Lanark Open 2017: Winner- Stephen McQuillan
Grading Information can be found on the Chess Scotland website
Round 5 Results [11-Sep-2017]
The Sixth Lanark Open came to a close last Monday however not before serving up some more quality games. It is fair to say many eyes were on the top board as Frankie Murray and Stephen McQuillan battled it out for top spot. McQuillan set up a quick king-side attack and with good tactical play was able to win early on. The interests of the players then shifted to boards 2 and 3 to see who would end up second and third. Ian Marks played Derek McCormack in a high quality match with Marks coming out on top. Next to them, David Potts and Ian Brownlee battled it out. Brownlee went into the game as Lanark's top-scoring player but came up against a strong player in Potts, who played well and spotted a tactic that won his opponent's queen. Jim Smalls, also of Lanark, beat John McKenna in another close match. Smalls was able to position his pieces well and also had an advanced passed-pawn which proved to be too much for McKenna and forced his resignation. Anthony Dunlop and Alexander Bond both won their games on board 5 and 6 respectively. Board 7 saw a brilliantly contested match between Martin Kearney and Ruairidh McKay. The game reached a deadlock position where neither player was able to find any way of gaining an advantage so a draw was agreed. Two very promising juniors fought it out on board 8 with Jonathan McKay managing to overcome Declan McLelland's defending and won the game. Chris Donkin won on board 9 against Bill Perrie.
After five rounds and lots of chess there was a clear winner. At the top of the pile was Stephen McQuillan who scored an excellent 4.5 points. Ian Marks was close behind with 4 who recovered well after a first round loss. There was three-way tie for third between Jim Smalls, David Potts and Frankie Murray with the latter two also sharing the first grading prize. The second grading prize was also shared among three players namely, Ruairidh McKay, Alistair McLelland and Martin Kearney who deserves a special mention as he managed to win a prize in his first ever chess tournament. The junior prize was won outrightly by Jonathan McKay who showcased his talent and potential in all of his games.
Lanark Chess Club would like to say thanks to all of the players for taking part. Another thank you is deserved by the tournament's arbiter, Tom Donohue who gave up his Monday nights to make sure everything ran smoothly each night. A final thanks goes to Ian Brownlee for organising the event and his never-ending enthusiasm.
| Bd | Name | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Murray, Frankie [3½] | 0 - 1 | McQuillan, Stephen [3½] |
| 2. | Marks, Ian A [3] | 1 - 0 | McCormack, Derek [3] |
| 3. | Potts, David [2½] | 1 - 0 | Brownlee, Ian [3] |
| 4. | Smalls, Jim [2½] | 1 - 0 | McKenna, John [2½] |
| 5. | Dunlop, Anthony [2] | 1 - 0 | McClelland, Alastair [2] |
| 6. | Doyle, James [2] | 0 - 1 | Bond, Alexander [2] |
| 7. | Kearney, Martin [1½] | ½ - ½ | McKay, Ruairidh [1½] |
| 8. | McKay, Jonathan [1½] | 1 - 0 | McClelland, Declan [1] |
| 9. | Perrie, Bill [1] | 0 - 1 | Donkin, Chris [½] |
| 10. | McAlroy, Kai [0] | 1 | (Bye) |
Round 4 Results [04-Sep-2017]
The penultimate round of the Lanark Open was played out on Monday night with plenty of high quality games played, despite Scotland playing at Hampden Park. Many eyes were fixed on the top two boards as it was likely that the eventual winner was playing in one of these games. Derek McCormack faced Frankie Murray in a very close and well-fought game that ended with the pair agreeing a draw. On the second board Stephen McQuillan played David Potts and after turning down a draw offer went on to gain an advantage in the end-game and finished well to earn the win against a difficult opponent. Board 3 saw two of the top-seeded players in Ian Marks and James Doyle fight it out. Marks used the additional space that he gained in the opening to good effect to edge out a win. Ian Brownlee won against Anthony Dunlop on board 4 in a very entertaining game with both players trying to attack at points in the game. On board 5 John McKenna spotted a crucial tactic against Alexander Bond to win an exchange and eventually the game. There was a father-son match-up on board 6 with Alistair McLelland playing his son Declan. This was far from an easy game for Alistair and was challenged the whole way by Declan but showed his extra experience to win the game. Kai McAlroy, another of Lanark's junior chess players, lost to Bill Perrie on board 7 but gave a good account of himself against a tough player.
The final round will take place next Monday and will decide the final standings. Frankie Murray and Stephen McQuillan are in the best position to win at the moment with a total of 3.5 points. However there are another three players still in with a chance to win overall. Many of the other players will also be targeting the grading prizes or the 'top Junior' prize. The pressure all of that adds means that there could be a few surprise results to come. Watch this space!
| Bd | Name | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | McCormack, Derek [2½] | ½ - ½ | Murray, Frankie [3] |
| 2. | McQuillan, Stephen [2½] | 1 - 0 | Potts, David [2½] |
| 3. | Marks, Ian A [2] | 1 - 0 | Doyle, James [2] |
| 4. | Brownlee, Ian [2] | 1 - 0 | Dunlop, Anthony [2] |
| 5. | McKenna, John [1½] | 1 - 0 | Bond, Alexander [2] |
| 6. | McClelland, Alastair [1] | 1 - 0 | McClelland, Declan [1] |
| 7. | McAlroy, Kai [0] | 0 - 1 | Perrie, Bill [0] |
| 8. | Smalls, Jim [2] | ½ | (Bye) |
| 9. | Donkin, Chris [½] | 0 | (Bye) |
| 10. | McKay, Ruairidh [0] | ½ | (Bye) |
| 11. | McKay, Jonathan [1] | ½ | (Bye) |
| 12. | Kearney, Martin [0] | ½ | (Bye) |
Round 3 Results [28-Aug-2017]
The third round of the Sixth Lanark Open lived up to the expectations and produced some brilliant games. It seemed that many of the games had a similar idea running through them, a king-side attack for White. This was the case on board 7 with Chris Donkin playing against Ian Brownlee. Brownlee defended well and later won in what was a very close game. Anthony Dunlop and Jonathan McKay's game on board 4 also had a similar position with white pushing his king-side pawns high up the board. Dunlop, as the higher-rated player prevailed and won the game. Board 2 was another interesting game of attack versus defence with Frankie Murray playing Alexander Bond. Murray played very well and spotted all of the key moves and ideas and deserved the win. There was an important game between David Potts and Derek McCormack on board 1. Both played well and cancelled each other out so agreed a draw. Boards 3, 5 and 6 all went according to rating with Ian Marks, James Doyle and Jim Smalls winning their games. Ruairidh McKay also won against Kai McAlroy on board 8. Board 9 showcased an interesting battle between Bill Perrie and Martin Kearney. Kearney who is visibly improving every week fought well and came away with his first ever tournament win.
After three rounds, only Frankie Murray is on full points. However with three strong players only half a point behind and another six on two points out of three the tournament could still be won by half of the entrants. The next round will certainly be interesting. Will Murray extend his lead out in front or will the others close the gap and open it up even more?
| Bd | Name | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Potts, David [2] | ½ - ½ | McCormack, Derek [2] |
| 2. | Murray, Frankie [2] | 1 - 0 | Bond, Alexander [2] |
| 3. | McKenna, John [1½] | 0 - 1 | Marks, Ian A [1] |
| 4. | Dunlop, Anthony [1] | 1 - 0 | McKay, Jonathan [1] |
| 5. | Doyle, James [1] | 1 - 0 | McClelland, Alastair [1] |
| 6. | McClelland, Declan [1] | 0 - 1 | Smalls, Jim [1] |
| 7. | Donkin, Chris [½] | 0 - 1 | Brownlee, Ian [1] |
| 8. | McKay, Ruairidh [0] | 1 - 0 | McAlroy, Kai [0] |
| 9. | Perrie, Bill [0] | 0 - 1 | Kearney, Martin [0] |
| 10. | McQuillan, Stephen [2] | ½ | (Bye) |
Round 2 Results [21-Aug-2017]
The second round of the Sixth Lanark Open did not fail to disappoint with a number of good games being played. Lanark's Alistair McClelland won on board 7 against Ruairidh McKay after a hard fought match against a higher rated opponent. On board 5 David Potts stayed cool under pressure and saw out the win as Martin Kearney, his opponent, pushed forward in the search for a result but was unable to break down Potts' strong defensive play. Derek McCormack played well against Ian Brownlee on board 4 and deserved his win. There was a close match-up on board 3 as Lanark's Jim Smalls played Stephen McQuillan. McQuillan was able to gain an advantage and saw the game over the line to finish with a good win. Board 1 saw Alexander Bond face up against Anthony Dunlop. Bond as white managed to gain a slight positional advantage in the opening and middle-game however it appeared that when Dunlop spotted a tactic to win a pawn the control of the game was shifting. Unfortunately this proved to be his downfall and Bond went on to win the game.
After two rounds, five players are on full points with a number of players now on one point chasing them down. The competition is still wide open which makes next week's round even more exciting and important.
| Bd | Name | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bond, Alexander [1] | 1 - 0 | Dunlop, Anthony [1] |
| 2. | Doyle, James [1] | 0(d) - 1 | Murray, Frankie [1] |
| 3. | Smalls, Jim [1] | 0 - 1 | McQuillan, Stephen [1] |
| 4. | McCormack, Derek [1] | 1 - 0 | Brownlee, Ian [1] |
| 5. | Kearney, Martin [0] | 0 - 1 | Potts, David [1] |
| 6. | Marks, Ian A [0] | 1 - 0 | Perrie, Bill [0] |
| 7. | McClelland, Alastair [0] | 1 - 0 | McKay, Ruairidh [0] |
| 8. | McKay, Jonathan [0] | 1 - 0 | McAlroy, Kai [0] |
| 9. | McClelland, Declan [0] | 1 | (Default) |
| 11. | McKenna, John [1] | ½ | (Bye) |
| 12. | Donkin, Chris [0] | ½ | (Bye) |
Round 1 Results [14-Aug-2017]
There was a good turnout of players from a wide variety of clubs from Glasgow to Edinburgh and everywhere in between. The Open, like most chess tournaments is being run in a Swiss-style which means the top players play the lower rated players first. As expected, most of the results went in favour of the higher-rated players however Lanark's own Ian Brownlee broke the trend by beating the top seed, Ian Marks, in a great game. The quality of chess was very good overall which promises to make the Lanark Open a very interesting and high quality competition. The next round will put the winners against each other which will result in some intriguing pairings and games.
| Bd | Name | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brownlee, Ian [0] | 1 - 0 | Marks, Ian A [0] |
| 2. | Dunlop, Anthony [0] | 1 - 0 | Donkin, Chris [0] |
| 3. | McKay, Ruairidh [0] | 0 - 1 | Doyle, James [0] |
| 4. | McQuillan, Stephen [0] | 1 - 0 | McKay, Jonathan [0] |
| 5. | (Bye) | 0 - 1 | McCormack, Derek [0] |
| 6. | Bond, Alexander [0] | 1 - 0 | McClelland, Alastair [0] |
| 7. | Perrie, Bill [0] | 0 - 1 | Smalls, Jim [0] |
| 8. | Potts, David [0] | 1 - 0 | McClelland, Declan [0] |
| 9. | McAlroy, Kai [0] | 0 - 1 | McKenna, John [0] |
| 10. | Murray, Frankie [0] | 1 - 0 | Kearney, Martin [0] |
| 11. | Lawrie, Ken [0] | ½ | (Bye) |
| 12. | Saemundsson, Thor [0] | 0 | (Default) |