West Wales Congress

This year the West Wales Congress was moved forward to mid October with organiser Les Philpin unsure until almost the last minute as to whether he had made the correct decision. As it happened he need not have worried with the entry level higher than it had been for many a year. This in spite of many regulars from the White Knights club being unable to attend due to commitments in the European Club Championships.

There were 25 entries in the Open section and in the face of strong competition it was won by Gerry Heap, who plays for White Knights, on 4½/5 with Adam Musson of Nidum coming in a close second on 4/5.

In the Major section with 24 entries, Kimberly Chong from Cardiff took the top spot (4½/5) while West Wales players Tomasz Miga (4/5), Andrew Thomas (4/5) and Philip Pe (3½/5) followed close behind.

There were 17 entries in the Minor section and it was won outright by Eleanor Collins Of Morriston and yet again the winning score was 4½/5. The runners up were not quite so close with Joy Fursman (Clevedon) and Joel Chung (Morriston) both on 3½.

Full results of the congress can be seen here

European Club Championship The European Club Championship taking place in Chalkidiki, Greece is well under way and one of the games that caught the eye of the commentators was Peter Bevan’s first round win. It is a lesson in not resigning too soon and the report can be seen on the Chess24 website here

League

There were just two matches in the League last week. In division 1 the clash between Morriston B at home to the All Blacks ended in a comfortable 3½-1½ victory for the away team. It was the All Blacks second victory of the season and takes them, uncharacteristically, into second place in the table. In division 3 Tribunes had their first match of the season and it was away to Morriston E. Once again it was a victory for the away team and by the same score 3½-1½ to the Tribunes. Not a good night for Morriston. It has now been confirmed that the University has withdrawn both its teams from the League and their fixtures have now been removed from the schedule.

16/10/2018