Champions!
Three events concluded over the summer months.
The Norfolk and Suffolk Cup
Having won the Suffolk section of the event in May (beating Manningtree 4-2 in the final), we had to wait until early September to play the final against the Norfolk & Norwich club, who had won the Norfolk section. Laurie Pott stepped in as captain and saw the team score a narrow 3½ - 2½ victory.
| Norfolk and Norwich | v | Bury St Edmunds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(b) | Stephen Orton (2086) | ½ - ½ | Alan Merry (2453) |
| 2(w) | Peter Stone (2004) | 0 - 1 | Jaden Jermy (2167) |
| 3(b) | Joseph Bradey (1984) | 0 - 1 | James Pack (1958) |
| 4(w) | Kevin Watts (1970) | 1 - 0 | Rowan Kent (1888) |
| 5(b) | Philip Bartram (1861) | ½-½ | Andrew Donnelly (1799) |
| 6(w) | Bharath Klass (1845) | ½-½ | Laurie Pott (1745) |
| 2½ - 3½ |
The Club Championship
As usual, we held our internal club championship competition during the summer break. The sixteen player field competed over five rounds. With three players finishing tied for first, all unbeaten on 4 points. Those three players were Stephen Ruthen, Rowan Kent and Sergejs Starodubcevs. With head-to-head scores not being available for all three, the final result was settled by a series of rapid tie-break games. The group elected for these to be played with a time control of 10m+2s with each pairing playing twice, once with each colour. In the event, Rowan won all of his first three games, and with Steve and Sergejs sharing their games, the final game between Sergejs and Rowan was not required, making Rowan our 2026 club champion. Round-by-round results of the main tournament can be found here, and the outcomes of the tie-break games here.
The Rapidplay Rally
To add interest over the summer months, and to give us the option of playing rated Rapidplay games within the club (we don't get all that many opportunities), for the last two summers we've held a series of Rapidplay events that together comprise what we're calling our Rapidplay Rally. Those who play in more the events have an advantage as scores add up across the rally, but only a players best results count, with the number of counting events being a little more than half of the total number of events held. This summer we held five events, but we'd already managed to squeeze two events in during the season for a total of 7, with the best 4 scores to count.
Peter Newton emerged as winner, and was the only player to score 100% in more than one event. Peter has taken home the "Pott Cup" as shown above.
