With the main championship not starting
until Monday, only hardcore chess players or those with nothing else
worthwhile to do with their lives (I think those two things may be
equivalent) were expected to turn out for the opening weekend. I was
quite surprised, therefore, to run into a number of players from
Kenilworth and the surrounding area. In particular the appearances of
Mike Johnson (a late entry into the U150 tournament) and Roy Watson
(of whom more will be spoken later) led to a considerable local
contingent being present. After a number of gripes from players about
the choice of Warwick University as a location for the tournament, in
particular the unimpressiveness of Coventry as a summer vacation
location, I was pleased to note that overall everyone seemed
satisfied with the venue itself. Hopefully this will continue when a
more substantial number of people are present next week.
On to the results themselves. Two very
creditable performances were produced by Coventry Chess Academy
juniors in the U8 competition, with a score of 3/6 for one and 2/6
for the other highly satisfactory for local players against the best
juniors from around the country. Ben Graff had a slightly harder time
in main rapidplay with a score of 1.5/5, though consideration must be
given for the fact that his grade of 150 made him one of the
unluckiest entries in the tournament, as he was 1 point too high to
play in the U150, and hence had to play in the open instead. I myself
had somewhat of a better day, with a score of 3/5 and defeats only
against people graded over 200. I also managed a personal best of
only 1 piece blundered in 5 games, though unfortunately that one
piece was a queen. Slightly strangely, the only game of mine I can
now remember well enough to reconstruct for publication was from the
opening round, and was perhaps my least interesting of the whole day.
Still, I'm optimistic future days will provide more exciting fodder
for dissemination. My most enjoyable moment of the day was after what
I thought was a very clean win in round 4 on the white side of a
Sicilian, Roy decided to take me aside and give me a lecture on all
the things I had done wrong in the opening. All I can say is I am
glad I had won the game, or this could have been exceedingly
annoying.
The undoubted star of the day, however,
was Mike Johnson, with a score of 4/5 in the U150 tournament leaving
him with a hope of securing some prize money tomorrow. The highlight
of his performance was the last round game, where he was playing a
rook endgame with three pawns for each side. Mike was better due to
the passive placement of his opponent's rook, but a long technical
struggle appeared to be in offing. However, with Mike having his rook
on g1 and his opponent his King on b4, an excellent self-destruction
was achieved after Rb7, when Rb1+ forced immediate resignation. An
excellent moment for Paul, Roy and myself who all happened to be
watching the board at the time.
Paul, Roy and myself then decided to
retire to the Zaika Lounge in Kenilworth for dinner after the
completion of the day's events. Paul and I went on first, with Roy
assuring us he was right behind. A slight concern was raised when he
referred to a restaurant with elephants side, which neither Paul nor
myself could remember, but we repeated the word Zaika to him many
times, and were confident of success. Unfortunately, despite us
waiting a considerable period of time, no eccentric Northerner ever
appeared, and we were informed by the staff that there was indeed at
one time a restaurant with elephants outside, but it had long since
closed down. Therefore, if anyone walking down Kenilworth High Street
over the next few days should happen across a confused chess player
staring mournfully into shop windows do not be concerned; he is
merely still searching for that elusive elephant who will serve him
Onion Bhajis.
Summary thus far:
Total score by Kenilworth players:
8.5/15
My personal performance:
Played: 5
Points 3
Well played endgames: 3
Atrocious blunders: 1
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