Kingston Chess Club reached the Alexander Cup final after a commanding 7-3 victory over CCF (Coulsdon) at the Willoughby Arms on Monday night. 

In a semi-final encounter where Kingston did not lose a game, the club are now through to their first cup final appearance since 2018, having not won the tournament for 47 years since their centenary year of 1975/76. 

Final scores: Kingston vs CCF (Image: John Saunders)

The final scores on the board do not do justice to the hard-fought encounter. The Kingston team out rated Coulsdon particularly on the lower boards, however ratings count for little in the knockouts and the two Coulsdon juniors on boards nine and 10 played well, with the senior Kingston players unable to find a weakness. 

Six of the 10 games were drawn, and three of Kingston's four wins came with the white pieces.  

Image: John Saunders

On board one, Martin Jogstad (Kingston) and Mark Gray (Coulsdon) had a tense encounter in the last game to finish.  Martin tried a kingside attack from a semi-slav. However, Mark deftly fended off the threat and launched a counter-attack on the queenside. They had a queen and four pawns each. Martin was not tempted to enter a pawn race because his king was vulnerable to checks, whereas Mark's king could find shelter. The game ended with perpetual check, the outcome of the match already determined.

Image: John Saunders

On board two, Chino Atako seemed in control as white for the majority of the encounter against Kingston's Mike Healey. As they reached the heavy pieces endgame, Chino had an ominous extra outside passed pawn. Mike decided to complicate by launching his kingside pawns at Chino. After the queens and most pawns were swapped off, Mike was able to hold the rook endgame.

Image: John Saunders

Peter Lalic and Chris Howell were level going into the endgame on board three. Peter's rook was more active but unable to do very much until Chris unwisely advanced his kingside pawns. It is always tempting to "do something" rather than wait patiently. The pawns became vulnerable, and Peter was left with a rook and the g and h pawns against a rook. There was a nice passage of play when Chris offered his rook which, if captured, would lead to stalemate. Peter found a way out of the swizz-attempt and concluded the game expertly.

Image: John Saunders

Board four comprised positional manoeuvring by Martin Faulkner and David Maycock in the exchange variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. The game was level until Martin unaccountably allowed a knight fork which won the exchange.

Image: John Saunders

Kingston's Vladimir Li did not get the start he wanted against Ian Calvert who sprang the fashionable Scandinavian for which he had prepared well. Whilst the position was still balanced, Ian offered to exchange queens, but Vladimir responded by a surprise rook sacrifice against the king. The sacrifice could not be accepted and the rook remained behind enemy lines, wreaking havoc.

Image: John Saunders

On board six, Nick Edwards, Coulsdon captain, held the advantage for most of the game in an Old Indian. He doubled his rooks on the open h-file against David Rowson's king. It looked like curtains for the Kingston player. However, just when it looked like Nick was going to break through, he shifted his attention to the queenside. He missed a winning check on move 31, and the game petered out in a draw soon after.

Image: John Saunders

Julian Way played the game of the night for Kingston on board seven. Facing another Scandinavian, he played classically to prompt a weakness on the king's file. Julian doubled rooks and, when the time was right, shifted them to the h-file, where they penetrated with devastating effect.

A date is yet to be confirmed for the final, but it is likely to be held at the start of next season's Surrey League which kicks off in September. 

Kingston Chess Club compete competitvely in both the Surrey and Thames Valley leagues, but also offer social chess and a variety of activities including talks, demonstrations, study groups and mentoring by stronger players to continuously encourage newcomers.

The club meet every Monday at the Willoughby Pub and are always encouraging new members to join. Head over to their website to discover more on how you can get involved.