From: "Graeme Gardiner" To: "Graeme Gardiner" Subject: ACF Bulletin # 177 - 11 August 2002 Date: Sunday, 11 August 2002 7:54 PM ACF Bulletin # 177 - 11 August 2002 Chess Kids Paid Advertisment, Take 2 Chess Coach position up for grabs (again). We need chess books for our library, donations welcomed. New Chess Kids Clubrooms, 758 North Rd, Ormond, keep watch for details of party celebrations! And, the all important (which I forgot last time) contact details in case any of this interests you... Chess Kids - David Cordover 451 North Rd, Ormond, 3204 ph/fax: 03 9576-8177 or 0411-877-833 email: cordover@chessworld.com.au (Proceeds of paid advertisements are presently going to the Olympiad appeal). IN THIS ISSUE FIDE leadership, Drug Testing at the Olympiad, Women's Olympiad Captaincy, Olympiad Appeal, Squad Coaching for World Juniors, Death of Jacques Engelander, British Championships, ACF Communication, Grand Prix, Grand Prix Progress Report, Mackay Open Results, Gold Coast Classic, 2002 NSW State Championship, Correspondence, 2002 Oceanic Zonal - Report by Catherine Lip. A CHOICE OF FIDE LEADERSHIP On the very last day for nominations, a new ticket has emerged as an alternative FIDE leadership group. President - Ignatius LEONG Singapore Deputy President - Morten SAND Norway Vice President - LIN Feng China General Secretary - Jean-Claude LOUBATIERE France Treasurer - Uvencio BLANCO Venezuela I think it is fair to say that this is a well respected leadership group. I believe that in due course we will learn more of what this new group proposes for FIDE via a webpage they will be setting up. In the meantime, I welcome feedback on the choice now facing the ACF when it comes to voting at the FIDE Congress. Phil Viner will be Australia's delegate. Gary Bekker is being nominated as the new Oceania Zone President. This is a well earned nomination as Gary has been at the forefront of promoting chess in the Oceania region. DRUG TESTING AT THE BLED OLYMPIAD I'm reliably informed by more than one source that there is almost certainly going to be drug testing at the Bled Olympiad. Australian team members would be wise to consult their doctors if they are using any medication. Doctors should be able to advise whether there is any danger that banned substances are being used. WOMEN'S OLYMPIAD TEAM CAPTAINCY In response to Vladimir Feldman's email corresondence in last week's bulletin, the ACF Council have authorised me to respond as follows: The choice of captain was a close and difficult decision with the very strong but different credentials of the applicants. As usual, different councillors have given different weighting to different aspects of the decision. In his written statement, Vladimir Feldman emphasised his strong playing and coaching qualifications, and highlighted the fact that he was a twice Women's Olympiad captain. In his written statement, Jason Lyons emphasised his management skills and highlighted that under his captaincy the Women's Olympiad team had performed above expectations at Istanbul. In his written statement, Bob Krstic emphasised his international experience mainly from outside Australia and his fluency in the languages of the region in which the Olympiad will be played. The ACF Council have the duty of taking into account any personal knowledge of the qualities of the applicants when making their decision. The voting of council was fairly close; six primary votes to Jason Lyons, four primary votes to Vladimir Feldman with two abstentions. BLED OLYMPIAD 25 OCTOBER TO 11 NOVEMBER Please support our team! Chess is one of the few sports in Australia that does not receive Federal Government funding for the national team to attend the number one world competition in that sport. For the first time the ACF is able to offer credit card facilities. Please just provide your credit card number, expiry date, name of cardholder and amount of donation by email to the ACF Treasurer, Norm Greenwood at normg@bigpond.com.au. If you are concerned about the security of your credit card over the net, send your details by fax to Graeme Gardiner at 07 5530 6959. Alternatively please send your cheque payable to the Australian Chess Federation to Norm Greenwood at PO Box 1840 Hornsby Westfield NSW 1635. All donations will be acknowleged in this bulletin. A full list of donations to date will be included next week. SQUAD COACHING FOR WORLD JUNIORS Once again there will be a week of intensive coaching for those travelling overseas for the World Juniors in Greece. On this occasion it will be held in Canberra from 29 September to 3 October and will once again be funded by Jenni Oliver. We are indebted to the Oliver family for their ongoing selflessness in their support of Australian chess. Many thanks to them. The coaches are GM Ian Rogers, GM Darryl Johansen and IM Laszlo Hazai. DEATH OF JACQUES ENGELANDER Dear Graeme, Players, organisers and all who knew Jacques Engelander will be greatly saddened by the news of his death on Tuesday, about four years after a debilitating stroke caused him to be confined to a nursing home. Jacques’ endeavours to popularise chess in Australia spanned several decades, during which time he was a prime mover in the presentation of a vast range of promotions, sponsorships, tournaments, exhibitions, celebrity appearances and the like, all designed to promote the game that provided him with a life-long hobby, a means to earn a living as an agent for Novag chess computers, and a legion of friends and acquaintances throughout Australia. Thanks to Jacques’ engaging combination of inspiration, optimism and audacity, those of us who were privileged to work with him during some of those years can include among our memories exhibitions by former world champions Euwe, Karpov and Spassky; meetings with FIDE presidents Olafsson and Campomanes; and encounters on and off the board with masters, celebrities and personalities too numerous to mention. At very short notice, some of those who shared Jacques’ goals have been able to provide some thoughts and recollections, which are included below. I know there will be others who will want to add to this collection in the coming weeks. Gary Wastell Fred Vanderlinde: When I received a phone call from John Engelander's daughter Mrs Sandy Dennis last Tuesday to tell me that her father had died suddenly, I was shocked because it was totally unexpected. I have known John for many years, and to me he seemed indestructible. He seemed to have grabbed life by the scruff of the neck and was not about to allow the inevitable to stand in his way. Through his business he supported and promoted chess throughout Australia, and I am told he was involved with the beginnings of the chess Olympiads when in Russia. He will be sadly missed. My deepest sympathies go to his family. John Kable: I remember a night in 1970 when I accompanied John Barton, the then president of the Victorian Chess Association to the home of a man who had expressed an interest in helping the cause of chess. Shortly afterwards, that man, Jacques Engelander, became president of the association. Jacques had vision and a generosity to match it. For many years he sponsored the annual Ballarat Begonia Open and he organised the visits to Australia of former world champions Euwe, Spassky and Karpov, and the future women’s world champion Susan Polgar, as well as Grandmaster “Big Eddy” Gufeld. Jacques dreamt of having a chess Olympiad in this country, failing which he was prepared to settle for a world championship match. For his services to chess, Jacques was made an honorary life member of the Victorian Chess Association. Robert Jamieson: I remember Jacques as being someone who really loved chess and was an unquenchable source of new ideas to promote the game. When I was selected to go to the World Junior in Athens in 1971 Jacques used his contacts to arrange fund-raising simuls for me in various shopping centres and was a big influence in helping me in my chess career. He was well respected in the highest circles in chess and invariably entertained FIDE President Campomanes whenever Campo came to Melbourne. I remember well one evening when Campo and I went back to Jacques flat and I played lightning with these two chess fanatics into the early hours. Jacques was not a great player by any means, but he loved chess more than most and generously helped promote the game over many decades. We could do with a few Jacques now! My condolences to his family and friends. Gerrit Hartland: I first met Jacques [then John] Engelander when he became VCA president in 1971 and talked me into becoming secretary. What struck me about him was his enthusiasm for the organisation and his love for the game. In that year he promptly took on the 1972 Australian Championship and hit upon a mad scheme of financing it by publishing a chess yearbook and persuading several respected firms and individuals to take advertising. This project, which might seem easy now with desktop publishing and all the etceteras of modern computing, but then a mammoth task of typesetting and printing. I don't know whether the book made a profit but judging by the many copies left over, I suspect that John made a considerable contribution out of his own pocket. However the tournament at the Kew town hall was a great success, it produced joint winners Fuller and Hay, and John and I became friends. Guy West: What I remember about Jacques was that he was very human. He had a lot of enthusiasm for the game of life and always had some little plan on the boil. In some ways he reminded me of a nicer version of Toad from 'The Wind in the Willows' and you couldn't help liking him. Every so often he would call and the conversation would start with something like, 'Guy West, I'm going to make you a very important person'. Then he would outline some outlandish plan. The funny thing was that because of his great self belief and enthusiasm I would often go along with it and it always turned into some kind of amusing adventure. I remember playing chess against a blindfolded Pal Benko in the centre of the MCG once and suddenly laughing out aloud, wondering what on earth we were all doing there. Jacques was always the ringmaster... he carried people along with him and for a man of short stature had quite a bit of charisma. Jacques was irrepressible. He had his share of setbacks but always bounced back bigger than before. He genuinely loved chess despite never becoming a strong player and I admired him for that. I also felt he had a very warm heart. One of the human characteristics that was very evident to me was his great pride in his son. Often he would tell me what John was doing and his eyes would really light up. His son was so well mannered and likeable that I thought his pride was well justified and that Jacques must have done a lot of things right as a father. There is very little I can say that others will not paraphrase in words more eloquent than mine. To chessplayers Jacques was an institution, always keen to promote the game, sponsoring events over decades of involvement and loyal to his Novag brand even as home computers chipped away at the relevance of dedicated chess machines. A warm, gregarious man of generous spirit, with all sorts of wonderful little quirks, he lived a full life, gave a lot back and will be long remembered and greatly missed. BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS These have just finished. Australia's two Olympiad represenatives competing in this event were IMs Alex Wohl and Gary Lane who both finished on a creditable 6.5/11. Full details at http://www.bcf.org.uk/events/bcf2002/british.htm. ACF COMMUNICATION Matthew Sweeney has kindly offered to put together a directory of clubs, states, leagues, commercial bodies, journalists etc. Please email him on mhjs@bigpond.net.au if you have anything you would like to contribute to this directory. 2002 GRAND PRIX Organiser: Norm Braybrooke 19 Trafalgar Drive Kippa-Ring 4021 Email . Webpage http://crcchess.topcities.com/GP2002.html. A reminder that we welcome details of each event for publication in this bulletin. Remaining events in 2002: 7/8 September Launceston Weekender TAS Cat 1 Leo Minol 03 6344 7472 leominol@bigpond.com 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 3 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.au 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 9/10 Nov Hobsons Bay Open VIC Cat 1 Peter Caissa 0411 710900 pcaissa@melbpc.org.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. GRAND PRIX PROGRESS REPORT Norm Braybrooke: 23 tournaments completed and I got results of the last two today (Monday) that is a first and best! We have reached the time of the year when some of the leaders can only get "margin" improvement (the difference between any future points gained and the lower scores of previous tournaments giving the followers a chance to perform and pass them. Open Ian Rogers has grabbed the lead back from Stephen Solomon with John-Paul Wallace third. John-Paul could get a half point lead over Stephen with an outright first in a Category 3 tournament when they would both have to rely on margins to sort out second. Under 2000 Last year's winner Kerry Stead leads but can only improve with margins whilst Tomek Rej (2nd) and Tony Weller(3rd) can score one maximum and margins. Under 1600 Jose Escribano leads from Lee Forace and Anthony Keuning with only margin points for each. Queenslander John Alkin could pip them with outright best U1600 in Sept/Oct with 2 Category 3 and 1 Category 1 tournaments. Junior George Xie (1st) and Tomek Rej (2nd) lead with only margins available. Qld's Toshi Kimura could pass them with best junior scores in the Sept/Oct tournaments in Qld. ACT's Gareth Oliver could also get up with Categories 2 and 3 in NSW or with a trip to Qld to oust Toshi. Women The first 6 places are filled by NSW players. Catherine Lip has two maximums available so could maintain her lead. Catherine is followed by Heather Huddleston, Nancy Lane, Angela Song, Cathy Rogers, Adelaide Soltysik (Four of the six are juniors). Unrated Chester Soltysik leads but has only margins to improve. Kelvin Finke (Qld), Grey McClure (NSW) and Carlo Canuto (NSW) can all win it. MACKAY OPEN RESULTS 1-2 Weller, Tony 1674 6 Olsen, Noel 1596 6 3-4 Sculac, Bero 1751 5.5 Ager, John C 1496 5.5 5-6 Hellmann, Oscar 1652 5 Kospartov, Nick 1412 5 7-10 Dickson, Ian C 1685 4.5 Davis, Norman H 1470 4.5 Xu, Mingda 1194 JNR 4.5 Wagner, Luke 1036 JNR 4.5 11-14 Waters, Mick 1557 4 Lutz, Gary 1050 4 Farber, Jess 971 JNR 4 Humphreys, Francis Mackay 4 15-17 Long Hong, Stan 1143 3.5 Kirby, Kimberley 695 JNR 3.5 Shannahan, Brad MACKAY 3.5 18-24 Forsyth, James 1089 JNR 3 Briggs, George 1072 JNR 3 Bartel, Matthew 978 JNR? 3 Foley, Joshua 458 JNR 3 Pope, Chris JNR 3 Walter, Michael JNR 3 Troccoli, Enzo JNR 3 25-32 Clerc, Colin 1574 2 Stent, Darren 1219 2 Stuart, Jack JNR 2 Hungerford, Matthew JNR 2 Ilich, Nick JNR 2 Walker, Matthew JNR 2 Czubala, Daniel JNR 2 Biggs, Callum JNR 2 33 Brown, Stephen JNR 1.5 GOLD COAST CLASSIC 21/22 SEPTEMBER Early warning for this event. GM Ian Rogers, GM Heikki Kallio (Finland) and IM Laszlo Hazai (Hungary) will all be participating in this tournament. The feature of this event is that although it is primarily for individuals, it doubles as a teams (of 4) competition, with the teams result decided by the sum of net ratings gain/loss as decided by the Swiss Perfect computer programme. Whilst the strong players are much more likely to win the main individual prizes, it is a little harder for them to win the teams prizes. This has proved a very popular tournament, especially since the teams content was introduced. Contact Graeme Gardiner ggardiner@auschess.org.au 07 5530 5794. 2002 NSW STATE CHAMPIONSHIP The NSW Chess Association cordially invites your participation in this prestigious event. The Championship features $4,000 in cash prizes, digital clocks, and an easy-to-reach venue. Venue: Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club 117 Ryedale Road, West Ryde (Note: Club dress regulations apply) Dates: Sundays, 3:00pm, as follows: Round 1 Sunday August 25 Round 6 Sunday September 29 Round 2 Sunday September 1 No Play October Long Weekend Round 3 Sunday September 8 Round 7 Sunday October 13 Round 4 Sunday September 15 Round 8 Sunday October 20 Round 5 Sunday September 22 Round 9 Sunday October 27 Director of Play: International Arbiter Jason Lyons Prizes: Open 1st $800, 2nd $400, 3rd $200. Major (U2000) & Minor (U1600): 1st $400, 2nd $200, 3rd $100 Prizes are based on 80 Entries. Players are eligible for 1 prize only. Rate of play: 90 minutes + 60 seconds from move 1 (Non digital clock 30 moves in 90 minutes then 1hour to finish) Entry Fees: Open Division: Adult $90, Juniors $70, Under 14 $50. Major and Minor: Adult $70, Juniors $50, Under 14 $40.A $10 discount will be granted to all entries received by Friday 16 August 2002. Entries close for the open on 19 August. Players rated under 2000 may apply to the NSWCA to play in the Open Division Late entries may be accepted for the major and minor divisions (only) but must be received before 1:30pm on the 25th August and only at the discretion of the DOP. Note: Late entries (after 1:30pm 25th August) attract a $10 administration penalty. Enquiries: Robert Keast 0417 497 258 (telephone) or email: Robert.keast@didata.com.au All NSW resident players must be members of (or join) the NSWCA or the NSWJCL NSWCA website: http//www.ozemail.com.au/~nswca/ CORRESPONDENCE TIM REILLY Hi Graeme I saw that Ignatius Leong is challenging for the FIDE Presidency in Bled. I trust and hope we'll be voting for him. Ignatius has organised a number of events that I and several other Australian players have participated in South East Asia over the years, and I have no doubt he would be supported by all Australian players. Also, Ilyumzhinov's changes to the time controls are utterly stupid and destructive, and he should be voted out on this basis alone, let alone all the other reasons to oppose him. regards Tim OCEANIA ZONALS 2002 - FIJI By Catherine Lip The place was swarmed with people frantically rushing around with looks of anxiety and desperation streaked upon their faces. Heads were turning, luggage was flying and a mixture of some twenty different foreign languages filled the air. Among those people were two bewildered travellers, lost in their own sense of time they leisurely strolled through the chaos of Sydney Airport, dodging luggage trolleys and airborne suitcases. Quickly they manoeuvred their way through the procession of obstacles until they reached the check-in counter. I looked down at what had been placed before me, each of the seven remaining objects all looked welcoming to pick, but which one would I choose? Breathe in and breathe out, I thought to myself trying to keep a steady hand. This was a life changing decision. What if I chose the wrong one, what would happen then? Around me people peered closer in with anticipation. My heart began to pound rapidly and I turned around in search of help, but everyone looked at me with blank faces. I swivelled around and glanced at the objects again. At the corner of my eye I saw the shiny pink wrapper twinkle at me, without thinking I immediately grabbed it and turned it around. The number 9! Yes! I had just selected my seeding number for the 2002 Oceania Women’s Zonal Chess Championship event, and picking my favourite number was enough to keep me smiling for the rest of the day. For the first round I was paired against Australian Women’s Champion, WFM Narelle Szuveges. My mind had still not warmed up even with the assistance of the beautiful Fiji weather, and as the cogs slowly turned within my brain I was unable to find an advantage in the opening so I pressed on into the middle game. As the mechanisms in my mind began to work and the cobwebs and dust were swept away I was able to find a winning combination that grabbed me an extra pawn. Unfortunately this extra material advantage did not compensate for my lack of time and I had to be satisfied with a draw. With a few hours of basking in the sun and enjoying the soft lapping of the waves as they gently hit the shore, I returned indoors for the second round against one of the four local participants, Zelda Prasad. My aggressive mood got the best of me and I used the opportunity of being white to stage a huge centre attack, storming my pawns through the middle of the board flanked by a set of charging knights and rocketing bishops. It was not long before my victory came my way. The following day, after a refreshing sleep and a tropical breakfast, I sat myself before the second of my Fijian opponents, Artila Devi. A slight miscalculation on my behalf early in the opening moves of the match meant there was going to be a difficult struggle ahead of me. From then on I continuously scanned every corner of the position, making sure that I would not fall for the same mistake twice, and by chance I discovered a neat scheme that provided me with a clear advantage. It was not long before I was able to exchange this material lead for a full point, giving me a score of 2.5 out of 3. The game to follow was against yet another of the Fijian players, Fiji Women ’s Champion, Gloria Sukhu. I was able to gain a quick advantage early in this match with a very pretty yet threatening pawn structure stretching from f7 to c4, but my opponent fought back making it difficult for me to advance any further. Gloria continued hassling my weaknesses as I struggled to convert my position into a win until I spotted a triumphant tactical line that secured me the additional point. My next match was against 10 time Women’s Olympiad representative, New Zealand’s Vivian Smith. As the two of us sped through our normal opening theory we halted to a complete stop at move 13 as we realised that we had entered into unknown territory. Draining all our energies onto the chessboard we manoeuvred our pieces around the chequered board, popping our knights into wide-open squares and dancing our bishops through the diagonals. As the game progressed and we persevered further into the middle game our minds seemed to collapse at the effort. It was not until I was able to greedily snatch up a few extra pawns advantage and the clocks began to wind down that some interest had been sparked onto board. The two of us scrambled through an endless succession of moves until I was able to secure a win. All the chess participants, exhausted from their chess efforts, were cheered at the approach of the sole rest day. Leaving the remnants of our chess memories behind us twenty-six chess players from around the Oceania region transformed into tourists, camera in hand and faces glowing with excitement, as they boarded a tour bus bound for Suva. The bus swerved its way through the palm tree lined, winding road for the following 1 and half hours until we reached our destination. We spent much of the morning seeing the highlights of Fiji’s capital, including the Parliament House, government house and law courts, snapping shots left, right and centre. Soon our stomachs began to yell their commands for food, and just as lunchtime was advancing our host, Fijian Chess President, Dr de Asa, delivered us to one of Fiji’s most prestige restaurants. After meeting our stomachs tough demands we were given a few hours to roam free in the wilderness of Suva. Myself and fellow players Laura Moylan, Brett Tindall, Lee Jones and Fiji’s Artila Devi, who acted as our guide, immediately launched ourselves off the bus and weaved our way through the crowded streets of the city. Our eyes widened at the different sites, smells and sounds that flowed around us, especially when we caught sight of the local butcher’s special of the day, a goat’s head. Our concentration and amazed faces was suddenly washed away with the sight of a clump of $2 dollar stores (or 5 Fijian dollars to be precise!). Ducking into the series of shops for a ‘quick’ browse we exited the store with full shopping bags and empty wallets in tow! Returning our minds back to the reality of a chess tournament we all sat down to play our round 6 matches. My opponent for this round was WIM Laura Moylan and as the half way mark of the tournament had just flown by our minds began to feel the strain of the wearisome chess matches. Our hands moved the statues of plastics on autopilot, pausing at moments to inspect the current position before impulsively moving again. It was soon clear to see that neither or us had any intention of exhausting our brains any further so a draw was gladly accepted. My 7th round opponent, Sita Devi of Fiji, got me thinking early in the game, with tactical traps being set around the board like land mines. I carefully sidled my pieces around these dangerous threats and slowly began to gobble my opponent’s pawns one by one, hoping she wouldn’t notice my ravenous appetite. After munching up enough pawns to satisfy even my hunger I set about to swap off my pieces into a simple endgame where the extra pawns were enough to secure me the win. The second last round match was against IM Irena Berezina-Feldman, Australia ’s top female player, and top seed in this event. Even as the opening slowly enfolded I found myself deserted in unfamiliar circumstances but I pressed on slowly sauntering through the position as if there was not a worry in the world. Then dreamland died away when the pawn that once sat on e6 suddenly vanished as if it were on the movie of Harry Potter. Stunned at the disappearance, I looked to the left then to the right to find that my pawn had been the victim of a brutal attack from my opponent’s rook. I crawled through a few more moves until my position slowly evaporated into the atmosphere, where I resigned. For the final round of the tournament I was to sit opposite Nancy Lane. A win would secure me the Women’s International Master (WIM) title but if any other result I would have to be satisfied with the Women’s FIDE Master (WFM) title. As the games began our heads both leaned forward and our position immediately entered into a tight skirmish as we fought our way through the complicated jungle of interlocked pawns. As all our pieces congregated around the centre of the board the overcrowded position began to make me feel claustrophobic, so in an attempt to relieve it I began to swap off pieces one by one until I realised there was barely any left! Though my only hope for the WIM title was to play on for a win I decided that my decreasing time was becoming dangerously low. My draw offer was hastily accepted with pleasure and this extra half point meant that my final score was 6.5 out of 9, enough points to obtain =3rd place along with WIM Laura Moylan. This magnificent trip I can safely say was the best tournament I’ve ever participated in my 8-year chess career. I had an absolutely fabulous week, not only immensely enjoying the challenging chess matches against such high ranked females, but the warm hospitality of the local Fijian players and organisers. A huge thanks to organiser President of the Fiji Chess Federation, Dr de Asa, and DOP Gary Bekker for their time and effort they have put in to make this tournament such a success. Congratulations to IM Irena Berezina-Feldman, the winner of the championships, and best of luck as she represents Australia in the Women’s World Championships. I would like to thank again the NSWJCL for their continuous support in my overseas travels. With very best wishes to all. Graeme 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!