2018 Vikings Weekender - Day 1

At the end of the first day of the 2018 Vikings Weekender, GM Anton Smirnov and IM Junta Ikeda share the lead with 3.5/4. They met in the 4th round, with the game finishing in a quick draw by repetition. On 3 points are FM Brandon Clarke, and Bahman Kargosha. Clarke lost his round 3 game against Smirnov (see below), while Kargosha has had 2 wins and 2 draws.
The 26 players Open event has probably the strongest field in the tournaments history, with the top half of the field rated above 2000. A combination of strong visiting players, and young local talent has created an event where every round is challenging for those taking part.
In the 24 player Minor (Under 1600), Bazli Karattiyatil leads with 4/4. He looked to be in a little trouble in his round 4 game against Yifu Wu, but a clever in between move was enough to halt Wu's attack and leave Karattiyatil with a winning position.
Full results and a link to the live coverage can be found at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/vikings2018/ The fifth round for both tournaments starts at 10:30am tomorrow (Canberra time).

One of the more interesting games from the tournament was the round 3 clash between Smirnov and Clarke. Clarke found an interesting (and correct) piece sacrifice, even allowing Smirnov to promote his e pawn. But just at the crucial moment, Clarke got carried away by visions of checkmate, and played into a losing line. If he had simply captured the new queen (21. ... Rxc8) then Smirnov had nothing better than 22.Bd2 Rb1+! 23.Kxb1 Rb8+ 24.Kc1 Bb2+ with a perpetual.


Smirnov,Anton - Clarke,Brandon [B90]
Vikings Weekender, 17.11.2018