The England Over 65 team retained their World Senior Team Chess Championship title in Prague today, after securing the final point that left their rivals trailing in their wake. The team were undefeated throughout the nine rounds, and this is the team’s third victory in this World Championship in the last four years and England are definitely the team to beat at the moment!
February 26th Round 9
The England 50+ 1st drew 2-2 with the leaders, Kazakhstan to finish just outside the medals in fourth place. The 2nd team beat China Women 3-1, whilst England 50+ 3rd team lost 3-1 to the Universiata Politecnica de Catalunya. The England 50+ Women lost to Dutch team LSG 1 by 3½-½.
England 65+ 1 drew 2-2 with four draws against Saxonia to retain their World title! England 2 beat Berlin by 3-1 with wins from Paul Littlewood and Chris Baker. England 3 drew 2-2 with Czech team SK Sokol Vysehrad and England 4 lost 3-1 to Finland 2.
Final Top Three Standings
| 50+ | 50+ Women | |
| 1 | USA 15 | Czech Republic 11 |
| 2 | Italy 15 | China 10 |
| 3 | Kazakhstan 14 | USA 9 |
| 65+ | ||
| 1 | England 1 16 | Latvia 8 |
| 2 | Lasker Germany 14 | Czech Republic 8 |
| 3 | Saxonia (Germany) 13 | Poland 5 |
The 2025 edition of the World Senior Team Chess Championships has just kicked off in the beautiful city of Prague, in the Czech Republic and it runs until 27th February. This is the largest attendance ever at one of these events, with a total of 108 registered teams, with 54 in each age group, coming from a total of 28 different Chess Federations. There are 513 players including 48 GMs, 58 IMs, 8 WGMs and 6 WIMs, making this the largest and the strongest World Senior Team Championships to date.
England is fielding eight teams, one fewer than we fielded in Krakow last July, comprising 39 players as follows:
England 50+ 1: 1. Mickey Adams 2. Stuart Conquest 3. Peter Wells 4. Mark Hebden 5. John Emms
England 50+ 2: 1. Nigel Davies 2. Steve Dishman 3. Mark Josse 4. Clive Frostick 5. Rick McMichael
England 50+ 3: 1. Martin Burrows 2. Haran Rasalingam 3. Martin Benjamin 4. Jon Freeman 5. Andy Proudfoot
England 50+ Women: 1. Ingrid Lauterbach 2. Natasha Regan 3. Sheila Jackson 4. Petra Nunn 5. Helen Frostick
England 65+ 1: 1. John Nunn 2. Glenn Flear 3. Tony Kosten 4. Peter Large 5. Terry Chapman
England 65+ 2: 1. Paul Littlewood 2. Tony Stebbings 3. Nigel Povah 4. Chris Baker 5. Ian Snape
England 65+ 3: 1. Brian Hewson 2. Tony Ashby 3. Tim Spanton 4. Charles Higgie
England 65+ 4: 1. Chris Fegan 2. Barry Hymer 3. Bob Kane 4. Michael Marshall 5. Kevin Winter
February 17th Round 1 – a very good start for England!
The England 50+ 1st team (2nd seeds, with the USA being top seeds) beat the Czech team TJ Sokol Udlice 4-0, which included a win from Peter Wells making his England Seniors debut, whilst the 2nd team (16th seeds) beat Guernsey by the same score, which included victories for Mark Josse and Rick McMichael who were also making their England Seniors debuts. It should also be noted that Nigel Davies registered an astonishing 6 move win on top board! England 50+ 3 (47th seeds) impressively beat 20th seeds Austria by 2½-1½, thanks to wins from Haran Rasalingam and Jon Freeman. Meanwhile England 50+ Women started their tournament with a tough fixture against 3rd seeded Iceland (with 4 GMs) and they unsurprisingly lost by 3½-½, with Petra Nunn getting a creditable draw.
England 65+ 1 (also 2nd seeds, with the German team Lasker Schachstiftung GK being top seeds) beat the Czech team VychodoCesi by 3½-½, as did England 2 (8th seeds) against SK 2012 Denmark. England 3 (34th seeds) were paired against 7th seeded Norge-OSS and managed an impressive 2-2 draw, thanks to draws from Tim Spanton and Charles Higgie (making his England Seniors debut), along with a fine win by Brian Hewson against a GM rated over 300 points higher than him! Finally, England 4 (45th seeds) also had an impressive result against Ireland 1 (18th seeds), beating them 2½-1½, thanks to wins from two other England Seniors debutants, Barry Hymer and Michael Marshall, with the latter celebrating his 80th birthday! So, England fielded six debutants in this round, who scored an impressive 5½ points between them!
February 18th Round 2 – a mixed set of results!
The England 50+ 1st team beat Denmark 3½-½ to remain joint leaders and the 2nd team lost by the same score with Nigel Davies securing the half point on board one against GM Johann Hjaratarson. The England 50+ 3rd team drew 2-2 with the USA 5 Brothers, with all four games being drawn. England 50+ Women bounced back with a convincing 3½-½ win against Guernsey.
England 65+ 1 beat Schach-Club Kreuzberg 3-1, courtesy of wins from Glenn Flear and Peter Large, whilst England 2 beat France 3 by 2½-1½, with Nigel Povah securing the solitary win, leaving both teams as joint leaders on four match points. England 3 lost 3-1 to Netherlands Orange with Charles Higgie registering his first win for England. England 4 lost to the top seeds Lasker Scahachstiftung GK by the same score, thanks to draws from Chris Fegan on top board against the reigning 65+ World Champion, GM Rainer Knaak and Kevin Winter on board 4, against an opponent rated over 460 Elo points above him!
February 19th Round 3 – more mixed results!
The England 50+ 1st team beat Hungary 3-1 and are now in third place in a five-way tie at the top. The 2nd team crushed Kazakhstan Women 4-0, whilst the England 50+ 3rd team lost 2½-1½ to the Czech Republic (7th seeds) but Martin Benjamin pulled off a great win by beating a 2330 IM. England 50+ Women sadly lost 3-1 to higher rated German team Confluentia, when they could’ve so easily won this match.
England 65+ 1 beat Sweden 1 by 2½-1½, with Peter Large impressively registering his third win, alongside another win from John Nunn. England 2 beat Czech team Coriolus 3-1, thanks to fine wins from Paul Littlewood and Ian Snape. Both teams are now leading in a three-way tie with Italy, with England 2 marginally ahead on tiebreak! England 3 beat KS-58 Helsinki 4-0, whilst England 4 lost 3-1 to France 3 with both Chris Fegan and Michael Marshall chalking up draws against higher rated opponents.
February 20th Round 4 – many close matches with 2½-1½ dominating!
The England 50+ 1st team unfortunately had a setback when they lost 2½-1½ to Italy and the 2nd team lost by the same score to the Czech Republic, despite Steve Dishman beating a 2410 GM on board two.
The England 50+ 3rd team also lost 2½-1½ to Finland, who tragically saw their top board, Ari Issakainen pass away during the night, after he had won his first-round game and we send our condolences to his family, friends and all of the Finnish players.
England 50+ Women won by 2½-1½ against the Czech team TJ Zdar nad Sazavou with Ingrid Lauterbach the sole victor on top board.
England 65+ 1 got revenge against Italy for our 50+ counterparts, by beating them 2½-1½, thanks to a win from Glenn Flear. Sadly England 2 couldn’t maintain their fine form and they succumbed to top seeds Lasker Scachstiftung GK by the obligatory 2½-1½, despite some impressive results from Paul Littlewood drawing with 65+ World Champion GM Rainer Knaak and Tony Stebbings drawing with the legendary GM Artur Yusupov. England 3 drew 2-2 with Team Skane from Sweden, whilst England 4 lost 3-1 to Brazil 1.
February 21st Round 5 – more close results and all to play for at the halfway stage!
The England 50+ 1st team beat the German team Confluentia 3½-½ and the 2nd team beat Universitat Politecnica de Catalan by 2½-1½, thanks to wins from Nigel Davies and Clive Frostick, whilst the England 50+ 3rd team lost 2½-1½ to Caissa Poland. England 50+ Women lost 3-1 to Equipe FQE with Natasha Regan impressively registering their only win by beating an IM on board two.
England 65+ 1 drew 2-2 with the top seeds Lasker Scachstiftung GK with Peter Large’s win (which gives him an impressive 4½/5) cancelling out Glenn Flear’s loss to GM Artur Yusupov. England 2 beat France 2 by 2½-1½, thanks to Nigel Povah’s solitary victory, making up for his defeat the day before. England 3 won by the same score against Denmark, with Charles Higgie registering the only win and England 4 also won by the same score, thanks to wins from Chris Fegan and Bob Kane.
So, after 5 rounds the standings at the top of each section are all quite tight, as follows:
50+ Open
Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Italy all having 9 points and England 1, Iceland and USA having 8 points.
50+ Women (total of 5 teams)
China Women 6; USA and Czech Republic Women 5, England and Kazakhstan Women 4
65+ Open
England 1 and Israel having 9 points and Sweden 1, France 1, Lasker Schachstiftung GK and England 2 having 8 points.
February 23rd Round 6 – a good day for all of our top teams!
The England 50+ 1st team beat Iceland convincingly by 3½-½, thanks to wins from Mickey Adams (now on 4½/5), Stuart Conquest (on 4/5) and Mark Hebden (on 5½/6) and now lead the USA, Slovakia and Italy on tiebreak, with two extra game points. The 2nd team won by the same score against Czech team SK JOLY Lysa nad Labem, whilst the England 50+ 3rd team beat German team Sachsenwolfe by 2½-1½ thanks to wins from Haran Raslingam and Jon Freeman. Meanwhile England 50+ Women won 3-1 against Czech team Sekacek.
England 65+ 1 beat Israel 3-1 to take the sole lead thanks to wins from Peter Large (now with 5½ from 6) and Terry Chapman. England 2 drew 2-2 against the 3rd seeds, France 1, with all four games drawn. Sadly, England 3 were crushed 4-0 by the 5th seeded Czech Republic and England 4 lost by 2½-1½ to Deutsche Bahn/BSW.
February 24th Round 7 – another day of mixed results!
The England 50+ 1st team drew 2-2 with Slovakia, after a win from Stuart Conquest cancelled out a very rare loss from Mickey Adams. The 2nd team lost 3-1 to Sweden, whilst England 50+ 3rd team beat Czech team SK Bohemia Pardubice by 2½-1½ thanks to a win from Haran Raslingam. The England 50+ Women lost 3-1 to Oslo Schakelskap.
England 65+ 1 beat France 1 by 3-1 thanks to wins from John Nunn (an undefeated 5/7 on top board) and Peter Large, who is playing like a juggernaut and now has 6½ from 7! England 2 drew 2-2 with Israel, whilst England 3 lost 2½-1½ and England 4 won 3-1 against Czech Republic Women, with wins from Barry Hymer and Michael Marshall.
Our top teams are still leading in both events but the 50+ 1st team still have a lot to do, with tough matches against the USA and Kazakhstan in prospect, whilst the 65+ 1st team are sole leaders and have played all of their top rivals.
February 25th Round 8 – some ups and some downs
The England 50+ 1st lost 2½-1½ to the USA, which sadly ends their Gold medal chances. The 2nd team beat Dutch team Zuid Limburg 4-0, whilst England 50+ 3rd team lost 2½-1½ to the Polish Amateurs despite Haran Rasalingam winning his third consecutive game. The England 50+ Women beat Czech team Stredocesi by the same score, thanks to wins from Natasha Regan and Sheila Jackson offsetting Ingrid Lauterbach’s defeat on top board.
England 65+ 1 beat England 2 by 2½-1½, thanks to Tony Kosten defeating Chris Baker, and now need to simply avoid defeat in the last round to retain their World title. England 3 beat Finland 2 by 2½-1½ with Charles Higgie getting the solitary win and England 4 lost by the same score to Czech team SK Slavoj Litomence.
So the England 65+ 1st team are almost certain to retain their 65+ World Seniors title, whilst the 50+ 1st team and the 50+ Women’s team both still have chances of getting a medal, if results go their way.