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10th Monarch Assurance International Chess Tournament, 29 Sept - 7 Oct 2001

The Monarch Assurance 10th International Chess Tournament is being held at the Cherry Orchard Hotel, Port Erin, Isle of Man, from 29 September to Sunday 7 October 2001.

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Rd 5 Results | Rd 5 Crosstable

Round 5 (3 October 2001)

The Great Laxey Wheel

Today's treat at the Monarch Assurance International was the annual coach trip. Our indefatigable tournament director, Dennis Hemsley, lays this on so that competitors and others don't leave the Isle of Man with just a memory of the inside of the tournament hall. This is one of those nice touches that is so typical of our TD - rather like that Heiniken beer commercial, Dennis refreshes the parts that other TDs don't reach. Incidentally, he is even better known for his habit of making jokey presentations to all and sundry at the prizegiving, usually tied in with some perceived eccentricity or unconventional habit on the part of that person. I'm hoping that Dennis will take the hint from that reference to Heiniken and present me with a crate of beer, but I expect he's got some other weird and wonderful idea in mind (e.g. an extradition order if I don't watch my p's and q's).

I won't give you a full travelogue - suffice to say that the Isle of Man is a superb place for a touring holiday, especially if you enjoy scenery, history, sea views and the quiet life in general. If you like to get away from it all, including other people, this is the place to do it. Tourist commercial over, back to the coach trip: we stopped off at a tourist attraction called the Great Laxey Wheel. This is a stupendous piece of mid-Victorian engineering, built to extract gallons of water from a deep lead/silver mine, and also lower equipment and miners down into the bowels of the earth.

Great Laxey WheelGreat Laxey Wheel
The Great Laxey Wheel - the three figures seen together at the top are Rudy Van Kemenade, Chris Dossett and Andrew Smith

Forty of us decanted from the coach to visit this impressive left-over from the Industrial Revolution. But it did involve a certain test of energy and determination. Some of the party fell at the first fence on seeing the slope they would be required to walk up to reach the great wheel itself. The next hurdle was the turnstile through which it was necessary to pass. One or two members of the party baulked at the £2.75 entrance fee, and so dropped out of the ascent at that point. Next, the ascent of the wheel itself. A narrow stairway wound round the body of the structure, all the way up to a vertiginous platform offering stunning views down at the machinery and surrounding countryside. Actually that's just guesswork on my part as I only got to 'first base' before fear of heights kicked in. Three members of the party - Andrew Smith, Rudy Van Kemenade and Chris Dossett - were courageous enough to go all the way to the top. You might just see them as three dots on the skyline in the above photo, looking down at the cowardly cameraman.

Bogdan LalicBut there is no moral to this little anecdote. Fortune evidently does not always favour the brave, as the three intrepid people in the picture scored 0/3 between them in their subsequent round five games. Nor did the great wheel of fortune turn significantly in the other games; once again the weak were crushed mercilessly underfoot by the strong. It's a pity that I didn't return from the excursion with a nice picture of a duck swimming on a lake or, perhaps better, a photo of a native breed such as the Manx Shearwater, as that would have presented a better (if somewhat trite) analogy with what occurred: quiet serenity above the water line, but much furious paddling going on below it. If you check the results table below, you will see that there were five draws on the top boards, but none on the next twelve, where the lower-rated player succumbed in every case. As a result, Petr Kiriakov retains his sole lead, but there are no less than 17 players half a point behind him. In the next group are two players, Colin Crouch and Ketevan Arakhamia, who started with 0/2 but now find themselves within a point of the lead. There were some hard-luck stories amongst boards 6-17, with Petr Marusenko giving a good account of himself against Alexander Galkin but missing out, and Martin Simons losing on time against Ketevan Arakhamia in a decent position. Pictured left, Bogdan Lalic - whose taste in shirts seems to indicate that he has got the Isle of Man confused with Hawaii - showed incisive form to dismiss Robert Willmoth's challenge.

Marusenko,P (2362) - Galkin,A (2583) [A08]
Monarch Assurance International Port Erin (5.8), 03.10.2001

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d3 d5 4 Nbd2 Nc6 5 g3 Bd6 6 Bg2 Nge7 7 0-0 0-0 8 Re1 Bc7 9 exd5 exd5 10 d4 c4 11 Nf1 Rb8 12 h4 h6 13 N1h2 b5 14 h5 f5








A fairly normal set-up at this stage, though 14...f5 looks a little unusual. 15 Ne5 Nxe5 16 dxe5 d4 17 Bf4 Be6 18 Nf3 Bb6 19 Qc1 Kh7 20 Rd1 Nc6 21 Nh4 Rc8 22 Ng6 Most people would run a mile before allowing their opponent a hole for a knight like g6, but 'Sacha' Galkin doesn't seem unduly fazed by the cuckoo in his nest. 22 ..Rf7 23 Qd2 Ne7 24 Nh4 Nd5 25 Ng6 Ne7 26 Nh4 Nd5 27 Ng6 Ah, so White would be content with a draw. Small wonder, given the 200+ rating difference. 27 ..c3 28 bxc3 Nxc3 29 Re1 Ba5 Black has also established a strongpoint for his knight, but, with the bishop on a5, his has a bit more bite to it. 30 Qd3 Na4 31 Bd2 Nc3 32 Bh3 Bb6 33 Nf4 Qe8 34 g4 [White was probably reluctant to trade in his knight, but perhaps he should have done so with 34 Nxe6 Qxe6 35 f4 resulting in a reasonably balanced position.] 34 ..Bc4 35 Qf3 Ne4 36 Rxe4 Best, otherwise the e5 pawn drops without compensation. 36 ..fxe4 37 Qxe4+ Kg8 38 g5!? [If 38 e6 Rxf4 39 Bxf4 Qxe6 and White's pawns are very vulnerable.] 38 ..hxg5








39 e6?? [Having played 'a', Marusenko unaccountably fails to play 'b'. If 39 Bxc8 Qxc8 (39 ..gxf4 40 Bg4 Be6 41 Bf3 is nothing special) 40 Ng6 and White has a fair position, though it is very complex. If 40 ..d3!? 41 Bxg5 Bxf2+ 42 Kh2 dxc2 43 Rc1 it is far from clear what is happening.] 39 ..Rxf4 40 Bxf4 gxf4 41 Re1 Qxh5 42 e7 Re8 43 Bd7 f3! The threat of mate takes precedent over White's attack on e8. A pity for Marusenko who fought well. 0-1

Willmoth,R (2239) - Lalic,B (2528) [C24]
Monarch Assurance International Port Erin (5.9), 03.10.2001

1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 d3 c6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 0-0 d6 6 Re1 Nbd7 7 a4 7 h3 or 7 c3 are more conventional moves here. 7 ..Nf8 8 Ng5 In his eagerness to get the pieces off the board, White hands over the initiative to Black. 8 ..Ne6 9 Nxe6 Bxe6 10 Bxe6 fxe6 11 d4 exd4 12 Qxd4 0-0 13 a5 Nd7 14 Nc3 d5 Black is now a fair bit better. White hasn't a good square to develop his bishop. 15 Qd1 Bf6 16 Bd2 [16 Be3 Ne5 presents White with a different set of awkward problems, but at least it avoids the weakening of the a1-h8 diagonal.] 16 ..Ne5 17 b3 Ng6 18 Qg4








18 ..Bd4! Black decides to let the e-pawn go and stake all on an onslaught against the f2 pawn. 19 Qxe6+ [White may as well take on e6. If 19 Rf1 Qf6 20 Qg3 h5 21 Bg5 Qe5 22 Qxe5 Nxe5 23 Bd2 Fritz produces the melodramatic 23 ..Rf3!? but there are more mundane ways of playing it.] 19 ..Kh8 20 Rf1 Qh4 21 g3 Qh5 Now the threat is Ne5-f3, and there is not a lot that White can do about it. 22 Ra4 Ne5! [22 ..Rf6 would have served equally well.] 23 h4 Nf3+ 24 Kg2 Nxd2 25 Rxd4 Qf3+ 0-1


Round 5 Results
Bd  WHITE                      Result  BLACK                     
  1 HEBDEN,Mark      2559 (3)    1/2   KIRIAKOV,Petr    2548 (3½)
  2 TIVIAKOV,Sergei  2618 (3)    1/2   FLEAR,Glenn C    2489 (3) 
  3 ULIBIN,Mikhail   2583 (3)    1/2   SHAW,John        2478 (3) 
  4 STOCEK,Jiri      2530 (3)    1/2   YAKOVICH,Yuri    2577 (3) 
  5 BRODSKY,Michail  2528 (3)    1/2   GORMALLY,Danny   2481 (2½)
  6 WILLIAMS,Simon   2369 (2½)   0-1   GLEIZEROV,Evgeny 2587 (2½)
  7 BABURIN,Alexande 2584 (2½)   1-0   HANLEY,Craig A   2278 (2½)
  8 MARUSENKO,Petr   2362 (2½)   0-1   GALKIN,Alexander 2583 (2½)
  9 WILLMOTH,Robert  2239 (2½)   0-1   LALIC,Bogdan     2528 (2½)
 10 JACKSON,Adrian   2230 (2½)   0-1   GALLAGHER,Joe    2516 (2½)

 11 RYAN,Joe         2305 (2½)   0-1   HILLARP-PERSSON, 2438 (2½)
 12 MCNAB,Colin      2437 (2½)   1-0   VALENTI,Richard  2143 (2½)
 13 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2437 (2½)   1-0   COLLINS,Sam      2194 (2½)
 14 KIRSANOV,Oleg    2365 (2½)   1-0   SMITH,Andrew P   2234 (2) 
 15 ARAKHAMIA-GRANT, 2446 (2)    1-0   SIMONS,Martin    2215 (2) 
 16 CROUCH,Colin S   2407 (2)    1-0   GOODGER,Martyn   2136 (2) 
 17 HOWELL,David WL  2193 (2)    0-1   SOWRAY,Peter J   2334 (2) 
 18 BISBY,Daniel L   2285 (2)    1/2   YURENOK,Maria S  2088 (2) 
 19 KEMENADE,R van   1992 (1½)   0-1   AFEK,Yochanan    2381 (1½)
 20 SPENCE,David     2185 (1½)   1/2   BOUSBOURAS,Spiro 2102 (1½)

 21 COATHUP,Roger    2130 (1½)   1/2   ORMSBY,Alan      1720 (1½)
 22 BOLT,Graham      2124 (1½)   1/2   MCNALLY,Bruce    2010 (1½)
 23 MAY,Frank        2125 (1)    1-0   ELLISON,D George 2104 (1½)
 24 LUTTON,J Ezra    2093 (1)    1/2   ALLEN,Keith      2289 (1) 
 25 DOSSETT,Chris    1768 (1)    0-1   ISHERWOOD,Paul   2172 (1) 
 26 NICHOLSON,John   1865 (1)    0-1   CLARK,Stephen P  2112 (1) 
 27 WAUGH,Jonathan   1672 (0)    0-1   SPANTON,Tim      2051 (0) 
 28 BENSON,Paul      2046 (0)    1-0   MAHER,Frank      ---- (-)                       
 29 STUART,E Leslie  2039 (1)    1/2   Bye                       

Round 5 Crosstable
Monarch Assurance Isle Of Man (ENG), IX 2001 - X 2000
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                                        1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
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 1 Kiriakov, Petr          g RUS 2548  =23 +29 +25 + 9 =12  .   .   .   .   4.0 /5  2662
 2 Galkin, Alexander       g RUS 2583  +18 = 7 =14 =17 +25  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2585
 3 Stocek, Jiri            g CZE 2530  +17 = 4 +26 = 8 = 6  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2618
 4 Gleizerov, Evgeny       g RUS 2587  +21 = 3 = 7 =13 +23  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2611
 5 Ulibin, Mikhail         g RUS 2583  +13 -19 +24 +20 =16  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2550
 6 Yakovich, Yuri          g RUS 2577  +22 =14 +23 =11 = 3  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2631
 7 Brodsky, Michail        g UKR 2528  +20 = 2 = 4 +34 =19  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2589
 8 Hillarp Persson, Tiger  g SWE 2438  = 9 +40 =12 = 3 +28  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2581
 9 Baburin, Alexander      g IRL 2584  = 8 +34 +19 - 1 +24  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2541
10 Lalic, Bogdan           g ENG 2528  =25 +31 =18 =28 +29  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2463
11 Tiviakov, Sergei        g NED 2618  =16 +35 +36 = 6 =14  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2531
12 Hebden, Mark            g ENG 2559  =26 +42 = 8 +35 = 1  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2507
13 Cherniaev, Alexander    m RUS 2437  - 5 +30 +41 = 4 +27  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2476
14 Flear, Glenn C          g ENG 2489  +49 = 6 = 2 +36 =11  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2589
15 Gallagher, Joseph G     g SUI 2516  +28 -23 +27 =29 +31  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2416
16 Shaw, John              m SCO 2478  =11 =27 +38 +42 = 5  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2487
17 Kirsanov, Oleg            RUS 2365  - 3 +44 +45 = 2 +35  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2465
18 McNab, Colin A          g SCO 2437  - 2 +39 =10 +48 +30  .   .   .   .   3.5 /5  2434
19 Gormally, Daniel        m ENG 2481  +33 + 5 - 9 =30 = 7  .   .   .   .   3.0 /5  2496
20 Sowray, Peter J         f ENG 2334  - 7 +37 +44 - 5 +42  .   .   .   .   3.0 /5  2359
21 Arakhamia, Ketevan      m GEO 2446  - 4 -36 +51 +39 +34  .   .   .   .   3.0 /5  2244
22 Crouch, Colin S         m ENG 2407  - 6 -24 +52 +45 +36  .   .   .   .   3.0 /5  2275
23 Williams, Simon         m ENG 2369  = 1 +15 - 6 +47 - 4  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2470
24 Hanley, Craig             ENG 2278  =38 +22 - 5 +40 - 9  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2372
25 Marusenko, Petr         m UKR 2362  =10 +46 - 1 +38 - 2  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2386
26 Afek, Yochanan          m ISR 2381  =12 +41 - 3 -27 +47  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2266
27 Collins, Sam              IRL 2194  +55 =16 -15 +26 -13  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2372
28 Ryan, Joseph              IRL 2305  -15 +51 +39 =10 - 8  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2293
29 Willmoth, Robert          ENG 2239  +48 - 1 +50 =15 -10  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2357
30 Valenti, Richard          FRA 2143  +47 -13 +55 =19 -18  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2264
31 Jackson, Adrian           ENG 2230  +50 -10 =48 +49 -15  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2306
32 Yurenok, Maria S          ENG 2088  -34 +58 -35 +46 =33  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2139
33 Bisby, Daniel L           ENG 2285  -19 -47 +58 +50 =32  .   .   .   .   2.5 /5  2220
34 Simons, Martin            ENG 2215  +32 - 9 +37 - 7 -21  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2259
35 Smith, Andrew Philip    f IRL 2234  +45 -11 +32 -12 -17  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2276
36 Goodger, Martyn           ENG 2136  +53 +21 -11 -14 -22  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2324
37 McNally, Bruce            SCO 2010  +46 -20 -34 =41 =44  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2123
38 Bousbouras, Spyridon      GRE 2102  =24 +49 -16 -25 =40  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2246
39 May,Frank                 WLS ----  +43 -18 -28 -21 +48  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2130
40 Spence, David             ENG 2185  +51 - 8 =47 -24 =38  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2127
41 Coathup, Roger            ENG 2130  +52 -26 -13 =37 =43  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2003
42 Howell, David WL          ENG 2193  +54 -12 +43 -16 -20  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2161
43 Ormsby,Alan               IOM ----  -39 +55 -42 =44 =41  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2124
44 Bolt, Graham              ENG 2124  +58 -17 -20 =43 =37  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  1963
45 Clark, Stephen P          ENG 2112  -35 +52 -17 -22 +53  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  2063
46 Isherwood, Paul           ENG 2172  -37 -25 +53 -32 +52  .   .   .   .   2.0 /5  1927
47 Van Kemenade,Rudy         ENG ----  -30 +33 =40 -23 -26  .   .   .   .   1.5 /5  2123
48 Ellison, Derek George     ENG 2104  -29 +54 =31 -18 -39  .   .   .   .   1.5 /5  2151
49 Allen, Keith              IOM 2289  -14 -38 +54 -31 =50  .   .   .   .   1.5 /5  2043
50 Lutton, J.Ezra            ENG 2093  -31 +53 -29 -33 =49  .   .   .   .   1.5 /5  2063
51 Stuart, E. Leslie         ENG 2039  -40 -28 -21 +58 =56  .   .   .   .   1.5 /5      
52 Dossett,Chris             ENG ----  -41 -45 -22 +54 -46  .   .   .   .   1.0 /5  1933
53 Nicholson, John           IRL 2021  -36 -50 -46 +55 -45  .   .   .   .   1.0 /5  1872
54 Benson, Paul J            ENG 2046  -42 -48 -49 -52 +57  .   .   .   .   1.0 /5      
55 Spanton, Timothy          ENG 2051  -27 -43 -30 -53 +58  .   .   .   .   1.0 /5      
56 BYE1                          ----   .   .   .   .  =51  .   .   .   .   0.5 /1  
57 Maher,Frank               IOM ----   .   .   .   .  -54  .   .   .   .   0.0 /1      
58 Waugh,Jonathan            IOM ----  -44 -32 -33 -51 -55  .   .   .   .   0.0 /5      
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START OF PLAY : 1330 (1.30pm)
RATE OF PLAY : 40 moves in 2 hours, 60 moves in 3 hours then 30 minutes to each player to complete the game. 7 hour playing session.


As well as Monarch Assurance plc, The Tournament is also sponsored by The Isle of Man Tourism, and The Cherry Orchard Hotel, plus the Erin Arts Centre, the Isle of Man Department of Tourism, Port Erin Commissioners and the Isle of Man Chess Association.

Tournament Director:
Dennis Hemsley