Author Archives: Stephen Moss

About Stephen Moss

Stephen is an author of books on cricket and chess and a journalist with the Guardian.

Kingston thwart Epsom title bid (for the moment)

Kingston 1 v Epsom 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 11 March 2024

There was a great deal riding on this match. Epsom, newly promoted but with three IMs on their top boards and masses of ambition under president-for-life Marcus Gosling, are top of division 1 and needed only a draw to secure their first ever Surrey Trophy. They beat us with ease back in November, when we put out a stronger team than the one we fielded here, but on this occasion we turned the tables and won a famous victory by 5-3.

Epsom are still favourites to win the title – relegation-threatened Wimbledon would need to get at least a draw in their match with Epsom on 18 April for us to have any chance of overhauling them at the top. But at least we have made it difficult for them, and given the energetic Epsom president a few sleepless nights.

This was officially an away match for us, but it was switched to the Willoughby Arms when Epsom discovered they could not use their venue on the designated day (they have since announced that they are moving to a new venue). Epsom fielded exactly the same team that had beaten us in November, but this time we were ready and oddly always felt confident about doing well in the match.

It is the solidity of the team’s performance that is striking: no losses across the eight boards; Epsom’s mighty IM spearhead nullified by our own super-trio of Peter Lalić, Vladimir Li and David Maycock; a brilliant win by Luca Buanne against the dangerous Robin Haldane on board 4; and, fittingly, a match-winning victory by Kingston captain David Rowson against the very promising junior Zain Patel on board 5 (the climax of their nail-biting clash, hemmed in by team-mates and supporters, is shown in the photograph above). The perfect team performance, and very welcome after a season in which we have occasionally spluttered following last season’s “Quadruple”-winning heroics.

The first game to finish was on board 6, where Julian Way had Black against the 1965 British champion Peter Lee, who has made a welcome return to chess at the tender age of 80. Peter played a Ruy Lopez, but Julian had no difficulty equalising and may even at one point have had a slight edge, but after 25 moves peace was declared in the position below.

On board 2 Peters Lalić, with White, and Large (how many Peters were playing in this match?) had an even shorter game – just 14 moves – but those moves seemed to take an eternity as the two prizefighters, who know each other’s games so well, circled the ring looking for an opportunity to land a punch. Objectively, the Epsom Peter has a small plus in the position in which a draw was agreed (see below), but the open g-file bearing down on the king may have given him pause for thought. Epsom IM No 1 neutralised.

Epsom IM No 2, Graeme Buckley, had White against Kingston FM Vladimir Li on board 2, and this game was always likely to be one of the key determinants of the match. Vladimir defended superbly, but was a little worried when this position was reached after move 25. The comments and variants which follow are Vladimir’s, supplied more or less off the cuff on the night of the match.

Vladimir’s draw on board 2 meant the second of Epsom’s trio of IMs had been neutralised. On board 3 David Maycock did not have neutralisation on his mind against Susan Lalić and had (as usual) sac’d the exchange in the interests of a creative attack. But it was petering (geddit?) out, and we started to fear the worst. John Foley was also up against it in the Battle of the Presidents on board 8, though President Gosling was starting to come under time pressure, so all was not quite lost despite some dangerous-looking passed pawns.

Meanwhile on board 4, Luca Buanne was playing skilfully with Black in a Sicilian against the attack-minded Robin Haldane. The position was level until Robin allowed his knight one adventure too many in the position below. After that the roof caved in, and Luca finished in style – such style indeed that Robert Waller, one of our great supporters, raised his arms in the air in triumph as he made the move. I tried to restrain him in a somewhat po-faced, let’s-respect-chess-decorum kind of way, but Rob was having none of it. This was insurgent Epsom after all, the would-be chess empire that had to be held in check by the gatekeepers of the Galactic Republic.

Luca’s win put us in front and, in a match this tight, was always going to be crucial. At one point it looked likely to be the only decisive result of the evening. Peter Andrews and Chris Wright played out a draw on board 7, though not without alarms on both sides. Peter was very critical of his own play, and at one point missed a chance to win the exchange, but he is captain of the Kingston first team in the Surrey League and captaincy can do that to players. You are trying to follow all eight games and can sometimes neglect your own, with the result that captains often play a little below their true strength.

So 3-2 to Kingston with three games still in progress: two of them were unfavourable to us – President Foley was in a spot if bother against President Gosling and David Maycock was down against Susan Lalić, though as ever creating complications – and only David Rowson looked to have a small plus. This was by no means done and dusted yet.

Key to our victory in the match was that Epsom did not win the two games in which they were manifestly up. On board 8, John Foley feared the game was slipping away, but Marcus Gosling was short of time and John is an astute defender. We pick up the game on White’s 36th move. The notes are supplied by John, who at this point felt his position was “dire” and that “the only hope was to get opposite-coloured bishops or to aim for a tricky knight and queen ending”.

Now attention shifted to David Maycock’s struggle with the third of Epsom’s IMs, Susan Lalić, who is also a woman grandmaster (WGM) and five-times British women’s chess champion. As in the clash of presidents on board 8, the Epsom player was objectively winning but had very little time, with David causing problems and angling for a perpetual check, which he did indeed eventually achieve. The crunch came in the position below. One move wins; the other draws. Susan chose the wrong one.

Susan, under great time pressure remember, went for Kf8 and repeated moves – zeitnot scrambles even experts’ brains. But Ke8 is winning because within a few moves Black will be able to block the queen checks by playing Bd7 and that will more or less be that. A great – and in terms of securing the match vital – escape for Kingston’s Mexican-born wizard.

Now Captain Rowson had only to draw on board 5 to win the match, but he was looking for more than that against Zain Patel after setting a neat trap in the position below.

David’s victory made it 5-3 to Kingston on the night. Epsom took defeat very sportingly and their chance will come again when they play Wimbledon away on 18 April. We have to beat Wimbledon at home on 8 April and then hope Wimbledon get some sort of miracle result against Epsom, who are sure to put out a very strong team. But whatever the destination of the Surrey Trophy title, this was a night we will savour for a long time to come.

Stephen Moss

Kingston benefit from another default

South Norwood 2 fail to raise a team in the match against Kingston 3 due to be played at the Willoughby Arms on 11 March 2024, giving the match to Kingston by 6-0

For the second time in a fortnight, Kingston have won a home match by default. First, Guildford 1 failed to field a team on 26 February, and now South Norwood have done the same, blaming a lack of drivers to bring players on the long journey from South London. Not ideal, as we need to give players in division 4 of the Surrey League all the opportunities for game time we can, but we do sympathise as South Norwood are a relatively small club who face a lot of these epic treks. One hopes this will be the last default as we enter the final couple of months of the season.

Maidenhead A secure vital draw at Kingston

Maidenhead A v Kingston A, Thames Valley division 1 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 4 March 2024

Peter Lalić (foreground, left) secured a crucial win on board 2 to earn a draw for Kingston against Maidenhead

Maidenhead A have been struggling in division 1 of the Thames Valley League this season, which is surprising given that they are a strong and much-improved side. They got a deserved 3-3 draw on their visit to Kingston, and we could have no complaints about a dropped half-point which further dents our already slim chances of catching Hammersmith in the race for the title.

Alan Scrimgour secured an early draw with Black on board 4 against Majid Mashayekh, and there was then a long period of struggle on the other five boards. The deadlock was finally broken on board 1, where FM Andrew Smith prevailed against Kingston’s David Maycock. Andrew played his usual Centre Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7) and David responded enterprisingly, but the Kingston man missed a key tactic when he played 21. Be6 in this position:

That gave Maidenhead a 1.5-0.5 lead and at that stage we looked in danger. Peter Lalić was a little worse against Steve James on board 2 and William Castaneda had the bishop pair and a slight edge against Nick Grey on board 6. On the plus side, the evergreen John Foley was well placed against Nigel Smith on board 4, and Julian Way was engaged in a classy game with Ishan Wirantunga on board 3. The latter was the next game to finish – a draw by repetition after 41 moves, with Julian’s queen pitted against his opponent’s rooks (see final position below).

John Foley, who had hurried to the match after running the Kingston Chess Academy, then brought his well-constructed game to a glitzy finish in the position below.

White to play and win

By now Peter Lalić and his opponent were in a time scramble, and Peter, who had earlier had a draw offer turned down, is brilliant in these situations, setting problems until his opponent cracks. That duly happened in the position below when Black played 33…Bf5.

Peter’s win made it 3-2 to Kingston and we were sure of at least half a point. But that was all we were going to get. Valiantly though he fought, Nick Grey was unable to wrestle back the initiative in a losing endgame and eventually had to admit defeat. Honours were even, and Maidenhead could embark on their long trek home feeling a little more comfortable about retaining their place in Thames Valley division 1.

Stephen Moss

Coulsdon 3 too strong for Kingston 4

Kingston 4 v Coulsdon 3, Surrey League division 5 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 4 March 2024

Coulsdon 3 came to Kingston with a nice blend of youth and experience, and in the end were a little too strong for the home side, running out 4-2 winners in a well-contested match. But it was close: the board 2 game could have gone either way until time pressure told on the Kingston player.

Brother and sister Venkata and Aahna Kilambi both scored wins for Coulsdon. Venkata on top board looked an especially fine prospect, and his rating is already daunting in the Minor Trophy – division 5 of the Surrey League and designed to be a training division (with no promotion or relegation). Venkata will soon be progressing into the main league, part of Coulsdon’s never-ending supply of strong juniors (we will try not to be too jealous). On the plus side for Kingston were fine wins for Leon Mellor-Sewell and Robin Kerremans, both making their club debuts. Leon asked whether he got a GM norm for his win, but I assume he was joking. He and Robin are great additions to the club.

Young Jaden Mistry lost on board 4 against Bartosz Wojtowicz, and David Bickerstaff was very unlucky to lose on board 2 against Anuj Venkatesh, blundering a piece in time trouble in a position that may have been winning. That made it 4-2 to Coulsdon, but the great thing about this division is that, rather than bemoaning the lost half-point and worrying about the danger of relegation, we can celebrate the fact that a dozen up-and-coming players had an evening of highly competitive but pressure-free (because no promotion or relegation) chess.

Stephen Moss

Surprise default by Guildford 1 gives boost to Kingston

Guildford 1 fail to raise a team in the match against Kingston 1 due to be played at the Willoughby Arms on 26 February 2024, giving the match to Kingston by 8-0

Three days before this significant and eagerly awaited match, Kingston Surrey League division 1 captain Peter Andrews received the news that Guildford were unable to raise a team and would be defaulting the match. We took this to mean that they could not raise a team of sufficient quality, because a club of Guildford’s size should certainly be able to get eight bodies over to Kingston.

This was disappointing news as we do not like to be handed a win in this manner, and it also affects the integrity of Surrey’s very strong division 1. But, on the upside, the default victory by 8-0 propels us to second place in the table and gives us a slim chance of overhauling runaway leaders Epsom.

We now have to beat Epsom away on 11 March and they need to slip up against Wimbledon, who are mired in a relegation struggle and currently have nul points, on 18 April. We would also need to beat Wimbledon at home on 8 April. An unlikely scenario – Epsom’s IM-packed team is unlikely to take their foot off the pedal now as they home in on their first ever Surrey Trophy – but we will keep plugging away in defence of our title and hope for the best (or, in Epsom’s case, the worst).

Stephen Moss

Kingston C survive trek to Maidenhead

Maidenhead C v Kingston C, Thames Valley division X match played at St Luke’s Community Hall, Maidenhead, on 26 February 2024

Well done to Kingston C for making the great trek to Maidenhead on an uninviting evening and coming away with a draw. Charlie Cooke came unstuck against a dangerous junior on board 1 – ignore the rating; as so often with juniors it means very little. Captain Stephen Daines, no doubt exhausted after the long drive, also lost on board 3. But honour was salvaged by fine wins by Ergo Nobel, who has settled in brilliantly at Kingston, and Colin Lyle on boards 2 and 4. Medals will be struck for all four of the Kingston heroes who braved the journey.

Stephen Moss

Edward Mospan (Kingston) v Alistair Mackenzie (Epsom)

Kingston 3 v Epsom 3, Surrey League division 4 match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 12 February 2024

Ed Mospan has returned to Kingston this season and is enjoying his chess after taking a break for a couple of years. This game was played in the above drawn match. His opponent deployed the solid French Defence until one false step allowed Ed to play a nice tactic, turning the tables and leading to his opponent’s resignation a few moves later.

Bold bid by outrated Kingston 4 at Ashtead

Surrey League division 5 match played at the Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead on 6 February 2024

Sometimes a defeat can feel almost as good as a victory, and this was one of those occasions. When Kingston captain Stephen Daines posted the opposing team on the club WhatsApp group, we feared the worst. Kingston’s fourth team were up against Ashtead 2 in the Minor Trophy (Surrey division 5) and we were outrated by an average of around 180 points a board. Most of our players have only been playing competitively since the end of the pandemic. Adrian Waldock, Ashtead’s experienced board 2, has been playing since around the end of the Paleozoic. One feared a whitewash.

In the end, though, it was a wonderfully close match, with Ashtead winning by just 3.5-2.5 – testament to how quickly our players are improving and the great spirit with which they compete. Captain Daines played what he called a “disastrous opening” with Black and quickly succumbed as his opponent Nick Thynne capitalised on his errors. But at least that gave him more time to enjoy his players’ performances.

Promising junior Jaden Mistry drew with Jack Buckley, rated 1580, on board 5, and at one point – with a passed pawn charging up the board – had winning chances. But they evaporated when Jaden decided to mop up his opponent’s pawns rather than support his own, and a draw was agreed with the position level.

Mark Sheridan lost against Daniel Richmond on board 3, making it 2.5-0.5 to Ashtead, but the remaining three boards were all very good news stories. Dieter McDougall outmanoeuvred Robert Jurjevic in a knight and pawn endgame, making his extra pawn tell to win a game that had looked more likely to end in a draw. Dieter has made a fine start to his Kingston career.

Just as impressive were the draws achieved by Sean Tay and Jimmy Kerr against Patrick O’Mara and Adrian Waldock on boards 1 and 2. Sean pressed but couldn’t quite convert what looked to be a small advantage, while Jimmy was under the cosh the entire game but managed to hold out and with time trouble looming a draw was agreed. The Waldock-Kerr game threw up one splendid position which must be shown:

Adrian chose to cash in here by playing 15. Nxh8 to win the exchange. That should indeed have been enough to win the game, but he misses a delightful win on the spot. Do you see it? 15. Nb5+! Black is forced to play 15…Kxd5 and 16. Nf4! is mate. Mated by two knights, with a bit of help from the queen, pinning the pawn on e5. Adrian missed it and chased the Black king all round the board for another 30 moves. He still had an advantage in the endgame – two rooks and six pawns to rook, bishop and five, but exhaustion may have been setting in and time was becoming a factor, so Adrian (always a pacific fellow) took a gentlemanly draw.

Full marks to Jimmy for fighting on in what at times seemed a hopeless position. As I said to him later, if he can survive that he can survive anything. It was a result of which he should be proud, as indeed should the entire team.

Stephen Moss

Kingston reach final of Lauder Trophy – by a whisker

Lauder Trophy semi-final played at the Willoughby Arms on 5 February 2024

Just as we did in the first round when we squeaked past South Norwood, Kingston won this match against Coulsdon on board count. The final score was 3-3, but by virtue of winning the top two boards we took the match on tie-break by 12-9. In the event of a tie, top board is assigned a value of six, and the values then descend to board 6, which has a value of one (are you following this?). Winning boards 1, 2 and 6 gave Kingston a score of 12; winning boards 3, 4 and 5 gave Coulsdon a score of nine. It was that close and Coulsdon captain on the night Nick Edwards accepted his mathematical defeat with magnanimity.

Kingston suffered an early reverse when David Bickerstaff blundered and lost to Venerando Bermudez, a dangerous player, as he had demonstrated a couple of weeks earlier when he beat Jon Eckert in the Alexander Cup semi-final. Coulsdon had two super-solid players and a ratings advantage on boards 3 and 4, so it was always likely to be Kingston’s top two, Peters Lalić and Andrews, and new boy Ergo Nobel on board 6 who had to bring home the bacon, though Jon Eckert on 3 and Gregor Smith on 4 battled hard and were close to securing draws.

Peter Andrews, playing White against Nick Edwards on board 2, got an early advantage when Black chose to give up a pawn in this position in response to White’s provocative 9. d4, and after that Black’s game rapidly went downhill:

So 1-1 and one of the all-important top two boards in the bag. Ergo was doing very well on board 6, but Peter Lalić and Ian Calvert looked level on top board, while we had by no means given up all hope on boards 3 and 4. All to play for.

Ergo has been an excellent addition to the club this season, playing his first ever competitive rated chess and with a provisional rating of 1200 which probably does not represent his true strength – crucial in the Lauder where a team’s collective rating is not allowed to exceed 10,500: underrated players are gold-dust. Playing White, he had two pieces for a rook in his board 6 game against Mason Thorpe. He was also half an hour up on the clock and in the end that decided it: on the increment, Black played an illegal move, incurring a time penalty but also ensuring further material loss. He resigned, putting Kingston 2-1 up.

Kingston and Coulsdon do battle in a nail-biting Lauder Trophy semi-final. The bunting was not put up specially

Gregor Smith, the exchange down but in what he felt was a holdable position, was having his own time problems against the always competitive Paul Jackson on board 4. Gregor blundered as time trouble approached, and Coulsdon were level. Jon Eckert, who had had a draw offer turned down, was still fighting valiantly on board 5 in a queen and pawn endgame, but Coulsdon’s Martin Faulkner was infiltrating with his queen and a loss was a danger, so realistically Peter Lalić had to conjure up one of his mysterious wins from a level position on board 1 to win the match. How would the sorcerer do it?

Board 1: Ian Calvert v Peter Lalić

Peter’s win put Kingston 3-2 up and we realised that even defeat on board 3 would mean us going through on board count. Jon Eckert fought to the end, but that was indeed the result, so by a hair’s breadth we are through to the final, where we will face last year’s winners Epsom, formidable opponents who have cracked the code of Lauder success. Can we construct another team capable of manufacturing a 3-3 “win”? All resignations in drawn positions will be gratefully accepted.

Stephen Moss, Kingston captain in the Lauder Trophy

Kingston C come close against Staines

Thames Valley division X match played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 29 January 2024

Kingston C really deserved to win this match against Staines B, but were denied at the end in unfortunate circumstances when Sean Tay allowed the fact that his opponent had stopped recording under the five-minute rule to affect his play, in a game he was winning with some comfort up to that point.

Jaden Mistry got the match off to the best possible start with a quickfire victory against Martin Conlon on board 4. Martin’s Sicilian had given him a slight edge in the opening, but he omitted to castle and his position rapidly went downhill when White’s queen and rook launched an assault that led to mate.

Ergo Nobel blundered on board 1 to allow Ye Kyaw to equalise for Staines, but Colin Lyle played an excellent game on board 3 to go into a rook v knight endgame which, in the nature of such endgames, favoured the more mobile piece. 2-1 to Kingston and, with Sean well on top, victory in the match looked inevitable. But when his opponent stopped scoring (as he is allowed to) with just five minutes on the clock, the dynamic of the game changed and poor Sean blundered into a lost rook endgame. He tried hard to save it, but with his king offside it couldn’t be done.

So 2-2 at the end of a very good match, and lots of lessons learned. Most important: if you still have time and your opponent is playing on the increment, don’t try to blitz him. Play good moves that pose (hopefully insurmountable) problems. Don’t let your opponent’s time trouble affect your own play, and don’t worry about the fact that you are scoring and he isn’t. Just play your game. This was one that got away, but if that lesson is learned it will be positive in the end.

Stephen Moss