General news about the BCC and the chess world
With the MRT closing down at 5pm, early closing of the BTS too, and a very uncertain time as tensions rise in the Ratchaprasong area, it would seem the best advice is to stay at home tonight (14 May). Neither Kai nor myself (Peter) will be at the chess club tonight.
Keep safe!
The Thailand Chess Championship 2010 is being held at the St. Louis Hospital, Sathorn Road, from May 1-5.
The tournament will determine Thailand’s team for the Olympiad, and is open to Thai nationals and long-term residents.
Tournament Regulations
Prizes. 1st prize will be approx 20,000 Baht (approx. 400 Euros).base on 100 players. (Please note a 5% tax will be deducted from the prize money.) 16 prize winner.
Entry Fees.
Open & Woman: 500 Baht and 200 Baht for TCA member &Under 15. Late registration fee at site is 700 Baht.
Tournament Schedule
[table id=14 /]
GM Sune Berg Hansen won yet again while second placed GM Nigel Short drew, so Hansen is a full point clear at 7.5/8. A final-round draw will be sufficient to secure top prize, but with a win Hansen may achieve the magical 2600 rating – let’s see if he goes for it.
5 players share 3rd place with 6/8: IM Sunil Mokal Prathamesh, GM Dzhumaev Marat, IM Lahiri Atanu, IM Ansell Simon and IM Ashwin Jayaram.
In the challenger group, leaders Joel Pacuribot will play Andrew Horton-Kitchlew in the final round.
Stephane Reinert, local player Issara Vitithum and WFM Swati Mahota are half a point behind with 5/6.
The atmosphere is incredibly concentrated at this stage of the tournament. Mokal Sunil held GM Short to a second draw, while GM Hansen storms into a half point lead with a fine win over IM Atanu Lahiri.
The Indian junior Suri Vaibhav continues his remarkable performance with a win over Siyuan Shen of China, so he is one of 5 players chasing Hansen, with 5/6 points. Perhaps Suri will achieve his final IM norm.
In the Challenger group, defending champion Andrew Horton-Kitchlew, Frenchman Stephane Reinert and unrated Joel Pacuribot share first place with 4/4.
The third day proceeded well. With just one afternoon game per day, the top players were able to prepare for their opponents. The top seeds faced each other and fought tenaciously, but in the end a draw could not be avoided. Going into the 6th round there are 4 players on 4.5 points, so we should continue to see some fine chess.
In the Challenger section there are 6 players with 3/3 points and two more close behind with 2.5
More upsets, but not on the top two boards. Leading the field after 4 rounds are GM Nigel Short, GM Sune Berg Hansen and IM Sunil Mokal Prathamesh, all on maximum points, closely followed by IM Jayaram Ashwin, IM Atanu Lahiri and WGM Mohota Nisha on 3.5/4. That will have to end tomorrow as the two top boards face each other (Short has white) – that should be a memorable game as it has got to be too soon for insipid handshakes after 6 moves. Crosstables and pairings at chess-results.com
FM Wisuwat Teerapabpaisit leads the field of local players with 3/4.
The Challenger group kicked off today with two games. Results and board pairings can be found at chess-results.com