1st Northumbrian Masters, Chillingham Arms, Newcastle, 28 August - 1 September 1996 (9 round Swiss)

1st Northumbrian Masters, Newcastle		Fed	Elo	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total	Rtd	C	D	E	F	ID/DoB
1	Leon Pliester	NED	2350m	w23=	b37+	w5+	b22+	w2=	b17+	w9+	b15+	w8=	7½	8	6½	2304	4.48	2.02	1000381
2	Daniel Gormally	ENG	2300	b6=	w30+	b10+	w3+	b1=	w9=	w8+	b16+	w7=	7	9	7	2311	4.32	2.68	406465
3	Douglas Bryson	SCO	2380m	w18=	b31+	w23+	b2-	w5-	b26+	w25+	w7=	b14+	6	7	4	2257	4.69	-0.69	2400073
4	Graeme N Buckley	ENG	2370m	b9-	w39+	b14+	w20+	w17-	b21-	w18+	b13+	w15+	6	8	5	2278	5.04	-0.04	402265
5	Karl Mah	ENG	2245f	b34+	w6=	b1-	w40+	b3+	w10=	w15-	b17+	w23+	6	8	5	2333	3.04	1.96	404381
6	Steffen Pedersen	DEN	2415m	w2=	b5=	w19+	b27=	w22+	b8-	w21+	b9=	w16+	6	9	6	2247	6.48	-0.48	1401491
7	John Shaw	SCO	2335f	b29=	w11+	b9=	w8+	b10-	w20+	w17+	b3=	b2=	6	9	6	2304	4.86	1.14	2400553
8	Gavin Wall	ENG	2305	w17=	b21+	w25+	b7-	w23+	w6+	b2-	w11+	b1=	6	9	6	2296	4.59	1.41	401942
9	James Cobb	ENG	2260	w4+	b17=	w7=	b24+	w15+	b2=	b1-	w6=	b10=	5½	9	5½	2372	3.15	2.35	403563
10	Jonathan Rowson	SCO	2425m	w27+	b12=	w2-	b36+	w7+	b5=	w16-	b21+	w9=	5½	8	4½	2276	5.60	-1.10	2400561
11	Eddie Dearing	SCO	2185	w36=	b7-	w18=	b37+	w33+	b27=	w23+	b8-	w17=	5	6	2½	2316	1.92	0.58	2400731
12	Chris Dunworth	ENG	2335f	w38+	w10=	b22=	b17-	w28+	w16-	b20+	w14-	b25+	5	9	5	2249	5.58	-0.58	402800
13	Miroslav Houska	ENG	2265	bye=	bye=	w28+	b15-	w21-	b34+	b35+	w4-	w27+	5	6	3	2225	3.36	-0.36	403539
14	Chris Ray	ENG	2200	w35+	b15-	w4-	b33=	w36+	b24=	w27+	b12+	w3-	5	6	2½	2357	1.74	0.76	403148
15	Ryad Rizouk	ALG	2385f	b22-	w14+	b16+	w13+	b9-	w25+	b5+	w1-	b4-	5	9	5	2264	5.94	-0.94	7900279
16	Charles Storey	ENG	2215	w31-	b35+	w15-	b19+	w24+	b12+	b10+	w2-	b6-	5	7	4	2332	2.38	1.62	406686
17	Simon Ansell	ENG	2420	b8=	w9=	b29+	w12+	b4+	w1-	b7-	w5-	b11=	4½	9	4½	2291	6.03	-1.53	402141
18	Charles Cobb	ENG	2260	b3=	w26-	b11=	w34+	b20-	w31+	b4-	w35+	b24=	4½	6	2½	2259	3.00	-0.50	403601
19	Jonathan King	SCO	2115	b40=	w29=	b6-	w16-	b26-	w39+	b34+	w22=	b30+	4½	6	3	2212	2.22	0.78	2401061
20	David Ledger	ENG	2235f	w24-	b36+	w37+	b4-	w18+	b7-	w12-	b28+	w21=	4½	7	2½	2270	3.15	-0.65	401986
21	Richard McMichael	ENG	2200	b33=	w8-	b34=	w39+	b13+	w4+	b6-	w10-	b20=	4½	7	3	2293	2.59	0.41	400963
22	John Naylor	ENG	2265	w15+	b24+	w12=	w1-	b6-	b23-	w28=	b19=	w32+	4½	9	4½	2256	4.59	-0.09	403172
23	Andrew J Whiteley	ENG	2255m	b1=	w33+	b3-	w26+	b8-	w22+	b11-	w30+	b5-	4½	7	2½	2263	3.43	-0.93	400831
24	Simon K Williams	ENG	2350f	b20+	w22-	b26+	w9-	b16-	w14=	b33+	b25=	w18=	4½	7	2½	2234	4.62	-2.12	404454
25	Daniel Bisby	ENG	2205	b26=	w40+	b8-	w31+	w27+	b15-	b3-	w24=	w12-	4	6	1½	2346	1.86	-0.36	404586
26	John Brooks	USA		w25=	b18+	w24-	b23-	w19+	w3-	b30-	b38+	w28=	4	9	4	2217		2174
27	Timothy P Wall	ENG	2320	b10-	w32+	b39+	w6=	b25-	w11=	b14-	w29+	b13-	4	8	3	2248	4.80	-1.80	401641
28	Eoin Campbell	SCO	2040	b39-	w44+	b13-	w29+	b12-	w30=	b22=	w20-	b26=	3½	6	2	2240	1.44	0.56	2400740
29	Tom Clarke	IRL	2230	w7=	b19=	w17-	b28-	w34-	b36+	w37+	b27-	b35=	3½	6	1	2211	3.18	-2.18	2500302
30	Roger Coathup	ENG	2110	bye=	b2-	w36-	b35=	w37+	b28=	w26+	b23-	w19-	3½	4	½	2178	1.64	-1.14	407062
31	Kishanchand Joshi	IND		b16+	w3-	bye=	b25-	w35=	b18-	w38=	w32-	b43+	3½	7	2½	2226		2124
32	Iozeph Okosieme	ENG	2055	w37-	b27-	w35-	b38=	b44+	w33-	w36+	b31+	b22-	3½	3	½	2273	0.66	-0.16	406317
33	Tania Sachdev	IND		w21=	b23-	bye=	w14=	b11-	b32+	w24-	b37=	w34=	3½	7	2½	2183		2081	20/08/86
34	Arpi Shah	IND	2035	w5-	b38=	w21=	b18-	b29+	w13-	w19-	b36+	b33=	3½	7	2	2221	1.82	0.18	5004934
35	J Joseph Young	SCO		b14-	w16-	b32+	w30=	b31=	b38+	w13-	b18-	w29=	3½	8	3	2196		2109
36	Kanwal K Bhatia	ENG		b11=	w20-	b30+	w10-	b14-	w29-	b32-	w34-	w38+	2½	9	2½	2190		2024	22/04/81
37	Kulwant S Bhatia	ENG		b32+	w1-	b20-	w11-	b30-	w44+	b29-	w33=	b39-	2½	6	1	2194		1921	19/12/79
38	Clive Waters	ENG	2235	b12-	w34=	b40-	w32=	b39+	w35-	b31=	w26-	b36-	2½	3	1	2142	1.89	-0.89	407330
39	Gawain Jones	ENG		w28+	b4-	w27-	b21-	w38-	b19-	w42-	b41-	w37+	2	7	1	2202		1893	11/12/87
40	Martyn Jones	ENG		w19=	b25-	w38+	b5-						1½	4	1½	2200		2113
41	Stefan Hartman	ENG									w39+		1	0	0
42	Colin Walton	ENG	2135							b39+			1	0	0
43	Simon R Gillam	SCO	2235									w31-	0	0	0
44	Mark Houlsby	ENG			b28-			w32-	b37-				0	2	0

Click here for original bulletin (PDF) with some annotated games, etc.

1st Northumbrian Masters International Open
Date of Congress 28/08/96 to 01/09/96 Organiser: Tim Wall - Chess Events Ltd

Arbiter : Simon Gillam

Pairing System: BCF accelerated for 2 rounds then BCF seeded

Venue: Chillingham Arms, Newcastle-upon Tyne.

Rated for FIDE and BCF graded by GMA Smith

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1ST NORTHUMBRIAN MASTERS The Chillingham, Newcastle upon Tyne 28 August - 1 September 1996

After the successful all-play-alls and Scheveningen team events held in Newcastle over the past year, I felt it was time to hold a bigger Swiss event which aimed to give opportunities to a broader group of players. Not knowing quite what sort of response to expect, I was very pleased when we attracted 40 players from 8 different countries, including International Masters Leon Pliester (Netherlands), Steffen Pedersen (Denmark), Douglas Bryson and Jonathan Rowson (Scotland), Graeme Buckley and Andrew Whiteley (England) as well as English IM Elect Simon Ansell.

In the end, out of the various contenders, two players stood out by their consistency and professional approach: Leon Pliester, in contrast to some of the other faltering IMs, kept himself at the top of the table and didn't look back. From the moment he arrived at Newcastle Airport and took out his laptop, Leon was a picture of concentration throughout, clearly relishing the challenge and getting a well-deserved tournament victory.

In second place was young Londoner Danny Gormally (19), registering his first IM norm (with half a point to spare!), who demonstrated quick thinking and a level-headed approach that augurs well for the future.

Other notable performances were achieved by John Shaw (Scotland), Gavin Wall and James Cobb (both England) who all narrowly missed IM norms. I understand that John has come very close once or twice before, so like Robert the Bruce and his spider, I'm sure he’ll succeed in the end!

Juniors also did well, with FM Karl Mah finishing 3rd equal and some very young players making bold progress in the world of International chess:

Kanwal Bhatia (Newcastle) aged 15, completed a full International rating of 2024;

Martyn Jones (Durham) aged 11, made a part rating of 2100;

Tania Sachdev (New Delhi, India) aged 10, made a part rating of 2060; and Gawain Jones (York) aged 8 (!), scored 2/9 in his first ever International event.

Flying the flag for the North-East on 5/9 were Charlie Storey (Newcastle) and Chris Ray (Cramlington) with very good performances, Charlie defeating top seed Jonathan Rowson in an exciting battle. As for yours truly... ? Well, I must confess that I’m not really "Wonderwall" and I did find the pressure of trying to play and organise a bit too much this time, but I still enjoyed the chess and the friendly atmostphere as always.

A lot of good work by several people is always needed if any event is going to run smoothly and this tournament was no exception. In particular, the Arbiting team of Simon Gillam and Lara Barnes were exceptional, with Lara also putting in many hours at the computer, sending out invitations, preparing for the tournament, printing out results and inputting games. Simon even helped out by playing a game in the tournament, thereby making it possible for "KC" Joshi to complete his full rating. We were helped by the computer expertise of Mark Houlsby (Games Editor) and John Tumock (Computerised Pairings Mastermind) who enabled us to understand the workings of "Protos" and produce fast, accurate pairings in time for the next round. Working behind the scenes to make sure that things happened was our Treasurer, Nigel Johnson, helping me to stay on budget and guiding me through the maze of forecasting and cashflow problems.

I would also like to thank the following people for their support:

The British Chess Federation
The Friends of Chess
Chess Events Limited
Northumberland Chess Association
Durham County Chess Association
Tynebridge Office Equipment

Bill Penny, Clive Waters, Lara Barnes, Stefan Hartman, Mark Houlsby, Dave Ledger and Jonathan King for being such generous hosts to visiting players

-and- (last but not least!)

The staff at the Chillingham Arms for their warm welcome!

We hope to run the 2nd Northumbrian Masters at the same time next year (9 rounds in 6 days, in the last week of August) with maybe a new Tournament Director (if I am otherwise engaged!)

Till then, happy hacking and best wishes!

Tim Wall

Tournament Director September 1996

(Many apologies for the late appearance of the bulletin. This was due to technical problems with computer disks, but happily GM Julian Hodgson came to the rescue to supply a back-up copy when all else failed! Many thanks, Jules and Lizette ...!)

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On the day after the tournament there was a special event where Leon Pliester gave a talk on "My twelve year struggle with the Nimzo-Indian". In this Leon described the difficulties the chess author faces trying to get his book published, referring to a motley collection of co-authors, translators and publishers tactfully only as "Messrs. X, Y, Z, A and B". Afterwards Steffen Pedersen gave a clock simul where he bravely took 1 hour to his opponents' one and a half. The result? Steffen won 10½-2½, with the other local heroes being Paul Edwards (win) and Steve Bartle (draw). The best game prize (a book called "Creative Chess") was awarded for this quite creative, game by John Tumock. [see game viewer/download]

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[THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1996] Masterful victory by Gormally

By Malcolm Peln

DANNY GORMALLY of Charlton Chess Club scored his first International Master result at the Northumbrian Masters organised by Tim Wall at the Chillingham Arms, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Gormally surpassed the required score of 6½/9 by half a point and scored a notable win over Scotland’s top young player, IM Jonathan Rowson, as well as defeating the Scottish champion IM Douglas Bryson.

The tournament was also a great success for the junior contingent. Gawain Jones, eight, of York, the reigning British Under-8 and under-10 champion, scored two points. Tania Sachdev, 10, of New Delhi, scored three and achieved a partial FIDE rating, as did local boy Martyn Jones, with 3½.

The tournament was won by IM Leon Pliester of Holland with an unbeaten 7½/9

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File Updated

Date	Notes
27 September 2020	99 games from a bulletin kindly supplied by Tim Wall. Also one game from a simul played at the congress.