51st Torbay Chess Congress Report
10th - 12th November 2017 at the Livermead House Hotel, Torquay
Entrants
Open 14; Major 40; Intermediate 35; Foundation 40.
This makes a total of 129: 3 down on last year which was the 50th Anniversary Congress. The three lower sections were well subscribed, but the clash with a 4NCL weekend, and the loss of the qualifying place for the British in 2018, affected the entry in the Open.
Prize Winners
Open
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint 1st | Stephen Berry (202) | Wimbledon | 4 | Both winning £182.50 |
| Dominic Mackle (198) | Newton Abbot | |||
| Joint 3rd | Mike Waddington (191) | Dorchester | 3 | Both winning £40 |
| Stephen Dilleigh (188) | Horfield | |||
| Grading Prize Under 187 | John Wheeler (185) | Cosham | 2½ | All winning £10 |
| David Littlejohns (178) | Taunton | |||
| James Connor Forster (169) | Southbourne | |||
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Not awarded |
Major
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| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint 1st | Robert Taylor (164) | Downend | 4½ | Both winning £182.50 |
| Plamen Sivrev (161) | Plymouth | |||
| Joint 3rd | Yasser Tello (162) | Wimbledon | 4 | Both winning £40 |
| Russell Goodfellow (159) | ||||
| Grading Prize 161 – 155 inc | Matthew Wilson (161) | Torbay | 3½ | Both winning £15 |
| Martyn Harris (155) | Newcastle under Lyme | |||
| Grading Prize 154 – 144 inc | Michael Stinton-Brownbridge (154) | Plymouth | 3½ | Winning £30 |
| Grading Prize Under 144 | Stephen Williams (140) | Cwmbran | 3 | Winning £30 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | David Archer (154) | South Hams | 2 | Winning £30 |
Intermediate
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| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint 1st | Eddie Hurst (125) | Exeter University | 4½ | Both winning £182.50 |
| Adrian Riley (122) | 4NCL Oxfordshire | |||
| 3rd | David Jenkins (139) | Penwith | 4 | Winning £80 |
| Grading Prize 131 – 127 | Ian Blencowe (131) | Wotton Hall/Braille | 3 | All winning £10 |
| Richard Livermore (129) | Downend & Fishponds | |||
| Neal Fisher(127) | Peterborough | |||
| Grading Prize 126 – 120 inc | Robert Willoughby (126) | West Nottingham | 3 | Winning £30 |
| Grading Prize Under 120 inc | Marek Schroeder (118) | Birmingham | 3½ | Winning £30 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | David Lawrence (127) | King's Head | 3½ | Both winning £15 |
| Michael Dean (103) | Bexhill |
Foundation
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Terry Wang (ungraded) | Plymouth | 5 | Winning £80 |
| Joint 2nd | Jason Madden (111) | Leamington | 4 | All winning £122 |
| Andy Proudfoot (106) | Plymouth | |||
| Christine Constable (98) | Bude | |||
| Grading Prize 106 – 98 inc | Joy Fursman (104) | 3½ | All winning £10 | |
| Alan Stonebridge (104) | Wellington | |||
| Norman Tidy (101) | Newton Abbot | |||
| Grading Prize 97 – 82 inc | Ken Ashby (97) | South Hams | 3 | All winning £10 |
| Paul Broderick (97) | Newport (Shropshire) | |||
| John Carr (91) | ||||
| Grading Prize Under 82 | Edmund Holliday (75) | Maidenhead | 2½ | Both winning £15 |
| James Gibbs (35) | TBGS | |||
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Kenneth Hayden-Sadler (64) | Teignmouth | 2 | Both winning £15 |
| Surinder Virdee (43) | TBGS |
Torbay Individual Championships (incorporated in the Congress)
| Open: Basil Wallis Cup | Dominic Mackle | Newton Abbot |
| Major: Challenge Cup | Plamen Sivrev | Plymouth |
| Intermediate: Intermediate Cup | Nathan Mills | Torquay |
| Foundation: Candidates Cup | Terry Wang | Plymouth |
Best Score by a Devon Player in the Graded Sections
| Ralph Newman Cup | Terry Wang | Plymouth |
Best Score by a Devon Junior
| John Whitfield Cup | Terry Wang | Plymouth |
Team Event
Teams of four players entered the competition. This year there were five entries. The Torbay team set a cracking pace from the start, but were strongly chased by Plymouth who ended just half a point short.
The 51st Congress
The Congress was opened by Jonathan Dickson, a partner of our valued, long term sponsors, Kitsons Solicitors. He recalled Mark Batten's role both within Kitsons and within the Congress. He was kind enough to say he thought the Congress was a well run event. We are very grateful to Kitsons for their continued support.
The team running the Congress was the same as last year but individual roles changed. In particular Phil McConnell put in a sterling performance managing the entries, the finances, the website as well as publishing the pairings and results updates. I am most indebted to Phil for his support. We had the top team of arbiters consisting of Tony Tatam, John Ariss and Graham Mill-Wilson who controlled the Congress with skill and good humour.
Many clubs and organisations helped to make the Congress a success. The Bristol League again loaned us their clocks, as did the clubs at Newton Abbot, Plymouth and South Hams. Keverel Chess supplied us with sets and boards.
Many individuals also contributed. Trefor Thynne ferried clocks to us; Mark Cockerton liaised with Kitsons; Plamen Sivrev arrived early and helped set up the room; Rosemary Pavitt scribed the wall charts; Grant Daly collected the clocks for return to Bristol; and some wonderful people packed kit away at the end.
