News

17/5/12 News Updates

The SE Lancs League (Summer League) has set it’s date for their AGM. This will be held on the 23rd May at 7-30pm at Dentons home, Guide Bridge Conservative Club, 225 Stockport Road, Ashton-U-Lyne.OL7 0NT. 0161-330 4362.

Ashton CC has a change of venue and match night namely, Broadoak & Smallshaw Community Centre, Broadoak Road, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 8RP and match and club night back to a Wednesday.

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12/5/12 Kasparov in Manchester

The University of Manchester will this year host the biggest event in the history of Computer Science to celebrate the centenary of Alan Turing, the father of the modern computer. More here

Leading speakers from all over the world will descend on Manchester from June 22nd to 25th to honour the renowned code-breaker, mathematician and computer scientist.
The Alan Turing Centenary Conference will be held at The University of Manchester and Manchester Town Hall, featuring three days of lectures and panel discussions.
Among the key speakers will be Google Senior Vice-president Dr Vint Cerf, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, ten Turing award winners, the famous physicists Sir Roger Penrose and George Ellis, and Dr David Ferrucci, the head of the Watson project at IBM.

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9/5/12 Buxton Congress

Sean Hewitt sends...

e2e4 are pleased to announce that we will be running a congress close to Manchester when we travel for the first time to Buxton's Palace Hotel, situated within 5 acres of grounds in the beautiful spa town of Buxton on the edge of the Peak District National Park.

The hotel is beautiful, Buxton is beautiful. We hope the weather will be beautiful! What more could you want?

There will be three 5 round sections, with the Open and Major FIDE rated. The Open is a FIDE rated swiss, open to all players ; the Major is also FIDE rated and open to players rated below 1950 (or graded below 165 if unrated) with the Minor open to players with an ECF grade below 135.

As usual, we have great rates for guests staying at the hotel and of course there is discounted entry for those who staying. So why not get your entry in today?

Full details are available online at www.e2e4.org.uk/buxton and an entry form can be downloaded from http://www.e2e4.org.uk/buxton/Jun2012/Buxton_Jun_2012.pdf

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27/4/12 MCF Notices.

CUP FINAL NIGHT

It was hoped that we could arrange a night when the MCF could play all the Manchester League cup finals at one venue. This has not been possible this year but we have the Reyner Shield and the Wahltuch Trophy being staged at the university Barnes Wallis building on May 10th (7-15pm). Spectators are welcome so support your team, the uni are playing so they may attract a few.

MCF MEETINGS

The calendar has now been set as follows...

Council Meeting 8th May at the Lass o’ Gowrie 7-45.

EGM to discuss ECF membership scheme, 11th June. (This has now been cancelled)

AGM 19th July. (Subject to late alteration)

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10/4/12 Junior Chess Sponsorship

Sunday 20th May 2012 Manchester 10K Run: Sponsor Manchester Junior Chess

• I am trying to raise money for Manchester Junior Chess. My target is to raise £5K.
• On Sunday 20th May I am running the Manchester 10K. I have been in training since January and expect to complete the course (but not sure about the time!).
• I have already got sponsorship for £250. So only another £4,750 to go.
• I enclose a leaflet with details on how you can support MJC.
• I am emailing everyone who has had an involvement with MJC or with Chess in Manchester or just friends. Anything is welcome from £1 upwards.

Julian Clissold, Manchester Junior Chess.

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23/3/12 Fixture Revisions

The arranging of the Cup finals has led to the following scheduling additions and alterations.

The cup final evening for the Reyner Shield and Wahltuch trophy will be held on Thursday 10th May. The venue will be the Barnes Wallis Underground (off Sackville Street) Manchester. The matches will be:

Reyner Shield: Bolton 1 v Denton 1

Wahltuch University v Oldham 1 or Chorlton 2 (team to be decided by result of 2nd April match).

The Hartley cup match between Denton2 v Bolton 4 will take place on Wednesday 16th of May at Denton.

Additionally:

The fixture between 3Cs 5 and Urmston 3 that was scheduled to be played on 21st March will be moved to Wednesday 9th May. The 3Cs 2 v Chorlton 2 game scheduled for the 9th of May will be changed to Wednesday 16th to prevent these fixtures having to be revisited if Chorlton 2 does progress to the Wahltuch final.

 The fixture for the 10th of May between University and Eccles will be played on Thursday 17th May.

I would be obliged if these proposed fixtures can be reviewed by the clubs and any issues aired or consents to progress be given. Also I would be obliged if 3Cs could let me know the intended schedule date for the Milner final.

Peter King.

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21/3/12 High Wycombe

Following on from his Blackpool Conference success, GM Keith Arkell entered the e2-e4 High Wycombe tournament and played well there also.

Details here..http://www.e2e4.org.uk/high_wycombe/Mar2012/index.htm

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7/3/12 MCF Council Notice

"Following a check for “ghost” players, some clubs' registration lists were recently revised. These lists will now apply for the rest of the season. New players may still be registered, but must be “bracketed”, as per the rules.

Please note that, although players should normally be listed in order of ECF grade in a club's Registration List, there is no requirement in any particular match for a team to play in grading order.

However, those clubs with more than one team in the league should be aware that the MCF Rules (available at http://manchesterchessfederation.co.uk/page9.html) do place some restrictions on a team's board-order.

Finally please also note that, following a decision at the 2011 MCF AGM, the 2011 ECF September Grading List is the one in force for the whole season's Manchester League and Cup competitions.

Any players eligible for E Division in September 2011 remain eligible even if their January 2012 grade exceeds 125."

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2/3/12  Keith Arkell Simul

Keith Arkell will be giving a simul at Heywood Chess Club on Wednesday 7th March. To Bury and Rochdale league members it’s free and everyone else the fee is just £5. Be quick to e-mail Bill O’Rourke to reserve a limited place.

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14/2/12 Registration List

A new updated version of the clubs registration lists has been released. View here version 2

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13/2/12 Keith Arkell

Follow GM Keith Arkell (Heywood) in Amsterdam from 24 February here:

Website

Graham Burton, Harry and Ian Lamb are playing in the Cannes chess tournament. Some links here.

Entry   Standings

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7/2/12 Fixtures

A new version of the fixture list has been released taking into account recent changes. You can download it here. Version 3.

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3/2/12 Heywood Chess Club

Heywood CC have made an adjustment to their match night with immediate effect. The night remains on a Tuesday except for the last Tuesday in the month when it becomes Wednesday.

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23/1/12 Bolton Easter Congress

The entry form and advert for this popular local tournament has been added to this page below.

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9/1/12 MCF Notice “Council Meeting” New Venue

“Happy New Year, The next meeting of Council will be on Tuesday, 17th January at The Sevenoaks, 5 Nicholas Street, Manchester M1 4HL at 7-45pm. Nicholas Street is the next road after Princess Street as you go up Mosley Street towards Piccadilly ( just after the Art Gallery).

Best wishes Bert Thomas.”

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1/1/12 Stockport and Ashton Chess Clubs: New Important Changes

Stockport CC willl be changing their venue from February 7th 2012. They are moving to Cheadle Hulme Conservative Club, Mellor Road, Cheadle Hulme. SK8 5AT. Also their match night changes from Thursday to Tuesday.

Ashton Chess Club will also be changing it’s match night. With effect from 30th January all matches will be played on a Monday.

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8/12/11 Rapidplay Saver

A special discount scheme has been devised to help clubs save money with bulk entries to the Manchester Rapidplay. Download the form here.

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2/12/11 Bury Rapidplay

Entries are 85 (up from 63 last year and close to the 89 that played in 2009) – venue holds about 100 so please email your entry as soon as you can to reserve your place.

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20/11/11 British Rapidplay

Alex Longson (3Cs/Marple) continued his recent run of good form with joint 4th in this weekend’s British Rapidplay at Leeds. Alex lost only 3 games to the players who finished in the top 3 i.e. GMs Gawain Jones and Matthew Turner, and IM Mannion, drew with GM Peter Wells and beat GM Nigel Davies.

Most of Alex’s games can be seen here:http://www.british-rapidplay.org.uk/live.html

Stockport League   Please note that the Stockport & District Chess League has a new website at www.stockportchessleague.org.uk It will be updated in due course.

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10/11/11 Competition Success

Manchester Juniors finished first in the NYCA u-16 National Team Championships held at Telford. The full results are available on the Junior Events page.

Also Mike Surtees of Bolton CC had a good result at the Preston Congress finishing joint first. A link is provided here.

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7/11/11 MCF Notice “Council Meeting”

A reminder to council members that we meet on Thursday, 17th November at the Lass o'Gowrie at 7.45 pm.

Bert Thomas.

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1/11/11 Bury Rapidplay

The 17th edition of the Bury Rapidplay takes place on the 4th December at the Elton Vale Sports Club Bury. See the advert below for the entry form and details.

The Manchester Rapidplay 2012 entry form has just been released. You can view it on the advert below.

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18/10/11 Sponsorship Deal

Denton CC have secured a new sponsorship deal for the Nigel Short Simul and to Manchester chess. Kerry  Logistics have agreed a deal which has enabled the prices for the event to be reduced yet again. Prices now are £30 adults and £25 for Juniours.

You can see more off Kerry Logistics at kerrylogistics  Book your place now for the Saturday 22nd October.

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11/10/11 GM Busting

Three C’s Alex Longson has won the e2-e4 High Wycombe tournament with an excellent 100% score of 5 out of 5. Even more incredible is the manner of victory. He beat GMs Keith Arkell and Mark Hebden in the last two rounds to finish with a TPR of 2956 and above GM Peter Wells. Could this be the best ever Manchester Amateur performance?

Details are here http://e2e4.org.uk/high_wycombe/open.htm

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You can find all the games, annotated by Alex on the Games page

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29/9/11 Results Submission Form

A results form has been added to the Competitions page. This enables captains or their representatives to enter results direct to your webmaster and results secretary. It is easy to use, in fact easier than e-mail and will result in a better service for all.

Not only does it mean faster updating of the website tables but should help to eliminate errors. There is a comments box if you have a problem. We want every team to use this facility now and it will probably become mandatory in the near future.

The MCF has released a document to clarify the position and purpose of team captains in matches. You can find it on the Competitions page.

Also the MCF Team Registration List of its players has been added to the same section.

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15/9/11 Another Nigel Short Simul

On the 22nd of October this year Denton Chess Club has the honour of hosting a simultaneous display by Mr.Nigel Short MBE. The event will also be attended by Mr.CJ de Mooi, President of the English Chess Federation.

The event will start 4.00pm beginning with a talk by Nigel Short MBE with the simultaneous taking place immediately afterwards. The address is The Ukrainian Club, 215, Stockport Rd, Ashton-Under-Lyne, OL7 0NP.

The cost at the moment is £35 to play, or £5 entry, we hope to reduce the cost to players through sponsorship of the event.To book a place please call David Holt 0161 3442205. Mobile 07510209215 or email davidholt@dentonchessclub.co.uk

The South East Lancashire Summer League is celebrating its 50th year and is sponsoring one player from each club taking part in this year’s summer league. Also the ECF has donated prizes.

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14/9/11 Fixture List

Version 2 of the new fixture list is available now and you can download it here. Please check your club tabs carefully. The  Fixtures tab has been thoroughly checked by Peter King and are probably error-free. Club tabs rely on clubs to check.  Fixtures ver2
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10/9/11 Early Season Fixtures

Here you can find some early season fixtures from Jill Barber. They are Cup and League matches.

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9/9/11 Petition  Martin Gill writes:"I thought I'd take advantage of the new government e-petition thing and start a petition to add chess to the school curriculum. If we want to serious improve chess in this country, then dramatically increasing the number of children who play is no bad thing. It worked for Russia!”
Please sign here:http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15863

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5/9/11 MCF Notice “Council Meeting”

I hereby give notice that the next meeting of the MCF council will take place on Tuesday 27th September (7-45pm) at the Lass o' Gowrie pub, Charles Street, Manchester M1 7DB.

Bert Thomas (MCF General Secretary).

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25/8/11 Updates

I am doing a number of updates to the website at the moment so you might find one or two things have changed. The menu system will eventually take you to a sub menu to find your page, this makes it simpler to view and present archived files and pages.

Worsley Chess Club have a new venue from next week. This is in the heart of Worsley next to the motorway system, so it should be easier to locate and exit. Details are on the clubs page and their website is www.worsleychessclub.org  Which reminds me to ask that will captains of our clubs please check your details on the website and any changes you have made please notify me soon.

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3/8/11 Locals at British

Lots of local players are taking part in various events at the British Championships in Sheffield.

Prize-winners from week 1 –

http://britishchess2011.com/prizewinners_2011.htm

Paul Cawley (Denton) 3= in the u180 grade

Andrew Horton (Didsbury) 2= in the U13 age group

Bob Newton (Heywood) 1= in the Weekend Atkins Open

First week Rapidplay won by Danny Gormally with Keith Arkell 2= both Heywood

Week 2 –

Joseph McPhillips (Bolton) was 2+ in the U14 age group

Damian McCarthy (county U160 player) won a rating prize in the Major Open

GM Stephen Gordon (3Cs) was 8= in the British, Danny Gormally (Heywood) was 5=

Nigel Short (ex Bolton and Atherton) was joint English Champion and lost a play-off for the British Championship but won the Best Game Prize

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1/8/11 Schools Chess Vacancy

CSC need a coach based in the Farnworth area to do 2/3 schools for us. This would require them to coach chess in lesson time and then do an after school or lunch time lesson. Hopefully they would be able to do 2 schools in the day. For more information you can contact me on the first instance on 07974 952252 or 0161 339 3287 or david@ashtonccc.co.uk. (David Hardy)

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26/7/11 Bobby Fischer

The film “Bobby Fischer Against the World” is now to be shown in Manchester. Its first screening will be at the Cornerhouse on Friday 29 July and there will be a limited number of screenings thereafter. There is little likelihood of the film being shown for more than a week, so if you want to see the film, you will really need to book early! Details of all screening times can be seen here:
http://www.cornerhouse.org/film/cinema-listings/bobby-fischer-against-the-world
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19/7/11 Chess In Schools Training

Ever fancied teaching chess in school? Here are details of a Manchester training day to set you on the correct path.  Chess in Schools  and  Manchester Training Day Form

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12/7/11 Welsh Tournament

MCF players Joseph McPhillips (Bolton), Ali Jaunooby (Denton) and Keith Arkell (Heywood) are in action at the South Wales International. You can see them here...

Also Graham Burton is playing in the Amsterdam Tournament, follow his progress here.

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10/7/11 Schools Success

Congratulations to Manchester Grammar School for winning the National Schools Championship for 2010-11. You can see more from the Junior Events page.

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7/7/11 MCF Notice “ Council Meeting and AGM Notification”

I hereby, give notice that the next meeting of MCF Council will take place at 7:45pm, on Wednesday 13th July 2011, at the Old Nags Head, 19 Jackson's Row, Deansgate, Manchester M2 5WD.

The AGM will be held at the same venue the week following, Thursday 21st July 2011.

Regards Pete Kobryn (MCF General Secretary).

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20/6/11 e2-e4 Gatwick  Congress

Excellent performance from 3Cs Alex Longson, including a final round draw with GM Simon Williams to finish joint 3rd, as a result Alex qualifies for the British Championships.

Joint winner was GM Keith Arkell of Heywood.

http://www.e2e4.org.uk/gatwick/jun2011/open.htm

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16/6/11 Mastermind

Dear Audience member!

My name is Alex Lambrinos and I work on the Mastermind production team in Manchester.I am emailing you to offer you free PRIORITY TICKETS for our up and coming July dates.
If you are interested in coming to watch Mastermind being filmed, please read the following information:Please wear dark smart/casual clothing

As you could be queuing for a short time outside please be prepared for wet weather.Light refreshments will be provided in the interval and time for visiting the WC. Please turnoff mobile phones and alarms whilst in studio.

Security – you maybe subjected to a search on arrival, please do not bring any unnecessarybaggage. We aim to get you into the studio as soon as possible but sometimes there are slight delays and we ask and thank you for you patience if this happens to you.

Here are the dates and times for our July recordings at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays: (MediaCityUK Studios, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 2EQ)

Wednesday July 20th doors open at 1:00pm for a 2:00pm start.
or  doors open at 5:30pm for at 6:30pm start.
Thursday July 21st doors open at 1:00pm for a 2:00pm start or doors open at 5:30pm for at 6:30pm start.
Friday July 22nd doors open at 1:00pm for a 2:00pm start or doors open at 5:30pm for at 6:30pm start.

Mastermind is a very popular show with a high audience turn out for every recording. As you will have PRIORITY TICKETS, please ensure you arrive 15 MINUTES before the specified time above to grantee entry. If you would like / if you are able to attend any of the above dates, please can you reply to this email with the following information:Your Full Name ,How many tickets you require

Your FULL postal address ,A contact telephone number. Any information regarding your own / an individual in your group’s special requirements (so that on the day we can meet everyone’s needs).

If you have any other questions please feel free to email at any time. (Or, if you wish to be taken off the Mastermind Audience Database please let me know and I will delete you contact information). Many thanks for taking the time to read my email and I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to distribute this email and ALL the information in it to your friends, family and work place. The more the merrier!  Yours faithfully, Alex Lambrinos.

30/7/11 Please Note: No bookings are being taken at the moment, but a new set of available dates will be issued in August for September filming.
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6/6/11 Chess on TV

Chess on the telly? Get away! That'll never work!
Well, actually.... for several years, starting in 1975, the BBC ran an annual series called the Master Game which was very successful - the viewing figures were certainly high enough (well over a million according to some sources) for the BBC to want to keep re-commisionning the series.
The players involved were some of the best in the world at the time. It ran for several seasons and, considering the limited technology they had to work with, it was very well produced.
Basically the players played their game and moved to a recording studio where they tried to reproduce verbally their thoughts during the game; these were recorded and then added as a voice over.
You can now view these programmes on YouTube, e.g.http://www.youtube.com/user/Sirb0b1
The games and commentaries were later published in book form. Two books were published about the events : 'The Master Game' by James & Barden (BBC, 1979), and 'The Master Game Book Two' by James & Hartston (BBC, 1981). The 1979 book covered the events from 1975, 1976, and 1977, while the 1981 book covered 1979, 1980, and 1981.You might be able to pick these up cheap on the Internet, e.g. here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0563174374/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1307098777&sr=8-1&condition=used
There is some more information about the series at
http://chessforallages.blogspot.com/2011/05/eight-years-of-master-game.html
If any of you happen to have any contacts in the BBC you could do worse than badger them to BRING BACK THE MASTER GAME!
Phil Adams

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23/5/11 Grading Changes

As you know, the ECF AGM in October 2010 decided to switch to twice-yearly Standardplay grading lists, starting next season. This will mirror the twice-yearly Rapidplay lists which were introduced in 2006-7.

There will therefore be two grading lists in 2011-12: the usual July list, with a revision at the end of August timed for the start of the league season; and a fresh list in January based on the first half of the season. This has two important implications for leagues.

(1)

If the January list is to be accurate, leagues will need to submit results for grading twice a year instead of once. The graders know this. It is hoped that all leagues will be able to comply. If a league cannot do so and continues to send all its results at the end of the season, its games will still be graded but they will all go into the second halfyear, causing inaccurate grades in January and possibly July as well.

(2)

Leagues will need to decide whether the January grades are to count for purposes of eligibility (and perhaps board order). The ECF, for its own season-long competitions including the County Championships, will not use January grades for eligibility. It will use the start-of-season (end-August) grades throughout, so that a player who was eligible at the start of the season will remain eligible till the end. But other leagues are not bound to follow ECF practice; each will need to form its own decision.

If you need more information, please contact the ECF Manager of Grading – manager.grading@englishchess.org.uk

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14/5/11 MCF Notice “ Council Meeting Postponement”

The next meeting of MCF Council has been postponed due to the Manchester City parade for the FA Cup victory that will probably disrupt travelling. Anyway knowing City this won’t happen very often. A new date will be released shortly.

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10/5/11 Les Moore RIP

Sadly Les Moore of Chorlton C.C. and of other chess clubs in the south Manchester area, died last Thursday. No other details are to hand yet.

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6/5/11 Summer League Notice

The 2011 AGM will take place on Wednesday 18th May 2011 at 8pm at the Eccles Liberal Club.
Any matters to be discussed? -please email details to myself and Dave Kierman.
We will be seeking a new President/General Secretary - duties are basically chairing the AGM, administrative preparation for AGM - sourcing venue, advising clubs, agenda etc.
Cheers Tim  e-mail

County U160 Notice

Well done to everyone concerned with our victory over Norfolk. Our next match is away to Lancashire. It’ll be on Saturday May 21st. This is the qtr-final stage of the nationals.I don’t have any more details than that yet (but will be in the Greater manchester area). However it would be really appreciated if you can let me know ASAP if you’re interested in playing that one.
I won’t be able to make it myself as I’ll be away on holiday from Sun May 15th. I need to get as much preparation in place so I can hand over responsibilities to David Kierman who will be acting captain. So once again, your soonest reply is appreciated. John Lonsdale.

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5/5/11 Charity Bike Ride

The following was received from John Dwan of Sport for Life who organise the Manchester Rapidplay Tournament.

Dear all,as some of you will know I am raising funds for The Christie Cancer Research Hospital in Manchester by cycling with nine others from John O`Groats at the very north of Scotland to Lands End at the very south of England, just under 1,000 miles, starting on 10th June 2011 over 14 days. We have all been training very hard for this as it will be quite an effort!!! All of the group have family and friends who have either passed away recently or are currently receiving treatment for cancer, my mum passed away in March recently.

If you can donate, no matter how small, that would be great, we are all raising funds on the single Just Giving web site, link below, and this is the only fundraising event I am doing this year, so far we have jointly raised over £2,500.

http://www.justgiving.com/John-Dwan2

when donating on Just Giving please complete the section for the Gift aid to add additional tax funds from the Govt., always good to get some back!

For those not using the Just Giving web site there is a traditional sponsor form at my dads house, cash accepted and please make cheques payable to `The Christie`.

We also have a Facebook page, link below, please also become a friend of this and feel free to post comments, we will be uploading pictures and video to this as we cycle, the wonders of modern technology.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/home.php?sk=group_194801607212835&ap=1

If you want to see me on the way we will be closest to Manchester when cycling from Ambleside YHA in the Lake District to Warrington on Friday 17th June 2011, staying at Premier Inn, Warrington North East, A49 in Warrington, then cycling the day after to Shropshire, if you want to pop over to Warrington let me know, ETA about 4pm after cycling 81 miles that day.

Thanks John

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23/4/11 Open Championship

In the National Finals Preliminary Round, the qualifying Gtr Manchester team played a very strong Middlesex side at Thurmaston on the 16th. The final result was 9-7 in favour of the southerners. Despite this close score our team was outgraded on average by 20 points a match and shows the fighting qualities of the players.

A results file is available here.

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27/3/11 London Chess Classic

The 3rd London Chess Classic has been announced on 26th March 2011. The event will take place 3rd-12th December 2011 and will again be at the Olympia Conference Centre. This time there will be an additional player making it a 9 round 9 player event. 1 player per round will have a day off and help the commentary team. In the tradition of promoting chess in the UK there will be junior training, lectures, GM and amateur opens. There is also an increased prize-fund.

More details

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21/3/11 Harry Brooks RIP

It is with great sadness that I inform you (though many may have heard already) of the death, last weekend, of Harry Brooks.

I feel most of you will have known Harry, in some capacity, as he has been an active chess league player for Great Lever CC and individually in local and national (even international, recently) chess tournaments over the past 30 years, or so.

For those of you who may wish to be informed: the funeral will be this Wednesday, 23 March 2011, and will take place at Radcliffe Crematorium at 12.00 pm. (Family flowers only)

Regards

Pete Kobryn

(Great Lever Chess Club)

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21/3/11

Great result for 3Cs Alex Longson at Uxbridge

http://www.e2e4.org.uk/uxbridge/Mar2011/open.htm

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11/3/11 British Championships

The 2011 British Championships will be held in Sheffield this year and will benefit from extra sponsorship. The dates are Sun 24th July-Sat 6th August. The strongest entry ever is expected for the Championship and there are many lesser events to enter. Entry Form

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10/3/11 Chorlton 7

Will captains of teams due to face Chorlton 7 be aware that this team does, in fact, not exist! So please ignore your fixture lists and save a journey. With apologies from Chorlton Chess Club.

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26/2/11 MCF Notice.  “Council Meeting”  

The next meeting of MCF Council will take place at 7:45pm, on Tuesday 1st March 2011, at the Lass O’ Gowrie, 36 Charles Street, Manchester M1 7DB.

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22/2/11 MCF Notice .  “Division A Play-Off”

At the MCF AGM in July, a motion was passed for no more than ten teams per division, from next season 2011/12, with Council instructed to confirm how to do this by the end of 2010, which Council has done.

This season 2010/11, we only have more than 10 teams in one division, A division, so we need to work out a promotion & relegation strategy between A&B divisions. Fortunately, B division only has 9 teams, so a strategy is needed to rebalance A & B to 10 teams each for 2011/12.

Council decided that 2 down 1 up would be unfair on B division teams, and 3 down 2 up would be unfair on A division teams.

After much discussion, Council has agreed two teams will be relegated from A as normal and one team promoted from B, but with a play off between 2nd placed B division team at home to 3rd bottom placed A division team. Please note that the playoff will be conducted under the usual MCF Rules, but that Annual Knockout Competitions Rule 5 will apply, so Players seeded for a team may not play for that team in the playoff unless they have already played for that team at least twice during the season.

The playoff is take place in the last week of May (the final league fixture is 12 May).

In the event of a draw in the playoff match, the tie will be broken by board count and if this is equal, then bottom board elimination.

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13/2/11 Blackpool Conference 2011

This years tournament takes place between Friday 11th-13th March. The total prize fund is a whacking £9,000. Always a very popular event and the main attraction in the local calendar.

Entry Form

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30/1/11 Bolton Jamboree (New Date)

The 2011 Bolton Jamboree will take place on Saturday 9th April. This is a team of four rapidplay tournament of five rounds and is very enjoyable with a casual atmosphere. This would be an ideal opportunity to blood some younger players into a tournament setting. More details in the link for the Entry Form

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29/1/11 Success in Gibraltar

Local player Ali Jaunooby of Three C’s had a fine performance in the Challengers tournament in the first week of the festival. He finished joint third and picked up some prize money.

You can see details of his week here.  

Also Phil Weldon of Urmston is also having a great event as can be seen here.

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15/1/11 Short for Juniors

Nigel Short returns to Bolton to play thirty juniors in a simul display for kids in the Bolton and Manchester area. He will be at Bolton School and this is a perfect opportunity for youngsters to pit their wits against a famous Grandmaster. See the Junior News page for contact details, don’t be late entering!

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14/1/11 Wijk  aan Zee 2011

Once again it is time for this fabulous chess tournament to get underway. Play starts on the 15th with it’s three Grandmaster tournaments featuring the best in the game. A section, is very strong and B section, has Luke McShane as an entrant. Since Corus the previous sponsors were bought out, the tournament now goes under the title of Tata Steel Chess.

Website   Live Games

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11/1/11 British Chess Magazine

The magazine now has a website to visit with articles and for subscription renewals. This months edition has some rather scathing things to say on Northern Chess in it’s pages and the editors blog sight. You might want to check them out. Incidentally Alan Smith has taken over the Quotes and Queries column published quarterly.

www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk

http://stevegiddins.blogspot

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6/1/11 Hastings Tournament

It would be amiss of us not to mention the fine performance of Adam Ashton at the Hastings Congress this Christmas. Adam played strongly throughout and just missed out on a International Master norm by half a point. He had some GM opposition and acquitted himself well in the games. Congratulations from all at the Federation! A game or two will feature in the reworked games pages that will appear shortly.

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3/1/11 Chess Training

The Liverpool Chess Development Programme is holding a meeting on Sunday 16th January 2011 in Hardman Street, Liverpool. This will consist of a three hour lecture/training talk, then after a short break an Under 140 chess tournament. The course is aimed at under 140 graded players. A contact e-mail for more information is available here.

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22/12/10 MCF Notice . “Weather conditions”

We are aware that the severe and changing weather conditions may make fixture postponements necessary, although as the fixture list is congested, it would be appreciated if teams would make every effort to fulfill fixtures where safe to do so.

Team captains are recommended to speak to their opposite numbers a couple of days before each fixture to confirm that matches are to proceed, or to invoke the emergency postponement rule if necessary. In the event of postponements, please try and arrange a revised date between the teams (avoiding cup weeks if possible) before confirming the proposed new date to the Fixtures Secretary.

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20/12/10 MCF Notice.  “Council Meeting”  

The next meeting of MCF Council will take place at 7:45pm, on Thursday 6th January 2011, at the Lass O’ Gowrie, 36 Charles Street, Manchester M1 7DB.

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16/12/10 At the London Chess Classic  Victor Korchnoi gave a couple of simul displays and Manchester’s Allan Beardsworth actually defeated the living legend. The game here.

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23/11/10 Rochdale Chess Cub have moved to new premises. You can find the details on the Clubs page. Also Manchester University details have been corrected.

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22/11/10 The 16th Bury Rapidplay  takes place on Sunday 5th December 2010 at the Elton Vale Sports Club Bury. There are three seperate tournaments, the Open, Under 170 and Under 130. Organised by Bury Chess Club, the event is part of the English Chess Federation Grand Prix and the MCCU Rapidplay Under 150 Grand Prix. Download a PDF Entry Form here.

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20/11/10 Urmston Chess Club has moved their match night to a Thursday. Some contact details have changed also. See the Clubs page for details.

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3/11/10 GM Nigel Short will be giving a 30 board simultaneous exhibition at the Crusaders Chess Club on December 5th 2010. Details can be found here gglover62@googlemail.com There is also a contact number on 01254 6715.

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GM Nigel Davies (L) crowned his return to long play chess with a victory in the

2012 Bolton Easter Congress. Pictured are the Open section winners.

PHOTO NEWS