The big news story from the Söder 2014 Chess Championship held in early November was the Cinderella-like tale of John “Murf” Murphy, who against all the odds stormed into the final and came to within a few moves of taking the 2014 Championship. Although he didn’t win the title, he did win the hearts of all the onlookers… Murf (pictured left in the blue cap) admitted that an email earlier in the week from former coach Stephens had inspired him to achieve greater heights during the Söder social championships during this off-season.
The draw for Group A and B took place early in the evening and saw Group A feature: Max, iGuts, Brissles, Dyldo & Condo. Group B contained: Larry, Murf, Rappa, Tanka, Jordo.
The first group game of the evening spiced up Group A with Max taking down Brissles on the clock. Max proceeded to steamroll through Group A, never losing a group match. The fight for the 2nd spot and a place in the semis from Group A was between Dyldo and Brissles, with iGuts sniffing around as a late chance if results fell his way. Condo unexpectedly lost all group games and stormed out of the Liljeholmens Lokal in disgust directly after his last game. In the end it was Brissles who slipped through as the 2nd place qualifier from Group A.
Group B saw an even contest early on but it only took a few games before it was evident that Larry and Murf would go through to the semis. Rappa and Tanka fought admirably for a couple of wins each but the big shock in the group was the poor form of one of the tournament favourites Jordo, who crashed and burned – not managing to win a single game! Some say it was the gratis whisky on offer during the night, some say he was concentrating on the Beer Brewing comp too much, others are still scratching their heads.
The semi’s saw 2008 Champion Max take on Murf in a thriller. Murf gave away his queen early on in the game, and while seemingly a big big sacrifice, he managed to turn the tide and go on and win the game to book his seat in the Grand Final and prove that he had more to offer that just the best chess board in Söder. The other semi saw undefeated Larry from Group B take on Brissles, and a fairly even opening to the game quickly developed into an advantageous position for Larry. As Brissles clock ticked down, it looked like Brissles run of 5 straight championships was about to come to an end… but Larry played defensive and perhaps hoped to run the clock down rather than go for the kill which proved a fatal move as a quick exchange of a few pieces quickly shifted the momentum from Larry to Brissles who then polished off the game in a matter of seconds. Larry was inconsolable after the match: “I had him… I had him… I should never have traded rooks” a teary Larry blubbered.
On to the final and a clearly nervous Murf began the game well. Both players took the extra time afforded in the final to be sure of their openings. Play continued in a cagey stile, until Brissles slowly worked the game in his favour and managed to grind out a sixth straight championship win. Murf admitted that nerves probably got the better of him but there is no doubt that 2014’s big improver will be back again as a serious contender in 2015.