Bumper turnout for county chess tournament
Shropshire's premier chess event has enjoyed one of its best ever years with so many players entering that some latecomers had to be disappointed as numbers reached capacity.
And the strongest section saw a stunning triumph for an 11-year-old who took the top prize.
Shropshire Chess Congress was held over the weekend at the premises of Wrekin Housing Group in Telford and attracted competitors of all ages from across Britain.
Chris Lewis, who ran the tournament along with Phil Love, said: "We had just over 150 entries this year, which is an increase over 137 last year. We had to cap the numbers to keep the tournament comfortable and safe and in the final few days we were turning people away."
Last year's congress was the first run by the new organising team.
Chris said: "That was an incredibly bumpy year with a lot of incidents, although the players enjoyed it. This year it has gone much more smoothly and the players have enjoyed it even more.
"What makes the tournament so popular is that the venue is fantastic, especially the catering team with the food they put out, and through word of mouth among the players it is a highlight of the event. We're incredibly grateful to them and to the Wrekin Housing Group for allowing us to use their venue."
A feature was live digital boards, allowing people to watch the games of the leading players online in real time, both on display screens in the premises and on the Shropshire chess website.
Among notable results was 11-year-old Adithya Vaidyanathan of South Birmingham winning the Open section, in which the strongest players compete. Shropshire's top player, Nigel Ferrington of the Shrewsbury-based Telepost club, was joint second.
The Minor section saw triumph at last for Andy Jones, who plays for Newport.
"He said that he had been trying for 40 years. He finally managed to be joint first, along with Alex Brims, who plays for Telepost."
Dhairya Pandya of Coventry chess academy won the Intermediate section on 4.5 points, while Telepost players Sam Hollands and Archie Flavell were in a three-way split for the runner up spot. Toby Neal of the Telford club was joint second in the Major, which was won by Worcester's Joe Rastall.
All competitors played five games (unless they chose to take a bye in a round) and first prize in all four sections was £300.
