Tag: SA closed

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Rank Changes SAGA Tournaments Uncategorized

SA Closed tournament: Contenders 2021 results

Contenders was once again held primarily online, using the South Africa room of OGS as the main venue. Players were also given the option of meeting up and playing “over the board” with opponents in their area.

Victor took first place, again with straight wins. Not all the games were as comfortable, however. Andrew managed to keep his game against Victor within 10 points throughout, and Chris had a 15 point lead at move 80 that he didn’t manage to convert. The fight for second was fierce. Andre’s win vs Andrew left him with all to play for in the final game vs Chris. When Chris held on to his 1.5 point lead in end game, David’s early upset win against Andre left Andre on 4 points. This handed Andrew second place, with the tie breaker being Andrew’s head to head win vs Chris.

There was a three way tie between the lower four players, with Christiaan, Rocco, and David all on 2 wins. Christiaan took 5th place, with Rocco in 6th. Head to head games were again the tie breaker. David’s upset win against Andre unfortunately only earned him 7th place, with Ben taking a point off Christiaan.

Congratulations to Christiaan and Rocco who participated in Contenders for the first time. Christiaan also earned promotion to 2k after his win against David.

Player NBW Notes
1 Victor Chow, 7d 7
2 Andrew Davies, 3d 5 Tie breaker: Andrew beat Chris
3 Chris Welsh, 3d 5
4 Andre Connell, 2d 4
5 Christiaan Maasdorp, 2k 2 Tie breaker: Christiaan beat Rocco and David
6 Rocco Vivier, 2k 2 Tie breaker: Rocco beat David
7 David Gale, 1k 2
8 Ben Bredenkamp, 1k 1
Final Standings


Categories
Rank Changes SAGA Tournaments Uncategorized

Candidates 2021 results

The “Candidates” stage of the SA Closed tournament was played this weekend, May 1 and 2. Each day is a three round Swiss tournament, with the top four players from day one progressing to day two. The top for players from day two move on to the “Contenders” stage of the tournament.

Day one saw an upset with Fred Strauss beating James Gelant in the first round. James managed to stabilise in the next two games, and then went on to win day two. Three players who played day one went on to qualify for Contenders. All three will be playing in Contenders for the first time in 2021. Congratulations to Rocco, Christiaan, and James Gelant. They also earned promotions based on their performance. They are now 2k, 3k, and 3k respectively.

David Gale also secured his place at Contenders. He previously qualified for the tournament in 2018.

Day One:
1: Rocco Vivier
2: Christiaan Maasdorp
3: Michael Rapson
4: James Gelant
5: Fred Strauss
6: James Nicolson
7: Gordon Wells

Day Two:
1: James Gelant
2: Rocco Vivier
3: Christiaan Maasdorp
4: David Gale
5: Michael Rapson
6: Ben Bredenkamp
7: Paul Edwards
8: Paul Steyn

Positions 2-4 and 5-7 are determined by “sum of opponent scores”.

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SAGA Tournaments

SA Closed tournament: Contenders 2020 results

Contenders was held primarily online this year, using the South Africa room of OGS as the main venue. Players were also given the option of meeting up and playing “over the board” with opponents in their area.

In the top four players, Victor and Andrew defended their 2019 positions, and Chris managed to nudge Andre out of 3rd. There was a three way tie in the bottom four players, with Lloyd, Ben, and Paul Edwards all on 2 wins. This arose because they each scored one win and one loss in their head-to-head games. The rules of the Candidates tournament specifies that this tie is broken based on the results from the previous year (2019). This resulted in Lloyd and Ben taking 5th and 6th place respectively. Paul Edwards improved on his 2019 position, finishing in 7th. Congratulations to Paul Steyn for qualifying for candidates for the first time.

The final standings were as follows:
1) Victor Chow – 7 wins
2) Andrew Davies – 6 wins
3) Chris Welsh – 5 wins
4) Andre Connell – 4 wins
5) Lloyd Rubidge – 2 wins, tiebreaker 5th in 2019
6) Ben Bredenkamp – 2 wins, tiebreaker 6th in 2019
7) Paul Edwards – 2 wins, tiebreaker 8th in 2019
8) Paul Steyn – 0 wins

Victor, Andrew, Chris, and Andre once again automatically qualify for the event next year.

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Tournaments

SA Closed tournament: Contenders 2019 results

Contenders was held in Johannesburg this year, with 5 Gauteng-based and 3 Cape-based players. Thanks to Andre Connell for hosting and directing the tournament.

The tournament produced a number of close games (four finishing within 10 points), and the top three positions were separated by just a game each. The final standings were as follows:
1) Victor Chow – 7 wins
2) Andrew Davies – 6 wins
3) Andre Connell – 5 wins
4) Chris Welsh – 3 wins
5) Lloyd Rubidge – 3 wins
6) Ben Bredenkamp – 2 wins
7) James Nicolson – 1 win
8) Paul Edwards – 1 win

Two way ties are broken in favour of the winner of the head to head match (Chris and James).
Victor, Andrew, Andre, and Chris automatically qualify for the event next year.

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Tournaments

SA Closed tournament: Candidates 2019 results

The 2019 Candidates was held on April 6 and 7. The results were as follows:

== day one ==
1: Paul Edwards
2: Paul Steyn
3: Michael Rapson
4: Ben Bredenkamp
5: Christiaan Maasdorp
6: Vincent Varkevisser
7: Fred Strauss

== day two ==
1: Paul Edwards
2: Sam Scott
3: James Nicolson
4: Ben Bredenkamp
5: Lloyd Rubidge
6: Paul Steyn
7: Dave Gale
8: Michael Rapson

The top four players of Candidates day two are through to the next round, the Contenders in September. Congratulations to Paul Edwards, Sam Scott*, James Nicolson, and Ben Bredenkamp. They join Chris Welsh, Victor Chow, Andre Connell, and Andrew Davies who qualify for Contenders as the top four players at Contenders 2018.

*Sam Scott was unavailable for Contenders, so his place went to Lloyd Rubidge instead.