Marius' Blog

SA Open

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:55:00 GMT

The SA Open was completed out our club venue this Saterday. I have put the top 10 results and everybody from our club that played (open section) at the end of this article. Congratulation to Watu for once again winning, and to Johan for getting a well deserved 4th, being the only player who managed to beat Watu.

No.

Name

Rating

Score

SOLKOFF

Rnd1

Rnd2

Rnd3

Rnd4

Rnd5

Rnd6

Rnd7

Rnd8

Rnd9

Rnd10

Rnd11

KOBESE, WATU

2474

9.5

81.5

W+64

B+52

W+37

B+23

W+13

B+2

B+19

W+9

B=3

W-4

B+7

SOLOMON, KENNETH

2365

8.5

81.5

W+72

B+50

W+47

B+10

W+18

W-1

B+24

B+6

W=4

W-3

B+19

RENDLE, THOMAS

2372

8.5

79.5

B+87

W+65

B+25

W+27

B=14

W-19

B+15

W+48

W=1

B+2

B=4

STEENKAMP, JOHAN

2255

8.5

W+120

B-33

B+55

W+34

B+62

W+14

B=18

W+20

B=2

B+1

W=3

MAKOTO, RODWELL

2117

8.5

75.5

W+9

B-26

W+64

B+69

W=22

B=49

W+35

B+39

W=6

W+23

B+15

TAKAWIRA, ERICK

1967P

8.5

W-47

B+126

W+50

B+70

W+43

B+8

W+13

W-2

B=5

W+33

B+23

KLAASEN, CALVIN

2097

77.5

W+95

B+102

W=21

B+11

B=19

W-24

B+40

W+25

B+10

W+9

W-1

DOLE, ANANT

2197

B+78

W+71

B+36

W-18

B=39

W-6

B+26

W+34

B=20

W+25

W+29

SOARES, ERIKSON

2099

71.5

B-5

W+149

B+72

W+102

B+85

W+10

W+25

B-1

W+22

B-7

W+18

HERCULES, BENJAMIN

1912

64.5

W+150

B+97

W+74

W-2

B+115

B-9

W+88

B+53

W-7

B+54

W+31

HOPKINS, GREGORY

1639

6.5

58.5

W+157

B=59

W-11

B=86

W+108

B-51

B=94

W=26

B+90

B=40

W+76

ALBERTS, JACO

1689

6.5

W+118

W-18

B+131

W-24

B-89

B+123

W-60

B+128

W+81

W+85

B=39

VAN DEN BERG, AMANDUS

1858

61.5

B+113

W=55

W-62

B-92

W+132

B+72

W+103

B=59

W-16

B+61

B-21

BESTER, JOHANNES

1504

59.5

B-20

W+145

W-35

B+111

W-16

B+121

B+46

W-63

B+115

B=71

W=51

ADAM, GAVIN

1532

5.5

W-8

B-98

W+140

B+118

W-50

B-68

B-84

W+145

W=128

B+102

W+104

110

MINNAAR, PHILIPPUS

1357

4.5

W-53

W=132

B-103

B+124

W-104

B-143

W+126

B-72

W+118

B-82

B+135

123

ROETS, MARIUS

1486

46.5

W-22

B-35

+DEF

B-79

W+137

W-46

B-121

W-140

B+147

W+125

B-99

127

BOSHOFF, MYNHARDT

1091

41.5

W-43

B-138

W+144

B-89

W-91

W-98

B-100

B-142

W+150

B+146

W+137

130

NEL, JOHANNES

1298

3.5

W-104

B+134

W-44

W-72

B-66

B-120

W=111

B-124

W+144

B+143

B-109

The halfway mark

Fri, 30 May 2008 09:43:00 GMT

We have reached, and passed the halfway mark in the league. Congratulations to the A team who has had a spectacular 6-0 win last night. Brooklyn B, by no mean the best team in the league, is certainly strong enough to have expected 2 points against a Centurion team who has not been firing on all cylinders. At least not until last night. Having seen only Elias' game, there's not much I can comment on, but 6-0... Wow. I'm sure we all hope that this marks the return to form of the A team. The Robot played the black side of the french (why does that sound dirty?), but far from the subtle manouvering that usually characterizes french middle games, it turned into a tactical monstrosity, with both sides going all out for the guy with the cross on top. Pretty impressive stuff, why don't you send it to me, I will post it here.

Other results for last night; the b team lost 1-5 to Brooklyn A. Congrats to Briel, who played an excellent game against Daniel Mathe. The C team got a mediocre 3.5-2.5 victory over bottom of the log Pretoria D. The d team managed to beat one of the better teams in the first division, namely Randburg B, putting them firmly on the road to promotion. Keep it going guys. The e team seems to have taken a bit of beating, but on the possitive side, it was good to see some new faces.

I hope in the second part of the league there will more of the stuff that has always made me proud to be a member of Centurion Chess Club. I'm talking about character. Not quitting when losing, but taking every game as new start, every match as the most important one. The type of character that has made the A team 7 year consecutive champions, the type of character that got us 4 teams in the premier league. This type of character to me (and I'm sure there are others that feel the same) is more important than a first prize, a promotion, a little cash or a medal. Let's give ourselves something to be proud of, not only by what we achieve, but even more by the way we carry ourselves. So go out there Centurion and do what you do best.

The "unfair" game

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:37:00 GMT

I have heard it said before that chess is an unfair game, and I've even felt so myself. But here is a game that has no roll of the dice, no lucky card draw, in fact, no element of randomness at all. Just your skill pitted against that of your opponent. What could be more fair than that? Right? But in this game you can make 40 master class moves, lose concentration for a split second, and throw it all away with one move. Fair? Maybe unforgiving is a better word. I'm sure Damian would agree with me, as I saw the helpless frustration on his face last night. It was not 40 moves (more like 14), and I'm sure not master class, but nevertheless he was clearly outclassing his opponent in the match between Centurion C and D teams. And then that split second; analyze a variation, and just too quickly, move the second move first. Unforgiving game. No worries Damian, this must have happened to everybody at some point, so no point beating yourself up. I for one can certainly identify.

Last night the D team almost proved too much for the C team. I was in my mind giving 4-2 to the D team, but on the last 2 (Johan B - Sashegan board 5 and Gavin - Anton Board 1) boards the C team players put up a great fight to force draws on both, thus drawing the match 3-3. Congratulations to Gavin for drawing a rook ending, 2 pawns down. I would also like to thank Arthur for missing a mate in one :) I know it hurts buddy, but that point was needed by us. Up until the point where Arthur got mated, the game between him and Werner seemed to be a very good one, the position certainly unclear at that point, with chances for both sides. I'm sure Arthur must have felt "unfair", also Anton (though Gavin had clear advantage in the early middle, so maybe a "fair" result).

Fair or no, play we must play because the virus we have gives us no choice...

Dear Caissa ...

Fri, 09 May 2008 11:57:00 GMT

What have I ever done to you, you little bitch. I suppose the Centurion Open was just not enough for you, was it? Please tell me what have I done to deserve this. Why can't you punish people that are bad losers. Oh, ok, I know you did, but they just run away instead of admitting defeat. There's no justice in your world. If I had to make money from chess I would go to bed hungry every night. If I was quitter, I would have given up a long long time ago. I never expected to be one of the elite, but compared to most I think I'm throwing in my weight. So how about just a little improvement. If not that, can I least be allowed to beat people rated 300 points below me? That would be an improvement already. So what's the deal Caissa. Why do you hate me?

Well I guess I shouldn't expect an answer. But let me tell you one thing. If you think I'm going to stick my tail between my legs and run, think again. If you think I'm going to curl up in a fetal position and feel sorry for myself, think again. I'm sure I've overcome bigger odds than a bad run in chess. I've never run away from something I started, and I'm not going to start now. Yes, I know I'm only a 1500. Does that take away my right to expect improvement for work and effort put into the game. Why don't you come out and explain yourself?

I know you will outlast me, but I will try my best to make sure you least remember me.

What's this "I don't wanna play anymore" ?

Mon, 05 May 2008 10:36:00 GMT

The annual Centurion Open was once again held this long weekend, and I think it can truly be said to have been a great success. Thanks to everybody that contributed to making it a success, especially Elise, who has once again outdone herself. Congratulation to 2 Centurion players that made us proud, Johan taking first, and Danie third.

On the down side, an unconfirmed number missing clocks has turned the tournament into a solid financial loss for us. I'm would like to question the morality of a clock thief, but why should I even bother.

More interesting is to question the character of certain players. My question is what causes a high rated player (and certainly a contender for the top spot) to withdraw after losing 2 games in row. I know in kindergarten there was this "I'm not playing anymore" thing when children got beaten at some or other game, but I struggle to believe that this is the same thing. So somebody please help out in explaining this to me. If I had the same attitude, I would never finish a tournament, but then again, not everybody's a wood pusher like me.

So this player, let's call him X, let's the organizers know he withdraws (incidently, his wife kept on playing). And then the organizers goes and does the unthinkable!!!! They redo the draw. Now, a player, let's call him Y, was supposed to play X in the next round, and apparently he put in a good deal of effort into preparing for this big match. Quite understandably player Y is quite upset about his opponent's withdrawel, rendering his preparation useless. Not understandable at all, Y is also upset about the draw being redone. He throws a tantrum, aimed at the organizers for redoing the draw. Nevertheless, Y carries on playing, loses his next game, and then withdraws from the tournament. Somebody with a better understanding of the these matters, please explain to me why it upsets somebody if he cannot get a free point, because I simply don't get this.

Two more players withdrew before the final round, one with a very valid reason (having had a burglary at home).

The battles have begun

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:53:00 GMT

So the league is off to rocky start for some teams, and particularly for the A team. The first week saw them losing to an outgunned Pretoria, and the second week... Well let's just say, it can only go up from here. The B team had a convincing win over Pretoria B in the first week. The C team stuttered to a 3.5 - 2.5 victory over Pretoria C in the first division. The D team won convincingly against TUT A, and the E team squeezed out a 3-3 draw.

Last night the C team had another somewhat under par performance, scoring 3-3 against Kagiso, the only remarkable aspect being that black won every single game. Board 1 saw the home team blundering a piece on move 7, easy victory for us. Board 2 was a titanic battle, which ended in a rook blunder by the visitors. I had to look up as the inaptly named Robert Fischer Disemelo slammed his queen onto e1 shouting HA, and giving a satisfied laugh (white king on g1, rook on e2). Sorry JP, I'll try too give you more graceful opponents in future.

On board 3, Uncle Gav, our beloved chairman murdered his opponent in record time (at least for Gavin, who is almost, but not quite as bad as me with time). Board 4 saw Werner sacking a piece for a great kingside attack, which looked sealed with the black king standing stupidly on f5 surrounded by white pieces. Black manage to defend however, and well, a piece is piece. On board 6 Damian got overwhelmed, but the truly remarkable game was on board 5. Luan fought a bitter battle, which looked to be losing most of the way. Then suddenly he wins 2 pawns, and comes into a rook end game, with a rook and rook pawn against a rook. A draw by all accounts. But Luan never stops fighting, and like Johan always says, most players at our level are quite apt at losing drawn rook endings. At this point everybody else was finished, and it was up to Luan to save the draw for us, but he looked like he never felt the pressure. Well done Luan.

At this point everybody is getting ready for the Centurion Open, with no matches being scheduled for next week. Good luck to D, E and B teams, who still have to play their matches this week.

Caissa!!