Newsletter  18/2

28 February 2018

Editor: Frank Low

auschessnews@gmail.com

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Contributions are most welcome. Next issue is 31 March 2018.



 

     A TALE OF 3 WOMEN

Photo by Max Mikkelsen’s father  Australian Chess Federation Newsletter 31 October 2017

Well travelled Cassandra Lim is seen here on the left in Montevideo, Uruguay in September at the Under 18 Girls World Youth Championship . Yet she is still only 13 years of age.

She became the latest Australian Junior Girls Champion (Under 18) at last month’s Australian Junior Championships in Melbourne. playing above her age category and winning the title with 7.5 out of 9 points by the remarkable margin of 1.5 points from the second-place getters in what was reputed to be the strongest of championships. "I like chess because it's a strategic game ... it makes your mind think, and I like thinking about puzzles," she told the ABC in 2016 as an 11-year old.

In recent news, her predecessor the 1991 champion Dr Boglarka Remenyi is renowned for championing the fight against rheumatic heart disease in the Northern Territory and was in November named the Territory's Australian of the year. Came January and quantum physicist Professor Michelle Yvonne Simmons, whose work has been heralded as launching Australia into "the space race of the computing era", was named this year's Australian of the Year. After she unexpectedly beat her father at chess as a child, she thought ‘wow he didn't really expect me to be able to do this' and that really got me thinking 'there must be other things that people don't expect of me, let me find out what they are'."

We doubt there is anything Cassandra can't do.


 

ACF NOTICES

FIDE Chess Olympiad
Batumi, Georgia
23 September to 7 October 2018

PLAYER SELECTIONS

Applications are invited for playing members of the Australian Open and Women’s Olympiad teams for the 43rd Chess Olympiad.

Selected applicants receive travel subsidies from the ACF's Olympiad Appeal and normally receive full board from the host organisation.

Applicants must apply on or before 2 April 2018.

Applications must contain the information specified in item 5.4 of the ACF’s Selection Procedures By-Law and may include other information as per by-law items 5.6 and 5.7. A copy of the By-Law is at

https://auschess.org.au/acf/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ACF-Selection-Procedures-By-Law.pdf

Applicants' names and all material provided to selectors may be published online and available for public scrutiny.

Applicants will be advised of selectors’ provisional rankings on or about 30 April 2018. Final selections will be announced on or about 21 May 2018 following the determination of any appeals.

Please send your application from an email address that you will check at least weekly until the end of May 2018. If you will not be contactable during the fortnight after 2 April 2018, please apply well before 2 April.

All applicants must retain a copy of their application.

An applicant shall not be eligible for selection unless, in the period from 16 March 2017 to 2 April 2018, the applicant has played at least 30 rateable, classical-rate games that meet the requirements of clause 4.3.2. of the Selections Procedures by-law.

Player Applications must be sent by email to:

ACF Selections Director, Mr Tom Saltmarsh catowi@internode.on.net cc to president@auschess.org.au

Please call 0499 996 559 if it is necessary to arrange another method or if a Player Application has not been acknowledged within two days.

Applicants for selection as a player may also apply for appointment to other Olympiad-related positions, on the understanding that they will be ineligible for such appointments if they accept selection as a player, and vice versa.

RELATED OLYMPIAD APPOINTMENTS

Registrations of interest in the following positions are also invited. Applicants should apply without delay as the Council may wish to finalise appointments before the announcement of team members on 21 May.

Non-playing Captains – Open Team and Women’s Team

Captains receive travel subsidies from the ACF's Olympiad Appeal and are normally provided with full board by the host organisation.

Captaincy Applicants may submit comments in support of their applications to be passed on to players or the members of ACF Council. For more detail see item 13 of the Selection Procedures By-Law.

Teams Coach

Applications are also invited for the position of Teams Coach, whose appointment will involve coaching assistance to members of both teams, in consultation with team captains.

Coaches are not normally provided with full board by the host organisation.

Chief of Delegation

Responsibilities of the Chief of Delegation include administrative supervision of the team, overseeing the registration of Australian team members and officials, and related additional responsibilities, as agreed.

It is expected that Olympiad organisers will again provide complimentary accommodation for Chiefs of Delegation.

Expressions of interest in appointment as Captains, Coach and/or Chief of Delegation should be sent to:

ACF Secretary, Mr Rob Watson, email: secretary@auschess.org.au with cc to: president@auschess.org.au

Please call 0409 525 963 or (03) 9787 7974 if an email application has not been acknowledged within two days.

RECURRING NOTICE: REGISTRATION of ARBITERS for TITLE NORM EVENTS

When an arbiter is seeking a norm for the titles of FIDE Arbiter or International Arbiter for an event, it is vital that they be registered as an arbiter for that tournament as part of the tournament registration process. This applies even if they are not the Chief Arbiter. It is the joint responsibility of the arbiter seeking the norm and the event organiser to ensure that this is done.

RECURRING NOTICE: FIDE RATING SUBMISSIONS

Note that events for FIDE ratings that are completed in the last seven days of the month need to be submitted to ACF FIDE Ratings Officer Bill Gletsos for ratings immediately so that any issues with them can be resolved in time for events to be rated in that month. Also note that intended changes of names or dates of FIDE-rated events need to be notified immediately as they may affect the event's rating status. Note also that all FIDE rated events must be submitted for ACF ratings – no exceptions.

RECURRING NOTICE: FIDE RATED EVENT REGISTRATION

Australian tournaments to be FIDE rated must be advised to the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer at least 40 days prior to the start of the tournament for tournaments where norms are available and at least 14 days prior to the start of the tournament for all other tournaments. Where these conditions are not met, the decision whether to register it or not is solely at the discretion of the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer.

RECURRING NOTICE: FIDE ID NUMBER REGISTRATION

FIDE have issued a warning that they will not accept tournaments for FIDE rating where those tournaments contain players who do not have FIDE ID numbers. Although new Australian players can be registered by the ACF national ratings officer, this does not apply to new players from overseas. Therefore, organisers should not immediately accept the entries of overseas players who lack FIDE ID numbers to FIDE rated tournaments; instead, those players should be required to first obtain a FIDE ID from their own national federation.

Tournaments submitted that include foreign players who do not have ID numbers may be rejected. Players without ID numbers should only be submitted as Australian if they are citizens or long-term residents; if a player is registered under the wrong country they may incur transfer costs later. For further information/clarification contact the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer Bill Gletsos <bgletsos@optusnet.com.au>.



NORM



AUS Player Title Norm Watch

[From a thread by Kevin Bonham on the internet forum Chess Chat 13-04-2016, 01:30 AM]

By a sort of request, this thread is a list of AUS-registered players who have achieved norms or rating requirements for the FIDE titles of GM, IM, WGM, WIM but who have yet to qualify for those titles. In its early stages it will be incomplete and may contain errors and I seek help in advising me of any errors or norms not already included (excluding expired norms for long-inactive players, thanks.) "has rating" just means the player has reached the required live-rating level at some stage.

The opening post will be edited as players gain norms or qualify for titles. Once a player has received a title they will be removed from the list for that title.

GM Norms
Ari Dale:1 norm, requires rating
Bobby Cheng:2 norms, has rating
Junta Ikeda: 1 norm, requires rating
Justin Tan (Vic.): 2 norms, requires rating
George Xie:3 norms (approved), requires rating

IM Norms
Arianne Caoili:1 norm, requires rating
Greg Canfell:3 expired norms, requires rating
Sam Chow:1 norm, requires rating
Domagoj Dragicevic:1 norm, requires rating
Yi Liu: 2 norms (one awaiting confirmation), requires rating
Gareth Oliver: 1 norm, requires rating
Tim Reilly:1 norm, requires rating
Tomek Rej: 3 norms (approved), requires rating
Eugene Schon:1 norm, requires rating
Nick Speck:2 expired norms, requires rating (?)
Malcolm Stephens:1 norm, requires rating
Chris Wallis:1 norm, requires rating
Karl Zelesco:2 norms, requires rating

WGM Norms
Irina Berezina: 2 expired norms, has rating
Arianne Caoili: 1 norm, has rating

WIM Norms
Ingela Bjelobrk:1 expired norm, requires rating (?)
Alana Chibnall: 1 norm, requires rating
Kathryn Hardegen: 1 norm, requires rating
Giang Nguyen: 1 norm, requires rating

Note re expired norms: unregistered norms from pre-2005 are not currently valid but may in theory become valid should FIDE reverse its policy on expired norms. In 2014 a vote to reverse it was tied at commission level.

TOURNAMENT




Australia's best regional tournament


Ballarat Begonia Open 10-12 March 2018

This is shaping up to be another big one... most of Australia's GMs, many IMs and FMs and possibly two OS GMs have expressed interest in competing, as well as our regular cohort of supporters.

GM Ian Rogers will provide live commentary again as it proved so popular in previous years. Peter Tsai will be our chief arbiter supported by Nigel Barrow and Bjorn Lategan, and we will be utilising the great facilities at Clarendon College.

Play over the Victorian Labour Day weekend in 2018 10 to 12 March.

Confirmed entries include GM Max Illingworth, GM Zong Yuan Zhao, GM Anton Smirnov, GM Moulthun Ly and GM Darryl Johansen.

Enter online here

Enquiries

Post
Ballarat Chess Club Inc.
Box 1242
Ballarat Mail Centre Vic 3354

Phone
Patrick Cook03 5331 6658 0499 255 240
Kevin Perrin03 5331 3711 0418 533 517
 

Email
Patrick Cook:president@ballaratchess.com
Kevin Perrin:treasurer@ballaratchess.com
Rob Loveband:webmaster@ballaratchess.com


 

TOURNAMENT



Doeberl Cup
 
29 March - 2 AprilCanberra Southern Cross Club Woden,
92-96 Corinna Street Woden ACT

Thanks to Canberra Southern Cross Club Woden for joining the chess party. Sign up to the newsletter and follow us on Facebook for all the latest updates!

Parking 

Parking is free at the Southern Cross Club's secure undercover car park.

Accommodation

Choose from:

• Abode Woden, 10 Bowes Street Woden (approx 10 min walk)

• The Woden Hotel, Cnr Launceston St & Melrose Dr, Woden (approx 16 min walk)

BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM

All details on room rates & how to book on the Accommodation page

REGISTER NOW

Registrations for the 2018 Doeberl Cup are now open - head over to the Registration page.

Admin note: We are using Eventbrite to process online registrations. This means that payment must be made at the time of registration, including a small processing fee charged by Eventbrite. Payments are processed via Paypal, which accepts VISA, MasterCard and American Express (no account required - select Pay With Credit or Debit Card after submitting your registration form).

If you are unable to pay online, please contact us with your registration details or download the PDF form.




BLINDFOLD CHESS


 

           
GM Timur Gareyev

                                             
Travels of a Blindfold King

GM Timur Gareyev is an American grandmaster born in Tashkent to Tatar parents. He created a simultaneous blindfold world record 48 board simul in Las Vegas on 4 December 2016 and he will be in Melbourne on 27 March.

January: Bhopal, India

Nice evening over at Upper Lake  hanging with IM Alex Wohl

27 January: Singapore

Delightful dinner with the leaders of the Singapore Chess Federation as well as National Team Coach GM Bong Villamore, GM Vladimir Lazarev and the youngster Cyrus Nisban who managed to defeat me in the blindfold match. 

29 January: Brisbane

Four hours of mental brilliance with GM Timur Gareyev Blindfold Simul at Morris Hall Churchie Special thanks to International Master Alex Wohl.  We played and became friends over tournaments in Bhopal and Mumbai.  Photo: Doubleroo.

STUDIES



 6th INTERNATIONAL INTERNET TOURNAMENT (STUDIES)
 

The Argentine Union of Problemists of Chess (UAPA) invites composers of Australia to participate in the  6th International Internet Tournament (Studies). See INFORMALES

Composers of directmates can send their problems to JT70 Mario Garcia. See FORMALES

Regards

Sebastian Palomo

Union Argentina de  Problemistas de Ajedrez (UAPA)



FIDE


 

WAITING FOR GODOT

In an extraordinary turn of events, FIDE published on its website on 12 February a letter addressed to the representatives of all national federations warning that President Ilyumzhinov’s personal difficulties with US sanctions severely affect FIDE’s ability to conduct business and that its Swiss bankers USB “will immediately close our accounts”.

While the meaning of that latter phrase and its implications is not yet clear, does it signify the beginning of the end of a long wait for resolution of FIDE’s legalistic contortions over its poorly worded Statutes for more than 2 years in an attempt to distance itself from Ilyumzhinov financially, yet still retaining him as its President (perhaps because of constitutional constraints).

US sanctions may be seen by much of the third world as the acts of a powerful nation in pursuit of its own ideological worldview, but the question is whether Ilyumzhinov can demonstrate once again that his tenure on the Presidency of FIDE (which saw his re-election six times since he was first elected on 24 November 1995) was no mere aberration come the new elections scheduled during the Olympiad at Batumi Georgia in September.

Some relevant documentation follows:

A__25 November 2015

US Department of the Treasury Press Center

https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0287.aspx

WASHINGTON – In response to continuing violence by the Assad regime against its citizens, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated four individuals and six entities providing support to the Government of Syria pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13582, including a middleman for oil purchases by the Syrian regime from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  As a result of today’s action, all assets of those designated that are in the United States or that are in the control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

“The Syrian government is responsible for widespread brutality and violence against its own people,” said Adam J. Szubin, acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “The United States will continue targeting the finances of all those enabling Assad to continue inflicting violence on the Syrian people.”

...

Government of Syria Financial Facilitation and Procurement

OFAC designated Mudalal Khuri today for materially assisting and acting for or on behalf of previously designated entities and individuals including the Government of Syria, Central Bank of Syria, Central Bank of Syria Governor Adib Mayaleh, and Central Bank of Syria official Batoul Rida. OFAC designated Adib Mayaleh in July 2012 and Batoul Rida in March 2015. Khuri has had a long association with the Assad regime and represents regime business and financial interests in Russia.  Khuri is linked to financial transactions in which the Government of Syria had an interest as early as 1994.  He also served as an intermediary between Batoul Rida and a Russian firm on an attempted procurement of ammonium nitrate in late 2013.  Khuri also owns or controls five of the entities designated today.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was designated today for materially assisting and acting for or on behalf of the Government of Syria, Central Bank of Syria, Adib Mayaleh, and Batoul Rida.  Ilyumzhinov is a wealthy Russian businessman, former president of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, and long-time World Chess Federation president.  He is linked to financial transactions involving Khuri-associated companies as early as 1997 and owns or controls the Russian Financial Alliance Bank, along with Khuri.  An advisor to Ilyumzhinov, then-President of Kalmykia, was convicted in Russia in 1999 for the murder of an opposition journalist who reportedly was investigating an offshore business registration mechanism in Kalmykia tied to Ilyumzhinov.  Russian authorities subsequently closed the offshore business registration mechanism after concluding that it was being used for illegal purposes.

OFAC designated Russian Financial Alliance Bank (RFA Bank) today for being owned or controlled by Khuri and Ilyumzhinov.  Khuri is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of RFA Bank, and Ilyumzhinov is a major shareholder of RFA Bank and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of RFA Bank.  At the time of his Chairmanship, Ilyumzhinov reportedly brought in his own representatives to the bank.

….

B__6 December 2015

FIDE Executive Director

http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/9254-statement-from-fide.html

Athens, 6 December 2015

Following the announcement by the US Department of the Treasury that the US levied sanctions against Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian citizen and FIDE President, Mr. Ilyumzhinov has informed the Presidential Board that he will withdraw from any legal, financial and business operations of FIDE until such time as Mr. Ilyumzhinov is removed from the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanction list.

Mr. Ilyumzhinov advised that he has initiated legal procedures in the US aiming to request additional information and reverse restrictive measures put by the US Department of the Treasury. During the next Presidential Board meeting, Mr. Ilyumzhinov will update the Board as to the progress of the legal procedures.

Mr. Ilyumzhinov’s decision to withdraw from any legal, financial and business operations of FIDE is to enable him to concentrate on clearing the situation with the US Department of the Treasury.

Until further notice, under section A.9.5 of the FIDE Statutes, if the President: “duly authorises, then he can be represented by the Deputy President who shall exercise the powers of the President. The Deputy President can thus represent FIDE officially and can solely sign for FIDE.” Therefore Mr. Makropoulos will now be exercising these powers and representing FIDE officially.

Nigel Freeman

FIDE Executive Director

C__FIDE STATUTES

https://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=46&view=article

D__10 April 2017

FIDE Extraordinary Presidential Meeting Minutes

https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2017/FIDE_News/88th_Congress/EB_Annexes/Annex_1.pdf

2. Powers delegated to the FIDE Deputy President by the FIDE Presidential Board

Legal opinion was again presented and the Board unanimously reconfirmed its decision of 6th December 2015 ...

E__12 February 2018

FIDE Treasurer

https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/10684-letter-from-fide-treasurer-regarding-fide-bank-account.html

F__21 February 2018

“Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Information Portal”

http://kirsan.today/en/news/item/2144-newswire-february-21-2018.html

Newswire February 21, 2018

The letter of the federation’s treasurer Adrian Siegel published on FIDE website, states that the Swiss UBS bank is ready to close FIDE account in the near future. Even third-party observers immediately noted a number of inconsistencies. First, the sanctions against Ilyumzhinov were introduced by the US Treasury in late November 2015, but for some reason this did not prevent the bankers from serving the federation for more than two years.

Nevertheless, some media seized on Siegel's message. Since the bank did not comment, journalists of some media simply broadcast the message of a misleading letter published on the FIDE website.

In this regard, we publish here a Newswire, which lawyers of the London based law firm W Legal kindly provided us.

"Mr Kirsan Ilyumzhinov wishes to emphasise that during the last week a number of false statements, comprising "fake news" have been published in the international Press by individuals, as part of an ongoing smear campaign in advance of FIDE elections later this year. In particular:

1.  Mr Ilyumzhinov has been informed that FIDE’s bank account with UBS has not been frozen as alleged and that such account in fact remains open today.

2.  Public documents released in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Treasury do not allege that Mr Ilyumzhinov has been sanctioned by the US as a result of him conducting oil deals involving ISIS.

Mr Ilyumzhinov states that allegations to the contrary have no basis in fact and comprise "fake news". Mr Ilyumzhinov will be taking legal against those individuals and outlets peddling false stories.

Mr Ilyumzhinov believes that FIDE is itself now under attack from within and he is not prepared to allow his important work and the hard work of his colleagues to be undermined.

Mr Ilyumzhinov has stated:

"It is outrageous that certain prominent Western news outlets bemoan "fake news" but choose to publish the same without checking the veracity of the most basic facts and without first seeking to notify me. They shall be brought to account.

I am a peaceful man who wishes to promote chess around the world and I spend almost every waking hour doing so, often personally funding many of my activities. I am fortunate that my position as President of FIDE, coupled with my previous experience as President of Kalmykia and as a former Member of Parliament of the Soviet Union and Russia, has allowed me to hone my skills as a senior statesman.

Such has allowed me to travel worldwide, including to areas of conflict and strife to promote "chess for peace". I have met over one hundred heads of state during my time at FIDE. My message is always the same – chess transcends politics. In many cases I have met with success, whether it be in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Israel or Korea.

I trust that those who have peddled "fake news" during the last week will now see fit to resign – whether they be journalists or individuals holding positions in the world of chess. In the meantime, I shall fight for justice as I continue to serve FIDE to the best of my ability. "

Please contact Nigel Kushner at nigel.kushner@wlegal.co.uk"

Editorial note. [Author’s editorial note, not this Newsletter’s editorial note] We just received a message from London lawyers: the Swiss bank replied that it did not freeze any FIDE accounts and is not going to freeze it. So let's say to FIDE Treasurer using the words of the great writer Bulgakov: "Congratulations, you're a liar!"

____________________________________________________

For commentary, see

• Peter Doggers  in Chess.com 16 February 2018

• Macauley Peterson in Chess Base News 22 February 2018

CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT

Published on 9 February by FIDE are the pairings below for the Candidates Tournament. This eight-player double round-robin tournament will be held at the Kühlhaus Berlin, Germany from 10 - 28 March. The winner will earn the right to challenge the defending world champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, in the World Championship 12 game match to be played in London from 9 - 28 November 2018.

Round 1 on 10.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM Ding Liren 2769

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM So Wesley 2799

Round 2 on 11.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM So Wesley 2799

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

Round 3 on 12.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Ding Liren 2769

Round 4 on 14.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM Ding Liren 2769

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM So Wesley 2799

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

Round 5 on 15.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814

Round 6 on 16.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

Round 7 on 18.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM Ding Liren 2769

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM So Wesley 2799

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

Round 8 on 19.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

Round 9 on 20.03.2018 at 15.00

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM Ding Liren 2769

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

Round 10 on 22.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM So Wesley 2799

Round 11 on 23.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

Round 12 on 24.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM So Wesley 2799

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM Ding Liren 2769

Round 13 on 26.03.2018 at 15.00

GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2767

GM Ding Liren 2769 - GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800

GM So Wesley 2799 - GM Karjakin Sergey 2763

GM Caruana Fabiano 2784 - GM Aronian Levon 2797

Round 14 on 27.03.2018 at 15.00

Grischuk Alexander 2767 - GM Caruana Fabiano 2784

GM Aronian Levon 2797 - GM So Wesley 2799

GM Karjakin Sergey 2763 - GM Ding Liren 2769

GM Kramnik Vladimir 2800 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2814




OZ CHAMPIONSHIPS



 

Mighty Max Moves Mountains!

 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

                                               
Sydney 2-12 January 2018

                                 By Chief Arbiter Charles Zworestine

Photo:Alana Chibnall

And with that title I must begin with an apology, dear reader; for I have already given away the identity of the 2018 Australian Chess Champion! Assuming, of course, that you all know who “Mighty Max” is. Yes, GM Mighty Max Illingworth seemed most comfortable playing at his home club, but he was not alone, as it is also the home club of fellow GM Anton Smirnov.

And the challengers were many: Queensland GM Moulthun Ly, Victorian IMs Bobby Cheng, Kanan Izzat, James Morris and Ari Dale, veteran IMs Stephen Solomon (QLD) and Gary Lane (NSW); and even IM (nearly GM) George Xie (NSW) making a comeback. With all states represented except Tasmania and players from foreign federations France, Germany, Iran, England (Brandon Clarke) and Azerbaijan (Kanan), it looked a tough field, but this did not faze Mighty Max.

For the host club North Sydney, this was the fourth time in recent years that they have held an Australian Championships or Open. Add to that a Zonal, and they have certainly been busy contributing greatly to Australian chess over the last decade! The usual Sydney summer heat did not deter players, who welcomed the air-conditioned comfort of this licensed club, not to mention lots of iced water. A total of 199 players (just short of the magic 200) comprised 34 players in the Aus Champs, 100 in the Reserves and 65 in the shorter (7 round) Norths Chess Classic.

The time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 30 minutes to finish, plus a 30-second increment from the start (Fischer) allowed ample opportunity to think. So how did Max manage to do so with so much more effectiveness than the other players? Let’s see in the following day by day report.

VirtualPieces

Day 1 - Tuesday, January 2: No real shocks on the top 6 boards of the Champs, with the top 6 seeds (in rating order Anton, Bobby, Max, Kanan, Moulthun and James) all winning in fairly straightforward fashion. But then the upsets began! Gary Lane miscalculated, dropped a pawn early and went down in a lengthy ending to Kevin O’Chee, while George Xie’s extra piece meant nothing after he allowed too many pawns to be swapped and drew with Kevin Willathgamuwa. Brandon Clarke had similar issues, fighting to draw with Albert Winkelman after a complicated exchange sacrifice. But the biggest upset was caused by Aus Champs debutant Arthur Huynh, who gradually positionally outplayed veteran Stephen Solomon, won a key pawn and observed all due care to eventually win more pawns and prevail in a lengthy ending (see game below).

 
Huynh, Arthur (2042) - Solomon, Stephen (2365), Aus Champs Round 1,Board 9 2/1/2018

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0–0 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.0–0 Nxc3 12.bxc3 e5 13.Qb3 e4 14.Nd2 Nf6 15.a4 Bf5 16.Ra1 Rad8 17.a5 Rd6 18.Be2 Ng4 19.Bxg4 Bxg4 20.Qb4 Rd7 21.Qxe7 Rxe7 22.Rfe1 f5 23.Nc4 Bh5 24.h3 Rd8 25.Rab1 Bf7 26.Ne5 c5 27.a6 Bd5 28.axb7 Bxb7 29.Rb5 cxd4 30.cxd4 g6 31.Reb1 Bd5 32.Ra5 g5 33.Rba1 h5
 

34.Rxa7 Rxa7 35.Rxa7 h4 36.Ra6 Kh7 37.Rf6 g4 38.hxg4 fxg4 39.Nxg4 Kg7 40.Ra6 Rc8 41.Rh6 Rc2 42.Rxh4 Kg6 43.Ne5+ Kg5 44.Rg4+ Kf5 45.f3 exf3 46.gxf3 Bb3 47.e4+ Kf6 48.Rg6+ Ke7 49.Rg2 Rc3 50.Kh2 Bc2 51.Rg3 Re3 52.Rg4 Re1 53.Kg3 Kf6 54.Kf4 Rd1 55.Rg6+ Ke7 56.Kf5 Rd2 57.Rg7+ Kf8 58.Rd7 Ba4 59.Rf7+ Ke8 60.d5 Rh2 61.Ra7 Bd1 62.d6 Rh5+ 63.Kf4 Rxe5 64.Kxe5 Bxf3 65.Rh7 Kd8 66.Kf4 Bd1 67.e5 Bb3 68.Ra7 1–0

The early upsets in the Reserves were even higher up, with top seed Kevin Sheldrick having to fight from the exchange down to draw with Nicholas Johnson. Third seed Mai Chi Nguyen Phan, a visiting Vietnamese female, actually went one worse! An inaccurate rook move left her the victim of a mating attack against Parunithan Ranganathan. Kerry Lin’s pawn fork winning a piece stunned Nathan Hibberd on Board 4 to complete the higher board shocks… No real early upsets on the top boards in the Classic, only Toby Huey’s draw with Anthony Chan when slightly better positionally qualifying as such.

Day 2 - Wednesday, January 3: A double round day for everybody today, with the expected resultant chaos! While Max and Anton both won in Round 2, there was an upset already on Board 2, where Ari Dale defeated Bobby Cheng after a complicated manoeuvring battle was resolved by Bobby’s unsound piece sacrifice shortly before the first time control. Jack Puccini had an upset draw with Kanan Izzat, in a tight game where Kanan’s rook, bishop and pawn ended up cancelling out Jack’s queen. Kevin Willathgamuwa continued his solid start when his two rooks drew with Bahman Kargosha’s queen. The only other major Round 2 upset saw Samuel Asaka beat Brandon Clarke with a crushing attack on the Black king along the open h and g files.

There were Round 2 shocks galore at the top in the Reserves too, with Michael Ostapenko refuting Donato Mallari’s unsound sacrifice of a rook to get at his king on Board 2. Cameron McGowan upset Clive Ng in a game where Clive appeared to have a positional bind for much of the game, but over pushed and wound up a pawn down in a lost ending instead! Anup Kumar beat Brian Jones by refuting an unsound rook sacrifice, ending with a cute double check and mate (see game below); and there were upset draws aplenty. The Classic seemed tame by comparison, with fewer shocks in Round 2. In a battle of veterans, Bill Egan did manage to draw with Vasil Tulevski; Vasil thought he had enough pawns for the exchange, but Bill forced a repetition.


 Jones, Brian (1948) - Anup, Kumar (1828), Aus Reserves Round 2,   Board 5 03/01/2018
 

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 Nf6 6.Nc3 0–0 7.g3 b6 8.Bg2 Bb7 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.0–0 Nd7 11.Rfe1 Nxc3 12.bxc3 c5 13.e4 Nf6 14.Ne5 Rc8 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.g4 Rfd8 17.Qe3 cxd4 18.cxd4 Qc2 19.Rd2 Qc3 20.Rd3 Qb2 21.g5 Ne8 22.Qf4 f6 23.gxf6 Nxf6 24.Rg3 Rf8 25.Bh3 Rce8 26.Rxg7+ ?
 

Kxg7 27.Qg5+ Kh8 28.Kh1 Nxe4 29.Ng6+ Kg7 30.Qe5+ Kxg6 31.Rg1+ Ng3# 0–1

And then came Round 3, where things already got interesting in the Champs! In our first all GM pairing, Moulthun decided to play for a win as White, sacrificing a pawn for initiative via a pin. Anton initially consolidated, but then Moulthun fought back; he was actually better, but then lost his way in complications approaching the time control; and Anton’s advanced passed d-pawn eventually won him a piece and the game (see game below). Compared to that one, most other games were an anticlimax! Max handled James well as Black, breaking through decisively on the queenside; and Ari continued his great start when he won an extremely complicated tactical game against Kanan. Most other games this round went according to seeding. This all left Anton, Max and Ari as the joint leaders on 3/3 going into the third day.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.a4 b6 10.Nd2 h6 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.Nc4 Bb7 13.a5 bxa5 14.Nxa5 Bxe4 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Bf3 d5 17.0–0 Nf6 18.c4 e4 19.Bg4 d4 20.Qa4+ Kf8 21.Nc6 Qc7 22.Bh3 g5 23.g3 h5 24.Bg2 h4 25.Nxe7 Qxe7 26.Qc6 Kg7 27.Ra5 Rhc8 28.Qb6 Qd8 29.Qb4 Rab8 30.Qd2 Nh7 31.Rd5 Qf6 32.Bxe4 Rd8 33.Ra5 d3 34.b4 Rd4 35.Rf5 Qe6 36.Qb2 Qxc4 37.Bd5 Qxb4 38.Rxf7+ Kg6 39.Qa1 Nf6 40.Ba2 Qb2 41.Ra7 Qxa1 42.Rxa1 Rb6 43.Bf7+ Kh6 44.R7xa6 Rxa6 45.Rxa6

d2 46.Bb3 d1Q+ 47.Bxd1 Rxd1+ 48.Kg2 Kg6 49.f3 Rd2+ 50.Kh3 Rd3 51.Kg2 h3+ 52.Kxh3 Rxf3 53.Kg2 Rd3 54.h3 Kf5 55.Ra5+ Nd5 56.Kf2 Ke5 57.Ra4 Nc3 58.Ra5+ Kd4 59.Kg2 Ne4 60.Ra4+ Ke3 61.Ra2 Rd2+ 0–1
 

Relative normality in the Reserves Round 3, although Jesson Montenegro did upset Eric Shi after the latter made an inaccurate queen move dropping a key central pawn. He tried to sacrifice the exchange instead, but it didn’t work. Tony Davis was on his way to an upset win against Pieter Bierkens, a pawn up in a rook ending, but one inaccurate move at the end allowed Pieter to escape with a draw. Meanwhile, Matthew Yan and Henry Slater-Jones took nearly 100 moves to draw their rook ending. The Classic saw only one upset draw at the top, Jose Escribano accepting a draw offer by Matt Radisich when the latter was slightly better after 19 moves. With five players joint leading this event on 3/3, fireworks were expected over the next three days!

Day 3 - Thursday, January 4: Ari Dale, obviously in fantastic form, pushed hard as Black against Anton Smirnov, but his extra pawn was doubled, and Anton was able to win it back and force a drawn rook ending where neither side could make progress. This enabled Max to take the outright lead on 4/4 by beating George Xie, his four extra pawns more than a match for George’s extra piece. A logjam of players on 3/4 included Bobby, Moulthun and James, all of whom won as Black. Upsets saw Bahman Kargosha draw a tricky double rook ending with Gary Lane; while Brandon Clarke’s typical piece sacrifice on b5 ended up in a wild draw by perpetual check against Kanan. Meanwhile, Gene Nakauchi joined the group on 3/4 by scoring an upset win against WGM Pauline Guichard via active rooks and bishop winning a couple of pawns.

In the Reserves Tom Slater-Jones and Vishal Bhat shared the lead on 4/4, Tom scoring a winning mating attack against Ross Lam while Vishal won a piece to a removing the guard tactic against Willis Lo. Multiple draws on the next few boards saw five players close behind on 3.5/4: Pieter Bierkens, George Lester, Jesson Montenegro, Henry Slater-Jones and Gordon Yang. Of these, Jesson and George swapped into a drawn ending, Pieter beat Shucheng Zheng in a marathon rook ending that should have been drawn, Henry’s extra pawns upset Nathan Hibberd, and Gordon stunned Adrian Chek with a knight fork forcing him to sacrifice the exchange.

The Classic saw another double round day, David Lovejoy taking the outright lead on 4/4 when he beat Paul Glissan with a winning central pawn break leading eventually to mate. The other players on 3/3 all drew, Pertti in a locked position against Kevin Shen and Kevin Hu in an ending with activity as compensation for the exchange against Jose. When David agreed to a quick draw with Pertti in Round 5, Kevin Shen joined him in the lead on 4.5/5 by beating Kevin Hu. Here Shen won material by force after Hu’s errant Rae1 allowed a cute Rxf2 tactic (see game below). Among many players on 4/5 were Peter Wilson (stunned Anthony Chan in a bishop ending) and Tony Baldwin (won a piece to upset Patrick Beahan); an exciting finish was in prospect!

 Hu, Kevin (UR) - Shen, Kevin (1704), Norths Chess Classic Round      5, Board 2 04/01/2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Nc3 Ngxe5 7.Nxe5 Nxe5 8.Be2 0–0 9.0–0 d6 10.Ne4 Bb6 11.Ng3 Be6 12.Qc2 f5 13.b3 Qe7 14.Ba3 f4 15.exf4 Rxf4 16.Bc1 Rf7 17.Bb2 Ng4 18.Bxg4 Bxg4 19.Rae1

Rxf2 20.Qxf2 Bxf2+ 21.Kxf2 Rf8+ 22.Kg1 Rxf1+ 23.Kxf1 Qf7+ 24.Kg1 h6 25.h3 Bd7 26.Re2 Bc6 27.Ne4 Qg6 28.Nc3 a5 29.g4 Qd3 30.Kh2 Qf3 31.Rc2 Qf4+ 32.Kg1 Qg3+ 33.Kf1 Qd3+ 0–1

Day 4 - Friday, January 5: Max got to 5/5 when he finally stopped Ari’s run as Black; a Bxh2+ tactic left Max a pawn up with a big advantage, and he cashed in by refuting Ari’s unsound rook sacrifice. Anton stayed just half a point behind when he beat James Morris in a long game, eventually taking advantage of an exposed White king and winning James’ queen to a pin. Bobby and Moulthun were still only half a point further back after Bobby’s very strong pawn centre won a couple of pieces to beat Gene, and Moulthun defeated Gary Lane when the latter blundered into mate. Upset draws were scored by Jack Puccini against George Xie and Bahman Kargosha against Solo. Jack missed some early chances in a marathon ending which eventually settled into a dead draw; while Bahman’s extra pawn was not quite enough for him to topple Solo.

The Reserves was getting really exciting, Vishal’s draw with Tom in a locked position leaving four players joint leading on 4.5/5! Joining them were Pieter, who won a long bishop v knight ending via a superior king eventually winning a pawn against Jesson; and George Lester, who got at Henry’s exposed king and won a piece. Few upsets this round, leaving many players still in contention on 4/8.

On to the Classic, where the penultimate round saw David Lovejoy reclaim the outright lead on 5.5/6 when he took the queen knight pawn with his queen and got away with it against Kevin Shen, finally engineering a neat tactical finish. Half a point behind were John Redgrave (beat Tony Baldwin), Peter Wilson (won two pawns to upset Pertti) and Daniel Melamed (whose two pieces for a rook upset Jose); would any of them be able to catch David?

Day 5 - Saturday, January 6: Taking an early draw with Anton was, as Max himself put it, a “good tournament decision” – and so he did! It was drawn in just 13 moves; but Bobby’s 9 move draw with Moulthun was even quicker, leaving them both a full point behind Max. Ari’s win against Bahman, via some nice tactics (discovered attack and pin), enabled him to join Moulthun and Bobby on 4.5/6. Kanan, James, Brandon and Andrew Brown were all on 4/6 after defeating Gene, Jack, George and Jilin Zhang respectively. Of these, Brandon’s win was best, his pieces eventually fatally attacking George’s king; while lower down, a relieved Rowan Willathgamuwa finally got off the dreaded duck egg with a draw in a queen ending against Gary McNamara.

Decisive results on both the top two Reserves boards left us with two joint leaders on 5.5/6 going into the rest day: Pieter Bierkens and George Lester. Pieter’s powerful pawn centre won him a key pawn and eventually the game against Vishal; while George won a pawn of his own, which finally proved decisive in his win against Tom Slater-Jones. Willis Lo (who beat Tony Zhong) was joined on 5/6 by upset winners Eric Shi and Inguh Kim. Eric defeated Matthew Yan with a neat skewer/removing the guard trick; while Inguh used the two bishops and a powerful passed pawn to upset Kevin Sheldrick despite his exchange deficit. Donato Mallari and Clive Ng missed a chance to join them when they could only draw with Charles Tsai and Ross Lam respectively.

Final round of the Classic today; and David Lovejoy wrapped up tournament victory in a lengthy knight vs bishop endgame a pawn up against John Redgrave. A titanic struggle for second place then saw Daniel Melamed prevail in a marathon against Peter Wilson. Daniel was better for the whole game, but Peter fought to end up with queen vs rook, knight and 3 pawns! After 99 moves, with Peter missing a forced draw, Daniel got there in the end. Third place was shared by Matt Radisich and Yaqoob Yaqoob after wins over Ivan Case and Stephen Garner respectively.

Day 6 - Sunday, January 7: A rest day for some, with the ACF National Conference in the morning for others. For those who wanted even more chess, there was then the Australian Blitz championships in the afternoon – and blitz the field was indeed what Brandon Clarke did, scoring 10.5/11! Unfortunately, Brandon could not take home the title for eligibility reasons, so that went to second-placed Moulthun Ly on 9/11. Kanan Izzat took out outright third place. I was not there, but the event was very ably looked after by Shaun Press and Nick Cooper; while my other fellow arbiter Alana Chibnall got the chance to actually play some chess!

Day 7 - Monday, January 8: In another “good tournament decision”, Max was happy to take an early draw with Black against Moulthun; both fellow GMs taken care of, and Max still outright leading on 6/7. The lead was still half a point from Anton, who looked to be struggling against Bobby’s powerful passed e3 pawn. Then Bobby sacrificed the exchange, and Anton was doing well for a while, but when the pawn got to e2 Anton was just hanging on, and did well, in the end, to draw by perpetual check (see game below). Ari joined Anton on 5.5/7 with a wild attacking win over Andrew Brown, sacrificing two pieces and eventually crashing his attack through to a winning rook ending a pawn ahead. Brandon continued his good run, drawing a lengthy ending with James Morris while Kanan’s good knight beat Lane’s bad bishop in a mad time scramble.

Smirnov, Anton (2527) - Cheng, Bobby (2504), Aus Champs Round 7, Board 2 08/01/2018

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.e5 dxe5 8.fxe5 Nh5 9.Be3 Bg4 10.Be2 f6 11.exf6 exf6 12.Qd2 Ne7 13.Nh4 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 f5 15.0–0–0 Nf6 16.Bg5 Ned5 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Nf3 Ng4 19.h3 Bh6+ 20.Kb1 Ne3 21.Rde1 f4 22.Nd1 Qd5 23.Nxe3 fxe3 24.Qd3 Rad8 25.Qb3 Kg7 26.Qxd5 Rxd5 27.c3 c5 28.dxc5
 

Rxf3 29.gxf3 Rd2 30.a4 Kf6 31.a5 a6 32.b4 e2 33.b5 axb5 34.c6 bxc6 35.a6 Be3 36.Kc1 Ra2+ 37.Kb1 Rd2 38.Kc1 Kf5 39.a7 Kf4 40.h4 h5 41.Rh2 Rd1+ 42.Kc2 Rxe1 43.a8Q Rc1+ 44.Kd3 e1Q 45.Qb8+ Kf5 46.Qf8+ Ke6 47.Qe8+ ½–½

George Lester became outright Reserves leader on 6.5/7 today by successfully utilising an open b-file to attack and overwhelm Pieter Bierkens’ king. His lead was a full point after Inguh Kim drew a rook ending a pawn down against Willis Lo. They joined Pieter in a group of 7 players all on 5.5/7: the others were Mai Chi Nguyen Phan, Vishal Bhat, Ross Lam and Lalit Prasad. Phan took advantage of tactics to beat Eric Shi, Ross upset Donato Mallari in a marathon rook ending, Lalit stunned Tom Slater-Jones by mating his queenside castled king, and Vishal trapped Noah Gong’s bishop. Clive Ng and Charles Tsai missed a chance to join them, drawing a locked rook and bishop ending, while upsets saw David Marsh win a piece with neat tactics to beat Nathan Hibberd, and Michael Ostapenko win a long ending to cruel Kevin Sheldrick’s chances.

Day 8 - Tuesday, January 9: The accursed air-conditioning had made me sick, so I coughed and spluttered my way through today. No such problems for Mighty Max, who increased his lead to a full point over Amazing Anton and Magic Moulthun with victory over Bobby Cheng via a strong attack on the enemy king along the open h-file. Anton’s pawn sacrifice for active pieces was unfortunately only enough to draw with Kanan despite Anton pushing with an exchange sacrifice and in the end, he had to take a perpetual check. Magic was rather more effective with his efforts to win against Ari Dale, eventually breaking through with a cute knight move based on a pin (see game below). Meanwhile, Stephen Solomon defeated James Morris in a bit of an upset, ganging up on the weak d5 square and eventually decisively winning a piece to a pawn fork.

Dale, Ari (2356) - Ly, Moulthun (2480), Aus Champs Round 8,              Board 3 09/01/2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 0–0 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Bg4 9.f3 Bh5 10.Ne2 c5 11.0–0 Bg6 12.Ng3 Nc6 13.Ra2 Qa5 14.Re2 Qxc3 15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.Rc2 Qb3 17.Rxc5 Qxd1 18.Rxd1 Rfc8 19.Bd2 b6 20.Rb5 Nd8 21.Ne2 Nb7 22.Bb4 Re8 23.Kf2 Rac8 24.a4 Rc2 25.Rb1 Nd8 26.a5 Ne6 27.Bc3
 

Nf4 28.exf4 Rexe2+ 29.Kf1 Rf2+ 30.Kg1 Rxg2+ 31.Kh1 Rxh2+ 32.Kg1 Nh5 0–1

While Max appeared to be running away with the Champs, the Reserves got really interesting today, with Vishal Bhat catching George Lester in the lead on 6.5/8! In this game, George was doing fine until he forgot his Black queen was actually trapped on c2. His counterattacking Rg4 came one move too late, and he had to drop the exchange and the game. Joining George and Vishal in the lead were Mai Chi Nguyen Phan and Willis Lo, victors over Inguh Kim and Ross Lam respectively. Phan’s advanced passed c-pawn cramped Inguh, whose exposed king ended up being mated, while Willis used the two bishops effectively to win the exchange to beat Ross. Lalit Prasad was better when he agreed to a draw with Pieter Bierkens and these two were joined on 6/8 by Clive Ng, David Marsh (whose 3 minor pieces upset Tony Zhong’s queen) and Cameron McGowan, whose advanced passed f-pawn won a piece to upset Donato Mallari.

Day 9 - Wednesday, January 10: Bedridden with the dreaded flu, I was greatly indebted to my fellow arbiters Shaun Press and Alana Chibnall, who along with Chief Organiser Nick Cooper ensured the show went on smoothly without me. Max just about had it all wrapped up after a nice win over Kanan, breaking a pin by force then using a temporary exchange sacrifice to end up two pieces for a rook ahead in an overwhelming position (see game below). He was still a point ahead of Anton, whose neat exchange sacrifice beat Solo when Anton emerged from complications a pawn up in a winning knight endgame, and Moulthun, who won a long ending a pawn up against Brandon. Just half a point further back was Ari, whose queen beat George Xie’s two bishops after a tough fight. Bobby was out of contention after a long endgame draw with Guichard, as was James Morris after he lost piece and game in complications against Gary Lane.

  Izzat, Kanan (2487) - Illingworth, Max (2494), Aus Champs Round 9,    Board 1 10/01/2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 a6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.Qf3 Rb8 12.exf6 Bb7 13.Qe3 Nxf6 14.d5

Nxd5 15.Qd4 Qxg5 16.Qxh8 Nb4 17.Rd1 Nc2+ 18.Ke2 Ke7 19.Qh7 Bh6 20.Ne4 Qf4 21.g3 Bxe4 22.gxf4 Bxh7 23.Kf3 c5 24.Bh3 Nd4+ 0–1

A new outright leader emerged after 9 rounds of the Reserves, Willis Lo alone on 7.5/9 after his queen proved stronger than George Lester’s two rooks, eventually taking advantage of an errant king move to win a piece and force mate. The lengthy top board draw in a rook ending between Phan and Bhat left them in a group of 5 players just half a point behind Willis. Joining them were Bierkens, whose knight and extra pawn beat Cameron McGowan’s bishop; Clive Ng, who won a long ending the exchange up against Lalit; and David Marsh, who upset Eric Shi with a strong attack on his exposed king. Tom Slater-Jones, Charles Tsai, Ross Lam and Michael Ostapenko were all still in contention after wins enabled them to join fellow Queenslander Lester on 6.5/9. Most of these were attacking wins, Michael, in just 19 moves when his opponent blundered a piece. Only Ross had to work hard in a 70 move knight ending against Henry Slater-Jones.

Day 10 - Thursday, January 11: The Mighty One was guaranteed at last equal first after his win against Gary Lane, ably utilising an open d-file and rook on the seventh rank to eventually force a winning rook endgame. With Max now on 9/10, only Anton could still catch him after defeating Brandon Clarke, with aggressive pieces forcing the win of a rook to get him to 8/10. Despite pushing hard in a rook and opposite coloured bishop ending a pawn ahead, Moulthun could only draw with Kanan, leaving him on 7.5/10 and Max out of reach. Joining him on this score was Ari Dale, whose excellent tournament continued when his passed b-pawn won a piece to defeat Solo. Meanwhile, Pauline Guichard left George Xie’s comeback event in disarray with an upset victory, winning the exchange to a neat discovery and converting efficiently from there.

Willis maintained his outright lead on 8.5/10 with an excellent win against Pieter Bierkens in the Reserves, neatly converting initiative and extra pawns into a solid endgame win. But a mere half point behind him was Mai Chi Nguyen Phan, who won a pawn to a removing the guard trick and also converted the ending to beat David Marsh. Vishal Bhat and Clive Ng were a further half point behind after drawing their own game in a locked double rook and minor piece endgame. The Queenslanders all drew with each other on the next three boards to leave themselves out of contention – but not for want of trying to force victory! Tom Slater-Jones drew with Michael Ostapenko in a lengthy ending, Charles Tsai and George Lester agreed to a draw in a locked position with only one pair of pawns exchanged where neither player could really make progress, and Tony Zhong drew with Ross Lam when things simplified into a drawn position.

Day 11 - Friday, January 12: The final day saw Gene leave his king far too exposed against Max, who took advantage to engineer a pretty mating finish (see game below). So Mighty Max had indeed moved mountains, his final result of 10/11 possibly a record score for a defending Australian Champion! Anton beat Pauline Guichard in just 16 moves when she blundered a piece cold and can consider himself a bit unlucky not to win the event. His final score of 9/11 would have seen him take the title most years. The same can be said of Ari Dale, who finished on 8.5/11 after taking advantage of Gary Lane’s lack of development, but at least Ari could console himself with a GM norm for his superb efforts. Moulthun was fourth on 8/11 after a quick draw with James Morris. Kanan and Bobby also had an early draw,  while Brandon Clarke’s desperado sacrifice in a lost position against Solo actually worked when the latter blundered into mate!

Nakauchi, Gene (2208) - Illingworth, Max (2494), Aus Champs Round  11, Board 1 12/1/2018

1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 0–0 9.0–0–0 c4 10.Qf2 b5 11.Kb1 b4 12.Ne2 Qa5 13.f5 exf5 14.Qg3 Kh8 15.Nf4 b3 16.cxb3 cxb3 17.a3

Bxa3 18.bxa3 Qxa3 19.Rd2 Nb4 20.Ng5 Na2 21.Ne2 Ba6 22.Bf4 Rac8 23.Rb2 Bxe2 24.Bd2 Bd1 25.Bd3 Rc1+ 0–1

It was a tense thriller at the top to decide the winner of the Reserves, with Willis Lo better early on with a nice initiative as White. But Phan fought hard, gradually equalised and then took over the advantage when Willis over pushed his attack, and in the end, his king was too exposed - the enemy queen and knights got in and Phan checkmated him (see game below). This won her the event on 9/11, leaving Willis outright second on 8.5/11 when Clive drew and Vishal lost. Clive pushed but could not quite crack Tom Slater-Jones, drawing when Tom’s two pawns were enough compensation for Clive’s extra exchange, while Vishal lost a lengthy rook ending to Ross Lam. Draws between Bierkens and Ostapenko (in a minor piece endgame) and Lester and Prasad meant they missed out on third place, as did Cameron McGowan in an upset loss an exchange down to David Spuler; third was taken in the end by Ross, Clive and Charles Tsai, the latter of whom won a rook and refuted the attempted counterattack to defeat David Marsh.

Lo, Willis (1974) - Phan, Nguyen Mai Chi (2122), Aus Reserves Round 11, Board 1 12/1/2018

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.d3 0–0 8.0–0 Be6 9.Nd5 Qd7 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 f5 12.Qd2 Rf7 13.Rab1 a5 14.a3 a4 15.Bg5 fxe4 16.dxe4 Kh8 17.Nec3 Ng8 18.Nb5 Qc8 19.f4 Na5 20.Qd3 exf4 21.Rxf4 Rxf4 22.Bxf4 Bxd5 23.cxd5 Nb3 24.Be3 b6 25.Qc4 Nc5 26.Rf1 Qd7 27.Bd4 Nh6 28.Qc3 Bxd4+ 29.Qxd4+ Kg8 30.Nc3 Nf7 31.Qf6 Ne5 32.h4 Re8 33.h5 Qg7 34.Qg5 h6 35.Qh4 g5 36.Qh3 Nc4 37.Nb5 Nxb2 38.Qf5 Rf8 39.Qg4 Nc4 40.Rxf8+ Qxf8 41.Nxc7 Ne5 42.Qe2 Qc8 43.Nb5 Nb3 44.Kh2 Qc5 45.Bh3 Kg7 46.Be6 Nc1 47.Qf1 Ncd3 48.Na7

g4 49.Kh1 Qc2 50.Qg2 Nf2+ 51.Kg1 Nf3+ 52.Kf1 Qd1+ 0–1

Detailed results:

Championship

Reserves

Classic

NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

Palmerston North, New Zealand

1-12 January 201By Nigel Cooper

An eye-witness account? Mmmmm...

The Steeple Conference Centre playing venue at the Copthorne Hotel was excellent. Just the right amount of space and quietness, it coped well with the many tournaments that were running during the Congress. Well over 100 participants in the various events augured well for the future of chess in New Zealand. Grateful thanks must go to Mark Noble and his team for their excellent organisation. The loads of juniors were very well behaved!

In the NZ Open, it was interesting to see the growth in female participants with Layla Timergazi, our current no. 1, and Caroline Yan pipping by half a point former no. 1 Helen Milligan and Nicole Qin to the Women's title.

The two GMs from France, Adrien Demuth (2538) and Fabien Libiszewski (2530), did not disappoint, coming in 1st and 2nd. In fact, Adrien's 7 wins and 2 draws game him a performance rating of 2629. Top Kiwis were equal 3rd Russell Dive and Alpheus Ang who thus shared the New Zealand Champion title. Their 6 points kept Anthony Ker (5.5) from winning his 14th NZ title. Bad luck Anthony, better luck next year! The New Zealand competition is pretty fierce, with 6 others also on 5.5 points.

Top Australian participant, GM Darryl Johansen, scoring 5 points, had a tournament to forget. But his six draws meant a lot of others had a memorable tournament. One of them, Australian Haran Salasan (1660) had a good tournament, finishing with 4.5 points. The highest scoring Australian participant was Dusan Stojic, with 5 points. His endgame skills were too good for Russell Dive, with a knight

Former NZ Champion, Michael Steadman, was in good form, with a draw against GM Adrien Demuth in the Open, followed by a win against him in the NZ Rapids. Unfortunately, this game was not recorded, as the person responsible forgot to plug in the computer that was recording the games. I asked Mike if he could remember the moves and record them, but he said he couldn't.

As a participant in and a former winner of the Major Open, I was surprised to see the devastating form of Australian Leon Kempen in this year's Major Open. He demolished anyone who dared to cross his path, finishing with 7.5 out of 9, without losing a game. He showed the value of preparation: playing White against Oliver Picken, a title pretender, Leon prepared for about ten hours a new line that he knew Oliver might play in the Budapest Gambit. Oliver did play it, Leon responded accordingly and as early as move 10 won a piece. Leon was never in trouble in the three drawn games, and had winning chances in them all. A masterly performance.

Stanley Yee was the top New Zealander in the Major Open, losing just one game (to John Pakenham), and neatly destroying the hopes of Martin Post in round 8 who had been leading the tournament after 6 rounds, but who finished with three losses to bring him down to earth with a thud.

My one regret about the tournament is that games that were not played on the boards which had electronic recording devices have not been recorded on the internet at all. When I asked if I could get a copy of some of them, I was told it would cost $20 per game. In this day and age, when there is a perfectly good method of recording games and scanning them into the computer five minutes after the game is finished, it seems a great pity that we continue with old style score sheets that cannot be scanned and put online. The tournaments where this new system has been used have had all games played available online immediately after they were played. This helped players in preparing for their next games, as well as making the games available for posterity. Alas, most of the games played in Palmerston North won't make it to the internet, unless somebody spends the time entering them manually.

For full results, see here.

[Editor:  Our brief report on 31 January states "FM Bruce Watson picked up a medal and an IM norm in the Seniors and FM Ewen Green did the same in the Veterans." That is correct, but at the Asian Seniors Championships in Auckland held 9-15 October 2017!]

  NEW ZEALAND OLYMPIAD SQUADS

The NZCF selectors have chosen the New Zealand squads for the Batumi Olympiad, September 23rd – October 7th. In provisional board order they are:

Open Team

1. IM Russell Dive

2. FM Ben Hague

3. FM Alexei Kulashko

4. IM Anthony Ker

5. FM Daniel Gong

Women’s Team

1. CM Helen Milligan

2. WCM Vyanla Punsalan

3. WFM Jasmine Zhang

4. WCM Joy Qin

5. WCM Nicole Qin

The teams are chosen from a list of players who have confirmed themselves available. Head of Delegation is Hilton Bennett. The Open Team Captain/Coach is Bulgarian Grandmaster Dejan Bojkov, while the Women’s Team Captain is yet to be confirmed.



OBITUARY

 

            VALE DOUG CAREY "..Just A Minute"

                                                                by Greg Wilson

I have been privileged to write this farewell on behalf of Novocastrian chess players. I hope that I do them and Doug justice. He was a gentleman’s gentleman. A man of principle. Generous to family and friends alike and a good Samaritan to all.

Doug was an ardent chess player, kriegspieler and chess varianteer, a man with razor-sharp wit and quick quips, diverse conversation, knowledge, and intellect, and a man that could be penned in Aussie chess culture as an all-round bloody good bloke!

 

1961 NSW Country Teams Champions - Joe Bowdler (President Newcastle Chess Club), H.O. Nicholls, Doug Carey (holding trophy), Ken Hill and Michael Swiszcz

Douglas David Carey, born at Newcastle on 21 August 1925, passed away after a brief period in hospital at Newcastle on 21 January 2018, ninety-two years young.

Doug did not always reside in the Newcastle area. He was the eldest of three children born to Horace and Margaret Carey. Doug’s father was a bank manager for the Australian Bank of Commerce and like all banking families at that period, they were prone to be uprooted by regional transfers allocated by the bank, usually with promotion attached. Doug told me that he spent his first three or four years in Newcastle, but his earliest memories were of Woodburn on (or sometimes in) the Richmond River! Doug’s dad tendered his resignation from the bank in 1932 and the family moved to Orange where they ran a newsagency until 1934 when the family moved again, this time to Sydney. They eventually left Sydney and settled in the Binda and Crookwell area of country NSW circa 1937 before returning to Newcastle in 1955.

Because of the family’s nomadic life, it was decided while residing in Sydney that Doug become a boarder at Christian Brothers’ School Lewisham where he obtained his Intermediate Certificate in December 1939. He gained a bursary for his last two years of high school, completing his Leaving Certificate in December 1941. Dux of the school. Doug loved chemistry, and it has been reported on more than one occasion whilst visiting his parents on school holidays that smoke was seen billowing from the garage! Unwary tree stumps also found themselves subject to cuts, abrasions and burns at the hands of young Carey.

He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge that continued throughout his life and gained a Bachelor of Science, majoring in molecular bioscience graduating in 1952 from Sydney University. Surprisingly, the laboratories where Doug did his practical studies came away unscathed!

Doug thought he had flair as a cricketer in his youth, but when I asked about his leg spin bowling style, a family member told me “He was all arms and legs”. Not quite up to Shane’s standard.

Doug returned to Newcastle in 1955 where he lived out the rest of his life. He attended his local church and found employment at the Newcastle steelworks (Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd) as an industrial chemist where he remained until his retirement.

Doug was also an accomplished ballroom dancer at local level, having been taught at none other than the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Newcastle. He married Essie, who also shared a passion for dance with him, in 1983.

While Doug was studying at Sydney University, one of his fellow students was John Hanks who introduced him to chess or as I would say, got Doug addicted to chess. John Hanks would later play for the Victorian State Team. I once casually reminded Doug about his chess obsession, “Your addiction to chess is greater than Holmes to cocaine!” He burst into laughter but did not argue the point. Also whilst at Sydney University he played kriegspiel. This chess variant remained dear to Doug’s heart to his last days. “When are we playing kriegspiel again?” he would retort on occasion ... “When we can find another victim” I would reply.

Doug was known in the Newcastle chess fraternity as “The Doyen” ….. “Just a minute! You can’t play that. It loses!” Invariably he was correct, much to his opponent’s chagrin. How many times have we at Newcastle heard that phrase uttered? His good-natured wit found him popular amongst people from all walks of life, both at and away from the chessboard.

An insight into Doug’s humour is quill and inked below. His “Just A Minute” even shone through in his penmanship scrawl of the following.
 

The Patzer’s Progress by Doug Carey

A blundering patzer I
A man whose lowly rating
Betrays to who comes by
A victim ready waiting.

My repertoire is fraught
With oversights and lapses
Where just a minute’s thought
Might realise my perhapses.

Perchance you thrive on subtlety,
With play both deep and sound;
When heavy pieces can’t break free,
But knights cavort around.

Or if you’d scorn to count the cost –
Run amok in the Cowling style!
For it's better a bit than a chance be lost
To command an open file!

And if parochial pretention’s what you crave,
Then behold the Duncan Shield!
Where the late great clubs arise from the grave,
And the undead take the field.

Our warriors all throng behind their banners,
With only modest help from whip and goad.
And surely most impressive are their manners,
As eagerly they leap to bear the load!

Doug was extremely proud of the correspondence chess game that he won against the great Frank Crowl of the Melbourne Chess Club. I spoke with Doug one day and we guesstimated that at his peak, Doug would have been 2000 to 2100 rating. He won local tournaments on numerous occasions, the latest in 2014 when he came equal first in the City of Newcastle Championship when he was 89 years old.

Doug served for many years on the committee for both the Newcastle Chess Club and the Newcastle District Chess Association. In 2014, in honour of Doug’s unbroken service to Newcastle chess since 1956, a tandem/teams chess tournament was named after him. This is known as the Doug Carey Challenge with the conditional opening move of 1.c4 his beloved English Opening, or as we say here at Newcastle, the Carey Opening. Doug championed this opening for all his chess career. I have never known him to play any other opening as White. Nor has anybody else. His love for this opening was dervish-like! The earliest known game that I have of Doug’s dates from 1956, the first year that he joined the Newcastle Chess Club. And yes he opened 1.c4. A fresh young blade was about to make his mark on Novocastrian chess … and yes, Doug won the Newcastle District Championship that year.

Doug Carey – Victor Luiga [A23]
Newcastle District Championship - 7.08.1956

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.d3 d4 7.Ne4 Nc6 8.Nxf6+ Qxf6 9.Nf3 Bb4+ 10.Bd2 Bxd2+ 11.Nxd2 0–0 12.Rc1 Bd7 13.0–0 Qe7 14.Ne4 b6 15.e3 Rac8 16.Nd2 dxe3 17.fxe3 Nb4 18.Nb3 Bb5 19.Be4 Qg5 20.Rxc8 Rxc8 21.Qf3 f6 22.a3 Nc2 23.Rc1 Ba6 24.Bf5 24...Bb7 25.Qf2 Nd4 26.Rxc8+ Bxc8 27.Nxd4 exd4 28.Bxc8 dxe3 29.Qe2 Sealed move 29...Qc5 30.Bb7 f531.Kf1 g5 32.Qd1 f4 33.Qf3 e2+ 34.Kxe2 Qe3+ 35.Kf1 fxg3 36.Bd5+ Kh8 37.Qf6# Although the scoresheet actually reads resigned! 1–0

Doug Carey - gentleman, scholar, mate, chessplayer … you are sadly missed by all.

TRAVEL

 

                 IM ERIC ROSEN

Welcome visitor IM Eric Rosen has written about his recent travels on the US Chess Federation website. While Eric’s chess was less than memorable (three 9-round tournaments over 30 days - the Lidums Young Masters in Adelaide, the Australasian Masters in Melbourne and the PCNI Cup in Cilacap, Indonesia), he made up with lots of friends.

Brisbane:”GM Moulthun Ly (one of Australia’s top players) picked me up from the airport, hosted me for a night, and spent a day showing me around Brisbane”.
 

Adelaide: ”After lots of patience and some generous feeding from fellow chess players William Wedding and Alistair Cameron, we managed to set up a fair match…”
 

Adelaide:”Fedja Zulfic secured invitations for me to play IM norm events in Adelaide and Melbourne, giving me an excuse to travel to Australia!”
 

"Alistair Cameron and his family generously hosted me for 10 days during the Lidums AYM. Alistair is a top bloke — a common Aussie phrase which I learned from him”.
 

Melbourne:“IM Ari Dale and his family generously hosted me for 10 days during the Melbourne Invitational. I don’t have any pictures of them, but here’s their adorable cat.”
 

Singapore: “Kevin Goh Wei Ming (right) hosted me in Singapore. Along with our friend, newly minted GM Andrey Kvon (left), we helped my former Webster University teammate, Irene Sukandar, prepare for the World Rapid and Blitz Championships.

 

Indonesia: “Irene and her family generously hosted me and fed me for a two weeks in Indonesia. They also took care of me when I got really sick. Even when Irene left town to compete in the World Rapid/Blitz Championships, her family continued to show me why Indonesia is so amazing.”




BRILLIANCY


 

MELBOURNE CHESS CLUB BRILLIANCY PRIZE 2017

Outgoing MCC President Elizabeth Warren announced before the MCC Blitz championship on 17 February the judging results of the 2017 annual Greg Hjorth Brilliancy Prize for the most brilliant game played at MCC in 2017.

The winning game was Thai Ly's win in the MCC Championship against Hans Gao.

Event "MCC Club Championship"]  [Date "2017.03.27"] [Round "7"] [White "Ly, Thai"] [Black "Gao, Hans"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [Opening "Trompowsky: 2...c53.d5 Qb6 4.Nc3"

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5c5 3. d5 Qb6 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Bd2Qb6 6. e4 d6 7. f4 e6 8. Nf3 g6 9. Rb1 Qd8 10. Bb5+ Nfd7 11. dxe6fxe6 12. f5 a6 13. Bc4 d5 14. exd5exf5 15. O-O Bd6 16. Re1+ Kf8 17. Bh6+ Kg8 18. Re6 Nf8 19. Rxd6Qxd6 20. Rb6 Qxb6 21. d6+ Be6

22. Qd5 Kf7 23. Ng5+ Ke8 24. Nxe6 Nbd7 25. Bg5 Rg8 26. Nc7+1-0

Thai's game won by a point over Greg Canfell's win over Sean Christian Goh in the Hjorth Open. Bobby Yu's win over David Lacey in the Malitis Memorial came third.

The way the winner was chosen is interesting showing that this club values the pursuit of excellence in chess. A multi-judge panel of club eminences voted as follows:

FM Jack Puccini

MCC Club Championship - T. Ly (vs H. Gao) 7 points (1st)
Malcolm Pyke Memorial -T. Narenthram (vs E. Hooi) 6 points (2nd)
Hjorth Open -G. Canfell (vs. S.C. Goh) 5 points (3rd)
Australia Day Weekender -T. Narenthram (vs D. Gusain) 4 points (4th)
Malitis Memorial - B. Yu (vs D. Lacey) 3 points (5th)
MCC Open -D. Gusain (vs T. Ly) 2 points (6th)
ANZAC Day Weekender -S. Urban (vs M. Raine) 1 point (7th)

FM Michael Baron

Hjorth Open - G. Canfell (vs. S.C. Goh) 7 points (1st)
Malitis Memorial - B. Yu (vs D. Lacey) 6 points (2nd)
MCC Club Championship - T. Ly (vs H. Gao) 5 points (3rd)
ANZAC Day Weekender - S. Urban (vs M. Raine) 4 points (4th)
Malcolm Pyke Memorial -T. Narenthram (vs E. Hooi) 3 points (5th)
Australia Day Weekender - T. Narenthram (vs D. Gusain) 2 points (6th)
MCC Open - D. Gusain (vs T. Ly) 1 point (7th)

WGM Julia Ryjanova

MCC Club Championship - T. Ly (vs H. Gao) 7 points (1st)
Hjorth Open -G. Canfell (vs. S.C. Goh) 6 points (2nd)
Malitis Memorial -B. Yu (vs D. Lacey) 5 points (3rd)
Malcolm Pyke Memorial - T. Narenthram (vs E. Hooi) 4 points (4th)
ANZAC Day Weekender -S. Urban (vs M. Raine) 3 points (5th)
Australia Day Weekender -T. Narenthram (vs D. Gusain) 2 points (6th)
MCC Open -D. Gusain (vs T. Ly) 1 point (7th)

Total Points

MCC Club Championship - T. Ly (vs H. Gao) 19 points (1st)
Hjorth Open -G. Canfell (vs. S.C. Goh) 18 points (2nd)
Malitis Memorial - B. Yu (vs D. Lacey) 14 points (3rd)
Malcolm Pyke Memorial -T. Narenthram (vs E. Hooi) 13 points (4th)
Australia Day Weekender -T. Narenthram (vs D. Gusain) 8 points (=5th)
ANZAC Day Weekender - S. Urban (vs M. Raine) 8 points (=5th)
MCC Open -D. Gusain (vs T. Ly) 4 point




Newcastle Open

 By Greg Wilson

This year's tournament attracted 48 players. Newcastle District Chess Association President Brett Saunders was praying for that magic number of 50, but it eluded him yet again. Last year he saw 46 players compete. Brett has made it Waterford crystal clear that he will not relinquish his presidency until he has cracked 50 combatants at a future Newcastle Open!

The tournament had a time control of 1 hour + 10 seconds Fischer and consisted of 6 Rounds - 3 rounds on Saturday and 3 rounds on Sunday. Saturday evening at the Newcastle Open is reserved for the Social Night & Dinner. Masters and titled players, as well as rank and filers, attend this popular aspect of the tournament. Saturday night is for any of the competing players, their spouses and family who wish to unwind. No Saturday evening knight & pawn endgames at Newcastle, thank God!

The NSW Country Champion Trophy was up for grabs. Only players from NSW country areas are eligible for this, with Sydney, interstate or international players being ineligible.

The Round 1 game between IM Gary Lane and Bill Ross of Coffs Harbour has become infamous. Well regarded YouTuber Mato Jelic has made a 5.5-minute video of this 11 move miniature, aptly entitled "Learn From The Author". The game follows an immortal classic where Bobby Fischer defeated Sammy Reshevsky in 1958. Bill now brags that he is a player the equivalent of Reshevsky. This will go down as bit of Novocastrian chess lore ... the day Bill Ross got smashed in 11 moves at the Newcastle Open, bought a copy his opponent's book to see where he went wrong, then had the ultimate humiliation of having the game published in a national tabloid (the Sun Herald) by none other than GM Ian Rogers! Bill has certainly put Coffs Harbour on the map.

IM Gary Lane - Bill Ross [B35] Newcastle Open (1), 10.02.2018

Light annotations by IM Gary Lane

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3 Na5? 9.e5 Ne8 This famous position is even mentioned in my book "The Greatest Ever Opening Tricks and Traps" which was available at the bookstall a few metres from the board. 10.Bxf7+! Rxf7 [10...Kxf7 11.Ne6 dxe6 12.Qxd8 Nc6 13.Qd2 Bxe5 14.0-0 Nd6 15.Bf4 Nc4 16.Qe2 Bxf4 17.Qxc4 Kg7 18.Ne4 Bc7 19.Nc5 Rf6 20.c3 e5 21.Rad1 Nd8 22.Nd7 Rc6 23.Qh4 Re6 24.Nc5 Rf6 25.Ne4 Rf4 26.Qxe7+ Rf7 27.Qa3 Nc6 28.Nd6 Bxd6 29.Rxd6 Bf5 30.b4 Rff8 31.b5 Nd8 32.Rd5 Nf7 33.Rc5 a6 34.b6 Be4 35.Re1 Bc6 36.Rxc6 bxc6 37.b7 Rab8 38.Qxa6 Nd8 39.Rb1 Rf7 40.h3 Rfxb7 41.Rxb7+ Rxb7 42.Qa8 1-0 (42) Fischer, R-Reshevsky,S New York 1958] 11.Ne6 Black resigned and 20 minutes later bought my openings book to read more about the trick. 1-0

Open Division: Lining up for the last round we saw four titled players well in the hunt. IM Richard Jones on 4.5 points, with WGM Jilin Zhang, FM Brandon Clarke and IM Gary Lane trailing a half point behind on 4 points. Richard got crunched by Brandon in the final game, leaving Richard adrift and out of contention. Jilin and Gary won their final encounters, causing a 3 way split for first with IM Gary Lane, WGM Jilin Zhang & FM Brandon Clarke all on 5 points.

Under 1800 Division: A 4-way split for 1st with Pertti Sirkka (Sydney), Geert Geesink (Armidale), Trent Parker (Picton) and Anshika Jain (Sydney) all on 4 points.

Under 1500 Division: Outright 1st was Matt Duncan on 3.5 points. Then a 4 way split for second with Norm Greenwood (Central Coast), Steve Kucera (Newcastle), Milora (Mick) Lukic (Taree) and Dave Groenhout (Sydney) all on 3 points.

Under 1300 Division: Outright 1st was Peter Bradshaw on 4 points (Newcastle). A 3 way split for second with Bela Nemeth (Newcastle), Mick Tracey (Sydney) and Michael Cvetanovski (Newcastle) all on 2 points.

NSW Country Champion: 30 players contested the NSW Country Championship. This was incorporated into and part of the Newcastle Open this year. Karel Hursky (Central Coast) won this outright with 4.5 from 6 points. Peter Bradshaw (Newcastle), Paul Russell (Central Coast), Geert Geesink (Armidale) and Trent Parker (Picton) were hot on Karel's heels with 4 points.

Photo of book referred to above in IM Gary Lane’s annotations autographed by the winner with pedagogic instructions.

TOURNAMENT

 VICTORIOUS VICTORIA?

                                              AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

                                                                                        Sydney 2-3 December 2017

                                                                                                by Charles Zworestine

Well, of course – Victorians are usually victorious in these events! For some years now, there has been no question that Victoria (especially Melbourne) has been the hub of strength in Australian junior chess, winning for example 7 out of the 12 main titles in the last two Australian Junior Chess Championships, and three of the four divisions in the last several editions of the Australian Schools Teams Championships. Could they possibly win all four divisions in 2017? Until now, this has proven to be a bridge too far; but the dominance of Melbourne High School in winning the Secondary Open division for the past four years, and the breakthrough victory for Presbyterian Ladies’ College in the Secondary Girls division in 2016, certainly had them both installed as favourites this year. But the primary divisions are always a little bit more random; could Victoria possibly triumph in both of those and finally Gardiner Chess

With excellent playing facilities at Sydney Grammar School, coaching/analysis rooms for every state and many a long hour of fantastic labour from the superb organising team from the NSW Junior Chess League, we were ready for a great event in 2017!

About 100 children competed as usual in four divisions: Secondary Open, Secondary Girls, Primary Open and Primary Girls. The Primary Open was the only division featuring teams from all 6 states: ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, VIC and WA. The Secondary Open was missing a WA team, so there were two NSW teams; the Secondary Girls was missing a WA and an ACT team, so there were three NSW teams, and the Primary Girls was missing a WA and an SA team, so there were three NSW teams.

All four divisions were played at a time control of 60 minutes for the whole game, plus 10 seconds per move from the start (Fischer). Players did well using their allotted time, even some of the primary players (for once!). So we were set for some exciting chess; let’s see how they all went!

Primary Girls: Terrific Turner!

Round 1: A stunner here already to begin, with the ACT school Turner defeating the Victorian school Balwyn North 4-0 to severely dent Victoria’s chances of a clean sweep! Victorian schools don’t lose 4-0, do they? But here Sulia Van Sebille, Luu Ha Tran, Erin Milne and Sami Le were all able to win their games to give Turner the best possible start. As King’s (QLD) defeated Neutral Bay (NSW) 4-0, the other two NSW teams Lindfield and Summer Hill battled it out for a very hard fought 2-2 draw. This one featured multiple piece blunders and losses of queens to overlooked discovered attacks; fairly typical of games played between primary school students…

Round 2: Another 4-0 win to Turner against Summer Hill, although Shuyi Yan was winning (two pawns up) on Board 3 versus Erin Milne till she walked into mate on g7; while King’s continued the job of doing the business on the NSW teams with a 4-0 win of their own over Lindfield. Amazingly, as a result, 8/8 was not yet enough for the outright lead; Turner and King’s shared it. Balwyn North recovered from their poor start with a 3-1 win against Neutral Bay, Sophia Stephens from Neutral Bay denying them on Board 4 after they had won the top three boards.

Round 3: Not too much to say about this round, except that it was a total disaster for the NSW teams; they all went down 4-0! Turner trashed Neutral Bay; King’s obliterated Summer Hill; while Balwyn North overwhelmed Lindfield. As a result, we entered Day 2 with what looked very much like a two-horse race, with Turner and King’s both sitting on 12/12 and due to play each other in a potentially thrilling Round 5 battle!

Round 4: But before this could happen, King’s had to play Balwyn North; and their chances took a severe dent when they were held to a 2-2 draw. So a Victorian clean sweep was now literally impossible – sorry to ruin the suspense. Turner thus took a two-point lead into the last round with a 4-0 victory over Lindfield, Emily Jin finding a novel way to get her bishop trapped on e3 against Luu Ha Tran. Neutral Bay earnt bragging rights for NSW with a 4-0 win against Summer Hill. Here Sophia Stephens won a piece to beat Mandy Ni, one of several more dropped pieces.

Round 5: Turner made sure of it with a 2.5-1.5 win against King’s, but they could not reach 20/20, as Ella Burden beat Erin Milne and Sulia Van Sebille agreed a fairly quick draw with Cern Wong. Still, a superb winning score of 18.5/20 by Turner and King’s were a convincing second on 15.5. Balwyn North wrapped up third on 12 with a convincing 3-1 win over Summer Hill. A 3-1 victory by Neutral Bay over Lindfield left them fourth and leading NSW team. Sophia Stephens wrecked Jenny Ying’s pawn structure; her eventual victory got her to 3/3 and a share of one of the board prizes (which were sponsored with thanks by Gardiner Chess).

Final Standings:

1st Turner School (ACT) 18.5/20

2nd King’s Christian College (QLD) 15.5

3rd Balwyn North Primary School (VIC) 12

4th Neutral Bay Public School (NSW) 8

= 5th Lindfield and Summer Hill Public Schools (both NSW) 3

Board Prizes:

1. Sulia Van Sebille (Turner) and Cern Wong (King’s) both 4.5/5

2. Luu Ha Tran (Turner – ACT) 5/5

3. Ella Burden (King’s) 4/5. (Erin Milne (Turner) also scored ⅘, Ella won the countback as she won their individual encounter)

4. Sami Le (Turner) and Sophia Stephens (Neutral Bay) both 3/3

Primary Open: Wonderful Waverley!

Round 1: Waverley Christian College (VIC) asserted their authority early here, winning an exciting match 3-1 against Somerset College (QLD). Oliver Yang scored Somerset’s only win from a pawn down against Christopher Lim, eventually piling on the pressure via a pin in a high-class game. The other matches both ended 2-2, Mount Lawley (WA) showing they would be no pushovers against Radford (ACT). Norths Rocks (NSW) against East Marden (SA) was even more exciting, Alex Shu eventually beating Sree Hilangkovan to level. Ethan Retnaraja won pawns and a piece to beat Jason Yan on Board 1; while Hanlin Liu won a miniature by winning a piece against Athena Retnaraja.

Round 2: Waverley consolidated their early lead here with a crushing 3.5-0.5 win against North Rocks, only Alex Shu managing to draw on Board 4 for the NSW team. Maybe the North Rocks players over pushed on the other boards, but Waverley played well. Nonetheless, they were only half a point in front of East Marden after the latter’s 4-0 massacre against Radford. Ethan Retnaraja refuted a pawn sacrifice to eventually launch an attack of his own, win the enemy queen and defeat Ramon Luo; while Athena won the exchange to a discovery to beat Thomas Lin. Somerset remained in contention, prevailing 3-1 against Mount Lawley in another tough battle.

Round 3: North Rocks stunned Mount Lawley 4-0, the first such large defeat for the WA school. Meanwhile, Somerset’s 4-0 win against Radford put them right back in contention. In one of the best matches in this division, Waverley and East Marden drew 2-2 when East Marden won the bottom two boards. Rey Ding’s two extra pawns were too much for Athena Retnaraja, and Christopher Lim used some neat tactics to win a piece and beat Ethan Retnaraja (see game below). Standings Waverley 8.5/12, Somerset and East Marden 8/12; a thrilling Day 2 was in prospect!

Retnaraja, Ethan - Lim, Christopher, ASTC Primary Open Round 3 Board 1, 02/12/2017

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 f6 4.Bb2 e5 5.a3 Nh6 6.e3 dxe3 7.fxe3 Be7 8.Be2 0–0 9.0–0 Nf5 10.Qc2 Be6 11.Bd3 g6 12.Nc3 Qd7 13.Nd5 c6 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Kh1 Na6 16.c5 Nc7 17.g4 Ng7 18.g5 fxg5 19.Bxe5 Rxf3 20.Rxf3 Bd5 21.e4 Qxe5 22.exd5 Qxa1+ 23.Rf1 Qe5 24.d6 Nd5 25.Be4 Re8 26.d7 Rd8 27.b5 Rxd7 28.bxc6 bxc6 29.Qa4 Rc7 30.Re1 Kh8 31.d4 Qe7 32.Qa5 Qf7 33.Rb1 Rb7 34.Rxb7 Qf1# 0–1

Round 4: Somerset continued their fightback with a solid 3-1 victory over East Marden, only Melody Yang losing from a piece up against Caleb Tang when she let the enemy rook, king and connected passed pawns advance into her position. Oliver Yang defeated Ethan Retnaraja with a neat double rook mate; Eason Wang beat Athena Retnaraja when he won a piece to a rook fork, and Raphael Atia won a long ending a pawn up against Nikita Boldyrev. This left Somerset in second place on 11/16, 1.5 points behind Waverley after the latter reasserted their authority by clubbing Mount Lawley 4-0. North Rocks own 2.5-1.5 defeat of Radford kept them in contention for third place. They were level with East Marden on 9/16, but could they hold Somerset in the last round?

Round 5: The answer was yes, holding them to 2-2 after Jason Yan won the exchange to a skewer to beat Oliver Yang. Alex Shu also secured himself a board prize with another win, but it was not enough. East Marden’s 4-0 victory over Mount Lawley pulled them well clear of North Rocks, equal second with Somerset in fact! But it was Somerset who won the countback to claim second, East Marden having to be content with third. Of course, all of this was irrelevant to the winners. Waverley by now had cleared out and wrapped up victory with a solid 3.5-0.5 win over Radford.

Final Standings:

1st Waverley Christian College (VIC) 16/20

= 2nd Somerset College (QLD) (second on countback) 13

           East Marden Primary School (SA) (third on countback) 13

4th North Rocks Public School (NSW) 11

5th Radford School (ACT) 4

6th Mount Lawley Primary School (WA) 3

Board Prizes:

1.  Oliver Yang (Somerset) 4/5

2.  Rey Ding (Waverley) 5/5

3.  Nikita Boldyrev (East Marden) ⅘. (Dylan Chan (Waverley) scored ⅘ as well; Dylan won the countback as he won their individual encounter)

4.  Alex Shu (North Rocks) 4.5/5

Secondary Girls: PLC’s Powerful Play

Round 1: Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC – VIC) were favourites to win this division; and they started well, with a 3-1 win over Somerset College (QLD). Rachel Woon lost on Board 4 against Mayuri Yamaguchi, but PLC won the rest, though Cassandra Lim had to fight hard before beating Lyanna Chan on Board 1. Abbotsleigh (NSW) began even better, hardly raising a sweat in a 4-0 victory over North Sydney Girls (NSW). The other NSW school, Sydney Girls, proved they would be most competitive, defeating Adelaide High (SA) 4-0. Celina Wu had to battle before beating Susanne Wells on top board, but the other three boards all won fairly convincingly.

Round 2: Abbotsleigh’s Board 1 Kristine Quek had been unable to crack Sydney Girls’ top player Celina Wu in the NSW playoff; and history repeated itself here, with Celina perhaps better when they agreed to a draw. Abbotsleigh ended up prevailing 3.5-0.5. This left them just half a point ahead of PLC after the latter’s straightforward 4-0 win against North Sydney Girls. Adelaide High drew 2-2 with Somerset in a match where White won every board! Once more, Board 1 was the toughest struggle. It took a while, but Susanne Wells eventually beat Lyanna Chan.

Round 3: This round saw the critical match between PLC and Abbotsleigh; and what a convincing performance it was by PLC! Never in trouble on any board, they could have won Board 4 as well, but Amy Wang somehow hung on for a draw in what should have been a lost ending; while of the solid wins on the other three boards, probably the highlight was Cassandra Lim outplaying Kristine Quek, trapping her knight to win piece and game. North Sydney Girls stunned Adelaide High 4-0, leapfrogging them in the process. Meanwhile, Sydney Girls staked their claim for second place with a 2.5-1.5 win against Somerset. Celina Wu continued her good form by defeating Lyanna Chan, but Mayuri Yamaguchi saved Somerset by beating Cathy Luo on Board 4.

Round 4: PLC just about had it wrapped up when they defeated Adelaide High 4-0, a massive 3.5 points ahead of Abbotsleigh and Sydney Girls going into the last round. Abbotsleigh took care of Somerset 3-1, Kristine Quek winning several pawns to beat Lyanna Chan. But Sydney Girls were now level with them on 11/16 after mauling North Sydney Girls 4-0, Celina Wu winning a piece in the opening to easily account for Jessica Zhang.

Round 5: Who would have predicted three 4-0 wins in the last round? PLC finished with a very solid 4-0 victory over Sydney Girls, Cassandra Lim trapping Celina Wu’s queen to inflict the latter’s only defeat of the event. PLC thus equalled the efforts of Turner in the Primary Girls, finishing on 18.5/20 to leave them with the equal highest team score in the whole event. Sydney Girls still took third; Abbotsleigh was easily second after their own 4-0 win over Adelaide High, with Kristine Quek winning a wild 14 move miniature against Susanne Wells (see game below). Somerset scored the last 4-0 victory, defeating North Sydney Girls to finish in fourth place.

Quek, Kristine - Wells, Susanne, ASTC Secondary Girls Round 5 Board 1, 03/12/2017

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.c4 e6 5.dxe6 Nc6 6.exf7+ Kxf7 7.Be2 Bc5 8.Ng5+ Kg6 9.Bxg4 Bxf2+ 10.Kxf2 Rf8 11.Qc2+ Ne4+ 12.Ke1 Qxg5 13.Qxe4+ Kh6 14.h4 1–0

Final Standings:

1st Presbyterian Ladies’ College (VIC) 18.5/20

2nd Abbotsleigh (NSW) 15

3rd Sydney Girls High School (NSW) 11

4th Somerset College (QLD) 9.5

5th North Sydney Girls High School (NSW) 4

6th Adelaide High School (SA) 2

Board Prizes:

1.  Cassandra Lim (PLC) 5/5

2.  Jody Middleton (PLC) 5/5

3.  Clarice Woon (PLC) 4/4

4.  Amy Wang (Abbotsleigh) 4.5/5

Secondary Open: Marvellous Melbourne!

Round 1: Here Melbourne High (VIC) were shooting for an unprecedented five in a row, and they began superbly, easily accounting for Lyneham High School (ACT) 4-0. David Cannon ground down Dillon Hathiramani on top board, while Kris Chan beat Saffron Archer in a nice attacking game. Prince Alfred College (PAC – SA) also began well, their 3-1 victory over Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie – QLD) going according to rating after many long battles. Meanwhile, James Ruse was the top NSW team, having beaten the other NSW team North Sydney Boys in the state playoffs, so it was a big shock when North Sydney beat James Ruse 3-1 in the first round. Max Mikkelsen held Kevin Willathgamuwa to a draw in a rook ending, as did Aidan Odenthal with Raymond Li, while Gordon Yang stunned Rowan Willathgamuwa with some neat tactics (see game below), and Maksim Lisau’s endgame win over Brendan Xu was an even bigger shock!

Willathgamuwa, Rowan - Yang, Gordon, ASTC Secondary Open Round 1, Board 1 02/12/2017

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 e5 4.d3 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Nc3 Nge7 7.Nd2 d6 8.Nf1 0–0 9.Ne3 f5 10.0–0 f4 11.Ned5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 fxg3 13.fxg3 Rxf1+ 14.Qxf1 Be6 15.Bh3 Bxh3 16.Qxh3 Qc8 17.Qh4 Qd7 18.Bg5 Rf8 19.Bf6 h5 20.Rf1 Kh7 21.h3 Nd4 22.e4 Bh6 23.g4 Qa4 24.gxh5 gxh5 25.Qxh5 Qc2 26.Ne3 Ne2+ 27.Kh2 Nf4+ 28.Nxc2 Nxh5 0–1

Round 2: After Round 1, some may have thought the event would be a pushover for Melbourne High, but Churchie had other ideas! In a match full of fight and top class chess, they stunned the tournament favourites with a 2-2 draw, David Cannon having to win a tough ending a pawn up against Henry Slater-Jones just to level. Alex Au (Churchie) upset Vishal Bhat on Board 4, but the real shock was Michael Ostapenko toppling Max Chew Lee in a topsy-turvy tactical melee after Max blundered a piece.North Sydney continued their good start with a 2-2 draw with Lyneham, Gordon losing pawns and game to Saffron but Aidan levelling by beating Ruofan Xu. James Ruse recovered well, their 3.5-0.5 win over PAC getting them back in the hunt. Only Kevin drew (with Qi Le Kong-Lim); while Raymond Li used some nice tactics to checkmate Preshaan Thavarajah.

Round 3: Melbourne High put James Ruse out of business with a 3-1 victory, only Raymond Li managing a win with a powerful attack on Kris Chan’s king. Max Chew Lee beat Kevin with his own strong attack; while David Cannon pinned and won against Rowan. This left Melbourne High 2.5 points in the lead after PAC’s 3-1 defeat of North Sydney. Draws on the top two boards, but PAC won the bottom two, Oscar Herrmann’s win over Aidan Odenthal being decisive. Meanwhile, Lyneham dented Churchie’s chances with a 2-2 draw in which White won every game.

Round 4: After a 2.5-1.5 victory over PAC, Melbourne High just about had victory wrapped up, their 11.5/16 giving them a 3.5 point lead. Max Chew Lee slowly outplayed Qi Le, while Vishal Bhat won an exchange to defeat Oscar Herrmann. PAC was thus level with North Sydney on 8/16 going into the last round, the latter drawing 2-2 with Churchie when Black won every game this time! Max Mikkelsen emerged a pawn up after early exchanges against Michael Ostapenko – he won a second pawn to triumph many moves later – but Henry Slater-Jones equalised by refuting Gordon Yang’s piece sacrifice. James Ruse drew 2-2 with Lyneham; Kevin’s knight fork won the exchange to beat Dillon Hathiramani, but Saffron upset Rowan in a lengthy ending.

Round 5: Content to draw all four games fairly quickly, Melbourne High were the champions yet again on 13.5/20 after their 2-2 draw with North Sydney. This enabled PAC to leapfrog North Sydney into outright second place after a convincing 3.5-0.5 win against Lyneham, Qi Le allowing a perpetual against Dillon but PAC winning the other three boards. Could Churchie also overtake North Sydney? They won 3-1 against James Ruse, Michael Ostapenko drawing with Kevin while Henry outplayed Rowan in a lengthy queen ending; but would it be enough? The answer was no. Churchie finished level on 10/20 with North Sydney but unfortunately lost the countback.

Final Standings:

1s Melbourne High School (VIC) 13.5/20

2nd Prince Alfred College (SA) 11.5

= 3rd North Sydney Boys High School (NSW) (third on countback) 10

          Anglican Church Grammar School (QLD) (fourth on countback) 10

5th James Ruse Agricultural College (NSW) 8.5

6th Lyneham High School (ACT) 6.5

Board Prizes:

1.  Max Mikkelsen (North Sydney) 3/5

2.  David Cannon (Melbourne High) 3.5/4

3.  Raymond Li (James Ruse) and Aidan Odenthal (North Sydney) both 3/5

4.  Alex Au (Anglican Church Grammar) 4/



The Churchie team from Queensland heading to Sydney with the school's Chess Coordinator Max Condon. Photo credit to school coach IM Alex Wohl. Taken from the first issue of the Chess Association of Queensland Newsletter under its new editor Tyson Walker.







 

 RECENT TOURNAMENTS

OVERSEAS

20-27 Jan Open Mariánské Lázně  2018 - A1 [Marienbad] the Czech Republic

FM Yi Liu scored an IM norm with 5.5/9 points defeating one GM and drawing with 2 GMs to come equal third.

20-28 Feb Aeroflot Open Moscow Russia

This has started Tuesday last week in the Cosmos Hotel which is the largest in Russia with 1,777 rooms.

The Open A event has 92 participants of which about 70 (am not good at counting) are GMs headed by GM Vladimir Fedoseev 2724 of Russia and GM  Santosh Gujrathi Vidit 2723 of India.

9-13 Fischer Random Match Baerum Norway

The Fischer Random match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura utilizes a variant of chess where one of 960 starting positions is used rather than the standard one. Thus has a mere variant now taken centre stage of the chess world. Its progenitor Fischer thought this form of chess would preclude book learning and place a premium on sheer skill. Carlsen won the match 14-10 with a 9-7 win in the rapid (double points) and a 5-3 win in the blitz. The prize fund is just under $200,000

Jon Ludvig Hammer commented: “When Carlsen was asked how he had prepared for his Fischer Random match against Hikaru Nakamura, he said he had studied the castling rules. I don’t think it was meant as a joke, even though the comment surely triggered some giggles. The World Chess Champion needs to study castling rules? It actually makes perfect sense: Other than the castling rules, Fischer Random is identical to chess – and Magnus Carlsen is a very good chess player. After both sides castle, it’s just a plain old game of chess.”

Yasser Seirawan is known to be a huge fan of various chess variants, such as Fischer Random. “Personally, old fogeys like me love the variant! We don’t have to study openings to a mind-numbing depth but can play chess without preparation. You play freely, with a clear head, that is not cluttered with last-minute preparation. Results depend on your form and ability to concentrate. Come with lots of energy and good things happen.”

23 Jan-1 Feb Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival Caleta England

The main event is the Masters (frequently voted one of the best open tournaments in the world) contained about 90 GMs before I gave up checking. The 276 person field was headed by a seven-way tie on 7.5/10. The top four on tie-break went into a playoff for the title won by GM Levon Aronian. Aronian beat GM Richard Rapport in the semi-finals and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final who in turn had defeated defending champion GM Hikaru Nakamura in the semi-final. The picture below shows the Australian connexion:

WIM Heather Richards, WFM Alana Chibnall,WIM Arianne Caoili’s husband (GM Levon Aronian) and IM John-Paul Wallace (resident in London) Photo: Alana Chibnall

As well as playing in the 10 round Masters, Richards and Chibnall also played in the 5-day Challengers A and the Challengers B, accounting for both mornings and afternoons when lesser mortals would have preferred repose.

Shaun Press comments: “IM John-Paul Wallace was the best of the Australian players finishing 5/10, although his final round win came at the expense of WIM Heather Richards. A win for Richards would have seen her score a WGM norm (by the narrowest of margins) but it wasn't to be. Alek Safarian finished alongside Richards with 4 points, while WFM Alana Chibnall score 3.5”.

AUSTRALIA

30 Jan ACT Blitz Championships Belconnen ACT

Willis Lo won the 2018 ACT Blitz Championship with 8.5/9 conceding one draw to FM Michael Kethro who finished in second place on 7.5 ahead of IM Andrew Brown on 7 in a field of 18 at the University of Canberra.

30 Jan Simul by GM Max illingworth Cammeray NSW

In a 32 board simul given by the Norths Club Champion, GM Max Illingworth went close to again recording a “picket fence” score achieved in a previous simul (with fewer players) conceding only a draw to 13-year old Winston Zhao Chen and a loss to Justin Vowles.

The rules for the simul were:

1. Each player was provided with a chess clock with Max allowed 90 minutes and the player a 60 minutes time allocation.

2. Players were allowed to make a move and press the clock without waiting for the presenter to be present.

3. Players were limited to a rating of under 2000 with the highest rated player on 1949.

4. A limitation on the number of boards was set at 40.

1 and 2 above speeded up the simul enormously with Max making his moves very quickly, in most cases without hesitation, with the finishing time about 10.45pm.  In the past, 20 board (plus) simuls by the club champion from time to time conducted without a clock have always finished close to midnight with adjudication on some late-finishing games required to complete the simul.

-Norman Greenwood

6 Feb Norths Blitz Championship Cammeray NSW

52 players participated with FM Brandon Clarke continuing his tournament-winning ways to finish on 9/9, with Blair Mandla second on 7.5 and Eric Shi third on 7.

10-11 Feb Newcastle Open (incorporating the NSW Country Championship) Hamilton NSW

See separate report.

17 Feb Perth Open Leeming WA

Full results are here.

Prizewinners:
Open: =1st: Ihsan Ferozkohi & FM Patrick Gong (5.0/6) =3rd: Jens Mueller (Germany), Derwent Maggs & FM Tristan Boyd (4.5/6)

Rating Group A (1701-2000): 1st: Leo Padva (Germany) - (4.5/6) =2nd: WFM Kathryn Hardegen & Craig Kinsman (4.0/6)

Rating Group B (1001-1700): 1st: Gary Donaldson (4.0/6) 2nd: Jack Byram (3.5/6)

Rating Group C (Under 1000 or Unrated): =1st: Ari Petridis, Riley Stolk & Angus Wylie (3.0/6)

18 Feb MCC Blitz Championship Fitzroy Vic

Final standings can be found here:

Prize Winners:

Open =1st - FM Michael Baron and IM Ari Dale (11.5/13)

3rd - IM James Morris (10.5/13)

Rating Group 1=1st - Daniel Holland, Brendan Zou (7.5/13)

Rating Group 2 =1st - Nick Verginis, Alejandro Villa Torrano (7/13)

24-25 Feb Queensland Reserves and Tin Cup Robina Qld

This year two tournaments, the Queensland Reserves and the Tin Cup, have combined to make the one tournament played at the Robina Community Centre for those rated under 1750. Winner Al Matthew Canafe won in a do-or-die last round endgame from an 81-person field with 5.5/6, which earned him the right to enter the 2018 Queensland State Championships later in the year. Equal 2nd were Steven Cooke, Byron Morris, Bernard  Sakran & Ben Peach on 5.

25 Feb City of Sydney Rapid West Ryde NSW

Played over 7 rounds  at Norths CC in the heart of Sydney’s suburban sanctuary of Cammeray with 69 players, this tournament was handsomely won by IM Igor Bjelobrk jointly with welcome visitor FM Luis Javier Sanchez Botella from Spain both on 6/7 points, followed not far behind by a most respectable tie between FM Brandon Clarke (still registered to the English Chess Federation) shared with FI Neil Wright, FM Kevin O’Chee and FM Yi Liu the latter of which happy band of men as recently as January obtaining his second IM norm at Mariánské Lázně [Marienbad] in the Czech Republic to the great glory of his home state Queensland) all on 5.5 points.

Doubtless, there were multiple exciting encounters but while this editor continues to sit in splendid isolation in his ivory tower slowly sinking into a Slough of Despond (if such a mangled metaphor can indeed be visualized) he regretfully has no other intelligence which he can usefully impart on this important Championship. Anyhow, one could look at the final cross-table here.

COMING EVENTS

OVERSEAS

10-28 Mar Candidates Tournament Berlin Germany

1-10 Apr Asian Youth U8, 10, 12, 14,16, 18 Championship Chiang Mai Thailand

21-25 Jun World Cadet U8, U10, U12 Rapid & Blitz Championships Minsk, Belarus

25 Jun-4 Jul Commonwealth Championships Delhi India
“Each Commonwealth country is eligible to field one man, one woman, one Senior (Above-60), one Junior Girl (Under-20), one Junior Open (Under-20) player and one open and girl entries each in under-8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 as official entrants. Their boarding and lodging will be provided free in a star hotel on triple sharing basis...All Grandmasters will be provided free accommodation at the official hotel.”

6-16 Aug Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival Abu Dhabi UAE

4-16 Sep World Junior and Girls U20 Championship Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey

23 Sep-6 Oct 43rd World Chess Olympiad Batumi Georgia

1-11 Oct Millennium  NZ Chess Festival Palmerston North NZ

16-19 Oct World Youth U14, U16, U18 Rapid and Blitz Championships Halkidiki, Greece

19 Oct-1 Nov World Youth U14, U16, U18 Championships Halkidiki, Greece

2-12 Nov Asian Seniors Championship Tagaytay, Philippines

3-16 Nov World Cadet U8, U10, U12 Championships Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), Spain

9-28 Nov World Championship Match London UK

17-30 Nov World Senior Championship 2018 Bled Slovenia

By the shores of Lake Bled  Flickr User jsouthorn

24 Nov-3 Dec World Youth U-16 Olympiad Manavgat-Antalya, Turkey

AUSTRALIA

4 Mar NSC Allegro Open Balwyn North Vic

9-12 Mar ACT Championships Campbell ACT

10-11 Mar March Open Redcliffe Qld

10-12 Mar Begonia Open  Ballarat Vic

10-12 Mar Tasmanian Championships (not Prospect Vale but in any case in) Launceston Tas

The TCA will confer the title of Tasmanian Chess Champion to all 1st place finishers of this event, the title of Tasmanian Senior Chess Champion to the top finisher over 60 years of age (subject to at least 1 entry) and the title of Tasmanian Women's Chess Champion to the top finishing female player (subject to at least 2 entries).

11 Mar Newcastle Chess 960 Fischer Random Tournament Newcastle West NSW

11 Mar City of Sydney Blitz West Ryde NSW

17-18 Mar Dubbo Open Dubbo NSW

17 Mar Arnold Sports Festival Transfer Chess Melbourne Victoria

18 Mar Arnold Sports Festival Blitz Melbourne Victoria

18 Mar WA Allegro Championship Leeming WA

24-25 Mar South West Open Mount Barker WA

27 Mar Southern Suburbs CC Easter Blitz Leeming WA

29 Mar-2 Apr O2C Doeberl Cup Canberra ACT

1-2 Apr Gufeld Cup North Woodvale WA

25 Apr Tony Sturges Memorial & Blitz Sandy Bay Tas

4-7 May Churchie International East Brisbane Qld

19-20 May Peninsula Open Redcliffe Qld



ELECTORAL

 

CHESSPLAYERS IN THE TASMANIAN ELECTION

 By Kevin Bonham






As a chessplayer who is also a political analyst, or probably that should go the other way around these days, I am always keeping an eye out for examples of chessplayers and former chessplayers running for office.  At this year’s Tasmanian state election (Saturday 3 March) I have so far found two:

* Felix Ellis is one of five Liberal candidates for the seat of Braddon in the state’s north-west.  Ellis was recently a member of the Devonport chess club and reached #7 on the Tasmanian active players list in late 2016.  A plumber by trade, Ellis has been unrecognisable to fellow chessplayers in his smartened-up candidate garb.  In Tasmania’s Hare-Clark electoral system, candidates compete not only against other parties but also against candidates from their own party.  As Ellis is the only Liberal non-incumbent in the seat, he doesn’t have a realistic chance of winning on March 3, but he could be in line for a seat by countback should one or two of his ticketmates win but then resign during their term.

 
* Kevin Midson is one of the five Labor candidates for the seat of Franklin in the state’s south.  Midson was a state junior age-group winner in the mid-1990s and comes from a large family, at least four members of whom have played in tournaments.  Kevin’s father, Michael Midson, is a life member of the Hobart Chess Club having been Treasurer of the club and its precursors for over 35 years.  Labor have no recontesting incumbents in the seat of Franklin. Midson, an Australian Workers Union organiser, has been campaigning very actively and s probably one of two candidates fighting for Labor’s second seat should Labor manage to win two seats in the electorate.
 
Another suspect known to us who is involved in the election behind the scenes is 1993 joint state champion Brad Stansfield.  Stansfield has announced that after the election he will retire from his long-held position as Premier Will Hodgman’s Chief of Staff, a position that has seen him routinely listed at the pointy end of media-compiled lists of Tasmania’s most powerful people.  Stansfield tied for the Tasmanian chess title at age 16 while living on King Island, and still holds the record as the youngest ever Tasmanian state champion. 
 
Evidence of chess talent in Tasmania’s third party, the Greens, has been scarce in recent times. 1990 state junior champion Tom Baxter contested a Tasmanian upper house seat for them in 2013, finishing a distant second behind an unbeatable incumbent.  Baxter is a prominent University of Tasmania corporate governance expert but his media appearances are often cheekily trolled by Stansfield on account of him having once run for the Greens.
 
Tasmanian electoral law requires me to state that this article is authorised by Kevin Bonham, 410 Macquarie Street, South Hobart.
 



ARCHIVAL

 A Backward Look at the Australasian Chess Review

                                                                                                                                                     Part 2 (Oct-Dec. 1929)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 By Bob Meadley

In the October issue, Cecil abandoned the Bridge section and added he was sorry he had sent out so many freebies of the August issue as now he could get subscribers if he had August!

The oldest chessist was the Rev. Charles L'Oste of St. Helens Tasmania at 101 years of age. NZ had a 97-year-old player. The chess anecdote was a feature of the early issues and always some literary material such as "Did Shakespeare Play Chess?" This old chestnut raised its head in the 19th century and Cecil thought he probably did.

The first photograph appeared on p.80 of a serious Gary Koshnitsky with a mini-bio of his move from Queensland to Sydney. Mr. Prowse had lent that photo block.  Gary (Gregory was his real Christian name) was born in Kishinev USSR 1907 and had a great rivalry with Cecil Purdy for many titles over many years,

By November he wrote that "ACR cannot live on subscriptions alone". He considered that the editor of an ordinary weekly chess column which was 1/10th of the work makes from 50 to 100 pounds a year and to continue running the ACR at an actual loss of money...He made his first appeal to the chess world and said that chess clubs could contribute say 1/2 pounds to his costs. Likewise, donations would be acknowledged. The magazine had started with the onset of the great world depression which lasted until the war but it was clear support was there.

Sadly Landau Younkman had died aged 53. It was a good 1-page tribute to him and his wife and son.                                                                     

The arrival of Maurice Goldstein was wonderful for Cecil. They were kindred spirits. He also hoped that F.L. Vaughan of NZ now in Sydney would return to chess (he did and his collection is in the Mitchell Library Sydney).      

This and the next two photos are taken from Rare Book N794.1/8/Vl. F. L. Vaughan’s Games 1962. This is one of many Vaughan items in the Vaughan/Van Manen Collection in the Mitchell Library Sydney.

 

The lovely photo of the 'Cranbrook Schoolboy' was another Prowse block from 'The Austral'. Cecil had won the NSW Ch'ship and a fine short biography included his friendship with the late A.E.N. Wallace, the former champion. Cecil was born in Port Said in 1906, the older son of Dr. J.S. Purdy, the Sydney Health Officer. He had lived in NZ and Tasmania and had been in NSW since 1919. His meeting with Lawrence Crakanthorp and his son Spencer led to his love of chess. They gave him a "very high notion of chess players in general, which increased his attraction to the game”.    

Page 105 ACR Nov. 1929. Cecil’s main chess was played with mentors as he concentrated on chess journalism (‘fountain pen & typewriter’).

The wit of Dr. Zukertort, the sardonic, was on display in this exchange:

"Do you follow any special regime on a chess tour? Do you do anything special to keep the brain clear and clean?"

Dr.Z: "No, I don't diet. But as a rule, I take a bath a few days before I start".

Maurice Goldstein told the NSWCA Christmas function that ACR was "better in every way than the British Chess Magazine." There were some unusual entertainers including H.V. Crane who reminisced about the Tarrasch/Gunsberg encounter at Manchester where Tarrasch sprung his Ruy Lopez trap. It seems Gunsberg left without a word leaving Tarrasch "lolling back, thumbs in waistcoat and placidly victorious, cigarette in teeth".

My 1929 volume is full of ink notes, for example, the Round 7 game of the NSW Ch'ships on p.132 has unnamed players. They are White S. Crakanthorp & Black W.J. Greenfield. Some of the Bogoljubov/Alekhine World C'ship games were given and a very interesting article by Rudolf Spielmann on why he can't win first prizes anymore. There is a nice article by Cecil on the "True Joy of Chess" and a psychology article by A. Gaty. The blindfold chess article by Koshnitsky is nicely historical with lots of names.

Fred Hawes was in festive mood as the year ended and I include the first and last verses of six.

"A game of chess

My hope forlorn?

Nay, Santa slips,

I take a Pawn.

St. Nicholas, Ho!

What is this thing?

Quintuple gift,

Weregild-My King.”

The year had ended and the grind had begun. It was the right time for a printed chess magazine but the depression was there and money was tight. Could the magazine last?

The final photograph is of a Living Chess exhibition in Hyde Park, Sydney c.1967 given to me by Mrs. Sheil. I would really like some biographical details on her if anyone knows of it. She is mentioned twice in the SMH 6 August 1972 p.131 & 12 Nov. 1972 p.167. There is also confusion about spelling her surname. Was it SHIEL or SHEIL?

Any comments or old photos, etc about ACR are welcome and will be fitted into future issues. Remember I am not a chess player but I am a chess lover.

FICTION

              TRIP TO THE DOCTOR

It was crowded at the surgery and a long wait ensued in spite of the appointment having been made well beforehand. There were, however, an interesting assortment of magazines scattered around and about the waiting room and even spilling onto the floor in splendid abundance so I didn’t mind so much.

I hadn’t quite got through reading Ian Rogers in 50 Moves magazine as he discussed the key moments from the Australian Championships where Max Illingworth demolished the field to win with 10 out of 11 points when the Amazon manning the ramparts crooked her little finger and summoned me in, an interruption as unfeeling and unempathetic as it was inhumane.

https://50movesmagazine.com/collections/all
 

https://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk/

https://www.chess.co.uk/chess-magazine-february-2018/

http://www.64.ru/?/en/

https://www.newinchess.com/new-in-chess-2018-1


 

https://www.europe-echecs.com/la-revue-europe-echecs-detail.html?id=652

https://www.acmchess.com/

https://rochadeeuropa.com/

http://www.schuenemann-verlag.de/schach-magazin/

http://www.messaggeroscacchi.it/?p=6086

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Palam%C3%A8de#/media/File:Le_Palam%C3%A8de_(no._1_vol._1,_1836_%26_no._1_vol._2,_1842).gif
 

[Front covers of the first and second series of Le Palamède the world's first chess periodical in France in 1836 by Louis-Charles Mahé de la Bourdonnais. In Greek mythology, Palamedes joined the Greeks in the expedition against Troy and was the inventor of dice.The association between chess and dice escapes this observer but may not have been so obtuse to a nineteenth-century gentleman.]




https://www.peonderey.com/2018/02/23/pdr-133/




ARCHAEOLOGY


 

Rare Arabic-inspired chess piece found in Tønsberg, Norway

Archaeologists recently made a particularly spectacular find in Tønsberg - a rare and richly decorated chess piece.

The piece is richly decorated with circles. Photo: Lars Haugesten, NIKU

Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) found the small medieval chess piece before Christmas during an excavation in Anders Madsens gate in Tønsberg.

Tønsberg is Norway’s oldest city and excavations there are followed closely by historians and archaeologists.

The protruding snout on the top has two dotted circles.  Photo: Lars Haugesten, NIKU

The archaeologists found the piece in a house dating to the 13th century. But it is the Arabian pattern that fascinates the archaeologists the most. The design of the piece has an abstract shape, and is designed according to Islamic tradition, where no human figures are to be depicted, says project manager for the excavation in NIKU Lars Haugesten

The piece is made of antler and is cylindrical with a protruding nose on top. The height of the piece is 30 mm and the diameter is 26 mm. Lead was probably inserted in the middle of the piece when it was made, making it stand firmly on the chessboard.

-NIKU Lars Haugesten

GALLERY


 

             FISCHER IN REYKJAVIK

Bobby Fischer giving autographs in Reykjavik 1972 when he became world chess champion. On the left, his Icelandic bodyguard, “Saemi Rock” Palsson. Photo: Olaf Magnusson



 

        Problem of the Month – No.23

                                              Selected by Peter Wong

Brian Harley & Kenneth Howard

The Observer 1925

White mates in 2

Visit OzProblems.com for an introduction to chess composition and more problem examples.

For solution, see the end.

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AUSTRALIAN CHESS FEDERATION

President

Gary Wastell gwastell@netspace.net.au

Deputy President

Bill Gletsos bgletsos@optusnet.com.au

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Kevin Bonham k_bonham@tassie.net.au

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Leonid Sandler leonidsandlerchess@gmail.com

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Rob Watson secretary@auschess.org.au       

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Bob Keast bboch@optusnet.com.au

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AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY CHESS ASSOCIATION

Cam Cunningham camcunningham8@gmail.com

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Richard Gastineau-Hills RichardGH@nswjcl.org.au

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Mark Stokes markcstokes@hotmail.com

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George Howard georgeshoward@hotmail.com

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Tom Saltmarsh catowi@internode.on.net

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Chris Wallis chris@darkhorsechess.com

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Norbert Muller norbert.muller@iinet.net.au

VirtualPieces

Solution to Problem of the Month – No.23

Key: 1.Qxf4! (threat 2.Ne3).

1…Nf7 2.Qd4, 1…Nf3 2.Qd6, 1…Nd3 2.Rd4, 1…Nd7 2.Bb7, 1…Nc6 2.Rxb5, 1…Nxc4 2.bxc4, 1…Nf5 2.Qe4, 1…Rxf4+ 2.Nxf4.