Steve Giddins reports daily on the Challengers Tournament

Challengers round 8

Gormally-Cherniaev ended in a draw after just 7 moves. For the latter, this was understandable – with a GM norm impossible anyway, he had no reason to take undue risks with the Black pieces. Gormally’s decision is perhaps more surprising, since he needed one point from his last two games for a GM norm. If he gets his draw with Black in the last round, all will be well, but facing a GM opponent who has every incentive to try to win, it is not a foregone conclusion, especially given Gormally’s notorious propensity to miss out on norm chances in last round games. Wrapping up one’s norm with a round to spare is the one sure way of eliminating such last-round jitters. Meanwhile, Hebden was drawing an uninspiring game with Miezis, whilst both Borovikov and Nick Pert ground out long wins to reach 6. The most interesting game of the day was a fascinating scrap between McDonald and Wells, which culminated in a huge time-scramble, leading to a drawn opposite-colour bishops ending.

So, the last round pairings see Cherniaev (6 ½) v Hebden (6), Miezis (6) v Gormally (6 ½), Pert (6) v Borovikov (6), and then a whole group of players on 5 ½ playing one another. The scene should be set for a titanic battle.

Borovikov - Lindemann 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 e6 4.c4 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.h3 0–0 9.Nc3 a6 10.a4 Nh5 11.0–0 Nd7 12.Bg5 Bf6 13.Be3 Ne5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.f4 Bg7 16.Qf3 Qc7 17.Rae1 Bd7 18.g4 Nf6 19.e5 Ne8 20.Ne4 f5 21.exf6 Nxf6 22.Ng5 c4 23.Bc2 Qa5 24.Ne6 Qxd5 25.Nxf8 Rxf8 26.Rd1 Qxf3 27.Rxf3 Bc6 28.Rf2 Nd5 29.Bc1 Re8 30.f5 gxf5 31.Bxf5 b5 32.axb5 axb5 33.Kf1 b4 34.Re2 Be5 35.Be4 Ne7 36.Bxc6 Nxc6 37.Re4 c3 38.Rc4 cxb2 39.Bxb2 Rf8+ 40.Kg2 Bxb2 41.Rxc6 Be5 42.Rb6 Rf4 43.Rb1 Rc4 44.R6xb4 Rc2+ 45.Kf1 Kf7 46.R4b3 Kg6 47.Rf3 h6 48.Rb8 Ra2 49.Rg8+ Kh7 50.Rgf8 Kg6 51.R8f5 Ra4 52.Rb3 Rd4 53.Kg2 Bf6 54.Kf3 Bg5 55.Rbb5 Rd3+ 56.Kg2 Bf6 57.Rbd5 Rxd5 58.Rxd5 Be5 59.h4 Kg7 60.Kf3 Kf6 61.Ke4 Bg3 62.Rf5+ Kg6 63.h5+ Kg7 64.Kd5 Bh2 65.Ke6 Bg3 66.Rf7+ Kg8 67.Rd7 1–0

McDonald - Wells 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 b6 7.Nc3 e5 8.Be3 Ne7 9.a3 h6 10.b4 cxb4 11.axb4 f5 12.exf5 gxf5 13.d4 f4 14.Nxe5 0–0 15.Bc1 c5 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.Ne2 cxd4 18.Nd3 f3 19.gxf3 Ng6 20.Rg1 Nh4 21.Nef4 Bf5 22.Ra6 Kh7 23.Rg3 Qd7 24.Qd2 Rf6 25.Rxf6 Bxf6 26.Nd5 Bg5 27.Nf6+ Kh8 28.Nxd7 Bxd2+ 29.Kxd2 Bxd7 30.Bb2 Kh7 31.Ne5 Be6 32.f4 a5 33.Nc6 Nf5 34.Ra3 a4 35.Nxd4 Nxd4 36.Bxd4 Kg6 37.Re3 Ra6 38.Bb2 Kf5 39.Rg3 Kxf4 40.Rg6 Bc8 41.Rxa6 Bxa6 42.Kc3 Bc8 43.Bc1+ Kf3 44.Bxh6 Kxf2 45.h4 Kg3 46.Bg5 Kg4 47.Kb4 Bd7 48.c4 Kh5 49.c5 Bc6 50.Ka3 ½–½

Formanek - Pert 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.a3 c4 7.g3 Na5 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.h4 Nc8 10.Ng5 Nb6 11.Qh5 Qe7 12.Be2 h6 13.Nh3 Ba4 14.Bd1 Bxd1 15.Qxd1 Qd7 16.a4 0–0–0 17.h5 Be7 18.0–0 Rdg8 19.b4 cxb3 20.Nxb3 Nxb3 21.Qxb3 Nc4 22.Nf4 Kb8 23.Ra2 Rc8 24.Ng2 Qc7 25.Rc2 Qa5 26.Ra2 Qc7 27.Qc2 Qa5 28.Bf4 Rc6 29.Rfa1 Rhc8 30.Bc1 Qc7 31.Nf4 Na5 32.Ne2 Rb6 33.Qd3 Rb3 34.Qh7 Bf8 35.Ba3 Bxa3 36.Rxa3 Rxa3 37.Rxa3 Qe7 38.Ra2 Qg5 39.Nf4 a6 40.Rc2 Ka7 41.Kg2 Nc4 42.Ra2 Na5 43.Ra3 Qe7 44.Ra2 Qf8 45.Ne2 Qg8 46.Qd3 Qd8 47.Rb2 Rc4 48.Rb4 Qg5 49.Nf4 Qe7 50.Rxc4 Nxc4 51.Qh7 Qf8 52.Qc2 Qa3 53.Qh7 Qxc3 54.Qxg7 Qxd4 55.Qxf7 Qe4+ 56.Kg1 Qe1+ 57.Kg2 Qe4+ 58.Kg1 Nd2 59.Nxe6 Nf3+ 60.Kf1 Nd2+ 61.Kg1 Nf3+ 62.Kf1 Nxe5 63.Qe7 Qh1+ 64.Ke2 Qxh5+ 65.Ke1 Qh1+ 66.Kd2 Nc4+ 67.Ke2 Qe4+ 68.Kd1 Nb2+ 69.Kd2 Qd3+ 70.Kc1 Qc3+ 71.Kb1 Nxa4 72.Qg7 Qe1+ 73.Ka2 Qxe6 0–1

Seel - Avari 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 e6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.0–0 Be7 7.Re1 d6 8.e4 Nbd7 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qc7 11.Be3 a6 12.Rc1 0–0 13.f4 Rac8 14.f5 e5 15.Nb3 Qb8 16.Qe2 Qa8 17.Bf2 Bc6 18.g4 g6 19.Qf3 Kh8 20.h4 Ng8 21.Red1 Qb8 22.Qd3 gxf5 23.exf5 Bxg2 24.Kxg2 Ngf6 25.Kh3 e4 26.Qd4 Ne5 27.Nd5 Nxd5 28.cxd5 f6 29.Qxe4 b5 30.Nd4 Rg8 31.Nc6 Qb7 32.Nxe5 dxe5 33.Rc6 Rcd8 34.g5 Qxc6 35.dxc6 Rxd1 36.Qc2 Rdd8 37.Bc5 Rge8 38.c7 Rc8 39.Bb6 fxg5 1–0

Flower - Huss 1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nge7 6.Bg2 g6 7.0–0 Bg7 8.Re1 b6 9.c3 Ba6 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nb3 0–0 12.d4 cxd4 13.Nbxd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Qd7 15.a4 Rac8 16.Nb5 Rfd8 17.Qb3 h6 18.c4 Ne7 19.Bf4 Nf5 20.Rac1 Nd4 21.Qe3 Nf5 22.Qe2 Qe7 23.Be5 Bxe5 24.Qxe5 Rd2 25.Qc3 Rcd8 26.Bd5 Rxf2 27.Kxf2 Qc5+ 28.Kg2 exd5 29.b4 Qc6 30.c5 d4+ 31.Qf3 Bxb5 32.axb5 Qxb5 33.c6 Qxb4 34.c7 Rc8 35.Qc6 Ne3+ 36.Kh3 Qe7 37.Re2 Rxc7 38.Rxe3 Rxc6 0–1

Challengers round 7

With two rounds to go, Gormally and Cherniaev now share the lead on 6/7. The former drew a careful game with Hebden in one of Mark’s favourite anti-Lopez systems. After a crushing loss against Murray Chandler in the British a couple of years ago, most commentators thought that Mark would be forced to give 11…Re8 a decent burial, but the rumours of its death appear to have been greatly exaggerated. Meanwhile, Cherniaev’s great run of form continued, as he won his 6^th straight game against Nick Pert. The liquidations between moves 24-27 left Black defending a number of weak pawns and dark squares, and after the Russian had mopped up some material, he refuted Pert’s last desperation swindle attempt with a nice Queen sacrifice. Miezis profited from a crashing blunder by Eric Lawson to join Hebden on 5 ½, where they were in turn joined by the German player Stefan Lindemann, who beat Beshukov. The group on 5 points includes Borovikov, Wells, McDonald, Korotylev, and McNab. The most surprising name in the score-group is that of Viraf Avari, a Hastings regular who won the World Amateur tournament here several years ago. This year, Avari has been having the tournament of his life, which continued in this round when he beat Marusenko.

Gormally - Hebden 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Re8 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Nxe5 Bb7 14.Qf3 Bf8 15.Bf4 Re6 16.Ng4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 f5 18.Nd2 fxe4 19.Qg3 Qe7 20.Re2 h5 21.Nh6+ Kh7 22.Nf5 Qf6 23.Ne3 Bc6 24.Bg5 Qg6 25.Rae1 Nb7 26.Bf4 Qf7 27.Nef1 Rae8 28.Qh4 Be7 29.Bg5 Bxg5 30.Qxg5 Re5 31.Qh4 g5 32.Qg3 h4 33.Qh2 R5e6 34.f3 exf3 35.Nxf3 ½–½

Cherniaev - N Pert 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.Na3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Nc2 Qb6 10.0–0 a5 11.Kh1 h5 12.b3 h4 13.h3 Be7 14.Bd3 Qd8 15.Rb1 Nb4 16.Nxb4 axb4 17.Rb2 g6 18.Bf4 Rc8 19.Qd2 Rh5 20.Rc1 Rc6 21.Rbc2 Kf8 22.Kh2 Kg7 23.Kg1 Qb6 24.Bxf5 exf5 25.Bg5 Qd8 26.Rxc6 bxc6 27.Bxe7 Qxe7 28.Ne1 g5 29.Nd3 g4 30.Qf4 Rg5 31.Kh1 Rg6 32.Rc5 Qd8 33.Qe3 gxh3 34.gxh3 f4 35.Nxf4 Rg5 36.Rc1 Kh8 37.Rg1 Rxg1+ 38.Kxg1 Qg5+ 39.Kh2 Qf5 40.Nd3 Kg7 41.Nxb4 c5 42.dxc5 d4 43.Qxd4 Qxh3+ 44.Kg1 Bg4 45.e6+ f6 46.Nd5 Bf3 47.Qxf6+ Kh7 48.Qg6+ 1–0

Miezis - Lawson 1.c4 b6 2.Nc3 Bb7 3.e4 e6 4.Nge2 Nf6 5.Ng3 c5 6.Be2 Nc6 7.f4 h5 8.0–0 h4 9.Nh1 Nd4 10.d3 h3 11.g3 Qc7 12.Be3 Nxe2+ 13.Qxe2 Qc6 14.a3 a6 15.Nf2 Be7 16.b4 cxb4 17.axb4 Bxb4 18.Na4 Bc5 19.Rfb1 Bxe3 20.Qxe3 b5 21.Qb6 0–0 22.Qxc6 Bxc6 23.Nc3 bxc4 24.dxc4 Rfc8 25.e5 Ne8 26.Nxh3 d6 27.Ng5 dxe5 28.fxe5 f6 29.exf6 gxf6 30.Nxe6 Bd7 31.Nf4 Rxc4 32.Ncd5 Bf5 33.Ne7+ 1–0

Lindemann - Beshukov 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.c4 c6 4.Qc2 Nf6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qc2 Bb7 8.e3 Nbd7 9.Nbd2 a6 10.a4 b4 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Bd3 Rc8 13.e4 Be7 14.0–0 Rg8 15.Rfe1 Rg7 16.Nf1 c5 17.d5 c4 18.dxe6 fxe6 19.Bxc4 Nb6 20.b3 Nxc4 21.bxc4 Qc7 22.Rac1 Kf7 23.Ng3 Rcg8 24.Qe2 h5 25.c5 Bxc5 26.Red1 Qb6 27.Nh4 Rg5 28.a5 Qc7 29.Nf3 R5g7 30.Nd4 Qe5 31.Nf3 Qc7 32.Kf1 Rc8 33.Qd2 Rh7 34.Qd3 h4 35.e5 Kg8 36.Ne4 Bxe4 37.Qxe4 f5 38.Qc4 Qe7 39.Qxa6 Re8 40.Qb5 Ba7 41.Rc7 Qf8 42.Rdd7 Ree7 43.Rxa7 Qe8 44.Rab7 1–0

Taylor - McNab 1.c4 d6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 c6 5.e4 e5 6.Nge2 Nf6 7.d3 0–0 8.0–0 Na6 9.h3 Nc7 10.f4 b5 11.cxb5 cxb5 12.d4 exd4 13.Nxd4 Bb7 14.Nc2 Re8 15.Re1 Rb8 16.Be3 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Bxe4 18.Bxe4 Rxe4 19.Bxa7 Rxe1+ 20.Nxe1 Rc8 21.Bd4 Bxd4+ 22.Qxd4 Ne6 23.Qf2 Qf6 24.Rd1 Nc5 25.Qd4 Qe6 26.g4 Qxa2 27.b4 Ne6 28.Qe3 Qc4 29.f5 Nf4 30.Kh2 Nd5 31.Qf3 Nc3 32.Rxd6 Qc7 33.Qf4 Ne4 34.Qxe4 Qxd6+ 35.Kg2 Qc6 36.Qxc6 Rxc6 37.fxg6 hxg6 38.Kf3 Rc3+ 0–1

Avari - Marusenko 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.h4 h6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Qc7 11.Rh4 e6 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.Ne4 Qb4+ 15.Qc3 Qe7 16.Qa3 Qxa3 17.bxa3 Ke7 18.Nc5 Nxc5 19.dxc5 Nf6 20.Rb1 Rhb8 21.Rhb4 b5 22.cxb6 Rxb6 23.Rxb6 axb6 24.Rxb6 Rxa3 25.Rxc6 Rxa2 26.Rc7+ Ke8 27.Ne5 Ra1+ 28.Ke2 Rg1 29.g3 Nxh5 30.Nxf7 Nf6 31.Ne5 Kf8 32.Rf7+ Kg8 33.Re7 Ne4 34.Rxe6 Ra1 35.c4 Ra2+ 36.Ke3 Nxf2 37.c5 Nh1 38.g4 Ng3 39.c6 Rc2 40.Kd4 Nf1 41.Re8+ Kh7 42.Kd3 Rc5 43.Kd4 Rc2 44.Rf8 Nd2 45.Kd3 1–0

Shaw - Gourlay 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0–0 Nb4 10.Be2 dxe5 11.Nxe5 Bd7 12.Nc3 Bc6 13.a3 N4d5 14.Bd3 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Nd7 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Qf3 Qc7 18.c4 Be7 19.c5 0–0 20.Bf4 e5 21.dxe5 Nxe5 22.Qe4 1–0

Challengers round 6

Danny Gormally moved into the sole lead today, after an impressive win against Eric Lawson. The opening followed Lawson-Hebden from two rounds earlier, but Gormally’s 8^th, a pawn sacrifice typical of his style, soon yielded excellent compensation in the form of central space and White’s clogged development. A nice combinational breakthrough, crowned by 30…Be2, wrapped things up. Meanwhile, Cherniaev built up a huge space advantage in the opening, and settled down to the task of squeezing the life out of his opponent. It took 96 moves, but there never seemed much doubt about the eventual outcome, with Black at one point being so bereft of activity that he cycled his Rook back and forth between a8 and b8 for 15 consecutive moves. Hebden held a dubious-looking position against Pert, leaving the two of them tied with Cherniaev on 5/6. Those on 4 ½ include Borovikov, Wells, Miezis, Beshukov and McDonald, who all won yesterday.

Lawson - Gormally  1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.f3 Qa5+ 5.c3 Nf6 6.Nd2 cxd4 7.Nb3 Qb6 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Qxb6 axb6 10.Be3 d5 11.Bxb6 e5 12.Bf2 d4 13.e4 Be6 14.Nd2 Bc5 15.a4 0–0–0 16.Nc4 Ba7 17.g4 Kb8 18.Bg3 Nd7 19.Nh3 f6 20.Nf2 dxc3 21.bxc3 Nc5 22.Ra3 Rd7 23.Be2 Rhd8 24.0–0 Nd3 25.Bxd3 Rxd3 26.Nb2 Rxf3 27.Kg2 Rxf2+ 28.Bxf2 Rd2 29.Nd1 Bxg4 30.Ra1 Be2 31.Ne3 Bxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Bxe3 33.Bxe3 Rxh2 34.Rd1 Kc7 35.Rb1 Ra2 36.Bb6+ Kc8 37.c4 Rxa4 38.c5 Rxe4 0–1

Cherniaev - Taylor  1.e4 c6 2.c4 e5 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Be2 Bf6 6.d5 Ne7 7.h4 0–0 8.Be3 c5 9.g3 Ng6 10.h5 Nh8 11.Qd2 Be7 12.f4 f6 13.Nf3 Nf7 14.a3 a5 15.0–0–0 Na6 16.Nh4 Re8 17.Rdg1 Bf8 18.Bd1 Bd7 19.Kb1 Nc7 20.a4 h6 21.Bf3 Na6 22.Nb5 Nc7 23.Nc3 Na6 24.Qe2 Qc8 25.Bd2 Nc7 26.Qf1 Qd8 27.Bg2 Na6 28.Bh3 Bxh3 29.Rxh3 Qd7 30.Rh2 Nc7 31.Qf3 Ra6 32.Nf5 Kh8 33.Rh4 Rd8 34.Qg4 Raa8 35.Qg6 b6 36.Rg4 Ne8 37.Nb5 Rab8 38.Bc3 Rb7 39.Rf1 Rdb8 40.fxe5 dxe5 41.Bd2 Ng5 42.Rh4 Nf7 43.Rg4 Ng5 44.Kc2 Rd8 45.Rh4 Nf7 46.b3 Rdb8 47.Kd3 Ra8 48.Ke2 Rab8 49.Rh2 Rd8 50.Ke1 Rdb8 51.Rhf2 Ra8 52.Rf3 Rab8 53.R1f2 Ra8 54.Kf1 Rab8 55.Kg1 Ra8 56.Nh4 Rab8 57.Rf1 Ra8 58.R3f2 Rab8 59.Kg2 Ra8 60.Nc3 Rab8 61.Nd1 Ra8 62.Ne3 Ng5 63.Nef5 Nf7 64.Be3 Rab8 65.Rd2 Rd8 66.Rdf2 Rdb8 67.Qg4 Kh7 68.Rh1 Kh8 69.Ng6+ Kg8 70.d6 Nexd6 71.Nge7+ Kh8 72.Ng6+ Kg8 73.Nge7+ Kh8 74.Rd1 Nxf5 75.Nxf5 Qc6 76.Rfd2 Re8 77.Rd5 Ng5 78.Bxg5 hxg5 79.Qf3 Qe6 80.Qd3 Kg8 81.Rd7 Qxd7 82.Qxd7 Rxd7 83.Rxd7 Re6 84.Kf3 Rc6 85.Rb7 Re6 86.Kg4 Rc6 87.Ne3 Re6 88.Kf5 Rc6 89.Nd5 Bd6 90.Kg6 Bf8 91.Rxg7+ Bxg7 92.Ne7+ Kf8 93.Nxc6 Bh8 94.g4 Kg8 95.Ne7+ Kf8 96.Nd5 1–0

Cooper - Wells  1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 e6 6.Qe2 b6 7.f4 Bb7 8.Nf3 d6 9.0–0 dxe5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.fxe5 Qd7 12.d3 Be7 13.Qg4 f5 14.exf6 Nxf6 15.Qxg7 Rg8 16.Qh6 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Qd5+ 18.Kg1 0–0–0 19.Rxf6 Bxf6 20.Qxf6 Rdf8 21.c4 Qd6 22.Bf4 Qxf4 23.Qxe6+ Kb8 24.Nc3 Qd4+ 25.Kh1 Qxd3 26.Nd5 Rf1+ 27.Kg2 Rxg3+ 28.hxg3 Qf3+ 29.Kh3 Qh5+ 30.Kg2 Qh1# 0–1

Borovikov - Huss  1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Bb7 7.Nd2 c5 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 d6 10.f3 e5 11.e4 Nc6 12.d5 Nb8 13.Bd3 Nbd7 14.Bc2 Qc7 15.Ba4 0–0 16.Nf1 g6 17.Ne3 Kg7 18.Qd2 Rh8 19.Bf2 Nh5 20.Bc2 Raf8 21.a4 a5 22.0–0–0 Bc8 23.h4 Ndf6 24.Kb2 Bd7 25.Ka3 Ng8 26.Rb1 Qd8 27.g3 Ne7 28.Ng2 Nc8 29.g4 Nf6 30.Be3 Ne8 31.g5 hxg5 32.Bxg5 f6 33.Be3 Rh7 34.f4 Kh8 35.h5 gxh5 36.f5 Rg8 37.Bd1 Rxg2 38.Qxg2 Ng7 39.Bf3 Be8 40.Rbg1 Qd7 41.Bd1 Ne7 42.Bf2 Ng8 43.Bh4 Qc7 44.Qb2 Qb7 45.Rh2 Qa6 46.Qb3 Bf7 47.Rb2 Ne8 48.Be2 Qa7 49.Qxb6 Qe7 50.Qxa5 Qf8 51.Be1 h4 52.Bf3 h3 53.Rh2 Bh5 54.Bxh5 Rxh5 55.Qd8 Qf7 56.Rg3 1–0

Thompson - Korotylev  1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.0–0 0–0 8.Rb1 h6 9.b4 Be6 10.b5 Ne7 11.a4 Qd7 12.Re1 Bh3 13.Bh1 Ng4 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.cxd5 f5 16.Bb2 f4 17.Qb3 Rf7 18.a5 b6 19.axb6 axb6 20.Ra1 Raf8 21.Ra7 Bf6 22.Rc1 Bd8 23.Rc4 h5 24.Bg2 Bxg2 25.Kxg2 fxg3 26.hxg3 h4 27.gxh4 Rxf3 28.exf3 Rxf3 29.Ra8 Rxf2+ 30.Kg1 Rf1+ 31.Kg2 Ne3+ 32.Kg3 Rf8 33.Raa4 Qf5 0–1

Challengers round 5

Once again it was Eric Lawson’s day in the Challengers, as the young Canadian added Peter Wells to his growing collection of scalps, winning a wild game with the Black pieces. Another terrific result for Lawson, but without wishing in any way to detract from his achievement, it must be admitted that ruinous clock handling by the GM certainly contributed. Inside 10 moves, Wells was already a full hour behind, and by move 20 had barely two minutes in which to reach the time control. With the overnight leaders Pert and Gormally halving out, Lawson’s win left the three of them tying for first on 4 ½ , where they were joined by Mark Hebden, who ground down Borovikov in a Q+R ending. The other giantkiller of the day was Kent’s Peter Taylor, who followed up yesterday’s win against John Shaw by defeating Korotylev with Black. Cherniaev won his fourth straight game to close on the leaders, whilst lower down the table, Heather Richards crushed Simon Williams in short order to move into the group on 3 ½.

Hebden - Borovikov   1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Nbd7 7.0–0 Bd6 8.Nbd2 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 11.Nf3 Qe7 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.Bd2 0–0 14.Bc3 Qg5 15.Qf3 Be6 16.Bxe6 fxe6 17.Qh3 Rae8 18.Rad1 Ne4 19.Rd4 Qf5 20.Qh4 Nxc3 21.bxc3 e5 22.Rd2 h6 23.Rfd1 Rf7 24.Qa4 a6 25.Qc4 e4 26.a4 Kh7 27.Rf1 Re6 28.Rd4 b5 29.Qa2 Rff6 30.Rfd1 Rg6 31.g3 Qe5 32.axb5 cxb5 33.c4 b4 34.Qc2 a5 35.c5 Rc6 36.Rd5 Qe7 37.Qc4 Rg5 38.Rxg5 hxg5 39.Rd5 Qe6 40.Qd4 Qg6 41.Rd6 Qe8 42.Rd7 Qg6 43.g4 a4 44.Rd6 Qe8 45.Qxb4 Rxd6 46.cxd6 Qa8 47.d7 a3 48.Qxa3 Qxa3 49.d8Q Qa1+ 50.Kg2 Qe5 51.Qd7 Kh6 52.h3 g6 53.Qd4 Qe8 54.Qf6 Qb8 55.Kg1 Qb1+ 56.Kg2 Qb8 57.h4 gxh4 58.Qxh4+ Kg7 59.Qe7+ Kh6 60.Qxe4 Kg5 61.Kf3 1–0

Wells - Lawson  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 c4 8.d4 b5 9.e5 Nd5 10.Ne4 Bf5 11.Ng3 Qd7 12.0–0 c3 13.bxc3 Nxc3 14.Qe1 Na4 15.Nxf5 Qxf5 16.c4 bxc4 17.Ba3 c3 18.Rc1 Bh6 19.Qe2 Bxc1 20.Rxc1 Qe6 21.Qc2 Qc4 22.e6 fxe6 23.Ne5 Qxd4 24.Nxc6 Qc4 25.Ne5 Qb5 26.Qe4 Rb8 27.Nc6 Rb7 28.Qxe6 Qf5 29.Qc4 Nb6 30.Qxc3 Rf8 31.Nxe7 Rxe7 32.Bxe7 Nd5 33.Qe1 Nxe7 34.Rc7 Rf7 35.Rxa7 Kf8 36.a4 Qc5 37.Ra8+ Kg7 38.a5 Nc6 39.a6 Ra7 0–1

Korotylev - Taylor  1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.h4 h6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Nbd7 12.0–0–0 Be7 13.Qe2 0–0 14.Ne5 c5 15.dxc5 Qc7 16.Nxd7 Nxd7 17.Ne4 Nxc5 18.Nxc5 Qxc5 19.Be3 Qa5 20.Kb1 Bf6 21.g4 Qe5 22.Rd4 Rfd8 23.f4 Qa5 24.Re4 Rd5 25.Bc1 Rad8 26.g5 hxg5 27.h6 gxh6 28.Rxh6 Bg7 29.Rh1 Rd4 30.fxg5 Qf5 31.Rxd4 Rxd4 32.Rf1 Qd5 33.Qh5 e5 34.g6 fxg6 35.Qxg6 Qd7 36.Rh1 Rd1 37.Rh2 Rf1 38.Rg2 Qf7 39.Qg3 Kf8 40.Qd3 Qf6 41.Qc4 Rxc1+ 42.Kxc1 Qh6+ 43.Rd2 Qh1+ 0–1

Tozer - Cherniaev  1.d4 d6 2.c4 f5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Nc3 c6 8.d5 Bd7 9.Nd4 c5 10.Nf3 Na6 11.e4 fxe4 12.Ng5 Nc7 13.Re1 Ng4 14.Ncxe4 Ne5 15.Qc2 b5 16.Nd2 Rb8 17.Rb1 Ng4 18.Re2 Bd4 19.Ndf3 Bf5 20.Ne4 Bg7 21.b3 Nf6 22.Nfg5 Qd7 23.Bb2 bxc4 24.bxc4 Rb6 25.Ba1 Rxb1+ 26.Qxb1 Qa4 27.Qc1 Rb8 28.Bxf6 Bxf6 29.Nxf6+ exf6 30.Ne6 Rb1 0–1

Webb - McDonald  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.0–0 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Nc3 Rc8 10.a3 a6 11.Be3 Be7 12.Bd3 Nxe3 13.fxe3 0–0 14.Rc1 f5 15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Bb1 g6 17.Kh1 Bg7 18.Na4 b6 19.Bd3 Na5 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 21.Qe2 Nc4 22.Nc3 b5 23.a4 Bh6 24.Bxc4 bxc4 25.e4 Bg7 26.e5 Bd7 27.Qd2 Qb6 28.Rf2 Qb4 29.Ng5 Bh6 30.h4 Qe7 31.Kg1 Rf5 32.Rxf5 gxf5 33.Kh2 Be8 34.Qf4 Bh5 35.Qg3 Bg4 36.Qf4 Kg7 37.Kg3 Kg6 38.a5 Qd8 39.Qf2 Bxg5 40.hxg5 Qxa5 41.Qe1 Qd8 42.Qa1 a5 43.Qa4 Kxg5 44.Kh2 f4 45.Qc2 Kh6 46.Qf2 Qg5 47.Nb5 Kg7 48.Nd6 Bh5 49.Nb7 a4 50.Nc5 Qg3+ 51.Kg1 Qxf2+ 52.Kxf2 c3 53.bxc3 a3 54.Nb3 a2 55.Na1 Kg6 0–1

Richards - Williams  1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.Be3 Qb6 6.dxc5 Qxb2 7.Qb3 Qxa1 8.Nf3 Ne7 9.Bb5+ Nbc6 10.0–0 Bf5 11.Nd4 Qxb1 12.Rxb1 Bxb1 13.Qxb1 0–0–0 14.Bf4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 g6 16.c6 bxc6 17.Ba6+ Kd7 18.Qb7+ Ke6 19.Qc7 Bg7 20.Qxa7 Nf5 21.Qc5 Nxd4 22.g4 g5 23.Bc8+ Kf6 24.Qxd4+ Kg6 25.Bf5+ Kh6 26.Bxg5+ Kxg5 27.Qxg7+ Kf4 28.Qd4+ Kg5 29.h4+ 1–0

Challengers round 4

Only two 100% scores remained intact after this round. Nick Pert won a dour struggle rather typical of the opening, the Moscow Variation of the Semi-Slav. Black never succeeded in breaking out and activating his Bishops, and towards the end of the session, his Kingside fell apart. Meanwhile, Gormally slowly outplayed Neil NcDonald, won a pawn and converted the Bishop ending. The young Canadian giantkiller Eric Lawson raised some expectations of taking another notable scalp, when he won a pawn against Hebden, but the GM managed to create enough activity to hold the rook ending. Wells won his third straight game, whilst Cherniaev and Miezis won to reach 3 points. Peter Taylor of Bromley continued his fine start and provided one of the upsets of the day, by outplaying John Shaw with the help of an obscure Botvinnik opening reference from the early 1960s – a rare case of a 40-year old game proving theoretically valuable!

Pert,N - Korotylev  1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 Nd7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 g6 10.0–0 Bg7 11.b4 0–0 12.Rc1 Rd8 13.Qb3 Qe7 14.Rfd1 Nb6 15.Be2 Bd7 16.Ne4 Nd5 17.Nc5 Be8 18.a4 Rac8 19.Bf1 Bf8 20.Rb1 Rc7 21.Rdc1 Bg7 22.Nd3 Rcc8 23.Rc2 a6 24.Rbc1 Ra8 25.Nc5 Rdb8 26.Bc4 Nc7 27.a5 Nd5 28.Nd3 Rd8 29.Rd2 Rab8 30.Nc5 Nc7 31.Rcd1 Nb5 32.Bxb5 axb5 33.h3 Qc7 34.e4 Ra8 35.Rd3 b6 36.axb6 Qxb6 37.e5 Bf8 38.Nd2 Qa7 39.Nde4 Qa2 40.Qc3 Ra7 41.h4 Be7 42.Qc1 Kg7 43.h5 g5 44.f4 Qe2 45.fxg5 hxg5 46.Rg3 Kh8 47.Nxg5 Bf8 48.Nf3 Ra3 49.Re1 Rxf3 50.gxf3 Qc4 51.Qg5 Qxd4+ 52.Kh1 1–0

McDonald - Gormally  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 Ngf6 5.Nc3 cxd4 6.Qxd4 e5 7.Qd3 h6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Bc4 Nb8 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.Bxd5 Nd7 12.Nd2 0–0 13.Nb1 Nf6 14.Nc3 Qc7 15.0–0 a6 16.a4 Be6 17.a5 Rac8 18.Bb6 Qd7 19.Bb3 Bxb3 20.cxb3 Bd8 21.Be3 Qe6 22.Ra3 Be7 23.Rd1 Rfd8 24.b4 Qc4 25.Ra4 d5 26.Nxd5 Nxd5 27.Qxc4 Rxc4 28.exd5 Rxb4 29.Rxb4 Bxb4 30.Bb6 Rd7 31.f3 f5 32.g4 g6 33.Kf2 Kf7 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Ke3 Kf6 36.f4 Bd6 37.fxe5+ Kxe5 38.b3 Be7 39.Bd4+ Kxd5 40.Bg7+ Ke6 41.Rxd7 Bg5+ 42.Kd4 Kxd7 43.Ke5 f4 44.Ke4 Kc6 45.h3 Kb5 46.Bc3 h5 47.Be1 Bd8 48.Bd2 f3 49.Kxf3 Bxa5 50.Bc1 Bb6 51.Bd2 Ba5 52.Bc1 b6 53.Ba3 Bb4 54.Bc1 Be7 55.Bd2 Kc6 56.Ke4 a5 57.Bc3 Bd8 58.Bd2 Kc5 59.Kd3 Kd5 60.Bc3 Bc7 61.Bf6 b5 62.Bb2 Bd6 63.Bc3 a4 64.bxa4 bxa4 65.Bb2 Bc5 66.Bc1 Ke5 67.Kc4 Be7 68.Kd3 Bf8 69.Ke2 Kd4 70.Bb2+ Kc4 71.Bc1 Kc3 72.Kd1 Kb3 0–1

Gourlay - Miezis  1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 e5 6.0–0 Nge7 7.d3 0–0 8.Rb1 d6 9.a3 a5 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 h6 12.Ne1 f5 13.Nc2 a4 14.b4 axb3 15.Rxb3 Kh7 16.Bd2 Na5 17.Rb1 e4 18.dxe4 Nxc4 19.exf5 Nxf5 20.Bxb7 Bxb7 21.Rxb7 Qc8 22.Rb1 Nd4 23.Nxd4 cxd4 24.Nb5 Qh3 25.Bc1 Rf5 26.f3 Ne3 27.Bxe3 dxe3 28.g4 Be5 29.f4 Rxf4 0–1

Taylor - Shaw  1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 f5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 0–0 7.e3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 f4 9.exf4 exf4 10.Nh3 Qe8+ 11.Qe2 fxg3 12.hxg3 Qxe2+ 13.Kxe2 d6 14.Nf4 Ne5 15.Kd2 c6 16.Rae1 Re8 17.f3 b6 18.Nh5 Nxh5 19.Rxh5 g6 20.Rh6 Bb7 21.Reh1 Re7 22.f4 Ng4 23.R6h4 h5 24.Be4 Rxe4 25.dxe4 Nf2 26.Re1 c5 27.f5 Kf7 28.fxg6+ Kxg6 29.e5 d5 30.cxd5 Bxd5 31.Rf4 Ng4 32.b3 Rd8 33.Kc1 Be6 34.Rd1 Rxd1+ 35.Kxd1 Ne3+ 36.Kd2 Nd5 37.Rf8 Kg5 38.Kd3 Bf5+ 39.Kc4 Be6 40.Bd2+ Kg4 41.Kb5 Kxg3 42.Kc6 1–0

Greet - Wells  1.b3 d5 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.e3 e5 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 c6 6.Bb2 Bd6 7.c4 Nf6 8.Qg3 Qe7 9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qh6 d4 11.Qh4 Nbd7 12.e4 0–0–0 13.d3 Rg6 14.a3 Rdg8 15.Nd2 Qf8 16.g4 Be7 17.Qg3 h5 18.f3 Qh6 19.Qg2 Rh8 20.Be2 Nc5 21.Bc1 hxg4 22.fxg4 Qe3 23.Kd1 Nxd3 24.Bxd3 Qxd3 25.g5 Rh4 26.Qf3 Qxf3+ 27.Nxf3 Rxe4 28.gxf6 Rxf6 29.Ng5 Rh4 30.Re1 Rf5 31.Ne4 Rxh3 32.b4 Kd7 33.Ra2 Rff3 34.Nd2 Rc3 35.Rc2 Bh4 36.Rf1 Rxc2 37.Kxc2 Ke6 38.Ne4 b6 39.c5 f5 40.Nd6 f4 41.Rg1 bxc5 42.bxc5 f3 43.Kd1 Kd5 44.Nf5 e4 45.Bf4 f2 46.Rf1 e3 47.Bxe3 dxe3 48.Ke2 Ke4 49.Nd6+ Kf4 50.Nc8 Rg3 51.Nxa7 Rg1 52.Nxc6 Rxf1 53.Kxf1 Bf6 0–1

Hein - Cherniaev  1.d4 c5 2.e3 b6 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Nbd2 g6 6.0–0 Bg7 7.b3 0–0 8.Bb2 d6 9.c4 e6 10.Rc1 Nbd7 11.Qe2 a6 12.e4 cxd4 13.Bxd4 e5 14.Bb2 Nh5 15.g3 f5 16.Ba3 Nc5 17.Bxc5 bxc5 18.Rcd1 f4 19.g4 Nf6 20.h3 Bc8 21.Nh2 Ne8 22.Ndf3 a5 23.Bc2 Rf7 24.Qd3 Be6 25.Kh1 h6 26.Rg1 Rb7 27.a4 Rd7 28.Nf1 Nc7 29.N1d2 Na6 30.Nb1 Nb4 31.Qe2 Kf7 32.Nc3 Nc6 33.Nd5 Bf6 34.Rg2 Be7 35.Rdg1 Rb7 36.Qd3 Bh4 37.g5 Bxg5 38.Rxg5 hxg5 39.Nxg5+ Qxg5 40.Rxg5 Rh8 41.Kg2 Nd4 42.Rg4 Bxg4 43.hxg4 Rh4 44.Nc3 Kf8 45.Nb5 f3+ 0–1

Hunt - Wu  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 Nc6 8.0–0 0–0 9.Nb3 Be6 10.f4 Rc8 11.f5 Bd7 12.Qe1 Ne5 13.a4 d5 14.fxg6 hxg6 15.exd5 Bf5 16.Nd4 Bg4 17.d6 Qxd6 18.Ndb5 Qb4 19.Rf4 Qa5 20.b4 Qa6 21.Bf1 Nh5 22.Re4 Bf5 23.Nxa7 Qe6 24.Nxc8 Rxc8 25.Bd2 Bxe4 26.Nxe4 Rxc2 27.Nc5 Qd6 28.Rd1 Ng4 29.g3 Bd4+ 30.Kg2 Qd5+ 31.Ne4 Ne3+ 32.Kf3 Qf5+ 0–1

Challengers round 3

As five players preserved their 100% scores, the sensation of the round was the victory of Canadian youngster Eric Lawson against John Shaw. The 18-year old’s enterprising early exchange sacrifice gave a long-term initiative, and the problems eventually proved too much for the Scot. Meanwhile, Korotylev, Hebden and Gormally all won. It is perhaps something of an oxymoron to speak of a theoretical battle in the Barry Attack, but the game Hebden-Hunt followed Mark’s first-round game for 17 moves, before Hunt deviated. He was soon in trouble, however, and Mark eventually won an ending with the unusual material balance of Q+B v 2R’s +B. Nick Pert won rapidly to join the leaders, whilst Peter Wells and Neil McDonald were amongst those reaching 2 ½. Lower down the table, Colin McNab, who had begun with two draws against substantially lower-rated opposition, kick-started his tournament with an eye-catching win against Chetan Deva. Local Hastings players also had a good day, with Robin Moss crushing Malaysian IM Mas, whilst veteran Bernard Cafferty won against Torbjorn Hansen.

Korotylev - Knott  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0–0 7.e4 Bg4 8.Be3 Nfd7 9.Qb3 Nb6 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.d5 Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.gxf3 Bh5 14.Rg1 Qc8 15.Rg3 c6 16.a4 Qc7 17.a5 Nc8 18.Qb4 f5 19.Bd4 Bxd4 20.Qxd4 c5 21.Qd2 f4 22.Rg5 Nd6 23.e5 Nf5 24.d6 exd6 25.exd6 Qd8 26.Ne4 Nd4 27.Rxc5 Nxf3+ 28.Bxf3 Bxf3 29.Qd5+ Kg7 30.Qd4+ Kh6 31.Rd3 Bh5 32.Rc7 1–0

Hebden – A Hunt  1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0–0 6.Be2 c5 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.0–0 cxd4 9.exd4 Bf5 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Na4 Nd7 12.c3 Re8 13.Re1 e5 14.Be3 h6 15.Rc1 g5 16.dxe5 Bxe5 17.c4 Nb6 18.Nxb6 axb6 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Bb5 Re6 21.Qb3 d4 22.Bd2 Ra7 23.Bc4 Re8 24.Qb5 Bd7 25.Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.Qd5+ Kf6 27.Rxe5 Rxe5 28.Rc6+ Bxc6 29.Qxd8+ Kf7 30.Qxb6 Rxa2 31.h3 Re6 32.Qxd4 Ra1+ 33.Kh2 Rd1 34.Qc3 Be4 35.Be3 Rd7 36.Qh8 Bc6 37.Qh7+ Ke8 38.Qg8+ Ke7 39.Bc5+ Kf6 40.Bf8 Kf5 41.Bg7 Bd5 42.Qh7+ Kf4 43.Qd3 Rxg7 44.Qxd5 Re5 45.Qf3# 1–0

Gormally - Wegerle  1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 e6 6.Qc2 Nbd7 7.Be2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Bd3 c5 10.a4 b4 11.Ne4 Bb7 12.Nxf6+ Nxf6 13.dxc5 Rc8 14.Qe2 Qa5 15.Nd4 Bxc5 16.Nb3 Qb6 17.Nxc5 Qxc5 18.Bxa6 Bxg2 19.Bxc8 Bxh1 20.Qb5+ Qxb5 21.axb5 0–0 22.Ba6 Bf3 23.Bd2 Nd5 24.Rc1 Rb8 25.Rc4 f5 26.Bxb4 Nxb4 27.Rxb4 Bd5 28.Ke2 Kf7 29.f3 e5 30.e4 fxe4 31.fxe4 Ba8 32.b6 Bc6 33.Bc4+ Ke7 34.Bd5 Kd6 35.Bxc6 Kxc6 36.Kd3 Kc5 37.Kc3 Rb7 38.Rc4+ Kb5 39.h4 g6 40.Rc8 Rf7 41.b7 Rxb7 42.Re8 Rc7+ 43.Kd3 Rd7+ 44.Ke3 Kc4 45.Rxe5 Rb7 46.Kf4 Rxb2 47.Re7 h6 48.Rc7+ Kd3 49.Rd7+ Ke2 50.Rd6 g5+ 51.hxg5 hxg5+ 52.Kxg5 Ke3 53.e5 Ke4 54.e6 Rg2+ 55.Kf6 Rf2+ 56.Ke7 Ke5 57.Rd1 Ra2 58.Re1+ Kd5 59.Kf7 Rf2+ 60.Ke8 Rb2 61.Kd7 Ra2 62.e7 Ra7+ 63.Kc8 Ra8+ 64.Kc7 Ra7+ 65.Kb6 1–0

Shaw - Lawson 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 e5 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.dxe5 Qxe5+ 8.Be3 Bd7 9.Qb3 Nf6 10.Nd2 Be7 11.Qxb7 Rb8 12.Qxa7 Rxb2 13.Qa3 Rxd2 14.Kxd2 Ne4+ 15.Ke1 0–0 16.Bc4 Bh4 17.g3 Bf6 18.Rc1 Re8 19.Qb2 Ng5 20.Qb7 Bg4 21.Qd5 Qe7 22.Be2 Be6 23.Qc6 Rc8 24.Qa6 Ne4 25.c4 Re8 26.Bf3 Ng5 27.Be2 Bc8 28.Qa3 Qe4 29.Rf1 Nf3+ 30.Bxf3 Qxf3 31.Qd3 Bg4 32.Kd2 Rd8 33.Qxd8+ Bxd8 34.Rfe1 Ba5+ 0–1

Moss - Mas  1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 e6 6.Nf3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Nc3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Qc7 10.0–0 Qxc3 11.Be3 Ba3 12.Rb1 Bd5 13.Qe2 Qc6 14.Ng5 g6 15.Qg4 Qc3 16.Be4 Qa5 17.Qf4 f5 18.exf6 Nc6 19.f7+ Ke7 20.Qh4 Bxe4 21.Nxe4+ Kxf7 22.d5 Qxd5 23.Rbd1 Qe5 24.Rxd7+ Be7 25.Bg5 Rae8 26.Bf6 1–0

Deva - McNab  1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Be3 Nf6 5.Qd2 c6 6.Bh6 Bxh6 7.Qxh6 Qa5 8.Bd3 c5 9.Nf3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc6 11.Nb3 Qb6 12.h3 Be6 13.0–0 0–0–0 14.Ne2 Ne5 15.Ned4 Bxb3 16.Nxb3 g5 17.h4 Rdg8 18.hxg5 Nfg4 19.Qh4 h6 20.Be2 hxg5 21.Bxg4+ Kb8 22.Qg3 Rh4 23.Bh3 Rgh8 24.Rae1 g4 25.Qe3 Nf3+ 26.gxf3 Rxh3 27.fxg4 Rxe3 28.Rxe3 Rg8 29.Rg3 Qc6 30.f3 Qxc2 31.Rg2 Qd3 32.Kf2 Rh8 33.Re1 Rh3 34.Rg3 Qc2+ 35.Re2 Rh2+ 0–1

Cafferty - Hansen  1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nc7 7.0–0 e5 8.d3 Be7 9.Nd2 Bd7 10.Nc4 0–0 11.f4 exf4 12.Bxf4 Ne6 13.Bd2 Rb8 14.Nd5 Bg5 15.Nd6 Ncd4 16.Ne4 Bc6 17.Nxg5 Nxg5 18.e4 f5 19.Qh5 h6 20.Rae1 Nh7 21.Bf4 Rc8 22.Be5 fxe4 23.Qg6 Qd7 24.Bh3 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 Ne2+ 26.Kg2 Bxd5 27.Bxd7 exd3+ 28.Kf2 Rf8+ 29.Ke3 1–0

Challengers round 2

In the Challengers tournament, nine players emerged with 100% scores intact. To the gratification of the Control Team, all nine are amongst the top half of the draw, thus demonstrating the efficacy of the ratings and the accelerated pairing system! Korotylev mated Lawrence Cooper after a fluctuating struggle, whilst Hebden won a tough game against Craig Hanley. The upset of the round was the defeat of Latvian GM Normunds Miezis at the hands of Germany’s Joerg Wegerle. Peter Wells, happily now recovered from the ailment that prevented him playing in round one, downed Jonathan Mutton with Black, whilst Gormally did likewise to Hastings regular Peter Marusenko of the Ukraine. There was amusement lower down the tournament, where Hastings club champion Francis Rayner found himself playing James Hanley, younger brother of Craig. Having lost to Craig the day before after having an extra Queen at one point, Rayner reached an ending against James with…an extra Queen! Unfortunately for the youngster, lightning did not strike twice, as Rayner sacrificed Queen for Rook to force a winning K+P ending.

Cooper - Korotylev 1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Be3 c6 5.a4 Nf6 6.h3 0–0 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.a5 Qc7 9.Qd2 Rb8 10.Be2 b5 11.axb6 axb6 12.e5 dxe5 13.dxe5 Nd5 14.Bh6 Nxe5 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Qxd5 Nxf3+ 18.Bxf3 Bb7 19.Ra7 Qxc2 20.Qd4+ e5 21.Qxe5+ Kg8 22.0–0 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Rbe8 24.Qd4 Qf5 25.Kg2 Re5 26.Rfa1 Rd5 27.Qxb6 Qg5+ 28.Kf1 Qh5 29.R7a3 Qxh3+ 30.Ke2 Rfd8 31.Qe3 Qd7 32.Kf1 Qb5+ 33.Kg2 Rg5+ 34.Kh2 Rh5+ 35.Kg2 Qf5 36.f4 Rh4 37.Qe7 Rg4+ 38.Rg3 Qd5+ 39.f3 Rxf4 40.Rf1 Rb8 41.Rf2 Rfb4 42.Rg5 Qb7 43.Qf6 Rxb2 44.Qf4 Rxf2+ 45.Kxf2 Qb6+ 46.Kg2 Re8 47.Kh3 Re1 48.Rg2 h5 49.Rd2 Rh1+ 50.Rh2 Qe6+ 51.Kg2 Qe2+ 52.Kxh1 Qf1# 0–1

C Hanley - Hebden 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.d4 d6 9.c3 Bg4 10.d5 Na5 11.Bc2 Qc8 12.h3 Bd7 13.Nbd2 c6 14.dxc6 Qxc6 15.Nf1 Nc4 16.Ng3 Rfe8 17.a4 g6 18.Qe2 Bf8 19.b3 Nb6 20.a5 Nc8 21.c4 bxc4 22.bxc4 Qc7 23.Bg5 Bg7 24.Bd3 Be6 25.Bxf6 Bxf6 26.Nf1 Ne7 27.Ne3 Qa7 28.Reb1 Rab8 29.Nd5 Nxd5 30.cxd5 Bxd5 31.Rb6 Be6 32.Rxd6 Qc5 33.Rxa6 Qc3 34.Rd1 Red8 35.Rd2 Be7 36.Rxe6 fxe6 37.Bc4 Rxd2 38.Bxe6+ Kg7 39.Qxd2 Rb1+ 40.Kh2 Qxd2 41.Nxd2 Rb2 42.a6 Bc5 43.Nc4 Rxf2 44.Na5 Rf1 45.Bc8 Ra1 46.Nb3 Bg1+ 47.Kh1 Rb1 48.Nd2 Rc1 49.Bb7 Be3+ 50.Kh2 Bf4+ 51.g3 Be3 52.Kg2 Ba7 53.Nb3 Rc2+ 54.Kh1 Ra2 55.h4 h5 56.Bd5 Rxa6 0–1

Kountz - Shaw 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Nf5 Bxf5 7.exf5 Qd7 8.g4 h5 9.g5 Qxf5 10.Be3 0–0–0 11.Bd3 Qh3 12.Nd5 Qg2 13.Rf1 Nge7 14.c4 Kb8 15.Qb3 Rc8 16.Nc3 f5 17.gxf6 gxf6 18.0–0–0 Bh6 19.Kb1 f5 20.Rg1 Qh3 21.Bxh6 Rxh6 22.Rg7 Rg6 23.Rh7 Nd4 24.Qb4 Rg1 25.Be2 Rxd1+ 26.Bxd1 Qd3+ 27.Kc1 Rc7 28.b3 Ndc6 29.Be2 Nxb4 30.Bxd3 Nxd3+ 31.Kd2 Nxf2 32.Nb5 Ne4+ 33.Ke1 Rd7 34.Rh8+ Nc8 35.Rxh5 a6 36.Na3 f4 37.Nc2 Rg7 38.Nb4 f3 39.Kf1 f2 40.Rf5 Rg1+ 0–1

Mutton - Wells  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0–0–0 Bd7 9.f3 Be7 10.Kb1 Rc8 11.Nb3 b5 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Qxd6 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Nb8 15.Nc5 Qc7 16.Nxd7 Nxd7 17.Qxc7 Rxc7 18.c4 bxc4 19.Rd6 Ke7 20.Rxa6 Rb8+ 21.Ka1 Ne5 22.Be2 Rd8 23.f4 Rd2 24.Re1 Ng6 25.f5 Nf4 26.Bf1 Rxc2 27.g3 Nd3 28.Bxd3 cxd3 29.Rb6 d2 30.Rd1 Rc1+ 31.Rb1 Rxd1 0–1

Challengers round 1

There was an early surprise in the Challengers, as top seed Borovikov was reduced to struggling for a draw a pawn down in a rook ending against German’s Wolfgang Koch. Another top seed to take an early bath was Hastings regular Alexander Cherniaev, who blundered horribly against Ralf Christ. Most of the other top seeds won. Hebden’s dreaded Barry Attack claimed yet another victim, Gormally demolished his opponent’s Petroff, and Miezis defeated Martin Walker with Black. There was mixed success for Scotland’s representatives, with John Shaw winning but compatriot Steve Mannion losing a sharp French Defence against the experienced Ian Thompson.

Korotylev - Formanek  1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 h6 8.e4 Bh7 9.Be3 Be7 10.Nxc4 0–0 11.Be2 a5 12.0–0 Na6 13.Qd2 Nb4 14.Rfd1 Ne8 15.Rac1 Nd6 16.b3 Nxc4 17.bxc4 Rc8 18.f4 Qd7 19.Bf3 Rfe8 20.Qe2 Bd8 21.e5 Bb6 22.Ne4 Bxe4 23.Bxe4 Rcd8 24.Rd2 Qe7 25.Rf1 f5 26.exf6 Qxf6 27.c5 Ba7 28.g4 Qh4 29.Bf2 Qf6 30.Be3 Qh4 31.Bf2 Qf6 32.Bb1 b6 33.Qe4 bxc5 34.Qh7+ Kf8 35.Bg6 cxd4 36.g5 Qxf4 37.Qh8+ 1–0

Hebden - Laubsch  1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0–0 6.Be2 c5 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.0–0 Bf5 9.Na4 cxd4 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.exd4 Nd7 12.c3 Re8 13.Re1 e5 14.Be3 h6 15.Rc1 g5 16.dxe5 Bxe5 17.c4 Qf6 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Qxd5 Nb6 20.Nxb6 axb6 21.b4 Bc3 22.Red1 Bxb4 23.Qf3 g4 24.Qg3 h5 25.Bd4 Qg5 26.h4 Qg6 27.Bc4 Bc2 28.Bxf7+ Kxf7 29.Qc7+ Be7 30.Rxc2 Rac8 31.Qf4+ Kg8 32.Rxc8 Rxc8 33.Qe5 Rd8 34.Qxe7 1–0

Gormally - Hansen  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.Re1 f5 9.c4 c6 10.Qb3 Kh8 11.Nc3 a5 12.a3 a4 13.Qc2 Qa5 14.Bd2 Nxd2 15.Qxd2 Nd7 16.c5 Bc7 17.Bc2 b5 18.cxb6 Nxb6 19.Qg5 Bd6 20.Qh5 Qa7 21.Ne5 Bxe5 22.Rxe5 Nc4 23.Re8 Bd7 24.Re7 Nxb2 25.Qg5 Rg8 26.Bxf5 Qxd4 27.Ne2 1–0

Christ - Cherniaev  1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0–0 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0–0 e5 8.Be3 h6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.h3 b6 11.Qc2 Bb7 12.Rfd1 Qe8 13.b4 Qe6 14.Nd5 Rfc8 15.c5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Rxd5 Qxd5 18.Rd1 Qe6 19.Bc4 Qe7 20.Bxh6 Nf8 21.Qc1 Ne6 22.Bxg7 Nxg7 23.Qh6 Rd8 24.Re1 Ne6 25.Nxe5 Qg5 26.Nxf7 Qxh6 27.Nxh6+ Kg7 28.Ng4 Nf8 29.Re7+ Kh8 30.Ne5 Re8 31.Nf7+ Kg7 32.Rxc7 Rec8 33.Re7 Re8 34.Rxe8 Rxe8 35.c6 b5 36.Nd6 Re1+ 37.Kh2 Ne6 38.Bxe6 1–0

Knott - Richards 1.Nf3 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 g6 6.0–0 Bg7 7.Re1 Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.d3 Bb7 10.e4 0–0 11.d4 d6 12.Bg5 Qc8 13.Qd2 e5 14.c5 dxc5 15.dxe5 Nc6 16.Bh6 Re8 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qf4 Qe6 19.Ng5 Qe7 20.Qf6+ Qxf6 21.exf6+ Kxf6 22.Nxh7+ Kg7 23.Ng5 Nb4 24.Red1 Bc6 25.a3 Nc2 26.Rac1 Nd4 27.Rxd4 cxd4 28.Rxc6 Re7 29.Bf1 Rd8 30.Bd3 Rdd7 31.f4 Re8 32.e5 Ree7 33.Kf2 Rd5 34.b4 Rd8 35.h4 Ra8 36.Bc4 a5 37.b5 Rd8 38.Nxf7 Rxf7 39.Bxf7 Kxf7 40.Rxc7+ Ke6 41.Rc6+ Kf5 42.Kf3 1–0

Mannion - Thompson  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 Qb6 8.g3 cxd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Kf2 g5 11.fxg5 Ndxe5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Kg2 Nc6 14.Nf3 Bd7 15.Be2 Bf8 16.b3 Bg7 17.Bb2 h6 18.Qd2 e5 19.dxe5 hxg5 20.h3 Be6 21.Rac1 g4 22.hxg4 Rxh1 23.Rxh1 0–0–0 24.Rh7 Bf8 25.Ng5 d4 26.Nxe6 fxe6 27.Bf3 d3 28.g5 Bb4 29.Qf4 d2 30.Rh1 Ne7 31.a3 Bc5 32.b4 Be3 33.Qc4+ Kb8 34.a4 Bxg5 35.a5 Nf5 36.axb6 Ne3+ 37.Kf2 Nxc4 38.bxa7+ Kxa7 39.Ba1 Ne3 40.Bd1 Nxd1+ 41.Rxd1 Rd3 42.g4 Ka6 43.Ke2 Rg3 44.Bd4 Rxg4 45.Kd3 Kb5 46.Bc3 Rg3+ 47.Kd4 Rg2 48.Kd3 Kc6 49.Ra1 Rg3+ 50.Kc4 b5+ 51.Kd4 Rg4+ 52.Kd3 Kd5 53.Kc2 Kc4 54.Bb2 Rg2 55.Rd1 Rg3 56.Rh1 Kxb4 57.Ra1 Kc4 58.Rh1 b4 59.Rf1 Rg2 60.Kd1 Be3 0–1

C Hanley - Rayner 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.d3 Nb8 10.Nbd2 Nbd7 11.Nf1 Bb7 12.Ng3 Nc5 13.Bc2 Re8 14.d4 Ncd7 15.a4 Bf8 16.b3 g6 17.h4 h5 18.Bg5 Be7 19.Qd3 c6 20.Rad1 Qc7 21.b4 Nb6 22.a5 Nc4 23.Bc1 c5 24.bxc5 dxc5 25.d5 Bd6 26.Ng5 Bc8 27.Nf1 Nxa5 28.Nh2 Nc4 29.Rf1 a5 30.Bb3 Nb6 31.Qg3 a4 32.Ba2 b4 33.f4 b3 34.f5 bxa2 35.fxg6 fxg6 36.Rxf6 Qg7 37.Rxd6 a1Q 38.Ngf3 Qxc3 39.Rxg6 Ra7 40.Bh6 Ree7 41.d6 Red7 42.Bxg7 Rxg7 43.d7 Qe3+ 44.Kh1 Raxd7 45.Rxd7 Qc1+ 46.Ng1 1–0

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