Emma Bentley pictured with Johnny Nelson promoting the Chess Sets for Derbyshire Schools programme.
Link to :- www.2seeitlive.com/derbyschools
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Emma is playing Joel Defries the presenter for BBC Blue Peter. After the game played in Trafalgar Square London on the fantastic chess set designed by Spanish designer Jamie Hayon Emma was presented with a Blue Peter silver badge.
London Chess Classic
Further to the above, I've done a little research. Do either of these grab?
1. Thursday Dec 10. Train leaves (Sheffield 10 27) Chesterfield 10 39, arr London St Pancras 12 34. Tube to Olympia for 2pm event start. Leave at 8pm (games last until 9pm in theory) to catch 20 55, arr Chesterfiekl 10 45pm. Cost, I'm told, £22 train, (£25 from Sheffield) £5.60 tube; £10 entry to tournament, total £37 60pp.
2. Car, any day. 150 miles to Olympia, but mostly on M1. Leave Chesterfield 11 am, arr Olympia 2pm. £19.50 parking (best I've found, though there's probably free parking nearby on Sunday at least). £10 entry, leave 9pm. Total cost maybe £10pp + £40? petrol = £20 pp for a car of four.
Of course, we could do either or both depending on preferences or numbers. I'll also circulate some Sheffield players with the info.
October:
Under "Derbyshire" you'll find a report of the gallant stand made by the county team against Manchester, and, as an innovation, the league table. This is updated efficiently by weekly email to a few of us, but much more rarely on the county website: so here it will be when you need to know where we stand.
AGM and Fixtures meetings: the results.
The Sheffield C team was dropped, but Saturday chess will be available for most levels of player, as we maintain four other teams. There was much success to report: Paul Blackman and his juniors making a big impression; and president Mike Smith singled out for especial applause Jeremy Hamm, whose Sheffield A team retained the Woodhouse Cup, surely the North of England's premier trophy and one of the oldest competitions in the world.
Fixtures are now official: see the section of this website. We start as soon as 22 Sept, at Derby. In the Richardson, we've got Aughton at home, and if we survive that, Nomads away, which presumably would install us among the favourites or free some dates for those rearranged matches!
Big news was that the British Championship will be at Ponds Forge in Sheffield in July 2011, conveniently slotting between the World Cup and the London Olympics. Much more to follow, including a likely attempt to set up a Sheffield Congress.
There are still efforts going on to start a 3 player day time league. We are invited to enter a team, or individuals who will be matched up with people from other clubs.
Paul Bailey urges people to enter the Sheffield Individual Championship, if we think we're hard enough to dethrone Chris Shephard, or if we fancy the fun of the 6 round Swiss.
I wrote the minutes of these meetings myself; full versions will probably make the Sheffield website once people have had the chance to correct them.
The AGM recorded the passing of two local players I haven't had the pleasure of knowing or playing myself. Bill Ward wrote a heartfelt tribute to his Woodseats clubmate Les Pratt; Rod Hirst will be known to people who played in matches against Ecclesall.
The Sheffield C team was dropped, but Saturday chess will be available for most levels of player, as we maintain four other teams. There was much success to report: Paul Blackman and his juniors making a big impression; and president Mike Smith singled out for especial applause Jeremy Hamm, whose Sheffield A team retained the Woodhouse Cup, surely the North of England's premier trophy and one of the oldest competitions in the world.
Fixtures are now official: see the section of this website. We start as soon as 22 Sept, at Derby. In the Richardson, we've got Aughton at home, and if we survive that, Nomads away, which presumably would install us among the favourites or free some dates for those rearranged matches!
Big news was that the British Championship will be at Ponds Forge in Sheffield in July 2011, conveniently slotting between the World Cup and the London Olympics. Much more to follow, including a likely attempt to set up a Sheffield Congress.
There are still efforts going on to start a 3 player day time league. We are invited to enter a team, or individuals who will be matched up with people from other clubs.
Paul Bailey urges people to enter the Sheffield Individual Championship, if we think we're hard enough to dethrone Chris Shephard, or if we fancy the fun of the 6 round Swiss.
I wrote the minutes of these meetings myself; full versions will probably make the Sheffield website once people have had the chance to correct them.
Some Meetings
Sheffield AGM was on Sept 2nd at Nomads, The Harlequin, Nursery St. There were minor tweaks to rules which will soon be on the Sheffield website.
Derbyshire AGM and fixtures meet was Thursday 3rd at Rolls Royce - Mike Alcock went and picked up the county champion's trophy for what he tells me, and I almost believe him, will probably be the last time.
and Sheffield fixtures meet was Sept 16th, Wednesday 7 30 at Aughton. Fixtures for 2009/10 now on our website; possibly a couple of clashes will be rearranged.
New Gradings
Summer Chess
...and Frank spotted the website at home in California while planning a trip to see family. Terrific to meet him; we had six or seven there for a jolly evening of chess and beer. Frank has sent me some great photographs of a trip to Hungary organised by GM Susan Polgar, which I'm sure he'd be glad for anyone interested to see - can forward by email. A rare treat to make a new friend like that; he may turn out as a ringer if back over during the season.
The British Championship is being slugged out late July to early August, 11 round Swiss in Torquay. A few local players have had the courage to risk it, and as I write after 4 rounds two old faces have started very well: 2.5/4 for Chris Ross, and a splendid 3/4 by the Sheffield Nomads star Paul Cumbers, which puts him right among the leaders. Paul's fourth round was a win with Black against IM James Cobb, who must be rated near 230.
NOTICE OF AGM
The Times, July 25th
Meanwhile, Emma set about publicising the event by playing Raymond Snoddy at The House of Commons; GM Ray Keene devoted the whole of his column to this on July 25th. If I knew how to lift it to print here, I would; as it is, the column will be on line for at least some days yet and I urge folk to take a look.
Mike Alcock County Champion yet again!
Derby & District League II
May 6th Chesterfield 2.5-1.5 v Breadsall to win the cup; see Derbyshire section for match report...and as a cherry on the cake, the annual Rolls Royce jamboree as well.
Derby & District League.
Chesterfield have won the Derby & District, one of the two leagues we enter. With one match still to play, our total of 10 wins, a draw and two losses for 21 points can't be matched. Seven other teams competed in the top division, from as far away as Lichfield and Long Eaton; closest contenders were from West Notts, Belper and Derby. Thanks to all the players who supported our efforts.
Sheffield League
We've finished third, which is honourable and probably a fair reflection of where we stand for the moment: Nomads were worthy winners and congratulations to them. If we're not to get the trophy, at least it went to our senior partners in the winning Woodhouse Cup all-star combo, and you'd be hard put to speak too highly of Jonathan, Kieran, Jeremy and co. as players or as people. Next came Sheffield University, and readers of our history section will know something of the contribution that institution has made to Yorkshire chess. After a few fallow years, they've built a team worthy of their predecessors, and that's really saying something.
Our own points tally might have been a little higher, had those last matches required a bigger effort, and had a few earlier not got away. But we start next season with as good a chance as any, and my thanks to all our players. The Davy League is hard to win: it's a fine and difficult competition, as shown by the talent, both in chess and the wider world, of the people whose interest and affection it engages. We played a full part in keeping it that way.
Our individual scores were mostly within yoo-hooing distance of 50%, with two standouts: captain's prize Martin Howard 12.5/15 just ahead of Steve Bracey 10.5/13.
Best wishes and cheerio but I'll bet only for one season to our good buddies of Phoenix and Woodseats. We've had some great battles and good evenings with both over many years; it's been a pleasure and an honour to sit across the table with some of those people, and one we surely hope to enjoy again soon. Nomads are even now planning how to keep their crown while dividing their efforts between two A Division teams, and congratulations to Paul Kelman, Dean Hartley and friends of Clay Cross: next year Derbyshire has two clubs going for the Davy.
The Woodhouse Cup leaves Yorkshire!
Matches against Alwoodley and Doncaster wrapped up this competition. Alwoodley especially didn't go down easily; it was 3-3 for ages, though rationally we knew the last points were going to come. Hubert Mossong proved The Man once again: he's won every game he played in this competition, and ground down his opponent in the ending, after a black square domination of a type so familiar to us. He was missing for the Doncaster match, in which Jim Burnett led his people bravely, but against a strong Sheffield team: Jeremy wasn't risking losing this one at the last. A draw being good enough, we were waiting for the vital point to take us to 4; and it came from our own Mike Johnson, a great moment. The final result was 5.5-2.5, our 100% match score being little more than the minimum requirement to finish ahead of York.
Of the Sheffield squad, IM Andrew Ledger represented Woodseats and Dr Peter Hempson, Ecclesall. Couldn't have won it without them; we saw at least two good wins from Carl Walker of Phoenix, and also appearing occcasionally, Bill Ward and Geoff Frost, the latter as stand-in captain. These heroes apart, the squad is drawn from two of the area's many clubs, namely Nomads and Chesterfield. Paul Blackman built a team based on Rotherham Juniors and the University, which easily held its own in the top division; the Barnley/Doncaster crew represent Donny or Wakefield, and one star player never misses a match but plays for York...and of course lots of people have better things to do of a Saturday. Since we won even with this division of resources, it says something for the continuing strength of chess locally.
And it's now our turn to take possession of the trophy itself - ! A fine piece of Victorian silverware, emblazoned with the names of clubs going back to the 1880s. I'd heard it was worth a lot of money, so got it valued, and, sure enough, it's not! but in terms of how badly people wanted it, over many years of trying, absolutely priceless. We'll be showing it off anywhere we can think of, over the next few weeks.
March 09
Feb 14th was showtime in the Woodhouse Cup: the annual Sheffield - York match which has decided matters in the North of England's most prestigious club competition for the last few seasons. Both teams came in having played and won seven, and York had the advantages of home venue and higher gradings on at least 6 of the 8 boards. IM Andrew Ledger of Woodseats took board one and drew with one of his few peers hereabouts, the respected player and writer IM Richard Palliser. It looked very hard fought, beyond that I'm too humble to comment. Four Nomads and three of our own made up the rest of the Sheffield team. FM Hubert Mossong was Sheffield's secret weapon and didn't let the mere fact that his ending was drawn stop him winning on two. Dave Adams turns out for York in this League, and his draw with Jon Nelson was one of the first to finish. Kieran O'Driscoll made it 3-1 at the top end, a fine win v Detlef Plump; nobody on the top 4 was ranked below 185. Mike Johnson made it 50% for our club with a solid draw against Chris Ross - a special note of thanks to him for help with the team motivation - and Jeremy Hamm scored the point that took us over the line, a captain's innings if ever there was one, and a memorable moment for one of the guys who make you proud to play the game. By contrast I'd been scraping a living against Jos Woolley on 5 after an opening howler, thought I'd survived, then went down at the last; since I didn't know the score I wondered if I'd be commiserating with Mohammad Said who also lost a hard ending in the other last game to finish, and we could be remembered together as the unfortunates who lost us the Woodhouse Cup. A blessed relief, as Andrew told us the result. The competition's not over yet, but it's now Sheffield's to lose.
York 3.5 Sheffield 4.5
Feb.14th.
score card
The Times. GM Raymond Keene MA OBE.
Derbyshire v Leicestershire Dec.13th 2008.
The Times, Thursday 19th
I've heard that Ray Keene may be featuring a game by one of our own. And not Noted Master crushes NN in a fashion readers will find amusing and instructive, the usual way Chesterfield players (except Hubert) expect to make a national splash. No, GM Keene is going for Otto Hardy - Emma Bentley, the vital game in which our young star levelled the Leicestershire-Derbyshire match. Apologies to anyone left of centre or right of Genghis Khan who buys the Times and finds the column's been derailed by the outbreak of war or arrival of Martians, but this is what I've heard. Gotta be worth a look! Dave Latham.
Sheffield A v York RI- Woodhouse Cup.
Photo:- Courtesy of Jeremy Hamm, Sheffield.