Dorset Blitz 2025 report by Steve Pierson
On the Saturday afternoon before the tournament things were looking bleak. My wife Lindsey, who we all have to thank for helping in the kitchen and making the wonderful puddings we enjoy at the Blitz and Rapidplay tournaments, had a few days earlier infected me with the terrible virus she had endured and I was now feeling like death warmed up. I called fellow Purbeck chess club member Nick Stout who helps me setup the tables, chairs and sets and clocks – if I was too ill to attend then I was sure Nick would step up and help Martin with the draw. Despite a certain reluctance, to his immense credit Nick did agree to withdraw from the tournament and help Martin if needed.
Whether it was luck or the paracetomol, later that evening I began to feel a lot better and by the time I got up on Sunday I knew I’d be able to at least help get things going. When I arrived at the hall, I’ve never seen Nick so happy to see me! He agreed to withdraw from the tournament just in case I had a relapse during the day but I think we were both relieved when that didn’t happen!
So, while Nick and I set up the tables and chairs, Martin started work in the kitchen and the smell of bacon was soon wafting around the hall. Nikki arrived to help Martin in the kitchen, bringing her tasty vegetarian bobotie to add to the lunchtime menu. When Lindsey arrived soon after with the puddings we were up to full strength.
We ended up with 36 players who played 11 rounds with the time control 7 mins + 3 sec increment. Everything went remarkably smoothly with only the occasional illegal move requiring a one minute time penalty administered by Martin or me. Despite the availability of software that could do the job, Martin and I enjoy doing the draw manually and it certainly seemed to add to the entertainment for some of the players!
Finn Schell pretty much put the result beyond doubt by winning his first 8 games and, despite slipping up in the 9th round, went on to win his final 2 games and retain his title. The full results and a list of prize winners is given below
I’d like to thank Martin for not only being head chef but also sharing the controlling duties with me, Nikki for all her work in the kitchen and for making the bobotie, Lindsey also for her help in the kitchen and, of course, for her puddings and the ladies who did a lot of the washing up. Finally, a big thank you to Nick who helped setup at the start of the day and put away at the end of the day, as did Nikki’s son James.
36 players took part.
Open Tournament Results – After 11 Rounds
1st and Dorset Blitz Champion 2025: Finn Schell – 10 pts
2nd: James Forster – 8½ pts
3rd: Adam Ursell – 8 pts
Rating Prize 1700 – 1900: Mark Potter, Martin Clancy & Joshua Hampson – 7 pts
Rating Prize 1600 – 1699: Aarav Swansh Mehta – 6 pts
Rating Prize 1300 – 1599: Bailey Brown – 5½ pts
Rating Prize Under 1300: Anish Iyengar – 5 pts
Veteran Prize: Allan Pleasants & Martin Clancy – 7 pts
Junior Prize: Hugo Melling – 6 pts
