International Master Andrew Greet will return to The Bungo on Tuesday 14 May (6:50pm start) for a simultaneous exhibition match, in which he will take on 22 Queens Park Members at once.
Among a wide range of career achievements and tournament wins, IM Greet is a former Scottish Champion and British Under-18 Champion.
Participants
A call for players was issued to Members in mid-April by email and WhatsApp. Following a registration and selection process, the Queens Park team is as follows (a-z by forename):
Starting Boards
Andrew Speirs
Andy Chisholm
Chris Dinwoodie
Connor Thompson
Craig Thomson
David Logue
Giuseppe Bosco
Greg Forrest
Harry McGrory
Iain Shields
Jack Crawford
Jack Gallagher
Jack Spillane
Joao Carrapico
Jonny Linney
Jordan McNaught
Marianne Burns
Paul Cumming
Ryan McGill
Scott McCartney
Thomas Fowley
Thomas McAleer
Substitutes
Julien Papillon
The event will begin at 6:50pm sharp on Tuesday 14 May. Any starting player who is more than ten minutes late, risks losing their place. It is expected to conclude at 9:00-9:30pm.
Substitutes will swap in for a starting player, as the first three games conclude on the night. Substitutes can play casual chess in the Bungo as the simul begins, and they will be called in to play when a game finishes.
Queens Park will look to improve on last year’s showing, pictured above, in which IM Greet won all 21 games with no draws or losses. The one-sided result doesn’t quite tell the full story, as indicated by the game below (tap/click to see in full), in which Queens Park’s Connor Thompson played superbly. Connor developed a -4 advantage with black in the middlegame, but an ambitious Queen sacrifice didn’t pay dividends.
Connor (black) put IM Greet under significant pressure in the 2023 simul
For further information about simultaneous matches, the format for the evening, and some hints and tips, please have a look at the details for last year’s event.
One significant change from last year’s format is, Queens Park players can choose which colour they wish to play with. Typically in simuls, the opponents always play with Black, so this is a generous change of policy from IM Greet – although it may also speak to his confidence!
IM Greet will also be selecting the three best-performing players on the night, and presenting them with an award.
Queens Park Chess Club has a proud tradition of simuls. Members of the historical Club had the fortune of playing Joseph Henry Blackburne in 1883 and world champion Jose Raul Capablanca in 1919, while the modern Club started playing simuls in 2022, with initial events against GM Jacob Aagaard and AGM Nicolas Skettos.
N.B. This event is open to current Queens Park Members only. The Chess Club is unable to accept new Members at present; those interested in joining in future, are invited to register for our mailing list.
International Master Andrew Greet, pictured above (left) with Club Secretary Derek Rankine, will visit Queens Park at the end of February for a special simultaneous exhibition match, or simul.
The simul event provides a valuable opportunity for Members to play a 2400+ FIDE rated player – one of the best in Scotland – at the same time. Further information on follows.
This event is taking place on Tuesday 28 February, following postponement from the original intended date in January.
What is a Simul?
In a simultaneous match, a highly rated player plays multiple opponents at the same time. The expert plays one move against one opponent, then moves on to the next board, and so on, until all games are played to completion. Viewers of The Queen’s Gambit may remember the protagonist’s simul event in a key early scene.
For this event, IM Greet has challenged himself by kindly agreeing to play as many as 22 Queens Park Members at once. This presents a unique chance to face a Master level player over the board in a distinctive format that gives Club Members a serious advantage in time available to analyse the position. With so many games to deal with, it is not uncommon for the expert player to make mistakes in simuls that intermediate level opponents can potentially capitalise on, despite the massive gulf in ability.
Queens Park played simuls last season with GM Jacob Aagaard and AGM Nicolas Skettos, under our previous name of Govanhill Chess Club. Members reported both events as being highly enjoyable and rewarding, and one win and some draws were achieved by our Members.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen giving a simul in Tatev Monastery, Armenia, in 2014
About IM Greet
IM Greet was born in Cornwall in 1979. In the 1990s, he was one of the most talented junior players in the UK. He twice won the British Under-18 Championship, in 1996 as a 16-year old, and again in 1998.
Andrew became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2005. Also in 2005, he scored a record breaking 11/11 in the Four Nations Chess League. In 2008, he moved to Glasgow and changed his FIDE registration from England to Scotland. In 2010, he became Scottish Champion.
In 2014, Andrew achieved his peak FIDE Classical rating to date, of 2456. He has won many tournaments across the UK, and also competes in international events. Notably, in 2016 in Azerbaijan, in 2018 in Georgia, and in 2022 in India, IM Greet was Scotland’s Board One player at the Chess Olympiad – the equivalent of an Olympic Games for chess. He was also Board Two for Scotland in the Norway Olympiad in 2014.
Since 2009, IM Greet has worked for Quality Chess, the internationally esteemed Glasgow-based publisher of chess books, as editor and head of marketing. Outside of chess, he has a Degree in Psychology from the University of Kent, and has a Purple Belt in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial art.
IM Greet has already helped the Club this season by donating five chess boards, to help us deal with rapid growth at the start of the season, when we suffered shortages. He is currently attached to Bearsden Chess Club, which is a regular collaborator with Queens Park, and supporter of our early development. We look forward to his visit later this month.
A massive simul in Odessa, Ukraine, in 2009
Participants
Following a call for players on 8 January, the confirmed Queens Park participants and reserves are as follows (a-z by surname):
Alistair Ahmed
Ash Angappan
Philip Blaber
Giuseppe Bosco
Rhys Brown
Gary Collins
Paul Cumming
Gemma Dickson
Greg Forrest
Tommy Lally
Jonny Linney
Michael Mathieson
Rhys McCrosson
Caitlin McCulloch
Ryan McGill
Riccardo Olivier
Iain Shields
Ethan Small
Andrew Speirs
Wull Swales
Connor Thompson
Douglas Veitch
1st Reserve: Moray Lennox
2nd Reserve: Jordan McNaught
Starting from the top, those on the reserve list will be provided with a place in the event of any advance cancellations, or no-shows/latecomers on the night (those more than 10 minutes late, risk losing their place).
GM Susan Polgar giving a simul in Central Park, New York, in 2018
Simul Process & Tips
The simul will start at 6:45pm on Tuesday 28 February in our new venue, The Bungo.
Those with a confirmed place, should sit down at an available board on the night. At the IM’s request, we will not be ordering players by rating. All Queens Park Members will play with the Black pieces.
The simul will be played without clocks. Queens Park players are to make their move immediately once IM Greet arrives at their board. IM Greet will then play his move before moving to the next board. From there, the simul games will proceed in the same way as a regular chess game. Players can offer or accept draws, or resign, at any point.
IM Greet has agreed to give Queens Park Members three pass requests. Say “pass” to IM Greet when he reaches your board if you wish to have more time to think. IM Greet will then make another circuit of all remaining players before a move is to be played.
Players may wish to write down their moves to keep a record of the game for future analysis, but notation is entirely optional. For those who wish to notate and share their games, we will be happy to publish a selection on our website.
The nature of simuls is, some games are likely to end quickly, while others may go on to 9pm. When games conclude, players are welcome to play casual games in another section of the Bungo-Lo. We ask that noise is kept to a minimum to let the IM and remaining participants concentrate.
Some general tips for simuls are: players should take full advantage of all available time to consider multiple candidate moves and ideas; it can be helpful to avoid exchanges and keep pieces on the board to push for a middlegame advantage, as an IM should have little problem winning an equal endgame against an intermediate player; it may also be worth playing more aggressively than normal, continually attacking, making threats and considering sacrificing material, while the IM lacks time to plan defences and counter-attacks.
That said, players should be aware that IMs can spot advanced tactical ideas instantly, and have vastly superior knowledge of all aspects of the game, from openings to endgames. The reality of the ability difference is, it is likely that the IM will comfortably win a significant majority of the games, despite the high number of opponents.
Regardless of the outcome, we hope all Members who take part, enjoy the experience. Please contact Derek via secretary@queensparkchessclub.com or on WhatsApp if you have any queries about the event.
