.... And on August 1st it will be Go! With the Championships taking place right on our doorstep at Warwick University (for the third time after previous visits in 1970 and 2015) a bumper KCC turnout could reasonably be expected and with just over two weeks to go it seems like all the usual suspects, plus a couple of newcomers, will be on the start line come D-Day.
So, as things stand as of today, and as far as I have been able to identify, here is a list of all the intended KCC participants.
By my reckoning, Keatan, Ben and Joshua have entered the most tournaments (4) while the more seriously minded individuals like myself, Jude and Billy have eschewed this scattergun approach and focussed on a single event. Clearly we mean business. (Though I wouldn't be surprised to see the youngsters weaken and sign up for a blitz event or two. I can guarantee I won't!)
Amazingly, Joshua seems to have the best chance of winning a tournament, as he currently sits as the number one seed in the highly prestigious Sunday Rapidplay Under 2000. And with a rating of 1997 its probably unlikely that anyone will displace him from this position!
But looking at the real championship events, we really should take a moment to glory in the fact that Jude and Billy are playing in the main event for what seems like the umpteenth time, despite their tender years. While in the Under 8 events, the terrific twosome of Riyaan and Anish are very hightly ranked, which is all the more remarkable given that they will both be eligible for this event next year so are giving away a whole 12 months to most of the field. Our other particiapnts with single figure start rankings at the moment are Joshua (again!) who is 3 in the Weekday PM Under 2050 (he really is homing in on the most important events, isn't he?); Rhys, who is 4th in the Weekday AM Under 1900; and Dhairya who, fresh from his splendid return from the chess wilderness in the 1st leg of the Club Quickplay Championship this week, starts at number 5 in the Under 16 Rapidplay.
In all, we are presently due to have 13 KCC participants, but with events to fit all playing strengths, ages, time limits and days of the week, there's still plenty of time for others to put their toe in the water and play at the national championships. I'd be willing to bet that it won't be this convenient again for a few years, so don't let this golden opportunity pass if you are even slightly tempted.
Good luck to all. Including myself. If we are lucky Joshua may be moved to repeat his daily reporting that has been a feature of selected previous championships, even if some (one?) of us most vividly recall the day he didn't post a report and so avoided having to mention my triumph (shared) in the 2019 65+ event!
No reason whatsoever for today's musical contribution. Except that it suddenly came to mind and it seemed like a good idea.
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