57th Torbay Chess Congress Report
31st October - 2nd November 2025 at the TLH Toorak Hotel, Torquay
Entrants
Open 49; Major 22; Intermediate 54; Foundation 24.
This makes a total of 149: entry was capped at 150 to enable all four sections to be accommodated in the main ballroom at the Toorak. After the 150 threshold had been reached, 16 players put their names on a waiting list, and late withdrawals enabled us to give places to five of them. A very late withdrawal meant that the final number of entrants was 149.
Results
The full results can be viewed on the Swiss Manager Results website:
Prize Winners
Open
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Harry Grieve | 5 | £240 | |
| Joint 2nd | Keith Arkell | Totnes | 4 | Each winning £57 |
| Haroon Majeed | ||||
| Paul Helbig, | Bath | |||
| Martin Goldschmidt | Totnes | |||
| Rating Prize 1985 - 2019 | Stephen Homer | Exeter | 3½ | £30 |
| Rating Prize 1960 - 1984 | Kameron Grose | Hammersmith | 3 | Each winning £15 |
| Mark Robertson | Liskeard | |||
| Rating Prize 1920 - 1959 | John Bass | Richmond | 3 | 30 |
| Rating Prize 1830 - 1919 | Mark Abbott | Newton Abbot | 3 | Each winning £10 |
| Adam Clarke | Newton Abbot | |||
| Mark Jones | ||||
| Rating Prize 1710 - 1829 | Thomas Ash | Downend & Fishponds | 3 | £30 |
| Rating Prize u1710 | Jack Tye | Bristol Grendel | 2½ | £30 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Paul Aston | St. Marychurch | 2 | £30 |
Major (Under 1950)
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matthew Wilson | Ilkley Chess Centre | 4 | £240 |
| Joint 2nd | Mark Thomas | Llanelli | 3½ | Each winning £75 |
| Giles Body | Exeter | |||
| Kevin Winter | Ilkley Chess Centre | |||
| Rating Prize 1801-1850 | John Morrison | Wellington | 3 | £30 |
| Rating Prize 1761-1800 | Brendan O’Gorman | DHSS | 3 | Each winning £15 |
| Giles Body | Exeter | |||
| Rating Prize u1761 | Nicholas White | Wycombe & Hazlemere | 2½ | £30 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Not awarded | |||
Intermediate (Under 1725)
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joe Dornan | 4½ | £240 | |
| Joint 2nd | Suhayl Abdalla | Newton Abbot | 4 | Each winning £57 |
| Nigel Kirkman | Calstock | |||
| Mike Sapiecha | Newton Abbot | |||
| Oleksii Nobakov | Bristol Cabot | |||
| Rating Prize 1670-1699 | William Ingham | Teignmouth | 3½ | £30 |
| Rating Prize 1651-1669 | Christopher Southall | Wellington | 3½ | Each winning £10 |
| Ken Alexander | ||||
| Stephen Williams | Cwmbran | |||
| Rating Prize 1616-1650 | Justin Yau | Thornbury | 3½ | £30 |
| Rating Prize 1580-1615 | Oliver Sleight | Plymouth | 2½ | Each winning £15 |
| Shreyas Pasupulety | Newton Abbot | |||
| Rating Prize 1521-1579 | Grant Daly | Downend & Fishponds | 3 | Each winning £15 |
| Charles Doidge | Teignmouth | |||
| Rating Prize 1431-1520 | Joy Fursman | Bredon, Tewkesbury | 3½ | £30 |
| Rating Prize u1431 | Dave Tomlin | Llanelli White Knights | 3 | £30 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Malcolm Probert | Llanelli White Knights | 2 | £30** |
** Malcolm Probert wins the slow starter prize because Dave Tomlin (finishing on 3 points after losing the first two games) has won a £30 rating prize, and no player is eligible for two cash prizes.
Foundation (Under 1500)
Scroll the table to the right to see full details.
| Prize | Winner(s) | Club(s) | Score | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Alex Fletcher | Exeter Maths School | 5 | Winning £240 |
| 2nd | Michael Pope | Salisbury | 4 | £140 |
| Joint 3rd | Toby Varney | Exeter Maths School | 3½ | Each winning £43 |
| Andre La Bouchardiere | Weymouth | |||
| Rating Prize 1391-1460 | Ian Farrow | Dons | 3 | Each winning £15 |
| Ian Leslie | Cirencester | |||
| Rating Prize 1300-1390 | Kevin Huntley | Salisbury | 3 | £30 |
| Rating Prize u1300 | Wyllie Hume | Isle of Arran | 2½ | £30 |
| Slow Starter Prize (0/2) | Stephen Hinde | Bristol & Clifton | 1½ | £30 |
The Trophies
Torbay Individual Championships (incorporated in the Congress)
| Open: Basil Wallis Cup | Keith Arkell1 | Totnes |
| Major: Challenge Cup | James Schofield2 | South Hams |
| Intermediate: Intermediate Cup | Michael Sapiecha | Newton Abbot |
| Foundation: Candidates Cup | Robin Hart3 | Teignmouth |
Best Score by a Devon Player in the Graded Tournaments
| Ralph Newman Cup | Alex Fletcher | Exeter Maths School |
Best Score by a Devon Junior
| John Whitfield Cup | Toby Varney4 | Exeter Maths School |
Team Event
Teams of four players entered the Team Competition. This year there were ten entries. The lead kept changing hands between the Totnes Brutus team and Downend & Fishponds. In the end it was Totnes Brutus who prevailed, finishing on 13 points. Downend & Fishponds finished second on 12, while the Newton Abbot Bots and the Wellington Welly Wing Gambits shared third on 11½. The prize money of £40 goes to the Totnes Club.
The 57th Congress
Many people were involved in the planning, setting up and running of the Congress. We are grateful to:
- Kitson Boyce for their continued sponsorship of the Congress.
- Tony Tatam for arbiting, managing the pairings and rating submissions.
- Phil McConnell for running the website and entrants, producing the wall charts and much else.
- John Constable and Graham Mill-Wilson for arbiting tournaments.
- Plymouth Chess Club for the loan of digital clocks.
- Yurii Drapak, Amber Rivers and the staff of the Toorak Hotel for their wonderful support.
- All the players for their generous contributions to the Congress.
Well done everybody - we are already looking forward keenly to next year's Congress which will be at the Toorak Hotel on 6 - 8 November 2026.
