FIDE world championships: FIDE has made some important announcements concerning its men's and women's world championships.

The men's event will now be held entirely in Libya. Earlier FIDE had intended to hold some matches in Malta, because Jewish players supposedly would not be allowed into Libya, but that plan has now been abandoned after Libya agreed to issue visas to all contestants. Even so, a large number of prominent players seem to be boycotting the event, among them Anand (ranked No.2), Kramnik (3), Leko (4), Svidler (6), Polgar (9), Ponomariov (10 - the existing FIDE world champion), Gelfand (13), Shirov (14), Bareev (16), Karpov (22), Khalifman (32), Zvjaginsev (43), Kaidanov (77) and Benjamin.

Meanwhile, the location of the women's championship - due to start this month - has been shifted from the troubled region of Adjara in Georgia to Elista in the Russian republic of Kalmykia. Adjara is perilously close to civil war with authorities there refusing to accept the recently changed Georgian Government. Kalmykia, of course, is the country ruled by FIDE President Kirsan Iljhuminzov - and Elista is the site of his "chess city". The President of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic, Aslan Abashidze, will pay for the $1 million event.

Australia's entrant in the men's event is GM Johansen. In the women's, IM Irina Berezina-Feldman is our representative - and reportedly very concerned about the dangers of Georgia and the inconvenience of last-minute rescheduling.

FIDE has just issued a statement confirming that the 2004 World Chess Championship to be held June 18-July 13 in Tripoli, the capital of Libya, under the patronage of the Libyan leader H.E. Moammar Al Gathafi.

According to FIDE: "The Libyan Olympic Committee (LOC), the local organizing body of the event, guarantees entry visas to all the 128 qualified participants of the Championship and the invitation to the players is signed by the President of LOC, Eng. Mohammad Moammar Al Gathafi. Consequently, all the games of the championship will be played in Tripoli, Libya and no parallel event will be organized in Malta." FIDE's statement continues: "The format of the tournament will be a 128-player knock-out system and the games will be played from June 19 (1st round) until July 13 (tie-breaks and closing ceremony). The total prize fund of this year's World Chess Championship will reach the amount of 1.5 million USD and it will be sponsored in whole by the Libyan government. In addition to the prize money, the new World Chess Champion will also receive a copy of the newly created Gathafi Cup. The original Gathafi Cup will remain in Libya and it will be awarded to the winner of three (3) titles.

"The President of FIDE, H.E. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, recently met with the Libyan leader H.E. Moammar Al Gathafi to discuss the details of this upcoming championship. FIDE is positive that the games will be held successfully in Libya and this year's World Chess Championship will remain in history as an important milestone in the development of chess in this geographical region.

"The playing venue of the World Chess Championship in Libya will be the 5-star Almahary Hotel in Tripoli. The final list of the 128 qualified players and further details will be announced in the next few days and all information will also be available from FIDE's website at http://www.fide.com."

Full list of men's qualifiers here, and the women's list here.

Meanwhile, recent FIDE news can be found at the FIDE site, particularly its bulletins.

The NSWCA Anzac Day Weekender at Auburn/Lidcombe RSL Youth Club was held in two divisions. An 8-player World Rated round robin was won by NSW Champion Ralph Seberry and Gareth Charles on 5.5/7 followed by Sydney Champion George Xie, R.Song and J Schultz-Pedersen on 4. Ten year old Raymond Song's performance included 50% against five World rated players averaging 2209. The 41-player swiss tournament was won by Johny Bolens with 6.5/7 followed by Wollongong junior Vaness Reid on 5.5.
- Peter Parr

Hani Malik won the Wyong Shire Cup with a perfect score and to Ivan claiming second place ahead of John Nutter third. Division 1 was keenly contested with a 4 way tie for 1st between Joe Frias, Tony, Don, and Val all finishing on 4 points. Division 2 finished in a 3 way tie between Barry Maddy , Rosalinda and Brett all with 3 points. Barry's performance stood out with Barry performing more than 500 points above his rating.

Murrell, Mal -- Malik, Hani
1. b4 e5 2. a3 d5 3. Bb2 f6 4. e3 Be6 5. Nf3 Nh6 6. Be2 Bd6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-ONd7 9. d4 e4 10. Nd2 c6 11. f4 Nf5 12. Bg4 Qe8 13. Qe2 Qg6 14. Bh5 Qh6 15. Nd1Ne7 16. Nf2 f5 17. Qd1 g6 18. Be2 g5 19. Nh3 gxf4 20. Nxf4 Ng6 21. g3 Nxf4 22.gxf4 Qh3 23. Rf2 Kh8 24. Nf1 ({better is} 24. Nc4 dxc4 (24... Rg8+ 25. Kh1 Bc7)25. d5+) 24... Nf6 25. Ng3 Rg8 26. Rg2 Rg7 27. Qe1 Rag8 28. Qf2 h5 29. Bf1 Ng430. Qe2 Nf6 31. Rf2 Rxg3+ 32. hxg3 Rxg3+ 33. Rg2 Ng4 34. Rxg3 Qxg3+ 35. Bg2 h436. Qe1 Qh2+ 37. Kf1 Kg8 38. Rd1 h3 39. Rd2 hxg2+ 40. Rxg2 Qh1+ 0-1

Nutter, John -- Skulimowski, Don
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 Bg4 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bxf4 Be7 7. Qd3 Nf6 8.O-O-O Nbd7 9. Be2 Nh5 10. Be3 Nhf6 11. e5 Nd5 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qb3 Nb6 15. Bg5 Qc7 16. Bb5+ Bd7 17. Rhe1+ Kf8 18. Bxd7 Qxd7 19. Re2 h6 20. Bh4Bf4+ 21. Kb1 g5 22. Bf2 Nc4 23. g3 Bd6 24. h4 Rg8 25. hxg5 hxg5 26. Ne5 Qc7 27.Qf3 Nb6 28. Qf6 Re8 29. Qh6+ Rg7 30. Qh8+ Rg8 31. Ng6+ fxg6 32. Rxe8+ Kxe8 33.Qxg8+ Kd7 34. Rh1 Nc8 35. Rh8 Ne7 36. Qe8+ Ke6 37. Rh1 Kf5 38. Qf7+ Kg4 39.Qe6+ Kf3 40. Be1 Bxg3 41. Rf1+ Kg2 42. Qe2+ Kh3 43. Rh1+ Bh2 44. Qf3+ 1-0

Ward, Dennis -- Frias, Joe
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 a6 7. Na3 Nf6 8.Be3 b5 9. Nd5 Nxe4 10. Bb6 Nxf2 11. Kxf2 Qg5 12. Nc7+ Kd7 13. Nxa8 Bb7 14. Nc7Qf4+ 15. Qf3 Qh4+ 16. g3 Qf6 17. Bh3+ Ke7 18. Nd5+ 1-0

Sponsor a GM for the Australian Open: Australian Open organiser Chess World is seeking your support to increase the number of GMs at Mt Buller this year. Chess World's David Cordover writes:

Dear Chess Players,

Already the 2005 Australian Open at Mt Buller is set to be amazing, with 8 confirmed Grandmasters! This is great, but we want more!!

Participants having accepted invitations and conditions: GM Shabalov, Alex (2624 - USA); GM Ehlvest, Jaan (2596 - EST); GM Mikhalevski, Victor (2550 - ISR); GM Kengis, Edvins (2562 – LAT); GM Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander (2559 - USA); GM Golod, Vitali (2552 - ISR); GM Kosten, Tony (2507 – FRA); GM Hecht, Hans-Joachim (2425 – GER); Plus current Australian Champion IM Lane, Gary (2449 – AUS).

This is a unique opportunity to have the biggest and strongest event of all time in Australia, but in order to do so we are turning to the chess public of Australia to ask for your support. As you might assume, it is much easier to attract GM players to Australia when you can demonstrate you have a quality tournament (with some other confirmed GMs). We have done this and now receive almost daily expressions of interest from GM players around the world. Unfortunately our tournament budget was fully expended after 6 GMs.

To assist the Australian Open Championships we are seeking donations of a minimum $500. Don’t spend thousands travelling to Europe to watch GMs compete, bring more of them to us!

OR

Consider Sponsoring a GM by upgrading your accommodation package to allow an extra bed in your room to house a visiting GM.

The tournament will thank you for your generous contribution with the following exclusive benefits:

Signed set of bulletins (by all titled players)
Attendance at a Sponsors Dinner
Photo opportunities
Free game analysis or preparation session with GM of your choice (highest donation gets first choice)
Tournament T-shirt
Public acknowledgement of donation (optional)
Warm fuzzy feeling knowing you have been a key contributor to the best ever Australian Open Championships

We also have commercial sponsorship packages available ranging from $1000 - $50,000.

To pledge support or make enquiries please contact David Cordover cordover@chessworld.com.au or 0411-877-833 any time. We are also interested in volunteers to assist with a wide range of activities. Please offer your time if possible.

Please view the list below and suggest your most favoured GM/WGM/IM or pick your favourite player in the world and we will offer assistance to that player.

Players having expressed an interest (as at 20-04-04):
GM Dreev, Alexey (2705 – RUS); GM Ivanov, Mikhail (2635 – RUS); GM Sergey Volkov (2629 – RUS); GM Iordachescu Viorel (2627 – MDA); GM Avrukh, Boris (2620 – ISR); GM Vassilios Kotronias (2607 – GRE); GM Michal Krasenkow (2609 – POL); GM Sergey Tiviakov (2593 – NED); GM Surya Ganguly (2582 - IND); GM Yermolinsky, Alex (2566 - USA); GM Sergey Kudrin (2557 - USA); GM Atalik, Suat (2554 - BIH); GM Aloyzas Kveinys (2550 - LTU); GM Malakhatko, Vadim(2540 - UKR); GM Rotstein, Arkadij(2517 – GER); GM Sergey Erenburg (2513 - ?); GM Dima Tyomkin (2503 – CAN); GM Bakre Tejas (2497 - IND); GM Lobron, Eric (2497 - GER); GM Johansen, Darryl (2489 – AUS); IM Edward Porper (2447 – ISR); IM Alexei Khamatgaleev (2441 - RUS); IM Ranko Szuhanek (2424 - ROM); WGM Julia Galianina-Ryjanova (2413 - RUS); IM Anatoly Donchenko (2407 – GER); IM Saptarshi Chowdhury (2391 - IND); IM Lawrence Cooper (2311 - ENG); WGM Zozulia, Anna (2297 – UKR); GM Vladislav Tkachiev ( ? – FRA).

Olympiad selections: 36th Chess Olympiad, Calvia, Majorca, Spain, October 14th-31st.

Applications are now open for the Australian Open and Womens Olympiad Teams for the 36th Chess Olympiad to be held in Calvia, Majorca, Spain from October 14th-31st 2004. (Event website: http://www.36chessolympiad.com/uk/index.php).

Those wishing to be considered for selection as official playing representatives must apply, in writing or by email, as per the ACF Selection Procedures By-Laws, by Friday 18th June 2004. Please refer to item 5 of the ACF Selection By-Laws before applying and for details of material required in an application (see below). The full Selection By-Laws are available at http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution/con7.htm .

Full details on the upcoming tournaments page

- Kevin Bonham
ACF Olympiad Selections Co-Ordinator.

Mind Games Festival at Surfers Paradise: Fri to Sun 26-30 May

The Surfers Paradise Management Association in Association with the Queensland Events Corporation are running the inaugural Mind Games Festival from 26 to 30 May. The events include Chess, Bridge, Euchre, 500 and Scrabble.

Gardiner Chess has been asked to run the chess part of the festival. Whilst the other four events will be held indoors in five star hotels, we are delighted that chess will be given a very high profile in, and around, Cavill Avenue.

Full details: upcoming tournaments page

Juniors

NECG events - a report on the tournaments by Ian Rogers: Last week I inadvertently linked the NECG training events with the Australian Young Masters and Juniors Masters. The events were run together, but are actually quite separate. NECG squad members who were invited to play in the Young and Junior Masters were given free entry. The Young and Junior Masters was sponsored by a local ACT company - Stratagem Computer Contractors - while the NECG training events were, of course, sponsored by NECG - thanks to both! And thanks to Jenni Oliver for clarifying matters.

In any case, these were all important events which deserved more thorough coverage than was possible last week. So here's GM Ian Rogers' Canberra Times column (note that these and other columns can be viewed on the ACF website at www.auschess.org.au/columns):

Canberra Times Chess Column for April 25

It has been a decade since an Australian last earned the Grandmaster title, but with the first meeting of the national NECG Junior Training Squad taking place last week in Canberra, more than a few Australian chess fans are hoping that a future Grandmaster will eventually emerge from the Squad.

After a day of coaching by Australia's best three players, the 20 NECG Squad members were joined by 16 other top juniors to compete in a set of four tough round-robin tournaments.

As expected, the premier event, the 2004 Australian Young Masters Tournament was won easily by the top seed, David Smerdon, although the 19-year-old International Master's margin of victory - 2.5 points - was highly impressive.

Smerdon drew two of his first three games but then reeled off six wins in succession to burn off his early challengers, Australian U/18 Champion Denis Bourmistrov and 9-year-old Raymond Song.

Song was the surprise packet of the tournament. After a remarkable fifth place at the 2003 World U/10 Championships - revised upwards from sixth after one of his rivals was found to be over age - Song has suffered a poor run, with his result in the recent Doeberl Cup being particularly disappointing.

However Song returned to form with a vengeance at the Young Masters, being tied for first at the halfway point of the tournament before fading to a highly respectable fourth place.

The second tournament, the Junior Masters, could have gone to any one of four players, but eventually Sydney's Jason Hu, 16, defeated Queensland's 12-year-old star Moulthun Ly in a play-off after Canberra's Jeremy Neeman, the early leader, had fallen out of contention with two losses in the final three rounds.

The other two events were equally hard-fought. Rebecca Harris celebrated her surprise victory of the NECG 1 tournament by punching the air while local fans had something to celebrate with Andrew Brown's win of the NECG 2 tournament.

The following game indicates the level reached in the NECG tournaments by Australia's best juniors. In a topical opening line, Canberra's Gareth Oliver improves on the play of the world's top teenager, Teimour Radjabov, only to misplay the follow-up and see Smerdon crash through for victory.

Australian Young Masters 2004
White: D.Smerdon
Black: G.Oliver
Opening: French Defence

1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 a6 10.0-0-0 0-0 11.Qf2

Black's sophisticated move order, delaying an exchange on d4, has prevented Smerdon from playing Qe3, an idea with which he had achieved a winning position against Kostia Lubarsky in the first round.

11...Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Qc7 13.Bd3 b5 14.Qh4! h6!

After Radjabov was smashed with this line when playing against Vladimir Kramnik last year, noone has dared repeat this move, yet Oliver had prepared well for this game and has a new idea in mind. Certainly the text move is stronger than 14..g6, with which Black has suffered horribly in recent times.

15.Ne2 b4! 16.g4 a5 17.g5 Ba6

Smerdon was more worried by 17...b3!? 18.axb3 a4, although Oliver's plan of removing one of White's key attacking pieces is very logical.

18.gxh6 g6 19.Qg5! Bxd3 20.Rxd3 Rfc8!

Diamond cut diamond. 20...Kh7 is too slow in view of 21.h4 Rfc8 22.h5 Bxd4 23.hxg6+, meeting 23...fxg6 with 24.Qe7+ and mate in two.

21.Bxc5 Qxc5 22.h7+

An important intermediate move, After 22.Nd4 Kh7 23.h4 b3 24.axb3 a4, Black's attack comes first.

22...Kh8 23.Nd4

Too slow. After 23...b3! 24.axb3 a4, White's king is in more trouble than his counterpart.

24.f5!! Qc4?

A miscalculation which loses the game immediately. 24...exf5 25.e6 fxe6 26.Rg1! also leads to disaster for Black, so Black had to try 24...a3!? 25.b3 Qc7! 26.fxg6 Qxe5 when Black is hanging on.

25.fxg6! Qxd3 26.g7+ Kxh7 27.g8Q+! Rxg8 28.Qh5+ Kg7 29.cxd3 1-0

World Youth Festival - Heraklion, Crete, Greece: Applications are now open for the World Youth Championship 2004, to be held in Heraklion, Crete, Greece in November. The dates are November 3-14. The event has 10 tournaments, Open and Girls sections in the following divisions: U10, U12, U14, U16, U18. Australia can send one selected player in each age division who receives free accommodation, and others may also go, subject to ACF approval, who need to meet their own costs. Formal applications will be called for when more details are known about the event.

All applications should be in accordance with the ACF Selection Procedures By-law, which can be found at http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution

The timetable of when matters regarding selections are to be done is as follows:

5 April - ask for applications
26 April - applications close
3 May - all material including rating files to selectors
24 May - Selections announced
14 June – final date for accepting selection
28 June - allow for any reserves to accept selections

Applications close on Monday April 26.
Please send all application to Kerry Stead via email kerrys@ihug.com.au

Kerry Stead
ACF Vice President

World News:

Magnus Carlsen (Norway) has scored his third and final Grandmaster result (over 2600 rating performance) at the age of 13 years, 3 months, 27 days - the second youngest ever Grandmaster. He won his third GM norm at the Dubai Open, where he finished equal second behind Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and headed dozens of strong Grandmasters.

Bacrot beats Sokolov: Bacrot won 3.5-2.5 in this match in Albert, France. Site | View games

Lithuanian Championship: Zagorskis won the event with 8/11, ahead of Sulskis 7.5; Sakalauskas 7.0; Kveinys and Butnorius 6.5. Site | View games

Sigeman 2004: Scores after 5 rounds: 1. Hansen, Curt g DEN 2635 4.0; 2. Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2628 3.5; 3. Agrest, Evgenij g SWE 2601 3.0; 4. Rozentalis, Eduardas g LTU 2619 2.5; 5. Hillarp Persson, Tiger g SWE 2513 2.5; 6. Carlsen, Magnus m NOR 2552 2.5; 7. Hector, Jonny g SWE 2512 2.0; 8. Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2667 2.0; 9. Aagaard, Jacob m DEN 2400 1.5; 10. De Firmian, Nick E g USA 2542 1.5. Site | View games

Polish Championship: Scores after 9 rounds: 1. Macieja, Bartlomiej g POL 2633 6.0; 2. Gdanski, Jacek g POL 2529 6.0; 3. Kempinski, Robert g POL 2586 5.5; 4. Jakubiec, Artur g POL 2532 5.5; 5. Krasenkow, Michal g POL 2609 5.5; 6. Miton, Kamil g POL 2563 5.0; 7. Socko, Bartosz g POL 2579 5.0; 8. Jaracz, Pawel g POL 2539 4.5; 9. Markowski, Tomasz g POL 2605 4.5; 10. Cyborowski, Lukasz g POL 2565 4.5; 11. Jakubowski, Krzysztof f POL 2492 4.0; 12. Murdzia, Piotr m POL 2455 3.0; 13. Lagowski, Patryk m POL 2425 3.0; 14. Mista, Aleksander g POL 2517 1.0. Site | View games

Bulgarian Champs: Final Scores after 13 rounds: 1. Cheparinov, Ivan m BUL 2555 9.5; 2. Chatalbashev, Boris g BUL 2543 8.5; 3. Radulski, Julian m BUL 2497 7.5; 4. Bratanov, Zsivko m BUL 2427 7.0; 5. Genov, Petar g BUL 2483 7.0; 6. Rusev, Krasimir BUL 2395 7.0; 7. Spasov, Vasil g BUL 2542 6.5; 8. Dimitrov, Vladimir g BUL 2459 6.5; 9. Nikolov, Momchil BUL 2364 6.5; 10. Georgiev, Krum g BUL 2461 5.5; 11. Kolev, Atanas g BUL 2540 5.5; 12. Grigorov, Grigor BUL 2275 5.0; 13. Iotov, Valentin BUL 2342 5.0; 14. Dochev, Dimitar m BUL 2359 4.0. Site | View games

Russian Team Championships: Morozevich's Tomsk400 Yukos team, also including Akopian and Khalifman, won the hard-fought event. Morozevich had a sensational 6.5/8 (2900) performance. It was a super-strong competition with players including Grischuk, Bareev, Gelfand, Rublevsky, Filippov, Bologan, Dreev, Malakhov, Zvjaginsev, Onischuk, Galkin, Kobalia, Najer, Akopian, Khalifman, Yemelin, Aleksandrov, Sakaev, Beliavsky, Vaganian. Final scores: 1 Tomsk400 Yukos 15/18; 2 Noril'skij Nikel 14/18 34.5; 3 Maks Ven 14/18 34; 4 Ladya Kazan 1000 11/18 30.5; 5 Politehnik 11/18 30; 6 Termosteps 11/18 29; 7= Sankt Petersburg LTG 5/18; 7= Debyut DVGTU 5/18; 9 Neftehim Lada 4/18; 10 Sibirskie Afiny 0/18. Site | View games

Dubai Open: Leading final scores, 9 rounds: Mamedyarov 7.0; Nisipeanu, Sasikiran, Iordachesvu, Vladimirov, Harikrishna, Miroshnichenko, Eljanov, Minasian, Al-Modiahki, Goloshchapov, Carlsen, Mamedov 6.5; Fedorov, Jobava, Izoria, Efimenko, Gashimov, Gagunashvili, Ghaem Maghami, Gelashvili, Iuldachev, Kruppa, Dizdar, Al Sayed 6.0; Gleizerov, Anastasian, Ulibin, Korobov, Kuzmin, Sturua, Dzhumaev, Mamedov, Megaranto, Hakki, Mariano, Abedi 5.5. Site | View games

Games: One could be forgiven for thinking that only Morozevich played at the recent Russian Team Championships, so totally did he dominate the event and the coverage. But a few other great players produced some great games, such as this one:

Russian Team Championships
Grischuk, A -- Geller, J
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.O-O-O Bb4 9.f3 Ne5 10.Nb3 b5 11.Qe1 Be7 12.f4 Nc4 13.e5 Ng4 14.Bd4 f5 15.h3 Nh6 16.Qf2 Bb7 17.Bxc4 bxc4 18.Bb6 Qc6 19.Na5! Qxg2 20.Qd4 {An unusual but effective attacking scheme. Black's queen is offside, and d7 and g7 are vulnerable.} 20...Bc8 {Otherwise white will harrass the black queen and win the Bb7} 21.Bc5! {Softening up the dark squares} 21...Bxc5 22.Qxc5 Kf7 23.Qe3 {To stop ...Qf3 and prepare Rg1} 23...Rb8 24.Rhg1 Qa8 25.Nxc4! +- {Black is too weak on the dark squares to survive for long} 25...Rf8 26.Nd6+ Kg8

Poland has lots of great players, and the Polish Championship has yielded some great games - like this one. The last move's a joy!

Polish Championships
Cyborowski,L -- Mista,A
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Bg5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Qe7 9. Re1 Nd8 10. d4 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Bh4 h6 13. g4 Bg6 14. Bd3 Bh7 15. d5 b6 16. g5 hxg5 17. Bxg5 Qd7 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Kh2 Kg7 20. Rg1+ Bg6 21. Nh4 Rh8 22. Rg4 Nb7 23. Qf3 Rh5 24. Nf5+ Kh7 25. Rag1 Rh8

If you thought that was good, check out this one: surely one of the most beautiful combos I've seen, and so simple, too - in retrospect! If you can't figure it out, take heart from the fact that it stumped Fritz too, appparently:

Lithuanian CHampionships
Asauskas, H. (2358!!) -- Malisauskas, V. (2525)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8. g4 O-O 9. g5 Nfd7 10. Rg1 Nc5 11. Be3 Nxb3 12. axb3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. e5 d5 15. Ra4 g6 16. Rh4 c5 17. Rg3 Kg7 18. Qf3 Bb7

Now for something really different :) . No fancy moves, just strategy - but watch how black slowly but surely wins a drawish position. Very instructive, as they say - I suspect there's lots of points to be won by mastering this kind of stuff, though I'll probably never have the patience :)

Russian Teams Championships
Frolyanov, D -- Rustemov, A
This is an instructive game, I think. Black starts from a dead-equal position and gradually builds up advantages, simply through being more on-the-ball than the other bloke.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.O-O Ngf6 8.Qe2 Bxe4 9.Bxe4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 c6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.c3 O-O 14.Rfe1 Rfd8 15.Ne5 { Not the most inspired choice} 15...Nxe5 16.Qxe5 ( 16.dxe5 {might be slightly better for black because the advanced e-pawn's a bit vulnerable} ) 16...Rd5 17. Qe3 Rad8 18.h3 g6 19.Qf3 Kg7 20.Re4 c5! {Black starts to get real advantages. This forces open the d-file, which black is positioned to control} 21.dxc5 Qxc5 22.Rae1 R8d7 23.R4e2 b5! {Gaining space, and preparing a minority attack on the queenside pawns} 24.Qe4 Qc4! {A startling choice, volunteering to get two isolani. Here, however, they'll be easy to defend and increase the activity of black's pieces. There's also the chance for two pawns to hold down three.} 25. Qxc4 bxc4 26.Re4 Ra5! 27.Rxc4 Rd2 28.Rb1 Rxa2 29.Rc7 g5 30.g4 a6 31.Rb7 Kg6 32. Kg2 Ra4 33.Rb4 Ra2 {Exchanging might not be enough to win} 34.Rb7 a5 {There's the possibility of a5-4-3, forcing open the seventh rank} 35.Ra7 Rc2 36.Kf3 Ra4 37.Ke3 Rf4! {A change of tack} 38.f3 Rh2! 39.Rxa5 Rxh3 40.Rf1 Rxg4 {Black has won a pawn but white's queenside pawns could be dangerous} 41.b4 Rg2 42.Rf2 Rxf2 43.Kxf2 g4! {Another nice move: the g-pawn's worth less than the c-pawn, for a couple of reasons: a) black will probably win white's g-pawn anyway; b) Taking the c-pawn leaves a single passer on the queenside, rather than a connected pair} 44.fxg4 Rxc3 45.Ra8 h5 46.gxh5+ Kxh5 47.b5 Rb3 48.Rb8 Kg5 49.b6 Kf4 {Connected passed pawns generally beat a single one with rooks on board} 50.Ke2 f5 51.Kd2 e5 52.Kc2 Rb5 53.Kc3 e4 54.Kd4 Rb1 55.b7 Kf3 56.Rf8 Rb4+ 57. Kc3 Rxb7 58.Rxf5+ Ke3 {White needs to get to the queening square but can't} 59. Kc2 Ke2 0-1

Grand Prix tournaments:

These details are provisional. For up-to-date details of these events, please visit the Grand Prix website

Laurieton Open NSW; Category 1; May 1-2; Laurieton; Endel Lane 02-6559-9060
Peninsula Open QLD; 1; May 1-3; Rothwell Grace Lutheran College; Redcliffe Chess Club Email 07 3205 6042 Website
May Weekender NSW; May 15-16; Rose Bay; Ralph Seberry 040-399-1730 Website
NSW Open Championship NSW; 3; June 12-14; Sydney - Ryde Eastwood, Ralph Seberry 040-399-1730 or Charles Zworestine Website
Mid North Coast June Open NSW; 3; June 12-13; Laurieton; Endel Lane 02-6559-9060
Darling Downs Open QLD; 2; June 12-14; Toowoomba; Ross Andrew Mills 07 46340875/0405 382 324. Email
Tasmanian Open 1; June 12-14; Hobart; Kevin Bonham k_bonham@tassie.net.au
Gold Coast Open QLD; 3; June 26-27; Robina Town Centre; Graeme Gardiner 07-5522-7221 Email
Caloundra Open QLD; July 3-4; Caloundra Powerboat Club; Bob Goodwin
Fairfield Winter Cup NSW; July 10-11; Fairfield; Rolando Atenzia
University Open SA; 3; July 10-11; Adelaide University; Andrew Saint 08-83323752 Website Email
Queensland Open QLD; 2; July 17-18; Gardiner Chess Centre; Graeme Gardiner 07 5522 7221 Email
ANU Open ACT; 3; July 24-25; Canberra
Coal City Open NSW; 3; Aug 7-8; Newcastle; George Lithgow 02-4943-3862
August Weekender NSW; July 31-August 1; Rose Bay; Ralph Seberry 040-399-1730 Website
Gold Coast Classic QLD; 3; September 18-19; Somerset College; Graeme Gardiner 07-5522-7221 Email
Ryde Eastwood Open NSW; 3; October 2-4; Ryde Eastwood; Ralph Seberry 040-399-1730 Website
Redcliffe Challenge QLD; October 2-3; Rothwell Grace Lutheran College? Website
Tweed Heads Open NSW; October 16-17; Tweed Heads Civic Centre; Audie Pennefather
Laurieton Open NSW; 1; October 30-31; Laurieton; Endel Lane 02-6559-9060
Coffs Harbour Inaugural Open NSW; 2; November 13-14; Coffs Harbour Catholic Club; Bill Ross 02-6651-8855 Email
November Weekender NSW; November 20-21; North Sydney Leagues Club; Ralph Seberry 040-399-1730 Website
Fairfield Summer Cup NSW; 3; December 10-11; Fairfield; Rolando Atenzia

Other tournaments

(Because of space considerations, from now on only brief details of tournaments will be provided in the email newsletter. But the good news is that full details will be posted on the ACF website: a new page for upcoming tournaments has been created. The change was necessary because this newsletter is sent out by an internet company which restricts the size of emails to 40 kilobytes, and tournament listings were taking up ever-more space. On the bright side, however, tournament organisers should note that the prevailing wisdom among internet publishers (in fact, among all publishers) is that a brief, punchy advert attracts more attention than a large slab of text, which readers tend to skip over. - Ed)

CJS Purdy Memorial and NSW Masters 2004: May 2, Bridge Centre, 162 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD. 7 Sundays: May 2nd, 9th, 23rd, June 6th, 20th, 27th, July 4th 6:30pm. Registration Closes 6:30pm May 2nd. The NSW Masters will be a round robin restricted to the top 8 available players. The CJS Purdy Memorial will be run as series of round robin events, with players allocated progressively by rating in groups of 8. Ralph Seberry [0403 991 730], email ralphseberry@optushome.com.au, or visit the NSWCA website: http://www.nswca.org.au/
Hakoah Cup. May 3-July 5th. Hakoah Club, Bondi, NSW. 9 round Swiss. Email. Website
Selangor Open: 30 Apr-4 May; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 9-round FIDE-rated. Email. Lim Tse Pin Hp: 012 - 298 4922
Queensland Women’s Champs: May 22-23. Gardiner Chess Centre. website Email.
Mind Games Festival: 26-30 May. Surfers Paradise, Simuls by GM Johansen and IM Solomon. Rapid Tournament, Fischerandom, Social Family Event
Victorian junior champs: May 22-23 and 29-30. Carrington Centre, 79 Carrington Road Box Hill. Email website
Victorian Open Championship: June 12-14. Box Hill Chess Club, 79 Carrington Road. 7 round swiss. $3000 in prizes. Email website
ASEAN Masters Chess Congress: Several tournaments. Thomas Hoe Tel : (65) 96934049 Fax : (65) 63581483 Email
World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad, India. July 1-9. 10 Round Swiss. 4-player teams. Contact: P.T. Ummer Koya, Phone : (91) 495 – 2420327, 2420727 Fax : (91) 495 – 2422033, 2421005. Email Website

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