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 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 2 v Kingston 1, Surrey League division 1 match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 28 September 2026

Kingston are in the happy (or should that be unhappy?) position of having two teams in division 1 of the Surrey League this season. League rules dictate that, to stop any manipulation later in the season, they have to play each other before more conventional fixtures against rival clubs get under way.

This was the second meeting of the first and second teams this season – Kingston 1 won the first match by 6.5 to 1.5 – and on top board were FM David Maycock (above left) for Kingston 1 and IM John Hawksworth for Kingston 2. No quarter was asked and none given. Given that the game had a rather unsatisfactory denouement (not wholly in his favour), John has very sportingly – but also, in his words, as a “cathartic exercise” – annotated the game.

Kingston A v Hammersmith A, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 9 March 2026

This was the board 1 game between FMs Michael Fernandez and Supratit Banerjee (pictured above) in the recent match between Hammersmith and Kingston in Thames Valley division 1 – an encounter that was likely to prove crucial in deciding who would win the 2025/26 title. Both clubs had assembled strong teams, with these two players leading the formidable line-ups. It was a terrific 116-move struggle, ending with a rare king, bishop and knight v king checkmate.

The distinguished chess writer and historian John Saunders, former editor of both British Chess Magazine and Chess, has kindly annotated the game. “Supratit’s play,” he says, “was impressively [MIchael] Adams-like. Then it got away from him a bit, but at no time was it easy to win, and his sheer energy and determination were remarkable.” Sometimes one has to pinch oneself to remember that Supratit is just 12 years old. What a talent! The Kingston club are very fortunate to have him as a player in local league chess and 4NCL.

Coulsdon v Kingston, semi-final of the Alexander Cup (board 10), played at Coulsdon Chess Club, 84-90 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon on 9 February 2026

Image: Coulsdon Chess Club

Kingston Chess Club has been riding the crest of a wave. We have won the Alexander Cup, Surrey’s premier team knockout competition, for the last four seasons, equalling the longest sequence ever achieved by any club. Now the imperative is to supersede that record and become the first club to win five in a row.

We faced Coulsdon in the semi-final. This was a repeat the 2022 semi-final where I sensibly acted as non-playing captain. This time I performed three roles: chauffeur, team captain and player. I do not recommend this level of commitment because it multiplies the stress levels. At least I was only driving one passenger through dark, rainy Surrey in the rush hour.

Club captain Stephen Moss had taken on the task of organising team logistics. Stephen’s role was to be a driver, provide moral support and be the relaxed if excitable match commentator on the club’s WhatsApp feed. He announced he would never have the guts to play in such an important match – what if he messed up in the final critical game? In a twist of fate, Stephen nevertheless was obliged to join the team when one of our top players was caught somewhere between Croydon and Hades on the railway network. So my own misgivings about taking on multiple roles must pale compared to what Stephen must have felt, as described in his match report.

Club chair Peter Andrews invited me to publish this game reflecting that not all rook endings are the same. I have something of a reputation for my endgame technique – sometimes managing to squeeze out an advantage or avoid a loss. No doubt this is in comparison to my narrow opening repertoire and my preference of avoiding tactical mêlées in the middle game.

I was White against Nick Edwards, who had been in good form lately having drawn with Jasper Tambini the previous week and having won his previous three games against Peter Lee (the former British champion), Paul Dupré (the Surrey ratings officer who beat Chris Briscoe a few weeks ago), and the rising junior Ashwin Gopikrishna. I didn’t know about this run until afterwards, so it didn’t affect my choice of opening. After my customary London System opening, we reached a level endgame which is when it got interesting. I was determined to play a strategic no-risk rook endgame.

Maidenhead A v Kingston A, Thames Valley League division 1 match played at St Luke’s Community Hall, Maidenhead on 12 January 2026

This game was played between Kingston board 1 David Maycock, who is an FM, and Maidenhead board 1, Matthew Wadworth, a GM. David had lost both his games playing for CSC/Kingston 1 at 4NCL on the previous two days and had been left disconsolate by the experience. Now he had to trek to Maidenhead from south-west London to face grandmaster Matthew Wadsworth, who had got the better of him in their two previous encounters. David was delayed on a train and arrived at the board 20 minutes late for the game. The auguries were not good, but he proceeded to win, playing, in the words of fellow Kingston FM Vladimir Li, “like a machine” once GM Wadsworth had made a critical slip. John Saunders, associate editor of Chess Magazine and a former Welsh international player, has kindly annotated the game.

Evening Standard 10th Islington Open, played at the Islington Green Youth Centre, Prebend Street, London N1 on 20 December 1974

We don’t have many games of our long-time top Kingston board Ken Inwood. This is a notable game where Ken succumbed to the dynamic Four Pawns Attack of Alekhine’s Defence. The game was originally published in Chess magazine in January 1975. It is sourced from John Saunders’ historic database resource for chess in Britain. The winner Stuart Fancy later moved to Papua New Guinea, where he became a member of their Olympiad team.

Source: CHESS, January 1975, p110

Hounslow v Kingston, Thames Valley Knockout match played at the Royal British Legion, Hounslow on 10 November 2025

Photograph: Jasper Tambini (top right), having won his game, watches the Moss-Fincham finale

This game was the best of the match between Hounslow and Kingston in the Thames Valley Knockout. It answers the question about the difference between a strong player (over 2000 rating) and a regular club player. Jasper deploys an opening – the Grand Prix Attack – which is full of danger for his unsuspecting opponent. Black allows White to drive a stake at f6 into the king’s position, after which the mating attack is inevitable.

The final of the Wernick Cup, played at Surbiton Chess Club on 17 September 2025

The Wernick Cup is tier 4 of the Surrey League individual championship, which takes place each summer. Fourteen-year-old Jaden Mistry, a promising Kingston junior, had swept through his qualifying pool, winning all eight of his games . He then defeated another of the four pool winners, Qutbuddin Syed, to reach the final against Epsom junior Maalav Chhaya. This is the game which secured Jaden his well-deserved title. The photograph above shows him receiving the (slightly battered) Wernick Cup from Ashtead captain and south-west London chess stalwart Bertie Barlow at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston on 3 November. Many thanks to Bertie for bringing the trophy over to Kingston and making the presentation to Jaden.

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.