Yes, the second day belonged to Tristan Stevens, who reached 4/4 in the Junior Masters with two quite spectacular wins. Mind you, his Halloween attack in Round 3 was lucky to beat Zheng Bo, who was still winning (a piece for two pawns up) when he blundered a move before the end. His win in Round 4 against Thomas was rather more impressive: a neat pawn sac lured Thomas into trying to hold on to the pawn, and he seemed quite happy until he found himself in an ending that was lost by force! Rather less incident in the other games, as Eliot and Sherab agreed a short draw in Round 3, and Rob got his knight trapped to lose a piece for the third game in a row in his loss to Alex. Nick also popped a piece to a Noah’s ark style trap to lose to Andrew, while Max beat Thomas’ unsound piece sacrifice. Then in Round 4 Sherab, already a pawn down, lost a rook to a knight fork to lose to Nick, and Alex took a while but eventually got an attack through to beat Eliot. Rob was doing OK until he got his king in trouble to lose piece and game against Zheng Bo. Max refused to draw his queen and opposite coloured bishop ending against Andrew, his persistence paying off when his attack got through to win pawns and game. Tomek and Junta conceded points today in the Young Masters, leaving Tristan the only player on a perfect score. Not so in Round 3, as Tomek sacrificed a piece to win 4 moves later after Ilia’s inaccurate response, and Junta exploited an incorrect rook move by Jason to win an exchange and eventually the game. Gareth splattered Shannon after an even position exploded in her face due to one loosening pawn move; Vincent ground down Michael Yu positionally (and finished him off tactically); and Michael Morris exploited weak pawns to win a long ending against Zhigen. The conceded points came after a couple of shocks in Round 4 where Tomek, despite being White, could not crack Zhigen’s solid play and drew; while Michael Yu was even more rock solid in taking material, then repelling Junta’s attack. Vincent, a pawn up for much of the game, missed chances and drew a long ending against Michael Morris. Jason scored his first win after Shannon wrecked a perfectly good double rook ending by getting her king in a mating net; and from a better position, Ilia’s last 11 moves got him tactically smashed by Gareth. Round 3 of the Girls Masters saw Deb win a miniature after Kayleigh took a poisoned pawn and was mated; and Sarah and Luthien drew a blunderful marathon. Miona’s failure to castle cost her, as she lost on time trying to beat off Sally’s attack; Tamzin walked into a pin, losing exchange and game to Sophie; and Jess could not convert a slight advantage against Emma, ending up a pawn up but in a dead drawn opposite coloured bishop ending. Round 4 saw Sarah’s 2 bishops prove enough compensation for an early lost exchange to draw with Miona, while Sally won pawns to beat Kayleigh. Sophie and Deb agreed a quick draw, and Emma won an exchange to slowly grind down Luthien. Jess blundered her queen early on to a knight fork to lose to her nemesis, Tamzin. Yes, there were an incredible number of draws on Day 3, although I must admit they were anything but bloodless! The Girls Masters actually saw more decisive results than the other 2 events, with Round 5 seeing Sarah lose first a pawn then a piece to tactics to lose to Kayleigh; Jessica winning an important pawn and then a piece by trapping Luthien’s knight; and Sophie upsetting Sally after the latter blundered a rook by moving a pinned knight. Even in this event there were draws, as Emma’s pawns drew with Sally’s extra exchange, and Deborah and Tamzin agreed a draw after a mass liquidation of pieces looked likely. Then in Round 6, Tamzin won a crucial centre pawn then an exchange to a knight fork to beat Luthien; Deb forced a won ending against Sally; Sophie and Sarah drew a tricky ending; and Kayleigh won pawns, then an exchange and eventually the king to beat Emma. Jess and Miona was a maze of tactics and pieces en prise from which Jess emerged a pawn up; she then won a piece to a pin to win and share the lead with Deb. It was the Junior Masters that saw the draws in Round 5, as only Sherab could force a decisive result as he eventually forced a won rook and opposite coloured bishop ending against Alex (which he went on to win nicely). Tristan was lucky to force a drawn rook and pawn endgame a pawn down against Andrew, after at one stage being two pawns down; Nick and Max drew by a liquidation of pawns; Eliot drew a long and tough ending against Zheng Bo; and Robert got off the mark with a draw in a difficult rook and pawn ending against Thomas. As for Round 6, two more draws as Max looked better against Tristan, but was eventually content to sacrifice a piece to force a perpetual check; and Thomas and Eliot drew a marathon queen and pawn endgame. Poor Rob cannot take a trick, as he lost an exchange to a simple tactic to lose to Andrew. Alex was in second place after he converted superior activity into a winning knight fork to beat Nick; but he was joined there by Zheng Bo after the latter beat Sherab, who dropped pawns and got his pieces tied up in knots! Clearly the Young Masters players were a bit more bloodthirsty in Round 5, as Shannon registered her first win after she and Michael Yu had castled on opposite sides, and her attack broke through first; and Tomek stayed in the lead after his queen gradually outplayed Gareth’s rook and bishop. Both Ilia and Junta were down two exchanges, but somehow generated strong attacks as counterplay; Ilia won back material and eventually the game after Jason misplayed the defence, while Junta’s queen and two bishops crashed through to mate in Michael Morris’ time pressure. Only Vincent and Zhigen drew in a slow manoeuvring game. Round 6, however, saw the Young Masters catch the draw bug much more, as Ilia and Michael Yu’s exchange French drew very early; Shannon and Michael Morris drew a very locked position; and Gareth missed a winning 28. g3 and could thereafter do no better than draw with Jason. Tomek was having none of this, as he sacrificed a piece and played a beautiful attack to beat Vincent; and Junta showed he could attack even without queens, as he broke through in a queenless middlegame to beat Zhigen. Yes, the fourth day emphasised just how wide open these events are, with perhaps one exception – but we will get to that later! For now, note that two of the Young Masters games had already happened last Tuesday, as Vincent Suttor went back to Sydney on Saturday but planned to be back for the Sunday round. The first of these games was significant for the minor placings, as Vincent’s Benko pawns (as White) beat Junta by queening faster than Junta’s attack; and Vince then joined Junta in second place by drawing a quick game with Shannon. Tomek meanwhile rolled on, taking care of Jason in the morning round when the later overlooked a knight fork in a difficult ending, then outcalculating Junta in a flurry of captures to emerge an exchange ahead and win. This left The Bomb 2.5 points clear of his nearest rival, and the new Young Masters Champion – congratulations Tomek! The other morning games in this event saw Zhigen outplay Shannon in a rook and pawn ending, while Michael Morris won an exchange for a pawn early to a bishop fork, then allowed enough counterplay for Ilia to force a very frustrating drawn ending of rook and pawn versus bishop and pawn! He did not end up frustrated, however, as Ilia misplayed it and went on to lose. Gareth Oliver was also frustrated, as he could only draw with Michael Yu after Michael’s pawns proved enough of a match for Gareth’s extra piece. Then in the afternoon, Zhigen’s pawn fork began a tactical slugfest from which he emerged two knights up to beat Ilia; Jason won a critical centre pawn to a tactic to beat Michael Yu; and it was a bad round for the Michaels after Michael Morris resigned prematurely (according to Fritz) when Gareth was about to win a pawn against him. In the Girls Masters Round 7, Jessica gained a lead by winning a piece early to beat Kayleigh, with Deborah half a point behind her after a 15 move draw with Sarah by liquidation of pieces. Miona’s three extra pawns should have been enough for the exchange against Luthien - until she moved a knight en prise and lost! Tamzin overlooked a knight fork to lose exchange and game to Sally; while Sophie drew an even king and pawn endgame against Emma. Then in Round 8 Luthien got an attack through to checkmate Kayleigh; Tamzin also checkmated Miona after the latter allowed a winning f6; and Sally’s extra pawns and active pieces took care of Sarah. Deborah agreed an early draw with Emma, allowing Jess to maintain her half point lead by drawing with Sophie in a queen and pawn ending a pawn ahead that she should have played on to win (she thought there was a perpetual check, but she was wrong). Robert finally scored his first win in the Junior Masters when he beat Max in the morning round: this time it was his turn to win a piece by removing the guard! Sherab drew with Thomas in a locked ending; Andrew’s active central pieces broke through to beat Eliot; and Alex ground down Zheng Bo in a long ending. Luck seemed to be on Tristan’s side, as he gradually outplayed Nick from a lost position where Nick had two rooks for his queen to maintain his one point lead. Our leader was not so sure about this when his tactics went awry and he was checkmated by Robert (last beat first!); but fortunately for Tristan, Alex popped a piece early (leaving his knight trapped) and eventually lost to Thomas to keep Tristan a point ahead. A tactic saw Nick win a crucial d-pawn to make it a bad day for Zheng Bo; Max’s pawns were stronger than Eliot’s and won their opposite coloured bishop ending; and Sherab made hard work of it, but eventually won a long endgame against Andrew. Yes, even with first place already decided yesterday, the Young Masters continued to provide shock results right up until the end! First Vincent, a little late getting back from Sydney, was totally outplayed by Ilia’s best game of the event. Although Ilia eventually won on time, he was winning the final position anyway: his heavy pieces got in to force mate or win of material… As if that was not enough, Shannon also saved her best for last, defeating Junta in the last game to finish in a very tough ending after Junta, with the two bishops and looking better, omitted to take a key pawn with check and then found himself two pawns down and losing! All this allowed Gareth to leapfrog into second place with a winning mating attack against Zhigen, while Vincent and Junta had to be content with equal third. Of course Tomek, who already had first wrapped up, made it even more convincing with a grinding endgame win against Michael Yu. His final winning margin of three points was a record for this event so far. Michael Morris and Jason Hu rounded off the event with a draw that was fairly even the whole way through. In the Junior Masters, Tristan wrapped up first by half a point by playing safe the whole way through: with Tristan taking no risks Eliot could not crack him, and ended up agreeing to a draw in an even major piece ending. Alex had to be content with outright second, but finished on a good note after a nice attack to beat Andrew. Max also scored a winning attack against Sherab to claim outright third, just half a point further back. Nick finished on a good note against Robert, who resigned when he was going to lose his queen (trapped and about to be pinned). Thomas, on the other hand, made it a miserable finish for Zheng Bo, who lost his third game in a row after Thomas’ queen proved better than his rook and knight. Having promised the most thrilling finish, the Girls Masters petered out when a wounded Deb agreed an early draw with Jess to leave the latter the victor by half a point. Deb was clearly content with second place, and being the only girl to emerge undefeated. Tamzin finished in third place after she liquidated to a drawish rook and pawn endgame to draw with Sarah. Luthien and Miona both finished on a positive note, with Luthien’s rook trapping Sophie’s queen on the back rank to triumph in that game, and Miona winning a rook to a queen fork to beat Kayleigh. Meanwhile, the battle of the youngsters saw Emma emerge triumphant against Sally, with Emma’s more active pieces winning pawns and eventually the knight versus bishop ending. I cannot close without thanking some wonderful people who made this event possible, top of the list undoubtedly being our fantastic Chief Organiser Jenni Oliver! Without her tireless efforts, including looking after five hungry little girls (OK, one of them was hers), the whole thing would not have been possible - and she and her company (Stratagem Computers) sponsored the event too… Thanks too to all those who provided billets, too numerous to name here (but you know who you are!); and to all the canteen helpers, headed by Mirabelle Guo, and other sundry helpers with the setting and packing up including Shun Ikeda, Paul Dunn and others. Not to forget the players, who all seemed to have fun and made it a most enjoyable and dispute free event. And on that note, this is your arbiter and bulletin blurb writer Charles Zworestine signing off for now; hope to see many of you again next year…