Hamilton Chess Club

For the final night of the year we had a graded robin in four divisions, results as below.

Respective winners were Richard, William, Michael, and Nathaniel.

Last club night for the year next week. We will have casual chess, or a small Swiss if members want

Eushin can be very proud of winning his first full six round club swiss. His chess playing ability is going from strength to strength. He now sits at the top of the club ladder, and ranks 5^th highest in the club at 1632, and will no doubt show a further rise in 2018

Eushin has joined the top echelon of the club coming first in a full six round swiss

Next week we will start the first of 2 Spring Cups. Please if you want to be in, make a commitment to be there for both nights.  The time control will be 20+0, 3 games per night, over 2 nights. We will have two solid hours of chess, so kick off will be as soon as the draw is done. Dont be late. Guests and non-members are welcome to come along and join in.

The club welcomes Alex as its newest member. Alex has played 11 eligible games so far and enters the ratings table on 1452. Welcome Alex.

The plan was for 2 games at 4 +2, 2 at 8 + 2, and 2 at 12 + 2. In the end it took a little longer than we thought so ended up as 2 at 4 + 2 and the remainder at 8 + 2. Prashant was victorious at 5.5 out  of 6. Spring cup starts next week

Richard is club lightning champ for 2017 with a score of 7 – 0. That means he completes the clean sweep having taken the titles for Open, Rapid, Blitz and Lightning. Congratulations Richard

Andy Song and Michael Lin have joined as the clubs newest members. They enter the club ratings with 1491 and 1488 respectively.Welcome guys.

Richard, Eushin, and Kevin came out on top in their respective divisions. The final crosstables are here, and the scores are below. Club lightning next week

Point totals after 4 rounds are below. Crosstables so far and the draw for the entire tournament is located here. (Round C hasnt been updated yet). Round 5 is next week.
Alex Treat2.0

The Simul with Herman proved a great success. Herman took on 21 eager members, and ended up with a score 0f +19.5 =1-1. Notable games were a win for Prashant and an agreed draw in a king and pawn ending for Ian. The event ran for around 3 hours, with Eushin the last player to fall. Our thanks go to Herman and hope that he offers the same opportunity to us in the future. Photos from the event can be viewed here.

In a departure from the calendar schedule we have a special event tomorrow night – your chance to play in a simul against International Master Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk

Herman was Brazilian Champion in 1970, 1973, and 1988, and Pan American Champion in 1977. He was awarded the International Master title in 1978. He played 11 times for Brazil in the Chess Olympiads (1972–1974, 1978–1984, 1988–1994, 1998). ). Notable games include draws against Tal and Larsen. His current FIDE rating is 2306

Please don’t be late. We will try and get things underway around 7:15. There will be no late starters.

Note that entry will be limited to current club members, but spectators are welcome. Entry is free, a nice bonus for your membership. See you there. Don’t be late. (The round robin will continue next week, and we will adjust the calendar later in the year).

The club is in recess now for the school holidays. We resume October 16th with round three of the graded robin. This is a members only tournament, although guests can come along and watch.

Following some technical glitches we eventually got underway. The longer time control and evenly matched players made for some tense and exciting games going right down to the wire. Point totals after two rounds are below. Crosstables so far and the draw for the entire tournament is located here.  Round 3 resumes after the holiday break on 16 October

The programme for the next five weeks is set out below. On 25 September  we will kick off the  graded round robin tournament. There will be three  divisions depending on numbers: An A and B grade consisting on groups of six players based on club ranking. There will also be a C grade that will be a five round Swiss style tournament. Time control is 25 + 5. There will be two games this week and again after the school holidays, with the fifth and final game 23/10/17. Please players will need to commit to being there on each of the three nights to take part. This is a members only event. See you there.

Casual blitz 6-0 to Richard. Same time controls next week. Guests welcome.

Continuing the recent surge in membership the club welcomes Dulina Haegoda as its newest member.