Hamilton Chess Club

The 2014 club championship kicked off last night with 15 players in the Open Division and 7 competing in the Junior division for  a total of 22 players. In the past 3 years we have had 16 entries (2011), 12 entries (2012) and 21 entries (2013). Maybe next year we can make it 25. Richard did well to take a draw off Stefan. Josh took a bye in the juniors because of school commitments, but will be joining the tournament next week. We had  a slightly slow start to get the draw sorted this week, but now that we are underway clocks will be starting at 7:15 sharp, whether you are there or not, so don’t be late.

The crosstables so far follow … Read the rest of this entry »

Dave Whiting and Nick Sayers joined the club last night and are now participating in this years Club Championship. Nick has been to the club on and off over the years but will now be coming on a regular basis. Based in Tirau Nick is a dedicated chess fan playing at the BOP club in Tauranga on Monday nights, and then with us on Tuesday nights! Welcome Nick. Dave also travels quite a distance to play as he is based in Ngaruawahia. He has previously played club chess in Christchurch, and at one point for the Abergavenny Chess Club (that’s in Wales boyo) where he had a respectable rating of 1880. I see from the the Abergavenny Chess Club ‘s website that they meet upstairs at the Kings Arms Hotel, a late sixteenth century coaching inn. I hope room G2, Hamilton Boys High School, can compare favourably to Daves former haunt! Dave started well in the tournament last night with a draw against Eddie. Welcome Dave.

The Club champs will run over six club nights starting  Tuesday 11^th March.

The format will be  start time 7.15pm, 1 game per night, open to paid up (as of 11/3/14) club members only . You can check when your sub is due by going to the website – About > Who We Are.  Online payments preferred, see the website for details. Remember No Sub No Play.

There will be an Open Division, and a Junior Division (stronger Junior members can elect to play in the Open Division if they wish; sadly – for some of us at least – weaker senior members cannot elect to play in the Junior division). The Junior division might run over five rounds depending on numbers, or even as a round robin.

The winner of the Open Division will be awarded the title Club Champion 2014. The winner of the Junior division will be awarded the title Club Junior Champion 2014 and will receive a book prize.

Entries will be seeded based on Current club ratings. No late entries allowed – so if you cant make it on the first night let me know and you will be awarded a bye. Also if you want to play but might be a little late on the first night let me know and I will include you in the draw. Please don’t turn up after 7:15 and expect me to redo the draw.  Entries will not be accepted in week two or beyond

Time limit 45 minutes plus 10 seconds per move from move 1, as we need to be out of the room by 9:30. Junior division will be  25 minutes plus 5 seconds per move from move 1.

Games start at 7.15pm – a 30 minute late time applies (your game is lost if you are 30 minutes late). Late time for Juniors is 25 minutes.

Clocks will be started at 7:15 even if neither player is present.

Usual FIDE laws apply. Disputes committee will be club executive (Hilton Ian and Richard). If one or two of the disputes committee is/are party to a dispute, the remaining member(s) will constitute the disputes committee.

Please bring a pen to record your games (recording is mandatory in the open divison, but optional for the  junior division).

One 1/2 point bye allowed per player, if notified to Ian the Sunday before the round that it applies.

No half point byes allowed in rounds 5 or 6.

Ties will be decided using  tie breaks in the following order:  Buchholz Cut 1, Buchholz Total, Buchholz Median, Sonneborn-Berger.  If still tied the award will be shared.

We have some serious chess coming up soon with the club champs, but members are urged to show a little more restraint than an Italian ‘cannibal’ lodger that confessed to a frenzied knife murder of Irish journalist over a midnight game of chess.  The Italian man cut open his Dublin landlord’s chest and tried to eat his heart following a fight over a chess match. Police said: ‘It’s one of the most horrific acts of violence committed against an innocent person in Irish history.’  Saverio Bellante, 34, was charged with murder. Police say he admitted his guilt after being arrested at the home he shared with Tom O’Gorman, a policy researcher for a conservative Catholic think tank in Ireland. Pathologists said the 39-year-old victim suffered dozens of severe knife wounds to his head and chest, which had been cut fully open. Ireland’s senior pathologist determined that the heart remained, but a lung was missing. The crime scene was said to be so shocking that the two officers who found the body will be sent for trauma counselling. Police offered no explanation for what happened to the lung. Evidence suggested that O’Gorman’s prone head and body also were bludgeoned with a dumbbell. Bellante called police to report the killing. He claimed to officers that he had cut open O’Gorman’s chest and tried to eat his heart after a dispute over a move in a chess match the two had been playing. Bellante offered no plea at his arraignment in a Dublin court. When Judge David McHugh asked him why he had no lawyers, Bellante said he wanted to represent himself and would decline state-funded legal aid. A policeman testified that, when charged with murder Bellante replied: ‘I am guilty.’ In the club champs members are urged not to resort to violence but to refer any disputes to the arbiter.

Casual chess next week. New members welcome. We will start this year’s club champs in two weeks time on the 11th of March. There will be an open and a reserve division. Only financial members are eligible to play in the club champs.

The club gained its 33rd member with Richard Dare signing up last night. Richard is a strong player with an NZCF standard rating of 1796. He already has 26 club games eligible for a club rating with an impressive score of +15=6-5. That gives him a club rating of 1605 and makes him the fourth highest rated player in the club. Club ratings have been updated to include Richards games. Richard also prevailed in our “Doubles” tournament last night with a score of 8 out of 10. Welcome Richard.

Last nights novelty tournament involved a “Doubles” format, with players competing against an opponent on two boards simultaneously, one as black and the other as white, each with a separate clock. The time control was 7 minutes + 2 seconds on each of the two clocks and there were a total of five rounds meaning 10 games in all. Although sounding relatively simple on paper, in practice the mental switch required from black to white backwards and forwards proved a challenge. Richard Dare top scored on 9 out of a possible 10, followed by Daniel and Eddie on 8 points each. The games will not be used for club rating purposes. The full cross table can be seen here

We will have a novel tournament format next week – one that hasnt been seen previously at the club but is likely to prove a hit with members. We will start at 7:20pm sharp, so dont be late

The new club venue at Hamilton Boys High School looks great. Much more spacious and light than our previous digs. Thanks once again to Graham for organizing this for us. We had 16 players for opening night. A six round swiss tournament at 5 + 3 was won by William with 5 points, followed by Richard Dare on 4.5. Club ratings have been updated. The crosstable can be viewed below…

Read the rest of this entry »

Grandmaster NIGEL SHORT will give a 20-Board SIMULTANEOUS CHESS EXHIBITION Sunday, March 2nd. Games begin 1pm New Zealand National Chess Centre, Devonport St Paul’s, 100b Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland. English chess superstar and former World Championship Candidate Nigel Short will take on 20 players simultaneously at this inaugural chess event of New Zealand’s National Chess Centre in Devonport. Following welcome speeches from NZCF President Paul Spiller and North Shore MP Maggie Barry, Nigel will officially open the Centre by playing his first move. To Play: e-mail ncc@newzealandchess.co.nz to request a playing spot ($50), and, if accepted, bank details will be supplied for payment. Timetable: 12 noon, Doors Open. 1pm, Games begin. Exhibition ends approximately 4.30 pm. Spectators welcome

Starting at 7.30 pm on Tuesday the 18th of February we will be meeting at Hamilton Boys’ High School.

Directions

Enter HBHS from Argyle St (off Te Aroha St) and pass Argyle House (the boarding house) and the workshop on the right. Turn right just before the first block of classrooms and park at the flower boxes. We are meeting in the double storey classroom block closest to where you have parked.  E2 is the middle classroom on the ground floor.  Do not park beyond (or behind) the E block as they sometimes raise the security bars in the driveway and you won’t be able to get out. A map is on this page

See you all there.

New members very welcome.

Perhaps you need some cheering up after this weeks events. Check out this video for a chuckle

Apologies to those of you that might have turned up to chess club tonight. Unfortunately we received very late notification that Hamilton Girls High have baulked at our continued use of the classroom. The committee are exploring options as to where chess club meetings are to be held. Unfortuately until we come up with a satisfactory plan the club will go into temporary recess.

The  2013 annual report for the Hamilton Chess Club website—–

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Further to the earlier post we now provide a photo of William standing tall for Hamilton Chess at the recent awards ceremony.

The club is now in recess for the Summer, but will resume 7pm February 4th next year. See you then

Club member William Lynn is to be recognized for 36 years of dedicated service to the Hamilton Chess Community. The award will be presented by the Mayor at a council meeting (Council Chambers) this Friday, December 13, at 2.30 p.m.

Hamilton Civic Awards nominations are considered by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chairperson of the city’s Civic sub-committee. Nominations are considered on the  basis of the description of the service given and the quality of the supporting references included in the application. Each year the panel grants a maximum of 20 Civic Awards. This year William will be one of 13 recipients. We look forward to many more years of William’s contribution to the Waikato Chess Scene.

We had the final night for the year last night. A six round blitz at 5 + 3. Honours went to Stefan with a score of 5 out of 6, followed by William and Hilton. Member ratings have been updated.

NZCF rating lists have just been published. Members ratings have been amended on the membership page here, as well as the change — plus or minus — from the last rating period.