34th Begonia Open 2000

THE 34TH BALLARAT BEGONIA OPEN WEEKENDER - Bas van Riel

The traditional and unique Ballarat Begonia Open Chess Tournament was this year's first Grand
Prix (Class 3) event in Victoria. Organising successful tournaments without
making a financial loss has been very difficult in Victoria for the last
few years. One may argue about the reasons for this. After a disappointing
entry level in 1998, the tournament organisers were extremely lucky to
secure  substantial sponsorships last year, which undoubtedly increased the
players' interest. Having missed out on extra funds this year, the
committee didn't know what to expect. However, it turned out that it didn't
have to worry, as 90 players turned up, exactly the same number as last year.

The number of top players, headed by DARRYL JOHANSEN, was fairly small, but
the record entry of  juniors (18) was very pleasing. Worth mentioning is
the group of players who seem to return to Ballarat year in, year out, many
of them pensioners. This special composition of the tournament creates a
unique atmosphere with a group which takes chess seriously, trying to win
(prizes), a large group of 'social' players and thirdly the group of
juniors with all their distractions and variable interests (not only in
chess!). An interesting mix of chess players blended in one single Ballarat
tournament.

To make all this happen each year again, is mainly due to the untiring
efforts of Kevin Perrin (DOP). Mind you, he has been involved as the main
organiser since the inception of the tournament.

The great support in different ways by players, clubs, VCA and ChessWorld
is invaluable for the success of our tournament, and it is greatly
appreciated by the committee. Visits by chess personalities such as Robert
Jamieson, Guy West, Gary Wastell, David Flude etc., certainly add flavour and
moral support to the event.

As far as I am aware the tournament went flawlessly, apart from a brief
failure of a group of lights during one of the evening rounds: a minor
hiccup compared to last year's commotion when the arbiter was stuck in the
elevator for more than an hour!

The social aspects of the event were improved by a sausage sizzle lunch;
the Craigs Hotel offering meals and drink discounts, making it a focal
meeting point for all between the rounds; and also by the drinks-and-nibbles
provided after the final round up to the prize-giving ceremony.

A brief note by Gary Bekker:

The event was won by MIRKO RUJEVIC with 6.5 / 7 points. Equal second were
GM DARRYL JOHANSEN, who lost to RUJEVIC in round 5, and MARK CHAPMAN who
drew with IM LEONID SANDLER and agreed a quick draw with Rujevic in the
final round. Chapman did not have to play against Johansen, while Sandler
finished outside of the prize list after a draw with Chapman, losing to
Rujevic and then to Johansen in the final round. Leading final scores: M.
RUJEVIC 6.5; D. JOHANSEN, M. CHAPMAN 6.0; S. BOOTH, S. LOW, J. PRATSCH 5.5;
G. SZUVEGES, J. NEMETH, G. GILL, M. BARON, M. LOJANICA, O. BERGMANIS, D.
PARTSI, A. NISSEN, A. GUTHRIE 5.0.

Many thanks to all involved in the tournament, especially to BAS VAN RIEL,
KEVIN PERRIN and PATRICK COOK for organising the event and collecting
duplicate scoresheets for publication.

Notes by Bas van Riel (cont)

In the top group GEORGE PRATSCH (1752, =newcomer?) had a good tournament,
helped by a good draw. He finished with 5.5 points on equal 4th  spot.
STEWART BOOTH started with a strategic draw in the first round and this
carried him safely through the next few rounds, thereby building up
valuable match practice before meeting the bigger guns in the crucial last
rounds. The B-group was jointly won by JANOS NEMETH who scored very well
against four much higher rated players, and good old OLGERTS BERGMANIS with
5 points each. I would not be surprised to find that Olgerts and his friend
GUNNAR LAMBERTS have played in virtually all (34) Ballarat Begonia Open
tournaments.

The C-group was won equally by two juniors with 5 points each: AMIR NISSEN
(Vic) and AARON GUTHRIE (SA). Amir drew with STEWART BOOTH, won against KEN
HOLT and being the 51st seed, the average seeding of his opponents was 19!
Similarly, Aaron being seeded 67 met with opponents averaging 29 and he
polished off his effort with a win against DAVID CORDOVER (10) in the last
round.

Group D was jointly won (3.5 points) by ERIC LINDBERG who squeezed three
wins out of his last three opponents, and COLIN FINLAY from NSW, who played
a solid tournament.