106 competitors attended the 2009 Bolton Easter congress, held at the Excel Centre.
In the Open section, Mike Surtees beat tournament favourite IGM Stuart Haslinger in round 2, with black. Mike had the advantage in the endgame and converted this into the win. He was the outright leader by one point entering the final round. However a final round loss to Martin Mitchell resulted in a tie for 1st place, with Martin and Stuart.
Five competitors shared 1st place in the Major and two players were joint winners in the Knights. There was also a tie for first place in the Busy Persons 10 minute blitz competition.
All results are shown below
Results
Open
1.Stewart
Haslinger
Formby (4pts)
Mitchell
M
Blackpool
Mike
Surtees
Bolton
4.Mark
Ellis
St Helens (3½pts)
5.Don
Mason
Shirley (3pts)
Oliver
Jackson
Prestbury
Peter
Anderson
Leeds Area
Leo
Keely
Huddersfield
20 Competitors£410 prize fund
Major
1.Richard
Bryant
Telepost (4pts)
Chris
Vassiliou
Chorlton
Martin
Burns
Stockport
Carl
Heald
Matthew
Barret
Manchester Area
6.David
Patrick
Courier (3½pts)
Carl
Pickering
Kenilworth
Neil
Coward
Blackpool
U140 Grading Prize Neil Coward and Carl Pickering
34 Competitors £330 Prize fund
Knights
1.Daniel
Broughton
West Bridgeford (4½pts)
David
Wells
York RMI
3.Sam
Towse
Three Cs (4pts)
Joseph
McPhillips
Bolton
David
Connolly
Great Lever
Paul
Horman
Morecambe
Lawrence
Harold
Manchester
8.Stephen
Lloyd
Chester (3½pts)
Dave
Hartley
Cleveleys Area
Alan
Stokes
East Cheshire
Matthew
Fanning
Atherton
U100 Grading PrizePaul Horman andLawrance Harold
U80 Grading PrizeAlan Stokes andMatthew Fanning
52 competitors £380 prize fund
Busy Persons Blitz
47 competitors.
1st=Peter AndersonLeeds area andMark BirkinAlwoodley7/8pts
3rd=Mike SurteesBolton6pts166-190 Grading Prize
3rd= Dean HartleyAmber Valley 6pts126-145 Grading Prize
Other prizewinners
Mark WhiteheadRochdale5.5pts146-165 Grading Prize
Thomas FieldingPreston5.5pts106-125 Grading Prize
Ian LambBolton4.5pts=86-105 Grading Prize
Glyn RandleTelford4.5pts=86-105 Grading Prize
Alan StokesEast Cheshire4pts=61-85 Grading Prize
Brian SlaterBolton area4pts=61-85 Grading Prize
Joe GreenwoodKUCC3ptsunder 60 Grading Prize
£240 prize fund
The Manchester Rapidplay 2009
The entrance to the Commonwealth Suite at the rear.
Isobel Cotogni did well.
Bookstall in the entrance.
The main playing hall.
Young Arsenal supporter,played well.
The tables looked very smart in blue.
Mitchell Burke resplendent in United red!
The Open section with Richard Beach
There was a rest room available upstairs.
Nice to see lots of keen juniors.
Chess and the City - Manchester Rapidplay 1 March 2009
The second New East Manchester Rapidplay Chess Tournament was held at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday 1 March 2009. This year we added an Open section. The entry fees were tiered to encourage early entry, but large numbers turned up to pay £20 on the day, and the U120 section had to be closed due to volume of players. My thanks go to Julian Clissold for his sterling efforts in controlling this section.
The event was organised by Sport4life on behalf of the Eagle Chess Club in association with the Manchester Chess Federation (MCF). As last year, we had many visitors from Kosovo.With 2 film crews and a number of photographers in attendance, look out for the post event publicity. Some photos will appear at http://www.manchesterchessfederation.co.uk/.
We would like to thank the sponsors, New East Manchester Ltd and Equity Solutions, Chess Direct who supplied the bookstall, plus all the staff of Manchester City FC and the stadium who helped to make us welcome.We were pleased with the numbers, with 109 playing, given the competing Doncaster Chess Congress, and football at Bolton and the Carling Cup Final, all of which cost us entrants. The Greater Manchester County Open team had played the day before at Newcastle-under-Lyme, but some of the players turned out, including top board Richard Beach (Stockport), the English Senior Champion.
The MCF were pleased to see all three sections won by local players.
The Junior (U16) Trophies were won by:
Athar Mehmood (Newport)
Isobel Cotogni (Worsley)
Marvin Hayes (Chester)
Lucy Towse (3Cs)
In the U120 section (69 players), the Trophies and prize fund were won by:
Joseph McPhillips (Bolton) with a score of 5.5/6, winning £100
Geoff Laurence (Macclesfield) with a score of 5/6, winning £15
David Broadbent (East Cheshire) also with a score of 5/6, winning £15
Fred Butterworth (Oldham), Daniel Lin (West Notts) and Nathanael Paul (Coddon) also scored 5/6 to win £15 each
The U100 grading prize was won with 4.5/6 by David Holt (Denton) winning £40
In the U160 section (24 players), the Trophies and prize fund were won by:
Ghassan El Gehani (Chorlton) with a score of 5.5/6, winning £120
Craig Whitfield (Cheddleton & Leek) with 4.5/6, winning £60
Tomasz Czaja (Culcheth) with 4.5/6, winning £30
The U140 grading prize was won with 4/6 by Mark Taylor (Rochdale) winning £40
In the Open section (14 players), the Trophies and prize fund were won by:
Adam Ashton (3Cs) with a score of 5.5/6, winning £150
Kamil Rzoska (Poland) with 4.5/6, winning £100
Mike Surtees (Bolton) with 4/6, winning £37:50
Robert Shaw (High Peak) also scored 4/6 to win £37:50
The U170 grading prize was shared on 2.5/6 by Mitchell Burke (3Cs) and John Reed (East Cheshire) each winning £20
We hope to stage the event again next year, subject to stadium availability, although we will restructure the sections and maybe the entry fee to try and avoid this year’s chaotic start.
Mick Norris
MCF Congress Director
Bury Rapidplay 2008
Sunday 14th December.
The fourteenth annual Rapidplay took place as usual at Bury Town Hall.
Firstly, a big thank you to our returning sponsors, Metcalfe & Co Accountants of Bury, and insurance group Winterthur Life.
We have used the Elizabethan Suite for ten years or so now, banking on players being attracted by the combination of good playing conditions. There are excellent spectator conditions; lots of parking available nearby and good public transport with the Metrolink/Bus interchange only a couple of minutes walk away. We hope that chess players want to play chess in nice surroundings, and will attend in sufficient volume.
This year we were disappointed with the turnout, affected by the weather possibly, by illness certainly, by the volume of chess available in the North West this year probably. We lost our main sponsor to the economic squeeze, and combined with lower entries, we made our first serious loss.
So, unless Bury Council drop their £600 asking price for the venue, we will have to reluctantly look elsewhere.
In total, we had 85 playing for a total prize fund £750. It reminded me what chess provides that may be unique – competition between men and women, juniors and seniors, able-bodied and the disabled, all playing together in one event.
Competition was intense, and an amazing 22 players shared the prize money. I hope the winners, and those who went home empty handed, all enjoyed their day in Bury.
I would like to give the usual in depth report, but as I had to make up the numbers in the Open (taking my record to nine straight defeats when doing so, before I finally found a generous opponent), I have little to add to the results listed below.
In the Open, the absence of stars meant that the games were all very hard fought, with no-one emerging unbeaten. Marcial, having effectively beaten me twice in the first round, went on to play the top four graded players, and emerge a worthy winner to add to the list of GMs and IMs who have taken the title.
As always the hardest work is done by those not playing. Thanks to Chess Direct as always for the bookstall, to our controllers Julian Clissold, Rod Middleton, Bernard Sharples, Geoff Kerr, and particularly to Anthony Lee.
Mick Norris
Open (12 players)
1stMarcial Flores Eccles1574.5£100
2nd=Richard Beach Stockport 1854£30
Ali Jaunooby3Cs189£30
Alan Walton3Cs182£30
Martin SheardBarnsley155£30
U170 GPDennis OwenUrmston1553.5£30
***********************************
U155 (38 players)
1st=Mitchell Burke3Cs145J4.5£47:50
Robert DeanPudsey131£47:50
Bob NewtonHeywood153£47:50
Simon WoodcockAtherton152£47:50
U135 GPMick ConnorGreat Lever1214£7:50
Neil CowardBlackpool134£7:50
Thomas FieldingPreston122£7:50
David PatrickCourier132£7:50
U120 GPSteve LloydChester1133.5£15
Karl LockettAltrincham115£15
************************************
U105 (35 players)
1stBrendan NewellBrooklandsu/g6/6£100
2ndBrian ForrestBury865£60
3rd=Brendan BrownClitheroe1024.5£30
Ian MitchellRochdale79£30
U65 GPDavid FisherBury area643£15
Michael QuigleyWorsley63£15
The Lodwig Gruchlik Memorial Trophy, awarded to the highest scoring Bury Chess Club Member, was won by Brian Forrest.
Bolton Rapidplay 2008
Sunday 16th November
This was a successfull event held in the Excel Centre Bolton.
The playing hall
The Knights Table
The Majors Table
"watch your clock"
Facing: L Barron and S Hutchinson of Radcliffe
Grading Prize
Facing: Chris Hodgson of Worsley finished third in Knights
The new Bolton Chess League President in a puzzle
Arbiter Rod Middleton
Arbiter Julian Clissold presenting Grading Prize
Equal third in the Knights
David Connolly Knights Runner-up
Brendan Brown Knights winner
Major Third
Major Runner-ups
Mark Birkin Major winner
Prizes
Major
1st Mark Birkin......Alwoodley
2nd John Hall......Bolton
Ian Campbell......Widness
3rd James Murphy......Chorlton
Knights
1st Brendan Brown......Clitheroe
2nd David Connolly......Bolton
3rd David Colledge......Courier
Chris Hodgson......Worsley
Angel Gonzalez......Arden
Maziar Jalinin......Manchester
Under 140 Grading Prize......Chris Booth, Huddersfield
" 100 " Michael Doherty, Chorlton
" 80 " Alan Stokes, East Cheshire
Manchester Players at the British Championships
This year’s championships took place from 27 July to 9 August down the M62 in Liverpool. Many MCF players took the opportunity to take part and this is a brief summary of their efforts.The venue was the splendid St Georges Hall, no need to waste time describing the venue, just have a look at the photos.http://www.britishchess08.com/photos/miscell.htm
The first Rapidplay was won by newly Heywood resident ex Bury player, GM Keith Arkell. Most of the top players saved their energy for the two weeks ahead, but Keith took the opportunity to play whenever he could. Also playing were Brian Slater (Bolton), Dave Newell (East Cheshire), Mark Taylor (Rochdale) and Alan Smith (Stockport).
The following day, the championship proper commenced, along with a large number of supporting events. The 5 day Open pm saw 12 year old Chris Horner (Bolton), son of Jeff, gaining quite a few rating points, finishing mid-table despite being the lowest graded player.Glen Trueman (Marple) took part in the U175 and Jim Nicholson, stalwart county play for Greater Manchester, was undefeated in the U125.
In the Juniors, the U16 saw Tom Clements (3Cs) gaining grading points, Mitchell Burke (3Cs) playing to grading, and a joint sixth finish from Michael Rabbitte (Heywood).The U13 saw Peter Gerlagh (Altrincham) gaining grading points after a difficult start. His 9 year old brother Joris found it tough in the U11, as might be expected against mainly older players. The experience was valuable, as the weekend saw Joris finishing an excellent runner up in the U9, which also featured the Didsbury Dynamos duo of Ravi Mahapatra and Nathan Campbell.
The weekend U140 saw top ten finishes from Tom Clements (3Cs), Mick Connor (Great Lever), Mark Taylor (Rochdale) and Dave Newell (East Cheshire). In the Open, Bob Newton (Heywood) was joint winner, an excellent performance as his co-winners were all much higher grades.
The second Sunday Rapidplay saw Keith Arkell joint first with fellow GM Bogdan Lalic. Along the way, Keith beat Mitchell Burke (3Cs), who had another great performance gaining many grading points.Week 2 began, and inspired, Mitchell gained some more grading points in the 5 day Open am, as did Chris Horner again in the 5 day Open pm.
In the U100, joint winner was the improving Richard Fox (Atherton). Also taking part were Reyer Gerlagh (Altrincham) and James Waddington (Bolton).In the U12, Nathan Taylor (Bolton) finished joint third with Jamie Horton (Didsbury Dynamos), well done to both players. Peter Gerlagh (Altrincham) gaining grading points and Isobel Cotogni (Worsley) was the only player to hold the wunderkind of British Chess, Felix Ynojosa.In the U10, Bolton’s Joseph McPhillips won undefeated by a clear point, an excellent result and congratulations. Good performances too from Andrew Horton (Didsbury Dynamos) and Joris Gerlagh (Altrincham).
At the other end of the age scale, Jim Nicholson has a tough week in the Seniors.The Major Open is a tough slog of 11 afternoons, like the Championship proper Monday to Saturday in week 1 and Monday to Friday in week two. I’m not quite sure how he found the time to play, but Mitchell Burke (3Cs) managed another grading gain.Heywood’s Rabbitte brothers would be reasonably happy – Liam (17) faired best with good rating gain, finishing just ahead of Michael (15) also gaining points and Dominic.
Turning finally to the main event, IM Jeff Horner (Bolton) started with a draw against eventual champion GM Stuart Conquest. He stayed on the top boards for the first week, despite losing good games against GMs Hebden and Lalic, but faded somewhat in week two.Fellow Bolton player Mike Surtees had an excellent event, losing only to two IMs and a GM. A good rating gain was consolidated by his spectacular round 7 win against eventual Ladies Champion, IM Jovanka Houska. http://www.britishchess08.com/downloads/games.htmThis won the game of the round £100 prize, won the following day by Keith Arkell against IM Lawrence Trent.
3Cs Stephen Gordon finished an excellent joint third, undefeated and gaining rating points but missing the elusive final GM norm. If he had won any of his seven draws, he would have been in the final playoff. Stephen cannot be too downhearted as he became the British U-21 Champion.The playoff was actually contested by Keith Arkell, whose only loss was against Stuart Conquest, who defeated him again to take the Rapidplay playoff. Am I the only one who thinks that joint champions would be fine, and a Rapidplay playoff is no way to settle a longplay event of 11 days duration? Keith has the consolation of being awarded the title of joint English Champion 2008, keeping the title won last year by Stephen Gordon in Manchester.Apologies if I have missed anyone out, well done to all who played and those from Liverpool who worked so hard to make the event a big success. Mick Norris.
IM Andrew Martin (left) with round 7 'Game of the Day' £100 winner Mike Surtees
Winner GM Stuart Conuest (left) discussing the final position immediately after the second play-off game ended with him securing a 1½-½ victory against GM Keith Arkell.
Stephen Gordon deep in thought
GM Nigel Davies (right) against GM Mark Hebden
IM Jeff Horner (left) drawing his game with the new champion
Foreground right is Nathan Taylor (Bolton) and behind him Isobel Cotogni (Worsley) in the Under 12s
Matthew and James Walsh of Bolton (Under 11s)
MCF v Sheffield League
125th Anniversary Match 29th June 2008
Board
S&DCA
16½-13½
Manchester
1
Andrew Ledger
½-½
Ben Hague (W)
2
Jonathan Nelson
1-0
Stephen Pickles
3
Paul Blackman
½-½
Richard Beach
4
Aref Vasli
1-0
Shever Mapira
5
David Latham
1-0
Anthony Aspin
6
Yang Guo (J)
0-1
Adam Tyton
7
Mohammad Said
½-½
John Reed
8
Mike Smith
½-½
John Wordsworth
9
Jeremy Hamm
½-½
Ghassan El Gehani
10
David Andrews
½-½
Mitchell Burke
11
Andy George
0-1
Alan Beresford
12
Tom Whitaker (J)
½-½
David Pardoe
13
Steve Bracey
1-0
Matthew Pollard
14
Steve Gibbs
½-½
Jim Nicolson
15
Dave Grobler
1-0
David Kierman
16
Andrew Birtwhistle
1-0
Chris Hodgson
17
John Mercy
½-½
Mark McNulty
18
John Fryer
1-0
Peter King
19
Ashley Littlewood (J)
0-1
David Preen
20
Bill Ward
1-0
David Holt
21
Ian Barwick
0-1
Chris Chadwick
22
Michael Littlewood (J)
0-1
Damian McCarthy
23
Neil Limbert
0-1
Ian Brusby
24
Paul Bailey
1-0
Evan Wood
25
Louis Brijmohun (J)
1-0
Charles Sharpe
26
Miles Edwards-Wright (J)
0-1
Steven Jones
27
Dominic Wong (J)
0-1
Lee Baron
28
Bill Pettigrew
0-1
Peter Gerlagh
29
Bob Lindsay
1-0
Joris Gerlagh
30
Brian Stephenson
1-0
Tom Green
The Reyner Shield 2007/8
The victorious Three Cs 1 team that won this years shield.
Bolton 1 2:5 3Cs1 19th May 2008.
1.
J. Horner
0:1
A. Ashton
2.
M.Surtees
1:0
A. Walton
3.
J. Hall
0:1
D. James
4.
H. Lamb
½:½
J. Bentley
5.
A. Tyton
0:1
A. Jaunooby
6.
R. Middleton
0:1
P. Adams
7.
N. Taylor
½:½
M. Burke
The event was played at the Bolton YMCA and Julian Clissold gave a demonstration of the top three boards play. Using his Laptop, Chessbase and projector he kept the audience well informed and entertained.
Stobo-Bland Trophy 2008
Stretford April 12th.
John Reyes took his mainly young band of warriors to the Stretford Bridge Club to do battle with the Lancaster army of chessplayers. Players from the Lancaster, Morecambe and District Chess League were the opponents in the 5th annual Stobo-Bland Trophy match. Alan Stobo was a founding memeber of the Manchester Chess Federation and would have been proud to see his good work continued with a good win for the Mancunian team. The result was a more than convincing 21½-6½ victory against the defending champions. Below is a selection of photos from the event.
The Bolton Easter Congress 2008
The top table players in action
IM Jeff Horner (centre facing) playing J Hanley. Jeff won the Blitz section with 100% score.
Arbiter's table and bookstall.
Mike Surtees (hat) deep in thought playing J Wardley.
GM Stewart Haslinger (right) playing A Jaunouby in round 3. The game was an attacking spectacular, and can be seen on the Games page.
The Open section was the strongest for several years, with two GMs and one IM. After three rounds only two players were on maximum points, GMs Nigel Davies and Stewart Haslinger. Davies defeated Haslinger in a rook and knight + three pawns vs rook + five pawns ending, in their fourth round encounter. A draw between Nigel Davies and James Hanley in round five ensured that Nigel won the event.
RESULTS
OPEN: 1st GM Nigel Davies (ADS/Widnes) 4½/5, 2-3. GM S Haslinger (Formby), James Hanley (Lancaster) 4.
MAJOR U-160 ECF: Mark Whitehead (Rochdale), Paul Evans (Blackpool) 4½/5.
KNIGHTS U-120 ECF: Daniel Broughton (West Bridgeford) 4½/5
BUSY PERSONS BLITZ: Jeff Horner (Bolton) 8/8.
The Manchester Rapidplay 2008
The frontage of the City of Manchester Stadium. The games were played behind the centre glass area
The playing area
Scoreboards
The board one players at work
Trophy cabinet
Chess and the City
The first New East Manchester Rapidplay Chess Tournament was held at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday 2 March 2008.
A total of 56 players competed at what is believed to be the first chess event held at a premiership football stadium. The excellent surroundings of the Boardroom Suite were certainly an improvement on the usual venues for chess tournaments, although it did cost £5 for a prawn sandwich and a cup of tea!
The event was organised by Sport4life on behalf of the Eagle Chess Club in association with the Manchester Chess Federation.
We would like to thank the sponsors, New East Manchester Ltd and Equity Solutions, plus all the staff of Manchester City FC and the stadium who helped to make us welcome.
The Junior (U16) Trophies were won by:
Robert Bowler (Copperworks)
Ravi Patel (Checkmate)
James Bowler (Copperworks)
In the U120 section (34 players), the Trophies and prize fund were won by:
Farshad Ai (Sheffield) with a perfect score of 6/6, winning £100
Alan Sime (Macclesfield) winning £37:50
Bashkim Caka (Eagle), also winning £37:50
The U100 grading prize was shared by Ravi Patel (Checkmate) and Jade Stirrup (3Cs), each winning £20
In the U160 section (22 players), the Trophies and prize fund were won by:
M Zahir Aryan (Phoenix Yorks) with a score of 5/6, winning £100
Nick Barnaby (Widnes/Bolton), also winning £100
Phil Olbison (Chorlton), winning £40
The U140 grading prize was shared by Taher Aryan (Phoenix Yorks) and Mark Birkin (Alwoodley), each winning £20
We hope to stage the event again next year, subject to stadium availability, and maybe we can see more competitors if we avoid a clash with Mothering Sunday
Thanks,
Mick Norris
Stephen Gordon Shines at the British Championship 2007
Above: Stephen shaking hands with eventual champion Jacob Aagaard, who he beat in their individual game.
Above: Proudly showing his twin trophy haul.
One for the U-21 Champion and the other for the new English Champion (being the highest placed english player.)
Jeff Horner: International Master
Jeff Horner had a splendid tournament in the 2007 Monarch Assurance I.O.M. International. Not only did he play very well, he finally secured his third norm for the International Master Title. One of Jeffs games is on the games page. A fighting draw against a renound grandmaster.
The Bolton Rapidplay 2007
Right Foregroud: Dominic Rabbitte winner of the Major.
Right Foreground: Richard Desmond.
Right: Ian Campbell the Major Runner Up.
Above: Angel Gonzales the Minor Winner.
Above: Sam Towse
Above: Isobel Cotogni of Worsley CC.
Above: A budding Judit Polgar?
Above: Bob Newton (L) and Adam Tyton.
RESULTS
MAJOR:1st. Dominic Rabbitte (Heywood) 5. =2nd. Ian Campbell (Widnes), Philip Seery (Bare Villiage), Peter Mulleady (Atherton) 4½.
U-140: 1st Malcolm French (Widnes) 4.
MINOR: 1st. Angel Gonzales (West End) 5½. 2nd: Sam Towse (3Cs) 5. =3rd. Stephen Lloyd (Chester YMCA), Mark McNulty (Radcliffe), G Lawrence (Macclesfield), Keith Evans Bury) 4½.
U-100: =1st Gerry Whitehead (Salford), Jade Stirrup (3Cs), Jason Widdup (Bare Villiage), Mark Davis (Urmston) 4.
The Bury Rapidplay 2007
Unlucky for some at 13th Bury Rapidplay
The Thirteenth annual Rapidplay Congress organised by Bury Chess Club took place yesterday (Sunday 9 December 2007) at Bury Town Hall.
Despite the cramped conditions in round one, and absence this year of sandwiches (though thankfully not tea, coffee and a licensed bar), it is fair to say that most players appreciate playing in such nice surroundings. Non playing parents, partners and friends also enjoy the luxury of the bar area overlooking the playing hall.
Entry was 92, good but not great due to clashes with premiership football at the Reebok and the Hatton fight in the early hours of Sunday morning. We did have one Grandmaster and a couple of foreign visitors, plus a good contingent from both Yorkshire and Merseyside.
MICHAEL WOOD HOMES were again main sponsors of the Bury Rapidplay Chess Congress. Returning sponsors were METCALFE & CO Accountants of Bury and insurance company WINTERTHUR LIFE.
This was a full day congress over six rounds, split into three sections – Open, Major and Minor - with total prize money of £750. Players each had 30 minutes to complete each game.
This was an ECF Grand Prix event.
The Bury & Rochdale League Team Competition
This event is open to clubs playing in the Bury & Rochdale League. Clubs had to submit a team list of 5 players, with the best 4 scores to count.
Heywood had enough players but failed to enter a team and both 3Cs and Bury left out their top scoring player.
Winners of an engraved clock were Bury with 14 points, followed closely by 3Cs A with 13.5 and 3Cs B with 9.
I think this is the first time a Bury team has won a clock, so an excellent performance by all the players, especially given the closeness of the winning margin of only half a point.
The M W Homes Open
This featured 14 players. Joint winners were Ali Jaunooby (3Cs Oldham) and Southport’s Grandmaster Nigel Davies each earning £80 with a score of 5/6.
Nigel finished strongly after a shock defeat by Roger Williamson (Aigburth) in the fourth round. Ali lost to Nigel in round 3, but beat Roger in round 5.
Having won his first 4 games, Roger finished third with 4.5/6.
Grading prizes were won by Jonathan Arnott (Sheffield University) and David Jameson (Colwyn Bay), both on 3.5/6. An eventful last round saw David hold Roger and Jonathan narrowly fail to hold Nigel
The Major
This featured 35 players, more than normal. Joint winners with a score of 5/6 were Philip Armstrong (Oldham), Richard Gavin (Oldham), Mark Birkin (Alwoodley Leeds) and Robert Clegg (Huddersfield).
Robert won his first five games, including wins against Phil and Richard, but fell to Mark in the last round. Mark dropped draws to Robert Dean (Pudsey) and Bury’s Roger Howley.
Grading prizes were won by Chris Booth (Huddersfield) and Mitchell Burke (3Cs Oldham).
TheMinorhad 43 players. It was won by Will Heyes (Skelmersdale) with the day’s best score of 5.5/6.
Top seeds James Wei (Bramhall) and Keith Johnson (Urmston) tied for second with 5 points, with Jade Stirrup (3Cs Oldham).
Will drew his final round game with Jade.
The U80 Grading prize was shared by Salfordians Philip Cohen and Anthony Carroll, Harry Brookes (Great Lever) and James Waddington (Bolton).
Bury’s Lee Baron won the U65 grading prize.
The Bury Players
Bury’s Lee Baron, Brian Forrest and Jeremy Peach shared the Lodwig Gruchlik Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually for the best score from a Bury Chess Club member, with a score of 4/6 in the Minor.
Bolton’s Julian Clissold smoothly controlled the Congress, as always and there were no significant disputes. Many Bury club members helped to organise and run the event. Andrew Butterworth of Chess Direct provided the Bookstall.
Next year’s event is on Sunday 14th December 2008.
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