Club championship round 3

Leam Lane Club championship 2017-2018 are underway.

Some round three games have been played. Here are the results so far. Draw for round four will be made once all round three games are complete. Please contact Rob Appleby if you have any questions.

John Marsh 1-0 Jason Daglish
Anu Chandra 1-0 Rob Appleby
Clive Briggs vs. Alan Young
Joe Miller vs. Dave Stewardson
Colin McGarty vs. Bill Wilkinson
Dan Fenton 1 Point Bye

Current standings are as follows:

Name	Points	Games	Notes
Anu Chandra	2	1	1 bye
Dave Stewardson	1.5	2
John Marsh	1.5	2
Jason Daglish	1	2
Alan Young	1	1
Rob Appleby	1	1	1 bye
Dan Fenton	1	0	1 bye
Joe Miller	0.5	2
Bill Wilkinson	0.5	2
Clive Briggs	0	1
Colin McGarty	0	0

This weeks puzzle:

This weeks puzzle comes from an excellent game that Alan Young played in the Northumberland league game this February. Alan playing white has a nice position. His heavy pieces control the centre. Blacks pieces are not only passive but also his king is weak and there’s a pawn weakness on d6. Find the winning move that sealed the win for white in a few moves.

You can find the answer and the full game here.

Well done Alan!

Quickplay @ Leam Lane Chess Club on 15th September 7:15pm

The club is hosting a Quick Play tournament on the Tuesday, 15th September. The games will start at 7:15pm. Please contact Alan if you’d like to take part. The tournament is for club members only.

Jonathan Hawkins is the 2015 British Champion

Jonathan Hawkins won the British Championships in a tight and thrilling finish. At the onset of the final round, four GMs were tied for first place. Jonathan kept his cool and emerged with a sole win that put him on the first place podium. More here.

After 5 rounds, Jonathan Hawkins co-leads the British Championships

GM Jonathan Hawkins co-leads the British Championships after 5 rounds along with three others. Jonathan scored a crushing 20 moves win in the first round and appears to be in fine form. With another 6 rounds to go, things appear to be finely balanced. You can follow Jonathan’s escapades live here.

Robert Forsythe wins the club championship

The club championship is over. Robert Forsythe has won.

Robert remained undefeated over seven rounds against determined opposition, finishing with a remarkable 6 points out 7. In joint second place were John Marsh and Anu Chandra scoring 5 out of 7. Full results and highlights of Robert’s key games to follow in due course.

Jonathan Hawkins wins the English Player of the Year

GM Jonathan Hawkins, co-British Champion,  has won the English Player of the Year poll among ECF members for 2014-2015.

This award from the English Chess Federation recognises Jonathan’s remarkable journey from a club player playing for the Leam Lane first team to the very top of the English game. In August 2014, Jonathan shared the first place at the British Championships in Aberystwyth. With this finish, he gained his third and final GM norm and shared the national title.

Jonathan’s story is a unique one in many ways. Not only is he the first north east player to become a GM but also unlike many others, his rise to English summit has been one of continuous improvement through careful study and efficient learning which he outlines in his excellent book, Amateur to IM: Proven Ideas and Training Methods.

Leam Lane Club Championships are on the way

Leam Lane is hosting a summer tournament for its club members. We are now into the late stages of the event with 5 out of 7 rounds complete. All games are being played under tournament conditions with 90 minutes for each side to complete all moves. With pride and rating points at stake, the standard of play has been quite high so far. The winner gets to takeaway a fancy trophy and a very handy chess book.

Strong performance by Leam Lane teams in the league

The official league results are in. The two Leam Lane teams both finished second in the Northumberland first and second divisions. Congratulations to all club members for another year of strong performances.

You can find the league tables here.