World Championship - Day 1

[<<] [>>] by Jonathan Kirby
6th August 2005 (World Championship)

Play began today in the WCF world championship. Manager Andrew Gregory, WCF secretary Brian Storey and tournament director Phil Cordingley have all been busy all day, partly in the CA office typing up results, and these have been posted through the day on the WCF website.

I haven't seen very much play apart from my own games, but as far as I can tell there are no major surprises so far. The conditions at Cheltenham are variable, with lawns 9, 10 and 11 being very good and easy paced, and the other lawns more variable - number six seemingly causing the most problems thanks to variable pace and some hills. The block is being played with 3 hour time limits, and surprisingly two games have already gone to time - Peter Bachelor beating Kevin Beard +1(T) and Ian Lines beating Bruno Hess +5(T).

There have been a large number of spectators here all day, indeed Cliff Jones, the caterer, was almost overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted lunch. He's promised to get extra supplies for tomorrow. Players from the satellite clubs are just starting to get back to Cheltenham now. A few games are still in play, but most players have stayed around after finishing to soak up the atmosphere. One or two 'Z' games are in progress as well - these don't count towards the main event or the plate.