Left To Right: Women's International Master Heather Richards, Newcastle's most highly rated player, 2009 Country Teams Champions: Newcastle University, Visiting Dutch player Nathalie Eimers at the 2009 Newcastle Open, Master Ortvin Sarapu giving a similtaneous display in 1960 at an unknown venue, and former Under 16 World Champion (1986), Under 18 World Champion (1989) and twice Australian Womens Champion, Kartrin Aladjova when she visited Newcastle in 1990.
Raul Samar wins 2010 Newcastle Open
The 2010 Newcastle Open attracted 40 players for the six round event. The field was weakened slightly at the top end, when WIM Heather Richards had to withdraw because of illness prior to the start of play on the Saturday morning. Congratulations to Raul Samar (2104) who was undefeated, winning the tournament with 5.5 from 6. Equal second was shared by FIDE Master Vladimir Smirnov (2297) and strong Central Coast chess identity David Castor (1885), both with 5 from 6 respectively. Interestingly, both these two players, like Raul Samar, were undefeated.
The tournament was a hard fought affair, being eventually decided in the last round. Three players, FM Vladimir Smirnov, Raul Samar and David Castor went into the last round on 4.5 points each. FM Vladimir Smirnov squared off against David Castor, Whilst Raul Samar met Johny Bolens (2029). Vladimir and David drew their game, whilst Raul got the better of Johny. Raul's victory over Johny allowed him to go to 5.5 points, a clear 0.5 point ahead of both Vladimir and David. Next best was Jason Chan (1986) on 4 points, who tied with Bernie O'Riordan (1899), who was the best of the local Novocastrian players.
A whole swag of players came in on 4 points: Gareth Charles, Ron Scott, Johny Bolens, Colin Bemrose, Tristan Stevens, Michael McGuirk and Herman Rachmadi.
Sydney juniors, Anton Smirnov and Nicholas Deen-Cowell performed well with 3.5 each, whilst local junior, Eddie Chen, did well to secure 3 points and score 50%.
At the opening ceremony, Norm Greenwood the New South Wales Chess Association Treasurer, presented Allan Wright, the tournament's Director of Play, with the 2010 Koshnitsky Medal. The Koshnitsky Medal has been awarded annually since 1982, the recipient receiving the award for their services to Chess Administration. Congratulations to Allan.
Heather Richards will be judging the the Best Scarifice Competition for the 2010 Newcastle Open, and the winner will be notified as soon as possible after Heather has made her judgement. 4 players entered the Best Sacrifice Competition this year and these games are shown immediately below. Other games from the tournament will appear as they come to hand.
Johny Bolens (2029) - Alex Mehan (1531) [B50]
Best Sacrifice Newcastle Open (2), 13.02.2010
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.0–0 Nf6 5.d3 e6 6.c3 Be7 7.h3 0–0 8.Re1 a6 9.Bb3 b5 10.Nbd2 Bb7 11.Nf1 a5 12.Bc2 b4 13.Ng3 Qc7 14.Bf4 Rac8 15.Rc1 Qb6 16.Bb1 d5 17.e5 Ne8 18.d4 Nc7 19.Bg5 Bxg5 20.Bxh7+ Kxh7 21.Nxg5+ Kg8 22.Qh5 Rfe8 23.Qxf7+ 1–0
Brad Heaney (1443) - Doug Wright (497) [C62]
Best Sacrifice Newcastle Open (4), 13.02.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 Bd7 5.0–0 exd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Qxd4 c5 9.Qd3 g6 10.Nc3 Bg7 11.Bf4 0–0–0 12.Rfd1 Ne7 13.Bxd6 Bd4 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Nd5 Qd6 16.Qb3 Rhe8 17.c3 Bg7 18.f3 Rd7 19.a4 Qc6 20.a5 c4 21.Qa3 Bf8 22.Qa4 Qc5+ 23.Kh1 Re6 24.Nb6+ axb6 25.Qxd7+ Kb8 26.a6 Re7 27.a7+ Ka8 28.Qd8+ Qc8 29.Qxc8# 1–0
Andrew Robinson (1341) - Bill Ross (1392) [A00]
Best Sacrifice Newcastle Open (4), 13.02.2010
1.g4 d6 2.Bg2 Nc6 3.g5 e5 4.d3 Bd7 5.c4 Qe7 6.Nc3 0–0–0 7.Qb3 f6 8.h4 fxg5 9.hxg5 Qf7 10.Be3 a6 11.a4 Nge7 12.Nb5 g6 13.Nxc7 Na5 14.Qb6 Bc6 15.Bh3+ Nf5 16.Qxa5 Bxh1 17.Bb6 Rd7 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.cxd5 Bg7 20.Rc1+ Kb8 21.e4 Rc8 22.Rxc8+ Kxc8 23.Qc3+ Kb8 24.Ne2 Re7 25.Ng3 Re8 26.exf5 Rc8 27.Qxc8+ Kxc8 28.fxg6+ Qd7 29.Bxd7+ Kxd7 30.Nf5 Bh8 31.g7 1–0
Warren McElroy (1519) - Ludwig Wolf (1366) [B13]
Best Sacrifice Newcastle Open (2), 13.02.2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Bd3 c5 5.c3 cxd4 6.exd4 Be7 7.0–0 0–0 8.Re1 Nbd7 9.Nbd2 b6 10.Ne5 Bb7 11.Ndf3 Rc8 12.Bg5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Nd7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Qh5+ Kg8 17.Re3 Nxe5 18.Rh3 f6 19.dxe5 f5 20.Rd1 f4 21.Rd4 Rf5 22.Qh7+ Kf7 23.Rh6 Ke8 24.Rg6 Rxe5 25.h3 Rg5 26.Rxf4 Rxg6 27.Qxg6+ Kd8 28.Rf7 Qxf7 29.Qxf7 Rc7 30.Qf8+ Kd7 31.Qxg7+ Kd6 32.Qf6 Rc4 33.Qd8+ Kc6 34.Qe8+ 1–0
Norm Greenwood (1384) - Alex Momet (787) [D05]
2010 Newcastle Open (2), 14.02.2010
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bb2 Qe7 8.Nbd2 Bd7 9.0–0 0–0–0 10.a4 g5 11.Nxg5 Rhg8 12.f4 h6 13.Ngf3 Ng4 14.Qe2 f6 15.h3 e5 16.fxe5 fxe5 17.hxg4 Rxg4 18.Bb5 e4 19.Nh2 Bxh2+ 20.Kxh2 Qh4+ 21.Kg1 Rdg8 22.Rf2 Rg3 23.Raf1 Rh3 24.Rf8+ Kc7 25.Re8 Bxe8 26.Bxc6 Kxc6 27.Qb5+ Kc7 28.Qxc5+ Kd7 29.Qxd5+ Ke7 30.Ba3# 1–0
FM Vladimir Smirnov (2297) - Ron Scott (2221) [A56]
2010 Newcastle Open (4), 14.02.2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Nbd7 6.Bd3 a6 7.Nge2 h5 8.h3 h4 9.Be3 Be7 10.a3 Nh7 11.b4 Bg5 12.Qd2 Bxe3 13.Qxe3 Nhf8 14.Na4 b6 15.Rb1 Ng6 16.0–0 0–0 17.bxc5 bxc5 18.Rb2 Qa5 19.Bc2 Rb8 20.Rxb8 Nxb8 21.Qc3 Qd8 22.Rb1 Nd7 23.Qe3 Qa5 24.Kh2 Kh7 25.Qg5 Kg8 26.Qe3 Kh7 27.Ng1 Qd8 28.Nf3 Nf4 29.g3 Ng6 30.Qg5 hxg3+ 31.fxg3 Nf6 32.Nb6 Bb7 33.Qe3 Qc7 34.Ng5+ Kg8 35.a4 Rb8 36.a5 Bc8 37.Ba4 Bd7 38.Qa3 Bxa4 39.Qxa4 Qd8 40.Qd1 Nd7 41.Qh5 Nf6 42.Qf3 Rb7 43.h4 Nf8 44.Qf5 g6 45.Qf3 N6h7 46.Nxh7 Kxh7 47.Rf1 Kg7 48.Rf2 Nh7 49.Qg4 Rc7 50.Kh3 Nf6 51.Qf3 Nh5 52.Qe3 f6 53.Qf3 Rb7 54.Qg4 Re7 55.Qc8 Qc7 56.Rb2 Qa7 57.Qc6 Qb8 58.Na4 Qd8 59.Rb6 Rd7 60.Rxa6 f5 61.Ra8 Qe7 62.Qc8 Nf6 63.Qh8+ Kf7 64.Nb6 fxe4 65.Nc8 Qe8 66.Nxd6+ Rxd6 67.Rxe8 Nxe8 68.Qxe5 1–0
Bob Quek (1163) - Michael McGuirk (1713) [D10]
2010 Newcastle Open (4), 14.02.2010
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.e3 b5 5.a4 Bd7 6.axb5 cxb5 7.g3 b4 8.Na2 Bc6 9.f3 e6 10.Bxc4 Nf6 11.Bd2 a5 12.Qe2 Qb6 13.Nh3 Be7 14.Nf4 0–0 15.Kf2 Nbd7 16.h4 e5 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Bb3 Bxf3 19.Qf1 Nfg4+ 20.Ke1 Bxh1 21.Qxh1 Nxe3 22.Bxe3 Qxe3+ 23.Kf1 Qxb3 24.Qh2 Rfc8 25.Rd1 Qxd1+ 0–1
Bernie O'Riordan (1899) - Anton Smirnov (1713) [C28]
2010 Newcastle Open (6), 14.02.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.f4 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.fxe5 0–0 8.0–0 d6 9.exd6 Bxd6 10.Ng5 Ne5 11.Qh5 h6 12.Nxf7 Nxf7 13.Bxf7+ Rxf7 14.Qxf7+ Kh7 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Bd4 Qg5 17.h4 Qg6 18.Qxg6+ Kxg6 19.Rae1 h5 20.Be5 Bc5+ 21.Kh2 c6 22.b4 Be7 23.g3 a6 24.Bxg7 Bxh4 25.gxh4 Kxg7 26.Re7+ Kg6 27.Rxb7 Rd8 28.Rf2 Be6 29.Rb6 Bxa2 30.Rxc6+ Kh7 31.Rxa6 Bc4 32.Rc6 1–0
A good rollup has occurred at Panthers Newcastle for the month of March. An interesting game of Team Chess was played at The Club between four players. There were two players per side, but the players were not allowed to consult with each other! The game is shown below with mistakes played by all players concerned.
Peter Groenhout & Trevor McIlveen - Ron Groenhout & Greg Wilson [C41]
Team Chess with no consultation, Panthers Newcastle, 08.03.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 f5 4.Bd3 Qf6 5.Nd5 Qg6 6.g3 Na6 7.b3 c6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.Nh4 Qf7 10.Bc4 Nxe4 11.Bxf7+ Kxf7 12.Ne2 g5 13.Nxf5 Bxf5 14.Bb2 Bh3 15.d4 exd4 16.Bxd4 Bg7 17.Qd3 Rae8 18.f3 Nb4 19.Qc4+ d5 20.Qc3 Nxc3 21.Bxc3 Bg2 22.Rg1 Nxc2+ 23.Kd2 Nxa1 24.Bxa1 Bxf3 25.Rf1 g4 26.Nf4 Bh6 27.Kc2 Re4 28.Nh5 Re2+ 29.Kd3 Rhe8 30.Kd4 Rxh2 31.Kc5 Rc2+ 32.Kd4 Rxa2 33.Bc3 b6 34.Bb4 a5 35.Bd6 Re4+ 36.Kd3 Rd2+ 37.Kc3 d4+ 38.Kc4 d3+ 39.Kc3 Ke6 40.Bf4 Bxf4 41.gxf4 b5 42.Kxd2 a4 43.Ng7+ Kf7 44.Nf5 Rxf4 45.Nd6+ Ke6 46.Nb7 axb3 47.Re1+ Kd5 48.Kc3 Be2 49.Kxb3 Rf1 50.Rxf1 Bxf1 51.Kb4 g3 52.Nc5 Kd4 53.Nb3+ Ke3 54.Kc3 h5 55.Nc1 g2 56.Kb2 c5 57.Nb3 g1Q 58.Nxc5 d2 59.Ne6 d1Q 0–1
The first Monday of the month saw a good turnout at Panthers Newcastle. An interesting game of Kriegspiel was played between the usual suspects, Doug Carey and Trevor McIlveen, with Greg Wilson acting as the DOP. Next week saw a marathon Kriegspiel session between Trevor McIlveen and Hermann Sherrer. Newcomer to the area Taz Alghanmi placed some intersting chess against the local lads. One of his games is shown below.
Doug Carey - Trevor McIlveen [A40]
Kriegspiel, 01.02.2010, Panthers Newcastle
1.d4 b6 2.Bf4 Bb7 3.Bg3 e6 4.e3 g6 5.Nd2 Bg7 6.Rc1 Be5 7.b3 Qf6 8.dxe5 Qxe5 9.c4 f6 10.Qc2 Be4 11.Ne2 Qd5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Bxc7 Bxg2 14.Bxg2 Ne7 15.Bd8 Nbc6 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Rg1 Nd4 18.exd4 Rc8 19.Nc4 0–0 20.h4 Re8 21.Kf1 d6 22.Ng3 Rc7 23.h5 Rce7 24.hxg6 Re1+ 25.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 26.Kxe1 hxg6 27.Bxf6 Ne3 28.fxe3 Kf7 29.Qh2 Kxf6 30.Ne5 b5 31.Rh1 dxe5 32.dxe5+ Kxe5 33.Nh5+ Ke4 34.Ng7 b4 35.Qf4+ Kd3 36.Qc4+ Kxe3 37.Rh3# 1–0
Trevor McIlveen - Hermann Sherrer [A00]
Kriegspiel, 08.02.2010, Panthers Newcastle
1.g3 e5 2.Bg2 a6 3.e3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Qf6 5.e4 Bc5 6.d3 Qh4 7.gxh4 g5 8.hxg5 d6 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.Bf4 Bf5 12.exf5 Nxf5 13.Qf3 0–0–0 14.Qg3 Nge7 15.Bxb7+ Kxb7 16.Qf3+ Nc6 17.Qe4 d5 18.Qxf5 Rhe8+ 19.Be3 Nd4 20.Qd7 Nf3+ 21.Ke2 Rg8 22.Bd4 Rde8+ 23.Kxf3 Rxg5 24.Nd2 Rf5+ 25.Kg2 Rg8+ 26.Kf1 Rf4 27.Bh8 Be7 28.Nc4 dxc4 29.Qxe7 Rf8 30.Re1 Rg8 31.Rg1 Rgg4 32.Re3 Rh4 33.Rf3 Re4 34.Rg8 Rhg4 35.Bg7 Rd4 36.Bf8 Rd1+ 37.Ke2 Rd3 38.cxd3 cxd3+ 39.Rxd3 Rg5 40.Qe4+ Kc8 41.Be7+ Rxg8 42.Qe3 Rd8 43.Bc5 a5 44.b4 axb4 45.Bb6 cxb6 46.Rxd8+ Kxd8 47.Qf4 b3 48.axb3 h5 49.Qb4 Kd7 50.Qb5+ Ke6 51.Qe5+ Kxe5 52.f4+ Kd4 53.Kf3 f5 54.h4 b5 55.b4 Kc3 56.Kg3 Kc2 57.Kf3 Kc3 58.Ke3 Kxb4 59.Kd4 Ka4 60.Kd5 b4 61.Kd6 b3 62.Ke7 Ka3 63.Kf7 Ka2 64.Kg7 Ka1 65.Kh6 b2 66.Kxh5 b1Q 67.Kh6 Kb2 68.h5 Kc3 69.Kg7 Kd4 70.h6 Ke4 71.h7 Kxf4 72.h8Q Kg5 73.Qf8 f4 74.Qf7 f3 75.Qf4+ Kxf4 76.Kf7 Kg5 77.Ke6 Qf5+ 78.Ke7 Kg6 79.Kd8 Qc8+ 80.Ke7 Qh8 81.Ke6 Qg7 82.Kd5 Qf7+ 83.Kd4 Kf6 and the game was declared a draw by the DOP because the premises were closing, and neither player showed any skill in genuinely trying to secure a win at various times throughout the game. ½–½
Moutaz (Taz) Alghanmi - John Marsden [C42]
Social game, 15.02.2010, Panthers Newcastle
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nxe5 d5 5.Qf3 Nf6 6.Bb3 Bd6 7.d4 h6 8.Nc3 c6 9.Ba4 0–0 10.Qg3 Nh5 11.Qf3 Nf6 12.h3 Re8 13.Bf4 Nbd7 14.Qe3 Nxe5 15.Bxe5 Nd7 16.f4 f6 17.0–0–0 fxe5 18.fxe5 Nxe5 19.dxe5 Rxe5 20.Qf3 Rf5 21.Qd3 Bd7 22.Ne2 Qg5+ 23.Kb1 Raf8 24.g4 Rf3 25.Qd2 Qxd2 26.Rxd2 Rf2 27.Kc1 Re8 28.Kd1 a5 29.c4 Bb4 30.Rc2 dxc4 31.a3 Bf8 32.Nd4 Rf4 33.Rd2 Bc8 34.Re1 Rd8 35.Ne6 Rxd2+ 36.Kxd2 Bxe6 37.Rxe6 c3+ 38.bxc3 Rxa4 39.h4 Rxg4 40.Re8 Rxh4 41.Rb8 Ra4 42.Rxb7 Rxa3 43.Rb6 c5 44.Rb5 Ra1 45.Kd3 a4 46.Kc4 h5 0–1