The first-ever Wightlink Isle of Wight Chess Congress, held from 19th-21st April, proved to be a resounding, sell out success – with Island Echo sponsoring the Best Isle of Wight Player trophy.
Hosted at The Ryde Castle Hotel, the congress drew in a total of 72 participants, with 41 travelling from the mainland. This strong turnout signals the Island’s promising ability to accommodate even larger chess events in the future. Plans are already in motion for a tournament in 2025, aiming to welcome up to 300 players and a 9-round Open section. This year’s Open section featured some exceptional play, with 10 titled players, a chess Grandmaster and 2 British Champions.
International Master Harry Grieve clinched 1st place after securing a draw in the final round with Grandmaster Keith Arkell. Harry gave an exceptional performance and finished on 4.5 out of 5, to Keith’s 4 out of 5 after taking a Round 3 bye. Keith finished in 2nd place as runner up and he also won the Blitz on Saturday evening. Overall Keith played 5 Open games, 7 Blitz Games and 12 Simul games, with the final round draw being the only game he didn’t win.
Chichester player Vinuda Gunatilake came 3rd on tie break with 3.5 out of 5, also winning the Best under 16 prize for the section, sponsored by Isle of Wight College.
Overall the juniors gave an excellent performance in the Open and it was incredible to see them hold their own in such a strong field. One Junior in particular, Jan Murawski played some exceptional chess over the weekend but it didn’t translate to the final scoreboard. The 13-year-old Oxford junior narrowly missed out on a draw with British Champion Harry Grieve in R2, succumbing to Harry’s superior game management in the end game. He also had a strong winning chance against Women’s International Master Natasha Regan in the final round but ultimately lost that game after a brilliant Rook sacrifice from Natasha. Jan did however come 2nd in the Saturday night Blitz, with his only loss going to Grandmaster and Blitz winner Keith Arkell.
Natasha’s win secured the prize of Best Women’s Player, sponsored by Wightlink Ferries. Overall 9 Women took part, which is a good number and hopefully one we can increase in coming years and especially so with local players. 2 local players gave strong performances in the Open. FIDE Master Neil Dickenson returned to tournament chess after over a decade and scored an impressive 3.5 out of 5. Missing out on 3rd place to Tie Break.
Newcomer to tournaments, Islander Joel Lloyd scored 2.5 from 5, with an impressive win with the black pieces and a draw against the very strong junior player, Shambavi Hariharan. Born Islander, but away at University and representing Southampton University Chess, David Collyer also gave a good performance in his first FIDE Open, securing points against much higher rated players.
The Championship section was won by local player Clive Bowley, who also won the Island Echo’s Best Isle of Wight players prize. 2nd place was visiting player Arnob Dutta and on Tie Break, another local, Michael Gidley came 3rd. Michael also won the best Over 65 IOW player award. 
The U1400 rated Challenger section was won by visiting junior player Gregory Kornilovich. On the top board, Gregory saw off strong attacks in the final round from talented local, John Oglander, who was up to now undefeated and on 3.5 from 4 having taken a half point bye in round 4. John slipped down to 4th position with the loss and missed out on a top 3 finish. Another local Om Gohel clinched 2nd place with 4 out of 5 and some impressive wins.
Newcomer and Islander Alexander Short came 3rd on tie break also on 4 points from 5.
David Lightfoot, Tournament Director, said:
“Overall the feedback has been great from players. With the support of Wightlink, we were able to plan a top-level Congress at short notice and we cannot thank them enough for their backing. “Our equipment partners, Digital Game Technology generously supported the event with live boards and additional clocks and boards, which allowed the event to be broadcast live and give players a professional experience.
Island Echo sponsored the Best IOW Player award which added an extra element of competition for locals not playing in the top section. Isle of Wight College supported under 16 prizes in each section which was a huge draw for junior players. “I could not be more proud of Isle of Wight Chess, with the support of local players we were able to deliver a top tier event and we can’t wait to expand this next year. We could not have wished for a better Chief Arbiter in Shohreh Bayat, who delivered an incredible event with her team. Thank you to all players and staff and I look forward to announcing the 2025 Isle of Wight Chess Tournament”.
The full results can be found at https://www.iowchess.com/post/results-and-tables-wightlink-isle-of-wight-chess-congress-2024. 
