Julian Mazur Memorial R6 - The Borg Strikes

Just when it seems Nic Croad is running away with this tournament, Michael Nyberg steps in and throws everything wide open. Nic, with the white pieces, seemed to be doing fine, but, concentrating too much on his kingside attack, he failed to spot how effective was Michael's penetration into his own position with his queen. One fatal error and the game was over.

Nic and Michael now share the lead. The chasing pack consists of me, Mark Wilkins, Andrew Stone and Philip Rossiter, who all won our games on Thursday.

More to follow!

Julian Mazur Memorial 2014 - Round 6

Results

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                 Loc  Total

 1 Croad, Nic          2368 [5]      0:1    Nyberg, Michael      2081 [4]  
 2 Perry, Roger        2098 [4]      0:1    Stone, Andrew        2058 [3.5]
 3 Sellen, Ian         2075 [3.5]    1:0    Stoeveken, Peter     1856 [3.5]
 4 Wilkins, Mark       1886 [3.5]    1:0    Aldridge, Alan       1951 [3.5]
 5 Rossiter, Philip    1922 [3.5]    1:0    Stracy, Don          1855 [3.5]
 6 Jackson, Ross       1984 [3]      1:0    Coghini, Phillip     1700 [3]  
 7 Anderson, Gordon    1624 [3]      1:0    Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [3]  
 8 Meravanage, Satwik  1238 [3]      0:1    Kay, Bruce           1744 [3]  
 9 Sole, Michael       1746 [2.5]    0:1    Baker, Jack          1396 [2.5]
10 Patuwai, Bubbles    1500 [2.5]    0:1    Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [2.5]
11 Roberts, Mike       1761 [2.5]    +:-    Asplet, Mike         1566 [2]  
12 Konakanchi, Pramodh 1300 [2]     .5:.5   Bailey, Daniel            [2]  
13 Barr, Nick          1300 [2]      1:0    Wight, Joshua        1204 [2]  
14 Cunningham, Pat     1734 [2]      1:0    Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]
15 Phillips, Cameron   1000 [1.5]    0:1    List, Bob            1724 [1.5]
16 Scarlett, William   1255 [1.5]    1:0    Strokov, Philipp     1200 [1.5]
17 Bennett, Sarah      1236 [1]      1:0    Collings, Alex       1203 [1]  
18 Sole, Chris         953  [1]      1:0    BYE                            
19 Brockway, Andrew    1784 [2.5]   .5:.5   BYE                            
20 Kierstead, James    1111 [1.5]   .5:.5   BYE                            
21 Aumeier, Beate      1090 [2]      0:0    BYE                            

Cross Table

No Name                 Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6  

1  Nyberg, Michael      2081 5     15:W 23:W  4:L  6:W  8:W  2:W
2  Croad, Nic           2368 5     30:W 18:W  8:W  3:W 11:W  1:L
3  Sellen, Ian          2075 4.5   14:W 10:W 12:W  2:L  7:D 13:W
4  Wilkins, Mark        1886 4.5   27:W  9:W  1:W  7:L 12:D 11:W
5  Stone, Andrew        2058 4.5    0:D 16:W 17:W 11:L 15:W  7:W
6  Rossiter, Philip     1922 4.5    0:D 35:W 24:W  1:L 17:W 12:W
7  Perry, Roger         2098 4     26:W 17:D 18:W  4:W  3:D  5:L
8  Jackson, Ross        1984 4     25:W 19:W  2:L 10:W  1:L 20:W
9  Anderson, Gordon     1624 4     34:W  4:L 29:W 13:L 19:W 18:W
10 Kay, Bruce           1744 4     33:W  3:L 31:W  8:L 23:W 21:W
11 Aldridge, Alan       1951 3.5    0:D 20:W 13:W  5:W  2:L  4:L
12 Stracy, Don          1855 3.5   21:W 29:W  3:L 19:W  4:D  6:L
13 Stoeveken, Peter     1856 3.5    0:D 37:W 11:L  9:W 14:W  3:L
14 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 3.5    3:L 33:W 23:D 16:W 13:L 26:W
15 Baker, Jack          1396 3.5    1:L 38:W 36:W  0:D  5:L 23:W
16 Roberts, Mike        1761 3.5    0:D  5:L 32:W 14:L 35:W 30:+
17 Brockway, Andrew     1784 3     31:W  7:D  5:L 30:W  6:L  0:D
18 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 3     32:W  2:L  7:L 31:W 22:W  9:L
19 Cunningham, Pat      1734 3     39:W  8:L 27:W 12:L  9:L 35:W
20 Coghini, Phillip     1700 3     35:D 11:L 37:W 24:W  0:D  8:L
21 Meravanage, Satwik   1238 3     12:L 30:L 33:W 36:W 28:W 10:L
22 Barr, Nick           1300 3      0:D 25:D 30:D  0:D 18:L 31:W
23 Sole, Michael        1746 2.5   38:W  1:L 14:D 35:W 10:L 15:L
24 Bailey, Daniel            2.5    0:W  0:D  6:L 20:L  0:D 25:D
25 Konakanchi, Pramodh  1300 2.5    8:L 22:D 26:L 37:+  0:D 24:D
26 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 2.5    7:L 31:L 25:W 34:W  0:D 14:L
27 Scarlett, William    1255 2.5    4:L 34:W 19:L  0:D 31:L 37:W
28 List, Bob            1724 2.5   29:L  0:D 35:L 32:W 21:L 36:W
29 Aumeier, Beate       1090 2     28:W 12:L  9:L  0:D  0:D  0:L
30 Asplet, Mike         1566 2      2:L 21:W 22:D 17:L  0:D 16:-
31 Wight, Joshua        1204 2     17:L 26:W 10:L 18:L 27:W 22:L
32 Bennett, Sarah       1236 2     18:L  0:D 16:L 28:L  0:D 38:W
33 Kierstead, James     1111 2     10:L 14:L 21:L 38:W 36:D  0:D
34 Sole, Chris          953  2      9:L 27:L 38:W 26:L 37:L  0:W
35 Scully, Ben          1046 1.5   20:D  6:L 28:W 23:L 16:L 19:L
36 Phillips, Cameron    1000 1.5    0:D  0:D 15:L 21:L 33:D 28:L
37 Strokov, Philipp     1200 1.5    0:D 13:L 20:L 25:- 34:W 27:L
38 Collings, Alex       1203 1     23:L 15:L 34:L 33:L  0:W 32:L
39 Darvish, Shaiyan     1100 .5    19:L  0:D  0:   0:   0:   0: 

Provisional pairing for round 7

No Name                 Loc  Total  Result   Name                Loc  Total

 1 Croad, Nic           2368 [5]       :     Rossiter, Philip    1922 [4.5]
 2 Nyberg, Michael      2081 [5]       :     Sellen, Ian         2075 [4.5]
 3 Stone, Andrew        2058 [4.5]     :     Wilkins, Mark       1886 [4.5]
 4 Kay, Bruce           1744 [4]       :     Perry, Roger        2098 [4]  
 5 Jackson, Ross        1984 [4]       :     Anderson, Gordon    1624 [4]  
 6 Aldridge, Alan       1951 [3.5]     :     Roberts, Mike       1761 [3.5]
 7 Stoeveken, Peter     1856 [3.5]     :     Baker, Jack         1396 [3.5]
 8 Stracy, Don          1855 [3.5]     :     Konakanchi, Karthik 1351 [3.5]
 9 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [3]       :     Meravanage, Satwik  1238 [3]  
10 Coghini, Phillip     1700 [3]       :     Brockway, Andrew    1784 [3]  
11 Barr, Nick           1300 [3]       :     Cunningham, Pat     1734 [3]  
12 Konakanchi, Pramodh  1300 [2.5]     :     Sole, Michael       1746 [2.5]
13 List, Bob            1724 [2.5]     :     Scarlett, William   1255 [2.5]
14 Bailey, Daniel            [2.5]     :     Patuwai, Bubbles    1500 [2.5]
15 Kierstead, James     1111 [2]       :     Asplet, Mike        1566 [2]  
16 Aumeier, Beate       1090 [2]       :     Bennett, Sarah      1236 [2]  
17 Sole, Chris          953  [2]       :     Wight, Joshua       1204 [2]  
18 Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]     :     Phillips, Cameron   1000 [1.5]
19 Collings, Alex       1203 [1]       :     Strokov, Philipp    1200 [1.5]

Games from the Julian Mazur Memorial

Apologies for the delay, but here are some annotated games from the Julian Mazur so far, one each from rounds 3, 4 and 5.
Many thanks to Andrew Brockway and Michael Sole for their annotations.

Olympiad Photos from Layla

Many thanks to Layla Timergazi for sending these photos of New Zealand players at the Tromsø Olympiad. No captions, but I expect you know who all the Kiwis are. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Julian Mazur Round 5 - Croad Extends Lead

Nic Croad has continued his run of straight wins in the Julian Mazur Memorial tournament, beating Alan Aldridge fairly easily in round 5, and stretching his lead to a full one point. Next week he will face Michael Nyberg, who won a wild tactical game against Ross Jackson, at one stage being over 7 points down according to the analysis engine.

Congratulations to Philipp Strokov on getting his first win at the club. Young Cameron Phillips also looked to be heading to victory for the first time, but somehow James Kierstead held the draw.

Great result also for Satwik Meravanage, playing really well and overcoming Bob List, who is not having the best tournament of his life.

Results and provisional draw:

Round 5

No Name                 Loc  Total  Result   Name               Loc  Total

 1 Aldridge, Alan       1951 [3.5]    0:1    Croad, Nic         2368 [4]  
 2 Perry, Roger         2098 [3.5]   .5:.5   Sellen, Ian        2075 [3]  
 3 Nyberg, Michael      2081 [3]      1:0    Jackson, Ross      1984 [3]  
 4 Stracy, Don          1855 [3]     .5:.5   Wilkins, Mark      1886 [3]  
 5 Baker, Jack          1396 [2.5]    0:1    Stone, Andrew      2058 [2.5]
 6 Brockway, Andrew     1784 [2.5]    0:1    Rossiter, Philip   1922 [2.5]
 7 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [2.5]    0:1    Stoeveken, Peter   1856 [2.5]
 8 Kay, Bruce           1744 [2]      1:0    Sole, Michael      1746 [2.5]
 9 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [2]      1:0    Barr, Nick         1300 [2]  
10 Anderson, Gordon     1624 [2]      1:0    Cunningham, Pat    1734 [2]  
11 List, Bob            1724 [1.5]    0:1    Meravanage, Satwik 1238 [2]  
12 Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]    0:1    Roberts, Mike      1761 [1.5]
13 Wight, Joshua        1204 [1]      1:0    Scarlett, William  1255 [1.5]
14 Phillips, Cameron    1000 [1]     .5:.5   Kierstead, James   1111 [1]  
15 Strokov, Philipp     1200 [.5]     1:0    Sole, Chris        953  [1]  
16 Collings, Alex       1203 [0]      1:0    BYE                          
17 Coghini, Phillip     1700 [2.5]   .5:.5   BYE                          
18 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 [2]     .5:.5   BYE                          
19 Bennett, Sarah       1236 [.5]    .5:.5   BYE                          
20 Aumeier, Beate       1090 [1.5]   .5:.5   BYE                          
21 Bailey, Daniel            [1.5]   .5:.5   BYE                          
22 Asplet, Mike         1566 [1.5]   .5:.5   BYE                          
23 Konakanchi, Pramodh  1300 [1.5]   .5:.5   BYE                          

Cross Table

No Name                 Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5  

1  Croad, Nic           2368 5     23:W 12:W 11:W  4:W  6:W
2  Perry, Roger         2098 4     22:W 17:D 12:W  5:W  4:D
3  Nyberg, Michael      2081 4     19:W 20:W  5:L 10:W 11:W
4  Sellen, Ian          2075 3.5   18:W 13:W  7:W  1:L  2:D
5  Wilkins, Mark        1886 3.5   34:W 14:W  3:W  2:L  7:D
6  Aldridge, Alan       1951 3.5    0:D 15:W  8:W  9:W  1:L
7  Stracy, Don          1855 3.5   16:W 26:W  4:L 25:W  5:D
8  Stoeveken, Peter     1856 3.5    0:D 32:W  6:L 14:W 18:W
9  Stone, Andrew        2058 3.5    0:D 21:W 17:W  6:L 19:W
10 Rossiter, Philip     1922 3.5    0:D 30:W 24:W  3:L 17:W
11 Jackson, Ross        1984 3     28:W 25:W  1:L 13:W  3:L
12 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 3     36:W  1:L  2:L 27:W 29:W
13 Kay, Bruce           1744 3     33:W  4:L 27:W 11:L 20:W
14 Anderson, Gordon     1624 3     38:W  5:L 26:W  8:L 25:W
15 Coghini, Phillip     1700 3     30:D  6:L 32:W 24:W  0:D
16 Meravanage, Satwik   1238 3      7:L 23:L 33:W 31:W 35:W
17 Brockway, Andrew     1784 2.5   27:W  2:D  9:L 23:W 10:L
18 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 2.5    4:L 33:W 20:D 21:W  8:L
19 Baker, Jack          1396 2.5    3:L 37:W 31:W  0:D  9:L
20 Sole, Michael        1746 2.5   37:W  3:L 18:D 30:W 13:L
21 Roberts, Mike        1761 2.5    0:D  9:L 36:W 18:L 30:W
22 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 2.5    2:L 27:L 28:W 38:W  0:D
23 Asplet, Mike         1566 2      1:L 16:W 29:D 17:L  0:D
24 Bailey, Daniel            2      0:W  0:D 10:L 15:L  0:D
25 Cunningham, Pat      1734 2     39:W 11:L 34:W  7:L 14:L
26 Aumeier, Beate       1090 2     35:W  7:L 14:L  0:D  0:D
27 Wight, Joshua        1204 2     17:L 22:W 13:L 12:L 34:W
28 Konakanchi, Pramodh  1300 2     11:L 29:D 22:L 32:+  0:D
29 Barr, Nick           1300 2      0:D 28:D 23:D  0:D 12:L
30 Scully, Ben          1046 1.5   15:D 10:L 35:W 20:L 21:L
31 Phillips, Cameron    1000 1.5    0:D  0:D 19:L 16:L 33:D
32 Strokov, Philipp     1200 1.5    0:D  8:L 15:L 28:- 38:W
33 Kierstead, James     1111 1.5   13:L 18:L 16:L 37:W 31:D
34 Scarlett, William    1255 1.5    5:L 38:W 25:L  0:D 27:L
35 List, Bob            1724 1.5   26:L  0:D 30:L 36:W 16:L
36 Bennett, Sarah       1236 1     12:L  0:D 21:L 35:L  0:D
37 Collings, Alex       1203 1     20:L 19:L 38:L 33:L  0:W
38 Sole, Chris          953  1     14:L 34:L 37:W 22:L 32:L
39 Darvish, Shaiyan     1100 .5    25:L  0:D  0:   0:   0: 

Round 6 Provisional Draw

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                 Loc  Total

 1 Croad, Nic          2368 [5]       :     Nyberg, Michael      2081 [4]  
 2 Perry, Roger        2098 [4]       :     Stone, Andrew        2058 [3.5]
 3 Sellen, Ian         2075 [3.5]     :     Stoeveken, Peter     1856 [3.5]
 4 Wilkins, Mark       1886 [3.5]     :     Aldridge, Alan       1951 [3.5]
 5 Rossiter, Philip    1922 [3.5]     :     Stracy, Don          1855 [3.5]
 6 Jackson, Ross       1984 [3]       :     Coghini, Phillip     1700 [3]  
 7 Anderson, Gordon    1624 [3]       :     Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [3]  
 8 Meravanage, Satwik  1238 [3]       :     Kay, Bruce           1744 [3]  
 9 Sole, Michael       1746 [2.5]     :     Brockway, Andrew     1784 [2.5]
10 Roberts, Mike       1761 [2.5]     :     Baker, Jack          1396 [2.5]
11 Patuwai, Bubbles    1500 [2.5]     :     Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [2.5]
12 Aumeier, Beate      1090 [2]       :     Asplet, Mike         1566 [2]  
13 Konakanchi, Pramodh 1300 [2]       :     Bailey, Daniel            [2]  
14 Barr, Nick          1300 [2]       :     Wight, Joshua        1204 [2]  
15 Cunningham, Pat     1734 [2]       :     Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]
16 Kierstead, James    1111 [1.5]     :     List, Bob            1724 [1.5]
17 Scarlett, William   1255 [1.5]     :     Strokov, Philipp     1200 [1.5]
18 Collings, Alex      1203 [1]       :     Phillips, Cameron    1000 [1.5]
19 Bennett, Sarah      1236 [1]       :     Sole, Chris          953  [1]  

Layla and Garry at the Olympiad

Many thanks to Irek Timergazi for providing this lovely photo of Layla and her Mum Gouzel with the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov.

In case you don't know, Layla had a very good Olympiad and gained the WFM title with her 7/10 score on board 5. She even made it into the Dominion Post:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/10390348/No-more-tears-for-youngest-master

Julian Mazur Round 4 - Croad Leads Alone

After 4 rounds of the Julian Mazur Memorial only Nic Croad is left on 100%, as he crushed me with the black pieces after I played a very weak opening.
Alan Aldridge has also won all his games, but he took a bye in the first round. He will attempt to subdue the mighty Croad in round 5.

Congratulations to Karthik Konakanchi for a great result in beating mike Roberts. Do we possibly have another Layla Timergazi in our midst?

More to follow. I know I've said this before, but this time I mean it!

Julian Mazur Memorial 2014 - Round 4

Results

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                 Loc  Total

 1 Sellen, Ian         2075 [3]      0:1    Croad, Nic           2368 [3]  
 2 Wilkins, Mark       1886 [3]      0:1    Perry, Roger         2098 [2.5]
 3 Stone, Andrew       2058 [2.5]    0:1    Aldridge, Alan       1951 [2.5]
 4 Rossiter, Philip    1922 [2.5]    0:1    Nyberg, Michael      2081 [2]  
 5 Jackson, Ross       1984 [2]      1:0    Kay, Bruce           1744 [2]  
 6 Cunningham, Pat     1734 [2]      0:1    Stracy, Don          1855 [2]  
 7 Stoeveken, Peter    1856 [1.5]    1:0    Anderson, Gordon     1624 [2]  
 8 Asplet, Mike        1566 [1.5]    0:1    Brockway, Andrew     1784 [1.5]
 9 Roberts, Mike       1761 [1.5]    0:1    Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [1.5]
10 Sole, Michael       1746 [1.5]    1:0    Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]
11 Coghini, Phillip    1700 [1.5]    1:0    Bailey, Daniel            [1.5]
12 Wight, Joshua       1204 [1]      0:1    Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [1]  
13 Sole, Chris         953  [1]      0:1    Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 [1]  
14 Meravanage, Satwik  1238 [1]      1:0    Phillips, Cameron    1000 [1]  
15 List, Bob           1724 [.5]     1:0    Bennett, Sarah       1236 [.5] 
16 Konakanchi, Pramodh 1300 [.5]     +:-    Strokov, Philipp     1200 [.5] 
17 Kierstead, James    1111 [0]      1:0    Collings, Alex       1203 [0]  
18 Baker, Jack         1396 [2]     .5:.5   BYE                            
19 Scarlett, William   1255 [1]     .5:.5   BYE                            
20 Aumeier, Beate      1090 [1]     .5:.5   BYE                            
21 Barr, Nick          1300 [1.5]   .5:.5   BYE                            

Cross Table

No Name                 Loc  Total  1    2    3    4  

1  Croad, Nic           2368 4     25:W 18:W  7:W  4:W
2  Aldridge, Alan       1951 3.5    0:D 16:W 11:W  9:W
3  Perry, Roger         2098 3.5   23:W 10:D 18:W  6:W
4  Sellen, Ian          2075 3     12:W 19:W  8:W  1:L
5  Nyberg, Michael      2081 3     15:W 13:W  6:L 14:W
6  Wilkins, Mark        1886 3     29:W 20:W  5:W  3:L
7  Jackson, Ross        1984 3     30:W 17:W  1:L 19:W
8  Stracy, Don          1855 3     22:W 28:W  4:L 17:W
9  Stone, Andrew        2058 2.5    0:D 27:W 10:W  2:L
10 Brockway, Andrew     1784 2.5   33:W  3:D  9:L 25:W
11 Stoeveken, Peter     1856 2.5    0:D 36:W  2:L 20:W
12 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 2.5    4:L 34:W 13:D 27:W
13 Sole, Michael        1746 2.5   39:W  5:L 12:D 24:W
14 Rossiter, Philip     1922 2.5    0:D 24:W 26:W  5:L
15 Baker, Jack          1396 2.5    5:L 39:W 32:W  0:D
16 Coghini, Phillip     1700 2.5   24:D  2:L 36:W 26:W
17 Cunningham, Pat      1734 2     38:W  7:L 29:W  8:L
18 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 2     37:W  1:L  3:L 33:W
19 Kay, Bruce           1744 2     34:W  4:L 33:W  7:L
20 Anderson, Gordon     1624 2     35:W  6:L 28:W 11:L
21 Barr, Nick           1300 2      0:D 30:D 25:D  0:D
22 Meravanage, Satwik   1238 2      8:L 25:L 34:W 32:W
23 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 2      3:L 33:L 30:W 35:W
24 Scully, Ben          1046 1.5   16:D 14:L 31:W 13:L
25 Asplet, Mike         1566 1.5    1:L 22:W 21:D 10:L
26 Bailey, Daniel            1.5    0:W  0:D 14:L 16:L
27 Roberts, Mike        1761 1.5    0:D  9:L 37:W 12:L
28 Aumeier, Beate       1090 1.5   31:W  8:L 20:L  0:D
29 Scarlett, William    1255 1.5    6:L 35:W 17:L  0:D
30 Konakanchi, Pramodh  1300 1.5    7:L 21:D 23:L 36:+
31 List, Bob            1724 1.5   28:L  0:D 24:L 37:W
32 Phillips, Cameron    1000 1      0:D  0:D 15:L 22:L
33 Wight, Joshua        1204 1     10:L 23:W 19:L 18:L
34 Kierstead, James     1111 1     19:L 12:L 22:L 39:W
35 Sole, Chris          953  1     20:L 29:L 39:W 23:L
36 Strokov, Philipp     1200 .5     0:D 11:L 16:L 30:-
37 Bennett, Sarah       1236 .5    18:L  0:D 27:L 31:L
38 Darvish, Shaiyan     1100 .5    17:L  0:D  0:   0: 
39 Collings, Alex       1203 0     13:L 15:L 35:L 34:L

Provisional Round 5 Pairing

No Name                 Loc  Total  Result   Name                Loc  Total

 1 Aldridge, Alan       1951 [3.5]     :     Croad, Nic          2368 [4]  
 2 Perry, Roger         2098 [3.5]     :     Sellen, Ian         2075 [3]  
 3 Nyberg, Michael      2081 [3]       :     Jackson, Ross       1984 [3]  
 4 Stracy, Don          1855 [3]       :     Wilkins, Mark       1886 [3]  
 5 Sole, Michael        1746 [2.5]     :     Stone, Andrew       2058 [2.5]
 6 Baker, Jack          1396 [2.5]     :     Rossiter, Philip    1922 [2.5]
 7 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [2.5]     :     Stoeveken, Peter    1856 [2.5]
 8 Brockway, Andrew     1784 [2.5]     :     Coghini, Phillip    1700 [2.5]
 9 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [2]       :     Meravanage, Satwik  1238 [2]  
10 Kay, Bruce           1744 [2]       :     Barr, Nick          1300 [2]  
11 Anderson, Gordon     1624 [2]       :     Cunningham, Pat     1734 [2]  
12 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 [2]       :     Roberts, Mike       1761 [1.5]
13 Bailey, Daniel            [1.5]     :     List, Bob           1724 [1.5]
14 Aumeier, Beate       1090 [1.5]     :     Konakanchi, Pramodh 1300 [1.5]
15 Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]     :     Scarlett, William   1255 [1.5]
16 Wight, Joshua        1204 [1]       :     Asplet, Mike        1566 [1.5]
17 Phillips, Cameron    1000 [1]       :     Kierstead, James    1111 [1]  
18 Bennett, Sarah       1236 [.5]      :     Sole, Chris         953  [1]  
19 Strokov, Philipp     1200 [.5]      :     Collings, Alex      1203 [0]  

Layla scoring well at Tromso

Both Open and Women's teams are on 7 points out of 16 after 8 rounds at the Tromso Olympiad, each with three match wins, four losses and a draw. Three rounds to go.

The stand-out performance of 5.5 out of 7 has been Wellington Chess Club's Layla Timergazi for the Women's team. More than one person at the club last week wondered aloud to me what she was doing on bottom board! Most of her games have been fairly convincing (and short), although she had to show all her fighting spirit to come back from a lost position against Norway 3 in the 7th round.

Here is her 6th round win against Jamaica's Krishna Gray, while others in the team were struggling somewhat.

Chinese Chess in Vietnam

 Many thanks to Nathan Rose for this.

 

I really like Nathan's idea of trying out some Chinese chess at the club. What do other people think?

 

 

 

 

"Greetings from Pho Chau, Vietnam!

Here are a couple of photos from our trip so far in Vietnam. The plan is to go from Saigon to Hanoi by motorbike, and we have now made it most of the way up the country towards this aim.

You can see us here with our two Honda Win motorbikes. 100cc's of raw power! Actually that's a very small engine, but they're nuggety little machines equally at home navigating the madcap big cities, overtaking trucks and oxes on the open road, or negotiating the many potholes and dirt roads of the Ho Chi Minh trail. We are next going to be looping around to Ninh Binh, Halong Bay, Sapa before we enter Hanoi itself.

One thing you cannot help but notice in Vietnam is the ubiquity of Xiagqi (Chinese Chess). People play it on the streetside, on their lunch breaks, and in cafes - if only Western Chess enjoyed such popularity in New Zealand! I have gone ahead and learned the rules and have been playing it a lot in our downtime. Any time the locals see my European face trying my hand at the game it draws a crowd, as you can see! Today when my Dad and I played in a roadside cafe we had about two dozen people watching our game by the end - no pressure!

Once you learn which piece is which, it is similar enough to Western Chess to play a reasonable game. The "cannons" (which move like rooks, but must jump over a piece to capture) are by far the hardest thing for a Western Chess player to get their head around!

Might be an option for the Wellington Chess Club to introduce a Xiangqi round into the 2015 calendar?

Hope all is well and say hi to everyone from me."

 

 

 

 

Julian Mazur 2014 Round 3 - Three Players Lead

After three rounds of the Julian Mazur Memorial tournament  three players are left on full points - myself, favourite Nic Croad, and Mark Wilkins, who scored an upset by beating number 3 seed Michael Nyberg.
I haven't had a chance to look through the games yet, But I shall certainly publish one or two. Apart from Mark Wilkins, upsets were provided by Ben Scully, overcoming a huge ratings gap to beat the unfortunate Bob List, and Karthik, who did well to draw with Michael Sole.
Congratulations to Phillip Coghini and Bubbles Patuwai scoring their first victories at the club. For the other newbies - don't worry, it's only a matter of time!

Full results, cross table and provisional pairings:

Round 3

No Name                 Loc  Total  Result   Name                Loc  Total

 1 Croad, Nic           2368 [2]      1:0    Jackson, Ross       1984 [2]  
 2 Nyberg, Michael      2081 [2]      0:1    Wilkins, Mark       1886 [2]  
 3 Stracy, Don          1855 [2]      0:1    Sellen, Ian         2075 [2]  
 4 Brockway, Andrew     1784 [1.5]    0:1    Stone, Andrew       2058 [1.5]
 5 Aldridge, Alan       1951 [1.5]    1:0    Stoeveken, Peter    1856 [1.5]
 6 Bailey, Daniel            [1.5]    0:1    Rossiter, Philip    1922 [1.5]
 7 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [1]      0:1    Perry, Roger        2098 [1.5]
 8 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [1]     .5:.5   Sole, Michael       1746 [1]  
 9 Kay, Bruce           1744 [1]      1:0    Wight, Joshua       1204 [1]  
10 Scarlett, William    1255 [1]      0:1    Cunningham, Pat     1734 [1]  
11 Anderson, Gordon     1624 [1]      1:0    Aumeier, Beate      1090 [1]  
12 Barr, Nick           1300 [1]     .5:.5   Asplet, Mike        1566 [1]  
13 Phillips, Cameron    1000 [1]      0:1    Baker, Jack         1396 [1]  
14 Roberts, Mike        1761 [.5]     1:0    Bennett, Sarah      1236 [.5] 
15 Scully, Ben          1046 [.5]     1:0    List, Bob           1724 [.5] 
16 Strokov, Philipp     1200 [.5]     0:1    Coghini, Phillip    1700 [.5] 
17 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 [0]      1:0    Konakanchi, Pramodh 1300 [.5] 
18 Meravanage, Satwik   1238 [0]      1:0    Kierstead, James    1111 [0]  
19 Collings, Alex       1203 [0]      0:1    Sole, Chris         953  [0]  

Cross Table

No Name                 Loc  Total  1    2    3  

1  Sellen, Ian          2075 3     21:W 12:W 10:W
2  Wilkins, Mark        1886 3     26:W 11:W  8:W
3  Croad, Nic           2368 3     17:W 25:W  9:W
4  Stone, Andrew        2058 2.5    0:D 19:W 15:W
5  Aldridge, Alan       1951 2.5    0:D 20:W 18:W
6  Rossiter, Philip     1922 2.5    0:D 22:W 16:W
7  Perry, Roger         2098 2.5   31:W 15:D 25:W
8  Nyberg, Michael      2081 2     14:W 23:W  2:L
9  Jackson, Ross        1984 2     35:W 13:W  3:L
10 Stracy, Don          1855 2     30:W 27:W  1:L
11 Anderson, Gordon     1624 2     32:W  2:L 27:W
12 Kay, Bruce           1744 2     39:W  1:L 29:W
13 Cunningham, Pat      1734 2     33:W  9:L 26:W
14 Baker, Jack          1396 2      8:L 38:W 28:W
15 Brockway, Andrew     1784 1.5   29:W  7:D  4:L
16 Bailey, Daniel            1.5    0:W  0:D  6:L
17 Asplet, Mike         1566 1.5    3:L 30:W 24:D
18 Stoeveken, Peter     1856 1.5    0:D 34:W  5:L
19 Roberts, Mike        1761 1.5    0:D  4:L 37:W
20 Coghini, Phillip     1700 1.5   22:D  5:L 34:W
21 Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 1.5    1:L 39:W 23:D
22 Scully, Ben          1046 1.5   20:D  6:L 36:W
23 Sole, Michael        1746 1.5   38:W  8:L 21:D
24 Barr, Nick           1300 1.5    0:D 35:D 17:D
25 Farrington, Lawrence 1852 1     37:W  3:L  7:L
26 Scarlett, William    1255 1      2:L 32:W 13:L
27 Aumeier, Beate       1090 1     36:W 10:L 11:L
28 Phillips, Cameron    1000 1      0:D  0:D 14:L
29 Wight, Joshua        1204 1     15:L 31:W 12:L
30 Meravanage, Satwik   1238 1     10:L 17:L 39:W
31 Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 1      7:L 29:L 35:W
32 Sole, Chris          953  1     11:L 26:L 38:W
33 Darvish, Shaiyan     1100 .5    13:L  0:D  0: 
34 Strokov, Philipp     1200 .5     0:D 18:L 20:L
35 Konakanchi, Pramodh  1300 .5     9:L 24:D 31:L
36 List, Bob            1724 .5    27:L  0:D 22:L
37 Bennett, Sarah       1236 .5    25:L  0:D 19:L
38 Collings, Alex       1203 0     23:L 14:L 32:L
39 Kierstead, James     1111 0     12:L 21:L 30:L

Round 4 Provisional Pairing

No Name                Loc  Total  Result   Name                 Loc  Total

 1 Sellen, Ian         2075 [3]       :     Croad, Nic           2368 [3]  
 2 Wilkins, Mark       1886 [3]       :     Perry, Roger         2098 [2.5]
 3 Stone, Andrew       2058 [2.5]     :     Aldridge, Alan       1951 [2.5]
 4 Rossiter, Philip    1922 [2.5]     :     Nyberg, Michael      2081 [2]  
 5 Jackson, Ross       1984 [2]       :     Anderson, Gordon     1624 [2]  
 6 Cunningham, Pat     1734 [2]       :     Stracy, Don          1855 [2]  
 7 Baker, Jack         1396 [2]       :     Kay, Bruce           1744 [2]  
 8 Stoeveken, Peter    1856 [1.5]     :     Konakanchi, Karthik  1351 [1.5]
 9 Asplet, Mike        1566 [1.5]     :     Brockway, Andrew     1784 [1.5]
10 Roberts, Mike       1761 [1.5]     :     Scully, Ben          1046 [1.5]
11 Sole, Michael       1746 [1.5]     :     Bailey, Daniel            [1.5]
12 Coghini, Phillip    1700 [1.5]     :     Barr, Nick           1300 [1.5]
13 Wight, Joshua       1204 [1]       :     Farrington, Lawrence 1852 [1]  
14 Sole, Chris         953  [1]       :     Patuwai, Bubbles     1500 [1]  
15 Aumeier, Beate      1090 [1]       :     Scarlett, William    1255 [1]  
16 Meravanage, Satwik  1238 [1]       :     Phillips, Cameron    1000 [1]  
17 List, Bob           1724 [.5]      :     Bennett, Sarah       1236 [.5] 
18 Konakanchi, Pramodh 1300 [.5]      :     Strokov, Philipp     1200 [.5] 
19 Kierstead, James    1111 [0]       :     Collings, Alex       1203 [0]  

Tromso round 4

A much better day for Wellington players - wins for Russell and Anthony against Ghana, and a draw and a win for Marany and Layla respectively against Guatemala.
New Zealand men now 80th with 2 match wins and 2 match losses, and facing 98th seed Iraq in round 5 tonight. Russell Dive gets to spectate.
New Zealand women now 93rd, with a win, a draw and 2 losses, and facing 88th seed Jamaica. Marany and Layla are both playing.

Here is Russell's round 4 win:

Games from Julian Mazur Round 2

The news from Norway was too sad, so instead I shall post my win from Thursday against Bruce Kay, together with Andrew Brockway's excellently annotated draw against Roger Perry.

Tromso Round 2

The Olympiad in round 2 was still pairing vastly mismatched teams, but from now on it should get more interesting.
So far the experiences of the NZ Open and the Women's teams have been polar opposites, with the Open team being seeded just over half way, and the Women just under.
For us, as a club, it was a chance to see Layla in action for the first time in international team chess, and she did not disappoint. Her game must have been one of the first of all the Olympiad games to finish, as she launched a crushing attack on her opponent's king and checkmated her in 23 moves.
All the women won against Cameroon, so congratulations to them all. The men in the Open team had to face Poland, and with rating differences of over 200 points, they did well only to go down 3-1. Russell and Anthony lost, and Puchen and Luke drew. Puchen was actually on top when he repeated moves for a draw. Anthony seemed to be holding his own, but somehow went astray in the rook and pawn ending.

 Russell wrote just before round 2 started:

"A good start against Burundi yesterday, it gets a lot harder against Poland today.  I'm playing a very talented 16 year old Grandmaster, so I'm hoping a bit of NZ know-how and experience will slow him down a bit.

The Women's team did it tough against India yesterday, they have a much more friendly pairing today.

The Norwegians are doing a great job in organising everything, with things going smoothly so far.  The weather in Tromso is between 15-20 degrees and fine most days.  It's daylight 24 hours a day with the sun going down around 10pm and coming up again around 2am."