After two draws in the 2023 Watertown Chess Club Championship Match finals, Don Klug broke through defending club champion 2022 Bob Kratzat’s defenses to win game three and secure the championship match win 2-1, (1-0=2).
WCC Championship Game 3 position after 26. c4.
Don Klug, white vs Robert Kratzat, black , Dec. 5, 2023
Game three appeared to be heading towards a third draw, however, after Mr. Klug’s move 26. c4 , Mr. Kratzat chose to place his knight on the c7 square with the move 26….Nc7. For instance, according to Fritz 18, choosing the alternate ‘e7’, would prevent White’s knight invasion on c6. The suggested 26…Ne7 leads to 27. h3 f6 28.Ng4 h5 29.Ne3 Nc6 30. Rd6 Ne5 31.b3 Nf7 with an even position and a potential draw followed by a fourth match game.
The game continued with 27. Rd7 a5 28. Qd6 f6 29. Nc6 Qf8 30. Ne7+ Kh8 Nxc8, and Black graciously resigned. This is Mr. Klug’s first club championship since 2004 and sixth since the Watertown Club’s revival in 1994.
The Watertown Chess Club conducted six club championship events in 2023, beginning last March, which included a blitz, a quick, a class and three round robin tournaments. Nine of the 10 club members took part. The top four players in the cumulated standings qualified for the annual club championship double round match. The higher seed carries draw odds to win a match, thus preventing ties. Round one consists of two games while the championship match consists of four. This championship format has created numerous exiting games since the beginning of 2008. The championship field will be expanded in 2024 to ten qualifiers.
The 2023 championship saw number two seed Bob Kratzat defeat #3 seed Shelby Woodruff 1-0 while #1 seed Don Klug edged #4 Russ Wood 1½-½, to qualify for the four-game final match. The Watertown Chess Club retires for the balance of December and January 2024.
The club will resume meetings on February 6,2024 with a Fischer Chess 960 training event, followed by an end game multi-media presentation and multi two game training matches amongst closely rated members. This four to five week late winter activity offers members the opportunity to try different game styles before the 2024 championship schedule begins with the 2024 Blitz
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