In January 2026 the BCA launched a new tournament – the Remote New Year Cup!  Modelled closely on the popular Remote Summer Cup that’s now in its fifth year, this event allowed members to compete from the comfort of their own homes, via Lichess, Zoom or another online platform.  It was a five round Swiss, with about two weeks allowed for each round, so the entire tournament lasted for the best part of three months.

The event attracted no fewer than 21 entries in the Open section and 12 in the Challengers.  Arbiter, James Connors, ensured that the event ran smoothly.  He expressed his gratitude to the many members who helped keep the tournament going by timing games and starting Zoom sessions.  It is not possible to run an event like this without such volunteers!

The Open section was won by Brandan Read, with a very convincing 4.5 points from five games.

In the Challengers section there was a tie between Jennifer D’Mello and her mother Jyoti, who also scored 4.5 points.  Jennifer had the better tie-break so was declared the winner!

All the scores can be found here.