Author: Simon

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

Autumn Cup Round 2 pgn by Ewan Green

A Grade

Jasmine Zhang vs Bruce Watson – Black gradually built up an advantage. White resigned after Black won a piece. 0-1

Alphaeus Ang vs Erwin Koestanto – Black gave up a pawn to give White tripled isolated pawns. But once things swapped to a King and pawn endgame he was just lost. 1-0

Don Eade vs Paul Garbett – White got a little lost in his opening that and allowed Black equality. He then missed a tactic and ended up an exchange and a pawn down. 0-1

Michael Steadman vs Alex Nagorski – White players the amusing named “Santasiere’s Folly” and Black chucks in a pawn counter-sacrifice on move 2! (see diagram). Black got a good attack but it eventually petered out into a Draw.

Euan McDougall vs Allen Fan – Whites unusual opening through Black off a little but he adapted and then found some tactics to pick up and exchange. Mate followed quickly. 0-1

Mohammad Bashar vs John Duneas – White had a good start with a unusual opening line that the computer liked. However a couple of quiet moves by White allowed Black to turn up the pressure and invade White’s position with pieces and pawns. 0-1

Gordon Morrell vs Anya Thurner – White outmaneuvered Black in the middle game and got a couple of pawns and a much better position. Black resigned in the face of losing a piece. 1-0

Nigel Metge vs Karl Holdo – White got an advantage in the opening and slowly swapped off pieces while keeping up the pressure. Eventually Black resigned on move 70. 1-0

Tim Ha vs Jordan Lewis – Black got into a nice position and a pawn up but pushed a pawn in front of his King that allowed White a tactic. The players took a draw rather than following the unclear line (which the computer says is slightly better for white).

Joe Wang vs Felix Xie – White seemed to get a little lost in the opening but came out a little better. White was going well in the middle game but miscalculated a sequence of swaps and lost a piece. 0-1

Boyuan Zhang vs Nathan Goodhue – White has a good start but got a piece trapped and lost an exchange. 0-1

Simon Lyall vs Philli Park-Tamati – White got a good position but missed the best move and instead ended up swapping into an endgame a pawn down. Black got a past pawn which forced White to give up a piece, but white was able to take Blacks last pawn to leave Black with just a bishops against a King. Draw

Abraham Deng vs Arkadi Polyakevich – Black was a little passive in the opening allowing White top push pawns and pieces forward and leave Black very cramped. White then found some tactics and was able to pick up material. 1-0

Andrew Michael vs Ajit Pendharkar – Fairly even but Black allowed a couple of tactics that enabled White to pick up material and win. 1-0

Virginia Milne vs Kendrick Zhang – Black Miscalculated and lost a piece. White was about the win easily from there. 1-0

Upsets in Round 2:

Alex Nagorski drew with Mike Steadman
Philli Park-Tamati drew with Simon Lyall
Andrew Michael beat Ajit Pendharkar

Standings:

After 2 rounds there were just 4 players still undefeated on 2 points. Bruce Watson, Paul Garbett, Allen Fan and Alphaeus Ang.

B Grade

Jacob Chai vs Scott Treanor – The players seaily swapped pieces into a drawn endgame. Draw

Vincent Cai vs Thomas Zheng – White got some good positions but was slow at pressing his advantage. White eventually got a couple of pieces up in a won position but allowed Black to sneak a checkmate. 0-1

Adam Macauley vs Yolanda Chang – Black picked up a pawn and some pressure. Eventually White made further mistakes to allow Black the win. 0-1

Upsets in round 2:

Joseph Xin beat Wayne McDougall
Jocob Chai drew with Scott Treanor
Jack Chen beat Alan Leach
Kelvin Xiao beat Philip Te Whata

Standings:

Three players are on Two points; Thomas Zheng, Yolanda Chang and Jack Chen.

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

Autumn Cup R1 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

The first round saw unequal matches but there were 5 draws and two wins by the lower rated player.

Bashar Mohammad beat Caroline Yan
Jeffrey Yu beat Simon Lyall

Bruce Watson vs Xinyang Liu – Black lost an early pawn and white was able to keep up the pressure throughout the game to eventually mate. 1-0

Nathan Goodhue vs Alphaeus Ang – Black picked up a pawn and an exchange and a lot of pressure which White was unable to counter. 0-1

Paul Garbett vs Abraham Deng – Black had a good start getting a pawn or two up but a series of errors built up. Game ended abruptly with White ahead. 1-0

Ajit Pendharkar vs Michael Steadman – Lots of interesting tactics and threats by both players. However in the majority Black came out ahead until he was a full piece up. 0-1

Allen Fan vs Arron Wang – Black gave up a pawn in what appears to be a miscalculation and his position completely fell apart. 1-0

Karl Holdo vs Gordon Morrell – White managed to hold his own into the middle game until an unwise move by Black allowed White to invade into the Kings area with a Queen while Black’s pieces were on the other side of the board. White got into a near winning position but couldn’t find the right line so took a perpetual check. Draw

Paul Macdonald vs Virginia Milne – Blacks position got steadily worse. She tried a counter-attack but overlooked the mate on the other end of the board. 1-0

Stephen Peak vs Jasmine Zhang – White got a pawn up and was looking good in the early middle game, but lost his way and Black was able to get material back and swap into a winning endgame. 0-1

Grant Burrow vs Nigel Metge – White got a better opening and executed a nice swap to give himself a rook, Knight and Bishop vs two rooks. Just when he looked like winning White lost a piece but black then made his own mistakes. A draw was agreed in what looks like a won position for White. Draw

Alex Nagorski vs Andrew Michael – White picked up an exchange, then a pawn and then a piece. 1-0

Arkadi Polyakevich vs Don Eade – Black made a mistake and allowed an attack by White but luckily for him White missed the best line and only ended a little better. White quickly went wrong though and lost. 1-0

Caroline Yan vs Bashar Mohammad – White over-pressed an attack against Black who eventually got some counterplay. White resigned with Black a little better on the board. 0-1

Jeffrey Yu vs Simon Lyall – Black got an attack but was only able to pick up a pawn. White got a counter-attack that got the pawn back and then another. The game went back and forth a few more times with both players low on time before black made the final mistake. 1-0

Lewis Jordan vs Joe Wang – The players swapped down and both got attacks. They agreed on a draw with Black in the better position. Draw

Kendrick Zhang vs Euan McDougall – White was ahead for much of the game but missed the best moves. 0-1

Felix Xie vs Boyuan Zhang – White got a little lost in the opening. A few moves later Black got a draw by repetition. Draw

Anya Thurner vs Timothy Ha – The players aggressively swapped down to an even endgame which they drew.

Scott Treanor vs Eugene Wang – Black eventually made enough mistakes to allow White to win. 1-0

B Grade

Upsets in Round 1

Adam Macauley beat Erica Hu
Vincent Cai beat Wayne McDougall
Jack Chen beat Mike Steine

The Autumn Rapid was held on the 1st and 8th of April.

Vega Link to the tournament

Photos from Round 1

After the first 3 rounds only 2 players were unbeaten. Tim Ha and Bruce Watson.

Round 4
Upsets:

Euan McDougall beat Allen Fan
Uday Jain beat Boyuan Zhang
Sylvia McDougall beat Hugh Gao
Hannah Xu beat Ariel Patdu

Bruce Watson won his game to go into the lead. Half a point behind him were Alexei Kulashko, Paul Garbett and Daniel Gong.

Round 5
Upsets:

Grayson Po’e-Tofaeono beat Amy Zheng
Winston Weng beat Don Eade

On the top boards. Alexei managed to hold onto a draw against Bruce while playing in increment, while Paul Garbett beat Daniel Gong.

Bruce and Paul were now on 4.5 while several others were on 4 points.

Round 6

Once again many players took half point byes.

Upsets:
Jack Chen beat Mohammad Bashar
Tyleah Po’e-Tofaeono beat Ying Wang

The top board had draws ( while 3 players on 4 points took byes). But Erwin Koestanto on board 2 beat Clinton Wells to go to 5 points.

Final result

Winners on 5 points: Bruce Watson, Paul Garbett and Erwin Koestanto

4th Equal on 4.5: Alexei Kulashko, Daniel Gong, Michael Steadman, Alphaeus Ang, Felix Xei and Nigel Metg

A Reminder that the Autumn Cup will be starting on the 8th of April. Entries so far are online. Please check and enter soon if you want to play. Please discuss with Simon if you which to switch Grades.

Vega Links for Autumn Cup: A Grade , B Grade

Autumn Rapid

The Autumn Cup is the Second Leg of the Club Rapid competition. Scores in it are counted along with the Blitz and Spring Rapid.

Vega Link

Top Upsets

Round 1:

Ying Wang beat Ajit Pendharkar

Round 2:

David Zhu beat Renae Ghadiali
Philli Park-Tamati drew with Alphaeus Ang
Lewis Jordan drew with Allen Fan

Round 3:

Tim Ha beat Nigel Metge
Nathan Goohue drew with Alexei Kulashko
Alex Nagorski drew with Paul Garbett

Due to Many players taking half point byes in round 3 and a sprinkling of draws only two players are unbeaten after 3 round. Tim Ha and Bruce Watson. Another 11 players are on 2.5

There were some catchup games played at various points in the top 3 grades when people were not able to make it on Monday. 5 of these are below along with the final results.

Draw: A, B, C (round-robin schedule)
Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade , D Grade

PGN of the 5 catchup games

B Grade Round 7, Don Eade vs Paul Macdonald – After the opening Black got a better position and an extra pawn. But As the players swapped down to a rook and pawn endgame White got the pawn back and then lost another. However Black’s edge was not enough and White was able to hold a Draw.

B Grade Round 3 – Simon Lyall vs Paul Macdonald – A very similar openign and early middle game to the previous game. Black was better for most of the game but allowed White to pickup a pawn goign into the endgame. White didn’t find the best moves and the game was a draw.

C Grade Round 5, Xinyang Liu vs Winston Weng – White looked better coming out of the opening but opened up a big hole in his King side. At the right mement Black moved a Queen and two rooks over and quickly won. 0-1

A Grade Round 1, Nigel Metge vs Mike Steadman – White punched a huge hole in Blacks position and stormed in. White missed a few of the best defending moves and was lost. 1-0

B Grade Roun 1, Alex Nagorski vs Euan McDougall – White was a little better for most of the game but made a mistake in the endgame and allowed Black to get a passed pawn. 0-1

Final Results

A Grade: Winner is Alexei Kulashko with 6.5/7. Second is Daniel Gong on 5 points.

B Grade: Jasmine Zhang won the grade with 5.5 ahead of Alex Nagorski on 5.

C Grade: Winner of the Grade is Felix Xie on 5.5 with Jordan Lewis and Tim Ha second-equal on 4 points.

D Grade: Winner was Jeffrey Yu on 6.5. Second was Anya Thurner on 6.0 and Philli Park-Tamati, Joe Wang, Ajit Pendharkar, Boyuan Zhang and Mohammad Bashar were third-equal on 5 points.

This was the last round of the tournament. There are some catchup games remaining in B Grade. A reminder to get in your entries for the Autumn Rapid (starting April 1st) and Autumn Cup (starting April 15th)

March 25th was the last night for discounted subs. Please contact Mike Steadman asap about paying your sub if you have not already.

2019 Summer Cup R7 PGN by Ewen Green

A Grade

Daniel Gong vs Nathan Goodhue – Black tried his usual pawn chains but White instantly broke out an sac’d a Knight for 4 pawns. After piece exchanges Black game back a piece for two pawns leaving White better. He was able to push though a passed pawn. 1-0

Mike Steadman vs Alex Huang – An unbalanced game with White generally better. eventually White got a winning threat. 1-0

Alexei Kulashko vs Allen Fan – White gave up two pawns but picked up a piece. He then won some pawns back and eventually more material. 1-0

With all games played the Winner is Alexei Kulashko with 6.5/7. Second is Daniel Gong on 5 points.

B Grade

Alex Nagorski vs Caroline Yan – White got a good opening and a strong attack against Black’s King in the middle game. But Black managed to defend well and then win a piece when White allowed a fork. Black had a straightforward win from there. 0-1

Euan McDougall vs Simon Lyall – A fairly even opening until White unwisely pushed a pawn and allowed Black to cramp White’s position. Black was unable to find the best continuations (especially once his time was low) and then game swapped down to a draw.

Clinton Wells vs Jasmine Zhang – An even game until White gave up a piece for an attack which faltered. 0-1

Jasmine Zhang won the grade with 5.5 ahead of Alex Nagorski on 5. Paul Macdonald has a chance of matching Alex due to unplayed games

C Grade

Tim Ha vs Karl Holdo – A fairly even game until White miscalculated and gave up a piece. However Black misplayed the endgame and White managed to sneak a draw via perpetual check. Draw

Felix Xie vs Jordan Lewis – White was a little better from the early middle game and slowly increased his advantage by picking up material. 1-0

Xinyang Liu vs Akshay Sharma – Black made a series of errors in the opening and resigned on move 19 with a lost position. 1-0

Winston Weng vs Aaron Wang – Black allowed his king to become exposed to an attack and then made a mistake defending which quickly lost. 1-0

Winner of the Grade is Felix Xie on 5.5 with Jordan Lewis and Tim Ha second-equal on 4 points.

D Grade

Joe Wang vs Jeffrey Yu – White miscalculated an exchange and lost a piece. 0-1

Thomas Zheng vs Anya Thurner – White picked up a pawn but then got a piece trapped and was unable to find the right moves to keep it. Black then swapped pieces to a won endgame. 0-1

Philli Park-Tamati vs Boyuan Zhang – White got ahead an exchange but then made some mistakes and took a draw with the position even but unclear. Draw

Erwin Koestanto vs Stephen Peak – Black mounted an attack against White’s castled King. Black defended well but the players agreed to a draw, perhaps White feared making a mistake. Draw

Upsets in Round 7

Eden Oshri beat Hunter Po’e-Tofaeono
Hannah Xu beat John McClory
Ethan Liu drew with Neil Sonnekus
David Zhu beat Sylvia McDougall

Winner of D Grade was Jeffrey Yu on 6.5. Second was Anya Thurner on 6.0 and Philli Park-Tamati, Joe Wang, Ajit Pendharkar, Boyuan Zhang and Mohammad Bashar were third-equal on 5 points.

The Autumn Rapid entries are now online. Please Check to make sure you are entered and enter this week if you want to play.

Entries for the Autumn Cup will go up tomorrow to, please make sure to enter this if you wish to play.

Links:

• 2019 Tournaments information
• Autumn Rapid
• Autumn Cup: A Grade , B Grade

Just one more week left in this tournament. If you are in A, B or C grade please check the results of all your games are listed and let Simon know if they will be played or there are results missing.

Round 6 PGN by Alex Nagorski and Tim Ha

A Grade

Allen Fan vs Mike Steadman – White allowed Black to get some mobility early on. An exchange sacrifice by Black left White desperately trying to hold the position but he eventually gave up a piece. 0-1

Alex Huang vs Alphaeus Ang – 18 moves of theory and then White grabbed a pawn. This proved unwise as it tied down a Bishop and allowed Black to get a pawn on the 6th rank in front of White’s King. The Bishop had to go backwards to prevent mate and White lost an undefended piece. Black quickly picked up a couple more pieces. 0-1

Nigel Metge vs Daniel Gong – A nice opening by White left him with a good position. However Black was able to swap off pieces to neutralise Whites advantage and the game swapped to a drawn endgame. Draw

Alexei Kulashko still leads the Grade by half a point from Daniel Gong.

B Grade

Caroline Yan vs Don Eade – White got better out of the opening and was a pawn up with a nicer position. Black tried some sharp play to get back in the game but miscalculated and lost a piece. 1-0

Paul Macdonald vs Clinton Wells – See Paul’s commentary in the PGN – White got the better opening and pushed forward a big centre of pawns which Black was unable to counter and got into time pressure. Black resigned after White punched a hole through Black’s cramped position and was about to win Black’s Queen. 1-0

Jasmine Zhang vs Euan McDougall – After an even start White jumped quickly ahead with two bishops raking Black’s position, threatening and pinning pieces. Black tried some unsound desperation tactics but White found her way through. 1-0

Simon Lyall vs Alex Nagorski – After early exchanges White was left with isolated pawns on the d file. He failed to find the best moves and ended up a pawn down and with a losing endgame. 0-1

Alex Nagorski keeps his lead. He is now 1.5 points ahead of Jasmine Zhang with just one game left.

C Grade

Karl Holdo vs Winston Weng – White looked a little meek in the opening but found a way to break out and put pressure on Black’s King. Black was able to swap things back to even and after further swaps the players had a King and 7 pawns each with no pieces. White made a mistake and Black’s King was able to invade and win. 0-1

Aaron Wang vs Xinyang Liu – White miscalculated some swaps and left Black with a passed pawn. To stop it Black had to trap a piece in the corner and Black was able to dominate the position. 0-1

Akshay Sharma vs Felix Xie – White was better throughout most of the game but Black managed to just hold on for a draw.

Jordan Lewis vs Tim Ha – A steady swap down to a drawn endgame. Each player had some chances but neither got significantly ahead. Draw

Felix Xie still leads, half a point ahead of Jordan Lewis.

D Grade

A strange pattern of wins and losses. White won the top 4 games, then Black the next 7, then White the next 3, etc.

Upsets in Round 6

Thomas Zheng beat Grant Burrows
Bashar Mohammad beat Mike Steiner

Jeffrey Yu now leads the grade by himself. He is half a point ahead of Anya Thurner and Joe Wang.

Please make sure you sign up for the Autumn Rapid starting on April 1st. Signup sheets are at the club or contact Simon.

Draw: A, B, C (round-robin schedule)
Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade , D Grade

PGN for Round 5 by Ewen Green

A Grade

Nigel Metge vs Nathan Goodhue – Blacks position got constricted early but he often plays these positions. After 5 0 moves of back and forth Black was up a pawn but game was constricted by a lareg pawns mass in the centre. However around move 60 White invaded on the 8th ranks with his rooks and picked up an exchange. He then swapped all the pieces into a winning endgame. 1-0

Daniel Gong vs Alex Huang – Black was even to better until he moved a Night to the sideline and was unable to counter White’s threats. 1-0

Alphaeus Ang vs Allen Fan – 14 moves of theory and then White got a lot of pressure and managed to pick up two pawns. After a swapoff some endgame care was needed but he managed it. 1-0

Michael Steadman vs Alexei Kulashko – White resigned after he made an error which allowed Black a much better position. 0-1

Daniel Gong and Alexei Kulashko lead the grade on 3.5. However Alexei has a game in Hand

B Grade

Simon Lyall vs Caroline Yan – A fairly even game with Black a little better for most of it. The players swapped down to an opposite color bishop endgame but White was unable to hold it and Black broke though. 0-1

Alex Nagorski vs Jasmine Zhang – Black made an error in the opening ( see diagram ) but White missed the complicated followup. They then got in a complicated position which the computer says Black is winning but after some back and forth White came out ahead. 1-

Euan McDougall vs Paul Macdonald – See Paul’s full analysis in the PGN. White made several inaccuracies soon after the opening and then missed a tactic that allowed Black to win a piece.

Clinton Wells vs Don Eade – Black miscalculated a series of swaps and white was 2 pawns ahead. He was then able to swap steadily and win the endgame. 1-0

Alex Nagorski leads the grade with 4 points.

C Grade

Jordan Lewis vs Karl Holdo – White was better for most of the game and then was able to pick up a pawn and force though a passed-pawn. 1-0

Tim Ha vs Akshay Sharma – Black picked up a pawn in but it wasn’t enough and the players settled for a draw.

Felix Xie vs Aaron Wang – An even game until White made an error and allowed Black to pick up a piece. 0-1

Despite his loss this round Felix Xei still leads the grade.

D Grade

Philli Park-Tamati vs Jeffrey Yu – White pressed an attack but black held it and launched a strong attack himself. They players agreed on a draw in what the computer says is completly won position for Black. Draw

Upsets in Round 5

Jacob Chai beat Dario Giuliani
Lucas Xiao beat Mike Steiner
Jack Chen beat Erica Hu
Ethan Liu beat Jacob Yuan

Philli Park-Tamati and Jeffrey Yu still lead the grade but there are 5 players just half a point behind them.

Signups are now in place for the Autumn Rapid on the 1st and 8th of April. Please signup on the Sheet in the main playing room at the Centre of via text to Simon. The Autumn Cup will start on April 15th.

A Grade Interclub will also be playing in May. We will be signing up a team soon.

Draw: A, B, C (round-robin schedule)
Vega Links: A Grade , B Grade , C Grade , D Grade

PGN for Round 4 by Tim Ha and Alex Nagorski

A Grade

Nathan Goodhue vs Mike Steadman – White got his usual long pawn chains and closed position. Black opened things up but White had more mobile pieces. Black resigned after White got 2 pawns up in the endgame. 1-0

Alexei Kulashko vs Alphaeus Ang – A fairly short game, Black got a little better and White offered a perpetual check. Black accepted rather than risk playing on. Draw

Allen Fan vs Daniel Gong – White miscalculated a centre pawn-push and found himself in a cramped position. Black was able to push White around and slowly pick up material. 0-1

Alexei Kulashko and Daniel Gong share first on 2.5 points. There are several games unplayed, however.

B Grade

Caroline Yan vs Clinton Wells – After an even opening White picked up a pawn and then an exchange after Black missed a tactic. White then swapped down and Black’s Bishops were no match for White’s rook in the endgame. 1-0

Don Eade vs Euan McDougall – White got a piece trapped early on but got an attack as compensation. After some wild swaps White was a Q and 6 pawns vs a Knight, Rook and Bishop and 2 pawns. However White failed to find the best lines. 0-1

Paul Macdonald vs Alex Nagorski – See Alex’s commentary in the PGN – White made an error and gave up a pawn early. White complicated the game but Black mostly found the best replies. Black swapped down to a rook and pawn endgame with Black being two pawns up and Black had a fairly easy time winning from there. 0-1

Jasmine Zhang vs Simon Lyall – Black got a little lost in the opening and lost a pawn and then after getting some distance back lost another. White then had a strong attack and and a win after Black failed to find the best moves to defend. 1-0

Jasmine Zhang is leading the grade with 2.5 and a spare game. Several other players have games in hand.

C Grade

Karl Holdo vs Xinyang Liu – White pushed on the Queen side which allowed Black to punch a hole in the King side and quickly win as a pawn chain left White unable to get to the King side to defend. 0-1

Winston Weng vs Felix Xie – After White locked up the pawns White managed to punch a hole though and then convert his better position to a material advantage. 0-1

Aaron Wang vs Tim Ha – White had a better position from the opening but on move 22 after Black got a little better the players took a draw.

Akshay Sharma vs Jordan Lewis – White got into trouble early and then made a mistake that allowed an early checkmate. 0-1

Felix Xie is winning the grade with 4 wins out of 4 games. Three others are on 2.5

D Grade

Joe Wang vs Philli Park-Tamaki – After some wild swaps that left things even White miscalculated and ended up a piece down. Black quickly won. 0-1

There were 17 upsets across 28 games. The largest were:

• Mohammad Bashar beat Dario Giuliani
• Jack Chen beat Narasimhan Ravi
• Alan Leach beat David Xu
• Ariel Patdu beat Tama Austin

Philli Park-Tamati and Jeffrey Yu are the only players left on 4/4 while Stephen Peak is in 3rd on 3.5