The disappointingly tiny, 4-player Checkmate Knockout tourney began last Sunday with Bob Sherry defeating Ted Mann & Bert Shiffman holding me to a draw.
Tonight, I have Black vs. Sherry & Shiffman gets a bye. So, there will be at least 1 more round to follow.
Here are the week 1 games in java-replay & zipped PGN.
The Kenilworth Kortchnois (3-0) sit atop the Garden State Chess League standings after winning in Hamilton on May 6th, 3-1. Kenilworth’s other team, the Karpovs, however, could not keep pace & fell at West Orange 2.5-1.5.
In the other 3rd round action, Staten Island won against Maplewood 3.5-0.5 & Summit beat Sparta 3-1.
Once again, my Maplewood team (0-3) could not make the most of its chances. I misplayed a clear plus vs. Jackson Hueckel & lost while Gordon Agress turned an upset win over Ed McCormack into tragic defeat.
You can replay the S.I. games here or here & download the PGN for later viewing.
Further update 5/18 @ 11:57 p.m. – Summit’s win makes next month’s match vs. the Kortchnois a battle for first-place!
Actually it was Vassily Ivanchuk who, in a completely drawn position, played a suicide move (37.Qxb7??) and gave up the whole point with white against Veselin Topalov. Wang Yue drew against Magnus Carlsen in 25 moves, Alexei Shirov drew Leinier Dominguez Perez in 43 moves. Topalov, Carlsen and Shirov lead after the first half of the tournament. Monday is a free day. Games and standings.
In the penultimate round 21-year-old Hikaru Nakamura beat the GM aspirant Michael
Brooks to take the lead at the St.
Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center. He was joined at the top
by Robert Hess, 17, who beat defending champion Yury Shulman.
Kamsky, Onischuk and Akobian are half a point behind going into what promises
to be a very exciting final round. Watch it unfold on Playchess!
Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov beat Wang Yue from China in 33 moves. 18-year-old Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen drew against Alexei Shirov, Spain, in 39 moves. Cuban GM Leiner Dominguez-Perez was lucky to escape with a 49-move draw against Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk (e.g. 35…Rxg2 would have brought instant victory). Carlsen and Shirov lead. Games and standings.