85th Hastings International Chess Congress, 28th December 2009 - 5th January 2010

Many current and past Sussex juniors compete in this long-established and prestigious tournament, including SJC's most famous 'sons'; GM David Howell and IM Thomas Rendle.

The premier section is of course the 9 round Masters event which attracts a truly international field of Grandmasters. Competing alongside them this year were David Grant, George Salimbeni, Jude Lenier, Amy Hoare and Rhys Cumming.

Congratulations to sixteen year old David Grant who had a particularly good tournament, scoring 5.5. Indeed, all did amazingly well over such a long gruelling tournament in illustrious company, exceeding expectations; Rhys and Amy scored 3; Jude 3.5, and George 4. In view of his kind guest appearance at our Junior congress, we are also particularly pleased to see that GM David Howell shared first place with 7/9!

Running alongside the Masters are a number of light-hearted evening events. One of these is the "Pairs at the Pig" competition, hosted by local hostelry The Pig In Paradise, where players make alternate moves without consultation.

SJC's Amy Hoare joined International Master Jack Rudd in the aptly named team "Thank Devon for little girls"......and won convincingly with 5 out of 5!

David Grant and Rhys Cumming also competed under the inflamatory pseudonym "Chris Howell lost to a 10-year old", and came 3rd with 3.5 points. So a good evening for Sussex.....except possibly Chris Howell (an SJC trainer and arbiter, and father of Matthew and Ollie) whose own performance was probably hampered by having to help run the event!

Next, on to the Weekend Congress, an event with several sections. The open tournament was won by IM Thomas Rendle. Thomas was a Sussex Junior for many years - in fact his father Colin, with others, was instrumental in picking up the fragmented junior scene in Sussex in the 1990s and shaping it into the Sussex Junior Chess we know today. Thomas is now studying in Warwickshire while also working as a chess coach, and has 1 Grandmaster norm.

Matthew Payne, 15, competing in the Weekend Major, had a very good tournament scoring an excellent 3.5 out of 5. His only loss was to the ultimate winner of the tournament. Matthew won a share of the U-155 grading prize.

Last, but by no means least, congratulations to Felix Haxby, 12, joint winner of the Weekend Minor with 4.5 out of 5.

Photos by kind permission of the Hastings ICC - more information on the congress is available on Hastings ICC website.