Surrey Easter Congress — 1998

Central Library, Sutton · 10–13 April 1998 · SCCA prize winners sheet

About the 1998 Congress

The Surrey Easter Chess Congress 1998 was held at Sutton Central Library over 10–13 April 1998. The congress attracted 410 competitors across seven events and retained its position as one of the country's leading weekend congresses.

The Frank Winter Memorial Open was FIDE-rated and was won by Grandmaster Mark Hebden with a perfect 7/7 score. The report notes that Hebden was the clear favourite and had effectively secured first place with a round to spare.

Dates10–13 Apr
Easter 1998
Total entries410
seven events
Open80
plus one filler
Rated players62
in the Open

The Open report records that ten more players completed full FIDE ratings and a further four achieved part-ratings during the event.

Frank Winter Memorial Open Tournament

7-round Swiss · FIDE-rated · 80 competitors plus one filler

PlacePlayerScorePrize
1stMark Hebden (Midland Monarchs and Birstall)7/7£400
2nd=Michael Basman (Chessington)5½/7£180 each
2nd=Simon Williams (Hackney and Richmond)5½/7£180 each
4th=Richard Bates (Richmond)5/7£12 each
4th=Daniel Bisby (Redhill)5/7£12 each
4th=Tryfon Gavriel (Barnet)5/7£12 each
4th=Peter Kemp (Streatham)5/7£12 each
4th=Gavin Wall (Richmond)5/7£12 each

Grading and Junior Prizes

CategoryPlayerScorePrize
U-2205Daniel Bisby; Tryfon Gavriel; Peter Kemp5£14 each
U-2155Gordon Botley (Lewisham)4½£40
U-2055Justin Marley; Shanker Menon; Clifford O'Connor4£14 each
UnratedShanker Menon; Clifford O'Connor; Philip Potopaev4£14 each
Junior U-18Jovanka Houska4½£40
Slow-starterSujit Kapadia3½£40

The two British Championship qualification places were allocated, in order, to Michael Basman, Gavin Wall, Tryfon Gavriel, Peter Kemp and Daniel Bisby, subject to pre-qualification criteria.

Open FIDE Crosstable — Top 10 Snapshot

DOB and round-by-round columns omitted. Full interactive table may be added later if reconstructed.

PosPlayerNat.TleFIDEScore
1Hebden, MarkENGGM25857
2Basman, Michael J.ENGIM23505½
3Williams, Simon K.ENG23155½
4Bates, Richard A.ENG24305
5Bisby, Daniel L.ENG21905
6Gavriel, Tryfon C.ENG21705
7Kemp, Peter D.ENG22005
8Wall, GavinENG23205
9Anderton, Matthew N.ENG22604½
10Botley, GordonENG21254½

Premier Tournament

Under-170 grading · 7-round Swiss · 69 competitors

PlacePlayerScorePrize
1st=Ilya Shevelev (Wood Green)6£180 each
1st=Joseph Skielnik (Battersea)6£180 each
3rdDavid Edwards (Richmond Juniors)5½£90
4th=Terry Bean; S. D. Chaudhry; Paul McIntyre; Martin Page; Paul Shepherd5£12 each

No Premier crosstable is currently available for 1998.

Eric Weimann Memorial Major Tournament

Under-145 grading · 7-round Swiss · 73 competitors

PlacePlayerScorePrize
1st=Dominic Gibbs (Flying Teapots)6£150 each
1st=Jon O'Neill (Kings Head)6£150 each
1st=Peter Titmas (Maidstone)6£150 each
4thDavid Hall (Brighton)5½£60

Minor and Novice Tournaments

Minor A

U-120 · Friday and Saturday · 58 competitors

1st=Antony Crabb; Paul Seet5£90 each
3rd=A. G. Bynnersley; Anthony Duncan; Kwok Man; Donny Muter; Thomas Nixon4£15 each

Minor B

U-120 · Sunday and Monday · 47 competitors

1stBen Chamberlain4½£90
3rd=Harry Gold; Thomas Nixon4£35 each

Novice A

U-100 · Friday and Saturday · 49 competitors

1stSarah Hurst5£100
2nd=Ricky Albon; Joseph Almalah4½£45 each

Novice B

U-100 · Sunday and Monday · 34 competitors

1stJohn Bussman5£80
2nd=Ben Morgan; Jonathan Somekh; Oliver Wilson; James Wingfield4£18 each

Special Congress Prizes

PrizeWinner / notePrize
Ladies PrizesSarah Hurst, 5/5 in Novice A; Sophie Tidman, 5/7 in the Major£25 each
Veterans PrizeHarry Gold, 4/5 in Minor B£25
Family PrizesBen and David Morgan; Rachid and Tarek Zoubir£25 / £20
Questionnaire Lucky DrawLucky winner: Andrew Foster-Yeow, drawn by Bob Wade OBEFree 1999 entry

The congress report records welcome visits from former British Champions Bob Wade, Leonard Barden and Peter Lee.

Sources