IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
PERTH CHESS CONGRESS
Fri 24th to Mon 27th May 24
The Salutation Hotel was once again the stage for the Perth Chess Congress, organised by Scottish Chess Tour. This year saw an extra day added, making it a 4-day congress, and it must have appealed to a lot of players as it was completely sold out!
Castlehill Chess Club had 10 players entered between the 3 tournaments.
OPEN (66 entries)
We had two players involved in the open:
Rishi Vijayakumar J13 (2196), seeded 5th, scored 5 out of 7 points, winning 4, drawing 2, and losing only one game, against, FM Andrew Burnett! Rishi finished in 4th place with a TPR of 2099. By anybody’s standards a good tournament, finishing just above his seeding, but by Rishi`s standards, maybe a little below what he was looking for! What a future Rishi has in chess if he keeps at it!
Jan Klingelhoefer (UG), seeded 66th, scored 3 out of 7 points, winning 2 matches against an 1861 & 1749, drawing one match against a 1876, plus a ½ point bye. Jan finished in 39th= and a fantastic TPR of 1786! Not bad for a players seeded last in the open! Of course, we at Castlehill, know that Jan is a strong player, and the open was the right place for him! Well, played sir!
MAJOR (1800 – 40 entries)
We had 6 players involved in the Major:
Ana Belen Otero Seijas (1504), seeded 15th, scored 3½ points out 7, but Ana only played 5 rounds, as she was working on the Monday. This makes it an amazing score and who knows what Ana might have done with those two rounds! Amongst, Ana`s wins a tremendous win against the number one seed! Ana`s TPR was 1652, an outstanding performance in this field and despite only playing 5 rounds, Ana finished equal 15th! This was a “Fandango” performance, maybe even a “Flamenco” as Ana was on fire! I need to cool down, can someone pass me a “Paso doble?
Subhayu Banerjee (1466), seeded 20th, scored 2½ out of 7 points. It1s hard to gauge, Subhayu`s performance as 2½ points out of 7, does not sound great, but that included a great draw against Joshua Crofts (1731)! Not only that, Subhayu`s TPR was 1480, higher than his current grading, but he finished well below his seeding, in equal 30th place! I could say, a typical Subhayu performance, but of course I will not!
Kam Wan (1433), seeded 27th, scored 3 out of 7 points, winning 3 and losing 2. Kam finished in equal 25th place, with a TPR of 1460. All-in-all, a good performance, with a higher TPR and 2 places higher than his seeding! Kam, has made great strides in his grading over the last year and should be proud of what he has achieved in the last year!
Stuart Neave (1359), seeded 29th, scored 3½ out of 7 points, winning two, drawing 3, losing 2. Included in Stuart`s results, was a very good win against a 1492 and a nice draw against Perth stalwart, David Hall! Stuart`s TPR was an amazing 1526 and he finished in equal 15th a big upgrade from 29th seed! Stuart is a new member to Castlehill, and we are a very lucky club to have him at our club, great tournament, Stuart!
Steve Thomson (1348), seeded 32nd, scored 3½ out of 7 points, winning 3, drawing 1, losing 3. Steve beat a 1666, 1594, 1526 and drew with a 1512, outstanding! In fact, it was that good, I will repeat myself, OUTSTANDING! Steve`s TPR was a colossal 1651, a massive 303 points difference, finishing in equal 15th place, 17 place`s above his seeding! I have no more superlatives to use, so well, played Steve!
Stuart Duff (1346), seeded 33rd, scored 3½ out of 7 points, winning 3, losing 3 and a ½ point bye. Stuart, joined us in season 2023-24, but mostly play`s online as he lives’ out with Dundee City. This was an outstanding performance, with a TPR of 1576 and finishing in equal 15th place, an outstanding 18 places above his seeding! Well, played Sir!
MINOR (1400 – 24 entries)
Castlehill has two players involved:
Joshua Smilke (1285), seeded 3rd, scored 2 out of 7 points, but only played in 3 games due to a family matter. Joshua is only 13, but has a bright future in chess, if he keeps his interest. To win 2 out of 3 matches shows what he is capable of. Hopefully we will see more of him on the congress circuit to really find out how good he is! Also, what an edition to our club!
Francesco Polignano (1198), seeded 6th place, scored 3 out of 7 points, winning 2, drawing 1, losing 3 and a ½ point bye. Francesco is a good player, but did not have one of his best tournaments. He finished in equal 14th place, with a TPR of 1051. It`s all a learning experience, some lessons harder than other, and I am sure Francesco will have gained a lot from them to come back stronger!
Well, done everyone, and well, done Perth Chess Congress and Scottish Chess Tour, on a great 4 days chess!
My 5-star Castlehill performer award has to go to Steve Thomson in the Major on an outstanding Perth Chess Congress! Well, deserved!
For all the results and standing, click the link below.
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