Yes, the countdown has begun to the Northumberland Rapidplay Championships, which are being held at Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s Institute (the Forest Hall Chess Club venue) on Sunday November 26, from 11:00am-5:30pm.
They promise to be a fantastic competition yet again, with everyone playing in the same section – and many prizes for different grading bands, for juniors, seniors and everyone in between!
The time limit is a fast ‘n’ furious 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move, meaning there will be plenty of thrills and spills throughout the day. There’s a total of nine rounds, so you will easily be able to find opponents of similar strength as the Swiss tournament progresses.
There are various ways to enter the Rapidplay Champs:
a) Simply fill in the online payment form here;
b) Download the entry form from the ECF calendar here, and send a cheque (made payable to ‘Forest Hall Chess Club’) to: Tim Wall, 7 Nixon Terrace, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 3EE; or
c) Email timpeterwall [at] gmail [dot] com, and pay on the day in cash.
Whiichever you enter, to ensure your place, please be sure to enter by Friday November 24. (Late entries may be accepted on the day, space permitting.)
The player to beat this season could well be Charlie Storey, the current Northumberland Open Rapidplay Champion, who is something of a rapidplay and blitz specialist.
Here is Charlie in action in this year’s British Championships, in Llandudno:
White: Charlie Storey
Black: Jonah Willow
Round 5, 104th British Championship, August 2017
Opening: Sicilian Defence
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1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Qd2 Nxd4 8.
Bxd4 e5 9. Be3 Bc5 10. Nb5 Qb6 11. Bxc5 Qxc5 12. Nd6+ Ke7 13. O-O-O h6 14. Bc4
Rf8 15. b4 Qb6 16. f4 Qc7 17. fxe5 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Qxc4 19. Qd6+ Ke8 20. Nf6+ 1-0
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