Julian Mazur - 8th and final round

Here are the results from the final round of the Julian Mazur Memorial:

Ang, Ferdie 0 Croad, Nic 1
Sellen, Ian 1/2 Pomeroy, Arthur 1/2
Van der Hoorn, Mark 1 Forster, William 0
Baider, Daniel 1 Kay, Bruce 0
Hill, Martin 0 Jackson, Ross 1
Brockway, Andrew 1/2 Townsend, Ralph 1/2
Nicholls, Alistair 1 Proctor, Mike 0
Marney, John 0 Hewson, Michael 1
Waugh, Hugh 0 Cook, John 1
Seabrook, Roy 1 Shirlaw, Hamish 0

Congratulations to Nic Croad on winning all of his games.

Final placings:

1st Nic Croad (7.5 points, 7 wins and 1 bye)
2nd-4th Baider, Sellen, Van der Hoorn (5.5 points)
5th-8th Ang, Jackson, Pomeroy, Seabrook (5 points)
9th Forster (4.5 points)
10th-12th Hill, Nicholls, Townsend (4 points)
13th-15th Brockway, Du Plessis M, Kay (3.5 points)
16th-19th Cook, Farrington, Hewson, Shierlaw (3 points)
20th Marney (2.5 points)
21st-22nd Proctor, Waugh (2 points)

This week - 5 minute chess and beer, hope to see you all there.

Club Championships - final results

Last results from the club championships

A Grade
Dive, Russell 1 Nijman, Brian 0

This result means that we have joint Wellington champions this year - Russell Dive, rated 2370, and Brian Nijman, rated 1980. Congratulations to both players. Third place goes to Nic Croad.

C Grade
(results from last few weeks)
Shierlaw, Hamish 1 Marney, John 0
Proctor, Mike 0 Shierlaw, Hamish 1

Hamish finished strongly, but too late to make an impression on the top places.

Here are cross tables for all 3 grades.

A grade













B grade












C grade

Wellington ratings November 2007

Here are the ratings for Wellington players taken from the new grading list published by the New Zealand Chess Federation. Note that the games played in the club championship are not included.In the country as a whole, Russell Dive is third on the list, behind Wainuiomata's finest export (in my opinion) Murray Chandler, and Otago's Ben Martin. A lot of the Wellington people in the list have not been active this year, some have moved away, and some of them, I confess, I have never heard of.
















1.Dive, Russell 2370
2. Ker, Anthony 2344
3. Lukey, Stephen 2326
4. Croad, Nicholas 2321
5. Wastney, Scott 2318
6. Van der Hoorn 2213
7. Baider, Daniel 2148
8. Dunn, Paul 2071
9. Wojnar, Maciej 2050
10. Sims, Martin T 2017
11. Turner, Michael 2017
12. Pomeroy, Arthur 1995
13. Marner, Gavin 1991
14. Wojnar, Jacek 1984
15. Nijman, Brian 1980
16. Sellen, Ian 1940
17. Boardman, Jeffrey 1934
18. Jackson, L Ross 1914
19. Benitez, Edgar 1907
20. Nyberg, Michael 1903
21. Wilkins, Mark 1853
22. Forster, William 1847
23. Ang, Ferdie 1832
24. Gordon, Russel 1821
25. Aldridge, Alan 1801
26. Smith, David 1796
27. Stracy, Don 1765
28. Hill, Martin 1762
29. Du Plessis, Neels 1693
30. Walters, Nigel 1680
31. Farrington, Lawrence 1673
32. King, Peter 1628
33. Chifu, Tudor 1607
34. Capper, David 1587
35. Kay, J Bruce 1571
36. Benitez, Rick 1567
37. Wigbout, Max 1552
38. Moore, Stephen 1491
39. Nicholls, Alistair 1457
40. Thorpe, Richard 1420
41. Harnett, Patrick 1408
42. Du Plessis, Megan 1406
43. Brockway, Andrew 1384
44. Olssen, Alex 1362
45. Sidell, Gregory 1333
46. Yan, Garry 1326
47. French, Will 1306
48. Yin, Ambrose 1211
49. Shierlaw, Hamish 1173
50. Leibowitz, Michael 1155
51. Wylde, Henry 1143
52. Stevens, Michael 1105
53. Pattekar, Somesh 1103
54. Waugh, Hugh 1086

Julian Mazur round 7

With one round to go Nic Croad is already uncatchable at the top, having totally outclassed the field and won all his games (the half point was a bye because he had to play a club championship game). Congratulations Nic!

Croad, Nic 1 Van der Hoorn, Mark 0
Pomeroy, Arthur 1/2 Forster, William 1/2
Seabrook, Roy 0 Sellen, Ian 1
Ang, Ferdie 1 Hill, Martin 0
Townsend, Ralph 1 Baider, Daniel 0
Farrington, Lawrence 1/2 Jackson, Ross 1/2
Nicholls, Alistair 1/2 Brockway, Andrew 1/2
Hewson, Michael 1 Waugh, Hugh 0
Cook, John 1 Marney, John 0 (default)

Standings

6.5 points: Nic Croad
5 points: Ang, Sellen
4.5 points: Baider, Forster, Pomeroy, Van der Hoorn
4 points: Hill, Jackson, Seabrook
3.5 points: Kay, Townsend
3 points: Brockway, Nicholls
2.5 points: Farrington, Marney
2 points: Cook, Hewson, Proctor, Waugh

Julian Mazur round 6

Results from 27th November 2007

Croad, Nic 1 Hill, Martin 0
Van der Hoorn, Mark 1 Baider, Daniel 0
Forster, William 1/2 Sellen, Ian 1/2
Kay, Bruce 0 Pomeroy, Arthur 1
Brockway, Andrew 0 Ang, Ferdie 1
Jackson, Ross 1 Nicholls, Alistair 0
Waugh, Hugh 0 Seabrook, Roy 1
Marney, John 1 Proctor, Matthew 0
Hewson, Michael 1 Cook, John 0

Nic is now one point clear with 2 rounds to go.

Standings:
5.5 points: Croad
4.5 points: Van der Hoorn
4 Points: Ang, Forster, Hill, Pomeroy, Seabrook, Sellen
3.5 points: Baider, Jackson, Townsend
3 points: Kay
2.5 points: Brockway, Du Plessis M, Marney, Nicholls, Shierlaw
2 points: Farrington, Waugh
1.5 points: Proctor
1 point: Cook, Hewson

Finally - a game!

I am very grateful to Anthony Ker for donating his loss to Russell Dive in the Autumn Cup earlier this year. He also supplied the exclamation marks. Finally, this is starting to look like a proper chess site!

White: Russell Dive
Black: Anthony Ker

Opening: English

1. c4 e5
2. Nc3 b6?!
3. Nf3 Nc6
4. g3 Bb7
5. Bg2 Rb8
6. 0-0 g6
7. d4 Nxd4
8. Nxd4 Bxg2
9. Kxg2 exd4
10. Qxd4 Qf6



















11. Qd3! Ne7
12. Bf4 Bg7
13. Kg1 d6
14. Nb5 Kd7?!
15. Qa3! a5
16. Rad1 Nc8
17. Qa4 Kd8
18. Nd4 Ne7
19. Qb5! h6
20. c5 d5
21. e4 g5




















22. exd5!! gxf4
23. d6 c6
24. Nxc6+ Nxc6
25. Qxc6 Rc8
26. Qxb6+ Kd7
27. Rfe1 Rhe8
28. Qb5+ Black resigns


The all-seeing computer shows a slightly quicker finish with 28. Qb7 Kd8 29. Re7 Rxe7 30. dxe7 Ke8 31. Qd7 #, but, of course, the move played is perfectly sufficient.

B grade champion - Alan Aldridge

Final game in the club championship B grade:

Jackson, Ross 1/2 Aldridge, Alan 1/2

Alan Aldridge pulled off an amazing escape in a completely lost endgame position against Ross Jackson. He thus gets to take the title by himself, half a point ahead of Ferdie Ang. Congratulations Alan! Ross takes 3rd place.

A grade penultimate game

Dive, Russell 0 Ker, Anthony 1

Russell lost on time "just as his position was about to fall apart" in a typically exciting battle between the two international masters. This is a huge favour to Brian Nijman, who now only needs to avoid defeat by Russell in the final game of the championship to keep the title to himself. That's not asking too much is it Brian? Definitely a game to watch!

Cross-table with 1 game to play:

Julian Mazur Round 5

Nic Croad took sole lead in the Julian Mazur Memorial after I somewhat prematurely resigned against him a pawn down in a rook and pawn ending. 3 rounds to go.

Round 5 results:
Sellen, Ian 0 Croad, Nic 1
Hill, Martin 1 Townsend, Ralph 0
Forster, William 1 Nicholls, Alistair 0
Van der Hoorn, Mark 1 Kay, Bruce 0
Pomeroy, Arthur 1 Waugh, Hugh 0
Cook, John 0 Ang, Ferdie 1
Proctor, Matthew 0 Brockway, Andrew 1
Seabrook, Roy 1 Hewson, Michael 0
Byes: Baider, Jackson, Du Plessis M, Shierlaw, Farrington, Marney

Standings after round 5:
4.5 points: Croad
4 points: Hill
3.5 points: Baider, Forster, Sellen, Van der Hoorn
3 points: Ang, Kay, Pomeroy, Seabrook, Townsend
2.5 points: Brockway, Jackson, Nicholls
2 points: Du Plessis M, Shierlaw, Waugh
1.5 points: Farrington, Marney, Proctor
1 point: Cook
0 points: Hewson

Club Championships B and C grades

B grade
Aldridge, Alan 1 Frost, Paul 0

C grade
Shierlaw, Hamish 1 Gerrs, Matthew 0
Stracy, Don 0 Proctor, Matthew 1











We have a champion!

Megan du Plessis won the C grade by a full point after Matthew Gerrs stumbled against Hamish Shierlaw on Tuesday. 9 points is a terrific total, so congratulations to Megan. Matthew can draw consolation from Don Stracey's loss to Matthew Proctor, which means he gets to share second place with Neels du Plessis. There are still 2 games to play in this tournament, but the top three places are already decided.

We have another champion! (but possibly a joint one)
Alan Aldridge, fresh from his triumphs in the US Championship, has been in devastating form in the B grade (apart from a minor hiccup last week). This week he dispatched Paul Frost, so just needs to avoid defeat by Ross Jackson in the final game to keep the B title all to himself.

Julian Mazur round 4

Julian Mazur results from 13th November 2007:

Croad, Nic 1 Forster, William 0
Sellen, Ian 1 Van der Hoorn, Mark 0
Baider, Daniel 1 Cook, John 0
Townsend, Ralph 1 Seabrook, Roy 0
Ang, Ferdie 1/2 Pomeroy, Arthur 1/2
Waugh, Hugh 1/2 Jackson, Ross 1/2
Nicholls, Alistair 1 Marney, John 0
Kay, Bruce 1 Farrington, Lawrence 0
Brockway, Andrew 1 Hewson, Michael 0 (default)

Byes: Du Plessis M, Hill, Proctor, Shierlaw

Standings after 4 rounds:

3.5 points: Croad, Sellen
3 points: Baider, Hill, Kay, Townsend
2.5 points: Forster, Nicholls, Van der Hoorn
2 points: Ang, Jackson, Pomeroy, Seabrook, Waugh
1.5 points: Brockway, Du Plessis M, Proctor, Shierlaw
1 point: Cook, Farrington, Marney
0 points: Hewson, Kopp

Finally the cross tables for the club championship B and C grades:

B grade:

Yesterday Lawrence overcame his tiredness to beat previously undefeated Alan Aldridge, who still has a good chance of passing early pace-setter Ferdie Ang. He needs 1.5 points from his last 2 games, while Ferdie has already played all his games.

C grade

Results from yesterday:

Shierlaw, Hamish 0 Du Plessis, Niels 1

Stracey, Don 0 Du Plessis, Megan 1

Great to see some new, young, female talent at the top of the table. Congratulations to Megan, and also to Dad Niels, who is not far behind. Matthew Gers can still catch Megan if he wins his last game - I am not sure who gets to lift the trophy if this happens.

Julian Mazur round 3

Results for the Julian Mazur round 3 as follows:

Baider, Daniel 0 Croad, Nic 1
Van der Hoorn, Mark 1 Waugh, Hugh 0
Townsend, Ralph 1/2 Sellen, Ian 1/2
Hill, Martin 1 Nicholls, Alistair 0
Kopp, Levi 0 Forster, William 1 (default)
Cook, John 0 Kay, Bruce 1
Marney, John 0 Seabrook, Roy 1
Pomeroy, Arthur 1 Proctor, Matthew 0
Hewson, M 0 Ang, Ferdie 1
Jackson, Ross 1 Brockway, Andrew 0

Correction to last week's posting:

Kopp, Levi 0 Sellen, Ian 1 (default)
Hugh Waugh had the bye.

Standings:

2.5 points: Croad, Forster, Hill, Sellen, Van der Hoorn
2 points: Baider, Kay, Seabrook, Townsend
1.5 points: Ang, Jackson, Nicholls, Pomeroy, Waugh
1 point: Cook, M du Plessis, Farrington, Marney, Proctor, Shierlaw
0.5 point: Brockway
0 points: Hewson, Kopp

Please let me know if you see any errors / discrepancies.

A warm welcome to Ralph Townsend from Maine, USA, who will be in Wellington for a couple of years. I hope we will see him in some more tournaments during this time.

Julian Mazur round 2

Results from the Julian Mazur Round 2:


Seabrook, Roy 0 Baider, Daniel 1
Waugh, Hugh 0 Sellen, Ian 1 (default)
Forster, William 1 Jackson, Ross 0
Ang, Ferdie 0 Townsend 1
Kay, Bruce 1 Hewson, M 0
Brockway, Andrew 1/2 Farrington, Lawrence 1/2

Byes: Kopp, Levi; Pomeroy, Arthur; Croad, Nic;Hill, Martin; Nicholls, Alistair; Van der Hoorn, Mark; Du Plessis, Megan



Assuming that those who started in round 2 were awarded a half point bye in round 1, the standings after round 2 are as follows:



2 points
Baider, Sellen

1.5 points
Croad, Forster, Hill, Nicholls, Townsend, Van der Hoorn

1 point
Kay, Seabrook, Waugh

1/2 point
Ang, Brockway, Du Plessis (M), Farrington, Jackson, Kopp, Pomeroy, Shierlaw

0 points
Hewson



Club Championship catch-up games:



A grade

Lukey, Stephen 0 Croad, Nic 1
Marner, Gavin 0 Ker, Anthony 1



B grade

Aldridge, Alan 1 Cook 0



C grade

Shierlaw, Hamish 0 Stracey, Don 1
Marney, John 1/2 Nicholls, Alistair 1/2
Salem 1 Proctor, Matthew 0



I am having problems getting hold of the B and C grade standings and results , so if anyone out there has any information at all, please could you send it to me, thanks. Maybe we can piece the whole thing together!

Here is the cross-table for the A grade, with 2 games left to play. Click on image to enlarge. Whatever happens at the end, this was an astonishing performance from Brian Nijman, graded under 2000, playing against some of New Zealand's finest, including 2 IMs and an FM. Congratulations Brian!

The Julian Mazur Memorial tournament started at the Wellington Chess Club yesterday.
Round 1 results as follows:

Croad, Nic 1 Kay, Bruce 0
Farrington, Lawrence 0 Van der Hoorn, Mark 1
Baider, Daniel 1 Du Plessis, Megan 0
Seabrook, Roy 1 Pomeroy, Arthur 0
Sellen, Ian 1 Brockway, Andrew 0
Shierlaw, Hamish 0 Hill, Martin 1
Waugh, Hugh 1 Kopp, Levi 0
Nicholls, Alistair 1 Hewson, M 0

More players are expected to join this tournament once the catch-up games for the club championship have been completed.

Grade "A" catch-up game
Forster, William 0 Lukey, Stephen 1

"A" grade cross table so far:

Congratulations to Roy Seabrook on winning B grade at the Merv Morrison Memorial in Auckland over Labour weekend.

Results from 16th October 2007

Dive 1 Lukey 0

Nijman 1 Croad 0

Van der Hoorn 1 Forster 0

3 games left to play

Current state of play in the Wellington Chess Club Championship A grade as at 9th October 2007.

Games scheduled for 16th October 2007:
Dive vs Lukey
Nijman vs Croad
Van der Hoorn vs Forster
Marner vs Ker

I will add the results of these games plus the other catch up games when I know them. I will also add the B and C grades.