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Daily Telegraph

Malcolm Pein's daily chess column is available at the Telegraph's web site. You need to register, which is free. The daily chess column can be found by clicking the "Chess Club" link in the Arts section.

This article is used on the 4NCL web site with permission.

A new international event makes a welcome entry into the UK tournament calendar later this month. The 1st Coventry International is being organised by Mark Hogarth at King Henry VIII School, Coventry from 16th-18th April.

The tournament will have Elite Grand Prix status and the BCF have awarded it a qualifying place to the 2004 Smith & Williamson British Championship which takes place this August at Scarborough.

The Coventry International will be a five round Swiss tournament, FIDE rated and with a Classical Chess time control of 40 moves in 2 hours followed by all remaining moves in 30 minutes.

Confirmed entries include: Grandmasters Mark Hebden, Keith Arkell and Jonathan Rowson plus International Masters Paul Littlewood, Chris Baker, who hails from Conventry, Lawrence Cooper and Bob Wade.

The first prize is Ł500 from a total of over Ł1300.

Mark Hogarth took part in the simultaneous display given by Garry Kasparov in London that was sponsored by Belzberg Technologies at the Café Royale last year. Kasparov won all 24 games but Hogarth was one of the few players who actually held the advantage at one point. Had he safeguarded his position with 24...Rh7 or 24...Kb8 Kasparov's play on the queenside would have been less dangerous for example 24...Rh7 25 Qa4 Kb8 26 Bh4 Qg6 but after 24...h4 25.Qa4! Kb8 loses to 26 Bxh4 Rxh4 27 Qc6!

G.Kasparov - M.Hogarth
Belzberg Simul
Sicilian Defence
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+ Bd7 4 Bxd7+ Qxd7 5 c4 e5 6 Nc3 Be7 7 a3 Nc6 8 Rb1 f5 9 d3 f4 10 b4 g5 11 h3 h5 12 Nd5 Nd4 13 bxc5 Nxf3+ 14 Qxf3 dxc5 15 Bb2 Bd6 16 Qd1 0-0-0 17 h4 Qg4 18 Kf1 gxh4 19 f3 Qg5 20 Bc3 Nf6 21 Be1 Nxd5 22 cxd5 Rdg8 23 Rb2 h3 24 Rxh3 h4 25 Qa4! Bb8 26 Qb5 Qe7 27 Bxh4 Qd7 28 Qxd7+ Kxd7 29 Rxb7+ 1-0

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If you want to try for an international rating it is not too late to enter, phone Roy Woodcock on 024 76348 097

A game from the 4NCL Division 2. Team sponsor Nigel Povah despatched his opponent from Wessex in style but to no avail, his Guildford ADC II team lost 2.5-5.5 . Black is well ahead in the attacking race when White tries to catch up with 15.b4 only to find pawn removed with 15…Bxb4! and if 16.cxb4 Nxd4 forking queen and bishop. If 19.g3 fxg3 and White has to give up the bishop on g4. 21.cxb7+ while tempting was the decisive error because White needed the check on f5 after 20.cxb4 gxh3 21.Qxe4 Rd4 22.Qf5+ and Qxh3. In the final position White is losing a rook.

R.Webb - N.Povah
4NCL Div 2 (6.2)
Scandinavian Defence

1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Nf6 3 d4 Bg4 4 Nf3 Qxd5 5 Be2 Nc6 6 h3 Bxf3 7 Bxf3 Qd7 8 c3 0-0-0 9 0-0 e5! 10 Qb3 e4 11 Be2 Nd5 12 Qc2 f5 13 Nd2 Nf4 14 Nc4 g5! 15 b4 Bxb4 16 Bxf4 gxf4 17 d5 Qg7! 18 dxc6 Rhg8 19 Bg4 fxg4 20 Qxe4 gxh3 21 cxb7+ Kb8 22 Ne5 Rd6 23 Rfd1 Bxc3 24 Rxd6 Bxe5 0-1

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