MCC Australia Day Weekender

I was in the vicinity of the MCC today and dropped in to check on the Weekend event being run there (and to get a good coffee in nearby Brunswick Street!). Weekenders at the MCC have been a bit of a let down over the past few years, but this one seems pretty good. There are 35 players (I remember playing in this weekend event a few years ago when there were about 12 players!) with 2 IM's at the top of the rating order. However, for fans of the underdog, neither IM is in a position to take the tournament victory.

In the final round the top pairings are:

Zulfic (2152)-Schon (2195)
Stojic, S. (2029)-Chew Lee (1900)

Eugene Schon took the scalp of IM James Morris earlier in the tournament, while Max Chew Lee caused an even bigger upset by taking out IM Igor Goldenberg.

The tournament is being played in really good spirits, and there are plenty of spectators, including Australian Champion IM Max Illingworth, IM Guy West (looked in yesterday, apparently) and the women from the WOM Women's Masters which is entering it's final stages with WGM and top seed Irine Sukander (Indonesia) 1.5 ahead of the field. Unfortunately, following the forced withdrawal of WCM Vineetha Wijesuriya, another competitor had to withdraw due to health and personal reasons. I hope that WIM Katherine Jarek also has a speedy recovery and receives the support she deserves from the chess community should she choose to return to the game.

Eugene Schon on board 1 in the final round

IM Igor Goldenberg off the pace, but still happy

WIM Narelle Szuveges-IM James Morris

Dmitry Partsi with IM Goldenberg photobomb in the background!

And the winner is....

South Australian youngster, Fedja Zulfic! Fedja beat Eugene to take outright first and $350, while the board 2 game was a draw meaning that Svetozar Stojic and Max Chew Lee came equal second, a magnificent result for both of them!

MCC Australia Day Weekender winner, Fedja Zulfic