The Venue and Organsiation
The Centenary Congress took place at The Bournemouth Carlton Hotel from 19th to 21th April 2024.
The number of entrants was 113 which fitted in perfectly to the Meyrick Suite. The Congress was well received by the players with many compliments for the hotel, playing area and the bookstall. The lounge and bar area was ideal for the analysis of games.
People also complimented us for providing the free tea & coffee (nice touch), the demonstration board (which added extra interest especially as it provided everyone the opportunity to follow the queen sacrifice by the joint Open winner in the last round) and for booking the sunshine which made for spectacular views when looking out from the hotel!
The chess was controlled by John Constable who was ably assisted by Martin Simons.
The players in action in Round 1. Further pictures are available at the end of this report.
The Chess and Results
There were many exciting games with a few lasting more than 4 hours. The Open ended up being a tie between the top 2 rated players, Jacob Boswell and Richard Webb, on 4.5 points. In the last round Jacob played an enterprising sacrifice against Keith Gregory which can be seen here on the website.
In the Major, Ben Carpenter-Friend had an excellent weekend with 5/5. Dennis Stokes-Carter (Bournemouth) came second with 4/5.
The Intermediate was a 3 way tie for first between Derek Edwards, Philip Tarrant-Edwards and John Belinger (New Milton) on 4/5.
The Minor was a 4 way tie for first between Lana Boztas, Terence Greenaway, Tim Bland, and Michal Orszulak (Southbourne and Purbeck).
A special mention must be given to a match between David Burt who is 91 and 11 year old Kautam Narendrum where the age gap of 80 years must be close to a record for a Dorset Congress and which David won with his experience! David and Kautam are pictured in the top photo, at the front.
26 players, almost a quarter, won prizes.
You can see the full results on the links below:
Open
Major
Intermediate
Minor
Prizewinners
We hope to be holding a Dorset Open Congress next year, probably slightly earlier in the year, which may also be at The Carlton.
Ian Clark, 25th April 2024
