John is president of Kingston Chess Club. He teaches chess in a school and a library. He also trains teachers on how to teach chess and sometimes trains the trainers. He is on the Education Commission of the European Chess Union and is a qualified FIDE Instructor.
Played on 7 August 2025 in round 6 of the 111th British Chess Championship held in Liverpool
Kingston junior Supratit Banerjee made an impression at the 2025 British Chess Championship by finishing with 6/9, just one point behind the winner Michael Adams. He played four grandmasters, beating GM Mark Hebden and GM Simon Williams (game below), drawing with Kingston’s GM Ameet Ghasi, with his only loss to former Russian chess champion GM Nikita Vitiugov in the first round. He also drew with two IMs: Marcus Harvey and Yichen Han.
Tim Wall wrote up the game against Simon Williams, the “Ginger GM” in his daily report from the tournament. Under the heading “Super Supratit”, he noted that Supratit was 11 years old and switched his affiliation from Scotland to England after his family moved to London. “Banerjee displayed excellent endgame skills to outplay ‘Ginger GM’ Simon Williams in an engrossing French Defence struggle.” In truth, this summary does not do full justice to Supratit’s mature play, which also comprised a well-researched opening and a well-judged pawn sacrifice to gain space on the queenside.
Rated classical game played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston 13 October 2025
Photograph: Seth Warren (top right); Genc Tasbasi (bottom left) playing against Ye Kyaw
Having moved to a new venue, the spacious Richard Mayo Centre at the United Reformed Church in Kingston, the club is able to provide people with the opportunity to play a rated game at a classical time control, 75 minutes per game plus 10 seconds increment per move. Having more time on the clock should mean that one has more time to analyse the position. However, perhaps due to the rise of online chess at much faster time controls, not everyone takes full advantage of this opportunity.
This game was remarkable because Kingston player Seth Warren managed to obtain a draw from being a queen behind against Rohan Gadre. He said afterwards “I still don’t quite believe it! He was winning right until the very end”, describing the game as a swindle. Genc Tasbasi, who was playing next to Seth, enjoyed the encounter saying that his own game took longer because both he and his opponent were following Seth’s.
Seth was psychologically prepared to resign at two points in game, but his resilience and curiosity drove him to play one more move each time. Seth said afterwards “I was very surprised he didn’t just calmly recapture my pawn [on move 23] – it would’ve been far more practical. And again [on move 29] – shifting his rook along the sixth rank, I would’ve just resigned.” He added ” I think I managed to get to him a little; he was blitzing out his moves right up until the end when he realised it was drawn. He finished with about 55 minutes on the clock. Perhaps he should’ve used some of those spare minutes.”
This game is about the consequence of relaxing in a winning position, the need to use up all your time and the necessity of continuing to play precautionary moves.
Simultaneous display 15 September 2025 at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston
The Kingston club’s grandmaster Ameet Ghasi gave an impressive simultaneous display as the last event of our 2025 summer programme at the Willoughby Arms. Ameet was well up to the task and scored 23-1, with John Foley being the only player to beat Ameet. Jasper Tambini also performed well, stretching Ameet in both his games.
The simul, organised by FM Julian Way and Greg Heath, had an unusual format: two playing sessions of 12 players each, at 7.30pm and 9pm. The time control was the same for Ameet as for the participants: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. This meant that, as Julian Way noted in his report on the event, Ameet had to play 12 times faster than his opponents, comprising some of Kingston’s finest. A number of members played in both sessions, including Peter Andrews, Jon Eckert, Peter Roche, Sam Wilcox and Jasper Tambini.
Ameet simul during the first session
I normally write down my moves as I play them, but on this occasion I felt I ought to concentrate. I could save a few precious seconds looking at the board rather than my messed-up scoresheet. On the other hand, after the game it took no little effort to recreate the moves. I cannot guarantee that the moves shown below are entirely accurate, although Ameet kindly acknowledged that they were a reasonable record.
I shall of course be dining out on this victory for a long time to come.
14th All Saints Blitz, played at All Saints Church, Kingston, on Wednesday 24 September
The series of All Saints Blitzes resumed on the last Wednesday in September, having had a break to enjoy the hot summer. We had a select bunch of participants who were gearing up for the new season.
The favourite Peter Large suffered a setback in round 3 when he came a cropper against Surbiton’s Joshua Pirgon. Peter fell for a queen fork against his king and a loose rook. Peter, however, kept his resolve and won in the last two rounds. The final standings saw three players on 4/5: Peter Large, Chris Briscoe and Robin Haldane. Peter won on tie-break by the thinnest of margins (using the Buchholz Cut 1 method) reflecting the fact that Peter played all the strongest players : Hayward, Haldane, Pirgon, Keane and Briscoe.
Final round: Large v Briscoe in the foreground; Pirgon v Haldane behind
Joshua Pirgon came in fourth, along with Stephen Moss – the highest placings they have achieved in the All Saints Blitz so far.
The event was held at the same time as a school group was enacting the coronation of King Athelstan in the other side of the church. Although there were cries of acclamation for the new King of England, the players did not flinch or complain.
Stephen Moss prepares for his simultaneous display
Primrose Westcombe (1926 – 2024) was a member of Kingston Chess Club covering at least the period between 1969 and 1973. We only became reacquainted with this fact following the recent discovery of a 1973 newspaper article which profiled the club and mentioned Primrose as the only female member of the club. She was from the Knight’s Park area of Kingston.
Lady Primrose Middleton
Primrose Westcombe was the daughter of a military officer Captain Lawrence Haynes Adams. She married her first husband Alexander Douglas Frederick Campbell (1927-2004) in 1950 in Thanet with whom she had three children: Alex, Katie and Niall. Her second husband was Norman George Westcombe (1912-79). In 1984, she married her third husband, Sir Lawrence Monck Middleton (1912-1999) the 10th Baronet Middleton, of Belsay Castle, Northumberland. On his death, his baronetcy became extinct. She died peacefully in Somerton in Somerset on Saturday 10th February 2024, aged 97 years.
Obituary notices (21 Feb 2024): Daily Telegraph and Western Gazette (Glastonbury) Online funeral notice.
We are grateful to Richard James for having provided us with this game from his records.
A celebration of 1100 years since Athelstan was crowned the first king of England and 150 years since the foundation of Kingston Chess Club
It is the year 925 and Athelstan, alongside a parade of his most worthy warriors, dignitaries and towns people cross the bridge into Kingston upon Thames at noon to celebrate his coronation. The parade moves with a drum beat to Canbury Gardens to Athel’s Town, a glorious place comprising the the Saxon Fayre and a Saxon encampment and reenactment staged by Regia Anglorum. We are reminded us the skills and trades of the Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons, as they were later called, derived from the Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, which migrated to Britain after the Romans left in 410. We saw a reenactment of the coronation, a battle with swords, poles and shields, tapestry making, flax weaving, pottery, a forge, their dwellings and a lot of other fascinating aspects of Saxon village life. Athelstan, one of the seven Saxon Kings of England, merged Mercia and Wessex to create England. Kingston, as the name suggests, was at the heart of the Kingdom, being a crossing point on the Thames. Peace did not last as England was later invaded by the Vikings from the 780s.
Kingston Chess Club were stallholders at this event, as we were last year when it was held in the Market Square, but with a more substantial presence this time. We had two gazebos (provided by the Council), a giant chess set (from The London Chess Centre), and five fold-up trestle tables belonging to the club. We helped out the Malmesbury History Society with a table in the spirt of co-operation between Kingston and Malmesbury: Athelstan was crowned in Kingston and buried in Malmesbury in Wiltshire. Our two new pull-up banners proclaimed that we were celebrating 150 years as a chess club. We also had a couple of menu signs saying Kingston Chess Club.
On my quick tour of the encampment and a visit to the Dark Ages Society, I picked up some random Saxon factoids:
We don’t know much about the games the Saxons played because they main used wood or stones. However, glass survives well and some pieces of glass may have been used for games. The Saxons never figured out how to make glass so they melted down glass from the Roman period.
There are more Saxon coins in Scandinavia than in England because the Anglo-Saxons had to pay off the Vikings to stay away (the “Danegeld”). The Vikings didn’t have much use for Saxon money so they melted it down into silver for trading.
Sugar came mainly from honey and so the Saxons were keen beekeepers. Even their beer was fermented honey and water with some fruit and spices, known as mead.
The Gaelic term “Sassenach”, used in Scotland and Ireland to refer to a foreigner or English person, is derived from the word “Saxon”.
The Saxons played games carried over from Roman times. The most notable game from the Viking period was hfnefatafl, which means “king’s table” which was played throughout Scandinavia and the Celtic territories. The board is set up as a battle between two armies – one army has a king who must try to escape with the help of his soldiers; the other army tries to stop him. All the pieces move as rooks, and captures are by sandwiching the opposing piece between two of yours. The game looks intriguing and many people came over to try it out. Ultimately, hfnefatafl was replaced by chess which arrived with the Vikings in the 12th century – see Lewis Chessmen.
Saxons
During the weekend, we enjoyed a steady stream of visitors, mainly youngsters, and the tables were full for both days. The weather was warm and sunny both days with only a five-minute shower on Saturday. There was relaxed, friendly atmosphere as people played chess on the tables. Many people asked about teaching their children chess. We answered their queries, signposted what they could do next and took their details for follow up.
Members from Kingston Chess Club who assisted on the rota included Greg Heath, Alan Scrimgour, Stephen Moss, Ed Mospan, Rob Taylor, Mark Sheridan, David Rowson and Peter Andrews. Leila Raivio and Correr Chen were vital volunteers. Leila sewed and block-printed the tunics, and took most of the photographs. Correr Chen offered a warm welcome to visitors. Other club members popping along included David Bickerstaff and Malcolm Mistry who had been monitoring the Saturday match where his son Jaden Mistry, playing for Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club, bowled out Club Chair-elect Peter Andrews of West Wimbledon 3rd XI.
Correr Chen welcoming visitors
The giant chess board proved a popular attraction.
4th SCCU/London Club Championship held at St Luke’s Church, Hampstead on Sunday 21 June 2025
Photograph: John Foley (captain), John Bussmann, Vladimir Li, Supratit Banerjee and Peter Lalić
Kingston capped, or should that be cherried, an extraordinary season by winning the London Team Championships organised by the Southern Counties Chess Union. This unique event brings together teams from London and the Home Counties which normally compete in different leagues. Kingston played in the top section of three, which was limited to an average rating of less than 2200 ECF. It was the hottest day of the year with temperatures over 30C, which affected some players more than others.
Each team comprised four players with an optional reserve. In our case, the team was 1) Supratit Banerjee 2) Peter Lalić 3) Vladimir Li 4) John Bussmann with me as captain/reserve. The line-up conformed with the average rating provided that John Bussmann played in each round, which meant there was a lot of pressure on John.
The tournament was supposed to be a Swiss format. However, one of the teams dropped out late and the organisers modified the format so that no player would miss a game. Although well-intentioned, the practical consequences of a triangular format embedded into the Swiss format left us wondering if it is worth avoiding byes. Under this arrangement, three teams play each other wherein each round boards 1 and 2 play different opponents from boards 3 and 4. The players were confused as to whom they would play, and online followers were confused about the match results. There was a delay after each round to sort out pairings. The tournament director David Gilbert reassured everyone that matters were under control as the laptop master Michael Flatt grappled with the pairings.
Michael Flatt on keyboards
In round 1, Supratit won, as did Vladimir, against Ian Snape (see start of game below).
Kingston won in the first four rounds but could only draw against Pimlico in round 5. Vladimir’s game in that match is shown in the Games section. In a fitting finale, Kingston faced Richmond & Twickenham in the final round. R&T are formidable opponents well known to Kingston. They had won the event on each of the previous three occasions it was held. On top board, Supratit drew with occasional Kingstonian Michael Healey. Peter accepted a draw offer from Gavin Wall in what was shown afterwards to be a winning position.Vladimir beat Maks Gajowniczek.
Final Round: Peter Lalić v Gavin Wall, Mike Healey v Supratit Banerjee on Board 1
In the final game to finish, John Bussmann decided to play aggressively against Martin Benjamin as the best way to obtain a draw. He sacrificed a piece and was rewarded with perpetual check. The game was a draw, the match was won, the London Team Championship was won and so was the historic octuple of victories.
Maks Gajowniczek v Vladimir Li on Board 3, John Bussmann v Benjamin Martin
Supratit had a tremendous result undefeated on board one with 5/6. The prize for the best performance at the event went to Vladimir Li who scored 6/6. These two were the engine room of the team.
In the final ranking, the Dummy entries are there on account of the triangular match. We are unable to provide any explanation of their purpose.
Vladimir Li receiving a prize for the best performance from David Flewellen, deputy president of SCCUSupratit Banerjee receiving an individual trophy of the SCCU London team prize
We celebrated by repairing the famous Old Bull and Bush in Hampstead for a liquid refreshment.
Held on 3 July 2025 at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston
During our summer recess, the club is experimenting with various activities. It may seem sacrilege to bring another game into the hallowed playing room of Kingston Chess Club, but bridge and chess have lot in common and many chess players play bridge, or could play bridge with a bit of help and encouragement. We advertised the event to members, to other local chess clubs and even grabbed a couple of people from the bar.
We were delighted to be able to fill four tables for this one-off event. With four people on each table, we had 16 enthusiastic players for the evening. We were privileged to have as our instructor Rosie White from the famous Young Chelsea Bridge Club which is now based at the MindSports Centre in Hammersmith. Rosie has coached a generation of bridge players and was happy to try to convert inveterate chess players to the pleasures of a classic new game.
Counting tricks: Rosie White demonstrates the fundamentals of bridge to newcomers
The evening focused on playing the cards where each pair was given a target number of tricks to win. A trick is won by the player with highest card in each round. We started with no trumps and then moved on to trumps. Each hand was provided from a wallet placed on the table in front of the players. There was no shuffling of cards. Each hand had a specific learning point. Whether the players managed to grasp the point is beside the point – we were having too much fun playing out the cards.
What made the event particularly sociable was the presence of bridge partners: wives, girlfriends and a daughter. The chess community is male-dominated, whereas bridge has a mixed gender profile. There was a lot of laughter on each table, so we knew it was going well irrespective of the quality of the play. A lot of younger people are taking up bridge as part of the movement away from digital games towards social games. Maybe Kingston Chess Club will have a bridge section one day.
Full house: There was a welcome mix of ages and sexes, and the evening was filled with laughter
We are grateful to Rosie White for having controlled this successful event and bringing the tablecloths and bridge equipment. We will canvass the views of those who attended and the wider membership to see if anybody would like to repeat the event or join a regular bridge class which could be held at the club.
If you are interested in how it went, you can talk to one of those people who attended, who included Peter Andrews, Marek Chmiest, Peter Finn, John Foley, Phil Goodings, Stephen Moss, Alan Scrimgour, Paul Seymour and Rob Taylor.
The largest ever All Saints Blitz, held on 28 May 2025, ended in a dramatic three-way tie between WFMs Emma and Eunice Hng and IM Peter Large, with Eunice awarded first prize on tie-break
The friendly monthly blitz at All Saints has now turned into an Event with a capital E. We had 30 participants on Wednesday 28 May at the wonderful All Saints Church in the centre of Kingston. Given that we had twice the number of usual attendees, we added one more round to the format – so six rounds rather than the usual five. This surge of interest was due to the rare coincidence that the last Wednesday of the month was on a half term. Hence we had a lot of juniors who decided to occupy their time constructively.
We were delighted to be joined by the Hng sisters, Emma and Eunice, who are both women Fide masters from Singapore and have previously represented Epsom Chess Club. They played brilliantly and tied for first place, along with the ever-present Peter Large, on 5/6. Eunice beat IM Large, the first time he has lost at All Saints, in their crucial round 5 clash – he has previously won the tournament outright on five occasions. But Emma then got the better of her sister in a magnificent final game, in which a lengthy endgame captivated the watching audience (see photograph above).
In the end, tournament controller John Foley awarded Eunice first prize on tie-break. Eunice deserved to win as she beat Peter Large. It was good to see the sisters fight out the last round rather than agree a soft draw. Even though Emma beat Eunice, Eunice had played stronger opponents and picked up first prize, a book on the World’s Greatest Chess games, while Emma received a box of chocolates.
Eunice Hng took first place on tie-breakEmma Hng was second on tie-break
Peter was happy to receive only a modest chocolate bar, having overdosed on large chocolate boxes from his previous wins.
Peter Large was third on tie-break
The prize for the top junior went to William Lin, who scored 3/6. William beat the second-placed Emma in the first round. This was a fine week for William, who also picked up the junior prize on the May Bank Holiday Blitz at the club on Monday.
William Lin was the top junior
The prize presenter was Alan Scrimgour, the club chair. Alan found himself in the awkward situation of having to present the prize to himself with his fourth place (using the Sonneborn-Berger tie-break for those who had not already won a prize) with 4/6. After some ungainly arm movements from Alan, club captain Stephen Moss stepped up to present yet another chocolate bar to Alan. Moss also managed 4/6, so may have been trying to grab the chocolate for himself. A memorable end to a memorable event. If the tournament gets any bigger, we may have to upgrade to a cathedral.
Stephen Moss (left) presenting Alan Scrimgour with his prize for fourth place
Final results
Hng, Mei-En Eunice 5/6 Hng, Mei-Xian Emmanuelle 5/6 Large, Peter G 5/6 Scrimgour, Alan 4 Haldane, Robin W 4 Kumaresan, Darshan 4 Gosling, Marcus 4 Rowson, David J 4 Moss, Stephen 4 Pirgon, Joshua 3.5 Hayward, Alan 3.5
Played at All Saints Church, Kingston, 30 April 2025
Peter Large won the 12th edition of the All Saints Blitz with a perfect score of 5/5. He has won the event each of the five times he has entered. There were 16 entrants spanning a range of expertise from beginner to international master.
Peter is at the peak of his career, having been a key member of the England over-65 team which this season won both the World and the European titles. He enjoys playing chess and it is a credit to the All Saints Blitz that he is participating.
Round 3: Chris Briscoe (White) v Robin Haldane
For the first time, we played not in silence but to the accompaniment of the organ where we were treated to a practice session of church music written by the blind French composer Jean Langlais. Some players were able to screen out the music, others found it uplifting, whilst a minority found it interfered with their concentration. One person compared it favourably with the Irish folk music at the Willoughby Arms.
Peter Large said that none of the games was easy. Even in the first round, when his opponent turned up late, Peter was happy to be paired with FM Julian Way, who had turned up to observe the first round and departed for his volunteering duties at Oxfam afterwards.
Round 1: Julian Way (White) v Peter Large
If this were a rated event, then Peter’s rating would have jumped from the modest ECF 2053 to a still underrated ECF 2080. Top players usually play in Fide-rated tournaments and do not pay much attention to their ECF rating, especially for rapid and blitz. In Peter’s case, his Fide rapid rating is 2250, which is more realistic. It is a pity that the ECF does not try to achieve a better alignment between their domestic ratings and the international ratings. The forthcoming SCCU London Team Championships is based on ECF rapid ratings and team selection takes advantage of this discrepancy.
Round 5: Alan Hayward (White) v John Hawksworth
Alan Hayward from the Pimlico club came second on 4/5, with a fine kingside attack in the final round against IM John Hawksworth. Had there been a sixth round, Peter and Alan would have played each other. Five rounds is usually enough to generate a winner and there is no plan to change the current format, which allows the participants to have a chat between rounds and patronise the café.
Foreground: John Hawksworth (White) v Peter Large; background: Alan Scrimgour (White) v Chris Briscoe
Alan Scrimgour played all three titled players IM Peter Large, IM John Hawksworth and CM Chris Briscoe and ended with a creditable 3/5. (The other titled player, FM Julian Way, only played the first round as a filler.) The most improved player was John Hawes, who scored 0/5 in the last blitz and jumped to 3/5 this time, far outstripping his estimated rating of ECF 1200.
Foreground: Stephen Moss (White) v David Shalom; Background: John Hawes (White) v Genc Tasbasi
Results
1st IM Peter Large 5/5 2nd Alan Hayward 4/5 3rd Robin Haldane 3½/5 4th-8th IM John Hawksworth, Alan Scrimgour, John Hawes, Peter Roche, Genc Tasbasi 3/5 9th-13th Stephen Moss, CM Chris Briscoe, Robin Kerremans, John Cattermole, David Shalom 2/5 14th Kevin Bowyer 1½/5
Peter Large (right) receives the winner’s traditional box of chocolates from tournament controller John Foley
