Steve Lloyd and Chris Doran both came second in their sections in the impressive surroundings of the Cunard Building in Liverpool. Steve finished on 7/9, up with the leaders from the start in the Intermediate section. Chris finished on 4/5 in the one-day Sunday Open, conceding just a couple of draws.
In the U12 tournament Jack Yang finished on 3/5.
The two-day Open was particularly strong with over a third of players being titled. Mike McDonagh started creditably with 2/5 but faded on the final day to finish on 3. Chester players seemed to have the wooden spoon in the bag until the critical round 5 match-up pitted Crocker (0/4) against Lee (0.5/4). Accumulation of some points was inevitable with James finishing on 2.5 and gaining some useful open experience. The chess gods smiled more favourably on your reporter with a 5/5 finish.
Dave Robertson attended the opening ceremony and was praised for his accurate memory and attention to detail by the entertaining chess-playing mayor. All-in-all an excellent new tournament which will hopefully be repeated in future years.