Stewarton Bonnet Guild Chess Allegro 2007

And the Ayrshire Junior Championships

June 10, 2007

Organised by Stewarton Chess Club in Association with the Stewarton Bonnet Guild and the Ayrshire Chess Association

Held on Sunday 10th June 2007 in the Stewarton Annick Youth Centre, Stewarton. It was another great year with 126 people playing on the day. Once again we played host to the Ayrshire Junior Championships as part of our tournament and we were happy to send over forty players home with a prize from the tournament.

Nearly forty of the entries came from Ayrshire clubs with another fifty from clubs in the Glasgow area. Other players hailed from as far afield as Dumfries , Musselburgh, Perth and Stirling . We had ten players who made the long trip from Austin Friars School near Carlisle in England . The list of entrants included a number of players who have regularly played in the tournament including Donald Wilson the current President of Chess Scotland and Steven Brown who won the event in 1987 - the first year we held the event in Stewarton. Several of the top players in Scotland were there – among them two International Masters – Stephen Mannion and Roddy McKay and Womens Fide Master Amy Officer. There were a number of families who entered with both parents and children playing in the various events.

The Open section finished with a clear winner - Christopher Macdonald who plays for Hamilton Chess Club but comes from Dollar near Stirling . Christopher had been the only one among twenty players who beat the Scottish Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson in a simultaneous chess match held in Glasgow the weekend previous to the Stewarton event so was in good form to win this event. Stephen Mannion IM of Cathcart Chess Club finished in clear second place while five players shared third place - Roddy McKay IM and Robbie Coleman both from Cathcart Chess Club, Phil Giulian of Giffnock Chess Club, Alan Tate of the Wandering Dragons Chess Club in Edinburgh and Hugh Brechin of Edinburgh Chess Club.

Stewarton Chess Club would like to thank Gordon Bennett and the other officials from the Bonnet Guild committee for their assistance in setting up and running the tournament again this year. Our sincere thanks also go to local company McCluskey Browne who donated the medals awarded during the prizegiving. We are also grateful to Robert and Mary the caretaker staff at the Youth Centre who so ably coped with the large numbers of players.

Our controllers again coped with all the problems and questions and incorrect result slips that lead to last minute changes in draws and we would like to thank them for all their hard work. Thanks to Alan Steel of our own Stewarton Chess Club and John McNicoll of Kilmarnock Chess Club and to Stephen Taylor of Greenwood Chess Club who coped with the junior events.

The canteen staff managed to keep their cool in the kitchen and provided an excellent service through the day and our thanks go to Carolyn McNicoll, Agnes Hamilton Marilyn Grigor and Victoria Grigor for their excellent work in keeping the players supplied with food and drinks throughout the day. Our special thanks go to Mrs Thomson and Mrs Grigor who provided such a splendid array of home baking.

Open section

First Christopher Macdonald, Hamilton Chess Club

Second Stephen Mannion IM, Cathcart Chess Club

Third equal Roddy McKay IM, Cathcart, Robbie Coleman, Cathcart, Phil Giulian Giffnock, Alan Tate Wandering Dragons, Hugh Brechin, Edinburgh

Best Ayrshire player Steven Brown, Ardrossan

Grading Prize (U1850) Clement Sreeves, Concord

Major section

First Connor Woods, Hamilton

Second equal Michael Boyd-Greenwood,Andy MacQueen-Giffnock,

Stephen Hamilton-Ayr

Grading prizes (U1650) Mike Hanley, Hamilton , Daniel Breslin, Polytechnic,

Syd Cassidy, Austin Friars and Frankie Murray East Kilbride

Grading prize (U1550) Jamie Hookham, Perth

Best Ayrshire player Siegrun Macgilchrist, Carrick

 

Minor section

First Jim Cunningham, Ardrossan

Second equal Stuart, MacQueen,Giffnock, Scott Browning, Musselburgh,

Bernard Cassidy, Uddingston, Ali Roy, Carrick, Richard Paton, Stewarton

Jim Johnston East Kilbride , Dave Watson, Corstophine,

Grading prizes Graeme Forbes, Shettleston, Joe Jordan Giffnock Callum Dickson Giffnock

Best Ayrshire player Paul Britten Kilmarnock, James Keegan Ardrossan

Best female player Natalie Donohue, Livingston

 

Under 14 section

First David Gillespie, Stewarton

Second Peter Rainey, Bishopton

Third equal Sarah Speir, Giffnock, Lucy Biggans, Dumfries

Best Stewarton player Chris Miller

Best female player Aletia McCuloch Hamilton

 

David Gillespie also wins the Ayrshire Chess Association Under 14 Championship.

 

Under 12 section

First Alice Lampard, Troon

Second Robert Childs, Hamilton

Third Charlotte Childs, Hamilton

Best Ayrshire player Zak Roy, Carrick

Best Stewarton players Elliot Grigor

Best female players Briony McCulloch Hamilton

 

Alice Lampard wins both the Ayrshire Primary Championship and the Ayrshire Primary Girls Championship.

Family prizes were won by the Biggans of Dumfries (Lucy and Joe daughter/father), the O'Donnells from Hamilton (Matthew and Kieran - brothers), the Devenny family from Giffnock (Peter and Ruth-brother/sister) the MacQueen family from Giffnock (Andrew, Calum and Stuart - father/sons), the Roy family from Carrick (Charlie, Ali and Zak-father, daughter and son), the Childs family of Hamilton (Kevin, Rebecca, Robert & Charlotte - father/son/daughters), and the McCullochs from Hamilton (Ian, Andrew, Aletia, Briony and Caitlin-father/son/daughters)

 

Prepared by John Montgomery, Secretary, Stewarton Chess Club,

4 Barbeth Place, Girdle Toll, Irvine KA11 1QL, Telephone 01294-221486

Please click event headers for grading data