52nd Torbay Chess Congress Report
9th - 11th November 2018 at the Livermead House Hotel, Torquay
Entrants
Open 21; Major 27; Intermediate 35; Foundation 44.
This makes a total of 127: 2 down on last year. Late cancellations meant that we failed to top our entry for the 50th Anniversary Congress.
The Congress began on the Friday night in very heavy rain and high wind meaning some players arrived in a ‘drowned’ state and spent a long while drying off under the hand dryers! It says a great deal for their resilience and stamina that they managed to compose themselves to play chess. The trains were also disrupted which meant getting in to the venue on Sunday morning posed some challenges to those players coming from Exeter. Fortunately with goodwill on all sides travel problems were overcome. Thanks to those who helped.
Prize Winners
Open
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | William Claridge-Hansen | Wimbledon | 4 | Winning £240 |
| Joint 2nd | Dominic Mackle | 3½ | All winning £75 | |
| David Pye | Cosham | |||
| John Edge | Halesowen | |||
| Grading Prize (184 - 175 inc) | Paul Helbig | Horfield and Redland | 3 | All winning £14 |
| Graham Bolt | Exeter | |||
| Chris Lowe | Exeter | |||
| Grading Prize (174 & below) | Alan Brusey | Newton Abbot | 2½ | Winning £40 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Not applicable |
Major
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Andrew Waters | Rainham (Kent) | 4½ | Winning £240 |
| Joint 2nd | Martin Harris | Kendal | 4 | Both winning £113 |
| Yasser Tello | Wimbledon | |||
| Grading Prize (160 – 151 inc) | Matthew Wilson | 3½ | Winning £40 | |
| Grading Prize (150 – 146 inc) | James Fewkes | Yeovil | 3 | Winning £40 |
| Grading Prize (145 & below) | Phil Foley | Upminster | 3½ | Winning £40 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | David Jenkins | Camborne & Redruth | 2 | Winning £30 |
Intermediate
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint 1st | Rob Wilby | Plymouth | 4 | Both winning £190 |
| Michael Hill | Calstock | |||
| Aditya Yanamandra | Exeter University | Winning £85 Note 1 | ||
| Grading Prize (132 - 128 inc) | David Rogers | Exmouth | 3½ | Winning £40 |
| Grading Prize (127 - 122 inc) | Paul Humphreys | Norton Radstock | 3½ | Winning £40 |
| Grading Prize (121 - 120 inc) | Jason Madden | Warwick | 2½ | Both winning £20 Note 2 |
| Andy Proudfoot | Plymouth | |||
| Grading Prize (119 & below) | Lynn Fursman | 3½ | Both winning £20 | |
| Paul O'Brien | Worthing | |||
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Mike Cuggy | Brixham | 2½ | Winning £30 |
Foundation
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint 1st | Harry Callingham | Exeter University | 4½ | Both winning £190 |
| Graham Hillman | Wimborne | |||
| 3rd | Chris Fraser | Spondon | 4 | Winning £85 |
| Grading Prize (111 – 106 inc) | Stan Share | Willesden and Brent | 3½ | All winning £14 |
| James Galloway | Camborne | |||
| John Dean | Plymouth | |||
| Grading Prize (105 – 99 inc) | Ian Farrow | Dons | 3 | Both winning £20 |
| Christine Constable | Bude | |||
| Grading Prize (98 – 85 inc) | Alan Fraser | Beckenham & Bromley | 3½ | Winning £40 |
| Grading Prize (84 and below) | Edmund Holliday | Maidenhead | 2½ | Winning £40 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Niranjana Narayanan | Newton Abbot | 2 | Winning £30 |
Torbay Individual Championships (incorporated in the Congress)
| Open: Basil Wallis Cup | Steve Levy Note 3 | South Hams |
| Major: Challenge Cup | David Archer Note 4 | South Hams |
| Intermediate: Intermediate Cup | Rob Wilby | Plymouth |
| Foundation: Candidates Cup | Chris Willcox Note 5 | South Hams |
Best Score by a Devon Player in the Graded Sections
| Ralph Newman Cup | Harry Callingham | Exeter University |
Best Score by a Devon Junior
| John Whitfield Cup | Aditya Yanamandra | Exeter University |
Team Event
Teams of four players entered the competition. This year there were six entries. After being pipped last year Plymouth managed to come out on top.
The 52nd Congress
The Congress was opened by James Cross, Partner and Chairman of Kitsons, who are our very faithful long term sponsors. James recalled Mark Batten's 31 years with Kitsons and described him as a ‘chess nut’, which is spot on. James also referred to the Chess World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana which is taking place at the same time as the Torbay Congress. We continue to be enormously grateful to Kitsons for their sponsorship.
The Torbay Chess Congress would not take place without the help and support of many people. We had the expert support of Phil McConnell who solves problems, makes everything work, and still manages to stay calm and relaxed. In particular the marvellous web site that the Congress enjoys was created by Phil and this year he setup the spectacular print outs of the pairings and cross tables. The expert arbiter team of Tony Tatam, John Arris and John Constable were again on top form and kept the event running smoothly.
Many organisations, clubs and individuals helped to make the Congress a success. The Devon County Chess Association loaned their digital clocks. The Plymouth club also loaned us their clocks and as did individual members of the South Hams Club. Bob Jones provided the bookstall. We are very grateful to all of these.
Finally, I want to thank Mr Tim Rew and his team at the Livermead House Hotel who again hosted us with their usual grace. In particular, I want to single out Carol Groves, Head Receptionist, who has dealt with a multitude of my queries, and Gary Dansey who carried all the sets and equipment into the playing area from the front of the hotel and still had a smile on his face at the end. Well done!
