Charles Cobb took clear first place in the Hanham Open, defeating Chris Beaumont in the final round. A newcomer to Bristol, Cicmil, took second place. He is still to be snapped up by a local club, but there is bound to be no shortage of bidders follwing his performance here. Aiden Rawlinson (Bath University) belied his low rating of 127, scoring a win and four draws against opponents 40-60 points ahead of him.
Hanham, after missing a year in 1998, moved to June from its usual November in a bid to attract more entrants but the organisers were disappointed at the results. Steve Boniface, Chief Arbiter, said "We received complaints that Hanham was too close to other West Country congresses such as Clevedon and Torbay, so we opted for June. But numbers are down on last time." The venue, in the Bristol suburbs, is a possible deterrent, being a few miles out of the centre and with a scarcity of local accommodation, but it is surprising there is not better support from local players.
The congress had an international flavour with the presence of six German players visiting as part of the annual Bristol-Hannover exchange. Only one, Bernd Watermann, finished in the prize money, sharing second place in the Major.
* = grading prize.
Team prize: Keynsham.