After three rounds, our new format Grand Prix Tournament is off to a flying start.
In fact, we’ve already seen 35 games in January, which bests the 29 games played over the entire competition of last year. The new format seems to have captured people’s attention. Thank you to those who are part of it. Your participation has contributed to a great start.
In Formula 1 racing they talk about the Grand Prix and who will be champion. In golf, it is the Race to Dubai. Both are season-long competitions where people can participate in as many or as few rounds as they want.
Points mean peanuts…
Obviously the more you participate, the greater your chances of winning. Our funds at Battersea can’t offer the winner £1m like in golf, or a tax-free apartment in Monaco, but we can offer you the glory of winning, and, if you are lucky, a free pack of peanuts from behind the bar.
In the Championship, Alistair Hill is the clear leader after three games, with 2/3. He’s half a point ahead of Aldo (1.5/2), followed by a further eight players on one point each.
In the Barrow, there’s a two-way tie between Carlton Bradbury and Stephen Welch. Both are off to a flying start with 3/3. But there are four people just behind 2/2.
So really we are taking a 6-way tie for first place. But there is a long way to go! And because we are using “Swiss” principles for our pairing (as much as we can) no doubt there will be some six-pointer games (to use a football analogy) soon.
You can see the full details here: http://www.batterseachessclub.org.uk/grand-prix/. This is a live page which is automatically updated whenever a new match is recorded on the database. So you can see the full table and also individual results.
The tournament is scheduled to last the full year. It is not too late to sign up. You can do so here: www.bitly.com/battersea2019.
The next rounds of the Grand Prix are Feb 5 and Feb 19. If you would like to play in either of those rounds, please either register via the link above or contact Stephen Welch.
