EJ Clarke Tournament Wrap-Up – Another Fantastic Year!

Another year of the EJ Clarke tournament has come to a close, ending in late June with a thrilling finale featuring some of the strongest players in the league.

A huge thank you goes to Moss for once again organising the event—a task he takes on each year with great success. With so many events and games packed into the second half of the season, it was an even greater challenge this time around. We appreciate his continued efforts in making this tournament such a highlight of the calendar.

We’ll be publishing an article soon about our recent committee meeting, where we discussed how to avoid the congestion of events in future seasons. Keep an eye out for that.

The EJ Clarke chat has been a fantastic addition—not only for sharing updates and information, but also as a platform for members to engage socially. It’s brought a new level of tech-savviness to the game, and again, thanks go to Moss for introducing it a year or two ago.

Final Showdown

This year’s final showdown featured Jonathan Thomas, Peter Bevan, and Alan Young in the title fight. Unfortunately, Alan had to withdraw from the last round due to unexpected issues at home after returning from holiday.

That left Peter facing Chris Daniels from White Knights, and Jonathan Thomas matched against Andrew Smith from Morriston.

Jonathan, who returned to the league a few years ago after earlier years in chess and time spent in the rugby world, is a strong and well-prepared player. His consistency and dedication to preparation make him a formidable opponent.

Peter Bevan, a long-time veteran of the league and previous title winner across multiple decades, was aiming for yet another crown. Though the grading favoured both Peter and Jonathan, it was Chris Daniels who pulled off an excellent game, securing a win over Peter.

Jonathan, needing only a draw to clinch the title, held steady against Andrew and took the half-point needed.

Final Standings and Category Winners

1st Place: Jonathan Thomas – 4.0 points

Under 1700: Gito Sellyn – 3.2 points

Under 1600: Leon Vincent – 3.2 points

Under 1500: Glen H. – 3.0 points

Under 1400 (shared): Advigram and Emir Wyn – 2.0 points each

Although a few players had to pull out during the tournament, there was still plenty of action each round, making this another successful edition of the EJ Clarke.

Looking Ahead

We’re already looking forward to next year’s tournament and are hoping to kick things off earlier in the year—possibly in May rather than June.

Congratulations to all prize winners, and well done to everyone who took part and proudly represented their clubs in the West Wales Chess League. See you next year!