We had a most successful blitz tournament on 24 July last.
There was a bumper entry of 30 players, an increase of 6 on last year. We were pleased to see so many young players of various strengths participating. There were also some very highly rated players reflecting the ongoing popularity of the event.
The time limit was 3 minutes per game with a 2 second increment for each move. Naturally, with such a time limit mistakes did occur but overall the standard of chess was very good.
The event was decided over 11 rounds. Jason Liu was a very convincing winner on 10 points, finishing a clear one and a half points ahead of second placed Cathal Keenan who was a half point ahead of Andrey Ivanov in third. There were two board prizes with Finn Cummins securing the first and Elias Faustino the second. John Joyce finished best of the Dun Laoghaire players.
The event was expertly controlled by Ivan Balburin and went off without a hitch.
It was a most enjoyable evening and we look forward to repeating it next year. But first we have our lightning tournament on 1 September to which all are invited!
