 Cappelle La Grande 2001 Captain's Report  |
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This year we hired a coach and took it on the Dover-Calais ferry. Most players preferred this to the shuttle as the ferry allows more time and space for training sessions before the challenging weekend ahead. We arrived in Dunkirk mid-afternoon, leaving three or four hours free to explore the town before the evening reception. Jez Parfett, Alistair Morton and I walked to the sea via the sculpture park and enjoyed an hour or two by the historic beach sampling Flanders beers. That evening Roger Gouvart, the Mayor of Cappelle La Grande, along with several members of his town council, welcomed us at the pre-match reception with a blend of hospitality and humour. New members of our team began to realise why so many of us go back to Cappelle so regularly. We returned to town early enough to catch the restaurants. My recommendation from this year: the Couscousserie on the way to the sculpture park. It's well worth the extra few hundred metres out of town and the quantities are extremely generous. Later that evening we put in some more pre-match training at the Wall Street bar near Place Jean Bart. Saturday morning was free, and players explored the town in their various ways. I was particularly impressed by the three or four French language Linux magazines in a newsagent, evidence that the French really are better educated than we are! Then it was into Cappelle on our coach for lunch and round 1. Round 1: both teams were weaker than in previous years, Cappelle missing GM Degraeve and Kings Head missing several strong players. Our junior contingent held up well, many of them playing for their first time in France, scoring 7 out of 12. Club Captain Andrew Whiteley beat his long-standing rival John Cappon on board 1, while Paul Cawte had a solid draw against Hubert Hareux (who also regularly plays in the July Ghent tournament: see other reports on the Kings Head site or www.kgsrl.be for news of this year's event). The complete results are as follows, showing the strengths of the respective teams. Saturday afternoon, 26th May 1 Andrew Whiteley 2208 1 - 0 John Cappon 2188 Saturday evening: the team made its own way back to Dunkirk by bus (tickets also generously provided by the match organisers). It's amusing to watch the expressions on the locals' faces as twenty or so chess players descend on their peaceful bar (the Wall Street again this year) and, over frequent beers, relieve their adrenalin rush with analysis of the afternoon's games amid much hilarity, pride, regret, admiration, pathos and confused logic. It is also a time when team-mates' suggestions provide a new view of the quality of one's play! When everyone who can bear to show their afternoon game has done so, players generally disperse to the many excellent restaurants in Dunkirk. Sunday morning, 27th May: 8:20 bus from the station to Cappelle for a rather bleary nine o'clock start. The Cappelle team were weakened by several players needing to stay home for the "Fete des Mamans." John McVicar was unexpectedly substituted on board 1 and did brilliantly to draw against John Cappon. The following five boards all won, with particular credit to Caius Turner for his victory over the much stronger Philippe Haezebaert. Dave Bluestone's opponent went badly wrong in a level ending, or should I say Dave's superior endgame technique shone through? 1 John McVicar 1856 1/2-1/2 John Cappon 2188 After a Cappelle lunch at which "le Lirac nouveau" was sampled and found good, the French performed better on high boards. Hubert Hareux's draw against Andrew Whiteley was one of the last games to finish: in the final position Andrew would have had a bishop and rook's pawn of the wrong colour. I grovelled hard to draw against Cristian Marsylle, who had a raging attack for most of the game after some inept opening play by yours truly. Again, our junior contingent scored particularly well, as the results show. Sunday afternoon, 27th May 1 Jim Stevenson 2136 0 - 1 John Cappon 2188 At the closing ceremony Michel, the French Captain, told us of Cappelle's year in the French first division. Although they fielded a team with grandmasters Chuchelov, Winants and Degraeve, they were meeting teams from bigger clubs with seven grandmasters! Some of their crucial games were lost 4-3: for fuller details, see Europe Echecs, May 2001. So Cappelle are relegated for next season. However, the experience of top-level play has given the club good experience. For those readers who are unaware, Cappelle hosts each February the largest and strongest open tournament in the world! Kings Head players are regular participants. If any players have interesting or amusing games or stories from the weekend which they would like to share with others, send them to Contact Us and will will consider putting them on the site. My Round 1 game against Guillaume Mallevaey (White), is in the Games Diary 2 which I include to encourage other team members to send in games. Peter Grant-Ross |