Archive: UNCUT! 52

The Sean Marsh
Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 52*

Dear Readers,

The new chess season is now upon us and in addition to the usual events there are several new ones to enjoy.

The first of these is the SME Match Championship, featuring eight strong local players. The first round sees the players contest two-game mini-matches, followed by four-game matches in round two and then a final of six games.

Playing a match, rather than a one-off championship or league game, opens up new possibilities and dimensions as regards preparation, timely draw offers and several other competitive aspects.

The first round games were all played at the same time and this added extra interest.

All four games were hard fought and contained much of interest.

Norman Stephenson won nicely on the Black side of a Trompowsky – against 2 Bg5’s biggest local PR man!

John Garnett - Norman Stephenson
(Notes by Norman)
18. Ne2? The rush to prepare defences for the backward pawn leads to a cure that is worse than the disease 18...Bxe3! 19. fxe3 Qxe3+ 20. Rf2 Ng4 21. Raf1 white isn't too badly off...without the follow-up combination.

21...d4! 22. Nc4 Rxc4 23. bxc4 d3 and white resigned in view of 24 Qc1 dxe2 25 Qxe3 exf1(Q)ch and recapturing on 'e3' 0–1

Black also won the following encounter…

Dave Edmunds – Sean Marsh

There has been a game-long dispute over the d4-square. White finally gets a Knight back on there…
27 Nd4 …but this move runs into a shocking refutation 27 …Qxd4 0-1

Black looked set to strike again in this game…

Mike Closs – Ian Elcoate
Black had earlier given up a piece for two pawns – but what pawns! Mike shortly felt obliged to return the Knight to shatter the fearsome pawn roller.
The position at the time-control was still in the balance…

…but Ian rather took his eye off the ball and didn’t counter Mike’s raid on the Queenside in the correct manner, allowing the latter a winning advantage (1-0, 57)Ian has put his game online so that you can play through it click the link below:

http://www.iane11.co.uk/Chess/smeindiv06rd1gm1.htm



Only one game was drawn, but it featured some tricky and intriguing chess.

David Baillie – David Wise
White had sacrificed a pawn in the opening for positional pressure. Black seems to be doing well now though. According to the players, White should now try 17 axb5 axb5 18 Ra7 with decent play for the pawn. However, David B. thought that the best way to deal with the Knight heading for the c4 outpost was to prepare to remove it as soon as it lands.

So he played 17 Qa2 and after 17 …Rad8 18 e3 Nc4 he chopped it off with the instructive exchange sacrifice 19 Rxc4!?

A few moves later it became clear that White enjoys compensation, not only on the board, but on the clock as well.
Here, Black offered a draw - which was accepted.

There is still all to play for as the vanquished have a chance to even up the score in game 2.

Here are a few photos from a very enjoyable evening.

All smiles during the post-game analysis. L-R Norman, Dave and John

David Wise and David Baillie look for the truth: Does White have enough for the pawn?

Just after the time-control in the last game to finish. Ian writes as Mike contemplates a raid on the Queenside pawns.

Sean Marsh
16/9/2006

Chess Reviews: 15

Starting Out: 1 e4!
GM Neil McDonald
(Everyman)

Readers of my earlier columns will know that I have a lot of respect for the works of GM McDonald. So I was delighted to be given the opportunity to review his latest book.

It’s no easy task to fit a full, decent and challenging 1e4 repertoire into a 200-page book. It is quite easy to fudge it and provide a more universal approach to cover a lot of defences (for example, advocating the King’s Indian Attack against virtually everything and claiming it’s for 1 e4 players). However, the author takes his task somewhat more seriously than that and provides some formidable ammunition for the aspiring King’s Pawn practitioner.

One of GM McDonald’s great specialities is the French Defence. Against such a tough nut he gives 20 pages on what he dubs ‘The Universal System’, namely 1 e4 e5 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Bd3 c5 6 c3 Nc6 7 Ngf3 in which White is quite prepared to offer a genuine pawn sacrifice after 8 …Qb6 9 0-0.

The other name for this is The Korchnoi Gambit, after Viktor the Terrible used it to great effect in a famous game against Udovcic back in 1967. However, it’s always seemed a bit of a misnomer to me because as far as I know he only played it once (indeed, former County Champion Mike Closs has played it a lot more frequently) and it was already known before his game.

In return for the pawn White has good chances to seize and maintain the initiative. This could turn out to be all-important. The book quotes a comment by Spassky in which the 10th World Champion says that although modern chess is more fast moving and complex, players defend worse than they used to.

Interesting food for thought, and such an attitude is apparent throughout the chosen repertoire, for example with the choice of the 150 Attack against the Pirc and Modern Defences and the Panov Botvinnik Attack against the solid Caro-Kann. The latter line has always seemed to me to be surprisingly rare and as most Black players will probably be better booked-up for the delights of 3 Nc3 (or Nd2) and 3 e5, it would be a good line to take up.

Prospective 1 e4 players will need a good way to meet the plethora of Petroffs they are likely to face. The line recommended here is: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 Nc3!? Nxc3 6 dxc3!

…followed by a swift 0-0-0 and a Kingside storm.

The biggest section of the book is reserved for the ever-popular Sicilian Defence. There’s no messing around here as GM McDonald takes the bull by the horns and gets stuck right into the main lines. This is an ethos that will make 1 …c5 happy too as they will be delighted that 1 e4 players are being encouraged to play something other than 2 c3 or 3 Bb5(+).

Amongst the recommendations given are 6 Be3 against the Najdorf and the deadly Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon.

As always with McDonald’s books, the material is bang up to date, with a couple of games from the Wijk aan Zee tournament of just a few months ago.

VERDICT:
There’s no ducking the challenge from the author, who gives what he promises: an introduction to the full 1 e4 experience! This book will certainly get you and running and if you use the given lines you will soon develop a reputation as a player to be reckoned with. Naturally, you will need to consult other works to augment the information given as you rise up the levels, but this book is an excellent place to start.

For details of Everyman chess books, please visit:
http://www.everymanchess.com/

Happy reading!
August 2006

Archive: UNCUT! 51

The Sean Marsh
Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 51*

Dear Readers,

It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that International Master William Hartston has agreed to come along and support a couple of our forthcoming events.

He will be performing a simultaneous display on Friday 29th September followed by an appearance at the Yarm Junior Team Tournament the following day.

Full details will follow as soon as they are finalised.
Meanwhile, let’s take a closer look at one of the legends of British Chess….

He was one of the best of Batsford’s early chess authors, with such books as ‘The Grunfeld Defence’ and ‘The Benoni’ remaining useful guides to this day. His famous humorous side was well to the fore in the classics ‘How to Cheat at Chess’ and ‘Soft Pawn’.

Readers will long memories will remember that he won the first two series of the classic BBC tournament ‘The Master Game’ before becoming the co-presenter with Jeremy James. He remained in the BBC chess presenter’s chair all the way up to the Karpov v Kasparov battles.
He won the British Championship in 1973 and 1975 (and lost play-offs for the title in 1974 and 1980) and represented England at the Olympiads of 1966, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1978.
As a top player for England, IM Hartston was constantly in the thick of the action and has draws with such super-GMs as Botvinnik, Karpov, Korchnoi, Spassky, Tal, Petrosian, Smyslov and Bronstein to his credit. He had some really thumping victories against other luminaries too…

Hartston - Gligoric
Hastings 1965

23 Rxf5! exf5 24 Nd6 Bxd6 25 Bxf7 1-0 (After 25 …Qxf7 26 Qxd6 mate is inevitable thanks to the threat of 27 Qxe5+)

Hartston - Portisch
Nice 1974
22 Bxh6! gxh6 23 Qxh6 Nb2 24 Ng5 Nxd3 25 Nh7! 1-0

Anderssen - Hartston
Hastings 1972
36...Bh3+!! 0-1

We are certainly looking forward to seeing International Master William Hartston in action at Yarm School. A full report will follow!

Sean Marsh
9/8/2006

Archive: UNCUT! 50

The Sean Marsh
Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 50*

Clock Simul!

In a brand-new chess venture, Mike Closs and I offered our services for a simultaneous display, using clocks, under strict match conditions.

The majority of simuls are much more casual affairs but clock simuls offer other advantages (and, for the players, other disadvantages!).

We were very grateful to Billingham Synthonia for taking up the offer and there was enough interest to hold two clock simuls, featuring four players in each one.

Mike lined up against Messrs Rattue, Skillcorn, Greenwood and Edwards and I was up against Mike Creaney, Brian Whitaker, Joe Richardson and Frank Brown.

Just as in a regular simul, the initial moves come quickly from both sides of the board. Then the differences start to become apparent. The simul-giver has to keep a careful eye on the clocks, just as in a regular tournament game. The simul-taker can have extended thinks at key moments of the game and doesn’t have to move as soon as desired.

The concentration levels of all concerned are required to be greater than for a regular simul too. Playing games against raw juniors is one thing but one conspicuous error against hardened club players, with plenty of time on the clock to perfect a refutation, can be disastrous.

Mike’s sharp opening repertoire makes him an ideal choice for a simultaneous event and he quickly built up impressive attacks with his two Whites.

Against Keith Rattue, Mike smashed his way through to victory with a couple of rampant Knights and a Rook-lift:

24 Nxh6 Qe8 25 Nxg8 Qxg8 26 Ng5+ Kh6 27 Nf7+ Kh7 28 Rf5 1-0

Mike was on his best tactical form against Walter Greenwood.

13 Rxe6! Rxe6 14 Nxd5 cxd5 15 Bxd5 and White gets the material back with interest. He concluded the game with another tactical shot.

30 Rxf6! 1-0

With Black he had to work a little harder.

Edwards v Closs

White is not doing badly at all here, and should either exchange Rooks on d5 or play 16 Nh4!? However, the chosen move was a mistake.

16 Nd2? Qd6! and the pin on the Knight won material (and eventually the game).

Vince Skillcorn provided the Mighty Mish was the toughest challenge.

Here, Vince has a choice of recaptures. Possibly the least obvious, 19 hxg4!? was the best try, aimed at holding back Black’s natural …f5 pawn break. He played 19 Nxg4 instead whereupon Mike broke out with 19 …f5 20 exf5 gxf5 and the pawns were ready to roll forward.
The game concluded with a typical thrust by one of the marching pawns…

33 …f3+! and seeing that the White Rook is lost (34 Kd3 c4+) Vince resigned.
Mike’s games all finished while I had two left going on. I was keen to match his 4-0 score! I was half way there…

Tactical strokes decide the majority of simultaneous games. Against Frank Brown, the Black pieces had taken up menacing posts and the position was ripe for the denouement…

30 …Rxg2+! was the start of a mate in five combination.

Mate was also the theme at the conclusion of my game with Joe Richardson.

22 Nf4 has just been played with the idea of cutting off the retreat squares from the Rook. The Rook still found a way to retreat though…
22 …Rxf4! 23 gxf4 Ne3+ 0-1

My game with Mike Creaney had developed along one of the typical lines of the Tarrasch Defence to the Queen’s Gambit. White has been aiming as many of his pieces as possible at the isolated Queen’s pawn and Black has been enjoying the scope granted to his active pieces in return.
In this position, White is a shade worse but things fell apart completely after 24 a4?? when 24…Bb4 wins substantial material. So….0-1

The final game to finish was the best - and closest - of the evening.

There were lots of key moments in my battle with Brian Whitaker.
Alekhine’s Defence did its duty; tempting the White centre forward and then exploiting a weakness to win a pawn…

10 …Na5 11 Qc2 Bf5 12 Qc1 Nbxc4 and the pressure against b2 by the Bg7 ensures a clear pawn advantage.

I missed a chance to substantially increase the advantage in the next position.

I played 19 …Nxd5!? Better was 19 …Rxc3! 20 Qxc3 Nxd5 21 Qd2 Bxd3 22 Qxd3 Nb4 and the Knights run roughshod over the White position.

Things became tricky after that, as Brian took the opportunity to centralise his Queen and two Knights, granting him serious play against the weakened Black King. After some very interesting complications, the Queens were exchanged and we reached an ending with Rook and five pawns against two Knights and three pawns. For one move, White had the chance to round up the passed pawn…

45 Nb3! (instead of 45 f3, the move played in the game) when 45 …Ra3 46 Ncxa5 g5!? would have given a very tough endgame to win. The passed pawn has gone but the Knights are difficult to unravel.

The passed pawn eventually inched forward and we reached the final key position.

Black has just played 51 …Ke6, having worked out that after 52 (either)Nd4+ exd4 53 Nd4+ Kf6 54 Nxb3 axb3 the King and pawn ending is a definite win. White tried 52 Na1 but then 52 …f5 was checkmate.

It was a memorable evening and one, which Mike and I are both hoping to repeat in the near future. Thank you Billingham Synthonia, you were great hosts!

Full concentration as the Mighty Mish starts his games

Would you accept a Knight sacrifice from this man?

The simuls in full swing

Snapped at the very moment ...Bb4 arrived on the board

Material is lost!

Full power needed for this tricky game

Sean Marsh

14/7/2006

Chess Reviews: 14

Winning Chess: Combinations
By GM Yasser Seirawan
(Everyman)

The seventh volume in Grandmaster Seirawan’s extremely successful ‘Winning Chess’ series takes a look at the wonderful world of chess combinations.

After a short introduction, telling how this particular book came about, it’s straight down to business with the first of the eight entertaining chapters: ’Three Combination Types’.

The material gets harder as the book progresses through its 254 pages. With strong emphasis on pattern recognition, Seirawan goes on to give extensive coverage to the classic combinations, such as ‘The Classical Bishop Sacrifice’.

I like the way he builds up the standard patterns from basic positions to their use in real games. For example, he follows up this basic pattern:

‘1 …Qxf1+! 2 Kxf1 Bh3+ 3 Kg1 Re1 checkmate. A nifty motif to know!’

…with the game Vorotnikov v Ivanov (Vilnius 1977).

The conclusion? You guessed it! 16 …Qxf1+!! 0-1 It’s a great feeling to play such moves over the board. As Seirawan succinctly puts it: ‘Boof! Bang! Pow!’

I think we’ve all been on both sides of the famous Bxh7+ combination at some time or other and it’s comforting to know that even top Grandmasters can occasionally find themselves slipping into the standard patterns.

Quinteros - Seirawan
Biel IZ 1985

White managed to bring about a standard sacrifice after: 10 c5! dxc5 11 e5 Nd5 12 Bxh7+! Kxh7 and White whipped up a very strong attack (but later went astray and Black eventually won).
Chapter 5, ‘Blunders and Boomerangs’, serves to remind us that combinations must be properly analysed to avoid unpleasant rebounds. The recent game Adams v Kramnik (Sofia 2005) is given excellent coverage and shows that even a World Champion can run aground with faulty play.

The final two chapters take a look at several examples from the World Championship Tournament of last year. The positions are presented as tests, followed by extensive and highly instructive solutions. The tests are tough enough for any club or county player - as game positions taken from a World Championship should be - and the reader’s efforts will be rewarded.

Here’s a sample for the curious.

Anand - Morozevich
San Luis 2005

Three candidate moves are suggested for White‘s 19th move, namely f5, Qh5 and Bxh7+. Which is best? The detailed solution covers nearly eight pages!

Seirawan’s writing style is very user-friendly and he is eminently capable of teaching without talking down to his target audience. He is not afraid to share his own blunders; indeed, the annotations to his own up and down encounters are possibly the best in the book.

VERDICT:
When I first opened this book I thought it was going to be more of a primer from beginners, with well-known examples. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that there was plenty of material - most of it extremely recent - for more advanced players. The author’s optimistic and lively tone makes this an excellent and highly instructive volume. Recommended!

For details of Everyman chess books, please visit:
http://www.everymanchess.com/

Happy reading!
June 2006

Archive: UNCUT! 49

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 49*


The Human Touch
Part Two

Dear Readers,

Time now to take a look at some more high-level blunders and perhaps discover the cause of each one.

Petrosian - Spassky
Game 8
World Championship Match 1969

‘Iron’ Tigran, who at his best could be almost unbeatable thanks to his highly developed and uncanny sense of danger, has just played the awful move 14 Be2-d3?? Spassky pounced with 14 …d4! 15 Bxd4 Nxd3 16 Qxd3 Bc4 winning the exchange (and later on, the game).

Perhaps Petrosian had settled down to besiege the isolated Queen’s pawn over a long positional struggle and assumed that it would not be able to take any active part in subsidiary tactics.

Taking his eye off the ball gifted his opponent an easy chance that any club player would be capable of spotting quickly.

This was not the first time that 9th World Champion had missed a little something when he thought he had the position under complete control.

Liberzon - Petrosian
Moscow 1964

One can easily see that Black has real grounds for optimism. White’s pawns are split and weak, Black’s position is very sound and ultimately the classic French centre will outlast any sort of structure White tries to cling to. Why not turn the positional screw a little further and get rid of White’s better Bishop?

14 …Bb5?? A typical Petrosian manoeuvre and a potent positional weapon in many a French Defence player’s arsenal. Unfortunately it is very badly timed and White has a shot. It seems that Petrosian has relaxed and turned off his blunder-checker.

14 Be3! A short move but a very effective one. Did Petrosian, on a subconscious level, assume that the bad Bishop would automatically be of no use? Here, faced with the awful truth of 14 …Qc6 15 Nd4!, winning a piece, Petrosian resigned. 1-0 He could have struggled on for a while with 15 …d4!? 16 cxd4 Qd5 but was probably more eager to try and forget all about it.

Losing the sense of danger must be put down as one of the main reasons for blundering. It is easy to relax once a player believes the position to be an easy win or a comfortable draw.

Nunn - Plaskett
London 1986

Black must have been pleased with the way the Petroff Defence had virtually neutralised the great attacking Nunn. But it only takes one careless move….

20 …Nb4?? 21 Qf5!! A beautiful rejoinder! Suddenly White has three tactical devices all working for him. There is a threat to the Black Queen, trouble on the back rank and major trouble after the sensible looking 21 … Qd8 when 22 Re7! mates in three more moves. Black struggled on with 21 …Re6 but after 22 d5 he faced ruinous material loss and resigned on move 26.

T. Middleton - E. Lazenby
Whitby v Middlesbrough Wasps
League Match, 2006

The same principle applied in a recent local league game. Ernie, who gamely submitted this snippet, had been entertaining the hope of a Kingside attack for some time.

Perhaps feeling that it was unlikely to happen in view of White’s consistently solid and careful play, Black lost his way and chopped off the Knight. 1 …Bxe5. Not such a bad move in itself, but part of the same sort of woolly thinking that led to the blunders above. Black feels that the initiative is not going to come his way after all and decides the game should be drawn. Exchanging on e5 is a symbolic gesture towards the sharing of the point, as was Ernie’s draw offer after the unfortunate - and quickly played - 2 dxe5 Rh6?? whereupon the shocking 3 Qxa7 ended the game. Ernie’s only loss of an otherwise great season.

Another type of ‘blunder potential’ occurs not when a player relaxes too soon but when the tension is considerably more palpable. The ‘big match’, the ‘difficult opponent’, the ‘last round’ and other such momentous occasions can all help to screw up the tension to fever pitch inside a player’s mind. Despite the greater concentration, blunders can still easily occur.
Here’s one of my own which sticks in my mind.

M. Closs v S. Marsh
Redcar v Guisborough
League Match, 1985

Mike and I have enjoyed a long and varied chess rivalry. (It’s not out of the question that a future UNCUT! will provide the definitive version.) There is usually a good deal of nervous tension when we play and this a good example of a double-blunder resulting from such pressure.
In this position, White is clearly much better and Black is trying to hold everything together. To that end, I played 19 …Qc8?? and realised, as soon as my hand had left the piece, that the Queen is terribly overloaded; 20 Bxb7 would win a clear piece. I tried the ‘straight face defence’ but also tried to make sure my hand was free from sweat to tender and immediate resignation after his next move. Sure enough, after a little thought, Mike picked up the Bishop…but put it down on c6! 20 Bc6?? Re7 and Black is still under excruciating pressure but managed to hold a draw on the 36th move.

Chigorin - Steinitz
World Championship Match 1892

The tension of playing a great friend and rival in a local league match can be serious enough, but blunders can decide a lot more than a mid-table pecking order.

In this famous example, the dangerous looking Black Rooks should not prevent White from converting a fine effort into a very important victory. Chigorin could have levelled the match and sent it into extra time if nervous tension hadn’t led him to produce the terrible 32 Bb4?? allowing the obvious 32 …Rxh2+ 0-1

Can you imagine the pressure the two players must have been under? Amazingly, taking advantage of the fact that the day this game was played was a holiday in Cuba, no less that 1,900 spectators followed the cut and thrust battle as it twisted its way to the tragic conclusion after four hours of play.

Another lowering of the guard can happen when a difficult game has been apparently saved and even turned around into a decisive advantage. It’s so easy to lose objectivity as one attempts to turn the final screw in the opponent’s coffin.

Reshevsky - Savon
Petropolis Interzonal
1973

This a classic example of ‘dizziness due to success.’ Reshevsky had been in serious trouble for most of the game but had fought back brilliantly to achieve a winning position. Indeed, he has a mate in four (which you might like to work out for yourselves) and was not even in time-trouble. Instead, he played the amazing 40 Qxg6+?? And had to resign after 40 …Bxg6! Reshevsky said, ’This was the worst blunder I have ever made. After the game, I was so upset that I has to sit somewhere alone for quite a while searching for an explanation.’

Oh, we all know that feeling only too well!

D. Smith v S. Marsh
Cleveland Invitation Tournament 1989

This game followed the same template as the Reshevsky example. White had been close to winning for a very long time but somehow the game turned and Black gained all the chances with a direct attack on the King. I thought I should win this position.

Time-trouble was no longer a factor as we’d just added more time to the clocks having reached the time-control on move 36. Yet my very next move is one of the biggest available blunders. I played 37 …Rxf3?? only to be shocked by 38 Qc8+! and 1-0 due to the inevitable 39 Qb7+ and the loss of the Black Rook.

UNCUT! Will return with more blunders and their causes in a future edition. Readers, we need your blunders! Please send me your howlers and the stories behind them.

Meanwhile, the best advice to avoid blunders of the sort we have just seen is to try and keep your concentration up at all times, no matter whether you think you are winning, drawing or losing; playing for local pride or in a World Championship final. When you do blunder, try to come to terms with it as soon as possible and move on. Take solace from the fact that every single payer in the history of chess has dropped Rooks, allowed elementary forks and missed easy checkmates, for and against.

It’s not east and we are all going to blunder horribly from time to time in games to come. In chess, that’s what the human touch is often all about!

Sean Marsh
21/06/2006

Archive: UNCUT! 48

The Sean Marsh Chess Column
UNCUT!
*Column 48*
* *June 2006* *

‘Mega!’

The death of local chess character Michael J. Welch shocked the local club scene last month. Aged only 42, he was knocked down by a bus and never recovered from his injuries.

I think sufficient time has now passed by to enable UNCUT! to take a look at some aspects of his life in chess.

A very long time ago, he acquired the nickname ‘Mega’, due to his habit of repeating the word in exclamation and praise of anything and everything noteworthy and/or pleasurable. A Queen sacrifice, a long, forcing theoretical line in the Sicilian Najdorf, a good joke and a ‘house special’ kebab were all ‘mega!’ and consequently the name stuck.

He was a member of various clubs over the years, from St. Peter’s through to Guisborough and Middlesbrough, with frequent appearances at Redcar. I got to know him better once he joined Guisborough in the mid-1980s. We met in the final of the 1989-90 Guisborough Championship and after 44 moves we reached this position…

S. Marsh – M. J. Welch
Guisborough Club Championship Final
1989-90

44 …f4 should hold, despite the bad Bishop but here he made his first slip of the game with 44 …fxg4? 45 Nxg4 and a pawn fell off. He had automatically expected 45 fxg4. White won after 78 moves – a tough game!

Fast-forward a decade and here’s a more famous Bishop v Knight ending he managed to turn around…

T. Kiddle – M.J. Welch
Rooks v Knights, 2002

Black has been struggling for some time but after: 40 …g5 41 Nf5+? Bxf5 42 gxf5 Kd7 43 f4 gxf4+ 44 Kxf4 Kc6 45 e4 dxe4 46 Kxe4 Kxc5

White discovered, to his horror, that not all King and pawn endings with an extra are winning. This was the key game in a great match victory for the Knights.

He enjoyed heavy theoretical lines in several openings, such as the Sicilian Najdorf, Alekhine’s Defence and various sharp gambits in the Slav and Semi-Slav.

His final club was Middlesbrough and he made an excellent job of captaining the Middlesbrough Knights at a time when it had a predominately junior line-up. Indeed, for a couple of seasons the Knights were the biggest threat to Elmwood and The Rooks; not that they were ever likely to win the league, but they were more than capable of beating any team in a single match.

For the last few years, Mega’s chess was confined to the Internet and was a Senior Representative on chess server FICS, where he enjoyed the respect of the chess playing masses.
He was remarkably good at both Scrabble and table tennis, but there was always a tendency to be somewhat accident-prone. A friend recalls…

There was the famous time at Middlesbrough Chess Club when his chair collapsed during play. His hands and arms came down on the table to try and steady himself and his board and the one next to him went flying with pieces everywhere.

Another time we were in a supermarket and getting some drink in for Christmas. He reached to the top shelf only for his body to dislodge a pack of 24 bottles of beer onto the floor shattering them all. We scarpered…!

Blurring the line between ‘unemployed’ and ‘unemployable’, he was once forced to go to a job interview and escaped the dreaded fate of being ‘considered’ with a remarkable strategy. He approached the people in question with the immortal words, ‘Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Michael J. Welch and here is my Curriculum Vitae for you to peruse at your leeeeeeeeeesure’. Like I said, he enjoyed forcing variations…

Over the board, there were times when he couldn’t contain himself. More than once he responded to a weak move from an opponent with a very audible ‘HUH!’ before bashing out the refutation.

In a match against Redcar, another opponent picked up his rook and then suddenly realised the move he wanted to play was illegal. He thought for some time and then picked up another piece. Mega uttered the immortal words ‘I'm afraid you're still going to have to move the Rook’ There was only one legal Rook move…and it cost the Rook, for no compensation whatsoever. Mega could never keep the lid on his glee on such occasions.

To conclude, here’s a game which shows him at his best, in one of his favourite variations.

M. J. Welch – J. Ramsdale
Guisborough '5 Minute' Tournament
23.07.1988

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0–0–0 Nbd7 10.Bd3 b5 11.Rhe1 Bb7 12.Nd5

12 … exd5 13.Nf5 dxe4 14.Bxe4 Bxe4 15.Rxe4 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 0–0 17.Nxe7+ Mega said at the time: 'I think this is better than 17 Bxe7, given by Nunn.' 17...Kh8 18.Rd3 Nc5 Mega: 'On 18 ...f5 I planned 19 Qe6! Nf6 20 Rh3 h6 21 Rh6+ gxh6 22 Bf6+ winning.'

19.Qxh7+!! Kxh7 20.Rh3# 1–0

Michael J. Welch
‘One Of The Game’s Real Characters’
R.I.P.


Sean Marsh
6/06/2006