Tom Fuller Cup result

Another nice win for Snodland's Tom Fuller Cup team:

En Passant Cup result.

It was good effort, but we were beaten by a good Tunbridge Wells team in the En Passant Cup....

Back to winning ways.

Snodland were back to winning ways with an excellent team performance against Maidstone, who out graded us on 5 out of 6 boards.

Unbeaten run comes to an end...time to start another?

Sadly, Snodland's 11 month, 25 match unbeaten run in competitive matches came to an end in a hard-fought match with Rochester Chess Club.

Harvey Cup result 18th October

Another win for Snodland!

Team battle to hold draw

Snodland's Tom Fuller Cup team had to battle hard and come back from 2-0 down to hold a draw against Weald of Kent....but the unbeaten run extends to 25 matches.

The first competitive match of the season...

Snodland's KCCA Fixtures 2012-13

Snodland has entered 4 KCCA competitions this year. Our fixture list is published below:

Snodland go National!

Snodland Chess Club have entered the Four Nations Chess League  (4NCL) Rapidplay competition for the first time ever.

The event will see Snodland compete with the best in the UK for a prize fund of £1000.

Five club members, Matt Bunn, George Hollands, David Lettington, Rob Thompson and Matt Gazes make up the squad for the competition which occurs on 29th September in Milton Keynes.

Four players will play in each round, with one player sitting out. There are seven rounds in total and, in each game, each player will have 10 minutes on the clock, with an additional 10 seconds per move, which is added automatically by the digital timer.

Good luck to the team!

Club Championship to start

The Snodland Club Championship is about to start. We look set to have fifteen players competing for the title of Club Champion (known as the A-league Champion) this year, with the top seed being Matthew Bunn.

The club will also award titles to the Most Improved Player, the B-league Champion, C-league Champion and Speed Chess Champion. Once the season draws to a close we also hold our popular knockout competition, the Challenge Cup.

Good luck to everyone taking part!

4th Len Hammond Memorial Match

Snodland Chess Club will kick off the new season with a friendly match against local rivals Maidstone on Wednesday 19th September. The match will be held in honour of Len Hammond who played for both clubs. Maidstone have managed to win all three of the previous encounters, so hopefully it will be our turn this year!

Kent County Chess Association website

The KCCA have moved their website to: www.kentchess.org.uk

The Caro-Kann Crusher

It's good to play games face to face, but a little practice on the internet at fast time limits can sharpen up your skills too! This game was played with 15 minutes each on the clock.

Below is a game played earlier this week, where white crushes the Caro-Kann opening after black nabs all of the material on offer without any regard for white's attacking possiblities.

Look out for a pawn sacrifice on move 10, a bishop sac on move 14 and a rook sac on move 22!

5th Snodland Rapidplay

The 5th Snodland Rapidplay took place on 21st July and the winner, for the fourth time, was FM Martin Taylor of Rainham. Full results here: www.snodlandcongress.blogspot.com

Presentation Evening 14/06/12

This year the Deputy Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling, Councillor Howard Rogers was in attendance to present trophies to the prizewinners. First however, there was one game being played to decide the winner of the Challenge Cup.

This game was being played in isolation between George Hollands and Rob Thompson with the moves being transferred to FIDE Master Steve Giddins in the main club room where he analysed each move for club members and answered any questions they had about the game. This was an exciting game made all the more interesting and informative for members by being able to look at alternatives moves before they were played.

A hard fought game ended with a win for George. The Deputy Mayor then presented trophies to the following winners:- "A" league George Hollands, "B" league Bob Fenn, "C" league Brian Stock, "Speed Chess" George Hollands, "Most Improved player" Hugh Broadbent, "Challenge Cup" George Hollands, "Best Game" David Lettington.

This has been an excellent season for Snodland Chess Club, because in addition to the above David Fowler and his team won the Harvey Cup competition and Nick Allen and his team won the Intro Cup in the Kent Chess Association inter club competitions. Well done to all who took part. Report by Bob Fenn The Deputy Mayor presenting George Hollands with the Speed Chess Cup.
 The Deputy Mayor presenting Brian Stock with the "C" league trophy.
 The Deputy Mayor presenting Hugh Broadbent with the Most Improved player trophy.
 The Deputy Mayor presenting David Lettington with the Best Games Trophy.

Finals Day 13/05/12

We did it ! Our two teams playing in Kent Finals Day at Dartford yesterday were both victorious, winning the Intro and Harvey Cups.
This caps an incredible season for our three teams, with only 1 defeat in 25 competitive matches and a current unbeaten streak of 21.
And we might well have had a third trophy (the Tom Fuller), but could not field three teams at the same time.

In the Intro, against unexpected opponents in Medway, we always appeared in control. Will gave us the best of starts with a win despite being heavily outgraded. He found a number of corking moves including a game changing long castling (get him to show it to you !). Pete won after creating more problems for his opponent than he could come to terms with and Nick was always winning on board one. Brian fought long and hard though a piece down, making his opposite number work hard to the end. So an excellent 3-1 victory starting the afternoon off well.

In the Harvey the opposition was Petts Wood, and an even match, based on the gradings, was in prospect. The first three games to finish, however, all went our way....but that was far from the match being over. Matt G was quickest to finish with a clinical display (finding a nice intermediary move before recapturing the Queen). I managed to sac a rook and in so doing drag the King into the open from which there was no return. Rob made it 3-0 after much thought at an early middle game stage when he feared the position was not what he desired. His good use of time was rewarded as the game swung gradually but clearly his way. Neil then lost from a position where a lot (too much !) was happening and his shortage of time didn't allow him to find a way out of his problems. This left us needing a half point from the two remaining games, both of which appeared to have potential for at least that. David N had held an edge for much of the game and his opponent was content to take the draw despite it giving us the match. In the event David L (surpisingly) lost, but we had won by 3.5 - 2.5 so the day was complete.

As well as the ten players who played in these matches mention should be made of all our other Club members, some of whom were there on the day, as the success this season has been a real team effort with everyone playing their part. Report by David Fowler

Harvey Cup Semi-Final 04/05/12

Yes, we did it !

Three semi-finals, three victories. What a season !

Last night we overcame Sidcup by 3.5 - 2.5 in a match that, despite at one stage leading by 3-0 was always going to produce a tight and tense finish.

Matt G got us off to a good start with a convincing win on board 5, by which time both Neil (6) and Rob (4) were also beginning to get the upper hand in their games. Both duly won to record a healthy lead, however.....

Despite having played well and appearing to have equal chances both George (1) and Nick (3) were now having to defend, and both eventually went down to make it 3-2, but meaning a 3-3 result would see us eliminated on board count.

David L (2) was involved in an unbalanced game, having given up 2 knights for a rook and a pawn. The position appeared even(ish) but his opponent was obliged to look for a win and went 2 pawns down from which he could not recover. David was happy to take a draw from a far superior (although not necessarily winning) position, and so the match was ours - another real team effort.

Report by David Fowler                 

Snodland CC                         Sidcup C C
George Hollands 149  0 - 1   Ian McAllan 158
David Lettington 134  ½ - ½  Gary Sharp 147
Nick Allen          121  0 - 1   Dave Helps  129
Rob Thompson   118  1 - 0  Keith Thompson 121
Matt Gazes         109  1 - 0   Dennis Halton 112
Neil Miners         77    1 - 0   Don Chapman  75
                                  3½ - 2½
Next Sunday sees Finals Day at Dartford, details of which will be circulated shortly.

Tom Fuller Competition

We have now reached the finals in the Tom Fuller. After a rather exciting 2-2 drew with Beckenham, we proceeded through on board count.
 Thanks to all that have taken part.
Report by Rob Thompson

Intro Cup Competition

I have great pleasure in reporting a Great win for Snodland against Lewisham today in the Intro Cup the score was 3-1,

All 4 Boards were very close games and the whole Team played really well to come out on top.

This keeps us unbeaten in the competition and bring on the Final.

Report by Nick Allen

 

Kent Messenger report

Snodland Chess Club has reached the semi-finals in all three Kent County Chess cup competitions which it has entered. The Club has now played seventeen matches this season, recording ten wins, six draws and just one defeat. This impressive form means the Club will progress to the knockout stages of the County’s Harvey Cup, Tom Fuller Cup and Intro Cup. The format of all three competitions begins with two regional qualifying divisions. The winners of the County division (Snodland’s area) face the runners-up of the Metropolitan division in the semis. Snodland have won the County division in all three competitions and will therefore have home advantage against the runners-up from the Metropolitan divisions. Although the Metropolitan divisions are yet to conclude, Snodland are expecting to welcome players from Beckenham, Sidcup and Lewisham Chess Clubs in April’s semi-final ties. Hopes are high that Snodland’s impressive form will continue and that the club will appear in a Kent County cup final this year. The Snodland Chess Club meets every Thursday from 7.30pm at the Cricket Pavilion Snodland. For more information about the Club please contact Neil Miners at neilminers@yahoo.co.uk or phone 01634 242604. The Club welcomes members of all playing strengths.

Harvey Cup

This week has seen us play our 2 remaining fixtures in this competition, emerging with 2 victories to make a final total of 6 wins, 2 draws and no losses ! We have therefore won our group by a clear margin and await to see who our semi-final oponents will be. On Monday we went to Weald of Kent and won 3.5 - 2.5. George, David L and Neil were victorious, Pete drew while Rob and I lost (embarrasingly so in my case, I could have resigned after 8 moves !). Today (Saturday) we defeated Hastings 4-2, the winners being Pete, Hugh and Matt G with draws from George and David L and a solitary loss (Rob). These matches sum up the season quite well in that our 3 winners in each of the matches were different players, emphasising that it's been a real team effort. Eleven players took part in one or more of the matches, and of these nine scored 50% or better. Top scorers were Rob and Pete on 5/7, but congratulations are due to all who contributed - Well done ! As a Club let's hope that we can take our good form into the three semi-finals for which we have qualified and aim to have representation at Kent Finals Day on Sunday 13th May... Report by David Fowler
 Snodland v Hastings  24/03/12
George Hollands 149 ½ - ½ Ollie Wilson 133
David Lettington 134 ½ - ½ Con Power 126
Rob Thompson 118 0 - 1 Mark Finch 121
Pete Hickey 115 1 - 0 Gary Wilson 113
Hugh Broadbent 110 1 - 0 Roger Smart 99
Matt Gazes 109 1 - 0 Joe Sharp 98
                         4 - 2

Weald of Kent  v Snodland    19/03/12
James Hart-Dyke 145 0 - 1 George Hollands 149
Henry Cove 139 1 - 0 David Fowler 142
Clive Oram 118  0 - 1 David Lettington 134
Dominic Oram 115 1 - 0 Rob Thompson 118
Mark Horner 93 ½ - ½ Pete Hickey 115
Elliot Oram 91 0 - 1 Neil Miners 77
                       2½ - 3½

Tom Fuller match Snodland v Sittingbourne

I was very nervous going in to the last match v Sittingbourne! It all seemed so straight forward. A win for top of the group and a home semi final. A draw for the same but joint top and an away tie. A 2.5 - 1.5 loss and still 2nd place courtesy of more game points to the WOK. So on arriving to a much weaker team than ourselves, the doubts crept in as to what a disaster it would be if we lost 3 - 1 for example. Anyway the scene is set and the battle commenced. David L on board 1 completely dominated his game and his opponent resigned in a hopeless position, 1- 0 Snodland. Pete was having a good game on board 3 and expressed afterwards that at one stage he really was itching to attack his opponent outright but was very aware of the need for 1.5 points. He played for the team (well done Pete) reigned in his aggressive approach and took a draw. 1.5 - 0.5, well done Snodland qualified. Richard on board 4 was having a very good game but could not quite hold it together, 1.5 - 1.5 with my game to finish. This left me in a wonderful position as the pressure was off, I was playing well and my opponent was 4 minutes away from his 35 moves with six moves to play. My position was much better and once play broke it was game over and he resigned. 2.5 - 1.5 and Snodland go top. Well done to all that played, see you in the semi finals. Report by Rob Thompson

Tom Fuller match

Last night we played Medway and the evening started in a panic. It
looked like George was stranded at 6.15 (brake pads on car had gone)
so there was a bit of running around to do.
All was ok after a round trip via Sittingbourne, all parties on board
and back to the Medway hut. Snodland won the toss and away we went
white on odds. I played Douglas on board 2 and of we went E4!!!!
Thanks Steve.....out came the Scandinavian and I recorded our first
point with an easy win. Looking at all boards at this stage, it looked
good for Snodland.

Hugh was under a little pressure against Alan Evans but retrieved the
situation with a beautiful check mate combination that involved
sacking his Queen with a double rook check mate, very nice
Hugh.......2-0 to Snodland. Richard was playing a very solid game
against Barry, but unfortunately had a lapse of concentration and lost
his queen for a knight..2-1, everything resting on George v Paul
Foster. A very close fought game and George offered a draw to win the
match, Paul declined and went on to win, with both players in time
trouble.

So 2-2 on the night and an exciting night to come on the 15th of March.

Thanks for all that played and well done.
Report by Robert Thompson

Intro Matches

We have had two intro matches lately, and I am pleased to report two great wins. We have ended the qualifying round unbeaten, and we should all be very pleased with our performances, with so many different people playing so well in all the games it is going to be  very hard to choose the semi-final team, but clearly a nice problem to have. We also, must finish top of the section and therefore can look forward to a home semi-final.
Report by Nick Allen

Harvey Cup Match v Medway 10/02/12

Last night we travelled to Medway for our sixth of eight fixtures in this season's competituon. We came away with a 3-3 draw, which keeps us at the top of the table with 4 wins and 2 draws, but had to endure a dramatic final game win from Rob to maintain our unbeaten record. The evening had started off excellently....despite the predictions of the need to wear multiple layers the venue was in fact very warm ! Charlie got us off to a good start with a solid draw on board 6, and then George exceeded expectations (mine, not his) by drawing with Andy Mayhew (190) on board 1. In fact he was probably winning ! Nick and I then drew what appeared to be unremarkable games, leaving Pete and Rob playing. Unfortunately Pete never really got going in his game, although his opponent almost overlooked the winning move, leaving Rob playing and needing to win. This did not initially seem like a major problem as he had a pawn advantage and a big attack. However when pieces were traded the ending became problematic, with maybe a draw the most likely outcome (didn't someone once say 'all rook and pawn endings are drawn' ?). Anyway Rob gambled by creating a passed pawn and effectively ignoring his opponent's threats which by this stage were real......and it worked, his pawn becoming unstoppable ! That makes it 5/5 for Rob in this year's competition. We now face 2 fixtures in March that will decide where we finish, a top spot and a home sem-final being the aim............ Report by David Fowler

Intro Match

We went to Medway on Friday night and got a hard earned 2-2 draw,I feel this was a great result and keeps us unbeaten in the competition. We have our last Home Match on Thursday 23 Feb.

Report by Nick Allen.

2011 Prizewinners

Pete Hickey, (right) C league winner.
George Hollands, (right) Challenge Cup winner.

David Lettington (right) and Bob Fenn, joint B league winners.

Richard Mallery (right) being presented with the "Most improved player Trophy" by Bob Fenn (Chairman)

Harvey Cup match 19/01/2012

Our latest match in this year's Harvey Cup (last night v Weald of Kent) resulted in a 4-2 victory, thereby maintaining our strong results in the competition.
David N and David L gave strong performances to record convincing wins, while the other full point was achieved by Pete who gave checkmate almost out of the blue !
Neil's opponent, although a piece for 2 pawns up, was happy to settle for a draw while George couldn't make his various advantages count for more than a half point. Hugh almost crashed through with a fierce kingside attack, but was left material down from which he was unable to recover.
With 3 matches to go we are giving ourselves every chance of reaching the semi-finals with a record so far of 4.5 /5
Snodland Weald of Kent

D Nichols 163 1-0 James Hart-Dyke 145

G Hollands 149 ½-½ Mike Matthews 128

D Lettington 134 1-0 D Warrick 118

Pete Hickey 115 1-0 Clive Oram 118

H Broadbent 110 0-1 Mark Horner 92

Neil Miners 77 ½-½ Elliot Oram 88

4-2

Report by David Fowler

Kent Messenger report

The Kent Chess season has now passed its midway point and clubs are now entering the "business end" of the year. Snodland have made a solid start, suffering only one defeat in their first nine matches. Wins against Medway and Hastings in the Intro Cup, three wins in three matches in the Harvey Cup and strong performances in the Tom Fuller Cup have put Snodland within reach of the semi finals in all three cup competitions.

After making a promising start to the season, Snodland are hoping to once again travel to Dartford to take part in the Kent Chess Association’s Finals Day. This event is held in early May at the prestigious Mick Jagger Centre when the finals of all seven Kent Chess competitions are contested. If Snodland's good form continues, hopes are high that 2012 will see the Club winning a Kent Chess trophy.

The Snodland Chess Club meets every Thursday from 7.30pm at the Cricket pavilion Snodland.

Report by Neil Miners

Harvey Cup result 11/01/12

On Thursday we played our 4th match in this competition, at home to Medway, having won the first three.
Despite our overall performance being somewhat mixed we achieved (escaped with ?) a draw. It is often said that the mark of a good team is to get a reult when not playing well !

Having been 2-0 down (George and Nick on the top boards) Rob won convicingly, and Hugh got the full point after turning down a draw offer when a pawn down ! That left David L and Pete battling to get something from their games, from unpromising positions. Eventually Pete drew an endgame having entered it a pawn down and David created enough threats with his King to persuade his opponent that a draw should be accepted.
Snodland CC Medway CC

George Hollands 149 0-1 Andrew Mayhew 186

Nick Allen 121 0-1 Tyrone Jefferies 116

David Lettington 134 ½-½ Alan Evans 97

Rob Thompson 118 1-0 Dave Langford 95

Pete Hickey 115 ½-½ Barry Sawyer 93

Hugh Broadbent 110 1-0 Barry Hampton 88

3-3

Report by David Fowler