Monarch 2001

    Last revised: 28 April, 2002.    

Isle of Man Chess Association

Southern Chess Club

   

 

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2001

Monarch Assurance

Monarch Tournament Brochure

    For the latest reports the official home page for the tournament is:-  http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2001/index.html

     

 Ulibin Wins Monarch Chess Tournament

Russian Grandmaster Mikhail Ulibin carried off the first prize of £2,000 and a handsome trophy from the Monarch Assurance Open chess international tournament at the presentation of awards at the Cherry Orchard Hotel on Sunday evening.

It proved to be a most exciting finish with ten competitors all equal first going into the last round. They were paired against each other and four of the games were drawn but Ulibin took first place when he beat the British champion, Joe Gallagher. The ending was somewhat unusual in that Gallagher, who is well known for getting into time trouble, did it again. On this occasion he over did it by exceeding the two hour limit when he had only 28 moves made instead of forty. Once your time is up you automatically lose the game. Ulibin had a slightly better position at the end but not enough to win perhaps.

Mikhail Ulibin is presented with the winners trophy and cheque for £2,000 by Patrick Taylor, Managing Director of Monarch Assurance

Photo John Saunders / Copyright BCM Chess
A group of ten players shared the remainder of the place prize money receiving £387 each which illustrates again that the spoils go to the brave. Ulibin had been lying there or there abouts throughout the competition being equal first at the end of rounds six, seven and eight. He made his big break in the ninth and last round ending just half a point ahead of his immediate rivals. A well judged race which would have done credit to Frankie Dettori!  Top seed Sergei Tiviakov (Netherlands) and previous winners Bogdan Lalic (England) and Alexander Baburin (Ireland) were among those in the second group.
Highest scoring Manx competitor was Alan Ormsby from Douglas who received the beautiful cut glass bowl in memory of Stephen Maggs which was presented by his mother, Jean.

Stephen was the first Manx player to receive an international chess rating.  

The lady's prize went to Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant from Georgia while the veteran's was won by George Ellison, England, who was in charge of the British junior squad. Craig Hanley took the prize for top score in the juniors.

Alan Ormsby receives the Maggs Trophy from Mrs Jean Maggs

Photo John Saunders / Copyright BCM Chess
The Major competition was won by Robin Kirkwood from Caernarfon with 5½ points out of 7.

Glenn Cross, Douglas, finished joint second with three others all from across.   He was the top Manx player in the Major event and is pictured on the right receiving his prize from Rushen MHK Pam Crowe.

Barry Sandercock from Chalfont was leading veteran and Graeme Walsh, Dublin, was top junior.

Glenn Cross receiving his prize from Rushen MHK Pam Crowe

Photo John Saunders / Copyright BCM Chess
    
In the Minor event, Malcolm Roberts, Holmes Chapel, made a clean sweep of the board  winning all his five games. Monica Vann of Bourne End and previously resident in Port St Mary came third. Best Manx player was Alan Robertson who is also treasurer of the congress. Richard Sargent from Port Erin shared the Veteran's prize with Tony Crawford, Skelmersdale. The lady's award went to Joan Gardner of Berkhamsted. and the junior title was captured by Chris Thorpe who lives across the road from the Erin Arts Centre where the event was played.
   
Richard Sargent was again in the prize list when he won the team prize with John Blindel and Brian Keig both from Ballasalla who represented the Southern chess club. The Southern club's second team of Chris Thorpe, Sam Cadamy and Geoffrey Tinkler, all Port Erin, were also prize winners.
Dr John Bethel presents the Team Prize to Richard Sargent, John Blindell and Brian Keig

Photo John Saunders / Copyright BCM Chess

 Dr John Bethel presents the team runners-up prize to Geoff Tinkler, Sam Cadamy and Chris Thorpe

Photo John Saunders / Copyright BCM Chess
The prizes were presented by Mrs Pam Crowe, Rushen MHK, Patrick Taylor, Managing Director, Monarch Assurance PLC, Dr John Bethel, Director Erin Arts Centre and Chairman of Port Erin Commissioners, Phillip Crellin as well as Mrs Maggs. The presentations were preceded by a most enjoyable buffet supper provided by the host hotel for the tournament, the Cherry Orchard.

TROMPOWSKI

    

Monarch 2001 -  8 Page Tournament Brochure

The Major and Minor Chess Results are listed below!

Richard Furness has kindly supplied this final Major crosstable. 

Monarch Assurance Major

   
                          BCF     R  O  U  N  D  S
Pos Player               Grade    1     2     3     4     5     6     7   A   B    C   D
 1 KIRKWOOD, Robin,..... 152    b15-  w16+  b10+  w11+   b3+   w5=   w2=  5   7  1140 163
   
 2 CROSS,Glenn.......... 149     w8+   b7=  w11+   w3=   b5-  bye+   b1=  4½  6   911 152
 3 INWOOD, Kenneth FH,.. 155     w9=   b4+   w7+   b2=   w1-  b11+   w5=  4½  7  1109 158
 4 JONES, Rupert W,..... 133    bye=   w3-   b6-  w16+  b10+  b13+  w11+  4½  6   965 161
 5 KOBYLKA, Michael S,.. 155    b12=  w10=  b14+   w6=   w2+   b1=   b3=  4½  7  1112 159
   
 6 PRICE, Andrew,....... 154     w7-   b8=   w4+   b5=  w12+  def-   b9=  3½  6   872 145
 7 SANDERCOCK, E Barry,. 134     b6+   w2=   b3-  w12=  b11-   w9=  b14+  3½  7  1005 144
   
 8 CASEY, Gerry,........ 121     b2-   w6=  b16=  w17-  b14=  w10=  b18+  3   7   889 127
 9 CASSIDY, J,.......... 142     b3=  w14=  b12=  w10-  w13=   b7=   w6=  3   7   951 136
10 HEATH, Jeffrey,...... 141    w13=   b5=   w1-   b9+   w4-   b8=  w12=  3   7   946 135
11 HOLT, Phillip J,..... 144    b16+  w15+   b2-   b1-   w7+   w3-   b4-  3   7   919 131
12 NICOLSON, Jim R,..... 137     w5=  b13=   w9=   b7=   b6-  w14=  b10=  3   7   956 137
    
13 CAREY,Paul J......... 156    b10=  w12=  b15-  w14=   b9=   w4-  b16=  2½  7   824 118
14 JOHNSON, Stuart,..... 124    bye=   b9=   w5-  b13=   w8=  b12=   w7-  2½  6   745 124
   
15 O'BRIEN, Paul W,..... 131     w1+  b11-  w13+                          2   3   502 167
16 WALSH,Graeme......... 115    w11-   b1-   w8=   b4-  b17=  w18=  w13=  2   7   811 116
   
17 MAHER, FRANK,........ 127                       b8+  w16=              1½  2   286 143
   
18 WOODS, Peter,........ 129                                  b16=   w8-   ½  2   186  93
   
 Index            A = Player Score                B = No. Graded Games Played
                  C = Total Grading Points        D = Grading Performance  

Monarch Major 2001 Crosstable (Prepared by ZUGSWANG)

Pos Player BCF  Round            
    Grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total
1 Kirkwood, R               Caernarfon 152 16- 15+ 10+ 11+ 3+ 4= 2= 5
                     
2 Cross, G                     M Douglas 149 8+ 7= 11+ 3= 4- Bye+ 1= 4½
3 Inwood, K                  V Kingston 155 9= 5+ 7+ 2= 1- 11+ 4= 4½
4 Kobylka, M              Wood Green 155 12= 10= 14+ 6= 2+ 1= 3= 4½
5 Jones, R                       Alwoodley 133 Bye= 3- 6- 15+ 10+ 13+ 11+ 4½
                     
6 Price, A                      Leamington 154 7- 8= 5+ 4= 12+ Def- 9= 3½
7 Sandercock, B             V Chalfont 134 6+ 2= 3- 12= 11- 9= 14+ 3½
                     
8 Casey, G                         Limerick 121 2- 6= 15= 17- 14= 10= 18+ 3
9 Cassidy, J                        Limerick 142 3= 14= 12= 10- 13= 7= 6= 3
10 Heath, J                      V Redditch 141 13= 4= 1- 9+ 5- 8= 12= 3
11 Holt, P                           V Kirson 144 15+ 16+ 2- 1- 7+ 3- 5- 3
12 Nicolson, J              V Manchester 137 4= 13= 9= 7= 6- 14= 10= 3
                     
13 Carey, P                          Limerick 156 10= 12= 16- 14= 9= 5- 15= 2½
14 Johnson, S                    Alwoodley 124 Bye= 9= 4- 13= 8= 12= 7- 2½
                     
15 Walsh, G                    J Rathmines 115 11- 1- 8= 5- 17= 18= 13= 2
16 O'Brien, P       131 1+ 11- 13+ Withdrawn - - 2
17 Maher, F (filler)          M Southern  127 - - - 8+ 15= - - 1½
18 Woods, P (filler)          M Douglas e129 - - - - - 15= 8- ½
                     

Legend     J - Junior    V - Veteran    M - Manx

                

 

Richard Furness has kindly supplied this final Minor crosstable. 

(apologies for the slight variations in the line up which occurred when copying to the web-page)

                                             Monarch Assurance Minor

  
                                                    BCF      R  O  U  N  D  S
     Pos Player                             Grade       1             2           3          4           5          A     B     C       D
  
       1   ROBERTS, MA,.............   111      b17+       w9+       b3+      b6+     w5+         5     5    737   147
  
       2   FRIEL, Mike,..................     61      b22+       w5=       w11+   b8+     w7+         4½  5    679   136
   
       3   VANN, Monica S,..........   114      w19+      b10+       w1-     b9+     w6+         4     5    634   127
   
       4   CURTIS, David C,..........   117      w7-         b16+     w10=    b18+   w12+       3½  5    553   111
       5   ROBERTSON, Alan B,..    104    w21+         b2=      w18+    b14+    b1-          3½  5    552   110
  
       6   CRAWFORD, AT,.........      83    w15+       b13+      b14+      w1-     b3-         3     5    602   120
       7   GARDNER, Joan,...........      91     b4+        w14-      w15+     b10+    b2-         3     5    547   109
       8   SARGENT, Richard,.......    110    w18=       b11=     w21+      w2-    b16+        3     5    456    91
       9   THORPE, Chris F,..........    115    w12+        b1-       w13+      w3-    b11+        3     5    585  117
   
      10  BLOOM, Alan,...............      92    b25+        w3-        b4=       w7-     b21+       2½   5    525  105
      11  DE SANTOS, Andrew,..      94    b24+       w8=         b2-       w19+    w9-        2½   5    423    85
      12  DOW, Michael J,...........     116     b9-        w23+     b19=      w20+     b4-         2½   5    467    93
      13  HUSSEY, Jim,...............     100    b23+       w6-        b9-        w17+   w14=       2½   5    435    87
      14  TURNER, Nigel H,........     113    w16+      b7+        w6-        w5-      b13=       2½   5    451    90
      15  WARE, J Michael,.........      114     b6-      w17+        b7-      w21=     b20+       2½   5    422    84
  
      16  BENNETT, David W,........    72    b14-       w4-       b23+     b24+      w8-        2      5    364    73
      17  BURTON, George T,.........    64     w1-      b15-       w24+    b13-     w22+       2      5    385    77
      18  INGRAM, Norman F,........    62     b8=     w20+        b5-      w4-       b19=       2      5    408    82
      19  KEIG, Brian,......................    83     b3-      w24+      w12=    b11-      w18=       2      5    379    76
   
      20  GOODE, Martin L,............    69    bye=     b18-       w22+     b12-      w15-       1½   4     272   68
      21  SMITH, Thomas,...............  100     b5-      w22+       b8-       b15=      w10-      1½    5     412   82
  
      22  BLINDELL, John A,.........    92     w2-      b21-       b20-     w23+       b17-       1      5     196   39
   
      23 CADAMY, Sam,...............    45    w13-     b12-       w16-     b22-       w24=        ½    5    162   32
      24 TINKLER, Geoffrey M,....     35    w11-    b19-        b17-     w16-       b23=        ½    5     131   26
   
      25 NEWTON, James,...........    103    w10-                                                               0     1       42   42

 

Monarch Minor 2001 Crosstable      (Prepared by ZUGSWANG)

Pos Player                     Details BCF Grade Round          
      1 2 3 4 5 Total
1 Roberts, M        Holmes Chapel 111 17+ 9+ 3+ 6+ 5+ 5
                 
2 Friel, M         Caergwrle Crown 61 22+ 5= 11+ 8+ 7+ 4½
                 
3 Vann, M             L  Bourne End 114 19+ 10+ 1- 9+ 6+ 4
                 
4 Curtis, D        Caergwrle Crown 117 7- 16+ 10= 18+ 12+ 3½
5 Robertson, A           M Douglas 96 21+ 2= 18+ 14+ 1- 3½
                 
6 Crawford, T      V Skelmersdale 82 15+ 13+ 14+ 1- 3- 3
7 Gardner, J         L Berkhamsted 91 4+ 14- 15+ 10+ 2- 3
8 Sargent, R           MV Southern 110 18= 11= 21+ 2- 16+ 3
9 Thorpe, C            MJ Southern e90 12+ 1- 13+ 3- 11+ 3
                 
10 Bloom, A               V Willesden 92 25+ 3- 4= 7- 21+ 2½
11 De Santos, A                Preston 94 24+ 8= 2- 19+ 9- 2½
12 Dow, M               V Alwoodley 116 9- 23+ 19= 20+ 4- 2½
13 Hussey, J                 V Limerick 100 23+ 6- 9- 17+ 14= 2½
14 Turner, N         V Northampton 113 16+ 7+ 6- 5- 13= 2½
15 Ware, M               M Southern 114 6- 17+ 7- 21= 20+ 2½
                 
16 Bennett, D     Brighton & Hove 72 14- 4- 23+ 24+ 8- 2
17 Burton, G               V Atherton 64 1- 15- 24+ 13- 22+ 2
18 Ingram, N    V North Copeland 62 8= 20+ 5- 4- 19= 2
19 Keig, B               MV Southern 83 3- 24+ 12= 11- 18= 2
                   
20 Goode, M                 Coulsden 69 Bye= 18- 22+ 12- 15- 1½
21 Smith, T               Berkhamsted e62 5- 22+ 8- 15= 10- 1½
                     
22 Blindell, J            MV Southern 92 2- 21- 20- 23+ 17- 1
23 Cadamy, S          MJ Southern e60 13- 12- 16- 22- 24= ½
24 Tinkler, G            MJ Southern e50 11- 19- 17- 16- 23= ½
25 Newton, J               MJ  (filler) - 10- - - - - 0
                 
Legend

 L - Lady    J - Junior    V - Veteran    M - Manx

          

 

Port Erin - Tuesday 9th October  - I now have all the game results for both the Major and Minor tournaments.  By weekend I hope to have the cross-tables on this web page.  Last night was the Southern Chess club night and I think that we were all a little "chessed -out", but even so, there were some interesting games played.    chessmaster
   
Port Erin - Monday 8th October  - My watch is on upside down, It's not 1.45pm, it's........7.15am, and there is a gale blowing outside.  I do not have all the results yet, but at the prizegiving last night the three main winners were:- the Open, Mikhail Ulibin / Major, R Kirkwood / Minor M Roberts.  Once again, I can only ask you to keep checking the BCM Chess web-site for all the results and photo's of the prizegiving.   chessmaster
   
The following report was supposed to go out at 9.00am Sunday, but my file server at 20m.com seems to be down.
Port Erin - Sunday 7th October 8.00am - I woke at 7.00 this morning, the adrenalin already pumping, as it is the last day of the Monarch International today.  Outside, the skies are gray, but it is fine and the winds are light. (as I write this the heavens have just opened up!  Michael Fish eat your heart out!)  Play starts at 10.30am and then there is the prizegiving to look forward to, 8.00pm tonight at the Cherry Orchard Hotel.
   So, what happened yesterday.  The leaders of the Open on 5½ points are given below.  Kiriakov/Tiviakov and Lalic/Ulibin played short drawn games.  The drawn Cherniaev/Baburin game went the full distance with Cherniaev unable to capitalize on his pawn advantage.  As a result of all the drawn games, three other players who won, Galkin / Brodsky / Gallagher, previously on 4½ points, now join the leading group of 10!  Obviously, a win in the final round today will qualify for at least a share of the first prize, although I'm not at all sure how the championship is decided if there is a tie.
    I don't know yesterday's results in the Major and Minor tournaments, I personally lost against Mike Friel in the Minor.  It was a wide open game in which Mike was taking control of the centre and within a few moves would have put so much pressure on my king side for a win.  My philosophy (after 2 draws and a win), was that to come out top in the tournament I would have to win my last two games, so I "went for it" and when the dust settled I had lost a piece and Mike still had a superior position. I'm looking forward to today's game, I will have to play well for "my team", we are in with a chance of a team prize, probably because there are only two teams!
     It is nearly 9.00am, time for some toast and a drink before I get ready to go.  By the way, in the Major yesterday, I noticed that on Glenn Cross's board it seems the other player had not turned up.  Perhaps Glenn got a point, I shall have to see later.  The rain is hammering on the roof and bouncing off the road again outside!  Perhaps this is an omen for some "Stormy" chess today!      chessmaster

In the Open after 8  rounds, Sergey Tiviakov, Petr Kiriakov, Alexander Baburin, Mikhail Ulibin, Yuri Yakovich, Bogdan Lalic, Alexander Cherniaev, Alexander Galkin, Michael Brodsky and Joe Gallagher are leading with 5½ points.  Isle of Man players scores:- Alan Ormsby 3, Keith Allen 2½,   Jonathan Waugh 1½.  For the latest news see the BCM chess site at http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2001/index.html
    

BCMChess news of the Major & Minor tournaments
   
Points MAJOR Round 5 / 7 5/OCT/2001

Denotes

IoM player
4

R Kirkwood

        
3½ M Kobylka        
3 G Cross K Inwood P Holt A Price  
2½ R Jones        
2 J Cassidy J Nicolson B Sandercock    
2 S Johnson P Carey J Heath    
1½ G Casey        
1 G Walsh        
   

Minor scores after round 3.
Points MINOR Round 3/ 5 5/OCT/2001

Denotes

IoM player
3 M Roberts T Crawford      
2½ A Robertson M Friel      
2 R Sargent J Gardner N Turner M Vann C Thorpe
1½ D Curtis N Ingram M Dow A de Santos  
1½ A Bloom B Keig M Goode    
1 J Hussey M Ware D Bennett G Burton T Smith
0 S Cadamy J Blindell G Tinkler    
     
RUSSIAN  Grandmaster  Petr Kiriakov seeded eight, secured a clear lead of half a point in round four of the Monarch Assurance International chess tournament at the Cherry Orchard Hotel in Port Erin and maintained it in round five.   This is not to suggest that he can breathe any easier; as he now has a total of 17 competitors sitting half a point behind him. Perhaps the situation will put him under pressure, though he is such a relaxed young man that it is doubtful if he knows what pressure is.  In the fourth round he took the lead by defeating Alex Baburin in a queen's gambit accepted, when Baburin tried to hold on to the gambit pawn.  This led to a long and complex tactical interlude when Kiriakov outthought his opponent and emerged two pawns to the good with the inevitable result. All his immediate challengers drew their games, leaving Kiriakov out on his own.
     Last year's winner Mark Hebden held him to a draw in round five in a fairly tame game in which pieces were swapped off early and the point shared after only 16 moves.  This may have been a clever ploy on Hebden's part, as he is suffering from a bronchial infection of some sort and needed a rest after some very long games earlier in the tournament. Again those immediately behind couldn't do better than draw their games. 
     A feature of the fifth round was the loss of two games on the first time check, 40 moves in two hours. The greatest time trouble usually occurs later in the games and at this level players seem to be able to rattle off good moves at blinding speed when put to it.  Among the group of 17 immediately following Kiriakov are three previous winners, Hebden, Baburin and Bogdan Lalic, as well as the current British champion Joe Gallagher and a slew of English, Russian and East European grandmasters. With four rounds to go it's still anybody's tournament.
The Manx participants are headed by Alan Ormsby on two points and former Manx champion Keith Allen on 1½.   Both drew their games in round five. Glenn Cross (Douglas) shares the lead with Kenneth Inwood (Kingston) after three rounds of the Major competition. They are on 2½ points with four players chasing them another half point in arrears.  The first of five rounds in the Minor contest saw the surprise defeat of last year's winner and top seed David Curtis by Joan Gardner.  Other winners in the initial fray are Monica Vann, a previous winner with connections to Port St Mary, Chris Thorpe who attends Castle Rushen High and Alan Robertson of Douglas.  Richard Sargent (Port Erin) chalked up a half point.
     Play in the three tournaments continues each day up to Sunday, the Main competition in the Cherry Orchard Hotel and the Major and Minor in the Erin Arts Centre. Battle commences at 1.3Opm and 12.3Opm respectively. Scores of all games in the Open tournament can be found on www.bcmchess.co.uk

 Manx newspapers report   -      TROMPOWSKI
    
Port Erin - Wednesday 3rd October 6.00pm - I played Norman Ingram from Workington in the Minor today, my first "International" tournament game.  I thought I had the upper hand with white, but he defended well, although I might have pushed 2 pawns up to the seventh rank.  After 3 hours 40 minutes we agreed a draw, we were last to finish!  It was a good game.  If anyone out there wants to know how someone in particular is getting on, just send me an email and I will get their scores for you.   In the Minor "team competition", the unofficial leaders are Southern Juniors by ½ point from Southern Seniors!   chessmaster
    

  Monarch 2001 -  8 Page Tournament Brochure
     

All Change in Monarch Chess

The third round of the Monarch Assurance International Open chess tournament in Cherry Orchard Hotel, Port Erin saw the two leaders, Danny Gormally and Martyn Goodger (England) dismissed from their positions and replaced with no less than five new leaders. From a symmetrical position after nine moves of a king's Indian defence Gormally, playing black, became perhaps too adventurous for his own good and was punished for it by Alex Baburin (Ireland) who won a pawn and then another as well as having the advantage of the two bishops.

Martyn Goodger tried the centre counter against top seed Sergei Tiviakov (Netherlands) who not only held on to the gambited pawn but had established a passed and supported 'a' pawn by move nine. After that it was only a matter of technique for Tiviakov to win 17 moves later.

Baburin and Tiviakov are joined on the leader board by Yuri Yakovich and Petr Kiriakov, both from Russia, as well as he of the film star good looks Jiri Stocek (Czech Republic). All five are on 214 being followed by no less than 21 contestants half a point behind. This group includes two previous winners of this tournament, Mark Hebden and Bogdan Lalic (both England), Joe Gallagher (Switzerland) the current British champion and ten year old David Howell (England) who finished joint first in this year's under twelve world championships.

On the local scene Keith Allen chalked up his first win when he trapped Paul Benson's queen on one of the centre squares. Alan Ormsby came well out of the opening, an exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez, against David Howell, but later misjudged the sequence in a swap of pieces, losing his central and vital pawn as a result. Such misdemeanours can have only one outcome at this level of chess.

In the first of the seven rounds of the Major competition run in conjunction with the Open Glenn Cross, from Douglas, became joint leader with three others when he beat Gerry Casey from Ireland. Glenn always had strong pressure down the queen side to which his opponent had no answer. Jeffrey Heath (England) and Paul Carey (Ireland), the winners of this competition for the previous two years, were paired against each other and the game ended in an honorable draw. The Major is taking place in the Erin Arts Centre commencing 12:30 p.m. each day.   Play starts in the Open at 1:30 p.m. in the Cherry Orchard Hotel.  Full scores of all games in Open are posted to www.bcmchess.co.uk as games finish.

 Manx newspapers report   -      TROMPOWSKI
    
Port Erin - Tuesday 2nd October 11.00pm - It has been a long day so I will not be doing much tonight in readiness for playing in the Minor Competition tomorrow (work in the morning first!).  I spent another 1½ hours at the Cherry Orchard earlier and caught the end of some good games.  It's a lovely moon-lit night and the wind has dropped.  I'll just update the scores in the Open for the Manx players after 4 rounds:- Alan Ormsby 1½, Keith Allen 1 and Jonathan Waugh still to score!  In the Minor, we have 8 or 9 Manx players with 2 teams of 3.  As Frank Maher said earlier tonight, it is going to be very "interesting" and I would agree with that and am really looking forward to playing in my first tournament and win or lose hope to enjoy myself in some good games.   chessmaster 
    
Port Erin - Tuesday 2nd October 8.00am - Looking out of the window, the skies are blue, the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing.  It's going to be a nice day in the Isle of Man!   I was down at the Cherry Orchard last night at 7.00pm, just expecting to pick up some general information, only to find that Mark Hebden and Tiger Hillarp-Persson were still playing their game after 5½ hours play.  The game went the full 7 hours and a draw was agreed as time was running out.  Thrilling stuff.  There is a good article in the Isle of man Examiner which I shall add here later.   chessmaster Analysing the game
   

Lesser Mortals Stride The Stage In Monarch Chess

The last minute withdrawal of world number four Morozevich from the Monarch International chess tournament has resulted in a more balanced competition with a hundred Elo points covering the top dozen players.    However, after the second round, it is number fourteen, Danny Gormally who shares the lead with 39th seed Martyn Goodger both representing England. These two have perfect scores and Gormally will be more than pleased with his performance as he is chasing his third grandmaster norm.   It may be a wake-up call for the fifteen Grandmasters competing that after the second round of the competition they are languishing half a point behind, due in some instances to quick draws being agreed shortly after the opening.

Gormally had a fine win over fifth seed Mikhail Ulibin representing Russia in the second round playing white in an advanced French defence forcing resignation at move 35. Also in round two Goodger triumphed over Woman Grandmaster Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant from Georgia who probably had a win about 15 moves before the end but failed to push on her central pawns as expeditiously as she might have done.    On the top two boards Russian Evgeny Gleizerov drew with Jiri Stocek from the Czech Republic and Alexander Galkin, Russia, with Michail Brodsky, Ukraine after 14 and 13 moves respectively. These "grandmaster draws" are fine for a rest day but every half point lost is lost forever.

There are now 18 players in a group half a point behind the leaders so with seven rounds to go there is plenty of time for the top positions to change.

Alan Ormsby from Douglas was the first of the three Manx participants to get off the mark when he defeated Tim Spanton, England, a regular participant over the ten years of the congress. From Alan's favourite Caro-Kahn defence Tim was left with two hanging pawns in the centre and eventually they fell. Tim's efforts to capture two of Alan's pawns in return left him open to a fatal attack on his king.

Both other Manx players, Keith Allen and Jonathan Waugh, went down fighting, though Jonathan will want to forget how Maria Yurenok, from England1 slowly and sadistically throttled him with a pawn chain so that virtually all of his pieces were confined to his two back ranks. Ladies like Maria should have to obtain a licence to play that way. The Major tournament commences on Monday at 12:30 p.m. in the Erin Arts Centre while the Open continues each day in Cherry Orchard Hotel, Port Erin.

Full scores of all games with some analysis can be found at www.bcmchess.co.uk and games are posted as they finish. This service is provided by British Chess Magazine whose editor, John Saunders, does Trojan work not least in deciphering some of the score sheets which are written in diverse languages and excessive haste.

 Manx newspapers report   -      TROMPOWSKI
          
Port Erin - Monday 1st October 7.00am - Looking out of the window, there are blue skies, the street lamps are still on and the sun will be rising soon for another sunny? and windy day in the Isle of Man.  The weather eased a little on Sunday afternoon as we visited Davisons ice cream parlour at Peel, but the winds and rain returned with a vengeance during the evening.  Round 2  England's Danny Gormally and Martyn Goodger lead with 2/2. Isle of Man player Alan Ormsby (1720) playing black against Tim Spanton (2051) played a neat combination to win on move 39 after building up steady pressure throughout the game.  WELL DONE ALAN!   Jonathan Waugh, (1672) playing white against Maria Yurenok (2088), lost after a very unusual game where in the first 22 moves, pawns were moved 10 and 12 times respectively.  Then Jonathan moved his king from f1 to c1, gained a night and bishop for a rook and 2 pawns.  Towards the end, Maria relentlessly advanced her king side pawns, eventually completely overwhelming Jonathan's defence.  Keith Allen (white 2289) lost against Spiros Bousbouras (2102), after an even game, but Spiros queened his pawn at b1 after a number of piece exchanges, to win.  It's a busy busy day at work for me, so I shall catch up with all the Open Round 3 results this evening.  The Monarch Major starts today at 12.30pm at the Erin Arts Centre! Don't forget to visit the Official Tournament Website http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2001/index.html  for excellent up to the minute updates  from the BCM Chess team.  chessmaster
      
Port Erin - Sunday 30th September 9.00am - Outside the trees are swaying wildly in the strong winds - and it is raining!  That stormy weather came early (yesterday) to the Isle of Man entrants in the Open as they all lost their first round games paired against stronger rated opponents.  Keith Allen, (2289) playing black against Glenn Flear (2489) said that a slight error at move 21 lost a pawn, then it was always an uphill struggle playing black as Glenn eventually combined two passed pawns, one of which would eventually be queened!  Frank May (2125) playing Alan Ormsby (1720 white) forced Alan's queen from b3 to b4 on move 22 and then with a beautiful 4 move combination the queen was trapped in no-man's land by pawn to a5!!  Jonathan Waugh, (1672) playing black against Graham Bolt (2489) slowly lost a positional struggle and from move 44 onwards his pawns started to fall!  Round 2 starts at 1.30pm today, so don't forget to visit the Official Tournament Website http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2001/index.html  for excellent up to the minute updates from the BCM Chess team.  chessmaster
    
Port Erin - Saturday 29th September 5.00pm - Around 10.30am the clouds rolled away on a freshening breeze, and it was a glorious sunny day for shopping!  We got our engagement ring from Douglas, a lovely emerald ring.  I shall have to make every effort to win the Minor in order to pay for it!  Before I get to the Cherry Orchard, I thought that I would check if the official home page for the tournament had been updated.  It certainly has, so I will sign off now and pass you over to:- http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2001/index.html    Only 7 games were still in progress when I arrived at the Cherry Orchard, but it was good to follow them to their finish.        chessmaster
    
Port Erin - Saturday 29th September 8.00am - The heavy rains came overnight and woke me up at 7.00am.  It is calm and murky at the moment.  After 3 or 4 weeks of mainly dry and sunny weather, storms are due in the early hours of Sunday morning and again Sunday night, so if you are travelling by sea to the Isle of Man for the Major or Minor, have a safe journey.  http://www.onlineweather.com/v4/uk/sailing/SF15.html  Dennis "Helmondsley" as Manx radio just called him on the local 8-o-clock news said a few words about the Monarch Open starting today, with a special mention for Colin Crouch, the first winner in 1991, who is playing again this year.  I have just printed off a few credit card size advertisements for this web site www.isleofmanchess.20m.com that I shall leave at the Cherry Orchard tonight.  For me today, it is family shopping day in Douglas (a trade with my wife Marlene for me to play in the Minor next week) and so I shall miss Patrick Taylor "opening the Open" at about 1.20pm.  One reason for the Douglas trip is to get an engagement Ring for Marlene, this after 40(?) years of marriage.  It's a long story, but we got married 3 weeks ago (a wedding ring) because Marlene broke her wrist on her birthday in May and had to have her rings cut off for the plaster cast to go on.  Almost time for me to have a surf on the web.  I was looking at Alexander Baburin's web site last night and really enjoyed it. http://www.gmsquare.com/Baburin/  The photographs are excellent, and one in particular entitled "Isle of Man 1999, Tiviakov-Baburin. Dutchman vs. Irishman   game!   :-)"   Enough of this frivolity!  I hope to bring you some news about the Open first thing tomorrow.  chessmaster
   
Port Erin - Friday 28th September - Weather cloudy but set to brighten up.  Manx Airlines guarantees that all flights will be operating as normal today and all weekend.  Have a save journey.  chessmaster
    

THE MONARCH 2000 BULLETIN IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM DENNIS HEMSLEY
    
Entries as at 29th September:- Open - 56,  Major - 16,  Minor - 22   chessmaster
   

Latest News:- Teimour Radjabov and Alexander Morozevich have both withdrawn!

    

Entries for the Monarch Assurance International Tournament as at 26/09/01
# PLAYER             WINNER COUNTRY RATING TITLE
1 Tiviakov, Sergey NED 2618 g
2 Gleizerov, Evgeny RUS 2587 g
3 Baburin, Alexander    1997 IRL 2584 g
4 Galkin, Alexander RUS 2583 g
5 Ulibin, Mikhail RUS 2583 g
6 Yakovich, Yuri RUS 2577 g
7 Hebden, Mark           2000 ENG 2550 g
8 Kiriakov, Petr RUS 2548 g
9 Stocek, Jiri CZE 2530 g
10 Brodsky, Michail UKR 2528 g
11 Lalic, Bogdan            1994 ENG 2528 g
12 Gallagher, Joseph G SUI 2516 g
13 Flear, Glenn C ENG 2489 g
14 Gormally, Daniel ENG 2481 m
15 Shaw, John SCO 2478 m
16 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan GEO 2446 wg
17 Hillarp-Persson, Tiger SWE 2438 g
18 McNab, Colin A       1992 SCO 2437 g
19 Cherniaev, Alexander RUS 2437 m
20 Crouch, Colin S        1991 ENG 2407 m
21 Afek, Jochanan ISR 2381 m
22 Williams, Simon ENG 2369 m
23 Kirsanov, Oleg RUS 2365  
24 Marusenko, Petr UKR 2362 m
25 Sowray, Peter J ENG 2334 f
26  Ryan, Joe IRL 2305 f
27 Allen Keith IoM 2289  
28 Bisby, Daniel L ENG 2285  
29 Hanley, Craig ENG 2278  
30 Willmoth, Robert ENG 2239  
31 Smith, Andrew P IRL 2234 f
32 Jackson, Adrian ENG 2230  
33 Simons, Martin ENG 2215  
34 Collins, Sam IRL 2194  
35 Howell, David WL ENG 2193  
36 Spence, David ENG 2185  
37 Isherwood, Paul ENG 2172  
38 Valenti, Richard FRA 2143  
39 Goodger, Martin ENG 2136  
40 Coathup, Roger ENG 2130  
41 May, Frank WLS 2125  
42 Bolt, Graham ENG 2124  
43 Clark, Stephen P ENG 2112  
44 Ellison, D George ENG 2104  
45 Bousbouras, Spiro GRE 2102  
46 Lutton, J Ezra ENG 2093  
47 Yurenok, Maria S ENG 2088 w
48 Spanton, Tim ENG 2051  
49 Benson, Paul J ENG 2046  
50 Stuart, Leslie ENG 2039  
51 McNally, Bruce SCO 2010  
52 van Kemenade, Rudy ENG 1992  
53 Nicholson, John IRL 1865  
54 Dossett, Chris ENG 1768  
55 Ormsby, Alan IoM 1720  
56 Waugh, Jonathan IoM 1672  
     

Press pre-tournament review in the Manx Independent

21st September 2001
    
     The Monarch Assurance Open Chess Tournament celebrates its tenth anniversary with the strongest ever competition which will include Russia's Grandmaster (GM) Alexander Morozevich, the fourth highest ranking player in the world. It is a tribute to the international standing of this tournament that it is able to attract such top experts. All credit has to go to the unfailing efforts of the organiser, Dennis Hemsley of Port St Mary, who originally conceived the idea for this annual chess festival ten years ago when everybody else told him it couldn't be done.
     The first congress attracted an entry of 17 players and was won by Colin Crouch of England who will be competing this year also. Nowadays, even the Minor competition boasts of more than 17 entrants.
     Monarch Assurance P.L.C. has been the main sponsor since the beginning and is joined by the Isle of Man Department of Tourism and the Cherry Orchard Hotel who lend their vital support to this event.
     This year's Open will be a tournament of champions as five previous winners will be participating. These include GM Alex Baburin, formally of Russia but now an Irish national and known by his honorary title of "O'Baburin". Last year's victor, GM Mark Hebden, will be making every effort to repeat his triumph while fellow Englanders GM Bogdan Lalic and International Master (IM) Colin Crouch, as well as Scottish GM Colin McNab will all be striving to repeat their previous successes.
     In all there will be 22 titled masters participating with, of course, the usual large number of club players from Europe and elsewhere. Alan Ormsby and Jonathan Waugh, both local enthusiasts, have declared for the Open which will be a step up in grade for them. Keith Allen of Douglas who has always racked up a respectable number of points in this competition has also entered.
     The ladies will be represented by Woman Grandmaster Ketev Arakhamia-Grant of Georgia who finished joint fourth last year and can be depended upon to acquit herself well with incisive play coupled with a winning smile.
     Youngest participant will be David Howell from England. He is all of ten years and has finished joint first in the recent world championship for under twelves. He is accompanied by his coach GM Glenn Flear from France who is also participating. Youth will be further represented by the youngest Grand Master in the world, Teimour Radjabov from Azerbaijan last week finished joint second behind Karpov and ahead of Judit Polgar and Nigel Short in Buenos Aires. He is fourteen years old and has an Elo rating of 2558, which makes him the eight highest ranking competitor in Port Erin.
     Morozevich stands at Elo 2749 and is followed by GM Sergey Tiviakov of the Netherlands, who finished joint third two years ago, at 2618. After that there are twelve GMs on 2500 plus. Anyone ranking lower would not be expected to come out on top but stranger things have happened.
     Last month's winner of the British championship, GM Joe Gallagher, must be in there with a good chance even though his Elo rating is 2516, at the bottom of the 2500 range. Gallagher, originally from England, is resident in Switzerland and represents that country. He overcame six higher ranking players to win in Scarborough and could be capable of pulling it off again. He writes on chess with a wit and perception which makes his ideas readily available even to players like your correspondent and is popular with his fellow professionals also. In February he won a very strong Goodricke International tournament in India and must be full of confidence in his game at the moment.
So, who is going to win?
     The obvious favourite must be Morozevich whose games are always exciting because of his exuberant style both over the board and in his dress. The flip side is that he may extend his reach beyond his grasp in individual games and not be let get away with it. Should this happen Tiviakov would be second choice on ranking though somehow one always thinks of him as being in the group behind the winner as he was here in 1999. Mark Hebden has to be reckoned with to retain his title and Radjabov is certainly a dark horse. The man on a roll (Geddit?) at present is Gallagher. Put your money on the favourite to win with Radjabov and Gallagher to fill the places.
     The off is at the Cherry Orchard Hotel, Port Erin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 29 with Patrick Taylor, Managing Director, Monarch Assurance taking them under starter's orders. After nine gruelling furlongs, er games, the finishing post comes up on Sunday, October 7.
     The seven round Major competition commences two days later on Monday 1st October and the five round Minor on Wednesday 3rd October. Both these competitions will be played in the Erin Arts Centre and will commence at 12:30 p.m. each day. Entry forms for the three tournaments are available from Dennis Hemsley, phone 833742 or from the Cherry Orchard at www.cherryorchard.com.
     Full coverage in all Isle of Man Newspapers' publications during the congress and on our web page www.isleofmanchess.20m.com/monarch.htm 

TROMPOWSKI
           

  

THE 10th INTERNATIONAL MONARCH  ASSURANCE PLC  OPEN  CHESS  TOURNAMENT

Update 7 August 2001   

The entry form and brochure are now available from Dennis Hemsley or the Cherry Orchard Hotel.  It is confirmed that the Major & Minor Tournaments will be played at the Erin Arts Centre!  

Dates and times are:-

MONARCH OPEN - Nine rounds - Saturday 29th September to Sunday 7th October 2001.
MAJOR - 7 rounds - Monday 1st October to Sunday 7th October 2001. [175 BCF (2000) and below]
MINOR - 5 rounds - Wednesday 3rd October to Sunday 7th October 2001.  [120 BCF (1560) and below]
   
OPEN:- Except for the final round, all games start at 1.30pm (13.30 hrs)
MAJOR & MINOR:- All games start at 12.30pm., except Thursday 1.30pm.
FINAL ROUND:- Sunday 7th October play starts at 10.30am.

    

   
THE 10th INTERNATIONAL MONARCH  ASSURANCE PLC  OPEN  CHESS  TOURNAMENT
    
Update 26 July 2001.  From Dennis Hemsley. I have 15 G.Ms, 1 W.G.M. and 4 I.Ms at the moment, headed by the number 4 in the world Alexander Morozevich at 2749, the highest ever rated player we have had on this Island, along with the youngest G.M in the world 14yr.old Teimur Rajabov 2558 from Azerjaiban. So things are looking up.
I have the bulletin available for last years Major and Minor to hand, so if you could mention this on your website, anyone wanting a copy please contact me.
 
Update 24 June 2001.  Entry forms for the 10th Anniversary Tournament should be available early in July.  I shall be bring you more information soon.     chessmaster
   

Organiser Dennis Hemsley confirms the dates for

the 10th Anniversary Tournament  
Sat 29th September to Sun 7th October 2001.
   
With five months to go, Tournament Organiser Dennis Hemsley says that entries for this year's event are progressing well and already include 14 Grand Masters.  

With over 100 contestants expected for this our 10th Anniversary, there will be special medals for each player and a special trophy for the best overall performance.

Mark Hebden last years winner has confirmed that he will be playing this year as will previous winners such as Colin Crouch 1991, Colin McNab 1992, Dharshan Kumaran 1993, Bogdan Lalic 1994.

1995 winner Julian Hodgson, cannot make it, nor can the 1996 winner. 

Alexander Baburin from 1997 is coming, so is twice winner 1998 / 1999 Emil Sutovsky.

We also expect to have a concert from last years soloists, the two players who gave such a beautiful recital at the presentation of prizes last year, Emil Sutovsky, bass baritone, and Francis Rayner who is a concert pianist.
   
One major change this year will be the "split" venue due to the building alterations to the Cherry Orchard Hotel.  The Open Tournament will still be at the Cherry Orchard, the Major & Minor events being staged 200 yards away at The Erin Arts Centre.  The Major & Minor events may start 1 hour earlier most days so that competitors can then return to the Cherry Orchard Hotel to watch play in the Open Tournament.
   
For further Tournament details please contact :-
Dennis Hemsley
18 St Mary's Avenue
Port St Mary                                                                     
Isle of Man
IM9 5ET
British Isles              email to chess@manx.net       
                                    Telephone +44 1624 833742             Fax +44 1624 833583
     
The Major Sponsors / assistance this year will come from Monarch Assurance PLC, The Cherry Orchard Hotel, The Erin Arts Centre, The Isle of Man Department of Tourism, Port Erin Commissioners and The Isle of Man Chess Association.
 

chessmaster
   
       
Head Office:
Manxonia House
Bay View Road
Port St Mary
Isle of Man
IM9 5AE
Tel: +44 1624 834903
Fax: +44 1624 834921
Monarch Assurance

TPD (Patrick) Taylor LLB ATII
    

Managing Director
        

  Monarch 2001 -  8 Page Tournament Brochure

Reports and game results for Monarch 2000 have now been archived and can be accessed by the link at the top of the page.