Member invitation: IM Lawrence Cooper's Stafford birthday blitz

From the 16th to 20th July, International Master Lawrence Cooper is hosting a top-level GM-norm qualification tournament at Oddfellows Hall in Stafford. The event - 'The Wood Green Invitational' - will feature three grandmasters (including 2600+ GM Michael Adams), two IMs (including Solihull's Siva Mahadevan), and 5 FMs, including some incredible junior players looking to score wins over higher-rated players:

• The Wood Green Invitational (chess-results.com)

Alongside the main event, Lawrence has contacted local clubs to invite players to a 'birthday blitz' 3 minute + 2 second increment tournament from 4pm on Saturday 18th July. The exact format will depend on the number of players, but the intention is to limit the numbers to about 20, with a possibility that some of the players from the main event may also participate. Last year the event was a 9-round Swiss event, finishing at about 6pm.

If any Lichfield members are interested in taking part, please contact John Fryer at jefryer@talktalk.net ASAP to let him know ... it could be an incredible opportunity to test your skills against one or more of the best players in the country.