Chess
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Your support makes all the difference.THE YORK Vikings tournament in the Lady Anne Middleton Hotel finished on Wednesday in a triple tie after a dramatic last round in which all three games ended decisively.
The action started with Julian Hodgson and Alexei Barsov first equal on 6/8, a point clear of Tiger Hillarp-Persson. But both leaders lost - Barsov as Black against Emil Sutovsky and Hodgson against Hillarp-Persson in today's very expensive game below.
Normally, three players tied would expect to split the prize money but not in the tournaments bank-rolled by Jonathan Rowson's mystery sponsor who demands a clear-cut result. Not only did Hillarp-Persson join the party but he happened to be first on tie-break and so won the first prize of pounds 4,000 plus an extra pounds 700, having been adjudged the winner of the pounds 200 best game of the day in three rounds and splitting this prize in one more.
His pounds 4,700 (and I'm not telling any secrets to the Inland Revenue since it's all there in black and white on organiser Adam Raoof's web site (http://www.circuit.demon.co. uk) was more than twice as much as Barsov's haul of pounds 2,100 (pounds 1,500 + pounds 600) while Julian Hodgson made a mere pounds 1,500!
The other results were Sutovsky 5/10; Rowson, who lost in the last round to Jonny Hector, 4; and Hector, himself 3; while Danny Gormally, who had led throughout, was first in the Grandmaster B event on 6.5/9, ahead of Aaron Summerscale, George Seul (Germany) and William Paschall (USA) 5.5.
With so much money at stake in a single game, both players were understandably very nervous. Hillarp-Persson blundered - or possibly felt that he'd best "sacrifice" - a pawn with 18...Bg7? but instead of the impatient 27 Ne4?, Hodgson should simply have protected it with 27 e4!.
The game then veered heavily in Black's favour but Hodgson missed a golden opportunity in 42 Rxd3!! when if Bxd3 43 Qg8+ Kf5 44 Qd5+ Kg6 45 Qg8+ is a draw but 44...Re5? would lose to 45 Qd7+ Re6 46 Qh7+ Kf4 47 g3+! Kxf3 48 Qxd3+.
White: Julian Hodgson
Black: Tiger Hillarp-Persson
York Vikings 1999 (Round 10)
Queen's Pawn Opening
1 d4 e6
2 Nf3 Nf6
3 b3 c5
4 e3 b6
5 Bd3 Bb7
6 0-0 Be7
7 Bb2 0-0
8 Nbd2 d6
9 c4 Nbd7
10 Rc1 Rc8
11 Bb1 a6
12 Qe2 Re8
13 Rfd1 Bf8
14 Ng5 d5
15 cxd5 exd5
16 Bf5 g6
17 Bd3 Nh5
18 Qg4 Bg7?
19 Nxh7 Kxh7
20 Qxh5+ Kg8
21 Qg4 b5
22 Bc3 c4
23 Bb1 Bf8
24 bxc4 dxc4
25 d5 Ne5
26 Qg3 Bg7
27 Ne4? Bxd5
28 Ng5 Nd3
29 Bxg7 Kxg7
30 Bxd3 cxd3
31 Rxc8 Qxc8
32 e4 Bc4
33 h4 f6
34 Nf3 Rxe4
35 h5 Rg4
36 Qd6 Qe6
37 Qc7+ Qf7
38 Qd8 Re4
39 Qa8 Qe6
40 hxg6 Kxg6
41 Qh8 Qg4
42 a4 Qh5
43 Qc8 Re7
44 axb5 axb5
45 Ra1 Rh7
46 Qe8+ Bf7
47 Qe4+ Kg7
48 Kf1 d2
49 Ke2 Rh8
50 Ra8 Rxa8
51 Qxa8 Qg4
52 Qa7 Qxg2
53 Nxd2 Qg4+
54 Kd3 b4
55 Qd4 Qf5+
56 Ke3 b3
57 Ne4 Kg6
58 Nd6 Qe5+
59 Qxe5 fxe5
60 Ne4 b2
61 Nd2 Kg5
62 Ke4 Kf6
63 f4 Bg6+
64 Ke3 e4 0-1
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