Hessing takes half-point lead after beating Sicat, Black wins all 6 games, Round 6 draw

Rod Hessing is the new leader after beating Rodel Sicat on Board 1; Sicat opted for a passive approach against the Scandinavian, and Hessing won a long endgame battle, putting him half a point ahead of a pack of four other players.

Toby Mew, playing Black on Board 2, claimed a deserved but messy victory over Mio Ristic; after finding a nice combination to win material in a Caro-Kann middlegame, Mew got careless and missed the only accurate continuation, finding himself in a drawn ending. However, after some shuffling, Ristic self-destructed with a miscalculated pawn sacrifice and quickly resigned.

Geoff Davis on Board 3 had a short and sweet game against Taran Singh after the latter made an early oversight and allowed a forced mating sequence; it was all over on move 20.

Alistair Anderson had a quick night on board 4 as his opponent Paul Brown dropped a piece early and resigned without playing on.

Jamie Parker, Black on board 5, took on young Harrison Coppock and took the full point after a short battle.

Sree Sabhapathi and Brian Coppock had a hard-fought battle on board 6, where the game was decided in a king and pawn ending; White had the better of it but made a critical error, allowing Black to turn the tables and collect the full point.

All games in round 5 ended decisively in Black’s favour; a most unusual turn of events!

Round 5 results:
Rodel Sicat vs Rod Hessing 0-1
Mio Ristic vs Toby Mew 0-1
Geoff Davis vs Taran Singh 0-1
Paul Brown vs Alistair Anderson 0-1
Harrison Coppock vs Jamie Parker 0-1
Brian Coppock vs Sree Sabhapathi 0-1

Round 6 pairings:
Geoff Davis (3.5) vs Rod Hessing (4)
Alistair Anderson (3.5) vs Mio Ristic (2.5)
Toby Mew (3.5) vs Taran Singh (2.5)
Brian Coppock (0.5) vs Rodel Sicat (3.5)
Jamie Parker (2) vs Sree Sabhapathi (2)
Paul Brown (2) vs Harrison Coppock (0.5)