Jul
24
Bulletin No.71 – Local Games: A Strategic Masterpiece and 2 King Attacks
Today we feature a strategic masterpiece by Christian Westrap and two attacks against the opposing king by Mike Waddington, both featuring exploitation of the dark squares. All three games are annotated by the winners, giving a great insight into their thinking. How to crush the Benko! The Benko can be tricky to play against because [...]
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Jul
24
Poem No.7 – The Baffled Bishop
Over the summer months Christine Roberts is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This one aptly describes the confusion of the bishop! I’ll tell you now, I’m so confused. My problem’s of a special kind - It’s not that I am underused - I’m grappling with it in my mind. When I am [...]
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Jul
24
Weekly Quiz No.7 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
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Jul
22
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play Taking on h7 does not lead to a clear-cut win. Can you see something that does? Solution
Jul
20
Southbourne Win Final Team Battle
Last night there was the final Team Battle organised by Martin Clancy. Sadly, Martin could not participate himself because of internet problems. As last time, only 18 players participated but nonetheless an enjoyable evening was had. Having won the previous event on tie-break, Southbourne won this one in clear-cut fashion, seventeen points ahead of their [...]
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Jul
19
Jul
17
Bulletin No.70 – Endgame Corner: Rook + Pawn vs Bishop
We all know that a lone rook can rarely win versus a lone bishop. But what about rook and pawn v bishop? As long as neither the rook nor pawn is immediately en prise that must always be a win, right? That's what I thought until about a year ago but I was wrong. Of [...]
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Jul
17
Poem No.6 – The Passionate Rook
Over the summer months Christine Roberts is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This one focusses on the lonely 'rook' or should that be the 'castle' in the corner! I’m lonely stuck on square A1! my pal is at the other end. The game has only just begun; impatience I must now suspend. [...]
DETAIL Jul
17
Weekly Quiz No.6 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
DETAIL 
Jul
15
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play and win Can you work out how to nurse a pawn through to the eighth rank? Solution
Jul
12
Monday puzzle / game
White to play White has sacced a piece for a strong attack. What is his quickest road to victory? Solution
Jul
10
Bulletin No.69 – Local Games: A Superb Miniature and Two Swindles
Today we feature a superbly played miniature and two horrendous swindles! 13 Moves... Unlucky for Someone! Mike Duggan finds all the critical moves to produce a fine game. He makes it look easy, but that is only because his play was really strong. Simple but Sneaky! Here Peter Anderson wondered if his opponent might autopilot [...]
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Jul
10
Poem No.5 – Queening It!
Over the summer months Christine Roberts is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This one takes a look at her majesty the queen. Imagine how it feels to be superior to all the team. The pawns and pieces next to me, worth less, acknowledge I’m the cream. I bide my time to move [...]
DETAIL Jul
10
Weekly Quiz No.5 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
DETAIL 
Jul
08
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play and mate in 2 I don’t often feature problems (as opposed to studies or game continuations) in these puzzles as I find them a bit too artificial. In that regard this is no exception but it is nonetheless rather pleasing. Solution
Jul
06
Southbourne Win Penultimate Team Battle on Tie-Break
Martin Clancy has announced that with chess clubs starting to meet up and life more generally returning to some sort of normality, last night's Team Battle would be the penultimate one that he would be running, with the last one to be held in two weeks time. At the start of the evening, many players [...]
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Jul
05
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and win The last of the group of three Wotawa puzzles sent in by Christian who said, “This is currently my favourite study but it isn’t easy, there’s an amazing hidden idea in the solution which I found very surprising!” I couldn’t agree more – it takes a bit of work to […]
Jul
03
Bulletin No.68 – Endgame Corner: Queen vs Minor Pieces
Do you know how a queen fairs against two minor pieces? And if you know what the result should be, could you achieve it in practice? Queen vs Two Bishops This is drawn but only if the defending side can quickly achieve the correct defensive set up. The king needs to be near but not [...]
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Jul
03
Poem No.4 – Behold The King
Over the summer months Christine Roberts is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This one is a reminder on the importance of protecting your king! When you first begin to play the game of chess, whichever way, the very most important thing is guard and shield your precious King. Unless you play the [...]
DETAIL Jul
03
Weekly Quiz No.4 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
DETAIL 
Jul
01
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play The prosaic Rxc1 would leave White a pawn down after …Bxd4. Can you find a better way ahead for White? Solution
Jun
28
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and win The second of the Wotawa studies kindly sent in by Christian. To my eyes this is harder than last Monday’s and requires a bit of imagination to solve. Solution
Jun
26
Bulletin No.67 – Local Games: Instructive miniature plus two sacrificial finishes
Today we feature a very enjoyable and instructive miniature and two games with crisp finishes featuring the same sac, each annotated by the winners. Pretty and Instructive We start today with a delightful miniature from Christian Westrap. Sac and Win! Martin Simons finishes a complex game with a well calculated sac. Sac, Sac and Win! [...]
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Jun
26
Poem No.3 – An Ode to a Chess Congress
Over the summer months Christine Roberts (Poole) is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This one takes us on the roller-coaster ride of playing at a chess congress! Late Friday night, stifling a yawn, I face my foe, who’s slow to move. After aeons of time he shifts a pawn And I counter [...]
DETAIL Jun
26
Weekly Quiz No.3 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
DETAIL 
Jun
24
Jun
22
7 in a row for Poole in Team Battle
After the dip in attendance at the last one, there was a better turn out for the Team Battle this time with 5 teams and 25 players. The overall result was the same, with a Poole, Ringwood, Southbourne 1, 2, 3. Poole got off to a quick start and whilst Ringwood gave a good chase, [...]
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Jun
21
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and win Thanks to Christian Westrap who sent in this study by Austrian composer Alois Wotawa. We will feature a couple more of these over the next two Mondays. Solution
Jun
19
Bulletin No.66 – Endgame Corner: Two Bishops vs Knight (and Pawn)
Endgame Corner will be one of the types of bulletin we will be running over the next few months. There won't be lots of analysis in these (quite often no analysis), but rather I will normally try to quickly summarise whether an endgame is won or drawn, whether or not it is easy to play, [...]
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Jun
19
Poem No.2 – Club Nights
Over the summer months Christine Roberts (Poole) is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This second one highlights the atmosphere and friendship that we have all been missing at our local chess clubs. Remember the time when we chessed at a club? We greeted each other, assembled so near, no pawns to sanitise, [...]
DETAIL Jun
19
Weekly Quiz No.2 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
DETAIL 
Jun
17
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play White has sacced a piece to get a strong attack down the h-file. What is the quickest route to victory from here? Solution
Jun
14
Jun
12
Bulletin No.65 – Local Games: A Miniature and 2 King Walks!
From today the weekly bulletins will be shorter than in the past but we will still bring you plenty of quality content! Roughly every other week we will bring you three games by local players. These will be a mixture of best/favourite games, short games and swindles and will be annotated by the players themselves [...]
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Jun
12
Poem No.1 – In Praise of (Li)Chess
Over the summer months Christine Roberts (Poole) will be delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This first one covers her experiences of playing chess online – a useful distraction during Lockdown! Lockdown comes - what do I do when I’m alone and feel duress? I’ve dug the garden, cleaned the loo. I know, [...]
DETAIL Jun
12
Weekly Quiz No.1 – Find the Plan (and Move)!
Over the summer, on each Saturday we will be providing a Weekly Quiz Question on Find the Plan (and Move)! This will be taken from an actual game position and you will be provided with a number of possible options but only one might be best! These will be different to the Puzzles as they [...]
DETAIL 
Jun
10
Thursday puzzle / game
White to play Thanks to Martin Simons for this puzzle with a good theme and a nice sequence in the mainline. With best play what should the result be? Solution
Jun
08
Poole Win Quiet Team Battle
It may have been the anniversary of the first Team Battle but it was the quietest to date with New Milton and West Dorset Jedi absent. There were just 17 players and four teams involved. Perhaps this is the combined effect of lockdown easing, the nice weather and the partial return of normal chess. [...]
DETAIL 
Jun
07
Daily Quiz
While face-to-face chess is disrupted in Dorset we are running a daily 'Test Your Chess Knowledge' quiz question (with 5 possible answers). For local quiz questions you may find the Bulletins and Chat articles helpful. Martin Simons welcomes your feedback on the quiz and any submissions you have for questions. Every day we will be [...]
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Jun
07
Monday puzzle / game
White to play and win We all know how tricky knights can be. In this Troitsky study, at first sight, only Black can possibly win but the white knight has other ideas! Solution
