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saint_bert

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Whitey Grandad

Whitey Grandad

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Good for you! I used to play in the Southampton chess league many years ago. It's a brilliant way to spend an evening and very cheap. I used to find that a pint of beer would often help my attacking instincts. I never would have believed that 2 and a half hours studying a chessboard could be so relaxing but it totally clears all other thoughts out of your head. There was a school in an american city that introduced chess lessons for its pupils and found that it was a great aid in getting them to think ahead and plan what there were going to do. I would encourage you to look around for a local chess club who would be delighted to accept you, no matter what level you play at.

 

Good luck and have fun.

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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There is no better game, been playing since 1973 and played 1000's of games and tournaments. Have a very good tourney coming up in 2 weeks at Uxbridge, 5 games over 3 days, one Friday night and 2 on Saturday and Sunday.

Chris Nichol was a keen player, turned up at the Southampton Chess Club in the 70's when he was playing for us.

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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Good for you! I used to play in the Southampton chess league many years ago. It's a brilliant way to spend an evening and very cheap. I used to find that a pint of beer would often help my attacking instincts. I never would have believed that 2 and a half hours studying a chessboard could be so relaxing but it totally clears all other thoughts out of your head. There was a school in an american city that introduced chess lessons for its pupils and found that it was a great aid in getting them to think ahead and plan what there were going to do. I would encourage you to look around for a local chess club who would be delighted to accept you, no matter what level you play at.

 

Good luck and have fun.

 

If it was in the 70's I might have played you! Thereafter I moved to London.

Oh and the point about it being cheap is very true and from memory there are dozens of clubs in and around Southampton.

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Whitey Grandad

Whitey Grandad

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If it was in the 70's I might have played you! Thereafter I moved to London.

Oh and the point about it being cheap is very true and from memory there are dozens of clubs in and around Southampton.

Indeed it was! I used to play for the IBA in a team of 5. I always played white because of my gung-ho attacking instincts whereas our accountant used to play black because he was naturally cautious.

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rpb

rpb

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Chris Nichol was a keen player, turned up at the Southampton Chess Club in the 70's when he was playing for us.

 

I used to play there in the 80's - I think that Southampton Chess Club is based at Oasis Academy, Lordshill now. I keep meaning to rejoin but twenty five years of inactivity would take some getting over.

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rpb

rpb

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According to Google you are right that it is based in Lordshill:

 

http://www.hampshirechess.co.uk/League/Southampton%20Chess%20Club/about.htm

 

They haven't updated it for two years Oaklands Community School is now called Oasis Academy.

 

I won their Under 140 grade Tournament in 1984 but they only have the winners listed from 1989 - all that effort for nothing... (I only won it because one of the other finalists fell asleep during a game and lost on time)

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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They haven't updated it for two years Oaklands Community School is now called Oasis Academy.

 

I won their Under 140 grade Tournament in 1984 but they only have the winners listed from 1989 - all that effort for nothing... (I only won it because one of the other finalists fell asleep during a game and lost on time)

 

From memory I suspect the grading tournaments were in that case introduced only in the early 80's a I seem to recall just one open tournament during the 70's when I was a member. One of my best memories was organising a 40 board match between the Southampton chess league and the Portsmouth chess league. Not only did we win but I beat my then time Portsmouth Poly chess club mate into the bargain ( I was there 1975-78 and played for their 1st and 2nd teams as well as the Southampton 2nd/3rd team.) Fair to say I didn't study a lot lol

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rpb

rpb

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One of my best memories was organising a 40 board match between the Southampton chess league and the Portsmouth chess league. Not only did we win but I beat my then time Portsmouth Poly chess club mate into the bargain ( I was there 1975-78 and played for their 1st and 2nd teams as well as the Southampton 2nd/3rd team.) Fair to say I didn't study a lot lol

 

It was around then that Pat McEvoy and Terry Hollington took over Junior Chess in Hampshire and Portsmouth became very strong (at chess anyway).

 

Looking at the Southampton Chess Club's website Hall of Fame, I was fascinated to see many names still active from twenty five years ago - Walters, Perrin, Buckmaster, Bell, Summers - I have been beaten by them all!

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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It was around then that Pat McEvoy and Terry Hollington took over Junior Chess in Hampshire and Portsmouth became very strong (at chess anyway).

 

Looking at the Southampton Chess Club's website Hall of Fame, I was fascinated to see many names still active from twenty five years ago - Walters, Perrin, Buckmaster, Bell, Summers - I have been beaten by them all!

 

Lol, young Master Buckmaster was someone I knew well, very good young player and used to be in one of the teams I captained. Les Allen appears to be still around and was another player I knew well, Tony Summers must be about 120, age not rating now ( sorry Tony !) , David Bell was a strong player as indeed was Ian Stenhouse who I believe wrote a chess column in the Echo ? I don't remember the name Perrin but the name Walters rings a bell, Tony Walters ?

Pat McEvoy I certainly knew and he was indeed very active on the Hants chess scene.

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positivepete

positivepete

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Lol, young Master Buckmaster was someone I knew well, very good young player and used to be in one of the teams I captained. Les Allen appears to be still around and was another player I knew well, Tony Summers must be about 120, age not rating now ( sorry Tony !) , David Bell was a strong player as indeed was Ian Stenhouse who I believe wrote a chess column in the Echo ? I don't remember the name Perrin but the name Walters rings a bell, Tony Walters ?

Pat McEvoy I certainly knew and he was indeed very active on the Hants chess scene.

 

And Les is still drawing most of games! Sounds like we are all from the same era!

Sadly the Hollington - McEvoy influence is long passed and junior chess attendance at clubs in the area is at an all time low.

Southampton chess is doing better in terms of number of teams than the Portsmouth league these days. I started in the Southampton league in 74/75 for the OS, and appear for Eastleigh Rail, except due to business I have not played this season. Started at the same time for Gosport, I still play for them but only made my first appearance of the season Friday!

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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And Les is still drawing most of games! Sounds like we are all from the same era!

Sadly the Hollington - McEvoy influence is long passed and junior chess attendance at clubs in the area is at an all time low.

Southampton chess is doing better in terms of number of teams than the Portsmouth league these days. I started in the Southampton league in 74/75 for the OS, and appear for Eastleigh Rail, except due to business I have not played this season. Started at the same time for Gosport, I still play for them but only made my first appearance of the season Friday!

 

Indeed it does seem we all remember the 70's ! I started playing in the Southampton Chess league in 1973/74 for Richard Taunton College and after leaving there in 1976 the Southampton Chess club as well as I mentioned above the Portsmouth Chess league for Portsmouth Poly.

I'm now wracking my brains trying to remember an opponent I met a few times who I'm almost sure played for Eastleigh. I do know he played the French defence against me which at the time I hated lol

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rpb

rpb

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I don't remember the name Perrin but the name Walters rings a bell, Tony Walters ?

Pat McEvoy I certainly knew and he was indeed very active on the Hants chess scene.

 

Len Walters - he, Peter Marshall and Horace Parsons were the mainstays of the club back then. I seem to remember that Perrin went by the name of Reggie but that night not have been his actual name!

 

I used to be a controller at Pat McEvoy's Portsmouth Tournament (the Under 100 grade section). I believe that Hollington fell out with the HCF and moved on to Scrabble - he died about ten years ago.

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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Len Walters - he, Peter Marshall and Horace Parsons were the mainstays of the club back then. I seem to remember that Perrin went by the name of Reggie but that night not have been his actual name!

 

I used to be a controller at Pat McEvoy's Portsmouth Tournament (the Under 100 grade section). I believe that Hollington fell out with the HCF and moved on to Scrabble - he died about ten years ago.

 

Ah yes, I do remember Len Walters and he was one of those who ran the club. However, for some reason the names of Peter Marshall, Horace Parsons and "Reggie" Perrin mean nothing !

Oh and I played in the Portsmouth Congress a few times, the last time being in 1980 when I travelled there with Les Allen and talking of him drawing games my record in the Major ( Under160 I think) that year was 2 wins and 4 draws. Consistent at least !

Edited by chrisobee
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positivepete

positivepete

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Indeed it does seem we all remember the 70's ! I started playing in the Southampton Chess league in 1973/74 for Richard Taunton College and after leaving there in 1976 the Southampton Chess club as well as I mentioned above the Portsmouth Chess league for Portsmouth Poly.

I'm now wracking my brains trying to remember an opponent I met a few times who I'm almost sure played for Eastleigh. I do know he played the French defence against me which at the time I hated lol

 

It wasn't me, I play the Centre Counter! I joined the Cricketers club, which then morphed to Unity and Stoneham before arriving at Eastleigh Rail. I certainly played against Portsmouth Poly in the seventies, they revived their club last season after a long break. (I suppose I have to call it Portsmouth Uni now, but to our generation it is still the Poly!

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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It wasn't me, I play the Centre Counter! I joined the Cricketers club, which then morphed to Unity and Stoneham before arriving at Eastleigh Rail. I certainly played against Portsmouth Poly in the seventies, they revived their club last season after a long break. (I suppose I have to call it Portsmouth Uni now, but to our generation it is still the Poly!

 

I played and still play the Centre counter so no it definitely was not you, I have a feeling it was Tony somebody but my brain is still wracking !

Yes, indeed it was a Poly in the 70's of course not that it mattered, for me it was convenient ( could still see as many Saints games as I wanted and indeed I missed many afternoon lectures/seminars and play lots of chess) and it offered exactly the course I wanted.

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rpb

rpb

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However, for some reason the names of Peter Marshall, Horace Parsons and "Reggie" Perrin mean nothing !

 

Peter Marshall used to run the Hampshire team - I used to get called up to play board 30 for games against Cornwall or Devon as nobody else wanted to travel that far. You would go all the way to Exeter and discover that they couldn't get enough players to play anyway and end up watching the other games!

 

Horace Parsons used to organise the Club Championship - he was in his eighties when I knew him. One of the few players to specialise in Birds Opening.

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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Peter Marshall used to run the Hampshire team - I used to get called up to play board 30 for games against Cornwall or Devon as nobody else wanted to travel that far. You would go all the way to Exeter and discover that they couldn't get enough players to play anyway and end up watching the other games!

 

Horace Parsons used to organise the Club Championship - he was in his eighties when I knew him. One of the few players to specialise in Birds Opening.

 

Peter Marshall clearly never heard of me either ! I don't recall ever playing for Hants even though I would easily have been in the top 30 and I used to enjoy trips to places like Exeter and indeed did go there for a club match for Portsmouth Poly.

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positivepete

positivepete

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Peter Marshall used to run the Hampshire team - I used to get called up to play board 30 for games against Cornwall or Devon as nobody else wanted to travel that far. You would go all the way to Exeter and discover that they couldn't get enough players to play anyway and end up watching the other games!

 

Horace Parsons used to organise the Club Championship - he was in his eighties when I knew him. One of the few players to specialise in Birds Opening.

 

Me to! Used to travel with Iain Stenhouse, Martin Newbury, and a few other hardy souls. Lack of practice these days so grading has slipped, but I turned out again for Hampshire U125s the last couple of seasons, after twenty years of not being available, got beaten by Norfolk both times.

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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Me to! Used to travel with Iain Stenhouse, Martin Newbury, and a few other hardy souls. Lack of practice these days so grading has slipped, but I turned out again for Hampshire U125s the last couple of seasons, after twenty years of not being available, got beaten by Norfolk both times.

 

In terms of County Chess I only play Correspondence for Herts but using email makes it very easy. We are hoping and in with a good chance of winning the County & District Correspondence Chess Championship for the 1st time ever ! The mighty ( and much larger )Yorkshire seem to be our main rivals.

OTB I play 4/5 tournaments a year ( slow play) and try to fit in a number of rapidplays as well which are just one day of fun and mayhem. Living close to London makes it pretty ideal. I used to play club chess regularly for my old employer the good old DHSS but £7-8 to travel into London just for one game and invariably arriving home very late means I only play 2/3 times a season and then primarily as a way to catch up with very old friends ( 1st started playing for DHSS back in 1983 before all the various departments split).

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Hamilton Saint

Hamilton Saint

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Chess is great - the ultimate board game.

 

I don't play much any more, but I have been running a Chess Club for abouit five years at the school where I teach. Interestingly, the club consists mostly of kids with an Asian heritage - Chinese, Indian, Pakistani. Same constituency of kids that excel in my maths classes.

Edited by Hamilton Saint
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rpb

rpb

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Chess is great - the ultimate board game.

 

I don't play much any more, but I have been running a Chess Club for abouit five years at the school where I teach. Interestingly, the club consists mostly of kids with an Asian heritage - Chinese, Indian, Pakistani. Same constituency of kids that excel in my maths classes.

 

Hamilton - weren't you at SMC? They produced some fine chess players over the years - good to see that you are carrying things on.

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keithd

keithd

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i love a sicillian opening

 

used to play all the time as a nipper, ma n pa brought me an electronic chess game inside 2 weeks i'd beaten it on all levels. altho i think the levels didnt actually increase in difficulty the machine just took longer to think. i say that as i could beat it inside 7 moves on every level. it was a primitive bit of kit, hence my awsome skillz were able to "do it"...

 

not played for donkeys, might have a look online for some software...

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chrisobee

chrisobee

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i love a sicillian opening

 

used to play all the time as a nipper, ma n pa brought me an electronic chess game inside 2 weeks i'd beaten it on all levels. altho i think the levels didnt actually increase in difficulty the machine just took longer to think. i say that as i could beat it inside 7 moves on every level. it was a primitive bit of kit, hence my awsome skillz were able to "do it"...

 

not played for donkeys, might have a look online for some software...

 

 

There are plenty of chess sites to play and download for free, I use various ones.

For games and downloads:

 

http://www.chess.com/

 

Just for games :

 

http://gameknot.com/play-chess.pl?u=chrisobee&rnd=47373

 

For downloads ( amongst others) :

 

http://www.shredderchess.com/download.html

 

The Shredder chess programme is very strong though not quite as well known as the more popular Fritz programmes.

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Hamilton Saint

Hamilton Saint

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Hamilton - weren't you at SMC? They produced some fine chess players over the years - good to see that you are carrying things on.

 

 

Yes, I was. And now that you mention it, I do recall playing for the school team during First Form at a tournamant; unfortunately, we had to play lightning chess - not my forte.

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