Tag: chess

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Club Meetings Events

Leaderboard, Leagues & More

November 2022 was another packed month for the Club. Business continued for our three teams in the Glasgow and Dunbartonshire Chess Leagues, the Beltrami Club Championship got underway, and we initiated a Club Leaderboard. We were represented at national tournaments in Oban and Livingston, and we hosted a group of visitors from the admirable Freedom From Torture charity.

We reached an impressive milestone of 40 members, making Queens Park one of the bigger chess clubs in Scotland. That is all the more impressive given it doesn’t include non-members who: join us in Wellcroft Bowling Club for casual chess on Tuesdays; play in the Thursday Chess Group; and/or join our meetups on Sunday mornings. Full details follow.

Beltrami Championship

32 players competed in the first round of our Club Championship, sponsored by law firm Beltrami & Co. The tournament provides an opportunity for members of all abilities to test their classical skills, gain or improve upon a national rating, and compete for the prestigious trophy.

Round one winners included the Club’s highest rated players Tommy Lally (1616) and Craig Thomson (1606), and defending champion Rhys McCrosson (1477). On the lower boards, unrated newcomers Connor Thompson, Andrew Speirs, Ash Angappan and Paul Stewart also picked up full points. Full results here.

Round two, which has the designated date of Tuesday 10 January, will see six new Members join the tournament. Players unavailable on this date may arrange for their game to take place later in January. The round two draw will be made by Tournament Controller Alex Lane in early December, and will pair winners against winners using the Swiss format.

All round one games concluded in November

Club Leaderboard

This month saw the launch of Queens Park’s own elo system in a special Club Leaderboard administered by Club President Graeme McKinnon. “Queens Park elo” does not contribute to Chess Scotland or FIDE ratings – but it does provide all-important bragging rights.

The Leaderboard is open to members and non-members alike, and simply involves playing a timed over-the-board rapid game (10+0, 15+0 or 30+0) with another player during a Club night, and recording the outcome in a score slip.

All players start at 1200. At the end of November, Rhys McCrosson leads and is the first player to cross the 1300 threshold, out of more than 30 players that have played at least one Leaderboard game to date. Click here to see the standings and rules.

Driven: Rhys leads in no. games and rating

Oban Congress

Congratulations to Queens Park’s Jordan McNaught, a surprise joint winner of the Major section of the 2022 Oban Congress. Jordan, ungraded, was one of three players to share the prize money with 3.5/5.

Just behind on 3/5 were Alex Lane and Alex Radevic, while Derek Rankine scored 2.5/5. With Queens Park supplying the three lowest seeds of 14 players, it was an impressive outcome for the Club.

Oban: (l-r) Alex R, Zizheng, Alex L, Derek, Iain & Jordan

Queens Park was also represented in the Minor section by Iain Shields, who got 2.5/5, while Strathclyde Uni’s Liu Zizheng, who regularly visits Queens Park, achieved 2/5 in the Challengers section.

The five round classical tournament (75 mins per player for the first 30 moves, then an additional 30 mins per player) was held in Oban’s Royal Hotel on the weekend of 18-20 November.

International Master Andrew Greet, who will be visiting Queens Park on 31 January 2023 for a special 22 board simultaneous exhibition, won the tournament’s Open section with 4.5/5. An invitation to the simul will be shared with Members in early January.

Jordan collecting his well-earned Oban prize money

Livingston Allegro

A Queens Park delegation was in attendance at a Scottish Chess Tour rapid tournament in Livingston’s Mercure Hotel on 8 November. In a tough Major section, Graeme McKinnon scored 2/5 and Jordan McNaught got 1/5.

In the internationally rated Minor section, Connor Thompson achieved three consecutive wins to finish on 3/5, while Jonny Linney got 2/5 and Ryan McGill got 1/5. The time control for the five round Swiss pairings event was 20+10.

Livingston: (l-r) Connor, Jordan, Ryan, Graeme & Jonny

Freedom From Torture

The international charity Freedom From Torture, which provides therapy and support for people who are recovering from torture, visited Queens Park this month. The charity’s Scottish branch runs a chess group for some of its service users. On 23 November, the group joined us for some casual games and advice on learning and development.

Our Members greatly enjoyed meeting the group and sharing some tips around opening principles and middlegame strategy. The group have an open invitation to join us again anytime in future.

Freedom From Torture’s chess group visited Queens Park

Monthly Interview

Our interview series continued with Ryan McGill as our November subject. Ryan is an enthusiastic new Member who arrived at Queens Park Chess Club via our local partner, Thursday Chess Group.

In his interview, Ryan tells us about how his interest in the game developed, picks out several highlights from his first few months in the Club, and shares some useful advice to newer players.

Meanwhile, the Thursday Chess Group is also growing in size. This month they set up home in a new location, the Corona Bar in Shawlands. Thanks to a successful joint bid to the Thriving Govanhill Fund, players no longer have to bring their own chess sets, and can turn up for a game anytime from 6pm on Thursday.

Our Thursday Group partners in their new venue, Corona Bar

Endgame Class

Our internal Club training sessions continued with Alex Radevic hosting one on practical endgames on 29 November. Alex used our new demonstration board (purchased with Thriving Govanhill funding) to set up and work through a series of positions with a group of eight.

Next month, Graeme McKinnon will take a class on developing an opening repertoire. The session will be particularly valuable to those at intermediate level who are less clear about how to build up an appropriate depth of knowledge in their favoured openings. A session invitation will be shared via the Club Member WhatsApp group next month.

League Update

Queens Park’s impressive start in the Glasgow Chess League continued with a 2-2 draw away to the Glasgow University A team on 16 November. The result, achieved from wins by Tommy Lally and Paul Cumming on boards two and four respectively, keeps Queens Park’s promotion chances in good health at the top of Division 3b.

In the Dumbarton & District Chess League, Queens Park’s A team in Division 1 lost 0.5-3.5 at home to Stepps A. Craig Thomson achieved Queens Park’s half point by drawing an opponent rated more than 400 points higher, and ungraded Connor Thomson put up a tremendous fight against 2000+ rated Stepps opponent John Henderson.

Queens Park’s B team had mixed fortunes in Division 2 of the Dunbartonshire League. Caitlin McCulloch captained the team to an impressive 3.5-0.5 win away to a Giffnock side featuring her father, Andy, on 7 November. The following week, on 15 November, the team suffered a 4-0 defeat at home to an impressive Strathclyde University side. The second game saw league debuts for new and ungraded Queens Park Members Sachin Vats, Greg Forrest and Sagar Kukreja.

Queens Park lead Division 3b of the Glasgow Chess League

The Dunbartonshire teams are frequently rotated with a view to giving newer players experience alongside some of our higher rated Members. Those wishing to join a future team are encouraged to respond to calls for league players issued by captains in the Members WhatsApp group.

As some Members have reported difficulty finding the latest league tables, this website will feature a regularly updated set of tables on a dedicated new League Info page. In addition, our website calendar also provides detail on all league fixtures across the 2022/23 season, as well as special events.

National Ambition

In early 2023, Queens Park will be going national. We have registered teams in two Scotland-wide Cup competitions – the Spens and the Richardson.

The ‘first’ Queens Park Chess Club, which was active from the 1870s to the 1930s, won the prestigious Spens Cup on several occasions. While it is unlikely we will match their success on our first try, we will look forward to following in their footsteps and testing ourselves against other Clubs across the country in the five board Cup.

Queens Park may be entering the Scottish National Chess League too. The Committee are considering an invitation to join Division Five for the current season, with fixtures beginning in January.

The historic Queens Park Club first won the Spens Cup in 1903

Public Posters

The posters highlight the three busy chess meetups

Finally, those in Govanhill and Shawlands may have spotted our above poster, highlighting the three regular and free-to-attend chess meetups around Queens Park. The posters are currently on display in community noticeboards and selected venues.

As always, current and prospective Members and regulars are encouraged to contact Graeme (President) or Derek (Secretary) with any queries on recent and forthcoming activity.

Categories
Events

League Restart, Dundee, New Investment

October was a busy and productive month for Queens Park Chess Club. Our three league teams had two matches each, we had good representation in the Major and Minor section of the Dundee Congress, and we met Grandmaster Daniel King. 

Away from the chess board, we confirmed Beltrami law practice as our 2022/23 season sponsor, and achieved a share of a community grant voted on by residents of Govanhill. The new investments will help the Chess Club to manage its recent growth. 

One immediate use of the grant will be to purchase additional chess sets for the Club and for our local partner, the Thursday Chess Group, to address recent shortages and enable even more people around the Queens Park area to join us for casual and competitive chess.

Read on to learn how our players fared in six league matches and a national tournament.

Glasgow Chess League

It has been almost 90 years since a Queens Park Chess Club team competed in the historically significant Glasgow Chess League.

Our Division 3b Team, captained by Rhys McCrosson, got off to a winning start away to the talented juniors of Hamilton C, scoring 3.5 to 0.5. This included a win on board one for J Craig T Thomson, formerly of East Kilbride, in his first game for Queens Park – and his first league game in decades!

The second match was at home to Lenzie Dementors, another extremely strong junior side. The score was 3-1, with wins for Rhys McCrosson, Paul Cumming and Jordan McNaught. The two wins put Queens Park top of the league at the end of October. 

There are many fixtures to come, and next month will see the team visit Glasgow University A, who are also likely to be pushing for promotion to Division 2. Results and standings are available on the Glasgow Chess League website. 

Rhys is captain of Queens Park’s Glasgow team

Dumbarton Chess League

Queens Park A, captained by Jass McNeill, face tough opposition in Division 1 of the Dumbarton & District Chess League this season.

The first game resulted in a loss away to Renfrewshire. Jordan McNaught won for Queens Park on board two. Tommy Lally, formerly of Airdrie and Shettleston Chess Clubs, and currently Queens Park’s strongest player by grading, was winning his game on board one and almost saved a draw, but a mistake in time pressure led to a 3-1 loss.

The A team drew its second game, home to Phones A on 24 October. The away side had the impressive Pavlos Bozinakis, rated 2177 FIDE, on board one. Pavlos had to work hard to beat 1481 rated Alex Radevic. A win from Graeme McKinnon, and draws by Harvey Dellanzo and Derek Rankine achieved the team’s first league point of the season. See Division 1 results and standings. 

Caitlin McCulloch – who this month joined the Club Committee – captains Queens Park B in the Dumbarton league Division 2. The first game featured four unrated players against Bearsden B. Harry Thomson picked up his first win for the Club on board four in a 3-1 home defeat on 11 October.

In the second match, away to Stepps B on 27 October, the team secured a 2.5-1.5 victory, with wins from Chris Dinwoodie and Jonny Linney, and Tommy Lally got a draw on board one. See Dumbarton Division 2 results and standings.

The Dumbarton league fixtures provided valuable experience for many players new to competitive, classical over-the-board chess. Next up for Queens Park B is away to Giffnock on 7 November (Caitlin’s father, Andrew, plays for Giffnock, raising prospects for an inter-family clash!). The A team host Stepps A the following evening.    

Click on the board to see Graeme McKinnon’s win vs Phones A

Dundee Congress

A contingent from Queens Park attended the Dundee Chess Congress (pictured above) on the weekend of 14-16 October. Held in the University of Dundee’s Chaplaincy Centre, the five round classical event (time control: 90+15) featured three sections – Premier, Major and Minor.

The Premier section was tied by IM Andrew Greet of Bearsden and FM Keith Ruxton of Sandy Bells Chess Club. IM Greet kindly donated several chess sets to Queens Park at the start of the 2022/23 season, and has agreed in principle to give a simultaneous match against our Members in early 2023. We intend to arrange a date and issue a call for players later in the Autumn.

Three Queens Park Members competed in the Major section – Alex Lane, Rhys McCrosson, and Jordan McNaught. They were joined by Liu Zizheng of Strathclyde University, a regular visitor to Queens Park, who finished on an impressive 2.5 points out of 5. 

Alex Lane (right) achieved a Chess Scotland grading of 1316

In round two, Rhys achieved a superb victory with the Black pieces against top seed Donald Heron, rated 1797. Rhys finished on 2 points. Alex scored three draws to get 1.5/5, and achieved a national rating of 1316 in the process, while Jordan finished on the same score with one win and one draw.

Iain Shields and Chess in the Park & Thursday Chess Group regular Ronnie Martin played in the Minor section. Both finished on 2 points, Ronnie scoring two wins and three losses, Iain achieving a win and two draws.

Next up on the national stage is November’s Livingston Allegro and the Oban Congress. Several Queens Park Members will be participating in both.

Pictures from the Dundee Chess Congress on Flickr

Categories
Interview

Interview – Alex Radevic

Why do people join chess clubs?

What are they looking for?

What is it like to be part of Glasgow’s Queens Park Chess Club?

In a new series, Derek Rankine (Club Secretary) interviews Queens Park members new and old and asks them to share their experiences and perspectives.

This month, Derek spoke to Alex Radevic, 36, who works as a software engineer. Alex was born and brought up in Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius, and now lives in Shawlands, Glasgow.

Alex is one of the Club’s strongest players, finishing 3rd place of 20 in the first Club Championship in 2021/22. At the time of writing, in October 2022, he holds a Chess Scotland classical rating of 1481 and a Lichess classical rating of 1933. He is also a member of the Club Committee.

Derek: What is your earliest chess memory?

Alex: I learned chess moves when I was a child, but I got interested in the game only when I was around 15. I didn’t get to play chess as much as I wished – my parents don’t play, and at school, none of my classmates played either. So mostly I played chess online.

Tell us about your experience with chess clubs in Scotland.

In 2015, I emailed a few clubs close to Glasgow’s west end, where I lived at the time. John McIntyre – President of Phones Chess Club – kindly responded and invited me to join. Eventually, I ended up playing for Phones B team in Division 2 of the Glasgow Chess League for a few years.

After that, I didn’t play chess for some time, as I had other priorities at that point. When I moved to Shawlands in the south of Glasgow, I found Queens Park Chess Club – then known as Govanhill Chess Club – on its Facebook page. My former captain, Colin Paterson, who helped set the club up, also recommended Govanhill to me. So I decided to go along to a session early in the 2021/22 season.

I also went to several meetings of the Thursday Chess Group in Brodies Bar next to Queens Park, including some of their first gatherings in Autumn 2021.

I have played in several chess tournaments in Scotland. I think the 2017 Edinburgh Congress was my first serious tournament, and my most memorable one.

Glasgow Division 2 2017/18 standings; Alex played for Phones B

What do you like most about Queens Park Chess Club?

I like the enthusiasm of all members, the willingness to help each other improve, and to involve more people in the game. If I had to pick one thing, it would be the friendliness, and the warm welcome to new members of different ages and backgrounds.

What do you think the Chess Club could be doing better, or differently?

The club could meet more than once a week, and organise its own chess tournaments.

Queens Park Chess Club is known for its friendliness, and the warm welcome to new members

Alex Radevic

Is chess significantly more popular in Lithuania than it is in Scotland?

Yes – partially because of Lithuania’s Soviet past. Lithuania hosted loads of high level tournaments in the Soviet era. Such as, the 1984 Candidates Match between Kasparov and former world champion Smyslov, which happened in my home city of Vilnius. After beating Smyslov, Kasparov played Karpov in one of the most famous World Championship games of all time. These events raised huge interest in the game and chess culture across Lithuania.

Nowadays, in Lithuania, there are a few young grandmasters, both men and women. Worth mentioning in particular is GM Viktorija Čmilytė who won the European Women’s Chess Championship in 2011. She is married to Peter Heine Nielsen, who has coached world champions Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen.

Smyslov vs Kasparov Candidates Match in Vilnius, 1984

You have a large collection of chess books, in English and in Russian. What do you like about books, compared to digital chess resources?

I like the overall experience of using physical books rather than ebooks, videos etc. I get less distracted and I focus more easily.

If you had to pick only one, what book would you recommend to a newer player (sub-1000 elo)?

Probably, “How to Beat Your Dad at Chess” by Murray Chandler. It is a strong collection of checkmating patterns.

How about a book recommendation for an intermediate player (around 1300 elo) looking to improve their general play?

For general play, Capablanca’s “Chess Fundamentals” is still excellent. It covers the key fundamentals of chess strategy and the most essential endgames.

Lithuania hosted many high level events in the Soviet era, which hugely raised chess interest across the country

Alex Radevic

Do you have any general advice for new Queens Park Chess Club members?

If you are new to chess, and want to improve, play longer time control games and analyse them afterwards, especially the games you lost. Do not rely on an engine too much, but try to identify mistakes yourself.

Also, do not be too harsh on yourself for not winning games; what matters most is experience.

Once you have some experience and are comfortable playing over-the-board, start playing competitive chess. Join Queens Park’s Club Championship and start playing for one for our teams in the Glasgow or Dumbarton league. Our captains this season are Rhys, Caitlin and Jass, and members can talk to them about playing on a league team.

Alex finished 3rd of 20 in the 2021/22 Club Championship

You are particularly strong at King-and-pawn endgames. Do you have any tips on how to convert an advantage in these types of endgames?

A main general principle of endgames – especially when Queens are off the board – is to involve your King as early as possible. The same rule applies to King-and-pawn endgames.

Make your king active as early as possible, centralise it, occupy more space. As for pawns, the creation of a passed pawn makes your chances of winning the game higher.

Do not rely on an engine when analysing games you lost; try to identify mistakes yourself

Alex Radevic

Do you have a favourite chess player, current or historic?

I do not have single favourite chess player. I admire many games of Alekhine, Capablanca, Tigran Petrosian, Fischer, Karpov and Carlsen. These players represent different playing styles, but in my opinion, Magnus Carlsen is ultimately the best player. He combines both the attacking and positional styles of previous generations.

What are your future chess ambitions?

To play good chess, and try to raise my national Chess Scotland classical rating to 1600. To be honest, combining work and family life and achieving significant results in chess is very hard! So I am trying to make realistic aims for now.

Thank you to Alex. Club members will be interviewed throughout the season – click here to see more.

Categories
Events

History Made at East Kilbride Allegro

It has been almost 90 years since a player represented Queens Park Chess Club in official competition. As far as we can tell, the last occasion in which the historic Queens Park Chess Club played in formal competition, was losing to Dundee in the 1936 Spens Cup final.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and those of us in the modern club like to think our ancestors would be proud of our picking up points and prizes at the Scottish Chess Tour East Kilbride Allegro.

The rapid event, played over five rounds in a Swiss format (i.e. ‘winners play winners’) tournament at the 20+10 time control, was held in East Kilbride’s Holiday Inn hotel on Sunday 4 September 2022.

Not only did the name of Queens Park Chess Club once again grace a national competition, but the Club was recognised among the prize-winners. The top performers were:

Alex Lane: Alex (pictured above, left) shared second prize in the internationally rated intermediate section with a superb 4/5. On the top board in the final round, Alex narrowly lost to section winner Ishan Kumar of Bearsden, and shared 2nd prize with Liu Zizheng (above right) of Strathclyde University, a regular visitor to Queens Park.

Rhys McCrosson: despite being a major rating underdog in the open section, Rhys (fourth from right) scored 2/5 against fierce opposition. Rhys, who holds a current Chess Scotland Allegro rating of 1240, delivered a performance rating of 1734.

Graeme McKinnon: Graeme (third from left) achieved 3.5/5 in the intermediate section and was placed 5th of 43 in the final standings.

A number of other Queens Park members, plus regulars from Chess in the Park & Brodies Chess Group, scored points and strong mid-table finishes in the intermediate section. Those competing included Jordan McNaught, Caitlin McCulloch, Derek Rankine, Iain Shields, Chris Dinwoodie, Ryan McGill, Jonny Linney and Finn MacLeod.

Several were playing competitive chess for the first time and reported greatly enjoying the experience.

The overall standings and individual results are available on the Chess-Results website:

Open Section

Intermediate Section

A list of prize-winners is available on the Chess Scotland website, while selected games from the open section can be viewed on the Live Chess Cloud.

Categories
Interview

Interview – Rhys McCrosson

Why do people join chess clubs?

What are they looking for?

What is it like to be part of Glasgow’s Queens Park Chess Club?

This is the first of a new series of articles seeking answers to those questions, and providing multiple perspectives on Queens Park Chess Club.

Derek Rankine (Club Secretary) interviews members new and old and asks them to share their experiences and insights.

First up is Rhys McCrosson, 23, a University of Glasgow statistics graduate who lives in Crookston, Glasgow. Rhys won the first Club Championship in 2021/22. At the time of writing, in summer 2022, he is the Club’s highest rated player with a Chess Scotland classical rating of 1481 and a chess.com rapid rating of 1805.

Derek: What draws you to chess? 

Rhys: I started playing chess when I was a bit younger. The first thing that stood out for me was actually the geometry of the game. Then I saw it appear in different TV shows and movies, and when I was a child, I honestly just liked how the characters that played chess were portrayed.

Nowadays though, the main attraction is the fact that it is truly a game that is open to all regardless of your background. The game is rigid, tough and almost scientific – yet so aesthetically pleasing to look at. 

How long have you been playing? 

I’ve been playing on and off since I was around six. My Dad, and my Mum’s friend Laura, both tried to teach me the game. I didn’t really play much until I was eight, when I played my Dad most weeks when I went to visit him. I joined the chess club in my Primary School in the south side of Glasgow when I was nine, and I participated in School tournaments between the ages of 10-11.

I quit chess on the last day of Primary School, despite being my School’s number one player, after being heavily taken for granted at the prize giving ceremony (super petty stuff – I know! I was a child though…)

I didn’t play much again until I was 13-14, when my friends encouraged me, and I decided to play my Dad every few months. I really started playing regularly again around fifth year of school, when I was 16 years old, on the worst apps you could imagine. By this point, I was playing most days.

By the time I started studying at the University of Glasgow, I’d fully adopted the game again. I was playing pretty much every day, sometimes for more than an hour a day, mainly as a way of procrastinating from my seemingly never-ending workload! I continued playing nearly every day until the end of my degree, when I reached 1500-1600 rapid on chess.com.

Rhys specialises in rapid chess, and holds an 1800+ rating on chess.com

When did you join Queens Park Chess Club – and why? 

Shortly after finishing my degree, in the summer of 2021, I stumbled upon Queens Park Chess Club under its former name of Govanhill Chess Club. I went along to one of their outdoor chess sessions at the Queens Park boating pond on a Sunday morning, and then to Wellcroft Bowling Club where the club meet during the week, and I’ve been a regular member ever since.

I had actually wanted to join a chess club for a while, but because of the pandemic and everything being shut, I just didn’t have the option. When I found out about Govanhill Chess Club, I decided to go ahead and check them out. I felt I was finally strong enough to start taking the game a bit more seriously and the club was so local to me – at the time I was living in Eglinton in Glasgow, close to Queens Park. It was a perfect fit.

I would encourage new members to set small, realistic goals. Chess is hard. You’re not going to improve from 1000 to 2000 in a year.

Rhys McCrosson

Was winning the Club Championship your personal highlight of last season? 

It’s hard to say really. It probably was the highlight of the season for me, but I also had some decent games that I was pretty proud of (amongst many that we don’t talk about…).

One of my favourite games of the season was against our south Glasgow neighbours, Cathcart. I was on board #1 with the black pieces. I was fortunate enough to face the King’s Gambit, an opening I am highly confident playing against. I hit my opponent with a lesser known side-line that they were clearly unfamiliar with. Let’s just say, white’s opening didn’t exactly go as planned.

What do you like most about Queens Park Chess Club? 

The diversity of the members. It’s that simple. The diversity was the first thing that struck me when I joined, which makes sense, given Govanhill is a remarkably diverse community. It’s this diversity that demonstrates the fact that chess truly is a game for all demographics and backgrounds.

Another thing I really appreciate is the incredible democratic approach that the Club Committee takes towards decision-making. This is entirely in line with my principles. I recently decided to join the Committee, become a team captain, and help manage its social media on Facebook and Instagram, and its clubs on chess.com and Lichess.  

Rhys first engaged with the club via a Queens Park outdoor chess meetup

What do you think the Club could improve on? 

While I think the Club is generally good on diversity, I’d really love it if it could improve its female representation. It’s not entirely the Club’s fault – many women simply don’t play chess, for multiple reasons, but I think it’s mainly because of historical biases that have culminated in a very male-dominated game.

Things don’t need to be like this. Hopefully the club can become more proactive in attracting women to the game, because I like to think everyone connected to chess in Glasgow and Scotland would agree that it could only be for the better. 

Do you play, learn and improve, outside of the Club? 

Yeah, definitely! I spent years playing chess without a club. At this point, I’m pretty used to teaching myself things. There are a number of online videos and website resources I use to support my development.

What could the Club do better? It could be more proactive in improving its female representation.

Rhys McCrosson

Do you have any chess aspirations for the coming season? 

The aim is definitely to try and retain the Club Championship title, although if someone more deserving wins in 2022/23, then I can only use that experience to improve my game.

Aside from this, It would be pretty nice if I could lead my team to a promotion to Division Two in the Glasgow Chess League, but it remains to be seen what level of opposition we will be facing in Division Three. 

Rhys won the 2021/22 Club Championship, despite losing to Alex Radevic in final round

Queens Park Chess Club is taking in lots of new members on the back of summer outreach activity across the south side of Glasgow and online. Do you have any advice for those coming to a Chess Club for the first time? 

Honestly – make realistic goals.

Some people just want to come, play a few informal games, have a drink and a good chat, and we completely welcome that. Other people come to the club with the intention of improving their game.

For the latter, it can be so easy to start engaging with the game and setting yourself the goal of going from, let’s say, 1000-2000 within a year or two. The truth is – it’s not going to happen. Chess is hard, man. It’s better to set yourself a series of relatively small goals like going from 1000 to 1050 by the end of a period of months, and then 1050-1100 by the end of another few months, and so on.

Just enjoy the game and learn to appreciate the good times when they come. Don’t get bogged down with every single loss because, statistically speaking, you’re going to lose… a lot. You’ve got to learn to lose before you can learn to win. 

Thanks to Rhys for making the first move in this interview series. Look out for more member interviews throughout the 2022/23 season.

Categories
Club Meetings

New Season, New Name, Same Ancient Game! 

The Year Ahead

Newcomers, beginners and those returning to chess after a long absence will receive a very warm welcome at the first evening of the new season, alongside returning members, on Tuesday 30 August at 6:30pm.

The Club is expecting an influx of new members for the 2022/23 season as a result of awareness-raising activity through the summer. We held chess sessions at the Queens Park boating pond weekly on Sunday mornings from the start of June (pictured above), promoted our activities on social media, met a great bunch of folk at weekly chess meetups on Thursday nights in Brodies Bar, and we even appeared on ITV’s News at Ten!

To that end, at the first meeting of the new season, Club Champion Rhys McCrosson and Club Secretary Derek Rankine will provide a free introductory session on classical over-the-board chess, covering rules, etiquette, use of clocks and scoresheets, and practical gameplay tips.

We meet on Tuesday evenings in Wellcroft Bowling Club, Queens Park

A new Club President, Graeme McKinnon, will also be providing a formal welcome alongside Derek, with news on plans for the season ahead. Meanwhile, Graeme and Rhys, plus Alex Lane, Jass McNeill and Alex Radevic, have joined Derek and Harvey Dellanzo on an expanded Committee with new roles. 

The Club has registered teams in the Glasgow Chess League and Dumbarton & District Chess League, and will also be running a 2022/23 Club Championship based on last season’s successful tournament. All competitive games will be graded by Chess Scotland and the Club will support new members to work towards a national rating.

Queens Park Chess Club

Another major item of news is: the Club has a new name. At its 2022 AGM, the Committee decided to change the name from Govanhill Chess Club to Queens Park Chess Club. 

The purpose of the change is to highlight our current home in Queens Park, to reflect the reality that our members are drawn from a number of communities around Queens Park, including Govanhill, Crosshill, Shawlands, Langside and Mount Florida, and to develop a link to a historic club with the same name, which started in 1873. 

The roots of both the historic and the current Queens Park Chess Club lie deep in Govanhill, and Govanhill will continue to be at the heart of our meetings and activities. 

Check out our in-depth report on the fascinating history of the original Queens Park Chess Club, produced with the generous assistance of Chess Scotland historian Alan McGowan, and the story of the new Club, which was established in 2019.

Historic Queens Park players faced World Champion Capablanca in 1919

With membership fees set at just £40 annually, and a £20 concessionary rate, we are confident Queens Park Chess Club will provide superb value for money, as well as a highly valuable and enjoyable opportunity to learn and socialise with other chess enthusiasts. 

We look forward to bringing a greater number of local people together to learn, play and appreciate the ancient game, and we hope to see you at a future meeting on Tuesday evenings in Queens Park from 30 August.

Social Media & Contact 

In addition, Queens Park Chess Club now has an Instagram profile where we will be sharing stories of our adventures throughout the season. Visit and follow here.

Queens Park Chess Club joined Instagram in August 2022

We have also updated our Facebook page to reflect the name change. The website domain name will follow suit later in the season.

For any queries about any aspect of Queens Park Chess Club, please contact Graeme at president@queensparkchessclub.com or Derek at secretary@queensparkchessclub.com. 

Categories
Club Meetings

End of Season – Returning 30 Aug 2022

Govanhill Chess Club’s 2021/22 season concluded at the end of May 2022.

Visit the blog section to learn more about our activities over the season, which featured a Club Championship, inter-club friendlies, simultaneous exhibitions, the Scottish National Online Chess League, internal rapid tournaments, and more.

A date for the diary is Tuesday 30 August 2022, when the 2022/23 season will begin at the usual 6:30pm in Wellcroft Bowling Club, who have kindly agreed to host the Club for a further season.

On Sunday mornings during the summer, we will be meeting regularly at the picnic tables near the flagpole in Queens Park, for casual chess in the park. Non-members are very welcome to join us. We plan to be there from 10am to noon every Sunday, from 5 June to 28 August.

For any enquiries during the summer break, please contact Club Secretary Derek Rankine: secretary@queensparkchessclub.com or Club President Julien Papillon: president@queensparkchessclub.com

Image: “Opgave” by Albert Ter Hamsel is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Categories
Club Championship

21/22 Club Championship – The Winner Is…

Background

Govanhill’s 2021/22 Club Championship concluded in May 2022. The five-round Classical tournament, which uses Swiss pairings to match winners against winners, was a tightly fought contest.

The results follow, and are also available on the Chess Scotland website.

Wellcroft Bowling Club’s Ian, pictured above, made the ceremonial first move on board one in the final round.

The Winner Is…

Congratulations to Rhys McCrosson, who wins on tiebreak after finishing joint first with Aidan Doye.

Rhys and Aidan both finished with an impressive four wins each, but Rhys edged ahead on tiebreaks using the Sonneborn Berger system, which takes opponents’ strength into account.

Alex Radevic finished in third place, one half point behind. 20 players competed in the Championship, the first in the Club’s history, and 11 played all five rounds.

Final Standings

PositionNamePointsSBgr*Rating
1Rhys McCrosson412.51634
2Aidan Doye4100
3Alex Radevic3.58.251411
4Harvey Dellanzo381356
5Graeme McKinnon350
6Derek Rankine2.54.751272
7Peter Mark2.540
8Libor Masar2.53.50
9Giuseppe Bosco231411
10Julien Papillon231192
11Ethan Small230
12James Todd220
13Jass McNeill120
14Angus Gillies120
15Niall McCamley110
16Alex Lane100
17Harry Thomson100
18Jonny Stark000
19Jegan N’Dow000
20James Higgins000
* The Sonneborn-Berger score is used to determine placings in the event of tied scores.

Round 5 Results

  1. Alex Radevic 1-0 Rhys McCrosson
  2. Harvey Dellanzo 0-1 Aidan Doye
  3. Derek Rankine 0-1 Graeme McKinnon
  4. Peter Mark 1-0 Julien Papillon
  5. Libor Masar 1-0 Jass McNeill
  6. Giuseppe Bosco 1-0 Niall McCamley
  7. Angus Gillies 0-1 Alex Lane (default win)
  8. Jegan N’Dow 0-1 Harry Thomson (default win)

A second Club Championship is planned for the 2022/23 season.

Following a summer break, next season will begin with the first Club meeting on Tuesday 30 August 2022.

Categories
Events

Phones 4 – 4 Govanhill

In the latest of our series of graded friendlies against other local clubs, Govanhill won four and lost four away to Phones Chess Club.

Phones was founded in the 1960s, taking their unusual name from a long-term sponsor relationship with British Telecom. The friendly was played on the evening of Monday 27 April in their base at St. Andrew Bridge Club in Charing Cross. 

The Phones team featured Ayr Major winner Peter Clarke on board two, and Govanhill performed well to get wins on boards one, three, six and seven. The home team played with white on odd boards. The full results are:

BdPhonesRtgResGovanhillRtg
1Guy Lyons17480-1Rhys McCrosson0
2Peter Clarke16111-0James Todd0
3Colin Paterson15180-1Alex Radevic1359
4Aditya Srivastava6541-0Graeme McKinnon0
5Kieran Rafferty01-0Derek Rankine0
6Iain Shields00-1Alex Lane0
7James McGlaughlin00-1Julien Papillon1202
8Clive Boothby01-0Jass McNeill0
4-4

The results have been graded by Chess Scotland. Our thanks to John McIntyre and Colin Paterson at Phones for organising and hosting.

Govanhill look forward to playing south Glasgow neighbours Cathcart for our last friendly of the 2021/22 season. The home game is scheduled for Tue 17 May in Wellcroft Bowling Club, and the away game will be in Cathcart’s venue, Park Church in Giffnock, on Mon 23 May.

Pictured above: Govanhill’s Alex Lane (left) and Alex Radevic (right) playing a pre-game warm-up in St Andrew Bridge Club.

Categories
Club Championship

Club Championship – Round 5 Draw – Tue 10 May

Background

The penultimate round of Govanhill’s 2021/22 Club Championship took place in April.

Rhys maintains the lead with a 100% record, while Harvey and Aidan also won their games to move up into second and third place respectively. A point separates the top three, and the mid-table is also closely bunched, with one point between 4th and 11th.

The Swiss format tournament will conclude with a final round in May. The results, standings and round four draw follow.

Individual results and overall standings are also available on the Chess Scotland website.

Round 4 Results

  1. Rhys McCrosson 1 – 0 Derek Rankine
  2. Graeme McKinnon 0 – 1 Harvey Dellanzo
  3. Ethan Small 0 – 1 Aidan Doye
  4. Alex Radevic 1 – 0 Libor Masar
  5. Julien Papillon 1 – 0 Jass McNeill
  6. Niall McCamley 0 – 1 James Todd
  7. Alex Lane 0 – 1 Giuseppe Bosco
  8. Jegan N’Dow 0 – 1 Peter Mark (default win)
  9. Harry Thomson 0 – 1 Angus Gillies

Standings After Round 4

PositionNamePointsSBgr*Rating
1Rhys McCrosson410.51499
2Harvey Dellanzo361334
3Aidan Doye35.50
4Derek Rankine2.54.251266
5Alex Radevic2.53.251394
6Ethan Small22.50
7Julien Papillon221192
8Graeme McKinnon220
9James Todd21.50
10Libor Masar1.51.50
11Peter Mark1.510
12Giuseppe Bosco11.51407
13Jass McNeill11.50
14Angus Gillies11.50
15Niall McCamley110
16Alex Lane000
17Harry Thomson000
18Jegan N’Dow000
19James Higgins000
20Jonny Stark000
* The Sonneborn-Berger score is used to determine placings in the event of tied scores.

Round 5 Draw

Designated date: Tuesday 10 May, 6:45pm

  1. Alex Radevic (w) vs Rhys McCrosson (b)
  2. Harvey Dellanzo (w) vs Aidan Doye (b)
  3. Derek Rankine (w) vs Graeme McKinnon (b)
  4. Peter Mark (w) vs Julien Papillon (b)
  5. Libor Masar (w) vs Jass McNeill (b)
  6. Giuseppe Bosco (w) vs Niall McCamley (b)
  7. Angus Gillies (w) vs Alex Lane (b)
  8. Jegan N’Dow (w) vs Harry Thomson (b)

For any questions about the Club Championship, please contact secretary@queensparkchessclub.com.