Staffordshire Chess Congress 2011

Saturday 16^th and Sunday 17^th April

In addition to the main prizes in each section, there were additional junior, ladies, veteran and grading prizes.  A very popular feature of our congress.

In addition to Midlands players, there were players from right across the country.

Thomas Sygnowski from West Bromwich was the overall winner in the Premier section.  An Under 21 Championship title was available for the best young player with Staffordshire connections.  Good play helped Craig Whitfield secure the title (and trophy) he won two years ago.

In the Major section (U160), Michael Connor from Great Lever secured the win by dropping just half a point.

In the Minor section (U120), The winner was ungraded Shahab quraishi from Sutton Coldfield, with John Gibbs from Wombwell (South Yorkshire) and local player David Molineux sharing second place, just half a point behind.  David Molineux (from Bushbury chess club) was late arriving for the Staffordshire Congress.  In fact, round 2 had already started by the time David arrived.  He paid his entry fee, and was paired against a player who had just been given a half point bye for round two - his opponent turned out to be a player from his own club, David Buckley.  That was how it started.  By the end of round 5, David was on 4 points, he had beaten every opponent he had been drawn against.  Interestingly, David reported that he had also won his last 4 league games this season.  He was absolutely delighted by his success during the weekend.  Well done David.

Congratulations to the winners, and well done to everyone who took part.

Prize winners

	Premier - U200
1st	Tomas Sygnowski	West Bromwich	4½ / 5
2nd	Russell James	Rushall	4 / 5
3rd (Equal)	David Cooper	Bushbury	3½ / 5
	Tony Hynes	Warks Select	3½ / 5
U180 grading prize (Equal)	Edward Keogh		2½ / 5
	Henry Brockbank	Olton	2½ / 5
	Robert Taylor	Preston	2½ / 5
Veteran's prize	David Anderton	Walsall Kipping	2½ / 5
Best Junior player	Craig Whitfield	Cheddleton & Leek	2½ / 5
Under 21 Trophy	Craig Whitfield
	Major – U160
1st	Michael Connor	Great Lever	4½ / 5
2nd (Equal)	James Friar	Kidderminster	4 / 5
	Steven Edwards	Boldmere St Michael	4 / 5
U150 grading prize	Dean Hartley	Amber Valley	3½ / 5
U140 grading prize	Ray Dolan	Rushall	2½ / 5
Veteran's prize	Stephen Chadaway	Olton	3½ / 5
Late Starter	John Simmons	Rhyll	2½ / 5
	Minor – U120
1st	Shahab Quraishi	Sutton Coldfield	4½ / 5
2nd (Equal)	John Gibbs	Wombwell	4 / 5
	David Molineux	Bushbury	4 / 5
U110 grading prize	Paul Guest	Brewood	3½ / 5
U100 grading prize	Stephen Szwajkun	Newport	3 / 5
Ungraded player prize	Stuart Ross	Shifnal & Telford	3½ / 5
Veteran's prize	James Waddington	Bolton	3½ / 5
Ladies prize	Doreen Anderton	Walsall Kipping	2 / 5
Best Junior player	Nathen Chung	Solihull Checkmate	3½ / 5