Northumberland at the Terafinal
The TERAFINAL, the final stage of this year’s UK Chess Challenge took place in Daventry on the weekend, 12th and 13th, August. No, I wasn’t there but found I was able to follow it all on my computer with Chess24 for the live games in the Terafinal and the results, with all the game scores, for the Challengers Tournaments, using chess-results.com.
Yichen Han, still officially an Under-9, scored a splendid 4½ out of 6, in the Terafinal itself. All but one of his opponents were older than he was, some by a considerable margin, so this was a fantastic result. By my calculations, though only 4th= overall, he should have won the prize for best Under-11 as well as best Under-9.
Also in this section Zheming Zhang scored 4/6. He suffered a bad loss in Round 3, when his opponent playing an unusual gambit, scored with a very strong K-side attack. After this he was never really in contention for one of the big prizes.
There were two Challengers tournaments; James Moreby, the top rated player in Challengers A, was never seriously challenged. On 5/5 he was able to agree a very soft draw in ten moves to take the money. He was probably in a winning position when he offered the draw. 5½/6 won him the competition by a full point.
Hanif Zaman, at 18 one of the old men in this tournament, scored half marks. He might have hoped for more than 3/6 but it was probably a fair result. Sai Chinmayee Kumaar was possibly a bit overawed in this competition. 2/6 is a fair enough score at her age, but she will probably be a little disappointed not to have done better
In the Challengers B tournament, Max Turner was, like James, the highest graded player. He went through the tournament undefeated, but simply drew too many games. 4½/6 gave him a share of fourth place.
All the games in this event are available to play through on chess-results.com. Go to the website, click on ENG for the list of English tournaments. Then go to the tournament that concerns you and click where it says ‘there are … games available for download’.
Grandmaster Training and Last Chance Saloon
Please note: The Grandmaster Training part of this event is organised by Forest Hall Chess Club not the NJCA
Dear all,
This year’s Last Chance Saloon for the Delancey UK Chess Challenge will be held on Saturday 13th May at Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s Institute, and hosted by Forest Hall Chess Club.
Entry fees of £8 per player can be submitted in the usual way, via this website.
The Last Chance Saloon is for Under 11s only, as all children 11 years and older can enter the MegaFinal on May 20 directly without pre-qualification.
The Last Chance Saloon will take place from 2pm to 6pm, and consist of 7 rounds. The exact format will be determined based on the numbers of entries on the day.
As part of the day’s activities, Forest Hall Chess Club is also hosting a combined Grandmaster Training session for junior and adult players, led by three experienced coaches: Grandmaster Daniel Gormally, myself and Mike Smith. The theme will be: “How to Calculate Tactics”
This will run from 11:30am to 1:30pm, and will be open to chess players of all ages and abilities. Cost is £10 per player.
Entries for the Grandmaster Training are being taken by Mike Smith:
By email: [email protected]
By telephone: 07717 718 761
I look forward to seeing a good turnout for both the Last Chance Saloon and Grandmaster Training.
Yours sincerely,
Tim Wall
Northumbria Coordinator
Delancey UK Chess Challenge
Tel: 0750 372 2366
The 2017 Tyneside Easter Chess Congress
Please note: This event is organised by Forest Hall Chess Club not the NJCA
Dear chess friends,
It’s that time – you’ve done your opening preparation, played blitz on the internet, and even thought (briefly) about finally opening that endgame book!
But still you feel the lure of the chessboard, and perhaps a certain yen for hand-to-hand combat in over-the-board tournament chess. Don’t worry – the answer is at hand! You can enter the inaugural Tyneside Easter Congress, coming up at Forest Hall Chess Club on 14-16 April.
Just follow this link to enter online: http://foresthallchess.org.uk/enter-online/
and you can download the entry form here: http://foresthallchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/tyneside-easter-congress-entry-form-2017.pdf
The organizers (myself, Brian Towers and Paul Charlton) are raring to go with the fastest computer pairing system in the West, and we’d love to see you there.
So go on, give it a go – it’s your move!
Tim Wall
CSC Course (for parents\coaches interested in teaching chess in schools)
Please note: This event is organised by CSC not the NJCA
Hi everyone,
The charity headed by IM Malcolm Pein, Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC), is holding a one-day training and familiarisation course for people who would like to teach chess in schools.
CSC puts together schools and chess tutors, asking schools to run chess for an hour a week as part of the learning curriculum – and arranging for the tutors to be paid for their efforts. It also provides a teaching curriculum and materials to be used in the classes, and helps with getting chess equipment. (CSC also offers advice and support in getting DBS-checked, as I understand.)
The course is FREE to take, and will be at Newcastle University on Thursday April 27, 10:30am-4:30pm.
Venue: King George VI Building, Sch. of ECLS, Queen Victoria Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU.
It’s very easy to take part. Simply sign up here: http://www.chessinschools.co.uk/training_courses.htm
PLEASE NOTE: Tick the box that says:I am involved in a CSC school (no charge) – and leave the field ‘CSC school (if applicable)’ blank.
(This is because CSC has yet to approach many of the schools where it hopes to start chess classes.)
There is no obligation – just come along to the training course, learn about running chess in schools (or recap what you already know).
Then CSC will contact schools and get the classes up and running.
So please sign up if this is interesting to you, and tell anyone you think might be interested they are welcome.
Hope to see you there!
Tim Wall
Thematic Chess Tournament @ Dame Allan’s
Please Note: This event is not organised by the NJCA.
Dame Allan’s is hosting a Thematic Chess Tournament on Saturday 11th February, for more information click here
Durham County School Team Championships
Please Note: This is not an NJCA event and is therefore not covered under the NJCA’s public liability insurance.