Gird your loins – the Battersea Team Rapids is nearly upon us.
So forget about Christmas, and all the unnecessary nonsense that goes with it like gift shopping and showing your love for family and friends etc etc.
It’s time to start getting excited about the next big thing in chess.
Here’s ALDO CAMILLERI with the team line-ups and all the details:
Listed below are all eight completed teams that will compete in the Battersea Team Rapids event taking place on the evening of Tuesday, January 9, 2018.
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BOARD 1
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BOARD 2
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BOARD 3
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Total ECF
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Board
Seeds
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Seed
Pts
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Team
Seed
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Blair Connell 194
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Tony Ashby 169
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Steve Barry 125
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488
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4, 1, 3
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19
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1st
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Ali Hill 200
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Howard Groves 149
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Arnold Hunt 126
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475
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3, 6, 2
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16
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2nd
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Rafael Del Valle Domenech 177
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Tim Wells 151
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Tim Valentine 129
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468
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7, 5, 1
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14
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3rd
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Adam Bukojemski 206
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Ryan Benguelo 140
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Theo Wait Es120
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466
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2, 8, 4
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13
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4th
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GM Simon Williams 236
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Malcolm Dancy 141
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Denis Dupuis 98
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463
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1, 7, 6
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13
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5th
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Midhun Unnikrishnan 186
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Paul Stokes 161
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Gregg Hutchence Es80
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427
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5, 2, 7
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13
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6th
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Viktor Stoyanov 177
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Emil Todorow 159
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Boris Stoyanov 112
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448
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8, 3, 5
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11
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7th
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Tommaso Penna 180
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Alan Palmer 156
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Domenico Napolitano Es90
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426
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6, 4, 8
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9
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8th
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The teams have been put together by me by employing a number of different methods. From aligning friends and countrymen by their own choosing to me trying my best to balance the teams when taking into account who I think would get on with each other the most.
I’ve used two methods to illustrate tournament rankings. One is the combined English Chess Federation grading across all teams, this is done by joining individual board seeding. Where 8 points is awarded to the top seed, down to 1 point given for the bottom seed.
Even though it might look like a huge advantage from top bottom to board seeds, I still think anyone can still win this.
The teams…
Team Blair
Top seeds by a decent margin hides captain Blair Connell, one of two special guests for the evening. Blair is no slouch, he’s done very well in our previous Battersea Blitz events and I’ve seen him take apart Simon Williams over a few games on one of his online streams. His second board is none other than veteran Battersea gentleman Tony Ashby. Tony takes top seed for his board category and has, I believe, been over 200 ECF. He is expected to pile up the wins. Another Battersea veteran, Steve Barry made his return last year, having first played for Battersea 50 years prior! You’ll have to look at him to question where that is possible though…
Team Ali
The second seeds have three cornerstone Battersea club players, headed by Ali Hill, one of the club very best players and probably the most active on the chess circuit. He’s won multiple internal tournaments and I believe has won the club Championship at least twice in recent years. Howard Groves takes charge of our third team in the Central London League and is definitely undergraded having not had his best results last year. Arnold Hunt is our Battersea Major team captain in the London League and the most reliable of all Tuesday night turnouts. His ECF grade puts him as a second seed in his board category.
Team Rafael
The third seed is the ‘team of few words’, led by Spanish Rafael Del Valle Domenech. Who arguably has the best name among our members. Although one of two bottom seeds in his board category, Rafa has beaten and is capable of beating players of over 200 ECF. Tim Wells is the captain of Battersea 3 in the London League and last season in his first year as captain rocketed the team into promotion. Tim Valentine as been a rock for teams like Battersea 3 playing more games last year than any other club member. Tim V is top board in his category and the team will need to rely on him to bring in the big points.
Team Adam
Fourth seeds I’m delighted to say helms captain Adam Bukojemski, who doesn’t join us for club tournaments as he should. Again he’s one of Battersea top players and second highest graded out of everyone taking part. Adam will definitely be bringing in some points for his team. Ryan Benguelo I’m afraid I don’t know too much about, other than to say I found him to be an extremely tough opponent. At only 140 ECF he is technically the bottom seed in his board category but I would say his play definitely does not reflect that. New to the club is Theo Wait who, unless something has changed, is very much involved with Lichess.org. Theo is taking part in our Rookie Rivals tournament and has made it through to the quarter finals. I’ve seen what Theo is capable of at chess, and his estimated grade of 120 to my mind is very low. So Team Adam I think could be potential tournament winners.
Team Simon
Fifth seeds only sees special guest Grandmaster Simon Williams burst into the tournament! The question is can Simon stay sober enough to still pull out all the wins his team will need from him? I’ll do my best to prevent it. Simon eclipses the next strongest in the field by 30 ECF points and really there’s no much more to say. Battersea 2 captain Malcolm Dancy is joining the team because he’s lower down in his board category. However I’ll remind you, Malcolm was the only person to beat GM David Howell in the simul he did at the club about this time last year. So to write him off would be a huge mistake. Denis Dupuis proves that even the smallest of packages can pack a punch on the chess board. Though not the strongest in his board category, he has the benefit of youth. So will climb high and fast and his current grade will be an easily forgotten memory.
Team Midhun
Sixth seeds is fronted by Midhum Unnikrishnan who came into the Battersea Chess Club like a Bengal tiger shredding everyone who came in his path. He wiped the floor with the field at the most recent Battersea 5-minute tournament to claim the trophy. Paul Stokes takes charge of the first Battersea team in the Central London League and is second to Tony is leading his beard category. So if this team is to go for victory Paul will need to play his part. Gregg Hutchence is relatively new to the club and hasn’t an official grade, so there’s unlocked potential there. Friend of the captain and picked first from the field to accompany his team.
Team Viktor
Seventh seeds are triad of Bulgarians headed by Viktor Stoyanov who at the tender age of 14 is battling his way up the grading ladder. His only defeat so far this season in the leagues came at the hand of GM Neil McDonald. Perhaps the most memorable club member is Emil Todorow. Who last season led Battersea’s second team into division 1 of the Central London League against the odds. Boris Stoyanov is the captain’s younger brother and if his rating shoots up half as quick as Viktor’s has you can foget thinking there’s any sort of weak link in this team.
Team Tommaso
Eighth seeds finds skipper Tommaso Penna hoping to lead his ‘Italian Job’ posse into the glory books. Since joining his grade has been on a steady rise and there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t continue. Tommaso is a very reliable Battersea players who always gets a welcoming mat across many of our teams. Alan Palmer, our beloved and honourable chairman, will be hoping to put the diplomatic matters aside for the evening to cause some havoc over the chess board score some critical points. Domenico Napolitano is new to us. Brought in by his friend, countryman and captain Tommaso. Domenico sports an estimated rating of 90 ECF. There’s absolutely no reason why he couldn’t be a strong contributor to his team.
