Isle of Wight Chessmas Blitz – Results 2025

For the second year running, we held our Christmas Blitz on Lichess to help promote the upcoming February International Tournament. Once again, we saw a fantastic turnout, with 93 players taking part across the day.

The event pits titled players against regular club and Isle of Wight players, and we were delighted by the strength of the field.

Performances from top-level players included GM Gawain Maroroa Jones, GM Matthew Turner, GM Matthew Wadsworth, GM Petro Golubka, and Ireland’s first-ever Woman Grandmaster, Trisha Kanyamarala.

The tournament was live streamed on Twitch by WCM Alexandra Prado, giving local players the unique experience of suddenly finding themselves playing live on air.

Despite the incredible talent on display, it was the English juniors who really shone and took the prizes.

12pm Tournament Results

Pereslavtsev - IOW 2025 - by Anniken Vestby

In the first event of the day, promising junior Alexandr Pereslavtsev (Upminster) produced a standout performance, winning the tournament with 7.5 points out of 9.

Along the way, he defeated two Candidate Masters, a Woman Grandmaster, a FIDE Master, and a Grandmaster. Alexandr was eventually stopped by GM Matthew Turner and then held to a draw by rising Welsh talent Iwan Cave (Chandlers Ford).

Alexandr won a £50 Amazon voucher and free entry to the Isle of Wight Tournament. We hope to see him competing again in the Masters section.

GM Matthew Wadsworth vs Alexandr Pereslavtsev 

GM Turner, GM Wadsworth, and FM Jude Shearsby (Kenilworth) led the chasing pack, all finishing on 7 points. The U2000 prize was won by Theo Horne (Chandlers Ford).

3pm Tournament Results

Rami Talab (Cornwall) shone through in the 3.00pm event. In 2023 Rami became the youngest ever Cornwall champion at just ten years old, breaking the previous record held by none other than Michael Adams. Talab showed equal strength in Blitz and was in outstanding form, dropping only half a point in a tough field.

Rami Talab - Guildford Congress 2024 - by John Upham

The Syria-born junior has recently gained 120 FIDE rating points in standard play at the Coventry International, underlining his progress. He's a rising star on the English circuit and we are very much looking forward to seeing him in action at the February Isle of Wight Tournament.

Honourable mention goes to Livio Cancedda-Dupuis (Caterham), who finished in second place after scoring a string of impressive wins, including victories over titled players. His only defeat came against winner Talab, a very strong performance.

We were very pleased to see Isle of Wight local Harry Vernon claim the U2000 prize in the section. Harry played some fantastic chess through the day and held his own against much higher rated players. Harry is one to watch and we hope to be able to convince him to represent the Island in the Masters in Feb.

6pm Tournament Results

We were blown away to see a newcomer demolishing all comers in this round. The mystery was quickly solved with a check of the registrations, revealing the player to be none other than rising English star FM Supratit Banerjee (Coulsdon).

Supratit Banerjee - UK Open Blitz 2025 - Yuri Krylov

Banerjee was clearly in the zone as he powered through a strong field, including a notable win against GM Gawain Maroroa Jones, who slipped under time pressure. With Jones defeated, Banerjee then cruised to a perfect 9 out of 9, recording a Lichess performance rating of 2933.

FM Supratit Banerjee vs GM Gawain Maroroa Jones

Banerjee wins free entry to the February Isle of Wight Tournament + £50 Amazon Voucher, and we very much hope to see him return in 2026 after a promising debut in the 2025 Masters.

Grace Wilde (Colchester Juniors) picked up the U2000 prize in the event with a strong performance and a 2151 Performance rating.

Final event - 9pm Tournament Results

The 9.00pm Swiss raised the stakes even further, with an additional £100 prize on the line for the overall winner of the day, awarded to the player with the highest cumulative score across all four events.

Overall Standings after 3 Events (Sum of Points):

• Pereslavtsev – 19

• Murawski – 17

• Cancedda-Dupuis – 17

• Brett – 16.5

• Finn – 16.5

• Cummins – 15.5

Interest in the event continued to build throughout the day, and we were delighted to welcome live commentary from WIM Natasha Regan and GM Matthew Sadler on the ECF YouTube channel.

The Masters returned for the final round, led by GMs Matthew Wadsworth and GM Matthew Turner, with GM Petro Golubka joining later, and backed by a strong supporting cast of titled players.

The round began with a series of eye-catching underdog moments. Rock Yu (Little Heath) struck first with a win over Turner, before Turner bounced back defeating Wadsworth, only to then fall to junior Toby Quaite (Leeds Juniors). With both leading GMs off to slow starts, the tournament was wide open.

At the front of the field, the pace was set by Sebastian Mokhber-Garcia (Surrey Juniors), Rami Talab (Cornwall), and Jan Thomas Nordgreen (Southampton University / Spain). Wadsworth defeated Talab to re-enter contention, but then stumbled against Nordgreen in Round 8. Talab, meanwhile, overcame Mokhber-Garcia to set up a decisive final-round clash with Nordgreen.

Jan Thomas Nordgreen vs Rami Talab

In the end, Rami Talab held his nerve, winning the final round to claim the 9.00pm event victory, his second of the day and cap off a thrilling finish to the day.

Theo Horne once again claimed the U2000 prize, rounding off a strong day with 10 points from two events and two prizes.

If you enjoyed the tournament, check out the over the board Blitz coming up in February at the Isle of Wight Chess Tournament.

A huge thank you from Isle of Wight Chess to all the players and the Masters that took time out of their Xmas shopping to support the event. It is very much appreciated.

Final Table:

Player	Total Points
PinsWins	24.5
gmnorfolk	22.5
safahchess	22
Checkmatealot	21
PolishEngland	20.5
CHESSGUY-123	20.5
squirrel36	19
canc3111	17
rooksandhooks	16
PiotrCap	16
ALWynJones	15
MightActuallyTry	15
IslandHarry	14.5
vectisblackdog	14.5
ChessTurner	14
Richard31988	14
Van_Eck	14
Rezamo95	13.5
CaptainBen1	13.5
obone	13.5
Twickenham2014	13
mwadsworth	13
alex268	12.5
OnslowChess	11.5
Ofrezco_tablas	11
sgb707	11
IALIIALIIALI	11
The_Cantaloupe	10.5
VerdeNotte	10.5
AFM_EliasBelmonte035	10.5
Archerknight	10.5
Theooooo15	10
andreykin_01	10
mccarthyjames19	9.5
om988	9.5
mightysmasher1	9
KeithDFG	9
londongenius	7.5
Lynxor	6.5
Hatmann	6.5
Has1257	6.5
Jojo1113	6
GCS15	6
goldenstatewarrior	6
Rybka89	6
cleverqueen	5.5
Sebastian_4	5.5
Dr-Tarun007	5.5
TobyQuaite	5.5
booktrunk	5
daringknight	5
Wilsonia	5
PurpleKirby132	5
Buny77	5
CarlaWeston	5
nyclone	5
goldinspiredphoenix	5
TheLongRoadto3k	4.5
TOBERMORYCHESS24	4.5
JohanKjeldahl	4.5
Gmbongloud	4.5
NotBeforeLunch	4
jmschilton	4
mnumniks	4
MiningF	4
KingSlayer_2214	4
RobeeJS	4
ajcalkin	3.5
Marvin2020	3
r_3g	3
Schachschiri	3
Oliverek2013	3
Shaantanu2410	3
knightsky9	3
sahavcisi_44	2.5
Battreek	2.5
pawnchomper	2.5
Godkiller007	2.5
RockYu	2.5
Ding-Chilling	2
BhagwanApkaBalaKare	2
WolvesUnderdog	2
EatenN	1
Notolivier10	1
Alex0301	1
DavrosLight	1
MattyWasTaken	1
AdamjeetSingh	0.5
notolivier	0.5
greennight	0