97th Hastings International Chess Congress starts as players from around the world take part

The congress, sponsored by Caplin Systems, a fintech company based in London, and Hastings Borough Council as co-sponsors, runs until January 7.

This year, the event has a new director, Grandmaster Stuart Conquest, who is originally from Hastings, and has won the Masters event jointly on two occasions.

He was formerly director of the Gibraltar Tournament.

A spokesperson for the event said: “The entry this year for the Masters Tournament is impressive with 89 entries. These include 13 grandmasters and one Woman grandmaster. Leading the pack is French grandmaster Maxine Lagarde, followed by Abijeet Gupta (India) Zhang Pengxiang (China), Brandon Jacobson (USA) Romain Edouard (France). Last year’s winner, Sarunas Sulskis (Lithuania) is also returning to defend his title.

“Entries in the smaller events are also above last year. So far 29 countries are represented overall.”

The Masters event began at 2.15pm yesterday. This was preceded by a brief opening ceremony attended by the sponsor and a representative of Hastings Borough Council.

Full details of all the events and playing times are available on the congress website www.hastingschess.com. Entry to the venue is free to visitors and there will be a commentary by grandmaster Chris Ward each afternoon.

The spokesperson added: “The congress is sponsored by Caplin Systems, a fintech company based in London, and Hastings Borough Council is co-sponsor. The congress is also indebted to the White Rock Hotel for their continued support.”

The first chess congress in Hastings took place in 1895. There is currently an exhibition at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery displaying trophies, photographs and other congress memorabilia.

Any players wishing to enter should visit the website: www.hastingschess.com.