Suffolk Chess

Three Suffolk players will be heading to Douglas in early October for the annual Isle of Man International Tournament, sponsored by PokerStars and the Scheinberg family, with assistance from the Isle of Man Department of Economic Development.   The three are IM Dagne Ciuksyte (2354), Alan Merry (2369) and Ed Player (2200).   Also in the Masters section are former Suffolk players IM Richard Pert (2450) and David Whitehead (2013).   The nine-round event runs from 3 to 11 October.

Last year, Alan Merry had an amazing tournament, gaining a Grandmaster norm with his score of 6/9 and a rating performance of 2620.   He beat three GMs and scored an unbeaten 3/4 against IMs.   He now stands just 31 rating points shy of 2400 and the IM title.   Still only 18 years old, another strong performance should see Alan past the post.

As of today's date, 106 players have entered, including 37 GMs (four rated over 2700) and 26 IMs.

For more information on the tournament, see their website here.