Chess champs gather in Guernsey

Tuesday 18 October 2022

While the seemingly sedate world of Chess attracts headlines elsewhere, 114 competitors have entered the 46th Guernsey Chess Festival, which is expected to pass without a bead of controversy.

The tournament is being staged at St James. The first rounds were played on Sunday and the final will see two players compete for the title on Saturday.

This year there are competitors aged between seven, and 93 years old.

There are just four pre-teens in the contest, the youngest being seven year old Ethan Pang from England. Eight year old Rithvik Deepak Ambattu of Scotland, 10 year old Gus Weber of Jersey and 12 year old Harry Zheng of England are the next youngest players.

At the other end of the age range is 93 year old John Glover of England who is 11 years old than the next oldest competitor, Wim Van Hoek of the Netherlands.

Other players from Europe include Grandmaster Boris Chatalbashev of Denmark.

Pictured: The prizes at the 2022 Guernsey International Chess Festival.

The 114 entrants are competing for prizes, most of which are hundreds of pounds worth of cash. There are prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place overall as well as Grading prizes. 

There are eight players under the age of 18 competing for the Junior prize of £400, while 43 over the age of 65 are competing for the £700 veterans prize.

The female prize of £700 is being contested by possibly nine players.

The Channel Islands based players - of which there are 18 - compete for the £150 Channel Island prize and there are also game prizes open to all players.

Players are only eligible to win one prize except for the 'Best Game Prize' which recognises 'Brilliance' in play and will be awarded to "the player adjudged to have played the best game or achieved a brilliancy".

Pictured: The tournament is taking place at St James.

Rules for the 46th annual Guernsey International Chess Festival include time controls, the pairing method, tie break plans, and anti bullying and safeguarding guidelines.

There is also a section dedicated to 'fair play' which prohibits the use of electronic devices, including mobile phones, during play. 

The rules for the Guernsey International Chess Festival were updated in April this year, before one of the sport's prodigies was caught allegedly cheating.

Hans Niemann is accused of using a device, inserted inside his body, to improve his game play. The device vibrates when it is activated by someone else telling him what move to make.

Nr Niemann, now 19, is also accused of cheating when he was a junior player.