Welcome to the ECF Reports for the European Youth Chess Championships 2006

Round 7

Meet the coaches (5): Robert Bellin

Robert has been a chess professional all his life. Based in Walsall, he chooses now to concentrate mostly on coaching and writing. One book to single out is Test your Positional Play (Batsford), which has been reprinted many times; it was one of the first books to explore “active learning”, a method to help things stick in the memory. He has two boys, one of which won the British U8 championship. Robert himself was the British Champion in 1979 (“arguably the strongest year ever”), unbeaten and with opponents including Short, Miles, Nunn, Hebden and Speelman. In 1981, he won the first ever tournament in China, traveling there with GMs Keene and Speelman. Robert was national coach of the Luxembourg team for five years in the early nineties and captained them in two Olympiads. Two years ago he won the Guernsey chess festival with 6.5/7. Robert played a key role in the revolution in women’s chess in England and captained them in several Olympiads.

IM Robert Bellin

Robert with fellow coaches Andrew Greet, Jovanka Houska, Neil McDonald and Thomas Rendle have given their thoughts on the Round 7 games.

Round 7 games

The rain drove down hard all morning and we were informed that this now officially marks the end of the summer. In the afternoon as the clouds dispersed some people spilt out on to the terrace once more, others stayed inside to watch the live Man U-Arsenal match. The chess players in the England squad collectively gained 9 more points, over half marks.

Radha (1h) played a great game. Her opponent blundered two pieces; Radha sacrificed a piece for a massive seven pawns and finished the game off very nicely. Marcus (2h15m) got back to winning ways. When Marcus was already in a strong position his opponent blundered a piece and Marcus never let him back into the game.

Samuel (3h40m) turned down several draw offers and tried hard to win, but his opponent escaped with half a point after some inaccuracies whilst in mutual time trouble. Saravanan’s (2h40m) choice of opening can only be described as bizarre. Nonetheless the surprise effect was sufficient to bamboozle his opponent, giving Saravanan a chance to start a strong attack. Thereafter he failed to seize all his chances and the game burnt out into a draw after some wild play. Yang-Fan (3h10m) had chances to exploit a strong opening, but missed a tactical trick and in the end he had to hang on for the draw.

Sheila (3h25m) lost her game in another tough struggle which reflected credit on both players. It was an unusually difficult middle game with complications which clarified into an unstoppable attack after a few excellent moves by her opponent. Amisha (3h55m) tried to win the game having gained an extra pawn, but was not quite able to convert and settled for a draw. Jessica (3h25m) played the Queen's Gambit as black and achieved a draw after some gritty defence.

Callum (2h50m) had an unfortunate game – having prepared an opening line, the opponent played it one move differently and took advantage of other possibilities to win the game. Subin (3h55m – same as Round 6!) comprehensively outplayed his opponent on the black side of a C3 Sicilian. Each move of his opponent became more and more helpless as Subin slowly increased his stranglehold on both sides of the board. Finally, his opponent threw in the towel.

Selina (4h10m) had a difficult opening, fought back well, but got short of time and lost under pressure. Chantal’s game (3h40m) was virtually drawn throughout, but in the last moments she was in time trouble and a mistake cost her the game. James (3h) had a sophisticated positional struggle where he tried in vain to prove an edge, but in the end the game was shared.

Ankush (1h20m) was back to form with a crushing victory. His tactics made everyone smile in the post mortem. Thomas (1h20m) had a very complicated game in which he staged an exciting attack with tactical possibilities, but sadly made some inaccuracies which cost him the game.

Simon (3h) had a typically convincing victory, his head seeming to be back in gear. Li (4h15m) was surprised slightly by his opponent in the opening and was forced to improvise, sacrificing a pawn and playing accurately to compensate. The FM-titled Russian opponent played a decent game, but in the end - with both players short on time - a slip-up by the opponent presented Li with a chance to win, which he took well.

For today's annotated games, please click here.

Subin enjoys his new chess set bought here

A thoughtful Amisha

Selina preparing for her game

The 2:20 pm gathering before Round 7. Water distributed to players.

A meeting of the menu sub-committee

The influence of Russia and eastern Europe

It is striking just how large a proportion of the games are against players from Russia, the Former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. We decided to take a closer look behind those country codes…

Up to and including Round 7, 35% of the games played by the English squad was against opponents from Russia and the FSU, 32% versus eastern Europeans and 33% other. You only have to look at the seedings to see just how dominant a force these countries are in chess. Based on the top 20 seeds in the sections in which our players are competing, 53% are from Russia and the FSU, 27% eastern Europe and 21% other. In other words, in any given section, only 3 – 7 of the top 20 players come from outside Russia, the FSU or eastern Europe.

The generally accepted reason for the strength of these countries is a different level of resourcing, often state-backed. This year, the European Youth Championship has attracted a record number of participants, which in part is due to several countries not sending players to the World Junior after confusions over the venue. A number of people have commented that the European competition is in fact the stronger of the two.

Opponents of England players in Rounds 1 – 7 categorised by nationality

Breakdown of top 20 seeded players in sections in which England players compete. Excludes U10 due to low number of rated players.

Behind the scenes

For the parents and players the trip to Montenegro began at the start of the summer with a phone call from Harriet Hunt, ECF Manager of International Junior Chess, with the message that so-and-so was invited to represent England in the European Youth Championship. We are all grateful to Harriet, who herself has been unable to come this year due to a commitment in China. Behind the scenes Eric Khoo has worked tirelessly with Harriet and fellow group squad manager Krishna Parmar to ensure that all logistics have gone smoothly. Funnily enough it is also a business commitment in China which prevented Eric booking to come, with his wife Rosie continuing the good work here on his behalf. Travel, insurance, T-shirts, visas, not to mention the setting up of a special website for these reports – you name it, between them they have had it all covered. Special thanks to Selina’s elder sister Teresa Khoo, who has helped Eric upload our files, often a clunky process with so many megabytes and odd formats. Special thanks also to Charika, who kindly volunteered to help with creating Excel spreadsheets with results, the draw and other useful data such as today’s wizzy charts.

Harriet Hunt, ECF Manager of International Junior Chess

Eric Khoo helping the group check in at Heathrow in a pose that says it all – head down, smile on face, centre of action

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	Sunday 17th September 2006
	Round 7 Meet the coaches (5): Robert Bellin Robert has been a chess professional all his life. Based in Walsall, he chooses now to concentrate mostly on coaching and writing. One book to single out is Test your Positional Play (Batsford), which has been reprinted many times; it was one of the first books to explore “active learning”, a method to help things stick in the memory. He has two boys, one of which won the British U8 championship. Robert himself was the British Champion in 1979 (“arguably the strongest year ever”), unbeaten and with opponents including Short, Miles, Nunn, Hebden and Speelman. In 1981, he won the first ever tournament in China, traveling there with GMs Keene and Speelman. Robert was national coach of the Luxembourg team for five years in the early nineties and captained them in two Olympiads. Two years ago he won the Guernsey chess festival with 6.5/7. Robert played a key role in the revolution in women’s chess in England and captained them in several Olympiads. IM Robert Bellin Robert with fellow coaches Andrew Greet, Jovanka Houska, Neil McDonald and Thomas Rendle have given their thoughts on the Round 7 games. Round 7 games The rain drove down hard all morning and we were informed that this now officially marks the end of the summer. In the afternoon as the clouds dispersed some people spilt out on to the terrace once more, others stayed inside to watch the live Man U-Arsenal match. The chess players in the England squad collectively gained 9 more points, over half marks. Radha (1h) played a great game. Her opponent blundered two pieces; Radha sacrificed a piece for a massive seven pawns and finished the game off very nicely. Marcus (2h15m) got back to winning ways. When Marcus was already in a strong position his opponent blundered a piece and Marcus never let him back into the game. Samuel (3h40m) turned down several draw offers and tried hard to win, but his opponent escaped with half a point after some inaccuracies whilst in mutual time trouble. Saravanan’s (2h40m) choice of opening can only be described as bizarre. Nonetheless the surprise effect was sufficient to bamboozle his opponent, giving Saravanan a chance to start a strong attack. Thereafter he failed to seize all his chances and the game burnt out into a draw after some wild play. Yang-Fan (3h10m) had chances to exploit a strong opening, but missed a tactical trick and in the end he had to hang on for the draw. Sheila (3h25m) lost her game in another tough struggle which reflected credit on both players. It was an unusually difficult middle game with complications which clarified into an unstoppable attack after a few excellent moves by her opponent. Amisha (3h55m) tried to win the game having gained an extra pawn, but was not quite able to convert and settled for a draw. Jessica (3h25m) played the Queen's Gambit as black and achieved a draw after some gritty defence. Callum (2h50m) had an unfortunate game – having prepared an opening line, the opponent played it one move differently and took advantage of other possibilities to win the game. Subin (3h55m – same as Round 6!) comprehensively outplayed his opponent on the black side of a C3 Sicilian. Each move of his opponent became more and more helpless as Subin slowly increased his stranglehold on both sides of the board. Finally, his opponent threw in the towel. Selina (4h10m) had a difficult opening, fought back well, but got short of time and lost under pressure. Chantal’s game (3h40m) was virtually drawn throughout, but in the last moments she was in time trouble and a mistake cost her the game. James (3h) had a sophisticated positional struggle where he tried in vain to prove an edge, but in the end the game was shared. Ankush (1h20m) was back to form with a crushing victory. His tactics made everyone smile in the post mortem. Thomas (1h20m) had a very complicated game in which he staged an exciting attack with tactical possibilities, but sadly made some inaccuracies which cost him the game. Simon (3h) had a typically convincing victory, his head seeming to be back in gear. Li (4h15m) was surprised slightly by his opponent in the opening and was forced to improvise, sacrificing a pawn and playing accurately to compensate. The FM-titled Russian opponent played a decent game, but in the end - with both players short on time - a slip-up by the opponent presented Li with a chance to win, which he took well. For today's annotated games, please click here. Subin enjoys his new chess set bought here A thoughtful Amisha Selina preparing for her game The 2:20 pm gathering before Round 7. Water distributed to players. A meeting of the menu sub-committee The influence of Russia and eastern Europe It is striking just how large a proportion of the games are against players from Russia, the Former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. We decided to take a closer look behind those country codes… Up to and including Round 7, 35% of the games played by the English squad was against opponents from Russia and the FSU, 32% versus eastern Europeans and 33% other. You only have to look at the seedings to see just how dominant a force these countries are in chess. Based on the top 20 seeds in the sections in which our players are competing, 53% are from Russia and the FSU, 27% eastern Europe and 21% other. In other words, in any given section, only 3 – 7 of the top 20 players come from outside Russia, the FSU or eastern Europe. The generally accepted reason for the strength of these countries is a different level of resourcing, often state-backed. This year, the European Youth Championship has attracted a record number of participants, which in part is due to several countries not sending players to the World Junior after confusions over the venue. A number of people have commented that the European competition is in fact the stronger of the two. Opponents of England players in Rounds 1 – 7 categorised by nationality Breakdown of top 20 seeded players in sections in which England players compete. Excludes U10 due to low number of rated players. Behind the scenes For the parents and players the trip to Montenegro began at the start of the summer with a phone call from Harriet Hunt, ECF Manager of International Junior Chess, with the message that so-and-so was invited to represent England in the European Youth Championship. We are all grateful to Harriet, who herself has been unable to come this year due to a commitment in China. Behind the scenes Eric Khoo has worked tirelessly with Harriet and fellow group squad manager Krishna Parmar to ensure that all logistics have gone smoothly. Funnily enough it is also a business commitment in China which prevented Eric booking to come, with his wife Rosie continuing the good work here on his behalf. Travel, insurance, T-shirts, visas, not to mention the setting up of a special website for these reports – you name it, between them they have had it all covered. Special thanks to Selina’s elder sister Teresa Khoo, who has helped Eric upload our files, often a clunky process with so many megabytes and odd formats. Special thanks also to Charika, who kindly volunteered to help with creating Excel spreadsheets with results, the draw and other useful data such as today’s wizzy charts. Harriet Hunt, ECF Manager of International Junior Chess Eric Khoo helping the group check in at Heathrow in a pose that says it all – head down, smile on face, centre of action