Tournament Report by Chief Arbiter Kerry Stead
The final class 4 Grand Prix event for the year saw 43 players turn up for five days of intense, hard-fought chess in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. The field was stacked with strong players, with 5 International Masters and 2 FIDE Masters joining seven other players rated over 2000 FIDE to make for a very top-heavy entry list! Add into that mix some improving juniors and under-rated players and there was bound to be drama throughout!
The drama started at Melbourne Chess Club on Friday night in the first round, with Sam Gluzman defeating Ari Dale and John Wildes beating Justin Tan, while Savithri Narenthran, Max Chew Lee, Endre Simon and Alanna Chew Lee all held their higher rated opponents to draws.
Round two saw most results go according to rating, although Max Chew Lee again bucked this trend by beating Malaysian Zaidan Zulkipli, while David Chin held Jamie Kenmure to a draw. Damien Feaine almost joined the upset club in a four and a half hour marathon against John Beckman, but unfortunately missed a drawing opportunity just after the four hour mark ticked over and John did not give him another chance and went on to win the game.
Round three saw the titled players first play against each other, with George Xie and Bobby Cheng playing out a fighting draw, where Bobby missed a surprising winning move late in the game. The other clashes between titled players saw Solomon defeat Morris and Illingworth defeat Brown. There were more upsets on other boards, with Hamish Selnes, Zachary Loh, John Wildes and Cameron Yung all recording upset wins, while John Beckman and Finley Dale held their more fancied rivals to draws.
Xie,George (2440) - Cheng,Bobby (2346) [D45]
MCC Cup Weekender (3.1), 29.10.2011
1.¤f3 d5 2.e3 ¤f6 3.c4 c6 4.¤c3 e6 5.d4 ¤bd7 6.£c2 b6 7.¥e2 ¥b7 8.0–0 ¥e7 9.¦d1 0–0 10.e4 dxe4 11.¤xe4 ¤xe4 12.£xe4 £c7 13.¥d3 ¤f6 14.£h4 c5 15.¥f4 £c8 16.¤e5 cxd4 17.¥xh7+ ¤xh7 18.£xe7 f6 19.¦xd4 fxe5 20.¦d7 £xd7 21.£xd7 ¦f7 22.£xe6 exf4 23.f3 ¤f8 24.£d6 ¦e8 25.£d2 ¦e3 26.¦d1 ¦fe7 27.h4 ¤g6 28.£d6 ¦3e6 29.£b8+ ¢h7 30.h5 ¤e5 31.¦d8 ¤f7 32.¦d4 ¥xf3 33.£xf4 ¥xh5 34.£h4 g6 35.g4 ¦e4 36.£f6 ¦e1+ 37.¢g2 ¦7e2+ 38.¢h3 ¦e3+ 39.¢g2 ¦3e2+ 40.¢h3 ¦e3+ 41.¢g2 ½–½
In the diagrammed position after 35.g4 in the Xie-Cheng clash, Cheng missed the spectacular 35...g5! which leads to a winning position for black.
Round four saw Max Illingworth take the sole lead in the tournament by defeating Stephen Solomon after employing the Marshall Gambit. George Xie and Bobby Cheng remained in contention half a point behind by beating Mirko Rujevic and Hamish Selnes in their respective games. On the other boards, Zachary Loh was again another surprise winner, this time over Chris Kolac, while Max Chew Lee held Justin Penrose to a draw.
Solomon,Stephen (2384) - Illingworth,Max (2357) [C89]
MCC Cup Weekender (4.1), 30.10.2011
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 a6 4.¥a4 ¤f6 5.0–0 ¥e7 6.¦e1 b5 7.¥b3 0–0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 ¤xd5 10.¤xe5 ¤xe5 11.¦xe5 c6 12.d3 ¥d6 13.¦e1 ¥f5 14.£f3 £f6 15.¥xd5 cxd5 16.¥f4 ¥xf4 17.£xf4 d4 18.cxd4 ¦ad8 19.¦e5 ¥xd3 20.£e3 £d6 21.¤c3 £xd4 22.£xd4 ¦xd4 23.¦d1 ¦fd8 24.f3 f6 25.¦e7 b4 26.¤a4 ¥b5 27.¦xd4 ¦xd4 28.¤c5 ¦d1+ 29.¢f2 ¦d2+ 30.¢g3 ¥f1 31.¢f4 ¦xg2 32.h4 ¦xb2 33.¤e6 ¦g2 34.¦c7 h5 35.¢e4 ¥b5 36.f4 ¦e2+ 37.¢d5 ¦d2+ 38.¢e4 ¥d7 39.¤c5 ¥g4 40.¤xa6 ¦xa2 41.¤xb4 ¦e2+ 42.¢d5 ¦h2 43.¢d6 ¦xh4 44.¤d5 ¦h1 45.¤e3 ¦e1 46.¦c3 ¢f7 47.f5 ¥f3 48.¤c4 ¦d1+ 49.¢c7 ¥g4 50.¤d6+ ¢g8 51.¦c4 ¢h7 52.¦f4 ¦d3 53.¢d7 ¦f3 54.¦b4 ¥xf5+ 55.¢e7 ¥g4 56.¦b7 ¦d3 57.¤e8 ¢g6 58.¢f8 ¦d7 59.¦b1 h4 60.¦b4 ¥h5 61.¦xh4 ¢g5 62.¦h1 ¦d8 63.¢xg7 ¦xe8 64.¦g1+ ¥g4 0–1
Solomon-Illingworth after 28.Nc5
Round 5 saw a change in the lead, with Bobby Cheng defeating Max Illingworth after finding a stunning idea in the endgame, while George Xie joined Bobby in a share for the lead with a win over Stephen Solomon. Savithri Narenthran, John Wildes and Alanna Chew Lee all had upset wins, while Zachary Loh and Max Chew Lee again took half-points from their higher rated opponents, as did Enoch Fan.
Illingworth,Max (2357) - Cheng,Bobby (2354) [B19]
MCC Cup Weekender (5.1), 30.10.2011
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.¤d2 dxe4 4.¤xe4 ¥f5 5.¤g3 ¥g6 6.h4 h6 7.¤f3 ¤d7 8.h5 ¥h7 9.¥d3 ¥xd3 10.£xd3 e6 11.¥d2 ¤gf6 12.0–0–0 ¥e7 13.£e2 0–0 14.¤f1 ¢h8 15.¦g1 ¤b6 16.¢b1 £d5 17.g4 ¤c4 18.¤e3 ¤xe3 19.¥xe3 ¤h7 20.c4 £a5 21.¤e5 ¥d6 22.f4 ¥xe5 23.dxe5 ¦ad8 24.¥f2 ¦xd1+ 25.¦xd1 ¦d8 26.¥h4 ¦xd1+ 27.£xd1 £c7 28.¥d8 £c8 29.£d6 ¢g8 30.b4 ¤f8 31.¥e7 ¤d7 32.¢b2 ¤b6 33.¢b3 £d7 34.a4 £xd6 35.¥xd6 ¤d7 36.c5 f5 37.gxf5 exf5 38.b5 ¢f7 39.¢b4 g6 40.hxg6+ ¢xg6 41.bxc6 bxc6 42.e6 ¤f6 43.¥e5 h5 44.¢a5 h4 45.¥d4 ¤e4 46.¥g1 ¢f6 47.¢a6 ¢xe6 48.¢xa7 h3 49.¢b7 ¢d5 50.a5 ¤xc5+ 51.¢b6 ¤a4+ 52.¢b7 ¤c3 53.a6 ¤b5 54.¢b6 ¢d6 55.¢b7 ¤c7 56.a7 ¤a8 57.¥b6 ¢d7 58.¥g1 c5 59.¢xa8 ¢c8 0–1
Here Bobby played the stunning 56...Na8!
Round 6 saw George Xie take the sole lead of the tournament after defeating Max Illingworth, while Bobby Cheng took a half-point bye to attend school. Andrew Brown beat James Morris in a battle of the young IMs, while Zachary Loh held Justin Penrose to a draw on board three. John Wildes and Max Chew Lee held Sylvester Urban and Chris Kolac to draws in their respective games.
Round 7 saw George extend his lead to a full point after defeating Andrew Brown, while Bobby Cheng was held to a draw by David Garner. Queen endings were the order of the day on the top boards, with Mirko Rujevic and James Morris both finishing with wins against Stephen Solomon and Zachary Loh. Justin Tan made a late charge for the top boards with a win over Max Illingworth, and Jack Puccini, Jamie Kenmure and Alanna Chew Lee were all able to hold their higher rated opponents to draws.
The final day of the tournament moved to the opulent surroundings of the Fitzroy Town Hall. The players responded with fighting chess, with all games in round 8 being decisive! George Xie guaranteed himself a share of first place by defeating James Morris, while Bobby Cheng continued his impressive tournament by defeating Mirko Rujevic. Andrew Brown won a tense game against Justin Penrose, which had chances for both sides, while the results on other boards went mostly according to rating.
Brown,Andrew (2216) - Penrose,Justin (2034) [E11]
MCC Cup Weekender (8.3), 01.11.2011
1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 ¥b4+ 4.¤bd2 b6 5.a3 ¥xd2+ 6.¥xd2 ¥b7 7.¥g5 h6 8.¥h4 d5 9.e3 0–0 10.¤e5 c5 11.¥e2 ¦e8 12.¥h5 ¦f8 13.0–0 dxc4 14.¥f3 ¥xf3 15.£xf3 £d5 16.¥xf6 £xf3 17.¤xf3 gxf6 18.dxc5 ¦c8 19.¦fd1 b5 20.¦d6 ¢f8 21.¤d4 ¢e7 22.¦d1 ¦xc5 23.¦d8 a5 24.¦h8 ¦d5 25.e4 ¦d6 26.¢f1 ¦b6 27.¢e2 ¦aa6 28.f4 ¤d7 29.¦c8 ¦d6 30.g4 ¦ab6 31.h4 ¦b8 32.¤c6+ ¦xc6 33.¦xc6 ¦b7 34.¢e3 ¤b6 35.¦dd6 ¤a4 36.¦d2 ¤b6 37.¦h2 ¤a4 38.h5 ¤b6 39.g5 ¢d7 40.¦xb6 ¦xb6 41.gxf6 b4 42.axb4 axb4 43.¦c2 ¦b5 44.e5 c3 45.bxc3 b3 46.¦b2 ¢c6 47.c4 ¦b7 48.¢d4 ¦b4 49.¢d3 ¢c5 50.f5 exf5 51.¦b1 b2 52.e6 fxe6 53.f7 ¦b8 54.¦xb2 ¦f8 55.¦b7 e5 56.¢c3 e4 57.¦b5+ ¢d6 58.¦xf5 ¢e6 59.¦f1 ¢e5 60.¢b4 e3 61.¢c5 e2 62.¦e1 ¦c8+ 63.¢b6 ¢f6 64.¦xe2 ¢xf7 65.c5 ¦d8 66.c6 ¦d1 67.¦c2 ¦b1+ 68.¢a7 ¦a1+ 69.¢b8 ¦b1+ 70.¢c8 ¢e7 71.c7 ¦d1 72.¢b7 ¦d7 73.¢c6 ¦d6+ 74.¢b5 ¦d5+ 75.¢b4 ¦d4+ 76.¢c3 1–0
The last round had plenty of interest, with minor placing and rating group prizes up for grabs. Although George Xie had secured at least equal first, he had rating points to play for, with the elusive 2500 FIDE rating being all that stands between him and the Grandmaster title. George finished off an impressive tournament in emphatic style by defeating Justin Tan in the final round to take the first prize of $1500. Bobby Cheng secured second place with a win over Andrew Brown, sacrificing pieces for a mass of kingside pawns which secured the win. Third place was a six-way tie between International Masters James Morris, Stephen Solomon, Mirko Rujevic and Andrew Brown, along with David Garner and Justin Tan, who all scored 6/9. Tony Davis came from nowhere to take 1st in rating group 1, while Max Chew Lee finished with another win over a higher rated opponent to take 1st in rating group 2, with both finishing on 5.5/9.
Brown,Andrew (2216) - Cheng,Bobby (2346) [A91]
MCC Cup Weekender (9.2), 01.11.2011
1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 ¤f6 4.¥g2 c6 5.¤h3 ¥e7 6.0–0 0–0 7.b3 d6 8.¥b2 £c7 9.e3 e5 10.f4 e4 11.¤c3 d5 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.¦c1 ¤c6 14.¤f2 ¥e6 15.£e2 £d7 16.¥h3 h6 17.¤a4 b6 18.¢h1 g5 19.¦g1 g4 20.¥f1 h5 21.£d2 £b7 22.¥b5 ¦ac8 23.¦gd1 ¢f7 24.£e2 ¤b8 25.£f1 h4 26.¦xc8 ¦xc8 27.¦c1 ¦h8 28.¢g2 ¥d6 29.¦c2 £e7 30.£c1 ¤h5 31.¤c5 a6 32.¤xa6 ¤xa6 33.¥xa6 hxg3 34.hxg3 ¤xg3 35.£g1 £h4 36.¥c1 ¤h5 37.¢f1 ¤f6 38.¤d1 £h3+ 39.¦g2 ¦a8 40.¥e2 ¦xa2 41.£h2 ¦a1 42.¥b2 ¦xd1+ 43.¥xd1 £xe3 44.£g3 ¥xf4 45.£xe3 ¥xe3 46.¦g3 ¥f4 47.¦c3 ¥d7 48.¥a3 ¥b8 49.¥e2 f4 50.¥a6 f3 51.b4 g3 52.¥c1 g2+ 53.¢g1 ¤g4 54.¦xf3+ exf3 55.¥f4 ¥xf4 56.¥b5 ¥e3# 0–1
Prizes
Open1st IM George Xie 8.5/9 $1500
2nd FM Bobby Cheng 7.5/9 $750
=3rd IM James Morris 6/9 $125
=3rd IM Stephen Solomon 6/9 $125
=3rd IM Andrew Brown 6/9 $125
=3rd IM Mirko Rujevic 6/9 $125
=3rd David Garner 6/9 $125
=3rd Justin Tan 6/9 $125
Rating Group 1 (1600-2000 ACF)
1st Tony Davis 5.5/9 $150
=2nd Hamish Selnes 5/9 $20
=2nd Zachary Loh 5/9 $20
=2nd Enoch Fan 5/9 $20
=2nd Justin Penrose 5/9 $20
=2nd Ari Dale 5/9 $20
Rating Group 2 (Under 1600 ACF)
1st Max Chew Lee 5.5/9 $150
2nd Jack Puccini 5/9 $100
