The 2021 NZ Chess Congress has just been announced. It will be in Palmerston North at the start of January 2021 and comprise 7 tournaments including the NZ Open Championship. An Entry form with details is online.
There are now just two players on 3 points. Allan Fan (who beat Bruce Watson in Round 3) and Alphaeus Ang.
The Black player was also the winner on the bottom 6 boards.
A Potential draw for round 4 is below.
Upsets in A Grade round 3
Allen Fan beat Bruce Watson Lewis Jordan drew with Gordon Morell Hugh Gao drew with Kenny Zhang
B Grade
Fewer upsets on the top boards in B grade than A. There are 3 leaders Mike Steiner, Neil Sonnekus and Jacob Yuan on 3 points. 3 others are just back on 2.5 points.
Upsets in A Grade round 4
Sai Somearaju beat John McClory (986 point rating difference!) Sophia Feng beat Liuz Filho Anderson Chen beat Sylvia McDougall Eden Oshri beat Ying Wang
The first round of the Summer Cup was on Monday the 10th of February.
We were very full with 97 players entered in the tournament and 84 people playing in Round 1. This is at the limit of the number of players we can fit into the centre so no further entries will be accepted for this tournament.
Hi everyone, the Friday Night junior chess (which originally we planned to start tomorrow for this year) will be postponed until further notice. We expect to reopen in a few weeks time. Sorry for any inconvenience. Will let you know on this website when we do start again this year. Alex
The Schedule for 2020 is now up. The first night back will be February 3rd which is the Blitz. This will be followed by the Summer Rapid starting on February the 10th.
Entries for 2020 events will start on Monday January 20th
The council was elected unopposed with Nigel Metge replacing Bryan Latimer. Club Captain Simon Lyall also outlined the scheduled for 2020 saying there would be fewer round-robins and more FIDE- and NZCF-rated tournaments.
Prize-Giving
Winners of the major tournaments this year were announced and photos taken of those present (by Nigel Metge). Club President Bruce Wheeler also picked the “Centre Spirit” winner who was Yolanda Chang.
Centre Spirit Winner Yolander Chang
Pairs Tournament
The 4 round pairs tournament was run (2 people on each team, alternating moves) with the highest rated players paired with the lowest.
Winners were the mid-range pair of Stephen Peak and Jeffrey Yu with 3.5/4
Second equal were 3 other teams led by Paul Garbett, Bruce Watson and Alexei Kulashko all on 3 points.
Mike Steadman vs Alphaeus Ang – White picked up a free pawn in the opening and kept his advantage for the rest of the game. 1-0
Nigel Metge vs Daniel Runcan – White made a mistake in the opening to give Black a led and then White gave up a piece. 0-1
Felix Xie vs Bruce Watson – Black got a better opening and White tried giving up an exchange to generate counter-play. Black was still better and was able to get two passed pawns. Black then gave up a piece to draw away White’s pieces and then pushed though his passed pawn to the 8th rank. 0-1
Xie vs Watson. Black to play 26. ..Rxa4 giving up the Bishop but the B-pawn is unstoppable.
John Duneas vs Philli Park-Tamati – Black resigned for some reason in an even position. I think he believed he’d made a blunder and was lost. 1-0
Don Eade vs Paul Macdonald – Black lost a piece and resigned in the face of losing another. 1-0
Paul Garbett vs Scott Treanor – Black played a dubious opening line and was quickly under attack. 1-0
Jasmine Zhang vs Simon Lyall – White got the better of the early game but after some swaps the position was even. Black then managed to create a passed pawn with an extra pawn and one of White’s pieces was stuck on the wrong side of the board.
Alex Nagorski vs Winston Weng – White picked up a pawn early but Black got it back and by move 28 they just had a rook and some pawns each. White picked up a pawn but it wasn’t enough for a win. Draw
Daqi Mao vs Tim Ha – An even opening with Black deviating from standard lines but White was not able to find the best reply. Which tried some tricks but they backfired and he was left a piece down. 0-1
Jordan Lewis vs Aaron Wang – After a even game they players swapped to a King and pawn endgame that was wining for Black. 0-1
Hao Tang vs Jeffrey Yu – Black lost and exchange and then his position fell apart. 1-0
Abraham Deng vs Karl Holdo – Steady swaps until White made a mistake and Black picked up a pawn. Black threw away his lead and settled for a repetition. Draw
Kenny Zhang vs Grant Burrows – Black got away with an offbeat line thta left White with a very bad pawn structure. The game swapped to an endgame but Black made a fatal pawn push. 1-0
Lakshmi Ravi vs Rauen Le Grange – Black exposed his position to Bxh7 and almost lost quickly but came out “just” and exchange down. Black tried some tactics but White had little trouble. 1-0
Isabelle Ning vs Yolanda Chang – White got a better position out of the opening. Black was tied up and on the defensive but managed to wriggle out. After some swaps the position was even but unbalanced. White was able to prevail. 1-0
Arkadi Polyakevich vs Anya Thurner – A lot of back and forth. Black went into the endgame a little better but made a couple of mistakes and White was able to win. 1-0
Upsets in A Grade Round 7
Simon Lyall beat Jasmine Zhang Don Eade beat Paul Macdonald Winston Weng drew with Alex Nagorski Aaron Wang beat Jordan Lewis
Final Result Spring Cup A Grade
1st Mike Steadman 6.0 2nd Daniel Runcan 5.5 3rd= Ben Hague, John Duneas, Alphaeus Ang, Bruce Watson, Don Eade 5.0
B Grade
Lucas Xiao vs David Zhu – A steady swap of pieces and a draw agreed in an even position. Draw
Tracey Tang vs Mukammad Razzaq – Black made a strong pawn push (supported by pieces) against Black’s castled King which Black was unable to defend. 0-1
Mike Steiner vs Alan Leach – Steady piece swapped into a draw.
Upsets in B-Grade Round 7
Anas Al-Afaghani beat John Liu Bevis Jiang beat Philbert Zhai Hunter Po’e-Tofaeono drew with Wayne McDougall
Final Results Spring Cup B Grade
1st Mukammad Razzaq 5.5 2nd= Thomas Zhang, Lucas Xiao, David Zhu 5.0
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.
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
Ha vs Metge. White to play and win.
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.
