Tag: rapid

20/20 Chess Championships Eton College, Mar 2026

Camberley entered two teams in the latest in this series of Rapid tournaments, organised by Peter Hornsby in aid of Oxfam.  Once again, the event was hosted by Eton College in impressive and historic surroundings.  Our A team (Jon, Martin, Aditya and Steve) were the reigning champions from the last event in November 2025.

The format was 20/20 Rapid, which means 20 minutes plus no increment, which these days is unusual and proved quite a challenge for some of us. 

Overall our A team finished in third place (W4, D1, L1) and the B team were ninth (W2, D1, L3).  The winners were Maidenhead (W5, D0, L1) and second were Queen Mary’s University (W4, D1, L1).

The results can be seen here:  https://results.scorchapp.co.uk/t/20-20ChessMarch2026/standings/1

A team report (by Steve Harley)

As reigning champs we arrived in confident mood, with an unchanged team.  Maidenhead had entered only the evening before the event – it was clear when we arrived that they were taking it seriously with Andrew Smith and Bohdan Terler on boards 1 & 2.

Our first match was a fairly straightforward 4-0 victory against UK Armed Forces Chess association.  In round 2 we were straight into the serious stuff against Maidenhead.  Jon had a great win after a long battle against Andrew, but Martin succumbed to the excellent Bohdan (who scored 6/6 on the day).  Aditya and I won to secure an excellent 3-1 victory (against the eventual winners).

Another 3-1 win in round 3 against Reading Uni & Alumni put us in the lead.  In round 4 we played another team new to the event, Queen Mary’s University.  They looked pretty good, and so it proved in a 2-2 draw.  Martin and I both lost, me from a piece up.

Then came the big showdown – the Camberley A vs Camberley B “Derby”.  There was quite an upset on board 1 as Bob Smith beat Jon, who uncharacteristically “forgot that Knights move backwards”.  Martin and Aditya beat Jan and Tristan respectively, and it came down to me vs Warren on 4.  I was well on top a piece up for a long time but somehow managed to hang my queen very close the end of the time control – sadly for Warren, he missed it with only seconds left on his clock and lost the game, so the match ended 3-1.

Going into the final round we “only” needed to beat Sussex Juniors, who were mid-table having earlier been beaten 3-1 by Maidenhead and 4-0 by QMU.  However. The pesky kids played really well – Jon was down a pawn but managed to wriggle out for a win, I was completely outplayed as white in a Catalan.  Both Martin and Aditya tried to grind out wins from fairly even positions, but Aditya could not make progress and drew, and in the last game Martin over-pressed and lost a N and P ending, which his young opponent played very well indeed.  In the end it was a painful 1.5-2.5 defeat, but no hard luck stories – we just got outplayed by some good juniors.

Our individual scores were:

  • Jon – 5/6 (one loss to Bob Smith, good win against Andrew Smith)
  • Martin – 2/6 (not really his day, was up against some strong players on board 2)
  • Aditya – 5.5/6 (brilliant MVP performance, continuing his great recent form and getting better and better in front of our eyes)
  • Steve – 4/6 (the usual up and down stuff)

B team report (by Tristan Nowell)

Unlike the A team, we were unburdened by the weight of expectation entering the tournament so started the day in a jovial mood.

We got things off to an excellent start with back to back 4-0 thrashings of London women’s and Reading university B with clinical performances across all 4 boards. That put us at the top of the table and on top board. This was, in retrospect,a slight over-achievement, as we were promptly put back in our place with a 4-0 hammering from Queen’s University (highlight of this round was me playing a perfectly memorised 10 moves only to blunder mate in 2 straight after).

We then faced Eton college and managed a respectable 2-2 draw, although I again threw away a great position to squander a potential win for the team. This then saw us face off against our fellow club mates in Rd 5. We were unsurprisingly outplayed on boards 4-2 but with what might have been the biggest giant killing of the day – Bob Smith pulled off a dramatic upset to take a full point from FM Jon Ady.

We entered the final round with another extremely tough match up against eventual winners Maidenhead. In a reverse of the previous round we were conclusively beaten on boards 1-3 but Warren on board 4 pulled  off the most ruthless of swindles. Coming back from a time deficit and a full rook down he took advantage of an illegal move to level things on the clock and in true Warren style somehow salvaged the game.

Overall a great day with the team earning a respectable 2.5 out of 6 having faced all of the eventual top 3.

Final individual scores:

  • Bob Smith: 3/6 (including an incredibly impressive win over Jon Ady)
  • Jan Demjan: 3/6 (played solidly throughout putting up tough fights in every game)
  • Tristan Nowell: 2/6 (not my day – had a mix of good games and some that I would like to forget!)
  • Warren Wright: 4/6 (excellent dogged performance as always. Refusing to go quietly even when down material and earned himself a very respectable 4/6).
Ca A vs Ma
Ca A vs Re Uni
Ca A vs QMU
Ca A vs CA B
Ca A vs Sussex J
CA A vs Re Uni and Ca B vs QMU
Ca B vs L Women
Ca A vs Ma (2)
Ca B vs QMU and Ca A vs Re Uni
Ma vs Ca B
playing hall
Ca A with prizes
Jon
Aditya
Ca A with prizes (2)
the players
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University Of Reading 2nd Rapidplay

Last Saturday several members of the club played in 2nd University Of Reading Rapidplay. The last one was only in March, despite feeling like it was last year. Nevertheless we scored some great results and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the day.

In the Open, we had FM Jon Ady leading the charge, with Adrian, Martin, Peter and Daniel spread throughout the section.

In the U1500, Jan, Josh, Janaka and Neale representing Camberley.

Last year’s challengers section winner Jake, in true magnus style, declined to defend his title. I’m sure this was all part of an elaborate plan to declare this tournament’s winner false, that’s what chess champions do – right?

A win for Camberley!

Yes that’s right, we’re two for two on University of Reading tournaments!

Congratuations to Jon, who took home the win in the open section with a perfect 6/6.

In the last tournament, the highest rated player was rated 2073, and the open section only had 20 entrants. This time, the section grew to 26 players, with top seed being IM Peter Large, at 2334, with plenty more ~2000 rated players to up the competition quite a bit.

It goes without saying the star performance of the day was from Jon. One game worth highlighting was Jon’s round 4 clash against his 40-year rival and the top seed, IM Peter Large. This was the defining moment for Jon not only taking the lead, but most likely taking the rest of the tournament in a sweep.

Camberley also took home the rating prize, with Daniel Seaton scoring an impressive 3/6 in a tough section.

FM Jon Ady wins the open
Daniel wins the rating prize

Another notable performance from the open, from a UoR player Adam Smith must also be mentioned, despite being rated only 1617, Adam took down an IM, beat a 2000-rated player, and drew with Adrian! Taking home 3rd place, with a performance rating of 2130, ending on 4.5/6. Hats off to you Adam, that’s a stonker of a tournament run.

In the Challengers, the lead was constantly split between a third of the field, with each round knocking only one player out of the running for first. By the last round, there were four different players that could have won the section, depdending on how things went.

Jan and Josh were both sitting in second and fourth respectively at the end of round 3. Looking like one, or both of them were going to take home a podium finish in the section. Unfortunately, in round 4, Jan suffered an unfornuate loss, but that still kept him in the running as now there were seven players all within a point and a half, and in the running for the top spot.

In round 5, there was a board two face-off between the two Camberley members. Sadly, a draw would see them both take a substantial hit to winning chances if the other top boards had decisive victories. And naturally, a decisive victory would only see one player in the running for first in the last round.

Josh took home the win there, with a fast opening that saw Jan’s pinned c6 Knight take an overload of pressure from a Qa4 pin followed by a textbook Catalan Ne5 opening the sniper on g2. With a few trades and checks, Josh was a pawn up and comfortably better. The game was decided moments later where Rd1 pinned Jan’s bishop to his Queen, ultimately winnning the peice and the game.

In the last round, Josh was on 4.5 alongside fellow unbeaten player Emile, whom he had drawn against in round 3. Somehow and by some miracle Josh held a dead lost endgame to a same-coloured bishop draw, finishing on 5/6, and remaining undefeated. It all came down to board one, where every possible result would crown a different victor. On that board, Emile took home the win. Therefore taking first place, on 5.5/6. Josh took home second place on 5/6.

Overall, a great result for Camberley, with a win and a second place finish.

A huge thank you to James Connors and the Univeristy of Reading Chess Club, for not only running a great tournament, but for also doing a fantasic job in increasing the entrants and growing the tournament since the last one. It was a really fun day, and we look forward to the next!

Full results here (click the images to go to the chessresults page):

Open:

Challengers:

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20/20 Chess Championships Eton College, Nov 2025

Camberley Chess Club were pleased to be able to support the 20/20 Chess Championships at the prestigious Eton College venue. These championships are an unrated team-of-four, 6 round, rapid-play event with no membership requirements with all the net profits going to Oxfam, their chosen charity. The time control was 20 minutes each with no increment.

We entered 3 teams of 4 players and turned up not really knowing how we would perform against a wide variety of teams, 16 in total.

It was a well organised and fun event – thank you to everybody who helped, all the organisers, Eton College staff and boys and Peter Hornsby, the Founder and Tournament Director.

There were many close team matches.

The Camberley C Team of Bob Wooding, Warren Wright, Janaka Jayasinghe and Tristan Nowell won 2 rounds and drew one achieving 2.5 points.

Warren had the standout game for the C team. With the rest of the team already lost and a piece down in an endgame with a 1600+ rated opponent, Warren found a devastating pin that eventually allowed him to promote. Other standout games were Tristan’s slightly bitter sweet 9 move checkmate against a 9 year old junior and Janaka’s grinding endgame win with the whole room packed up and ready to go home. Captain Bob had a characteristically consistent tournament, win loose or draw, pushing his opponents into deep waters. Overall, a great day and a respectable finish of 2.5 out of 6 in a strong field.

The B team of Siddarth Ramaraju, James Roberts, Nisandu Liyanawaduge and Jan Demjan had a tough start, losing 0-4 to one of the pre-tournament favourites. However a bounce back 4-0 win set them up for the rest of the day, having some close battles in the remaining matches scoring 2 points.

Sid’s Rook endgame technique with low time to win match 5 was brilliant to watch, and overall strong play from board 1. James hanging mate in 1 followed by winning all his remaining games. Nisandu, despite struggling on the clock, had winning positions in almost every game – playing some excellent chess. Jan was very consistent throughout the day, however in one match was a Queen up, lost it to a tactical oversight, then proceeded to win the tricky rook endgame. Certainly a roller-coaster to watch!

The Camberley A Team of Jon Ady, Martin Wallman, Aditya Sengupta and Steve Harley achieved 5.5 points out of 6 and narrowly won the event.

Jon typically won his games quicker than the rest finished theirs!  Martin’s first game went terribly wrong and was completely losing when he “threw” his knight and a pawn at his opponent’s king, which opened up the position to a possible perpetual check. His draw offer was refused and then his opponent walked into a Queen and pawn mate! The key matches were in round 3 against Orpington and round 4 against Reading University A. In round 3 Jon and Martin won quickly, but Aditya and Steve were both outplayed, for a 2-2 draw. Round 4 seemed to be going the same way; we were 2-1 up with just Steve’s Q&P endgame to finish. It was a topsy turvy affair, which finally resolved when Steve’s opponent mistakenly allowed the queens to be traded off with just a few seconds left, and Steve raced his king over to gobble up the last pawn. Despite Steve’s flag falling it was a draw because his opponent only had a bare king left. The half point meant we won 2.5-1.5. In the next round Orpington and Reading Uni A drew 2-2, which left us in the lead on our own, which we converted with fairly easy wins in the last two rounds. Overall, both Jon and Martin achieved impressive 100% records of 6 wins. We were presented with the very elegant Chess Set and Board Trophy (to keep until the next competition is held).

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Rapid Championship 2025 Results

In July we held our annual Camberley Chess Club Rapid Championship, in six rounds over three days, two rounds per day our Champion was decided.

Congratulations to our winner, FM Jon Ady! With an impressive score of 5.5/6. Scoring a victory over almost every opponent he faced.

Winner FM Jon Ady
Our 2025 Club Rapid Champion – FM Jon Ady

Final Standings

Full standings and round-by-round results: click here

Notable performances

Last year’s winner, David Bean ended on 4/6, only dropping one point losing to the top seed and eventual winner, and another point due to two byes in the first two rounds. Who knows, if things may have turned out a little differently, David could have been on to retaining the title.

Naturally, there has to be a mention for anyone that stands in the way of FM Jon Ady scoring 6/6 and making us look bad. So for that reason, thank you to Adrian Wallace, who scored a draw in his third-round matchup against Jon. No doubt saving a bit of club dignitiy for the rest of us in the face of a FIDE Master! Adrian was unbeaten throughout the tournament, one of the only players to do so while playing all six rounds, the other player who did being our new Champion.

All jokes aside, it was a great chance for everyone across the rating range to play some rapid chess, to learn and most importantly have fun (or for some, that only comes when you’re winning).

I for one learned in my first round pairing against Adrian that I clearly don’t know how to play against a benoni, or at the very least how to do so without giving up a peice in the process.

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University of Reading 1st Rapidplay Congress

A Win for Camberley Chess Club!

The University of Reading Chess Club hosted their 1st Rapidplay Congress on this past Saturday 8th of March. It was a great event, where we had 9 members of Camberley Chess Club attending. Martin and Steve were representing Camberley in the open section, and we had Jake, Lee, Tim, Annabelle, Luke, Neale and Josh in the Challengers!

In the open, Martin and Steve got off to a tough start. After two losses, Martin expected an easier pairing in round 3, but the Swiss system somehow floated a 2000-rated player down to face him, resulting in a third loss. Martin broke even and scored 3 wins back to back in the afternoon, finishing with a 3/6 record. It might be worth asking him what he had for lunch…

In the Challengers, it was amazing so see so many Camberley names in the list, thankfully avoiding any Camberley Derbies for the first few rounds. While reporting everyone’s results would be cumbersome, you can find all results here.

However, one outstanding performance can’t go unmentioned.

The Winner

Congratulations to Camberley Chess Club member Jake Conyard! – who won the Challengers section of the University of Reading Rapidplay on Saturday.

It was an amazing battle, where Jake and fellow member Josh Jackson were both on board one in round 5, eyeing the top spot together. After round 5 was drawn after a back-and-forth battle, round 6 ended up with both players needing a win for a chance at 1st place.

Jake and Josh on board 1, round 5
Round 5, Board 1

In round 6, Josh ended up losing a tough game against the fourth seed, his first loss of the tournament, ending on 4/6. As a result, this left Jake as the last undefeated Camberley member, facing group point leader Hande Donmez, with both needing a win to have a shot at first place.

With the rest of the tournament around the board watching as the game went on, Jake managed to overwhelm Hande’s defence in a Smith-Morra Gambit. With Donmez’s time ticking down below a minute, the crowd began to understand the inevitability of Jake’s victory.

It was a great game, and a spectacular way to end the day. Sitting on 5/6 points, Jake ended up winning the Challengers section on Tiebreaks, taking home the well earned prize. (Although in this tournament, the prize of £150 was split between both players on 5/6, not considering tiebreaks).

The game can be found here, in chapter 4 of our lichess study Hall of Games: lichess study Or alternatively, in the Games section of our page.

Jake receiving joint first place for the Challenger’s section.

There were in total 9 members of Camberley Chess Club who attended, all had a good tournament and a nice day playing chess. Jake brought it home for us in style, with by far the best performance of the day, remaining undefeated throughout.

For a full breakdown of the round-by-round standings, you can go here to the chess results page.

We all had a great time at the University of Reading’s 1st Rapidplay Congress and look forward to more opportunities to play there in the future. We are grateful to James Connors and his team for organizing such a well-put-together event, and we also appreciate the strong relationship between our two clubs supporting one another.

Final Standings of the Open:

Final Standings of the Challengers:

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2024 Rapid Tournament

The Club Rapid Championship returned for its second year on three Thursdays: 18 July, 25 July and 8 August 2024.

After a fun, closely fought and tense at times, 6 rounds of 20 minutes plus a 10 sec increment, we had an outright winner, David Bean on 5.5 points. Congratulations to David our new Rapid Club Champion.

David Bean
For more performance details click on image

Well done to Aditya Sengupta for coming second with 5 points and also to the joint third placed Siddarth Ramaraju, Steve Harley and Tim Bland all with 4 points.

Also thanks to Daniel Seaton for organising and running the tournament (as well as playing in it!) and Thomas West for helping with the software and being the tournament Arbiter.

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