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Queens Park vs IM Andrew Greet

Overview

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.

IM Greet, whose current international classical, rapid and blitz ratings are all 2400 and above, is Scotland’s top active player. He plays on board one for Scotland at the international Olympiad, the 45th iteration of which will take place in Budapest in September 2024.

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

  1. Andrew Speirs
  2. Andy Chisholm
  3. Chris Dinwoodie
  4. Connor Thompson
  5. Craig Thomson
  6. David Logue
  7. Giuseppe Bosco
  8. Greg Forrest
  9. Harry McGrory
  10. Iain Shields
  11. Jack Crawford
  12. Jack Gallagher
  13. Jack Spillane
  14. Joao Carrapico
  15. Jonny Linney
  16. Jordan McNaught
  17. Marianne Burns
  18. Paul Cumming
  19. Ryan McGill
  20. Scott McCartney
  21. Thomas Fowley
  22. Thomas McAleer

Substitutes

  1. 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.

Please notify us (contact@queensparkchessclub.com or via WhatsApp) if you can no longer make this event. 

Further Info

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.

Members can contact the Committee if they have any questions about the simul.

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.

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Events

IM Simul, 28 Feb

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.

IM Greet currently has international FIDE ratings of 2404 Classical, 2434 Rapid, and 2431 Blitz. A selection of his Classical over-the-board games can be viewed here.

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):

  1. Alistair Ahmed
  2. Ash Angappan
  3. Philip Blaber
  4. Giuseppe Bosco
  5. Rhys Brown
  6. Gary Collins
  7. Paul Cumming
  8. Gemma Dickson
  9. Greg Forrest
  10. Tommy Lally
  11. Jonny Linney
  12. Michael Mathieson
  13. Rhys McCrosson
  14. Caitlin McCulloch
  15. Ryan McGill
  16. Riccardo Olivier
  17. Iain Shields
  18. Ethan Small
  19. Andrew Speirs
  20. Wull Swales
  21. Connor Thompson
  22. 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.

Image credits:

Chess grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian play simul on 10 boards with monks and residents of Tatev by Pan-Armenian Photo used under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Odessa-215 Simul by Mikhail Golubev used under license CC BY-SA 2.0

Susan Polgar CP18 by 4paul! used under license CC BY-SA 2.0