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32nd Guernsey International Chess Festival, 15-21 October 2006

Last Edited: Sunday October 22, 2006 9:13 PM
 

Sponsored by Fortis Guernsey and the Peninsula Hotel

 

Report by Kevin Thurlow • Guernsey Chess Club (full pairings, TV report, etc)

 

Round 7

0930 start, so no sightseeing today….. but one correction, Rudiger von Saldern was not the oldest player in the Open.

Round 7

1. T Bakre (4½) draw L Gofshtein (5½)
2. E Porper (5) 1-0 G Lock (4½)
3. T Hillarp-Persson(4½) 1-0 M Fraser (4½)
4. M Burrows (4) 1-0 D Collier (4½)
5. R Morris-Hill (4) 0-1 P Roberts (4)
6. A Reijneveld (4) draw S Wiecker (4)
7. B Westerkamp (4) draw T van Ingen (4)
8. J Pinheiro (3½) 1-0 M Wantoch (3½)
9. T Goris (3½) 0-1 J Havenaar (3½)
10. F Hamperl (3½) 0-1 J Cornelisse (3½)

1=2 Leonid Gofshtein (Israel) (takes trophy on tie-break) and Eduard Porper (Israel) (6/7) £900 each, 3rd Tiger Hillarp-Persson (Sweden) (5½) £300, 4-6 Tejas Bakre (India), Martin Burrows (England), Paul Roberts (Scotland) (5) £120 each.
Ladies - Adry Goris-Schouwstra (3½) £75
Veterans (over 60) - Nigel Dennis, John Dodgson (both England), Desire Fassaert, HB Tan (both Netherlands) (3½) £20 each
Juniors (under 18) - Stefan Wiecker (4½) (Denmark) £75
Channel Islands - Mark Ozanne (4) (Guernsey) £100
Grading prizes :-
Below Elo 2100 - Bert Westerkamp (4½) (Netherlands) £50
Below Elo 2050 - David Bower, George O'Toole (both England), Rolf Dijksterhuis (Netherlands), John Donoghue, Stephen Short (both Ireland) (4) £10 each
Below Elo 1900 - Ton van Ingen (Netherlands) (4½) £50


"Holiday".

Round 7
1. J Gibson (4½) 0-1 P Carlucci (5)
2. M Collier (4½) 0-1 C Egan (4½)
3. M Heymuth (4) 0-1 R Paardekam (4)
4. C Brooker (4) draw E Onwezen (4)
5. H Haisma (4) 1-0 G Kershaw (4)
6. P Foster (4) 1-0 M Jongerius (4)

1st Paul Carlucci (England) (6/7) £400, 2nd Colm Egan (Ireland) (5½) £200, 3- Rene Paardekam, (Netherlands) Henk Haisma (Netherlands), Paul Foster (England) (5), £60 each
Ladies -Marika Dokter (3½) (Netherlands) £50
Veterans (over 60) - Christopher Brooker and John Gibson (4½) (both France - yes really!) £25 each
Channel Islands - Russell Finch (4½) (Guernsey)
Grading prizes :-
Below Elo 1700 - Eric Onwezen (4½) (Netherlands)£50
Below Elo 1600 - Michael Collier (4½) (England) £50
Below Elo 1500 - Alan Collins (3½) (England) £50

The prizes were presented after a splendid dinner provided by the Peninsula Hotel. Hard-working David Sedgwick, who had acted as arbiter, then announced some special prizes.

Oldest Player in Congress - Heinz Herschmann (England)
Player Travelling Longest Distance to Congress - Tejas Bakre (India)
Player Travelling Shortest Distance to Congress - Terry Harnden (The Vale, Guernsey)
Most Pointed Comment - "I like your wallchart" - Ray Kearsley (England) (when it was still devoid of results during round 3…)
Player Who Always Seemed to be Last to Finish - Dave Twitchell (England)
Player Who Seemed to be in the Vicinity of the Bar Most Often - ("A very close contest amongst several Irish players.) - Kevin O'Shea (Ireland) (Amusingly, the winner was not in the room when this was announced, as he was in the bar! He received this prize with great humour.)
Visiting Player Who Was Most Troublesome - No contender
Visiting Player Who Was the Greatest Help - Kevin Thurlow (England)

David said the criteria would be different next year, presumably to discourage every entrant from lurking in the bar!

Next year's tournament starts on the third Sunday in October.


Round 6

Another sunny day, just right for a stroll along the seafront. Guernsey is renowned for its wild birds, so I made my way to the RSPB 'hide' near the landfill site. Seagulls are notorious scavengers, so I guess they enjoy the food available at the landfill site. I paused for lunch at one of the kiosks that are dotted round the island. Most of them are now closed for winter and the proprietor said business was not exactly booming. Typically though, she gave a friendly reception and was quite eager to talk for a while. It seems many traditions of the island are disappearing, which is the way of the world. There used to be a market every Thursday, where people dressed in the traditional Guernsey costume, but the States of Guernsey (the local parliament) did away with it. Although Guernsey is tied to the UK, it is separate in many ways. It is like an associate member of the European Union, but without the Value Added Tax.

As I mentioned the other day, driving can be exciting. There is a curious contrast, in that you might find some idiot driving at speed on the wrong side of the road on a blind bend, but people happily all stop, so someone can negotiate a junction. Some junctions are considerably more than right angles. It is noticeable that if someone approaches a pedestrian crossing, everyone immediately screeched to a halt.

The local paper produced the wonderful headline today, "Will Pauper be the prince." No, no question mark. This shows the danger of phoning in reports. Anyway, Porper will doubtless be trying to win today.

Most players speak good English, but there is sometimes a language barrier. One of the organisers was rather startled when a foreign player asked, "Do you have the price of a woman?" After a few carefully-worded questions, he established that the question might be better expressed as, "Is there a women's prize?"

Round 6
1. L Gofshtein (5) draw E Porper (4½)
2. T Bakre (3½) 1-0 M Burrows (4)
3. J Cornelisse (3½) 0-1 T Hillarp-Persson(3½)
4. M Fraser (3½) 1-0 J Pinheiro (3½)
5. G Lock (3½) 1-0 I Heppell (3½)
6. P Roberts (3½) draw S Wiecker (3½)
7. T van Ingen (3½) draw A Reijneveld (3½)
8. D Collier (3½) 1-0 G O'Toole (3½)
9. J Vickery (3) 0-1 R Morris-Hill (3)
10. M Taylor (3) draw F Hamperl (3)

Board one was not desperately exciting. The other grandmasters kept up the pressure on the leader. Mark Fraser had a good win over Jose Pinheiro. Fred Hamperl maintained his position as leading Channel Islands player.

"Holiday".

Round 6
1. C Egan (4) draw J Gibson (4)
2. P Carlucci (4) 1-0 H Haisma (4)
3. M Collier (4) draw C Brooker (3½)
4. R Paardekam (3½) draw P Foster (3½)
5. E Onwezen (3½) draw R Finch (3)

Paul Carlucci was the only winner on the top boards and he took the sole lead.

Round 7 Pairings

1. T Bakre (4½) x-x L Gofshtein (5½)
2. E Porper (5) x-x G Lock (4½)
3. T Hillarp-Persson(4½) x-x M Fraser (4½)
4. M Burrows (4) x-x D Collier (4½)
5. R Morris-Hill (4) x-x P Roberts (4) I Heppell (3½) [not sure what's going on here - ed.]
6. A Reijneveld (4) x-x S Wiecker (4)
7. B Westerkamp (4) x-x T van Ingen (4)
8. J Pinheiro (3½) x-x M Wantoch (3½)
9. T Goris (3½) x-x J Havenaar
10. F Hamperl (3½) x-x J Cornelisse (3½)


"Holiday".

Round 7
1. J Gibson (4½) x-x P Carlucci (5)
2. M Collier (4½) x-x C Egan (4½)
3. M Heymuth (4) x-x R Paardekam (4)
4. C Brooker (4) x-x E Onwezen (4)
5. H Haisma (4) x-x G Kershaw (4)


Round 5

The sun was out again this morning after dramatic thunderstorms last night. Gusty winds still made cliff walks unappealing, but it was pleasant enough wandering along the beach. The Peninsula Hotel lies (not surprisingly) on a small peninsula, and it is only a couple of minutes walk to the beach. There is also one of the many surviving towers built during the Napoleonic wars, which everyone calls Martello Towers, but apparently wrongly. Unwelcome visitors upgraded some of the towers and gun emplacements in the early 40s. Some are decaying now, but others have been restored and are open to visitors. The Occupation was a notable time in Channel Islands history, and it is commemorated with several museums.

Moving right up to date, a new HMV store opened in town (town = St Peter Port) today, which caused some excitement as it was opened by Matt Willis, formerly of Busted, but who has now gone solo. (Note to editor - Busted were a popular beat combo. Ed: You mean like the Glenn Miller Band? Thank you for putting me right on that.)

The refreshment area in the hotel contains a television, which has been tuned to the Champions Trophy cricket. This has attracted some grandmaster attention. Indian GM Tejas Bakre has been a regular spectator and he was explaining some of the finer points to Israeli GM Leonid Gofshtein. Meanwhile, Swedish GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson was fascinated by the complexity of some of the laws. I attempted to explain LBW to him….. It was interesting to discover that Jose Pinheiro won several thousand Euros on a Portuguese game show.

The Real Ale festival continued in the "Cock and Bull" and five federations were represented on the Irish night (England, Ireland, Scotland, Guernsey and Netherlands), although it was strange that the Irish representative did not appear to know the words of the songs.

Round 5
1. T Hillarp-Persson(3½) 0-1 L Gofshtein (4)
2. J Pinheiro (3½) 0-1 E Porper (3½)
3. M Fraser (3) draw T Bakre (3)
4. G Lock (3) draw D Collier (3)
5. M Burrows (3) 1-0 M Taylor (3)
6. I Heppell (3) draw J Cornelisse (3)
7. A Reijneveld (2½) 1-0 B Westerkamp (3)
8. S Wiecker ( 2½) 1-0 J Havenaar (2½)
9. S Short (2½) 0-1 P Roberts (2½)
10. F Hamperl (2½) draw J Vickery (2½)

Porper seemed to win fairly comfortably, but the top board clash was anything but clear - Tiger had RRN + 5 v RRB + 5, and was coming under pressure. Gofshtein produced a nice idea in the time-scramble and won. Bakre again failed to convert with black.

"Holiday".

Round 5
1. H Haisma (3½) draw M Collier (3½)
2. J Gibson (3) 1-0 G Kershaw (3)
3. E Onwezen (3) draw R Paardekam (3)
4. P Carlucci (3) 1-0 M Heymuth (3)
5. M Stanners (3) 0-1 C Egan (3)

There were some hard-fought games here, and now five share the lead.


Round 4

Although it is a pleasure to negotiate the scenic roads of Guernsey, there are a few hazards. One very sensible law is that Hire cars are emblazoned with a large "H" to warn other road users that the driver might be unaccustomed to the road conditions. The absence of an "H" frequently means that the driver has not mastered the use of the indicators! And either one road has been closed for the last few years, or the States of Guernsey always repair it in mid-October.

There is little serious crime in Guernsey, as evidenced by this report in the Guernsey Press -
"Witnesses sought over sheep attack"
A group of youths threw stones at a sheep on Sunday at about 1 am at Rue des Cambrees, Torteval. Shortly after, numerous doors were knocked on. Police are seeking information.

It is certainly impressive that the police are taking an interest in this, as it seems unlikely that would happen on the mainland.

Round 4
1. E Porper (3) draw T Hillarp-Persson(3)
2. L Gofshtein (3) 1-0 M Burrows (3)
3. J Havenaar (2½) 0-1 J Pinheiro (2½)
4. M Taylor (2½) draw G Lock (2½)
5. T Bakre (2) 1-0 T Goris (2)
6. B Westerkamp (2) 1-0 M O'Leary (2)
7. J Cornelisse (2) 1-0 C Ippel (2)
8. D Fassaert (2) 0-1 M Fraser (2)
9. P Roberts (2) draw F Hamperl (2)
10. D Collier (2) 1-0 H Morcom (2)

Top board was pretty lively, but ended in a draw. Board two was not exactly dull either, but Leonid Gofshtein won to take the sole lead. Black had the advantage in the next two games, but Gavin Lock was unable to convert. Tejas Bakre produced an artistic finish in his game.

"Holiday".

Round 4
1. C Egan (2½) draw H Haisma (3)
2. M Stanners (2½) draw P Foster (2½)
3. D Guttridge (2½) 0-1 M Collier (2½)
4. J Ruigrok (2) 0-1 P Carlucci (2)
5. M Jongerius (2) 0-1 J Gibson (2)

Several players took a half-point bye.


Round 3

There would not be a tournament without hard work by a number of people. Peter Rowe and Fred Hamperl from Guernsey have been prominent in organising the event, but they have received assistance from other members of Guernsey Chess Federation. Many visitors to the island do not realise that GCF has been a separate federation for many years, and has its own team in the Olympiad. In fact Fred got a FM title in the most recent Olympiad. The arbiter is David Sedgwick, who is running this event for the first time, although he has played here several times. He is an experienced arbiter and is doing his best to keep the players happy.

One highlight of my visits to the island is perusal of the Guernsey Press, the local paper. They carry daily reports of the tournament, but yesterday my attention was caught by the letters page. This included a diatribe from the programme manager of hospitality and catering at the local college. He alleged there were low hygiene standards in some eating establishments on the island, and said his students were much better behaved. His name? Steve Bacon.

The annual "Tennerfest" is running in Guernsey at present. Most restaurants participate, but instead of their usual prices, they charge just £10-15 for three courses of a rather reduced menu. But it is good value and good quality. Despite excellent cuisine at the Peninsula, it is tempting to wander occasionally.

Rain set in this morning, but it soon cleared. In any event it was a morning for sitting in the car and looking at the scenery through a closed window.

Round 3
1. T Hillarp-Persson(2) 1-0 P Roberts (2)
2. M O'Leary (2) 0-1 L Gofshtein (2)
3. E Porper (2) 1-0 D Collier (2)
4. J Pinheiro (2) draw M Taylor (2)
5. M Burrows (2) 1-0 F Hamperl (2)
6. I Heppell (1½) draw T Bakre (1½)
7. H Tan (1½) 0-1 G Lock (1½)
8. J Hickman (1½) 0-1 J Havenaar (1½)
9. G O'Toole (1½) draw J Cornelisse (1½)
10. S Short (1½) draw J Vickery (1½)

Boards 2 and 3 finished reasonably early, but Tiger had to work hard before gaining the full point. Indian GM Tejas Bakre dropped another half point. The Open features players from 11 federations, and Alan Gravett from Gibraltar, who counts as English for these purposes.

"Holiday".

Round 3
1. M Heymuth (2) draw C Egan (2)
2. H Haisma (2) 1-0 E Onwezen (2)
3. G Kershaw (2) draw M Stanners (2)
4. M Collier (2) draw R Paardemans (1½)
5. C Brooker (1½) 0-1 D Guttridge (1½)

H Haisma is now sole leader of the Holiday tournament. There are players from seven federations.


Round 2

Players are now settling in to the event. Sunday is a particularly good evening to be at the Peninsula Hotel, (the food is always good), as the starter is a very impressive seafood and cold meat buffet. The unwary (and the greedy) get stuck into this, without regard to what is to follow. After a modest selection from the buffet and the soup, I had a very good and very large plate of roast beef etc. Then they ask what you want for dessert! Already people are talking of skipping meals.

I visited Pleinmont this morning for an intended scenic walk along the cliffs, However, there were heavy gusting winds and suddenly this did not look like a good idea. The scenery is certainly impressive - a curious mixture of wartime fortifications and rocky cliffs, with the sea crashing in below, whilst birds of prey soar and hover in the strong winds. After a while, I watched all this through the car window. Sheltered areas are still quite warm, and so far the rain has kept away. Peaceful scenery should be good preparation for chess, especially as I cannot find any games for my opponent on the database.

I have just been informed that round 1 featured a game between the youngest (George O'Toole) and oldest (Rudi von Saldern) players in the Open.

Round 2
1. C Wismayer 0-1 T Hillarp-Persson
2. L Gofshtein 1-0 P Taylor
3. B Westerkamp 0-1 E Porper
4. D Fassaert 0-1 J Pinheiro
5. M Ozanne 0-1 M Burrows
6. I Jamieson 0-1 M O'Leary
7. J Cornelisse draw J Hickman
8. F Hamperl 1-0 M Fraser
9. P Roberts 1-0 T Spanton
10. D Collier 1-0 T Goris

Ten players reached 2/2. The top seeds didn't have it all their own way, and Gofshtein only converted a Q + P v Q ending very late in the day. There was a television in the refreshment area, showing Champions Trophy cricket. Understandably GM Bakre was watching this after he finished, but Tiger was watching later. He said he did not totally understand what was going on, but he found it fascinating. Channel TV duly showed a short piece about the chess tournament after the early evening news, and I am pleased to say my look of combined "polite thank you" and "utter humiliation" on resignation looked quite impressive. Hollywood beckons.

"Holiday".

Round 2
1. E Onwezen 1-0 J Gibson
2. S Nalichowski 0-1 M Heymuth
3. D Guttridge draw R Paardemans
4. P Carlucci 0-1 M Stanners
5. D Ince draw C Brooker

7 players are on 2/2.


Round 1

After a year away, the festival returned to the Peninsula Hotel, and there was an immediate increase in entries. There are always a lot of people who have played here before, but there were new faces to join the regulars, as well as one or two long-absent friends. The creator of the event was John Bisson, and sadly he died the day after last year's tournament finished, but his widow Peggy was on hand this year to welcome the players.

There were one or two changes to the tournament. Initially, one big "open" tournament was run, but this fissioned into an "Open" and a "Holiday" tournament for players graded under 145 BCF or under 1760 Elo. However, BCF changed the conversion factor for ratings a couple of years ago, so this year the "Holiday" event was under 145 ECF, or 1975 Elo. People are still arguing whether this new conversion formula is justified, and there is a move to revert to the old one, but I will not bore the reader with the mathematics.

The local paper carried an item furnished by the landlord of the "Cock and Bull", which coincidentally held a beer festival the same week as the chess a few years ago. He quickly realised that a deliberate clash was sensible, and he claims this year that some Dutch players contacted him beforehand to ensure this was the case before entering the tournament. Channel TV turned up to film parts of the first round and interviewed Tiger Hillarp-Persson and your reporter beforehand. We also played a mock game, and I pointed out to the cameraman I had to resign. "How do you do that?" "Well, you put your king on its side and shake hands." So he filmed that, and then insisted I do it again for a better shot. Resigning twice before the tournament starts is not inspiring! But at least I now know which line of the Sicilian not to play against him….

67 players entered the "Open", including 3 grandmasters and an international master.

Round 1
1. T Hillarp-Persson 1-0 M Wantoch
2. R Morris-Hill 0-1 L Gofshtein
3. E Porper 1-0 K O'Driscoll
4. D Bower draw T Bakre
5. J Pinheiro 1-0 R Dijksterhuis
6. S Wiecker draw G Lock
7. M Burrows 1-0 C Ippel
8. P Rowe draw J Havenaar
9. M O'Leary 1-0 N Dennis
10. T Borland 0-1 J Cornelisse

Indian GM Bakre was held to a draw, but he had a nightmare journey to the island, (travelling via Mombasa in Kenya!) so he was probably not firing on all cylinders. Gavin Lock and Jan Havenaar were also held by lower-rated opponents. Jan has missed only one Guernsey Festival, a record equalled only by Rudiger von Saldern of Germany. 26 players won in round one.

41 players entered the "Holiday".

Round 1
1. M Stanners 1-0 J Ruigrok
2. J Gibson 1-0 J O'Connor
3. M Dokter 0-1 S Nalichowski
4. R Paardermans 1-0 G Naldrett
5. G van Rooijen 0-1 P Carlucci

Mick Stanners produced a shock on board 1, but the other top boards went as expected. Although Seb Nalichowski is originally from Poland, he is now resident in Guernsey, so this counts as a local win. 19 players share the lead.

Archive: Guernsey 2005

 

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