Rundle Mall Blitz Spectacular 2003 Results

Updated April 22nd, 2017

A tremendous success was the verdict of many of passers-by in Rundle Mall. People were amazed by Ian Rogers efforts in the Blindfold and general simul. They also were astounded by the speed at which some of SA’s and Australia’s players moved in the knockout Blitz tournament.

There was also a high participation rate in the general simul with many members of the public taking part. It was also very pleasing to see many of the regulars come and take part in this event.

It is hoped that an event such as this will attract more people to the game of chess, both juniors and adults.

Organisers hope that this might become an annual event in 2004.

Sponsors:
Knights and Bytes
Wayward Bus Touring Company
Vodafone
Aboriginal Tours

Thanks to:
Ian Rogers
Alex Davidovic
Cathy Rogers
Scott Colliver
Alan Goldsmith
Srbo Zaric

Blindfold Simul (10 am- 12:15pm)

Many thanks to Grandmaster Ian Rogers for accepting to do the Blindfold simul. It certainly made many members of the public stop and watch someone playing 5 people simultaneously. At some stages of the day, we had almost 200 people stopping to see Ian in action.

It was the decision of the organisers to select 5 players. These players had to be particularly strong. Further, organisers thought it would be good to have players first from South Australia and of different ages to show that chess is a game for everyone.

GM Ian Rogers won 3 games and drew 2 games to Giang Nguyen and James Obst.

Board No. Player Result
1 Giang Nguyen Draw
2 Kim Anderson Loss
3 Robert Hoile Loss
4 James Obst Draw
5 Richard Thorne Loss
Congratulations to Ian Rogers for performing so well and to Giang and James for a great result.

See the games.

General Simul (12:20pm-2:20pm)

Thanks very much to Grandmaster Ian Rogers and local International Master Alex Davidovic for playing in the General Simul that was open to members of the public. Both Alex and Ian played 21 players at the one time.

The General Simul was a rolling simul which meant that when a game finsihed, another person could enter.

Overall, it was thought by organisers that around 200 people played Ian or Alex. In these 200 players, there were many juniors and also adults who had played many years ago.

Wins to:

Kerry Stead over GM Ian Rogers
Trevor Tao over IM Alex Davidovic
Draws to:

Scott Colliver over IM Alex Davidovic

The 24 player knockout blitz tournament was a tremendous success.

Congratulations to IM David Smerdon for winning the 24 player knockout Blitz Tournament.

Semi-Final:

Trevor Tao vs. IM David Smerdon 0-1
IM Zhong Yuan Zhao vs. IM Stephen Solomon 0-1
Final:

IM Stephen Solomon vs. IM David Smerdon 0.5-0.5
IM David Smerdon vs. IM Stephen Solomon 1-0

The 24 players were:

Kim Anderson
Amir Amini
Johny Bolens
Saayan Chaudhary
Alan Goldsmith
Aaron Guthrie
Gavin Haydn
Paul Hedges
Gordon Heitmann
Ralph Jackson
Simeon Jiminez
Avairs Lidums
Gordon Lindberg
Andrew McKechnie
Giang Nguyen
Michael Peake
Dion Sampson
Kevin Sheldrick
IM David Smerdon
IM Stephen Solomon
Kerry Stead
Trevor Tao
Markus Wolf
IM Zhong Yuan Zhao