Unlike many chess clubs that shut down after Easter once league matches have dried up, Broadstairs prides itself in remaining open for 49 weeks of the year. The Summer Swiss is a long-standing competition that the club instigated to provide plenty of chess during the supposedly quiet months from May to August. It consists of five rounds and is notable for the fact that the prize does not go to the winner but to the player with the best grading performance over the five rounds. It is therefore difficult for the highest-graded player to win even if he defeats all five opponents which we think is both laudable and egalitarian. For many years the prize was free entry to the Thanet Congress but there were two problems with this idea: firstly, the Congress had already taken place by the time of the AGM when the prize was presented and secondly, sometimes the winner did not take part in the Congress anyway. After John Cutting’s death in 2010, it was decided to present a trophy in his name and the John Cutting Cup is now awarded each year. After three rounds of this year’s competition David Faldon leads the way with 3/3, followed by Bob Page and John Couzens, both on 2½/3.
