Keverel Chess

Devon’s annual Team Blitz tournament (teams of 4 with 12 minutes each for all moves) has been a regular feature of the calendar for many decades, and in the old days used to attract up to 24 teams. It gradually declined in popularity, until DCCA Secretary, Trefor Thynne, made concerted efforts to revive its fortunes in more recent times. These days, he hosts the event at his own club, Newton Abbot, and more trophies have been introduced to give teams lower down the batting order something to play for. This has had some success, though the days of 20 teams or more still seems some way off.

Having said that, some Dorset players asked if they might enter a team, as they were feeling a little deprived of inter-county events, since that county has been unable to identify a county captain since the retirement of their last one. The was some discussion in Devon circles as to whether this was acceptible, but it was agreed to, on the understanding that they couldn’t claim any of the trophies. In the event, there was little chance of that happening, but they enjoyed the experience (I think).

The number of teams (10) was the same as last year, but the strength of the top teams was noticeably beefed up (Exeter, Newton Abbot, Tiverton), augmented by a strong team from debutantes Seaton.

After 6 draining rounds the results were as follows: