22 April 2015

 Congress Secretary Report

The Bristol Spring Congress was held at Bristol Grammar School from April 17-19th.  There were 70 players in the 3 sections  

There were a couple of factors that made this congress different.  We were honoured to have the participation of GM Keith Arkell.  And we also had a Colombian film director with his camera man in attendance.  They wish to do a documentary film about chess, possibly featuring the rapid rise of Devon junior Theo Slade.

Full Prize List

FIDE rated Open       Open Section Crosstable          Bristol Champion - Richard Savory ( Downend )     Open Section Games ( 50 )   -   Cbv      Pgn      View Online

Not surprisingly, Keith Arkell won with 5/5.  He is known as a specialist in the end game.  And so it proved.  It was a real pleasure/education/eye opener for us lesser mortals to watch him live conjure up a win from (seemingly) drawn positions.  Keith has such fascinating stories to tell.  When they first met, Aronian, then world number 2, told Keith which of his games he admired!

There was a 4 way tie for second, partly shared by J Sokolsky from Slovakia playing in his first English event.   Young Theo Slade continues to impress, winning the grading prize.

Major Section U155    Major Section Crosstable       Bristol Major trophy winner - Alan Papier ( Clifton )

The U 155 event was won by 12 year old top seed Max French, with 4 1/2  He showed maturity and experience beyond his years to grind out complicated wins.  Seond prize was shared by G. Georgiou and A Papier

Minor Section U125   Minor Section Crosstable         Bristol Minor trophy winner - Kevin Langmaid ( Yate )

Once again, we have proof of how accurate the grading system is.  There were 8 (yes EIGHT!- which represents 30% of the field) players tied for first with 3 1/2 points.  It makes for an exciting last round but with smaller individual prizes.

Alan Papier    chinadoc@chinadoc.force9.co.uk

http://bristolchesscongress.blogspot.co.uk/