Sunday, 22 September 2013

Nell van de Graaff Classic, Judgement Day

Yayyy :-) After several consecutive second places it was nice to finally win one. The morning round had me paired against Gene Nakauchi, one of Queensland's talented young players. After failing to play 6...d5 he never quite equalised. I could have finished early had I spotted that 18.Qg3 threatened more than just the g pawn { Nc5 }



A draw with black against a higher rated player is a good result but considering I was just a pawn up for nothing I was mildly disappointed. 21...Rfd8 is the natural move that I would have played instantly in lighting. Unfortunately I had time to hallucinate something that talked me out of it.



The last round saw the pairing I was hoping for in Logan. When we were teenagers Steven inflicted many painful losses on me so I enjoy my rare wins against him more than against any other player. We now have a very long friendly rivalry going and I anticipate that it will continue for many decades yet. While all our contemporaries have grown up Steven and I are continuing to play and are maintaining our ratings.

I think giving me the two bishops was a dubious decision. Black never got any real counterplay going and 31...f5 was the final bluff. Mind you the only way to refute it was to take it. Since I have been advocating greed to my students I had no choice.



Below are the final results taken from chesschat. So I shared first with Moulthun and won the countback. Luckily the prizes were not shared so I got the full $750. Unfortunately the prizegiving was
held well before the advertised time of 5pm so I missed the opportunity to gloat :-)  

No Name                 Feder Rtg  Loc  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6

1  WOHL, Aleksandar H   QLD        2486 5.5   27:W 21:W  7:W  3:W  2:D  5:W
2  LY, Moulthun         QLD        2492 5.5   19:W 10:W 20:W  6:W  1:D  8:W
3  NAKAUCHI, Gene       QLD        2213 5     36:W 35:W  4:W  1:L 10:W 11:W
4  MAGUIRE, Tom         QLD   1657 1643 5     28:W 23:W  3:L 24:W 20:W  7:W
5  SOLOMON, Stephen J   QLD        2452 4.5   26:W 12:W  8:W 16:W  6:D  1:L
6  MCCLYMONT, Brodie    QLD        2441 4.5   25:W 13:W  9:W  2:L  5:D 20:W
7  KITIKOV, Oleg        QLD        1751 4     38:W 32:W  1:L 12:W 22:W  4:L
8  STAHNKE, Alexander   QLD   1899 1891 4     30:W 33:W  5:L 17:W 21:W  2:L
9  D'ARCY, Michael      QLD        1693 4     31:W 22:W  6:L 35:W 16:W 10:L
10 SLATER-JONES, Tom    QLD   1662 1620 4     46:W  2:L 23:W 39:W  3:L  9:W
11 WELLER, Tony         QLD        1738 4     39:W 24:L 18:W 33:W 13:W  3:L
12 MATHER, Andrew       QLD        1590 4     51:W  5:L 25:W  7:L 34:W 24:W
13 ZHONG, Tony (Junhao) QLD   1629 1607 4     41:W  6:L 36:W 40:W 11:L 22:W
14 FORD, Daniel         QLD        1585 4     49:W 16:L 29:W 20:L 23:W 21:W
15 HARRIS, Bruce        QLD        1461 4     45:W 20:L 30:W 21:L 42:W 33:W
16 LESTER, George E     QLD        2050 3.5   42:W 14:W 24:W  5:L  9:L 17:D
17 STOKES, Mark C       QLD        1524 3.5   37:L 34:W 31:W  8:L 26:W 16:D
18 BARROSO, Xavier      QLD        1042 3.5    0:D 37:W 11:L 22:L 36:W 35:W
19 RANDALL, David       QLD        1196 3.5    2:L 46:D 27:L 51:W 39:W 34:W
20 DUFFIN, Mike         QLD        1914 3     29:W 15:W  2:L 14:W  4:L  6:L
21 VUCAK, Mark          QLD        1642 3     40:W  1:L 26:W 15:W  8:L 14:L
22 USCINSKI, Jordan     QLD        1285 3     50:W  9:L 28:W 18:W  7:L 13:L
23 SONG, Kevin          QLD   1414 1256 3     52:+  4:L 10:L 31:W 14:L 40:W
24 LEE, Leon            QLD   1371 1317 3     43:W 11:W 16:L  4:L 40:W 12:L
25 WILSON, Callum       QLD   1028 1068 3      6:L 41:W 12:L 37:D 38:W 28:D
26 AHMED, Hammad        QLD   917  1134 3      5:L 51:W 21:L 30:W 17:L 39:W
27 WANG, Jason          QLD        1158 3      1:L 40:L 19:W 41:W 35:D 29:D
28 YOUNG, Dashiell      QLD   978  819  3      4:L 43:W 22:L 36:D 37:W 25:D
29 OSTAPENKO, Michael   QLD   1118 1016 3     20:L 45:W 14:L 44:W 33:D 27:D
30 MANUNEEDHI, Kabilan  QLD   1046 958  3      8:L 48:W 15:L 26:L 50:W 41:W
31 SOUL, David S        NSW        908  3      9:L 50:W 17:L 23:L 46:W 42:W
32 BOONOW, Henry        QLD        1400 3     47:W  7:L 39:L 34:L 44:W 45:W
33 WALLIS, Phil         QLD        1450 2.5   48:W  8:L 37:W 11:L 29:D 15:L
34 MENHAM, Allan        QLD        893  2.5    0:D 17:L 46:W 32:W 12:L 19:L
35 STAHNKE, Axel        QLD        1541 2.5   44:W  3:L 42:W  9:L 27:D 18:L
36 MCCONNELL, Matthew   QLD   1206 1067 2.5    3:L 44:W 13:L 28:D 18:L 49:W
37 PARLE, Hughston      QLD   639  489  2.5   17:W 18:L 33:L 25:D 28:L 46:W
38 MCCONNELL, Harrison  QLD   1109 940  2.5    7:L  0:D 40:L 49:W 25:L 47:W
39 YANG, Thomas         QLD   1057 909  2     11:L 47:W 32:W 10:L 19:L 26:L
40 DESSES, Alexander    QLD   987  708  2     21:L 27:W 38:W 13:L 24:L 23:L
41 WATKINS, Sophie      QLD   748  598  2     13:L 25:L 45:W 27:L 43:W 30:L
42 SLATER-JONES, Henry  QLD   1204 1029 2     16:L 49:W 35:L 50:W 15:L 31:L
43 WATKINS, Bridget     QLD   642  211  2     24:L 28:L 44:L  0:W 41:L 50:W
44 SHELDON, Daniel      QLD   866  512  2     35:L 36:L 43:W 29:L 32:L 51:W
45 CONGREVE, Sophie     QLD   602  452  2     15:L 29:L 41:L 47:W 51:W 32:L
46 KULARATNA, Mineth    QLD   857  707  1.5   10:L 19:D 34:L 48:W 31:L 37:L
47 TRINH, Ian           QLD   763  248  1.5   32:L 39:L 49:D 45:L  0:W 38:L
48 CONGREVE, Lachlan    QLD   500  350  1.5   33:L 30:L 51:D 46:L 49:L  0:W
49 KAHN, Raini                691  541  1.5   14:L 42:L 47:D 38:L 48:W 36:L
50 WATKINS, Rachel Jane QLD        100  1     22:L 31:L  0:W 42:L 30:L 43:L
51 TEOW, Jaden          QLD   731  581  .5    12:L 26:L 48:D 19:L 45:L 44:L
52 KOPAVNIK, Izidor                     0     23:-  0:   0:   0:   0:   0:

Wishing you all a nice day,
Alex.

3 comments:

  1. Well done on a good win, which could have really been outright if you had won your won game against Ly.

    I disagree with using tiebreaks to decide monetary prizes though. I don't actually like those pseudo-mathematical tricks at the best of time, but there is an ounce of plausibility if there are more tied players than qualifying places etc. With money there is not the slightest reason for tiebreaks. Seems to be a strange Gold Coast thing.

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    Replies
    1. Agreed, although it is most definitely not just a Gold Coast thing. There are as many systems as there are countries. Some are so non-intuitive as to be hilarious. Often the game on board 53 determines not only titles but also prize money.

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  2. I own her book We Survived: A Mother's Story of Japanese Captivity. Graeme Gardiner was kind enough to arrange for an autographed copy for me.

    When the Japanese invaded Dutch-held Indonesia in WW2, Nell, the Indonesian-born daughter of a Dutch minister, was a young mother with three children under 5 and one on the way, while her husband was serving in the army. For a while, they were hidden by friendly Indonesians, but this didn't last and they were interned in several different Japanese internment camps. The conditions were frightful, with starvation and disease killing many, as well as some cruel guards, although there was one kind commandant, Dr Mizukuchi. Nell herself was probably literally one meal away from death by starvation, and says that she couldn't have survived two more months of the war.

    But then she describes an incredible and persistent rumour whispered around the camps that the Americans had dropped a bomb of such annihilating power that the Japanese soon surrendered. The thought of soon being free caused a wave of elation in the camp. And this was followed by strange happenings, such as the nastiest Japanese guards being nowhere to be seen. Soon they were officially freed, and given proper nutrition and health care.

    Then there was a new danger: Indonesian nationalists who didn't mind killing Dutch people. But she was reunited with her beloved husband in Thailand on Christmas Eve; neither had known whether the other still lived.

    The book races through the next quarter century: another child, emigrating to Australia, a sixth child, all growing up and marrying and having families of their own, and sudden death of her husband. The last two chapters describe the adventures of Nell returning to Indonesia and finding the kind Indonesians who had helped her so long before.

    The book is not bitter towards the Japanese, and has apparently sold well in Japan.

    The book doesn't mention chess though. Yet at the age of 93, she drew with GM Gawain Jones in a simul. Last I heard, she was still doing well at 98. Hope there is a Centennial NvdG tourney!

    ReplyDelete