2010 Spielvogel Memorial

2010 Champion: Peter Miitel

A very respectable entry of 17 players lined up for the 2010 Nathan Spielvogel Memorial tournament, a great improvement on previous years. Among the players is No One (the Artist formerly known as Swytzer) making a return to the club after a break and 2 juniors making their first appearance in a club tournament. Also returning to the club after several years is Geoff Davis. James Eldridge has very kindly donated a large chess book written by Laszlo Polgar, about endgame play, which is first prize and was won by Peter Miitel; Congratulations to our long time member Peter, on a well fought tournament!

A very respectable entry of 17 players lined up for the 2010 Nathan Spielvogel Memorial tournament, a great improvement on previous years. Among the players is No One (the Artist formerly known as Swytzer) making a return to the club after a break and 2 juniors making their first appearance in a club tournament. Also returning to the club after several years is Geoff Davis.

Round 1

There were no real upsets in round 1, but No One forced Joel Beggs to work extra hard to gain the full point, while one game was postponed at the request of the two players.

Results             White

Black

Jamie Brotheridge
v
Chris Segrave
1-0
John Abson
v
Patrick Cook
0-1
Kevin Perrin
v
Michael Schreenan
1-0
Peter McGrath
v
Peter Miitel
0-1
Rob Loveband
v
Tristan McGrath
1-0
No One
v
Joel Beggs
0-1
Rod Jacobs
v
Ryan Logan
1-0
Jackson Tardrew
v
Geoff Davis
0-1
Tom Oppenheim
v
bye
Key      
1 Win pp Postponed
0 Loss adj Adjourned
½ Draw    
1 Bye    
   

Round 2

Joel Beggs met Rob Loveband in a preview of their postponed championship tie-break game and Rob gained a morale boosting win. Patrick Cook profited from a terrible oversight by Jamie Brotheridge in a double-edged position. Geoff Davis was outplayed by Kevin Perrin. Peter Miitel overwhelmed Tom Oppenheim and could even afford to drop a piece in the endgame. Chris Segrave brought a touch of the 19thC with a Kings Gambit against Rod Jacobs, but 20thC defence proved too much. Tristan McGrath swindled John Abson with a back rank mate from a losing position. Michael Schreenan outplayed No One in a game where both players finished with 10 minutes more than they started with! Jackson Tardrew tried hard against Peter McGrath but inexperience cost him the game. Ryan Logan had the bye.

Results             White

Black

Joel Beggs  v    
v
Rob Loveband
0-1
Patrick Cook
v
Jamie Brotheridge
1-0
Geoff Davis
v
Kevin Perrin
0-1
Peter Miitel
v
Tom Oppenheim
1-0
Chris Segrave
v
Rod Jacobs
0-1
Tristan McGrath
v
John Abson
1-0
Michael Schreenan
v
No One
1-0
Jackson Tardrew 
v
Peter McGrath
0-1
Ryan Logan
v
bye
Key      
1 Win pp Postponed
0 Loss adj Adjourned
½ Draw    
1 Bye    
   

Round 3

Rob Loveband met Peter Miitel who tried to play a Benko Gambit/Benoni. Rob sidestepped it and the game smoldered to a draw. Kevin Perrin versus Joel Beggs was a hard fought Ruy Lopez that also ended in a draw. Highlight of the night was a 3 hour plus struggle between Rod Jacobs and Patrick Cook. Rod surprised his opponent with Bird’s Opening but wasn’t able to gain any advantage and was lucky Black missed a win just before a draw was agreed. Jamie Brotheridge made short work of Tristan McGrath’s Slav Defence. Tom Oppenheim played well against Geoff Davis, but experience prevailed in the end. Yu Liu, a late entry, had a Queen’s Gambit Accepted against Michael Schreenan and missed many opportunities to hold a draw in the rook ending. Peter McGrath eventually overcame John Abson’s resistance. No One versus Chris Segrave was a weird Sicilian that eventually reached a dead drawn Bishops of opposite colour ending, whereupon No One tried hard to lose and succeeded! Jackson Tardrew gained a point when Ryan Logan failed to show.

Results             White

Black

Jamie Brotheridge
v
Tristan McGrath
1-0
Peter McGrath
v
John Abson
1-0
Kevin Perrin
v
Joel Beggs
½-½
Yu Liu
v
Michael Schreenan
0-1
Rob Loveband
v
Peter Miitel
½-½
No One
v
Chris Segrave
0-1
Rod Jacobs
v
Patrick Cook
½-½
Jackson Tardrew
v
Ryan Logan
1-0f
Tom Oppenheim
v
Geoff Davis
0-1
 
v
 
Key      
1 Win pp Postponed
0 Loss adj Adjourned
½ Draw    
1 Bye    
   

Round 4

Patrick Cook played a Catalan against Kevin Perrin and gained a strong position. Declining a draw offer (!) he pushed on, only to offer one himself in a possibly winning position. Peter Miitel played his usual Colle System against Rod Jacobs’ Dutch set-up. A brilliant piece sacrifice gave White a strong initiative and he triumphed after Black turned down a draw offer. Geoff Davis versus Rob Loveband was a symmetrical English that manoeuvred it’s way to a draw late in the night. Michael Schreenan versus Jamie Brotheridge saw excellent attacking play by White and Black was lucky to escape with a draw. Joel Beggs played the Italian Game against Peter McGrath and had no problems in quickly notching up the full point. Chris Segrave laboured to score the full point against junior Jackson Tardrew. John Abson’s Four Knights Game gave him a quick win over the other junior Ryan Logan.

Yu Liu, the 2009 John Baynham Reserves champion, fell victim to Tom Oppenheim’s alertness in a complex position. Tristan McGrath profited from No One’s lack of end game insight.

Results             White

Black

Cook, Patrick
v
Perrin, Kevin J
½-½
Miitel, Peter J
v
Jacobs, Rodney M
1-0
Davis, Geoff
v
Loveband, Rob
½-½
Schreenan, Michael
v
Brotheridge, Jamie
½-½
Beggs, Joel
v
McGrath, Peter
1-0
Segrave, Chris
v
Tardrew, Jackson
1-0
Abson, John
v
Logan, Ryan
1-0
Liu, Yu
v
Oppenheim, Tom
0-1
McGrath, Tristan
v
No One
1-0
Key      
1 Win pp Postponed
0 Loss adj Adjourned
½ Draw    
1 Bye    
   

Round 5

Kevin Perrin took on tournament leader Peter Miitel in a Sicilian. He made no impression and Peter went on to win in excellent positional style. Rob Loveband faced a motivated Patrick Cook in an Alekhine Defence. A full-blooded fight ended in a fine victory for Rob after Patrick missed a few saving chances. Jamie Brotheridge found himself confronted with the Albin Counter Gambit! against his bete noir, Joel Beggs. Another intense battle saw Joel win in the ending after gaining two Bishops for a Rook. Rod Jacobs versus Michael Schreenan was a very sharp Vienna. No heroics this week from Michael as he was blown away in just 10 moves. Peter McGrath proved no match for Geoff Davis in another Sicilian. Tom Oppenheim played a non-descript Queen Pawn Opening against Tristan McGrath. A tactical skirmish ended in a win for Tristan after Tom slipped into a mate. Ryan Logan tested Chris Segrave with 1.Nc3 ! but missed an early chance to win a piece and paid the price. John Abson was confronted by the French Defence from Jackson Tardrew who dropped a piece early and was unable to recover. No One was a No Show and gifted Yu Liu a point, although the game may yet be played.

 

   
   

Round 6

Tournament leader Peter Miitel played his usual London System/Colle hybrid against Geoff Davis and offered an early draw. Black turned him down and soon regretted it. Rod Jacobs versus Rob Loveband was a sharp Sicilian. Rod sacrificed a Bishop in the middle game to get at the Black King and eventually prevailed. Joel Beggs versus Chris Segrave was another Sicilian. Aggressive play by Joel soon gave him a splendid victory. Tristan McGrath had to face Kevin Perrin’s Scandinavian and quickly found himself a piece down. This proved sufficient for Kevin to win. Patrick Cook versus Michael Schreenan was an English Opening after Black gambitted a pawn for open lines. Black was outfoxed in the ensuing tactics and was then overwhelmed in the endgame. Jamie Brotheridge was typically brutal against John Abson’s Slav and gave checkmate in 16 moves! Tom Oppenheim versus Peter McGrath was another Slav. White played exceptionally well to score a fine win. Ryan Logan picked up a free point when Yu Liu failed to show. Jackson Tardrew played a weird gambit against No One (1.e4 e5 2. b4??!) and the game reached an endgame in a flash. Black had a big advantage but fell into a very clever mate.

Round 7

The published pairings had to be changed in the absence of several players and a last round withdrawal.Joel Beggs, needing the full point to tie for first, took on the leader Peter Miitel in a Sicilian. The game was a fight, with Joel turning down several draw offers before deciding that he could make no progress and conceding the half point.
Geoff Davis was confronted by the Scandinavian from Rod Jacobs. Geoff sacrificed a Bishop for an attack deep in the middle game, but Rod held firm and went on to win nicely.Rob Loveband was surprised by Jamie Brotheridge’s Dutch Defence and was unable to avoid an early draw by three-fold repition.
Patrick Cook wheeled out his Larsen against Tom Oppenheim and quietly picked up the full point after winning a pawn in the opening.Michael Schreenan faced junior Ryan Logan. After 1.e4 e5 the game rapidly shifted in surreal territory with the Black King being chased right across the board to oblivion.
Yu Liu versus Jackson Tardrew was a Queen’s Indian that remained drawish until Yu picked up a piece and went on to win efficiently.No One tried his favourite Elephant Attack (1.e4 e5 2.d4?!) against John Abson but soon found himself 2 pieces down and did not survive long.

   
   
../../PGNfiles/spielvogel2010.pgn

From Australian Dictionary of Bibliography

Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (1874-1956), teacher, writer and historian, was born on 10 May 1874 at Ballarat, Victoria, son of Newman Frederick Spielvogel, pawnbroker, and his wife Hannah, née Cohen. Newman, an Austrian, and Hannah, a Prussian, were typical of the strong Jewish community on the Ballarat goldfields. Nathan attended Dana Street State School and trained there in 1892-95 as a pupil-teacher. He taught at several schools in the Wimmera, including Dimboola (1897, 1899-1907).

A small man, with sharply chiselled features, a wide forehead, big ears, warm eyes, a jutting chin and a beard that became golden, Spielvogel was adventurous and imaginative. In 1904 he spent his savings of £120 on a six-month journey through Egypt, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Britain. He had begun his writing career in 1894 with a Christmas story for the Ballarat Courier, to which—with the Jewish press, the Bulletin, the Dimboola Banner and other newspapers—he contributed regularly under such pen names as 'Genung', 'Eko', 'Ato' and 'Ahaswar'. From the early 1920s he wrote a humorous piece each month for the Teachers' Journal, but was probably best known for his first book, A Gumsucker on the Tramp (1906). It sold 20,000 copies. He also published The Cocky Farmer (1914), A Gumsucker at Home (1914), Old Eko's Note-Book (1930) and a volume of poetry called Our Gum Trees (1913).

He loved a beer (not lager) and around 1908 dined every Thursday at Fasoli's café, Melbourne, with writers and artists such as E. J. Brady, Norman Lindsay, Hal Gye, C. J. Dennis and Louis Esson. Later he was close to J. K. Moir, Victor Kennedy and R. H. Croll of the Bread and Cheese Club. Croll thought him 'offensively Australian' yet proudly Jewish, a conjunction that rent Spielvogel in 1901 when his love for a Gentile conflicted with a promise to his mother not to marry out of the faith. He remained steadfast and on 6 September 1911 at the Great Synagogue, Hyde Park, Sydney, married Jessie Muriel, daughter of Henry Harris, publisher of the Hebrew Standard.

After further postings to other Victorian schools, Spielvogel returned to Ballarat to be headmaster of Dana Street in 1924-39. Inspiring, sympathetic and methodical, he was immensely popular: a phalanx of pupils usually escorted him into the grounds. As president of the revived Ballarat Historical Society (1933-56), he developed a passion for local history. He published vignettes of early Ballarat life and a popular monograph, The Affair at Eureka (1928). After retirement he was largely responsible for managing the local museum and for placing plaques and monuments at historic sites. His broadcasts and press releases increased historical awareness.

Spielvogel was president of the Ballarat Hebrew Congregation, the Mechanics' Institute, the Teachers' Institute and Dana Street Old Scholars' Association. Strongly patriotic during World War I, he became chairman of the Dads' Association in World War II. A sharp mind lay behind his lifelong interest in chess: he was secretary (1894) and president (1939) of the Ballarat club and represented Victoria in 1921 and 1925. He was instrumental in sustaining the Ballarat synagogue between 1941 and 1953 and wrote Jewish stories with a tenderness and strength that drew from Judah Waten the remark that Jewish literature in Australia began with him. Spielvogel died on 10 September 1956 at Ballarat and was buried in the old cemetery. His wife and their three sons (all of whom had married out of the faith and in his absence) survived him.