It hardly seems necessary to write up what happened at last night’s Speed Handicap, since the majority of the adult membership were present. But, for the benefit of those who couldn’t make it and for posterity:

The 38th Speed Handicap was held on Friday 12th December in the Pinewood Centre Bar & Cafe. For several weeks it looked as though our booking might be gazumped, but it was finally confirmed just a fortnight before the event. I was concerned attendance might suffer because of the short notice, but on the night we had a highly respectable 20 players. No juniors this time (except for David Purle and Matthew Palmer, who we regard as honorary adults), and I suppose the late notice could have contributed to their absence.

We played the group stage with three groups, with all games being 10 minutes. The winners of these groups were:
• WIlliam (with Nick then Jonathan on the same number of points),
• Matthew Palmer (with a clear 1.5 points lead), and
• Mat (with Dave Herring on equal points).

Having 20 attendees allowed us to give everyone an extra game in the knockout phase, starting with a round of 16 for the trophy, and straight in to the semi-final stage for the bottle of wine. The latter was “won” by Ian, who planned to finish the wine before the day’s end.

The Trophy side of the knockout led to a final between Nick (after knocking out Colin, Ganesh and Harriet) and Matthew Palmer (who knocked out Ken, David and Mat). The final game was a swashbuckling affair, with Nick throwing every piece into a sacrificial attack. But Matthew, a very capable tactician, saw and avoided all the pitfalls to leave himself with a very comfortable endgame advantage, which he duly converted. Over the course of the evening, Matthew scored 9.5 from 10 games.

Congratulations to Matthew, whose name will appear on the trophy very soon.

On the all-important (but non-existent) award for the most outlandish Christmas costume, there were several Christmas jumpers on display worthy of Val Doonican, but the prize would have to go to Ashton, who was brave enough to wear a floppy “Gail’s” Santa hat.

As usual, many thanks to Jonathan, our Club Secretary, for the above write-up and for organising and running the tournament so adeptly.

The 2025 Khyber Cup was held on Sunday (20th July) in Harriet’s parents’ beautiful home and garden, filled with exotic plants. Despite the torrential downpour the previous day and the threat of more rain in the morning, the weather gods smiled on us. We had just a few light showers, but the games were unaffected, being played across the conservatory, covered garden table, and summer house. As the day progressed, we were treated to a positively sunny afternoon.

The early morning chess produced some upsets (congratulations Nick!), but after the full five rounds, the field was spread more or less as expected.

The winner, once again, was Paul Cooksey on 5/5, though not without a closely fought battle with Ewan Wilson, a strong Reading player and friend of Harriet’s parents. This puts Paul’s name on the trophy for a second consecutive year.

Runner-up was Colin on 4/5, with Harvey not far behind on 3.5.

Lunch was something different – a barbecue of Berkshire beef burgers, sausages, and skewers, with all the usual burger bun fillings, excellently cooked by Harriet’s father acting as grill-meister. For dessert, homemade cakes were provided by Harriet’s grandmother (and for the most part eaten by Ashton). Special mention also goes to Harriet’s mother, who organized the kitchen and made lunch run so smoothly.

After the friendly rivalry of chess came the serious rivalry of water volleyball in the swimming pool, with Dave Herring cajoling his team to mixed success. After which, Harriet demonstrated true home advantage by taking on a team of three single-handedly – and winning comfortably. All in all, a classic and memorable Khyber Cup. Many thanks to Harriet and her parents for being such excellent hosts.

The Khyber Cup took place Saturday, 13^th July, 40 years since the first Khyber Cup in 1984, which makes it older than many club members (though not all).

We were hosted this year by John Upham, in his recently refurbished house and super garden, and had an excellent turnout with 18 players. The weather was sufficiently kind that we could play all rounds outside, and the forecast rain showers never really emerged. John arranged for a buffet at the nearby Thatched Cottage, which was excellent in quality, quantity and value.

The Khyber Cup is the opportunity for less proficient club members to steal a point from those higher up in the ratings order, but the only upset I’m aware of this year was when Richard’s chair collapsed underneath him leaving him flat on his back (fortunately unhurt and unshaken, he went on to win the game).

Unlike last year, when we had a four-way tie for first place, this year we had a clear winner in Paul Cooksey, who scored an impressive 4.5 points out of the 5 games, his first Khyber Cup win. Congratulations to Paul.

Paul was closely followed by Richard and Ian (Thompson), both previous winners, on 4 points.

We also had a clear winner (if that’s the right word) in the competition for the bottle of wine, which was awarded to Christine.

Thanks to John for being an excellent host and organising and running the event. Thanks also to Zak who, although not playing, generously donated the refreshments.

This year’s Khyber Cup is being held on Saturday the 29^th July, kindly hosted by Harriet Haslehurst.

Please see Jonathan’s email for the address and other details.
Could you aim to arrive for a 10am chess start.

Lunch: There are plenty of eating choices on the High Street and still more within easy walking distance. We can decide which suits us best on the day, or make a booking if we know approximate numbers.

Entry to the Khyber Cup is not restricted to Crowthorne chess club members. Relatives and friends are warmly invited.

For those not familiar with the Khyber Cup, it is our friendly summer rapid play tournament. 5 rounds of half hour games with a break for lunch. We are usually blessed with fine weather, making it a relaxing, friendly and sociable day, apart from the chess.

We hope you’re able to attend this historic event. Please let Jonathan and Harriet know if you would like to attend.

The SECOND Christmas Handicap of 2022 took place last Friday, 9^th December, the first having been delayed from last year into this due to Covid. And we are getting back to pre-pandemic attendee numbers with a very healthy 21 competitors. The event was played in the Pinewood Centre Bar & Cafe in our usual Thursday night spot, although rather more of us than usual and certainly more Christmas jumpers. (No onesies this year, unfortunately.)

Given the number of players, we had three groups in the group stage, and played to 12.5 minutes instead of the usual 10 or 15 minutes. This worked out about right, finishing as we did around 11pm.

Coming top of group 1 was Shree, closely followed by her sister Saachi and friend Csilla. The three girls between them scored an impressive 14 from 18 – and bear in mind that, allowing for games between themselves, the maximum they could have scored was 15.

Mat was the standout star of the second group with 5 from 6, just a whisker in front of an on-form Louise.

In group 3 Ashton romped home, winning all 6 games, and finishing two points ahead of nearest rivals Christine and Colin.

Ashton continued to power through to meet Louise in the semi-final, at which point we had our first draw in the tournament – and second, third and fourth, before Ashton finally won and went on to meet Shree in the final. In the final game Shree started well but Ashton slowly gained the advantage and eventually won the game.

So, well done Ashton, a new name on the trophy. Well played Shree, your turn will come.

Meanwhile, competing for the wooden spoon was myself and James. James was playing his first speed handicap, and it showed – he actually THOUGHT about his moves and thus was doomed to lose on time, but thereby won a wooden spoon and the customary bottle of wine (although he wisely chose to swap it for a pint of Old Crafty Hen).

All-in-all, a fine 35^th Christmas Speed Handicap. Thanks to everyone for playing.