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The 23rd Frome Congress finished earlier this evening with a triple tie for 1st place in the Open involving Paul Byway (191 - Hertford); Oliver Gill (190 - Southampton) and Gareth Morris (182 - Bristol), all on 4/5 points.

Here’s the full prizelist, kindly sent by Gerry Jepps, after all due checking had been done:

Open :-

1^st=: (4/5) Paul Byway (Hertford)

Oliver Gill (Southampton)

Gareth Morris (Bristol & Clifton)

British Championship Qualifying Place Paul Byway (Hertford)

Reserves: Oliver Gill (Southampton),

Gareth Morris (Bristol & Clifton)

U-181 Grading prize (3½/5) David Sully (Pentyrch)

Major (U170):-

1^st (4/5) Ian Ponter (Downend & Fishponds)

2^nd (4/5) Wiatt Ropp (Stratford)

3^rd= (3½/5) Roger Gamble (Spondon)

Paul Jackson (Coulsdon)

Paul Carlucci (Morley College)

Kevin Winter (Bingley)

Ewart Smith (Basingstoke)

Simon Bartlett (Tiverton)

U-150 Grading prize (3/5) Duncan Macarthur (Keynsham)

Dave Marshall (Trowbridge)

Intermediate (U140):-

1^st (5/5) Peter Dimond (Bath)

2^nd= (4/5) David Cornes (Wimborne)

David Rogers (Exmouth)

U-120 Grading prize (3½/5) Derek Hadley (GLCC)

Minor (U115):-

1^st= (4½/5) David Woodruff (Keynsham)

Stephen Crockett (Redditch)

William Curry (Fareham)

U-95 Grading prize Marian Cox (Southampton)

Reg Cox (Southampton)

Lee Bullock (Coulsdon)

Somerset Trophies

Denys Bonner (Highest placed Somerset player in the Open): Patrick Krzyzanowski (Yeovil)

Leon York Memorial (Highest placed Somerset player in the Major): Mark Leonard (Frome)

Roy Hossell (Highest placed Somerset player in the Intermediate): Peter Dimond (Bath)

Cyril Chapman (Highest placed Somerset player in the Minor) David Woodruff (Keynsham)

Jean Mackereth (Highest placed ungraded Somerset player in the Minor) David McGeeney (Bristol Cabot)

Cuprinol Trophy (Highest scoring West of England Junior in any section): Max French (Frome)

Team Competition

Keynsham

In the final round, Gill played Black against the experienced Tyson Mordue, and played a Petroff Defence. With minutes to go before his flag fell, he established an advanced pawn on d3 backed by both rooks, and it couldn’t be stopped, thus giving him a share of 1st prize.

Mordue (w) faced with an unstoppable pawn.

Top boards in the Major: Bartlett v Gamble was drawn, but Ponter (l) went on to win and come 1st.

The Intermediate (U-140) was won by Peter Dimond (Bath - 135) with a perfect score.

Peter Dimond (l) recieves this trophy from Chris Purry (section Controller).

The full prizelist will be found here v. shortly, as soon as available. It is complicated by having the Somerset Championships at all 4 levels, all mixed in with section winners and grading prizes.

A snapper snapped: Brendon O'Gorman adding to his massive collection of pictures, all accessible on-line.

Rd. 7:

The draw is as follows: The three joint leaders had all played each other, so there was no question of short draws in order to guarantee some prizemoney - all 3 had to play for a win. Also, after over 35 years each on the chess circuit, De Coverley and Arkell had never played each other other - this was a first.

This contributed to what was probably the most interesting finale for some years. Firstly, Berry conceded a draw, while the McMichael-Dilleigh game looked very congested with a lot of material still on the board and not much space available to exploit them, so another draw was recorded. This left De Coverley and Arkell in a R+P endgame, the sort that the latter would enjoy, but he had only minutes left to find a plan. But find it he did, giving up 2 pawns in order to bring his king up to help his rook usher the d-pawn home. So Keith Arkell, currently resident in Paignton, became the latest West of England Champion.

The last game to finish in the hall was Richardson - Shaw, where the latter was a pawn down, but their bishops were on opposite coloured squares which tends to minimise this disadvantage, and a draw was agreed.

Rd. 7 Open games here → http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu127/base.htm

De Coverley vs Arkell - a chess 1st!

Greely vs Berry in Rd. 7.

Joint leader, McMichael starts against Steve Dilleigh.

Top 2 games in the Major.

Top 3 games in the Minor start their last game.

There were several good performances in the Minor. Sole leader, John Morrison, only needed a draw to ensure at least joint 1st, but he lost the exchange, assumed he would lose and resigned. His opponent said he had a saving move and sportingly offered to play on. Even more sportingly, John stuck by his resignation. So he finished 3rd= with, among others, 9 yr old Max French of Millfield.

Prize List:

New WECU Champion receives trophy from Andrew Footner

Krzyzanowski (l) & Dilleigh receive grading prizes.

J. Nyman, winner of the Major Section, with the Wilkinson Cup.

Alyssa Wang of Cardiff got a £20 Grading Prize in the Minor.

9 yr old Max French came 3rd= in the Minor.

T. Woodward, joint winner of the Minor SEction.

Dr. Robert Ryan (l) plays Heinz Herschmann in Rd. 7 - combined ages = 176 yrs.

Ronnie Burton of Weymouth, a regular player both here and in the Autumn Seniors Congress, had to withdraw shortly before the event, but offered his entry fee to be awarded to the oldest player not to feature in the prize list. The two chief candidates were Robert Ryan and Heinz Herschmann. The German-born musician is 88 later this week, but Ryan reached that landmark a short while ago, so he gets the unexpected reward for longevity. By sheer coincidence they were paired in the final round.

The Rd. 5 draw was as follows:-

The stand-out result of the morning was Keith Arkell’s loss to McMichael, his first loss for some time, after two excellent 1st places at Blackpool and the High Wycombe e2e4. With Berry also winning, they both took the lead on 4/5 pts.

Rd. 5 Open games here → http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu125/base.htm

Morrison (W) beat Rogers to assume the lead jointly with Errington.

A snapper snapped: the noted chess photographer Mark Huba.

9 yr old Max French on the way to a remarkable win against Ken Alexander.

One of the surprises of the Minor in this round was the win of 9 yr old Max French who beat Ken Alexander, graded 135 and one of Devon’s leading players at the minor level. Max attends the Prep Department of Millfield School in Somerset and comes under the tutelage of Matthew Turner, Grandmaster and Channel 4 Countdown Champion. It is only in recent days that Max has got the hang of playing at the standard rate of moves in adult tournaments. Definitely one to watch.

Round 6:

The afternoon/evening round was drawn as follows:-

Berry and McMichael drew, allowing Arkell to catch up by beating Brusey. Most surprising result was that of Exmouth’s latest acquisition, Meyrick Shaw, who hasn’t played any chess for nearly 30 years, beating Devon’s Match Captain, Brian Hewson.

Rd. 6 Open games here → http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu126/base.htm

In the Major, after 4 straight wins, Bill Ingham slowed down with a draw in the morning and then hit the buffers in the afternoon, so Bryant goes in to the last round in the clear lead.

The Rd. 3 draw for each section was as follows:-

Rd. 3 Open games here → http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu123/base.htm

Being the only players on 2 points, Berry and Arkell were bound to meet, though as the top seeds, it would have been better for them to meet later on, ideally in the final round. As it is, this is a crucial game for both players, as a loss would greatly increase the odds against coming clear 1st.

Berry vs Arkell - a crucial game early on.

Top 3 games in the Major Section.

As we have here, the name A. Wang beside a young girl’s place in the wall chart might cause a certain amount of interest, excitement even, but this is not Anna Wang (aged 12 with a 162 grade) nor her sister Maria (a little older with an even higher grade). No, they are Oxford Wongs, while these are the Welsh Wongs - not related in any way. Alyssa, to be precise, aged 11 and based in Cardiff - already a Welsh Champion for her age group and having represented her country in a World Junior championship.

Alyssa Wong - a picture of concentration in Rd. 3

About 3 years ago, of her own volition, Alyssa starting playing around with chess pieces at home and got really enthusiastic. Father Ed watched with interest but said nothing. After 18 months of this, and with Alyssa’s keenness growing apace, he finally told his wife and daughters that he had been top board for Haberdashers Askes School in West London - they knew nothing of his mis-spent youth, but the genes will out, as they say, and both parents are now doing what they can to further her chess career. Her diminutive 7-yr old sister, Emily, is following in Alyssa’s wake, and is Wales U-7 champion. She is present at the event, but only playing computer games in the hotel lobby.

Emily Wang with father Ed.

Getting in some informal practice.

The draw for the second game of the day (Rd. 4) is as follows:

Round 4:

Arkell moved into the clear lead after beating Hewson in 59 moves while Berry agreed to a second consecutive draw, the only one of the round.

Rd. 4 Open games here→ http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu124/base.htm

In the Major, Mark Abbott had missed the morning round after finding his car in the drive with a flat tyre. Lawrence, who had been due for a bye in Rd. 3, was paired against Stone, while Abbott was awarded the bye. Now he played catch-up with a win against Chapman. Clarke and Ingham were involved in a tremendous game on top board.

Under cloudless skies, and with the air like a refreshing cold white wine, the 67th West of England Championship and Congress got under way at 10 a.m. at the Royal Beacon Hotel, Exmouth. Inevitably there were a few minor hiccups just before the start but these were easily resolved and a hush of concentration quickly descended.

What the Open may have lacked in quantity it made up in quality, the more so after GM Keith Arkell entered the day before, heading a number of quality players in the 180 - 200 range.

Rd. 1 Open games here: http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu121/base.htm

The opening moments

Blinded by the light: late entry GM Keith Arkell faces Graham Bolt.

Berry vs Helbig on Bd. 2.

Former Exeter Junior, Alex Therrien, facing Roger de Coverley.

Hewson v Taylor & Bartlett v Kryzyzanowski.

"Newcomer" Meyrick Shaw (Exmouth) moves against Robert Thompson.

The draw for Rd. 2 was as follows, and finished thus.

Arkell sacrificed a piece in order to break open the enemy king’s position, after which the task was relatively simple. Second seed Berry, on the other hand, had a more difficult ending where he had rook, bishop and pawn for his opponent’s queen; a complicated position in which his opponent eventually ran out of time.

Rd. 2 Open games here → http://www.chessdevon.co.uk/HTML/games/current/wecu122/base.htm

In the Major, only 3 were left on 2/2 at the end of Day 1, namely Wensley, Harris & Bill Ingham. The scores were as follows:-

In the Minor, the leaders going in to Rd. 3 were Dave Rogers, Garth Andrews and Pauls Errington and Foster.

The Major Section along one side of the hall.

...and the Minor Section on the other side

Keith Arkell seems happy with his prospects.

Top 3 boards in Rd. 2 of the Major .

Meyrick Shaw starts against Alex Therrien.

The third inter-county match being played on Saturday was that between Hants and Dorset U-160 at Southampton. Although Hants were outgraded on every board, they managed to squeeze through by the narrowest of margins. These were the details:-

Today was the final day of the Union’s County Championship with Cornwall playing Somerset at Exminster, near Exeter, and Devon playing Gloucestershire at West Buckland, near Wellington.

There had been talk in the week of the chances of Cornwall actually winning a share of the WECU Championship, bearing in mind their earlier win over Hampshire, who in turn had beaten Somerset. However, this could only happen if, like Hants, Somerset under-estimated their task and sent an under-strength team against a full-strength Cornwall. As things turned out, it was Cornwall who were lightweight by their own standards and Somerset were taking no chances at all, fielding several former WECU Individual Champions. The difference was pointed up on Board 10 where Somerset had Richardt (180 grade) 50 points ahead of his Cornish opponent. In fact, they outgraded Cornwall by an average of 32 points on every board.

In these circumstances, Somerset had little difficulty in running out 11 -3 winners, and winning the WECU Championship in the shape of the Harold Meek Cup. Much credit must go to team captain Roger Morgan in getting out strong teams for even the most distant venues.

Jack Rudd and Ben Edgell both had excellent games, the scores of which should come to hand shortly.

Victory Hall, Exminster, Cornwall's usual venue.

Sherwin vs Hassall and the other top games.

Senior (r) vs Spargo and the bottom boards.

General view.

Meanwhile, 30 miles up the M5 at West Buckland, Devon were able to field a side that was palpably stronger than Gloucestershire - an average of 171 per board compared to 157. Notwithstanding a few inevitable upsets, this difference is always likely to produce a positive result for the stronger side.

Devon captain, Brian Hewson, remarks on three good wins by his players; double exchange sacrifices by Torquay Boys’ G.S. pupil, Jeff Leung, and clinical wins by John Wheeler and Steve Homer. These will become available on chessdevon.

Subject to the ratification of WECU’s tournament controller, Phil Meade, at next Saturday’s Executive Meeting, it seems the final positions are as follows:-

After the usual round of minor triumphs and tragedies on the final day, the Congress came to an end on Sunday evening, with the following names on the prizelist - a provisional list, subject to ratification by the Congress Secretary.

Each club could nominate 4 members to constitute a team whose individual scores would be totalled, the highest to win chess equipment from the bookstall to the value of £20.00. The results were as follows (Maximum possible 20 pts):-

1^st Exmouth (13½). 2^nd= Barnstaple & Taunton. (12). 4^th Dorset Danes. (11). 5^th Exeter (10). 6^th= Tiverton Hawks & Frome (9). 8^th Bridport (8). 9^th Torquay (7). 10^th Tiverton Eagles (6).

Dave Littlejohns, happy with his trophy.

Oliver Wensley - a remarkable joint 1st in the Open.

Graham Bolt of Exeter - made it a trio of winners.

There was an interesting situation in the Minor Section, where two ladies were fighting it out for 1st prize on top board, namely Christine Constable and Joy Fursman. It was Christine who won this section last year and is the current holder of the trophy, her first-ever cup win. However, between them, she and her husband, John, who was running the bookstall, brought everything with them in their van, except the kitchen sink …. and the trophy in question. John said there was nothing for it but to win it again, so as to minimise any inconvenience. It took her a long time, as theirs was one of the last games to finish, but she did it in the end, so minimising any inconvenience. Problem solved!

Christine - flushed with success - but no cup to show for it.

The problem of Congress finances which led to some discussion of possible cheaper venues in the future, as mentioned earlier in this report, was resolved in the short term by a large donation from a mystery benefactor. So forget what was said, and be assured that the Corn Hall will remain the venue for next year, and hopefully for some while yet.

2011 prizelist

After 2 rounds there were already only 2 on maximum points, and these were the natural pairing, Littlejohns and Homer. Yet as the latter had already booked a bye for Rd. 4 he was pre-destined to drop at least a half point later. It all looks very open indeed.

Rd. 3: Bd. 1 - Littlejohns v Homer

Meanwhile, at the other end.... Duckham v Jepps.

Dave Regis v Dominic Mackle.

The 37th East Devon Congress got under way at 7 p.m. last night, with total entries up to 119, slightly higher than last year but still too low for the event to remain viable at its present splendid, but expensive, venue. The Committee is currently keeping under review the question of venues - to remain at the Corn Hall and push up entry fees in order to break even, or explore other avenues in the city, less expensive but possibly with other positives.

The Corn Hall, formerly St. George’s Hall, is owned by Exeter City Council, who have been approached by the Committee, asking if the rental could be reduced in consideration of the extra business that the event brings into Exeter. Their reply has been that, in the present financial climate, the Council is seeking to increase its annual income, not reduce it, although they did agree to hold the current rate for a year. The fact that, if the event moved to another venue, they would have lost all that rental, seems of no concern to the Council. Presumably there’s a queue of other organisations waiting to grab the 1st weekend in March every year.

If there are any other potential venues in Exeter looking for the business, get in touch with the Committee.

Meanwhile, top seed in the Open Section is local player Dominic Mackle with his January grade of 204 making the only player in the 200s and no-one in the 190s, though there will be a chasing pack of hungry aspirants in the 180s eager to bring him down if he makes the slightest slip at any time.

General view of the playing area.

Rd. 1 Draw.

Top games under way: Jaszkwsky v Mackle nearest.

Last minute entries Krzyzanowski & Stephens play on bottom bd.