by CM Junior Tay
Today’s ABC Swiss event had 26 players returning for the 3-round, 10min+5 seconds Swiss event and this time, we had 4 winners with maximum points.
Topping the list was Leong Hung Rey, who had studied in Raffles Institution from 2014 to 2019 and according to FM Ashvin Sivakumar, he had represented the school on Board 3 and 4 in the interschool events. He won all his rounds with relative ease and this week’s student analyst; Benedict Koh will provide more details and commentary on how he won the event in good time.
Last week’s champion Maxim Terekhov once again made the podium. He didn’t have it easy this week though as ACSI schoolboy Ethan Teo stretched him in the final game when Maxim’s all-out attack hit a cog when he mistimed his kingside assault. The advantage kept swinging both ways due to the highly tactical nature of the encounter but finally, Maxim wrapped up the proceedings with a mate in 4 combination.
It’s RI in the fray once again as Khor Eng Yeow, likewise a former Rafflesian, breezed past his opponents for his 3/3. Interestingly, we have a chessdad who had the last perfect score. Ng Hui Kwang, the father of Alyssa Ng (NAG U8 champion last year), also had a picket fence score. However, he had to endure some serious time pressure though as Ethan Teo (again?) took him to the wire in round 2. Ng was virtually surviving on increment in a worse ending when he came up with an inspired idea to establish a kingside passed pawn to generate counterplay. Ethan got caught up in playing a-tempo and underestimated the passed pawn (and Ng’s active king) and subsequently lost.
See https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=Ed162MvLEwJEvRtp/qsrFc9XchO9zJw84j9PJ87jDiaVgg7bNrlbzhwo5QEcYOOb for the exciting finish.
We have received many positive comments about this event, one which allowed the ABCs to compete and spar without the stress of being bulldozed by FIDE-rated players. One parent credited the event for bringing his son’s chess interest back to chess and subsequent chess training. Another parent related how the kids eagerly awaited to compete in the weekly event and I was told about a daughter’s happiness in her own improving play in subsequent ABC events…and so on, so forth. So now, we are discussing whether the event should be continued after June henceforth.
We will leave you now with this wicked stalemate trick by ACS schoolboy Joshua Chee.
The team would like to thank the players for their faithful participation in the event.
Thanks so much!
From:
Tourney director/ coordinator and post-game analyst(by request): WCM Bernadette Kong
FIDE rated student analysts: Lim Kai Jun, Zachary Chia, Benedict Koh and Marcel Neo