As we glide serenely towards the end of the season, exciting chess events are still happening.
On Saturday 2nd May we held an open allegro tournament at the club which was massively oversubscribed with a long waiting list. Get your entries in fast for the next event!
The entries ranged wide and far – both geographically and across the grading spectrum. Heavy favourite was Edinburgh Chess Club’s very own Nurlykhan “Nur” Kudaibergen whose standard play live rating is now the highest in the country!! With multiple grading prizes up for grabs there were, however, opportunities for all to shine.
And shine they did when, in round 3, young Yushu Huang defeated Nur in a tense battle – congratulations Yushu! This result led to an almighty scramble for the title over the last few rounds.
In the end, there was a four way tie for first with Nur being joined by Christopher Trainer, Lewis Bell and Edinburgh Chess Club former president Raj Bhopal. Many congratulations to all four.
The grading prizes were taken home by David Galbraith and Jude Emeye. Well done to them.
None of this would be possible without the help and support from our organisers. Particular thanks are due to William Bennett for organizing the event, Jenny Wilson for being chief arbiter, Iain Cowe for doing the pairings and Mark Gyalus for solving the perplexing mystery of the green band.
Given the success of this event and the strong demand, Edinburgh Chess Club plans to run similar events on a regular basis…watch this space for details!
Edinburgh Chess Club president, Craig Thomson, presents the prizes.
Our former president Raj Bhopal looks delighted with his handshake.
Craig – in his role as team 1 captain – gives Nur some pointers on what he could have played…
[The solution to the puzzle from the previous blog post is the incredible Rxf7!! White can follow up with Qh5+ and then Qf3 and Rf1 leading to a devastating attack. Award yourself an extra Custard Cream with your mid-morning cuppa if you found this idea.]