With just under 3 months to go until the start of the 2015 PokerStars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament (sponsored by PokerStars and the Scheinberg family), we have 80 players from 24 countries entered for the Masters, which is already 7 more than for the start-list of the 2014 event. To date, we have 63 titled players, including 35 GMs, 18 IMs and 10 players in the world’s top 100.

FIDE have not helped us in recent months with their scheduling! Since we announced our dates, the World Cup, World Rapid & Blitz and Women’s Grand Prix have all been scheduled to overlap with our tournament. This means that I still have funds available to invite one or possibly two more players in or around the world’s top 30, although participation may not be confirmed until after the World Cup is underway.

A reminder that the maximum number of players in the Masters will likely be 120, meaning that we have 40 places remaining.

In the Major and Minor sections (FIDE rated with total prize money of £4,800) we have a total of 15 entries to date and anticipate that this will increase substantially over the summer months.

More regular updates will follow over the coming weeks, including news about the chess-poker event, earmarked for the evening of 2 October.

Finally, I would like to say a few words about Jim McDonald, one of the most popular players on the Manx chess scene who played with distinction in last year’s PokerStars Minor. Jim was suddenly taken away from us on 28 April at the age of just 50. It was a great shock and he will be greatly missed by his many friends in the local chess community Jim McDonald RIP

Alan Ormsby