Dundee Chess Congress

Dundee Chess Congress - Fri 10th to Sun 12th Nov 25
The Chaplaincy Centre, University of Dundee, Cross Row, Dundee, DD1 4HN

The Dundee Congress so nearly did not take place as the Chaplaincy roof sprung a leak, and scaffolding was erected during the week of the Congress! Talk about putting the Congress Director, Ray Noble`s, blood pressure up! The good news, it was against a wall so while it did have an impact on our space, it did not mean we had to cancel the congress!

Entries were already at 135, so we had to close the entries and make a waiting list in case of withdrawals. Disappointing for those entering late, but our capacity was compromised by the scaffolding!

Like any congress, it is never plain sailing, with two players turning up who said they had entered, but we had no record of that! We did however, manage to fit them in, even if it was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole!

PREMIER (lower-limit grade 1700)

The Premier had 30 entries and is held upstairs from the main hall in the Café area. We had one IM, in Andrew Greet (Scotland), who has supported our Congress amazingly over the years. 

WFM Carey Groves (Scotland) and the amazing junior, FM Rishi Vijayakumar J13 from Castlehill Chess Club, Dundee. In the field were also Pavlos Bozinakis (Greece) and many other top Scottish players, including Dundee City`s very own 2023 Scottish Champion, Ed Spencer (Dundee CC)! We even had an enquiry from a Spanish GM, but alas, not to be.

All was going well for the top 3 players until fireworks in round 3, when Ross Blackford (now Castlehill), drew with IM Andrew Greet, and Rishi Vijayakumar FM, lost to Pavlos Bozinakis.

Round 4 saw Andrew Greet IM draw with Pavlos Bozinakis, and Rishi Vijayakumar FM, back to winning ways against Ross Blackford. Going into round 5 (last), Pavlos was leading by half a point from Andrew, Rishi, George Neave, David Findlay, Andrew McCusker & Chris Sykes!

In round 5, Andrew Greet and Rishi Vijayakumar both won their matches and had George Neave to thank after he got a draw against Pavlos Bozinakis to make it a three-way tie for first place!

There was also a 3-way tie for the U1900 grading prize, all on 3 points: Chris James, Chris Sykes & Jordon McNaught.

MAJOR (U1800)

The Major had an incredible 64 entries, including last year’s joint winner, Alisdair McLeod (Castlehill). Alisdair got his defence off to a good start winning the first two matches, but as in the Premier round 3 was the problem and he lost that one and did not get back in the race after that. With 64 entries, it was a bit surprising to have a lone leader after round 4, in Moray Lennox (#####) on 4 points! Moray drew his last match, but amazingly finished out on his own at the top of the leader board after all the top 6 matches were drawn! Wow, now did not see that one coming, but congratulations Moray Lennox! The top junior was Vladyslav Shopynski (J8), who was the under 8 Champion at the British Championships in Liverpool 2025, aged just 7!

MINOR (U1400)

The Minor had 39 entries in the end, and the 19th seed, David Watson (1116) had an incredible tournament, laying waste to all the players graded above him to take the Minor title! This included wins against the number 4th seed David Fowler (1300), and the number 8th seed Ryan McGill (1248)!

The junior winners were Arnav Govil J15 (Secondary) and Ainesh Prabhu J8 (Primary).

That completed another successful Dundee Chess Congress, which, to my mind as Congress Director, fills me with pride. I think we offer the best entry fee to prize money ratio in Scotland, and I also believe we are a great Congress to play in. Of course, no congress can work without the support of your arbiters, Alistair Maxwell (Premier), Gerald Lobley (Major) & Ananthi Ramachandran, and the Dundee Congress organising committee, whose hard work throughout the year and during the congress is vital to its smooth running and success. 

I would also like to thank those players who made donations to the Dundee Congress. Your support is unwavering, appreciated and vital to the financial stability of the Congress. Thank you.

Of course, in the end, it is you, the players, who entered and supported the Congress that makes it the success it is. Without your support, it would not have taken place, so thank you, every last one of you!

That ends the 2025 Dundee Congress. Bring on 2026, but hopefully without the last-minute stress and anxiety!

PREMIER

• 1st =: IM Andrew Greet (2419), Pavlos Bozinakis (2264), FM Rishi Vijayakumar (2252)

• Grading Prize U1900: Chris James (1884), Chris Sykes (1848), Jordan McNaught (1817)

MAJOR

• 1st place: Moray Lennox (1579)

• 2nd=: Nick Webb (1700), Alex Keenan (1670), Donald Heron (1630), Michael Adam (1558)

• Grading Prize U: Alan Cundill (1625), Carrick Simpson (1614), Fergus Essex (1630est), Joe Galbraith (1597)

• Grading Prize U1530: Murray Whyte (1503), Graham Wilson (1482), Zac Denham (1434)

• Grading Prize U1430: Raymond Flood (1419)

• Junior grading prize: Vladyslav Shopynski (1417)

MINOR

• 1st: David Watson (1116)

• 2nd=: Ryan McGill (1248), Anika Munshi (1173), Daniel O'Connor (0)

• Grading Prize U1200: Ramit Kanodia (1146), Mark Irvine (1161)

• Grading Prize: U1000: Max Scott (0), Chris Elcombe (0)

• Junior Prize: Arnav Govil (1171)

• Primary Prize: Ainesh Prabhu (1008)