December 27.  This is our last entry for the 2009 Chess Blog for Bishops of Bowser.  Next week we will be back at the Bean Counter and I will start a new blog for 2010.  Today we met at the Sandbar Cafe in Qualicum Bay, five minutes south of Bowser on 19A.  For those not familiar with our area Qualicum Bay is quite distinct from Qualicum Beach.  We had a turnout of regulars and one guest who expressed an interest in playing in the future.  Colin is from Qualicum Beach and formerly from Liverpool where he used to see the Beatles at the Cave.  Hope to see you over the board soon Colin.

Many thanks to the management and staff at the Sandbar for excellent service.

 

Sandbar Cafe in Qualicum Bay south of Bowser

 

TJ complaining about chest pains.  Hope its just intercostal inflamation.

 

It's hard to get a good picture of Doug.  He usually has his head in his hands when he plays.

 

Jelke and Serena made the trip down from Comox

 

Serena beat Robert in an interesting and close end

 

 

David plays while Wes looks on.

 

An overhead shot of the regulars.

 

Pensive David

 

December 20.  A wet and rainy day at the Bean Counter.  Turn out was light.  David, TJ, Robert, Aaron and Trevor played some good chess . . . is there any other kind?  The Bean Counter was quiet.  Perhaps it was the rain or the holiday season.  The Bishops of Bowser gave TJ a marble chess board so there will be no more excuses TJ.

Don't forget next Sunday we meet at the Sandbar in Qualicum Bay.

 

Only chess Players

 

The rains fell hard on our summertime tables

 

TJ  at the top and Trevor on the bottom

 

Aaron and David

 

TJ displays his new marble board

 

 

 

Amanda and Megan take a break

 

December 13.  Today was an excellent day for chess.  We had a lot of regulars out and a few visitors as well.  Mark and Matt from Fanny Bay took advantage of a vacant board.  Mark was teaching Matt who had not played before.  Serena who has visited frequently with Jelke, finally played with assistance from others and seemed to enjoy the games.

 

The head table

 

Serena's first game and Aaron

 

From the outside looking in

 

The Smoker's Club  - Doug and TJ

 

Newcomer Danton threatens to anhialate Dave

 

Cara and Aaron while Caydon (Sp?) advises

 

Onlookers

 

December 6.  Please excuse the long absence of my archive entries for the Sunday sessions.  I attended the Jack Taylor Memorial in Victoria on November 21 and 22 and have not made entries since then.  However the Sunday sessions have been very active attracting about 10 players each day including several new players.  Today was another busy day although I had to leave early (1230) for another commitment.  The weather was cold and that penetrated the annex at the Bean Counter but the players persevered.  Jelke brought a box of chess books and magazines that he is donating to the club from his own collection.  Members can borrow these on Sundays.

 

Aaron plays Doug while Willem contemplates the board against the temporarily absent TJ

 

Aaron watches while Dave plays Doug and Willem plays TJ

 

 

Trevor plays Wes

 

 

November 8.  Today we had 10 chess players at the Bean Counter.  All the regulars, some returns from bygone days and a new player and his father from Deep Bay.  Willem and his father Christo only heard about us recently from Gerry Wilson in Qualicum Beach.  We hope to see them regularly now.  Also good to see George Green,  Doug Lord and Norm again.

 

Dave Wilson and George Green

 

 

TJ plays Doug and Willem at once

 

Wes and Dave

 

Willem and George

 

 

 

A 

Gerry and David

 

November 1.  An excellent day of chess with four regulars.  Cool weather and low sun angle forced us inside.

 

October 25.  Today we had some exciting chess and a great turn-out.  It was a cool rainy day.  Regulars Robert, Wes, TJ, David and Doug were present and we had two new people drop by separately but both from Qualicum Beach.  Francine noticed some guys playing chess and ended up playing TJ.  She seems quite enthusiastic and we hope to see more of Francine.  Later Ted from QB via Lincolnshire, showed an interest and played a strong game to beat Robert.  Ted seems very interested too and we hope to see him back again.

Doug started an interesting discussion after a game with Wes about our casual approach to chess on Sundays.  Specifically, Doug does not like to see the no touch rule relaxed.  We have always relaxed that rule, preferring to allow the strongest moves to be played rather than allow games to be determined by blunders.  Maybe  our casual approach is more conducive to learning than is a formal approach to no touch.  I think we all agreed to follow the no touch rule when playing Doug if not at other times.

 

TJ psychs himself before a series of tough games

 

Doug and Wes do battle over the board.  Wes in casual mode and Doug by the book.

 

David and TJ

 

Doug was frustrated repeatedly by TJ but enjoyed the games

 

October 18.  After missing last week, Thanksgiving, I returned to the Bean Counter today to meet with the regulars, TJ, Wes, David and Gerry.  We played indoors as it was cool and dreary.  I am told there was a good turn-out last week with Doug and Jelke also dropping by.

 

October 4.  Four regulars showed up.  David, Wes, TJ and Robert.  The weather was still great for outdoor chess and some good games were played with difficult end games.  Your regular reporter was away last week at the tournament in Victoria but I understand there was a good turnout.  We had an excellent contingent at the tournament with Jelke, Rick, Neil and myself representing the mid-island.  Neil took first in the under 1700 category.  Neil has left us as of today to return to NZ until next summer.

 

David and TJ duke it out on the board

 

 

Wes shades his eyes from the brilliant sun

 

 

September 20.  Sunday was back into the sunny weather and outdoor chess again but the shadows were long and we had to abandon our regular tables now in the shade and pull the plastic tables into the sun.  Robert, Wes, David, George Green and TJ played some great games.

 

September 13.  Today was a quiet day.  Attendees were Robert, David, Doug Lord and Gerry Quinn.  We started outdoors but a shower sent us indoors.  David was hot today.  He was unbeaten except for one game with Robert and one with Doug.  Gerry played a good game with Robert ending in a draw with David's help at the end.

Doug gave us a bit of local history that was unknown to us.  Apparently there was a short-lived chess club at the Legion in the late 80s or early 90s.  There were 5 or 6 regulars.  We'll see if we can't scout out a few more details about this for future reports.

 

David Wilson and Doug Lord battle on the board

 

September 6.     The first rainy Sunday since the beginning of summer saw a good turn-out at the Bean Counter.  Of course we played inside.  A mature fellow by the name of Doug with a black ball cap dropped by and played a very aggressive game with Robert.  He persevered in an endgame with a material disadvantage and was able to maintain the tempo until Robert blundered and Doug won the game.  Doug, I hope we see you again.  Jelke came with his wife Serena who we could not convince to play but we will play her next time.  Jelke and TJ played some good games.  Wes played Robert, Kelly and Dave. 

Jelke reported that Neil Cruden used the Marshall Counter against Rick Martinson in Courtenay. Rick took the d5 pawn and Neil slaughtered him.  Neil than advised Rick that we had practiced the Marshall Attack in Bowser on August 23.  Maybe we can put that game up on the site for everyone to see.  Rick is now attending the Labour Day tournament in Langley and maybe using the Marshall attack. 

 

Our booth at the Fall Fair was quite a hit.  We had many people drop by who had not heard of the Bishops of Bowser Chess Club  (BBCC).  Several were avid players.  Lee was of particular note.  He had played tournament in the New England area and one in Costa Rica.  He picked up the notation from one of the tournament games and spent the better part of 2 hours analysing it and looking for better options.  The game was between Brendan and Peter Boyle.  There was also a pair of brothers living in the Spider Lake area that we hope will turn out at one of our Sunday gatherings.

Congratulations the Lucette Fuerst who won the mini-invitational with Wes, George Green and Bill Rudge on Friday.

 

August 30.  Another beautiful Sunday in Bowser.  Good chess was played.  Wes is planning an invitational to include only a few friends on Friday.  We will report the results of that next week.  Visit our booth at the Lighthouse Fall Fair on Saturday from 10 to 4 pm.  We will be offering games with Bishops of Bowser masters and lessons for $10 to raise a little money for the club.

 

August 23.  TJ had an opportunity to pit his intuitive style against two very strong players with knowledge of chess theory.  Both Jelke and Neil Cruden from Courtenay entertained TJ for most of the afternoon and TJ challenged them with his unorthodox style.  TJ won a few against both so it must work.  Dave Wilson spent considerable time teaching Jerry Quinn our enthusiastic adult newbie.  Wes Pauls played Jelke and Robert.  After most had left, Neil and Jelke provided a workshop on the Carro-Kann and then the Ruy Lopez and Marshall Counter for Robert.

 

Jerry Quinn gets lessons from David Wilson

 

 

Neil Cruden from New Zealand plays TJ from Bowser

 

Jelke Hoekstra plays TJ while TJs dog rests in the shade.

 

Wes and Jelke play in front.  TJ and Neil play in back while David rests between games.

 

August 16.  The day after the tournament was a big sigh of relief having put our first successful tournament behind us.  Wes and TJ played early on Sunday.  Although the weather was sunny the shadows are longer now and it was a bit cool at 1100 still.  Robert and Jelke did a bit of a study of the Benoni Defense and then played a game using that defense.  The conclusion was that it was not the best defense against d4.  Brendan Plantinga came late and played a game or two with TJ and then played several games with Jelke. 

We had some interesting visitors drop by to play with their kids.  They were attending a family reunion in Bowser and had people from all over.  This family lives in India.  She was east Indian and he was Australian.  The kids didn't know how to play so they got a quick lesson from mom and dad.  They formerly lived in London.  They loved Bowser.  Sadly I didn't get their names or contact information.  Perhaps they will see this and contact us.

 

August 9.  We had a good turnout today and the weather was good for outdoor games.  This is the last regular Sunday before the Lighthouse Country Chess Tournament on August 15.  We have a pretty good list of players so far.  There will certainly be last minute registrations at the door too. 

It was good to see nine year old Idan again.  He brought his father who played a couple of good games with David.  We hope he will become a regular member too.  Gerry Quinn also returned.  Gerry had been a passive spectator for several weeks but has been learning a few things.  Gerry had never played chess.  He has now played a game or two with young Idan.

 

August 2.  The weather was a little cooler after a scorching week so we had great conditions for outdoor chess in Bowser.  We had a visitor from Vancouver passing by who beat David twice before continuing north.  David consoled himself by playing a newcomer, nine-year old Idan from Bowser.  He plays a pretty good game for his age class.

 

July 26.  Today's players included Norm, TJ, Wes, David and Robert.  We had some good games.  We are thrilled by the performance of our club member Jelke at the BC Open in Victoria this weekend. 

  Jelke Hoekstra places in top 20 at BC Open

 

David and Wes

 

Wes likes to stand and walk around.

 

 

 

 

 

July 19.  We had a good turnout today despite notable absences of TJ and Kelly.  Two new lads Braydan and Andrew joined us and played each other.  We hope they will join us for future Sundays at the Bean Counter.  Robert played twice with a new player, Mary who had not played in some time and expressed an interest in joining us again next week.  Wes put in a good showing against Jelke.  Jelke will be representing the mid-Island next weekend at the BC Open Chess Tournament in Victoria. Best of luck Jelke.

Kelly provided a demonstration on Friday of using a second board for analysis and discussion during a training game.

Wes and TJ played 4 games on Saturday.

 

 

For those that don't want to register for August tournament we will be looking for a few volunteers to help set up boards and provide other support for the competition.

 

July 16. Wes and Kelly will be meeting for a quick game. This will be followed shortly by a new teaching approach to the game. There will be only room for one maybe two games. If you could join us that would be great, thoughts and ideas on the new approach would greatly be appreciated. Time WIll BE AT 11. Teaching method and game played to be posted so if you don't make it don't worry we will keep you up to date. KEL.

 

July 12.  Today was our busiest day yet at the Bean Counter.  We had 7 players and three boards in total.  Norm had an excellent day, playing only 2 games, one against TJ and one against Robert.  Twice he won with a surprise mate.  Kelly Wilson returned after a long absence from the Board.  Good to see you again Kelly.  Best of all we had a new player from Courtenay who we hope will be a regular at the Bean Counter and will show us what chess is really about.  Jelke Hoekstra played a lot of games today and I believe he was undefeated.  We look forward to learning a lot from Jelke.

We enjoyed using the new equipment today purchased with the RDN grant including the clocks, the new boards and the economy pieces.  The wind was a bit strong for unweighted pieces at times but they were very nice otherwise.  Next week we should have our new weighted pieces.  We definitely need practice with the clocks.  It is a difficult job to remember to hit the clock after your move.  Wes discovered that the pressure of the clock forced him to play faster than he needed to.  We also need to get used to the no touch rule.  Our play has been far too casual for tournament play.

 

July 5.  Welcome back David from your vacation in Germany and Italy.  David must have had a good rest as he easily beat TJ and Robert.  Wes was away in the Okanagan this week.  Norm played a game with David and we had a guest a local lad Lenny also beat by David.  Our best cheerleader Vic was watching our moves on the table.  Our campaign for tournament prizes has begun and we are now taking registrations for August 15 - the first annual Lighthouse Country Chess Tournament.

 

June 28.  We had some very good games.  Norm played again with TJ.  Wes and Robert also played.  The weather was great and it was fun to play in the sun.  At last we have a date set for our first tournament and we are hoping for a great response from all over the Island and beyond at the Bowser Legion.

 

June 21 (father's day).  Norm joined us today for a quick game and had to leave.  We hope to see more of him next week.  Young Dylan joined us too.  He shows much promise for a young player.  We hope he will become a regular and bring more of his young friends.  Wes tried his hand at two games at once today and beat TJ and earned a draw with Robert.  Well done Wes.

 

June 14.  Today was a busy day for the Bishops of Bowser.  TJ and Wes came and so did George who doesn't usually come on Sundays.  Two paramedics Sam and Matt were surprised to find an active chess club in Bowser and showed great interest in playing.  We couldn't entice them to play.  They said they needed to go back on duty but agreed to come again at a better time.  TJs dad, Tim dropped by and played a loosing game against Robert but played well considering he had not played in a while. 

Weather was great, but what do you expect . . . it's Bowser!

 

BTW: the clubs in Courtenay and Parksville do not seem to be active anymore.  If anyone knows otherwise, please contact us.

 

June 7, Same three players outdoors again.  This week we were joined by two 15 year old lads, Josh from Bowser and Chris from Qualicum Beach.  Chris played TJ and cleverly whipped his . . . even after loosing his queen early.  We hope to see Chris and Josh again but both pleaded being busy with other activities and suggested they might not be able to play again.

 

 

 

 

We hope to play with clubs in Parksville and Courtenay this week if the info on the BC Chess Clubs page is still correct.

 

May 31, we played outdoors in the sun and heat at the Bean Counter.  Dave Wilson is travelling in Germany now so there were only three of us.  TJ started off in fine form decimating Wes and Robert. In one game when Wes was about to concede, TJ offered to switch sides.  Maybe Wes wasn't in top form today.  TJ clobbered him even after switching.  I'm sure Wes took it in good sport.  Then TJ offered to play two at once.  At that point his luck ran out.  He lost 4 in a row, 2 each to Wes and Robert.  Even so TJ preformed well playing two games at once.

 

May 24, we played outdoors again at the Bean Counter.  The weather was great and the games were good.  A new club name was put forward.  We are the     

Bishops of Bowser.

 

May 17, we played outdoors at the Bean Counter.  We had two guests.  Gord is an inlaw of Wes from Vancouver who played some fine games with each of the regulars.  Dean was passing by on his Kawasaki from Nanaimo and introduced himself.  He didn't stay to play any games but may come back for another visit.