2019 New Caledonia Open - GM Adrien Demuth wins playoff for title

The 2019 New Caledonia Open had a dramatic finish after GM's Adrien Demuth and Sammy Shoker finished on 8/9. Both players won their final round games, with Demuth beating local player Rene Petre, while Shoker played a very nice game to beat IM Anthony Ker. As a result, the two player then played a 10m+5s playoff game, which was won by Demuth, who got his mating attack in first. The playoff was a fitting end to the tournament, as it was watched by a large crowd of spectators, who had been following the event throughout the week.
IM Russell Dive went into the final round with faint hopes of catching the leaders, but was close to losing to FM Michael Steadman instead. Some clever endgame play saved him half a point, and he finished outright third on 7/9 (having drawn with both GM's). Fourth place was shared by WFM Camille De Seroux and FM John Duneas, who both won their last round games to finish on 6/9.
There were some good results further down, especially for the local players. Twelve year old Arden Kaemo finished on 4.5/9, a result that included wins ove WFM Vivian Smith and Australian veteran Oleg Korenevski. Rene Petre finished as the best local player on 5.5/9 with a TPR of 2053.
For some of the competitors the next few days will see them staying on for some vacation activities. For the rest of us, it is off to the airport and travel back to Australia, New Zealand or Papua New Guinea. According to the organisers they hope to run this event every few years (sponsorship permitting), and if they do, I would highly recommend it to all.
Full results from the tournament can be found at http://chess-results.com/tnr476323.aspx?lan=1


Ker,Anthony - Shoker,Sammy
New Caledonia Open (8) 2019

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 a6 5. a4 Nc6 6. h3 e5 7. Be3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nf6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Nd5 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. Qxd5 Be6 13. Qe4 O-O 14. O-O-O Bxe5 15. Bd4 Bf5 16. Qe3 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Re8 18. f3 Qg5+ 19. Kb1 Qg3 20. h4 Re1 21. h5 Qe5 22. Ka2 Qxd4 23. Rxd4 Bxc2 24. hxg6 Bb1+ 25. Ka3 Bxg6 26. Rdh4 Ra1+ 27. Kb4 a5+ 28. Kc3 Rc1+ 29. Kd4 Rd1+ 30. Kc3 Re8 31. Bb5 Re3+ 32. Kc4 Rd2 33. b4 d5+ 0-1