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This event saw the best
entry I’ve had since moving to the Old Grammar School a couple of
years ago. 46 players entered, and 44 of them turned up!
Having recently given up the
job of Congress Secretary for the Bristol league, I no longer have
access to the league’s equipment, so was grateful to Alan Papier (my
successor) for supplying extra sets, boards and clocks, so that we
just had enough. It was a bit of a struggle running the tournament
by myself as I had to put the Open section in a separate room, for
the sake of space and comfort. This made it easier for those who
tend to slip away at the end of a round without remembering to
report their results.
The Open section (16
players) was a close run thing for the first half of the tournament
until two players decided to go and find something to eat and missed
round 3, thereby leaving James Cobb and Joey Stewart in joint lead
at the half way stage, which was when they were supposed to go
foraging! Sadly, Joey couldn’t keep up the pace, and James cruised
through with two draws in the last two rounds to finish clear winner
with 5/6, winning £80. Chris Beaumont and Jerry Humphreys shared
second (and in Jerry’s case, the grading prize) with 4½, winning £40
each.
The Major section (15
players) remained close all the way through, and finished in a 3 way
tie for first place, with Andrew Munn and Dave Tipper (both Downend)
and David Dugdale of Thornbury all on 4½, taking £35 each.
In the Minor section (13
players), the only female player in the entire tournament led from
the start. Dorota Pacion from South Bristol only dropped half a
point in round 5 on her way to victory and the £40 prize, beating
University’s Jack Walpole in the last round. Jack, Richard Porter
(also University) and the only ‘home’ player, Kevin Langmaid of
Yate, finished joint second on 4 points, and got their entry fee
back. All in all an enjoyable day for most, though I have to speak
to the developers of the computer program I was using about a couple
of glitches. Despite telling the system that top board in the Major
was No. 21 and top in the Minor was 41, it stoically refused to play
and insisted that the boards in all 3 sections were numbered from 1.
I had to move somebody from the Major section out of the Minor at
one point, and others kept asking me where their board was. Also,
halfway through, the pairing list turned the Minor section into the
“Wilts and West of England Junior Championships”! This should have
been confusing, but oddly enough nobody seemed to notice. I have no
idea how long it had been going on before I spotted it.
GMW
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Graham Mill-Wilson - Controller |
