The Hampshire Individual Championship has been held since 1930 although there have been years with no competition and the structure has changed from the first one which had eight players to the present Congress which includes the Individual Championship.
The tournament was split into three sections, the Open, Major (under 150) and Minor (under 125). The winners of the relevant Silver Rook, Peter Marshall Cup and Parsons Cup have to be Hampshire players though.
The tournament was played at the Lysses House Hotel in Fareham over six rounds, one on Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. Half point byes were allowed for players in the first five rounds.
Keven Lamb took a number of photographs of the event, and these are included in the Gallery section.
For a list of the winners of the Hampshire Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written the table on the Hampshire Individual Championship is the best place to look. In addition, the table on the Hampshire Tournaments will detail these and any other tournament articles I have completed. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.
Open – Round 1
Fourteen players entered the Open section, with four deciding to take a first-round bye. Cliff Chandler beat five-time Hampshire Individual Chess Champion Keith Gregory whilst David Pye came out on top against Paul Northcott. In an upset Ben Aubrey defeated the 29 points higher graded Matt Champman.
The Oliver Gill – David Heath result has been updated as I had it as a draw, and it has been confirmed as a win for Oliver Gill (November 2022).
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff R Chandler | 208 | 1 | Keith D Gregory | 175 | 0 |
| Paul Northcott | 164 | 0 | David Pye | 203 | 1 |
| Oliver Gill | 200 | 1 | David Heath | 160 | 0 |
| Ben Aubrey | 158 | 1 | Matt Chapman | 187 | 0 |
| Robin Williams | 167 | ½ | Timur Kuzhelev | u | ½ |
| Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | ½ | Bye | ||
| Jamie Wilson | 193 | ½ | Bye | ||
| Roger DW Marsh | 167 | ½ | Bye | ||
| Jessica Mellor | 156 | ½ | Bye |
Open – Round 2
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Gill | 200 | 0 | Cliff R Chandler | 208 | 1 |
| David Pye | 203 | 1 | Ben Aubrey | 158 | 0 |
| Timur Kuzhelev | u | 1 | Roger DW Marsh | 167 | 0 |
| Jessica Mellor | 156 | 0 | Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | 1 |
| Jamie Wilson | 193 | 1 | Robin Williams | 167 | 0 |
| Matt Chapman | 187 | 1 | Paul Northcott | 164 | 0 |
| Keith D Gregory | 175 | ½ | David Heath | 160 | ½ |
Cliff Chandler beat Oliver Gill and David Pye won against Ben Aubrey. These were the only players on 100%, but just behind on one and a half points were the ungraded Timur Kuzhelev, Rolandas Lukosius and Jamie Wilson.
Open – Round 3
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff R Chandler | 208 | 1 | David Pye | 203 | 0 |
| Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | 1 | Jamie Wilson | 193 | 0 |
| Ben Aubrey | 158 | ½ | Timur Kuzhelev | u | ½ |
| Roger DW Marsh | 167 | ½ | Matt Chapman | 187 | ½ |
| Robin Williams | 167 | ½ | Keith D Gregory | 175 | ½ |
| Paul Northcott | 164 | 1 | Jessica Mellor | 156 | 0 |
| David Heath | 160 | 1 | Bye |
Cliff Chandler came out on top against David Pye to move onto three points from his three games. Rolandas Lukosius beat fellow Chichester Chess club player Jamie Wilson to remain half a point behind. Boards three to five were all drawn whilst Paul Northcott beat Jessica Mellor. David Heath had a full point bye due to the Oliver Gill withdrawal.
The Chandler – Pye game was a miniature only lasting 13 moves, although I think a lot of players would have played on in the final position.
Open – Round 4
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | 0 | Cliff R Chandler | 208 | 1 |
| David Heath | 160 | 0 | Matt Chapman | 187 | 1 |
| Timur Kuzhelev | u | ½ | Jamie Wilson | 193 | ½ |
| Jessica Mellor | 156 | ½ | Ben Aubrey | 158 | ½ |
| Roger DW Marsh | 167 | ½ | Paul Northcott | 164 | ½ |
| Robin Williams | 167 | ½ | Bye | ||
| David Pye | 203 | ½ | Bye | ||
| Keith D Gregory | 175 | ½ | Bye |
Cliff Chandler played and won his third game of the day and remained on 100% with four points. The other three games were drawn whilst three players decided that three games in one day is too much (rightly so) and took a half point bye. Cliff was one and a half points ahead of four players on two and a half points.
Open – Round 5
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff R Chandler | 208 | ½ | Timur Kuzhelev | u | ½ |
| David Pye | 203 | 0 | Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | 1 |
| Matt Chapman | 187 | 1 | Robin Williams | 167 | 0 |
| Jamie Wilson | 193 | 1 | Ben Aubrey | 158 | 0 |
| Keith D Gregory | 175 | ½ | Roger DW Marsh | 167 | ½ |
| David Heath | 160 | ½ | Bye | ||
| Jessica Mellor | 156 | ½ | Bye | ||
| Paul Northcott | 164 | ½ | Bye |
With a one a half point lead Cliff Chandler dropped his first half-point with a draw against the unbeaten Timur Kuzhelev. With the tie-break position this probably guaranteed him first place although Rolandas Lukosius who beat David Pye or Matt Champman who did the same against Robin Williams would tie him if they won their last game and Chandler lost his.
John Dunleavy Prize
Jamie Wilson won the John Dunleavy best game prize for this win against Ben Aubrey. Click on any move to open chess board.
The “John Dunleavy Memorial Best Game Prize” is awarded for the best game played at the annual Hampshire Chess Congress. The memorial prize was kindly donated by his nephew Stephen. John was academically gifted and at the age of 10, a year early got a scholarship to Taunton’s Grammar School in Southampton.
Hampshire Chess Association website.
Before the war, it was a fee-paying school but awarded several scholarships to local boys like John to ensure they got pupils of talent. Further information on John may be read at Keverel Chess.
Open – Round 6
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Chapman | 187 | ½ | Cliff R Chandler | 208 | ½ |
| Timur Kuzhelev | u | ½ | Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | ½ |
| Jamie Wilson | 193 | 0 | David Pye | 203 | 1 |
| David Heath | 160 | ½ | Roger DW Marsh | 167 | ½ |
| Robin Williams | 167 | ½ | Jessica Mellor | 156 | ½ |
| Ben Aubrey | 158 | 1 | Bye |
Paul Northcott and Keith Gregory withdrew in the final round.
Cliff Chandler drew against Matt Chapman which meant he won the Hampshire Congress. As he was not eligible for the Silver Rook Trophy the Hampshire Individual Champion was Rolandas Lukosius who drew with Timur Kuzhelev and took the trophy on tie-break from Matt Chandler.
The ECF Grading website also has details on the tournament.
The under 175 Grading Prize was won by Ben Aubrey.
I will cover the other tournaments in separate posts.
Hampshire Congress 2019 Final Table
The table below is from the details I have, but with some confusion with the byes / withdrawals there may be a few errors?
| Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Cliff R Chandler | 208 | 5/6 |
| Rolandas Lukosius | 187 | 4/6 |
| Matt Chapman | 187 | 4/6 |
| David Pye | 203 | 3½/6 |
| Timur Kuzhelev | u | 3½/6 |
| David Heath | 160 | 2½/6 |
| Jamie Wilson | 193 | 3/6 |
| Ben Aubrey | 158 | 3/6 |
| Roger DW Marsh | 167 | 2½/6 |
| Keith D Gregory | 175 | 2/5 |
| Robin Williams | 167 | 2/6 |
| Jessica Mellor | 156 | 2/6 |
| Paul Northcott | 164 | 2/5 |
| Oliver Gill | 200 | 1/2 |
HCA 2019 Congress Report
John Wheeler produced the Hampshire Congress Report (which also included the Major and Minor). This is reproduced below. It states D. Heath scored three points, but I make it two and a half?
Games
All the games from the open were compiled by Arthur Brameld and are available to be played through online.
Acknowledgements and sources:
- John Wheeler for HCA Congress Report
- Arthur Brameld for games
- Keven Lamb for photographs
- Hampshire Chess Association Website
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