The 6th League Rapidplay had just 41 entrants, perhaps a lot to do with a clash with the England v Poland football match. Still, it always clashes with some sporting event - last year it was the Grand National, when there were 43 players.
The Open had 12 players, with Roger Hardy agreeing to even up the numbers at the last minute by stepping up from the Under-150. Top seed was Bristol University’s Charles Cobb, followed by Tyson Mordue, leader of the Grand Prix. With two Buckleys playing it promised to be an interesting contest.
The Under-150 had just one player more than the Open. Top players were Richard Allen (Clifton) and John Baker (Cossham) on 138. John dropped a half in the first round to clubmate Steve Roberts, 112, and young Sam Buckley (Keynsham, 101) beat Paul Spiller (Downend, 125) indicating it was going to be an open contest.
In the Under-100, there were 14 players, headed up by Dave Francis (Horfield, 96) and Doreen Helbig (Keynsham, also 96).
After two rounds, the Open was beginning to take shape, with Cobb, Mordue, and Simon Buckley the only players on 100%. The computer put Mordue against Cobb in the third round, and Simon played Duncan Grossett. Simon could only draw with Duncan, while Tyson and Charles reached an interesting ending with Tyson’s queen battling against two rooks. The lady prevailed, so Tyson was sole leader with 3/3.
Meanwhile, the only two players on 100% in the Under-150, Shane Roberts and Tomos Nitz, slogged out a draw to let the others catch up. Shane slipped up in round 5, losing to Richard Allen, leaving Tomos to take outright first place.
Tyson got pegged back by two draws against the Buckley brothers in rounds 4 and 5 and this made the Open wide open. Simon duly had to play David in the last round, with Tyson facing Duncan Grossett. Simon and Tyson both won to share first place.
Place Name Loc Club Score
1-2 Mordue, Tyson 197 Keynsham 5
Buckley, Simon 191 Keynsham 5
3-5 Cobb, Charles 211 Bristol University 3.5
Buckley, David 180 Keynsham 3.5
Cheung, Lester 151 Bath University 3.5
6-9 Grossett, Duncan 181 Clifton 3
Ponter, Ian 152 Downend 3
White, M J R 159 Downend 3
Pugh, Derek 167 Grendel 3
10 Humphreys, Jerry 170 Downend 2
11 White, E M 158 Downend 1.5
12 Hardy, Roger 145 Grendel 0
Place Name Loc Club Score
1 Nitz, Tomos 125 Bath University 5.5
2 Allen, Richard 138 Clifton 4.5
3 Green, Michael 105 Downend 4
4-6 Roberts, Shane 126 Cossham 3.5
Baker, John 138 Cossham 3.5
Roberts, Steve 112 Cossham 3.5
7-9 Johnson, Chris 130 Grendel 3
Buckley, Sam 101 Keynsham 3
Brannan, M 119 Downend 3
10-12 Banner, Mike 114 Keynsham 2.5
Spiller, Paul 125 Downend 2.5
Thomson, Graeme 112 Clifton 2.5
13 Donaghy, Fergus Horfield 1
Place Name Loc Club Score
1-2 Wood, Nigel 83 Downend 4.5
Francis, Dave 96 Horfield 4.5
3-5 Woodruff, James 84 Civil Service 4
Mill-Wilson, Graham 76 Yate 4
Green, S 73 Downend 4
6-9 Puddy, P 72 Downend 3
Gardner, J 87 Yate 3
Jefferies, A 51 Cabot 3
McCleod, A 79 Cabot 3
10 Helbig, Doreen 96 Keynsham 2.5
11-12 Lawson, Philip 28 Hanham 2
Strickland, Graham 75 Horfield 2
13 McCall, A Downend 1.5
14 Hemmingway, B Downend 1