Sunday 18 January 2015

2015 Australian Junior Championship - Day 2

So far the 2015 Australian Junior Championship is running pretty smoothly, and based on the feedback I've seen, everyone seems happy with how it is going. Today was the only double round day for the Under 18 and Under 16 tournaments, but even then it wasn't that taxing on either the players, or organisers.
Given the small size of the Under 18 section (14 players), the important match ups are starting early in this event. Top seed Yi Liu played Fred Litchfield (4th seed) in the morning, and Michael Kethro (6th seed) in the afternoon. He managed to beat both players, and kept up his policy of sacrificing something in every game. Pengyu Chen and Willis Lo are tied for second, after they drew an up and down game in the third round.
The Under 16 Open is also sorting itself out, with Tom Maguire leading with 3/3. In second place are Rebecca Strickland, David Cannon, and  Patrick Gong. Top seed Sean Gu suffered an accident in round 2, dropping a Queen to a tactic against Strickland, and is in the group of players on 2.
The Under 10, Under 8 and Under10/8 Girls are already two thirds of the way through their 9 rounds. Dashiell Young leads the Under 10 Open with 5.5/6, but there is still a sizable group of players close behind. Jason Yan leads with 5.5/6 in the Under 8,  and having played a couple of players just behind him is favourite to win the competition. In the Under 10/8 Girls Jennifer Zhang is on a perfect 6/6, 1.5 points ahead of second place. Having already played most of the other leaders, she should also finish this event in 1st place.
Tomorrow sees the final 3 rounds of the Under 10, Under 8 and Under 10/8 Girls. It is the 4th round of the Under 18 and Under 16's, and the last before the rest day on Tuesday. Of course even on the rest day there will be plenty of chess, with the Problem Solving Competition, and the Australian Junior Lightning Competition. If you wish to follow any of these events, you can do so at the tournament website www.ajcc.org.au


Chen,Pengyu - Lo,Willis [E42]
AUS jr U18 Open Canberra (3.2), 18.01.2015




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