Hamilton Chess Club

Simon Lyall has kindly set up a flickr site with lots of photos from the weekend rapid. The site can be accessed here

To paraphrase a famous opening line: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all chess players are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are openings, end games and the pursuit of higher ratings…”

Up until now ratings have been done using a system in which stronger players (Michael, Hilton, William and Stefan) were automatically assigned a higher starting rating (1500) while everyone else was assigned a lower starting value (1000). With several stronger players joining the club the issue of where they should be assigned for starting rating has arisen.  Giving everyone the same starting rating removes the burden of having to decide who gets a higher initial rating, and as ratings tend towards an equilibrium over time the eventual result is very similar irrespective of where players start out. It does mean you are more likely to lose points to a much stronger player (if they start with a rating much higher than you then you lose little if any points to them when they beat you). On the other hand all the other club members will likely play them as well with the same result, and as stated above, the ratings will tend toward an equilibrium.

Accordingly all players ratings have been reworked using 1500 as a starting value, and the updated results posted on the usual page.

Note that when we run the club rapid (after the current club blitz) there will be two divisions (kings queens and rooks will play in their own division, bishop knights and pawns in the reserve division).

That means you only have 2 more weeks to polish up your club ranking if you want to play in the open division of the club rapid.

Round 2 of the club blitz saw 18 players turn out, an improvement on last weeks 14. Stefan, William, and Michael shared 5 points each, followed by Hilton on 4.5 and Sivoram a respectable 4. Half way through the club blitz champs Hilton, William, and Stefan are leading the open division on 9.5 followed by Graham on 8.5. In the reserve board division Asheesh is on 6.5, followed by Ian on 6. Crosstables and cumulative points totals have been updated, as have club ratings and rankings. Round 3 next week

For the record, these were the divisional placings from this weekends tournament.

Open: Noel Pinic  1st = 5 points Hans Gao  1st = 5 points Bob Smith  1st = 5 points Michael  Freeman 1st = 5 points.

Under 1800 Grade: Graham Nolan  1st = 4 points Johnson Li  1st = 4 points Layla Timergazi  1st = 4 points Alphaeus Ang  1st = 4 points Daniel Gong  1st = 4 points Leo Zhang  1st = 4 points

Under 1500 Grade: Ian Kennedy  1st 4 points

Under 1000 Grade: Naveen Saily  1st =  2 points Aaron Taylor  1st =  2 points Darius Hasan-Stein 1st =  2 points Lucas Salazar  1st =  2 points Brijesh Sivabalan 1st =  2 points Finlay Buckell  1st =  2 points Daniel Salazar  1st =  2 points Shilong Yang  1st =  2 points Oscar Qin  1st =  2 points William Morrow  1st =  2 points

In addition to the cash prizes for the players above, book prizes were allocated as followed

Open: Eddie Tan was the top player on 4.5 points on tie-break and received a book prize.

Under 1800 Grade: Each player a book prize.

Under 1000 Grade: The top two on tie-break(Naveen Saily and Aaron Taylor) received a book prize.

Some photos from the rapid have been posted, so you can see if were photogenic enough to make it into the rouges gallery

We ended up with 54 players for the North Island Rapid Championship. This was also the first New Zealand FIDE rated rapid, and a Myer Tan Class 2 Grand Prix event. Noel Pinic, Hans Gao, Robert Smith and Michael Freeman all managed scores of 5 out of 6,  while Eddie Tan, William Zhang, and Giovanni Thornton shared 4.5. A full list of divisional prize winners will be posted shortly. The final crosstable is here, and some photos here.   Club ratings have been updated

We have 49 confirmed players, perhaps we will crack 50 on the day.

Three more registrations, maybe we can make 60 on the day

We have 43 confirmed starters so far for this Sundays rapid. With the stragglers coming in we should make 50 entrants.

For those of you not present this week the following is the format of the club blitz championship. Swiss tournament, 6 rounds per night at time control  5 + 3. Players will be able to accumulate a maximum of 6 points per night. The winner will be the individual with the most points. In the case of a tied score, the winner will be decided based on the individual game scores between the contestants over the 4 weeks of the tournament. The highest scoring player will be awarded the title of Club Blitz Champion and will have their name immortalized on our championship board. The title of Club Blitz Champion (reserve board), also immortalized as above, will be awarded to the highest scoring player whose club ranking was pawn, knight, or bishop at the start of the tournament. Players can take a bye in one week and receive 3 points. No byes in the final round.

A permanent link to the cumulative points, and the individual crosstables, has been added under Events>Club Blitz Championship

Each round robin will be open to anyone present on the night, including guests, but only club members will be eligible for the titles

Club member William Lynn has been working hard to raise the profile of chess at Fairfield Intermediate School as they prepare for regional and hopefully national competition. He recently played a simultaneous match against 10 intrepid opponents during the school lunch break, scoring +8=1-1. Credit to club member Samuel Eddy who managed to take the point off William just as  the school bell was calling “time” on the match.

Hilton managed a respectable 5 out of 7 at the recent New South Wales chess open. Using the Swiss Gambit as a clever opening strategy in round one he went on to outplay his opponents in subsequent rounds. In the final round he managed a win against FM Igor Bjelobrk. There was a strong field that included 10 titled players out of a total muster of 76. Australian IM  Max Illingworth came first, followed by Australian GM Zong-Yuan Zhao in second. Hilton has stated that he plans to avoid the Swiss Gambit in this weeks NI rapid.

Following a straw poll of members the blitz champs are to run over the four weeks at 5 + 3. Round one kicked off with 14 players. Hilton is in the lead with 5 points. Members who didnt make it tonight will be allocated 3 points as a bye for the round. One bye per player allowed, and none on the last night. See you there for round 2 next week. The crosstable is here and player ratings have been updated.

The club welcomes back Asheesh Gautam as a financial member after a long absence. Asheesh is a strong player who has represented Fiji internationally, including at the  37th Chess Olympiad in Turin. In that event he won his game against International Master Danner Georg, Fide rating 2402, in a wonderful display of tactical chess. Asheesh will make a valuable contribution at the top end of club ability.

“I make errors, therefore I am!”
– Saviely Tartakower

A six round informal blitz tonight. Welcome back Asheesh who has rejoined the club as a financial member after a long absence. A couple of new potential members as well.  Sivoram played well. Check out your rating and see if you have gone up or down. More blitz next week — all welcome

The game score and analysis of Michaels round 6, 7 and 8 club championship games have been added under Library>contributions. The text can be cut and pasted into any .pgn reader to allow replay of the games. Please if any members have things they want to add to the library forward to me so that we can keep enhancing the website.

Damian managed a win against Christopher last night in the final round of the club champs and scooped a fist full of club rating points in the process. As a consequence he has leapfrogged up the rankings reaching the lofty grade of rook, having been a knight previously. With Damian moving up to position 9 on the rankings board several other members have been pushed down a grade. Not too too many rating points separate the large mass of players in the middle of the pack however, and with a number of quick fire tournaments coming up over the next few weeks there is plenty of opportunity to improve your club rating and club ranking.

With Hilton absent this week Michael went into the last round secure in the knowledge that he had an unassailable lead, ending up with 7 out of a possible 8 points, and has now had his name immortalized on the Champions Board. Stefan and Hilton shared second place on 5.5 points. Credit to Stefan as the only person to take points off Michael with a draw in round 2. Daniel’s chess has come ahead in leaps and bounds this year (oh to be young again), dropping only three points and taking out clear fourth on 5 points – maybe next year he will be on the podium at the end. Graham next on 4.5, ahead of a large group sharing 4 points, and then the also-rans. Once again the lament for most us (dreamers) will be “Next year, next year, next year I will do better in the club champs!!!!!”. Pleasing to note this year we managed a healthy 21 starters (even if many of them weren’t able to play in all rounds) compared to only 12 starters for the club champs last year. The crosstable, summary statistics, and individual statistics have all been updated on their respective pages.

If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then June 11 at 7pm is your best bet. Next week (June 4) is the last night for the really serious chess of the club champs. After that we will revert back to something a little less formal with a series of quick fire games. Games will kick off shortly after 7, so dont be late if you want to take part in the mini tournament. New members are always welcome.