2020 ACT Chess Champion - IM Junta Ikeda

IM Junta Ikeda is the 2020 ACT Chess Champion, finishing the 4 day tournament with 6.5/7. Going into the final day Ikeda was on 5/5, and was paired against Harry Press who was a point behind. In a 100 move game, Press defended a R+B v R+N ending, before finding a clever mate threat that forced the exchange of rooks, leaving a drawn position. The game could have ended earlier if Press had spotted a repetition, but with both players having seconds on their clock, the miss was excusable.
Going into the final round, Ikeda led by half a point over FM Michael Kethro, with Press, CM Hui Li, and Wenlin Yin a further half point back. Ikeda made sure of first place with a hard fought win over Li, while Kethro beat Yin to finish outright second. Press scored a nice win over Dillon Hathiramani to finish 3rd on 5.5.
Tim Pearce beat Glenn Ingham in the last game of the tournament to finish, leaving Pearce as the winner of the Under 1900 section. Ruofan Xu won the Under 1600 section, picking up 100 rating points as well. Nathalie Tisserand was the best Fide Unrated player, while Eshaan Extross was rewarded for an outstanding tournament with the biggest rating improvement prize.
Full results as well as games from the top boards can be found at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/actchampionship2020/


Li, Hui - Ikeda, Junta
2020 ACT Chess Championship, 2020.03.09