Summer is upon us, so it’s time for the Gladstone Trophy.
The field is wide open this year, with some of the stronger players such as Kirby and Widger unable to play. Early betting in the NLC bar has Mister Barton and Mister Jacobs as likely contenders for the crown.
Thursday May 16 was the first round. With some byes, some no-shows and a little bit of administrative confusion (for which the Editorial Committee has launched a full inquiry), there were three matches played:
Mister Barton 1-0 Mister Ross
Miss Birrane 1-0 Mister Sharland
Mister Singh 0-1 Doctor Widdicombe
Mister Barnett 1-0 Mister Landless (by default)
Miss Lamentillo 0-1 Our Good Friend Mister Taylor (by default)
Doctor Saldanha, Mister Dias, Mister Jacobs = agreed half point byes.
The games
The standings
After round 1, here’s how the table looks:
| Position | Player | Score |
| 1= | Barton | 1 |
| 1= | Birrane | 1 |
| 1= | Widdicombe | 1 |
| 1= | Barnett | 1 |
| 1= | Taylor | 1 |
| 6= | Dias | 0.5 |
| 6= | Saldanha | 0.5 |
| 6= | Jacobs | 0.5 |
| 9= | Ross | 0 |
| 9= | Sharland | 0 |
| 9= | Singh | 0 |
| 9= | Landless | 0 |
| 9= | Lamentillo | 0 |
Beware. Round two cometh…