Home Emigrant Falmouth Penwith 1999/2000 Past Winners

CORNWALL CHESS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP CONGRESS 2000

This year the new year congress was held for the first time in the Tresillian Hall of Truro College. As befits the highlight of the Cornish chess calendar, the conditions were excellent. The modern playing hall was spacious and well-lit. The provision of a separate analysis and refreshment room meant that the quiet was broken only by the voice of the controller and the odd rogue mobile phone! These were ideal conditions for playing chess and much appreciated by the competitors for whom the only drawback was that their stock of excuses for poor play was severely depleted.

My thanks in particular to Truro College, to Roger Grey and Robin Kneebone for their constant help throughout the weekend, to the group of volunteers who kept the players supplied with food and drink, and to the players themselves whose co-operation and sportsmanship made life very easy for the controller.

A brief account of each section follows, linked to pages containing full round-by-round results and a selection of games.

EMIGRANT CUP (24 entries)

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.

Final positions, round-by-round results and games

FALMOUTH CUP (21 entries)

Restricted to players graded 125 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.

Final positions, round-by-round results and games

PENWITH CUP (14 entries)

This proved to be a runaway win for Jeremy Kneebone of St Uny Primary School at Carbis Bay. Jeremy has already made his mark at national level, being one of the top players in his age group in the country. With five straight wins he had made sure of first place with a round to go. His performance was characterised by the deadly combination of talent and effectiveness.

The battle for second place was close with 7 players finishing within a point of each other.

Final positions, round-by-round results and games

 
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