English Federation for Correspondence Chess

The ICCF National Federation for England

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70th ICCF Jubilee Event for Officials - Ian Pheby

EFCC president Ian Pheby with his silver medal and certificate from the A section for Officials.



London v Edinburgh Match

In a replay of the historic match London lost by a wide margin.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

New Title

The player Jim Nierobisz with ICCF ID 211586 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert. Congratulations.


 

George Hollands RIP

The EFCC is sad to announce the sudden death of George Hollands. We offer our condolences to his wife and young family.


 

Welsh Success

Welsh Team Win European Gold

We congratulate our chess friends from Wales on their tremendous achievement in winning the European Championship. They were the lowest ranked team in the final.

Well Done !

Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

England in World Team Semi-Final

After two rounds of closely fought matches we can look forward to two closely fought matches against Spain - Cross Table (iccf.com)

and Italy - Cross Table (iccf.com) .

We are closely matched in terms of grading so we can expect two titanic struggles.


 

Tim Spanton

Photo of Tim Spanton - a member of the team which won the Bronze medals in the George Pyrich Memorial final.



Tom Herman

Photo of Tom Herman - a member of the team which won the Bronze medals in the George Pyrich Memorial final.



Richard Webster

Photo of Richard Webster - a member of the team which won the Bronze medals in the George Pyrich Memorial final.



Dawn Williamson takes Silver in Women's World Championship

In the last Women's World Championship Dawn Williamson took the Silver Medal finishing in a tie for second place. This was the last world Championship for Women as the ICCF has abolished gender specific events.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

England Players in World Championships Candidates Events

We wish our players good luck in the Candidates events for the World Championship.

Finishing in the top two will earn them a place in the World Championship Final.

Richard Hall in Section 1 - Cross Table (iccf.com)

Ian Pheby in Section 2 - Cross Table (iccf.com)

Alan Rawlings in Section 3 - Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

Mike Richardt

Photo of Mike Richardt - a member of the team which won the Bronze medals in the George Pyrich Memorial final.



New Title

The player Jonathan Curry-Machado with ICCF ID 213237 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert. Congratulations.


 

New Title

The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Master awarded to player George Hollands with ICCF ID 211994 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner. Congratulations.


 

Executive Committee Meeting

Our next Executive Committee Meeting will be held on Saturday 14th October, 2023 in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

If any eligible EFCC members have anything that they would like discussed at our meeting, please email me at - contact@efcchess.org.uk by 23rd September 2023 at the latest.

John Rhodes, General Secretary


Entries received for the 2023-25 British CC Championship

Is your name on this list?

As of 29th August 2023 the following entries have been received so far for the 2023-25 British C.C. Championship:

Peter Ackley, Matthew W. Bailey, Philip Barber, Paul A. Batchelor, Phillip J. Beckett, William Bishop, Trevor S. Brotherton, Graeme Carey, Steve Cole, Alastair Cowan, Valerie Craven, Matthew Cutler, Les Ellis, Allan Gardner, Oliver Graham, David J. Grobler, Terry Hart, Tom Herman, Gregory Hughes, Kay Joslin, Steve Law, Arnold Marchant, Ian J. Mason, Paul R. Munro, Jim Nierobisz, Andrew Pearce, Richard David Perrin, Kevin D. Plant, Eugene Raby, Alan J. C. Rawlings, Mike Richardt, Steven Roberts, Josh Robinson, Robert Różański, Alan Ruffle, Helen Sherwood, Russell Sherwood, Iain Sneddon, Alan B. Sutton, Kevin J. Thurlow, James Toon, John Vivante-Sowter, Marc R. Wakeham, Richard Ward, Francis Watson, Richard Webster, Ben A. Wood, Stephen Woodhouse.

Note: from the current entries there is only 1 player rated over 2400 and 10 rated above 2360.

If you entered last year and are considering entering this year, please do not leave it until the last minute. The closing date of the 31st August is looming, with only 2 days remaining. Your entry will not be valid if made after the 31st August.

It is not too later to enter!

To reiterate: Entries can be made directly to the Tournament Organiser, Keith Kitson or via the National Federation. Please note that these are the only entry routes for this event.

The closing date for entries is 31st August 2023.

Keith Kitson
BCCC Tournament Organiser


 

World Champion at ICCF Congress

The current world champion Jon Edwards (USA) at the ICCF congress in Amsterdam.


German Invitation Events

German Invitational Events
NameTournament
Praveen Kumar RallabandiGermany Advanced Masters 08-A - Category 10 / 2476+
Ian M. PhebyGermany Candidate Masters 09-A - Category 7 / 2401+
Matthew W. BaileyGermany Candidate Masters 09-B - Category 6 / 2376+
David J. GroblerGermany Candidate Masters 09-D - Category 5 / 2351+
Dawn L. WilliamsonGermany CCM/CCE 06 A - Category 5 / 2351+
Oliver GrahamGermany CCM/CCE 06 C - Category 1 / 2251+
Richard WilliamsGermany Candidate Masters 09-C - Category 6 / 2376+
James P. WilkinsonGermany CCM/CCE 06 C - Category 1 / 2251+

We wish them all success in their events.


 

The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC) is the premier tournament on the British CC calendar.
Running continuously since 1921 and open to all British players, the BCCC has carried ICCF title norms since 2016.

The BCCC caters for players of all levels and consists of a Championship, one or more candidate’s sections and a number of reserves sections.

The BCCC is organised jointly by the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC), the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (ScoCCA) and the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF).

Further details of the tournament, including the full rules and a list of previous winners, are available on the EFCC website:

https://www.efcchess.org.uk/bcccRules.html

There is a first prize of £100 and a second prize of £50.

Entries close on August 31st and play is due to commence in September 2023. Entries can be made directly to Tournament Organiser, Keith Kitson or via the National Federation. Please note that these are the only entry routes for this event.

The BCCC is a highly competitive event and we are unable to confirm a player's final allocation at the time of entry.

For more details, please contact Keith Kitson or Phillip Beckett.

Entries and the entry fee of £12 should be received by Keith Kitson no later than 31st August 2023. If you have a qualification to a specific division, please state this at the time of entry.

Sent by Dave Kilgour (Scotland), Phill Beckett (England) and Russell Sherwood (Wales)


 

New Title

The player Stephen Hooker with ICCF ID 213068 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert. Congratulations.


 

3rd English Veterans Championship Final

The 3rd English Veterans Championship final is now complete. Congratulations to:

First place:                  Leslie K. G. Eastoe
Equal second place:   Michael J. Blake, Michael B. Squires, Peter L. Coleman.

The cross table for the tournament can be found at www.iccf.com/event?id=97337

Ian M Pheby
TO, 3rd EVCCC


 

England Fourth in North Seas Event

In the recently concluded North Seas Event England finished fourth behind Germany I, Sweden and Belgium.

We defeated Sweden and Denmark, drew with Belgium, Germany 2, Netherlands and Scotland, losing narrowly to Germany 1 and Norway.

Individual Results
1. Les Ellis 8 draws
2. Ken Owen 8 draws
3. James Wilkinson 8 draws
4 Arnold Marchant 8 draws
5 Stephen Woodhouse 1 win 7 draws
6 Stephen Ruthen 2 wins 4 draws 2 losses

Well played.

See detailed results at Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

New Title

The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Master awarded to player Kenneth Watkins with ICCF ID 212686 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner. Congratulations.


 

Peter C Gibbs†

It is my sad duty to inform everyone of the death of Peter C Gibbs. He was 89 years old.

Peter made a significant contribution to the EFCC where he held several posts namely:

EFCC Auditor from 1965 to 1971
British Veterans CCC Tournament Organiser from 2000 to 2011
EFCC President from 1988 to 1991

Peter also was a member of several of EFCC’s sub-committees at various times between 1965 and 2007.

Peter won the British Veterans Correspondence Chess Championship in 1999-2000. Here is one of Peter’s wins in this Championship against an ICCF International Master:

Gibbs,Peter C - Shaw,SS [B17]
BVCCC, 1999

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 Bd6 8.Qe2 h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 Nf6 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Bd2 b6 13.O-O-O Bb7 14.Ne5 c5 15.Bb5+ Ke7 16.dxc5 Qxc5 17.a3 Nd5 18.Kb1 g5 19.c4 Nf4 20.Bxf4 gxf4 21.Rxd6 Qxd6 22.Qh5 Be4+ 23.Kc1 Rh7 24.Rd1 Bd5 25.cxd5 exd5 26.Bc4 f3 27.gxf3 Qf6 28.Rxd5 Qg5+ 29.Qxg5+ hxg5 30.Rd7+ Kf8 31.Kd2 Re8 32.Rxf7+ Rxf7 33.Nxf7 1-0

On behalf of the EFCC, my condolences to Peter’s family, friends, and colleagues at this sad time.

Ian M Pheby
EFCC President


 

Jo A Wharrier

I am pleased to report that Jo has qualified for the Final of Veterans World Cup 12 which is being contested by fifteen players. Jo qualified through Preliminary and Semi-final stages to play in this important Category 6 tournament where a prize fund of 2,600 Euros is available to the successful players.

The cross table of the tournament may be found at www.iccf.com/event?id=102538

The EFCC wishes Jo good luck in his games and hopes he has a successful tournament.

Ian M Pheby
EFCC President


 

Congress Proposals

Congress Proposals - Proposals (iccf.com)

The proposals will be debated at Congress. If anyone would like to express their opinions, please get in touch with the International Secretary via the website link.


 

Francois Riva Memorial Team Tournament

Teams for the
Francois Riva Memorial Team Tournament

England A

1 Ian Mason
2 Tim Spanton
3 Arnold Marchant
4 James Toon
5 Stephen Hooker
6 Valerie Craven

Follow their progress in Semi Final 1 - Cross Table (iccf.com)

They will be crossing swords with Scotland.

England B

1 Steve Cole
2 John Vivante-Sowter
3 Brian Herriot
4 Robert Rozanski
5 Peter Cunningham
6 Alan Sutton

Follow their progress in Semi Final 3 - Cross Table (iccf.com)

They will be crossing swords with Wales A


 

Good Luck To Our Players in World Championship Semi Finals

We wish our players the best of luck in securing places in the Candidates section of the World Championship.
They will need to finish in the first two places in their section (it will be tough).

Les Ellis in section 1 - Cross Table (iccf.com)
Gary Maquire in section 3 - Cross Table (iccf.com)
Jo Wharrier in section 4 - Cross Table (iccf.com)
Ajoy Mukherjee in section 5 - Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

Ian M Pheby Celebration Event Section B

Congratulations to the four joint winners : Harry Gromotka, Allan Buchan, Stan Grayland and Keith Kitson.

The results and games can be accessed by following the link - Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

Congratulations to Bruce Riddle

Bruce has won the Ray Pomeroy Memorial Section E by a clear point dropping only one draw.

The table and games can be seen by following the link - Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

England through to the 3rd Round of World Team Cup

The Match against the USA has concluded and we clinched victory by two points - Cross Table (iccf.com)

We were in a group with France and the USA. We drew with France (all games drawn) and France only beat the USA by a single point. So we have sneaked through on tie break.

Well played all of the team.


 

New Title

The player Robert Marks with ICCF ID 212535 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF International Master.

This title is now pending and subject to confirmation of the results of the final norm by the tournament director, and of the title by the qualifications commissioner.


 

Match Drawn v France

In the second round of the world knock out England have drawn their match against France - Cross Table (iccf.com)

We are in a group with the USA and France.

Currently we lead the USA by two points with two games still in play - Cross Table (iccf.com)

and France lead USA 20-19 with one game in play.

It is going to be close!


 

Tournament Announcement – 14th ICCF Veterans World Cup (VWC14)

The ICCF is holding VWC14 which is being organised by the Netherlands Federation for Correspondence Chess (NBC). Entries can now be made by either Direct Entry (Click on “New entries” then “World Cups” then “Enter”), or through the National Federation at https://efcchess.org.uk (entry fee £10.00 per entry).

The tournament is open to all players who are at least 60 years old on 1st September 2023.

The tournament will be held in three stages with a total prize fund of 6,000 Euros which will be distributed between the three stages once the total entry is known. Medals will also be awarded to the first three places in the final.

It is envisaged that groups at the preliminary and semi-final stages will comprise of 11 players (10 games) or 13 players (12 games) played by webserver with a rate of play of 550 days Triple Block without "guaranteed time". The final will be played with "guaranteed time".

Although the number of preliminary groups which each player may enter is unlimited, no player will qualify for more than two semi-final groups or for more than one place in the final.

The closing date for entries is 25th July 2023.

The full announcement may be seen on the ICCF website at https://iccf.com/message?message=1611

Good luck!

Ian M Pheby
EFCC President


 

New Title

The player Arnold Marchant with ICCF ID 210690 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


Olympiad Final 21

England has finished in sixth place out of thirteen Federations in Olympiad Final 21. England finished only half a point behind third place. All of the team produced a very good performance. They were in board order: 1. GM Nigel Robson; 2. GM Richard V.M. Hall; 3. SIM Harvey D. Williamson; 4. SIM Praveen Kumar Rallabandi; 5. SIM Nigel G. Burne; 6. SIM Ian M Pheby. Congratulations to all those who represented England in this important event.

The best performance was produced by SIM Praveen Kumar Rallabandi who won his board and narrowly missed obtaining a GM Norm.

The event was won by Germany who finished one and a half points ahead of England.

The cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=83159

Ian Pheby
England Captain


 

New Title

The player Kevin J. Thurlow with ICCF ID 210507 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


 

Defeat against Wales

Wales beat England.

Our friends from Wales scored a victory against England - Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

Alan Barker RIP

Alan Barker died 13 March 2023 aged 60.

A keen football fan, Liverpool being his favourite team.
He loved going to see rock bands live.
But his main hobby was correspondence chess playing for a number of different teams over 40+ years.

Condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.


New Title

The player Mark Gittens with ICCF ID 213184 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


English Championship

The English Championship is under way. Follow the progress of the events :

Championship Cross Table (iccf.com)
Semi Final A Cross Table (iccf.com)
Semi Final B Cross Table (iccf.com)
Preliminary Group Cross Table (iccf.com)


 

Good Luck to our Players in the Preliminaries of the World Championship

The following English players are taking part in the first stage of the World Championship.

Richard Webster in section 1 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Brian Thompson in section 2 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Dawn Williamson in section 3 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Keith Kitson in section 5 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Les Ellis in section 8 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Ian Maver in section 9 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Richard Ward in section 13 Cross Table (iccf.com)
Frank McDermott in section 14 Cross Table (iccf.com)

Winners and Runners-up qualify for the next round.

We wish them all good luck.


 

ENGLISH FEDERATION FOR CORRESPONDENCE CHESS

Agenda for the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
to be held on Saturday 18th March 2023 in Biggleswade, Befordshire.

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting (12th March 2022)

3. Matters Arising

4. General Secretary’s Report (John)

5. International Secretary’s Report (Phill)

6. Treasurer’s Report (Ian)

7. Election of Officers :-
    President
    General Secretary
    International Secretary
    Treasurer
    Auditor

8. Any Other Business

John Rhodes 26/02/2023


New Friendly v Romania

Cross Table (iccf.com).

We have a new friendly v Romania

It will be close.


 

Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Executive Committee Meeting (EC) of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess will be held in Bedfordshire, on Saturday 18th March 2023.

If any EFCC Patrons have any questions or comments to raise at our AGM or EC Meetings, please email - contact@efcchess.org.uk by 25th February 2023.

John Rhodes, General Secretary


England Finish Third in George D. Pyrich Memorial Team Tournament Final

A great team performance resulted in England going through the event undefeated -
beating Lithuania 1, Switzerland, Portugal and Slovakia - and drawing with Slovenia, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Lithuania 2, Panama, Latvia and Germany.

Individual performances :
Tom Herman 6/12 (no losses)
Richard Webster 6.5/12 (no losses)
Mike Richardt 6.5/12 (no losses)
Barry Shepard 6/12 (no losses)
Tim Spanton 6/12 (no losses)
Nigel Norman 7.5.12 (no losses)

Cross Table (iccf.com).


 

Friendly against Cuba

We have a new friendly against Cuba (starting 12/2/23).

Follow the progress : Cross Table (iccf.com).

The gradings look fairly even, so a tight match is in prospect.

Good luck to all our players.


 

2023 Counties and Districts Correspondence Chess Championship

The Joint British Committee is pleased to announce the 2023 Counties and Districts Correspondence Chess Championship.

As in the past the event will be made up of 3 Divisions of teams of 8 players, using the Hutton pairing system. As each player only undertakes 2 games, this is an ideal event for both new and experienced players.

The closing date for entries is the 17th of February, with an expected start date of the 1st of March, leading to an end date of 29/01/2024 with any remaining games going to Adjudication. The entry fee is £15 per team and entries should be sent to the Tournament Organiser, Russell Sherwood (Wales), who will confirm payment options. Players in established teams should contact their team captains. New players wishing to take part should contact Phil Beckett (ENG) , Gordon Anderson (SCO) or Russell Sherwood (Wales) for encouragement and advice on possible teams. As a reminder, place of birth, education or residence are all valid qualification reasons for team membership.

The rules may be found here.


 

Nol van't Riet Team Tournament SF 1

England 2 finished in last place, but we were the weakest team by over 100 points per board!

There were some good individual performances:
Board one Peter Cunningham 2/6
Board two Richard Perrin 3/6 (no losses)
Board three Arnold Marchant 3 1/2 / 6 (best score on board)
Board four Duncan Chambers 2/6
Board five Bob Beddoe 1 1/2 /6
Board six Peter Ackley 1 1/2 /6

All fought hard!

We lost three matches by a single point against Germany 1, Australia and Romania.

All games and results can be seen at Cross Table (iccf.com)


Memorial Sébastien Marez (FRA)

Memorial Sébastien Marez (FRA)
The French Federation invited players from England to participate.

Bill Lumley will represent England in Section A.
Jo Wharrier and Leslie Eastoe will represent England in Section B.

Invitational tournament organized and sponsored by AJEC in memoriam of Sebastien Marez, who passed away in 2022 and has been a senior AJEC official for many years.

Memorial Sébastien Marez A
13 players
Round robin tournament
Cat. 8 - 9
Prizes: (will be shared by the players with the same number of points, no tie break will apply)
500€ for the first place,
300€ for the second place,
200€ for the third place.

Memorial Sébastien Marez B
13 players
Round robin tournament
Cat. 5 - 6
Prizes: (will be shared by the players with the same number of points, no tie break will apply)
500€ for the first place,
300€ for the second place,
200€ for the third place.

We wish them good fortune in the event.


Entries received for the 4th English CC Championship – is your name on this list?

As of 22nd January 2023 the following entries have been received so far for the 4th English CC Championship:

Nigel Aitken; Matthew W. Bailey; Phillip J. Beckett; Doug Beer; Michael J. Blake; Trevor S. Brotherton; Graeme Carey; Steve Cole; Peter L. Coleman; Alastair Cowan; Valerie Craven; Matthew Cutler; Aadishesh Devalia; Danny Dixon; Les Ellis; Clive F. Girling; Brian G. E. Gosling; David Hardingham; Graham S. Hassell; George Hollands; Stephen Hooker; Stephen J. Hughes; Kay Joslin; Keith Kitson; Arnold Marchant; Frank J. McDermott; Peter S. Morton; Nigel Norman; Richard David Perrin; Ian M. Pheby; Kevin D. Plant; Alan J. C. Rawlings; Anthony Arthur Roberts; Stephen Roberts; Robert Różański; Alan Ruffle; Tony Stiles; Alan B. Sutton; Joshua Edwin Ben Swindells; Brian Thompson; James Toon; Francis Watson; Richard Webster; Stephen Woodhouse.

It is not too later to enter! Details of how to enter are given in the announcement of this Championship as listed on this website. The closing date for entries is 1st February 2023.

Ian M Pheby
EFCC President


4th EU Amateur Cup Semi Finals

Good luck to our players in the semi finals ;

Ben Wood in semi Final 1 - Cross Table (iccf.com)

Phill Beckett in semi Final 2 - Cross Table (iccf.com)

There are three semi finals so it is likely a top four finish should get a place in the final.


Entries Received for the 4th English CC Championship

The following entries have been received so far for the 4th English CC Championship:

Matthew W. Bailey; Phillip J. Beckett; Michael J. Blake; Alastair Cowan; Valerie Craven; Danny Dixon; Brian G. E. Gosling; Graham S. Hassell; George Hollands; Stephen Hooker; Stephen J. Hughes; Kay Joslin; Keith Kitson; Arnold Marchant; Frank J. McDermott; Peter S. Morton; Ian M. Pheby; Anthony Arthur Roberts; Stephen Roberts; Robert Różański; Alan Ruffle; Tony Stiles; Alan B. Sutton; Joshua Edwin Ben Swindells; Brian Thompson; James Toon; Richard Webster; Stephen Woodhouse.

It is not too later to enter! Details of how to enter are given in the announcement of this Championship as listed on this website. The closing date for entries is 1st February 2023.

Ian M Pheby,
EFCC President


Qualifications for Preliminaries – 47th WCCC

Congratulations to the following who have qualifications for the preliminaries of the World Championships.

Edward Holland, Keith Kitson, Gerard Le-Marchel, Ian Maver, Frank McDermott, John Pugh, Richard Webster, David Weldon and Richard Ward.

Other players may qualify via title, grades etc. details of which are explained on the ICCF Home Page :

Cross Table (iccf.com)


Seasonal Greetings!

As we approach the festive season I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of England’s players and their families for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year. I hope that 2023 will prove to be a better year for everyone.

I also hope that you enjoy success in your games in 2023 and beyond.

Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


Extraordinary General Meeting

The EFCC Executive Committee announce that an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be held on 21st January 2023 at 10:30am as a Zoom meeting. Eligible players wishing to attend the meeting should register their interest with the EFCC Secretary, John Rhodes, by no later than 21st December 2022 by email to . The business of the EGM shall be "Proposals to amend the EFCC Constitution.". The EFCC Secretary will inform registered players of the Zoom address in due course.

John D Rhodes
EFCC General Secretary


New Match V Wales

We have arranged a match for players new to UCCF, most of whom do not have a grade. It starts soon and should be both fast and exciting.
Good luck to the English players:

Cross Table (iccf.com)


Praveen Rallabandi Qualifies for Candidates

Praveen Rallabandi is one step away from World Championship Final:

Cross Table (iccf.com)

In an incredibly close event (only two decisive games) Praveen edged home on tie break.

He will qualify for the next cycle of the World Championship Candidates and if he wins, a place in the World Championship Final.


English Success in 7th Webserver Final

English Success in 7th Webserver Final:

Cross Table (iccf.com)

Praveen Rallabandi, Ian Pheby and Tom Herman were in joint third position - another incredibly tight event.


Pomeroy Memorial

This tournament is being held in memory of Raymond J Pomeroy who, amongst his other interests, organised the United Kingdom’s Civil Service correspondence chess teams for fifty years despite periods of serious ill-health. He was elected as a Vice-President of the Civil Service Chess Association (CSCA) and the London Civil Service, Post Office and Municipal Chess League (LCSPO&MCL) in 1993 for his outstanding services to Civil Service chess.

That Ray has carried out all of his responsibilities to a significantly high standard for the benefit of so many chess players throughout the United Kingdom testifies to his determination and his commitment which few equal. Without Ray’s excellent work, correspondence chess in particular within various Bodies including the CSCA would likely to have ceased.

In memory of Ray Pomeroy we have six sections:

Section A
Cross Table (iccf.com)

Section B
Cross Table (iccf.com)

Section C
Cross Table (iccf.com)

Section D
Cross Table (iccf.com)

Section E
Cross Table (iccf.com)

Section F
Cross Table (iccf.com)


3rd English Veterans Championship Semi-Final B

Congratulations to Stephen Hooker for winning the 3rd English Veterans Championship Semi-Final B with an unbeaten score of 6½ out of 8.

Stephen has, subject to entry, qualified for the 4th EVCCC Championship Final which will start in March 2024.

Ian M Pheby, TO


3rd English Veterans Championship Semi-Final A

Congratulations to Tony Steward Anderson for winning the 3rd English Veterans Championship Semi-Final A with an unbeaten score of 6½ out of 8.

Tony has, subject to entry, qualified for the 4th EVCCC Championship Final which will start in March 2024.

Ian M Pheby, TO


New Titles

Anthony Thistlewood Level 2 TD

Anthony Thistlewood has now served as a Tournament Director (TD) for over 200 completed games, and therefore has automatically been promoted from a Level 1 TD to a Level 2 TD.

Trevor Brotherton

The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Master awarded to player Trevor S. Brotherton with ICCF ID 210823 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.

Congratulations to both.


Paul Pope - International Arbiter

Paul Pope with his IA certificate and medal.
Congratulations.



Announcement for the 4th English CC Championship!

Announcement for the 4th English CC Championship!

The English Federation of Correspondence Chess (EFCC) is pleased to announce that the 4th English Correspondence Chess Championship (ECCC) will be held which will start in March 2023. All English players are invited to enter England’s premier tournament!

The entry fee is still £12.00.

The full Rules, tournament structure, eligibility, prizes, etc. can be seen under "English CC Championship (ECCC) in the left-hand Menu, or by clicking here: https://efcchess.org.uk/eccc.html

The prize fund for this year! The Champion will receive a cheque for £200 together with an engraved trophy to retain. Monetary prizes will also be available to those finishing in second, third and fourth places of the Championship, and also for the first two places in the semi-final sections.

There shall be a Championship final, semi-finals & preliminary sections with all standards of player catered for. The games will be played on the ICCF webserver, and the tournament duration shall be approximately 22 months of playing time. The time limit shall be 40 days for each 10 moves.

Entries may be made by PayPal through the 'Online Fee Payment' section on the left hand side of this web page quoting “4th ECCC”. Alternatively, entries may be sent to the Tournament Organiser, Stan Grayland (address: 65 Newman Way, Rednal, Birmingham, B45 9LU) with a cheque for £12.00 made payable to “EFCC”.

The closing date for entries is 1st February 2023. Pairings will be issued as soon as possible after that date.

All English chess players are heartily invited to enter this tournament, both for the enjoyment of the games and for friendly contact/communication.

Tournament Organiser: Stan Grayland

(Email Stan Here)


 

Defeat in Friendly Against Norway

England were beaten by Norway in the recently completed Friendly International.

Cross Table (iccf.com)

There were several highlights, most notable George Wharam's defeat of GM Raymond Boger 1.5-0.5


New Title

The player Philip Barber with ICCF ID 218010 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


RIP John Mair

All the chess community will be sad to hear of the sudden death of our chess friend John Mair. Our condolences are extended to his family and friends.


New Title

The player Trevor S. Brotherton with ICCF ID 210823 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


Valerie Craven

Valerie Craven with her CCE certificate.



New Title

The player John S. Shaw with ICCF ID 212835 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


New Title

The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert awarded to player Philip Barber with ICCF ID 218010 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.
Congratulations.


George Wharam

George Wharam with his IM certificate.



New Friendlies

England v Philippines - Cross Table (iccf.com)

A Friendly against ICCF's newest member the Philippines.

England v Indonesia - Cross Table (iccf.com)

Both look closely matched so follow the progress.


New Title

The player Valerie Craven has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.
Congratulations.


British Championships Now Online

All the tables can now be seen on the ICCF website.

Penrose Memorial Championship 2022-2024
Penrose Memorial Candidates A 2022-2024
Penrose Memorial Candidates B 2022-2024
Penrose Memorial Reserves 2022-2024

Norms are available in the Championship and Candidates.

The Reserves are using the Silli pairing system so that all players get 14 games.


Executive Committee Meeting

Our next Executive Committee Meeting will be held on Saturday 22nd October 2022 in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

If any EFCC Members have anything that they would like discussed at our meeting, please email me contact@efcchess.org.uk by 30th September 2022 at the latest.

John Rhodes, General Secretary


James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson with his CCM medal.



Colin Hipwell

Colin Hipwell with his IA medal and certificate.



Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

All of England’s correspondence chess players will join with me in mourning the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who sadly died on 8th September 2022. We will all remember her leadership and devotion to duty which has been an example to us all. Her loss will be deeply felt by many throughout not only England but also throughout the world.

On behalf of all England’s correspondence chess players, I wish to express our deepest sympathies to His Majesty King Charles III and other members of the Royal Family at this extremely sad time.

God save the King.

Ian M Pheby

President, English Federation for Correspondence Chess


New Title

The player James P. Wilkinson with ICCF ID 210332 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


Chris Owen RIP

Chess players from around the world will be sad to hear of the death of Chris. He had fought a valiant battle against cancer for the last ten years. He will be sadly missed.


Richard Hall in Candidates

We wish Richard Hall good luck in the World Championship Candidates where the top two players qualify for a place in the World Final.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


Tribute to Ray Pomeroy

Ray recently received an ECF President’s Award for his services to chess shortly before he died, and his citation which appears on the ECF website is as follows:

Ray Pomeroy
Nominated by Kevin J Thurlow

As a representative of the London Hostels Association Sports & Social Committee Ray Pomeroy was on the committee that founded the Monck Street Civil Service Sports & Social Club in the late 1960s. Ray has played water polo and cricket, played and refereed rugby, and is also interested in bird-watching. Ray started organizing chess in 1961 at school and has continued ever since.

He joined Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) in 1963 and played for Credex. He ran the Civil Service Team Correspondence Chess League from 1973 to 1978 and in his second year he built the number of teams which played from 12 to 47. Ray was the Civil Service Correspondence Chess Individual Tournament Organizer from 1973 to 1980.

Ray started organising the Civil Service teams in the British Correspondence Chess League in 1973 and he continues to this day! He has been the Civil Service Correspondence Chess Team Captain since 1973, at one stage running ten teams.

He was also the Civil Service match captain in OTB matches from 1973/4 to 1976/7. Over and above these valuable contributions, he was also an OTB League Recorder from 1980 to 1988.

Ray Pomeroy was elected as a Vice-President of the Civil Service Chess Association (CSCA) and the London Civil Service, Post Office and Municipal Chess League (LCSPO&MCL) in 1993 for his outstanding services to Civil Service chess.

Ray has also been the controller of division 2 of the British Correspondence Chess League, as well as a member of the Macclesfield Chess Club, Lytham & St. Annes Chess Club, the National Correspondence Chess Club, and the Social Correspondence Chess Association where he was the tournament controller.

Ray Pomeroy’s contribution to chess for over fifty years is quite outstanding! He has carried out these duties despite periods of serious ill-health. It is well known how difficult it is to find people willing to carry out committee work. That Ray has carried out all of his responsibilities to a significantly high standard for the benefit of so many chess players throughout the United Kingdom testifies to his determination and his commitment which few equal. Without Ray’s excellent work, correspondence chess in particular within various Bodies including the CSCA would likely to have ceased.

We offer our condolences to his family, he will be greatly missed.


Two Tough Games for England in Second Round of World Team Cup

After beating Croatia in the First Round England have two tough games;

V USA

Cross Table (iccf.com)

v France

Cross Table (iccf.com)


England Edge Close Match With Sweden

England beat Sweden by a single point - Cross Table (iccf.com)

The last game to finish clinched the match as the teams were tied. Mark Pooley kept his head and scored the decisive point ! - ICCF Game


Alan Rawlings Successes

First Place in the 70th ICCF Jubilee event for officials C - Cross Table (iccf.com)

Second Place in WCCC44SF 6 which qualifies for a place in the World Championship Candidates - Cross Table (iccf.com)


CCM Arthur F. Reed RIP

CCM Arthur F. Reed RIP

On Friday 19th August 2022 Correspondence Chess Master Arthur Reed passed away in hospital. Arthur had been playing correspondence chess for Hertfordshire for thirty-five years he was telling me just a fortnight before his death and was looking forward to starting another season towards the end of the year. He played on the ICCF server from 1996 and has since completed over 900 games winning about 25% of them. He regained his high rating of 2285 achieved in 1999, having a break between 2003-2010, with a projected rating of 2285 in 2022. He played in 116 tournaments and gained his CCE title in 2019 and his CCM title in 2021.

Arthur had a lively attacking style as anyone who played him would agree and as one player said “I always enjoyed my games against Arthur”. He will be greatly missed by his Hertfordshire team mates and by players around the world.

John Rhodes


Report from the ICCF Congress (Glasgow)

The following is my report from the Congress (Summary of main points).

The references are to the agenda items (Note some were done in a different order).

002 ICCF services protection was passed (with a 2/3 majority)
006 Cape Verde dismissed from ICCF
007 Russia's suspension reconfirmed
008 Belarus suspension reconfirmed
009 Services committee Budget approved
010 Next Congress will take place in Amsterdam next year
020 The Black tie tie break was defeated
021 Suggested new flag rules was defeated
022 New voting schedule confirmed
023 Discarded as 030 adopted
024 Discarded as 030 adopted
025 Withdrawn
026 Deceased players will no longer be shown on the suspension list
028 IAs will need to do a refresher test every year passed
(029 030 ) Simplification of withdrawal system was passed
031 Dead Man's Defence revision was defeated so it remains the same ie. the TD can only warn the player
032 A simplified system of applying for IA title was passed
033A & 033B were taken together and this defined those withdrawals in Silli system games will be adjudicated
034 The best result on top board in Olympiads qualifies for a GM norm assuming it is at least +1 was passed
035 draw offer restriction in standard play events was defeated
036 draw offer restriction in Triple Block events was also defeated
037 New structure of fees confirmed
038 Fee reduction for developing nations confirmed
039 Each federation will be given some free entries to use how they choose this was passed
040 ICCF will donate 6000 euros to the Federation organising Congress passed
041 Zones must submit audited accounts to ICCF passed
042 This was a slightly amended version of 2 this was also passed but 2 takes precedence
043 A new Super Regional Controller was approved in principle this ensures that European and other regional events (with more than 6 nations can be arranged)
044 A proposal to establish a new European Zone was defeated so no new European Zone
050A A new rating system to be introduced passed
050B A proposal to rate Balck wins more highly was defeated
050C A Players guide to grading to be written and made available to all players was passed


Pictures from the Opening of the ICCF Congress (Glasgow)

Scottish Chess President opening the congress.


Scottish Folk group which provided entertainment at the opening ceremony.



ICCF Congress Award Presentation

Peter Rice receiving his IM award at Congress Glasgow.

Rice family celebration of Peter's IM title.


New Title

The player Kevin D. Plant with ICCF ID 211509 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
Congratulations.


The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC) is the premier tournament on the British CC calendar.
Running continuously since 1921 and open to all British players, the BCCC has carried ICCF title norms since 2016.

The BCCC caters for players of all levels and consists of a Championship, one or more candidate’s sections and a number of reserves sections.

The BCCC is organised jointly by the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC), the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (ScoCCA) and the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF).

Further details of the tournament, including the full rules and a list of previous winners, are available on the EFCC website:

https://www.efcchess.org.uk/bcccRules.html

Last season’s crosstables can be viewed here:

  Championship   Reserves

  https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95269

 

  https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95292

  Candidates

 

  https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95293

  https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95290

 

  https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95294

  https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95291

 

There is a first prize of £100 and a second prize of £50.

Entries close on August 31st and play is due to commence in September 2022. Entries can be made directly to Tournament Organiser, Phill Beckett or via the National Federation. Please note that these are the only entry routes for this event.

The BCCC is a highly competitive event and we are unable to confirm a player's final allocation at the time of entry. If you have a qualification for a particular section it is important that you state it with your entry.

For more details please contact your National Federation or Phillip Beckett ().

Entries and the entry fee of £12 should be received by Phill Beckett no later than 31st August 2022.

Sent by Russell Sherwood (Wales), Phill Beckett (England) and Gordon Anderson (Scotland)


 

World Semi-Finals

Good Luck to our players Ian Pheby, Angus James, Jo Wharrier and John Pugh.

Ian Pheby    Cross Table (iccf.com)
Angus James    Cross Table (iccf.com)
Jo Wharrier    Cross Table (iccf.com)
John Pugh    Cross Table (iccf.com)

We wish them all luck in these tough sections.


70th ICCF Jubilee Event for Officials A2

Congratulations to Ian Pheby who finished in second place in this strong event.

The cross table may be seen at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91044


3rd English Championship Final

The 3rd English Championship Final is now complete. Congratulations to the following winners:

Equal first place: Praveen Kumar Rallabandi and Brian Thompson with a score of 8/14 (both receive a trophy for retention and £225 in prize money).

Equal third place: Michael B. Squires and Michael J. Blake with a score of 7½/14 (both receive £75 in prize money).

The cross table may be seen at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91202

Ian M Pheby
EFCC President


Horst Rittner Team Tournament

Pairings now out !

England entered two teams in this event. You can follow their progress as follows:

England A who are top seeds in their section;

Cross Table (iccf.com)

England B are up against it being bottom seeds in their section!

Cross Table (iccf.com)

We wish both teams success.


Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament Final

Strong England Team among the favourites in the Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament Final.

England have the strongest team in the under 2300 event final. Their average grade is over 2300! This apparent anomaly is that the team needed to be Under 2300 in the preliminaries, but they have improved!

Cross Table (iccf.com)


London v Edinburgh Match

Historic Match Re-enacted

The Edinburgh Chess Club is the oldest chess club in Scotland, established in 1822 and one of the oldest chess clubs in the world. As part of the Club's bi-centenary celebrations this match against London is being played as a sequel to their original match with London which started in 1824.

Follow the progress;

Cross Table (iccf.com)


New Titles

Keith Kitson has now served as a Tournament Director (TD) for over 200 completed games, and therefore has automatically been promoted from a Level 1 TD to a Level 2 TD.

The player George Hollands with ICCF ID 211994 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

Congratulations to both.


70th ICCF Jubilee event for officials Section E

Congratulations to Phill Beckett and Ben wood who took second and third place respectively in the 70th ICCF Jubilee event for officials Section E.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


German International events

The following players will be competing in the Germany Invitation events due to start shortly. We wish them every success.

ENGSIM212704Rallabandi, Praveen Kumar2477GER AM 07 A
ENGIM210108Wharrier, Jo A.2435GER Candidate Master 08 A
ENGSIM210514Pheby, Ian M.2422GER M 10 - B
ENGIM211229Ellis, Les2417GER Candidate Master 08 A
ENGCCM210717Blake, Michael J.2386GER Candidate Master 08 B
ENGIM211906Rice, Peter2383GER Candidate Master 08 B
ENGCCM210370Owen, K. J.2370Germany CCMCCE 05 A
ENGLGM212314Williamson, Dawn L.2366Germany CCMCCE 05 A


New International Match v Mexico

We have a new match against our Chess Friends from Mexico.

The grades are fairly well matched and we look forward to a close encounter.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


New Title

The player Alastair Cowan with ICCF ID 212819 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

Congratulations.


New Title

The player Clive F. Girling with ICCF ID 210919 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

Congratulations.


Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament SF4

The England 1 team qualified for the final by finishing second in their semi final.

England defeated all the other teams losing only to the Italian team on tie break, both teams finishing with 31 points. England lost having suffered their only defeat to Italy.

Cross Table (iccf.com)

Well done and good luck in the final.


New Title

The player Colin J. Lyne with ICCF ID 210641 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

Congratulations.


2022 WCCC Preliminaries

- 15 Sections with 13 players each (189 players + 6 double entries)
- Average rating of players in any Section: 2346
- Players from 49 different countries
- 1 or 2 players from the most represented countries and no more than 1 player from the other countries in each Section
- 2 GM; 16 SIM; 79 IM; 74 CCM; 15 CCE; 1 LGM
- The winner and the runner-up of each Section (i.e. 30 players) qualify to a WCCC Semi-Final

Best wishes to all the English players in the following sections;

Les Ellis in Cross Table (iccf.com)
Alan Rawlings in Cross Table (iccf.com)
Steve Cade in Cross Table (iccf.com)


Switzerland v England 2020

England beat Croatia in World Team Cup.
Well played team.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


New Title

Congratulations.
The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert awarded to player Clive F. Girling with ICCF ID 210919 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.


Switzerland v England 2020

England were defeated in their recent friendly against Switzerland.

Cross Table (iccf.com)


ICCF Congress Proposal and Results

At the recent ICCF Extraordinary Congress the following motions were debated and passed;

  • The Russian and Belarusian Federations are now suspended.
  • Russian and Belarusian players will be able to continue to play games and enter events with isolated player status.
  • Any Ukrainian games not started by the designated date will go through an automated adjudication process. Whilst this approach has shortcomings, (a) The games cannot be stopped indefinitely and (b) It is a least-worst option in terms of approach.
  • All the proposals will be reviewed at the Glasgow Congress.
  • Games involving Russian and Belarusian players should continue as normal. If you do not wish to communicate with your opponent, please request your TD to remove this option.


  • England Teams for Horst Rittner Team Tournament

    England A

    1. Nigel Norman 210619
    2. Trevor Brotherton 210823
    3. Arnold Marchant 210690
    4. Steve Cole 210447
    5. John Vivante-Sowter 210953
    6. Alan Sutton 211537

    England B

    1. Peter Ackley 211537
    2. Valarie Craven 210605
    3. Tony Stewart Anderson 213100
    4. Robert Bruce 212273
    5. Joe Primrose 211809
    6. Graham Carey 212954


    New Titles

    A couple of new titles;

    IA Title

    The EFCC are pleased to congratulate Paul Pope on the recent award of this title. It has involved being TD for over 2000 games.

    IM Title

    The EFCC are pleased to congratulate George Wharam. At 17 he is certainly the youngest English player to achieve the title and certainly one of the youngest in the world!
    It is hoped to feature an article on this achievement.


    David Anderton, OBE †

    David Anderton, OBE †

    02-viii-1941 - 01-iv-2022

    Following a two year struggle with cancer, EFCC life patron David Anderton has died. Our sincere condolences go to his wife Doreen and his family. Doreen Anderton also has an ICCF rating as does Matthew Anderton. I can find no better way to begin a tribute than with Malcolm Pein: “A giant of English chess, always a source of good advice, fine administrator and accomplished player.”

    As far as our own brand of chess goes, he had been an ICCF IM since 2002. His first recorded rating in the ICCF database was in 1991. Within two years he had played 40 games and achieved the roughly-2400 rating with which he ended his participation in the correspondence game in 2019. He had completed 159 games and his highest rating was 2435 in 2005.

    He was taught chess by his father at the age of 5 years and his FIDE rating was a little higher than his ICCF one. He played many more competitive games in the OTB form than by correspondence, about 50 a year. He had travelled as far afield to compete as Argentina, Moscow, Israel and Dubai.

    As far as administration goes he was not active in the correspondence federations, but was president of the British Chess Federation from 1979 to 1982, and international director from 1982 to 1990. He was non-playing captain of England OTB teams that won three silver medals and three bronze medals in separate Olympiads beginning in 1982. He lived and worked in the Midlands, having been born in Walsall. His career was in the Law, beginning, as was the custom in his day, as an articled clerk and ending as a district judge. On many occasions during his life he gave freely to chess of his legal expertise.

    He was an assiduous collector of chess books and had a huge library of them. His personal contacts helped him secure several business sponsors for chess, being in this respect one of the most successful of English chess enthusiasts. Hoping a good place awaits you, David.

    Here is a representative CC game of his:

    [White "Anderton, D.W."] [Black "Carleton, J.J."] [Result "1-0"]

    [WhiteElo "2400"] [BlackElo "2485"] [EventDate "1992"] [ECO "D38"]

    1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Nc6 8.e3 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.Nd2 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3 12.Rc1 Ba5 13.h4 Rg8 14.hxg5 hxg5 15.Bb5 Bd7 16.Qf3 Nb4 17.Rh7 Rf8 18.Rc5 Bb6 19.Ne4 Bc6 20.Nf6+ Ke7 21.Qf5 Qc8 22.Nxd5+ 1-0

    Steve Williams, life patron, OTB County Master

    Acknowledgments for textual material to: Malcolm Pein, Stewart Reuben, John Rhodes and John Upham.


    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament SF4

    England qualify for final.

    In the Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament SF4, England were edged out on tie break from top spot but still qualified for the final.

    They beat Latvia, Germany, Poland, Canada, Finland 2, Wales 2 and Africa....... narrowly losing to Italy.

    Congratulations to the team; Sam Brennan, Barry Shepard, Tim Spanton, Arthur Reed, Graham Oliver and Dave Grobler who all scored well.


    New Title

    John D. Rhodes has now served as a Tournament Director (TD) for over 200 completed games, and therefore has automatically been promoted from a Level 1 TD to a Level 2 TD.


    New Title

    The player Mark Gittens with ICCF ID 213184 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert. Congratulations.


    Ian Pheby Celebration Events

    The EFCC has decided to honour SIM Ian M Pheby, IA for his long and dedicated service to the ICCF and England in correspondence chess.

    Ian has held several posts within the ICCF since 2006 starting as a tournament director and then as a tournament organiser. Ian became an International Arbiter in 2009. In 2010 he was involved in the administration of Special Leave, and in 2011 he became Direct Entry Commissioner for six years. Ian has been the tournament organiser for the ICCF Aspirers tournaments since their inception in 2013, and he was appointed a member of the Tournament Director Committee as it is now known in 2014.

    Ian has been the tournament organiser for the successful Veterans’ World Cups 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 on behalf of the ICCF.

    Ian was delighted to be awarded the Bertl von Massow Medal in Silver in 2015, and the Bertl von Massow Medal in Gold in 2021 for his services to the ICCF.

    For the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC) Ian has held a variety of posts since 2003 including Games Archivist, tournament organiser for many events, International Secretary, Treasurer since 2020, and President since 2017.

    In 2009 Ian was presented with the English Chess Federation President’s Award for his services to chess.

    Ian wishes to thank everyone for agreeing to play in this event, and he wishes everyone good luck and enjoyable games.

    You could follow all the events by following the links below.

    Cross Table (iccf.com)
    Cross Table (iccf.com)
    Cross Table (iccf.com)
    Cross Table (iccf.com)


    New Titles

    Graham Mill-Wilson has now served as a Tournament Director (TD) for over 200 completed games, and therefore has been automatically promoted from a Level 1 to a Level 2 TD.

    And the player Terry Hart with ICCF ID 211382 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations to both.


    Edward Sowden RIP

    Edward Sowden has died at the age of 85, after a short illness, on Sunday 13th February 2022.

    Edward played for Wiltshire in the 1970s and captained Pressed Steel (later Rover), in Swindon, to win the Major League, then known as the Four a Side League.
    He also played for Wiltshire Police (he was a justice of the peace) and later the Cornwall county team.
    There are archive pictures of him on the Wiltshire Chess Association website: www.wiltshirechess.org.uk

    On retirement, Edward continued with his love of chess and turned to postal chess, where he played many times for England, where he won the British Veterans championship twice in 2002, when he was awarded the IM title and enjoyed a rating of 2407, and 2010. He played over 400 rated games, the last of them in 2013.

    Here is one of his wins: https://www.iccf.com/game?id=14652

    [Event "AUS-ENG 2005"]
    [Site "ICCF"]
    [Date "2005.12.01"]
    [White "Sowden, Edward C"]
    [Black "Morris, Greg"]
    [Result "1-0"]
    [WhiteElo "2297"]
    [BlackElo "2166"]
    [WhiteTeam "England"]
    [BlackTeam "Australia"]
    1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 f6 3. a3 d5 4. e3 Be6 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. d3 c6 7. c4 Ne7 8. Nc3
    O-O 9. Be2 Qe8 10. O-O Nd7 11. Nd2 Qg6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nce4 Bc7 14. Nb3
    f5 15. Nec5 Nxc5 16. Nxc5 Bc8 17. Rc1 b6 18. Na4 Bb7 19. Qc2 Rad8 20. Bf3
    Qd6 21. Be2 Rf7 22. Rfd1 Ba6 23. Qb3 e4 24. g3 Qg6 25. Nc3 f4 26. Nxd5
    Rxd5 27. exf4 Bxd3 28. Bxd3 exd3 29. Rc3 Bxf4 30. Rcxd3 Rxd3 31. Rxd3 Bg5
    32. Rf3 Qh5 33. Rf5 Qg6 34. Re5 Kf8 35. Qd1 Re7 36. Qf3+ Kg8 37. Rf5 h6
    38. Rf8+ Kh7 39. Kg2 Qc2 40. Bd4 Qe4 41. Qxe4+ Rxe4 42. Bc3 Kg6 43. Ra8
    Re7 44. Rc8 Re6 45. Rc7 Bf6 46. Bxf6 Kxf6 47. Rxa7 g6 48. Kf3 h5 49. a4 c5
    50. bxc5 bxc5 51. a5 c4 52. Rc7 Ra6 53. Rc5 Ke6 54. Ke4 Kd6 55. Rg5 Kc7
    56. Kd4 Rc6 57. Kc3 Kb7 58. h4 1-0

    Stephen Williams with acknowledgments for material from Simon Rogers, Kevin Thurlow and Wiltshire Chess Association.


    ICCF - Executive Board Meeting - Part 1

    The following was issued by the EB of ICCF (You may well have a copy but better safe than sorry).


    06 March 2022: Executive Board Meeting, Results, and Actions - Part 1

    ICCF

    International Correspondence Chess Federation

    ICCF – Executive Board Meeting

    March 5, 2022

    Dear ICCF Delegates, Officials, and Friends,

    The Executive Board (EB) and Management Committee (MC) members met today for more than 4-hours to discuss various issues. Two important decisions are outlined below and additional decisions with further details will be published within the next 24-hours.

    Extraordinary Meeting
    1. Following Article 31 of the ICCF Statutes, the Executive Board, by unanimous consent, voted to convene an extraordinary meeting of Congress (EC).
     a. The location will be virtual (online).
     b. The purpose of the EB and agenda will be to address numerous proposals resulting from the armed conflict of Russia and Belarus against Ukraine.

    A detailed timeline to this EC is being constructed now, and I hope to be available to all delegates and officials soon; again, the plan is within 24-48 hours.

    Donation
    2. The ICCF EB has decided to take the following immediate actions:
     a. A donation of 2.000 Euros will be donated on behalf of ICCF immediately to an international organisation that provides relief and support to the Ukrainian citizens.
     b. Approval of a “Peace Tournament,” as offered by the German Federation, BdF. Full details and a tournament announcement will be released shortly. All entry fees from this tournament have also been pledged to support Ukrainian citizens. This will provide an opportunity for any or all ICCF players to compete in a chess tournament with all proceeds to support the Ukrainian citizens.

    Further Actions
    3. Additional actions decided will be released within the next 24 hours. With kindest regards and good wishes,
    Amici Sumus,

    Eric RuchMichael Millstone
    ICCF PresidentICCF General Secretary


    English Players in EU Candidates Events

    English players are playing in the EU Candidates events as follows;

    Phil Eastlake - Cross Table (iccf.com)

    Gerard Le-Marechal - Cross Table (iccf.com)

    John Pugh - Cross Table (iccf.com)

    Brian Thompson - Cross Table (iccf.com)


    EFCC Name and Logos copied on Chess.com

    It has come to our notice that a member of Chess.com has used our name and logos to pretend that they are the English Federation for Correspondence Chess. Please be aware that this has nothing to do with ourselves and we do not have any connection with this member on Chess.com. The EFCC is not responsible for anything that website may do or organise. Copying names and logos is not allowed on Chess.com and they have been reported to the Chess.com support team.


    New Title

    Colin Hipwell has been awarded the title of IA (International Arbiter). Congratulations.


    AGENDA for Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on Saturday 12th March, 2022.

    AGENDA for Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on Saturday 12th March, 2022.

    1. Apologies for absence

    2. Minutes of the Last Meeting (March 2021)

    3. Matters Arising

    4. General Secretary’s Report

    5. International Secretary’s Report

    6. Treasurer’s Report

    7. Election of Officers

    8. Any Other Business

    John Rhodes 16/02/2022

    If any EFCC Patrons have any questions or comments to raise at our AGM or EC Meetings, please email contact@efcchess.org.uk.


    Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

    Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

    The Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Executive Committee Meeting (EC) of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess will be held in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, on Saturday 12th March 2022.

    If any EFCC Patrons have any questions or comments to raise at our AGM or EC Meetings, please email contact@efcchess.org.uk.

    John Rhodes, General Secretary


    EFCC Correspondent Magazine - Issue 2

    Mickey Blake and The EFCC Executive Committee are delighted to announce the publication of the 'EFCC Correspondent - Issue 2'.

    The 2nd edition of this very high quality magazine can be viewed and/or downloaded here - Correspondent_002.pdf (21mb)

    An updated Issue 1 can be viewed and/or downloaded here - Correspondent_001.pdf (15mb)

    Want future issues delivered straight to your Inbox ? Contact Mickey Blake by Email here to place yourself on the mailing list.


    England v France Friendly 2022

    England v France...

    The Rematch is beginning soon!

    Following our narrow defeat our French friends accepted the challenge and both sides strengthened their teams.

    Cross Table (iccf.com)


    Congratulations to David Elwood

    David Elwood has now served as a Tournament Director (TD) for over 200 completed games, and therefore has automatically been promoted from a Level 1 TD to a Level 2 TD.


    Final Positions in European Chess 960 Final

    England finished in last place in the final.

    Cross Table (iccf.com)

    Despite this disappointment we still managed a few achievements.

    We beat both Germany and Wales.

    On top board Peter Catt scored three draws against the two GMs.
    On second board Stan Grayland beat the Welsh player 1/5-.5 which clinched the match against Wales.
    On third board Keith Kitson scored 1 win and 9 draws.
    On fourth board Kevin Thurlow scored 2 wins and 9 draws.


    Narrow Defeat Against France

    We were edged out by our friends from France 41 to 39.

    Cross Table (iccf.com)


    Defeat Against New Zealand

    We were defeated by our friends from New Zealand in a small match.

    Cross Table (iccf.com)

    Discussions are ongoing about a rematch.


    ICCF Swiss System - KO Tournament

    ICCF

    International Correspondence Chess Federation

    announces the first

    ICCF Swiss System - KO Tournament

    sponsored by Opening Master



    The tournament will be played by server and organized in three or four stages.

    Format:

    Round 1: Groups of 11 (if necessary 13) players. All groups will have an approximately equal average rating. All players who score more than 50% of the possible points will promote to the next round.

    Round 2 – Round 4: After each round, a ranking list of all qualified players (> 50% score in the current round) will be created according to the following criteria:

    1. The highest percentage points

    2. The highest percentage wins

    3. The highest percentage wins with black

    4. The lowest rating

    The first 11 (13) players on the list form group 1 for the next round, the next 11 (13) group 2, and so forth. The accumulated points achieved in the previous rounds will be used to calculate a player's place in the list (but the > 50% in the current round is still a requirement for promotion).

    The tournament will be restricted to a maximum of 4 rounds. The tournament winner will be the player with the highest accumulated score (percent) across all 4 rounds. If less than 22 Players remain for the 4th round, the tournament winner will be determined according to the scores after round 3.

    Reflection Time:

    Triple Block each round: Duration: 500 days; Initial Clock: 50 days; Initial Bank: 50 days; Increment: 3 days, without guaranteed time.

    Entry Fee:

    9,36 € Multiple entries are not possible!

    Players may enter in the usual way through the ICCF Server Entry System via https://www.iccf.com/EventsAnnouncements.aspx

    Norms:

    From round 2 onwards, title norms will be available where appropriate.

    Registration deadline: 10/3/2022

    Start date: 31/03/2022

    Prizes:

    In the first round, the winner of each group (after tie-break if necessary and if here also equal the player with the lowest rating) will receive a 1-year license for Opening Master's GOLEM database (30 million games and quarterly updates current market price 99 Euro).

    After the last round, the best 3 players in the final standings will receive a medal and a certificate.

    Member Federations are asked to give the tournament wide publicity to all their players.

    Please contact TO Mike Green () if you have any questions.

    Frank GeiderJörg KrachtMike Green
    World Tournament DirectorNTTCTournament Organizer


    England Edge Home in USA Match

    England have taken a decisive lead in the 105 board match against our friends from the USA.

    A draw on board 34 - https://www.iccf.com/game?id=1169138

    took us to 105.5 points for the match - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=86774

    Well done team!


    New Title

    The player Alan Barker with ICCF ID 211143 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert. Congratulations.


    EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 - ANNOUNCEMENT OF CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT

    ICCF

    International Correspondence Chess Federation

    Zone 1 – Europe
    https://www.iccf-europa.eu/

    Andrey Pavlikov
    Zonal Director
    Email:

    EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 ANNOUNCEMENT OF CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT


    16th January 2022

    Dear chessfriends,

    Following the decision taken in Crakow during the ICCF Congress 2013, the Candidates‘ Tournament of the European Championship 2022 will start on 15th March 2022 and be played on the ICCF Server. The top two players from each Candidates section (tiebreaks will be used if required) will qualify for the Final.

    All sections will normally consist of 13 players but, conditional upon the number of entries received, the Tournament Organiser shall have the authority to change the number of players in all sections to 11, 15 or 17.

    If the number of the entries do not permit the formation of all sections of 13 (or 11, 15, 17) players, the entries of those players who have submitted entries under condition (d) below will, in ascending order from the lowest, be deferred to the next Candidates event.
    Also conditional upon the number of entries, multiple entries submitted by those players holding more than one qualification may have only one entry accepted with other qualifications deferred to the next Candidates event.

    The following players have the right to participate in the European Championship Candidates :
    (a) players rated 2500 or over at the time of entry
    (b) holders of the Grandmaster Title
    (c) holders of the Senior International Master Title with a rating over 2400 at the time of entry
    (d) holders of the International Master Title with a rating over 2450 at the time of entry
    (f) those players who finished 1st or 2nd in a European Championship Semi-Final
    (g) participants of previous or running Finals who have scored at least 45% of the possible points, if they have not earned a higher qualification and have not already used this qualification right
    (h) the participants of previous or running Candidates who have scored at least 55% of the possible points, if they have not earned a higher qualification and have not already used this qualification right.

    The ICCF European Championship is reserved only to those players from European countries.
    Players may enter in the usual way through their National Federations or, where eligible, via the ICCF Direct Entry system. Players from those countries not members of ICCF may submit entries only via the ICCF Direct Entry system.

    Entries should be reached by Tournament Organizer, Andrey Pavlikov, not later than 1 March 2022.

    It is also mandatory that the qualification right to participate in the event should be specified for each entry!


    Sad News

    I am saddened to hear of the passing of Tony Morley. Tony never recovered from a stroke and passed away on 14th October. Condolences have been passed onto his family.


    New Title

    Terry Hart (ICCF ID 211382) has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert. Congratulations.


    Seasonal Greetings!

    2021 has sadly been yet another difficult year for everyone. As we approach the festive season I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of England’s players and their families for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year. I hope that 2022 will prove to be a better year for everyone. Stay safe!

    I also hope that you enjoy success in your games in 2022 and beyond.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


    GM Norm for Nigel Robson

    In the 70th ICCF Jubilee World Champions (Cross Table at iccf.com)

    Nigel achieved a GM norm (he is already a GM, but they are difficult to achieve).

    Well done in an incredibly strong event!


    New IM Title

    Congratulations to Peter Rice who has achieved the IM title. The title medal and certificate will be awarded at the next ICCF Congress, hopefully in Glasgow next year.


    GM Jonathan Penrose OBE †

    It is with great sadness that the EFCC reports the death of GM Jonathan Penrose OBE at the age of 88.

    His highest ICCF rating was 2724 in 1993. He finished in third place in the ICCF World Championship 13 Final.

    He represented England with great success in the ICCF Olympiads. He scored 6 out of 9 on board 1 for England in the final of ICCF Olympiad 10 which enabled England to finish in second place, narrowly behind the Soviet Union. That is England’s best performance in the ICCF Olympiad to date.

    Jonathan was also an excellent ‘over the board’ player having won the British Championship on ten occasions. He was made an OBE in 1971 for his services to chess.

    Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

    Ian M Pheby

    EFCC President


    New Titles

    Congratulations to Dennis Broadway CCE and Arthur Reed CCM.


    Results of the Peggy Clarke Memorial

    The Peggy Clarke Memorial has finished with a win for Antony Copsey.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85287

    The following Norms were achieved;

    CCE norm achieved by: Richard D Perrin, Marcin Kołodziejski & Mark J. Smith
    CCM norm achieved by: Antony Copsey

    NOL van ‘t Riet Tournaments!

    Nol van ‘t Riet Memorial Tournaments!

    These events have generous prize funds. England are represented by;

    Terence Donovan - Group B - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93168

    Alan Rawlings - Group A (for friends of Nol) - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93109

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Richard Webster with his CCE and CCM Medals and Certificate

    Richard and I are both members of Worksop Chess Club and I took the opportunity to deliver his medals in person.
    Worksop also boasts Oliver Graham and Mick Clarke who are regular ICCF players.


    England Take the Lead in World Team Cup Knockout v Croatia

    Tim Spanton wins to give us the lead in a tight match.
    This is the first positive result after 21 games.
    Follow the link to see Tim's game - https://www.iccf.com/game?id=1266310
    Match situation - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=94128


    Nicholson Memorial Final Results

    The Nicholson Memorial is now finished.
    Kevin Plant emerged as the winner.
    There were several norms achieved as follows;

    CCE norm achieved by: Cole, Steve; Lambert, Michael H.; Munoz, Lazaro; Buchan, Allan
    CCM norm achieved by: Plant, Kevin D.; Lambert, Michael H.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=86999


    Friendly v Wales

    We have a new friendly against our friends from Wales.
    Looking at the grades the teams look well matched and it should be a close encounter.
    Follow the progress of the match with the normal delay of five moves.
    The match is a nice mix with lots of very experienced players on both sides and a number of new players making their debuts!

    Good luck to both sides

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95781


    3rd English Veterans' Correspondence Chess Championship

    The English Federation For Correspondence Chess (EFCC) is pleased to announce the third EVCCC will commence on 5th March 2022. It is open only to those players who:
    - are aged 60 years or over on the date the tournament starts
    - and are registered or able (in the case of new players) to be registered to play under the England flag in the ICCF.

    The full Rules, tournament structure, eligibility, prizes etc. can be seen under "English Veterans CC Championship (EVCCC)" on the EFCC website here : https://www.efcchess.org.uk/bvccc.html

    Entries should be received by 1st February 2022 with a fee of £10.00 by cheque or online at the EFCC website. Entries may be made by PayPal through this website quoting “3rd EVCCC”. Alternatively, cheques made payable to “EFCC” should be sent to Dr Steve Williams, 3a Priory Court, Nettleton, CHIPPENHAM, Wiltshire SN14 7NY. Pairings will be issued as soon as possible after that date.

    The adjudication date shall be 31st December of the 2nd year of play, which allows approximately 21½ months of playing time.

    Tournament Organiser: Stephen Williams


    British Championship 2019/2021

    Following a highly competitive competition ;

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81192

    The winner is Gerard Le-Marechal by the narrowest of margins on S-B tie break after three players finished on 8.5 pts and had three wins each.


    New Title

    The player Gerard Le-Marechal with ICCF ID 212933 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF International Master. Congratulations.


    New Titles

    Barry S. Sheppard with ICCF ID 211434 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master and the title ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert awarded to player Richard Tillett with ICCF ID 212494 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.

    Congratulations to both.


    Richardson Memorial

    Congratulations to our president Ian Pheby who won the Richardson Memorial by a narrow margin.

    The event saw 16 year old George Wharam achieve his first IM norm.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=83519


    Executive Committee Meeting

    Our next Executive Committee Meeting will be held by email on Saturday 16th October, 2021.

    If any EFCC Members have anything that they would like discussed at our meeting, please email me (Email John here) by 30th September 2021 at the latest.

    John Rhodes, General Secretary


    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament SF2

    England 2 finished in equal fifth place with a +1 score. Unfortunately they did not qualify for the final.

    They defeated Spain 1 and Brazil and drew with Russia, Finland and Cuba.

    Their narrow defeats foiled their chance of further progress.

    Individual Results;
    1. Alistair Cowan 0+ 8= 0-
    2. Kevin Plant 0+ 8= 0-
    3. Arnold Marchant 1+ 7= 0-
    4. John Vivante-Sowter 1+ 4= 3-
    5. Colin Cheek 2+ 6= 0-
    6. Alan Sutton 1+ 6= 1-

    All the team performed solidly.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87051


    Friendly Match Against Norway

    We have just started a 28 board match against Norway.
    A close match is envisaged and you can follow the progress (delayed by 5 moves) here; https://www.iccf.com/event?id=95044

    Sixteen Year Old On Top Board For England Team

    George Wharam has been selected to play on top board for England in the International friendly against Norway, he faces off against GM Raymond Boger who is a vastly experienced player with multiple first places in International events.

    George passed 2400 at the beginning of this year and has recently achieved his first IM norm (the next one and the title is likely to follow in the near future)

    Like many strong chess players George has a strong academic profile - eleven 9's at GCSE, and he took his A level maths early dropping just one mark across all the exam papers. His other A levels that he will sit this year are Further Maths, Economics and Biology and he is in the process of applying to Oxford to read Mathematics. He has won numerous Gold medals in competitions such as the UK Maths Challenge and the Biology Olympiad, often whilst several years young, and he is always setting himself new challenges and goals.

    It is hoped to have a detailed interview with George in the magazine in the near future.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


    EFCC Correspondent Magazine (Summer 2021 Edition)

    The EFCC Executive Committee are delighted to announce the publication of the 'EFCC Correspondent',
    a new quarterly magazine from editor Mickey Blake.

    The inaugural edition of this very high quality magazine can be viewed and/or downloaded here;
    Hi-Res Edition (14.6mb) or Lo-Res Edition (3.8mb)


    North Sea Event

    North Sea Event

    Good luck to our team in the North Sea Event.

    Les Ellis, Ken Owen, James Wilkinson, Arnold Marchant, Stephen Woodhouse and Stephen Rithen carry the flag for England.

    This is an unusual event as there are grade limits for each board, so all the games should be very close.

    Follow the progress of our team here ; https://www.iccf.com/event?id=94750


     

    Richard Hall in World Candidates Event

    Richard Hall in World Candidates Event

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=94959

    The winner and runner up qualify for the next World Championship Final !
    This is a high quality catergory 11 event.
    We wish Richard every success.


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Nigel Norman with ICCF ID 210619 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Award for EFCC President

    Award for EFCC President

    President Ian Pheby has received recognition for his years of dedicated service to the ICCF with the award of the Gold Bertl Von Massow medal.

    A truly well deserved award.


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Anthony Steel with ICCF ID 212266 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    British Correspondence Chess Championship 2021-2023 Entries Update

    British Correspondence Chess Championship 2021-2023 Entries Update

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC) is the premier tournament on the British CC calendar. Running continuously since 1921 and open to all British players, the BCCC has carried ICCF title norms since 2016.

    The BCCC caters for players of all levels and consists of a Championship, one or more candidate’s section and a number of reserves sections.

    The BCCC is organized jointly by the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC), the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (ScoCCA) and the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF).

    There is a first prize of £100 and a second prize of £50.

    Entries close on August 31 and play is due to commence in September 2021. Entries can be made directly to Tournament Organizer Russell Sherwood or via the National Federation. Please note that these are the only entry routes for this event.

    The BCCC is a highly competitive event, and we are unable to confirm a player's final allocation at the time of entry.

    Welsh https://welshccf.org.uk/content/18

    For more details please contact your National Federation or Russell Sherwood

    Entries and the entry fee of £12 should be received by Russell Sherwood, no later than 31st August 2021. If you have a qualification to a specific division, please state this at the time of entry.

    Current Entries (as at 24/7/2021)

    England: Coleman, Peter L. ,Ellis, Les ,Maguire, Gary ,Asquith, Jerry E. C. ,Brookes, John G. ,Herman, Tom ,Webster, Richard ,Bailey, Matthew W. ,Kitson, Keith ,Rawlings, Alan J. C. ,Roberts, Anthony Arthur ,Girling, Clive F. ,Grobler, David J. ,Reed, Arthur F. ,Cowan, Alastair ,Ward, Richard ,Marchant, Arnold ,Sutton, Alan B. ,Cole, Steve ,Ackley, Peter J. E. ,Bruce, Robert ,Wood, Ben A. ,Gosling, Brian G. E. ,Raby, Eugene ,Beckett, Phillip J. ,Wright, Ashley ,Mahony, Jon D. ,Ruffle, Alan ,Kent, Chris

    Scotland: Buchan, Allan, Dunn John

    Wales: Bishop, William ,Sherwood, Russell ,Sherwood, Helen ,Sherwood, Alexander ,Jones, Rhys ,Wakeham, Marc R. ,Jones, Gareth ,Gunn, Tom ,Robinson, Josh

    Current Minimum Qualifications (as at 24/7/2021)

    Championship
    NameValid to
    Le-Marechal, Gerard2021
    Candidates
    NameValid to
    Cole, Steve2022
    Lumley, Bill F.2021
    Asquith, Jerry E. C.2021
    Lockwood, Austin2021
    Pope, Paul2022
    Maguire, Gary2021
    Marks, Robert2021
    Rallabandi, Praveen Kumar2021
    Wharam, George2021
    Lockett, John2022
    Bailey, Matthew W.2022
    Beecham, C. Richard2021
    Wakeham, Marc R.2022
    Bishop, William2021
    Jones, Ian2021
    Yeo, Gareth2021
    Jones, Gareth2022
    Suffield, Mel2021
    Herman, Tom2021
    Shaw, John S.2021

    It is worth noting that many players with Candidates Qualification will probably qualify to the Championship on rating.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    First World Team Cup 1st Round

    First World Team Cup 1st Round

    We have 28 accepted entries for the World Team cup from a mix of National Federations, Zonal Unattached and Mixed Federation Teams.

    For the 1st round we have 12 matches – a mix of 3 Team and 2 Team events. This will lead to 12 Qualifying Teams (1 per group) in four matches of 3 teams in the 2nd round, 2 matches of two teams in the 3rd round and a Final of two teams.

    Draw

    Group 1: Benelux, Brazil, and Philippines
    Group 2: Ukraine, Poland and Portugal
    Group 3: Spain, Bulgaria and Anzacplus2
    Group 4: Romania, Czech Republic and World Zone
    Group 5: USA and Mexico
    Group 6: Cuba and Indonesia
    Group 7: Russia and Argentina
    Group 8: Germany and Wales
    Group 9: India and Italy
    Group 10: England and Croatia
    Group 11: France and Switzerland
    Group 12: Finland and Peru

    A few statistics:

    Mean Rating: 2296, Median Rating 2350
    13 ICCF GM
    2 FIDE GM
    59 ICCF SIM
    107 ICCF IM
    182 CCM/4 LGM
    59 CCE
    16 players rated over 2500
    Teams Averages range from over 2419 down to 2056 and fall roughly into three rating bands.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    First World Team Cup Round 1

    First World Team Cup Round 1

    We have been drawn against Croatia in the First round of this new event. The players look evenly mathced apart from the last few boards where we hold the edge in grading.

    Good luck to our team.

    Follow the progress by following the link below;

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=94128

    Games can be viewed live with a delay of 10 moves.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    EFCC Correspondent Magazine (Summer 2021 Edition)

    'EFCC Correspondent' Magazine (Summer 2021 Edition)

    The EFCC Executive Committee are delighted to announce the publication of the 'EFCC Correspondent', a new quarterly magazine from editor Mickey Blake.

    The inaugural edition of this very high quality magazine can be viewed and/or downloaded here; Hi-Res Edition (14.6mb) or Lo-Res Edition (3.8mb)

    The EFCC Executive Committee


     

    Brian Jones Celebration

    Brian Jones Celebration

    This event was organised by the Yorkshire Chess Association as a celebration of Brian Jones' involvement in Yorkshire chess both over the board and by webserver.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85329

    It was won in impressive style by Yorkshire's very own Oliver Graham who won by two clear points.
    We were pleased to see Brian's children Nancy Lane and Lee Jones taking part.

    ps. Brian is still alive and kicking!


     

    Match v BeNeLux countries

    Match v BeNeLux countries

    New 101 board match against the BeNeLux Countries.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93922

    Follow the progress of this large match against our chess friends from Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
    We are slightly lower rated than our opponents, but we have shown that we can perform better than our ratings!
    Follow the progress of the team.....

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    6th British WS Tournament - Division 3

    6th British WS Tournament - Division 3

    This event has just finished with lots of hard fought games featuring many English players!

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85263

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Chess 960 Match

    Chess 960 Match

    We suffered a heavy defeat in the Chess 960 training match against Wales.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87609

    We were outgraded all the way down, but there were some close encounters!

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Ross Brennan RIP

    Ross Brennan RIP

    We report the very sad news that Ross Brennan died on Tuesday 29th June 2021. Ross played correspondence and over-the-board chess for Hertfordshire and Welwyn Garden City Chess Club, where he was Chairman, for many years. Ross’s untimely death has been a great shock to everyone who knew him. Condolences are being sent to his family.

    John Rhodes, General Secretary


     

    10th Veterans World Cup Final

    10th Veterans World Cup Final

    We wish our President (and indeed Treasurer ) Ian Pheby every success in the 10th Veterans World Cup Final.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93731

    Good luck Ian!

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Oliver Graham with ICCF ID 211824 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Semi Final of the European Team Championship

    Semi Final of the European Team Championship

    Follow the progress of the England Team.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93768

    We wish them every success as we need to finish in the first three to qualify for the final.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Nol van't Riet Team Tournament

    Nol van't Riet Team Tournament

    The pairings for the Nol van't Riet Team Tournament (under 2300) are out. England have teams in sections 1 and 3.

    You can follow the progress of the teams and see the completed games when 10 are finished.

    Semi Final 1 https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93623

    Semi Final 3 https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93625

    Best of luck to both teams.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC) is the premier tournament on the British CC calendar. Running continuously since 1921 and open to all British players, the BCCC has carried ICCF title norms since 2016.

    The BCCC caters for players of all levels and consists of a Championship, one or more candidate’s section and a number of reserves sections.

    The BCCC is organised jointly by the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC), the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (ScoCCA) and the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF).

    Further details of the tournament, including the full rules and a list of previous winners, are available on the EFCC website:

    https://www.efcchess.org.uk/bcccRules.html

    Last season’s crosstables can be viewed here:

      Championship  Reserves

      https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88182

      https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88187

      Candidates

      https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88188

      https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88184

      https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88189

      https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88186

    There is a first prize of £100 and a second prize of £50.

    Entries close on August 31 and play is due to commence in September 2021. Entries can be made directly to Tournament Organiser, Russell Sherwood or via the National Federation. Please note that these are the only entry routes for this event.

    The BCCC is a highly competitive event and we are unable to confirm a player's final allocation at the time of entry. If you have a qualification for a particular section it is important that you state it with your entry.

    Welsh - https://welshccf.org.uk/content/18

    For more details please contact your National Federation or Russell Sherwood.

    Entries and the entry fee of £12 should be received by Russell Sherwood no later than 31st August 2021. If you have a qualification to a specific division please state this at the time of entry.

    Sent by Gordon Anderson (Scotland), Phill Beckett (England) and Russell Sherwood (Wales)


     

    EFCC Yearbook for 2021

    EFCC Yearbook for 2021

    The EFCC Executive Committee are pleased to announce the EFCC Yearbook for 2021.

    If anyone believes any correction is required to the yearbook contents then please contact Keith Kitson, EFCC Yearbook editor. (Email Keith here)

    To read the online version click here.

    For a downloadable / printable version click here.

    The EFCC Executive Committee

    World Championship Semi Finals

    World Championship Semi Finals

    Follow the progress of English players in the World Championship Semi-Finals. The first two players in each section qualify for the next cycle of the Candidates.

    Follow :
    David Evans in section 2 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93186
    Jo Wharrier in section 3 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93187
    John Pugh in section 4 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93188
    Gerard Le - Marechal in section 5 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93189
    Praveen Kumar Rallabandi in section 6 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93190
    John Brookes in section 7 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93191
    Ian M Pheby in section 9 - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93193

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New British Champion

    New British Champion

    We have a new British Champion - Gerard Le-Marechal.

    There were three players tied on 8.5 pts. The first tie break [wins] failed to split the tie, but by a narrow margin the second tie break placed Gerard first, Praveen second, and Gary third.

    Congratulations to all concerned.

    All the games can be viewed at - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81192

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Jim Fox RIP

    Jim Fox RIP

    Fellow players will be sad to hear of the death after a short illness of Jim Fox.
    I have passed on our condolences to his family.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Matches against Sweden

    New Matches against Sweden

    We have recently started two Friendly matches against Sweden.

    Follow the progress of the Server match

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93035

    In a throw back to the distant past we cross swords with Sweden by post (although some games will be played by email).

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=93020

    Do not expect much action as the games are only posted on the Server when they are completed.

    In both matches we had an excess of volunteers all those who missed out will be put in the Forthcoming Mega Match against Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg (BeNeLux).

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Titles

    New Titles

    Congratulations to James Wilkinson on achieving the CCE title and to Danny Dixon on achieving the CCM title.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Matthew W. Bailey with ICCF ID 213011 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player David J. Grobler with ICCF ID 210847 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Trevor Thomas Memorial Event (Category 8)

    Trevor Thomas Memorial Event (Category 8)

    This high quality event is due to start on 1st June 2021.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91121

    Follow the progress of the event by following the link above. Do not expect too much activity before the start date as players of this level tend to do lots of preparation. GM norms are available at 9.5 /14, but this will require some decisive results!

    George Wharam is an up and coming junior - keep an eye out for him in the future!

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Kevin J. Thurlow with ICCF ID 210507 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    Following quickly on the award of CCE,

    The player George Wharam with ICCF ID 212902 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    George D. Pyrich Memorial Team Tournament Final

    George D. Pyrich Memorial Team Tournament Final

    The England Knights team qualified for this final.

    Follow the progress of the team https://www.iccf.com/event?id=92847

    The teams look closely matched, so it should be an exciting event.

    We wish the team of ;
    Tom Herman
    Richard Webster
    Mike Richardt
    Barry Sheppard
    Tim Spanton
    & Nigel Norman

    every success!

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    IM Title for Toni Halliwell

    IM Title for Toni Halliwell

    Our congratulations to Toni Halliwell on the award of the IM title. I still remember playing in the same Yorkshire junior teams with her and was pleased to play a small part in her comeback. Well earned.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary and Yorkshire Team Captain


     

    New Titles

    New Titles

    Samuel Brennan and George Wharam have achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert (CCE).
    Edward Holland has achieved the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master (CCM). Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Annual General Meeting - Officer Elections

    Annual General Meeting - Officer Elections

    At the recent AGM of the EFCC, the following Officers were elected:-

    President: Ian M Pheby

    General Secretary: John Rhodes

    International Secretary: Phillip J Beckett

    Treasurer: Ian M Pheby

    You can contact any of these Officers directly via this page: https://efcchess.org.uk/efccStaff.html

    Ian Pheby, President


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Danny Dixon with ICCF ID 211019 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Match v Mexico

    New Match v Mexico

    Following our recent win Mexico challenged us to a rematch which of course we accepted!

    Let Battle recommence!

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91540

    Follow the progress, games are live with a 5 move delay!

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    International v New Zealand

    International v New Zealand

    We have a new small International against New Zealand.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91324

    It is played under the Triple Block System of time control and should take two years!

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    2nd English Veterans Final

    2nd English Veterans Final

    Congratulations to SIM Jerry Asquith who wins the 2nd English Veterans event.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=84237

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Annual General Meeting Agenda

      ENGLISH FEDERATION FOR CORRESPONDENCE CHESS

      Proposed AGENDA for Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held by email on Saturday 20th March, 2021.

    (The continuing Government Covid-19 restrictions preclude us from meeting in person)

    1. Apologies for Non-participation

    2. Minutes of the Last Meeting (March 2020)

    3. Matters Arising

    4. Amendment to EFCC Constitution: Regarding EFCC Yearbook

    5. Amendment to EFCC Constitution: Regarding EFCC Magazine

    6. Amendment to EFCC Constitution: Regarding above amendments

    7. General Secretary’s Report

    8. International Secretary’s Report

    9. Treasurer’s Report

    10.Election of Officers

    11.Any Other Business

    John Rhodes 25/02/2021

    If any EFCC Patrons have any questions or comments to raise at our AGM and Executive Committee meetings please contact John Rhodes on


     

    David Woodruff 1945-2020 RIP ✝

    David Woodruff 1945-2020 RIP ✝

    The Officers of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC) offer their condolences to the family, friends and fellow members of Keynsham Chess Club, of David Woodruff who, sadly, died in August 2020 aged 74 years. David was a Life Patron of the EFCC and a member of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) since 1993 having a ICCF rating of 2004 when he joined. He was also a member of the British Correspondence Chess Association (BCCA) and often played in their webserver trio tournaments. In 2016/7 he played for the BCCA and won two games against Correspondence Chess League of Australia CCLA Kangaroos on Board 20. He played correspondence chess until about 2017 when his health, unfortunately, started to decline.

    Before and after taking up correspondence chess, David was a stalwart of the Keynsham Chess Club playing around 1,000 over-the-board (OTB) games for them. In the 1980s David had an OTB grade in the high 160s. He also held the positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer and various team captains over the years. David was also involved in organising and controlled the Keynsham Quickplay many times. He also coached beginners and juniors. With his wide general knowledge, David also set questions for the Saturday night quiz at the BCF/ECF Championships with the late Richard Furness as question master.

    Herewith a game which David played in an International Match against West Germany in 1985: -
    BPCF v West Germany 1985
    White: David G. Woodruff
    Black: H. Kuntermann

    1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 d6 4.Bg2 Be6 5.d3 Qd7 6.Nf3 Bh3 7.Bxh3 Qxh3 8.Nd5 Rc8 9.Qb3 b6 10.Qa4 Qd7 11.Be3 Na5 12.Qxd7+ Kxd7 13.b4 Nb7 14.Ng5 Nd8 15.b5 f5 16.Rb1 Ne7 17.h4 Nxd5 18.cxd5 h6 19.Nf3 g6 20.Nd2 Bg7 21.Nc4 Nf7 22.Rb3 g5 23.Ra3 f4? (23...Ra8 was necessary) 24.Rxa7 fxe3 25.Nxb6+ Kd8 26.Nxc8 e4 27.fxe3 Bc3+ 28.Kd1 Kxc8 29.Ra8+ Kd7 30.Rxh8 Nxh8 31.hxg5 exd3 32.exd3 hxg5 33.d4 Ng6 34.Kc2 1-0 (34...Ba5 35.Rh7 Ne7 36.Rg7 Ke8 37.e4 Kf8 38.Rxg5)

    John Rhodes 24/02/2021


     

    Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

    Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

    The Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess will be on Saturday 20th March 2021 by email due to the ongoing Government restrictions.

    John Rhodes, General Secretary


     

    English Championship

    English Championship

    The Championship and subsidiary events are now set up as follows.

    Championship

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91202

    Semi Final A

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91200

    Semi Final B

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91201

    Reserves

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=91199

    You can follow the events by clicking the links shown.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Robert Bruce with ICCF ID 212273 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert awarded to player John S. Shaw with ICCF ID 212835 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Edward N. Holland with ICCF ID 212527 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Israeli Championship

    Israeli Championship

    This year's Israeli Championship is in memory of the sadly departed Aviel Rozenberg.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=90664

    SIM Harvey Williamson has accepted the invitation on behalf of the EFCC.
    The event is a category 11 event with a multi national mix of competitors of high quality with GM norm of 9.5 / 16.
    A GM norm in this event could see Harvey achieving the GM title.

    We wish him every success.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Steve Cole with ICCF ID 210447 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.
    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Win Against Mexico

    Win Against Mexico

    England score win against Mexico 11.5-8.5

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=86740

    Congratulations to all players.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament

    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament

    The top three teams in each semi qualify for final.

    England 1 in strong position to qualify for final ; https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87053

    England 2 need a strong run to qualify ; https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87051

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    European Individual Webserver Championship 2021

    European Individual Webserver Championship 2021

    28 December 2020: Announcement
    Zone Europe of ICCF is glad to announce the 2021 cycle of the European Webserver Championship!

    Open Rounds: for players rated under 2100, starts when filled.

    Preliminaries: for players rated between 2100-2299, starts when filled.

    Semi-Finals: for players rated between 2300-2499, starts on the 20th of September.

    Candidates' Tournament: for players rated 2500 or over, starts on the 20th of March.

    Entries via webserver.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Heavy defeat for Under 1800 team against Indonesia

    Heavy defeat for Under 1800 team against Indonesia

    England suffered a heavy defeat in their match against Indonesia

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85291

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    World Championship Preliminaries

    World Championship Preliminaries

    The ICCF has announced the arrangements for the Preliminaries of the World Championships.

    The following already have qualifications;
    Eldridge, Mark
    Herman, Tom
    Le-Marechal, Gerard

    Maver, Jan
    Rallabandi, Praveen Kumar
    Soh, Edmund

    In addition, the English Federation has three extra nominations for players over 2400. If you would like to put yourself forward for one of these places, please get in touch with me before the end of the year so the selection committee can consider your application.

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    International Update

    International Update

    England v France
    France have a narrow lead
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88279

    England v CCLA Kangaroos (Under 2000)
    England have an early lead
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88452

    England v USA
    USA are clawing their way back after trailing by 15
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=86774

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    Seasonal Greetings!

    Seasonal Greetings!

    2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. As we approach the festive season I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of England’s players for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year. I hope that 2021 will prove to be a better year for everyone.

    I also hope that you enjoy success in your games in 2021 and beyond.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Join the EFCC on Social Media

    Join the EFCC on Social Media

  • Visit Facebook Page        https://www.facebook.com/EFCCNews/
  • Visit Twitter Page        https://twitter.com/efccnews

  •  

    Nol Van't Reit Memorial

    Nol Van't Reit Memorial

    Alan Rawlings has accepted an invitation to compete in this event held in memory of our departed chessfriend and a tireless worker on behalf of the ICCF.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    EFCC Magazine is Returning

    EFCC Magazine is Returning

    We are intending to resume the publishing of our quarterly magazine and invite suggestions and contributions.

    For further information, please contact the editor by email to

    Mickey Blake

    EFCC Magazine Editor


     

    Ukraine v Rest of World

    Ukraine v Rest of World

    A couple of English players are featuring for the Rest of the World.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=90054

    Good luck.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Titles

    New Titles

    We congratulate Keith Franks (CCE) and K.J. Owen (CCM) on the new titles they have received.

    Well done

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Match v Switzerland Start Date 20/12/20

    Match v Switzerland Start Date 20/12/20

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=89984

    Follow the games with the normal delay of 5 moves.

    Closely matched grades so expect a titanic struggle!

    As usual we were oversubscribed so watch out for more matches in the future!

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Outstanding Result for English Player

    Outstanding Result for English Player

    Praveen Kumar Rallabandi one of England's leading players scored an impressive result in the German Masters -

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=79334

    Play through the games, they are of the very highest class!

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Chess 960 European Team Final

    Chess 960 European Team Final

    Early results have England in second place following an early win by Kevin Thurlow -

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87912

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Womens World Championship Final

    Womens World Championship Final

    Follow the progress of Dawn Williamson in the World Final -

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=89629

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Friendly Matches Update

    Friendly Matches Update

    Webserver Match v Switzerland scheduled to start in December.

    Postal Match v Sweden scheduled to start early 2021.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Match v Netherlands

    Match v Netherlands

    England managed to score a win against The Netherlands. See all the games in the match -

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=79966

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    2nd English Correspondence Chess Championship Has Concluded

    2nd English Correspondence Chess Championship Has Concluded

    After 21 months of play this closely contested championship has now finished. The new Champion is David Evans who finished with 8 out of 14 (2 wins, 55.5 SB ). David wins £300 and an engraved trophy for his retention. In second place was Brian Thompson who finished with 8 out of 14 (2 wins, 55.25 SB ). Brian wins £150. In third place was Praveen Kumar Rallabandi who finished with 8 out of 14 (2 wins, 55.0 SB ). Praveen wins £100. In fourth place was Richard Williams on 7½ out of 14. Richard wins £50.

    Congratulations to all these players on their fine performances. The cross table may be seen at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=77967

    Ian M Pheby

    EFCC President


     

    North Sea Team tournament IV

    North Sea Team tournament IV

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=77210

    England finished in 8th position in this event.

    Congratulations to the team, Mark Eldridge, Ian Pheby, Marek Soszynski, Richard Ward, Stephen Woodhouse, Ben A Wood, ably captained by Ian Pheby.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Announcement for the 3rd English CC Championship!

    Announcement for the 3rd English CC Championship!

    The English Federation of Correspondence Chess (EFCC) is pleased to announce that the third English Correspondence Chess Championship (ECCC) will be held which will start in March 2021. All English players are invited to enter England’s premier tournament!

    The entry fee is still £12.00. However, entry is free to all eligible players with an ICCF rating of 2500 or over or who are ICCF Grandmasters!

    The full Rules, tournament structure, eligibility, prizes, etc. can be seen under "English CC Championship (ECCC) in the left-hand Menu, or by clicking here: www.efcchess.org.uk/eccc.html

    The prize fund for this year! The Champion will receive a cheque for £200 together with an engraved trophy to retain. Monetary prizes will also be available to those finishing in second, third and fourth places of the Championship, and also for the first two places in the semi-final sections.

    There shall be a Championship final, semi-finals & preliminary sections with all standards of player catered for. The games will be played on the ICCF webserver, and the tournament duration shall be approximately 22 months of playing time. The time limit shall be 40 days for each 10 moves.

    Entries may be made by PayPal through the 'Online Fee Payment' section on the left hand side of this web page quoting “3rd ECCC”. Alternatively, entries may be sent to the Tournament Organiser, Stan Grayland (address: 65 Newman Way, Rednal, Birmingham, B45 9LU) with a cheque for £12.00 made payable to “EFCC”.

    Free entries by eligible players with an ICCF rating of 2500 or over or who are ICCF Grandmasters should be made by notifying Stan Grayland by email.

    The closing date for entries is 1st February 2021. Pairings will be issued as soon as possible after that date.

    All English chess players are heartily invited to enter this tournament, both for the enjoyment of the games and for friendly contact/communication.

    Tournament Organiser: Stan Grayland

    (Email Stan Here)


     

    Narrow loss to Sweden in 2018 Match

    Narrow loss to Sweden in 2018 Match

    England slipped to a defeat 28.5 to 31.5

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75952

    I will contact Sweden to challenge them to a return match.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Antony Copsey with ICCF ID 212104 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    England U1800 9 v 11 Wales U1800

    England U1800 9 v 11 Wales U1800

    England suffered a narrow defeat against Wales in the Under 1800 match.

    The lead had changed hands several times and with the score poised at 9-9 , Wales clinched the match by winning the last two games to finish.

    Well done everyone and hopefully we will get a return match soon!

    Play through all the games : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85292

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    WZ-Z1 2020, World Zone - Zone 1 Friendly Match 2020

    WZ-Z1 2020, World Zone - Zone 1 Friendly Match 2020

    Good luck to all the English players in the 442 board match.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88477

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    Congratulations to Richard Ward (ICCF ID 780026) on achieving the CCE title.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player N. W. Jefferson with ICCF ID 210845 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Brian James Herriot with ICCF ID 211523 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Europe Zone v World Zone (Update)

    Europe Zone v World Zone (Update)

    All players on the webserver will have received two emails advertising this event, one from the European zone director and one from myself.

    Just for clarity, I have submitted a list of all the players who expressed an interest in matches against France, Australia etc. and were not able to be accommodated.

    If you would like to play or be sure that your name was on the list forwarded to the zone director, reply to the email you received from me by Wednesday 7th October.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Gary Maguire with ICCF ID 212175 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF International Master.

    His final norm was in the current British Championship final and if he manages to win his final game he will achieve his first SIM norm.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Ladies World Championship Finals

    Ladies World Championship Finals

    In what will probably be the last Ladies Final -

    England have two players qualified for the Final -

    Toni Halliwell and Dawn Williamson are to be congratulated on this great achievement.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title Award

    New Title Award

    Congratulations to Phil Eastlake on the award of the CCM title.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Executive Committee Meeting

    Executive Committee Meeting

    Due to the coronavirus pandemic we have decided to conduct our next Executive Committee Meeting by email instead of physically meeting in Biggleswade on Saturday 24th October 2020.

    If any EFCC Members have anything that they would like discussed at our meeting, please email me by 10th October 2020 at the latest.

    John Rhodes, General Secretary

    (Email John here)


     

    Congratulations on Title Award

    Congratulations on Title Award

    The ICCF have confirmed the award of the International Arbiter's title on Stephen Woodhouse.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    European Zone v World Zone

    European Zone v World Zone

    The European Zone asked for 10 nominations to represent the European Zone v World Zone.

    We have nominated ;

    Munro P, Marchant A, Cunningham P, Bailey M, Perrin R, Hall TR, Pallett R, Cole S, Dunks PD, Illingworth JB.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Match against CCLA Kangaroos

    New Match against CCLA Kangaroos

    We have just started a match at Under 2000 level against our friends from Australia.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88452

    You can follow the games live with the normal five move delay.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Kevin D. Plant with ICCF ID 211509 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Match Against France 2020

    Match Against France 2020

    We have just started a match against our friends from across the channel.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88279

    You can follow the games live with the normal five move delay.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    British Championship Starts

    British Championship Starts

    The strongest British Championship in living memory has just started. (It has GM norms available)

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88182

    The Candidates are very strong as well.

    Owing to the strength of the entry, the committee took the decision to run two sections.

    Section A https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88184

    Section B https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88186

    There are three Reserve sections.

    Section A https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88187

    Section B https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88188

    Section C https://www.iccf.com/event?id=88189

    Of the 80 entries 51 have norm opportunities.

    You can follow the games (with a 5 move delay).

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player K. J. Owen with ICCF ID 210370 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    Follow England's Progress in European 960 Team Final

    Follow England's Progress in European 960 Team Final

    Follow, Peter Catt, Stan Grayland, Keith Kitson and Kevin Thurlow as they defend the honour of England in the Final of the European Chess 960 Team Event.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87912

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    British Championship Entry Now Closed

    British Championship Entry Now Closed

    The final entry list is below, if you have entered and your name is not on the list contact me as a matter of urgency !

    NameCountry
    Ackley P ENG Asquith J ENG Bailey M ENG Barber P ENG Beckett PJ ENG Brotherton T ENG
    Bruce R ENG Clark S ENG Cole S ENG Cowan A ENG Craven V ENG Donovan T ENG
    Elwood D ENG Franks K ENG Gardner A ENG Girling C ENG Graham O ENG Grayland SJ ENG
    Grummitt W ENG Hart T ENG Herman T ENG Holland EN ENG Hollands G ENG Ibbitson A ENG
    Illingworth JB ENG James A ENG Kitson K ENG Law K ENG Lockett J ENG Lumley W ENG
    Maguire G ENG Marchant A ENG Marks RJ ENG McDermott F ENG Medis T ENG Morton PS ENG
    Munro PR ENG Norman N ENG O'Mahoney M ENG Owen C ENG Perrin R ENG Pope P ENG
    Raby EBD ENG Rallabandi P ENG Rawlings AJC ENG Reed AF ENG Richardson D ENG Roberts A ENG
    Roberts S ENG Ruffle A ENG Squires M ENG Sutton A ENG Thompson B ENG Tibbert PH ENG
    Walsh HJ ENG Ward R ENG Webster R ENG Wharam G ENG Wood BA ENG Beecham CR SCO
    Buchan A SCO Burridge R SCO Clark SL SCO Cumming D SCO Hardwick ME SCO Lloyd G SCO
    Whittaker IP SCO Bailey S WLS Bishop W WLS Bullen A WLS Jones G WLS Jones Ian WLS
    Jones R WLS Lockwood A WLS Scott P WLS Sherwood A WLS Sherwood H WLS Sherwood R WLS
    Wakeham MR WLS Yeo G WLS

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary & British Championship TD


     

    Match against Rest of Europe is Finished

    Match against Rest of Europe is Finished

    This epic match played over 136 boards resulted in a convincing win for the Rest of Europe team by 48 points.

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=76242

    All the games in the match can be played through!

    We held them over the high boards but the strength in depth told on the lower boards.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player Kenneth Watkins with ICCF ID 212686 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    Richard Webster with ICCF ID 212803 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    British Entries received up to 15/8/20 (Final Deadline for entries 31/8/20)

    British Entries received up to 15/8/20 (Final Deadline for entries 31/8/20)

    If you think you have entered and your name is not on the list, please get in contact urgently !

    NameCountry
    Asquith J ENG Bailey M ENG Beckett PJ ENG Brotherton T ENG Bruce R ENG Clark S ENG
    Cowan A ENG Elwood D ENG Franks K ENG Gardner A ENG Graham O ENG Grayland SJ ENG
    Griling C ENG Grummitt W ENG Herman T ENG Hollands G ENG Illingworth JB ENG James A ENG
    Kitson K ENG Law K ENG Lockett J ENG Lumley W ENG Maguire G ENG Marchant A ENG
    O'Mahoney M ENG Owen C ENG Perrin R ENG Pope P ENG Raby EBD ENG Rallabandi P ENG
    Rawlings AJC ENG Richardson D ENG Roberts A ENG Roberts S ENG Ruffle A ENG Squires M ENG
    Sutton A ENG Tibbert PH ENG Walsh HJ ENG Ward R ENG Webster R ENG Wharam G ENG
    Wood BA ENG Beecham CR SCO Buchan A SCO Burridge R SCO Clark SL SCO Cumming D SCO
    Hardwick ME SCO Lloyd G SCO Whittaker IP SCO Bailey S WLS Bishop W WLS Bullen A WLS
    Jones G WLS Jones Ian WLS Jones R WLS Scott P WLS Sherwood A WLS Sherwood H WLS
    Sherwood R WLS Wakeham MR WLS

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary & British Championship TD


     

    World Championship Candidate Events

    World Championship Candidate Events

    These are extremely strong events and England has a representative in both sections.
    Qualification for the next World Final is by finishing in the first two places.

    Follow the English players' progress ;

    In Candidates 1 follow
    Richard Hall
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87718

    In Candidates 1 follow
    Praveen Kumar Rallabandi
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87719

    The start date is 20/9/20 so do not expect much action before then as the players will be certainly preparing intensely.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Team Match - Wales v England Chess 960

    New Team Match - Wales v England Chess 960

    England and Wales are contesting a Chess 960 International.

    Follow the progress : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=87609

    We are grateful for our Welsh Friends taking several boards in order to accommodate all the England players who wished to play.

    Good luck to both teams.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The player E. V. Foulds with ICCF ID 211580 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    2020 ICCF Online Voting Results.

    The results of the voting for each Congress proposal at the 2020 ICCF online voting are listed below.

    2020-001Approve Services Committee Budget for 202147 0Passed
    2020-002Optional Preferential Voting (OPV) for Election of Officials32 12Passed (2/3 majority)
    2020-003Approve the 2019 Minutes50 0Passed
    2020-004Approve Financial Reports47 1Passed
    2020-005Players' Record Keeping Requirement40 9Passed
    2020-006Players' Requirement to Update Personal Address48 0Passed
    2020-007Counting FIDE GMs41 7Superceded by 2020-008
    2020-008Eliminate Requirement of "5 GM" Opponents for GM Title37 11Passed
    2020-009Making the Triple Block Time Control System an Official Option41 7Passed
    2020-010Clarifying a Requirement for a Title Tournament41 6Passed
    2020-011Congress Allowances for ICCF Auditor26 20Passed
    2020-012Limiting the 10-Move Draw Rule39 8Passed
    2020-013Lowering Entry Fees50 0Passed
    2020-0142020 and Onwards - CCE and CCM Medals19 27Defeated
    2020-016Add a Second Payment Processor to the Server Entry Process46 3Passed
    2020-017Validity of “Half Qualifications” for WCCC41 7Passed
    2020-018Assumed Ratings42 5Passed
    2020-019New Tournament Format42 6Passed
    2020-020Special Provisions for the 70th ICCF Jubilee Events31 17Passed
    2020-023Clarifying Rules about Resetting Clocks after Extended Period of Down Server48 1Passed
    2020-024Establish “Regional” Tournaments31 15Passed
    2020-025Norm Tournaments: Switching of an Entry When the Player's Rating Changes49 0Passed
    2020-027Updates to the ICCF Voting Regulations and Electoral Procedures [2/3 VOTE]35 10Passed (2/3 majority)
    2020-028Electronic Awards20 28Defeated
    2020-029Allowing FIDE GMs to Play Free in ICCF GMN Events38 7Passed
    2020-030New Title: International Organizer (IO) and its Scales TO Level 1 and TO Level 218 27Defeated
    2020-031Allowing TCs to Make TC-initiated Substitutions Directly38 10Passed
    2020-032ICCF Congress 2021-Clydebank Glasgow47 1Passed
    2020-033Title Norms in Chess 96015 33Defeated
    2020-034Limitations to the Number of Open Tournaments Organised by MFs40 6Passed
    2020-035Final "B" in Different Rounds of the Tournament18 30Defeated
    2020-036New Tournament: World Team Cup39 8Passed
    2020-037Friendly Matches Viewing Rules15 29Defeated

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    Michael J. Blake with ICCF ID 210717 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Master.

    Congratulations.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New Title

    New Title

    Antony Copsey has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Well Done.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    England Chess 960 Team

    England Chess 960 Team

    The Selection Committee are looking for players to represent England in the Chess 960 team event (Fischer Random Chess).

    If you are interested please contact Phill Beckett before the end of July.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    IM Title

    IM Title

    The title ICCF International Master awarded to player Les Ellis with ICCF ID 211229 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    CCM Title

    CCM Title

    Having recently gained the CCE title Tom Herman has quickly followed it with the CCM title.
    Well done.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    ICCF Proposal Consultation

    ICCF Proposal Consultation

    The EFCC are always interested in English players' opinions.
    The ICCF have a number of proposals which are being voted on in the near future.
    These can be viewed by clicking on the ICCF congresses tab on the sidebar and then viewing the 2020 proposals - https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1346
    If you wish for your opinions to be taken into account please reply to myself.
    Replies should be received by 12th July.

    Phill Beckett

    International Secretary


     

    New title

    New title

    Congratulations to Philip Revell on achieving a Correspondence Chess Master (CCM) title.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC) is the premier tournament on the British CC calendar.
    Running continuously since 1921 and open to all British players, the BCCC has carried ICCF title norms since 2016.
    The BCCC caters for players of all levels and consists of a final, a candidates section and a number of reserves sections.
    The BCCC is organised jointly by the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC), the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (ScoCCA) and the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF).

    Further details of the tournament, including the full rules and a list of previous winners, are available on the EFCC website: http://efcchess.org.uk/bccc.html .

    Last season’s crosstables can be viewed here:
    Championship https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81192
    Candidates https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81193
    Reserves A https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81194
    Reserves B https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81195
    Reserves C https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81196

    There is a first prize of £100 and a second prize of £50.

    Entries close on August 31 and play is due to commence in September 2020.

    Entries can be made directly to Tournament Organiser - Phil Beckett or via the National Federation ;

    EFCC - https://efcchess.org.uk/index.html (Online Fee Payment (use reference BCCC)),

    Scottish - ,

    Welsh - https://welshccf.org.uk/content/18.

    Entries and the entry fee of £12 should reach Phill Beckett no later than 31st August 2020.

    Posted by Gordon Anderson (Scotland), Phill Beckett (England) and Russell Sherwood (Wales).


     

    World Candidates

    World Candidates

    Richard Hall and Praveen Kumar Rallabandi have both prequalified for the Candidates section of the World Championship just one step away from the World Final.

    These events are highly competitive and we wish both players every success.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    New Titles Awarded

    New Titles Awarded

    Tom Herman with ICCF ID 212544 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Oliver Graham with ICCF ID 211824 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert.

    Alan B. Sutton with ICCF ID 210709 has achieved enough norms to receive the title of ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert..

    The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Master is awarded to player Marek J. Soszynski with ICCF ID 211375.

    The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Master is awarded to player Robert Marks with ICCF ID 212535.

    Congratulations to all.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Richard Hall

    Richard Hall

    Richard Hall, one of England’s strongest players, has recently finished in first place of two very strong tournaments. These were the Joop van Oosterom Memorial, a Category 16 tournament which can be seen at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=68635 and the Achim Soltau Memorial, a Category 15 tournament which can be seen at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=61736.

    Congratulations to Richard on two excellent performances. Richard is currently representing England on board 2 of ICCF Olympiad 21 Final which is category 12 and which can be seen at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=83285.

    Ian M Pheby
    EFCC President


     

    Match against USA

    Match against USA

    We are now underway. The grades are fairly closely matched so it should be a tight match.

    Good luck everyone.

    Follow the games with the normal 5 move delay - https://www.iccf.com/event?id=86774

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Friendly Match v Mexico Under 1800

    Friendly Match v Mexico Under 1800

    We have a new match against Mexico.
    Details of the event may be found at : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=86740

    As usual you can follow the match delayed by 5 moves.

    Good luck to all our players.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    World Championship Semi Final

    World Championship Semi Final

    The following players have been nominated or qualified for the world championship semi final round (a little bit of a misnomer as the winners and runners up qualify for the candidates).

    IM David Weldon section 2
    SIM Ian Pheby section 3
    GM John Pugh section 5
    SIM Alan Rawlings section 6

    The average grade of each section is 2435 and consists of 17 players.
    We wish them every success in their sections - it will be tough.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Match v USA

    Match v USA

    This match will consist of 105 boards. We have submitted our team list to the USA and so far they have matched reasonably easily 80 boards and are working to match the rest.
    We are hoping for a June start, but as you will appreciate it is a huge task.
    Thank you for setting the captains a difficult task!

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Title achievements

    Title achievements

    Antony D. Cannon has achieved the title of Correspondence Chess Expert. (CCE)

    Former British Champion Mark Eldridge has achieved the title of International Master. (IM)

    Congratulations to both players.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    ICCF Lockdown Open

    ICCF Lockdown Open

    Details of the event may be found at : https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1351

    Entry fees from this event will be donated to charity.
    Players may enter directly via the ICCF system or on this site via the payment section.
    If you enter via this site the fee will be £5 and you should use the reference ICCF Lockdown.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament

    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament

    The teams have been selected as follows :

    First team

    Samuel Brennan
    Barry Sheppard
    Tim Spanton
    Arthur Reed
    Oliver Graham
    Dave Grobler

    Second Team

    Alastair Cowan
    Kevin Plant
    Arnold Marchant
    John Vivante-Sowter
    Colin Cheek
    Alan Sutton

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Gigantic match against the USA

    Gigantic match against the USA

    All of you should have received an email informing you of this. 71 players have so far volunteered.
    The format will be two games against one closely matched opponent. We are working towards a max grading difference of 20.
    If you have not expressed your interest, please do so by 21st May in order to secure your place.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    New Title

    New Title

    The title ICCF Correspondence Chess Expert awarded to player Gerard Le-Marechal with ICCF ID 212933 has now been confirmed by the ICCF Qualifications Commissioner.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Invitation Events

    Invitation Events

    Two events have recently been started.

    The Peggy Clarke Memorial : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85287

    The Brian Jones Celebration : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85329

    In both cases play can be followed (with a five move delay).

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    New Friendly matches for Under 1800 players

    New Friendly matches for Under 1800 players

    We have recently started friendlies against Scotland, Wales and Indonesia.

    Scotland : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85332

    Wales : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85292

    Indonesia : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85291

    You can follow the progress of the matches live (delayed by 5 moves).

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    New Titles

    New Titles

    Gerard Le-Marechal has just qualified for the title of Correspondence Chess Expert (CCE).

    Correspondence Chess Master awarded to player Mike Richardt.

    Congratulations!

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament

    Carlos Flores Gutiérrez Team Tournament

    For teams of 6 grading below 2300.

    Further details : https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1348

    Contact Phill Beckett by email (Email Phill here)


     

    73rd European Individual Championship, Final

    73rd European Individual Championship, Final

    Congratulations and good luck to Edmund Soh who qualified and is now competing in the European Final

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=85073

    Phill Beckett, International Secretary


     

    British Championship Entry Fee Increase

    British Championship Entry Fee Increase

    Following the introduction of larger sections and the increasing opportunities for title norms, the Tri-Nation committee which administers the championship on behalf of the federations of England, Scotland and Wales has agreed with the federations that the entry fee will rise to £12 in order to cover the increased game fees and section size costs.

    Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    ICCF Titles Achieved

    ICCF Titles Achieved

    Correspondence Chess Expert - Robert Marks
    Correspondence Chess Master - Mike Richardt

    Congratulations to both players.

    Posted by Phill Beckett (International Secretary)


     

    Annual General Meeting - Officer Elections

    Annual General Meeting - Officer Elections

    At the recent AGM of the EFCC, the following Officers were elected:-

    President: Ian M Pheby

    General Secretary: John Rhodes

    International Secretary: Phillip J Beckett

    Treasurer: Ian M Pheby

    You can contact any of these Officers directly via this page: https://efcchess.org.uk/efccStaff.html .

    Ian M Pheby, President


     

    Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

    Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting

    Due to the coronavirus pandemic we have decided to conduct our Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting by email instead of physically meeting in Biggleswade on Saturday 21st March 2020.

    John Rhodes, General Secretary


     

    Praveen Kumar Rallabandi

    Praveen Kumar Rallabandi

    I am pleased to report that Praveen Kumar Rallabandi (ENG) has won WCCC42/SF2, a Category 8 tournament, with a score of 8 out of 14. Praveen was unbeaten in this tournament, and he qualifies for a World Championship Candidates group.

    Many congratulations Praveen on your excellent performance!

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Sixth British Webserver Team Tournament

    Sixth British Webserver Team Tournament

    The Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF) have announced that entries for the Sixth British Webserver Team Tournament are now open. The tournament will start on 12th April 2020 and the entry fee remains at £20.00 per team. Entries should be sent to and include the team name and the names, board numbers, and ICCF ID numbers of the team captain and each of the four players, at least one of whom must be British registered. The closing date is Friday 10th April 2020. Further details can be found on the WCCF website at https://welshccf.org.uk/content/88 .

    John Rhodes, General Secretary


     

    World Correspondence Chess Championship Semi-Finals

    World Correspondence Chess Championship Semi-Finals

    Entries for the 44th WCCC semi-finals are now being accepted. Details of the tournament and the qualifications to participate may be found at https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1339

    English players who wish to be nominated for this tournament and have ratings 2400 or higher on the 2020/2 ICCF rating list and who do not meet the other qualification requirements listed in the announcement are invited to inform Ian M Pheby (Email Ian here) of their wish to be nominated by no later than 25th April 2020.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Paul F. Timson†

    Paul F. Timson†

    It is with great sadness that I announce that SIM Paul F. Timson has died recently after a long fight against leukaemia.

    Paul was an International Master and Senior International Master, titles obtained in 2002 and 2006 respectively. His highest rating was 2585 obtained in 1991. He represented England with distinction in the 6th European team championship where Paul obtained a Grandmaster norm, and also in several Olympiads.

    My condolences to his family.

    Rest in peace.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Announcement of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting.

    Announcement of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting.

    There will be an Annual General Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess on Saturday, 21st March 2020 starting at 12:30pm in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. Please contact the General Secretary, John Rhodes for further details. (Email John here)

    John Rhodes, EFCC General Secretary


     

    New International Arbiter

    New International Arbiter

    England has a new International Arbiter. The ICCF has confirmed that Ben A. Wood has been awarded the ICCF IA title. Many congratulations to Ben on his fine achievement! Ben will be awarded his certificate and medal at the ICCF Congress in Glasgow later this year.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    British Championship 2018/20

    British Championship 2018/20

    This tournament is now finished. Congratulations to Praveen Kumar Rallabandi (ENG) for winning this Category 6 tournament with an excellent score of 9½ out of 14. Praveen was unbeaten in this tournament. Brian Thompson (ENG) finished second with 7½/14.

    Praveen therefore retained his title of British champion having also won the British Championship 2017-9 tournament.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Trevor Thomas†

    Trevor Thomas†

    It is with great sadness that I announce that SIM Trevor Thomas died recently at the age of 97.

    Trevor held a variety of posts within the EFCC and made a significant contribution to English correspondence chess over many years which benefitted so many players. Trevor was an International Master and Senior International Master, titles obtained in 1992 and 1999 respectively, and he was a very strong player in his day. His highest rating was 2525. He represented England on board 4 of the 11th Olympiad final with distinction.

    His funeral is on Thursday 16th January 2020 at 2pm and is being held at the Carey Baptist Church in Reading (RG1 7JS). On behalf of the EFCC I have expressed sincere condolences to Trevor’s family.

    Rest in peace.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    New International Secretary

    New International Secretary

    Andrew Dearnley has decided to stand down as International Secretary with immediate effect. I wish to thank him for his substantial contribution to the EFCC over many years for the benefit of English correspondence chess and England’s players.

    The new International Secretary is Ian M Pheby who can be contacted (Email Ian here) on all matters.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Invitations to German Title Tournaments

    Invitations to German Title Tournaments

    EFCC has received three Invitations to German Title tournaments with Title Norms available. There are minimum rating requirements as listed below. The tournaments are likely to consist of 13-17 players and will start in June 2020 (although it is the intention of the German organisers to put the tournaments on the server in early April 2020).

    England has an invite for one player for each of the following tournaments:

    1. For a player rated 2415+ on the 2020/2 list
    2. For a player rated 2385+ on the 2020/2 list
    3. For a player rated 2285+ on the 2020/2 list

    If the ICCF rating of a nominated player is reduced in the time between the nomination and the start of the tournament it is possible that this player is moved to a tournament with a lower Category.

    If you are interested in playing, please contact Ian M Pheby (Email Ian here) before 19th January 2020. If more than one player is interested in a particular section, the EFCC Selection Committee will decide which player to nominate.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    Seasonal Greetings!

    Seasonal Greetings!

    As we approach the festive season I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of England’s players for a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

    I hope that you enjoy success in your games in 2020 and beyond.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    World Correspondence Chess Championship Preliminaries

    World Correspondence Chess Championship Preliminaries

    Entries for the 44th WCCC Preliminaries are now being accepted. Details of the tournament and the qualifications to participate may be found at https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1327

    English players who wish to be nominated for this tournament and have ratings less than 2400 (fixed or unfixed) on the 2020/1 ICCF rating list and who do not meet the other qualification requirements listed in the announcement are invited to inform Ian M Pheby (Email Ian here) of their wish to be nominated by no later than 19th January 2020.

    Ian M Pheby, EFCC President


     

    VACANCY FOR THE POST OF EFCC TREASURER

    VACANCY FOR THE POST OF EFCC TREASURER

    A vacancy will occur for the post of EFCC Treasurer from 1st January 2020.

    The postholder will be a member of the EFCC Executive Committee, and he/she will be supported by members of the EFCC finance sub-committee where required. The post is not too onerous and no formal qualifications are required.

    For further details about this important post please contact the EFCC President Ian M Pheby. (Email Ian here)

    I take this opportunity to remind everyone that the EFCC is run by volunteers who freely give up their time to help all English players enjoy their correspondence chess. The EFCC is looking for new volunteers to join its Executive Committee. If you feel you can give a little of your time to help English players then please contact Ian at the above email address. He is looking forward to hearing from you.

    Ian M Pheby EFCC President


     

    Announcement of the 2nd English Veterans CC Championship

    Announcement of the 2nd English Veterans CC Championship

    The English Federation of Correspondence Chess (EFCC) is pleased to announce that the second English Veterans Correspondence Chess Championship (EVCCC) will be held with a start date on 5th March 2020. All English players aged 60 or over on that date and are registered or able (in the case of new players) to be registered to play under the England flag in the ICCF are invited to enter!

    The full Rules, tournament structure, eligibility, prizes etc. can be seen under "English Veterans CC Championship (EVCCC)"
    on the EFCC website here ; http://www.efcchess.org.uk/bvccc.html

    There shall be a Championship final, semi-finals & preliminary sections with all standards of player catered for. The games will be played on the ICCF webserver & the tournament duration shall be approximately 21½ months of playing time. The time limit shall be 40 days for each 10 moves.

    The entry fee is £8.00. Entries may be made by PayPal through this website quoting “2nd EVCCC”. Alternatively, entries may be sent to the Tournament Organiser, Ian M Pheby (address: Oaklea Cottage, Horsham Road, Capel, Dorking, Surrey RH5 5JH) with a cheque for £8.00 made payable to “EFCC”. The closing date for entries is 1st February 2020. Pairings will be issued as soon as possible after that date.

    All veteran English chess players are heartily invited to enter this tournament, both for the enjoyment of the games and for friendly contact/communication. Good luck to everyone!

    Tournament Organiser: SIM Ian M Pheby, IA


     

    British Championship Now Underway

    British Championship Now Underway

    The Five sections of the British are now live on the webserver with three of the events having norms available.

    The Championship section is a category 6 event with SIM norms available.

    Two of the reserve sections are minor category events.

    They can all be seen at :

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81192
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81193
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81194
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81195
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=81196


     

    Announcement of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess Executive Committee Meeting.

    Announcement of the English Federation for Correspondence Chess Executive Committee Meeting.

    There will be an Executive Committee Meeting on Saturday, 12th October 2019, starting at 12 Noon at the Holiday Inn, Milton Keynes East, London Road, Newport Pagnell, MK16 0JA. All players who play under the flag of England are welcome to attend.

    John Rhodes, EFCC General Secretary


     

    GM Richard V M Hall has been awarded a Bertl von Massow medal in Gold

    GM Richard V M Hall has been awarded a Bertl von Massow medal in Gold

    At the 2019 ICCF Congress held in Vilnius, Lithuania, GM Richard V M Hall has been awarded a Bertl von Massow medal in Gold for 15 years of faithful service to the ICCF. Richard has been Chairman of the ICCF Arbitration Committee since 2004 and has previously been awarded a Bertl von Massow medal in Silver for 10 years of faithful service to the ICCF in 2014.

    Richard (seen on the left in this photograph) is being presented with the Gold medal and certificate by the ICCF President Eric Ruch.

    My congratulations to Richard for receiving this award for his excellent service to the ICCF. It is fully deserved.

    Ian M Pheby
    President, EFCC



    Addendum by Andrew Dearnley :

    GM Richard Hall (pictured left) receives the Bertl Von Massow Gold Medal from ICCF President Eric Ruch, this week in Vilnius at the 2019 Congress. Richard has worked tirelessly for ICCF for 15 years, as Chair of the ICCF arbitration committee and has now retired from this post after meteoric service. Congratulations Richard!

    Congratulations to the following players whose titles were presented at the same ceremony in Vilnius;

    Praveen Rallabandi - Senior International Master
    Stephen Cade - International Master
    Brian Thompson - International Master
    Jo Wharrier - International Master

    All congress voting results are available to be viewed on ICCF.com
    Next year the congress will be hosted by our Scottish Federation friends in Glasgow.


     

    G.P.S. (‘Philip’) Coy RIP ✝

    G.P.S. (‘Philip’) Coy RIP ✝

    EFCC has just been advised by the family of the very sad news that G.P.S. (‘Philip’) Coy passed away in his sleep on Monday, 12th August 2019 at the age of 102.

    Philip was the Civil Service champion in 1936, 1937 and 1957. After he retired he played correspondence chess for them until he suffered a stroke soon after his 100th birthday. He would always have a board set up in his room with the latest position and told his family not to worry if they knocked the board as he had the moves in his head. Chess played a major role in his life and gave him a huge amount of pleasure.

    He will be greatly missed by his family and the many players and friends that knew him. Our condolences to them. Rest in peace.


     

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC)

    The British Correspondence Chess Championship (BCCC) is the premier tournament on the British CC calendar. Running continuously since 1921 and open to all British players, the BCCC has carried ICCF title norms since 2016.
    The BCCC caters for players of all levels and consists of a final, a candidates section and a number of reserves sections.
    The BCCC is organised jointly by the English Federation for Correspondence Chess (EFCC), the Welsh Correspondence Chess Federation (WCCF) and the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association (ScoCCA).

    Further details of the tournament, including the full rules and a list of previous winners, are available on this website:
    http://efcchess.org.uk/bccc.html

    Last season’s crosstables can be viewed here:
    Championship https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75888
    Candidates https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75889
    Reserves A https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75890
    Reserves B https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75891
    Reserves C https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75892
    Reserves D https://www.iccf.com/event?id=75893

    There is a first prize of £100 and a second prize of £50.
    Entries close on August 31st 2019 and play is due to commence in September 2019. Entries may be made via each National Federation or directly at http://efcchess.org.uk.
    If a qualification to the Championship or Candidates is held then it should be stated with the entry.

    Entry Fee £10

    Sent by Gordon Anderson (Scotland), Phill Beckett (England) and Russell Sherwood (Wales)


     

    1st English Veterans Championship Semi-Final

    1st English Veterans Championship Semi-Final

    This tournament has now been completed. Congratulations to Allan Gardner who won with a score of 7½/10. Allan wins £25 and a place in the 2nd EVCCC Championship final which is due to commence in early 2020. In joint second place were David J. Grobler and Kevin J. Thurlow with a score of 7/10 with each player winning £5.

    The full cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=73141 : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=73141

    Ian M Pheby
    Tournament Organiser


     

    British Correspondence Chess Championship 2017/19

    British Correspondence Chess Championship 2017/19

    The final of the 2017/19 British Correspondence Chess Championship has recently finished, with English player SIM Praveen Kumar Rallabandi the Champion with a score of 9/14 (+4, =10, -0). Praveen started the final as a CCE and gained a SIM norm towards his SIM title. No other player could match Praveen's four wins. Runner up was Welsh IM Gareth Yeo who scored 8/14 (+2, =12, -0) starting out as a CCM and gaining an IM norm towards his IM title. Third was Welsh CCM Ian Jones with 7.5/14 (+2, =11, -1). Congratulations to all three players. It was the second Championship to award ICCF norms.

    The full crosstable of the final can be found on the ICCF website at : https://www.iccf.com/event?id=70959

    John Rhodes


     

    England v Netherlands Friendly Match Underway

    England v Netherlands Friendly Match Underway

    A 53 board friendly match between England and the Netherlands has just got underway on the server.

    The full crosstable & games can be seen here: https://www.iccf.com/event?id=79966

    Thank you to all the players who volunteered to play. We were over-subscribed by 17 players who, therefore, unfortunately missed out. We will ensure that those 17 players will be given priority for the next match we arrange.


     

    New tournament - 12th ICCF Veterans' World Cup entries are now being accepted

    New tournament - 12th ICCF Veterans' World Cup entries are now being accepted

    1st stage entries are now being accepted for the 12th ICCF Veterans' World Cup which is open to those players who were born on or before 1st September 1959.

    This event is being organised for the fifth consecutive year by the EFCC, with our President, SIM Ian M Pheby, being the tournament organiser.

    The full announcement can be seen on the ICCF server: https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1240

    Entries must be made under 'New events' on the ICCF server by either ICCF Direct Entry or via the EFCC as your National Federation. If you wish to enter via your National Federation, please pay the entry fee of £9 via PayPal on the left-hand side of this page using 'VWC12' as the reference.

    The deadline for submitting entries is 1st August 2019.

    Good luck to everyone!


     

    England v Netherlands Friendly Match - Do you wish to play?

    England v Netherlands Friendly Match - Do you wish to play?

    We are organising a friendly match against the Netherlands and are looking for 50-60 players willing to take part. It will be just two games for each player (one white, one black) against one opponent in the usual manner of friendly matches. The games will be played on the ICCF webserver with a time control of 10 moves in 50 days. Scheduled start time 31 May 2019.

    So, do you wish to be considered to play? If yes, please contact Neil Limbert (Email Neil here) by April 25 at the latest. Thank you.

    If we are over-subscribed, we will match players as close as we can on ratings (using the 2/2019 rating list) and omit other players. So please be aware I cannot guarantee you will definitely play at this stage. But we should be able to accomodate most players.

    I look forward to hearing from you!

    Neil Limbert
    EFCC


     

    British CC Team Championship 2017

    British CC Team Championship 2017

    The British CC Team Championship 2017 is now complete. Congratulations to Y Dreigiau Cymreig who finished in first place with a score of 11 points from 16 games. BCCA Capablanca finished second with 10 points, and BCCA Alekhine finished third on 9 points. Both Y Dreigiau Cymreig and BCCA Capablanca were unbeaten.

    The cross-table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=71741

    My thanks to Ben A. Wood who acted as the Tournament Director.

    Ian M Pheby
    EFCC President


     

    Annual General Meeting - Officer Elections

    Annual General Meeting - Officer Elections

    At the AGM of the EFCC last Saturday, the following Officers were elected:-

    President: Ian Pheby
    General Secretary: John Rhodes
    International Secretary: Andrew Dearnley
    Treasurer: Dave Grobler

    You can contact any of these Officers directly via this page: http://www.efcchess.org.uk/efccStaff.html


     

    British Correspondence Chess Championship ("the championship") BCCC Rules Updated

    British Correspondence Chess Championship ("the championship") BCCC Rules Updated

    View the updated BCCC rules here.


     

    Brian Thompson awarded International Master (IM) Title

    Brian Thompson awarded International Master (IM) Title

    English player Brian Thompson has been awarded the International Master (IM) Title by achieving two IM Norms. The Norms were achieved in a Direct Entry Open semi-final and the superb performance in winning the Peter Clarke Memorial. The crosstables & games can be seen via the following links:-
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=72613
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=72141

    Congratulations to Brian!


     

    Mike Nicholson †

    Mike Nicholson †

    EFCC have just been advised on the very sad news that Senior International Master Mike Nicholson died in the early months of 2018 at the age of 79. Mike played international CC for almost 30 years from 1986 to 2015. He represented England five times in important Team tournaments (one Olympiad, three European Team Championships and one North Atlantic Team Tournament) and always fought hard. In particular, his performance in the 16th Olympiad Preliminaries (2005-2009) was exceptional, as can be seen from this crosstable: https://www.iccf.com/event?id=8084. He was awarded the International Master Title in 2007, and the Senior International Master Title in 2008. He will be sadly missed. Rest in peace.


     

    2nd English Correspondence Chess Championship

    2nd English Correspondence Chess Championship

    The 2nd English Correspondence Chess Championship has started! 57 players entered the tournament of which 23 hold Titles (6 SIM, 1 LGM, 2 IM, 7 CCM, 7 CCE). A Championship final, 2 semi-finals and two preliminary groups are being contested. The average rating in the Championship final is 2394 with each player holding a Title.

    Good luck to everyone in these tournaments.

    Ian M Pheby
    Tournament Organiser


     

    Steven Cade awarded IM Title

    Steven Cade awarded IM Title

    English player Steven Cade has been awarded the ICCF International Master (IM) Title following superb performances in the 7th Welsh Invitational and a Master Norm tournament.
    The crosstables and games can be seen here:-
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=71705
    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=74083

    Congratulations to Steven!


     

    1st English Championship

    1st English Championship

    The 1st English Championship, England’s Premier correspondence tournament, is now complete having been contested by 70 players. The results are:

    Championship final

    1st place and English Champion: CCM Mark Eldridge 8½/14. Both Mark and David had the same number of wins but Mark had the better SB.

    2nd place: CCM David Evans, 8½/14.

    3rd place: SIM John D. Rhodes, 8/14.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=65892

    Semi-final A

    1st place: CCE Michael J. Blake, 7/10.

    2nd place: Robert J. Wakefield, 6½/10.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=65893

    Semi-final B

    1st place: CCM Brian Thompson, 7/10. Both players had the same number of wins but Brian had the better SB.

    2nd place: CCE Richard Williams, 7/10.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=65894

    Preliminary A

    1st place: Gregory Hughes, 8½/10. Both players had the same number of wins but Gregory had the better SB.

    2nd place: Robert Marks, 8½/10.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=65895

    Preliminary B

    1st place: Terence Donovan, 9/10.

    2nd place: Trevor S. Brotherton, 8/10.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=65896

    Preliminary C

    1st place: Allan Gardner, 9/10.

    2nd place: Phil J. Brooks, 8½/10.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=65897

    Congratulations to all the successful players, and I hope that everyone enjoyed their games.

    There is still time for players who are registered or able (in the case of new players) to be registered to play under the England flag in the ICCF to enter the 2nd English Championship. The closing date for entries is 1st February 2019. Details may be found on this website.

    Ian M Pheby
    Tournament Organiser


     

    Peter H Clarke Memorial

    Peter H Clarke Memorial

    I am pleased to announce that the Peter H Clarke Memorial is now complete. Congratulations to Brian Thompson (ENG) for winning this Category 6 tournament and for gaining an IM and a SIM Norm, Jerry E. C. Asquith (ENG) for finishing in second place, and Kyle Biedermann (USA) for finishing in third place and for gaining an IM Norm.

    The tournament cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=72141

    Ian M Pheby
    EFCC President


     

    New EFCC Treasurer

    New EFCC Treasurer

    EFCC has a new Treasurer from 1/1/2019 - Dave Grobler! Congratulations to Dave & we hope he has a long & happy stay in the role.
    We would also like to express our thanks to outgoing Treasurer Toni Halliwell who did a fantastic job for us over several years.

    We would remind all players that EFCC is run by volunteers only who give up their time for free to help you enjoy your chess. We are looking for new volunteers to join the Executive Committee so if you feel you can give a little of your time, please contact Neil Limbert (Email Neil here) for further details.


     

    Invitations to German Title Tournaments

    Invitations to German Title Tournaments

    EFCC has received seven Invitations to German Title tournaments with Title Norms available. There are minimum rating requirements - see the list below. The tournaments are likely to consist of 11-15 players & will start in June 2019 (although it is the intention of the German organisers to put the tournaments on the server during April). We have an invite for one player for each of the following tournaments:-

    1. For a player rated 2315+ Category 3
    2. For a player rated 2365+ Category 5
    3. For a player rated 2385+ Category 6
    4. For a player rated 2415+ Category 7
    5. For a player rated 2435+ Category 8
    6. For a player rated 2510+ Category 11
    7. For a player rated 2560+ Category 13

    It is important that the nominated players fulfill the requested elo rating on the list 2019/2. If the elo of a nominated player is reduced in the time between the nomination and the start of the tournament it may be that this player is moved to a tournament with a lower average category.

    If you are interested in playing, please contact Neil Limbert (Email Neil here) before the end of December. If more than one player is interested in a particular section, the EFCC Selection Committee will decide which player to put forward.


     

    Announcement for the 2nd English CC Championship!

    Announcement for the 2nd English CC Championship!

    The English Federation of Correspondence Chess (EFCC) is pleased to announce that the second English Correspondence Chess Championship (ECCC) will be held which will start in March 2019. All English players are invited to enter England’s premier tournament!

    The entry fee is still £9.00. However, entry is free to all eligible players with an ICCF rating of 2500 or over or who are ICCF Grandmasters!

    The full Rules, tournament structure, eligibility, prizes, etc. can be seen under "English CC Championship (ECCC) in the left-hand Menu, or by clicking here: www.efcchess.org.uk/eccc.html

    The prize fund has been significantly increased this year! The Champion will receive a cheque for £300 together with an engraved trophy to retain. Monetary prizes will also be available to those finishing in second, third and fourth places of the Championship, and also for the first two places in the semi-final sections.

    There shall be a Championship final, semi-finals & preliminary sections with all standards of player catered for. The games will be played on the ICCF webserver, and the tournament duration shall be approximately 22 months of playing time. The time limit shall be 40 days for each 10 moves.

    Entries may be made by PayPal through the 'Online Fee Payment' section on the left hand side of this web page quoting “2nd ECCC”. Alternatively, entries may be sent to the Tournament Organiser, Ian M Pheby (address: Oaklea Cottage, Horsham Road, Capel, Dorking, Surrey RH5 5JH) with a cheque for £9.00 made payable to “EFCC”.

    Free entries by eligible players with an ICCF rating of 2500 or over or who are ICCF Grandmasters should be made by notifying Ian M Pheby by email.

    The closing date for entries is 1st February 2019. Pairings will be issued as soon as possible after that date.

    All English chess players are heartily invited to enter this tournament, both for the enjoyment of the games and for friendly contact/communication.

    Tournament Organiser: SIM Ian M Pheby, IA

    EFCC President: SIM Ian M Pheby, IA

    (Email Ian here)


     

    Players Required for England Team in North Sea Team Tournament

    Players Required for England Team in North Sea Team Tournament

    The 3rd North Sea Team tournament just has one game remaining & England have finished in 6th place (out of 11 teams). The full crosstable can be seen here:-

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=61188

    We are raising a team to compete in the 4th North Sea Team Tournament and would like any interested players to come forward. The team will consist of six players & each player will probably play 10 games. There are rating limitations on all boards this time (except the top board). So:-

    Board 1: Any rating
    Board 2: Under 2400
    Board 3: Under 2300
    Board 4: Under 2200
    Board 5: Under 2100
    Board 6: Under 2000

    There will be ICCF Norms available on most boards. No entry fee to players.

    So, if you wish to be considered for the team, please contact Neil Limbert within the next seven days! If we are over-subscribed, the Selection Committee will decide and the other players placed as Reserves.


     

    ICCF Warriors win the BWSTT for the third consecutive season

    ICCF Warriors win the BWSTT for the third consecutive season

    Earlier this year, English team, ICCF Warriors won the British Webserver Team Tournament 1st division for the third consecutive season. The winning team was SIM Olli Ylonen (FIN), LGM Toni Halliwell, LGM Natalia Litvinenko (KAZ) and EFCC President SIM Ian Pheby. This is quite an achievement given the strength of the other teams over the past three seasons.

    Pictured below is LGM Natalia Litvinenko, from Kazakhstan, receiving her trophy from team captain SIM Andrew Dearnley.


     

    Mrs M (Peggy) Clarke RIP

    Mrs M (Peggy) Clarke RIP

    We have to report the sad news that Mrs Margaret (known as Peggy) Clarke has died at the age of 80. She was the daughter of BH Wood (founder of CHESS magazine) and married IM Peter Clarke. She was joint British Ladies OTB Champion in 1966. In correspondence chess, she appeared in the 4th Ladies World Championship Final (finishing 12th), and the preliminaries of the 6th, 7th & 8th Ladies World Championships. She also represented England in the 4th & 5th Ladies CC Olympiads. RIP


     

    Nigel Robson

    Nigel Robson

    I am pleased to announce that GM Nigel Robson has finished fifth out of seventeen competitors in World Championship 29 Final. He remained unbeaten in this Category 13 tournament. Congratulations to Nigel on a fine performance.

    The full cross table may be found at https://www.iccf.com/event?id=52852

    Ian M Pheby
    EFCC President


     

    ICCF Congress

    England v Rest of Europe

    England have been challenged to a friendly match against the Rest of Europe (after earlier in the year we defeated a strong Russian team) and we really need every English player to turn out for the team & play! This is going to be some challenge, the likes of which England has never seen before! It’s going to be approximately 100-120 boards and a very special one off rated friendly match. All rating strengths will be catered for. Each English player who agrees to play will be paired with a similar rated player from a European country and play just two games (one with white, one with black). This unique match will start on 1st November 2018 and will use a time control of 10 moves in 40 days.

    So, we appeal to all English players: will you play in the team please? Andrew Dearnley will be the Team Captain. Your support in playing for England in this match would very much be appreciated.

    If you wish to take part in this special event :

    Please contact Andrew Dearnley : Email Andrew here
    or
    Neil Limbert : Email Neil here


     

    ICCF Congress

    ICCF Congress Photos

    Delegate Neil Limbert collects the English titles awards at the recent ICCF Congress.

    England’s Gary Maguire was presented with his CCE & CCM titles at the ICCF Congress awards ceremony.


     

    ICCF Congress

    ICCF Congress Summary - 3rd & Final Day

    The final day of Congress (Day 3) commenced 9am. The day started with a discussion regarding the EFCC proposals for the Veterans World Cup. Wales (R Sherwood) & the QC (Uwe Staroske) spoke vehemently against them all. The votes were close but we lost them all by 21 – 17.

    Proposal’s 31 & 32 & 38 passed comfortably.

    Proposal 35 passed so postal players will now play 10/40 internationally.

    Proposal 42 initiated a substantial discussion but it eventually failed 8 – 24 with 25 abst.

    Proposal 43 concerned increasing the speed of play in Veterans World Cup. After debate, this was defeated 12 – 23 with 22 abst.

    Proposal 44 passed easily so ICCF now has its own laws of correspondence chess.

    The following reports were presented & accepted: Tournament Director Committee Report; Appeals Committees, Arbitration Committee. It is interesting to note that the chair of the Arbitration Committee regards ETL’s (players losing games on time by allowing their clock to run out instead of resigning) is a serious behavioral issue & needs to be clamped down on.

    The Zonal Directors presented their reports and their ideas going forward.

    Slight changes to the Statutes were agreed. However, proposals 11 & 12 were rejected. Proposal 13 withdrawn because Congress debate identified inconsistencies in the proposal. Proposal 14 was passed to combine Appeals Committees.

    There then followed discussions & proposals regarding Voting rights. This may be a drab subject for many people but these proposals were fiercely debated! Proposal 5 was passed by only one vote by 20 – 19 with 18 abst. EFCC voted against as this is another blow to the power of National Federations. Then Proposal 7 failed narrowly by 3 votes 18 – 21 with 18 abst.

    Proposal 37A was passed after considerable debate 30 – 9 with 18 abst. EFCC voted against because we do not believe that Voting Regulations should take priority over Statutes.

    Proposal 37B & 37C & 37D were passed comfortably, despite the votes against by EFCC. This effectively reverses the previous decisions of Congress. Democracy is the loser as a result of these votes. Proposals 39 & 40 withdrawn after the proposer (Dutch delegate) was put under intense pressure by various ICCF officers & officials – unfair pressure in my opinion.

    The final proposal was to host the 2019 Congress in Vilnius Lithuania 18-22 August 2019. Agreed.

    Congress ended 17:15pm.


     

    ICCF Congress - Day 2

    ICCF Congress Summary - Day 2

    Day 2 was a long day! Commenced 9am. Financial regulations (entry fees, rebates etc) presented by FD. Report by DE Commissioner accepted. Proposal 41 failed (13 – 20 with 24 abst) – because most people agreed that it was a not a problem: TO’s will refer Federation nominations anyway.

    Services Director presented his report which included projected improvements/changes to the server for the coming year. He requested a budget of 20000 Euros (proposal 015) passed 37 – 2 with 18 Abst. EFCC abstained because no cost estimates were supplied.

    Proposal 24 was discussed – ICCF’s new Privacy policy to comply with GDPR. Will be expensive to implement but we have no choice. Passed 40 – 0 with 17 abst.

    The Qualifications Commissioner presented his report – 744 Titles awarded last year. Proposal 20 was passed (29 – 7 with 21 abst) after debate. So Federations will be given CCE/CCM medals at Congress each year just like all other Titles. Until now, EFCC have paid for these medals, so now ICCF will pay.

    Proposal 47 passed 40 – 0 with 17 abst.

    The Ratings Commissioner presented his Report. His working group looking into the Glicko rating system (as a replacement for ELO rating) and decided not to proceed. The Ratings Commissioner intends to resign next year after 25 years in the role.

    The Marketing Director then presented his report. Also, the report of the World Tournament Director was presented & all invitation tournaments approved in retrospect.

    The report of the Title Tournaments Commissioner. Concern was expressed about the delay to the next Olympiad final – why wait for the full 4 years if the finalists are known? Will be referred back to the Commissioner.

    The NTTC Report was presented. Proposal 045 passed 23 – 16 with 18 abst. So the Veterans World Cup will switch from annually to bi-annually from 2020. The full World Cup, the Veterans World Cup & the Webserver Opens will move to a regulated start dates. The ICCF Calendar of Events will need to be amended in due course.

    Champions League will move to Triple Block from the season after next. There will be a D Division next time for lower-rated teams.

    The following reports were received & accepted: Aspirer tournament report, Postal tournament report, Chess 960 report, Thematic tournament report, Interzonal tournaments report.

    The afternoon session was devoted to the report of the Rules Commissioner and the numerous proposals connected to that report or within that field.

    Proposal 001 passed 39 – 1 with 17 abst.

    Proposal 002 passed 39 – 2 with 16 abst.

    Proposal 003 passed 37 – 2 with 18 abst.

    Proposal 008a passed 38 – 1 with 18 abst.

    Proposal 008b passed 32 – 6 with 19 abst.

    Proposal 010 passed 33 – 7 with 17 abst.

    Proposal 016 passed 33 – 4 with 20 abst.

    Proposal 036 is very important for players. It will increase the number of available Norm tournaments including new Norm events for CCM & CCE. I believe these tournaments will be very popular. However, the proposer had not considered the impact on players who finish 1st to 3rd in National tournaments who, under current rules, qualify for Master Norm. A big discussion! Eventually passed 28 – 6 with 23 abst. The change to IM Norm tournaments will be delayed slightly until the above problem is sorted out. But the new GM Norm, SIM Norm, CCM Norm & CCE Norm tournaments will be available from January 1, 2019. Entry fees still to be determined by FD.

    Proposal 022 – another big discussion about gender tournaments. Proposal failed 12 – 24 with 21 abst.

    Proposal 023 failed 13 – 26 with 17 abst, because the proposal sought to remove the possibility of 10 completed games before viewing, which is not popular with stronger players.

    Proposal 26 passed 38 – 3 with 16 abst.

    The Congress session closed at 17:55, then re-opened again at 18:10 for the European Zonal meeting.

    Andrey Pavlikov (RUS) chaired this meeting as European Zonal Director and presented his report with comments on ongoing tournaments. Zonal FD Report accepted.

    It was agreed that the number of qualifiers from European Postal Semi-finals be reduced from two to one. Delegates were also invited to find out how many players over 2400 would be prepared to play in a strong postal tournament.

    Agreed to provide 5000 euros additional help to ICCF Services Committee. Agreed to provide 2000 euros to 2019 Congress organisers.

    There will be new European tournaments: 4-player Team tournaments for players U-2200 and U-1900; new Chess 960 European tournaments; and a new Cup tournament for players rated below 2000.

    The meeting closed at 19:20.


     

    ICCF Congress

    ICCF Congress Summary - Day 1

    Commenced (after the Introductions) with the Medal ceremony. Gary Maguire collected his CCE & CCM Medals/Certificates in person. On behalf of EFCC I collected medals/certificates for everyone else who earned medals since last Congress.

    The ICCF Minutes for the 2017 Congress were debated but, in spite of our objections, the Minutes were passed by 25 - 4 with 27 abstentions. Mexico were proposed as a new ICCF Federation & accepted. ICCF currently have problems obtaining annual membership fees from Argentina, Turkey, Hong Kong & Cape Verde: these Federations risk suspension & eventual expulsion from ICCF.

    The Financial Accounts were debated - seen on screen only. Existing Auditor not happy - he resigned shortly before Congress. The Accounts were only approved 13 - 2 with 42 abstentions, Generally, delegates were uneasy with the new FD methodology. A new Auditor was proposed: Paul Scott of Wales. ICCF Accounts - a loss of 7614 euros during 2017 and ICCF currently have 213628 euros in reserve. The financial plan is to project a loss of 10k annually for next 4-5 years. Plenty of money in reserve. There is a possibility that ICCF may have to pay VAT at some point in the future.

    Proposal 29 was contentious. Defeated by 17 - 22 (18 abstentions), Very close.
    Proposal 30 passed by 37-1 (19 abstentions).
    Proposal 27 - global tendering failed 6-30 (21 abst) after considerable discussion.
    Day 1 closed at 18:05 and we are already behind schedule.


     

    British Championship

    British Championship

    Entries for the British Championship are now being taken. Please use the Paypal option (on the left side of this homepage) and use the reference British along with a payment of £10. If you wish to pay by cheque, please send a cheque for £10 payable to EFCC and send it to Phill Beckett (Controller British championship) address here


     

    David Coyne ✝

    David Coyne ✝

    It is my sad news to report the death of English CC player David Coyne at the age of 73. David had been diagnosed with COPD in 2005 which recently turned to pneumonia. Our sympathies & condolences to his family & friends. RIP.


     

    ICCF Congress Proposals 2018

    ICCF Congress Proposals 2018

    There are 47 proposals to ICCF Congress this year, so we now need to decide how EFCC wishes to vote on each proposal. Each member of the EFCC Executive Committee will be looking at the proposals in detail but I would also like to hear from individual English players. I need your opinions! Please see: https://www.iccf.com/Proposals.aspx?id=71

    If you have no strong feelings on a particular proposal, then please do not concern yourself. My own experiences tell me that, during the actual debate at Congress, you often hear points brought forward that we had not previously thought of. And this new information can often change your view on a proposal. I will therefore decide which way to vote after hearing the debate at Congress.

    However, if you strongly feel that EFCC should be voting Yes or No to a particular proposal, and you can tell me why you feel that way, please let me know before the end of July. If a majority is in favour of proceeding a particular way, then I will vote online before Congress in accordance with the majority.

    I look forward to hearing from you!

    Neil Limbert
    EFCC International Secretary


     

    England defeat Russia

    England defeat Russia

    In what is likely to be regarded as one of the team's finest performances, I'm pleased to say that with just one game remaining (Tleptsok vs Hall, which is one of the promotion games on ICCF.com) England have defeated the Russian team in the 2016 friendly rated match. The score is currently 47-36, so it is a convincing win, with many fine individual performances. Later this year, England will face an even bigger challenge and I will be contacting many players in the Summer to select a large team and give more information regarding the opposition.

    The match can be seen at the ICCF website here ; https://www.iccf.com/event?id=61739


     

    Correspondence Chess Book Review - Highly Recommended

    A CORRESPONDENCE CHESS BOOK REVIEW

    By Neil Limbert

    My 120 Selected Correspondence Games
    By SIM Mike Read
    534 pages, Softcover £10.14 through Amazon

    Highly recommended! Chess books specifically concerning correspondence chess are quite rare. Even rarer are game collections by specialist CC players, so this book is a very welcome addition to this list.

    Mike Read was born in 1960 & was a strong junior chess player OTB in the 1970’s. It was in the late 70’s and early 80’s that Mike began to specialise in correspondence chess and this game collection covers games from 1978 to 2000, at which time Mike was forced to abandon competitive chess due to health issues.

    Mike was a very strong player! He earned the ICCF Senior International Master Title & had an ICCF rating of 2571 at its best. All this without ever owning a computer or using one during his games. So this collection is very special as all the annotations come from Mike’s own brain, and his thoughts at the time.

    This is a thick book! Over 500 pages for only a little over £10 is an excellent bargain at a time when most new chess books are £20 or thereabouts. The introduction lasts only four pages & there then follows a one page summary of his results in his competitive CC career. The rest of the book is jam-packed with games & annotations.

    The quality and strength of his opponents grew as his career progressed and the book is laid out chronologically, so you will find the strongest opponents in the latter half of the book. Having said that, I really enjoyed playing some his early games where tactics abound! Some of these early opponents are still playing BCCA chess today such as Peter Tibbert, Iain Gould & Peter Coast. His later opponents include GM Tonu Tiits of Estonia, GM Matthias Rufenacht of Switzerland (still active & playing today) and GM (and World Champion) Joop van Oosterom of the Netherlands.

    This book is strongly recommended for all players of all strengths, whether correspondence chess players or not. You cannot fail to learn from the quality of Mike’s annotations.


     

    EFCC Code of Conduct & Disciplinary Procedure

    EFCC Code of Conduct & Disciplinary Procedure

    ICCF has a Code of Conduct & Disciplinary procedure to help deal with players who default or behave badly and this has worked well for them.

    So EFCC has adopted a similar policy which can be seen in the left-hand menu under "EFCC" - "Code of Conduct" (Or click here).

    This will allow EFCC to deal with situations arising in its own tournaments, or when players represent England in Team tournaments or Friendly Matches.

    The vast majority of players never default or behave badly! It is just a very small minority whom we need to address.


     

    New tournament - 11th ICCF Veterans' World Cup entries are now being accepted

    New tournament - 11th ICCF Veterans' World Cup entries are now being accepted

    1st stage entries are now being accepted for the 11th ICCF Veterans' World Cup.

    This event is being organised for the fourth consecutive year by the EFCC, with our President, SIM Ian M Pheby, being the tournament organiser.

    The full announcement can be seen on the ICCF front page: https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1154

    Entries can be made under 'New events' by ICCF Direct Entry or by paying the entry fee of £9 via PayPal on the left-hand side of this page using 'VWC11' as the reference.

    For those wishing to pay by cheque, please make it payable to 'EFCC' and send it to:
    Ian M Pheby, Oaklea Cottage, Horsham Road, Capel, Dorking, RH5 5JH.

    The deadline for submitting entries is 1st August 2018.

    Good luck!


     

    RCCA 25 Years Open (RUS) “Russia 25”

    RCCA 25 Years Open (RUS) “Russia 25”

    In celebration of its 25-year anniversary of foundation RCCA organizes
    ICCF Webserver Open tournament in 3 stages.

    Preliminaries rated only; Semi-finals and Final Title norms possible.

    Start Dates
    Preliminary stage: 15th.May 2018
    Semi-final stage: 15th.December 2019
    Final stage: 15th.May 2021

    Groups
    Preliminaries 11 players in each group
    Semi-finals 13-15 players in each group
    Final 13-17 players

    Promotion
    Winner and runner-up of each preliminary section will directly qualify for the semi-finals; winner of each semi-final section will directly qualify for the final
    and several runner-ups will be promoted to fill vacancies.

    Time Controls
    Preliminary: 10 moves in 30 days with duplication after 20 days
    Semi-final: 10 moves in 40 days with duplication after 20 days
    Final: 10 moves in 50 days with duplication after 20 days

    Entry Fee and how to enter
    £10 to be paid at the EFCC website with the reference 'Russian 25' using the 'Online Fee Payment' in the left-hand column of this web page.
    Any player wishing to pay by cheque should contact International Secretary Andrew Dearnley

    Notes
    Players rated 2400 or above or having GM or SIM Title may join the semi-finals directly paying £15

    Tournament Organiser
    IA Andrey Pavlikov (RUS)
    Awards
    Certificates to the winners of each preliminary group;
    Certificates and gift books on Russian culture and architecture to the winners of each semifinal group;
    Certificates, medals, and cash prizes in Final stage 1,000 euros (1st 500, 2nd 300, 3rd 200 euro)


     

    Notification of the 2018 AGM

    ENGLISH FEDERATION FOR CORRESPONDENCE CHESS (EFCC)
    Agenda: Annual General Meeting


    Holiday Inn Derby-Nottingham - Bostocks Lane, Sandiacre, Nottingham, NG10 5NJ
    12:30pm, Saturday 24th March 2018

    All EFCC Patrons and representatives of affiliated organisations are welcome to attend.


    1) Apologies for Absence

    2) Minutes of the last meeting (1st April 2017)

    3) Matters Arising

    4) Officers’ reports

        • Secretary

        • International Secretary

    5) Accounts / Treasurer’s report

    6) Election of Officers

    7) Amendments to EFCC Constitution

    8) Any other business


     

    New International Arbiter and More Norms

    New International Arbiter and More Norms

    After some very dedicated, hard work I am pleased to announce that LGM Toni Halliwell has been awarded the International Arbiter title by ICCF.

    Toni will be presented with her medal and certificate at the ICCF Congress in Llandudno in August.

    With the congress being held on British shores it is a great incentive for other players to work towards their norms and titles in order to be able to take up the offer from our Welsh friends to attend the opening ceremony and the awards presentation.

    Since the last message further norms have been achieved by ;

    Praveen Rallabandi - Senior International Master norm

    Rob Walk - Correspondence Chess Master norm

    Phill Beckett - Correspondence Chess Expert norm

    Dave Grobler - Correspondence Chess Expert norm


     

    New Year, New Titles !

    New Year, New Titles !

    Happy New Year to all players and It's especially started well for three new ICCF CC Master title holders;

    Steven Cade, David Evans and Jo Wharrier. Well played gentlemen!


     

    Wales to host the 2018 ICCF Congress in Llandudno

    Wales to host the 2018 ICCF Congress in Llandudno

    Wales have succeeded in their bid to host the 2018 ICCF congress.
    It will take place at the Imperial Hotel in Llandudno in August.
    Please see the full announcement here; https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1139


     

    1st English Championship Update

    1st English Championship Update

    The 1st English Championship Preliminary B has finished. Congratulations to Terence Donovan for winning this tournament with the excellent score of 9 out of 10. Terence will receive a prize of £15.00 and is entitled to enter a semi-final of the 2nd ECCC which will start in 2019.

    Trevor S. Brotherton was second and also undefeated finishing on 8 out of 10, and Sean Clark finished third with 7.5 out of 10.

    In the other sections:

    Championship Final – John D. Rhodes and Alan J. C. Rawlings currently lead with 6.5 out of 12, with Stan J. Grayland third on 6.5 out of 13. 36 games remain in this closely fought tournament.

    Semi-Final A – I. Wes Bell leads with 6 out of 9. Phillip W. Revell is second with 5.5 out of 9, and Kevin J. Thurlow is third with 5 out of 9. 14 games remain.

    Semi-Final B – Brian Thompson leads with 7 out of 10. Keith Kitson is second with 5.5 out of 9, and Richard Williams is third with 5 out of 8. 12 games remain.

    1st English Championship Preliminary A – Robert Marks leads with 8.5 out of 10. Richard I. Clark is second with 7.5 out of 9, and Gregory Hughes is third on 6.5 out of 7. 3 games remain.

    1st English Championship Preliminary C – Congratulations to Allan Gardner for winning this tournament with the excellent score of 9 out of 10. Allan will receive a prize of £15.00 and is entitled to enter a semi-final of the 2nd ECCC which will start in 2019.

    Phil J. Brooks was second and also undefeated finishing on 8.5 out of 10, and Arthur F. Reed finished third with 7.5 out of 10. 1 game remains.


     

    Copa Perú IV honoring Alfredo Cillóniz

    Copa Perú IV honoring Alfredo Cillóniz

    The tournament announcement can be found at the ICCF website here - https://www.iccf.com/message?message=1128

    The entry fee for the preliminary stage through EFCC, payable via EFCC's website is £7 or players can enter direct with the Peru Federation by following the instructions in the announcement. There is no ICCF direct entry for this tournament.


     

    ICCF Titles and norms achieved

    ICCF Titles and norms achieved

    EFCC would like to congratulate both Les Ellis and Paul Batchelor on achieving recent norms to gain their ICCF CCE titles. Praveen Rallabandi has also secured his first IM norm in an ICCF Master norm section and now needs a win in his last game to gain an SIM norm. Well Played Praveen!


     

    Malcolm Peltz Memorial concludes

    Malcolm Peltz Memorial concludes

    In a hard fought international tournament EFCC would like to announce the winner of the Malcolm Peltz Memorial is Slovenian player Jernej Pirš. Well played to English players Stephen Hughes, who finished second on tie break from Neil Limbert in 3rd place. In what was an incredibly tight finish, 5 players tied on 7 points behind Jernej. It was especially pleasing to see 9 players make CCE and CCM norms from Malcolm's tournament and the complete cross table is below;

    https://www.iccf.com/event?id=57594

    MT-Peltz, Malcolm Peltz Memorial

    TD Vinchev, Simeon
    Category 3 IM=8½ CCM=6 CCE=4½12345678910111213ScoreWinsSBRGPlace
    1SLO480272 Pirš, Jernej2326½½½½½½½111118.5545.501
    2ENG211987 Hughes, Stephen J.2273½½½½½½½0½1117337.2502
    3ENG211220 Limbert, Neil2317½½½½½½½½1½1½7239.503
    4RUS141224 Kozlov, A A2343½½½½½½½½½½117237.504
    5AUS30534 Mulligan, Barrie2331½½½½½½½½½½117237.504
    6WLS810183 Jones, Ian2221½½½½½½½½½½117237.504
    7ESP169116 Uberos Fernández, Antonio2313½½½½½½½1½½½½6.5138.7507
    8GER83649 Zielinski, Sergej2321½½½½½½½½½½1½6.5136.7508
    9CRO900043 Ivanović, Željko230901½½½½0½½½½1623309
    10ENG211649 Coyne, David W.23290½0½½½½½½½116230.25010
    11LTU920380 Mickevicius, Juras228800½½½½½½½½1½5.5129.5011
    12ENG210709 Sutton, Alan B.2275000000½0½001218.25012
    13ENG210847 Grobler, David J.226200½000½½00½02012.75013


     

    JOHN TOOTHILL †

    JOHN TOOTHILL †

    Very sadly, we have to report the death of CC International Master John Toothill. Our condolences go to friends & family.

    John’s name may not be familiar to younger players as you have to go back to the 1970’s / 80’s from his CC playing career. In 1972 / 3 he won a British Championship Reserves tournament followed by victory in a Candidates tournament the very next year so advancing to the Final. He came 6th in the Final 1974 / 5 & 2nd in 1975 / 6. But it is on the CC International scene that he is best known, as part of the Great Britain team that won the Gold Medal in the 9th CC Olympiad 1982-87; the first & only time that a British team has won this top CC team event. At the time, this was a fantastic achievement beating the all-conquering Soviet Union team into 3rd place (West Germany were 2nd). John was also a member of the Great Britain team in the 1st European Team Championship Final (1978-81), and a member of the winning England team in the 1st North Atlantic Team tournament (1981-4). He was awarded the CC International Master Title in 1981.

    John was a strong OTB player playing for Windemere Chess club for over 40 years winning the County Championship on several occasions.

    There are three excellent annotated games of John’s in Tim Harding’s superb book Correspondence Chess in Britain & Ireland 1924-1987 and he also featured in Grigory Sanakoev’s book World Champion at the 3rd Attempt.

    RIP


       
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