Summer Rapid Open – 6 December

The final of the 2014 Seasonal Rapids drew a field of 16 players, boosted by a welcome contingent of five from Balclutha. Top seed Quentin Johnson duly finished first, but was it was far from a walkover. He drew with second seed Shanon Davie in the fourth round after a long tense battle, where Davie was pressing for most of the game before it turned. Davie reached a drawn position via an inadvertent illegal move to eliminate Johnson's last pawn, but neither side noticed, so the result stood. In another tough battle Johnson mated Joe Mckee in the final round with only a few seconds left on his clock, to finish on 4½/5. Second equal were Davie, who had drawn a fascinating game with unbalanced material against McKee in the second round, and Riley Jellyman, who after a first round loss to Johnson, won all his remaining games to reach 4 points. Jellyman was also first in the u1300 grade and his last round win over third seed Ross Black secured the upset prize. Second equal in the u1300 grade were Max Lough, Sean Lau, & Greg Familton all on 3 points. Boyu Chen was on the same score, but won the u1000 grade, ahead of Ethan Lau on 2 points.

The Westpac 30-30 trophy for 2014 goes to Quentin Johnson for the highest aggregate score over three of the four events.
Cross Table
No Name               Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5
1  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   1993 4.5    3:W  5:W  4:W  2:D  9:W
2  DAVIE, SHANNON     1687 4     11:W  9:D  6:W  1:D  5:W
3  JELLYMAN, RILEY    1070 4      1:L 14:W 12:W  6:W  4:W
4  BLACK, ROSS        1588 3      8:W  7:W  1:L  9:W  3:L
5  LOUGH, MAX         1263 3     14:W  1:L 11:W  7:W  2:L
6  LAU, SEAN          1116 3     15:W 10:W  2:L  3:L 11:W
7  FAMILTON, GREG     1093 3     13:W  4:L  8:W  5:L 10:W
8  CHEN, BOYU         927  3      4:L 13:W  7:L 12:W 15:W
9  MCKEE, JOE         1367 2.5   16:W  2:D 10:W  4:L  1:L
10 CLARKSON, ROBERT D 1389 2     12:W  6:L  9:L 14:W  7:L
11 LAU, RYAN          1068 2      2:L 16:W  5:L 13:W  6:L
12 LAU, ETHAN         869  2     10:L 15:W  3:L  8:L 13:W
13 PICKERING, DEREECE 500  1      7:L  8:L 16:W 11:L 12:L
14 FU, ZISHEN         696  1      5:L  3:L 15:W 10:L 16:L
15 PAYNE, JACK        500  1      6:L 12:L 14:L 16:W  8:L
16 MILLS, CONOR       696  1      9:L 11:L 13:L 15:L 14:W
 

Transfer tournament – 3 December

Nine players for an event with teams of two players presented an interesting problem, which was overcome in the following way: The players were randomly arranged around 4 boards in a row as if playing a 9-player blitz round robin and rotated after each game in the same way – the 9th player having the bye each round. On each pair of boards, the players sitting next to each other were team mates for that round against the pair on the other side of the board. The score for the team result was charted by each player as if they were playing only their direct opponent. So after nine rounds everyone had sat opposite everyone else and been teamed with the players to their left and right on alternate rounds. Final scores: 1 Joe McKee 7/8; 2 Quentin Johnson 6; 3 Bob Clarkson 5; 4-5 Shanon Davie & Max Lough 4; 6-8 Leighton Nicholls, Geoff Aimers & John Armstrong 3; 9 Brent Southgate 1.

Perpetual Handicap championship – 26 November

At the end of the main 2014 competition the highest improvers on club ratings were:

Standard
1st Joe McKee +76
2nd Shanon Davie +57
3rd Terry Duffield +28

Rapid
1st Leighton Nicholls +73
2nd Joe McKee +45
3rd= Shanon Davie & Bob Clarkson +36

Richard Sutton Trophy – 26 November

The new time limit on this event of 60 minutes for the game plus 10 seconds per move seemed to level differences between the players and there were many upsets. Top seed John Sutherland was lucky to escape with a draw after overlooking a devastating queen check in the opening against Brent Southgate in round 1, while third seed Leighton Nicholls went down to strong play by David Reid. Second seed Quentin Johnson was fortunate to escape with a perpetual check against Terry Duffield in the second round. After three rounds the leaders were Sutherland, Johnson and Duffield on 2½. In round 4 Sutherland-Johnson was a win to Black when John unwisely repeated a dangerous opening choice from a previous game. Meanwhile Duffield went down to Hamish Gold, leaving Johnson in the sole lead half a point ahead of Gold and Shanon Davie. In the 5th round Johnson beat Geoff Aimers while Gold was cruising to victory over Davie before allowing mate when two pieces up. In the final round Johnson overcame Southgate to win the tournament on 5½/6. Second place on 4½ was shared by Sutherland, who beat and overtook Davie, and Duffield, who completed his event with a win over Max Lough. Davi was fourth by himself on 4 and garnered a number of rating points form the event, as did Joe Mckee, who completed Gold's misery in the final round and finished 5th on 3½.
Cross Table
No Name               Feder Rtg Total  1    2   3    4    5    6
1  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   NZL       5.5    4:W  3:D 6:W  2:W 10:W  8:W
2  SUTHERLAND, JOHN L NZL       4.5    8:D  9:W 7:W  1:L  0:W  4:W
3  DUFFIELD, TERENCE  NZL       4.5    5:W  1:D 8:W  6:L  9:W 11:W
4  DAVIE, SHANNON     NZL       4      1:L 12:W 9:W  8:W  6:W  2:L
5  MCKEE, JOE         NZL       3.5    3:L  0:W 0:D 10:D  7:D  6:W
6  GOLD, HAMISH R     NZL       3      0:W 10:W 1:L  3:W  4:L  5:L
7  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON NZL       3      9:L  0:D 2:L 12:W  5:D 10:W
8  SOUTHGATE, BRENT   NZL       2.5    2:D 11:W 3:L  4:L 13:W  1:L
9  REID, DAVID M      NZL       2      7:W  2:L 4:L 11:W  3:L 12:L
10 AIMERS, GEOFFREY   NZL       2     12:W  6:L 0:D  5:D  1:L  7:L
11 LOUGH, MAX         NZL       2      0:D  8:L 0:D  9:L 12:W  3:L
12 ARMSTRONG, JOHN F  NZL       2     10:L  4:L 0:W  7:L 11:L  9:W
13 CLARKSON, ROBERT D NZL       1      0:D  0:D 0:L  0:L  8:L  0:L
 

Club Championship – 15 October

Top seed John Sutherland comfortable defended his lead in the A grade, posting another score of 4½/5. Again only a draw with Quentin Johnson prevented him from winning all five games. Johnson lost his first game to Hamish Gold but recovered to finish 3½, also the same as the first leg. Leighton Nicholls established himself as the third player in the club on 2½ points, and Terry Duffield had another good showing on 2 points. Shanon Davie in his A Grade debut exceeded his rating expectation on 1½, while Gold could not add to win win over Johnson to finish on 1 point.
The B grade again had some pairing problems following low turnouts for the first and last rounds, and the committee will have to look a the club championship format to try to remedy these. Brent Southgate and Geoff Aimers eventually emerged as co-winners on 4½/6, with David Reid clear third on 3 points. In terms of ratings the big gainers were Max Lough and Joe McKee who both scored 2.
The Senior trophy for 2014 went to Sutherland on an aggregate score of 9/10, ahead of Johnson second on 7 and Nicholls third on 4½. The Intermediate trophy was won by Davie on an aggregate score of 8/11 (adding 2½ for the higher grade), just ahead of Southgate second on 7½, and Reid third on 5½. The Junior trophy went to McKee on an aggregate of 4 points.
A Grade Cross Table
No
Name
Loc
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
1
SUTHERLAND, JOHN L
2212
4.5
*
½
1
1
1
1
2
JOHNSON, QUENTIN
2171
3.5
½
*
1
1
1
0
3
NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON
1925
2.5
0
0
*
1
½
1
4
DUFFIELD, TERENCE
1822
2
0
0
0
*
1
1
5
DAVIE, SHANNON
1754
1.5
0
0
½
0
*
1
6
GOLD, HAMISH R
1818
1
0
1
0
0
0
*
B Grade Cross Table
No Name                 Loc  Total 1    2   3   4    5   6
1  SOUTHGATE, BRENT     1767 4.5   3:½  2:1 5:½ 0:½  8:1 6:1
2  AIMERS, GEOFFREY     1874 4.5   0:1  1:0 6:1 7:1 10:½ 3:1
3  REID, DAVID M        1582 3     1:½  9:½ 8:½ 0:1  6:½ 2:0
4  LYDIATE, CHRISTOPHER 1715 2.5   0:½  0:½ 7:½ 5:1  0:0 0:0
5  MCKEE, JOE           1460 2     0:½ 11:1 1:½ 4:0  0:0 0:0
6  ARMSTRONG, JOHN F    1475 2     0:½  0:½ 2:0 8:½  3:½ 1:0
7  LOUGH, MAX           1112 2     0:½  8:1 4:½ 2:0  0:0 0:0
8  CLARKSON, ROBERT D   1622 1.5   0:½  7:0 3:½ 6:½  1:0 0:0
9  MUNRO, ELLIOT        1697 1     0:½  3:½ 0:0 0:0  0:0 0:0
10 GOLD, HAMISH R       1818 .5    0:   0:  0:  0:   2:½ 0:0
11 MOTTERSHEAD, TOM     1637 .5    0:½  5:0 0:0 0:0  0:0 0:0
 

Spring Rapid Open – 6 September

The third of the 2014 Seasonal Rapids was a fund raiser for the NZ Olympiad teams and drew a field of 16 players. Top seed was Quentin Johnson, but an unknown quantity was former club champion Iain Lamont second seed, after a long absence. and despite some tense finishes to his games, he managed to win all five. As it happened, Lamont beat Johnson in their third round game and went on to score two more victories to win the tournamnent on 5/5. Johnson was second on 4 ahead of Wolfie Martin and Ben Clayton sharing third on 3½. As there were no cash prizes, there was no grade, and all the players chose from the donated prizes in order of the final standings. But some notable results were Riley Jellyman and David Marshall's scores of 3 and Zishen Fu's score of 2 points.

The next rapid open is the Summer Rapid on Saturday 6 December.
Cross Table
No Name               Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5
1  LAMONT, IAIN       1897 5     11:W 10:W  2:W  8:W  5:W
2  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   1994 4      4:W  3:W  1:L  9:W  8:W
3  MARTIN, WOLFIE     1750 3.5   14:W  2:L 12:W 10:D  9:W
4  CLAYTON, BEN       1454 3.5    2:L 14:W 10:D 12:W 11:W
5  BLACK, ROSS        1576 3     12:W 13:W  8:L  6:W  1:L
6  MARSHALL, DAVID    1086 3      9:L 16:W  7:W  5:L 10:W
7  JELLYMAN, RILEY    1046 3     10:L 11:W  6:L 13:W 15:W
8  DAVIE, SHANNON     1642 2.5   16:W  9:D  5:W  1:L  2:L
9  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON 1762 2.5    6:W  8:D 13:W  2:L  3:L
10 AIMERS, GEOFFREY   1754 2      7:W  1:L  4:D  3:D  6:L
11 MCKEE, JOE         1373 2      1:L  7:L 16:W 15:W  4:L
12 FU, ZISHEN         696  2      5:L 15:W  3:L  4:L 16:W
13 GOLD, HAMISH R     1821 2     15:W  5:L  9:L  7:L 14:W
14 LAU, RYAN          996  1      3:L  4:L 15:L 16:W 13:L
15 LAU, SEAN          1089 1     13:L 12:L 14:W 11:L  7:L
16 LAU, ETHAN         909  0      8:L  6:L 11:L 14:L 12:L
 

Thematic tournament – 27 August

Only five players showed up for this event – but it was very strong nevertheless! The Danish Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3) was drawn by lot and a double round-robin at the time limit of 5 minutes 3 seconds Bronstein ensued. The positions proved quite messy and gave everyone some chances, but Bob Wansink proved too strong in the end. Final scores: 1 Bob Wansink 7/8; 2 Quentin Johnson 6½; 3 John Sutherland 3; 4 Shanon Davie 2; 5 Leighton Nicholls 1½.

Club Rapid Championship – 20 August

Leighton Nicholls underlined his rapid improvement over the last couple of years by taking out his first Senior title. In the A Grade he drew both games with top seed Quentin Johnson and extracted maximum point from Geoff Aimers and Hamish Gold, to score 5/6. Johnson blundered a rook in time trouble to Aimers to drop a game and finish second on 4 points. Shanon Davie made no contest of the B-Grade to score 6/6 and finish third overall, taking out the Intermediate trophy for the second year running. A late surge by Bob Clarkson on the catchup night earned him second place in the B Grade with 2½. Joe Mckee took out the Junior trophy with a 2-0 defeat of Max Lough.
Cross Table
No Name               Feder Loc  Total  1    2   3   4   5   6
1  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON NZL   1762 8      5:W  5:W 2:D 2:D 4:W 4:W
2  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   NZL   1994 7      4:W  4:W 1:D 1:D 5:W 5:L
3  DAVIE, SHANNON     NZL   1642 6      7:W  7:W 9:W 9:W 6:W 6:W
4  GOLD, HAMISH R     NZL   1821 4.5    2:L  2:L 5:W 5:D 1:L 1:L
5  AIMERS, GEOFFREY   NZL   1754 4.5    1:L  1:L 4:L 4:D 2:L 2:W
6  CLARKSON, ROBERT D NZL   1353 2.5    9:L  9:D 7:W 7:W 3:L 3:L
7  DUFFIELD, TERENCE  NZL   1529 2      3:L  3:L 6:L 6:L 9:W 9:W
8  MCKEE, JOE         NZL   1373 2     10:W 10:W 0:  0:  0:  0:
9  SOUTHGATE, BRENT   NZL   1527 1.5    6:W  6:D 3:L 3:L 7:L 7:L
10 LOUGH, MAX         NZL   1128 0      8:L  8:L 0:  0:  0:  0:
 

Otago/Southland Junior Championship – 16 August

Another small but talented field of seventeen players turned out at the Otago Chess Club. Defending champion Leighton Nicholls was not to be denied, and duly scored 7/7 to take the championship. But he was not without some scares and in particular Riley Jellyman (OBHS) and Ryan Lau (OBHS) had good chances to score against him. Joint Primary/Intermediate champion Max Lough (Balmacewen) showed this was no fluke in finishing second alone on 6 points, only losing to the winner. This also won the under13 1st prize. Third equal were Joe Mckee (Balmacewen) and William Scharpf (DNI) on 4½, also finishing joint second in the u13 grade. Sam Leaper on 3½ won 4th prize in the u13 grade. The winning team was Balmacewn 1 (Lough, Mckee and Ethan Lau) and second was OBHS (Seal Lau, Caed Falloon and Riley Jellyman).
Cross Table
No Name               Feder Rtg Loc  Club     Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7
1  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON NZL   16  1762          7      5:+  3:W  2:W  6:W  7:W  5:W  9:W
2  LOUGH, MAX         Bal   12  1128 Bal1     6     11:W 12:W  1:L  3:W  6:W  8:W  5:W
3  MCKEE, JOE         Bal   12  1373 Bal1     4.5   15:W  1:L 12:W  2:L 11:W  6:W  7:D
4  SCHARPF, WILLIAM   DNI   11                4.5    6:L  9:W 14:W 12:W  5:L  7:D 11:W
5  LAU, RYAN          OBHS  13  996           4      1:- 15:W 17:W 10:W  4:W  1:L  2:L
6  LAU, SEAN          OBHS  14  1089 OBHS     4      4:W  8:W 10:W  1:L  2:L  3:L 13:W
7  JELLYMAN, RILEY    OBHS  13  1046 OBHS     4     17:W 10:L 13:W  8:W  1:L  4:D  3:D
8  LEAPER, SAMUEL     Bal   12  696  Bal2     3.5    9:W  6:L 11:W  7:L 14:W  2:L 10:D
9  FALLOON, CAED      OBHS  15       OBHS     3.5    8:L  4:L 15:W 13:W 10:D 16:W  1:L
10 LAU, ETHAN         Bal   11  909  Bal1     3      0:W  7:W  6:L  5:L  9:D 13:L  8:D
11 BOX, TAINE         OBHS  15  988           3      2:L 13:W  8:L 16:W  3:L 17:W  4:L
12 BOND, HOKUTO       Bayf  16       Bayfield 3     16:W  2:L  3:L  4:L 17:L  0:W 15:W
13 THOMPSON, SAM      Bal   12  534  Bal2     3     14:W 11:L  7:L  9:L  0:W 10:W  6:L
14 HELLER, AARON      Bayf  15       Bayfield 3     13:L 16:W  4:L 17:W  8:L 15:L  0:W
15 BROWN, NATHANIEL   Kaik  16                2.5    3:L  5:L  9:L  0:W 16:D 14:W 12:L
16 ACKLIN, TOM        Bayf  13       Bayfield 2.5   12:L 14:L  0:W 11:L 15:D  9:L 17:W
17 AHMAD, AYOUB       Bal   10       Bal2     2      7:L  0:W  5:L 14:L 12:W 11:L 16:L
 
Team Standings
Place Name     Score
  1   BAL1     13.5
  2   OBHS     11.5
 3-4  BAYFIELD 8.5
      BAL2     8.5
 

Otago/Southland Primary-Intermediate Individual Championship – 2 August

This year saw a small but talented field of ten players turn out at the Otago Chess Club. Last year's runner up and top seed Joe Mckee (12, Balmacewen) was upset in round 2 by teammate Ethan Lau (11, Balmacewen), throwing the event wide open. But Joe was able to beat his main rival Max Lough (12, Balmacewen) and level the scores. These two won all their other games to finish tied for first on 8/9, whiel Ethan Lau was third on 7 points. The under 10 grade was won by Martin Brook (8, Maori Hill) on 4 points ahead of Will Orchiston (9, George St Normal) and Ethan Lau (8, Maori Hill) in second equal on 3 points.
Cross Table
No Name             Feder Rtg Loc  Club       Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9
1  Max Lough,       Bal   12  937  Balmacewen 8      7:W  4:W  5:W  2:L  3:W  6:W  9:W  8:W 10:W
2  Joe Mckee,       Bal   12  1072 Balmacewen 8     10:W  3:L  6:W  1:W  4:W  8:W  5:W  9:W  7:W
3  Ethan Lau,       Bal   11  847  Balmacewen 7      9:W  2:W  4:L  5:W  1:L 10:W  7:W  6:W  8:W
4  Sam Thompson,    Bal   12  731             6      8:W  1:L  3:W  9:W  2:L  7:L  6:W 10:W  5:W
5  Zishen Fu,       GSNS  10  519             4      6:W 10:W  1:L  3:L  8:L  9:W  2:L  7:W  4:L
6  Martin Brook,    MH    8        Maori Hill 4      5:L  7:W  2:L  8:W 10:W  1:L  4:L  3:L  9:W
7  Will Orchiston,  GSNS  9                   3      1:L  6:L  8:L 10:W  9:W  4:W  3:L  5:L  2:L
8  Jared Lau,       MH    8   278  Maori Hill 3      4:L  9:L  7:W  6:L  5:W  2:L 10:W  1:L  3:L
9  John Mengel,     MH    8        Maori Hill 2      3:L  8:W 10:W  4:L  7:L  5:L  1:L  2:L  6:L
10 Jonty Lydiate,   Cari  9   216             0      2:L  5:L  9:L  7:L  6:L  3:L  8:L  4:L  1:L
 
Team Standings
Place Name       Score
  1   BALMACEWEN 23
  2   MAORI HILL 9
 

Shuffle tournament – 23 July

As last year, the unusual starting positions and 5 minutes 3 seconds Bronstein time limit proved a great leveller. Three players finished tied for 1st on 6/7 in the 8 player round-robin. Final scores: 1-3 John Sutherland, Quentin Johnson & Leighton Nicholls 6; 4 Shannon Davie 4; 5-7 Brent Southgate, John Winley-Glenbrook & Bob Clarkson 2; 8 John Armstrong 0.

Club Championship – 16 July

In the first leg of the 2014 Club Championship, top seed John Sutherland leads the A grade on a healthy score of 4½/5. Time trouble and well-timed draw offer by Quentin Johnson prevented him from winning all five games. Johnson trails by a point, followed by a strong showing by Hamish Gold, scoring 50% as bottom seed. Then followed Leighton Nicholls on 2 points, Terry Duffield on 1½, and Geoff Aimers on 1 point.
The B grade was shortened to five rounds after a very low turnout on what would have been the sixth round meant that a legal pairing was not possible. Shanon Davie secure promotion to the A-Grade with an unbeaten 4/5. Brent Southgate followed on 3 points, also unbeaten but conceding too many draws. David Reid was third on 2½.
A Grade Cross Table
No
Name
Loc
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
1
SUTHERLAND, JOHN L
2212
4.5
*
½
1
1
1
1
2
JOHNSON, QUENTIN
2171
3.5
½
*
1
½
½
1
3
GOLD, HAMISH R
1818
2.5
0
0
*
½
1
1
4
NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON
1925
2
0
½
½
*
1
0
5
DUFFIELD, TERENCE
1822
1.5
0
½
0
0
*
1
6
AIMERS, GEOFFREY
1874
1
0
0
0
1
0
*
B Grade Cross Table
No Name                   Loc  Total  1    2    3    4   5
1  DAVIE, SHANNON         1754 4      8:1 10:1  7:1  4:½ 2:½
2  SOUTHGATE, BRENT       1767 3      0:½  7:½  4:½  3:1 1:½
3  REID, DAVID M          1582 2.5    4:½  5:0  8:1  2:0 6:1
4  MCKEE, JOE             1460 2      3:½  8:½  2:½  1:½ 0:0
5  MUNRO, ELLIOT          1697 2      0:½  3:1  0:0  0:0 0:½
6  WINLEY-GLENBROOK, JOHN      2      0:   0:  10:1  8:1 3:0
7  CLARKSON, ROBERT D     1622 1.5   10:1  2:½  1:0  0:0 0:0
8  ARMSTRONG, JOHN F      1475 1.5    1:0  4:½  3:0  6:0 0:1
9  MOTTERSHEAD, TOM       1637 1.5    0:½ 11:1  0:0  0:0 0:0
10 LOUGH, MAX             1112 1      7:0  1:0  6:0 11:1 0:0
11 AITKEN, CONNOR              .5     0:½  9:0  0:0 10:0 0:0
 

Otago/Southland Primary and Intermediate Interschool Teams Championship 2014 – 28 June

PrimTeamsChess.jpgBoth the Primary and Intermediate competitions were played on the same day this year. In the Primary event ten teams came from a very wide distribution (Invercargill, Western Southland, Tarras, Queenstown and Cromwell were represented besides Dunedin!) There was very little in the end separating the top three teams – only 1½ points after the final round! The Defending Enrich A team came third this time, half a point behind a strong performance from first time-entrants Tarras School in Second Place. The winners were George Street Normal A, who earn the place in the national finals in Auckland. While all three are eligible to play in the South Island finals in Ashburton.
The Intermediate event saw seven teams entered and a much more dominant performance from the defending champions, Balmacewen Intermediate A. They gave up only half a point – to the Balmacewen B team, who managed to finish second, ahead of Tahuna A. A special thanks to DNI School for providing the venue once again, despite not entering a team this year!.
Primary Cross Table
No Name                 Total  1      2      3      4      5      6      7
1  George St Normal A,  23.0  10:4.0  2:3.0  3:2.0  4:4.0  8:4.0  6:4.0  5:2.0
2  Tarras,              22.0   9:4.0  1:1.0  4:3.0  3:2.0  7:4.0 10:4.0  8:4.0
3  Enrich A,            21.5   7:3.0  5:4.0  1:2.0  2:2.0  6:4.0  4:2.5  9:4.0
4  Maori Hill,          14.0   8:3.0  7:3.0  2:1.0  1:0.0  9:3.0  3:1.5 10:2.5
5  Queenstown Primary,  12.5   6:1.5  3:0.0  8:1.5  9:2.0 10:3.0  7:2.5  1:2.0
6  George St Normal B,  11.0   5:2.5  8:.5   9:2.0 10:3.0  3:0.0  1:0.0  7:3.0
7  Cromwell Primary,    10.5   3:1.0  4:1.0 10:3.5  8:2.5  2:0.0  5:1.5  6:1.0
8  Takitimu Primary,    10.5   4:1.0  6:3.5  5:2.5  7:1.5  1:0.0  9:2.0  2:0.0
9  Enrich B,            9.0    2:0.0 10:2.0  6:2.0  5:2.0  4:1.0  8:2.0  3:0.0
10 Taieri Beach,        6.0    1:0.0  9:2.0  7:.5   6:1.0  5:1.0  2:0.0  4:1.5
 
Intermediate Cross Table
No
Name
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
1
Balmacewen A,
23.5
*
3.5
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
2
Balmacewen B,
16.5
.5
*
2.5
2.0
3.5
4.0
4.0
3
Tahuna A,
15.5
0.0
1.5
*
3.0
3.0
4.0
4.0
4
John McGlashan,
14.0
0.0
2.0
1.0
*
3.0
4.0
4.0
5
Tahuna B,
8.5
0.0
.5
1.0
1.0
*
3.0
3.0
6
Portobello,
4.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.0
*
3.5
7
Arthur St,
1.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.0
.5
*
Individual Scores

Otago/Southland Secondary Interschool Teams Championship 2014 – 21 June


SecTeamsChess.jpgShae Koroheke (NSC) and Sean Lau (OBHS A)
Six teams contested the 2014 championship, with teams from Balclutha and Southland widening the usual coverage. Defending champions, Otago Boys High School A were favourites, but fielding a less experienced team than last year. In the end they emerged the victors, ahead of a close contest for second between OBHS B, South Otago High School and Logan Park High School. Northern Southland College would have been in the mix too, if they had not arrived minus their 4th player.
Particular standout individual scores were Riley Jellyman on board 2 for Otago BHS B, Caed Falloon on board 4 for OBHS A, who both scored 5/5 and Sean Lau on board 1 for OBHS A who scored 4½/5. So OBHS A qualify for the national finals in Auckland, while both OBHS teams and South Otago HS qualify for the South Island finals in Ashburton. Unfortunately three teams withdrew on the day, but the event was highly enjoyable for the participants that made it. Thanks to Otago Boys High School for providing the venue once again.
No
Name
Total
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
1
OBHS A,
15.5
*
2.5
4.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
2
OBHS B,
12.0
1.5
*
1.0
2.0
4.0
3.5
3
South Otago HS,
11.5
0.0
3.0
*
2.0
4.0
2.5
4
Logan Park HS,
11.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
*
2.0
3.0
5
Northern Southland Colleg,
5.5
1.0
0.0
0.0
2.0
*
2.5
6
John McGlashan,
4.5
0.0
.5
1.5
1.0
1.5
*

Winter Rapid Open – 7 June

The second of the 2014 Seasonal Rapids had an even bigger turnout of 25 players. The numbers were boosted by a healthy contingent of eight from South Otago Boys HS in Balclutha, playing in there first open competitive tournament. Top seed was John Sutherland and despite some tense finishes to his games, he managed to win all five. In second equal place were Ross Black from Christchurch and local Shannon Davie on 4/5. The under 1200 grade went to Riley Jellyman of Otago Boys HS on 3½. There were three runners up on 3: David Marshall of Invercargill, Greg Familton from Balclutha, and Joe McKee of Balmacewen Intermediate in Dunedin. There was a five-way tie for first in the under 800 grade between Sam Thompson, Sam Leaper (both Balmacewen) and Mighan Xu, Conor Mills and Jared Smollett of South Otago BHS - all on 2 points.

The next rapid open is the Spring Rapid on Saturday 6 September.
Cross Table
No Name                 Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5
1  SUTHERLAND, JOHN L   2063 5     23:W 11:W  7:W  4:W  5:W
2  DAVIE, SHANNON       1640 4     16:W  8:W  5:D  9:W  4:D
3  BLACK, ROSS          1598 4     13:W  4:L 14:W 10:W 12:W
4  JOHNSON, QUENTIN     1989 3.5    6:W  3:W  9:W  1:L  2:D
5  AIMERS, GEOFFREY     1777 3.5   15:W 10:W  2:D  7:W  1:L
6  JELLYMAN, RILEY      1046 3.5    4:L 14:W 17:W 23:D  8:W
7  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON   1765 3     19:W 12:W  1:L  5:L 15:W
8  MARSHALL, DAVID      1086 3     24:W  2:L 13:W 11:W  6:L
9  GOLD, HAMISH R       1695 3     18:W 17:W  4:L  2:L 19:W
10 FAMILTON, GREG       1100 3     25:W  5:L 16:W  3:L 13:W
11 CLARKSON, ROBERT D   1345 3     22:W  1:L 21:W  8:L 18:W
12 MCKEE, JOE           1146 3     20:W  7:L 18:W 15:W  3:L
13 THOMPSON, SAM        534  2      3:L 19:W  8:L 21:W 10:L
14 LAU, RYAN            996  2     21:   6:L  3:L 16:L 23:W
15 WILLIAMSON, BENJAMIN 1000 2      5:L 22:W 24:W 12:L  7:L
16 LEAPER, SAMUEL       696  2      2:L 23:W 10:L 14:W 21:L
17 XU, MINGHAN          500  2      0:W  9:L  6:L 22:L 25:W
18 WALLIS, DANIEL       900  2      9:L 25:W 12:L 24:W 11:L
19 CHEN, BOYU           1000 2      7:L 13:L 20:W 25:W  9:L
20 MILLS, CONOR         500  2     12:L 21:L 19:L  0:W 24:W
21 LAU, ETHAN           909  2     14:L 20:W 11:L 13:L 16:W
22 SMOLLETT, JARED      500  2     11:L 15:L 23:L 17:W  0:W
23 LOUGH, MAX           1062 1.5    1:L 16:L 22:W  6:D 14:L
24 ALLINGTON, MORGAN    500  1      8:L  0:W 15:L 18:L 20:L
25 PAYNE, JACK          500  1     10:L 18:L  0:W 19:L 17:L
 

Cleland Trophy – 4 June

Seedings proved little use to predicting the results of individual games and upsets abounded. Top seed John Sutherland was upset by second seed Quentin Johnson in round 3, and both these two conceded draws to third seed Leighton Nicholls in the next two rounds. Finally Leighton lost to fifth seed Hamish Gold in the last round, while Johnson drew with sixth seed Terry Duffield. When the smoke had cleared Johnson emerged the winner on 5/6 ahead of Sutherland on 4½ in second with Nicholls and Gold sharing third on 4 points. The big gainers of rating points were Joe Mckee, for his win over John Armstrong, and Duffield for an all-round good result against a strong field.
Cross Table
No Name               Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6
1  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   2153 5      7:W  4:W  2:W  3:D  9:W  5:D
2  SUTHERLAND, JOHN L 2219 4.5    5:W  6:W  1:L 11:W  3:D  7:W
3  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON 1965 4      8:W 12:W  6:W  1:D  2:D  4:L
4  GOLD, HAMISH R     1811 4     10:W  1:L  9:L 14:W  0:W  3:W
5  DUFFIELD, TERENCE  1805 3.5    2:L  0:D  8:W 12:W  7:D  1:D
6  AIMERS, GEOFFREY   1883 3.5   17:W  2:L  3:L 10:W  8:D 11:W
7  SOUTHGATE, BRENT   1761 3      1:L 10:W 14:W  0:D  5:D  2:L
8  CLARKSON, ROBERT D 1624 3      3:L 16:W  5:L  0:W  6:D 10:D
9  DAVIE, SHANNON     1751 2.5    0:D 11:D  4:W  0:D  1:L  0:L
10 REID, DAVID M      1587 2.5    4:L  7:L  0:W  6:L 12:W  8:D
11 MCKEE, JOE         1046 2      0:D  9:D 12:W  2:L  0:L  6:L
12 ARMSTRONG, JOHN F  1507 2      0:W  3:L 11:L  5:L 10:L 14:W
13 KUMAR, JEREMIAH         1.5    0:D  0:W  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:
14 LOUGH, MAX         1052 1      0:D 15:D  7:L  4:L  0:L 12:L
15 HARKNESS, MITCHELL      1      0:D 14:D  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:
16 KLENNER, JACOB          .5     0:D  8:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:
17 CLAYTON, BEN       1588 0      6:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L
 

Swiss Rapid – 23 April

This time John Sutherland didn't have things all his own way and gave up losses to Quentin Johnson and Hamish Gold. These latter two drew with each other and one other player as well as taking half-point byes in the first two rounds. That resulted in a 3-way tie for first place on 6/8 between Gold, Johnson and Sutherland. Sharing 4th on 4½ points were the only two players to take points from the top three: Geoff Aimers, who drew with Johnson, and Brent Southgate, who drew with Gold. Gold and Southgate gained a load of rating points, as did Joe McKee, who won a fine game from Terry Duffield in the first round.
Cross Table
No Name               Feder Rtg Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8
1  GOLD, HAMISH R     NZL       6      0:D  0:D  9:W  2:D  5:D  6:W  3:W  4:W
2  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   NZL       6      0:D  0:D  6:W  1:D 10:W  3:W  4:D  7:W
3  SUTHERLAND, JOHN L NZL       6      5:W  7:W 11:W  4:W  6:W  2:L  1:L  9:W
4  AIMERS, GEOFFREY   NZL       4.5   10:W  6:L 14:W  3:L  9:W  7:W  2:D  1:L
5  SOUTHGATE, BRENT   NZL       4.5    3:L  9:L  8:W 14:W  1:D 11:W  7:L  6:W
6  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON NZL       4      8:W  4:W  2:L  7:W  3:L  1:L 10:W  5:L
7  DAVIE, SHANNON     NZL       4      9:W  3:L 12:W  6:L  8:W  4:L  5:W  2:L
8  CLARKSON, ROBERT D NZL       4      6:L 14:L  5:L 12:W  7:L  9:W 13:W  0:W
9  ARMSTRONG, JOHN F  NZL       3      7:L  5:W  1:L 11:W  4:L  8:L  0:W  3:L
10 REID, DAVID M      NZL       3      4:L 15:W  0:D  0:D  2:L 12:W  6:L 13:L
11 MCKEE, JOE         NZL       2.5   14:W 12:W  3:L  9:L  0:D  5:L  0:L  0:L
12 LOUGH, MAX         NZL       1.5   13:W 11:L  7:L  8:L  0:D 10:L  0:L  0:L
13 CLAYTON, BEN       NZL       1.5   12:L  0:D  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  8:L 10:W
14 DUFFIELD, TERENCE  NZL       1     11:L  8:W  4:L  5:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L
15 OBAFEMI, TOBI                0      0:  10:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L
 

Alan Chang Memorial – 26 March

Top seed John Sutherland convincingly won the Alan Chang 10 minute hourglass tournament with a 6/6, a point and a half ahead of Leighton Nicholls in 2nd place on 4½ with Shannon Davie and Joe Mckee 3rd on 4 points. Last year's trophy winner for the biggest upset Geoff Aimers was this year the victim. His draw with Max Lough in round 2 proved to be the biggest upset, awarding Max the trophy for 2014. Lough and McKee playing in this event for the first time plundered the rest of the field for rating points with performances over 400 points above their current ratings.
Cross Table
No Name               Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6
1  SUTHERLAND, JOHN L 2048 6     10:W  5:W  9:W  6:W  3:W  8:W
2  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON 1728 4.5   17:W  0:W  6:L  7:D  9:W  5:W
3  DAVIE, SHANNON     1670 4     14:W  6:L 12:W  4:W  1:L  0:W
4  MCKEE, JOE         1067 4     13:L 17:W  0:W  3:L 10:W  9:W
5  GOLD, HAMISH R     1723 3.5    0:W  1:L  8:W 11:W  6:D  2:L
6  JOHNSON, QUENTIN   2008 3.5   11:W  3:W  2:W  1:L  5:D  0:L
7  BAILEY, GREGORY E.      3.5    0:W  0:   0:   2:D  0:L  0:L
8  AIMERS, GEOFFREY   1797 3.5   12:W  9:D  5:L 10:W  0:W  1:L
9  LOUGH, MAX         915  2.5    0:W  8:D  1:L 12:W  2:L  4:L
10 SOUTHGATE, BRENT   1501 2.5    1:L 16:W  0:D  8:L  4:L 12:W
11 CLAYTON, BEN       1483 2      6:L 14:W 16:W  5:L  0:L  0:L
12 ARMSTRONG, JOHN F  1368 2      8:L  0:W  3:L  9:L 17:W 10:L
13 MUNRO, ELLIOT      1620 1      4:W  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L  0:L
14 CLARKSON, ROBERT D 1334 1      3:L 11:L  0:D  0:D  0:L  0:L
15 DUFFIELD, TERENCE  1626 1     16:L  0:D  0:D  0:L  0:L  0:L
16 OBAFEMI, TOBI           1     15:W 10:L 11:L  0:L  0:L  0:L
17 REID, DAVID M      1359 0      2:L  4:L  0:L  0:L 12:L  0:L
 

Autumn Rapid Open – 1 March

The 2014 Seasonal Rapids to determined the winner of the Westpac 30-30 Trophy got off to a great start with a turnout of 20 players for the Autumn Rapid. Top seed this time was visiting Ukrainian player Sasha Nedyhalov ahead of regulars John Sutherland and Quentin Johnson. An unknown quantity was Wolfie Martin, whose most recent serious chess was in London in the 90s. A crucial result was Martin-Sutherland in round 2, where Black's flag fell in a time scramble, but was not noticed by his opponent until both flags were down – a draw. Nedyhalov and Johnson met on board 1 in round 4 and White achieved a dominating position only to lose a piece to a back-rank mate trick, leaving Johnson in the sole lead half a point ahead of Sutherland and Martin. In the final round Nedyhalov beat Martin quickly and Johnson and Sutherland drew to make Johnson the outright winner on 4½/5. Tied for second on 4 points were Nedyhalov, Sutherland and Ben Clayton. Clayton won the Under 1600 grade by beating his main rival Bob Clarkson in the final round. Clarkson finished second in the grade on 3 points. Winner of the Under 1000 grade was Ryan Lau on 2½. Three players tied for second on 2 points: Max Lough, Sam Thompson and Sam Leaper.

The next rapid open is the Winter Rapid on Saturday 7 June.
Cross Table
No Name                  Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5
1  JOHNSON, QUENTIN      2008 4.5   13:W 11:W  9:W  2:W  3:D
2  NEDYHALOV, SASHA      2050 4      7:W  8:W  6:W  1:L  5:W
3  SUTHERLAND, JOHN L    2048 4     12:W  5:D  8:W  6:W  1:D
4  CLAYTON, BEN          1483 4     15:W  6:L 13:W 14:W  7:W
5  MARTIN, PAUL (WOLFIE) 1600 3.5   16:W  3:D 11:W  9:W  2:L
6  NICHOLLS, LEIGHTON    1728 3     10:W  4:W  2:L  3:L 12:W
7  CLARKSON, ROBERT D    1334 3      2:L 17:W 10:W 12:W  4:L
8  BLACK, ROSS           1603 3     17:W  2:L  3:L 13:W 14:W
9  DAVIE, SHANNON        1670 3     14:W 18:W  1:L  5:L 15:W
10 LAU, RYAN             996  2.5    6:L 15:W  7:L 11:D 16:W
11 LOOS, RICK            1600 2.5   19:W  1:L  5:L 10:D 18:W
12 LAU, SEAN             1089 2      3:L 16:W 18:W  7:L  6:L
13 MARSHALL, DAVID       1086 2      1:L 19:W  4:L  8:L 17:W
14 LOUGH, MAX            915  2      9:L 20:W 17:W  4:L  8:L
15 THOMPSON, SAM         534  2      4:L 10:L 19:W 20:+  9:L
16 LEAPER, SAMUEL        696  2      5:L 12:L 20:W 18:W 10:L
17 LAU, ETHAN            909  1      8:L  7:L 14:L 19:W 13:L
18 OBAFEMI, TOBI         1400 1     20:W  9:L 12:L 16:L 11:L
19 REYNOLDS, FRASER      630  1     11:L 13:L 15:L 17:L  0:W
20 EDWARDS, MAX          500  0     18:L 14:L 16:L 15:-  0:L
 

2014 Otago chess club AGM – 12 February

Terry Duffield sttod down as Club President and was replaced by Geoff Aimers. The 2014 committee comprises:
President: Geoff Aimers; Vice President: Brent Southgate; Secretary: Bob Clarkson; Treasurer: John Sutherland; Director of Junior Play: Quentin Johnson/Toby Obafeme; Past-President: Terry Duffield; Committee members: Leighton Nicholls; Auditor: Bob Glass; Patron: Bob Glass.

Blitz tournament – 5 February

The field for the Blitz was more than doubled by visitors to the club from Oamaru and the Ukraine! In the end the winner was decided by a single game, between Quentin Johnson and Sasha Nedyhalov, with the former emerging victorious. Both these two won all their other games. A very creditable third was achieved by Rick Loos.

Final scores: 1 Johnson 10/10; 2 Nadyhalov 9; 3 Loos 7½; 4 Geoff Aimers 7; 5 Leighton Nicholls 5½; 6 John Armstrong 5; 7 Chance Gibbons 4; 8-9 Star Josephs & Toby Obafeme 3; 10 Liam Hartland 1; 11 Elaine Henneveld 0.