Quickplay Competition 

 

Handicap rapid-play tournaments are held throughout the season. These are open to all club members and prospective members. The Pollard Cup is awarded to the club member who achieves the best two results from these events.

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There is a £2 entry fee for each event, all of which is returned to the participants in the form of three prizes.

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• Players have 15 minutes in which to make all their moves.

• For each 50 grading points difference (rounded up) one minute will added to the weaker player's time and one minute removed from the stronger player. No player will have less than 3 minutes for all their moves.

• The arbiter will, when present, stop the game when one clock falls. Players are expected to act in a sportsmanlike manner and resign when they see their clock has fallen.

• Also players should "move a piece and press the clock" with the same hand which is an important rule at the death of a game.

• The QP grades to be used are in the table below and will be adjusted based on performance of the tournaments.

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The Autumn Quickplay - 29th September 2025

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The first Quickplay tournament was held at the Queens Hotel on 29th September 2025. There were 13 competitors including a new player, Karl Freedman, who has played online chess, but has not used clocks or played over the board, so this was a challenge which he coped with very well.

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The first round started strongly for Chris, Connor, Tony, Jake, Phil and Joachim who all won their first games. Marcus and Colin would be disappointed to lose at the first hurdle.

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In the second round Chris, Connor, Jake and Phil continued their momentum. Joachim and Tony lost their matches.

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The third round saw Chris and Connor take the lead with wins and Jake and Phil falling back.

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The fourth round saw Chris and Connor go head to head and Connor came out on top, just beating, with some luck so would say, Chris on time.

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The fifth round both Connor and Chris won to take the top two spots with six others sharing third spot.

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The tournament was played in a friendly manner as always and everyone enjoyed the night.

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The Winter Quickplay - 22nd December 2025

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The second Quickplay tournament was held at the Queens Hotel on 22nd December 2025. There were 13 competitors including a new player, Sam Jordan (who has played
online chess and was given an estimated grade of 1400).

The first round started strongly for Chris, Connor, John-Paul, Marcus, Phil and Joachim who all won their first games. Colin would be disappointed to lose at the first hurdle.

In the second round Marcus and Phil continued their momentum. Chris and Connor played each other and this game ended in a draw with Chris only having seconds left on
his clock but a big material advantage. John-Paul and Tom also drew. Joachim lost his match
The third round saw Phil beat Marcus to take the overall lead. Chris defeat John-Paul, and Connor drew against Tom.

The fourth round saw Phil beat Chris maintain his lead. Connor beat Marcus to maintain his challenge.

The fifth round Both Phil and Connor went head to head. Phil blundered a rook and gave Connor the win. Phil and Connor shared first place. Chris won against Joachim to
take third spot.

The tournament was played in a friendly manner as always and everyone enjoyed the night.

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The Spring Quickplay - 23rd March 2026

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​The final Quickplay tournament was held at the Queens Hotel on 23 rd March 2026.There were 11 competitors.

As things stood, Connor Greenwood was favourite to win the competition as his best of two scores was 9 points. Only Chris or Phil could match him but Phil was not playing
meaning Chis would need to score a perfect 5 points to match Connor.

The first round started strongly for Chris, Tom, John-Paul, David and Jake all won their first games. Strong player, Colin would be disappointed to lose at the first hurdle.

Tony 0-1 Chris
Colin 0-1 Tom
John-Paul 1-0 Connor
Simon 0-1 David
Joachim 0-1 Jake

In the second round
Colin 1-0 Tony
Connor 1-0 Joachim
Chris 1-0 David
John-Paul 1-0 Tom
Jake 0-1 Roy

The third round ended Chris’ challenge for the championship as he lost to a very strong John-Paul
Colin 0-1 Connor
Tony Brough 1-0 Joachim
Jake 1-0 Tom
John-Paul 1-0 Chris
Roy 1-0 Simon

The fourth round
Tony Brough 1-0 Simon
Chris 1-0 Colin
Tom 1-0 David
Connor 0.5-0.5 Jake
John-Paul 1-0 Roy

The fifth round saw Connor beating Chris on time in what was a very even game.
John-Paul 1-0 Jake
Tom 1-0 Roy
Tony Brough 1-0 David
Connor 1-0 Chris
Simon 0-1 Joachim

Connor Greenwood became the Quickplay champion for 2026.The tournament was played in a friendly manner as always and everyone enjoyed the night.