The top board games in the Winter Classic were decided by some dramatic one-move blunders this round.

🔥 Major Division:
• Ian Stalker, the sole leader at the start of the round, looked to be consolidating his exchange up position against Darryl Chan when he hung a rook.
• Callan Arav, rushing after a late arrival, dropped a piece early on against Andrew He.
• Darryl and Andrew are now joined in the lead by Dean Chen, who beat Aiden Malecki, forming a formidable chasing pack.

🔥 Minor Division:
• On Board 1, Nigel Burley left a bishop undefended and Nick Biscoe capitalised on it.
• Jonathan Sua beat Mason Tay on Board 2 to join Nick in the lead.

🔥 Seniors Division:
• Rob Watson found himself a piece down against Paul Glissan and ultimately lost, leaving Paul in the sole lead.
• Dennis Wan, with an accurate endgame conversion, beat Paul Pilowsky and is now a full point behind Paul Glissan.

It's an exciting tournament with plenty of twists and turns! Stay tuned for more updates as the competition heats up.

(Photo by Linden Fennamore)