British Chess Championships

August 2007

Great Yarmouth College

Introduction

This year I am playing in the Major Open, a weakish international tournament that runs parallel to the main British Championship. Mostly it is those who failed to qualify for the main event and strong young players who expect to be in the Championship in future years. For my preparation I had played lots of poker a bit of Scrabble and no chess since the beginning of May.

Overall entry was about 820 entrants, compared with 778 the previous year. For some stats click here.

Full details of the tournament along with prize lists and games can be found at the official website.

Sunday 29 July 2007

A long journey from Bristol. The trains from London were not running properly due to engineering works, so there was the choice of an 8 hour trip via Birmingham and Ely or a 6 hour trip by coach at just over half the price. Which duly left Bristol at the exact minute and arrived in London similarly. Firstbus eat your heart out. Forty minutes later we were on the way to the seaside. A fellow by the name of Dave Langridge was sitting some rows behind us, which didn't shield us from his piercing voice. The makers of Little Britain might like to have a word with him. Certainly the girls in the seat behind us found it highly amusing, and when he started on his thesis about coincidences involving the number 23 it seemed like the whole bus was about to erupt. My personal stereo was far to puny a weapon to fight the onslaught so I joined in muttered conversations with the fellow passengers. One of them asked Jack for his autograph which was nice.

Arrived in Great Yarmouth punctually and Mr Langridge asked whether we were staying in the same hotel. Mercifully not. We left him to his taxi and managed to navigate our way to the hotel without incident. Didn't hear a word the landlady said as I just wanted to chuck my stuff on the bed and recover from the journey. Except that for some reason they wanted a cheque not Switch as there was a 5% charge, and I haven't brought my chequebook so I'll have to go back to the ancient days and get a wad of cash from the bank. Noticed there was only one key and when I went down to query this she said they didn't have a copy except for the one they used for cleaning the room. Personally I'd be quite happy for them to be unable to clean the room but this doesn't seem to be how it works. So if Jack comes back plastered at 1.30 in the morning he'll have to phone me and I can chuck the keys to him from the window.

Went to the venue to see the first round pairings. The college is on the other side of the river. Great Yarmouth is effectively two towns, a seaside resort and a port, split by a river, and apart from the motorway to the north there is only one bridge. Goodness knows what the traffic is like at rush hour. We walked through the pleasant but slightly run down shopping area to the bridge and across to the industrial area which was a dramatic contrast. A long straight mile of corrugated buildings to the left and housing to the right, then the path to the college on our right. There was a small knot of arbiters about to lock up and a couple of players examining the pairings. I am due to play an 11 year old boy and Jack has a grandmaster.

Monday

Went down to breakfast where the tables and shelves seemed packed with cereal boxes but I couldn't find any muesli so had to content myself with Frosties. They were Grrreatt! Had to work out which picture of Tony the Tiger was a true copy, but two of them had a whisker missing so that was pretty easy. Took a mouthful of cold baked beans. Yuk. Curiously there was steam coming off them so I checked the other side and sure enough I burnt my tongue. A microwave special. Ate all the rest of the breakfast but left the beans on the side.

The landlord kindly set up my internet connection, which had a 26 character hexadecimal string as the password. So nice to come away on holiday and be able to do all the things I do at home.

Went to the college a couple of hours before the start to see the other players. Quite a few of the tournament regulars, a couple of whom had qualified for the main Championship. Phil Makepeace had Kenneth McEwan, who he has played before but I have never heard of, and Dominic Foord has Peter Poobalasingam who is quite a tough cookie. A lot of the players are staying in Norwich, which reduces the chances of a poker game. Looking round the venue, which is quite small and lacking in facilities, there did not seem to be any spare rooms available to use as a card den. But I'm sure we'll work something out.

My game was very interesting, Jude played well until I started to put him under pressure then he gradually caved in and looked as if he was about to cry. Phil was over the moon when he won his game, but Dominic couldn't make an impression on Peter. Jack got a draw though, and demonstrated it in the analysis room - a sharp game where both players were trying to avoid falling over, and in the end Jack steered it into a position where Stuart couldn't really do anything without over committing himself.  A good performance.

Meanwhile, what to do for dinner? Without Liam, Scott and a host of others, and with many staying in Norwich and Jack working late in the bulletin office, I'm on my own. Not so good for going in posh looking restaurants. Many are looking a bit on the cheaper side and are quite attractive, but there is a strange thing in this town. Not one of them posts their opening times. As Bill Bryson says, it is not a good idea to go into a restaurant on your own just when they're about to pack up. So after wandering around a bit, and deciding that some had too many diners and I'd look conspicuous on my own, while others had too few and looked about to close, I settled for the chip shop. There were two, one big and bold looking and the other small and dingy. Decided that the small and dingy one was likely to be the better quality so I walked straight into the other. Even as I walked in I knew it was wrong. There was a woman with a large order at the counter, and I was relieved that it did not include the one piece of fish waiting invitingly in the hot tray. So one of the assistants took my order and disappeared, while I waited for an interminable time, and eventually he took my piece of cod and served it to someone else. Just a few minutes, he said, and I could already feel the overhot batter making blisters in my mouth. Sidled guiltily past the other chip shop to get back to the hotel, and it had a lovely selection of hot food behind the counter. Needless to say I burnt my mouth on the first bite.

Worried what I might say at breakfast tomorrow morning when the landlady asks me if I don't like baked beans. Something along the lines of yes, but only when they are heated might sound a trifle rude. On the other hand if I say no I'll have to go without and probably get two hash browns instead, which I'll be forced to eat with dignity to avoid offence in another direction. Why is being English so complicated?

Made good use of my internet connection to play Razz online and ended up losing $2. Jack thought it really cute to have a game where you win if you have the worst hand and wondered why I wasn't better at it.

Tuesday

Breakfast was served without a murmur but the beans were as hot as the surface of the sun. If the sun has a surface. Maybe you just descend through a load of clear but very hot air into a faint incandescent mist which gradually turns into a dense boiling fog with nothing to stop you. Did I catch the landlady looking at me out of the corner of here eye? Were they the same beans recycled from yesterday? I'll never know but I have my suspicions.

Jack texted to say I was playing Andrew Green. Not sure if he's still after me for swindling him out of a point in the last round last year, but I'm sure he remembers. I did hear word that he wanted to kill me after all. According to the grading list he has improved tremendously. I think he'll be playing for a win. Dominic is playing Alexander Pozhennikov and I told him I would salute him if he wins. Not much chance of that happening.

The catering facilities at the venue leave a lot to be desired. The coffee bar is fine when it is open, but it is small and more choice would be agreeable. Last year we were spoiled with two shops, a restaurant, a cafe and a bar. There is a restaurant here which is open from 12 till 2, and the coffee bar is open till 6, which seems a little less than perfect when play goes on till 9.15. Particularly when the nearest shop is over a mile away. Spent so long chatting to Phil after my game that the coffee bar staff pulled down the shutters right in front of me while I wasn't looking. And no beer is a distinct drawback. You need to relax after chess.

Anyway Phil was happy because he drew with Felix Kwiatkowski and Dominic was even happier because he beat Pozhennikov. Was told later that he has been looking for me. And Chris and Charlie both won even if it took them a long time and Peter Poobalasingam drew with a WGM so I had to be miserable on my own and wait for tomorrow.

Had the same problem with dinner so tonight I went to the other chip shop, and it was great. The cod was huge, ready and waiting and I was served in seconds. Don't think I'll have chips again for a while though, three nights in a row is quite sufficient.

Wednesday

Woken during the night by a group of four yobs rampaging drunkenly through the streets with loud voices. They got excited when they saw two bicycles in someone's garden, then one of them started shouting about how it wasn't fair because they were locked together. Eventually they moved on but it took a long while to get to sleep. Not unusual for this town according to those in the know. The landlady had just slept through it.

Stopped off at the large LIDL store on the way to the chess. We are taught in Urban Design that urban areas should have gateway features to give you a feeling of introduction. The large warehouse style box, next to a Matalan, a Vauxhall dealership and and giant DIY store form a perfect facade for the row of steel silos at the start of the industrial mile behind, where elegant names such as Factory Road are in abundance. Bought some apples and bananas and a pasty containing some amorphous goo punctuated by small pieces of potato. Couldn't get any small bottles of drink though so I'll see if I can find somewhere better tomorrow. There must be something other than restaurants and rock shops in this town.

High jinks at the chess, as Jack lost to Phil, who is now on 2½/3 and may even get a demo board tomorrow. Click here for the game. Also Flear lost to Graeme Oswald which must be the upset of the tournament. My game was an uneventful draw with a low rated junior.

A strange thing happened at the coffee bar. I asked for an Americano as usual and the woman served me but did not offer any milk. So I asked for some and she gave me a lecture about how Americano is normally drunk black. She seemed a bit perturbed that I should want to drink it with milk. So I went away wondering which planet she came from, but when I went back after my game the same thing happened, and she gave me the same lecture. I felt like taking my clothes off and saying Customers come with clothes, coffee comes with milk. Do I make myself clear? But I think she'd just have had me arrested and gone round telling her friends about the peculiar man who wanted milk with his coffee.

Left a little earlier today and found a great looking restaurant near the town centre. Just about to go in when the man came out and took the signs in ready to lock up. So I thought, wouldn't it be nice if there were a Spar or Tesco Metro in this town. Remembered the grocer's near the hotel which I walk past on the way to the venue. Made a beeline and it was open, though the owner was having a good old moan about people who come in and expect to be served after closing time. Really. Looked around and to my surprise there was not a single item that could be eaten without a can opener or a cooker. Apart from biscuits and crisps. Well not quite true, as there was a cold cabinet that contained some packs of six saveloys. Anyway I still had an apple and a banana in my bag so maybe I could call them dinner for tonight. But I would like to find where all the decent shops are.

Thursday

If I turn right out of the guest house instead of going straight towards the town centre I will find, hidden behind a Texaco garage, a copy of Sainsbury's. Excellent. No more silly corner shops, no more LIDL, no more sandwiches from the coffee bar, just lots of food and very cheap. Even stopped me grumbling about the weather for a few minutes, which has turned distinctly colder after 3 days of mild sunshine announced the belated start of this rather dubious summer.

Jack has a difficult game against another ambitious junior, Peter Constantinou. More interestingly, Phil has leapt up to Board 5, and is playing Grandmaster Tony Kosten. This means his game will be shown live on the internet. Hope he makes a good showing.

My game went reasonably well, along theoretical lines for the first 11 moves then he made a mistake and I had a good position. Swapped off rooks and queens to get a good endgame but to my annoyance he managed to hold on for a draw. Jack drew a quite complicated game and Dominic justified his entry into the tournament by drawing with Don Mason, though in fact he missed a win somewhere along the way. Meanwhile Phil's game was becoming interesting, as he had just enough play to keep the game alive, even after going a pawn down. After 6 hours play it looked as if he had achieved the draw but in typical grandmaster fashion Kosten kept on harrying him and pressuring him to find good moves and in the end he made a couple of weak plays which led to him being mated in the middle of the board. Click here for the game.

Tried the coffee machine as I though it would be less likely to be rude to me. To my surprise it was on 50p for an Americano suspiciously similar to the one you get from the coffee bar for 1.20. Still no milk in it though. Gave up the unequal struggle and drank it black.

For the first time felt thoroughly bored at this tournament. No bar, no pubs or shops nearby, and most players just leave once they've finished their games. Haven't seen anyone playing bridge or poker and there isn't even wireless internet available. And because it's so far from the town you don't get a flow of people coming back to watch the later stages of the games. So a little disappointing. Probably be better in Liverpool next year, it is a far more sensible choice.

So after stocking up on food back to the hotel, where they do have internet, and marvel at the technology that allows us to talk to our friends on msn from a distant town while random strangers try to pilfer each other's wallets at the poker table.

Friday

There are advantages to not having much to do on holiday. One is that I can get some work done without interruptions. My current project is to run a simulation of Omaha Hi (for the uninitiated it is a form of poker, what did you expect). Made major inroads this morning and finally managed to get a printout of a hand. Apart from telling me I had a pair of Kings when it was actually a pair of Jacks it seems to run ok. Reckon I'll have the whole thing cracked in a couple of days.

Checked my pairing and I am playing Andrew Tucker - an almost identical situation to this time last year. Had a look at some of his games and it seems he does not play the Closed Sicilian too convincingly. Checked a few ideas and then off to the venue.

The bridge, which I assume is over the River Yar but you never really know, was closed this morning because it was open. A necessary evil in a port, and probably the reason why there are no other bridges in the town. Anyway it was only a few minutes then the pedestrians at least could cross freely, and didn't really feel much sympathy for the backlog of traffic when a car drove slowly past and stopped in front of me as I was trying to cross the road. On the far side of the bridge there is a row of dingy shops and the dingiest of all, with metal grilles and security gate, is called Celebration Cakes. The people of this town sure know how to enjoy themselves.

Phil had another cracking day, even managing to turn down a draw offer from International Master Simon Knott. In classic style his very next move was a blunder, but he still held on to the draw, and major congratulations from all his friends. Andrew Tucker meanwhile was playing very precisely in the Closed Sicilian and giving me a hard time. I managed to find an obscure line of play to get a small strategic edge but then mercifully he went badly wrong and let me in. As with my first round game it is often the 4th hour of play that is decisive when playing a slightly weaker but well prepared opponent. The real interest in the Major Open was on Board 2 though, where there was a dramatic clash between Will Bennett and Andrew Green. Will appeared to be winning easily as the game came to a head but had to face grim and determined defensive tactics. Click [here] for the game (when available).

Later ventured into a nice looking cheap restaurant in town. Had some forebodings about what the 'home made cottage pie with 5 veg' would look like when it came out of the microwave but ordered it anyway. At least it was quick, even if the mashed potato was industrial strength and two of the veg were potatoes. Saved me from the chip shop.

Saturday

Managed to remove the bugs from my Omaha project and left it to run for 8 hours while I played my game. Should have dealt and analysed 3 million hands by then. Meanwhile I have to play a young man by the name of  Robbie Coleman. One of the Scottish contingent. Cannot really find out much about him except that he plays the French and I think this time I shall avoid it by opening Nf3. That's the sum of my preparation today.

Jack is playing Flear today and Phil has Graeme Buckley and I have a funny feeling that now we are into Round 6 the stronger players are going to have the measure of their opponents.

The threat of rain has receded and now people are moaning about how hot it is. Wish it would snow. A player who did not qualify from a tournament but obtained a grace and favour place from the Welsh Chess Union on the basis of being divorced from a Welsh woman insisted that his board be moved as the sun was shining on it through the skylight. Or maybe it was his opponent who wanted to move, who knows. Needless to say five minutes later the area was in shadow again. Played the first hour in a sleepy haze and missed a clear win when my opponent advanced a pawn too early. Allowed him to swap his queen for 3 pieces. Then made a bit of a mistake and gave him a clear advantage. Hard pressed I had to give up more material but miraculously he missed a couple of things and I ended up with a draw. So I go into the weekend with 3½/6, a reasonable but not particularly good performance.

Sunday

Rest day today so off to Norwich we go. Walked along the seafront for a bit which is neither better nor worse than seafronts all along the South Coast and Wales, and the arms of the offshore wind turbines rotated gracefully in the slight breeze. After a while thought I'd better turn in towards the station and realised I had no real idea where it was. Still nearly half an hour till the train, and if I walk in a straight line to the river I must either hit the station or the track. Surely. Walked down to an industrial estate fronting the river, and decided not to take Tar Works Road but turned right and after half a mile reached a bus depot and saw a sign pointing in the other direction to Town Centre and Norwich. So I was heading up the coast to Caister and should be looking for an inland route. Remember Matt, who lives in Norwich, saying something about having to cross a bridge after coming out of Yarmouth station, So back towards town, found the bridge, passed a pretty looking group of houses and a pub on the far side and into the station with forty minutes to cool down and reflect before the next train arrived.

There are in fact two rivers in Yarmouth. The one I had passed every day is the Yare and the smaller one to the north is the Bure. They are not rivers in the West Country sense, with house tottering on the sides of steep valleys, as Yarmouth is completely flat and the river basin has probably been dug out to lower the water level. Going out on the train it is all a vast expanse of reclaimed marshland, with drainage ditches and hardly a road or house to be seen, just loads and loads of cattle and sheep filling up on grass to provide next years chops and burgers. Even the hills in the distance are no more elevated than, say, College Green. Where the land sags slightly there are wide shallow lakes and it is from one of these that the Yare drains the water out to sea. Further inland there is a slightly steeper topography and the higher ground has fields of cabbages and beans, where there is less risk of flooding. Arrived in Norwich after just half an hour's journey in glorious sunshine on possibly the hottest day of the year so far.

If you have never been to Norwich I will salute you for knowing the name of its river. People who live in the city seem to like it there, in fact I have never heard a bad word, so I was prepared when I exited the station, elegantly set just to the south of the river with a well kept bridge inviting travellers to venture in. It is a proper city with hills, to the north and east of the bridge are well preserved medieval streets and to the west an enormous pedestrianised shopping area with a large marketplace as its central feature. Didn't spend too much time walking round due to the strong sunshine, preferring to stay within the shade of the shops. On a Sunday the whole city gave an air of purposeful tranquillity, no doubt it bustles mightily during the week. That will have to wait for a longer visit. Had lunch in a cafe with the curious name of Marmalade's and wondered like thousands of tourists before how Rampant Horse Street got its name. Norwich could perhaps lend some of its street names to Great Yarmouth. I don't know what it would think of the ones it gets in return.

Gradually made my way back to the station, and across the River Wensum, to find a train ready to leave so hopped on it and back through the slowly flattening landscape to the eastern marshes of Yarmouth, where a surly woman in the Spar charged me full price for 2-for-1 bottles of Lucozade and didn't give a receipt, thereby ensuring that I shall not visit that shop again. Well, more because it had a pitiful shortage of food. Do they eat in this town? Later treated myself to a burger and another unhappy shopkeeper didn't even bother looking at me as he said Anything Else but I didn't really want chips with it anyway, it was just something I asked for without thinking. Maybe they think it's wrong to have chips with burgers. Anyway it was quite enough. Then lost all my money* at poker to someone who hit quad jacks when I had pocket aces. Not nice. I'll do better tomorrow

*$6 in case you're worried. I'm not Scott.

Monday

Leapt out of the grave once more this afternoon. Was playing David Coates, former SloughSharks member, whom I had beaten in the same round last year. Obtained a decent position and gradually built an advantage, then just as I though I was winning realised I had let him get a strong attack. Misdefended horribly and was looking at a sharp exit. On the time control move made a desperate try, to which he had five possible replies, only one of which was winning. Unfortunately it was the most obvious one. He wavered, running out of time, and played a blunder so the game was a draw. Not particularly great but at least I'm still above 50%. GAME

In the Championship Jack had a mixed game too but he managed to beat Peter Roberson so he too is on 4/7. Dominic managed to beat Roger de Coverley ("he's not very good, is he?") and Phil kept on running with a draw against 2200 rated John Hodgson, so stays on 50%. At the top Aagard is a clear point in the lead and Haslinger is clear second. A draw will get him his grandmaster title.

Meanwhile I've been experimenting with Facebook. You hear so much about it in the news. Created an account and it immediately sent messages to loads of people who had to accept me as their friend. Some of them actually did. Perhaps I can put this blog on there. It's all very new and slightly frightening. Maybe if I was 8 I'd understand it better.

Was tired this evening so decided to give my money away at poker. Curiously when I played Razz, currently my worst game, I made loads, then I lost it all back at Omaha, my best game. Didn't help that I chucked half my stack away when I knew perfectly well that I was beat. Just gives me a headache really. But it's nice that I can talk to other poker players on msn and they can watch my game while I play and tell me what I did wrong.

So I read my Harry Potter book. Far more fun. I'm on 6 now, I know I'm lagging but I'll get there in the end.

Tuesday GAME

Getting that end of tournament feel this week. Another digest of the Closed Sicilian to prepare against another 150 - this time it is Dominic Rabbitte, another youngster I played last year. This means everyone I beat last year has had the chance for revenge. So far one has managed it, one drawn and one lost again. The mornings seem to go in a very similar routine now - prepare for the game, spent some time online, get ready for the game, get lunch at Sainsbury's, walk to the venue. Once there wait around for half an hour then suddenly feel very sleepy and play on autopilot for a bit.

While on autopilot I missed something very important and turned a promising opening into something a lot more difficult. Quickly battened down the hatches and played for a draw. When the time came my opponent agreed readily, as he was running short of time, but it is possible that I was slightly better. Rybka* certainly thought so. Anyway not too bothered, I'll try again tomorrow.

Dominic Foord had a good game, the exchange up with a good position, but threw it away by giving the exchange back to go a pawn up in a queen ending, then swapping off queens for an unexpected drawn position. On top board there was a reversal of fortunes with Haslinger winning and thereby catching up Aagard, with Nick Pert and Stephen Gordon half a point behind, while in the Major Open Charlie Fry managed to convert his Rook and Pawn ending to go half a point behind the leaders, and as they have played each other he takes top board against Stephen Orton.

*chess analysis program. You can't do anything without a computer these days.

Wednesday GAME

The routine of my day is as follows. Get up at 7.30 when Jack's alarm goes off. Breakfast then work on my computer and prepare for the game. Have a shower and off to the match. Stop in Sainsbury's on the way to get a salmon and cucumber sandwich (£1.20, not bad) two bottles of Oasis (£1.40, special deal), two bananas and an apple. That and a coffee from the machine should satisfy my bodily requirements during the cerebral contest. Walk to the venue narrowly avoiding being killed by an unpleasant looking man who lurches round the corner at over 40 while I'm crossing and eating my sandwich and thinking about chess. Over the bridge to the grim side of town and down the familiar road to the college. Sit around for half an hour occasionally asking people who they're playing and completely forgetting the answer. Sometimes they do the same to me. All part of being a chess player.

Today I win. Nice one. Another youngster, only about 15. He came at me with a fast ball down the kingside and I returned a straight drive. The rest of the game was a bit tricky but with a lot of care managed to keep control then finish him off with an easy combination. Touchingly the captain of Team Scotland came to give him a hug after the game. It is good to see the way the Scottish players have taken this tournament to heart and play as a team, they have a lot of confidence and ambition. Meanwhile Jack did over Grandmaster Danny Gormally in 30 moves and received the stern admonition "you don't know how to play chess." He has now recovered to a high place in the tournament and has to play Jonathan Rowson, last year's winner, tomorrow.

A large contingent of SloughSharks players materialised in the foyer during the match. They were all wearing T-shirts with Phil's name on. Luckily they didn't go into the playing hall and start chanting. Sadly he lost his game but I'm sure they all had a wonderful time in Great Yarmouth.

After the game spent a lot of time looking at Chris's pawn ending. He had gone into it - though he had little choice - thinking he was winning but in the end he just had the better side of a draw. We analysed for half an hour and decided that the draw had been correct, even if he had avoided a mistaken pawn push on the queenside, but then I hit on a move that would have won. Click here to see the position.

Thursday

Oh dear. Had to happen sometime, and just as I was thinking I was back in the tournament. Played an opening I had seen before but didn't know at all well, tried a tricky pawn break and in a complicated position suddenly blundered a piece. To add insult to injury I might have been able to play on in the final position. A big headache. GAME

In the Championship, though, Phil was doing well with a draw from a horrendous looking middlegame, and Dominic made his game against Dan Hall look easy, so both moved on to 4. Phil is still in with a chance of the £200 rating prize, though he is trailing Graeme Oswald by about half a point.

Friday

Jack brought me the news that I am to played my second strongest opponent of the tournament, a mighty 170. Needless to say another 18 year old. Which also I think makes him my oldest opponent. I have to win. Somehow I am worried.

Jack himself has a relatively easy (for him) opponent, Charles Storey, and if he wins he has a good chance of being in the prizes. There are 8 paid places in the Championship but the bottom prizes are often shared among a group on the same score. Phil is also in with a chance of a prize, for the best performance relative to rating by a player under 2150, and by the arcane calculations of the grading system he will get it if he scores the same result as Graeme Oswald, his main contender, despite the fact that Graeme is currently on a better performance. The dark horse could be Dominic Foord, who could sneak in to this prize if he wins and the other two lose.

Meanwhile at the top Jacob Aagard and Stephen Gordon are both half a point ahead of the field. They have played each other so if they both win they will have a play-off. If they both draw or lose there will be a multiple play-off. Took some photos of both at the start of play and Aagard posed for me, which he did better than most chess players, but I still think chess players look more natural when not posing so took him reading the bulletin instead. Gordon has double pressure in  this game as he needs to win it to achieve the grandmaster title.

Needless to say it didn't take me long to get what I thought was a really bad position, and my opponent lined up for an attack. According to Rybka the position was about equal, but as I was a pawn up that probably means his attack was quite strong in compensation. Anyway he made a blunder and gave up three pawns for nothing. Unfortunately I soon gave two back and could then only get a draw from the position, but at least I didn't lose.

Then had a bit of time to appreciate the climactic Gordon-Kosten encounter, where we were all convinced Gordon had a simple win but he didn't play it, and with good reason. Anyway Kosten played a marvellous defence and it ended in a draw. Aagard won against an aggressive attack by Flear so there was no play-off and Scotland have another champion to their credit.

The race for the Under 2150 prize turned out lifeless as all three contenders lost. So Phil takes home the £250 much to his credit with a score of 4/11, more than 2 points higher than would be expected from his rating. Dominic also finished on 4, a great perfomance as he was the lowest rated entrant. Never got round to saluting him, maybe I'll do it at another event.

Meanwhile in the Major Open all eyes were on Chris Russell as he played out a marathon battle to try and win with knight and 2 pawns v knight and one. At stake was 4th place and a possible qualifying place for next year's Championship. He managed to win the opponent's remaining pawn but around 8.30 after almost 90 moves it was looking like a draw. The opponent missed one clear draw then Chris managed to give up one of the pawns and find a brilliant win. So he wins a joint share of 4th and 5th place, but it is not clear which of the three players on 7½ gets the qualifying place.

Saturday

Farewell to the guest house which has been home for a fortnight - it has been a fine place to work, sleep and play poker. The wireless internet has been a great bonus, and all for only £20 a night. Seamore Guest House if you ever need to stay in Yarmouth. Tom brought us our butter and a couple of pretend boiled eggs. He must find it funny how just as he gets used to someone they disappear, but I guess children take this all in their stride. Anyway he happily took the keys to mummy when we left and ran off to play with his toy frying pan and sausages.

Got to the coach in decent time to see Mr Langridge waiting in the queue. He boarded before us but we had to sit behind him and pray that no unsuspecting American tourist would sit by him. Fortunately the journey passed in silence and perhaps it was a bit of a shame that unlike the Ancient Mariner he had no one to tell his story to.

Changed at London where the mew driver was a young lad who took his responsibilities very seriously. Made sure we were all wearing our seat belts - he told me three times even though I was holding a book open so he couldn't see very well - and sounded like he might get a bit shirty. Then he gave a his speech about how we were not allowed to smoke, drink alcohol or consume any hot food or drink on the coach, and any passengers caught doing so would be 'put off' at the next services. We were then subjected to a safety video, in which we were exhorted not to sit in cramped position, to do exercises without embarrassment, and not to wear anything tight or restrictive. I immediately took off my seat belt. Then I slept and avoided any hot food or drinks till we arrived in Bristol.