When British R&B star Mark Morrison penned his seminal 90s tune ‘Return of the Mack’, no-one considered he was rapping about a young Russian’s return to chess.
But we can reveal that back in 1996, badboy Morrison clearly was aware of Alex Makarov and, somehow, looked into the future to predict his exploits. “Return of the Mack” was, in fact, a record company typo – it should’ve been Return of the Mak.
On Tuesday, the Mak-Daddy Alex returned to the game after a long absence to blitz the field and qualify for the Battersea Blitz Tournament final.
Tournament organiser ARNOLD HUNT was there, and here is his report:
Arnold’s report
Excellent night’s chess at the club with the second round of the 2019 blitz yielding two clear winners.
Alex Makarov, a friend of Chris Beckett’s and recent addition to the club, stormed through to first place with a tally of twelve and a half points out of a possible thirteen.
Ali Hill snapped at his heels with eleven and a half with Chris Beckett himself narrowly missing out on qualification in third place with ten and a half.
Brilliant young Dennis Dupuis, bouncing between the pool table and the chess board came next with 9 and Alan Palmer with a very creditable 8 came fifth.
It was a sportingly played event with no tears or tantrums and with such a lightning turnaround between rounds and not a moment to relax physical fitness and mental resilience playing its part.
Full results below:
- Alex Makarov 12+ 0- 1=
- Ali Hill 11+ 1- 1=
- Chris Beckett 10+ 2- 1=
- Dennis Dupuis 9+ 4- 0=
- Alan Palmer 8+ 5- 0=
- Kazi Azizur 7+ 6- 0=
- Steve Barry 6+ 6- 1=
- Duncan Kerr 5+ 7- 1=
- Emil Todorow 5+ 8- 0=
- Tim Valentine 5+ 8- 0=
- Danieel Press 5+ 8- 0=
- Tosin Osinake 3+ 10- 0=
- David Blackwell 1+ 11- 1=
- Tom Butterworth 1+ 12- 0=
Alex Makarov and Ali Hill then go forward to the final on 27 August where they will join Tommaso Penna, Conor Gay, Adam Bukojemski and the current holder of the trophy Midhun Unnikrishnan in an all-play-all double round robin playoff. Spectators welcome!
Thanks to everyone who put themselves on the line last night and helped make a thrilling evening of chess.
Arnold
