Introduction
The first Ringwood Rapidplay tournament took place on Sunday 18th June at Greyfriars Community Centre.
There was a full house with 24 competitors in the Open section and 37 competitors in the Intermediate (under 1800) section battling it out over 6 rounds with a time limit of 15 minutes + 10 seconds.
The total prize fund was increased from the originally advertised £450 to £570 thanks to the high level of entry and sponsorship from Schofields landscapes and gardens.
There were free drinks all day and food was provided at a modest cost, with vegetarian and vegan options available.
Prize Winners
Open Section
Going into the last round Mike Duggan, Nwachukwu Okoli and John Weatherlake were all on 4 points, and were being chased by WFM Jane Richmond and Johnathan Bourne on 3.5 points. Mike and Nwachukwu were facing each other as were John and Jane. We were anticipating some tough scraps but two quick draws ensued.
So in joint 1st place, each winning £60, were Mike Duggan, Nwachukwu Okoli and John Weatherlake with 4.5/6.
The Under 2000 Rating Prize was shared by Paul Northcott (pictured below) and Johnathan Bourne, who won £10 each.
There was a 4 way tie for the Under 1850 Rating Prize between Adam Ursell (pictured below), Dennis Stokes-Carter (pictured below), Clive Bowley and Stephen O'Toole, with each winning £5.
The Open Junior Prize (£20) was won by Matthew Deacon.
Intermediate Section (Under 1800)
The Intermediate Section was very hard fought with intense battles in the last two rounds amongst the leading players.
In 1st place, winning £100, was Lewis Jackson who scored a very impressive 5.5/6.
In 2nd place, winning £50, was Finn Schell who led for the first four rounds and finished on 5/6.
3rd place was shared between Phil Pinto (pictured below), Niclas Hordnes (pictured below) and Alan Wykes who scored 4.5/6. As Alan qualified for a rating prize that was more valuable than a share of 3rd prize, Phil and Nicals split third prize with £15 each.
The Under 1700 Rating Prize of £20 was won by Alan Wykes.
The Under 1570 Rating Prize was shared by James Barnett, Sam Murphy and Peter Austin who won £10 each.
The Under 1450 Rating Prize of £20 was won by Rosamund Hale.
The Under 1300 Rating Prize was shared by Harshal Kulkarni and Dan Ursell.
Before the event it was announced that there would be a discretionary Organiser's Prize. Once the tournament was over and the results were in, it was decided to use that as an extra Junior Prize for the Intermediate section.
The winners of the Intermediate Junior Prizes were Zander Booth (pictured below), Jason Wang (pictured below) and Florence Spirling who won £20 each.
Thanks
We would like to thank all those who took part and we hope you may enter again next year.
We would also like to thank all those who helped organise and run the event, not least for the effort in keeping players fed and watered throughout the day. A special thanks goes to those who are not Ringwood Chess Club members: Bridget Clancy and Nikki Forster for their hard work in the kitchen, Richard Ursell for taking photos, James Forster for helping clear up at the end (it was a godsend!) and Martin Simons for acting as chief arbiter and for his general advice in the run up to the event.
Full Final Standings
Open Section
Nwachukwu Okoli | 4½ |
John P Weatherlake | 4½ |
Michael Fg Duggan | 4½ |
Paul Northcott | 4 |
Nicholas S Lee | 4 |
Jane Richmond | 4 |
Johnathan D Bourne | 4 |
Grzegorz Sawicki | 3½ |
James Connor C Forster | 3½ |
Keith Df Gregory | 3 |
Adam R Ursell | 3 |
Clive R Bowley | 3 |
Stephen O'toole | 3 |
Dennis Stokes-Carter | 3 |
Allan J Pleasants | 3 |
David J Deacon | 3 |
Toit Reenen J Du | 2½ |
Stephen M Pollyn | 2½ |
Richard W Ursell | 2 |
Ian Deswarte | 1½ |
Matthew Deacon | 1½ |
Mark Littleton | 1½ |
Thomas R Anderson | 1½ |
Richard V Puchades | 1½ |
Intermediate Section
Lewis Jackson | 5½ |
Finn Schell | 5 |
Phil B Pinto | 4½ |
T Alan Wykes | 4½ |
Niclas Hordnes | 4½ |
Henry Smith | 4 |
Thomas Trach | 4 |
Jason Wang | 4 |
Zander Booth | 4 |
Sam J Murphy | 3½ |
Gillian A Moore | 3½ |
Steven J Harding | 3½ |
Helen Archer-Lock | 3½ |
James A Barnett | 3½ |
Robert Davenport | 3½ |
Richard Thorburn | 3½ |
Peter Austin | 3½ |
Florence Spirling | 3 |
P Matthew Smith | 3 |
Thomas Philidor | 3 |
Richard J Barnes | 3 |
Dan Ursell | 3 |
Harshal Kulkarni | 3 |
Rosamund Hale | 2½ |
Ben Willis-Owen | 2½ |
Nicholas Deacon | 2½ |
Michael R Pope | 2½ |
Liam Devlin | 2 |
Joshua Richards | 2 |
Scott Waugh | 2 |
Andre Hopkins | 2 |
James Hawkes | 2 |
Ian Leslie | 1½ |
Simon Gates | 1 |
Sebastian Robinson | 1 |
Liam Hardman | 1 |
James Littleworth | ½ |