It was a leap into the unknown for our local players who rarely play outside Ulster, however, all 8 performed exceptionally well. Avrora won the Girl's U7 section with a fantastic score of 5 / 6. This qualifies her to play in the TeraFinals on 20th and 21st August in Loughborough Grammar School.Maxum scored 4.5 /6 in the U10 Boys earning a rosette. Dexter scored an excellent 4 / 6 in the U8 Boy's section and earned a rosette for his efforts. Daniil also earned a rosette with an excellent score of 3.5 / 6 in the very challenging U13 Boy's section. Mark gained 2 points in the U9 Boys, F J Bayliss scored 2 points in the U11 Boys, Patrick scored 1 point in the U12 Boys, Ciaran scored 2 points in the U15 Boys.

Results can be found on the website: http://www.ukchesschallenge.com/

Congratulations to all eight players on their performances and hopefully we will continue to see them play, progress and enjoy their chess over the coming years!

14 excited chess enthusiasts arrived ready to enjoy three days of chess. The bowling green through the gate in the surrounding wall.

Activities over the 3 days weds, thurs. fri 3rd/4th/5th August included an individual Swiss tournament, problem solving, team games where players were paired up and played in a swiss tournament with the rule that teams had to discuss their plans with their teammate so that the other team could hear their plans - to encourage chess conversation, a better game as the opponent knows your plans and decision making in a group to negotiate who decides each move. Players recieved a folder to keep worksheets which varied from endgame themes including King Opposition, middle game tactics like removing the defending peice and openinng best practive - develop. develop.

The results of the tournament:

Summer School - 6 round swiss

Standings

Place Name                 Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Zelenchuk Daniil     5.5      14.0  21.0   19.0
  2   Cormac Sheridan      5        10.5  16.5   18.0
 3-4  Thomas Sheridan      4        15.0  22.0   14.0
      Aaditya Singh        4        11.5  16.0   13.0
 5-6  Anjali Singh         3.5      14.5  21.5   16.0
      Adam Fitzsimons      3.5      12.0  19.0   12.0
  7   Ben Murray           3        11.0  16.5   10.5
8-10  Adam Lundy-Glenn     2.5      13.5  19.0   12.0
      Ushnik Banerjee      2.5       9.5  16.0    9.5
      Aodhan Murray        2.5       9.0  13.5    7.5
 11   Jonah Corr           2        11.0  17.0    3.0
 12   Benjamin Lundy-Glenn 1.5      11.5  17.5    6.5
 13   Joe Dynes            1        11.5  19.0    2.0
 14   Johnny Shaw          0         7.0   7.0    0.0

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

Activities throughout the day included worksheets. This year they were based on an excellent book - Chess Training by Nigel Povah. Sheets covered such subjects as: reading writing chess moves, Pawn and King endings, King opposition, Middle game tactics, the opening principles.

To practice end game play we played battle chess where each players side is hidden and they place their King and 4 pawns before showing their opponent the whole board and the game proceeds as normal. So learning from experimenting with the initial positions of the pawns and the pawn play. A fun and quick game.

Some photos...

At intervals players paired up and played as teams. Discussing moves and working out plans.

Time for lunch and a choice of board games ancient and modern. Games included Mastermind (working out the code), The Game of Ur, Othello, The Viking Game, Fanorona (Game from  Madagascar), Mancala. A good way of learning and enjoying other games that involve logic and different strategies. Also youngsters teaching each other the rules of play.

Problem solving provided another activity of chess fun. Here are some problems (solutions at the bottom of the page).

We ended the course looking at Chess.com as a resource. Solving some of the tactical problems as a group.

Each player recieved a certificate. and a photo of the squad (below).

Thanks go to Geoff Hindley and James Fairley for volunteering and assisting with the activities. Thanks also to the local council for allowing us to use such a beautiful venue.

and last but not least thanks to the young players for making the event fun.

The tournament was run over 8 rounds and we didn't have to wait for too long before our first upset, with young Michael Sheerin defeating the experienced and much higher rated James O'Fee in the first round. Round 3 saw the first of the big clashes with Ross Harris defeating John Bradley and defending champion Mikhail Pavlov defeating the young star Daniil Zelenchuk. It also produced another upset with Alan York defeating the much higher rated Alan McConnell. Alan York is one of the most improved players in Ulster Chess and was showing the form that led him to only just miss out on winning the Ulster Junior Championships.

Round 5 saw the emergence of Modestas Razbadauskas as a potential tournament winner as he won his 4th game in a row when he defeated Mikhail Pavlov. This set up an exciting 6th round match up against Ross Harris. This game turned out to be a real humdinger. Early on Ross miscalculated a combination and went a piece for a pawn down. The game then turned as Ross mopped up 2 more pawns and then went the exchange up. The frantic finishing exchanges led to more blunders and an eventual agreed draw with both players critically low on time.

The title and all the prizes were decided in an exciting final round. Ross Harris drew with Michael Sheerin, winning the title on tie break from John Bradley who defeated Modestas Razbadauskas. Modestas was pushed down into 3rd place, only half a point behind, but picked up the grading prize.

Thanks to all at Bangor Chess Club for staging an excellent event that is sure to go from strength to strength.

The Europa Hotel continued its sponsorship of the Ulster Championships, the largest event on the UCU calendar.  Entrants from UCU and ICU enjoyed the luxury of playing in the hotels Euro Business Centre.  Six rounds were staged over three days with players having 90 minutes and 30 second increments each game to fight for titles and prizes.

Following his Nemtzov Cup victory, Stephen Rush (4.5/6) continued his successful summer after he was declared Ulster Champion in a tense final day.  Tied with Stephen in first place was former winner Ray Devenney and top seed Gerard MacElligot.  The grading prize for the senior section was awarded to UCU stalwart Mark Newman (3.5/6) from Civil service chess club.

The intermediate section was the only category not to require a tie-break with Jonathon Peoples of Derry winning with a convincing 5/6.  Tied for second on 4/6 were strong contenders Mikhail Pavlov, Ian Woodfield and Karina Kruk.  The intermediate grading prize was won by impressive displays by one of the tournaments youngest competitors, Dayna Ferguson (3/6), one to watch out for in future events.

The junior section, the largest in the tournament, was fiercely competitive.  After day two Alan York had established himself as frontrunner by dispatching with everyone in his path with 4/4.  However after a slow start so to speak, Dominic Gallagher made a surge on the final two days to claim the title with 4.5/6.  Narrowly missing out on the trophy was Ram Rajan (4.5/6) who also had a fine tournament and missed out in the tie-break.  Finally congratulations go to John Monaghan (3/6) and Samuel Todd (3/6) winning the U1150 and U1000 grading prizes respectively.

We would like to thank the hotel staff, competitors, Adrian Domford-Smith (live boards), Brendan Jamison (cashier!) and Ross Harris (arbiter) who chalked up the event as part of his national arbiters title.

Full results are available in UCU "competition results".

We look forwards to another exciting Ulster Championships next year.

f the weekender, then met Peter Harrington in Round 2. The latter started off well but later he was to "peter" out to a draw. Round 3 gave Martin a slight edge against Michael Davidson but he didn't take the "michael" out of it- so another draw. His last two opponents were both 1520. The first, Nigel Redmond, lost to Martin in 58 moves- a "Nigel long" game rather than a Nigel Short game! The second, Paul Collins, played an "appaulingly" quiet line against Martin's Marshall Attack, but the resulting draw gave Martin 3.5/5 and third place overall. "Life's a beach" but the Bournemouth weather encouraged one to relax near the water's edge and encourage one to kick the proverbial sand in the chess bullies' faces- so Martin, anxious to to win more than draw in the weekday tournament, decided to "force it in Dorset"! Again he met Peter Harrington, who this time played more like Padraig Harrington (if Padraig was playing chess, I mean) in losing to Martin's Budapest! Round 2 opponent was second seed Julian Hawthorne(1544)-" a thorny" set of complications by Martin meant he couldn't see the " wood from the trees" and lost! Exhausted next day against Alastair Drummond, Martin "summoned" all his energy, but it wasn't there and a 13 move draw resulted! Just as well, because the next game on Board 2 was the last to finish in the whole venue- 5 hour, 112 move win by Martin, "packing them" in against ex-Dubliner John Pakenham! The last day on top board against John D. Clapp,the top seed, saw Martin's French Advanced line pressurise his worthy opponent with the unfortunate name, but after a 37 move draw, " D. Clapp" from the audience was much appreciated as Martin clinched second prize ( and yes, that was the clean joke)! All in all, with 2 prizes and an unbeaten run of 9 games, I'm looking forward next year to Llandudno with the whole family- even though the "clan dudno" where it is or how to spell it!             Rookie.

Its always good to see our players doing well in tournaments.

The cross table for the weekend under 120: http://chess-results.com/tnr231116.aspx?lan=1&art=4&flag=30&wi=821

Round 2 games : http://chess-results.com/partieSuche.aspx?lan=1&art=4&tnr=231116&rd=2

Round 4 games : http://chess-results.com/partieSuche.aspx?lan=1&art=4&tnr=231116&rd=4

As part of this wonderful event  Ulster Chess is assisting in running a Cafe Chess event at Caffe Nero, 19 Lombard St.

We will have people playing chess. Some brilliant chess puzzles to solve. The aim is to encourage passers-by to experience the fun of chess and hopefully have a quick game.

A Caffe Nero table is waiting for a Chess game.....waiting for you!

Arriving at the Cafe at about 4:00pm we setup the sets and started playing. People sat and played. The large set drew audiences that applauded at the end of the games. Fascinated faces looked on and studied the positions. We handed out a set of brilliant problems with a choice of 3 answers for each problem. It was wonderful to watch people enjoying the game of chess. We had live music from up the street varying from what sounded like Heavy Metal to Reggae. Parents sat and explained the rules of chess to their children. Visitors from around the World stopped and played.  I chatted to a visitor from the US who it turned out was rated 2000 and was checking chess out in each country it was visiting - he joined the group of 6 players inside the cafe playing blitz chess.

We had 7 chess sets outside with a large set on the corner of the street, all in use and 3 sets inside in the warmth.

The story of the night in photos

The problem sheets - answers at end of page:

Ulster Chess players came and went during the evening. We had the current Ulster Champion, Stephen Rush who played top player Calum Leitch on the large set. Up and coming youngster Daniil Zelenchuk, top player from Spain Sergio Sanchez. A previous Ulster Champion Ray Devenney having a chat of past players and the brilliant atmosphere of the evening. The Ulster Chess Union Chairman Damien Cunningham. C J Murphy, Michael Morris, Mikhail Pavlov, Mary McCabe (The Chess Duchess), Pat McKillen, James Fairley, Dennis Wilkinson, Ian Woodfield, Robert Lavery, .... played all comers. Thanks to everyone for making the evening a celebration of chess and people. Thanks to everyone who stopped chatted and played a game.

We had team chess on the large board. Discussions on the chess puzzles. Discussions about the games.

Thanks to the organiser of the Culture Night. I always come away from this evening with such a positive belief in the wonderful nature of people. People are wonderful. Belfast is wonderful!

Thanks to Caffe Nero and their excellent staff.

Looking forward to seeing you all next year for another coffee, chat and game of chess.

and as to taking all that equipment back to the car I had the excellent help of Gavin Fong and friends from Queens University - many thanks.

More photos..

19 Rounds to date. Some 40 players, 216 games.

For full details see the results system : http://www.ulsterchess.org/competitions/competitions/comp-3032/cvt_event/standings/359#tabhead

The current standings - this doesnt include forfeighted points due to not playing 2 games in the last three weeks ( players are exempt if they have played 14 or more games).

The top section is lead by Sergio Sanchez who cant be beaten. Gareth Annesley is a close second but can only make a max of 70%.

The middle section is a fight off between Martin Kelly and C J Murphy.

Daniil Zelenchuk heads the lower section and the whole tournament. A brilliant position to be in.

Photos from round 19....

For the Middle section Martin Kelly plays against C J Murphy to decide the winner. A tough game ends in a draw and Cathal wins the section.

The lower section has Adrian just beat Alan to second in the section and win the section as Daniil is Winner of the tournament

In the top section Sergio Esteve Sanchez came top and gained second place in the tournament. With Mikhail Pavlov winning the section.

Next week we have the prize giving and the handicap fun tournament. See you there at 7:30pm. The Bankers Club.

A big thankyou to all the players over the summer for attending and making wednesdays such a fun evening.

Full details of the tournament : http://www.ulsterchess.org/competitions/competitions/comp-3032/cvt_event/standings/359#tabhead

Five rounds of focused quick fire chess and one illegal move and you loose the game. Lets see what happened.

Round 1

Results

No Name             Rtg  Total  Result   Name                  Rtg  Total

 1 Stephen Rush     1901 [0]      1:0    Derek Truesdale       1465 [0]  
 2 CJ Murphy        1276 [0]      0:1    Sergio Esteve Sanchez 1861 [0]  
 3 David Ruben      1714 [0]      0:1    Alan York             1229 [0]  
 4 Roy Stafford     1214 [0]     .5:.5   Bobby Thompson        1623 [0]  
 5 Ram Rajan        1532 [0]      1:0    Adrian Dornford-Smith 1199 [0]  
 6 Dmitry Zelenchuk 1147 [0]      0:1    Mikhail Pavlov        1528 [0]  
 7 Richard Gould    1517 [0]      1:0    Barney McGahan        1005 [0]  
 8 Mary McCabe      869  [0]      0:1    Ian Woodfield         1502 [0]  
 9 Daniil Zelenchuk 1484 [0]      1:0    Geoff Hindley         836  [0]  

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

We used the UCU active ratings. The first upset was board 3 where Alan York beat David Ruben. The rest of the games went to rating.

Round 2

Results

No Name                  Rtg  Total  Result   Name             Rtg  Total

 1 Ian Woodfield         1502 [1]      0:1    Stephen Rush     1901 [1]  
 2 Sergio Esteve Sanchez 1861 [1]      1:0    Richard Gould    1517 [1]  
 3 Alan York             1229 [1]      1:0    Ram Rajan        1532 [1]  
 4 Mikhail Pavlov        1528 [1]      1:0    Daniil Zelenchuk 1484 [1]  
 5 Bobby Thompson        1623 [.5]     0:1    David Ruben      1714 [0]  
 6 Derek Truesdale       1465 [0]      0:1    Roy Stafford     1214 [.5] 
 7 Barney McGahan        1005 [0]      0:1    CJ Murphy        1276 [0]  
 8 Adrian Dornford-Smith 1199 [0]      0:1    Mary McCabe      869  [0]  
 9 Geoff Hindley         836  [0]      0:1    Dmitry Zelenchuk 1147 [0]  

Alan continues his campaign of winning against higher rated players. Whilst Roy Stafford beats Derek Trusdale.

Stephen Rush and Sergio Sanchez maintain their upbeaten positions.

Round 3

Results

No Name             Rtg  Total  Result   Name                  Rtg  Total

 1 Stephen Rush     1901 [2]      1:0    Mikhail Pavlov        1528 [2]  
 2 Alan York        1229 [2]      0:1    Sergio Esteve Sanchez 1861 [2]  
 3 Roy Stafford     1214 [1.5]    0:1    Ram Rajan             1532 [1]  
 4 David Ruben      1714 [1]      0:1    Daniil Zelenchuk      1484 [1]  
 5 Richard Gould    1517 [1]      1:0    CJ Murphy             1276 [1]  
 6 Dmitry Zelenchuk 1147 [1]      1:0    Ian Woodfield         1502 [1]  
 7 Mary McCabe      869  [1]      0:1    Bobby Thompson        1623 [.5] 
 8 Barney McGahan   1005 [0]      1:0    Derek Truesdale       1465 [0]  
 9 Geoff Hindley    836  [0]      1:0    Adrian Dornford-Smith 1199 [0]  

The school student Daniil Zelenchuk whos doing well in Ulster Chess beats David Ruben. Stephen Rush stops Mikhail's run of wins. Whilst Alan's giant slaying comes to a halt against Sergio. Dmitry beats Ian and Barney beats Derek perhaps as games are played the time differences become more significant as concentration tires.

Round 4

Results

No Name                  Rtg  Total  Result   Name                  Rtg  Total

 1 Sergio Esteve Sanchez 1861 [3]     .5:.5   Stephen Rush          1901 [3]  
 2 Ram Rajan             1532 [2]      0:1    Dmitry Zelenchuk      1147 [2]  
 3 Mikhail Pavlov        1528 [2]      0:1    Alan York             1229 [2]  
 4 Daniil Zelenchuk      1484 [2]     .5:.5   Richard Gould         1517 [2]  
 5 Bobby Thompson        1623 [1.5]    1:0    Barney McGahan        1005 [1]  
 6 Ian Woodfield         1502 [1]      1:0    Roy Stafford          1214 [1.5]
 7 Mary McCabe           869  [1]      1:0    David Ruben           1714 [1]  
 8 CJ Murphy             1276 [1]      1:0    Geoff Hindley         836  [1]  
 9 Derek Truesdale       1465 [0]      0:1    Adrian Dornford-Smith 1199 [0]

The top players draw. Dmitry beats Ram and Alan goes back to beating players. Mary McCabe gets an excellent win against David Ruben.

Round 5

Results

No Name                  Rtg  Total  Result   Name                  Rtg  Total

 1 Stephen Rush          1901 [3.5]    0:1    Alan York             1229 [3]  
 2 Dmitry Zelenchuk      1147 [3]      0:1    Sergio Esteve Sanchez 1861 [3.5]
 3 Richard Gould         1517 [2.5]    1:0    Bobby Thompson        1623 [2.5]
 4 CJ Murphy             1276 [2]      0:1    Daniil Zelenchuk      1484 [2.5]
 5 Ram Rajan             1532 [2]      0:1    Ian Woodfield         1502 [2]  
 6 Mikhail Pavlov        1528 [2]      0:1    Mary McCabe           869  [2]  
 7 Roy Stafford          1214 [1.5]    0:1    David Ruben           1714 [1]  
 8 Adrian Dornford-Smith 1199 [1]      0:1    Barney McGahan        1005 [1]  
 9 Geoff Hindley         836  [1]      1:0    Derek Truesdale       1465 [0]  

Incredibly Alan York takes a point of the top cede Stephen Rush. Knocking him into 3rd place and putting Alan into 2nd place.

Mary McCabe wins against Mikhail Pavlov and Geoff takes a point off Derek, The time handicap does add some exciting uncertainty into the results.

Standings

Place Name                   Loc  Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Esteve Sanchez, Sergio 1861 4.5      10.0  16.0   14.0
  2   York, Alan             1229 4         7.5  14.0   12.0
 3-5  Rush, Stephen          1901 3.5       9.0  13.5   13.0
      Gould, Richard         1517 3.5       8.0  14.5   10.0
      Zelenchuk, Daniil      1484 3.5       6.0  11.5   10.0
 6-8  Woodfield, Ian         1502 3         8.0  13.0    8.0
      Zelenchuk, Dmitry      1147 3         7.0  13.5    9.0
      McCabe, Mary           869  3         6.5  10.5    7.0
  9   Thompson, Bobby        1623 2.5       7.0  12.0    7.5
10-15 Pavlov, Mikhail        1528 2        10.0  17.0    9.0
      Murphy, CJ             1276 2         9.0  15.5    6.0
      Ruben, David           1714 2         9.0  14.5    5.0
      Rajan, Ram             1532 2         7.5  12.5    8.0
      Hindley, Geoff         836  2         6.0   9.5    4.0
      McGahan, Barney        1005 2         5.5   9.0    4.0
 16   Stafford, Roy          1214 1.5       6.5   9.5    6.5
 17   Dornford-Smith, Adrian 1199 1         6.0   9.0    2.0
 18   Truesdale, Derek       1465 0         5.5  10.0    0.0

The winners of the quick fire tournament.

!st Sergoi Sanchez, 2nd Alan York (an excellent result with a rating of 1229), 3rd Stephen Rush

During the Summer tournament lots of excellent games were played. Some are on the intelligent board site :   as we were lucky to use the UCU intelligent boards. Thanks to Adrian Dornford-Smith for bringing them and setting them up - they add that bit of extra excitement to the evening.

One game where the rarely beaten Gareth Annesley played Mikhail Pavlov the Opera Singing Chess player. Mikhail won and gained the won first place in the top section. Click on the diagram to play through the game.

The prize giving to the Summer Tournament players - the youngest player Daniil Zelenchuk won the overall tournament with the highest percentage. He was so far ahead he didnt need to play in the final round.

Derek Truesdale recieved a special certificate for full attendance not missing any of the 20 weds - absolutely brilliant.

and so we say farewell to another Summer and some brilliant chess - see you at our next tournament or in the league. May your Knights enjoy the board.....

Both sections played a 6 round swiss - so all players get to play for the day. The time between rounds was spent playing friendlys and solving problems for a problem solving competition. A couple of coaching sessions where chess positions were talked through with tactical pins as the topic - these reflected the theme of some of the chess problems.

Of course starting with the most important job of the day - the puzzle solving - each game of chess is a series of puzzles here are some elegent positions some are works of art... One of the best ways of improving your chess.

Followed by photos and results.

The winners of the Secondary school puzzle solving

The Primary puzzle solver winners:

Some of the problems - theme - pins :

Under 12 - Round 1

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Adam Fitzsimons  U8    [0]      0:1    Phoebe Patterson U12   [0]  
 2 Calvin Patterson U10   [0]      1:0    Jasper Grady     U10   [0]  
 3 Farida Haridy    U8    [0]      0:1    Travis Quinn     U12   [0]  
 4 Katy Thornton    U12   [0]      0:1    Ahmed Haridy     U10   [0]  
 5 Dexter Harris    U10   [0]      1:0    Birney Wang      U10   [0]  
 6 Avrora Zelenchuk U10   [0]      1:0    BYE                         

by Swiss Perfect (TM)  www.swissperfect.com

Under12 - Round 2

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Ahmed Haridy     U10   [1]      0:1    Calvin Patterson U10   [1]  
 2 Travis Quinn     U12   [1]      0:1    Dexter Harris    U10   [1]  
 3 Phoebe Patterson U12   [1]      1:0    Avrora Zelenchuk U10   [1]  
 4 Farida Haridy    U8    [0]      0:1    Adam Fitzsimons  U8    [0]  
 5 Jasper Grady     U10   [0]      1:0    Katy Thornton    U12   [0]  
 6 Birney Wang      U10   [0]      1:0    BYE 

Under12 - Round 3

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Dexter Harris    U10   [2]      0:1    Phoebe Patterson U12   [2]  
 2 Calvin Patterson U10   [2]      1:0    Farida Haridy    U8    [0]  
 3 Adam Fitzsimons  U8    [1]      1:0    Travis Quinn     U12   [1]  
 4 Birney Wang      U10   [1]      1:0    Jasper Grady     U10   [1]  
 5 Avrora Zelenchuk U10   [1]      1:0    Ahmed Haridy     U10   [1]  
 6 Katy Thornton    U12   [0]      1:0    BYE  

Under12 - Round 4

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Phoebe Patterson U12   [3]      0:1    Calvin Patterson  U10   [3]  
 2 Dexter Harris    U10   [2]      0:1    Adam Fitzsimons   U8    [2]  
 3 Jasper Grady     U10   [1]      0:1    Avrora Zelenchuk  U10   [2]  
 4 Travis Quinn     U12   [1]      0:1    Katy Thornton     U12   [1]  
 5 Ahmed Haridy     U10   [1]      0:1    Calum Glendinning U12   [.5] 
 6 Farida Haridy    U8    [0]      1:0    BYE       

Under12 - Round 5

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Avrora Zelenchuk  U10   [3]      0:1    Calvin Patterson U10   [4]  
 2 Katy Thornton     U12   [2]      0:1    Phoebe Patterson U12   [3]  
 3 Adam Fitzsimons   U8    [3]      1:0    Ahmed Haridy     U10   [1]  
 4 Calum Glendinning U12   [1.5]    1:0    Dexter Harris    U10   [2]  
 5 Jasper Grady      U10   [1]      1:0    Farida Haridy    U8    [1]  

Under12 - Round 6

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Calvin Patterson U10   [5]      1:0    Adam Fitzsimons   U8    [4]  
 2 Phoebe Patterson U12   [4]      1:0    Calum Glendinning U12   [2.5]
 3 Katy Thornton    U12   [2]      0:1    Avrora Zelenchuk  U10   [3]  
 4 Dexter Harris    U10   [2]      1:0    Jasper Grady      U10   [2]  
 5 Farida Haridy    U8    [1]     .5:.5   Ahmed Haridy      U10   [1]  

Under12

Standings

Place Name              Feder Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Calvin Patterson  U10   6        11.0  17.0   21.0
  2   Phoebe Patterson  U12   5        12.5  20.0   18.0
 3-4  Avrora Zelenchuk  U10   4        11.5  19.0   14.0
      Adam Fitzsimons   U8    4        11.5  18.5   14.0
  5   Dexter Harris     U10   3        11.0  18.0   12.0
  6   Calum Glendinning U12   2.5      12.0  18.5    6.5
 7-9  Jasper Grady      U10   2        11.0  18.0    7.0
      Katy Thornton     U12   2        10.5  17.0    7.0
      Birney Wang       U10   2         2.0   6.5    3.0
10-11 Farida Haridy     U8    1.5      11.0  18.5    3.5
      Ahmed Haridy      U10   1.5      11.0  18.0    6.5
 12   Travis Quinn      U12   1         4.5   9.5    4.0

Calvin wins the group unbeaten with full points. Pheobe is second only being beaten by Calvin. Avrora and Adam share third place. Adam being one of the youngest has done very well.

The Qualifiers for the London Junior Chess Championships in December:

Under8 Adam Fitzsimons  4 points

Under10 (major) Calvin Patterson 6 Points

Under10 Avrora Zelenchuk 4 points

Under12 (major) Phoebe Patterson 5 points

Under19 - Round 1

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Oisin Maguire    U14   [0]      1:0    Mattie Morgan     U16   [0]  
 2 Jake Patterson   U19   [0]      0:1    Eoin McCorkindale U19   [0]  
 3 Sean McGuigan    U14   [0]      0:1    Adam Rushe        U16   [0]  
 4 Daniil Zelenchuk U14   [0]      1:0    BYE    

Under19 - Round 2

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Adam Rushe        U16   [1]      1:0    Oisin Maguire    U14   [1]  
 2 Eoin McCorkindale U19   [1]     .5:.5   Daniil Zelenchuk U14   [1]  
 3 Mattie Morgan     U16   [0]      1:0    Sean McGuigan    U14   [0]  
 4 Jake Patterson    U19   [0]      1:0    BYE       

Under19 - Round 3

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Daniil Zelenchuk U14   [1.5]    1:0    Adam Rushe        U16   [2]  
 2 Oisin Maguire    U14   [1]      0:1    Eoin McCorkindale U19   [1.5]
 3 Mattie Morgan    U16   [1]      0:1    Jake Patterson    U19   [1]  
 4 Sean McGuigan    U14   [0]      0:1    Ciaran Rowan      U16   [0]  

Under19 - Round 4

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Eoin McCorkindale U19   [2.5]    1:0    Adam Rushe       U16   [2]  
 2 Jake Patterson    U19   [2]      0:1    Daniil Zelenchuk U14   [2.5]
 3 Ciaran Rowan      U16   [1.5]    1:0    Mattie Morgan    U16   [1]  
 4 Sean McGuigan     U14   [0]      0:1    Oisin Maguire    U14   [1]  
 5 Hannah Patterson  U16   [.5]     1:0    BYE  

Under19 - Round 5

Results

No Name             Feder Total  Result   Name              Feder Total

 1 Daniil Zelenchuk U14   [3.5]    1:0    Ciaran Rowan      U16   [2.5]
 2 Hannah Patterson U16   [1.5]    1:0    Eoin McCorkindale U19   [3.5]
 3 Oisin Maguire    U14   [2]      0:1    Jake Patterson    U19   [2]  
 4 Adam Rushe       U16   [2]      1:0    Mattie Morgan     U16   [1]  
 5 Sean McGuigan    U14   [0]      1:0    BYE             

Under19 - Round 6

Results

No Name              Feder Total  Result   Name             Feder Total

 1 Daniil Zelenchuk  U14   [4.5]    1:0    Hannah Patterson U16   [2.5]
 2 Eoin McCorkindale U19   [3.5]    1:0    Sean McGuigan    U14   [1]  
 3 Adam Rushe        U16   [3]      0:1    Jake Patterson   U19   [3]  
 4 Ciaran Rowan      U16   [2.5]    1:0    Oisin Maguire    U14   [2]  
 5 Mattie Morgan     U16   [1]      1:0    BYE       

Under19

Standings

Place Name              Feder Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Daniil Zelenchuk  U14   5.5      12.5  18.5   18.5
  2   Eoin McCorkindale U19   4.5      10.0  15.5   16.5
  3   Jake Patterson    U19   4        12.5  19.0   12.0
  4   Ciaran Rowan      U16   3.5       9.5  15.0    9.5
  5   Adam Rushe        U16   3        11.5  17.0   13.0
  6   Hannah Patterson  U16   2.5      13.5  21.5    7.0
 7-8  Oisin Maguire     U14   2        11.0  16.0    9.0
      Mattie Morgan     U16   2        11.0  15.0    6.0
  9   Sean McGuigan     U14   1        11.0  17.0    2.0

Daniil Zelenchuk wins top position, unbeaten. Eoin McCorkindale second with Jake Patterson following in third place.

See you all at our next competition on November 5th 12:30pm at Methodist College for more chess fun....

Problem solutions

Division 1

• Muldoons 1 2-3 QUB 1
• Ballynafeigh 2 1-4 Ballynafeigh 1

QUB 1 demonstrated that they will be a force to reckoned with as they defeated champions Muldoons 1, including a win for John Masterson who has moved to Queens from the Corporation Square outfit since last season. Ballynafeigh 1 beat Ballynafeigh 2, while The A Team get their campaign underway next week.

Division 2

• Ballynafeigh 3 3-2 Ballynafeigh 4
• QUB 2 2.5-2.5 Fruithill
• Civil Service 0.5-4.5 Kelly's Heroes
• Bangor Webbs 2.5-2.5 Muldoons 2

Kelly's Heroes look as if they will be very difficult to stop as they swept aside a Civil Service side containing Mark Newman and new arrival Paul McGuigan. Ballynafeigh 3 claimed a narrow win over Ballynafeigh 4, while the other four teams were all involved in draws.

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 6 1.5-3.5 Ballynafeigh 5
• QUB 4 0.5-4.5 QUB 3
• Ballynafeigh 7 3-2 Bangor Wannabees

QUB 3 are the early leaders in Division 3 after a 4.5-0.5 win over QUB 4, while there were also wins for Ballynafeigh 5 over Ballynafeigh 6 and Ballynafeigh 7 over a 3-man Bangor Wannabees side.

25 Players placed into one section. Including Stephen Rush the winner of both weekend tournaments (Including the Ulster Championship) for the year so far - would this be an opportunity to start on the path to winning all the tournaments - a feat only achieved by a couple of players. Who in the tournament could challenge him? Gareth Annesley top cede and winner of several tournaments. Perhaps Karina Kruk an Irish Fide Master recently returned from an international tournament the Chess Olympiad at Baku - for an article on this and a profile of Karina click here

The scene is set for an exciting tournament. There was general concensus that the room was an excellent venue.

Pairings round 1 (Friday, 14 October 2016)

Generated by Swiss Master for Windows on 16-10-2016 at 17:24

Round 1 saw a couple of minor suprises and good results for Rian Mellotte winning against Eric McPherson and Tyrone Winter drawing against Martin Sloan in a seriously complicated minor piece ending. The rest of the games went to rating. Martin Kelly having tight time and loosing position had a lucky escape from Ben Campbell. Ben was offered a draw from Martin twice, but he imagined an apparition of Steve Scannell saying dont accept a draw in a won position.... the wonders of the imagination will never cease.

Pairings round 2 (Saturday, 15 October 2016)

Round 2 saw the last game between Karina Kruk (recently returned from representing Ireland in International tournament) and Cathal Murphy going to the wire each player having about a min left and there being a complicated middle game. Anything could happen. Cathal missed a forced winning combination, and seeing it a little late played it only to see that it was too late and the play was foiled. Modestas Razbadausk gave Gareth Annesley a good game and Gareth pulled out all the stops to a brilliant combination mate. Dimitry Zelenchuk obtained an excellent draw against Robert Lavery and Rian continued his success with a draw against Tyrone. Ram Rajan a pawn down with Knights – got a good drew against Martin Sloan – Ram as always kept attacking, Martin defended well.

Pairings round 3 (Saturday, 15 October 2016)

Round 3 and the top players begin to get challenged. Karina plays Gareth and Steve plays Mikhail. Mikhail does brilliantly to get a draw. Other upsets were Dmitry Zelenchuk beating Martin Kelly. Dmitry played some brilliant games during this competition.

Pairings round 4 (Saturday, 15 October 2016)

Round 4 Dmitry gives Mikhail a good game – a slightly exposed king for advanced pawns.....Mikhail eventually winning. whos attack will win? Gareth attacks Steve – who defends – the exchange down but with a passed pawn on the 7th – tension or what! Gareth ends up winning and leads the competition.

Pairings round 5 (Sunday, 16 October 2016)

Round 5 Sunday morning and its raining hard. Theres an early upset with Steven Rush loosing a Knight early the game against Robert Lavery. Steven resigned. As Gareth continues his unbeaten run. Goes into round 6 almost unbeatable. Who would win the under 1500 prize? Geoff Hindley does well to draw against Martin Kelly. Rian Mellotte is well placed to win a rating prize after beating Dmitry Zelenchuk.

Pairings round 6 (Sunday, 16 October 2016)

Round 6 Daniil plays dad Dmitry – who has an opportunity to win the u1500 trophy. There are several boards with deciding games – Cathal Murphy v Martin Sloan, Pat v Ram, with Karina fighting for second place on board 2 and Gareth v Robert on board 1 Rian although loosing to Mikhail wins the 1000 grading prize with an excellent 3.5 points and 9th position. The positions being fought over: 1st, 2nd, The Des Forson Trophy Under 1500, rating prizes for top 1200 and top 1000. Ram beat Pat gaining 4 points and leveling with Cathal Murphy and Eric McPerson all on 4 but the draw breaking system of medium-Buch/Buch/Progressive put Ram Rajan top and winner of the Des Forson under 1500 trophy.

The final standings:

Winner Gareth Annesley

Second Karina Kruk

Des Forson Under 1500 winner Ram Rajan

Under 1200 Daniil Zelenchuk

Under 1000 Rian Mellotte

Luckily we had a good photographer on hand Pat McKillen. This shows what can be done with a good camera and a skill for taking photos - many thanks to Pat:

Ross hands over the Ulster Championship Trophy to Stephen Rush this years Champion. (The trophy wasnt available at the tournament),	The Eddie Whiteside Chess Library - in action - we got another few members borrowing books and enjoying/improving their chess through the library.

• Ballynafeigh 1 4.5-0.5 The A Team
• Ballynafeigh 2 2.5-2.5 QUB 1

Ballynafeigh 1 lead by four points after a dominant win against The A Team. John Bryars was the only visiting player to salvage a half-point as he drew with Damien Lavery. It was one-way traffic otherwise, as David Houston, Steve Scannell, Calum Leitch and John Bradley all secured full points. It was also a good week for Ballynafeigh's second team as they drew with a QUB 1 team against which they were outrated on four of the five boards. Robert Lavery claimed a good draw with the black pieces against Sergio Esteve Sanchez, although Chris Black failed to capitalise on his position as the only home player rated higher than his opponent as he was held to a draw by Liam Ferris. The standout performer for the home side was surely Eoin Carey, as he put Ian Woodfield under pressure from the outset and eventually broke through with an excellent queen sacrifice. The two remaining games went to queen and pawn endings; Mikhail Pavlov drew with Ulster Champion Stephen Rush, leaving Gavin Fong needing to beat John O'Doherty to draw the match. At one point it looked as if Fong had blown it, as he left his queen en prise, but O'Dohery failed to spot it and allowed Fong to grab the full point.

Division 2

• Muldoons 2 2.5-2.5 Ballynafeigh 3
• Fruithill 4-1 Civil Service
• Ballynafeigh 4 4-1 Bangor Webbs
• Kelly's Heroes 1.5-3.5 QUB 2

Kelly's Heroes looked like clear favourites to regain the Strawbridge Cup after a convincing performance against Civil Service last week, but this week they were defeated by a QUB 2 side who were nearly 300-point per board underdogs. Milad Foozoni and Paul Reaney both beat opponents rated around 150 points higher, while in the upset of the week Paddy Magee (1216) defeated Craig Stephenson (1402). William Storey was the only Hero to score a victory, against Jasper Ramsey (708). Fruithill are the new leaders after a big 4-1 win at home to Civil Service, while Ballynafeigh 4 beat the Bangor Webbs by the same margin; the visitors narrowly avoided a whitewash when Dennis Wilkinson blundered while a piece up against Gary Johnston. In this week's other Division 2 match, Muldoons 2 and Ballynafeigh 3 played out a draw.

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 5 2-3 Ballynafeigh 7
• QUB 3 4-1 Ballynafeigh 6

QUB 3 are the clear leaders after a 4-1 win over Ballynafeigh 6, while Ballynafeigh 7 achieved a narrow 3-2 win over Ballynafeigh 5. Notably, all of Ballynafeigh 6's and 7's points this week were scored by unrated players, indicating that some decent talent is being unearthed at the Ormeau Road club.

In other news, the Bangor Wannabees have withdrawn as it has become clear that Bangor don't have the numbers for a second team to be sustainable.

• The A Team 1.5-3.5 Ballynafeigh 2

Despite being out-rated on every board, Ballynafeigh 2 defeated The A Team on Wednesday night. The first game to finish, between John Bryars and new Ballynafeigh recruit Colin Fenton, went according to plan for the home side as Bryars secured the full point. That was as good as it would get for The A Team, as Sam Flanagan was then held to a draw by John O'Doherty. The floodgates then opened as Robert Lavery and Mikhail Pavlov won their games, before Nial Troughton secured the bonus points for the visitors as he defeated Bruce MacLean.

This week's other scheduled match, between Ballynafeigh 1 and Muldoons 1, was postponed.

Division 2

• Ballynafeigh 3 3-2 Civil Service
• Muldoons 2 2.5-2.5 Kelly's Heroes
• QUB 2 3-2 Ballynafeigh 4
• Bangor Webbs 3-2 Fruithill

QUB 2 remain in the Division 2 top spot after defeating a strong Ballynafeigh 4 team. In the upset of the week, Ram Rajan (1299), winner of the Des Forson Shield at the recent Ulster Masters, shocked Damien Cunningham (1732) after a rook sacrifice from the latter went awry. Ballynafeigh 3 stay within half a point as they beat Civil Service 3-2, thanks to a very good draw for Edward Doak (1347) against Peter May (1744) and wins for Dmitry Zelenchuk and Pawel Otocki. Elsewhere, Muldoons 2 recorded their third consecutive draw, this time against Kelly's Heroes, and the Bangor Webbs beat Fruithill 3-2.

Division 3

• Ballynafeigh 7 3-2 Ballynafeigh 6
• QUB 4 2.5-2.5 Ballynafeigh 5

Ballynafeigh 7 defeated Ballynafeigh 6 thanks to more strong performances from their unrated players, with Nick Todd, Vincent O'Brien and Peter Kee getting wins. QUB 4 and Ballynafeigh 5 fought to a draw.