4NCL Harrogate Congress

The 4NCL Harrogate Congress saw mixed results from the team of Press & Jones. The members of the PNG Olympiad Team (FM's Press and Jones) could not crack it for a win in their respective events, and both finished on 2/5, with 3 draws, 1 loss and a half point bye.
On the other hand Harry Press (playing under the Australian flag) finished on 4/5 (3 wins, 1 draw and a half point bye), to feature in a five way tie for first in the Under 2000 event. At one stage a win would have been enough for outright first, but it was not to be, as he opponent found the right defences to various threats.
Given the small number of rounds it was hardly surprising that the Open also finished in a 4 way tie for first. FM Tim Wall and Stephen Prior won their final round games, while John Jarmony and Stephen Jones agreed to a very short final round draw. The Minor had a single winner with Patrick Sartain winning his final game, while his closest rivals drew.
Full results (plus an increasing number of games) can be found at chess-results.com


David,Ivan - Press,Harry [A47]
4NCL Harrogate Major (5), 08.01.2017

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Nf3 Bb7 5. c3 d6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. h3 O-O 8. Bh2 Nbd7 9. Be2 c5 10. O-O Rc8 11. a4 a6 12. Nc4 Ne4 13. Nfd2 Nxd2 14. Qxd2 d5 15. Nd6 Bxd6 16. Bxd6 Re8 17. Bh2 Qg5 18. Rfd1 e5 19. Bf1 Qg6 20. a5 b5 21. b4 cxb4 22. cxb4 Rc2 23. Qd3 Qc6 24. dxe5 Nxe5 25. Qd4 f6 26. Rd2 Rxd2 27. Qxd2 d4 28. Bxe5 Rxe5 29. exd4 Rg5 30. f4 Rg3 31. Kh2 Qc3 32. Qd1 Qe3 33. Qe1 Qxe1 34. Rxe1 Rb3 35. Re7 Bd5 1/2-1/2