Sunday, May 28, 2006

Round 6 - Speck Checkmated!

While his team-mates managed to draw, Nick Speck got himself checkmated on board 4 thus allowing Albania to defeat the Aussies 2.5 - 1.5. Truly a horrible loss and leaves us wondering: did Speck not see that? Maybe it was time trouble.

Led by Sydneysider Irina Berezina, the Australian women delivered a 3-0 shutout to Algeria. Laura Moylan, apparently feeling better from shopping therapy, has got her mojo back playing a nice game - winning a pawn, dominating the c-file then simplifying. Ngan Koshnitsky won quickly in 24 moves. Berezina's opponent seemed a tough a nut to crack but eventually collapsed under pressure on the King-side.

2006 Olympiad - Torino, Italy
Toubal, Hayet
Moylan, Laura
A35

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 g6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. e4 d6 7. Be2 Nc6 8. Nb3 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. f3 Na5 11. Nxa5 Qxa5 12. Be3 Rfc8 13. Qb3 Nd7 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. cxd5 Nc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 17. Kh1 Qc2 18. Bd1 Qxb3 19. axb3 Bxb2 20. Ra2 Bd4 21. Be2 Rc3 22. Rb1 Rac8 23. Rd2 Be3 24. Rdd1 a6 25. h3 h5 26. Kh2 h4 27. Bd3 Bf2 28. Kh1 Kg7 29. Kh2 Kf6 30. Rd2 Bg3+ 31. Kg1 Rc1+ 32. Rd1 Rxd1+ 33. Rxd1 Rc3 34. Bc4 b5 35. Be2 Rxb3 36. Ra1 Be5 37. Rc1 Bd4+ 38. Kf1 Ke5 39. Bd1 Rc3 40. Rb1 Bc5 41. Ke2 Rc4 42. Ra1 Rb4 43. Kd2 Rb2+ 44. Bc2 b4 45. Kc1 Bd4 46. Rxa6 b3 47. Bd1 Ra2 1-0

My beloved Team RP defeated Ecuador 3-1 with Eugene Torre being the only setback on the first board. Torre lost to fellow grandmaster Franco Matamoros. Twelve-year old Wesley So continues to make his nation proud by this time winning over IM Plinio Pazos on board 4.

And we should also mention the excellent performance of our next door neighbour Indonesia. After the sixth round, the Indonesians have collected 15.5 points. Yesterday they defeated the mighty Iceland 2.5 - 1.5.

Round 7 Pairings

Men
Australia - Luxembourg
Philippines - Iceland
Guatemala - New Zealand

Women
Vietnam - Australia
Philippines - Finland
Algeria - New Zealand

More details from the WZ site and the Official site. I've also added the official logo on my right-bar. Click on it and you'll see a post with essential Olympiad coverage. Robert Huntington's blog is a must-read.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Speck checkmated a surprise?????? Geez! you guys obviously don't remember when he used to play weekenders down here in Victoria!
Much has been made of him beating Ganguly in a Swiss tournament in Europe but to score consistantly is another matter! Should never have been selected. What a pity for Australian chess we allowed him to play.

Anonymous said...

Grow up you idiot.

If you look at the other players who were vying for the 6th place on the team you will see there was John -Paul Wallace,who hasnt been an active player in years.

Then there was Solomon,a worthy candidate but someone who has already had many olympiad appearances.

Igor Goldenberg also applied but he has only come out of retirement in the last year,that more than likely counted against him.

Speck competed in europe earlier this year where he had good performances. He is also in the top 10 FIDE rated players in Australia.

The selection committee's decision to choose him wasnt out of place by any means.

No player can guarantee strong performances in every tournament,there have been plenty of GM's who are much stronger than Speck who have underperformed in this Olympiad.

Anonymous said...

Cut our losses and dump him now!QUICK!

Anonymous said...

Remember the Australian Championship where Speck offered a draw to Johanson on move 7 to avoid having to actually play the last game. Maybe Speck, while obviously a danmed good player, has a flaw - brittle under pressure?

Anonymous said...

Well thats it! Looks like it back to the old chess coaching for Nick Speck.

Anonymous said...

Why all this negativity towards Nick Speck?

He could be making good money running his business while the olympiad is on and yet he chose to try and do his best for Australia.

And people wonder why chess is going nowhere in Australia.
Too much politics and no unity!

Anonymous said...

Good money in chess coaching? I think you need your head read fella. Speck is crap! Deal with it!

Anonymous said...

Re second comment - how many past olympiads a player has been to is not relevant to selections. Only the selectors' opinion of the players' current playing strength counts.

Anonymous said...

If the original 'Anonymous' had bothered to check, Speck wasn't selected as one of the top six. Remember, Johansen withdrew leaving Speck to step in. 'Anonymous 2' makes some good points about Speck's legitimate claims to that spot so I won't bother going into them...
Cheers
Anonymous Seven ;-)

Anonymous said...

Look, anybody can miss a mate in one. Be nice people!

Anonymous said...

It is with much amusement I note the negative commentary vented against Speck...by some anonymous non-entity with the understanding of chess that only a 1200 rating provides.
Those in his circle of friends who have witnessed him play simultaneous lightning blindfold realise the enormous talent the guy has, so those who wish to belittle Mr.Speck should take a look at their own achievements before throwing public insults - gutless [anonymous] turd.
Perhaps anon might consult 'Positive Criticism - An Idiots Guide' [Fred Reinfeld] before hurling abuse from the safety of his/her padded cell. CP