UK Open Blitz Championship 2018

Inaugural UK Open Blitz Championship
Belfast Qualifier
Maynard Sinclair Pavilion
Saturday 8th September 2018

Format

• Eight 15-round qualifying Swiss tournaments to be played in different cities around the United Kingdom on Saturday 8th September
• Eligible players able to enter one qualifying tournament of their choice
• The top two players in each qualifier qualify for the Final on 1st December 2018
• The top two female players in each qualifier qualify for a Women’s Final, held concurrently
• The qualifying venues to be in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London. Manchester and Newcastle

From the ECF website report on the Qualifiers

"Kamil Marchlewicz won the Belfast qualifier with 13 points. Michael Waters was half a point behind on 12½. Marchlewicz beat Waters with black in Round 4 on his way to an 8/8 start. It was Waters’ only defeat in the tournament. and it ultimately proved to be the decisive factor in Marchlewicz’s victory. Both players qualify for the Final. Ross Harris and Richard Gould should be congratulated on running a successful event, which was the first FIDE-rated Blitz tournament ever held in Northern Ireland."

Final Standings

Rank Name                  Rtg Club/City       Total
1    Kamil Marchlewicz     2068                 13.0
2    Michael Waters        2102 Bray/Greystones 12.5
3    John Cairns           2015 Bray/Greystones 11.5
4    Damian Marchlewicz    1907                 10.0
5    Michael Sheerin       1531 Strand           9.5
6    Modestas Razbadauskas 1601 Strand           9.5
7    Ryszard Kaczorowski   1733                  9.0
8    Robert Lavery         1610 Ballynafeigh     8.5
9    Mark Newman           1234 NICS             5.0
10   Nial Troughton        1592                  5.0
11   Pat McKillen          1421 Muldoons         4.5
12   Louie McConkey             Strand           4.0
13   Chris Armstrong       1589 Belfast South    2.0
14   Adam Fitzsimons       1262 Strand           1.0
15   Brian Fitzsimons           Strand           0.0

FIDE ratings

Armstrong, Cairns, Kamil & Damian Marchlewicz, Troughton and Waters already had FIDE Ratings going into the Qualifier. Therefore all the other players had the opportunity to obtain a FIDE Blitz Rating from their games against the already rated six. At the end of the tournament seven players had scored sufficiently well to achieve that status. Their scores and official FIDE Blitz Ratings in the October 2018 list appear below.

Name                  Score  Rating
Ryszard Kaczorowski   3.5/6  1885
Robert Lavery         3.0/6  1875
Modestas Razbadauskas 2.5/6  1818
Mark Newman           2.0/6  1750
Michael Sheerin       2.0/6  1750
Pat McKillen          1.0/6  1602
Louie McConkey        1.0/6  1602