The Torbay Chess Congress
An annual congress held on the English Riviera
The Torbay Congress
Torbay Chess Congress
Torbay Chess Congress

55th Torbay Chess Congress Report

10th - 12th November 2023 at the TLH Toorak Hotel, Torquay

Entrants

Open 45; Major 27; Intermediate 44; Foundation 33.

This makes a total of 149: 7 down on last year, but the second largest total in more than a decade. There were 12 withdrawals prior to the start of the Congress.

Prize Winners

Open

Scroll the table to the right to see full details.

PrizeWinner(s)Club(s)ScoreDetails
1stStephen HomerExeter£240
Joint 2ndOlaf SteffensSV Werder Bremen4Each winning £113
Graham BoltExeter
Rating Prize
2090 - 2150
Gerald MooreBroadlandEach winning £15
Rami TalabTruro
Rating Prize
2050 - 2089
Max WalkerExeterEach winning £15
Arturo WongChard & Ilminster
Rating Prize
2000 - 2049
Jasper TambiniSurbiton3£30
Rating Prize
1980 - 1999
Alan BruseyNewton AbbotEach winning £15
Keith GregoryFareham
Rating Prize
1940 - 1979
Martin GoldschmidtTotnes3£30
Rating Prize
1870 - 1939
Colin DavisBristol & Clifton3Each winning £15
Grigoris SklavounosHammersmith
Rating Prize
1730 - 1869
Keatan PatelCoventry Chess AcademyEach winning £15
Pengxiao ZhuExeter Juniors
Slow Starter Prize (0/2)Jake MartinPlymouth2Each winning £15
Joe CoburnFareham

Major

Scroll the table to the right to see full details.

PrizeWinner(s)Club(s)ScoreDetails
1stRichard JohnsonBristol Grendel£240
Joint 2ndTrefor ThynneNewton AbbotEach winning £45
Michael Stinton-BrownbridgePlymouth
Andrew WatersRainham (Kent)
John Nyman
Paul HumphreysWells
Rating Prize
1850-1870
Ian GeorgeCamborne & Redruth3Each winning £15
John MorrisonWellington (Somerset)
Rating Prize
1800-1849
Brendan O'GormanDHSS£30
Rating Prize
1770-1799
Peter HalmkinTeignmouth Each winning £15
Chris StrongWells
Rating Prize
1580-1769
Alan Prince£30
Slow Starter Prize (0/2)David JenkinsCamborne & Redruth2£30

Intermediate

Scroll the table to the right to see full details.

PrizeWinner(s)Club(s)ScoreDetails
Joint 1stDavid M RogersCharlton4Each winning £117
Jack WillsNewton Abbot
Charles DoidgeTeignmouth
Christopher SouthallExeter
Rating Prize
1680-1699
Alastair MarstonBristol Cabot£30
Rating Prize
1660-1679
David R RogersExmouth£30
Rating Prize
1620-1659
Piran WillsTorquay Grammar School3Each winning £10
Robert WilloughbyWest Nottingham
Ian MatthewPortsmouth
Rating Prize
1560-1619
Grant DalyDownend & FishpondsEach winning £15
Gary LoydenSwindon
Rating Prize
1520-1559
Trevor HurtSouth Hams£30
Rating Prize
1500-1519
Paul OsborneBath£30
Rating Prize
1400-1499
Harry BellanoLetchworth & Hitchin£30
Slow Starter Prize (0/2)Joy FursmanTeignmouth2Each winning £10
Richard BrentonNewton Abbot
Paul FosterMedway

Foundation

Scroll the table to the right to see full details.

PrizeWinner(s)Club(s)ScoreDetails
James McIlroy (Unrated)Exeter En PeasantsEach winning £50*
Leon Nelson (Unrated)Wells
1stNicholas WhiteHigh Wycombe4£240
Joint 2ndMichael Sillence-DavisBristol & CliftonEach winning £56
David EdwardsBarnstaple
Dave TomlinForest Of Dean
David BlackwellBattersea
Rosie Fullam (Unrated)Brixham£50*
Rating Prize
1400-1450
Daniel SmithColyton Grammar School3£30
Rating Prize
1300 - 1399
George WrightOxford CityEach winning £10
Lloyd RussellBude
Klaus Tekniepe Plymouth
Rating Prize
1190-1299
Anthony LabouchardiereWeymouth3£30
Rating Prize
1050-1189
Joe FortyWeymouth£30
Slow Starter Prize (0/2)Susan Clarke2Each winning £15
Hazel Welch Seaton
 

*Adjusted. Under rule 9, an unrated player may not win more than £50 in prize money and may not win any rating prize. Any prize monies paid to unrated players will be paid from a fund separate from and in addition to the advertised prizes.


The Trophies

Torbay Individual Championships (incorporated in the Congress)

Open: Basil Wallis CupAlan BruseyNewton Abbot
Major: Challenge CupTrefor ThynneNewton Abbot
Intermediate: Intermediate CupJack WillsNewton Abbot
Foundation: Candidates CupJoe FortyTorquay Grammar School

Best Score by a Devon Player in the Graded Tournaments

Ralph Newman CupCharles DoidgeTeignmouth

Best Score by a Devon Junior

John Whitfield CupDavid EdwardsBarnstaple

Team Event

Teams of four players entered the Team Competition. This year there were ten entries. The Wells team took over the lead on Round 2 and never looked back after that.

The winning Wells team consisted of
Oleksandr Matlak (Open)
Paul Humphreys (Major)
Edward Farms (Foundation)
Leon Nelson (Foundation)

The Wells team win £40 for their club.

This year a prize was also awarded to the top team from a Devon club and was won by Newton Abbot 1.

The Newton Abbot 1 team consisted of
Alan Brusey (Open)
Trefor Thynne (Major)
Richard Brenton (Intermediate))
Jack Wills (Intermediate)

The Newton Abbot 1 team also win £40 for their club.

 

The 55th Congress

Many people were involved in the planning, setting up and running of the Congress. We are grateful to:

  • Kitson Boyce for their continued sponsorship of the Congress.
  • Tony Tatam for arbiting, managing the pairings and rating submissions.
  • Phil McConnell for running the website and entrants, producing the wall charts and much else.
  • John Constable and Graham Mill-Wilson for arbiting tournaments.
  • Leo Stream for setting up boards and clocks prior to the start.
  • Gail McConnell and Maria Brooks for staffing the "welcome desk" on the Friday evening and Saturday morning.
  • The Newton Abbot, Plymouth and South Hams clubs for the loan of their clocks and sets.
  • The Devon County Chess Association for the loan of their digital clocks.
  • Mr Roger Heale, Duncan Birrell and the staff of the Toorak Hotel for their wonderful support.
  • All the players for their generous contributions to the Congress.

I'd also like to thank Ken Alexander for all he has done in organising the Congress over many years, and especially for his support and advice which was a real help to me in my first year as Congress Organiser.

Well done everybody - we are already looking forward keenly to next year's Congress.

Paul Brooks
Torbay Chess Congress Organiser
November 2023

 

 

The 2024 Torbay Congress is at the Toorak Hotel

The 2024 Torbay Congress will take place on Friday 8th through to Sunday 10th November.

The venue is the TLH Toorak Hotel, Torquay.

TLH Toorak Hotel Torbay Chess Conference