Auckland Chess Centre

Results of Simul on Feb 2nd

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 | News | Comments Off

Top ACC players Bruce Watson and Mike Steadman played 22 other club members at once in a to kick off the year. The result was:

18 Wins for Bruce and Mike
2 draws against Gino Thornton and John Robinson
2 losses to Bryan Latimer and Keith Ward

2009 Queenstown Classic : A Patzer’s Tale

Sunday, February 8th, 2009 | News | Comments Off

2009 Queenstown Classic 15th – 24th January : A Patzer’s Tale

by T. Edward Tanoi

The Queenstown Classic was a fantastic experience. I’d never been to Queenstown before and when I got there I finally understood what the hype was all about. Incredible scenery with majestic mountains and pristine lakes. It really did feel like paradise. There seemed like lots to see and do – and that was just in the township. I couldn’t wait to explore some of the neighbouring landscape. Fortunately, the playing schedule allowed this and on the day I took the half point bye I visited Milford Sound which was just amazing. During the tournament I also went to Wanaka, Arrowtown, Glenorchy and Te Anau. All incredibly beautiful places. It seemed each town had its own lake.

As for the chess…

Well…I’ve had better days. Actually, I’ve had better fortnights. As memorable as Queenstown was, the chess wasn’t anything to write home about it. Or even on a website. So I’m just going to summarise here for your information.

Round 1 started off badly by gifting a win to Paul Garbett. Admittedly Paul was probably going to win anyway but I could have put up better resistance. Round 2 was a shocker which set the tone for the following games. After outplaying my very lowly ranked opponent I then proceeded to see ghosts in the position and after miscalculating a crushing attack I had to accept a draw after my opponent forced perpetual check.

Round 3 followed in similar vein. After a promising position I quickly self destructed. Round 4 saw me finally registering my first win. I was very happy to see my opponent play an Open Sicilian and once I had the intiative I was able to simplify to a winning endgame.

Round 5 was a disaster after I misplayed the opening. The exchange down I tried to complicate the middlegame by setting up a fortress across the entire board. Then with the opponent gradually getting on top I ditched pawns for some desperate counterplay. Although it worked and I was suddenly winning, I blundered a completely won position by allowing a mate in 1.

Round 6 was my much needed half point bye and break which allowed me to return to the playing hall more energised and motivated for Round 7. Sadly, I blundered again and after missing a forced win I proceeded to characteristically self destruct.

Round 8 and 9 allowed me to make a mini comeback with some good wins over Roy Seabrook and Stephen Watson. Seabrook I’d only played once before when he crushed me out of the opening at North Shore a couple of years ago. This time I was able to return the favour, maintaining a nice edge in a Queen’s Indian which Roy needed to play more accurately. Watson was an unknown quantity as I’d never heard of him but the Christchuch Club can be proud of this promising youngster as he has a mature approach to chess which belies his young age. I must confess, it’s probably a good idea to play a few Benko Gambits in practice before playing it in a tournament.

The final round saw me with the white pieces against Ross Jackson of Wellington. I had 4 points going into the game and needed a win to achieve my pre-tournament goal. From my database I saw that Jackson liked to play the Modern Benoni. Normally I would allow this as I play the Benoni with either colour but after some advice decided against and opted for something less confrontational. The semi-Tarrasch promised counterplay for either player although I had a slight edge in space but in the end, after some tense moments with both Kings vulnerable Jackson was forced to perpetually check.

So…all in all, a very enjoyable trip…if only I didn’t have all that chess throughout my stay!

But I could always view my results in perspective. Sharing the very nice house with a magnificent view of Queenstown was Stephen Lukey from Christchurch and Paul Garbett from North Shore. They didn’t perform as well as they hoped either. The final member of our house, Mike Steadman probably suffered the most when after leading the New Zealanders into the final round played his worst game to lose and missing out on winning the New Zealand Championship by half a point to Anthony Ker who picked up his 10th title.

Special mention must be made of our club’s other player Daniel Shen who played brilliant chess throughout (although not without the odd hiccup) and ably assisted by his coach Ewen Green. Shen finished in a tie with Steadman, Garbett and Bob Smith in a final round thriller.

There is a strong possibility that this might be the last Queenstown Classic as the tournament is impossible to run without sponsors. But if that is the case then I take this opportunity to thank the Sponsors and organiser for a fantastic job without which I would never have had the chance to visit our own brand of kiwi paradise!