Nathan Spielvogel

15 players entered the first major event for the year, the Nathan Spielvogel Memorial, named in honour of a key player and administrator of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. A $75 book prize was awarded to Vineetha Wijesuriya for her first tournament win at Ballarat Chess Club.

Crosstable

Round 1

First round upset: Patrick Cook vs James Watson 0-1 . See the game here.

Eight players actually turned up for the first round, and so a number of games were postponed. On the night Michael Schreenan gave Kevin Perrin a fight before succumbing to superior technique. John Abson proved no match for Jamie Brotheridge, while Peter Miitel found Tom Oppenheim to be quite a handful and was lucky to escape with a draw.  The 2 postponed games were duly played, and Thumula Gamage was beaten by his Mum, Vineetha Wijesuriya, while the big shock was Patrick Cook going down to James Watson. Nigel Block, Jonathon Yates and Anna Yates all had byes.

Round 2

Two more players entered in this round, just to confuse matters, but all games were played on the night.  Tom Oppenheim found Patrick Cook to be in a vengeful mood after his 1st round loss and was duly crushed. Jonathon Yates swept aside his mother Anna Yates. James Watson was unable to repeat his 1st round triumph and went down to Peter Miitel in a full-scale positional battle. Vineetha Wijesuriya demonstrated high class technique and determination to beat Jamie Brotheridge. Michael Schreenan went down swinging against Thumula Gamage. Kevin Perrin had no trouble defeating Nigel Block. The two late starters, Paul Sullivan and Rob Gunn met each other with Rob eventually prevailing. John Abson had the bye.

Round 3

3 players, Paul Sullivan, Nigel Block and Tom Oppenheim failed to show on the night and were left out of the draw, so there was no bye this round. Kevin Perrin met Vineetha Wijesuriya in an Exchange French and showed a glimpse of his old greatness with a fine win. Jamie Brotheridge played a weird English against Peter Miitel, but could only draw. Patrick Cook kept his 100% lifetime record versus John Abson intact. Thumula Gamage surprised everyone by playing Patrick’s specialty, the Larsen, against Jonathon Yates and won with fine technique. Anna Yates played the 4 Knights against Michael Schreenan, but, despite improved play, went down to the more experienced player. James Watson very quickly muscled his way to a win against Rob Gunn.

Round 4

Peter Miitel faced veteran Kevin Perrin in an English and a lengthy game was drawn. Jamie Brotheridge played the Italian against junior Jonathon Yates and got the shock of his career when he could only draw! Vineetha Wijesuriya scored her traditional White win against Patrick Cook. Nigel Block was unable to handle Tom Oppenheim. Anna Yates was delighted to score her 1st tournament win at the expense of Paul Sullivan. James Watson defeated fellow junior Thumula Gamage. Michael Schreenan met John Abson in a primitive Centre Game and won a feisty game.

Round 5

Patrick Cook faced his fierce rival Jamie Brotheridge in their usual no-holds-barred showdown. A Grunfeld was eventually drawn. Kevin Perrin took on ambitious junior James Watson and “put him in his place”. Peter Miitel showed what he can do when in the mood by defeating top seed Vineetha Wijesuriya in a superb display of technique. Tom Oppenheim overcame Thumula Gamage. Anna Yates followed up her win from the previous round with a draw against John Abson who was most fortunate not to lose. Michael Schreenan, Rob Gunn, Paul Sullivan Jonathon Yates, and Nigel Block were all absent and were left out of the draw for this round.

Round 6

Jamie Brotheridge took on undefeated  Kevin Perrin and promptly inflicted Kevin’s first defeat for the tournament. Patrick Cook played the Larsen against Peter Miitel who reverted to his old habits by resigning when he thought he was losing a pawn (he wasn’t!). Vineetha Wijesuriya played a very exciting game against James Watson who sadly blundered in a better position. Jonathon Yates had no trouble disposing of Nigel Block. Thumula Gamage proved too strong for the improving Anna Yates. John Abson was unable to cope with Tom Oppenheim. Once again, several players were AWOL and were left out of the draw.

Last Round: 7

Going in to the final round, Kevin Perrin was outright leader, despite his loss in the previous round, with Vineetha Wijesuriya half a point behind. Kevin faced his old rival Patrick Cook in an exchange French. Despite its drawish reputation, Patrick succeeded in winning a fine positional game. Tom Oppenheim faced Vineetha Wijesuriya who profited from Kevin’s loss by winning her game to snatch the title from Kevin’s grasp. Peter Miitel, still in “one of his moods” drew his game with Thumula Gamage. James Watson, ambitious as ever, inflicted an impressive defeat upon Jamie Brotheridge with the English Opening.  Anna Yates met Rob Gunn and tragically missed a glorious chance in the middle game before ultimately losing an interesting game. Nigel Block finally scored a win at the expense of Paul Sullivan. Junior player Jonathon Yates took on senior player John Abson in a battle of the generations. In a lengthy game, youth triumphed.