2013 NSW Open - Day 3

The 2013 NSW Open has ended in a tie between GM Zong Yuan Zhao and IM Max Illingworth. Illingworth went into the final round a point ahead of Zhao but in a hard fought and exciting game, Zhao won a Knight v Rook ending by hoovering enough pawns to overwhelm the rook. This left both players on 6/7, half a point ahead of IM Gary Lane and Anton Smirnov.
The final round saw a number of tough games with players scrambling for good placings. Patrick Champion had just enough to draw with Tristan Stevens, although Stevens tempted fate by offering his opponent a free pawn promotion as a way of avoiding a dead drawn position. As both players were down to their last seconds Champion decided not to accept the offer and a draw was agreed anyway. The half point was enough to help Champion to a share of the Under 200 prize, along with New Zealand visitor Hilton Bennett. There were also good performances from the Willathgamuwa brothers, with Kevin taking joint first in the Under 1850 section and Rowan winning the Under 1700 prize.
Full results for this event (and the Under 1600 tournament) can be found here.