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Maycock stars as Kingston overwhelm Richmond

Thames Valley League division 1 match played at the Adelaide, Teddington, on 8 November 2022

The clash between Kingston A v Richmond A was eagerly anticipated, and it fully lived up to the billing. On board 1, Kingston’s David Maycock was White against IM Gavin Wall. As usual, Maycock fell into time trouble, but even playing on a 10-second increment doesn’t faze him and he got the better of the tactical melee which erupted in the middle game. Both kings were in imminent danger of being compromised, but Maycock’s attack was just the speedier and Wall resigned.

Lengthy analysis by the two players in the bar afterwards suggested Wall’s resignation was premature – retrospectively, he thought he had drawing chances. Maycock concurred, though he described the position that would have resulted if Wall had carried on as “pleasant”. Maycock has started playing for Wall’s Richmond team in the London League, so the analysis was mutually generous. These two clubs, based on either side of Kingston bridge, are so close that there is a certain incestuousness among the personnel, though happily that doesn’t dampen the competitive edge.

David Maycock (left) won a thrilling game against Gavin Wall, though analysis showed resignation was premature

Elsewhere, things were a little less frenetic. On board 6, Peter Andrews with Black won a pawn out of the opening in a Queens Gambit Accepted and never really let go of the advantage. His opponent, Richmond captain Maks Gajowniczek, had compensation in the form of a slight initiative, but Andrews quickly neutralised it, traded down to a knight endgame, won a second pawn and smoothly converted, though he complained later that in his urge to simplify he had missed the chance to win a piece and thus wrap up the game a good deal earlier.

Peter Andrews (right) went a pawn up in the opening against Maks Gajowniczek and never relinquished his grip

On board 3, Kingston newcomer Silverio Abasolo won a tremendous attacking game against Andrew Hebron, building up an overwhelming position with the Four Pawns Attack against Hebron’s King’s Indian. Playing with great verve, Abasolo dominated a series of sharp tactical battles, won the exchange and forced resignation in 25 moves. An exemplary display by a player who promises great things for Kingston.

KIngston newcomer Silverio Abasolo (centre) swept to victory on board 3 with a series of sharp tactics

Vladimir Li, playing Black on board 4, also built up a powerful pawn centre against the experienced Chris Baker, though Baker fought back stoutly and had a chance to equalise when Li offered a knight sac. Baker turned it down – taking it would have led to an attack that looked dangerous but seems to result in a perpetual – and thereafter in a time scramble his position steadily deteriorated. In the end he lost on time, but the situation was already irretrievable.

On board 5, Kingston captain David Rowson took on the fast-rising Maxim Dunn, whose recent record in a variety of leagues is tremendous. Dunn, playing a Sicilian Dragon, activated his pieces powerfully, lined up his rooks on the g-file and was bearing down on White’s king. He was also dominating the a8-h1 diagonal with queen and bishop, but made one fatal mistake – putting his bishop, which Rowson had dislodged from d5, on h1, assuming his attack was unstoppable. Rowson manoeuvred his f-pawn to break the connection between queen and bishop, and the castled king was able to capture the stranded piece.

“My win was (without false modesty) almost totally undeserved, as I played the opening and early middle game horribly,” said Rowson later, “but the trick which enabled me to win was unusual and quite interesting, I think.” Even after the loss of Dunn’s bishop the win was far from facile, but eventually Rowson was able to trade down to a winning endgame.

Richmond’s sole point in a 5-1 defeat came on board 2 where Mike Healey, who plays for Kingston in the Surrey League but opts for Richmond in the Thames Valley (more incestuousness!), defeated Peter Lalić. Lalić played the Scandinavian and built up a nice edge in the opening. But Healey fought back with his usual energy and established a rook on the seventh rank, while Lalić was saddled with a bizarre pawn structure – he had both doubled and tripled pawns, and all seven of his pawns were isolated. Is this a record?

Despite this strangest of pawn structures, the engine still gives Lalić a tiny edge, but the position was horribly difficult to play with time short and Healey was able to get a pawn to d7. Lalić was forced to give up rook for knight to stop the pawn queening, and, though he fought on with characteristic vigour (no premature resignations here), his bishop was no match for Healey’s rook in the endgame.

A fascinating game in a match that had a great deal of complex and high-class chess – much of it above the head of this hard-pressed reporter. Any IM-strength players who wish to become correspondent for this website, please get in touch. Usual rates apply.

Stephen Moss

Dream debut for Kingston at 4NCL

The new CSC/Kingston team win four matches out of four at their opening 4NCL weekend, with the first team recording perfect 6-0, 6-0 victories

Kingston has long pondered entering a team in the over-the-board 4NCL (we actually won the online version in 2020), but the distance to venues and the fact that quite a number of Kingston players were already attached to other teams were disincentives. This season we finally plucked up the courage to do it and found an imaginative way to make it work – forging an alliance with the well-established Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) squad and running joint teams, expertly marshalled by Kate and Charlie Cooke (who has joined the Kingston club) and playing under the banner of CSC/Kingston.

There has long been a connection between the two organisations: Kingston president John Foley captained the inaugural CSC team; club chair Alan Scrimgour is a first-team stalwart; Jon Eckert and Nick Grey are second-team regulars; Martin Jogstad, Max Selemir, Hayden Holden and I have now joined the ranks, and we hope that over time more Kingston players will sign up, joining the 20 or so players on the Cookes’ squad list. CSC ran three teams before the pandemic. Currently, it has two, but the intention is to revert to (at least) three as the squad grows.

Peter Finn: One of the stars of the CSC/Kingston first team, which will henceforth be playing in division 3 (west)

The opening weekend – played on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 November at the Mercure Court Hotel in Daventry – for the newly minted CSC/Kingston outfit could not have gone better. CSC/Kingston 1 won both its matches, against War and Piece B on Saturday and Anglian Avengers 2 on Sunday, by a perfect score of 6-0.

This was the only weekend CSC/Kingston 1 will play in division 4, as it has been awarded a berth vacated by another team in division 3 (west) for the remainder of the season (the competition comprises 11 rounds over five weekends and concludes on 1 May). Given the strength of CSC/Kingston 1, with FM Martin Jogstad, Peter Finn (whose Fide rating is 2175) and plenty of other very strong players to back them up, this is a very positive move for the team, which should be able to hold its own in division 3 and might even start eyeing the rarefied heights of division 2 if things go well and the leading players make themselves available for winter treks to distant hotels at the edge of motorway junctions.

The second team also won both its matches, though admittedly given the rating disparities with our opponents this was to be expected. It was, however, far from plain sailing. On Saturday, we beat Crowthorne B 4-2, but on board one Crowthorne’s Harvey Duckers downed the experienced Giampiero Amato, who was rated more than 100 points above him. Daniel Shek also defended well to earn a draw against CSC/Kingston’s Charlie Cooke, and Jon Eckert had to work hard in a long rook-and-pawn endgame to hold out against Crowthorne’s Shree Rao.

Jon Eckert: Held out in two long rook-and-pawn endgames against opponents who were a pawn up and pressing

The following day, CSC/Kingston 2 beat She Plays to Win Uni by 4.5 to 1.5, with wins for Amato, Max Selemir, Charlie Cooke and your correspondent. Eckert, despite being exhausted after spending most of the weekend driving up and down the M1, defended expertly to draw another long rook-and-pawn endgame in which his youthful opponent was pushing for a win.

A tremendous first weekend for Kingston in the 4NCL that bodes well for the club’s future in the competition. We would like to thank CSC for allowing us to be partners in their excellent and ambitious team, and pay tribute to the tireless organisational work of Kate and Charlie Cooke. From personal experience, I know how tough it is to get six or seven chess players from Kingston to Ealing or Hounslow vaguely on time, so to get a dozen or more bodies to the middle of England 11 times a season does not even bear thinking about. Organising the Normandy Landings must have been more straightforward.

Stephen Moss

Michael Basman: pioneer, teacher and populariser of chess

IM Michael Basman, who died on 26 October at the age of 76, was an innovator who passed on his love and deep knowledge of the game to countless players in Surrey and beyond

David Rowson

At the start of his chess career, Michael Basman might have been seen as part of the 1960s wave of young English players which also included Ray Keene and Bill Hartston, foreshadowing the English chess explosion of the 1970s. But Basman was never just part of a movement: he was much too individual and original for that. He was a great innovator at the board, a pioneer of neglected opening systems, but perhaps most importantly he developed new ideas about the teaching and popularisation of chess.

As long-time Kingston Chess Club member Julian Way remembers, Basman was always sceptical about established principles and didn’t like second-hand received knowledge. Julian studied with Basman as a junior, and then much later he had some mentoring from him, which assisted Julian in his approach to teaching chess himself. “Mike was a very original teacher,” he says. “He approached the game like a beginner, not an expert, in the sense of having a humble, open mind. He was unafraid to question everything. He liked to read the books of the early masters, going back as far as Ruy Lopez, as he felt they had an uncontaminated approach. He was a great teacher because he valued the progress of beginners as much as stronger players.”

MIchael Basman demonstrating the games of Henry Bird at a talk he gave at Kingston in February 2022
Photograph: John Foley

Basman told Julian that he felt his life’s mission was to popularise chess. “He had the idea of putting lessons on audio tape, instead of into books, realising that listening could be a valid alternative learning methodology to reading.” He launched the UK Chess Challenge in 1996, which encouraged huge numbers of schoolchildren to participate in the game – around 50,000 annually and more than a million since its inception. Basman was very interested in how a good cadre of teachers could be produced. Julian explains, “His vision of chess teaching was to take people who knew little or nothing about chess and train them.” He was above all concerned to find people who had some teaching skills, or at least good communication skills, and direct them towards teaching chess.

Basman’s father was originally from Armenia; Basman himself studied for a time in the Armenian capital, Erevan, and won the city’s championship whilst there. However, he was a Surrey local, attending Surbiton County Grammar School and playing for several clubs in the area, starting with Surbiton as a junior and making a significant contribution to local chess right to the end of his life. He had many career highlights, including draws with two ex-world champions, Mikhail Botvinnik (Hastings 1966-67) and Mikhail Tal (Hastings 1973-74). In 1967 he led the English team at the World Students’ Championships, at which they finished third and scored a surprise 3-1 win against the Soviet Union. Basman won the top-board game against Vladimir Savon. His best result in the British Championships was first equal with Hartston in 1973, though he lost the tie-break. He became an international master in 1980.

The following is a game which Mike played against another uniquely creative player, Albin Planinc. Black’s opening is provocative in the extreme; some would say foolhardy, others brave, but it works out surprisingly well. In the 1974-75 edition of Hastings Mike only scored 5.5/15, but this included wins against Ulf Andersson, Pal Benko, Michael Stean and Jonathan Mestel, as well as Planinc. His fighting spirit is shown by the fact that he only drew one game out of the 15.

Michael Basman v Peter Lalić

Bird Rapidplay, Kingston, 14 February 2022

This game was played when Mike Basman visited Kingston Chess Club to give a talk on the Victorian chess player Henry Bird. He pointed out that Bird (who gave his name to the Bird’s Opening 1.f4) played a variety of unconventional openings but rarely the eponymous opening. In order to recreate the same spirit of unconventionality, Mike devised a format that evening whereby the first move for Black and for White was randomised. It was on this basis that the opening moves for his game against Peter Lalić were determined. Ironically, given that both Mike and Peter play unconventional openings, it is perfectly possible that they would have played the same opening as occurred in the game even if they had not been constrained to do so.

The Old Indian Attack is characterised by 1. d3 and 2.Nf3, so White is holding back from occupying the centre with pawns. The opening was first essayed in competitions during the 1850s and was popularised by Aron Nimzovich at the turn of the 20th Century. Nimzovich’s seminal Chess Praxis was Mike’s favourite book. (Mike preferred the simplified spelling of the Riga master’s name.)

We would have forgotten these games but a couple of months later Mike unexpectedly produced a booklet on Henry Bird which included a brief overview of the master as well as the games from the Kingston Bird Tournament. I reproduce his annotations below. We are grateful for having received this publication which draws parallels between the lives of Bird and Basman. Mike Basman died on 26 October 2022.

John Foley

Peter Lalić and Mike Basman playing Chinese chess in Epsom

Peter Lalić (Ashtead) v John Foley (Kingston)

Ashtead 1 v Kingston 2, Surrey League division 2, Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead, 25 October 2022

This game was played on top board in the match between Ashtead and Kingston’s second team. In the Surrey League, players may play for more than one club provided that they are playing in a different division. So Peter Lalić, who loves to play as often as possible, plays for Kingston in the first division and for Ashtead in the second division. Hence inevitably Kingston team-mates can face each other as here. It was a friendly encounter, even though Peter was gently ribbed by Kingston loyalists. After the game, we spent half an hour analysing game variations which Peter incorporated into his extensive annotation.

Jack Buckley (Ashtead) v Ljubica Lazarevic (Kingston)

Ashtead 1 v Kingston 2, Surrey League division 2, Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead, 25 October 2022

Ljubica Lazarevic

I had been rather apprehensive about our away match to Ashtead. I’ve discovered of late that evening league matches are somewhat disagreeable with me – a match seems to guarantee no sleep that evening, leaving a less than bouncy and cheerful Lju come the morning. I’m also rather, dare I even say it, rusty, chess-wise. Whilst a very reasonable commute from Kingston, I also had the additional (irrational) fear that the car wouldn’t start having not touched it for a month. Graciously, I had made my peace with what fate the universe held for me, and off I went.

Jumping into my trusty Jazz as it purred away down an unusually quiet route down to Peace Memorial Hall, everything was looking better than I feared, that is, until I discovered I was up against a junior. I reminded myself that I had made my peace with the situation, and sat down and got ready to play at the specially issued “junior”-sized chess board on the #7 slot.

Onlookers may have been somewhat surprised to have seen that not only had board 1 migrated next door to my young opponent and me, but also leading out the determined Ashtead team was a certain Kingston stalwart in the shape of Peter Lalić. Surrey Chess Association rules specify that you must nominate your strongest players for your first team, which was the case with Peter, and it was nice to see him supporting a very ambitious Ashtead eyeing up promotion. And ambitious they were. The victors of the evening, scooping up an impressive 4.5 points across the seven boards. Kudos to them, and they will certainly be a team to watch this season, along with frenemies Epsom.

As the lone Kingston victor from the match, I was kindly volunteered to submit my game. I must admit, despite the win, I enjoyed this game. It had been a long while since I’ve played and had a pretty good understanding of what was going on, and being able to come up with (sometimes wanting) plans. My junior opponent also had opportunities too – a youngster who has only recently obtained a rating and will undoubtedly only get stronger. I can claim the bragging rights from the first scalp.

On to the game! For those of you who value the finer points of chess, you may want to avert your gaze now…

Strong Ashtead side see off challenge of Kingston 2

Surrey League division 2 match played at the Peace Memorial Hall, Ashtead, on 25 October 2022

Although reigning Surrey division 2 champions, Kingston’s second team are under no illusions that this season will be tough. Our prize-winning side has now sailed into the top division leaving a ragbag of old-timers and young hopefuls to crew the new ship. Julian Way’s side is up against four strong club first teams – Epsom, Surbiton, South Norwood and Ashtead – and will be a likely candidate for relegation. Better this than the alternative that we get promoted and end up having to play ourselves in division 1. Guildford seem to manage this regularly but we are more sensitive souls.

Our first encounter in the division, away to Ashtead, was far from being a disaster. Indeed, the pluses outweighed the minuses. Kingston offered stiff resistance to a strong Ashtead team that outrated Kingston by well over a hundred rating points per board.

Former club president Ljubica Lazarevic won her game on board 7. A critical position was reached where her young opponent missed a tactic which would have given some counterplay.

White to play. You can find the answer on the game page referenced above.

Julian Way drew with Phil Brooks on board 2, which given Way’s experience and strength was not a surprise despite the rating disparity. More unexpected were the draws secured by Max Selemir against Bertie Barlow on board 5 and Gregor Smith against Ian McLeod on board 6. Terrific results against formidable opponents.

The youthful Selemir promises to be a key player for Kingston in future years, while Smith, who is captaining Kingston 2 in the Thames Valley League this season, gets better with every match after returning to competitive chess from a long lay-off, and will hopefully also be a vital member of the club in years to come as both player and organiser.

Kingston’s struggled on the higher boards. Kingston first-team star Peter Lalić was for once pitted against his regular team on board 1 – intriguingly, he has decided to play for four different clubs in the main four divisions of the Surrey League this season – and got the better of current club president John Foley in a hard-fought battle. Foley was level for much of the close manoeuvring game, but chose the wrong moment to reposition his knight, losing a vital tempo after which Peter secured the win efficiently.

On board 3 another multi-club player, Ashtead’s Seb Galer, overcame the resilient Peter Andrews with White, and on the board below, in the battle of the Jonathans, Hinton (author of the much-admired A Gnat May Drink) beat Eckert. That made it 4.5-2.5 to Ashtead, and while it never looked as if Kingston would spring a surprise nor did the home side have it all their own way.

It was the second loss on successive days for Kingston, as the day before the club’s third team had been defeated 2.5-1.5 at home by Hounslow C in Thames Valley division X, which provides an excellent training ground for players new to league chess.

Stephen Moss and John Foley

Kingston C lose to Hounslow C on div X debut

Thames Valley division X match, played at the Willoughby Arms, Kingston, on 24 October 2022

A number of players new to league chess have joined Kingston since the end of lockdown, and to give them game time in a relatively unpressurised situation the club has joined division X of the Thames Valley League. This is a four-board (car-full) league suitable for average club players and those building up their skills. These matches give plenty of playing practice to those who enjoy chess and want to get competitive game experience. This was also my debut as a captain of a Kingston chess team – a daunting prospect which I relish.

  • Hounslow C had the veteran David White on top board against Kingston’s up-and-coming Hayden Holden. Despite being massively outrated by 437 points, Hayden gave a very good account of himself before eventually succumbing to pressure.
  • Kingston’s club secretary Greg Heath got a creditable draw against an opponent 122 points ahead of him on current ECF ratings.
  • My defeat on board three came after 60 moves when I messed up what should have been a drawn ending and allowed an unstoppable passed pawn.
  • Colin Lyle won on board four in his first-ever rated game after checkmating his opponent in eight moves. An auspicious start! Congratulations to Colin.

Overall a lot of positives can be gained, despite the disappointing result.

Stephen Daines

Jasper Tambini (Surbiton) v John Foley (Kingston)

Played at Surbiton 25 April 2018

John Foley

The recently published games on this site of Peter Lalić against Jasper Tambini evoked a memory of a game I played a few seasons ago against Jasper in the Thames Valley League. It may appear that Jasper has a hard time against Kingston players; I do not know his full record. What is clear is that his games are memorable win or lose.

This game was noteworthy for Black’s two sacrifices: a Greek gift on the 12th move, a momentary opportunity which if not taken immediately will evaporate on the next move, and an exchange sacrifice on the 18th move which maximises the mobility of Black’s pieces whilst gaining a preponderance of pawns.

Jasper Tambini (Wimbledon) v Peter Lalić (Kingston)

Kingston 1 v Wimbledon 1, Surrey League division 1, Willoughby Arms, 17 October 2022

The match-up between Jasper Tambini and Peter Lalić, two highly creative young players, promised to produce fireworks and it did not disappoint. The game was short, sharp and violent, with Lalić enjoying a successful first outing in the Nimzowitsch Defence. His victory on board 2 was crucial in securing a narrow 4.5-3.5 win against a tenacious Wimbledon team. It was Kingston’s first match back in the first division of the Surrey League after winning promotion last season.

Their previous encounter in a league match at Kingston.