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Ranked immediately below the Classic itself was the London Festival FIDE-Rated Open, a nine-round Swiss tournament which ran from December 8-15 (with rounds four and five both played on Friday 11 December). With a first prize of £2,500, and overall prize fund of £8,250, it attracted a strong field of 125 players, including nine grandmasters and 17 IMs.
The FIDE Open at the Olympia Centre in London
The highest rated competitor was Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway, and he was expected to be pursued by a posse of 2500+ rated England grandmasters, namely Stuart Conquest, Simon Williams, Mark Hebden of England and a few others of a slightly lesser rating. One of the aforementioned posse was sensationally unhorsed in the first round by an English amateur: Stuart Conquest lost to the 61-year-old, 2119-rated Alan Barton of Hastings Chess Club.
Top seed and winner: Jon Ludvig GM Hammer, 2588, NOR, 8.0/9
The posse never quite caught up with the Norwegian thoroughbred. Jon Ludvig is just a few months older than his superstar compatriot who was busy winning the Classic in the next room. He won his first four games, drew with Hebden, and then won games against three titled players: Loeffler, McDonald and Cherniaev. A last-round draw put him one point ahead of the field. His 8/9 was enough for a TPR of 2756.
Second place was shared by Simon Williams, Mark Hebden and Jovanka Houska. This was a particularly good result for the 2008 and 2009 British Women’s Champion. Jovanka also has a connection with Norway, of course... she is married to a Norwegian and now lives there. She survived two long defensive games against GMs Hebden and Wells and won her final game for a TPR of 2520.
| No. | Player | Pts | Nat | Rtng | Perf | WWe |
| 1 | GM Hammer, Jon Ludvig | 8.0 | NOR | 2588 | 2756 | +1.46 |
| 2 | GM Williams, Simon K | 7.0 | ENG | 2550 | 2616 | +0.78 |
| 3 | GM Hebden, Mark L | 7.0 | ENG | 2522 | 2610 | +1.02 |
| 4 | IM Houska, Jovanka | 7.0 | ENG | 2391 | 2520 | +1.51 |
| 5 | GM Wells, Peter K | 6.5 | ENG | 2489 | 2504 | +0.30 |
| 6 | GM Cherniaev, Alexander | 6.5 | RUS | 2465 | 2465 | +0.26 |
| 7 | GM Arkell, Keith C | 6.5 | ENG | 2464 | 2440 | -0.13 |
| 8 | GM McDonald, Neil | 6.5 | ENG | 2412 | 2481 | +0.91 |
| 9 | IM Pcola, Pavol | 6.5 | SVK | 2386 | 2434 | +0.76 |
| 10 | GM Conquest, Stuart C | 6.0 | ENG | 2563 | 2380 | -1.64 |
| 11 | IM Berzinsh, Roland | 6.0 | LAT | 2424 | 2404 | -0.11 |
| 12 | IM Barle, Janez | 6.0 | SLO | 2420 | 2368 | -0.49 |
| 13 | IM Loeffler, Stefan | 6.0 | GER | 2416 | 2419 | +0.04 |
| 14 | IM Ferguson, Mark | 6.0 | ENG | 2410 | 2365 | -0.44 |
| 15 | IM Crawley, Gavin | 6.0 | ENG | 2407 | 2369 | -0.33 |
| 16 | IM Gullaksen, Eirik | 6.0 | NOR | 2400 | 2394 | +0.04 |
| 17 | IM Buckley, Graeme N | 6.0 | ENG | 2388 | 2396 | +0.25 |
| 18 | IM Ansell, Simon T | 6.0 | ENG | 2387 | 2325 | -0.60 |
| 19 | IM Rendle, Thomas E | 6.0 | ENG | 2382 | 2492 | +1.42 |
| 20 | IM Cox, John J | 6.0 | ENG | 2377 | 2423 | +0.56 |
| 21 | FM Lagerman, Robert | 6.0 | ISL | 2358 | 2312 | -0.33 |
| 22 | Collyer, Curt D | 6.0 | USA | 2294 | 2335 | +0.64 |
| 23 | Rowe, Duane | 6.0 | JAM | 2194 | 2299 | +1.06 |
Here's a nice game we spotted in the Open. It sees the former British Champion Michael Hennigan succumb to some original play by the Latvian IM Roland Berzinsh.
Hennigan,Michael T (2385) - Berzinsh,Roland (2424) [A07]
London Classic FIDE Op London Olympia (6), 12.12.2009 [John Saunders]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 0-0 5.d3 d5 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.c4 d4 8.a3 a5 9.b3 Nd7 10.Rb1 Nc5 11.Ne1 e5 12.Nc2 f5 13.b4 axb4 14.axb4 Na4 15.Bb2 e4 16.Nb3 Nxb2 17.Rxb2 Kh8 18.Rb1 exd3 19.exd3 f4 20.Nc5 Ra7 21.Ra1 Rxa1 22.Qxa1 f3 23.Bh1
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23...Nxb4! A bolt from the blue and the beginning of an extraordinary concept. 24.Nxb4 Qe7! 25.Qa7. The only good way to defend the c5 knight. But now the queen finds itself out of play on the wrong side of the board. 25...b6 26.Nca6 Bh3! Having lured the queen and knights to the queenside, Black strikes at the kingside. 27.Rb1. 27.Qxc7 Qe2 28.Ra1 Re8 would force White to give the piece back with 29.Nc2 Qxc2 and his position would then be hopeless. 27...Re8 28.Nc2 Qe2 29.Nab4
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Now Black finds a very precise move. 29...h5! 30.Qa1. White thinks his queen has arrived back in time to join the defence but it is already too late.
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30...Qxf2+!! 31.Kxf2 Re2+ 32.Kxf3 [32.Kg1 f2#] 32...Bg4+. Revealing the point of 29...h5, which was to support this check. 33.Kf4 Bh6# An exquisite finish. 0-1. [Click to replay]
Second place: GM Simon Williams, 2550, ENG, 7.0/9 points
Simon Williams playing Russian GM Alexander Cherniaev (who finished sixth)
in round 7
GM Mark Hebden, rated 2522, who came third with 7.0/9 points
Richard Almond, 2174, vs IM Hovanka Houska, 2391 (0-1 in 67 moves)
Fourth: IM Jovanka Houska, 2391, ENG, 7.0/9 points (photo John Nunn)
Fifth place: GM Peter Wells, 2489, ENG, 6.5/9 points
Ninth place: IM Pavol Pcola, 2386, SVK, with 6.5/9 points
Despite the loss 10th place for GM Stuart Conquest, 2563, ENG, 6.0/9
16th place: IM Eirik Gullaksen, 2400, NOR, 6.0/9
24th place: GM Aaron Summerscale, 2449, ENG, 5.5/9 points
29th place: IM Odion Aikhoje, 2252, NGR, 5.5/9
43rd place: Terry Chapman, 2222, ENG, 5.0/9 points
44th: WIM Natasha Regan, 2170, ENG, 5.0/9 points
60th: Alan Barton, 2119, ENG, who beat GM Stuart Conquest in round one
63rd: Brandon Clarke, 2056, ENG, 4.5/9 points
105th place: Lovina Sylvia Chidi, 1819, GER, 3.0/9 points
All photos (unless otherwise specified) by John Saunders
LinksTo read, replay and analyse the PGN games we adivse you to download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com. |
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