Thanks to the Forest Hall Chess Club, international chess is returning to the legendary Chillingham pub in Newcastle after a break of nearly 22 years – with the announcement that the Northumbria Chess Masters is to be held there from February 14-18, 2018.
The tournament – a nine-round FIDE-rated Swiss – will have opportunities for international title norms, including for GM and IM, and now has a total prize fund of £3,150, including a 1st prize of £1,200. Confirmed entries from a number of very strong titled players include 6 Grandmasters: Vojtech Plat (Czech Republic), Jahongir Vakhidov (Uzbekistan), Alexander Raetsky (Russia), Bogdan Lalic (Croatia), Daniel Gormally and Mark Hebden (England). We also have entries from 12 International Masters: Justin Tan (Australia), Martin Percivaldi (Denmark), Grzegorz Nasuta (Poland), Gerard Welling (The Netherlands), Andrew Greet, Andrew Muir and Craig Pritchett (Scotland), Alan Merry, Adam Hunt, Ravi Haria, David Eggleston and Gary Quillan (England).
Live games with analysis will be provided daily with the best chess software competing in the Top Chess Engine Championship – Komodo, Houdini, and Stockfish.
list of entries
1 GM Vojtech Plat (CZE) 2569
2 GM Jahongir Vakhidov (UZB) 2516
3 IM Grzegorz Nasuta (POL) 2478
4 GM Daniel Gormally (ENG) 2477
5 IM Justin Tan (AUS) 2466
6 IM Andrew Greet (SCO) 2459
7 GM Mark Hebden (ENG) 2429
8 IM Alan Merry (ENG) 2418
9 GM Bogdan Lalic (CRO) 2415
10 IM Adam Hunt (ENG) 2407
11 IM Martin Percivaldi (DEN) 2391
12 IM David J. Eggleston (ENG) 2388
13 IM Ravi Haria (ENG) 2374
14 FM Iain Gourlay (SCO) 2371
15 GM Alexander Raetsky (RUS) 2362
16 IM Gary Quillan (ENG) 2340
17 Paul Macklin (ENG) 2329
18 IM Gerard Welling (NED) 2320
19 FM Alex Longson (ENG) 2317
20 FM William Claridge-Hansen (ENG) 2304
21 IM Andrew Muir (SCO) 2302
22 FM David J Walker (ENG) 2284
23 FM Neil Berry (SCO) 2283
24 IM Craig Pritchett (SCO) 2269
25 FM Charles H Storey (ENG) 2262
26 FM Richard Britton (ENG) 2256
27 FM Murad Abdulla (SCO) 2250
28 FM Chris Duncan (ENG) 2226
29 FM Glenn House (ENG) 2214
30 Adam Bukojemski (POL) 2210
31 M. Paul Townsend (ENG) 2208
32 Edmund Player (ENG) 2174
33 Thomas Eggleston (ENG) 2170
34 Pavel Asenov (ENG) 2169
35 Nikolas Tavoularis (GRE) 2151
36 Peter M. Gayson (ENG) 2150
37 WFM Sarah Longson (ENG) 2122
38 Stuart White (SCO) 2112
39 James Moreby (ENG) 2088 (junior)
40 Alan Dunn (NZL) 2046
41 Joseph Dalton (ENG) 2045 (junior)
42 FM Akshaya Kalaiyalahan (ENG) 2023 (junior)
43 Daniel Sullivan (ENG) 1967
44 Nick Burrows (ENG) 1965
45 Max Turner (ENG) 1929 (junior)
46 Yichen Han (NED) 1913 (junior)
47 Robert Kane (ENG) 1900
48 Zheming Zhang (ENG) 1900 (junior)
49 Tim Spanton (ENG) 1888
50 Chris Izod (ENG) 1882
51 Piotr Niedbal (POL) 1877
52 Robin J Nandi (ENG) 1806
53 Mark Younger (ENG) 1720
54 Peter J Garrett (ENG) 1685
