Suffolk Chess

The popular Cambridgeshire Rapidplay which took place today at Whittlesford Village Hall attracted a record 102 entrants.   Of these, 17 were from Suffolk (12 from Bury St Edmunds, four from Ipswich and one from Felixstowe).

The winner of the Open section was top seed Alan Merry on 4½ points, with David Spence (who drew with Alan) joint runner-up on 4 points.

The Major (u160) section was won on 4½ points by players from Banbury and Letchworth.

The Challengers (u120) section was won by Gerry Clayton, from Norwich, the only player in the event with a 100% score.

As well as Alan and David in the Open section, other Suffolk players' scores were (Juniors in italics):

Open

Steve Gregory - 3
Somton Ukken - 2½
Phil Hopkins - 2
Andrew Shephard - 1½

Major

Bob Jones - 3½
William Sait - 3
Anita Somton - 2

Challengers

Alan John - 4
Roger Smith - 4
Mario Saenz de Villaverde - 3
David Wood - 3
Ralph Martin - 3
Aaron Saenz de Villaverde - 2
Tom Roy - 2
Adam John - 1

The photos are of Roger Smith (Ipswich) and 11-year old Alan John (Bury St Edmunds).