Report by Mike Naylor-Eade Gambit 2’s excellent season continued on Wednesday with a 3-2 win against a full strength Ashfield 1. First to finish was Felipe who lost to Dan Hardman after getting a bit cramped in the opening and never finding a way to equalise.  The other games looked a bit more promising with Jan having a nice space […]

In a remarkable display of strategy and skill, Gambit 1 edged out Gambit 2 with a close score of 3-2 in a thrilling match-up that will be remembered for its intense battles and strategic masterclasses. Mike Barnes dominates Pete M with the Keres Attack The highlight of the evening was Mike Barnes’ brilliant execution of the Keres Attack against Pete […]

The LMC has restored promotion and relegation, with 2 up & 2 down, meaning there is now more to play for than in the past two seasons. 214 players have played in the league this season, 2 more than last season, although still some way off the 262 we had in 2019-20, before you know what. Our club has used […]

Our Rapidplay competition is ECF rated with a time control of 25′ + 10″ increments. Each pair plays two games, one with each colour. The best performance was by Nikolai Harrison who took a draw off Mike Barnes in game 1 and almost drew in the 2nd game. James Bradshaw took a point off John Huthwaite as Jonty Haddon did […]

We are well into the season and all of our teams have played at least 4 matches. So far we have used 35 players, at least 15 more than any other club, with more to come. Star performers are Gambit 2 who currently lead division 1 with 7 points from 5 matches in spite of being out graded by 32 […]

This weekend saw the welcome return of the Sheffield Congress, last held in 2017. John Huthwaite came joint 2nd with 5 others, including former member Oliver Graham, on 4 / 5 in the U1900 Major section. He had a frustrating 1st round after his opponent did not turn up. After drawing his next game, he took his customary 1/2 point […]

Five Gambiteers played in the Derbyshire Congress at Trent College, Long Eaton, this weekend. The playing conditions were excellent in a spacious well lit room. In the Open section Mike Barnes, after drawing with ex Oxclose member Julian Cast in round 1, was only a point behind eventual winner GM Mark Hebden after 3 rounds, but could only pick up […]

The Embankment Pub witnessed a tense chess showdown as Gambit 5 squared off against Central 2. Despite the ratings suggesting a possible tilt in Central 2’s favour, the end scoreline of 2-2 told a different story. On Board 1, newcomer Boris Krastev, faced the seasoned Alan R Griffiths. The outcome of 1-0 in Alan’s favour was a testament to his […]

When increments were introduced, it was thought they would reduce the number of games lost on time. How wrong they were. Last night’s season’s opener between our 1st and 2nd teams saw three players lose on time. Pete Mercs (G2) was a pawn up in a likely drawn ending against Mike Barnes, but spent so much time thinking of his […]

Our traditional and ever popular pre-season tournament took place at the end of August, with 24 participants. It is a 5 round Swiss. Players get 10 miuntes +/- time depending on difference in grade (rating nowadays). The largest difference in time can be 16 mins to 4. This usually results in a few unexpected results but this tournament had far […]