There is important information for participants in the Major and Minor tournaments at this year’s Northumbria Masters Congress.
These 2 tournaments will now take place over seven rounds, on three and a half days (Friday 26 August to Monday 29 August), not the nine rounds over four and a half days originally planned.
This is to help players avoid clashes with work or school commitments on Tuesday 30th August.
The revised Round times for the Major and Minor tournaments are as follows:
Please note: The other tournaments – the Masters Open, Challengers and GM and IM title norm tournaments – will go ahead as originally planned, over nine rounds from 26-30 August.
Full details are available from the organiser, Tim Wall, at timpeterwall@gmail.com and on the Event Information page on this website:
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The Chess Trust is a charitable fund established by the English Chess Federation in 2015 with the following aims:
♦ The advancement of amateur sport by promoting the study and practice of chess in all its forms, principally, but not exclusively, for the benefit of the residents of England; and
♦ The advancement of education by promoting the development of young people through the teaching and practice of chess
The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organisation in England and is affiliated to FIDE (the Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Its mission is to promote the game of chess, in all its forms, as an attractive means of cultural and personal advancement to the widest possible public. In addition, the ECF exists to develop chess by creating the means to enable the highest forms of chess excellence to be achieved, and to expand the game as a social and sporting activity.
The Friends of Chess is an independent charity, affiliated to the ECF, founded in 1969 with the objective of restoring Britain to a leading place amongst the world’s chess nations. It provides funds to aid and initiate such chess enterprises as international tournaments, matches and team events and, perhaps most importantly of all, to assist British chess players to take part in suitable international tournaments where title norms were available.
Northumberland Chess Association is a county association affiliated to the ECF, covering the areas of Northumberland, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside. It organises the Northumbria League and the Northumberland Weekend Congress, and has been promoting chess in the North East since its founding in 1930.
The Northumbria Junior Chess Association (founded in 1996) is a registered UK charity that aims to help support and develop chess amoung young people in the North East of England.
It organises regular junior congresses, provides advice and support for schools and junior clubs in the area, and provides help to promising local juniors seeking to play in international competitions.
Three young North East players, James Moreby, Yichen Han and Max Turner, will take on GMs and IMs in the Northumbria Masters All-Play-Alls over the Bank Holiday weekend of 26-30 August.
The games will be broadcast live on Chess24, Lichess and Chess.com.
The full lineup for the GM norm tournament is here:
GM Mark Hebden (ENG, 2476) GM Andrei Maksimenko (UKR, 2424) IM Matthew Wadsworth (ENG, 2418) GM Bogdan Lalic (CRO, 2415) IM-elect Jonah Willow (ENG, 2393) FM Harry Grieve (ENG, 2390) FM Tom O’Gorman (IRL, 2389) FM Yichen Han (NED, 2332) FM Rajat Makkar (FRA, 2300) FM James Moreby (ENG, 2300)
(Average rating: 2383.7)
And the lineup for the IM norm tournament is here:
FM Daniel Fischer (SUI, 2373) IM Angus Dunnington (SCO, 2361) FM William Claridge-Hansen (ENG, 2345) FM Hamish Olson (SCO, 2343) IM Gavin Wall (IRL, 2306) Dong Bao Nghia (VIE, 2294) Max Turner (ENG, 2247) Viktor Stoyanov (ENG, 2246) IM Stephen Mannion (SCO, 2232) Aaravamudhan Balaji (ENG, 2194)
(Average rating: 2294.1)
The pairings (with colours) for both round robin tournaments will be posted here on the evening of Friday 12 August.
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Please note: Inclusion on this list does not constitute a recommendation from the Northumbria Masters Congress.
(It’s usually best to check the prices on websites such as Booking.com and Trivago, and then see if you can get a better deal by calling the hotel direct.)
The school is situated in a modern (2010) campus 2 minutes’ walk from Longbenton Metro station, which is a 20-minute Metro journey from Newcastle Central Station, and a 35-minute Metro journey from Newcastle International Airport. By road, St. Mary’s is 3 miles from Junction 77 of the A1(M).
There is a wide range of hotel and B&B accommodation available in Jesmond (2 miles away, 30 minutes’ walk), Newcastle City Centre (3 miles away) and Gosforth (3 miles away).
I am pleased to announce that we will have a full range of tournaments to suit all players:
Northumbria Masters Open (FIDE-rated, 26-30 August) – Open to all players, 9-round Swiss, eligible for title norms.
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The 3rd EJCOA Invitational will take place at The Chess Centre, 8, Crescent Court, Brook Street, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 8DE. This is a dedicated 24/7, high-quality chess facility hosting tournaments, matches, club events and training.
The Invitational includes an IM norm tournament and a Youth Training Tournament.
3rd EJCOA Invitational IM Norm Tournament
The lineup for this tournament is now complete:
1 IM Jose Camacho-Collados (KOR, 2400) 2 FM Jonah Willow (ENG, 2360) 3 FM Yichen Han (NED, 2347) 4 IM David Eggleston (ENG, 2343) 5 FM Paul Macklin (ENG, 2341) 6 FM William Claridge-Hansen (ENG, 2340) 7 WIM Zala Urh (SLO, 2307) (replacing FM Iain Gourlay, SCO) 8 IM Stephen Mannion (SCO, 2271) 9 FM Shreyas Royal (ENG, 2243) 10 FM Adam Ashton (ENG, 2379)
(Any player wishing to act as a reserve or to be considered for future norm tournaments should write to: timpeterwall@gmail.com)
Average rating of opponents for highest-rated norm seeker: 2329.2. IM Norm requirement (for all norm seekers): 6/9
Prizes: 1st £200, 2nd £150, 3rd £100 No tie-breaks will be used. Prizes will be shared by players on the same score.
Time control: 90 minutes for all moves, plus 30 seconds increment per move from move 1.
FIDE-rated Youth Training All-Play-All Tournament (please note: games between all players will count for FIDE rating)
Entries confirmed so far: 1 Kyle Pelling (ENG) ECF 1929, FIDE 1809 2 Shriaansh Ganti (ENG) ECF 1337 3 Jael De Sousa Muachikape (ENG) ECF 1834 4 Dillan Duke (ENG) ECF 1623 5 Sam Coates (SCO) FIDE 1676 6 Angelica Rowe (ENG) ECF 1508 7 Ethan Pang (ENG) ECF 1376 8 Place available 9 Place available 10 Place available
Entries are welcome for the FIDE-rated Youth Training Tournament. Please write to Tournament Director Tim Wall at: timpeterwall@gmail.com.
To enter, participants should be under the age of 25 on January 1, 2022, and have a Standard Play FIDE rating .
February 2022 Standard Play FIDE Ratings will be used
Entry Fee: £75.00
Prizes: 1st £150, 2nd £100, 3rd £50 No tie-breaks will be used. Prizes will be shared by players on the same score.
Time control 60 minutes for all moves, plus 30 seconds increment per move from move 1.
Training The Youth Training Tournament time control is shorter to allow time for post-game analysis between the players with an ECF Registered Coach, who will be on hand for analysis during all rounds.
1 IM Matthew Wadsworth (ENG) 2 IM David Eggleston (ENG) 3 IM Neil Bradbury (ENG) 4 FM Maciej Czopor (POL) 5 FM Tom O’Gorman (IRL) 6 FM Jonah Willow (ENG) 7 FM Tarun Kanyamarala (IRL) 8 FM Yichen Han (NED) 9 FM William Claridge-Hansen (ENG) 10 FM Jonathan Blackburn (WLS)
The IM norm will be 6/9 for all norm seekers, based on the December 2021 FIDE Rating List.
If you are interested in playing in future title norm events, please write to: timpeterwall@gmail.com
IM tournament prizes: £200, £150, £100 IM tournament time control: 90 minutes for all moves, plus 30 seconds increment per move from move 1.
Youth (Under 25) Training All-Play-All Tournament Completed line-up:
1 Trisha Kanyamarala (IRL) (2190) 2 Bernard Chan (MAS) (1897) 3 Nicolas Skettos (CYP) (1922) 4 Samuel Parry (ENG) (1812) 5 Ned Carmichael (ENG) (1794) 6 Morgan French (ENG) (1537) 7 Julie Oh (ENG) (1268) 8 Arun Mohindra (ENG) (unrated) 9 Ethan Tatters (ENG) (unrated) 10 Alexander Johnston (ENG) (unrated)
Youth Training Tournament prizes: £150, £100, £50 Youth Training Tournament time control: 60 minutes for all moves, plus 30 seconds increment per move from move 1.
Training: Please note – The Youth Training Tournament time control is shorter to allow time for post-game analysis between the players with an ECF Registered Coach, who will be on hand for analysis during all rounds.
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We are pleased to announce the lineups for the 1st EJCOA Forest Hall Invitational, which comprises two 10-player all-play-all tournaments – one for IM, WGM and WIM norms, and the other aimed at promising young players.
The tournaments are the first in a regular series of all-play-all events planned in Newcastle upon Tyne, Yorkshire and other locations around the UK, aimed at providing opportunities for aspiring players.
We have now filled all the places in the IM norm and Under 2200 All-Play-Alls. If you would like to be considered as a reserve for either event, you can get in touch by writing to: timpeterwall@gmail.com
The event is being supported by the English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA) as part of its programme of training events and tournaments for 2021-22.
All-play-all A (10 players, eligible for IM, WGM, WIM norms) IM norm: 7/9 Entry fee for non-IMs: £150 Prizes: £200, £150, £100
Players: 1. FM Jonah B. Willow (ENG) (2353) 2. IM David Fitzsimons (IRL) (2334) 3. FM Tarun Kanyamarala (IRL) (2309) 4. FM Yichen Han (NED) (2306) 5. IM Michael Basman (ENG) (2273) 6. IM Roderick M McKay (SCO) (2243) 7. Steven Jones (ENG) (2231) 8. Trisha Kanyamarala (IRL) (2081) 9. Thomas Eggleston (ENG) (2175) 10. Mikhail Sedykh (ENG) (2120)
Average rating of opponents for highest rated norm seeker: 2230.3. Reserve player: IM Brandon Clarke (ENG) (2442)
Games in the IM norm all-play-all will be transmitted live on Chess24 using DGT Smartboards.
All-play-all B (10 players, all players FIDE-rated) Qualification: You need to have a standard-play FIDE rating. Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Entry fee for all players: £50 Prizes: £150, £100, £50
Players: 1. Paul Dargan (ENG) (2075) 2. Andrew Ward (SCO) (1873) 3. Bernard Sheng Liang Chan (MAS) (1869) 4. Nicolas Skettos (CYP) (1862) 5. Kyle Pelling (ENG) (1706) 6.. Diego Anton Cordova-Lopez (ENG) (1668) 7. Adam Walkowiak (SCO) (1588) 8. Anuurai Sainbayar (ENG) (1530) 9. Shir Bar Tal (ISR) (1338) 10. Prachi Arora (ENG)
Reserve: Stuart Skelsey (ENG) (1915)
Playing schedule for both tournaments: Round 1: Mon 25 October, 11:00am-3:00pm Round 2: Mon 25 October, 4:00pm-8:00pm Round 3: Tue 26 October, 9:00am-1:00pm Round 4: Tue 26 October, 2:00pm-6:00pm Round 5: Wed 27 October, 11:00am-3:00pm Round 6: Wed 27 October, 4:00pm-8:00pm Round 7: Thurs 28 October, 11:00am-3:00pm Round 8: Thurs 28 October, 4:00pm-8:00pm Round 9: Fri 29 October, 10:00am-2:00pm Time control: All moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 seconds per move.
Tournament Director: FIDE International Organiser Tim Wall Arbiters: Brian Towers (IA), Tim Wall (NA)
For more information, please contact: timpeterwall@gmail.com
Entry fees should be paid by bank transfer to: UK Chess Events Ltd Barclays 20-59-43 Acct 2344 1954
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A grand total of five players scored international title norms at the Northumbria Masters Congress, held 26-30 August at the Marriott MetroCentre, Gateshead. The congress was sponsored by Chess in Schools and Communities and the English Chess Federation, plus other chess organisations.
The Northumbria Masters GM tournament was won jointly by two 22-year-olds: Ravi Haria of Wood Green, and Conor Murphy, of Charlton, with 6.5 points out of 9.
Both scored a Grandmaster norm – for Ravi, it was his third, and he now just has to reach a 2500 rating to become England’s next Grandmaster. Conor’s GM norm was his first, and comes just three weeks after he qualified as Ireland’s next IM.
Callum Kilpatrick, of Dulwich, scored 5/9, making his third IM norm and passing the 2400 rating marker required to become England’s newest International Master.
Marcus Harvey, of Witney, scored a 4th IM norm – just a week after qualifying as an IM with his 3rd norm at the Wood Green Invitational in Stafford.
In the IM all-play-all tournament, 18-year-old WIM Zala Urh of Slovenia won with 6.5/9, half a point ahead of Newcastle player James Moreby, 18, of Gosforth. Zala’s result gave her a first IM norm.
The Northumbria Masters Open, which attracted 80 players, was won by IM Brandon Clarke (Wood Green) with 7.5/9, ahead of GMs Danny Gormally, Marian Petrov, Keith Arkell and Peter Wells on 7.
With a total of 211 players taking part, including 61 junior players aged 18 or under and 15 female players, the Northumbria Masters Congress is the biggest international tournament held in the UK to date this year. It was also the first held after the full lifting of Covid restrictions in July, which meant that, while players were recommended to wear a face covering during play, it was a personal choice whether to do so. Happily, the congress reached its conclusion without any reported cases of Covid infections.
In the Congress as a whole, there were 20 different national chess federations represented – despite the fact that only a handful of players travelled from abroad to play in the congress due to Covid travel restrictions.
Sponsorship from CSC and the ECF crucial
Tim Wall, director of the Northumbria Masters Congress, said: “We are delighted that the congress has been such a brilliant success, both in terms of helping English players achieve title norms and in safely bringing the chess community back together over the board after this forced hiatus. The generous sponsorship we have received from a range of different chess organisations, particularly from Chess in Schools and Communities and the ECF, has been crucial in enabling us to go ahead.”
Chess in Schools and Communities gave a grant of £4,000 to the Congress, and the ECF donated £650. Other sponsors included the Friends of Chess (£500), Northumberland Chess Association (£500) and the Northumbria Junior Chess Association (£250).
The John Robinson Youth Chess Trust also made a great contribution to the success of the congress, providing a total of £2,800 in free entries to players under 21.
The next Northumbria Masters Congress is planned for 25-29 August, 2022. More information will be available shortly at: https://northumbriamasters.com/
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The 2021 Northumbria Masters Congress was in full swing on Friday 27 August, with a record 212 players playing across a total of six events.
The biggest UK chess congress this year, the Northumbria Masters Congress kicked off on Thursday evening at the Marriott MetroCentre hotel in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, firmly putting the North East on the international chess map.
Players from a total of 19 different countries played their first moves in the international congress – which is the first to take place in the North of England since the last Northumbria Masters in August 2019.
The congress has been sponsored by Chess in Schools and Communities, an educational charity that teaches chess to children in primary and secondary schols across the UK, and by the English Chess Federation, which is providing support to talented young players aiming to become Grandmasters and International Masters.
Four-way tie for first in GM event
After 2 of the 9 rounds, there was a four-way tie for first in the GM norm all-play-all, with England’s IM Ravi Haria and Marcus Harvey leading the charge for a Grandmaster norm, accompanied by GM Tamas Fodor of Hungary and Conor Murphy (Ireland) all on 1.5/2.
Harvey and Murphy have just qualified as International Masters after impressive performances in all-play-all tournaments earlier this month, also held in England as the country gradually restarts serious over-the-board competition after the pandemic.
Ravi Haria, who looks set to become a Grandmaster soon after scoring norm at the Wood Green Invitational just days ago, was in sparkling form in Round 1, notching up an enterprising 36-move win against IM Peter Roberson after a kingside pawn push set up Damiano’s Mate (with a pawn wedge corralling the king on g8) on the h-file.
form in Round 1, notching up an enterprising 36-move win against IM Peter Roberson after a kingside pawn push set up Damiano’s Mate (with a pawn wedge corralling the king on g8) on the h-file.
White: Ravi Haria (to play)
Black: Peter Roberson
After 36 g6! Black resigned, as there is no good way to prevent 37 Rdh4 and mate on h8.
Slovenian WIM Zala Urh leads IM norm chase
In the IM norm all-play-all, there was a clear leader – 18-year-old Women’s International Master Zala Urh of Slovenia on 2/2.
Also with a plus score were England’s Jonah Willow and James Moreby, both 18 years old, 13-year-old Yichen Han (Netherlands), and Im Andrew Muir of Scotland.
Moreby and Han are local talents residing in Newcastle upon Tyne, just a few miles from the tournament, but both are set for a move: Moreby to go to university in London, and Han to attend Magdalene School in Oxford.
James Moreby’s Round 1 win finished with a pretty tactic against Harry Grieve:
White; Harry Grieve (White)
Black: James Moreby (Black, to play)
After 38…Rxc1! Black wins, due to 39 Qxc1 Nf3+! 40 Kf1 Qh1+, winning White’s queen.
White played 39 Rxg6+ but then resigned.
Gormally has lucky Round 2 escape
In the Masters (Open) tournament, with a total of 81 players, there were plenty of thrills and spills, with top seed GM Danny Gormally of Northumberland coming close to defeat in his 2nd round game versus Welsh international Tim Kett, but eventually scrambling a draw.
After 2 rounds, there were 11 players on a maximum 2/2 points: GM Marian Petrov (Bulgaria), IM Brandon Clarke, GM Keith Arkell, GM Peter Wells, IM Michael Basman, Peter Sowray, Steven Jones and Thomas Eggleston (all England), Hamish Olson (Scotland), Roland Bezuidenhout (South Africa) and Bao Nghia Dong (Vietnam).
The veteran IM Michael Basman, 75, world-famous for his eccentric opening schemes, joined the leading group on 2/2 with a surprise endgame checkmate after he looked likely to struggle for a draw.
In the following position, Nigel Borthwhistle (White) has just blundered with 57 Qd6-d4??
After 57…Qf1+! a shocked Birtwhistle (White) had to resign, as he was faced with forced checkmate after 58 Ke4 Qf5 mate, or 58 Kg4 Qf5+ 59 Kh4 Qh5 mate.
Play continues at 2 rounds a day through to Monday evening in the two all-play-alls, the Masters (Open), the Challengers (Under 2000), Major (Under 1750) and Minor (Under 1500).
For live games from the Northumbria GM, IM and Masters, go to:
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