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Easter Rapid play

EASTER RAPID PLAY
April 1st 

by courtesy of THE CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE

OF HASTINGS & ST LEONARDS CHESS CLUB

TO BE HELD ON

MONDAY 1ST APRIL 2024

CLOCKS START 2:00 p.m.

(arrive and check in by 1:45 p.m.)

7 Round Swiss of 10 minutes per game plus 5 seconds per move.

Results will be submitted for English Chess Federation rapidplay grading.

ENTRIES FROM CLUB MEMBERS ONLY

Many modest (sometimes silly) prizes to be won by players at all levels.

Prize giving is expected to be finished by 6:30 p.m.

Entrance numbers strictly limited to 22 utter absolute tops

and people will be turned away after that number is reached,

so advance booking is strongly recommended.

Entry fee: £3 before 30th March; £6 for later entry.

Book by e-mail to hastingschessclub@outlook.com text or phone Adrian on 07518415429

No tournament if fewer than 12 entries by Monday 25th March.

Haphazard tea time refreshments (self-service) provided.

Visitors’ parking vouchers (cheaper than street parking) available from Jim Wheeler,

07875 712005 or james.wheeler9@btinternet.com

ECL R2 vrs Donetsk

Chess.com 2024 The European Cities League round 2 is now open for registration.

Hastings Club members and residents of Hastings & St Leonards with a Chess.com account are encouraged to join this team match which starts on 17th December 2023

Players play two simultaneous games with up to 3 days per move allowed.

Hastings competes in Division 4 (minimum 7 boards) this season alongside:

  • Donetsk
  • Rome
  • Karagandy
  • Dnipro
  • Metz
  • Bologna
  • Maracena
  • Sheffield
  • Glasgow

For more information and match progress visit Hastings v Donetsk on Chess.com

Previous rounds:

R1: Hastings v Glasgow

 

Hastings start ECL campaign against Glasgow

Chess.com 2024 The European Cities League has started with Hastings playing Glasgow in the first fixture of the season.

Hastings members with chess.com accounts are encouraged to join the match which starts on 12th November.

Players play two simultaneous games with up to 3 days per move allowed.

Hastings will compete in Division 4 (minimum 7 boards) this season alongside:

  • Donetsk
  • Rome
  • Karagandy
  • Dnipro
  • Metz
  • Bologna
  • Maracena
  • Sheffield
  • Glasgow

For more information and match progress visit Hastings v Glasgow on chess.com

 

First round draw McArthur CUP and Paul Watson Trophy

Hastings have drawn local rivals, Bexhill at home for the first round of the McArthur Cup and Uckfield away in the Paul Watson Trophy. Matches to be played by Feb 10th and January 13th respectively.

 

Full details:

McArthur Cup:

1st Round:
 
West: Sussex University v Horsham
Bye – East Grinstead
 
East: Hastings v Bexhill
Bye – Lewes
For the semi-finals, the home team will be determined by whether the winners of the 1st round match were home or away in the 1st round (i.e. if the winner was away in the 1st round they will be at home in the semi-final).
Schedule:
1st round matches to be played by February 10th
Semi-Finals to be played by April 20th
Final to be played by May 31st
 
 
Paul Watson Trophy:
 
1st Round:
 
West: Shoreham v Sussex University
East: Uckfield v Hastings
Quarter-Finals:
West: Bognor v Horsham
Shoreham or Sussex U v East Grinstead (Home team dependent on winner of 1st round)
East: Lewes v Crowborough
Uckfield or Hastings v Bexhill (Home team dependent on winner of 1st round)
Schedule:
1st round matches to be played by January 13th
Quarter-Finals to be played by March 2nd
Semi-Finals to be played by April 27th
Final to be played by May 31st

Hastings Weekend Tournament Sept 23rd and 24th

Hastings Club Weekend Chess Tournament

September 23/ 24 2023

To be held at the Hastings and St. Leonards Chess Club 2 Cornwallis terrace Hastings TN34 1EB

For Players under 1850

Saturday 23 September

Round 1 10.00  Round 2 14.00  Round 3 18.00

Sunday 24 September

 Round 4 10.00 Round 5 14 00

This will be limited to approx. 24 players with free tea coffee and sandwiches

All players will need to be silver or gold members of the ECF

Entry fee  non club members £25

Hastings club members /juniors £15

Time control 1-hour 40mins +15sec a move

A ½ point bye may be requested in advance, except in round 5.

Prizes

1st £125.   2nd £75.   3rd £50.

Grading prize for under 1650 £75

Entry to Marc Bryant at 2 Cornwallis terrace Hastings East Sussex TN34 1EB

Email bryant8830@yahoo.co.uk

Tel 01424 436313

Entry form

Name                                                                      Grade

Club                                                                        Phone number

Email

Address

Kent and Mid Sussex match tables this year

Hastings and St Leonards chess club are in the semi final of the Tom Fuller Cup in the Kent league this year. The Stevenson team have not done so well currently 3rd out of 4 teams.
In the Mid Sussex games Hastings 1 are 2nd out of 10 and Hastings 2 are 10th out of 10, both teams are in division 1 for some reason!
You can see the results here

Junior Club

The juniors club only meets in school term-time, For the autumn term 2023, we are open every Friday, 8 September to 15 December.

For the Spring term 2024, we are open every Friday from 12 January till 22 March, except 16 February, the Spring School Holiday.

Opening times.  The Juniors club meets on Friday evenings 5.00 till 6.45 p.m. in the lower playing room at 2 Cornwallis Terrace.

Our club for Juniors is run by our members Mark Brougham and Keith Hossack. All young persons aged five to eighteen are very welcome, and parents who wish to accompany their children are very welcome too. The Juniors club is for all ability levels: we are happy to teach beginners the moves, and we welcome all who enjoy playing chess, whether for fun or more competitively. And Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club has plenty of expert members who will be happy to give tips to any budding chess prodigies!

For further details please contact Keith Hossack at dialethe@yahoo.co.uk

Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club has an approved and rigorous safeguarding policy. 

 

 

Players trip to St Albans Chess Congress

23 April – 24 April 2022

Chess tournaments are a strange mixture of tension and excitement. The high points are really high, especially following a challenging win. And the low points are really low, especially when full of self-recriminations when making a foolish mistake, or failing to capitalise on a winning position. Five long games over two days is physically (as well as mentally) draining. Most importantly, chess is a social sport, and sharing the event with fellow club members is definitely to be recommended.

This was exactly what happened this weekend as a group of 10 chess players from Hastings & St Leonards Chess Club, with a wide range of abilities, travelled to St Albans for a weekend of chess. The event was split into five sections, with the lower graded players in the Minor event, and the strongest players in the Open, (with Intermediate, Major and Challenger in between). Hastings was represented in each section. The games were timed at 90 minutes for each player (with an extra 10 seconds added with each move), meaning that the games could last over three hours. With three games on Saturday and two on Sunday the time spent sitting at a chess board can easily mount up.

The club representatives were:

Minor section

Bill Filby

Martin Fletcher

Paul Buswell

Intermediate section

Marc Bryant

Major section

Steve Blewitt

Ted Filby

Challenger section

Brendan Ruane

Paul Kelly

Jim Wheeler

Open section

Rasa Norinkeviciute

At the close of play on Saturday there were three players with 2 points out the possible 3. These were father and son, Ted and Bill, and also Steve. Two of these were able to maintain their form, and were joined on day two by Paul Buswell in achieving a score of more than 50%. Paul and Steve both delivered a final score of 3, while Ted increased his score to 3½. With three draws, Ted finished his section in third place with no losses.

The overall winner on the day was Han Yichen, a 14 year old player from the Netherlands, representing Magdalen College School, who finished on 4½ points in the Open.

In the Minor section Martin delivered the first blunder of the tournament. Following an unforgivable lapse of concentration he lost his knight on move 4. It is generally believed that the loser is the player who makes the last mistake and that proved to be the case in this game. Both players continued to play steady chess, and the move 4 error was never recovered. Martin won his next game and also won the fifth game finishing in 34th place with 2 points. Bill was unable to improve on the two points at the end of the first day, and stayed on 2 points at the end, sharing 34th place with Martin. Paul Buswell played well in this section, with two wins and two draws finishing well up the rankings in 15th place.

In the Intermediate section Marc arrived on Saturday in high spirits, looking forward to some stimulating chess. However, the lack of regular practice started to show in his results, and he finshed the day with just half a point; a score which did not increase on day two.

The Major section was where the top action was seen with Ted’s podium finish. Steve finished close behind Ted with three points, and 9th place. This was achieved with two wins and two draws.

In the Challengers section Paul Kelly was hindered by the logistics of a chess tournament. On Sunday morning his train was cancelled and he missed the replacement bus. He was awarded a half point bye for game four and he lost game five, finishing the event with 2 points. This was disappointing as his first game in round one was, in his own words, a perfect game. Brendan Ruane finished on 2½ points with one win, two draws and a bye, with Jim Wheeler not far behind with two draws and one win for 2 points. Jim and Brendan took advantage of the pairing on Sunday morning. Finding they were playing against each other they delivered an early draw, giving them time to enjoy the local pub before the afternoon game.

Finally, in the Open section, Rasa finished 15th with two points achieved from two draws and one win. It was noted that Rasa spent the most time at the boards with her games nearly all going to the wire. When everyone else had finished playing on Saturday evening, Jim checked on the progress of Rasa’s game and reported back that after over two hours her game was just starting out, with a position everyone else was in two hours earlier. The late Saturday finish did mean that the evening meal was a takeaway just as the restaurants were closing. But it also meant that there was the maximum time spent in companionable converstation about all things related to chess. And that, after all, is what it is all about. Ted went home with a top three finish. The rest of us went home with happy memories and plans for the net tournament where we will do better, having learnt important lessons at this one. Don’t go to the pub before game five; check on train and bus arrangements; don’t leave all the action to the last five minutes of play; play some practice games before the tournament; and most importantly don’t move your knight to g5 on move 4.

Report from Martin Fletcher