News

The second week of the school holidays saw many younger players away. Events this/last week including the New Zealand Junior and Senior tournaments plus Howick and Pakuranga’s 50th Anniversary dinner.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade
Draw: A Grade , B Grade

Round 5 PGN by Ewen Green

Commentary for all grades in round 5 by Simon Lyall.

A Grade

Paul Macdonald vs Jasmine Zhang (Round 2 catchup)

Paul played b3, Bb2 and castled Queen side while Jasmine castled King-side. A early exchange moved Black’s b-pawn to the c-file and gave her a a half-open file and a c-pawn to push against White’s king. However this quickly faltered and White was able to advance his Kingside pawns (temporarily giving up an exchange) and open Black’s position (see diagram). White’s attacking line however was not the best and a sacrificed piece down he opted for a perpetual check. Draw

Bruce Watson vs Jasmine Zhang – 18 moves of theory in the opening followed by some rapid exchanges left the players with just 2 pieces and 3 pawns each on move 31. White looked better but a quick swap of pawns left the position a draw.

Daniel Gong vs Nathan Goodhue – White looked better at the start but a huge exchange of pieces left the game drawish-looking with a Queen and 4 pawns each. After 30 moves of maneuvering the game still looked like a draw but Black made an error and placed his Queen on a square that was unable to defend his king. White was able to use the spare move to deliver a quick mate. 1-0

Bruce Watson leads on 4 points but Ben Hague and Paul Garbett both games a game in hand.

B Grade

Abraham Deng vs Jordan Lewis – An even opening and early middle game. However a couple of moves by Black completely opened up his position and White was able to attack and chase his King with several pieces until he was a couple of pieces up. 1-0

Alex Nagorski vs Xinyang Liu – Black left his Kingside a little under-defended which White exploited by creating a hole in his Kingside pawns. Trying to get his pieces back into the game Black lost one and then in a difficult to hold position made another mistake that quickly resulted in mate. 1-0

Don Eade vs Euan McDougall – White got the better of some middle-game exchanges and came into the endgame with an extra pawn and two Bishops vs a Bishop and Knight. After a lot of maneuvering with Black on the back-foot White was able to get a breakthrough. 1-0

Alex Nagorski maintains the lead in B grade but many unplayed games make him catchable.

C Grade

Boyuan Zhang vs Kenny Zhang – White built up a big attack against Black’s King (see diagram) which required accurate defense from Black. But Black made a couple of errors (possibly in time trouble) and was soon lost. 1-0

Aaron Wang vs Jeffrey Yu – White came out of the opening with the better position but the players quickly swapped everything down to a draw.

Ajit Pendharkar vs Lakshmi Ravi – White went a little wrong in the opening and left his pieces a little tangled while Black’s were better coordinated. Black kept up the pressure and as White tried to save a semi-trapped Knight he advanced his King into a nest of Black pieces and was checkmated. 0-1

Scott Treanor vs Thomas Zheng – White played a strange Bf4, h3, Bh2 maneuver early on, which Black helped justify by pushing his c-pawn and d-pawns. Some exchanges allowed Black to catch-up however. The players swapped to an even endgame but White made some miscalculations and was eventually two pawns down. 0-1

Joe Wang vs Arkadi Polyakevich – Black got a defended pawn to e3 which cramped White’s position and was then able to get a rook out to put pressure on White’s castled King (with help from a Queen on c7 and a pawn on f3 stopping a knight going there, See diagram). A mistake by White and Black was in and won. 0-1

Stephen Peak vs Virginia Milne – A late running game although only 33 moves long. Black allowed a tactic on move 11 (see diagram) and was lucky to be just a pawn down. Black threw everything into a kingside attack and while White was a pawn up in the endgame he settled for a draw.

Upsets in Round 5 – C Grade

Thomas Zheng beat Scott Treanor
Anya Thurner drew with Andrew Michael
Lakshmi Ravi beat Ajit Pendharkar
Yolanda Chang beat Uday Jain

Boyuan Zhang stayed extended his lead to a full point. He is on 5/5 while Arkadi Polyakevich, Thomas Zheng and Lakshmi Ravi share 2nd on 4 points.

This was the first week of the school holidays so we managed to fit everybody in the main room without problems.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade
Draw: A Grade , B Grade

Club Champs Round 4 PGN by Ewen, Nigel, Tim and Alex.

A Grade commentary by Nigel Metge , B and C grade commentary by Simon Lyall.

A Grade

A round of decisive results…and up-and-down play!

Macdonald, Paul – Watson, Bruce 0-1

Black equalizes easily against Paul’s quirky opening and with 9…f5 initiates an attack against White’s Kf1. The position appears threatening but Stockfish indicates chances are equal. Bruce plays the pretty 18…,Be3 but this is an error allowing White a decisive reversal of attack with 19.Qc3! Missing this opportunity is still not fatal for White but the superficially attractive 21.Bh5 meets 21…f3+! In this sharp position, one more error 23.Bxg4? costs the game.

Hague, Ben – Ang, Alphaeus 1-0

Alphaeus essays a difficult line of Pirc, maneuvering his Nf6 all the way from his K-side to the unpromising b6 presumably anticipating White castling long. There are few GM examples, but White scores high in this line. Ben skips castling and advances his pawns 12.g4/13.f5 simply ripping open the K-side and center – Black’s position falls apart.

An off-day for Alpaheus and a good attacking win by Ben.

Goodhue, Nathan – Steadman, Michael 1-0

Nathan plays a typical quiet Q-pawn opening and Black opens an attack front 16…,f5 With 18.Nd2 White wants to recapture on e4 with his N rather than his Q…but this is a mistake allowing the tactical stroke 18…,Nf4+! White rushes his remaining rook to the K-side 20.Raf1 but again this allows decisive 20…Nf4+!

By 24…,Nd4 Black still looks to have better chances but Stockfish rates chances as equal. Perhaps searching for a tactic that is not there, Black blunders by 29…Bh6?? And an interesting game ends suddenly.

Zhang, Jasmine – Garbett, Paul ½-½

Against Jasmine’s usual London system, Paul equalizes easily enough with classical e6/d5/c5 setup; but it is not so easy to come up with a positive plan thereafter. Paul keeps White’s potential attack on K-side at bay but chooses not to advance his Q-side pawns en masse after 19…,Rfc8 followed by 20…a5. With the exchange of more material, especially the dark square Bs and Rs, a draw becomes very likely and both players repeat moves.

B Grade

Caroline Yan vs Don Eade – White got off to a good start with some slow moves by Black. Playing 12. Bg5 appears to win at least a pawn but she played Be3 instead. White then swapped off her best pieces to leave Black in a dominant position. 0-1

Euan McDougall vs Alex Nagorski – White played an awful opening line but Black missed the best lines ( 7. ..Bxd4 wins a piece easily). However, Black was soon much better and had an overwhelming attack but missed the correct move on move 16 (see diagram). Instead, he made a couple of bad moves and ended up a piece down. From there White just needed to untangle himself. 1-0

Jordan Lewis vs Simon Lyall – White gave up a pawn for an attack but Black managed to avoid the traps (at the expense if using a lot of time). White made an error and gave up an exchange plus another pawn and then decided to resign after Black started to untangle. 0-1

Tim Ha vs Felix Xie – A slow game with long pawn chains and pieces squeezing through the gaps. It wasn’t till around move 40 that the first file was opened. White was a little better for most of the game but the pawn swaps allowed Black to quickly infiltrate, station a pawn on the 7th rank and then quickly win 3 pawns. 0-1

Felix Xie leads with 3 points and one game unplayed. Several other games are unplayed however.

C Grade

Boyuan Zhang vs Arkadi Polyakevich – Players castle on opposite sides and started pawn pushes. However in his hast to push Black left a piece en prise. White pushed his attack but made a mistake and allowed Black to ended up with two outside passed pawns to compensate for his lost piece. However the endgame required Black to play almost perfectly and errors quickly accumulated and White was able to win. 1-0

Kenny Zhang vs Isabelle Ning – An long game with both players having chances. White got better in the opening but allowed Black to get an open file and lost two of his better pieces. Black then found a tactic that picked up a couple of pawns although she missed the best line (see diagram). The players swapped to an endgame with a rook each, opposite coloured bishops and Black with an extra pawn. Black took a rook swap and the game was drawn

Grant Burrows vs Ajit Pendharkar – White missed a tactic and lost a rook. 0-1

Andrew Michael vs Joe Wang – White had some pressure but was unable to time a breakthough move. Black then swapped off all except two pieces each and ended up a little better. Black was able to played the endgame better picking up two pawns and threatening to push though passed pawns. 0-1

Upsets in Round 4 of C Grade

Joe Wang beat Andrew Michael
Boyuan Zhang beat Arkadi Polyakevich

Boyuan Zhang is now in the lead being the only play with 4 wins from 4 games. 2nd Place is Kenny Zhang with 3.5. No fewer than 10 players are on 3 points,

A reminder that Monday Chess does not stop for the School Holidays. There will be Chess as normal on Monday 8 July, 15 July, 22 July and 29 July.

If you will be away those days please text Simon (on 021 575 233) and let him know which days you will need a bye.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade
Draw: A Grade , B Grade

Round 3 PGN by Ewen Green and Nigel Metge. Annotated by Nigel for A and B grades.

A Grade

Commentary by Nigel Metge

A round in which the higher rated players defeat the lower half in different styles. Paul Garbett and Bruce Watson adopt the ‘Play for two results (win or draw)’ approach- that is, avoiding complications or risk of loss. Ben Hague and Michael Steadman use a more vigorous approach, relying on their superior tactical sense in complex positions.

Garbett, Paul – Macdonald, Paul 1-0

After 13 moves of a French Def, Tarrasch var, a typical unbalanced position arises with White having a slight initiative. Paul Garbett has favoured this variation since the 70’s; I recall he beat me in NZ Championship 1985. Paul Macdonald weakens his K-side with 20…h6?!; subsequently the other Paul invades on the light squares. The superficially attractive 30…Ne4? allows a family fork to be set up by 32.Bb1! Paul G. converts with an attractive King net.

Watson, Bruce – Goodhue, Nathan 1-0

Bruce transposes from his English to Panov-Botvinnik Attack against Caro-Kann, a line which promises a slight but persistent edge for White. By move 24 an interesting and equal Q&B vs. Q&N ending arises. Nathan unwisely opens the position 26…f6? and the White Q dominates the Center. In answer to an annoying check White interposes his Q, 33.Qd4, confident he can win the resulting K&P ending…but he can’t -it’s a draw! The point being that White K cannot take g6 without going outside the square of the Black potential passed b-pawn. Black too miscalculates the possible ending and declines the exchange. Bruce now finds the correct plan of advancing his K-side pawns with 38.Kh4 while keeping B vs. N and wins cleanly.

Zhang, Jasmine – Hague, Ben 0-1

The players follow a master game in the London System until Ben introduces a new, simple move 11…Nxd2 leaving White’s King in the center. The middlegame develops normally until Ben’s startling P-sac 23…e5!? The only trouble is it is not wholly sound…Black recovers his P but his K is exposed on the semi-open h-file and his Ng7 hemmed by White’s pawns e5/g3. White misses 30.Nh6+ maintaining a promising attack and further compromises her Q position with 32.Qh3? Sensing her advantage is disappearing she strikes out with an exchange sac 33.Rxh5 but this is simply unsound and Black catches her with a neat tactic 35…,Bf3 wins a piece.

Steadman, Michael – Fan, Allen 1-0

In King’s Indian Defence, both players vary from the pure classical path with 6…Na6;7.g4

By move 12 an unbalanced position is reached where it is hard to judge who is better or the best way of continuing. For sure, Black’s 12…,f5? Is not the answer as it converts an equal position into a losing one! Black’s K is hopelessly exposed and White castles long, starting a winning attack. Black blunders a piece 22…Nbd3+ finishing this rather one-sided game early.

B Grade

Only two games were played in B Grade. Felix Xie vs Jordan Lewis and Abraham Deng vs Euan McDougall were both postponed while Simon Lyall forfeited against Xinyang Liu.

Commentary by Nigel Metge and Simon Lyall

Alex Nagorski vs Don Eade – White had the opportunity of 6. dxe5 (see diagram) but went with the quieter Be2. The game was fairly quiet after that with White slightly better but no real progress as pieces were swapped off. However the final position is close to a win for Black with White’s piece and pawns badly placed (see diagram). However the players took a Draw – SL

From a fairly even Kings Indian Defense, interesting endgame transitions arise. White has a slight initiative and exchanges first Queens and later Rooks believing the endgames to be favourable…but they are not. In the final position the players agree a draw as time pressure looms but in fact Black has a win! – NM

Tim Ha vs Caroline Yan – Very passive play by both players and a quick draw. – SL

Both players are comfortable with a straightforward draw – NM

Alex Nagorski leads the Grade but several unplayed games makes the exact positions hard to tell.

C Grade

Commentary by Simon Lyall

Isabelle Ning vs Grant Burrows – An even opening but white ended a little worse after she game up position for an open file and then swapped off Queens and rooks. The endgame was fairly equal and eventually drawn.

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Joseph Xin – A series of passive moves by Black allowed White to roll forward an attack and quickly win. 1-0

Kendrick Zhang vs Philli Park-Tamati – In the face of a strong attack against his King Black gets careless and forgets to defend against the mate-in-one. Although it appears in surprise White forgot the mate as well and settled for winning Black’s Queen. 1-0

Winston Weng vs Boyuan Zhang – White overworked some pieces and allowed Black to win 2 pawns via tactics. A few moves later White resigned after he was squeezed into a corner and about to lose a piece. 0-1

Jeffrey Yu vs Stephen Peak – White won a pawn in a sharp opening position (see diagram) but Black had compensation. Black lost that however and there was a long middle game with each player having two rooks and a (opposite coloured) bishop. White was in the better position with a passed pawn while Black tried to defend. White was eventually able to bring his King into the attack which was too much for Black to hold. 1-0

Upsets in Round 3 for C Grade

Tyleah Po’e-Tofaeono beat Wayne McDougall
Hannah Xu drew with Virginia Milne
Boyuan Zhang beat Winston Weng

Kendrick Zhang, Arkadi Polyakevich and Boyuan Zhang now lead C Grade on 3 points. 4 players are just behind on 2.5

The Club Champs is played over the 9 rounds in June, July and August. This year the A and B Grades are 10-player round robins and the C Grade is a Swiss. All Grades are FIDE and NZCF rated.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade
Draw: A Grade , B Grade

Club Champs B and C Grade PGN by Ewen Green

B Grade

Caroline Yan vs Alex Nagorski – White’s early c4 left her with some holes on her queenside that Black was able to pressure. Black quickly picked up two pawns from some exchanges and white resigned soon afterwards with little hope. 0-1

Don Eade vs Abraham Deng – White picked up a pawn with a tactic but this wasn’t decisive and black had some chances. Eventually Black got the pawn back and the players agreed a draw in a King and pawn endgame (which the computer likes Black). Draw

Xinyang Liu vs Felix Xie – In a French-Advance White played some incorrect moves which is dangerous since the white has little slack in their opening development. Black eased off the pressure however which allowed White to catch-up. White got good pressure in the centre and against the King while Black counted with pressure down the open C-file. Unfortunately White hung a piece and resigned next move. 0-1

Jordan Lewis vs Tim Ha – Both players seemed to get lost in the opening but white came out a little better. White picked up a pawn and then two more for a winning position. Black tried a desperate attack and managed to get a perpetual check after White missed winning moves several times. Draw

Felix Xie and Alex Nagorski are in the lead on two out of two.

C Grade

Andrew Michael vs Kendrick Zhang – White got huge pressure with a pawn thrust against Black’s castled King. But after a couple of slow moves Black got a dangerous counter-attack on the other side of the board. After some missteps Black picked up some material and won. 0-1

Lakshmi Ravi vs Aaron Wang – Some dubious opening lines left Black a pawn up. Then White allowed a tactic and Black got a full piece up. 0-1

Mohammad Bashar vs Boyuan Zhang – White has a better started (see diagram) but Black got a good b7 bishop. After a sequence of swaps Black was two pawns up with mate threats and he managed to eventually convert. 0-1

Upsets in C Grade round 2:

Joseph Xin beat Wayne McDougall
Jack Chen beat Mike Steiner
Michael Malcolm beat Ying Wang
Boyuan Zhang beat Mohammad Bashar
Adam Macauley beat Sylvia McDougall
Ethan Shen drew with Tony Yuan

There are still 8 players sharing first place on two points.

The Club Champs is played over the 9 rounds in June, July and August. This year the A and B Grades are 10-player round robins and the C Grade is a Swiss. All Grades are FIDE and NZCF rated.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade
Draw: A Grade , B Grade

A Grade PGN and commentary by Nigel Metge

A Grade

Of the 4 games played (Macdonald – Zhang is postponed) 3 were fairly straightforward draws but poor Michael Steadman got minced in 25 moves by Alphaeus Ang.

Ang, Alphaeus – Steadman, Michael 1-0

Michael often plays unorthodox opening lines looking for a ‘tactical mess’ to revel in. Here he pushes his luck too far mishandling the defense to a sharp Samisch against his Nimzo-Indian 6…,d6 and 8…,f5?! Alphaeus mounts an overwhelming attack and Black is reduced to almost zugzwang after 25.g5

Goodhue, Nathan – Garbett, Paul ½-½

In a Queen’s Gambit Declined White exchanges his Bg5 for Black’s Nf6 unusually early giving Black the 2Bs in return for free development. Black allows White’s 11.e4 exchanging Black’s good B in return for White’s IQP. White fights for the draw and ultimately succeeds after Garbett eschews late middlegame complications.

Fan, Allen – Watson, Bruce ½-½

Starting as a Reti, then English, the opening transposes into a type of closed Catalan where Black accepts hanging pawns but equal chances. White simplifies to an equal ending but then embarks on a most unclear piece sacrifice to bring his rooks to the 6^th & 7^th ranks. Bruce defends calmly and could have brought home the point from the critical position after 29.Rxg7

The correct 29…Raa2! Is easy to see but hard to calculate!

After Black’s 29…c4? White has time to bring his rooks to the 7^th and hold the draw by perpetual check.

Hague, Ben – Gong, Daniel ½-½

The Advance Variation against the Caro-Kann can lead to great complications. Daniel reacts with 3…c5, a move introduced by Botvinnik against Tal in their return World Championship match 1961. But Tal did not play 4.Ne2…With 7.b4 a fight for control of e5/c5 begins. The next few moves are tense with many unseen possibilities but by 21.Qd4 the position is calm and heads for a draw.

After 2 rounds three players are in the lead on 1.5

The Club Champs is played over the 9 rounds in June, July and August. This year the A and B Grades are 10-player round robins and the C Grade is a Swiss. All Grades are FIDE and NZCF rated.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade
Draw: A Grade , B Grade

Round 1 PGN by Nigel Metge, Alex Nagorski and Ewen Green

A Grade

Commentary by Nigel Metge

Round 1 of ACC Championship A Grade saw tough battles on all boards.

Macdonald, Paul – Hague, Ben 0-1

Paul’s unusual take on Larsen’s opening (1.b3, 2.Bb2, 3.e4) gives Ben few problems in equalizing. White offers an interesting P sac, 16.Rfe1 teasing Black’s weak back rank and undeveloped Bc8. Confident in his ability and calculation Ben takes the P. White slips with an inaccurate exchange of his good Nd6 and Black keeps his extra pawn in a R&P ending. Both rooks are active and drawing chances are very high but persistent pressure and shortage of time provoke an error from White and Ben is rewarded for his calm defense. I note the times at move 16: 33 min remaining to White and 63min to Black; at move 38, 1min for White, 37min for Black

Zhang, Jasmine – Goodhue, Nathan ½-½

Jasmine plays her usual London system and with 12.f4, f5 both players adopt a double stonewall. Nathan opens and controls the a-file but did not extract value from it. Jasmine with h3-g4 attacks the K-side. Black now makes a significant error in 29…Kf7 allowing 30.h5! opening files and suddenly his King is in serious trouble. White develops a winning attack and wins an exchange but at a critical moment exchanges Qs with 39.Qf7+; instead 39.Qh2! looks like a win. A complex ending arises in which it is not clear if Black’s 2B & P can draw against White’s R&B. In fact, Stockfish reveals a subtle win for White at several points but after a long game both players are short of time and agree a draw after repeating several moves

Garbett, Paul – Fan, Allen 1-0

Allen tries a new move 7…,c5 in the Pirc but this leads only to an early exchange of Qs and a better endgame for White…not a great idea against one of the country’s strongest players. Paul plays a beautiful positional game 20.Nxf6 constricting Black’s development while avoiding all risk. White wins a P but more important his K&B&R advance on Black’s K choking it to death. Apart from one slip 31.R1d6 which allows equality, a fine win by Paul.

Watson, Bruce -Ang, Alphaeus 1-0

Bruce’s English opening soon transposes into Kings Indian Averbakh with White retaining customary minimal advantage. Bruce incautiously allows Black’s Queen to penetrate to h3 and Alphaeus wins a P with a nice tactical finesse 24…Nxe4! Queens’ come off but the ending is not so easy to win as Black’s B is constricted by d6-e5-f4 pawn chain. Alphaeus hits upon a brilliant idea of sacrificing his R for White’s N and creating 2 passed pawns supported by his B. It is a winning concept, albeit maybe unnecessary, but exact execution is required. First the win slips away 35…f2!, then the draw, 36.f2!

A tough game for Alphaeus to lose but full marks to Bruce for determined defense. Chess is a game of errors!

Steadman, Michael – Gong, Daniel ½-½

Daniel opens with 4…Bf5 variation in Kings Indian, favoured by Caruana. Michael counters with 5.g3,Ne4; 5.Qb3 and both players are on unfamiliar territory. Black equalizes and develops a grip on the c-file. Instead of patiently building on this he chooses simplification and penetration of White’s back ranks with 32…Qh3?!

The position is equal though and perhaps out of frustration Daniel makes a risky decision to create a passed a-pawn at the expense of allowing White a passed b-pawn 40…b4?! The position is complex and White misses or chooses not to create favourable complications with 4 Qs on the board 52.b6! & 54.e5! Black wisely steers the game to a draw with perpetual check.

A tough struggle in which both players had winning chances in different phases.

B Grade

Felix Xei vs Euan McDougall – White was ahead from the opening and Black never really broke out of this position. Black dropped a pawn and White cruised from there. 1-0

Tim Ha vs Xinyang Liu – Passive play at the start by White gave black a better position but Black was unable to get enough ahead and White was able to hold a draw.

Jordan Lewis vs Caroline Yan – A Quick draw

Abraham Deng vs Alex Nagorski – White got got stuck with a slightly less room out of the opening and Black was able to pressure him until White’s exposed King was due to be mated. 0-1

Lyall vs Eade – Postponed

C Grade

Yonggeum Song vs Andrew Michael – Black was looking better but White helped things with a Blonder. 0-1

Aaron Wang vs Lucas Xiao – Black miscalculated and lost of piece. 1-0

Erica Hu vs Mohamma Bashar – White was goign well but gave up two-pawns due to a miscalculation. Black quickly won with a passed-pawn. 0-1

Ajit Pendharkar vs Yolanda Chang – White found a tactic which won a piece and checkmated a few moves later. 1-0

Anya Thurner vs Virgina Milne – Black got here pieces tied up and then quickly lost material to a couple of tactics. 1-0

Scott Treanor vs Alan Leach – White was slightly better for most of the game but Black kept in touch and was able to force a draw.

Philbert Zhai vs Karl Holdo – Any early draw in an even position. Draw

Upsets in Round 1 for C Grade

Tykeah Po’e-Tofaeno beat Thomas Zheng
Anya Thurner beat Virginia Milne
Jacob Chai beat Mike Steiner

The Autumn Cup is being played on Monday in April, May and June and consists of two Swiss Grades. It is Nationally Rated.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Round 7 PGN by Ewen Green

Commentary by Alex Nagorski

A Grade

Alphaeus Ang vs Bruce Watson – Sharp Nimzo-Indian variation was played and White got the usual bishop pair and the open position. The fight saturated with tactics finished when White missed the best continuation. Further swaps led to an opposite colour bishop endgame and a draw. 1/2-1/2

Paul Garbett vs Mike Steadman – White ceased the initiative from the very start when Black played non-theoretical line. White kept pressing until he got to a completely won position. Yet he blundered playing 15.Qh5?? generously giving Black to win the game. Black paid the same coin and missed the winning 15…Rxg2 and then 16…Rxg2 on the next move (the opportunity was still there). After missing that chance Black resigned 5 moves later. 1-0

Daniel Gong vs Felix Xie – White dominated for the most of the game even though at some point in midgame the position was equal. The pawn endgame that occurred looked suspiciously drawish at first sight, but White’s distant passer was obviously a huge advantage that decided the game in White’s favour. 1-0

Allen Fan vs Abraham Deng – Black got a very active position with hanging pawns c and d. However, Black missed his chance to get rid of the hanging pawns and open the position. After that White’s pressure increased and Black lost an exchange to some tactics and resigned on move 41. 1-0

John Duneas vs Jordan Lewis – Sharp tactical play that followed a highly non-theoretical Slav Defence line resulted in Black’s piece blunder on move 22. After that Black resigned. 1-0

Jasmine Zhang vs Boyuan Zhang – White had a good start and even won a piece but then made a mistake 13.f3? which Black didn’t use. After the correct 13…Bb4+ Black would have returned back the piece having practically two extra pawns on the q-side. Missing that Black resigned on move 29 1-0 

Phili Park-Tamati vs Aaron Wang – White quickly won an exchange due some tactics and was able to get even more in the endgame then converted to the win. 1-0

Paul Macdonald – Nigel Metge – Paul played his favourite but rather passive 1.b3. He weakened his king position being slightly inaccurate at tactics. Black used the defects of White’s inharmonious located pieces and was able to
infiltrate the 2nd rank. The final combination of Black with a queen sac is quite spectacular (see diagram) (Black plays 25…Qxf1+!!) 0-1

Grant Burrows vs Don Eade – Opponents played the Yugoslav attack in Dragon variation of Sicilian defence. White got a winning position but couldn’t find a way for a final attack. Then he missed a draw by perpetual. Black consolidated and struck back winning the game. 0-1

Euan McDougall vs Timothy Ha – White played a very harmless line against Scandinavian wasting many tempi on back and forth moves. Eventually he got punished by Black for his lack of piece development. 0-1

Xinyang Liu vs Stephen Peak – The game quickly reached the endgame phase where White happened to have a good knight vs bad bishop. That allowed White to win a pawn and the game. 1-0

Karl Holdo vs Mohammad Bashar – Black gradually got an “almost won” position totally dominating in the centre and q-side. Black started some bizarre
maneuvering and allowed White to push the f-pawn and open the position. White consolidated his position and reached a winning position. However, a couple of mistakes on White’s behalf brought the game to a draw rook endgame. 1/2-1/2

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Andrew Michael – White was pretty much on top of the situation for the entire game. Yet he missed a forced win involving a rook sac 17. Rxf6 which allowed White to build up an attack against Black’s king and finish the game quicker. Nevertheless White kept control over the situation and won the game. 1-0

Joe Wang vs Virginia Milne – The game was rather equal until the light pieces were swapped down. White managed to win a pawn. Black tried some tactics but blundered her queen due to checkmate threat on the 8th rank. 1-0

Jeffrey Yu vs Kendrik Zhang – White built up quite nicely in the opening but then gradually gave it all away. Black gained serious advantage but missed a win. The correct 29… Qd1+  followed by 30…Rb1 would have made a day for Black. Missing that the players went for a rook endgame with an extra pawn for Black. White found a nice draw stand and the game finished peacefully. 1/2-1/2

Upsets in Round 7

Joe Wang beat Virginia Milne
Philli Park-Tamati beat Aaron Wang

Final Result

1st Equal: Paul Garbett and Bruce Watson on 5.5
2rd Equal: Alex Nagorski, Alphaeus Ang, Allen Fan, John Duneas and Daniel Gong on 5.0

B Grade

Scott Treanor vs Hugh Gao – Short and tactical game in which White used all the ideas of Saemisch King’s Indian without meeting any decent resistance. Black resigned facing a lethal attack on the h-file 1-0

Jack Chen vs John Liu – Due to Black inaccurate play White gained a winning attack in the opening devastating all around Black’s king. The game ended with checkmate on move 23. 1-0

Upsets in Round 7

Michael Malcolm beat Hunter Po’e-Tofaeono
Jack Chen beat John Liu

Final Result

1st: Jack Chen on 6.0
2nd: Scott Treanor on 5.5
3rd: Huge Gao and Lucas Xiao on 5.0

The Autumn Cup is being played on Monday in April, May and June and consists of two Swiss Grades. It is Nationally Rated.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Round 6 PGN by Ewen Green
Commentary by Alex Nagorski

A Grade

Bruce Watson vs Alex Nagorski – White chose a modest opening variation. Black missed some chances to equalise in the opening. The game swapped down to a 4 knight endgame which appeared to be hard for Black. Black missed a couple of chances to create decent counter-play and got himself into a vice. 1-0

Paul Garbett vs Alphaeus Ang – Quite a sharp game despite it’s endgame emphasis. Black had some advantage that went to White as some point. Then after long maneuvering White’s advantage faded away gradually and the game was even. Black missed a chance to capitalise on White’s inaccuracy and cut the White’s rook off the game playing 40.Nf6! (leaving his own rook active). After some further swaps the game finished in a draw in pawn endgame. 1/2-1/2

Mike Steadman vs Paul Macdonald – Mike’s usual “deferred b4” yielded a good result. Black got a very cramped position missing some chances to strike in the centre to equalise. White built up an attack on the king side, Black tried to counter attack White’s king that stuck in the centre. Eventually White was faster at reaching opponent’s king. Black resigned facing a checkmate or losing the queen as alternative. 1-0

Felix Xie vs John Duneas – Black was ahead for the most of the game yet missed some chances capitalise in the midgame. When players reached move 36 the game was equal. Playing 41…Rd4? Black offered rook exchange which was a blunder. White missed a chance to use it by 42.Nf8+ Kg8(h8) 43.Rxd4 Bxd4 44.Nxg6 winning a pawn and gaining excellent winning chances. After some swaps the game finished in a dead draw rook endgame 1/2-1/2

Timothy Ha vs Allen Fan – After an equal start White rushed to open the position which Black managed to exploit. Then White lost exchange and was unable to recover. 0-1

Nigel Metge vs Abraham Deng – White had serious advantage from the opening. Then he tried to attack sacing his knight on g5. The sac was unsound as Black had some tactical resources based on checkmate threat. So White ended up one piece short and with no attack. After swapping down the pieces Black prevailed. An excellent achievement by the young player. 0-1

Boyuan Zhang vs Xinyang Liu – Very equal game until Black blundered some tactics. After several suspicious combos from both sides White came one piece up. So Black resigned 1-0

Virginia Milne vs Phili Park-Tamati – Black got initiative and kept the edge until the endgame. However, White missed a perfect chance to turn around the table and even win! That was possible playing the correct 39.Ke5! instead of the losing 39.Kc6?? Then White takes the Black’s g-pawn creating a more distant passer. White can win the e-pawn first if Black’s king goes for the h-pawn. You can see that White takes the g-pawn and has an extra tempo to reach the opposition on the q-side, which means the win. Instead of that Virginia made a wrong choice and lost the game.  0-1

Simon Lyall vs Joe Wang – White built up some pressure and won the exchange and the game afterwards.  1-0

Andrew Michael vs Euan McDougall – A seesaw game where chance tripped from one side to another many times due to both player mistakes. Finally Black got the edge and won the epic good knight vs bad bishop endgame. 0-1

Winston Weng vs Grant Burrows – Black won a pawn early in the opening and kept the tension throughout the game. White resigned facing loss of more material. 0-1

Anya Thurner vs Nathan Goodhue – Fairly even game in the beginning, even though White had some chances to play better and get advantage. Yet White managed to maneuver towards Black’s king and create serious threats. The tension peaked – on move 27 when White failed to find the best continuation for her attack. After the correct 27.Nf5! White threatens Nh6# 27…Rfe8 is the only way to prevent that. White could have continued 28.Qg5 Nd7 29. Nh6+ Kf8 30.Ng4 Nxf6 31.Qxf6 Bd4 32. Rxd4 exd4 33 e5 Qd8 34.Qh8+ Ke7 35.Qg7and I would leave this position to the reader to assess. Failing to keep the attack White got thrown back and couldn’t recover. 0-1

Kendrik Zhang vs Karl Holdo White kept some initiative at first but then weakened his king’s position. Trying to attack White forgot about prophylactics and got himself under a huge attack that cost him his queen. White resigned. 0-1

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Jeffrey Yu – White was pushing throughout the whole game. Black had a couple of chances to equalise but he missed them. White’s knights forked Black’s king and queen in the final attack. 1-0

Ajit Pendharkar vs Isabelle Ning – Black appeared slightly better from the opening. Then she allowed White’s cavalry to infiltrate her defence and get some materal. White kept the pressure until the end when Black faced a checkmate or more material loss. 1-0

Upsets in A Grade round 6

Abraham Deng beat Nigel Metge
Boyuan Zhang beat Xinyang Liu
Felix Xie drew with John Duneas

After 6 rounds the leader was Bruce Watson on 5 points. Just behind on 4.5 was Alphaeus Ang, Paul Garbett, Alex Nagorski and Mike Steadman

B Grade

Upsets in Round 6

Vincent Cai beat Yolanda Chang
Adam Macauley beat Lylea Po’e-Tofaeono

Leaders after 6 roudns were Jack Chen and Hugh Gao on 5.0 ahead of Scott Treanor and John Liu on 4.5

The Autumn Cup is being played on Monday in April, May and June and consists of two Swiss Grades. It is Nationally Rated.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade

Round 5 PGN by Ewen Green

Round 5 Commentary by Alex Nagorski

A Grade

Alex Nagorski vs Paul Garbett – Fairly equal game in the beginning, both sides swapped down the queens and some pieces. Black started to apply some pressure and potential checkmate threads on the h-file, and White tried to counterattack on the Q-side. Black got a significant advantage, but then got into time trouble and blundered his bishop to a knight fork. Then the rooks were swapped down and the game eventually came to an endgame with an extra knight for White. 1-0

Bruce Watson vs Mike Steadman – White played the popular London system and Black replied with no less popular King’s Indian structure. The game was straightforward as White kept gradually increasing pressure on the Black’s position. Black didn’t stand the pressure and impulsively pushed the f-pawn forward weakening his position even more and allowing a very unpleasant knight pin. Black’s position shattered. 1-0

Daniel Gong vs Alphaeus Ang – Another London attempt but not that successful for White this time. The game was fairly equal at the opening, but then White  decided launch a premature attack having his whole k-side undeveloped. Black replied in the centre. Then White missed a tactical blow facing a checkmate on the 1st rank or losing his queen. Win for Black in 16 moves.

Allen Fan vs Paul Macdonald – A seesaw game where both sides had opportunities. White neglected his king’s safety which gave Black some tactical chances to get advantage and attack. Yet, White defended well and all Black’s advantage evaporated very quickly. Then White missed a tactical punch 29.b6! that could get Black into serious trouble. Instead of that White blundered a pawn and Black got advantage again which he gradually converted into a point. 0-1  (The game has Paul’s detailed annotation)

John Duneas vs Boyuan Zhang – White built up pressure right from the opening. Then he tried a standard bishop sac on h7 which was not supposed to lead to any advantage, as Black could have defended. Apparently Black was shocked and rejected the sac which was his fatal (and final) mistake. Black resigned facing checkmate. 1-0

Euan McDougall vs Jasmine Zhang – Relatively quiet opening followed by Black gradually gaining advantage. A sudden misstep by White resulted in loosing a piece, but he preferred to get checkmated instead.

Nigel Metge vs Andrew Michael – White had comfortable play from the opening and then tried active looking 10.h4 which should have been resulted in a major fallback after the correct  10…cxd4 11.cxd4 h5! followed by Nb4 or Nxd4 depending on the queen’s retreat. Missing that chance Black allowed White to keep the egde. Then White decided to open the game forgetting that his king was still in the centre. Black could play 17…Qa4 and open the game totally downgrading all White’s advantage. Missing the second chance Black allowed White an ultimate attack. 1-0

Virginia Milne vs Don Eade – Being ahead in development White could simply win a pawn. White preferred to try king’s attack and saced a piece for that.  Yet Black was able to defend well and then launch a counter attack on White’s king having material advantage. 0-1

Jordan Lewis vs Grant Burrows – Black had a stable position and was slightly ahead for the most of the game
but then blundered some tactics and resigned.

Abraham Deng vs Nathan Goodhue – White dominated the entire game. Black over-complicated the matter in the midgame and found himself pawn down and the vulnerable king in the centre. Eventually the game swaped down to a pawn endgame that was won for White. Excellent achievement by the young player.

Jeffrey Yu vs Aaron Wang – White neglected his development and launched a pawn attack. That was parried easily, and Black struck back with much stronger effect. 0-1

Joe Wang vs Winston Weng – Black had a good start but then missed some tactic and lost exchange. Then a long stage followed during which Black managed to regain two bishops for a rook. Finally the game went into a R + p vs B + 2pp endgame which the sides decided to settle on a draw.  1/2-1/2

Isabelle Ning vs Simon Lyall – Another London experiment resulted in Black getting huge advantage right from the opening. Then he slipped a couple of times allowing White to maintain the equality. Finally White allowed Black to put his knight on a strong position, then Black queen infiltrated her position. That resulted in an exchange loss. Black managed to capitalize afterwards. 0-1

Karl Holdo vs Anya Thurner – Fairly even game until move 27 when White missed a chance to win a pawn by 27.Nb5!  Then another even plateau followed until Black’s mistake 38…Kf7? (38…b5! with a draw) White could use this blunder by playing 39.b5! himself with a won pawn endgame. After 40.h4? Black finally played 40…b5! securing her position. if White had played 40.b5 he would have won the game. Draw agreed 1/2

Ajit Pendharkar vs Arkadi Polyakevich – A crazy game where the chance shifted from one side to another many times. Black saced an exchange in the midgame for unknown reason. At some point White was totally winnng as the Black’s knight was caught. 40. Rg1 and eigher 40…Nf4 or 40…Nh4 would be followed by 41.RxN pxR and 42.Rg8+ winning the other rook on the skewer. White missed that chance, then gave back the exchange for a strong central knight. The rook endgame followed and Black even managed to win. Looks like White resigned a bit early but that was his decision. 0-1

Upsets in Round 5

Abraham Deng beat Nathan Goodhue
Alex Nagorski beat Paul Garbett
Paul Macdonald beat Allen Fan

After 4 rounds Alex Nagorski was in the led on 4.5 with 3 other players just behind on 4 points.

B Grade

Jack Chen vs Scott Treanor – White had a nice position with attacking chances but failed to find the way. Black counter-attacked and didn’t leave White any chance to survive. Checkmate 0-1

Lakshmi Ravi vs Ying Wang – Black lost a pawn to a tactical trick and then gave up a piece hoping to create an attack on the king-side. That failed and White checkmated. 1-0

Upsets in Round 5

Jack Chen beat Scott Treanor
Kelvin Xiao beat Wayne McDougall
Longbin Bi beat Eugene Wang
John Liu beat Thomas Zheng

The Club Champs will be starting on Monday the 17th of June and run for 9 rounds.

This year the A and B Grades are 10-player round robins and the C Grade is a Swiss. All Grades are FIDE and NZCF rated.

Check out the Entries so far to make sure you are entered. Players for A and B grade will be finalized on Sunday.

Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade