Richmond & Twickenham Chess Club

What a lovely time we had yesterday at the Adelaide, sharing memories of IM Gavin Wall with his many chess friends and family.

IM Gavin Wall was one of the first members of Richmond Junior Club, which met for the first time 50 years ago almost to the day. It's poignant that today his family and friends will be remembering his life and raising a glass to his memory. The Adelaide, Teddington 12:00-15:00.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (360): Solution It was White to move in Monday’s very simple pawn ending. What could be easier than a position with just four slow-moving pieces on the board? The brief answer is that 1. Kb3! leads to a draw…

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I hope you all analysed Monday's pawn ending accurately!

2025-26 Results Bulletin (3) Two wins and two defeats to report this week. It’s not going to be easy for our London League team this season without Gavin, but we got off to a winning start against Lewisham on Tuesday. Co…

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Two wins and two defeats for our teams in this week's matches.

A Game from Mike Healey Healey,Mike – Kiremitciyanar,Ari [B23] Hammersmith v Richmond A B1, 02.10.2025 First game of the season and the first in Gavin’s place as board one. 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6!? 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 Bb7…

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Mike Healey has annotated this wildly entertaining game he played on top board in last week's Thames Valley League match against Hammersmith.

Minor Pieces 92: Charles and Charles Frederick Chapman I’ve written in the past how, back in the 1930s, chess was used in a variety of ways to help those with a range of disadvantages. We visited the Royal Star and Garter Home for Disabled Ex-Ser…

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Charles Frederick Chapman, who promoted chess in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight and in many places along the South Coast, shouldn't be confused with Sevenoaks and Kent stalwart, estate agent and scoutmaster Charles Chapman.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (360) I’ve always believed that achieving true mastery is about learning to do simple things well, rather than trying to do complicated things badly. Here’s a very simple position for you to …

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True mastery is about doing simple things well, so here's a simple puzzle for you to solve.

2025-26 Results Bulletin (2) We had four Thames Valley League teams in action this week, with two wins and two defeats to report. Our B team opened their Division 2 campaign away to Hounslow A. An excellent start to the season…

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Our Thames Valley A and B teams played their first matches of the season this week, losing and winning respectively, while our D team scored a revenge victory against our C team.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (359): Solution Monday’s position was taken from Tarrasch – Gunsberg (Frankfurt 1887). It’s obvious to start with 28. Ra6, when Black can neither capture the rook nor defend a7 directly. So you h…

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Did you analyse Monday's position correctly?

A great win for our B team in our first Thames Valley League Division 2 match of the season.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (359) Here’s a position for you to analyse and assess. You’ll need to look 11 moves ahead to reach a conclusion – are you up to it?

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Here's a position for you to analyse and assess.

Have fun!

Chess Puzzle of the Week (358): Solution On Monday I left Ted and Alice trying to work out how Bob and Carol reached this position after 7 moves. Here is the solution. e4 Nf6 2. Qh5 Nxe4 3. Qxh7 Nc3 4. Qh5 Nxa2 5. Qd1 Nxc1 6. Qxc1 Rxh2 7.…

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Did you find the solution to Monday's Proof Game problem?

Click here to find out.

2025-26 Results Bulletin (1) We’re up and running for the new season, starting with a Thames Valley Division 3 match between our C and D teams. Here’s what happened. 6-0 wins don’t happen very often: our C te…

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We're up and running for the new season with a Div 3 Thames Valley League match between our C and D teams.

Following the sad loss of Gavin Wall, we're looking for 2000+ rated players for our first teams. If you know anyone who might be interested put them in touch.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (358) Regular readers won’t be surprised to hear that Bob and Carol were back at the Adelaide getting some practice in before the start of the new season. When Ted and Alice arrived they saw this p…

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Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice are back at the Adelaide preparing for the new season. Can you help Ted and Alice work out the first moves in Bob and Carol's very strange game?

Chess Puzzle of the Week (357): Solution Monday’s position came from the game Ivanchuk – Kramnik (Dos Hernanas 1996), one of Kramnik’s finest wins. However, he failed to find the best move here. 27… Qe7 threatens m…

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Did you analyse Monday's position correctly? Click here to find out!

Chess Puzzle of the Week (357) A quick question this week as we prepare for the new season. Black to play. Would you choose: a) Qa5b) Qe7c) something else?

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Can you make the best choice in this week's puzzle?

Chess Puzzle of the Week (356): Solution Monday’s puzzle was taken from a recent Titled Tuesday blitz game between Javokhir Sindarov and Magnus Carlsen, taken from the September 2025 issue of CHESS. Sindarov played Rg3 here, rather …

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I hope you managed to defeat Magnus Carlsen from Monday's position.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (356) There can be no better way to warm up for the new season than to beat Magnus Carlsen. This week’s puzzle is your big chance. You’ve reached this position with White against Magnus in a …

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As the new season approaches, here's your chance to beat Magnus!

Chess Puzzle of the Week (355): Solution #2 William Bayard Rice3rd HM Good Companions Feb 1915 The solution to Monday’s mate in 2 problem, as I’m sure you found, is 1. Ba1. Problemists always like moves to the corner…

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I'm sure you found the solution to Monday's Mate in 2 problem.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (355) As we approach the start of the new season in a month’s time, you might want to consider making chess problems part of your training regime. Here, to get you started, is a charmingly simple M…

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Can you solve this week's checkmate puzzle? I'm sure you can!

Chess Puzzle of the Week (354): Solution The other day I was on lichess.org watching the game between Peter Large and Peter Lalic from the Kingston International, amused at the fluctuations in the assessment bar during their long ending. …

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If you analysed Monday's position correctly you can consider yourself an Endgame Maestro!

RTCC Summer Tournament 2025 Results Here are the final results of our Summer tournament. Annotation:      Tie Break 1: Direct EncounterTie Break 2: The greater number of victories        Tie Break 3: Buchholz Tie-BreaksTie Break 4: T…

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Our Summer tournament was won by former joint British U14 Champion James Clifford. Well done to James, and many thanks for Mike Robinson-Chui for running the event so successfully.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (354) In this position, which one or two of you might recognize, play continued 76. Bd2 Rd1 and the game was eventually drawn. Your thoughts, please.

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Do tell me what you think about this endgame position (which you might possibly have seen before).

Minor Pieces 91: John Rudd Leeson It’s time to return to Twickenham and meet the man who was the President of the second Twickenham Chess Club from its foundation in 1921 to his death in 1927. Dr John Rudd Leeson was, as you&…

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Dr JR Leeson, a doctor with some rather controversial opinions, was the President of the 2nd Twickenham Chess Cllub from its foundation in 1921.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (353): Solution I posed two questions on Monday, which demonstrated two of the skills you need to graduate from a 1000 player to a 1500 player. How should White reply to Black’s (over-)ambitious 10… c5…

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Monday's twin puzzles tested your judgement and calculation skills.

Were you up to both challenges?

Kingston Invitational Swiss It was good to see several Richmond players taking part in the Richmond Invitational Swiss last week. You can find the full results and download the games here. Here’s a short games selection…

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A short selection of games played by our members in last week's Kingston Invitational Swiss tournament.

Chess Puzzle of the Week (353) This week I present two puzzles for the price of one. Buy One Get One Free! They are both taken from a game played in our Summer Tournament recently. You’ll see that it’s a French Excha…

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Chess puzzle fans are in luck this week: two puzzles for the price of one!

Chess Puzzle of the Week (352): Solution I left you with this wild position on Monday which I came across while annotating a game for the next Chess Heroes book but one. It has occurred several times over the board as well. White is a bis…

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Did you find White's best move in Monday's puzzle position?

Chess: Adams wins ninth British title, while 10-year-old girl breaks two world records The 53-year-old is just one short of Jonathan Penrose’s record, while Bodhana Sivanandan became the youngest ever woman international master

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Chess Puzzle of the Week (352) Here’s an interesting position for you. It’s White to play. You’re a piece down and Black has a threat of Bxd1 combined with bxc3+. On the other hand you could capture the bishop …

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How should White continue in this week's puzzle position? Do let me know what you think!