The Williamson Shield

We move from the rarefied atmosphere at the summit in world chess, to the more breathable atmosphere of an important local event.

The Williamson Shield is a magnificent trophy for which chess players in Ulster compete each year. Williamson was a local man who emigrated to South Africa where he made a lot of money. On his return Williamson presented a shield to the Ulster Chess Union for annual competition.

This year the competition took the format of a six-round Swiss tournament played over the weekend of January 20-21. The winner was Steve Scannell (Bangor), with 5.5 out of 6, victorious for the sixth time! Second was Michael Waters with 5.0 out of 6.

http://www.ulsterchess.org/Archives/playerbio/steve-scannell

Sadly, Tom Clarke, another former winner, was forced to withdraw after the first round through illness.

http://www.markorr.net/tica/players/clarket/home.html

See the report on the Ulster Chess Union site –

http://www.ulsterchess.org/Members/ucu00314/steve-hendry-scannell-lifts-williamson-shield-for-6th-time