Dominic Fogg and Miles O’Brien were joint winners of the club’s first evening rapidplay, played atthe Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 12 October 2026
When Kingston moved to the United Reformed Church last season, we decided to start offering rated friendlies at classical time controls to members of the club. This has proved a significant success, thanks to the unstinting work of Ed Mospan – who organises the pairings and rates the games – and fellow club-night organiser Genc Tasbasi.
Monday 12 October saw an important step forward in this plan to offer members more than the usual diet of club matches and casual chess: the inaugural evening rapidplay, played over three rounds as an experiment to see if it could be run alongside two league matches and eight classical rated friendlies.
That meant we had 24 players engaged in league chess, 16 playing friendlies at a time control of 75 minutes and 10 seconds, and another 16 who chose to play in the rapidplay tournament. It meant a very full house, an enormous amount of work for the indefatigable Ed Mospan, and a lot of shushing from me as I tried to keep noise levels down to a reasonable level.
The rapidplay tournament, won jointly by Dominic Fogg and Miles O’Brien with 3/3, was deemed a great success. My only observation was that we needed a fourth round to determine an outright winner. Three rounds at 10 minutes plus a five-second increment meant a fairly early finish, so it should be possible to get at least one more round in and possibly two if the field expands to, say, 24 and an extra round is required to establish a winner.
It would also be possible to adjust the time control to make it a little less blitzy. Again it is a personal opinion and Ed, as controller, will have the final say, but 15+5 strikes me as a better intermediate version of the game between blitz and classical. We will now review the experiment and make any necessary refinements in time for a tournament planned for 9 November.
The rapidplay games are rated and offer serious competition, but they avoid the situation where a major blunder in the opening in a game slated to last three hours means you get a very early finish or an evening of back-to-the-wall torture with no real prospect of reversing the initial error. With a four- or five-round rapidplay, you accept the loss, reset the pieces and go again with even greater determination.
From the New Year, the hope is to make the rapidplays regular events, though with members still being given the option of a classical rated friendly every Monday if they are not engaged in a league match and that is their preference. The club committee will discuss how to combine the different formats to best effect and without causing undue disturbance to matches, especially after 10pm when time trouble kicks in, nerves jangle and brains tend to freeze.
Kingston 4 v Ashtead 2, Surrey League division 4 match played atthe Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 12 October 2026
On paper, Ashtead 2 had a significant advantage over Kingston 4, on the higher boards at least, but you would not have guessed it from the initial balance of the play. Kingston quickly went 1-0 with a rapid win by David Shalom, and Adam Nakar (pictured above, right) accepted an early draw offer from old campaigner Bertie Barlow to maintain the advantage. So far, so good.
Seth Warren got an excellent draw on board 1 against the highly rated Eric Granzelius, and Eion Fox continued his recent good run of form with a draw with Black against Peter Grabaskey on board 6. Could a surprise win be on the cards? In the end, it was close but no cigar.
Dieter McDougall played well against Ashtead captain Adrian Waldock on board 4, but Adrian knew the match was at stake and pressed hard for a win, which he duly obtained, and Chris Perks’ hard-fought win on board 5 against Aytek Koyun in the last game to finish then levelled the match. A fair outcome to a spirited encounter.
Dorking 1 v Kingston 3, Surrey League division 3 matchplayed at Crossways Community Baptist Church, Dorking on 8 October
The Ellam Trophy, division 3 of the Surrey League, is not to be trifled with. It is a tough division, which includes three first teams and a couple of strong second teams. Kingston have a team in the Ellam for the first time in several years, and, since this is our third team, survival will be the name of the game.
We lost our opening fixture 4-2 to Dorking, but were by no means disgraced. Captain Seth Warren (pictured above, right) secured a point with Black on board 3 against Michael Duncan. I was pleased to draw with Anthony Collins on board 3, though would have won if I’d known how to mate with bishop and knight against bare king in the maximum 50 moves (an embarrassing gap in my endgame knowledge; sadly one of many). Adam Nakar secured a more orthodox draw on board 5.
Alexander Chmelev lost a complex bishop endgame to the highly rated Lev Razhnov on board 1, and Miles O’Brien fought hard against the equally capable Oskar Hall with Black on board 2. A good learning exercise for one of Kingston’s very promising juniors. The pivotal game was on board 6, where Aytek Koyun had Black against the experienced Peter Horlock. Aytek, with a well-advanced pawn, had winning chances, but they slipped away in time trouble and in the end, still pressing for a win that probably wasn’t there, he lost.
So 4-2, a score which became 4-1 when Kingston were (perhaps harshly) docked a point for playing young Miles off his provisional ECF rating of 1750 rather than the very pessimistic Surrey estimate of 1350. Seth Warren admitted he had infringed the rules on his debut as captain, but it seems rather unfair to be penalised for being too honest about a player’s ability. Since the match result was not affected, we decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court, but it would be extremely annoying at the end of the season to be relegated by a game point.
Kingston v Guildford, semi-final of the Alexander Cup, played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 5 October 2026
This was a very different Kingston team from the one which beat Guildford and secured a fifth successive Alexander Cup title back in May. We were missing six top-class players from that great match, which makes our achievement in beating a very strong Guildford team by the same score, 6.5-3.5, all the more impressive.
We had the great benefit of IM Supratit Banerjee on board 1 and he played a beautifully orchestrated game to beat Gwilym Price, whose ECF rating is 2330, with Black – a vital victory. Supratit has kindly annotated the game. A tremendous demonstration of his deep analytical strength, maturity and the willingness to question engine evaluations which is the hallmark of the potential super-GM.
IM Supratit Banerjee (left) takes on Guildford’s Gwilym Price in a crucial encounter on board 1
The teams were generally very evenly matched, but we hoped we might have an edge on the top boards and so it proved. David Maycock and Stephen Dishman had an intense battle, but, as time became critical, David’s precision in what was effectively a blitz finish prevailed.
David had White and as always played an interesting line against FM Dishman’s Caro-Kann. Dishman had the better of the middlegame and was squeezing FM Maycock effectively, but time’s wingèd chariot muscled its way into the picture and the Guildford player blundered in time trouble, with David as quick as ever to see the opportunity. But the blunder did not come out of the blue. It emerged from a much subtler error a few moves earlier, and the sequence is instructive.
The battle between FMs Dishman and Maycock was unclear for a long period, but David prevailed in a time scramble
FM Vladimir Li, in his first competitive classical game for a year, showed very little rustiness in beating the highly rated junior Adam Sefton in another Caro-Kann.
FM Vladimir Li made a successful return to competitive chess with a victory over highly rated junior Adam Sefton
Guildford got a point back on board 4, where FM Jon Ady got the better of IM Peter Large in a Nimzo-Larsen Attack which, after some manoeuvring in the early middlegame, suddenly turned into a slugfest. The tactics became bewildering and the evaluation oscillated as time started to run short, but in the end White was overwhelmed and forced to resign, A commendable win for FM Ady with Black – and one which kept Guildford in the hunt.
The encounter between IM Peter Large (right) and FM Jon Ady became a wild tactical battle in which Ady ultimately prevailed
There were two more IMs in action on board 5 – Nigel Povah for Guildford and Kingston’s John Hawksworth. IM Povah had White and went a pawn up, but John had compensation in the shape of bishop v knight and greater activity, and he was able to neutralise the pawn and draw – a very satisfactory result with Black. John has kindly supplied some instructive comments on the game, which we pick up on Black’s 13th move.
John Hawksworth drew with Black against Nigel Povah in the critical battle of the IMs on board 5
Zain Patel and Audrey Kueh also drew on board 6, and by then results appeared to be going our way so we were happy to bag another draw.
Zain Patel drew on board 6 with Guildford’s Audrey Kueh, a result which consolidated Kingston’s advantage
The board 7 encounter between Guildford captain Clive Frostick and Kingston’s Julian Ward, who was also returning to high-level chess after a break, was another draw and the last game to finish. Even though Kingston had already won the match by then, Julian pressed for a win a pawn up in a rook and pawn endgame, but you know what they say about such endings and so it proved.
Julian Ward, who has made a welcome return to chess after a lengthy break, drew with Guildford captain Clive Frostick
A pivotal game was the battle of the juniors on board 8 – Kingston’s Harvey Li against Guildford’s Zac Welling. Harvey is just 12, already rated 2000 elo and is a central player for the club’s future. His victory here, after an opening from which he emerged slightly worse, marked the moment when we believed we were going to win the match. The key moment in the game is shown below. Black’s Slav Defence had given him a decent advantage, but the outcome hinged on one blunder and Harvey’s sharp eye for a tactical opportunity.
Twelve-year-old Harvey Li produced a neat tactic to secure a vital victory against Guildford’s Zac Welling
On board 9, Alex Warren and Kingston’s Peter Hasson had a solid draw – another good result as the Kingston man had Black.
Peter Hasson was rock solid with Black on board 9 and secured an important draw against Alex Warren
On board 10, Jasper Tambini played in his usual aggressive, devil-may-care style, but Timothy Foster was up to every challenge and that also ended peacefully in the position shown below.
Jasper Tambini’s chess is as bright as his wardrobe, but Guildford’s Timothy Foster survived the technicolour assault
A wonderful occasion, recorded photographically by John Saunders (to whom thanks as ever). Thanks, too, for support from Kingston honorary president John Foley, just back from the Olympiad in Samarkand wearing a very fetching Uzbek hat and proudly clutching his Fide chess educator of the year award. Many congratulations to John from everyone at the club on this richly deserved award.
John Foley, back from the Olympiad in Samarkand, shows off his award – and Uzbek hat
We now progress, rather rapidly, to the final, where we will meet Epsom or Wimbledon, who contest the other semi-final. Only five clubs entered the Alexander Cup this year, reflecting what appears to be a growing gap between big clubs and smaller clubs who struggle to put out competitive 10-board teams.
This trend will be something for the league to consider, especially with the recent sad demise of Wallington Chess Club after being in operation for more than 140 years. Their decline and now disappearance is a warning to clubs everywhere. You cannot rest for a moment. Checkmate may be just around the corner.
Kingston v Guildford, semi-final of the Alexander Cup played atthe Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 5 October 2026
This was the board 1 match-up between Gwilym Price, a very capable player with an ECF rating of 2330, and IM Supratit Banerjee (pictured above left) in the semi-final of the Alexander Cup. Twelve-year-old Supratit has kindly supplied the annotations, which underline not just the depth of his chess thinking but the clarity and precision of his writing. Supratit won the game and Kingston went on to win the match 6.5-3.5.
Kingston 5 v Wimbledon 3, Surrey League division 5 match played atthe Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 28 September 2026
This was a great start to the season for Ed Mospan’s Kingston 5 team. Despite being heavily outrated by Wimbledon 3, they achieved a 3-3 draw, with commendable wins against higher-rated opponents by Moamen Hammad with White on board 2 and Parisa Patel with Black on board 3.
A rapid win by Ethan Fox on board 6 accounted for the third point, and also gave Ethan time to take the photograph above of his brother Eoin (White) losing a hard-fought game against Wimbledon’s Ben Widdicombe.
Well done to Ed, who captains Kingston 4 and 5 in the Surrey League, and all his players on a very promising beginning to the 2026/27 campaign.
Jasper Tambini won the 22nd edition of the monthly blitz at All Saints Church in Kingston on 30 September 2026 on tie-break from IM Peter Large, with both scoring 5/6
Jasper Tambini (pictured above) is always competitive at the All Saints Blitz, and it was his turn to triumph when the tournament resumed after its summer break. He lost to Chris Briscoe in round 3 – Jasper reckoned he had been swindled – but otherwise recorded five wins against very good opponents to finish on 5/6.
IM Peter Large, a multiple winner of the Blitz, had the same score, but lost out on tie-break. At the end of the tournament, Peter could be seen poring over exactly how the tie-break works. Strength of opponents seems to be the key, but I share Peter’s qualms about tie-breaks and have yet to find one that truly satisfies me. What a wonderful competitor Peter is. We can learn so much from his professionalism, limitless love for the game and the standards he sets himself.
Peter also scored five wins and a loss, with Robin Haldane claiming his scalp in round 5. “I think I have only beaten Peter once before,” Robin said later, “so the score must now be about 15-2 to him. Peter played the same line of the Sicilian against me where in the past I have swapped queens and got a slightly worse position and he has outplayed me. This time I improvised over the board, keeping the queens on, and managed to find some cheapo tactics where Peter gave up queen for rook and bishop, but had two very strong bishops threatening my king on the diagonals. It was very double-edged and could have gone either way, but I got lucky and managed to get a forced mate just before he got one on me. Having put a lot of effort into that game, I got completely outplayed in the last game [against Jasper] where I played passively against a London-type set-up.”
Robin is unfailingly modest and courteous, but he should never be underestimated in these tournaments. He is a fierce and highly creative competitor whose great strength derives from his inexhaustible desire to play, learn and innovate. Like Peter, Robin is always challenging himself to improve. Neither ever plays rote moves or a routine game. They never go through the motions.
Robin came joint third on 4/6 with Chris Briscoe, Epsom president Marcus Gosling and Alan Bracher, a strong player (he played for Cambridge in the Varsity match in 1968) who has returned to chess after a lengthy absence. Alan has a classical, highly principled positional style and crushed your correspondent in round 3, reducing my pieces to immobility. I also lost a (metaphorically) violent game against Alan Hayward in the final round to finish on a somewhat dismal (though thoroughly deserved) 2/6.
Thanks as ever to Edward Mospan for running the show and to All Saints Church for hosting us in their delightful Heritage Room. We do it all again, God willing, on Wednesday 28 October.
Stephen Moss is captain of Kingston Chess Club
Final standings
1: Jasper Tambini (Kingston) 5/6 (winner on tie-break) 2: Peter Large (Kingston) 5/6 3-6: Alan Bracher (Kingston) 4/6, Chris Briscoe (Surbiton) 4/6, Marcus Gosling (Epsom) 4/6, Robin Haldane (Streatham) 4/6
Kingston chair Peter Andrews won the well-attended seven-round blitz which kicked off the new season at the United Reformed Church in central Kingstonon 7 September 2026
We expected about 30 players at the opening blitz of the new season. In the event we got almost 50, and players were still streaming in when the tournament was due to start at 7.30pm. Kingston treasurer and event controller Genc Tasbasi, who signed up a stack of new club members on the night, dealt with the rush with aplomb (amid occasional panic when the pairings went wrong) and we eventually got going at about 7.40pm.
Young Harvey Li, a newcomer to the club, played superbly and was on 4/4 when homework and an early school start meant he had to withdraw. He was given a prize for his achievements to that point. I filled in thereafter, scoring 2.5/3. Doesn’t that make Harvey and me joint winners? (I did not receive a prize!)
The usual suspects – Jasper Tambini, David Rowson, John Bussmann, Joshua Pirgon (another new Kingston member), Stephen Lovell, Martyn Jones, Richmond stalwart Maks Gajowniczek – all performed well. They were never far away from the top of the leaderboard and tussled with each other as the evening wore on.
Alan Bracher, returning to chess after a very long break, showed his skill is still intact, finishing joint eighth. A tremendous performance given he has hardly touched a chess piece for 50 years and that we were playing at quite a sharp time control – five minutes with a three-second increment.
Alan is a very strong player who played for Cambridge in the Varsity match in 1968 before disappearing overseas. Now he is back and we will hope to see him at some point in Kingston colours, though at present he says his preference is for casual chess.
Fine performances, too, by Ben Hambridge, yet another new Kingston member; Kingston veteran Peter Roche; Mark Sheridan, taking time off from the Proms, where he has been playing cello all summer with the BBC Symphony Orchestra; and the mercurial Jimmy Kew, another recent joiner.
We have, though, left the best till last. After being, in his words, “smashed” by Siddarth Ramaraju in the opening round, Kingston chair Peter Andrews sailed through the rest of the tournament with 6/6 to pip Jasper Tambini and David Rowson, who finished joint second on 5.5/6. Another triumph for the so-called “Swiss Gambit”, where an opening loss in the first round eases a player’s path thereafter.
Absolutely not deliberate on Peter’s part, in case you draw any such inference. He was probably discombobulated by not knowing, in the opening confusion, whether he would get a place in the tournament. “I was withdrawn to make room for more players when we didn’t have enough clocks, then re-entered to replace no-shows, leading to confusion,” he explained afterwards.
Oddly, he appears twice on the results list – at the top and the bottom (this may be a first in chess history, coming first and last in the same tournament). The enfeebled Peter Andrews loses his first game and appears to withdraw. A second, emboldened Peter Andrews then appears, having donned his Superman outfit in the lavatory at the venue, and sweeps through the rest of the competition to secure victory. “The wrong Peter Andrews was deleted,” he said afterwards. As he said to Jasper, “You can never have enough Peter Andrews.”
“Fix”, I cried, but to no avail. It is true that Jasper’s opponents, in particular, were rather more testing – which is why the Swiss Gambit can be effective – but we take nothing away from Peter. It was a well-deserved victory, achieved with dynamic play, and earning him the box of chocolates which he had brought along as first prize. A memorable (if exhausting) way to mark the start of the season.
Stephen Moss is captain of Kingston Chess Club
Leading scores
1 Peter Andrews 6/7 2-3 Jasper Tambini and David Rowson 5.5/7 4-7 John Bussmann, Joshua Pirgon, Stephen Lovell, Martyn Jones 5/7 8-13 Maks Gajowniczek, Alan Bracher, Ben Hambridge, Alex McTavish, Peter Roche, Liam O’Sullivan 4.5/7
Former British champion Harry Grieve, who recently gained the title of grandmaster, took on 26 of Kingston’s finest in a simultaneous display. It proved a tough night for the GM
A few days before he played in the British championship, where he performed strongly and finished joint fourth, grandmaster Harry Grieve (who won the British as an FM in 2022) played against 26 members and friends of the Kingston club in a simultaneous display at the United Reformed Church in central Kingston, the club’s home. It turned out to be a memorable evening.
Harry won 13 games, drew eight and lost five. The Kingston victors on the night were Peter Andrews, David Rowson, Martyn Jones, Jasper Tambini and Tom Mayers, and we look at their games below. Harry, who played from 7pm until well after 11pm and missed his last train home, was a great sport throughout and philosophical about the reverses.
One of his conquerors suggested it had been a mistake for Harry to have opted for aggressive openings – Harry had White on all boards – and complicated games. Why not keep it simple and technical? “It’s definitely true about the complications,” Harry said afterwards, “and many of the games I lost were as a result of losing control of those. On the other hand, several games I drew were from more dry positions where my opponents played solidly, and having more long endgame-type games also doesn’t seem ideal for the strategy. So maybe the aggressive style would have been more successful if I’d finished off a few boards more quickly. I think it took until 9.30 to get the first result!”
Kingston chair Peter Andrews was cock-a-hoop about his victory over Harry, and we start with his game. The annotations are by Peter.
Another Kingston stalwart to win was David Rowson, who afterwards said: “I was very pleased with my game, though Stockfish finds fault with the moves of course. I felt sorry for Harry. He probably didn’t expect quite such a tough evening. The psychology of playing a GM in a simul is interesting. I at first assumed that he had a deep insight into every position, but after a while I realised that he didn’t have the time or focus (playing 26 games at once) for this and was generally relying on his intuition, which was bound to let him down sometimes as every position has its own special features, which can only be discovered through pretty deep analysis.” Here is David’s game, with his comments:
Another Kingston winner on the night was Martyn Jones, who has a terrific debut season for the club last year and followed it up with a clear-eyed win here. (He recently became a father, but the sleepless nights do not seem to have dulled his tactical skills or positional awareness.) Martyn’s game is below, with some brief comments by him.
Jasper Tambini always plays aggressively and is a challenge for strong players in one-on-one chess, let alone in a simul. In his early 20s, playing in the 2013 British championship, Jasper downed grandmaster and former British champion Chris Ward in a thrilling game. Here Jasper claims another GM scalp, though afterwards Harry said he thought his resignation had been premature (it had ben a long night!).
The fifth player to win against Harry was young Tom Mayers – a superb result for him and a great boost so early in his chess career. Tom has provided extensive notes on the game below, and his annotations capture the unique pressures of playing in a simul and having to play at the simul-giver’s pace.
In retrospect, I realise that pitting Harry against 26 players, quite a few of them rated 2000-plus, was a bit unfair. He was clearly keen to spend more time thinking about complicated middlegame positions, but the clock was ticking and we didn’t want to finish at 2am. If this had been a Sunday-afternoon simul, spread over six or seven hoyrs, Harry would almost certainly have done better. As it was, as the night wore on, Harry had to speed up, errors were made and good players were able to exploit them.
The collective strength of the opposition also told. Harry couldn’t knock out the weaker players fast enough to put time pressure (though ever quicker visits) on the players who were doing well. In that sense a simul is a real team effort. Finally, many of the strongest players were seated together in one row, and they seemed to draw strength from the resistance each was putting up. They could see Harry had problems on a neighbouring board and that emboldened them further. Giving simuls against a large group of strong, motivated players is not easy.
Various prizes were awarded to players who had beaten Harry or achieved a draw, but counterintuitively Harry awarded the main prize, a copy of Stefan Zweig’s Chess Novel (also often called The Royal Game) to Richmond chair Alastair Armstrong. “I was really impressed by some of the creative resources Alastair found to complicate the game from a lost position.” Harry explained. We end by showing the prize-winning game, with a description of the rollercoaster by Alastair. It’s good to end on a game Harry won, because his play throughout was dynamic, and win, lose or draw he remained phlegmatic and boundlessly engaging.
The great thing was that Harry’s tough evening did not affect his play at the British, where he was in contention for the title until losing to tournament winner, 17-year-old GM Shreyas Royal, with Black in the final round. Maybe we can even claim some credit for sharpening him up for the tournament. Maybe…
Kingston members spend a fascinating weekend playing chess with the public at beautiful Ham House, next to the River Thames in Petersham, Surrey
The National Trust is evidently keen to offer more activities at its gorgeous historical properties. Thus it was that on the weekend of 8/9 August, a small group of Kingston Chess Club members took a giant-sized chess set and a few smaller boards, and set up in a well-shaded avenue of trees at the early 17th-century Ham House in Petersham, near Richmond, to demonstrate chess to visitors young and old.
There were lots of games being played on the nearby lawns – badminton, bowls, croquet – and the chess fitted in perfectly. The giant set, as usual, proved a great draw, with some tremendous battles between parents and children, Kingston’s “experts” chipping in occasionally to assist the latter. A lovely occasion in a perfect setting. Well done to Kingston club secretary Seth Warren and the National Trust for making it possible.
