BELFAST RAPIDPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017

Round 2 in Senior Section on Board 1: Mark Newman (White) v Ross Harris. Board 2: Modestas Razbadauskas (Black) v Ian Woodfield

Round 5 in Intermediate Section on Board 1: Dmitry Zelenchuk (Black) v Vincent O'Brien. Board 2: Matt Smiglarski (Black) v Tyrone Winter

Refreshments corner

The Belfast Rapidplay Championships were held on 28 April 2017 in the Good Shepherd Centre on the Ormeau Road, with a total of 36 players competing across three closely fought sections. Spread over 5 rounds each player had 20 minutes on the clock with a 5 minute break in-between rounds to enjoy the snacks and soft drinks from the refreshments corner!

The tournament welcomed 5 newcomers to Chess NI, with teenager Louie McConkey making his debut in the Intermediate section, alongside Michael Beckett and Ranjit Singh, all 3 of whom enriched their group and made it far more exciting for the regular tournament goers. Meanwhile, in the Senior section, John Wilson (1647), a former player at Ford Chess Club, competed with his son Matthew Wilson (1374), who played chess in Edinburgh during his studies as a student there.

The senior section saw 18 competitors with the phenomenal speed player Modestas Razbadauskas (1659) achieving the perfect  100% score of 5/5 and crowned the Belfast Rapidplay Champion. Hot on his heels, Ross Harris (1865) won the Silver medal and Mark Newman (1559) won Bronze,  both delivering an impressive 4/5 performance in an extremely tough section.   The most outstanding victory was by 17 year old Edward Doak (1326) who defeated veteran chess champion Danny Roberts (1830), an opponent 504 rating points higher. Edward was awarded ‘Game of the Tournament’ for demonstrating such exceptional ability.

With 12 competitors in the range of 1000-1299, the intermediate section saw Tyrone Winter (1060) win the trophy with an undefeated record, ending on 4.5/5.  It should be noted that we pour a lot of energy into the development of youth chess in Northern Ireland because the ability to learn and progress in chess is often very rapid for children and this gives us all a great buzz to see. However, no matter what age we start playing, we can all improve with the right guidance and support. Over this season, Tyrone has been working with a Dublin-based chess coach and the benefits to his development have been paying off. He has now scooped three awards between February and April this year so hopefully his success will prove inspirational to other players of similar rating!

3 players tied for second place in the Intermediate section with 3.5/5, however, the tie-break rules of Median Buchholz ranked Dmitry Zelenchuk (1266) as the Silver medal winner, followed by Ranjit Singh who won the Bronze. Vincent O’Brien (1180) was ranked 4^th, just missing out by a whisker, but nevertheless he delivered many powerhouse performances and he is definitely a player to watch in future tournaments.  Ciaran Rowan (1038) is another exceptional talent in this section, still only 15 years old, his impressive score of 3/5 bodes well for his future in the local chess scene.  

The Junior section was lots of fun to watch. 6 players competed in an all-play-all format. Paul Devlin (800) steamrolled his way to victory with an excellent unbeaten run, ending on 4.5/5 and winning the trophy for the  Junior Rapidplay Champion.  The Silver medal was awarded to 8 year old Adam Fitzsimons (778) for scoring 4/5 and displaying some exceptional endgame play. The Bronze medal was scooped by 19 year old student Rhys McLean (728) who demonstrated some beautiful tactical combinations as he won his first 3 games in a row. Meanwhile, 7 year old Avrora Zelenchuk (539) was commended for her impressive victory over Brian Fitzsimons (600) as she hoovered up pieces before delivering a Rook and Queen checkmate. The other competitor in this section, Dexter Harris (896), finished in 4^th place and his chess continues to improve at a remarkable rate. He will definitely become a strong player in the years to come.

This was the forth and final event to help raise funds to bring 4 children to Russia to compete in a 4 day chess match of Saint Petersburg v Belfast this summer. Thanks to the generosity of the players competing, many of whom donated beyond the £5 entry fee, we were able to present a travel award to Adam Fitzsimons as a contribution towards his flight costs. We look forward to seeing him compete against children in Russia this August and a report will be published online here as soon as we return. Hope everyone continues to play in more chess events over the summer and may you all continue to enjoy lots more fun with the best brain game on the planet!

Arbiter Brendan Jamison entering in the scores

Trophies for the 3 champions

SENIOR SECTION

(1300+)

Round 3 in Senior Section on Board 1: Ross Harris (White) v Robert Lavery. Board 2: Modestas Razbadauskas (White) v Michael Sheerin

Round 3 in Senior Section on Board 3: Edward Doak (Black) v Danny Roberts. Board 4: John Wilson (Black) v Matthew Wilson

Round 2 in Senior Section on Board 8: Richard Morrow (White) v Daniil Zelenchuk. Board 7: Pat McKillen (White) v John Bradley

ROUND 1 RESULTS

ROUND 2 RESULTS

ROUND 3 RESULTS

ROUND 4 RESULTS

ROUND 5 RESULTS

INTERMEDIATE SECTION

(1000-1299)

Round 3 in Intermediate Section on Board 1: Tyrone Winter (Black) v Vincent O'Brien. Board 2: Ranjit Singh (White) v Ciaran Rowan

Round 3 in Intermediate Section on Board 3: Barney McGahan (White) v Dmitry Zelenchuk. Board 4: Adrian Dornford-Smith (White) v Paul Anderson

Round 4 in Intermediate Section on Board 1: Vincent O'Brien (Black) v Adrian Dornford-Smith. Board 2: Tyrone Winter (Black) v Ciaran Rowan

ROUND 1 RESULTS

ROUND 2 RESULTS

ROUND 3 RESULTS

ROUND 4 RESULTS

ROUND 5 RESULTS

JUNIOR SECTION

(under 1000)

Round 4 in Junior Section on Board 1: Dexter Harris (White) v Adam Fitzsimons. Board 2: Brian Fitzsimons (White) v Avrora Zelenchuk. Board 3: Paul Devlin (White) v Rhys McLean

Round 2 in Junior Section on Board 3: Rhys McLean (Black) v Dexter Harris

Round 3 in Junior Section on Board 1: Rhys McLean (White) v Brian Fitzsimons. Board 2: Adam Fitzsimons (White) v Paul Devlin. Board 3: Avrora Zelenchuk (White) v Dexter Harris

Round 4 in Junior Section on Board 2: Brian Fitzsimons (White) v Avrora Zelenchuk. Board 3: Paul Devlin (White) v Rhys McLean

FINAL STANDINGS

ROUND 1 RESULTS

ROUND 2 RESULTS

ROUND 3 RESULTS

ROUND 4 RESULTS

ROUND 5 RESULTS

All the prize-winners. Bottom row from left to right: Rhys McLean [Junior 3rd], Paul Devlin [Junior Champion], Adam Fitzsimons [Junior 2nd]. Top row from left to right: Mark Newman [Senior 3rd], Modestas Razbadauskas [Champion], Ross Harris [Senior 2nd], Tyrone Winter [Intermediate Champion], Dmitry Zelenchuk [Intermediate 2nd Place] and Ranjit Singh [Intermediate 3rd Place]