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Pairings for the Round Robin Tournaments
Download or view the full tournament pairing list here. Note for Fisher A - Vipin's pairings are now Byes.
A Grade: Pairings PDF or
B Grade: Pairings PDF
Due to postponed games in A Grade, the best way to see how the tournament is going is by viewing the Vega results Pairings screen, one round at a time - the Crosstable ordered by score is not functioning properly.
Round 6
Fisher A
Scott continues to dominate after a quick win against Paul Marko, who played the Polish Opening, or as Patrick refers to it, the Sokolsky, named after the Ukrainian-Belarusian player Alexei Pavlovich Sokolsky for his work in popularising the opening. Marko pushed pawns on both sides of the board, leaving his king stuck in the centre, which Scott took advantage of by mating him in the middle of the board.
Declan won his game against Sam after Samâs faulty knight sacrifice. Sam missed the follow-up 13.Qh5+ 13âŚKd8 14.dxe 14..Qd4 15.Ng6!, which is only possible because the pawn on h7 is pinned to the rook.
Patrick plays a Winawer French against long time rival Van Riel Bas,Patrick unfortunately allowed a crushing attack on his king early on with 8.Nc6??, misevaluating his king safety. Bas followed up with the strong and only winning move 9.Bf6!, threatening mate on g7, which can only be stopped with 9...g6!
Bas did not follow up with the winning Qf4, instead trying to reach h6 through h4 with 10.Qh4. There is a very interesting difference because the two lines may look similar but have a important distinction. One reason is that Nf5 does not come with a tempo because the f4 square is out of reach.
The other, more complicated reason to why f4 was the winning square is If we follow Patrickâs moves with 10...Qa5 11.Nd2, as happened in the game, Patrick could play 12.Nxd4, using the pin. However, if Basâs queen were on f4, it could move back to d2 with Qd2!, attacking the knight and threatening the Lobster Pincer mate, effectively winning Patrickâs knight. After 13.Qd2, 13...Nf5 does not work because of 14.g4!, and the knight is trapped. The other line is 12.cxd, which is what Patrick played in the game. Here, 13.g4!! wins by a forced mate, or at least gives a massive advantage according to the engines. In the game, Bas played 12.Qh4, which was not technically the best move but still tried to create the pincer mate on g7. The game continued with 12...Qa5 13.Nd2 Nf5, attacking the queen, followed by 14.Qf4 14..cxd 15.g4!. Patrick played 15...Ng7, where Bas made a huge positional mistake by taking the knight on g7 and overestimating how dangerous the following pawn storm would be. According to the engines, Patrick was well and truly back in the game at this point, although the pawn storm was still extremely dangerous for a human player. Patrick still put up an incredible defensive effort, managing to trade queens and activate his queenside pieces. Bas still managed to win the game through his space advantage and by outmanoeuvring Patrick.
The standings show Scott still undefeated on 5/5 at the top of the leaderboard, although he has two games in hand against his toughest rivals, Rodney Jacobs and Declan Smith. Declan is currently second with 4/5 meaning the winner of the tournament has to be one of them
Fisher B
Kynan Thomson manages to hold tournament leader Alberto to a draw, taking away an important half point from him with some impressive play. Terrance doesnât slip up, however, beating Anirudh convincingly. Shanaya adjourns her game against Ricky.
Patrick Moon came prepared against Jasanâs Alekhine Defence, playing the opening well and eventually reaching a game-winning tactic after Jasan blundered with 13..Bh4, which loses to the simple 14.Nxg4 Qxg4 15.Rf4!. Patrick, however, missed the opportunity. Jasan then played resourcefully, reaching a rook endgame where he was a pawn up, but Patrick managed to hold the position to a draw. Terrance is now back in the lead with 5.5/6, while Alberto sits on 5/6 as the only player still within reach. Their game in the final round will decide the tournament winner â a rather poetic ending to the tournament.
Shanaya, despite being one of the youngest players in the field, was also among the highest-rated and most experienced. Unfortunately, her tournament has not gone to plan, as she currently sits on just 1/5. Jasan and Anirudh trail behind on 0.5 and 0 points respectively, although both have a game in hand.
Swiss
The top seeds have finally started to shine in the Swiss, with Jamie beating Methuja and Vipin dispatching Kevin in a tough battle. This puts both of them on 5/6, although they both missed Round 1. The juniors, Methuja and Zach Jacobs, are still in the race depending on the results, sitting on 4.5/6. With the final round incoming, it looks like weâre in for an interesting finish!
Round 5
Fisher A
Patrick plays the Alekhine against Scottâs e4, with Scott entering the relatively uncommon Balogh Variation, named after JĂĄnos Balogh, a Hungarian master known for his work in promoting the line. Patrick plays the opening slightly inaccurately and later plays f6 to consolidate his position. Scott is happy to trade off the dark-squared bishops before castling long, leaving Patrick with significant dark-square weaknesses. The lack of an f-pawn also becomes a major factor in Patrickâs poor king safety.
Scott correctly exploits this with an immediate h-pawn push. Patrick responds with Na5, looking to trade off Scottâs powerful light-squared bishop. He then plays Qc6, offering a queen trade, which Scott obviously declines. The game ends in style with a brilliant knight sacrifice on e4, which Patrick had to accept. Scott follows up with h6+, effectively ending the game, as Patrick either had to allow mate or lose his queen to Ng5+.
Declan defeats Bas, while Sam wins a hard-fought game against Rodney Jacobs. Although the standings are still a mess, the tournament winner will almost certainly come from Scott, Declan, or Sam.
Fisher B
Alberto swindles a technically lost endgame against Anirudh into a decisive win. Terrance is held to a draw by fellow junior Ricky, while Kynan Thomson dispatches Jasan. Patrick Moon also puts together an excellent game against Shanaya, winning comfortably.
The standings now show Terrance and Alberto tied on 4.5/5. If things go as expected next round, the tournament could conclude with the two of them facing each other to crown the winner. Kynan and Patrick follow on 3.5 and 3 points respectively, with Ricky on 2 points.
Shanaya, despite being one of the youngest players in the field, was also among the highest-rated and most experienced. Unfortunately, her tournament has not gone to plan, as she currently sits on just 1/5. Jasan and Anirudh trail behind on 0.5 and 0 points respectively, although both have a game in hand.
Swiss
Tournament leaders Methuja and Peter both take half-point byes, meaning the top three seeds, Jamie, Kevin, and Vipin, all win their games on boards 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
Methuja remains in the lead on 4.5/5, but the tournamentâs top four seeds are breathing down his neck, all sitting on 4 points.
Round 4 - Report - Alberto Biju
Fisher A: Finally, someone has put an end to Declanâs unbeaten streak. It took until August 27th, but after going 18 games unbeaten, Declan finally suffered his first loss. Funnily enough, Rodney came into the game prepared specifically for the Black pieces, only to realise he was actually playing White, throwing all of his careful preparation out the window.
Ironically, Rodney still came out of the opening with a winning position. He played an unusual Closed Sicilian, in which Declan blundered early with 9..b6 , allowing 10.Nd6+. Declan commented after the game, âI just played on autopilot for a bit and forgot about something he could do, and then I may as well resign immediately.â Rodney pounced on the chance and converted effortlessly. After a rough patch in form, Rodney proves that heâs far from out of the count with a huge upset result.
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The only other Fisher A game was between Sam Song and Paul Marko. Sam played his signature French Defence and managed to establish a strong centre before pushing Markoâs minor pieces away. Sam eventually converted the advantage, with his strong pawns and superior minor pieces proving decisive. The Fisher A standings are now a complete mess. Scott is on 1/1, Declan on 2/3, Rodney on 2/4, Bas on 1/2, Sam on 1.5/3, Patrick on 1.5/3, and Marko on 1/4. With so many players still having games postponed, the standings are wide open.
Fisher B:Terrance played the French Defence against Patrick Moon, choosing it in his own words âto avoid sharp lines.â Patrick, however, wasnât accustomed to the Advance French structure and decided to play the position in his own way. Once the opening phase had concluded, Patrick emerged with a slight edge according to the engine, although from a human perspective it was much harder to prove, as Patrick was left with doubled pawns on the h-file, while the d4-pawn remained a permanent weakness.
During the post-game analysis with FM Simon Rutherford, Simon correctly pointed out that Terrance made a critical mistake with 12...Bd7, allowing Patrick to play 13.g4 and unleash a crushing attack. In fact, the position was so dangerous that the engine preferred Terrance to immediately sacrifice the knight for the d4-pawn rather than retreat the piece. After missing this opportunity, however, Terrance gave Patrick no more chances. Under time pressure, Patrick eventually blundered, allowing Terrance to simplify into a winning pawn endgame and take home the full point.
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The game between Alberto and Jason featured a Vienna Gambit that Simon had suggested to Alberto right before the round. Alberto played it well enough to pick up the point. Meanwhile, Kynan and Shanaya traded down into a completely dead-equal endgame and eventually agreed to a draw. In stark contrast, Ricky's game against Anirudh was an absolute bloodbath. Ricky conjured up a devastating attack that Anirudh simply hadn't seen coming, leading to a decisive result. The standings are as follows: Terrance remains perfect on 4/4, with Alberto right on his heels on 3.5/4. Kynan Thomson is lingering a little further behind on 2.5/4.
Fisher Swiss: Methuja claims sole lead of the tournament after securing his fourth straight win, this time against rival Ryan Lambrou. With a perfect 4/4. The matchup between Peter Stickland and Danielle Moon began as a Jobava London, with Peter launching a characteristically early kingside attack featuring 6.f3, 7.g4 and 8.h4. Following a series of trades in the centre, Danielle blundered, allowing Peter to skewer the queen against the king and gain a huge advantage. Peter failed to convert immediately, giving Danielle a way back into the game. An interesting material imbalance then emerged, with Black having a rook, knight and pawn against Whiteâs queen. Even after the pawn was eventually lost, the engine still believed Black could hold the position to a draw. That changed with 30...f6, which blundered an entire knight with check and effectively ended the game. With six players still sitting on 3 points, the tournament remains wide open, and anything can still happen.
Round 4 Pairings
| Charles Fisher A Grade â Pairing Round 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bd | White | Result | Black |
| 1 | van Riel, Bas | Adj | Stewart, Scott |
| 2 | Cook, Patrick | ... | Bye |
| 3 | Marko, Paja | 0-1 | Song, Sam |
| 4 | Jacobs, Rodney M | 1-0 | Smith, Declan |
| Charles Fisher B Grade â Pairing Round 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bd | White | Result | Black |
| 1 | Biju, Alberto | 1-0 | Barnett, Jasan |
| 2 | Thomson, Kynan | 0.5-0.5 | Guha, Shanaya |
| 3 | Moon, Patrick | 0-1 | Wang, Terrance |
| 4 | Wang, Ricky | 1-0 | Weerakkody, Anirudh |
As Vipin has withdrawn his first round game result will not count to the total scores, and as there is an adjourned game from Round 1 between Declan and Scott, the totals at Rd3 completion are pretty unclear, suffice to say Declan is undefeated on 2 points, as is Scott on 1 point.
Round 3 - Report - Alberto Biju
Fisher A: Declan plays 1.c4 against his unpredictable opponent, Paul Marko, as he looks to expand his repertoire. Marko falters in the middlegame with a premature h-pawn push, while White already has a crushing space advantage by move 12.d4, with five pawns on the fourth rank. Declan capitalises on this with a huge early advantage. The game-deciding blunder comes on move 18.Qd7??, where Declan finds the right idea to win the game.
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Rodney picks up his first point of the tournament with a win over Bas van Riel (Bas lost on time), after getting rather unlucky in his first two rounds, losing winning positions to one-move blunders. But, as former World Champion Emanuel Lasker said, âThe hardest game to win is a won game.â So perhaps he can cut himself some slack.
Patrick manages to hold youngster Sam Song to a draw.
Fisher B:The much-anticipated matchup between Kynan Thomson and Terrance Wang takes place in an Exchange Caro-Kann, which Kynan isnât particularly fond of. This allows for some kingside attacks, and although Kynan defends admirably, he blunders in the resulting time scramble, giving Terrance a very important win.
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Alberto outplays his young opponent in a Tartakower Caro-Kann position and edges out the win from what seemed to be an equal endgame.
Patrick Moon defeats Anirudh in a Ponziani position with excellent middlegame play, while Jason draws Shanaya.
The unexpected standings after Round 3 see Terrance on 3/3 and Alberto on 2.5/3, with Patrick and Kynan on 2/3. The others have only managed 0.5/3.
Swiss:
Three leaders have emerged after Round 3 of the Fisher Swiss. Methuja Dissanyake leads after a statement victory against Tom Oppenheim on Board 1, while Ryan Lambrou follows after his win against Armaan Shaharwal on Board 2. Danielle Moon also remains in contention after her impressive win against Morgan Colgave.
With three leaders emerging, the next few rounds should be decisive.
Round 2 Report - Alberto Biju
Fisher A saw both Scott and Declan win their first games against Sam and Patrick, with Paja also picking up the point against Rodney.
In Fisher B, Patrick and Ricky played out a very complicated draw. Alberto won his game against Shanaya, while Terrance and Kynan continue to dominate, both still perfect on 2 out of 2, which fits perfectly with the narrative as they meet in Round 3.
The Swiss tournament had twentyâthree boards in play and its fair share of upsets. With the introduction of Jamie Brotheridge and Vipin Jyani, the field grew stronger. One of the tournament favourites, Julian, was defeated on board one by the upâandâcoming Armaan Sabharwal. Another notable result was Danielle Moonâs win over the female champion, Minsadi Wansapura.
Charles Fisher Tournament Report - Albert Biju
The first ever Charles Fisher Tournament began on Thursday night. Roundârobin pairings featuring, more or less, the top sixteen players in the club make things exciting in both Fisher A and Fisher B. The A Grade is of course led by Club Champion CM Declan Smith, who is still yet to lose a game this year. That raises the question: is this all just a race for second place? Although, as always, anything can happen on the sixtyâfour squares.
The B Grade, led by newcomers Kynan Thomson and Patrick Moon â who joined the club this year and are already among the top players â promises to be just as competitive. The field is very balanced, and most games could go either way, making for an interesting tournament. It is also notable that the average age of the B Grade is twentyâone, with Jasan Barnett being the only player born before the 2000s.
The Charles Fisher Swiss also features some heavy hitters, including Kevin Perrin and our Club President, Peter Stickland. Morgan Colgrave is always a dark horse in these events. This section also contains new rivalries: Julian Laffey vs Methuja Dissanayake, who tied on points for the Reserves Prize a few weeks ago, and Anna Yates vs Minsadi Wansapura, who tied on points for the Womenâs Prize. Funnily enough, the youngsters managed to win both tieâbreaks â perhaps weâll see a different story this time.
Round 1
Fisher A: Two games were adjourned: Declan vs Scott, and Patrick vs Rodney. Sam Song edged out Vipin Jyani, converting a middlegame advantage. Bas van Riel secured the full point against Paul Marko, giving two decisive results for the round.
Fisher B: One game was adjourned: Jasan vs Anirudh. Kynan defeated Ricky straight out of the opening after an early blunder. Terrance overcame a determined defensive effort from Shanaya, and Patrick held a solid draw against Alberto.
Fisher Swiss: There were no major upsets, with all favourites winning as expected in the early Swiss rounds. However, newcomer Jordan Chiswell gave Anna Yates a real challenge, reaching a rook endgame three pawns up. Anna managed to hold firm and secure a draw thanks to excellent king placement.
Pairings for the Round Robin Tournaments
4/8/26 -The TD has made changes to both the A and B Grade pairings -Download or view the full tournament pairing list here.
A Grade: Pairings PDF
B Grade: Pairings PDF
| Charles Fisher A Grade â Pairing Round 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bd | White | Result | Black |
| 1 | Marko, Paja | 0-1 | Van Riel, Bas |
| 2 | Jacobs, Rodney M | adj | Cook, Patrick |
| 3 | Smith, Declan | adj | Stewart, Scott |
| 4 | Song, Sam | 1-0 | Jyani, Vipin |
| Charles Fisher B Grade â Pairing Round 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bd | White | Result | Black |
| 1 | Moon, Patrick | ½-½ | Biju, Alberto |
| 2 | Wang, Ricky | 0-1 | Thomson, Kynan |
| 3 | Weerakkody, Anirudh | adj | Barnett, Jasan |
| 4 | Wang, Terrance | 1-0 | Guha, Shanaya |