While all the attention was (rightly so) on GM David Howell and his tour-de-force of a simul, a quiet, sneaky Grand Prix round also took place at our most recent club night.
When we heard that the simul was on, we offered all Grand Prix entrants the choice to play against a GM, or play a graded game.
We gave people a 100 per cent total free choice and while many opted to play against David, we did manage to have a mini-round of the Grand Prix. Five games were played, two of which were draws.
Tight at the top
Classy Tim Spanton wins ‘performance of the day’ for his win against Luca Buanne which propels him nine places up the Championship table, from 15th place to 4th.
He is now only 1 point behind leader Ali Hill, who drew with Tim Wells. Tim is holding on to 2nd place, but all the people below him have a game in hand.
The Barrow is a bit less exciting: Leon Watson played his first game and beat Tom Butterworth. The game is below:
I snuck past Tony Belton but only because of a minor error on his part. There was, shall we say, some ‘interesting’ choices by both players so if I get a chance, I’ll post the game.
Meanwhile, thanks to those who completed the survey about future dates. Based on your feedback, the next rounds will be on the following dates:
Round 6: April 2
Round 7: April 16
Round 8: May 21
I (Stephen) will send round a reminder closer to the date but in the meantime if you would like to book your place for any of those dates, please let me know.
