The NCA Blitz Championship took place on Tuesday 18 Aug at an excellent new venue, Gotham Memorial Hall.
It was organised and well run by Stephen Humphreys who was ably assisted by Ruth. There were 35 entrants including 10 from Gambit. It had the same format as last year, run as a single Open section, with grading, junior and senior prizes, with 5 rounds of 7′ + 2″ increments. The winners are listed on the NCA website.

Mike B won a share of the senior prize, scoring 4/5.

Marian had a sensational start, beating Benjamin Humphreys (2096). He then beat Drag before losing to Mike B and Frank Richmond, and won his final round to score 3/5.

Nikolai, Drag & Mark also scored 3 points. Nikolai’s final 3 opponents were eventual winner Ewan Fewell, Julian Cast (whom he beat) and defending champion Chris Cantrill. Drag had a poor day, losing not only to Marian after gifting him a knight, but also to Sean Smithson, to whom he gifted his queen! He narrowly avoided defeat at the hands of Graham, so will continue to play chess. Mark lost to Mike B in round 1 and after losing in round 2 he won his final 3 games, including a win over Marshall in round 5.

Marshall, Graham & John H all scored 2 points. Graham had a tough draw, losing to Benjamin and Frank as well as Drag. John also faced tough opposition, losing to Chris Cantrill & Francis Bowers.

Ben & Leo scored 1 point. Ben was playing in his debut Blitz event and had to play Chris Cantrill and Julian Cast. Leo also faced tough opposition in Stuart Humphreys & Julian Cast.