Perth Allegro May 2026:  A seven round Swiss

A small cohort of Selkirk players, Sam Cornwell, Nick Dunne and Maurice Richards travelled to Perth this weekend to take part in the Congress run by the Scottish Chess Tour.

All three entered the Minor section, with mixed fortunes over the course of the event. Nick made a superb start, winning his first three games and putting himself in a strong position early on. Sam, meanwhile, had rather the opposite beginning, losing his first two games against unrated players [one of whom finished third equal! - Editor] a clanger made even worse by the fact that he also managed to lose a contact lens.

The tournament was a demanding one, with seven gruelling rounds played over three days. It certainly took its toll, but all three Selkirk players thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Between them, Team Selkirk finished with a combined score of 12 points from a possible 21.

One oddity of the event came in round six, when Nick and Sam were paired against each other. This is something congresses usually try to avoid where possible, as players from the same club generally prefer to face new opponents rather than familiar faces from home.

It was their fourth clash of the season and, on paper, Nick was probably the favourite. However, Sam rolled out his London System and managed to take the win this time. The game can be viewed on the League results page...

Finally, thanks must go to Tam (who was not in attendance) for providing several members with official Selkirk Chess Club T-shirts. Sam proudly wore his at the venue throughout the weekend.

Report by Sam Cornwell

Full results from chess-results.com...