You are here: Home Archives Ulster Chronicles 2018-2019 season UCU Web 2018 Ulster Masters 2018 The Ulster Chess Masters - November 10th/11th 2018

The Ulster Chess Masters - November 10th/11th 2018

Players gathered in the NICS Bowling Pavillion to compete in the 2018 Ulster Masters.

Jointly Controlled by Brendan Jamison and Ross Harris we had 5 rounds to allow an early finish on the Sunday and a time limit of 1hour 30mins to ensure rounds completed at set times.

The Masters is the first weekend tournament of the Chess Year in Ulster and is always a fun event. The venue was unusual - we have only played here a couple of times - but it is a well lit room with a view of the bowling green. A peaceful place to play chess - The NICS Pavillion Bowling Club.

We had two sections - the Seniors with 10 players and the Intermediates with 21 players.

The boards in the Seniors were live broadcast as was the top board of the Intermediates - many thanks to Adrain Dornford-Smith for setting this up. The live games are available to play through at : http://www.ulsterchess.net/2018-11-11/

 

Intermediate Round 1.

White Result Black
John McKenna (1481) 1-0 Adam Rushe (1076)
Martin Sloan (1407) =-= Ken Haddock (1001)
Martin Kelly (1330) 1-0 Aaron Wafflart (977)
Adrian Dornford-Smith (1183) 1-0 Paul Anderson (906)
Nikolai Dimitrov (1086) 1-0 Adam Fitzsimons (831)
James Wong (1049) 0-1 Edward Khanzharov (1454)
Dexter Harris (991) 0-1 Patrick Magee (1331)
Michael Wong (973) 0-1 Cathal Murphy (1322)
Brian Fitzsimons (850) 0-1 Tyrone Winter (1146)
Jawad Yaqub + -
Taufik Kamal (915) =
Louie McConkey (873) =

Ken Haddock gets a draw against Martin Sloan, the rest of the matches go according to rating.

Its excellent to see such a range of players and a good number of youngsters.

Senior Round 1.

White Result Black
Gabor Horvath (2093) 0-1 Modestas Razbadauskas (1637)
Ross Harris (1698) 1-0 Christopher Kelly (1512)
Ian Woodfield (1599) 0-1 Daniil Zelenchuk (1814)
Ram Rajan (1453) 1-0 Alex Goss (1691)
Danny Roberts (1894) =
Mark Newman (1675) =

Theres an immediate upset in the Seniors with Modestas beating Gabor an exciting game with both players attacking, Gabor wins a Bishop but leaves his King at the mercy of Modestas; Queen. Also Ram Rajan beats Alex Goss.

 


Intermediate Round 2.

White Result Black
Patrick Magee (1331) 0-1 Adrian Dornford-Smith (1183)
Cathal Murphy (1322) 1-0 Nikolai Dimitrov (1086)
Tyrone Winter (1146) 0-1 John McKenna (1481)
Adam Rushe (1076) 0-1 Martin Sloan (1407)
Aaron Wafflart (977) 1-0 Michael Wong (973)
Taufik Kamal (915) 1-0 Louie McConkey (873)
Paul Anderson (906) 0-1 James Wong (1049)
Adam Fitzsimons (831) 0-1 Dexter Harris (991)
Jawad Yaqub 0-1 Martin Kelly (1330)
Brian Fitzsimons (850) + -
Edward Khanzharov (1454) =
Ken Haddock (1001) =

Adrian Dornford-Smith gets an excellent result against Patrick Magee.

Senior Round 2.

White Result Black
Danny Roberts (1894) =-= Mark Newman (1675)
Daniil Zelenchuk (1814) 1-0 Ram Rajan (1453)
Alex Goss (1691) 1-0 Ian Woodfield (1599)
Modestas Razbadauskas (1637) =-= Ross Harris (1698)
Christopher Kelly (1512) 0-1 Gabor Horvath (2093)

Both Danny and Mark had a travelling bye the first round and end up drawing - Danny plays the Benko Gambit as White with a move in hand.

Modestas continues to cause upsets by drawing against Ross Harris.

 

Intermediate Round 3.

White Result Black
Edward Khanzharov (1454) 1-0 Adrian Dornford-Smith (1183)
Martin Sloan (1407) 1-0 Taufik Kamal (915)
Martin Kelly (1330) =-= Cathal Murphy (1322)
Nikolai Dimitrov (1086) 1-0 Brian Fitzsimons (850)
Ken Haddock (1001) 1-0 Jawad Yaqub
Dexter Harris (991) 0-1 Tyrone Winter (1146)
Paul Anderson (906) 0-1 Adam Rushe (1076)
Louie McConkey (873) 0-1 Aaron Wafflart (977)
Adam Fitzsimons (831) + -
John McKenna (1481) =
Patrick Magee (1331) =
James Wong (1049) =
Michael Wong (973) =

This round had a few travelling byes. No upsets.

Senior Round 3.

White Result Black
Gabor Horvath (2093) 1-0 Alex Goss (1691)
Ross Harris (1698) 0-1 Daniil Zelenchuk (1814)
Mark Newman (1675) 0-1 Modestas Razbadauskas (1637)
Ram Rajan (1453) 0-1 Danny Roberts (1894)
Ian Woodfield (1599) + -
Christopher Kelly (1512) =

Can Modestas be stopped? he beats Mark.

Intermediate Round 4.

White Result Black
John McKenna (1481) 1-0 Martin Sloan (1407)
Edward Khanzharov (1454) 1-0 Martin Kelly (1330)
Adrian Dornford-Smith (1183) 1-0 Ken Haddock (1001)
Tyrone Winter (1146) 0-1 Patrick Magee (1331)
Adam Rushe (1076) 1-0 Adam Fitzsimons (831)
James Wong (1049) 1-0 Taufik Kamal (915)
Aaron Wafflart (977) 0-1 Nikolai Dimitrov (1086)
Michael Wong (973) =-= Paul Anderson (906)
Brian Fitzsimons (850) 0-1 Dexter Harris (991)
Jawad Yaqub 0-1 Louie McConkey (873)
Cathal Murphy (1322) =

No upsets. John McKenna has yet to be defeated. His 1/2 point being a travelling bye.

Senior Round 4.

White Result Black
Danny Roberts (1894) 1-0 Gabor Horvath (2093)
Daniil Zelenchuk (1814) 0-1 Modestas Razbadauskas (1637)
Ian Woodfield (1599) =-= Ross Harris (1698)
Christopher Kelly (1512) 1-0 Mark Newman (1675)
Alex Goss (1691) + -
Ram Rajan (1453) =

The top two players face off - a very exciting French Defence. Going to an endgame with Rooks Knights.

Modestas continues the upsets and beats up and coming youngster Daniil Zelenchuk.

Intermediate Round 5.

White Result Black
John McKenna (1481) 1-0 Edward Khanzharov (1454)
Patrick Magee (1331) 1-0 James Wong (1049)
Martin Kelly (1330) 1-0 Tyrone Winter (1146)
Cathal Murphy (1322) 1-0 Adrian Dornford-Smith (1183)
Nikolai Dimitrov (1086) 1-0 Martin Sloan (1407)
Ken Haddock (1001) =-= Aaron Wafflart (977)
Dexter Harris (991) =-= Adam Rushe (1076)
Taufik Kamal (915) 1-0 Michael Wong (973)
Louie McConkey (873) 1-0 Brian Fitzsimons (850)
Adam Fitzsimons (831) 1-0 Jawad Yaqub
Paul Anderson (906) + -

White proves supreme with all the wins. Nikolai Dimitroy gets a good win against Martin Sloan. Dexter Harris gets a good draw against Adam Rushe.

Senior Round 5.

White Result Black
Gabor Horvath (2093) 1-0 Daniil Zelenchuk (1814)
Alex Goss (1691) =-= Ross Harris (1698)
Mark Newman (1675) 1-0 Ian Woodfield (1599)
Modestas Razbadauskas (1637) 0-1 Danny Roberts (1894)
Ram Rajan (1453) 1-0 Christopher Kelly (1512)

The leading players Modestas and Danny play each other. Danny wins and wins the Championship. Ram Rajan gets a good win over Christopher Kelly.

The final positions:

Intermediate Ulster Masters 2018

John McKenna and Cathal Murphy are undefeated. Dimitrov Nikolia does brilliantly for his rating only dropping one point.

RankNameScoreFed.M/FRatingTPRW-WeBH-HiLoBHPSTPR Mixed12345
1 McKenna, John 4.5 UCU M 1481 2072 +1.06 8.5 14.0 13.5 2071 1 1 = 1 1
2 Murphy, Cathal 4.0 UCU M 1322 1435 +0.43 10.5 15.0 12.5 1479 1 1 ½ = 1
3 Dimitrov, Nikolia 4.0 IRL M 1086 * 1317 +1.50 6.5 11.0 11.0 1317 1 0 1 1 1
4 Khanzharov, Edward 3.5 UCU M 1454 1455 +0.12 10.0 16.5 12.0 1454 1 = 1 1 0
5 Kelly, Martin 3.5 UCU M 1330 1320 +0.03 8.0 12.5 11.5 1320 1 1 ½ 0 1
6 Magee, Patrick 3.5 UCU M 1331 1285 -0.16 8.0 12.5 9.5 1285 1 0 = 1 1
7 Dornford-Smith, Adrian 3.0 UCU M 1183 1275 +0.65 9.5 14.5 11.0 1275 1 1 0 1 0
8 Sloan, Martin 2.5 UCU M 1407 1238 -0.62 9.0 16.0 9.5 1112 ½ 1 1 0 0
9 Wafflart, Aaron 2.5 UCU M 977 1139 +0.77 8.5 13.5 7.5 1053 0 1 1 0 ½
10 Wong, James 2.5 UCU M 1049 1150 +0.39 8.5 13.0 7.5 1152 0 1 = 1 0
11 Haddock, Ken 2.5 UCU M 1001 1062 +0.13 7.5 11.0 8.0 1064 ½ = 1 0 ½
12 Kamal, Taufik 2.5 UCU M 915 1053 +0.62 7.5 11.0 7.5 1076 = 1 0 0 1
13 Rushe, Adam 2.5 UCU M 1076 1122 +0.16 6.5 12.0 5.5 1123 0 0 1 1 ½
14 Harris, Dexter 2.5 UCU M 991 1047 +0.31 6.0 10.0 6.5 1047 0 1 0 1 ½
15 McConkey, Louie 2.5 UCU M 873 789 -0.33 5.5 8.5 5.5 789 = 0 0 1 1
16 Winter, Tyrone 2.0 UCU M 1146 1125 -0.20 9.5 14.5 8.0 1125 1 0 1 0 0
17 Fitzsimons, Adam 2.0 UCU M 831 234 -0.49 6.5 10.5 4.0 251 0 0 + 0 1
18 Anderson, Paul 1.5 UCU M 906 748 -0.67 6.0 9.5 2.0 748 0 0 0 ½ +
19 Fitzsimons, Brian 1.0 UCU M 850 203 -0.93 7.0 12.5 4.0 224 0 + 0 0 0
20 Yaqub, Jawad 1.0 UCU M 0 * 209 209 6.5 12.0 5.0 209 + 0 0 0 0
21 Wong, Michael 1.0 UCU M 973 708 -1.27 6.0 11.5 2.5 708 0 0 = ½ 0

Senior Ulster Masters 2018

Danny Roberts wins without dropping a point. Modestas Razbadauskas gets a brilliant second only loosing to Danny.

RankNameScoreFed.M/FRatingTPRW-WeBH-HiLoBHPSTPR Mixed12345
1 Roberts, Danny 4.0 UCU M 1894 2061 +0.74 9.0 13.5 10.5 2051 = ½ 1 1 1
2 Razbadauskas, Modestas 3.5 UCU M 1637 1973 +2.10 8.5 14.5 12.0 1984 1 ½ 1 1 0
3 Horvath, Gabor 3.0 UCU M 2093 1829 -1.36 8.5 14.0 8.0 1782 0 1 1 0 1
4 Zelenchuk, Daniil 3.0 UCU M 1814 1768 -0.22 8.0 12.5 12.0 1768 1 1 1 0 0
5 Rajan, Ram 2.5 UCU M 1453 1718 +1.20 7.5 12.5 7.0 1728 1 0 0 = 1
6 Goss, Alex 2.5 UCU M 1691 1623 -0.50 7.0 10.5 6.5 1624 0 1 0 + ½
7 Harris, Ross 2.5 UCU M 1698 1651 -0.31 6.5 11.0 8.5 1651 1 ½ 0 ½ ½
8 Newman, Mark 2.0 UCU M 1675 1574 -0.59 7.0 12.5 5.5 1574 = ½ 0 0 1
9 Kelly, Christopher 1.5 UCU M 1512 1492 -0.20 7.0 11.5 3.5 1537 0 0 = 1 0
10 Woodfield, Ian 1.5 UCU M 1599 1398 -0.86 6.5 10.5 4.0 1398 0 0 + ½ 0

The Winners:

SENIOR SECTION:

Champion:  Danny Roberts (4/5) £70 prize + perpetual cup

2nd Place: Modestas Razbadauskas (3.5/5) £50 prize

Under 1800 Grading Prize: Ram Rajan (2.5/5) £30 prize

INTERMEDIATE SECTION:

Intermediate Champion:  John McKenna (4.5/5) £50 prize + perpetual shield

2nd Place:  Cathal Murphy ( ) £40 prize

3rd Place: Nikolai Dimitrov ( ) £30 prize

Under 1200 Grading Prize:  Adrian Dornford-Smith ( ) £30 GM Simul Ticket

Under 1000 Grading Prize:  Aaron Wafflart ( ) £30 GM Simul Ticket

 

A brilliant weekend of chess thanks to Ross Harris and Brendan Jamison.

See you over Christmas at the Blitz and at the Williamson in the New Year.January 19th/20th - more details see the events section.

Navigation
News
Ulster Masters 2025 – Results A 5 round FIDE-rated classic event was held at Lisburn Chess Club, Friday 14th November – Sunday 16th November. Nov 16, 2025
An afternoon of brilliant chess and puzzle solving was held at Methodist College on 1st Nov 2025 The first of our 5 Childrens Chess took place on Saturday. These feed into a grandprix with top players being invited to... Nov 08, 2025
The LJCC Belfast Qualifier took place at Methodist College on 25th Oct 25 The first of the UCU monthly childrens tournaments took place on 25th Oct 2025 after being postponed due to the storm. 3... Nov 02, 2025
UCU Tournaments: A Critical Moment for Volunteer and Arbiter Support This report, prepared by Tournament Director Karina Campbell and presented to the Ulster Chess Union Executive Board, ou... Oct 26, 2025
Exciting changes to the Sligo event in 2026. Now a multi-tournament chess festival. Save the dates in your calendar Jan 30th to Feb 8th. The Sligo event is undergoing a major transformation in 2026 from a weekender to a multi-tournament festival. The Sligo ... Oct 20, 2025
More news…
« November 2025 »
November
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30
Upcoming Events
FIDE RATED Lough Neagh Rapid Championship 2025 : Wednesday 19 November 2025 5 Round 12min each player. FIDE rated rapidplay. Venue: Washingbay Centre. Hosted by Washingbay Chess Club. Nov 19, 2025 07:50 PM - 09:30 PM — Washingbay Centre, 92 Ballybeg Road, Aughamullan, Coalisland, County Tyrone, BT71 5DX
Ulster Schools Individual Championships 2025 Come and challenge to become the Ulster Schools Chess Champion 2025. 6th December at Methodist College. Dec 06, 2025 10:00 AM - 04:30 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
Second Executive Board Meeting Agenda tbc Dec 09, 2025 08:00 PM - 09:30 PM — Playback Conference Room, Maynard Sinclair Pavilion
January 10th 2026 Childrens Chess 12:30 – 5:00 Monthly Chess Tournaments Continues at Methodist College. Jan 10, 2026 12:30 PM - 05:00 PM — Methodist College,1 Malone Rd, Belfast BT9 6BY
Sligo Chess & Culture Festival Jan 30th - Feb 8th 2026 The Sligo Chess and Culture Festival will have entertainment, social, cultural, and sporting activities, chess talks, wo... Jan 30, 2026 - Feb 08, 2026 — Diamond Coast Hotel, Enniscrone, Ireland
Upcoming events…