The Atticus Summer Tournament, now renamed the Wiseman-Hurley Open concluded last night.  Once again all five games were very keenly contested.

Steve Kee went into final round as heavy favourite, having collected four wins and a draw from the previous five rounds, yet Brendan was only a point behind and knew that if he could upset the form book, he could earn a share of first place.  The game was a Sicilian Alapin with 3...g6 (Smith-Morra Declined) and Brendan found some nice tactical ideas to give the number one seed pause for thought, but eventually Steve came through, and was crowned champion for a record fifth time.

Colin took clear second place defeating Sanjoy in a Sicilian Najdorf Opočenský Variation, where the theory gave way to a sharp tactical dogfight where both players missed good opportunities before Colin steered the ship home.  Consolation for Sanjoy was provided by the U1750 grading prize and a tie for 3rd place with Brendan and Luke, who himself returned to winning ways in the final round but was pushed all the way by Steve Burge in a Classical Dutch.

Peter Jenner rounded off a superb tournament for him with a fighting draw against Brian to achieve a creditable 50% result, tying for sixth place with Brian and Mike Coffey who defeated Steve Winstanley.

Tom Webb and Steve Burge finished half a point further back, and Steve Winstanley will look back at oppotunities missed.

The tournament was well supported throughout by players and spectators alike, and it was great to be able to return to over-the-board chess after a long absence.  Thanks in particular to Luke and Martin for assisting with the running of the tournament, as attention now turns to the impending return of league chess on 4th October.

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