Author: Simon

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Spring Cup Round 6 PGN File

A Grade

Ben Hague vs Mike Steadman – White missed some good moves and then after Black captured a pawn in the centre White’s position fell apart. 0-1

Alphaeus Ang vs Philli Park-Tamati – Black Castled Kingside when White had an open g-file. White was able to create an attack and after Black’s desperate counter-attack failed White was completely winning. 1-0

Paul Macdonald vs Nigel Metge – White pushed an early attack but over-reached and lost a piece. Black quickly won with the extra material. 0-1

Bruce Watson vs Hao Tang – White picked up two exchanges(!) and then countered Black’s mate threat with a mate-in-two of his own. 1-0

Alex Nagorski vs Don Eade – Intent on his own mating attack White miscalculated his defence against Black’s attack. 0-1

Scott Treanor vs Jasmine Zhang – White managed to get a pawn and a strong position with an outpost Knight. The players settled for a Draw.

Aaron Wang vs Felix Xie – White tried an all-out attack but ended up losing an exchange. Black was left with a won endgame. 0-1

Stephen Peak vs Paul Garbett – Black rolled forward his pawns against White who cracked and lost a piece. 0-1

Simon Lyall vs Abraham Deng – Black allowed attack on f7 winning a rook and then didn’t get time to recapture the Knight on h8. White swapped down to be 4 pawns up in the endgame although took a while to win due to being in time trouble. 1-0

Boyuan Zhang vs Rauen Le Grange – After some sharp tactic the players swapped down to a rook and pawn endgame. A couple of inaccurate moves by Black gave White a passed pawn. 1-0

Yolanda Chang vs Jordan Lewis – Black created a half open file which he used to pressure White and create a passed pawn. 0-1

Karl Holdo vs Isabelle Ning – Both players followed a standard line which appeared to be better for White. After some exchanges White put pressure on Black with mate threats and a passed pawn until she cracked. 1-0

Jeffrey Yu vs Grant Burrows – Black got lost in his opening and gave White the initiative. He was able to keep up the pressure. 1-0

Ajit Pendharkar vs Daqi Mao – White made some opening mistakes and allowed Black to pick up 2 pawns. White tried some attacks but Black was able to hold and then win. 0-1

Anya Thurner vs Lakshmi Ravi – White had a good start goign a pawn ahead but Black managed to get it back and swap to a King and pawn endgame. White then quickly made a fatal mistake. 0-1

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Andrew Michael – A long game with chances for both players. Black managed to get the better of the maneuvering. 0-1

Hugh Gao vs Virginia Milne – White was goign well until be blundered a piece. 0-1

Upsets in A Grade Round 6

Daqi Mao beat Ajit Pendharkar
Don Eade beat Alex Nagorski
Scott Treanor drew with Jasmine Zhang
Mike Steadman beat Ben Hague

Alphaeus Ang and Mike Steadman lead on 5 points with 3 players just behind on 4.5

B Grade

Upsets in round 6

Mantra Bhatt beat John Liu
Daksh Bhatt beat Eden Oshri

5 Players share the lead on 4.5 points. Thomas Zheng, Lucas Xiao, Tracey Tang, David Zhu and Mukammad Razzaq.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Spring Cup Round 5 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

Alphaeus Ang vs John Duneas – White was slightly better though most of the game. Black managed to get an even endgame but then made a mistake and White had a win. 1-0

Daniel Runcan vs Alex Nagorski – Black made a mistake in the opening and lost a piece. 1-0

Philli Park-Tamati vs Scott Treanor – Black lost a piece.

Mike Steadman vs Paul Garbett – Black got a pawn storm against White but miscalculated and lost two pawns. White was then able to counter-attack and swap pieces to a win. 1-0

Tim Ha vs Nigel Metge – After Black got the better opening White missed his chance to win a Queen (see diagram) and instead ended a piece down. 0-1

Isabelle Ning vs Bruce Watson – Black swapped to a slightly better ended game and then was able to outplay White. 0-1

Jasmine Zhang vs Joe Wang – White picked up an exchange and then swapped to a won-endgame. She picked up a bonus piece on the way.

Felix Xie vs Ajit Pendharkar – White was able to squeeze Black’s position until he eventually trapped and won Black’s Queen.

Jeffrey Yu vs Don Eade – Black blew a hole in front of White’s king and then was able to attack it with a horde of pieces

Rauen Le Grange vs Simon Lyall – A fairly even game with both neither player getting ahead. Draw agreed in an even endgame. Draw

Hao Tang vs Karl Holdo – An even game until at the end White had a Queen vs a Rook and Knight and Black made some errors and was quickly lost. 1-0

Daqi Mao vs Aaron Wang – Black was slightly better most of the time and managed to get a better endgame and then convert it into a win. 0-1

Jordan Lewis vs Stephen Peak – A Quick draw.

Andrew Michael vs Erwin Koestanto – Opposite side castling and both players attacked. But White missed his chances and allowed black to overwhelm him. 0-1

Grant Burrows vs Arkadi Polyakevich – After some chances for each playing the the early middle-game White picked up a pawn and then swapped down to a won endgame. 1-0

Kenny Zhang vs Hugh Gao – The game swapped to a drawn king-and-pawn endgame but Black pushed the wrong pawn. 1-0

Lakshmi Ravi vs Virginia Milne – Black allowed Bxh6 and a quick mate. 1-0

Upsets in A Grade Round 5

Danial Runcan beat Alex Nagorski

Ben Hague is leading with 4.5 while 4 players are on 4 points.

B Grade

Baraa Al-Afaghani vs David Zhu – White gave up a piece for a couple of pawns but Black quickly went on the offensive and then won another piece. 1-0

Ying Wang vs Saheb Saahir – White got a piece up but then gave it back, she managed to just hold the draw.

Tracey Tang vs Ethan Liu – A complicated game with lots of tactics. Black eventually made a big mistake and White was material ahead. 1-0

Eric Fan vs Mike Steiner – White got an attack but failed to find the best continuation. The payers swapped down to a draw.

Upsets in B Grade Round 5

Grayson Po’e-Tofaeono beat John Liu
Michael Malcolm beat Neil Sonnekus
David Zhu beat Barra Al-Afaghani
Pranav Shenoy beat Maxwell Xiao

After 5 rounds Thomas Zheng leads on 4 points with Jacob Barry on 3.5.

The three legs of the 2019 Rapid Champs were the Blitz in February, The Autumn Rapid and the Spring Rapid.

Points were calculated by adding scores in all three tournaments with the scores in the Rapids Doubled. So 4.5 in the Blitz was worth 4.5 but 4.5 in a rapid was worth 9.

The final placings favored those who played in all 3 tournaments, with only 2 players who missed the Blitz in the top 10.

1st     Alex Nagorski       24.0
2nd     Euan McDougall      23.5
3rd     Nigel Metge         21.5
4=      Felix Xie           21.0
4=      Bruce Watson        21
6=      Tim Ha              20
6=      Winston Weng        20
8       Philli Park-Tamiti  19.5
9=      Erwin Koestanto     19.0
9=      Nathan Goodhue      19.0
9=      Boyuan Zhang        19.0

A few upsets and byes means that some of the top players are still spread throughout the field in both grades.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Spring Rapid Round 4 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

Nigel Metge vs Ben Hague – After an unusual opening and a good start White allows a back-rank mate. 0-1

Paul Garbett vs Daniel Runcan – The players steady swap down before Black puts in a twist and gives up a Knight for a passed pawn. He misses the winning move (see diagram) and settles for a draw.

Simon Lyall vs Mike Steadman – White loses a couple of pawns and then a piece. Black handles a few tricks and it’s all over. 0-1

Winston Weng vs Alphaeus Ang – The opening leaves White with a bad pawn structure. Black puts pressure on the exposed pawns and White scrambles to defend. But eventually the buildup breaks through. 0-1

Alex Nagorski vs Hao Tang – White gives up an opeing advantage but then is able to kick around White’s Queen to develop and attack and go a piece ahead. 1-0

Scott Treanor vs Felix Xie – After a fairly even game White picks up a pawn and then swaps a rook for two pieces to give himself two bishops against a Rook. He then handles the endgame well giving Black no chances. 1-0

Don Eade vs Phill Park-Tamati – White makes a mistake in the opening and allows Black to pout pressure on c2 with a Knight, Bishop and rook. Black wins a pawn and keeps up the pressure until White makes another mistake. 0-1

Bruce Watson vs Rauen Le Grange – White splits back’s position with a centre pawn push. But White swaps off one of his attackers and Black manages to sneak in along the a-file and capture 3 pawns and attack White’s King. But Black misses the win and White is able to scramble a perpetual-check. Draw

Aaron Wang vs Jasmine Zhang – White pushes a passed pawn though Blacks position and swaps off everything except a rook and some pawns each. Draw.

Tim Ha vs Andrew Michael – A complex tactical position arises and after mistake by both players White ends up material ahead and winning. 1-0

Stephen Peak vs Boyuan Zhang – The computer is unimpressed by either player. Draw

Karl Holdo vs Grant Burrows – White tries some openign innovation but gets away with it and the game is fairly even. But after white picks up a pawn in the endgame Black resigns. 1-0

Hugh Gao vs Jeffrey Yu – White has a good middle game pickign up a pawn and harrassing Black with two Bishops. But Black manages to push a passed pawn to the 7th rank and White resigns, although the computer says White may have been able to hold the position. 0-1

Ajit Pendharkar vs Kenny Zhang – After some dubious opening innovations Black gets an attack but then leaves a piece en-pries. White takes it and is able to easily convert. 1-0

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Daqi Mao – White picks up material due to tactical miscalculation by Black but then miscalculates himself and loses a piece. 0-1

Yolanda Chang vs Anya Thurner – Material is steadily swapped. Black picks up a pawn but has trouble making progress and the players agree on a draw.

Upsets in A Grade Round 4

Daqi Mao beat Arkadi Polyakevich
Rauen Le Grange drew with Bruce Watson
Scott Treanor beat Felix Xie
Aaron Wang drew with Jasmine Zhang
Daniel Runcan drew with Paul Garbett

Ben Hague leads on 4/4 ahead of John Duneas on 3.5 and several players on 3 points.

B Grade

Jacob Barry vs Baraa Al-Afaghani – Some wild exchanges, several of which appear to be unsound. The players agree on a draw in a position that is winning for Black. Draw

Lucas Xiao vs Thomas Zheng – White sacks his Bishop on h7 but gets nothing for it and his own King comes under attack. White manages to hold on and after Black makes a mistake they players agree on a draw.

Mike Steiner vs Ying Wang – White traps his queen. 0-1

Jacob Yuan vs Tracey Tang – White misses a tactic and instead allows a pawn push by Black which opens up the h-file and then win’s White’s Queen. 0-1

Upsets in B Grade Round 4

Bobby Peoples beat John Liu
Tracey tang beat Jacob Yuan
Saahir Saheb beat John McClory
Adam Ali beat David Zhu

Jacob Barry leads on 3.5 . 7 Players are just behind on 3 points.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

PGN of Round 3 of the Spring Cup by Ewen Green and Tim Ha

A Grade

Ben Hague vs Alex Nagorski – Black got behind in development at the start. He gave up a piece for two pawns in front of White’s King but White had no problems defending and was able to swap and win. 1-0

John Duneas vs Don Eade – Black had a good start and but allowed a tactic that gave up a pawn. After a complete exchange he ended up another pawn down. White was able to quickly win from there. 1-0

Danian Runcan vs Scott Treanor – Black got a worse opening and then had to manually move his King to the Queenside to escape threats. White used the time to prepare and mount an attack against Black’s split position. 1-0

Rauen Le Grange vs Paul Macdonald – A series of exchanges left White a piece down. 0-1

Nigel Metge vs Isabelle Ning – Black wasted time in the opening and her pieces then got kicked around as white pushed an attach straight through the middle of her position. 1-0

Mike Steadman vs Bruce Watson – White played an unusual f4, g3, Bg2, Nh3, O-O combination of moves. Black stayed a little better as the endgame swapped down before making a mistake that gave White the win. 1-0

Paul Garbett vs Abraham Deng – Black allowed white to push a couple of pawns right into his position and ended up losing a piece. 1-0

Winson Weng vs Erwin Koestanto – Default by Black 1-0

Felix Xie vs Karl Holdo – White tried a Kingside pawn push which Black defended. The position swapped to an even Rook and pawn endgame. White kept up the pressure and eventually Black made a fatal mistake. 1-0

Philli Park-Tamati vs Arkadi Polykevich – White did a Qucik attack against Black’s King and after some errors by Black in defending White was a piece up. 1-0

Grant Burrows vs Simon Lyall – After some sharp opening tactics Black was left with a big advantage. 0-1

Hao Tang vs Yolanda Chang – After an exciting but even game Black made a slip-up and White quickly won. 1-0

Andrew Michael vs Lewis Jordan – The players opposite castled. White Held his position and pushed a pawn-strong against Black who made a couple of of errors and lost quickly. 1-0

Jack Chen vs Stephen Peak – Black was winning from early in the game but took 77 moves to eventually overcome White’s defense. 0-1

Anya Thurner vs Ajit Pendharkar – White went a little wrong in the opening and allowed Black a strong attack that Kicked White around for 20 moves before winning a piece. 0-1

Kenny Zhang vs Lakshmi Ravi – A wide game, Black attacked and swapped pieces to have a close-to-won endgame. He then made a couple of bad moves and gave White a surprise win. 1-0

Virginia Milne vs Daqi Mao – White was going okay until she trapped and lost her Queen.

Upsets in A Grade Round 3

Andrew Michael beat Jordan Lewis
Daqi Mao beat Virginia Milne

There were no draws this round with large gaps between most players ratings.

B Grade

John McClory vs Jacob Barry – A Dubious opening ( 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 2 3. d3?! h6?! ) but then Black miscalculated and was left 2 pawns down. After a lot of mistakes by both players Black won. 0-1

Upsets in B-Grade Round 3

Bevis Jiang beat Alan Leach
Grayson Po’e-Tofaeono beat Neil Sonnekus
Saahir Saheb beat Steve Vezich
Narasimha Ravi beat Michael Ma

The Spring Cup is a Swiss tournament played across 7 rounds in October, November and December. There are two Swiss Grades of around 40 players each, the split is roughly at the 1500 NZCF July 2019 rating.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

2019 Spring Cup Round 2 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

Boyuan Zhang vs Ben Hague – Black gets in a quick attack on the King side and Black is soon lost. 0-1

Scott Treanor vs Mike Steadman – Black miscalculates, loses a piece and resigns. 1-0

Yolanda Chang vs John Duneas – White plays some bad lines in the opening and Black is able to string together threats to win two pawns. Black is able to cruise from there. 0-1

Alex Nagorski vs Philli Park-Tamiti – Black makes a hasty move that loses a piece. He resigns on move 16. 1-0

Don Eade vs Hao Tang – A series of exchanges leaves Black’s King exposed in the centre. White is able to pick up a couple of pawns and then a piece when Black resorts to tricks. 1-0

Bruce Watson vs Winston Weng – White gets the better of middle-game swaps and ends up with 3 connected passed pawns. 1-0

Joe Wang vs Paul Garbett – White manages to counter just about everything that Black throws against him and create his own threats. White eventually forces perpetual check. Draw

Alphaeus Ang vs Jeffrey Yu – Black gets a piece trapped and then loses an exchange. 1-0

Paul Macdonald vs Anya Thurner – See Pauls commentary in the PGN. White got a better position and Black made a series of mistakes as she got low on time. 1-0

Daqi Mao vs Danial Runcan – A long game. Fairly even but Black has most of the pressure and eventually picks up a piece in the endgame. 0-1

Stephen Peak vs Nigel Metge – White had a good start and early middle game but ended up with some holes in his pawns that Black was able to infiltrate (supported by two rooks on an open file). 0-1

Jordan Lewis vs Rauen Le Grange – White mixed up his opening a little but got away with it. The game was very even until White drove Black’s King forward to g3 where it unexpectedly was able to support Black’s Queen attack. 0-1

Abraham Deng vs Jack Chen – Some mid-game swaps left White two pawns up and he was able to Queen one of them. 1-0

Lakshmi Ravi vs Tim Ha – White was better (a pawn up and a protected passed pawn) but left a hole in his position though which Black pushed his Queen and won 4 pawns for an exchange. White tried a counter-attack but Black found the correct moves to hold. 0-1

Karl Holdo vs Kenny Zhang – 1-0

Ajit Pendharkar vs Grant Burrows – A very back and forth game with mistakes on both side. 0-1

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Virginia Milne – White counted Black’s opening sidelines with his own innovations. An unwise pawn-push by Black opened up her position and allowed Black to invade. 1-0

Upsets in Round 2 of A Grade

Scott Treanor beat Mike Steadman
Joe wang drew with Paul Garbett
Rauen Le Grange beat Jordan Lewis

B Grade

Philbert Zhai vs Mike Steiner – A quick draw.

David Zhu vs Vincent Cai – Another Quick draw. Black was better.

Upsets in Round 2 of B Grade

Hunter Po’e-Tofaeono beat Neil Sonnekus
Bryan Kang drew with Jacob Yuan
Charles Lu beat Joseph Xin
Adam Ali beat Michael Ma
Narasimha Ravi drew with Alan Leach

The Sprig Cup is a Swiss tournament played across 7 rounds in October, November and December. There are two Swiss Grades of around 40 players each, the split is roughly at the 1500 NZCF July 2019 rating.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Spring Cup Round 1 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

Ben Hague vs Karl Holdo – White offers a Morra Gambit but Black declines. White keeps up a steady pressure and thwarts Black from breaking out, eventually White picks up Black’ s Queen. 1-0

Jeffrey Yu vs Bruce Watson – Black gets the better of the opening a middle game but miscalculates while pushing though some passed pawns and white is able to threaten to Queen his own. A draw is agree since black is able to force perpetual check. Draw

Mike Steadman vs Ajit Pendharkar – An even opening an middle game. But Black tried for a nice mate and overlooked White’s check in reply white left Black a piece down. 1-0

Anya Thurner vs Alphaeus Ang – Fairly even most of the game Black picked up a pawn in the endgame but black was able to hold the position and draw.

John Duneas vs Arkadi Polyakevich – Black miscalculated, lost a piece and got further into trouble trying tactics to get it back. 1-0

Kenny Zhang vs Alex Nagorski – White made a mistake in the opening allowing Black to open up a hole in front of White’s castled king. Black was able to relentlessly attack it until he had the win. 0-1

Daniel Runcan vs Stephen Peak – White got himself in a little bit of trouble and offered a draw which the lower-rated Black accepted. Draw

Rauen Le Grange vs Felix Xie – Black picked up a pawn with an opening trick. White managed to restrict Black’s movement though and a draw was eventually agreed. Draw

Tim Ha vs Scott Treanor – A slow opening from White allowed Black to keep up some pressure. White eventually slipped up and allowed Black’s Queen and Rook to invade and scoop up material while threatening mate. 0-1

Grant Burrows vs Don Eade – White found a good tactic but missed the correct followups and ended up 2 pieces down. 0-1

Philli Park-Tamati vs Hugh Gao – White put pressure on Black’s castled King. A couple of errors by Black allowed a quick win. 1-0

Virginia Milne vs Boyuan Zhang – White got lost in her opening and allowed Black to win a piece. Black was able to swap down without too much trouble. 0-1

Hao Tang vs Andrew Michael – A fairly even game but White got a passed pawn and Black’s position fell apart. 1-0

Isabelle Ning vs Abraham Deng – White got pressure with a passed pawn but Black managed to stop and win it. Black then had a better endgame but gave up two pawns thinking he go Queen one of his and ended up with a lost position. 1-0

Winston Weng vs Lakshmi Ravi – Black gave up a piece for an attack but White was able to hold on and swap off pieces until he was just a piece up. 1-0

Jack Chen vs Aaron Wang – White got an attack against Black’s exposed uncastled King. He missed the winning line and ended up swapping to a rook and pawn endgame with White a pawn up. But White lost is extra pawn and a draw was agreed. Draw.

Daqi Mao vs Yolanda Chang – Black made some opening mistakes which gave White a much better position and a potential attack against Blacks King. But White squandered some moves and Black developed her pieces, swapped off White’s good pieces and picked up 3 pawns to get a winning endgame. 0-1

Upsets in A Grade – Round 1

Jeffrey Yu drew with Bruce Watson
Anya Thurner drew with Alphaeus Ang
Scott Treanor beat Tim Ha
Isabelle Ning beat Anraham Deng

B Grade

Upsets in B Grade round 1

Bevis Jiang beat Neil Sonnekus
Adam Ali beat Steve Vezich

The Final Round of the Winter Cup was played on September 30th.

Winter Cup Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

A Grade

Nigel Metge vs Mike Steadman – A fairly even game. White was better out of the opening while Black was better in the middle game. However White threatened a discoved check and Black failed to find the move that blocked all tricks and lost a piece. 1-0

Alphaeus Ang vs Bruce Watson – White picked up a pawn in the at the end of the middle game and with another it became two connected passed pawns which Black was unable to stop. 1-0

Simon Lyall vs Ajit Pendharkar – After an even game, Black allowed White a couple of tempo to invade his position and was quickly mated. 1-0

Kenny Zhang vs Euan McDougall – white got into a good position and got a good attack against Black’s Castled King. But he overreached and was an exchange down when the attacking pieces were exchanged off. He tried a tactic to get back in the game but missed a mate threat by Black and ended up well down. 0-1

Andrew Michael vs Danial Runcan – White miss-calculated and lost a piece. He resigned after losing another. 0-1

Felix Xie vs Isabelle Ning – A pawn push and a mate threat by White forced Black to give up a rook. White was then able to win easily. 1-0

Clinton Wells vs Lakshmi Ravi – Black looked very good as he pushed White backwards and cramped all his pieces. But after most pieces were swapped the position was back to even. White then got an almost winning endgame but went wrong in time trouble and ended up losing. 0-1

Yolanda Chang vs Joe Wang – White pulled her pieces back in the middle game giving Black chances to run over her position. 0-1

Grant Burrows vs Karl Holdo – White left a piece en prise. Black took it. 0-1

Alex Nagorski vs Don Eade – 15 moves of theory and then Black pushed forward his pawns against White’s King. After opening up a hole Black sacrificed a piece in the attack. But White was able to defend and Black was left down a piece. 1-0

Erwin Koestanto vs Jack Chen – Black trapped his Queen in front of his castled King and was unable to escape a series of discovered attacks. 1-0

Tim Ha vs Boyuan Zhang – White allowed Black to get an outpost Knight. He was then scrabling to defend against a series of threats until Black was a piece up. 0-1

Arkadi Polyakvich vs Jordan Lewis – Black did a pawn a piece push against White’s castled King. White failed to find the correct moves to hold the position. 0-1

Scott Treanor vs Abraham Deng – Black picked up a couple of pawns and was then able to force a win 0-1

Virginia Milne vs Stephen Peak – White tried an early attack against the King but quickly got in trouble and lost a pawn and then a Knight. 0-1

Upsets in A Grade Round 7

Lakshmi Ravi beat Clinton Wells
Nigel Metge beat Mike Steadman

A Grade Winter Cup Final Result
Aftering leading the tournament for 6 rounds Mike Steadman’s loss in the last round dropped him to second place. Final Placings were:

1st: Alphaeus Ang 6.0
2nd: Mike Steadman 5.5
3rd= Nigel Metge, Nathan Goodhue, Euan McDougall, Simon Lyall 5 points.

B Grade Round 7

A Sriram vs Wayne McDougall – Black was far too keen to Castle Queenside which allowed White to attack his exposed position. White picked up a piece and easily won. 1-0

Ethan Liu vs Mike Steiner – White found a tactic to win a piece and Black resigned. 1-0

Erica Hi vs Lucas Xiao – White forked Black’s King and Rook but a couple of moves later allowed Black to fork her King and Queen. 0-1

Upsets in B Grade Round 7

Eden Oshi beat Bobby Peoples
Ethan Liu beat Mike Steiner

B Grade Winter Cup Final Result

1st: A Sriham 6.5
2nd: Neil Sonnekus 5.5
3rd=: Maybe McDougall, Grayson Po’e-Tofaeono, Alan Leach and Ethan Liu on 5.0

A reminder that the Monday Night Club will be running during the school Holidays. Please let Simon know if you are missing nights.

Registration has started for the Spring Rapid and the Spring Cup. Please make sure you sign up for these soon if you want to play. Vega links: Spring Rapid , Spring Cup A , Spring Cup B

Winter Cup Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Winter Cup R6 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade Round 6

Michael Steadman vs Felix Xie – An aggressive opening with both players attacking on the Kingside. Black looked better but grabbed a pawn which allowed White to swap down to equality. But White handled the endgame better and won. 1-0

John Duneas vs Alphaeus Ang – Black picked up a pawn in the middle-game and was able to dominate the endgame with a 3 to 1 pawn advantage on the Queenside. 0-1

Nathan Goodhue vs Isabelle Ning – Black gave up a Bishop for White’s g*h pawns and an attack. White qucikly stopped the attack and was able to use his extra piece to pick up more material and win. 1-0

Euan McDougall vs Allen Fan – White did a Kingside pawn push that partially trapped two of Black’s pieces. WWith these out of the way he was able to harass Black’s King and eventually pick up pick up a piece. 1-0

Gordon Morrell vs Kenny Zhang – Black got lost in the opening giving White a good start. White over-pressed an attack which gave Black enough time to make his own attack which could probably have been a perpetual check. But then Black gave up a piece allowing White to escape. But then White went the wrong way allowing Black a unexpected win!. 0-1

Nigel Metge vs Grant Burrows – White played an aggressive opening and gave up a piece for two pawns and a huge lead in development. He created a series of threats and Black failed to defend against them all. 1-0

Simon Lyall vs Tim Ha – White pushed his g-pawn against Black’s King and exposed Black’s King. He managed to maintain an attack and the balance of errors by both sides favoured the attacker. 1-0

Daniel Runcan vs Boyuan Zhang – White opened up the g-file in front of Black’s king and Black’s position quickly collasped. 1-0

Joe Wang vs Clinton Wells – A fairly even game with both players ahead at times. Eventually perpetual check and a draw.

Jordan Lewis vs Andrew Michael – White made an error and Black picked up material with a tactic. 0-1

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Philli Park-Tamati – The obscure England Gambit from Black ( 1.d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 ). White was ahead most of the game but got a Bishops trapped in the corner and then lost an exchange (and then a pawn). 0-1

Karl Holdo vs Alex Nagorski – A very even game with no player gaining much advantage as pieces were steadily swapped. Draw

Jack Chen vs Wintson Weng – White went into a bad opening line which lost him a pawn and left his king stuck in the centre. But after some swaps Black was underdeveloped and White was the one with the chances. The game eventually swapped to a draw.

Yolanda Chang vs Scott Treanor – Black picked up a piece and was looking good but allowed White win it back. Black then tried some desperation tactics but White was able to find the correct responses. 1-0

Lakshmi Ravi vs Thomas Zheng – Black left his castled King completely open to attack while all his pieces were on the Queen-side (with a line of pawns in-between), See diagram. 1-0

Jeffrey Yu vs Erwin Koestanto – White went well at the start but after swaps to the endgame he was outplayed by Blacks two-bishops to Whites Bishops+Knight. 0-1

Don Eade vs Virginia Milne – White slowly built up pressure in the centre and got luckly with a tactic. Black tried some tricks to get it back but was left a piece down with a difficult position. 1-0

Stephen Peak vs Ajit Pendharkar – White got a pawn up then greedily grabbed a second pawn. Black missed the best move (see diagram) and things swung back towards White. Black gave up a piece a few moves later for a mating line, but the actual winning line was 11+ moves long and hard to find and White escaped. 1-0

Abraham Deng vs Hugh Gao – Lots of swaps and an early draw.

Upsets in A Grade Round 6

Kenny Zhang beat Gordon Morrell ( 575 pt different)
Euan McDougall beat Allen Fan ( 365 pts apart)
Karl Holdo drew with Alex Nagorski
Andrew Michael beat Jordan Lewis

Mike Steadman continues to lead the Grade with 5.5 . Second is Alphaeus Ang on 5 while Bruce Watson and Nathan Goodhue are 3rd-equal on 4.5.

B Grade round 6

Mike Steiner vs A Sriram – An Early draw with White looking better. Draw

Lucas Xiao vs Wayne McDougall – A passive start from White in the opening. White then miscalculated to allow Black to pick up two pawns and then Black picked up two more(!) as he swapped down the pieces. 0-1

Neil Sonnekus vs Jacob Chai – After some dubious opening play Black push his Kingside pawns against White’s King. However he opened up a hole and allowed White to infiltrate and pick up a couple of pawns. A couple of moves later Black blundered a rook. 1-0

Tyleah Po’e-Tofaeono vs Alen Leach – White left a hole in he position and allowed White to infiltrate and pick up a pawn. Then Black got an exchange and two pawns via a tactic. 0-1

Grayson Po’e-Tofaeono vs Vincent Cai – White lost a Night when he tried a speculative attack against Blacks King and it got trapped. Black was then winning until he left his King just a little exposed and was mated out of nowhere. 1-0

Upsets in B Grade Round 6

Hunter Po’e-Tofaeono beat Michael Ma
Grayson Po’e-Tofaeono beat Vincent Cai
Eden Oshri beat Renier Lategen

A Sriram continues to lead B Grade on 5.5 points. Second Equal are Neil Sonnekus and Wayne McDougall on 5 points.

A couple of reminders

First that Monday Chess will be running during the school holidays. Please Tell Simon if you or your child is going to miss evenings.

Second a reminder that the Spring Rapid will be on October 7th and 14th. Please signup on the sheet at the Club.

Winter Cup Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Round 5 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

Bruce Watson vs Michael Steadman – White went much better picking up an exchange and getting into what looked like a winning endgame. However Black was able to hold the position and a draw was agreed.

Alphaeus Ang vs Simon Lyall – A couple of bad moves left Black worse off and White was able to easily convert. 1-0

Felix Xie vs Gordon Morrell – White lost a piece but managed to trap one of White’s rooks on the side of the board so the position was closer to even. Black was unable to find how to break out of the position and agreed on a draw.

Philli Park-Tamati vs Nathan Goodhue – White resigned after Black gained the upper hand. 1-0

Kenny Zhang vs Paul Macdonald – The first 14 movies followed a game by regular visitor to New Zealand IM Herman Van Riemsdijk. Black got the best of the game advancing Kingside pawns and creating a semi-open F-file. But Black dropepd a pawn and White was able to exchange pieces and lock up the position. Draw

Jordan Lewis vs Isabelle Ning – Default win for Black. 0-1

Clinton Wells vs Nigel Metge – Lots of exciting tactical tricks and swings in this game. In the endgame White was winning but missed the best lines and the game was drawn.

Allen Fan vs Lakshmi Ravi – Black resigned after White picked up a free rook. 1-0

Grant Burrows vs Alex Nagorski – Black was goign well and three pawns up when he unfortuntely allowed a mate. 1-0

Thomas Zheng vs Euan McDougall – White made some errors and lost a couple of pieces. 0-1

Tim Ha vs Arkadi Polyakevich – White was better most of the time but the game was mainly a steady series of swaps to a draw.

Erwin Koestanto vs Aaron Wang – White had a better game and got in a winning position. However he sacrificed a Queen thinking he would be able to quickly promote and get it back. Black however had a Queen move which had too many threats and was able to give up give up his queen for two pieces and a winning endgame. 0-1

Jeffrey Yu vs Daniel Runcan – White was a little better for most of the game but gave up a couple of pawns. Black was able to push though his passed a&b pawns for a win. 0-1

Andrew Michael vs Don Eade – Black left a pawn en-pris which allowed White to win it and then attack winning another. White was able to hold off the attack but once pieces had been swapped Black was still better. Black resigned with one piece trapped and due to be lost. 1-0

Virginia Milne vs Karl Holdo – White lost a couple of pieces. 0-1

Ajit Pendharkar vs Jack Chen – white sacrificed a piece for two pawns and an attack but once it faltered he was just a piece down. 0-1

Scott Treanor vs Stephen Peak – Black played a weak opening line and allowed White to quickly develop. White then found some good tactics, winning a pawn, then an exchange and finally another 2 pawns. 1-0

Hugh Gao vs Yolanda Chang – After looking good for most of the game Black made a mistake and lost a piece. 0-1

Upsets in A Grade round 5

Grant Burrows beat Alex Nagorski (594 point ratign difference)
Aaron Wang beat Erwin Koestanto
Kenny Zhang drew with Paul Macdonald
Andrew Michael beat Don Eade
Yolanda Chang beat Hugh Gao

Mike Steadman keeps his first place. Bruce Watson and Alphaeus Ang are have a point behind.

B Grade

Upsets in B Grade Round 5

Daksh Bhatt beat John Liu ( 757 point rating difference )
Hunter Po’e-Tofaeono beat Eric Fan

A Sriram is still undefeated on 5 points. He is a point ahead of Neil Sonnekus, Wayne McDougall and Mike Steaner.