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- Written by: Sanjoy Banerjee
- Category: Uncategorised
| Round 2 | |||
| 1. | Alfie Melia (1) | 1-0 | Benjamin Ellington (1) |
| 2. | Shay Hanlon (1) | ½-½ | Komronbek Bakhtiyorov (1) |
| 3. | Joel Bartlett (1) | 1-0 | Phil Ramsey (1) |
| 4. | Graham AG Williamson (1) | 0-1 | Paul R Evans (1) |
| 5. | Luke Boumphrey (1) | ½-½ | Joel Ofeni (1) |
| 6. | Mike J Coffey (1) | 1-0 | Brian R Ewart (1) |
| 7. | Reece Kercher (½) | 0-1 | Andrew Savage (1) |
| 8. | Keiron Williams (½) | 0-1 | Ben Wilson (1) |
| 9. | Mark S Wadsworth (½) | 1-0 | Rob Black (½) |
| 10. | Callum McShane (½) | 0-1 | Joe W Butterworth (½) |
| 11. | Steven Philp (0) | 0-1 | Kamal Gardi (0) |
| 12. | Peter Mellor (0) | 1-0 | Ian Nicholson (0) |
| 13. | Rob Old (0) | 0-1 | Sanjoy K Banerjee (0) |
| 14. | John Gillett (0) | 1-0 | Henry Atkinson (0) |
| 15. | Xenia Hanganu (0) | 0-1 | Daniel Westhead (0) |
| 16. | Nathan Haddy (0) | 0-1 | Brian Butterworth (0) |
| Byes in this round | |||
| Nodirabegim Bakhtiyorova (½) | ½ | ||
| Michael Sutton (0) | ½ | ||
| James Lee (½) | ½ | ||
| Tom EC Webb (0) | ½ |
Please note: Full details of the tournament and updates are now published at Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - Wiseman-Hurley Open 2025
If Round 1 is an opportunity for the less storied players to upset the apple-cart, the second round suggested a much closer set of games, which promised much and did not fail to deliver.
On top board, Alfie kept his perfect record intact with an aggressive line in the Caro which may have caused Ben to reflect on his opening choice. Yet already on board two, the first surprise of the night was registered as some decent prep by Shay Hanlon kept Komronbek penned-in and a truce was declared.
On the second table, Joel Bartlett and Paul Evans showed their prowess, joining Alfie on a perfect 2.0/2.0, yet the match of the round featured Joel Ofeni with the black pieces in a back and forth tussle with Luke Boumphrey, which kept spectators captivated throughout the evening, until finally devolving into rook and knight versus rook, where young tyro Joel - with only a handful of classical over the board games under his belt - showed perfect drawing technique. A mere 108 moves, and with still enough vim and vigour to conduct a thorough post-mortem with his opponent. A full analysis of the game is presented below, with annotations by Luke himself.
Three more players joined the leaders with a perfect score, Andrew Savage perhaps the most resourceful after a calamitous opening blunder parted him from one of his rooks with little or no compensation. Mike Coffey continues to stalk like a hunter in the long grass, and Ben Wilson doubled-down on his epic victory in round 1, and is rewarded with a place on board two (court number 1?) in the next round.
The remaining boards went with the form book, save for wins for Kamal Gardi and Daniel Westhead, with the Atticus Knights flexing their muscle everywhere you cared to look.
Rob Old on board 13 was unlucky in his game, where some excellent prep should have seen him over the line, but was unable to make good on his advantage and ultimately succumbed under severe time pressure.
Round 3 will take place this Monday (23rd June) and throws up some intriguing ties (details in the link), but the highlight for me was the overspill into the main bar downstairs where new members and club stalwarts exchanged pawns, pieces, smiles, anecdotes and a beer or three.
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- Written by: Sanjoy Banerjee
- Category: Uncategorised
In its short yet storied history Atticus 1 has had some fine captains. Yet none I believe had hitherto offered board 3 to a bloke he first met in the pub last Thursday. Fortunately Jac Thomas is a former Welsh junior international, but how would he fare on a cold November night in Wallasey? Adequately it transpired, as got us off to the perfect start with a cool dismantling of Ron Harrison, himself no mug.
When Mike Lacey wrapped up his game against the young up-and-coming Josh Morgan on board 7, it was hard not to spot a pattern. Of all the ways I had anticipated I could motivate this team, it appears the most effective is the threat of a lift home. Having run the gauntlet on the outward journey, Jac and Mike opted it seems to win early and catch the train home.
It had in fact been an eventful journey, culminating in our arrival at 7.55pm with the rest of the team already seated and underway. Not necessarily in the right seats, but you cannot have it all. Mike on board 4 was next to finish. His opponent Phil Brine is a tough nut to crack, and Mike had seemingly achieved a solid position with the black pieces, yet at the cost his clock which proved telling as Phil clawed back an advantage to halve the deficit.
James Rothwell is having a good season and was unfazed by his promotion to Board 2 in John Redmond’s absence with an ACL (Academic Commitment to Literature). A tense struggle against Mike Coffey finished with the spoils shared, retaining our slim advantage.
My own game looked like it could go either way and matters were not helped by the fact that I kept bumping into my opponent while having a smoke break. Thankfully Caissa offered temporary respite and granted me a draw.
Dave on board one had nursed an advantage for much of the game against Phil Davies, yet upon asking to see the match score, concluded (with a captain’s blessing!) that the draw was expedient.
And so it all came down to Ben…
If Smyslov was “The Hand”, I propose Ben should henceforward be known as “The Index Finger” – and as a dozen pairs of eyes bore down, appeared to be the calmest person in the room as he navigated his way to king versus king and thus sealed the match in our favour.
Thanks to Wallasey Chess Club for their hospitality and we will see you again a week on Monday at the Cross Keys against the other team from Liverpool, the one that does not win every match 6-1.
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- Written by: Sanjoy Banerjee
- Category: Uncategorised
Congratulations to Roger Williamson who sealed victory in the 2022 Wiseman-Hurley Open with an impressive final tally of 7.5/9.0. Second and third went to Colin Horton and Steve Kee with 7.0 and 6.5 respectively. The U1800 grading prize went to Southport's Phil Ramsey on tie-break from Jordan Lee, both with a creditable 5.5/9.0 in a strong field, while Peter Jenner claimed the U1600 with 4.5/9.0 on tie-break from Ben Wilson.
The best game prize was awarded to Ian Campbell of Aigburth, for his round 7 showing against Steve Kee.
Please note: Full details of the tournament and updates are now published on Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - Wiseman-Hurley Open 2022
| Round 9 | ||
| Jordan Lee (5) | v | Roger Williamson (7) |
| Colin Horton (6½) | v | Luke Boumphrey (5½) |
| Mark Wadsworth (4½) | v | Steve Kee (5½) |
| Ian Campbell (5) | v | Mike Coffey (5) |
| Phil Ramsey (4½) | v | Steve Philp (4½) |
| Peter Jenner (4) | v | Sanjoy Banerjee (4) |
| Ben Ellington (4) | v | Tom Webb (4) |
| Ben Wilson (3½) | v | Ben Gannon (3) |
| Nathan Haddy (2) | v | Alistair Bond (3) |
| Byes in this round | ||
| Sean Kane | ½ | |
| Joe Butterworth | ½ | |
| John Pickering | ½ | |
| Jordan Dickens | ½ | |
| Steve Winstanley | ½ | |
| Mike Lacey | ½ | |
| Peter Mellor | ½ | |
| Keeghan McGarry | ½ |
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- Written by: Sanjoy Banerjee
- Category: Uncategorised
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- Written by: John Redmond
- Category: Uncategorised
Atticus 1 won this match by 4½-2½
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- Written by: John Redmond
- Category: Uncategorised
Atticus 1 overcame a strong-looking Waterloo team on Monday night.
| 2418 | Gary Quillan | ½ | ½ | John Redmond | 2336 |
| 2316 | Glenn House | 0 | 1 | Charlie Kennaugh | 2126 |
| 2047 | Colin Horton | 0 | 1 | Dave James | 2126 |
| 2012 | Peter O'Driscoll | 0 | 1 | James Rothwell | 1875 |
| 1835 | Graham Williamson | 1 | 0 | Derek Rooney | 1695 |
| 1736 | Michael Connor | 1 | 0 | Tom Webb | 1680 |
| 1681 | Scott Bradshaw | 0 | 1 | Chris Wentworth | 1595 |
| 2½ | 4½ |
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- Written by: John Redmond
- Category: Uncategorised
Season 5 of the 4NCL Online will soon be upon us. Steve Kee will be captaining the squad in the new season. Any players who wish to join the Atticus squad please let Steve know.
Teams need to be entered by January 15th.
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- Written by: Sanjoy Banerjee
- Category: Uncategorised
| Atticus 3 | 1663 | 1.0 : 5.0 | Southport 1 | 1638 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Burge, Steve J |
1713 |
0,5-0,5 |
Sage, Geoffrey W |
1930 |
2 |
Curley, Johnathon |
- |
0-1 |
Ramsey, Phil |
1720 |
3 |
Ellington, Ben |
1705 |
0,5-0,5 |
Jenner, Peter |
1578 |
4 |
Webb, Tom EC |
1653 |
0-1 |
Kaye, Chris |
1566 |
5 |
Wentworth, Chris |
1623 |
0-1 |
Payne, Kenneth |
1420 |
6 |
Philp, Steven |
1623 |
0-1 |
Green, Danny |
1615 |
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- Written by: sjb
- Category: Uncategorised
The Final of the Skilling Champions Chess Competition is starting at 5pm on Chess 24.
There is a choice of 4 different Commentary Channels.
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- Written by: sjb
- Category: Uncategorised
The Final of the Skilling Champions Chess Competition is starting at 5pm on Chess 24.
There is a choice of 4 different Commentary Channels.