After a lot of hard work by a handful of volunteers and the inevitable, unforeseeable glitches, the 65th West of England Championship & Congress, finally got on the road at 10 a.m. precisely, in the Royal Beacon Hotel, Exmouth. In fact, after a half century of moving around the 7 counties that comprise the Union, it was decided to try and keep it in one spot for several years to see how it might affect the entry. The criteria was that it should (a) be near the sea, so that other family members could enjoy a seaside Easter break; (b) it should have good travel connections, by road, rail and bus; (c) should be reasonably near the centre of the area, and (d) should be a comfortable, cheap venue. Exmouth met all those wishes and 15 years on, it is still held there.
The entry this year increased significantly to 94, close to the maximum the venue could hold, with 24 contesting the Open Section, and with the Major Section taking players up to a 174 grade, it made for a very competitve section, as there were no GMs to walk off with the top prizes.
After a few welcoming words by Alan Crickmore, the joint Entry Secretary, clocks were started and battles commenced.
Open: Nearest Brusey V Bass; Stephens V Medina - both White losses.
Bds. 1-3 in the Major: Hurst V Gosling: Hibbitt V Wensley & Thynne V Higgs.
Bds 13-15 in the Major: Slade V Hamilton; Worrall V Morgan & Nyman V Lawrence.
By the end of Rd. 1, the scores were:-
| Bd. | Open - Rd. 1 | |||
| 1 | Cutmore, M | 0 | 1 | Berry, S |
| 2 | Mackle, D | 1 | 0 | Helbig, P |
| 3 | Smith, A. P. | ½ | ½ | McMichael, R |
| 4 | Boyne, A | ½ | ½ | Thompson, R |
| 5 | Paulden, T | ½ | ½ | Krzyzanowski, P |
| 6 | Stephens, J. K. | 0 | 1 | Medina, P |
| 7 | Brusey, A. W. | 0 | 1 | Bass, J. W. |
| 8 | Cutmore, D | ½ | ½ | Stephenson, D. W. |
| 9 | Shaw, M | ½ | ½ | Dilleigh, S |
| 10 | De Coverley , R | 1 | 0 | Owens, M. R. |
| 11 | Bartlett, S. | ½ | ½ | Homer, S. J. |
| 12 | Regis, D | 1 | Bye | |
| Byes | ||||
| Littlejohns, D | ½ | |||
| Czegeny, M | ½ | |||
| Bd. | Major - Rd.1 | |||
| 1 | Hurst, K. J. | 0 | 1 | Gosling, B. G. |
| 2 | Hibbitt, A | ½ | ½ | Wensley, O. E. |
| 3 | Thynne T. F. | ½ | ½ | Higgs, J |
| 4 | Annetts, I. S. | ½ | ½ | Gamble, R |
| 5 | Ingham, H. W. | 1 | 0 | Sellwood, C |
| 6 | Ellison, D. G. | 0 | 1 | Tello, Y |
| 7 | Pollock, R | ½ | ½ | Wood, P |
| 8 | Farthing, A | ½ | ½ | Page, M |
| 9 | Harris, M | ½ | ½ | Tew, P |
| 10 | Morton P | ½ | ½ | Price, A |
| 11 | Dean, S. K. | ½ | ½ | Chapman, T |
| 12 | Foster, P | 0 | 1 | Razzle, D |
| 13 | Slade, T | 1 | 0 | Hamilton, S |
| 14 | Worrall, M | 0 | 1 | Morgan, J |
| 15 | Nyman, J | 1 | 0 | Lawrence, D |
| 16 | Parfitt, G | 0 | 1 | Fraser, J |
| Byes | ||||
| Wilson | 1 | |||
| Sandercock E. B. | ½ | |||
| Woodward, T | ½ |
| Bd. | Minor – Rd. 1 | |||
| 1 | Hadfield, R | 0 | 1 | Mills, Na |
| 2 | Rogers, D | 1 | 0 | Dean, J |
| 3 | Billett, s. | 0 | 1 | Jackson, P |
| 4 | Hunt, R | 1 | 0 | Spooner, K |
| 5 | Waters, R | 0 | 1 | Shepherd, G |
| 6 | Blencowe, I | 1 | 0 | Cox, Mrs. M |
| 7 | Pearce, F | ½ | ½ | French, M |
| 8 | Crouch, T. | 1 | 0 | Whittington, R |
| 9 | Fraser, A | 0 | 1 | Dimond, P |
| 10 | Tidy, N. F. | 1 | 0 | Welch, Mrs. H |
| 11 | Carr, J. | 0 | 1 | Huba, M |
| 12 | Errington, P | 0 | 1 | Banks, G |
| 13 | Dengler, T | 0 | 1 | Mills, Ni |
| 14 | Andrews, G | ½ | ½ | Cox, R |
| 15 | Leggett, | 0 | 1 | Gardiner, C |
| 16 | Burt, D | ½ | ½ | Kaye, M |
| Byes | ||||
| Roberts, M | ½ | |||
| Ryan, R. A. | ½ |
Round 2.
Gosling Vs Slade; Morgan Vs Annetts & Wensley Vs Sandercock.
Dilleigh Vs Bartlett; Homer Vs Shaw & Czegeny Vs Smith.
| Bd. | Open - Rd. 2 | |||||
| 1 | Berry, S | (1) | 1 | 0 | De Coverley , R | (1) |
| 2 | Medina, P | (1) | 0 | 1 | Mackle, D | (1) |
| 3 | Bass, J. W. | (1) | ½ | ½ | Regis, D | (1) |
| 4 | McMichael, R | (½) | ½ | ½ | T. Paulden | (½) |
| 5 | Stephenson, D. W. | (½) | 1 | 0 | Boyne, A | (½) |
| 6 | Krzyzanowski | (½) | 0 | 1 | Littlejohns, D | (½) |
| 7 | Thompson, R | (½) | 1 | 0 | Cutmore, D | (½) |
| 8 | Dilleigh, S | (½) | 1 | 0 | Bartlett, S. | (½) |
| 9 | S. Homer | (½) | ½ | ½ | Shaw, M | (½) |
| 10 | Czegeny, M | (½) | 0 | 1 | Smith , A. | (½) |
| 11 | Helbig, P | (0) | 0 | 1 | Stephens, J. | (0) |
| 12 | Owens, M | (0) | 0 | 1 | Cutmore, M | (0) |
| Byes | ||||||
| Brusey, A | 1 | |||||