Saturday 12th November, 2022, saw the clubs second, annual, one-day rapid tournament. It was a wonderful day with some fantastic chess in a beautiful setting.
This year we were very kindly hosted by Rother council in the town hall. We had 60 participants competing; 45 in our main event, and 15 competing in a challengers section.
The challengers section was won with an impressive 5 1/2 out of 6, by Samuel Merchant. He wins £60, a permanent trophy, and gets to take home the perpetual ‘Alan Ticehurst cup’. A new cup for this year provided by a very special member of Bexhill chess club who awarded the trophy himself on the day.
We then had three players all tying on 4 points. They split the cash for second and third place. But on tie-breaks, second place was awarded to Freya Pinna-Chapman, and third place to Aidan Burnside. The third player with four points was Luke Chapman, who was also awarded the medal for top under 12.
Finally, a top under 18 medal went to Sebastian Merchant who finished on three and a half points.
The main section was a formidable line up, with a sea of strong players and no easy points on offer. Dominating the event with an impressive five and half from six, and taking first place, was Mark Rich. Mark took home £250, a permanent trophy, and the perpetual ‘Moyra Mitchell cup’, a trophy won last year by Rasa Norinkeviciute WFM.
Second place was a tie between two players on 5 points. They split the cash prize for 2nd and 3rd taking home £115 each. On tie-break, the second place trophy was awarded to a sussex junior; Jonathan Britnell, who is playing phenomenally at the moment at the young age of only 17. The third place trophy went to Ilya Iyengar, who only dropped a point in the first round after playing with a time disadvantage after train disruptions resulted in his late arrival.
Another new addition to our prizes this year, was the ‘Joseph Sharp cup’, formed as a tribute to our former chairman, and a long time dedicated member of Bexhill chess club. It is to be awarded each year to the top Bexhill player, which this year went to Andrew Fleming who finished on four points.
The trophy for top senior went to Paul Kelly who finished in fourth place on four and a half. The top junior trophy had to be awarded to two juniors, since they finished on the same points and with the same tie break! They were Ted Filby and Anh Nguyen and they both finished on a very impressive score of four.
Finally, we awarded rating prizes that were available to anyone apart from those without ratings, or with provisional ratings.
Top under 1550 went to another strong junior, Luke Freeman.
Top under 1675 went to Adam Ursell.
Top under 1820 went to Matthew Masani.
Top under 1950 went to Paul Lesniowski.
They each received a cash prize of £30.
Full final cross tables and more photos are below:
Massive thank you to everyone who made this event happen.
The tournament team: Bexhill club chairman – Bill Tracey, Club treasurer – Steve Merchant, Club secretary – Sharon Merchant.
Wooden boards and sets provided by John Kimber.
Sets, clocks and boards kindly on loan from Sussex Junior chess.
Rating support: David Fryer.
The Alan Ticehurst cup and a large portion of prize money donated by Alan Ticehurst.
Brian, Al and Carole the team on the ground at the town hall.
Margaret Blissett for refreshments.
Mike Chapman for general support and being an all round good guy!
Council chair, Kathy Harmer for prize giving.
And last but not least, Councillor Hazel Timpe, without whom, this magical day would never have happened.
Thank you everyone! Hope to see you all again next year.
BEXHILL RAPID TOURNAMENT 2022:
Saturday 12th November 2022
Bexhill town hall, London road, Bexhill-on-sea, TN39 3JX.
To enter the event: ENTER HERE.
To view entrants: CLICK HERE:
THE EVENT
This is an ECF rated event. 6 rounds, 25 + 5. The tournament will be divided into two sections, a main section and a challengers section for those with a lower rating or new to tournament chess. We anticipate the divide to be around 1400ECF, but we will make a final decision nearer the time. Please specify which section you would prefer to play in when entering. (Players are welcome to play up). Should we feel someone is playing in the wrong section we will contact you directly to discuss this. We will use the November 1st rating list.
ENTRY AND PRIZES
Adult entry = £20 Junior entry = £15
(Note: As this is an ECF rated event, anyone who is not a GOLD or SILVER member will need to pay an extra £9 on the ticket price.)
Main tournament prizes:
1st place = £250 + perpetual trophy (The Moyra Mitchell cup) + permanent trophy
2nd place = £150 + permanent trophy
3rd place = £75 + permanent trophy
£120 in grading prizes. £50 + trophy for top senior (over 60), top junior (under 18) and top Bexhill player.
Challenger prizes:
1st place = £60 + perpetual trophy (The Alan Ticehurst cup) + permanent trophy
2nd place = £40 + permanent trophy
3rd place = £20 + permanent trophy
Plus medal for top under 18 and top under 12.
No player will be able to win more than one prize. In the event of a tie, cash prizes will be split, but tie breaks will be used to award trophies. All decisions by tournament controllers are final.
Due to the size of the council chambers, we are limited to 60 spaces. It will be strictly first come, first served and we anticipate selling out. So book early to avoid dissapointment. In the event that we do not sell out, entries will close at 6pm on friday 11th November. There will be no entries on the day.
SCHEDULE
The town hall will be open from 9.15am. A welcome speech will be given at 9.45 and the round times will be as follows:
Round 1: 10.00 Round 2: 11.15 Round 3: 12.45
Round 4: 14:00 Round 5: 15.15 Round 6: 16.30
Prize giving will be as soon as possible after the last game finishes, approximately 5.45pm.
The tournament will be paired by UTU pairing system. Pairings will be displayed in the playing area via pairing boards 5 minutes prior to each round. Cross tables will be posted and updated regularly in the waiting areas. Digital clocks will be used for all games and help can be given to anyone new to playing with clocks.
PARKING
There is plenty of free parking available at the rear of the building, accessed from Amhurst road. The town hall is also a short walk from Bexhill train station and many bus routes stop in town hall square or in the nearby town.
REFRESHMENTS
There will be tea, coffee and water/squash available free of charge all day. There is no catering on site, but there are many cafes, shops and a sainsburys very close to the town hall.
WAITING AREAS
Outside of the playing area, we have two waiting areas. One room will be set with boards and pieces for anyone who wishes to analyse their games. The second area will be a general waiting area where we encourage players to eat.
FAIRPLAY
Please note that mobile phones and other electronic devices such as smart phones must be switched off at all times while in the playing area.
RESPECT
We are incredibly lucky to be offered the use of this beautiful and prestigious space. We kindly ask all players to respect the staff, the building and its contents while on the premises. And hopefully they will have us back next year!
Any other questions, concerns, please contact: s.merchant.chess@gmail.com