THIS time last year I was not doing Harbour Nights chess because of a hip injury. Every night I am there a new player shows up to play. There are always a few onlookers who know the game and want to see who will win.

Two years ago I had a new player who would stop by to have a game or two with anyone who was free to play or he would bring a friend to play with him.

One such player was Richard Burton (pictured). Having learned how to play chess only five years ago, before he came to Harbour Nights, he took on some strong players.

Because I did not come out at all last year, he was playing a lot with Neville Darrell in his spare time. Now for the first time he has been in a tournament — the Eric Kemper Memorial.

With three winning games out of four rounds, I’ll say he is doing really well for a first-time tournament player. The difference is 1) you have to play each move with a time clock, 2) you write down both your moves plus your opponent’s on a score sheet, or as the rules say “(algebraic) notation of each move”, 3) you can’t touch a piece and not move it. You can’t touch a piece without saying first that he or she is going to adjust that piece.

Some players have a bad habit of keeping the man they want to move in their hand after they have put him down on a square, and then changing their mind and playing a different move. That is why FIDE made that touch-rule many years ago. After all that, any new player is under a different kind of pressure. But Burton pushed all that aside and came up with a winning game. And here is the game he played on Tuesday of last week.

He was paired against Ezra Turner, the 2006 title holder and he won in 29 moves. Turner was playing white and Burton playing black.

In diagram 1, you can see that Burton’s queen is being attacked by Turner’s rook, but he keeps up his own attack with a knight check and pulls the king out more to the centre.

In diagram 2, I thought that Burton was going to gain a queen, with bishop d2 check. But he saw a better use for that bishop and there it is in diagram 3.

Now it’s checkmate or give up the rook. And that is just what Turner did in his 27th move. But after Burton’s bishop captured the rook the king must move. It’s all over as you can see in diagram 4 and Turner resigned.

White: Ezra Turner

Black: Richard Burton

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Qf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Bc4 h6 5. d3 a5 6. a3 d6 7. Be3 Be7 8. d4 Be6 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Be2 Nd7 11. h3 Qg6 12. g4 b5 13. Qc1 Ngf6 14. g5 hxg5 15. Nxg5 b4 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. axb4 Qg2 18. Kd2 Bxb4 19. Rg1 Nxe4+ 20. Kd3 Nec5+ 21. Bxc5 Nxc5+ 22. Ke3 Rxh3+ 23. f3 Qh2 24. Rg4 0-0-0 25. Ne4 Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Bc5+ 27. Rd4 Bxd4+ 28. Ke4 Qxe2>

0-1