Tag: tournament

Events

The Autumn Blitz

Post author By Rhys McCrosson
Post date September 30, 2023

Why Blitz?

Last December, the Committee conducted a Survey on its membership to better understand what members wanted from the Club. One of the many insights that were revealed was that a majority of members preferred faster time controls compared to the much longer, standard time controls that can go on for hours. This revelation was further discussed between the Committee and the membership at the recent August AGM, with a majority wishing for a second Club tournament with shorter time controls as compared with the beloved Club Championship. The Committee listened and decided to take action.

Following from the AGM, the Committee announced the Queens Park Autumn Blitz for the final club night of September. Leagues & Competitions Manager, Jordan McNaught, was in charge of organising the event with support from the Committee. Participants appeared to thoroughly enjoy the event, marking the first success of many for Jordan as he settles into his new role. The tournament marked a special occasion, being the first blitz tournament of its kind hosted by the Club. It was only open to members of the Club, with the aim being to provide members with a mild taster of competitive play and what to expect from the rest of the season as the first league matches draw ever-nearer in October, as well as round one of the Club Championship as it fast approaches in November. Everything was to play for – with the Autumn Blitz trophy up for the taking.

The 2023 Queens Park Autumn Blitz Trophy

Tournament info

The tournament was 7 rounds long and the time control in use was 3 minutes per player with a 2 second increment per move. Games were all unrated as Chess Scotland only grades Allegro and Standard time controls. In the event of tiebreaks at the end, all relevant players would have to play a play-off. A sizable 24 members decided to participate in the tournament, proving that there is indeed a clear interest for faster time time-controls.

Who won?

The race for first place started to tighten from the beginning with some unexpected triumphs. By the 5th round, it was clear that only a handful of players still had a chance of claiming the glory of winning first place, with Thomas Fowley, Moray Lennox and Jonny Livingston looking like top contenders. By the end of round 7, we had our winner… Jonny Livingston won the tournament! Jonny, a new member of the Club, had only recently gotten back into chess and competitive play, making his win that much more impressive. He was awarded with the Queens Park Autumn Blitz trophy after his stellar performance of winning 6/7 games. Thomas Fowley, Moray Lennox and Alistair Ahmed were close runners up, with all 3 players achieving an impressive score of 5/7 wins.

Competitions and Leagues Manager Jordan McNaught (left) & Autumn Blitz winner Jonny Livingston (right)

Results

Final Position	Name	Win	Draw	Loss	Score
1	Jonny Livingstone	6	0	1	6
2	Thomas Fowley	5	1	1	5.5
3	Alistair Ahmed	5	0	2	5
4	Moray Lennox	5	0	2	5
5	Connor Thompson	4	1	2	4.5
6	Paul Cumming	4	1	2	4.5
7	Rhys McCrosson	4	0	3	4
8	Marc Sheridan	3	2	2	4
9	Hunter Mackay	4	0	3	4
10	Craig Thomson	4	0	3	4
11	Alex Lane	4	0	3	4
12	Iain Shields	3	1	3	3.5
13	Harvey Dellanzo	3	1	3	3.5
14	Ciaran Melvin	3	1	3	3.5
15	Andrew Speirs	3	0	4	3
16	Angus Gillies	2	2	3	3
17	Douglas Veitch	3	0	4	3
18	Gregory Forrest	3	0	4	3
19	Jack Spillane	2	1	4	2.5
20	Ryan McGill	2	1	4	2.5
21	Andy Chisholm	2	0	5	2
22	Kris Barr	2	0	5	2
23	Thomas Robertson	2	0	5	2
24	Tom Cox	0	0	7	0

Queens Park Autumn Blitz results

This tournament marked the first of its kind for the Club, but as its name suggests, it may or may not be the only Queens Park blitz tournament this season…

Tags 2023, blitz, chess, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Events

Cathcart’s 70th Anniversary Allegro

Post author By Rhys McCrosson
Post date September 3, 2023

Cathcart Chess Club, our friends (and rivals!) over the board, have just reached their 70th year since their club’s formation. To celebrate their club’s platinum jubilee anniversary, they decided to host a 6-round Open Swiss Allegro tournament with a time format of 15+10.

The Cathcart Allegro marked the first official open chess tournament hosted in Glasgow since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also a good chance to get back into the swing of things prior to the start of the new season.

Players from approximately 23 clubs were in attendance, with friend of the the Club, IM Andrew Greet, also competing. Queens Park Chess Club had the largest contingent of players, with an incredible 9 of our members competing as one other spectated. For many players, it was their first experience of an open tournament, rather than a tournament where players are split by grading strength – a baptism of fire indeed!

Queens Park had an impressive showing, with all of our competing members scoring between 2-4 points over the 6 rounds. Two of our members also won grading prizes for their strong performances.

Despite this tournament only being the third allegro that Ryan McGill had played, he scored an impressive 3/6 which earned him a grading prize in the under-1000 rating bracket.

Ryan McGill accepting his grading prize.

Rhys McCrosson also won a grading prize in the 1000-1400 rating bracket. He scored a strong 4/6 against fierce competition, including a wild time scramble in a tough endgame as a large crowd gathered to spectate.

Rhys McCrosson accepting his grading prize.

When the dust had settled, IM Andrew Greet reigned victorious. IM Greet, from Bearsden Chess Club, scored 5.5/6 which led to an eye-watering performance rating of 2480. Not far behind in second place was another friend of Queens Park Chess Club from Bearsden Chess Club – Rob Colston.

We’d like to thank Cathcart Chess Club and its secretary, Alistair Maxwell, for a well-run tournament that was fun for all involved. You can find the results from the tournament on the Chess Scotland website.

Tags 2023, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Club Championship

Beltrami Club Championship – Round 5

Post author By Caitlin McCulloch
Post date April 19, 2023

Credit: Katy Bridgestock (https://www.katybridgestockphotography.com/)

After months of work and preparation, two players are battling it out for the ultimate chess crown. The world watches on in anticipation to see who will emerge from the chaos victorious. Will it end in a measured position or a frantic time scramble? And will the crowd of spectators ever stop wincing after every move they’re not sure about?

You guessed it: it’s Round 5 of the Beltrami Club Championship.

Rhys McCrosson and Craig Thomson, both on perfect scores of 4/4, will face off in the final round of the tournament. If the game ends in a draw, the Sonneborn-Berger score will be used to decide the champion.

However, it’s not all about the top boards – we’ll all be doing our best to close our tournament campaign with a victory.

Round 5 will take place on Tuesday 9th May at the Bungo at 6.45pm.

If you need a reminder on how the tournament works, you can find the details on our Club Championship page.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you need to rearrange your match, please contact the Committee in person at a Club night or by email. If you do not arrive for your match without giving us notice, your opponent will claim a default win.

You can arrange to play against your opponent on a different date or in a different venue, but it must be an over the board match with the same time control (60 minutes each).

Standings after Round 4

No.	Name	Rating	Points	SBr*
1	Craig Thomson	1591	4	9
2	Rhys McCrosson	1583	4	8.5
3	Connor Thompson	1666	3	7
4	Tommy Lally	1590	3	7
5	Philip Blaber	1260	3	6.5
6	Alistair Ahmed	1617	3	6
7	Harvey Dellanzo	1377	3	5.5
8	Chris Dinwoodie	1037	3	5.5
9	Ash Angappan	1290	2.5	4.25
10	Douglas Veitch	0	2.5	3.5
11	Giuseppe Bosco	1396	2.5	2.75
12	Moray Lennox	0	2.5	2.75
13	Alex Lane	1390	2	4.75
14	Michael Mathieson	0	2	4.5
15	Stewart Gray	1456	2	3
16	Rhys Brown	0	2	3
17	Aidan Doye	0	2	3
18	Thomas Fowley	0	2	3
19	Derek Rankine	1331	2	2.5
20	Graeme McKinnon	1369	2	2.5
21	Sagar Kukreja	1240	2	2.5
22	Paul Cumming	1427	2	2.5
23	Jordan McNaught	1536	2	2.5
24	Iain Shields	1149	2	2
25	David Logue	1579	2	2
26	Ryan McGill	0	1.5	2.75
27	Caitlin McCulloch	1138	1.5	1.5
28	Jonny Linney	0	1	2
29	Ronnie Martin	625	1	2
30	Paul Stewart	0	1	2
31	Andy Chisholm	0	1	2
32	Gemma Dickson	0	1	1.5
33	Gary Collins	0	1	1.5
34	Andrew Speirs	0	1	1
35	Greg Forrest	0	1	1
36	Thomas McAleer	0	1	0.5
37	Riccardo Olivier	0	1	0
38	Wull Swales	0	0	0
39	Sachin Vats	0	0	0
40	Ethan Small	0	0	0
41	Jackie Logan	0	0	0
42	Harry Thomson	0	0	0
43	Jass McNeill	1196	0	0
44	Paul Chapman	0	0	0
45	James Carson	0	0	0

* The Sonneborn-Berger score is used to separate tied players

Round 5 pairings

Match date: Tuesday 9th May, 6.45pm start – The Bungo

Board	White	Rating	Score	Black	Rating
1	Rhys McCrosson	1583	1-0	Craig Thomson	1591
2	Connor Thompson	1666	1-0	Tommy Lally	1590
3	Harvey Dellanzo	1377	1-0	Philip Blaber	1260
4	Alistair Ahmed	1617	1-0	Chris Dinwoodie	1037
5	Douglas Veitch	0	1-0	Giuseppe Bosco	1396
6	Ash Angappan	1290	0-1	Moray Lennox	0
7	Paul Cumming	1427	0.5-0.5	Michael Mathieson	0
8	Sagar Kukreja	1240	0-1	Graeme McKinnon	1369
9	Stewart Gray	1456	0-1*	Alex Lane	1390
10	Iain Shields	1149	0-1	David Logue	1579
11	Aidan Doye	0	0-1*	Rhys Brown	0
12	Thomas Fowley	0	0-1	Jordan McNaught	1536
13	Andrew Speirs	0	0.5-0.5	Caitlin McCulloch	1138
14	Ryan McGill	0	0-1	Greg Forrest	0
15	Jonny Linney	0	1-0	Ronnie Martin	625
16	Thomas McAleer	0	1-0	Wull Swales	0
17	Gemma Dickson	0	0-1	Andy Chisholm	0
18	Jass McNeill	1196	0-1*	Gary Collins	0
	Harry Thomson	0	*1-0	bye

* Default win

Tags 2023, club championship, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Club Championship

Beltrami Club Championship – Round 4

Post author By Derek Rankine
Post date March 19, 2023

Overview

In 2022/23, Queens Park Members have the opportunity to compete in our five round Club Championship, supported by our season sponsor Beltrami & Co.

Each round has a ‘designated date’. This is a Tuesday evening club night at which we encourage Members to play their Beltrami Club Championship games in our usual venue.

Games are played over-the-board at the 60+0 time control, under Chess Scotland rules, involving use of a clock and notating moves. One point is awarded for a win, and half a point for a draw. Using the Swiss pairings format, the number of points Members are on will determine who they are drawn against in the next round – i.e. “winners play winners”.

The designated date for the penultimate round is Tuesday 4 April, with a 6:45pm start time in The Bungo.

Anticipation builds towards the penultimate round

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you are participating in the Club Championship, and cannot make this date, please contact Tournament Controller Alex Lane, or another Member of the Committee, by WhatsApp or email, and we will work with you and your opponent to reschedule.

There were four defaults in round three. Those who do not turn up for their game, or notify us in advance, risk inconveniencing their opponent and forfeiting the game. Repeat offenders may be removed from the tournament, as those affected have to wait around for an opponent to show up, and also miss out on the opportunity for a graded game. We appreciate all cooperation in making the tournament an enjoyable experience for everyone taking part.

Greg Forrest (second from right) beat Gary Collins on board 21 in round three

Standings After R3

42 players were paired in the third round, which whittled down the leading pack from seven to four.

Tommy Lally, Rhys McCrosson, Craig Thomson and Connor Thompson, all on the maximum three points, will face each other on boards one and two in the fourth round.

The full round three results are available on this website.

The results have also been graded and published by Chess Scotland.

Caitlin McCulloch and Sagar Kukreja agreed a draw on board eight

The current standings are:

No.	Name	Rating	Points	SBr*
1	Tommy Lally	1585	3	5.5
2	Craig Thomson	1578	3	4
3	Rhys McCrosson	1559	3	3.5
4	Connor Thompson	1490	3	3
5	Alistair Ahmed	1633	2	3
6	Philip Blaber	1248	2	3
7	Derek Rankine	1335	2	2.5
8	Chris Dinwoodie	1061	2	2.5
9	Paul Cumming	1434	2	2
10	Ash Angappan	1310	2	2
11	Harvey Dellanzo	1354	2	2
12	Thomas Fowley	0	2	2
13	Giuseppe Bosco	1411	2	1.5
14	Rhys Brown	0	2	1.5
15	Alex Lane	1386	1.5	2.75
16	Ryan McGill	0	1.5	2.5
17	Caitlin McCulloch	1128	1.5	1.25
18	Douglas Veitch	0	1.5	1
19	Moray Lennox	0	1.5	1
20	Sagar Kukreja	1245	1.5	1
21	Jonny Linney	0	1	1.5
22	Graeme McKinnon	1357	1	1
23	Iain Shields	1115	1	1
24	Jordan McNaught	1522	1	1
25	Ronnie Martin	0	1	1
26	Michael Mathieson	0	1	1
27	Gemma Dickson	0	1	1
28	Paul Stewart	0	1	1
29	Stewart Gray	1449	1	1
30	Ethan Small	0	1	1
31	Sachin Vats	0	1	1
32	Andrew Speirs	0	1	1
33	Aidan Doye	0	1	1
34	David Logue	1570	1	0.5
35	Greg Forrest	0	1	0.5
36	Jackie Logan	0	1	0
37	Wull Swales	0	1	0
38	Jass McNeill	1247	0	0
39	Harry Thomson	0	0	0
40	James Carson	0	0	0
41	Gary Collins	0	0	0
42	Thomas McAleer	0	0	0
43	Andy Chisholm	0	0	0
44	Paul Chapman	0	0	0
45	Riccardo Olivier	0	0	0

* The Sonneborn-Berger score is used to separate tied players

Deep prep by Ronnie Martin (left) wasn’t enough to avoid defeat to Derek Rankine

Round 4

There will again be 42 participants in round three. The pairings are:

Designated date: Tue 4 April, 6:45pm

Bd	White	Rating	Score	Black	Rating
1	Tommy Lally	1585	0-1	Rhys McCrosson	1559
2	Connor Thompson	1490	0-1	Craig Thomson	1578
3	Philip Blaber	1248	1-0	Paul Cumming	1434
4	Giuseppe Bosco	1411	.5-.5	Ash Angappan	1310
5	Rhys Brown	0	0-1	Harvey Dellanzo	1367
6	Derek Rankine	1335	0-1	Alistair Ahmed	1633
7	Chris Dinwoodie	1061	1-0	Thomas Fowley	0
8	Alex Lane	1386	.5-.5	Sagar Kukreja	1245
9	Caitlin McCulloch	1128	0-1	Douglas Veitch	0
10	Moray Lennox	0	1-0	Ryan McGill	0
11	Greg Forrest	0	0-1	Graeme McKinnon	1357
12	Ronnie Martin	0	0-1	Iain Shields	1115
13	Wull Swales	0	0-1	Aidan Doye	0
14	Andrew Speirs	0	0-1	Stewart Gray	1449
15	David Logue	1570	1-0	Jonny Linney	0
16	Jordan McNaught	1522	1-0	Gemma Dickson	0
17	Sachin Vats	0	0-1*	Michael Mathieson	0
18	Andy Chisholm	0	1-0*	Jackie Logan	0
19	Riccardo Olivier	0	1-0	Jass McNeill	1247
20	Harry Thomson	0	0-1	Thomas McAleer	0
21	Gary Collins	0	1-0*	Paul Chapman	0

* Default win

This table will be updated throughout April as results come in.

The designated date for round 5 is Tuesday 9 May.

Please contact us if you have any queries about the Club Championship.

2022 runner up Aidan Doye (closest) picked up his first win vs Andy Chisholm

Tags 2023, club championship, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Club Championship

Beltrami Club Championship – Round 3

Post author By Derek Rankine
Post date February 5, 2023

Overview

In 2022/23, Queens Park Members have the opportunity to compete in our five round Club Championship, supported by our season sponsor Beltrami & Co.

Each round has a ‘designated date’. This is a Tuesday evening club night at which we encourage Members to play their Beltrami Club Championship games in our usual venue.

The designated date for round 3 is Tuesday 21 February, with a 6:45pm start time in The Bungo.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

There were a number of defaults in round 2. Those who do not turn up for their game, or notify us in advance, risk inconveniencing their opponent and forfeiting the game. Repeat offenders may be removed from the tournament, as those affected have to wait around for an opponent to show up, and also miss out on the opportunity for a graded game. We appreciate all cooperation in making the tournament an enjoyable experience for everyone taking part.

The round 2 standings and the round 3 pairings follow below.

Paul Cumming (left, facing) is one of seven in the leading pack

Standings After R2

38 players were paired in the second round, which saw some notable results. Among the winners were Wull ‘giant-killer’ Swales, whose against-the-odds victory was immortalised in a special Club Newsletter illustration.

The full results are available on this website.

The results have also been graded and published by Chess Scotland.

The standings, with seven players on the maximum two points, are:

No.	Name	Rating	Points
1	Ash Angappan	0	2
2	Connor Thompson	0	2
3	Tommy Lally	1595	2
4	Craig Thomson	1580	2
5	Rhys McCrosson	1503	2
6	Paul Cumming	1434	2
7	Giuseppe Bosco	1411	2
8	Harvey Dellanzo	1373	1
9	Graeme McKinnon	1339	1
10	Alex Lane	1433	1
11	Derek Rankine	1338	1
12	Ryan McGill	0	1
13	Wull Swales	0	1
14	Caitlin McCulloch	1128	1
15	Iain Shields	1115	1
16	Chris Dinwoodie	1036	1
17	Andrew Speirs	0	1
18	Jonathan Linney	0	1
19	Philip Blaber	1253	1
20	Sagar Kukreja	0	1
21	Alistair Ahmed	1635	1
22	Ronnie Martin	0	1
23	Paul Stewart	0	1
24	Rhys Brown	0	1
25	Stewart Gray	1449	1
26	Thomas Fowley	0	1
27	Gemma Dickson	0	1
28	Douglas Veitch	0	0.5
29	Moray Lennox	0	0.5
30	Jass McNeill	1254	0
31	Harry Thomson	0	0
32	Jackie Logan	0	0
33	James Carson	0	0
34	Jordan McNaught	1423	0
35	Michael Mathieson	0	0
36	Greg Forrest	0	0
37	Sachin Vats	0	0
38	Ethan Small	0	0
39	Aidan Doye	0	0

Boards 1 & 2 in R2, clockwise from left: Tommy L., Derek, Iain & Rhys M.

Round 3

With more new Club Members joining, there will be 42 participants in round three. The pairings are:

Designated date: Tue 21 Feb, 6:45pm

Bd	White	Rating	Score	Black	Rating
1	Paul Cumming	1434	0-1	Tommy Lally	1595
2	Craig Thomson	1580	1-0	Giuseppe Bosco	1411
3	Ash Angappan	0	0-1	Rhys McCrosson	1503
4	Graeme McKinnon	1339	0-1	Connor Thompson	0
5	Harvey Dellanzo	1373	1-0	Wull Swales	0
6	Ryan McGill	0	.5-.5	Alex Lane	1433
7	Derek Rankine	1338	1-0	Ronnie Martin	0
8	Sagar Kukreja	0	.5-.5	Caitlin McCulloch	1128
9	Iain Shields	1115	0-1	Rhys Brown	0
10	Gemma Dickson	0	0-1	Chris Dinwoodie	1036
11	Alistair Ahmed	1635	1-0	Andrew Speirs	0
12	Jonny Linney	0	0-1	Thomas Fowley	0
13	Stewart Gray	1449	0-1*	Philip Blaber	1253
14	Douglas Veitch	0	1-0*	Harry Thomson	0
15	Jass McNeill	1254	0-1	Moray Lennox	0
16	Aidan Doye	0	1-0	Andy Chisholm	0
17	Jackie Logan	0	0-1	David Logue	1579
18	Paul Chapman	0	0-1*	Jordan McNaught	1423
19	Michael Mathieson	0	1-0*	Riccardo Olivier	0
20	Thomas McAleer	0	0-1	Sachin Vats	0
21	Greg Forrest	0	1-0	Gary Collins	0

* default win

This table will be updated over February and early March as results come in.

The designated date for round 4 is Tuesday 4 April.

Please contact us if you have any queries about the Club Championship.

Giuseppe (left) will be on board two vs Craig Thompson in round three.

Tags 2023, chess, club championship, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Club Championship

Beltrami Club Championship – Round 2

Post author By Derek Rankine
Post date December 7, 2022

Overview

In 2022/23, Queens Park Members have the opportunity to compete in our five round Club Championship, supported by our season sponsor Beltrami & Co.

Each round has a ‘designated date’. This is a Tuesday evening club night at which we encourage Members to play their Beltrami Club Championship games in our usual venue.

If Members are not available on this date, Tournament Controller Alex Lane will work with you and your opponent to find an alternative date – and possibly a different venue – that suits both players.

Games are played at the 60+0 time control, under Chess Scotland rules, involving use of a clock and notating moves. One point is awarded for a win, and half a point for a draw. Using the Swiss pairings format, the number of points Members are on will determine who they are drawn against in the next round – i.e. “winners play winners”.

Round 1

32 players competed in the first round. Unusually, all games were decisive, with no draws. Round one winners included the Club’s highest rated players Tommy Lally (1616) and Craig Thomson (1582), 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.

The full results are available on this website.

The results have also been graded and published by Chess Scotland.

All round 1 games were played in November 2022

Round 2

Seven new members joined the Beltrami Club Championship at round two. Most games were played on the designated date of Tuesday 10 January at 6:45pm.

The results follow:

Board	White	Rating	Score	Black	Rating
1	Tommy Lally	1616	1-0	Derek Rankine	1318
2	Chris Dinwoodie	1025	0-1	Craig Thomson	1582
3	Rhys McCrosson	1477	1-0	Iain Shields	1093
4	Andrew Speirs	0	0-1	Paul Cumming	1432
5	Giuseppe Bosco	1411	1-0	Greg Forrest	0
6	Connor Thompson	0	1-0	Harvey Dellanzo	1373
7	Graeme McKinnon	1339	0-1	Ash Angappan	0
8	Paul Stewart	0	0-1*	Alistair Ahmed	1606
9	Wull Swales	0	1-0	Jass McNeill	1254
10	Caitlin McCulloch	1128	0-1	Ryan McGill	0
11	Ronnie Martin	0	1-0	Aidan Doye	0
12	Moray Lennox	0	0.5-0.5	Douglas Veitch	0
13	Harry Thomson	0	0-1	Sagar Kukreja	0
14	Rhys Brown	0	1-0*	Jackie Logan	0
15	James Carson	0	0-1*	Gemma Dickson	0
16	Sachin Vats	0	0-1*	Jonny Linney	0
17	Jordan McNaught	1422	0-1*	Stewart Gray	1449
18	Thomas Fowley	0	1-0	Michael Mathieson	0
19	Philip Blaber	1260	1-0*	Ethan Small	0

* = Default Win

The designated date for round three is Tuesday 21 February. The draw will be shared with Club Members via email and WhatsApp, and posted on the blog section.

Please contact us if you cannot play your game on this date and we will work with you and your opponent to reschedule. Those in the draw who do not turn up to play their fixture, or notify the Club in advance, risk a loss by default.

Tags club championship, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Club Championship

Beltrami Club Championship – Round 1 Draw

Post author By Derek Rankine
Post date October 29, 2022

Background

Last season, Queens Park held it first ever Club Championship. 20 players competed in the five round classical tournament between January and May 2022, testing their skills in a formal, competitive setting. The results were published and graded by Chess Scotland.

The closely fought contest was won on tiebreak by Rhys McCrosson, who finished equal on points with Aidan Doye, and half a point ahead of Alex Radevic.

This season, with sponsorship support from Beltrami & Co. Solicitors, the tournament will be even bigger, and a special engraved trophy will be awarded to the winner.

Can the champion defend his hard-won title? Will Aidan mount another challenge? Could one our many new members – tournament prize-winners among them – emerge victorious? Will we see some big rating upsets? There is only one way to answer these questions….

Jonny (l) & Giuseppe (r) met in round one

How It Works

The five round tournament starts in November 2022. Subsequent rounds will take place over the remainder of the season, concluding at the end of May 2023. Each round has a “designated date”. This is a Tuesday evening club night at which we encourage Members to play their Beltrami Club Championship games in our usual venue.

Each game will last up to two hours, at the 60+0 time control, played under Chess Scotland rules, involving use of a clock and notating moves.

One point is awarded for a win, and half a point for a draw. Using the Swiss pairings format, the number of points Members are on will determine who they are drawn against in the next round – i.e. “winners play winners”.

For newer players, the Beltrami Club Championship provides a valuable introduction to competitive, classical chess, and results will count towards achieving a national grading.

In the event of tied scores, the Sonneborn-Berger score will be used to determine final placings. This takes the performances of players’ opponents into account.

Jordan (l) vs Harvey (r) on board six

Round 1 Draw

Designated date: Tuesday 1 Nov, 6:45pm

Board	White	Rating	Score	Black	Rating
1	Douglas Veitch	0	0-1	Tommy Lally	1620
2	Craig Thomson	1590	1-0	Harry Thomson	0
3	Jackie Logan	0	0-1	Rhys McCrosson	1477
4	Paul Cumming	1437	D-0	James Carson	0
5	Jonny Linney	0	0-1	Giuseppe Bosco	1411
6	Harvey Dellanzo	1354	1-0	Jordan McNaught	0
7	Michael Mathieson	0	0-1	Graeme McKinnon	1339
8	Alex Lane	1316	1-0	Philip Blaber	0
9	Ryan McGill	0	0-1	Derek Rankine	1277
10	Jass McNeill	1254	0-1	Connor Thompson	0
11	Greg Forrest	0	0-1	Caitlin McCulloch	1128
12	Iain Shields	1122	1-0	Wull Swales	0
13	Sagar Kukreja	0	0-1	Chris Dinwoodie	1025
14	Aidan Doye	0	0-1	Paul Stewart	0
15	Gemma Dickson	0	0-1	Andrew Speirs	0
16	Ash Angappan	0	1-0	Ronnie Martin	0

D = default win

The above table will be updated as results come in. Once all round one outcomes are confirmed, they will be shared with Chess Scotland for grading, a standings table will be produced, and pairings for round two will be generated.

For any questions about the Beltrami Club Championship, Members can contact Alex Lane via WhatsApp.

Gemma vs Andrew on board 15

Tags 2022, 2023, club championship, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Events

The Scarecrow and the Grand Prix

Post author By chessWeb
Post date September 15, 2022

Hamilton Scarecrow

Queens Park Chess Club and friends were out in force at another well-organised tournament by Hamilton Chess Club (see also 2022 Hamilton Open) on Sunday 11 September 2022.

The 2022 Scaregrow Allegro – delivered as part of the Bothwell Scarecrow Festival – was a six round rapid event held at the Alona Hotel in Strathclyde Country Park.

Following on from the East Kilbride Allegro, Queens Park was again represented among the prize-winners.

The event featured in the programme for a popular scarecrow festival

Major Section

Jordan McNaught (right, above), who holds dual Queens Park and Strathclyde Uni membership, scored 3.5/6 in the under 1800 Major.

Rhys McCrosson (3rd from right) achieved 3/6, and won the grading prize with a 1427 performance rating.

Alex Lane (left) and Strathclyde Uni’s Liu Zizheng (3rd from left), a regular visitor at Queens Park, also scored 3/6, while Giuseppe Bosco (2nd from right) got 1.5.

The section winner was Hamilton’s Duncan Walker; it was a double success for the host club as Hamilton’s James Montgomery won the Open section.

Major section results from Chess Scotland.

Minor Section

10 year old Chess in the Park regular Alagu Karthick (centre) won the under 1400 Minor section grading prize with an impressive score of 4.5/6.

Alagu finished in joint third place out of 33 participants, as did smartly dressed Iain Shields (2nd from left) a dual Phones & Queens Park player, with the same score.

Chris Dinwoodie scored 3/6. The section winner was Lenzie’s Angelo Lynn, who hopes to join Chess in the Park in its remaining six weeks.

Minor section results from Chess Scotland.

Bearsden Grand Prix

Queens Park competed in a four-month long online Grand Prix

Queens Park have a long-standing friendship with Bearsden Chess Club, who donated boards and clocks to help us get started in 2019, played a series of graded friendlies with us during the pandemic, and invited us to special events like a March 2022 simultaneous match vs GM Jacob Aagaard.

Their generosity continued over the summer break, as Queens Park was offered five places in the 2022 Bearsden Grand Prix, a weekly online rapid tournament that offered cash prizes in three sections: under 1800, under 1500 and under 1200.

The games were played on chess.com on Tuesday evenings from mid-May to mid-September. The time control was 12+5, with up to five rounds played each night, points being awarded for wins, draws and participation.

The tournament concluded this week. While Queens Park’s contingent didn’t take any gold medals, Derek Rankine was runner-up in the u1500 section with 31 points and Jass McNeill was also second in the u1200 section with 25.5 points. Graeme McKinnon, Giuseppe Bosco and Rhys McCrosson also took part in the series.

Our thanks to Bearsden and our congratulations to host team winners Alan Sharp (u1800), Alistair Goodall (u1500) and Chris Monk (u1200).

We hope to continue collaborations with Bearsden in 2022/23 and are planning towards two special events – watch this space!

Above images created with the help of artificial intelligence using DALL-E.

Tags allegro, Bearsden, Hamilton, online, Queens Park Chess Club, rapid, tournament

Events

History Made at East Kilbride Allegro

Post author By chessWeb
Post date September 4, 2022

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.

Tags 2022, allegro, chess, history, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament

Club Meetings

New Season, New Name, Same Ancient Game!

Post author By chessWeb
Post date August 17, 2022

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.

Tags 2022, chess, history, Queens Park Chess Club, tournament