Recent Posts

  • Kingston A whitewash depleted Wimbledon
    A whitewash is rare in the very competitive Thames Valley division 1, but it happened here. Wimbledon brought a depleted side shorn of their five strongest players to Fortress Willoughby and were duly trounced 6-0. They fought hard, especially with the White pieces, but the rating disparity was just too great.
  • Chess resolutions for 2025
    Stop blundering, get better at time management, study openings, study endgames, study anything, be a different sort of player, be a different sort of person, win a world championship, find God … Kingston members outline what they hope to achieve this year.
  • When Capablanca came to Kingston
    Like most chess clubs, Kingston from time to time invites leading players to give simultaneous displays. It is not known how much members had to contribute to play against the starriest simultaneous performer in the club’s history, but whatever it was, it must have been worth it for the experience, as the player in question was José Raúl Capablanca.
  • Lovell the hero as Kingston snatch draw at Surbiton
    Hubris is the word which springs to mind about this match. Excessive pride, dangerous overconfidence, foolish complacency. When I saw the Surbiton team sheet, shorn of several first-team stars, I thought we were home and hosed, done and dusted, sure to win. I would have estimated the likely margin at about 5-2. I was utterly, completely, ludicrously wrong.
  • Kingston A secure vital win at league leaders Ealing
    On Monday 16 December we visited Ealing for our second Thames Valley division 1 match. Last season we had beaten them away, but lost to them at home, so we expected a tough contest. I was ready to enjoy the unaccustomed luxury of being a non-playing captain, able to observe the match without any responsibility for the moves, but in the event the closeness of the games meant that I felt almost as nervous as if I was playing.
  • Mospan’s army mop up at Coulsdon
    For the second week in succession, Ed Mospan’s travelling army got a win at one of the more distant outposts on the Surrey circuit. After a fine victory at Guildford last week, they faced Coulsdon 4 and once again emerged triumphant.
  • Ashley Stewart (Kingston) v Alan Perkins (Ealing)
    This was the board 3 game in a crucial match between Ealing A and Kingston A. Ealing were top of Thames Valley division 1 when this match was played and our 4-2 away victory put down a marker that we intend to make a vigorous defence of our Thames Valley title. Ash’s victory over distinguished veteran Alan Perkins was a key part of our success. Ash only joined Kingston this year, and this was a welcome first league win for the club, especially coming in such a significant and closely fight encounter between two very strong teams.
  • Time to get back on the horse
    Alicia Mason hadn’t played in a major Fide-rated tournament since she was traumatised by a bad loss 12 years ago. So how would re-immersion at the London Chess Classic go?
  • Ashtead give Kingston 1 a fight (and a fright)
    A somewhat depleted Kingston team nevertheless outrated newly promoted Ashtead on all boards. We are, however, far too experienced to expect an easy match, and this was confirmed by the early results – there weren’t any, and it became clear that most games were heading for time trouble, where, as we have already seen this season, anything can happen.

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