Frank Woods Shield
Last night our invitational team the “Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse” won their first round tie last night against Witney Spinners 4-2. The result means they move into the second round with a home draw against Wantage Alfredians, the very team they lost to last season. Is it time for some revenge?
Our second team “Six Donkeys of the Acropolis” will play Cowley Williwaws. Both of these quarter-finals will take place before mid-march.
Kidlington Tournament
The rate at which entries have been coming in makes it likely that the Kidlington Tournament will reach full capacity a few days before the weekend of the tournament. They are continuing to welcome entries, but please bear in mind that if you want to play, you risk disappointment if you delay your entry much longer.
The tournament, taking place as usual at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, is a 5-Round ECF-rated Swiss tournament, with four sections: Open, Major (U2000), Intermediate (U1800), and Minor (U1600) and a total prize fund of over £2200.
Standard entry fee (for ECF members at Silver or higher level): £28.
There is a discount of £5 for junior entrants (under 18 on 1 January 2023).
This event is disabled-friendly and wheelchair-accessible.
For full details, and to enter, see the pages under the ‘Kidlington 2023’ tab of the tournament website: https://kidlingtonchess.org.uk/
After a two year absence the Kidlington Tournament is back. Venue and format very much as before. Early entry discount is still available. More information along with the entry form can be found here.
The 44th KIDLINGTON CHESS TOURNAMENT
4 & 5 February 2023
The Kidlington Chess Congress was due to be played online over the the usual Kidlington weekend (the first full weekend in February), however for a variety of reasons, it will not now be possible to hold this event on that particular weekend. We hope this will be merely a brief postponement of a few weeks and are currently considering dates towards the end of February.
Looks like we will have to wait until 2023 to see Exeter Hall in Kidlington this busy again!Further news will be posted here and on the Kidlington Tournament website as soon as arrangements can be made.
The 2023 tournament has been booked out the usual venue, Exeter Hall. As ever, the event is scheduled for the first full weekend in February, so we look forward to welcoming returning and first-time players for our next annual over-the-board tournament on Saturday and Sunday 4 & 5 February 2023.
In some good news, The Swindon 2022 Rapidplay Chess Tournament will take place in Swindon on Saturday the 5th March 2022. This new (as far as I am aware), Rapid play will be over the board and I am sure some local players might want to make the relatively short trip down the A420, more information can be found here.
It was a successful weekend for the Cumnor players at Kidlington. Gareth won the U145 with 4.5 (out of 5)! While in the Open, Eldar ended with 2.5 (all out of 5) and Nick and Nigel both finished with 2 points. Both Nick and Nigel were in the running for the Oxfordshire Individual Chess Champion for 2020 going into the final round but it was eventually won by Dimitrios Zakarian. Ian played in the U180’s and finished with 2.5 and Robin ended with 2.5 in the U120’s.
Congratulations to Gareth on his well deserved victory!
Check out Gerard O’Reilly’s Tournament report below and more information such as the cross tables can be found here.
“Tournament Report, 2020
The 43rd annual Kidlington Tournament was held on the weekend of 1 & 2 February at our regular venue, Exeter Hall. Despite a somewhat lower number of entries (182 at the time entries closed) than last year, we were unaffected by bad weather and therefore started with a very healthy total of 180 players in the draw for the first round: 20 in the Open section, 46 in the U180, 59 in the U145, and 55 in the U120 section.
We were back with our regular team of controllers throughout the weekend this year, Tim Dickinson (Open & U180), Priscilla Morris (U145), and Lucy Smith (U120). After the software problems of last year, we switched this year to Swiss-Manager as our tournament software, and that all went very smoothly, with the rest of the team benefiting from Tim’s expertise with the program. I am, as always, most grateful to all three of them for their hard work, calmness, and efficiency.
In the Open section, FM Marcus Harvey of Witney Chess Club was a point clear on 100% after four rounds, and therefore repeated his outright victory of last year despite being held to a draw in the final round by Oxford University’s Yuting Fu. FM Daniel Abbas (Oxford University) finished clear second on 4 points, followed by IM Andrew Greet (Bearsden) and Yuting Fu (Oxford University) on 3.5 points.
The Open section also incorporated the second leg of the 2019-20 Oxfordshire Individual Championship, the first leg being the Open section at last November’s Witney Congress. The winner would be the player with the highest score from the two legs taken together. It turned out to be a very close finale, though admittedly this was largely because Filip Mihov (Oxford University), the winner at Witney with 4.5/5, was not at Kidlington and Marcus Harvey had not played at Witney.
By the start of Round 5, three players (Nick Burrows and Nigel Moyse of Cumnor Chess Club, plus young Dimitrios Zakarian) had all caught up with the absent Filip Mihov’s Witney total of 4.5 points, with Marcus breathing down their necks on 4. But as things turned out in the final round, Nick and Nigel both lost and, with Marcus being held to a draw, Dimitrios’s draw was good enough for him to take the title of Oxfordsire Individual Chess Champion for 2020. I don’t know for sure (and will welcome correction if I’m mistaken), but I suspect he may well be the youngest ever winner of the title. He also follows in the footsteps of his father, FM David Zakarian, who won the title in 2017.
Garth picking up his cheque for coming joint first in the U145’s.The U180 section produced a clear winner in David Ireland of Coventry, who scored 4.5 points. Roger de Coverley (Bourne End) fell just short of sharing first place for the third year running, despite again scoring 4 points, but he still shared second place with Anita Somton (West Nottingham) and Witney junior Adam Sieczkowski.
A notable feature of the event was the return to Kidlington of Nick Jones (formerly of Witney Chess Club, and my predecessor as Kidlington organizer), who shared the Veteran Prize with Reading’s Michael Redmond.
The U145 section was won by another Oxfordshire player, with Gareth Stevens (Cumnor) finishing first equal on 4.5 points with Peter Dove from Newbury. Other local players in the prizes were Rod Langham (Oxford City), winner of the Round 1 Loser Prize, and Joshua Soanes of Witney, who took the junior prize.
Only the U120 section winner saw a winner with a 100% score, Oxford resident Zulfi Heydon. Other local players in the prizes were Cowley’s Advaith Panicker, taking the Junior Prize, and Ian Brooke (Oxford City) and Kelly Riley (Cowley), who shared the Veteran Prize.
In the U120 section, remarkable pairings have in the past usually involved a great age disparity between a very young junior and a veteran of many years standing. This year, in Round 1, the pairing of veterans Ian Brooke and Banbury’s Michael Campling produced a game in which the combined age of the players was 183 years!
In the team competition, the winners were Bourne End (Roger de Coverley, David Turner, Darrell Watson, & Juan Perez) with 13 points out of 20.
Andrew Butterworth of Chess Direct again provided the excellent bookstall as well as the boards and sets for the tournament and the clocks we used in the U120 section. And Helen Hackett (Hackett’s Food & Drink of Witney) sustained us through the weekend yet again with the fine selection of refreshments. I thank them both warmly for their important role in making the tournament a success.
After thanking the controlling team of Tim, Priscilla, and Lucy, as well as Andrew and Helen, I want to record my gratitude to Raj Panicker (now my Co-organizer) for all his help with the organization of the event, in particular with the online entries and the tournament website, and for entering the games from the Open section to put on the website, in addition to his taking photos at the Prizegiving.
I also want to thank the staff at Exeter Hall for all their help and courtesy. (Many of you who have been coming for years will will have missed Bert, the caretaker, this time. He has retired since last year’s event, after 27 or 28 Kidlington tournaments, I’m told. But the caretakers who set things up and were on duty at the weekend, mainly Mark and Gerry, were very helpful.)
Last but not least, my thanks to all who came to play at this year’s Kidlington tournament, and particularly those who made donations to our tournament funds—vital to our long-term survival and to our continued ability to provide support for other local chess events during the year.
We shall return to Exeter Hall for our 44th annual Kidlington Chess Tournament on Saturday and Sunday 6 & 7 February 2021. As every year, we look forward not only to welcoming very many returning entrants from this year and previous years but also to welcoming a good number of players coming to Kidlington for the first time. We hope to see you there!
The 43rd annual Kidlington Chess Tournament will take place at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, on Saturday & Sunday 1 & 2 February, 2020. We shall again have four sections, Open, U180, U145 and U120, and a prize fund of over £2200.
The Open section will incorporate the second leg of the 2019-20 Oxfordshire Individual Championship. Its first leg was incorporated in the Open section at the Witney Chess Congress held on 2 & 3 November 2019. The Oxfordshire Individual Chess Champion for 2019-20 will be the eligible player with the highest combined score in the Open sections of the two tournaments.
As usual, we shall have the excellent bookstall provided by Chess Direct and the fine range of refreshments provided by Hackett’s Outside Catering of Witney.
Information and updates about the tournament can be found via the tournament website (see the link below). You may enter using the online form to be found under the ‘Kidlington 2020’ tab on the website, or you may download a form from there if you prefer to send in your entry by post.
The first round of the Frank Wood Shield has been confirmed away to The Didcot Dynamos on Wednesday 20th February, as defending Champions we are looking forward to the match and won’t be taking it lightly.
The Cumnor players who won the 2018 Frank Wood Shield.This weekend is the Kidlington Chess Congress, as long it isn’t cancelled due to the weather. The entries are now closed and 6 Cumnor players are taking part.
Eldar, Nick, Nigel are playing in the Open, Ian in the U180’s, Gareth in the U145’s and Robin in the U120’s.
The 42nd annual Kidlington Chess Tournament will be held at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, on Saturday & Sunday 2 & 3 February 2019.
There are 4 sections: Open, Under 180, Under 145 & Under 120. The prize fund has been increased this year and is over £2000. As usual, there is a fine bookstall provided by Chess Direct, and refreshments are once again provided by Hackett’s Catering.
Full details and conditions of entry can be found under the ‘Kidlington 2019’ tab on the tournament website (https://kidlingtonchess.org.uk/), where you may also either (i) enter the tournament online (paying your entry fee via PayPal) or (ii) download a hard copy of the entry form to print out, fill in and send to me at the address indicated together with a cheque for the appropriate amount.
Last year we reached the maximum number of entrants we could accommodate the weekend before the tournament and could take no further entries. To avoid possible disappointment, therefore, please don’t leave it till the last moment to enter. (You may also deduct a £2 discount if I receive your entry no later than 11 January.)
You are warmly invited to enter the tournament and enjoy an interesting weekend of chess. If you cannot play in the tournament, you are welcome to come along at some point during the weekend to watch the chess, explore the bookstall, and enjoy the refreshments.
The Kidlington Chess Congress was full to capacity again this year with 6 Cumnor players among the 192 players from across the county and from further afield. Ian, Gareth, Simon and Liam (competed in the U180), Robin (U1450) and Graham (U120). This is the report written by Gerard O’Reilly, more information such as cross-tables can be found here.
“Last year the Kidlington Chess Tournament reached its landmark 40th year. As the tournament moved to its present venue, Exeter Hall, in its second year, 1979, we celebrated another 40th anniversary this year. We also increased the prize to £2050, adding a Round 1 Loser’s prize in the U120 section and a Veteran’s prize in the U145 section. Moreover, this year we are posting the games from the Open section on our website.
We were delighted to have a full house for the second year running, reaching our limit of 192 players on the Monday before the tournament. With the number of late withdrawals (mostly caused by flu) exactly matched by replacements from those who elected to apply to go on the waiting list, we also started with 192: 28 in the Open section, 48 in the U180, 56 in the U145 section, and 60 in the U120. Competitors ranged in age from 7 to 90.
As usual, Tim Dickinson controlled the Open and U180 sections and Lucy Smith the U120 section. For the U145s Andrew Varney was our Saturday controller, leaving time for Priscilla Morris to recover from her journey back from the Gibraltar event before joining us as controller for the section on the Sunday. As ever, they all did their work efficiently, and in a friendly and unruffled way, despite some frustration caused by our laptops behaving with unwonted and occasionally extreme sluggishness.
No grandmasters played this year, but there was still a sprinkling of titled players: IM Richard Bates and FMs Marcus Harvey, William Claridge-Hansen and James Jackson. This time James came out on top by beating Marcus in an exciting last-round game to reach four points, having drawn in Rounds 3 and 4 against Bates and Claridge-Hansen, who shared second place on 3.5 points along with Oxford City’s Jon Manley, who was returning to the event after missing two years. Two more local players, Oxford University’s Tim Foster and Daniel sutton, shared the U190 grading prize, while Cowley’s Nick Burrows shared the Round 1 Loser’s prize with Stephen Peters.
The Oxfordshire Individual Championship title and trophy go to James Jackson, who had already won the Open section at Witney in October outright and took his score in the Championship to 8.5/10 by his performance at Kidlington. His nearest rival was Cowley newcomer Eldar Alizada, from Azerbaijan, back on six points.
The U180 section was very closely contested, ending in a five-way tie for first place between Roger de Coverly, Colin Purdon, Paul Colburn, Tom Matko and Alex Rossiter, all on four points. Among the other prizewinners was Dave Robson (Cowley) who won the Round 1 Loser prize together with Robert Taylor and Trevor Holt.
The U145 section, which itself produced a five-way tie for first place last year, was won outright this time by Rich Wiltshir on 4.5/5, followed by four players on four points: Witney’s Howard Searle, Peter Dimond, Jim McKie and another newcomer to Cowley, David Dyer.
In the U120 section, first place was shared by 14-year-old Jack Tye and Cowley’s Stephen Ennis. Both dropped just half a point, having drawn against each other–in the first round. Half a point behind, on four, were Tamal Matilal (of the sadly now disbanded Cowley Workers club), veteran Barry Miles, Jason Madden, Duncan Clarke, and Cherwell School’s Zulfi Heydon. Barry took the Veteran prize, Jason the Round 1 Loser prize, while the other three shared third prize.
Banbury Chess Club’s team, consisting of James Jackson, Gary Jackson, Carl Portman and Chris Evans, narrowly took the team competition prize with 13.5 points out of 20, just half a point ahead ahead of ‘Cabsham’ and a team from Aylesbury Chess Club.
For a complete list of prizewinners and the crosstables for the four sections, please consult the other pages under the ‘2018’ tab on this site.
As usual, Andrew Butterworth of Chess Direct provided the excellent bookstall as well as the boards and sets and some of the clocks we used, and we are pleased that Helen Hackett (Hackett’s Food & Drink of Witney) was again able to provide us with the fine selection of refreshments. My thanks to them both.
A tournament organizer has to rely on many other people in a variety of ways to make things happen and run smoothly, and it is always a pleasure to thank them for what they do. In addition to the section controllers, and Andrew Butterworth and Helen Hackett (already mentioned), I would like to thank the staff at Exeter Hall (especially Bert) as well as Ian Brooke and, this year, I am very glad to welcome to our organizing team a new member, my Cowley Chess Club colleague, Raj Panicker, whom I also thank. Among other things, Raj set up the facility to enter the games of the Open section, and has nearly finished entering them.
Finally, my thanks go to all the 192 players who competed at this year’s Kidlington, and to those players and others who made donations to our funds (vital to our long-term survival and to our support for local chess).
On Saturday and Sunday 2 & 3 February 2019, we return to Exeter Hall once more for the 42nd annual Kidlington Chess Tournament. We look forward not only to welcoming back old chess friends but also to making new ones. Do come!”
The 41st annual Kidlington Chess Tournament will be held at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, on Saturday & Sunday 3 & 4 February 2018.
There are 4 sections: Open, Under 180, Under 145 & Under 120. The prize fund has been increased this year and is over £2000. As usual, there is a fine bookstall provided by Chess Direct, and refreshments are once again provided by Hackett’s Catering.
Full details and conditions of entry can be found under the ‘Kidlington 2018’ tab on the tournament website (https://kidlingtonchess.org.uk/), where you may also either (i) enter the tournament online (paying your entry fee via PayPal) or (ii) download a hard copy of the entry form to print out, fill in and send to me at the address indicated together with a cheque for the appropriate amount.
Last year we reached the maximum number of entrants we could accommodate the weekend before the tournament and could take no further entries. This year we have so far received eight more entries than at the equivalent stage last year. To avoid possible disappointment, therefore, please don’t leave it till the last moment to enter. (You may also deduct a £2 discount if I receive your entry no later than 13 January.)
You are warmly invited to enter the tournament and enjoy an interesting weekend of chess. If you cannot play in the tournament, you are welcome to come along at some point during the weekend to watch the chess, explore the bookstall, and enjoy the refreshments.
Gerard O’Reilly
(Organizer, Kidlington Chess Tournament)
P.S.
So far it’s over 80% full if I remember the numbers from last year, so if you do want to play might be an idea to enter fairly soon – numbers have gone up rapidly this week. Ian, Robin, Gareth and myself are playing so far.
A number of Cumnor players took part in the 40th Kidlington Chess Congress this year and this is the report written by Gerard O’Reilly, more information such as cross-tables can be found here.
Back in 1978, the first Kidlington Chess Tournament was held. It had two sections (Major: U180 and Minor: U135) and offered a guaranteed minimum prize fund of £130. The event grew rapidly. For the fourth event in 1981, an Intermediate section was added, the grading limits on the sections were 190, 160 and 125, and the prize fund had grown to over £500. Two years later, in the sixth annual tournament of Kidlington, the prize fund was over £700, and the grading limits of the three sections were 225, 175 and 125.
With this year’s Kidlington Chess Tournament held at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, on 4 & 5 February, the event reached a landmark 40th year and featured a number of innovations. For the first time, the top section was not grading-limited but an Open section. We also had for the first time at Kidlington the option of online entry, and we added a further prize to the bottom section. (We had added a fourth [U120] section in 2012.) Moreover, the Oxfordshire Individual Championship, resuscitated this year, was decided at Kidlington, the winner being the eligible player with the highest combined score in the Open sections of the two weekend tournaments held in Oxfordshire during the season, at Witney in October and at Kidlington.
We were surprised and delighted at the large increase in the number of entrants this time. Such was the demand that we reached the capacity of our usual playing area (192 players) nearly a week before the start of the tournament and had to close to further entries. That had not come even close to happening before in the time I have been involved in the organization of the tournament. (Before my time, it had not been entirely unknown that the figure of 192 entries had been exceeded and an extra room in the building had been hired, but hiring an extra room at the venue was not economically viable and in any case we felt that allowing more entrants would have put undesirable strain on the facilities at the venue as well as creating the danger of a degree of overcrowding which would would not be good for the atmosphere of the tournament.
Of our 192 starters, 28 were in the Open section, 57 in the U180, 47 in the U145 section, and 60 in the U120. Competitors ranged in age from 7 to 89.
As last year, we were very pleased to have Andrew Varney deputize for Priscilla as controller for the U145 section on the Saturday, joining our other regular controllers, Tim Dickinson and Lucy Smith. As usual, they all did their work in an efficient, unruffled, and friendly way.
Despite the presence of Grandmaster John Nunn and new IM Alan Merry in the Open section, as well as Oxford University’s Portuguese FIDE Master David Martins and Armenian FM David Zakarian, we again had a ‘home-grown’ winner, with Marcus Harvey (now an FM, too) of Witney Chess Club taking clear first place and the £250 winner’s prize with a score of 4.5/5. He dropped just a half-point in round 3 against Nunn, and beat David Martins in the final round. Marcus’s result was a repeat of his clear victory in 2015. (He also shared first place back in 2013.) John Nunn and David Martins, along with former Oxford University player Michael Healey, shared second place. Of those who finished a point further back on 3 in equal fifth place, Ben Ogunshola and David Coleman qualify for places in the 2017 British Championship at Llandudno this summer.
The Oxfordshire Individual Championship title and trophy go to Oxford University’s David Zakarian, who, despite being unable to play the last round at Kidlington because of duties supervising the Oxfordshire Under-9 team, added to his score in the Open section at Witney to win the Championship with 5.5 points. Zoe Varney came second with a combined total of five points. (Marcus Harvey had been unable to play at Witney.)
Zoe’s brother Daniel Varney, of Cumnor Chess Club, deservedly took clear top spot in the U180 section with a score of 4.5/5, a half-point ahead of visitors Peter Tart and Paul Colburn and of Cowley’s Will Burt and Oxford City’s Anthony Lee.
The U145 section produced a five-way tie for first place, shared by Berkshire players Michael Lucey and George Green, Camberley’s Paul Gillett, and two Oxfordshire players, Steve Barry (who mostly plays tournaments rather than in the Oxfordshire League) and Cowley’s Bob Samuels, all of them on 4/5.
In the U120 section, there was a seven-way tie for first place on 4/5, between James Barnett, Dominic De Silva, Paul Bristow, Jason Madden, Roy Watson, and two juniors, Gloucestersire’s Oliver Stubbs and Berkshire junior Helen Archer-Lock, who thereby went one better than her shared second place in the section last year.
Analysis RoomFor a complete list of prizewinners and the crosstables for the four sections, please consult the other pages under the ‘2017’ tab on the Kidlington chess tournament website. You may also wish to look at the fine selection of photos from this year’s event taken by Brendan O’Gorman (who shared the U160 grading prize in the U180 section), which he has posted online here. My thanks to him.
As usual, Andrew Butterworth of Chess Direct provided the excellent bookstall as well as the boards and sets and a good number of the clocks we used, and we are pleased that Helen Hackett (Hackett’s Food & Drink of Witney) was again able to provide us with the fine selection of refreshments. My thanks to them both.
A tournament organizer relies on many other people in a variety of ways to make things happen and to run smoothly, and it is a pleasure to thank them. In addition to the section controllers, and Andrew Butterworth and Helen Hackett (already mentioned), I would like to add my thanks to the staff at Exeter Hall (especially Bert) and to Ian Brooke and, especially this year, to Tom Williams.
After reaching the milestone of 40 years of the Kidlington Tournament this year, it’s worth reflecting on and giving thanks for the efforts of those who started the whole thing off four decades ago (some at Kidlington this year played in the first event back in 1978!), and all those who through the years have worked hard and made contributions in different ways to keep the tournament going and growing. I single out Tom, not to downplay the vital roles that many other have played over the years, but because, having been among those who started the tournament up four decades ago, he is now standing down after forty years at the heart of the organization in various capacities. In recent years he has been Treasurer–though that title does scant justice to the contribution he has continued to make. In learning the ropes, since I came into the Kidlington organizing team in 2010, I have relied heavily on Tom, not only for his work as Treasurer and more, but also for his sound advice, encouragement, practical support and friendship. So a very special ‘Thank you’ to Tom.
Finally, my thanks go to all the 192 players who competed at this years Kidlington, and to those who made donations to our funds (vital to our long-term survival and to our support for local chess).
This year, we reached a milestone: the 40th annual Kidlington Chess Tournament. Next year, as we move into our fifth decade, we celebrate another 40th anniversary. The 41st annual Kidlington Chess Tournament, taking place on Saturday and Sunday 4 & 5 February 2018, will be the fortieth to be held at Exeter Hall. We look forward not only to welcoming back old chess friends but also to making new ones. Do join us there!
We were surprised and delighted at the large increase in the number of entrants this time. Such was the demand that we reached the capacity of our usual playing area (192 players) nearly a week before the start of the tournament and had to close to further entries. That had not come even close to happening before in the time I have been involved in the organization of the tournament. (Before my time, it had not been entirely unknown that the figure of 192 entries had been exceeded and an extra room in the building had been hired, but hiring an extra room at the venue was not economically viable and in any case we felt that allowing more entrants would have put undesirable strain on the facilities at the venue as well as creating the danger of a degree of overcrowding which would would not be good for the atmosphere of the tournament.