Dee Jay 10/2/2020

2020
Feb 22 (Sat)	DCCA Team QP America Hall, De La Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter, EX4 8PX. 1245-1645. 6 rounds, teams of 4. Tim Paulden Email: timpaulden@gmail.com. Full details here (pdf)
Feb 28 (Fri)	Camborne Gambit Tournament Bickford Smith Bowling Club, Tuckingmill, Camborne, TR14 8RG. Arrive by 1900 for 1915 start. Free buffet between rounds 2 and 3. Entries to Ian George. Phone: 07890 133221. Email: 3a.roskear@gmail.com. Full details (dowloadable) here.
Mar 6 (Fri)	East Devon Congress (3 days) Exeter Corn Exchange, Market Street, Exeter, EX1 1BW. Email timpaulden@gmail.com. Details and online entry here
Mar 14 (Sat)	Cornwall II v Somerset II Victory Hall, Church Stile, Exminster, EX6 8DF. 1.30pm start.
Mar 27 (Fri)	Camborne Open Rapidplay Bickford Smith Bowling Club, Tuckingmill, Camborne, TR14 8RG. Arrive by 1900 for 1915 start. Free buffet between rounds 2 and 3. Entries to Ian George. Phone: 07890 133221. Email: 3a.roskear@gmail.com.
Apr 17 (Fri)	WECU Easter Congress (4 days) Royal Beacon Hotel, Exmouth, Devon EX8 2AG. Meyrick Shaw. E-mail: wecu@hotmail.co.uk. Congress brochure here
May 1 (Fri)	Cornwall Open Congress (3 days) Falmouth Hotel, Castle Beach, Falmouth, TR11 4NZ. Details here
May 15 (Fri)	Frome Congress (3 days) Selwood Academy, Berkley Road, Frome, BA11 2EF. Congress and entry details here
May 23 (Sat)	Cotswold Congress (3 days) King’s School, Gloucester. Congress and entry details here

Current Season - Team Competitions
League tables
List of results (all competitions)
Board scores - County Shield
Board scores - Roberts Cup
Board scores - 500 League
Board scores - Busby and Grime Cups
Current Season - Other
2019/20 index
Diary of the season
Cornwall grades
County matches
Juniors and Schools
Congress results and final standings
Clubs
Bude
Calstock
Camborne
Truro and Falmouth
Lerryn
Liskeard
Newquay
Constitution and Rules
Full set (pdf)
Laws of Chess
FIDE Laws of Chess (1/1/2018) with commentary
List of 2018 amendments to FIDE Laws of Chess
Guidance notes on the Laws of Chess (Ian George)
Games
Anthology of historical games
Chronological list
Archive
Team competition winners
Emigrant and Falmouth Cup winners
County match results
Featured games
ECF
English Chess Federation
ECF Grading Database

Following last year's successful congress in the beautiful setting of the Falmouth Hotel this year's congress will be held there again from Friday 1^st to Sunday 3^rd May 2020.

• It will be open to all, including players from outside Cornwall, although the Emigrant, Falmouth and Penwith cups may only be won by players eligible by birth, education or residence in Cornwall.
• Three sections: Championship (U190), Major (U150), Minor (U110)
• It will be a five round Swiss with ½-point byes available in rounds 1 to 4.
• Time control: All moves in 75 minutes plus 30 second increment per move.

Full details including entry fees, how to enter and pay and congress rules are here. Printable brochure here. List of entries here

We look forward to welcoming a wide range of players both from within and outside the county.

Ian George

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Come, free your imagination and let your hair down on the wilder shores of chess openings at our Gambit Blitz tournament at Bickford Smith Bowling Club, Tuckingmill on Friday 28 February. Arrive 1900 for 1915 start. Free buffet after round 2 kindly provided by our Treasurer, Debbie Smith. Cash prizes. The games will not be graded. Entries to Ian George at 3a.roskear@gmail.com

Full details are on the Camborne club page and can be downloaded from here

Ian George

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Entries are invited for this year's competition to find the best game played by a Cornish player in 2019. Players may submit a maximum of two games played either for the county team or in a local competition in the calendar year 2019. The closing date for entries is 30^th April, 2020. The adjudicator is Bob Jones of Devon. We hope to present the cup to the winner at the AGM.

Full details of rules and arrangements can be downloaded from here

Ian George

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It has long been my strongly held view that, now that digital clocks are available that will handle increments, the time controls we currently use are out of date and distort the game in at least two ways.

Firstly it's not fair that a player who has outplayed his/her opponent and achieved an overwhelming advantage can be compelled to offer a draw simply because he/she does not have enough time physically to make the moves needed to deliver mate. This could be said to mirror the legal concept of unjust enrichment.

Secondly the "two minute procedure", whereby a player can claim a draw if he/she can persuade the arbiter that his/her opponent cannot win by "normal means", raises many anomalies, particularly in our team matches where, instead of an independent arbiter we use the team captains. In addition this rule is generally misunderstood and can lead to unnecessary disputes where, for example, players mistakenly believe that they're entitled to a draw because "the position is drawn".

Of course, time is an element of the game and poor time management is not a valid excuse for a loss but I think that under our present rules its significance is disproportionate.

I therefore intend to propose at the next AGM that, with effect from the 2020/21 season, that all competitions organised by the county association, including league and cup matches, be conducted using the Fischer system whereby a time bonus is added after every move such that if a player has not lost on time he/she always has at least the amount of the time bonus to make the next move. This would lead to fairer outcomes and would enable us abandon the "two minute rule" altogether.

This has been discussed by email within the Executive Sub-Committee and a measure of consensus has been reached that the appropriate time rates to be used should be 75 minutes for all the moves with 20 seconds added after every move for League and Cup matches and 30 minutes for all the moves with 15 seconds added after every move for 500 League matches. This is not set in stone at this stage and if better options are suggested they can be put to the vote.

Of course, for such a rule to be implemented it would be necessary for all the clubs to have enough digital clocks with a time bonus function. I therefore undertake that, if the motion is passed, I will personally buy five digital clocks each for the four clubs which do not currently have suitable digital clocks. These would be the property of the County Association and lent to the clubs concerned.

In my view this measure would align our arrangements with best practice throughout the chess world and would represent an advance analogous to the abandonment of adjudication many years ago (well, perhaps not quite that far but significant nevertheless!).

There would also be a separate proposal for 7.15 starts, although the above change is not dependent on start times.

Ian George

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This match was played on Saturday 18^th January at Plymouth Bridge Club

Full results here

A big thank you to everyone for making the trip in terrible weather, Especially Prof David Jenkins who came in at short notice as a very late replacement.

We had 9 draws by Lloyd, Robin, Jamie, Percy, Jan, Richard, Jeff, Colin, and David against a really strong Devon team. Each opponent was about 20 to 30 grading points higher on average.

Lovely to see a fantastic return to county chess, after a 10 year hiatus, by Ian George with our only win (see Game of the Week)

Richard Smith

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Chess in Schools and Communities” are looking for people to run chess clubs in the following town libraries: St Austell, Truro and Falmouth Contact Robin Kneebone (CSC Cornwall Coordinator) for more information.

Robin Kneebone

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In addition to chess activities organised by the county association and its affiliated clubs you can get a game at any of the following locations. I would like to hear of others so that I can publicise them here.

Fowey

There is now a chess club at Fowey which welcomes all who wish to come and play. The club meets monthly on Sundays from 1400 to 1630 at Squires Field Community Centre, Langurtho Road, Fowey, PL23 1EQ. The next meeting is on October 27^th. Please email Owain Fitzsimmons at foweycommunitychessclub@gmail.com"

Mawnan Smith

An informal social chess group meets weekly on Wednesdays from 7.30 to 10 p.m. at the Red Lion, Mawnan Smith. Everyone is welcome to just turn up and play. It is a normal pub environment, so there is plenty of action and we play with a drink in hand.

For more information contact Mick Ferrie at loenter@hotmail.com or 01326 250403

Penzance

Chess is played at the Redwing Gallery, Wood Lane (just off Market Jew Street opposite the Wharfside shopping centre) on Wednesdays and Fridays at 11 o'clock a.m. The telephone number is 01736 448402.

Helston

If you would like to play some friendly games, please come along to the Godolphin Club in Wendron Street any Monday or Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. or call Steve Fanning on 01326 372948.

Ian George

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Please send news of Cornwall chess events, interesting games, corrections, notifications, broken links and suggestions for improving the website to Ian George

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Last updated 21/2/2020

Complete fixture lists for each club can be found on the club pages

Expanded league tables, the draws for the cup competitions and links to the detailed results are here.

Win = 4, draw = 2, loss = 1, default = 0 points

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Win = 4, draw = 2, loss = 1, default = 0 points

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Win = 4, draw = 2, loss = 1, default = 0 points

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