Albert and Rob are the late season trophy winners
The Lichfield Internal Tournament which has run all season with 24 members competing in a seven round graded tournament is not quite finished but we do have the winner, Albert Chacko.
Retiring Chairman David Fone can be really proud of his internal tournament idea which has been universally hailed as an outstanding success.and which will surely become an annual fixture.
The only pity is that within weeks of the competition starting four talented new arrivals, Dylan Wright, Emilie Nastase, Connor Whetnall and Andrei Pinzaru, all winners of internal competitions this season, were just too late to compete.
Lichfield Internal Tournament 2025-26
| # | Player | Rating | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Chacko | 1549A | +14 | +22 | +2 | +4 | +3 | +6 | =11 | 6½ |
| 2 | Mircea-Marius Mesesan | 1967A | +20 | +10 | −1 | +5 | +9 | +4 | +3 | 6 |
| 3 | Peter Rose | 1516A | +24 | +7 | =11 | +9 | −1 | +13 | −2 | 4½ |
| 4 | Brian Homewood | 1552K | +13 | =11 | +22 | −1 | +10 | −2 | +6 | 4½ |
| 5 | Stephen N Shields | 1443K | =23 | =16 | +21 | −2 | =7 | +10 | +14 | 4½ |
| 6 | David W Fone | 1595K | +15 | +21 | =9 | =7 | +14 | −1 | −4 | 4 |
| 7 | Philip Sykes | 1556K | +18 | −3 | +15 | =6 | =5 | −11 | +9 | 4 |
| 8 | Ben Adams | −10 | +12 | −13 | +16 | −18 | +22 | +20 | 4 | |
| 9 | John E Fryer | 1520K | +25 | +19 | =6 | −3 | −2 | +15 | −7 | 3½ |
| 10 | Bill Kimberley | 1529K | +8 | −2 | =18 | +17 | −4 | −5 | +24 | 3½ |
| 11 | Yuriy Slobodyuk | 1735A | · | =4 | =3 | · | +15 | +7 | =1 | 3½ |
| 12 | Stephen Smithson | 1351K | −19 | −8 | =16 | · | +21 | +25 | +18 | 3½ |
| 13 | Rob Frost | 1385K | −4 | +23 | +8 | · | +20 | −3 | · | 3 |
| 14 | Isaac Adams | −1 | +17 | +23 | · | −6 | +18 | −5 | 3 | |
| 15 | Maurizio Baravalle | 1316A | −6 | +25 | −7 | +24 | −11 | −9 | +22 | 3 |
| 16 | James Hadley | 1396K | −21 | =5 | =12 | −8 | +23 | +17 | · | 3 |
| 17 | Ian Boddington | 1337K | −22 | −14 | +25 | −10 | +24 | −16 | +23 | 3 |
| 18 | Stuart Andrews | 1211K | −7 | +24 | =10 | −20 | +8 | −14 | −12 | 2½ |
| 19 | Kevin J Gallagher | 1683K | +12 | −9 | +20 | · | · | · | · | 2 |
| 20 | Elliot Ward | 1362K | −2 | · | −19 | +18 | −13 | +23 | −8 | 2 |
| 21 | Marc Carter | 1084K | +16 | −6 | −5 | · | −12 | · | · | 1 |
| 22 | Michael WA Hoare | 1608K | +17 | −1 | −4 | · | · | −8 | −15 | 1 |
| 23 | Wilf Hopper | =5 | −13 | −14 | · | −16 | −20 | −17 | ½ | |
| 24 | David Hopper | −3 | −18 | · | −15 | −17 | · | −10 | 0 | |
| 25 | Chris Benson | −9 | −15 | −17 | · | · | −12 | · | 0 |
We also have the winner of the Lightning Tournament which concluded the regular season in the Guildhall with Rob Frost pipping David Hulme on a countback system based on who had faced the stronger opposition. Rob and David Hulme scored 4.5 points including a draw against each other. Matched with Mick Horrigan in the final round Ron exposed his opponent’s King with a Bishop sacrifice. That led to Mick moving a minor piece while in check and resigning because of the illegal move.