Islander Triumphs at Fareham Castle Chess Congress

Castle Chess Fareham 17th March 2024: Photo by Kevin Lamb

Isle of Wight player, Richard Edney put on a fantastic display at the recent Fareham tournament to clinch first place in the Major section, Richard claimed 4 wins and one tie, not losing a single game. Putting him at the front on a total of 5 points with 0.5 points for a bye round. Richard gained 24 rating points and now plays of 1831 ECF.

This is a great achievement for Richard and the Island, and it shows the growing strength of our players. Our hope is that the upcoming Congress in April gives more players the bug to travel to mainland events and bring back some of that valuable experience.

Richard on the right. Playing Clive Bowley at a recent training day in Ryde

Another IOW player, Joel Lloyd, made his classical tournament debut playing in the Open section. Joel managed to secure two impressive draws against much more experienced and and higher rated players. A great performance on his debut and Joel gained valuable experience ahead of the IOW Open in April.

Joel on the right flying the flag for IOW in the Open: Photo by Kevin Lamb

Another island player, David Lightfoot (me) also played in the Major section. Playing up a level in rating. Scoring 2 draws out of 4 games, having taken byes for the first two rounds. Disappointing not to covert a strong advantage in the final game, but learned once again that it's not over until it's over! A huge thank you to organiser Tony Corfe for allowing me to give a quick mention to the 19th April IOW Congress.

David on the right shortly before hanging a Knight in his first game : Photo by Kevin Lamb