The Chess Links Project | The Chess Links Project

Stimulating Chess Development and Activity Throughout the World

The Chess Links Project

Updated 7.9.2010

Important News

This website is to close towards the end of October. Funding for the Chess Links Project ended several years ago but I kept the site going to provide information, links, reviews and reports on all my junior activities (and those of others too).

I will be taking my place as part of a major new junior chess initiative, 'Chess in Schools and Communities'. This exciting new scheme will eventually take chess into hundreds - and ultimately thousands - of schools.

Further details can be found here:

http://www.chessinschools.co.uk/

I will be contributing reports and photos to the new website. There is also a possibility that I will start another dedicated junior chess site to replace this one. Details will appear here and on my blog (http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/) as soon as they become available.

Meanwhile, I hope you have found the Chess Links Project website of use over the years and I hope you will continue to be successful in your chess battles.

Sean Marsh

7.9.2010

Updated 28/7/2010

Next Junior Chess Tournament

16th Yarm Chess Championship

Saturday 18 September 2010
(Closing date for entries: Thursday 16 September)

Venue:
Yarm Preparatory School,
Grammar School Lane,
Yarm,
Stockton-on-Tees,
TS15 9ES

Parking is not available at the Preparatory School,
but is available at the Senior School
(just across the road - a three minute walk)

Format:
This is an event for school teams in two sections: Primary and Secondary
Each team will consist of four members, playing in the
correct order of strength throughout the tournament.
The tournament will be run on a Swiss system (not a knock-out)
and all teams will be expected to complete all rounds.

Play Starts:
10.00 a.m. but please arrive for briefing by 9.45 a.m.

Presentation of Prizes:
3.00 p.m. (approx.) for both sections.

We advise all players to bring a packed lunch.

We cannot offer full supervision and request that
young players should be accompanied by an adult.
Unacceptable behaviour will result in a player or team being
withdrawn from the tournament and excluded from future events.

The chief controller will be BCF Arbiter Sean Marsh.
The controller’s decision, in all matters related to the tournament, is final.

Enquiries: Telephone Andrew Killick,Yarm School 01642 786023
or email Sean Marsh: chesslinksproject@hotmail.co.uk

Please complete the entry form and return to:
Chess Tournament, Yarm School, The Friarage, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, TS15 9EJ
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name of School Team(s): _______________________________________________

Person in charge of the team: _______________ Contact number: _______________

School name, address, email address & telephone number:

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Do you wish to enter the Primary or Secondary School Section? _______

Cheque enclosed (£10 per team): £ ______

(cheques payable to ‘Yarm School’. No CASH through the post, please)

Do you need a map to the school? YES/NO Do you require confirmation of entry? YES/NO

We look forward to seeing you!

Updated 26.7.2010

Preston Primary Chess Championship 2010

1st:

Josh White 11 points out of 12

Congratulations to Josh White on capturing his third consecutive Preston title. He lost one game - to Joe - his 11 wins couldn't be matched by any of his rivals.

2nd:

Joe Oliver 9.5/12

Joe may feel that, having beaten Josh, he missed a good chance to take the title. Perhaps he is hoping for success next year, when he should start as the clear favourite.

3rd:

Ben Portas 8.5/12

Ben did well to take third place and it could have been even better (he should have won against Josh but let things slip right at the end).

4th:

Oscar Harding 8/12

Oscar had a very good tournament and managed to stay just ahead of the chasing pack of strong players.

Other Scores:

7.5/12: Abigail Glancey, Mark Walsh, Ryan Anscomb, Arthur Harding 5/12: Becky Portas; 3/12: Ross White; 1.5/12: Adam; 1/12: Hunter; 0.5/12 George

Updated 13.6.2010

Chess Classic 2010

Reigning World Champion to play!

Last year’s London Chess Classic was surely one of the most exciting events of 2009.

The field of players for the 2010 tournament has recently been announced and there is some big news…undisputed World Champion Vishy Anand will be one of the participants!

The full line-up is:

Vishy Anand (World Champion)

Vladimir Kramnik (former World Champion)

Magnus Carlsen (ranked number 1 in the world)

Hikaru Nakamura

Michael Adams

Nigel Short

Luke McShane

David Howell

What a fantastic set of players! They will be battling it out at the The Olympia Conference Centre from 8-15 December.

I am hoping to be there for the duration of the event to provide frequent, on-the-spot updates for this site.

The official website is: http://www.londonchessclassic.com/

Updated 2.6.2010

FM Jack Yoos v R.O.W.

On this site two years ago, we had a game featuring North East chess star Jonathan Hawkins against The Rest of the World. Everyone was invited to vote for the next move to play against 'The Hawk' but he still managed to win. He became an Interntional Master not long afterwards.

Those who enjoyed the experience of being part of such a game may be interested to know that a similar one has just started over an GM Yasser Seirawan's official site.

You - The Rest of the World - are invited to vote for the next move to be played against FM Jack Yoos.

More details can be found here:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/2010/06/fm-jack-yoos-v-rest-of-world.html

Or jump straight into the game here:

http://www.seirawanchess.com/world/

Updated: 29.4.2010

New Training Site

There's a new chess training blog which is well worth adding to your 'favourites'. It is updated very regularly and has lots of very instructive material. It is in the German language, but can easily be translated with a single cliick.

So pop along to:

http://schachtraining.blog.de/

World Championship Update

For some interesting moments from the first four games of the Anand - Topalov match, head over to my blog at Mongoose Times:

http://mongoosepress.com/Times/

Updated: 23.4.2010

The 2010 World Chess Championship starts tomorrow. Reigning champion Viswanathan Anand will try and defend his title against Veselin Topalov over the course of 12 games. Tie-break games will be played in the event of a 6-6 result.

I am predicting a win for Anand, but most people seem to prefer Topalov's chances.

A World Championship match is one of the real high points of any chess calendar and it is sure to generate a lot of interest around the world.

You can follow all of the action - live - on various chess sites, including the official one, which can be found here:

http://www.anand-topalov.com/

That site will also provide everything else you need to know about the match.

Whatever your current playing strength, you should still be able to enjoy the games whether you understand all of the moves or not. Try and predict which move the Grandmasters are going to make and see how many you get right!

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A word on updates....

I have slowed down the number of updates on this site, although (for now) I will still add bits and pieces from time to time.

The Chess Links Project stopped running some time ago, following a number of sensational years and lots of great achievements. For some years, we have been running on 'empty' as far as funding is concerned.

The CLP is unlikely to appear again - but you never know, new projects could spring up at any moment, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, the bulk of my online chess writing can be found here:

http://marshtowers.blogspot.com/

...with an additional regular column here:

http://mongoosepress.com/Times/