Summer tournament ends with Awards and fun tournament.
This summer we had a brilliant tournament in an excellent venue - the Civil Service Pavilion. We had 17 weeks from beginning of May to end of Sept. We played 203 games. With some 45 players participating.
The tournament was originally devised to provide rated slow games over the Summer when alot of chess clubs close. Starting after the league completes and finishing just before the new season starts. People running it include the fantastic Alex Beckett - from whom I learnt the format. Alex was a great gentlemen and organiser - who was a key organiser in Ulster Chess and ran alot of Ulster Chess events for years.
The evening started with a fun tournament. A handicap where the higher rated player gets less time according to the difference in the ratings of the two players. We owe thanks to David Seaby for the idea of this tournament and for the table of time differences. Sadly David passed away on the 30 Sept. He will be missed by the Ulster Chess World - we enjoyed his company, his excellent conversations and his fun chess.
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David Won the lower section of the Summer Tournament in 2012. |
The Handicap table we use:
A table of clocks was available with them set to various settings from the above table. Players registered and paid the entry fee of £2 which was placed in envelopes for the winners.
The draw was made and people stood at the wall with the draw and the above time differences. Working out their times. This took quicker than I expected and players were soon ready with their clocks set to start round 1.
and they were off. Silence and thought filled the room.
In amoungst the players we were honoured to have both the Irish Champion and the Ulster Champion. Adam Collins and Ethan Cole. A tough tournament was about to happen....
Time Handicap Civil Service Sept 2026 - Round 1
Results
No Name Rtg Total Result Name Rtg Total 1 Adam Collins 2087 [0] 1:0 Cathal Murphy 1601 [0] 2 Owen Dumigan 1599 [0] 0:1 Ethan Cole 1922 [0] 3 Caleb McClean 1880 [0] 1:0 Ashish Shambharkar 1576 [0] 4 Stewart McConaghy 1539 [0] 0:1 Ben McIlroy 1872 [0] 5 Mark Newman 1786 [0] 1:0 Geoff Hindley 1401 [0] 6 Geoff Browne 1400 [0] 0:1 Shane Keers 1744 [0] 7 David Corr 1669 [0] 1:0 Trevor Eagleson 1400 [0] 8 Reuben McClean 1400 [0] 0:1 Bobby Thompson 1667 [0] 9 David Blair 1666 [0] 1:0 Schlok Thoke 1400 [0] 10 Peter Ward 1400 [0] 0:1 Amol Thoke 1634 [0] 11 David Ruben 1618 [0] .5:.5 Ayush Shambharkar 1350 [0]
by Swiss Perfect (TM) www.swissperfect.com
One of the players noticed that here we have all the games going to rating. Which does suggest the handicap system wasnt being reflected in the results. Higher rated players were still winning! On the bottom board we did get an upset. Ayush Shambharkar drew against higher rating David Ruben.
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Time Handicap Civil Service Sept 2026 - Round 2
Results
No Name Rtg Total Result Name Rtg Total 1 Shane Keers 1744 [1] 0:1 Adam Collins 2087 [1] 2 Ethan Cole 1922 [1] 0:1 David Corr 1669 [1] 3 Bobby Thompson 1667 [1] 0:1 Caleb McClean 1880 [1] 4 Ben McIlroy 1872 [1] 1:0 David Blair 1666 [1] 5 Amol Thoke 1634 [1] 1:0 Mark Newman 1786 [1] 6 Cathal Murphy 1601 [0] 0:1 David Ruben 1618 [.5] 7 Ayush Shambharkar 1350 [.5] 0:1 Owen Dumigan 1599 [0] 8 Ashish Shambharkar 1576 [0] 0:1 Reuben McClean 1400 [0] 9 Trevor Eagleson 1400 [0] 1:0 Stewart McConaghy 1539 [0] 10 Geoff Hindley 1401 [0] 0:1 Peter Ward 1400 [0] 11 Schlok Thoke 1400 [0] 1:0 Geoff Browne 1400 [0]
David Corr gets a win against Ethan Cole and opens up the competition. Whilst Adam Collins continues to win. Amol Thoke gets a good win against Mark Newman.. Reuben McClean wins against Ashish Shambharkar.
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Time Handicap Civil Service Sept 2026 - Round 3
Results
No Name Rtg Total Result Name Rtg Total 1 Adam Collins 2087 [2] 1:0 Ben McIlroy 1872 [2] 2 Caleb McClean 1880 [2] 1:0 Amol Thoke 1634 [2] 3 David Corr 1669 [2] 1:0 David Ruben 1618 [1.5] 4 Reuben McClean 1400 [1] 0:1 Ethan Cole 1922 [1] 5 Mark Newman 1786 [1] 1:0 Schlok Thoke 1400 [1] 6 Owen Dumigan 1599 [1] 1:0 Shane Keers 1744 [1] 7 Peter Ward 1400 [1] 1:0 Bobby Thompson 1667 [1] 8 David Blair 1666 [1] .5:.5 Trevor Eagleson 1400 [1] 9 Ashish Shambharkar 1576 [0] 0:1 Ayush Shambharkar 1350 [.5] 10 Geoff Browne 1400 [0] 0:1 Cathal Murphy 1601 [0] 11 Stewart McConaghy 1539 [0] 1:0 Geoff Hindley 1401 [0]
Several games go against ratings. Owen Dumigan wins against Shane Keers, Peter Ward wins against Bobby Thompson, Trevor Eagleson draws against David Blair and Ayush Shambharkar wins against his father Ashish Shambharkar.
Time Handicap Civil Service Sept 2026 - Round 4
Results
No Name Rtg Total Result Name Rtg Total 1 David Corr 1669 [3] 0:1 Adam Collins 2087 [3] 2 Ethan Cole 1922 [2] 1:0 Caleb McClean 1880 [3] 3 Ben McIlroy 1872 [2] 1:0 Mark Newman 1786 [2] 4 Amol Thoke 1634 [2] 0:1 Owen Dumigan 1599 [2] 5 Ayush Shambharkar 1350 [1.5] 0:1 Peter Ward 1400 [2] 6 David Ruben 1618 [1.5] 1:0 David Blair 1666 [1.5] 7 Trevor Eagleson 1400 [1.5] 0:1 Shane Keers 1744 [1] 8 Bobby Thompson 1667 [1] 1:0 Stewart McConaghy 1539 [1] 9 Cathal Murphy 1601 [1] 1:0 Reuben McClean 1400 [1] 10 Schlok Thoke 1400 [1] 1:0 Ashish Shambharkar 1576 [0] 11 Geoff Hindley 1401 [0] 0:1 Geoff Browne 1400 [0]
Owen Dumigan continues to win and beats Amol Thoke. The rest of the games go to ratings. With Adam Collins win against David Corr and the chasing players results leading to Adam leading the tournament going into round 5 with a full score.
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Time Handicap Civil Service Sept 2026 - Round 5
Results
No Name Rtg Total Result Name Rtg Total 1 Adam Collins 2087 [4] .5:.5 Ethan Cole 1922 [3] 2 Caleb McClean 1880 [3] 1:0 David Corr 1669 [3] 3 Owen Dumigan 1599 [3] 0:1 Ben McIlroy 1872 [3] 4 Peter Ward 1400 [3] 0:1 David Ruben 1618 [2.5] 5 Mark Newman 1786 [2] 0:1 Bobby Thompson 1667 [2] 6 Shane Keers 1744 [2] 1:0 Schlok Thoke 1400 [2] 7 David Blair 1666 [1.5] .5:.5 Amol Thoke 1634 [2] 8 Ayush Shambharkar 1350 [1.5] 0:1 Trevor Eagleson 1400 [1.5] 9 Stewart McConaghy 1539 [1] 0:1 Reuben McClean 1400 [1] 10 Geoff Browne 1400 [1] 0:1 Ashish Shambharkar 1576 [0] 11 Geoff Hindley 1401 [0] 1:0 BYE
The final round. A draw on the top board and Adam is the Champion. Bobby Thompson wins against Mark Newman and Reuben McClean wins against Stewart McConaghy.
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Standings
Place Name Rtg Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.
1 Adam Collins 2087 4.5 9.5 16.0 14.5
2-3 Caleb McClean 1880 4 8.5 13.0 13.0
Ben McIlroy 1872 4 7.0 12.5 12.0
4-5 Ethan Cole 1922 3.5 10.0 16.5 10.5
David Ruben 1618 3.5 7.5 12.0 9.5
6-10 David Corr 1669 3 11.0 18.0 12.0
Owen Dumigan 1599 3 9.0 14.5 9.0
Shane Keers 1744 3 7.5 13.0 8.0
Bobby Thompson 1667 3 7.0 12.0 8.0
Peter Ward 1400 3 7.0 11.0 9.0
11-12 Amol Thoke 1634 2.5 8.0 14.0 9.5
Trevor Eagleson 1400 2.5 6.5 10.5 6.5
13-17 David Blair 1666 2 8.5 14.5 7.0
Mark Newman 1786 2 7.5 12.0 8.0
Reuben McClean 1400 2 6.5 11.0 5.0
Cathal Murphy 1601 2 5.5 11.0 3.0
Schlok Thoke 1400 2 5.0 9.0 6.0
18 Ayush Shambharkar 1350 1.5 8.5 13.0 5.5
19-22 Stewart McConaghy 1539 1 7.5 12.0 3.0
Ashish Shambharkar 1576 1 5.5 10.5 1.0
Geoff Hindley 1401 1 5.5 9.5 1.0
Geoff Browne 1400 1 5.5 9.0 2.0
Champion: Adam Colins
2nd: Caleb McClean
3rd: Ben McIlroy
4th: Ethan Cole
After the awards were given for the fun tournament we moved to the main awards - for the long tournament - the Summer Tournament.
We use the UCU ratings for our draws. When well into the tournament we split the it into 3 sections. Top, Middle and Lower or 1, 2, 3. Throughout the tournament an effort is made to draw pairings of players with similar ratings.
The rules of the tournament are :( these havent changed much over the years ).
Rules
1. Players must complete 10 games to be considered for prizes.
2. If a player does not play in two of the last three rounds they will be assumed to have played and lost 2 games. If they play only one then they will forfeit one game.
3. However if a player has played 14 or more games then they are exempt from rule 2.
4. Scores will be calculated on a percentage basis.
| Champion | Ethan Cole |
| 2nd Place | McConaghy, Stewart |
| Section 1. Winner | Campbell, Andrew |
| Section 1. 2nd | Robert Lavery |
| Section 2. Winner | Dumigan, Owen |
| Section 2. 2nd | Shambharkar, Ashish |
| Section 3. Winner | Thoke, Schlok |
| Section 3. 2nd | O'Connor, Paul |
The final results with % and calculated last 3 weeks penalties:
Top Section
| Name | Rating | played | Score | % | Penalty | Score - penalty | Adj % | Winners | |
| 1 | Ben McIlroy | 1843 | 4 | 3.5 | 87.50 | 0 | 3.5 | 87.50 | |
| 2 | Ethan Cole | 1871 | 10 | 8 | 80.00 | 0 | 8 | 80.00 | Tournament Champion |
| 3 | Campbell, Andrew | 1858 | 13 | 8.5 | 65.38 | 0 | 8.5 | 65.38 | Section Leader |
| 4 | Kelly, Christopher | 1713 | 4 | 2.5 | 62.50 | -2 | 2.5 | 62.50 | |
| 5 | Annesley, Gareth | 1922 | 9 | 5.5 | 61.11 | 0 | 5.5 | 61.11 | |
| 6 | Robert Lavery | 1758 | 12 | 7 | 58.33 | 0 | 7 | 58.33 | section 2nd |
| 7 | McClean, Caleb | 1867 | 11 | 6 | 54.55 | 0 | 6 | 54.55 | |
| 8 | Wong, James | 1737 | 6 | 3 | 50.00 | -1 | 3 | 50.00 | |
| 9 | Keers, Shane | 1800 | 14 | 6.5 | 46.43 | 0 | 6.5 | 46.43 | |
| 10 | Khanzharov, Edward | 1788 | 7 | 2.5 | 35.71 | -2 | 2.5 | 35.71 | |
| 11 | Newman, Mark | 1764 | 7 | 2.5 | 35.71 | -2 | 2.5 | 35.71 | |
| 12 | Edens, Jack | 1812 | 8 | 2 | 25.00 | -2 | 2 | 25.00 | |
| 13 | Spackman, Conor | 1767 | 2 | 0.5 | 25.00 | -2 | 0.5 | 25.00 | |
| 14 | Moreland, Desmond | 1766 | 2 | 0.5 | 25.00 | -2 | 0.5 | 25.00 | |
| 15 | Dorrian, Chris | 1742 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | -2 | 0 | 0.00 |
Middle Section
| Name | Rating | played | Score | % | Score - penalty | Adj % | |||
| 1 | Raful Zacarias Leal, Moises | 1578 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | -2 | 1 | 100.00 | |
| 2 | Armstrong, Chris | 1631 | 3 | 2.5 | 83.33 | -2 | 2.5 | 83.33 | |
| 3 | Dumigan, Owen | 1569 | 14 | 10 | 71.43 | 0 | 10 | 71.43 | Section Leader |
| 4 | Sawant, Sanket | 1579 | 8 | 5 | 62.50 | 0 | 5 | 62.50 | |
| 5 | Shambharkar, Ashish | 1534 | 10 | 6 | 60.00 | 0 | 6 | 60.00 | section 2nd |
| 6 | Thompson, Bobby | 1679 | 9 | 5 | 55.56 | 0 | 5 | 55.56 | |
| 7 | Thoke, Amol | 1637 | 11 | 5.5 | 50.00 | 0 | 5.5 | 50.00 | |
| 8 | Blair, David | 1627 | 13 | 6.5 | 50.00 | 0 | 6.5 | 50.00 | |
| 9 | Magee, Patrick | 1607 | 8 | 4 | 50.00 | -2 | 4 | 50.00 | |
| 10 | Murphy, Cathal | 1597 | 9 | 4.5 | 50.00 | 0 | 4.5 | 50.00 | |
| 11 | Proctor, Richard | 1593 | 16 | 7.5 | 46.88 | 0 | 7.5 | 46.88 | |
| 12 | Campbell, Peter | 1693 | 13 | 6 | 46.15 | 0 | 6 | 46.15 | |
| 13 | McKillen, Patrick | 1594 | 5 | 2 | 40.00 | -2 | 2 | 40.00 | |
| 14 | Ruben, David | 1631 | 11 | 5 | 45.45 | -1 | 4 | 36.36 | |
| 15 | Collins, David | 1687 | 12 | 5 | 41.67 | -1 | 4 | 33.33 | |
| 16 | Jaffa, Bernard | 1581 | 11 | 3.5 | 31.82 | 0 | 3.5 | 31.82 | |
| 17 | Stinson, James | 1509 | 2 | 0.5 | 25.00 | -2 | 0.5 | 25.00 |
Lower Section
| Name | Rating | played | Score | % | Score - penalty | Adj % | |||
| 1 | McConaghy, Stewart | 1468 | 14 | 10.5 | 75.00 | 0 | 10.5 | 75.00 | Tournament 2nd |
| 2 | Ward, Peter | 1300 | 7 | 5 | 71.43 | 0 | 5 | 71.43 | |
| 3 | Thoke, Schlok | 1300 | 11 | 7.5 | 68.18 | 0 | 7.5 | 68.18 | Section Leader |
| 4 | O'Connor, Paul | 1416 | 17 | 10.5 | 61.76 | 0 | 10.5 | 61.76 | section 2nd |
| 5 | Walker, Jamie | 1300 | 7 | 4 | 57.14 | -2 | 4 | 57.14 | |
| 6 | Storey, Peter | 1195 | 7 | 4 | 57.14 | -1 | 4 | 57.14 | |
| 7 | Eagleson, Trevor | 1400 | 7 | 3.5 | 50.00 | -1 | 3.5 | 50.00 | |
| 8 | Shambharkar, Ayush | 1000 | 2 | 1 | 50.00 | -2 | 1 | 50.00 | |
| 9 | Stafford, Roy | 1498 | 14 | 6 | 42.86 | 0 | 6 | 42.86 | |
| 10 | Hindley, Geoff | 1410 | 13 | 6.5 | 50.00 | -1 | 5.5 | 42.31 | |
| 11 | Browne, Geoff | 1300 | 13 | 3 | 23.08 | 0 | 3 | 23.08 | |
| 12 | Mcclean, Reuben | 1300 | 12 | 3 | 25.00 | -1 | 2 | 16.67 | |
| 13 | McLean, Jim | 1306 | 14 | 0.5 | 3.57 | 0 | 0.5 | 3.57 | |
| 14 | David Cunningham | 1400 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
The full results are on our site : https://www.ulsterchess.org/competitions/competitions/comp-3032/cvt_event/standings/944#tabhead
