Tuesday December 4th:  Dundee Club Championship Round 2 (the first of these matches take place on this evening but with other matches being played throughout January 2019. The draw for Round 3 will take place during the last week of January 2019).

Saturday 8th – Sunday 9th December: This is a 5-round event played over these two days for players graded below 1600. The tournament is held at Edinburgh Chess Club (Alva St, Edinburgh) with a maximum entry of 30 players. For further details see Chess Scotland home page).

TUESDAY December 11th: Dundee B vs Castlehill A (St Peter’s).

Scottish National Chess League, Rounds 3 and 4, November 25^th 2018

Dundee City Report

Four Dundee City teams arrived at the Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline, with different objectives. For the A team the intention was to continue to defend their Championship title. For the B and C teams, wins were required to maintain the push for promotion in their respective divisions. For the Junior team the aim was to play good chess, enjoy their games and learn from their experiences.

The A team started in the morning against Kilmarnock. Wins for Andrew Greet, Andrew Wright and Stephen Hogg together with a draw for David Findlay was sufficient to secure a 3.5/1.5 win. In Division 2, the Dundee City B team managed to overcome a strong Perth team led by Martin Gourlay on Board 1. Wins for Euan and Alastair Dawson together with draws for Carey Groves and Andre Babin was enough to earn a 3-2 victory. In Division 4, the C team had a tough encounter against Forth Valley B, outgraded on the top 3 boards but with a slight edge on the bottom two boards. The result was a 2.5/2.5 draw with wins from Ray Flood and Ray Noble as well as a draw from Paul Shafi. The Junior team, also in the same league, had another difficult set of games. From the heat of battle came 2 wins, one from Max Whisson on Board 1 and the other from Risabh Akula on Board 4. Despite these successes the team lost 2-3 to the Silly Sicilians.

In the afternoon, the A team was up against Thistles led by IM Roddy McKay. It turned out to be a successful afternoon with wins for Andrew Greet on Board 1, Andrew Wright on Board 4 and Stephen Hogg on Board 5. Stephen’s win against Stephen Robinson was particularly elegant with the latter’s King mated in the middle of the board. The match win was by 3.5-1.5 that now places them in 1^st place on 7 points closely followed on 6 points by Bon Accord A and Stepps. In Division 2, the B team faced a weakened Giffnock team missing Phil and Rosie Giulian who are n Bled, Slovenia, playing in the World Senior Championships. The match was fiercely contested but wins from Euan and Alastair Dawson on Boards 4 and 5 together with draws from Sam Gregory, Carey Groves and Andre Babin resulted in a comfortable win by 3.5-1.5. This leaves the Dundee City B team in joint 1^st place with Wandering Dragons A on 7 points closely followed one point behind by Forth Valley A. In Division 4, Dundee City C were up against Bon Accord B. This match proved to be one of the closest of the day. A nice win from Ray Noble was followed by another from Ed Walton who converted a slight edge in a R and P ending into a won K and P ending. Losses from Ray Flood and Keith Rose meant that the match result depended on the outcome of Paul Shafi’s game on Board 1 against Kalyan Kante. After a lot of manoeuvring and pressure by Paul against the White King position the game finally ended equal. This drawn game resulted in a drawn match 2.5/2.5. This result puts Dundee City C team in 2^nd equal place in Division 4 tied with CS BOS 2 with both a point behind Dunfermline B. The Junior team had their first big success as a team in the afternoon when they beat Liver Fryers by 3-2. Stars of the afternoon were Ramit Kanodia, Charvi Kanodia and Risabh Akula who all won their matches. What a wonderful achievement and we all celebrate their success.

So a break now in the Scottish National Chess League for the Christmas and New Year period – the battles for success in the respective Divisions resumes with Rounds 5 and 6 scheduled to take place on Sunday February 24^th 2019.

Alastair Dawson

For a complete list of results click here.

The draw for Dundee Chess Club Championship matches for Round 2 has now been made. The pairings can be viewed under the ‘Club Championship’ banner on the website. These matches should be played on the evening of Tuesday December 4th 2018. If it turns out that you cannot play your match on that evening, arrangements should be made with your opponent to play your match on Tuesday December 11th or at the very latest by Tuesday December 18th. Please let Jim Anderson know of any matches that have been rearranged.

Both of the Dundee teams were playing in the knockout last night – a time handicap tournament. Dundee A were paired against Castlehill E. On Board 1 Alan Borwell with 6 minutes available on his clock play Ed Walton with 54 min.On Board 2, Frank Stevenson played Innes Ford (46 min). On Board 3, Ray Flood with 15 min played Martin Kats who had an available 45 min. On Board 4 Robert Burnett (17 min) played John Lynch (43 min).

In the first round Alan finished first with a quick win. Robert finished next with a loss. Next to finish was Frank with a draw although Alan pointed out afterwards that he had missed a win. Last to finish was Ray who lost to Martin. Thus after the first of two matches on the evening, the A team trailed Castlehill E by 1½ to 2½. In the second match, Robert won his game and was followed soon after by Frank Stevenson. This left Dundee A needing one more point to secure the victory. In a very interesting game Ray Flood eventually came out on top. Then Alan managed to secure a draw with very little time left on his clock. This left the final score as Dundee A 5 Castlehill E 3.

In the other match Dundee B versus Kirkcaldy, Gordon Robertson on Board 1  (25 min) played Terry Doherty (43 min).  On Board 2, Tommy Sutherland (38 mins) played Euan Henderson (22min). On Board 3 Laurenziu Archip (38 min) played Peter Selbie (22 min). Lastly, on Board 4 Alex Ramsey (30 min) played Alistair Wood (30 min). Round 1 turned out to be very even match with Gordon and Alex losing and  Laurenziu and Tommy both winning. Round 2 started with Gordon coming out on top winning while Tommy won his game making the score Dundee B 4 Kirkcaldy  2. With Dundee just needing a draw  Laurenziu gained his second win of the night while Alex managed a draw. Final score Dundee B 5½ Kirkcaldy 2½.

With 2 great results on the night, both teams now play each other in the next round in the New Year.

The Oban weekender is one of the most popular events on the Scotland chess circuit. The event has been superbly organised for many years by Duncan Campbell and his team. This years, as previous, the Congress was held in the Royal Hotel, Oban. The event was fully booked as usual – with four tournaments taking place, the prestigious Open, the Challengers (U-1900)  the Major (U-1600) and Minor (U-1350). This year, two players representing the Club competed in the Open, Euan and Alastair Dawson. Both scored creditably with 2.5/5 inclusive of a Friday evening Bye. Euan drew with Andrew Gillies, Alan Grant, with a very nice win over S K Tsang and a loss to C Bragg (overall TPR 1941). Alastair had draws with Ian Marks and Jake Sanger, a win against Michael Ridge and a loss to Stephen McQuillan (TPR 1895).  Andrew Greet, Board 1 in our Dundee City SNCL team, was the top seed and ran out deserved winner on 4.5/5 (TPR 2487). This is a wonderful weekend chess tournament, superbly organised with good playing conditions – and is highly recommended.

13th Nov: Dundee D versus Perth B

The D team were hosts to Perth B. Perth B turned up a player short giving the D team a point which meant that Norrie Carroll had to sit this one out. Max Whisson was first to finish but lost to John Shovlin after a good game. Then Alex Ramsey had a fine win against Andy Cowan. This left everything to play for on Board 1 with Dundee D just needing a draw to win the match. The game went right to the end with Laurenziu Archip getting the win against Ian Washington. This gave Dundee D a fine win of 3 – 1.

13th Nov: Dundee A versus Dundee B

This annual clash turned out to be a match of attrition with the last game going down to the wire. But in the end Dundee A came out convincingly on top. First to finish was Ed Spencer who overcame Gordon Robertson in their Board 2 clash. Then Alastair Dawson won a Queen in exchange for Rook and Knight in his match against Robert Burnett. Mating threats with Queen and an advanced pawn on f6 created too many problems for Robert and the game was soon over. On Board 3 there was a heavyweight clash between Ray Flood (White) and Alan Borwell (Black). Ray opened with a Grand Prix attack. When Ray played the critical 10. g4 to mount a Kingside attack, Alan countered with 10…f5. The resulting middlegame was more favourable for Black and a nice exchange sacrifice by Black on the Bishop on g2 ended matters. Last to finish was the game between David Findlay and Jim Anderson. With what looked like a lengthy Rook and Pawn endgame in prospect and with David having less than 2 minutes left on his clock, the outcome looked unclear. But David’s superior endgame technique told in the end and the game was won in Black’s favour. So the match result was 4-0 in favour of Dundee A but this score does not reflect how closely fought the respective matches were.

8th Nov: University of St Andrews versus Dundee D

This match was postponed by mutual agreement due to shortage of players available for Dundee D. It has been agreed by the match captains that this match will be rearranged for a future date.

5th Nov: Perth B versus Dundee C

Dundee C travelled to Perth on Monday but the match did not take place due to insufficient opposition players.

1st Nov: Castlehill B versus Dundee A

Castlehill B are one of the toughest teams in the league and Dundee A knew that their task of winning the match would be difficult. On the night, things turned out well. Alan Borwell was first to finish against Robert Jackson. His use of a b3 line and Queenside castling as White against Robert’s Caro Khan proved very successful. Soon afterwards, Ed Spencer scored a decisive win over Paul Shafi. Then Alastair Dawson arrived at a won middlegame position as Black against Andrew Rowe. The last game to finish was a tight affair between David Findlay and Darius Kosznik. The endgame saw David with an extra piece but defending against two actively placed passed pawns. However, with Darius short of time the match was soon resolved in David’s favour. So overall a convincing 4-0 victory although the match score does not reflect four very closely contested games of chess.

30th Oct Dundee D versus Dundee C

Dundee D played the D team and, as expected, they were outgraded on all boards.  Zdenek did not turn up so the C team got off to a good start with a default on Board 3. Then Alan Woodcock earned a point for the C team by beating young Max Whisson.  Later in the evening Laurenziu Archip had a fine win against the very experienced Robert Burnett  to make the score 2-1 in favour of the D team. The last game to finish was between Henri Meadows and Tommy Sutherland. It was a very closely contested game with both players even on material.  With Tommy attacking and Henri defending well the result could have gone either way. Then Tommy committed a basic error by not noticing Henri pining his Queen against his King with a rook. This win for Henri gave the D team an excellent win by 3 – 1 over their club rivals.

Click here for 2 games from the match.

23rd Oct Dundee C versus St Andrews University

Dundee C faced a very strong St Andrews University team last night and were heavily outgraded on all boards. But the team put a very good fight. Robert Burnett lost to Sam Herring, the latter having played very well in the Open at the Dundee Chess Congress. Zdenek also was defeated by Daniel Chambers. So with two matches to go, it looked like it was going to be a heavy defeat. However, both of the final matches went down to the wire. Alan Woodcock was unfortunate in losing late on against Guilluame Poss. But team pride won through in the end with a fine draw by Tommy Sutherland against Wilf Wheatley. So, overall the match score was 0.5-3.5 but score does not reflect what a fine performance the C team put on against the odds-on favourites to top Division 2.

10th Oct Newport knights B versus Dundee D.

Dundee D travelled across the water to Newport to play their first match of the 2018/2019 season.  The players were A Laurentiu, M Whisson, H Meadows, and A Ramsey.  Jean Chalmers was non-playing captain/chauffeuse.

One of Newport’s players had been delayed as there had been a derailment at Stonehaven and he was stuck on a train in Edinburgh.   Alex,playing on board 4, won his game very quickly so we were off to a good start.  The other 3 games were neck and neck for a while.  Max was a bishop down but had 7 pawns,  and was advancing one of his pawns.  However, the bishop was too strong and he eventually succumbed.  The game was lost but he had played very well.  Next was Henri who had also had a tight game.  We were now 2-1 down.  Lauria on Board 1 eventually wore his opponent down and we finished at 2-2.  Excellent result for the team’s first outing of the season.  Many thanks to Newport who created a friendly and welcoming atmosphere plying us with tea and coffee and the customary hot pies.  Very nice touch.

9th Oct Dundee A versus Kirkcaldy A.
Dundee A started the new season defence of the Championship by hosting Kirkcaldy A. All the matches were keenly contested. First to finish was Ed Spencer on Board 2 against Stuart Blyth. Then Alastair Dawson was next on Board 3 with a win over Terry Doherty. Then Jim Anderson overcame Euan Henderson who had earlier sacrificed the exchange to improve his position. The last game to finish was on Board 1 between David Findlay and Russell Kynoch. David ended up with a passed a-pawn and a bishop but since the bishop was not of the same colour as the queening square the game was drawn. So overall the match score was a win by 3.5-0.5.

8th Oct Perth A versus Dundee B.
Dundee B travelled to Perth tonight to play their first league game of the season. It was going to be a tough night as they were out-graded on all boards. Jim Anderson lost first to Martin Gourlay. Then Raymond Flood lost to Mike Roth. Gordon Robertson then had a fine win against Gwenole Le Feuvre. This left all to play for on board three Frank Stevenson against David Hall. Frank lost in a very good endgame.

The long-awaited and exciting World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana was finally won by Magnus Carlsen on the 3rd Tie Break game after 12 successive and nerve-jangling drawn games. You can see ALL of the games on the You TUbe links below.

For Game 1 DRAW click here

For Game 2 DRAW click here

For Game 3 DRAW click here

For Game 4 DRAW click here

For Game 5 DRAW click here

For game 6 DRAW click here

For Game 7 DRAW click here

For Game 8 DRAW click here

For Game 9 DRAW click here

For Game 10 DRAW click here

For Game 11 DRAW click here

For Game 12 DRAW click here 

Match now goes to Sudden Death Play-Off

Tie Break Game 1 click here

Tie Break Game 2 click here

Tie Break Game 3 click here

In this season’s Richardson Cup, the national knock out club competition, Dundee Chess Club have been drawn away to Phones (Glasgow). The big tie of the round is between Bon Accord and Glasgow Polytechnic. The remaining two matches are between Edinburgh and Bellshill and lastly Edinburgh West against Hamilton. The matches are scheduled to be played on the afternoon of Saturday 12th January 2019.

The first round of this season’s club championship took place last night. Accelerated pairings are being used for the first 2 of the 5 rounds. With only one match (Max Whisson versus Alan Woodcock) yet to be played, all of the matches yielded decisive outcomes. The standard of play was high and there were no surprises. Top seed Murad Abdulla overcame Alastair Dawson in a closely contested match. On the remaining top 6 boards there were wins for David Findlay over Jim Anderson, Declan Shafi against Frank Stevenson, Ed Spencer versus Pal Shafi, Alan Borwell over Ray Flood and Euan Dawson against Robert Burnett. Other wins came from Dean Ardian,Tommy Sutherland, Lauenziu Archip and Alex Ramsay.

Scottish National Chess League: 2018-19 – Rounds 1 and 2, November 4th, 2018, Dunfermline

The new 2018-19 SNCL chess season kicked off in Dunfermline yesterday. Dundee City have 4 teams registered this year. The A team start as reigning champions; the B team seeking promotion to Division 1 having come so close last season; the C team is trying to gain promotion to Division 3 while we have a new Junior team, also in Division 4.

Round 1 started with a surprise for the A team. Up against Stepps they suffered a loss when Andrew Greet lost to Douglas Bryson. But with Stephen Hogg winning well on Board 5 and draws from David Findlay, Declan and Andrew Wright, the match was drawn 2.5/2.5. In the afternoon, the A-team came into their own with a 4.5/0.5 win over Hamilton. Wins from Andrew, David, Declan and Stephen supplemented with a draw from Andrew led to a very convincing performance and a step towards their title defence. Special mention should go to Stephen for two straight wins.

In Division 2, the Dundee City B team started their campaign with a thumping win 5-0 over Dumfries and District A. The team has changed slightly from last year. Andrew Babin now takes up Board 2 with Carey Groves moving down to Board 4. Strength in depth is a feature of the team now, not only with Carey on Board 4 but also with Ben Volland on Board 3 and Euan Dawson on Board 5. The impressive nature of the 5-0 win was highlighted by Sam Gregory’s win on Board 1 over Michael Green (2076). The afternoon match proved to be much tougher. The team was up against Dunfermline Knights led by Ian Robertson (2045). Unfortunately both Sam and Andre lost their games but this was countered by win by Ben and Euan on Boards 3 and 5. A draw from Carey led to the match being drawn 2.5/2.5. Deserved credit goes to both Ben and Euan for winning both their matches.

There were both new and old faces in the Dundee City C team in Division 4 now composed of Alastair Dawson, Paul Shafi, Ray Flood, Keith Rose and Ed Walton. The first match was a whitewash 5-0 over Hidden Dragons. Special mention goes to Ray Flood who crushed his opponent in only 13 moves. Whereas the opponents in Round 1 were relatively inexperienced, the match in the afternoon was very much more difficult against Dumfries and District B. Again the team completed a 5-0 whitewash win with, again, Ray Flood being first to finish after only 35 minutes of play. Some of the matches were very tight indeed, particularly those of Alastair and Keith. Overall a great start to the promotion push and a rare 10-0 score for the day.

The first SNCL tournament day of the 2018-19 season was most special, however, for our Dundee City Junior (D) team. For all of them it was their second outing in weekend chess following the highly successful Dundee Congress in October. The prime objective for them all is to have fun and enjoy their chess and also gain valuable experience. In the morning they were hugely out graded against Corstorphine, typically in excess of a 500 point difference. There were losses on all boards except that of Rishabh Akula (608) who pulled off an amazing win over Angus Ruthven (1188) – a brilliant performance. So the match result was 1-4. In the afternoon the Junior team were again heavily out graded against CS BOS2. This time the grading differences were individually between 500-700 points and this time there was a 0-5 loss. The Junior team players performed exceptionally well during both the morning and afternoon sessions. In fact they played two of the strongest teams in the group and they surely will relish playing some of less strong teams in Rounds 3 and 4 on November 25th.

Undoubtedly, the performance of the day has to go to Rishabh Akula while special mention should also go to Stephen Hogg, Ben Volland and Euan Dawson in the A and B teams for 100% game scores.

For a complete list of results click here.

Alastair Dawson
5th November 2018