We are delighted to confirm that Cyprus national Nicolas Skettos will be joining us on the evening of Monday 31 January for a simultaneous exhibition match.
Nicolas holds the online FIDE title of Arena Grand Master, and has this month achieved a peak FIDE classical rating of 1940 following a strong performance at a tournament in Newcastle.
This will be a valuable opportunity to learn from an expert level player in a distinctive format that evens the playing field somewhat by providing club members with a major time and focus advantage.
Members will this week receive an email from President Julien Papillon with details of the simultaneous exhibition, which begins at 6:45pm. If you would like to notify Julien of your participation, please email president@queensparkchessclub.com.
Update
Nicolas won five of the eight games, and resigned one to Derek Rankine, who had won two pawns in a Sicilian Najdorf.
The other two games – against Alex Radevic and Rhys McCrosson – went on late into the evening and were suspended. The game against Alex was continued at a later date; Alex abandoned a perpetual check idea to seek the win, but Nicolas ultimately emerged victorious in a complex position. It was not possible to find a suitable date for completing the game against Rhys.
We are grateful to Nicolas for taking the time to play us.