July 21st - 23rd 

 

The Glorney, Gilbert, Robinson and Stokes Cup tournament held in Cardiff.

 

Congratulations to the winners:

Glorney Cup - England, Wales 2nd

Faber/Gilbert Cup - England, Wales 2nd

Robinson Cup - England, Wales 2nd

Stokes Cup - Ireland , Wales 3rd

 

Stuart Hutchings final report added on Glorney/Gilbert Welsh teams.

 

	Glorney Cup
		England	England	Wales	Wales	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland	Scotland	Total	Pos
A	England	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	2	5	2½	5	4½	4½	23½	1st
B	Wales	3	0	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	3	3	3½	3½	16	2nd
C	Ireland	2½	0	2	2	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	3½	4½	14½	3rd
D	Scotland	½	½	1½	1½	1½	½	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	6	4th
	Faber Gilbert Cup
		England	England	Wales	Wales	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland	Scotland	Total	Pos
A	England	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	3	2½	3	3	3	3	17½	1st
B	Wales	0	½	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	2	3	3	2	10½	2nd
C	Ireland	0	0	1	0	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	2	3	6	3rd
D	Scotland	0	0	0	1	1	0	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	2	4th
	Robinson Cup
		England	England	Wales	Wales	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland	Scotland	Total	Pos
A	England	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	3½	4	3½	3½	5	4	23½	1st
B	Wales	2½	2	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	3	5	3	2½	18	2nd
C	Ireland	2½	2½	3	1	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	4	3½	16½	3rd
D	Scotland	1	2	3	3½	2	2½	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	14	4th
	Stokes Cup
		England	England	Wales	Wales	Ireland	Ireland	Scotland	Scotland	Total	Pos
A	England	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxx	5	3½	2½	2½	5	5	23½	2nd
B	Wales	1	2½	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	3	1½	3	2½	13½	3rd
C	Ireland	3½	3½	3	4½	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	6	3½	24	1st
D	Scotland	1	1	3	3½	0	2½	xxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx	11	4th

 

 

Glorney Cup 2013 

 

1	England		4	3	2	3	4	2	Total
1	Daniel	Hunt	½	0	½	1	1	1	4
2	Gordon	Scott	1	1	½	1	½	1	5
3	Henry	Broadley	1	½	0	1	1	1	4½
4	Adam C	Taylor	1	1	½	1	1	1	5½	Winner
5	Charlie	Nettleton	1	0	½	1	1	1	4½
			4½	2½	2	5	4½	5	23½
2	Wales		3	4	1	4	1	3	Total
1	Tom	Thorpe	0	½	½	½	½	0	2
2	Luke	Kostanjsek	1	1	½	½	1	0	4
3	Philippe	Rodgers	0	0	1	1	0	0	2
4	Rhys	Steele	1	1	½	½	½	0	3½
5	Nicholas	Evans	1	1	½	1	1	0	4½	Winner
			3	3½	3	3½	3	0	16
3	Ireland		2	1	4	1	2	4	Total
1	Conor	O'Donnell	1	1	1	0	½	1	4½	Winner
2	Eoin	Minnock	0	0	0	0	0	½	½
3	John	Courtney	1	½	½	0	1	1	4
4	John	Cormican	0	0	1	0	½	1	2½
5	James	Danaher	0	1	1	0	0	1	3
			2	2½	3½	0	2	4½	14½
4	Scotland		1	2	3	2	1	3	Total
1	Ali	Roy	½	½	0	½	0	0	1½
2	Daniel	Deary	0	0	1	½	½	½	2½	Winner
3	Lennart	Koehn	0	1	½	0	0	0	1½
4	Declan	Shafi	0	0	0	½	0	0	½
5	Alexander	Bond	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
			½	1½	1½	1½	½	½	6

  

  L to R -Tom, Luke, Philippe, Rhys, Nicholas

Faber\Gilbert Cup 201

 

1	England		4	3	2	3	4	2	Total
1	Amy	Hoare	1	1	1	1	1	½	5½
2	Katherine	Shepherd	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	Winner
3	Jessica	Wen	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
			3	3	3	3	3	2½	17½
2	Wales		3	4	1	4	3	1	Total
1	Megan	Owens	1	1	0	½	1	½	4	Winner
2	Alyssa	Wang	1	1	0	½	1	0	3½
3	Stephanie	Du Toit	0	1	0	1	1	0	3
			2	3	0	2	3	½	10½
3	Ireland		2	1	4	1	2	4	Total
1	Diana	Mirza	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
2	Eibhia	Nt Mhuireagain	0	0	1	0	0	1	2
3	Alice	O'Gorman	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	Winner
			1	0	2	0	0	3	6
4	Scotland		1	2	3	2	1	3	Total
1	Caitlin	Reid	0	0	1	½	0	0	1½	Winner
2	Morven	Petrie	0	0	0	½	0	0	½
3	Lauren	Bond	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
			0	0	1	1	0	0	2

 

   L to R- Megan, Alyssa, Stephanie

  

Robinson Cup 2013 

 

1	England		4	3	2	3	4	2	Total
1	Michael	Ashworth	1	0	½	1	0	½	3
2	Ashwin	Kalyana	1	0	0	0	0	½	1½
3	Alex	Golding	1	1	1	0	1	1	5
4	Daniel	Gallagher	1	1	½	½	1	½	4½
5	Harry	Croasdale	0	½	1	1	1	½	4
6	Hajana	Anbukumar	1	1	½	1	1	1	5½	Winner
			5	3½	3½	3½	4	4	23½
2	Wales		3	4	1	4	3	1	Total
1	Rhys	Bennett	1	0	½	0	1	½	3
2	Ben	Thomas	1	½	1	½	1	½	4½	Winner
3	Owen	Bennett	½	1	0	0	½	0	2
4	Nyasha	Katsande	½	½	½	½	1	½	3½
5	Mateusz	Sieduszewski	0	0	0	½	½	½	1½
6	Daniel	Siromani	0	1	½	1	1	0	3½
			3	3	2½	2½	5	2	18
3	Ireland		2	1	4	1	2	4	Total
1	Scott	Mulligan	0	1	0	0	0	1	2
2	Cian	Guinan	0	1	0	1	0	1	3
3	Desmond	Doran	½	0	1	1	½	0	3
4	Tom	McGrath	½	0	1	½	0	0	2
5	Kevin	Singpurwala	1	½	1	0	½	½	3½	Winner
6	Luke	Scott	1	0	1	0	0	1	3
			3	2½	4	2½	1	3½	16½
4	Scotland		1	2	3	2	1	3	Total
1	Kai	Pannwitz	0	1	1	1	1	0	4	Winner
2	Leonardo	Sani	0	½	1	½	1	0	3
3	Colin	Howie	0	0	0	1	0	1	2
4	Jack	Stewart	0	½	0	½	0	1	2
5	Leston	D'Costa	1	1	0	½	0	½	3
6	Craig	Gillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
			1	3	2	3½	2	2½	14

 

  L to R -Daniel, Mateusz, Nyasha, Owen, Ben, Rhys

 

Stokes Cup 2013

 

1	England		4	3	2	3	4	2
1	Taylor	Pearson	0	½	1	½	1	1	4
2	Jacob	Boswell	1	0	1	½	1	0	3½
3	Nikolai	Hinterreither	1	1	1	½	½	1	5	Winner
4	James	Golding	1	0	1	0	½	1	3½
5	Robert	Ashworth	1	1	½	1	1	½	5
6	Alex	Sheerin	1	0	½	0	1	0	2½
			5	2½	5	2½	5	3½	23½
B	Wales		3	4	1	4	3	1
1	Imogen	Camp	½	0	0	½	1	0	2
2	Ben	Chou Yin	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
3	Karanvir	Luchtman-Singh	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
4	James	Evans	0	½	0	½	0	0	1
5	Shayanna	Sivarajasingam	½	1	½	½	0	½	3
6	Arjan	Bolina	1	½	½	1	½	1	4½	Winner
			3	3	1	2½	1½	2½	13½
C	Ireland		2	1	4	1	2	4
1	Padraig	Hughes	½	½	1	½	0	½	3
2	Ross	Beatty	1	1	1	½	1	0	4½
3	Tom	O'Gorman	0	0	1	½	1	1	3½
4	Michael	Higgins	1	1	1	1	1	1	6	Winner
5	Fiachra	Scallon	½	0	1	0	1	1	3½
6	David	Halpenny	0	1	1	1	½	0	3½
			3	3½	6	3½	4½	3½	24
D	Scotland		1	2	3	2	1	3
1	Euan	Gray	1	1	0	½	0	½	3	Winner
2	Ben	Volland	0	1	0	1	0	1	3
3	Michael	Doyle	0	0	0	1	½	0	1½
4	Euan	Dawson	0	½	0	½	½	0	1½
5	Sam	Harper	0	0	0	½	0	0	½
6	Callum	Smith	0	½	0	0	0	1	1½
			1	3	0	3½	1	2½	11

 

  L to R- Arjan, Shayanna, James, Karanvir, Ben, Imogen 

 

 

Glorney 2013 Team	Faber/Gilbert 2013 Team
Robinson 2013 Team	Stokes 2013 Team

 

 

Reports from Stuart Hutchings, Coach, Glorney and Gilbert teams.

 

 

Final Report by Stuart Hutchings, Coach to the Glorney and Gilbert teams

 

Apologies for not being able to provide the reports for rounds 4 – 6, in what proved to be a very hectic 3 days. As Susan has provided comprehensive results and other statistics on the website already, I will just briefly summarise the last 3 rounds in one go.

 

Glorney              

 

Round 4 – Wales beat Scotland 3.5 – 1.5 with wins by Philippe and Nick, and may have been even more if Tom had found 27.Rf4 and if Rhys had kept a pair of rooks on towards the end.

 

England beat Ireland 5 – 0, so they were now 1 game point ahead of Wales.

 

Round 5 – Wales beat Ireland 3 – 2 with wins by Luke and Nick (the latter with a nice sacrificial attack – against the King’s Gambit!), but all 3 match results had been possible at various stages. Rhys managed to draw after his opponent missed 28... Bxf3 followed by h5 with a won K + P ending, whilst with the match poised at 2.1 – 1.5 in our favour Tom miraculously saved a lost R + P ending (45.b5 amongst others won for White), to give the team a terrific boost of another won match.

 

However, England beat Scotland 4.5 – 0.5 (in the drawn game the England player inadvertently allowed a perpetual in a won position), so now went into the last round 2.5 game points ahead of Wales.

 

Round 6 – Wales therefore needed to beat England 4 – 1 in a showdown for the title, knowing we could finish no lower than 2^nd, but alas, Wales went down 0 – 5. The higher rated English team had been playing much better since they had lost to Wales in round 3, accumulating 14.5/15 in the last 3 rounds. For Wales is was sadly a match too far, Tom and Luke were in trouble early on, whilst Philippe had a nice position but allowed a tactic which won outright (24... Rxb7 followed by Qxg3+ in the final position). Rhys equalised but he also allowed a tactic with 21... Qc7 after which f4 (Bd6, e5) wins a piece, whilst Nick played a good game but missed 36.Qxf6+ winning outright (both players missed this possibility on 3 successive moves), after which the tables were turned and a lost B + P ending was reached. It was just not our day (round).

 

Glorney overall summary

 

A magnificent effort by the team, they can all hold their heads high.  A first ever win in a Glorney match against England, and if the tournament had been decided on match points rather than game points (as is the case for other international team tournaments in which I have been involved) Wales would have won the tournament after 5 rounds! Wales have never won the Glorney Cup, but couldn’t have come any closer having won more matches than England, but losing out on the game point system. The future is looking good, the members of this team are all still available for next year’s Glorney, and no doubt will be pressed hard for their places by others.  

 

They were a great group of lads, I very much enjoyed working with them, and I hope my contribution was of benefit to them during the tournament and for the future. And special mention must be made of Ian Eustis, for besides all the fantastic work he has consistently done for Welsh junior chess in general, he has been associated with the Glorney Cup for over 40 years, and the first ever win against England (on the same day the Prince of Wales first grandchild was born!) was a very proud moment.

 

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Gilbert

 

Round 4 – Wales beat Scotland 2 – 1 with a win and 2 draws. Stephanie’s opponent inexplicably gave away a piece on move 7, whilst both White players were material up and could have played on when draws were agreed on the other 2 boards.

 

Round 5 – Wales beat Ireland 3 – 0 in a match in which all the games were hard fought, with the Welsh girls pressing, before all 3 Irish girls committed decisive endgame mistakes. Megan’s opponent, with 2 knights against 2 bishops, blundered both of them in successive moves, whilst Alyssa and Stephanie’s opponents allowed exchanges to reach winning K + P endings.

 

Wales had now reached 10 points and were certain of 2^nd place whatever happened in the final round, as Scotland and Ireland could not catch Wales, and England had amassed an unassailable 15/15.

 

Round 6 – Wales lost 0.5 – 2.5 to England, Megan easily drawing her game to stop England finishing with a 100% game score, with Alyssa and Stephanie putting up stern resistance before succumbing. 

 

Gilbert overall summary

 

An excellent performance by all the girls to finish clear 2^nd losing only 1 individual game against Scotland or Ireland, that being very much against the run of play. Megan is now of an age where she will be no longer eligible for the Gilbert, her contribution, and that of her mother Susan, to Welsh chess over the years has been immense. But the future for girls’ chess still looks rosy with Alyssa and Stephanie having many years in front of them, and a number of even younger girls making great strides behind them.

 

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Glorney Round 3

 

A 3 – 2 win against England, what a result!

 

According to Ian Eustis, who knows all about these things, he cannot remember Wales EVER having defeated England in a Glorney match before. And the match was even more convincing than the score suggests, it was the Welsh players who were pressing for the extra half points against their higher rated players. It is churlish of me to remark upon the individual games, the players were all heroes, but for completeness:

 

Tom – after an equal opening White dropped a pawn to a back rank trick, but held his position together thereafter

 

Luke – had prepared well in a sharp opening, but something went amiss and suddenly he was 3 pawns down. Kept his composure and did very well to reduce the game to an equal Q + P ending.

 

Philippe – after 2 losses, Philippe responded with an excellent attacking win with Black

 

Rhys – had also prepared well, he had a good extra passed d pawn, perhaps 23.Bg3 would have maintained some advantage, as it went, it fizzled out to a drawn R + P ending

 

Nick – equalised and had slightly the better of a drawn ending

 

 

Gilbert Round 3

 

Lost 0 – 3 to England

 

Megan – slipped up in the opening and was given no chance to recover as the life was slowly squeezed out of her position

 

Alyssa – was a bit worse out of the opening and lost a pawn. Her opponent played well to win a 2^nd then a 3^rd pawn and the game

 

Stephanie – won a pawn with a typical Nxe4, B takes loose piece on h4 trick. She played some thematic central play against White’s kingside initiative, but the game swung on a couple of moves. 25... Rd5 wins for Black, and after the sequence played 25... Bd5 26.Nf6+ then 26... gxf6 is no more than a perpetual. As it went the 2 white pieces were much superior to the Black rook. 

Summary

 

So, in the Glorney today history was made, it would be great to go on and win the tournament, but England lurk just 0.5 game points behind.

 

In the Gilbert, England just too powerful on the day, and nearly out of sight already with 9/9, but still no reason why Wales should not comfortably finish 2^nd. 

 

---

  

Glorney Round 2

 

Tom – equalised early against his female opponent, and comfortably held the balance.

 

Luke – played an enterprising pawn sac and broke through neatly.

 

Philippe – had a steady position before his opponent found the resourceful Nxe6 which proved to be decisive despite Philippe’s best efforts to complicate matters.

 

Rhys – after playing a good opening just kept winning pawns for an easy win.

 

Nick – slowly and surely forced White back and successfully fended off any tricks at the end.

 

Gilbert Round 2

 

Megan – got a nice position early on, won a pawn and took over the position.

 

Alyssa – won a piece by simultaneously attacking the queen and an undefended bishop, after which she was winning easily, though I didn’t understand 33.Bg2 (Kh1) which should have been answered by Nf4 regaining the piece, albeit still better for White.

 

Stephanie – after a sound opening, her opponent then committed some mistakes costing material, and although White tried to generate some play, Stephanie had everything under control.

 

Summary

 

So an excellent first day, with both teams winning both their matches. In the Glorney, England, despite only drawing with Ireland, are still ahead on game points (time to change it to match points as per the Olympiad ?), but in both competitions it is clearly going to be a straight fight between Wales and England. The Welsh teams are ready and primed for their first clash with England in round 3. 

  

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Glorney Round 1

 

Tom – played an enterprising exchange sacrifice followed by a queen sac, but Black was able to work his way through the complications to refute the attack.

 

Luke – White played rather passively and Luke was soon material ahead.

 

Philippe – played steadily but then loosened his kingside, which Black was able to capitalise upon.

 

Rhys – was endeavouring to win an ending a pawn up (3 sets of double pawns !) when his opponent blundered a rook.

 

Nick – had a better ending before his opponent fatally transposed into a lost K + P ending.

 

A good start in which Wales were 3 – 0 at one stage.

 

 

Gilbert Round 1

 

Megan – got a solid position, jettisoned a pawn for some play, but later blundered a 2nd pawn. However her opponent got dominated by Megan's play forcing her backwards and then allowed a snap mate.

 

Alyssa – was under a bit of pressure for a while, equalised, then outplayed her opponent in an ending.

 

Stephanie – got a commanding position but lost some advantage by exchanging queens (15. Bg5 is better although not winning the queen as might appear). She was still always winning the ending right up until 38.Re8 (dxc4 !), and still might have had chances of holding thereafter, but it was very complex. Very unlucky.

 

Summary

 

Play is all moves in 2 hours each, 2 rounds a day over 3 days, playing each other country twice (with the same board order, but colours reversed for the 2^nd match).     

 

There was I thinking that both teams had got off to a 100% start, when I was told the tournament is decided by game points rather than match points. England won both their matches convincingly, so Wales are behind them, nevertheless a very encouraging start for both Welsh teams.

 

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