Dundonald Rapid – Report by Brendan Jamison

With 8 rounds of 20+0, the event allowed many more unrated players the opportunity to gain a FIDE rapid rating.

Arbiters Brendan Jamison and Adam Rushe received a big round of applause for running the tournament so smoothly. And a big thank you to Karina Campbell for bringing her camera to taking so many wonderful photos. A selection of photos at the end of the article; for all photos please visit the UCU facebook page.

Congratulations to the 5 prize-winners of the Dundonald Rapid:

Champion: Mandar Tahmankar (Civil Service) 7.5/8

2nd Place: Richard Morrow (Bangor Chess Club) 6.5/8

3rd Place: Gatis Barbals (Fruithill Chess Club) 6/8

Junior Champion (U1400): Dominic Gallagher 5.5/8

Female Champion: Jade Sandrey (Queen’s University, Belfast) 4.5/8

This was the 8th event in the NI Rapid Grand Prix 2022/2023. A total of 121 players have competed so far and after the Dundonald Rapid, two front-runners were unable to be caught. The maximum grand prix points available at each tournament is 10 points (for first place) but two competitors had taken a lead beyond 20 points so no-one else could catch them in the final two events!

A massive congratulations to Richard Morrow, crowned Grand Prix Champion with 68 points, his nearest rival Gatis Barbals had amassed 45 points after the 8th event.

The shield for the Junior Championship (players rated 0-1100) was awarded to Daniel Hill with a wonderful score of 60 points. His nearest rival Achyut Shyamsunder scored 36 points.

A table of scores for all 121 players can be found online here:

http://www.brendanjamison.com/fidenigrandprix.html

The 9th event in the NI Rapid Grand Prix will be held at Lisburn Chess Club on Friday 10th February, 7pm to 10:15pm. Remember FIDE-rated events often get over-subscribed so register and pay early if you’d like to play. £8 entry fee, £4 for members of Lisburn. Full details in the upcoming events section.