Grandmaster Hebden still learning after 40 years
EVEN a decorated grandmaster with 40 years of professional play can readily admit that he has much to learn in the game of chess.
Mark Hebden, 61 years of age and a five-time winner of the Guernsey International Chess Festival, has returned to the Peninsula Hotel once more in a bid to add a new line to his almost unrivalled title tally.
The Englishman is graded 2427 on Elo and heads the seedings from compatriots and international masters Nigel Povah and Chris Baker.
But perhaps unsurprisingly, Hebden has remained remarkably level-headed and mere minutes before his most important match of the week, he happily chatted to the Guernsey Press about his history with the festival.
‘I first started playing in the Guernsey tournament in the ’80s, when it was in St Martin’s,’ he said.
‘I like the tournament – it’s nice, gentle and convivial, with nice, friendly people and great organisation.
‘The hotel’s good and it’s just a very relaxing week, because normally when I play international tournaments they last nine days and they can be a bit of a slog at my age.’
So what brought Hebden to the island for a first time?
He recounted his days as a burgeoning professional simply touring for experience – and Guernsey proved a perfect fit for his ambitions.
‘I thought here is a place where I can play seven games in an international and so I thought I’ll give it a try,’ said Hebden.
‘I liked it and in the ’80s I played a lot, then I stopped because I was travelling all over the world, playing everywhere ... it took a while for me to come back.’
In 1982, he hit his first GM norm of the three required, and before he officially qualified for the prestigious title a whole decade later, he had three Guernsey wins under his belt.
He broke his long absence from the Guernsey roll of honour by winning the 2012 edition and backing this up in 2015 made him the festival’s third-most-successful player.
Both Swedish GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson and English IM Robert Bellin were six-time winners by then and the Swede won once more the following year.
But Hebden could draw level with Bellin this week.
He beat second seed Povah in the highest-prestige game of the whole festival on Wednesday, creating a lead that he hopes to maintain through the final two days.
‘I’d like to win all of them – I’m greedy and I don’t like sharing,’ added Hebden.
‘The main thing, especially as you get older, as a chess player is that you just want to play and be competitive. There’s going to be blunders, mistakes, but you have to learn to live with that frustration.
‘You’re still learning whatever age you are. You’re always learning something new about the game – that’s what attracts people to the game.’
