Yesterday on Sunday 14th October Francis Best and Nathanael Paul’s new 11 round Shropshire Blitz event took place. When we both turned up at 10:30 we were slightly worried due to the lack of entries. Our aim was to have at least 25 players competing so we didn’t make a loss. Unfortunately we didn’t reach that amount of entries; however we were both pleased that three players turned up on the day to give us the final total of 22 entries. This also made sure that we would have an even number, so no player would have to have a bye. After everything had been set up and everyone had their lunch we all went to battle.

The whole tournament was packed with exciting and tense games. A great example is Gavyn Cooper’s and Richard Bryant’s wild game which could have gone either way. However Gavyn was the one who took the spoils. During the tournament there were the expected results but also some major upsets. This made the event unpredictable because you didn’t really know what was going to happen over the board. And when players only have 10 minutes each on their clocks anything can happen. Half way through the tournament it appeared that the title was going to one of the pre-tournament favourites, Gavyn Cooper of Newport chess club. However in the end it was another of the big favourites that took the blitz title. With a very good score of 8.5 out of 11 Trevor Brotherton, from Church Stretton chess club, just scraped home with the 1st prize of £80. Trevor fought off a very tough field which included many top Shropshire players. Followed closely behind on 8 points was co-organiser Francis Best and completing the top three was the strongest graded player in the tournament, Nigel Ferrington, with 7.5 points. Chris Lewis had a good day winning the U160 grading prize with 6.5 points and Tony Purser won the U120 grading prize with a total of 4 points. And junior Lewis Clarke, of Newport Chess club, won the best junior prize with 4 points earning him some nice pocket money of £20. Lewis had a very good day and his performance is another highlight of his continual improvement over the chess board. During the event we also gave a minute silence for the late Iain Wilson who for many years was an integral member of Shropshire chess and a good friend to many people on the Shropshire chess circuit. He was a lovely man and will be greatly missed.

The tournament however could not have gone successfully without the hard work of arbiter Matthew Carr and his friend Peter, they both made sure that the tournament went smoothly. And fortunately they didn’t have to deal with any disputes between players! Francis and Nathanael would like to thank both of them for their hard work. However there were other people behind the scenes that made sure the tournament was a success as well. Firstly there was the chef, Jacob and his staff that made all the players feel welcome and delivered them with delicious meals which prepared everyone for the tournament. Secondly, we’d like to thank the Wrekin Housing Trust for again letting us stage another great event. Thirdly, Steve Rooney, Vinny Crean and Alf Evans gave help and advice, particularly to Nathanael, in making sure that the tournament was a success. Francis and Nathanael would like to thank all three of them for all the work they did behind the scenes. Finally we would both like to thank all the players who played in the tournament, you all created exciting chess and most importantly a fun atmosphere, which is the most important thing! Thank you for all your support.

If anyone has any ideas about how the tournament can be improved then please email Nathanael Paul on: nathanaelpaul92@googlemail.com or phone him on: 01952 878739. It would be great to hear from you all.

Kind Regards,
Nathanael Paul