1968 (23rd) West of England (WECU) Championship, Penzance, 11-15 April

1968 West of England (WECU) Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Total
1	Andrew Rowland B Thomas	Tiverton	&;	½	½	1		½								1						1	4½
2	James Macrae Aitken	Cheltenham	½	&;	1		½					½						1	1				4½
3	John Francis Wheeler	Plymouth	½	0	&;		½				1	1						1					4
4	Peter John Waters	Braunton	0			&;				1	1	½	1	½									4
5	Derek Maurice Wise	Bristol		½	½		&;						1			1	½				½		4
6	David Ellis	Isle of Scilly	½					&;	½		½	½		½			1						3½
7	Michael Edward Brigden	Bristol						½	&;				½	1		½	½	½					3½
8	Henry Vickers W Trevenen	Cornwall				0				&;	0						1		1		½	1	3½
9	John Crowle Cock	Cheltenham			0	0		½		1	&;					½	1						3
10	Robert H Northage	Bath		½	0	½		½				&;							1		½		3
11	Dr. David J Richards	Devon				0	0		½				&;		½			1		1			3
12	George W Wheeler	Plymouth				½		½	0					&;	1	0					1		3
13	John A Flood	Devon											½	0	&;			0	½		1	1	3
14	Philip James Meade	Cheltenham	0				0		½		½			1		&;				½			2½
15	David A LeMoir	Bristol					½	0	½	0	0						&;			1			2
16	Leslie Paul Collard	Devon		0	0				½				0		1			&;				½	2
17	David John Shire	Bristol		0						0		0			½				&;	1		½	2
18	Dr. Denis John Pereira Gray	Devon											0			½	0		0	&;	1	½	2
19	Maurice J Belsten	N. Petherton					½			½		½		0	0					0	&;		1½
20	Brian A Heath	Cornwall	0							0					0			½	½	½		&;	1½

BCM, May 1968, ppn 134-135

The West of England Congress by Peter Hugh Clarke

The twenty-third Easter Congress of the W.E.C.U. was held in the Lescudjack School, Penzance, from April 11th to 15th. Sixty-five players took part—a disappointingly low entry (there were almost 100 at Weston-super-Mare last year), attributable to the remoteness and difficulty of internal communication from which Cornwall suffers. As a lover of England’s westernmost county, I find it hard to understand why such inconveniences affected the event’s support. Penzance has much to offer: unspoilt in its setting on Mount’s Bay and with a mild, equable climate, it is surely an ideal spot for a springtime break.

The main tournament, the West of England Championship (run on the Swiss System over six rounds), was well up to the usual standard, having among its twenty participants not only several former champions, but also some of the Union’s most promising youngsters. It was the seniors, in the persons of Dr. J. M. Aitken and A. R. B. Thomas, who got the upper hand, each winning three straight games at the start. Two of these were decisive in shaping the final result: Dr. Aitken’s win against J. F. Wheeler in Round 2 and, even more important, that scored by Thomas, the oldest competitor, against Waters, the youngest, in Round 3.

Having drawn with each other in the fourth round, the leaders were unable to recapture their winning form and had to be satisfied with sharing the title. The destination of the coveted British Championship place, however, remained in the balance until the last game was finished. The defeat of Northage (one of Dr. Aitken's "runners") left Thomas with a sum of opponents’ scores that was a ½ point higher.

Though the top honours went to the veterans, the most notable achievement belonged to Peter Waters, who at the age of fourteen shared third place with J. F. Wheeler and D. M. Wise. He thoroughly deserved this success, and it is clear that his rational and objective approach should take him a long way.

Other Sections

Challengers—(1) Dr. Peter Merrett (Swanage) 5/6; (2) (Henry) James Draisey (Bristol) 4; (3-5) J Anderson (Dorset), Arthur William Busby (Cornwall), Brian H Turner (Cornwall) 3½; (6-9) Edwin Ian Samuel Biddick (Bristol), D A Mackenzie (Dorset), I R Pickup (Bristol), D G Williams (Bristol) 2½; (10) P J Smith (Bristol) ½. (The first two qualified for the 1969 Championship)

Reserves—(1) Stuart J Hutchings (Bristol) 5/6; (2) R H Rowe (Downend & Fishponds) 4½; (3) Christopher J Hutchings (Bristol) 4; (4) Prabir K Nandi (Bristol) 3½; (5-8) John Churchill Brodie Date (Cheltenham), L J Guard (Devon), Miss Margaret Eleanor Lander (Dorset), R G Woodey (Bristol) 3; (9) William Robert Provis (Helston, Cornwall) 2½; (10) D S Holding (Cornwall) 2; (11) M A Hill (Bristol) 1½; (12) William Alfred Copeland (Dursley) 1.

Ladies—(1) Mrs C Williams (Devizes) 5/6; (2) Mrs S H Jefferies (Stroud) 4; (3) Elizabeth Harman 3; (4) Margaret Skuse 0.

Open—(1) Hugh Edward Guy Courtney (Malvern) 5/6; (2) Michael L Nicholson (Stourbridge) 3; (3-4) Terence D Crawford (Cambridge), Sydney Gothard (Burton-on-Trent) 2½; (5) Roger Hardy (Manchester) 2; (6) S P Lucas (Bodmin) 0.

All-play-all—(1) K J Copeland (Bristol) 4½; (2) Cdr. Harold Hurrell (Dorset) 4; (3-4) K Colclough (Bristol), C Stevenson (Devizes) 3½; (5) I R Hickinbotham (Dorset) 3; (6) J Jefferies (Stroud) 1½; (7) J T Searle (Bristol) 1.

Minor (Under-15)—(1) C Reed (Cornwall) 4½; (2) Robin Jonathan Pearce (Cornwall) 4; (3) G Nicholls (Devon) 3; (4) Richard Bloodworth (Devon) 2½; (5) R Cook (Cornwall) 1; (6) J Searle (Bristol) 0.

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File Updated

Date

Notes

9 July 2023

Original upload of 21 games. The three main sources for West of England Championship (WECU-ch) games have been: (1) games submitted by David LeMoir, 31 January 2018, for which many thanks; (2) Dr. Aitken games collection; (3) collection of Alan Ashby games, Bristol & District Chess League website. I am also grateful to David LeMoir for sending an image of the crosstable, from which the above has been constructed.