Andrew Saint Memorial Allegro

On Boxing Day I decided to head to Adelaide for the annual Australian Allegro Championship. This year the tournament was named the Andrew Saint Memorial, as a way to remember Andrew Saint, who had died in tragic circumstances earlier in the year. As a result of the efforts largely of Alex Saint, as well as those of SACA & various sponsors, the event was held at the Stamford Grand Adelaide this year, which is right on the waterfront at Glenelg.

The view from the Balcony of the Stamford Grand

The event attracted a huge field of 128 players, with a number coming from interstate to play. There were also a few players from overseas, GM Vasily Papin & GM Tu Hoang Thong who had both played in the Australasian Masters, as well as WGM Irene Sukandar, with all three staying on in Australia to play in the Australian Championships.

Prior to the tournament proper, while the last few entries were being processed, there was a performance by Diamond Majic, a brother & sister magic act, who kept the waiting crowd entertained for almost 30 minutes! I managed to record a few brief videos of their performance:

Once the proceedings got underway there was plenty of excitement to be had. I managed to create the first big upset of the day with a win over top seed IM Mark Chapman, though it was more due to good fortune than my good play. I completely botched the opening to be a pawn & an exchange down before deciding that I may as well try to be aggressive & see what happened. To my surprise, Mark panicked & proceeded to return the exchange & shortly after the extra pawn. This meant that we entered an ending with a rook, bishop (same colour) & two pawns each, where I was perhaps slightly better due to my king position. After a set of pawns were exchanged, I used my king & rook to create mating threats & managed to pick up Mark's final pawn, while keeping my own. Although the position was still objectively drawn, Mark's defensive task was not easy & he finally lost on time. Although I continued my good start in the next round with a win over Alan Goldsmith (in spite of missing a mate in 1 early in the game - which Alan afterwards claimed threw him off somewhat), it came to a halt with a loss against Anthony Hain. I managed to beat Bill Kerr & then swindle a draw against Kevin Sheldrick before losing to Brodie McClymont in the final round to finish on 4.5/7.
The tournament finished with GM Vasily Papin winning with a picket fence 7/7, with GM Tu Hoang Thong, IM James Morris, WGM Irene Sukandar & James Obst tied for second place on 6/7. Full results can be seen on the tournament website.

The success of the event this year means that I will definitely be considering a trip to Adelaide in my regular post-Christmas plans from now on ...

Here are some photos I took during the tournament:

Board 1 clash between GM Vasily Papin & IM James Morris

Plenty of spectators were watching the final stages of the top board games

James Obst playing against WGM Irene Sukandar

GM Tu Hoang Thong playing against Brodie McClymont

Two South Australian regulars, Edgar Mdinaradze & Novica Ivkovic battle it out, with the game moving into a King, Bishop & Knight v King endgame ...

Which attracted quite a crowd! Result ... draw!

Of course when you travel interstate for a chess tournament, you always get paired with players you play all the time at your local club - here David Beaumont & Paul Cavezza resume their hostilities from MCC Fight Club ... result Beaumont 1-0 Cavezza

Mato Jelic, famous for his YouTube chess videos, in action at the event

GM Vasily Papin playing against IM Mark Chapman

IM Guy West playing South Australian Edgar Mdinaradze in the final round

 

Prakash Thiyagarajah playing IM Trevor Tao

MCC Allegro Championships Day 2

The answer to yesterday's question was no, as IM James Morris continued his winning ways on day 2 of the MCC Allegro Championships, eventually taking out the tournament with a very impressive 12.5/13! Jesse Jager, who had lost to James in round 4, managed to win his remaining games & finished in second place on an impressive 12/13. Michael Baron finished 3rd after having a disappointing tournament by his standards.
The final cross table & a list of prize winners is available on ChessChat.
The concluding stages of the Baron v Morris clash yesterday from round 5

Play underway during day 2 of the Allegro Championships

 After the tournament, some of the players decided to play blitz on the street out the front of the club!

MCC Allegro Championships Day 1

Day 1 of the annual Melbourne Chess Club Allegro Championships saw 32 players participating, with many MCC Allegro regulars looking for their chance at the $200 first prize on offer! The obvious favourites were FM Michael Baron (now sporting an allegro record 2794 rating!) & IM James Morris, who have between them won almost all the allegro events held in recent years!
These two were not to have things all their own way, with Jesse Jager claiming an upset win over Baron in round 6, after Baron & Morris had drawn their round 5 clash. Tony Tosevski was perhaps the best performer on day 1, with wins over Luke Li & David Garner, but will he be able to keep this good form going on day 2.
A cross table after round 7 is available on ChessChat, but the big question for the day will be if anyone can stop James Morris from claiming yet another title in 2012.
Below are some photos from the event

Melbourne Chess Club Allegro Championships - Day 2

Day 2 started with some minor technical difficulties, with a Spanish Festival leaving many streets near the Chess Club closed or blocked off, as well as making parking anywhere near the club almost impossible! Perhaps this had an affect on overnight leader James Morris, as he lost his first round of the day to Jesse Jager. This allowed Simon Rutherford (who beat Ari Dale) to take the outright lead by a clear point! In other results, Palma, Yu & Krstevski all recorded upset wins, while Finley Dale held Deniz Tuncer to a draw. Round 9 saw Rutherford turn back the challenge of Jager to solidify his one-point lead over Morris, while Lawless scored the only major upset of the round by defeating Ilic. Rutherford continued his winning ways in round 10, defeating top seed Michael Baron, while Ari Dale, Anthony Harris, Bobby Yu & Vishal Bhat all held their higher-rated opponents to draws, while the mother-son battle between Tristan Krstevski & Tanya Krstevska ended in a hard-fought draw.
Round 11 saw the gap between Rutherford, Morris & the field widen, while Voon made a late charge with a win over Beaumont. Krstevski & Archie Beaumont also held their higher-rated opponents to draws. Before round 12 began, James Morris was heard to lament 'Oh dear, Voon is my only hope now!', referring to the upcoming top board clash between Simon Rutherford & Richard Voon! However, Morris need not have worried, as Voon scored the upset win of the tournament, defeating Rutherford, which allowed Morris to join him in a share of first place after defeating Addamo. Urban scored a controversial upset win over Baron, after a frantic time scramble with knight against knight & pawn, to take third place, while most other results went according to seeding.
The final round saw both Rutherford & Morris win their games, to both finish on the impressive score of 11.5/13, and split first prize between themselves! Ari Dale defeated Sylvester Urban to snatch third place, while Jager & Baron both won their final round games to share 5th place. Thai Ly finished with a draw against David Garner, to take out first in rating group A with 7.5/13, while Frank Lekkas, Deniz Tuncer & Tony Tosevski all finished on 7/13 to share 2nd place in the rating group. Giant-killer Richard Voon took out rating group B with 7.5/13, while second place was shared between Finley Dale, Anthony Harris & Tanya Kolac, who all scored 6.5/13. Vishal Bhat scored some good results towards the end of the tournament to finish on 6/13, which was enough to take out rating group C, while second in the group was shared by Tristan Krstevski & Bobby Yu on 5.5/13.

Final Crosstables & a list of all the Prizewinners can be seen at ChessChat.

The final round underway:

Round 9 action ... or should that be inaction:

The finish of the round 11 clash between MCC regulars Voon & Beaumont:

Presentation to the winners James Morris & Simon Rutherford, followed by a short speech from Simon:

Melbourne Chess Club Allegro Championships - Day 1

This weekend I am the arbiter for the Melbourne Chess Club Allegro Championships. This is an annual event that attracts some of the best allegro (15 minute chess) players in Melbourne! This year there were 35 starters for the event, which meant that the main tournament room at MCC was almost full!

There have been a few upsets already, with FM Michael Baron held to a draw in round 1 by Marcus Raine, while round 2 saw upset wins for Milan Ilic & Tristan Krstevski. Round 3 saw upset wins for Garner, Voon, Palma & Wildes, while round 4 saw Morris & Rutherford emegre as equal leaders on 4/4, with upset wins for Jager, Palma, Sumargo & Krstevska.
Round 5 saw Rutherford & Morris share the point, to remain tied in equal first place. Upset results were recorded by Antolis, Archie Beaumont & Yu, while Ly & Palma held their higher rated opponents to draws. Round 6 saw Bhat claim a higher-rated scalp, while Ly & Yu held their higher rated opponents to draws. The final round for the day saw Morris & Rutherford solidify their lead over the field, with wins over Baron & Urban respectively. Upset wins were recorded by Tosevski & Krstevska, while most other results went according to seeding.

Full crosstables after day 1 can be seen at ChessChat.

Tomorrow will see the final 6 rounds of play, starting at 2pm. Will Morris & Rutherford continue their dominance over the field? Will a challenger emerge from the pack? What will develop for the divisional prizes, with a number of players already scoring multiple upset results?

Spectators are welcome at Melbourne Chess Club, or you can follow the tournament progress online either on the blog, or on Chesschat.

I have also recorded a few short (roughly 1 minute in length) video clips during the tournament, which you can see below.

Round 5 action!

Round 6 action!

Round 7 action!