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Stockport Rapidplay Congress

An annual event held on the final Sunday in January every year.

38th Stockport Rapidplay Congress

Will take place on Sunday 25th January 2026 at The Guildhall on Wellington Road South.

New for 2026!

  • An INCREASED PRIZE FUND! In all sections the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes have increased 20%

  • The PETER TAYLOR JUNIOR TROPHY to be awarded to the best performing* junior across all sections
* best performing will be judged by comparing tournament performance rating to pre-tournament rating

What's unchanged?

  • SAME GREAT VENUE on the A6: close to Stockport train station, with a supervised car park. Various fast-food outlets nearby and a Co-op next door provide lunch choices.

  • NUMEROUS PRIZES including multiple* rating and junior prizes.

  • INCREMENTAL TIME CONTROL of 25 mins + 5 sec/move
* exact number and rating limits of prizes dependent upon number of entries in each section.
The winning move
Deep in thought
The large room at the Guildhall ready to play chess

Photos from the 2023 event used with permission from Vadym Skakun

Entries

Entries are not yet open. Please check back here at a later date for the entry form.

Entry List

An entry list will be posted here closer to the date.

If you have entered online you should have received an email confirming receipt of your entry. If you haven't, please check your spam folder. If you are still unsure whether your entry has been received, please contact us; please do not submit the online form more than once.

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Programme

The Programme for the 2026 event can be viewed online as a pdf.

Sections

The Open Section open to all players

The Major Section for players rated under 1850

The Intermediate Section for players rated under 1650

The Minor Section for players rated under 1400

Prizes

In all sections:

1st Place: £180
2nd Place: £120
3rd Place: £60
Rating Prizes: £50 (depending on number of entries)

Veteran prize for the highest scoring over-65 in the whole tournament.

Junior prizes awarded depending on number and age of entrants.

The highest scoring Stockport League registered player in the Major, Intermediate, and Minor sections will be awarded an individual trophy.

The best performing junior across all sections will be awarded the Peter Taylor Junior Trophy.

Trophy winners will collect their trophies at the prizegiving ceremony shortly after the final round. Cash prizes will be paid electronically shortly after the event.

Entry Fees

  Adult Junior (Under 18)
ECF Gold or Platinum £27 £20
ECF Bronze * / Non-Member ** £43 £26.50

Late entry fee of £5 for entries received after Saturday 17th January 2026

Cash surcharge of £3 per entry for payment on the day.

Groups of 5 or more can deduct £3 per person from above fees when:

  1. entering and paying before the day
  2. using the group entry online form to enter

* ECF Bronze members will be upgraded to Gold membership

** Juniors and students can register for one year's free Gold membership if they have not previously been ECF members. More info here.

Timetable

Round One

 10.00 am
Round Two 11.20 am
Round Three 12.40 pm
Lunch
Round Four 2.10 pm
Round Five 3.30 pm
Round Six 4.50 pm
Prizegiving Ceremony

Each player has 25 minutes + 5 sec/move increment.

Venue

The Guildhall can be found at 169 Wellington Road South (A6), Stockport, SK1 3UA

There is a large supervised car park at the rear of the Guildhall, entrance on Brentnall Street (£3 per car payable on entry).

Public Transport

Stockport rail and bus stations are 1/2 mile walk up the A6 (10-15 minutes); Davenport rail station is less than one mile walk (20-25 minutes) or by bus 378A

The 192 bus service provides frequent transport from the centre of Manchester, with a bus stop outside the venue.

 

Further Details

Players may request a Half Point Bye for the First Round at time of entry.

ECF Ratings from January 2026 will be used. RP ratings will take precedence over LP ones unless the RP rating is provisional and the LP is not. Ratings used will be subject to the discretion of the organizers.

Unrated players must give details of their strength, previous results, and any previous rating. Except in the open section, they may only win one half of the first or second place prize. All other prizes will be paid in full.

It is a condition of entry that the organizers' decision in any dispute is final.

CHESS ESSENTIALS will be selling DGT clocks, chess books, scoresheets, boards and sets, etc.
Contact Howard at chessbooksuk@hotmail.co.uk or 07594 896 591

Further Questions?

For anything not covered above, please contact us using this form.

The Organizing Team

Gareth Griffiths

Event Organizer

Gareth has been a section controller since 2017 and helped to organize the event since 2018

Andy Stoker

event organizer

Jeff Mason

event organizer

Previous Years

2025

157 players competed across 4 sections with section winners: Nigel Davies and Adam Ashton 5/6 (Open); Eric Bennett 5/6 (Major); Dave Jones 5.5/6 (Inter); and Dyfan Steele 5.5/6 (Minor)

A full report is available here.

2024

169 players competed across 4 sections with section winners: Owen Crawford 5.5/6 (Open); Maksym Kryshtafor 5.5/6 (Major); Eric Bennett 6/6 (Inter); and Shlok Maheshwari and Zak Buthfer 5.5/6 (Minor)

A full report is available here.

2023

119 players competed across 4 sections with section winners: Nigel Davies 6/6 (Open); Tetsuaki Sanada 5/6 (Major); Alan Riddoch 6/6 (Inter); and Phil Shaughnessy and Philip Smith 5.5/6 (Minor)

A full report is available here.

2020

138 players competed across 4 sections with section winners: Paul Macklin and Joshua Pink 4.5/6 (Open); Sam Davies 5.5/6 (Major); Sam Parry 6/6 (Inter); and Dawn Supatan 5.5/6 (Minor)

2019

140 players competed and section winners were: Adam Ashton and Joe McPhillips 5/6 (Open); Phil Seery 5.5/6 (Major); Mick Norris 5.5/6 (Inter); Denzel Supatan 5.5/6 (Minor)

2018

123 players competed and section winners were: Nigel Davies 5.5/6 (Open); Mark Hann and Andrew Jacques 5/6 (Major); Richard Renegade 5.5/6 (Inter); Andrew Beswick and Sam Hayman 5.5/6 (Minor)

2017

126 players competed and section winners were: Joe McPhillips 5.5/6 (Open); Nicholas Barnaby 5.5/6 (Major); Graham Ashcroft, Rob McLean, and Ian Stone 5/6 (Inter); Anthony Hunt 5.5/6 (Minor)

2016

128 players competed and section winners were: Robert Shaw and Joe McPhillips 4.5/6 (Open); Nicholas Martin 5/6 (Major); Piotr Lipka 5.5/6 (Inter); Greg O'Connor, Holly Jacobson, John Kelly and George Scattergood 5/6 (Minor)

2015

149 players competed and section winners were: Adam Ashton 6/6 (Open); Joao Rita 5.5/6 (Major); Geraint George 5.5/6 (Inter); Stephen Crockett 6/6 (Minor)