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 telephone 01795 475950
***New members always welcome!***
Swale Junior Chess Club is also open. Select the picture below to visit the Junior Page:
To view the English Chess Federation League Management System, which shows all of the Kent County Chess Association fixture results, league tables etc: ecflms.org.uk
Updated 08/11/19
Swale 2020 Championship
Six Championship games were played last night:
(4.5/5) PAGE 1–0 WOOLACOTT (1/3)
(3.5/5) JEFFERIES 0–1 NEVOLS (4.5/6)
(2.5/4) HYDE 1–0 SIMPSON (3.5/5)
(5.5/7) GEDMINAS 1–0 POPA (0.5/5)
(1/7) POLLARD 0–1 MARSH (1/4)
(3.5/5) GILLARD 1–0 FRENCH (0/4)
Current League Standings as at 7th November 2019
01) GEDMINAS 117 P8 W6 D1 L1 GP6.5
02) PAGE 144 P6 W5 D1 L0 GP5.5
03) NEVOLS 157 P7 W5 D1 L1 GP5.5
04) GILLARD 109 P6 W4 D1 L1 GP4.5
05) HYDE 149 P5 W2 D3 L0 GP3.5
06) SIMPSON 135 P6 W3 D1 L2 GP3.5
07) JEFFERIES 114 P6 W2 D3 L1 GP3.5
08) MARSH 100 P5 W2 D0 L3 GP2.0
09) EDWARDS 86 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
10) WOOLACOTT 141 P4 W1 D0 L3 GP1.0
11) POLLARD 42 P8 W1 D0 L7 GP1.0
12) POPA 76 P6 W0 D1 L5 GP0.5
13) FRENCH 104 P5 W0 D0 L5 GP0.0
14) LELYS 30 P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
Mini-puzzle!
From the League: Andrew, as White to move, preempts Black's back row mate threat with an unstoppable checkmate in 3 moves.
Update 31/10/19
Last night's Championship results
0.0(3) FRENCH 0–1 PAGE 3.5(4)
2.0(3) HYDE 0.5 JEFFERIES 3.0(4)
3.5(5) GILLARD 0.5 POPA 0.5(5) (Game featured below)
3.5(5) NEVOLS 1–0 WOOLACOTT 1.0(2)
4.5(6) GEDMINAS 1–0 POLLARD 1.0(6)
Featured game of the week
In preparation for the forthcoming county games, where Swale has an impressive total of six players taking part.
Update 25/10/19
KCCA En Passant League Swale2 5–1 Hastings2
The club had an amazing win last night in the KCCA En Passant League competition, beating Hastings 5–1, to soar to the top of the league table. More amazing was that the teams' average grades were equal, and Swale were heavily outgraded on some of the boards.
David played one of his best games of the season, and Tyrone demonstrated the folly of early queenside castling when you are the second player. The latter game is detailed below.
The full match details are featured on ecflms.org.uk
Swale 2020 Championship
There was only one Swale 2020 Championship game played and the result was:
(2.5) SIMPSON 1–0 POLLARD (1.0)
Featured game of the week
Update 18/10/19
KCCA Harvey match: Swale3 3–3 Rainham4
Honours were shared last night between two equally balanced teams, as Swale Harvey team drew with their Rainham counterparts 3–3. The full match details can be found on the results website: ecflms.org.uk
Also, there were two games played in the Swale 2020 Championship:
(0.0) MARSH 1–0 POPA (0.5)
(2.5) SIMPSON 0–1 NEVOLS (2.5)
(1.0) EDWARDS P–P POLLARD (1.0)
(2.0) HYDE P–P LELYS (0.0)
With the addition of these results, the current league standings in the Swale Championship read:
01) GEDMINAS 117 P6 W4 D1 L1 GP4.5
02) PAGE 144 P4 W3 D1 L0 GP3.5
03) NEVOLS 157 P5 W3 D1 L1 GP3.5
04) GILLARD 109 P5 W3 D1 L1 GP3.5
05) JEFFERIES 114 P4 W2 D2 L0 GP3.0
06) SIMPSON 135 P4 W2 D1 L1 GP2.5
07) HYDE 149 P3 W1 D2 L0 GP2.0
08) EDWARDS 86 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
09) WOOLACOTT 141 P2 W1 D0 L1 GP1.0
10) MARSH 100 P4 W1 D0 L3 GP1.0
11) POLLARD 42 P5 W1 D0 L4 GP1.0
12) POPA 76 P5 W0 D1 L4 GP0.5
13) FRENCH 104 P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
14) LELYS 30* P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
Featured game of the week
From KCCA Harvey League Match 17th October 2019 Swale3 vs Rainham4
Update 11/10/19
Last night's Swale 2020 results
Individual grades were grouped, and three under-120 players had fantastic results against stronger opposition: Vytautas consolidated his position at the top of the table with a great win against Keith N, followed by draws between Tyrone and David, and Andrew and Keith H.
Rufus leapt from the foot of the table to mid-table thanks to a fine win against Tomas.
(0.0) EDWARDS 1–0 LELYS (0.0)
(2.5) JEFFERIES 0.5 PAGE (3.0)
(2.5) NEVOLS 0–1 GEDMINAS (3.5)
(3.0) GILLARD 0.5 HYDE (1.5) (Game featured below)
(1.0) POLLARD P–P FRENCH (0.0)
(1.0) WOOLACOTT P–P SIMPSON (2.5)
(0.0) MARSH P–P POPA (0.5)
Current League Standings as at 10/10/19
01) GEDMINAS 117 P6 W4 D1 L1 GP 4.5
02) PAGE 144 P4 W3 D1 L0 GP 3.5
03) GILLARD 109 P5 W3 D1 L1 GP 3.5
04) JEFFERIES 114 P4 W2 D2 L0 GP 3.0
05) NEVOLS 157 P4 W2 D1 L1 GP 2.5
06) SIMPSON 135 P3 W2 D1 L0 GP 2.5
07) HYDE 149 P3 W1 D2 L0 GP 2.0
08) EDWARDS 86 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP 1.0
09) WOOLACOTT 141 P2 W1 D0 L1 GP 1.0
10) POLLARD 42 P5 W1 D0 L4 GP 1.0
11) POPA 76 P4 W0 D1 L3 GP 0.5
12) FRENCH 104 P3 W0 D0 L3 GP 0.0
13) LELYS P3 W0 D0 L3 GP 0.0
14) MARSH 100 P3 W0 D0 L3 GP 0.0
Featured game of the week
Update 04/10/19
KCCA Stevenson match: Swale1 2–4 Hastings1
The 2019–20 KCCA League season started last night with a Stevenson League match: Swale1 versus Hastings1, which ended in a 2–4 win in favour of the visitors. The full match details are on ecflms.org.uk confirming impressive wins for Keith N, beating a 193 player, and Rob, beating a player graded 156.
Swale 2020 Championship
There were also three games played in the Swale 2020 Championship:
(1.5) SIMPSON 1–0 MARSH (0.0)
(2.5) GEDMINAS 1–0 FRENCH (0.0) (Game featured below)
(0.0) POLLARD 1–0 LELYS (0.0)
Current league standings as at 3rd October 2019
01) GEDMINAS P5 W3 D1 L1 GP3.5
02) PAGE P3 W3 D0 L0 GP3.0
03) GILLARD P4 W3 D0 L1 GP3.0
04) NEVOLS P3 W2 D1 L0 GP2.5
05) SIMPSON P3 W2 D1 L0 GP2.5
06) JEFFERIES P3 W2 D1 L0 GP2.5
07) HYDE P2 W1 D1 L0 GP1.5
08) WOOLACOTT P2 W1 D0 L1 GP1.0
09) POLLARD P5 W1 D0 L4 GP1.0
10) POPA P4 W0 D1 L3 GP0.5
11) MARSH P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
12) FRENCH P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
13) LELYS P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
14) EDWARDS P0 W0 D0 L0 GP0.0
Featured game of the week
Black puts up a valiant defence but is outgunned in the finale.
Update 27/09/19
The results from last night's games in the Swale 2020 Championship
(0.0) POLLARD 0–1 GILLARD (2.0)
(0.0) POPA 0.5 SIMPSON (1.0)
(1.5) GEDMINAS 1–0 WOOLACOTT (1.0)
(0.0) LELYS 0–1 JEFFERIES (1.5)
(2.5) NEVOLS P–P MARSH (0.0)
(1.5) HYDE P–P PAGE (3.0)
(0.0) EDWARDS P–P FRENCH (0.0)
Current league standings as at 26th September 2019
01) PAGE P3 W3 D0 L0 GP3.0
02) GILLARD P4 W3 D0 L1 GP3.0
03) NEVOLS P3 W2 D1 L0 GP2.5
04) JEFFERIES P3 W2 D1 L0 GP2.5
05) GEDMINAS P4 W2 D1 L1 GP2.5
06) HYDE P2 W1 D1 L0 GP1.5
07) SIMPSON P2 W1 D1 L0 GP1.5
08) WOOLACOTT P2 W1 D0 L1 GP1.0
09) POPA P4 W0 D1 L3 GP0.5
10) MARSH P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
11) FRENCH P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
12) LELYS P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
13) POLLARD P4 W0 D0 L4 GP0.0
14) EDWARDS P0 W0 D0 L0 GP0.0
Update 20/09/19
Results from last night's games
(2.0) NEVOLS 0.5 HYDE (1.0)
(2.0) PAGE 1–0 POLLARD (0.0)
(1.0) GILLARD 1–0 POPA (0.0)
(0.0) MARSH 0–1 GEDMINAS (0.5)
(0.0) FRENCH P–P SIMPSON (1.0)
(1.0) WOOLACOTT P–P JEFFERIES (1.5)
The current league standings at 19/09/19 are:
01) PAGE P3 W3 D0 L0 GP3.0
02) NEVOLS P3 W2 D1 L0 GP2.5
03) GILLARD P3 W2 D0 L1 GP2.0
04) HYDE P2 W1 D1 L0 GP1.5
05) JEFFERIES P2 W1 D1 L0 GP1.5
06) GEDMINAS P3 W1 D1 L1 GP1.5
07) SIMPSON P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
08) WOOLACOTT P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
09) MARSH P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
10) FRENCH P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
11) POPA P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
12) POLLARD P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
Update 13/09/19
Last night's results in the Swale Championship
Another round of Championship 2020 games was played last night and the results were:
(0.0) POLLARD 0–1 JEFFERIES (0.5)
(0.0) GILLARD 1–0 GEDMINAS (0.5)
(0.0) POPA 0–1 PAGE (1.0)
(0.0) FRENCH 0–1 NEVOLS (1.0)
(0.0) MARSH P–P WOOLACOTT (1.0)
(1.0) HYDE P–P SIMPSON (1.0)
The current league standings at 12/09/19 are:
01) NEVOLS P2 W2 D0 L0 GP2.0
02) PAGE P2 W2 D0 L0 GP2.0
03) JEFFERIES P2 W1 D1 L0 GP1.5
04) HYDE P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
05) SIMPSON P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
06) WOOLACOTT P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1.0
07) GILLARD P2 W1 D0 L1 GP1.0
08) GEDMINAS P2 W0 D1 L1 GP0.5
09) MARSH P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
10) FRENCH P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
11) POPA P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
12) POLLARD P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0.0
Update 06/09/19
New season at Swale Chess Club
Welcome to a new season of chess activity at Swale Chess Club!
The new season started off with six first-round 2020 Championship games being played and the results were:
NEVOLS 1–0 POPA
PAGE 1–0 MARSH
WOOLACOTT 1–0 FRENCH
SIMPSON 1–0 GILLARD
HYDE 1–0 POLLARD
GEDMINAS 0.5 JEFFERIES
League table standings as at 5th September 2019
1) NEVOLS 157 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP01
2) HYDE 149 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP01
3) PAGE 144 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP01
4) WOOLACOTT 141 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP01
5) SIMPSON 135 P1 W1 D0 L0 GP01
6) GEDMINAS 117 P1 W0 D1 L0 GP0.5
7) JEFFERIES 114 P1 W0 D1 L0 GP0.5
8) GILLARD 109 P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
9) FRENCH 104 P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
10) MARSH 100 P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
11) POPA 76 P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
12) POLLARD 42 P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0.0
Update 30/08/19
Lecture and Simultaneous at Swale Chess Club 29th August 2019
Swale Chess Club members and other club members with the masters
GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan visited Swale Chess Club last night and gave an excellent lecture to Swale Chess Club members and members of neighbouring chess clubs. The theme was their latest book Game Changer, written about the artificial intelligence system AlphaZero. With the aid of a demonstration board the chess masters analysed one particular game where AlphaZero played against the Stockfish chess engine, sacrificing material by advancing a pawn on the a-file to develop a rook.
Following on from the lecture, Matthew and Natasha signed copies of their book Game Changer and went on to play a tandem simultaneous event against fourteen eagerly awaiting players, scoring thirteen wins and one defeat.
The one defeat was against David Heath from neighbouring Maidstone Chess Club, who played an excellent game against the masters. The game is featured here:
Update 24/08/19
Last few places remaining!
Thursday 29th August 2019—Talk, simultaneous event and book signing with GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan
The talk will be on their latest book: Game Changer—AlphaZero's Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI
@ The West End Room, Central House, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 4NU. Start at 19.30 hours.
To book contact Swale Chess Club.
Update 23/08/19
Last night's results in the Rochester Championship
Congratulations to Sam Woolacott for winning the Rochester Shield for a second consecutive year and successfully defending his title as Rochester Champion.
A nice accompaniment to the joint Under 2050 first prize he picked up at the recent British Chess Championships in Torquay.
(3.0) WOOLACOTT Sam 1–0 JEFFERIES (1.5)
(0.0) GILLARD Andrew 0–1 WOOLACOTT Rob (0.5)
The final League Table positions as at 22/08/19
1) WOOLACOTT Sam P4 W4 D0 L0 GP4.0
2) NEVOLS Keith P4 W3 D0 L1 GP3.0
3=) JEFFERIES Tyrone P4 W1 D1 L2 GP1.5
3=) WOOLACOTT Rob P4 W1 D1 L2 GP1.5
5) GILLARD Andrew P4 W0 D0 L4 GP0.0
Confirmation of all the results
GILLARD 0–1 WOOLACOTT S
NEVOLS 1–0 GILLARD
JEFFERIES 0–1 NEVOLS
WOOLACOTT S 1–0 NEVOLS
WOOLACOTT R 0.5 JEFFERIES
WOOLACOTT R 0–1 WOOLACOTT S
JEFFERIES 1–0 GILLARD
NEVOLS 1–0 WOOLACOTT R
WOOLACOTT S 1–0 JEFFERIES
GILLARD 0–1 WOOLACOTT R
Update 20/08/19
Our trip to the seaside!
Five of us travelled to the 50th Thanet Chess Congress, held over the weekend at Broadstairs. A well-organised and well-attended event, and it was impressive to see that a number of entrants to the original congress had returned to take part once again.
Mini-puzzle!
Black to move. A nice finish from one of Andrew's games at the Thanet Chess Congress. Both players saw that it either checkmates or wins White's Queen:
Performances
Open
WOOLACOTT Sam (176) 0–1–1–2–2.5
Major (U151)
PAGE David (144) 0.5–1–1.5–2–2.5
WOOLACOTT Rob (141) 1–1–2–2–2
Intermediate (U131)
JEFFERIES Tyrone (113) 0.5–1–2–2.5–3.5
Minor (U111)
GILLARD Andrew (109) 1–2–2–2–3
Featured game from the Intermediate Tournament
London System versus the Dutch
ORR (129) vs JEFFERIES (113)
Update 16/08/19
Rochester Championship 2019
Last night's results and the result of the game played at Rainham on Wednesday 14th August 2019
Wednesday 14/08/19
(0.5) WOOLACOTT Rob 0–1 WOOLACOTT Sam (2.0)
Thursday 15/08/19
(0.5) JEFFERIES Tyrone 1–0 GILLARD Andrew (0.0) (Game featured below)
(2.0) NEVOLS Keith 1–0 WOOLACOTT Rob (0.5)
League Table as at 15th August 2019
1) WOOLACOTT Sam P3 W3 D0 L0 GP3.0
2) NEVOLS Keith P4 W3 D0 L1 GP3.0
3) JEFFERIES Tyrone P3 W1 D1 L1 GP1.5
4) WOOLACOTT Rob P3 W0 D1 L2 GP0.5
5) GILLARD Andrew P3 W0 D0 L3 GP0.0
Results so far
GILLARD 0–1 WOOLACOTT S
NEVOLS 1–0 GILLARD
JEFFERIES 0–1 NEVOLS
WOOLACOTT S 1–0 NEVOLS
WOOLACOTT R 0.5 JEFFERIES
WOOLACOTT R 0–1 WOOLACOTT S
JEFFERIES 1–0 GILLARD
NEVOLS 1–0 WOOLACOTT R
Featured game of the week
From the Rochester Championship: A useful training game for this weekend's Thanet Chess Congress.
Coming soon!
29 August—Talk, Simul and Book Signing with GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan
@ The West End Room, Central House, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 4NU. Start at 19.30 hours.
Contact Swale Chess Club for further details.
Update 13/08/19
Nigel Short versus David Page—London, 30th April, 1989
In anticipation of our forthcoming simultaneous event with GM Sadler and WIM Regan, club member David Page writes
Back to TopNigel Short versus David Page—London, 30th April, 1989
This was the first of the thirty games to finish; Nigel Short lost one other game, to Jonathan Manley—the editor of the satirical chess magazine Kingpin, drew two and won the rest. It was subsequently written up by Bill Hartston and served as his chess column a few days later in The Independent.
The arbiter for the occasion was Bob Wade, who remembered the game when I phoned him a few days later to see if Trefor Owens and I could attend the opening of the Croydon Chess Centre, primarily because we wished to meet the star attraction and the man performing the official opening, none other than Garry Kasparov. The invitation was duly extended to us and we had a lovely day in London as a result.
Update 09/08/19
Last night's results in the Rochester Championship
(1.0) WOOLACOTT Sam 1–0 NEVOLS Keith (2.0)
(0.0) WOOLACOTT Rob 0.5 JEFFERIES Tyrone (0.0)
League Table as at 08/08/19
1) WOOLACOTT Sam P2 W2 D0 L0 GP2.0
2) NEVOLS Keith P3 W2 D0 L1 GP2.0
3) WOOLACOTT Rob P1 W0 D1 L0 GP0.5
4) JEFFERIES Tyrone P2 W0 D1 L1 GP0.5
5) GILLARD Andrew P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0
Results so far
GILLARD 0–1 WOOLACOTT S
NEVOLS 1–0 GILLARD
JEFFERIES 0–1 NEVOLS
WOOLACOTT S 1–0 NEVOLS
WOOLACOTT R 0.5 JEFFERIES
Dates for the diary
16–18 August—50th Thanet Chess Congress
www.thanetchesscongress.co.uk29 August—Talk, Simul and Book Signing with GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan
@ The West End Room, Central House, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 4NU
Contact Swale Chess Club for further details.
Update 02/08/19
Last night's result in the Rochester Championship
(0.0) JEFFERIES 0–1 NEVOLS (1.0)
League Table as at 01/08/19
1) NEVOLS P2 W2 D0 L0 GP2
2) WOOLACOTT S P1 W1 D0 L0 GP1
3) JEFFERIES P1 W0 D0 L1 GP0
4) GILLARD P2 W0 D0 L2 GP0
5) WOOLACOTT R P0 W0 D0 L0 GP0
Results so far
GILLARD 0–1 WOOLACOTT S
NEVOLS 1–0 GILLARD
JEFFERIES 0–1 NEVOLS
Dates for the diary
August 16–18—50th Thanet Chess Congress
www.thanetchesscongress.co.ukAugust 29—Talk, simul and signing with Grandmaster Matthew Sadler and Woman International Master Natasha Regan
@ The West End Room, Central House, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 4NU
Contact Swale Chess Club for further details.
