BRITBASE - British Chess Game Archive
Tournament: Hastings 1998/99 • go to Previous Year • Next Year • 45 Premier games + 148 others
Venue: Cinque Ports Hotel, Hastings • Date: 29 December 1998 - 7 January 1999 • Download PGN • uploaded
Sunday, 27 September, 2026 7:04 PM
1998/99 (74th) Hastings Congress, 29 December 1998 – 7 January 1999
1998/99 Hastings Premier, 29 December - 7 January, Cinque Ports Hotel
| 1998/99 Hastings Premier |
Fed | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 19 | Total | Rtg +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Sokolov | BIH | 2620g |
|
½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 7 | +17.8 | |
| 2 | Matthew D Sadler | ENG | 2660g | ½ |
|
½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5 | -7.6 | |
| 3 | John M Emms | ENG | 2585g | 0 | ½ |
|
½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5 | +3.2 | |
| 4 | Jonathan S Speelman | ENG | 2600g | ½ | ½ | ½ |
|
½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5 | +0.5 | |
| 5 | Ruslan Ponomariov | UKR | 2585g | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
|
½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5 | +3.2 | |
| 6 | Sergei Shipov | RUS | 2635g | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ |
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -4.0 | |
| 7 | H James Plaskett | ENG | 2455g | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
0 | ½ | ½ | 3½ | +5.3 | |
| 8 | Laurent Fressinet | FRA | 2455m | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 |
|
½ | ½ | 3½ | +5.3 | |
| 9 | Anthony J Miles | ENG | 2590g | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ |
|
½ | 3½ | -12.7 | |
| 10 | Mihail Saltaev | UZB | 2525g | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
|
2½ | -13.7 | |
Average Elo: 2571, Category 13, GM norm = 5
1998/99 Hastings Challengers, 29 December 1998 - 7 January 1999
| 1998/99 Hastings Challengers |
Fed | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klaus Bischoff | GER | 2550g | w19+ | b30+ | w9+ | b6= | w2= | b15+ | w18= | b5= | w3= | b11+ | 7½ |
| 2 | Bogdan Lalic | CRO | 2560g | b26+ | w24+ | b21= | w10+ | b1= | w8= | b7= | w34+ | b18+ | w4= | 7½ |
| 3 | Saidali Iuldachev | UZB | 2505g | b15= | w40+ | b33+ | w16= | b24+ | w20= | b10= | w7+ | b1= | w18+ | 7½ |
| 4 | Keith C Arkell | ENG | 2470g | w70+ | b9- | w38+ | b12+ | w15- | b22+ | w36= | b53+ | w6+ | b2= | 7 |
| 5 | Dimitry Kayumov | UZB | 2460m | b33- | w65= | b25+ | w28= | b40+ | w39+ | b13+ | w1= | b14+ | w8= | 7 |
| 6 | Petr Kiriakov | RUS | 2545g | b48+ | w13+ | b16= | w1= | b21+ | w34+ | b8= | w18= | b4- | w17+ | 7 |
| 7 | Andrew J Ledger | ENG | 2450m | b37+ | w33= | b39+ | w8= | b13= | w46+ | w2= | b3- | b21+ | w20+ | 7 |
| 8 | Normunds Miezis | LAT | 2515g | w31= | b54+ | w46+ | b7= | w9+ | b2= | w6= | b12+ | w11= | b5= | 7 |
| 9 | Welf Aumann | GER | 2295 | b42+ | w4+ | b1- | w66+ | b8- | w55= | b37+ | w13- | b32+ | w33+ | 6½ |
| 10 | Alexander Cherniaev | RUS | 2415m | w27+ | b17+ | w36= | b2- | w53+ | b19+ | w3= | b14- | w31+ | b12= | 6½ |
| 11 | Daniel W Gormally | ENG | 2405m | b17- | w66= | b65+ | w42+ | b33+ | w13= | b21+ | w16+ | b8= | w1- | 6½ |
| 12 | Ingo Lentze | GER | 2205 | b75+ | w21- | b63+ | w4- | b25+ | w24+ | b20+ | w8- | b34+ | w10= | 6½ |
| 13 | Peter J Sowray | ENG | 2320f | w43+ | b6- | w51+ | b56+ | w7= | b11= | w5- | b9+ | w36+ | b15= | 6½ |
| 14 | Simon K Williams | ENG | 2335f | b47+ | w16- | b66= | w65- | b80+ | w54+ | b55+ | w10+ | w5- | b29+ | 6½ |
| 15 | Christopher R Duncan | ENG | 2265f | w3= | b29+ | w41+ | bye= | b4+ | w1- | b34- | w25+ | b16= | w13= | 6 |
| 16 | Mark L Hebden | ENG | 2590g | w23+ | b14+ | w6= | b3= | w36+ | b18- | w30+ | b11- | w15= | b19= | 6 |
| 17 | David J Ledger | ENG | 2220f | w11+ | w10- | b73= | b57- | w50+ | b56+ | w23+ | b36= | w35+ | b6- | 6 |
| 18 | Petr Marusenko | UKR | 2380 | bye= | b56= | w61+ | b44+ | w31+ | w16+ | b1= | b6= | w2- | b3- | 6 |
| 19 | Robin B W Moss | ENG | 2260 | b1- | w55= | b58+ | bye+ | w57+ | w10- | b33= | w32= | b22+ | w16= | 6 |
| 20 | Nicholas Pert | ENG | 2415m | w53= | b38= | w56= | b61+ | w65+ | b3= | w12- | b43+ | w27+ | b7- | 6 |
| 21 | Gozewijn Van Laatum | NED | 2355f | w79+ | b12+ | w2= | b31= | w6- | b70+ | w11- | b41+ | w7- | b43+ | 6 |
| 22 | R Alan Barton | ENG | 2180 | b46- | w52= | b68= | w64+ | b58+ | w4- | b47= | w39+ | w19- | b65+ | 5½ |
| 23 | Juergen Brustkern | GER | 2255 | b16- | w63+ | b80+ | w55+ | b34- | w32= | b17- | w42= | b54= | w49+ | 5½ |
| 24 | Vladimir Chtivelband | RUS | w41+ | b2- | w67+ | b32+ | w3- | b12- | w64+ | b27- | w40= | b54+ | 5½ | |
| 25 | Nigel P Donovan | ENG | 2145 | w45= | b70+ | w5- | b30= | w12- | b69+ | w56+ | b15- | w48+ | b27= | 5½ |
| 26 | David B Graham | ENG | 2265 | w2- | b67+ | w44- | bye= | b61= | w73= | b51= | w63+ | b42= | w55+ | 5½ |
| 27 | Adrian Jackson | ENG | 2225 | b10- | w64= | b69+ | w58= | b51= | w75= | b40+ | w24+ | b20- | w25= | 5½ |
| 28 | Jeremy F S Menadue | ENG | 2205 | w30- | b51= | w29+ | b5= | w70- | b44- | w76+ | b64+ | w41+ | b31= | 5½ |
| 29 | Ben Ogunshola | NGA | 2145 | b62+ | w15- | b28- | w68= | b60= | w77= | b58+ | w47+ | b46+ | w14- | 5½ |
| 30 | Oleg Pavlenko | AZE | 2300f | b28+ | w1- | b55= | w25= | b66+ | w47+ | b16- | w33= | b37= | w34= | 5½ |
| 31 | Richard G Pert | ENG | 2250 | b8= | w49+ | b34= | w21= | b18- | w51+ | b32= | w66+ | b10- | w28= | 5½ |
| 32 | Thomas E Rendle | ENG | b73= | w37= | b40+ | w24- | w43+ | b23= | w31= | b19= | w9- | b53+ | 5½ | |
| 33 | Hans Gerd Schmedders | GER | 2235 | w5+ | b7= | w3- | b60+ | w11- | b65+ | w19= | b30= | w53+ | b9- | 5½ |
| 34 | Aaron P Summerscale | ENG | 2455g | w35+ | b46= | w31= | b54+ | w23+ | b6- | w15+ | b2- | w12- | b30= | 5½ |
| 35 | Remco Van Vaalen | NED | 2235 | b34- | w73= | b50= | w63= | b62- | w72+ | b60+ | w55+ | b17- | w58+ | 5½ |
| 36 | Timothy P Wall | ENG | 2370f | b39= | w80+ | b10= | w47+ | b16- | w41+ | b4= | w17= | b13- | w37= | 5½ |
| 37 | Laurence Webb | ENG | 2225 | w7- | b32= | w78+ | b76= | w56= | b57+ | w9- | b44+ | w30= | b36= | 5½ |
| 38 | Thomas Barth | GER | 2165 | b76+ | w20= | b4- | w46- | b68= | w60= | b62= | w52= | b72+ | w42= | 5 |
| 39 | Maxim L Devereaux | ENG | 2215 | w36= | b59+ | w7- | b53= | w73+ | b5- | w44= | b22- | w71+ | b40= | 5 |
| 40 | Ingrid Lauterbach | ENG | 2170wm | w60+ | b3- | w32- | b71+ | w5- | b76+ | w27- | b75+ | b24= | w39= | 5 |
| 41 | Richard O'Donovan | IRL | 2195 | b24- | w77+ | b15- | w45+ | w76+ | b36- | b75+ | w21- | b28- | w62+ | 5 |
| 42 | David R Oates | WLS | w9- | b44+ | w57= | b11- | w54= | b45= | w71+ | b23= | w26= | b38= | 5 | |
| 43 | Marcus E Osborne | ENG | 2205 | b13- | w62+ | b75- | w59+ | b32- | w68+ | b63+ | w20- | b66+ | w21- | 5 |
| 44 | Timothy R Spanton | ENG | 2115 | b74+ | w42- | b26+ | w18- | b47- | w28+ | b39= | w37- | b52+ | w46= | 5 |
| 45 | Holger Telke | GER | b25= | w47- | b48= | b41- | w67+ | w42= | b54- | w61+ | b51= | w63+ | 5 | |
| 46 | Peter Varley | WLS | 2290 | w22+ | w34= | b8- | b38+ | w75+ | b7- | w53- | b65+ | w29- | b44= | 5 |
| 47 | Viraf Avari | IND | 2200f | w14- | b45+ | w59+ | b36- | w44+ | b30- | w22= | b29- | w50= | b48= | 4½ |
| 48 | Bernard Cafferty | ENG | 2240f | w6- | b61= | w45= | bye= | b63= | w58= | b73+ | w54= | b25- | w47= | 4½ |
| 49 | Peter Cafolla | IRL | 2110 | w71+ | b31- | w53- | b70- | w52- | b82+ | w69= | b74+ | w68+ | b23- | 4½ |
| 50 | David Ian Calvert | ENG | 2065 | w54- | b78= | w35= | bye= | b17- | b67= | w57= | bye+ | b47= | w51= | 4½ |
| 51 | Anthony Fox | IRL | 2115 | b64= | w28= | b13- | w74+ | w27= | b31- | w26= | b57= | w45= | b50= | 4½ |
| 52 | Leo A Keely | ENG | w61- | b22= | w79- | b69= | b49+ | w66- | w67+ | b38= | w44- | b72+ | 4½ | |
| 53 | Feliks J Kwiatkowski | ENG | 2220 | b20= | w58= | b49+ | w39= | b10- | w62+ | b46+ | w4- | b33- | w32- | 4½ |
| 54 | Stephen C Ledger | ENG | 2175 | b50+ | w8- | b64+ | w34- | b42= | b14- | w45+ | b48= | w23= | w24- | 4½ |
| 55 | Nicholas Moloney | ENG | 2120 | w72+ | b19= | w30= | b23- | w79+ | b9= | w14- | b35- | w57+ | b26- | 4½ |
| 56 | Frank Parr | ENG | 2140 | b68+ | w18= | b20= | w13- | b37= | w17- | b25- | w60= | w76= | b74+ | 4½ |
| 57 | John Rety | ENG | 2045 | b65- | w84+ | b42= | w17+ | b19- | w37- | b50= | w51= | b55- | w73+ | 4½ |
| 58 | Christopher B Rice | ENG | 2095 | w81+ | b53= | w19- | b27= | w22- | b48= | w29- | b69+ | w70+ | b35- | 4½ |
| 59 | Michael Schulz | GER | 2105 | b84+ | w39- | b47- | b43- | w64- | w74= | b72- | w83+ | b81+ | w75+ | 4½ |
| 60 | Mark A Whitehead | ENG | 2050 | b40- | w74= | b77+ | w33- | w29= | b38= | w35- | b56= | w67= | b70+ | 4½ |
| 61 | Richard J A Almond | ENG | 2120 | b52+ | w48= | b18- | w20- | w26= | b64- | bye= | b45- | w75= | b76+ | 4 |
| 62 | Terence J Bean | ENG | 2040 | w29- | b43- | w81+ | b67= | w35+ | b53- | w38= | b70= | w65= | b41- | 4 |
| 63 | Roger D de Coverly | ENG | 2110 | w78+ | b23- | w12- | b35= | w48= | b79+ | w43- | b26- | w64+ | b45- | 4 |
| 64 | Paul D Dupré | ENG | 2050 | w51= | b27= | w54- | b22- | b59+ | w61+ | b24- | w28- | b63- | bye+ | 4 |
| 65 | Jerry G Humphreys | ENG | 2160 | w57+ | b5= | w11- | b14+ | b20- | w33- | b77+ | w46- | b62= | w22- | 4 |
| 66 | Jonathan B Mutton | ENG | 2135 | w69+ | b11= | w14= | b9- | w30- | b52+ | w70+ | b31- | w43- | 4 | |
| 67 | David Parr | ENG | 2135 | b77+ | w26- | b24- | w62= | b45- | w50= | b52- | w81+ | b60= | w68= | 4 |
| 68 | Edmund Soh | ENG | w56- | b71= | w22= | b29= | w38= | b43- | w79+ | bye= | b49- | b67= | 4 | |
| 69 | Thirumurugan Thiruchelvam | ENG | 2020 | b66- | b79= | w27- | w52= | b74+ | w25- | b49= | w58- | bye= | b81+ | 4 |
| 70 | Elchin Allahverdiyev | AZE | 2235 | b4- | w25- | b84+ | w49+ | b28+ | w21- | b66- | w62= | b58- | w60- | 3½ |
| 71 | James Bourne | ENG | 2065 | b49- | w68= | b74= | w40- | b72= | w80+ | b42- | w77+ | b39- | 3½ | |
| 72 | Paul Isherwood | ENG | b55- | w75- | b83- | b78+ | w71= | b35- | w59+ | b73+ | w38- | w52- | 3½ | |
| 73 | Alvin N Kissoon | ENG | 2115 | w32= | b35= | w17= | bye= | b39- | b26= | w48- | w72- | b78+ | b57- | 3½ |
| 74 | David Path | IRL | w44- | b60= | w71= | b51- | w69- | b59= | b81+ | w49- | b77+ | w56- | 3½ | |
| 75 | William M Purkiss | ENG | 2100 | w12- | b72+ | w43+ | bye= | b46- | b27= | w41- | w40- | b61= | b59- | 3½ |
| 76 | Melvyn J Young | ENG | 2050 | w38- | b81+ | bye= | w37= | b41- | w40- | b28- | w78+ | b56= | w61- | 3½ |
| 77 | Eoin Campbell | SCO | 2015 | w67- | b41- | w60- | bye+ | b81+ | b29= | w65- | b71- | w74- | w78= | 3 |
| 78 | Bent Corneliussen | DEN | b63- | w50= | b37- | w72- | b82- | w81= | bye+ | b76- | w73- | b77= | 2½ | |
| 79 | Stephen Mulligan | ENG | 2210 | b21- | w69= | b52+ | w80= | b55- | w63- | b68- | def- | 2 | ||
| 80 | Robert Parker | ENG | 2125 | bye+ | b36- | w23- | b79= | w14- | b71- | 1½ | ||||
| 81 | Aylmer Crompton | ENG | b58- | w76- | b62- | bye= | w77- | b78= | w74- | b67- | w59- | w69- | 1 | |
| 82 | Harry Iyengar, sr | ENG | w78+ | w49- | 1 | |||||||||
| 83 | Paul J Kelly | WLS | w72+ | b59- | 1 | |||||||||
| 84 | Ian S McLeod | ENG | w59- | b57 | w70- | 0 | ||||||||
Prizes, etc
(1-3) Klaus Bischoff (Germany), Bogdan Lalic (Croatia/Slough), Saidali Iuldachev (Uzbekistan) 7½/10 - £650 each. Bischoff and Lalic qualified for the next Hastings Premier. Klaus Bischoff also wins the Ritson Morry Trophy.
(4-8) Keith Arkell (Derby), Dimitry Kayumov (Uzbekistan), Normunds Miezis (Latvia), Petr Kiriakov (Russia), Andrew Ledger (Bedford) 7/10 - [prize not listed in bulletin]
Highest Placed Female: Ingrid Lauterbach (BCM) 5/10 - £100
IM Norms: Peter Sowray (Wood Green), Chris Duncan (Pinner)
Highest non-GM/IM: Welf Aumann, Ingo Lentze, Peter Sowray, Simon Williams - £25 each.
Highest non-FIDE-rated (at start of event): Vladimir Chtivelband, Thomas Rendle - £50 each
British Championship qualifying places: Chris Duncan, Peter Sowray
1998/99 World Amateur Chess Championship, Hastings, 29 December - 7 January
| 1998/99 World Amateur Chess Championship |
BCF Grade |
Elo Conv |
est/ jun |
Fed | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gaguik Oganessian | 167 | 1936 | ARM | w41+ | b16+ | w17- | b24+ | w4+ | b9= | w22+ | w8+ | b7= | w3= | 7½ | |
| 2 | Dan Erichsen | 161 | 1888 | DEN | w37+ | b13+ | w4= | b9- | w5= | b28= | w40+ | b17+ | b8+ | w7+ | 7½ | |
| 3 | Peter J Mercs | 170 | 1960 | ENG | w29+ | b10= | w30+ | b12- | w28+ | b20+ | w9+ | b7= | w5= | b1= | 7 | |
| 4 | Lorin A R D'Costa | 172 | 1976 | j | ENG | b25+ | w15+ | b2= | w33+ | b1- | w8= | b21= | w20+ | w9+ | b5= | 7 |
| 5 | Sergey Kayumov | 182 | 2056 | UZB | b26+ | w6= | b7= | w15= | b2= | w25+ | b16+ | w10+ | b3= | w4= | 7 | |
| 6 | Sam Essen | 153 | 1824 | ENG | w46+ | b4= | w9- | b32+ | w22- | b42+ | b11= | w27+ | b16= | w18+ | 6½ | |
| 7 | Gino Scamardella | 153 | 1824 | ENG | w45+ | b9= | w5= | b14= | w30+ | b40+ | w17+ | w3= | w1= | b2- | 6½ | |
| 8 | Frank Lennart Vang | 173 | 1984 | DEN | w27= | b32+ | w14+ | b17= | w12+ | b4= | w15+ | b1- | w2- | w21+ | 6½ | |
| 9 | Vanik Zakarian | 175 | 2000 | ARM | b20+ | w7= | b6+ | w2+ | b17= | w1= | b3- | w21+ | b4- | w16+ | 6½ | |
| 10 | Adrian G Elwin | 167 | 1936 | ENG | b31+ | w3= | b19+ | bye= | w20= | b15- | w12+ | b5- | w29+ | w11= | 6 | |
| 11 | Christopher Jones | 171 | 1968 | ENG | w32= | b47+ | w40- | b29+ | w21= | b12= | w6= | b15+ | w14= | b10= | 6 | |
| 12 | Christopher Sherwood | 159 | 1872 | ENG | b17- | w34+ | b37+ | w3+ | b8- | w11= | b10- | w38+ | b20= | w25+ | 6 | |
| 13 | Todor Dimitrov | 143 | 1744 | e | SCO | b18+ | w2- | b33- | w36+ | b25- | w19+ | b27- | w30+ | b23+ | w26= | 5½ |
| 14 | Angus J French | 153 | 1824 | ENG | b36+ | w33= | b8- | w7= | b27- | w39+ | b25+ | w18= | b11= | w20= | 5½ | |
| 15 | Paul J Kelly | 148 | 1784 | WLS | w42+ | b4- | w39+ | b5= | b33+ | w10+ | b8- | w11- | b18- | w34+ | 5½ | |
| 16 | Gavin R Lock | 162 | 1896 | ENG | b34+ | w1- | b43+ | w25+ | b40= | w17= | w5- | b22+ | w6= | b9- | 5½ | |
| 17 | (Josiah) Ezra Lutton | 117 | 1536 | j | ENG | w12+ | b22+ | b1+ | w8= | w9= | b16= | b7- | w2- | b21- | w29+ | 5½ |
| 18 | Konrad Scheffler | 199 | 2192 | e | RSA | w13- | b38+ | w27+ | b20- | w24+ | b21- | w28+ | b14= | w15+ | b6- | 5½ |
| 19 | Gilles Suez-Panama | 100 | 1400 | e | FRA | w28= | b21+ | w10- | b30- | w32+ | b13- | w29- | b44+ | b33+ | w35+ | 5½ |
| 20 | Geoff Thurman | 150 | 1800 | ENG | w9- | b41+ | w42+ | w18+ | b10= | w3- | b33+ | b4- | w12= | b14= | 5½ | |
| 21 | Michael Waddington | 178 | 2024 | ENG | b40= | w19- | b26+ | w23+ | b11= | w18+ | w4= | b9- | w17+ | b8- | 5½ | |
| 22 | Andrew Walden-Jones | 163 | 1904 | j | WLS | b44+ | w17- | b25- | w46+ | b6+ | w27+ | b1- | w16- | b35= | w31+ | 5½ |
| 23 | Stephen D Cunliffe | 176 | 2008 | ENG | w30= | b27= | w29= | b21- | w43+ | b38= | w24= | b36= | w13- | b41+ | 5 | |
| 24 | Jessie L Gilbert | 116 | 1528 | j | ENG | bye= | b39+ | w28= | w1- | b18- | w26+ | b23= | w35= | b25- | w36+ | 5 |
| 25 | Christopher Price | 132 | 1656 | ENG | w4- | b45+ | w22+ | b16- | w13+ | b5- | w14- | b28+ | w24+ | b12- | 5 | |
| 26 | Ingrid Voigt | 142 | 1736 | e | GER | w5- | b46+ | w21- | b45= | w39= | b24- | w31+ | b34= | w30+ | b13= | 5 |
| 27 | Gian Carlos Bimbatti | 139 | 1712 | VEN | b8= | w23= | b18- | w47+ | w14+ | b22- | w13+ | b6- | w31- | b32= | 4½ | |
| 28 | Nigel W Dennis | 148 | 1784 | ENG | b19= | w43= | b24= | w35+ | b3- | w2= | b18- | w25- | b39= | w46+ | 4½ | |
| 29 | David Flynn | 128 | 1624 | ENG | b3- | w36+ | b23= | w11- | b42- | w43+ | b19+ | w33+ | b10- | b17- | 4½ | |
| 30 | David Gebhardt | 142 | 1736 | ENG | b23= | w31+ | b3- | w19+ | b7- | w33- | w42+ | b13- | b26- | w39+ | 4½ | |
| 31 | Eamonn Goggin | 126 | 1608 | ENG | w10- | b30- | w45- | bye+ | b36= | w46+ | b26- | w41+ | b27+ | b22- | 4½ | |
| 32 | George Murphy | 132 | 1656 | e | SCO | b11= | w8- | b34+ | w6- | b19- | w36= | b41= | w39= | b38+ | w27= | 4½ |
| 33 | Arthur Pinkerton | 162 | 1896 | IRL | w38+ | b14= | w13+ | b4- | w15- | b30+ | w20- | b29- | w19- | bye+ | 4½ | |
| 34 | Liam Roche | 124 | 1592 | ENG | w16- | b12- | w32- | w44+ | b47+ | b35- | bye+ | w26= | b42+ | b15- | 4½ | |
| 35 | Peter J B Wilson | 123 | 1584 | GCI | b43= | w40- | w47= | b28- | b37+ | w34+ | w38= | b24= | w22= | b19- | 4½ | |
| 36 | Thomas Cleary | 112 | 1496 | IRL | w14- | b29- | w41+ | b13- | w31= | b32= | b39= | w23= | w44+ | b24- | 4 | |
| 37 | James S Macrae | 126 | 1608 | SCO | b2- | bye+ | w12- | b39- | w35- | b44= | b43+ | w42- | b46+ | w38= | 4 | |
| 38 | Gary Walker | 124 | 1592 | ENG | b33- | w18- | b44+ | bye= | w45+ | w23= | b35= | b12- | w32- | b37= | 4 | |
| 39 | David W L Howell | 104 | 1432 | j | ENG | bye= | w24- | b15- | w37+ | b26= | b14- | w36= | b32= | w28= | b30- | 3½ |
| 40 | Ross Jempson | 144 | 1752 | ENG | w21= | b35+ | b11+ | bye= | w16= | w7- | b2- | 3½ | ||||
| 41 | Siegrun MacGilchrist | 128 | 1624 | SCO | b1- | w20- | b36- | bye= | b46= | bye+ | w32= | b31- | w43+ | w23- | 3½ | |
| 42 | Maor Shine | 97 | 1376 | j | ENG | b15- | w44+ | b20- | bye= | w29+ | w6- | b30- | b37+ | w34- | 3½ | |
| 43 | Monica Vann | 122 | 1576 | ENG | w35= | b28= | w16- | bye= | b23- | b29- | w37- | w46+ | b41- | b44+ | 3½ | |
| 44 | Hugh S Flockhart | 136 | 1688 | SCO | w22- | b42- | w38- | b34- | bye+ | w37= | b46+ | w19- | b36- | w43- | 2½ | |
| 45 | Adewale Adelakun | 100 | 1400 | e | NGA | b7- | w25- | b31+ | w26= | b38- | 1½ | |||||
| 46 | John Constable | 109 | 1472 | ENG | b6- | w26- | bye+ | b22- | w41= | b31- | w44- | b43- | w37- | b28- | 1 | |
| 47 | Ali Kikoyo | 100 | 1400 | e | UGA | bye= | w11- | b35= | b27- | w34- | 1 | |||||
Gaguik Oganessian (ARM) won the World Amateur Championship title on tie-break and received the FM title
Jessie Gilbert, aged 11, won the Women's World Amateur Championship title on tie-break and received the WFM title.
Bulletin Editorial (by Richard W O'Brien - comments in bold are as given by him)
The 74th Hastings Congress, was held at the Cinque Ports Hotel & at the YMCA around 600 yards away. With no snow and ice this year the journey between the two was most comfortable.
Overall media coverage was on the up from previous years. There were daily columns in the Telegraph, Times, Guardian & Independent of very varying lengths.
The return of Jon Speelman to regular journalism (Independent & Observer {Sundays)) is most welcome.
For the first time there was live coverage of all the Premier games on the web and the resultant material reached many of the major sites. This proved to be a great attraction. Considering it was live and achieved without any sensory boards an excellent service was provided to the chessworld. There were slight transpositional errors in around 30% of the games - only one was serious. All these were corrected during the event. The service compared well to that supplied at the British Championships last July. Here there were more daily live games, and despite the playing ability of those working at this event being lower and the cost to the organisation being less the accuracy of the games supplied to the chessworld was of similar quality. The Hastings organisers were happy to keep the viewers on the website aware of errors whereas those at the British rarely did. Well done Hastings!
Stewart Reuben must be commended for getting the new kid on the block, 15-year-old Rusian Ponomariov, to take part in the Premier. For around a year he has been the world's youngest ever GM and has had excellent results at the recent Olympiad (representing Ukraine for whom he won a medal as well as an individual medal), in Ukraine where he was a surprise winner of a World Championship Zonal tournament, as well as in France. All these events have taken place since September. Somewhat surprising for someone of such a young age his playing style is very quiet with tactics almost never seen. It has been effective for a few years so why change?
The other youngster taking part was 18 year old Laurent Fressinet from France. This invitation was condemned in some quarters. His rating was low and he was almost unheard of. Still, his spectacular win over Jim Plaskett made his invitation justified. Jim, for once, was stunned and almost speechless after the game. Less than ten moves from the end he thought his position was OK - then pieces arrived from everywhere.
Chris Ward's commentary was excellently received, which was no surprise as he is clearly one of the best, if not the best commentator in the country. Indeed there were often more spectators in the commentary room than spectating in the playing hall.
As usual the Buswell/Bryant duo ran the popular evening Blitz events. How 60 people, usually including about 6 GMs want to play in such conditions — cramped, noisy (especially the organisers) with drunks around (one organiser & GMs etc) is beyond me. I tried it twice but never again. However if 60+ want to take part may it continue!!
Last year my main gripe in the bulletin was on the dates of the Challengers. In my opinion then and even more so now this event must start on Dec 28th and be played over 9 rounds. This allows people to take part using up just a few days of their holiday entitlement. It came as no surprise to me that, the entry for the Challengers dropped from 111 to the lower eighties. A few years ago, with less competition at this time of year from other European events it must be admitted, over 170 took part. The current schedule, with 10 rounds starting on Dec 29th meant competitors had to take two additional days off work. It must be remembered that the majority of entrants are amateurs. I understand that the venue at the YMCA was not available until Dec 28th. However I believe there was no reason why the first round could not have started at 4.00pm on the 28th as against the normal time of 2.15pm. Committee - please note.
Congratulations go to Ivan Sokolov, who easily won the Premier - with a round to spare. As usual the most entertaining games involved the local player, Jim Plaskett, sometimes winning, sometimes on the receiving end.
The weather continues to be mild in Hastings. German players Klaus Bischoff and Ingrid Lauterbach had the following interesting comment to make about the congress. People are always making the same comment about Hastings - you must be mad to play there - In fact the conditions in the Challengers are no worse than most open events in Germany, indeed play is less cramped than most there. Of course, the weather is cold at this time of year. The YMCA is rather shabby, but so what? Conditions for the Premier are very good indeed. Yet people continually decry Hastings and, of course, this causes people to choose not to play.
Clearly I must mention the performances of two exceptional youngsters:
Firstly, Thomas Rendle, the local 12 year old who had an exceptional congress. A year ago his playing strength was in the region of BCF 140, having shown only a small improvement during the previous two years. In the early part of the summer he caused a surprise by qualifying for the British Championship proper. There he exceeded most people's expectations by gaining an international rating of FIDE 2010, playing only rated players. Here at Hastings he showed further improvement. In the Challengers his FIDE rating comfortably exceeded Elo 2200 (BCF 200) and to prove it was no second fluke followed up with 6 x BCF 197 in the weekender. Clearly his playing strength is now in excess of BCF 180, if not more. Much of the credit must go to Francis Rayner, an excellent local coach.
Secondly the performance of Jessie Laura Cory Gilbert, an 11-year-old from Woldingham, Surrey must be noted. Her performance here, 10 games at BCF 137, gained her the World Amateur Ladies title.
Eighteen months ago she was ranked outside the top 20 in her age group. Since then she has made remarkable strides and is now in the top ten (under 12's including boys). Her latest published rating, based on results up to and including April 1998 is BCF 116. This compares most favourably to Harriet Hunt (the current England no.2) at the same age, who was BCF 100 and, also at the same age, Ruth Sheldon (the current England no.3 and reigning World U18 champion) whose rating was lower.
Will Jessie will reach these dizzy heights or even further?
On the Worldwide Web - http://www.chess.ndirect.co.uk/recorder/1998/artwjcc.htm it is claimed that any 11-year-old with a BCF 110+ should be seriously considered for international selection. For some unexplained reason Jessie seems to be missing out. Although clearly improving faster than most she is being overlooked. Indeed, I understand that the BCF Junior Director, Brian Jones, with his casting vote actually preferred NOT to send a player at all to an event rather than to send Jessie, who was ideal in both age and ability. Various publications, including, just to name a few, CHESS; Daily Telegraph; ChessMoves and Guardian have recently been highly critical of junior selection: and Jessie is one of the five who appears to have suffered the most. I also understand that at least two junior selectors, a senior selector, a BCF Director and coaches are unhappy with the current policy of the BCF Junior selectors. This result and her recent winning of the London U12's & U14's titles are not just freak results — they were happening prior to her being ignored for international selection.
Like Thomas she has had excellent coaches over the last couple of years — Chris Dunworth, Dave Rumens and recently Andrew Martin.
Comparing Thomas to Jessie it should be noted that during the past 12 months Thomas has been allowed to play in Junior international events and has improved his playing strength considerable whereas Jessie has improved despite lack of international opportunity.
Thanks are due to Hastings Borough Council for supplying considerable funds to help the event go close to breaking even; to Castleham Industries, a local printing firm, having supplied much of the print work as well as demonstration boards etc and finally to Onyk UK for their continuing support.
Hastings Congress: Pre-play Thoughts on Day One by STEWART REUBEN
Once a round robin tournament, such as this Premier, is off and running, it is no longer necessary to worry about the pairings. Prior to the start of play, it is a perpetual worry that a player will simply fail to arrive. This year Rusian Ponomariov was the one who kept me up at night. First of all it was difficult to contact him and then to come to terms. Then he decided to travel with his coach from France on December 26th. Only if you are English can you realise the problems this can cause. We take Christmas extremely seriously and the 26th is called Boxing Day. It is a holiday, there is little public transport and taxis charge double. Then today, he still hadn't appeared at the board at 2.20pm (play started at 2.00pm), despite having arrived at the hotel three days ago! When he finally returned to the hotel, he still didn't come straight to the playing hall, but returned to his room. I don't know why it was so, although strickly speaking it was against the rules. He speaks no English and his game against Jim Plaskett lasted so long, there was no time to set up a conversation with a Russian interpreter.
The night before, at the Drawing of Lots Ceremony, the players decided they preferred 40/2, 20/1 and all the rest in 30 minutes, rather than 40/100. 20/50, all in 10, but every time a move was made 30 seconds would be added to the clock. I have no problem with the players' rules, OK. However it means it is still possible for me, the arbiter, to be placed in a position where I have to decide the result of a game. Truth to tell, when I first introduced quickplay finishes to the world, I used to like the power this brought. Now I prefer the arbiter not to interfere. In the first round I was hard pressed to monitor four time scrambles. With the cumulative (so-called Fischer) mode, there would have been none.
The Challengers is a Swiss and thus the non-appearance of a couple of players or a few late entries is not vital. Unfortunately this year two foreign gms and one foreign im were late withdrawals. It is true this saves the congress money, but it will make the pairings much harder. For title norms it will be essential for players to meet an adequate number of non-English opponents.
Entries for the World Amateur are also down. This is a crying shame because it is a unique international event, being restricted to players without FIDE Ratings. The drop is partly caused by FIDE imposing a new £20 entry on the players. This would have been reasonable in the days when FIDE was poor, but it is no longer the case. This is the only event where FIDE do anything for the weaker player. I would have thought that they would want to encourage the event, not to try to make a few pounds from it.
So the 74th Hastings is on its way.
Stewart Reuben
Other Sections
Last year 77 year old junior Patrick Baldwin won a prize. This time 78 year old junior Patrick Baldwin won a prize. Clearly there is plenty of local junior talent!
Xmas A: (1-2) Robin Moss,
John Sugden 4/5; (3-4) Matthew Broomfield,
Robert Clark 3½ (18 competitors (same as last time) rated 160-208 took part.)
Xmas B: (1) Karl Forman (Coventry) 4/5; (2-4) Paul Dupré, Eric Key, Paul Patience 3½ (17 competitors (18 last time) rated 138-170 took place. The highest & lowest rateds finished equal on 2½. The winner is from Coventry.
Xmas C: (1) Ian Brooke (Oxford) 4/5; (2-4) Alan Collins, Omer Namouk, Barry Sandercock 3½ (17 competitors (20 last time) were rated between 105 & 136.)
Xmas D: (1-2) Raouf Mamedov, Simon Werner 4/5; (3-6) Patrick Baldwin, Alan Bloom, Raymond Gosden, Michael Gunn 3½ (21 competed (17 last time) rated 65 to the equal top rated overseas player Raouf Mamedov (112) from Azerbaijan.
CARLISLE BLITZ: (1) Keith Arkell 6½/7; (2-3) P Kiriakov, S K Williams 6; (4-5) D Gormally, B Lalic 5½ - the huge first prize of £25 attracted 60 players (66 last year) including 7 GMs!!
Other prizes were awarded for Worst German; Worst Dutch-Speaking; Sartorial Elegance, Norwich City Scarf etc. I will spare the winners blushes by not naming them.
For the first time the event qualified for ONYX Grand Prix points. Mark Hebden, the 1998 Grand Prix winner was an also ran.
Competitors came from England (32); Germany (5); Ireland (5); Russia (4); Belgium (3); India (2); India (2); Wales (2); Croatia (1); Nigeria (1); Scotland (1); Uganda (1); Zimbabwe (1).
PALACE BARS BLITZ: (1) B Lalic 6½/7; (2-3) J Brustkern, M
Hebden 6; (4) A Summerscale 5½. 42 entries this time — one of the weakest quickplays seen in Hastings for a long time - just 3 GMs! More ONYX Grand Prix points for Bogdan Lalic, who by the end of the Congress had established a substantial lead — a healthy bonus for finishing high up last year, points in both Quickplay events here at Hastings as well as a big score with bonus points in the Challengers — all since mid-December. He has even managed to come =second in a GM packed quickplay in Croatia in between.
NEW YEAR
18 entries (20 last time) of which 16 played more than two games — 15 scored between 1.5 & 3.5 points, clearly the closest contested tournament of the whole event. This was somewhat of a surprise as only one point seperated the highest rated player (208) & the lowest (129).
New Year A: (1) Hans Haas 4/5; (2-6) Maxim Devereaux, John Dodgson, Paul Dupré, Brian Johnson, Tobias Stock 3½
New Year B: (1-3) Marc Bryant, Rod Burroughs, Omer Namouk 4/5
Another success for the local hustler, top seed & organiser Marc Bryant, who including the New Year Quiz, has won a total of 6(!!) prizes in the last two congresses. Clearly he should only be allowed to play in the Challengers next time so as to give players a chanced?) of winning some money.
WEEKEND
Weekend Open: (1) Mark Hebden 6/6; (2-3) Oleg Pavlenco, Jim Plaskett 4½
The winner bore little resemblence to the Hebden of the previous week who played in the Challengers. This one played outstandingly well and won all six games, the last four against a GM, an IM & two others over 200. Nine of the 34 (33 last time) were rated in excess of 200.
Weekend Major: (1) Geoff Thurman 5/6; (2-5) David Hall, Daren Harris, Ross Mooring, David Parr 4½
Entries were down on last year when 43 competed, just 36 this time.
Weekend Minor: (1) Greg Tebble 5/6; (2-4) Marc Bryant, Adam Harvey, Raouf Mamedov 4½
37 (40 last time) rated between 90 (Keith Findley who scored a most creditable 3.5) and the winning top seed from Norwich, Greg Tebble took part.
Weekend Novice: (1) James Robertson 5/6; (2-5) Brian Drew, Victor Litvin, Henry Sinkala, Victor Zaiger 4½
30, as compared to 34 last time took part. The performance ol Henry Sinkala, who won his last 4 games is to be highly commended. He had an estimated grade of 27. Grades varied from 26 to the winner @ 99.
With three top seeds out of four winning sections outright the BCF grading system is to congratulated.
Hastings Junior Events (2 January 1999)
Organised by Colin Rendle et al
Junior U16: (1) Josiah Lutton (Basildon, Essex) 6/6; (2) Daniel Abela (Malta) 5; (3) Matthew Moore (Lindfield, Sussex) 4; Best Girl Petra Rose (Hastings, Sussex) 3. Junior U12: Tom Poulson Bexhill, Sussex 3.0
Junior U11: (1) Daniel Diamond (London) 6/6; (2-3) Nicolas Campion (Hurstpierpoint, Sussex), Michael Hamilton (Hove, Sussex) 5. Best Girls: Georgina Draper (Hurstpierpoint, Sussex) and Sarah Hegarty (Woking, Surrey) 4/6. U11 (Sussex): Theo Penty (Hurstpierpoint, Sussex) 4. U10: Felix Sullivan (Sedlescombe. Sussex) 4. U9: Nicolas Vanderhallen (Belgium) 5. U8: Sebastian Pozzo (London) 4. U7: Kajtek Skowronski (Hastings, Sussex) 3.
In total 66 took part.
The overall improved standard from a couple of years, when most games were over inside five minutes, was duly noted.
THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ORGANISATION OF THE EVENT INCLUDE:
- M Bigg Committee Member representing Hastings Borough Council
- Francis Bowers Main bookstall
- Marc A Bryant ** Equipment officer; Organiser at YMCA; Joint organiser of Blitz events
- Paul Buswell ** Congress Secretary; Organiser at Y MCA; Joint organiser of Blitz events
- Reg A S Cload ** Committee Member representing Hastings & St Leonards Chess Club
- Godrey Daniel (Councillor) ** (The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Hastings) President of the Committee
- S Edmonds Committee Member representing Hastings Borough Council
- D Flynn Website controller
- Richard A Furness ** Arbiter @ YMCA including Challengers; Organiser of Quiz
- J Haas Doorkeeper & Sales at Premier
- C Harvey Doorkeeper & Sales at Premier
- D Harvey Demo board operator
- Raymond D Keene (GM) ** Committee Member
- Julie Leonard Arbiter at YMCA
- M Marsh ** Committee Member representing Hastings Borough Counci Community & Leisure Department
- Richard W O'Brien Trends Bookstall; Bulletin editor
- Con Power ** Congress Director
- Stewart Reuben ** Director of Premier; Arbiter of Premier; Advisor to Challengers
- John Robinson Arbiter at YMCA including Challengers
- David R Sedgwick ** Committee Member
- M Shorrocks Assistant organiser at the YMCA
- P Smith ** Chairman of the Committee
- Pam A Thomas ** Publicity Officer
- John Turnock Arbiter at YMCA
- Monica Vann Website operator
- Chris G Ward Commentator
- Gerry F Walsh ** Arbiter at YMCA
- David Welch ** Arbiter at YMCA including Challengers
- J Wheeler ** Treasurer
[n.b. the bulletin editor does not explain why some names are accompanied by double asterisks - my guess is that they mark members of the congress committee - JS]
Contemporary Online Reports by John Saunders (from the original 4NCL website, 1998/99)
Pen Pictures - Overseas Players
The 74th Hastings Premier tournament got underway on Tuesday 29th December at Hastings' Cinque Ports Hotel, and promises to be an intriguing event. As usual the interest centres on the battle between the home players and the foreign players, whose names this year will be particularly unfamiliar to English eyes. For this reason I have done some research into the overseas players and given a brief pen-picture below.
Perhaps the most familiar will be Ivan Sokolov. The 30-year-old Bosnian GM lives in Holland these days and won the last Dutch Championship in some style in June, one point ahead of Timman. He was less successful playing for Bosnia in the Olympiad and has had an up and down year generally. Ivan has played in Britain three times; he played at Oakham Young Masters in 1988 , finishing a modest 9th=. He has previously played in junior events in England and had the temerity to eliminate home favourite Nigel Short in the 1st round of the London Intel Grand Prix in 1995 before going out to Vishy Anand in the quarter-finals.
Ruslan Ponomariov has only just turned 15 and recently won instant fame for breaking the record for being the youngest player to achieve the grandmaster title. Ukraine has acknowledged his potential and national importance by setting him up with his own personal web site (where confusingly they spell his name Ponomarev - FIDE gives it as used in this article) and a government-registered e-mail address. Of greater significance than his GM qualification was his first published rating - 2550 at the age of 12 years, 3 months. Since this incredible rating début, his progression has been less than meteoric, but a rating of 2585 before reaching his 15th birthday is still quite extraordinary. His playing style is more Petrosian than Tal - he goes in for the long grind rather than the tactical smash - which is probably why his games have yet to feature prominently in newspaper or magazine columns. His recent form is formidable; he won 5, drew 4 in the Elista Olympiad in October; then achieved outright victory in the very strong Ukrainian Zonal tournament in November with 7½/11, defeating 2600+ players Onischuk & Tukmakov, losing only to Kuzmin and meeting only two players rated under 2500; and finally scored an unbeaten 6½/10 to finish second behind Mikhail Gurevich in the category 13 6-player double-round Belfort tournament in December. In those three tournaments, his record was: played 30, won 13, drawn 16, and lost only 1, for a rating performance of 2676, and an average of 52 moves a game. With that sort of consistency and stamina against tough opponents, he is clearly a candidate for 1st place at Hastings.
Sergei Shipov is not a well known name in the West, and he gained his place in the Premier by qualification rather invitation. He is a 32-year-old Russian, and has played most of his chess to date in his home country with some sallies abroad to international opens such as Capelle, Aalborg and, of course, last year's Hastings Challengers where he shared first place with Mihail Saltaev. I've traced 33 of his games in 1998 and a rough-and-ready statistical survey showed that he is currently performing at around 2653, with an average game length of 32 moves. He scored 6½/10 in the Russian Team Championship at Maikop in June, defeating Peter Svidler in the last round in a game where the three-times Russian Champion sacrificed a piece for an attack, but Shipov cleverly traded his Queen for three minor pieces to fend off the attack and win. But his major achievement of the year was in August when he finished in a four-way tie for first place in the ferociously strong 51st Russian Championship in St Petersburg, scoring 7½/11 alongside Morozevich, Svidler and Sakaev, but lost out to Morozevich on tie-break. The other three players who tied for first are in their early 20s, which makes Shipov, at 32, look like a veteran; but it is clear that he is something of a late developer and could yet establish himself amongst the top Russian players. A definite candidate for honours at Hastings.
Mihail Saltaev is 36 and from Uzbekistan. Like Shipov, he qualified by virtue of winning last year's Hastings Challengers and is virtually unknown in the West. He has been around for some time and reached a life-time high FIDE rating in 1996 at 2535. As such he is a middle-ranking grandmaster who plies his trade around the world in big international opens. His best tournament to date seems to have been the category 10 12-player all-play-all Petrosian Memorial in Moscow in 1995 which he won outright with an unbeaten 8/11; Sergei Shipov only finished 7-9th in the same event. In 1998 his performance seems to be running at just under the 2500 mark. He is probably not in the running for a high position at Hastings, but is hard to beat and likely to finish in a respectable position.
Laurent Fressinet is a 17-year-old French IM and something of a surprise invitation to the Hastings Premier. Daily Telegraph columnist Malcolm Pein raised his eyebrows at Fressinet's inclusion, where the organisers could have used the opportunity to measure the world's best teenager against the top English junior Luke McShane or perhaps World Under-18 Champion Nick Pert. The young Frenchman has a FIDE rating of 2455 which sets him well below the average in this event; but he scored an encouraging 8/15 in the last very strong French Championship, ahead of Eloi Relange who impressed at last year's Hastings. Nevertheless Fressinet will do well to make 50%, let alone reach the GM norm (5½/9).
Round 1 - December 29th
A poor start for the home players. Ponomariov made his début with a trademark 'long grind' against local Hastings GM Jim Plaskett. It may not have been too clever for Plaskett to have opted for a variation which swaps off to a B+N v R endgame so quickly; this is very much up the young man's street. Nevertheless Black may have been holding on until his move 40 blunder which cost a vital pawn and then 55...f3 which lost another. Jon Speelman may have been trying just a little too hard against Shipov and found himself with an awkwardly placed rook trying unsuccessfully to defend his a-pawn, and then getting caught offside behind the h-pawn. Miles-Sadler was a quick draw.
Fressinet-Saltaev was an interesting game where the Uzbeki tried a risky plan on move 36 and Fressinet might have gone for 38 Rd4; instead he gave up a pawn for a useful pre-time control attack. Saltaev opted for a prudent queen exchange and the position soon clarified into a level endgame. Sokolov played the game of the day in swashbuckling, positively piratical style, at one point allowing his opponent the option of a discovered check down the e-file which most of us would have thought twice about. Emms could not find a way of exploiting this and instead went for a stray pawn on h2, only to find that he was caught in a killing pin down the e-file. There was no good way to escape from this and he went down quickly.
Round 2 - December 30th
Plaskett-Emms was a short draw with both players probably glad to get a half point on the scoreboard after their traumas of the previous day. In Saltaev-Sokolov, the Bosnian neutralised the Uzbeki player's opening advantage quite quickly but despite a slight endgame edge, could not ultimately find a way to make progress.
Sadler showed confidence and brinkmanship in his long game against Fressinet. The French player seemed to making a good job of keeping the Chatham GM out of his position and tried to exchange pieces to relieve the pressure. But on move 39 Sadler launched a remarkably imaginative and risky plan to break open the king-side at the cost of his e-pawn. Fressinet accepted the proffered pawn and it did not seem at all obvious how Sadler would maintain the initiative. Sadler offered a second pawn to set up menacing mating threats. Once again Fressinet accepted the offer and found a defence. But Sadler gradually tied his pieces down so that Fressinet had no useful moves left. He had to surrender a piece but had two pawns compensation and access to Sadler's king. But the English GM found a way out of the checks and soon had an overwhelming position. A typically determined and instructive effort by him; I look forward to reading his own annotations on this interesting game.
Shipov may have surprised Miles with the offer of a pawn on move 8. If Miles had accepted, it is likely that the Russian would have followed up with d5 and a strong initiative. As it was, Miles refused the pawn but the surprise element of the TN seemed to have an effect on him as his position on the king-side came under pressure. The Russian took the initiative and swung his R from a1 into an attack on Miles' king. There was no defence and White soon won. Speelman played his trusty Caro-Kann against the young Ukrainian. The game followed theory for 13 moves, but Ponomariov seemed to be unsure how to play the resultant position. Speelman may have had a small edge, but opted not to take a risky pawn on move 19. As played, Ponomariov was able to exchange down to a level endgame. After Rd 2, Shipov thus became sole leader with 2/2.
Round 3
Speelman-Plaskett proceeded steadily until Speelman created some imbalance with 24.b5. At first it was not at all obvious what lay behind this advance, but then it transpired that, once knights and queens were exchanged, Speelman could achieve a position where his rook could get to d7 to be followed very soon after by the second rook arriving at b7; all this for the cost of his a-pawn. A most imaginative plan, and Plaskett ultimately found no adequate way of coping with it. Miles-Ponomariov was agreed drawn in a position where Black might have been getting some pressure on the queen's flank. Perhaps he might have feared long-term threats against his king, but it certainly unusual for the Ukrainian to agree such an early draw.
Fressinet-Shipov saw the Russian maintain his 100% score and increase his lead to a full point. Fressinet gave up the two bishops to generate pressure down the d-file. But Shipov cleverly allowed White to penetrate with his rook to d7, seeing that his own threats against the pawn on e5 would yield longer term results. Ultimately Black won a pawn and mainained his advantage to bring home the point. Sokolov-Sadler was a disappointingly tame draw in the QGA, a defence with which Sadler has won many memorable games; but Sokolov was well prepared. Emms-Saltaev was a c3 Sicilian and reached a position where Emms appeared to be getting into difficulties; but after the time control he engineered sufficient counterplay to hold the endgame. Scores : Shipov 3/3, Sokolov, Sadler, Ponomariov 2.
Round 4
A round in which, by and large, Black outsmarted White. The quietest game was Plaskett-Saltaev where the height of Black's ambition seemed to be to secure the draw. He offered one on move 11, but Plaskett opted to try for more for a while; but no viable plan emerged.
Speelman-Miles was well contested and saw both players taking a few risks. Miles gave up a central pawn for some play against Speelman's king. Speelman chose to take it but later gave it back to seek counterplay on the White squares. Nevertheless Miles obtained some strong pressure on the dark diagonals and it took all of Speelman's defensive abilities to fend him off for a draw.
The battle between tournament leader Shipov and Sokolov was fascinating. It was theory until Black diverged on move 17; Shirov had played 17...a3 against Gelfand at the Rubinstein Memorial in August 1998. Sokolov's developing move 17...Nc6 looks more natural. White's 21st move looked dubious and shut in his dark-squared bishop. Thereafter Black could proceed with his queen-side pawn advance. White got some counterplay but as played it never came to much. It would be interesting to know why White rejected 29 Rb6!? as it looks like a dangerous sacrificial idea. In the end it was a triumph for Sokolov's enterprising play and his reward was to share the lead with his defeated opponent.
Sadler and Emms spent a long time shuffling their minor pieces around in the early stages of the game and a quickish draw was in the offing at one stage. But Sadler found a way of engineering a modicum of pressure and infiltrated with his rook. After 44 Ra6, White won a pawn but with pawns on one side of the board a draw was always the likeliest result. 44 Rxb5 might have been interesting, with White giving up his remaining minor piece for all the Black pawns.
After all the 'wonderboy' headlines we have been reading (and writing!) about Ponomariov, it has to be said that he played limply today against Fressinet. The b4/c4 plan looked very unconvincing and Fressinet had no difficulties in holding on to a good pawn, and thereafter it was the Frenchman who was pressing for the full point. But the Ukrainian showed true grit in holding out for the draw. Nevertheless Fressinet had a couple of what looked like golden opportunities to tighten his grip. 30...Qe3 looked like one, and another interesting alternative was 45...d5!? 46 exd5 Rf6+ 47 Bf3 Nd6 where Black has given back his pawn but has quite a lot of active play. But it must be said that Ponomariov's tenacity in defending a depressing position is another example of his stamina and maturity of style.
Scores after Rd 4 : Sokolov & Shipov 3/4, Sadler & Ponomariov 2½, Saltaev & Speelman 2, Miles & Emms 1½, Fressinet & Plaskett 1.
Round 5
Times have changed somewhat when Miles-Plaskett ends prematurely in an uneventful draw; nor did Fressinet-Speelman set the pulse racing. But otherwise games were interesting and the Brits performed splendidly. Emms dealt firmly with early leader Shipov, in a line that the Englishman has played before. 16 g4 was the first new move on the database but it seems logical and aggressive. Shipov's reply 16...Qc5 looks like a worthless loss of time in a critical position after which he was quite lost. The pressure on the white squares was quite intolerable. Saltaev played tentatively (11 a3?!) in the opening against Sadler and the English GM soon took the initiative. He weakened White's queen-side pawn structure and generally outplayed the Uzbeki. But it is not clear why Saltaev did not play 35 Bd1 which is good for White; perhaps there has been a scoring error (later note - yes, there was a scoring error!). But Sokolov went into the sole lead with a win against Ponomariov. This was a long, unspectacular manouevring game where White managed to weaken Black's pawn structure around the time control; some precise play led to a convincing win by the Bosnian, who has already played most of the leading contenders. Scores : Sokolov 4/5, Sadler 3½, Shipov 3, Emms, Ponomariov & Speelman 2½, Miles & Saltaev 2, Fressinet & Plaskett 1½.
Round 6
A surprise as backmarker Plaskett defeats second-placed Sadler. As in his game against Saltaev, Plaskett found another opportunity to place a knight en prise to the e6 pawn by playing Nd4-f5; once again his opponent declined the offer. 13 Nd2 seems to be the first new move following 12...Qc5 which was a TN by the American Patrick Wolff. Sadler's follow-up excursion with the queen looked most unconvincing. Perhaps he thought he could exploit the f4 weakness; but it was soon apparent that Plaskett's Nf5 idea was going to very hard to meet. Sadler managed to shut out the king-side attack but at the cost of weakening the d6 square. Plaskett simply trained his attack down the d-file, won the pawn and after that had little trouble.
Shipov-Saltaev went into a line which both players will be familiar with. Saltaev won with Black against Avrukh in this line in the Olympiad and may have had fond memories of that encounter. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where Saltaev went wrong but he got one of those depressing positions in the KID where Black's queen-side set-up is under pressure and he has no discernible king-side compensation. Shipov came up with a familiar Na7 idea which was even stronger than it normally is. A neat combination netted material and the resultant B+N v R position was if anything easier to win than it looked. Ponomariov-Emms was a long, manouevring game during which the English gradually acquired the slightest of edges and made a reasonable effort to win; but the young Ukrainian proved well up to the task. Despite his indifferent form in the tournament, he has shown us some glimpses of his Petrosian-like ability to hang on in grim positions.
Speelman tried to administer some 'Larsenic poisoning' to the tournament leader Sokolov, but the Bosnian found the antidote. Speelman grabbed a pawn but the extra one was backward and with few prospects in life. Sokolov had few difficulties in holding the draw. Miles-Fressinet was one of those long. elliptical games wherein not much seems to happen though there are probably significant undercurrents. I fell asleep around move 40 and cannot comment on the later stages of the game.
Round 7
After his win against Sadler yesterday, Plaskett came down with a bump today, losing drastically to Fressinet, who played very aggressively and finished in style. In Sokolov-Miles, 10...0-0 looks to be the most innocuous of developing moves, and yet after 11 Ne4!, Black suddenly finds that his pieces are loose and the Qc2 double attack on B and h-pawn is hard to meet. Miles opted to surrender the pawn but never got enough for it. When he did win it back, his king-side was exposed and Sokolov broke through. Emms-Speelman was uneventful. Saltaev seemed to come out of the opening in reasonable shape, but Ponomariov increased his grip after move 20. On move 30 the Ukrainian unleashed a devilish pawn advance, allowing Saltaev to take a couple of his pawns. All of a sudden there was little the Uzbeki could do to stop the c-pawn. His attempts to recover his ground were unsuccessful. Sadler really needed to win against Shipov to stay in touch with Sokolov but the opening turned out to be fairly innocuous and a repetion led to a draw. Scores : Sokolov 5½, Shipov 4½, Sadler & Ponomariov 4, Emms & Speelman 3½, Fressinet 2, Plaskett 2½, Saltaev 2.
Round 8
All the results went the way Ivan Sokolov would have chosen, allowing him the luxury of being able to agree a draw and achieve undisputed first place with one round to spare - congratulations to him. He had a fairly comfortable draw with Fressinet. By rights Sokolov should donate a large proportion of his prize money to local Hastings resident Plaskett who, after dispatching Sadler in round 6, gave Shipov the full treatment in Round 8. This was the 'Full Plaskett Monty' though the only things to be stripped off were Black's defences; from the moment that Plaskett's N arrived on g5 (threatening immediate entry at e6), Black had severe defensive problems and was soon torn to shreds in a hail of piece play. Ponomariov's 13 Kxe2 looks like a new move, but generally his game against Sadler was steady rather than spectacular. Speelman-Saltaev swapped down to a levelish endgame; but Saltaev unwisely allowed an exchange into a king and pawn ending which turned against him rather rapidly. Miles-Emms was a tough struggle, with Miles allowing a trick winning a pawn on move 34. Emms seemed to be winning but, perhaps fearing his rook would be left offside, decided against taking a second one on move 36, instead offering a queen exchange This allowed Miles back into the game and he was able to get his king into play; the extra pawn was doubled and of no benefit to Black. Scores after Rd 8 : Sokolov 6/8, Sadler, Speelman, Shipov & Ponomariov 4½, Emms 4, Fressinet & Plaskett 3½, Miles 3, Saltaev 2.
Round 9
Tournament winner Ivan Sokolov had no further need of a win, but achieved one anyway, beating Plaskett in the last round. The Hastings man played some enterprising chess, chasing a third win against the higher-ranked players of the event; but Sokolov successfully defused his threats and won in short order. Saltaev-Miles and Shipov-Ponomariov were bloodless last round draws. Sadler-Speelman was an interesting encounter, with some off-the-wall play by Speelman. He offered a pawn for some activity, but Sadler decided to play it positionally. Sadler managed to win a pawn in the endgame but the resultant ending was clearly drawn. Emms-Fressinet was the last game of the tournament to finish and featured some enterprising endgame play by the Englishman, reaching a paradoxical position where he was a pawn down but with a won position. In some of the sub-variations he would have been TWO pawns down but still with a won position. When he played his 39 a5!, it would have been necessary to foresee the final position, more or less. Very well played.
In summary, this was a triumph for Ivan Sokolov, and matches his great result at the last Dutch Championship. The gap of 2 points between him and the field is striking for a 9-round event and is a curious parallel with Morozevich's awesome result in Pamplona earlier in the week. Of the players bracketed 2nd-6th, Sadler and perhaps Ponomariov will be the most disappointed. The English no.3's result last year and his endeavours at Tilburg showed him to be verging on the 2700 category, but this was a set-back. Having said that, but for his disaster against Plaskett, it would have been up to his normal rating. He will learn from his experience and progress.
Ponomariov was not quite the elemental force we had perhaps dared to believe, and is certainly no Fischer on this evidence. But positional players of his ilk (one is reminded of Peter Leko) tend to grind their way slowly up the rating list and keep improving while others slow up. John Emms and Jon Speelman both played enterprising chess, more or less to their grade, and John Emms' determination in the last round reflected great credit on him - it also bamboozled the FICS kibitzers (including me). Sergei Shipov established a reputation as a player of interesting chess and should have earned some more all-play-all invitations for this alone. Plaskett and Fressinet both had their moments and improved their ratings. Miles and Saltaev were both disappointing in that the height of their ambition seemed to be to get a draw, but they will have better events.
File Updated
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| Previously | Uploaded as part of the Hastings collection some years ago. All 45 Premier games, undated, minus round numbers. |
| 24 March 2026 | Now with Premier games dated and with round numbers. 124 Challengers games; 16 from the World Amateur Ch'ships; 5 from the Weekend Open. Crosstables and results. |
| 20 July 2026 | Added three games: (1) M Morrison 0-1 J Dodgson (New Year A); (2) K Harris 0-1 M Bryant (New Year B); (3) F Ibrahimov 0-1 K Harris (Weekend Novice). Many thanks to Brian Denman for the games. |