Author: Culcheth Chess Club - Admin

Whilst we still seem to be a long way from being able to play competitive over the board chess again, a few of us have started playing on the chess.com platform over recent weeks. (As an added bonus see Rob Furness’ livestream coverage of his games from below!)

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/872367913

While in the long run we hope to get back to normal chess, for the time being we would like to open an invitation to any local chess players that would like to join us online.

If you would like to play just follow the steps below. Time control at the moment is 15 minutes each with a 5 second per move increment. Maximum number of rounds ideally would be 5 but in reality due to number of entrants often ends up being 3 or 4 rounds. If we can get to at least 10 regular players that should allow for a 5 round event. If your new to the club or thinking of joining in the future it’s a great way to get to know us!

To join any wednesday please follow the steps below.

1. Create an account on http://www.chess.com this is a free online chess platform.
2. Request to join https://www.chess.com/club/culcheth-chess-club this is where our wednesday event is held. (please include your name in order for me to accept you), all players in the local area or with previous connections to the chess club are welcome.
3. Once accepted to the club, register to play in the weekly tournament. Registration starts from 7pm and games will start promptly at 8pm every wednesday.

Good luck and have fun, the link to this wednesdays event can be found inside https://www.chess.com/club/culcheth-chess-club

We want to attract all skill levels, don’t be discouraged if you lose your first couple of games we do have some strong players at the club! However the tournament is structured in a way that you should be paired against someone on the same score as yourself as the event goes on.

Hope to see you there.

It is with great sadness we report the passing of a long standing local Chess player from Penketh. Below are a few words from his friend Mike Selway;

“Dave sadly died on 19 Sept. He contracted cancer just before last Christmas & gradually deteriorated until he became hospitalised finally succumbing after being moved to a hospice. Until lockdown in March I visited him at his maisonette in Culcheth for a weekly game & after lockdown we played first of all over the telephone & then via Skype. To begin with I couldn’t beat him as his grade was far higher than mine although we did have some great close games. His game gradually became affected by his condition & I kept having to go over the pertaining board position as his concentration was beginning to suffer. Consequently I was winning more & more games. We played our last game on 28 June. Unfortunately it remains unfinished but I have kept a record of it. It would be nice to play it out at the Club if & when we can resume activities. He called me from hospital a few weeks ago to tell me that he had just been informed that the cancer was terminal & he didn’t have very long to live. He was very upbeat about it & it was almost as if he was phoning to tell me that he’d just bought a new car. I hope that when my time comes I can be just as philosophical!

(Dave’s final, unfinished game against Mike is below)

I hope you are all keeping safe and well in these curious times. The impact of the COVID pandemic on club and league chess shows no sign of easing as the traditional start date of the season approaches. I am sure that you have already worked out that face to face chess is one of the most difficult sports to adapt to social distancing and all the other preventive measures designed to stop the transmission and spread of infection.

Our playing venue, Culcheth Sports Club (CSC), was in financial difficulties prior to the pandemic and the lockdown and subsequent restrictions have only made that situation worse. We were recently faced with a demand to pay our full annual subscription even though we could not use the venue for chess. Tom, Andy and I decided that we would not pay until we had greater certainty about the resumption of league fixtures and whether the venue met health and safety standards. Initially the CSC reacted by asking us to remove our equipment from the storage cupboard, but following a spot of negotiating they withdrew their request – at least for the time being.

I am sorry about the lack of positive news but rest assured that as soon as I get any you will be informed without delay.

Best wishes

Nick

*Below are a few games played recently online by club members for your enjoyment*

On the other end of the time control scale, Keith Maudsley sent in this nice win played at 3 mins each time controls I am told. From a quiet looking opening position Keith develops a strong kingside attack which ends in a nice checkmate.

Finally Damian had a couple of interesting correspondence games with Steven Jones. Both games ended up as drawn. The London system game was most interesting which followed a similar pattern to a game I played against Mike Rotchell in the league season, Steven however captured upon c5 early which led to a more unbalanced game: