The 29th Annual Bray Rapidplay Chess Tournament took place on Sunday, August 27th. The sold out event hosted 90 competitors in total with two International Chess Masters, Sam Collins and Oleg Gubanov also making the trip to the event.
Local Councillor Joe Behan was on hand to make the ceremonial opening move. Wishing all in attendance an enjoyable day of chess, he thanked everyone for visiting County Wicklow.
Greystones women Bernadette Stokes and Flavia Bastos Scully were the highest placed local female finishers on the day with local man Eric Bennett the highest local finisher in 14th place. Stella Li of the Master Chess Club in Stillorgan earned the ladies prize.
The overall event winner was reigning Irish Champion, Grandmaster Alexander Baburin who also plays on the Irish National Chess Team. A member of Kilkenny Chess Club, he is ranked as number 1 in Ireland where he resides with his family. The accomplished player is also responsible for online chess website Chess Today.
Cllr Stephen Stokes, who was one of the organisers, praised his colleagues on the organising committee aswell as Greystones Bridge Centre. Cllr Stokes stated: “The Bray-Greystones Chess Club were lucky to have a great team including Tom Janowski, Eugene Rellis, Bernadette Stokes and Niall O’Higgins. Greystones Bridge Centre is an outstanding venue. On behalf of Bray-Greystones Chess Club, we would like to thank them for hosting us. The day was a big success.”
Chess has undergone a new wave of popularity in recent years with the success of the Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. The Bray-Greystones Chess Club is currently recruiting players for the upcoming Leinster League season. Anyone seeking more information can email braygreystoneschessclub@gmail.com for further details.
