11 players battled it out for the title of Club Blitz Champion at the club on Thursday. The format of the event was round robin (11 rounds with a bye replacing the 12th player) and the time control was 5 minutes per side. The players and their scores were:
Charles 10, Stephen 8, James 7.5, Daniel 7, Otto 6, Andrew 5, Mischek 4, Errol 3.5, Manuel 2, Jonathan 2, Grant 0.
There's a bit of uncertainty about some of the scores, so please leave corrections in the comments section if you spot an error.
The atmosphere was typical of recent club events - competitive during play, but with plenty of friendly, light-hearted chatter between games. Otto managed to work the chatter into some of his games as a surprise weapon, but I'm not sure that it paid off. Charles and Stephen (in that order) were favourites on account of their ratings and lived up to expectations.
As always, there were plenty of exciting games and positions, but since this was a blitz event, many were not recorded. I arrived late and didn't play in the event, but was presented with a puzzle to solve by James, Otto and Daniel as I walked into the main playing room. Here it is (not 100% the same, but the essential features of the position are the same). White to play and win.
I stared blankly at the puzzle for while, until Charles glanced over from the where he was sitting and stated that the puzzle was flawed, and there was no forced win for White. Others, who shall remain anonymous, insisted that there was, and one even asked Charles if he was willing to bet (money!) on the existence of a forced win for White. Betting against the chess analysis of the highest rated player in the room probably isn't the wisest use for one's money, and Jame... er..., I mean, Mr X, was lucky to walk out at the end of the event with his shirt on his back and his wallet only as empty as it was when he walked in.
Daniel was the first to spot what Charles was on about, followed shortly by the others, and the puzzle was quickly repaired by replacing the Black bishop on d7 with a knight.
Daniel also played an attractive miniature against Errol, apparently similar to the Fried Liver Attack.
Daniel Glago - Errol Bathurst
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke7 8.Bxd5 Nd4 9.Qf7+ Kd6 10.Nc3 Nxc2+ 11.Kd1 Nxa1 12.Ne4#
James reached a zugzwang position as White against Manuel that looked like it could come from a textbook explaining the concept of zugzwang. I heard him chuckle as he played his move (b3, I think) and left Manuel with nothing but bad options.
Well done to Charles for adding the Club Blitz Champion title to the Club Champion title that he won earlier this year and to Stephen and James for taking 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Thanks to everyone who came to the event for making it a fun evening.
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