Middlesex County Chess Association

Middlesex Centenary - Middlesex v Young England

July 2007

Epilogue

Final Database for download. Replay here

The smiling faces of the Middlesex Chess Association vs Young England competitors. To me this is one measure of a successful tournament. Another is when players come up to me to express their gratitude and the hope that they would have to opportunity to take part in another: one enthusiastically opined that it was a pity that there were not another nine rounds! I confess I winced inwardly at the thought of another fortnight without proper sleep, but I applaud the sentiment.

True, no Young England player obtained an IM norm, but I believe several of the Young England players now play a better game. Not to be overlooked is the timing of the tournament: the summer months, one Young England player explained that he had been engrossed in his exams and had not really adjusted to the different world of a chess tournament until the end of the first week. Yet the summer is one of the few occasions in which a youngster can take a fortnight off to play chess. I predict that some of the players in this Scheveningen match tournament will go on to become masters at the very least.

One of the attractions of a tournament like this is the opportunity it affords for a young player to have a crack at a titled player, for instance one teenager admitted that he had never previously played a grandmaster and that this tournament was the first time in which he had defeated an International Master. This was one reason why we deliberately aimed for an uneven Middlesex team; we did not want anyone, on either side, to score nought; yet there should be a chance to see what it would be like when one is up against a really strong opponent. I was delighted when GM Bogdan Lalic kindly let me see some of his annotations, which I made available to everyone; he also publicly set a good example as to how a professional player approaches a contest. IM Colin Crouch also let me use some of his reflections on the contest.

Looked at as a battle between two teams does, to some extent, miss the point of this match. The Middlesex team had to be stronger to ensure that the requirements for a norm were met; if anything, I should have preferred the team to have been slightly stronger than it was so that the norm requirement was six, rather than six and one half points. Thus it was always likely that the home side would win, although there was a shock in round seven when the younger team battered Middlesex by six points to three. I was also impressed at the way that several of the Middlesex players managed to gain rating points against juniors; before the tournament began I expected only one, or at most two, home players not to lose rating points.

Were some good games played? Well Bogdan Lalic said to me of one of his opponents: "he play like grandmaster!", of another he remarked: "He played better than Nogueiras". My own personal favourite is Lalic-Fowler; it would take a better player than me to say whether it is theoretically significant, I suspect it is. An International Grandmaster has been forwarded the candidates for the Bob Wade prize for the best attacking game; as of this moment, I do not know which candidate he adjudges the winner: my prediction is that he will choose a game won by a fifteen year old, it includes an excellent double rook sacrifice against a FIDE Master; but there are others.

I should like to thank all the players for their marvellous attitude. One Middlesex player went to work in the morning, played chess in the afternoon and then went back to work! He also kindly provided accommodation for one of the Young England players. And no, he did not come bottom, far from it. Others took a fortnight's holiday. Amongst the parents, I should especially like to thank the Kilpatricks, who not only put up an out of town youngster for the duration of the tournament, but also hosted a training session conducted by an International Master for the Young England team.

Many people helped make this competition possible; I have already mentioned some in an earlier report, but it does no harm to repeat names, plus those whom I have not previously mentioned. In alphabetical order I should like to thank (in addition to the players, the parents of many of the players, Middlesex CCA President Chris Fewtrell and ECF Directors Claire Summerscale and Peter Sowray): Peter Ackley, Scott Freeman, Howard Grist, Jonathan Kay, Malcolm Pein, Thomas Rendle, Stewart Reuben, Jack Rudd, David Rumens, Zoe Ryle, David Sedgwick, Brian Smith, Jonathan Speelman, Jim Stevenson, Bob Wade and Andrew Whiteley.

This was a centenary commemoration, thus one could argue that one should not be bothered about a repeat, at least not for another hundred years. Yet this may be a short sighted attitude. It has been many decades since such a challenge match was held in England, and this is certainly a means of giving a boost to junior chess, without which the game will die. We had assistance from our sponsors, yet few of them will be able or willing to repeat their actions. Should an interested reader wish to sponsor something similar, then he should either contact Middlesex CCA via the contact details given on our website, or approach the English Chess Federation directly: we are in touch with one another. It is possible that other funds may be available, so it would not be necessary for one person or organisation to shoulder the entire burden.

Simon Spivack

Final Round

Finally White started winning a significant number of games in this match, although the effect was dampened as this was the round in which the colours were mixed. Five Middlesex players had the White pieces and four Black.

GM Aaron Summerscale showed his class in a convincing win over Peter Constantinou, 21.Nb5 being a finely calculated sacrifice of a piece that did for the Black monarch. Not to be outdone, GM Bogdan Lalic won easily after Black selected an uncommon variation of the Slav. Although I do not care for the positions that result for Black, this line has been played by Vasily Smyslov and Aaron Summerscale. Black's thirteenth, moving his knight away from the kingside seems highly questionable to me, although Bogdan does not query it, Smyslov preferred 13...f6. Bogdan showed the folly of weakening the kingside with this and the subsequent 14...Nc7, winning material soon after.

Li Wu claimed his second IM scalp in a row, as Colin Crouch never seemed to come to terms with White's rapid development. Li ended up as the highest scoring player of the youngsters, just half a point shy of an IM norm. If only he had started as strongly as he had finished.

Paul McKeown never seemed to come to terms with Black's buildup on the kingside, his two exchange sacrifices not aiding one jot in his battle with David Eggleston.

Bob Eames played a battling game in the c3 Sicilian with the queens off. On move  28 Black provoked a sacrifice from Bob that left the White pieces extremely active, although, in truth, Black was probably better. However, Black then blundered horribly with 34...Ke8.

Callum Kilpatrick has matured tremendously as a player in this tournament. His reasonably broad repertoire rendering it harder to prepare against him. However, in IM John Cox, he was up against an openings expert who would not let his opponent off the hook once an advantage had been gained. The younger player's tricks not helping him at all in the quest to avoid being ground down in the ending.

The last game to finish was between Simon Fowler and Elena Winkelmann. B3 is an interesting line against the e6 Sicilian as the most natural reply for Black: ...e5 costs a tempo. White gained a slight edge from 12.c5. Nursing it all the way through to a fairly well played ending. Simon Fowler played two of the better games from a Young England player; he seems a little too addicted to time trouble, without which he would probably have scored more points than he did.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 9 for download. Replay here.

40½-31½, these are the kind of odds that I like, Young England must now win all nine of the remaining games to tie the match, and they no longer have the advantage of being Black in these games, in the final round there is a mixture of colours.

Today GM Aaron Summerscale had a look of gritty determination on his face: no more draws. His young opponent being only too willing to meet him on such terms. Black's adoption of the English Defence to 1.e4 quickly led to a transposition into a position characteristic of the Rubinstein French. I'm not convinced that White's decision to give up the pair of bishops profited him much. The later attack, in the opinion of this kibitzer, being somewhat optimistic: of course Black did not immediately take the knight on h5. Subsequently Black crashed through on the same kingside that White had been seeking to menace.

William Bennet tried the Trompovsky Attack against Colin Crouch, enabling Black to repeat his unusual 5...Be6 having recaptured with his g pawn. This seemed to take White by surprise for Black quickly developed and took over the initiative. The two bishops proving a decisive factor in Black's favour.

At the start of the round Peter Constantinou had an excellent chance of obtaining an IM norm if he won today. I doubt that he expected his opponent to play the Dutch Defence, yet he still gained a huge advantage. It not being clear to me why Black had to give up a pawn with 7...c5 when the more cautious 7...c6 promised White far less. By move twenty-one White was two pawns ahead with his pieces in commanding positions. Had White chosen the simple 26.f3 it would have been difficult to see how Black could have survived much longer. Instead, the urge to complicate let Black back into the game, which petered out to a draw in an ending of opposite coloured bishops. Thus died Peter's chance of an IM norm in this tournament.

Callum Kilpatrick bravely launched his forces towards the enemy king in a well know variation of the Kan Sicilian. Once Black had played ...h5 I had my doubts that White would break through, especially due to the serious threats that Black had in the centre and on the queenside. Francis Rayner, playing Black, winning attractively in the end. This ended all Young England hopes of one of their number obtaining an IM norm.

In the game Poobalasingam-Eames, White achieved precisely zero out of the London System which was his chosen opening. It is a total mystery to me why anyone would chose this line that affords Black so much choice and does not put the second player under any pressure whatsoever. I can see that it may have some residual surprise value, but this is only so if one has other more emphatic openings, which one plays more regularly. The move 11,Bc7 allowed 11...Nxd4!, after which Black never looked back, although, in truth, even 11...Rfc8 looks like a good sacrifice from Black.

Li Wu, salvaged some pride for Young England by laying low the most destructive of the Middlesex players: IM John Cox. 13...Nc5 permitted White to set up an annoying pin on the a3-f8 diagonal, Black's freeing ...f6 only increasing White's advantage. 21...Ncd7 looks like an oversight, which cost Black the exchange.

All Bogdan Lalic's wins so far have been the result of good play, either from superior opening preparation, or outplaying his opponent at the board. Today was the first time that Bogdan was genuinely lucky, James Hanley, having played so well earlier and bravely turning down a draw offer at move twenty-seven, blundered a piece ten moves later.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 8 for download. Replay here.

Playing White in this tournament does not appear to be a good idea. Middlesex's biggest win was when all the county's players were Black. Today Middlesex were White everywhere, so it all went pear-shaped. A six-three drubbing at the hands of Young England not being something I had forecast. This has actually injected some life into the contest, with the overall score now running at 34-29 in favour of Middlesex with two rounds to go. I never seem to support teams that can win without adventures. From a norm perspective both Callum Kilpatrick and Peter Constantinou won. All Callum has to do is beat Francis Rayner and John Cox, while Peter must dispose of Paul McKeown and Aaron Summerscale: easy if one is not required to do it oneself. Perhaps it is of some help that the youngsters will both face the lower graded of their two remaining opponents tomorrow, thus they will know what there is to play for in the final round.

As in all his previous games Grandmaster Bogdan Lalic has kindly provided analysis of today's encounter with David Eggleston. Today's draw means that three Young England players have not been defeated by this outstanding player. A higher proportion than I expected.

Li Wu quickly obtained adequate counter-chances against Francis Rayner's big centre. White's surrender of the two bishops looking somewhat favourable for Black. 23.Qd2 looks like an oversight as the kingside pressure that White obtained was more threatening than real, perhaps White underestimated Black's resources on the a1-h8 diagonal.

Bob Eames avoided the main lines of the Berlin Defence to the Lopez, obtaining no more than equality as a consequence. White, as well, may have underestimated the force of the unpinning 9...g5, after which he stood worse. This disadvantage not being alleviated by Black playing the slow 11...Bd7 rather than playing ...Kh8 and ...f5 one move quicker. With all the Black pieces ominously heading towards the enemy king White decided on the radical 20.Bxe5+. It did not look sound, with the surviving Black pieces still threading their way towards the enemy monarch. The game ended with a mating attack.

In the game Cox-Bennet, Black was lured into a hunt for pawns not realising the risk he was taking by placing his pieces offside. Note that the variation 15...Rxa5 16.Rxa5 Bxa5 17.Nxb5 works for White because of the unprotected Black bishop on c2. With his chosen continuation of 15...Bb3 Black failed to appreciate, until too late, that this bishop was very badly placed. The win of a pawn being more than enough for the IM to claim the point.

In the game Ledger-Constantinou, White should have played the obvious 5.d4 or 6.d4 as played by Emil Sutovsky, The chosen 6.d3 left Black with a more active game. 12.Ne4 was clearly a blunder, after which the Young England player never looked back. This game, too, ending with an attractive mate.

Paul McKeown appeared to surprise his opponent by his choice of opening. By move thirteen obtaining a vastly superior position with Black clearly ruing the lack of dark square control around his king. However, White's sacrifice at move fifteen had this observer scratching his head, an opinion shared by others. Paul apparently had been practising reincarnation in his mind, the sacrificed prelate being available, or so Paul imagined, for further service whence it had come on c4! White stoically stuck to the task at hand, compensation for this unnecessary gift not being immediately obvious if Black had aimed for active counterplay on the light squares (21...Bc8), instead Black nervously exchanged queens. Black kept on simplifying as the pressure of the clock took its toll. Eventually fear of time trouble persuaded both players of the advantages to be obtained from a peace treaty.

A greatly relieved Peter Poobalasingam obtained his first win of the tournament. Following his draw of the previous round he appears to be staging a mini-revival. White's 21.Ne4 may have been a questionable invitation to combine, although White missed her chance when she eschewed 23.e4, e.g. 23...Qc6 24.Rd4 Qxe4 25.Re3 followed by a discovered attack from the king's bishop. As played Black emerged a pawn to the good, with a superior position. White's subsequent frantic efforts not helping her at all. One of those horrible games that we have all played from time to time.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 7 for download. Replay here.

Comment has been made as to why we are so secretive about the venue. I could, of course, obliquely hint that we are within sling shot of where, according to the Journal Of The Plague Year, the Great Plague of 1665 originated, although I suspect a Young England player would rather hear about Moll Flanders. The truth is more prosaic: the tournament is being held within a secure building: that is to say there are a lot of security staff, they are very helpful, friendly and cooperative; yet, we do not, to say the least, have carte blanche when it comes to visitors. In my opinion the playing conditions themselves are excellent, the players have plenty of room, furthermore, tea, coffee, water, biscuits and sandwiches have been laid on.

I should like to express my gratitude to IM Colin Crouch, who has kindly provided some comments about his play, together with some problems for the interested reader. Please see below for these.

In my last report, I indicated that only two young England players had a realistic chance of an IM norm: Peter Constantinou and David Eggleston. Peter, playing White, chose the London System: I suppose being in London one could say that this system ought to be played; however, in my view, this opening could not have come as a surprise to GM Bogdan Lalic. I personally consider it to be lacking in punch and affording Black a lot of scope as to his retort. It seems to me that if one is playing someone, who, by common consent, is far stronger, it is better to attack them. In White's shoes I should have tried something more vigorous. The reader can follow Bogdan's analysis in the download and draw their own conclusions.

David Egglestone was the beneficiary of a pawn donation from Colin Crouch, however, he too readily acquiesced to a more passive role when the more ambitious 25. Red1 might have increased his advantage. By move 30 Black had a lot of compensation for his pawn. Extensive manoeuvring followed in which Black managed to recover his pawn following some inaccurate play from White. Nonetheless, the position remained approximately level. Tragically, White then blundered his queen, putting an end to all hopes of an IM norm.

James Hanley tried an Exchange Lopez against IM John Cox, John has been one of the more ruthless of the Middlesex players; still, I confess, I'm not convinced that this is the right antidote. If White does not very early on play for d4, then he has no queen side majority; furthermore, f4 is less attractive as a proposition against Ne7-g6. In the event White tried to mix it with 17.a4xb5 and 21.Bxh6. But it look dreadfully unconvincing, Black soon picking up a piece for nothing.

Callum Kilpatrick gained little out of the opening in his game with Elena Winkelmann. Possibly misassessing his prospects he played the speculative 29.c5 and was lucky that Black did not play 32...Rxf2 with at least a draw. Black subsequently losing a pawn in the time scramble. Unfortunately, Black later blundered a rook in a difficult position. This was the only game won by a Young England player as Middlesex widened the lead to 31-23.

Arithmetically only Peter Constantinou and Callum Kilpatrick can now obtain an IM norm, but this seem improbable now. The match itself probably is beyond Young England's reach. There are now just three rounds to go.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 6 for download. Replay here.

Comments by Colin Crouch

Five games down, and four to play, with time to relax at the weekend. It is not possible to switch off completely during the rest day, so I am conscious of my mistakes and occasionally my good moves. At some stage I will need to go through my games properly, preferably before the European/partially sighted in August, but this is not the time for detailed analysis. Just a brief look now.

Neither is this really the time to write up the strengths and weaknesses of my opponents, while the event is still being played. This would be unfair to my opponents. The best I can do is write up a few of my own positions.

I have scored 3/5, no draws, and my play has been unconvincing. My opponents have been juniors of near-juniors, and I am sure that, given my playing strength at the moment, a year of extra experience would have scored at least 3, maybe 3½, points. Of course I can make the excuse that I am still not in good health, and some of my mistakes are understandable, but equally I do not want to have to make that excuse.

Looking at the strength of the Middlesex team players, there are two GMs and two IMs, and none of these have scored more than 4/5. This indicates that the juniors have not been overwhelmed by the titled opposition, but equally are not, as yet, fully equal to the titled players. At the moment Peter Constantinou has the best chance of an IM norm, a good run of play with three points in the last four games being achievable. But it is hard work.

Some entertainment now for the players going home on the tube journey, and also for website viewers. I have identified positions where I have made slip-ups, some minor, some much more serious, in each of my games in rounds 1 to 5. These are chosen on the basis of the most interesting errors, not the most grotesque blunders. Some are relatively straightforward, some require much analysis to think through. Try the quiz. The intention is not to guess the move. The way this is set up, anyone will score as many points as me, as I made mistakes in each of my games and by random guesswork, most will find at least one correct move. Can you do much better than me after serious thought? For the players themselves I hope so!

Round 3, Crouch-Roberson, White to play.

A typically complicated Benoni, with all sorts of piece and pawn exchanges, and many pins and attacks. I lost control of the position, but then kept attacking and hoped for the best. He could and should have won it.

This seems to be the last chance for me to play for an edge. In such a position, to lose your edge is often to be in trouble, their being no middle path. White to play, In degrees of obviousness:

(A) 17.h3; (B) 17.Qf2;(C) 17.Bc4; (D) Something else?

Round 4, Fowler-Crouch, Black to play.

A beautifully centralised queen, but where next should it go?

(A) 10...Qf4+; (B) 10...Qg6; (C) 10...Qc6; (D) Something else?

Round 5, Crouch-Constantinou

White to play. White cannot castle queenside, having played Rxb1-a1. A dreadful game from my point of view. He played accurately, and won, I carelessly transposed my move order on moves 4 and 5 (!) and found myself in a difficult position. Upset at the way I keep making occasional blunders after my illness ( a touch of brain damage does not help), I was not in my best frame of mind to play at the very best. I found a good move, but it was not enough. Can I find an even better move here, to keep equality?

(A) 9.Bb5; (B) 9.Be2; (C) 10. Nd2; (D) Something else?

2. Peter Roberson (behind the Black pieces) good humouredly plots with his Young England colleague Simon Fowler Middlesex's downfall.

3. Peter Constantinou looks pensive just before his encounter with Germany's strongest sixteen year old female player Elena Winkelmann. This is one of the few games in which the Middlesex player is younger than the Young England. The game ended in a draw.

5. International Grandmaster Aaron Summerscale deep in thought before his first round game. In the background International Master John Cox adjusts his pieces prior to essaying 1.d4 against Peter Poobalasingam.

"He played better than Nogueiras", Bogdan Lalic's remark indicated his disappointment as Young England's Simon Fowler found the right answer to White's attempt to create dark square weaknesses. It was Friday the 13th, and all the Middlesex big guns were misfiring. A fuller analysis has been provided by GM Bogdan Lalic, which is available in the download.

GM Aaron Summerscale tried to reduce his position to a technical one where he was effectively a pawn up, yet Black was always active; indeed, White should have shed a pawn; play should have gone 36...Nxf2! . Realising he was not playing well, the 2500 player offered a draw.

Peter Constantinou seemed to surprise his IM opponent with the unusual 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5!? and quickly gained an edge, which he played quite well to increase substantially; after 20...f6 White's defences were not just tottering, they were blown away. Quite a well played game from the younger player, which he will remember for a long time, yet his opponent will do his utmost to forget! I believe this is the first time Peter has beaten an IM: a good indication of the surprise value of carefully chosen preparation.

Thank heavens for Bob "norm wrecker" Eames, whose pleasing open play was too much for William Bennet, after 13.O-O White had a massive advantage which proved impossible for Black to handle. His win today saving Middlesex from defeat. Bob is now on 4/5, along with John Cox and Bogdan Lalic.

Francis Rayner played a marathon 109 move game which he somehow failed to win. According to Junior Francis was too quick to whip off queens in his game against James Hanley. The ending of rook and bishop against rook and bishop of the opposite colour was favourable to White, but tricky. When White sacrificed the exchange the ending was still full of danger for Black, for instance: 77.c7+ Kd7 78.Bb7 Rh8 79.Ka6 wins. Once Black had transferred his rook to the c-file, the ending was drawn.

We are now at just over the half way stage, with Middlesex leading Young England 25½-19½. The individual scores are;

Middlesex:

Young England:

Arithmetically the first five Young England players can obtain an IM norm, realistically only Peter Constantinou and David Eggleston have a chance.

Play resumes on Monday.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 5 for download. Replay here.

March 17th 1781 was, I believe, the day on which Mozart arrived in Vienna ushering in a most productive period of his life, despite the kicking that he took from a Salzburg connection. March 17th is a day celebrated by many Irishman, perhaps because of this, or the fact that France once played a rugby match on that day in Dublin, their demise handing the Five Nations Rugby title to England: no that can't be right, it must be the first reason, and a saintly one it is too.

I'm not sure why, but other Irishman mark 12th July; after all, most of the defeated in an obscure battle on the banks of the Boyne escaped that day three hundred and seventeen years ago: perhaps James Galway played the flute one twelfth July? surely there lies the answer. Anyhow, I am quite confident that it is not a good idea to sacrifice a knight to Paul McKeown in his favourite Alekhine on 12th July in a line that has been very heavily analysed. According to IM John Cox White wins, but then White must know his theory to the nth degree. Thus Callum Kilpatrick's excellent start to the tournament met a reality check: it's all very well beating IMs and FMs, but wait until you face the real McKeown. I still predict that Callum will do well, and he took this reverse in good part, as well as showing fine fighting spirit during the game in a desperate attempt to escape his fate.

I probably made a mistake when writing that avoiding defeat at the hands of Bogdan Lalic was a key test for the youngsters, for Peter Roberson did just that. This time I am indebted to GM Bogdan Lalic for kindly providing me with some analysis of this game. According to Bogdan, Black should have played 16...d4, which he analyses to a drawn endgame. Black's seventeenth, Rc8, also being a little inaccurate, 17... b4 being better. In the final position White has an advantage, for his minor piece is superior to Black's, but I, for one, find it hard to believe that White would have defeated his formidable opponent from this position.

Young England started this day with high hopes, for the deficit was only one point and they had nine Whites, surely, too, they have better stamina than their elders? certainly some of these reports have been written at two pm,  I, at least, do feel washed out. But it was a total catastrophe for those still in their salad days. True, neither Middlesex Grandmaster won, but then the Young England team had to wait until the last game to finish between David Eggleston and Francis Rayner to garner further satisfaction.

John Cox gained a slight advantage as Black against a Colle setup, I confess I do not care for 13.f4 from White, and 19.f5 was certainly a misassessment on the part of Peter Constantinou; according to Junior 10 Black could have played even more strongly with 20...Ng4, yet, as played, Black's pieces rushed to occupy excellent positions. Thus the career of the most successful of the Young England players, so far, in this tournament suffered a serious reverse.

It got worse, or should I write better? It seemed to me that Colin Crouch, playing Black, did not have full compensation for his gift of pawns to Simon Fowler, although such things can be deceptive. Whatever, White let slip much of his advantage with the ambitious 26.a4 and then threw away the game with 29.Ne7+. A shame, as his play merits more than his current score.

James Hanley tried a quick 16.e5 followed by 17.f5; on the face of it a tempting continuation, yet not one that the computer approves of. In the game White found it hard to break through even though he probably had enough compensation for his investment. 28.g4 looks like an oversight, as I'm not sure what White gains from giving up the exchange. Black probably missed a quick win with 33...Qd2, but it made little real difference.

Peter Poobalasingam's pawn sacrifice looks wrong to me, for White could still not attack the spear side and his own king was scarcely a model of good health. White's frantic efforts to break through merely providing the encasing to his own coffin. The points will come to Peter, who has faced the hardest opponents, if he can keep up his morale.

After his heroics of yesterday against GM Aaron Summerscale, William Bennet today had to face Germany's Elena Winkelmann. The game transposed into a comfortable form of Meran for Black, who, unusually for this tournament, is younger than her Young England opponent; nonetheless, she showed superior tactical control to force the win of a pawn, which advantage she duly converted.

We are slightly under half-way through the tournament, with Middlesex holding a 21-15 lead, this is a lot of ground to make up.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 4 for download. Replay here. Bogdan Lalic analysis here

Wednesday, the tournament has now settled into a pattern, with nearly all the Young England players turning up far earlier than their opponents. It seems to me that the younger players, who are geographically more isolated than the Middlesex players, are moulding together to form a team. Certainly with the score at 9½-8½ there is everything to play for.

In many ways, the chief obstacle to a Young England success is Grandmaster Bogdan Lalic, simply avoiding defeat against him being quite a challenge. Given that a Young England player's target is 6½, failure to get anything off Bogdan means that 6½/8 is the objective, which looks a lot harder than 6½/9: this illustrates the futility of simply looking at numbers rather than studying one's opponents and seeing where the chances lie. Certainly Peter Poobalasingam couldn't adjust to Lalic's relatively uncommon 5. Bd2 in the Gruenfeld and collapsed fairly quickly. Indeed, in this round, only one game ended without a decisive result; and this perhaps the game of the round; and not because it was the last to end: imagine you are seated opposite an International Grandmaster. and imagine, further, that you have a thoroughly rotten position, surely one should lose? Maybe White should have played 33.Ndc6+ in the game Bennet-Summerscale leading to a clear position in which the rook would be the superior of the two minor pieces, but White chose something more cautious going just one pawn ahead; when, even then, the solid 43.Kf3 would have promised success. Instead, White's choice allowed Black to adopt the bizarre setup of Na1 and Bb2, which was very hard to break down. Black generated serious counterplay in the subsequent knight endgame, but a slight slip enabled the Grandmaster to maintain the pressure, still Black kept on kicking. Perhaps 70.Nf6+ was White's last chance to collect the point, knights being notoriously bad against rook pawns, but the move was not played. Once the Black knight occupied the traditionally worst square on the board for its breed: h8, the draw was secured. Well done William!

In the game Ledger-Kilpatrick, Black bravely offered two rooks; White cruelly took one and swapped off queens, leading to approximate material parity with the Black knight in the corner, although, perhaps, White should have eschewed the queen exchange in favour of 17.Nd5. In the event it was extremely difficult for White to win the exposed horse. For instance, Junior 10 suggests that 25...Nf2+ was even stronger than the chosen continuation. Eventually White did win the enemy knight, but the price was too high, although some inaccurate play on both sides (40. Bc6!) in the time scramble confused the issue.

In the game Rayner-Constantinou, White seemed to miss chance after chance to defeat Black, the perfectly sound 25.Rxd5 exchange sacrifice, not being followed up by the decisive 28.Re7, when 28... Rb7 is met by 29.Ng5 Qxf6 30. Qh7+ and takes the rook on b7.

IM John Cox recovered from an inauspicious opening to show his young opponent the troubles to be found in an ending of knight verses bad bishop.

Peter Roberson bravely essayed the Modern Benoni against a rejuvenated Colin Crouch. The IM gallantly responding by offering pawn after pawn. Perhaps Black could have held,  but his rejection of 27...Nd4 made things very hard, the subsequent check on d1 making the defence onerous, to the point of impossibility, for a human.

Bob Eames, compared to his  previous two games, played a fairly conventional game, and achieved far less out the opening, although this writer would not make so bold as to suggest that the less adventurous play was the cause of it. Perhaps White had a slight edge from his pawn sacrifice, but this is arguable. Black's slightly sluggish play enabling White to build up tremendous pressure against the hostile monarch and this was enough.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 3 for download. Replay here.

With round two successfully under way in this centenary tournament I should like to pay tribute, during this quiet period, to the finest chess organiser it has been my privilege to know: the late David Foley-Comer. With the overlap of Middlesex with much of North London many have assumed that Middlesex CCA has always been one of the counties likely to feature prominently. This was certainly true in the early years of the history of this association, but there was a rut during the sixties and the early seventies. Quite simply Foley-Comer, with his vibrant, solicitous personality, and his fearsome capacity for writing hundreds of letters and making even more phone calls galvanised everyone and imparted that infectious enthusiasm, which anyone, who has ever met him, will never forget. This was in the time of the Fischer boom,  it was Foley-Comer who cajoled players of the calibre of future world title candidate Jon Speelman and the young Julian Hodgson to play for Middlesex. When one looks at the teams playing in the finals of the county championships today, and contrasts them with the sides that Foley-Comer put out; one can truthfully assert that not many of today's finalists would have featured in a Foley-Comer side.

A big test was in store today for Young England's Callum Kilpatrick, could he repeat yesterday's success given he was now up against the highest rated player in the tournament? The opening, a Sicilian Rauzer, was testimony to White's confidence and Black's intentions. However, youth selected a line against experience, which, according to my database, does not score well for White. Black's sacrifice of a pawn looking positionally well motivated; in fact, in the two games I know of: David-Gormally, France 2002 and Todorovic-Tadic Vrsac 2007, both Whites declined the offer. In my experience a professional player places a very high premium on the initiative; here the bishop pair and the king-side pressure looked more than enough for the modest investment, and so it proved.

James Hanley played a fairly popular line exchange line against the Alekhine; optically, it look good for White, however, Black's kingside counterplay should not be underestimated. White eventually shedding material to his grandmaster opponent.

IM Colin Colin Crouch was out for blood following yesterday's reverse. Playing extremely solidly, which was Peter Poobalansingam's chosen approach, afforded White some advantage, although it had dissipated once Black played 20...Qd5, White's 21st being an unfortunate oversight that left White in some difficulty.

At one stage I thought that Middlesex were about to win heavily, however, Elena Winkelmann blundered a piece that improved Young England's score. And then, what can I say: if memory serves the official history of the Middlesex regiment records the following of the battle of Neuve Chappelle 1915: "At first it was thought that the attack succeeded, for no-one behind could see, and not a man returned." Bob Eames offered material in a queenless middlegame, it looked sound to me, it looked sound to Bob, and it must have seemed sound to Bob's opponent Peter Constantinou, although Junior 10 suggests the cruel 17.Nb6, for White almost looked prepared to repeat moves (see 26.Kd2). Eventually White started to untangle, and Black, perhaps too conscious of his previous initiative, grabbed a pawn on b2 which he probably shouldn't as his knight was then placed in a position most parlous. Probably White could have played more accurately, for 59...Bxc2 seems to draw for Black.

In the game between Simon Fowler and Francis Rayner both competed to see who could be the more adventurous. Junior 10 not immediately condemning Black's initial sacrifice of the exchange. However, the second one was met with derision by the silicon analyst; a point being justified and collected by White's subsequent play.

Thus the score at the moment is 9 1/2 - 8 1/2 to the hosts, an underperformance by the home side that may cost them dear later on.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 2 for download. Replay here

In his historical novel "The Last of the Barons", the author the Lord Lytton describes a procession whose progress was marked by the cry "Kingmaker!". But enough of Warwick, here, in the county of Middlesex, not far from where John of Gaunt's palace was burnt down; one will never here the cringe inducing "Kingmater!", even with the incentive of the  Bob Wade prize for the best attacking game.

Welcome to the Scheveningen match tournament between teams representing the Middlesex County Chess Association and Young England. This contest has been made possible as the result of the considerable kindness and generosity of many persons. But first I should like to express my gratitude to Edexcel Limited, Popularis and the English Chess Federation. Finding an affordable venue in Central London is a challenge, one which required the considerable powers of persuasion of Middlesex President Chris Fewtrell; but a venue is not enough, one needs willing organisers and helpers as well as money: I should like to express my personal thanks to ECF Junior Director Claire Summerscale and ECF International Director Peter Sowray, both went far beyond the call of duty, not just in terms of coordination, but in personally approaching many persons on behalf of Middlesex CCA: indeed, without their help, it is fair to say that this tournament would not have happened at all. I should also like to thank my good friend Jim Stevenson, the ECF International ratings officer Howard Grist, International arbiters Andrew Whiteley, David Sedgwick and Stewart Reuben and long time Middlesex stalwart Zoe Ryle.  Last, but by no means least, I am grateful to the players. As a Middlesex man, I should be accused of being partial to the Middlesex team; yet, I put it to the reader that playing nine juniors in a row is the worst nightmare of many a chess playing adult, and, for a professional, which some of the Middlesex players are, it is something worse: a probable loss of grading points: I salute the Middlesex team.

We managed to get the clocks started bang on 2 pm for this opening round. A round which will provide many pointers as to the fate of the Young England team; in my view, in order to obtain a norm, a Young England player will have to score at least one point off the two grandmasters playing for Middlesex; thus, it could be considered significant that the two highest graded youngsters are facing Bogdan Lalic and Aaron Summerscale. Those unfamiliar with the Scheveningen system may wonder how this can be so, the answer is that these were the numbers drawn; nine numbers were put into a pot, a junior's name was read out and a number drawn out by a neutral. This procedure was repeated for Middlesex, save that the numbers 2, 5 and 8 were drawn for the then highest graded Middlesex players, this ensured that no Young England player has to play three extremely hard games in a row.

First to finish was Bogdan Lalic, I had the impression that his young opponent was somewhat overawed. Certainly, once Black's position had an uncomfortable look about it, with the knight on a8 contributing not one whit to the ambitious pawn advances of Black on the kingside, White's prospects looked better and better. After 20.Ng5 Black seemed in trouble, and so it proved, his twenty-first just accelerating the inevitable. The most exciting game of the round, by far, was Eames-Fowler, White varying from the game Sepp-Tibensky, Lubniewice, 1994 as early as move seven with 7.c3 which provoked the ambitious 7...f6. Whether what followed is totally sound, I have no idea, but the game is fun to play through and worthy of consideration as the best attacking game of the round, and possibly of the tournament. No-one who has beaten GM Nicholas Pert and drawn with IM John-Paul Wallace in recent months should be underestimated; perhaps a point that IM Colin Crouch can confirm,  he may have had compensation for the pawn he sacrificed to Callum Kilpatrick, but he had difficulty proving it, his young opponent consolidating before pushing his queen side pawns in the biggest upset of the round. Elsewhere IM John Cox, the author of several openings books, produced one of the smoothest performances as he comfortably converted an opening advantage to the full point. The longest game of the round, between Francis Rayner and Peter Roberson, was an interesting affair in which White's prospects on the kingside yielded the impression of being superior to Black's on the opposite wing; however, reality intruded with White not finding a way of breaking through on the kingside with something involving f4. All the games were extremely hard fought, even the draws; Elena Winkelmann sacrificing the exchange and her centre for some extremely dangerous kingside pawns in her game against Peter Constantinou.

A narrow five-four win to Middlesex when all the Young England players were Black points to interesting times ahead, could the unthinkable happen and the higher rated team actually lose to youth? tomorrow is a big test for the youngsters, who, in turn, all play White.

Simon Spivack.

Games from Round 1 for download. Replay here.