Ah Wun!!

Chess Scotland Set Up

The Annual General Meeting of the Scottish Junior Chess Association was held at the Station Hotel, Perth on Sunday 24th June. By a vote of 18 to 7 (72%) the meeting voted to merge with the SCA.  At its AGM in Aberdeen on the 9th of July the SCA also voted (unanimously) to merge.

Following these meetings a meeting was held in Glasgow on 19th August at which Chess Scotland was established by the combination of the two bodies.

All tournaments organised by the SJCA will continue, mostly with the same organisers as before.  To ensure that this will be the case Joe McAdam will act as Junior Auditor.

Other SJCA officials who will be directors of the new organisation include Rod Tweedie (Schools Project) and Alex McFarlane (Home Chess).

“Ah Wun!!” will continue to be published and sent to junior members and schools and it may replace the Junior News section of Scottish Chess.

Family membership is now available – details from Sam Collins at Chess Suppliers or phone 0141 221 6464.

For full details see the Chess Scotland Website at www.scottishchess.com

Chess Suppliers Grand Prix 2001

Despite a late challenge from Christopher MacDonald, there was little doubt that the winner of the 2001 Grand Prix was going to be Joe Redpath.  Joe had a tremendous season winning or finishing in the prizes in a large number of events.  Joe completed the Grand Prix with 162.5 points from 11 events ahead of Christopher (140pts) and Graham McKay (79pts). These three won Chess Suppliers vouchers for £100, £50 and £25 respectively.  The Girls prize went to Louise McNab (£25) with regional prizes going to David Grant and Ian MacGregor (both £25).

The 2002 Grand Prix will be sponsored by the SJCA Educational Trust.

Boys’ & Girls’ Championships 2001

The first Champions of the new organisation, Chess Scotland, were announced on 19th August.  The Championships were held in Glasgow over the weekend of 17th-19th August and attracted 20 entrants.

The title was eventually shared between Duncan Grassie from Aberdeen and Joe Redpath from Edinburgh, both players scoring 4/5.  Defending champions Joe and David Sime met in round 2 and fought out an exciting draw in which fortunes fluctuated. In the same round Duncan drew with Steven Tweedie.  The round 4 encounter between the two was also indecisive so the title is shared.

 

The Girls’ Championship was won by Natalie Donohue who fought back to draw with her rival Olga Kobets in the final round.  Natalie’s father twice won the Boys’ title.

Final Scores:

1st= Duncan Grassie, Joe Redpath 4/5;  3rd= Graeme Kafka, Daniel McGowan 3½;  5th= D Grant, C Hall, D Sime, S Tweedie 3;  9th= K Campbell, C Gordon, G McKay, D Rooney, N Thomson 2½;  14th= I Cameron, N Donohue, G Reid, G Tyre 2; 18th= O Kobots, M Paton 1½; 20th C Petrie.

Tri-Nations International

The annual Under-14 and Under-12 matches against Ireland and Wales took place on 16th June at Dublin City University.  It was to be a very successful, but long, day for both Scottish teams. The first three hour session started at 10.00am. The Ireland Wales matches started at 2.30pm and the Wales Scotland encounter started at 7.00pm.

Under 12

Scotland                                               Ireland                         

Christopher MacDonald             1-0     Jamie Flynn

Kathleen Rutherford                   1-0     Steven Siew

Christopher Ballard                     1-0     Kyle Stokes

Victor Vas                                  1-0     James Vaughan

Gregor Smith                              1-0     Jamie O’Donovan

Lloyd Hughes                             0-1     Niall Kiernan

Kieran Montgomery                   1-0     Isabel O’Brien

Gordon Greig                             1-0     Melissa Scott-Hayward

                                                  7-1

Ireland   4½-3½   Wales

Scotland                                               Wales                          

Christopher MacDonald             1-0     Josh Williams

Kathleen Rutherford                   0-1     Anthony Farrell

Christopher Ballard                     1-0     Gareth Harris

Victor Vas                                  1-0     Jonathan Cowhey

Gregor Smith                              1-0     Garth Owen

Lloyd Hughes                             0-1     Hugo Smith

Kieran Montgomery                   1-0     Sioned Rees

Gordon Greig                             0-1     Rhiannon Williams

                                                  5-3

An impressive performance from the Scottish team marred slightly by Lloyd and Gordon squandering good positions.  Kathleen had been feeling below par and this obviously affected her play in the evening.

1st Scotland 12pts

2nd Wales 6½

3rd Ireland 5½

The Mathies and myself then had the difficult task of selecting the winner of the Bill Russell Trophy, presented for the best performance in the U12 team.  Four players had scored the maximum 4 points in internationals this season.  The contenders therefore were Christopher MacDonald who lead his team magnificently, Gregor Smith who always looked in control of his games and Victor Vas who ground out solid wins.  However, after a great deal of debate it was felt that the performances of Christopher Ballard meant that he just edged the award.

Under 14

Scotland                                               Ireland                         

Colin Hall                                   0-1     Alex Lopez

Steven Tweedie                          1-0     Sarah Hegarty

Louise McNab                           ½-½   Karl McPhillips

Peter Vas                                   1-0     Robbie Lunn

Andrew Docherty                       1-0     Colin MacSweeney

David Grant                                1-0     Eamonn Keane

Charles Curry                             0-1     Rory Delaney

Jimmy Orr                                  1-0     Lesley Fennelly

                                                  5½-2½

Ireland    3½-4½    Wales

Scotland                                               Wales                          

Colin Hall                                   1-0     Ioan Rees

Steven Tweedie                          ½-½   Olivia Smith

Louise McNab                           ½-½   Gruffydd Johnston

Peter Vas                                   1-0     David Lovell

Andrew Docherty                       1-0     David Bucknall

David Grant                                1-0     Daniel Jenkins

Charles Curry                             1-0     Jason Robinson

Jimmy Orr                                  0-1     Nathaniel Inskip

                                                  6-2

Two comfortable wins for the Scotland team.  Perhaps the most satisfying win being that of Colin Hall over Ioan Rees who had beaten him in the match in January. The highlight for Louise was the return flight where she met members of the pop group Damage, whose lead singer Jade, at the time of writing, is dating Emma Bunton who our older readers may know as Baby Spice and our really old readers won’t know at all.

1st Scotland 11½pts

2nd Wales 6½

3rd Ireland 6

The SJCA gratefully acknowledges the support given to the teams by Stirling based company Action Environment Limited.  AEL currently provide a range of integrated vocational training services to public and private sector organisations throughout Scotland and work with many young people in the 16 to 24 year old range through Skillseekers, New Deal and Intermediate Labour Market training programmes.

Glorney Cup

The Glorney Cup is a tournament for teams of under 18s.  This year the venue was the south of France.  Again Joe Redpath gave a magnificent performance scoring an undefeated 4/5 on top board. The other scores were Danny MacGowan 2/5, Gordon Rigg 2/5, David Sime 3/5 and Colin Hall 2½/5.

Rd 1 France 4-1 Scotland                    Rd 2     England 4-1 Scotland

Rd 3 Scotland 4½-½ Ireland                Rd 4     Scotland 2½-2½ Belgium

Rd 5 Scotland 4½-½ Wales

Scotland finished top of section B and in overall 5th place.  England, who had seen themselves as favourites, finished one place above.  The English hopes received an early setback when one of its players arrived at the airport with an expired passport and was not allowed to travel!!!  A reserve was found in Belgium.  The winners of the event was the Dutch team on tie-break from the French.

Primary Individual Championship

28 players took part in this two day residential event held at St Andrew’s College, Bearsden over the weekend of 2nd-3rd July.  Christopher MacDonald achieved a double first when he became the first person to win the title three times and also the first to successfully defend his title having previously won in 1998 and 2000.  At the prizegiving Christopher was presented with a plaque to mark his six consecutive appearances, having started to play in the event when he was in primary 2!!

There were few shocks throughout the event though both Natalie Donohue and Michael Ross had good wins against international players.  Perhaps the best overall performance was that of Ian MacGregor who scored a very creditable 4 points to tie for fourth place.

1st Christopher MacDonald 6/6

2nd= David Oswald, Peter Vas 5/6 (David won tie-break)

4th= C Ballard, G Greig, I MacGregor, K Rutherford, V Vas 4.

9th K Montgomery 3½

10th= E Cruickshank, B Hawthorne, A Kindness, S Leslie, S MacLeod, J O’Kelly, G Smith, D Sri 3

18th= R Cormack, L Hughes, A Melvin 2½

21st= N Donohue, M MacDonald, J McShane, L Shovlin 2

25th= G McLaughlin, C MacQueen 1½    27th= M Paton, M Ross 1

Girls’ Team Championship

The Girls’ Team Championship was held at Perth on June 10th.  The event was won by the Arduthie team of Rachel Curry, JJ Reid, Hannah Stone and Nicola Macdonald ahead of RDM (Perth).  6 teams took part.

European Under 18 Team Championship

This event was held in the Hungarian town of Balatonlelle from 22nd-29th June.  A strong, well organised tournament in excellent conditions (if you ignore the food) is how several team members describe the event. It will be recognised as an official FIDE event next year.  14 teams took part with Scotland finishing 13th.

Round 1 Scotland         ½-3½   Czech Republic

Rd 2                             1½-2½ Turkey

Rd 3                             2½-1½ France I

Rd 4                             1½-2½ Switzerland

Rd 5                             ½-3½   Lithuania

Rd 6                             1½-2½ France II

Rd 7                             1½-2½ Slovakia

Individual Scores

Joe Redpath                 2½/6

Daniel McGowan         1/6

David Sime                   2/6

James Ross                  1½/5

Steven Tweedie            2½/5

Scottish Summer Allegro

More good performances by juniors at Glasgow University on 1st July. Joe Redpath finished 2nd= with 5/6 a half point behind Grandmaster Colin McNab. Daniel McGowan and David Sime shared the grading prize for U1800 with a score of 4½. Graham McKay scored 3½ for a share of the U1550 grading prize and Jimmy Orr scored 3 to share the U1350 grading prize.

10% of the entry fee from the Allegro goes to the SJCA Educational Trust, a charitable organisation that supports Scottish youngsters.

Scottish Championships

The Scottish Championships took place in Aberdeen from 7th-15th July.

Trophies were awarded to Christopher MacDonald (Primary), Edmund Davis (Under 14) and Kenny McGeogh (Under 17).  In addition Kenny and Craig Gordon finished second equal in the weekend Minor and Charles Curry won a grading prize in the week-long Major.

David Wallace

Former SJCA President David Wallace passed away in his sleep on 9th June  at the age of 79. 

David was for many years a stalwart of Scottish chess both as a junior official and as an arbiter.  He was a teacher, firstly in St Andrews and finally as Head Teacher at Abottsgrange Middle School in Grangemouth until his retirement in 1984.  In the 1970s David took youngsters to many chess events including the British Championships and even abroad to France. David was also responsible for starting the Scotland v Wales junior internationals and for many years organised girls events on behalf of the SJCA. Even after his retirement David maintained an active interest in primary school chess in St Andrews and was coaching youngsters until only a week before his death. Although not a strong player himself, David was proud of the number of leading players he had influenced

As an arbiter he officiated at many congresses in Scotland and at the British Championships and the Olympiads (World Team Championship).  He was a FIDE International Arbiter, an SCA Principal Arbiter, and a BCF Senior Arbiter (one of only two Scots awarded this title by the English).  He also served as Chairman of the FIDE Arbiters’ Committee.  David remained active until only a few years ago, his final national event being the Scottish Championships at Oban, when his increased deafness made it impossible for him to continue.

.

There are few people who are or were as willing to give so much time to chess as David did.

I have many memories of David especially as it was under him that I served my apprenticeship as an arbiter.  He was only too willing to give of his knowledge to those who were willing to learn.

Nairn Junior Chess Challenge (9th June)

34 players took part in this event held at Nairn Academy.  3 points were awarded for a win and one for a draw.  1st Matthew Smith-Mearns (Robert Gordons) 15/15,  2nd Donald-Paul Matheson, 3rd Scott McInnes (both Nairn), 4th= Eoghan Farmer (Kilchuimen), Grant Hay (Newmachar) (all 12/15).

The Knock-out blitz was also won by Matthew who defeated Michael Emery in the final with Grant Hay and Donald Paul Matheson losing semi-finalists.

Stewarton Allegro (10th June)

This event was held as part of the Bonnet Festival in the Ayrshire town.  Joe Redpath shared first place (with Neil Berry) in the Open, both scoring 4½/5 and finishing ahead of International Masters Douglas Bryson and Andy Muir.  Graham Tyre finished 1st= in the Minor with 4/5.

The Under 14 had 10 entries and was won by Lloyd Hughes and Ivan Stokes on 4/5. Third equal were Mark Hudson and Calum MacQueen, a half point behind.

The Under 12 had 33 players taking part. 1st Natalie Donohue 5/5, 2nd Rory Aitken 4½, 3rd=  Andrew Kindness, Alex Nisbet 4.

3rd Glasgow Schools’ Team Tournament

A total of 24 teams took part in this event held at Hillpark Secondary on Monday 25th June.  The teams were of four and a school had to enter a team of girls before being allowed to enter a boys team!!

The Secondary section had 10 teams and was won by the host school.

1st Hillpark Boys A 17/20, 2nd King’s Park Boys 14, 3rd Fernhill Girls A 13½.

14 teams took part in the Primary section which was dominated by Merrylee Primary.

1st Merrylee Boys 15/20, 2nd Jordanhill Boys 13, 3rd Merrylee Girls 12½.

The competition was sponsored by Education Business Partnership, Barrs Irn Bru and the Glasgow Chess League.

Lothian v Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire Primary Schools defeated its Lothian equivalent in a match which took place in Edinburgh on Sunday 1st July. The final score was 15-9.  Four of the six players on top boards were girls!! The teams were:-

Lothian – D Oswald, K Rutherford, L Anderson, S McInally, B Anderson, G Bush, R Ramaesh, L Chalmers, A Rutherford, S Robertson, D Lockhart, J Baldwin.

Lanarkshire – N Donohue, G Currie, C Docherty, E Morgan, A Nisbet, J Tandrous, C Devine, M O’Donnell, N Giordano, P Mitchell, H Donohue, F Murray.

Smith & Williamson British Championships

A disappointing Scottish entry in the junior events at Scarborough with only Christopher MacDonald and Rhian Hughes taking part in the junior championships.  Congratulations go to Rhian on her success in the Under 8 event where her score of 3 ensured she finished as joint Girls’ Champion. Rhian is young enough to defend her title in Torquay next year.

Christopher scored 4½/7 in the Under 12 section.

An amusing incident occurred in the Senior Championship where one player asked his opponent if he would like a draw.  His elderly and slightly deaf opposition replied “Oh yes please – with two sugars!!”

Marymass Congress

The first event of the new season saw Derek Rooney (Holy Cross) win the Reserve Section with a score of 5/5.

Promoting Your Club

Just before the start of the Scottish Championships in Aberdeen local organisers took advantage of the publicity gained to promote junior chess with 10 youngsters taking on all-comers at the Bon Accord Shopping Centre.  Stirling Chess Club have done a   similar exercise at a local supermarket.  Paisley YMCA Chess Club once staged an all-night event in a circus tent in the middle of a local park and many years ago two Dundee players attempted to gain the world record for continuously playing chess!!  If anyone has other suggestions for promoting chess locally please send them in.

School Championships

Arduthie: 1st Graham McKay, 2nd Rachel Curry, 3rd= Andrew Adams, Lyall Patterson.

Please let me have more info on the champion at your school.

Miscellaneous

The British Land sponsored UK Chess Challenge saw around 5,500 children taking part in the Megafinals and approximately 1,500 qualifying for the Terafinals in Sheffield on July 14th (U7-U10) and July 15th (other age groups).  Surrey had 700 in its area final, Middlesex 430, Essex 330 and Scotland was the next largest with 305. In contrast Northern Ireland had 25 finalists.

Apology

I gave a wrong result last issue.  In the finals of the Primary Team Mile End beat Arduthie 3-1 and not as reported.  Apologies to Rachel Curry for denying her the win!

Acknowledgements

Arduthie, J Glendinning, K. Hoban, A MacQueen, Lothian Primary League.

Contact:

Please send any articles for inclusion to:

Alex McFarlane, 2 Castlehill Crescent, RENFREW PA4 8RY.

e-mail: AMcFarlane@bannermanhigh.glasgow.sch.uk  (Note in the address - it is a zero before the @)