Held at Chorley Town Hall, Chorley (Six Rounds). Incorporating Lancashire Championships.
Some games from the tournament are available here.
One of the stalwarts of the Lancashire Chess Association, Geoff Jones, had decided to stand down from organising both the Chorley and Blackpool congresses. So a big thanks to Geoff for building up a bank account which was able to finance Lancashire's Centenary year.
With the Chorley Congress held in August it's always the time for chess players to find out their new grade. When the new grading book arrived I had a shock to discover that some players were missing from the list. Several LCA officers and BCF grading officials traced down the problems and on the Friday night before the congress I obtained the correct grades for those playing in the congress. Fortunately only a few players were required to move up a section.
Chorley Town Hall always offers a good spacious venue in which to play chess and this year was no exception. Chorley was given the privilege to of being the first congress to host the NCCU Grand Prix. This year, like other chess events in Lancashire, we saw the entry pass last year's total in the week before the congress. In fact the entry was that high we had to secure additional equipment.
Thanks to all who helped out during the congress, especially those who assisted in obtaining grading information.
The 23rd Chorley Chess Congress was held as usual over the August Bank holiday weekend in the superb and beautiful venue of Chorley Town Hall. The number of entries this year was a very healthy 202, including 79 in the minor, which attracted quite a few juniors, which is always pleasing to see.
Players attended the congress from as far south as Kent and as far north as Tynemouth. In fact there were so many pawn pushers in Chorley for the weekend that many of the hotels and guesthouses in the town were completely full!
The congress always plays host to the Lancashire championships, this prize is awarded to the highest scoring player in each section who is registered with the Lancashire Chess Association. This year the NCCU centenary celebrations the tournament was part of the excellent Grand Prix which will run all season at all congresses in the NCCU area.
There is always local interest at the congress with Chorley residents playing for the Eric Wandless-Renton trophy, awarded to the highest scoring player who lives within the borough. This year Graham Hughes won the trophy with 5 points in the Minor. He was pushed all the way by fellow Chorley club players Don Mottshaw and Les Parkinson who both scored 4 points. Here are a couple of games annotated by Graham and Don.
Next year I would dearly like to see entries in the region of 250 - 280. I think we could squeeze them all in. There is a cafe area within the Town Hall, where games are analysed, which serves a range of meals from a good breakfast fry up, to pies, burgers and sandwiches. I think that's why yours truly played so badly, I had my mind on the grub instead of the matches!!
| Congress Director: | K McMahon |
| Congress Secretary: | D Clayton |
| Chief Controller: | D Welch BCF chief arbiter |
| Number of competitors: | 202 |
| Number of tournaments: | 4 |
| Prize fund: | £1,735 |
| Number of competitors: | 34 |
| Controller: | D Welch |
| Prize fund: | £415 |
| 1= | B Hague | Rochdale | 5 | £150.00 |
| M Surtees | Bolton | |||
| 3= | O Jackson | Cheshire | 4½ | £17.00 |
| H Lamb | Bolton | |||
| R Palliser | Hull | |||
| Grading prizes | ||||
| 184 - 172 | KJ Gornall | Crusaders | 4 | £20.00 |
| 171 and under | C Hailstone | Hull | 4 | £20.00 |
| Number of competitors: | 43 |
| Controller: | P Purland |
| Prize fund: | £415 |
| 1= | S Appleby | Burnley | 5 | £150.00 |
| R Furness | Fiveways | |||
| 3= | P Isherwood | Preston | 4½ | £17.00 |
| A Kitchlew | ISH | |||
| M Kobylka | ISH | |||
| Grading Prizes | ||||
| 156 - 143 | P Heaton | Poulton | 4½ | £20.00 |
| 142 and below | P Widrascu | Halifax | 4 | £20.00 |
| Number of competitors: | 47 |
| Controller: | L Barnes |
| Prize fund: | £415 |
| 1 | FW Bradbury | Southport | 5½ | £200.00 |
| 2= | DP Atherton | Oldham | 5 | £75.00 |
| G Ashcroft | Preston | |||
| Grading Prizes | ||||
| 128 - 120 | W O'Rourke | Heywood | 4 | £20.00 |
| 119 and under | RJD Murphy | Bolton | 4 | £7.00 |
| DJ Tooley | Huddersfield | |||
| C Woolley | Urmston | |||
| Number of competitors: | 79 |
| Controller: | G Jones |
| Prize fund: | £415 |
| 1= | D Brent | Urmston | 5½ | £150.00 |
| R Nicholas | Poulton | |||
| 3= | A Barnes | Northgate | 5 | £17.00 |
| L Stojnic | Preston | |||
| G Hughes | Chorley | |||
| Grading Prizes | ||||
| 104 - 95 | L Stojnic | Preston | 5 | £10.00 |
| G Hughes | Chorley | |||
| 94 and under | T Jepson | Blackpool | 4½ | £20.00 |
Awarded for the highest score by a player registered with the Lancashire Chess Association.
| Open | B Hague | Rochdale | 5 | £25.00 |
| Major | P Isherwood | Preston | 4½ | |
| Intermediate | G Ashcroft | Preston | 5 | |
| Minor | D Brent | Urmston | 5½ |
Awarded for the highest score by a player resident within Chorley Borough.
| G Hughes | Minor | Chorley | 5 | £25.00 |
Awarded for the highest score by a player whose club is a NCCU registered club.
| FW Bradbury | Intermediate | Southport | 5½ | £17.00 |
| D Brent | Minor | Urmston | ||
| R Nicholas | Minor | Poulton | ||