News from 2020-21 for Oxfordshire Chess

Ray Starkie Best Game Trophy

Congratulations to Oscar Idle for winning the Ray Starkie Trophy for the best game in the winter 2020 and spring 2021 Mike Duck online tournaments.

Matt Rose, judging, commented

Jon knows the Schliemann pretty well, so I assume he forgot something as Oscar has a dominant position after only 15 moves. I like the fact that Oscar didn't cash in until it was all clear. It got a bit messy, but Oscar handled the complications without panicking. He just kept making good moves - which some say is the way to win chess games!

Oscar's win against Jon Manley is the first game in the PGN file that's at the link below. The other entries follow, in chronological order. To prevent chess-ignorant browsers from mangling the file, ".txt" has been appended to the filename. Right-click to download the file, remove the ".txt" extension, then open the file with your favourite chess program.

Ian Brooke

I have just received the very sad news of the death of Ian Brooke. Ian has been a stalwart of the OCA and the Oxford City club for more years than most can remember - a former Chair of the OCA, he ran the Oxfordshire open team, and was been Chairman of the Oxford City club for almost 30 years. He was also an active and more than useful participant (as I know to my cost!) into his nineties, playing right up to when Covid curtailed over the board chess when he won a prize at the last Kidlington tournament. He was also kind enough to go with me to tournaments in the West Country (see link to a picture), and I know over the years he has done similar for many other players in the county.

I know many of us will miss him, especially his positive and generous character, and I am sure all our thoughts go to his family.

Results of the OCA Blitz @ Cowley - Thursday 8th April

I hope everyone enjoyed the OCA Blitz on Thursday. Thirty-three players took part; the scores can be seen here.

Cowley Christmas Blitz 2020, Monday 14th December

Because of the pandemic, this year's Cowley Christmas Blitz was hosted on-line, on the Lichess.org platform.  It attracted 35 entrants from 7 different clubs.  262 games were played. More details are available at https://lichess.org/tournament/8UVhoQXQ

Here is the complete list of prizewinners: