The entry of 24 was larger than in recent years. It was particularly refreshing that several players who were eligible for the Falmouth Cup elected to play in the tougher competition.

Andrew Greet (St Austell) retained the trophy and title of Cornwall champion with an efficient display after his customary dropped half-point in round 1. However, the contest was closer than the winning margin would suggest. David Saqui (Penwith) took the early lead by winning his first three games. Their meeting took place in round 4, with victory to Andrew. After his draw with Jeremy Menadue (Truro) in the final round the spotlight fell on board 2 where a win for David Saqui over Malcolm Pridmore (Truro) would still have secured him the title on the tie-break rule (Sum of progressive scores). David, though, was in difficulty throughout the game and eventually lost.

Restricted to players graded 146 or under, this year's competition featured a tremendous battle for first prize in the last 2 rounds. With a 100% record after round 4 it looked as if we would see a runaway victory by Douglas Cooke (Liskeard), one of our most promising young players and fresh from his success at the Torbay Minor a few weeks earlier. A tense final round was set up by his round 5 loss to Geoffrey Harper and Chris Reeves's win over Chris Tylor (St Austell).

In the final round Douglas, needing a win to secure the trophy on the tie-break, made strenuous efforts against Stefan Leaver but had to concede the draw in the end. The game between Chris Reeves and Geoffrey Harper, both from the Truro club, was a wonderful scrap with both players striving for the win. In the end Chris obtained a clear advantage and played very well to convert it into a win. It was entirely in the spirit of the contest that decisive game should be the last to finish.

Congratulations are due to Chris for his fine display as well as to the others whose stern opposition made him a worthy winner.