There were 17 players this year at the Small Board Championships in Cambridge.
Just like last year, the tournament was played in a mixed format. The higher ranked players started off in an even game tournament for the championship; once they were eliminated by losing two games they joined the other players in the handicap section.
The biggest surprise in the even game tournament happened in round 1 when Malcolm Hagan 4-kyu won against Tim Hunt. The overall result was not such a surprise - John Rickard won all his games in the even game event to take the title.
In the handicap tournament, the top players were two juniors - Shawn Hearn from Berkshire Youth and Paul Blockley from Worcester. They both ended on 7 points.
| No | Name | Club | Grade | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Rickard | Cambridge | 4-dan | 5+ | 4+ | 3+ | 19- | 15+ | 3+ | 17+ | 18+ | 7- | 7 |
| 2 | Tim Hunt | Milton Keynes | 2-dan | 19- | 16+ | 4+ | 3- | 18- | 17- | BYE | 8+ | 9+ | 4 |
| 3 | Simon Goss | Berks | 2-dan | 15+ | 17+ | 1- | 2+ | 8+ | 1- | 9- | BYE | 12- | 4 |
| 15 | Mike Charles | St Albans | 2-dan | 3- | 6+ | 5+ | 17+ | 1- | 12+ | 8+ | 7- | 18- | 5 |
| 4 | Tony Atkins | Reading | 2-dan | 16+ | 1- | 2- | BYE | 17+ | 6+ | 18- | 19- | 5- | 3 |
| 5 | Paul Margetts | Epsom Downs | 1-dan | 1- | 19+ | 15- | 9+ | 6+ | 8+ | 12- | 17- | 4+ | 5 |
| 16 | Matthew Woodcraft | Cambridge | 1-dan | 4- | 2- | 9+ | 7- | 19+ | BYE | 6- | 14= | 8+ | 4 |
| 17 | Matthew Reid | Cambridge | 2-kyu | 6+ | 3- | 19+ | 15- | 4- | 2+ | 1- | 5+ | 13- | 4 |
| 6 | Edward Blockley | Worcester | 2-kyu | 17- | 15- | 7- | 8+ | 5- | 4- | 16+ | 13+ | 14+ | 4 |
| 19 | Malcolm Hagan | Portsmouth | 4-kyu | 2+ | 5- | 17- | 1+ | 16- | 14- | 13+ | 4+ | BYE | 4 |
| 18 | Joe Walker | Cambridge | 6-kyu | 12- | 9+ | 8= | 13+ | 2+ | 7- | 4+ | 1- | 15+ | 5 |
| 7 | Shawn Hearn | Berks | 8-kyu | 13+ | 12- | 6+ | 16+ | BYE | 18+ | 14+ | 15+ | 1+ | 7 |
| 8 | William Brooks | Cambridge | 8-kyu | 14+ | 13- | 18= | 6- | 3- | 5- | 15- | 2- | 16- | 1 |
| 9 | Ben Morris | Cambridge | 10-kyu | BYE | 18- | 16- | 5- | 14+ | 13+ | 3+ | 12- | 2- | 3 |
| 12 | Paul Blockley | Worcester | 20-kyu | 18+ | 7+ | BYE | 14+ | 13+ | 15- | 5+ | 9+ | 3+ | 7 |
| 13 | Oscar John | Cambridge | 24-kyu | 7- | 8+ | 14+ | 18- | 12- | 9- | 19- | 6- | 17+ | 3 |
| 14 | Annie Hall | Berks | 31-kyu | 8- | BYE | 13- | 12- | 9- | 19+ | 7- | 16= | 6- | 2 |
There was also a casual 9x9 beginners tournament for juniors. There were ten players and the top three places were all taken by pupils from King's School, Cambridge. They were:
I'm pleased to report that two of these prizewinners chose a copy of Matthew Macfadyen's Go Pack for their prize instead of a box of sweets!
There was also a Go problems competition for the juniors. The puzzles were clearly too easy, or else children these days are too clever, because there were 11 completely correct entries. The EGF President randomly selected the winner, who turned out to be 8-year-old Harry Marsh, again from King's School, Cambridge.
Thanks are due to Tony Atkins for doing most of the draw, to Simon Goss for taking a picture of anything that moved in the vicinity of a Go board, and especially to Lindsay House and Sophie Smiley who ran an excellent food and drink stall throughout the day.