Champ is beaten
Last year's winner, Stuart Conquest was defeated by a much lower graded player, David Eggleston, but one of the favourites, David Howell, saw off a strong challenge from Paul Littlewood.
Newton Abbot's Dominic Mackle also found himself against stronger opposition and lost his first round match to Subin Sen. However, Gary Lane from Paignton and Andrew Greet from Cornwall chalked up their first wins, whilst Jack Rudd (Barnstaple) surprisingly lost his game.
For those not up to date with modern chess, these games can last for a very long time. The first 40 moves have to be made in 120 minutes, the next 20 moves in 60 minutes and then a further 30 minutes to complete the game. This is for each player so thoughts of an early tea can be quickly forgotten!
The British Under 175 Championship has also started and Torbay President, Trefor Thynne, got off to a great start with a win with the black pieces against Peter Morton.
In the Under 16 Championship, Robert Thompson (Newton Abbot) lost his first game to a higher ranked player, Martin Brown, and George Darling (also Newton Abbot) faired no better in his first game losing to James Foster.
In the first round of the Under 13 Championship, Oliver Demeger was able to put a win on the board without having to play, as there are an odd number of competitors in this section. He has the black pieces in round 2 but faces tough opposition against Marcus Harvey.
There are also 5-day morning and afternoon competitions. In the morning section Freddie Sugden (Newton Abbot) drew with a vastly higher graded player, Mark Reynolds, but Charlie Rochford from the same club lost to another highly graded player, Jonathon Wright.
In the afternoon session, Sugden lost to Bryan McClement whilst Rochford lost to Mark Stone.
Finally, in the Major Open tournament Teignmouth's Alan Brusey has got off to a splendid start with a fine win with the black pieces against Ravi Haria.
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