Archive:
Richard Lobo Interview.
Richard Lobo, 17, recently played in the European Youth Chess Championships in Fermo, Italy. He scored 4/9. This interview was conducted with him shortly after the event.
1. How did you get interested in chess?
I was fascinated with the game from the age of four when my father taught me how to play.
2. Have you had any notable successes prior to this tournament?
Under 12 British Champion in 2004, Under 13 British Champion in 2005 and Under 18 and Under 21 London Champion in 2006. Represented England at the Commonwealth Chess Championships in 2008.
3. How did you qualify to play at the European Youth Championships?
I came joint first in the Leicester Selection Tournament.
4. Have you had experience of international chess previously?
Representing England in the Commonwealths 2008, and squad trips to Poland, Germany, Dubai, and Holland.
5. How did you find the event?
It was very enjoyable, with a strong team spirit taking us through the highs and lows. I found the event challenging, and it was a good experience to play so many strong opponents.
6. What was your favourite game from the tournament?
My last round game against Vincento Piccoli, where I converted a sound opening advantage into a strong attack. I then forked his king and queen.
7. What hobbies do you have aside from chess?
I play badminton, and also hockey for my school.
8. Are there any other comments you’d like to make?
I'd like to thank Mr. Purland, the coaches and all the people behind the scenes who made the trip possible. It was very well organised and a pleasure to participate in.
England Under 11 Trial 2008-9;
Liverpool; 25 – 26 April 2009.
A record number of 10 Kent juniors travelled to Liverpool to take up their invitation to play in this year’s England Under 11 Trial. This was by far the largest number from any County. They had already done superbly well to earn the qualifications needed to obtain the invitation. Those Under 10s and Under 11s who have already played in previous Trials will know that this is a tournament like no other that they have experienced. The players do not know who they will be playing in each round until they reach the board. The parents find out the pairings about half an hour after the game has started when the wall charts are also updated with the results from the previous round. This is all designed to prevent the players preparing specifically for their next opponent. The Under 11 intake is normally limited to about 25 players, including any Under 10s who qualified at the previous Trial (normally about 5). There is thus a huge advantage to those Under 11s who have had the experience of playing in the Trial as Under 10s. Only one of this year’s Kent contenders – Alexei Davis (Eltham College and Lewisham CC) fell into this category.
This year there were 50 players qualified for the Trial of whom 22 qualified for the Squad, being all those who scored 3.5/6 or above. The Trial was won by Peter Andreev (Henry Cavendish Primary, Dulwich) jointly with Tarun Malhotra (Hertfordshire) with 5.5/6. Alexei Davis scored 4.5 points and Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) and Conor Murphy (Eltham College and Charlton CC) both scored 4 points to ensure that 4 of the Kent contingent qualified for the England Junior Squad, the most from any County, raising the total number of Kent juniors currently in the Squad to 29. Peter, Raphael and Conor all qualified as Under 10s. Many congratulations to all of them! The other 6 Kent juniors all narrowly missed out. They were: Rohan Bansal (Dulwich College and Lewisham CC), Yasmin Giles (Gordonbrock Primary, Brockley and Lewisham CC), Hector Huser (Rosemead Prep), Simon Leung (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich and Dulwich CC), Owen Messere (Eltham College and Lewisham CC) and Robert Wang (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich). Well done to all of them in qualifying for the Trial - I’m sure that they will qualify for the Squad next year if they keep at it.
National Chess Junior Squad Championships 2008-9;
Liverpool; 17 – 19 March 2009.
8 Kent juniors made the journey to Liverpool for this season’s Junior Squad Championships. It was a good weekend for Kent with one player winning one of the Championships and some other good performances.
Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) won the Under 10 Championship on 5/6. In the same section, Conor Murphy (Eltham College and Charlton CC) scored 4.5 points.
In the Under 12 Championship, Eugene Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 4.5/6 while Peter Andreev (Henry Cavendish Primary, Dulwich) scored 4 points and Alexei Davis (Eltham College and Lewisham CC) scored 3.5. The Under 12 Championship was won jointly by Henry Broadley (Lancashire), Ravi Haria (Barnet), Isaac Sanders (Barnet) and Roy Zhang (Berkshire), all of whom scored 5 points.
West of England Junior Championships 2008-9;
Swindon; 21 – 22 February 2009.
24 Kent juniors travelled to Swindon for the penultimate Trial qualifying tournament of the season. There was to be further good news regarding qualification.
In the Under 12 Major, Peter Andreev (Henry Cavendish Primary, Dulwich) scored 5/6 to finish in second place and earn a full norm, making him the 10th Kent junior to qualify for this season’s England Trial with one event remaining. Eugene Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 4 points and Rohan Bansal (Dulwich College Junior School and Lewisham CC), Raunak Rao (St. Olave’s Grammar, Orpington and Beckenham & Bromley CC) and Gautham Reddiar (St. Olave’s Grammar and Beckenham & Bromley CC) all scored 3.5 points. In so doing, Raunak earned his first half-norm towards qualifying for the England Junior Squad as an Under 12. The section was won by Shyam Mohan (Sussex) with 5.5 points.
In the Under 18 Major, Victor Jones (Beths Grammar, Bexley and Lewisham CC) and William Jones (Beths Grammar and Lewisham CC) both scored 3.5/5 and Sheila Dines (Old Palace, Croydon) scored 3 points. The section was won jointly by James Jackson (Northamptonshire), Mark Talbot (Lancashire) and Nathan Talbot (Lancashire), all of whom scored 4 points.
In the Under 14 Championship, Barnaby Paul (Windlesham House, Washington and Beckenham & Bromley CC) scored 3/5. This section was won by Felix Ynojosa (Berkshire) with a maximum of 5 points.
In the Under 12 Minor, John-James Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 3.5/6. This section was won by Louise Head (Berkshire) with 5 points.
In the Under 10 Championship, Hector Huser (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich), Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep), Owen Messere (Eltham College and Lewisham CC), Conor Murphy (Eltham College and Charlton CC) and Rohan Shiatis (Estcots Primary, East Grinstead and Beckenham & Bromley CC) all scored 4/6. The section was won by Ravi Haria (Barnet) with 5 points.
South of England Junior Championships 2008-9;
Yateley, Hampshire; 31 January – 1 February 2009.
22 Kent juniors made the short journey to Yateley for this season’s South of England Junior Championships. It was to prove a successful weekend.
The Under 16 Closed Championship was won by Victor Jones (Beths Grammar, Bexley and Lewisham CC) with a score of 4.5/5. William Jones (Beths Grammar and Lewisham CC) scored 3.5 points and Sheila Dines (Old Palace, Croydon) scored 3 points.
The Under 12 Closed Championship was won by Eugene Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) with a score of 4.5/5. Peter Andreev (Henry Cavendish Primary, Dulwich) came second on 4 points.
In the Under 10 Championship, Conor Murphy (Eltham College Junior School and Charlton CC) finished second with a score of 4/5. Rohan Shiatis (Estcots Primary, East Grinstead and Beckenham & Bromley CC) scored 3.5 points and Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) scored 3. The section was won by Ravi Haria (Barnet) with 4.5 points.
In the Under 14 Closed Championship, Jasdeep Gahir (Whitgift School, Croydon and Lewisham CC) and Gautham Reddiar (St. Olave’s Grammar, Orpington) both scored 3.5/5. The section was won by Felix Ynojosa (Berkshire) with 4.5 points.
In the Under 11 Championship, Rohan Bansal (Dulwich College Junior School and Lewisham CC), Alexei Davis (Eltham College Junior School and Lewisham CC) and Robert Wang (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) all scored 3/5.
EPSCA Under 11 Rapidplay 2008-9;
Liverpool; Saturday 17 January 2009.
9 Kent juniors made the long journey to Liverpool for this third qualifying tournament for this season’s England Under 11 Trial. Their effort was to prove well worthwhile. The total entry was 68 players.
There was a 5-way tie for first place on 5/6, including 3 Kent juniors: Yasmin Giles (Gordonbrock Primary, Brockley and Lewisham CC), Hector Huser (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) and Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep). The other 2 players involved in the tie were Charles Keen (Sussex) and Vincent Lee (Hertfordshire).
Additionally, Robert Wang (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 4.5 points, Owen Messere (Eltham College Junior School and Lewisham CC) and Patrick Smith (Amherst School, Riverhead and Westerham CC) both scored 4 points and Rohan Bansal (Dulwich College Junior School) and Alexei Davis (Eltham College Junior School) both scored 3.5 points.
Raphael and Alexei had already qualified for the Trial but all the others advanced their qualification standings. Yasmin and Hector, both of whom already had one half-norm, each earned a full-norm to qualify for the Trial. Owen and Rohan, both of whom already had one half-norm, each earned a further half-norm to achieve qualification for the Trial also. Robert and Patrick both earned their first half-norms for their performances. This means that 8 Kent juniors have already qualified for the Trial and 3 more are one half-norm away from qualification with 3 more qualifying events to go.
London Junior Championships 2008 – 9;
Harrow; 13 – 14 December and 28 – 30 December 2008.
A large party of 48 Kent juniors took part in this season’s London Junior Championships. It was to be a very successful tournament for many of them.
In the Under 12 Major, Eugene Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 7/9 to finish in joint 2nd place and take the title of London Under 12 Boys Champion. Also in this section, Peter Andreev (Henry Cavendish Primary, Dulwich) and Nicholas Clanchy (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich and Lewisham CC) scored 6.5 points. In so doing, Peter took the London Under 11 Boys Champion title. Also Alexei Davis (Eltham College Junior School) and Conor Murphy (Eltham College Junior School and Charlton CC) both scored 5.5 and Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) scored 5. In so doing, Conor Murphy scored his second half-norm to become the 4th Kent player so far to qualify for the England Under 11 Trial and Peter Andreev scored his first half-norm towards this. The section winner was Radha Jain (Hertfordshire) with 7.5 points. In the Under 12 Minor, John-James Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 7/9 to finish joint second. The winner of this section was Joseph Moss with 7.5 points.
In the FIDE Open event, Victor Jones (Beths Grammar, Bexley and Lewisham CC) scored 4/6 to secure the titles of London Under 21 Champion, London Under 18 Boys Champion and SCCU Under 18 Boys Champion and also qualified to play in this season’s British Championship. The event was won by Peter Sowray (Middlesex) with 5.5 points.
In the Under 16 section, William Jones (Beths Grammar and Lewisham CC) scored 4/6. Sheila Dines (Old Palace, Croydon) scored 3.5/6 to secure the titles of London Under 18 Girls Champion and SCCU Under 18 Girls Champion. The winner was James Foster (Oxfordshire) with 5 points.
In the Under 10 Major, Raphael Kalid and Rohan Shiatis (Estcots Primary, East Grinstead and Beckenham & Bromley CC) both scored 5.5/7. In this section, Conor Murphy scored 5 points, Yasmin Giles (Gordonbrock Primary, Brockley and Lewisham CC) scored 4.5 and Hector Huser (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) and Owen Messere (Eltham College Junior School and Lewisham CC) both scored 4 points. In so doing, Yasmin secured the title of London Under 10 Girls Champion. The section was won by Tarun Malhotra (Hertfordshire) with 6.5 points. In the Under 10 Minor, Daniel Carstairs (Southborough Primary, Bromley and Petts Wood & Orpington CC) and Jack Dulieu (Eltham College Junior School) both scored 5/7. The winner was Jake Simms (Richmond) with a maximum 7 points.
In the Under 14 Major, Peter Andreev, Eugene Daley and Barnaby Paul (Windlesham House, Washington and Beckenham & Bromley CC) all scored 4/6. This section was won by Felix Ynojosa (Berkshire) and Yang-Fan Zhou (Surrey) with 5.5 points. In the Under 14 Minor, Jasdeep Gahir (Whitgift School, Croydon and Lewisham CC) scored 4/6. This section was won by Robert Fitzgerald (Sussex) with 5 points.
British Rapidplay Championships 2008-9
Halifax; 29 – 30 November 2008.
An excellent entry of 17 juniors made the long journey from Kent to Halifax for this year’s British Rapidplay in which there are 30 minutes on the clocks in all sections. It was to be a good weekend for them.
Alexei Davis (Eltham College Junior School) was joint winner of the Under 11 section with Ravi Haria (Barnet), James Walsh (Lancashire) and Anna Wang (Oxfordshire), all of whom scored 5/6. Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) scored 4.5 points and Yasmin Giles (Gordonbrock Primary, Brockley and Lewisham CC), Simon Leung (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) and Owen Messere (Eltham College Junior School and Lewisham CC) all scored 3.5. In so doing, Alexei obtained a full norm to qualify for the England Under 11 Trial in Liverpool next April. Raphael and Simon each earned their second half-norms thereby qualifying for the England Under 11 Trial and Yasmin and Owen each obtained their first half-norms to join 3 others with one half-norm to date.
Nicholas Clanchy (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 7/11 in the Intermediate section. The joint winners of this section were Adrian Archer-Lock (Berkshire) and Robert Hughes (Cheshire), both of whom scored 9 points. Conor Murphy (Eltham College Junior School and Charlton CC) was joint winner of the Under 12 section with Joris Gerlagh (Cheshire) and Alexander Harris (Cambridgeshire), all of whom scored 4.5/5.
English Under 11 Closed Championship 2008-9
Nottingham; 11 – 12 October 2008.
A good contingent of 6 Kent players travelled to Nottingham for the first of the England Under 11 Trial qualification tournaments of the season. The total entry was 55. The tournament was played over 5 rounds with 75 minutes each on the clocks.
It turned out to be a most worthwhile journey for all of the local players, as they all achieved their first half-norms towards qualification for the Trial. Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) scored 4/5 to finish equal fourth. The other five: Rohan Bansal (Dulwich College and Lewisham CC), Alexei Davis (Eltham College), Hector Huser (Rosemead Prep), Simon Leung (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) and Conor Murphy (Eltham College and Charlton CC) all scored 3. The tournament was won jointly by last season’s winner, James Walsh (Lancashire), Jake Breindel (Hertfordshire) and Robert Fitzgerald (Sussex) all with 4.5 points
British Championships 2007-8 Liverpool; 27 July – 9 August 2008.
The travelling contingent of juniors from Kent to the British Championships was up to 29.
The best performances came in the Major Open, Under 16, Under 9 and Under 8 sections. In the Major Open, Sheila Dines (Old Palace, Croydon), in finishing joint sixth with 7/11, won the Under 18 Girls title and qualified for next season’s British Championship. The winner of this section was John Sugden of the Kent Open team with 8.5 points.
In the Under 16s, Sheila Dines finished fourth with 4.5/7 and, in so doing, won the Under 15 Girls title. Richard Lobo (St. Olave’s Grammar, Orpington) scored 3.5 points. The event was won by Sam Osborne with 6 points.
In the Under 9s, Raphael Kalid (Rosemead Prep, Dulwich) came third equal with 5/7. Rohan Shiatis (Estcots Primary, East Grinstead and Coulsdon CC) scored 4.5 points, Conor Murphy (Eltham College and Lewisham CC) scored 4 points and Yasmin Giles (Gordonbrock Primary, Brockley and Lewisham CC) and Hector Huser (Rosemead Prep) each scored 3.5 points. In so doing, Yasmin was the winner of the Under 9 Girls title. This section was won by Ravi Haria (Barnet) on 6.5 points.
In the Under 8s, Rohan Shiatis was joint winner on 5/6 with William Claridge-Hansen (Buckinghamshire) and Mark Kenyon. John-James Daley (Dulwich College Prep, Dulwich) scored 3 points in this section.
In the Under 12s, Peter Andreev (Henry Cavendish Primary, Dulwich) finished joint third on 5/7 in an event won by Felix Ynojosa (Berkshire) with 6.5 points.
In the Under 10s, Rohan Shiatis finished joint third on 4.5/7 in an event won by Joseph McPhillips (Lancashire) with 6 points.
In the Under 13s, Eugene Daley (Dulwich College Prep) scored 4/7 in an event won by Felix Ynojosa with 6.5 points.
In the Under 11s, Peter Andreev, Nicholas Clanchy (Dulwich College Prep and Lewisham CC) and Gautham Reddiar (Eltham College) all scored 4/7 and Raunak Rao (Eltham College and Lewisham CC) and Rohan Shiatis both scored 3.5 points. This section was won jointly by James Bowler (Yorkshire), Megan Cleeves (Wiltshire) and Isaac Sanders (Barnet) all with 5.5 points.
National Chess Junior Squad Young Masters 2007-8 Street, Somerset; 15 – 20 July 2008.
Regrettably, the organiser has not made full detailed results of this tournament public.