From: "Graeme Gardiner" To: Subject: ACF Bulletin # 171 - 1 July 2002 Date: Monday, 1 July 2002 10:09 PM ACF Bulletin # 171 - 1 July 2002 My apologies for the lateness of this bulletin. I've just got back from the Noosa Open which I attended with a bevy of Gold Coast juniors. Many thanks to Robert Hochstadt, Derrick Jeffries and the other organisers for a very enjoyable event. Also to Stephan Taylor of Victoria who shared his weekend with the Gold Coast crew. IN THIS ISSUE Northern Territory now part of the ACF, Australian Olympiad Team Selections, Asian Junior Championships, Australian Masters, Melbourne FIDE Rated Tournament, Chess on SBS, ACF Council Meeting, WA Foundation Day Open, Noosa Open, 2002 Grand Prix, Gold Coast Open Report, Public Liability Insurance, Correspondence (including open letter from French President). NORTHERN TERRITORY NOW OFFICIALLY PART OF THE ACF I'm very pleased to advise that at the ACF Council Meeting held last Monday 24 June, the Chess Association of the Northern Territory was unanimously accepted as a full member of the ACF with immediate effect. Terry O'Neill (Darwin) and Norm Taylor (Alice Springs) are to be congratulated on this development and we wish them well as they strive to move chess forward amongst their geographically remote communities. AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIAD TEAM APPLICATIONS - GARY BEKKER Applications to play in the Australian Chess Olympiad Teams, which will compete in Bled, Slovenia later this year have now closed. The final list of applicants is as follows: Open Team: 1. IM Vladimir Feldman 2. IM Michael Gluzman 3. GM Darryl Johansen 4. IM Gary Lane 5. GM Ian Rogers 6. IM Leonid Sandler 7. IM David Smerdon 8. Nick Speck 9. IM John-Paul Wallace 10.IM Alex Wohl Women's Team: 1. WIM Irina Berezina 2. WIM Biljana Dekic 3. WIM Nancy Lane 4. Natalie Mills 5. WIM Laura Moylan 6. WIM Ngan Koshnitsky 7. Catherine Lip 8. WFM Narelle Szuveges 9. WFM Slavica Sarai The ACF Selectors have a tough job ahead of them to select a field of six Open and four Women's team members. We wish all applicants the best of luck for selection and look forward to announcing the final list of team members in two weeks' time. Applicant's supporting statements and other information provided to selectors will be published, and open to public scrutiny, at the website http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/selections.htm. Any corrections or amendments, to players supporting statements or other selection information, must be submitted by Friday 5th July. Selection of players for this event will be finalised and made public by Sunday 14th July 2002. The selection process for team captains will commence immediately after the teams are announced and applicants should contact the Selections Coordinator, Gary Bekker, by Friday 19th July to nominate. Team captains will be selected by the ACF Council after ascertaining the preference of team members. Team captains will be announced by Sunday 28th July. Further details about the Olympiad are available from FIDE. ASIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS IM David Smerdon is Australia's representative in this important event being held at Club Palm Bay at Marawila, in the western coastal belt of Sri Lanka. It is located 56 kms from Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo. After four rounds his only defeat was to the number one seed, GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan of Iran. Indian junior star Deepan Chakravarthy leads on 4/4. This is a 11 round event which finishes this Friday 5 July. Full details at http://asianjuniors02.tripod.com AUSTRALIAN MASTERS - GARY BEKKER The Australian Masters Tournament started today in Melbourne. Web coverage will be provided via the web site http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/masters.htm. The Melbourne FIDE rating tournament kicks off straight after that. Web coverage for that event is available from http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/rating.htm. MELBOURNE FIDE RATING TOURNAMENT 12 TO 28 JULY 2002 Organisers are currently seeking one additional player, rated over 1700, to compete in the forthcoming Melbourne FIDE Rating Tournament. The event is being played at the Melbourne Chess Club over three consecutive weekends and commences on Friday July 12. Further information is available from the web site http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/rating.htm. Entry fee is $150 but free to FIDE rated competitors. Please contact Gary Bekker, gbekker@mira.net, via e-mail to register your interest in playing. CHESS ON SBS Dear Graeme I watched the FIDE Chess Grand Prix, Dubai on SBS last Saturday. I was very impressed with the progamme. I think all chess players who saw this show, should email SBS and congratulate them on their decision to show chess on T.V.(I have). If they don't get any feed back they might not show any more chess. Their website address is http://www.sbs.com.au/sbs_front/index.html You can send a comment directly from the "Have Your Say" link on the site. If people want chess on TV now is the time to act. Regards Mal Murrell ACF COUNCIL MEETING Concessional refunds: I'm pleased to advise that the ACF Council accepted the offer of the Melbourne Chess Club to share the cost of concessional refunds arising from the Australian Championships held at the Melbourne Town Hall in January. In so doing, the ACF Executive acknowledged that it had inadvertently approved the conditions (which omitted the concessional discounts as required by the ACF constitution) and also noted that the 2002 Australian Championships Organising Committee was aware of the ACF requirement to offer concession entry fees but did not do so nor did it draw the ACF's attention to the fact that it had not done so. Australian Clubs Teams Championship: The ACF Council adopted in principle the proposal from Kerry Corker/Graeme Gardiner for a national clubs competition in 2003 and approved an organising committee to be formed to forward a detailed proposal (including final venues/dates) to the next ACF Council Meeting. One idea being pursued is to have a finals competition between the Gold Coast Open and Noosa Open in the last week of June at a Gold Coast resort. Alternatively between the Gold Coast Classic and Tweed Heads Open in the last week of September. We welcome other ideas or proposals and other volunteers for the organising committee. Please contact Graeme Gardiner ggardiner@auschess.org.au. At this stage teams will consist of eight players with a minimum of three males and three females. One aim of the competition is to encourage clubs to try and achieve a more even spread of males and females in club chess. States will be free to choose their own method of deciding upon the club to represent their state. Whyatt Medal for Chess Problem Composition: It was agreed that the ACF award a new medal, to be known as the Whyatt Medal for Chess Problem Composition. The frequency of the award has been set initially at once every five years. My thanks to Nigel Nettheim and Bob Meadley for the work they have put in whilst developing this proposal. 2002 WA FOUNDATION DAY OPEN - VERN STANNARD In the following game white missed a brilliant win on move 32. A.Kuklinski v. G. Tomek 1.e4 c5, 2.c3 Nf6, 3.e5 Nd5, 4.d4 cxd4, 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.cxd4 e6, 7.Nc3 Nb6, 8.Bg5 Be7, 9.h4 h6, 10.Be3 d5, 11.Rc1 a6, 12.Bd3 Bd7, 13.Qe2 Na5, 14.Rc2 Rc8, 15.h5 Bb4, 16.0-0 Bxc3, 17.Rxc3 Rxc3, 18.bxc3 N(b)c4, 19.Nd2 b5, 20.Qg4 Kf8, 21.Nb3 Nb2, 22.Bb1 Na4, 23.Bd2 Nc4, 24.Be1 Qc7, 25.Qe2 Na3, 26.Bd3 a5, 27.Bd2 Nxc3, 28.Bxc3 Qxc3, 29.Rc1 Qb4, 30.Rc7 Be8, 31.Nc5 Qxd4 and here white instead of playing 32.Rc8 and eventually losing could have played 32.Nxe3+ fxe3, 33.Qf3+ Kg8, 34.Qf7+ Bxf7, 35.Rc8+ Be8, 36.Rxe8+ Kf7, 37.Bg6 mate. NOOSA OPEN Congratulations to Stephen Solomon who pulled off a very neat sacrifice in the last round to defeat Gary Lane. Earlier he had drawn with Ian Rogers and defeated Michael Gluzman. 1 Solomon, Stephen J QLD 2403 Brisbane 6.5 2-3 Rogers, Ian NSW 2549 NSW 6 Humphrey, Jonathan QLD 1794 Brisbane 6 4-6 Gluzman, Michael VIC 2386 VIC 5.5 Stawski, Nik V QLD 1872 Brisbane 5.5 Pizzato, Charles A QLD 2143 Brisbane 5.5 7-13 Lane, Gary W NSW 2432 NSW 5 Edwards, Jacob A QLD 1882 Brisbane 5 Lip, Catherine NSW 1760 Female, NSW 5 Casey, Kevin QLD 2110 Brisbane 5 Pengelley, Justin QLD 2005 Gold Coast 5 Alkin, John QLD 1503 Brisbane 5 Wongwichit, Phachara QLD 1525 Junior, Gold Coast 5 14-19 Weller, Tony QLD 1674 Narangba 4.5 Sonter, Matthew QLD 1764 Gold Coast 4.5 Thomas, Brian QLD 1742 Brisbane 4.5 Stewart, Craig A QLD 1472 Brisbane 4.5 Taylor, Stephan VIC 1526 Melbourne 4.5 Stokes, Mark C QLD 1592 Brisbane 4.5 20-38 Mehltreter, Otto QLD 1746 Suncoast & Veteran 60+ 4 Summers, Paul G QLD 1790 Suncoast 4 Duggan, Howard QLD 1452 Brisbane 4 Cooke, Steven L QLD 1315 Cadet, Gold Coast 4 Page, Christopher J QLD 1474 Junior, Gold Coast 4 Davidson, Nathan P QLD 1572 Brisbane 4 Patissier, Dominic QLD 1451 Suncoast 4 O'Connor, Gerry QLD 1330 Suncoast & Veteran 70+ 4 Kimura, Toshi QLD 1645 Junior, Gold Coast 4 Rogers, Cathy L NSW 1727 Female, NSW 4 Leach, David QLD 1332 Brisbane 4 Macleod, Keith QLD 1607 QLD 4 Cray, Andrew QLD Suncoast 4 Flitcroft-Smith, George P QLD 1568 Brisbane 4 Jeffries, Derrick C QLD 1424 Suncoast & Veteran 60+ 4 Hochstadt, Robert QLD 1407 Suncoast 4 Smith, Shane QLD 1325 Hervey Bay 4 Long, Sam QLD 1198 Brisbane 4 Chen, Shaun QLD 890 Junior, Gold Coast 4 39-45 Potts, John B QLD 1510 Suncoast 3.5 Goodwin, Bob QLD 1386 Suncoast 3.5 Orevich, James QLD 1253 Junior, Gold Coast 3.5 Powell, Doug G QLD 1104 Suncoast 3.5 Jule, Alexandra QLD 962 Female & Junior, Gold Coast 3.5 Hoens, Scott QLD 1055 Brisbane 3.5 Djordjevic, Lou QLD 1208 Suncoast & Veteran 70+ 3.5 46-59 Campkin, David NSW 1711 Suncoast 3 Wongwichit, Chatapong QLD 1274 Junior, Gold Coast 3 Humphrey, John QLD Brisbane 3 Sorenson, Finn QLD 1312 Suncoast 3 Smith, Matthew QLD 1109 Junior, Gold Coast 3 Boross, Gabriel QLD 1319 Veteran 60+ 3 D'Arcy, Michael QLD 990 Suncoast & Junior 3 Long Hong, Stan QLD 1143 Veteran 70+, Mackay 3 Wagner, Luke QLD 1036 Cadet, Gladstone 3 Dyer, Jeff QLD 1077 Suncoast 3 Blundell, Jian QLD 701 Cadet, Gold Coast 3 Bleney, Rebecca QLD Suncoast & Female 3 Thomas, Nigel QLD 931 Gold Coast 3 Scott, Gregory QLD 648 Junior, Gold Coast 3 60-67 Wilkes, Allan QLD 1269 Suncoast & Veteran 70+ 2.5 Pizzato, Chiara QLD 1248 Junior & Female, Brisbane 2.5 Priest, Peter QLD Suncoast 2.5 Runciman, Alan QLD 1247 Suncoast & V70+ 2.5 Waterhouse, David QLD 1232 Suncoast & Veteran 70+ 2.5 Lichter, Reuben Cadet, Gold Coast 2.5 Lee, John QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 2.5 Kimura, Mikio QLD 698 Gold Coast, Junior 2.5 68-75 Sexty, Christian QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 2 Jule, Sebastian QLD 635 Cadet, Gold Coast 2 Wu, Simon QLD Junior, Gold Coast 2 Lueders, Bodo QLD Suncoast, & Veteran 60+ 2 Scott, Georgina QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 2 Beresford, Alex QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 2 Scott, Gary QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 2 Page, Anthea QLD 518 Cadet, Gold Coast 2 76-78 McCarthy, Oliver QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 1.5 Layton, Jessica QLD 578 Cadet, Gold Coast 1.5 Davies, Andrew William QLD Junior, Brisbane 1.5 79-80 Beresford, Nicholas QLD Cadet, Gold Coast 1 Chen, Lina QLD 494 Cadet & Female, Gold Coast 1 2002 GRAND PRIX Organiser: Norm Braybrooke 19 Trafalgar Drive Kippa-Ring 4021 Email . Webpage http://crcchess.topcities.com/GP2002.html. One new event this week, the Mackay Open on 3/4 August. A reminder that we welcome details of each event for publication in this bulletin. Remaining events in 2002: 13/14 July Fairfield Winter Cup NSW Cat 3 Rolando Atienza 0421 379940 atienzarolando@hotmail.com 13/14 July University Open SA Cat 3 Robin Wedding 08 8303 3029 chess@smug.adelaide.edu.au 13/14 July Queensland Open Championship QLD Cat 2 Ian Murray 07 3411 3445 chessqld@optushome.com.au 27/28 July ANU Open ACT Cat 3 Nye Griffiths 02 6267 5305 MrNye@hotmail.com 3/4 August NSWCA Cat 1 Robert Keast 02 9649 8614 robert.keast@didata.com.au 3/4 August Mackay Open QLD Cat 1 Stan Long Hong 07 4953 4573 Noel Olsen olsennoel@bigpond.com 10/11 August Coal City Open NSW Cat 2 George Lithgow 02 4943 3862 george.lithgow@bigpond.com 7/8 September Launceston Weekender TAS Cat 1 Leo Minol 03 6344 7472 leominol@bigpond.com 14/15 Sept Hobsons Bay Open VIC Cat 1 Peter Caissa 0411 710900 pcaissa@melbpc.org.au 21/22 Sept Gold Coast Classic QLD Cat 3 Graeme Gardiner 07 5530 5794 gardiner@auschess.org.au 5/6 Oct Redliffe Challenge QLD Cat 1 Mark Stokes 07 3205 6042 mstokes@bne.catholic.edu.au 5/6 October Lidums Cup SA Cat 2 George Howard 08 8271 2757 georgeshoward@hotmail.com 6/7 Oct Koala Open NSW Cat 3 Brian Jones 02 9838 1529 chessaus@chessaustralia.com.au 12/13 Oct Tweed Heads Open QLD Cat 3 Audie Pennefather 07 5536 9185 pennefather@iprimus.com 19/20 Oct Gosford Open NSW Cat 1 Keith Farrell 02 4341 7864 kfarrell@ozemail.com.au 2/3 Nov Laurieton Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au 3-5 Nov Tasmanian Open Hobart TAS Cat 1 Kevin Bonham 03 6224 8487 k_bonham@tassie.net.au 16/17 Nov Taree RSL Spring Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au 23/24 Nov NSWCA Cat 1 Robert Keast 02 9649 8614 robert.keast@didata.com.au 7/8 December Tuggeranong Vikings Weekender ACT Cat 1 Ian Rout 02 6281 4501 IanandJan@netspeed.com.au 14/15 December Fairfield Winter Cup NSW Cat 2 Rolando Atienza 0421 379940 atienzarolando@hotmail.com NSW 17, Qld 8, Tas 4, SA 4, ACT 3, WA 1, Vic 1. Total 38 events. Progress report from Norm Braybrooke: Results of the SA Queen's Birthday Weekender have not yet been received but the progress scores after tournament 16 the Gold Coast Open are now on the GP webpage (follow the links). Whilst a number of siblings can be found in the lists, the family fun of chess is shown by the prominence of the couples Rogers (Ian and Cathy) and Lane (Gary and Nancy) and father/daughter Soltysik (Chester and Adelaide). Leaders :- Open:- Solomon.S (3 tournament scores) Rogers. I (2) Bolens. J (4) Lane. G.W (4) Wallace J-P(2) U2000:- Stead K. (5) Weller T. (3) Rej T. (3) U1600 Escribano J (4) Forace L (4) Keuning A (4) Junior:- Smerdon D (2) Rej T (4) Xie G(4) Women:- Lip E (2) Soltysik (3) Song A (3) Lane N (2) Unrated :- Soltysik C (3) Gary McC. (2) Slidzunias J (2) Check all your scores on the web http://crcchess.topcities.com/GP2002.html and follow the links. GOLD COAST OPEN REPORT - CHARLES ZWORESTINE Good players are always lucky... In the words of the top seed, GM Ian Rogers, at the presentation: "I do not recall ever having played worse in a tournament that I won outright!". And he certainly did have his share of luck. But grandmasters make their own luck; and to be fair to Ian, he did play virtually the strongest field he could possibly have played (the next six seeds below him). The fact that he was not quite in his usual outstanding form just made it a more interesting tournament, as the following round by round report shows: Round 1: The most interesting thing that happened here was Ian being paired with wife Cathy! He won fairly comfortably; more so than Gary Lane and Stephen Solomon, who both had to fight very hard (against Tony Weller and Toshi Kimura respectively). They won in the end, as did all the other top seeds. David Smerdon scored with a brilliant sacrificial attack as Back against Gareth Oliver, although (perfectionist that he is) he was not happy at missing an even neater finish! The bottom two seeds, David Leach and Tony Oliver, both scored excellent draws (against Matthew Sonter and Bernie Saavedra respectively). Round 2: Some tough battles on the top boards here, with Smurf looking like he had achieved a drawn pure opposite-coloured bishop ending against Ian Rogers on Board 1; however the GM (thirsting for revenge after this year's Doeberl Cup) had assessed the position better, and won due to his opponent's poorly placed king. Lane blundered a piece against Andrew Allen and looked lost; but after creating some complications, he emerged with two rooks for queen and knight. He then offered a draw, which Andrew declined; only to see his knights get tangled in a knot in time pressure (he eventually lost). Solomon was much more convincing, winning with a crushing attack as Black against Justin Pengelley. All the other top seeds won to get to 2/2. Ben Lazarus scored a good upset win over Gareth Oliver. Round 3: A shock on the top board this round when Ian Rogers, after a good opening, ran his position downhill and lost to Michael Gluzman. As Gluzzie put it, Ian was "very helpful": the game ended with Michael a piece up and winning even more material due to a very strong passed pawn on g2. After a fluctuating game, Gary Lane was probably winning against Erik Teichmann (a pawn up), but somehow ended up in a drawn king and pawn ending. Solomon and Smerdon were convincing winners, while Andrew Allen won the other way: he ground down Toshi Kimura in by far the longest game of the event, eventually winning rook and bishop versus rook. Many upsets this round: Lam over Pengelley, Lazarus over Lovejoy, Leach over Myers, Constantin over Saavedra and Shannon Oliver over Sonter. Round 4: The last round of the day produced an outright leader, with Solomon (the defending champion) jumping to 4/4 after a brilliant finish against Gluzman. It looked like Gluzzie didn't see it coming: one minute he was the exchange ahead, the next minute he resigned! Rogers and Smerdon scored important wins over Lane and Teichmann respectively to stay in touch with the leaders. Best upset of the round went to Shannon Oliver, who scored an excellent win as Black over Justin Pengelley (rated nearly 500 points higher than her!). Round 5: An intriguing finish was in prospect after Rogers caught up by defeating Solomon in a knight and pawn ending. Ian's queenside pawn majority resulted in a winning passed b-pawn, which he eventually forced through. Ian and Solo were joined in the lead on 4/5 by Andrew Allen, who scored an excellent upset by winning a long game against Gluzman; and Smurf, who ground down Abylkassov. Not far behind on 3.5 were Lane and Teichmann, who also both won this round. Toshi Kimura scored the best upset this round with a good win over Lovejoy, nearly 300 points his "rating senior"! Round 6: Cream comes to the top... Ian Rogers took the outright lead this round on 5/6 after winning a complicated tactical battle against Andrew Allen. He was helped by Smerdon and Solomon drawing with each other; despite a massive number of traps, tricks and vicissitudes in their difficult ending, neither side could make progress. In the end they had to settle for remaining half a point off the lead. They were joined there by Lane, who won by remaining aggressive in Gluzman's time pressure; and Teichmann, who beat Abylkassov. Round 7: What a thrilling finish... With Lane having drawn a hard-fought game with Solomon and Smerdon having blundered a piece to his bogeyman Andrew Allen, the Rogers-Teichmann game on Board 1 suddenly became the first place decider! And against all odds it was Teichmann pressing to beat Rogers, winning first one pawn and then another in an ending... The catch: Rogers is a fighter, and he had two beautiful bishops against bishop and knight as compensation. It shouldn't have been enough, but at the end of an incredibly long struggle, Ian forced a draw to a standing ovation; it was only later that he realised that had gained him outright first place on 5.5/7, leaving Teichmann, Lane, Solomon and Allen equal second on 5... Gold Coast Under 1600 Report: In a field choc full of juniors, what odds that one of them would win this event? Top seed Lee Forace had something to say about this; but he was not alone, as an 87 player field battled for the $400 first prize. It was always going to be interesting; so let's see how it all panned out: Round 1: What? An underrated junior already?? Forace had to fight like the devil before finally overcoming Adelaide Soltysik. Adelaide fought brilliantly as Black from an inferior position to achieve a possibly winning endgame a piece ahead - only to then blunder it back and lose! Other results all went with seedings. Jenni Oliver should have beaten 4th seed Nikolai Hart; unfortunately, the exchange ahead in an ending, Jenni blundered into a mate in one! Round 2: An upset loss for Forace on top board against Wendy Terry, who gradually outplayed him in a long manoeuvring game. Despite being down queen, bishop and several pawns for his two rooks, Lee fought on admirably to make it the longest game of the round; but in the end the material deficit and his exposed king were too much to handle. At least he was not alone: third seed Joe Kingston lost to Andrea Gasparini, while fifth seeded Stephan Taylor (one of the Victorian visitors) also went down (to Jim Laky). In all these upsets, the higher seed had Black: not a good colour this round! Round 3: Black struggled again, causing more upsets on the top boards: David Richards beat second seed Mark Stokes on Board 1, while dangerous junior Casey Barnard defeated Nikolai Hart on Board 2 to complete a rout of the top 5 seeds in the past two rounds. It's a wide open contest... Ten players in a row lost as Black on Boards 11-20, as did six players in a row on Boards 31-36. Tells us something? Philip Ee was the exception the "Black loses" rule, scoring an upset as Black over ninth seed Andrew Van der Meer. Wendy Terry and Andrea Gasparini continued their good form: Wendy drew from a better position against tenth seed Don Hamilton, while Andrea did even better (as Black!) to beat twelfth seed Craig Stewart. Round 4: Casey Barnard and Sean Karita got to joint leadership on 4/4 after beating Phachara Wongwichit and Philip Ee respectively. Casey in particular is playing well: this was his second win against a higher rated player in a row. Also playing well are Andrea Gasparini (a good draw with the higher rated David Richards) and Rhys Rakauskas (won against the higher rated Wayne Fraser). They remain just half a point behind the leaders; it's still a close race... Round 5: Finally, an outright leader! Sean Karita did not know what hit him: a steam train by the name of Casey Barnard, whose crushing win over his third higher rated opponent in a row got him to 5/5. But he's not home yet: Rhys Rakauskas is just half a point behind after winning a long game against Andrea Gasparini on Board 2. And the top two seeds head a large group of players a further half point back on 4/5. Will Casey meet one of them in the last round? Round 6: Casey Barnard is human... he had to fight like a tiger before eventually drawing with Rhys Rakauskas. That left him still leading on 5.5/6, but by only half a point from six players on 5. Top seed Forace was not one of these, as he lost in an upset to Ross Jempson. A good round for the Wongwichit family today: Phachara is one of the players on 5, while his brother Chatapong scored a good upset win over Stephan Taylor (his third Black loss in a row...). Round 7: Despite being higher rated, Mark Stokes could not stop the Barnard express, as Casey won to take outright first on 6.5/7. Phachara Wongwichit and Craig Stewart took equal second on 6/7 by beating Sean Karita and Ross Jempson respectively. Many more upsets this round (too many to keep track of), as youth mainly prevailed over experience: Casey is not the only junior to look out for... So ended a great tournament: thanks to Graeme Gardiner for organising such a fantastic event. There were virtually no disputes, and the only controversy surrounded the time controls (40 minutes each, plus 30 seconds per move from the start) causing some rounds to start late. Feedback on these time controls would be most welcome. My personal thanks to the canteen staff (Sue and Minako Kimura, Raelene Grigg, Linda Layton, Angelique McCarthy, Lily Finke and Debbie Evans), who always made sure I was well fed; to Stephan Taylor, for extra help (above and beyond the call of duty) helping me to set the clocks and distribute the scoresheets each round; and to Andrew Allen, for letting me stay at his place. I look forward to coming back again next year... PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE The following clubs/states etc have now joined the ACF master policy: Australian Chess Federation Inc Gold Coast C.C. Inc Canberra C.C Southside Junior C.C. Bunbury C.C. Inc Hobsons Bay C.C. Dandenong C.C. Inc Tweed Coolangatta C.C. Inc Street Chess (In Canberra) Australian Capital Territory Chess Association Inc ACTJCL Inc Chess Association of W.A. Inc South Australian Chess Association Inc Suncoast C.C. Inc Melbourne C.C. Inc Toowoomba C.C. Inc Kin Kora Junior C.C. Whitehorse Junior C.C. Inc The Gap C.C. Inc Box Hill C.C. Inc Belconnen C.C. New South Wales Chess Association Inc New South Wales Junior Chess League Inc Metropolitan C.C. Chess Association of Queensland Inc Maryborough Junior Chess Players Logan City C.C. Inc Tasmanian Chess Association Premiums for a full year for $10 million cover are: Clubs with 100 or more members: $277 Clubs with 50 to less than 100 members: $211 Clubs with less than 50 members: $150 The cover is renewable on 31 August each year; premiums for cover taken out now until 31.8.02 would be calculated pro rata. Full details from Chris Zuccala of Vicwide Insurance Brokers on (03) 9569 1569 or via email on vicbrok@bigpond.com. CORRESPONDENCE AMIEL ROSARIO I was just walking through Sydney, on my way home, and I chanced upon a fantastic sight: chess in the Galleries Victoria. There is a giant board, much like the one in Hyde Park, but the pieces are only made available on weekends. I believe the management there also provides tournament size sets. The chess "pit" is located in the lower ground area right amongst the food outlets. This is fantastic news! AR STEWART REUBEN Please note the IM norm for the Australian Masters is 8/11, not as stated 8.5 in the current ACF Bulletin. In case the organisers do not know, it is also possible for players to gain norms after 9 or 10 rounds, even if they falter later. The score required will depend on the average rating of the opponents actually encountered. Thus it will not be possible to determine the target scores until the draw is made. Also the IM norm of less than 11 rounds would depend on whether the candidate had already succeeded in meeting the three IMs. Fixing the draw so that two IMs meet in each of rounds 10 and 11 would increase the chance of a norm slightly. Stewart Reuben THOMAS LECKNER Dear chessfriend, Also in 2002 the chess-club of Tegernsee will organize a great open international chess tournament: 6th Open International Bavarian Masters Bad Wiessee, 2002-10-26 to 2002-11-03 Prize-funds: EUR 21.000,-- Again we expect a lot of grandmasters. Former champions of Bad Wiessee are A. Khalifman (1997,1998), A. Shabalov (1999), A. Graf (2000) and V. Akopian (2001). Details and online-inscription under URL: http://www.schach-am-tegernsee.de/oib2002 Best regards Thomas Leckner JAN MAZUCH Dear chessfriends, We take liberty of sending you regulations of 2nd Series of International Chess Tournaments CZECH TOUR 2002/2003. More detailed information should be found at http://www.proclient.cz/czechtour. At the same time we take liberty of sending you regulations of 2nd International Chess Tournament OPEN ZNOJMO 2002 which will be held within the frame of 2nd Series CZECH TOUR 2002/2003 on 20.-27.9. 2002 in Znojmo. With best regards Dr. Jan Mazuch - j.mazuch@avekont.cz Czech Open - International Chess & Bridge Festival - http://www.proclient.cz/czechopen Czech Tour - International Chess Tournaments Series - http://www.proclient.cz/czechtour International Chess Calender - http://www.avekont.cz/calender.htm JAKUB FUKSIK Dear chess friend, We are looking for last several players rated 2300+ without IM title to our three IM round-robin tournaments (FIDE category 3-4) which will take place at 31.7.-8.8.2002 in Olomouc (Czech Republic). If you (or some your friends and clubmates) are interested in start let me contact by e-mail as soon as possible. For further information you can visit website of this tournament where you can find also information about FIDE open we organize within our festival. Follow these link: http://www.proclient.cz/a64 or http://www.proclient.cz/czechtour/ With best regards, Jakub Fuksik Agentura 64 MOHAMED HAJI KHOURI 12th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival We are pleased to invite your chess Federation to take part in the 12th Abu Dhabi Chess Festival to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 12 to 21 Aug 2002. The Festival consist of the following events: Master Tournament (Invitation) Open Tournament (Men - junior Under 16) Children Tournament(Under 12) Blitz Tournament. Exhibition Match. The festival shall be played in accordance with FIDE regulation. The participant Federation will bear the cost and expense of Travel and Accommodation. Meanwhile the Organizing committee will provide the entry Visas to U.A.E for the participants. Last day for the registration is 20.07.2002. For more details contact Mr.H.Rustom (Festival coordinator) on Tel:+97150-6223321 or visit our home page www.abudhabichess.com We look forward to receive your response at the earliest . With best regards, Mohamed Haji Khouri General Secretary Abu Dhabi P.O Box 7513 Tel :971-2-4430043 Fax :971-2-4430055 www.abudhabichess.com. JEAN-CLAUDE LOUBATIERE (PRESIDENT, FRENCH CHESS FEDERATION) Dear President, The present situation with the FIDE must certainly frustrate you, like the large majority of Federation Presidents world-wide. To do nothing today would be to accept this situation for 4 years more, at the considerable disadvantage for this game for which we struggle every day at our Federations. The next elections are to be held in Bled, at the beginning of November. The final date for the official declaration of candidates is August 7th. The French Chess Federation has just taken the decision to engage all its energy to change things and we call on your Federation to mobilise also. You will find attached the Press Release which was distributed today. Please send us your reactions quickly, by e-mail or by fax: the points which for you seem essential or your will to participate in this action… We will keep you up to date with the different feedback. A strong movement should be created for a FIDE which is responsible, dynamic, ambitious and enthusiastic! Yours in Chess, The President, French Chess Federation Jean-Claude Loubatière The Board of Directors of the French Chess Federation, reunited, Saturday, June 15, in Paris, has decided, unanimously, to commission its President, Jean-Claude Loubatière, to propose an alternative direction to the present leadership of FIDE. The functioning of FIDE today is unworthy of an International Sporting Federation. The President visibly has his mind on other things than Chess and decisions are taken by a small court, more interested in its privileges than the smooth running of FIDE. There are no more real exchanges with the National Federations. The President’s letter, the FIDE Forum and the FIDE Handbook have progressively disappeared, and the administration has slackened. The organisation of the Youth Championships takes place in an environment of general indifference. The best players are less and less interested by traditional important events like the Olympiad. The rules of competitions change all the time, destabilising Continental Championships. And a new time control was imposed without the slightest consultation with the top players and the National Federations. Today, there is no more political will and no real prospect of development. The only positive aspect is the reunification plan for the World Championship thanks to the initiative of Yasser Seirawan. This plan should be brought to fruition under the best conditions. It is true that the personal wealth of the President, nevertheless of questionable origin, has permitted the organisation of the World KO Championships and the Grand Prix. But, seven years later, we can only see that they have done nothing to further Chess development. The media has completely ignored these events, speaking more easily of the problems with Kasparov or the law suits of Karpov or Zsuzsa Polgar. The financial situation is still very worrying. In spite of the paltry services rendered, FIDE has increased the charges of the National Federations, putting into financial difficulty a certain number of them. The creation of shell companies, signing contracts with FIDE for 20 years (World Chess Foundation), or for 30 years (FIDE Commerce), without ever honouring them, stands witness to inadmissible practices in a serious Sporting Federation. All of this gives an intolerable image for Chess, keeps away the media, discourages investment and sponsors, and soils the oldest and most noble of games. This situation is well known to amateurs and to the National Federations. It would be irresponsible to let it continue for four more years. The specialised press will know how to create a strong international awareness. The French Chess Federation calls for the mobilisation of the National Federations in favour of change during the elections, next November, in Bled. The time has come to form a team representing the 5 continents, motivated only by the good of Chess and capable to respond to the immense expectations of the Chess World. Montpellier, June 18, 2002 Contact: French Chess Federation: Tel: ++33 (0) 4 67 60 02 22 Fax: ++33 (0) 4 67 60 02 25 E-mail: ffe.president@online.fr LETTER IN RESPONSE FROM VARIOUS FIDE ZONES As the owners of signatures listed at the end of this press release, we wanted to declare our opinion for the press release of French Chess Federation which has been dated and sent to public on 19th of June 2002. For us as presidents, players and representatives of different chess federations, the language used on the press release of FCF against to FIDE President is not suitable with the motto of FIDE “Gens Una Sumus” and with sportsmanship. We can not understand from FCF’s public release that its language considers critics instead of different aims. First of all, if you read this letter as a the person in family you may not match the critics with the realities. Accusing the president of FIDE with the disappearing of FIDE handbook and FIDE Forum may only be suited with the old-fashioned approach of people to the new technologies, if their critics are innocent. FIDE handbook or FIDE Forum may be accessed daily by www.fide.com address which is given here that maybe people does not know such as excellent site (!). Moreover a website offers a much faster means of spreading the news. All FIDE events given to countries to be organised are administrated by biddings of organisers and it is aimed that the best conditions for players are provided. The new time control was reacted at the first implementations in 2001, but in the FIDE General Assembly in Halkidiki in Greece was mostly agreed by the delegates who participated. The final decision will be given by GA 2002 in Bled. The ironic thing with these critics is that the president of FCF, who is also the president of Zone 1, who criticise this time control was absent on this Assembly. As far as we and the general public know the reunification plan was managed directly by the FIDE president and it is very close to success. Probably this public release by FCF is a kind of secret variant with bad moves to challenge unfairly this plan. To speak about president personal wealth and the origin of it, is a direct harassment to human rights and not kind to a person who is the president of a republic and not only of FIDE. How any person may think that after spending millions of dollars in chess and supporting prize funds for different important events and still his efforts are not finished for further chess development. Nowadays if we compare with impartial and analytical thinking the situation we have achieved in chess with the situation 7 years ago we see following developments: 1. Not only top level players start to get some professional support by playing chess but also other players become professional grand masters. 2. Chess became more commercial and more product than any time before. Internet sponsorships created new ways and media for advertising and it has been used for getting revenue for chess to support professional players. 3. Continental championships have became more attractive and the number of rated players has been folded many times during these years. 4. Chess has been accepted as a sport and doping control procedures were applied into chess events. IOC is more close to accept the chess as Olympic sport which will change the variant we are on nowadays to a clear winning position for the whole chess family. 5. In the 2000 Summer Olympic Games chess was a demonstration sport for the first time and the result of this is very clear for every one. 6. It should be clearly noticed that the companies involving into chess activities by long term contracts are providing reasonable good finance to continental and to world events which were not existing in chess 7 years ago. 7. When someone speaks about the situation as it was mentioned on this unlucky press release of FCF about the approach of national federations to the president of FIDE, the best answer, we believe in that, is going to be given by the highest authority of FIDE, by the General Assembly, to this part of our family. 8. Most important success done by FIDE President is the agreement achieved in this year in Prag. All of the top players of chess world agreed on that World Championship title will belong to FIDE and will be given by her. We may not accept the language used by the words of “intolerable image for Chess” in reality it was never ever was so respectable. Therefore we protest this language. We again want to declare our respect and full support to the FIDE President. We can not understand to use such as language which is beyond criticism to a person whose name must be written by Golden Letters in Chess History not only because of his financial and unlimited support but also because of his big success on reunification plans which was an old and chronic problem when he was first elected in Paris(!). We think that the reason of this unlucky press release is not so innocent by the approach of criticism for further improvements. The reason is very clear to make some challenges on this reunification plan and to get some compromises for the next elections in Bled. We hope that all national federations and their delegates will see this badly prepared trap and will make their best move to answer it in a suitable way. Chess regards Batumi, 26 June 2002 Zurap Azmaiparashvili Gaguik Oganessian Ali Nihat YAZICI GM ICO and the President of President of Zone 1.5 President of Turkish Georgian Chess Federation and the General Secretary Chess Federation Of Armenian Chess Fed. Jaan Ehlvest Panagiotis Nikolopoulos GM and President of Zone 1.7 Chairman of FIDE Arbiters Council Players who has participated to 3rd European Individual Chess Championship Batumi – Georgia. With very best wishes to all. Graeme Gardiner President Australian Chess Federation 11 Hardys Road Mudgeeraba Queensland 4213 Phone +61 7 5530 5794 Mobile 0438 305797 Fax +61 7 5530 6959 Email ggardiner@auschess.org.au Chess - the Clever Sport!