8th Northumbria Masters Chess Congress - IM Invitational
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 20 Aug 2025 to 25 Aug 2025 in Darlington, England. 9 titled players from 5 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2299, and top seed was Maciej Czopor (🇵🇱 POL, IM, 2434).
Maciej Czopor (🇵🇱 POL, IM, 2434) won with 7.0/9, ahead of Kenneth Hobson (5.5) and Jude Shearsby (5.5). Czopor shared the lead from round 4 and won solo starting round 6.
The biggest upset came in round 9: Supratit Banerjee (FM, 2242) beat Aaravamudhan Balaji (IM, 2394), a +152-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsIM Maciej Czopor led from R6 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight. Title race converged from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 1 by R6.
IM Maciej Czopor takes the sole lead (5.0/6).
IM Maciej Czopor opens a +1.5-point gap over the chasing pack (closest: FM Jude Shearsby); the title is out of reach before R9.
IM Maciej Czopor drew with FM Kenneth Hobson (Black).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇵🇱IMCzopor, Maciej | 2434 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 28.25 | 38.0 | +7.1 | 2504 |
| 2 | 🇬🇧FMHobson, Kenneth | 2361 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 22.50 | 39.5 | +3.4 | 2372 |
| 3 | 🇬🇧FMShearsby, Jude | 2270 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | 22.25 | 39.5 | +52.4 | 2382 |
| 4 | 🇬🇧IMBalaji, Aaravamudhan | 2394 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.0 | 21.00 | 40.0 | -15.4 | 2331 |
| 5 | 🇬🇧FMRees, Ioan | 2280 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.5 | 19.50 | 40.5 | +5.2 | 2301 |
| 8 | 🇬🇧FMBanerjee, Supratit | 2242 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 4.0 | 18.25 | 41.0 | +5.0 | 2262 |
| 6 | 🇬🇧IMLarge, Peter G | 2291 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4.0 | 17.25 | 41.0 | -8.0 | 2256 |
| 7 | 🇮🇹Bin-Suhayl, Ieysaa | 2217 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | 4.0 | 14.50 | 41.0 | +11.6 | 2265 |
| 9 | 🇬🇧FMBadacsonyi, Stanley | 2309 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 3.5 | 14.25 | 41.5 | -22.8 | 2217 |
| 10 | 🇮🇳CMManmay Chopra | 2188 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 2.0 | 8.25 | 43.0 | -39.5 | 2091 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Shearsby, JudeFMENG+52.45.5 pts · #3
- 2Bin-Suhayl, IeysaaITA+11.64.0 pts · #7
- 3Czopor, MaciejIMPOL+7.17.0 pts · #1
- 1Manmay ChopraCMIND-39.52.0 pts · #10
- 2Badacsonyi, StanleyFMENG-22.83.5 pts · #9
- 3Balaji, AaravamudhanIMENG-15.45.0 pts · #4
- R9+152 Elo gap
- R1+119 Elo gap