There’s an old chess joke that goes along the lines of: “If the nuclear holocaust happened on a Monday, the chess club would still meet at 730 in the Church Hall on Tuesday”. Whilst the not the most rib-splitting of bon mots, like all good jokes it does speak to a more fundamental truth. Chess players are a hardy bunch and little can stand in the way of them getting their fix.
And so it proved on Wednesday 28 February. As the Beast from the East did it’s best to disrupt the 2nd NLC Lightning Chess Tournament, ten indefatigable players from across Clubland met at 1 Whitehall Place to battle it out for the fabled Ming Vase.
The players
Ten combatants took the field:
- Mister Chamberlain (NLC)
- Mister Dias (NLC)
- Mister Giffin QC (NLC)
- Mister Goldrick (NLC)
- Mister Hore (NLC)
- Mister Hughes (RAC)
- Mister Jacobs (NLC)
- Doctor Kirby (NLC)
- Mister Mason (NLC)
- Mister Phillips (Landsdown)
Round 1
A random draw for round one saw some uneven match ups. Those that hadn’t played lightning chess before were getting used to the routine and those repeat players from last year were settling back in to the familiar rhythm.
All games were conclusive, although longtime NLC club member Mister Fritz was called in from the bar to give his view on the Hore v Phillips postion after the time limit had been reached. After some moments of careful thought and a few sups on his pint, he said he thought Mister Phillips was at least four points ahead, so the arbiter Mister Widdicombe duly awarded Mr Phillips the laurels.
| Mister Chamberlain |
0-1 |
Mister Hughes |
|
Mister Jacobs |
1-0 |
Mister Dias |
| Mister Giffin QC |
0-1 |
Doctor Kirby |
| Mister Mason |
1 -0 |
Mister Goldrick |
| Mister Hore |
0-1 |
Mister Phillips |
Round 2
The field began to take shape in round 2, with Messers Hughes, Phillips and Doctor Kirby all on a full score. It was almost a clean sweep for the white side of the room – only Mister Giffin QC managed to buck the trend when he took young Mister Goldrick’s scalp.
| Mister Hughes |
1-0 |
Mister Mason |
| Doctor Kirby |
1-0 |
Mister Jacobs |
| Mister Phillips |
1-0 |
Mister Chamberlain |
| Mister Dias |
1-0 |
Mister Hore |
| Mister Goldrick |
0-1 |
Mister Giffin QC |
Round 3
The mid point. Some players were now ‘hitting the wall’, others just getting into their stride. Mister Hughes managed to overcome Mister Phillips on the top board clash. Doctor Kirby and Mister Hughes were now eyeing each other up as they both maintained 100%. When would the denouement come? Such unbearable tension.
On other boards Mister Dias made quiet but solid progress in winning a tough game against Mister Giffin QC. He managed to go a bishop up and then put his rooks to work:
| Mister Phillips |
0-1 |
Mister Hughes |
| Mister Mason |
0-1 |
Doctor Kirby |
| Mister Giffin QC |
0-1 |
Mister Dias |
| Mister Jacobs |
1-0 |
Mister Goldrick |
| Mister Chamberlain |
1-0 |
Mister Hore |
Round 4
The big one. Mister Hughes and Doctor Kirby stared at each other across board 1, both wondering if Caissa was smiling upon them that day. A brutal blow-and-counterblow game ensued, and a slip from Doctor Kirby late on gave Mister Hughes his chance. He ruthlessly dispatched the Doctor, to claim pole position going in to the final round.
| Mister Hughes | 1-0 | Doctor Kirby |
| Mister Dias | 1-0 | Mister Phillips |
| Mister Giffin QC | 0-1 | Mister Jacobs |
| Mister Mason | 0-1 | Mister Chamberlain |
| Mister Hore | 1-0 | Mister Goldrick |
Round 5
Mister Hughes’s round 4 victory did not mean he could yet claim the Vase. With Mister Hughes on 4/4 going in to the final round, Doctor Kirby and Messers Dias and Jacobs (all on 3/4) could still match Mister Hughes if he was to lose in this round. Ming Vase rules of 1872 stipulate a sharing of the glory for an equal score…Could Mister Hughes see it through?
Some round 5 action:
But Mister Hughes was safe. He overcame Mister Jacobs to achieve an impressive and unassaible 5/5 score. A worthy winner of the 2018 Ming Vase.
| Mister Jacobs |
0-1 |
Mister Hughes |
| Doctor Kirby |
1-0 |
Mister Dias |
| Mister Phillips |
1-0 |
Mister Giffin QC |
|
Mister Goldrick |
0-1 |
Mister Chamberlain |
| Mister Hore |
1-0 |
Mister Mason |
The final standings
1 Mister Hughes (2018 Champion)
2 Doctor Kirby
3-6 Messers Phillips, Jacobs, Dias, Chamberlain
7 Mister Hore
8-9 Messers Mason, Giffin QC
10 Mister Goldrick
The full cross table, with white games in bold.
1. Mister Chamberlain 6:L 10:L 5:W 9:W 4:W 2. Mister Dias 7:L 5:W 3:W 10:W 8:L 3. Mister Giffin QC 8:L 4:W 2:L 7:L 10:L 4. Mister Goldrick 9:L 3:L 7:L 5:L 1:L 5. Mister Hore 10:L 2:L 1:L 4:W 9:W 6. Mister Hughes 1:W 9:W 10:W 8:W 7:W 7. Mister Jacobs 2:W 8:L 4:W 3:W 6:L 8. Doctor Kirby 3:W 7:W 9:W 6:L 2:W 9. Mister Mason 4:W 6:L 8:L 1:L 5:L 10. Mister Phillips 5:W 1:W 6:L 2:L 3:W
So the Beast from the East (end of Pall Mall) won out in the end. Well done again Mister Hughes. A charming and worthy winner.
And all that was left was to award the victor his spoils:
And then the very serious business of dinner:
