BRCC 2010
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GM David Howell
Mark Hebden
CJ de Mooi
Adam Raoof
November 20th - 21st
North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax HX3 6TE

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An English Chess Federation supported Grand Prix event
Entries - Steve Burton (0113) 2568157
Tournament Secretary - Brent Kitson rapidplay@gmail.com

Reports

DAY TWO (final day)
Well ... the morning was cold, plus the local car boot sale was doing well. The rain would hold off until the afternoon. The smell of bacon butties permeated the building. Later on some hearty Yorkshire puddings filled with mince, gravy and carrots were served in the canteen.
Anyway … back to the chess and, specifically, the Open where true to form, David Howell beat last year’s joint champion Mark Hebden in his first game of the day. Throughout the day David Howell went on to score five wins. Richard Palliser was beaten too along the way. David Howell scored a magnificent 10.5 from 11 points.
Aaron Summerscale had a fine day too. Mark Hebden, Richard Palliser and Aaron all finished on 8 points.
David Howell seemed very cool and relaxed - no doubt the London Chess Classic will present him a bigger challenge.
The other key results saw many fine performances and are summarized below. A special thank you to special guests Adam Raoof, Director of Home Chess at the ECF, and notably CJDeMooi, the ECF President - a big thank you.
CJDeMooi helped present all the prizes and kindly donated a fully autographed book from Gawain Jones to Zheming Zhang, the outstanding Under-11 trial winner.
Next year maybe Michael Adams and Nigel Short might return to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of The British Rapidplay Chess Championship
- Brent Kitson, BRC Secretary

Winners 2010
OPEN
1ST DAVID HOWELL 10.5/11
2ND= MARK HEBDEN, RICHARD PALLISER, AARON SUMMERSCALE 8/11

MAJOR

1ST PIERRE WELLER 9/11

INTERMEDIATE

1ST DANIEL NOEL 9/11

MINOR
1ST KISHAN PATTNI 10/11

JUNIORS
UNDER-11 TRIAL

ZHEMING ZHANG 5.5/6

SATURDAY UNDER-16
OLLIE WILLSON 6/6

SUNDAY BRITISH UNDER-16
DANIEL LEA & STEPHEN CHUNG 4/5

SUNDAY BRITISH UNDER-12
STEPHEN WHATLEY 5/5

DAY ONE
Over 300 chess players gathered in the NBLC in Halifax for the big chess rapidplay weekend. A good preparation plus a good turnout saw a fine day of chess. ECF president and TV personality CJ De Mooi was in attendance along with the ECF's Director of Home Chess, Adam Raoof. Both guests are playing in the event.
In the Open, the fine form of David Howell continued from last year. Although losing his queen to Matthew Payne of Worthing in Round One, David Howell won the game. Mark Hebden later lost to Gawain Jones, whilst Matthew Turner and Richard Palliser did well on the first day, despite odd draws. David Howell only dropped half a point in six rounds (that a draw to Gawain Jones) to go in as the first day leader on 5.5 points. Gawain Jones, Matthew Turner and Richard Palliser follow on 5 points.
In other areas, the brilliant young Zheming Zhang won the England Under-11 Trial with 5.5 out of 6. The Minor/Intermediate/Major all saw fine first day tournaments. Notables on day one were Kishan Pattni in the Minor with 6 points and Pierre Weller with 6 in the Major. Ollie Wilson won the Under-16 One Day Junior event with 6 points.
On the second day, it will be interesting to see if anyone can stop David Howell taking the title. Ironically, Mark Hebden faces David Howell first thing Sunday
- Brent Kitson