This is the 2nd report of the week (commencing 31st January) which involved over 60 rapid-play games, with the previous report covering the online international aspect, and this one in respect of our 8-Round Internal Swiss Event.
Wednesday saw the delayed rounds 3 and 4 take place, with rounds 5 & 6 now scheduled for 13th April and rounds 7 & 8 to be played after the League season has ended. We had 26 members take place in Rounds 1 and 2 back in October and we had a further 5 members join the competition on Wednesday.
Round 3 saw 24 members in action, with 6 members taking half point byes due to absence. We had 5 players heading into Round 3 with 100% records, but only two emerged with their record intact as top seed Martin Burns and ungraded Jarek Czyz claimed wins. No.2 seed Karl Lockett wrecked secretary David Hulme’s 100% score, to move into 3rd place as the only member on 2.5 points, with an 11 player pile-up just behind on 2 points.
Round 4 saw the top board clash end in Martin’s favour, so he is now the only player on 100%. Karl notched up his second win of the night to move into 2nd place with 3.5 pts. James Marshall had a night to remember adding 2 points with a notable win against No.5 seed, to join four others on 3 points, who are the highly seeded Harry Gardiner, Rick Renegade, Simon Layhe , and the unseeded Jarek.
It was great to see newcomer Matthew Dean join in, with it being just his 2nd night at the club. Thanks to Marek Jarzynski for playing in Round 3, so there was no one without a game, and to Phil Wright for recording the scores so that the Events Officer could play.
The event looks like being a great success for the club as the number of players involved makes it feel like a typical congress arena. Full scores and pairings for the Swiss competition can be seen from the LMS and the tab on the Right Hand Side of our Home Page labelled “Club Internal Competitions 2021”
Next week sees a resumption of NSDCA League matches, which starts a sequence of 9 consecutive Wednesdays of league chess at The Mals Club.