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In spite of the big increase in prize money the NSW Open failed to attract players this year. Attendance was well down on 2005 which was held at the Ryde-Eastwood leagues club. If memory serves, there were 112 entrants last year (55 in the Open and 57 in the Under 1600). This year the numbers had dropped to 84 (44 in the Open and 40 in the Under 1600).
Why did it fail? Any real estate agent could pinpoint it in one word: LOCATION! People from the west voted with their feet while players form the Eastern Suburbs, who would have been the only ones to benefit, failed to fill the vacant spots. This could have been predicted by the demise of Rose Bay as a venue.
There were a lot of strokes against Hakoah as the venue. It's awkward to get to by public transport and takes at least two trains and a bus for most people. Motorists found that parking was limited and comparatively expensive; and the cluttered traffic in the Eastern Suburbs is off-putting. Meals in the club were also comparatively expensive—one player said that a plate of fish and chips cost $14 while a normal meal cost $30. That compares badly with the full meals sold at Ryde-Eastwood for around $10.
It seems likely that a more thoughtful choice of venue will be made next year, possibly between Ashfield and Parramatta.
At least, the chess was good.
George Xie was in devastating form in this year's NSW Open, winning all seven games. His victims were Joel Harp, Jason Hu, Johny Bolens, Tomek Rej, Neil Wright, Igor Bjelobrk and Junta Ikeda.
Top seed, visiting Hungarian IM Andras Toth, had a poor tournament, managing only 3½/7. He had wins against Francisco Plaza and Laura Moylan, draws with Junta Ikeda, Ivan Zirdum and Max Illingworth, and lost to Tomek Rej and Gareth Oliver. He'll be with us for a year or two and will undoubtedly fare better in future tournaments.
There was a four-way dead-heat for second, on 5 points, between Tomek Rej, Gareth Charles, Raymond Song and Alex Mendes Da Costa. That may be Ray's last Australian tournament for a while as his family is relocating to Shanghai for the next two years. We hope they'll be back after that.
Neil Wright, Igor Bjelobrk, Junta Ikeda, Armen Ayvazyan and Gareth Oliver finished in a tie for 6-10 each on 4½. The next group, half a point further back, were Andrew Bird, Nicholas Chernih, Johny Bolens, Laura Moylan, Sherab Guo-Yuthok, Jason Chan and the rapidly improving Arthur Huynh. They tied for 11-17.
The Under 1600 division was shared by juniors Anthony To who conceded only two draws and David Lam who lost his second game (to young Emma Guo) but won all the others. Both finished on six points
There was a traffic jam right behind them with Slavko Trkulja, Rod Plant, Roger Jeffreys, Jason Cohn, Trent Parker and last year's joint winner, Norm Greenwood all on five.
Rooty Hill had no representatives in the Open but Shane Burgess, Frank Kresinger and Greg Davis all played in the U1600.
Norm Greenwood said "I was very lucky to achieve 5/7 considering that 3 of my opponents "converted" wins to draws and my game against Joshua Christiansen should only have been a draw so my "moral" score was only 3/7." He was kind enough to send in some of his games for us to share. Why not play through his games, below, and see if you think he's right.
—Report: David Evans
Open Division
Standings
Place Name Feder Loc Score
1 Xie, George NSW 2316 7
2-5 Rej, Tomek NSW 2209 5
Charles, Gareth NSW 2062 5
Song, Raymond NSW 2195 5
Mendes da Costa, Alex NSW 1909 5
6-10 Wright, Neil S NSW 2108 4.5
Bjelobrk, Igor NSW 2369 4.5
Ikeda, Junta ACT 2066 4.5
Ayvazyan, Armen NSW 2194 4.5
Oliver, Gareth ACT 2048 4.5
11-17 Bird, Andrew NSW 2099 4
Chernih, Nicholas NSW 1855 4
Bolens, Johny NSW 1992 4
Huynh, Arthur NSW 1842 4
Moylan, Laura A NSW 2054 4
Guo-Yuthok, Sherab ACT 1716 4
Chan, Jason NSW 1992 4
18-27 Hu, Jason NSW 2020 3.5
Toth, Andras OS 3.5
Atzmon-Simon, Barak NSW 2081 3.5
Ingram, Ben W NSW 1948 3.5
Illingworth, Max NSW 1880 3.5
Brown, Andrew ACT 1702 3.5
Phillips, Andrew NSW 1644 3.5
Pickering, Anthony NSW 1747 3.5
Oliver, Shannon ACT 1778 3.5
Plaza, Francisco NSW 1841 3.5
28-31 Grcic, Milan ACT 1768 3
Levin, Joshua NSW 1708 3
Alkin, John QLD 1677 3
Rewais, Sarwat NSW 1813 3
32-38 Petersons, Haralds ACT 1609 2.5
Redgrave, John NSW 1757 2.5
Escribano, Jose NSW 1656 2.5
Tankel, Alan NSW 1779 2.5
Reid, Vaness NSW 1672 2.5
Zirdum, Ivan NSW 1945 2.5
Rout, Ian C ACT 1777 2.5
39-41 Saksena, Kaushik NSW 1677 2
Rachmadi, Herman NSW 1679 2
Harp, Joel NSW 1804 2
42-44 Szuveges, Narelle S VIC 1730 1.5
Miranda, Adrian NSW 1674 1.5
Fell, Lloyd S NSW 1723 1.5
Cross Table
No Name Feder Loc Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Xie, George NSW 2316 7 41:W 18:W 13:W 2:W 6:W 7:W 8:W
2 Rej, Tomek NSW 2209 5 35:W 10:W 20:W 1:L 19:W 4:L 12:W
3 Charles, Gareth NSW 2062 5 44:W 7:W 9:L 37:D 23:W 6:D 11:W
4 Song, Raymond NSW 2195 5 26:W 13:L 31:W 18:D 21:W 2:W 6:D
5 Mendes da Costa, Alex NSW 1909 5 36:W 11:D 8:D 7:L 39:W 18:W 14:W
6 Wright, Neil S NSW 2108 4.5 28:W 37:D 22:W 9:W 1:L 3:D 4:D
7 Bjelobrk, Igor NSW 2369 4.5 31:W 3:L 33:W 5:W 9:D 1:L 20:W
8 Ikeda, Junta ACT 2066 4.5 42:W 19:D 5:D 12:D 17:W 9:W 1:L
9 Ayvazyan, Armen NSW 2194 4.5 38:W 21:W 3:W 6:L 7:D 8:L 22:W
10 Oliver, Gareth ACT 2048 4.5 29:W 2:L 28:D 23:L 16:W 34:W 19:W
11 Bird, Andrew NSW 2099 4 33:W 5:D 12:D 17:D 37:W 14:D 3:L
12 Chernih, Nicholas NSW 1855 4 24:D 32:W 11:D 8:D 18:D 13:W 2:L
13 Bolens, Johny NSW 1992 4 30:W 4:W 1:L 20:D 29:D 12:L 28:W
14 Huynh, Arthur NSW 1842 4 32:D 24:W 15:D 0:D 20:W 11:D 5:L
15 Moylan, Laura A NSW 2054 4 16:D 34:W 14:D 19:L 38:D 31:D 21:W
16 Guo-Yuthok, Sherab ACT 1716 4 15:D 22:L 32:D 35:W 10:L 30:W 31:W
17 Chan, Jason NSW 1992 4 40:L 25:W 39:W 11:D 8:L 28:D 29:W
18 Hu, Jason NSW 2020 3.5 23:W 1:L 42:W 4:D 12:D 5:L 26:D
19 Toth, Andras OS 3.5 27:W 8:D 37:D 15:W 2:L 22:D 10:L
20 Atzmon-Simon, Barak NSW 2081 3.5 25:W 40:W 2:L 13:D 14:L 29:W 7:L
21 Ingram, Ben W NSW 1948 3.5 39:W 9:L 40:W 0:D 4:L 23:W 15:L
22 Illingworth, Max NSW 1880 3.5 34:D 16:W 6:L 28:D 33:W 19:D 9:L
23 Brown, Andrew ACT 1702 3.5 18:L 41:W 35:D 10:W 3:L 21:L 33:W
24 Phillips, Andrew NSW 1644 3.5 12:D 14:L 27:D 33:L 42:W 25:D 35:W
25 Pickering, Anthony NSW 1747 3.5 20:L 17:L 43:W 32:D 30:D 24:D 34:W
26 Oliver, Shannon ACT 1778 3.5 4:L 30:D 34:W 29:L 32:D 39:W 18:D
27 Plaza, Francisco NSW 1841 3.5 19:L 42:L 24:D 30:L 41:W 36:W 32:W
28 Grcic, Milan ACT 1768 3 6:L 43:W 10:D 22:D 31:D 17:D 13:L
29 Levin, Joshua NSW 1708 3 10:L 35:D 30:W 26:W 13:D 20:L 17:L
30 Alkin, John QLD 1677 3 13:L 26:D 29:L 27:W 25:D 16:L 39:W
31 Rewais, Sarwat NSW 1813 3 7:L 44:W 4:L 42:W 28:D 15:D 16:L
32 Petersons, Haralds ACT 1609 2.5 14:D 12:L 16:D 25:D 26:D 33:D 27:L
33 Redgrave, John NSW 1757 2.5 11:L 36:W 7:L 24:W 22:L 32:D 23:L
34 Escribano, Jose NSW 1656 2.5 22:D 15:L 26:L 41:W 40:W 10:L 25:L
35 Tankel, Alan NSW 1779 2.5 2:L 29:D 23:D 16:L 36:D 44:W 24:L
36 Reid, Vaness NSW 1672 2.5 5:L 33:L 38:L 43:W 35:D 27:L 44:W
37 Zirdum, Ivan NSW 1945 2.5 43:W 6:D 19:D 3:D 11:L 0: 0:
38 Rout, Ian C ACT 1777 2.5 9:L 39:L 36:W 40:W 15:D 0: 0:
39 Saksena, Kaushik NSW 1677 2 21:L 38:W 17:L 44:W 5:L 26:L 30:L
40 Rachmadi, Herman NSW 1679 2 17:W 20:L 21:L 38:L 34:L 42:D 41:D
41 Harp, Joel NSW 1804 2 1:L 23:L 44:D 34:L 27:L 43:W 40:D
42 Szuveges, Narelle S VIC 1730 1.5 8:L 27:W 18:L 31:L 24:L 40:D 43:L
43 Miranda, Adrian NSW 1674 1.5 37:L 28:L 25:L 36:L 0:D 41:L 42:W
44 Fell, Lloyd S NSW 1723 1.5 3:L 31:L 41:D 39:L 0:W 35:L 36:L
U1600 Division
Standings
Place Name Feder Loc Score
1-2 To, Anthony NSW 1560 6
Lam, David NSW 1488 6
3-8 Trkulja, Slavko NSW 1588 5
Plant, Rod NSW 1573 5
Jeffreys, Roger NSW 1397 5
Cohn, Jason NSW 1524 5
Greenwood, Norman NSW 1467 5
Parker, Trent NSW 1493 5
9-10 Keuning, Anthony V NSW 1585 4.5
Bisson, Danny Wayne NSW 1383 4.5
11-19 Guo, Emma ACT 1247 4
Tracey, Michael NSW 1415 4
Cheung, Benjamin NSW 1225 4
Ikeda, Miona ACT 1267 4
Bourke, Phil NSW 1501 4
Barker, Mitchell NSW 1420 4
Christensen, Joshua NSW 1554 4
Leung, Nicholas NSW 1121 4
Law, Evan NSW 1587 4
20 Kamaras, Con NSW 1323 3.5
21-29 Reese, Peter NSW 1185 3
Wilkie, Mary NSW 1248 3
Kresinger, Frank NSW 1466 3
Burgess, Shane NSW 1434 3
Dickson, Ian NSW 1579 3
Art, Carl NSW 1453 3
McGowan, Daniel NSW 1277 3
Wan, Dennis NSW 1582 3
Nguyen, Peter NSW 1544 3
30-35 Henzgen, Ben VIC 1262 2.5
Papantoniou, John NSW 813 2.5
Bleicher, Horst NSW 1515 2.5
Russell, Luthien ACT 1284 2.5
Lau, Tony NSW 1268 2.5
Lau, Joshua NSW 1150 2.5
36-37 Wan, Kinto NSW 651 2
Ren, Jonathan NSW 1181 2
38-39 Davis, Greg NSW 1225 1
Swords, Chester NSW 515 1
40 Perera, Pasan NSW 882 0.5
Cross Table
No Name Feder Loc Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 To, Anthony NSW 1560 6 30:W 16:W 3:D 20:W 4:W 9:D 6:W
2 Lam, David NSW 1488 6 37:W 11:L 38:W 22:W 13:W 3:W 9:W
3 Trkulja, Slavko NSW 1588 5 10:W 23:W 1:D 11:W 5:D 2:L 12:W
4 Plant, Rod NSW 1573 5 14:W 12:W 21:W 5:D 1:L 15:W 7:D
5 Jeffreys, Roger NSW 1397 5 39:W 15:W 9:W 4:D 3:D 6:L 20:W
6 Cohn, Jason NSW 1524 5 11:L 37:W 33:W 12:W 16:W 5:W 1:L
7 Greenwood, Norman NSW 1467 5 35:D 27:W 13:D 21:D 20:W 17:W 4:D
8 Parker, Trent NSW 1493 5 21:L 22:L 40:W 38:W 30:W 14:W 11:W
9 Keuning, Anthony V NSW 1585 4.5 33:W 26:W 5:L 24:W 11:W 1:D 2:L
10 Bisson, Danny Wayne NSW 1383 4.5 3:L 18:L 36:W 31:D 38:W 22:W 24:W
11 Guo, Emma ACT 1247 4 6:W 2:W 25:W 3:L 9:L 26:W 8:L
12 Tracey, Michael NSW 1415 4 36:W 4:L 32:W 6:L 25:W 13:W 3:L
13 Cheung, Benjamin NSW 1225 4 32:W 17:D 7:D 27:W 2:L 12:L 23:W
14 Ikeda, Miona ACT 1267 4 4:L 36:W 23:W 15:D 17:D 8:L 29:W
15 Bourke, Phil NSW 1501 4 38:W 5:L 30:W 14:D 21:W 4:L 16:D
16 Barker, Mitchell NSW 1420 4 29:W 1:L 31:W 25:W 6:L 23:D 15:D
17 Christensen, Joshua NSW 1554 4 22:W 13:D 20:L 28:W 14:D 7:L 21:W
18 Leung, Nicholas NSW 1121 4 23:L 10:W 24:L 33:W 26:L 25:W 30:W
19 Law, Evan NSW 1587 4 20:D 21:L 27:L 34:W 22:D 32:W 26:W
20 Kamaras, Con NSW 1323 3.5 19:D 28:W 17:W 1:L 7:L 31:W 5:L
21 Reese, Peter NSW 1185 3 8:W 19:W 4:L 7:D 15:L 24:D 17:L
22 Wilkie, Mary NSW 1248 3 17:L 8:W 26:W 2:L 19:D 10:L 28:D
23 Kresinger, Frank NSW 1466 3 18:W 3:L 14:L 37:W 24:D 16:D 13:L
24 Burgess, Shane NSW 1434 3 31:W 25:L 18:W 9:L 23:D 21:D 10:L
25 Dickson, Ian NSW 1579 3 34:W 24:W 11:L 16:L 12:L 18:L 31:W
26 Art, Carl NSW 1453 3 40:W 9:L 22:L 35:W 18:W 11:L 19:L
27 McGowan, Daniel NSW 1277 3 28:D 7:L 19:W 13:L 31:L 34:D 36:W
28 Wan, Dennis NSW 1582 3 27:D 20:L 29:D 17:L 33:W 30:D 22:D
29 Nguyen, Peter NSW 1544 3 16:L 38:L 28:D 40:D 35:W 36:W 14:L
30 Henzgen, Ben VIC 1262 2.5 1:L 39:W 15:L 32:W 8:L 28:D 18:L
31 Papantoniou, John NSW 813 2.5 24:L 34:W 16:L 10:D 27:W 20:L 25:L
32 Bleicher, Horst NSW 1515 2.5 13:L 35:W 12:L 30:L 37:W 19:L 34:D
33 Russell, Luthien ACT 1284 2.5 9:L 40:W 6:L 18:L 28:L 37:D 39:W
34 Lau, Tony NSW 1268 2.5 25:L 31:L 0:D 19:L 39:W 27:D 32:D
35 Lau, Joshua NSW 1150 2.5 7:D 32:L 0:D 26:L 29:L 38:+ 37:D
36 Wan, Kinto NSW 651 2 12:L 14:L 10:L 39:W 40:W 29:L 27:L
37 Ren, Jonathan NSW 1181 2 2:L 6:L 39:W 23:L 32:L 33:D 35:D
38 Davis, Greg NSW 1225 1 15:L 29:W 2:L 8:L 10:L 35:- 0:
39 Swords, Chester NSW 515 1 5:L 30:L 37:L 36:L 34:L 40:+ 33:L
40 Perera, Pasan NSW 882 .5 26:L 33:L 8:L 29:D 36:L 39:- 0:
by Swiss Perfect (TM) www.swissperfect.com
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