A lot has been happening at the Chess Club in recent months.
The first thing to report is the final standings for the Summer Open.
Adrian Rose won with a perfect score of 7/7, Aina Musaeva came second with 5.5/7 and four players tied for third on 5/7: Nikola Radev, Dimitar Mojanovski, Charles Zworestine and Petre Bogdanoski.
The Summer Open Lightning was won by John-Stuart Plant with a score of 8.5/9.
Following these two tournaments the chess club’s AGM was held.
The executive officers for the following year are as follows: President, Jamie Roberts; Vice President, Michael Van der Kolff; Club Captain, Charles Zworestine; Treasurer, Terrence Wall; Secretary, Peter Johansson; and Web Mistress, Aina Musaeva.
This year’s Club Championship attracted 56 entrants and was run over six divisions.
The Champion Division was won by the irrepressible Adrian Rose with the strong score of 8/9, with Nikola Radev coming second with 6.5/9 and Arthur Huynh third with 5.5/9.
The winners of the other divisions were: D2, Sarwat Rewais 8/9; D3, Kole Murgoski 8/9; D4, Thierry Ollivan 8.5/9; D5, Jack Ruan 8.5/9; D6, Adolfo Garrido 9.5/10.
The Club Lightning Championship was a very interesting affair.
Three players came equal first with a score of 9/11: Francisco Plaza, James Watson and Harry Ruan.
While both Francisco and James were expected to perform well, Harry surprised us all insofar as he is one of the clubs youngest members – he is not yet 11 years old! I am also happy to report that the first leg of the Chess Club’s yearly show-down with the North Sydney Chess Club resulted in a five point victory for St George (22.5 – 17.5).
This is encouraging after our poor performance against them last year.
This victory was ensured by the strong performances of our middling players.
Finally, the yearly Grade Matches have just begun, with St George entering seven teams, making us again the best represented club in the tournament.
Let us hope that this strong showing is reflected in our results.
St George Leagues Club Chess Club continues to flourish.
I am particularly happy to note the large amount of Juniors we now have playing for the club – at last count, around 13 of our members are aged under 12.
Not only will this ensure that our club remains a strong presence in the Sydney chess scene for many years to come, it makes the Chess Club a fun and vibrant place to spend Tuesday nights! The Chess Club meets on Tuesday nights at 7:30.
All are welcome.
Jamie Roberts,
Chess Club President
