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Autumn Cup 2017 – Final Results

The Autumn Cup was held across 7 rounds in April, May and June. The Club was divided into 2 Swiss tournaments with a cut-off of around 1500 and around 38 players in each.

Vega Links: A Grade, B Grade

A Grade

1st=  Bruce Watson and Daniel Gong on 5.5
3rd= Alphaeus Ang, Ben Hague, Allen Fan and Gordon Morrell on 5.0

B Grade

1st    Toby Zhang on 6.0
2nd   Erica Hu on 5.5
3rd=  Louie Wei and Winston Weng on 5.0

 

Club Champs 2017 – Round 1

The first round of the club champs started with a huge number of upsets in the A and B grade. Of the 10 games only 1 was run by the higher rated player, 4 were draws and 5 were won by the lower rated.

A reminder that the New Zealand Junior Championship and the North Island Championships tournaments will be played at the club during the July School Holidays. Entry forms are on the New Zealand Chess Calendar page

 

Club Champs Round 1 PGN by Ewan Green

A Grade

Gong v Duneas – White quickly moved off opening theory and gave Black a good start. Some 30 moves of sharp tactics followed with Black having the better attach but his king being open if he allow white time. White eventually force a draw.

Hague v Fan – In this game Black wandered off standard lines and was behind after the opening. After some great tactics white ended up well ahead in material and Black resigned. 1-0

Zhang v Watson – A fairly even start but black opened up the position when White had two nicely placed Bishops (vs Black’s 2 Knights). White then broke up the pawns in front of Black’s king to attack while Black’s pieces were on the wrong side of the board. 1-0

Morrell vs Ang – Black unwisely advance the pawns in front of his King when White had castled the other side and was already lining up an attack. He survived the attack but White swapped down to a winning endgame. 1-0

Goodhue v Steadman – After an almost-conventional opening the players were fairly even for most of the middle game. Black ended up a little better however after some swaps. However White was able to even things and the players agreed on a draw.

B Grade

Qin v Ha – After a good start White got herself stuck behind the central pawns. Blacks pieces had more freedom and he picked up an exchange, then a pawn and then some central passed pawns pushed White back to her back rank. 0-1

Ward v Peak – After a fiery opening ( Goering Gambit, double pawn sacrifice) white kept up the pressure on Black but black managed to defend well. The players abruptly agreed on a draw with black ahead but lowish on time. Draw

Brimble v Yan – A cramped opening. White looked better due to a big hole in Black’s position exposing her King.  Black forced a swap of some major pieces which evened up the position. White then gave up a piece and a few moves later Black Queen’d. 0-1

Nagorski v Lyall – Black made some mistakes after the opening and white obtained some pressure. White managed to lock up the position and it was eventually a draw although both players missed chances. Draw

Wu v Eade – White managed to get rid of a couple of Black’s kingside pawns to give him some holes to attack though. Black was keen to attack however and unwisely moved his Queen away from defence. This allowed White to spring a quick mate. 1-0

Final position Wu v Eade after 26. Rd8

C Grade

There were relatively few upsets in C grade due to large rating differences in the first round. However:

  • Winston Weng beat David Xu
  • Jeffrey Yu beat Isabelle Ning
  • Abraham Deng draw with Mike Steiner

 

 

Club Champs 2017 – B Grade Draw


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 1  : June 19
=====================================================
1 = 1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu   -  10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth
2 = 2 Ward, Keith          -   9 Peak, Stephen       
3 = 3 Brimble, Mark T      -   8 Yan, Caroline       
4 = 4 Nagorski, Alex       -   7 Lyall, Simon        
5 = 5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric  -   6 Eade, Don           


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 2  : June 26
=====================================================
1 =10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth -   6 Eade, Don           
2 = 7 Lyall, Simon         -   5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric 
3 = 8 Yan, Caroline        -   4 Nagorski, Alex      
4 = 9 Peak, Stephen        -   3 Brimble, Mark T     
5 = 1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu   -   2 Ward, Keith         


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 3  : July 3
=====================================================
1 = 2 Ward, Keith          -  10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth
2 = 3 Brimble, Mark T      -   1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu  
3 = 4 Nagorski, Alex       -   9 Peak, Stephen       
4 = 5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric  -   8 Yan, Caroline       
5 = 6 Eade, Don            -   7 Lyall, Simon        


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 4   : July 10
=====================================================
1 =10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth -   7 Lyall, Simon        
2 = 8 Yan, Caroline        -   6 Eade, Don           
3 = 9 Peak, Stephen        -   5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric 
4 = 1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu   -   4 Nagorski, Alex      
5 = 2 Ward, Keith          -   3 Brimble, Mark T     


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 5   : July 17
=====================================================
1 = 3 Brimble, Mark T      -  10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth
2 = 4 Nagorski, Alex       -   2 Ward, Keith         
3 = 5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric  -   1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu  
4 = 6 Eade, Don            -   9 Peak, Stephen       
5 = 7 Lyall, Simon         -   8 Yan, Caroline       


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 6   : July 24
=====================================================
1 =10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth -   8 Yan, Caroline       
2 = 9 Peak, Stephen        -   7 Lyall, Simon        
3 = 1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu   -   6 Eade, Don           
4 = 2 Ward, Keith          -   5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric 
5 = 3 Brimble, Mark T      -   4 Nagorski, Alex      


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 7   : July 31
=====================================================
1 = 4 Nagorski, Alex       -  10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth
2 = 5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric  -   3 Brimble, Mark T     
3 = 6 Eade, Don            -   2 Ward, Keith         
4 = 7 Lyall, Simon         -   1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu  
5 = 8 Yan, Caroline        -   9 Peak, Stephen       


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 8   : August 7
=====================================================
1 =10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth -   9 Peak, Stephen       
2 = 1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu   -   8 Yan, Caroline       
3 = 2 Ward, Keith          -   7 Lyall, Simon        
4 = 3 Brimble, Mark T      -   6 Eade, Don           
5 = 4 Nagorski, Alex       -   5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric 


Club Champs B 2017 : Round 9   : August 14
=====================================================
1 = 5 Wu, Kwok Leung Eric  -  10 Ha, Huy Minh (Timoth
2 = 6 Eade, Don            -   4 Nagorski, Alex      
3 = 7 Lyall, Simon         -   3 Brimble, Mark T     
4 = 8 Yan, Caroline        -   2 Ward, Keith         
5 = 9 Peak, Stephen        -   1 Qin, Nicole Shu Yu  


Club Champs 2017 – A Grade Draw


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 1  : June 19
=====================================================
1 = 1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen  -  10 Duneas, John        
2 = 2 Hague, Ben           -   9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou 
3 = 3 Zhang, Leo           -   8 Watson, Bruce R     
4 = 4 Morrell, Gordon      -   7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er
5 = 5 Goodhue, Nathan      -   6 Steadman, Michael V 


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 2  : June 26
=====================================================
1 =10 Duneas, John         -   6 Steadman, Michael V 
2 = 7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er -   5 Goodhue, Nathan     
3 = 8 Watson, Bruce R      -   4 Morrell, Gordon     
4 = 9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou  -   3 Zhang, Leo          
5 = 1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen  -   2 Hague, Ben          


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 3  : July 3
=====================================================
1 = 2 Hague, Ben           -  10 Duneas, John        
2 = 3 Zhang, Leo           -   1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen 
3 = 4 Morrell, Gordon      -   9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou 
4 = 5 Goodhue, Nathan      -   8 Watson, Bruce R     
5 = 6 Steadman, Michael V  -   7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 4  : July 10
=====================================================
1 =10 Duneas, John         -   7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er
2 = 8 Watson, Bruce R      -   6 Steadman, Michael V 
3 = 9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou  -   5 Goodhue, Nathan     
4 = 1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen  -   4 Morrell, Gordon     
5 = 2 Hague, Ben           -   3 Zhang, Leo          


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 5  : July 17
=====================================================
1 = 3 Zhang, Leo           -  10 Duneas, John        
2 = 4 Morrell, Gordon      -   2 Hague, Ben          
3 = 5 Goodhue, Nathan      -   1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen 
4 = 6 Steadman, Michael V  -   9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou 
5 = 7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er -   8 Watson, Bruce R     


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 6   : July 24
=====================================================
1 =10 Duneas, John         -   8 Watson, Bruce R     
2 = 9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou  -   7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er
3 = 1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen  -   6 Steadman, Michael V 
4 = 2 Hague, Ben           -   5 Goodhue, Nathan     
5 = 3 Zhang, Leo           -   4 Morrell, Gordon     


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 7   : July 31
=====================================================
1 = 4 Morrell, Gordon      -  10 Duneas, John        
2 = 5 Goodhue, Nathan      -   3 Zhang, Leo          
3 = 6 Steadman, Michael V  -   2 Hague, Ben          
4 = 7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er -   1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen 
5 = 8 Watson, Bruce R      -   9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou 


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 8   : August 7
=====================================================
1 =10 Duneas, John         -   9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou 
2 = 1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen  -   8 Watson, Bruce R     
3 = 2 Hague, Ben           -   7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er
4 = 3 Zhang, Leo           -   6 Steadman, Michael V 
5 = 4 Morrell, Gordon      -   5 Goodhue, Nathan     


Club Champs A 2017 : Round 9   : August 14
=====================================================
1 = 5 Goodhue, Nathan      -  10 Duneas, John        
2 = 6 Steadman, Michael V  -   4 Morrell, Gordon     
3 = 7 Ang, Alphaeus Wei Er -   3 Zhang, Leo          
4 = 8 Watson, Bruce R      -   2 Hague, Ben          
5 = 9 Fan, Allen Chi Zhou  -   1 Gong, Daniel Hanwen 


 

 

Autumn Cup 2017 – Round 7

The last round of the 2017 Autumn Cup was played on June 12th. Going into the round A grade had 6 players in contention (Alphaeus Ang half a point ahead of 5 others), while in B grade just two players had a chance of winning. Next week the Club Champs will start.

I’ll post a summary of the Autumn Cup results in another post.

Autumn Cup round 7 PGN by Ewen Green and Tim Ha.

Vega Links: A Grade, B Grade

A Grade

Gong v Ang – After a sedate start White tries 7 d4 to liven things up without success, however a few moves later Black allows white some play and white sacrifices and exchange for good mobility and threats. After 20 movies of maneuvering black makes a mistake and allows and mating net. 1-0

Fan vs Hague – Black gets a huge attack in the middle which white somehow manages to survive. They swap to an endgame with Black having a Rook vs Whites with 2 Knights (plus some pawns each).  Then Black gives up his Rook to leave Black with just won pawn and White with 2 Knights. Close to the end White even had a theoretical win but played a different move and the players took the draw.

Fan v Hague: White to Play and Win

Watson vs Jasmine Zhang – After coming under pressure Black lost her Queen and two pawns for 2 rooks. White swapped Queen and rooks back but blew his advantage. However after a miscalculation Black was in a King and pawn endgame with her King on the wrong side of the board. 1-0

Goodhue v Morrell – A complicated game. White had a cramped position that Black took a while to crack. 0-1

Duneas vs Rodney Li – While lost a pawn in the early middle-game and was working to hold the game after giving up another and then a third. White missed a chance to force a draw but Black kept swapping material until his pawn advantage allowed him to promote. 0-1

Ha vs Nagorski – Black picked up a couple of pawns early in the game though holes in White’s defense. Black sacrificed a rook for a mate but took a draw when it didn’t quite work. Draw

Nicole Qin vs Leo Zhang – After an even looking opening Black picked up a pawn and then pushed a passed pawn which won pieces. 0-1

Wells vs Wu – Black mounted an attack down the C-file which picked up a pawn and then a piece. 0-1

Jacobs vs Caroline Yan – A color-reversed Queens Gambit. Black pushed hard to get an advantage and wore white down till he crumbled. 0-1

Milne vs Ward – A good opening from black picked up a pawn although white was better developed. After a tactic white got a huge attack however which escalated into a mate. 1-0

Eade vs Sarah Yan – Black got better of the opening, picking up a pawn. White played a tactic which got it back though the tactic was unsound so he was a little lucky. Both players then missed some tactics and eventually agree on a draw.

Michael vs Lui – White had a good start but lost a pawn in the early-middle game. Black maintained a slight lead after that and when things eventually swapped in the endgame was enough ahead to win. 0-1

Oscar Qin vs Peak – Black improvised in the opening but came out okay. White pushed his kingside pawns but left his position a little vulnerable while black’s Queenside pawn push cramped White. Black picked up an exchange and his advanced pawns caused problems for White until he was a piece ahead. 0-1

Wang vs Steiner – A lot of tactical threats and mistakes throughout the game. Eventually Black won. 0-1

Euan McDougall vs Yu – Black made an error in the opening and lost a pawn. Some slow play by both players afterwards until Black got the pawn back. The players swapped to an even rook and pawn endgame but Black made a couple of mistakes and lost. 1-0

B Grade

One the top board the Leaders Erica Hu and Toby Zhang drew.

Top upsets were

  • Jeffery Yu beating Abraham Deng
  • Shawn Hui drew with Jacob Chai
  • Erica Hu drew with Tobdy Zhang
  • Winson Weng beat Felix Xie

 

Draft field for 2017 Club Champs

The Auckland Chess Centre Club Champs will be starting on June the 19th and round for 9 weeks. There will be 10-player A and B Round-robin grades and a C-Grade Swiss.

Vega Links for the Grades are below. They are not quite final but should be close. Please contact Simon if your name is missing or you’d prefer to play in another grade.

A Grade, B Grade , C Grade

Autumn Cup 2017 – Round 6

The 6th round of the Autumn Cup saw a larger than usual number of draws. A reminder that the final round 7 will be on June 12th following the Queen’s birthday break.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Club champs which will start on June 19th.

Autumn Cup Round 6 pgn by Ewen Green, Tim Ha and Simon Lyall

Vega Links: A Grade, B Grade

A Grade

Ang v Fan – An early repetition with Black in a slightly better position. Draw

Morrell vs Watson – An interesting game. White sacrifices 3 a piece for 3 pawns and gets some chances. Black gets a passed pawn & at one points is A Quuen, 2 pieces and 2 pawns vs a Queen & 6 pawns. Black has to settle for a draw due to the mass for passed pawns. Draw

Hague v Duneas – White picks up a under-guarded pawn and then swaps into an endgame a pawn ahead which he wins. 1-0

Gong vs Macdonald – White aggressive swaps to a rook and pawn endgame. He gradually improves his position and then breaks though and picks up several pawns. 1-0

Caroline Yan vs Goodhue – As often happens, Black gets a little behind in the opening but gets ahead in the tight middle-game positions. White eventually allows a breakthrough against he passive pieces. 0-1

Rodney Li vs Nagorski – Black has most of the play though the game but a slip in the endgame results in a drawn position. Draw

Leo Zhang vs Jacobs – White gets a little lost in his opening and gets a pawn down and very cramped. A few moves later Black is in a commanding position (Computer says +4.5) but the players agree on a draw.

Sarah Yan v Tim Ha – Black pushes against white and eventually picks up a loose pawn. After some piece swaps white tries to push forward some centre pawns but lacks the pieces. Black counter-attacks and wins with an unexpected checkmate. 0-1

Wu v Milne – White gets into trouble aftre he improvises in the opening but luckily for him black missed the best line. However Black pushes hard and white is on the back foot for the next 20 moves. Eventually they agree on a draw in a close endgame. Draw

Peak v Wells – A messy opening gives white a bad pawn structure ( tripled pawns plus 3 isolated pawns) but better placed pieces.  Black develops and gets two pawns up before Queening. 0-1

Liu vs Eade – A fairly uneventful game. They players maneuver around before agreeing on a draw at move 32. Draw

Ward vs Euan MacDougall –  A careless move by Black gives white a huge attack out of nowhere. 1-0

Lyall vs Wayne MacDougall – White gets an attack out of the opening and eventually black makes a fatal mistake or two. 1-0

Steiner vs Michael – A very even looking game. The game goes through several phases and very different series of positions as each player gets ahead for a bit. Eventually they agree on a draw.

Burrows vs Aaron Wang – Black gets a better opening and picks up a pawn and a better position in the middle game. However White manages to get into a drawn endgame position. Draw

With just one round to go Alphaeus Ang is in first place on 5 points ahead of 5 players on 4.5.

B Grade

Only a few upsets this round. Saasha Ghadiali drew with Ying Wang and Tom Fu drew with Leo Li.

The Grade is led by Toby Zhang on 5.5 and Erica Hu on 5.0 who are playing well ahead of their rating.

Round 7

The draft draws for round seven are below. Subject to usual changes.

Updated Friday Night Schedule

The Friday Night Schedule has been adjusted to better suit our players who dislike the fast blitz games (like the regular 5+2) and love playing rapid games (like the moderate 15+5). Now one blitz tournament will only run, after every one (or sometimes two) rapid tournaments. Rapid tournaments will generally run for 3-4 nights, whereas most blitz tournaments will only run for one night – instead of previously, where some of them were run for two nights.

Also we have added a number of fun and exciting formats, I encourage you all to check out the new schedule. A few additional formats are currently being planned/tested, and being finely tuned for our Friday Night casual events. Please check out our new schedule here: http://www.aucklandchess.nz/friday-chess/schedule/

You will also see that the time controls change for different events and seasons (i.e. Slightly slower during winter and slightly faster during spring).

This week we will start the Autumn Knockout 20+0 Tournament (Ro.16/Ro.8, expandable to Ro.32 for 32 players). I encourage you all to come along and play some interesting and exciting chess.

Alex

Autumn Cup 2017 – Round 5

Both A and B grade saw fewer upsets than in previous round but things are still close. Coming up round 6 will be played on May 29th but the club will be closed on June 5th for Queens birthday, round 7 will be on June 12th.

A reminder that the signup sheets are in place for the Junior Interclub on June 25th and for the Club Champs from mid-June onwards. The Trusts Open will also be on Queens Birthday weekend. More details in the Entry form.

Autumn Cup round 5 PGN by Ewen Green and Tim Ha

Vega Links: A Grade, B Grade

A Grade

Ang vs Hague –  Black got off to a good start and seemed a little ahead for much of the game. White’s H-Rook was stuck in the corner and his other pieces imperfectly placed. Black got a pawn ahead but a complicated swap left an unbalanced endgame. White had 2 rooks & 3 pawns vs a rook, a bishop & 5 pawns. Black push his centre pawns white White pushed his H-pawn. White put on pressure and black missed some good moves and eventually the (very hard to find) drawing line. 1-0

Duneas vs Watson – After an even start White made a tactical error and then compounded it trying to save it. He resigned a few moves later. 0-1

Fan vs Caroline Yan –  A fairly even game though to about move 20 before white picked up 2 pawns and then swapped to an single rook each endgame with 2 extra pawns. 1-0

Jasmine Zhang vs Leo Zhang – Black got under early pressure (I suspect the Gruenfeld is not a good opening if you are rough on theory) and miscalculated some tactics to leave himself well down in material. 1-0

Milne vs Gong – White was looking good until she got her Queen trapped. 0-1

Nagorski vs Macdonald – This game has extensive analysis by Paul Macdonald in the PGN – I very much recommend reading it. Paul summarizes the game as “This game was special in my mind because it was played generally at to a very high standard. What was significant was that the endgame was played well by both sides with no major errors despite there being significant time trouble. I felt both players could be proud of this game.” – Draw

Eade vs Morrell – Black got his pieces on great squares and restricted White. He then sacrificed an exchange to bust open the position. White resign as he was about to lose material. 0-1

Goodhue vs Liu – Black failed to take advantages of White’s slow start. As White turned up the pressure Black lost a piece. 1-0

Steadman vs Peak – Mike is having a rough tournament and this game was no better. – The game started evenly but white got the imitative with a pawn storm on the kingside. But Black was able to hold it off due to central pawns blocking white’s other pieces. Tactical chances were missed by both players but black managed to get a perpetual check. Draw.

Sarah Yan vs Ward – An obscure opening. The game got very tactical for many moves before black made the last mistake. 1-0

Jacobs vs Lyall – Passive play by black allowed white to push 4 supported pawns against Black’s King. Mate followed. 1-0

Nicole Qin vs Steiner – White got a good position out of the opening and Black went downhill from there. 1-0

Ha vs Oscar Qin – White won a piece, then another. 1-0

Michael vs Wu – White sacrificed a knight for two pawns and a pawn storm against Black’s king. He looked quite good after that but in a complex position as the players swapped pieces he fell for a pin of his Queen against his King. 0-1

Wells vs Burrows – Nobody expects you to accept the Queen’s Gambit. However white recovered and was winning. Black eventually left a piece en prise.  1-0

Ewen McDougall vs Aaron Wang – The places seem to have accidentally played with wrong colors from the draw. White (McDougall) was ahead early on after black failed to quickly develop. After white got a pawn up he swapped to an endgame. The position was draw but black made a mistake in a King and pawn endgame. 1-0

Yu vs McDougall – White got into a good position after blacks dubious opening but missed a tactic and lost a piece. Both players when swapped pieces with white trying various ways to get his piece back. Eventually Black managed to come out ahead. 0-1

With his win against Ben Hague; Alphaeus Ang is now in first place on 4.5 ahead of Bruce Watson. Jasmine Zhang and Allen Fan on 4 points.

B Grade

Upsets in Round 5

  • Winston Weng beat Renae Ghadiali
  • Kelvin Xiao beat Isabelle Ning
  • Jeffery Yu beat Jacob Chai
  • Rosa Ryu beat Zi Hao Lin

Current leader after 5 rounds is Toby Zhang on 4.5, ahead of Erica Hu on 4.0 . 5 players are just behind on 3.5

Round 6

The draft draws for round six are below. Subject to usual changes.

Autumn Cup – Round 4

Round 4 of the Autumn Cup saw several upsets in A Grade and the grade is now much closer.  B Grade on the other hand has one player by themselves in the lead.

A reminder about upcoming tournaments. The Trust Open is on Queen’s Birthday Weekend (starting June 3rd). The Interclub Junior Rapid is on June 25th and the North Island Champs and NZ Junior Champs will be held at the club in July.

Vega Links: A Grade, B Grade

Autumn Cup round 4 PGN by Ewen Green with help from Tim Ha.

A Grade

Watson vs Ang – White sacrificed a Knight for 1 pawn and an attack. Black responded by aggressively swapping pieces (in not always the best way) until it was just 2:1 pieces left. White was unable to break though with his extra pawns and once he last them resigned. 0-1

Hague vs Nagorski – White got a little more initiative out of the opening and picked up a rook for a bishop and a pawn. However Black had some mobility to compensate. White managed to outplay Black in the endgame however. 1-0

Gong vs Duneas – White was ahead from early and looked in a winning position on on but missed a tactic around move 25 that allowed black to counterattack and pick up material. Black managed to win the Queen vs 2 rooks endgame by taking white’s pawns and forcing a swap of the Queen and rooks.

Macdonald vs Fan – Whites opening left him well down and things did not improved as both players maneuvered pieces around. Eventually White made a tactical mistake. 0-1

Jasmine Zhang vs Eade – Black walked into a mating trap early in the game. 1-0

Caroline Yan vs Mike Steadman – Black push against White but ended up with his pieces in poor positions and resigned after her counter-attack was about to win one or two. 1-0

Morrell vs Ha- The opening left black cramped and on the defensive. Black tried to break out but trapped his Queen in the process. 1-0

Milne vs Nicole Qin – Black got off to a good start winning a pawn. However White pushed pawns against Black’s castled King and black made enough mistakes to get checkmated. 1-0

Peak vs Goodhue – White had a good start but allowed Black to undermine his centre and get ahead. Eventually White made a tactical mistake and Black won. 0-1

Wu vs Jacobs – A strange symmetrical opening. Soon after white picked up a pawn and an attack but lacked the right pieces to break though. Black gained an exchange back the players agreed on a draw in a position which was hard for either to make progress. Draw

Liu vs Wang – Black fell for an opening trap and lost his Queen. 1-0

Ward vs Wells – Nice middlegame play by White to undermine Black’s position. 1-0

Wayne McDougall vs Andrew Michael – Dubious opening play by both players (which is saying something in this tournament). Black got a better position and eventually converted. 0-1

Euan McDougall vs Mike Steiner – Black got a better position early in the game and managed a pawn push against White’s King plus other threats. White managed to swap to an even position however. However black ended up with an endgame win. 0-1

Major upsets in Round 4:

  • Caroline Yan beat Mike Steadman
  • John Duneas beat Daniel Gong
  • Alphaeus Ang beat Bruce Watson

The grade is now a 3-way tie for first with Ben Hague, Alphaeus Ang and John Duneas on 3.5 points. 4 other players are on 3.0

B Grade

Major Upsets:

  • Erica Hu beat John Liu
  • Uday Jain beat Isabelle Ning
  • Saasha Ghadiali beat Jacob Barry

Toby Zhang is now by himself in 1st on 4 points. Behind him there are 6 players on 3.0 points.

Possible draws for round 5 are below, subject with byes and other changes.