There are 73 players from 25 different countries in her section, in which Anita (1479 Elo) is seeded 18th. The top seed is 1732, not that far ahead. You can follow her progress by going to the chess results website.
The event starts on Saturday and continues over nine rounds until 29 October.
Good luck Anita!
Top board Adam Taylor won, as did Fide Master Andrew Lewis on Board 2. Andrew doesn't have a current grade; his last grade was 213. Manningtree are probably the only team in the League capable of fielding two 200+ players. Leon Burnett also won on Board 3, whilst Board 4 Bob Stephens was the only player to draw.
Just to remind you, Jon is raising money for Cancer Research and all donations will be much appreciated. You can donate here.
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Answer to Puzzle time #3
(as answered correctly by Ian Wallis):
After 1. Qc5+, Black must move his King to b2. If he plays ... Kd1, then a quick mate follows with Qc2+ and Qe2#.
Then White plays 2. Qb4+, with Black forced to play ... Ka2 (if ... Kc1 then 3. Qd2+ and 4. Qc2#).
Now comes the surprising move that wins immediately: 3. Kc2! The Black Queen has no checks (other than kamikaze ones) and White will checkmate next move.
After all the excitement in the Isle of Man over the past few days, here's a straightforward puzzle. K+Q v K+Q is usually a draw, but not in this case. So how does White (to play) win?
But now, having completed the event this evening after a marathon 7-hour, 90-move epic win against an Israeli Grandmaster, he has not only gained his final International Master norm, but he has also achieved his first Grandmaster norm!
Alan (rated 2269 at the start of the tournament) finished the event on 6 points out of 9. Having been seeded 57th out of 73 competitors, he finished in equal 6th place, alongside four GMs including top seed Michael Adams! He played five GMs and four IMs, losing only two games, both to GMs. Just look at the ratings (and titles) of his opponents:
Some of you may remember a precocious 8-year old, when he qualified for the UK Chess Challenge Terafinal and nearly beat Sarah Hegarty. Now, nearly ten years on (he celebrates his 18th birthday in a few weeks' time), Alan now has a vital Grandmaster norm to his name. He earned an amazing 79 rating points from the tournament, taking his current 'live' rating to 2348. He will achieve the IM title when his rating reaches 2400, even if this is part way through an event.
It seems many years ago that two young players from Ipswich achieved their undoubted potential when, under the tutelage of Kevin O'Connell, twins Nick and Richard Pert both became International Masters. Nick of course since went on to become a Grandmaster. Nick and Richard were the first 'home-grown' children from Suffolk to reach these heights. Now, some 12 years later, Alan Merry from Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, is on the verge of equalling their feat.
To finish a strong tournament such as this with three consecutive wins, against an IM and two GMs, is stupendous. His Round 7 win against Israeli IM Eylon Nakar was extraordinary. I recommend you play through the game below and marvel at some of Alan's moves and the position, especially as the game approaches its conclusion.
If you plan to play, get your entry in soon as there's a ceiling of 172 entrants, the maximum we can squeeze into the venue.
Click here to enter (and pay) online.
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On the Isle of Man, Alan Merry is having the tournament of a lifetime. With one round still to play, he has already achieved his third (and final) International Master norm. He currently stands on 5/8, having played four GMs (beating two of them) and four IMs (scoring an unbeaten 3 out of 4). Every opponent has been graded over 100 points higher than him. His tournament performance rating (TPR) is currently 2586. If he wins his final round tomorrow against yet another GM, he will achieve a Grandmaster norm!
Alan's Round 7 win with Black against an Israeli IM was an amazing affair. Be sure to tune in tomorrow when the game will be published. Warning - it involves a queen sacrifice and an extraordinary final position.
Open - Ian Wallis (Ipswich)
u160 - Bob Jones (Bury St Edmunds)
u120 - Peter Collicott (Saxmundham)
u100 - Daniel Yarnton (Stowmarket)
The match dates involving the Suffolk teams are as follows:
Codes: S = Suffolk; B = Bedfordshire; C = Cambridgeshire; H = Hertfordshire; N = Norfolk
| Date | Open | u160 | u120 | u100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 November | S v N / B v S | N v S / S v N | ||
| 7 December | S v C / H v S | C v S / S v C | ||
| 18 January | S v C / N v S | |||
| 1 February | N v S / C v S | |||
| 8 February | S v B / H v S | C v S / S v C | ||
| 22 February | S v H / S v N | N v S / S v N | ||
| 8 March | S v H / C v S |
Jon has sent the following:
"Please help me raise funds for Cancer Research UK, whilst I play in the competition of a lifetime in the USA. Around 550 participants from 40 countries across the world will compete in this groundbreaking event.
100% of donations will go to Cancer Research, PLUS the total donation amount will be boosted by 50%, PLUS gift aid will be added to the total of all donations!
As part of the fundraising effort, I will offer:
* A daily blog including regular tournament progress updates
* URLs to watch live coverage of the tournament online
* Match analysis and annotations of all 7 games
You can also download the app "Millionaire Chess" for the best up-to-date coverage.
Thank you for all your help and support!
Please donate here."
You'll see a link to the recent Simul given by Justin Tan, and there's plenty else to enjoy. The next tournament at Woodbridge is the Junior Open on Sunday 23 November. Well done Adam Hunt for developing this new website!
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Over on the Isle of Man, Alan Merry had a torrid time today against 2713-rated GM (and third seed) Laurent Fressinet, losing in 29 moves. You can view the game here (until tomorrow morning). Alan's on 50% after five rounds, not bad considering he was seeded 56th out of 73 entrants. He has gained 29 rating points to date, so he's closing on the 2300 level that he reached a year ago to earn the FIDE Master title.
Despite this loss, Alan's rating performance over the four games is 2565. Tomorrow (Wednesday) he is White against 2713-rated Laurent Fressinet. It's not getting any easier!
