WELCOME TO Medway Chess Club

It is with great sadness that Medway Chess Club needs to announce the death of long standing
member, Alan Evans, who died at home on Monday 23rd January.
Alan played for the club for over forty years and also played for Kent on many occasions. He was
widely known within the Kent Chess fraternity and well liked and respected by everyone who came
into contact with him.
He held the positions of Club President and Club Secretary for several years and steered the club
through the most challenging of times. He was hugely proud of the club’s recent successes in
winning the Intro & Harvey Cup competitions which was only possible due to the club’s survival
under Alan’s stewardship.
Above all, Alan was a warm, welcoming and genuine individual who loved the game of chess and
always happy to share his knowledge and time with others. He will be greatly missed by his family,
friends and fellow club members.
May he Rest in Peace
MEDWAY 4 V MAIDSTONE 7
3-1 WIN
Medway 4 were unbeaten in their league (Mid Intro Cup) to top the group qualifier.
The Kent champions team included 9 players during the season : Paschal Hickey ( Captain) , Danny Gavigan, Nav Dhinsa, Dominik Swiatkowski, Zsombor Baki, Chloe Hyde. Kareem Kowaitly, Tireni Oluwabunmi and Oscar Dhinsa.
It was a tough call to select a semi-final team to beat Beckenham & Bromley. A much bigger club than ours in many ways . Given all that, it truly was a magnificent VICTORY over them to get to the final on June 3rd. Nav, Dominik, Zsombor and Danny stepped up and delivered in that glorious semi-final victory.
Maidstone 7 were our opponents who seemed, at one point, to be stretching the rules to win,
They had two players rated over 1500+ and there team on average were rated 83 points higher than us. However, loyalty prevailed for my team; and the same 4 players, who got us to the Final were selected. This decision proved pivotal to the match outcome.
The game on Board 4 was decided first. Danny had a fantastic opponent in 11 year old Dylan Woolerton, who had an impressive 5 out of 5 wins in the Intro League, also defeating Oscar Dhinsa (aged 6) & Lawrence Tutt (Medway) during the league games against us. Danny kept very cool from the start in an even contest until , N+ and Dylans Queen fell victim to a brilliant fork. Eventually (1-0).
On Board 3, Dominik (ice cool) was done and dusted (out) against his opponent, who he lost to during the league earlier in the season, Martin failed to see Dominik had hung his Bishop, but Dominik saved his reputation by 4 Sec.(again) to eventually grab victory, a classic win over Tye Martin (1378). (2-0)
Board 2, Zsombor was on black , pitched against Maidstone's tactician & Captain Marvel Doug Smith. (1518) . A very tight match right up to the end. Zsombor covered everything and moved Doug onto the back foot to secure a fine Draw with an experienced player graded 143 points above him.( 2.5. to 0.5 ).
Board 1, Nav played K. Charlton (1542) rapid 1809 the highest rated player and put on his hard-man attitude, not giving an inch. In a confident matter of fact way, he left his seat and surveyed his teammates boards many times. His opponent had to accept a draw in the end to save face ,(he would have lost)! Again brilliant Nav.
I really felt invested and confident in my team selection, the lads played out of their skin in both the Semi & Final to bring that little Trophy home again, precious. 🍀🏆
1/3
1/3
Medway 1 v Maidstone 3
5-1 Win
En Passant - Medway beat Maidstone 5-1 only 2 draws Paul and Prabhath. I won in six moves 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 de4 4. Ne4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nd7 6. Nd6 checkmate. We now go top of the league !
Weald of Kent 1 v Medway 1- 6/11/23
3-3 Draw
This game was in Cranbrook , Dimitar won quickly and I lost to an opponent who sacrificed a queen to give me forced mate. Roger lost and we needed to win the final game, Lasitha's great game and victory secured a draw for us.
Medway 1 v Swale 1 - 25/10/23
4.5-1.5 Win
Thank you Swale for a great game and congratulations to my team who played well on the night.
Medway 1 v Hastings 2 - 18/10/23
4-2 Loss
Congratulations Maidstone for a well deserved victory and an excellent performance
Aram Team Team Captain Medway 1
Rainham 4 v Medway 2
2-2
This match was another interesting one. With Anton on board 3, winning the first game and putting Medway in the lead, Isaac then blundered his opening with a pawn on h7 and eventually lost. With the match poised at 1 – 1, it was down to Prabhath on board 1and Dimitar on board 2. Dimitar had his Queen against his opponent’s two rooks and a knight which became an uphill task. Scores now at 2 – 1 and Medway losing, all eyes turned to the final game. Prabhath had less than a minute on his clock, and his opponent had 8 minutes left. Prabhath playing white, put pressure on his opponent, who then resigned. A valuable draw at 2- 2, was a relief for Medway 3.
Isaac Captain & Chairman
Medway 6 v Maidstone 8
0.5-3.5 Loss
Congratulation to Maidstone a very comprehensive victory
Maidstone 4 v Medway 2
4-2 Loss
Congratulations Maidstone for a well deserved victory and an excellent performance
The Harvey team went down 4-2 to a more highly rated Maidstone team 4-2 Both myself and Dominik lost to much higher rated players,
Nav seemed to get into trouble early and never recovered and surprisingly Aram lost with White against Alan Riddoch. Medway success went to Top board Lasitha
who defeated Luke Kyte with Black after winning 2 pieces for his rook slowly ground down his opponent and finished with a very nice flourish. Danny won on board 6 after over
come losing a piece early on by winning it back and then winning the ending.
Medway 3 v Swale 2
3-1 Win
This was a resounding victory for Medway. Nav on board 3 despatched his opponent by coming from a piece down, to win his game. The next game on board 4 ended as a draw, and all eyes turned to the two other boards. Dimitar on board 1 had a nail biting finish and Anton on board 2 battled his opponent to win. Final score was 3 -1 to Medway. Well done Guys.
Isaac Captain & Chairman
Weald of Kent 4 v Medway 5
1.5-3.5 Win
Congratulations to all of my team we played well.
Ian Mackinnon was once gain excellent on the top board with another win (2 in a row) and I even got a rare victory!
Medway 5 are now top of the table !
John Team Captain
1-3 Win
Medway 5. V Medway 6.
1-3 Win
Hi Yall , just wanted to post my grateful thanks and congratulations to my winning team on Wednesday.
Grateful thanks to my good friend: John Hanman who helped me out with a player from his squad(I lost 4 of my original team to Tom F. Teams) . John loaned me Chace, which ironically led Med 6 (me) to winning our first Intro match 3. 1. Steven Angus got a very good win on 2 v Roger , Jason Webb got his 1st O B match win on 4 v John H & Chace got out of jail ( big time ) by coming from a losing position to a memorable victor on 3 v Lawrence. Ian Mackinnon won his match on 1. V Zsombor a very tight win , well done Ian.
En Passant match on Sunday. I will be opening up at 1p m
Anyone fancy a game or 2 or just to Support our team. V Hastings ? Come on Aram & his Army.
1-3 Win to Medway 6
Paschal , Intro Team Captain and Holders
Medway 3 v Medway 4
3-1
This was a match with a nail biting finish. Having lost the first game on board 3, Medway 3 was hoping to come from behind.
Anton on board 2 won his game to make the scores 1 -1. Danny on board 4 was having an even game against Nicoleta, until a point when his knighted forked both Nicoleta’s rooks and she resigned. Scores now stood at 2 – 1 with Medway 3 leading. In the final match Prabhath v Dominik, on board 1, each player had less than two minutes on the clock. With an exchange of pawns Prabhath had a pass pawn and a chance to get a Queen, Dominik conceded.
Final Result, 3 – 1 to Medway 3
Isaac Captain and Chairman
Medway 3
Medway 3 got out of the blocks like UsainBolt v. Swale. A terrific victory 11.5.- 4.5
Our 2nd match was a bit of a disaster, the Captain. (That's me)!!, failed to cross the Ts & dot the Eyes, consequentiality we only had a 3 man team. V Maidstone and yes WE lost !!11 - 5 ,(I think ). We then went to Hastings for our final match and were consistent , losing 14. 2 ,!! Yes 14 2. Chace deserves a mention for his victory but the bright light was young Jayden.
Jayden beat their lowest graded player (Steve Bluitt) 1790 for the 2nd point. Well done Jayden. Along with Oscar our future Champion in the making. That's the end of this year's S. Q. P. for us but let's get behind Isaac & Aram's campaign now.
The moral of this report is. Don't blow your trumpet to early ,you might wake someone up.!
Medway 2
After a defeat in the Quick play match against Charlton last week, Medway 2 came back with a vengeance.
The memory of a 2.5 to 13.5 point defeat was the impetus for an improvement. Last night at the Lewisham v Medway 2 match, we were down 6.5 points to 9.5 points, after three rounds. Medway needed to win all the games in round 4, which seemed quite optimistic. Alas, this is the stuff that dreams are made of. Medway won all four games in round 4 including a game that Prabhath won with thirty seconds to spare, to the consternation of his opponent. Many thanks to Danny and Lawrence who gave a good fight to win their games, especially in this final round. Medway triumphed in the end 9.5 points to 6.5 points for Lewisham.
Medway 4 - Beckenham and Bromley 7
3 - 1 Win
This was one of the semi finals of the night against higher rated opponents from a bigger club, we have faced so far in which they were the 2nd in the Met Intro cup.
No. 1 board Nav & Danny on board 3 managed a really good Draws with a tough opponents.
Our heroes tonight though has to be, board 2 Zsombor with a tremendous victory and once again Dominik on board 4 winning his match in what was a close encounter of the best kind.
We're in the Final on Saturday June 3rd. Down in Tunbridge Wells.
Details to follow. We'll done my TEAM let's finish the job off now on June 3rd.
BRILLIANT Thanks again Lads.
Paschal. Captain.
Medway 2 v Charlton 5
3-1 Loss
The Tom Fuller semi finals started with great hope as Medway won the toss and opted to play ‘White’ on the odd boards.
Srikanta on board 1, gave a masterly despatch of his Charlton opponent and in record time. Some of us didn’t know he had won and left the hall. Paul Foster on board 2 had a marathon game. With a pawn and a knight each, white’s king was closer to his pawn, Paul had to concede. Isaac lost a winning position playing white, when he decided not to exchange queens which his opponent offered. A ghastly mistake, as the play switched to the other side of the board, there was too much fire power and an inevitable checkmate. Lawrence on board 4, put up a gallant fight. Towards the end with a bishop and a pawn against four pawns, it was an uphill task for black. Medway lost the match 1 – 3.
Thanks to all the players who gave their time and effort this season. We live to fight another day. Congratulations to the Intro team who made sure Medway now has a team in the Finals on June 3rd.
Medway 4 v Maidstone 7
2-2 Draw
In a match that we didn't need to win , we didn't!!.
BUT we didn't lose either, 2. 2. Draw.
On board 1 Dominik was victorious ,again. Our regular, dependable , top young man. Board 2 was lost by the Captain . A tight game against Johanne that he should have won ,but didn't!!!!.
Kareem was our other victory on board 3, his 1st competition win for us. We'll done Kareem. Our little Oscar Dhinsa ( Aged 6) had his 1st outing for us on board 4, and although he came 2nd in his game, against a very talented young player, he represented Medway Chess Club as a perfect Ambassador.
Medway Intro, played 8. Won 6 & Drew 2
( Unbeaten )
♟️WE ARE NOT MEN IN SUITS 👔 LIKE THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT 👸
If you would like to play chess at Medway Chess Club in 2022/23, please contact our Club Chairman Isaac Oluwole, or Club Secretary Danny Gavigan (see contacts). You will be very welcome, irrespective of age, gender or playing ability.
Players considering joining, are also welcome to come to our club night on Wednesday, for a free trial session. ( walk-in)
“Every chess master was once a beginner.” – Irving Chernev
Congratulations to Aram Swiatowski for winning the 51st Thanet Congress with a high impressive score of 4.5/5
The aims and objectives of Medway Chess Club are to promote the playing, studying and
understanding the game of chess at all levels. This includes the organisation of local playing
facilities and the provision of coaching for members of all abilities.
The club prides itself in creating a warm and welcoming environment and membership is
open to all persons irrespective of gender, nationality, religious opinion, race or colour. It is
particularly open to young persons and those with disabilities.
We are affiliated to both the Kent County Chess Association (KCCA) and the English Chess
Federation (ECF) who are the governing bodies in Kent and the UK respectively. We
currently enter five teams in competitive matches organised by the aforesaid organisations
and also play informal non-competitive matches between members on our regular club
nights.
The club is very much a valuable community based organisation attracting members from all
across Medway, including the Hoo Peninsula, which is often an area which is under
represented. As such it helps to serve the needs of a diverse community including social
inclusion and everyday social interactions.
Daniel Gavigan
Secretary, Medway Chess Club
Club Chairman - Isaac Oluwole
Club Secretary - Danny Gavigan
English Martyrs Church Community Hall, 37 Frindsbury Road, Rochester, ME2 4JA
Every Wednesdays 7.45pm to 11pm.
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