On Wednesday 16 May we played the first 2 rounds of the Handicap. This tournament is 25 + 5 with a material deficit for handicapping unless the rating gap is more than 250. In this case the higher rated player has a time deficit along with a material deficit.

After the 2 rounds we have 2 players on 2 points – Yash Narayan and Dave Misileki. We have 2 more evenings i.e 6 rounds for this tournament but anyone is welcome to join round 3 and 4 on Wednesday 23 May.

We revamped the handicapping criteria this year to try to fix last years problem where often the handicapped player had virtually no chance of competing. The games I saw looked close and could have gone either way which is what a handicap tournament should acheive most of the time. Any feedback on this is welcome.

Sorry I have been off air for awhile.

Just to catch up, the final round (round 5) of the Autumn Cup was played on the 2nd May. John Worn won outright on 4.5 point followed by Paul Postma and John McRae on 3.5 points.