The annual Kilkenny Chess Congress took place over the weekend of November 27th 29th and attracted just over 160 players from far and wide to do battle for the four titles at stake. The numbers are a bit down on previous years, probably more to do with the recession than anything else. Top seed in the Masters was a player whos won this event a number of times, English GM, Mark Hebden, closely followed by our own resident GM, Alex Baburin. Tony Kosten GM was the third seed in what was a strong and fiercely contested event. This was evident on board two in the first round when Simon Jeffares (pictured right) held Alex Baburin to a draw. Mark Hebden was paired against Pavel Madynski of Poland and showed his endgame skills to good effect in an instructional game.
There were seven players visiting from Holland including Peewee van Voorthuijsen and Ivo Timmermans, the 10th and 11th seeds in the Masters. This was a bad night for the Dutch as between the seven of them, they only scored a single point (2 draws from Bram van Dijk and Michael Abspoel). Peewee lost to Peter Cafola and Ivo lost to Liam Porter, both against the seeding. Liam has been playing particularly well lately, having recently beaten no less a play than Sam Collins IM.
A very stylish David Fitzsimons (pictured left) had a tough draw in round two, having Black against Mark Hebden. David didnt seem all that phased though, he pushed hard for a win with his passed a pawn but Marks endgame technique always kept the draw in hand (game). Tony Kosten faced Irish IM Gavin Wall in this round and Gavin was outplayed by the English GM.
Round 3 saw Tony Kosten beating our strong Polish visitor, Maciej Nurkiewicz while Sam Collins beat his fellow Irish IM, Mark Heidenfeld. But, at least from the perspective of the spectators, the game of the event happened on board 2 in round 4, where Alex Baburin (see picture right) found himself in trouble against Mark Hebden, he had to dig deep to fight for his life and he did just that (game).
Round 4 was very eventful, Mark Quinn seemed to be going along very nicely against Polish player Maciej Nurkiewicz when the position seemed to just turn against him in a few moves for no obvious reason. Then he was hit by a bolt from the blue on move 41 (game).
In round 5, Alex Baburin faced Tony Kosten and they shared the point while our Polish friends reward for his victory over Mark Quinn was a game with Sam Collins. This resulted in Sams taking an outright lead into the final round with the following nice (game).
The standings going into the final round were:
- 1. Sam Collins (2401) 4½
- 2-3. Tony Kosten (2507), Alex Baburin (2528) 4
- 4-7. Gavin Wall (2318), Mark Hebden (2542), Ryan-Rhys Griffiths (2149), David Fitzsimons (2209) 3½
Final round pairings:
- 1. Alex Baburin - Sam Collins
- 2. Tony Kosten - Mark Hebden
- 3. David Fitzsimons - Gavin Wall
- 4. Maciej Nurkiewicz - Ryan-Rhys Griffiths
Both Ryan and David held their much higher rated opponents to a draw, both hard fought, I might add. Mark Hebden managed to secure the full point from his game with Tony Kosten which left Mark on 4½. Obviously, if Sam Collins could win on board 1, hed win the event, however, if he could hold a draw against Alex Baburin, hed win the title on 5/6. If Alex could win, hed win the title so this was quiet literarily, the title came down to this game. Unfortunately, I dont have this game to show you but I can say the Alex had White, gained an advantage fairly early on, pressed and won a pawn but wasnt able to convert this advantage. In the end, he made a slip that allowed Sam (pictured right) to ensure the draw that gave him a well deserved victory.
Masters
1st Sam Collins IM 5/6, 2nd= Alex Baburin GM, Mark Hebden GM 4½. Best non-titled Irish Player: Mel O'Cinneide (won on a tie break from David Fitzsimons), 4. Table.
Major
There was a very popular winner of this years Major, a great friend of the Kilkenny Chess Club for many years, Jack Killane. He won on a tie break from Bartlomiej Cichonski of Ballbriggan Chess Club. Though I dont know where hes originally from, Im pretty sure its not a typical Irish name!
1st= Jack Killane (won title on tie-break), Bartlomiej Cichonski 5/6, 3rd Bernard Boyle 4½. Grading prizes: Terry Creighton, Paul Kiely 4. Table.
James Mason
A rare result in weekend chess, a clear first, second and third Joe Reid from Drogheda won on the maximum 6/6.
1st Joe Ried 6/6, 2nd Christopher Young 5, 3rd Len Hackett 4½. Grading prizes: Rory Poke, William Sherlock, Michael Bradley 3/6. Table.
Challengers
Keegan O'Mahony from Cork won the Challengers title on 5&fac12; with Conor ODonnell in second place on 5. Third place was Peter Doyle (4½) father of Hugh Doyle, a Cork junior who played in his first weekend masters here this weekend.
1st Keegan O'Mahoney 5½/6, 2nd Conor O'Donnell 5, 3rd= Paul Larkin, Peter Doyle 4½. Grading prizes: Michael O'Connell 4½, Catherine Hearne 3½, Sean Fitzpatrick 4. Best ladies prize: Catherine Hearne 3½. Table.