News

Albert’s Christmas Cracker

It would be a shock win at any time. But after Albert Chacko had gone through a demoralising run of 11 losses it was just A.M.A.Z.I.N.G as Strictly’s Craig Revell Horwood would no doubt have said. Far from being demoralised by a total collapse in form after a brilliant start to the season Albert defeated Mircea Mesesan, hot favourite to win Lichfield’s Chess Club’s acclaimed ECF-rated internal tournament.

The competition is now entering its fourth round and all the matches bar one have been individually arranged at a time and venue – Guildhall or Kings Head – to suit the participants.

It is hoped and expected that the Newcomers’ Trophy tournament which is due to start any time soon will prove equally successful, see below.

New tournament will address long standing problem

A problem affecting many sports and social clubs is that it is relatively easy to attract newcomers but much more difficult to retain them. Young and old alike can under estimate the ability level of the existing members and quickly decide it is not for them. Yet if they stay for six months or so many will find they have improved significantly.

Officers of Lichfield Chess Club with its 50 plus strong membership receive many inquiries about joining the club but it is common for people to say they are coming and then change their minds. Frustratingly when they do come along some will find that the standard is higher than they expected and they disappear.

Improving retention haas been discussed amongst Lichfield’s management team from time to time without a definitive plan to improve things being devised.

Now finally, there are hopes that a new tournament designed specifically to help integrate newcomers will help to improve their skills and give them an appetitie for league chess.

The group who hve entered the competition are all capable players and are familiar with computer chess, but they all arrived at the club after the league season started in September which has made it harder for them to become regular team members. Past experience has shown that can equate to deciding to leave.

They are all deligfhted to learn about the tournament and will all play each other in turn at a venue and date to be decided by them, Mostly they will choose The Guildhall on a Thursday or the Kings Head on a  Monday with games played at either person’s home being another possibility.

After cycling across Asia Ironman faces chess challenge

Chris Benson is not a man to shrink from a challenge so when he needed to return to the UK from China for his wedding he decided to cycle all the way.

That meant a ride of 4,800 miles for Chris and it took 48 days of riding 100 mile stints, the most worrying parts coming from border officials at the beginning and end of his journey. He also had to cope repeatedly with dogs who took delight in chasing his cycle. He surmised they were either wild dogs or guard dogs and eventually he took to riding on busy roads to avoid them.

Chris had been working in Shanghai where he met his future wife Turan. who hails from Azerbaijan. It was there that he became an Ironman-a successful competitor in a triathlon which involves a 2.4 mile swim, an 112 mile cycling leg and a 26 mile run.

Chris was already a keen cyclist and a capable runner but his problem was that he was a weak swimmer by most standards and it took him months and months of training to reach a stage where he had a fighting chance of completing the swimming leg of an Ironman event.

Complete the course he did and that, plus an insatiable appetite for challenging himself, set him up for his potentially dangerous and epic cycle journey.

He decided to start his ride from the western edge of China but found that the Chinese authorities were suspicious of poeple leaving the country. “There was a five kilometer gap between the border between China and Kazahkstan, lines with watch towers and barbed wire to keep people out. Because of Covid the borders of Central asia had b een closed for nearly three years and there there was nothing on the Internet about people having tried it” said Chris.

Initially Chris slept in a tent but then discovered that accommodation was very cheap. “Hotels were often less than £15 per night and they did incredible buffet breakfasts, perfect for a hungry cyclist. Then I reached Europe and it was back to the tent” said Chris.

His journey took him through 16 countries, with Central Asia proving the most difficult to navigate, but also providing the most welcoming people. They were fr m all backgrounds and always ready to help and provide food and the goodwill made the journey feel easier .

That was until he reached Hungary where the border guard looked askance at the UK passport. “This is the EU” he said. “You can’t cross with that passport. Only the main border crossing post 70 kilometers away allows those”. Chris was forced to make the long detour.

Back i n the Uk and working as a manager at Aldi head office at Atherstone , Chris initially cycled to work but he has now trasitioned to to running with the Lichfield Running Club. He has now set himself a more sedate target. He is trying to become a proficient chess player at Lichfield Chess Club where his wife Turan has made a great start and quickly shown that she is one of the highest ranked players in the club’s history.

He has entered the club’s very succesful Swiss tournament which involves playing a match each month until the end of the season. He and his wife now have something else to celebrate-the birth of their first child last week. Turan kept up her chess playing until a few days days before the birth. They are that sort of family.

Combined team dominating Derby League

It is unlikely to last but the combined Lichfield and Burton teams are currently the dominant club in the Derby League. L and B are second in Division 1 and top of both the Second and Third Divisions.

New internal tournament is a big hit

Lichfield Chess Club’s management team are delighted with the success of a new internal tournament introduced and run by club chairman David Fone

The Swiss tournament, which involves members playing a round each month throughout the season, has attracted 26 players, just over half the club membership.

Leaders after two rounds are the favourite, Mircea Mesesan, organiser David Fone, Peter Rose, Albert Chacko and John Fryer, all on two points.

Turan looks to inspire future generation of female players

It is such rarity for the Midlands to boast a woman in their top team that there is extra interest in Lichfield newcomer Turan Asgarova, who has started brilliantly by winning her first two games, the second being against the board one of the Birmingham League’s champion team. She has now continued her excellent form, unbdeaten after seven games, four of them won

Turan has won both her matches to far and has already improved her 2070 rating, the second win of which came at the expense of Birmingham Central’s 2000 plus board one.

Web site editor David Short, who has been a club official for almost all the 21st century, said that there had been very few female members and none who in his recollection had ever played in a league team. “However, amongst our newcomers this season we do have a very promising 14 years old ,Emilie Nastase, who is very likely to make her league debut before long” he said.

That will please Turan who says that promoting chess for girls was something very close to her heart.She has a degree in sports coaching and coached chess for youngters in her native Azerbaijan “I will be delighted if news of my success at Lichfield inspires more local females” she said.

Turan learned chess from her father at five and like Nigel Short played in her first inernational tournament at 10. She stopped playing chess seriously at 16, returning to the sport a few years later. She met her husband Chris Benson in Shanghai and they became engaged in 2022. Shortly afterwards Chris set off on an epic journey by cycle from Shanghai to Britain.

They met up again in England and after a brief stay in the Nottingham area they became house hunters in Lichfield. “I loved Beacon Park and the city centre” she said. Both Turan and Chris have been to the Guildhall and the Kings Head and they have found the club very welcoming.

Chris also has an enthralling back story which we hope to include on the website next month.

Turan with grandmaster Nigel Short at a Shanghai Tournament

Ben on a roll with third club trophy in 12 months

Ben Nevett Forman collected two trophies for his performances last season and promptly won another one- the five round Quickplay Tournament whick kicked off the new season in the Guildhall.

Ben collected maximum points to head Mircea Mesesan and Elliot Ward who finished level second on four points. There were 26 entries.

Back to twice a week chess

For the first time since April Lichfield Chess Club members will next week have the opportunity to attend twice a week until the Christmas break.

On Monday , 1st September the Kings Head in Bird St will be open for social chess and on Thursday, 4th September the Guildroom at the Bore St Guildhall will be the venue for one of the season’s three major trophy winning events, the Quickplay. This is a time handicapped event which gives weaker players the chance to shine because they will have much more time to make their moves.

There are 28 entries so far and it is not too late for one of the numerous newcomers to enter and if they feel that is a step too far for the moment there will also be social chess in the spacious Guildroom. The 4th will be the first chance for up to 18 or so newcomers to visit. Fo more information on the Quickplay contact David Short, Tel 01543 304212 email, davidmshort42@gmail.com. Tea,coffee or soft drink will be available to members a nd newcomers free of charge.

New club tournament will be rated

For the first time Lichfield Chess Club is giving members the chance to earn FIDE rating points without leaving the clubroom.

There are 25 entries for a Swiss system which starts on 1st September and will run until April. Players will complete one match per month and venues and dates will be arranged between the matched pairs.

Club chairman and organiser David Fone said that some members are unwilling to travel long distances to league games and the tournament will suit them in particular as well as providing an excellent and convenient opportunity to experience competitive chess.

“We are running 16 teams in four different leagues and the new competition will provide invaluable experience for th

Tight finish to Lightning Tournament

With a round to go eight players were still in with a chance of winning the Lichfield Lightning Tournament No surprise then that two players, Brian Denny and Ben Nevett-Farman finished with 4.5 points out of five and could not be separated as they drew the game played between them.

Albert Chacko and David Hulme finished half a point behind and there was a commendable performance by Ben White who scored 3.5.

Ben Nevett Farmer is the new club champion

When the Lichfield Club Championship continuedwith the final three rounds on Thursday, 2nd January it was expected to be a close finish with five leading players separated by only half a point. And that is how it turned out when the final three rounds were played on 2nd January.

Ben was held to a draw in round three but then won his next three games to finish on 5.5 points. Adam Routledge lost in the fifth round but fought back to win his last game and finish on 5 points whilst Murcea Mesesan wfinished third with 4.5 points. There was an outstanding performance by 16 years old newcomer Josh Clarke who joined the club before finishing on four points

Forty of the club’s 50 members initially entered the competition and but for sickness which ruled out several members it would have been a record. Twenty five members contested the final rounds,

An icon in Turkmenistan

Thirty one years ago your web editor’s son, Nigel Short lost in the final of the Chess World Championship against Garry Kasparov and for a while was a minor celebrity in Britain but became a much bigger celebrity in scores of countries around the world.

Recently he went to Turkmenistan on behalf of his employer’s FIDE, the world chess federation and found that his visit was still a big event. No fewer than eight newspapers ran articles and he was also on television. Nigel has responsibllity for liaison with the chess organisations in 52 countries and he has now visited around 160 countries in his career either as a player or as a FIDE representative.

There are three things you may like to know about Turkmenistan. Firstly, it is very difficult to get access to as permission is only granted for about 40 foreigners per day, secondly all the buildings and cars are white (symbol of purity) and thirdly if you are wondering where in the Middle East it is located, it’s southern border is Iran.

Next up in his travels is the Marshall Islands in the Pacific and that is where older citizens will remember Britain tested a nuclear bomb after the Second World War. Not an easy place to reach, the Marshall Islands. It will take Nigel eight flights from his home in Athens, five of them island hopping. Last year his book, Winning, was voted the chess book of the year.