All posts by Ian Whittaker

Delighted to learn that two members won prizes in the 2023/24 Scottish Grand Priz Challengers section (for players graded 1750-1999) and sponsored by Chess and Bridge, New in Chess and the Walter Munn fund:

2nd was Bob Kane (whose grading is 1812) scoring 42.0 points and winning a magazine subscription and a book/dvd.

3rd was Ross Blackford (with a grading of 1926) scoring 40.5 also winning a magazine subscription and a book/dvd.

Congratulations to both (and apologies if I’ve missed any other prizewinners from the club).

[Full list of prize winners is on the Chess Scotland web site]

Intrepid chess player and global traveller Bob Kane recently competed in the 2nd Torquay Riviera Tournament, U1900 section, and scored 3.5/5, finishing in a tie for second place. He sent us this report:

It’s an 8-hour train journey from Edinburgh—or in my case, 5 episodes of Netflix series “the Bear” —but it was worth traveling to visit the picturesque harbours, steam railways, quaint pubs, and more.

In my first-round game, the position was looking pretty drawish even, with Rc7 being threatened, which would lead to an exchange of major pieces. I played Kf2—how does this trappy move stop 24..Rc7?  The answer is : ..24..Rc7? 25 Qxd6 ..Rc2+ 26Rxc2 ..Qxd6 27 Rc8+ ..Kh7 28 Rh8+ ..Kxh8 28 Nf7+ resigns.  [tip : alway look one move further particularly for forcing moves]

Please don’t publish the whole game as its very boring!

Best Regards
Robert

A Pint with Kevin (Chess Magazine, September 2024)

Club member Geoff, intrepid journalist and chess-patzer, never turns down the opportunity to mix a pint and chess by interviewing actor, comedian and fellow chess-patzer Kevin James Doyle for Chess Magazine when Kevin appeared in the Fringe!

Club Blitz 2024 Championship
The end of season blitz tournament was again ably run by Andre on Tuesday 18th June over 10 rounds.

William Bennett being congratulated by everyone after winning!

The competition was contested by 19 players with the trophy (to be formally presented at the AGM in September) finally being won by recently returned club member (and Club Medallist in past years) William Bennett who achieved a score of 9/10.

William vs Ivar

William was closely chased into second place by Andre with a score of 8.5/10 and Graham took 3rd place from Findlay on a tie-break with both scoring of 7/10.

Andre vs Graham

A great time was had by all – an excellent evening.

As part of its drive to support the take up of chess by women and girls, the club was pleased to host another She Plays To Win (SPTW) event in conjunction with International Master Lorin D’Costa during the February half-term. The event was made up of two 5 round Swiss-paired tournaments: one for FIDE rated players and one for Chess Scotland (CS) rated players. David Deary was Chief Arbiter and general support was provided by Jenny Wilson and Ian Whittaker.

Support was also provided by Chess Scotland.

Jenny kindly provided this event report:

Going into the fifth and final round of the FIDE rated She Plays to Win Invitational tournament at Edinburgh Chess Club on Wednesday, four of the eight players were on 2.5 out of five, making for an interesting pairing. The young women playing were all of a very similar rating and there had been many draws in the earlier rounds.

The computer decided that none of the joint leaders would be paired with each other, so there were many result combinations that could lead to a tie for first place. In the end Florence was the only one of the four to win her game and so was clear in the top spot. There was a tie for second place between Angharad and the unbeaten Elyzabeta, but Angharad had a better tiebreak so received the second place trophy.

In the CS graded section Shirya took first place with half a point lead over Maggie, and Melinda was a point behind her in third place.

Not only did the players have the opportunity to go through their own games with IM Lorin D’Costa, they could sit in on his analysis of the other games too. Despite the intense rivalry across the board the atmosphere of the tournament was friendly and supportive. There were players from primary and secondary school, University and beyond, and several different countries represented.

All the games from both sections are available to download

She Plays To Win is a UK Girls Chess Project to try and encourage more girls to participate and learn chess in a fun environment. SPTW is run by the current England International Women’s Chess Coach Lorin D’Costa who has successfully been coaching girls’ chess nationally and internationally for over 11 years.

[Pictures by Jenny Wilson and Ian Whittaker]

Dear Club Member

First of all, another success to report. Last weekend the club defeated Edinburgh West 6-2 in the final of the Richardson Cup, Scotland’s premier team competition.

Activity over the next few months:

  • We have 2 teams entered in the Edinburgh Summer Cup, Edinburgh and Tiger Cubs;
  •  Club Championship and Challengers events final rounds;
  •  Tuesday evening casual games will continue as usual over the summer;
  •  The Club Allegro Championship will take place next month – details to follow;
  •  We will run some Junior Training sessions on early Wednesday evenings. The first one will run from 6.15pm to 7.30pm this Wednesday 24th May. It will be open to all junior members. No pre registration required – but do get in touch if you have any questions;
  • We will also host a blitz event after the training on Wednesday from 7.30pm – open to all members. Again just arrive at the club to play.

Best wishes,

Neil, President