Last weekend I had a chance to play in the first ever Blayney Open.
The air was thick with competition, with not only the chess players ready to do battle over the board, but the local rugby union grand final was also in full swing.
For the record, the Blayney Rams defeated the Molong Magpies which sent the locals into a frenzy. The Blayney Bowling Club rapidly transformed from a quiet chess-playing venue to a rowdy pub scene. Jostling your way to the front of the bar was almost as difficult as swindling a win against the local players.
There were thirteen unrated players in the tournament, which bodes well for NSWCA membership numbers. For many people, this competition marked their return to chess after many years "taking a break".
Top seed Lee Jones took out the Premier Division with a perfect six round record. By my calculations, Gary Losh won the Major Division, with Helen Aylwin and Ramon Aich sharing the Minor Division first prize.
Slavko Kojic was the highest scoring unrated player with an impressive score of four points from the six rounds.
Brian Jones won the after-dinner blitz competition and gave these sage words of advice: "The secret is - try not to lose games otherwise it's too tough to make up the ground and win." Hmm - thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind. ;)
I managed to sneak into 3rd place for my division, despite an error filled final round game against Helen Aylwin.
Big thanks to Phil Bourke for organising the event!
Hopefully I'll get an opportunity to play in Blayney next year too.
The air was thick with competition, with not only the chess players ready to do battle over the board, but the local rugby union grand final was also in full swing.
For the record, the Blayney Rams defeated the Molong Magpies which sent the locals into a frenzy. The Blayney Bowling Club rapidly transformed from a quiet chess-playing venue to a rowdy pub scene. Jostling your way to the front of the bar was almost as difficult as swindling a win against the local players.
There were thirteen unrated players in the tournament, which bodes well for NSWCA membership numbers. For many people, this competition marked their return to chess after many years "taking a break".
Top seed Lee Jones took out the Premier Division with a perfect six round record. By my calculations, Gary Losh won the Major Division, with Helen Aylwin and Ramon Aich sharing the Minor Division first prize.
Slavko Kojic was the highest scoring unrated player with an impressive score of four points from the six rounds.
Brian Jones won the after-dinner blitz competition and gave these sage words of advice: "The secret is - try not to lose games otherwise it's too tough to make up the ground and win." Hmm - thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind. ;)
I managed to sneak into 3rd place for my division, despite an error filled final round game against Helen Aylwin.
Big thanks to Phil Bourke for organising the event!
Hopefully I'll get an opportunity to play in Blayney next year too.
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