On a bright, warm Thursday evening Anstey’s junior side travelled over to Ashby’s second team in the Harrod Cup 2nd round. This is the only Summer rapid play that Anstey have entered (the Chapman/Birstall Cup is classical time controls) and the format is 20 minutes plus 10 second increments (bonus time per move). Each player plays two games over 4 boards, one game with the black pieces and one game with the white pieces.
Ashby’s second team were slightly weaker in the first round and the juniors faced a tough task as Ashby 2 were a bit stronger this time around. One thing is for sure though, our youngsters would fight!
Board 1 – Tom Gerrard v Alex Street Score: 2-0 Alex undoubtedly had the toughest test on the night. Making a welcome debut for us, Alex was very much in at the deep end, facing the rapidly improving captain of Ashby’s 2nd team, Tom Gerrard. Alex took his time in both games, enjoying his debut for the team and although both games didn’t go his way, losing material and consequently the games on both occasions, Alex gave a good account of himself. Tom was very gracious in victory and offered Alex some advice in both games as they had a look at them both after the game and after some of the other players had gone. Alex’s attitude to his games – even though they were losses – is admirable and his desire to learn is heartening.
Board 2 – Eden Watts v Yuvraj Sadhra Score: 1-1 In the battle of the quiet players, Yuvraj faced Eden Watts who out graded the Silent Destroyer by almost 200 rating points. A grading difference which, in the first game at least, counted for nothing as our Yuvraj lived up to his nickname with devastating effect – the Silent Destroyer blitzing his opponent in no more than 15 moves with a devastating combination leading to a forced mate and a resignation from his opponent. In the reverse game, Eden got his revenge with a fine game forcing a mate.
Board 3 – Ric Dawson v Curtis Blunt Score: 1-1 Curtis hasn’t played many competitive games but is already looking assured and confident as an OTB chess player. He was facing the seasoned Ric Dawson and played exceptionally well in the first game, getting himself a clear pawn up. Whilst trying to solidify this position, he advanced his King onto a poisoned square allowing his opponent to skewer his King into check with a Bishop and a Rook en prise behind it. Curtis threw in the towel and resigned. Even more determined in the second game, Curtis quite frankly blew his opponent away, getting a monster passed pawn onto the 7th rank, which created multiple threats allowing Curtis to play a clean Rook up and forcing a resignation from his opponent.
Board 4 – Joshua Cherrington v John Graham-Brown Score: 2-0 Young John faced another rapidly improving younger player in Josh Cherrington, in the battle of the improvers. Seemingly Joshua’s improvement is slightly more advanced than Young John and despite an incredibly valiant fight in both games, young John perished in both with Josh finding a couple of very nice checkmates. Joshua’s improvement also allowed him to beat your author in a casual knockabout afterwards, clearly demonstrating that he is improving very quickly.
In the end, a big 6-2 defeat that clearly does not tell the whole story, with at least 2 or 3 of the games that could have gone either way.
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.
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.
Four teams competing again this summer, as Anstey Juniors kick off in the Harrod Cup
Not sure if we mentioned it before, but while our second team is trying hard to cope in Division 3 without its captain and driving force El Presidente Ben (we must admit, though, they have done a great job), the latter is not slowing down and has worked tirelessly behind the curtains to promote and develop the club. Unsurprisingly, with the club continuing to grow, there will be another busy summer for our members. Apart from the usual entries in the Individual County Championship which will be partly hosted by our own team (for more information, click here), four teams will be joining the team competitions during the quiet months. After a disappointing run in the Wylie Cup last year, the members of the friendliest club in Leicestershire decided to drop the competition in 2023 and instead opted for three (yes, the number 3) teams in the Harrod Cup, the most popular summer competition in the whole of Leicestershire. (apart from the British Championship this year, obviously) Along with the defending joint champions Anstey 1 and our second team Anstey 2, captained by Ben and El Capitan Oskar respectively, “the new kid on the block” is Anstey Juniors, another team captained by our chairman, which will include only youngsters. The Harrod Cup is a Rapid format tournament whereby a rating cut-off is applied for teams to allow for lower-rated players to compete for silverware, unlike the Wylie Cup which is open to all players and teams.
In addition to this impressive line-up in the Harrod Cup, Anstey will attempt to make history again, and defend their Chapman Cup trophy from last year. An all-time favourite to many players, the Chapman Cup is the slower time format tournament where a handicap is applied, based on rating difference.
The summer cups are here, and they are pretty much knocking on the door, as the Harrod Cup kicks off with the Anstey Juniors taking on Wigston in round 1 on Star Wars day. (May the Fourth be with you!) Whether you are a casual player, or just curious to see what is the fuss about, pop over to the Anstey Methodist Church this Thursday. All abilities welcome!
The Minor and Challengers divisions to take place in the Anstey Methodist Church as part of the summer competitions for 2023
As expected, while taking some time off playing, ‘El Presidente’ is not wasting any time. Our beloved chairman continues to train junior players both in the club, and during the Saturday sessions at Beenies Soft play. (for more information, click here) In addition, Ben has found a great way to utilise the enormous hall which we use in the Anstey Methodist Church, and our club is scheduled to host two divisions of the Individual County Championship. The schedule for the games in the Challengers and the Minor divisions is listed below:
Round 1 11th May
Round 2 1st June (NB 3 weeks after round 1)
Round 3 29th June
Round 4 27th July
Round 5 24th August
The time control will be 80 minutes for all moves + 10-second increment throughout. As expected, Anstey will have many members taking part in the championship, including some exciting young players looking to build on a very successful season and possibly challenge for the silverware in the Minor division.
It has been interesting period for our club as Anstey Chess Club and its members grow both OTB and off the board. After the successful season and the significant improvement in the last few months, we have now decided to take the next step in our development through the release of a monthly podcast. Throughout the next year, we will use this new platform to give you updates on the season and Leicestershire chess in general. In the future episodes, we will be interviewing people from the club as well as from the area.
In the very first episode of our podcast, Boris “The Toaster” and “El Presidente” Ben gave a little background on the club and the podcast as well. Then they went on to discuss the three summer competitions where four Anstey teams participated and won two trophies. (admittedly, the Harrod cup was a joint win with Ashby 2)
Anstey Chess Club wins two trophies from three competitions as the club grows stronger by the day
Last Thursday (15/09/2022) Anstey played their last game in Chapman cup, thus bringing their summer cups campaign into conclusion. Following the amazing conclusion of the league season and the significant increase in the number of players willing to play OTB competitive chess, ‘El Presidente’ decided to enrol the club into three competitions. Anstey Chess Club participated with one team in each of the elite rapidplay format Wylie Cup, and the classical format with rating handicap Chapman Cup. In addition, two teams from our club took part in the popular rapidplay format Harrod cup.
All Anstey teams played their best during the matches, often outrated significantly by the opposing team. The Wylie cup proved to be too big a bite for our ever improving players, partially contributed by the fact that our top two players never managed to play at the same time. However, our strong first team in the Harrod cup managed to bring their A game and finished joint first with Ashby 2 and both teams agreed to share the trophy following full equality across the stats and a draw in the very last game of the round. The cherry on the cake was the Chapman cup where our team (admittedly with the help of the handicap) finished unbeaten at top of the table, having secured the trophy in the penultimate round and drawing only against Loughborough in the very last game.
Wylie cup:
Anstey vs Thurnby Result: 3 – 5
Arguably the biggest disappointment for our team in the elite rapidplay cup came in the first round as the match was a missed opportunity to start on the front foot. Straight after the end of the league season, a solid Anstey team went on to play against slightly higher rated Thurnby. The match marked the debut of Valdas in rapidplay format and saw him getting his first win as well. Unfortunately, Thurnby managed to get good wins on the middle boards and won the match decisively. Full report of the match following this link.
Wigston vs Anstey Result: 5.5 – 2.5
The visit to Ben’s former club Wigston happened to be an almost impossible task as a solid Anstey team with his top player ‘Mr. Engine’ on board one found themselves outrated on every board, with the third Wigston board already higher rated than any of our players. Nevertheless, Julian and Boris kept the game alive in the first round as Anstey emerged 2-2 after the first four games. Unfortunately, the class of the Wigston players showcased itself in the second round as our team managed to get only half point from all three games. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey vs Syston Result: 1.5 – 6.5
Unfortunately for our team, the bad results continued with the visit of Syston to our home venue. The away team brought some of their best rapidplay competitors while our team was crippled by COVID-19 and had to play two players from the trenches in Boris and Mike. Unsurprisingly, Anstey could only get half point from the first round. The bad day in the office continued in the second round, as three of our four boards lost again, while Mick brought some light with his amazing win. Full report of the match following this link.
Kirby Muxloe vs Anstey Result: 2 – 6
Although the absence of Matt meant that Boris will play again for Anstey in the Wylie cup, a solid team went to Kirby to face the home team. As expected, the battle was hard due to the similar rating on almost every board (admittedly on board 4 Boris significantly outrated his opponent). Nevertheless, our players showcased an amazing play to seal the deal with the biggest win in the Wylie cup, and one of the top three wins of the whole summer campaign. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey vs Loughborough Result: 2.5 – 5.5
Sadly, the win against Kirby ended being the first and the last one for our team in the Wylie cup. In the last game, we faced Loughborough at our home venue in the Anstey Methodist Church. Unfortunately, our northern neighbours managed to steal the win in “The Charnwood Derby” edging our team with strong performances on all boards. Full report of the match following this link.
Harrod cup:
Ashby 1 vs Anstey 1 Result: 3.5 – 4.5
In their first game of the Harrod cup, our first team found themselves outrating their opponents on every board. However, after the first round we were trailing the home team by a full point after some dubious performances from Mick and Boris. The great leadership by the captain on the night Matt turned the tide and with three brilliant wins our team claimed their first win. It was an unfortunate moment for Mick as in spite of “The Anstey Tiger” being quite up on time, an illegal move from his opponent created the most dramatic moment of our whole campaign. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey 2 vs Ashby 3 Result: 6 – 2
And while the first team was struggling against Ashby’s first, Anstey 2 had their second best performance in the Harrod cup in the very first round, completely demolishing the solid Ashby 3 team. The match also marked the return of Brian “The Griller” who, although still rusty, quickly adapted to OTB rapidplay chess to draw both of his games. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey 1 vs Market Harborough 2 Result: 5.5 – 2.5
In the next round, Anstey Chess Club celebrated a double home fixture in the competition. The first team hosted Market Harborough 2 who arrived with a solid team, albeit outrated by our players on every board apart form board one where Mick found himself almost 100 points lower rated than his opponent. Nevertheless, running through both rounds to finish without a loss, our players claimed their second win in a row in the competition. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey 2 vs Wigston Result: 2.5 – 5.5
While Anstey 1 was slowly grinding out their opponents, our second team had a hard time against one of the favourites in the competition – Ben’s former club Wigston. Although the players fought hard, the team suffered defeats on all four boards as Black and in spite of their valiant efforts could not turn the tide in the match. Full report of the match following this link.
Ashby 2 vs Anstey 2 Result: 6.5 – 1.5
With the format of the Harrod cup, the bad luck for Anstey 2 continued with our second team facing another favourite to win the trophy and eventual joint winner – Ashby 2. It was an unfortunate evening for our players as their suffered a loss against a very strong team. Nevertheless, the match marked the debut of Young John who had been itching to play competitive chess and finally got his moment. Full report of the match following this link.
Wigston vs Anstey 1 Result: 4 – 4
In the following week, the first team went to Wigston to try and claim the top spot from them. A hard fought battle between the two teams led to an overall draw leaving the top spot open for contesting, with the aforementioned Ashby 2 lurking around. Full report of the match following this link.
Loughborough vs Anstey 2 Result: 2 – 6
The fourth round was the best round for our club not only in the Harrod cup, but throughout all competitions. First, our second team travelled to Loughborough to claim the victory in “The Charnwood Derby”. In spite of defaulted fourth board, Mike and Leo “The Lion”, led by their captain Oskar “El Capitan” defeated their opponents in every single game to claim the win. The result was one of the top three wins for any Anstey team in the summer campaign. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey 1 vs Ashby 3 Result: 7.5 – 1.5
And while the second team were demolishing Loughborough, Anstey 1 were not any less merciful against their opponents from Ashby. Turning up with a strong group of players, our first team left only half point for their opponents to take as Boris missed to capitalise on his winning position with the white pieces. Nevertheless, the team achieved the biggest win of the summer in any competition. Full report of the match following this link.
Ashby 1 vs Anstey 2 Result: 6.5 – 1.5
The unfortunate draw for Anstey 2 continued in the last round as they had to face another very strong team in Ashby 1. As expected, in spite of their valiant efforts, our players could not hold on their strong opponents and conceded an overall loss. The competition concluded for our second team leaving them on ninth place having played three of the top four teams in the competition and won against the other two they faced. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey 1 vs Ashby 2 Result: 4 – 4
Eventually, it all came down to the game between Anstey 1 and Ashby 2 to decide the fate of the Harrod cup. Both teams entered their final bout equal on points and “goal difference”, having won three and drawn one. The first round found our team on the back foot, having lost two games, won one and drawn one. Boris made it even worse as he lost his second game, but just when everything seemed lost for our team, brilliant wins from Mick “The Anstey Tiger” and Leo “The Lion” combined with a solid draw from John “The Torturer” levelled the field and the teams ended pretty much at the same place where they started – equal on points and “goal difference”. What followed was further deliberation between the captains, only to agree to share the trophy leaving Anstey 1 as one of the Harrod cup winners. Full report of the match following this link.
Chapman cup
Anstey vs Market Harborough Result: 3.5 – 3
The Chapman cup campaign for Anstey kicked off with a win. In this particular game the handicap played massively in our favour as we started with a 2.5 – 0 lead. This meant that the team needed only one win or two draws to secure the overall win. Nevertheless, the rating difference showed itself as our team conceded on the bottom three boards, but Julian “Mr. Engine” stepped in to deliver the necessary blow to our opponents on the night. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey vs Braunstone Result: 3 – 1.5
Although outrated again, our team did not need the help of the modest handicap (0.5 – 0). Brilliant performance from Julian combined with a lucky turn of events for Boris helped our team to secure a second win in a row to take the lead in the table. Full report of the match following this link.
Loughborough vs Anstey Result: 1 – 3.5
As the matches kept coming, the team appeared to gain momentum and in our visit to Loughborough the players did not need the favourable (0.5 – 0) handicap again. With two solid draws on the top two boards, the brilliant performances from Matt “The Dark Destroyer” and Mike led to a decisive win for our team in “The Charnwood Derby”. The game marked the halfway point of the competition as our team seemed very comfortable at the top with Braunstone emerging as the only team to challenge us. Full report of the match following this link.
Market Harborough vs Anstey Result: 2 – 3.5
The second half of the tournament began with an away game against Market Harborough. Outrated again on most boards, the Anstey players started with a comfortable lead due to the handicap 1.5 – 0. Good draws from Boris and Julian combined with a brilliant win from Matt secured an overall draw over the board and with the handicap the team secured a fourth win in a row to remain the table toppler. Full report of the match following this link.
Braunstone vs Anstey Result: 1.5 – 3
In the penultimate round of the competition our team found themselves in a situation where their fate was in their own hands. The match represented a great opportunity for the club to put forward the team to compete in Division 2 for next league season and met with the perspective, our chairman did just that. Our top rated players delivered and following brilliant performances from Matt and Julian combined with a solid draw from John, our first team did not need the favourable handicap. The game secured the top spot for our team as they emerged as a Chapman cup winner with a round to spare. Full report of the match following this link.
Anstey vs Loughborough Result: 2 – 2
The last game of the tournament and of the summer campaign found our team facing Loughborough again. The match started brilliantly for Anstey as Matt stood up shortly after the games began having checkmated his young promising opponent. Unfortunately, Julian did not have much play on board one while Boris managed to transform a completely winning game into a drawn endgame which he was about to lose when his opponent offered our teammate a draw. With Mick suffering an unfortunate defeat, our players did not manage to capitalise on their advantage and shared a point with the away team. Full report of the match following this link.
Stats
Anstey Chess Club finishes the summer campaign having won two out of three possible trophies, marking a successful continuation of an already amazing year of growth and improvement for the club. The best performing team in the rapidplay format competitions was Harrod cup’s Anstey 1 as the team finished unbeaten with three wins and two draws. In terms of individual game performance, Anstey 1 achieved an astonishing 50% win rate, with 20 wins OTB. In the Chapman cup our team was unbeaten with five wins and only one draw, although handicap helped in a couple of occasions.
The biggest win for the club came from Anstey 1 in the Harrod cup as they delivered a crushing 7.5 – 0.5 defeat to Ashby 3. Anstey 2 were second with their 6 – 2 win over Loughborough and Wylie cup’s Anstey team took third place with 6 – 2 win over Kirby Muxloe.
The best player throughout all competitions was Matt “The Dark Destroyer” who finished the campaign with a total of 10.5 points following nine wins and three draws, having lost none of his games. His runner-up was Mick with the same number of points but with a significantly lower win rate.
Congratulations to Anstey Chess Club for winning the Chapman and Harrod cups!!!
If you want to be part of our exciting journey, join us every Thursday from 7:30 pm in the Anstey Methodist Church. All abilities welcome!
Anstey 1 couldn’t quite keep their 100% record in the Chapman Cup with a draw against Loughborough in the last round but still confirmed their status as undefeated champions:
Loughborough brought a mixture of youth and experience with two juniors and two seniors but overall a slightly weaker team than in the reverse fixture. All the boards were fairly evenly matched on ratings so for the first time in the competition this meant that Anstey did not benefit from a lead from the handicap!
Captains Matt Connor and Stephen Morris tossed for colours, Matt winning the toss and selecting black on odd-numbered boards. The teams settled down for the pre-match photo and the action commenced.
Matt was white on board 2 verses young Kajus Mikalajunas and unusually for Matt this was the first game to finish. Matt thought that he had walked into some deep opening preparation as Kajus blitzed out the first 10 moves, taking just 1 minute on the clock compared to Matt’s 35. Matt couldn’t resist going for a dodgy queen sacrifice but getting a rook, knight, pawn and a back rank mate threat as compensation. Unfortunately, Kajus missed the mate threat and the game finished 13. … e5 14. Rd8#. Oops.
Position after 14. Rd8#
So Anstey were off to a flyer. Anstey 1 – Loughborough 0.
The next game to finish was Borislav Lazarov as white on board 4 against Peter Hickman. No-one is quite sure how the game ended up a draw but somehow it did. Boris got a good position out of the opening with a nice space advantage. He pushed Gary and Harry (the g and h pawns) forward and castled long. After some tactical exchanges and losing a pawn Peter reacted by also castling long but this was a mistake, white’s active pieces transferring over to the queenside for a deadly attack.
Position after 22. Nxd5
After another nice tactical sequence Boris simplified to a double rook endgame 3 pawns up and looked to be winning easily. But double rook endgames are notoriously tricky. Peter managed to activate his rooks and pushed his kingside pawns and won a pawn back. Caving under pressure Boris made a poor defensive move allowing Peter to double his rooks on the 6th rank targeting white’s now undefended pawns on the kingside and also harassing the white king. Black picked up another pawn but allowed white to mobilise his rooks. Both sides played a series of good moves and although white was still a pawn up it looked like a draw by perpetual check was the most likely outcome. But then Boris thought he had blundered and was losing a rook when Peter offered a draw which Boris gratefully accepted! Turns out he wasn’t but even so, what a rollercoaster! Anstey 1½ – Loughborough ½.
Julian Tarwid faced off against Stephen Morris as black on board 1. The game started off as a slow positional Slav defence, Julian playing rock solidly. After all the major pieces were swapped off on the d file Julian activated his minor pieces and pushed his queenside pawns to create a space advantage. With white’s knight stuck on defensive duties on d1 and a 3 vs 2 queenside pawn majority it looked like Julian had a good advantage. He sacrificed a pawn for more activity but couldn’t quite find a breakthrough. Stephen defended well and the game fizzled out to a draw. Anstey 2 – Loughborough 1.
This Left Mick Sandham playing black on board 3 versus young Lindsey Pyun. Mick equalised fairly easily out of the opening and after Lyndsey exchanged queens on e3 he stood a little better even with some dark square weakness. He tried to get an attack going on the kingside with h6, g5, g4 and h5 but ultimately it came to nothing, Lyndsey manoeuvred her pieces to try and exploit the hole on d6. But the position appeared dead level and at the stage of the match where Boris looked like he was cruising to a win Mick offered a draw. Lyndsey declined, played Nd6 and after … Nxd6 exd6 it looked like she had a dangerous advanced passed pawn.
Position after 31. exd6
The engines say this position is completely equal but as we’ve seen these double rook endings are hard to play over the board. The right idea here is for black to play … Rg5 and … Rd5 but instead Mick went with … Rd8 and … Rd7. This allowed Lyndsey to pick off the a and c pawns and when Mick took on d6 the remaining rooks came off it was 5 pawns vs 4… plus a passed b pawn. Lyndsey made no mistake and Mick was forced to resign. Anstey 2 – Loughborough 2.
So a close match in the end and not a bad way to finish a great summer of chess for Anstey, to be crowned Chapman Cup champions and finishing joint first in the Harrod Cup as well as individual success for Julian in the county championships.
Anstey captain Matt Connor told BBC Radio Leicester: It was a close match. I did think we were winning easily in the first half but we probably sat back too much letting them back into it, a draw was probably a fair result. To finished unbeaten in the cup, 5 points ahead of second place is a great achievement. A big thanks to everyone who played but especially to Julian who was unbeaten against some highly rated opponents with 3 wins and 3 draws. I think with the summer cup success and promotion to division 2 we have put Anstey Chess Club firmly on the map. #thesoulofchessincharnwood.
As well as the Chapman Cup game it was a normal club night. Well, I say normal, but maybe thriving is the new normal with loads of new players following on from our showing at the Anstey Gala. We look forward to welcoming them back and getting to know them! A great night all round!
Despite their valiant efforts neither team could secure the win leaving the faith of the trophy in the hands of LRCA.
Players fully focused on the game with great importance
Anstey 1 have fought hard this summer in the Harrod cup and unsurprisingly our first team have spent a fair amount of time at the top. Nevertheless, during the battle for the most popular summer trophy, one more team managed to distinguish themselves as a serious contender for winning the cup. Ashby 2 arrived to the Anstey Methodist Church on 8th September with a strong team hoping to overtake Anstey 1 in the standings, having won all of their previous games but being deducted a point due to breaching the rating cap in their first game. Our first team consisted of John ‘The Torturer’, Mick ‘Just Mick’, Boris ‘The Toaster’ and Leo ‘The Lion’ and deservedly hopes were high. Unfortunately for John and Boris, they did not have the best of evenings, however, their solid performances combined with the brilliant one from Mick and the great second game from Leo, left them level with their strong opposition.
John Robinson (Anstey 1) vs Andrew Wilson (Ashby 2) 0.5 – 1.5
With Matt ‘The Dark Destroyer’ on well deserved holiday, John stepped up and played top board on the night, having played only long formats in the last couple of years. With the black pieces, John met his opponent’s d4 with c5 and both players started their fight for the centre with our teammate giving a slight advantage to White in the opening. The Ashby player managed to get the bishop pair against bishop and night for John, exchanging the strategically important black dark-squared bishop for one of the white knights. The queens came off the board and with the board opening up, the two white bishops were becoming stronger by the move. Being on the back foot and slightly rusty for shorter time formats, ‘The Torturer’ found himself in time trouble which led to him playing a few inaccuracies and further let his opponent to consolidate a winning position. Eventually White started to push two very strong passed pawns. Completely focused on his attempts to find a way to survive, John ignored the timer and before long, his clock flagged.
With the white pieces, our teammate played the London system to which Black replied with the drawish ‘copycat’ approach. Having an extra tempo, ‘The Torturer’ achieved a slight advantage out of the opening but not sufficient to create anything significant on the board. Eventually all pieces got exchanged on the c-file with both players left with a knight and pawns each. Our teammate fought hard to get the win but unfortunately, with the limited resources he could not make any progress and at the end both players agreed to a draw.
Although not in his comfort zone, John showcased again that he could measure with anyone over the board, regardless of opposition skill or time control.
Mick Sandham (Anstey 1) vs Paul Gibson (Ashby 2) 2 – 0
It will not be the first time to mention that Mick has not had the best of seasons. Nevertheless, it was fitting that he would have his best performance at the very conclusion of the competition which he started with a controversial loss at the venue where Ashby 2 play their home games. Mick started with his characteristic St. George as Black and attacked the centre with c5. Always playing for a win with the black pieces, ‘Just Mick’ tried to gain the initiative but his opponent managed to exchange the queens. The players continued the battle for the domination of the board as our teammate set up a few traps for his opponent. Eventually, the pieces started getting exchanged leading to an endgame where Mick had the better position, with advanced pawns marching towards the first rank. Eventually, his pawns ended turning into queens and his opponent did not find anything else to do but to resign.
With the white pieces, Mick opened with e4 to be met by the Caro-Kann. The players engaged in the Panov-Botvinnik variation whereby Black played Bf4. Coming out of the opening, our teammate found himself with a set of doubled pawns, however, the structure could not be easily attacked and the game continued with pieces being exchanged in the middle game. With his typical sharp tactical play, ‘Just Mick’ kept on attacking which appeared to tire his opponent who eventually oversaw a tactic to lose a rook on his back rank. Understanding his desperate position and incoming mating attack, the Ashby player decided to call it a day and resigned.
Brilliant performance from ‘Just Mick’ who deservedly gets his nickname changed to ‘The Anstey Tiger’ following a post on Instagram. We hope to see him soon in action as his entertaining play is always fun to watch, regardless of result or form.
Borislav Lazarov (Anstey 1) vs Lawrence Hayden (Ashby 2) 0.5 – 1.5
Boris entered the match with low confidence as he was not feeling in form and recently had suffered several losses in bullet format online. In his first game, ‘The Toaster’ met White’s e4 with the Caro-Kann defence and the game was led into the Fantasy variation. Both players developed by the book until our teammate decided to release the pressure and give White the desired activity. Nevertheless, Boris defended solidly and kept exchanging pieces until both players ended up in a quite closed position with two rooks and seven pawns each. With the perspective of perpetual shuffling of the rooks, the players agreed to a draw.
In the second game, our website maintenance person opened up with his usual aggressive d4-setup which was met by a Semi-Slav type structure from his opponent. Black decided to take his queen out sooner and ‘The Toaster’ tried to harass the black lady with his pieces. The Ashby player activated his knight and tried to create an attack on the white king while simultaneously defending his queen. At this point our teammate entered in a longish tactical sequence to come out a piece down with no compensation. Boris tried to create complications and activate his pieces, but his opponent managed to easily consolidate and started putting pressure on White’s fragile position. Eventually, pieces were traded off and with two black pawns marching confidently towards the first rank, our teammate resigned.
A tough day in the office for ‘The Toaster’ but another great learning experience for him.
Leo Abraham (Anstey 1) vs Tom Gerrard (Ashby 2) 1 – 1
Unfortunately, the team member (Boris) writing this report could not catch Leo for his brief summary of the board 4 games, therefore, only a very short description of the games will be presented.
With Black, Leo had to face an e4 opening and the game ended up being opened up quite quickly. A tactic from the Ashby player led to our teammate losing his queen. ‘The Lion’ fought like a lion (pun intended) to survive but being such a valuable piece down, he could not hold on the attack from White and had to resign.
With White, Leo played his favourite e4 and a kingside battle arose swiftly. Our teammate managed to gain a piece, however, it seemed towards the late middle game that Black had the initiative. Eventually black put pressure on the f-file, hoping to get a mating attack, but a beautiful Qc6 move from ‘The Lion’ covered the f3 square to pick up a rook and completely deflate Black’s attempt to prise open the castled white king’s position. Acknowledging the situation on the board, the Ashby player did not even attempt to ask for a draw and gave Leo the respect he deserved.
Another great performance from young Leo who is looking to challenge the division 4 players next year as one of the top boards in the third team.
The Harrod cup campaign concluded for Anstey 1 as they have to be really proud with themselves, having won three matches and drawn two without conceding a loss over the five rounds. The performance places the team joint top place with Ashby 2, with equal stats for both teams. Regardless of the decision for the cup, our players should be really proud of their overall performance and consider themselves Harrod cup winners.
Loughborough edges Anstey in ‘The Charnwood Derby’
This year’s Wylie cup has not been the easiest of campaigns for a growing Anstey Chess Club. Due to unforeseen circumstances and other competitions in the way, Anstey was never able to assemble a full team to compete. Following the previous three defeats and one win, a relatively strong Anstey team welcomed to our spacious venue in the Anstey Methodist Church a strong, similarly rated Loughborough team. Julian ‘Mr. Engine’, Brian ‘The Griller’, Mick ‘Just Mick’ and Ben ‘El Presidente’ worked hard to get something out of the game, but the opposition proved to be in great form and too hard to beat.
Julian Tarwid (Anstey) vs Henderson Mullen (Loughborough) 1 – 1
With Anstey playing as Black in the first round, Julian had to face the Reti leading to an English opening. White managed to take the edge in the opening and further utilised Black’s weak king position to deliver a fork resulting in material loss for ‘Mr. Engine’. Our teammate had decided to keep it solid and fianchetto both of his bishops, and tried to quickly activate his pieces in order to create some counterplay. Unfortunately for Julian, his opponent completely ignored the arising attack from Black and continued with great pressure leading to mating attack on the black king. With the inevitable end in sight, Julian did the honourable thing and resigned.
Playing with the white pieces, ‘Mr. Engine’ was determined to get back in the match and started pressing from the very beginning. Our teammate opened with his characteristic d4 setup leading the position into very tactical waters where he shone with Tal-like style, sacrificing a pawn and furthermore a bishop for the initiative. His opponent declined the bishop sacrifice and tried to solidify his position but under the immense pressure from our teammate’s fierce attacks, the Loughborough player fell victim to a discovered attack leading to the loss of the black queen. Understanding the severity of his position, Julian’s opponent gave our teammate the respect he deserved and swiftly resigned.
Another great performance from Julian who secured our team’s only win for the evening against a very strong opponent in form.
Brian Foreman (Anstey) vs Stephen Morris (Loughborough) 1 – 1
Brian had to face what appeared to start as the Colle system in his first game, when his opponent decided to leave the opening theory and took the c5 pawn. ‘The Griller’ enjoyed a very comfortable game straight from the opening and easily equalised. The pieces started being traded off leading to a very solid middle game. Both players managed to create pawn majorities entering the endgame but neither was able to make any progress. Understanding the very drawish nature of the position, the players decided that there will be no way for either of them to attempt to seize the win without taking a very big risk, and naturally agreed to a draw.
With the white pieces, our teammate was slightly taken aback by his opponent’s Bogo-Indian and after playing Nd2 Brian found himself feeling a little uneasy, albeit in a solid position. Black tried to seize the initiative and in the process brought his queen in the centre, thus providing the perfect opportunity for ‘The Griller’ to take control of the game by attacking the black lady around the centre of the board with his pieces. Still feeling uneasy about his position, Brian found a perpetual attack on the queen to secure his second draw of the night.
Another good experience for returning Brian who is looking to be the top board for the second team in the upcoming league season.
Mick Sandham (Anstey) vs Glyn Ward (Loughborough) 0.5 – 1.5
The first game for Mick ended being a very solid display, as the players engaged in a normal St. George with both players keeping the pressure in the centre and developing normally. Heading into the middle game, the players kept the solid position, only to exchange most of the pieces without anyone taking the edge. Eventually, with only a few pieces left on the board, the players decided that nothing exciting is going to come out of the game and agreed to a draw.
Seeing that the team is behind 3 – 1 after the first round, Mick went for the Italian game where he was surprised by the Ulvestad-Kirke gambit. Our teammate made a slight inaccuracy at the beginning, unaware that the best move according to theory for his bishop at some point would be to undevelop itself. Mick’s opponent continued with an inaccuracy himself, providing ‘Just Mick’ the opportunity to execute a beautiful, albeit dubious, “Fried Liver” attack, sacrificing his knight for the f7-pawn and luring the black king towards the centre. The Anstey third board loaded attacks from all sides of the board and the pressure started increasing against the black king and his few defenders. Unfortunately for our teammate, he made a few slight inaccuracy, giving his opponent the chance to withstand the pressure and consolidate his position. Without the exertion of immense pressure and material down, Mick fought hard to at least stay in the game, however, the Loughborough player managed to turn the tide and gradually improved his position to win the game.
Another difficult day in the office for ‘Just Mick’ as he finished without a win in spite of his valiant efforts. Nevertheless, Mick showcased again beautiful tactical gameplay which was a joy for the eye.
Ben Vaughan (Anstey) vs Kajus Mikalajunas (Loughborough) 0 – 2
(Games reported by Ben himself)
On board 4, ‘El Presidenté’ faced young Kajus Mikalajunas. The first game was a traditional French exchange but Kajus was able to mount a Kingside attack with his Knight and Queen that ‘El Presidenté’ tried to fight off, but a neat tactic found by the young man (that is not ‘El Presidenté’!), won him a clean Rook and despite bravely (or pointlessly) fighting on, pieces were forcibly exchanged and Ben resigned in a totally lost position.
With the white pieces, ‘El Presidenté’ made more of a fight of it in a Ruy Lopez opening. Kajus castled Queenside and underestimated ‘El Presidenté”s response to a pawn push which was to push the pawn instead of re-capturing, thus allowing him to trap the dark squared Bishop. A piece for a pawn down, all that Kajus could rely on was a cheapo bank rank mate, which unfortunately, El Presidenté walked straight into.
It has not been the best of summer campaigns for our chairman as he suffered the effects of a combination of factors, including rustiness, lack of time for preparation, hard work for the improvement of our great club, and busy private life as a hard-working professional and an amazing father and husband. Nevertheless, with three teams and plenty of games lurking around the corner of the new season, we are sure that he will be back in the game in no time.
The Wylie cup came to an unfortunate conclusion for our team who fought bravely in all games but ended on the wrong side of the majority of them. Nevertheless, it has been a hard fought battle against similar or higher rated opposition in each encounter and all players should be proud of themselves for their courage and hard work.
Anstey Chess Club 