ACF Bulletin #205, February 24, 2003


Doeberl Cup
Canberra, 18-21 April
Details below


In This Issue

* ACF website back
* Registration/
* Tournament report - Newcastle Open
* World News
* Letters - Aust Junior play-offs/Building Aust chess
* Grand Prix 2003
* Upcoming tournaments

Wallace Chess School

Coaching: Hi! I am recruiting juniors who would like to join the Wallace Chess School. Students will meet weekly for 2 hours of lectures and analysis, be given take home material and be encouraged to play tournaments regularly. If you want to improve your game with some serious work while at the same time have some fun in a team enviroment, then you can contact me on:
home: 02 97451325 mob: 0402 846517 e-mail: johnpaulwallace@hotmail.com
Please note: if e-mailing have 'Wallace Chess School" as the subject
Cheers!

IM John-Paul Wallace. Australian Champion 2003

Website back

After a bureaucratic hold-up the ACF website have been shifted to its new server and is accessible again at www.auschess.org.au

The new server allows for individual sub-sites to have their own passwords, so webmasters don't accidentally over-write other sites. If any webmasters have not received their passwords yet, please email me at broekhuysep@bigpond.com.

ACF Bulletin: last week to register!!

Over the past few weeks the ACF Bulletin has been shifting to a new distribution system that requires recipients to register online. Thanks to the many who have done so, and a final plea to those who haven't done so: this is your last week!

Here's what you do:
1. Go to the website at http://www.auschess.org.au (the site is available again)
2. Find the "box" titled "Want to receive the ACF Bulletin?" It's near the top of the page, but you might need to scroll down a little.
3. Type in your name, state, and email address.
4. Click the "Submit" button.
5. That's it!

There seems to be a problem for people using Netscape browsers. I've checked the page and can't work out what the difficulty is, unfortunately. If you're a Netscape user and the page won't work, please email me your details (name, state, email address).

Also, some people have been receiving two copies of the Bulletin. That problem should be solved by next week.

Ruth Coxhill Memorial

Queensland: This FIDE-rated event is being held at Graeme Gardiner's Chess Centre on the Gold Coast.

[Event "Gold Coast Ruth Coxhill Memorial"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.02.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sonter, M."]
[Black "Pengelley, J."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B14"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2003.02.??"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 e6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. c5 Be7 8. Bd3
O-O 9. a3 a5 10. Na4 Nd7 11. Qb3 e5 12. Qxd5 Nxc5 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Qxd8 Nd3+
15. Kd2 Rxd8 16. Kxd3 Nxd4 17. Nb6 Bf5+ 18. Kc3 Rac8+ 19. Nxc8 Rxc8+ 20. Kd2
0-1


[Event "Gold Coast Ruth Coxhill Memorial"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.02.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Wongwichit, P."]
[Black "Myers, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B08"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2003.02.??"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Bf4 Nxe4 7. Nxe4 d5 8.
Bxc7 Qxc7 9. Bxd5 Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Qb4 11. Rb1 Rd8 12. a3 Qb6 13. O-O e6 14. Be4
Nc6 15. Na4 Qa5 16. c3 e5 17. b4 Qc7 18. d5 Ne7 19. Qb3 Nf5 20. c4 Nd6 21. Nd2
Bh6 22. c5 Bxd2 23. cxd6 Qxd6 24. Qd3 Bh6 25. Qb3 b6 26. Nc3 Bb7 27. Rbd1 Rac8
28. Bf3 Bg7 29. Nb5 Qb8 30. d6 e4 31. d7 Rc7 32. Nxc7 exf3 33. Ne6 fxe6 34.
Qxe6+ Kh8 35. Rfe1 Ba8 36. Qe8+ 1-0


[Event "Gold Coast Ruth Coxhill Memorial"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.02.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Allen, A."]
[Black "Stawski, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2003.02.??"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 e6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 d5 8. d4
dxc4 9. Qa4+ Nbd7 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Qxc4 O-O 12. b4 Be7 13. Bb2 Rc8 14. Qb3 Qc7
15. Rac1 Qb8 16. Red1 Ne5 17. Nxe5 Bxg2 18. Nxf7 Rxf7 19. Kxg2 Qb7+ 20. f3 Re8
21. Rd3 g5 22. Rcd1 g4 23. Kg1 gxf3 24. exf3 a5 25. bxa5 Bc5+ 26. Kg2 Ng4 27.
Ne4 Rxf3 28. Kxf3 Rf8+ 29. Kxg4 h5+ 30. Kh3 Qxe4 31. Bd4 Qg4+ 32. Kg2 Qe2+ 33.
Kg1 Bxd4+ 34. Rxd4 Rf2 35. Rd8+ Kh7 36. Qd3+ 1-0

Newcastle Open: Tan tantalises while Lane labours

NSW: Report by DOP Charles Zworestine

An excellent field of 56 players showed up for the annual Newcastle Open, the first of Newcastle's two main open events for 2003 (the other being the Coal City Open). This was five up on last year, and represented a great success for tournament organisers George Lithgow, Colin Parsons and Allan and Dorothy Wright. It seems to be a very good time of year for such an event: players are often still very keen after their exploits at the Australian Open, Australian Juniors, Australia Day weekender etc. (What country are we in again?). In this case 15 keen juniors played, as well as a couple of dozen keen locals. Add to that the presence of IM Gary Lane, one of the top players in the country, and former and current Australian Junior Champions in Justin Tan and Tomek Rej, and we had the makings of a fantastic tournament…

The Club Nova Cardiff (a pleasant 10 minute drive from Newcastle city centre) was the venue for a very friendly but hard-fought event, which I greatly enjoyed running as arbiter because the players really seemed to be enjoying themselves! The event proceeded smoothly and dispute-free, as the players just got down to the business of playing chess at 1 hour plus 10 seconds per move from the start (in my opinion, an excellent time control). The result, as usual, was very interesting and exciting chess, with a few upsets thrown in to spice up the proceedings…

Round 1 already furnished significant upsets, with David Behne-Smith, a 13 year old local, defeating Mingara's Mal Murrell and, not to be outdone, his sister Sarah Behne-Smith holding Bernard O'Riordan to a draw. It was to be a good start for the Behne-Smiths when David benefited from an Ilya Zvedeniouk error to defeat him in Round 2: there was a cool 767 point rating gap there… Another junior, Adrian Miranda (1115), also defeated a higher rated opponent in Graeme Deacon (1481). But the really significant events occurred higher up, where Ian Dickson stunned Gareth Charles on Board 5, and David Castor held Ronald Scott to a draw on Board 2. It seemed that David was winning, an exchange ahead, but Ronald is a desperate fighter; and eventually, very short of time, David had no better than repeating the position when he could find no good square for his king.

The top seeds, in the meantime, were motoring along, with Gary Lane, Brian Jones, Justin Tan and Tomek Rej all moving fairly smoothly to 3/3. Neil Wright failed to join them when he was another victim of early giant killer Ian Dickson; but David Behne-Smith's upset run came to an abrupt end at the hands of Michael Lip, as did David Castor's when he was himself upset by Jose Escribano. Adrian Miranda kept going, however, with a good win over Viktor Korotkich (1547). But the hat-trick was elusive: even juniors get tired, as Adrian lost to a recovering Mal Murrell in Round 4…

A remarkable dearth of draws continued in Round 4, where Gary Lane, pawns ahead, was still made to fight amazingly hard before eventually beating Tomek Rej. Meanwhile Brian Jones joined him on 4/4 by converting an initiative (after a pawn sac) into a winning attack against Michael Lip. Justin Tan also got to 4/4 by rapidly ending Ian Dickson's run, while Ronald Scott recovered to 3.5 after defeating Escribano. More upsets when Gareth Charles lost on Board 5 to Dmitri Kavetski, and Lee Forace (1588) held Coffs Harbour's Alan Tankel (1927) to a draw. The latter game was remarkable for Tankel's reaction when he lost a piece in the ending - "that was not a deliberate sacrifice!", said out loud - but fortunately for Alan, Lee missed a win, and Tankel was able to hang on for a draw.

So we fast forward to Sunday, and the hard-fought top board games in Round 5 finally resulted in a couple of draws. Justin Tan, with two knights for a rook, seemed to be winning against Gary Lane; but he missed a very subtle winning king move in a fantastically complicated middlegame, and ended up settling for a perpetual check in the time scramble. Meanwhile Brian Jones fought out a draw with Ronald Scott on Board 2, while Ilya Zvedeniouk upset Tomek Rej by dominating the seventh rank in a rook and pawn ending. Brendon Norman also scored an upset win, over Michael Lip. Round 6 saw another top board draw, between Gary Lane and father-in-law Brian Jones (it was a real family event for Gary, who beat wife Nancy in Round 2!). This enabled Justin Tan to take the outright lead by beating Neil Wright. Adrian Miranda continued his excellent event; this time it was Anthony Keuning (1547) who was his latest victim…

So to the critical final round, where Gary Lane showed why he was an IM by beating Ronald Scott relatively handily. But he still had to rely on his father-in-law: could Brian (with the black bits) beat Justin Tan? Justin had an early initiative and looked better; but Brian is a fighter, and hung on for a draw. This meant Justin and Gary were equal first on 6/7; Brian had to content himself with equal third on 5.5 with Mike Van Renen. More upsets when David Castor held Gareth Charles to a draw; and Brendon Norman defeated Neil Wright to complete an excellent event for Brendon.

Leading final scores/prizewinners: 1st = Gary Lane, Justin Tan 6/7; 3rd = Brian Jones, Mike Van Renen 5.5; 1st = Under 1700 Tom Bonjekovic, James Cronan, Sebastion Jurd, Bernard O'Riordan, Matthew Perkovic 4; 1st = Under 1400 Bela Nemeth, Bill Ross 4; = 1st Junior Tomek Rej, Ilya Zvedeniouk 5; Best Local Mark Smith 5; Best Unrated Max Kershaw 4.5.

No   Name			Rating	Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7  

1      Lane, Gary W		2400	6     24:W 16:W  4:W  6:W  2:D  3:D  5:W
2      Tan, Justin		2108	6     21:W 23:W  9:W 34:W  1:D 19:W  3:D
3      Jones, Brian A		2155	5.5   41:W 15:W 12:W  7:W  5:D  1:D  2:D
4      Van Renen, Mike		1932	5.5   22:W 30:W  1:L 18:W 34:W  8:W  9:D
5      Scott, Ronald		2192	5     44:W 11:D 17:W 27:W  3:D 10:W  1:L
6      Rej, Tomek		2067	5     43:W 18:W  8:W  1:L 10:L 13:W 15:W
7      Lip, Michael		2008	5     25:W 28:W 26:W  3:L  8:L 18:W 24:W
8      Norman, Brendon		1827	5     47:W 40:W  6:L 31:W  7:W  4:L 19:W
9      Smith, Mark		1895	5     51:W 42:W  2:L 30:W 20:D 17:W  4:D
10    Zvedeniouk, Ilya		1875	5     48:W 26:L 29:W 28:W  6:W  5:L 16:W
11    Castor, David		1788	5     36:W  5:D 27:L 37:W 15:W 20:W 14:D
12    Tankel, Alan		1927	4.5   39:W 29:W  3:L 35:D 13:L 26:W 27:W
13    Kershaw, Max			4.5   27:D 17:L 44:W 53:W 12:W  6:L 34:W
14    Charles, Gareth		2069	4.5   53:W 34:L 42:W 15:L 35:W 23:W 11:D
15    Kavetski, Dmitri		1737	4     32:W  3:L 21:W 14:W 11:L 30:W  6:L
16    Lane, Nancy L		1801	4     46:W  1:L 24:W 26:W 19:L 21:W 10:L
17    O'Riordan, Bernard	1629	4     49:D 13:W  5:L 33:W 27:W  9:L 25:D
18    Cronan, James		1624	4     37:W  6:L 22:W  4:L 46:W  7:L 38:W
19    Wright, Neil S		2038	4     38:W 35:W 34:L 23:W 16:W  2:L  8:L
20    Murrell, Malcolm R	1776	4     26:L 48:W 41:W 36:W  9:D 11:L 22:D
21    Bonjekovic, Tom		1431	4      2:L 50:W 15:L 32:W 31:W 16:L 37:W
22    Nemeth, Bela L		1338	4      4:L 55:W 18:L 29:W 28:D 35:W 20:D
23    Perkovic, Matthew		1639	4     50:W  2:L 38:W 19:L 39:W 14:L 36:W
24    Jurd, Sebastion		1496	4      1:L 46:W 16:L 47:W 40:W 34:W  7:L
25    Ross, Bill		1349	4      7:L 56:W 35:L 45:D 53:W 28:W 17:D
26    Behne-Smith, David	1108	3.5   20:W 10:W  7:L 16:L 38:W 12:L 30:D
27    Escribano, Jose		1619	3.5   13:D 49:W 11:W  5:L 17:L 43:W 12:L
28    Egan, Bill		1550	3.5   56:W  7:L 40:W 10:L 22:D 25:L 43:W
29    Huddleston, Heather	1522	3.5   31:W 12:L 10:L 22:L 37:D 47:W 45:W
30    Tan, Philip		1577	3.5   55:W  4:L 51:W  9:L 36:W 15:L 26:D
31    Sloper, Christian			3.5   29:L 39:W 43:W  8:L 21:L 44:W 35:D
32    Parker, Trent		1102	3.5   15:L 41:L 52:W 21:L 49:W 39:W 33:D
33    Korotkich, Viktor		1547	3.5   40:L 47:W 36:L 17:L 51:W 46:W 32:D
34    Dickson, Ian C		1654	3     54:W 14:W 19:W  2:L  4:L 24:L 13:L
35    Forace, Lee		1588	3     45:W 19:L 25:W 12:D 14:L 22:L 31:D
36    Miranda, Adrian		1115	3     11:L 44:W 33:W 20:L 30:L 42:W 23:L
37    Hlabano, Segopotso		3     18:L 43:D 54:W 11:L 29:D 41:W 21:L
38    Losh, Gary		1376	3     19:L 45:W 23:L 51:W 26:L 40:W 18:L
39    Heaney, Brad		1330	3     12:L 31:L 50:W 42:W 23:L 32:L 48:W
40    Paterson, Keith			3     33:W  8:L 28:L 54:W 24:L 38:L 53:W
41    Finlay, Colin		1476	3      3:L 32:W 20:L 46:L 52:W 37:L 50:W
42    Keuning, Anthony V	1517	3     52:W  9:L 14:L 39:L 48:W 36:L 46:W
43    Vidler, Peter J		1402	2.5    6:L 37:D 31:L 55:W 45:W 27:L 28:L
44    Deacon, Graeme		1481	2.5    5:L 36:L 13:L 56:W 47:D 31:L 54:W
45    McGuirk, Michael			2.5   35:L 38:L 48:W 25:D 43:L 53:W 29:L
46    Wright, Allan		1275	2     16:L 24:L 56:W 41:W 18:L 33:L 42:L
47    Lithgow, George		1279	2      8:L 33:L 55:W 24:L 44:D 29:L 49:D
48    Rowston, Bruce		1289	2     10:L 20:L 45:L 50:W 42:L 55:W 39:L
49    Behne-Smith, Sarah	 538	2     17:D 27:L 53:L 52:L 32:L  0:W 47:D
50    Behne-Smith, Jonathan	 676	2     23:L 21:L 39:L 48:L 54:W 51:W 41:L
51    Illingworth, Max		1295	2      9:L 52:W 30:L 38:L 33:L 50:L 55:W
52    Soth, Socheat			2     42:L 51:L 32:L 49:W 41:L 54:L  0:W
53    Robinson, Andrew		1424	1.5   14:L 54:D 49:W 13:L 25:L 45:L 40:L
54    Parr, Bruce		 992	1.5   34:L 53:D 37:L 40:L 50:L 52:W 44:L
55    Mendes de Costa, Alex		1     30:L 22:L 47:L 43:L 56:W 48:L 51:L
56    O'Neill, Shaun			0     28:L 25:L 46:L 44:L 55:L  0:   0:

World News

Overseas: 15-year-old Azerbaijani prodigy Teimour Radjabov has beaten Kasparov in round 2 of the Linares supertournament in Spain.

You can view all the games at NetChessNews

[Event "XX SuperGM"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "2003.02.23"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kasparov,G"]
[Black "Radjabov,T"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2624"]
[EventDate "2003.02.22"]
[ECO "C11"]
[JsCom "startply=78"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8.
Qd2 b5 9. a3 Qb6 10. Ne2 c4 11. g4 h5 12. gxh5 Rxh5 13. Ng3 Rh8 14. f5 exf5
15. Nxf5 Nf6 16. Ng3 Ng4 17. Bf4 Be6 18. c3 Be7 19. Ng5 O-O-O 20. Nxe6 fxe6
21. Be2 Ngxe5!? 22. Qe3!? 

Apparently the idea behind the sacrifice was 22.dxe5 d4 with a strong attack for the piece

Nd7 23. Qxe6 Bh4 24. Qg4 g5 25. Bd2 Rde8 26. O-O-O
Na5 27. Rdf1?? Nb3+ 28. Kd1 Bxg3 29. Rf7 

(Recapturing allows ...Qg6 with mate threats)

Rd8 30. Bxg5 Qg6 31. Qf5 Qxf5 32.
Rxf5 Rdf8 33. Rxf8+ Nxf8 34. Bf3 Bh4 35. Be3 Nd7 36. Bxd5 Re8 37. Bh6 Ndc5
38. Bf7 Re7 39. Bh5 Nd3 0-1

Australian Clubs Team Championships

(Caloundra, Sunshine Coast) 29 September to 3 October 2003 We have had several serious registrations of interest for this event. It is now time to confirm entries by sending in the entry fee of $400 per team. Cheques for $400 should be made payable to Australian Chess Federation and mailed to Graeme Gardiner at 11 Hardys Road Mudgeeraba Qld 4213 along with as much information as possible about the make up of your team. These need to be received by 31 March 2003 in order for the event to proceed. The venue is also looking for room bookings by that date.

The event is being held in the school holidays of all states and territories except Tasmania.

Details of this inaugural FIDE rated event are as follows:

This is an official Australian title event.

Teams of 8, of which at least three must be female and three male. One of the aims of this competition is to promote the social side and family side of club chess. Players must play in board order of playing strength and keep in this order throughout the competition. Reserves may be freely substituted.

Prizes: Trophies for the winning team and boards plus the title of Australian Clubs Team Champion. There are no cash prizes for this event. Just the glory!

Entry Fee: $400 per team (no extra charge for reserves).

Time Controls: 32 moves in 90 mins, 24 moves in 30 mins then 20 secs a move to finish (same as Doeberl Cup).

Schedule:

Sat/Sun 27/28 September (Optional) Redcliffe Challenge Grand Prix event

Monday 29 September Rest Day
Tuesday 30 September 2 Rounds 10am and 3pm
Wednesday 1 October 2 Rounds 10am and 3pm
Thusday 2 October 2 Rounds 10am and 3pm
Friday 3 October Rest Day

Sat/Sun 4/5 October (Optional) Tweed Heads Open (Grand Prix event)

4 teams: double round robin, 6 games
5 teams: 5 rounds, each team plays 4 games
6 teams: 5 rounds, 5 games
7 teams: 7 rounds, each team plays 6 games (a Friday morning round would be required)
8 teams: 7 rounds, 7 games (a Friday morning round would be required)
9+ teams: Swiss Draw, 6 games

FIDE rated.

Venue/Accommodation: Rydges Oasis Resort, Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. This is a 4.5 star luxury resort, only a very short walk to the beach. It has recently won Queensland Catering and Restaurant Awards for Excellence, was a finalist in the Queensland Tourism awards and winner of the Skal International Sunshine Coast Best Restaurant award.

Nevertheless, by staying in a three bed self catering apartment sleeping seven, you can stay for five days for a total of just $109 per person. You can stay for longer if you wish at the same rates. This luxury accommodation suits teams and families on a budget. There is a range of accommodation to suit all tastes.

5 Day Rates:
Hotel Spa Room: $409 single or twin share.
Two Bedroom Villa: $549 sleeps 2 to 4.
Three Bedroom Villa: $614 sleeps 3 to 5 (Additional roll-away $15 each).

Full details of this great holiday destination can be found at www.rydges.com/oasis.

Obviously we as organisers are hoping that all competitors stay at this venue. There are very good reasons why you should:

1. Where else would you get 4.5 star accommodation at a rate of around $22 per person, per day?

2. To maximise the social interaction with your team and opposing team it is always better to stay at the same venue.

3. What a great place to mix a great holiday with serious chess.

4. Social events/dinners/BBQs will be organised. These will be optional at own cost.

5. 200 hotel rooms, suites and self-contained one, two and three bedroom apartments to suit the needs of every guest. All rooms feature free inhouse movies, Sky Channel, direct dial ISD data port telephones. Easy walking distance to the beach and shopping centre. The Deck Restaurant, specialising in fresh seafood and chargrilled steaks. Legends cocktail bar and lounge.

Swimming pool and outdoor heated spa. Children's playground and babysitting service available. Golf putting green. Tennis court. 10 acres of tropical landscaped gardens and water lily lagoons. Comprehensive conference facilities for up to 250 people. 24 hour reception, tour desk. Takeaway meals available from the Restaurant. Games Room. Underwater World not far.

Transport: The organisers will endeavour to facilitate transport from the Gold Coast to Caloundra for those players choosing to play in the Gold Coast Classic and from Caloundra to Redcliffe for those players choosing to play in the Redcliffe Challenge.

Enquiries and Entries: Kerry Corker kppc@ausinfo.com.au and Graeme Gardiner ggardiner@gardinerchess.com.

Accommodation Bookings: Rydges Oasis Resort rydges_caloundra@rydges.com with a copy to Kerry Corker please.

The organisers and venue have stipulated that the event will definitely proceed if at least four clubs from at least three states have entered by 31 March 2003. Already it seems that entries are almost certain from the Gold Coast Chess Club, Club Bullwinkle (Jacob Edwards), Canberra (Jenni Oliver) and the Koala Club (Brian Jones). If you are keen for this tournament to thrive, please start putting your team together now (and let us know!).

- Graeme Gardiner

GP Co-ordinator needed

The ACF still needs someone to run the GP race. Norm Braybrook did a sterling job co-ordinating last year's epic - can you do likewise? If you've been looking for a way to get involved in Australian chess, this could be it. Think about it!

Letters

Generational change: Noting the comments by PaulB last week - Australian organisers may not know of an initiative I have proposed to FIDE. This is for there to be held in 2004 The match of the Generations.

This to be between players under 20 on 1 January 2004, and over 20. It can be held in private homes, clubs, locally, regionally, nationally, internationally and on the Internet.

The modest aim is for there to be 1 million games.

It needs the financial support of FIDE. The cost for a federation to join in need not be gigantic, for instance in Australia there is no need for a national event, locally would be perfectly adequate and quite inexpensive.

Of course it is partly a numbers game. It also has the objective particularly of encouraging teenagers interested in chess to relate to mainstream activity. That is why I picked up on the note in the bulletin. Of course I cannot speak for Australian problems, but one of the greatest difficulties in England is keeping youngsters interested when they go to secondary school.

The dropout is heartbreaking.

- Stewart Reuben

Australian Junior Chess Championships - Adelaide 2003
Concerns re tie breaks and play off time controls:
This was a well run event, with the only venue problem being the very distant Iocation of analysis rooms, but in my opinion the result of the Open Under 18 event was marred because of the implementation of flawed, subjective tie breaks and then a play-off for only 2 of 4 players using only 15 minute each time controls instead of the AC requirement that the play off should be at the same limit as the tournament itself.

Four players: D. Bourmistrov, T. Rej, S. Chow and S. Yang, tied for first with 8.5 points out of 11 and using one of many tie break systems (all are unsatisfactory) Bourmistrov and Rej were "selected" to play off and the other 2 discarded. In the case of Yang, due to the draw and opponent he had for the last round, it was not possible for him to win the event under the tie break system even if he won his match and finished equal first, but was possible for others. This is patently unsatisfactory.

Tie breaks, even if employed internationally, are not satisfactory. Competitors, many from interstate, work very hard for 2 weeks and achieve the same points as others. In fact, Bourrnistrov lost to Chow but he - not Chow - still participated in the play-off! S.Yang defeated George Xie - the highest rated at 2225 - but Rej who lost to Xie participated in the play off probably because of underperformance by Xie in this tournament. Other anomalies abound.

The only fair way to resolve a tie is to share the title, or have a playoff for all who tie, with satisfactory time controls. Anything else, using arbitrary, subjective, unjustified tie breaks or Mickey Mouse time controls is clearly discriminatory - ie "selecting' the players by tie breaks or advantaging a player who is better at 15 minute games. Two quick games should not be the criteria to win either the Australian Senior Chess Championship or the Australian Junior Chess Championship, which are serious chess events which should be run at appropriate time controls.

After perusing the various bylaws of the Australian Chess Federation, there are a number of anomalies and variations in the bylaws regarding tiebreaks and time controls for playoffs, and in the way that the winner of the Australian Junior Championship open event was determined not even in full accordance with such ACF Bylaws or guidelines. Note also the Women's eligibility criteria of including the first 3 places from last year's event to be eligible for participation in the current year, but in the event of a tie then 2 or other different tie break methods than that employed in Adelaide are suggested whilst the Women's championship event itself requires a playoff using the same time controls as in the actual tournament!.

I believe this matter of ties, playoffs and proper time controls needs to be considered by the ACF urgenthy so that we have uniformity, consistency and transparency for all players rather than a convenient quick determination/decision which disadvantages some players. Each of the three junior players eliminated in Adelaide has justification to feel aggrieved _ either by the by tiebreak usage &/or the playoff time controls used - and this may be the last opportunity for some to achieve the prestigious title of Australian Junior Chess Champion.

I ask that the ACF review and amend its present bylaws and/or practices to eliminate unsatisfactory tie break procedures in favour of shared titles and/or playoffs at sensible time limits and that this matter be brought up at ACF Council level.

Richard Thorne
SA

Upcoming tournaments

Toukley RSL

1-2 March 2003
Toukley RSL
7 Rounds
Under 2000
Information from Val Velyvis 02 4396 5109
More info at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nswca/touk03.htm

WA's South West Open

Grand Prix category 1 event
A 6 Round Swiss incorporating the Western Australian Country Championship
Playing Dates: Saturday 8th March and Sunday 9th March 2003
Venue: Bunbury Catholic College Hall, Bunbury
Time Limit: 60 minutes each clock
A separate tournament for juniors will be played provided a sufficient number of juniors enter.

Laurieton Chess Club One Day Open

NSW:

We invite all Chessplayers to our 'One Day Open' Chess Tournament
Sunday - 9 March - 2003
Venue: Laurieton United Servicemen's Club
10 am. Start - 7 Round Swiss - G/20 - 20 min.
Games ACF Rated. Prizes determined by the number of entries. The decision of tournament directors is final. Entry: $ 12 Seniors, $ 6 Juniors.
Contact: Endel 6559 9060, endel@fasternet.com.au

Ballarat Begonia Open

8 to 10 March 2003
FIDE Rated with Guaranteed Prizes in excess of $3,000
A Grand Prix Category 3 Event
Amenities Centre, Old Gaol Building, School of Mines, Lydiard St South, Ballarat.
Schedule The tournament will be a 7 round Swiss starting at 1.30 pm Saturday with the final round on Monday at 2.00 pm. The rate of play will be 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move increment from move 1.
Entries $60.00 adult, $50.00 concession for pensioners and unemployed & $30 for juniors under 14 years of age.
Contacts Telephone: Patrick Cook 03 5331 6658 or Bas van Riel 03 5331 6439
Postal: Box 1242, Ballarat Mail Centre Vic 3354
E-mail: bvanriel@ncable.net.au
Web site: http://www.auschess.org.au/ballarat/bccindex.htm

Dubbo RSL Open

Date: Saturday and Sunday 15th and 16th March 2003
Venue: Dubbo RSL Club, corner Brisbane and Wingewarra Streets, Dubbo
6 round Swiss
Rounds: Saturday - 10:30am, 1:30pm and 4:00pm
Sunday - 9:30am, 12:00pm and 2:30pm
Prize money: $325 first prize; Divisional prizes subject to number of entries
Rate of Play: 60 min + 10 sec
Entry fees: Adult - $40, Concession - $30, Junior - $20 ($5 discount if paid by 1-3-2003)
Contact: Alexander Aich 02 6884 4561 email sjaich@tpg.com.au
Trevor Bemrose 02 6882 2725 email trevbec@tpg.com.au
Stay an extra day to see our famous Western Plains Zoo!

The Italo-Australian Club 41st Doeberl Cup

A Class 3 ACF Grand Prix Event 18-21 April 2003
Location: The Italo-Australian Club, 78 Franklin Street, Forrest, Canberra, ACT.
Total Prizes: $10,000
Time Limits: Digital clocks will be used. All divisions: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move from the beginning.
Entry Fees:
Premier Division: Adult $100; Under 18s $60 (GMs & IMs free, if entry received by 11-04-2003.
Major & Minor Divisions: Adult $90; Under 18s $50
Please note that a $20 (Adult) /$10 (Under 18s) discount applies, if entry is received by 11-04-2003.
Entries to:
Paul Dunn (Treasurer, Doeberl Cup)
20 Richmond St, Macquarie, ACT 2614
Please make cheques payable to ACTCA.
Information:
Roger McCart (Convener, Doeberl Cup) Ph: 02-62516190
E-mail: Roger.McCart@anu.edu.au

Details: http://www.netspeed.com.au/ianandjan/IansPage/

University Open 2003

SA: $4000 Total Prizes
Category Three Grand Prix
12th & 13th July
$35 Adult $25 Junior/Concession
Adelaide University, SA
Official site

ACF Grand Prix 2003

Full details at: Official site

Taree RSL Open
Category 1
NSW
Feb 15-16
Contact Endel Lane  (02) 6559  9060
endel@fasternet.com.au

Tasmanian Open Championship - Burnie
Category 1
TAS
Mar 8-10
Contact Neville Ledger (03) 6431 1280
nlchess@tassie.net.au

 
South West Open (incorporating WA Country Championship)
Category 1 
WA
Mar 8-9
Bunbury Catholic College Hall, Bunbury


Ballarat Begonia Weekend Tournament
Category 3
VIC
Mar 8-10
Contact B. van Riel 
bvanriel@ncable.net.au

Dubbo RSL Open
Category 1
NSW
Mar 15-16
Contact Alexander Aich  (02) 6884 4561
sjaich@tpg.com.au

Doeberl Cup
Category 3
ACT
Apr 18-21
Contact Roger McCart
'phone  (06) 6251 6190
Roger.McCart@anu.edu.au

Chess World ANZAC Day weekender
Category 2
VIC 
April 25-27
ChessWorld Tournament Centre 
Contact David Cordover (03) 957 6177 or 0411-877-833
email cordover@chessworld.com.au


37th. Peninsula Open
Category 1
QLD
May  3-5
Contact Mark Stokes (07) 3205 6042
markcstokes@hotmail.com

Laurieton May Open
Category 1
NSW
May 3-4
Contact Endel Lane  (02) 6559  9060
endel@fasternet.com.au

NSWCA May Weekender
Category  2
NSW
May 17-18
Contact P.Cassettari 
pcass@zeta.org.au

Tasmanian Chess Championship
Category  1
TAS
Jun 7-9
Contact  K.Bonham  (03) 6224 8487
k_bonham@tassie.net.au

NSW Open Championship
Category  3
NSW
Jun 7-9
Contact: P.Cassettari 
pcass@zeta.org.au

Taree RSL June Open
Category 1
NSW
Jun 14-15
Contact Endel Lane  (02) 6559  9060
endel@fasternet.com.au

Gold Coast Open (Gold Coast CC) 
Category 3
QLD
Jun 21-22
Contact Graeme Gardiner
ggardiner@gardinerchess.com
(07) 5530 5794

Caloundra Open	
Category 3?	
QLD
Jun 28/29
Contact Derrick Jeffries
chesswis@australis.aunz.com

University Open
Category  3
SA 
JUL 12-13
chess@adelaide.edu.au ph (08) 8303 3029 or andrew.saint@adelaide.edu.au ph  (08) 8332 3752

NSWCA August Weekender
Category  2
NSW
Aug 2-3
Contact P.Cassettari 
pcass@zeta.org.au

Father's Day Tournament
Category 2/3?
VIC
Sep 6-7
Contact:  David Cordover (03) 9576177 or 0411-877-833
cordover@chessworld.com.au

Gold Coast Classic (Gold Coast CC) 
Category 3
QLD
Sep 20-21
Contact Graeme Gardiner
ggardiner@gardinerchess.com
(07) 5530 5794

12th. Redcliffe Challenge
Category 2
QLD
Sep 27-28
Contact Mark Stokes (07) 3205 6042 
markcstokes@hotmail.com

Tweed Open
Category  3
QLD
Oct 4-5
Contact Audie Pennefather pennefather@iprimus.com.au

Koala Open
Category 3
NSW
Oct 5-6
Contact Brian Jones
chessaus@chessaustralia.com.au

Laurieton Open
Category 1
NSW
Nov 1-2
Contact Endel Lane  (02) 6559  9060
endel@fasternet.com.au

November weekender
Category  1
TAS
Nov 1-2 or 1-3
Contact  K.Bonham  (03) 6224 8487
k_bonham@tassie.net.au

Gosford Open
Category  2
NSW 
Nov 8-9
Contact  Lachlan Lee
I.yee@unsw.edu.au

Taree RSL Spring Open
Category 1
NSW
Nov 15-16
Contact Endel Lane  (02) 6559  9060
endel@fasternet.com.au

NSWCA November Weekender
Category 2
Nov 22-23
contact
P.Cassettari 
pcass@zeta.org.au

X-Mas Swiss Tournament
Category 2-3?
December 20-21
Contact David Cordover (03) 9576177 or 0411-877-833
cordover@chessworld.com.au

Total 29 NSW 14 QLD 6 VIC 4 ACT 1 TAS 3 SA 1

Best wishes till next time - Paul Broekhuyse