Arthur Koelle Tournament 2025

Arthur Koelle Tournament Reports by Alberto Biju

Note that previous years' games can be viewed in the Games tab above

Round Seven

The closing round of the Koelle Tournament took place last Thursday. Declan Smith sealed an outright victory after a tense matchup against veteran Patrick Cook, finishing the event undefeated. Sam Song and Rodney Jacobs fought to a draw, while Paul Marko caught Jyani Vipin in the opening, leading to the quickest victory of the round. In contrast, the matchup between Jamie Brotheridge and Kevin Perrin was the longest game of the round, ending in favour of Jamie Brotheridge. By winning the tournament Declan Smith claims his 4th Major Title of the Year, A GRAND SLAM!! Previous winners include Ruari Coffey, 2021 and Rob Loveband 2011. He wins the tournament on 7/7 with a performance rating of 2107. Rodney Jacobs comes runner-up with a score of 5.5/7.
In the ‘B’ Section Alberto continued his winning streak with a win over Jasan Barnett (see the game in the Games tab), Ryan Lambrou flagged Block Nigel in a confusing Rook endgame, and Methuja Dissanayake got a draw against his coach, Morgan Colgrave, on Board 3. Alberto Biju wins the B Grade tournament on 7/7 points with a performance rating of 1875, with Ryan Lambrou coming in second place with 5/7.

Round Six

Round 6 was a quiet round with only 5 games in the A group. Declan Smith secured a crucial victory over Jyani Vipin to confirm his tournament victory. Paul Marko let slip a completely winning position against Rodney Jacobs, turning a likely point into a missed opportunity. Bas van Riel brought down the aggressive Jamie Brotheridge. Board 5 saw a matchup between Patrick Cook and Trevor Ivory, Patrick successfully deploying his infamous technique ‘Patrick's Curse’ by winning the game after Trevor had earlier declined his draw offer. Peter Stickland fell to Tom Oppenheim due to a huge oversight leading to mate in 1.
In the B group, Alberto Biju won a quick game against the well-prepared Ryan Lambrou that led to him clinching the title with a round to spare. Nigel Block took down Methuja Dissanayake with a successful Scandinavian defence. And Jasan Barnett dispatched Lachlan Mewett in a tidy finish.

Round Five

In the ‘A’ group, no one seems to have an answer to Declan Smith, who scoops up another point against Jamie Brotheridge. Board 2 saw a clash between veteran rivals Rodney Jacobs and Bas van Riel, ending in Rodney’s favour. The night's most intense battle was fought between our Club President, Peter Stickland, and the up-and-coming Sam Song. The game was a Queen's Pawn Chigorin Variation lasting 63 moves. It ended with Sam grabbing the win. However, post-game computer analysis revealed a missed perpetual check that would have led to a draw.
Jyani Vipin continues to climb the standings with a win against Kevin Perrin. Guha Shanaya scored a solid win against Paul Marko. Jullian Laffey continues to improve despite his administrative duties, holding the eight-time club champion Patrick Cook to a draw. Ivory Trevor dispatched Tom Oppenheim. Declan Smith remains on top with a perfect score of 5/5, closely followed by Rodney Jacobs on 4/5. In the ‘B’ group, Alberto Biju brushed off Sebastian Davin on Board 1. Ryan Lambrou continued his ascent with a win against Stephen Christo, catching his opponent in a nasty discovered check. Zachary Jacob squandered a winning position to Methuja Dissanayake. Board 4 featured a hard-fought draw between Jasan Barnett and Minsadi Wansapura. Rory Colgrave was given a free lesson by Nigel Block. Alberto Biju continues to lead the tournament alone on 5/5, with Methuja Dissanayake and Ryan Lambrou in hot pursuit on 4/5.

Round Four

The fourth round of the Koelle Tournament saw Declan Smith show his class by quietly outplaying his young adversary, Sam Song, on Board 1. The matchup on Board 2 was between Jamie Brotheridge and Rodney Jacobs. Rodney prevailed, gaining revenge for their previous encounter in the final round of the Teters Memorial (*which may be renamed the Charles Fisher Memorial after 2025), where Jamie had prevented Rodney from finishing as runner-up. Michael Leckie continues to impress, holding Paul Marko to a draw. Bas van Riel is back in form with a convincing win over youngster Shanaya Guha. Declan Mahar produced the only upset of the round by defeating veteran Patrick Cook, avenging his previous loss to Cook in the Teters Memorial. Newcomer to A Grade, Julian Laffey, managed to secure his first point against Tom Oppenheim.
Declan Smith, now on 4/4, extends his lead to a full point, with Rodney Jacobs following closely behind, hoping for a slip-up. The real surprise of the round is whether Patrick Cook’s ‘draw-meister’ title is under threat, with Paul Marko now recording his second draw of the tournament.
Checking in on the Reserves group: Alberto Biju put an end to Methuja Dissanayake’s strong run of form. Zachariah Jacob was quickly dispatched by newcomer Christo Stephen. Board 3 saw top seed Jasan Barnett defeat Joel Jomy in a lengthy brawl, proving he’s still in the fight despite an earlier-round loss. On Board 5, quick learner Ryan Lambrou took down the experienced Morgan Colgrave.
Alberto Biju leads the pack with a perfect score of 4/4, with six players right behind him on 3/4.

Round Three

The third round of the Koelle Tournament took place Thursday night, kicking off with intense action in A Grade as the top seven boards battled it out. Declan Smith came out on top in his bout against the experienced Rodney Jacobs on Board 1. Sam Song defeated veteran Patrick Cook with an elegant bishop sacrifice right in front of Patrick’s castled king.

Sam Song's sacrifice against Patrick's not so safe King.
Declan Smith is now leading the tournament with a perfect score of 3/3, followed closely by Jamie Brotheridge and Sam Song, both on 2.5/3.
In B Grade, Methuja Dissanayake continued his strong form by defeating fellow junior Minsadi Wansapura on Board 1. Zachariah Jacob prevailed over strong newcomer Joel Jomy. The B Grade title remains wide open, with three players currently tied at 3/3.

Round Two

Last Thursday evening, the second round of the Koelle tournament commenced with 16 players battling it out in A grade, with one half-point bye. As the games concluded, there were no real surprises in terms of results. However, on board 7, the game between Paul Marko and Ivory Trevor featured an interesting middle game, with all minor pieces traded off. The game, however, ended in a draw. Only two players are on 2/2: namely, Rodney Jacobs and CM Declan Smith.
The B grade section, with 24 players and 10 half-point byes, saw multiple upsets. On boards 1 and 2, Dissanayake Methuja and Alberto Biju triumphed over the two favourites to win the whole thing—top seeds Jasan Barnett and Oscar Heawood. Jasan found himself with a pleasant opening, but Methuja seized the opportunity to equalise and then swing the result in his favour. The game between Oscar and Alberto was a Caro-Kann Fantasy variation, ending in style on move 16 with a rook sacrifice on f3.

That was not all for the round, as Lachlan Mewwett defeated the experienced Morgan Colgrave, and Zachary Jacobs beat his fellow junior, Sebastian Davin. These results have led to B grade having no clear leader.

Round One

The Koelle Tournament started Thursday evening. It is a seven-round Swiss with two rating groups, making it unique from the other tournaments of the year. A Grade includes players with an ACF rating over 1000, and B Grade includes the ones that are lower. Unrated players are given a provisional rating to compete in one of the two groups.
Sixteen players were seated in the A Grade tournament Thursday night, with one half-point bye. The A Grade tournament was led by first seed Candidate Master Declan Smith, who is looking to claim his first Koelle Tournament win after missing out last year to Stewart Scott, who is looking to make it two years in a row.
Mystery man Michael Leckie pulled off an upset on Board 5 by starting a strong attack against Bas van Riel in the opening, leading to the black king being stranded in the centre. There were three draws in the round. Our Club President Peter Stickland was held to a draw by the defending champion Scott Stewart. Peter found himself to have a slight advantage in the opening phase; however, the game was a back-and-forth frenzy ending in a draw. At Board 6, strong veteran and Club Captain Patrick Cook found himself a pawn down against strong junior Shanaya. However, Patrick held her to a draw, living up to his reputation of being the draw-meister. Tom Oppenheim also held the experienced Jamie Brotheridge to a draw.
The B Grade tournament also had its first round, with 30 players and one half-point bye. Jasan Barnett, top seed of the tournament, was pushed to the edge by Jeffrey Spencer. Later on in the game, Jeffrey was caught in a nasty fork, leading to his loss.