Results
Open Section (40 took part)
1st: Sven Zeidler (Devizes) 5/5
2nd: Gerry Heap (Carmarthen) 4/5
3rd equal: Paul Byway (Hertford), Iolo Jones (Cardigan), Adam May (Llanelli), Mike Waddington (Dorchester), John Waterfield (Caerleon), Howard Williams (Cardigan) and Alan Young (Llanelli) all with 3½/5
Grading Prizes:
Under 1900: Dave Buttell (Carmarthen)
Under 1700: David Pinch (Milford Haven) and Susanna Fraser (Cardiff)
Major Section (13 took part)
1st: Scott Hammett (Haverfordwest) 5/5
2nd: Ben Brewer (Cardigan) 4/5
3rd equal: Paul Scott (Abergavenny), Robert Narayan-Taylor (Carmarthen) 3½/5
Grading Prize:
Under 1200: Sarthak Nukalapati
Blitz (16 took part)
1st equal: Rudy van Kemenade (Aberystwyth) and Mike Waddington (Dorchester) 6½/7
Report
This year’s Dyfed Open Congress, our 48th and held as usual in the Fishguard Bay Hotel overlooking the harbour, attracted a slightly disappointing entry of 53, down 13 on last year. As in 2018 one player ran away with the Open Section, not a marauding grandmaster this time but regular competitor and long-term friend of Welsh chess, Sven Zeidler. Despite a slight last round wobble, his victory was wholly deserved. The decisive moment came in round 4 when, drawn against the only other player with a 100% score, he fended off Alan Young’s sacrificial attack to emerge material to the good. Meanwhile joint Welsh Champion Gerry Heap had stormed through the field after a first round loss to finish clear second.
Special mention should be made of 14 year-old Susanna Fraser from Cardiff who took a grading prize with a performance some 350 points better than her published rating!
Local players were given something to cheer about in the Major Section where Scott Hammett, who was uncharacteristically merciless against all his opponents, took the first prize, hotly pursued by the promising Ben Brewer. Another Dyfed stalwart, Rudy van Kemenade shared first prize in the seven round FIDE-rated Blitz Tournament (three minutes for all moves with two second increments) organised on the Saturday evening.
Many thanks to Kevin Staveley for controlling the tournament with his usual efficiency and good humour.
Full results are available from this page of chess-results.com and all the games with notes should appear on the games page soon.
Howard Williams
