Sunday simul

12 noon: After months of build-up, involving mystery and trauma, the British 09 is finally here (well, almost). We’re on our third Congress Manager in as many months, for example. Firstly, the Ozzie Manuel Weeks was down to do it, but seemed to go Walkabout – at least, no one here knows what’s happened to him. In his absence, Stewart Reuben took over, only to be struck down himself with a serious illness which involved him being winched off a ship’s deck mid-Channel to be ferried between French and British hospitals, all this days before the event. So it fell to Dave Welch to resume the reins that he had had to relinquish through illness last year.
Dave is an experienced, safe pair of hands, but 3 weeks’ notice of an event this size, isn’t much and there may be the odd glitch in arrangements – not surprising in the circumstances.

3.30.p.m. Sunday Simul: As if these metaphorical clouds were not enough, the weather has been closing in all morning and it is now pouring down. Fortunately, it was decided to move the traditional Sunday Simultaneous match from the sea-front to an indoor room here at the Riviera Centre. IM Jack Rudd was there to start the proceedings on the dot of 3 o’clock, surprising everyone by laying out his own scoresheets in front of each board so that he can record his own moves as he goes round – a phenomenon not often seen. (see below). At least we shall probably be getting the scores of some of the better games in due course.





19.00 1st Sunday RapidPlay: The other traditional scene-setter is the Rapidplay Tournament, beloved of early arrivals who need to get their brains in tune ready for the rigours of the fortnight ahead, or those who fancy their chances of grabbing a bit of extra pocket-money. The entry of 73 was higher than anyone could remember, which may have been a result of the high overall entry (900 and rising) and the rain throughout the day. GMs Gawain Jones and Danny Gormally were top seeds and met in the penultimate round, but they were overtaken by Charlie Storey, whose sharp style put him in top spot with a maximum score. Class told in the end, however, as the GMs both won in the last round while Storey lost.
Prizes: 1st= Gawain Jones & Danny Gormally 5.5 pts. £105
Grading prize: U-130: Ravi Haria 3.5 pts. £40
Below top: Rd. 5 - Jones v Gormally.
Below bottom: Chairman of the local Torbay Chess League, Trefor Thynne, playing a Bangladeshi International on Bd. 3 in Rd. 5.