Hastings Masters 2009 - 10

Three Irish players took part in the recently completed Hastings Masters tournament. They were IM Sam Collins, Ryan Griffiths, and James McDonnell. I think Collins and McDonnell will surely want to forget the whole experience. However, the performance of Ryan Griffiths deserves the highest praise. He finished on 5.5/9 and had a performance rating of 2350!

The progress table below gives some idea of this fantastic performance.



I post a few of Ryan Griffiths games from the event. Starting with his round four encounter with IM Andrew Martin. I don't know about you (there's no accounting for taste), but in the final position I certainly prefer Black.



And now Ryan's round five win against FM Webb.



I conclude with his eight round fighting draw with IM Kolbus.



I am really blown away by this performance. Will Ryan Griffiths be Ireland’s first home grown Grandmaster?