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2009 King's Cup Commentary: Round 1

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Go to: Before the Tournament, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 6, Round 7, Round 8, Round 9, Round 10, Round 11, Round 12, Round 13, Round 14, Round 15, Round 17, Round 18, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 22, Round 23, Round 24, Round 25, Round 26, Round 27, Final Round 1, Final Round 2, Final Round 3, After the Tournament.

Round 1 began more or less on time, with players randomly drawn from quartiles to play a three-game round robin before the Swiss phase begins. As with many international tournaments, it took us a little while to figure out who was here on time, who was planning on arriving late (3 players), who showed up unexpectedly (3-4 players), and so on. One Thai player and one Kenyan player are going to take forfeits for two rounds before arriving in time for the third; another Thai player who wants the experience of playing in the event but is unavailable today and tomorrow is willing to forfeit her first 12 games at -100 points per game!

The results start to arrive in reverse player number order, and I'm puzzled at first as to why that is. Then I realize that the player numbers are assigned by country, with the Thai players having all the high numbers.

Jason Katz-Brown (USA) begins the tournament at the top of the field at 1-0 +279, with a 548-269 victory over Warodom Geamsakul (THA). 19 points behind is Siu Hean Cheah (SGP).