On the 11th of August, Geelong Chess Club hosted the annual Fletcher Morrow Shield Match against Ballarat Chess Club at the usual Geelong venue in the Girl Guide’s hall.
The visiting team showed tenacity, but Geelong eventually prevailed by the convincing margin of 7.5 – 2.5. Notable was Mio Ristic bringing home the full point against “the drawmeister” Patrick Cook in their first over the board encounter, and Reza Daneshvar overcoming the ever improving Ruari Coffey! Ballarat were not without their victories, however; Rob Loveband got the job done against ambitious play by Rodel Sicat, Tom Oppenheim was rewarded by Owen Courtis’s flag falling, and Sean Macak clawed his way back from a difficult position against Jack Smith to make a draw.
Three reserve games were also played. The reserve games were played under the same conditions as the rest, but their outcome did not affect the match standings. This does not mean they were any less well contested; Andrew Wemyss had a long and tough game against Chantelle Barnett, winning by the margin of a few pawns, and Jasan Barnett got into his traditional time pressure before finding a neat combination against Robert Dejanovic to bring home a point in his own game. Khosrou Ghafouri of Portland played Paul Brown in the absence of another Ballarat player. K.G played a strong game and overwhelmed Paul’s king early on, not letting Black get any space or counterplay with his Maroczy Setup against the Sicilian Kan.
It was a good afternoon of chess in a friendly environment. Due in part to this annual match, a pleasant friendship between the two clubs continues to thrive.
Pairings and Results
1 Michael Sugrue vs Bas van Riel 1-0 (G)
2 Rod Jacobs vs Alistair Anderson 0-1(G)
3 Rodel Sicat vs Rod Loveband 0-1 (B)
4 Ruari Coffey vs Reza Daneshvar 0-1 (G)
5 Mio Ristic vs Patrick Cook 1-0 (G)
6 Harrison Harrison vs Geoff Barber 0-1 (G)
7 Alex Leach vs Kevin Perrin 1-0 (G)
8 Sean Macak vs Jack Smith 1/2-1/2 (Tie)
9 Rod Hessing vs Caitlyn Barnett 1-0 (G)
10 Tom Oppenheim vs Owen Courtis 1-0 (B)
11 Andrew Wemyss vs Chantelle Barnett 1-0
12 Jasan Barnett vs Robert Dejanovic 1-0
13 K.G (Portland) vs Paul Brown 1-0
Geelong Chess Club 