Torben Sorensen won the Top 10 chess competition held recently at the Malta Chess Federation premises in Sliema with seven and a half points out of a possible nine.

This competition was played over nine consecutive days and can be considered as the strongest competition held locally in recent years.

The standard international format was used with players having 90 minutes on the clock and 30 seconds bonus per move for the whole game.

The foreign players taking part beside Sorensen were Noel Yoro from the Philippines and Bosnian player Misa Jovanovic both of whom reside locally; Jorgen Hvenekilde and Finn Nohr who came specifically for the competition from Denmark.

The Maltese players were led by current Chess Champion CM Colin Pace and included Andrew Borg, Duncan Vella, Harry Camilleri and Joseph Gauci.

Sorensen, as expected, was very consistent throughout the competition managing one draw against Dane compatriot Nohr and beating all the local players. His only loss came about at the hands of the other Dane player Hvenekilde who at the ripe age of 72 managed second place overall. The latter, who did not lose a single game, has a chess style similar to that of Sorensen and if it were not for a number of quick draws would have challenged for first place.

Local Champion Pace placed sixth overall. He performed relatively well (over 2200) and made good use of this strong competition to test his opening repertoire and stamina. Pace played for a win in all his games refusing quick draws offered by some of the participants. He had the satisfaction of being the only Maltese to beat Nohr.

Andrew Borg and Duncan Vella were the best of the local boys placing third and fourth overall respectively with five and a half points. Borg lost only to Sorensen in an opening system that Sorensen knew very well. His best game was his good technical win against Yoro.

Vella’s recent participation in the famous French resort at Capelle le Grande proved worthwhile since he was able to approach this competition with the right frame of mind and the right level of concentration.

Noel Yoro, who was doubtful about his participation until the last day, was outplayed by Borg and Sorensen but managed quite well with the rest of the field. Yoro’s natural tactical skills balanced well with his lackness in theory and scored him some interesting points.

Joe Gauci played slightly below his best form and managed one win and five draws. His best efforts were the games against Hvenekilde.

Seventeen times Malta Champion Harry Camilleri found the daily goings a bit too tough and performed below his normal level of play. He played aggressive open chess and gave little thoughts to quick draws or final classification.

Finn Nohr, on the other hand drew too many quick games and at the end of the

competition found himself in seventh place overall. Nohr will certainly look

Misa Jovanovic was unprepared for this tournament. He lost all of his games and at the end did not turn up for the last three rounds.