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Tony Kiddle Memorial Chess Congress Ernie Lazenby & Paul Bielby Photo's by Ernie Lazenby There is no doubt that this years Congress entries were down a little because of the Newcastle v Sunderland football match. It’s a hard choice for some people, support your team or play chess. I watched the news last night and all the mayhem following the match made me pleased I played chess. Thankfully chess has not yet attracted pitched battles on the street. Graham Marshall continues to support chess by putting on congress’s and he deserves our thanks for doing so in these times when so many congress’s have gone to the wall and others are suffering diminishing numbers. Donna Boxx & Bill Wilson supported by Paul Bielby did a fantastic job of running the congress that ran without a glitch that I was aware of. Paul commands my respect because at his age, he won’t mind me saying he’s now over 70, his enthusiasm and dedication to chess is undiminished and not least the tremendous work he does with juniors. Steve will be posting a full list of results in due course and therefore I won’t mention them in this report but I will mention some interesting games. At the start of the congress it was assumed that Charlie Story would win the open but a late entry taking a ½ point bye on Friday was David Eggleston. I saw one of Charlie’s games against a player rated 30 points lower and the truth is Charlie played his get out of jail free card, he was busted with a totally lost simple ending but his opponent messed it up and a draw followed. The game featuring Charlie and David was always going to be a pointer as to who would win the loot and it was interesting. Charlie got a poor position out of the opening and was forced to sac a piece to try and get some play but this failed and he lost. David is a class player and it showed. Peterlee’s Colin Walton is always in the mix but he messed up a game and lost one of the early rounds. Colin showed his fighting spirit to come back strongly and in the final round he beat Charlie Storey and ended up joint winner with David. Colin’s young daughter Demi entered the novice section and I was impressed with her enthusiasm which never waned even after each loss and she always had a smile on her face. She drew her last game and if she inherits the talent of her dad I think she will be a chess ‘Tiger’ in the coming years. Demi received a prize for endeavour and sportsmanship Hopefully Demi will not be the last of new blood into the game for most of the people playing have been around a long time. Please forgive me mentioning two new players from my club The Griffin, Taylor Brown and John Heeley playing in their first ever congress enjoyed the experience and hopefully their enthusiasm and dedication for the game will be rewarded by more wins in due course. The standard of chess in all sections was very good with some hard fought exciting battles to stimulate interest for those watching. A chess bookstall was provided by Chess Direct ltd. Andrew Butterworth the owner continues to travel around the Country offering the latest chess literature. He always has a very good selection. Those of you who went to watch the footie missed a good weekend of chess but having watched the highlights last night you seem to have got your moneys worth at St James Park. Well done to the organising team keep up the good work. Ernie Lazenby (not quite as old as Yoda!) The Cleveland Chess Congress played at Hartlepool, 30th Jan - 1st Feb
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