3rd Wells Chess Congress and 2026 West of England Championships - Major
Open SwissStandard
26 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 06 Mar 2026 to 08 Mar 2026 in Wells, England. 4 federations represented. Top 10 Elo average was 1876.
Oliver Thornley (🇬🇧 ENG, 1752) won with 4.0/5, ahead of Adri Van Hensbergen (3.5) and George Miller (3.5). Thornley clinched sole first place in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 4: H William Ingham (1700) beat FIDE 343493068 (1930), a +230-point gap.
Location
🇬🇧Wells, England
Dates
06 Mar 2026 → 08 Mar 2026
Time control
Standard: 90 minutes with 30 second increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 5 rounds
Federations · 4 represented
🇬🇧England×21
🇬🇧Scotland×1
🇮🇪Ireland×1
🇬🇧Wales×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsOliver Thornley led from R5; +0.5-point edge over the runner-up.
Co-leaders
7
2
1
1
1
R4 · LEADER CHANGE08 Mar
Adri Van Hensbergen takes the sole lead (3.5/4).
R2–R5 · WIN STREAK
Oliver Thornley won 4 in a row (R2–R5).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oliver Thornley | * | — | — | 1 |
| 2George Miller | — | * | ½ | — |
| 3Robert Eales | — | ½ | * | — |
| 4Adri Van Hensbergen | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thornley, Oliver | 1752 | ENG | F | +24B | +20N | +6B | +2B | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.00 | 2623 | +32.4 |
| 2 | Van Hensbergen, Adri | 1865 | ENG | =16N | +25B | +10B | +5B | −1N | 3.5 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 8.00 | 1878 | -1.2 |
| 3 | Miller, George | 1903 | ENG | =25N | +16B | =13N | +7B | =4N | 3.5 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 8.50 | 1955 | +12.8 |
| 4 | Eales, Robert | 1857 | ENG | +19B | +?N | −6N | +13B | =3B | 3.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 6.25 | 1785 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Thomas, Mark | 1913 | WLS | +23B | =20N | +8B | −2N | +11B | 3.5 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 7.25 | 1897 | +1.2 |
| 6 | Pack, James | 1876 | ENG | +18B | +15N | +4B | −1N | −9B | 3.0 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 7.50 | 1918 | +8.2 |
| 7 | Bennett, Eric | 1835 | IRL | +9B | =10B | =17N | −3N | +22B | 3.0 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 6.75 | 1809 | -2.2 |
| 8 | Ingham, H William | 1700 | ENG | F | +12B | −5N | +10B | +14N | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 7.50 | 1857 | +5.4 |
| 9 | FIDE 343493076 | 0 | — | −7N | F | +?B | +17B | +6N | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 5.00 | 1822 | 0.0 |
| 10 | FIDE 343493068 | 1930 | — | +21B | =7N | −2N | −8N | +23B | 2.5 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 4.00 | 1735 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Redmill, Simon Matthew | 1837 | ENG | −15N | +18B | =14N | +20B | −5N | 2.5 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 4.75 | 1810 | +2.4 |
| 12 | Northam, Lawrence | 1822 | ENG | F | −8N | +15B | =22N | +19B | 2.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 4.75 | 1751 | -6.4 |
| 13 | Taylor, Noah | 1756 | ENG | F | +26N | =3B | −4N | +21N | 2.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 3.25 | 2054 | +44.0 |
| 14 | Wright, Richard J | 1697 | ENG | −20B | +23N | =11B | +24N | −8B | 2.5 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 3.25 | 1503 | 0.0 |
| 15 | McGeeney, David | 1720 | SCO | +11B | −6B | −12N | =25N | =18B | 2.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 4.00 | 1739 | +4.8 |
| 16 | Chojnacki, Kevin | 1743 | ENG | =2B | −3N | −21B | =23N | +26N | 2.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 2.25 | 1719 | +0.6 |
| 17 | Attwell, Ben | 1920 | ENG | =24N | +22B | =7B | −9N | F | 2.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 3.50 | 1999 | +18.4 |
| 18 | Harvey, Ga | 0 | ENG | −6N | −11N | =23B | +26B | =15N | 2.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.50 | 1672 | -42.8 |
| 19 | Rock Cooper, Dillon | 1715 | ENG | −4N | =21N | =24B | +?B | −12N | 2.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1.25 | 1768 | 0.0 |
| 20 | George, Richard M | 1826 | ENG | +14N | =5B | −1B | −11N | F | 1.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 4.25 | 1553 | -15.6 |
| 21 | Goatcher, Matthew W | 1804 | ENG | −10N | =19B | +16N | F | −13B | 1.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 3.00 | 1732 | -9.2 |
| 22 | Moseley, Alan | 1789 | ENG | F | −17N | +26B | =12B | −7N | 1.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1.25 | 1709 | -8.0 |
| 23 | Wilson, Andrew B | 1775 | ENG | −5N | −14B | =18N | =16B | −10N | 1.0 | 10.5 | 12.5 | 2.00 | 1694 | 0.0 |
| 24 | Lynn, Jeremy D | 1818 | ENG | =17B | −1N | =19N | −14B | −?N | 1.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 2.00 | 1484 | 0.0 |
| 25 | Cooper, Malcolm H | 1767 | ENG | =3B | −2N | F | =15B | F | 1.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 2.75 | 1685 | -5.0 |
| 26 | Coldwell, Matthew | 1803 | ENG | F | −13B | −22N | −18N | −16B | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 977 | -63.2 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Taylor, NoahENG+44.02.5 pts · #7
- 2Thornley, OliverENG+32.44.0 pts · #1
- 3Attwell, BenENG+18.42.0 pts · #16
Top rating losers
- 1Coldwell, MatthewENG-63.20.0 pts · #26
- 2Harvey, GaENG-42.82.0 pts · #18
- 3George, Richard MENG-15.61.5 pts · #23
Biggest upsets
- R4+230 Elo gap
- R5+136 Elo gap
- R4+124 Elo gap