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05/05/2023 English Over-50 and Over-65 Seniors’ Championships 2023
These days there are both British Championships and English Championships, and the latter have both open-age and “senior” forms. (The open-age championships follow towards the end of the month - see here.)
The 2023 English Seniors’ Championships at Over-50 and Over-65 levels, were held as 7-round Swiss events over an extended Coronation Bank Holiday weekend, starting on Thursday 4th May and ending on Monday 8th May 2023, at the Woodland Grange Hotel, Old Milverton Lane, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RN. There were only 38 participants in each section, which might have been seen as a little disappointing, especially as the incorporated women’s championships seem to have attracted only one candidate in each section.
Top three place prizes in each section were 1st £500, 2nd £200 and 3rd £100 - fairly commensurate with many 5-round weekend congresses and so not in themselves much of an attraction to a national championship.
There appear to have been only four Yorkshire-resident participants.
In the Over-50 section, Eric Gardiner (Hull) finished 24th to 28th equal on 3 out of 7.
In the Over-65 Section, Paul Hutchinson (Scarborough) finished 5th to 10th equal (along with brother Norman amongst others) on 4½ out of 7, Chris Shephard (Sheffield) and Mike Stokes (Harrogate) finished 11th to 15th equal on 4 out of 7.
The Over-50 winner on Chess-Results.com was GM Keith Arkell, on tie-break from GM Mark Hebden, both on 5½ out of 7. However, the title was shared, without any tie-break being applied. The section included 4 GMs, 1 IM, 3 FMs and 1 WIM. The Women’s championship was to be awarded to the highest-place female participant who seems to have been the only one, WIM Natasha Regan.
The Over-65 winner was IM Chris Baker who finished clear 1st on 6 out of 7, ahead of IM Paul Littlewood who was clear 2nd on 5½ out of 7, these two being the only titled players participating. In this section as well, there seems to have been only one female participant, who presumably thereby won the Women’s championship.
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