Austin Lockwood Monday, June 8, 2026
With the current event under way, it is interesting to compare the current field to that of 2024. 13 players competed in 2024, rated within a 200 rating points band. Most were titled, including an IM , 7 CCMs and 3 soon-to-be CCMs.. This might come to be seen as a high-water mark for Welsh CC. 2024-5 also saw the last staging of the British County Correspondence event, established for over a century.
I competed as a qualifier in 2024, 12th seeded of the 13 players. Five players finished equal first on 6.5/12. The current field of 9 players has a rating spread from under 1200 to 2399. I am now seeded second of the 2 CCMs competing. This shows the flight of top players away from the event and in some cases their move away from correspondence play. This is not just a Welsh experience. We may be impacted more than other countries precisely because of the success of our growth in the previous years.
Correspondence chess faces an uncertain future. Common explanations given for this are the advance of engines and prevalence of draws.
It is disappointing that the competitiveness of the Welsh Championship has dipped so rapidly. Two brave entrants will be clearly targeted. It should still be an interesting event. If nothing else, we're likely to have a much higher ratio of decisive games.
Phil Morgan
