The 17th Bray Open Rapidplay Chess Tournament was held in the Esplanade Hotel in Bray, Co. Wicklow on Sunday 26 June 2011. Close to 90 players (20 more than last year) sought relief from the burning heat of an Irish summer's day to troop indoors and do battle over the chessboard.
The winner at the end of the day was IM Sam Collins, who repeated his feat of the previous year by winning with a 100% score of 6/6. Just outside the prizes were Czech GM Petr Velicka (a co-winner in 2008) and Ryan-Rhys Griffiths, now ranked top junior in the country. Cross table.
The start was delayed by a discussion about what time controls to use. The tournament brochure stipulated 25 minutes each for all moves. However the LCU digital clocks borrowed for the event were set at 20 minutes plus an increment of 5 seconds per move (from move one) the equivalent of 25 minutes for 60 moves. In the end the committee decided to stick with the advertised time, but the digital alternative is a strong candidate for next years event. Player input would be welcome on this subject.
The prizes were presented by local dignitary Ciaran Hayden, mayor of Greystones.
The honour roll for 2011:
- 1st: Sam Collins (6/6)
- 2nd-6th: Colm Daly, Mindaugas Janusaitis, Stephen Moran, Eric Bennett, David Fitzsimons (5/6)
- Grading Prizes:
- Under 1900: Donal OBoyle (4½/6)
- Under 1500: William Ffrench (3½/6)
- Under 1000: Kavanagh, John (3/6)
- Ladies Prize: Monika Geduilaite (3½/6)