MetroWest Chess Club - Summer Time Swiss
July   2, 9, 16, 23, 30    2002

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Tournament Commentary
Tuesday, March 25, 2003    12:59 PM
written by Larry Eldridge
 

Round 5 - July 30, 2002

Exciting last-round action flipped the standings in both the U1800 and U1400 sections, while Senior Master Igor Foygel got his usual Open Section victory without even showing up.  Meanwhile, the younger set continued its spectacular summer play, with 12-year-old Steve Chen scoring an impressive 3-2 in the top section and several other schoolboys staging major and/or multiple upsets.

Carl Phillips entered the final round of the bottom section trailing Sanjay Manivannan by a half point, but defeated the leader to leapfrog past him and take clear first place with a 4.5 tally (four wins and a half-point bye).  Manivannan shared runner-up honors at 4.0 with George Kilmain, who won his last-round game to also achieve that total.

Calvin Hori dominated the U1800 section most of the way, winning four straight games and leading his closest pursuers by a full point going into the last round.  With at least a tie for top honors already clinched, Hori could have assured himself of clear first place simply by taking a bye, but he opted to play, and  Mike Barry defeated him on Board One to catch up. Navan Ruthramoorthy also won his last-round game to make it a three-way tie for top honors at 4.0 each.

Perennial winner Foygel, who was in the same position as Hori with a perfect 4.0 score, took the half-point bye and an automatic victory in the Open Section.  Expert Ed Epp and 1996-rated John Chamberlain, playing on Board One in Foygel’s absence, battled to a last-round draw to share second place with 3.5 points apiece.

This marked the third consecutive month in which the Open Section leader or leaders took byes in the last round and wound up winning or sharing top honors -- a situation that obviously detracts from the competitive aspect of a tournament.  This was made possible by an experimental rule in effect the last few months in which half-point byes could be taken for any round at any time, instead of the old rule in which all half-point byes had to be requested before the start of Round 2.  Starting with the August tournament, however, the club has instituted a new compromise rule which should minimize the risk of such scenarios in the future: 

Half-point byes for any round except the last one can still be taken up to 7 p.m. on the night of the round in question. Half-point byes for the last round, however, must now be requested before the start of Round 2.  Any last-round byes requested after that will be for zero points.

Chen was a "giant killer" in the Open section, defeating two A-players, drawing an expert and an A-player, and losing only to Chamberlain.  The youngster entered the tournament rated 1690 on the wall chart, but his August rating is already 1760, and this performance should put him over 1800 and make him an A-player himself.

A number of other youngsters also were heard from.  Gabe Frieden, also 12, went 3-2 in the U1800 section with a couple of good upset victories.  Joey Kagan (1317)  played up in this section and held his own with a 2-3 score including one solid upset.  And Tim Abbot, also rated near the bottom of this section, pulled off a 300-point stunner in Round One although he struggled thereafter.

And in the U1400 section Luke O'Connor (986) posted an even score and staged two upsets, including the biggest one of the entire tournament when he defeated Al  Schaefer (1422) in a third round shocker.

The final entry totals were 23 in both the Open and U1800 sections and 28 in the U1400 for a total of 74.

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Steve Chen (1690) 	110.0 	Alfred G Ward (1800) 
Daniel B Newman (1769) 	  74.0 	Neil B Cousin (1843) 
William Michael (1777) 	    6.0 	Ames Abbot (1783) 
John Chamberlain (1996)   	    2.0 	Edward R Epp (2000) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Menno G Koning (1500) 	188.0 	William F Stein (1688) 
Simon A Slutsky (1376) 	187.0 	Gatumba Z Abu (1563) 
Travis Chui (1334) 	  39.0 	Gregor Siciliano (1412) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
David L Levens (987) 	125.0 	Justin P Grimes (1112) 
Carl W Phillips (1352) 	  67.0 	Sanja Manivannan (1419) 
Clark R Ewer (1253) 	  51.0 	Douglas Thompson (1355)

Round 4 - July 23, 2002

An amazing situation has unfolded in this month’s tournament, with one player dominating each section and heading into the final round with a perfect 4.0 score. To make matters tougher for their pursuers, each of these leaders gets the white pieces while needing only a draw to clinch first place.

Igor Foygel is The Man in the Open section as usual after defeating Robert Powell and Howard Goldowsky in Rounds 3 and 4 to open up a full-point lead on his closest challengers. . John Curdo, Ed Epp, and John Chamberlain are next in line at 3.0. Curdo is playing in the U.S. Open, however, and thus had to take a last-round bye, so Epp gets the final chance to derail the "Igor Express."

Calvin Hori, the unrated surprise leader of the U1800 section, is also a full point ahead of a trio of pursuers: Mike Barry, Navan Ruthramoorthy, and Niki Konovalchuk.  The top-seeded Barry, who took byes in the first two rounds and has won the only two games he has played, will attempt to bring the leader back to the field and create a two- or three-way tie for top honors.

High Schooler Sanjay Manivannan leads the way in theU1450 section, but here it is only by a half-point over Carl Phillips, who has three wins and a bye.  So of course it is Phillips who gets the shot, and who could in fact leapfrog past the leader with a victory.

The usual array of upsets dotted the Rounds 3 and 4 results, and once again the younger set provided the biggest ones. Fifth-grader-to-be Luke O’Connor was the top "giant-killer," knocking off Al Schaefer despite a 436-point rating difference (986-1422). Gabe Frieden, who will be a 7th grader in the fall, had a 188-pointer over Robert Oresick (1400-1588).  And 1690-rated Steve Chen, also only a 7th-grader-to-be but playing up in the Open section, continued his string of upsets by holding expert Ed Epp to a draw.

Others: Alex Lee (1135) over Ilya Abugov (1282) in a battle of still two more schoolboys; Howard Goldowsky (1696) over Larry Pratt (1824); and Mark Kaprielian (1638) drawing Larry Eldridge (1856).

A few more players jumped in in mid-tournament, raising the entries to 23 in both the Open and U1800 sections and 29 in the U1450, for a total of 74 in this months event.

Name                             Pnts     Victim
William Michael (1777)      33.0     Neil B Cousin (1843)
Matthew Rothman (1781)   21.0     W Bradley Ryan (1823)
Daniel B Newman (1769)    15.5     Alfred G Ward (1800)

Name                             Pnts     Victim
Menno G Koning (1500)     163.0     George Goulding (1663)
Joey Kagan (1317)            150.0     Matthew W Phelps (1467)
Simon A Slutsky (1376)      147.0     John Stengrevics (1523)

Name                             Pnts     Victim
Clark R Ewer (1253)         169.0     Alan D Schaefer (1422)
Jenshiang Hong (1121)      155.0     David M Smith (1276)
 

 

Round 3 - July 16, 2002

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Steve Chen (1690) 	155.0 	Edward R Epp (2000) 
Howard Goldowsky (1696) 128.0 	Larry Pratt (1824) 
Mark Kaprielian (1638) 	109.0 	Larry Eldridge (1856) 
Jacob Perkowski (1770)   41.0 	Seneca L Nowland (1811) 
Amrit Gupta (1635)	 39.5 Kenneth J Wright (1714) 	
Matthew Rothman (1781) 	 31.0 	Neil B Cousin (1843) 

Name Pnts Victim 
Gabriel Frieden (1400) 	188.0 	Robert J Oresick (1588) 
William F Stein (1688) 	 24.5 	Na Ruthramoorthy (1737) 

Name Pnts Victim 
Luke O'Connor (986) 	436.0 	Alan D Schaefer (1422) 
Alex H Lee (1135) 	147.0 	Ilya Abugov (1282) 
Jenshiang Hong (1121)    66.0 	Calvin F Bohn (1187)

Round 2 - July 9, 2002

Senior Master Igor Foygel and A-player Robert Powell have the only perfect scores after two rounds in the Open section, so they meet on Board One in Round 3.  Veteran master John Curdo, back after taking a bye because of the World Open, won his initial test to head a group of five players bunched half a point behind the leaders.  Others in this contingent are expert Ed Epp, A-player Larry Pratt, and up setters Howard Goldowsky and Steve Chen.  Goldowsky, who continues to improve after moving up from the U1800 section, drew Epp, while schoolboy whiz Chen pulled off his second straight surprise by defeating Neil Cousin with the black pieces.

Several other members of the younger set also continued to do well in Week 2. Middle schooler Niki Konovalchuk won again to remain tied for U1800 honors, as did high schooler Sanjay Manivannan in the U1450 group.

Konovalchuk, Bill Stein, and Calvin Hori lead the 1800 parade, with the first two squaring off on Board One while Hori meets Na Ruthramoorthy (the highest rated 1.5) on Board 2.

Manivannan shares the lead in his section with Carl Phillips, Peter Lee, and Mark Leeuwenburgh, but the latter is taking a third-round bye, so the pairings here go Manivannan-Lee and Phillips vs. Al Schaefer, the highest-rated 1.5.

Upsets weren’t as big or as plentiful as in Round One, but there were still a few eye-openers. Luke O’Connor (986) had the biggest one point-wise via a victory over his more experienced and higher-rated fellow elementary school student Chris Oliveri (1205).  Runner-up honors went to Chen (1690) for his win over Cousin (1843).  Another schoolboy, middle schooler Gabe Frieden (1400) knocked off the veteran Homer Franck (1548), while Goldowsky (1696) made the board via his draw with Epp (2000).

Fourteen players jumped in for Round 2, boosting the overall entries to 67.


Name                                Pnts     Victim
Steve Chen (1690)             153.0     Neil B Cousin (1843)
Howard Goldowsky (1696)  152.0     Edward R Epp (2000)
Jacob Perkowski (1770)        43.0    Larry Eldridge (1856)

Name Pnts Victim
Gabriel Frieden (1400)         148.0     Homer L Franck (1548)

Name Pnts Victim
Luke O'Connor (986)             219.0     Christop Oliveri (1205)
Thomas E Powers (1300)        61.0     Alan D Schaefer (1422)
 

Round 1 - July 2, 2002

Summer schedules and school vacation always bring out more youngsters to MCC tournaments, and this year is no exception. Even with the scholastic tournament on Thursday drawing off the younger and less experienced kids, a dozen or so of the stronger ones entered this month’s regular tournament.  And it didn’t take long for them to make their presence felt!

Middle schooler Steve Chen was the only scholastic player to brave the Open Section, and he started off by holding higher-rated Larry Eldridge to a draw in Round One.

Middle Schoolers Niki Konovalchuk and Tim Abbot along with high schooler Joey Kagan all won their initial tests in the U1800 section, while Sanjay Manivannan and Ilya Abugov scored for the younger set in the U1450 group.

As for the tournament overall, the World Open drew off a few regulars as usual, leaving a field of only 13 players in the Open section, 16 in the middle, and 24 in the lower group for a total of 53 entrants. This is expected to increase in Round 2, however, as the World Open competitors return and undoubtedly some others also jump in.

For now, Igor Foygel leads a group of six players with one point in the Open section, Konovalchuk heads a similar group of seven in the middle section, and Al Schaefer tops an array of 10 in the bottom section.

Young Abbot, entering with a 1409 rating, scored the biggest upset of the opening round with a victory over Jim Todhunter (1714).  Other form reversals: Simon Slutsky (1376) over George Goulding (1663); Kagan (1317) over Homer Franck (1548); Dan Newman 1769) over John Chamberlain (1996); Howard Goldowsky (1696) over Joe Kelly (1911); and Fred Harvey (1261) drawing Menno Koning (1500). 

 
Name                 	Pnts 	Victim 
Daniel B Newman (1769) 	227.0 	John Chamberlain (1996) 
Howard Goldowsky (1696) 215.0 	Joseph F Kelly (1911) 
Steve Chen (1690) 	 83.0 	Larry Eldridge (1856) 

Name 			Pnts 	Victim 
Timothy M Abbot (1409) 	305.0 	James Todhunter (1714) 
Simon A Slutsky (1376) 	287.0 	George Goulding (1663) 
Joey Kagan (1317) 	231.0 	Homer L Franck (1548) 
Fred L Harvey (1261) 	119.5 	Menno G Koning (1500) 

Name             	Pnts 	Victim 
	None