Christmas Blitz tournament: Thursday 14 December

Thursday 14 December sees our year-ending Christmas Blitz tournament. In addition to providing the opportunity of playing seven games of chess, there will be seasonal offerings for you to consume. The seasonal offerings are yet to be decided, but the chess will be played at a speed of 5 minutes per player per game plus a 5 second increment per move. Play will start at 7.30 p.m. prompt; anybody who arrives after the pairings for the first round have been announced can be included from the second round. We expect the tournament to finish at about 10.00 p.m.

Our last 5+5 blitz, held in November, was won by Diego Pereiro Rodriguez, with 6 points out of 7; second equal were Denis Ruchko and Eoin Callinan, on 5½ points. The rating prize, for the highest-placed player rated in the bottom half, was won by Luke Iwasaki, with 4½ points.

Update: The December blitz was won by Pete Morriss, with 6 points out of 7. A close second was Eoin Callinan (who beat Pete in their individual game) on 5½. The rating prize, for the best performance by a player seeded in the lower half, was won by Elena Cavero, who was playing in her first tournament and finished with an excellent score of 3 points.