Espen Sodha wins the Atlantic Cadet Tournament!

Espen Sodha, 13, of St. John's Newfoundland was the surprise winner of the Atlantic Cadet Chess Championship played at the Cobequib Education Center in Truro Nova Scotia November 22 and 23, 1997. The event became the Atlantic Championship with the inclusion of Newfoundland players. Espen (1667) upset top seeded Eric Bertrand (2003) of New Brunswick to take the championship with a score of 4 wins and 1 draw. Eric placed second with 4 while Tyler Reddy of Nova Scotia finished third with 3.5.

Kim Tufts, Youth Coordinator for Chess NS wrote, "Congratulations from Chess NS on Espen Sodha's fine performance on what became for possibly the first time, the Atlantic Cadet Championship. Espen played very well naturally but displayed fine maturity and a seriousness over the board which belied his years. It is expected that he will only improve in the coming years."

Photo Right: The two Nova Scotian participants do battle - Tyler Reddy on the left plays Mathew Furrow on the right. Click on the photo for a larger image.

Here are the results for the Atlantic Cadet, played concurrently with the Truro Open. Kim Tufts served as TD and organizer. The dates were Nov 22-23. Regular ratings were used.

1997 Atlantic Cadet Cross-Table

Player		Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	total
1.Eric Bertrand	2003	x	1	0	1	1	1	4
2.Tyler Reddy	1814	0	x	1/2	1	1	1	3.5
3.Espen Sodha	1667	1	1/2	x	1	1	1	4.5
4.Matthew Furrow 1624	0	0	0	x	1/2	1	1.5
5.Thor Sodha	1429	0	0	0	1/2	x	0	0.5
6.Scott Landry	1370	0	0	0	0	1	x	1

Eric Bertrand (NB), Tyler Reddy (NS), Espen Sodha (Nfld), Matthew Furrow 
(NS), Thor Sodha (Nfld), Scott Landry (PEI).

Photo left. Last round play saw Eric Bertrand play Tyler Reddy while in the background Espen Sodha plays Thor Sodha. Click on the image for a larger view.

Some have asked when the last time was that Newfoundlanders participated in the regional cadet tournament. Fred McKim writes, " To the best of my recollection this would be our first encounter with Nfld players in a Cadet or Junior tournament since 1987 when Leonard Morrissey(NF) defeated Gerry Briggs(NB) in a match for the Atlantic Cadet title. (Oct 1987, Saint John, NB - held in conjunction with the Atlantic Open (now known as the Maritime Open)).

Games

[Event "Atlantic Cadet"]
[Site"Truro NS"]
[Date "1997.11.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reddy, Tyler"]
[Black "Sodha, Espen"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1814"]
[BlackElo "1667"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Reddy, Tyler"]

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cd5 Nd5 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 Bc5 
8.d3 0-0 9.Ne4 Be7 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 Nd5 12.Qb3 Na5 13.Qc2 Nxe3 14.fe3 
Nc6 15.Nc5 Bxc5 16.Qxc5 Qd6 17.Rac1 Qxc5 18.Rxc5 Ne7 19.Kf2 c6 20.d4?? e4
21.Nd2  f5 22.a4 b6 23.Rc2 a5 24.Nc4 Rb8 25.Ne5 Be6 26.Nxc6 Nxc6 27.Rxc6 
Bb3 28.Ra1 Rfc8 29.Rxc8 Rxc8 30.Ra3 Bd5 31.Bh3 h5 32.Ke1?? g6 33.Kd2 Kf7
34.Bg2  g5 35.h3 g4 36.Ra1 Rc4 37.Ra3 Ke6 38.Bf1 Kd6 39.h4 Kc7 40.Bg2 Kb7
41.Bf1  Ka6 42.Bg2 b5 43.ab5+ Kxb5 44.Rb3+ Rb4 {Drawn.  I could have won 
the ending had I not trapped my bishop}

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