You may not think of Royston as being an important national centre for anything, but, in fact it is becoming the No.1 centre for Shogi. There is in Royston the most active Shogi club in Britain, the focal point of postal Shogi playing worldwide (including Japan!), and sets used for playing a wide variety of games by post, including Shogi, are made in Royston and sold to Japan! There is also an annual Congress for Shogi players at the beginning of September in Royston.
This year's Congress was held on 5th September at the Coombes Community Centre in Royston. There were 12 competitors ranging from 9 to over 60-years-old, and from beginner to former European Shogi Champion. Two tournaments were run in parallel with the Shogi tournament being won by Paul Judkins, 6-kyu from Royston. Second place was awarded to David Murphy, 4-dan from Orpington. The junior prize went to 9-year-old Sarah Holland from Royston.
Alongside the Shogi tournament, the British Open Championships for Tori-Shogi, a smaller variant of Shogi, was held, with 4 entrants playing each other in a quick-play tournament. The overall winner was David Murphy, retaining his title and winning the Tori-Shogi tournament in Royston for the 3rd year in succession. Due to lack of time David played his final 2 games simultaneously against the clock, and won them both!
This year's Congress was supported by Royston Chess Club, who provided the chess clocks, Richard West Limited of Royston and Hitachi Data Systems, who provided the prizes. Their assistance is greatly appreciated.
The Royston Shogi Club meets with the Royston Chess Club every Thursday evening from 7:30pm at the Fish Hill Meeting Rooms in Royston. A wide variety of Western and Oriental Chess variants are played, and players of all abilities are most welcome. For further details please ring Richard West (Royston 246995) or Phil Holland (Royston 244497).
Forthcoming events at the Chess Club are:
| 1992 British Tori-Shogi Championships |
| 1st - David Murphy - 3 wins |
| 2nd - Anthony Denver-Fedder - 2 wins |
| 1992 Royston Shogi Tournament |
| 1st - Paul Judkins - 3 wins |
| 2nd - David Murphy - 2 wins |
| Junior - Sarah Holland - 0 wins |
| Results: | |||
| Anthony Denver-Fedder | vs | Richard West | 1-0 |
| Phil Holland | vs | Richard West | 0-1 |
| Anthony Denver-Fedder | vs | David Murphy | 0-1 |
| Phil Holland | vs | Anthony Denver-Fedder | 0-1 |
| Richard West | vs | David Murphy | 0-1 |
| Phil Holland | vs | David Murphy | 0-1 |
| Pos. | Player's name (Club) | Grade | Pl. | W. |
| 1. | David Murphy (Orpington) | 11-kyu | 3 | 3 |
| 2. | Anthony Denver-Fedder (Ashford) | 13-kyu | 3 | 2 |
| 3. | Richard West (Royston) | 13-kyu | 3 | 1 |
| 4. | Phil Holland (Royston) | 15-kyu | 3 | 0 |
| Round 1: | |||
| Phil Holland | vs | Anthony Denver-Fedder (Rook+Lance) | 0-1 |
| Paul Judkins | vs | David Foster (2 pieces) | 1-0 |
| Neil McLean | vs | Richard West (Lance) | 0-1 |
| Sarah Holland | vs | Doug McGown (4 pieces) | 0-1 |
| Mike Coyne | vs | David Murphy | 0.5-0.5 |
| Arron Springate | vs | Les Blackstock | 0.5-0.5 |
| Round 2: | |||
| Les Blackstock | vs | David Murphy | 0-1 |
| David Foster | vs | Anthony Denver-Fedder | 0-1 |
| Arron Springate | vs | Mike Coyne | 1-0 |
| Phil Holland | vs | Richard West (Lance) | 1-0 |
| Doug McGown | vs | Paul Judkins | 0-1 |
| Sarah Holland | vs | Neil McLean (5 pieces right) | 0-1 |
| Round 3: | |||
| Anthony Denver-Fedder | vs | David Murphy | 0-1 |
| David Foster | vs | Les Blackstock | 0-1 |
| Richard West | vs | Mike Coyne (Lance) | 1-0 |
| Paul Judkins | vs | Arron Springate (Bishop) | 1-0 |
| Doug McGown | vs | Neil McLean | 0-1 |
| Sarah Holland | vs | Phil Holland (7 pieces right) | 0-1 |
| Pos. | Player's name (Club) | Grade | Pl. | W. |
| 1. | Paul Judkins (Royston) | 6-kyu | 3 | 3 |
| 2. | David Murphy (Orpington) | 4-dan | 3 | 2.5 |
| 3. | Anthony Denver-Fedder (Ashford) | 1-dan | 3 | 2 |
| 4. | Richard West (Royston) | 4-kyu | 3 | 2 |
| 5. | Phil Holland (Royston) | 5-kyu | 3 | 2 |
| 6. | Neil McLean (Rochester) | 6-kyu | 3 | 2 |
| 7. | Arron Springate (Gillingham) | 2-kyu | 3 | 1.5 |
| 8. | Les Blackstock (London) | 3-dan | 3 | 1.5 |
| 9. | Doug McGown (Shepperton) | 7-kyu | 3 | 1 |
| 10. | Mike Coyne (Gillingham) | 1-kyu | 3 | 0.5 |
| 11. | David Foster (Wokingham) | 1-dan | 3 | 0 |
| 12. | Sarah Holland (Royston) | 15-kyu | 3 | 0 |
Email: Phil Holland <phil.holland@bcs.org.uk>
