Record numbers back to the board

Ballarat Chess Club hosted the 56th “Begonia” Open chess tournament over the Labour Day long weekend of 13, 14, & 15 March 2022. 56 consecutive tournaments is a remarkable achievement for any chess club, and is in no small measure due to our Treasurer Kevin Perrin, who once again was the Tournament Manager. Kevin has been involved with all of them in one way or another! Simply amazing.
Last year, we had a record 157 entries, but 2022 set an even bigger record of 173 players, including 4 GM's, 1 WGM, 3 IM's, and 3 FM's, plus a smattering of CM's.  Fourteen of our Club members entered, although 1 had to withdraw after the first day.
Overall victory with 6/7 was achieved by GM Temur Kuybokarov, GM Zong-Yuan Zhao, and FM Domagoj Dragicevic. It was Temur's 2nd title, Zong-Yuan's 3rd, and Domagoj's 2nd. 5 players finished a half point behind.
The results by the local contingent were Angus Blenkiron and Club Champion Ruari Coffey with 4.5, veterans Bas van Riel and Patrick Cook with 4, Jamie Brotheridge, Om O'Carroll, Paul Dao, & Leonard Goodison with 3.5, Jules Feinberg and Vipin Jyan managed 2.5, Peter Stickland and Justin Goodison 2, Julian Laffey 1.5, and Anna Yates on a half point.
Once again, the tournament was ably directed by Chief Arbiter Peter Tsai IA, assisted by Nigel Barrow, and Bjorn Lategan.
Thanks are due to the organising committee of Kevin Perrin, Anna Yates, Rob Loveband, Patrick Cook, and Scott Stewart, as well as a number of Club members for unseen logistical support over the course of the weekend.
Well done all!

The winners on 6 points, Temur Kuybokarov, Zong-Yuan Zhao and Domagoj Dragicevic

Equal 4th on 5.5 points, Frederick Litchfield, Junta Ikeda and John Nemeth (Daniel Fernandez absent)

Svetozar Stojic 5.5 points Ratings Group 1 winner

Tejas Datar representing the 6 players who got equal second in Ratings Group 1, on 5 points

Milan Ilic who got equal first in the Rating Group 2 along with Ballarat's Ruari Coffey (absent). Milan first played in the tournament in the 1970s!!

Ratings Group 3 winners Ryley Dang, Justin Xia, Almog Leyzerman, Rheyansh Reddy Annapureddy, Benjamin Akok

Cheque in hand! Job done! Timothy Wee, winner of the Unrated Division

Angus Blenkiron from Ballarat Chess Club came equal second in the Unrated Players Division along with Michael Stolyarov

Once again, the tournament was generously sponsored by PPT Financial, with additional support from Northern Star Chess, Federation University, and Friends of the Begonia Tournament. 

Comments area

Junta I : Thanks so much again for you and the others’ work in organising, I enjoyed it immensely having had scarce opportunities for strong tournaments since COVID-19 has hit, and it’s always great to be able to catch up with chess friends. Hope to be back in Ballarat again!

Jeremy O : Thanks again for running such a wonderful event. I really do appreciate all of the effort you and Pat and everyone else put into the tournament. So much work, but it really is a splendid event!

David K : We love this tournament and can't recommend it enough!

Jason X : Thanks for organising such amazing tournament. Justin really enjoyed it!

Millie I : The tournament was organised magnificently and credit must go to the Ballarat Chess Club committee for all your hard work in making this tournament so successful. It just shows how popular this tournament has become with a record number of entries this year. I think Milan played his first Begonia tournament approximately 45 years ago. The venue is fabulous and locations so close to the central hub. Congratulations to you all for putting on such a brilliant event.