The fiercely contested Cadet Championship resulted in a decisive victory for Brahman Kurunathan, who won four out of his five games. The next three players, Sammy Leakey, Advait Bendale and Sammy Southwell could not be separated on score, so all won the gold medal (scroll to the bottom for full results).
Aathiran Oyalood, coming in fifth, had a good tournament. Chinmyee Mayouran did not score well, but she did complete all her games. Success in chess is also about how you cope with defeat, as well as how you attain victory.
Here is a game by the winner Brahman Kurunathan, which, he says, gave him the greatest sense of achievement.
White: Chinmyee Black: Brahman
- e4, e5
- Nf3, Nc6
- Nc3, Bc5
- Bc4, d6
- d3, Bg4
- h3, Bh5
- g4, Bg6
- Qe2, h6
- Nd2?
Chinmyee usually prepares to castle queen side, following up with an attack on the king’s wing. Here she suddenly goes off message, allowing her opponent to plant a strong knight at d4. Better is 9. Be3 followed by 0-0-0.
9… Nd4!
10. Qd1, Qh4?
A stronger move might have been 10… h5! here, to open up the king side while white is still in bed.
11. Nf3! Nxf3+
12. Qf3, Qd8.
Chinmyee has righted the ship; she should continue Be3, 0-0-0, according to the previous recipe, but she gets side tracked again.
13. h4, h5
14. Nd5?
Attacking too hard, too soon. 14. g5 was necessary, to keep the position closed.
14… hxg4
15. Qxg4, c6
16. Nc3, Nf6
17. Qf3, Bh5
18. Qg3
White has been driven back, though she does retain an attack on the pawn at g7. Most ominous for her is the fact that the white king is still stuck in the middle.
18… Qe7!
The loss of the g7 pawn is less important than the mobilisation of the black forces (clearing the back row, castling the black king into the safety of the queen side, invasion by rooks along the open files of the king side).
19. Qxg7!
White causes trouble with this capture, Black must be careful not to castle automatically here, which would lose a piece after the pin 20. Bg5!
19… Rg8!
20. Qh6, Bf3!
21. Rf1, 0-0-0
22. Bg5!
Now black is in a position to neutralise the deadly pin by the bishop.
22… Rg6!
23. Bxf6, Qxf6
24. Qd2
The demographics have not changed. White’s king is still trapped in the middle, and now black is ready to pile down the g file with 24… Rdg8 followed by 25… Rg1. White’s best chance is to play Ne2, blocking the bishop at f3, and then castle if she gets the time!
24… d5?!
Black chooses an equally promising plan – attacking down the centre.
25. h5!
An imaginative diversion, to draw the black bishop away from the defence of the black pawn at d5.
25… Bxh5
26. exd5, cxd5
27. Nxd5
Thus white scores a major success – capture of a valuable centre pawn at d5.
27… Qe6!?
The position is extremely tactical but unfortunately for white, there is no killer discovery. An attractive move is 28. Nf4, discovering on the queen at e6 and forking queen and rook at the same time. But this rebounds horribly after 28… exf4+!! 29. Bxe6+, Rxe6 and white has to return the queen with a lost position.
This variation shows the dire position of white’s king in the middle. Probably best is 28. Ne3! consolidating.
28. b4?!
Overstretching
28… Bd4
29. Rb1, b5
30. Bxb5
The first major blunder of the game, leaving the knight on d5 unguarded. Better is 30. Bb3, but after 30… Rxd5 31. Bxd5, Qxd5 black is on top.
30… Qxd5
31. c3, Qxb5
32. cxd4, exd4
33. Rc1+
Both kings are in the firing line, but white’s is more exposed and black is a piece ahead.
33… Kb8
34. Qf4+, Rgd6
35. Qd2??
Removing the white king’s only flight square and inviting catastrophe. Matters are now desperate for the white king, and the best defence is 35. f3, providing another bolt hole for the terrified monarch.
35… Qe5+!
The final blow.
35. Qe2, Qxe2++
A dramatic encounter.
Full Results
Here are the full results of our 7th Telex Championship: Surrey Telex Cadet Championship
| Competitor | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Total |
| 1. Brahman Kurunathan | x | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 2. Sammy Leakey | 3 | x | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 3. Advait Bendale | 1 | 3 | x | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 4. Sammy Southwell | 1 | 1 | 3 | x | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 5. Aathiran Oyalood | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | x | 3 | 9 |
| 6. Chinmyee Mayouran | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | x | 6 |
If you would like to be involved in playing in an upcoming Telex Championship, please get in touch! If you want to see more results from our Telex Championships click here.
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