Northumberland's 50th - with added FIDE rating!

[Paul Bielby]

The Annual Northumberland County Congress will be held at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields (the venue for the 2012 Brirish Championships) over the weekend 26th-28th September. There are three innovations to celebrate our 50th birthday!

In addition to an increased prize fund, as an experiment the Open Section will be FIDE rated for the first time. In view of the current lack of FIDE rated events, especially in the North, it is hoped this will attract a good strong entry for the Open event. We have also been invited by the NCCU to hold the Inaugural NCCU Senior Championship for over 60s. The very handsome John Littlewood Trophy will be awarded for the first time to the highest placed Northern veteran (over 60) in the Open section.

All the usual subsidiary events will be held, including the Foundation event - allowing new players the chance to play 10 graded games in the weekend ensuring an ECF grading in the January list.

For full details of the congress download the entry form from the ECF website calendar.

Paul Bielby, NCA President

[MartinCarpenter]

Hope it goes well

There's a mildly unfortunate clash with the first round of the Yorkshire league, which I imagine will affect potential numbers a bit. A shame as both a northern FIDE rated tournament/ the NCCU seniors sound like rather good ideas in principle.

These things happen though - checking the calendar it really is getting incredibly hard to find fully free weekends and especially so in September/the first half of October.

[Roger de Coverly]

These things happen though - checking the calendar it really is getting incredibly hard to find fully free weekends and especially so in September/the first half of October.

It seems to be a Yorkshire or North East thing. There's a run of Yorkshire based tournaments and Northumberland, but very little in the rest of the country.

[MartinCarpenter]

Good reason to trek up north then Nice venue.

The Yorkshire calendar is simply packed full. Include the Yorkshire league and 4NCL and the first weekend you have to really leave the county (coopting Redworth hall as being near the border) to play chess seems to be early November.... Suspect I'm missing something that weekend

Not the only congress/league clash this. There's been a persistent clash with Preston and the Yorkshire league, which I can't imagine anyone really wants. Just no space.

[Ray Sayers]

Paul,

That all sounds great! I hope it is a resounding success.

I would be tempted to travel North to play myself, if I wasn't taking a Bucks junior team to the NYCA Under 14s!

[Jon Mahony]

It does sound a great event; a lot of people at Leeds CC are very excited about the U100 section with 10 games.

Sadly, I will be unable to attend this one, after weighing up the pro's and cons (using last Jan’s grade means I'd be in the bottom end of the Major) I have decided to play the first round of the Yorkshire League and save my Congress pennies for Hull the following week, with a chance of taking some prize money away

[Paul Bielby]

Here are the results :

OPEN (FIDE RATED) SECTION
1. Ali Jaunooby (Denton) 4.5
2= GM Keith Arkell (Cheddleton); FM David Walker (Leam Lane) 4
David wins the Tyne-Wear Trophy as the highest placed NE player.
The inaugural NCCU Senior Championship for the John Littlewood Trophy was incorporated within the OPEN
1. Paul Bielby (Jesmond) 3.5
2=Jim Burnett (Doncaster); Paul Kendall (Beverley); John Turnock (Jesmond) 2.5
Grading Prize : Nicholas Arkell (Stourbridge)
Junior Prize : Zheming Zhang (Jesmond)

MAJOR SECTION (Ian Lambie Trophy)
1. Max Turner (Berwick-upon-Tweed) 4.5
2= James Turner (Morpeth); Bob Mitcheson (Barrow-in-Furness) 4
Senior Prize : Ron Plater (Jesmond)
Grading Prize : Ron Stather (Middlesbrough)

MINOR SECTION (Nora Hunter Trophy)
1. Dave Stewartson (Leam Lane) 4.5
2= David Gilbert (DHSS); Tim Allen (Battersea); Eddie Czestochowski (South Shields) 4
Grading Prizes : Bill Penny (Tynemouth); Geoff Aynslie (Calderdale)

FOUNDATION TOURNAMENT
1. Billy Mole (Morpeth)
2=John Light (Leeds); John Wall (Forest Hall); Barry Fulthorpe (Leeds); Leon Chan (Leeds)
Junior Prize ; Danie Arkell (Stourbridge)

Just over 100 players took part tnis highly enjoyable congress. We are very grateful to our guest arbiters, Matthew Carr, Andy Howie and Sophie Seeber and to Andrew Butterwort of ChessDirect for his usual excellent bookstall.

[Roger de Coverly]

OPEN (FIDE RATED) SECTION
1. Ali Jaunooby (Denton) 4.5
2= GM Keith Arkell (Cheddleton); FM David Walker (Leam Lane) 4

Presuming Keith was the only GM/IM in the field, who caused him trouble?

[Paul Bielby]

Ali Jaunooby beat Keith in R4, when both were on 3 points, So a well earned first place for him. David Walker's one loss was to Clive Waters in an earlier round

It was good to have Keith give a GM presence to our Congress (He last won it ack in 2001) . It was good too to have an avuncular Keith, his brother and a small horde of younger Arkells (or should that be Arklets?) following in his footsteps.