Day 3 of the Moja Chess Extravaganza 2022 was a rollercoaster of events, drama and emotion. When we play chess it is sometimes easy to forget the important people who are keeping the event structured and orderly. Arbiters. The team of arbiters have so far put in a stellar effort in keeping things sane by all means. With that said let us dive in on the happenings of day 3…
Open
Prestige
Daniel Cawdery and the young Michael Simpson are marshalling the top of the log in the Prestige section both unbeaten on 5.5 points after 6 rounds. Simpson won a very nice game against Mathebula in round 5 and seems to be on form in this event.
Going into the last Round 7, either Cawdrey or Simpson needs an outright win to take pole position. A draw would mean that Makoto, Mncwabe or Mathebula would catch up.
B Section
Jorah Soojay has kept the Board 1 seat warm ever since he occupied it in Round 2. He seems to be on form and focused to take the B but he has 3 players hot on his heels just a point behind him waiting for him to falter.
Ladies
The ladies section is set for an interesting finale with fierce combative competition at the top. Heading into the battle for spoils in the last round is Hayley Nel who has quietly sniped her way up to join WIM Anzel Laubscher and Thokozile Yende at the head of the table. These 3 are watched by Lidokuhle Bhila who is just a half point behind them.
Excursion and Blitz
A Blitz session was arranged between rounds and an excursion was arranged for the GMs to see one of the well known attractions in Kimberly.
First the Blitz. To entertain players and parents who are still around after the C&D sections ended and also to lighten the tension of serious chess a 3|0 blitz took place. The fast pace of play created some fun and funny situations. Three of the players from the GM/IM norm also jumped in and played, almost missing their round. The winner will be crowned during the closing of the Open sections.
GM Short and GM Zaibi took a “Sho’t Left“ to the Kimberley Big Hole which is literally just a stone’s throw away from the Mittah Seperere Convention Centre where the blitz was being played. You cannot come to the city of diamonds and not see any. GM Grover and GM Hesham decided to sit any distractions out and focus on their prep for the impending round.
Kimberley has many attractions that you can check out on www.experiencenortherncape.com or any of their Social media handles: Facebook @NorthernCapeTourism, Twitter @NorthernCapeSA Instagram @northerncapetourism
GM/IM norm section
The excursion seemingly had a good effect on GM Short and GM Zaibi with both of them digging a big hole for their opponent. GM Short slowly squeezed out and buried GM Hesham with the black pieces to win his 3rd round encounter and GM Zaibi also won his game against Kela. GM Grover hammered Acho and also won this round. Keith and Banele unsurprisingly ended their game in a peaceful draw.
The hotly contested GM/IM section ended controversially in the very wild game between Alessandro and Daniel that ended in a not so peaceful draw. After battling it out in some wild and murky waters Daniel almost lost on time when he was down to 1 second and used both hands to both make his move and press his clock!
The arbiter was summoned and he ruled that Alessandro should be credited with an extra 2 minutes to his time and gave Daniel a warning. This did not sit well with Alessandro but he agreed to continue the game under protest and made it clear that he intends to appeal. The game then continued and ended in a perpetual draw.
The jury is still out on what the decision of the appeal will be.
The Moja Chess Extravaganza is a chess event organized by the Moja Chess Club, under the auspices of Frances Baard Chess, Northern Cape Chess and the Northern Cape Tourism board. Chess players both local and international have been invited to participate in Over-The-Board chess activities to be held at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre which is situated in Kimberley, Northern Cape on 18 – 22 March 2022. A GM/IM norm event is also scheduled to run concurrently between 18 – 27 March 2022.
