The Kingston Invitational was established in 2022 to create a high-level tournament in south-west London and give much-needed Fide-rated games to predominantly local players. There have now been four very successful editions – the first with 10 players, the second with 20, the third with 40, the fourth with 65 (split between a Swiss and an all-play-all). We do not promise to double the number of players every year. Indeed, doubling the number of players in 2024 created about 10 times the work, so there may be an argument that “small is beautiful”.

We are committed to involving leading players from the Kingston club in these events, but have also been pleased to invite players from competitor clubs to participate. In 2023 the growing reputation of the Invitational led players from other parts of the UK and Europe to request invitations, and we were pleased to invite strong players from Iceland and Sweden to take part. This new global perspective to the tournament somewhat confused Chess Magazine, which in its excellent write-up of the event called it the “Kingston International”.

Both the 2022 and 2023 editions were all-play-alls: a 10-player all-play-all in 2022 and two 10-player all-play-all groups in 2023, the higher-rated of which offered IM norms, though such was the strength of the event that none was achieved. The inaugural tournament in July 2022 was won by Kingston star Peter Lalić. The second tournament in July 2023 was won by IM Conor Murphy, with Tim Seymour and Alistair Hill sharing first prize in the second group. For the details, see the full tournament reports below. The third Kingston Invitational – there were four high-level joint winners! – was held at Tiffin Boys’ School from Monday 12 to Friday 16 August 2024 and took the form of a very competitive Swiss. A report on that event also appears below. 

In 2025 we combined the two formats, and had a very strong 10-player all-play-all event (again with norms on offer) and a 55-player Swiss aimed mainly at players with a Fide rating of 2000-plus. Polish grandmaster Jakub Kosakowski won the all-play-all. Norwegian Fide masters Jacob Templen Grave and Gunnar Lund came joint first in the Swiss – they shared the prize money but played a two-game blitz play-off for the honour of lifting the trophy, which resulted in a victory for Templen Grave. Jai Kothari and Shlok Verma were the leading juniors, with Kothari winning their play-off to secure the Barden Cup. John Saunders’ superb daily reports on the event can be found via the Fourth Kingston Invitational link below.

This year we will revert to a Swiss only, with a maximum of 64 players. The tournament will be over nine rounds at a time control of 90 minutes + 30-second increment and will be Fide-rated. It will run from Monday 17 to Friday 21 August at the Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Eden Street, Kingston KT1 1HZ – the home of the Kingston club. Paul McKeown will, as last year, be chief arbiter; Jake Hung will be deputy chief arbiter. The first round will start at 3.30pm on Monday 17 August, and round times on the succeeding four days will be at 10am and 3.30pm. 

The field will comprise a maximum of 64 players and entry is by invitation. The winner of the tournament will receive the Kingston Invitational Cup and £500, with £250 to second and £100 to third. The leading junior (17 or under) will receive the Barden Cup (named in honour of Guardian chess correspondent Leonard Barden) and £100. We are in the process of sending out invitations, but we would also be pleased to receive requests for entry from players who would like to take part. Please email me on [email protected] as soon as possible if you wish to request entry. Priority will be given to players over Fide 2000, though some exceptions will be made, especially in the case of Kingston members and affiliates.

Stephen Moss, Kingston Chess Club captain 

First Kingston Invitational (2022)