The idea of an end of season blitz tournament – yes, folks, Broadstairs Chess Club is still open until the middle of August – was first thought of ten years ago so just like a well-known out-of-town Thanet shopping centre, 2015 is our tenth anniversary. The routine is tried and tested and appears to work well so there seems little need to change it. The players are divided into two teams of roughly equal ability in grade order. They are then paired against each of the opposing players in turn and the final totals are added up to find the winning team. Token team prizes are awarded but it’s just for fun. There was originally a prize for the individual with the highest score but as it was invariably one of the two number one boards it seemed pointless so that has now been scrapped. Fourteen players took part this year: thirteen from Broadstairs and our guest and long-standing friend, Colin Gregory from Margate. Each player had six minutes to make all his moves and the theme this year was Waterloo 200 so the two teams were the Wellington Boots and the Napoleon Brandies. It was a close contest throughout with the Wellingtons taking an early lead and clinging on to it until the final round when the Napoleons won their only round sufficiently impressively to win the match. Where were the Prussians when we needed them? Next week the club returns to normal for the last few weeks of the season with three competitions still to be decided: the club tournament for the Goodall Cup, the knockout tournament for the John Couzens Vase, and the last two rounds of the Summer Swiss. The club closes for two weeks in August, re-opening in September and new players are always welcome (see ‘About’).