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2003 MASTERS KNOCKOUT TOURNEY

REPORT 2

By Mark Holness,

2003 Masters Knockout

2003 CHESS MASTERS KNOCK-OUT

"An NM Escapes"

The most exciting match of the First round saw Ian Wilkinson outplay NM Mark Holness in the opening with the Black side of a Pirc Defense. However he played planlessly in the middlegame transition and lost in a sharp tactical struggle.

He again outplayed Nm Holness in game two with the white pieces, and obtained a strong inititative against a passive french Defense. However, after a dubious rook Sac, NM Holness gained an advantage but squandered it when his king stumbled into a perpetual check.

In other games, NM Duane Rowe easily beat Andrew Mellace twice to grab a 2-0 lead. The National Junior Champion Alain Morais also showed his class to beat Mark Henry in both games to lead 2-0.

The Tournament favourite FM Warren Elliott showed his intentions by cruising to a 2-0 lead over Junior Daren Wisdom.

Deborah Richards made History by being the first female player to Qualify and compete in the Masters Knockout Tournament. Nevertheless, she was turned back by Equitable Brown who leads her by two points.

Humphrey Gayle also turned back the challenge of Brandon Wilson and leads 1.5-.5 after two games.

NM Robert Wheeler and Markland Douglas have already gone through to the Quarter Finals based on default wins.

The “Masters Knockout” sees matches of four games each. The loser of each match is eliminated from the competition.

See below the summary of Results.

1. Daren Wisdom v. FM Warren Elliott. (0-2)
2. Andrew Mellace v. NM Duane Rowe. (0-2)
3. Bertram Scott v. NM Robert Wheeler.(0-2)
4. NM Mark Holness v. Ian Wilkinson. (1.5-.5)
5. Mark Smith v. Markland Douglas. (0-2)
6. Equitable Brown v. Deborah Richards. (2-0)
7. Humphrey Gayle v. Brandon Wilson. (1.5-.5)
8. Alain Morais v. Mark Henry. (2-0)

The time control is forty (40) moves in two hours with thirty (30) minutes to complete. If the matches are tied after the 4 games are played then two 30-minute rapid games will be played. If there is still deadlock then two blitz games will be used to separate the players.

The proposed schedule for the event is:

Round of 16: Game 1 - 31ST May, 2003
Game 2 – 1st June, 2003
Game 3 – 7th June 2003
Game 4 – 8th June, 2003

Q-FINALS: Game 1 – 15th June, 2003 (Sun)
Game 2 – 18th June 2003 (Wed)
Game 3 – 21st June, 2003
Game 4 – 22nd June, 2003

SEMI-FINALS: Game 1 – 28th June, 2003
Game 2 – 29th June, 2003
Game 3 - 5th July, 2003
Game 4 – 6th July, 2003

FINALS: Game 1 – 12th July, 2003
Game 2 – 13th July, 2003
Game 3 – 19th July, 2003
Game 4 – 20th July, 2003.

All weekend games are scheduled to begin at 1 pm while games on Wednesday will start at 6 pm. Players will be given at least twenty-four hours’ notice of any change in playing date, time or venue.

Mark Holness
Vice President
Jamaica Chess Federation

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