ACF Bulletin No. 77 - 5 August 2000 TRIP AROUND AUSTRALIA Over the next fortnight I'm looking forward to meeting as many in the chess community around Australia as possible. The itinerary is as follows: Monday 7 August 12noon Cnr Cavanagh/Bennett Streets, Darwin (TERRY O'NEILL) Friday 11 August 7.45pm Midland Chess Club, Spring Park Road, Midland, Perth (MIKE PARTIS) Tuesday 15 August 6pm South Aust Chess Centre, 10 Ranelagh St, Adelaide (GEORGE HOWARD) Wednesday 16 August Hobart - 6pm Boronia Room, Migrant Resource Centre, 49 Molle St, Hobart. (KEVIN BONHAM) Thursday 17 August Melbourne - Gary Wastell is in the process of arranging a venue. Please contact Gary on 0419 525963 for details. (GARY WASTELL) Friday 18 August Canberra - 6pm Belconnen Community Centre. (DENIS JESSOP) Saturday 19 August Sydney - Mike Walsh is in the process of arranging a venue. Please contact Mike on 0407 068550 for details. (MIKE WALSH) Sunday 20 August Sports House, Cnr Castlemaine/Caxton Sts, Milton (CRAIG ROSE) - This is part of a day entitled 'Chess Seminar 2000 - Linking the Chess Community' being run by the Chess Association of Queensland and funded by a grant from the Queensland Government. The day runs from 9am to 4.30pm. The session on the restructure and future of Australian chess is set down for 1pm. ********** OLYMPIAD APPEAL Many thanks to all those who have supported the Olympiad Appeal both at state and national level. Selections are due to be made in just over a week. Please dig deep and show your support for our national team and send your donation to the ACF Treasurer Norm Greenwood, Unit 15, Horizon Towers, 208 Pacific Highway, Hornsby NSW 2077. Alternatively please advise of your pledge to me ggardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au ********** ADELAIDE CHECKMATE TOURNAMENT 6-11 AUGUST Prize list 1st $2,000, 2nd $1,000, 3rd $500, Top Woman $500, Top Junior $200, Ratings Prizes for lower rated half 1st $250, 2nd $150. Total $4,600. To enter please phone Evelyn Koshnitsky on 08 8271 8009. ********** ADAELAIDE CHECKMATE WEEKENDER 12-13 AUGUST Prize list 1st $1,000, 2nd $500, 3rd $250, 1st Women's Prize $250, 2nd Women's Prize $100, 1st Junior Prize $100, 2nd Junior Prize $50, Top Girl $50, Rating Prize for middle group of players 1st $200, 2nd $100, Rating Prize for bottom third of players 1st $200, 2nd $100. Also 5x$10 prizes each day to be drawn from a hat for players who have not competed in an adult competition before $100. Trophy to Club and School teams of 3-4 players, taking best three scores from each round. Trophy and medals from winning team in each group. Total $3,000. To enter please phone Evelyn Koshnitsky on 08 8271 8009. ********** EVELYN KOSHNITSKY BEAUTY PRIZE $500 Just a reminder that Evelyn has donated $500 for the most artistic combination played in the Garry Koshnitsky Memorial Festival which commenced back on 7 June. Get your entry in to the judge Robert Jamieson mailto:auschess@iaccess.com.au ********** AUSTRALIAN MASTERS 1st Adam Hunt 8.0/11, 2nd Guy West 7.5/11, 3rd= Stephen Solomon, Gerard Welling and Zong Yuan Zhao 7.0/11 (Unconfirmed) ********** INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR EVENTS Asian Under 20s, Mumbai, India 29 August to 10 September - Matthew Sonter will be representing Australia in this event. Manuel Weeks mailto:manuelw@ozemail.com.au would welcome a nomination from a girl for the female event. Manuel would also welcome nominations for the World Under 20s in Yerevan, Armenia from 18 September to 2 October and the Children's Olympiad (Under 16 Teams) in Artek, Ukraine from 9 September to 21 September. ********** NSWCA WEEKENDER AUGUST 12-13 Due to the outspoken complimentary comments about the excellence of the venue, we are holding another tournament there. It is not often that such an attractive venue is available! Please show your support for the tournament by playing!! Venue: St Joseph's Church Hall, Walz St, Rockdale. Six rounds: Time limit of ninety minutes per player for the whole game. Games will be rated. Enquiries: Charles Zworestine 02 9556 3960(h) or mobile 0410 563965. Round times: Saturday 12th August - Round 1 at 10:30am, then 2:00pm, and 5:30pm. Sunday 13th August - Round 4 at 10:30am, then 2:00pm, and 5:30pm. Prizes: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, plus U2000, U1800, U1600 and U1400 for rated players, best unrated and best junior prizes. (Rating prizes and unrated prize subject to at least six (6) entries in the relevant section). Players are eligible for only one prize. Prizes will be pooled and divided equally in case of ties. Entry fees: $50 normal, $40 juniors under 18 and $25 juniors under 14. Entries to: NSW Chess Association, GPO Box 2418, Sydney NSW 2001 by Aug 7th. Entries before Aug 7th receive a $10 discount! Entries close 10:00am Saturday August 12. Smoking is not allowed in the playing area. All NSW-resident players must be members of the NSWCA or the NSWJCL. This will be a great tournament! Come and play - and enjoy!! ********** GRAND PRIX Upcoming events: August 12-13 North Queensland Open, Centra Hotel, Townsville, Cat 1, KEITH MACLEOD 07 4728 2060 August 12-13 Adelaide Checkmate Weekender, South Australian Chess Centre, 10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide, Cat 3, EVELYN KOSHNITSKY 08 8271 8009 August 12-13 NSWCA Open, Rockdale, Sydney, Cat 1, CHARLES ZWORESTINE 02 9556 3960 August 26-27 Hervey Bay Whale Open, Hervey Bay Resort, Cat 2, ANDREW ROGERS 07 4124 7107 September 9-10 Gold Coast Classic, Somerset College, Cat 3, GRAEME GARDINER 07 5530 3777 September 30- October 1 Lidums Cup, South Australian Chess Centre, 10, Ranelagh Street, Adelaide, Cat 1, CHESS CENTRE 08 8211 7189 Just a reminder to tournament organisers that it is imperative to get full results with juniors and females clearly marked to INGRID THOMPSON immediately after each event. ********** ACF NATIONAL CONFERENCE, CANBERRA 7 JANUARY 2001 To date I have not had any indication of nominees for the ACF Executive to be elected at the National Conference on 7 January. Clause 10c of the ACF Constitution reads: 'In years when elections are due to be held at the next Annual National Conference, nominations for President, Deputy President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be called for by the Council 120 days prior to the scheduled start of the Conference'. Accordingly, nominations must reach the ACF Secretary by 9 September 2000. Clause 10d reads: Written notice of a National Conference shall be sent to each State Association and to others as the Council deems appropriate so as to be received in the normal course of post not less than 56 days before the start of the Conference and shall include: i. the date, time and place for the start of the Conference; ii. the date on which it is expected the Conference will end; iii. the exact wording of each Motion on Notice and each proposed amendment thereto to be dealt with at the Conference; iv. the names of all known candidates for election as President, Deputy President, Secretary and Treasurer; and v. such other information as the convenor or Council may see fit to include on the notice. ********** 2001 AUSTRALIAN CENTENARY OPEN/JUNIOR - ANDREW GREENWOOD The organisation of the 2001 Australian Open and Junior is progressing well. Some preliminary information has been distributed to weekend tournaments. Information is available at the Australian Rapid Play (this weekend in Melbourne) and also at the upcoming Adelaide and NSWCA weekenders. There will be an advertisement in the September edition of Australian Chess Forum. It is planned that early entries for the Open will close in early December. Early entry is $120 adult and $96 concession (junior, unwaged and over 60 years). Credit card phone/mailed payment will also be available - details to come. The Open will be FIDE-rated and also a Class-3 ACF Grand Prix event - the concluding event for this year's excellent tournament circuit. The Open will have a minimum prize fund of over $10,000, with a $3,000 first prize. Also bear in mind that two minor events (Australian Minor and Repechage) will run alongside the Open to make it easier for people to compete over a smaller number of days if work commitments are too great for play in the longer Open. The Australian Minor (U/1600 Swiss) will run between 28-31 December with mainly two rounds per day. The Australian Repechage (U/2000 Swiss) will run between 02-07 January with one morning round per day, finishing before the 2:00pm Open round start. U/2000 Open players will also be able to compete in this minor event. Early entry fees for these events are only $50 adult and $40 concession. These events will have generous prizes and offer good opportunities for club-strength players to travel to Canberra with a good chance of winning a prize. Entries can be sent to ACTCA Inc, PO Box 470, Erindale Centre, ACT 2903. Also, a text-only version of the website (http://www.auschess.org.au/centenary) is under construction for those wanting quicker access to the information. Accommodation information is not currently on the website, but will be added within the next week or so. There is a wide range of options close to the venue or at Rydges Canberra itself. The complete list will be published in the next two weeks in the next bulletin and on the website. For single players, there are options at university colleges (close to Rydges) starting at $20/night (bed only). For groups and families, there are a number of options at apartments, which are often cheaper and more convenient. Groups travelling to the juniors will find these options useful. A billeting program will be in place for both events, however masters and visiting overseas players will have first preference. The list of accommodation options will be distributed with the tournament brochure and entry form to be distributed with Australian Chess Forum. A list of confirmed entries will soon be published after these have been finalised. The prize lists will also be notified again through the bulletin and also on the website and entry forms. For more information on either on any of these events you can contact: Andrew Greenwood (Open/Minor events) 0403-191-777 andrew.greenwood@anu.edu.au Deborah Poulton (Juniors) 02-6231-8577 wpoulton@pcug.org.au Evelyn FitzPatrick (Accommodation) afitzpat@interact.net.au ********** SAINTLY CUP STYLE EVENT Jason Lyons hopes to run an event in the week after the Doeberl Cup next year. This is likely to be similar in style to the successful Saintly Cup and sponsored by chess philanthropist Dato Tan Chin Nam. ********** CORRESPONDENCE ROBERT JAMIESON: Dear Graeme, Whilst you were away on your holidays there were two things which annoyed me. 1. Sampras thanking God for helping him to win Wimbledon. 2. Chris Depasquale's article in Australian Chess Forum criticising the Olympiad Selections and claiming that Purdy and Koshnitsky supported his views. I usually enjoy Chris' writings, which are humorous and entertaining, but on this occasion he seems to be too close to the issue and is obviously personally disappointed that he was not automatically selected in the Olympiad Team. Readers should be aware also that Chris is a professional chess journalist who earns his living through writing controversial material. Perhaps he had a slow news week. The points that I wish to make are: 3. The ACF selection procedures are the same as they have always been (refer ACF by-laws on the ACF web site if you're interested) except that this year it was decided to pick a squad of 10 before selecting the final team of 6. 4. Australian Championship results are always given a significant weight by the selectors. However there are more strong tournaments around now than 20 or 30 years ago so this weighting is diminishing. 5. The 2000 Australian Championship in which Depasquale and Zhao did so well was a particularly weak event by normal standards. 6. Had the selections been made in March using the normal methods neither Smerdon nor Zhao would have been selected in the 6 player Olympiad Team whereas delaying the final selections gave these outstanding juniors a chance to make the team. 7. Zhao was not selected in the Olympiad Squad but was immediately added after his IM result in the Zonal. Depasquale was added after Solomon dropped out. 8. Chris' comment about Australian Chess tradition nurtured by Kosh and Purdy being thrown out the window is, in my view, total nonsense. I think I know more about Australian chess traditions than most people around these days and the tradition has been to select the best available team. The fact is that the Australian Championship has been declining in importance in the Australian Chess scene and it's a pity that Chris has not accepted this fact. It's unfortunate if Chris comes =2nd in an Australian Championship and misses out on the Olympiad team but we all have our hard luck stories to tell. I came =5th in an Australian Championship once and was told by one selector that I was too weak to even be considered for the team! I am very confident that the ACF will end up selecting the strongest available Olympiad Team based on players' current form. Purdy, Koshnitsky and even F.K.Esling would be well pleased! ********** JONATHAN PAXMAN I would like to add my objective (I hope), and somewhat distant voice to the Olympiad selection debate. Unfortunately I have not read Brian's editorial (Brian: I'd love to see ACE News published on the Web sometime), so cannot comment on the editorial in question. The Olympiad is the highest level of Australian representation in Chess, and as such Australia should strive to achieve the best possible performance each time. In my mind, the only criterion for Olympiad selection should be ability to perform at the Olympiad as perceived by the selectors. Of course this criterion is very difficult to measure, and factors such as recent form, rating, activity and experience will form part of this judgment. Surely age should be a factor only in a very peripheral way. For instance, a young player may lack sufficient experience against "Olympiad calibre" opposition (however an older player lacking experience should be treated similarly). A young and rapidly improving player may be substantially underrated and this should be accounted for (though an older rapidly improving player should be similarly compensated- of course the older underrated player is far less common). Surely "future potential" has no bearing whatsoever on selection beyond the "future" of the Olympiad in question? If a young player lives up to great potential then he or she should have a long career of Australian Representation at the highest level. Let me add finally that this is merely my own opinion on very general principles. It seems to me that all of the players in question (young and old) have very good claims for selection. I eagerly await the results of the Masters and final Olympiad selections. ********** RICHARD THORNE: Re ACF Bulletin # 72 National Schools Finals Weekend Share/Title/Play Off The only satisfactory and fair result is 'shared'. 1. Tie breaks are arbitrary, inconclusive and there are many 'so called' methods. All are subjective and flawed where all play all! 2. Play off - insufficient time. Rapid and lightning play off only determine the best or luckiest on the day. No contest. SHARED TITLE unless there is time for a proper play off two games and at normal time limits. ********** I will not be responding to emails over the next fortnight due to my 'round Australia' trip. Best wishes to all. Graeme Gardiner ------------------------------------------- Graeme Gardiner President, Australian Chess Federation C/- Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba Q 4213 Phone 07 5530 3777 (w) 07 5530 5794 (h) Fax 07 5525 2676 (w) Email: ggardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au http://www.auschess.org.au Chess - the clever sport! PS - If you do not wish to receive this bulletin in future, please email wgardiner@somerset.qld.edu.au