Hampshire Chess Congress Major 2022


Contents


Although the Hampshire Individual Chess Championship was the main event, the Major had the largest amount of entries (41) and was hotly contested with a number of experienced players as well as a number who had improved greatly in the last few years.

The picture above shows first place winner of the Major Patrik Baron of Southampton Chess Club being presented with first place prize by Hampshire Chess President David Nelson.

Keven Lamb took the photographs and many thanks to him for this.


For a list of the winners of the Hampshire Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written the table on the Hampshire Individual Championship is the best place to look. In addition, the table on the Hampshire Tournaments will detail these and any other tournament articles I have completed. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.


Round 1

The old Hampshire Congress used to have an Open and a Under 125 tournament and the first round was normally a bit of a slaughter for the Open, with 40 to 50 old ECF grading points difference between the players (this converts to around 338 rating points), This was not the case now there are three sections, and the average difference for the Major was 122 rating points. Therefore a massacre is not on the cards and there were a number of the stronger players held to a draw and some wins from the lower rated players.

Personally I had a tough game, playing Black against the experienced Gillian Moore who would have been looking for revenge from our game at the Fareham Congress earlier in the year when I won a long game. The opening was a Trompowsky and it has been a long time since I have played against this. Although the game was probably even I drifted into a passive position and played an incorrect Knight move where I lost a couple of tempi as had to move it back to its initial square. This allowed Gillian to have a much stronger position, but luckily for me she took my Bishop with the wrong pawn (see below) and we agreed a draw.

Looking at some of the upsets David Collyer beat Peter Wilcock. Peter had a winning position, but David had a very dangerous passed pawn and it seems as if Peter pushed too hard and refused the perpetual check by taken the passed pawn. He then had to give up his Queen for Rook and despite having two Rooks for the Queen David showed how well the Queen and Knight work together well and drummed up a mating attack.

In the final position White either mates on g4 with the Knight or h7 with the Queen depending on where Black moves his King.

Dave Holmes also lost, in a position when in time trouble he got confused and refused a draw offer when a pawn down in a Knight and four vs Knight and three pawns. He then had to give up his Knight and resigned. I think it was about here that Philip Maul playing Black offered a draw, but you can sometimes get so deep into the game it can get very confusing when offered a draw with very little time left on the clock.

Erico Ferreira and Lewis Jackson where the other two lower graded players who won. It was already looking like a tough tournament for the higher graded players!

NumberPlayerGradeResultPlayerGradeResult
1S Arnold18670.5S Lawrence17180.5
2M Deacon17170.5R Edney18590.5
3R McClatchey18381A Syed17140
4Eric Jones17030.5W Bradley18270.5
5H Sharples17941A Dore17000
6D Collyer16921P Wilcock17890
7D Holmes17860P Maul16861
8G Moore16780.5G Stuart17670.5
9D Agostinelli17611P Horlock16770
10J Belinger16680.5N Crosswell17580.5
11B O’Gorman17430.5K Sawers16580.5
12J Morrish16430P Baron17501
13T Anderson17570.5J Morrison16560.5
14D Westcott16350Tim Jones17381
15P Walters17360.5H Archer-Lock15950.5
16E Ferreira15921N Stout17350
17E Blanden17241J Sellen15830
18L Jackson14351P Pinto17210
19S Appleby18850.5Bye
20J Torrance16700.5Bye
21J Schumacher17420.5Bye
22J Wicken16840.5Bye
23S Ramaraju15530.5Bye

Round 2

Three players moved onto maximum points after this round and each of there wins are detailed below.

  • Patrik Baron
  • David Collyer
  • Tim Jones

In an up and down game and in what I would guess was time trouble Erico Ferreira blundered a complicated drawn ending. In the final position White’s three pawns will be too much for Black’s one pawn.

In another complicated game David Collyer beat the higher graded Harry Sharples when he targeted Black’s weak e6 pawn.

Tim Jones opponent Lewis Jackson blundered a mate in one in a slightly weaker position.

13 players were just a half a point behind, which included myself after I beat John Belinger. It was a successful round for Chandler Ford players, as the other two players in the Major, Dave Holmes and Eric Jones also won.

NumberPlayerGradeResultPlayerGradeResult
1E Blanden17240.5R McClatchey18380.5
2D Collyer16921H Sharples17940
3P Maul16860.5D Agostinelli17610.5
4P Baron17501E Ferreira15920
5Tim Jones17381L Jackson14350
6S Lawrence17180S Appleby18851
7J Wicken16840S Arnold18671
8R Edney18590.5J Torrance16700.5
9W Bradley18271M Deacon17170
10G Stuart17671J Belinger16680
11N Crosswell17581G Moore16780
12H Archer-Lock15951B O’Gorman17430
13K Sawers16580T Anderson17571
14J Schumacher17421S Ramaraju15530
15J Morrison16560P Walters17361
16P Pinto17210Eric Jones17031
17P Wilcock17890.5J Morrison16560.5
18P Horlock16770D Holmes17861
19N Stout17350D Westcott16351
20A Syed17141J Sellen15830
21A Dore17001bye0

Round 3

Tim Jones took on Patrik Baron whilst the other player on maximum points David Collyer was paired against Stephen Appleby, although that game ended in a reasonably short game. The Jones – Barron game certainly was not a short draw with a fine endgame played by Barron bringing home the point.

This win left Patrik Baron in sole first place with three points, but joining David Collyer half a point behind were another five players who all won in this round.

  • James Schumacher
  • David R Agostinelli
  • Philip Maul
  • Graham Stuart
  • Simon Arnold

If you look closely you will see my name in this list as after winning in round two I also managed to win in the third round. Hats off to my opponent who decided to throw in the kitchen sink trying to open up my position. This was certainly a game where my heart was beating extremely fast, trying to find good moves in chronic time trouble.

After this my decision to take a round four bye seemed very wise. I was not alone in this as 16 players in total took the option to not play in the Saturday evening round. Most players who lose are understandably not in the best of moves, but Philip was very happy for me, as thought I had played very well and that the game was an exciting one. I certainly agree with the latter, but not sure about the former!

NumberPlayerGradeResultPlayerGradeResult
1Tim Jones17380P Baron17501
2S Appleby18850.5D Collyer16920.5
3S Arnold18671E Blanden17240
4R McClatchey18380P Maul16861
5A Dore17001L Jackson14350
6P Walters17360G Stuart17671
7D Agostinelli17611H Archer-Lock15950
8Eric Jones17030.5N Crosswell17580.5
9H Sharples17940J Schumacher17421
10D Westcott16350.5R Edney18590.5
11D Holmes17861E Ferreira15920
12J Torrance16700.5A Syed17140.5
13T Anderson17570.5W Bradley18270.5
14G Moore16780P Wilcock17891
15B O’Gorman17430J Morrison16561
16J Morrish16431S Lawrence17180
17M Deacon17171K Sawers16580
18S Ramaraju15530J Wicken16841
19J Belinger16680.5N Stout17350.5
20J Sellen15830P Pinto17211
21P Horlock16771Controller bye0

Round 4

The Saturday evening round saw leader Patrik Baron take on 2nd seed Simon Arnold who was just half a point behind. In the previous round Baron had played an impressive endgame, but in this game he showed his willingness to sacrifice pieces with a number put on prise at various stages.

Simon Arnold also did well in not taking the pieces by defending tenaciously against this onslaught. In the end he succumbed by entering a worse ending which he could not hold.

In Ashref Syed’s game against Dale Westcott Black played some good tactical moves to bring home the point.

David Collyer beat James Schumacher with a combination which won a pawn and this left him in sole second place, half a point behind Patrik Baron, which left a big game for Sunday morning.

NumberPlayerGradeResultPlayerGradeResult
1P Baron17501S Arnold18670
2J Schumacher17420D Collyer16921
3No PairingNo Pairing1
4S Appleby18850.5Eric Jones17030.5
5W Bradley18271A Dore17000
6J Morrison16561M Deacon17170
7A Syed17140D Westcott16351
8J Wicken16841H Archer-Lock15950
9E Ferreira15921H Sharples17940
10L Jackson14351J Belinger16680
11S Ramaraju15530P Horlock16771
12N Stout17350.5G Moore16780.5
13P Maul16860.5T Anderson17570.5
14J Torrance16700Defaut1
15D Agostinelli17610.5Bye
16G Stuart17670.5Bye
17D Holmes17860.5Bye
18N Crosswell17580.5Bye
19Tim Jones17380.5Bye
20R Edney18590.5Bye
21R McClatchey18380.5Bye
22P Wilcock17890.5Bye
23P Walters17360.5Bye
24J Morrish16430.5Bye
25E Blanden17240.5Bye
26P Pinto17210.5Bye
27B O’Gorman17430.5Bye
28S Lawrence17180.5Bye
29K Sawers16580.5Bye
30J Sellen15830.5Bye
31S Ramaraju15530.5Withdrawn
Leader Board – Round 4
NameScore
Patrik Baron 4
David Collyer 3.5
David R Agostinelli 3
Philip Maul 3
William Bradley 3
Graham Stuart3


Round 5

A number of key games in round five with players either trying to retain their top position or move up to challenge in the last round. The key game between David Collyer and Patrik Baron was a cagey 25 move draw where Baron had a slight advantage with Black when the draw was agreed. This would leave him with White in the last round.

Philip Maul also drew against William Bradley in 23 moves. My chances of winning the championship or finishing in one of the top places were dashed by David Agostinelli when I went wrong in a slightly better position and then blundered completely. Well played by David who obtained his revenge from our league game a few years back.

This meant going into the final round Patrik Baron was half a point ahead of David Collyer and David Agostinelli with three players half a point behind who would be reliant on what happened in the two top games.

NumberPlayerGradeResultPlayerGradeResult
1D Collyer16920.5P Baron17500.5
2P Maul16860.5W Bradley18270.5
3G Stuart17670D Agostinelli17611
4D Westcott16350.5S Appleby18850.5
5S Arnold18670J Schumacher17421
6Eric Jones17030.5D Holmes17860.5
7N Crosswell17580.5J Morrison16560.5
8L Jackson14351E Blanden17240
9R Edney18591Tim Jones17380
10A Dore17000R McClatchey18381
11P Wilcock17890E Ferreira15921
12P Horlock16770P Walters17361
13T Anderson17570.5J Wicken16840.5
14M Deacon17170J Morrish16431
15P Pinto17210.5J Torrance16700.5
16H Archer-Lock15951A Syed17140
17H Sharples17941J Belinger16680
18S Lawrence17180B O’Gorman17431
19K Sawers16580N Stout17351
20J Sellen15831G Moore16780
21M Deacon17170Withdrawn0
22D Westcott16350Withdrawn1

Round 6

David Agostinelli was unfortunate that he had his 2nd Black of the day, as he had to play the tournament leader, who was also due the White pieces.

With this win Patrik Baron could not be caught and won the Hampshire Major and the Peter Marshall Cup, although this is currently missing. But if not found this will be replaced and engraved with his name. A fine win for the Southampton via Slovakia Chess player with just half a point dropped from his six games.

Meanwhile David Collyer beat William Bradley which gave him sole 2nd place with four and a half points. Surprisingly enough with the amount of entries there was only one player in 3rd place with Bournemouth’s James Schumacher beating Reading’s Philip Maul in a miniature.

I had agreed a short draw against the improving junior James Morrison which allowed me time to watch the other games in the tournament. I was drawn to the fierce attack by fellow Chandlers Ford player Dave Holmes, playing his normal aggressive opening and winning a fine sacrificial game against Southampton University’s Lewis Jackson.

P Maul, J Morrison and J Wicken shared the under 1750 grading prize with their score of three and a half points.

NumberPlayerGradeResultPlayerGradeResult
1P Baron17501D Agostinelli17610
2W Bradley18270D Collyer16921
3J Schumacher17421P Maul16860
4P Walters17360.5S Appleby18850.5
5Eric Jones17030R Edney18591
6R McClatchey18380.5J Wicken16840.5
7D Holmes17861L Jackson14350
8J Morrison16560.5G Stuart17670.5
9J Morrish16430N Crosswell17581
10J Torrance16700.5P Wilcock17890.5
11Tim Jones17380.5S Arnold18670.5
12H Archer-Lock15950H Sharples17941
13E Ferreira15920T Anderson17571
14B O’Gorman17430.5P Pinto17210.5
15N Stout17351A Dore17000
16E Blanden17241P Horlock16770
17A Syed17140.5S Lawrence17180.5
18J Belinger16681J Sellen15830
19G Moore16781K Sawers16580

Final Table

The final table is detailed below.

No.NameGradeRd 1Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Score
1Patrik Baron175024 +18 +22 +20 +2 =5 +
2David Collyer169229 +21 +12 =3 +1 =10 +5
3James Schumacher1742bye =41 +21 +2 –20 +9 +
4Tom Anderson175711 =40 +10 =9 =16 =18 +4
5David R Agostinelli176136 +9 =28 +bye =13 +1 –4
6David Holmes17869 –36 +18 +bye =19 =23 +4
7Richard Edney185937 =17 =25 =bye =22 +19 +4
8Neil Crosswell175832 =35 +19 =bye =11 =24 +
9Philip Maul16866 +5 =15 +4 =10 =3 –
10William Bradley182719 =37 +4 =33 +9 =2 –
11Joseph Morrison16564 =14 –31 +37 +8 =13 =
12Stephen Appleby1885bye =38 +2 =19 =25 =14 =
13Graham Stuart176735 =32 +14 +bye =5 –11 =
14Philip Walters173628 =11 +13 –bye =36 +12 =
15Rob McClatchey183834 +26 =9 –bye =33 +16 =
16Jack Wicken1684bye =20 –41 +28 +4 =15 =
17John Torrance1670bye =7 =34 =bye +30 =29 =
18Erico Ferreira159227 +1 –6 –21 +29 +4 –3
19Eric Jones170310 =30 +8 =12 =6 =7 –3
20Simon Arnold186738 =16 +26 +1 –3 –22 =3
21Harry Sharples179433 +2 –3 –18 –32 +28 +3
22Tim Jones173825 +23 +1 –bye =7 –20 =3
23Lewis Jackson143530 +22 –33 –32 +26 +6 –3
24John Morrish16431 –29 =38 +bye =37 +8 –3
25Dale Westcott163522 –27 +7 =34 +12 =3
26Edward A Blanden172439 +15 =20 –bye =23 –36 +3
27Nick Stout173518 –25 –32 =35 =40 +33 +3
28Helen Archer Lock159514 =31 +5 –16 –34 +21 –
29Peter Wilcock17892 –24 =35 +bye =18 –17 =
30Phil Pinto172123 –19 –39 +bye =17 =31 =
31Brendan O’Gorman174340 =28 –11 –bye =38 +30 =
32John Belinger16688 =13 –27 =23 –21 –39 +2
33Alex Dore170021 –bye +23 +10 –15 –27 –2
34Ashraf Syed171415 –39 +17 =25 –28 –38 =2
35Gillian A Moore167813 =8 –29 –27 =39 –40 +2
36Peter Horlock16775 –6 –bye +41 +14 –26 –2
37Matthew Deacon17177 =10 –40 +11 –24 –
38Simon Lawrence171820 =12 –24 –bye =31 –34 =
39John R Sellen158326 –34 –30 –bye =35 +32 –
40Kevin Sawers165831 =4 –37 –bye =27 –35 –1
41Siddarth Ramaraju1553bye =3 –16 –36 –½

Games

The games from the Major Tournament were entered by Arthur Brameld and can be played through and downloaded here.


All photographs are in the Hampshire Gallery, but I have included a few from the Open and the obligatory picture of the trophies.


HCA Secretary Report

The Hampshire Chess Secretary produced a report on the congress, which is below.


Acknowledgements and sources:
  • Arthur Brameld for the chess games
  • John Wheeler for HCA Secretary Report
  • Keven Lamb for photographs

    2 thoughts on “Hampshire Chess Congress Major 2022”

    Leave a comment

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    PAGE TOP