Over five years ago, a report on the Target Recruitment Masters 2001 was added to the tournament pages here. The overall event, held at Queen’s University Belfast, attracted 86 players across three sections. The top section was won jointly by Alexander Baburin and Bogdan Lalić, each on an undefeated 5/6, ahead of the Dutch players Harmen Jonkman and Yge Visser on 4½, and the quintet of Keith Allen, Tom Clarke, Colm Daly, Stephen Gillen, and Mark Orr on 4. In all, 92 of the 98 games are available.
For some reason that escapes me, there was no associated cover post when the report was first posted here. Just recently, it emerged that one of the players was wrongly identified in that report, as well as in essentially all databases: the “John Cooper” who finished joint 10th-15th on 3½ was not the Welsh IM John Grantley Cooper, rated 2341 at the time, but rather John G. Cooper, then and now of Lytham in Lancashire, b. 1942, FIDE ID 416096. The report has been updated to correct this misidentification.
David McAlister, who was one of the co-organisers, provided invaluable help in clearing this up, and he has also provided a great deal more information, including details of time forfeits and incomplete games, clubs for more than half the players and links to assorted photos, for which many thanks.
Here is an excerpt from John G. Cooper’s first round game against Stephen Gillen. The databases break off here with “½-½”, which I had assumed meant that the players agreed a draw. David’s information clarifies that the game continued. Perhaps the players stopped recording moves here due to time trouble. We must assume, though, that White did not find the best move here. What did he miss?
Position after 46… Rg6