The Hampshire Congress incorporating the Hampshire Individual was held at Eastleigh College the weekend of 7th November 2003. The tournament used the same format as the last few years, with an Open and under 125 graded sections. Eastleigh College proved a popular venue, with ample room and good lighting available in both sections. It was pleasing to see the total numbers increase, with 32 players in the Open and 20 in the U125. This is the first time for a number of years that the entry has exceeded 50.
The standard in the Open had slightly increased as well, with two players graded over 200 and current champion Michael Yeo also back to defend his title. The top seed was probably FM Tony Corkett, as well as being graded 207 he has also won the title four times previously. Three time winner Dominic Tunks was also playing. The other ex Hampshire champion in the field was John Wilkinson, who won the title back in 1964! John is still playing in the Southampton Chess League (2023) to a high standard for Hamble Chess club.
Any comments and analysis in the article is open to interpretation and I welcome comments, especially from the actual players.
Picture at the top is of Tony Corkett holding the Silver Rook with Peter Marshall in the foreground and John Wheeler in the background.
Note 1: This article is mainly based on the one I produced in 2003 for the original Hampshire Chess Association website, although I have expanded some parts and I am hoping that my memories of the tournament are correct.
For a list of the winners of the Hampshire Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written the table on the Hampshire Individual Championship is the best place to look. In addition, the table on the Hampshire Tournaments will detail these and any other tournament articles I have completed. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.
Round 1
The first round is always the top versus bottom, and is therefore dominated by wins by the higher graded players. Nevertheless, there are normally some upsets and this year was no different. A.Chahine is an ungraded player, with an estimated grade of 138. This proved far too low, as can be seen from his final result. In the first round he was paired against Gavin Lock (171) and after emerging from the opening with an advantage, went on to score the full point.
I have not mentioned the other player graded over 200, Martin Simons. Martin plays in the Bournemouth league, although he has played in the Southampton Chess League in the past (but is more normally found playing in Dorset).
In the first round his was paired against Martin Buckley, who was doing very well up to move 29. But then Martin Buckley fell for first one pin and then another (although the 2nd one probably could not be avoided). The first is given below when after 29.Kg1 .. Nxg3 was played.
I should also mention that Les Allen put up a valiant fight against Tony Corkett and the position below looked very drawish until Les played 31..Nd3, rather than 31..Kf8. This allowed 32.Qe8, where another error 32..Kh7 saw Les resign after 33.Be4+ which won the Knight.
The first round of the Hampshire Congress is always a tough one, with pressure on the top players to win their games and the lower graded players knowing that they are normally playing someone graded 40+ points higher than them.
This is normally at the end of a long week at work, with another two days of chess ahead of you. It’s no wonder that when I got home I enjoyed a couple of beers, which helped me forget about the way I had been outplayed by John Wheeler in this round! Surely my remaining games would be easier!
Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AR Corkett | 207 | 1 | L Allen | 153 | 0 |
MG Buckley | 153 | 0 | M Simons | 207 | 1 |
M Yeo | 194 | 1 | I Cary | 152 | 0 |
T Anderson | 151 | ½ | D Pye | 185 | ½ |
W Purkiss | 181 | ½ | J Coburn | 142 | ½ |
JF Wheeler | 180 | 1 | G Stuart | 138 | 0 |
DR Tunks | 178 | 1 | S Dunleavy | u | 0 |
A Chahine | u | 1 | G Lock | 171 | 0 |
K Esmat | 165 | 1 | S Gonem | 137 | 0 |
P Byre | 132 | ½ | D Cordner | 164 | ½ |
M Krawczuk | 163 | 1 | A Mills | 134 | 0 |
I Matthew | 135 | 0 | F McLeod | 159 | 1 |
J Wilkinson | 159 | 1 | G Moore | 123 | 0 |
D O 'Mahoney | u | ½ | R Perrin | 159 | ½` |
I Stenhouse | 145 | 1 | Controller Bye | ||
D Cutmore | 167 | ½ | Bye | ||
M Cutmore | 166 | ½ | Bye | ||
S Keskinen | u | ½ | Bye |