Bedford at the British - Bedford Chess Club

Congratulations to all Bedford players who dared to take on the best at the British Championships in Leicester. However much you fancy yourself within your club or local league, this really is the chance to compare yourself against the best at a national level. I don’t remember many games in my life, but I could still describe most of the 22 games I played at Portsmouth (1976) and Chester (1979), even though my results were extremely modest.

Anyway, Bedford Chess club were well represented at all levels in the championships at Leicester this year:-

British Chess Championship – Toby Cox (1/9), Andrew Ledger (5.5/9)
Over 50 – Steve Ledger (3.5/7), David Ledger (5.5/7 – 2nd)
Over 65 – Paul Habershon (4/7)
Under 12 – Ramsey Dairi (6/7 – 1st!!)
Under 8 – Daniella Dairi (2/7)
U1450 – David Cox (2/6)
U1500 – Mahmoud Dairi (2.5/5)

Well done to everyone. Obviously Ramsey is the stand out performance – I followed most of his games live but 3 of them particularly caught my eye.

As James Gardner observes, game 3 was a mature squeeze against a higher rated player.

   [Event "British Chess Championships 2023"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2023.07.26"] [Round "03"] [White "Dairi, Ramsey"] [Black "Sefton, Adam"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1592"] [BlackElo "1685"] [TimeControl "5400+30"]   e4 {[%clk 1:30:56]} 1… e6 {[%clk 1:30:25]} 2. d4 {[%clk 1:31:21]} 2… d5 {[%clk 1:30:29]} 3. Nc3 {[%clk 1:31:42]} 3… Nf6 {[%clk 1:29:56]} 4. e5 {[%clk 1:31:45]} 4… Nfd7 {[%clk 1:29:39]} 5. f4 {[%clk 1:31:58]} 5… c5 {[%clk 1:28:58]} 6. Nf3 {[%clk 1:31:28]} 6… Nc6 {[%clk 1:28:27]} 7. Be3 {[%clk 1:30:56]} 7… cxd4 {[%clk 1:28:15]} 8. Nxd4 {[%clk 1:29:51]} 8… Bc5 {[%clk 1:27:34]} 9. Qd2 {[%clk 1:29:14]} 9… Qb6 {[%clk 1:26:46]} 10. Na4 {[%clk 1:20:04]} 10… Qb4 {[%clk 1:20:42]} 11. Nxc5 {[%clk 1:08:47]} 11… Qxd2+ {[%clk 1:20:19]} 12. Kxd2 {[%clk 1:09:02]} 12… Nxc5 {[%clk 1:20:42]} 13. Bd3 {[%clk 1:01:29]} 13… Nxd3 {[%clk 1:18:39]} 14. cxd3 {[%clk 1:01:28]} 14… Bd7 {[%clk 1:18:10]} 15. Nb5 {[%clk 0:59:30]} 15… O-O {[%clk 1:16:26]} 16. Bc5 {[%clk 0:58:03]} 16… Rfd8 {[%clk 1:16:41]} 17. Nd6 {[%clk 0:57:29]} 17… b6 {[%clk 1:16:23]} 18. Ba3 {[%clk 0:56:57]} 18… h5 {[%clk 1:07:43]} 19. h3 {[%clk 0:53:19]} 19… h4 {[%clk 1:07:20]} 20. g3 {[%clk 0:49:57]} 20… Nd4 {[%clk 1:05:00]} 21. gxh4 {[%clk 0:48:46]} 21… Nf3+ {[%clk 1:04:18]} 22. Kd1 {[%clk 0:48:31]} 22… Nxh4 {[%clk 1:03:57]} 23. Rg1 {[%clk 0:48:04]} 23… Ng6 {[%clk 1:03:33]} 24. Rg4 {[%clk 0:48:04]} 24… Be8 {[%clk 1:01:55]} 25. Kd2 {[%clk 0:47:46]} 25… Nf8 {[%clk 0:49:58]} 26. Rag1 {[%clk 0:44:43]} 26… g6 {[%clk 0:49:31]} 27. h4 {[%clk 0:44:08]} 27… Bd7 {[%clk 0:47:32]} 28. h5 {[%clk 0:42:47]} 28… Rdb8 {[%clk 0:45:08]} 29. hxg6 {[%clk 0:38:35]} 29… fxg6 {[%clk 0:45:03]} 30. Rh1 {[%clk 0:34:26]} 30… a5 {[%clk 0:44:51]} 31. Rgh4 {[%clk 0:33:55]} 31… g5 {[%clk 0:42:39]} 32. Rh8+ {[%clk 0:30:17]} 32… Kg7 {[%clk 0:43:04]} 33. fxg5 {[%clk 0:29:56]} 33… Bc6 {[%clk 0:42:03]} 34. R8h6 {[%clk 0:26:30]} 34… Ra7 {[%clk 0:42:09]} 35. g6 {[%clk 0:26:14]} 35… Rba8 {[%clk 0:42:02]} 36. d4 {[%clk 0:18:39]} 36… Nxg6 {[%clk 0:41:39]} 37. Rh7+ {[%clk 0:17:52]} 37… Kg8 {[%clk 0:41:52]} 38. R7h6 {[%clk 0:16:52]} 38… Kg7 {[%clk 0:42:13]} 39. R6h2 {[%clk 0:16:00]} 39… Rh8 {[%clk 0:41:59]} 40. Rxh8 {[%clk 0:16:18]} 40… Nxh8 {[%clk 0:42:23]} 41. b3 {[%clk 0:14:19]} 41… Ng6 {[%clk 0:42:10]} 42. Ke3 {[%clk 0:13:57]} 42… Rc7 {[%clk 0:40:53]} 43. Rc1 {[%clk 0:13:57]} 43… Kh7 {[%clk 0:39:39]} 44. Nb5 {[%clk 0:14:12]} 44… Rc8 {[%clk 0:38:16]} 45. Na7 {[%clk 0:14:31]} 45… Ra8 {[%clk 0:38:07]} 46. Nxc6 {[%clk 0:14:49]} 46… b5 {[%clk 0:38:07]} 47. Rh1+ {[%clk 0:14:32]} 47… Kg7 {[%clk 0:38:28]} 48. Bd6 {[%clk 0:14:40]} 48… a4 {[%clk 0:38:23]} 49. Rg1 {[%clk 0:13:59]} 49… axb3 {[%clk 0:38:30]} 50. axb3 {[%clk 0:14:19]} 50… Kh7 {[%clk 0:38:56]} 51. Rc1 {[%clk 0:13:37]} 51… Rc8 {[%clk 0:39:08]} 52. Rc5 {[%clk 0:13:50]} 52… Nh4 {[%clk 0:39:11]} 53. Na7 {[%clk 0:13:28]} 53… Nf5+ {[%clk 0:39:28]} 54. Kd3 {[%clk 0:13:45]} 54… Rg8 {[%clk 0:39:50]} 55. Nxb5 {[%clk 0:13:14]} 55… Rg3+ {[%clk 0:40:11]} 56. Kc2 {[%clk 0:12:49]} 56… Rg2+ {[%clk 0:40:36]} 57. Kb1 {[%clk 0:13:02]} 57… Rd2 {[%clk 0:40:57]} 58. Rc2 {[%clk 0:12:38]} 58… Rd3 {[%clk 0:41:19]} 59. Bc5 {[%clk 0:12:45]} 59… Rxb3+ {[%clk 0:41:35]} 60. Rb2 {[%clk 0:13:08]} 60… Rd3 {[%clk 0:41:38]} 61. Kc2 {[%clk 0:13:11]} 61… Rh3 {[%clk 0:42:02]} 62. Nc7 {[%clk 0:13:01]} 62… Ne3+ {[%clk 0:39:56]} 63. Kb1 {[%clk 0:12:47]} 63… Rh1+ {[%clk 0:39:53]} 64. Ka2 {[%clk 0:13:08]} 64… Nc4 {[%clk 0:40:11]} 65. Rb7 {[%clk 0:12:24]} 65… Rh2+ {[%clk 0:40:33]} 66. Kb1 {[%clk 0:12:46]} 66… Nd2+ {[%clk 0:40:48]} 67. Kc1 {[%clk 0:13:03]} 67… Kg6 {[%clk 0:40:40]} 68. Rb2 {[%clk 0:12:37]} 68… Kf5 {[%clk 0:40:35]} 69. Rxd2 {[%clk 0:12:45]} 69… Rh1+ {[%clk 0:41:00]} 70. Kb2 {[%clk 0:13:01]} 70… Rf1 {[%clk 0:41:23]} 71. Rh2 {[%clk 0:13:05]} 71… Rg1 {[%clk 0:41:09]} 72. Rh6 {[%clk 0:13:17]} 72… Rg2+ {[%clk 0:41:29]} 73. Kb3 {[%clk 0:13:33]} 73… Ke4 {[%clk 0:41:46]} 74. Rxe6 {[%clk 0:13:06]} 74… Rg3+ {[%clk 0:42:10]} 75. Kb4 {[%clk 0:13:26]} 75… Rg1 {[%clk 0:42:32]} 76. Kb5 {[%clk 0:13:41]} 1-0

I really like 22. Rh6 in game 5.

   [Event "British Chess Championships 2023"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2023.07.28"] [Round "05"] [White "Dairi, Ramsey"] [Black "Vaidyanathan, Adithya"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1592"] [BlackElo "1559"] [TimeControl "5400+30"]   e4 {[%clk 1:30:58]} 1… c5 {[%clk 1:29:53]} 2. Be2 {[%clk 1:31:23]} 2… Nc6 {[%clk 1:29:40]} 3. d3 {[%clk 1:31:48]} 3… d5 {[%clk 1:29:32]} 4. exd5 {[%clk 1:32:12]} 4… Qxd5 {[%clk 1:29:51]} 5. Nf3 {[%clk 1:32:31]} 5… a6 {[%clk 1:29:52]} 6. Nc3 {[%clk 1:32:42]} 6… Qd8 {[%clk 1:30:08]} 7. Be3 {[%clk 1:31:56]} 7… e5 {[%clk 1:29:41]} 8. O-O {[%clk 1:30:55]} 8… Nf6 {[%clk 1:29:19]} 9. Nd2 {[%clk 1:26:45]} 9… Be7 {[%clk 1:28:39]} 10. Nde4 {[%clk 1:26:15]} 10… Nxe4 {[%clk 1:28:54]} 11. Nxe4 {[%clk 1:26:08]} 11… b6 {[%clk 1:29:16]} 12. Bf3 {[%clk 1:25:12]} 12… Bb7 {[%clk 1:29:13]} 13. Ng3 {[%clk 1:20:32]} 13… O-O {[%clk 1:26:23]} 14. Be4 {[%clk 1:18:34]} 14… Na5 {[%clk 1:25:46]} 15. Qg4 {[%clk 1:15:01]} 15… Bxe4 {[%clk 1:23:34]} 16. dxe4 {[%clk 1:15:02]} 16… Kh8 {[%clk 1:22:42]} 17. Rad1 {[%clk 1:14:16]} 17… Qc7 {[%clk 1:22:08]} 18. Nf5 {[%clk 1:07:29]} 18… Bf6 {[%clk 1:20:29]} 19. Rd6 {[%clk 1:05:46]} 19… Rg8 {[%clk 1:20:38]} 20. Bg5 {[%clk 1:00:42]} 20… Bxg5 {[%clk 1:20:08]} 21. Qxg5 {[%clk 1:01:04]} 21… Nc4 {[%clk 1:19:36]} 22. Rh6! {[%clk 1:00:09]} 22… Qd6 {[%clk 1:17:27]} 23. Rxd6 {[%clk 1:00:30]} 23… Nxd6 {[%clk 1:17:45]} 24. Nxd6 {[%clk 1:00:51]} 24… Ra7 {[%clk 1:18:04]} 25. Qxe5 {[%clk 1:00:32]} 25… f6 {[%clk 1:18:16]} 26. Qe6 {[%clk 1:00:09]} 26… Rf8 {[%clk 1:18:36]} 27. Rd1 {[%clk 1:00:10]} 27… h6 {[%clk 1:18:52]} 28. Nc8 {[%clk 0:59:40]} 28… Ra8 {[%clk 1:18:59]} 29. Nxb6 {[%clk 0:59:05]} 29… Rae8 {[%clk 1:19:24]} 30. Qd6 {[%clk 0:57:50]} 30… Rd8 {[%clk 1:19:48]} 31. Qxd8 {[%clk 0:58:13]} 31… Rxd8 {[%clk 1:20:11]} 32. Rxd8+ {[%clk 0:58:37]} 32… Kh7 {[%clk 1:20:37]} 33. Rd5 {[%clk 0:58:58]} 33… Kg6 {[%clk 1:21:02]} 34. Rxc5 {[%clk 0:59:20]} 34… h5 {[%clk 1:21:20]} 35. Ra5 {[%clk 0:59:43]} 35… h4 {[%clk 1:21:41]} 36. c4 {[%clk 1:00:06]} 36… Kf7 {[%clk 1:22:07]} 37. c5 {[%clk 1:00:25]} 37… Ke7 {[%clk 1:22:31]} 38. Ra4 {[%clk 1:00:36]} 38… Kd8 {[%clk 1:22:50]} 39. Rc4 {[%clk 1:00:52]} 39… Kc7 {[%clk 1:23:10]} 40. c6 {[%clk 1:01:16]} 40… Kxb6 {[%clk 1:23:36]} 41. c7 {[%clk 1:01:39]} 41… h3 {[%clk 1:24:02]} 42. c8=Q {[%clk 1:02:01]} 42… hxg2 {[%clk 1:24:25]} 43. Qc7+ {[%clk 1:02:15]} 43… Kb5 {[%clk 1:24:49]} 44. Qc6+ {[%clk 1:02:39]} 44… Ka5 {[%clk 1:25:07]} 45. Ra4# {[%clk 1:03:06]} 1-0

The final round is always tough. I thought Ramsey was struggling for most of it but suddenly he’d won the knight, rook and game in a handful of moves!

   [Event "British Chess Championships 2023"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2023.07.29"] [Round "07"] [White "Gunarathne, Senith Thenula"] [Black "Dairi, Ramsey"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1460"] [BlackElo "1592"] [TimeControl "5400+30"]   e4 {[%clk 1:30:59]} 1… c5 {[%clk 1:30:56]} 2. Nf3 {[%clk 1:31:24]} 2… g6 {[%clk 1:31:21]} 3. d4 {[%clk 1:31:50]} 3… cxd4 {[%clk 1:31:48]} 4. Nxd4 {[%clk 1:32:15]} 4… Nc6 {[%clk 1:32:12]} 5. Nc3 {[%clk 1:32:40]} 5… Nf6 {[%clk 1:32:29]} 6. Be3 {[%clk 1:33:06]} 6… Bg7 {[%clk 1:32:46]} 7. f3 {[%clk 1:33:26]} 7… O-O {[%clk 1:33:10]} 8. Qd2 {[%clk 1:33:53]} 8… d5 {[%clk 1:33:30]} 9. Rd1 {[%clk 1:25:33]} 9… dxe4 {[%clk 1:23:42]} 10. fxe4 {[%clk 1:25:08]} 10… Ng4 {[%clk 1:20:43]} 11. Nxc6 {[%clk 1:23:54]} 11… Qxd2+ {[%clk 1:20:55]} 12. Rxd2 {[%clk 1:23:55]} 12… bxc6 {[%clk 1:17:09]} 13. Bc5 {[%clk 1:23:04]} 13… Bh6 {[%clk 1:16:32]} 14. Rd3 {[%clk 1:20:40]} 14… Ne5 {[%clk 1:12:22]} 15. Rd1 {[%clk 1:18:54]} 15… Bg4 {[%clk 1:12:17]} 16. Be2 {[%clk 1:18:48]} 16… Rfd8 {[%clk 1:03:54]} 17. O-O {[%clk 1:17:28]} 17… Bxe2 {[%clk 1:03:47]} 18. Nxe2 {[%clk 1:17:52]} 18… Nc4 {[%clk 1:03:45]} 19. Bxe7 {[%clk 1:13:25]} 19… Re8 {[%clk 1:01:43]} 20. Rd7 {[%clk 1:13:27]} 20… Nd2 {[%clk 1:01:03]} 21. Rd1 {[%clk 1:03:26]} 21… Nxe4 {[%clk 1:01:11]} 22. g3 {[%clk 1:02:15]} 22… Bf8 {[%clk 1:00:44]} 23. Bxf8 {[%clk 1:02:18]} 23… Kxf8 {[%clk 1:00:56]} 24. Nd4 {[%clk 1:02:23]} 24… Nc5 {[%clk 0:55:09]} 25. Rd6 {[%clk 1:01:04]} 25… Rad8 {[%clk 0:52:24]} 26. Nxc6 {[%clk 0:59:48]} 26… Rxd6 {[%clk 0:52:03]} 27. Rxd6 {[%clk 1:00:13]} 27… Re1+ {[%clk 0:52:24]} 28. Kf2 {[%clk 1:00:36]} 28… Rb1 {[%clk 0:52:13]} 29. Rd8+ {[%clk 1:00:58]} 29… Kg7 {[%clk 0:52:37]} 30. Rb8 {[%clk 1:00:49]} 30… Rc1 {[%clk 0:51:51]} 31. Nd4 {[%clk 1:00:28]} 31… Rh1 {[%clk 0:51:09]} 32. Kg2 {[%clk 0:58:32]} 32… Rd1 {[%clk 0:50:45]} 33. Nf3 {[%clk 0:58:42]} 33… Kf6 {[%clk 0:49:53]} 34. Rb5 {[%clk 0:58:41]} 34… Ne6 {[%clk 0:49:23]} 35. Rb7 {[%clk 0:58:31]} 35… Rc1 {[%clk 0:49:07]} 36. c3 {[%clk 0:58:39]} 36… a5 {[%clk 0:48:02]} 37. Rb6 {[%clk 0:58:32]} 37… Kf5 {[%clk 0:45:01]} 38. Rb5+ {[%clk 0:57:08]} 38… Ke4 {[%clk 0:45:11]} 39. Nd2+ {[%clk 0:55:48]} 39… Kd3 {[%clk 0:43:48]} 40. Rd5+ {[%clk 0:55:55]} 40… Ke2 {[%clk 0:40:05]} 41. Nc4 {[%clk 0:56:07]} 41… Rc2 {[%clk 0:38:39]} 42. Re5+ {[%clk 0:53:59]} 42… Kd3+ {[%clk 0:38:52]} 43. Kh3 {[%clk 0:54:14]} 43… Kxc4 {[%clk 0:39:15]} 44. Rxa5 {[%clk 0:54:41]} 44… Rxb2 {[%clk 0:39:35]} 45. Ra7 {[%clk 0:55:07]} 45… Kxc3 {[%clk 0:39:42]} 46. Rxf7 {[%clk 0:55:33]} 46… Ng5+ {[%clk 0:27:56]} 0-1

Ramsey gets his just deserts …

2 Replies to “Bedford at the British”

Richard Bodily says:

August 3, 2023 at 6:07 pm

Marc Obi played as well, in the weekender Atkins Open, a strong tournament in which he was seeded 43 out of 65.
He scored 3 out of 5, only losing in the last round, an excellent result.
Paul Habershon says:

July 30, 2023 at 9:16 pm

There was a twist in the final round of the O-65 tournament. The overwhelming favourite, Terry Chapman, to whom I lost in Round One, lost to Alan Punnett in the penultimate round after starting with 5/5. However, he was still joint leader and the top pairings were Sheila Jackson(2039) 5 v Alan Punnett(2051) 5; Terry Chapman (2248) 5 v David Fryer (1880) 4.5.

Everyone knew about the 10 a.m. start but Chapman’s watch had stopped and he arrived late at 10.36 having been defaulted under the rules at 10.30. The top board immediately agreed a draw and none of the other players on 4.5 managed to win, so there was a three-way tie for first place on 5.5.

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