Our regular event at the church hall in West Heath Drive took place on the 8th December, and we had 70 participants. A welcome new entrant was the Nigerian Master Odion Aikhoje. In 1998, Odion won the gold medal on board two at the Chess Olympiad in Elista!

Open - Grandmaster Alex Cherniaev (Russia) 5.5/6 won £60.00. International Master Odion Aikhoje (Nigeria) 4.5/6 won £30.00. The Under 175 grading prize was shared by Gary Senior (171) and Giles Berry (133) with 3/6, who won £10.00 each.

Gary is one of a number of participants who bring their kids to the tournament each month for some practice. Thomas (pictured above) is under 9, but is already an experienced tournament player as a result.

Major - Justin Hadi (142) 5/6 won £60.00 and Michael Healy (152) 4.5/6 won £30.00. The Under 145 grading prize was shared by Ashley Stewart (116) and Lozvoi Tserenbat (144) 4/6 and £10.00 each.

Minor - Augustine Aaron (121) 5/6 and £60.00, Tony Brown (115) and Shane McCabe (124) scored 4.5/6 and won £15 each. Mark Lim (110) was on 4.6 and won the £15.00 prize for the best Under 115.

Amateur - Maurice Siegel (96) scored 5/6 and won £60.00. Walter Thorpe (85), Richard Bedwell (89) and Amit Desai (78) won £15.00 each.