GM Temur Kuybokarov has won the 2025 Oceania Zonal, with a final score of 8/9. After dropping his 4th round game, he finished with 5 straight wins, beating FM Chris Wallis in the final round. Tied for 2nd were IM Rishi Sardana, IM James Morris and FM Stirling Bayaca on 7/9. Both Sardana and Morris went through the event undefeated, as did IM Gary Lane (6/9), who curiously drew every game he started with the white pieces.
WGM Julia Ryjanova was the clear winner of the Women's Zonal, scoring 8.5/9. She only conceded a draw to WFM Shiyuan Shen, who finished 2nd on 8/9. In third place was WCM Chao Xin Cheng who scored 7/9.
Both events saw a number of players earn direct titles. A few have already earned their FM/WFM/CM/WCM titles (based on career ratings), while for others, the titles will be awarded based on achieving the minimum required rating.
As Chief Arbiter of the event, I found it a very enjoyable event. The chess was competitive throughout, including the final round, and a number of younger players showed a real step up in class. The venue (Huntingdale Golf Club) was fantastic, and the organising team from the Box Hill Chess Club (lead by Peter Tsai) did a brilliant job throughout.
Full results and links to tournament games can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/2025oceaniazonals/home
No comments:
Post a Comment