Sunday 11 September 2022

2022 ACT Women's Championship

 WFM Alana Chibnall is the 2022 ACT Women's Champion, after winning todays tournament with a perfect 7 from 7. 25 players took part in the tournament, which has returned to the ACT chess calendar after a gap of 8 years. The tournament was a 7 round Rapid, with a time control of 15m+5s.

Tied for 2nd place were Shriya Karthik and Jo Mason, who finished 5.5, drawing their Round 6 game, after both losing to Chibnall earlier in the tournament. Unrated newcomer Kenisha Gaind won the Best Under 14 Years player, while 7 year old Echo Feng finished in a tie for 5th, and won the Best Under 12 Years player. With Gain picking up a medal for the Under 14 title, Claire Bradbery was the best Unrated player.

The tournament was sponsored by the ACT Junior Chess League, and all the players had an enjoyable day. There was a good mix of adult and junior players, with a number of players playing in there first non-school tournament. There were also a couple of players returning after a break of a number of years, including Jo Mason who tied for 2nd.

It is hoped that next years event will be a two day weekend event, with a longer time control, and a bigger prize pool. This year's tournament showed that such events can be successful, and with the ACT's reputation as the home of high quality events, a well funded Women's weekend event could be another such event.

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