Tag Archives: Alexander Cup

Kingston wins Alexander Cup for fifth time in a row to break historic record

Kingston v Guildford, final of the Alexander Cup, played at the Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead on 26 May 2026

From left: John Hawksworth, Silverio Abasolo, Ash Stewart, David Maycock, Peter Lalić, Peter Large, Luca Buanne, Zain Patel, Ameet Ghasi, Mike Healey, John Foley (captain) (photograph: Genc Tasbasi)

Kingston overpowered Guildford by 6½-3½ to win the Alexander Cup, the Surrey team knockout championship, for an unprecedented five times in a row. Guildford put up a good fight and at one point there was panic in the Kingston operations room that the match might go down to tie-break. In the end, however, the higher-rated Kingston team pulled through to win by a comfortable margin.

John Foley (left) receiving the Alexander Cup from Graham Alcock of the Surrey County Chess Association

The match was played during the hottest heatwave ever recorded in May. The temperature in Kingston reached 35C and there was concern about the welfare of the players. Propitiously, Tom Barton from the host club Ashtead had arranged for us to play in one of the rooms at the venue which was more shaded from direct sunlight. James Toon from Guildford brought a large fan. Kingston set up a cool drinks station. We also sprayed water mist over the proceedings much as a priest might spray holy water over the congregation. The overall result was that the playing conditions were blessedly tolerable, if not entirely comfortable.

The final was a repeat of last year when we beat Guildford 8-2. We turned out the same team, replacing Vladimir Li (who is taking a chess sabbatical) with Zain Patel. Guildford were missing some of their stronger players. James Toon had to substitute for Seb Galer, who was delayed due to inevitable travel disruption. Nevertheless, the Guildford top boards put up a tremendous fight. Kingston won the match due to strength in depth, with IM John Hawksworth on bottom board.

The first game to finish was a short draw on board 3 between Peter Lalić and Nigel Povah after an unusual Queen’s Pawn, Mason variation. It was not a drawish draw. Maybe both players felt it was too complicated and too hot to continue.

The next two results were from the lads of King’s College School, Wimbledon. Zain Patel won on board 9 from the position below where he has two pieces for a rook and Luca Buanne drew on board 7. [2-1]


After sunset, the match started to hot up. The tension was mounting, with lots of players short of time. John Hawksworth won a pawn out of the opening with a painfully remembered tactic and then won the exchange to present us with another point. [3-1]

Silverio Abasolo is always a star performer at the big matches – finals and 4NCL. He was White against Tim Foster on board 6 and held the advantage in the position below. Tim was very short of time, which meant Silverio was in his element. Tim was soon playing on the increment and Silverio responded to each move almost immediately, putting huge pressure on his opponent who could not cope, giving Silverio the point. [4-1]


“Was 35C too warm for you, Silverio?” “No, I’m used to 40C in the Philippines.“

So far so good, but things were looking decidedly dodgy for Kingston on several boards. Club chair Peter Andrews expressed the possibility that we might lose on tie-break. A gloom descended through the water mist. The positions for David Maycock and Michael Healey seemed hopeless. The main talking issue was board 4 where Peter Large had gone for a brilliancy prize, having sacrificed the kitchen sink followed by the bath. As captain it was my responsibility to assess Peter’s position to quell the nervous brigade of Kingston followers. Up to now I had kept out of the playing room because I didn’t want to add another 100W body heat. I couldn’t see how Mark Josse was going to defend the onslaught, so I dutifully reported back that Peter was winning. Of this, more below.

Ameet Ghasi delivered the fifth point, which ensured we could not lose (other than on board count!). It was a game of manoeuvre rather than fireworks. Ameet was fresh from winning the annual Beer and Blitz on Saturday at the King’s Head in Moscow Road ahead of a dozen grandmasters and other Kingstonians, including David Maycock, Zain Patel and Stephen Moss. This invitation-only event, sponsored by David Norwood, was set up in 2014 as a celebration in memoriam for those chess players who passed away in the previous year. [5-1]

Only needing half a point to win the match, one might have thought that the remaining players would have been delighted to claim the credit for getting the ball over the line. However, chess players don’t operate like this – as all chess captains complain. In a completely closed position with the pawns locked together, James Toon, the Guildford captain offered a draw. Ash Stewart’s first response was to decline, causing at least two raised eyebrows in the Kingston dressing room. Perhaps this is due to the generally held suspicion that offering a draw is a sign of weakness. Anyhow, this state of affairs was corrected by a closer observation of the position and Ash later obtained the vital half point. Victory was ours! [5½ -1½].

Silverio Abasolo (foreground, left) goes for the kill against Tim Foster in a key game on board 6

By this time, Peter Large had thrown not only the sink and the bath but also the bathroom cabinet and the soap bottle into the attack. However, it was to no avail. Mark Josse had defended accurately, even if covered in suds. Sometimes defending is easy because the moves are forced whereas the attacker has to find new ideas to keep the momentum going. After the game, I agreed with Peter that he would be eligible for the Near Brilliancy award – a concept that almost works but not quite. Quite a lot of us would qualify for this honour. [5½ -2½]

David Maycock had been looking good as White against Gwilym Price, but lost the exchange somewhere. Gwilym kept his composure as he played out the RvB endgame. David and Gwilym have delicious encounters. David won in April when Kingston secured the Surrey League title and back in November 2025 in the first leg. [5½ -3½]

We witnessed the rare sight of not only FM David Maycock but also IM Peter Large losing a game. David has scored an amazing 16.5/17 this season and Peter a splendid 14.5/17. Statistically, both of these very consistent players losing in the same club match will occur only about once every seven years.

The result of the final game to finish was a surprise. Mike Healey had been in a lost position the exchange down. He looked dejected. He folded up his scoresheet and tossed it aside. He put his pen away. He was waiting to be put out of his misery. When he came into the post-mortem room, I was about to chalk up the result when he announced to general astonishment that he had won. The thing about Mike is that he is a tactician at heart and given a chance of counterplay he can produce a miracle. 

Congratulations to the Kingston team on winning the Alexander Cup five times in a row. Looking at the records, we can see another ambition. We have won the Alexander Cup on nine occasions, whereas Redhill have won it 10 times and Wimbledon have won it 13 times. So we need to win the Alexander Cup five more times to be the overall highest performing knockout team in Surrey history.

Kingston Supporters Club

One aspect of this match was the strong turnout of Kingston supporters who doubled as reserves. We showed this support by immediately leaving the venue on move one and seeking sustenance in SuperFish next door. Alan Scrimgour sought the local hostelry, the Leg, to quench his thirst.

Front left: Peter Andrews, John Foley. Back left: Julian Way, Fabio Buanne, Vladimir Li, Stephen Moss

When the supporters gathered back at the venue, we realised that we would make a decent Alexander Cup team in our own right. Club researchers are going to investigate whether a club can submit two teams into the Alexander Cup.

John Foley, Kingston Chess Club president and Alexander Cup captain

Kingston overcome Coulsdon to power into Alexander Cup final

Alexander Cup semi-final between Kingston and CCF (Coulsdon), played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston on 30 May 2022

Kingston team: Top: Maycock, Taylor, Lalić, Jogstad, Rowson, Li, Healey
Front: Andrews, Scrimgour, Foley (captain), Way
Coulsdon team: (Top) Paul Jackson, Ian Calvert, Chris Howell, Mark Gray, Matt Darville
Adam Faulkner, Martin Faulkner, Nick Edwards, Balahan Bharat Kumar (Chino Atako was yet to arrive)

Kingston ran out 7-3 victors in a spirited match against CCF (Coulsdon) in which Kingston did not lose a game. Kingston are now in the final of the Alexander Cup for the first time since 2018. The previous occasion that Kingston won the Alexander Cup, the open knockout for teams in the Surrey League, was 47 years ago in its centenary year of 1975/76. The final against Wimbledon will be played at a neutral venue. No date has been set, but it is likely to be held at the start of next season in September. This year’s competition was beset by Covid delays affecting the fixtures.

The final score does not do justice to the hard-fought encounter. The Kingston team outrated Couldson, especially on the lower boards. However, ratings count for little in knockouts, and the two Coulsdon juniors on boards 9 and 10 played well, with the experienced Kingston players unable to find a weakness. Six of the 10 games were drawn, and three of Kingston’s four wins came with the white pieces.

Our innovation during this match was to use a whiteboard to display the results as they came in. This ensured that all the players were aware of the match situation, which is a vital consideration when offering or accepting draws. Several of the players made nervous glances towards the board, wondering if their game would turn out to be match-critical.

Mark Gray (left) and Martin Jogstad agree a draw after a tense encounter on board 1

On top board, Martin Jogstad (Kingston) and Mark Gray (Coulsdon) had a tense encounter in the last game to finish. Martin tried a kingside attack from a semi-slav. However, Mark deftly fended off the threat and launched a counter-attack on the queenside. They had a queen and four pawns each. Martin was not tempted to enter a pawn race because his king was vulnerable to checks, whereas Mark’s king could find shelter. So the game ended with perpetual check, the outcome of the match already determined.

Mike Healey decided to complicate against Chino Atako

On board 2, Chino Atako always seemed in control as white in a Catalan against Mike Healey. This may have been an illusion as the engine indicated otherwise. As they reached the heavy pieces endgame, Chino had an ominous extra outside passed pawn. Mike decide to complicate – for which he needs little excuse in normal circumstances – by launching his kingside pawns at Chino. After the queens and most pawns were swapped off, Mike was able to hold the rook endgame.

Chris Howell contemplating Peter Lalić’s all-purpose 1. h3 opening

On board 3, Peter Lalić and Chris Howell were level going into the endgame. Peter’s rook was more active but unable to do very much until Chris unwisely advanced his kingside pawns. It is always tempting to “do something” rather than wait patiently. The pawns became vulnerable, and Peter was left with a rook and the g and h pawns against a rook. There was a nice passage of play when Chris offered his rook which, if captured, would lead to stalemate. Peter found a way out of the swizz-attempt and concluded the game expertly. It should be noted that Magnus Carlsen was unable to convert this exact ending against Vladimir Kramnik in a blitz game in 2013.

David Maycock focused on getting active squares for his pieces

Board 4 comprised positional manoeuvring by Martin Faulkner and David Maycock in the exchange variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. The game was level until Martin unaccountably allowed a knight fork which won the exchange.

Vladimir Li saw a winning rook sacrifice

On board 5, Vladimir Li didn’t get the start he wanted against Ian Calvert, who sprang the fashionable Scandinavian for which he had prepared well. Whilst the position was still balanced, Ian offered to exchange queens, but Vladimir responded by a surprise rook sacrifice against the king. The sacrifice could not be accepted and the rook remained behind enemy lines, wreaking havoc.

White to play (solution at end of report).

Nick Edwards, the Coulsdon captain, let the advantage slip away in his game

On board 6, Nick Edwards held the advantage for most of the game in an Old Indian. He doubled his rooks on the open h-file against David Rowson’s king. It looked like curtains for the Kingston player. However, just when it looked like Nick was going to break through, he shifted his attention to the queenside. He missed a winning check on move 31, and the game petered out in a draw soon after.

Julian Way (right) played effortlessly against Matt Danville (Coulsdon)

On board 7, Julian Way played the game of the match. Facing another Scandinavian, he played classically to prompt a weakness on the king’s file. Julian doubled rooks and, when the time was right, shifted them to the h-file, where they penetrated with devastating effect.

As usual, the top four boards were the last to finish

Solution to problem: 17. Rxb7! If the king captures the rook, then 18. Rb1+ leads to mate in three. Black captured the queen, but after the zwischenschachs 18. Rc7+ Kb8 19. Rb1+ Ka8 20. gxf3 white is winning.

John Foley, Kingston Alexander Cup captain