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Master Trek - February 16, 2008

ACE's second Master Trek Grand Prix Cup of the year took place at ASU this past Saturday, and man was it intense! It could just be that my memory is getting worse the longer I go without a chess tournament of my own, but, for me, this tournament had some of the most exciting finishes for any Trek in some time. Ties at the top of each section are happening in abundance now that we have added the Armageddon Blitz Playoff, and in the case of the 1300-1599 Section, one round of Armageddon wasn't even enough to declare a winner!

Let's start our review of the weekend where we usually do, in the 1900 and Up Section. Two of the most consistent Trekker's we have, Randel Eng and John Williams, seemed destined to battle it out for first place right from the get go. Randel started out fast and furious by scoring upset victories over Mark Moore and Kaylan Burleigh in the first two rounds. John, on the other hand, had requested a half point bye in the first round and managed a solid win against young Richard Ding in the second.

The stage was then set for an exciting match up between these two in round 3, and they did not disappoint. The battle was roughly equal throughout most the Middlegame until Randel lashed out with a rook sacrifice against John's king. The sacrifice was perfect in practical timing as John did not see it coming, and it should have finished off the game with at least a draw for Randel. However, when Randel made just one small slip, John began a king march from one side of the board to the other, and held off Randel's attack to win the game. To view this interesting game and all its glory, please see our Games in Review section of the web site. But as the old saying goes, "a great game is only as good as your next one" and soon after capturing the tournament lead, John failed to hold off the old veteran, Mark Moore, in the last round. Randel won against his friend and teammate Eric Qi to finish in first place with 3 out of 4.

If there was one section where the winner never seemed to be in doubt, it was the 1600-1899. Manoj Panikkar is seen more frequently in the 1900 and Up section, where he faces the toughest competition the Treks have to offer on a regular basis. For whatever reason, Manoj decided to play in his actual rating class this tournament, and it certainly paid off! Manoj's only tough encounter was his draw against Alex Curry, which can also be seen in ACE's Games in Reviews section of our web site.

Then there were the "Co's". Co-Champions that is! Both the 1300-1599 and 1000-1299 Sections saw large ties for first place. In the former, Yash Pershad, Mathew Hoffman, Manas Lakshmiprasad and Harry Burleigh all finished with 3 points out of 4. Pershad, Hoffman and Lakshmiprasad battled it out in Armageddon style to determine the clear winner of the Grand Prix Cup Bonus Points. Harry, despite his protests, lost his eligibility for this contest and all other Cup prizes somewhere in the 1970's. Unfortunately for the fatigued director (but very fortunate for the interested spectators who got to see some great Blitz Chess) it would take more than one round of Armageddon to decide a clear winner. Through one full round of Blitz all was even, but with a second try Yash Pershad managed to pull off two consecutive victories and clinch first place.

In the 1000-1299 Section, Jonathan Booher, Austin Lee and Phillip Godfrey all settled in for their own Armageddon Blitz matches. However this group did not have the prolonged matches of the 1300-1599, as experience proved to payoff quickly for young Mr. Booher. Fresh from his playoff experience at the January 19th Trek, Jonathan won both his games and clearly possessed the calmest nerves in the room.

As should become the norm at all our Treks, the lecture portion of the day (given again by FM Daniel Rensch) seemed to be a highlight for all who participated. We appreciate the positive feedback, and we hope that all those who have opinions, whether good or bad, will continue to share them. And so with those thoughts, our weekend review comes to an end. I hope everyone will enjoy the games that have been made available for review. Remember that February's Game of the Month will be decided following Saturday's Pre-Trek at ASU. ACE Updates, Reviews, Articles and more are coming your way shortly, so please stay tuned...

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