Dorset Blitz 2024
Planning for This Year’s Tournament
Since its inception, the Dorset Blitz Championship has attracted between 30 and 36 players and Martin and I have often discussed ways to increase the number of entrants. So this year we decided try moving the date back a few weeks to early October and to run it as a Swiss, rather than three all-play-all groups. For whichever reason, this worked and on Sunday we welcomed 45 players to the 6th Dorset Blitz Championships.
The time control of 7 mins + 3 sec meant that this was a true blitz tournament which hasn’t always been the case in previous years.
We actually ran 2 separate tournaments – the main championship with 36 players and a junior section for inexperienced juniors with 9 players. The latter being run as a 9-player all-play-all.
An Early Start
A big thank you to Nick Stout from Purbeck chess club who arrived at the hall just after me at 8.00am and helped set out the tables, chairs and sets – without his help the 1st round would have been at midday! Martin arrived soon after 8.00am to set up the kitchen and his hot dishes.
Catering
As is now traditional, there were bacon rolls on arrival, cake in the morning & afternoon breaks and a magnificent lunch which was provided by Martin (Chilli Con Carne, Sweet & Sour Chicken and Chicken Korma) and Nikki (South African vegetarian Bobotie) with my wife Lindsey providing the puddings (whiskey marmalade bread & butter pudding, St. Clements pudding, Lime and coconut white chocolate cheesecake, Self-saucing chocolate pudding and Raspberry meringue roulade). I’m still not sure if players come for the chess or the food! A huge thank you to Nikki, daughter Savannah and Lindsey for all their help in the kitchen.
The Tournament
The early leader was Allan Pleasants who won his first 4 games but then a draw and a loss allowed Mike Waddington (current joint reigning champion) to take over the lead. He in turn faltered with a draw followed by a loss in rounds 7 and 8. Meanwhile, a couple of draws in the morning had kept Finn Schell just behind Allan and Mike but 6 consecutive wins from round 6 on gave him an impressive 10 / 11 and he won with 2 points to spare from Allan in second place.
The list of prize winners can be found elsewhere but I think it’s worth noting that 3 juniors won rating prizes: Zander Booth in the 1800-1900 category, Michal Orszulak in the 1500-1700 category and Jadan Gerety in the under 1500 category.
In the junior section, the outstanding player was Yehor Chaliuk who won all his games to finish 2 points clear of joint runners-up on 7 / 9, Biel Santiago, Jack Morten-li and Eddie Harrison. It would be great to see some (if not all!) of these juniors in the main tournament next year.
Wallcharts
Prizewinners
Open – 1st Finn Schell – 10/11 – £100
Open – 2nd – Allan Pleasants – 8/11 – £60
1801 to 1900 – Zander Booth – 7/11 – £40
1701 to 1800 – Charlie Foster – 6/11 – £40
1500 to 1700 – Michal Orszulak – 6/11 – £40
Under 1500 – Jaden Gerety – 4½/11 – £40
Open Junior 1st – Anugas Gamage – 6/11 – £40
Open Junior 2nd= – Hugo Melling – 5/11 – £10
Open Junior 2nd= Theo Horne – 5/11 – £10
Veteran – Robert Halse & Ian Clark – 6½/11 – £30 each
Discretionary Prize – Lukasz Piecha – 6½/11 – £20
Discretionary Prize – Francis Pakes – 5½/11 – £20
Junior Tournament – 1st Yehor Chaliuk – 9/9 – £30
Junior Tournament 2nd= Eddie Harrison, Biel Santiago & Jack Morten-li – 7/9 – £12 each
Summary
Overall, the tournament ran very smoothly with none of the dramas we have had in previous years (e.g. a flooded floor last year, problems with room temperature, oven not working etc). This was most welcome as preparing manual draws every 30 minutes was very tight!
On a personal note, this year I’ve taken a step back from chess activities and I’d like to thank Peter Anderson who has temporarily taken on the Dorset Treasurer’s duties and he had the job of monitoring entries and acknowledging entry fee payments. Also, a big thank you to Martin who did the vast majority of the organization this year. Pretty much all I did was turn up on the day and wander around the hall!
Steve Peirson – October 2024
