The 2003 Championships of the Ballarat Chess Club Inc.

This year’s championship has seen a record number of entries (25) which has forced the formation of an A-grade and a B-Grade section, based on ratings. The runner-up of last year’s B-grade, Robert Bailey, was promoted to play in the A-grade. The winner of the B-grade, Bill Dekker, opted not to enter this year.

The Champion (A-Grade winner) of last year, Patrick Cook, will have a hard time prolonging his title, with the arrival and return to chess of Simon Rutherford. So, of course have all the other usual ‘suspects’, although an unusually fierce ambition is clearly noticeable amongst the vastly improving and fearless younger generation.

More so than in previous years, this events promises to be a drawn-out, most enjoyable, extremely tense and cut-throat affair over 12 weeks of round robin chess battle. I hope…  

13th Round- July 31st 2003

Simon also won his final two games, including a nice one against Jing Jia. By doing so he scored an unprecedented picket-fence victory in the strongest Ballarat championship in memory.

Jing bounced back with a win against Charlie Andrews and he only needs a draw in his postponed game against John Lavery to secure second spot. Trouble for Jing is that John could finish up second if he wins his last two games and he undoubtedly will try hard...

Judd Madden had a moment of glory by recording his only win (against Bas van Riel) in the last round. The latter hereby lost his chance for second spot, and he would rather forget this game for more than one reason...

A-Grade:                                                                                 Postponed games:

M.O'Brien - S.Stewart  1-0     S.Rutherford - J.Jia       1-0      K.Perrin - S.Rutherford 0-1   

J.Madden - B.van Riel  1- 0    P.Cook - K.Perrin       ½-½      J.Jia - C.Andrews 1-0

J.Lavery - J.Jia ½-½; C.Andrews- J.Lavery 0-1

            1.Simon Rutherford & 2.Jing Jia            The prize giving ceremony                John Frangakis

      "The 2003 Ballarat Champion and his 'deputy'"                                                                     Winner of B-Grade 2003

12th Round- July 24th 2003

In the A-grade with only some catch-up games to finish, we had a few levelling results. The losses by the numbers 2,3 and 4 on the ladder saw Simon Rutherford clinch the title without himself  even playing this round.

He is a most convincing first-time champion of Ballarat. However, the battle for second place now is suddenly wide open although the chances of Jing Jia still should be rated the best. He also has the hardest program.

Jing blundered unexpectedly in a better position against Robert Bailey. After five draws against only one loss sofar,  Patrick Cook found his Waterloo thanks to Scott Stewart's patented Winnawer of the French. Bas van Riel did the same (different Winnawer!) against JohnLavery.

The standing at the top is: 1.and 2003 Champion of Ballarat: S.Rurtherford 10/10; 2.J.Jia 6½/10; 3. B.van Riel 7/11;4.P.Cook 6½/11; 5.J.Lavery 6/10; etc.

In the B-grade the decisive game between John Frangakis and Patrick Lenne went in John's favor and he became the 2003 B-grade champion of Ballarat. This entitles him to play A-grade next year. All the games have now been completed.

Tim Commons became a worthy runner-up while Patrick Lenne did very well to become third in his first year with the club.

The final standings at the top are: 1.and 2003 B-grade Champion of Ballarat:J.Frangakis 10/11; 2.T.Commons 9; 3.P.Lenne 8½; 4.J.Eldridge 8; etc 

10th Round- July 10th 2003

This round saw in the A-grade the number 2 and 3 seeds paired against each other, while the three leaders had the 'day off' for different reasons. Scott Stewart finally broke his drought of four consecutive losses at the expense of Charlie Andrews. Certainly the big surprise was the loss of one of the front runners, Peter Lumsdon against Marc O'Brien. As Peter explained: "by making little mistakes, one by one".

The standing at the top after round 10, but with most players having played 9 games or less, is: 1.S.Rutherford 9/9; 2. J.Jia 5½/7; 3-4.P.Cook, J.Lavery 6/9 etc

As the webmaster, I am trying to publish some of the (more interesting) games, but they are not readily forthcoming. As a consequence, I am forced this time to include one of my own games. Although the game was tense and enjoyable, it is nothing special, and far from correct. With thanks for my (own) comments...

In the B-grade Tim Commons has his Waterloo, beaten by Patrick Lenne. With two rounds to go the latter could win the B-grade is he wins his last (difficult!) games against the leader, John Frangakis and Owen Sargisson respectively. James Eldridge lost his last chance after a drawn-out draw with Clint Stewart.

At the top the positions are: 1.J.Frangakis 8/9; 2.T.Commons 8/10; 3.P.Lenne 7½/9 etc 

Bas van Riel- Patrick Cook

2003 B'rat Club Champ Ship rnd 10, 10.07.2003

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4 I had this prepared beforehand, knowing my opponent's appetite for the French. In the latest New In Chess (2003/4) I had seen Grishuk's fabulous win (him commenting: "I think his is one of the best games I ever played") with this variation, and this had inspired me to try it too. However, I was convinced that Patrick would not go for the pawn sacrifice at g5 (as Grishuk's opponent did). Unfortunately, I had forgotten to prepare for black's reply 6..a6. White's response should have been 7.Qg4, bu alas... 6...a6 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.f4 c5 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.Qd2 0–0 12.0–0–0 f6 13.exf6 Nxf6 14.Bd3 Completing my development and deciding to build pressure on black's e-pawn. I also had visions of attacking via g4 at this stage. 14...h6 15.Rde1 Bd7 16.h5 This move took a lot of my time. The idea was to play Rh4 followed by g4, but I was not happy ultimately seeing the rook on h5. The best point of this move, though is that it takes away h5 from black's knight 16...Rae8 17.Bg6 Re7 18.Re2 ? Not the best move. 18.Rhf1 and 19. Ne5 would have been more consistent, I believe 18...Be8 19.Ne5 Nd7 I had expected 19..Nxe5 20.fxe5, Ng4 21.Rh4. After black's move, I was (wrongly?) convinced that white was much better. 20.Nxd7 Bxd7 21.g4? ...Because of this answer. After I played this move I relaxed being convinced that my attack after g5 was going to win. How wrong I was as 21...Qa5! and 21...d4 would revert the roles! 21...d4? 22.Ne4 Qd5 23.b3 e5? Not the best. Again Qa5 would have kept the positions in the balance. After the text move white has strong advantage 24.f5!? A controversial move, but a 'lazy' one at the same time: I didn't take the trouble calculating the very interesting consequences of 24.g5 and went for the easy shot, overlooking the fact that after the queen swap the bishop on g6 was locked up because f6 and g5 would have less effective. [24.g5 Rxf4 25.gxh6 gxh6 26.Qxf4 exf4 27.Nf6+ Kg7 28.Nxd5 Rxe2 29.Nxf4 would not have given me any advantage, if any] 24...Qa5 25.Qxa5 Nxa5 26.Nc5 Bc6 27.Rhe1 Bf3 28.Rxe5 Rxe5 29.Rxe5 White is clearly winning but things are not so clear yet. At least to me it wasn't.. 29...Nc6 30.Re6 Nd8 31.Re7?? A major mistake although I am still much better. Instead 31.Rd6 would have won black's d-pawn and a superior position 31...Bxg4 32.Nd7? Another weak move: Ne6, Nxb7 and Rd7 were all stronger 32...Nc6 33.Re4? a moment of real blindness believing that my f-pawn couldn't be captured. I will not try to explain why...! [33.Re6 Rc8 34.Kd2 and white still has the better chances] 33...Bxf5 34.Bxf5? A whole series of mistakes. It must have been chronic! The endgame after 34.Nxf8, Bxe4 35.Bxe4, Kxf8 will be an (easy) draw, but that would have been a disappointing result for me after feeling better most of the game and I saw a fata morgana, worth trying 34...Rxf5 35.Re8+ Kf7 Of course not Kh7 because of 36.Nf8 36.Rf8+ Ke6 Only at this moment did I realise that Nc5+ etc didn't work as this square was covered by black's rook. My position was lost now! 37.Rxf5 Kxf5 38.Nc5 Nd8 And here Patrick offered me a draw to everyone's surprise. This 'move' deserves at least 2 question marks. I didn't have enough hands to accept the offer. The endgame is clearly winning for black as he creates two passed pawns on the king's side.

                    Patrick Cook

                    Bas van Riel

after 31. Re7??...

9th Round- 3rd July 2003

A-Grade: The Cook-Lumsdon game was important for the top standings and as usual was a personal affair adding to the tension. The bishop end-game saw Patrick Cook with a pawn up, but Peter Lumsdon did well to hang on to a hard-fought draw. Jing Jia had an easy win, but Simon Rutherford was extended into an endgame by Robert Bailey, but the result was never in doubt. Scott Stewart and Bas van Riel played a complicated game, but when Bas managed to neutralize a dangerously looking passed pawn via a kingside attack, the game was suddenly over. John Lavery seems to be on a winning streak, Kevin Perrin being his latest victim.

The positions at the top of the ladder are: 1.S.Rutherford 9/9;2. J.Jia 5½/7; 3.P.Cook 5½/8; 4.J.Lavery 6/9 etc    

B Grade- Due to absences of quite a number of players for various reasons only 2 games were played.

The positions at the top after 9 rounds are now: 1-2 T.Commons, J.Frangakis 7/8; 3.P.Lenne 6½/8; 4.J.Eldridge 6½/9; etc

7th & 8th Rounds- 19th & 26th June 2003

Because of certain computer problems which lasted for more than one week, the undersigned can't be bothered to present too many details of the two last rounds.

A-Grade results:

Simon Rutherford continues his great run, but he hasn't come closes to a defeat before as in his game with John Lavery who become bamboozled when the victory was for the taking. Mainly for 'posterity' reasons, I will present this game below. Scott Stewart lost his third game in a row including a piece oversight against Jing Jia. The latter couldn't find the way to a win and drew against Patrick Cook, who defended cleverly in a difficult game. Peter Lumsdon enjoyed a fruitful two weeks, scoring two wins. Marc O'Brien won his first game (against Geoff Davis) and drew against Kevin Perrin: a good effort! Likewise, Robert Bailey played his postponed game and won his first point too. Against... Marc O'Brien!

The positions at the top after 8 rounds are now:1. S.Rutherford 8/8;2.J.Jia 4½/6; 3.P.Cook 5/7; etc 

B-Grade results:

The main news was the upset win of Michael Schreenan against undefeated Tim Common, who was sofar undefeated. This suddenly throws the battle for top honors wide open. 

The positions at the top after 8 rounds are now: 1-2 T.Commons, J.Frangakis 7/8; 3.P.Lenne 6½; 4.J.Eldridge 5½/7; etc

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Ne2 e6 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.c3 (Is better than 8.Bd3 which is answered by Qa5+9.c3, Bxd3 10.Qxd3, Qa6) 8...Nd7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 c5 11.0–0 Ne7 12.f4 (perhaps white should have first completed his development. Also 12.b4 should be considered here) 12...Qb6 (Black homes in on white's weaknesses on d4 and b2) 13.Nd2 Nc6 14.Nf3 Be7 15.f5?! (The position was roughly equal at this stage. The text move seems logical at first glance, but both players misjudged the following complications.) 15...Ndxe5? (Diagram)(White got a shock as he had completely overlooked this move, wrongly believing that he was to lose an important pawn. However black's combination is faulty and he should have played instead [15...cxd4 16.fxe6 Ndxe5 17.exf7+ Kf8 18.Nxe5 Nxe5 19.Qb1 dxc3+ with great advantage for black]) 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Qe2? (Now it is white's turn again to miss his best opportunity [17.dxe5 c4+ 18.Be3! cxd3 19.Bxb6 axb6 20.Rfd1 and if anything white is slightly better]) 17...Nd7 18.Be3 0–0–0 (18...0–0 looks better and safer for black. Now 19.fxe6, fxe6 20.Rf7 would have given white chances to complicate) 19.a4 Rhe8 (After the game Simon was a bit critical about his move, but it seems logical. Indeed 19...e5 would have been stronger) 20.a5 Qc7 21.fxe6 fxe6 22.Qg4 Bd6! (gradually improving his position) 23.Ne2 Nf6 (perhaps again e5 should be the preferred move here, but Nf6 is fine too) 24.Qg6 (?) (a mistake in view of black's answer.24.Qh3 should have been played) 24...e5! 25.Bxh6!? (Desperate times require desperate moves..) 25...gxh6? (Giving away most of his advantage. The correct answer would have been: [25...Nxh5 26.Bg5 Nf6 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Rxf6 Kb8]) 26.Rxf6 exd4 27.cxd4 Re4 (?) (Again not the best. Better was 27...Qe7 or 27..Kb8) 28.Rc1 (Good move as Ne2 is immune because of Qg4+) 28...Bh2+? (Now suddenly white should have the upper-hand) 29.Kf1 Rde8?? (Deserves two question marks. It seems that black has completely overlooked the queen pin) 30.Rxc5 Rxe2 31.Rxc7+ (Less accurate would have been 31.Qg4+,Kb8 32.Rxc7, Re1+33.Kf2, Kxc7) 31...Kxc7 32.Rf7+ Kb8 (Black, of course is completely lost, apart from a few little tricks to be prevented and/or solved) 33.Qd3?? (Diagram)(But not this way..! White is lost immediately. 33.g3! would have been curtains for black instead! Fair?) 33...Re1+ 34.Kf2 Bg1+ 0–1

                                                   John Lavery

                   after15. ...Ndxe5 (?)                                                                 after 33. Qd3?...

                                                                 Simon Rutherford  

6th Round- June 12th 2003

The surprise result in the A-grade undoubtedly was the loss by Scott Stewart against Kevin Perrin due to a terrible (queen) oversight. One of the last 'threats' to Simon Rutherford ultimate victory, Patrick Cook, was eliminated by Simon himself in a nice and solid game, although Patrick certainly was not without chances. The  (drawn) game between Peter Lumsdon and Bas van Riel was interesting near the end (see diagram) when computer Fritz found, but Peter missed a surprising combination which would have given him winning chances.

Meanwhile, John Lavery is on a sort of comeback-trail this time winning a hard-fought game against Robert Bailey. The latter, in most of his games so far, plays his openings very well, but falters in each of the middle games.

The game between Jing Jia and Charlie Andrews was postponed.

The positions at the top of the A-grade are: 1.S.Rutherford 6/6; 2. P.Cook 4½/6; 3.J.Jia 3/4; 4-5. J.Lavery, S.Stewart 4/6 etc

In the B-group Tim Commons continues to win, this time against John Abson. His main 'enemies' will be Patrick Lenne and James Eldridge apart from John Frangakis.

Standing at the top of the B-grade: 1.T.Commons 6/6; 2.J.Frangakis 7/8; 3-4. J.Edridge, P.Lenne 4½/6 etc

 1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.0–0 c5 5.c4 0–0 6.Nc3 d6 7.e3 Nc6 8.d4 cxd4 9.exd4 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Qb6 12.Bxc6 Giving the (slight) initiative to black.12.Ne2, e5; 13.Bg2.. 12...Qxc6 13.Qd3 Rac8 14.b3 e6 less accurate: 14..d5 would have consolidated black's advantage giving white's pawn on d4 continuous headaches 15.Nb5 Ra8 16.Be3 16.Bf4 16...a6 17.Nc3 Rac8 18.Rac1 d5 19.c5 Nh5 20.b4 f5 (See diagram) It seems a logical move in the sequence, but it weakens black's pawn structure. 21.a4! f4 22.b5 Fritz recommends 22.Bd2 here protecting the pawn at g3 with his queen 22...axb5 23.axb5 Qc7 24.gxf4 Nxf4 25.Bxf4 Qxf4 26.Ne2 Qg5+ 27.Ng3 So far white was heading for a draw but now he commited his only (?), but major mistake.The knight was needed to cover the f4 square.27.Kh1 or Qg3 would have been good moves 27...Rf4 Of course. Winning at least a (important) pawn 28.Qe2 (?) Not the best move. 28.c6, bxc6 29.Rxc6 would have given white a passed pawn in exchange for the loss of  a pawn. 28...Re4 black resigns. A bit prematurely, as white could still complicate matters on the queen side after losing the pawn on d4 0–1

5th Round- June 5th 2003

Some of the players have played games ahead of the schedule as they wil be absent due to holidays. In the A-group it is Peter Lumsdon who played two extra games, losing against John Lavery and winning against Rob Bailey.The top game between Simon Rutherford and Patrick Cook was postponed upon Patrick's request. Bas van Riel experienced a portion of embarrasment against young Jing, when he overlooked his queen being en-prise (the real "Grand Prix"?), just at the moment when he was about to relax and polish off the game in his favor.

In the B-group John Frangakis will be on holidays soon too. He probably will need a break, considering the number of games he is churning out lately. Meanwhile, he continues to win, this time against James Eldridge who was one of the leaders. Tim Commons, who is still unbeaten knows that he has to stay ahead of John, who has set a cracking pace sofar.

4th Round- May ^29nd 2003

The highlight of this round was the brave but unsuccesful attempt of Scott Stewart to beat Simon Rutherford. And he certainly had a chance at least in one occasion.Simon turned down a draw offer in view of Scott's timepressure and won at the end. (mild) upsets were the crushing defeat of Jing Jia who was unbeaten so far and Kevin's first win against Bas van Riel in timetrouble.

The big game of next week in the A-grade will feature the two leaders.

The positions at the top are:1.S.Rutherford 4/4; 2.P.Cook 3½; etc

In the B-grade Tim Commons has become the sole leader after beating Owen Sargisson and a draw by his main rival James Eldridge (against Patrick Lenne), both considered crucial games. Meanwhile John Frangakis keeps scoring wins ahead of schedule.   

Standings at the top of the ladder are: 1.T.Commons 4/4 2.J.Eldridge 3½/4; J.Frangakis 6/7 etc.

Simon Rutherford - Scott Stewart

2003 B'rat Chess ChShip round 4, 29.05.2003

 Sicilian: Moscow Variation with 3...Bd7 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0–0 Nf6 6.Re1 last book move 6...g6 [6...Nc6] 7.c3 Bg7 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 e6 10.Nc3 0–0 11.Qb3 Nc6 12.d5 This push gains space and makes the black-squared bishop stronger 12...Na5 13.Qb4 b6 14.Bf4 Nb7 [14...e5 15.Bg5²] 15.Rad1 (?) [15.dxe6!? fxe6 16.Rad1±] 15...e5² 16.Be3 Nc5 17.a4 Rab8 18.Bg5 a6 Consolidates b5 [18...Ne8 19.Qc4 h6 20.Bd2=] 19.Qa3² b5 (see digram) 20.axb5 [20.Nxe5 dxe5 21.Qxc5 Rfc8 22.Qe3 is OK for black] 20...axb5 21.Qb4 (?) a mistake: [21.Nxe5 Qe8 22.b4 Qxe5²] 21...Na6 22.Qa5 Qb7 23.b4 Rfc8 24.Rc1 Black has defended very well, and is now taking the initiative for the first time in the game 24...Rc4 (see digram) Attacks the isolani on b4 25.Nxb5 Discovered capture. A brave decision, but not correct... 25...Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Nxe4 [Wrong would have been 26...Qxb5 27.Qxb5 Rxb5 28.Rc8+ Bf8 29.Bxf6 Rxb4 30.Nd2²] 27.Be3 Black is now clearly better 27...h5 but giving it away for a moment: 27...Qxb5 or [27...Bf8 28.Na7 Ra8 29.Ne1µ] 28.Na7 [¹28.Ba7 and White can hope to survive 28...Ra8 29.Rc6²] 28...Nxb4µ 29.Nc6 Nd3 30.Rd1? Black takes over in a big way... [¹30.Ra1 Re8 31.h3µ] 30...Ra8–+ 31.Ba7 Nec5 [¹31...Nexf2!? keeps an even firmer grip 32.Rf1 Bh6 33.Qb6 Qxb6 34.Bxb6–+] 32.h4 [¹32.Qb6!? Qxb6 33.Bxb6–+] 32...Nf4–+ 33.Qa2 Qb5 [33...Qd7 seems even better 34.Nh2 Ne4 35.Rc1–+] 34.Qd2? [34.Kh2 Ne4 35.Qc2 Nf6–+] 34...Ncd3? forfeits much of the advantage [¹34...Ne4! is much more direct: 35.Qc2 Nc3 36.Ra1–+] 35.Be3 (see digram) [¹35.g3 Nxd5 36.Qxd3 Qxc6 37.Qxd5 Qxd5 38.Rxd5 Rxa7 39.Rxd6µ] 35...Nxd5?? It blunders a piece [¹35...Qc4 Black would have kept the upper hand 36.Bxf4 Nxf4–+] 36.Qxd3± Qxd3 37.Rxd3 Ra1+ 38.Kh2 Nf6? This will cost another another pawn [¹38...Nxe3 39.Rxe3 f6±] 39.Rxd6+- Ng4+ 40.Kh3 e4?! not the 'greatest' defence.. [40...f6+-] 41.Rd8+ Kh7 [41...Kh7 42.Ng5+ Kh6 43.Nxf7+ Kh7 44.Ng5+ Kh6+-; 41...Bf8 is not the saving move 42.Bd4 Rh1+ 43.Kg3+-] 42.Ng5+ 1–0

                                        S.Rutherford-S.Stewart (Round 4)

              After 19..b5                            After 24...Rc4                         After 35.Be3..

2003 B'rat Champ.Ship rnd 4, 29.05.2003

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 e5 5.e3 0–0 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.d4 exd4 8.exd4 d6 9.0–0 Bf5 Not a good plan, but white failed to capitalise on it via h3 and g4. 10.b3 Re8 11.Bb2 Qd7 12.Re1 a bit of a wasted move. From here on white will stay on the backfoot for most of the game 12...Nb4 13.Rf1 Bh3 (?) Not logical after the previous moves. d5 would have consolidated wblack's advantage 14.Nf4 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 c6 16.a3 Na6 17.Qf3 Qf5 18.b4 Nc7 19.Nd1 (?) Fritz doesn't like this move 19...d5 20.Ne3 Qe4 Relying on blacks better bishop after swapping the queens 21.Qxe4 Rxe4  22.Rad1 Bh6 ! (see diagram) wins a pawn at least 23.Kf3 Bxf4 g5 and g4 was a good alternative 24.gxf4 Ne6 25.f5 gxf5 26.Rg1+ Kf8 27.cxd5 cxd5 Of course the f5 pawn is indirectly protected.The position certainly looks good for black: a pawn, albeit a double pawn ahead, pressure on the d4 pawn and the e-file. White can only wait and defend 28.h3 Rc8 ? From here on there various possibilities for black, but having only 10 minutes for the next 12 moves, he played an 'easy' move. Instead 28...Rh4 would have netted another pawn, but this manoeuvre needed too much calculating 29.Rc1 Rxc1 30.Rxc1 Only now did I realise the dangers of taking the pawn at d4. Deceided to first secure the queenside and made following mistake allowing Nxf5 but which was overlooked by white.It would have been so much easier for black after Ng5 31.Kg2, f4 and Re2 30...Ke7? 31.a4? Kd7 Ok, everything is restored again with a large advantage for black. 32.Rd1 Black had about 3 minutes for the remaining moves and white stayed passive to force black to create a plan and use time.. 32...Ng5+ 33.Kg2 f4 34.Ng4 f3+ 35.Kg3 Nxg4 36.hxg4 Re2 (see diagram) All played in lightning speed and best moves 37.Bc1 Ne4+ 38.Kxf3 Rxf2+ 39.Ke3 Rg2 40.Rf1! Rg3+ Black didn't knoiw for sure how many moves he had made. In his panick he overlooked the simple Ke6 on this or the following move 41.Kf4 Rd3?? A terrible mistake. Ke6 or f6 would have put the result beyond any doubt.Completely missing white's following move black thought it wouldn't harm to attack the pawn to gain another move before the timecontrol not realising that he had reached it already. 42.Ke5 Nd6? After another long thought after the clocks were reset, mainly trying to come to terms that the game was spoilt, black missed the only chance of salvation: 42...f6!; 43.Kxd5, Nc3+;44.Kc4, Rd1! 43.Kxd5 The rest is a formality for white 43...a6 44.Rf6 Ne8 45.Rxf7+ Kc8 46.g5 Rh3 47.Bf4 Rh4 48.Ke6 Rh1 49.Ke7 1–0

                                                         K.Perrin-B.van Riel (Round 4)

                After 22...Bh6                        After 36...Re2                       After 41.Kf4...

3rd Round- May ^22nd 2003

This round turned out to be fairly predictable in  the A-Grade, although it appears that the process of seperation the "boys from the men" has already started in earnest. On a different level is the 'weeding out' (to put it mildly) by Simon Rutherford, who has so far beaten  three of the club's topplayers in a row. Charlie Andrews, who was last year's surprise package, was clinically demolished via Simon's beloved CaroKan opening, in the third round.

The clash between Peter Lumsdon and Kevin Perin, two of the club's old guard, and always ready for a good fight, ended in a win for Peter. Kevin, so far, seems out of form considering his results.

Standings at the top after three rounds are: 1-2.S.Rutherford, S.Stewart 3; 3. J.Jia 2 (from 2); 4. P.Cook 2½ etc

Next week will see the match between the two leaders in this section.

Also in the B-grade an early division between the players is emerging. The game of the day was awarded to John Frangakis who inflicted Owen Sargisson's first loss. A good result was recorded by Mitchel Bailey who drew against the more experienced Clint Stewart. Also in the B-Grade two players have scored 100% sofar: Tim Commons and James Eldridge, a strong performance from the latter in particular. John Frangakis has played a couple of his games in advance because of a holidays coming up.

Standings at the top are: 1-2.T.Commons, J.Eldridge 3/3 3.J.Frangakis 4/5 4-5.O.Sargisson, P.Lenne 2/3 etc.

Interesting pairings for next week will be: T.Commons vs O.Sargisson and P.Lenne vs J.Eldrdge     

2nd Round- May 15^th 2003

This very early phase of the tournament saw already two crucial games in both the A and B-sections between the two highest rated players. These were won by Simon Rutherford and Tim Commons, respectively.

In the other important game in the A-grade between John Lavery and (defending champion) Patrick Cook, both players "chickened out", and agreed to a draw after only 12 moves.

Quite a few of the other games were decided by fairly elementary blunders (eg Kevin Perrin, Geoff Davis, Clint Stewart), but on the other hand, the Judd Madden versus Scott Stewart game produced some interesting positions and cause for analytical debate.

After the first two rounds S.Rutherford, J.Jia, S.Stewart and C.Andrews have scored 100% in the A-grade, and T.Commons, O.Sargisson and J.Eldridge in the B-grade.

2003 B'rat Championship rnd.2, 15.05.2003

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 Nf6 Rf7 was more pricise as white would need to prepare c5 with b4 first 12.c5 f4 13.Bf2 g5 14.Rc1 Ng6 Already, Fritz is not very happy about black's position (–1.09) 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Nb5 Rf7 17.Qb3 a6 18.Na7 ?! Unexpected, and apparently not the best move. 18Qa3, Ne8 instead would have preserved white's advantage. 18...Bd7 19.Qb6 Qxb6 20.Bxb6 g4 21.Nd3 (diagram) gxf3 (?) Black missed the strong 21...Ne7 preventing 22.Rc7 because of 22...Nxd5 etc 22.gxf3 Bh3 22...Ne7 23.Nb4 Bh3 24.Rfd1 Nd7 25.Bf2 Bf8 26.Kh1 Rg7 27.Rg1 Nc5 or 23.Bf2, Nxd5 24.exd5, Nxd5 and 25...Ne3 with some advantage for black 23.Rfe1 23.Rf2? Nd7 24.Nc8 Rf8 wins a piece 23...Bf8? I had looked at Nh4 but I couldn't calculate the possibilities and rejected this move because it seemed too 'artificial'.. One of the possibilities could have been: 23...Nh4 24.Nf2 Bg2 25.Nc8 Bf8 26.Bd8 24.Nf2 Bd7 25.Rc7 (diagram) Be8? Black lost the plot under pressure 25...Ba4! 26.Rec1 (? 26.Rc8 with reasonably balanced positions) 26...Nd7 with advantage for back 26.Rec1 Rxc7 27.Rxc7 Nd7 28.Nc8 Kf7? A blunder intending to protect the bisshop at e8 and threatening 29...Rxc8, but it didn't work at all. Fritz recommends as black's best option: 28..Nxb6 29.Bxb6, Rb8 with a strong initiative for white 29.Ba5 of course.. 29...Kf6 30.Bb4 Nc5 31.Nd3 (?) 31.Nb6, Rb8 32.Ng4+ and Rxh7 would have been more accurate, but white is clearly winning anyway 31...Nxd3 32.Bxd3 Bf7 33.Nxd6 Bxd6 34.Bxd6 b5 35.Bf1 Nf8 36.Bh3 Re8? Another mistake in timetrouble (36...Ng6) but black's flag fell on the next move in a hopeless position 37.Rc6 1–0 (BvR analysis)

                                                    Simon Rutherford (white)-Bas van Riel (2nd round)

                                                          after 21.Nd3...                                                  after 25.Rc7...

B'rat Club Champoionship2003; BGrade 2rnd, 15.05.2003

(comments by S.Stewart and BvR)

One of the crucial games in the B-grade, these two players have quite a history of dogged struggles which Tim has come off the better in recent matches.This game deviates quickly from the King’s Indian Defense it promises, and very quickly becomes a battle of improvisation and wits.

1.d4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.e3 Nf6 4.c4 d6 5.Nc3 b6 6.Be2 Bb7 7.0–0 c6 8.Bd2 Qc7 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.b4 c5 11.Nb5 Qb8 12.a4 white squanders his small advantage, better to exchange now and (12. bc5 dc5 13. d6 a6 13. Nc3) winning the open b-file on the queenside where his strength lies to attack black’s poorly developed pieces. Instead play closes on the queenside.a6 13.Na3 0–0 14.b5 a5 15.d5 e6 16.dxe6 fxe6 17.Bc3 Qc7 18.Rad1 Rad8 19.Ng5 (of more practical use would be white bringing his knight back into the game via b1 to c3. It is out of place on a3) Rfe8 20.Bf3 Bxf3 (missing an opportunity to gain some central space and the advantage with 20...d5) 21.Nxf3 e5 (instead gives himself a backward d-pawn and a big hole on d5:advantage for white who suddenly has the best of the position) 22.Nb1 Nf8 23.Nbd2 Ne6 24.Ne4 Nxe4 25.Qxe4 Qf7 26.Qd5 (A better plan perhaps Ba1 to alleviate the hanging Bishop and the doubling rooks on the d file to increase whites stranglehold on the position, after all one cannot capture first with the queen, she is misplaced on d5) e4 27.Bxg7 exf3 28.Ba1 fxg2 29.Rfe1 Rf8 30.Qd2? (diagram) So far, white had maintained a small but solid better position, which he could have consolidated by 30.Qxg2. After this error, black should have replied 30...Ng5 winning at least the exchange. 30...Qf3? 31.Qe2 ? 32.Rd5, h6 would have bearable for black. After the text move black should have played 31..Ng5, threatening to checkmate white or win the exchange 31...Qh3? 32.Qb2 (!) and suddenly chances are very even again 32...Kf7 33.Rd5 Qg4 34.Qc3 Ke8 35.Red1?? That spoils an interesting contest.35.f4 was needed to prevent the following move 35...Ng5 36.Re5+ Kf7 dxe5 or Kd7 would have been much stronger, but black is still (easily) winning after Kf7 37.Re7+? That is a bad way to give up (material). After 37.Rxg5 (!),Qxd1 38.Kxg2 black would still have some fight left 37...Kxe7 38.Qg7+ Ke8 0–1

           John Frangakis-Tim Commons (2nd round)

                                         after 30.Qd2?...

1^st Round- May 8^th 2003

The championships have gone off to a flying start after some discussions about a somewhat controversial draw: for this first round, players have paired according to ratings (to allow some die-hards to prepare for their opponents in advance, it seems!) but for the subsequent rounds a random list (still to be drawn) will determine the pairings.

Despite the pairing of the top half against the bottom half of the field, a number of games went to the wire. Defending champion P.Cook played a conservative game against Marc O’Brien (seeded 13^th), who has re-joined the club, and apparently much stronger than before. Marc lost the plot in a dead-drawn rook ending after drawn-out affair. Simon Rutherford won a no nonsense game from Peter Lumsdon who unfortunately was in the mood to be ‘frivolous’ (Peter’s own words explaining his loss). Bas van Riel won a difficult game against Robert Bailey under severe time pressure, in which the latter claimed a draw (rejected) due to a repetition of moves. Probably the most interesting game was played between Scott Stewart and John Lavery. In one of the three (!) French Winawer variations of this round, Scott played his special version, again creating a magnificent position. Apparently basking too long in the euphory of this luxury, his exposed king position should have been fatal when John suddenly was given mating chances. Unfortunately, for him he suffered a moment of utter chess blindness, by checking with his queen on an unprotected square when he could have forced checkmate instead.

The potentially important game in the B-Grade between Clint Stewart and Patrick Lenne was won by Clint who also seems to have adopted the special Winawer French opening of his brother (1.e4,e6; 2.d4,d5; 3.Nc3, Bb4; 4.e5,c5; 5.a3, Bxc3; 6.bxc3, Ne7; 7.h4!?, Qc7; 8.h5?!..), form now on to be referred to in chess literature as: the Stewart variation of the Winawer. Unfortunately, Patrick overlooked checkmate in one in a demanding position for him. Michael Schreenan did very well to secure a draw against John Abson, managing to come back several times from being material down.

Scott Stewart - John Lavery

2003 B'rat Championships. Rnd 1, 08.05.2003

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 ( the "Stewart" variation of the Winawer French) Qa5 8.h5 h6? after the following sequence black will have clear advantage:8...Qxc3+ 9.Bd2 Qxd4 10.Nf3 Qe4+ 11.Be2 Nf5  9.Nf3? Another mistake which was not punished (by 9...cxd4). Again white should have played 9.Bd2 first.9...Nbc6? 10.Bd2 Qa4 11.Bd3 cxd4 Not the best. 11...c4 and 12...b5 would have been better and safer for black 12.Rh4 Bd7 Nf5 should be considered. White meanwhile has slowly improved his position. 13.cxd4 0–0–0? A mistake according to Fritz: black is now –1.60.Nf5 followed by Na5 is recommended. Curiously, after 13...Nf5 Fritz does not consider 14.Bxf5 a good answer 14.Qc1 Why not Qb1? 14...Nf5 14...g5 instead would have given black chances on counterplay at the kingside 15.Rg4 Kb8 16.Rb1 a6? [16...Nce7! and black doesn't have to worry too much about his queen e.g. Rb4.After g6 the open g-file will be good for black] 17.Kf1? White returns the favor: Nce7 is still possible. Scott should have played 17.Qb2 17...Rhg8 18.Qb2 18.c4! Fairly weak play from both sides at the moment... 18...Bc8 19.Qb6 Ka8 20.Rf4 allows g5. 20...g6 21.g4? Mistake, as 21...g5 would win the exchange, although white is still better. White should have played 21.Qc5 to consolidate 21...Nfe7? see before. White is winning 22.Rxf7 gxh5 23.gxh5 Rdf8 24.Rf6 Rxf6 25.exf6 Nf5 26.Bxf5 Not the best, but it must be hard to choose for white: black looks like a mess and there are too many choices. Fritz suggests 26.Qc5 as far superior (+5.00) to Bxf5 (+2.12) because in that case Nd8 is not possible anymore and the f-pawn will promote to queen soon 26...exf5 (see diagram) 27.Bxh6 ?big blunder (not spotted by black) allowing 27...Qc4+ with a reasonable advantage for black, all of a sudden. 27.Qb3 was thenpreferred option, swapping the queens, and white's passed pawns are to decide easily 27...Nd8? Lets white out of jail. The last part of the game is a flurry of bad moves and changing fortunes 28.Bg7? 28.Qc7 28...Qxc2 29.h6 29.Qb3 was needed. White now has to watch very carefully as h6 is not doing anything for him 29...Qd3+ 30.Kg2 f4 (see diagram) of course. white is only +0.63 up 31.Ne5?? but not for very long! This blunder should have lost immediately: 31...Qh3 32.Kg1, f3 33.Nxf3 31...Qe4+? 32.Kh2,(? after 32.f3 black could probably hope for no more than a draw) f3 33.Kg3? Kg1 was his only possibility of survival Ne6 34.Nxf3 Qg4+?? A moment of extreme blindness: black had apparently 'forgotten' that he had placed the knight on the bishop diagonal one move earlier. 34...Qf4 would have won the knight and the game to black instead of white...! 35.Kxg4 1–0

Scott Stewart(white) - John Lavery (1st round)

                                                   after 26…exf5                                     after 30…f4