Blayney Chess Club 2007 NSW Country Reserve Team Champions   

Big Win at NSW Country Championships

It certainly feels as though Christmas is coming early this year for Blayney Chess Club. The Club ventured to Gosford last weekend for the NSW Country Teams Championship and in a hot field of 12 teams, they managed to finish a very creditable equal fourth overall. Tied with their regular sparring partners, Bathurst Chess Club, and ahead of the other major club in the Central West, Dubbo, after losing to them in the competition rounds, the team was feeling pretty satisfied with that effort when things suddenly got a whole lot better. The competition had been run in two divisions, Champion and Reserve, with the average rating of the team deciding which division you belonged to, Blayney was delighted to discover that they had in fact won the Reserves division and are now the 2007 Reserve Country Teams Champions. To pick up a title in their first ever outing in an event certainly is a memorable way to make your debut and one can only hope that it won’t be too many years before we challenge the big boys in the main event. While it would be a big ask, as our average rating would have been 700 points or more shy of the top rated teams, nothing is impossible and it is certainly an incentive to keep working for.

The team comprised Phil Bourke, Garry Mann, and Col Parsons. All played well on the weekend, with Phil giving a good account on Board One, only losing twice to opponents rated 400 and 650 pts better than him, and drawing with two opponents rated 100 and 200 pts better and beating the only opponent rated below him. Garry had two scintillating wins and a draw on Saturday, another win and a loss on Sunday, for a good overall tournament. Col had a turbulent weekend experiencing some exciting wins and some tormenting losses, but still enjoyed the weekend thoroughly. Being an ex resident of the area and returning amongst a new team and taking home the spoils will be a prized moment for Col.

The Christmas feeling will continue right through the month as the Club now prepares for its next two big events to wrap up the year. On the 16^th December, Grandmaster Ian Rogers will be in Blayney to conduct a lecture and simultaneous exhibitions that are guaranteed to both satisfy and entertain. Anyone that was present for GM Antic’s visit last month was certainly glad that they had attended, and most will be lining up for a another dose of chess instruction from one of the game’s elite players. Grandmaster Rogers has only recently retired from competitive play for health reasons, and bowed out on a winning note, winning his last ever tournament in Adelaide. He also enjoys the distinction of being Australia’s number one player for over a quarter of a decade, and has visited over 70 other countries in his career, winning tournaments in most of them. Long regarded as a leading analyst and writer on the game of chess, his services as coach and journalist are always in high demand. One feels that the only way we could get a better chess instructor to endow us with chess knowledge would be if Gary Kasparov could be enticed away from his political aims in Russia.

Alas for one Blayney player, he will have to miss the day with Grandmaster Rogers. Garry Mann will be otherwise busy; he will be doing battle with State’s best Country Juniors in the quest for title of Country Junior Champion. This is Garry’s second tilt at this title having also qualified for the event last year. With Garry showing some good form of late, after hitting a topsy turvy patch during his HSC preparations, we are quietly confident of him returning home with news to equal the excitement of our day with Grandmaster Rogers. Though it may seem a bit far fetched to even think of winning for Garry, realistically it is possible. Using the greatest of all sporting equations, IF Garry plays at his best, and wins the games that he should, he should come home with a 3^rd or 4^th placing, IF he gets a bit lucky against those opponents that are considered superior or they suffer unexpected losses to other contestants, then an upset result with Garry securing a 1^st or 2^nd place is quite feasible.

Whatever the result, Garry goes with our best wishes for a nice conclusion to his junior career, as with him turning 18 early next year, there will only be limited age events for him in the future until he reaches that great age that many of us now look at, the Seniors events!

Latest News

Send mail to philwillb@bigpond.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 24/10/2008