We had players in all four sections of the Northumberland Congress and they did well. In the Open section, Dave Walker overcame a slow start (Swiss Gambit?) which left him needing a draw with black in the last round against the strongest player in the field to fulfill his number 3 ranking. He finished on 3.5/5 in 3=. Half a point behind in 7= position on 3/5 were Tim Wall and Paul Bielby. This was a particularly fine result for Paul who started the tournament as player 21 out of 23 on rating and it earned him the senior prize.
Here is Dave’s key 5th round game with his annotations. But for a slip on move 34 it could have been the game which earned him a share of 1st
In the Major Dave Patterson and Eddie Czestochowski started in 25th position on rating and finished on a par result of 24= with 1.5/5. Here is one of Eddie’s games which underlines the importance of not giving up.
In the Minor Asanga (3/5) and Stan (2.5/5) both had excellent tournaments.
In the Foundation Roy Merrin, playing in his first congress, was a prize winner on 4/10, winning the senior prize. All those informal coaching sessions at the Word on Saturdays with fellow prize winner, Paul, obviously paid off!