Shropshire chess players have been invited to sign up for a weekend congress taking place across the county border in less than two weeks’ time.
Organisers of Crewe Congress have urged local players to enter the event, which will be held at Crewe Alexandra Football Club’s Wrights Lounge over the weekend of October 14 to 16. There will be a FIDE-rated open section, as well as U1950 major, U1725 intermediate and U1500 minor categories. Each will be played over five rounds, with grading prizes for each section.
Entries are said to be up for the annual event, but organisers are keen to raise awareness of the tournament as some players are only just starting to resume weekend competitions as they did before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of Shropshire-based players have already signed up for the competition, which will start on the Friday evening with two rounds on Saturday and two on the Sunday. The time control for all games will be all moves in one hour 40 minutes with 10 seconds increment per move.
People have been encouraged to enter swiftly, as an additional £5 charge will be added to entries received after October 7 – which is this coming Friday. Free parking will be available at the event, and the venue is a five-minute walk from Crewe’s railway station.
Nigel Gardner, one of the event’s organisers, said: “Entries are on the up and it’s definitely going ahead. However, there are a number of people who previously would have been actively looking for events have got out of the habit. Hence we are now being proactive to try and make people aware.”
People with queries about the tournament can contact Dave on 07984 572456 or Nigel on 07827 718871.
For more details or to download an entry form visit crewchessclub.co.uk/congress-entry