133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

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John Saunders
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133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:52 pm

The 133rd Varsity Chess Match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities takes place at the RAC Club, Pall Mall, London, on Saturday 7 March 2015, starting at 12.30pm. This year it will be possible to follow the games live online.

The official link is via the RAC Club website here: https://www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/S ... essvarsity

The press release (PDF) is here: http://www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/as ... elease.pdf

Live games will be here: http://www.chess.dw4n.com/Varsity/tfd.htm

A few items from the official press release... This year’s event will be officially opened by GM Luke McShane, who played board one for Oxford in the 2004 and 2005 Varsity chess matches... The approximate average age of Oxford team is 23 years and Cambridge is 21 years, with approximate average ratings of Oxford 2126 and Cambridge 2252. After 132 matches the overall score stands at: Cambridge 58, Oxford 53, Drawn 21. Spectators most welcome – dress code applies [i.e. collar and tie, jacket].

Oxford team: David Zakarian (2386f, ARM), David Pires Tavares Martins (2293f, POR), Rhys Cumming (2130, ENG), Gordon Scott (2087, ENG), Dominic Foord (2081, ENG), Howard Chiu (2076c, SIN), Jude Lenier (2065, ENG), Nicole Miranda Gonzalez (1934wf, CHI).

Cambridge team: Yang Fan-Zhou (2477m, ENG), Daniel Fernandez (2456m, SIN), Richard Weaving (2257, ENG), Rafe Martyn (2253f, ENG), Jean-Luc Weller (2233, ENG), Andrew McClement (2179, SCO), Saravanan Sathyanandha (2163, ENG), En Huei Danielle Ho (1974wf, SIN).
Last edited by John Saunders on Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:16 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2014

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:02 pm

Good to see the team line-ups. Best of luck to all the players and glad to see Cambridge hold a rating advantage (not that it ever seems to count for much).
Last edited by Christopher Kreuzer on Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sat Mar 07, 2015 4:39 pm

4.36pm and the first game to finish after four hours' play is on board 7 where Saravanan Sathyanandha (Cambridge) beat Jude Lenier (Oxford). A very tense, and possibly close, match.
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sat Mar 07, 2015 4:44 pm

Maybe not so close - a disaster for Oxford on board 3 where they had seemed to be much better. Note that live game moves may be incomplete and are being fixed now. But Oxford have won board five, so the score is Cambridge 2, Oxford 1, as at 4.45pm.
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sat Mar 07, 2015 5:33 pm

Score now 2-2 as Howard Chiu beat Andrew McClement. That leaves four games. Cambridge seem certain to win board eight, while board four should be drawn (but there might be tricks for Oxford). On board one David Zakarian may have overlooked an earlier win against Yang-Fan Zhou but the position now seems about equal. On board two Cambridge have had what looked like a winning edge for what seems ages, but the Oxford man keeps hanging in there. The likeliest final score is now Cambridge 5, Oxford 3, but strange things often happen in this match.
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Martin Benjamin
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by Martin Benjamin » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:00 pm

47....Re4 looks to me like a losing blunder by Rafe Martyn. Doesn't 48 Qb1 win outright? 48 Qb7 (which is the more obvious queen move) may be winning too.
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:04 pm

The score as at 6pm is Cambridge 4, Oxford 2, with Oxford needing to win the remaining two games, namely Yang-Fan Zhou vs David Zakarian and Gordon Scott vs Rafe Martyn, in order to tie the match.

As to your point, Martin, yes, it does look to be over. Qb1 played... so it will be all down to the top board game. And the Cambridge player has just blundered on board one! Watch this space...
Last edited by John Saunders on Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Richard Bates
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by Richard Bates » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:05 pm

4-4 it will be

Impressive creativity employed by the Cambridge players to lose the last two
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Martin Benjamin
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by Martin Benjamin » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:25 pm

Richard Bates wrote:4-4 it will be

Impressive creativity employed by the Cambridge players to lose the last two
They were both tricky (and similar) positions to play after many hours hard thinking, particularly Yang-Fan's.
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:28 pm

Yes, 4-4. A remarkable save by Oxford at the end, from two vaguely similar positions, with queen and rook combining to create devilish tricks.
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Richard Bates
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by Richard Bates » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:29 pm

Martin Benjamin wrote:
Richard Bates wrote:4-4 it will be

Impressive creativity employed by the Cambridge players to lose the last two
They were both tricky (and similar) positions to play after many hours hard thinking, particularly Yang-Fan's.
I wasn't implying the positions were dead draws, merely that the ways they both found to lose were very creative! In the sense that the finishes both required a certain degree of co-operation through careful piece positioning by the loser (particularly so on board 3)
Last edited by Richard Bates on Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:31 pm









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Martin Benjamin
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by Martin Benjamin » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:33 pm

Richard Bates wrote:
Martin Benjamin wrote:
Richard Bates wrote:4-4 it will be

Impressive creativity employed by the Cambridge players to lose the last two
They were both tricky (and similar) positions to play after many hours hard thinking, particularly Yang-Fan's.
I wasn't implying the positions were dead draws, merely that the ways they both found to lose were very creative!
Yes, particularly Board 1, where one can admire an aesthetic quality about the way the queen and rook combine to force the win - unless one is sitting in White's chair.....
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John Saunders
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Re: 133rd Varsity Chess Match, Saturday 7 March 2015

Post by John Saunders » Sun Mar 08, 2015 11:07 pm

I've written a report of the match, plus a games viewer/download facility and a couple of photos at Britbase:

http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/201 ... iewer.html

A good time was had by all, for which many thanks to Henry Mutkin, Stephen Meyler and other members of the RAC Club chess circle.
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