Russell Wins the Blitz Too!

29 players took part in this year's Blitz championship, which I divided into three groups of 7 and one group of 8, with the idea of the two top players in each group going through to the final. One of the groups ended with a three person tie for top, so, rather than having a tiebreaker, we put them all into the final. And then Nic Croad showed up after a work function, and he was included in the final too, which made it up to 10 players.
Three players won all their preliminary games, Anthony Ker, Michael Nyberg and Michael Sole. In group 3 Russell lost early on to Ryan Winter, but proceeded to win all his other games. Both the He brothers also made it to the finals for the first time.
In the finals Russell had no more accidents, and he won every single game. Nic won all his games apart from the one against Russell, and so he took second place, 1½ points ahead of Anthony who finished on 6½.

So Russell has now won two tournaments in a row. Let's see if he can keep up the good form in the next tournament, the Julian Mazur Memorial.

Preliminary group 1

No
Name
Feder
Rtg
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7


1
Ker, Anthony
 
 
6
*
1
1
1
1
1
1


2
He, Caleb
 
 
4.5
0
*
½
1
1
1
1


3
Sellen, Ian
 
 
3.5
0
½
*
0
1
1
1


4
Pomeroy, Arthur
 
 
3
0
0
1
*
0
1
1


5
Sripathy, Boopathy
 
 
3
0
0
0
1
*
1
1


6
Shepherd, Blake
 
 
1
0
0
0
0
0
*
1


7
Mulheron, Oscar
 
 
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
*

Preliminary group 2

No
Name
Feder
Rtg
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8


1
Sole, Michael
 
 
7
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
1


2
Jackson, Ross
 
 
5
0
*
1
1
1
0
1
1


3
Ashe, Michael
 
 
4
0
0
*
0
1
1
1
1


4
Forster, Bill
 
 
4
0
0
1
*
0
1
1
1


5
Brockway, Andrew
 
 
4
0
0
0
1
*
1
1
1


6
Ackroyd, William
 
 
2.5
0
1
0
0
0
*
1
½


7
Dunlop, Rafe
 
 
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
*
1


8
Cooke, Xandi
 
 
.5
0
0
0
0
0
½
0
*

Preliminary group 3

No
Name
Feder
Rtg
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7


1
Winter, Ryan
 
 
5
*
0
1
1
1
1
1


2
Tanoi, TE
 
 
5
1
*
0
1
1
1
1


3
Dive, Russell
 
 
5
0
1
*
1
1
1
1


4
Aldridge, Alan
 
 
2
0
0
0
*
1
0
1


5
Ross, Matt
 
 
2
0
0
0
0
*
1
1


6
Stannard, Bobby
 
 
1
0
0
0
1
0
*
0


7
Darr, Samuel
 
 
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
*

Preliminary group 4

No
Name
Feder
Rtg
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7


1
Nyberg, Michael
 
 
6
*
1
1
1
1
1
1


2
He, Paul
 
 
5
0
*
1
1
1
1
1


3
Carroll, Lewis
 
 
3.5
0
0
*
1
½
1
1


4
Van der Hoorn, Thomas
 
 
3
0
0
0
*
1
1
1


5
Farrington, Lawrence
 
 
2.5
0
0
½
0
*
1
1


6
Knecht, Roger
 
 
1
0
0
0
0
0
*
1


7
Dixon, Hamish
 
 
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
*

Final

No
Name
Feder
Rtg
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10


1
Dive, Russell
 
 
9
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1


2
Croad, Nic
 
 
8
0
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1


3
Ker, Anthony
 
 
6.5
0
0
*
½
1
1
1
1
1
1


4
Winter, Ryan
 
 
5.5
0
0
½
*
0
1
1
1
1
1


5
Nyberg, Michael
 
 
4
0
0
0
1
*
1
1
0
0
1


6
Jackson, Ross
 
 
3
0
0
0
0
0
*
1
1
1
0


7
Sole, Michael
 
 
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
*
1
1
1


8
Tanoi, TE
 
 
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
*
1
0


9
He, Paul
 
 
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
*
1


10
He, Caleb
 
 
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
*

July Ratings

The July ratings are out on the NZCF website now, but only in Vega format, which is not the most user friendly format visually.
I have extracted from this data the ratings for Wellington and Kapiti players, and put them in order of rating. You will see a lot of unfamiliar names here. Some of these people haven't pushed a pawn at the club for years, some of them, I admit, I haven't heard of at all.

	Surname	First name	Club	Rating
1	Ker	Anthony	Wellington	2456
2	Croad	Nicholas	Wellington	2430
3	Wastney	Scott	Wellington	2423
4	Dive	Russell	Wellington	2403
5	Van Der Hoorn	Mark	Wellington	2230
6	Nijman	Brian	Wellington	2203
7	Timergazi	Layla	Wellington	2167
8	Turner	Michael	Wellington	2132
9	Nyberg	Michael	Wellington	2104
10	Lee	Edward	Wellington	2099
11	Van Dijk	Peter	Wellington	2087
12	Winter	Ryan	Wellington	2086
13	Pomeroy	Arthur	Wellington	2075
14	Stone	Andrew	Wellington	2066
15	Benitez	Edgar	Wellington	2043
16	Meyer	Marany	Wellington	2025
17	Sellen	Ian	Wellington	2023
18	Tionko	Efrain	Wellington	2019
19	Forster	William	Wellington	2018
20	Boardman	Jeffrey	Wellington	2011
21	Sole	Michael	Wellington	2009
22	Chen	Wei Kai	Wellington	1968
23	Reedy	Brendan	Kapiti	1967
24	Laking	Robert	Wellington	1965
25	Jackson	Ross	Wellington	1961
26	Lyall	Gordon	Kapiti	1945
27	Wilkins	Mark	Wellington	1936
28	Aldridge	Alan	Wellington	1927
29	Coghini	Phillip	Wellington	1926
30	He	Caleb	Wellington	1914
31	Miriyala	Rama Rao	Wellington	1912
32	Day	Fabian	Wellington	1911
33	Sharma	Vaibhav	Wellington	1909
34	Winfield	Alan	Wellington	1903
35	Rossiter	Philip	Wellington	1898
36	Pandey	Alok	Wellington	1886
37	He	Paul	Wellington	1879
38	Ross	Matt	Wellington	1864
39	Ben-Dom	Itay	Kapiti	1851
40	Hall	Nathan	Wellington	1851
41	Brockway	Andrew	Wellington	1850
42	Paul	David	Kapiti	1850
43	Nicholls	Alistair	Wellington	1844
44	Heyworth	Nicholas	Wellington	1828
45	Mullan	Brett	Wellington	1825
46	Hewson	Michael	Wellington	1822
47	Havukkala	Ilkka	Wellington	1820
48	McGowan	Alistair	Kapiti	1811
49	Stoeveken	Peter	Wellington	1808
50	Wevers	Alexis	Wellington	1807
51	Robinson	Max	Wellington	1806
52	Frost	Paul	Wellington	1799
53	Van der Hoorn	Thomas	Wellington	1795
54	Roberts	Michael	Wellington	1785
55	Heaton	Ken	Wellington	1784
56	McIntosh	Andrew	Wellington	1782
57	Jhurani	Anil	Wellington	1777
58	Baker	Jack	Wellington	1767
59	Enegbuma	Wallace	Wellington	1767
60	Wight	Joshua	Wellington	1757
61	Dobbertin-King	Lars	Kapiti	1752
62	Whittle	Jonathon	Wellington	1714
63	Farrington	Lawrence	Wellington	1710
64	Kingston	Zoe	Kapiti	1702
65	Webster	Jamie	Wellington	1689
66	Hill	Ryan	Wellington	1686
67	Quayle	Jamie	Wellington	1684
68	Rabina	Romeo	Wellington	1682
69	Lamerton	Troy	Wellington	1680
70	Burns	Guy	Kapiti	1678
71	Dixon	Hamish	Wellington	1676
72	Leask	Hamish	Wellington	1668
73	Ammamalai	Karthikeyan	Wellington	1665
74	Marney	John	Wellington	1660
75	Ashe	Michael	Wellington	1659
76	Thorpe	Richard	Wellington	1656
77	Capper	David	Wellington	1651
78	Whibley	John	Kapiti	1651
79	Shierlaw	Hamish	Wellington	1649
80	Scott	David	Kapiti	1646
81	Forlong-Ford	Colwyn	Wellington	1637
82	Anderson	Gordon	Wellington	1634
83	Austin	Tama	Wellington	1616
84	Cook	John	Wellington	1612
85	Stracy	Don	Wellington	1612
86	O'Rorke	Michael	Kapiti	1602
87	Tagos	Bernardo	Wellington	1598
88	Benitez	Ric	Wellington	1584
89	Konakanchi	Karthik	Wellington	1571
90	Winsley	Nicholas	Wellington	1563
91	Veldhuizen	Matt	Wellington	1561
92	Gillespie	John	Wellington	1560
93	Meravanage	Satwik	Wellington	1549
94	De Briey	Aurian	Wellington	1548
95	Hurndell	Robert	Wellington	1544
96	Rose	Nathan	Wellington	1526
97	Kibblewhite	Daniel	Wellington	1523
98	Salem	Edmund	Wellington	1522
99	Darr	Samuel	Wellington	1520
100	Cooke	Xandi	Wellington	1506
101	Frater	Dylan	Wellington	1505
102	Alcorn	Simeon	Wellington	1487
103	Van Der Anker	Juan	Wellington	1475
104	Zhi	William	Wellington	1471
105	Stannard	Bobby	Wellington	1461
106	Facchini	Fabrizio	Wellington	1458
107	Wevita	Roshan	Wellington	1458
108	Jacobsen	Josiah	Wellington	1455
109	Drinkwater	Blaise	Wellington	1454
110	Scarlett	William	Wellington	1452
111	Woodward	Mark	Kapiti	1451
112	Holman	Brandon	Kapiti	1447
113	Landrain	Marc	Wellington	1446
114	Carroll	Lewis	Wellington	1442
115	Gunawan	Geoffrey	Kapiti	1438
116	MacDonald	John	Wellington	1428
117	Langford	Josh	Wellington	1408
118	Stannard	Lars	Wellington	1408
119	Bennett	Sarah	Wellington	1399
120	Anderson	Nicholai	Wellington	1388
121	Proctor	Matthew	Wellington	1369
122	Bloor-Wilson	Ethan	Wellington	1362
123	Del Favero	Marcus	Wellington	1362
124	Deyab	Mohammed	Wellington	1342
125	Theodosiou	Andreas	Wellington	1328
126	Griffiths	Tudor	Wellington	1317
127	Sknar	Andrew	Wellington	1312
128	Summers	Mark	Kapiti	1301
129	Cameron	Will	Wellington	1296
130	Srivastara	Krishh	Wellington	1290
131	Wood	Oliver	Wellington	1276
132	Sknar	Andriy	Wellington	1273
133	Leman	Dominic	Wellington	1266
134	Osborne	Geoff	Wellington	1264
135	Kierstead	James	Wellington	1261
136	Lester	Hamish	Kapiti	1261
137	Ackroyd	William	Wellington	1258
138	Dunlop	Rafe	Wellington	1234
139	Zhao	Aiden	Wellington	1233
140	Lowe	Rick	Kapiti	1230
141	Bonyushkin	Valera	Kapiti	1224
142	Liddell	Iain	Kapiti	1201
143	Aumeier	Beate	Wellington	1195
144	Konakanchi	Pramodh	Wellington	1183
145	Asher	Bruce	Wellington	1177
146	Hewson	Paul	Wellington	1173
147	Sole	Christopher	Wellington	1171
148	Greenlee	Isaiah	Wellington	1110
149	Johnson	Sean	Wellington	1098
150	Palmer	Luke	Wellington	1095
151	Paley	Yonah	Wellington	1083
152	Bailey	Daniel	Wellington	1070
153	Hynes	Johnny	Kapiti	1062
154	Waldron	Alexander	Wellington	1052
155	Collings	Alex	Wellington	1049
156	Rodrigues	Kane	Wellington	1023
157	Edwards	Savannah	Kapiti	1014
158	Nagrecha	Prashant	Wellington	991
159	Leo	Esher	Wellington	961
160	Te Whaaro	Asher	Kapiti	931
161	Carr	Christopher	Kapiti	841
162	Zhao	Jeffrey	Wellington	830
163	Lee	Dylan	Wellington	769

Rapid - Wastney Falters, Dive Pounces

Those of us who thought Scott Wastney was cruising to yet another tournament victory were proved massively mistaken on Thursday. Round 7 was critical, where he faced Russell Dive, the only player to take a point off him in the previous Autumn Cup tournament. And once again, Russell proved to be his nemesis. I didn't see the game, but it may have knocked Scott off kilter, as he went on to lose the next game too, against Layla Timergazi. Layla had an outstanding evening, also taking half a point off Nic Croad.
So the Club Rapid 2019 is over, and after all the carnage Russell Dive emerged the clear victor, half a point ahead of Nic Croad. Nic told me he "lost interest" in the tournament after his defeat to Scott in round 5. Still, for an uninterested person, he didn't do at all badly, losing only that game, drawing with Layla, and beating everyone else including the eventual winner.

Russell Dive happy to be Rapid Champion 2019

Layla shared 3rd place with Bill Forster - outstanding results for both players. Who knows how Layla may have gone if she hadn't had to take byes in the first 2 rounds. Bill's route was slightly different - he lost early on to Anthony Ker and Paul He, but won all his other games. Scott and Anthony had to be content with shared 5th place, along with the ever resourceful Edgar Benitez.

Nic Croad

Bill Forster

Layla Timergazi

Final Cross Table

No Name                  Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8  

1  Dive, Russell         2391 7     33:1 26:1  9:1  2:0  6:1 13:1  5:1  8:1
2  Croad, Nicholas       2312 6.5   38:1 18:1 21:1  1:1  5:0  7:1  3:½  6:1
3  Timergazi, Layla      2069 6      0:½  0:½ 33:1 10:½ 29:1  9:1  2:½  5:1
4  Forster, William      1920 6     42:1  6:0 20:0 45:1 38:1 22:1 15:1 14:1
5  Wastney, Scott        2346 5.5   27:1 13:1 16:1  6:½  2:1 15:1  1:0  3:0
6  Ker, Anthony          2374 5.5   25:1  4:1  8:1  5:½  1:0 21:1 19:1  2:0
7  Benitez, Edgar        1816 5.5   50:1  9:0 23:1 17:1 16:1  2:0 11:½ 20:1
8  Nijman, Brian         2099 5     20:1 11:1  6:0 28:0 17:1 10:1 16:1  1:0
9  Sellen, Ian           2020 5     24:1  7:1  1:0 19:1 21:½  3:0 12:½ 22:1
10 Sole, Michael         1735 5      0:½  0:½ 43:1  3:½ 19:½  8:0 35:1 26:1
11 Winter, Ryan          1835 5     35:1  8:0 48:1 38:1 15:0 14:½  7:½ 19:1
12 Laking, Robert        1587 5      0:½  0:½ 29:½ 20:1 13:0 25:1  9:½ 33:1
13 Tanoi, TE             1920 4.5   43:1  5:0 24:1 30:½ 12:1  1:0 14:0 29:1
14 Pomeroy, Arthur       1969 4.5   23:1 28:0  0:½  0:½ 27:1 11:½ 13:1  4:0
15 Nyberg, Michael       1987 4.5    0:½  0:½ 42:1 31:1 11:1  5:0  4:0 17:½
16 Jackson, Ross         1950 4.5   37:1 41:1  5:0 22:1  7:0 31:1  8:0 18:½
17 Chen, Wei Kai         1732 4.5   39:1 21:0 41:1  7:0  8:0 36:1 34:1 15:½
18 Lyall, Gordon         1844 4.5   49:1  2:0  0:½  0:½ 23:0 35:1 27:1 16:½
19 Aldridge, Alan        1889 4      0:½ 36:1 28:1  9:0 10:½ 23:1  6:0 11:0
20 He, Paul              1494 4      8:0 35:1  4:1 12:0  0:½  0:½ 31:1  7:0
21 Stone, Andrew         1942 4     44:1 17:1  2:0 34:1  9:½  6:0  0:½  0:0
22 Brockway, Andrew      1658 4      0:½  0:½ 36:1 16:0 26:1  4:0 23:1  9:0
23 Darr, Samuel          1359 4     14:0 32:1  7:0 46:1 18:1 19:0 22:0 36:1
24 Wevers, Alexis        1490 4      9:0 40:1 13:0 36:1  0:½  0:½  0:0 34:1
25 Farrington, Lawrence  1530 4      6:0 42:1  0:½ 29:0 40:1 12:0 39:1 31:½
26 Winfield, Alan        1937 4     47:1  1:0 38:0 37:1 22:0 29:1 33:1 10:0
27 Ashe, Michael         1504 4      5:0 43:0 50:1 39:1 14:0 41:1 18:0 37:1
28 Stöveken, Peter       1786 4     32:1 14:1 19:0  8:1  0:½  0:½  0:   0: 
29 Sripathy, Boopathy    1000 3.5    0:½  0:½ 12:½ 25:1  3:0 26:0 30:1 13:0
30 He, Caleb             1635 3.5    0:½  0:½ 39:1 13:½  0:0  0:0 29:0 38:1
31 Mullan, Brett         1742 3.5   36:0 44:1 45:1 15:0 34:1 16:0 20:0 25:½
32 Mukherjee, Raash      1100 3.5   28:0 23:0  0:0  0:0 37:½ 46:1 49:1 39:1
33 Rabina, Romeo         1557 3      1:0 47:1  3:0 43:1  0:½  0:½ 26:0 12:0
34 Rossiter, Philip      1700 3      0:½  0:½ 46:1 21:0 31:0 44:1 17:0 24:0
35 Carroll, Lewis        1170 3     11:0 20:0 37:0 42:1 46:1 18:0 10:0  0:1
36 Ackroyd, William      1000 3     31:1 19:0 22:0 24:0 42:1 17:0 47:1 23:0
37 Van der Hoorn, Thomas 1300 3     16:0 39:0 35:1 26:0 32:½ 40:½ 38:1 27:0
38 Ross, Matt            1500 2.5    2:0 49:1 26:1 11:0  4:0 39:½ 37:0 30:0
39 Ebarle, Joshua        1000 2.5   17:0 37:1 30:0 27:0 47:1 38:½ 25:0 32:0
40 Dunlop, Rafe          1000 2.5   41:0 24:0 47:1 48:½ 25:0 37:½  0:½  0:0
41 Paley, Yonah          1000 2.5   40:1 16:0 17:0 47:0 49:1 27:0  0:½  0:0
42 Theodosiou, Andreas   1247 2.5    4:0 25:0 15:0 35:0 36:0  0:½ 46:1 47:1
43 Webster, Jamie        1200 2     13:0 27:1 10:0 33:0  0:½  0:½  0:0  0:0
44 Kibblewhite, Daniel   1271 2     21:0 31:0  0:½  0:½ 45:1 34:0  0:0  0:0
45 Cooke, Xandi          1100 2      0:½  0:½ 31:0  4:0 44:0 49:1  0:0  0:0
46 Mulheron, Oscar       1000 2      0:½  0:½ 34:0 23:0 35:0 32:0 42:0 49:1
47 Osborne, Geoff        1250 2     26:0 33:0 40:0 41:1 39:0  0:1 36:0 42:0
48 Hurndell, Robert      1430 1.5    0:½  0:½ 11:0 40:½  0:0  0:0  0:0  0:0
49 Asher, Bruce          1181 1     18:0 38:0  0:½  0:½ 41:0 45:0 32:0 46:0
50 Cameron, Will         1100 1      7:0  0:½ 27:0  0:½  0:0  0:0  0:   0: 

Rapid Penultimate Week - Baton Passes to Scott Wastney

Rounds 5 and 6 of the Rapid took place on Thursday, and the most important decisive result was Scott Wastney defeating Nic Croad in round 5 to leap-frog over him for pole position.

Many thanks to Scott for providing the full game - I only had the short version before - and for "automatic-analysing" using Chessbase.



Precious few upsets in these rounds, the main one being Samuel Darr beating Gordon Lyall in round 5.

The final two rounds will play out this Thursday, with the key encounter of round 7 being Dive v Wastney.

Cross Table after 6 rounds (out of 8)

No Name                  Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6  

1  Wastney, Scott        2346 5.5   29:1 14:1 11:1  4:½  2:1  9:1
2  Croad, Nicholas       2312 5     31:1 27:1 15:1  3:1  1:0  7:1
3  Dive, Russell         2391 5     23:1 30:1 13:1  2:0  4:1 14:1
4  Ker, Anthony          2374 4.5   34:1 12:1  6:1  1:½  3:0 15:1
5  Timergazi, Layla      2069 4.5    0:½  0:½ 23:1 19:½ 32:1 13:1
6  Nijman, Brian         2099 4     20:1 17:1  4:0  8:0 24:1 19:1
7  Benitez, Edgar        1816 4     47:1 13:0 22:1 24:1 11:1  2:0
8  Stöveken, Peter       1786 4     46:1 16:1 10:0  6:1  0:½  0:½
9  Nyberg, Michael       1987 4      0:½  0:½ 50:1 26:1 17:1  1:0
10 Aldridge, Alan        1889 4      0:½ 38:1  8:1 13:0 19:½ 22:1
11 Jackson, Ross         1950 4     41:1 42:1  1:0 21:1  7:0 26:1
12 Forster, William      1920 4     50:1  4:0 20:0 39:1 31:1 21:1
13 Sellen, Ian           2020 3.5   25:1  7:1  3:0 10:1 15:½  5:0
14 Tanoi, TE             1920 3.5   36:1  1:0 25:1 33:½ 18:1  3:0
15 Stone, Andrew         1942 3.5   37:1 24:1  2:0 28:1 13:½  4:0
16 Pomeroy, Arthur       1969 3.5   22:1  8:0  0:½  0:½ 29:1 17:½
17 Winter, Ryan          1835 3.5   44:1  6:0 45:1 31:1  9:0 16:½
18 Laking, Robert        1587 3.5    0:½  0:½ 32:½ 20:1 14:0 34:1
19 Sole, Michael         1735 3      0:½  0:½ 36:1  5:½ 10:½  6:0
20 He, Paul              1494 3      6:0 44:1 12:1 18:0  0:½  0:½
21 Brockway, Andrew      1658 3      0:½  0:½ 38:1 11:0 30:1 12:0
22 Darr, Samuel          1359 3     16:0 46:1  7:0 48:1 27:1 10:0
23 Rabina, Romeo         1557 3      3:0 40:1  5:0 36:1  0:½  0:½
24 Chen, Wei Kai         1732 3     35:1 15:0 42:1  7:0  6:0 38:1
25 Wevers, Alexis        1490 3     13:0 43:1 14:0 38:1  0:½  0:½
26 Mullan, Brett         1742 3     38:0 37:1 39:1  9:0 28:1 11:0
27 Lyall, Gordon         1844 3     49:1  2:0  0:½  0:½ 22:0 44:1
28 Rossiter, Philip      1700 3      0:½  0:½ 48:1 15:0 26:0 37:1
29 Ashe, Michael         1504 3      1:0 36:0 47:1 35:1 16:0 42:1
30 Winfield, Alan        1937 3     40:1  3:0 31:0 41:1 21:0 32:1
31 Ross, Matt            1500 2.5    2:0 49:1 30:1 17:0 12:0 35:½
32 Sripathy, Boopathy    1000 2.5    0:½  0:½ 18:½ 34:1  5:0 30:0
33 He, Caleb             1635 2.5    0:½  0:½ 35:1 14:½  0:0  0:0
34 Farrington, Lawrence  1530 2.5    4:0 50:1  0:½ 32:0 43:1 18:0
35 Ebarle, Joshua        1000 2.5   24:0 41:1 33:0 29:0 40:1 31:½
36 Webster, Jamie        1200 2     14:0 29:1 19:0 23:0  0:½  0:½
37 Kibblewhite, Daniel   1271 2     15:0 26:0  0:½  0:½ 39:1 28:0
38 Ackroyd, William      1000 2     26:1 10:0 21:0 25:0 50:1 24:0
39 Cooke, Xandi          1100 2      0:½  0:½ 26:0 12:0 37:0 49:1
40 Osborne, Geoff        1250 2     30:0 23:0 43:0 42:1 35:0  0:1
41 Van der Hoorn, Thomas 1300 2     11:0 35:0 44:1 30:0 46:½ 43:½
42 Paley, Yonah          1000 2     43:1 11:0 24:0 40:0 49:1 29:0
43 Dunlop, Rafe          1000 2     42:0 25:0 40:1 45:½ 34:0 41:½
44 Carroll, Lewis        1170 2     17:0 20:0 41:0 50:1 48:1 27:0
45 Hurndell, Robert      1430 1.5    0:½  0:½ 17:0 43:½  0:0  0:0
46 Mukherjee, Raash      1100 1.5    8:0 22:0  0:0  0:0 41:½ 48:1
47 Cameron, Will         1100 1      7:0  0:½ 29:0  0:½  0:0  0:0
48 Mulheron, Oscar       1000 1      0:½  0:½ 28:0 22:0 44:0 46:0
49 Asher, Bruce          1181 1     27:0 31:0  0:½  0:½ 42:0 39:0
50 Theodosiou, Andreas   1247 .5    12:0 34:0  9:0 44:0 38:0  0:½

Rapid 2019, Halfway Point - Croad Leads

After 4 rounds of this year's Rapid tournament there is only one player left on full points, and that's Nic Croad. While Anthony and Scott were engaged in drawing with each other, Nic was busy giving Russell a hard time.

Here is how you beat Russell Dive in 23 moves, at least if you are Nic Croad:


Upset news - Peter Stöveken has been having a rollicking time in this tournament beating some of our leading lights - in round 2 it was Arthur Pomeroy, and in round 4 it was fifth seed Brian Nijman. He took time off winning in between, by losing to Alan Aldridge. In the third round Paul He, rated 1494 beat Bill Forster (1920), and Matt Ross (unknown rating) beat Alan Winfield. New player Boopathy Sripathy (rating also unknown) drew with Robert Laking in round 3 and beat Lawrence Farrington in round 4.

Cross Table after 4 Rounds (of 8)

No Name                  Loc  Total  1    2    3    4  

1  Croad, Nicholas       2312 4     20:1 22:1  6:1  5:1
2  Wastney, Scott        2346 3.5   32:1 13:1 11:1  3:½
3  Ker, Anthony          2374 3.5   34:1 31:1 19:1  2:½
4  Sellen, Ian           2020 3     26:1  7:1  5:0 12:1
5  Dive, Russell         2391 3     28:1 29:1  4:1  1:0
6  Stone, Andrew         1942 3     39:1 23:1  1:0 25:1
7  Benitez, Edgar        1816 3     38:1  4:0 30:1 23:1
8  Stöveken, Peter       1786 3     49:1 21:1 12:0 19:1
9  Nyberg, Michael       1987 3      0:½  0:½ 50:1 33:1
10 Winter, Ryan          1835 3     48:1 19:0 35:1 20:1
11 Jackson, Ross         1950 3     47:1 45:1  2:0 24:1
12 Aldridge, Alan        1889 2.5    0:½ 40:1  8:1  4:0
13 Tanoi, TE             1920 2.5   37:1  2:0 26:1 18:½
14 Timergazi, Layla      2069 2.5    0:½  0:½ 28:1 17:½
15 Laking, Robert        1587 2.5    0:½  0:½ 16:½ 27:1
16 Sripathy, Boopathy    1000 2.5    0:½  0:½ 15:½ 34:1
17 Sole, Michael         1735 2.5    0:½  0:½ 37:1 14:½
18 He, Caleb             1635 2.5    0:½  0:½ 44:1 13:½
19 Nijman, Brian         2099 2     27:1 10:1  3:0  8:0
20 Ross, Matt            1500 2      1:0 43:1 29:1 10:0
21 Pomeroy, Arthur       1969 2     30:1  8:0  0:½  0:½
22 Lyall, Gordon         1844 2     43:1  1:0  0:½  0:½
23 Chen, Wei Kai         1732 2     44:1  6:0 45:1  7:0
24 Brockway, Andrew      1658 2      0:½  0:½ 40:1 11:0
25 Rossiter, Philip      1700 2      0:½  0:½ 42:1  6:0
26 Wevers, Alexis        1490 2      4:0 36:1 13:0 40:1
27 He, Paul              1494 2     19:0 48:1 31:1 15:0
28 Rabina, Romeo         1557 2      5:0 46:1 14:0 37:1
29 Winfield, Alan        1937 2     46:1  5:0 20:0 47:1
30 Darr, Samuel          1359 2     21:0 49:1  7:0 42:1
31 Forster, William      1920 2     50:1  3:0 27:0 41:1
32 Ashe, Michael         1504 2      2:0 37:0 38:1 44:1
33 Mullan, Brett         1742 2     40:0 39:1 41:1  9:0
34 Farrington, Lawrence  1530 1.5    3:0 50:1  0:½ 16:0
35 Hurndell, Robert      1430 1.5    0:½  0:½ 10:0 36:½
36 Dunlop, Rafe          1000 1.5   45:0 26:0 46:1 35:½
37 Webster, Jamie        1200 1     13:0 32:1 17:0 28:0
38 Cameron, Will         1100 1      7:0  0:½ 32:0  0:½
39 Kibblewhite, Daniel   1271 1      6:0 33:0  0:½  0:½
40 Ackroyd, William      1000 1     33:1 12:0 24:0 26:0
41 Cooke, Xandi          1100 1      0:½  0:½ 33:0 31:0
42 Mulheron, Oscar       1000 1      0:½  0:½ 25:0 30:0
43 Asher, Bruce          1181 1     22:0 20:0  0:½  0:½
44 Ebarle, Joshua        1000 1     23:0 47:1 18:0 32:0
45 Paley, Yonah          1000 1     36:1 11:0 23:0 46:0
46 Osborne, Geoff        1250 1     29:0 28:0 36:0 45:1
47 Van der Hoorn, Thomas 1300 1     11:0 44:0 48:1 29:0
48 Carroll, Lewis        1170 1     10:0 27:0 47:0 50:1
49 Mukherjee, Raash      1100 0      8:0 30:0  0:0  0:0
50 Theodosiou, Andreas   1247 0     31:0 34:0  9:0 48:0

End of Autumn, Start of Rapid

Thursday saw the last two games of the Autumn Cup being played, and the first two rounds of the annual Club Rapid, which is an eight round Swiss tournament.

Autumn Cup Group E
Brockway, Andrew 0-1 He, Caleb

No
Name
Loc
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6


1
Wevers, Alexis
1740
4
*
1
1
1
1
0


2
He, Caleb
1799
3.5
0
*
½
1
1
1


3
Farrington, Lawrence
1762
3
0
½
*
½
+
1


4
Brockway, Andrew
1845
2
0
0
½
*
½
1


5
He, Paul
1771
1.5
0
0
-
½
*
1


6
Quayle, Jamie
1750
1
1
0
0
0
0
*

Autumn Cup Group F
Hurndell, Robert ½-½  Stracy, Don

No
Name
Loc
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6


1
Ashe, Michael
1521
4.5
*
1
1
½
+
+


2
Hurndell, Robert
1545
3.5
0
*
+
½
1
+


3
Darr, Samuel
1563
3
0
-
*
1
1
+


4
Stracy, Don
1664
2.5
½
½
0
*
½
+


5
Dixon, Hamish
1715
1.5
-
0
0
½
*
+


6
Heyworth, Nicholas
1553
0
-
-
-
-
-
*

The winners in these groups had already been decided, but congratulations again.

The first two rounds of the Rapid contained two upsets, William Ackroyd beating Brett Mullan in round 1 and Peter Stöveken beating Arthur Pomeroy in round 2. Here is the cross table after 2 rounds, plus a couple of rapid games. Thanks to Brian Nijman for annotations on his.

No Name                  Loc  Total  1    2  

1  Dive, Russell         2391 2     30:1 16:1
2  Ker, Anthony          2374 2     31:1 17:1
3  Croad, Nicholas       2312 2     32:1 18:1
4  Nijman, Brian         2099 2     33:1 19:1
5  Sellen, Ian           2020 2     34:1 14:1
6  Wastney, Scott        2346 2     40:1 12:1
7  Jackson, Ross         1950 2     41:1 20:1
8  Stone, Andrew         1942 2     42:1 13:1
9  Stöveken, Peter       1786 2     43:1 11:1
10 Aldridge, Alan        1889 1.5    0:½ 15:1
11 Pomeroy, Arthur       1969 1     36:1  9:0
12 Tanoi, TE             1920 1     37:1  6:0
13 Chen, Wei Kai         1732 1     38:1  8:0
14 Benitez, Edgar        1816 1     39:1  5:0
15 Ackroyd, William      1000 1     35:1 10:0
16 Winfield, Alan        1937 1     44:1  1:0
17 Forster, William      1920 1     45:1  2:0
18 Lyall, Gordon         1844 1     46:1  3:0
19 Winter, Ryan          1835 1     47:1  4:0
20 Paley, Yonah          1000 1     48:1  7:0
21 Timergazi, Layla      2069 1      0:½  0:½
22 Nyberg, Michael       1987 1      0:½  0:½
23 Sole, Michael         1735 1      0:½  0:½
24 Brockway, Andrew      1658 1      0:½  0:½
25 He, Caleb             1635 1      0:½  0:½
26 Laking, Robert        1587 1      0:½  0:½
27 Hurndell, Robert      1430 1      0:½  0:½
28 Cooke, Xandi          1100 1      0:½  0:½
29 Sripathy, Boopathy    1000 1      0:½  0:½
30 Rabina, Romeo         1557 1      1:0 44:1
31 Farrington, Lawrence  1530 1      2:0 45:1
32 Ross, Matt            1500 1      3:0 46:1
33 He, Paul              1494 1      4:0 47:1
34 Wevers, Alexis        1490 1      5:0 48:1
35 Mullan, Brett         1742 1     15:0 42:1
36 Darr, Samuel          1359 1     11:0 43:1
37 Webster, Jamie        1200 1     12:0 40:1
38 Ebarle, Joshua        1000 1     13:0 41:1
39 Cameron, Will         1100 .5    14:0  0:½
40 Ashe, Michael         1504 0      6:0 37:0
41 Van der Hoorn, Thomas 1300 0      7:0 38:0
42 Kibblewhite, Daniel   1271 0      8:0 35:0
43 Mukherjee, Raash      1100 0      9:0 36:0
44 Osborne, Geoff        1250 0     16:0 30:0
45 Theodosiou, Andreas   1247 0     17:0 31:0
46 Asher, Bruce          1181 0     18:0 32:0
47 Carroll, Lewis        1170 0     19:0 33:0
48 Dunlop, Rafe          1000 0     20:0 34:0