ACF Bulletin #95

Another thing which really annoys me is the deliberate mistake. It is particularly sneaky because when challenged, the blunderer can just say, 'sorry, it was a mistake', when they are not sorry at all. Such mistakes are in fact quite transparent though, because they are always made by someone who has been much less than supportive of the individual or team 'mistaked' against. (Pardon the grammar)

Two recent examples of the latter:

The Australian Open Olympiad Team did NOT finish 39th (our seeding) as claimed in the latest ACE newsletter editorial. We finished in a group on 31 points from 56 games who tied for positions 33 through 37. On tie break Australia finished 36th.

A nicer 'mistake' for a patriotic Australian to make would have been to say that we finished 33rd, or, since we did in a sense finish equal 33rd, to mistakenly say we finished 30th.

In his Australian News section of the same newsletter, Mr Jones wrote that Adam Hunt won the Australian Masters on 8/11 ahead of IM's West, Solomon, Welling and Zhao. Oh, very clever! Since the readers are informed in the same paragraph that there are 12 players, they can only assume that the players singled out must have finished equal second behind Hunt. In fact of course, I finished outright second on 7.5 points, ahead of the other players mentioned. An equivalent and much nicer mistake for a patriotic Australian to have made, would have been to say that West and Hunt won the Masters.
Doesn't happen, does it?

I look forward with keen anticipation to the correction of these 'mistakes' in the next ACE newsletter. Journalists rely on people thinking, 'oh well, I can't be bothered', and letting their dodgy 'facts' stand. The tabloids use this technique all the time, only ever correcting themselves when sued. I'm actually pretty fed up with it though and will try and motivate myself to point out some of this inappropriate rubbish for a while, as it occurs.
Merry Christmas everyone, and see you in Canberra.

FROM STEWART REUBEN

Concerning computers helping humans cheat.
There are two attested cases.
In the US in a tournament run by Bill Goichberg, a man with very long hair played. He did not have an establised rating or perhaps a very low one. He made a magnificent score. There was much unhappiness expressed. Bill questioned him on his knowledge of the game and it became clear this was not high. He was not paid his prize money.

In Germany a low rated player suddenly achieved a gm result. Again he suddenly had long hair. At the conclusion of one game when his opponent resigned he exclaimed - well it is mate in 8. Indeed it was, but this was by no means obvious. I believe again he did not receive any goodies.

Stewart Reuben

FROM BILL GLETSOS

Dear Robert,

Can you please post the following in the next Bulletin.

The ACF Ratings Officers Bill Gletsos and Graham Saint would like to thank Imants Liepa for his significant contribution in assisting them with the recent changes to the ACF rating system.

Regards,
Bill

TOURNAMENTS

NSWCA DECEMBER WEEKENDER! This is a Grand Prix Tournament Category depends on prize money raised VENUE: Kamaraigal Room, North Sydney Leagues Club,

Abbott St, Cammeray. Ample parking available. Licensed club rules apply. Juniors welcome. PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Catch a bus on routes 202-207 from Wynyard or North Sydney stations. Alight at Cammeray shops in Miller St. One minute from the club. SEVEN ROUNDS: Time limit of one hour per player for the whole game. Games will be rated. ENQUIRIES: Norm Greenwood 94764533(H). ENTRIES: Entries taken on the day; or send advance entries to NSW Chess Association, PO Box 2418, GPO Sydney NSW 2001. Entries close at 9:45am on Saturday 16th December. ROUND TIMES: Saturday 16th December - Round 1 at 10am; Round 2 12:15pm and Round 3 2:30pm. Sunday 17th December - Round 4 at 10am, Round 5 12:30pm, Round 6 2:45pm and Round 7 5:00pm. Presentation 7:30pm. PRIZES: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, plus U2000, U1800, U1600 and U1400 for rated players, best unrated & best junior prizes. (All prizes subject to sufficient number of entries). Players are eligible for only one prize. Prizes will be pooled and divided equally in case of ties. ENTRY FEES: to be announced 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!! Australian Centenary of Federation Chess Festival 2001 Icon Australian Open Rydges Lakeside Canberra Some good and bad news. The bad news first: GM Utut Adianto has withdrawn from the tournament, offering the following written excuse: "Dear Sir, With very great regret, I inform you to cancel my participation in your tournament. Because I feel I don't have enough energy for 11 rounds in Canberra. I was very exhausted from India. I need to rest. I do hope this doesn't bother you so much although some inconvenience may arise. For this, I ask you to forgive me. Once again I apologise for everything. Thank you and best regards GM Utut Adianto" Also, IM Maarten Solleveld has withdrawn after confirming a few weeks ago. In general, I have been quite disappointed by the level of professionalism shown by a number of overseas players who have made claims to actually being professionals. It has certainly caused some difficulty to the organisers thus far. I hope that the actions of some do not reflect badly on the players who have confirmed in good faith and not pulled out. The great news is that India's number 3 GM Abhijit Kunte (23 years old) has confirmed at short notice and will be coming in Adianto's place. There is some more good news with more IMs confirming in the last week or so, including Irish IM Mark Heidenfeld and Pakistan Champion IM Mehmood Lodhi. The confirmed player list stands at: International Grandmasters: GM IAN ROGERS (AUSTRALIA 2558) GM ABHIJIT KUNTE (INDIA 2556) GM ALEXANDER VOLZHIN (RUSSIA 2556) GM DARRYL JOHANSEN (AUSTRALIA 2505) GM STEFAN DJURIC (YUGOSLAVIA 2472) International Masters: IM GARY LANE (ENGLAND 2452) IM MEHMOOD LODHI (PAKISTAN 2438) IM MICHAEL GLUZMAN (AUSTRALIA 2432) IM PETR PISK (CZECH REPUBLIC 2400) IM VLADIMIR FELDMAN (AUSTRALIA 2399) IM WALAA SARWAT (EGYPT 2392) IM MARK HEIDENFELD (IRELAND 2375) IM GUY WEST (AUSTRALIA 2372) IM MOHAMED EZAT (EGYPT 2348) IM ZONG-YUAN ZHAO (AUSTRALIA 2341) IM DAVID SMERDON (AUSTRALIA 2315) IM IRINA BEREZINA-FELDMAN (AUSTRALIA 2304) Other visiting and titled players: ISRAEL YADAO (PHILIPPINES 2303) FM EDDY LEVI (AUSTRALIA 2258) FM TIM REILLY (AUSTRALIA 2215) FM DANNY DWYER (AUSTRALIA 2152) KAMAL EL AMARY (EGYPT 2113) WIM CRISTINE MARIANO (PHILIPPINES 2093) HENRIK MORTENSEN (DENMARK 2089) WIM LAURA MOYLAN (AUSTRALIA 2076) The organisers inspected Rydges Lakeside last week. The facilities are fantastic. "Mario's Deli" will be operating in the foyer outside the playing hall. They will offer sandwiches, hot food, confectionery and tea and, of course, coffee - don't worry - there will not be any drug testing as far as I know! There is a soundproof separate analysis area for the players to go over their games afterwards. This area can also be used for lightning and the ACF Conference. There are a number of other facilities at the hotel including many restaurants, cafes, hairdresser, bar and popular nightclub.

Details will be available for participants on arrival. - There is still accommodation available at this luxurious venue - ring 02-6247-6244 to get the special festival rate of $130/night including full buffet breakfast. Request a lake view overlooking Lake Burley Griffin. - Players staying at Rydges receive free secured underground car parking. Players not staying at Rydges are welcome to park in the guest parking areas, but not underground. There is a limited amount of guest parking, however there is a plentiful supply of ACT Government parking over the road and also near the lake foreshores next to the venue for around $5/day or $1/hour. There is still other accommodation located within walking distance of the venue: - City Walk Hotel 2 Mort street, Canberra City Ph: (02) 6257-0124 , Email: citywalk@ozemail.com.au Dormitory $21.00 to $23.00 per person per night Single $45.00 per night Twin: $51.00 Double: $60.00 Single with ensuite $65.00 Double with ensuite $70.00 Family room $95.00 to $125.00 - Rooms at Fenner Hall are still available, starting at around $17/night (around $120/week) if you stay for two weeks. This is about a 15-minute walk from the venue and city centre (or 5-min bus to city along Northbourne Ave). Ring 02-6279-9000. - Players can travel to Canberra cheaply by coach or rail. For example, prices start at around $30 one-way from Sydney and $50 one-way from Melbourne. The newsletter ChessACTion #4 has just been released and some parts are available on the website (see below). IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO ENTER! Late entry fees now apply (inclusive of late fee): 2001 Icon Australian Open: Adult $140, Concession $116 2001 Australian Minor U/1600: Adult $60, Concession $50 2001 Australian Repechage U/2000: Adult $60, Concession $50 - Players who enter the Open are exempt from the $10 late fee in the Repechage, should they choose to enter. 2001 Australian Open Rapidplay: Adult $40, Concession $32 (no late fees) 2001 Australian Open Lightning, Adult $20, Concession $16 (no late fees) Concession entry is available to juniors under 18 years (as of 28 December 2000), current full-time students and the unwaged. Organisers may request proof of concession status. Entry can be paid via cheque payable to ACT Chess Association Inc. Also, payment via credit card (Mastercard, Visa or Bankcard) can be made by filling out the entry form (request or download - see below) or made directly over the phone. Direct banking at any Commonwealth Bank branch can be arranged with Andrew Greenwood (see below) for easy entry payment at your local CBA branch. Fill out your entry form and post, fax or email it with payment details to the addresses below, or request the tournament brochure to be mailed to you. The entry form can also be downloaded from: http://www.auschess.org.au/centenary/chesscentenaryform.pdf You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0, which is available from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html Further contact information is below: Australian Centenary of Federation Chess Festival PO Box 470 Erindale ACT 2903 AUSTRALIA Andrew Greenwood Tel. 0403-191-777 (anytime) Fax. 02-6291-0385 Email: andrew.greenwood@anu.edu.au Website: http://www.auschess.org.au/centenary/

ACF GRAND PRIX 2001

No.     Event                   State   Category        Dates           Contact Name    Phone   Email
1 Dubbo RSL Open         N       1       3-4 Mar         Alexander Aich 02 6884 4561    sjaich@tpg.com.au
2      UQ Chess Tournament     Q       3       20-22 Apr       David Cowland-Cooper    0414 498 556    uqchess@hotmail.com
3    Doeberl Cup             A       3       13-16 Apr       Roger McCart    02 6249 2041    Roger.McCart@anu.edu.au
4        Newcastle 2001 Open     N       2       3-4 Feb         George Lithgow

george.lithgow@bigpond.com
5 Adelaide Cup Weekender S 1 19-20 May Roland Eime

eimes@senet.com.au
6 Queen's Birthday Weekender S 1 9-10 Jun Roland Eime

eimes@senet.com.au
7 Lidum's Cup Weekender S 1 29-30 Sep Roland Eime

eimes@senet.com.au

9 South West Open W 1 17-18 Mar Alan Phillips

alanglo@tpg.com.au
10    Queen's Birthday Weekender      T       1       9-11 Jun                Kevin Bonham    03 6224 8487    k_bonham@utas.edu.au
11 36th Peninsula Open     Q       1       5-7 May         Mark Stokes     07 3205 6042    mstokes@bne.catholic.edu.au
12   11th Redcliffe Challenge        Q       1       6-7 Oct         Mark Stokes     07 3205 6042    mstokes@bne.catholic.edu.au
13   Taree RSL Summer Open   N       1       17-18 Feb       Endel Lane      02 6559 9060    endel@fasternet.com.au
14        Taree RSL Open         N       1       23-24 Jun       Endel Lane      02 6559 9060    endel@fasternet.com.au
15        Taree RSL Spring Open   N       1       17-18 Nov       Endel Lane      02 6559 9060    endel@fasternet.com.au
16        ANU Open                A       3       28-29 Jul               Shaun Press     02 6255 2040    Shaun.Press@cs.anu.edu.au
17     Sydney Easter Cup               N       TBA     13-16 Apr       Peter Hanna

rational@mpx.com.au