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Ben's Blog: Spring Spice Cup - Final Report

By on March 21, 2010 in

[imagefield_assist|fid=3536|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]The 2010 Spring Spice Cup has come to an end. The tournament was a blast and there was exciting chess played every round! I am sad to leave Lubbock, and a personal special thanks to Lucia, Kevin, and Brian, as their family let me stay in their home for the duration of the event, and took care of my every need, including bandages after a nasty spill!

The last round was exciting to say the least! I was very lucky to draw against IM Gabor Papp, who had forced mate at one point, and was completely winning for several moves in the middlegame.

The norm chasers were not happy at the end of the day, as IM Gergely Antal needed a win as black against GM Jesse Kraai for his final GM norm, but, it was not to be, as Jesse took a worse position from the opening to a winning endgame. Unfortunately for Jesse, his technique failed him, and Gergely held the draw. The other norm seeker, FM Eric Hansen, needed a win against tournament leader GM Julio Becerra. Eric was also black, and played a very sharp Sicilian to give himself winning chances. Julio was better versed in the ins and outs of the opening, and was able to win handily, and thus win the entire event with an impressive +4 score.

IM Irina Krush won her second game against 13 year old FM Darwin Yang. Darwin had secured an IM norm with 2 rounds to go, and I can only guess that we will see him winning these events in the not-too-distant future.

IM Dean Ippolito drew rather quickly with IM Davorin Kuljasevic. Dean needed 1.5 out of his last 2, but lost a tough game to Gergely in the eighth round, so decided to call it an early day.

Final standings:

1.	Becerra, Julio	g	USA	2538											6½
2-3.	Antal, Gergely	m	HUN	2511											5½
2-3.	Finegold, Benjamin	g	USA	2534											5½
4.	Ippolito, Dean	m	USA	2466											5
5-6.	Kuljasevic, Davorin	m	CRO	2552											4½
5-6.	Papp, Gabor	m	HUN	2542											4½
7.	Yang, Darwin	f	USA	2378											4
8.	Krush, Irina	m	USA	2461											3½
9-10.	Kraai, Jesse	g	USA	2508											3
9-10.	Hansen, Eric	f	CAN	2415											3

I left Lubbock yesterday and flew to O'Hare for the 25th NACA FIDE in Skokie, IL. So far I have 1.5 out of 2. More reports to follow...

Honey Bee

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