Report on Newcastle Open
Allan Wright
The 2005 Newcastle Open attracted 36 players to Newcastle Panthers Club on 5-6 February. As usual, the field was a mixture of locals, "old" friends and "new" friends. Very few of the games were over quickly, and it seems to me that an increasing number of players have adapted to taking full advantage of the Fischer timing system. In this report I will concentrate on pick for the three "stars" of the tournament.
First: Peter Ti’doy from the Phillipines. He defeated the tournament’s top seed Ronald Scott in Round 5 and then outplayed WIM Laura Moylan in Round 6. In the final round, his game against Andrew Bird could have been a quick, tame draw - but while it was eventually drawn, it was very hard fought and thoroughly entertaining. This left Peter the outright winner (6.5/7), but Andrew out of the prize list.
Second: 12 year old Max Illingworth was slaughtered by Ti’doy in Round 2, but bounced back, with his enthusiasm increasing the higher the rating of his opponent. After successes over Alex Mendez Da Costa and Justin Tan, he took on Ronald Scott in the last round. If Ti’doy had lost his last game, a win here to either would have meant equal first place - but another hard-fought game ended drawn. Max and Ronald shared second place (5.5/7).
Third? In terms of performing significantly above their rating, there are many possibilities. There were fine results from junior Sebastian Jurd (5/7), veteran Norm Greenwood (4/7) and local junior David Behne-Smith (3.5/7). Two unrated players from Toukley deserve special mention: Andrew Phillips (3.5/7) and Ben Whiteside (2/7).
But the third "star" of the event must be Queensland’s Luthien Russell. On her way back home from playing in the Under 12 Australian Junior, Luthien’s scalps included Newcastle President Tom Bonjekovic, tallying an impressive 4/7.
George Lithgow made the comment at the presentation: Thank you to the many chess players who came to Newcastle for the tournament, for playing in such a sportsmanlike manner, and even for taking away most of the prizes.....
Peter Ti'doy, undefeated at Newcastle
Ron Scott and Max Illingworth shared second place.
Place Name Feder Loc Score
1 Ti'doy, Peter 2200 6.5
2-3 Scott, Ronald NSW 2264 5.5
Illingworth, Max NSW 1839 5.5
4-6 Jurd, Sebastian NSW 1731 5
Bautista, Edgar 1870 5
Yu, Michael NSW 1859 5
7-10 Moylan, Laura NSW 1985 4.5
Tan, Justin NSW 2257 4.5
Mendes da Costa, Alex NSW 1877 4.5
Bird, Andrew NSW 2176 4.5
11-15 Zvedeniouk, Ilia NSW 1978 4
Wright, Neil S NSW 1996 4
Bautista, Elpidio NSW 1850 4
Greenwood, Norman NSW 1518 4
Russell, Luthien QLD 1289 4
16-19 Behne-Smith, David NSW 1420 3.5
Phillips, Andrew NSW 3.5
Weltner, Michael NSW 1432 3.5
Deacon, Graeme NSW 1434 3.5
20-27 Bonjekovic, Tom NSW 1497 3
Tan, Philip NSW 1514 3
Redgrave, John NSW 1790 3
Dickson, Ian C NSW 1560 3
Reynolds, Paul J NSW 1636 3
Escribano, Jose NSW 1611 3
Rowston, Bruce VIC 1316 3
Losh, Gary NSW 1524 3
28-30 Robinson, Andrew NSW 1388 2.5
Keuning, Anthony V NSW 1600 2.5
Lithgow, George NSW 1400 2.5
31-33 Marshall, Aaron NSW 1466 2
Hendry, Ian L NSW 1494 2
Whiteside, Ben 2
34-35 Behne-Smith, Sarah NSW 953 1.5
Koutnik, Matthew NSW 888 1.5
36 Behne-Smith, Jonathan NSW 1002 1
No Name Loc Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Scott, Ronald 2264 5.5 19:W 10:W 8:W 6:W 3:L 14:W 12:D 2. Tan, Justin 2257 4.5 20:W 11:W 6:L 7:W 10:D 12:L 13:W 3. Ti'doy, Peter 2200 6.5 21:W 12:W 14:W 9:W 1:W 6:W 4:D 4. Bird, Andrew 2176 4.5 22:W 13:W 9:L 14:L 24:W 11:W 3:D 5. Wright, Neil S 1996 4 23:W 14:L 7:L 26:W 21:W 18:W 10:L 6. Moylan, Laura 1985 4.5 25:W 16:W 2:W 1:L 11:W 3:L 8:D 7. Zvedeniouk, Ilia 1978 4 24:D 17:W 5:W 2:L 27:W 10:D 9:L 8. Mendes da Costa, Alex 1877 4.5 26:W 15:W 1:L 16:W 12:L 20:W 6:D 9. Bautista, Edgar 1870 5 27:W 18:W 4:W 3:L 14:L 22:W 7:W 10. Yu, Michael 1859 5 28:W 1:L 24:W 15:W 2:D 7:D 5:W 11. Bautista, Elpidio 1850 4 29:W 2:L 21:W 18:W 6:L 4:L 22:W 12. Illingworth, Max 1839 5.5 30:W 3:L 23:W 20:W 8:W 2:W 1:D 13. Redgrave, John 1790 3 31:W 4:L 27:L 35:L 29:W 36:W 2:L 14. Jurd, Sebastian 1731 5 32:W 5:W 3:L 4:W 9:W 1:L 27:W 15. Reynolds, Paul J 1636 3 33:W 8:L 31:W 10:L 22:L 35:L 36:W 16. Escribano, Jose 1611 3 34:W 6:L 28:W 8:L 31:L 24:W 20:L 17. Keuning, Anthony V 1600 2.5 35:L 7:L 29:D 19:L 32:W 30:W 26:L 18. Dickson, Ian C 1560 3 36:W 9:L 34:W 11:L 30:W 5:L 31:L 19. Losh, Gary 1524 3 1:L 28:L 30:L 17:W 33:D 23:D 24:W 20. Greenwood, Norman 1518 4 2:L 29:W 33:W 12:L 35:W 8:L 16:W 21. Tan, Philip 1514 3 3:L 30:W 11:L 28:W 5:L 26:D 35:D 22. Bonjekovic, Tom 1497 3 4:L 31:L 35:W 33:W 15:W 9:L 11:L 23. Hendry, Ian L 1494 2 5:L 32:W 12:L 31:L 36:L 19:D 34:D 24. Marshall, Aaron 1466 2 7:D 35:W 10:L 27:D 4:L 16:L 19:L 25. Deacon, Graeme 1434 3.5 6:L 34:L 32:W 30:L 28:D 33:W 29:W 26. Weltner, Michael 1432 3.5 8:L 33:L 36:W 5:L 34:W 21:D 17:W 27. Behne-Smith, David 1420 3.5 9:L 36:W 13:W 24:D 7:L 31:W 14:L 28. Lithgow, George 1400 2.5 10:L 19:W 16:L 21:L 25:D 29:L 32:W 29. Robinson, Andrew 1388 2.5 11:L 20:L 17:D 34:W 13:L 28:W 25:L 30. Rowston, Bruce 1316 3 12:L 21:L 19:W 25:W 18:L 17:L 33:W 31. Russell, Luthien 1289 4 13:L 22:W 15:L 23:W 16:W 27:L 18:W 32. Behne-Smith, Jonathan 1002 1 14:L 23:L 25:L 36:L 17:L 34:W 28:L 33. Behne-Smith, Sarah 953 1.5 15:L 26:W 20:L 22:L 19:D 25:L 30:L 34. Koutnik, Matthew 888 1.5 16:L 25:W 18:L 29:L 26:L 32:L 23:D 35. Phillips, Andrew 3.5 17:W 24:L 22:L 13:W 20:L 15:W 21:D 36. Whiteside, Ben 2 18:L 27:L 26:L 32:W 23:W 13:L 15:L