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Last update: Friday August 15, 2008 10:36
Thursday 14th August. A very early start with breakfast at 7.15. Lots of bleary –eyed parents but thankfully bright-eyed players were ready and raring to go. No sign of Tom at breakfast but no surprise there. I actually went into the playing hall today to try to soak up the atmosphere! I discovered it’s very hot and quite boring if you don’t understand what’s going on, although people-watching can be quite entertaining with the stress levels reaching fever pitch. The big news of the day……….ROBERT WON! Much excitement in the England camp as he emerged with a huge smile on his face. James followed a little while later, also victorious. Isaac also won finishing on a fantastic 6 to secure 5th= overall. Draws for Henry and Joe. Joe’s was another rollercoaster from drawing to 2 pieces down back to winning (!) and then finally a draw.
Unfortunately a defeat for Brandon but we are all very proud of all the players.
Back to the Fabiani for lunch and say goodbye to the majority of the Welsh contingent. Still no sign of Tom, but on the bright side he hadn’t been spotted in a cornfield either. Eventually he emerged halfway through lunch having enjoyed the party but not sharing any gory detail with the rest of us!
We all clapped our hands sore at the prize-giving and then chilled out at the pool. Many bruises and scratches meant the children had a great time and were tired out with the steps on the slide. Tom was dunked a few times but seemed to be enjoying himself anyway. Probably helped to eradicate the remains of his hangover!
Brandon – 5 ½
Henry – 5
Isaac – 6
James – 5
Joe – 3 ½
Robert – 2 ½
A very respectable outcome.
EU Under 14 Mureck, 2008
[Neil McDonald]
Robert knew that being the lowest rated player in the tournament meant he would be in for a hard time. Nonetheless, things weren't made easier when Doris Gerhold, an Austrian player who had began with a string of losses, suddenly decided to play like Gary Kasparov against him in Round five, sacrificing a rook for a brilliant attack. The following well played positional game from the last round meant that Robert ended the tournament on a high and exceeded his seeding. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 After having to battle with various anti-Sicilian lines earlier in the tournament, Robert was pleased to finally get his beloved Dragon Variation. 4...Nc6 The rest of the world plays 4...Nf6 here. 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Be3 Black might have exploited his unusual 4th move with 6...Ng4, harassing the white bishop [normally after 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Ng4?? is an embarrassing blunder because of 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Qxg4! winning apiece] 6...g6 7.Bd3? [A clumsy move. White should play 7.Bc4 increasing his control over the d5 square and not cutting off his queen's defence of d4.] 7...Bg7 8.0–0 0–0 9.h3 e5! Black seizes space in the centre, drives the white knight from d4, and prepares to over run the d5 square with a well timed d6-d5. 10.Nde2 If White had played the correct 7.Bc4, not only would he have d5 well guarded, but he would be able to attack d6 with 10.Ndb5, threatening 11.Nxd6. In contrast, if he plays 10.Ndb5 in the game, then 10...a6 11.Na3 b5 is good for Black. 10...Be6 Black's bishop takes over the a2-e6 diagonal that the white bishop has neglected as a prelude to the freeing move d6-d5. 11.a3 Qd7?! [It was better to advance at once with 11...d5! ] 12.Kh2 White defends against a possible Bxh3 sacrifice. 12...Rac8 13.Bb5? A purposeless move as he doesn't intend to take on c6. White should have played the [13.f4! gaining counterplay.] 13...a6 14.Bd3 Back again. White has run out of constructive ideas and so waits passively for Black's attack. 14...d5! At last Black takes the chance to break open the centre, when his pieces prove to be better coordinnated than his opponent's. 15.exd5 Nxd5 16.Bc5 Rfe8 Now both black rooks are on excellent centre posts. 17.Be4 Nxc3 18.Nxc3 [If 18.Qxd7 Black can grab three minor pieces for the queen with 18...Nxe4 19.Qxb7 Nxc5] 18...Qc7! The next stage in Robert's plan is to advance the f-pawn to drive back the white pieces. 19.Kh1 f5 20.Bd5 Bxd5 21.Qxd5+ Qf7 22.Qd1? [Playing with fire. He should exchange queens, though after 22.Qxf7+ Kxf7 with 23...e4 looming, to unleash the Dragon bishop against c3, Black would undoubtedly have the better of it.] 22...Rcd8 23.Qe2 [It was necessary to grovel on the back rank with 23.Qc1 ] 23...Nd4! and suddenly no matter how he plays White with lose material. If the white queen goes to e3 or e1 there is a fork on c2, costing White the exchange and a pawn. Instead 24.Qd3 loses as in the game. 24.Qd1 Nb3 25.Qe2 Nxc5 Winning a piece. For the first time in the tournament, Robert has a 100% winning position if he plays sensibly. 26.Nd1 Ne6 27.c3 b5 28.g3 f4 29.Kh2 Nc5 30.b4 Losing more material, but the game was already resignable. 30...Nb3! 31.Ra2 [There is another fork after 31.Rb1 Nd2] 31...Nc1 32.Qc2 Qxa2 The greedy 32...Nxa2 is even simpler. 33.Qxc1 fxg3+ 34.Kxg3 Qc4 35.Ne3 Qf4+ 36.Kg2 Bh6 37.Re1 Rf8 38.Re2 Qf3+ 39.Kf1 Qh1# Robert had a roller coaster ride in the tournament, but giving checkmate is a nice way to end it! 0–1
A very sad day as we pack up to leave. Neil wondering what to do about his fan. He bought a fan when we first arrived and was told if he brought it back the day he left he would get half his money back. Sadly today is a bank holiday so none of the shops are open! Should Neil try to disassemble the fan and pack it, or bury it somewhere in the hope of retrieving it at a later date?! We say goodbye to the beautiful Austrian sunshine and look forward to seeing our loved ones awaiting our return home. Hopefully you have enjoyed this little insight into the tournament and the behind the scenes titbits. I will sign off now and maybe join you again next year !!!!!
