Message from CAQ Inc. President Tony Dowden, CM FT re successful Byron Capital

October 7, 2026 by Kerry Corker

Congratulations to Toowoomba Chess Club on organizing and running a wonderful tournament! Huge thanks to Byron Capital for their incredibly generous sponsorship and to Toowoomba Grammar School for the very fine venue. Thank you also to the highly experienced and smooth operating arbitting team of Michael, David, Keong, Elmer and Max. Actually, I was asked to be an emergency arbiter (around my games in the Major) but IA Keong Ang from NZ kindly stepped in to assist, so I didn’t have to do a thing. A special nod to IA David Esmonde, as I’m pretty sure I accidentally forgot to thank him in my rushed speech at the beginning of Rd 9 of the Premier. Sorry David! Thank you also to all those who travelled including those from interstate and overseas. I especially enjoyed meeting the small delegation from Vanuatu – CM Jeremy Ellison and Sean Zhitong – then getting to know them in the afternoon/ evening following the event.