Saturday 9 November 2019

2019 Vikings Weekender - Day 1

IM Junta Ikeda holds a 1 point lead after the first day of the 2019 Vikings Weekender. He won all 4 games played today, finishing with a win over CM Lalit Prasad. In second place are Willis Lo, IM Stephen Solomon and Prasad. Tomorrow mornings round sees Ikeda against Solomon, a pairing which will likely decide the outcome of the $1000 first prize.
Solomon went through the day undefeated, but drew with Lo and Fred Litchfield. Litchfield chose an interesting line of the Sicilian Dragon, where a lot of material is exchanged, and Black tries to hold the subsequent ending.
In the Minor, Jason Gillard and Craig Stewart share the lead on 4 points. They play in round 5, with the large group of players on 3 hoping for a draw between them.
The tournament attracted a good field of 56 players, with a smaller field in the Open offset by a larger field in the Minor. Apart from the lure of $1000 for first place, the ACT Chess Association is offering plenty of sectional prizes, so tomorrow should see more hard fought chess.

No comments: