Editorial
by IA Keong Ang
Welcome to the first ACF Newsletter of 2021.
Chess events are starting up for the year. Several that are scheduled to be held in places where some semblance of normality have returned are listed in this newsletter . Support these events by participating in them if you are able to.
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ACF Notices
2021 ACF ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Annual ACF National Conference serves as the Annual General Meeting that organisations incorporated under the Australia Capital Territory’s Associations Incorporation Act are obliged to conduct.
Continuing uncertainty about interstate travel options and special legislative provisions have caused and enabled this year’s Conference to be held on-line.
A report on the proceedings can be expected in the next issue of this newsletter.
2020 FIDE ONLINE WORLD CADETS & YOUTH RAPID CHAMPIONSHIPS
Australia was represented as follows in each of the tournaments that comprised the 2020 Championships.
Under-18 (born 2002 or later)
Open: Albert Winkelman (ACT)
Girls: Lillian Lu (Vic)
Under-16 (born 2004 or later)
Open: Michael Ostapenko (Qld)
Girls: Sulia Van Sebille (Vic)
Under-14 (born 2006 or later)
Open: Seth Peramunetilleke (NSW)
Girls: Ekaterina Gratchev (Qld)
Under-12 (born 2008 or later)
Open: Oscar Gao (WA)
Girls: Angela Feng (Vic)
Under-10 (born 2010 or later)
Open: Jayden Ooi (Qld)
Girls: Deethya Sai Katakam (Vic)
Links to a video of the closing ceremony and results of each of the 10 tournaments found here.
ON-LINE EVENTS IN 2021
Due to the continuing prevalence of the Corona virus pandemic in many countries, it can be expected that numerous, traditionally over-the-board international events will be held on-line during 2021.
Players seeking selection to represent Australia in these events need to be aware that the organisers may require participants to be members of or registered with the internet site (“platform”) that is authorised by FIDE to present the event concerned.
FIDE has recently introduced rules of play to apply across the various platforms and expects participants, arbiters and organisers to be aware of them when involved in future on-line events. Applicants for selection to participate in these events are advised to familiarise themselves with the applicable FIDE rules and any procedural requirements that might be unique to the platform concerned. This can normally be done by playing casual games on the platform concerned during the days prior to the start of the event.
Details of FIDE-authorised and other major on-line events in 2021 will be included in issues of this newsletter during 2021.
ACF CALENDAR 2021
ACF affiliates are continuing to build fixtures for 2021. Many of these events will be incorporated in the next issue of the ACF Calendar, which normally includes a day-by-day breakdown to help planners avoid unnecessary clashes.
All organisers of ACF- and FIDE-rated competitions and other events of general interest are most welcome to submit schedules for inclusion in the next version by emailing executive@auschess.org.au
The ACF calendar will also include dates for major international events likely to be of interest to Australian readers and potential participants.
FIDE is having considerably greater difficulty in predicting suitable dates in the foreseeable future. The following are links and/or extracts from recent FIDE calendars and announcements that might be revised at any time. Although no additional information is currently provided for many of these events, these links may be the first source of new information when available.
Djerba International Festival (Djerba, Tunisia) 20 Feb – 1 Mar 2021
World Amateur Championship (Heraklion, Crete, Greece) postponed to Apr/May 2021
World School Individual C’ps (Halkidiki, Greece) 2-11 May 2021
World Seniors Championship (Assisi, Italy)
● World Cadet u8 to u12 (Standard-rate) Championships (Batumi, Georgia)
● World Youth u16 Olympiad (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan)
Links to other events currently or soon-to-be listed by FIDE may be followed from here.
● denotes events for which a volunteer Manager would normally be appointed. Applications for appointment as Manager will be invited as dates and location for each event are confirmed. Responsibilities include registration of participants, compliance with ACF behavioural guidelines and regulations that event organisers may refer or assign to Trainer, Coach, Chief, Head or Leader of Delegation.
Please email inquiries concerning Manager appointments to executive@auschess.org.au with cc to selections_director@auschess.org.au and phone 0409 525 963 or (03) 9787 7974 if an inquiry is not acknowledged within two days.
2021 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS – BIDS INVITED
With insufficient time remaining for arrangements to present the Championships during the usual month of January, the ACF Council will consider bids from affiliated associations and others to present these events later during 2021.
Australian Women’s and Australian Seniors Championship titles, if not awarded in separate tournaments at other times, may be awarded to the highest scoring eligible players in the Australian Open.
Other events often conducted in conjunction with the Australian Open include the Australian Blitz Championship and a shorter, limited-rating tournament.
Bids to conduct the Open as a single event or in conjunction with other events may be lodged by email addressed to executive@auschess.org.au .
AUSTRALIAN PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR 2020 MEDALS & AWARDS
Recipients of the 2021 Koshnitsky (administration) and Purdy (chess journalism) lifetime achievement awards are to be announced during the 2021 National Conference and will be included in the next issue of this newsletter together with the winners of Australian Player-of-the-Year 2020 medals and awards.
The Koshnitsky and Purdy medals are lifetime achievement awards and cannot be awarded to a previous recipient. The Steiner, Arlauskas and Viner medals are awarded in respect of achievements during the most recent calendar year, with no limit on the number of previous successes.
FUNDING SUPPORT PROGRAM (FSP)
Applications for activities to commence before March 2021 have now closed.
Applications for activities commencing in March through August 2021 should be submitted by 31 January 2021.
Applications and reports must be endorsed by the ACF-affiliated State Association concerned and provide the information specified in the relevant form, including the schedule for the activity and statements of expected and actual income and expenditure.
Given present circumstances, the Council will take into account the exceptional uncertainties being faced by organisers and will consider applications based upon reasonable estimations and expectations.
Email executive@auschess.org.au for further information and forms.
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News from the States / Territories
Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory Chess Association Inc (ACTCA)
Upcoming Events
Doeberl Cup 2021
Got a room?
Book your discounted accommodation for Doeberl Cup 2021
Happy New Year! The Doeberl Cup team is back on deck for 2021 and ready to roll - we hope you are too.
This week: Accommodation! We have negotiated discounted rates at three hotels - Abode Woden, Abode Narrabundah*, and the Midnight Hotel. Discounts can be accessed using a promo code which can be used with their online booking system or via phone/email.
*At the time of writing, the promo code has not been configured for Abode Narrabundah. We will advise when this has been resolved.
Instructions on how to book using the promo code available on the website: Booking Accommodation
We're looking forward to seeing you in April for some OTB chess!
- The Doeberl Cup Organisers
New South Wales
New South Wales Chess Association Inc (NSWCA)
Rooty Hill Chess Club will resume in 2021 on Tuesday the 12th of January.
We will start with a 9 round FIDE rated Swiss tournament, time control 90 mins + 30 seconds per move.
Entry fee into our FIDE rated 90/30 club tournaments is $10.00. This will be held over 10 Tuesday nights, no play on Australia Day. Every round starts at 7:15pm, but players are expected to be there by 7:00pm latest.
Entry is online only via our website.
You have to be a member of West HQ (Rooty Hill RSL).
You will then have to Join the Rooty Hill Chess Club $35.00 Adult, $20.00 Junior, Membership is online only.
This tournament will be open for entry from Monday 27th of December on our website. The tournament is run using the FIDE approved Baku accelerated swiss draw. Entry is limited to 60 players.
Non Member entry is $30.00 entries open January 4th.
Wearing a mask whilst in the chess room is mandatory. Social distancing is to be observed and hand sanitiser is to be used every time you enter the chess room. No handshaking.
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland Inc (CAQ)
South Australia
South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)
Recent Events
2020 Lidums Australian Allegro Championship
A Big CONGRATULATIONS to Chi Phan who tied with IM Leonid Sandler (whose article about this event appears below) and IM Trevor Tao for first in this year’s Lidums Australian Allegro Championship. It was played for the first time at the Chess Centre instead of at Glenelg and attracted 50 players on a fairly hot Boxing Day.
Kyle Leaver looked to have it won when he beat Trevor Tao to lead at the end of Round 5 by a point but he lost the next game to Leonid and then in the last round to Chi. Chi lost only one game to IM Mark Chapman, while Leonid lost to Henry White, who had a great tournament to finish outright 4th.
Equal 1st: Chi Phan, IM Leonid Sandler, IM Trevor Tao
Under 1800 Rating: Henry White
Under 1500 Rating: Tom Loughlin
Under 1200 Rating: Thomas Roger
Unrated Prize: Misheck Muza & Dominic Newlands
Women’s Prize: Elizabeth Ports & Lee Fraser
Veteran’s Prize: Edgar Mdinaradze
Junior Prizes: Max Phillips, Ilya Eimery, Dewmi Liyanage & Connor Caruso
Many thanks to Aivars Lidums for again supporting the tournament and Bill Jordan for being the Arbiter, with Peter Sanders the Assistant Arbiter.
2021 January Blitz
Congratulations to Minir and Kyle on sharing equal first in the first Blitz Tournament of 2021.
The Tournament had an impressive number of newcomers taking part – simply wonderful. A big welcome to Kane, Nikola, Kevin, Jospeh and Peter.
Minir took part in a State Championship a few years back and is obviously still a force to be reckoned with, as he beat Kyle in the last round to tie for first. And Minir lost to Alistair Maria who is rapidly becoming one of the State’s top performers.
2021 January Jamboree
Hot chess in Adelaide
The first of the Jamboree chess events took place on the 10th of January and it was hot, dry and a typical Adelaide summer day. Typical that is, apart from some serious chess being played at the Chess Centre by 38 intrepid souls battling it out over the chessboard.
It was fabulous to see so many old and new players taking part. We had originally planned to have 4 tournaments but eventually merged the ‘Returnees’ with the Open Tournament and the ‘Beginners’ with the Junior Tournament and it all went very well – lots of exciting games, fun and a fabulous distraction from the heat.
Congratulations to Aaron and Kyle on winning the Open but they were well tested by a very strong field that included Jeff Hams and Kevin Sheldrick. It was particularly pleasing to see Raad Rahman and Benita Paukkunen again amongst the top boards while Mathew Drogemuller is improving rapidly and Nikola Markovic is obviously a player to watch. And a big welcome back to Alex Hanysz and Calvin Fong!
Upcoming Events
JANUARY JAMBOREE
3 consecutive Sundays – 10, 17 and 24 January 2021 from 1.30pm to 4.00pm
Chess Centre, Ranelagh St Adelaide
$10 per player per Sunday
5 rounds (15 mins + 5 secs)
Small cash prizes
2021 South Australian Championship
This is our most important event for the year
It attracts 10 of the best players in the State each year and they battle it out over 9 gruelling weeks and it has a special unique feature, found nowhere else in the world – the Sulik Challenge!
Frank Sulik was an amazing player and he won our State Championship 9 times, check our Honours List on this website, and when he died, his relatives donated $10,000 and a huge Cup for the first person to win the title 5 times, starting in 2010. So far, only one person has won the title twice…
When: 7.00pm, consecutive Tuesdays from the 2nd of February to the 30th of March 2021
Venue: The Chess Centre of South Australia, 10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide.
Entry Fee: $150 Adult, $120 Concession, late entry fee $10 (after 12pm 1st of February) Qualification limits apply.
Format: 9 Rounds, Round-Robin format. FIDE Rated. Players are expected to play all rounds.
Time Control: Fischer Classic – 90 Minutes + 30 Seconds a move
2021 South Australian Candidates Championship
When: 7.00pm, consecutive Tuesdays from the 2nd of February to the 30th of March 2021
Venue: The Chess Centre of South Australia, 10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide.
Entry Fee: $130 Adult, $110 Concession, late entry fee $10 (all entries after 12pm 4th of February) The Candidates tournament is open to all players.
Format: 9 Rounds, Swiss System. FIDE Rated.
Time Control: Fischer Classic – 90 Minutes + 30 Seconds a move
Tasmania
Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Victoria
Chess Victoria Inc (CV)
Recent Events
Victorian Blitz Down Under
As it was reported in the previous ACF newsletter, please see the link here, Chess Victoria organized and sponsored an exciting online event.
Players representing six different federations including seven International Grandmasters and six International Masters took part. The well-deserving winner was Armenian GM Hrant Melkumyan with an amazing score of 9.5 points from 10 games.
Interestingly, he played from his residence in the Australian Capital Territory. Second place with 7.5 points was occupied by 2020 Australian Champion GM Temur Kuybokarov from Western Australia and third place went to GM Daniel Fernandez (6.5 points) representing England but residing in Sydney.
The top Victorian player GM Justin Tan scored 6 points and was awarded the title of Victorian Online Blitz Champion of 2020.
The top female prize went to WFM Giang Nguyen from South Australia.
Full results can be seen on the CV website here
All games can be downloaded from the CV website here
Latvian Grandmaster Arturs Neiksans provided very instructive and entertaining commentary which can be replayed on YouTube here
A big thanks goes to CV executive member Tom Kalisch, the driving force behind the Victorian Blitz Down Under, and to the Chief Arbiter Dr.Peter Tsai.
Upcoming Events
We are pleased to report that after a very tough year Victorian Chess Clubs are conducting some on-site events with many more planned in the next weeks and months.
The iconic Melbourne Chess Club's Saturday Allegro tournaments are going from strength to strength.
In one such event two Grandmasters, one WGM and two International Masters were among the players!
The traditional Australia Day Weekender will take place at MCC from January 22nd.
Our chess players are looking forward to facing each other for over-the-board games!
2021 Ballarat Begonia Open
When: Saturday 6th to Monday 8th March
Venue: Ballarat Tech School - Federation Uni SMB Campus, 136 Albert St, Ballarat Central VIC 3350
Entry Fee: $140 Adult full price, $120 Concession, Early-bird entry with $20 discount available until 23rd February 2021
Format: 7 round Swiss tournament
Time Control: 90 minutes per player, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.
Western Australia
Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
Recent Events
2020 XMAS TEAM BLITZ TOURNAMENT
The Xmas Team Blitz (3minutes plus 2 seconds) was held at the North Woodvale Primary School on Sunday, 13th December. There were 32 participants divided into three divisions. For the upper two divisions (Open and Junior Rated) team blitz was played similar to the Team Lightning event last hosted by Gordon Dunlop in 2014. For many years this was a popular end of the year tournament event. The only differences were that this time we stuck to one-time control and teams of two, rather than three.
The open division consisted of six teams of two players; Andrew Hardegen & Ned Tomic, Jamie Laubbacher & Edward Calado, Keegan O'Mahoney & Sarah Jane Hearne, Patrick Gong & Jonathan Smith and Tim Hare & Dylan Gough. The winners were Jamie & Edward. 2nd= were Tim & Dylan and Patrick & Jonathan.
The second division consisted of rated Juniors. There were five team of two players with some interchange between divisions. The teams were Celine Ong & Datis Dadras/Brody Dunstan, Eamon Harris & James Kroger, Eric Deng & Jerry Wu, Jayden Song & Marshall Dunstan and Shannon Koh & Shuvekha Siva Peragasam. The winners were Eric & Jerry (14 points) and second were Shannon & Shuvekha (13 points).
In the lower division an individual Blitz tournament was held. The players were Billy Wilson, Brody Dunstan, Charis Ong, Dario Manzi, Datis Dadras, Heshikka Siva Peragasam, Jayden Chan, Madina Manzi, Orlando Arriagada Thomas, Mason Conte and Sebastian Gough, Joint first were Brody and Heshikha. Equal third were Charis and Datis.
Special thanks to the all the people that provided assistance including Andrew Hardegen (Open Division), Dylan Gough,(general) Georgina Harris (junior registration and database) and Paul Harris, (overall control of the two Junior divisions).
Report kindly provided by Alan Wolstencroft.
Upcoming Events
Fringe Chess - State of Play 2021
2021 WA State Library Blitz
When: Sunday 31st January
Venue: Great Southern Room, 4th Floor, WA State Library, 25 Francis Street, Perth WA 6000
Entry Fee: $20 if registered by Friday 30th January, (email, text message, etc. with cash payment to be made on the day) or $25 to register on the day. Late entrants must register before 12:40pm on the day.
Format: 11 Round Swiss, to be submitted for ACF Quick rating. FIDE Laws of Chess apply. Appendix B (Blitz chess) applies, with Article B.4. No half point byes are offered.
Time Control: 3 minutes initial time, with an increment of 2 seconds per move.
2021 Conti Summer Allegro Championship
When: Sunday 7th February
Venue: Paul Conti Wines, Wanneroo Road, Wangara
Entry Fee: $30 Senior Players, $20 Junior Players under 18
Format: Open Allegro 7 Round Tournament, to be rated on the March 2021 ACF Quick list.
Time Control: 15 minutes initial time, with an increment of 3 seconds per move starting from move 1.
2021 Southern Suburbs Open
When: Tuesday 9th February – Tuesday 23rd March
Venue: Southern Suburbs Chess Club, Leeming Primary School (Meharry Rd, Leeming)
Entry Fee: $25 (SSCC members), $35 (SSCC non-members)
Format: Swiss, 7 rounds, open to all CAWA members. ACF-and FIDE-rated.
Time Control: 90 minutes, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.
2021 Perth Open
When: Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st February
Venue: Perth Chess Club, North Woodvale Primary School.
Entry Fee: $40. A discount of $10 applies to entries received before the closing date. Players must be current members of the CAWA. CAWA Membership, valid until the end of 2021, may be purchased for $30 (Standard) or $20 (Junior / Concession).
Format: Swiss (Dutch variant), with 6 rounds, to be rated on the March 2021 ACF Classic list. Vega software (with the JaVaFo engine) will be used for pairings.
Time Control: 60 minutes initial time, with 10seconds increment per move starting from move 1.
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2021 Oceania Zonal
Chess Victoria Announcement
After careful consideration we have decided not to proceed with the 2021 Oceania Zonal Championship.
The current rules and regulations make it impossible to conduct a successful tournament.
We are all hoping that one day, in the near future, Chess Victoria will be able to organise a big event in our region.
Leonid Sandler on behalf of Chess Victoria.
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Second Annual Rising Stars Championships
by Chief Organiser Jilin Zhang and Chief Arbiter Charles Zworestine
As the name of the Rising Stars chess tournament suggests, it was intended to encourage elite level junior players in NSW to continue putting more effort into chess and to aim high. Chief Organiser Jilin Zhang proved in 2019 she was just as good at organising as arbiting and playing (she is also a WGM and IA) – the first event last year was a resounding success! Of course with COVID, there were doubts the event could be held again this year. But persistence paid off, and we were very fortunate to be able to hold the second tournament during the global pandemic. The time control was 90 + 30; FIDE rated with prize money, it is one of the few high-level junior events in NSW. There was also a (60 + 30) Reserves tournament comprising the most promising of Jilin’s students. Lots of interesting chess was anticipated; so let’s see how it all went!
Round 1 showed top seed Cameron McGowan would not have it all his own way, as Eva Ge’s aggressive play as Black saw her reach a won rook and opposite coloured bishop endgame with her opponent’s rook stuck moveless on h4! With a passed pawn on c2, Eva just had to see how to get her rook into the enemy position to win; but sadly for her, in time pressure, she instead released the rook and lost a tough ending. Jack Keating’s attack had less luck, as Daniel Melamed was rock solid in reaching a drawn queen and rook ending. Marco Zheng began well by beating Alaina Vincent. Bottom seed Daniel Wang (last year’s Reserves champion) put up a fight against Anthony Fikh; but Anthony eventually broke through with a successful attack on Daniel’s king.
Eva rebounded well with a win against Daniel Wang in Round 2, although Daniel again put up a good fight; while Anthony had a solid draw as Black against Marco. Jack attacked well as White to defeat Alaina. But the most action was again in Cameron’s game, where his bishop exchange blundered his queen to a discovery – but Daniel Melamed did not see it, instead recapturing with his own queen and trading queens! Poor Daniel was then ground down positionally in a lengthy ending. So after two lost positions, Cameron ended Day 1 as outright leader on 2/2 – incredible!
Of course most of the players had not played over the board chess for months; was rust the cause of the blunders? Daniel Melamed did a good job of overcoming this, seemingly preferring being White in the first game of the day! He was convincing in beating Eva Ge in Round 3, finishing her off by exploiting her habitual time pressure. At least this round Cameron was not losing, but Alaina played well to force a drawn ending; a shame, then, when she blundered and lost a piece and the game to a tactic. Jack messed up his opening as Black against Anthony, losing the game quickly; while Daniel continued to show lots of fight, but moved too fast and lost to Marco.
Jack was in no mood for mercy in Round 4, attacking ferociously and wiping Daniel Wang off the board in half an hour! Cameron played his best game so far against Anthony, his first blunder free game seeing him reach 4/4 with a grinding positional win. Marco kept the pressure on by beating Eva to reach 3.5/4, Eva again losing in her time pressure. Alaina (who’d been unlucky to this point) got herself off the mark by beating Daniel Melamed. After carelessly losing a piece early on to a Noah’s Ark trap, Daniel fought hard to try and build up an attack as compensation; but it was too much to concede, and Alaina mercilessly exploited her advantage to force victory.
Cameron maintained his lead on 5/5 with his Round 5 win against Daniel Wang; starting to struggle in such elite company, hopefully Daniel was benefiting from the high level experience. But Marco (4.5/5) kept the pressure on with a positional win against Jack. Anthony was also too solid as White against Daniel Melamed, his victory in this game leaving him in a good position on 3.5/5. But the most interesting game was the battle between Eva and Alaina, with the former (as Black) winning a pawn to a tactic early on and seemingly well on the way to victory. Alaina had other ideas, however; she fought like a tigress, managed to create complications in Eva’s (you guessed it!) time pressure, and eventually won her pawn back into a drawn rook ending.
This clearly wore Eva out; she was no match for Jack in Round 6, the latter winning pawns and eventually the game. Anthony lost touch with the leaders after losing to Alaina; he messed up the defence of his king, fell into a crushing Nxe6 tactic and resigned before mate. Daniel Melamed was winning easily against Daniel Wang, a piece up with queens off; but he got careless when he touched the wrong piece, and was lucky he had (and found) one line which worked tactically to maintain his advantage and win the game! But clearly the critical game was between Cameron and Marco; and Cameron looked well on the way to victory in a queenless ending when he exploited his positional advantage to win one of the weak enemy pawns. But Marco fought hard, finally managing to force opposite coloured bishops; and when all the rooks came off Cameron could no longer win, the draw leaving Marco still just half a point adrift at the top.
So to the critical final round, where Alaina finished a strong recovery from her 0/3 start with a win against the luckless Daniel Wang. With 3.5 points from her last 4 games, she did superbly to reach 50% - great effort Alaina... Anthony’s final round win against Eva snared him third place with 4.5/7; but all eyes were on Marco, after Cameron’s early draw as Black against Jack opened the door for Marco to finally catch him! A tough game ensued against Daniel Melamed, with Marco ending up in an opposite coloured bishop ending a pawn ahead; it was tough but winning, and Marco showed great technique to triumph in the end. So equal first on 6/7 for Cameron and Marco, and a much deserved shared title. An armageddon game was held for show, with Marco as Black having draw odds. Cameron raced the clock when he got king and rook versus king, but could not quite make it; so a draw was a fitting end to this fascinating event!
Final Standings: =1st Cameron McGowan, Marco Zheng 6/7; 3rd Anthony Fikh 4 1⁄2; 4th Jack Keating 4; 5th Alaina Vincent 3 1⁄2; 6th Daniel Melamed 2 1⁄2; 7th Eva Ge 1 1⁄2; 8th Daniel Wang 0.
The Reserves was dominated from start to end by ten year old Richard Zhang, with a final score of 8/9. He was solid throughout, often trading down and winning in the endgame; and he took his time and thought far more than any other player. He was only in trouble once, losing queen for rook and bishop and finding himself in a lost position against Josh Liu; but the latter could not see how to stop his passed pawn, so agreed to a draw. His only other half point dropped was when he traded too much into a drawn king and pawn ending against Benjamin Jiang. In his critical game against second placegetter Daniel Chen, he won a rook and fought off Daniel’s attempt at counterplay via passed pawns to win in the endgame. Daniel himself was lucky in a couple of games, coming back from a rook down to win one game and a piece down to draw another; but he fought hard in every game, so he deserved his second place. All players will benefit from the experience; hopefully next time they will take their time a bit more!
Final Standings: 1st Richard Zhang 8/9; 2nd Daniel Chen 6 1⁄2; 3rd Benjamin Jiang 6; 4th Dean Chen 5 1⁄2; 5th Josh Liu 5; =6th Angela He, Caleb Wang 4 1⁄2; 8th Ethan Gao 3; =9th Daniel Ding, Renee Pan 1.
Thus ended a fun tournament... According to the players, it was good to have some chess, and they hope they will meet everybody again next year! The wish is to make it an annual event. We were also very grateful that we just finished on time on the last day, as the day after could have seen more restrictions. But we survived, and the chess thrived; bring on next year’s event!
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FIDE News Highlights
by IA Keong Ang
FIDE approves Online Chess Regulations
The FIDE Council has approved a new set of rules to be applied to official online chess competitions. The document, which will be incorporated to the laws of chess, is the result of a joint effort by a dedicated task force, in which several FIDE Commissions were involved.
“The vast experience of different competitions held online has been taken into account: many commissions’ experts (mainly arbiters and Fair Play Panel members) have been involved in FIDE major events and other online competitions held throughout 2020. The initial draft was prepared by the Rules Commission, with invaluable input from the Arbiters and the Qualification Commissions. Fair Play and the FIDE Commission for people with Disabilities also added specific rules adjusted to the online format, which are included as appendixes. During the final stage, the Global Strategy Commission was responsible for consolidating all the inputs, giving the documents its final shape”, explains Pavel Tregubov, Secretary of the GSC.
The document's structure is similar to that of the “over-the-board” Rules of Chess. The first part refers to basic rules, while Part II addresses specific rules for online competitions. Part III is entirely devoted to competition rules and divided into two subparts:
A) Online competitions with supervision
B) Hybrid competitions.
The so-called “hybrid competition” is a new format where the games are played online, but the participants are physically present in a public place like a club, federation headquarters, hotel, et cetera.
“We see a lot of potential in this format, which would allow hosting chess competitions with participants scattered across multiple venues, in a branded environment. This increases the opportunities for media exposure and sponsorship activations”, explains David Llada, FIDE’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. FIDE expects the hybrid format to be used in some official events in the near future, and some Continents have expressed their intention to hold their Zonal and even Continental Championships under this format.
FIDE Online Chess Regulations (pdf)
[Editor]
With the possibility of international and even interstate travel uncertain, there may be attempts to organise "hybrid competitions". However such efforts may not be worthwhile unless games from Hybrid Competitions are eligible for the same ratings, norms and titles as normal over the board competitions. This would especially be the case for official events like Zonal or Continental Championships where the possibility of winning direct titles is a main selling point to attract participants.
No fees for rating Rapid and Blitz tournaments
Last December, the General Assembly approved the new financial regulations, which came into effect on January 1st.
These regulations cover all administrative matters and fix some important omissions. Among other changes, the regulations now include a reference to Rapid and Blitz tournaments, which were not contemplated before. Article 1.2 of appendix 2 of the Financial Regulations mentions that "All rated tournaments are subject to rating fees. FIDE Council, at its sole discretion, may waive or reduce rating fees for rapid and blitz tournaments for a given year."
We are happy to confirm that the FIDE Council has indeed decided "to waive rating fees for over-the-board Rapid and Blitz tournaments held in 2021 and 2022".
This decision is in line with FIDE's general strategy of reducing all kinds of fees as much as possible. In the coming days, we will publish a more detailed report on how administrative fees have been reduced or waived altogether during the past two years.
More information:
New FIDE Financial Regulations (effective from January 1, 2021)
Previous version of the FIDE Financial Regulations (effective until December 31, 2020)
[Editor]
It is good news that FIDE rating fees for Rapid and Blitz tournaments that have been waived since FIDE started rating Rapid and Blitz would continue to be waived in 2021 and 2022. Significant rating fee reductions have occurred in Round Robin and Scheveningen tournaments. For example, Round Robin tournaments whose players' average ratings are below 2230 now have the same EUR 1 rating fee per player as Swiss system tournaments. Rating fees only become higher when players' average ratings are high enough to make player norms available. Even then they are significantly lower for a typical 10 player Round Robin of 9 rounds. These reductions in FIDE rating fees would make it easier for organisers to have FIDE rated tournaments.
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Problem of the Month - No.56
Selected by Peter Wong
Werner Speckmann
Schach 1962, 2nd Prize
White to play and mate in 2
Visit  OzProblems.com for an introduction to chess composition (including a Glossary) and more problem examples.
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Book Review
by Denis McMahon, President, Tasmanian Chess Association
Naughty Nonsense, Lascivious Limericks and Much More
David Ellis
Copy of oil painting of author by Jill Williams. It was an entrant for Black Swan Art Prize, a premier Western Australian art competition.
David Ellis is a highly revered and much loved elder statesman of the West Australian chess community. He is a three times W.A. Champion and has participated in many Australian Open and Closed Championships, with a best result 3rd.=. Before migrating to Australia, he was West of England, Cornish and Kent champion. For more than 24 years now, he has also been the chess columnist for the West Australian newspaper. In 2001 he received the Australian Chess Federation Medal for outstanding work as a chess correspondent, the year after receiving the Queen’s Australian Sports Medal.
It turns out that he’s also a terrific writer. Naughty Nonsense, Lascivious Limericks and Much More is a delightful (and sometimes ribald) romp in the tradition of English comics like Frankie Howerd and the ‘Carry On’ crew. It’s a world where gentle whimsy and the rhythms of bush poetry come face to face with Dr. Spooner and Mrs. Malaprop.
For chess players, there’s much to savour. W.A. players will immediately recognise the ‘multi-talented Gordon’ and ‘that short-tempered chess player Wally.’ In Regret, the tone turns ruminative as Dave relives a loss in the final round of the 1972 County of Cornwall Championship – his last tournament before leaving the U.K – where a draw would have secured him his third Cornwall title. There’s even a few chess-related jokes and riddles.
In short, it’s a fun read by an alert, intelligent and amused writer and I’m pleased to commend it to the Australian chess community. Copies are available to Australian readers for the very keen price of $10 + $3 postage. Please email the author (ellisd19@bigpond.com) to order yours today.
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2020 Lidums Australian Allegro Championship
by IM Leonid Sandler
For almost the last decade (since 2013 to be exact) it became a tradition for me to play at the Lidums Australian Allegro Championship. This one-day event is always on Boxing Day (December 26). Usually I travel from Melbourne to Adelaide by car together with our foreign guests who tend to participate at the Australasian Masters Invitational tournaments. We always have good times exploring the huge, great state of South Australia.
For all these years a significant part of this enjoyable experience has been thanks to our fantastic host SACA President Alan Goldsmith, his wife Rina and their countless cats and dogs! They are always happy to enjoy the company of chess players from all parts of Australia and the world. Without any doubt it is an amazing sunset view from the terrace of their absolute beachfront house, which has inspired many visitors who were lucky to stay there!
Last year due to all-too-well documented events, our traditional Australasian Masters Invitational tournaments did not happen. However, I still followed my tradition and made the nearly 800 kms trip to Adelaide. This time in the company of my 18-year old son Maximus who just finished school and got his driver's licence.
For many years the Boxing Day Lidums Australian Allegro Championship was held at the bayside suburb of Glenelg. In 2020 due to COVID19 restrictions, the organisers were forced to conduct the tournament at the Chess Centre of South Australia in CBD. The event was hotly contested during a very warm day!
Full results can be seen on SACA website here
Alan Goldsmith the President, organiser, player, host is presenting the prize to the co-winner IM Leonid Sandler with another co-winner IM Trevor Tao on the left back of the photo and tournament arbiter FM Bill Jordan on the right.
Inside the SA Chess Centre. Interesting graffiti in the area below.
Chief Arbiter FM Bill Jordan announcing the pairings with SA 2020 Champion Kyle Leaver looking on.
Australian Chess legend 84-years old Aivars Lidums talking to Maximus Sandler with former SA Champion FM Chris Depasquale looking on.
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Recent International Events
New Zealand
Congratulations to:
CM Oliver Picken, 1st place.
Congratulations to:
FM Daniel Hanwen Gong, 1st place.
Congratulations to:
FM Nicholas Croad, New Zealand Chess Champion 2021.
Felix Xie, New Zealand Rapid Chess Champion 2021.
IM Anthony F Ker, New Zealand Lightning Chess Champion 2021.
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Upcoming International Events
All upcoming events should be noted as awaiting confirmation in view of government COVID-19 guidelines.
New Zealand
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ACF Personnel
The Australian Chess Federation is an incorporated association (number A 01325) under the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 of the ACT. It is the governing chess organisation in Australia and is affiliated to FIDE (the Fédération Internationale des Échecs).
ACF COUNCIL
State Asssociation Delegates
NSWCA Delegate: Richard Gastineau-Hills nswcouncillor@auschess.org.au
CV Delegate: Chris Wallis viccouncillor@auschess.org.au
CAQ Delegate: Hughston Parle hughstonparle@gmail.com
SACA Delegate: Michael Caruso sacouncillor@auschess.org.au
TCA Delegate: Tom Saltmarsh tascouncillor@auschess.org.au
ACTCA Delegate: Cam Cunningham actcouncillor@auschess.org.au
CAWA Delegate: Andrew Hardegen andrewhardegen@iinet.net.au
Executive Committee
President: Gary Wastell president@auschess.org.au
Deputy President: Bill Gletsos deputy_president@auschess.org.au
Vice-President: Kevin Bonham vice_president1@auschess.org.au
Vice-President: Leonid Sandler vice_president2@auschess.org.au
Secretary: Rob Watson secretary@auschess.org.au
Treasurer: Bob Keast treasurer@auschess.org.au
COUNCIL-APPOINTED PERSONNEL
Assistant Secretary: Mark Stokes markcstokes@hotmail.com
Assistant Treasurer: Michael Caruso sacouncillor@auschess.org.au
FIDE Delegate & Admin Officer: Kevin Bonham fide_delegate@auschess.org.au
FIDE Trainers Contact: Leonid Sandler fide_trainers@auschess.org.au
FIDE Ratings Officer: Bill Gletsos fide_ratings@auschess.org.au
National Ratings Officer: Bill Gletsos acfratings@auschess.org.au
National Ratings Officer: Graham Saint g_saint@tpg.com.au
Junior Chess Coordinator: Hughston Parle qldcouncillor@auschess.org.au
Selections Director (acting): Tom Saltmarsh selections_director@auschess.org.au
Medals & Awards Convenor: Gary Wastell awards@auschess.org.au
Equipment Coordinator: Bob Keast equipment_officer@auschess.org.au
Newsletter Editor: Keong Ang auschessnews@chessnews.asia
Webmaster: David Esmonde webmaster@auschess.org.au
Assistant Webmaster: Dave Thomas thomasdav26@gmail.com
Vacancies
Information concerning the following positions which the Council has sought to fill in recent times can be obtained by email to executive@auschess.org.au or by phoning 0409 525 963.
Archives Director
Archivist (Games)
Grand Prix Director
Government Relations Director
Public Officer
Publicity Director
Trophies Officer
The term of office for all Council-appointed officers ends each year at the first Council meeting after 30 June.
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Solution to Problem of the Month - No.56
Werner Speckmann
Schach 1962, 2nd Prize
White to play and mate in 2
Tries: 1.Bb3/Rb5? bxc1=Q!, 1.Bc4/Rc5? cxb1=Q!
Key: 1.Bg8! (waiting). 1…bxc1=Q 2.Qb6, 1…cxb1=Q 2.Rc6, 1…a2 2.Qxb2.
Visit OzProblems.com for an introduction to chess composition (including a Glossary) and more problem examples.
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Newsletter Article Contributions
This newsletter requires content.
Please email the editor if there is something you would like published in the next edition of this newsletter.
Examples of articles:
- Upcoming chess event.
- Results of a chess event that was completed since the last newsletter was published.
- Any information that is chess related that could be interesting.
Please submit article contributions by Monday 8th February 2021 for publication in the 2nd week of February 2021 newsletter.
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