1970 (6th) Islington Congress, 11-13 & 15-23 December, Islington Green School

The games were published in a bulletin written and edited by Stewart Reuben. I have included most of the text of the bulletin for added interest...

1970 (6th) Islington Open, 11-13 December

Rank	1970 (6th) Islington Open	Total
1	Jan Timman (Netherlands)	5½/6
2-5	Robert Bellin, IM Cenek Kottnauer, Alan Phillips, Jonathan S Speelman	5
6-13	Peter H Clarke, John E Littlewood, William R Hartston, Irwin Lipnowski (Canada), Christopher A Evans (New Zealand), Brian R Eley, Prof. Julian T Farrand, Chris C W Shephard	4½
14-37	Leonard W Barden, Martyn J Corden, Daniel Wright, R Laver (USA), John L Moles (Irish Champion), Jonathan I Century, Barry N Green, Paul Hershman, Andrew P Law, Alan K May, William A Linton, Alan T Ludgate, E McCarthy, Robert S McFarland, Anthony J Miles, John G Nicholson, John DM Nunn, Stephen J Ridout, Seth Saverymuttu, Sean Thrower, Laurence Trewinnard, P Wade, Simon Webb, Anthony Wheatley.	4
38-66	IM Sergio Mariotti (ITA), Jaan Eslon (SWE), Anders Wirgren (SWE), Jan Michael F Nykopp (FIN), Dr. James M Aitken (SCO), Andrew J Whiteley, John J Carleton, David Sherman, Terry C Fox, Michael F Stean, Gerald H Bennett, R Batchelor, Graham Speed, Rory MR O'Kelly, L Alan Edwards, Terry B Bennett, Ian Snape, Clive D Gilliam, Charles HJ Orton, Paul V Byway, James E O'Dell, Maurice J Staples, Anthony C Ashby, David J James, Peter Morrey, Anthony CP Milnes, Malcolm J Lightfoot, A Melville, P Stevenson.	3½
67-100	John Burstow (CAN), H Johansson (SWE), J Schell (NED), Michael J Franklin, Roland Payne, Robert A Lee, Martin Blaine, Jerome V Ripp, Johann P Sommerville, Arnolds Mazitis, Graham P Burton, J Allen, Richard F Lee, M Burn, A Heaton, Edward G Lea, Richard Hughes-Hallett, Kenneth O Ballard, Robert GW Elwell, Nigel E Povah, Alan P Ashby, R Kay, Miss Dinah Dobson, Ronald M Farley, DA Hyett, Kenneth I Norman, R Walker, James S Thrower, John M Allain, D Johnson, Chris J Hutchings, Mark A Vellacott, Peter Shelley Gordon Botley	3
101-128	J van den Berg (NED), Victor W Knox, Colin Burton, Roger G Ambler, Roger Keely, Melvin N Sutton, David O Collier, Roger Parry, Johannes C Kuiken (NED), Laurence D Marks, Gerald Moore, Stephen D Cunliffe, A Mackintosh, R Evans, John P Foley, Michael A Cook, Adrian Haberberg, George Szaszvari, D Watt, Kevin J Wicker, J Ryan, D Smith, J Hart, S Green, David L Massie, M Wren, J Mulreany, W Robinson	2½
129-147	A T MacDonald, M O'Connell, Brian F O'Sullivan, A Torn, Ray C Cannon, A Keene, M Wood, Z Mehmet, William David Houpt, T Pruchnicki, M Mellors, R Williams, John Gorton, P Coleman, Nigel AP McSheehy, P Rutherford, I Bozic, P Cresswell, G Liska	2
148-153	Hans Bohm (NED), V Barnett, Tim Parkes, G Spittle, W Cooke, Dr. Noel M Stewart	1½
154-158	Fred C Manning, R Syers, P Scott, J Pasterny, Miss J Amos	1
159	T Wright	½
Out of 4	Richard AW Oxborough 2; TV Innes-Reid 1; CDC 6600, Frank O Futterweit 0.
Out of 1	M Litchfield, C Macarthur 0.

1st prize was £100; four players on 5/6 received £33 15s each; I Lipnowski and JT Farrand shared the £10 prize for the highest scores by a player rated under BCF 200 [Elo 2200]; C Shephard received the £10 prize for highest placed competitor rated under BCF 185 [Elo 2080]

Leading scores at the start of the final round were: Timman 5/5; Bellin 4½; Eley, Littlewood, Saverymuttu, Kottnauer, Speelman, Green, Phillips, all on 4; Carleton, Edwards, Hartston, McFarland, Barden, Webb, Wheatley, Lipnowski, Stean, Nicholson, Ludgate, O'Dell, Farrand, Shephard, Nykopp, Milnes, C.Evans, Batchelor, Clarke and McCarthy with 3½.

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1970 Islington Major, 11-13 December

Rank	1970 (6th) Islington Major	Total
1	G Hill	6/6
2-4	Michael StK Brown, P Thomson, E Warren	5
5-15	G Bromley, E Goodwin, R Slawinsky, A Forster, Roger Parry, Terry PD Chapman, Andrew Shepstone, Roger D de Coverly, D Lewis, N Willmott, P Gillham	4½
16-22	A Natt, D Taylor, D Wolfers, David J Faulkner, John C Saunders, David C Stevenson, Colin F Moore	4
23-42	J Johnson, Michael Rose, Chris J McSheehy, J Knott, Sydney R Capsey, P Grant, G Varty, M Mitev, P Jay, J Evans, J O'Connor, A Lukowicz, Kevin RM Claudius, Michael J Scott, M Keene, M Lodge, Ian McAllan, Jonathan P Stoye	3½
43-64	R Jennings, David SC Goodman, Hans Cohn, J Persson, B O'Neil, G Forster, P Collins, J Loasby, A Bennett, M Curtis, S Bailey, Miss Christine State, T Leonard, R Julian, E West, J Ing, Amit Mozoomdar, R Uphill, J Law, A Potter, Abraham Neviasky, B Johnson	3
65-74	J Franks, J Ormiston, John H Woolley, R Reid, D Winter, M Alexander, Timothy A Sinkinson, A Foot, H Dobson, K Weavers	2½
76-93	Computer (Time-Sharing Ltd), G Brayley, K Bateman, J Hewitt, D Jiles, Jack Spiegel, J England, M Augstein, T Stonehouse, Roger DW Marsh, R Thomas, Robert J Greenall, Dr. Leonard Shenfield. P Byford, F King, R Bullock, RH Ringham, Ernest Szucs	2
94-100	G Byford, M Rowley, T Anderssen, P Wood, David Turner, Michael Hubbard, C Searle.	1½
101-103	A Pluss, C Bliss, P Goldsmith	1
104-105	H Pluss, David W Fryer	½
Out of 1	Kent Tigerflod 0; H Hubbard 0

First prize £25; three players on 5/6 received £8 6s 8d each [£8.33; n.b. no grading prizes]

1970 Islington Minor, 11-13 December

Rank	1970 (6th) Islington Minor	Total
1-2	G Agnew, F Ingram	5½/6
3-6	M Clarke, D Clear, David Gleave, M Waddon	5
7-13	C Andrews, V Butler, David Foley-Comer, R Ferrie, D Reece, Andrew Stoker, R Talbot	4½
14-30	A Bagley, Jonathan C Benjamin, I Buxton, John Yeoh, K Saar, P Harbott, T Kember, A Lasser, N Pearce, B Perkins, D Read, A Rolfe, P Rutland, P Zukowski, K Forman, J Richards, Miss Audrey Lord	4
31-44	F Batchelor, Miss Susan Caldwell, A Eames, D Grant, Simon Gottschalk, N Hacking, S Lorriman, S Mason, T Rickard, R Tobin, P Williams, E Marks, P Rans, C Solomon	3½
45-63	N Bates, L Bowles, Mrs. Rae Galtsmith-Clarke, R Coleman, A Friedland, R Evans, G Gooding, G Green, D Heaton, J Lipton, R Maddock, S Marsh, A Mishaal, R Mears, W Moule, M Pennell, M Pringsheim, E Wallace, Ian Murray-Watson	3
64-78	C Brants, C Brookes, V Clark, R Day, M Lee, C Duxbury, P Geiger, R Gurney, A Jedrczak, I Parry, S Smith, Simon Spivack, P West, Mrs Sandra Osmond, H Staunton	2½
79-88	T Bates, W Edwards, T Howdle, K Mackenzie, J Hyslop, G Jordan, C Massiah, G Neal, J Parry, A Partner	2
89-92	N Ree Jones, F Martin, G Perkins, P Lunais	1½
93-98	J Courtney, M Freund, H Fryer, M Murphy, B Simmons, B Sroka	1
Out of 4	I Ellis, R Taylor 2; K Banerjee, G Clark 1; S Alland, L Staveley ½; P Thatcher 0
Out of 3	R Troop 1½; R Jason, J Thorley, K Wilsoncroft, 1; S Stein 0
Out of 1	L Barst, K McIver 1

First/second competitors received £12 10s each [£12.50]; four players on 5/6 received £1 5s each [£1.25]. Prize for the best score by a female competitor in any section was won by Miss Audrey Lord with 4/6 in the Minor.

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All-Play-All Tournaments, 15-23 December 1970

1970 Islington Junior A, 15-23 December [report]

1970 Islington Junior A		Fed	Residence	Rating	BCF	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total	Prize
1	Robert Bellin	ENG	Norfolk	2248	206	&;	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	5½	£25
2	Sergio Mariotti	ITA	Italy	2520	240	½	&;	½	0	1	½	1	1	1	5½	£25
3	(Robert) Walter L Moberly	ENG	Oxford	2216	202	0	½	&;	1	½	1	½	0	1	4½	£15
4	Michael F Stean	ENG	Middlesex	2216	202	½	1	0	&;	1	0	1	½	0	4	£5
5	John D M Nunn	ENG	Surrey	2136	192	½	0	½	0	&;	1	0	1	1	4	£5
6	Ronald L Johannes	ENG	Oxford	2144	193	0	½	0	1	0	&;	½	1	1d	4	£5
7	Rory M R O'Kelly	SCO	Cambridge	2144	193	½	0	½	0	1	½	&;	½	½	3½	10s
8	Roger R Smith	ENG	Oxford	2272	209	½	0	1	½	0	0	½	&;	0	2½	£1
9	Anthony J Miles	ENG	Birmingham	2240	205	0	0	0	1	0	0d	½	1	&;	2½	10s

Each of the non-prizewinners received 10/- [50p] for a win.

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1970 Islington Junior B, 15-23 December [report]

1970 Islington Junior B		Fed	Draw no.	Residence	Rating	BCF	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Prize
1	Jonathan S Speelman	ENG	8	Middlesex	2024	178	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	7½	£5
2	John G Nicholson	ENG	9	Kent	2104	188	1	&;	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	1d	7	£4
3	Terence P D Chapman	ENG	1	Surrey	1920	165	0	0	&;	1	1	½	½	½	1	1d	5½	£2 10s
4	Louis Alan Edwards	ENG	10	Birmingham	2144	193	0	½	0	&;	½	½	1	1	1	1	5½	£2 10s
5	Johann P Sommerville	ENG	6	Kent	2088	186	0	½	0	½	&;	1	0	1	1	1	5	£1
6	Kevin J Wicker	ENG	4	Kent	1880	160	0	½	½	½	0	&;	1	1d	½	1	5	£1
7	John R Dennis	ENG	3	Middlesex	1848	156	0	½	½	0	1	0	&;	1	½	1d	4½	10s
8	Richard F Lee	ENG	2	Middlesex	1856	157	½	0	½	0	0	0d	0	&;	1	1d	3	5s
9	John P Foley	ENG	5	Middlesex	1920	165	0	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	&;	1	2	5s
10	Terry Bennett	ENG	7	Herts	2120	190	0	0d	0d	0	0	0	0d	0d	0	&;	0

Each of the non-prizewinners received 5/- [25p] for a win.

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Sections of Six, 15-19 December 1970

Section 1			Section 2			Section 3			Section 4
1	Hans Bohm (NED)	4	1	Gordon Cadden	3½	1	J Franks	4	1	D Read	3½
2	Jaan Eslon (SWE)	3½	2	J Schell (NED)	3	2	Dr Noel Stewart	3	2	R Talbot	3½
3	H Johansson (SWE)	2½	3	M Kiernan	2½	3	John H Woolley	2½	3	A Mishaal	3
4	AT MacDonald	2½	4	D Judge	1	4	J Yeo	2	4	K Creer	2½
5	Anders Wirgren (SWE)	1½	5	I Bozic	0	5	E West	2	5	P Baldwin	1½
6	M Nykopp (FIN)	1				6	J Bush	1½	6	G Neal	1

Sections of Six, 19-23 December 1970

Section 1			Section 2			Section 3
1	Ronald FA Harman	4½	1	M Nykopp	4½	1	D Bartlett	4
2	Michael J Bulford	3½	2	C Moore	3½	2	D Archer	3½
3	H Johansson (SWE)	3	3	Abraham Neviazsky	3	3	K Saar	3½
4	I Bozic	1½	4	R Ferrie	2½	4	M Judge	2½
5	Laurence D Marks	1½	5	DK Winter	1½	5	A Ladd	1½
6	M O'Connell	1	6	D Judge	0	6	S Judge	0

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Introduction by Stewart Reuben

It all started in September 1965, appropriately enough, at the poker table. Islington Club members, Ron Harman, George Wheeler, Ted Isles and I were playing at The En Passant chess salon. Ted, the manager, leant across and offered to lend us the premises for a weekend. A few seconds later, probably having set Ron in meanwhile, we had arranged the first Islington Open - in The Strand, not Islington.

There were 24 competitors and Barry Green won, ahead of Owen Hindle and Peter Lee. The only time that the first or second favourite has failed to win.

The following year it moved to The Finsbury Park YMCA. 38 people competed and David Lees won from a very weak field. The concept of the weekend Swiss had not caught on yet.

In 1967 we had a £50 grant from the council and invited Bojan Kurajica from Yugoslavia who came romping home. Whether it was his presence or just the build-up in numbers, the same venue as before was only just big enough to hold the 90 players.

Anyway the YMCA immediately fell down. Some, more kindly souls, say it was torn down and replaced. Yet another venue was secured for us by David Mayers, the then Islington Chess Club Chairman. It was Islington Boys' s Club, large enough it was true for the 170 entries, but the heating system required me to be continually walking around turning it on and off. Kurajica defended his title, but tied with Helmut Pfleger of Germany.

1969 and this year have seen us at a much more acceptable venue, Islington Green School. For the first time last year there were two sections in the weekend tournaments. Due to my underestimating the popularity of the Major Tournament, there were more entries, 168, for that restricted to players rated under 168 than for the Open Championship which attracted 138 players. The Open was won by Hans Ree of Holland and another innovation resulted in some all-play-all tournaments after.

This year, the Islington Chess Congress, which took place from December 11th to 23rd was, almost monotonously predictably, the largest yet. 395 players took part in the weekend tournaments, and this must be the biggest event of its kind in the world. The all-play-all tournaments, which took place from December 15th to 23rd made the congress the longest in England this year as well. As not everybody who played in the all-play-all tournament also played in the weekend Swisses, this brings the number up to over 400. Still nothing to compare with The Liverpool Junior Congress, which attracts well over 1,000 children.

Whether or not this number represents saturation is anybody' s guess. Had numbers doubled yet again this year, we could not have coped, surprise, surprise! One feels rather ostentatious though, in limiting the entry to 500.

This was the year when the congress very nearly did not take place. I have thought of insuring against my ill-health, but never against go-slows by electricity workers. To the best of my knowledge, only one person withdrew due to the possibility of cancellation, because he was coming from such a great distance. With players expected from Yugoslavia and Finland, I wondered where it could be. It proved,to be S.W.12. Hmm.

As it turned out, there were no power cuts. Thus, all those people who played at rather odd time limits in the first round need not have bothered. "What are you going to do, when there is a failure?" joined a long list of endlessly repeated questions all of which are perfectly justified but maddening.

Another is, "why is my name not on the pairing list?" It usually is, but spelt incorrectly. I seem to have educated the British chess public into not asking controllers why they are not playing, or is it because people thought it was due to my being too busy making announcements. How can one avoid disturbing the players in this way?

To think that I once did practically everything myself. Even with the galaxy of help listed below, it is still too much me. If it is to take place at all in 1971, there must be at least four other major helpers. Why not volunteer now?

Stewart Reuben	Director
Richard Beville	Controlling Open and all-play-alls
David Stimson	Controlling Open
Hymie Spivack	Entries to Major, with his wife' s help
Colin Tribe	Controlling Major
Ron Harman	Controlling Major, Chart for The Open
Tony Togwell	Entries to Minor and controlling it
David Huggins	Controlling minor
Austin Beckford	Steward
Elizabeth Spivack	Stewardess
Kenneth Balkham	Stewards, all pupils from Kilburn Senior High School, where I have just finished teaching. None are real chess players.
Nigel Kinbrum
Stephen Tribbick
David Levy	Computer publicity and adjudications
Jimmy Adams	Bulletin Editor
Mrs. Annie Reuben	Answering service
George Wheeler	Computer control CDC 6600
Ray Keene	Adjudications
Bill Williams	i/c CDC 6600 at London University
Bryan Gunnell	i/c Time-Sharing' s PDP 10 Computer
Peter Morrish	BCF Equipment
Baruch Wood	CHESS Equipment

In addition, thanks are due to innumerable adjudicators such as Bill Hartston, Leonard Barden, Sergio Mariotti, Jan Timman, John Littlewood, etc.

To Mr. Wood of The Youth Centre for his help generally and for answering that question on Friday December 11th, The caretaking staff, who had to do the same and for their immense amount of work. Mr. P. Mayer of the Youth Service whose advice has always been invaluable.

No doubt I have forgotten some others. Forgive me.

Donations

Donor	£	s	Donor	£	s	Donor	£	s
Pembury Hotel	1	1	D Foley-Comer		10	C Bliss	1	10
L Derby	1		D Reece		5	G Hill		10
S Ridout	1		I Buxton		10	R Uphill	2	10
K Norman	1		D Read		10	J Gourley		10
A Law		9	M Pringsheim		10	I McAllan		1
Prof. Farrand	1		P Harbot		5	R Jennings		5
R Farley		10	P Ashmore		10	T Sinkinson		10
A Heaton		5	T Kember		10	D Stevenson		2
G Moore		15	M A Lee		5	H Pluss		5
M Staples		5	C Duxbury		10	A Potter		10
J Carleton		10	R Jason		10	G Brayley		10
P Scott	1		G J Clark		5	G Bromley		10
M Bigham	1		S Allano		10	D Jiles		5
M Wren		10	L Staveley	1		G Jelfs		10
R Williams	2		T Bates		4	Earmarked for the Junior Tournaments
J Gorton		10	J Lipton		4
T Pruchnicki		10	L Barst	1
P Coleman		5	P Baldwin		10	Middlesex	50
G Liska	1	14	J Ing		10	British Ed.	55
S Green		5	D Taylor		10	Kent	5
F Futterweit		10	D Goodman	3		Surrey	2	2
T Wright		10	E West		5	SCCU	20
K Ballard		10	Dr F Graham	5		London C L	5
M Burn		3	J Bennett		5	Hampshire	1	1
C Macarthur		10	Dr L Shenfield	1		ILEA	16
M Wood		5	S Capsey	1		F Manning	1
R Oxborough		5	R Parry		10
M Blaine	2		A Lukowicz		10	TOTAL	204	11

The Open Championship

167 players took part in this event this year, so that it was the largest of the series, the next largest was 162 in 1968. The largest open Swiss, at Islington was The Major in 1969 with 168 entries. Others before this year had always resulted in unsatisfactory conclusions, that is 2 players tying with 5½/6 without meeting. Thus, that Jan Timman won it outright is some cause for satisfaction. By comparison, The Minor with only 114 entries did obtain two players with 5½/6 who did not meet. This shows the advantage of an artificial pairing system.

There were 32 players rated 200 or above, by comparison with The British Championship which had only 26. This included players from Holland, Finland and Sweden. Three players were supposed to have taken part from Yugoslavia but none showed up.

The CDC 6600 Computer did take part, but only with great difficulty as it had been shut off in anticipation of power cuts. Apparently switching off a computer is much more than just turning the switch and takes some hours. The same problem affected Time-Sharing' s. PDP 10 Computer. This did not excuse the awful play of the CDC 6600. It seems to blunder incessantly. The only game it succeeded in drawing was a consultation game against many of the players and some of the controllers!

Naturally there were some errors in the pairings. It seems though that this year, unlike the last, there was none which was important to the prizes. Late on Saturday Ron made a mistake. Finding 2 players whose opponents had not arrived, he paired them together. A few moments later he discovered that one was competing in The Open and the other in The Major. His mistake? That he didn't just let them get on with it, but stopped the game.

Cenek Kottnauer made the mistake of playing his first round game on Friday afternoon, in advance, against John Burstow. Without my magic protection, there was a power cut and thus he had to play most of the game by candle-light, virtually blindfold.

The option was offered to players this year of, rather than face adjudication, playing all remaining moves after 4 hours play, in ten minutes. About a third of the players opted for this. There seemed to be no incidents at all amongst these encounters.

Major Tournament

Mr. G. Hill achieved the distinction of being the first player at Islington to score 100%. This gave him a rating of 212 based on this event alone. Not bad for a 168 player!

The entrant with the most unusual name was Kent Tigerflod of Sweden. He entered at the last possible moment on Friday, drew his first game and never showed up again.

Colin Tribe never seems to lose his cool. I saw him doing the draw and simultaneously answering questions,about how to win the money, coming from local schoolgirls.

Minor Tournament

Mr. G. Agnew caused a great deal of irritation here by his American flamboyancy. He went around saying that he really had an American grading of 2,000 (equivalent to 190 British) in order, so he says, to psych out his opponents. In fact he did have a very old U. S. Grade of 1680, which would also be too high at an equivalent of 160. He seemed surprised when I expressed great concern about all this, but fortunately he did not win the event outright anyway.

Only 4 games in this event required adjudication. The reason for this is that they understood the problems of organisers!

Some Problems of Directing Tournaments

Withdrawals from Swiss System tournaments can usually be dealt with easily. Naturally people fail to show up in these weekend Swisses and it can readily be arranged to remove the name from the draw. Still advance notice helps immensely, especially as we try very hard to avoid byes or wins by default. Thus, when Michael Hubbard withdrew from The Major after 4 rounds, his father took his place. This probably sets a record for a late entry!

All-play-all tournaments are very different. On Wednesday morning, December 11th. immigration at Harwich were on the phone. I knew immediately who it would be about. Jan Timman and his two friends had arrived without luggage, no return tickets and very little money. I told the officer the position, that Timman would certainly be making some money and eventually they were let through.

Later Jan fell very ill and had to withdraw from the Junior A all-play-all tournament. Most unfortunate and he was clearly disappointed. By contrast, Terry Bennett adjourned all his first 5 games in Junior B, all in lost positions, told his opponents he would return and has not been seen since. Presumably his aim was to wreck the tournament as best he could. Two other players also withdrew from all-play-all events without a word.

Mr. Sroka, playing in The Minor Tournament, left his hat in the cloakroom on Friday evening. It was missing when he came to go home. It is just possible that somebody took it by mistake and now has two. Please check up!

Players' Comments

People were asked to make constructive criticisms.

The main hall was too crowded, especially for players in The Major. This was due to two factors. The presence, of a Christmas tree on the stage came as a complete surprise on Friday evening. We were also promised 10 more tables than we actually received.

The noise level is in the control of the players, one cannot continually call for silence, otherwise it becomes the main source.

The canteen and its prices had nothing to do with us. It was commercially run quite well and we were very lucky to get The Pamela Price Organisation at short notice.

The height of the chairs is out of our control. They are ridiculously low and I am surprised that so few people have complained.

There were, of course being in a school, adequate toilet facilities but they were not well-signposted

5 rounds is never adequate for a Swiss. Play on Monday would cut the numbers dramatically. More sections require more organisers. A suggestion of a third round on Sunday must have been a joke. Most players quite clearly do not wish to play all their moves in an hour or all remaining in 10 minutes.

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All-Play-All Tournaments

The country has gone much too far in that it virtually only has Swiss System events. The congress from December 15th to 23rd attempted to mitigate this to some extent. The main part was naturally the two Junior tournaments which were sections of 10. It had been hoped to run an additional adult section but there were only 5 entries. 4 of these were from other countries. Presumably people were just not interested. It is true that the entry fee was to have been high but then so was the prize fund, for that type of event.

The idea of the junior events originated with The Middlesex County Chess Association and they bore much of the burden of the cost, together with The British Chess Educational Trust and The Southern Counties Chess Union. The Inner London Education Authority also helped as they considered it as a short course and were willing to pay a tutor's fee.

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Junior A [crosstable]

Most of the juniors found the going very tiring. This type of event is quite different from a Swiss. There is never an easy opponent and they can all study your pet lines in advance. It has the advantage that, if you are doing badly, then you still do not meet weaker opposition who usually are not worth playing.

Mariotti was clearly out of form for most of the congress. He said that at the moment he is becoming very tired after an hour's play.

Robert Bellin was the most experienced junior present and the most hardened campaigner. Thus his success was not surprising. It was pleasing to hear him say, with reference to his last round game in The Open with Timman, that he would prefer to lose rather than agree a quick draw. Although his international results have often been poor, clearly he must be considered seriously for the British place in the World Junior Championship.

Roger Moberly seems to fix his opponents with the evil eye so that they blunder in his time-trouble. He shows considerable fighting spirit and, like Bellin, should have beaten Mariotti.

Ronald Johannes was a last minute substitute for Mark Horton and thus did very well considering.

John Nunn's play still seems somewhat immature, some of his openings are rather doubtful. All the same his result was very respectable.

Michael Stean seems very talented. In addition to beating Sergio, he won against Timman before he had to withdraw. True, his sacrifice was unsound but it still takes a lot to win.

He seems to have difficulty in maintaining his effort.

Rory O'Kelly achieved a respectable score by fairly rapid draws. Roger Smith showed that perhaps his rating of 209, the second highest of the event, is a little flattering.

Tony Miles found the going very tough. At fifteen, with not very comfortable accommodation, he virtually visibly flagged towards the end. This accounts for his default against Johannes.

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Junior B [crosstable]

Jonathan Speelman won Junior B extremely convincingly. At fourteen, though, his play is still extremely immature and crude. He seems to sacrifice incessantly and then win against inferior defence.

Terry Chapman, the British Boys' Under 14 Champion, did well to finish ahead of two of the three joint Under 18 Champions. John Dennis showed that his British rating underestimates him considerably. Foley and Lee had earnt their places by securing the top two places in the Middlesex Under 18 Championship. They did well enough considering that their opponents hitherto have had little knowledge of opening theory.

It had not been intended that there be three players from Dulwich [College] in each section. This was an accident caused by late withdrawals.

The other tournaments were rather disappointing, but they did encourage some players to come to England, stay for Christmas and then go on to Hastings.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
13 October 2023	Original upload of 136 games, plus 108 games from associated events, including a strong junior all-play-all played 15-23 December (the games of which have long been available here in zipped download format). Also included are partial/complete crosstables and text from the bulletin written by Stewart Reuben and edited by Jimmy Adams.