2009 John Holmes Memorial

15 players entered this prestigious annual 7 round Swiss, an excellent turnout in memory of a young player tragically killed in a car accident near the end of 1970. Top seed is Patrick Cook. The tournament also sees the return to competition chess of Rod Jacobs, an important member of the club in the 1980’s.

Round One

All games went to the expected winner: no upsets!

Round Two

One extra player, Tom Oppenheim, joined the tournament in this round and immediately had an impact with a stylish win against Michael Schreenan. He pondered a mate in one for some minutes before deciding that it was the best move. Rod Jacobs showed that he has lost none of his old strength, gaining a solid draw against Jamie Brotheridge, while newcomer Tristan McGrath made a good impression with a win against veteran John Abson. His father made it a family affair by beating Ben Barclay.

Round Three

Highlight of the night was the tough and lengthy struggle between Rod Jacobs and Joel Beggs. Black played brilliantly to have White on the ropes but Rod’s defence was ice cool and Black went astray in time pressure and lost. The other top boards, Kevin Perrin versus Peter Miitel and Patrick Cook versus Jamie Brotheridge  were fighting draws, while other games were unsurprising.

Round Four

The top boards all drew their games, leaving a four-way tie between Kevin Perrin, Peter Miitel, Chris Segrave, and club returnee Rod Jacobs, each with 3/5. Highlight of the night was a first win for the youngest entrant, Angus Blenkiron, against Tristan McGrath. Two players failed to show and since they were paired against each other, had the rare “distinction” of scoring a soccer result of 0-0!

Round Five

The four leaders after Round 4 became 2 leaders after this round. Peter Miitel worked hard to dispose of Chris Segrave, while Kevin Perrin scored an excellent win against his old rival Patrick Cook. The other leader Rod Jacobs fell to James Eldridge, while John Abson was most fortunate to swindle young Angus Blenkiron. Once again, two players failed to show, requiring a slight alteration to the published pairings.

Round Six

The two leaders continued with their good form in this round. Peter Miitel disposed of Jamie Brotheridge, while Kevin Perrin prevailed in a tough game against Rod Jacobs. Chris Segrave claimed the forfeit against James Eldridge, while all the other games went more or less according to expectations.

Round Seven

The two runaway leaders in this event had contrasting tasks. Kevin Perrin had Black against Chris Segrave, while Peter Miitel had the White pieces against Patrick Cook.

Patrick drew comfortably, leaving Kevin to try beating Chris to win the tournament outright, which he duly did! Joel Beggs defeated James Eldridge and Jamie Brotheridge claimed the forfeit against John Abson to finish joint third. The other games went more or less according to expectations.