25th Blackpool Chess Conference - March 2001
Organiser's Report
With entries up again on previous years I am pleased to report another successful conference. Helping to improve the atmosphere was the decision to place the Minor tournament in the Horseshoe next to the Standard. This also helped to give more space in the remaining tournaments.
Neither of the Grand Masters, Arkell and Hebden, managed to take first place in the Lancashire Premier Open which was tied between Danny Gormally and James Sherwin.
There were three way ties for the Hilton Blackpool Challengers, the Blackpool Major and the Southbank Intermediate. The Fylde Minor saw an outright winner with Crusaders junior, Carl Atkinson, taking first place with five wins. The Standard was won by M Miles, playing in his first weekend tournament.
Teresa Khoo from Surrey Juniors won the Sharon Furlong Trophy.
This report consists of a selection of games from the Lancashire Premier Open which have been selected by Bill O'Rourke. We follow this with a report from Teresa Khoo who won the Blackpool Major and the Sharon Furlong trophy.
Teresa Khoo's Report
We now have a report from Teresa Khoo, winner of the Blackpool Major. You can play through Teresa's annotated games.
I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Blackpool Conference held in the large Winter Gardens building. The tournament is well known for its large prize fund and amazing seven-fold Terence Chapman Grand Prix points. I was offered a free entry from a tournament in Surrey last year, but unfortunately I was unable to attend due to the huge journey involved. Although the journey from London to Blackpool is probably the longest I have ever travelled to a weekend congress, I recognised several players from the South who had made the huge trip up to have a stab at the prize list.
The Blackpool congress attracts many female players and juniors due to the large number of extra prizes exclusively for them. Every section had at lease a couple of girls/women, which I found very encouraging. There is a distinct minority of females playing in weekend congresses these days, so it's good to see the Blackpool Congress attracting so many.
I had to take a bye for the Friday night round as there was no way I would be able to make the start time as I was needed at school. Therefore we left school at 4pm and headed straight for Blackpool.
The trip was certainly exhausting - we arrived at the hotel just after midnight, having stopped at a motorway service station for dinner.
My family and I duly arrived at the Winter Gardens building for the second round, and as I got used to the surroundings I get down to play my next 4 games. I think it's sufficient to say a fair amount of luck and the factor of the clock went into deciding these games. However, the competition was tough and the competitors fought hard. I wish to thank the organisers and arbiters once again for their hard work in making this tournament a very successful one.
Thanks to Teresa for the above report, Teresa went back south as the winner of the Blackpool Major and also the Sharon Furlong Trophy, that is awarded to the highest scoring female player throughout the competition. Well done Teresa.
Prize Winners
| Congress Director: | K McMahon |
|---|---|
| Congress Secretary: | D Clayton |
| Chief Controller: | D Welch, BCF Chief Arbiter |
| Number of tournaments: | 6 |
| Prize fund: | £6,580 |
| Number of competitors: | 476 |
Lancashire Premier Open
| Open to all players | |
| Number of competitors: | 44 |
| Controller: | D Welch |
| Prize fund: | £1,500 |
| 1= | D Gormally | Hackney | 4½ | £550 |
| JT Sherwin | Bath | |||
| 3= | M Surtees | Bolton | 4 | £66.67 |
| M Hebden | Birstall, Beeson Gregory | |||
| R Palliser | Barbican | |||
| GP U200 | R Shaw | Highpeak | 3½ | £50 |
| GP U185 | JL Blackburn | RHHC | 3 | £25 |
| MR Peacock | Preston | |||
| Lady Prize | Jana Bellin | Walsall Kipping | 3 | £50 |
| British Qualifier | R Palliser | Barbican | 4 | £50 |
Hilton Blackpool Challengers
| For players graded below 175 | |
| Number of competitors: | 69 |
| Controller: | P Purland |
| Prize fund: | £1,030 |
| 1= | A McCumiskey | Solihull | 4½ | £300 |
| K Shaw | Inverness | |||
| P Wheldon | Urmston | |||
| GP U160 | R Taylor | Preston | 4 | £40 |
| GP U150 | M Abbott | Exmouth | 3 | £10 |
| M Fox | Warley Quinborne | |||
| G Thomas | Stourbridge | |||
| P Widrascu | Halifax | |||
| Lady Prize | E Rutherford | Edinburgh | 3 | £50 |
Blackpool Major
| For players graded below 140 | |
| Number of competitors: | 86 |
| Controller: | S Woodcock |
| Prize fund: | £1,070 |
| 1= | Teresa Khoo | Richmond Jnr. | 4½ | £300 |
| J Burrows | Norwich Dons | |||
| M Burns | Stockport | |||
| GP U135 | RA Dean | Pudsey | 4 | £20 |
| NA Howe | St. Andrews | |||
| GP U130 | R Gallagher | Oldham | 3½ | £20 |
| A Jaques | Norcross | |||
| GP U125 | LA Coe | Stockport | 3½ | £20 |
| ML Parker | Lytham Ex. | |||
| Lady Prize | Teresa Khoo | Richmond Jnr. | 4½ | £50 |
Southbank Intermediate
| For players graded below 120 | |
| Number of competitors: | 104 |
| Controller: | G Jones |
| Prize fund: | £1,070 |
| 1= | R Morruzzi | Leek | 4½ | £300 |
| CP Fisher | Formby | |||
| T Vout | Chorlton | |||
| GP U115 | G Randle | Telford | 4 | £40 |
| GP U110 | D Brent | Urmston | 3½ | £40 |
| GP U105 | S Gardner | Cleveleys | 4 | £40 |
| Lady Prize | Poppy Aarons | Hampstead | 2½ | £25 |
| Susie Blackburn | RHHC |
Fylde Minor
| For players graded below 100 | |
| Number of competitors: | 92 |
| Controller: | L Barnes |
| Prize fund: | £1,070 |
| 1 | CD Atkinson | Crusaders | 5 | £500 |
| 2= | D Jarmany | Crusaders | 4½ | £133.33 |
| N Jowett | Blackpool | |||
| AG Roberts | Prescot & Knotty Ash | |||
| GP U95 | M Plant | 3C's | 4 | £40 |
| GP U90 | M Horne | Crusaders | 3½ | £40 |
| GP U85 | E Baillie | South Tyneside College | 4 | £40 |
| Lady Prize | Katie Martin | 3C's | 2½ | £25 |
| Sandra Blackburn | RHHC |
Standard
| For players graded below 80 | |
| Number of competitors: | 81 |
| Controller: | R Hart |
| Prize fund: | £750 |
| 1 | M Mills | 5 | £200 | |
| 2= | ND Marshall | Rolls Royce Derby | 4½ | £125 |
| D Argile | Rawtenstall | |||
| 4= | G Hampson | Oswestry | 4 | £6.25 |
| PR Wright | Pittington | |||
| P Smith | Rolls Royce Derby | |||
| R Hinsley | (High Wycombe) | |||
| RC Holmes | Newport | |||
| JHT Eddershaw | Sanvic Dormer | |||
| T Lawton | Atticus | |||
| JA Hughes | Chorley | |||
| GP U75 | PR Wright | Pittington | 4 | £6.25 |
| P Smith | Rolls Royce Derby | |||
| R Hinsley | (High Wycombe) | |||
| RC Holmes | Newport | |||
| GP U70 | JHT Eddershaw | Sanvic Dormer | 4 | £12.50 |
| T Lawton | Atticus | |||
| GP U60 | JA Hughes | Chorley | 4 | £25 |
| GP U55 | S Coleclough-Worrel | Rawtenstall | 3 | £25 |
| GP U50 | P Hudson | 3C's | 3 | £12.50 |
| RA Bellin | Walsall Kipping | |||
| GP U40 | K Thomas | Lytham Ex. | 3 | £12.50 |
| CJ Vickers | Rolls Royce Derby | |||
| UG Non-Junior | I Riddoch | Luton | 3½ | £25 |
| UG Junior | J Mackenzie | Leyland | 3 | £25 |
| Lady Prize | MA Ellison | Poulton-le-Fylde | 3½ | £50 |
Sharon Furlong Trophy
Awarded to the lady with the highest score overall.
| Teresa Khoo | Major | Richmond Jnr. | 4½ | £50 |
Veterans Prize
Awarded to the player with the highest score who is aged over 60.
| AG Roberts | Minor | PKA | 4½ | £20 |
| CP Fisher | Intermediate | Formby |