36th Stockport Rapidplay Congress, 2024

Wow, what a phenomenal day! Not since the 1990's chess-boom have we had so many players enter the Rapidplay and we had needed to close entries in the week leading up to the event. The Minor section in particular had huge interest and the number of juniors participating doubled from last year. While it did at times get crowded in the bar area and foyer, there was plenty of space in the playing halls.

The juniors made their mark on the day as Tim Elgar came 3rd in the Open; juniors Maksym Kryshtafor and Joel Bartlett took the top two spots in the Major, and Shlok Maheshwari and Zak Buthfer were joint winners of the Minor.

17 players competed in the Open Section which was won by Owen Crawford with a stunning 5.5/6 despite being the lowest seeded player in the section. In 2nd place was Tim Wickens on 4.5/6 and Tim Elgar and Adam Ashton tied for 3rd place, with Tim Elgar winning the under-1960 Grading Prize.

Out of 32 players competing in the Major Section, young Maksym Kryshtafor triumphed with 5.5/6. Close behind on 5/6 was another junior, Joel Bartlett of Liverpool and 3rd place went to Stephen Hill on 4.5/6. Grading prizes for under-1800 were won by Paul Doherty and Kevin Winter on 4/6, and the under-1750 was won by Alannah Ashton (another junior if you're counting!) and Nathan Harvey-Jones with 3.5/6. The Stockport League Trophy was won by Joel McBeath from Ashton Chess Club with 4/6.

40 players played in the Intermediate Section. The runaway winner was Eric Bennett with a perfect 6/6. In 2nd place was Paul Woodfinden on 5/6, and Piotr Stachowiak came 3rd on 4.5/6

The two grading prizes were won by juniors: Denzel Supatan (who also won the Stockport League Trophy) in the under-1600, and Hunain Malik in the under-1525 both with 4/6. The junior prize was won by Ben Newton on 4.5/6.

A huge entry into the Minor Section had 80 players battling it out. 1st place was shared by juniors Shlok Maheshwari and Zak Buthfer on 5.5/6, with a 5-way tie for 3rd place between Nigel Gardner, Sam Burchett, Suleiman Niswar, Oscar Lingard, and Ben Smith.

Sam Burchett also won the prize for best junior player, with Suleiman Nishwar taking the best under-15 year old. Highest scoring under-12 was Mukil Balamurugan on 4/6, and the under-10 prize was shared by Saswin Thiruvarudchelvan and William Bartlett both on 3/6.

A special £100 under-1300 prize was given in the Minor and this was split 5-ways between Jake Hutchinson, Darren Stanway, Claire Kerton, Matthew Poon, and Jon Rowlinson on 4/6. The latter four also split the (adult only) under-1275 grading prize, with the adult only under-1375 split between Neil Treadwell and John Moorhouse on 4.5/6

3rd place Oscar Lingard and Ben Smith also shared the best ungraded player prize.

The Stockport League Trophy in the Minor was won by Dylan Prothero of Ashton Chess Club.

The Veteran Prize (highest scoring veteran in all sections) was shared by Tudor Rickards and Richard Walsh with 4/6 each in the Open.