The resolution was proposed by Babur Tolbaev, the President of the Chess Federation of Kyrgyzstan. David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission and in this FIDE Congress we see Babur Tolbaev among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman.

This is a major crossroad for chess. In view of the coming vote, BBC published an article, titled “Russia squares up to Ukraine on battle for control of chess” Will Vernon from BBC interviewed Malcolm Pein from the English Chess Federation.

Malcolm Pein said, “Russia’s control of Fide is absolute […] We have a sort of a manifestation of what used to be known in Soviet days as a power vertical. Any vote that Russia wants passed always gets passed. ”

Malcolm Pein fears that if Russia is let back into the chess fold, it would be a “huge propaganda coup”.

“They’ll be able to point to it and say, look, we’ve been allowed back into chess. They could demonstrate to their citizens they don’t have to suffer as many privations as they should be suffering because of the war.”

Malcolm Pein is, among many things, a major supporter of Ukrainian chess. Just recently Malcolm Pein and CSC donate to Ukrainian chess players.

The biggest worry for Dvorkovich and Russia is the entrance on the chess scene of Alexander Kamyshin. Just recently, Kamyshin said, ““I am starting my work at the Ukrainian Chess Federation with a challenging and important battle on the international front. Yes, it’s again about Russia. And no, we will not let them prevail, as we don’t let it on the battlefield.” Read the full statements and following actions here. For BBC Kamyshin said, “We’ve had 21 chess players killed in this war. It’s not fair to raise this issue in the agenda while Russia is killing our civilians, our chess players in Ukraine.”

Read the full BBC article here

The Chess Olympiad 2024 is going to take place in Budapest, Hungary from 10 to 23 September 2024. It is the world’s largest team event and will have a record breaking participation. A number of delegations raised their voice about serious accommodation issues in Budapest, among them Scotland, Monaco, Germany, and later the same day Türkiye. Two more federations reported the same spectrum of problems, but wished to remain anonymous, fearing reprisal by FIDE officials.

Malcolm Pein from the English Chess Federation was open about the story of team England. In a short interview for Chessdom, Malcolm Pein shared, “The main issue was that like many other federations, the organisers did not engage until it got to the point where we were already very worried.” He continued, “There was seemingly no understanding that many countries would want extra rooms in addition to the standard offer of 2 free singles and 4 free doubles per team. I understand the Germans were having trouble, also Croatia and Scotland.”

In the end England resorted to the solution that most federations are trying, “England decided to split the Open and Women’s team,” says Malcolm Pein. “We are now ok. Also, the organizers, or it seems to be an accommodation agency, have become much more responsive. They have been far more flexible and we are grateful to them.” He concludes, “It just would have been nice to have this organised 3 months ago!””

ECF Awards 2024

President’s Award for Services to Chess – John F Wheeler; Malcolm Pein

Contribution to Junior Chess – Paul Lam

Contribution to Women’s Chess – The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls Chess Academy

Contribution to Chess in the Community – Jonathan Arnott

Contribution to Accessible Chess – Voldi Gailans

Online Chess Contribution of the Year – James Connors

Club of the Year – 3Cs Chess Club

Small Club of the Year – Radcliffe and Bingham Chess Club

Nominations for election at the AGM

Chair of Council
David Eustace
Nominated by Non-Executive Director Stephen Woodhouse, Past Chair of Council

Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
Tim Wall
Nominated by Northern Counties Chess Union, Cumbria Chess Association, Northumberland Chess Association, South Tyne Chess League, South Lakes Chess Congress, Director of Women’s Chess
Stephen Woodhouse
Nominated by Manchester Chess Federation, Midland Counties Chess Union, Oxfordshire Chess Association, 4 Nations Chess League, Warrington & District Chess League, Kidlington Chess Congress, Witney Congress, Witney Rapidplay, Chief Executive, Director of Home Chess, Director of Events, Past Chair of Council

International Director
Malcolm Pein
Nominated by Manchester Chess Federation, Midland Counties Chess Union, Warrington and District Chess League, Richmond Junior Chess Club, Director of Events, Director of Women’s Chess

Director of Events
Shohreh Bayat
Nominated by Manchester Chess Federation, Midland Counties Chess Union, Oxfordshire Chess Association, 4 Nations Chess League, Warrington & District Chess League, Kidlington Chess Congress, Witney Congress, Witney Rapidplay, Chief Executive, Director of Women’s Chess, Director of Home Chess, Non Executive Director Stephen Woodhouse, Gold Members’ Representative Tim Wall

Non-Executive Director
Alan Atkinson
Nominated by East Anglian Chess Union, Kent County Chess Association, Norfolk County Chess Association, Director of Women’s Chess
Hok Yin Stephen Chiu
Nominated by Lancashire Chess Association, Merseyside Chess Association, Birmingham & District Chess League, Central London Congress, Golders Green Congress, Hampstead Congress, Bronze Members’ Representative Tina Teotia
Stephen Greep
Nominated by Manchester Chess Federation, Midland Counties Chess Union, Oxfordshire Chess Association, 4 Nations Chess League, Blackpool & Fylde District League, Hull & District Chess Association, Warrington & District Chess League, Delancey UK Chess Challenge, Kidlington Chess Congress, Leyland Congress, Ribble Congresses, Witney Congress, Witney Rapidplay, Friends of Chess, Chief Executive, Director of Finance, Director of Junior Chess, Director of Home Chess, Director of Events, Non Executive Director Stephen Woodhouse, Past Chair of Council, Platinum Members’ Representative David Eustace

FIDE Representative
Malcom Pein
Nominated by Richmond Junior Chess Club, Director of Women’s Chess, Director of Events

Chair of  Finance Committee
Nick Faulks
Restanding

Member of Governance Committee
Mike Gunn
Nominated by Chair of Governance Committee

President’s Award for Services to Chess
Jimmy Adams; Colin Green; Ray Pomeroy; Mick Riding

Contribution to Women’s Chess
Lorin D’Costa

Contribution to Junior Chess
Dale James

Club of the Year
Gosforth Chess Club

Small Club of the Year
Holmfirth Chess Club

Congress of the Year
Durham

Contribution to Community Chess
John White and Christopher Skulte
Warwick University Chess Club

No awards were made in the categories of Contribution to Online Chess and Accessible Chess. Next year we will ask for nominations to be made in a more standardised format. This will aid the evaluation and reporting structure.

50+ section:

After five rounds, two rating-favourites of the tournament, England 1 and USA, were tied for the top position winning four matches each and drawing their direct encounter in Round 4. Italy and Iceland were close behind, scoring four team victories each but losing to the leaders (the USA and England, respectively).

England 1, headed by Michael Adams and Nigel Short, won all four matches in the second half of the event and deservedly clinched the title. To illustrate England’s dominance, it suffices to say that Adams, Short, Hebden and Arkell each won the gold medal for the best performance on individual boards.

The USA stayed in the race for gold for the most part (the team had to close a 2-point gap of game points), but it all came to an end in Round 8 after a draw with Hungary. Still, the USA comfortably secured silver. Team Italy 1 lost to England 1 in Round 6 but then scored three straight victories and came out third. (scroll down for final rankings)

65+ section

England 1, lead by John Nunn, eased through the field in the 65+ tournament and clinched the title with a round to spare. Its main rival team Germany could not keep pace with the leader and finished second. 

After a poor start, the rating favourite, Israel 1, bounced back and wrested bronze from Germany 2 and France after beating the champions in the final round. (scroll down for final rankings)

Final rankings 50+ section:

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Final rankings 65+ section:

The tournament was held thanks to the generous support of Caplin Systems, who also support the Hastings Congress. The event has also received financial support from the English Chess Federation, The Chess Trust, and the Friends of Chess.

The event was dedicated to the memory of Vera Menchik (1906-44) who was the first Women’s World Chess Champion, as well as the longest reigning champion, gaining the title at aged 21 and defending it multiple times until her untimely death. 

Final rankings – 1st Caplin Menchik Memorial 2022

The extensive library contains 19th and 20th century books, journals, pamphlets, and tournament programmes relating to every aspect of chess, from ‘how to play’ manuals, match and tournament books, player biographies and general histories to the art of the chess piece and the rise of chess computer games. The archive papers include files on the administration and management of the ECF, and there are also artefacts including tournament banners, chess sets, timer clocks, badges and even a panel of chess-themed stained glass from Harry Golombek’s front door! The collection also includes a more or less complete set of year books from 1907 onwards produced independently and then by the BCF from the 1920’s onwards and more recently by the ECF. Various chess luminaries have donated their libraries to the ECF and these contributions are marked by bookplates in the volumes.

In addition, the ECF recently accepted a painting by Xavier White which will be displayed alongside the ECF Library. Robert Walks Through Water (3,4) is a portrait of chess player and writer Robert (Bob) Wade, who lived near White and struck up a friendship with him over crosswords in a cafe. White wanted the portrait to be united with Wade’s books, which have been assimilated into the ECF Library.

A light-hearted blog post by David Millns at DMU following the transfer of the library, in which he says —
‘After many lockdown related delays, recently we were able to take in the library and archive of the English Chess Federation – nearly 200 crates of books! The Library is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in the history of chess or looking to pick-up some tips for their own game. The books and journals will be catalogued in due course, but for now the collection can be browsed on the open shelves: just make an appointment via archives@dmu.ac.uk …’
A simple catalogue entry from Katharine Short can be found here.

While cataloguing of the books and journals is still in progress, researchers and visitors are welcome to browse the shelves and please feel free to contact the librarians at the link below if you would like to arrange a visit to view the collection.

Kimberlin Library, D
e Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH
Tel: 0116 2078776

Here are some of the recent tweets from the DMU Archives and Special Collections Account on Twitter highlighting some of the historic books within the collection in their #ChessTuesday series of tweets.

Press release of English Chess Federation