The fifth annual Patrick Street Chess Congress took place at the Masonic Hall in Peel recently.

The competition continues to go from strength to strength with an entry of 43 players all trying to win the Mr Radcliffe Trophy.

With the 2021 edition only taking place in September as a result of last January’s lockdown, it meant there had not been much time for interest to wane over the winter months.

The improved field meant there was a need for a preliminary round and this claimed some high-profile casualties who were naturally disappointed to lose at such an early stage.

These included the 2020 champion Karen Cottier and local sports utility man and former MLC candidate Conor Keenan who crumbled under the partisan support for his opponent Charlotte Caine.

In the first round there were plenty of close and competitive games in a friendly atmosphere, most notably the tie of the round between former champion Paul Quirk and his son Thomas.

The first 20 minutes of action only saw one piece exchanged and the clock would ultimately be Quirk Sr’s downfall in a close game that saw Thomas controlling the tempo and winning on time.

Brontë Morrison and Grace Cottier, both aged 10, can consider themselves unlucky to go out in the first round after fine performances, but consoled themselves with a place in the Plate competition, gaining lots of plaudits along the way.

The tie of the second round saw local bowlers Dave Smith and Stevie Kelly face off.

The former would normally expect to take victory on the bowling green but Kelly proved too strong on the night with a sustained attack that his opponent couldn’t defend.

The quarter-finals included six newcomers in the last eight, as reigning champion Kieran Horisk negotiated his way into the semis with a comfortable win over Arun Teare.

Debutant Dale Wassall was performing well on his first attempt in the Congress and looked like Horisk’s main threat at this stage.

The first semi-final between Horisk and Kelly was a one-sided affair as the former’s experience shone through and his opponent had no reply to Horisk’s wing gambit. Kelly tried his hardest to prolong the inevitable but in the end it was Horisk who made it to a second consecutive final.

Wassall made it to the other semi-final against Christian Brew who had slipped through the earlier rounds under the radar.

In a typically open early exchange Brew entered the middle game with a material advantage and control of the board, eventually performing a classic backrank checkmate.

After more than three hours of chess action, enthusiastic spectators welcomed the finalists of Karen Cottier and Andrew Mackie in the Plate competition plus Horisk and Brew in the main tournament.

Normally in the mix of the main draw, Cottier’s experience shone through against perennial Congress runner-up Mackie.

The main final saw underdog Brew on top in the early exchanges but time trouble led to a crucial error in a winning position and Horisk could not believe his luck when an unnecessary sacrifice from Brew gave Horisk the advantage and he played out the end-game to perfection.

The organisers would like to thank Rob Cottier at Island Civils and Plant Limited for the continued sponsorship and they look to build upon the momentum achieved by the Congress over the last few years for an expanded tournament in 2023.