Patrick Cook versus Swytzar Swytzer was a Reti system where Black played the unorthodox Two Knights Tango (1.Nf3  Nc6 2. g3  Nf6). The game was short, sharp and brutal, with White muscling his way to a 24 move checkmate.

Sharjeel Ansari took on top seed Jamie Brotheridge in a mainline Sicilian Najdorf. The game was agreed drawn in unusual cicumstances when White’s phone rang and he needed to leave for work reasons. He had some initiative at the time.

From round 2, Chris Segrave versus Rob Bailey was the rare Alapin Opening (1. e4  e5 2.  Ne2  ..). Black produced a nice tactical trick to win a pawn in the opening. Undeterred, White came up with a neat trick of his own to win a piece and held it into the endgame where he offered a draw from a position of strength. Black grabbed it with relief.