2016 ANU Masters Week 1

The ANU Chess club's traditional Masters event began this evening, with a field of 8 evenly matched players (who to be accurate, are not actual masters). For a while it looked as though all 4 games might end in draws, after Adrian De Noskowski held top seed Andrey Bliznyuk, and Alana Chibnall recovered from a bad position to draw with Miles Patterson.
However Victor Braguine managed to go up a pawn in a R+N v R+N ending against Dillon Hathiramani (in his tournament debut), but stern resistance from Hathiramani  meant that Braguine still needed some work before wining the game.
In the final game to finish last years winner Fred Litchfield beat Harry Press in a game where fortunes fluctuated throughout. For a while Press was better, but after missing a tactic with 26. ... d4! drifted into a worse position and despite having a passed pawn on f2, was cut down by a mating combination.


Litchfield,Fred - Press,Harry [B40]
ANU Masters, 03.02.2016

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. g3 b5 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. d3 d6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Re1 Be7 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. h3 Qc7 11. Ne2 O-O 12. g4 Rfe8 13. Ng3 Rac8 14. c3 Nf8 15. Nh2 Ng6 16. Qc1 h6 17. Bd2 Ne5 18. Bf1 Nfd7 19. g5 hxg5 20. Bxg5 Bxg5 21. Qxg5 f6 22. Qe3 d5 23. Be2 Ng6 24. Bh5 Ndf8 25. Nf3 Re7 26. e5 f5 27. Qg5 Nh8 28. d4 Nh7 29. Qf4 g6 30. Kh2 Rg7 31. Rg1 Nf6 32. Ng5 Re8 33. Bf3 Ne4 34. Bxe4 dxe4 35. Ne2 Bd5 36. Qd2 Qe7 37. Nf4 Nf7 38. Nxf7 Kxf7 39. Nxd5 exd5 40. Qf4 cxd4 41. cxd4 Qb4 42. Rgd1 Qxb2 43. Rac1 Kf8 44. Rc6 Qe2 45. Rg1 e3 46. Rgxg6 exf2 47. Rcf6+ Ke7 48. Rxg7+ Kd8 49. Rd6+ Kc8 50. Qc1+ 1-0