Country Chess Championship 2019

VRCL Country Championships 2019

Round 1 had two major upsets - Jack Smith defeated second seed Nigel Barrow, and Bas van Riel fell to lower rated Sean Macak. Unlucky Patrick Cook was paired against unrated Alex Leach - undoubtedly a strong club player from OS of around 1800, so no easy game for either in the first round.

Round 2 saw Ruari hold Alistair to a draw, Sean continued winning, this time against Omar, another 1800 rated player. Rob L and Reza drew in a long hard game. Nigel fell to Alex and Bas couldn't manage more than a draw against 23rd seed, Robert Dejanovic. Jasan had a good win against Patrick Lenne, and Anna Yates fought well to draw veteran Andrew Wemyss.

Round 3 - Carl Gorka continued his winning streak, taking out Geoff Barber from Geelong. Alex finally met his match in Geoffrey Gill, Mio played a good game against Reza, and Chantelle held Patrick C to a draw after trapping his queen. Bas once again couldn't flex his chess muscles, losing to Kevin. Greg Brown beat Patrick Lenne who was suffering from a cold and subsequently withdrew.

In Round 4 the two leaders, Carl and Geoffrey G continued their run, with Ruari taking a point from Omar, putting him on 3/4. It was Rob's turn for victory against Geoff B, who had defeated him in a Ballarat Geelong match 2 years previously. Bas withdrew citing poor form.

Round 5 - Last year's winner Carl Gorka found himself under attack by Geoffrey Gill, but stubbornly refused a draw offer, falling 5 moves later to checkmate. Kevin had a good win against higher rated Omar.

Last round and it looked like Geoffrey Gill had it in the bag - paired against 13th seed Rob Loveband and on 5/5. If he lost and Carl won against Ruari it could have been a 3 way tie but the odds were long. He soundly beat Rob but on board 2 Ruari scored a surprise win against Carl, putting him in 2nd place. Kevin held KG to a draw, Sean continued his good form, beating Rod Hessing.

Thanks to Geelong for hosting, and to Nigel Barrow, our arbiter, to Kevin for organising prizes and equipment. Congratulations to Geoffrey Gill, thanks to all players for a fun tournament, and for continuing the tradition of having a Country Victorian Chess Championship for the folks up bush.