International Master David Smerdon was the comprehensive victor of the 2008 Freytag Open held in Adelaide over the weekend. Smerdon started with 6 wins before drawing his final game with fellow Canberran IM Andras Toth. In what is a good sign for the upcoming Olympiad, Smerdon defeated IM's Sandler, Rujevic, and GM Darryl Johansen.
In equal second were GM's Dejan Antic and Johansen, as well as IM Toth. Antic defeated IM George Xie in the final round to reach 5.5/7, with Johansen defeating Rujevic in Round 7 to do likewise.
The win by Smerdon will no doubt be a confidence booster, as only last week he confessed that he had "gone off chess a little bit", although this can probably be attributed to the hectic social whirl of Canberra living.
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2 comments:
Now that the pressure is off, it wouldn't surprise me at all if David picked up enough FIDE rating points in Dresden to finally complete his GM title!
I agree with Brian and share his sentiments. David Smerdon has now reasserted his form and that is good news. However I read with some trepidation your comment that "he has gone off chess a bit". Hope not!! Australia needs more young strong players who continue playing and defnitely a 4th (or 5th) GM.
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