The Khyber Cup 2026 was held on Saturday 27th June, hosted by yours truly (Jonathan), with lunch at the Crooked Billet.

The Khyber Cup is always hostage to the unpredictable English summer weather. In most years this has us tracking whether a rainy day is forecast, which would force a postponement, or on the day looking at the clouds before deciding whether to play the next round indoors or out. But this year it was different. Following a full week of 30C temperatures, and 34C or more the last three days, the fear was we might have to postpone due to excessive heat. Fortunately, a combination of a relatively cool 29C, a shady garden, and Bob’s marquee, meant we were treated to a warm and fine day for outdoor chess.

The Khyber chess this year was even more unpredictable than the weather, with several games going completely against expectations: Nick repeated his surprise win from last year’s Khyber; Tim won against the odds (then equally unexpectedly lost the next round); and I threw away my queen for absolutely no reason (and Ashton – Stockfish says I would otherwise have had a won pawn ending).

After 5 rounds two players shared the top score of 4 points, both unbeaten: Matthew Palmer, who recently finished his A-levels, and Colin, who finished his A-levels less recently. Congratulations to both players, who will soon see their names on the John Purkis Khyber Cup shield, 4th time for Colin, 1st time for Matthew.

Close runners up on 3.5 points were Jim, Peter and Ashton, congratulations to them too. Thank you to Christine for her admirable handling the Swiss pairings, John for loaning out much of the garden furniture, Bob for the use of his marquee and its efficient assembly and disassembly, and everyone for playing.

…and many thanks to our Club Secretary, Jonathan Welton, not only for hosting the event but also for organising it!