Blitz Championship and July ratings

Anthony Ker won the keenly contested 5 minute tournament on Tuesday. There were 22 entrants, although Russell Dive was not one of them this year.
Here are the July ratings for club members. Since we have 6 players in the top 20, I would suggest Wellington be allowed to keep its "Strongest Club in New Zealand" tag!
In New Zealand as a whole, Murray Chandler easily comes out on top, with a ranking of 2542. Russell Dive is our top rated player, 3rd nationally with a rating of 2382.
I have marked inactive players with an (I). Please let me know if I have made any mistakes.

1. Russell Dive 2382
2. Anthony Ker 2342
3. Scott Wastney 2322
4. Nic Croad 2317
5. Daniel Baider 2195
6. Mark van der Hoorn 2152
7. Brian Nijman 2131
8. Maciej Wojnar 2050 (I)
9. Martin Sims 2017 (I)
10. Michael Nyberg 2001
11. Arthur Pomeroy 1993
12. Jacek Wojnar 1983 (I)
13. Gavin Marner 1982
14. Ian Sellen 1944
15. Ross Jackson 1942
16. Jeffrey Boardman 1934 (I)
17. Edgar Benitez 1907 (I)
18. Ferdie Ang 1876 (I)
19. Martin Hill 1855
20. Russel Gordon 1838 (I)
21. Alan Aldridge 1825
22. Bill Forster 1815
23. David Smith 1796 (I)
24. Ralph Townsend 1782 (I)
25. Don Stracy 1780
26. Mark Wilkins 1768
27. Romeo Rabina 1655
28. Bruce Kay 1644
29. Lawrence Farrington 1614
30. Tudor Chifu 1605 (I)
31. Joshi Mulshankar 1593 (I)
32. Michael Hewson 1587
33. Rick Benitez 1567 (I)
34. Alistair Nicholls 1552
35. Max Wigbout 1552 (I)
36. John Cook 1539
37. Megan du Plessis 1525
38. Neels du Plessis 1519
39. Matthew Gers 1504
40. Stephen Moore 1490
41. Andrew Brockway 1477
42. Alan Khoo 1443 (I)
43. Richard Thorpe 1421 (I)
44. Hamish Shierlaw 1402
45. Edmund Salem 1393
46. Alex Olssen 1354
47. Will French 1306 (I)
48. Sebastian Kruger 1280
49. Hugh Waugh 1126
50. Michael Stevens 1260 (I)
51. John Marney 1245 (I)
52. Richard Pickering 1226 (I)
53. Matthew Proctor 1183
54. Michael Leibowitz 1155 (I)
55. Henry Wylde 1144 (I)
56. David Wu 1134 (I)
57. Blaise Drinkwater 1110
58. Somesh Pattekar 1100

Ker falters, Dive takes Rapid title

Anthony Ker had a stroke of bad luck in the 9th round against Scott Wastney. He looked set to promote his queen rook pawn in a Queen and Rook ending, but his King was exposed and he accidentally got mated (time trouble came into it). Russell Dive wasn't in the mood for slip-ups, and he defeated Alan Aldridge and Anthony's nemesis Scott to take the title by a full point. Upset of the 10th round would have been my draw with Nic Croad. As White in a standard Dragon with opposite castled Kings, my King came under a ferocious and hair-raising Croadian attack, which involved a temporary Queen sacrifice on his part. Somehow he failed to find the killer blow, and the game petered out to a R + 2 pawns vs B+ 4 pawns ending where nobody could make progress.
So Nic tied for 2nd with Anthony, with Scott and Gavin Marner a further point behind - good result for Gavin who only lost to Nic and Russell, scoring a draw against Anthony in round 4, and beating joint club champion Brian Nijman in round 8.

Full results.

Round 9
Ker 0 Wastney 1
Aldridge 0 Dive 1
Croad 1 Marner 0
Sellen 1 Farrington 0
Seabrook 0 Nijman 1
Forster 1 Jackson 0
Drinkwater 0 Du Plessis N 1
Brockway 1 Kay 1
Nyberg 1 Bowden 0
Shierlaw 0 Du Plessis M 1
Proctor 1 Krueger 0
Hewson 0 Rabina 1 (default)
Meyer and Pattekar 0 point byes

Round 10
Dive 1 Wastney 0
Aldridge 0 Ker 1
Sellen 1/2 Croad 1/2
Marner 1 Farrington 0
Nijman 0 Nyberg 1
Seabrook 0 Forster 1
Jackson 1 Proctor 0
Rabina 0 Bowden 1
Du Plessis N 1 Shierlaw 0
Du Plessis M 1 Hewson 0
Krueger 0 Brockway 1 (default)
Kay 1 Drinkwater 0
Meyer and Pattekar 0 point byes

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Russell Dive (9)
2=Anthony Ker, Nic Croad (8)
4=Gavin Marner, Scott Wastney (7)
6=Alan Aldridge, Bill Forster, Michael Nyberg, Ian Sellen (6)
10=Megan Du Plessis, Neels Du Plessis, Lawrence Farrington (5.5)
13=Ross Jackson, Bruce Kay, Marany Meyer, Brian Nijman (5)
17=Paul Bowden, Andrew Brockway (4.5)
19=Matthew Proctor, Romeo Rabina, Roy Seabrook (4)
22. Michael Hewson (3)
23=Blaise Drinkwater, Hamish Shierlaw (2)
25=Sebastian Krueger, Somesh Pattekar (1)

Dive and Ker lead Rapid, 2 rounds to go

Russell Dive and Anthony Ker will each be hoping that the other makes a slip in the final rounds on Tuesday. They have both played Nic Croad, chief contender and half a point behind, but neither has played Scott Wastney yet, probably the only other player with a decent chance of scoring against them. Russell crushed me effortlessly last week, though I managed a bit more of a fight against Anthony (still lost). Getting Black against both Anthony and Russell (and with a stinking cold!) in one week is probably as bad as it gets.

Round 7
Dive 1 Sellen 0
Nijman 0 Ker 1
Kay 0 Croad 1
Marner 1 Forster 0
Nyburg 1/2 Jackson 1/2
Bowden 1/2 Shierlaw 1/2
Farrington 1 Brockway 0
Rabina 1 Proctor 0
Drinkwater 0 Hewson 1
Wastney 1 Seabrook 0
Krueger 0 Aldridge 1
Byes: Du Plessis M, Du Plessis N, Meyer, Pattekar

Round 8
Forster 0 Dive 1
Ker 1 Sellen 0
Croad 1 Rabina 0
Nijman 0 Marner 1
Wastney 1 Jackson 0
Aldridge 1 Seabrook 0
Farrington 1 Proctor 0
Nyburg 1 Kay 0
Bowden 1 Krueger 0
Drinkwater 0 Brockway 1
Shierlaw 0 Hewson 1
Byes: Du Plessis M, Du Plessis N, Meyer, Pattekar


Standings after 8 rounds:

7 points
Russell Dive, Anthony Ker

6.5 points
Nic Croad

6 points
Alan Aldridge, Gavin Marner, Scott Wastney

5.5 points
Lawrence Farrington

5 points
Marany Meyer

4.5 points
Ian Sellen

4 points
Bill Forster, Ross Jackson, Brian Nijman, Michael Nyburg, Roy Seabrook

3.5 points
Paul Bowden, Andrew Brockway, Megan Du Plessis, Neels Du Plessis

3 points
Michael Hewson, Bruce Kay, Matthew Proctor, Romeo Rabina

2 points
Blaise Drinkwater, Hamish Shierlaw

1 point
Sebastian Krueger, Somesh Pattekar