42nd Nottingham Chess Congress
Report
A "black swan" congress
Well there was this noise coming from the ventilation system, which baffled the caretakers, GCHQ and NASA. It went off with the power cut Sunday lunchtime - and half the OPEN relocated to the back of the room where there was better lighting. When power returned the noise was worse - like a vacuum cleaner starting up. Somebody suggested it was the fan-belt, which sounds like the ventilation equivalent of "your big ends gone, mate" and "you've got diagnostics on your co-axials" - followed by sucking of teeth and a very large repair bill. This was also the first time I threw someone out of the congress and upheld a two-minute rule claim - In the Intermediate. Yes it seems there is at least one player in the Intermediate that (a) knows the rules and (b) K+B+RP vs K is a draw if the Bishop is the opposite colour to the queening square. Normal service will be resumed next year.
There was also apparently some chess played. Sort of. In the OPEN Grandmaster Keith Arkell lost in round 1, just to make things interesting. After round two it was Nghia Dong (210, Loughborough & Ashfield) and a bunch of mid-table hopefuls in the lead. The whittled down to an unlikely top board last round pairing of Adi Munshi (167, West Nottingham) on 3.5/4 vs- Dong 4/4. Adi produced a splendid attack to take first prize, and an improbable "Leicester City winning the Premiership" against the odds outright victory.
Munshi - Dong - OPEN , Round 5
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.Qe2 Be7 8.c3 Ngf6 9.O-O O-O 10.Re1 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Bxe4 12.Qxe4 c6
13.Bf4 Bf6 14.Rad1 Qb6 15.Re2 c5?! Premature. 16.d5! exd5 17.Rxd5 Qc6 18.Qf5 Qa6 19.Re1 Nb6 20.Rd6 (Threat Rxf6) Bd8 21.a3 Qa4
Now for the fireworks 22.Bh6! Rfe8 (If 22...gxh6 simply 23.Rxh6) 23.Rxd8! gxh6 (If 24...Raxd8 25.Qg5 Rxe1+ 26.Nxe1 Kf8 27.Qxd8+
Qe8 28.Bxg7+) 24.Re7 Qd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rxe7 and white wins
Steve Hunter (Gambit) won the MAJOR, Parin Suchak (Syston) the Intermediate and Leslie Fancourt (Derby) the MINOR. The entry was 163, just above the total for last year and the second best during my time. Thanks to Marcel Taylor for the donation increasing the prize fund in the OPEN, and as always to John, Simon and Chris. Also Chloe Budd (9) on Sunday and for the splendid chocolate cake.
Results
Sections
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| Pos | Name | Club | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aditya Munshi | West Nottingham | 167 | 4½ (£650) |
| 2= | Keith Arkell | 240 | 4 (£120) | |
| Nghai Dong | Loughborough | 210 | 4 (£120) | |
| Martin Burrows | Wigston | 200 | 4 (£120) | |
| 5= | Antony Hynes | Warwickshire Select | 187 | 3½ |
| Jacob Connor Boswell | Cheddleton & Leek | 167 | 3½ (U170 GP £50) | |
| 7= | Zhe Kang Law | West Nottingham | 220 | 3 |
| Robert Shaw | Macclesfield | 206 | 3 | |
| Shabir Okhai | Syston | 197 | 3 | |
| Jeremy Fallowfield | Shirley | 194 | 3 | |
| Jonah Willow | West Nottingham | 188 | 3 | |
| Daniel Broughton | Nottingham | 182 | 3 (U185 GP £15) | |
| Peter Mercs | Gambit | 180 | 3 (U185 GP £15) | |
| Murray Smith | Lincoln | 179 | 3 (U185 GP £15) | |
| Aram Ter Gevorkian | Darnall | 176 | 3 (U185 GP £15) | |
| Stratsimir Kostov | Northampton | 170 | 3 (U185 GP £15) | |
| 17= | Laurence Webb | Germany | 212 | 2½ |
| Jim Burnett | Mansfield | 195 | 2½ | |
| Andrew Paterson | Warwickshire | 190 | 2½ | |
| Jonathan Wells | North Norfolk | 189 | 2½ | |
| Daniel Pousada Garcia | Radcliffe & Bingham | 186 | 2½ | |
| Mark Whitehead | Rochdale | 172 | 2½ | |
| Alex Combie | Newark | 171 | 2½ | |
| Shyam Modi | Leicestershire | 170 | 2½ | |
| Raymond Ilett | New England | 166 | 2½ | |
| 26= | Ivan Myall | Chelmsford | 181 | 2 |
| Eric Gardiner | Brough | 179 | 2 | |
| Gabriel Barr | Streatham | 173 | 2 | |
| David Williams | Derby | 167 | 2 | |
| Karl Potter | Syston | 165 | 2 | |
| Denis Georgiou | Appleby-Frod | 164 | 2 | |
| Oliver Graham | Nottingham | 159 | 2 | |
| Patrick Reid | Rugby | 157 | 2 | |
| Kishan Modi | Leicestershire | 156 | 2 | |
| Cameron Funnel | Harrogate | 117 | 2 | |
| 36= | Szilard Tamas | Darnall | 170 | 1½ |
| Julian Cast | Long Eaton | 167 | 1½ | |
| Charlie Grainger | Gambit | 139 | 1½ | |
| 39= | Michael Naylor | Gambit | 158 | 1 |
| Robert Cater | University | 115 | 1 | |
| 41= | Joseph Ward-Langham | Leicestershire | 112 | 0 |
| Joe Wright | University | 108 | 0 |
Major (U165)
| Pos | Name | Club | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Hunter | Gambit | 161 | 4½ (£200) |
| 2= | Paul Colburn | Braunstone | 161 | 4 (£70) |
| Kevin Dalley | Derby | 157 | 4 (£70) | |
| Aditya Pramod Paleri | Watford | 156 | 4 (£70) | |
| 5= | Martin Burns | Derby | 162 | 3½ |
| David Flynn | Basildon | 158 | 3½ | |
| Thomas Brown | Kirby Castlers | 154 | 3½ | |
| Armaan Gogia | West Nottingham | 135 | 3½ (U145 GP £40) | |
| 9= | Raymond Gamble | Spondon | 158 | 3 |
| Carl Gartside | Clay Cross | 158 | 3 | |
| John Hart | Corby | 157 | 3 | |
| Nigel Towers | Redditch | 156 | 3 | |
| Drag Sudar | Gambit | 152 | 3 | |
| Justin Hadi | Loughborough | 150 | 3 | |
| Nick London | Radcliffe & Bingham | 148 | 3 | |
| Neil Graham | Ashfield | 147 | 3 | |
| Robert Taylor | Ashfield | 147 | 3 | |
| Alex Webster | Derby | 145 | 3 | |
| Richard Desmedt | Barnsley | 142 | 3 | |
| Stephen Wootton | Rolls Royce | 136 | 3 | |
| 21= | Michael Lambert | Nottingham | 156 | 2½ |
| Phil Morgan | Ashfield | 146 | 2½ | |
| Mark Radford | Central | 143 | 2½ | |
| Antony Allen | Swadlincote | 140 | 2½ | |
| Vincent Naan | Nottingham | 138 | 2½ | |
| Stuart Ross | Newport | 136 | 2½ | |
| Kevin Marshall | Aughton | 132 | 2½ | |
| 28= | John Cawston | Yorks Terrier | 160 | 2 |
| Robert Henfrey | Shepshed Rooks | 159 | 2 | |
| Ben Pourmozafari | Syston | 140 | 2 | |
| David Tate | Ravensfield | 135 | 2 | |
| Daniel Jazdzewski | Newark | 158 | 2 | |
| 33= | Hambel Willow | West Nottingham | 147 | 1½ |
| John Huthwaite | Gambit | 145 | 1½ | |
| Alan Ruffle | Penkridge | 141 | 1½ | |
| Janos Wagenbach | Mansfield | 134 | 1½ | |
| Peter Gorecka-Marshall | Gambit | 131 | 1½ | |
| 38= | Robert Clegg | Huddersfield | 155 | 1 |
| Nicholas Mahoney | Doncaster | 153 | 1 | |
| Dean Hartley | Amber Valley | 145 | 1 | |
| George Murfet | Radcliffe & Bingham | 140 | 1 | |
| Mike Hunter | West Bridgford | 137 | 1 | |
| 43 | George Kolbusz | Telford | 163 | ½ |
| 44= | Michael Connor | Great Lever | 150 | 0 |
| Simon Wells | 129 | 0 |
Intermediate (U135)
| Pos | Name | Club | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parin Suchak | Syston | 127 | 4½ (£150) |
| 2= | James Irwin | Stowmarket | 132 | 4 (£50) |
| Sam Gallant | Gorleston | 131 | 4 (£50) | |
| Jon Asbury | Shirley | 127 | 4 (£50) | |
| 5= | Graham Gibson | Nottingham | 127 | 3½ |
| Neal Fischer | Peterborough | 123 | 3½ | |
| Bernardo Pincheira | University | 120 | 3½ | |
| Ken Mycock | Shirley | 0 | 3½ | |
| 9= | Dylan Meyer | Rolls Royce | 134 | 3 |
| John Hornagold | Suffolk | 132 | 3 | |
| Neil Roberts | Lincoln | 129 | 3 | |
| Peter Wood | Hastings | 128 | 3 | |
| Nigel Morris | Leamington | 127 | 3 | |
| David Woodhouse | Belper | 125 | 3 | |
| Kevin Gallagher | Lichfield | 124 | 3 | |
| Martin Steel | Leicester | 111 | 3 (U120 GP £15) | |
| Andrew Sutton | Central | 103 | 3 (U120 GP £15) | |
| 18= | Lee Bullock | Hackney | 132 | 2½ |
| Michael Nailard | Radcliffe & Bingham | 132 | 2½ | |
| Marcel Taylor | Radcliffe & Bingham | 130 | 2½ | |
| Steve Luland | University | 128 | 2½ | |
| Dave Dunne | Nomads | 123 | 2½ | |
| Terry Lavelle | West Bridgford | 121 | 2½ | |
| Terry Adcock | Loughborough | 119 | 2½ | |
| Kevin Woodbridge | Spondon | 115 | 2½ | |
| Nigel Wright | Ashfield | 134 | 2½ | |
| 27= | Chris Fraser | West Bridgford | 119 | 2 |
| Peter Keetley | Nottingham | 118 | 2 | |
| Michael Harper | Gambit | 116 | 2 | |
| Ronald Harrison | Belper | 114 | 2 | |
| Raymond Sayer | Ashfield | 111 | 2 | |
| Bob Abrahart | West Bridgford | 103 | 2 | |
| 33= | Kevin Bennett | Shepshed | 126 | 1½ |
| Julian Hawthorne | Kidsgrove | 118 | 1½ | |
| Roy Watson | Kenilworth | 118 | 1½ | |
| Paul Fischer | Lincoln | 111 | 1½ | |
| Vidura Mendis | West Nottingham | 111 | 1½ | |
| Sam Perry | Cheddleton & Leek | 99 | 1½ | |
| 39= | Roger Walker | Belper | 117 | 1 |
| Damen Woo | University | 116 | 1 | |
| Anand Padakumar | Nottingham | 0 | 1 | |
| 42 | Nicholas Lees | Stamford | 98 | ½ |
Minor (U110)
| Pos | Name | Club | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leslie Fancourt | Derby | 102 | 4½ (£150) |
| 2= | Tarsem Dhillon | Syston | 105 | 4 (£50) |
| Adam Spencer | Nottingham | 90 | 4 (£50) | |
| Thomas Grantham | Sutton | 0 | 4 (£50) | |
| 5= | Matthew Caswell | Derby | 109 | 3½ |
| Michael Snowdon | Rotherham | 89 | 3½ (U90 GP £15) | |
| Edward Prenton | Dorset | 88 | 3½ (U90 GP £15) | |
| John Light | Limewood | 86 | 3½ (U90 GP £15) | |
| Abul Arafat | Nottingham | - | 3½ | |
| 10 | Angus Weir | Frodsham | 97 | 3 |
| 11= | Shah Hussain | Derby | 106 | 3 |
| Margaret Gretton | Gambit | 101 | 2½ | |
| Eric McKenna | Sheffield Nomads | 101 | 2½ | |
| Alan Gardner | Dons | 99 | 2½ | |
| Kenneth Marsden | Pudsey | 92 | 2½ | |
| Joe Hirst | Newcastle-Under-Lyme | 76 | 2½ | |
| Kyle Pelling | Tameside | 49 | 2½ | |
| Samiullam Muhammad | University | 0 | 2½ | |
| 19= | Andrew Carter | Red Admiral | 98 | 2 |
| Joseph Hurst | West Nottingham | 85 | 2 | |
| Les Hall | Crewe | 84 | 2 | |
| Chris Benjamin | Sutton (Surrey) | 80 | 2 | |
| Barry Fulthorpe | Leeds | 78 | 2 | |
| Ben Maddison | West Nottingham | 76 | 2 | |
| Martin Gibson | Spondon | 73 | 2 | |
| Danavir Dhunna | Bradford | 50 | 2 | |
| Thomas Coackley | Derby | 0 | 2 | |
| 28= | Stuart Wood | Kynoch | 103 | 1½ |
| Mohinderpal Samra | Derby | 90 | 1½ | |
| Kian Chan | West Nottingham | 86 | 1½ | |
| Ian Morrell | Belper | 58 | 1½ | |
| 32 | Paul Davies | Stratford Upon Avon | 109 | 1 |
| 33= | Arjuna Mendis | West Nottingham | 61 | ½ |
| Richard Wood | Eccleshall | 57 | ½ |