After the first international match between these two clubs, I organised a second match.
Poster for the match
Councillor Rachel Fryer cut short a Danish masterclass to play a pre-match concert on the grand piano in the venue. Although they knew that the concert had been arranged to welcome them to Brighton, unfortunately the French players chose to go to Primark instead. I guess Dieppe is a pretty small place but I did think that it was a bit rude not to turn up for the gig or let me know that they preferred to go shopping instead.
The match was sponsored by a chess charity which I founded, Pieces of Fate. This charity was later closed due to a lack of interest from local chess players.
The match took place in the main hall of the Friends’ Meeting Centre, Ship Street, Brighton on 27th September 2008 between 2:00 and 6:00pm. There were 15 playes on either side. Having thrashed the players from Dieppe in the first match the year before, we Brighton & Hove players were very nervous before the match. The French players had arrived with a stronger team than the year before and we didn’t fancy our chances. In the event, the match ended in a gripping finish with a French player resigning with moments to go on both clocks at his board. In keeping with the tradition established the year before, the players from Dieppe had the white pieces on top board.
|
Brighton & Hove Player |
ECF Grade |
Approximate ELO Grade |
Dieppe Player |
ELO Grade |
Result |
|
1. Geoff James
|
183
|
(Official ELO Grade) 2206
|
1. Christophe Ferrant
|
2147
|
1 – 0 |
|
2. Paul Batchelor
|
149
|
1995
|
2. Olivier Delabarre
|
2097
|
½ – ½ |
|
3. Paul Selby
|
140
|
1950
|
3. Richard Lefebvre
|
1860
|
1 – 0 |
|
4. Neil Tasker
|
123
|
1865
|
4. Arnaud Plessis
|
1770
|
½ – ½ |
|
5. Duncan Badham
|
121
|
1855
|
5. Olivier Druoineau
|
1770
|
½ – ½ |
|
6. Michael Cain
|
103
|
1765
|
6. Alain Meliot
|
1650
|
0 – 1 |
|
7. Kevin Gee
|
92
|
1710
|
7. Marc Rousselin
|
1680
|
0 – 1 |
|
8. John Smuts
|
91
|
1705
|
8. Franck Julien
|
1590
|
½ – ½ |
|
9. Steve Diver
|
89
|
1695
|
9. Jean Charles Lanneau
|
1500
|
0 – 1 |
|
10. Charles Holcombe
|
85
|
1675
|
10. Laurent Samson
|
Ungraded
|
½ – ½ |
|
11. Sue Chadwick
|
78
|
1640
|
11. Frederic Gault
|
Ungraded
|
1 – 0 |
|
12. Simon Hayward
|
75
|
1625
|
12. Frederic Sellier
|
1400
|
½ – ½ |
|
13. Andrew Caswill
|
65
|
1575
|
13. Charlotte Sellier
|
1200
|
0 – 1 |
|
14. Duncan Roy
|
53
|
1515
|
14. Annie Chapelier
|
Ungraded
|
1 – 0 |
|
15. Matt Barber
|
Unofficial 34
|
1420
|
15. Sylvain Peron
|
Ungraded
|
1 – 0 |
|
Results (Brighton & Hove won, but only just!)
|
8 – 7 | ||||
The time controls were somewhat unusual for us – two hours per player for the whole game. Again, this followed the practice established in Dieppe the year before.
The following day, eleven of the French players entered a rapid play tournament organised by myself. This event, in the Royal Albion Hotel, kick started a trend of having chess tournaments in Brighton. Here’s the video I made of the match (camera work by Nathan Gregg):
The fifth match between the two clubs takes place in Dieppe tomorrow. Good luck to all the players!
