Category: SAGA

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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.

Categories
Rank Changes SAGA Tournaments Uncategorized

Candidates 2020 day two results

Candidates day two was played on OGS today, April 19. This tournament selects four players to progress to Contenders later in the year. Paul Edwards, Paul Steyn, Ben Bredenkamp, and Lloyd Rubidge are the four who qualified. Congratulations especially to Paul Steyn who made it through for the first time this year, having come close the last few years.

Final standings:
1: Paul Edwards, 3 wins
2: Paul Steyn, 2 wins, 2nd by SOS
3: Ben Bredenkamp, 2 wins, 3rd by SOSOS
4: Lloyd Rubidge, 2 wins
5: Michael Rapson, 1 win, 5th by SOS
6: Christiaan Maasdorp, 1 win, 6th by SOS
7: James Nicolson, 1 win
8: David Gale, 0 wins

Congratulations also to the players who earned rank changes during the Candidates tournament. They are:
David Gale, 1k
Christiaan Maasdorp, 4k
James Gelant, 4k

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SAGA Tournaments

Candidates 2020 day one results

Candidates day one was held today, April 18, on OGS. Sam Scott, David Gale, and Paul Steyn progressed to day two without much incident. Christiaan Maasdorp nudged out the other 4-5k players to secure the final spot for day two tomorrow. They join Lloyd Rubidge, Ben Bredenkamp, James Nicolson, and Paul Edwards who prequalified for day two.

The games will be on OGS again tomorrow, with start times approximately 09h00, 11h30, and 14h30. Find us in the SA chat room, see sa-internet-go for more info.

Final standings:
1: David Gale, 3 wins
2: Sam Scott, 2 wins, 2nd by SOS
3: Christiaan Maasdorp, 2 wins, 3rd by SOSOS
4: Paul Steyn, 2 wins
5: James Gelant, 1 win, 5th by SOS
6: Michael Rapson, 1 win, 6th by SOS
7: Fred Strauss, 1 win
8: Gordon Wells, 0 wins