess league. Over the course of seven months, the team underwent an amazing transformation and after a hesitant start, went into full gear at the start of the new year to claim seven wins in a row, including three against the top two teams.

Following a long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club had to go through times of great changes as we had to part ways with our previous venue and great friends, “The Stadon” pub in Anstey. In search for a new good venue for the club, “El Presidente” Ben got in touch with the Anstey Methodist Church which appeared to be ticking a lot of boxes with its spacious layout, decent facilities, centralised popular location and the option for free parking nearby. Our chairman held our first club meeting on 5th August and fortunately, there were enough prospect players and enthusiasts for the club nights to be held and “El Presidente” rushed to book the venue for the season. The club nights started taking place in September and in October the league started as well.

Anstey 1 vs Latimer Result: 4 – 1

The first league game for the Anstey Chess Club’s first team was against Latimer at home. It was a five board match with Ben having to borrow Hal from Oskar’s team and both of them alongside John “The Torturer”, Mick a.k.a. “Just Mick”(courtesy to Brian “The Griller”) and Mike took on the challenge. The first team went on to win decisively the game with John, Mike and Hal securing the wins while Ben and Mick drew their games.

Heathcote Arms 1 vs Anstey 1 Result: 2.5 – 1.5

The first away game was in the nice venue in Heathcote Arms which was also attended by one of the new chess enthusiasts at the time, Boris “The Toaster”. With an ice cold Guinness in his hand, Boris watched as “The Torturer”, “Just Mick”, “El Presidente” and Mike played against the strong home team. Unfortunately for our players, after three draws on the other tables, Ben found himself “in a bit of a pickle” on the king side and his solid opponent capitalised on his clear advantage to seal the deal for his team.

Anstey 1 vs Market Harborough 2 Result: 1.5 – 3.5

The next home game for the team marked the debut of one of our strongest players, “Mr. Engine” Julian who was unfortunate in this first encounter. The bad experience continued with John and Mick also losing their games, while Ben managed to draw. The first team managed to get their consolation prize with Mike defeating one of the players to watch in the future, Alistair Geear.

Anstey 1 vs Kirby Muxloe 2 Result: 6 – 2

After a couple of tough games for the first team, they finally got their confidence back against Kirby Muxloe 2 in what was a true celebration of the game of chess with 8 boards ongoing and no draws at the end. The match marked the biggest win for either Anstey team this season and saw some new faces (this league season) for the first team, including Rudy, Alan and Leo. “Mr. Engine” was the first to stand up some 20 minutes after the match started and he was followed promptly by “The Torturer”, “Just Mick”, Hal, Alan and Leo, who all won their games. Seeing what happened on the other boards, “El Presidente” in his usual style went for a very dubious tactic which cost him his game, while Rudy lost otherwise winning endgame under the pressure of all spectators watching his game whispering, huffing and puffing at the background.

Ashby 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 3 – 1

The last first team match of 2021 was against Ashby 2, Mike’s former club. A strong team consisting of John, Julian, Mick and Ben went Burton way to try and get some more points. Unfortunately for our top players, it was not their night and after “The Torturer” and “Mr. Engine” drew their games, “Just Mick” and “El Presidente” found themselves on the losing side of theirs.

Syston 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 1 – 3

And then came the new year, the new website, and “the new me” as the saying goes. The first team started playing like they are completely different players to deliver one of the best spells of form in the club’s short but colourful history. The same team who lost less than a month earlier to Ashby 2 went to John’s old club Syston and claimed an important win to turn the tide. “The Torturer” was the only one to lose his game, while Julian, Mick and Ben secured wins in their games to seal the deal for the first team. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Latimer vs Anstey 1 Result: 2 – 4

The next away game featured six boards against Latimer, with Hal and Mike rejoining the team as Ben stepped aside to make room for the new old star, “The Dark Destroyer” (because he always plays with the black pieces and always wins) Matt Connor. Hal was the only unfortunate player to lose that night while John and Mike swiftly won their games. “Mr. Engine” and “Just Mick”, confident in their teammates took quick draws, only to find themselves sweating over their decisions as Matt gave everyone a hint about his time management over the board, having as little as 10 seconds at times left on the clock (good that we have increments in this sport). The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 1 vs Heathcote Arms 1 Result: 4 – 0

Two weeks after the away game in Latimer, Anstey 1 hosted one of the teams to defeat them in the first half of the season, Heathcote Arms 1. A strong team consisting of “The Torturer”, “Mr. Engine”, “Just Mick” and “The Dark Destroyer” completely demolished the away team securing four wins in the process. One of the great moments of the night included Mick converting a rook and pawn endgame to deliver a checkmate worthy of studying by any aspiring beginner chess player. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Market Harborough 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 1 – 3

With four fixtures left to play, the first team had to confront the division favourites again, with Market Harborough away fixture taking place first. After a misunderstanding first with the number of boards to play and then with the “chaffeur”-ing duties, “El Presidente” watched from the sidelines (the “Expert spot”) as Julian and Matt secured wins for their team, and after Mick and John took draws, the first team left on a long journey (always after playing Market Harborough away) with another win to make it four in a row. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Kirby Muxloe 2 vs Anstey 1 Result: 1 – 4

In a great form, Anstey 1 went to Kirby with a strong team which included the players to defeat Market Harborough and Hal. The latter delivered again for the first team and alongside Matt, Julian and John secured a win. The only unfortunate player on the night was “Just Mick” who fell victim to the “touch play” rule and had to part ways with his bishop, making it difficult for him to get anything out of his position. Nevertheless, the win made it five in a row for the first team who appeared to be unbreakable at the time. The full report from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 1 vs Ashby 2 Result: 3 – 1

The penultimate fixture of the season saw our first team playing Ashby’s second. The now regular first team players John, Julian, Mick and Matt faced a strong away team but showcased again great form securing two wins from “The Dark Destroyer” and “Mr. Engine” and two draws from “The Torturer” and “Just Mick”. Matt’s play was so brilliant that it left his opponent quite frustrated as they left the venue immediately after the game. At the time, our first team found themselves close to the table leaders, with Syston 2 being their last opponent. The full report from the Ashby game can be accessed by clicking here.

Anstey 1 vs Syston 2 Result: 3 – 1

Not in a position to fight for any improvement in the overall standings, our club’s top players had nothing but honour and pride to play for in their last fixture against the eventual division winners. And to their enormous credit, they played their bums off to get three wins from John, Matt and Mick, while Julian got himself in a time trouble for the first time since joining and conceded only his second loss of the season. The highlight of the evening was “The Torturer” ‘s win with Black over 2100-rated Graham Sharpe. After this game, our first team found themselves third in the table, with three wins out of four games against the teams in front of them and making a statement of where they should be next year. Full report of the game against Syston 2 can be accessed by clicking here.

Stats

The team has won 9 games from 12 and lost 3, with no draws, accounting for 75% win rate. They finish third in the division with 18 points overall, same as Market Harborough 2 and only one point less than Syston 2 at 19. The players engaged in 57 games over the board, with a win rate of 54.4% while they drew 26.3% of their games and lost only 19.3%. The best win of the season was against Kirby Muxloe 2, while the best player undoubtedly was “The Dark Destroyer” Matt Connor, who finishes his first team season with 100% win rate – 6 wins out of 6 games.

Charnwood Borough Councillors visit/donation

/ Ben V / Leave a comment

Thursday 12th May 2022

Running a chess club isn’t easy. It takes time, dedication, money and above all it needs players to play for it. We have been exceptionally fortunate this year in so many ways. We have ‘el Presidente’ on hand to run the club and we have so many members that help us to pay for our venue.

Having played so many games, the equipment is bound to wear out and get run down so somebody on the Parish Council suggested that we contact the Borough Council. After a long process, ‘el Presidente’ was contacted by two Borough Councillors – Councillors Taylor and Baines, each offering to pledge an incredibly generous £250 each. More money was offered by both but quite simply, we just needed some fresh equipment for the club. Our leader started sourcing new equipment straight away from Chess & Bridge in London and within a week, some new equipment had arrived and the Councillors were invited to come and present the equipment to us and perhaps even have a game of chess – a notion that was welcomed by both of them.

On arrival, ‘el Presidente’ welcomed the Councillors, explained who we are and what we do and before long Councillor Taylor was sat down opposite one of our younger players – Marcus (aged 9). To her credit, Cllr Taylor was very keen to play a game having not played for a few years. Cllr Baines was very happy to take a watching brief and acknowledge just how intricate the game of chess is.

A long game ensued with some good piece development, and quite a few moves were played before any pieces were captured. (We are looking for players Cllr Taylor!) Marcus did a good job of gaining space on the board and Cllr Taylor was eventually checkmated after several moves – a lot longer game than both players thought!

An ‘action’ shot of Cllr Taylor deep in thought
Councillors Deborah Taylor and Paul Baines (centre) and some of the members (including 9 year old Marcus) that will benefit from their donation and the equipment bought with the money.

All in all, an enjoyable evening took place with some fun, laughter and chess – all that we can ask for as a chess club.

Anstey Chess Club celebrated Easter week with a club Rapid tournament and Julian’s first simul

/ bobideco / 2 Comments

Thursday, 14/04/22, was a busy evening for Anstey Chess club as the five people turning up for sum fun and chess found themselves in the centre of plenty of events. The club night marked a couple of first-times for the club – the first club Rapid tournament and the first simultaneous exhibition held in the club by one of its players. Eventually, the club night finished with the always entertaining “Hand and Brain” game where Oskar and Boris took on Mike and Valdis in a blitz format. It is important to mention that in the absence of ‘El Presidente’ Ben who decided to leave the fun of club night to spend some time with his family on the seaside (I know, very selfish), Julian stepped up to create a great program and atmosphere for the players who decided to turn up.

The Tournament

In the very first club Rapid tournament held in Anstey Chess club, four players faced each other in a Round-Robin format with ten minutes on the clock for each player. In the first round, Mike and Boris finally played against each other for the first time, yet after exchanging most of their pieces, they reshuffled some rooks to end up with a draw. Next to them, Oskar and Valdis engaged in a tactical battle and both expended substantial amount of time. Valdis ended being the more considerate and unfortunately for our second team captain, he got flagged (word used to say that his time ran out which equates to loss in chess).

In the second round, Mike played as black against Valdis in a hectic game where the challenger for Top player of the leagues season managed to blunder a rook. In the end the position was too difficult to hold on and Valdis happily boxed in another point to stay in the lead with 2 points. Boris and Oskar engaged in a typical rushed battle where Boris managed to get the most of his new opening repertoire with White following the Jobava London and created enough havoc to get the win, trailing Valdis by a point.

The third round featured the match between the tactical player Oskar against the always solid Mike. The latter proved his relevance in the top of the Top player table and methodically imposed himself over the second team captain, who had a bad day on the office. In the ‘winner takes all’ game Boris managed to trick Valdis who fell victim to a discovered attack which ended being the decisive moment, therefore, leaving Boris as the winner of the tournament.

The simul

Shortly after the emotions of the tournament had worn off, Julian decided to challenge himself and play a simultaneous exhibition against all four of the tournament players. As the top ECF ranked player in the club, Julian managed to hold on in the opening rushing around the tables yet always playing the best moves. It is worth mentioning that he played all games as Black as well, however, had. 30 mins per game compared to 15 mins for each of his four opponents. Once the openings were set up, all four players with White slowly found themselves in a trouble and sloy and methodically Julian imposed his superior strategic and tactical understanding of the game and eventually won all four games in a straightforward manner, further consolidating himself as ‘Mr. Engine’. Congratulations to Julian for being the first to have done it at club night.

“Hand and Brain”

The evening finished with the good old “Hand and Brain” game. The game is played by teams of two people where(surprisingly) one is the “Brain” and the other is the “Hand”. The Brain decides on what type of piece is moved and tells to the Hand whether to move a pawn, Knight, bishop, etc. The Brain however can only say the piece’s name and is forbidden to specify square, which piece exactly etc. The latter is decided by the Hand who makes a move of his choice with the same type of piece and is also responsible for pressing the clock.

The game was between Mike and Valdis as Black against Boris and Oskar as White. After his great performance in the simul, Julian decided again to step back and enjoy the “Expert’s spot” (meaning watching from the side and making noises such as ‘wow’ and ‘tsk tsk’). Mike and Valdis started with a strong attack and up on time due to the Brain(Valdis) helping out the Hand(Mike) with the clock duties, illegally of course. Boris and Oskar were playing like a well-oiled machine until a point where Boris decide that the best course is chasing their opponents’ knight with a pawn move, but the Hand (Oskar) never understood what is the Brain on about so just took so much space, it got Mike and Valdis into time trouble and they were eventually flagged.

In the end, another great evening in the Anstey Chess Club, full of combinative and strategical play, entertainment and lots of fun for every aspiring chess enthusiast. If you want to be part of such evenings, pop over to the Anstey Methodist Church every Thursday at 7:30pm. All abilities welcome!

Gallery

Follow Oslo Esport Cup on Anstey Chess club website

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The next tournament from the Meltwater Chess Championship 2022 – Oslo Esport Cup has started today and as customary, you will be able to follow all of the action on our website following this link.

The third tournament from the most popular online chess tournament is the first Major tournament this year, as stated by the Meltwater Champions organisers. The format of the tournament will be different than the Airthings Masters and the Charity Cup and will include 7 days of games where all players will play in a Round-Robin format where each match will consist of four rapid games. As usual, some of the best chess players in the world will participate, with the line-up including the World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen and the rising start GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

The world champion and arguably best chess player to have ever lived GM Carlsen is looking to finish the first Triade of the tournaments with a perfect 3/3 as he managed to beat GM Duda and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the finals of Airthings Masters and Charity Cup. His first game will be against the Polish GM on 22/04/2022.

Anstey Chess Club with a busy schedule during the summer!

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We are pleased to announce that the club has extended the contract with the Anstey Methodist Church and will continue to operate normally during the summer. Our chairman Ben Vaughan has confirmed that Anstey Chess club will keep opening their doors every Thursday evening during the holiday period. The decision was made due to growing interest in the great game of chess from the local community and to provide the opportunity for our players to prepare for the summer county tournaments.

Furthermore, ‘El Presidente’ mentioned that Anstey Chess club will participate in the major county tournaments – the Wylie, Harrod and Chapman cups with at least one team. The ambition of our chairman and founder is for the club to take part with two teams on at least one tournament, if possible. In addition to the main county tournaments, the extension of the active period for the club will give the players the option to prepare for Rapid tournaments in the area. The first players to take avantage of the latter will be our top ECF-rated player Julian and the website maintenance guy (“WMG”) Boris, who will both participate in a tournament in Nottingham later this month.

Whether you are a regular player from the club, an enthusiastic club night participant, or a person who wants to get involved in the great game occupying the hearts and minds of millions, we will be happy to welcome you every Thursday from 7:30pm in the Anstey Methodist Church!

Sunday chess review – 20/03/22

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Welcome to another chess review where we comment on last week’s news from our own club, county, country and the world. We will also take a look at what to expect next week.

In our own club, Anstey Chess club’s first team played against bottom Kirby Muxloe and added another W to their record with a crushing 4-1 result for our top players. Full report from the game can be found on this link. In addition, the “webmaster” (not really, more like website enthusiast) Boris decided to reshuffle the gallery which is now full of photos, grouped in slideshows corresponding to particular events and captioned with snappy comments. To check it for yourselves, click on the Gallery tab above or just follow this link.

For next week, the second team takes on a serious challenge as they are going to play Wigston 4 away. In the same manner as last week, for everyone who wants to attend club night, El Presidente will be in the Anstey Methodist church welcoming any chess enthusiast willing to have a go at the beautiful game.

In the county, a few games were played last week. In Division 1, Syston 1 continue their winning streak, this time beating Wigston 1, while Shepshed 1 defeated Market Harborough 1. In the second division no games took place, while in Division 3 Syston 2 achieved another important win, this time against Ashby 2, in an attempt to hold onto the first place, with our own Anstey 1 and Market Harborough 2 also in the race for first in the division. In the fourth division Braunstone 2 defeated Heathcote Arms 2.

In the country, the English Chess Federation has announced the English Championship 2022 which is to take place in Kenilworth from 19th to 22nd May 2022. For more information on the tournament, follow this link.

Worldwide, the Charity Cup 2022, another event from the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour has started and it will include plenty of big names competing for the prize. The event will be special, as the money raised from the event will be donated to UNICEF for support of families fleeing Ukraine. As of day 2, GM Liem Quang Le is leading the pack, with GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda close behind him. As customary, the event’s stream on Youtube will be available on our home page, you can access the action by clicking here.

Sunday chess review – 13/03/22

/ bobideco / Leave a comment

Welcome to another chess review where we comment on last week’s news from our own club, county, country and the world. We will also take a look at what to expect next week.

In our own club, our second team played against third in the division and after great performances from Hal, Leo and the captain Oskar, we held onto the higher-rated team to finish with a draw 2.5 – 2.5. Full report from the game can be found on this link. The match was followed by another club night, with plenty of analysis going on, followed by games and further analysis of opening lines.

For next week, the first team will be hosted by Kirby Muxloe 2 looking to continue their challenge for the top of the division. For everyone who wants to attend club night, the second team captain Oskar will be in the Anstey Methodist church welcoming any chess enthusiast willing to have a go at the beautiful game.

In the county, a few games were played last week. In Division 1, Syston 1 defeated Shepshed 2 tryign to hold onto our strong first team with the end of the league season imminent. In the second division Wigston 2 and Melton Mowbray 1 achieved important away wins against Ashby 1 and Kirby Muxloe 1, respectively. In Division 3 no games took place and in the fourth division Market Harborough 3 delivered a crushing defeat against Ashby 3 while Melton Mowbray 3 set Wigston 4 back in the latter’s attempt to challenge the leaders.

In the country, the England vs Sweden match between GM Nils Grandelius and GM David Howell concluded, with the English Grandmaster keeping his 1 point edge after a great comeback win in game 8 after being defeated in game 7. You can see recap from all of the action on chess24, following this link.

Worldwide, the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 leg 2 finished with GM Richard Rapport claiming the win against the other player in great form GM Dmitry Andreikin. You can watch the second game of the final between the two GMs on our own website by clicking here.

Sunday chess review – 06/03/22

/ bobideco / Leave a comment

Welcome to another chess review where we comment on last week’s news from our own club, county, country and the world. We will also take a look at what to expect next week.

In our own club, both teams fought bravely against the second and third teams of Market Harborough, bringing home 1.5/2 points. First, the first team managed to steal the win with crushing 3-1 defeat, the report for the match was written by ‘El Presidente’ himself and could be accessed by clicking here. On the very next evening the second team went on to hold on Market Harborough’s third team, with Leo achieving a big win against a very strong opponent. For more on the second team draw against the current division 4 leaders, follow this link.

For next week, the second team take on Loughborough in an attempt to bring home some more points and remain undefeated this calendar year, while on Thursday there will be the usual club night.

In the county, there were plenty of games played last week. In Division 1, Wigston 1 won against Thurnby, while Syston 1 defeated Shepshed 1. In the second division Wigston 3 leveled the leaders Melton Mowbray 1 on points by beating the second team from the town famous for great pork pies (in my humble foreigner’s opinion, the food the British Empire was built on). In Division 3 Latimer and Ashby 2 delivered crushing defeats to Heathcote Arms 1 and Kiry Muxloe 2, respectively. No games were played in the fourth division apart from our second team’s draw against Market Harborough 3.

In the country, the first five games of the England vs Sweden match between GM Nils Grandelius and GM David Howell have taken place, with the English Grandmaster having the edge 3 – 2 with one win and four draws. You can follow all of the action on chess24, following this link.

Worldwide, the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 leg 2 has started in Belgrade with one more round to take place until the playoffs. While GM Anish Giri and GM Richard Rapport only need a draw to qualify, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will go for the win, while in Group A GM Sam Shackland and GM Dmitry Andreikin are fighting hard for the top spot with 3 points each. You can follow all of the action on our own website by clicking here.

Second leg of the FIDE Grand prix on Anstey Chess Club’s website

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With the Airthings Masters completed, the world of chess turns their attention to the second leg of the FIDE GP 2022, with a second set of 16 Grandmasters attacking the last chance to qualify for the Candidates 2022.

As usual, you can follow the action on our website. To access the chess.com stream on YouTube head to the home page and scroll down to the bottom or just click here.

In tthe first leg of the competition GM Hikaru Nakamura showed an amazing form and won the event with great performance against GM Levon Aronian in the final. For the second leg, Belgrade welcomes some of the first leg competitors, including GM Aleksandr Grischuk as well as new faces including the favourites GM Anish Giri and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.