Tuesday 29 May 2018

Autumn Cup R5 - Nic Croad Does it Again!


Nic Croad


Nic Croad has a habit recently of throwing a spanner into the works when the Ker machine seems unstoppable! Even when Anthony is demolishing every everyone else in sight, Nic seems to face him unafraid. After a fairly even Italian opening, Anthony as white had queen and bishop against Nic's queen and knight. Rather suddenly, Nic managed to infiltrate his opponent's position and the game ended rather brutally.




Ryan Winter destroyed me in about 20 moves. At about move 18 I was feeling relieved thinking that I was going to last longer than Bill had the previous week. However it was not to be.


Ryan now has 4/4 and is of course firm favourite to take the B grade title.



The C grade title is already decided! Congratulations to Edgar Benitez, who has 4 points out of 5, and cannot be caught by the other players in the group. Edgar seems to be getting better and better, and he plays exciting, rather tricky chess!

The D grade is set for a showdown between Wei Kai Chen and Fabian Day. They will play each other on Thursday, and whoever can win will also win the grade.

Nobody played in the E grade, and only one game was played in the F grade. It's difficult to know what to do to get these people to play.

The Swiss tournament that constituted the G grade was won in fine style by Nicholas Winsley, on 5/5. He's still young, definitely one to watch.

A grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name            Loc 

 1 Ker, Anthony     2472    0:1    Croad, Nic      2422
 2 Nijman, Brian    2155    0:1    Nyberg, Michael 2109
 3 Timergazi, Layla 2119    0:1    Dive, Russell   2453

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Ker, Anthony 2472 3 * 0 1 1   1
2 Croad, Nic 2422 2.5 1 * ½   1  
3 Dive, Russell 2453 2.5 0 ½ * 0 1 1
4 Nijman, Brian 2155 2 0   1 * 0 1
5 Nyberg, Michael 2109 1.5   0 0 1 * ½
6 Timergazi, Layla 2119 .5 0   0 0 ½ *

B grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name          Loc 

 1 Pomeroy, Arthur  2093    ½:½    Forster, Bill 2051
 2 Rossiter, Philip 2010    0:1    Jackson, Ross 1986
 3 Winter, Ryan     1999    1:0    Sellen, Ian   2085

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Winter, Ryan 1999 4 * 1 1   1 1
2 Forster, Bill 2051 2.5 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½
3 Jackson, Ross 1986 2.5 0 ½ *   1 1
4 Pomeroy, Arthur 2093 2   ½   * ½ 1
5 Sellen, Ian 2085 1.5 0 0 0 ½ * 1
6 Rossiter, Philip 2010 .5 0 ½ 0 0 0 *

C grade

No Name           Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Aldridge, Alan 1934    ½:½    Mullan, Brett    1920
 2 Benitez, Edgar 1908    ½:½    Brockway, Andrew 1888
 3 Laking, Robert          :     Wilkins, Mark    1922

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Benitez, Edgar 1908 4 * ½ 1 1 1 ½
2 Mullan, Brett 1920 2.5 ½ * ½   ½ 1
3 Laking, Robert   1.5 0 ½ *     1
4 Wilkins, Mark 1922 1.5 0     * ½ 1
5 Aldridge, Alan 1934 1 0 ½   ½ *  
6 Brockway, Andrew 1888 .5 ½ 0 0 0   *


D grade

No Name                 Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Chen, Wei Kai        1885    1:0    Wevers, Alexis   1821
 2 Farrington, Lawrence 1769    ½:½    Sole, Michael    1782
 3 Day, Fabian          1778    ½:½    Stoeveken, Peter 1815

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Chen, Wei Kai 1885 3 *   ½ 1 ½ 1
2 Day, Fabian 1778 3   * ½ ½ 1 1
3 Sole, Michael 1782 2.5 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0
4 Stoeveken, Peter 1815 2.5 0 ½ 0 * 1 1
5 Farrington, Lawrence 1769 2 ½ 0 ½ 0 * 1
6 Wevers, Alexis 1821 1 0 0 1 0 0 *

F grade

No Name                Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Stracy, Don         1631     :     Ashe, Michael        
 2 Tagos, Bernardo     1575    0:1    Benitez, Rick    1551
 3 Konakanchi, Karthik 1586     :     Herndall, Robert     

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Benitez, Rick 1551 2.5 * ½   1 1  
2 Stracy, Don 1631 2.5 ½ *   ½ ½ 1
3 Ashe, Michael   2.5     * ½ 1 1
4 Tagos, Bernardo 1575 2 0 ½ ½ * 1  
5 Herndall, Robert   .5 0 ½ 0 0 *  
6 Konakanchi, Karthik 1586 0   0 0     *


G grade

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                Loc  Total

 1 Winsley, Nicholas        [4]      1:0    Stannard, Lars      1402 [3.5]
 2 Kibblewhite, Daniel 1486 [2.5]    0:1    He, Paul            1223 [3]  
 3 Heyworth, Nicholas       [2]      0:1    Theodosiou, Andreas 1401 [2.5]
 4 Stannard, Bobby     1306 [2]      1:0    Deyab, Mohamed           [2]  
 5 Bennett, Sarah      1429 [1.5]    1:0    Sole, Chris         1143 [2]  
 6 Darr, Samuel        1522 [1.5]    +:-    Srivastava, Krishh       [1.5]
 7 Alcorn, Simeon      1368 [2]      0:0    BYE                           
 8 Asher, Bruce        1263 [0]      0:0    BYE                           
 9 Carroll, Lewis           [1]      0:0    BYE                           
10 Johnson, Sean            [1]      0:0    BYE                           

Cross Table


No Name                Feder Rtg Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5  

1  Winsley, Nicholas                  5     13:1  9:1  2:1  6:1  3:1
2  He, Paul                      1223 4      8:1  5:1  1:0 12:1  6:1
3  Stannard, Lars                1402 3.5    0:½ 13:1  7:1  5:1  1:0
4  Theodosiou, Andreas           1401 3.5    9:0 14:½ 16:1  7:1 12:1
5  Stannard, Bobby               1306 3     14:1  2:0 15:+  3:0  9:1
6  Kibblewhite, Daniel           1486 2.5   15:1  0:½ 11:1  1:0  2:0
7  Darr, Samuel                  1522 2.5    0:½ 12:+  3:0  4:0 13:+
8  Bennett, Sarah                1429 2.5    2:0  0:½ 14:1  9:0 11:1
9  Deyab, Mohamed                     2      4:1  1:0 12:0  8:1  5:0
10 Alcorn, Simeon                1368 2      0:½ 15:0  0:½ 15:+  0:0
11 Sole, Chris                   1143 2      0:½ 16:1  6:0  0:½  8:0
12 Heyworth, Nicholas                 2     16:1  7:-  9:1  2:0  4:0
13 Srivastava, Krishh                 1.5    1:0  3:0  0:½ 16:1  7:-
14 Johnson, Sean                      1      5:0  4:½  8:0  0:½  0:0
15 Carroll, Lewis                     1      6:0 10:1  5:- 10:-  0:0
16 Asher, Bruce                  1263 0     12:0 11:0  4:0 13:0  0:0







Monday 21 May 2018

Autumn Cup Round 4 - Ryan Winter Annotates


Week 4 of the Autumn Cup saw only one game played in the A grade, but there was no shortage of action!

Russell Dive was about to administer the final knife thrust to Brian Nijman's King, when he had a terrible accident.





The star of the B grade is undoubtedly Ryan Winter. Currently on 3 out of 3, here he is on top form, annihilating Bill Forster in fine style. I am very grateful to Ryan for annotating his game here.




Current chapter URL


Another game that caught my eye this week was Nicholas Winsley versus Daniel Kibblewhite in the G grade. Watch how Nicholas savages Daniel's misplayed French Defence







A Grade

No Name            Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Croad, Nic      2422     :     Timergazi, Layla 2119
 2 Dive, Russell   2453    0:1    Nijman, Brian    2155
 3 Nyberg, Michael 2109     :     Ker, Anthony     2472

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Ker, Anthony 2472 3 * 1 1     1
2 Nijman, Brian 2155 2 0 * 1     1
3 Dive, Russell 2453 1.5 0 0 * ½ 1  
4 Croad, Nic 2422 1.5     ½ * 1  
5 Nyberg, Michael 2109 .5     0 0 * ½
6 Timergazi, Layla 2119 .5 0 0     ½ *

B Grade

No Name          Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Forster, Bill 2051    0:1    Winter, Ryan     1999
 2 Sellen, Ian   2085    1:0    Rossiter, Philip 2010
 3 Jackson, Ross 1986     :     Pomeroy, Arthur  2093

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Winter, Ryan 1999 3 * 1 1     1
2 Forster, Bill 2051 2 0 * ½ 1   ½
3 Jackson, Ross 1986 1.5 0 ½ * 1    
4 Sellen, Ian 2085 1.5   0 0 * ½ 1
5 Pomeroy, Arthur 2093 1.5       ½ * 1
6 Rossiter, Philip 2010 .5 0 ½   0 0 *

C Grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name           Loc 

 1 Mullan, Brett    1920    ½:½    Laking, Robert     
 2 Wilkins, Mark    1922    0:1    Benitez, Edgar 1908
 3 Brockway, Andrew 1888     :     Aldridge, Alan 1934

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Benitez, Edgar 1908 3.5 * ½ 1 1 1  
2 Mullan, Brett 1920 2 ½ * ½     1
3 Laking, Robert   1.5 0 ½ *     1
4 Wilkins, Mark 1922 1.5 0     * ½ 1
5 Aldridge, Alan 1934 .5 0     ½ *  
6 Brockway, Andrew 1888 0   0 0 0   *

D Grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name                 Loc 

 1 Wevers, Alexis   1821    0:1    Day, Fabian          1778
 2 Stoeveken, Peter 1815    1:0    Farrington, Lawrence 1769
 3 Sole, Michael    1782    ½:½    Chen, Wei Kai        1885

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Day, Fabian 1778 2.5 * ½     1 1
2 Sole, Michael 1782 2 ½ * ½ 1   0
3 Chen, Wei Kai 1885 2   ½ * 1 ½  
4 Stoeveken, Peter 1815 2   0 0 * 1 1
5 Farrington, Lawrence 1769 1.5 0   ½ 0 * 1
6 Wevers, Alexis 1821 1 0 1   0 0 *


E Grade

No Name          Loc  Total  Result   Name                 Loc  Total

 1 He, Caleb     1717 [1.5]     :     Forlong-Ford, Colwyn 1701 [0]  
 2 Rabina, Romeo 1725 [0]      ½:½    Dixon, Hamish        1708 [1]  
 3 Hall, Nathan  1529 [1.5]    1:0    Robinson, Max             [3]  

No Name Rtg Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Robinson, Max     3 * 0 1   1 1
2 Hall, Nathan   1529 2.5 1 *   ½   1
3 Dixon, Hamish   1708 1.5 0   * 1 ½  
4 He, Caleb   1717 1.5   ½ 0 * 1  
5 Rabina, Romeo   1725 .5 0   ½ 0 *  
6 Forlong-Ford, Colwyn   1701 0 0 0       *

F Grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name                Loc 

 1 Ashe, Michael            1:0    Konakanchi, Karthik 1586
 2 Herndall, Robert         0:1    Tagos, Bernardo     1575
 3 Benitez, Rick    1551    ½:½    Stracy, Don         1631

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Stracy, Don 1631 2.5 *   ½ ½ ½ 1
2 Ashe, Michael   2.5   * ½   1 1
3 Tagos, Bernardo 1575 2 ½ ½ *   1  
4 Benitez, Rick 1551 1.5 ½     * 1  
5 Herndall, Robert   .5 ½ 0 0 0 *  
6 Konakanchi, Karthik 1586 0 0 0       *


G Grade

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                Loc  Total

 1 Winsley, Nicholas        [3]      1:0    Kibblewhite, Daniel 1486 [2.5]
 2 Stannard, Lars      1402 [2.5]    1:0    Stannard, Bobby     1306 [2]  
 3 He, Paul            1223 [2]      1:0    Heyworth, Nicholas       [2]  
 4 Theodosiou, Andreas 1401 [1.5]    1:0    Darr, Samuel        1522 [1.5]
 5 Deyab, Mohamed           [1]      1:0    Bennett, Sarah      1429 [1.5]
 6 Alcorn, Simeon      1368 [1]      +:-    Carroll, Lewis           [1]  
 7 Srivastava, Krishh       [.5]     1:0    Asher, Bruce        1263 [0]  
 8 Sole, Chris         1143 [1.5]    ½:½    BYE                           
 9 Johnson, Sean            [.5]     ½:½    BYE                           

Cross Table


No Name                Feder Rtg Loc  Total  1    2    3    4  

1  Winsley, Nicholas                  4     11:1  6:1  3:1  4:1
2  Stannard, Lars                1402 3.5    0:½ 11:1 12:1  7:1
3  He, Paul                      1223 3     13:1  7:1  1:0 10:1
4  Kibblewhite, Daniel           1486 2.5   15:1  0:½  9:1  1:0
5  Theodosiou, Andreas           1401 2.5    6:0 14:½ 16:1 12:1
6  Deyab, Mohamed                     2      5:1  1:0 10:0 13:1
7  Stannard, Bobby               1306 2     14:1  3:0 15:+  2:0
8  Alcorn, Simeon                1368 2      0:½ 15:0  0:½ 15:+
9  Sole, Chris                   1143 2      0:½ 16:1  4:0  0:½
10 Heyworth, Nicholas                 2     16:1 12:-  6:1  3:0
11 Srivastava, Krishh                 1.5    1:0  2:0  0:½ 16:1
12 Darr, Samuel                  1522 1.5    0:½ 10:+  2:0  5:0
13 Bennett, Sarah                1429 1.5    3:0  0:½ 14:1  6:0
14 Johnson, Sean                      1      7:0  5:½ 13:0  0:½
15 Carroll, Lewis                     1      4:0  8:1  7:-  8:-
16 Asher, Bruce                  1263 0     10:0  9:0  5:0 11:0





Sunday 20 May 2018

Round 3 - Ker Forges Ahead

Sorry for the delay (again) in posting this update.
I think I should cover round 3 briefly before I move on to round 4 (which I'll do tomorrow)
Anthony continued his winning ways with a very competent endgame against Russell Dive:
Anthony now has three wins out of three, and seems unstoppable.



In the B grade Ryan Winter seems a class above the rest of us - this week he destroyed Philip Rossiter. I have a feeling that young Ryan is destined for chess greatness. Bill has the same number of points, but has played an extra game.

C Grade - Edgar Benitez is the leader in this group, he has 2½ out of 3

D Grade - Michael Sole was seeming unstoppable, but he has been stopped by Alexis Wevers. You can see this game annotated earlier in this Blog. There is now a logjam for top position in this grade

E Grade - Max Robinson is looking impressive, he is on 100%, and has been playing good exciting chess.

F Grade - NZ Chess magazine cover boy Don Stracy leads this group, although this is the group with the most postponed games, so the position is not clear.

G Grade - young Nicholas Winsley has been massacring everyone in sight, I fear he may be too good for this group.


A Grade

No Name            Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Nyberg, Michael 2109    0:1    Croad, Nic       2422
 2 Ker, Anthony    2472    1:0    Dive, Russell    2453
 3 Nijman, Brian   2155    1:0    Timergazi, Layla 2119
No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Ker, Anthony 2472 3 * 1 1 1
2 Dive, Russell 2453 1.5 0 * ½ 1
3 Croad, Nic 2422 1.5 ½ * 1
4 Nijman, Brian 2155 1 0 * 1
5 Nyberg, Michael 2109 .5 0 0 * ½
6 Timergazi, Layla 2119 .5 0 0 ½ *

B Grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name          Loc 

 1 Jackson, Ross    1986    ½:½    Forster, Bill 2051
 2 Pomeroy, Arthur  2093    ½:½    Sellen, Ian   2085
 3 Rossiter, Philip 2010    0:1    Winter, Ryan  1999

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Winter, Ryan 1999 2 * 1 1
2 Forster, Bill 2051 2 * ½ ½ 1
3 Jackson, Ross 1986 1.5 0 ½ * 1
4 Pomeroy, Arthur 2093 1.5 * 1 ½
5 Rossiter, Philip 2010 .5 0 ½ 0 *
6 Sellen, Ian 2085 .5 0 0 ½ *

C Grade

No Name             Loc   Result   Name           Loc 

 1 Brockway, Andrew 1888    0:1    Mullan, Brett  1920
 2 Aldridge, Alan   1934    ½:½    Wilkins, Mark  1922
 3 Benitez, Edgar   1908    1:0    Laking, Robert     

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Benitez, Edgar 1908 2.5 * ½ 1 1
2 Mullan, Brett 1920 1.5 ½ * 1
3 Wilkins, Mark 1922 1.5 * ½ 1
4 Laking, Robert 1 0 * 1
5 Aldridge, Alan 1934 .5 0 ½ *
6 Brockway, Andrew 1888 0 0 0 0 *

D Grade

No Name                 Loc   Result   Name             Loc 

 1 Sole, Michael        1782    0:1    Wevers, Alexis   1821
 2 Chen, Wei Kai        1885    1:0    Stoeveken, Peter 1815
 3 Farrington, Lawrence 1769    0:1    Day, Fabian      1778

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Day, Fabian 1778 1.5 * ½ 1
2 Sole, Michael 1782 1.5 ½ * 0 1
3 Chen, Wei Kai 1885 1.5 * ½ 1
4 Farrington, Lawrence 1769 1.5 0 ½ * 1
5 Wevers, Alexis 1821 1 1 0 * 0
6 Stoeveken, Peter 1815 1 0 0 1 *

E Grade

No Name          Loc  Total  Result   Name                 Loc  Total

 1 Hall, Nathan  1529 [1]      ½:½    He, Caleb            1717 [1]  
 2 Robinson, Max      [2]      1:0    Rabina, Romeo        1725 [0]  
 3 Dixon, Hamish 1708 [1]       :     Forlong-Ford, Colwyn 1701 [0]  

No Name Rtg Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Robinson, Max 3 * 1 1 1
2 He, Caleb 1717 1.5 * ½ 0 1
3 Hall, Nathan 1529 1.5 ½ * 1
4 Dixon, Hamish 1708 1 0 1 *
5 Rabina, Romeo 1725 0 0 0 *
6 Forlong-Ford, Colwyn 1701 0 0 0 *


F Grade

No Name            Loc   Result   Name                Loc 

 1 Benitez, Rick   1551     :     Ashe, Michael           
 2 Stracy, Don     1631    ½:½    Herndall, Robert        
 3 Tagos, Bernardo 1575     :     Konakanchi, Karthik 1586

No Name Loc Total #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
1 Stracy, Don 1631 2 * ½ ½ 1
2 Ashe, Michael 1.5 * ½ 1
3 Tagos, Bernardo 1575 1 ½ ½ *
4 Benitez, Rick 1551 1 * 1
5 Herndall, Robert .5 ½ 0 0 *
6 Konakanchi, Karthik 1586 0 0 *


G Grade

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                Loc  Total

 1 He, Paul            1223 [2]      0:1    Winsley, Nicholas        [2]  
 2 Darr, Samuel        1522 [1.5]    0:1    Stannard, Lars      1402 [1.5]
 3 Kibblewhite, Daniel 1486 [1.5]    1:0    Sole, Chris         1143 [1.5]
 4 Carroll, Lewis           [1]      -:+    Stannard, Bobby     1306 [1]  
 5 Heyworth, Nicholas       [1]      1:0    Deyab, Mohamed           [1]  
 6 Johnson, Sean            [.5]     0:1    Bennett, Sarah      1429 [.5] 
 7 Asher, Bruce        1263 [0]      0:1    Theodosiou, Andreas 1401 [.5] 
 8 Alcorn, Simeon      1368 [.5]     ½:½    BYE                           
 9 Srivastava, Krishh       [0]      ½:½    BYE                           




No Name                Feder Rtg Loc  Total  1    2    3  

1  Winsley, Nicholas                  3     14:1 11:1  4:1
2  Kibblewhite, Daniel           1486 2.5   12:1  0:½  8:1
3  Stannard, Lars                1402 2.5    0:½ 14:1  7:1
4  He, Paul                      1223 2      9:1  5:1  1:0
5  Stannard, Bobby               1306 2     15:1  4:0 12:+
6  Heyworth, Nicholas                 2     16:1  7:- 11:1
7  Darr, Samuel                  1522 1.5    0:½  6:+  3:0
8  Sole, Chris                   1143 1.5    0:½ 16:1  2:0
9  Bennett, Sarah                1429 1.5    4:0  0:½ 15:1
10 Theodosiou, Andreas           1401 1.5   11:0 15:½ 16:1
11 Deyab, Mohamed                     1     10:1  1:0  6:0
12 Carroll, Lewis                     1      2:0 13:1  5:-
13 Alcorn, Simeon                1368 1      0:½ 12:0  0:½
14 Srivastava, Krishh                 .5     1:0  3:0  0:½
15 Johnson, Sean                      .5     5:0 10:½  9:0
16 Asher, Bruce                  1263 0      6:0  8:0 10:0