GM Jacek Stopa has won the 2025 Vikings Weekender, finishing on 5/6. After starting with a round 1 HPB, he scored 3 wins, before drawing with 2nd seed FM Fred Litchfeld in round 5. He then faced Masaki Horikawa in the final round, needing a win to overtake Horikawa. He managed to do this in style (winning in 27 moves) to reach 5 points. He could have been joined by CM Hui Li on 5, if Li had decided to push for a win against Litchfield in a significantly better position. However Li decided that a guaranteed 2nd prize (shared) was better than risking going home empty handed, and so took the draw. These results left seeds 2,3 and 4 (Litchfield, Li and Horikawa) tied for 2nd on 4.5/6
The Under 1600 event finished in a tie between Nicholas Lee and Trent Parker on 5.5/6. Their Round 4 game ended in a draw, and they went 5-0 in their remaining games. Third place on 5/6 was taken by the quickly improving Kyle Zhang (861 ACF!) , whose only loss came at the hands of Lee.
The event attracted a capacity field of 73 players and offered a prize pool of over $3000. Tim Pearce did a great job as Chief Arbiter, handling the various tasks of tournament management, dispute solver, and DGT board wrangler with great skill. The event organisers, Tuggeranong Chess Club, once again put on a great tournament, and look to welcome back all the players in 2026.
Results: https://www.vegaresults.com/vr/4577
Games (Top 4 boards): https://view.livechesscloud.com/#8412fb38-3d81-4a63-904d-f42b9a1a52cf
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