Club Championship week 8

In the clash of the 100 percenters it was Brian Nijman who faltered. Congratulations to Russell Dive, who on 8/8 with one game to play is guaranteed at least first place in the Club Championship. I hear he also won the Kapiti Rapid on Sunday with 6/6. I only wish we in the Lower North Island could offer better practice for him in the light of the greater challenges he will face in Dresden playing for his country in November. Ross Jackson showed that beating Anthony Ker was not just a one off, with a victory over Daniel Baider. My game with Michael Nyberg followed the usual routine - Nyberg plays odd move / Sellen looks puzzled and gratefully accepts advantage / Nyberg sits looking like he knows what he is doing / Sellen starts to sweat and think for too long / Nyberg continues churning out odd but aggressive looking moves / Sellen has about 3 minutes left on the clock and starts to panic / Nyberg pulls out a few tactical finesses / Sellen blunders repeatedly and loses the game. You'd think I'd learn, really. In this case, Michael played an unusual gambit in the Sicilian, 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. b4, which is dubbed "dubious" by MCO. I got a great position, but blundered and lost in the endgame.
In the B grade Martin Hill continues to dominate, beating Andrew Brockway. Bill Forster killed his chances of B grade stardom by losing to Don Stracy. Alan Aldridge still has an outside chance of catching Martin.
In the C grade Blaise Drinkwater has now played all his games, beating Somesh Pattekar in his last game. Now he leads the group by a point, and just has to sit back and watch what Paul Bowden and Edmund Salem do.

Full results

A grade
Nijman 0 Dive 1
Croad 1/2 Ker 1/2
Van der Hoorn 1 Marner 0
Baider 0 Jackson 1
Nyberg 1 Sellen 0

B grade
Forster 0 Stracy 1
Hewson 0 Rabina 1
Hill 1 Brockway 0
Aldridge 1 Shierlaw 0

C grade
Drinkwater 1 Pattekar 0
Bowden 1 Foster 0
Proctor 0 Salem 1