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.
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
Michael vs Zhang. White to play and win after 28 Bg4
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
Bashar vs Zhang. White plays 9 Re1 instead of the aggressive Bxe6
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.
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
Ang vs Steadman. Black resigns 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 6th & 7th ranks. Bruce defends calmly and could have brought home the point from the critical position after 29.Rxg7
Fan vs Watson. 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 7th
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.
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
Macdonald vs Hague. 16 Rfe1
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
Zhang vs Goodhue. 30 h5!
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
Pendharkar vs Chang, Was has 12.. Qd4 allowed for White
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
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
Macdonald vs Mege. Black to play and win.
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
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
Garbett vs Ang. after 39.. Rc6 black missed 40. Nf6
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
Xie vs Duneas after 41… Rd4?
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
Milne vs Park-Tamati . Black has just played 39.. g4 , what should White play?
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
Thurner vs Goodhue after 26. ..g6
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
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
Paul Garbett vs Allen Fan – White in an early attack, Black made a couple of errors and it was all over. 1-0
Mike Steadman vs John Duneas – After a slightly better opening Black let White get in some pressure and eventually White picked up an exchange. Though some exchanges and a lot of maneuvering White was able to keep his lead and win. 1-0
Paul Macdonald vs Alex Nagorski – White overlooked a tactic and lost a piece. White tried a tactic to get back in the game but overlooked the defense and resigned in the face of losing more material. 0-1
Don Eade vs Bruce Watson – White unwisely gave Black a half-open g file to attack White’s king. Black was able to deploy several pieces into an attack on White’s King that White was unable to defend. 0-1
Alphaeus Ang vs Lewis Jordan – White picked up an early pawn and kept it though the game while restricting Black. 1-0
Euan McDougall vs Daniel Gong – White had a good opening but got a little lost and Black equalised. White then missed a couple of moves and black was able to apply pressure until White blundered. 0-1
Tim Ha vs Nigel Metge – White got a worse opening and then made a mistake and lost an exchange. Black was winning but White managed to use his two bishops well and get a perpetual check. Draw
Nathan Goodhue vs Felix Xie – White tried the fashionable “1. b4” but came out of the opening worse. White castled into a very exposed position and was very quickly lost. 0-1
Boyuan Zhang vs Jeffrey Yu – A very sleep symmetrical Exchange-French opening until White game up piece for Black’s h and g pawns. Black swapped off attackers and was ahead until he got a piece trapped on move 40. 1-0
Joe Wang vs Caroline Yan – White got a rook trapped early and was down an exchange. White then miscalculated a tactic and lost another piece. 0-1
Simon Lyall vs Virginia Milne – White overlooked a mate-in-one. 0-1
Abraham Deng vs Anya Thurner – Black left her Castled King under-defended with her pieces on the Queen side and a pawn chain in-between. White quickly mounted a successful attack. 1-0
Andrew Michael vs Isabelle Ning – White got a little ahead during the middle game. Black allowed a tactic and gave up an exchange which left her in a lost position. 1-0
Winston Weng vs Ajit Pendharkar – Black lost a piece early. White then steadily exchanged material. 1-0
Arkadi Polyakevich vs Karl Holdo – White won an exchange and was giving Black a hard time but allowed Black’s queen to mount an attack and obtain perpetual check. Draw
Upsets in Round 4:
Felix Xie beat Nathan Goodhue Virginia Milne beat Simon Lyall Tim Ha drew with Nigel Metge Alex Nagorski beat Paul Macdonald
Paul Garbett is the only undefeated player on 4/4. Alex Nagorski and Mike Steadman are 2nd= on 3.5
B Grade
Yolanda Chang vs Penghao Chen – White played for a dubious tactic. After a feeding-frenzy of swaps Black emerged a piece up and managed to convert. 0-1
Huge Gao vs Lakshmi Ravi – White managed to get a pawn up and better in the early middle game. But some quiet play by White allowed Black to even the position and White settled for a draw.
Upsets in Round 4:
Penghao (Jack) Chen by Yolanda Chang Kelvin Xiao beat Neil Sonnekus
After 4 rounds the leader is Jack Chen on 4/4 with Scott Treanor in 2nd on 3.5 points.
Bruce Watson vs Paul Garbett – White got an awkward pawn structure that Black was able to exploit. 0-1
Allen Fan vs Alphaeus Ang – White got a passed pawn that Black had to give up a piece to stop. A piece down, Black was unable to hold the position. 1-0
Nigel Metge vs Mike Steadman – White got over-eager on attack and left his position expose. He tried a piece sacrifice but it petered out and he resigned. 0-1
Alex Nagorski vs Gordon Morrell – A lot of tactics and swaps in the middle game. After the dust clear White was two pawns up in the endgame and was able to convert. 1-0
John Duneas vs Jeffrey Yu – Black blundered a piece. 1-0
Felix Xei vs Paul Macdonald – See Paul’s annotations in the PGN. Black managed to get a lot of threats in the middle-game and swapped into a rook and pawn endgame a pawn ahead. He eventually broke though with a two connected pawns escorted by a rook against a rook and a king. 0-1
Daniel Gong vs Abraham Deng – White doubled one of Blacks pawns and then was able to win it. He then invaded Black’s position to win. 1-0
Erwin Koestanto vs Virginia Milne – Black gave up 2 pawns for no real compensation and then lost two more. 1-0
Austin Tama vs Don Eade – The players swapped to an even endgame. But White allowed a tactic that netted Black a pawn, Black then swapped pieces to a won King and Pawn endgame. 0-1
Jordan Lewis vs Arkadi Polyakevich – No PGN submitted. 1-0
Isabell Ning vs Euan McDougall – After a lot of back and forth during the game Black got a pawn ahead which was enough to win the endgame. 0-1
Mohammad Bashar vs Tim Ha – White allowed some tactics and then in a bid to get back in the game allowed more. 0-1
Xinyang Liu vs Andrew Michael – White got a pawn ahead but then Black got a dangerous attack. However White was able to hold and then swap off many major pieces. However Black then allowed a quick mate which White found.
Anya Thurner vs Simon Lyall – A fairly even game with pieces steadily being swapped. White made an error in the endgame but Black failed to find the correct moves to win. Draw
Philli Park-Tamati vs Winston Weng – Black allowed a well-known tactic and ended up an exchange down. He resigned a few moves later in the face of further losses. 1-0
Aaron Wang vs Joe Wang – White missed a tactic which allowed Black to pick up an exchange and a pawn. Black then kept up the pressure till he could pick off White’s pawns. 0-1
Karl Holdo vs Boyuan Zhang – Dubious play by both players in the opening and middlegame. Black emerged into the endgame a pawn up and that was enough to win. 0-1
Ajit Pendharkar vs German Giuliani – White survived Black’s pet opening and got a good position. He settled for a draw however. Draw.
Upsets in round 3
Alex Nagorski beat Gordon Morrell Boyuan Zhang beat Karl Holdo Anya Thurner drew with Simon Lyall Joe wang beat Aaron Wang
Paul Garbett and Allen Fan lead with 3 points each.
B Grade
Upsets in Round 3
Jack Chen beat Mathew Steadman Eden Oshri beat Eugene Wang Eric Fan beat John McClory
Jack Chen and Yolanda Chang are leadign the grade on 3 points.