Part 1 -Chess Rules Explained Video by myself        Part 2-Chess Rules Explained      Game videos

Hello from Barrow-in-Furness, I am a 51 year old Chess fanatic called Alan Mansel Llewellyn. In this website you will be able to follow my progress as I play in many different tournies, club championships, and league games from Northern England to Scotland and back to my home country of Wales.

I play a very exciting style and although I am only a 126 chess grade player I play many exciting attacking games with about an average of 4 sacrifices of material a game (most of them are sound as well).

 

I play in a similar style to Victor Korchnoi and he is thus my favourite player although Bobby Fischer and Nigel Short are also heroes of mine. I have actually played in a big International Tournament which was the Pokerstars Isle of Man International Masters although I finished last. The games can be seen here.

 

I first started to play chess in 1976 at the age of 5 and my father wanted me to be the next Bobby Fischer, so he bought me a little traveling set which I played him with. It was magnetic and had plastic pieces.

I didn't play much chess until I was 9 when I played in the primary school championships and joined a school club, then when I got to secondary school their wasn't a club but I still played friends. I got my first computer in 1983,a vic 20 and my parents bought me a Sargon II chess program. I was beating it sometimes as it was basic as was my chess but in 1987 I bought an Amiga computer and the program Chessmaster 2000 which was much better than the vic 20. Few people were playing me at Chess in those days, but I often found someone. 

My friend and I who regularly played then decided to go to the local chess club, it was then that a hobby turned into an obsession.

To contact myself regarding any chess related opportunities including chess training, competition entry sponsorship, general sponsorship, games analysis or chess journalism please see here or use the email address:  alanmanselllewellyn@outlook.com    Biographical Timeline

The Barrow Chess Club was a friendly club which met at the Vickerstown Institute on Walney Island. From going to the club I found a world dedicated to all things chess, like for example a League scene of different clubs playing each other in teams of 4 with board points to decide a winner and league positions. The Barrow Club was one of the strongest clubs in the County of Cumbria.

When my friend stopped going to the club I had a problem getting there as he gave me a lift, so I decided to go to a quicker (to get to) more convenient club which was Ulverston Chess Club. This had two extremely strong players there, Barry Sanders and Barry Hymer. This was in 1991. The Barrow club had taken me to a few tournaments (Cumbria Championships held in Barrow 1990, Scarbourgh 1991, Middlesbrough 1992), and they had also taken me to a few county vs county events, and allowed me into their club championship and KO tournament.

There were also quick play tournaments, at Barrow, which I did useless at against some experienced players at Barrow. At the long games I did OK getting a win against a 150 grade player and a draw against a 152 in my first few games. Ulverston was much less competitive in its atmosphere, with the majority of games being 45 minute each friendlies.

I actually lived in Dalton-in-Furness at the time so I was split mid way between the two clubs. I rapidly improved at Ulverston and did become the Club Secretary for a while, my chess grade was going up 20 points a year but when i reached a chess grade of 153 I had a breakdown while staying away at The University of Manchester, and after that my concentration went out the window.

In 2007 I went back to the Barrow Chess Club after my period at Ulverston Chess Club, they welcomed me back and I moved incidentally to just a few hundred yards from the Chess club, in Barrow-in-Furness which is held at the Royal British Legion, Holker Street.  My concentration hasn't improved much but my Chess understanding has although my concentration is showing signs of returning recently. 

For a selection of exciting online Matches played on the Internet Chess Club against various adults and juniors -see here

Rapidplays I have played in include the top world Super Rapidplay (an International event) at the London Classic 2014 in which I came 275th out of 405 competitors with a creditable score of 4/10, the only other rapidplay I have played in is the Blackpool Rapidplay of 2007 in which I scored 1/4.

In the Online English Blitz Championship 9th May 2020  for money i finished on 3.5/11 in both qualifiers finishing 158/186 and 181/224 positions

I was getting training off an International Master Alex Battey and my results were improving fast. But I quite frankly ran out of money to do so.


Record:

Best Tournament Result: 3rd in Preston Spectrum Congress 1996 (Under 175 grade)

Best Grade: 153(1996)

Worst Grade: 93(2007)

Highest Opponents played (in proper otb one on one 2 at least hours each matches): John Toothill(190), Craig Whitfield(192), Shami Abdullayev(192), Keith Allen(193), Mark Page(192), Henry Broadley(192), Kristoff Jamroz(192), Mark Talbot(193), Matthew Mackenzie(193), Alex Richardson(194), Marcus Harvey(227).

Almira Skripchenko(2429FIDE)International Master

Yochanan Afek(2269FIDE)International Master

Jonathan Pein(2257FIDE)Candidate Master

Best Draw:Shami Abdullayev(192)- 2130 FIDE, plus 4 draws against (193) 2080 FIDE rated Matthew Meckenzie

Best Win:1 win vs Alex Billings(2015=177), 1 win vs Julian May(170) 3 wins against Dave Cole(167) plus atleast 20 wins against (150's)

Simultaneous results: Murray Chandler-0, Vishy Anand-0(online), Nigel Short-0, Aaron Summerscale-0.5, Daniel King 0, Sarah Hegarty-0.5, Keith Arkell-0.5(photos), Thomas Rendle-0.5(online)

Best Team Result: 2nd in Cumbria 1st division with Barrow 2013-14 and 2014-15, I played board 4

Best Ulverston Chess Championship record: Winner 3 times, (1997, 1999 and 2001)

Best Barrow Chess Championship record: Runner-Up (2009)

Best County Individual Championship result: Runner-Up (1996)

For a page which shows videos of my best combos see here  

Four Nations Chess League(4NCL) teams and results

2022-2023-1.5/3 brd 2.0 Anglian Avengers 2

2023-2024-0/0 brd 0.0 The Full Ponty(Reserve)