Passed Pawns...

Thank you to everyone who supported our first adult club evening with tuition included! We said that we’d review this first session based on your feedback, and as a result we’ll be keeping future taught sessions to under an hour. The next scheduled evening with tuition is on Tuesday 22nd November, when Harry Sharples will lead a session entitled “Attacking the King”.

Here is one of the prepared positions from this Tuesday’s lesson that there wasn’t time to look at. It illustrates a particular technique of playing with passed pawns called “defending from a distant square”. Black has just played …c3!?, having analysed that …Kd4?! would have failed to 1.Nc7! Kd3 2.Nxb5 Kc3 3.a4, when White’s passed pawn gets away. Chistiakov continues to offer the best defence in the position and extracts from Bronstein in return a grandmaster lesson in handling this ending. Try it for yourself, and see if you can find the winning sequence for White.

Club News, September 2022

After the formal presentation of trophies at the AGM, there was a chance to take a photo of the winning team - Robert Starley, Harry Sharples, John Thorley & Mark Towlson - with the Team Quickplay Shield. As joint winners (with Bridge) of the League Jamboree, we hold the Julius Day Shield for the first six months of this season. This is the first time that Sandwich (or Woodnesborough) has put its name on this prestigious trophy, and it’s fitting that pictured proudly showing it off is our strongest player, Robert Starley, who held Bridge’s Richard Eales to a draw on Board 1 in the match. Our full Jamboree team was: Robert Starley, Harry Sharples, Jon Hunt, Mark Towlson, Adrian Tottenham & Ethan Latymer.

The full Club Schedule to the end of January 2023 has been published on the club noticeboard and can be viewed in PDF format here or via our online Calendar. Our new series of occasional (and optional) lessons begins on Tuesday 20th September, 7:30-9:00pm, with Jon Hunt leading a session entitled “Passed Pawns That Win… …And Passed Pawns That Don’t!”. Entries for the Club Championship and the open rapid “Black-and-White” close on 30th September and are free to Sandwich members. Thank you to everyone who has already paid the first instalment of their annual subscription or has signed up to pay by direct debit from our “Join” page. If you’re planning to pay annually, then please sign up online or pay the Treasurer (Jon) direct before the end of September.

The AGM minutes will appear on the Club page as soon as they are ready. We are still looking for a candidate for the vacant role of Club Secretary.