Cumbernauld Chess Club

George Thomson · Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 150

I would just like to wish Ian Marks all the best for his trip to the Monarch chess competition in the Isle of Man next week.
Come on Ian give us an interesting upset to write about in the paper for when you get back. As you often say to me Ian "Just play chess" but try to play it well.

Ian · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 161

Hi George,

Thanks for your good wishes. Looks like I'm the second-lowest (!) rated player, so no illusions about the task ahead of me! I will indeed "just be playing chess". You'll be able to savour all the gory details at http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2007/

Ian · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 161

I thought you might be interested to know that I won the U-2050 rating prize (£200!) at the Monarch Assurance Masters on the Isle of Man which finished on Sunday. At the Monarch, this goes (very sensibly, I think) to the player who performs best above current rating, unlike most events, where it goes to the highest scorer, irrespective of opposition. Here’s how I got on:

Rd 1 Jeroen van den Bersselaar 2183 (Neth.) 1
Rd 2 IM Mark Ferguson 2413 (Eng.) 0
Rd 3 IM Adam Szieberth 2315 (Hun.) 0
Rd 4 Alan Grant 2223 (Sco.) ½
Rd 5 FM Manuel Weeks 2200 (Aus.) ½
Rd 6 WGM Karolina Smokina 2205 (Mold.) 0
Rd 7 John Bentley 2242 (Eng.) 0
Rd 8 Michael Yeo 2153 (Eng.) ½
Rd 9 Oliver Jackson 2198 (Eng.) 0
Ave opp. 2237. There were no easy players in this event!

Rd 3 was level for a long time and I missed wins in rds 7 & 8 Sad

If anyone fancies a look at my games, they’re on the tournament website. They're all pretty interesting. I can't claim to enjoy losses, but rd 6 was a positional gem by WGM Smokina, well worth a look. I’ve sent a pic of the rd 4 derby to Robert; it should be up on the website soon. And George - I "just played chess". The average length of my games was 49 moves Very Happy

(Actually, it was a Scottish double – Alan Tate took the U-2200 prize!)

See you around.

George Thomson · Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 150

Cogratulations Ian I'm sure that you must be delighted with your performance.
I have watched all your game with interest and enjoyed them.
We asked you to do the Club proud and I'm sure that everyone will agree that you did.
I like the system were players are rewarded for Performance level when they have the same score.

robert kelso · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:29 pm Post subject: Well worth a look

As Ian said he sent me the following image just to prove he was there Very Happy

You seem somewhat bored Ian was Alan taking to long?

_________________
Robert

Ian · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 161

Robert

Not bored, just feigning indifference. Actually, Alan was taking his time. I jumped him with a different first move from my usual Laughing

(Pic courtesy of John Saunders, editor of the BCM.)