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MetroWest Chess Club - Winter Warmer Swiss January 7, 14, 21, 28 2003 |
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| Tournament Commentary |
| written by Larry Eldridge |
Round 4 - January 28, 2003
Veteran expert Ed Epp won the January Winter Warmer with some key assists from
Dan Newman, Derek Slater, and.....the Boston Bruins!
A season ticket holder for many years, Epp opts for byes when a chess game interferes with the chance to see his beloved B’s in action -- and such was the case on Tues., Jan. 28. So before the tournament started he was in for a half-point in the final round.
With perennial winner Igor Foygel away at the U.S. Championship, veteran master John Curdo (2273) was the top seed, but the 1875-rated Newman nicked him for a surprise draw in Round 2, while the second-seeded Epp defeated Larry Pratt and Randy Brueckner for a 2-0 start and a half-point lead over his main rival.
Both players won in Round 3, Epp defeating John Chamberlain while Curdo knocked off Trevor De Koekkoek. This left Epp the sole leader with the only perfect score, while Curdo remained a half-point behind with the lone 2.5 tally in the Open section.
This, of course, would normally have produced an exciting last-round pairing of the two leaders, but due to the bye, this wasn’t a normal situation.
Epp was already "in the clubhouse," so to speak (in the Fleet Center, actually!), with a final score of 3.5 points. Curdo had white against against expert Derek Slater, the top-rated player with 2 points, and a chance to catch Epp and tie for first place. Slater held him to a draw, however, thus combining with Newman and the Bruins(!) to leave Epp alone at the top.
The only perfect score of the month occurred in the U1800 section, where Fred Smith rolled to victory with four straight wins. Top-seeded Larry Eldridge matched him until the final round, where Smith won their head-to-head match up to take clear first place. Ames Abbot, nicked for a draw by Menno Koning in Round One, won the rest of his games to take runner-up honors with 3.5, while Eldridge, Koning, Bill Stein, and Peter Karp finished in a four-way tie for third with 3.0 each.
Fred Harvey and Jim Krycka shared top honors in the U1450, though they arrived there by very different routes. Harvey (1297) was nicked for a first round draw by 841-rated Sam Giler, but recovered to win his next three games to gain his portion of the top prize, while Krycka won his first two contests, dropped a half point to Karl Hahn in Round 3, then won his final test to finish with the same 3.5 score. Al Schaefer, John McLaughlin, and Jason Krienke were next with 3.0 each.
An impressive 75 players turned out for this first tournament of the New Year, 20 in the Open section, 29 in the middle one, and 26 in the U1450.
There were no huge 400-point type upsets such as those we’ve had in many other tournaments, but several surprise results proved to be of great significance to the final standings: Curdo’s two draws, Giler taking the half point from Harvey in the bottom section, and a pair of first-round upsets in the middle section, with Matthew Phelps (1558) defeating Alan Beck (1768), and Koning (1549) drawing Abbot (1767), effectively eliminating the No. 2 and 3 seeds from first-place contention right away. Others:
Doug Hull (1081) defeated Douglas Thompson (1306); Calvin G Hori (1620) defeated Larry Pratt (1839); Lomer J Cormier (1444) defeated Mark Kaprielian (1656); Joey Kagan (1533)defeated Bill Michael (1739; Travis A Nilsson (815)drew Stephen Schnair (1204); Randy Brueckner 1804)defeated Robert W. Powell (1966) Walter Champion (1624)defeated Michael Barry (1743); Severine Wamala (1624) defeated Bill Michael (1739) Fred L Harvey (1297)defeated Karl G Hahn (1400) Alfred G Ward (1800)defeated Paul A Mishkin (1902) John W Martin (1775)defeated Daniel B Newman (1875) .
Name Pnts Victim Derek C Slater (2009) 132.0 John A Curdo (2273) John W Martin (1775) 100.0 Daniel B Newman (1875) Niki Konovalchuk (1789) 28.0 Jeff Georg Penta (1845)
Name Pnts Victim Menno G Koning (1549) 94.0 Phillip Lee (1643) Lomer J Cormier (1444) 92.0 John Stengrevics (1536) Frederick Smith (1728) 42.0 Larry Eldridge (1770) Stephen W Savage (1439) 25.0 Harry Henriques (1464) Name Pnts Victim Fred L Harvey (1297) 103.0 Karl G Hahn (1400) James A Krycka (1251) 72.0 John Mc Laughlin (1323) Jenshiang Hong (1194) 56.0 Douglas Thompson (1306) Round 3 - January 21, 2003
Name Pnts Victim Calvin G Hori (1620) 219.0 Larry Pratt (1839) Alfred G Ward (1800) 83.0 Robert W. Powell (1966) John W Martin (1775) 46.0 Na Ruthramoorthy (1821) Niki Konovalchuk (1789) 28.0 Neil B Cousin (1845) Name Pnts Victim Walter Champion (1624) 119.0 Michael Barry (1743) Severine Wamala (1624) 115.0 William Michael (1739) Joey Kagan (1533) 61.5 Mark Kaprielian (1656) Gatumba Z Abu (1505) 54.5 George Goulding (1614) Stephen W Savage (1439) 24.0 Ethan Thompson (1463) Philip Mercurio (1607) 6.0 James H Rafferty (1613) Name Pnts Victim Travis A Nilsson (815) 194.5 Stephen Schnair (1204) John Mc Laughlin (1323) 86.0 Alan D Schaefer (1409) James A Krycka (1251) 74.5 Karl G Hahn (1400)
Round 2 - January 14, 2003
Name Pnts Victim Daniel B Newman (1875) 199.0 John A Curdo (2273) Na Ruthramoorthy (1821) 81.0 Paul A Mishkin (1902) Name Pnts Victim Menno G Koning (1549) 64.0 James H Rafferty (1613) Walter Champion (1624) 56.5 Howard Goldowsky (1737) Name Pnts Victim Doug Hull (1081) 225.0 Douglas Thompson (1306)
Round 1 - January 7, 2003
With Igor Foygel away at the U.S. Championship and some other regular top players also absent, the Open section is not only smaller than usual but also lacking its usual array of masters and experts. Veteran master John Curdo is the top seed, followed by expert Ed Epp, and after that all A and B players, pending any jump-ins for Round 2.
Curdo and Epp both won their initial tests as did four other players, while one game was drawn and the odd number of competitors created one full-point bye. Eleven players share the early lead in the middle section, which had three drawn games. A dozen players are deadlocked with one point in the bottom section, which had only one draw.
There were no huge upsets in Round One, but plenty of medium-sized form reversals spiced the action. In the Open section Randy Brueckner (1804) defeated Robert Powell (1966), while Al Ward (1800) knocked off Paul Mishkin (1902). In the middle section Lomer Cormier (1444) got the best of Mark Kaprielian (1656), Matthew Phelps (1558) upset Alan Beck (1768), high schooler Joey Kagan (1533) beat Bill Michael (1739), and Menno Koning (1549) drew Ames Abbot (1767). The only upset in the bottom section was Sam A Giler (841) holding Fred Harvey (1297) to a draw.
Name Pnts Victim Randy Brueckner (1804) 162.0 Robert W. Powell (1966) Alfred G Ward (1800) 102.0 Paul A Mishkin (1902) Name Pnts Victim Lomer J Cormier (1444) 212.0 Mark Kaprielian (1656) Matthew W Phelps (1558) 210.0 Alan P Beck (1768) Joey Kagan (1533) 206.0 William Michael (1739) Menno G Koning (1549) 109.0 Ames Abbot (1767) Name Pnts Victim Sam A Giler (841) 228.0 Fred L Harvey (1297)