Fight to the finish at Braille Chess Association (BCA) Congress

The Braille Chess Association (BCA) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) Tournament at the Midland Hotel, Derby on 28-30 March. The Open Section produced its closest result for years, reflecting the highly competitive spirit of BCA chess. Five players tied for equal first with 3.5/5:

Colin Crouch (Harrow Weald, Middlesex)
Tyson Mordue (Bristol)
Chris Ross (Huntingdon)
Peter Gibbs (Hinckley)
Graham Lilley (St Helens)

Current BCA Champion, IM Colin Crouch, and his predecessor, Chris Ross, edged ahead on sum of progressive scores; Chris was awarded the trophy by a mere 0.25 of a Sonneborn-Berger point.

Tristram Cole (Sheffield), Steve Thacker (Nottingham) and Ian Blencowe (Gloucester) won grading prizes.

Phil Smith (Derby) was outright winner of the Minor (Under ECF 80) section with 4.5/5. Phil was followed closely by Orlando Sobers (Birmingham) and Jim Cuthbert (Sidcup) on 4/5. Grading prizes in the Minor went to Mark Hague (London), Lee Ryan (Northolt, Middlesex), Quinn Stenson (Ilkeston) and Thomas Keneally (Warwick). Quinn deserves a special mention; at only 10 years old and a newcomer to the BCA, he scored 2/5 against far more experienced opposition. Six-year-old Harmony Scott, in her first visit to a BCA tournament, played several informal games with much determination and has great potential.

Andrew Toothill presented Chris Ross with the trophy. (Chris won the Major section of the tournament jointly together with Colin Crouch, Peter Gibbs, Graham Lilley and Tyson Mordue, but Chris got the trophy on tie-break.) Photographs by Oliver Leonard.	In the Minor section, the second grading prize was shared between three players: (L to R) Quinn Stenson, (Andrew Toothill, presenting the prizes), Thomas Keneally and Leigh Ryan.	Two of the youngest members of the BCA, Harmony Scott (aged 6) and Quinn Stenson (aged 10), battled it out over the chess board on the Saturday evening.

The BCA would like to thank the staff at the Midland Hotel for their support over the weekend. The Midland has become one of our most popular venues.

The Braille Chess Association (registered charity 263049), welcomes enquiries from blind and partially sighted players who may benefit from the support and facilities it offers.

Contact
Norman Wragg OBE (Secretary)
2 Chorley Avenue, Sheffield S10 3RP. Tel. 0114 230 5995, email:

or

Stan Lovell (Publicity Officer)
28 Gosforth Avenue, Redcar TS10 3LL. Tel. 01642 775668, email: