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:
Alex.
Well done on a good win, which could have really been outright if you had won your won game against Ly.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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.
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteWhen 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!