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British Chess Federation

British Chess Federation Grand Prix 2004/5

Leader Boards | 17 June | 2 June | 20 May | 5 May | 8 April | 24 March | 14 March | 4 March | 20 February | 20 December | 9 December | 21 November | 10 November | October 26 | September 30 | September 16 | September 3

The final tables are now, at last, confirmed. The delay was due firstly to domestic reasons and secondly to chasing up four events. This in practice elevated Mark Hebden to second place behind long time leader Andrew Greet in the Grand Prix but had little or no effect elsewhere. The winners are as follows:-

Grand Prix 2005 Winners: Barry Sandercock (Senior Prix), Gerry Walsh, John Constable (U100 Prix) and Sheila Dines (Female Prix). Other prizes were presented at the 4NCL weekend, photographs not yet available.

There has been a huge increase in the workload this year in determining Grand Prix scores. 2004 was, of course, a part year but even so the amount of players scoring points rose substantially. The table below gives the number of players with qualifying scores together with those who reached a maximum. The number of players with qualifying scores this year ran to 1,516 – a 41% increase on 2004 with the Junior Prix showing a huge increase in players. Increasing the points threshold however meant that the number of players reaching maximum points remained static at 24.

I have no idea if the Federation will be able to continue with the Grand Prix though a further extension year has been granted and this years events will continue until the Smith & Williamson British Championships in Swansea. Simply put if every player who appeared on the spreadsheets of qualifying players donated £4.00 there would be enough to keep the Grand Prix going in its current form with the same amount of prize money. If just one of those players could find a sponsor for the comparatively small amount that is needed for this event, the future of the Grand Prix would be assured.

Neil Graham.

The British Chess Federation Grand Prix for 2004/5 commenced on 14th August with the Golders Green Rapidplay and will continue to the Smith & Williamson British Championships to be held in August in the Isle of Man.

2004 was the first year that the Grand Prix had gone ahead without sponsorship and I pleased that Council accepted the need to continue with the Grand Prix for another year at a reduced level. Clearly efforts will be made this year to secure sponsorship for an event that has been part of the British scene for over a quarter of a century.

With the reduced format, I decided that it was time to review the rules as well and in general these have been well received particularly with the expansion of the old Amateur Prix into graded sections with an increased prize fund for the many players who play in grading limit events. I am indebted to David Welch for helping me formulate the new rules.

A further innovation was to finish the Grand Prix at the Smith and Williamson British Championships and it was a pleasure to note that every section winner with the exception of the Disabled Prix was at the Championships. Unfortunately I was still struggling with my duties as Tournament Director into the early hours and it proved impossible to actually announce all the winners at Scarborough.

The total number of players who made qualifying scores in the 2004 Grand Prix were as follows:-

There were 1075 qualifying scores last year and players aged ranged from 88 in the Senior Prix to 6 in the Junior Prix. Little wonder that the BCF doesn’t want to kill off this event.

On to this year’s event. Last year’s Grand Prix was a curtailed 8 month event and this year there is a full annual round of competitions. The maximum point scores have therefore been increased to 250 in the Grand Prix and 125 in the other competitions with the exception of the Disabled Prix which moves to 75 points.

The rise of Blitz events where an event can take place in an evening has caused us to decrease scores from Blitz events to half points with the exception of the British Blitz Championship which carries single points. Similarly some top players have queried the method used to score points in the toughest grandmaster/IM norm events and we have therefore increased the increment in all FIDE rated events depending on their strength so that grandmaster performances can be rewarded by grandmaster points. This formula would give, for example, a player scoring 8½ points or above in the Smith and Williamson British Championships a maximum score of 11 points.

The maximum multiple for an event is now fixed at eight fold but this would require all players to be registered with their national federations. This brings me nicely on to the requirement of players to be registered with the BCF or their national federations in the Grand Prix starting in August 2005. The BCF has quite rightly made membership a condition of entry to the National Championships and from next year the same condition will apply to the Grand Prix. However there will be a transitional period up to December 2005 giving congress players the option of joining the Federation. Click here to join.

Thank you for your support in 2004 for the Grand Prix – I look forward to processing your results in 2005. Results will be updated regularly on the BCF Website.

Neil Graham

Neil Graham reports:

17th June

(added Hartlepool 20th-22nd May; Cotswolds 28th-30th May, South Lakes 3rd-5th June, East Anglia 4th-5th June, Golders Green 11th June, Central London 12th June)

There is no movement in the Grand Prix. In the Junior and Female Prix, Sheila Dines has now increased her maximum score with points at both South Lakes and Central London and she has now overtaken David Howell in the former competition. Similarly in the Senior Prix long time leader Helge Hort has been overhauled by his main rival Barry Sandercock who was also a points scorer in the South Lakes event where Conrad Jowett also made progress. In the remaining events it's very much as it was before with the main movers Ian Blencowe in the Disabled Prix (points at Cotswolds) and Matthew Holborow in the Under 100 Prix (points at Hartlepool). In the Under 125 Prix, Sandra Blackburn who has been in 10th place for some time has disappeared from the Leader Board only to be replaced by her husband who is now in eighth place.

2nd June

(added Junior Squad Championships 1st-3rd April, Huddersfield 13th–15th May, Nottingham 13th-15th May, Rhyl 20th-22nd May, Central London 22nd May, Ilford 28th- 30th May)

Andrew Greet was a clear outright winner at both Nottingham and Rhyl and becomes the first player to reach a Grand Prix maximum this year. Mark Hebden moves into second place following his equal 2nd spot at Nottingham. Amisha Parmar becomes the sixth player to reach a maximum score in the Female Prix where Sheila Dines continues to set the pace by increasing her maximum following a strong showing at Huddersfield. In the Graded Prix sections Low Ying Min moves up to 2nd place in the Under 175 where Michael Kobylka is still a distant target in the lead. The Under 150 has clearly been the most contested section and there is a change in the leader board again; back comes Jinwoo Song with points at both Nottingham and Ilford whilst Jimmy Jiang picks up Central London points to take 3rd spot. The best result in the National Junior Squad Championships was by Simon Fowler which enables him to take up a strong position in the Junior Prix.

20th May

(added Frome 6th-8th May; Tunbridge Junior 7th May; Oxford University 7th-8th May, Golders Green 14th May; South Norwood Rapidplay 14th May).

There were no movers in the Female, Disabled and Junior Prix leader boards in the updated tables. Peter Wells progresses in the Grand Prix where Andrew Greet assumes the lead for the first time – both players scoring at Oxford University. James Sherwin takes third position in the Senior Prix after Frome. In the Graded Prix the closely contested Under 150 section again has a leadership change with Brendan O’Gorman and Robert Clegg joint first prize winners in the Frome Major overtaking both Jinwoo Song and Jimmy Jiang who had both been in top position over the past couple of months.

5th May

(added UK Chess International 26-27th March, South Herts 2nd-3rd April, Braille CA 8th- 10th April, Golders Green 16th April, Central London 24th April, Great Yarmouth 23-24 April)

8th April

(Easter events – Coventry International; Southend; Edinburgh; Cork EU Championships; WECU Championship, Bolton Easter; Coulsdon Long Play/Rapidplay)

Easter is traditionally a time for large congresses. Data from the above events has been added but I have yet to receive full reports from a number of these tournaments so there will certainly be some fine tuning to do; especially round the graded events. Big tournaments mean big prizes and points totals – consequently there have been some huge advances in the Grand Prix. High scorers at Coventry were Andrew Greet, Peter Wells, John Cox and Rafe Martyn; Mark Hebden and David Howells made big gains at Cork whilst Danny Gormally made his increase at Southend. The Cork results now mean that Ketty Arakhami-Grant and David Howells now head the Female Prix and Junior Prix respectively. A full update will be given once all scorers have been confirmed with me.

24th March

(added Perth & Kinross 28th-30th January; South of England Junior 5th-6th February; Wellington College International 28th Jan-13th Feb; Central London 20th February, Blackpool 11-13th March; Central London 13th March, Golders Green 19th March; Kent Junior Chess Association events – Beckenham, Dulwich, Cobham)

Hopefully all congress results have now been added prior to the big Easter events. The top scoring event was Britain’s biggest weekend Congress at Blackpool and that has had repercussions in all sections. In the Grand Prix the joint Blackpool winners of Danny Gormally, Jonathan Rowson and Mark Hebden have forged into the leading position where they are joined by Andrew Greet who was 2nd at the Wellington College International. Four players have now reached maximum scoring points in the Female Prix and we can expect to see our top young players Sheila Dines, Thilagini Anandajeyarajah and Jessica Thilaganathan looking to increase their tally towards the 125 figure. Meanwhile Jovanka Houska will be playing in status international tournaments to improve her score. Dean Hartley was a Blackpool scorer and a number of new names on the Disabled Prix table, notably Jack Rudd, Martin Patterson and Lewis Martin , will provide a strong challenge.
In the Graded Prix sections, there is no change in the Under 175 Section, Jimmy Jiang continues to pick up points on the London circuit with scores at both Central London and Golders Green in the Under 150 section and has now assumed the lead despite several new challengers appearing after Blackpool. Phil Bull has reached maximum points in the Under 125 section with Simon Wells a new leader board name after his 1st places in Doncaster, Nottingham and now Blackpool. Similarly Dave Dunne’s 27 points at Blackpool sees him as new leader of the Under 100 section.
Barry Sandercock has now reached maximum points scored in the Senior Prix following a points scoring result at Central London. Long time leader Helge Hjort also scored points in this event but now needs scores over 80% to move his score forwards. The Junior Prix table reflects events in the ladies prix; nevertheless there are still plenty of opportunities left with big events taking place over Easter.

14th March

(added Hastings 28th Dec 2004 – 9th Jan 2005; Central London 30th January; Jersey 13th-19th February; Warwickshire 19th-20th February; Doncaster 25th-27th February; East Devon 4th-6th March)

The Hastings results have finally been added and results there have had a major impact. In the Grand Prix Nick Pert and Danny Gormally now take 1st and 3rd places. David Howell is in 4th place after his superb showing to finish overall 1st in the Jersey Congress. In the Female Prix Jovanka Houska with just two scoring events at Hastings and Monarch has reached the maximum of 125 possible points. Her two junior rivals are likely to be in close contention when further junior events are added. Helge Hjort is increasing his points tally in the Senior Prix but for the first point has a serious challenge from Barry Sandercock whose Hastings points adds to those from Portsmouth. Michael Kobylka has reached mazimum via Central London and his rivals are still a long way behind in the Under 175 Graded Prix. David Patrick’s score at Doncaster is enough for him to take the lead in the Under 150 section whilst Phil Bull still leads the Under 125 section although Jeff Fleischer has made major progress to third place with scoring results at Hastings and Central London. Similarly in the Under 100 section John Constable has moved from 6th to 1st place thanks to a 25 point haul in three Hastings events. In the Junior Prix Simon Fowler and David Howell are the strongest movers following their scores in Jersey.

4th March

(added Portsmouth 18th-20th February; Stockport Rapidplay; Nottingham Rapidplay; Wiltshire & West of England Junior Champs 19th-20th Feb)

20th February

(added London Junior Championships 18th-20th December; Coulsdon Christmas 18th-19th December; Dudley 29th-30th January; Kidlington 4th-5th February)

20th December

(added Royal Beacon Seniors Exmouth 15-19th November; Basildon Rapidplay 21st November; Hertfordshire 4–5th December; Golders Green 11th December; Nuneaton Rapidplay 12th December; Bury Rapidplay 12th December; Cotswold Rapidplay 12th December)

Most of the major changes are due to errors and omissions with both Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant and James Hanley benefiting from points missed from submitted results. No changes of note in the Grand Prix; Sheila Dines could well overhaul Thilagini Anandajeyarajah when a further points query is sorted in the Female Prix. Kishan Lakhani added to his point score at Nuneaton whilst Dana Hawrami and Josiah Lutton enter the leader boards for the first time thanks to their Basildon scores in the Junior Prix. The Senior Prix is very competitive this year. Helge Hjort has reached a maximum but rival Joe Farrell has made ground at the Hertfordshire event at Hitchin where Geoff Collyer was also a scorer. Chris Williams scores well at Exmouth to increase his score. In the Disabled Prix Dean Hartley resumes the lead thanks to his score at Bury. In the graded events the most notable moves are in the Under 150 where Martin Burns moves into third place thanks to a strong showing at Bury and in the Under 100 with new leader Anthony Duncan scoring at Hitchin.

9th December

(added Buckingham Junior 17 Oct; British Rapidplay Halifax 12-13 Nov; Oxford University Rapidplay 27 Nov; Torbay 26-28 Nov; Preston 26-28 Nov)

Four months into the Grand Prix season and two players have already reached the maximum. Thilagini Anandajeyarajah scored Female Prix points at both the British Rapidplay and Buckingham Juniors has now started discounting her lower scoring events whilst Helge Hjort’s score in the Senior Prix has been amended to reflect some early point scoring which had not been added as I wasn’t aware he was a Senior! Time therefore for a reminder to Congress Organisers to check whether any competitors are over 60 years old and entitled to score points in this event.

The British Rapidplay in Halifax was the main points scoring event and even though Grand Prix leader Robert Gwaze couldn’t add to his score here he was able to score a maximum at Oxford. The big scorers in Yorkshire were Keith Arkell and Nick Pert whilst Alan Smith and Brett Lund make progress at Preston. Sandra Blackburn also scored well at Halifax and she is now the main challenger to the two leaders in the Female Prix. Clive Pemberton and James Sherwin are solid movers up the table in the Senior Prix, the latter with a strong showing at Torbay. Some new faces in the Junior Prix where Kishan Lakhani’s performance at Halifax was the highlight. In the Graded Sections the leader boards were changed overnight with nine new players appearing on the Under 125 and four on the Under 100 – again courtesy of the British Rapidplay results

21st November

(added Bury St. Edmunds 30-31 Oct; Golders Green Rapidplay 13 Nov; Civil Service Congress 13-14 Nov)

No significant Grand Prix movers. In the Female Prix Sheila Dines and Carol Robson make progress whilst there are new leader board entries for Ying Min Low in the Under 175 who scored at both Bury and the Civil Service event and for Marc Bryant in the Under 125. Anthony Duncan is the new leader in the Under 100 following his success in the Civil Service Centenary Congress.

10th November

(added Monarch Assurance Isle of Man 25 Sept-3 Oct; Metropolitan Congress 9-10 October; Scarborough 22-24 October; Wolverhampton Rapidplay 31 October; Thanet Congress 29-31 October; Ampleforth 28-31 October; English Deaf Congress 30-31 October; Glasgow 5-7 November)

The first International Event of the season, the Monarch Assurance Isle of Man saw British Champion Jonathan Rowson and also Murray Chandler score 68 points which included bonus points in the Grand Prix . This moves the previous leader Colin Crouch to fourth place after Robert Gwaze takes the lead with first places at both Scarborough and Metropolitan. Patrick Coffey features for the first time after his 1st= place at Glasgow.

Wholesale changes in the Female Prix with results from Ampleforth affecting junior places. 2004 winner Sheila Dines moves into second place whilst Jovanka Houska's performance at the Monarch sees her into third place; Thilagini Anandajeyarajah still leads. Li Wu leads the Junior Prix following his Ampleforth result; Graham Hantman and Peter Constantinou feature for the first time. Helge Hort swoops into first place in the Senior Prix with 40 points scored at Metropolitan and Scarborough. Norman Wragg's Scarborough points takes him to the top of the Disabled Prix.

In the Graded Prix sections, Michael Koblyka increases his lead in the Under 175 section thanks to points in the Isle of Man, Phil Bull takes first place in the Under 125 with points at Scarborough and Wolverhampton; whilst the four top places in the Under 100 come from good performances at the Scarborough Congress.

26th October

(UK Chess Challenge 20-21 Aug; Middlesex 28-30 Aug; Northumberland 24-26 Sept; Coulsdon Rapid 25 Sept; 55th Richmond Rapidplay 26 Sept; West Wales 8-10 Oct; Golders Green Rapid 16 Oct; Central London Rapid 24 Oct)

The high scoring UK Chess Challenge has been added to the tables and this has completely changed the Junior and Ladies Leader Boards. This is both the most popular and most lucrative tournament for juniors in Britain and after some consideration I awarded the main Terafinal maximum seven fold points and the Challengers six fold points. Another late result from Middlesex sees Robert Gwaze on the Grand Prix leader board for the first time. In the Senior Prix Gerald Tredennick takes the lead with qualifying scores at all the London Rapidplay circuit events - low multiples but plenty of point scoring opportunities. Gerald has points from five events at Golders Green, Coulsdon and Central London. Finally can I ask organisers to ensure that all senior players' scores are notified. The BCF list doesn't list who is a senior and I have to rely on congress organisers for this information.

30th September

(Blackpool Rapid 22 Aug; Liverpool 3-5 Sept; Coulsdon Long Play 4-5 Sept; Paignton Sept 4-10; Leek 10-12 Sept; Grangemouth 10-12 Sept; Central London 19 Sept)

Since the completion of the last report there has been a transformation in the leader boards. Results from Grangemouth, Leek and most notably the high scoring Paignton Congress have made a huge impression on the scores. Keith Arkell and Colin Crouch were the high scorers at Paighton to head the Grand Prix table whilst at the same event John Wheeler and Peter Hempson scored heavily to take the leading places in the Senior Prix. Iain Morris scored points at Grangemouth to add to those from Marymass to take the lead in the Under 100 prix. Further qualifying scores were added to the Disabled Prix.

16th September

(Marymass 20-22 August; Golders Green Rapidplay 11 Sept; Leamington Rapidplay 12 Sept)

The Leader Boards are now rapidly filling though there are no substantial changes in the Grand Prix, Female or Senior sections. Players from the Checkmate club in Birmingham dominate new entrants to the Junior Prix whilst the first three qualifying scores are shown in the Disabled Prix. The Leamington Rapidplay gave several players notably Scott Kenyon in the Under 150 Prix and Phil Bull in the Under 125 Prix a change to make progress whilst Scottish players fill 5 of the top 6 places in the Under 100 Prix thanks to scores from the Marymass Congress.

3rd September

(Golders Green Rapidplay 14 Aug; Central London Rapidplay 22 Aug; Hereford Rapidplay 29 Aug; Chorley Congress 28-30 August)

With the first four congresses added, the first leader boards of the 2005 British Chess Federation includes plenty of new names with a few stalwarts of previous events. In the Grand Prix Stephen Gordon and Brett Lund who were joint winners at Chorley are the early leaders. At the end of the 2004 Prix, three times Grand Prix winner Julian Hodgson suddenly put in an unexpected appearance via the South Wales congress. Julian is back again sharing the first place in the Hereford Rapidplay with Ameet Ghasi.

In the other sections the most notable score is from Michael Kobylka who has got off to a flyer in the Under 175 Graded Prix. Michael was first in the Chorley Major, joint first at the Central London Rapidplay and outright second in the Golders Green Rapidplay – scoring 5/6 in each case in these Major grading limited events.

Finally the ever popular Senior Prix already has a full leader board courtesy mostly of Chorley where the pick of the scores was Ken Gorman’s 5/6 in the Minor Section. Last year Michael Franklin scored qualifying points at nine events and he’s off the mark in this section and can be expected to be amongst the leaders as the season progresses.

British Chess Federation Grand Prix 2004/5
Final Leader Boards

Players' names in blue have already reached the maximum possible score and to increase their score must replace a lower scoring event with a higher scoring event.