David Durrant 0–1 Robert Jennings
George Hart 1–0 Kevin Charlton
Owen Taylor 1–0 Paul Hobbs
Group Two
Trefor Owens 1–0 Nick Allen
Keith Hyde 1–0 Michael Dale
Mike Ingham 0–1 David Page
Jon Valijonov 0–1 Stephen Lamb
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Updated 24/10/26
Swale Chess Club report—22nd October 2026
Harvey Cup match v Rainham
Our club got off to a good start in the Harvey Cup with a 5–1 win over Rainham. Thanks and well done to the team.
Jon (1), David P (0.5), Sylvie (1), Craig (1), Paul (1), Leo (0.5)
The next fixture is away next Wednesday 28th October at Maidstone.
Swale Chess Club Championship
The results were:
Group One
Keith Nevols 1–0 Duncan Marsh
Chris Marshall 0–1 George Hart
Group Two
Stephen Lamb 0.5–0.5 Nick Allen
Trefor Owens 1–0 Andrew Gillard
Keith Hyde 1–0 Kieran Adams
Featured game of the week
—Contributed by Trefor
A game I played for Broadstairs v Ramsgate. I saw the finish when I played Bg4 but never guessed that it would actually happen!
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Updated 16/10/26
Swale Chess Club report—15th October 2026
Fuller Cup Match
Unfortunately we lost our first match of the season to Hastings 3–1. Players and results were:
Paul (0), Andrew (0.5), Mike I (0), and Leo (0.5).
Leo is now the youngest player ever to have represented Swale Chess Club!
Well done, Leo.
Swale Chess Club Championship
Some more fighting and interesting chess last night—and still no draws.
Group One
Kevin Charlton 1–0 Robert Jennings
Chris Marshall 0–1 Craig Lindsay
Duncan Marsh 0–1 Owen Taylor
Sylvie Nijman 1–0 David Durrant
Group Two
Kieran Adams 0–1 Trefor Owens
Keith Hyde 1–0 Oliver Szabo
Gary Clifford 0–1 Stephen Lamb
David Page 1–0 Michael Dale
Jon Valijonov 0–1 Bouchra Fadil
Rapid Chess Championship
Quarter Final
Keith Nevols 1–0 Joe Eagle
Joe Eagle 0.5–0.5 Keith Nevols
Next week we have a home match in the Harvey against Rainham.
Report—Thanet Chess Congress
A well-attended event at an excellent venue. Three Swale Chess Club members attended—Stephen, Andrew and Bouchra—(four including Trefor, who spectated), clocking up a reasonable 6.5 points between them. Bouchra's 3.5/5 earned her a book prize:
Mini-puzzle
—Contributed by Andrew
From the Thanet Congress. Black is aggressing my passed pawn. White to play.
42 Re8! threatening mate with 43 Rh8#! Otherwise there is a draw by repetition after 42 …Rg8 43 Re7+ Rg7 44 Re8 Rg8 45 Re7+ Rg7 46 Re8, as happened in the game. There is actually a tricky-to-find forced mate in 9 if instead 44 Nf8+!
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Updated 10/10/26
Swale Chess Club report—8th October 2026
Firstly, many thanks to Leo for the cakes and we hope he had a happy birthday.
The results:
Swale Chess Club Championship
Still no draws after 35 games.
Group One
Craig Lindsay 0–1 Arnaud Wisman
Kevin Charlton 1–0 Paul Hobbs
Chris Marshall 1–0 David Durrant
Duncan Marsh 0–1 George Hart
Leo Rudd 0–1 Sylvie Nijman
Group Two
Trefor Owens 1–0 Bouchra Fadil
Michael Dale 0–1 Stephen Lamb
David Page 1–0 Kieran Adams
Jon Valijonov 1–0 Andrew Gillard
Mike Ingham 0–1 Oliver Szabo
Rapid Chess Championship
Quarter Final
Nick Allen 0.5–0.5 Keith Hyde
Keith Hyde 1–0 Nick Allen
Next week will see our first match of the season—in the Fuller Cup at home to Hastings.
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Updated 03/10/26
54th Thanet FIDE Chess Congress—Friday 9th–Sunday 11th October 2026
Baypoint Sports Club, Ramsgate Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9QL
Five-round Swiss tournament (time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from start)
Two sections ECF & FIDE rated: Open, U1800; ECF-rated U1550.
Another evening of decisive chess in the championship—so far we have had 25 games and no draws.
The results:
Swale Chess Club Championship
Group One
Robert Jennings 0–1 Owen Taylor
Paul Hobbs 0–1 Chris Marshall
George Hart 1–0 Sylvie Nijman
Leo Rudd 1–0 David Durrant
Group Two
Trefor Owens 1–0 Mike Ingham
Andrew Gillard 0–1 David Page
Oliver Szabo 0–1 Jon Valijonov
Nick Allen 1–0 Gary Clifford
Kieran Adams 1–0 Bouchra Fadil
Report—Medway Congress
A well-organised event at a splendid venue. Five Swale members attended (six if one includes Gary, who spectated): Chris, Joe, Stephen, Andrew and Bouchra. They amassed a respectable 11.5 points between them.
Mini-puzzle
—Contributed by Andrew
From the Medway Congress. I was in a strong position but was down on time against a higher-rated opponent. How did I get a quick result? Black to play.
I went for the draw! Nh4+! Kg1 (pxN drops the queen), Nf3+ Kg2, Nh4+ with a draw by repetition.
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Updated 28/09/26
54th Thanet FIDE Chess Congress—Friday 9th–Sunday 11th October 2026
Baypoint Sports Club, Ramsgate Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9QL
Five-round Swiss tournament (time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from start)
Two sections ECF & FIDE rated: Open, U1800; ECF-rated U1550.
A busy evening last night; it was good to see everyone and some tough competitive chess was played.
Welcome on board to Robert, who will be joining us, and will be in Group One of the Club Championship.
Swale Chess Club Championship
Last night's results:
Group One
Leo Rudd 0–1 Keith Nevols
George Hart 1–0 Owen Taylor
Paul Hobbs 0–1 Sylvie Nijman
Group Two
Bouchra Fadil 0–1 Keith Hyde
Oliver Szabo 0–1 Stephen Lamb
Kieran Adams 0–1 Jon Valijonov
Gary Clifford 0–1 Andrew Gillard
Rapid Chess Championship
Group B
David Page 0–1 Kevin Charlton
Mike Ingham 0–1 Duncan Marsh
Mike Ingham 0.5–0.5 Nick Allen
Craig Lindsay 1–0 Duncan Marsh
This concludes the group stage and the quarter finals are:
Keith Hyde v Nick Allen
Keith Nevols v Joe Eagle
Stephen Lamb v Gary Clifford
Chris Marshall v Kevin Charlton
(Joe is third on the basis of having more wins)
Mini-puzzle
From a recent game at Swale Chess Club. White is in trouble. What are Black's next two moves? Black to play.
28 …d3+ This would win the queen after 29 Rf2 (interposing the knight just prolongs the agony). Even stronger than pxQ is the forced checkmate 29 …Qc6! 30 Bf3 Qxf3! exploiting the pin 31 Kf1 (or any other move) Qh1#.
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Updated 12/09/26
Medway FIDE-rated Congress—Friday 25th–Sunday 27th September 2026
Chatham Masonic Hall, 5 Manor Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 6AU
FIDE-rated & ECF-rated Standardplay (5 rounds of 90 mins + 30 seconds per move).
Three sections: Open (FIDE and ECF-rated); U1800 (FIDE and ECF-rated); U1400 (ECF-rated only).
Thank you to all who took part in our start of season blitz tournament. Some fast and furious chess was played.
Well done to Keith Hyde for winning the contest, and to George Hart for also being unbeaten.
The results:
(Keith Hyde topped Group 2 on coin toss)
Final
Keith Hyde 1–0 Jon Valijonov
Others
Keith Nevols 0–1 George Hart
Andrew Gillard 0–1 Craig Lindsay
Gary Clifford 0–1 David Page
Bouchra Fadil 1–0 Paul Hobbs
Kieran Adams 1–0 Leo Rudd
David Durrant 0–1 Mike Ingham
Featured game of the week
Leo—aged 8—was the only player to win in the battle last week with Whitstable. The finish of his game deserves a spot on the website.
Both players were named Leo. Our player Leo Rudd is Black to move, finishing the game with
It was nice to see some of you last night for our evening of casual chess—grab a board and play someone—to shake off some rust after the summer break. Welcome on board to Jon and Bouchra and welcome back on board to George.
Match v Whitstable—2nd September 2026
Thank you to those who travelled to Whitstable to meet their challenge of a match against a strong team.
Unfortunately we had to default one board, and lost by 5.5–2.5. Well done to Leo for being our sole victor in his debut for Swale Chess Club.
Results and board order were Keith N (0), Keith H (0.5), default (0), Gary (0.5), Paul (0), Andrew (0.5), Mike (0), Leo (1)
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Updated 08/08/26
Medway FIDE-rated Congress—Friday 25th–Sunday 27th September 2026
Chatham Masonic Hall, 5 Manor Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 6AU
FIDE-rated & ECF-rated Standardplay (5 rounds of 90 mins + 30 seconds per move).
Three sections: Open (FIDE and ECF-rated); U1800 (FIDE and ECF-rated); U1400 (ECF-rated only).
fixture results, league tables etc: ecflms.org.uk
