197 keen chess players took part in our annual 8-round Spring Holiday event, the Inner West Chess Challenge, held at Club Burwood RSL. This is our 21st Inner West tournament which has been running since 2007!
About three-quarters of the players had JCL ratings prior to the tournament, and there were only about 15 had attended the clock demonstration. There was a mixture of newcomers to chess competitions, and seasoned veterans, who also play in adult tournaments.
It took 6 rounds before there was a clear leader, Henry Chen on 6/6 points. At that stage, we also had a clear second place, Mridul Pant, followed by a peloton of players (16 of them!) chasing the leaders on 5/6. After Henry defeated Mridul in Round 7, it looked like he would run away with the tournament, however there was a surprise in the final round when Winston Zhao Chen upset the top seed, Henry, and took first place on 7/8, with the highest tiebreak score. There must have been something special in the water which he was fed, just before defeating Henry!
The final standings/crosstable and list of prizewinners can be downloaded from the links below. Sydney Academy of Chess would like to thank Club Burwood RSL for supporting the event by providing an excellent and spacious venue, all of the parents for encouraging their children and driving them to and from Burwood, the arbiters and helpers on the day for running the tournament, and finally all of the players for their great sportsmanship and fair play throughout the day.
We hope to see you at another chess event soon!
