Chess Pages of Mike Donnelly

12. NEW AND SECOND- HAND CHESS BOOKS Tony Peterson. Specialist in rare and second-hand chess books and magazines. Very large stock. Contact details.

IM Sergey Bystrov. Specialist in a wide range of Russian books plus some non-Russian books. Now offering a greater range. Contact details.

Hello!

I little bit about myself: I live in the historic town of Kenilworth (close to the medieval castle) in Warwickshire, England. I have just retired (this time certainly!), after several years as a Scientific/Technical and Regulatory Advisor, from full time work as a Technical Manager at a biotechnology company that manufactures hydrogels for wound-care, monitoring electrodes, and cosmetic applications. Previously I was a research scientist working in a diverse number of scientific areas (science publications, committees, science journal refereeing etc). In my spare time I enjoy chess, the history and culture of the Ancient Greeks and their Modern counterparts, various types of music, and until recently Wing Tsun Martial Art (achieving grade 11).

Over a decade ago I shifted from playing over-the-board (o.t.b) chess as well as correspondence chess to playing only correspondence chess (peak average rating 2492, final average rating of 2454 (ICCF rating history 1993-2018). In 2016 I returned to some relatively regular o.t.b chess in local leagues currently playing at about 1900-2000 elo (a somewhat reduced level from that of a decade or more ago (approximately 2100 elo) and also from my highest many years ago of about 2275 (grading history). After some 25 years of playing National and International level Correspondence Chess I completed my last few games at the end of 2018, annotated these games in detail for presentation in correspondence magazines in early to mid-2019, and now just play o.t.b chess.

I will attempt to offer a wide range of chess material on this site including game and opening based articles, games for downloading from famous players I have known or competed against, chess problems and some current and past results. This will include both o.t.b and correspondence play. A major part of the web site is the presentation of annotated games in the "Monthly Articles" section of the site. Often these include annotations by players other than myself.

In addition to more advanced articles, I will also occasionally provide articles for beginners to mid-club strength of player also on a very wide range of chess topics.

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MONTHLY ARTICLES SUMMARIES (section 1 of web site) *

The articles entitled “Lessons from very short games” have proven popular hence the fifth in the series is presented this month and comprises four such games.

Perhaps surprisingly one game features two World-class players which one would not normally expect to result in such a short game even if it was rather complex. Other games include a recent one by a strong local league player and some older games by, at the time, well known players.

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All material for downloading from this site is zipped. Use WinZip, or similar, to extract. Monthly articles are in .pgn format (from May 2000, previously in .txt format) whilst games for downloading are in .pgn format (or .cbv occasionally).

Contributions (preferably one or two annotated games), suggestions for articles and comments to improve this site are welcome: mail me!

	SCCA Magazine
	The SCCA magazine is published quarterly and consists of 24xA4 pages packed with correspondence chess news, articles, reviews and games.
	SCCA members receive the magazine as part of their annual subscription (£8). This entitles them to download pdf files (the e-mags) from a secure area of the SCCA website.
	If you prefer to receive a printed copy of the magazine, an extra £5 per annum covers print costs and UK postage and you get the four issues mailed directly to you.
	The SCCA magazine is unbeatable value! You can try a complimentary copy by contacting the membership secretary.

NEWS AND NOTICES *

Kenilworth Chess Club (KCC) Individuals and Teams (July 24).

1. Leading results in the strong and fiercely competitive first part of the Kenilworth Speed Chess Championship were: Dhairya Pandya (4.5 points); Mark Page and Keatan Patel (4 points) and myself (3,5 points) etc.

It is somewhat sobering, but also slightly reassuring, that the combined age of two of the top four players is about 10x the combined age of the other two.

More details on the above event and the second and third parts, as well as updates on KCC matters, can be found at kenilworthchess.blogspot.com

2. After some 18 years at their high-profile Baker Steet Shop in London, there is still no news of the new location for the Chess and Bridge Shop (the publisher of the magazine CHESS). The date of re-opening has moved from April/May to now probably August.

Nevertheless, the proofs of an article by me on Correspondence Chess where very famous British otb Champions are soundly beaten by Correspondence Chess specialist has been returned for likely publication in the next month or two. This, and Ben Graff’s numerous and very readable articles on a wide range of topics, may be obtained in paper or electronic format via http://chess.co.uk

3. International Master Richard Palliser, who also edits CHESS and has produced numerous excellent opening books, gave a very instructive talk before taking on around 30 players in a simultaneous display at the venue of Kenilworth Chess Club. Each opponent was provided with a signed copy of his new book “Unlock your Chess Creativity” and there were many other prizes such as a St. Louis Chess Club tee-shirt, Chessbase software items, and a signed copy of a Judith Polgar book. The event was opened, with an inspiring talk from Kenilworth’s new Mayor Councillor Allison Insley.

An article on this event by Carl Portman is also expected to appear in CHESS shortly.

Local Players (July 24).

(a) Carl Portman who helped, together with Ben Graff, instigate the Richard Palliser simultaneous display presents a game from the dazzling play of the legendary World Champion Mikhail Tal.in his latest “Never Mind the Grandmaster” column in CHESS next month.

(b) Keith Escott Memorial Correspondence Event.

The event is close to completion with only one game left to finish. CCM K. E. Jones wins with 9.5 points and second is CCM S. Hooker on 9 points both players securing an SIM (Senior International Master) norm-in the latter case another norm and hence SIM title has been obtained and confirmed by the ICCF. Untitled M. Bowley, CCM M. Schirmer, CCM J. Smith, CCE R.C. Rosales, and CCM R. Rozanski, in equal third all scored 8.5 points and an IM norm.

The remaining game does not impact the top scorers and is CCM Graham versus LGM Williamson. Both have 7 points hence are fighting for seventh place.

Keith Escott was the Captain of the Warwickshire Correspondence chess team which won the prestigious Ward-Higgs event several times, editor of the famous magazine CHESS and did much for both otb and correspondence chess locally and nationally. It is pleasing that this Memorial, contrary to many other recent events, had a number of decisive games and that several players have achieved title norms.

Some details of Peter’s enormous impact on both over-the-board and Correspondence Chess are detailed in the Recent Archive section of this web site (Section 2-article for August-September 2023 inclusive of two annotated games). Al games have now been competed with the following results

Section A- CCM P. Campani wins with the excellent score of 10/14 including many wins and no losses. CCE T. Spanton finishes second on 9.5. The section was suddenly ended and slightly marred by Fajardo and Swindells exceeding the time limit in many games.

Section B- H. Lopez is confirmed as winner with a score of 9.5/14 and J. Hall as runner-up on 9 points. M. Quirk (who won the last game to finish) and J. M. Verneulen finish in third equal on 8.5 points.

International Correspondence Chess Federation (July 24).

The ICCF has just announced that no less than three Memorial Events will commence shortly. These are for

IM Andrew Dearnley who made a huge contribution to the organising of Correspondence Chess and was a frequent “teammate” in some event I also played in. Players participating include one Senior International Master and remarkably ten International Masters.

LGM Toni Halliwell. We played just once many years when we both commenced an interest in this form of chess, but Toni later went on to several fine achievements: International Master, Ladies International, Ladies Grandmaster, International Arbiter, and also a level 2 Tournament Director.

IM Chris Shepherd. As well as being a strong Correspondence player with ratings above 2500 for about 20 years from 1990, Chris was also a good otb player taking part in local Brimingham and Warwickshire individual and team events with some notable successes.

Entrant to this remarkably strong event include one Grandmaster, six Senior International Masters, seven International Master. and a single highly rated CCM. This web site will focus mainly on results from this event.

British Chess Problem Society (BCPS) (June 25)

The BCPS has once again efficiently organised the Winton British Chess Problem Solving Championship. The final of the 2025-26 event held in Harrow School was narrowly won by GM John Nunn over previous winner David Hodge. The event was decided only by the final problem!

The starter problem for the 2026-27 event has just been published on the BCPS web site, and the solution must be returned before the end of July.

The Society has also organised a Memorial tournament for IM Barry Barnes who edited the Problemist magazine for an impressive 38 years. Entrants need to compose a Direct mate in 2 moves a field of composition which was a forte of Barry for many years and for which he won many prizes.

The web site of the Problemist continues to be updated and now back issues of the magazine, even up until quite recently, can be viewed online as well as increasing numbers of past awards problems.

It is interesting to note that very strong o.t.b player Les Blackstock is also involved in Chess Problems and has just produced a Problemist Supplement Index for issues 161-200 of the magazine.

Next main update due on or about August 25 2026.

(minor updates may occur during each month)