Photograph © Roxolana |
Last weekend brought the English Chess Federation's 2019 English Women’s Championship to Hull.
This excellent event meant my Summer was brilliantly bookended by time spent in Hull (an index to my five reports on the Hull Summer School of Chess can be found here.)
Chris Fegan, Stephen Greep and the team had worked very hard to ensure this new venture would be a terrific success and it is clear to see their efforts were rewarded.
My report on the tournament and other aspects of the weekend will be in the next issue of CHESS Magazine so for this blog I will present some captured moments from the memorable weekend.
I arrived in Hull around noon on the Friday and soon made my way to The Brain Jar for a very special event featuring WGM and IM Jovanka Houska, the UK's top female player.
It was not my first visit to The Brain Jar; I had been there once before, in the company of the former Mayoress of Bottesford.
Stephen keeps the venue stocked with chess literature and chess sets, which are there to be used by anybody who fancies a game while at this eccentric and very friendly cafe.
Stephen played host at the event and The Brain Jar served up copious amounts of food and drink, under the watchful gaze of some superstars from another genre.
Stephen welcomes everyone while Michael plays symmetry games with the masked man |
Touch move! |
The former Mayoress of Bottesford proclaims the food worthy |
'Red or white?' No thank you; I prefer black - with milk in |
It was a very enjoyable and instructive social occasion, which eventually saw chess games break out.
We couldn't keep them away from the chess sets for very long |
Roxolana, the youngest competitor in the tournament, is definitely a star of the future. |
Jo is trying to remove Jovanka's queen, but it looks like everyone has noticed |
Grandmaster Toma, who eventually shared first place in the tournament, will be representing England from now on. Excellent news! |
Then, just as we were about to finish off and head back to the Royal Hotel, we remembered the excellent mint hot chocolate on offer at The Brain Jar, so we ordered accordingly and stayed a little longer.
The mint hot chocolates have arrived! |
More on those aspects will surely follow...
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