Main News

Kajus Mikalajunas wins Derbyshire Chess Congress

Rene Butler 01 Dec 2024

Loughborough's Kajus Mikalajunas clinched first place in the Open Section of the Derbyshire Chess Congress, finishing with an impressive score of 4.5/5. The tournament was held on 23rd and 24th November at Trent College in Long Eaton.

Ted Ronald wins Intermediate Section (U1750) in Birmingham Open Congress

Ben Vaughan 18 Nov 2024

Anstey's Ted Ronald won the Intermediate section outright with a 100% record, scoring an impressive 5 wins out of 5, beating some strong opposition.
Special mention to the runner-up too, Wigston's Phil Watkinson with 4.5 points out of 5 in what was clearly a good section for Leicestershire!
Congratulations to both players.

David Holmes wins minor section (u1500) of Birmingham Rapid Play

Rene Butler 13 Oct 2024

Market Harborough’s David Holmes is outright winner of Birmingham Rapid Play Minor. Five wins, two draws = 6/7 in a section of 40. Many gathered around the top two boards to watch the dramatic ending in round 7. After David won his final game, Yechu Chen on board 2 (Oxfordshire Juniors) needed a win to finish joint first …his opponent was 1 second from flagging…but somehow held on for a draw. Exciting stuff.

Leicester HE Atkins Memorial Congress Results

Paul Mottram 30 Sep 2024

The Atkins Congress took place for the first time in some 10 years at The Cedars Academy, Birstall on Saturday 27th-29th September with 100 entrants. Using the same venue as the Rapidplay in July, the 5 rounds were spread over 3 days with a 90 + 30' time control. Leicester based GM Mark Hebden dominated the Open section with a perfect 5/5 but leicestershire players were generally well to the fore in the list of prize winners with Ted Ronald also winning the Minor U1550 section.

Open

1st Mark Hebden 5pts
2nd= Eldars Gulijevs, Shabir Okhai 3.5pts

Rating (U2100) Paul Colburn, Matt Gillings 2pts

Major (U1950)

1st= Carl Gartside, Kyle Reed 4pts
3rd= Robert Taylor, Edward Bromilow, Reece Whittington 3.5pts

Rating (U1810) Reece Whittington 3.5pts

Inter (U1750)

1st Joshua Pimm 4.5pts
2nd= Christopher Knight, Nigel Collins, George Gowers, Glyn Ward, Phil Watkinson 3.5pts

Rating (U1620) Nigel Collins 3.5pts

Minor (U1550)

1st Ted Ronald 4.5pts
2nd= Aron English, Rene Butler, Stephanie Brown, Granville Hill 3.5pts

Rating (U1400) Aron English 3.5pts

Improvers (U1300)

1st= Amandip Singh, Theodore Caira 4pts
3rd= Anirvinya Anegundhi, Alfie Wood 3.5pts

Leicester HE Atkins Memorial Congress - Results Website

Paul Mottram 29 Sep 2024

Open
Major U1950
Inter U1750
Minor U1550
Improvers U1300

2024 Summer Cups Completed

Stewart Gordon 21 Sep 2024

The Summer Cups have now been completed. Congratulations to the winners:

* Wylie Cup – Wigston
* Harrod Cup – Ashby 3

John Robinson Trophy Winner 2024

Paul Mottram 20 Sep 2024

Tara Tamilselvan has been awarded the John Robinson Trophy this year for the most improved junior. She won the U8 Rapidplay and Blitz competitions at the British Championships and has been selected to represent England in the World Cadets Chess Championships in Italy in November. Closer to home Tara has represented Leicestershire as the top board in the U11 team and also was the winner of the Inter U1750 section in the Leicester Rapidplay in Birstall in July.

Return of the Leicestershire Atkins Classical Congress

Ben Vaughan 22 Aug 2024

Entries are invited for the Classical Atkins Congress, taking place from Friday 27th September, until Sunday 29th September. Places are starting to go!

Please support your local congress

Click here to Enter

Places are limited and late entries will cost an extra £5 - so please enter ASAP!

Charity Team Blitz and Awards Evening - Tuesday 24th September

Paul Mottram 20 Aug 2024

The Team Blitz and Awards Evening, the traditional fun opener to the new league season, will take place on Tuesday 24th September at 19:30 at the Syston club. Team entries will be £8 per 4 board team. All money raised will go to 'LOROS'.

Important to note that individual players are more than welcome and will be allocated a team to play in if their club isn't entering a team. Please support this local event!

Neil Beasley - A Tribute

Paul Mottram 13 Aug 2024

Brian Foreman adds his tribute to Neil Beasley who died recently.

'I want to endorse Andy Morley’s comments in his fine tribute to Neil Beasley, whose achievements in chess administration for Leics, and beyond, can hardly be overestimated. He deserves to be remembered with respect and gratitude for the sterling work he did in such an efficient manner for so many years. He was both an outstanding organiser and a great chess enthusiast.
Not only did Neil play an important part in helping to establish the prestigious H.E.Atkins Congress in the 1970s, he was closely involved in the early stages of the grading system. He became Leics grading officer in 1967 and the Midlands grader in 1968, an office he held for a decade or more. He did much to maintain and improve the collection and collation of information long before computers, presumably, eased the burden.

Perhaps even more significantly Neil was a proactive League Secretary for 8 seasons, 1964/5 to 1971/2, during which his wise and amiable presence seemed instrumental in smoothing the way forward. In this period the number of divisions increased from 5 to 7 and the progress made surely enhanced the solid foundations upon which the Fischer-Spassky inspired boom was laid. It led to a golden era for Leics chess.

Andy knows better than anyone the extent that Neil, from 1960 onwards, helped in the running and development of Wigston, which powered on from being a strong, aspiring club in the 1950s and early 60s to become the biggest and best in the county, a preeminence it has retained for over 50 years. Alongside Andy, he gave invaluable service to Wigston.
Neil is a Life Vice President of LRCA and a Vice President of the MCCU, another organisation he assisted greatly, on a long term basis. Among other things, he undertook the rather thankless task of Inter County match controller. He also enabled the setting up of the current MCCU website and acted as its first webmaster.

Whilst Neil chose to concentrate his energies into administration, it should be said he was a capable player, probably peaking at around 160 (now 1900), and turned out very regularly for Wigston league sides over several decades. In the 1960s he was a member of the 1st and 2nd teams in Divisions 1 and 2 respectively. Tactically astute, he was a determined opponent who thoroughly enjoyed a hard struggle at the board.'

SUCCESS IN THE BRITISH

John Oliver 30 Jul 2024

Congratulations to Rene Butler of the Mkt Harboro Club,
in winning the weekend Yates U1500 tournament section,
of the British Chess Championships 2024, held in Hull.
John Oliver

Neil Beasley RIP

Andy Morley 20 Jul 2024

I report the sad news that Neil Beasley died recently at the age of 88, following some recent poor health.
Neil had various roles within the LRCA in the 60s and 70s – President, League secretary, Adjudication secretary, H.E. Atkins Congress controller, and County Captain. Ironically, as the non-playing County Captain he achieved his best over-the board result against Nottinghamshire in 1968. The Leics Board 1, Phillip Wallis, had broken down on the way to the match so, after waiting for half an hour and with all of the other matches in progress, Neil stepped in on Board 1 against K.B Richardson – whose equivalent rating today would be around 2300 – and got a draw. Leicestershire also won the match.
He was an active member of the Wigston Club, as a player and administrator, for 62 years, joining the club in 1960 on leaving Leicester University. His contribution to the Wigston club was immense, and the club has lost a great club member, and a very friendly and approachable man.
Neil was also a keen bridge player, and unlike chess, he was able to do this with his wife Pat as his partner. They both continued to play right up until Neil’s health deteriorated , and both also had roles in local Bridge administration.
Personally, I learnt a lot from Neil on matters of Chess Administration, including following him as the H.E Atkins congress controller. Neil was the Chief Controller of the first tournament in 1972, and continued until 1978 – years when the number of entries in the tournament exceeded 300.
His funeral will be held on Monday August 12th at the Heart of England Crematorium, Eastboro Way, Nuneaton, CV11 6WZ.

Andy Morley

Leicester Rapidplay Results

Paul Mottram 14 Jul 2024

The LRCA organised ‘Leicester Rapidplay’ took place at The Cedars Academy, Birstall on Saturday 13th July with a little over 100 entrants. The playing hall was airy and spacious and proved an excellent venue. Notable amongst the results were Leicestershire Juniors Tara Tamilselvan (8), who won the Inter U1750, and Zayn Patel (10), who won the Improvers U1300 section with a perfect 6/6 score.

Prize Winners

Open

1st Finlay Bowcott-Terry 5.5pts
2nd Michael Dougherty 5pts
3rd= Mark Hebden, Lewis Turner 4pts

Rating (U2050) Michael Green 4pts

Major (U1950)

1st Patrick Reid 4.5pts
2nd= Paul Colburn, Amrik Singh, Robert Taylor 4pts

Rating (U1825) Nigel Towers 3.5pts

Inter (U1750)

1st Tara Tamilselvan 5pts
2nd Joshua Pimm 4.5pts
3rd= Kirk Harrison, Arav Ajaykumar, Alex Shen, Phil Watkinson 4pts

Rating (U1600) Kirk Harrison, Arav Ajaykumar, Alex Shen

Inter (U1550)

1st= Stellio Jerome, Omar Oliveri 5pts
3rd Vassily Sagyaman 4.5pts

Rating (U1400) Yvon van Neerven 4pts

Improvers (U1300)

1st Zayn Patel 6pts
2nd Joey Griffiths 5pts
3rd Yingxin Chen 4.5pts

Following yesterday’s event, the ‘HE Atkins’ Standardplay Congress returns this year and will be staged at the same venue on Friday 27th-29th September. Online entry is open on this link https://congress.org.uk/congress/434/home

Leicester Rapidplay - Pairings and Results Site

Paul Mottram 12 Jul 2024

Open
Major U1950
Inter U1750
Minor U1550
Improvers U1300

** Leicester Rapidplay - This Saturday 13th July **

Ben Vaughan 09 Jul 2024

Online Entry is now open for an LRCA organised 6 round ECF rated rapidplay - Late fees apply from Friday so enter now!

Sections: Open, Major (U1950), Inter (U750), Minor (U1550) and Improvers (U1300) to be held at The Cedars Academy, Birstall on Saturday 13th July.

Full Details and Online Entry

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CONGRESS!! A lot of effort goes in to organising the events, please support them!

The 'Atkins' Standardplay congress also finally returns this year and will be held on 27th-29th September also at The Cedars Academy. Full details and online entry to follow

League Finished, Wigston 1 are Division 1 Champions

Stewart Gordon 10 May 2024

All matches in the 2023–24 League season have now been played. Congratulations to Wigston 1 for winning Division 1, thus ending Syston 1's winning streak.

Congratulations also to the other Division winners:
- Division 2: Wigston 2
- Division 3: Market Harborough 2
- Division 4: Wigston 4
- Division 5: Wigston 5

Leicester Rapidplay - Sat 13th July at The Cedars Academy, Birstall

Paul Mottram 07 May 2024

Online Entry is now open for an LRCA organised 6 round ECF rated rapidplay (Sections: Open, Major (U1950), Inter (U750), Minor (U1550) and Improvers (U1300) to be held at The Cedars Academy, Birstall on Saturday 13th July.

Full details and Online Entry

The 'Atkins' Standardplay congress also finally returns this year and will be held on 27th-29th September also at The Cedars Academy. Full details and online entry to follow

Leicestershire and Rutland Chess Association 2024 Annual General meeting

John Pattinson 24 Mar 2024

All clubs and members are invited to the Leicestershire and Rutland Chess Association 2024 Annual General. The meeting will be held at the Regent Club, Regent Road Leicester on Wednesday 22nd May 2024 at 7:30PM.

COUNTY INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENTS 2024

Andy Morley 07 Feb 2024

Entries are invited for the 2024 tournaments. Please see the article in the County Championships section

ECF Online U18 County Championship

Paul Mottram 29 Jan 2024

Martin Burrows reports:

The Leicestershire team of Kajus Mikalajunas, Jack Pilley, Stefan Savic and Linday Pyun took part in the ECF online junior county championship on Saturday 27th January, held on the Tornelo platform. Before the chess could commence we had to deal with the various fair play requirements, which caused a delayed start as some frustrating technical issues with cameras, screen sharing and pairings were resolved.

When we finally got going it was a shaky start as, despite four battling performances, we went down 4-0 to a strong Warwickshire team that won the event. Undeterred, the team rallied strongly in the next round against Middlesex. Kajus and Jack won convincingly, and Stefan and Lindsay managed to turn round difficult positions to also register wins. After several twists and turns Kent beat us 3-1 in the 3rd round. A final round 4-0 win against Hampshire left the team in 3rd place overall.

Results

From the BBC Leicester website (copyright BBC)

Mike Salisbury 22 Dec 2023

A professor saved a man's life after he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a chess match in Leicester.
Richard Hanscombe, 77, collapsed during the match at Braunstone Civic Centre on 11 October, prompting the University of Leicester's Prof Simon Gay to begin CPR.
It was not until 35 minutes after he collapsed that medical staff could detect a heartbeat.
Mr Hanscombe's wife, Paulette, described him as a "miracle man".
Prof Gay, a trained GP and head of the university's medical school, recognised the danger and began CPR.
Mr Hanscombe was then taken to Glenfield Hospital by ambulance, where he was hooked up to a ventilator.
While there, his family were told his brain had little chance of survival and hospital staff began to remove his breathing apparatus.
But Mr Hanscombe suddenly showed signs of life - kicking his legs out and trying to open his eyes.
"One minute we were crying our eyes out, and the next we were jumping for joy," Mrs Hanscombe said.

As his breathing apparatus was being removed, Mr Hanscombe suddenly kicked his legs out and tried to open his eyes
Mr Hanscombe said: "I'm a glass half full sort of person and I just get on with things, so even though I'd felt a little unwell that evening, I decided to play chess anyway.
"I'm pleased I did because if it hadn't happened where it did, Simon wouldn't have been there to help and I wouldn't be here today.
"I owe Simon my life for what he did and I'm extremely grateful."
Mr Hanscombe, who spent nearly a month in hospital, has also overcome liver and lung cancer, as well as a life-threatening sepsis episode in recent years.
"He's the man with nine lives, but we're not complaining," his wife added.
Prof Gay said he was "very pleased" to have been able to help.
"This just goes to show how important having basic CPR skills can be," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to the next time Richard and I are both playing chess together - it will certainly have a bit more meaning to it."

This happened at the Braunstone v Market Harborough division 1 match in October
Everyone at Braunstone is so grateful to Simon for all he did on the night and to all the staff at Glenfield hospital. I saw Richard last week and he is well on the mend and hopes to be paying again in the future! Mike Salisbury

Richard with Simon at Glenfield Hospital

Opportunities to develop school chess in Leicestershire

Paul Mottram 23 Nov 2023

The charity Chess in School and Communities (CSC) is looking to develop school chess within Leicestershire and can provide training and remuneration to chess players interested in helping schools with chess. This can either by running a chess club for the school or teaching a chess lesson within the school day.

The government has for the first-time allocated funding to promote chess in schools. Schools who meet the criteria have been allowed to bid for a grant on £2000 to promote chess. Schools are currently being informed if they have had their grant awarded.

There are two ways that you may be able to help:

Do you have a child \ grandchild already at a school who you think would want a chess club in some form? If we have a contact this way it is more likely to get something setup than just cold calling the school reception. CSC are interested in any school willing to setup a chess club, whether they receive the grant or not. For example, they will provide free chess sets and advice for schools where the school will be getting one of their teachers to run the club and will also provide a training course for the school.

Are you interested in doing any work as a tutor? The pay is £42.50 per hour plus travel expenses if any, and there is a good training course you can go on. Also, you would have the opportunity to shadow an existing teacher (probably me) in a school before starting your club.

If you are interested in knowing more about any of the above, please let Alan Agnew know (tel: 07434 286893 email: alanagnew_uk@yahoo.co.uk)

2023 Summer Cups Completed

Stewart Gordon 17 Sep 2023

The Summer Cups have now been completed. Congratulations to the winners:

* Chapman Cup – Loughborough
* Birstall Cup – Anstey
* Wylie Cup – Wigston
* Harrod Cup – Ashby 1

Pat Hogan RIP

Andy Morley 13 Aug 2023

I have heard of the death of Pat Hogan, at the age of 89. Pat played for many years for the Leicester club before joining Braunstone in 1990. He was a dangerous attacking player on his day and, against the odds, deservedly won the County Championship in 1973. He was a regular in the County first team, and a very entertaining and engaging man to be with on a long car journey! His first appearance in the Midlands grading list was in 1968, and I met him for the first time in 1969 and always found him to be a friendly and approachable man.
Andy Morley

Charity Team Blitz and Awards Evening - Tuesday 19th September

Paul Mottram 01 Aug 2023

The traditional opener to the new league season will take place on Tuesday 19th September at 19:30 at the Syston club. Team entries are open (£8 per 4 board team) and should be made to the league secretary (chess@paulmottram.com). Money raised will go to Leicester based charity 'One Roof' (oneroof.org.uk)

RIP Peter Gibbs

Ben Vaughan 14 Jul 2023

Whilst not common knowledge, I was made aware of the passing of the well known former Leicestershire player Peter Gibbs. Far be it for me to pass comment on either his personality or his ability, I am aware that he was a very well liked, popular and highly thought of chess player and person within Leicestershire chess. There is an article on the ECF website if you wish to read about him with a nice tribute:

Peter Campbell Gibbs ECF Tribute

Thank you for your attention and if there are any stories that you wish to share, please send them to me.

Anstey host 3-way Jamboree event

Ben Vaughan 14 Jun 2023

Hi Everyone
For those of you that may be interested, Anstey took part in and hosted a 3 way jamboree with two other clubs outside of Leicestershire in what may be the first publicised event of its kind for a while.
Please have a look at the brief summary of the evening's events in the link below, if you wish.
Jamboree Report
Thank you for your attention
Ben Vaughan
Anstey Chess Club

Festival Events at British Chess Championships at DMU 20th-30th July

Paul Mottram 03 Jun 2023

The British Chess Championships are being staged in Leicester at The Venue, De Montfort University from the 20th-30th July.

We hope that many LRCA players will take the opportunity to play in one of the many tournaments taking place over that period (sections for all rating levels).
See https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/

In addition to that, there's quite a few opportunities to be involved by helping at some of the informal more social chess activities at the chess festival that accompanies the championships (see provisional details https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/british-chess-championships-2023-chess-festival/)

The organisers would like to hear from any club players (with a reasonable level of experience) who would be interested in supporting these events. There will be some level of remuneration for this by agreement on an individual basis depending on events supported. Contact manager.british@englishchess.org.uk

There are a number of events that LRCA clubs might like to host as a means of promoting the club. There are some outdoor drop-in chess sessions on the 20th & 21st July in the DMU area and there is also a Mini-Season of Chess films at the Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre which takes place on Saturday 22nd, Wednesday 26th and Saturday 29th. Before the film screenings the plan is to have informal drop-in chess taking place in the large Cafe area at Phoenix. It would work well if any of the LRCA clubs would like to host one of these pre film chess sessions. email manager.british@englishchess.org.uk if your club is interested in doing this.

Leicestershire Junior Chess needs you!

Ben Vaughan 30 May 2023

Hi everyone

Leicestershire Junior chess and various clubs across the County are now starting to see the benefits of the County Junior set up, with some extremely talented Juniors coming through the ranks. This is due to the efforts of Paul Mottram initially and is now with the continued effort of Alan Agnew. More and more children are signing up to Alan's County Junior sessions and he needs your help to run it. Can you spare some time on a Saturday afternoon at Alan's sessions at Braunstone or at lunchtime/after school times at schools around the County? We need to pull together as a County and help to bring these children through.

This will be paid work, so you are not required to do this for nothing - remuneration rates can be discussed with Alan. Please contact Alan directly with what area(s) you are interested in on alanagnew_uk@yahoo.co.uk .

League Finished, Syston 1 are Division 1 Champions

Stewart Gordon 08 May 2023

All matches in the 2022–23 League season have now been played. Syston 1 continue their winning streak. Congratulations Syston!

Congratulations also to the other Division winners:
- Division 2: Market Harborough 1
- Division 3: Loughborough 2
- Division 4: Ashby 4

Tribute to Dave Pratt

Paul Mottram 28 Apr 2023

Brian Foreman also writes:

'As a friend of Dave Pratt, I feel I should add a few words to Ray Burgess’ tribute, following Dave’s untimely death at the age of 75.

Although Dave is probably known primarily as a member of Thurnby, the club for which he played so steadily for 20 years, his best days in chess came earlier. He was quite a promising U15 junior in the early 1960s, winning the National Association of Boys’ Clubs championship, and went on to be a valued player at several clubs prior to joining Thurnby. Whilst not well versed in theory, he was a sound and vigorous player, usually making solid plus scores, and, as Ray indicated, did reach a peak grade of over 170. At the time he was with Oadby in Div.4 and British Telecom, in Div.3, the league consisted of 10 divisions. He was certainly a strong competitor on a high board in Div.3.

In the later years increasingly poor health and, of course, older age, affected Dave’s confidence and his standard waned, but his keenness and reliability remained. He was a friendly, unassuming man and I hope a few of his old opponents may be able to attend his funeral, which takes place on Friday 5th May at Gilroes, 12-30 pm.'

RIP Dave Pratt

John Pattinson 20 Apr 2023

It is with sadness that Thurnby has learnt of the recent death of Dave Pratt. I know that many of you will have met him over the chessboard. Dave started playing for us in July 1999 where his first game was in the quarter final of the Chapman cup against Wigston 2. His final game was for our 2nd team in October 2019 against Kirby Muxloe 2.
Looking through Thurnbys records I find that Dave's first encounter against us was when he played for Oadby against our 4th team on 26th January 1977 where he won. The next was in July 1979 when he was playing for Telephones in the summer cup. I managed to find an old grading list for !979 and it gives his rating as 174.
Unfortunately ill health prevented Dave from resuming playing chess after the Pandemic. Our thoughts go out to his family.

British Chess Championships in Leicester - Can you help?

Ben Vaughan 11 Apr 2023

This years British will be at DMU, Leicester and will run from 20th - 30th July. You can find the schedule with details of the various events here – https://www.britishchesschampionships.co.uk/

As notified on the ECF web site Arbiters who would like to officiate at one or more of the events are invited to register their interest by completing this form – Arbiters expression of Interest – by 14th April 2023.

The full set of applications will then be considered by the organising committee to agree the selected arbiters, after which we will advise the outcome to all those who have expressed an interest by 28th April.

Leicestershire and Rutland Chess Association 2023 Annual General meeting

John Pattinson 07 Apr 2023

Leicestershire and Rutland Chess Association 2023 Annual General meeting will be held at the Regent Club, Regent Road Leicester on Wednesday 24th May 2023 at 7:30PM.

County Individual tournaments 2023

Andy Morley 16 Mar 2023

The County Individual Tournaments 2023 start in May and will be held at the Wigston and Anstey Chess Clubs. There are 4 sections:
OPEN: Open to all
CHALLENGERS: For those graded below 1900
MAJOR: For those graded below 1750
MINOR: For those graded below 1600
See entry form for the round dates and how to enter.

County Tournaments 2023

British Chess Championships are coming to Leicester!

Ben Vaughan 06 Feb 2023

Hi All

In case you were not aware, the British Chess Championships are coming to Leicester during July 2023 and are being held at De Montfort University.

Great news for Leicestershire Chess - spread the word!

British Chess Championship Website

Leicester Rapidplay Results

Paul Mottram 17 Jan 2023

The detailed results for the Leicester Rapidplay held at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre on Sunday 15th Jan are on the links below.
There were impressive performances by Leicestershire Juniors Kajus Mikalajunas (4.5) and Jack Pilley (4) who finished 2nd equal and 3rd equal respectively in the Open section.

Open
Major (U1950)
Inter (U1750)
Minor (U1550)
Junior (U1300)

H.E. Atkins Rapidplay

Ben Vaughan 02 Nov 2022

Hi Everyone

The LRCA are delighted to be able to announce that there will be an Atkins Rapidplay on Sunday 15th January 2023.
Online entry and event details are here: Online Entry

Please support your local congress!

Summer Cup results

Iain Dodds 18 Sep 2022

Chapman Cup - winners Anstey

Wylie Cup - winners Wigston

Harrod Cup - joint winners Anstey 1 & Ashby 2

Presentation/Charity Evening and quickplay competition.

John Pattinson 08 Sep 2022

To kick off the new season the Presentation evening will be held on Tuesday 20th September at 7:30 pm at Syston's venue.

This will be followed by a charity quickplay competition for the boot trophy.

New Venue - Melton & Rutland Chess Club

Shaun Cope 20 May 2022

We are now occupying a ground floor room at The Royal British Legion Club, Keswick House, 12-14 Thorpe End, Melton LE13 1RB. Free on street parking nearby in the evenings. Press buzzer for access to the venue.

Back Issues of Chess Magazine.

John Pattinson 30 Apr 2022

Tom Allen has kindly donated his grandfathers back issues of Chess magazine to the Association. If anyone would like to borrow any issues from October 1971 to April 1987 please contact John Pattinson

Leicestershire Success at Notts Rapidplay

Paul Mottram 04 Mar 2022

The weekend before the Doncaster Congress, Leicestershire players enjoyed success at the Notts Rapidplay on 20th February. In the Open section Shabir Okhai (Syston) scored an impressive 5/6 to to tie 1st place with IM IM Sarakauskas Gediminas and in the Intermediates (U1700) Lewis Jeffrie (Loughborough) playing his first congress also scored 5/6 to take a share of first place. In the Major (U1900), junior Musa Peer (Wigston) was clear in 2nd place also with 5/6.

Full results are here: https://chess-results.com/tnr610854.aspx?lan=1&art=0

First Congress, 5/5 for Alistair Geear

Rene Butler 28 Feb 2022

Market Harborough Chess Club wishes to congratulate Alistair Geear on winning the Minor Section (u1600) of The Doncaster Congress (Feb 25-27). Of the 70 entrants Alistair was the only one to score 5/5 and will collect £300. Not bad for his first congress!

Harborough helping Kettering shake off the cobwebs

Rene Butler 09 Dec 2021

Market Harborough played away at Kettering in an eight-game friendly on December 6th. The match is thought to be the first over the board encounter for any Northamptonshire club, since the first lockdown in March last year.

Players from all three of Harborough’s LRCA teams were represented in the line-up. Over the board debuts were also given to Conor Hackett, who drew on board seven and Omar Oliveri, who won on board eight. Harborough’s 5 ½ v 2 ½ win might have been helped by Kettering’s inactivity, but the Northants club will be satisfied just shaking off the OTB cobwebs.

A return match has been pencilled in for January…Kettering won’t have far to travel, unlike the majority of LRCA teams when they face Harborough.

Migration Now Complete

Stewart Gordon 29 Nov 2021

This website is now fully up and running on the new host, and logins are re-enabled.

Upcoming Website Migration

Stewart Gordon 25 Nov 2021

This website is in the process of being moved to a new hosting provider. The final transfer will be carried out during the afternoon of Sunday 28 November. It is expected that, while this transfer is in progress, the website will remain accessible but logins will be disabled, possibly until Monday morning.

RIP John Periam

Stewart Gordon 15 Nov 2021

We are sorry to report that John Periam, former president of the Market Harborough club, has passed away after a long illness.

John was 89 years of age. He had been at the club since the 1960s, mainly playing social rather than League chess. He is remembered for his sharp wit and that he played chess with a smile on his face.

Gerald Botteley (17/1/30-3/9/21)

Shaun Cope 08 Oct 2021

We are very sorry to report the recent loss of Gerald Botteley and his wife Florence. Gerald was an accomplished violin maker/restorer, musician, a published poet and writer. 'Magnanimous in victory, gracious in defeat' aptly describes his conduct at the chess board. We enjoyed his affable company and his memorable, daring playing style. And he got to play none other than Gary Kasparov at Oakham in 1997! - Here's the link:

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1359345

2021-22 League Season

Paul Mottram 22 Sep 2021

The 2021-22 LRCA league season is due to start on Tuesday 28th September. 29 teams have entered and will be split over 4 divisions.

A number of rules have been changed/introduced to take account of COVID and to help clubs navigate the new season with the inevitable uncertainties over player availability.

There is a new section regarding player responsibilities surrounding COVID:

Players agree to play at their own risk and are responsible for their safety and that of others. In particular:

i) Players should not play if they are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms (as outlined on the Public Health England website: www.gov.uk/coronavirus) or if they are required to self-isolate.
ii) Players should comply with the Covid rules in force at the match venues. These will be advised on the ‘Clubs’ section of the LRCA website.
iii) There is an expectation that players will be vaccinated against Covid. This does not apply if there is a valid medical reason for a person not taking the vaccine. It also does not apply to people who have not yet been offered the vaccine due to their age. Players will not be required to provide evidence that they have been vaccinated.”

Clubs are encouraged to provide good ventilation in the playing area and provide plenty of space for the players if possible. It’s also requested that players not involved in the match do not cluster round match games in progress.

A fixture list, the 2021-22 league rules and a summary of rule changes are provided below:

Fixtures 2021-22

2021-22 Rule Changes

League Rules 2021-22

Leicestershire lose to Northumberland in ECF Online U1800 Final

Paul Mottram 22 Sep 2021

Leicestershire qualified for the U1850 final back in August by managing to beat Essex 7.5-4.5. The final was played on Saturday 18th September and Northumberland proved tough opponents averaging nearly 200 grading points higher per board. Even so the match was in reality a good deal closer than in might appear from the final scoreline (8.5-3.5 to Northumberland) as Leicestershire were definitely well ahead in 3 of the lost games before blunders reversed the outcome late on. Well done to Rene Butler, Peter Mottram-Epson and Bob Collins for their wins.

Full Scorecard

Leicestershire Online Rapidplay - Saturday 1st May

Paul Mottram 12 May 2021

Alan Agnew writes “68 players took part in the Leicestershire Online rapidplay on Saturday 1st of May. The tournament was hosted on the Tornelo software platform with all players taking part in a Zoom call during play, and Fide arbiter Adam Raoof undertaking the controller duties. More than 30 Leicestershire Junior players took part, as well as others from all around the country.

Everyone made a good effort to get to grips with the technical requirements, from young to old! It was great to be able to see so many people playing, perhaps we will be able to play an ‘over the board tournament’ soon.

In the Open section Alan Agnew came out top after a few precarious moments. With a fantastic performance Lindsay Pyun took second place with a score of 3.5 points. Lindsay had to play all the other top placed players and so was able to pip Martin Burrows and Lewis Turner on tie break.

In the Under 1700 section three players finished on 4 points out of 5, with Nick London taking 1st place on tie break from Andrew Wilson and Paul Mottram. Sophie Mehta took the trophy for best placed Junior with three wins and one draw.

In the Junior U1300 section there were trophies and medals available for the top three finishers. there was a fantastic turnout of 21 players with Ismaeel Khalid taking 1st place. Mihir Sharma took clear second place. Amelia Ahmed took third place and was the best placed Leicestershire Junior player in this section, just beating Sofia Hilmi and Yuvraj Sadhra on tie break

The Junior U1000 section took place in the morning, with a great turnout of 16 players, again fighting it out for three trophies. Zac Paintin was the clear winner this a perfect 5 out of 5. Thomas Mcarthy-Bonfield took second place on tie break from Leicestershire player Ashley Smith both with 4 points out of 5. “

Thanks must go to Alan for organising the competition.

Full results are here

Leicestershire Online Rapidplay - Saturday 1st May

Paul Mottram 04 Apr 2021

The LRCA is staging a 5 round Leicestershire Online Rapidplay on Saturday 1st May with Open, U1700, Junior U1300 and Junior U1000 sections. The time control for the top 3 sections is 15 mins + 10 secs with the 1st round at 1pm (the Junior U1000 section begins at 10am with a 10mins + 5sec time control). Fide International arbiter Adam Raoof will be running the tournament on the Tornelo platform https://home.tornelo.com/ and all players will take part in a zoom call whilst games are taking place as a fair play measure.

You can enter at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leicestershire-online-rapidplay-tickets-148486554281 and the entry fee is £5
Any queries should be directed to competition organiser Alan Agnew tel 07434 286893 / email alanagnew_uk@yahoo.co.uk

Event Information

Chess 'live streaming' on the internet

Ben Vaughan 04 Mar 2021

With online chess growing and becoming more popular for those seeking their chess 'fix', I found that I wasn't learning much and - more importantly - I wasn't doing any teaching/coaching. Some of you will know that I was involved with 'Chess in Schools and Communities' doing some chess teaching/coaching at Anstey Library (more recently the Stadon) before COVID-19 hit us all.
Having watched and learnt from many live streams on Twitch.tv, I decided to give it a go myself.
From the comfort of my dining table, I stream at least twice a week with an educational and fun channel and you can watch moves, events, mistakes and blunders as they happen - it's a little bit like watching chess on tv.
On Mondays I stream my participation in the LRCA's 5|3 blitz event - live and as it happens - and on Wednesdays I stream a puzzle stream, where I explain moves, themes and tactical ideas as I go at the risk of getting the puzzles wrong. Three lives and I'm out! The channel is fully interactive with a chat function - all you have to do is register (username and password), 'follow' my channel by clicking on the heart symbol and you can chat away and have a go at the puzzles and say hello. I firmly believe that those who watch will learn something.
This link will take you to my channel - you can also have a look at previous streams - twitch.tv
Thank you for your attention
Ben Vaughan - Anstey Chess Cub

Happy New Year!

Ben Vaughan 04 Jan 2021

Hello Everyone - thanks for visiting the website.

We'd like to wish all of our players, teams and clubs all the very best for a safe and happy 2021.

Also a reminder about the online blitz tournaments on chess.com every Monday evening at 7:30pm.

John Mitchell

Paul Mottram 01 Nov 2020

Jim Miller writes:

'Loughborough Chess club has suffered another great blow with the death of Professor John Mitchell on October 3rd at the age of 75; he had been in poor health for some time. John joined the club in about 1970, having previously played in Bedfordshire while working for Unilever near Bedford. At that time the Loughborough 1st team had just been promoted to the 1st Division of the League, a position it maintained without a break for more than 40 years (at one time, uniquely perhaps, the club had three teams in the 1st Division!). It was immediately obvious that John was a strong player and a great asset to the club and to the county team. Along with Otto Hardy and many good Loughborough University staff and students, John helped to ensure that Loughborough won the Division 1 championship on several occasions in those four decades, often achieving good personal results against the strongest opposition. He played with intense concentration, always seeking the best move in any position, and in League matches was often in time trouble as a result. But on many occasions his instinct and quick sight of the board saw him through, and the county’s leading players saw him as a formidable opponent. For the county first team, where the longer time limits suited him better, he had close to a 60% record over a long period.

Alongside his chess successes John also enjoyed a distinguished career as a scientist, his speciality being the field of carbohydrate based polymers. He founded a leading scientific journal in this area: one of its current joint editors, the Rev Dr John Kennedy, helped to officiate at his funeral. He supervised many research students from all over the world, attracted large research grants and contracts, and published over 200 research papers. He was something of a polymath too, with a great interest in music and the arts, and an enthusiastic golfer alongside his wife Margaret. John was a simply delightful individual and great fun as a friend and colleague. He was always positive, never critical of other players, and keen to help bring on younger players in the county. The Loughborough club will miss him very much, and we send our profound condolences to Margaret and to John’s children and grandchildren.'

I would just like to add that John also took a keen interest in helping the development of junior chess players in the county and did that through his chairmanship of the junior chess committee and sponsorship of their activities for many years.

More sad news

Stewart Gordon 17 Oct 2020

The Loughborough club is sad to report the passing of long-time member John Mitchell after a long illness. He was at a time involved with the Leicestershire junior chess programme. Our condolences go to his family.

Sad news

Stewart Gordon 12 Sep 2020

The Loughborough club is sad to report the passing of long-time member Terry Adcock after a long illness. Our condolences go to his family.

Online 4NCL Competitions

Paul Mottram 28 Jul 2020

The 4NCL have now published their programme of competitions starting from the 2nd half of August.

The competition dates of season 2 of the Online 4NCL Team competition (4 man teams (max team squad size is 8)/ 45m + 15' games) are as below with matches occurring fortnightly on Tuesday evenings on lichess.org .

Rd1. 25 August

Rd2. 8 September

Rd3. 22 September

Rd4. 6 October

Rd5. 20 October

Rd6. 3 November

Rd7. 17 November

SF. 1 December

F. 15 December

Some 180 teams played in season 1 over 5 divisions and it probably represents the best structured online chess team competition out there. With OTB chess still some way off it's a good solution for LRCA chess clubs but also for any group of players who might wish to form themselves into an ad hoc team squad and enter to get some regular meaningful chess games in. As a guide, teams in Div 5 (which is the division new teams would have to enter in season 2) had an average grade range of 90 - 140 per player. With nearly 80 teams playing in Division 5 with a swiss round format, teams soon found they were facing similar strength opposition.

In addition to the team competition the 4NCL is also offering a 7 round individual swiss (Open, U2000, U1700) Autumn Congress with games every fortnight on the Tuesdays when the team competition isn't taking place.

Full details and entry to the competitions is on the 4NCL website. The closing date for entries for the team competition is 11th August

4NCL Online Chess Congress

Ben Vaughan 03 Jul 2020

For those that are interested and enjoying the chess online but not necessarily the blitz time control, there is a 4NCL online chess congress on the weekend of 10th July.

There are 5 rounds and the time control is much more relaxed with 45 minutes per player, with 15 second increments throughout. The online format is through Lichess, so if you do not have an account on Lichess - registering is very easy - then you will need to register for one.

There are 3 sections - Open, Under 2000 FIDE (ECF 175) and Under 1700 FIDE (ECF 135) based on January grades for ECF and July 2020 for FIDE ratings if you have one.

Matches start on the Friday night at 7pm (10th July) and entries close on Thursday 9th at 9pm. The entry fee is only £5.

Link for entries and all you need to know is here:

http://www.4ncl.co.uk/fide/online/arrangements_1.htm

Good Luck!

Ben Vaughan

LRCA Monday Evening Blitz Competitions on Chess.com

Paul Mottram 30 Jun 2020

There continues to be weekly swiss format blitz competitions on Mondays at 19:30 for members of the LRCA online club on chess.com.

Steps to play:

1. Join the LRCA chess.com club here (it's free): https://www.chess.com/club/lrca

2. Look out for a news post on the LRCA chess.com club news page on Monday afternoons with a direct link to the evenings competition or alternatively just go to Chess.com/Live Chess after 18:30 on Monday evening and the competition should be visible in the list of tournaments on the tournaments tab on the RHS of the page. After clicking on it, you then need to click the 'join' button to be added to the list of entrants. Pairings are automated and the 1st round will start at exactly 19:30 with the following rounds beginning some 15 secs or so after the conclusion of the previous round.

3. Results for all LRCA tournaments appear automatically here: https://www.chess.com/club/live-tournaments/lrca

2nd Round ECF Online County Team Competition

Paul Mottram 28 Jun 2020

The 1st round of the Online ECF County Team competition, scheduled for the 13th June, was unfortunately beset by technical issues on the chess.com server which led to all the matches being aborted. The entire round has been rescheduled for the 1st August.

All of this meant that the 2nd round on Saturday 20th June was the first serious competitive outing for both Open and U1825 Leicestershire teams.

The Open team played Devon losing 3.5-8.5. Team captain Andrew Wilson writes ‘With the average grade differential of almost 20 points, it was always going to be tough but there were notable wins for Phillip Horspool (against a National Master) and David Walker (with the completely unfamiliar to me ‘Hopton attack’). I also won but not with much credit, as my opponent kindly offered a ‘Botez Gambit’ on move 23.’

With the U1825 team needing to lend some players to the Open team, they also had a tough day at the office going down 1.5 – 10.5 against a strong Lincolnshire team (average grade 129) with the only points coming from top (a draw to Mike Garland Jr) and 3rd board (Paul Mottram)

Open Team Scorecard

U1825 Team Scorecard

19/20 League Season Update

Paul Mottram 23 Jun 2020

The LMC (League Management Committee) met on 16th June (virtually) to take some decisions regarding the unfinished 19/20 league season in the light of Covid 19.

They are as follows:

1. The 19/20 League season is now formally declared as over.

2. With around 75% of the season played it was decided to award division titles rather than void the whole season. The final positions have been calculated using average pts scored per game (of the games completed) as the determining metric meaning that Syston 1, Braunstone 3, Melton 2, Anstey 1 and Ashby 4 are declared the winners of the 5 divisions respectively (see pdf below)

3. It was decided that any decisions about promotion/ relegation are premature at this stage as it's not known what shape or form the league (ie how many teams/ divisions) will take or when it will be possible to hold the next season.

4. The LMC will reconvene at the beginning of August (or earlier if circumstances change) to consider any possible future steps regarding a return to OTB chess

20 League Final Positions

9th LRCA Blitz 25/05/20

Paul Mottram 31 May 2020

Mark Hebden won the 9th LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com winning with all 6 games with Tom Brown clear in 2nd with 5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 1st June at 19:30

It's open to all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com. You can join for free here: https://www.chess.com/club/lrca

A direct link to the tournament is available here - you can register/join from 18:30 on 01/06/20: 10th LRCA Blitz 01/06/20

8th LRCA Blitz 18/05/20

Paul Mottram 24 May 2020

Shabir Okhai won the 8th LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com winning with 5.5/6 with Martin Burrows in 2nd with 4.5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 25th May at 19:30

It's open to all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com. You can join for free here: https://www.chess.com/club/lrca

A direct link to the tournament is available here - you can register/join from 18:30 on 25/05/20: 9th LRCA Blitz 25/05/20

7th LRCA Blitz - 11th May

Paul Mottram 17 May 2020

Twenty players played in the 6th weekly LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com on Monday evening

Mark Hebden won the competition winning all 6 matches with John Naylor clear in 2nd on 4.5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 18th May at 19:30

It's open to all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com. You can join for free here: https://www.chess.com/club/lrca

A direct link to the tournament is available here - you can register/join from 18:30 on 18/05/20: 8th LRCA Blitz 11/05/20

LRCA Annual General Meeting postponed.

John Pattinson 11 May 2020

The 20th May AGM has had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The policy committee will review ongoing government advice and rearrange when social meetings are allowed.

6th LRCA Blitz - 4th May

Paul Mottram 09 May 2020

Twenty players played in the 6th weekly LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com on Monday evening

Mark Hebden won the competition winning all 6 matches with Shabir Okhai clear in 2nd on 4.5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 11th May at 19:30

It's open to the all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com. You can join for free here: https://www.chess.com/club/lrca

A direct link to the tournament is available here - you can register/join from 18:30 on 04/05/20: 7th LRCA Blitz 11/05/20

5th LRCA Blitz - 27th April

Paul Mottram 01 May 2020

Twenty five players played in the 5th weekly LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com on Monday evening

Shabir Okhai won the competition winning all 6 matches with Tom Brown clear in 2nd on 5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 4th May at 19:30

It's open to the all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com, which now numbers 75 members. You can join for free here: https://www.chess.com/club/lrca

A direct link to the tournament is available here - you can register/join from 18:30 on 04/05/20: 6th LRCA Blitz 04/05/20

ECF Online Blitz Championship

Paul Mottram 30 Apr 2020

Entries are now open for the English Online Blitz Championship on 9th May (Final is 16th May). Information and entry is here: https://englishchessonline.org.uk/english-online-blitz-championships-2020

To enter, you need to be a member of the ECF online club on chess.com which you can join here: https://www.chess.com/club/english-chess-federation-members
Approval can take a couple of days so best not to leave it till the last minute.

4th LRCA Blitz - 20th April

Paul Mottram 25 Apr 2020

Twenty players played in the 3rd weekly LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com on Monday evening

Laurence Livsey won the competition winning all 6 matches with Shabir Okhai clear in 2nd on 4.5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 27th April at 19:30

It's open to the all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com, which now numbers 72 members. You can join for free here.

A direct link to the tournament is available here - join from 18:30 on 27/04/20: 5th LRCA Blitz 27/04/20

David Reynolds

Paul Mottram 17 Apr 2020

Neil Roberts writes:

It is with much sorrow that we have to inform you that David Reynolds has passed away.

David has been a member of Ashby Chess Club for 18 years. He served the Club as Secretary and Team Captain throughout his time with Ashby, and played a big part in creating the Club’s social atmosphere, which many visitors have commented on.

He has also served on LRCA committees and in particular as League Secretary for the 2018-19 season. He will be a big loss to Leicestershire Chess.

3rd LRCA Online Blitz - 13/04/20

Paul Mottram 16 Apr 2020

Twenty two players played in the 3rd weekly LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com on Monday evening

Martin Burrows again won the competition with 5.5/6 with Shabir Okhai and Tom Brown on 4.5pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 20th April at 19:30

It's open to the all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com, which now numbers 70 members. You can join for free here.

A direct link to the tournament is available here - join from 18:30 on 20/04/20: 4th LRCA Blitz 20/04/20

2nd LRCA Online Blitz 06/04/20

Paul Mottram 08 Apr 2020

Thirty players played in the 2nd weekly LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com on Monday evening

Martin Burrows finished clear of the pack with 5/6 with 4 players (Tom Brown, John Naylor, Dave Bray and Shabir Okhai) finishing on 4.5 pts.
Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be on Monday 13th April at 19:30

It's open to the all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com, which now numbers over 66 members. You can join for free here.

A direct link to the tournament is available here - join from 18:30 on 13/04/20: 2nd LRCA Blitz 13/04/20

1st LRCA Online Blitz 30th March

Paul Mottram 31 Mar 2020

27 players of all abilities played in the 1st LRCA Online Blitz competition on chess.com last night that was staged specifically for members of LRCA clubs.
Five players Shabir Okhai, Martin Burrows, Jeremy Wells, John Naylor and Laurence Livesey finished on 4 points out of 5 with Shabir, also arguably sporting the best chess.com username 'OkhaiTheNoo', shading it on the chess.com tie break system.

Full results are here

The next LRCA Blitz (6 rounds, time control 5 mins + 3 secs) will be in 6 days time on Monday 6th April at 19:30

It's open to the all members of the LRCA online club on chess.com, which now numbers over 50 members. You can join for free here.

A direct link to the tournament is available here - join from from 18:30 on 06/04/20: 2nd LRCA Blitz 06/04/20

ECF Tournaments on Chess.com and Lichess.org

Paul Mottram 29 Mar 2020

The ECF has formed large online clubs on Chess.com and Lichess.Org and is running a programme of online tournaments. Check on the ECF site here for details of this and other organisations such as the 4NCL who are moving activity online.

Joining LRCA Online Club on Chess.com to play in LRCA Tournaments

Paul Mottram 25 Mar 2020

All members of clubs affiliated to LRCA are invited to join the new LRCA club on chess.com. Simply create a login on chess.com (free of charge for basic membership) and then go to the LRCA club page and click join.
The LRCA plans to run regular online competitions for club members. The first of these is on Monday 30th March at 7:30pm.
The 5 round swiss blitz (5m + 3') competition can be accessed direct from this link or alternatively go to chess.com then Play/Live Chess and look on the Live Tournaments tab (RHS) from 6:30pm on the day of the competition. It's entirely free of charge to play, simply click Join to register to play.

League Competition Suspended

Paul Mottram 16 Mar 2020

The LMC (League Management Committee) has suspended the league season due to the Covid 19 outbreak. The club secretaries were informed of this decision on Friday 13th March. The LMC will continue to monitor the situation and discussions will be ongoing as to whether it may be possible to resume the season at a later stage to complete the outstanding fixtures.

2020 Leicestershire and Rutland Chess Association AGM

John Pattinson 02 Mar 2020

Advanced notice that this year's AGM will be held at the Regent Club Leicester on Wednesday 20th May at 7:30PM.

London Junior Chess Championships

Paul Mottram 27 Dec 2019

Jason Lv, the winner of the Challengers (U160) in the 2019 County Championship, had an excellent result in the London Junior Champs U14 Major section in tying for 1st place on 5/6 and securing the U13 title. This event is as competitive, if not more so, as the British Championships, which puts the performance in context. A full round up of the Leics results at the LJCC will follow on the junior website.

H.E ATKINS RAPIDPLAY October 13th

Andy Morley 15 Oct 2019

The H.E Atkins memorial rapidplay congress was held on Sunday October 13th, and attracted 113 entries. The OPEN was won by Mark Hebden, with 5.5 /6. Shabir Okhai scored 4.5/6 to come second.
Paul Colburn won the U 165 section. Julian Tang was joint second in the U140 section, and Tarsem Dhillon came second in the U115.
In the Junior U80 section Leicestershire Juniors Sophie Mehta and Alex Cimurs shared 1st place
Full results can be found via the links to the tournaments below
OPEN
U165
U140
U115
Junior U80
Junior U25

Some sad news

Mike Salisbury 13 Oct 2019

The Braunstone club is sad to report the death of Jeff Toon, who was a long standing member of the club for many years. Jeff joined Braunstone in 1980 and he was secretary of the club for 3 years, 1983 to 1986. He played regularly during his last season, 2009/10, after which he decided to stop playing. He kindly donated his collection of chess books to the club..

Neil Beasley recalls that Jeff was at Dixie GS Market Bosworth with Ralph Hitchman, another former Braunstone club member, and Neil’s King Edward VI Grammar School at Nuneaton played chess regularly against Dixie so he has fond memories of playing against Jeff and Ralph from about as early as 1950. Indeed all three competed in the 1954/55 Under 21 Leicestershire Championships and then continued to meet from there on whilst they all played in the league. My thanks to Neil and John Oliver for this information.

Our condolences go to his daughter Beverley.

County Individual tournaments now complete

Andy Morley 16 Sep 2019

The County Individual tournaments for 2019 are now complete. For the first time for many years every event has been won without the need for a play-off:
County Championship: Mark HEBDEN (Syston) 6/6 (19 players)
Challengers tournament: Jason LV (Wigston) 4/5 (14 players)
Major tournament: Jim BINGHAM (Braunstone) 4.5/5 (11 players)
Minor tournament: Charles EASTLAKE (Wigston) 4.5/5 (17 players)

The full crosstable and pairings can be viewed through the links on the County Championships page. Games for the County Championship matches are also available. (Rounds 1 - 4. Rounds 5 and 6 will be available shortly)

2019 Summer Cups Completed

Stewart Gordon 15 Sep 2019

The Summer Cups have now been completed. Congratulations to the winners:

* Chapman Cup – Loughborough
* Birstall Cup – Braunstone 2
* Wylie Cup – Wigston
* Harrod Cup – Ashby Colts

Atkins Rapidplay - Current Entries

Paul Mottram 15 Sep 2019

Open
U165
U140
U115
Junior U80
Schools 'Ungraded' U25

Annual prize giving and Quickplay Charity tournament

Mike Salisbury 04 Sep 2019

The LRCA's annual prize giving evening will take place on Tuesday 17th September at the Syston club, starting at 7.30pm. All the prizes for league divisions 1-5, the Summer cups, individual County Championships etc will be presented.
There will then follow the Charity Quickplay event - 4 players per team, all moves in 15 minutes each, 4 or 5 rounds depending on timing, teams to be entered on the night. There is an overall team winner and a handicap team winner.
Everyone is welcome to attend, don't worry if you don't have a full team of 4, scratch teams can be put together on the night.
Entry is £2 per person, all proceeds go to the President's charity which this year is MacMillan Cancer research. Last year we raised over £100.

Leicester HE Atkins Memorial Rapidplay - Sunday 13th October

Paul Mottram 03 Sep 2019

Only entry is open for this year's Atkins Rapidplay at Leicester Grammar School on Sunday 13th October via the dedicated link on the LRCA home page (see column on left) or here

The Atkins is a 6 round swiss ECF graded Rapidplay promoted by the LRCA with Open, U165, U140, U115 and Junior U80 sections with a time control of 20mins + 10'

There is also an ungraded U25 'schools' section for the less experienced junior players aged under 11 (on 01/09/19)

Junior Awards 2018-2019

Paul Mottram 02 Sep 2019

Jason Lv has won the John Robinson Cup ('Most Improved Junior Player') and Kajus Mikalajunas the George Winterton Cup for 'Junior Team player of the Year' for the 2018-19 season. Full Report....

Anstey Chess Club simul - again!

Ben Vaughan 16 Aug 2019

Having been made aware of the chance to play a simul - (by this very website and Facebook!) - another simul was offered to us by Phil Horspool of Wigston. Our humble thanks as a club go to Phil and all those that have played so far, for giving our squad the opportunity to play such excellent quality players with very friendly personalities. We were only too pleased to buy Phil a drink or two, to say thank you but he chose to drink water, which went down well with the bar staff! Anyway, the guys thoroughly enjoyed the night.
Results wise, Phil beat Oskar Rudczenko, John Whitmore, John Derry, Alan Skaria, Mick Squire, Rudy Gaw, myself and David Buckley. In every case, Phil was extremely kind in victory, taking time to go through the mistakes of the players and explain where they went wrong. In all cases he allowed resetting of the board to the critical position and offering advice from there. There were some very interesting positions - I'll look forward to going through the games with my team.
Once again, many thanks to Phil for agreeing to play us all in such a fashion.
I am delighted and equally humbled to say that we have the chance to maybe squeeze in one more simul before the league season starts and that has been offered to us by Graham Sharpe - I will be in touch with you soon Graham.
Many thanks again - to Phil, Shaun Cope, John Naylor and John Robinson. The team really enjoy the simul format - it gives them all valuable game experience.

Ben Vaughan - Anstey Chess Club

H.E. Memorial Atkins Rapidplay Sunday 13th October 2019 Online Entry

Paul Mottram 31 Jul 2019

Entries for this year's Atkins Rapidplay at Leicester Grammar School are now open on this link.

The Atkins is 6 round swiss ECF graded Rapidplay promoted by the LRCA with Open, U165, U140, U115 and Junior U80 sections.

There is also an ungraded U11 'schools' section for the less experienced junior players.

And another simul at Anstey club

Mike Salisbury 12 Jul 2019

Having been made aware - by this very website! - another simul was offered to us by Shaun Cope of Melton Mowbray. Our humble thanks as a club go to Shaun and all those that have played so far, for giving our squad the opportunity to play such excellent quality players with very friendly personalities. We were only too pleased to buy each person a drink or two, to say thank you. The guys thoroughly enjoyed the night. Results wise, Shaun beat Oskar Rudczenko, John Whitmore, John Derry and David Buckley. Shaun beat Mick Squire in a very complicated two Knight endgame and I managed to levy a draw by saying at 10:50pm - 'Let's go home Shaun!'. I was an exchange down but had an active Knight against a Rook. In every case, Shaun was extremely graceful in victory, taking time to go through the mistakes of the players and explain where they went wrong. There were some very competitive games and some very interesting positions - I'll look forward to going through the games with my team. Once again, many thanks to Shaun for agreeing to play us all in such a fashion.
I am delighted and equally humbled to say that we have two more simuls that have been offered to us - from Phil Horspool and Graham Sharpe - I will be in touch with you when I am back from holiday at the end of July. Many thanks again - to Shaun, John Naylor and John Robinson. The team really enjoy the simul format - it gives them all valuable game experience.

Ben Vaughan - Anstey Chess Club'

AGM Minutes

Paul Mottram 02 Jul 2019

The draft minutes of the recent AGM can be viewed here

Another simul at Anstey club

Mike Salisbury 20 Jun 2019

Following the successful simul at Anstey chess club by John Robinson, we have the following report from Ben Vaughan: We were contacted by Syston's John Naylor about another simul! Our humble thanks as a club go to John for giving our squad the opportunity to play such an excellent quality player with such a wonderful personality. We were only too pleased to buy him a drink or two, to say thank you. Personally, I was very excited to test myself against such a high quality player. Results wise, it wasn't good, as you can imagine! We all lost but John was extremely graceful in victory, taking time to go in depth to each players game and explain where they went wrong. John beat myself, Mick Squire, John Whitmore, John Derry, Rudy Gaw and a new guy called David.
Once again, many thanks to John Naylor for agreeing to play us all in such a fashion. The invite for a simul is extended to anybody in the County if you would like to do so. I am delighted to report back to you all that a couple of other players have contacted me and are interested in a simul with us. I will be back to you all in due course! Many thanks again - to both John Naylor and John Robinson. It is humbling to know that there are people in the County that are willing to help a new and fledgling club. From Ben Vaughan - Anstey Chess Club

UK Schools Chess Challenge Megafinal Round up

Paul Mottram 20 Jun 2019

25 Leicestershire Junior Players, including 14 age group winners qualified through the recent Megafinal (County) Stages of the UK Schools Chess Challenge to qualify for the Regional Stages (Gigafinals) in July. Full report...

From Ben Vaughan - Anstey chess club holds simul

Mike Salisbury 09 May 2019

Anstey Chess Club welcomed Syston's John Robinson to our club last night for a simul that John and I had agreed to play. Our thanks as a club go to John for giving our squad the opportunity to play such a well known and excellent quality player. All he asked is that we buy him a drink or two, which we were only too pleased to do.
Results wise, it wasn't so good, as you can imagine. We aren't the strongest club in the County! I managed to get a draw, which I am sure was given to me out of charity, as he won all of the other games against Mick Squire, John Derry, John Whitmore and Oskar Rudczenko.
Once again, many thanks to John Robinson for agreeing to play us all in such a fashion. The invite for a simul is extended to anybody in the County if you would like to do so. I am sure there are more of you out there that would be up for a simul - come along and help a fledgling club! It was an invaluable learning experience for our squad that is largely new to over the board chess. From Ben Vaughan - Anstey Chess Club

U9s place 8th in National Final

Paul Mottram 29 Apr 2019

The county U9 team placed a respectable 8th out of 15 teams in the National Final at Notts High School on Sat 27th April which builds on last year's U11 team performance where the team placed 12th (out of 15).
Full Report

Leicestershire U9s 2nd in Northern Zonal to qualify for National Final

Paul Mottram 17 Mar 2019

A powerful U9 team swept into the National Final in fine style by placing 2nd out of 10 counties in the Northern Semifinal finishing a single point behind last year's national medallists Warkwickshire. Full Report...

Leicestershire Junior Congress Results

Paul Mottram 17 Jan 2019

Jason Lv & Sasha Kerbel finished joint 1st= on 5/6 in the Open section of the junior congress that took place at Leicester Grammar School on Sunday 13th January.
Other Leicestershire Juniors to win Gold (5pts and over) were Joshua Tang in the Minor U80 section and Catharine Lv, Josh Crook and Arav Ajayjumar in the Minor.

A fuller report and detailed results can be found on the junior site

Leicester Junior Open Congress - Sunday January 13th

Paul Mottram 03 Jan 2019

The Leicester Junior Congress takes place on Sunday 13th January at Leicester Grammar School.

This is a junior six round swiss rapidplay chess competition (all players play in all rounds) in three sections (Open, Major and Minor). Full details and online entry is here.

Note that the Minor section would be ideal for school chess players not previously experienced in playing chess tournaments.

Current Entries: Open, Major, Minor

New County Champion

Andy Morley 25 Oct 2018

We have a new County Champion. Alan Agnew and Martin Burrows tied for first place over the 6 rounds of the tournament, but Alan won the rapidplay 2-game play-off to claim the County Champion title for the first time. Congratulations to Alan, who finished unbeaten in the tournament.

Atkins Rapidplay - Pairings and Results

Paul Mottram 06 Oct 2018

Sections:

Open
Major U165
Intermediate U140
Minor U115
Junior U80
Junior U40

Sad news

Mike Salisbury 27 Sep 2018

It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of Barry Read who played for the Braunstone club for over 30 years. He passed away last week after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Barry will be greatly missed by those of us who have known him during his long association with Braunstone Chess Club which was the only chess club he’s ever belonged to. Barry’s quiet, unassuming manner has meant that he has been universally liked.

Presentation evening and Charity Rapidplay

Andy Morley 26 Sep 2018

There was a good turnout for the annual presentation of trophies, followed by a 5 round rapidplay tournament for the BTH SMITH Charity shield (10 minutes per player).The event raised £106 for the President's charity, and was won by an impressive Syston side whose average grade was 201. They finished ahead of a strong Wigston team (average grade 193), with Syston 2 finishing third.
There was a larger entry than we have had for a few years, with 13 teams competing. This meant there was a 3-team jamboree pairing each round which caused plenty of confusion and, I hope, fun!
The Harold Boot handicap trophy was won by Latimer.
Thanks to the Syston Club for hosting the event.

Atkins Rapidplay Current Entries

Paul Mottram 05 Sep 2018

Sections: Open, U165, U140, U115, Junior U80, Junior U40

Leicestershire Juniors British Championship Results

Paul Mottram 25 Aug 2018

Shyam Modi (13th= 6/9 in the Major Open), Tom Brown (winner of the U1900 section 5/5) and Jason Lv (2nd= Weekend U1600 section 4/5) were among the highlights.
A full round-up of all the results are here

Charity quick play and prize giving evening

Mike Salisbury 04 Aug 2018

This years annual prize giving and charity quick play event will take place on Wednesday 26th September at the Syston club, starting at 7.30pm
After the prize giving, the quick play will be teams of 4, everyone welcome, teams may be made up on the night.

Leicester HE Atkins Memorial Rapidplay Online Entry Now Open

Paul Mottram 14 Jun 2018

The 2nd Leicester HE Atkins Memorial Rapidplay will take place on Sunday 7th October 2018 at Leicester Grammar School. It's an ECF graded 6 round Swiss rapidplay (20 mins + 10 sec) in Open, U165, U140, U115 and Junior U80/U40 sections.

Click here for Online Entry and full details

Any queries to Andy Morley (email: a.morley953@btinternet.com Tel. 0116 2831488/0776 9721980) and Paul Mottram (Junior sections) (email: chess@paulmottram.com tel: 0798 9151175)

League Finished, Syston 1 are Division 1 Champions

Stewart Gordon 16 May 2018

All matches in the 2017–18 League season have now been played. Syston 1 are the overall winners, taking the Division 1 title from Wigston 1, who had won it every season since 2006–07. Congratulations Syston!

Congratulations also to the other Division winners:
- Division 2: Ashby 1
- Division 3: Market Harborough 1
- Division 4: Ashby 3
- Division 5: Market Harborough 2

H.E. Memorial Atkins Rapidplay 2018

Paul Mottram 06 May 2018

The H.E. Memorial Atkins Rapidplay 2018 will take place on Sunday 7th October at Leicester Grammar School. As last year, it will be a 6 round swiss (time control 20 mins + 10 secs) with the following sections:

Open, U165, U140, U115 and junior only U80, U40

An online entry system and further details will be available shortly.

New LRCA Website Up and Running

Stewart Gordon 01 May 2018

The LRCA now has a brand new website. This website contains general LRCA information, news, committee lists, club information, fixtures and results, all in one place.

U11s in EPSCA Final

Paul Mottram 23 Apr 2018

Leicestershire finished 12th out of the 15 teams that competed in EPSCA (English Primary Schools Chess Association) U11 final in Birmingham on the 21st April. Read More

Leicestershire beats Lincolnshire in Junior U130 competition

Paul Mottram 27 Mar 2018

Leicestershire achieved a comprehensive victory against Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire in the Junior U130 12 board competition that took place in North Hykenham on Sunday 25th March.

It was a good weekend coming the day after the U120 result. A full report can be found on the juniors website.

Silver For U11s in EPSCA Northern Zonal

Paul Mottram 20 Mar 2018

Leicestershire’s 20 board U11 team (10 of whom are U9) pulled off a remarkable 2nd place in the EPSCA Northern Zonal on the 17th March behind the victors Warwickshire shading the Midland U11 champions Notts into 3rd place on tie break. Read More

Leicestershire Juniors compete in ECF U18 County Team Championships

Paul Mottram 08 Mar 2018

The juniors chess website has reports of the Leicester Juniors performance in the ECF U18 County Team Championship which took place on the 25th February.

Leicestershire U9s and U11 Girls win bronze at Midland Team Championships

Paul Mottram 17 Feb 2018

The junior chess website has reports of the Leicester Junior Congress and the Midland Team Championships, where Leicestershire picked up Bronze in both the U9's and U11 Girls.

RIP Andrew Finch and Allan Castle

Stewart Gordon 05 Feb 2018

Two people who, in their eras, were well known and respected in Leicestershire chess circles have died, both well into their 90s - one recently and the other just over a year ago.

Andrew Finch, a man of considerable intellect, was a member of the Wigston club for almost 20 years, from the early 1980s until 2000. Allan Castle gave up chess in 1972, or thereabouts. However, he was a prominent player, a fixture in the county team in the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a grade of over 180 in his prime, and an important organiser for the Leicester chess club.

Andrew Finch obituary

Allan Castle obituary

Carl Portman visits Leicester Prison

Mike Salisbury 11 Jan 2018

Carl Portman, who writes a regular column in Chess magazine, recently visited Leicester Prison. There is an interesting article on his visit on the ECF website.

New Laws on Illegal Moves

Mike Salisbury 11 Jan 2018

There have been amendments to the FIDE laws of chess which came into force on January 1st 2018, these relate to "illegal moves".

7.5.1 An illegal move is completed once the player has pressed his clock. If during a game it is found that an illegal move has been completed, the position immediately before the irregularity shall be reinstated. If the position immediately before the irregularity cannot be determined, the game shall continue from the last identifiable position prior to the irregularity. Articles 4.3 and 4.7 apply to the move replacing the illegal move. The game shall then continue from this reinstated position.
7.5.2 If the player has moved a pawn to the furthest distant rank, pressed the clock, but not replaced the pawn with a new piece, the move is illegal. The pawn shall be replaced by a queen of the same colour as the pawn.
7.5.3 If the player presses the clock without making a move, it shall be considered and penalized as if an illegal move.
7.5.4 If a player uses two hands to make a single move (for example in case of castling, capturing or promotion) and pressed the clock, it shall be considered and penalized as if an illegal move.
7.5.5 After the action taken under Article 7.5.1, 7.5.2, 7.5.3 or 7.5.4 for the first completed illegal move by a player, the arbiter shall give two minutes extra time to his opponent; for the second completed illegal move by the same player the arbiter shall declare the game lost by this player. However, the game is drawn if the position is such that the opponent cannot checkmate the player’s king by any possible series of legal moves.
7.6 If, during a game it is found that any piece has been displaced from its correct square, the position before the irregularity shall be reinstated. If the position immediately before the irregularity cannot be determined, the game shall continue from the last identifiable position prior to the irregularity. The game shall then continue from this reinstated position.