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Newcastle Mini Congress Open and U160 sections
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Big Boys
Alex Richardson, right, faces baby in black Jacob Boswell, whilst next to them Malcolm Armstrong has black against Doug Barnett attired in baby blue. Also in view is Steve Hill.
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Last year saw 14 entries between the Open and U160 sections, split 5 and 9. This year 15 entries were split two and 13, so the more successful U160 players had to take it in turn to be duffed up by Alex or Malcolm. However our two stars always treated their opponents with respect and were often seen engaged in an educational post mortem with their victims. Alex beat Malcolm in their head to head to claim the Open title.
Just 22 grading points separated top and bottom seeds in the U160 section, so no great surprise that easy games were hard to come by. Nevertheless Pavel Nefyodov and Karl Lockett had the air of being the men to beat, which only Malcolm and Alex did, with their meeting in the last round perhaps predictably ending in a draw. Kas Capatina had a slow start, but his two wins on Sunday were not rewarded with the embarrassment of the kangaroo prize as he moved up to receive a place prize instead, leaving Greg Willett as the marsupial for the year.U160 Scores
3½: Karl Lockett
3: Pavel Nefyodov, Phil Cattermole, Kas Capatina
2½: Jacob Boswell, Francis Westfield
2: James Rothwell, Alex Cartlidge, Greg Willett, Jon Blackburn
1½: Doug Barnett, Jack Healings
1: Steve Hill
Karl and James show the lean forward approach, Jack Healings the laid back one, Alex Cartlidge compromises with an upright one.
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| Francis Westfield, a study in concentration.
| Greg Willett managed to escape my camera most of the weekend.
| Julian Hawthorne and Kas Capatina demonstarte that chess is a thinking game.
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Pavel Nefyodov watches Alan Paling spectate the top board game of Alex Richardson v Malcolm Armstrong; James Rothwell watches Pavel and Karl contest the top U160 board rather than concentrating on his game against Phil Cattermole. In the foreground Kas Capatina, left, and Jon Blackburn are in the early stages of what would prove to be a long game.
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