Isle Of Wight Chess Tournament will take place 18-23 February, 2025. It will be one of the major European open events and ideal place for norm seekers and chess tourists. Chessdom.com had the opportunity to talk to the organizer of IOW, David Lightfoot.
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This is the first edition of the Masters tournament on the Isle of Wight. How did you come up with the idea?
I fell in love with competitive chess during the lockdowns and began traveling to tournaments as soon as they resumed. The UK has an excellent network of weekend tournaments across the country, and players frequently travel to these events. In my first year, I think I played in around nine tournaments from one end of the country to the other. Some events are better than others, generally it’s people volunteering their time for free and organising on a shoestring budget for little appreciation. I learned a lot about what players really want from a tournament and had some ideas about what I might add to it.
The Isle of Wight is a beautiful holiday destination, just 22 minutes from the South Coast of England (we’re in England too!). A lot of people confuse us with the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, which are closer to France. So I thought, why aren’t we doing this here?
There’s a proud history of chess on the island, but there hasn’t been a formal tournament for many years. Using what I had learned as a player, I organised the 2024 Isle of Wight Congress, placing the player experience at the centre. I also aimed to bring registration and information sharing into the 21st century. This approach seemed to be well received, and the event sold out, proving that there is an appetite for players to travel here. From this success, and with the help of our sponsors and the English Chess Federation, we’re now ready to step it up a notch and host a 9-round event.
With multiple events available in the chess calendar, what makes you stand out from the rest?
We are the only UK event to take place on an island! We also fit nicely into the UK chess calendar and offer players a great chance at achieving norms. Not many tournaments in the UK have all sections FIDE-rated as we do. We should also have a good number of LiveBoards, so most players will get the opportunity to play on them and have their games broadcast. For European players, it’s a fantastic chance to visit the UK and play chess in a lovely location by the sea.
The Isle of Wight Masters starts in about six months, yet there are already 24 titled players signed up! It certainly looks like a good place for title and norm seekers!
It is indeed. Our generous sponsors have enabled us to offer conditions to some excellent players, and many more have purchased tickets to attend. International Arbiter Shohreh Bayat is in charge, and I think this certainly helps, as players know they will be participating in a high-standard event.
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Will you have enough capacity to host chess players and their families in the designated hotels?
We believe so. The island is very much a holiday and tourism destination. While hotels near the venue may sell out or become expensive, there are thousands of rooms available on the island and in nearby towns. There are also lots of Holiday Parks that may not be on booking apps but have a look on google. You’re never more than a 45-minute drive from one side of the island to the other, and there are excellent local bus services and even a train connecting three of the major hotel towns.
We’ll see how many people sign up to attend this year. We have capacity for around 400 seated players at once across all events, though we would be surprised if it reaches this number. If we do get a large turnout, we will book out local hotels entirely next year and offer better rates to players. There’s actually a similar venue opposite this one so the event could accommodate twice as many players if needed.
The Masters is certainly the event we will follow closely on Chessdom. What about side events for players under 2000 ELO?
The tournament will also feature a U2000 section and a standard play weekend event, plus three Blitz tournaments. We are waiting to confirm exactly how many LiveBoards we can accommodate. The Masters will be 100% LiveBoard and broadcast with commentary. If we have enough boards, we will also broadcast the other events.
Such a large event doesn’t happen without sponsors. Who is supporting the 2025 edition of the Isle of Wight Masters?
We have been very fortunate to have several sponsors who share my vision that the Isle of Wight can host a major elite annual event. Wightlink Ferries have supported all of our events so far, contributing to costs and offering players discounts on travel. Visit IOW, the local tourism board, are also supporting and have been very helpful. The English Chess Federation is backing and promoting the event as part of their goal to grow elite-level chess. Chess and Bridge (Chess.co.uk) have assisted with marketing the event and are supplying equipment and hosting a shop on site. Digital Game Technology is also providing equipment and continuing to support after initially backing the Congress. The event would not be possible without any one of these supporters, and I can’t thank them enough. We look forward to seeing the tournament grow over the next few years.
