The Blackpool Congress has been taking place this weekend and we can report that there were 12 members of the club involved, which is probably the biggest number from any single club.
In the major section we have Bart Fajfer (3.5/5), Karl Lockett (2.5/5) and Simon Layhe (3/5). Bart finished in 5th= place with several others just out of the prize money. Simon’s performance rating is estimated at an excellent 2027, compared to his entry rating of 1719.
The intermediate section saw David Lambton and David Price both finishing on 2/5. Dave P was ranked 62nd out of 70 so has over-performed by some margin.
Our only entrant in the Minor section, George Bulbeck scored 3/5 in his first ever Congress. Another excellent effort which put him in 16th place out of 50 on tie breaks, but the same score as 9th place.
Our masses competed in the standard section where Julian Bulbeck and Andrew Crosby have excelled to finish with 3.5/5 each, 7th and 10th positions out of 60 competitors. Nigel Gardner has batted above his average to score 2.5/4, likewise Kobus Nienaber with 2/4. One of our newest members – Chris Marais playing his first ever congress and with only two graded games before this congress should be delighted with his achievement to gain a win in the final round this afternoon. Phil Wright was one of the last to finish playing in the standard and ended up with 1 point.
Group photograph
