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11/07/2024 World Senior Team Championships
England sent a record 9 England teams to the World Senior Team Championships held from the 1st to 12th of July 2024 at the Hotel Galaxy, Gęsia 22A, 31-535 Kraków, Poland, virtually a stone’s throw from the River Vistula, the ninth-longest river in Europe.
The event has parallel 50+ and 65+ competitions, each of 9 rounds, for teams of four, though teams may have pools of 5 to pick from. England was fielding teams with pools consisting of the following players listed in boards order.
The England Seniors’ manager is former Leeds University Woodhouse Cup player Nigel Povah. It’s interesting to see former Sheffield University Woodhouse Cup player Tony Kosten, long resident in mainland Europe, playing for England 65+ 1. The only current Woodhouse Cup player in the list is York’s Paul Townsend, who is England 50+ 2’s board 5.
England 50+ 2 has been rotating its players, and Paul Townsend did not play in round 1, but has played on board four in rounds 2 to 5 (as at the time of writing). The team’s opponents in rounds 2 and 3 were Eng 50+ 2 and Eng 50+ 1 respectively. Paul Townsend’s games so far have been as follows: (click on link to play through game, then used browsewr’s “back” function tto return to this page.
As England 2 were playing USA 1 in round 6, England 1 were playing USA Too, and in that match Michael Adams with Black beat the Leonid Sokolin. Click on the following link to pay through that game: Sokolin, Leonid (USA Too) 0-1 Adams, Michael (Eng 1).
Monday 08/07/2024 was a rest day and an excursion to the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow and the Main Market Square was being laid on. There was also an excursion, seemingly for an extra charge, to Auschwitz or the Wieliczka Salt Mine, the latter being a UNESCO World Heritage Site near to Krakow.
England may be the only competing country to be fielding a husband and wife, specifically John Nunn (65+ board 1) and Petra Fink-Nunn (50+ Women). There are various teams based not just on countries but in specific clubs (such as Germany Lübeck Chess Club). One USA team is called “USA 5 Brothers” the players all having the surname “Jhunjhnuwala” and what is odder still is that the team squad has only four members!
Tuesday 09/07/2024 saw play resumed (round 7), with 50+ England 2 were paired against England Women. It was Paul Townsend’s turn to step down and not play. Meanwhile 50+ England 1 was playing Italy, and 65+ England 1 was also playing Italy. In the 50+ the score was 2-2. Michael Adams tried hard to win a drawn ending but didn’t quite manage it. Click on the following link to pay through that game: Michael Adams ½-½ Alberto David In the 65+ the score was 2½-1½. The only win was on board two. Click on the following link to pay through that game: Stephen Dishman 1-0 Ingrid Lauterbach
Round 8 saw the 50+ pairing England 1 were paired against Italy, and Paul Townsend was again rested. In the 65+, England 2 v England 1. 65+ England 1 drew with the black pieces and won with the white ones, the two win. Click on the following link to pay through the games: Tony Kosten 1-0 Anthony Stebbings Terry Chapman 1-0 Chris Beaumont.
Chris Beaumont was born at Staincross near Barnsley, and while he a chess player based in the Barnsley area he was known locally as “Chalky” Beaumont.
The final round, round 9, saw in the 50+ event 3rd/4th-placed England 1 paired against 8th-placed Israel Rishon Lezion, whom on ratings England 1 ought to beat. 1st-placed United States were paired against Slovakia and similarly might expect to win.
Greater hopes for England of course lay in the run up to round 9 with 65+ England 1, ranked 1st after 8 rounds and paired in round 9 against Finland. Meanwhile, 2nd/3rd-place France (Strasbourg) and Israel 1 faced somewhat tougher opposition in the final round. Beating Finland would ensure an England 65+ team victory in the event. John Nunn set the ball rolling with a 15-move win. Paul Littlewood then turned in a relatively quiet draw. Then Jonathan Mestel’s opponent resigned at a point where he might had plodded on longer until his position got too tangibly dire. That meant a match win irrespective of the board-2 result, and England had won the World 65+ Seniors Championship. Tony Kosten eventually won a drawn-out ending (101 moves).
In the 50+ team, Michael Adams drew early, then Glen Flear turned in a lively 25-move win, followed by Keith Arkell beating a player weaker than the writer in 33 moves. John Emms had to play out a longish ending and won.
Click on the following link to pay through round-9 games: 65+ Jonathan Mestel 1-0 Hannu Joentausta Dietmar Vinke ½-½ Paul Littlewood
50+ Alexander Kaspi ½-½ Michael Adams Keith Arkell 1-0 David Bulkovstein
Final Team Rankings:
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