On 28 July 1898 the Essex Chess Association came into being. To celebrate the quasquicentennial as our 125th year draws to an end a weekend festival of chess will take place over the weekend of 2/3 September 2023 at Wanstead House incorporating a commemorative 125 individual Rapid tournament on the Saturday afternoon followed by a social evening.
In association with the 125 Rapid, we are also running:
- on the Saturday morning, the 2022-23 ECA Blitz Championship; and…
- and on the Saturday afternoon (within the 125 Rapid), the 2022-23 Essex Rapid Championship.
Essex juniors are eligible for all events.
Saturday 2 September
1 – Morning: 2022-23 Essex Individual Blitz Championship
- 7 Rounds G5+2;
- This is an Essex closed event;
- ECF blitz rated;
- Registration 09:30 closing at 09:55 for Round 1;
- R1 10:00; R2 10:20; R3 10:40; R4 11:00; R5 11:20; R6 11:40; R7 12:00
- Close 12:30;
- Entry Adults £10; Juniors £6;
- Option for rating-limited section depending on entry.
- Prizes according to entry.
- Controller: Ian Hunnable
Blitz Rules
Let’s cut to the chase – the two things players normally ask (click on each for the answers):
Does the ‘touched piece’ rule apply?
Yes. Although the Competition rules are suspended for tournaments where there is not one Arbiter per game and the moves are not recorded, the ‘touched piece’ rule does not form part of the Competition Rules (Article 6 onwards) but Article 4 The act of moving the pieces.
What is the rule for an illegal move?
First offence entitles the opponent to one minute extra time. Second offence by the same player in the same game loses.
Follow this link for: the full Blitz rules
Links: How to Enter | 2022-23 ECA Blitz Championship Vega tournament pages
2 – Afternoon: 125 Anniversary Rapid incorporating the 2022-23 Essex Individual Rapid Championship
- 6 Rounds G12.45+5 to give clock start display of 12.50;
- ECF rapid rated;
- Registration 13:30, closing at 13:40 for Round 1;
- R1 13:45; R2 14:25; R3 15:05; <Break 15:45> R4 16:00; R5 16:40: R6 17:20 (if sufficient entry);
- Close 18:00;
- Entry see below;
- Option for rating-limited section depending on entry;
- Controller: Mark Murrell.
Rapid Rules
The things that players want to know (click on each for the answers):
Does the ‘touched piece’ rule apply?
Yes. Although the Competition rules are suspended for tournaments where there is not one Arbiter per game and the moves are not recorded, the ‘touched piece’ rule does not form part of the Competition Rules (Article 6 onwards) but Article 4 The act of moving the pieces.
Do I have to write the moves down?
No. While recording the moves is optional, this is fast Rapid, so if you start recording the moves you might soon want to stop recording.
What is the rule for an illegal move?
First offence entitles the opponent to one minute extra time. Second offence by the same player in the same game loses.
Follow this link for: Full Rapid rules
Links: How to Enter | Entries to date | 125 Rapid Vega Tournament pages
3 – Social evening in The George for those able to stay on
Chairman Colin invites those players able to stay on to join him at The George (corner of Wanstead High Street, opposite the tube station) to continue the festivities into the evening in an informal setting. There should be capacity as the evening unfolds for food for those who wish either in The George or the Purbani Indian restaurant next door.
Sunday 3 September
4 – Afternoon: 14:00 to 17:30. Junior Festival
This is an Essex closed Junior event.
Junior events, recognising that many of our ECA clubs have junior attendees and/or junior sections, aimed at the less established junior players in particular along the lines of the chess fest events ran on the return from covid, including an unrated event for those not confident with clock play or newer to chess. Further details to be announced. Open to all juniors in Essex.
£2 entry.
The Sunday afternoon junior only tournaments, will be:
- 7-Round ECF Blitz rated Swiss tournaments played at G7+2 (all moves in 7 minutes with two seconds added for each move) for:
A) U18s who are also rated below ECF Rapid 1600
B) U11s
All Sunday tournaments will run to the same schedule:
Registration 14:00; R1 14:15; R2 14:40; R3 15:05; R4 15:30; R5 16:00; R6 16:25; R7 16:50; Closing 17:15.
Age limits as at 31 August 2023 and Rating limits as at August ECF original (blue) lists. ECF membership is not required.
The entry fee is £2 with payment details provided with the entry confirmation.
Blitz Rules
Let’s cut to the chase – the two things players normally ask (click on each for the answers):
Does the ‘touched piece’ rule apply?
Yes. Although the Competition rules are suspended for tournaments where there is not one Arbiter per game and the moves are not recorded, the ‘touched piece’ rule does not form part of the Competition Rules (Article 6 onwards) but Article 4 The act of moving the pieces.
What is the rule for an illegal move?
U18 and U11 – First offence entitles the opponent to one minute extra time. Second offence by the same player in the same game loses. In the Beginners tournament, penalties for illegal moves will be at the discretion of the controllers.
Follow this link for: the full Blitz rules
Links: How to Enter
Vega Tournament pages: U18 | U11 | Beginners
Established juniors are welcome to participate in the Essex speed Championships events on the preceding Saturday, which may have rating limited sections according to entry.
These events are for those Juniors players who have a connection with Essex (which extends to the London Boroughs that are both North of the R. Thames and East of the R. Lea) whether through residency, birth, school location, club location, or having played for an Essex county team.
Under the auspices of the ECA, the Junior only events will be supervised by junior chess organisers Mark Murrell & Ben Harte of Wanstead & Woodford JCCC and Robin Slade of Chelmsford Junior Chess Club.
Places are limited so do register early to avoid disappointment.
Please note that other than in the playing rooms the ECA is unable to provide supervision of junior players at this event. Parents and guardians are welcome to make use of the downstairs lounge facilities of Wanstead House.
Conditions of Entry apply (event and ECA) along with the safeguarding and privacy policies of the ECA. Parents and guardians are please referred to the Safeguarding page available from the Corporate menu at the foot of this page.
Entry
It is hoped that all Essex clubs will be represented at the 125 Rapid which will be funded by an ECA member club levy of £12.50 irrespective of participation to encourage inclusion. In return each ECA member club will be entitled to six free player entries.
Entry is by online form – click the button below. Players who have entered are listed at the bottom of this page, under their Club name in order of entry received. The first six players to enter from each of the current 11 Essex League Clubs will have free entry (see previous paragraph). A £2 entry fee will be payable by additional players from those Clubs, or players from past member and affiliated clubs.
Players from Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester chess clubs are eligible by reason of their historical association.
Those who need to pay the £2 entry fee have the option to:
- pay in advance by bank transfer, or…
- pay cash on the day.
Bank details for advance payment will be given by email on receipt of entry.
ECF Rating Code The Entry Form asks for your ECF rating code. If you need to look this up, please do this now, before completing the Entry Form, at this address:
https://www.ecfrating.org.uk/v2/new/list_players.php
125 Anniversary Rapid – Entries to date
This listing is only for the 125 Anniversary Rapid. Entries to the other events will be shown separately, with links from the various additional events.
125 Anniversary Rapid entries: 42 @ 2 September 2023, 01:12
Players enter the Rapid by the online Entry form (click button above). Entered players will be shown in the list below under their respective Clubs. The first six numbered spaces get free entry – these will be filled in the order entries are received. Additional players in each list may enter on payment of a £2 Entry Fee.
| Club | Club | Club | Club |
| Barking (1) |
Basildon | *Braintree | Brentwood (4) |
| 1. Colin Ramage | 1. | 1. Malcolm Kingsley | |
| 2. | 2. | 2. IM Richard Pert | |
| 3. | 3. | 3. Max Pert | |
| 4. | 4. | 4. Daniel Gallagher | |
| 5. | 5. | 5. Aryan Gohil | |
| 6. | 6. | 6. | |
| *Chelmsford (5) | *Colchester (1) | Ilford (1) | Loughton |
| Colin White | Ruqayyah Rida |
1. Adhar Jaiswal | 1. |
| Robin Slade | 2. | 2. | |
| Martin Jones | 3. | 3. | |
| Ryan Smith | 4. | 4. | |
| David Harrington | 5. | 5. | |
| 6. | 6. | ||
| Southend (3) | Thurrock (2) |
Upminster (6) | Wanstead (13) |
| 1. Joshua Davis | 1. Arjun Mhalsekar | 1. Alexandr Pereslavtsev | 1. Peter Nickals |
| 2. Colin Newton | 2. Rohit Mhalsekar | 2. Sergey Pereslavtsev | 2. Davi Diniz-Afonso |
| 3. Joshua Emdon | 3. | 3. Geoffrey Cooper | 3. Colin Li |
| 4. | 4. | 4. Mustafizur Rahaman | 4. Reyaansh Narula |
| 5. | 5. | 5. John Davenport | 5. Dhruv Gupta |
| 6. | 6. | 6. Les Crane | 6. Ashwin Gopi krishna |
| *Additional (£2 ea): | |||
| David Smith | |||
| David Spearman | |||
| Ryan Colclough | |||
| Istvan Karacsony | |||
| Philip Staniland | |||
| Ashley Freeman | |||
| Anthony Fulton | |||
| Witham | Writtle (6) | ||
| 1. | 1. Russell White | ||
| 2. | 2. David Millward | ||
| 3. | 3. John Moore | ||
| 4. | 4. FM Andrew Lewis | ||
| 5. | 5. Paul Williamson | ||
| 6. | 6. Edgar Wilson |