In this issue:
New book of chess problems
Angela Song takes silver in Asian Youth
Aust Schools Teams Champs - report by Charles Zworestine
Letters: The Game of the Year?
World News: Fischer hope; Ivanchuk wins Torre; Petrosian Memorial
Games
Notices
Upcoming Tournaments
Grand Prix 2004

The ACF wishes all chessplayers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Parallel Strategy: 156 Chess Compositions: Well-known Aussie problem composer Peter Wong has just released a new book. It's a collection of Peter's chess problems that have been published in various international magazines. The book covers a wide variety of genres, ranging from the standard "White mates in 2 moves" to the exotic kinds involving unusual rules. No prior knowledge of the subject is required of the reader, as all special terms are clearly explained. The main text describes the play of each problem and enables the reader to appreciate the problem's "theme". Full solutions are provided. An additional 19 problems by other composers are included.

The 118-page book sells for $22, including postage. You can email Peter for a copy, or write to Peter Wong, 20 Bayswater Street, Drummoyne, NSW, 2047, Australia.

Peter is an award-winning problem composer whose works have appeared in many of the world's leading chess problem journals, such as The Problemist. More than 60 of his compositions have received tourney awards, including 12 First Prizes. Currently he has 10 compositions selected for the FIDE Albums, the anthologies of the world's best chess problems. He is also the co-winner of the inaugural Whyatt Medal, bestowed to the outstanding representative of Australia in the chess composition field. Peter has contributed articles on chess problems to prestigious magazines such as feenschach and the U.S. Problem Bulletin. He has also written a series of introductory articles on the subject for the Australian Correspondence Chess Quarterly.

Angela Song second in Asian Youth U12 Girls: Angela Song of Sydney won the silver medal in the Asian Youth Under 12 Girls Championship in Singapore, finishing second with 7/9 half a point behind Krithikha Pon of India. Angela was sole leader after 6 rounds with 5.5 points but lost in round 7.

Ten Australians were among the 329 players from 23 countries in 8 divisions each of 9 rounds. The 66 players from India won 6 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze medals. Vietnam (1 gold, 1 bronze) was the only other country to win more than one of the other 6 medals.

Final scores of the Australian players (team manager Bonnie Wu)
Girls U-10 Emma Guo (ACT) 4,
Girls U-12 Angela Song (NSW) 7, Adelaide Soltysik (NSW) 4.5
Open U-8 Sebastian Soltysik (NSW) 2.5
Open U-10 Raymond Song (NSW) 6
Open U-12 Edwin Yu (NSW), William Xu (NSW) 4.5
Open U-14 Ben Lazarus (QLD) 5.5, Justin Huang (NSW) 5, Guo Yuthok Sherab (ACT) 4.5
- Peter Parr, SMH

GM Ian Rogers also covered the event in his Sun-Herald chess column:

After successful performances at the World Age Championships in Crete in November, Australian juniors have also starred at the Asian Age Championships which concluded in Singapore on Friday.

The Singapore event, which covered divisions from U/14 to U/8, featured a large contingent from India - the country which in the wake of the success of Viswanathan Anand now has more pre-teen chess professionals than any other.

Of Australia's ten representatives, the standouts were Sydney's Angela and Raymond Song.

At the world titles in Crete Raymond outshone his sister, tying for first place in the U/10 division.

However in Singapore it was Angela who stole the limelight in the Girls U/12 division, challenging for the lead throughout the tournament and ultimately finishing second, half a point behind Krithikha Pon of India. Song's result is the best by an Australian at an Asian Junior Championship for almost two decades.

The younger Song started the U/10 Open division modestly but a series of wins enabled him to reach top board in the final round. A win over Indian top seed N. Srinath in the final round might have seen Song score an unlikely tournament victory but, after building up a winning position, Song faltered in time trouble and lost, leaving Srinath and another Indian, Rao Prasanna, tied for first place. Song at least have the consolation of knowing that his world ranking will increase dramatically - by 60 points - when the new FIDE ranking list is published on January 1.

Most other Australian players in Singapore also performed well, with the team of Ben Lazarus, Justin Huang and Sherab Guo-Yuthok missing a medal by just half a point in the team U/14 section.

Open
Under 14 (42 players, 9 rounds)
1.Le Quang Liem (Vie) 8;
...=6.Lazarus (Aus) 5.5;
...=12.Huang (Aus) 5;
...=18.Guo-Yuthok (Aus) 4.5.

Under 12 (51 players, 9 rounds)
1.Panayapan (India), Sandeep (India) 7;
...=24.Xu (Aus), Wu (Aus) 4.5.

Under 10 (46 players, 9 rounds)
1.Srinath (India), Prasanna (India) 7.5;
...=6.R.Song (Aus) 6.

Under 8 (40 players, 9 rounds)
1. Abhilash (India) 8;
...38. S.Soltysik (Aus) 2.5

Girls
Under 14 (35 players, 9 rounds)
1.Corke (HKG) 7.

Under 12 (41 players, 9 rounds)
1. Pon (India) 7.5;
2.A.Song (Aus) 7;
...=16.A.Soltysik 4.5.

Under 10 (23 players, 9 rounds)
1.Pujari (India) 7;

Under 8 (20 players, 9 rounds)
1.Sai Nirupama (India) 7.
...=15. Guo (Aus) 4.

Full details at the event website

Australian Schools Teams Championships - Report by Chief Arbiter Charles Zworestine:

'Tis the festive season, so this event comes neatly packaged into four divisions of six teams each! OK, to be fair, this format has been established for a few years already. And this year, thanks principally to the fantastic organisational efforts of Jenni Oliver, all was able to proceed smoothly with exactly six teams in each division, from every state except Tasmania and the NT. In two divisions where no WA team played, a second team from the winning state last year was allowed in. And so we were able to concentrate on the chess, which produced much excitement: read on below to find out more ...

Girls primary: Curtin Polgar (ACT) established themselves as the early favourites after their first round 3˝-˝ win over Summer Hill (NSW); but clearly Somerset (QLD) were a threat after their 3-1 win over PLC (VIC). But this was already clarified after Round 2, when Curtin Polgar beat Somerset 3-1. Two consecutive 4-0 wins to Summer Hill in Rounds 2 and 3 meant that they were in a battle with Somerset for second place: they went into the second day leading by a point. As Curtin Polgar (Kayleigh Smith, Karen Khoo, Natalie Shadwell and Grace Huang) wrapped things up by the last round, a 2-2 Round 4 draw between Summer Hill and Somerset left things unchanged going into the last round. But when Summer Hill conceded a point to PLC in the last round, Somerset's 4-0 win pulled them up to level; they then took second on countback, while Summer Hill had to be content with third.

Standings: 1st Curtin Polgar (ACT) 17˝/20; 2nd = Somerset College (Qld), Summer Hill (NSW) 13˝; 4th PLC (Vic) 8; 5th Curtin Moylan (ACT) 5; 6th Wilderness (SA) 2˝.

Open primary: Sydney Grammar (NSW) may well have been the early favourites for this one - especially with Raymond Song (recently equal first in the Open Under 10 section of the World Youth Championships) on Board 1 - but they already conceded a point to WA in Round 1. Both the other favourites - Essex Heights (Vic) and Worongary (Qld) - won 4-0. Similarly in Round 2 Worongary won 3-1, while the other two won 4-0. This left Essex Heights a point in the lead. But the excitement was just beginning ...

Despite Raymond Song beating James Morris on Board 1, Essex Heights scored a stunning upset 3-1 win over Grammar to share the lead with Worongary (who again won 4-0) going into Day 2. This left Grammar in a seemingly impossible position, 3 points behind both the leaders; but just when they had nearly given up hope, Worongary stunned Essex Heights in Round 4 by 3˝-˝! This match was much closer than the score indicates, with Udit Thakur (Essex Heights) just unable to win a king and pawn ending a pawn up on Board 4, and James Morris losing a thriller to Sam Grigg in time pressure. With Grammar winning 4-0 again, they needed to beat Worongary by 4-0 in the last round to win the event - and 3˝-˝ would have been good enough after Essex Heights conceded a point in their last round. When Grammar were up 2˝-˝, there was a chance; but Lachlan Pedersen-Lee (Worongary) held firm to beat Bob Teoh (Grammar). Thus Worongary (Sam Grigg, Jayden Fisher, Sebastian Jule and Lachlan Pedersen-Lee) were worthy winners, while Essex Heights ended up second on countback from Grammar (third).

Standings: 1st Worongary (Qld) 16/20; 2nd = Essex Heights (Vic), Sydney Grammar (NSW) 14˝; 4th St. Peter's (SA) 8˝; 5th Telopea (ACT) 4˝; 6th Midland Christian (WA) 2.

Girls secondary: This event was dominated from the start by the experienced Abbotsleigh side (NSW) of Catherine Lip, Shuyin Tang, Emma Storey, Eliza Griffiths and Jennifer So. Initially they seemed to be under threat from Merrimac (Qld) and PLC (Vic), as all three of these teams won their first round matches 4-0. But after Round 2, a 3-1 win to Abbotsleigh meant that they led by half a point from Merrimac, who beat PLC 2˝-1˝; and Round 3 was even more decisive, as Abbotsleigh beat Merrimac 3-1 (2 wins, 2 draws) to lead by half a point from PLC (who won 4-0). This lead was increased after Round 4 (4-0 wins to Abbotsleigh and Merrimac, 3-1 to PLC), and rendered completely decisive after Abbotsleigh beat PLC 3˝-˝ in the final round. So Abbotsleigh ended up very worthy winners, while PLC got relegated to third behind Merrimac after the latter won their last round match 4-0.

Standings: 1st Abbotsleigh (NSW) 17˝/20; 2nd Merrimac (Qld) 15˝, 3rd PLC (Vic) 13; 4th Walford College (SA) 7; 5th Somerset College (Qld) 4; 6th Daramalan (ACT) 3.

Open secondary: Often the most exciting of these events, last year this one ended up being decided by countback after a thrilling final round - would this happen again? It was always going to be wide open this time, and Round 1 provided few clues as Sydney Boys High Schools (SBHS) from NSW beat St. Peter's (SA) 2˝-1˝ (just one decisive game), and Radford College (ACT) scored exactly the same result in exactly the same way against Scotch College (Vic). Somerset College (Qld) appeared to be the early favourites after beating Christchurch Grammar (WA) 4-0; but what a shock they were in for in Round 2! On ratings, they were favoured on three of the four boards against Scotch; so just how they ended up losing 4-0 nobody quite knows! All games were close, and I guess it just snowballed; but after SBHS won 4-0 over Christchurch and Radford drew 2-2 with St. Peter's, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Somerset from there ...

A 2-2 draw with St. Peter's in Round 3 helped Somerset little; the battle appeared to be between Scotch (another 4-0 win over Christchurch to get to 9˝) and SBHS (2˝-1˝ winners over Radford to get to 9) ... Round 4 saw Scotch increase their lead over SBHS to a point, as they fought hard to beat St. Peter's 2˝-1˝ while Somerset held SBHS to 2-2; Christchurch also finally got their first half point against Radford (who beat them 3˝-˝) ... So to the thrilling final round, where Radford guaranteed themselves third despite losing 1˝-2˝ to Somerset, and Christchurch got their first win in their 1˝-2˝ loss to St. Peter's. But all eyes were on the match between Scotch and SBHS, where the latter needed 2˝-1˝ to pull up to level… This promised an exciting finish, which ensued after a draw between Anthony Chau (SBHS) and Chris Sia (Scotch) on Board 4; Ilya Zvedeniouk (SBHS) beating Derek Yu (Scotch) on Board 2; but Ronald Yu (SBHS) losing to Sam Chow (Scotch) on Board 1. Jason Cohn (SBHS) thus needed to beat Daichi Nagao (Scotch) on Board 3; Jason pushed and pushed to win a drawn position, his opponent eventually faltered and SBHS got equal first and won the event on countback!

Standings: 1st = SBHS (NSW), Scotch College (Vic) 13˝/20; 3rd Radford (ACT) 11, 4th Somerset (Qld) 10˝; 5th St. Peter's (SA) 9˝; 6th Christchurch (WA) 2.

Many thanks must go to Jenni Oliver for doing a magnificent job of organising the event, and all the Mount Buller staff for being very friendly and helpful. Everyone enjoyed themselves, regardless of results. There was a most enjoyable BBQ on Saturday night, and a nice dinner on the Sunday. All in all, a great event. I look forward to the next one in Sydney in 2005 ... - Charles Zworestine, Chief Arbiter

The 5th annual Laurieton 'Christmas Chess' was again a lovely event for 22 players. 5 Newcastle players made it hard for locals, and John Marsden took the Trophy and 1st place. Peter Varela from Taree 2nd. 3= Milorad Lukic and Mike Weltner from Taree. 5th to Philip Tan from N/Castle. 6= David Mearns from Port, Shane Northover, Matthew Northover, Leslie Wells, Robert Fajks and David Gibson from N/Castle. 12= Endel Lane, Bruce Parr - N/C, Joshua Brown, Richard Wells, Luke Vella. 17= Luke Dalton, Kirsty Dalton, Elischa Brown, Ron Aiken. 21= Trevor McIlveen and Thomas Fajks.

The 4th annual Mid North Coast 'Blitz' Tournament was played in the afternoon with 14 entries. Peter Varela from Taree took the Title and Trophy for 1st Place. Followed by Bruce Parr from N/C for 2nd. Milorad Lukic from Taree 3rd. 4= Leslie wells, David Mearns. 6. Philip Tan, 7= Mike Weltner, Matthew Northover, Endel Lane, 10= David Gibson, Luke Vella, 12. Richard Wells, 13= Ron Aiken, Shane Northover.

We wish to Thank all Players for making it a pleasant day. And a Merry Christmas and Great Year 2005 for all. We do hope to see you again - Endel Lane.

Letters: Game of the Year?

The following, remarkable correspondence has set the ball rolling ... Alex Toolsie has not only invented a competition (the game of the year) but nominated himself for it ... do we have any other entries? (Personally, I think Alex should get some kind of award for his annotations alone!) - Ed

Dear Australian Chess Federation,

It is my pleasure to submit to you Australia's Best Game of the Year (2004) for the Under 2000 Category. This epic clash of great players has been annotated by myself, with some of my opponents comments added in as well. I am of the view that this game should be on the www.auschess.org.au website for everyone to see. I think the ACF needs to start showing encouragement to non-titled players to submit their great games, and this game is a great place to start.

Yours Sincerely,
Alex Toolsie

Tankel, Alan (1956)    --    Toolsie, Alex (1684)
Gold Coast Open   Gold Coast
????     *     A40v

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 d6 5.Be3 Ne7 6.Qd2 h5 7.O-O-O

A bit risky to Castle Long this early in the game, but as Black has yet to make solid advances on the Queen side, there is no immediate danger.

7...b6 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Nge2 Na6

The Knight threatens to menace at b4 but also has the attractive feature of fortifying the c5 thrust!

10.a3 c5 11.d5 e5

The position becomes closed and the game consequently becomes a positional struggle. Taking at d5 was bad as it would have opened the e-file and given White some possibilities and greater central control.

12.f4

A strong move allowing White to maintain the initiative.

12...Qd7 13.Rdf1 f6 14.Rf2 O-O-O

Black is completely solid and safe after Castling Long. White's tricks and dreams for the f-file are going nowhere fast!

15.Rhf1 Rdf8 16.fxe5 dxe5

To take using the f pawn allows Whites rook to come down to the 7th rank where they could become pesky.

17.Bc2 Kb8 18.h3 Qd8

Both sides are starting to play passively. But Qd8 is a great playable waiting move when your opponent is 200 points higher than you and therefore under greater pressure to win.

19.Nb5 Nc8 20.b4

The natural looking d6 is met by Bc6 and an attempt by Black to snatch a free d pawn.

20...Nd6 21.Nxd6 Qxd6 22.b5

Taking at c5 probably offered White greater opportunity to break things open with an advantage.

22...Nc7 23.Bd1 Bc8 24.Kb1 Bd7 25.Nc3 Kb7 26.Qe2 g5

The only tremendously bad move Black plays in this game. This pawn thrust allows possibilities of the White dark squared Bishop eventually being able to sacrifice as long as White maintains his doubled rooks on the F-file.

27.a4 a6

White is stuck now. If he takes at a6 the Knight will recapture with a view to the powerful outpost at b4. But White is determined not to give up.

28.bxa6+ Nxa6 29.Nb5 Bxb5 30.axb5

An inactive Bishop for a well placed Knight. This is what Donald Trump would call a good deal!

30...Nb4 31.Bb3 Ra8

Black clearly has the advantage now, but the closed position is now starting to work in Whites favour.

32.Bxg5 Ra3

Sometimes an attack is best met with a counter-attack, especially when White's King is in the neighbourhood.

33.Kb2 Rha8

This threatens to win a Queen and Bishop for two rooks if Black can get the check in at a2.

34.Kc3 Na2+

This move doesn't go anywhere, and I knew that when I played it. So why did I then? A little something called increments and free time added to my clock.

35.Kb2 Nb4 36.Qe3

All right, White has uncovered the move to hamper Black's ideas of grandiose victory. Now Black apparently is struggling to make any progress in the position.

36...Nxd5!!

This is the most brilliant move in the history of Queensland Chess!!! Even my opponent said post mortem that this move deserves a double explanation mark. I disagreed, I thought it was worth three.

37.exd5

If White takes using the c-pawn I will push my own c-pawn and White is in difficulty with nothing to show for his additional piece.

37...f5

Black playing e4 becomes unstoppable now and the previously dormant Bishop at g7 suddenly has new life on the long diagonal where White King happens to be.

38.Rxf5 e4+ 39.Bf6

Ordinarily this move would extinguish Black's attack and the game would be there for White to mop up at his convenience. But, White overlooked the double-action power that a Queen possesses.

39...Bxf6+ 40.Rxf6 Qe5+

My opponent reckons at this point that best play for White can still achieve a draw, and he might well be correct in this supposition. Unfortunately for him, during the game he thought he was winning and on the offensive. Now let's watch how I smoke his King out of hiding and into the dungeon.

41.Qc3

My opponent reckons that 41. Kc2 is the move that saves the day with the following variation. 41. Kc2 Ra2+ 42. Bxa2 Rxa2+ 43. Kd1 (the only move avoiding mate) Ra1+ (not Qa1+ which loses for Black) 44. Ke2! And now Black can only check with the rook forcing the draw as Black alternates his King between d1 and e2.

( 41.Kc2 Ra2+ 42.Bxa2 Rxa2+ 43.Kd1 Ra1+ 44.Ke2 Ra2+ 45.Kd1 Qa1+?? ( 45...Ra1+ = ) 46.Qc1 Qd4+ 47.Ke1 Ra1 48.Rf7+ Kc8 49.Rf8+ Kd7 50.R1f7+ Kd6 51.Rd8+ Ke5 52.Re8+ Kd6 53.Re6# )

41...Rxb3+

Crash and bash tactics that any legitimate 1600 should see right away.

42.Kxb3 Ra3+

I won’t give this move an exclamation mark as it is self evident.

43.Kxa3 Qxc3+ 44.Ka2 Qxc4+ 45.Ka3 Qxb5 46.Rf7+ Ka6 47.Ra1 Qb4+ 48. Ka2 Qd2+ 49.Kb3+ Kb5

And my opponent blundered a rook and resigned soon afterwards but is completely lost here anyway.

1-0

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Mt Buller - Lidums Australian Open entries: Due to website and other associated problems, the Mt Buller Chess Tournaments organising team have decided to change the final closing date for the Lidums Australian Open to the 22nd December 2004. Online entries close on this date. Postal entries mailed before the 22nd December but arriving after the 22nd will still be accepted, however it is not advisable to wait till the 22nd December to send your postal entry in for the Lidums Australian Open. Mt Buller Minor Tournament entries also close on this date. The early entry date for all Hospitality Textiles Australian Junior Championship events finish on the 15th December. Final closing date for all Hospitality Textiles Australian Junior Championship events close 2nd January 2005.

The Australian Open Championship will be held from 28th Dec 2004-9th Jan 2005. The Australian Junior Championships is on from 11th Jan 2005-21st Jan 2005. Cheers,
Garvin Gray
Mt Buller Chess Tournaments Organiser

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The ACF Players' Meeting will be held at 10am on January 1 at Mt Buller. It is open to all persons nominated by State Associations plus Life Members of the ACF.

Motions passed at the Players Meeting shall be advisory and shall not be binding on the Federation or Council, but the Council must discuss each motion and state whether it proposes any action. The quorum for a Players' Meeting is 15.

Players wishing to attend the Players Meeting in Mt Buller, should contact their State Association to be nominated.

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World News:

Fischer gets a warm welcome in Iceland: Iceland has granted former world chess champion Bobby Fischer a residency permit - and rejected a US request to drop the offer. Fischer is being held in Japan, supposedly for having an invalid passport, and the US wants to extradite him to face charges of breaking a trade embargo by playing his 1992 match against Spassky. Article

Ivanchuk wins Carlos Torre Memorial: Ivanchuk easily beat Nogueiras, Tiviakov, Quesada and Graf to clinch the event in Mexico. Site | View games

Marshall Chess Club Championship: Leading final scores after 9 rounds: Ehlvest 7.0; Stripunsk, Fedorowicz, Gonzales 6.0; Sarkar 5.5 ... Site | View games

Tigran Petrosian Memorial Internet Tournament: An unusual teams event featuring Armenia (Aronian, Lputian, Sargissian, Minasian), Russia (Svidler, Dreev, Khalifman, Zvjaginsev), France (Lautier Fressinet, Bauer, Nataf) and China (Bu Xiangzhi, Ni Hua, Zhang Zhong, Wang Yue). Round 1: Armenia-Russia 2-2; China-France 2-2; Round 2: France-Armenia 3-1; China-Russia 2-2; Round 3: Russia-France 3-1; China-Armenia 3.5-0.5; Round 4: Russia-Armenia 2.5-1.5; France-China 2.0-2.0. Site | View games

Vietnamese boy a GM at 14: Ngoc Troungson Nguyen, aged 14 and rated 2527, has gained his third and final GM norm at the First Saturday tournament in Budapest. Although there have been several youngish GMs such as Carlsen and Karjakin recently, Ngoc Troungson Nguyen hails from a developing country, which makes his achievement even more impressive. View games

4th Amplico AIG Life Rapid: Movsesian won this mammoth rapid event featuring 389 players. Swiss tournament: Bologan 10.5/13; Sakaev, Bartel, Czarnota, 10.0 etc. Semi-finals: Movsesian-Wojtaszek 2-0; Socko - Jaracz 2-1. Final: Movsesian-Socko 1˝-˝; Wojtaszek-Jaracz 2-0 Site | View games

Ganguly wins Indian Championship: Final scores, 19 rounds: Ganguly, Chanda 12.0; Kunte, Kidambi 11.0; M.R.Venkatesh 10.5; Saptarshi Roy Choudhari, Koneru Humpy, Tejas Bakre 10.0; Roktim Bandyopadhyay, Neelotpal Das 9.5; Dibyendu Barua 8.5; Sriram Jha, Suvrajit Saha, P. Konguvel, Deepan C 8.0; D. Harika, Ahijit Gupta 7.0; P. Mokal 6.5; R. Shetty 4.5. Games are not yet available. The conclusion of the mega-event was overshadowed by the sad news that the strong Indian player Venkatesh, aged just 25, had passed away from Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy. Site

Magistral: View games

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Games:

Nataf, IA (2565)    --    Wang Yue (2536)
Petrosian Mem Internet  (1)   ICC INT
2004.12.18     1-0     B33

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5!? Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.a4 Be7 10.Be2 O-O 11.O-O Nd7 12.Kh1 a6 13.Na3 b6 14.a5 Bb7 15.axb6 Nxb6 16.c4 Nd7 17.Nc2 a5 18.Ra3 Bg5 19.f4 exf4 20.Bxf4 Bxf4 21.Rxf4 Re8 22.Rg3 g6 23.Nd4 Ne5 24.h4 Bc8 25.h5 Bd7 26.Bd3 Nxd3 27.Qxd3 Re1+ 28.Kh2 Qe7 29.Nf3 Re3 30.Qd4 Re8 31.Ng5! Rxg3

32.Nxf7!! Qe5!!

( 32...Qxf7 33.Rxf7 Kxf7 34.Kxg3 +/- )

33.Nxe5 dxe5

A fortunate fork!

34.Qa7 exf4 35.Qxd7 Re2

Now black looks to have good chances of at least a draw, but white finds an ingenious win

36.Qc8+ Kg7 37.Qc7+ Kg8 38.Qb8+ Kg7 39.h6+!! Kxh6 40.Qxf4+ Rg5 41. Qf8+

( 41.Qf8+! Kh5 42.Qf3+ Rg4 43.Qxe2 +- )

1-0

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Christian-Bauer (2622)    --    Gabr-Sargissian (2611)
ICC tourney 614 (90 30 u)  (1)   Internet Chess Club
2004.12.19     1-0     E00

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 a6 5.Bg2 dxc4 6.Ne5 Ra7!?

Convoluted rook manoeuvres are trendy lately, but here it comes to grief

7.O-O Bd7 8.Nc3 Bb4 9.Bg5 O-O 10.Nxc4 Bc6 11.Ne4 Be7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.e3 Bxe4 14.Bxe4 b5?? 15.Qh5! g6 16.Qc5

Black resigns

1-0

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Paragua, Mark (2534)    --    Goh, Koon-Jong Jason (2419)
Master Open  (6.1)   Singapore
2004     1-0     B23

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.Nge2 e6 6.O-O d6 7.d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nd7 9.Re1 Qc7 10.a3 Be7 11.f4 Rc8 12.g4 Nb6 13.g5 Bd8 14.Kh1 Ne7 15. f5 e5

16.Ndxb5! axb5 17.Nxb5 Qc6 18.Nxd6+ Kf8 19.Re3 Rb8 20.Rc3 Qd7 21.f6 gxf6 22.gxf6 Ng6 23.Bh6+ Kg8 24.Bh3 Qa4 25.Nxb7 Bxf6 26.Qd6 Qxe4+ 27.Bg2

1-0

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Tiviakov, S (2617)    --    Ivanchuk, V (2705)
XVII Torre Mem KO  (2.3)   Yucatan MEX
2004.12.18     0-1     C24

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bg5 d6 6.Nbd2 Be6 7.c3 Nbd7 8.b4 Bb6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Nc4 h6 11.Bd2 d5 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.Qe2 c6 14.O-O Qc7 15.Ne1 b5 16.Nc2 dxe4!? 17.dxe4 Nb6 18.Rfd1 Ra4 19.f3 Rfa8 20.a3 Nc4 21. Bc1 Nd7 22.Rb1 Ndb6 23.Rd3 Kh7 24.h3 Rd8 25.Ra1 Rda8 26.Rd1 R4a6 27.Qe1 Rd8 28.Be3 Rxd1 29.Rxd1 Nb2 30.Rb1 N6c4 31.Qe2 Ra8 32.Bf2 Rd8 33.Be1 Rd3 34.Na1 Re3 35.Qc2 Nd3 36.Bf2 Nxa3 37.Qd2 Nc4

38.Qxe3 Nxe3 39.Bxe3 Qc8 40. Nb3 b6 41.Bxb6 Qa6 42.Be3 Qa2 43.Nd2 Qc2 44.Kh2 Qxc3 45.Nf1 Qc2 46.Ra1 Nxb4 47.Rc1 0-1

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Quezada, Y (2513)    --    Ivanchuk, V (2705)
XVII Torre Mem KO  (3.2)   Yucatan MEX
2004.12.19     0-1     C66

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.c3 g6 6.O-O Bg7 7.h3 O-O 8.Be3 Bd7 9.Ba4 Qe8 10.Nbd2 Nh5 11.g4 Nf6 12.Nh2 Nd8 13.Bb3 Ne6 14.d4 Qe7 15.Bc2 h5 16.Ndf3 hxg4 17.hxg4 exd4 18.cxd4 d5 19.e5 Ne4 20.Bb3 c6 21.Nd2 c5 22. f4 cxd4 23.Nxe4 dxe3 24.Qxd5 e2 25.Rf2 Bc6 26.Qc4

Nxf4!! 27.Rxf4 Bxe5 28. g5 Bxf4 29.Nf6+ Qxf6!!

( 29...Qxf6 30.gxf6 Be3# )

0-1

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Notices

The ACF presents:
Lidums Australian Open Chess Championships
Hospitality Textiles Australian Schools Chess Championships
Hospitality Textiles Tony Colyer Pty Ltd Australian Junior Chess Championships

Where: Mt Buller, Victoria
Details: www.mtbullerchess.com
General enquires: George Howard 0414 841575; georgeshoward@hotmail.com

More ...

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Olympiad Appeal - donations needed

The ACF Council encourages and urges chess players in Australia to donate to the Olympiad Appeal. Cheques/money orders should be made out to "Australian Chess Federation" and sent to: ACF Treasurer Norm Greenwood, P.O. Box 1840, Westfield Hornsby Post Office 1635. Corporations or business sponsors please call ACF President George Howard on 0414 841575.

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Upcoming Tournaments:

2005
2005 Oceania Zonal: Jan 30 - Feb 4, 2005; Auckland, NZ, Details. - Paul Spiller, Zonal organiser
Peninsula Open: April 30-May 2, Queensland; Mark Stokes (07) 3205 6042 Website
Redclffe Challenge: October 15-16, Queensland; Mark Stokes (07) 3205 6042 Website

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Asian Individual Chess Championship: January 13-23 2005; Cochin (Kochi), Kerala, India. More than 30 GMs/IMs confirmed. $US33,000 prize fund, first prize $US6000. Free board & lodging for FIDE rating 2550 and above and to one official player. 11 rounds. Top 13 players qualify for FIDE World Chess Championship. Entries deadline; 31st December 2004. Email: icf@chessindia.org koya@chessindia.org Entry form

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4th International Chess Festival Open Praha: January 14-21; More than 100 players from 16 countries have registered, including GM Hasangatin (RUS), GM Vokac (CZE), GM Meduna (CZE) and GM Volosin (CZE). Also: Open Marianske Lazne Jan 22-29. Details: http://www.czechtour.net.

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Hamarat versus The World: ICCF World Champion Tunc Hamarat - a player who has never lost a single game with White - has challenged the "Rest of the World" to a friendly 2-game match. He will have White in both games.
The games (one started with 1.e4 and one with 1.d4) will be played on the ICCF Webserver and started on 10th February 2005 with the rule "10 moves/70 days".
The players on the "Rest of the World" team will vote on each move. The move receiving the most votes will be selected. Should 2 or more moves receive the same number of votes, the "Rest of the World" will be given 2 more voting days to decide between the tied moves.
Participation in this event is open to all players who pay an entry fee of 5 EUR or $7.00 US dollars via their National CC Federation or the ICCF Direct Entry (DE) option.
All fees collected will be transferred to the ICCF Development Fund. The money will be used primarily for development and system support of the ICCF WebChess Server.
It will be possible to join the "Rest of the World" team at any stage of the game.
The games may be seen "live" by all players and other observers at www.iccf-webchess.com Each player who voted for the selected move will receive 1 point per move. The player(s) with the most points at the end of the games will receive an ICCF Gold Book. The list of all entrants will be published on the ICCF webpage. - M. Samraoui

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Grand Prix tournaments:

These details are provisional. For up-to-date details of these events, please visit the Grand Prix website. The new GP co-ordinator is Garvin Gray, email: ggrayggray@hotmail.com

NSWCA January Weekender: January 29-30; North Sydney Leagues Club; Category 2; $2,300 in prizes; Phone Trent Parker 0419 469764; Email pcass@zeta.org.au; Website
Dubbo RSL Open: Class 1 GP; NSW; March 12-13; Dubbo RSL Club, Corner Brisbane and Wingewarra Streets; $325 first prize; Entry fees: Adults $40, Concession $30, Juniors $20; Contacts: Alexander Aich 02 6884 4561; Trevor Bemrose 02 6882 2725.

NSWCA Open: June 11-13; Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club,` 117 Ryedale Rd, West Ryde; Category 3; $5000 in prizes; Open & U1600 divisions; Early Entry Fees: $80/$60 else $100/$70. Prizes: $1200/$700/$500/$400/$300. U2000 1st $250 2nd $150, U1800 1st $250 2nd $150. U1600 1st $750 2nd $500 3rd $350, U1500 1st $250 2nd $150, U1400 1st $250 2nd $150, U1300 1st $250 2nd $150, Email Website

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Best wishes till next time
- Paul Broekhuyse
broekhuysep@bigpond.com
19 Gill Avenue, Avoca Beach, NSW 2251
02 4382 4525
0408 824525

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Australian Open / Junior / Schools - Mt Buller, Victoria - Organised by the ACF - Be there! Details: www.mtbullerchess.com

The latest news is that two Italian IMs will provide free coaching during the Junior for all players staying at the chalet. The money for this $5000 is coming from the tournament budget (in the $10,000 from Lidums) in what is a complex arrangement of funding.

Help the Aussie Olympiad Team! We urgently need your donations to help pay the costs of sending our teams to Majorca - please give generously. Cheques/money orders should be made out to "Australian Chess Federation" and sent to: ACF Treasurer Norm Greenwood, P.O. Box 1840, Westfield Hornsby Post Office 1635. Corporations or business sponsors please call ACF President George Howard on 0414 841575.

Nominations for ACF medals: Now is the time for State Associations to nominate people for the Steiner, Koshnitsky and Purdy Medals. Full details here.

Gardiner Chess supplies two outstanding tactics workbooks and a highly recommended strategy book for schools and coaches. Full details at Gardiner Chess (special books).

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