4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE - DIVISION 4

Rounds 7-11 of this year's 4NCL will no longer take place on the original dates in April and May due to the present pandemic.   Tentative plan at present is reschedule these for later in the year with a knock-on effect on the 2020-21 4NCL which will accordingly not get under way until early 2021.    That could change - up-to-date information should be available on the 4NCL website although it is planned to summarise this here.

Main points to note are that 4NCL entails one round each day, with the rate of play 40 moves in 100 minutes (plus 30 second increments from move 1) followed by the rest of the game in 50 minutes (again with 30 second increments). That means a 60-move game could conceivably take as long as 6 hours, far longer than local league chess.  All games are ECF-graded and, subject to meeting the usual conditions, FIDE-rated.

Division 4 [34 teams] summary after round 6:  

			P		W	D	L		GP		MPts
1		Sussex Martlets 2	6		6	0	0		27		12
2		Fischer's Catch	6		5	0	1		21½		10
3		Wood Green Youth	6		5	0	1		20		10
4		Watford A	6		4	1	1		23½		9
5-20
21		Watford B	6		3	0	3		14½		6
22-34

 

 

 

HERTFORDSHIRE CHESS LEAGUE

 

The 2019-20 competition, which began on 30 September, has been suspended as a result of the present pandemic.  See 'Fixtures' page for a list of fixtures and 'Results' page for reported results.    No recent results reported here for Watford 1.

Watford 2 are well-placed in Division 2 and promotion back to Division 1 is not out of the question.

 

		P		W	D	L		MPs		For	Agst
1	Watford 2	8		6	1	1		13		26.5	13.5
2	B Stortford 1	8		5	2	1		12		24.5	15.5
3	H Hempstead 2	8		3	2	3		8		19.5	20.5
4	Borehamwood 1	8		3	0	5		6		17	23
5	Stevenage 1	8		2	3	3		7		21	19
6	Welwyn H'f'd 1	8		0	4	4		4		14.5	21.5
7	St Albans 2	8		2	2	4		6		17	23

 

In Division 3, Watford 3 is also doing well with four wins, three draws and one defeat, from its first eight completed matches.   Watford 4, in the next division, is in mid-table with three wins, two draws and four losses from its nine matches to date.    In the separate under-120 league, the Watford u-120 team has won five, drawn one and lost two of its first eight matches.

 

ARCHIVE:

Article in Watford Observer, 19 February: https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/18247132.watford-chess-club-looking-sponsors-ahead-international-tournament

Club rapidplay, 30 December 2019, results at  http://chess-results.com/Tnr501649.aspx?lan=1

3rd Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 29 July 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr457143.aspx?lan=1

Club rapidplay, 8 July 2019, results at http://chess-results.info/tnr453784.aspx?lan=1

Price Cup (2018-9 club championship), October 2018 to June 2019, results at  http://chess-results.com/tnr382758.aspx?lan=1

2nd Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 27 May 2019, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr435032.aspx?lan=1

Club rapidplay, 13 August 2018, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr374277.aspx?lan=1

1st Watford Junior (u-12) Rapidplay, 30 July 2018, results at http://chess-results.com/tnr373197.aspx?lan=1

 

 

JUNIOR CLUB NEWS IN BRIEF

Junior news appears here with current/imminent news and events highlighted in blue while completed events appear in black.  No over-the-board club meetings are currently taking place due to Covid restrictions.

Watford juniors also form a core part of the Hertfordshire online team competing in various inter-county events.   

On an individual level, Avy, Advait and Rohan reached the terafinals of the nationwide Delancey UK Chess Challenge,  Avy went on to finish 3rd in his age-group and collect £75.

 

CURRENT [NOVEMBER 2020] ONLINE ACTIVITY:

INTERNATIONAL 2020 CHESS LEAGUE:

This event, with games broadcast on Twtch.tv, has attracted a worldwide entry including teams headed by international grandmasters attracted by the $2000 first prize.

Round 1 saw Watford Juniors paired against Alabama. The Americans were also a junior side but older and more experienced, with an 18-year-old FIDE Master on board 2, and won convincingly 13-1.

In round 2, probably being played Sunday evening 29 November, being a favoured date for television coverage, Watford Juniors meet Port Elizabeth 'B' of South Africa.

The competition has attracted entries from England [40 teams], South Africa [14], Scotland and USA [both 9], Wales [4], Australia and Brazil [both 3], Gibraltar and Poland [both 2], and one from each of Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liberia, Nauru, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Phillipines, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and Zimbabwe, 110 in all.

 

JUNIOR 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE [SEASON 2]

Watford 'A' , in a strong Division 1 group headed by Kent, finished fifth of eight teams with 3 wins and 4 losses, despite two of those losses coming against the relegated teams. Watford 'B' were never in trouble in Division 2, finishing in fourth place on exactly 50%, but Watford 'C' look only narrowly to have avoided [subject to confirmation] relegation.. Our junior teams, 'D' and 'E', provided valuable experience for our newer players but were relegated from Division 3. Next season begins 21 January.

4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE [SEASON 2]

Here our teams play against adult opposition. This proved an uphill struggle for our 'B' and 'C' teams which lost all their matches in Division 5. The 'A' team also found life tough in Division 4 but one win and three draws from their 7 matches was enough to avoid relegation. Next season begins 26 January.

FIVE COUNTIES LEAGUE [SEASON 2]:

Watford A had a Division 2 bye in the latest round, instead playing Petts Wood & Orpington in a competitive friendly which ended 3-3. The match between our 'B' and 'C' teams is postponed until 19 November.

EAST OF ENGLAND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:

Three-round event being played December & January with two Watford Juniors teams taking part.

 

NEWSFLASH [7 Nov] - Following the success of the Netflix show The Queen's Gambit, yet more chess is about to hit the screens, according to chess24 reports.

Play Magnus Group has announced a new deal with sports network Eurosport to broadcast the upcoming Champions Chess Tour.

Chess will take its place alongside tennis, football and other premium sporting events in 60 markets, with live chess available on demand across Europe and Asia.

The agreement follows the massive growth of online coverage this year which has seen millions tune in to platforms to watch stars like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.

Netflix drama The Queen's Gambit, which is centred around a fictional chess prodigy, has also gripped audiences worldwide and hit number 1 in 30 countries.

Eurosport's agreement sees live and localised coverage of the Champions Chess Tour knock-out rounds screened in English, German, French and Spanish via digital platforms including the Eurosport App (Europe), Dplay (Finland) and Discovery Plus (India).

  

ONLINE 5 COUNTIES LEAGUE [SEASON 1]

This competition was formed on the initiative of several local players and Watford juniors secretary Roger Lancaster is quick to acknowledge the major contributions made by Daniel Knight and Nigel Colter, both of Uxbridge Chess Club, and Nigel Smith [Maidenhead].

Two Watford junior teams [6 players each] took part in this event, the 'A' team in Division 2 and the 'B' team in Division 3.   Watford Jnrs 'A' scored +4 =0 -3 to finish 4th, while Watford Jnrs 'B' scored +2 =1 -4 to finish 6th, in both cases out of eight competing teams.

 

ONLINE NATIONAL CLUB COMPETITION

Watford Juniors [just one team!] took part in this event over the 26-28 June weekend at a time control of 45' + 15".

The team won two and lost three of its five matches but probably took some pleasure in beating DHSS 'B' after that team had held our adults to a 2-2 draw in an earlier round.

Sean [+3 =2 -0] was the only Watford junior to exceed 50% but Avy [2.5/5], Maanav [2/5] and Daniel [1.5/3] also contributed points against tough opposition.   In all, nine juniors took part in some or all rounds

ONLINE JUNIOR 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE [SEASON 1]

Five Watford junior teams took part in the first session of Online J4NCL which ended on 4 June.   Watford Jnrs A [+3 =1 -4] played in Division 2, our B [+4 =0 -4] and C [+1 =2 -5] sides in Division 4, and our D [+3 =3 -2] and E [+2 =0 -6] sides in Division 5.   As a result, none were either promoted or relegated.   The second session of Online J4NCL is expected to start in September when we will be re-entering.

 

ONLINE 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE [SEASON 1]

Three Watford junior teams took part in the first session of Online 4NCL which ended, playoffs excepted, on 9 June.  All three played in Division 5 against mainly adult opposition with Watford Jnrs A scoring +5 =1 -4,  Watford Jnrs B +0 =4 -6 and late entrants Watford Jnrs C +2 =1 -3.   Next session, probably September.

 

JUNIOR 4 NATIONS CHESS LEAGUE [OVER-THE-BOARD] 

Third and final J4NCL weekend was 15-16 February at Mercure Daventry Court Hotel where two Watford teams were among the 22 teams taking part.   We couldn't assemble a sufficiently strong team for Division 1 so our two teams [Watford Blues and Watford Reds] were competing against 12 other teams in Division 2.  

Several of our players were off form so the results were a little disappointing, with both teams finishing in the lower half of the table.

Over-the-board J4NCL weekends for 2020-21 have been postponed.    To be eligible, juniors must be under 18 on the date of the game in question.    More background on J4NCL appears on the 4NCL website

Watford Reds [L to R:  Jeff,  Jake,  Theo,  Judith] at the J4NCL February 2020 weekend

OTHER JUNIOR MATCHES {OVER-THE-BOARD] 

Watford juniors play twice a year against Uxbridge juniors in a double-round rapidplay where virtually the entire Watford junior membership is invited to take part.    There were two well-contested matches in January and June 2019, with Watford running out winners on both occasions.   Watford also won the third match, on 9 December, by 18 points to 10.   

Watford juniors also now play an annual match against St Albans juniors to coincide with the annual Chiltern Trophy match between the two clubs - but at the opposite venue.   The first, in September 2019, was a close affair contested over 2 rounds of rapidplay with St Albans emerging 12.5-11.5 winners.  

 

LICHESS CHANGE - In early June, one of our juniors' parents, with club support, contacted FIDE to complain about the prima facie defamatory nature of the "This player uses chess computer assistance" allegations prominently displayed on several Lichess accounts despite no evidence being produced to support such allegations.   Lichess have since switched to an alternative, and less unacceptable, legend.

 

CLUB SHIRTS

Club polo shirts can be bought, in various adult and junior sizes, at  https://myclothing.com/ costing £5.50 to £6 [juniors] or £7 [adults] with £3 delivery charge.   T-shirts also available, junior sizes only, £5 to £5.50.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watford Chess Club

Annual General Meeting

held at

West Herts Sports Club, Park Avenue, Watford WD18 7HP

on Monday 16th September 2019 at 7:30pm 

 AGENDA

1.  Receive apologies for absence

2.  Approve minutes of September 2018 AGM (copies are attached)

3.  Receive report from the President on the 2018-19 year, and to approve the Accounts for the financial year ending 31st July 2019

4.  Agree Club membership subscriptions for 2019-20. The Committee proposes:

Adults Full £60, Associate £40 and Social £20. 

Juniors and students Full £35 Social £20.

Full membership entitles a member to participate in all Club activity.

Associate membership: a member can take part in the Club’s inter-club competitive activities (but not the Price Cup) but not otherwise use the club’s facilities on club nights, except for designated special events.

Social membership entitles a member to full use of the Club’s facilities on club nights but not to participate in any of the club’s competitive activities (including the Price Cup), except for designated special events.

The subscriptions represent an increase on last year because the club will pay next year for all (adult and junior) 4NCL fees. There will be a £2 discount in all categories for everyone who pays by bank transfer, with the member’s name as a reference, before 1 October 2019.

5. Present trophies to winning individuals 

6.  Elect Officers, Secretaries and Committee for 2019-20:

7.  Any Other Business  

Paul Littlefair

Secretary

 

Jennifer Hurrell presents Ernest Karumazondo, joint winner with Andrew Stone, with the Price Cup

 

 

Everyone is welcome (to access, click on pictorial below) at Geir Erik Nielsen's YouTube channel at

 

USEFUL CONTACTS AND WEBSITES
Watford Chess Club email address	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  (allow up to 2 days for reply)
English Chess Federation	www.englishchess.org.uk/
Hertfordshire Chess Association	http://www.hertschess.com/
Hertfordshire Chess League results	http://chess-results.e2-e4.co.uk/
Hertfordshire Schools Chess Association	http://hsca-chess.com/
4 Nations Chess League (incl. J4NCL)	http://www.4ncl.co.uk/
Tournament chess results (main site for this)	http://chess-results.com/Default.aspx?lan=1

 

PLAY AN AI (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE)

 

 

Tired of playing the boring old computers that always beat you or play so weirdly you can't understand what is going on, asks webmaster Geir Erik Nielsen? Read our article on Artificial Intelligence and how you can install it at home

 

Also embedded in the updated article is now a video of how to get the best of Arena and Leela at home.

 

As a teaser for it all, and as an incredibly instructive game, here is how Leela deals with the Benoni