It was full house again last Sunday on a day fully packed with chess activities at our Sheung Wan center. Our Blitz Open started at 11am and lasted over 9 rounds until 4.15pm after which we had visiting GM Raymond Keene hand out the prizes and play a simul against 20 players until well after 7pm.
Nine players from Shenzhen, of whom eight U10 or U8, joined our tournament.
Ritvik remaining cool and focused in a hectic and packed environment
First things first: the Open Blitz. In the Open (adult group) our 2 Caissa members Koji and Long just missed out a prize scoring a respectable 6 out of 9.
Koji last minute preparation …
Spectators watch the Cyril-Daniel game move close to time control
Third prize went to Edgardo, last year’s winner. Cyril, again, managed to perform well and deservedly collected the 2nd prize. Top performer was Daniel Lam, with 9 straight wins the undisputed Caissa Open Blitz Champion 2014. Congratulations to all.
Daniel gets his Champion prize from GM Raymond Keene
In the B group, U12, we had 4 players with 5 points. On tie-break Ronald just fell out of prize range. Third prize went to James, 2nd to Richard but it was again Oliver who claimed the highest spot in this age group. Good job!
Suen Long contemplating his next move
Oliver Yau received champion prize in B group from GM Keene
In the C group, U10, Mei Jing won 3rd prize with a solid result of 5 points but Miguel Angel and especially Pak impressed most by scoring 5.5 and 6 points respectively, ending even above all B group players. Impressive!
Pak receives champion prize from GM Keene
In the D group, U8, Jiang Xin Ming from Shenzhen scored 4 points ending 3rd. From Caissa’s side we had Ritvik collect his first silverware at a Caissa tournament (way to go!) with 4.5 points. The Champion prize in this group went to Wu Yi Xing, also from Shenzhen, with 5 points. Congratulations boys!
Discovery Bay buddies Jay and Seth follow Noah’s game with interest
Wu Yi Xing Champion in D group
Around lunch time we had posted 8 trivia questions, varying anywhere between quotes from famous chess players to animal names of openings and, like last year, It was Aravind who scored most points, followed by Miguel Angel, Richie, Jay and Koji. Prizes ranged from a signed book by Raymond Keene to chocolate and chess boards.
Jay posing with GM Keene got chocolate in return for his chess trivia knowledge
We were very honored too that GM Raymond Keene was willing to hand out the prizes of the first Youth Grand Prix to the prize winners who were present: James Kwong 3rd prize in U12-14, Oliver Yau 2nd prize in U12-14 and Miguel Angel Garceran Wang Champion in U10.
Hurray from GM Keene to Miguel Angel U10 Champion of YGP 1
This event was also a qualifying event for Youth Grand Prix points and we can see below how the pool of points was distributed over the top 5 players
and what the current ranking is.
Finally, GM Keene took on 20 (mostly) youth players who fully enjoyed the oportunity to be able to play against a Grandmaster with an impressive track record in the world of chess at player level, as a writer, organizerer and so on.
Ronald and Miguel Angel curious: Huang Zhi Yan had a draw!?!?
After over 2 hours Ray scored 19 points out of 20: 2 draws. We are very proud of James Kwong who was one of the two players with Zhi Yan to manage to get that draw
A very big thanks to Ray, for visiting us almost straight from the airport after a tiring intercontinental flight, and making this event very special and memorable. We hope to see you again!
