In Part 3 of the history of Richmond Junior Chess Club I left you with this news from May 1993.
This was the start of the Richmond Chess Initiative, which was doing very much the same thing that Chess in Schools & Communities now does, but on a local level, within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Local businessman Stanley Grundy had met Anne Summers, then the Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, at a concert. He had recently come across this paper claiming that chess improves children’s academic performance, and, for this reason, wanted to put money into schools in the borough.
There were all sorts of questions here about the validity of the paper’s methods and conclusions, and, given that Richmond schools, as you might expect from the nature of the demographics of the Borough, topped the national league tables every year anyway, how much scope there was for improving the results even more. But, nevertheless, Stanley wanted to donate some money, which was good news for us at Richmond Junior Chess Club.
A steering committee was formed, including representatives from local schools, notably Jane Lawrence, Headteacher of Sheen Mount, the local council and local businesses, local Grandmaster Daniel King was also invited to join and I was paid to manage the chess programme. There was no interest in putting chess on the curriculum, but a number of (mostly primary) schools were interested in starting after-school clubs. So part of my job was helping schools with these clubs, and, as more schools became interested, other chess tutors were also recruited.
All sorts of other things happened. Every year national inter-area competitions take place, run by the English Primary Schools Chess Association, at Under 9, Under 11 and Girls Under 11 levels. RJCC were now, through our committee of parents, running these teams. We were able to combine our own strong players with those from schools in the Borough, many of whom we also recruited to join us, to create formidably strong Under 9 and Under 11 teams. Although we were, in effect, competing as a club against mostly county teams we always finished near the top, winning national titles on several occasions.
Our tournaments were now billed as the Richmond Chess Initiative Championships, thanks to Stanley Grundy’s sponsorship. Here’s a game from our 1994 championship between two of our strongest young players.
[Event “RCI Championship R5”]
[Date “1994.??.??”]
[White “Bamford, Andrew”]
[Black “Clifford, James”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. f3 O-O 8. Bc4 a6 9. a4 Re8 10. Qd2 Nc6 11. O-O Ne5 12. Be2 d5 13. Rad1 dxe4 14. Qc1 Bd7 15. Bg5 exf3 16. Nxf3 Nc6 17. Bd3 Qc8 18. Nh4 Nh5 19. Nd5 Be6 20. Nf6+ Nxf6 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rxf6 Kg7 23. Rdf1 Qd8 24. R6f4 Qe7 25. Qd2 Qc5+ 26. Kh1 Rad8 27. b4 Qd6 28. Qf2 Qe7 29. Qg3 Ne5 30. Bf5 Bc4 31. Bxg6 Kh8 32. Nf5 Qf8 33. Bxh7 Bxf1 34. Rh4 Re6 35. Bg6+ Kg8 36. Rh8+ Kxh8 37. Qh4+ 1-0
Later in 1994 Daniel King organised our first international tournament, which took place (mostly) at the Royal Star and Garter Home for Disabled Ex-Servicemen in Richmond (you can read more about chess there in this Minor Piece). The tournament – remarkably – featured seven current or former members of RJCC, along with Danish IM Klaus Berg and two of Daniel’s Bundesliga teammates.
Luke McShane, only 10 years old, struggled in most of his games, but hit the national headlines when he beat Berg, who went on to share first place with former RJCC star (as he then was) Demetrios Agnos.
02 December 1994
The tournament was remarkable for its fighting spirit and exciting, if not always perfectly accurate games. Here’s the crosstable.
Here’s a short selection of games played by some of the RJCC representatives in this event.
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R1”]
[Date “1994.10.23”]
[White “Wall, Gavin”]
[Black “Bates, Richard”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 d6 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Na6 7. Be2 c5 8. O-O Nc7 9. Qd2 Bf5 10. Rad1 b6 11. Rfe1 Ne4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. b4 cxb4 14. Qxb4 Qd7 15. Qa3 h6 16. Bh4 g5 17. Bg3 f5 18. c5 Rfd8 19. Nd2 Bd5 20. cxd6 exd6 21. Nb1 a5 22. Nc3 Bf7 23. Qb2 Bf8 24. f3 a4 25. e4 a3 26. Qb1 f4 27. Bf2 b5 28. e5 d5 29. Bxb5 Nxb5 30. Qxb5 Qe6 31. Rb1 Rdb8 32. Qxb8 Rxb8 33. Rxb8 Qc6 34. Rb3 Be6 35. g3 Qc4 36. gxf4 Bb4 37. Rc1 gxf4 38. Kg2 h5 39. Kg1 Bh3 40. Rcb1 Bxc3 41. Rb8+ Bc8 42. R1b7 Bxd4 43. Bxd4 Qxd4+ 44. Kg2 Qd2+ 45. Kg1 Qc1+ 46. Kf2 d4 47. e6 d3 48. Rd7 d2 49. Rxc8+ Qxc8 50. Rxd2 Qxe6 51. Re2 Qh3 0-1
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R1”]
[Date “1994.10.23”]
[White “McShane, Luke”]
[Black “Hinks-Edwards, Thomas”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e5 Ne4 4. Nce2 f6 5. d3 Ng5 6. Bxg5 fxg5 7. h4 g4 8. Nf4 c5 9. e6 Qb6 10. Nxd5 Qxe6+ 11. Ne3 Nc6 12. g3 g6 13. c3 Bh6 14. Qe2 Bd7 15. Bg2 Rf8 16. Nc4 Qf6 17. a4 O-O-O 18. Be4 Be6 19. Ne3 Ne5 20. Kf1 Bf5 21. Kg2 Kb8 22. Rf1 Bxe4+ 23. dxe4 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 Rd3 25. Qxc5 Rd2 26. Qe3 Rxb2 27. Rh2 Nd3 28. h5 Nxf2 0-1
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R3”]
[Date “1994.10.25”]
[White “Dinstuhl, Volkmar”]
[Black “Rowson, Jonathan”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. d5 Ne5 9. Ng3 e6 10. Be2 exd5 11. cxd5 a6 12. O-O b5 13. Qd2 Re8 14. b3 h5 15. a4 b4 16. Nd1 Nh7 17. Nb2 h4 18. Nh1 f5 19. Nf2 Ra7 20. Rac1 Rf7 21. exf5 gxf5 22. h3 Qf6 23. Nbd1 f4 24. Ne4 Qg6 25. Bxc5 Bxh3 26. Bxa6 dxc5 27. d6 Nd7 28. Kh1 Be6 29. Nxc5 Nxc5 30. Rxc5 Bf8 31. Nf2 Rg7 32. Ne4 h3 33. Rf2 Bf5 34. Qd5+ Be6 35. Qd2 Bxb3 36. Qxb4 hxg2+ 37. Kg1 Be6 38. Rcc2 Bh3 39. Bb5 Rxe4 40. fxe4 Qxd6 41. Qb3+ Kh8 42. Rcd2 Qxd2 0-1
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R3”]
[Date “1994.10.25”]
[White “Berg, Klaus”]
[Black “McShane, Luke”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. c3 d6 6. e4 Nbd7 7. Bd3 e5 8. O-O c6 9. Re1 Qc7 10. a4 Re8 11. Qc2 h6 12. Bh4 g5 13. Bg3 Nh5 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. a5 Nxg3 16. hxg3 Nf6 17. Nc4 Ng4 18. Nfd2 h5 19. Nf1 Re6 20. Re2 Rh6 21. Rd2 h4 22. b4 Be6 23. f3 Nf6 24. g4 Bf8 25. Nfe3 Kg7 26. Qb2 Rd8 27. Rad1 Be7 28. Bb1 Rhh8 29. Ba2 Nh7 30. Nf5+ Bxf5 31. gxf5 Rxd2 32. Rxd2 g4 33. f4 exf4 34. e5 f6 35. Qb3 Ng5 36. Qd1 Rd8 37. exf6+ Bxf6 38. Nd6 Qe7 39. Kf1 Kf8 40. Qb3 Kg7 41. Nxb7 Ne4 42. Rd1 f3 43. Nxd8 Ng3+ 44. Kg1 Qe3+ 45. Kh2 Nf1+ 46. Kh1 fxg2+ 47. Kxg2 h3+ 48. Kxf1 Qf3+ 49. Ke1 Bxc3+ 50. Qxc3+ Qxc3+ 51. Ke2 Qf3+ 52. Kd2 Qxd1+ 53. Kxd1 h2 0-1
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R5”]
[Date “1994.10.27”]
[White “Dinstuhl, Volkmar”]
[Black “Summerscale, Aaron”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Be2 a6 9. O-O Be7 10. e4 b4 11. e5 bxc3 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. bxc3 O-O 14. Nd2 Be7 15. Bf3 Qc7 16. Qa4 Bb7 17. Rb1 Rab8 18. Nc4 c5 19. Bxb7 Rxb7 20. Bf4 Qc8 21. Nd6 Bxd6 22. Bxd6 Rd8 23. Rxb7 Qxb7 24. dxc5 Rc8 25. Rd1 h6 26. Qc4 Qb5 27. Qg4 f5 28. c4 Qb2 29. Qf3 Qc2 30. c6 Rxc6 31. Bf4 Rxc4 32. g3 Nf6 33. Be5 Ng4 34. Ba1 Nxf2 35. Re1 Ne4 0-1
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R6”]
[Date “1994.10.28”]
[White “Hinks-Edwards, Thomas”]
[Black “Agnos, Demetrios”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 e6 6. O-O Be7 7. c4 Nb6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Be3 a6 10. b3 d5 11. c5 Nc8 12. h3 Bh5 13. Nd2 Bg6 14. f4 f6 15. Nf3 Nc6 16. a3 fxe5 17. fxe5 Bh5 18. b4 N8a7 19. g4 Bg6 20. Bd3 Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Qd7 22. Rab1 b5 23. Kg2 a5 24. h4 Rf7 25. Bg5 h6 26. Be3 Raf8 27. Qg6 Bd8 28. Ne2 Kh8 29. Ng3 Ne7 30. Qd3 Qe8 31. Rf2 Ng6 32. Qxg6 Rxf3 33. Rxf3 Qxg6 34. Rxf8+ Kh7 35. Rbf1 Bxh4 36. Kh3 Bxg3 37. Kxg3 axb4 38. axb4 Nc6 0-1
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R8”]
[Date “1994.10.29”]
[White “Hinks-Edwards, Thomas”]
[Black “Rowson, Jonathan”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. e5 Nh5 9. Bc4 O-O 10. Qe2 Nc6 11. Bd2 Bg4 12. e6 Nd4 13. exf7+ Kh8 14. Qd3 Bf5 15. Qxd4 Bxd4 16. Nxd4 Ng7 17. O-O-O Rc8 18. Bb3 Rc5 19. h3 g5 20. Nxf5 Rxf5 21. g4 R5xf7 22. f5 Ne8 23. Ne4 Rg7 24. Nxg5 e5 25. Ne6 Qe7 26. Rhf1 Rfg8 27. Nxg7 Rxg7 28. g5 Qf8 29. h4 Rd7 30. Bc3 Rc7 31. f6 Rc8 32. h5 h6 33. f7 Nc7 34. Rf6 1-0
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R8”]
[Date “1994.10.29”]
[White “Summerscale, Aaron”]
[Black “Hennig, Dirk”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. a4 e5 5. Nf3 Qa5 6. Bd2 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Qb6 9. a5 Qxb2 10. Ra2 Qb4 11. Ra4 Qb2 12. Bd3 b5 13. Ra2 Qb4 14. Ne2 Qb1+ 15. Nc1 d5 16. exd5 e4 17. Qf5 Kd8 18. Be2 Bb4 19. c3 Bxc3 20. O-O Bxd2 21. Rxd2 cxd5 22. Nd3 Qb3 23. Ne5 Qc3 24. Rdd1 Qc8 25. Qg5 Rg8 26. Nxf7+ Ke7 27. Ne5 Nc6 28. Bxb5 Nxa5 29. Rc1 Qb7 30. Rb1 Rab8 31. Ng4 h6 32. Qe5+ Kf7 33. Nxf6 gxf6 34. Qf4 Kg7 35. f3 Qb6 36. Kh1 e3 37. Qxe3 Nc4 38. Qe7+ Kh8 39. Bxc4 Qxb1 40. Qxf6+ Kh7 41. Rxb1 1-0
[Event “1st Richmond Chess International R9”]
[Date “1994.10.30”]
[White “Wall, Gavin”]
[Black “Hinks-Edwards, Thomas”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. h3 c5 4. c3 Nbd7 5. Bf4 g6 6. e3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O Qe8 9. Nbd2 e5 10. Bh2 Qe7 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. e4 b6 13. Qe2 Bb7 14. Rfe1 Nh5 15. Bd5 Bxd5 16. exd5 Rfe8 17. Nc4 e4 18. Nd6 f5 19. Nxe8 Rxe8 20. d6 Qf6 21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Rad1 Rf8 23. Nd2 Bh6 24. Qa4 Rf7 25. Nc4 Bf4 26. Qxa7 Qg5 27. Nxb6 e3 28. fxe3 Bxh2+ 29. Kxh2 Ne5 30. Qa8+ Kg7 31. d7 Ng4+ 32. hxg4 Qh4+ 33. Kg1 Ng3 34. Qg8+ Kh6 35. g5+ Kh5 36. Qxf7 Qh1+ 37. Kf2 Ne4+ 38. Ke2 Qxg2+ 39. Kd3 1-0
At the same time we welcomed a team from Szombathely in Hungary, who played matches against a combined RJCC/Southern Counties team. Here’s a Richmond win against a future Grandmaster.
[Event “RJCC/SCCU v Szombathely”]
[Date “1994.??.??”]
[White “Bramham, Barny”]
[Black “Horvath, Adam”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Ne8 10. f3 f5 11. Be3 f4 12. Bf2 h5 13. b4 g5 14. c5 Rf7 15. Rc1 Bf8 16. cxd6 cxd6 17. a4 Rg7 18. Kh1 g4 19. a5 g3 20. Bg1 Ng6 21. a6 bxa6 22. Qa4 Nh4 23. Bxa6 Bd7 24. Bb5 Bxb5 25. Nxb5 Qg5 26. h3 a6 27. Rc6 Ng6 28. Rxa6 Rxa6 29. Qxa6 Qh4 30. Qc8 1-0
We were very big on the idea of giving our players the chance to compete against adult opposition when they were ready to do so. We ran teams in the Thames Valley League for this reason, on one occasion finishing second ahead of the Richmond & Twickenham A team.
In 1995 we were able to start a series of Richmond Rapidplays, which usually took place at the White House Community Association in Hampton. We ran six tournaments a year, with four sections, usually attracting about 100 participants, roughly equally split between juniors and adults. The top section always included IMs and sometimes also GMs, so our members had the chance to watch top players in action.
The point of what we were doing was to give our afternoon group members (1000+ rating or age 11+) the chance to play as many different opponents (of different ages) as possible, as well as to experience different openings and different time controls. Our results, and, particularly our strength in depth were testimony to the success of our approach, focusing on purposeful playing rather than teaching.
We ran our second international tournament that autumn. This time we had five past or present RJCC members, while our good friend Simon Williams completed the home contingent. Klaus Berg returned, along with popular Dutch IM Gerard Welling. The other competitors were London-based Nigerian Chiedu Maduekwe and Serbian Jovica Radovanovic. Here’s the crosstable.
Again, a short selection of games.
[Event “2nd Richmond Chess International R1”]
[Date “1995.10.21”]
[White “Summerscale, Aaron”]
[Black “Williams, Simon”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nh3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Qb3 c6 8. Nf4 Kh8 9. c5 d5 10. Nd3 b6 11. Qc2 Ba6 12. Re1 Nfd7 13. Nf4 Rf6 14. b4 g5 15. Nd3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Rh6 17. Bb2 Qe8 18. Nd2 Bf6 19. Rab1 Bg7 20. f3 Nf6 21. e4 Qh5 22. exf5 g4 23. fxe6 Qxh2+ 24. Kf2 Qh5 25. f4 Qe8 26. a4 b5 27. Ra1 Na6 28. axb5 Nxb4 29. Qb3 a5 30. bxa6 Nxa6 31. Qb6 Rb8 32. Rxa6 Rxb6 33. cxb6 Qb8 34. Nb3 Ne8 35. Nc5 Nd6 36. Rea1 Qg8 37. Ra8 Bf8 38. e7 Rf6 39. Nd7 1-0
[Event “2nd Richmond Chess International R2”]
[Date “1995.10.22”]
[White “Summerscale, Aaron”]
[Black “Trifunovic, Aleksandar”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 g6 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Bd3 d6 6. Ne2 Nd7 7. h4 h5 8. Nd2 f5 9. Nf4 Nf6 10. c3 O-O 11. Qb3 Kh8 12. Nf3 c6 13. Bc4 Qe7 14. Ng5 d5 15. Be2 Ne4 16. c4 Nxg5 17. hxg5 Be6 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. g3 Rfd8 21. Kf1 Qe4 22. Rh4 Qe6 23. Rc1 Rac8 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. Kg2 Kg8 26. Rh1 Qc6 27. Rd1 Bf8 28. Rd2 Be7 29. Rc2 Qd7 30. f4 Kg7 31. Bf3 Bf8 32. Rc3 Be7 33. Be2 Bf8 34. Bb5 Qe7 35. Qc2 Qe6 36. Kf2 Bd6 37. Be2 Rh8 38. Bf3 h4 39. Qb3 hxg3+ 40. Kxg3 Bxf4+ 41. exf4 Qe1+ 42. Kg2 Rh1 43. Qd1 Rg1+ 0-1
[Event “2nd Richmond Chess International R2”]
[Date “1995.10.22”]
[White “McShane, Luke”]
[Black “Bates, Richard”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. f3 Be6 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Bf5 12. Be2 a5 13. a4 Qc7 14. Bd3 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 O-O 16. O-O Rac8 17. Rfc1 Nc5 18. Nxc5 dxc5 19. Qc4 Bd6 20. h3 f5 21. Re1 Kh8 22. Bd2 b6 23. Bc3 f4 24. Re4 Rf5 25. Rae1 h6 26. R1e2 Rcf8 27. Kf1 R8f6 28. Qb5 Rf8 29. b3 Kh7 30. Qd3 Kh8 31. Ke1 Rg5 32. Bd2 Rgf5 33. Kd1 R5f7 34. Bc3 Re7 35. Kc1 Rfe8 36. Kb2 Qd7 37. Qa6 Qc7 38. Qb5 Qb8 39. Re1 Qc7 40. Rd1 Rf8 41. Qd3 Qb8 42. Rde1 Qc7 43. R4e2 Rf6 44. Re4 Rf8 45. Qe2 Rfe8 46. Qf2 Qd7 47. g4 Kh7 48. Qe2 Qc7 49. Qd3 Kg8 50. h4 Rf8 51. Qe2 Rfe8 52. g5 h5 53. g6 Qd7 54. Rg1 Rf8 55. Bxe5 Bxe5+ 56. Rxe5 Rxe5 57. Qxe5 Rf5 58. Qb8+ Rf8 59. Qxb6 Qxd5 60. Rg5 Qxf3 61. Qe6+ Kh8 62. Qf7 Rb8 63. Re5 Rg8 64. Re8 1-0
[Event “2nd Richmond Chess International R5”]
[Date “1995.10.25”]
[White “McShane, Luke”]
[Black “Wall, Gavin”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. O-O Nge7 6. c3 Ng6 7. d4 Bd7 8. Nbd2 Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 Qe8 11. a3 Nxd4 12. cxd4 Bxa4 13. b3 Bd7 14. Bb2 Bf6 15. Ne3 Be6 16. Rc1 c6 17. h4 exd4 18. Nxd4 Nxh4 19. f4 c5 20. Nxe6 Bxb2 21. Nxf8 Qxe4 22. Qc2 Qxc2 23. Rxc2 Bd4 24. Kh2 Kxf8 25. Nd5 Nf5 26. Rce2 Rd8 27. g4 Nh6 28. Kg3 g5 29. fxg5 Be5+ 30. Kf3 Ng8 31. Ne3 b5 32. Rd1 Ne7 33. Nf5 Nc6 34. Ke4 Nd4 35. Nxd4 Bxd4 36. Kd5 Be5 37. Re4 Ke7 38. Rh1 Rg8 39. Rh5 Kd7 40. Rxh7 Rxg5 41. Rxf7+ Kd8 42. Ra7 a5 43. Kc6 d5 44. Rxe5 1-0
[Event “2nd Richmond Chess International R6”]
[Date “1995.10.26”]
[White “Trifunovic, Aleks”]
[Black “Bates, Richard”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. e4 c6 9. h3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Re8 11. Be3 Nc5 12. Qc2 Qe7 13. Rfe1 Bd7 14. f3 a5 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. Bf2 Qf8 17. Nb3 b6 18. Nd4 Kh8 19. a3 Na6 20. Rb1 Nc7 21. b4 axb4 22. axb4 d5 23. b5 dxe4 24. Nxc6 exf3 25. Bxf3 Ne6 26. Nxd8 Ng5 27. Bg2 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 Qxd8 29. Kh2 Qc8 30. Nd5 Nxd5 31. Bxd5 Bxh3 32. Qe2 Bd7 33. Bxb6 h5 34. c5 Bxb5 35. Qg2 Qb8 36. Bc6 Bxc6 37. Qxc6 Be5 38. Re3 h4 39. Qd5 hxg3+ 40. Kg2 Bf4 41. Ra3 Kg7 42. Ra8 Qe5 43. Qxe5+ Bxe5 44. c6 Ne6 45. Ra7 Nf4+ 46. Kf3 Nd5 47. Ba5 g5 48. c7 g4+ 49. Kg2 Ne7 50. Ra8 f5 51. Re8 Nc8 52. Rxe5 1-0
Here’s our sponsor Stanley Grundy writing to the local press in February 1996, with ambitions to exend the scheme both nationally and internationallly.
02 February 1996
For various reasons this didn’t happen in quite that way, but the national initiative is still successful today.
One day Stanley summoned me to his office and told me he was going to make me rich. However, he then spoke to Mike Basman, who was running Surrey junior chess under the Wey Valley banner and decided Mike was the better person to put his ideas into practice.
This was the start of what would soon become the UK Chess Challenge, which was originally sponsored by Stanley through one of his companies. It’s still running very successfully today, but, far from making Mike Basman rich it had the opposite effect.
Our big annual event during this period was the RCI Schools Chess Tournament, designed as a fun event encouraging mass participation, with clocks only used on the higher boards. Here’s a report on the 1996 event.
In 1996 the club received recognition from what was then the British Chess Federation when I received a President’s Award for services to chess, which I saw as an award for the club as a whole rather than for me personally.
But we were not the only successful junior club around. My friend Mike Fox was now running his own club, Checkmate!, in Birmingham, and when they visited us in 1996 scored an impressive victory. In this drawn game our Midlands opponents were represented by a future star.
[Event “RJCC v Checkmate!”]
[Date “1996.??.??”]
[White “Nixon, Thomas”]
[Black “Ghasi, Ameet”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 Nbd7 8. Be3 Ne8 9. O-O f5 10. Rc1 Nc5 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Re1 a6 13. a3 Qd6 14. Bd3 f4 15. h3 Nf6 16. Rb1 h6 17. b4 Nd7 18. Bc2 Rb8 19. Qd3 g5 20. Bd1 Nb6 21. b5 a5 22. Rf1 Qg6 23. Nh2 Ra8 24. f3 Rd8 25. Rb2 Kh8 26. Rbf2 Rd6 27. Be2 Nd7 28. Na4 b6 29. Nc3 Nf6 30. a4 Nh5 31. Re1 Ng3 32. Nf1 Nxe2+ 33. Qxe2 Bd7 34. Nh2 h5 35. Nd1 Rg8 36. Rff1 Bh6 37. Nf2 Rf6 38. Kh1 Bf8 39. Rg1 Bd6 40. Ref1 1/2-1/2
We also ran two big individual tournaments every year: our annual championships in the summer term, and an open event in the autumn term including qualifiers for the London Junior Championship as well as a section for older players. Here’s a game from the 1996 renewal.
[Event “Richmond U18 Championship R2”]
[Date “1996.??.??”]
[White “Rattray, Ross”]
[Black “Mooring, Ross”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Be7 5. Nf3 Nd7 6. Bc4 Ngf6 7. Nxf6+ Nxf6 8. Be3 O-O 9. Bd3 b6 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. O-O-O Nd5 12. h4 Nb4 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. Ng5 g6 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Bxg6 Qd5 17. Bg5 Bxg5+ 18. hxg5+ Kg7 19. Rh7+ Kxg6 20. Qh5+ Kf5 21. g4+ Kf4 22. Qh2+ Kxg4 23. Qh3+ Kf4 24. Rh4+ Kxg5 25. Rh5+ Kf6 26. Qh4+ Kf7 27. Rh7+ Kg6 28. Rg1+ Qg2 29. Rxg2+ Bxg2 30. Rh6+ Kg7 31. Qg5+ Kf7 32. Rh7+ 1-0
A few years earlier, as you read last time, Luke McShane was breaking a lot of international age records, but now we had in Murugan Thiruchelvam a player who was beating even Luke’s records. He impressed with his ability to play simple positions well: something I’ve always considered the mark of a promising player. In this game he outplayed his opponent in the ending even though he was the exchange down.
[Event “RCI Championship R5”]
[Date “1997.??.??”]
[White “Morgan, Andrew”]
[Black “Thiruchelvam, Murugan”]
[Result “0-1”]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. c3 e6 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. Qxb6 axb6 7. Nd2 f6 8. Ngf3 fxe5 9. Nxe5 Nf6 10. h3 h5 11. Ndf3 Nbd7 12. Be2 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Nd7 14. Bf4 c5 15. Bb5 O-O-O 16. Bxd7+ Rxd7 17. Nxd7 Kxd7 18. O-O-O Bd6 19. Bxd6 Kxd6 20. b3 Rc8 21. Kb2 c4 22. b4 b5 23. Rde1 Rf8 24. Re2 Bd3 25. Rd2 Rf5 26. g4 hxg4 27. hxg4 Rf4 28. Rg1 g5 29. Rg3 e5 30. dxe5+ Kxe5 31. f3 d4 32. Rd1 Be2 33. cxd4+ Kd5 34. Rd2 Bxf3 35. Rf2 Be4 36. Rd2 Bd3 37. Kc3 Rxd4 38. Rf2 Rf4 39. Rh2 Ke4 40. Rhg2 Rf3 41. a3 Rxg3 42. Rxg3 Kf4 43. Rg1 Be2 44. Kd2 Bxg4 45. Ra1 Bd7 46. Rc1 g4 47. Rc3 g3 48. Ke1 g2 49. Kf2 Bc6 50. Rc1 Ke5 51. Ke3 Kf5 52. Ke2 Ke4 53. Rd1 c3 54. Rg1 Kd4 55. Rc1 Kc4 56. Ke3 Kb3 57. Kd3 c2 58. Kd2 Be4 0-1
Although he was only 8 years old, Murugan played top board for our Under 12 team in a year in which we became national champions (against county teams) at U18, U14, U12 and U11 levels.
That autumn Garry Kasparov was in town, playing a simul against 25 teams. We were honoured to be invited to send a team of four players to take part in this event. We played under the name ‘Deep Yellow’, a play on Deep Blue referring to the colour of the shirts our teams wore at the time.
14 November 1997
Here’s the game: a Kasparov victory that may not have been published before. You’ll see that we missed a few drawing chances.
[Event “Simultaneous Display: Cobden Club”]
[Date “1997.??.??”]
[White “Kasparov, Garry”]
[Black “Deep Yellow”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ndf3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Qb6 9. Ne2 Be7 10. Nc3 a6 11. a3 Qc7 12. Bd3 Nb6 13. O-O Bd7 14. Kh1 h6 15. Be3 Na5 16. Bg1 Nac4 17. Qe2 Rc8 18. Rac1 Qd8 19. Bf2 O-O 20. g4 Na4 21. Nxa4 Bxa4 22. f5 Qb6 23. b4 Nxa3 24. f6 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 gxf6 26. Qe3 Kg7 27. Bh4 Nc4 28. exf6+ Bxf6 29. Bxf6+ Kxf6 30. Qxh6+ Ke7 31. g5 Bc6 32. Qf6+ Kd7 33. g6 Qd8 34. Qxd8+ Kxd8 35. g7 Rg8 36. Rg1 f5 37. h4 Be8 38. Rg5 Nd6 39. h5 Bxh5 40. Rxh5 Rxg7 41. Kh2 Ke7 42. Rh8 Kf6 43. Ne5 Nf7 44. Rf8 Ke7 45. Rb8 Nd6 46. Be2 Kf6 47. Rf8+ Ke7 48. Rh8 Kf6 49. Rh6+ Ke7 50. Ng6+ Kf6 51. Nf8+ Kg5 52. Rxe6 Ne4 53. Rxe4 fxe4 54. Ne6+ Kf6 55. Nxg7 Kxg7 56. Kg3 Kf6 57. Kf4 Ke6 58. Kg5 Ke7 59. Kf5 Kd6 60. Kf6 Kc6 61. Ke5 b5 62. Bd1 a5 63. bxa5 b4 64. Kf4 Kb5 65. Bb3 Kxa5 66. Bxd5 e3 67. Kxe3 Kb6 68. Bb3 Kc6 69. Ke4 1-0
This article, as well as advertising Murugan’s success against adult opponents (the Major section was the second one down in the Richmond Rapidplays), announced a workshop for young players over the Christmas holidays.
By now Luke was writing regular chess columns, here taking the opportunity to plug both Murugan and RJCC.
But, while the club was extraordinarily successful, I was starting to have doubts about what was happening in primary school chess clubs. For the most part the standard of play was so low that it was hard to imagine it was helping the children improve their academic performance. There was also very little interest in chess in secondary schools, so they were not continuing playing after the age of 11, seeing it as a primary school game.
The children certainly enjoyed the clubs, and we were able to encourage the stronger primary school players to join RJCC on Saturday mornings, but I struggled to see a longer term purpose.
Growing increasingly frustrated, I wrote an article expressing my views at the time, which you can read here.
Things were very different at RJCC at this point when almost every Saturday saw a new, extremely talented 7 year old turn up who had learnt from playing chess with his family at home.
One of the most notable of this generation was Robert Heaton, who, in this game, had the nerve to play the Dutch Defence against one of our favourite simul givers, Simon Williams.
[Event “Simultaneous Display: RJCC”]
[Date “1999.05.22”]
[White “Williams, Simon”]
[Black “Heaton, Robert”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
1. c4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 d5 5. d4 c6 6. Nh3 h6 7. Nf4 g5 8. Ng6 Rg8 9. Ne5 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. e4 fxe4 12. Qh5+ Ke7 13. h4 Nf6 14. Qe2 g4 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Bf4 Nh5 17. Be5 Bg7 18. Bxg7 Nxg7 19. O-O Nf5 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Qxe4+ Kf7 22. d5 cxd5 23. Nxd5 Re8 24. Qg2 Nd4 25. f3 Nxf3+ 26. Rxf3+ gxf3 27. Qxf3+ Kg7 28. Qc3+ Kg8 29. Nf6+ Kf7 30. Nxe8 Qxe8 31. Rf1+ Kg8 32. Re1 Qf7 33. Qe3 Qg6 34. Qb3+ Qf7 35. Re8+ Kg7 36. Qc3+ Kg6 37. Rxc8 Rxc8 38. Qxc8 Qxa2 39. Qe8+ Kf6 40. Qd8+ Kg7 41. Qe7+ Qf7 42. Qe5+ Qf6 1/2-1/2
At about this time the parents on the club committee decided that I should be paid for running the club. My feelings were mixed. Of course money is always useful, but I’d always seen it as a hobby which I did because it gave me a lot of personal satisfaction. They explained to me that they wanted to ensure the future of the club in case something happened to me, so I felt I had to accept.
As the millennium reached its final year Murugan made the papers again, qualifying for the British Chess Championship.
During the RCI years we were still producing national junior titles as well:
1994: Ruth Bates U14G (shared)
1995: Ruth Bates U16G and U15G (shared), Leila Nathoo U9G (shared)
1996: Ross Rattray U13, Ruth Bates U18G (shared)
1997: David Bates U15 (shared). Jonathan Zoubaida U9, Murugan Thiruchelvam U8, Ruth Bates U18G (shared)
1998: David Edwards U16 and U15, Thomas Nixon U12 (shared), Chetan Deva (U11)
1999: Shanker Menon U18 (shared)
We had had a remarkable run of success for almost a quarter of a century, but just as the calendar was changing from 1999 to 2000, junior chess was changing as well.
You’ll find out more in the final article of this series.
Chess with Richard 