Swale Chess Club meets weekly and caters for chess enthusiasts from novice to expert

The Artisan Room, Central House, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 4NU

Thursdays from 7.40pm Please email us or call 07724 273157

***New members always welcome!***

Select the picture below to visit the junior page:

To view the English Chess Federation League Management System, which shows all of the fixture results, league tables etc: ecflms.org.uk

Swale Chess Club annual subscription: £70, which includes ECF Bronze membership.

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Updated 21/03/25

How to Win at Chess

In a programme showing how to play better chess, British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate.

Swale Chess Club report—21^st March 2025

This week's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship

Championship

Keith Hyde 1–0 Keith Nevols
Martin Singer 1–0 Nick Allen

Plate

Andrew Gillard 0–1 Mike Ingham
George Amey 1–0 Alfie Burton
Vytautas Gedminas 1–0 Logan Stanton
Michael Dale 0–1 Luke Johnson

Group One

Paul Hobbs 1–0 Emma Walker

Group One is now complete.

Group Two

Arnaud Wisman 1–0 Andrew Martin-Luce

Ladder

Ashley Jarvis 0–1 Kristof Siklodi
David Page 0.5–0.5 Stephen Lamb

The tables:

Three games left.

Featured game of the week

Another nice finish from the recent East Kent FIDE Congress at Folkestone—this time from Swale Chess Club member Stephen.

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Updated 14/03/25 (AKA 3.14)—Happy Π day!

Swale Chess Club report—14^th March 2025

En Passant match

Our final En Passant match of the season was a 3–3 draw away to Rainham on the 12^th of March.

The scores were:

Keith N (0), Stephen (0.5), Nick (0.5), Andrew (0.5), Paul (1), Duncan (0.5).

We finished fifth out of six teams with one match win, one draw and three losses. Well done especially to Stephen who played in all five matches with a creditable 60% and a rating performance of 1890.

Last night's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship

Championship

David Page 0–1 Kevin Charlton
Keith Nevols 0.5–0.5 Martin Singer
Arnaud Wisman 0.5–0.5 Kristof Siklodi

Plate

Craig Lindsay 1–0 Alfie Burton
Logan Stanton 1–0 Michael Dale
Mike Ingham 0–1 Gary Clifford

Group Two

Owen Taylor 0–1 Luke Johnson

Ladder

Andrew Gillard 1–0 George Amey

Congratulations and thanks to David Page, Kristof Siklodi and Ashley Jarvis who have now played all their championship games for the season. The tables:

Four games left.

Mini-puzzle

Stephen and Andrew attended last weekend's inaugural East Kent FIDE Congress at Folkestone, scoring a respectable 4 points between them. Well organised, as always by Psyon Chess, and a marvellous seaside venue. Here is an efficient conclusion by Andrew:

White to move.

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Updated 07/03/25

Chess Masters: The Endgame

Make the first move. Sue Perkins challenges rising chess stars to take on the legendary game of psychology, strategy and intensity. It'll take nerves of steel to win the title.

Swale Chess Club report—6^th March 2025

Yesterday's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship

Championship

Kristof Siklodi 0–1 Nick Allen
Stephen Lamb 1–0 Martin Singer
David Page 0.5–0.5 Keith Hyde
Keith Nevols 1–0 Ashley Jarvis

Well done to Stephen who has now completed his games.

Plate

Mike Ingham 0–1 George Amey
Andrew Gillard 1–0 Michael Dale
Gary Clifford 1–0 Alfie Burton
Duncan Marsh 0.5–0.5 Paul Hobbs

The updated tables:

Featured game of the week—The shortest game ever seen at Swale Chess Club!

From a recent club night:

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Updated 01/03/25

Swale Chess Club report—27^th February 2025

Last night's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship

Group One

Michael Dale 0–1 Vytautas Gedminas

Group Two

Duncan Marsh 1–0 Andrew Martin-Luce

Championship

Kevin Charlton 0.5–0.5 Stephen Lamb
Martin Singer 1–0 David Page
Nick Allen 0–1 Trefor Owens

Plate

Paul Hobbs 0–1 Craig Lindsay

Ladder

Kristof Siklodi 0–1 Andrew Gillard

The tables:

Group One—one game left:

Group Two—five games left:

Boris Spassky RIP

This week the tenth world champion (1969–72) Boris Spassky passed away at the age of 88. Spassky was one of the best players in the world from the late 1950s through to the 1970s, but is unfortunately best known for losing the ‘match of the century’ to Bobby Fischer in 1972.

Swale Chess Club Facebook page

Swale Chess Club Facebook page provides extra chess news. If you are not already a member, please sign up today.

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Updated 21/02/25

Coastal Chess: Inaugural East Kent 2-day FIDE Congress—Saturday 8^th–Sunday 9^th March 2025

Grand Burstin Hotel, The Harbour, Marine Parade, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1TX

Swale Chess Club report—20^th February 2025

Intro match v Snodland

Our Intro team were at home to Snodland but unfortunately lost 4–0. Thanks to Alfie, Mike, George and Emma for playing.

That was our last Intro Cup match of the season and we finished with Played 7 Won 1 Draw 2 Lost 4.

Thanks to all those who took part, especially Alfie, who played in six matches and finished with a creditable 50%, and also to Craig for captaining the team.

Swale Chess Club Championship

Last night's results:

Group One

Keith Hyde 1–0 Michael Dale

Group Two

Duncan Marsh 1–0 Luke Johnson

Championship

David Page 0–1 Trefor Owens
Keith Nevols 1–0 Kristof Siklodi
Arnaud Wisman 1–0 Ashley Jarvis

Plate

Vytautas Gedminas 0.5–0.5 Andrew Gillard

The tables are:

Mini-puzzle

From last night. The Vytautas–Andrew game was well balanced to say the least, with the engine declaring just a 0.1% difference between the accuracies! White 80.8% and Black 80.9%. The game ended in a draw, appropriately enough, but there were some fine tactics along the way. Here Vytautas as White found the best move, and likewise Andrew as Black found the best response. What were the two moves in question?

White to move, then Black to respond.

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Updated 14/02/25

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Swale Chess Club report—13^th February 2025

RIP Tyrone Jefferies

Some sad news. Following a heart attack at the weekend, our friend and clubmate Tyrone Jefferies passed away yesterday evening at Ashford Hospital.

Tyrone was very enthusiastic about his chess and played a leading organising role, not only with Swale but also Kent and London chess in general.

He will be missed. Thoughts are with Tyrone's family.

Last night's results

Fuller Cup Match

Thank you to the team for playing v Maidstone Knights at short notice.

Unfortunately we lost 1.5–2.5, with the team being:
Vytautas (walkover), Gary (0.5), Paul (0) and Mike (0)

Swale Chess Championship

Group Two

Craig Lindsay 0–1 Duncan Marsh

Club Championship

Kristof Siklodi 1–0 Andrew Martin-Luce
Ashley Jarvis 1–0 David Page
Trefor Owens 1–0 Stephen Lamb

Plate

Alfie Burton 1–0 Logan Stanton
Michael Dale 0–1 George Amey

The tables:

Group One: No games

Welcome on board, Norman!

We were pleased to meet a potential new member, Norman, last night.

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Updated 08/02/25

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Swale Chess Club report—6^th February 2025

Last night's results:

Group One

Vytautas Gedminas 1–0 Emma Walker

Group Two

Nick Allen 0–1 Arnaud Wisman (Tuesday, Strood)
Luke Johnson 0–1 Andrew Martin-Luce

Championship

Kristof Siklodi 1–0 David Page
Keith Hyde 0–1 Stephen Lamb

Plate

Alfie Burton 0.5–0.5 Andrew Gillard
Logan Stanton 0–1 Mike Ingham

Therefore the tables are:

There are four games left—if Tyrone beats Emma then there will be a play-off for the sixth place in the championship.

Eight games to go. Andrew Martin-Luce has got the sixth and final qualification place.

Mini-puzzle

Here is the final position from Thursday's Alfie–Andrew game in the Plate. The players have agreed a draw after a sharp and well-matched game, with the engine awarding Alfie as White 84.8% and Andrew as Black 85.9% accuracy respectively. Both players had seen the continuation here but decided it was better to let sleeping dogs lie!

Black to move.

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Updated 04/02/25

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Swale Chess Club report—30^th January 2025

Intro Team

There were two matches for our team this week. On Wednesday, an away match at Medway finished 2–2 (although we were penalised half a point for being over the average).

The board order with scores was:

Tyrone (0), Paul (1), Craig (0) and Alfie (1)

Then on Thursday a home match, also against Medway, was also 2–2 with the scores:

Paul (0), Alfie (0), Luke (1) and Emma (1)

Many thanks to Luke and Emma for agreeing to play at short notice.

Swale Chess Club Championship

Group One

Keith Hyde 1–0 Kristof Siklodi
Vytautas Gedminas 0–1 Kevin Charlton
Michael Dale 0–1 Tyrone Jefferies

Group Two

David Page 1–0 Owen Taylor
Andrew Martin-Luce 0.5–0.5 Keith Nevols

Championship

Stephen Lamb 1–0 Ashley Jarvis

Other Rated Game

Andrew Gillard 0.5–0.5 Gary Clifford

Therefore the tables are

Congratulations to Kevin for winning the group.

Five have qualified for the Championship final group. Tyrone needs to win his last game to force a play-off with Martin.

Both David and Keith N have qualified for the Championship group.

Five are through. Andrew M-L needs half a point from his three games to join David and Keith N.

Mini-puzzle

From Thursday.

White to move.

Updated 24/01/25

Swale Chess Club report—23^rd January 2025

This week's results for the Swale Chess Club Championship:

Group One

Kevin Charlton 0.5–0.5 Keith Hyde
Martin Singer 1–0 Michael Dale

Group Two

Andrew Martin-Luce 1–0 Craig Lindsay
Keith Nevols 1–0 Duncan Marsh
Stephen Lamb 0–1 Arnaud Wisman (Tuesday—Strood)

Championship

Stephen Lamb 0–1 Kristof Siklodi
Ashley Jarvis 1–0 Nick Allen

The tables are:

There are eight games to go and we have five qualifiers for the championship.

Tyrone and Vytautas will need to win their remaining games to force a play-off with Martin.

There are 12 games to go and we have three qualifiers for the championship, so three to go.

Featured game of the week—training session 23^rd January 2025

Many thanks to David and Trefor for presenting the training last night, and to those who attended.

Team Charli/Emma played this game v Team George/Luke.

We all found it very exciting and the game shows that great games can be played at every level; both teams were impressive.

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Updated 18/01/25

Swale Chess Club report—16^th January 2025

Last night's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 15

Group One

Vytautas Gedminas 1–0 Kristof Siklodi
Keith Hyde 0.5–0.5 Tyrone Jefferies
Emma Walker 0–1 Martin Singer
Ashley Jarvis 1–0 Michael Dale
Paul Hobbs 0–1 Kevin Charlton

Group Two

David Page 0–1 Keith Nevols
Gary Clifford 0–1 Duncan Marsh

Therefore the tables are:

Report—Hastings Congress

The New Year Hastings Weekend Chess Congress was well attended again, like last year, with about 150 players spread across the four sections. I played in the major (U1900) section and had an average result, winning two games but losing three due to a combination of being outplayed and blundering in time trouble. Next up for me, the 2^nd Greater London FIDE Congress by Psyon Chess next weekend!

2^nd Greater London FIDE Congress—Saturday 25^th–Sunday 26^th January 2025

Sanderson Hall, Mickleham Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 2RW

Mini-puzzle

Swale Chess Club Championship 9^th January 2025—BURTON Alfie v CHARLTON Kevin. Alfie has just played 16 Rd5 (threatening both queen and also Rxe5 followed by white Qxe5). Should I as Black move the queen to defend the knight on e5, or is there a better option?

Black to move.

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Updated 10/01/25

Swale Chess Club report—9^th January 2025

Last night's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 14

Group One

Kristof Siklodi 1–0 Michael Dale
Martin Singer 0–1 Keith Hyde
Emma Walker 0–1 Ashley Jarvis
Alfie Burton 0–1 Kevin Charlton

Group Two

Keith Nevols 0.5–0.5 Nick Allen
Duncan Marsh 0–1 David Page
Andrew Martin-Luce 0.5–0.5 Andrew Gillard

Nick and Kevin have both mathematically qualifed for the Championship second stage. So far it is Kristof, Trefor, Kevin, Stephen, Nick and seven to go.

In the Plate it will be Mike, Alfie, Craig, Luke, Logan and nine others.

Fuller club match

Swale drew 2–2 with Medway—scores in board order: Tyrone (0.5), Paul (0.5), Craig (1) and Mike (0)

Championship tables

Featured game of the week

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Updated 03/01/25

Swale Chess Club report—2^nd January 2025

Tonight's results:

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 13

Group One

Tyrone Jefferies 1–0 Alfie Burton
Martin Singer 0.5–0.5 Ashley Jarvis
Kevin Charlton 1–0 Michael Dale

Group Two

Andrew Martin-Luce 1–0 Stephen Lamb
Craig Lindsay 0–1 Nick Allen
Andrew Gillard 0.5–0.5 Keith Nevols

The tables:

Welcome on board, Charli!

It was a pleasure to welcome new member Charli along to Swale Chess Club last night.

Featured game of the week

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Updated 20/12/24

Christmas blitz tournament—19^th December 2024

Thank you to those who took part in this week's Christmas blitz tournament.

The results were:

Final games (colours unknown)

Keith Nevols 0.5–0.5 Trefor Owens
Stephen Lamb 1–0 Kristof Siklodi
David Page 0.5–0.5 Gary Clifford
Andrew Gillard 1–0 Craig Lindsay
Vytautas Gedminas 1–0 Mike Ingham
Alfie Burton 1–0 Luke Johnson

Mini-puzzle

A finish from one of my internet games. I (White) am a piece and a pawn down but have an attack going. Black has just played 33. …Rgc8. What should White play?

White to move.

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Updated 13/12/24

Swale Chess Club report—12^th December 2024

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 12

The results were:

Group One

Mike Ingham 0–1 Tyrone Jefferies
Keith Hyde 1–0 Vytautas Gedminas
Kristof Siklodi 1–0 Trefor Owens
Kevin Charlton 1–0 Ashley Jarvis
Mike Ingham 1–0 Paul Hobbs
Michael Dale 0–1 Emma Walker

Group Two

Craig Lindsay 0–1 Owen Taylor
Stephen Lamb 1–0 David Page
Gary Clifford 1–0 Luke Johnson

Each group has 23 games to go and the tables are:

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Updated 07/12/24

Swale Chess Club report—5^th December 2024

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 11

The results:

Group One

Kristof Siklodi 1–0 Kevin Charlton
Vytautas Gedminas 0.5–0.5 Paul Hobbs
Martin Singer 0.5–0.5 Trefor Owens
Alfie Burton 0.5–0.5 Ashley Jarvis

Group Two

Craig Lindsay 0–1 Gary Clifford

Therefore the tables are:

Welcome on board, Logan!

We were pleased to welcome new member Logan to Swale Chess Club.

Report—Canterbury FIDE Standard Congress

Two members of Swale Chess Club took part in last weekend's five-round open congress held at the University of Kent; in a strong field Stephen and Andrew managed one way or another to accumulate 3.5 points between them. The overall winner was IM Kristian Stuvik Holm from Norway with 5/5. The event was well organised and the Canterbury campus was an excellent venue with good-value catering available on site throughout the weekend. We encourage chess players from Kent and beyond to support this event—along with the U1800 tournament—which is scheduled to return in March.

Mini-puzzle

From the recent En Passant match against Medway. I'm Black and was playing on board two. White has just played the attacking move f5, and I found the best reaction.

Black to move.

Swale Chess Club Facebook page

Swale Chess Club Facebook page provides extra chess news. If you are not already a member, please sign up today.

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Updated 03/12/24

Swale Chess Club report—28^th November 2024

Club matches

Two matches this week.

On Wednesday 27^th November, Swale unfortunately lost 4–0 to Medway in the Fuller Cup. Thanks to Gary, Andrew G, Conner and Mike I for playing.

Last night, in the En Passant, we were defeated 4–2 by Maidstone. Scores were Kristof (0.5), Stephen (0.5), Nick (0.5), Tyrone (0), Ashley (0.5), Paul (0). Thanks to Paul for being drafted in at the last minute.

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 10

Group One

Trefor Owens 1–0 Vytautas Gedminas
Emma Walker 0–1 Mike Ingham
Michael Dale 0–1 Alfie Burton

Group Two

Arnaud Wisman 0–1 David Page
Andrew Gillard 1–0 Owen Taylor
Luke Johnson 0–1 Craig Lindsay

Therefore the group tables are:

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Updated 22/11/24

Canterbury FIDE Standard Congress—Friday 29^th November–Sunday 1^st December 2024

University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ

Swale Chess Club report—21^st November 2024

Club matches

There were three matches over the last week.

On Monday 18^th in the En Passant we had a comprehensive win over Weald of Kent down in Cranbrook by 5.5–0.5.

Well done to the team, which was:

Keith N (0.5), Stephen (1), Vytautas (1), Nick (1), Tyrone (1), and Paul (1)

(In Keith N's defence he was against a 2100 player, so a draw was not too bad.)

On Wednesday 20^th the Intro team played away to Maidstone 10 (yes, they have ten teams!) and drew 2–2.

The results were Tyrone (1), Craig (0), Owen (0) and Mike (1).

And last night, Thursday 21^st, the Intro team were at home to Maidstone 9 and lost 1.5–2.5.

The results were Gary (1), Craig (0), Alfie (0.5) and Luke (0).

Thanks to all our players.

World Chess Championship 2024

The world chess championship match between the world champion, Ding Liren (China), and the challenger, Dommaraju Gukesh (India), kicks off on Monday 25^th November at 9am UK time.

It is the best of 14 games with tie-breaks for an even score. The time limit is 40 moves in 120 minutes (no increments) and then 30 minutes (with 30-second increments from move 41) for the rest of the game.

You can follow the games live on various places on the internet, or see round-ups in the evening on YouTube.

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 9

Last night's results:

Group One

Kevin Charlton 0.5–0.5 Trefor Owens
Martin Singer 1–0 Vytautas Gedminas
Ashley Jarvis 0.5–0.5 Mike Ingham

Group Two

David Page 0–1 Andrew Martin-Luce
Andrew Gillard 0–1 Stephen Lamb

The tables are:

Mini-puzzle

From a recent Swale Chess Club Championship game. I'm White and my opponent has just played Rh7 to stop me from taking the rook that was in the corner. However, I have a good follow-up.

White to move.

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Updated 15/11/24

Swale Chess Club report—14^th November 2024

We enjoyed a great night at the club last night with the visit of WIM Natasha Regan and Matt Ball, who gave members a talk about Gukesh's chess tactics. During the interlude Natasha and Matt were delighted to sell and sign their stock of their latest book Zwischenzug! and even sold out of Zwischenzug! because of the demand.

We were privileged to be the first chess club to hear of the launch of the authors' Chessable course—Masterful Moves: Gukesh

Masterful Moves: Gukesh

Released on: 15^th November 2024 (today!)

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Updated 08/11/24

Gukesh's tactics: Club event with WIM Natasha Regan and NI Matt Ball—Thursday November 14^th

This Thursday November 14^th Woman International Master Natasha Regan and National Instructor Matt Ball will be visiting Swale Chess Club to talk about Gukesh's tactics. They will also be bringing their latest book Zwischenzug!, which has been nominated for 2024 ECF book of the year, for signing and purchase at author's discounted rates.

If you are interested in attending then please email Swale Chess Club or phone 07724 273157 for further details.

Numbers are limited, so book early.

Swale Chess Club report—7^th November 2024

Fuller Cup Matches

Thank you to everyone who played over the last two days, especially Vytautas who was called up at the last minute.

On Wednesday, the team went to Maidstone and lost 3–1. The team was Tyrone (1), default (0), Conner (0) and Owen (0). And Thursday a home match against a different Maidstone team and we lost 2.5–1.5. The result was Vytautas (0), Tyrone (0.5), Conner (1) and Craig (0).

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 8

Last night's results:

Group One

Kristof Siklodi 0.5–0.5 Ashley Jarvis
Trefor Owens 0.5–0.5 Keith Hyde
Paul Hobbs 0–1 Martin Singer
Mike Ingham 1–0 Michael Dale
Alfie Burton 1–0 Emma Walker

Group Two

Gary Clifford 0–1 Arnaud Wisman
Keith Nevols 0–1 Stephen Lamb
Luke Johnson 0–1 Andrew Gillard
Nick Allen 0.5–0.5 David Page

Therefore the tables are:

Mini-puzzle—firework display!

We had sparklers from both sides throughout this game last night but Black now finishes off the fireworks with a double salvo!

Black to move. Which piece did Black move?

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Updated 02/11/24

Gukesh's tactics: Club event with WIM Natasha Regan and NI Matt Ball—Thursday November 14^th

On Thursday November 14^th Woman International Master Natasha Regan and National Instructor Matt Ball will be visiting Swale Chess Club to talk about Gukesh's tactics. They will also be bringing their latest book Zwischenzug!, which has been nominated for 2024 ECF book of the year, for signing and purchase at author's discounted rates.

If you are interested in attending then please email Swale Chess Club or phone 07724 273157 for further details.

Numbers are limited, so book early.

Inaugural Orpington FIDE Congress—Saturday 16^th–Sunday 17^th November 2024

Sanderson Hall, Mickleham Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 2RW

Swale Chess Club report—31^st October 2024

En Passant Match vs Medway

This Wednesday, we had an away game at Medway but unfortunately lost 4–2.

The team with the results was: Keith N (0.5), Stephen (1), Default (0), Vytautas (0), Tyrone (0.5) and Paul (0).

Swale Chess Club Championship—Round 7

Last night's results:

Group One

Ashley Jarvis 0.5–0.5 Trefor Owens
Tyrone Jefferies 0–1 Kristof Siklodi
Keith Hyde 1–0 Paul Hobbs
Kevin Charlton 1–0 Martin Singer
Mike Ingham 1–0 Alfie Burton

Group Two

Nick Allen 1–0 Duncan Marsh
David Page 1–0 Andrew Gillard
Craig Lindsay 0–1 Stephen Lamb
Gary Clifford 0.5–0.5 Andrew Martin-Luce

Therefore the tables are:

Mini-puzzle—Halloween trick or treat

From last night's championship. Black found the best move here; a trick or a treat depending on which side of the board one is sitting at.

Black to move.

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