The George Pyrich OTB Allegro Championship Series 22-23 – Dundee CC
The George Pyrich OTB Allegro Championship Series 22-23
The 3rd George Pyrich OTB Allegro Championship Series took place at Dundee Chess Club Dundee on Monday 27th February 23, 7:30pm.
Format: 5 round Swiss, 15 minutes each player
What an absolutely amazing turnout with 44 players taking part, but a lot more players here that could have played! We still could have had even more as two clubs of the six TAFCA clubs were not represented this time!
Our hosts for the 3rd George Pyrich Allegro Championships were Dundee Chess Club and boy did they pull out all the stops! Fantastic venue, food, raffle prizes and hospitality! They also added a nice and helpful touch in having board numbers (large print) on the tables! Proud to have been a part of tonight’s event at Dundee Chess Club!
Well we were the victim of our own success as so many “NEW DUNDEE” players turned up, that it delayed the registration process and meant we started not at 7:30pm, but 8pm!
CLUBS & PLAYERS
Dundee (Host Club): 24 players
Castlehill: 10 players
Perth: 6 players
St Andrews: 4 players
While it was kind of expected that the host club Dundee and Castlehill (Dundee) would have a good turnout of players, it was absolutely fantastic to see so many players from the TAFCA clubs out with the City of Dundee! Perth and St Andrews you have done us proud, thank you!
There were not really any major shocks the whole night and the usual suspects were present at the end! Junior sensation, Rishi Vijayakumar J11(1826), had another great tournament, but in the end lost two matches, all be it against two great players in Ed Spencer (2027) (Rd 4) and Jacques Ophoff CM (2253) (Rd 5)!
Between rounds 3 & 4, we held the raffle draw. We had so many prizes on offer, and may I say quality prizes donated by Dundee Chess Club players, that I thought it would never end! In total Dundee Chess Club raised an unbelievable £147! I would like to thank you on behalf of Dundee Chess Club for your generosity on the night!
Going into the last round, Ed Spencer & David Findlay were joint leaders on 4 points and faced each other in the final round on board 1! You could just imagine if this was on TV and the music playing in the back ground. Mmm maybe “The Good, the Bad, The Ugly” (Which ones good, which ones bad, which one ugly? No comment), or Carl Orff`s, “Carmina Burana, O Fortuna” (from the film, Omen!).
On board two was Jacques & Rishi, which as said before, Jacques won to move to 4½ points.
The board one match had some twists and turns with Ed going a piece up, only for David to blunder it back! (Never do that when I play them!). In the end after a titanic struggle, neither of them could sink the others boat and a draw was the result.
This meant we had a 3-way tie for first place and the title of Dundee TAFCA Allegro Champion.
Congratulations to Ed Spencer (Dundee), Jacques Ophoff (Dundee) and David Findlay (Dundee) for sharing the title of TAFCA Dundee George Pyrich Allegro Champion(s)! It is fitting that three Dundee Chess Club players won the Dundee title. Well played! To be fair they were the top 3 players in the competition and lived up to their top 3 status! On a side note, it amazes me how a player can play a 15 minute time control, work everything out, win, finish in tied 1st place and still write down all the moves in every game! David Findlay you are just amazing!
The overall standings for the George Pyrich Allegro Championship Series after 3 events is as follows:
1st Ed Spencer (Dundee) 10 points
2nd Alisdair McLeod (Castlehill) 8 points
3rd James Anderson (Dundee) 7½ points
4th Rishi Vijayakumar (Dundee) 6½ points
Once again thank you to the host club Dundee Chess Club and their organisers for their hospitality, great venue and organisation of the highest quality. Thank you to James Anderson for all his hard work, especially during the registration period. Also thank you to Ray Flood and Jean Chalmers for all they did before, during and after the event! Thank you to those who stayed behind and helped clear up, putting the tables and chairs away.
Last, but most importantly, thank you to the players who supported us on the night. Without your support it would not be the success it was and I hope you all enjoyed the night despite the late finish!
The 4th event takes place at Kirkcaldy Chess Club on Wed 29th March 23. I hope to see as many of you there again (it will be an earlier start (7:30pm (ish)).
For all the results, standings an J.R.Chalmers Grand Prix table, click the link`s below.