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Australian Chess Federation
Newsletter
No. 602 - 17 April 2021
Editor: Keong Ang
newsletter_editor@auschess.org.au
Published in the Second Week of Each Month
Content Contributions are Most Welcome
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Editorial

by IA Keong Ang

Welcome to April 2021's ACF Newsletter.

Starting from this newsletter, reports of events that are mainly located in an Australian State or Territory would be reported under the State or Territory within the "News from the States / Territories" section. This should help arrange articles in a more logical manner and hopefully make reading easier.

With international COVID-19 quarantine free travel between Australia and New Zealand resuming on Monday 19th April 2021, more over the board chess playing opportunities become available. There are lists of upcoming chess events happening in the near future published in this newsletter that readers can now travel to participate in.

ACF Notices


ACF CALENDAR 2021
ACF affiliates are continuing to build fixtures for 2021. Several new listings have been included in the latest version of the ACF Calendar, which includes a day-by-day breakdown to help planners avoid unnecessary clashes.
Organisers of ACF- and FIDE-rated competitions and other events of general interest are most welcome to submit schedules for inclusion in coming updates by emailing executive@auschess.org.au
The ACF calendar includes dates for major international events likely to be of interest to potential participants and on-line spectators.

FIDE Events 2021
FIDE and other organisers of international events continue to have difficulty predicting suitable dates for events that would normally be held in the remainder of 2021. The following are links and/or extracts from recent FIDE calendars and announcements, which might be revised at any time.
Although no additional information for some of these events has emerged recently, these links may be the first place to find updates.

FIDE Candidates T’ts (Yekaterinburg, Russia) Apr 19-28
World Amateur Championship (Heraklion, Crete, Greece) postponed to Apr/May
World School Individual C’ps (Halkidiki, Greece) 2-11 May
Asian Continental Open C’p (online hybrid) May 20-30
FIDE World Cup (Sochi, Russia) Jul 10 to Aug 3
FIDE Women’s World Cup (Sochi, Russia) Jul 10 to Aug 6
FIDE World Championships (Dubai, UAE) Nov 24 to Dec 16
World Seniors Championship (Assisi, Italy)
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss & Women’s Grand Swiss (Isle of Man) 25 Oct to 8 Nov
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 & AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS & ASSOCIATED EVENTS – BIDS INVITED
Because arrangements could not be made for the presentation in January of this year’s biennial Open Championship and the annual Australian Junior and Girls Championships, the ACF Council will consider bids from affiliated associations and others to present these events at more suitable times during 2021.
Bids are also invited in respect of other Australian title events such as the Australian Blitz, Women’s and/or Seniors Australian Championships. Although these events are often if not always normally held in conjunction with the Australian Open, they could be the subjects of separate bids with possible variations from the usual schedules and time controls.
Please address related inquiries to executive@auschess.org.au

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 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 when available in forthcoming issues of this newsletter.

2021 FUNDING SUPPORT PROGRAM (FSP)
Applications for activities to commence before September 2021 have now closed.
The deadline for activities commencing between 1 September and 28 February 2022 is 30 June 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 continuing uncertainties due to pandemic restrictions, the Council will take into account the difficulties being faced by organisers and will consider applications based upon reasonable estimates and expectations.
Email executive@auschess.org.au for further information and forms.

TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR RATINGS SUBMISSIONS
The ACF Council has recently resolved that from 1st June 2021 only tournaments that have been paired and submitted using either Vega or Orion will be accepted for FIDE or ACF rating.
Tournament organisers, chief arbiters and State ratings officers requiring additional information should contact ACF National Ratings Officers Bill Gletsos and/or Graham Saint via acfratings@auschess.org.au
 

News from the States / Territories

Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory Chess Association Inc (ACTCA)

Upcoming Events
  • 28-31 May ACT Championships 2021
 
Recent Events
 
The O2C Doeberl Cup 2021
Congratulations to Justin Tan (AUS), winner of the 2021 Doeberl Cup

Thank you to all of our players and sponsors for another fantastic tournament.

PREMIER

1st Place: GM Justin Tan (AUS) 7.5/9
2nd Place: GM Daniel Fernandez (ENG) 7.5/9
3rd Place: GM Bobby Cheng (AUS) 7/9

Best Female: Sally Yu (AUS)
Bedi Cup (Best Australian Junior): FM Albert Winkelman (AUS)
U2000 Medallion: Joshua Behar
U2200 Medallion: Pieter Bierkens
Fighting Fund: GM Justin Tan (AUS), GM Daniel Fernandez (ENG), GM Bobby Cheng (AUS), GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS), GM Anton Smirnov (AUS), IM Junta Ikeda (AUS), FM Albert Winkelman (AUS)
ACF U2000 "Courage & Self-Belief" Prize: Joshua Behar (AUS), Svetozar Stojic (AUS)

MAJOR

1st Place (Saint Memorial): Dylan Siow-Lee (AUS) 6/7
2nd Place: Aiden Brady (AUS) 6/7
3rd Place: Ryder Testolin (AUS) 6/7

Best Female: Chao Xin Cheng (AUS)
U1650 Medallion: Paul (Zhi-Yu) He (AUS)
U1800 Medallion: Lachlan Lee (AUS)

MINOR

1st Place: Tedric Li (AUS) 6.5/7
2nd Place: Vihaan Anup Kumar (AUS) 6/7
3rd: Place: James Lequan Gao (AUS) 6/7

Pooja Cup (Best Female Australian Junior): Elena Jule (AUS)
U1200 Medallion: Justin Adams (AUS)
U1400 Medallion: Lucas Ni (AUS)
Best Unrated: Ronen Bhaumik (AUS)

U1200s

1st Place: Charles Huang (AUS) 6/6
2nd Place: Jasmine Lane (AUS) 5/6
3rd: Place: Thandi Mohan (AUS) 5/6

Biggest Upset: Rentaro Inukai (JPN)
Best Female: Shriya Karthik (AUS)
Best Unrated: Anson Thai (AUS)
New South Wales
 
New South Wales Chess Association Inc (NSWCA)

Upcoming Events

Recent Events
 

Newcastle Report

by Greg Wilson

2021 Under 1200 & Novice Competition:

Firstly, I'd like to wish all Chess Clubs across our nation a speedy chess recovery. Like all competitive sports, The Royal Game has taken a big hit. We here at Newcastle have been playing since September 2020 with Covid 19 health guideline restrictions. Brett Saunders, the Newcastle District Chess Association President, has requested me to thank The Encounter Church Group at Wallsend for supporting the Royal Game here in Newcastle in these trying times.

One positive to come out of Covid 19 (if there are any positives) is that there seems to have been a surge in indoor amusement activities, which would appear to have boosted an interest in chess. Closet Dabblers of The Royal Game have stepped out, first in an online capacity under lockdown conditions, then in an Over The Board capacity at the local chess club, once Covid 19 restrictions were eased. Hopefully we will hang onto these new players after Covid 19 subsides and society returns to some sort of normality.

The Under 1200 & Novice Tournament saw our largest field ever with 22 players registering to compete. This competition has been running here in Newcastle since 2014.  It is specifically targeted at lower ranked players, who form the bread and butter of most chess clubs, so they can get an even game each week (or near even game each week), rather than being smashed repeatedly in heavily skewed Swiss Style Tournaments, where more fancied higher rated competitors easily dispense with lower ranked players in the early rounds.

The tournament was played at The Encounter Church at Wallsend on consecutive Tuesday evenings (1 game per week) with a time control of 1 Hour + 10 Seconds Fischer. Competition Arbiter was Pete Whelan assisted by Dave Absalom.

When the dust settled it was Isaac Cruckshank that emerged triumphant with a fine score of 6 from 7. Isaac was a clear point ahead of his nearest rivals, James Choong (1190), Gabe Hennessy O'Reilly (1198) and Daniel Pilipczyk (1180).

Isaac lost in Round 1 to Darcy Graves (1000), but then hit the gas pedal to overtake the other belligerents, securing 6 straight victories. Isaac has a lot of potential, his tactical ability, constantly pressurising his unwitting opponents. Isaac showed no fear in a fine miniature, letting his Damsel be removed from the board so as to deliver mate. Any player would be proud of that game! All over in 15 moves ...... crushing!! Isaac selected 3 of his favourite games for publication. Once again, congratulations to Isaac on a Champaign Performance to seize the silverware.

Isaac Cruckshank (1190) - Harry Keigharn (1000) [C44]
Newcastle Under 1200 & Novice (3.5), 02.03.2021


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 f6 4.d5 Nd4 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.Qxd4 d6 7.c4 Ne7 8.Nc3 a6 9.Be2 f5 10.0-0 fxe4 11.Nxe4 Nf5 12.Bh5+ Kd7 13.Bg4 Ke8 14.Re1 Nxd4 15.Nxd6# 1-0

Brian Brown (1140) - Isaac Cruckshank (1190) [B23]
Newcastle Under 1200 & Novice (5.2), 16.03.2021


1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 d6 4.Bc4 e6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.d3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Qe1 d5 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.f5 exf5 12.Qg3 Kh8 13.exf5 Qb6 14.Rd1 Bd7 15.Bg5 Qxb2 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nxd5 Bd4+ 18.Nxd4 Qxd4+ 19.Ne3 Rfe8 20.Re1 Re7 21.Kh1 Rae8 22.Nf1 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Rxe1 24.Qxe1 Qd5 25.Qg3 Qxf5 26.Ne3 Qe6 27.h3 h6 28.Qf2 Qxa2 29.Qf4 Qe6 30.c4 a6 31.Ng4 Qf5 32.Qb8+ Bc8 33.Qd6 b5 34.Ne3 Qe6 35.Qxc5 bxc4 36.Nxc4 Bd7 37.Ne5 Be8 38.d4 f6 39.Nf3 Qc6 40.Qf8+ Kh7 41.Qb4 Qb5 42.Qd2 a5 43.d5 a4 44.d6 a3 45.Qc2+ Kh8 46.Nd4 Qb2 47.Qc8 Qxd4 48.Qxe8+ Kh7 49.d7 a2 50.d8Q a1Q+ 51.Kh2 Qf4+ 52.g3 Qf2# 0-1

Isaac Cruckshank (1190) - James Choong (1170) [C44]
Newcastle Under 1200 & Novice (7.1), 30.03.2021


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 h6 5.0-0 d6 6.Nxd4 Be7 7.Nc3 Na5 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qxa5 c6 11.Qxd8 Bxd8 12.Be3 Ne7 13.Rad1 Bc7 14.Nde2 Bb6 15.Bxb6 axb6 16.Rxd6 Rf8 17.Rfd1 Kg7 18.Rd8 Bg4 19.Rxf8 Rxf8 20.f3 Be6 21.Nd4 Bc8 22.Kf2 b5 23.Nb3 g5 24.h3 h5 25.Nc5 g4 26.hxg4 hxg4 27.Nxb7 Ng6 28.Nd6 Be6 29.Ke3 Nh4 30.Rg1 Kg6 31.f4 Kg7 32.f5 Bd7 33.Kf4 Ng6+ 34.Kxg4 Ne5+ 35.Kg5 Nf7+ 36.Nxf7 Rxf7 37.g4 Be8 38.e5 Kg8 39.e6 1-0

 
Queensland

Chess Association of Queensland Inc (CAQ)

Upcoming Events
  OCEANIA & AUSTRALIA SENIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS (50+)
Noosa QLD - Australia's premier resort town.
14 to 20 Nov 2021 - save the dates!

"Get back to the boards!"
Noosa Chess Club is preparing the brassiest chess event of 2021.
7 rounds in 7 days, play starts at 1030.
Incorporating Australian Senior Championship.
Up to 2 half-point byes allowed in rounds 1-5.

Accompanying rapid and blitz open events and the
Noosa Novice for Under 1000s.

We are preparing accommodation choices from 4 to 5 star and a programme of optional tours, activities and dining.

Details to come.

For an invitation, email
Ralph Jackson, secretary.noosachess@gmail.com
 
South Australia

South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)

Upcoming Events
 
Tasmania

Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)

Upcoming Events
 
 
Victoria

Chess Victoria Inc (CV)

Upcoming Events
 
  • 18 Apr CV Junior Rapid Championship
  • 23-25 Apr MCC ANZAC Day Weekender
  • 29 Apr CV Zonal for Secondary Girls
  • 29 Apr - 10 Jun 2021 Croydon Open
  • 18 May CV Zonal for Secondary and Primary Girls
  • 31 May CV Zonal for Secondary Open
  • 12-14 Jun 2021 Victorian Open
  • 28 Jun - 9 Aug MCC Edwin Malitis Memorials
  • 24 Jun CV Zonal for Secondary Open
  • 5-9 Jul Victorian Junior Championship
  • 11 Jul - 12 Sep Victorian Championship
  • 19 Jul CV Zonal for Primary Open
  • 23 Jul CV Zonal for Secondary Open
  • 19 Sep Victorian Junior Blitz
  • 26 Sep CV Rapid Play 1
  • 27 Sep - 1 Oct CV Junior Masters
  • 3 Oct CV Rapid Play 2
  • 10 Oct - 28 Nov CV Seniors and Womens Championship
  • 11 Oct CV Zonal Secondary Open Final
  • 12 Oct CV Zonal Secondary and Primary Girls Final
  • 18 Oct - 6 Dec MCC Bob Brooking Round Robins
  • 29 Oct - 2 Nov MCC Greg Hjorth Open Weekender
  • 3 Nov CV Zonal Primary Open Final
  • 4-5 Nov Australian Schools Teams Championship (ASTC)
  • 20 Dec Victorian Blitz

Recent Events
  by Leonid Sandler, Chess Victoria President.
 
  • 29 Mar CV Zonal for Secondary Open
Chess, chess, chess!
 
The 2020 Australian Secondary Schools Champions Scotch College team started the new season in style.

The  first 2021 Chess Victoria Zonal tournament being held at Scotch College saw many top Victorian juniors participating.

The host team called Scotch Cardinal blitzed the very strong field scoring 29 points from 35 games.Melbourne High School came second with 24.5 points.
 
2020 Arlauskas medal winner, PLC leader WFM Cassandra Lim has a strong base of supporters!

The 2020 Australian Secondary Girls Schools Champions PLC team performed well scoring 21 points.

Full results can be seen here
 
 
  • 30 Mar Chess4Solidarity Israel - Australia
More than 50 Australian players of different strengths participated in the Chess4all online event being held on the popular platform www.lichess.org

The tournament organiser Lior Aizenberg mentioned to me that the Australia-Israel competition was the 16th event of the Chess4Solidarity initiative (an online chess club comprising about 3700 players from all over the world).

The Club's philosophy is to strengthen the ties between different countries and promote solidarity between people in accordance with the FIDE slogan "Gens una sumus!"

The Australia-Israel event was sponsored (USD 2000) by the Israeli Embassy in Canberra and the Eithan Neshlos family.

At the opening ceremony, the players and spectators were greeted by Paul Griffiths, the Australian Ambassador in Israel, please see the video here, and by The Honourable MP for Macnamara Josh Burns, please see the video here.

The Israeli-Danish actress and model Lee Levi also wished all players good luck and fair play here.

The tournament coverage with games commentaries can be seen here.

In the super strong Group A (113 players) the winner was Israeli GM Evgeny Postny who won all 9 games while Australian IM Junta Ikeda came second with 7 points.

Full results can be seen here.

Australian players who won the prizes in this division.

1.IM Junta Ikeda (ACT)---- USD 300
2.GM Moulthun Ly (QLD)----USD 200
3.Tom Maguire (QLD)-------USD 130
4.IM Igor Goldenberg (VIC) USD 90

Rating prizes went to Ross Lam (QLD)---USD 40 and Leon Leontyev (VIC) ----USD 40.

In Group B (71 players) the Australian prizes winners were

James Arthur (VIC)----USD 60
Arjun B.Srinivasan (VIC)---USD 40
Nifemi Kehinda----USD 20.

Full results can be seen here.

The results from Group C (37 players) are here.
 
Western Australia

Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)

Upcoming Events

Recent Events
Congratulations to tournament winner: Jamie Laubbacher
 
 
  • 6-9 Apr WA Junior Chess Camp
The second WA junior chess camp was successfully held on the 8th and 9th of April at Oberthur Primary School. The chess camp was run non-profit to promote junior chess activities in WA and couldn’t be possible without the tremendous help from WA's active chess community.

Over 60 junior chess players of different levels enjoyed learning from various chess coaches, participating in puzzle competitions and playing against each other. It was great to see many new faces that got interested in chess just recently and wanted to improve their game! We were very happy to see both Australian Chess Champion GM Temur Kuybokarov and WA State Chess Champion FM Patrick Gong participating in the chess camp.

It was also great to see some of Perth’s top juniors helping new chess players learn the intricacies of the game. Thank you to Celing Ong, Oscar Gao and Iker Hernandez Mendez.

On Friday afternoon the beginners played a novice tournament, they learnt basic rules of tournaments, use of clocks and basic strategies. At the same time, we were very fortunate to have GM Temur Kuybokarov over for a simultaneous exhibition, playing against 32 enthusiastic young chess players. The simul went for almost three hours and Temur won all the games.
WA Junior camp simul with GM Temur Kuybokarov

We want to say a huge thanks to:
🏆  Oberthur Primary School for hosting the event,
🏆  The chess coaches: Alan Wolstencroft, Norbert Muller, FM Patrick Gong, Dennis Holland, Sri Krishna and David King. Due to last-minute professional commitments, George Carolin-Unkovich couldn’t make it.
🏆  Assistant coaches: Celing Ong, Oscar Gao and Iker Hernandez Mendez.
🏆  Paul Harris for running the Ladder Tournament.
🏆  Temur Kuybokarov for his participation in the Simul.
🏆  Organisers and volunteers Jeng Kong, Joli Mendez, Richard Chen and Alan Wolstencroft.

Magnetic Chess Sets
All of the participants received magnetic chess set to practice the game at home! But most importantly, the kids had fun and learn some new skills!

Hope to see you all again next time!
 

2021 Oceania Zonal 3.6 Tournament Report

by IA Dr Peter Tsai, Chief Arbiter.

This was the first hybrid chess Zonal in Asia, conducted by the Zone 3.6 President Paul Spiller and Oceania Chess Confederation under the auspices of FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation.

The original Zonal was scheduled as an Open over the board tournament to be held in Melbourne, Australia in January 2021. However the COVID-19 pandemic meant that international travel was not possible so instead a hybrid tournament was planned as a round robin tournament.

Each federation was invited to select 1 player, Australia had places for 2 players but unfortunately Papua New Guinea was not able to participate.
 

Player's List

Federation

Name

Time Zone

Australia

GM Anton Smirnov

UTC +11

Australia

GM Temur Kuybokarov

UTC +8

Fiji

CM Taione Sikivou

UTC +12

Guam

CM Elmer Prudente

UTC +10

Nauru

Thubalkain Dabuae

UTC +12

New Zealand

FM Nic Croad

UTC +13

Palau

Angelo Salvadora

UTC +9

Solomon Islands

Fred Resture

UTC +11


The tournament used the FIDE Hybrid tournament rules which was approved at the Asian Chess Federation Executive Board meeting held Monday, February 15. The tournament was held as a 8 player round robin event over the consecutive weekends of March 20, 21 and March 27, 28. Two rounds were played per day, 4 rounds over each weekend. If a tie resulted for first place, the FIDE World Cup tie-break would be used.

The chess platform was AuNix LiveChess ( David Esmonde and David Vella) which was successfully used for the Australian Schools Teams Championships in December 2020 with 120 players as a hybrid tournament.

Oceania Administration Team

Oceania Zonal 3.6 Administration

Chief Organiser

Paul Spiller (NZL)

Chief Arbiter

IA Dr Peter Tsai (AUS)

Chief Technical Arbiter

David Esmonde (AUS)


Several Zoom planning meetings were held with the players, Local Chief Arbiters (LCA) and Local Technical Arbiters (LTA) in order to establish the playing rules and the technical requirements. These were important meetings as it allowed for any clarification and questions to the Chief Organiser, Chief Arbiter and Technical Chief Arbiter. Players were allowed to use a traditional board reproducing the moves played on the virtual board. The tournament time control was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

2021 FIDE Oceania Zone 3.6 Arbiter and Technical Arbiter Meeting on 19th March 2021


Each Oceania Federation was responsible for setting up its own Hub and providing one LCA and one LTA and suitable internet facilities. Three separate Zoom links were established with each Oceania Federation during play.
 

Zoom Links

Host

Participants

Chief Technical Arbiter

Player's Face and Shared Screen

Chief Arbiter/ Chief Technical Arbiter

Player's Panoramic view from behind via webcam

Chief Arbiter/ Chief Technical Arbiter

LCA for communication with CA and LTA


LCA were issued with a control and track tournament progress template to report on any issues arising from each round. These were submitted to the CA at the end of each round. Some internet disconnections did occur from the players and webcams but most re-established their connection within 1 to 2 minutes and play continued. None of these disconnections had any material impact on  the tournament games.

The Chief Arbiter had access to an Arbiter’s Panel which allowed for any correction to the move counter and the adjustment to clocks in each of the games if required.

Chief Arbiter’s AuNix LiveChess Panel


Cross Table and Prizes

Pos

Name

Fed

Pts

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Prizes

1

GM Anton Smirnov

AUS

6.5

*

½

1

1

1

1

1

1

Eq 1st US$1,750

2

GM Temur Kuybokarov

AUS

6.5

½

*

1

1

1

1

1

1

Eq 1st US$1,750

3

FM Nic Croad

NZL

5

0

0

*

1

1

1

1

1

3rd US$1,000

4

CM Elmer Prudente

GUM

3.5

0

0

0

*

½

1

1

1

4th US$500

5

CM Taione Sikivou

FIJ

2.5

0

0

0

½

*

0

1

1

 

6

Thubalkain Dabuae

NRU

2

0

0

0

0

1

*

1

0

 

7

Fred Resture

SOL

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

*

1

 

8

Angelo Salvadora

PLW

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

*

 


2021 Oceania Zonal 3.6 Playoff
GM Anton Smirnov  (AUS)
GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS)
Time Control Round White Score Black
25 min + 10 sec from move 1 8 Kuybokarov 0.5:0.5 Smirnov
25 min + 10 sec from move 1 9 Smirnov 0.5:0.5 Kuybokarov
10 min + 10 sec from move 1 10 Kuybokarov 0 - 1 Smirnov
10 min + 10 sec from move 1 11 Smirnov 0 - 1 Kuybokarov
5 min + 3 sec from move 1 12 Smirnov 0.5:0.5 Kuybokarov
5 min + 3 sec from move 1 13 Kuybokarov 0.5:0.5 Smirnov
W: 5 min B: 4 min + 2 sec after 60 14 Kuybokarov 1 - 0 Smirnov

The Playoff won by GM Temur Kuybokarov (AUS).


The hybrid round robin tournament had very few player and technical issues. The Oceania Zonal 3.6 administration team would like to thank the Local Chief and Technical Arbiters as well as all the federation players in making the 1st Zonal Hybrid tournament a success.
 

Problem of the Month - No.59

Selected by Peter Wong

Heinrich Meyer
The Boy's Own Paper 1903
Diagram of Problem of the Month - No.58
White to play and mate in 3

Visit OzProblems.com for an introduction to chess composition (including a Glossary) and more problem examples.
 

A Guest amongst the Greats!

By Ralph Jackson, Secretary Noosa Chess Club (1976 Sydney Junior Champion)

My Grandad’s cousin was
A Guest amongst the Greats!

In late 2015 I enjoyed a dinner at my sister Caroline’s place in the Blue Mountains with my cousin Anna attending. Anna and I both share an interest in family history and this time she had transcripts of letters from 1874, by an English cousin to our grandfather, hitherto unknown to us, writing to his uncles in Australia with sad news of his mother’s illness and then death.

Antony Alfred Geoffrey Guest was just 18 and had never met his 3 uncles, who all emigrated to Port Phillip in the 1850s gold rush.

The next morning I entered “Antony Alfred Geoffrey Guest” in Google. I was startled to say the least, with a chess.com 2015 historical article at the top of the search results: https://www.chess.com/article/view/todays-guest

Let me give some background to chess in 1886-87…

After the first 5 games of the First World Chess Championship Match (1886), Johannes Zukertort led Wilhelm Steinitz 4 wins to 1, no draws. But as the match moved from New York to Saint Louis and on to New Orleans, Zukertort tired and he bombed out losing 10 to 5, not counting draws.

In 1887, Steinitz rested and there were just two tournaments that saw the world’s elite in battle:
 
  • In July Frankfurt hosted arguably the strongest tournament contested in the decade 1885-95 with 21 masters, won surprisingly by American George Mackenzie.
  • In November-December, London hosted the British Chess Association Tournament, a 9 round all-play-all, featuring 10 of the world-leading UK contingent of the time.

In London’s BCA event, like in the World Championship match the year before, Zukertort enjoyed another flying start to reach 3/3, sharing the lead with one other player – believe it or not, Antony Alfred Geoffrey Guest (1856-1925), grandad’s first cousin. Antony had defeated in order Henry Bird, William Pollock and James Mortimer.

But both slipped in the 4th round, Zukertort to Joseph Blackburne and Guest to Francis Lee.  They were caught by Burn, Gunsberg and Blackburne.

So at the start of the mid-way 5th round, 5 players shared the lead on 3 points: Zukertort, Burn, Gunsberg, Blackburne – and Guest.

In the 5th round, Burn overcame James Mortimer and Gunsberg accounted for Francis Lee. Blackburne drew with Henry Bird and Zukertort drew with William Pollock.

However, before these games finished, the first player to claim 4 points was Antony Guest! His opponent James Mason (World #8 on Chessmetrics Jul 1887) didn’t show up by forfeit time. However the 5th round games were played from Noon, 2 hours earlier because a grand dinner had been scheduled that evening.

Beyond the 5th round, Guest had 4 players left to face – in successive rounds – Isidore Gunsberg, Amos Burn, Zukertort and Joseph Blackburne. With Steinitz taking a sabbatical year, they also happened to be the world’s Top-4 grandmasters for most of 1887! According to Chessmetrics, for much of 1886 and 1887, they jostled for spots 2, 3,4 and 5 in world rankings.

Alas Antony Guest’s ‘Beth Harmon’ run was over. It was ruled or agreed that the forfeited game with Mason would be played – Guest lost. In the remaining rounds he went down successively against the grandmaster onslaught.

At the end, 3 out of 9 wasn’t a bad innings and he shared that score with Henry Bird and James Mason.

Apart from this event, the Chessgames.com database holds only 4 other Antony Guest games including a spectacular casual game lost to Henry Bird in 1886 (in tournament play Guest had one win and 3 draws vs Bird): https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1827651

Antony Guest’s competitive career spanned just a few years in the 1880s where he also shone in an 1884 handicap tournament at Simpsons on the Strand http://www.chessarch.com/archive/0036_Forgotten/index.shtml (losing the play-off to Mason), equal 2nd in the 1885 BCA on 12/15 with Bird (won by Gunsberg) and British Amateur Champion in 1888.

Guest was a popular figure on the UK chess scene and chess correspondent for the London Morning Post for 43 years to his death in January 1925. The British Chess Magazine farewelled him with a front cover obituary in March 1925.

He also wrote short stories, was a critic and speaker on many and varied subjects.

Guest’s book ‘Art and the Camera’ was published in 1907 and republished in the 1970s. https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Art_and_the_Camera.html?id=6SXkvwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Antony Guest married but the couple had no children. His only sibling Isabel had two children but they in turn were childless. The closest family are the descendants of Antony’s (many) first cousins. His nearest living relative is Marisa David (b. 1929), daughter of Stanley Krone, one of many of Antony’s Australian cousins. Marisa is the mother of the author, Australian FIDE rated player Ralph Jackson who was more active in the 1970s and 80s.

Antony Guest
Antony Guest (from A Chess Bouquet 1897, Frederick Gittins)

Antony Guest, British Chess Magazine article 1 of 2
Antony Guest, British Chess Magazine article 2 of 2
British Chess Magazine with thanks to Brian Thew.
 

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The term of office for all Council-appointed officers ends each year at the first Council meeting after 30 June.
 

Solution to Problem of the Month - No.59


Heinrich Meyer
The Boy's Own Paper 1903
Diagram of Problem of the Month No.58
White to play and mate in 3

Key: 1.Bg8! (threat: 2.Ra2). 1…c2 2.Rf7 Ka2 3.Ra7.

Visit OzProblems.com for an introduction to chess composition (including a Glossary) and more problem examples.
 
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