Coulsdon Chess Daytime Chess January 2026
9 players participated in this 3-round tournament, held from 14 Jan 2026 to 28 Jan 2026 in Coulsdon, England. Top 10 Elo average was 1360, and top seed was David C Clayton (🇬🇧 ENG, 1639).
David J Howes (🇬🇧 ENG, 1597) won with 2.0/3, ahead of Michael Woolley (2.0) and Michael Aburrow (2.0). Howes won on tie-break after catching the field in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 2: Michael Aburrow (1424) beat David C Clayton (1639), a +215-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 3 roundsTight race until R2; 3 players tied at 2.0/3, decided on Buchholz.
Michael Woolley held the sole lead from R2 through R3 without losing it.
3 players finish on 2.0/3. Howes takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (3.0).
Michael Woolley lost to David J Howes (Black).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Michael Woolley | * | 0 | — | 1 |
| 2David J Howes | 1 | * | — | — |
| 3Michael Aburrow | — | — | * | — |
| 4David Lilwall | 0 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Howes, David J | 1597 | ENG | F | +4N | +2B | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.00 | 2295 | +14.4 |
| 2 | Woolley, Michael | 1463 | ENG | +9B | +5B | −1N | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.00 | 1686 | +18.0 |
| 3 | Aburrow, Michael | 1424 | ENG | F | +6N | +4B | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.00 | 2383 | +28.2 |
| 4 | Denford, Les | 1526 | ENG | +8B | −1B | −3N | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.00 | 711 | -41.6 |
| 5 | Lilwall, David | 1514 | ENG | −6N | −2N | +7B | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.00 | 1412 | -8.2 |
| 6 | Clayton, David C | 1639 | ENG | +5B | −3B | — | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.00 | 1469 | -8.8 |
| 7 | Wimble, Gary | 1508 | ENG | F | +8B | −5N | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.00 | 714 | -19.6 |
| 8 | Shoulders, Andrew M | 0 | ENG | −4N | −7N | — | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.00 | 717 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Khan, A Qaiyum | 1573 | ENG | −2N | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.00 | 663 | -13.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Aburrow, MichaelENG+28.22.0 pts · #3
- 2Woolley, MichaelENG+18.02.0 pts · #1
- 3Howes, David JENG+14.42.0 pts · #2
- 1Denford, LesENG-41.61.0 pts · #9
- 2Wimble, GaryENG-19.61.0 pts · #7
- 3Khan, A QaiyumENG-13.00.0 pts · #6
- R2+215 Elo gap
- R1+110 Elo gap
- R3+102 Elo gap