Barbados holds GM Tourney!
Barbados’ Allan Herbert (pictured above right) has announced the Heroes Day Cup which will feature a number of standouts from more than ten federations. The Chess Drum will be covering what is hailed as Barbados first GM norm tournament. In the field are a number of National Champions, past and present. The event is sponsored by RBTT and Digicel and will be held in Bridgetown, Barbados, the capitol.
| Player |
Title
|
Nation
|
Flag
|
ELO
|
|
| Rainer Buhmann | GM |
Germany
|
 |
2582
|
|
| Alexander Shabalov | GM |
USA
|
 |
2569
|
|
| Alonso Zapata | GM |
Columbia
|
 |
2514
|
|
| Martin Neubauer | IM |
Austria
|
 |
2414
|
|
| Mauricio Uribe | IM |
Columbia
|
|
2416
|
|
| Augusto Moran | IM |
Ecuador
|
 |
2393
|
|
| Kevin Denny | IM |
Barbados
|
 |
2354
|
|
| Bengt Hammar | FM |
Sweden
|
 |
2323
|
|
| Nazi Paikidze | WIM |
Georgia
|
 |
2310
|
|
| Elliott Warren | FM |
Jamaica
|
 |
2265
|
|
| Jomo Pitterson | FM |
Jamaica
|
|
2242
|
|
| Terry Farley | FM |
Barbados
|
|
2241
|
|
| Delisle Warner | FM |
Barbados
|
|
2209
|
|
| Ryan Harper | FM |
Trinidad
|
 |
2241
|
CANDIDATES
| Player |
Title
|
Nation
|
Flag
|
ELO
|
|
| Equitable Brown |
Jamaica
|
|
2159
|
||
| Yohnel Medeuf |
Martinique
|
 |
2057
|
||
| Giles Suez-Panama |
Martinique
|
|
2032
|
||
| Lyndell Halliday |
Barbados
|
|
2024
|
||
| Karl Loic Rapon |
Martinique
|
|
2416
|
||
| Othneil Harewood |
Barbados
|
|
1933
|
||
| Dwayne Gilkes |
Barbados
|
|
1861
|
||
| Rashida Corbin |
Barbados
|
|
1971
|
||
| George Perez Borrero |
Puerto Rico
|
 |
2310
|
||
| Juanita Garnett |
Jamaica
|
|
unr.
|
||
| Trevor Griffith |
Barbados
|
|
unr.
|
||
| Demetrio Moore |
Barbados
|
|
unr.
|
International Arbiter Rohan Waithe is the Chief Arbiter for the Masters and FIDE Arbiter Kelvin Daniel for the Candidates.
Herbert, who chairs the Organizing Committee, stated:
The Masters will be the 1st Grandmaster Norm Tournament in Barbados. It is going to be a very historic event and the strongest tournament ever held in Barbados… Things are going to start coming fast and furious.
We’ll be watching!
Barbados Chess Federation: https://barbados.org/chess
Bridgetown, Barbados, April 27th – May 3rd 2009
Arrival Day Sunday April 26th, 2009
Drawing of Lots Sunday April 26th, 2009 7:00-8:00 p.m.
PLAYING SCHEDULE
1 Monday April 27th, 2009 6.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.
2 Tuesday April 28th, 2009 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
3 Tuesday April 28th, 2009 6.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.
4 Wednesday April 29th, 2009 6.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.
Rest Day Thursday April 30th, 2009
5 Friday May 1st, 2009 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
6 Friday May 1st, 2009 6.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.
7 Saturday May 2nd, 2009 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
8 Saturday May 2nd, 2009 6.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.
9 Sunday May 3rd, 2009 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
Departure Day Monday May 4th, 2009
This is nice to hear about.
What a wonderful tourney… I wish I could follow the games live!! Kudos to the caribbean chess federations! Seems that you have finally have a good groove going…. Keep this up guys, I may just make a comeback … you guys would surely not want to see a fiery me back in action, would you?? (LMAO)
Grantel,
The games are coming. I’ll post them soon. I’m in my office now seeing students. End of semester thing… 🙂
The Heroes Cup tournament started off without any upsets. Buhmann scored a technical win over Bengt Hammar after the Swede played 44.d5?! and lost the thread on the position.
Shabalov ended up in a strange Gruenfeld position and beat the World under-16 Girls champion in an intense tactical battle. Zapata beat Elliott in a theoretical Sveshnikov. Pitterson-Uribe was a quick draw while Neubauer beat Farley’s King’s Indian. The 39.Bg4! was a cute shot.
Warner-Moran was a strategic battle featuring a good knight vs. bad bishop. Warner attempted to sacrifice a knight for two connected pass pawns, but they were easily blockaded and surrounded. The Ecuadorian collected the point.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Zapata and Neubauer lead Digicel Heroes Day Masters Cup
Grandmaster Alonso Zapata of Colombia and International Masters Martin Neubauer of Austria had a perfect start to the 2009 Digicel RBTT sponsored Heroes Day Cup International Chess Tournament when they won their opening games to take an earlier lead of the Masters Section with two points.
Zapata wins came in Round 1 against Jamaica National Champion FIDE Master Warren Elliott and in Round 2 against American Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov.
Neubauer, a former winner of the Heroes Day Cup, pick up his points against FIDE Master Terry Farley of Barbados in Round 1 and Colombian International Master Mauricio Uribe in Round 2.
Top Seed Grandmaster Rainer Buhmann of Germany started well with a 1st Round victory over Swedish FIDE Master Bengt Hammar but was slowed to a draw in the 2nd Round against Ecuadorian International Master Augusto Moran, a former winner of the Heroes Day Cup. Moran won his 1st Round match against FIDE Master Delisle Warner.
Barbados National Champion, International Master Kevin Denny, joins Buhmann and Moran on 1½ in a three way tie for 3rd position after drawing his 1st Round game against Trinidad & Tobago National Champion FIDE Master Ryan Harper and wiining his 2nd Round against Swedish FIDE Master Bengt Hammar.
World Under-16 Girls Champion Nazi Paikidize of Georgia lost a difficult 1st Round match against US Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov but showed her class with a beautiful rook sacrifice against Terry Farley which caught Farley in a mating net that ended the game after only 26 moves.
FIDE Master Jomo Pitterson had a good start to his Digicel Heroes Day Masters Cup with hard fought draws against Uribe of Colombia and Harper of Trinidad & Tobago.
Paikidze and Pitterson shares a four player tie for 6th place on 1 point with US Grandmaster Shabalov and FIDE Master Ryan Harper of Trinidad & Tobago.
In the RBTT Candidates Section Gilles Suez-Panama of Martinique heads the standings on two points after wins in Round 1 against compatriot Karl Rapon and Defending RBTT Candidates Champion Othniel Harewood of Barbados in Round 2.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Top Seed Equitable Brown of Jamaica shares second position on 1½ points with Lyndell Halliday of Barbados after they drew their 2nd Round encounter against each other. Brown was somewhat fortunate in his 1st round match against Dwayne Gilkes of Barbados, after Gilkes blundered a rook in position where he was a pawn up. Halliday’s 1st Round win came against the sole female participant in the RBTT Candidates Section Juanita Garnett of Barbados.
Five players share 3rd place on one point. These include Defending Champion Othniel Harewood of Barbados, Raymond Marbot and Karl Rapon of Martinique, Trevor Griffith and Demetrio Moore of Barbados.
Play continues on Wednesday April 29th, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. at the Barbados Bridgetown Chess centre in Cavans Lane, Bridgetown. Admission to the public is free.
~ Allan Herbert
Daaim, Thanks for posting!!
I’m not getting regular updates from Barbados. Visit the barbados.org site for results and games. It will take me a few hours to get caught up. Stay tuned.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
The game of the round had to be Alonso Zapata’s win over the young upstart Nazi Paikidize from Georgia. In an exciting battle, Zapata had to battle with his queen against three pieces and relied on his passed pawns to push home the point. Paikidize had problems coordinating her pieces and lost her way. Zapata now has sole lead of 1st place with Kevin Denny, Martin Neubauer and Alexander Shabalov in joint 2nd on 3-1. Neubauer and Denny played an uneventful draw. Shabalov overpowered Jomo Pitterson in a fine combination of finesse and force.
Barbados’ IM Kevin Denny looking from opponent’s perspective. IM Martin Neubauer ponders next move. Appears to be the final position so a draw was accepted. Photo by Dirk Austin.
Standings after Round 4
1st: Zapata, 3.5;
2nd-4th: Neubauer, Denny, Shabalov, 3.0;
5th-6th: Moran, Buhmann, 2.5
7th: Paikidze, 2.0
8th-11th: Pitterson, Uribe, Elliott, Warner, 1.5
12th-13th: Harper, Farley, 1.0
14th: Hammar, 0.5
GM Alfonso Zapata
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Standings after Round 5
1st: Zapata, 4.5;
2nd: Shabalov, 4.0;
3rd: Buhmann, 3.5
4th-6th: Neubauer, Denny, Moran, 3.0
7th-8th: Uribe, Warner, 2.5
9th-11th: Pitterson, Paikidze, Harper, 2.0
12th: Elliott, 1.5
13th: Farley, 1.0
14th: Hammar, 0.5
If the Caribbean players are going for GM/IM norms, there is no way to achieve it by drawing each other in 20-30 moves. You cannot draw players in the lower half and expect to beat the higher seeds. You have to put friendships aside and play until there is no life in the position.
Shabalov and Suez-Panama Take Digicel RBTT Heroes Day Cup Lead
Former US Champion, Grandmaster Alexander Shabalov took the lead of the 2009 Digicel Heroes Day Masters Cup compliments of German Grandmaster Rainer Buhmann who upset tournament leader Grandmaster Alonso Zapata in round six action at the Bridgetown Chess Centre.
Shabalov, who had earlier lost to Zapata in their round two encounter, put in a determine effort to cover the lost ground by beating International Master Martin Neubauer of Austria in Round 5 and Barbados National Champion, International Master Kevin Denny in Round 6. After six rounds of play he tops the Digicel Masters with 5 points.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Buhmann, who has struggled in the earlier rounds, beat International Master Mauricio Uribe in Round 5 before scoring his big win against Zapata in Round 6.
Zapata, who got the better of a tactical duel against Denny in Round 5, slips to 2nd position with Buhmann on 4 ½ points.
Tied for 4th position on 3 ½ points are Neubauer and International Master Augusto Moran of Ecuador who drew their Round 6 game against each other. Denny, Colombian International Champion Maurico Uribe and FIDE Master Ryan Harper of Trinidad and Tobago Neubauer share 6th position with 3 points.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Candidates Tournament
The RBTT Candidates Section continues to be very competitive with Gilles Suez-Panama of Martinique leading the section with 5 points after wins in Round 5 and 6 against Trevor Griffith and Dwayne Gilkes of Barbados.
Top Seed Equitable Brown slips to 2nd position with 4 ½ point after beating Martinique’s Raymond Marbot in Round 5 but only managing a draw againstr Demetrio Moore of Barbados in Round 6.
Moore, who beat Juanita Garnett of Barbados in Round 5, moves to 3rd position with 3 ½ points followed by the Martinique pair of Karl Rapon and Raymond Marbot on 2 ½ points for 4th place.
Play continues on Sunday May 34d, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. at the Barbados Bridgetown Chess Centre in Cavans Lane, Bridgetown. Admission to the public is free.
~Allan Herbert
Juanita Garnett in the Candidate’s Section.
Photo by Dirk Austin.
Standings after Round 6
1st: Shabalov, 5.0
2nd-3rd: Buhmann, Zapata, 4.5
4th-5th: Neubauer, Moran, 3.5
6th-8th: Denny, Uribe, Harper, 3.0
9th-11th: Pitterson, Paikidze, Warner, 2.5
12th: Elliott, 2.0
13th: Farley, 1.5
14th: Hammar, 1.0
Totally agree, every Caribbean-Caribbean game has drawn! Still an impressive tournament with many rounds to go…
Well… there were a couple of decisive games in recent rounds. Warner was involved in both of them… now 6/8 Caribbean matchups were drawn.
Short draws also deprive aspiring players of an education and experience. They should invoke the “Ashley” rule next year to cut down on quick draws. Maurice Ashley was the first to institute such a rule, but they don’t give him credit. They call it the “Sofia Rule.”
Ashley invented this??? I thought it was Silvio Danailov (Topalov’s manager)?
Nice torny! yall my brothers i didnt know you could organize such a tourny or at least thats what they say, we gunna have black people all over the world runnin events! Wow! Harper rd.4 the black chess ok im seeing. OOh and GM Shabalov you testin out the “Black Chess” what happen Shabalov i thought we didnt know anything? That African Science is something when it hit you in the head huh? Hey Shabby if you see Invanchuck and the boys pleases let them “im watchin them watchin me watchin them” hehe!
Zachary,
No sir… M-Tel Masters (May 11-22, 2005) in Sofia, Bulgaria was the first major tournament to try the rule. Hence, the name “Sofia Rule”. Ashley had written an essay titled, “The End of the Draw Offer” in 2003 about this new model and tried it in the exciting Generation Invitational in 2003 (no draw before move 50). He then announced in 2004 that the rule would be enforced in the HB Global Chess Challenge (May 18-22, 2005) with a 30-move rule. One of the organizers of M-Tel stated that he was inspired by Ashley’s idea. Here is a short audio interview I did with him after that tournament.
(23 May 2005)
Cool, Ashley is quite a monumental figure in chess. Good stuff.
Standings after Round 7
1st: Shabalov, 6.0
2nd-3rd: Zapata, Buhmann, 5.0
4th-5th: Neubauer, Harper , 4.0
6th-8th: Moran, Uribe, Warner, 3.5
9th-11th: Denny, Pitterson, Elliott, 3.0
12th: Paikidze, 2.5
13th-14th: Farley, Hammar, 1.5
Harper has won three games in a row, but it’s too late for an IM norm. Don’t think Neubauer can get a GM norm. He’s played the three GMs, but his performance rating of 2489 looks low. He’ll need to get over 2600 TPR and he’ll be paired down the last couple of rounds. Denny has lost three in a row after starting quickly.
Let’s see how the Caribbean contingent of Harper, Warner and Pitterson do against the three GMs in round 8.
Alexander Shabalov has probably clinched the tournament with a win over Harper. A draw will win, but he’ll probably go out for a win. Results and games coming… hopefully. Delisle held Buhmann! Paikidze faded after a 2/3 start, but has lost four of last five games. One more round left.
Standings after Round 8
1st: Shabalov, 7.0
2nd: Zapata, 6.0
3rd: Buhmann, 5.5
4th: Neubauer, 5.0
5th-9th: Denny, Moran, Uribe, Harper, Warner, 4.0
10th-11th: Pitterson, Elliott, 3.0
12th-13th: Paikidze, Hammar, 2.5
14th: Farley, 1.5
Hi Guys,
I wanted to say that I think the Caribbean can really benefit from holding some Open tournaments, even if they are smaller than Foxwoods or the World Open in magnitude. I believe such tournaments can be self-sustaining. The beauty of the place and its proximity are great selling points. Especially if structured in a way such that players have time to take their significant others to see the tourist attractions and other places of interest. The thing is, not enough advance notice is given(though the Trinidad tournament last year did give some advance notice). Generally about three months notice is needed, as people have to save for the airfare and arrange leave at work for both themselves and any friend they may take with them. This Jamaica tournament has a lower section, but word of it got out the week before the tournament started.
Andy,
That has been in discussion for years. Maybe sponsorship is an issue. We have discussed the beauty of the Caribbean and all the other selling points. Those organizers in the Caribbean need manpower and sponsorship. Bermuda is big because it has the support of the local industry. Curacao also has support. Typically, there is not a shortage of these ideas, it becomes a matter of execution.
To be honest the African Diaspora has to become more engaged in chess affairs too. That is the way to make contacts and get the help and support needed. Ian Wilkinson is headed in the right direction in Jamaica, but he is doing the lionshare of the work. Edison Raphael in Trinidad has a good model and I enjoyed his tournament. The Bajan Heroes Day is an invitation only format, so they would have to have a separate section or tournament.
Final Standings (Master’s)
1st: Shabalov, 7.5
2nd: Zapata, 7.0
3rd: Buhmann, 6.5
4th: Neubauer, 6.0
5th-6th: Moran, Harper, 5.0
7th: Uribe, 4.5
8th-9th: Denny, Warner, 4.0
10th: Pitterson, 3.5
11th-12th: Paikidze, Elliott, 3.0
13th: Hammar, 2.5
14th: Farley, 1.5
Games (PGN format)
Final Standings (Candidate’s)
1st-2nd: Gilles Suez-Panama, Equitable Brown, 7.0
3rd: Lyndell Halliday, 6.0
4th: Demetrio Moore, 5.5
5th-6th: Karl Loic Rapon, Dwyane Gilkes, 5.0
7th: Othniel Harewood, 4.0
8th: Trevor Griffith, 3.0
9th: Raymond Marbot, 2.5
10th: Juanita Garnett, 0.0
Games (PGN format)
Will clean up reports later on and hopefully have some more commentary from Barbados. Amazing event! Good job by Allan Herbert, the arbiters and the players. There were some interesting games although the quality of play suffered toward the end. These types of events can be cruel since you have to play all the rounds even while playing poorly. Denny was hit particularly hard, losing to all three GMs in the latter rounds.
The tables ended with the three Grandmasters finishing in the top three positions and two IMs finishing in the next two. Harper made a good showing. Some of the poor results come from the lack of experience in closed events. In my opinion, too many short draws were given routinely. I was very surprised at the Paikidze-Pitterson draw in the 9th round. That game was exciting and there was a lot of play left.
I’ll give a wrap-up of the Candidate’s tournament as well. Glad that Suez-Panama won. I met him in Trinidad and had a chance to interview him.
Hi Daaim,
Thanks for the fantastic coverage.
I hope that your comments will not fall on deaf ears. The caribbean will always suffer from lack of exposure to GM level players because we are semi- pros with lives outside the game. The pursuit of chess excellence (or attempt to be magnificent!) is reduced therefore to the four or five weeks vacation period once a year and these events which are held at home and require no vacation leave. It is therefore a very focused and hungry player that should be facing these visiting GM’s but….
Having a big open tournament is one of our goals.Trinidad did it in 1999 The Caribbean Open.There were GMs from USA,England, Germany and Peru.Also Nakamura( he was very young of course!!) played as well. The island of St Martin also had big money open tournaments.It is something that I think we can do.
I’ll forever remember that Caribbean Open, GMs Urday, Conquest, Ward et al, Denny… and a young Nakamura who challenged me at blitz (that was funny)… It was a fantastic tourney put together by Edison and crew! I sometimes wonder if now GM Nakamura would recall playing me at blitz, he was only about 10 or 11 at the time, so you know as an aspiring FM I had to kind of show him my blitz prowess. I still think i was one of the best blitz players in the english-speaking Caribbean, but use to marvel at Denny giving opponents 5 minutes and taking only 1 minute for himself!! I wonder if Denny still does that or even remember those days!!!!
Hi Grantel,
How are you doing? Congratulations on your FM title, I do believe it was a first for Jamaica and shows you kept on playing better and better after we first met in T&T that summer of 1988. I wonder if you remember me from the late eighties! I want to take this opportunity to communicate with all the Caribbean chess organisers including Allan Herbert(whose home hosted me for the 1987 Barbados Open), Edison Raphael (who along with his good buddy Kurtis Chong and Mr Fitzpatrick used to ferry us around and make sure we were in comfortable accomodations in numerous T&T tournaments) and the indefatigible Mr Ian Wilkinson whom I met a few times in the States. Also anyone else in the Caribbean who might be interested. Please contact me to talk seriously about setting up a tournament in the various islands on a one or two per year basis, rotating across the Caribbean where we could have a large Open section. I am willing to try but need help. This is my attempt at giving back to chess the joy and fun I have derived from it.
Grantel,
Yes… that was long time ago… about 500 ELO points ago for him. Nakamura has grown a lot by now! He can give 5:2 odds to IMs in blitz (at a handsome wager). I’ve seen him give odds of 5:45seconds to master level players… ridiculously strong. Nakamura told me last year that he was at a park giving all types of odds and he got down to 5:30seconds. I would argue that giving 5:1 is easy. What matters is the strength of the opposition. 🙂
That’s an interesting story of Nakamura being in Trinidad. I have heard it before, but if someone has a picture, send it to me.
Hi Andy,
If my memory is right! and that’s a stretch… you played for Guyana, but man, that was a long time ago and my memory ain’t what it used to be. 1988, was the year I memorised the entire periodic table… now I don’t even remember the first 10 elements!! LOL… I live in Canada now but I have a US # which is 215-550-5586. Feel free to drop me a line! Regards…
It has been a terribly long time since being intrigued by Chess. The Pitterson game with the WIM Nazi – I agreed had a lot more play. Jomo was always a draw addict. Sometimes I wished he attacked more like Gibbo especially since he invests a lot of time in preparation and theory.
Gibbo – you need to go get that IM. These guys were too friendly with the draws. You would have laid it out there until your opponent was vanquished – or you succumbed. Hail to the Gibbo!!