Chess Centre Meet-Up

ADAM Raoof has alerted me to the return of something approaching chess normality in at least one part of the country, namely Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

If you do not receive Adam's newsletter, here is the relevant section:

“Dear Friends and Fellow Chess Players,

We are delighted to confirm that, pursuant to the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions from Monday 17th May, we can finally open our doors to adults players.

Therefore, our weekly Thursday night social chess evenings will commence from this Thursday (20th May), and will be every Thursday 7pm onwards.

We would love to invite anyone wanting to come play some chess in a friendly and relaxed environment to visit us on a Thursday and see the Chess Centre. This is open to players of all ages, so whether you just want to come have a few games, learn from some of our more experienced players or just generally see what's going on then you are most welcome. Due to COVID rules we are limited in numbers at present so please let us know in advance if you can make it.

Also, please note that we are awaiting confirmation of our premises liquor licence from Bradford Council (expected June 2021). Therefore, at the present time we are not serving alcohol, but we do have a range of coffees, hot chocolates and soft drinks available, with full table service.

Full details can be found on our newly launches website: https://www.chesscentre.online

On the website you will also see further details of our upcoming events, including:

• Our first ever "Mini-Congress" - 22nd - 23rd May

• Our first ever Open RapidPlay Tournament - 29th May

• Our first ever Junior RapidPlay Tournament (16 and under) - 5th June

We have a wide range of upcoming events throughout the summer, and we would love to see as many of you as possible at some of these events.

All events registrations are online, but please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Kind Regards

Andy & Matt

Weekend Warrior

AM playing in Adam Raoof's 79th Hampstead weekend congress, which has a format of three sections of five rounds over two days.
The time control is an hour with a 30-second increment, which allows the games to be Fide-rated as standardplay as long as players are U2200.
In the top section, which accordingly is U2200, I am seeded ninth of 32 players, and this morning beat a junior (Fide 1522/ECF 141).

Drawing To A Close

AM playing at the Adam Raoof-run 73rd Hampstead weekend congress, which has a time control of 60 minutes with a 30-second increment.
This morning in the U2200 section I played a junior (1560/154) who four times offered me a draw while my clock was running.
Ironically, once he had equalised, he stopped offering draws, although the game did end in a draw after 76 moves, costing me 7.4 Fide elo.

Hampstead

AM playing at Adam Raoof's 71st Hampstead weekend congress, and in round one have white against a 1676/154 junior.
The carriage of the Northern Line train I caught from Moorgate had the serial number 51681, which makes for an interesting Tube Puzzle.
As usual, each number should be used once, and once only, and must be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided to make a balanced equation.
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
My solution: 6 ÷ (8 - 5) = 1 + 1