P268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:43/32 pp—p0 1/9 CANDIDA ES' PLAYOFF Dutch grandmast r Jan Timman b at Mikhail Sal of the Soviet Union in the playoff in Montpelli r to qualify for th candidates' semi-finals. imman and Sal drew the six-gam sjrie at 3-3, but Timman had a higher p rcentage of victories in the candidates' tournam nt, so he goe through to th n xt stag of the would championship challenge. He will play Yusupov of the USSR in th semi-final sch duled for January. The other semi-final is an all-Rove t affair between Rafael Vaganian and Andrei Sokolov. MotP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:48/04 2/9 TELEX TOR NAMENT London II beat Belgrade in the telex match in the European Twinning Tournament, writes Roger Lancaster. The end came when the Yugoslav team overstepped the time allowed for the third and decisive time under considerable pressure. London I, with 1\/2 so far are deadlocked in a complex position against Eindhovjn of Holland. It is their third successive game against Dutch opposition. MoreP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:39/24 3/9 TELEX TOR NAMENT London II beat Belgrade on time 1 d4 d White's Kh1 m ans that 2 c4 e6 a black reply on move 3 Nc3 Nf6 17 of Qxe3 no longer 4 Bg5 Be7 gives check and can be 5 cxd5 Nxd5 b m t bz white' 6 Bxe7 Qxe7 crushing 18 Bxg6 7 Rc1 Nxc3 disclosing an attack 8 Rxc3 0-0 on black's Queen and a 9 Nf3 Nc6 quick win. Othe moves 10 e3 e5 are met by 18 f5 giving 11 Nxe5 Nxe5 black the choice of 12 dxe5 Qxe5 capturing, or moving 13 Bd3 Be6 the bishop under attack 14 Qc4 h6 which is scarcely more 15 0-0 c6 palatable. 1v Kh1 Rad8 17 f4 MoreP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 21:49/11 4/9 CHEQUERS TOURNAMENT A very strong group of chess players gathered at the Chequers restaurant in north London on December 7, writes Tony Gaffney. The field included two grandmasters, two international masters and ten players with a Britsh rating above 200. In the last two rounds, IM Mark Hebdjn outplayed both John Nunn and Jim Plaskjtt to capture the first psi:j of £100 with 6/6. IWM Sheila Jackson shared equal second place with the two defeated English grandmasters. MoreP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:45/27 5/9 LEGAL & GENERAL NATIONAL CHESS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS While holders Streatham & Brixton are out of the £4,000 tournament - subject to appeal - two other favourites have reached the regional finals. Oxford University, last year's semi- finalists, beat Reading 6-0 and now meet either Harrow or Birmingham league side Kynoch. Kings Head, who also fell in the semis last year, defeated Bournj End 5-1 and will meet Maidenhead on home ground in Bayswater, west London, on January 19. The Berkshire side progressed by beating Fulham 3\-\ with two games, which cannot affect the result, adjourned. MoreP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:40/11 6/9 HASTINGS CHESS CONGRESS Several grandmasters have accepted invitations to compete at Hastings from December 28 to January 12. The field includes Balashov and Mikhalchichin (USSR*, Fedorowicz and Formanek (USA), Petursson and Hjartarson (Iceland), Rivas and Bellon (Spain), Plaskjtt and Conquest (GB) and Cramling of Sweden. The grandmasters' tournament is being held at the Queen's Hotel and the opening ceremony is at 1.30pm on Saturday, December 28. Complimentary tournaments are taking place at the Falaise Hall. MoreP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:41/30 7/9 FOR YOU DIARY Jan 3-5 County of Salop Court Centre, Madeley, Telford; Open, u160, u125; Entries to N Cox, The Crown House, Kynnjrsley, Tjlford TF6 6DX Jan 10-12 Newtimj Foods Hastings Falaisj Hall; Open, u161, u131; Entree to M Bryant, 88 Manor Rd, Hastings, Tel: Hastings 428830 by December 31 Jan 10-12 S Wales Festival Inn on the Avenue, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff; Open, Maj; K J Ovjrshott, 13 Bron Haul, Pentyrch, near Cardiff, Tel: 0222-891268 Jan 11-12 Pergamon UU Open Lightning Langwith College, York University; D E Hardcastle, 27 Peel Close, Heslington York YO1 5EN 0904-412086 bz December 31P268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 21:41/14 8/9 FOR YOUR DIARY Dec 27-29 Chequjrs, 18 Chalk Farm Rd, London NW1 Tel: 01-485-1696 Tournament venue: Gt Western Hotel, Paddington, London W2 Dec 27-30 Batsford London Junior Championships Sir William Collins School; u21 to u14; prizes in all events; Entries to A C Corfe, 51 Borough Way, Potters Bar EN6 3HA Tel: Potters Bar 59080 N Ireland Postal Championships Entries (fee £1) by December 31 to Colin McGuigan, 70 East Street, Newtownards, Co Down, Ulster BT23 3DD Tel: (0247) 816000 MoreP268 CEEFAX 268 Sun 22 Dec 22:52/48 pp—p0 pp—pp—pp—pp—0—p—ppp 9/9 White to mate in two nov s 1 8 R N R 7 N K 6 P R 5 K P 4 B 3 B 2 R 1 For solution press reveal a b c d f g h Ne5(Nc4mate) if Rf5/Rd7 Bf5/Nf7 Nf5/Rg6