Ray Noble has updates on the TAFCA Allegro and the J R Chalmers Grand Prix, with our own Laurenziu Archip leading the way in both 🤗http://tafca.co.uk/…

The TAFCA Allegro Championship roadshow rolled into Dundee Chess Club for our local version, and proved another huge success in a line of huge successes for this revamped tournament.

This was perhaps the strongest entry of the series to date, with three 2000+ rated players and a host of other very strong competitors taking part. Despite this, our own David Findlay stormed through the evening and, though not without incident, recorded a perfect 5/5 shutout to take the title, all the more remarkable considering he was recording all his games, even at 15 minutes per game!

David conquered Alan Woodcock, A Patzer, Alastair Dawson, and fellow colossi Ed Spencer and Stephen Hogg in the last two rounds for a superb triumph, defending the title he shared last season with Declan Shafi.

The turnout of 34 players equalled last season’s top attendance, despite appalling weather, and many thanks to all players who came, saw, and hopefully enjoyed a fine night’s chess.

1^st D Findlay (Dundee) 5/5

2^nd= S Hogg

E Spencer

A Borwell

R Flood

L Archip (All Dundee) 4/5

These events are fast becoming the highlights of the chess season, and those regular attendees can testify to the evenings of good chess, and great fun all round. A vote of thanks is owed to Newport Knights who hosted the inaugural tournament last season, and made it so much more than a chess tournament with great food and prizes at a time when nobody knew what to expect from the new addition to the calendar. They set the bar, and happily all other clubs have taken the baton and run with it, each imparting their own slant to a great night’s entertainment.

Huge thanks for the buffet on this night to Jean Chalmers who provided a veritable feast for everyone and served it all up with aplomb. Jean also found time to cajole (?!) the sales of the raffle tickets for many fine prizes generously donated by our members, and books donated by Alan Borwell. Thanks as ever to irrepressible MC Ray Noble for orchestrating the evening, and Jim Anderson for running the technical aspects of the tournament. Thanks also to the army of volunteers who cleared up in record time after the event. Much appreciated.

The circuit rolls on to Perth Chess Club on Monday 27th January 2020. Over to you guys!

Many Thanks again to everyone who contributed to and enjoyed a great night.

The A team continued the defence of their Division 1 title with a comfortable win in Kirkcaldy.

Kirkcaldy B 0-4 Dundee A

E Henderson (1267)    0-1       D Findlay (2109)

P Selbie (1241)            0-1       E Spencer (2025)

C McDonald               0-1       A Dawson (1806)

P Anderson                 0-1       R Flood (1509)

(With thanks to Ray Noble for results and pictures)

Castlehill F 1.5-2.5 Dundee E

1. R McLeod (980) 1-0 P Gibson (815)
2. L Paton (944) 0.5 S McKenzie (530)
3. R Akula (J 683) 0-1 T Rosazza
4. K Akula (J 569) 0-1 A Aguila

A very good win for the E team, in the rematch between the teams of their 2-2 draw just ten days previous!

The Dundee A team began the defence of the TAFCA Handicap Knockout Cup in eventually convincing fashion against our friends from Newport. Dundee A’s handicap is usually me, but despite my playing in every round last year, we somehow managed to win the trophy. This was a pleasant first step in this season’s effort.

1^st Round

Dundee A 2-2 Newport Knights B

A Borwell (1836) (B)  0-1       S Finnie (1379)

A Dawson (1806)       1-0       A Sneddon (1332)

F Stevenson (1647)     0-1       A Wallace (1200)

R Flood (1509)           1-0       F Rossiter (1200)

The handicap factor is of course time, and we were giving away quite a bit of it. I had 18 minutes to my opponent’s 42, and I was the best off! Our other boards had about 12 minutes each. This naturally leads to some strange and occasionally frantic play. You can be grinding along quite happily, then a glance at your clock shows you only have a few minutes left. I had convinced myself that my semi-accidental exchange sacrifice would bear fruit, but I had to rely on my opponent’s co-operation! Alan and Frank were not so fortunate, with Frank actually losing on time in a clearly advantageous position. Alan won a piece and then exchanged into the ending, but with only one minute remaining, left a rook en prise!

This kind of thing happens all the time in this competition, but it left us in a tricky situation. A drawn match would put the lower rated team through on tie-break…

2^nd Round

Dundee A 4-0 Newport Knights B

A Borwell (W)1-0       S Finnie

A Dawson       1-0       A Sneddon

F Stevenson    1-0       A Wallace

R Flood           1-0       F Rossiter

Dundee A 6-2 Newport Knights B

Fortunately we were able to navigate the second round of games without much incident to get through comfortably enough. A typical adventure, but it’s what makes this cup so much fun(!?) We live to fight again.

Club Championship Rd 2

N Carroll (948)            0-1       S Zdenek (1241)

T Rosazza                    1-0       M Wang

The Club Championship rolled along with the two games going to expectations. A reminder that due to the rather loaded nature of the first half of the season and all the events and fixtures taking place, the deadline for this round is extended to the end of January. Round 3 starts on Feb 4

One of those ‘events’ is the 2^nd TAFCA Allegro which takes place at our club next Tuesday (26^th November). This is a 5 round Swiss competition with each player having 15 minutes on the clock. It’s a huge fun night for those of you who have never taken part before, and we’ll have raffles and refreshments and other goodies on hand too. There will be no Junior club for this night only. Our shindig was the best attended of last season so let’s keep it going. Join in for a 7.30 sign-in on the night. Be seeing you.

Ray Noble has posted an update on the TAFCA website including the current J R Chalmers Grand Prix standings.

Home

Another very busy night with three TAFCA matches and four of our teams in action. As well as Christine’s juniors, with prizes! And the small matter of the defending Club Champion being pushed to the limit.

Club Championship

D Findlay (2109)        0.5       A Dawson (1806)

Alastair’s Caro-Kann proved a tough nut to crack even for David’s patient persistence, and eventually the two combatants agreed to a draw. Notes kindly supplied by Alastair.

Dundee B 0.5-3.5 St Andrews A

F Stevenson (1647)     0-1       E Gray (2017)

J Anderson (1611)      0-1       D Chambers (1674)

G Robertson (1554)    0-1       C Trainer

J Robertson Jnr (1546)0.5       S Ballantyne

A tough night for the B team against a strong St Andrews side. The bright spot a fighting draw for the returning John Robertson after a lengthy spell out of the game. Good to see him back, and in time to prevent the whitewash.

Dundee D 1.5-2.5 Dundee C

G Burton (1350)         0.5       L Archip (1529)

Z Swaczyna (1241)     1-0       R Flood (1509)

M Whisson (948)        0-1       A Woodcock (1383)

H Meadows (840)       0-1       R Burnett (1374)

The C team’s favourite scoreline, happily for us ending in our favour this time after two reverses. I played my last(!) Scandinavian against ZZ and after a sharp opening he out-tactic-ed me. Alan and Robert won convincingly against Max and Henri, while George continues to impress on his own return to the game, holding Laurenziu.

Dundee E 2-2 Castlehill F

C Sim              0-1       R McLeod (980)

T Rosazza        1-0       L Paton (944)

A Aguila         0-1       R Kanodia  (882)

M Wang          1-0       Default

Two sharp encounters on boards 2 and 3 were split, and ‘Christine lost on time in a very good position’ is quickly becoming a website catchphrase. Young Max unfortunately didn’t get a game due to Castlehill’s lack of players, but he amused himself with friendly games, and being reunited with old friend Ramit.

Plenty of friendly chess around too, and Christine’s juniors were put to the test as Jim set them three mating problems to solve. All succeeded, and earned themselves an Aero bar each! Considerably more than I’m likely to win this season methinks…

Us chessplayers tend to forego the cold nights standing round bonfires in favour of being hunched over chess boards to focus on a different kind of dark knight.

And there was plenty of warming entertainment on offer, whether in Christine’s inestimable junior coaching classes (see Facebook) or the small matter of the Club Championships or the numerous friendly battles engaged in on the night.

Club Championships

L Archip (1529)          0.5       R Flood (1509)

A Keenan                    1-0       C Sim

P Gibson (815)            1-0       M Whisson (948)

Peter would be delighted with his surprise win, particularly after Max’s SNCL heroics just a couple of days previous. Christine’s nemesis surfaced again as she lost on time in a still very interesting position against Andy. Really need to work on that Chris! And Laurenziu and I’s game was considered rather higher quality by Stockfish than I’d given us credit for(!) We both missed chances though.

Who needs pyrotechnics when you have chess?!

Castlehill E 0-4 Dundee D

M Kats (1091)             0-1       G Burton (1350)

J Lynch (1080)            0-1       N Carroll (948)

D Coleman (1056)      0-1       M Whisson (948)

R Vijayakamur (482)  0-1       H Meadows (840)

An excellent performance from our D team. Unfortunately I didn’t see any of it, being otherwise engaged (see below) but this is a good Castlehill team (Rishi is already way better than his rating and improving rapidly) so although an even match on paper, to take all four games is certainly something. Well played guys!

Club Championships

R Flood (1509)           0-1       A Borwell (1836)

I’m rapidly gathering enough material for a book – My Tragic Closed Sicilian Losses to Alan, this being the third in little over a year. Thanks to our gracious hosts at Castlehill for holding the game.

The score is unfortunately incomplete as we had both stopped recording moves, being down to about a minute each. Black is clearly better now after what was a definite White advantage in the opening faded to a sad defensive effort, only for me to reach what again seemed a better ending. Not sure how we got there, but the end position was winning for Alan, though when my flag fell I had apparently been in check for a couple of moves! OK, it was Halloween, but seriously…

(photo Jean Chalmers)

Perhaps our most ambitious club night in a match sense as we had four TAFCA matches to contend with on the evening. We managed, in an organising sense at least, though the results were perhaps a little mixed.

Dundee A 4-0 Castlehill B

D Findlay (2109)        1-0       R Noble (1536)

S Hogg (2064)                        1-0       K Rose (1529)

E Spencer (2025)        1-0       S Banerjee (1483)

A Dawson (1806)       1-0       E Walton (1429)

As so often, the scoreline doesn’t reflect the closeness of the contest. Ed continued his fine form with a comfortable win over Subhayu, but the games on boards 2 and 4 were tough struggles before the higher rated player prevailed. Special praise to Ray Noble who pushed his illustrious opponent all the way before losing on time in a still unclear finish. It’s almost unknown for Ray to lose on time, but shows that he put everything into the game and came close to a spectacular result.

Dundee B 1.5-2.5 Kirkcaldy A

F Stevenson (1647)     0.5       R Kynoch (1827)

J Anderson (1611)      0-1       S Blyth (1595)

G Roberston (1554)    1-0       S Subramanian

N Carroll (948)            0-1       P Anderson

After a late call-off the B team drafted Norrie into their line-up and suffered a disappointing loss despite Frank’s good result against Russell. Could have been better but despite his pressure, he couldn’t quite convert his pawn advantage to a win in the ending. Jim bit the dust to Stuart’s Dutch, and Gordon made it a Double Dutch (sorry) with a nice win over Shiva.

Dundee C 1.5-2.5 Castlehill D

L Archip (1529)          1-0       G Thomas (1331)

R Flood (1509)           0-1       C Wilson (1323)

A Woodcock (1383)   0.5       G Atkins (1279)

R Burnett (1374)         0-1       I Ford (1164)

The C team again lost when grading-wise we may have expected better. Laurenziu did his job comfortably on board 1 continuing his excellent Congress form. Alan held for a draw with Graham who has been in good form lately. Robert would be disappointed with his game, and for mine, Cameron played very well, but I just missed so much. Getting old!

Dundee E 1-3 Kirkcaldy C

P Gibson (815)            0-1       S Deas (1037)

S McKenzie (530)       0-1       A Wood (1028)

C Sim                          1-D

M Wang                      0-1       J Christie

Our E team lost to an experienced Kirkcaldy C in a match which went much as expected, aside from one of Kirkcaldy players unexpectedly not arriving! Young Max made his competitive debut for us and played well if a little wayward as is to be expected. As he gains experience, he will do well.